Border Wars of the American Revolution by William L. Stone

CHAPTER XII.
THE temporary pacification of the western part of the state, resulting from the events of which we have just closed the narrative, affords an opportunity for recurring to the invasion of Burgoyne, who was left in the mid career of victory, checked, it is true, by unexpected and increasing difficulties, until brought to a stand by the serious affair of Bennington, heretofore incidentally disposed of. On shifting the scene, however, from the head waters of the Mohawk to the upper districts of the Hudson, General Gates is again found in command of the Northern department, General Schuyler, to whose wise measures and indefatigable exertions the country was mainly indebted for arresting the progress of Burgoyne, and during whose command the victory of Bennington had been won by General Stark, having been most unjustly superseded by express resolution of Congress. There had, during the present year, been a very unwise, unworthy, and capricious interference, on the part of Congress, with the command of this department. On the 35th of March, without a reason assigned, General Gates had superseded General Schuyler, his superior officer, by order of Congress; and on the 22d of May, without any expressed motive, General Schuyler was restored to the command of that department. Again, on the 1st of August, it was resolved by Congress that General Schuyler should repair to headquarters, while the commander-in-chief was, by the same resolution, directed to order such general officer as he should think proper to assume the command in Schuyler's place. The day after the passage of that resolution, General Washington received a letter from the New-England delegation in Congress, suggesting the name of General Gates as the officer who would be most likely to restore harmony, order, and discipline, and to relieve our affairs in that quarter.* "We have, in a former chapter, referred to the prejudices existing against General Schuyler, and the causes of them. These had now become so strong, and the Eastern
* The original of this letter to Washington is in the handwriting of Samuel Adams, and is signed by the following names, in the order in which they here stand, viz. : John Adams, Nathaniel Folsom, Samuel Adams, Henry Marchant, Elbridge Gerry, Eliphalet Dyer, William Williams.
States, in particular, were so hostile to his longer continuance in the command, that even his friends acquiesced in the expediency, though not in the justice, of his removal.* General Schuyler himself, however, felt acutely the discredit of being recalled at the most critical and interesting period of the campaign; when the labour and activity of making preparations to repair the disasters of it had been expended by him, and when an opportunity was offered, as he observed, for that resistance and retaliation which might bring glory upon our arms. The commander-in-chief paid no heed to the advisory epistle from the New-England delegates, but in a respectful letter to the President of Congress, declined the honour of making the selection. Had he not thus excused himself, it is not presumption to intimate, that, influenced by the peculiar attitude which Gates had even then begun to assume, and acting, as Washington ever did, under the stern behests of conscience, he would have made a different selection from that proposed to him by the Eastern representatives, and which ultimately prevailed. General Gates, however, did not join the Northern army until the 19th of August; and as the time was not specified within which he was required to report himself at headquarters, General Schuyler was allowed to remain at the North, with the approbation both of Congress and the commander-in-chief, until after the campaign had been closed by the sur-
*The calumnies directed against St. Clair and Schuyler, in regard to the fall of Ticonderoga, were so gross as to exceed belief in their propa gation. These officers were denounced as traitors to the country, acting in concert with the enemy; and the ignorant and credulous were led to believe that they had received an immense treasure in silver balls, fired by Burgoyne into St. Clair's camp, and by his order picked up, and transmitted to Schuyler at Fort George. Wilkinison, who was Gates's adjutant-general, avers that respectable people questioned him "with much gravity as to the fact'. These slanders were, for factious purposes, countenanced by respectable men, and the consequence was general defection and desertion, in the early part of the summer ; so that, at one time, the Northern army was reduced to less than three thousand, and the militia to less than thirteen hundred, and these subject to no effectual restraint.
render of the British commander and his army. Nor were his exertions the less active, or his counsels the less freely proffered, in the cause of his country, because of the injustice by which his pride had been wounded.
After the evacuation of Fort Edward,* as mentioned in a former chapter, General Schuyler fell down the river to Stillwater, on the 3d of August, and began to intrench his camp there on the 4th. Burgoyne's ill-conceived expedition to Bennington, under Colonel Baum, deprived him of one sixth of his effective force on the 16th. It was not until near a month afterward, during which time the American army had been greatly strengthened at Stillwater, that Burgoyne was again prepared to advance. Having at length, by dint of almost, incredible labour, brought up from Fort George a supply of provisions for thirty days, and thrown a bridge of boats over the Hudson, the British commander, with his army, crossed on the 13th and 14th of September, and encamped on the heights and plains of Saratoga. On the night of the 17th, Burgoyne encamped within four miles of the American army, and about noon on the 19th advanced in full force against it, the latter having, in the mean time, advanced towards the enemy three miles above Stillwater. Burgoyne commanded his right wing in person, covered by General Frazer and Colonel Breyman, with the grenadiers and light infantry, who were posted along some high grounds on the right. The front and flanks were covered by Indians, Provincials, and Canadians. The enemy's left wing and artillery were commanded by Generals Phillips and Riedesel, who proceeded along the
* It was during a skirmish before Fort Edward, when the Americans were flying from a party of thirty or forty Indians, that the late General Matthew Clarkson, of New-York-then Major Clarkson, an aid to General Arnold-was wounded by a ball which passed through the muscular integuments of the throat. The wound was supposed to be fatal at the time, but he soon recovered.
great road. Colonel Morgan, who was detached to observe their motions, and to harass them as they advanced, soon fell in with their pickets in advance of their right wing, attacked them sharply, and drove them in. A strong corps was immediately detached by the enemy against Morgan, who, after a brisk engagement, was in turn compelled to give way. A regiment being ordered to the assistance of Morgan, whose riflemen had been sadly scattered by the vigour of the attack, the battle was renewed at about one o'clock, and was maintained with spirit, though with occasional pauses, for three hours, the commanders on both sides supporting and re-enforcing their respective parties. By four o'clock the battle became general, Arnold, with nine Continental regiments and Morgan's corps, having completely engaged the whole right wing of the enemy.* The contest, accidentally commenced in the first instance, now assumed the most obstinate and determined character. It was maintained four hours longer, the soldiers being often engaged hand to hand. The approach of night terminated the battle, the Americans retreating to their encampment, but not from other necessity than the darkness. The enemy were provided with artillery, but the ground occupied by the Americans would not allow the use of fieldpieces. The fluctuations of the battle were frequent during the day, and although the British artillery fell into the -hands of the Americans
* Holmes, who follows Stedman. General Wilkinson denies that Arnold shared much in this battle. He says, " Not a single general officer was on the field of battle on the 19th, until evening, when General Larned was ordered out. About the same time Generals Gates and Arnold were in front of the centre of the camp, listening to the peal of small arms, when Colonel Morgan Lewis, deputy quartermaster-general, returned from the held, and being questioned by the general, he reported the undecisive progress of the action ; at which Arnold exclaimed, 'By God, I will put an end to it,' and clapping spurs to his horse, galloped off at full speed. Colonel Lewis immediately observed to General Gates, * You had better order him back: the action is going well, and he may by some rash act do mischief.' I was instantly despatched, overtook, and remanded Arnold to camp,"-Memoirs, vol. i., chap. vi.
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at every alternate charge, the latter could neither turn them upon the enemy nor bring them off. The wood prevented the last, and the want of a match the first, as the lint-stock was invariably carried away, and the rapidity of the transitions did not allow the Americans time to provide one.
Both armies remained in the same positions until the beginning of October, each intrenching itself within lines and redoubts, which, in the most eligible positions, were strengthened with batteries. The engineer having the direction of the American works at Behmus's Heights was the celebrated Polish patriot, Thaddeus Kosciusko, who had also served in the same capacity at Ticonderoga.
The action of the 19th of September had again essentially diminished the strength of Burgoyne; added to which were the great and increasing difficulties of obtaining supplies, and the perpetual annoyances to which he was subjected by the American scouts, and still larger detachments, who were attacking his pickets, hanging upon his flanks, and cutting off his foraging parties. By the 4th of October his supplies were so far reduced that the soldiers were placed upon short allowance; and his position was in other respects becoming so critical, that, hearing nothing from Sir Henry Clinton, for whose co-operation from New-York he had been waiting since the battle of the 19th, the idea of advancing was relinquished, and instead thereof, discussions were held respecting the practicability of a retreat. This could only be done by first dislodging the Americans, whose forces, disciplined and undisciplined, now far outnumbered his own, from their posts on the heights. On the 4th of October, Burgoyne sent for Generals Phillips, Riedesel, and Frazer, to consult with them on the best measures to be taken. His project was to attack and attempt to turn the left wing of the Americans at once ; but the oilier -generals judged that it would be dangerous to leave their stores under so feeble a protection as eight hundred men, according to the proposition of their commander. A second consultation was held on the 5th, at which General Riedesel positively declared that the situation of the army had become so critical, that they must either attack and force the intrenchments of Gates, and thus bring about a favourable change of affairs, or recross the Hudson, and retreat upon Fort George. Frazer approved of the latter suggestion, and Phillips declined giving an opinion. General Burgoyne, to whom the idea of retreating was most unwelcome, declared that he would make, on the 7th, a reconnoissance as near as possible to the left wing of the Americans, with a view of ascertaining whether it could be attacked with any prospect of success. He would afterward either attack the army of Gates, or retreat by the route in the rear of Battenkill. This was his final determination, and dispositions were made accordingly.
Early in the afternoon of the 7th, General Burgoyne drew out fifteen hundred men for the purpose of making his proposed reconnoissance, which he headed himself, attended by Generals Phillips, Riedesel, and Frazer. They advanced in three columns towards the left wing of the American positions, entered a wheat-field, deployed into line, and then began cutting up the wheat for forage. The movement having been seasonably discovered, the centre advanced guard of the Americans beat to arms; the alarm was repeated throughout the line, and the troops repaired to the alarm posts. Colonel Wilkinson being at headquarters at the moment, was despatched to ascertain the cause of the alarm. He proceeded to within sixty or seventy rods of the enemy, ascertained their position, and returned, informing General Gates that they were foraging; attempting also to reconnoitre the American left, and likewise, in his opinion, offering battle. After a brief consultation, Gates said he would indulge them; and Colonel Morgan, whose rifle corps was formed in front of the centre, was directed "to begin the game."* At his own suggestion, however, Morgan was allowed to gain the enemy's right by a circuitous course, while Poor's brigade should attack his left. The movement was admirably executed: the New-York and New-Hampshire troops attacked the enemy's front and left wing with great impetuosity; while, true to his purpose, Morgan, just at the critical moment, poured down like a torrent from the hill, and attacked the enemy's right in front and flank. The attack was soon extended along the whole front of the enemy with great determination. Major Ackland, at the head of the grenadiers, sustained the attack of Poor with great firmness. But on his right the light infantry, in attempting to change front, being pressed with ardour by Colonel Dearborn, were forced to retire under a close fire, and in great disorder. They were re-formed by the Earl of Balcarras behind a fence in the rear of their first position ; but, being again attacked with great audacity in front and flanks by superior numbers, resistance became vain, and the whole line, commanded by Burgoyne in person, gave way, and made a precipitate and disorderly retreat to his camp. The right of Burgoyne had given way first, the retreat of which was covered by the light infantry and a part of the 24th regiment. The left wing, in its retreat, would inevitably have been cut to pieces but for the intervention of the same troops, performing in its behalf the same service that, a few moments before, they had done for the right. This retreat took place in exactly fifty-two minutes after the first shot was fired: the enemy leaving two twelve and six six-pounders on the field, with the loss of more
* General Burgoyne afterward stated to Wilkinson, in conversation, that his purpose on that day was only to reconnoitre and obtain forage, and that in half an hour, had his motives not been penetrated by Wilkinson and he not been attacked, he should have finished his observations and returned to his camp.
than four hundred officers and men, killed, wounded, and captured, and among them the flower of his officers, viz., General Frazer, Major Ackland,* Sir Francis Cook, and many others.
The British troops had scarcely entered their lines, when the Americans, led by General Arnold, pressed forward, and, under a tremendous fire of grapeshot and musketry, assaulted their works throughout their whole extent from right to left. Towards the close of the day, the enemy's intrenchments were forced by the left of the Americans, led by Arnold in person, who, with a few of his men, actually entered the works; but, his horse being killed, and the general himself badly wounded in the leg, they were forced to retire, and the approach of
* General Wilkinson gives an interesting incident respecting: Major Ackland. While pursuing the flying enemy, passing over killed and wounded, he heard a voice exclaim, " Protect me, sir, against this boy '" Turning his head, he saw a lad, thirteen or fourteen years of age, deliberately aiming at a wounded officer, lying in the angle of a wormfence. The purpose of the boy was arrested : the officer proved to be the brave Ackland, who had commanded the grenadiers, and was wounded in both legs. He was immediately sent to headquarters. The story of Major Ackland has been rendered familiar to all, even before escaping the nursery, by the interesting narrative of Lady Harriet, his wife, who was with the army, and who, two days after the battle, came to the American camp, under a flag, to join her husband. The incident, from the embellishments it received, was touching and romantic. When divested of its poetry, however, and reduced to the plain matter of fact, according to the statement of the late General Dearborn, which he authorized Wilkinson to publish in his memoirs, the affair was not so very extraordinary that it might not have been enacted by any other pretty woman, under the same circumstances, who loved her husband. Major Ackland had already been sent down to Albany, when Lady Harriet arrived at the camp of General Gates. She was treated with all possible courtesy, and permitted to follow and join him- Major Ackland was a gallant officer and a generous foe. While in New-York, on his parole, he did all in his power to favour the treatment of distinguished American prisoners. After his return to England, he sacrificed his life in defence of American honour. Having procured a regiment, at a dinner of military men, the courage of the Americans was questioned. He repelled the imputation with decision. High words ensued, in the course of which Ackland gave the lie direct to a subordinate officer named Lloyd. A meeting was the consequence, in which he was shot through the head. Lady Harriet lost her senses, and continued deranged two years ; after "which she married a gentleman named Brudenell, "who had accompanied her from the camp of Burgoyne, at Saratoga, to that of Gates, in search of her wounded husband.
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darkness induced them to desist from the attack. Meantime, on the left of Arnold's detachment, the Massachusetts troops, under Colonel Brooks, had been still more successful, having turned the enemy's right, and carried by storm the works occupied by the German reserve. Colonel Breyman, their commander, was killed, and his corps, reduced to two hundred men, and hotly pressed on all sides, was obliged to give way. This advantage was retained by the Americans, and darkness put an end to an action equally brilliant and important to the Continental arms. Great numbers of the enemy were killed, and two hundred prisoners taken. The loss of the Americans was inconsiderable.
On the morning of the 8th, before daybreak, the enemy left his position, and defiled into the plain, where his provisions were ; but was obliged to halt until the evening, because his hospital could not be sooner removed.* The Americans immediately moved forward, and took possession of the abandoned camp. Burgoyne having condensed his force upon some heights which were strong by nature, and covered in front by a ravine running parallel with the intrenchment of his late camp, a random fire of artillery and small arms was kept up through the day; particularly on the part of the enemy's sharp-shooters and Provincials, who were stationed in coverts of the ravine, which rendered their fire annoying to every person crossing their line of vision. It was by a shot from one of these lurking parties that General Lincoln, late in the day, received a severe wound in the leg, while riding near the line.
*Memoirs of the baroness de Riedesel. Of this lady General Wilkinson says, "I have more than once seen her charming blue eyes bedewed with tears at the recital of her sufferings. With two infant children, she accompanied her husband, Major-general the Baron De Riedesel, from German to England, from England to Canada, and from the last place to the termination of General Burgoyne's campaign, in which she suffered more than the horrors of the grave in their most frightful suspect." Her Memoirs were published in Berlin, in 1800. They are full of interest.
The gallant Frazer, who had been mortally wounded the day before, died at 8 o'clock on the morning of the 8th. On the evening of his fall, when it was rendered certain that he could not recover, he sent for General Burgoyne, and requested that he might be buried at 6 o'clock the following evening, on the crest of a hill upon which a breastwork had been constructed. It was a subject of complaint against Burgoyne, that, in order to comply with this request, he delayed his retreat, and thus contributed to the misfortunes of his army. Be that as it may, the dying soldier's request was observed to the letter. At the hour appointed, the body was borne to the hill that had been indicated, attended by the generals and their retinues ; the funeral service was read by the chaplain, and the corpse interred, while the balls of the American cannon were flying around and above the assembled mourners.*
It was evident, from the movements in the enemy's camp, that he was preparing to retreat; but the American troops having, in the delirium of joy consequent upon the victory, neglected to draw and eat their rations, being, withal, not a little fatigued with the two days' exertions, fell back to their camp, which had been left standing in the morning. Retreat was, indeed, the only alternative remaining to the British commander, since it was now quite cer-
*The Baroness Riedesel, from whose spirited Memoirs the circumstances of this funeral are drawn, states that General Gates protested afterward that, had he known what was going on, he would have stopped the fire immediately. It must have been s solemn spectacle, and General Burgoyne himself described it with his usual eloquence and felicity of expression: "The incessant cannonade during the solemnity; the steady attitude and unaltered voice with which the chaplain officiated, though frequently covered with dust, which the shot threw up on all sides of him; the mute, but expressive mixture of sensibility and indignation upon every countencance--these objects will remain tot he last of life upon the mind of every man who was present. The growing duskiness added to the scenery, and the whole marked a character of that juncture that would make one of the finest subjects for the pencil of a master that the field ever exhibited." State of the expedition from Canada, &c, &c, p. 169.
tain that he could not cut his way through the American army, and his supplies were reduced to a short allowance for five days. He accordingly commenced his retreat that night, but lingered by the way; so that on the 10th he was yet near Saratoga, where he took up a position. During this retreat he ordered the farmhouses to be burned by the way, among which was the elegant mansion of General Schuyler, with its mills and out-buildings. This conduct on the part of the British commander was viewed as alike disreputable and unnecessary.*
Well knowing that a farther retreat, with a view, if possible, of reaching his depot at Fort George, and escaping through the lakes, was now the only movement to which Burgoyne could have recourse to save the shattered remains of his army, Gates lost no time in throwing several strong detachments of troops into his rear. A division of fourteen hundred was stationed on the heights opposite the ford at Saratoga; two thousand in his rear, to prevent his retreat upon Fort Edward; and fifteen hundred at, a ford yet higher up. Apprehensive that he should be entirely penned up, Burgoyne sent forward a corps of artificers to repair the bridges; but these, though strongly guarded, were driven precipitately back. His thoughts were next directed to the opening of a passage by the way of Fort Edward; but the Americans had already repossessed themselves of that work, and were well provided with artillery. Thus environed with difficulties, which were increasing every hour, his effective force reduced to less than three thousand five hundred men-the American army increasing every moment, and now forming an almost entire circle around him-har-
* " The cruelties which mark the retreat of your army, in burning the gentlemen's and farmers* houses as it passed along, are almost, among civilized nations, without precedent; they should not endeavour to ruin those they could not conquer ; their conduct betrays more of the vindictive malice of the monk than the generosity of a soldier."-.Letter of Gates to Burgoyne, Oct. 12,1777.
assed at all points, especially by the sharp-shooters who hovered about him-Burgoyne was driven to the necessity of entering into a convention with General Gates, which was done by the unanimous consent of a general council of his officers. The preliminaries were soon adjusted, and on the 17th of October the royal army surrendered prisoners of war. At the opening of the campaign the army of Burgoyne numbered nine thousand two hundred and thirteen men. The number that laid down their arms was five thousand seven hundred and fifty-two. His Indian allies had all, or nearly all, abandoned him several days before.
On the same day that the articles of capitulation were carried into effect, Burgoyne, with his general officers, was received in the quarters of General Gates, and entertained by him at dinner. They were received with the utmost courtesy, and with the consideration due to brave but unfortunate men. The conversation was unrestrained, affable, and free.* Indeed, the conduct of Gates throughout, after the terms of the surrender had been adjusted, was marked with equal delicacy and magnanimity, as Burgoyne himself admitted in a letter to the Earl of Derby. In that letter the captive general particularly mentioned one circumstance, which he said exceeded all he had ever seen or read of on a like occasion. It was the fact that, when the British soldiers had marched out of their camp to the place where they were to pile their arms, not a man of the American troops was to be seen, General Gates having ordered his whole army out of sight, that not
* The first meeting of Burgoyne with Gates is thus described by Wilkinson: " General Gates; advised of Burgoyne's approach, met him at the head of his camp, Burgoyne in a rich naval uniform, and Gates in a plain blue frock ; when they had approached nearly within sword's length, they reined up and halted. I then named the gentlemen, and General Burgoyne, raising his hat most, gracefully, said, ' The fortune of war, General Gates, has made me your prisoner ;' to which the conqueror, returning a courtly salute, promptly replied, 'I shall always be ready to bear testimony that it has not been through any fault of your excellency.' "
one of them should be a spectator of the humiliation of the British troops, nor offer the smallest insult to the vanquished. This was a refinement of delicacy, and of military generosity and politeness, reflecting the highest credit upon the conqueror; and was spoken of by the officers of Burgoyne in the strongest terms of approbation.
Flushed with his fortuitous success, or, rather, eith the success attending his fortuitous position, Gates did not wear his honours with any remarkable meekness. On the contrary, his bearing, even towards the commander-in-chief, was far from respectful. He did not even write to Washington on the occasion until after a considerable time had elapsed. In the first instance, Wilkinson was sent as the bearer of despatches to Congress, but did not reach the seat of that body until fifteen days after the articles of capitulation had been signed; and three days more were occupied in arranging his papers before they were presented.* The first mention which Washington makes of the defeat of Burgoyne is contained in a letter written to his brother on the 18th of October, the news having been communicated to him by Governor Clinton. He spoke of the event again on the 19th, in a letter addressed to General Putnam. On the 25th, in a letter addressed to that officer, he acknowledges the receipt of a copy of the articles of capitulation from him; adding, that that was the first authentic intelligence he had received of the affair, and that he had begun to grow uneasy, and almost to suspect that the previous accounts were premature. And it was not until the 3d of November that Gates deigned to communicate to the commander-in-chief a word upon the subject, and then only incidentally, as though it were a matter of secondary importance.+
* 'It was on this occasion that one of the members made a motion in Congress that they should compliment Colonel Wilkinson with the gift of a pair of spurs."
+ All that Gates said upon the subject in the letter referred to was comprised in these words: " Congress having been requested immediately to transmit copies of all my despatches to them, I am confident your excellency has long ago received all the good news from this quarter." Two days before this, in a letter directed to Gates, Washington had administered one of those mild and dignified rebukes so very like himself. ln this letter, written in reference to a special mission of Colonel Hamilton to the North, the commander-in-chief said, "By this opportunity I do myself the pleasure to congratulate you on the signal success of the army under your command, in compelling General Burgoyne and his whole force to surrender themselves prisoners of war."
* * * * * * * " At the same time, I cannot but regret that a matter of such magnitude, and so interesting to our general operations, should have reached me by report only through the channel of letters not bearing that authenticity which the importance of it required, and which it would have received by a line under your signature, stating the simple facts."
General Schuyler -was in the camp with Gates at the time of the surrender, though without any personal command; and when Burgoyne, with his general officers, arrived in Albany, they were the guests of Schuyler, by whom they were treated with great hospitality. The Baroness de Riedesel speaks with great feeling of the kindness she received from General Schuyler on her first arrival in the camp of General Gates, and afterward at the hands of Mrs. Schuyler and her daughters in Albany. The urbanity of his manners, and the chivalric magnanimity of Ids character, smarting as he was under the extent and severity of his pecuniary losses, are attested by General Burgoyne himself, in his speech, in 1778, in the British House of Commons. He there declared that, by his orders, "a very good dwelling-house, exceeding large store-houses, great sawmills, and other out-buildings, to the value, altogether, perhaps of 10,000 pounds sterling,"belonging to General Schuyler, at Saratoga, were destroyed by fire a few days before the surrender. He said, farther, that one of the first persons he saw, ' after the convention was signed, was General Schuyler ; and when expressing to him his regret at the event which had happened to his property, General Schuyler desired him " to think no more of it, and that the occasion justified it, according to the principles and rules of war. He did more," said Burgoyne; " he sent an aid-de-camp* to conduct me to Albany, in order, as he expressed it, to procure better quarters than a stranger might be able to find. That gentleman conducted me to a very elegant house, and, to my great surprise, presented me to Mrs. Schuyler and her family. In that house I remained during my whole stay in Albany, with a table of more than twenty covers for me and my friends, and every other possible demonstration of hospitality."