Border Wars of the American Revolution by William L. Stone

CHAPTER X.
CONTEMPORANEOUSLY with the descent of Burgoyne upon Northern New-York, Colonel Barry St. Leger had been despatched from Montreal, by the way of the St. Lawrence and Lake Ontario, to Oswego, there to form a junction with the Indians and Loyalists under Sir John Johnson and Captain Brant. From Oswego, St. Leger was to penetrate by the way of Oneida Lake and Wood Creek to the Mohawk River, with a view of forming a junction with Burgoyne, on his arrival in Albany. The alarm everywhere felt on the approach of Burgoyne from the North was greatly increased in Tryon county on receiving intelligence of the contemplated invasion by the Indians and Loyalists from the West. The news of this movement was first brought to the inhabitants by an Oneida half-breed sachem named Thomas Spencer, who came therewith direct from Canada, whither he had gone as a secret emissary to obtain information. Spencer stated that he had been present at a council held at the Indian castle of Cassassenny, at which Colonel Claus presided.* According to Thomas's relation, Colonel Claus strongly urged the Indians to join the expedition into the Mohawk Valley, by the western approach; boasting of the strength of the army under Burgoyne, which had gone against Ticonderoga, and the number of Indians with them, before whom he assured them Ticonderoga would fall. The Oneida sachem farther informed the people that Sir John Johnson and Colonel Claus were then at Oswego with their families, with seven hundred Indians and four hundred regular troops. There were also six hundred Tones on one of the islands above Oswegatchie preparing to join them and Colonel Butler was to arrive at Oswego on the 14th of July from Niagara, to hold a council with the Six Nations, to all of whom he would offer the hatchet to join them and strike the Americans. Thomas thereupon con-
* Colonel Daniel Claus, a brother-in-law of Sir John Johnson, had either superseded Guy Johnson as Indian superintendent in Canada, or been appointed & deputy.
cluded his communication by urging an immediate march to the assistance of Fort Schuyler, representing, among other things, that the successful advance of the enemy would compel the friendly Indians either to fly or to join the ranks of the invaders.
The counsel of the faithful Oneida was neither early enough, nor was it seconded with sufficient promptitude on the part of the inhabitants. Indeed, it must be confessed that, as the storm of war rolled onward, gathering at once from different directions, and threatening daily to break upon them with increasing fury, many of the yeomen who had hitherto born themselves nobly began to falter. A spirit of disaffection had also been more widely diffused among the settlements than could have been supposed from the previous patriotic conduct of the people, while treason lurked in many places where least suspected.
As early as the 10th of April, Colonel Robert Van Rensselaer wrote to a friend that the chairman of the County Committee had applied to him for the assistance of his militia to quell an insurrection of the Loyalists in Ballston; but such was the condition of his own regiment, that he was obliged to decline the request. The spirit of disaffection had become so prevalent among his men, that numbers of them had taken the oath of secrecy and allegiance to Great Britain. However, he added that seventeen of the villains had been arrested by the vigilance of the officers, and were then in confinement; and a hope was indulged of being able to detect the whole. Early in the following month the residue of the Roman Catholic Scotch settlers in the neighbourhood of Johnstown ran off to Canada, together with some of the loyalist Germans, all headed by two men named M'Donald, who had been permitted by General Schuyler to visit their families. The fact that the wives and families of the absconding Loyalists were holding" communication with them, and administering to their subsistence on the outskirts of the settlements, had suggested their arrest, and removal to a place of safety, to the number of four hundred-a measure that was approved by General Herkimer and his officers. Alarming reports of various descriptions were continually in circulation, and the inhabitants were harassed beyond measure by the necessity of performing frequent tours of military duty, acting as scouts and reconnoitring parties, and standing, some of them as sentinels, around their fields, while others did the labour. No neighbourhood felt secure, and all were apprehensive that the whole country would be ravaged by the Indians; while parties of the disaffected were continually stealing away to augment the ranks of the enemy. Thus circumstanced, and at the very moment when they were called upon to re-enforce Fort Schuyler, the committees both of Palatine and Schoharie, feeling that they were not strong enough even for self-defence, were calling upon the Council of Safety at Albany to send additional forces for their protection. On the 18th of July, General Schuyler wrote to the Hon. Pierre Van Courtlandt, from Saratoga, and again on the 31st from Port Edward, to the same effect. "I am exceedingly chagrined," he says, "at the pusillanimous spirit which prevails in the county of Tryon. I apprehend much of it is to be attributed to the infidelity of the leading persons of that quarter. If I had one thousand regular troops, in addition to those now above and on the march, I should venture to keep only every third man of the militia, and would send them down."
The complaints of General Schuyler were not without just foundation, as the reader has already seen. Indeed, both regulars and militia in Tryon county seemed, for the moment, to have lost all the high qualities of soldiers or citizens. Of two hundred militiamen ordered to muster and join the garrison of Fort Schuyler, only a part obeyed; while two companies of regular troops, receiving the like orders, entered upon the service with great reluctance, and not without urging various excuses, complaining that service in scouting parties had unfitted them for garrison duty. Under circumstances of such discouragement, it was a time of peculiar trial to the officers and committees of safety. Tryon county had early espoused the cause of freedom, and apparently with greater unanimity than any other county in the state ; and the extensive defection, or criminal apathy, which we have just been contemplating, was altogether unexpected. But a crisis was approaching which necessity soon obliged them to meet. Accordingly, on the 17th of July, General Herkimer issued a patriotic proclamation to the inhabitants of the county, announcing the gathering of the enemy at Oswego, "Christians and savages," to the number of two thousand strong, with the intention of invading the frontier, and calling upon the people, en masse, to be "ready at a moment's warning to repair to the field, with arms and accoutrements, on the approach of the enemy. Those in health, from 16 to 60 years of age, were designated for actual service; while those above 60 years of age, or invalids, were directed to arm for the defence of the women and children at whatever place they might be gathered in for safety. Concerning the disaffected, and those who might refuse to obey the orders, it was directed in the proclamation that they should be arrested, their arms secured, and themselves placed under guard to join the main body. All the members of the committee, and all those who, by reason of having formerly held commissions, had become exempts from service, were invited to repair to the rendezvous, and aid in repulsing the foe: " not doubting that the Almighty Power, upon our humble prayers and sincere trust in Him, will then graciously succour our arms in battle for our just cause, and victory cannot fail on our side."
The Oneida Indians, who were sincerely disposed to favour the cause of the United States, but who, pursuant to the humane policy of Congress, and the advice of General Schuyler, had determined to preserve their neutrality, beheld the approaching invasion from Oswego with no small degree of apprehension. The course they had marked out for themselves, as they were well aware, was viewed with displeasure by their Mohawk brethren, while the other members of their confederacy were obviously inclined to side with their " Uncle."* Living, moreover, in the immediate neighbourhood of Fort Schuyler, where St. Leger's first blow must be struck, they were not a little troubled in the prospect of what might happen to themselves.
The certainty that the invaders were approaching, the earnestness of the appeals of the committee to the patriotism of the people, the influence of the proclamation of the German general, who was a much better man than officer, save only in the single attribute of courage ; and, above all, the positive existence of a common danger from which there was no escape, were circumstances, together, not without their effect. And although the eleventh hour had arrived, the militia, and all upon whom the call to arms had been made, now began to move with a degree of alacrity, and an exhibition of spirit that went far to atone for the unpatriotic, if not craven, symptoms already noticed.
Meantime, having completed his organization at Oswego, General St. Leger commenced his march upon Fort Schuyler, moving by the route already indicated, though with great circumspection. The name of this place of rendezvous has already recurred more than once or twice in the preceding
* In the Six Nations, the Mohawks-the head tribe-were called " Uncle." The Oneidas were the " elder brother," &c.
pages. Its position was important, and it had been a place of renown in the earlier wars of the colony. The river bearing the same name, which here pours northwardly into Lake Ontario, is the outlet both of the Oneida and Seneca Rivers, through which, and their tributary streams, it is connected with the chain of small lakes bearing the names of Oneida, Cazenovia, Skaneateles, Owasco, Cayuga, Seneca, and Canandaigua. Its estuary, of course, forms the natural opening into the rich district of country surrounding those lakes, which, down to the period of the present history, contained the principal towns of four of the Five Nations of Indians. During the wars between the French and Five Nations, Oswego was repeatedly occupied by the armies of the former. It was here that Count Frontenac landed on his invasion of the Onondaga country in 1693 ; at which time, or subsequently, a considerable military work was erected on the western side of the river. During the war with France, which was closed in America by the conquest of Canada, it was in the occupancy of the Provincials and English. The expedition, destined to descend the St. Lawrence upon Montreal, was assembled at this point in 1759, after the fall of Niagara, under General Shirley and Sir William Johnson. The army was encamped here several weeks, and finally broke up without attempting its main object, owing, as Sir William Johnson intimates in his private diary, to a want of energy on the part of Shirley. After the fall of Quebec and Montreal into the hands of the English, a battalion of the 55th regiment was stationed at Oswego, under Major Duncan, a brother of the naval hero of Camperdown. A new and far more formidable work was constructed upon the eastern, or northeastern promontory, formed by the embouchure of the river into the lake. The new position was far better chosen for a fortress than the old; and, ultimately, before the Britons were dispossessed of it
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by the Americans, it became a work of somewhat formidable strength and dimensions. The situation is one of the most beautiful that can be imagined; and, during the two or three years in which Major Duncan was in command, by the cultivation of a large garden, the laying out and improving of a bowling-green, and other pleasure grounds, it was rendered a little paradise in the wilderness.
All told, the army of St. Leger consisted of seventeen hundred men, Indians included. These latter were led by Thayendanegea. The advance of the main body was formed of Indians, marching in five Indian columns-that is, in single files, at large distances from each other, and four hundred and sixty paces in front of the line. From these columns of Indians, files were stretched at a distance of ten paces from each other, forming a line of communication with the advanced guard of the line, which was one hundred paces in front of the column. The right and left flanks were covered by Indians at one hundred paces, forming, likewise, lines of communication with the main body. The king's regiment moved from the left by Indian file, while the 34th moved in the same order from the right. The rear guard was formed of regular troops; while the advance guard, composed of sixty marksmen, detached from Sir John Johnson's regiment of Royal Greens, was led by Sir John's brother-in-law, Captain Watts. Each corps was likewise directed to have ten chosen marksmen in different parts of its line, in case of attack, to be pushed forward to any given point, as circumstances might require. From these extraordinary precautions, it may well be inferred that General St. Leger, who probably acted much under the advice of Sir John Johnson and the refugee Provincials, who must have been best acquainted with the country and the character of the enemy they were going to encounter, was not a little apprehensive of an attack by surprise while on his march.
In addition to the arrangements already indicated, a detachment from the 8th regiment, with a few Indians, was sent a day or more in advance, under the command of Lieutenant Bird. This officer pushed forward with spirit, but was somewhat annoyed by the insubordination and independent action of his allies.
On the 3d of August, Bird wrote back to his general that no savages would advance with him except Henriques, a Mohawk, and one other of the Six Nations, an old acquaintance of his. The letter continues: "Those two, sir, I hope to have the honour to present to you. A savage, who goes by the name of Commodore Bradley, was the chief cause of their not advancing today. Twelve Messesaugues came up two or three hours after my departure. Those, with the scout of fifteen I had the honour to mention to you in my last, are sufficient to invest Fort Stanwix, if you favour me so far as not to order to the contrary."
The investment of the fort was made by Lieutenant Bird forthwith, Brant arriving to his assistance at the same time. But the result of the siege that followed proved that the British commander had grievously miscalculated the spirit of the garrison of Fort Stanwix in his anticipations of a speedy capitulation. Still, his prudential order, the object of which was to prevent an unnecessary sacrifice of life at the hands of his Indian allies, calculating, of course, upon an easy victory, was not the less commendable on that account.
The situation of Fort Stanwix itself-or, rather, Fort Schuyler, as it must now be called-next demands attention. At the beginning of the year, as we have already seen, the post was commanded by Colonel Elmore, of the state service. The term of that officer expiring in April, Colonel Peter Gansevoort, also of the state troops, was designated as Colonel Elmore's successor, by an order from General Gates, dated the 26th of that month. Notwithstanding the labours of Colonel Drayton in repairing the works the preceding year, Colonel Gansevoort found them in such a state of dilapidation, that they were not only indefensible, but untenable. A brisk correspondence ensued between that officer and General Schuyler upon the subject, from which it is manifest that, to say nothing of the miserable condition of his defences, with the prospect of an invasion from the west before him, his situation was in other respects sufficiently deplorable. He had but a small number of men, and many of those were sick by reason of destitution. Added to all which, was the responsibility of the Indian relations confided to him by special order of General Schuyler on the 9th of June.
Colonel Marinus Willett was soon afterward directed to join the garrison at Fort Schuyler with his regiment, and most fortunate was the selection of such an officer as Willett to co-operate with such another as Gansevoort; since all the skill, and energy, and courage of both were necessary for the situation. The work itself was originally a square fort, with four bastions, surrounded by a ditch of considerable width and depth, with a covert way and glacis around three of its angles ; the other being sufficiently secured by low, marshy ground. In front of the gate there had been a drawbridge, covered by a salient angle raised in front of it on the glacis. In the centre of the ditch a row of perpendicular pickets had been erected, with rows of horizontal pickets fixed around the ramparts under the embrasures. But, since the conclusion of the French war, the fort had fallen into decay, the ditch was filled up, and the pickets had rotted and fallen down ;* nor had any suitable progress been made in its reparation. Immediate exertions, ener-
* Willett's Narrative.
getic and unremitting, were necessary to repair, or, rather, to renew and reconstruct, the works, and place them in a posture of defence, should the longanticipated invasion ensue from that quarter. A more correct idea of the wretched condition of the post, even down to the beginning of July, may be formed from the annexed letter :*
COLONEL GANSEVOORT TO GENERAL SCHUYLER.
" Fort Schuyler, July 4th, 1777.
"SIR,
" Having taken an accurate review of the state of the garrison, I think it is incumbent on me to inform your excellency by express of our present circumstances. Every possible, assistance is given to Captain Marquizee to enable him to carry on such works as are deemed absolutely necessary for the defence of the garrison. The soldiers are constantly at work; even such of them as come off guard are immediately turned out to fatigue. But I cannot conceal from your excellency the impossibility of attending fully to all the great objects pointed out in the orders issued to the commanding officer on the station, without farther assistance. Sending out sufficient parties of observation, felling the timber into Wood Creek, clearing the road from Fort Dayton, which is so embarrassed in many parts as to be impassable, and prosecuting, at the same time, the internal business of the garrison, are objects of the greatest importance, which should, if possible, be immediately considered. But while no exertions compatible with the circumstances we are in, and necessary to give your excellency satisfaction with respect to all these interesting matters, shall be omitted, I am very sensible it is not in our power to get over some capital obstructions without a re-enforcement. The enclosed return, and the difficul-
* MS. copy, preserved among General Gansevoort's papers.
R3
ties arising from the increasing number of hostile Indians, will show to your excellency the grounds of my opinion. One hundred and fifty men would be needed speedily and effectually to obstruct Wood Creek ; an equal number will be necessary to guard the men at work in felling and hauling of timber. Such a deduction from our number, together with smaller deductions for scouting parties, would scarcely leave a man in the garrison, which might therefore be easily surprised by a contemptible party of the enemy. The number of inimical Indians increases. On the affair of last week only two made their appearance. Yesterday a party of at least forty, supposed to be Butler's emissaries, attacked Ensign Sporr with sixteen privates, who were out on fatigue, cutting turf about three quarters of a mile from the fort. One soldier was brought in dead and inhumanly mangled; two were brought in wounded, one of them slightly, and the other mortally. Six privates and Mr. Sporr are missing. Two parties were immediately sent to pursue the enemy, but they returned without being able to come up with them. This success will, no doubt, encourage them to send out a greater number; and the intelligence they may possibly acquire will probably hasten the main body destined to act against us in these parts. Our provision is greatly diminished by reason of the spoiling of the beef, and the quantities that must be given from time to time to the Indians. It will not hold out above six weeks. Your excellency will perceive, in looking over Captain Savage's return of the state of the atillery, that some essential articles are very scarce. As a great number of the gun-bullets do not suit the firelocks, some bullet-moulds of different sizes for casting others would be of great advantage to us. Our stock of powder is absolutely too little; a ton, in addition to what we have, is wanted, as the lowest proportion for the shot we have on hand. We Will, notwithstanding every difficulty, exert ourselves to the utmost of our power; and if your excellency will be pleased to order a speedy re-enforcement, with a sufficient supply of provision and ammunition to enable us to hold out a siege, we will, I hope, by the blessing of God, be able to give a good account of any force that will probably come against us."
The picture is gloomy enough; and was rendered the more so from the mistakes of the engineer, a Frenchman, who had been employed by General Schuyler, and whom it was ultimately found necessary to arrest and send back to headquarters. Colonel Willett had, from the first, doubted the capacity of Marquizee, and after his dismissal the work I proceeded, for the most part, under his own immediate direction.
The garrison had likewise other difficulties to encounter. With the gathering of St. Leger's motley forces at Oswego, preparatory to his descent upon the Mohawk, the Indians, as has already been seen by Gansevoort's letter, began to appear in scouting parties in the circumjacent forests. The utmost caution was, therefore, necessary on leaving the fort even for a short distance. It was during this critical period that the familiar incident of Captain Gregg and his faithful dog occurred.
According to the narrative of President Dwight, it appears that Gregg and his companion, had been seduced into a fatal disobedience of orders by the clouds of pigeons appearing in the adjoining woods. Immediately upon their fall the Indians rushed upon them for their scalps, which they took, giving each a simultaneous cut upon the head with their tomahawks. The corporal had been killed by the shot, but Captain Gregg was only wounded.* Feigning
* It has been asserted in history that St. Leger encouraged these isolated murders by large bounties for scalps. Twenty dollars is said to have been the price he paid ; but his despatch to Lieutenant Bird, before cited, does not corroborate the charge of such inhumanity. That despatch was a private document, moreover, not written for the light, or for effect, and must therefore be received as true. It was found among Colonel Gansevoort's papers.
death, however, he had the presence of mind, and the fortitude, to submit to the subsequent torture, without betraying himself by a groan or the quivering of a muscle. The Indians departing immediately, Captain Gregg crawled to his lifeless companion, and pillowed his head upon his body; while his faithful dog ran to a place at no great distance thence, where two men were engaged in fishing, and, by his imploring looks and significant actions, induced them to follow him to the spot where lay his wounded master. Hastening to the fort, the fisherman reported what they had seen, and a party of soldiers being forthwith despatched to the place, the bodies of the wounded and the dead were speedily brought into the garrison, as we have seen from the colonel's official account.
Captain Gregg recovered and resumed his duties, and having served to the end of the war, lived many years afterward.
Another tragic incident occurred at nearly the same time. About noon, on the third of July, the day being perfectly clear, Colonel Willett was startled from his siesta by the report of musketry. Hastening to the parapet of the glacis, he saw a little girl running with a basket in her hand, while the blood was trickling down her bosom. On investigating the facts, it appeared that the girl, with two others, was picking berries, not two hundred yards from the fort, when they were fired upon by a party of Indians, and two of the number killed. Happily, she who only was left to tell the tale was but slightly wounded. One of the girls killed was the daughter of an invalid who had served many years in the British artillery. He was entitled to a situation in Chelsea Hospital, but had preferred rather to remain in the cultivation of a small piece of ground at Fort Stanwix, than again to cross the ocean.
By the middle of July, the Indians hovering about the fort became so numerous and so bold as to occasion great annoyance. Large parties of soldiers only could venture abroad on the most pressing emergencies ; and even one of these was attacked, several of its numbers being killed and wounded, and the officer in command taken prisoner. The force of the garrison, at this time, consisted of about five hundred and fifty men ; ill supplied, as we have already seen, both with provisions and munitions of war. Fortunately, however, on the 3d of August, the very day of the investiture of the fort by the advance of St. Leger's army under Thayendanegea and Bird, Lieutenant-colonel Mellon, of Colonel Weston's regiment, arrived with two hundred men, and two batteaux of provisions and military stores. Not a moment was lost in conveying these opportune supplies into the fort. Delay would, indeed, have been dangerous ; for at the instant the last loads arrived at the fort, the enemy appeared on the skirt of the forest, so near to the boats, that the captain who commanded them became their prisoner.
The command of Colonel Gansevoort now consisted of seven hundred and fifty men, all told; and upon examination it was ascertained that they had provisions for six weeks, with fixed ammunition enough for the small arms. But for the cannon they were lamentably deficient, having barely enough for nine rounds per diem during the period specified. A besieging army was before the fort, and its garrison was without a flag! But as necessity is the mother of invention, they were not long thus destitute. Stripes of white were cut from ammunition shirts; blue from a camblet cloak captured from the enemy; while the red was supplied from such odds and ends of clothes of that hue as were at hand.
Such was the condition of Fort Schuyler at the commencement of the memorable siege of 1777 : an event, with its attending circumstances, forming an important feature in the Northern border warfare of the Revolution. Colonel St. Leger himself arrived before the fort on the 3d of August, with his whole force, a motley collection of British regulars, Hessian auxiliaries, New-York Loyalists, usually denominated " Johnson's Greens," together with numbers of the Canadians, and the Indians under Thayendanegea. Sir John Johnson, and Colonels Claus and Butler, were also engaged with him in the expedition. A flag was sent into the fort on the morning of that day, with a copy of a rather pompous proclamation from St. Leger, which, it was probably supposed, from its vaunting threats and lavish promises, might produce a strong impression upon the garrison. The object of his address was to hold forth security, and not depredation; he offered employment to those who would join his standard ; security to the infirm and industrious ; and payment in coin for all the supplies the people would bring to his camp.
This manifesto, however, produced no effect, then or afterward. -The siege had been anticipated, and the brave garrison, officers and men, had counted the cost, and determined to defend the fortress to the last. Accordingly, hostilities commenced actively on the morning of the following day. The Indians, concealing themselves behind clumps of shrubbery and stumps of trees, annoyed the men who were employed in raising the parapets not a little with their rifles. Several were wounded; and it was found necessary immediately to station sharp-shooters at suitable points, to watch opportunities, and fire in return. The 5th was spent in much the same manner, with the addition of the throwing of a few shells by the enemy, several of which fell within the fort, and some in the barracks. On the evening of this day, soon after it was dark, the Indians, who were at least one thousand in number, spread themselves through the woods, completely encircling the fort, and commenced a terrible yelling, which was continued at intervals the greater part of the night.
Having thus commenced his operations, Colonel St. Leger found means of conveying the intelligence to General Burgoyne, not for a moment anticipating the distressing circumstances in which the Northern commander-in-chief already found himself involved, though but midway in the career of victory. Harassed incessantly by the foes he had vanquished; unable to obtain supplies, except by sending back for them to Fort George, in which service his troops were already greatly fatigued; not one third of his horses arrived from Canada; the roads excessively bad, and rendered all but impassable by a deluge of rain; with only four days' provisions on hand, the vaunting general, who had boasted in the British capital that with ten thousand men he could march through the whole rebel country at pleasure, already found himself in an unenviable situation. But on learning the advance of General St. Leger, he instantly and justly considered that a rapid movement forward, at this critical juncture, would be of the utmost importance. If the retreating Americans should proceed up the Mohawk with a view of relieving Port Schuyler, in the event of St. Leger's success against that place they would place themselves between two fires ; or perhaps Burgoyne supposed that, were such a movement to be made on the part of the Americans, he might yet throw his army between them and Albany, and thus compel them either to stand a general engagement or to strike off to the right, and, by recrossing the Hudson higher up, secure a retreat into New-England. If, on the other hand, the Americans should abandon Fort Schuyler to its fate, and themselves fall back upon Albany, he argued that the Mohawk country would, of course, be entirely laid open to him, his junction with St. Leger established, and the combined army be at liberty to select its future line of operation. But his supplies were inadequate to such an extensive operation, and his army was too weak to allow him to keep up such a chain of posts as would enable him to bring them up daily from the depot at Lake George. With a view, therefore, of obtaining immediate relief, and of opening a new source of supply, especially of cattle, from the upper settlements of New-England, the expedition to Bennington, the place of deposite of provisions for the Provincial forces, was planned, and committed to a detachment of the Hessian troops, under Colonel Baum, for execution. The signal failure of this expedition was calculated still farther both to embarrass and depress the invaders; while the brilliant success of the militia under General Starke on that occasion, proving, as it had done, that neither English nor German troops were invincible, revived the drooping spirits of the disheartened, reinspired the people with confidence of ultimate success, and was the source of universal exultation.
The progress of events brings us back to the lower Valley of the Mohawk. No sooner was the advance of St. Leger upon Fort Schuyler known to the committee and officers of Tryon county, than General Herkimer, in conformity with the proclamation heretofore cited, summoned the militia of his command to the field, for the purpose of marching to the succour of the garrison. Notwithstanding the despondency that had prevailed in the early part of the summer, the call was nobly responded to, not only by the militia, but by the gentlemen of the county, and most of the members of the committee, who entered the field either as officers or private volunteers. The fears so generally and so recently indulged seemed all to have vanished with the arrival of the invader, and the general soon found himself at the head of between eight hundred and a thousand men, all eager for action and impatient of delay. Their place of rendezvous was Fort Dayton (German Flatts), in the upper section of the Mohawk Valley, and the most beautiful. The regiments were those of Colonels Klock, Visscher, Cox, and one or two others, augmented by volunteers and volunteer officers, who were pushing forward o as though determined at all hazards to redeem the character of the county. Indeed, their proceedings were by far too impetuous, since they hurried forward in their march without order or precaution, without adequate flanking parties, and without reconnoitring the ground over which they were to pass. They moved from Fort Dayton on the 4th, and on the 5th reached the neighbourhood of Oriskany,* where they encamped. From this point an express was sent forward by General Herkimer to apprize Colonel Gansevoort of his approach, and to concert measures of co-operation. The arrival of the express at the fort was to be announced by three successive discharges of cannon, the report of which, it was supposed, would be distinctly heard at Oriskany, only eight miles distant. Delays, however, intervened, so that the messengers did not reach the fort until ten or eleven o'clock on the following morning; previous to which, the camp of the enemy being- uncommonly silent, a portion of their troops had been observed by the garrison to be moving along the edge of the woods down the river, in the direction of the Oriskany Creek. The concerted signals were immediately fired; and as the proposition of Herkimer was to force a passage to
* Probably the site of Whitestown One of the MS. narratives in the author's possession says they crossed the river at old Fort Schuyler (now Utica).
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the fort, arrangements were immediately made by Colonel Gansevoort to effect a diversion of the enemy's attention, by making a sally from the fort upon the hostile camp; for which purpose two hundred men were detailed, consisting one half of Gansevoort's and one half of the Massachusetts troops, and one fieldpiece, an iron three-pounder. The execution of the enterprise was intrusted to Colonel Willett.
It appears that on the morning of that day, which was the 6th of August, General Herkimer had misgivings as to the propriety of advancing any farther without first receiving re-enforcements. His officers, however, were eager to press forward. A consultation was held, in which some of the officers manifested much impatience at any delay, while the general still urged them to remain where they were until re-enforcements could come up, or at least until the signal of a sortie should be received from the fort. High words ensued, during which Colonels Cox and Paris, and many others, denounced their commander to his face as a Tory and a coward. The brave old man calmly replied that he considered himself placed over them as a father, and that it was not his wish to lead them to any difficulty from which he could not extricate them. Burning, as they now seemed, to meet the enemy, he told them roundly that they would run at his first appearance. But his remonstrances were unavailing. Their clamour increased, and their reproaches were repeated, until, stung by imputations of cowardice and a want of fidelity to the cause, and somewhat irritated, withal, the general immediately gave the order, " March on!" The words were no sooner heard than the troops gave a shout, and moved, or, rather, rushed forward. They marched forward in files of two deep, preceded by an advanced guard and keeping flanks upon each side.
Having, by 10 o'clock, proceeded rapidly forward to the distance of only two or three miles, the guards, both front and flanks, were suddenly shot down, the forest rang with the war-whoops of a savage foe, and in an instant the greater part of the division found itself in the midst of a formidable ambuscade. Colonel St. Leger, it appeared, having heard of the advance of General Herkimer, in order to prevent an attack in his intrenchments, had detached a division of Sir John Johnson's regiment of Greens, under Sir John's brother-in-law, Major Watts, Colonel Butler with his rangers, and Joseph Brant with a strong body of Indians, to intercept his approach.* With true Indian sagacity, Thayendanegea had selected a position admirably fitted for his purpose, which was to draw the Americans, whom he well knew to be approaching in no very good military array, into an ambuscade. The locality favoured his design. There was a deep ravine crossing the path which Herkimer, with his undisciplined array, was traversing, "sweeping towards the east in a semicircular form, and bearing a northern and southern direction. The bottom of this ravine was marshy, and the road crossed it by means of a causeway. The ground, thus partly enclosed by the ravine, was elevated and level. The ambuscade was laid upon the high ground west of the ravine."
The enemy had disposed himself adroitly, in a circle, leaving only a narrow segment open for the admission of the ill-starred Provincials on their approach. The stratagem was successful. Unconscious of the presence of the foe, Herkimer, with his whole army excepting the rear-guard, composed of Colonel Visscher's regiment, found himself en-
* In every account of this battle which has fallen under the author's observation, excepting that of Colonel Willett, Sir John Johnson is made the British commander at this battle. He was not in it at all, as will appear a few pages forward. Even the cautious and inquisitive President Dwight falls into the error, and carries it through his whole account.
compassed at the first fire, the enemy closing up the gap at the instant of making himself known. By thus early completing the circle, the baggage and ammunition wagons, which had just descended into the ravine, were cut off and separated from the main body, as also was the regiment of Colonel Visscher, yet on the eastern side of the ravine; which, as their general had predicted, instantly and ingloriously fled, leaving their companions to their fate. They were pursued, however, by a portion of the Indians, and suffered more severely, probably, than they would have done had they stood by their fellows in the hour of need, either to conquer or to fall.
Being thrown into irretrievable disorder by the suddenness of the surprise and the destructiveness of the fire, which was close and brisk from every side, the division was for a time threatened with annihilation. At every opportunity, the savages, concealed behind the trunks of trees, darted forward with knife and tomahawk to ensure the destruction of those who fell; and many and fierce were the conflicts that ensued hand to hand. The veteran Herkimer fell, wounded, in the early part of the action, a musket ball having passed through and killed his horse, and shattered his own leg just below the knee. The general was placed upon his saddle, however, against the trunk of a tree for his support, and thus continued to order the battle. Colonel Cox, and Captains Davis and Van Sluyck, were severally killed near the commencement of the engagement; and the slaughter of their broken ranks, from the rifles of the Tories and the spears and tomahawks of the Indians, was dreadful. But even in this deplorable situation, the wounded general, his men dropping like leaves around him, and the forest resounding with the horrid yells of the savages, ringing high and wild over the din of battle, behaved with the most perfect firmness and composure. The action had lasted about forty-five minutes, in great disorder, before the Provincials formed themselves into circles in order to repel the attacks of the enemy, who were concentrating, and closing in upon them from all sides. From this moment the resistance of the Provincials was more effective, and the enemy attempted to charge with the bayonet. The firing ceased for a time, excepting the scattering discharges of musketry from the Indians; and as the bayonets crossed, the contest became a death struggle, hand to hand and foot to foot. Never, however, did brave men stand a charge with more dauntless courage, and the enemy for the moment seemed to recoil-just at the instant when the work of death was arrested by a heavy shower of rain, which suddenly broke upon the combatants with great fury. The storm raged for upward of an hour, during which time the enemy sought such shelter as might be found among the trees at a respectful distance ; for they had already suffered severely, notwithstanding the advantages in their favour.
During this suspension of the battle, both parties had time to look about, and make such new dispositions as they pleased for attack and defence, on renewing the murderous conflict. The Provincials, under the direction of their general, were so fortunate as to take possession of an advantageous piece of ground, upon which his men formed themselves into a circle, and, as the shower broke away, awaited the movements of the enemy. In the early part of the battle, the Indians, whenever they saw a gun fired by a militiaman from behind a tree, rushed upon and tomahawked him before he could reload. In order to counteract this mode of warfare, two men were stationed behind a single tree, one only to fire at a time, the other reserving his fire until the Indians ran up as before. The fight was presently renewed, and by the new arrangement, and the cool execution done by the fire of the militia forming
S3

the main circle, the Indians were made to suffer severely; so much so, that they began to give way, when Major Watts came up with a re-enforcement, consisting of another detachment of Johnson's Greens. These men were mostly Loyalists, who had fled from Tryon county, now returned in arms against their former neighbours. As no quarrels are so bitter as those of families, so no wars are so cruel and passionate as those called civil. Many of the Provincials and Greens were known to each other; and as they advanced so near as to afford opportunities of mutual recognition, the contest became, if possible, more of a death struggle than before. Mutual resentments, and feelings of hate and revenge, raged in their bosoms. The Provincials fired upon them as they advanced, and then springing like chafed tigers from their covers, attacked them with their bayonets and the butts of their muskets, or both parties, in closer contact, throttled each other and drew their knives; stabbing, and sometimes literally dying in one another's embrace.

At length a firing was heard in the distance from the fort, a sound as welcome to the Provincials as it was astounding to the enemy. Availing themselves of the hint, however, a ruse-de-guerre was attempted by Colonel Butler, which had well nigh proved fatal. It was the sending, suddenly, from the direction of the fort, a detachment of the Greens disguised as American troops, in the expectation that they might be received as a timely re-enforcement from the garrison. Lieutenant Jacob Sammons was the first to descry their approach, in the direction of a body of men commanded by Captain Jacob Gardenier, an officer who, during that memorable day, performed prodigies of valour. Perceiving that their hats were American, Sammons informed Captain Gardenier that succours from the fort were coming up. The quick eye of the captain detected the ruse, and he replied, "Not so: they are enemies: don't you see their green coats'" They continued to advance until hailed by Gardenier; at which moment one of his own soldiers, observing an acquaintance, and supposing him a friend, ran to meet him, and presented his hand. It was grasped, but with no friendly gripe, as the credulous fellow was dragged into the opposing line, and informed that he was a prisoner. He did not yield without a struggle ; during which Gardenier, watching the action and the result, sprang forward, and with a blow from his spear levelled the captor to the dust and liberated his man. Others of the foe instantly set upon him, of whom he slew the second and wounded a third. Three of the disguised Greens now sprang upon him, and one of his spurs becoming entangled in their clothes, he was thrown to the ground. Still contending, however, with almost superhuman strength, both of his thighs were transfixed to the earth by the bayonets of two of his assailants, while the third presented a bayonet to his breast, as if to thrust him through. Seizing this bayonet with his left hand, by a sudden wrench he brought its owner down upon himself, where he held him as a shield against the arms of the others, until one of his own men, Adam Miller, observing the struggle, flew to his rescue. As the assailants turned upon their new adversary, Gardenier rose upon his seat; and although his hand was severely lacerated by grasping the bayonet which had been drawn through it, seized his spear lying by his side, and, quick as lightning, planted it to the barb in the side of the assailant with whom he had been clinched. The man fell and expired, proving to be Lieutenant M'Donald, one of the Loyalist officers from Tryon county. All this occurred in far less time than is necessarily occupied by the relation. While engaged in the struggle, some of his own men called out to Gardenier, "For God's sake, captain, you are killing your own men!" He replied, "They are not our men-they are the enemy-fire away!" A deadly fire from the Provincials ensued, during which about thirty of the Greens fell slain, and many Indian warriors. The parties once more rushed upon each other with bayonet and spear, grappling and fighting with terrible fury; while the shattering of shafts and the clashing of steel mingled with every dread sound of war and death, and the savage yells, more hideous than all, presented a scene which can be more easily imagined than described. The unparalleled fortitude and bravery of Captain Gardenier infused fresh spirits into his men, some of whom enacted wonders of valour likewise. It happened during the melee, in which the contending parties were mingled in great confusion, that three of Johnson's Greens rushed within the circle of the Provincials, and attempted to make prisoner of a Captain Dillenback. This officer had declared he never would 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.

Such a conflict as this could not be continued long ; and the Indians, perceiving with what ardour the Provincials maintained the fight, and finding their own numbers sadly diminished, now raised the retreating cry of " Oonah!" and fled in every direction, under the shouts and hurrahs of the surviving Provincials, and a shower of bullets. Finding, moreover, from the firing at the fort, that their presence was necessary elsewhere, the Greens and Rangers now retreated precipitately, leaving the victorious militia of Tryon county masters of the field.*

* It is an extraordinary fact, that every historian who has written of the battle of Oriskany has recorded it as a defeat of the Provincials, from Marshall and Ramsay down, to say nothing of the British chroniclers, Such was also the author's impression until he undertook the present investigation. Captain Brant himself, in conversation with Samuel Woodrulf, Esq., admitted that they were the victors ; and all the written statements which the author has been able to procure from the survivors of that battle bear the same testimony.

Thus ended one of the severest, and, for the numbers engaged, one of the most bloody battles of the Revolutionary war. Though victorious, the loss of the Provincials was very heavy ; and Tryon county long had reason to mourn that day. Colonel Paris was taken prisoner by the enemy, and afterward murdered by the Indians. Several other prisoners were also killed by the savages, after they had been brought into Colonel Butler's quarters, and, as it was said, by the colonel's own tacit consent, if not permission in terms. But the general character of that officer forbids the imputation.* Major John Frey, of Colonel Klock's regiment, was likewise wounded and taken; and, to show the more than savage fury burning in the bosoms of the men brought into conflict on this occasion, the disgraceful fact may be added, that his own brother, who was in the British service, attempted to take his life after he had arrived in Butter's camp. The major saw his brother approaching in a menacing manner, and called out, "Brother, do not kill me! do you not know me?" But the infuriated brother rushed forward, and the major was only saved by the interposition of others. The whole number of the Provincial militia killed was two hundred, exclusive of wounded and lost as prisoners. Such, at least, was the American report. The British statements

* The late Doctor Moses Younglove, of Hudson, Columbia county, was the surgeon of General Herkimer's brigade. He was taken prisoner in this battle by a servant of Sir John Johnson's regiment. After his release, he made a deposition setting forth many grievous barbarities committed, both by the lndians and Tories, upon the prisoners who fell into their hands that day. They were cruelly tortured, several of them murdered ; and, as the doctor had reason to believe, some of them were subsequently taken to an island in Lake Ontario, and eaten. This is scarcely to be believed.

claimed that four hundred of the Americans were killed, and two hundred taken prisoners. Retaining possession of the field, the survivors immediately set themselves at work in constructing rude litters, upon which to bear off the wounded. Between forty and fifty of these, among whom was the commanding general, were removed ill this manner. The brave old man, notwithstanding the imprudence of the meaning-imprudence in allowing a premature movement at the dictation of his subordinates-had nobly vindicated his character for courage during the day. Though wounded, as we have seen, in the onset, he had borne himself during the six hours of conflict, under the most trying circumstances, with a degree of fortitude and composure worthy of all admiration. Nor was his example without effect in sustaining his troops amid the perils by which they were environed. At one time during the battle, while sitting upon his saddle raised upon a little hillock, being advised to select a less exposed situation, he replied, " I will face the enemy." Thus, " surrounded by a few men, he continued to issue his orders with firmness. In this situation, and in the heat of the onslaught, he deliberately took his tinder-box from his pocket, lit his pipe, and smoked with great composure." At the moment the soldiers were placing him on the litter, while adjusting the blankets to the poles, three Indians approached, and were instantly shot down by the unerring rifles of three of the militia. These were the last shots fired in that battle.

The loss of the enemy in this engagement was equally, if not more severe, than that of the Americans. The Greens and Rangers of Sir John Johnson and Colonel Butler must have suffered badly, although no returns were given in the contemporaneous accounts. Major Watts was severely wounded, and left on the field, as was supposed, among the slain. His death was reported by Colonel Willett, in his letter to Governor Trumbull, and by other authorities. But such was not the fact. Reviving from faintness produced by loss of blood, some hours after the action, he succeeded in crawling to a brook, where, by slaking his thirst, he was preserved from speedy death, and in the course of two or three days was found by some Indian scouts, and brought into St. Leger's camp.* But the Indians were the most roughly handled, having lost nearly one hundred warriors, several of whom were sachems in great favour. Frederic Sammons, who had been detached upon a distant scout previous to the battle, returning some days after, crossed the battle-field, where, he says, "I beheld the most shocking sight I had ever witnessed. The Indians and white men were mingled with one another, just as they had been left when death had first completed his work. Many bodies had also been torn to pieces by wild beasts."

It has been affirmed that the Indians were persuaded to join in this battle only with great difficulty, and not until they had been induced to sacrifice their reason to their appetites. It was very manifest that during the action many of them were intoxicated. The consequence was, that they suffered more severely than ever before. According to the

* This statement respecting Major Watts was derived from the late Mr. John Watts, of New-York, his brother. As mentioned in the text, St. Leger, in his official report, did not state the number of his own killed and wounded. Colonel Butler, however, wrote to Sir Guy Carleton, "Of the New-Yorkers, Captain M'Donald was killed, Captain Watts dangerously wounded, and one subaltern. Of the Rangers, Captains Wilson and Hare killed, and one private wounded. The Indians suffered much, having thirty-three killed and twenty-nine wounded ; the Senecas lost seventeen, among whom were several of their chief warriors, and had sixteen wounded. During the whole action, the Indians showed the greatest zeal for his majesty's cause ; and had they not been a little too precipitate, scarcely a rebel of the party would have escaped. Most of the leading rebels are cut off in the action, so that and farther attempts from that quarter are not to be expected. Captain Watts, of the Royal New-Yorkers, whose many amiable qualities deserved a better fate, lay, wounded in three places, upon the field two days before he was found."-Parliamentary Register.

narrative of Mary Jemison, the Indians (at least the Senecas) were deceived into the campaign. "They were sent for to see the British whip the rebels. They were told that they were not wanted to fight, but merely to sit down, smoke their pipes, and look on. The Senecas went to a man; but, contrary to their expectation, instead of smoking and looking on, they were obliged to fight for their lives; and in the end of the battle were completely beaten, with a great loss of killed and wounded."

The whole Indian force was led by Thayendanegea in person, " the great captain of the Six Nations," as he was then called; and as the Cayugas had now likewise joined the Mohawks in alliance with the arms of England-the Onondagas adopting a doubtful policy, but always, in fact, acting against the Provincials-he must have had a large force in the field. Of the Senecas alone, thirty-six were killed and a great number wounded. Captain Brant was accustomed, long years afterward, to speak of the sufferings of his " poor Mohawks" in that battle. Indeed, the severity with which they were handled on that occasion rendered them morose and intractable during the remainder of the campaign; and the unhappy prisoners were the first to minister with their blood to their resentment. "Our town," says Mary Jemison, " exhibited a scene of real sorrow and distress when our warriors returned and recounted their reverses, and stated the real loss they had sustained in the engagement. The mourning was excessive, and was expressed by the most doleful yells, shrieks, and howlings, and by inimitable gesticulations."

It was unfortunate that General Herkimer formed his line of march with so little judgment that, when attacked, his men were in no situation to support each other; and more unfortunate still, that he marched at all, so long before he could expect to hear the concerted signal for the diversion to be made in his favour by the sortie of Colonel Willett. The heavy rainstorm, moreover, which caused a suspension of the battle, had likewise the effect of delaying the sally for nearly an hour. It was made, however, as soon as it was practicable, and was not only completely successful, but was conducted with such ability and spirit by the gallant officer to whom it was confided, as to win for him the applause of the foe himself. In addition to the two hundred men detailed for this service, under Colonel Willett's command, as before stated, fifty more were added to guard the light iron three-pounder already mentioned.

With these troops, and this his only piece of mounted ordnance, Colonel Willett lost not a moment, after the cessation of the rain, in making the sally. The enemy's sentinels being directly in sight of the fort, the most rapid movements were necessary. The sentinels were driven in, and his advanced guard attacked, before he had time to form his troops. Sir John Johnson, whose regiment was not more than two hundred yards distant from the advanced guard, it being very warm, was in his tent, divested of his coat at the moment, and had not time to put it on before his camp was assailed. Such, moreover, were the celerity of Willett's movement and the impetuosity of the attack, that Sir John could not bring his troops into order, and their only resource was in flight. The Indian encampment was next to that of Sir John, and, in turn, was carried with equal rapidity. The larger portion of the Indians, and a detachment from the regiment of Sir John, were, at the very moment of this unexpected assault upon their quarters, engaged in the battle of Oriskany. Those who were left behind now betook themselves-Sir John and his men to the river, and the Indians to their natural shelter, the woods, the troops of Colonel Willett firing briskly upon them in their flight. The amount of spoil found in the enemy's camp was so great, that

VOL.I.-T

Willett was obliged to send hastily to the fort for wagons to convey it away. Seven of these vehicles were three times loaded and discharged in the fort, while the brave little Provincial band held possession of the encampments. Among the spoils thus captured, consisting of camp equipage, clothing, blankets, stores, &c., were five British stand

ards, the baggage of Sir John Johnson, with all his papers, the baggage of a number of other officers, with memoranda, journals, and orderly-books, containing all the information desirable on the part of the besieged. While Colonel Willett was returning to the fort, Colonel St. Leger, who was on the opposite side of the river, attempted a movement to intercept him. Willett's position, however, enabled him to form his troops so as to give the enemy a full fire in front, while at the same time he was enfiladed by the fire of a small fieldpiece. The distance was not more than sixty yards between them; and although St. Leger was not backward in returning the fire, his aim was, nevertheless, so wild as to be entirely without effect. The assailants returned into the fortress in triumph, without having lost a man; the British flags were hoisted on the flagstaff under the American; and the men, ascending the parapets, gave three as hearty cheers as were ever shouted by the same number of voices. Among the prisoners brought off by the victors was Lieutenant Singleton, of Sir John Johnson's regiment. Several Indians were found dead in their camp, and others were killed in crossing the river. The loss to the enemy, particularly in stores and baggage, was great; while the affair itself was of still more importance, from the new spirit of patriotic enthusiasm with which it inspired the little garrison. For this chivalrous exploit, Congress passed a resolution of thanks, and directed the commissary-general of military stores to procure an elegant sword, and present the same to Colonel Willett in the name of the United States.

General Herkimer did not long survive the battle. He was conveyed to his own house near the Mohawk River, a few miles below the Little Falls, where his leg, which had been shattered five or six inches below the knee, was amputated about ten days after the battle, by a young French surgeon in the army of General Arnold, and contrary to the advice of the general's own medical adviser, the late Doctor Petrie. But the operation was unskilfully performed, and it was found impossible by his attendants to stanch the blood. Colonel Willett called to see the general soon after the operation. He was sitting up in his bed, with a pipe in his mouth, smoking, and talking in excellent spirits. He died the night following that visit. His friend, Colonel John Roff, was present at the amputation, and affirmed that he bore the operation with uncommon fortitude. He was likewise with him at the time of his death. The blood continuing to flow-there being no physician in immediate attendance -and being himself satisfied that the time of his -departure was nigh, the veteran directed the Holy Bible to be brought to him. He then opened it and read, in the presence of those who surrounded his bed, with all the composure which it was possible for any man to exhibit, the thirty-eighth Psalm, applying it to his own situation. He soon afterward expired ; and it may well be questioned whether the annals of man furnish a more striking example of Christian heroism-calm, deliberate, and firm in the hour of death-than is presented in this remarkable instance. Of the early history of General Herkimer but little is known. It has been already stated that his family was one of the first of the Germans who planted themselves in the Mohawk Valley; and the massive stone mansion, yet standing at German Flatts, bespeaks its early opulence. He was an uneducated man, with, if possible, less skill in letters even than General Putnam, which is saying much. But he was, nevertheless, a man of strong and vigorous understanding, destitute of some of the essential requisites of generalship, but of the most cool and dauntless courage. These traits were all strikingly disclosed in the brief and bloody expedition to Oriskany. But he must have been well acquainted with that most important of all books-THE BIBLE. Nor could the most learned biblical scholar, lay or clerical, have selected a portion of the sacred Scriptures more exactly appropriate to the situation of the dying soldier than that to which he himself spontaneously turned. If Socrates died like a philosopher, and Rousseau like an unbelieving sentimentalist, General Herkimer died like a CHRISTIAN HERO. Congress passed a resolution requesting the Governor and Council of New-York to erect a monument, at the expense of the United States, to the memory of this brave man, of the value of five hundred dollars. This resolution was transmitted to the Governor of New-York, George Clinton, in a letter, from which the following passage is quoted: "Every mark of distinction shown to the memory of such illustrious men as offer up their lives for the liberty and happiness of their country, reflects real honour on those who pay the tribute,; and, by holding up to others the prospect of fame and immortality, will animate them to tread in the same path." Governor Clinton thus wrote to the committee of Tryon county on the occasion: "Enclosed you have a letter and resolves of Congress for erecting a monument to the memory of your late gallant general. While with you I lament the cause, I am impressed with a due sense of the great and justly merited-honour the continent has, in this instance, paid to the memory of that brave man." Such were the feelings of respect for the services and memory of the deceased entertained by the great men of that day. Sixty years have since rolled away, and the journal of Congress is the only monument, and the resolution itself the only inscription, which as yet testify the gratitude of the Republic to GENERAL NICHOLAS HERMER.