IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I ■ iM IIIII2.2 113 M 40 2.0 1.8 •* 1.25 1.4 1.6 .4 6" — ► p>w /} ^a a .%. w ^ '^1 %■ ^^. % A / Photographic Sciences Corporation A ^^' ■i>^ s V \\ % V O ^ 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 Pi? %> ■ Ip< CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHM/ICMH Collection de microfiches. Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions Institut Canadian de microreproductjons historiques 1980 Technical and Bibliographic Notes/Notes techniques et bibliographiques The Institute has attempted to obtain the best original copy available for filming. Features of this copy which may be bibliographically unique, which may alter any of the images in the reproduction, or which may significantly change the usual method of filming, are checked below. □ Coloured covers/ Couverture de couleur □ Covers damaged/ Couverture endommag6e □ Covers restored and/or laminated/ Couverture restaur^e et/ou pellicul6e I'lnstitut a microfilm^ le meilleur exemplaire qu'il lui a 6t6 possible de se procurer. Les details de cet exemplaire qui sont peut-dtre uniques du point de vue bibliographique, qui peuvent modifier une image reproduite, ou qui peuvent exiger une modification dans la methods normale de filmage sont indiqu^s ci-dessous. □ Cover title missing/ Le titre de couverture manque D D Coloured pages/ Pages de couleur Pages damaged/ Pages endommag6es Pages restored and/or laminated/ Pages restaurdes et/ou pellicul^es Pages discoloured, stained or foxed/ Pages d6color6es, tachet^es ou piqu6es The to t The pos of 1 filnr Ori( beg the sioi oth firs sioi or i D □ D D D Coloured maps/ Cartes gdographiques en couleur Coloured ink (i.e. other than blue or black)/ Encre de couleur (i.e. autre que bleue ou noire) Coloured plates and/or illustrations/ Planches et/ou illustrations en couleur Bound with other material/ Reli6 avec d'autres documents Tight binding may cause shadows or distortion along interior margin/ La reliure serr^e peut causer de I'ombre ou de la distortion le long de la marge intdiieure Blank leaves added during restoration may appear within the text. Whenever possible, these have been omitted from filming/ II se peut que certaines pages blanches ajoutdes lors d'une restauration apparaissent dans le texte, mais, lorsque cela 6tait possible, ces pages n'ont pas 6t6 film^es. D D D D D D [A Additional comments:/ Commentaires suppl6mentaires; Irregular paging a - i; 1 - 273. Pages detached/ Pages ddtach^es Showthroi gh/ Transparence Quality of print varies/ Quality indgale de I'impression Includes supplementary material/ Comprend du materiel supplementaire Only edition available/ Seule Edition disponible Pages wholly or partially obscured by errata slips, tissues, etc., have been refilmed to ensure the best possible image/ Les pages totalement ou partiellement obscurcies par un feuillet d'errata, une pelure, etc., ont 6t6 film6es d nouveau de fapon d obtenir la meilleure image possible. a - f; i - clxviii; The sha TIK wh Ma diff ent beg rig! req me / 10X This item is filmed at the reduction ratio checked below/ Ce document est filmd au taux de reduction indiqu6 ci-dessous. 14X 18X 22X 26X 30X 12X 16X 20X 24X 28X 32X ails du )difier une nage The copy filmed here has been reproduced thanks to the generosity of: Library of the Public Archives of Canada The images appearing here are the best quality possible considering the condition and legibility of the original copy and in keeping with the filming contract specifications. L'exemplaire fiimd fut reproduit grdce d la g6n6rosit6 de: La bibliothdque des Archives publiques du Canada Les images suivantcs ont dt6 reproduites avec le plus grand soin, compte tenu de la condition et de la nettet6 de l'exemplaire filmd, st en conformity avec les conditions du contrat de filmage. Original copies in printed paper covers are filmed beginning with the front cover and ending on the last page with a printed or illustrated impres- sion, or the ba^sk cover when appropriate. All other original copies are filmed beginning on the first page with a printed or illustrated impres- sion, and ending on the last page with a printed or illustrated impression. Les exemplaires originaux dont la couverture en papier est imprim6e sont filmds en commenpant par le premier plat et en terminant soit par la dernidre page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration, soit par le second plat, selon le cas. Tous les autres exemplaires originaux sont film6s en commengant par la premidre page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration et en terminant par la dernidre page qui comporte une telle empreinte. The last recorded frame on each microfiche shall contain the symbol — ♦- (meaning "CON- TINUED"), or the symbol V (meaning "END"), whichever applies. Un des symboles suivants apparaitra sur la dernidre image de cheque microfiche, selon le cas: le symbole — ^ signifie "A SUIVRE", le symbole V signifie "FIN". Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent dtre filmds d des taux de reduction diff6rents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre reproduit en un seul cliche, il est filmd d partir de Tangle supdrieur gauche, de gauche d droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images n^cessaire. Los diagrammes suivants illustrent la m^thode. srrata to pelure, >n it U 32X 12 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 ■E'BartolenLR*- BRIG. -GEN. SIK JOHN JOHNSON, BART. ■"*3»- MhUtiml ^mt& Mo. U ( ORDERLY BOOK OF SIR JOHN JOHNSON DURING THE ORISKANY CAMPAIGN, 1776-1777 ANNOTATED BY WILLIAM L. STONE Author of the Life and Times of Sir William Johnson, Bart.; Burgoyne's Campaign ; Life and Journals of General and Mrs. Riedesel, &c. with an HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION illustrating The Life of Sir John Johnson, Bart. ; BY J. WATTS DE PEYSTER, LL.D., M.A. •^ ANCHOR if Author of The Life of [Swedish Field-Marshal] Leonard Torstenson [Generalissimo], 1855; Carausuis, 1858; Winter Campaigns, &c., 1864; The Personal and Military History of Maj. Gen. Phil. Kearny, 1869; La Royale, The Grand Hunt of the Army OF the Potomac, 3D-7TH Apkil, 1872-4; Mary, guEEN OF Scots, 1882; &c., &c. ' and SOME TRACINGS FROM THE FOOTPRINTS OF THE TORIES OR LOYALISTS IN AMERICA CONTRIBUTED BY Theodorus Bailey Myers. ALBANY JOEL MUNSELL'S SONS. M UCCC l.XXXll. V sf^t******^******^^ TO THE Won. Sofin ®. Statin, WHOSE GRANDMOTHER, JANE STARIN, SUFFERED FOR HER PATRIOTISM DURING THE ST. LEGER CAMPAIGN". AND TO A FRIEND FROM BOYHOOD, THIS VOLUME IS AFFECTIONATELY INSCRIBED, BY THE ANNOTATOR. H i f i ' W il ^ '^''aS ^ *.. . . ..iL-a-i- B :! \ CONTENTS. -.4 Life and Misfortunes of Sir John Johnson, including the Battles of Oriskany and of Klock's Field ^ Introduction to Orderly Book - - - a Orderly Book -------- Appendix -------"" VV I. Rev. Marinus Willett. II. Gen. Marinus Willett. III. Oriskany from a British Standpoint. IV. Sir Darby Monaghan. V. Jane Wemple Starin. VI. Addenda consisting of additional notes. The Tories or Loyalists in the Revolution 1 37 Indexes -------"" 3/ PLATES. To face. Portrait of Sir John Johnson, - - - - Title. Portrait of Frederic de Peyster - Dedication. Map of Mohawk Valley illustrating the Battle of Oriskany and Klock's Field clxii Portrait of J. Watts de Peyster - - clxv Portrait of Barry St. Leger > -, - - 44 Portrait of King Hendrick - - - - ^3 Picture of a Batteau ------ y^ Portrait of Joel Munsell ------ 129 View of Fort Johnson ----- 1^^ Portrait of Sir William Johnson - - 159 Facsimile of Paper signed by Johnson, Herckmer, Schuyler, and others - - 161 Facsimile of Proclamation of George III 181 Portrait of Joseph Brant . _ _ - ig6 View of Johnson Hall - - - - - - 212* Facsimile of Washington's Letter - - 215 Facsimile of Declaration of Independence 220 fi t Cfte Cife antr JWisfottuned of I i^ Hi u Wit] WITH RESPECT AND AFFECTION THIS LABOR 18 DEDICATED TO MY LATE VENERABLE FATHER, Ixthtxit bt |)cij0ter, €€. Do PRESIDENT OF THE NEW YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY, NEW YORK SOCIETY LIBRARY, ST. NICHOLAS CLUB, AND FORMERLY OF THE ST. NICHOLAS SOCIETY, &c., &c.,' &c. With a grateful remembrance of the assiduity -with -whioh, at an early age, the father inspired the son vrith literary tastes and introduced him to the study, of history, thus furnishing to him an inestimable resource in trouble and a sure solace amid many sorrows. ■■^j>mM •**■ i! cla; Th^ otli tlie cir( bee liin Ch u 1 r^l .'^JJI' PREFACE. t " Fidelity, that neither bribe nor threat Can move or warp, and gratitude for small And trivial favours, lasting as the life." CowpBR, ''Task." There is perhaps no truer proverb than that which de- clares that '"whoever excuses himself accuses himself." There are excei)tions, however, to this as well as to every other rule — although, even in the case of this little work, there would have been no necessity of explanation had circumstances — as conceited mortality vainly imagines — been in reality under human control. Man, let him delude himself as he will, is anything but a free agent. As Canon Charles Kingsley makes one of his characters sing, in "The Saint's Tragedy," " 'Tis Dame Circumstance licks Nature's cubs into shape : Tlieu why puzzle and fret, plot and dream V He that's wise will juwt follow his nose, Contentedly tiah, while he swims with the stream ; 'Tib no business op his where he goes." '^All armind is forethougJd sure, FixKD wii-ii and stern decree. Can the sailor move the main ? Will the putter heed the clay ? Mortal ! where the spirit drives. Thither must the wheels obey. \—a iil? 1 ; hfll b Preface. " Neither ask, nor fret, nor strive : Where thy path is, thou sJialt go. He who made the streams of time. Wafts tJiee down to weal or woe f " A variety of causes delayed the preparation of the his- torical treatise assigned to the writer, as an Introduction to Wm. L. Stone's " Orderly Book of Sir John Johnson, 1776-7." Among these impediments was the expectation of receiving new facts from Europe. While thus delaying, Nature stepped in and demonstrated that a long series of violations of her laws — one of them excessive mental labor — would terminate in the arrest of all work. It was at first intended to furnish a complete and de- tailed narrative of the whole career of Sir John Johnson, Bart., without limitation as to the space required. Sub- sequently a definite number of pages was assigned. To condense without injury to clearness is not only a rare gift, but also a question of severe labor, of time, and of thought. One of the most celebrated of English writers, when asked to epitomize one of his diffusive works, in order to render it more accessible to general readers, re- marked, "I have not time to condense." It was also in- tended to present in this connection a reprint of a rare little work, entitled "Adventures of a Lady [Mary (Watts) Johnson, wife of Sir John Johnson, Bart.] in the War of Independence in America." This little duodecimo work of 57 pp. has a very curious history, and is very valuable as a presentation of the traditions of the Johnson family in regard to the wrongs inflicted upon Lady Mary (Watts) Johnson, and the sufferings undergone by her in making her tf the his- fduction ohnson, ectatioTi elayiug, series of i mental I and de- Johnson, id. Sub- ned. To ly a rare e, and of h writers, works, in eaders, re- ^as also in- t of a rare try (Watts) the War of 3cimo work iry valuable iison family ary (Watts) . making her Preface. o escape from the M-^higs, patriots, or rebels, in her successful attempt to rejoin her husband, Sir John, within the royal lines at New York. It is the tradition of the victim, as opposed to the legends of the victimizers ; it is the me- morial of the persecuted, as a set-off to the stories of the persecutors; it is the production of a cultivated mind, in contrast to the recollections of many received as authori- ties, among M'hom are numbered the illiterate depending entirely upon the fallible functions of memory. This story of Lady Johnson's "Adventures" was written by Miss Susan Griffiths Colpoys — daughter of Admiral Griffith Colpoys, of the British Navy — who mar- ried Colonel Christopher Johnson, B. A., sixth son of Sir John Johnson, Bart. She was, consequently, sister-in- law of Adam Gordon Johnson, third Baronet, son of Sir John, and aunt of Sir William G. Johnson, the present and fourth Baronet, the grandson of Sir John Johnson, the second Baronet. The publication referred to was re- ceived, and the main particulars in regard thereto were derived from Sir William G. Consequently, also, Mrs. Col. Johnson had every opportunity of hearing all the incidents from those most interested in the occurrences and cognizant of the sad facts of the case. It was the youngest daughter of this Mrs. Col. Chris- topher Johnson who married Mr. Henry Curwen, who inherited the ancestral abode of the Curwens, the historic estate of "Workington Hall," noted as having been the temporary residence or place of detention of Mary, Queen of Scots, in 1568, when she fled from Scotland after her 1 ■ d Preface. defeat at Langside, 16th of June of tliat year. Ainoni,^ the heirlooms of this family, a portrait of Mary is pre- served, M'hich is said to have been presented by the queen herself to Sir (Knight, not Baronet) Henry Curwen, then master or owner of Workington Hall. In an address delivered by the writer before the New- York Historical Society, on Tuesday evening, Hth Janu- ary, 1880, the case of Sir John Johnson was treated with great care, and to this was annexed two voluminous ap- pendices, presenting at length quotations from original authorities which explained and bore out the views ex- pressed in the paper itself These supplements likewise embraced accounts of the principal actions in which Sir John was second or chief in command. Even to cite in this introduction the full titles of all the works examined would occupy more space than could possibly be conceded to such a list, and the reader must be content with the pertinent remark of a well-known writer (James J'reeman Clarke) w^ho says, in his introduction to the "Legend of Thomas Didymus," "I present no list of the authorities from which my facts are derived, but will merely say that the result of much study may be sometimes contained in the form given to a single sentence." To friends who have interested themselves no thanks are sufficient for their assistance in thought, M^ord and deed. To Gen. Horatio Kogers, of Providence, R. I., the diligent investi- gator and digester of the facts and fancies, the narratives and traditions of the past ; to Col. T. Bailey Myers, of New York city, the true friend, the generous and genial Preface. e collector and collator ; to Mr. Wru. I^. Stone, the pains- taking and indefatigable historian, to Wm. C. Bryant, Esq., of Buffalo, N. Y., the disinterested champion of the wronged and misrepresented ; to Mr. Henry A. Homes, of the N. Y. State L'^ i'ary, for much trouble and courtesy, — to these and to others in lesser degree, but with great kind- ness, the warmest gratitude is felt and acknowledged. „ „ J. WATPS i.K PEYSTKR. "Rose Hili,,' Tivoli P. O., Duchess Co., N. Y. 4th July, 1883. 1' 1 !■■';■ {.- ;'\ % M 4 ■Ak Note. — There are few individuals in the United States who have the Itrero/ftitive of expressing an opinion on the causes and course of the American Revolution superior to that of the writer. Lincoln, in his speech of siieeches, at the consecration of the; Soldiers' Cemetery at Gettysburg, — an uttei'ance declared by English critics to be second only to Scriptural simplicity and sublimity — said that the brave men living and dead who struggled here — that is on the battlelield — " have conse- crated it far above our power to add or to detract ;" " that they gave the last full measure of devotion" to the cause that they espoused. The writer's ancestors and relatives " gave the last full measure of devotion" to the cause that they deemed right, and that they espoused. They were among the most wealthy and the most influential in the province of New York. A great great-uncle, Stephen de Lancey, was one of the most accomplished Executives who ever administer d public affairs. His brother was a Brigadier-General, and common relatives held commis- sions in the British service, from general down to cornet. A great uncle, James de Lancey, was Colonel of Light Horsemen, comprising " the Elite of the Colon3^" His daring enterprises won for him the title of "the Outlaw of the Bronx," and "the terror of the region," "the debat- able ground," of Westchester County. A near kinsman and namesake was Major of the 8th or King's Regiment of Foot. He was among the ear- liest officers to visit Lake George ; he built the first frame building at Nia- gara Falls ; won the affections of whites and redskins on the far lakes ; left a work, styled " Miscellanies," which is a mine of facts for histo- rians; rose to be colonel of his regiment, and of another, the "Dum- fries Gentlemen Volunteers," raised to lesist J>ench invasion ; is com niemorated in the dedication of the "Poem on Life," by a famous pri- Hi Prefaoe. vatc in his corps, the poet Burns ; died full of years and honors, and was buried with rites only equalled on one other occasion, in the grave- yard of St. Michael's Church, lamented and revered by all who knew him. Both grandfathers held royal commissions, the first as the last royal Recorder of the city of New York, and the other as a captain, from 17 to 25, and was severtly wounded, but recovered. Three great-uncles by blood were shot on the battlefield : one killed ; another desperately wounded, losing a leg ; a third by almost a miracle esca|)ing the effects of a rifle-shot. Another gniat-uncle by mirriage, afterwards Earl of Cas- silis, was a captain in the British navy ; a second was Sir John Johnson; a third (James) was major, afterwards colonel of the British artillery, threatened by the mob with burial alive, and, escaping their rage, lost literary treasures, the accumulati(m of a lifuMme and the nst of lus accessible projierty. The writer's great-grandfather. President of the King's Council, who, if the crown had succeeded, was to have been the Lieutenant-Governor and acting Governor of the Province— in place of his father-in-law, the distinguished Colden — who had main- tained the rights of the people against military assumption, narrowly escaped death at the hands of the mob, left the country, was attainted, had his wealth confiscated a year subsequently to his departure, died an exile, straightened in means, and laid his bones in a foreign grave. His noble wife died of a broken heart. This list of martyrs might be greatly augmented. • The same Loyalty which sent these men to the front during the Re- volution, actuated their descendants during the war of lol2-l5. The writer's father and four uncles, beside other relatives who were of suf- ficient age, were all in arms for the United States. One cousin, after- wards a major-general, the conqueror of New Mexico and of Califor- nia, died in consequence of the aggravation of i)oUtIcal rancor, nay, persecution. A kindred loyalty to the government sent every available relative info the field during the Slaveholders' Rebellion, and cost the lives of five out of six of those nearest and dearest. Loyalty, when it pays "the last full measure of devotion," has a right to make iti^elf heard ; Loyalty which shuns no danger and fears no consequence, is a better in- terpreter of Duty than mere passion incited by prospective advantages. To risk the loss of all is a better proof of honesty than the chance of winning something in a desperate game. And it is not only injustice, but spite that would endeavor to attribute unworthy motives to devotion such as was testified by those who threw life, property and all that men hold dear into the scale, and lost all from motives of Loyalty to Autho- rity and Fidelity to the Flag. I 1 THE JOHNSON FAMILY OF THE MOHAWK VALLP^Y* !? (Original motto of Sir William Johnson, Bart.) "I cannot see," observes a gentleman (of New York Whig antecedents and ancestry), at once an historical scholar, a practical soldier and an accomplished man of business, "how a man so formed and trusted in himself and his family [as Sir John Johnson] could have acted differently than he did." In many respects the two greatest men M'ho adminis- tered the affairs of the colony or province, or, even since, of the State of New York, were Lieutenant-Governor, * The following genealogy of the Johnson family is compiled from various sources : from memoranda furnished by the present Baronet, Sir William George Johnson, from Burke's " Peerage and Baronetage of Great Britain, from Sabine's "Loyalists of the American Revolution," from Wm. L. Stone's "Life of Sir William Johnson, Bart.," &c., &c. i ii The Johnson Fom.ih/, w acting Governor, »raninH de Luncey, und Sir Willium .roluiHon, IWt., the "Indian Turner" — the Con([uer()r at Lake (Teor<;e in 1756, and tlie Captiirer of Niagara in I75J). If space permitted, it M^oukl he a very interesting and agreeahle task or duty to dear up some liistoric douhts in regard to the first Sir William and introduce illustrations of his ability which liave never been presented to the American public. It is marvellous what ridiculous nonsense has been published in regard to the antecedents and adventures of this remarkable man. The following is the literal truth, furnished from a most authentic source : "The Hon. Sir William Johnson, Bart., in America, was the son of Christopher Johnson, Esq., of Smith- Town, County Meath (Ireland), a gentleman of great re- pute and renown, descended from a distinguished Irish family,* and of Anne Warren, daughter of Michael War- ren, Esq., of the same county, and sister of Sir Peter * It has been bruited tliat originally the family name was not John- son, but Jansen, and that the lirst wlio bore it and settled in Ireland was a Hollander, who, like many of his countrymen, went over afterwiirdu with William III. in 1690, won lands and established themselves. If this rejmrt had a grain of truth in it, that the name should become angli- cised immediately would be nothing remarkable, since hundreds of similar and of far greater transmutations and travesties, some amount- ing to simple absolute translations, occurred in tliis State within a gene- ration after its settlement : the Feuersteins becoming Flints, tlie Muh- lers Miller.**, &c., &c. This Jansen story, however, is a myth, like many of the stupidities wliich are engendered by ignorance or started through envy or other like meannesses in illiterate neighborhoods. Col. Guy Johnson, nephew of 8ir AVilliam, always retained a touch of the brogue. " His tongue bore evidence of his Irish extraction" (Captain Snyder, in Stone's " Brant," II. 07. The Johnson Family, iii Wurreii, Kni<;lit of the iiiost Ilonoriible Order of tlio Bath, Vice-A(hiiiral in tiie Britisli Niivy uiuUt George II. (and well-known for his oxi)loit8 — anion^ these his co- oi)eration with 8ir William Pe])porcll in the famous expe- dition ugainst Louishurg, the French Gibraltar in Amer- ica, in 1745), and niece of Admiral Lord Ajlmer, of lial- rath. County Meath, Ireland. "The above Christopher Johnson was son of William Johnson, then called MacSean or MacShane, a j^eneral of very great repute and credit in that part of Ireland (coun- ty Meath, whose principal river is the Boyne, famous for the victory of William III. over James II., let July, IfiOO), and of Anne Fitxsinnuons, of Tally nally, coimty of Westmeath. William MacSean M'^as the son of Thomas MacSean and Frances Fay, of the very ancient family of Derrinaganale, county Westmeath. This Thomas MacSean was son of John (O'Neil), from whom the MacSeans of that family were called, and was descended from the Royal (Irish) family of Dungannon, County Tyrone, formerly princes of Ulster and monarchs of Ireland, " antecedent to Christianity" and "before the coming of St. Patricke." The family of Warren (here referred to), of Warrentown, is the head and stock of several illustrious families of that name in Ireland, and the founder was one of the principal followers of Earl Strongbow when he concjuered Ireland, 1109-70. This family of Warren is descended in a direct legal line from the Marquises of Warrene, in Normandy, France. According to Sir William George Johnson, Bart., there 2 a- - \k IV The Johnson Family. is an exceptional lienor attaclied to the patent of nobility conferred npon the lirst Sir William and his son, Sir John, which is almost unprecedented in British histoiy. The patent which perpetuates the baronetcy in this family con- tains a clause which gives the title of "Knight" or "Sir" to the eldest son on his attaining his majority, an extraor- dinary clause, as knighthood as a rule is not hereditary, but is conferred for special services and terminates with the life of thf> recipient. I. WILLIAM JOHNSON, Esq. (afterwards Knight and Hnronet), was born at Sniitli Town, County Meath, Ireland, and subsequently adopted by his maternal uncle. Admiral Sir Peter Warren, K. B., capturer of Louisbuig, &c., and went out with him to North America, where he rose to the rank of Colonel in the British Army, Major-General of the Provincial Forces and (or) of the Militia, 16th April, 1783, and distin- guished himself as a military commander during the French (American) War (1754-63), and as a negotiator with Indian tribes. He was created a Baronet 27th Nov., 1755. In 1756 he received his commission as " Colonel, Agent and Sole Snperin- tendent of all the affairs of the Six Nations and other Northern fndians;' " with no subordination but to Loudon (London ?)." He died 11 th July, 1774, of chronic malignant dysentery, aged 59, at his seat, Johnson Hall, Tryon County, New York, leaving by Catherine Wisenberg [ Weissenberg ?], his wife : I. JOHN, his heir. II. AxNK, married to Col. Daniel Clauss, of North America, and died about 1708. in. Mauy, married to Col. Guy Johnson, and had two daughters: 1. Mary, wife of Fieki Marshal Lord Clyde, queller of the East India Mutiny, originally Sir Colin Campbell, and mother of Gen. Sir Guy Camp- bell ; 2. Julia. The Johnson Famih/. v The son and heir of Sir William Jolinson, Bart. : II. Sir JOHN, of Johnson Hall,*Tryon (afterwards Fulton) County, N. Y., finally of Mount Johnson, Montreal : Colonel of Regiment of Horse in the Northern District of New York, in 1 778 ; Major-General of the Militia belonging to the same por- tion of the Province after the decease of his father; Lieut.-Col. commanding the Loyal or Provincial " King's Royal Regiment of New York," otherwise "The Queen's Loyal New Yorkers;" or "Johnson's or Queen's Royal Greens;" Colonel, B. A., rilst October, 1782; Brigadier-General of the Provincial Troojis, s nor believe tlie simple truths but wishes to be deceived." ScHi.osSER, "History of the XIX. Century:' IV., 34a. "A wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land; the prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means ; ai.J my people love to have it so • and what will ye do in the end thereof." Jeremiah V., 30, 31 ilia; "W\ [I, There was a greater and a finer display of Loyalty t the Government, that is, to the Union and to the Flag, in 1861, ten times over, than of patriotism or whatever it may be said to i-epresent, to the cause of Liberty and Independence, that is to the Confederated Colonics, in 3— xi HHSMM Xll Historical Introduction. 1775-(j, In 1861 there was a universal popular fervor at the North, totally disinterested — an uprising of the people.* In 1775-6, as a national feeling, it was exactly the reverse. There were more native Americans in the course of the Avar in the British service than Washington ever had to- gether, regulars and irregulars, under the highest })res- sure of voluntary and compulsory service. Lorenzo Sabine demonstrates this, and the follow^ing letter is too pertinent and corroborative to be omitted. It is from the pen of a very able Federal general, and one of the most reflecting men of this generation, who is like- wise a collateral relation of one of the most prominent Continental generals. In it the writer says : " The more I read and understand the American Revolu- tion, the more I wonder at our success. I doubt if there were more than two States decidedly whig — Massachusetts and Vir- ginia. Massachusetts (morally) overlapped New Hampshire — and the northern part of Rhode Island — and dragged them after her. [These seemed to realize the dependence of the Second .lager in Schiller's " Wallenstein'' s Lager^'' or camp — " Freedom must ever with might entwine, I live and will die by Wallenstein."] The Massachusetts people were Aryan (by race), with a strong injection of Jewish (instincts). The population of Southern Rhode Island and Connecticut were divided — more loyal than * There was more patriotism shown at the North, among all classes and conditions of men, during the first two years of the " Slaveholders' Hebellion" than has ever been exhibited, spontaneously, by any people in the world— far more than during the American Revolution. The Loyalists of 1861-2 took up arms for their colors and country and for conscience— for principle ; so did the Loyalists of 1775-6. Historical Introd/uction. xni Rebel. New Y^ork was Tory. New Jersey — eastern part fol- lowed New York, western part Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania was Tory, Maryland was divided ; Nortli Carolina partly fol- lowed her, partly South Carolina. South Carolina had many Tories. Georgia followed South Carolina. Two parties con- stituted the strength of the Whigs — the Democratic Commun- ists of Massachusetts and wherever their organization extended and the (Provincial) aristocracy of Virginia, which was loyal to the King but would not bend to the aristocratic Parliament. The Scotch (Protestant not Papist) Irish in New York, Pennsyl- vania and North Carolina were Rebels to the backbone. The Dutch families in New York [not in authority], the Huguenots in South Carolina, likewise. The Church j)arty, the Germans, the Catholic Irish and the Quakers were Loyalists. The Dis- senters everywhere were Rebels." Without the active assistance of France and Spain, and the silent influence of other powers, jealous or envious or inimical to Great Britain, the achievement of American Independence would have been an hnpossibility. When the goal was reached how did the Confederated Colonies, transnmted into the United States, show their gratitude to France and Spain? Again, there was more honesty, mercy, magnanimity, more charity or philanthropy manifested to the liebels in 1865, than to their brethren, if they were so in fact, by tlie Colonial authorities in 1782-8. The Duke of Alva was scarcely more cruel for liis race, day, prejudices and opportunities than the authorities of the State of New York, for their blood and their era. Not one sentence of this introduction is written to uphold Great Britain. Even accepting Lecky's depreciatory estimate of George III. I il XIV Jlistorlcal Introduction . and his ministry, notliing can excuse the animus which jiormeates the enactments of New York against the Loyal- ists, stigmatized as Tories, who were certainly as honest and self-sacrificing in their convictions as their opponents. The uprising of 18H1 settled the interpretation or (letinition of Loyality — Fealty to the Government and Fidelity to the Flag! If there was any man in the Cohmies who was a decided enemy to the Crown it was .John Adams, and yet he it was who declared, or rather wrote these remarkable words : " For my own part there was not a moment during the lievolution when I would not have given anything I possessed for a restoration to the state of things before the contest began, provided we could have a sufficient security for its continuance." The idea thus expressed by John Adams with the pen, was nothing more than Sir John Johnson MTote in fiercer colors with the sword, at the sacrifice of such a magnificent property that John Adams would have regarded a portion of it as an elegant competency. What have Native Americans gained by all that has been undergone? Would their leaders have taken the stand that they did, if they could have looked foi'ward and foreseen the present condition of things ? Is material prosperity the highest good ? The wish has been attributed to Jefferson, the "Apostle of Democracy?" that an ocean of fire rolled between his country and the old world, to pre- serve it from the evils of emigration. Foreigners in a great measure engineered the American Revolution. How Wixtorli'dJ Introiht'fhni. XV iiiMTiy Hgured at tlie head of our Hrinics ^ How many iiiHiicticod the resolutions of Congress? Of twenty-eight active major-generals — there were thirty, but one re- signed 28(1 April, 177t>, and one was retired in 1778 — eleven were foreigners, and four had learned their trades in tlie British service. Throwing out those who were promoted, of the fifty-tive brigadiers, between 1775 and the elose of tlie war in 1 7^2, twelve were foreigners. The two chief agents of inde})endence were Benjamin F'ranklin and Thomas Paine. The tirst was an accidental American, just born in this country, and the latter an Englishman. Individual rights are more respected and regarded to- day in Great Ibitain, and the law is held in more rever- ence there than in the Uirited States. Here license dictates the laws and a respectable minority has to sutler and suc- cmnb. There is no law but public opinion, right or wrong, and the atrocious influence of political greed and grasping monopoly. Is that worse than a royal will, tempered by a constitutional representation i The atmosphere breathed by so many of the prominent American families of Ncm'^ York was surcharged with Loy- alty and Fidelity to a rightful Prince. Whether tlie idea was wise or foolish, right or wrong, nothing was considered as much a man's personal duty as the maintenance of his honor. The young and charming Lord James Radcliffe, Earl of Derwentwater, tlie idol of the Jacobites, was beheaded* * "Lord Dkkwkni'watkk's Lights. — There have been several wonderful and most unusual displays of aurora borcalis in England ■M XVI Jlistoi'ical Introd uctlon . 24th Fobnmry, 171fi ; tliat is, on tlic very day, it is claimed by Col. T. Ruiley Myers, that Sir William John- son was born, and the wild fervor of Jacobite Loyalty whs still alive when Sir John mus a boy. The world was yet ringing with the thrilling, tonching and trumpet-toned ballads which celebrated the virtues and sacrifices of those who dared and died for the Stuarts. With such examples before them, men who had been elevated and rewarded by the Crown would have been false to maidiood if they had not stood by the source of honor whose streams had en- nobled and enriched them. Contrast Lord Dkrwkntwater's famous " Good Nieht" with a similar poem, evoked by the exile and ruin of the Westchester de Lanceys. The same spirit manifests itself in both. lately, .seriously aflectintf, as they have done here, the telegraphic communication. In Norfhumberfand, the aurora borealis is icnown among the peasantry by the name of Lord Derwentvvater 8 Lights. In the attempt to place the Stuarts on the throne, the Earl of Derwent- water, head of the great Roman Catholic north country family of Radcliffe, took a conspicuous part, and paid the penalty on the scaffold. On the night of his execution there was a brilliant display of the aurora borealis, and the simple peasantry, by whom their lord, a man of high and amiable character, was greatly beloved, associated the phenomena with the death of the unfortunate young nobleman. "There is also a legend, which yet lingers amidst the homesteads of the property which once was his, that the water in the moat of Dilstone Castle, the family seat, turned blood red on that same fatal night. This notion is likely to have arisen from the reflection of the sky [crimson with the aurora] in the water. Tlie vast estates of the Rad- clifl'es were confiscated to the endowment of Greenwich Hospital, and are now worth about £60,000 a year. A maniac, calling herself Countess of Derwentwater, has lately been claiming them." Post Nov. 29, 1870. IHstorical Introduction. XVII " Farewell to i)lt'aH)int DilHton Hall, My father' H ancient neat ; A Mtranf/er imw iniigt call thee Ma, Wliicli garH my heart to greet. Farew<'ll each friendly well-known face, My heart has held so dear; My tenants now muni leave their lundii, Or hold their lives in fear* " No more along the banks of Tyne, I'll rove in autumn grey ; No more I'll hear at early dawn, Tlu' lav" rocks wake the day. Then fare thee well, brave Witherington, And Forster ever true ; Dear Shaftesbury and Errlngton. Receive my last adieu. "And fare thee well, George Collingwood, Since fate has put ub down, j^ If thou and I have lowt our lives. Our King has lost his crown. Farewell, farewell, my lady dear, 111, ill thou counsell'dst me ; / 7iever more may see the babe That smiles upon thy knec.\ " And fare thee well, my bonny grey steed,:): That carried me aye so free ; I wish I had been asleep in ray bed, The last time I mounted thee. This warning bell now bids me cease. My trouble's nearly o'er ; * True to the letter as regards ihe tenants and dependents of Sir John Johnson. f Lady Johnson's child, born in captivity, died in consequence of the exposure attending her escape from the Whigs or Rebels, and Sir John only looked upon it to see it die. X Sir John Johnson had a famous (white or whitey-grey V) charger, which was captured during the invasion of 1780. (See Simm's "Scho harie," 386.) xviii Historical Introduction. Yon Sun that rises from the sea, Shall rise on nie no more. "Albeit that here in London town, It is my fate to die ; O carry me to Nortlmmberland, In my ftvther's grave to lie ! Then chant my solemn requienj, In Hexham's holj'^ towers ; And let six maids of fair Tynedale, Scatter my grave with flowers. "And when the head that wears the crown, Shall be laid low like mine, Some honest hearts may then lament. For Radclitte's fallen line. Farewell to pleasant Dilston Hall. My father's ancient seat ; A stranger now must call thee his, Vv hich gars my heart to greet." The toucliing lines, just quoted, are echoes of similar heart-utterances of every nation wdiich has a literature, and M^hich has been torn by civil war. Several poems of exquisite pathos attest the deep feeling of the Huguenot exiles driven by bigotry from France and from the sunny homes they were never again to behold. Many years ago, among old family records, the writer found some verses in manuscript which embody the same sentiments as those which characterize " Lord, Derwent water's Good Night." They refer to the desolation which fell upon the domain in Westchester County, N. Y., where his grandfather, Hon. John Watts, Jr., married, 2d October, 1775, the lovely Jane de Lancey— a couple so fitted for each other in every respect, that the festival was suitably commemorated in prose and |)oetry. The gentle Jane was the niece of IRstori^^al Introduction . XIX Lady Johnson, wife of Sir John, and the sister of tlie famous Colonel James de Lancey, who organized a Battalion of Loyal Light Horse. "This Troop [the nucleus] is truly 'Elite' of the country,'' is the record of the Royal G( \ jrnor. Their commander, stigmatized by his oppo- nents as the "Outlaw of the Bronx," became "the terror of the region" between the Harlem river and the High- lands. He was fearless and indefatigable, and, on one occasion, came near "gobbling" Washington. So formid- able did he prove, that Washington's "first offensive de- sign" — after his junction with Lauzun's Legion and the ad- vanced corps of Rochambeau — was an attempt to destroy de Lancey' s Legion. This, like that of Lauzun, Pulaski, Arniand and "Light Horse Harry" Lee, comprised botli Horse and Foot. The enterprise was undertaken on the night of 1st July, 1781. It failed completely. When the success of the Americans was decided, Colo- nel James de Lancey, the hero of so much sterling fact and romantic fiction, went forth an exile — a sad fate for so brave and conscientious a soldier, although he was rewarded by the bounty and confidence of the King for whom he liad lost all. He was a nephew of Sir John Johnson. When about to leave forever his ancestral liome, the " "Outlaw of the Bronx' mounted his horse, and, riding to the dwell- ings of his neighbors [early associates and constant friends through life] bid them each farewell. His paternal fields and every object presented to his view were associ- Jited with'the joyful recollections of early life. The con- sciousness that he beheld them all for the last time, and -am XX Historical Introduction. the uncertainties to be encountered in the strange country to which banishment was consigning him, conspired to awaken emotions sncli as the sternest bosom is sometimes compelled to entertain. It was in vain that he struggled to suppress feelings whicli shoo.k his iron heart. Nature soon obtained the mastery, and he burst into tears. After weeping with uncontrollable bitterness for a few moments, lie shook his ancient friend b}' the hand, ejaculating with difficulty the w^ords of benediction — 'God bless you, Theophilus [Bailey] !' and spurring forward, turned his back forever upon his native valley"— the home of the writer's great-grandparents on the mother's side. The following feeling lines M^ere written by a stranger, an Englishman, who visited the old de Lancey manor, in Westchester County, N. Y., expecting to find there, still existing, some memorials of that gallant, courtly and emi- nent race w^hich once directed the development of the colony and province. But, alas, in the same manner that war, exile, confiscation and death had smitten and scat- tered the proud owners, even so had flood, fire and change laid waste or altered their ornate possessions. A solitary pine., towering aloft in natural majesty, alone survived to mark the spot where once a flourishing loyal race ex- tended its stately hospitalities, and enjoyed the sweets of a home, the abode of prosperity and the shelter of extra- ordinary hereditary capacity. A contrast so marked be- tween the past and the present moved even the alien, and in poetic numbers he testified his sympathy and recorded the desolation : Historical Introduction. XXI " Where gentle Bronx clear winding flows His shadowing banlcs between ; Where blossom'd bell and wilding rose Adorn the brightest green ; Memorials of the fallen great, The rich and honor'd line, Stands high in solitary state, De Lancey's ancient jnne. " There, once at early dawn array'd. The rural sports to lead. The gallant master of the glade Bestrode his eager steed ; And once the light-foot maiden came, In loveliness divine, To sculpture with the dearest name, De Lancey'a ancient pine. "And now the stranger's foot explores De Lancey'a wide domain, And scarce one kindred heart restores His memory to the plain ; And just like one in age alone, The last of all his line Bends sadly where the waters moan— De Lancey^s ancient pine. " Oh greatness ! o'er thy final fall, The feeling heart should mourn. Nor from de Lancey'a ancient Hall With cold rejoicing turn : No ! no ! the satiate stranger stays When eve's calm glories shine, To weep— as tells of other days De Lancey'a ancient pine." rF!%^ ■" i THE AMERICAN LOYALISTS. "At the conclusion of a long war, how are we recompensed for the death of multitudes •md the expense of millions, but by contemplating the sudden glories of paymasters and agents, contractors and commissaries, whose equipages shine like meteors, and whose palaces rise like exhalations." * Dr. Johnson. "Thus perished the party of the Gironde ; reckless in its measures, culpable for its rashness, but illustrious from its talents, glorious in its fall. It embraced all the men who were philanthropists from feeling, or Republicans from principle ; the brave, the humane, the benevolent. But with them were also combined within its ranks numbers of a baser kind ; many who employed their genius for the advancement of their ambition, and were careless of their country provided tRey elevated their party. It was overthrown by a fac- tion of coarser materials, but more determined character, * * ♦ Adorned by the most splendid talents, supported by the most powerful eloquence, actuated at times by the most generous intentions, it perished * * * Such ever has, and ever will be, the result of revolutionary convulsions in society when not steadily opposed in the outset by a firm union of the higher classes of the community ; in the collision of oppo- site factions the virtuous and the moderate will too often be overcome by the reckless and the during. Prudence clogs their enterprise; virtue checks their ambition; humanity paralyzes their exertions. They fall because they recoil from the violence which becomes, in disastrous times, essential to command success in revolutions." Ai.i.son's ^''History of Europe y'' II., ix., 214, 2. FfU'tmiately for the colonies, Carleton was not in favor with the British authorities at home, and Burgoyne, sub- stituted in 1777, had neither the wisdom nor the generosity to develop an elehient of strength which Carleton had found so efficacious and trustworthy. Clinton, in this regard, * This sentence was adopted as the motto of a somewhat scarce " History of the First Ten Years of George III.," London, 1788, written by (Robert ?) Macfarlane, who kept an academy at Walthamstow, in Essex County, England, seven miles N.N.E. of London. xxii The Aiiierican Loyalists. xxiii imitated Biirgoyne. The German, Kny})hau8en, strange to say, was the first to perceive tlie truth and organize a military organization of the Loyalists that could be relied on upon every occasion. He raised, in 1779-80, six thou- sand good troops among the citizens of New York, wdiicli made this city — the grand base of the British forces — se- cure. A course similar to that of Carleton, after the cap- ture of Savannah by Campbell, in December, 1778, enabled Provost to convert Georgia almost entirely from rebellion to loyalty. Clinton, in 1777, w^as as unwise on the Lower Hudson as Burgoyne had been on the Upper. Cornwallis had all the sense of Carleton without his astuteness. His advice to the Loyalists of the Carolinas was admirable. He counselled them not to take up arms and embody until he was near enough at hand to protect and support them ; until they had gathered strength to stand and go alone. His policy in this regard would have worked wonders, had it not been for the intervention of a new element, which had not entered into the calculations of any of the Royal com- manders. This "w^as the appearance upon the scene of the mountaineers of the AUeghanies, who were aroused to action by the fugitives from the districts occupied by the temporary victors. Cornwallis, although severe, was just ; and it is somewhat remarkable that it was not until 1866 that a little book appeared, entitled "The Last Ninety Days of the War in North Carolina," in which justice is done to the previously misrepresented Marquis. Cornwal- lis did hang a number; but American historians are very careful not to state that those hanged were taken "red XXIV The Ai)ierican Loyalists. hand," "with American arms in their hands and with British protections in their pockets." It was only through the generosity of Cornwallis that the Loyalists with him in Yorktown were enabled to get off with safety when the place was taken. The whole of this matter is misunderstood, and has never been clearly placed before the people. Too many of the influential Loyalists acted in 1775-6 like the French nobility in 1790-2. Louis de Lomenie, in his "Comtesse de Rochefort et ses Amis" (p. 297), has some remarks on this subject which are pertinent. "To explain so prompt a downfall of the French aristocracy of the eighteenth century, writers have often urged the in-esist- ible impetuosity of the Democratic movement. We do not deny this impetuosity, but it is nevertheless necessary to recognize that if this aristocracy, in place of being a mere shadow of what it should have been, had retained tlie vigor of an eflfective patri- ciate (higher or better class) and a living body, it would not with- out utility, perhaps, for the cause of liberty, have tempered the revolutionary movement, or, at least, have opposed to it a stronger resistance than it did. It was broken at the first shock, because this formerly flourishing branch of the great national tree" was not true to itself. Lomenie goes on to give other rea- sons which were peculiar to France, whereas in America, although the causes were apparently different, they were at bottom the same, viz.: the better classes had "given hostages to fortune," and this, according to the proverbs of all time, unnerves men until it is too late. It is inconceivable how the Loyalist strength in the co- lonies was misapplied, frittered away or wasted. The re- The American Loyalists. XXV suit only shows that in all revolutions the Middle or Neutral — generally styled the Conservative — party only embarrass the Ultras on one side in support of the govern- ment, and aid the Eadicals, on the other side, by attempt- ing to arrest or mediate ; thus affording time for the organi- zation of the latter, which converts rebellion into revolution. In all political crises or cataclysms, a renaissance through blood, the best, the conservative class, the cham- pions of right, pure and simple, furnish the first and the bulk of the victims. Thus it was in America. The daring and reckless with comparatively little to lose, with grand exceptions, it is true, fell upon the intellectual and wealthy, who adhered to the government under which they had thriven. The myrmidons of the Crown — selfish, indolent, self-satisfied professionals — were as cruel in their inaction as the leaders of faction were merciless in their exactions. The persecution of the Tories was determined with cold-blooded calculation, since the Saxon can not plead in excuse the excitability of the Celtic or Latin races ; what he does he does advisedly. Nor w^as the desertion of the Loyalists at the Peace of Paris, 1783, less disgraceful on the part of Great Britain. It was fiercely denounced in the House of Commons; it was justly stigmatized in the House of Lords. Even Lord St. Germain redeemed himself in a measure by his eloquent advocacy of the brave party who had abandoned everything for honor — principle, the mother-country; its highest representative of these, the Crown. Lorenzo Sabine has demonstrated all this, laid open the iniquity, revealed the truth, vindicated the fl ''"' '' im XXVI The American Loyalists. Loyalists or Tories ; for the term Tory, as used in re- gard to a party adverse to Kebellion or Revolution, dur- ing- 1775 to 1783, is a title of honor and not a term of reproach. When the difficulties between the Crown and the Colonies first began to develop into positive ideas of ulti- mate resistance on the side of the latter, the party for inde- pendence was in a comparatively small minority and con- finod to particular disaffected localities. If the whole popu- lation had then resolved itself into two camps, the matter might have been decided promptly and for many years to come. As it happened, those who had much to lose were too timid to act instantly and resolutely ; and those who had little or nothing to lose became bolder and bolder in the pres- ence of an irresolute antagonism, M'hich M'as not backed by a military force sufficient absolutely to overaw^e. Massachu- setts was muiuestionably in earnest from the first ; but an- tagonism to the Crown was its normal condition. It had always been the hot-bed of what might be harshly termed, from a British point of view, sedition. Although the first bloodshed occui-red in New York, on the 19tli-20th January, 1770, it would not have led to any comparatively general outbreak, had it not been for the terrible uproar following the second bloodshed at Boston, 5th March, 1770, and the consequences which ensued from the latter. The very assemblage which considered the Declaration of Independence, in 1776, did not unanimously vote or agree in the act to sever the connection between the colonies and the mother country. The date accepted, 4th of July, is in- The American Loyaliata. XXVIl correct; and tlje Declaration was juggled throiigli, and the signatures were appended from time to time throughout the year, if not a longer period. This accounts for the irre- gular manner tliey ap[)ear on the document, since the latest were inserted wherever a vacant space was found. It be- came a sort of test oath. The Judge published an admirable burlesque, or pa- rody, or caricature of Trumbuirs famous picture of "The Signing." It depicts the representatives in very dila})i- dated conditions, with blackened eyes, bruised bodies, torn clothes and general tokens of an aflfray, drawing near to affix their signatures at the table where Hancock presides look- ing like tlie genius of an Irish wake. There is as much truth as poetry in the conception, for the Declaration was not agreed to with anything like unanimity or the generally conceived harmony. There is eomething very curious about the respect as- tached to this "4tli of July." The first Congress of the Colonies signed a "Conqjact of Union" (li. W. (Jr.'sG.W. and his Gens.," II., 15), on the 4th of July, 1754, at Al- bany. This may account for the selection of this day in 177H. The fact that two of our ex-Presidents, who had signed the Declaration, died on the same date, added ad- ditional significance, which a series of victories, from East to West along the whole line on the same day, in 1868, confirmed in the minds of the people. The Loyalists, confiding in the power of the CroMMi, did not take up arms as soon as their adversaries ; and thus, when they did begin to embody, they were at once 6 f %■' JjV;; i ■ :| XXVlll The American Loyalists. crushed by stronger and better organized masses. The British professional leaders — as a rule throughout all time, and especially in this country— with the usual arrogance of their caste, neither sought to utilize, support nor protect their friends Avhen they did come together, and even treated them with superciliousness and neglect, if they did not absolutely sacrifice them when they appeared as auxil- iaries. Carleton was the first who had the wisdom to call this element into play, and through it he saved Canada, just as the French had previously lost Xcm' France through a contrary course to his, amounting to the same subse(|U(^nt lack of judgment on the part of the royal British military governors. SIR JOHN JOHNSON, KNIGHT AND BAllONET. BoHN 5th Nov.. i7ii. Dibd 4th Jan., WiO. "The Past appeals to the impartiality of the P'uture. History replies. But, often, generations pass away ere that reply can be given in a determinate form. I'or not until the voices of contemporaneous panegyric and censure are hushed ; not until passionate pulses have ceased to beat ; not until flattery has lost its power to charm, and calumny to vilify, can the verdict of history be pronounced. 'J'hen from the clouds of error and pre- judice the sun of truth emerges, and light is diffused in bright rays, of ever increasing refulgency and breadth. * * * Every age has its own heroes — men who seem to em- body the prevailing characteristics of their relative epochs, anil to present to after ages the idealized expression of their chief tendencies. Such men must be judged by no ordi- nary standard. History must view their actions as a whole, not subject them to separate tests, or examine them through the lenses of partial criticism and narrow-minded prejudice." Oscar II., King of Sweden, in his "/.//<■ <•/ C/iar/es A'//." " I would serve my king ; Serve him with all my fortune here at home. And serve him with my person in the wars ; Watch for him, fight for him, bleed for him, and die for him, As every true-born subject ought !" Thomas Otwav's Tragedy, '^T/te Orphan" 1680. Perhaps no man in "tlie Colonies" who adhered to tlie Crown, lias been so cruelly misjudged and consistently misrepresented as Sir John Johnson. Every possible charge, derogatory to him, has been raked up and brought out against him. Why? Because he did not submit quietly to what he deemed injustice, but struck back boldly and severely — made himself felt, made those xxix i\X sir John Johnmn. suffer who cuiisod him to Huft'er. Ho was the only Lt)jal- ist who had tfie opportunity to force the bitter clialico whicli lie had been eonipelled to drain, back u])on the lips of those who filled it for hini, and in turn obliged them to (luaff the same hateful (lrau«;ht. The de Lanceya and many other Loyalists fought just as boldly and as bitterly, and as persistently, but they never had the same opportunity as Sir John to make every fibre of antagonism w^e— Hi tory, have placed in the national '' Walhalla/' While yet a youth this son accompanied his father to his fields of battle, and, Mdien the generality of boys are at school or college, witnessed two of the bloodiest conflicts on which the fate of the colony depended. He had scarcely attained major- ity Mdien he was entrusted wath an independent command, and in it displayed an ability, a fortitude, and a judg- ment worthy of riper years and wider experience. Sent out to England by his father in 1765, "to try to wear off the rusticity of a country education, '' immediately upon his presentation at court he received from his sovereign an acknowledgment— partly due to the reputa- tion of his parent, and partly to his own tact and cai)acity —such as stands alone in colonial history. Although his fathei-. Sir William, \vas already a knight and baronet for service to the crown, John was himself knighted, at the age of twenty-three ; and thus the old-new baronial hall at JohnstoAvn sheltered tvA'-o recipients, in the same family and generation, of the accolade of chivalry. There is no parallel to this double knighthood in American biography, and but few in the family annals of older countries. This M^as the era when "New York was in its happiest state." In the summer of 1773, and in his thirtieth year. Sir John Johnson married the beautiful Mary — or, as she was affectionately called, "Polly "—Watts, aged nineteen. Sir John Johnmn. XXXV Mrri. Grant, of Laggan, has left is a cliariniiig pen-portrait of this bright maiden. Inheriting his father's dignities and responsibilities, Sir John Johnson conld not have been otherwise than a champion of his sovereign's rights. If he had turned his coat to save his property, lik^ some of the prominent patriots, he would have been a renegade, if not worse. Some of the lights of patriotism had already cast longing glances upon his rich possessions in the Mohawk Valley. Its historian intimates (Simms, 120) that in a successful rebellion the latter counted upon dividing his princely domains into snug little farms for themselves. The germ of anti-rentism was developing already ; although it took over sixty to seventy years to thoroughly enlist legislative assistance, and perfect spoliation in the guise of modern agrarian law. Surrounded by a devoted tenantry, backed by those "Romans of America," the "Six Nations," those "Indians of the Indians," the Iroquois, it was not easy "to bell the cat" by force. It is neither politic nor intended to revive hereditary animosities by the mention of nanies. Sufficient to say, might prevailed over right, and Sir John was placed imder what the Albany Com- mittee choose to define a "parole." Modern courts of inquiry, especially in the United States since 1860, have decided that such a vaurue svstem of parolinii' is in itself invalid, and that individuals subjected to such a ])rocedure are absolved de facto from any pledges. It is both persistent and po[)ular to charge Sir John with having broken his parole. Before even entering into the 6 «5 'i. XXXVl Sir John Johnson. i> 'I ([uestion, it is simple justice to rebut the charge by deuiah riis superiors did not recognize it, and able men accpiainted M^tli military law are not unanimous in holding tluit a parole, imposed, as it was upon him, \^'as binding either in law or honor. But, even if it were valid, he did not break it, since the very self-constituted authority that imposed it, abrogated it by its own action. There are two i)artie8 to every contract, legal, equitable or honorable, and if one party uses duplicity and manifests the intention to alter an agreement by a jirocedure which would completely change the relation of the parties, what- ever, great oi- small, could come within or under the legal signification of fraud, or even deception, or "a snare," abrogates every contract. If Sir John gave a i)ai-ole to any parties having power to exact it, he was entitled to every right and privilege conferred by a parole. If using the i)arole as a blind, those by whom it was exacted, un- dertook to withdraAv it simultaneously with the substitu- tion of an order for his arrest and close and severe confine- ment, and the latter could only be effected by treachery to the obligations of the former, common justice must concede that the discovery of' such an intention put an end to the obligation of the parole. The treatment of Lady Johnson subsequent to her husband's escape is the very best proof of the animus which dictated the course against Sir John. If a body in authority could hold the utmost penalty over the head of a hcljJess woman, detained as a hostage, it is only tair to believe that there woidd have been no mercy shown to the defiant husband. The little il Sir John Johnson. XXX VI 1 rare work already cited in tliese pages as an authority, " The Adventures of a Lady in the War of Inde])endence in America," sets forth tlie cruelty exliihited tow^ards Lady Johnson, and, until that can be shown to be false, it must be accepted as a trustworthy witness. The treatment of Madame de Lavalette, by tlie French government, for co-operating in the escape of her Inisband,' condemned to death for his adherence to Napoleon in 1815, has always been considered an indellible stigma upon it. General Cust pronounces him innocent of '•''treachery.''^ Still, although this lady suffered a rigorous solitary con- finement of twenty-six days, no one dreamed, even at this period, of the intensest feeling and bitterest animosity, or intimated, that she should, or would be, held as a hostage for the conduct of her husband. "Now, Madam," is the language addressed to Lady Johnson, as quoted by her daughter-in-law, Mrs. Colonel Christopher Johnson, "My connnand does not extend beyond this province; but, if 8ir John comes one foot within my district with his mur- derous allies — your fate is sealed ! "How, sir; what do you mean? What can I do!" gasped the lady, overcome for the moment by the information and the manner in Avhich it was conveyed. "1 mean, Madam, that if your husband lets his Indians go on scalping our people, we canH prevent then shooting you '^' * Your case. Madam, is different from all others. Sir John [Col. Guy was Superin- tendent of the Indians, not Sir John] has power over the Indians, whom no one else can control. We have no wish to injure you individually ; but we must save our people XXXVllI sir John Johnson. tVoiii liis savages. We hold i/ou and yoxir children ax host- (Kjes ; and wo consider that another such descent as the Indians made yesterday on the village of , vnll justify us in the eyes of the whole world in avenging the slaughter of many w^omen and children, as helpless and more innocent than yourself! " A prominent major-general, a regular officer, dis- tinguished in his profession as well as with his pen, to whom the question of this parole -was submitted, decided in favor of Sir John, and a lawyer of standing and an historian of ahility has argued this question at length in his Notes, XXX., xxxi., to the " History of New York, " by Judge Thomas Jones, who, likewise, exonerates Sir ,lohn. Mr. de Lancey after furnishing his proofs, sums up the matter in these words : " The common charge of historical writers, that Sir John broke his parole, is therefore ^''vnth- o^ it foundation and untrue.'''"*' In a conversation with Gen. B. B. C , had 5-3-80, discusf'ing the question of paroles, this gentleman, author of "Battles of the American Kevolution,'' who had given the closest attention to original documents at home and in England, furnished additional arguments as to the impossibility of the right to impose a parole on Sir John. Johnson was put upon parole, so called, by * In the Appendices (" Proofs Considered") to the writer's Address on Sir .John Johnson, Bart., delivered before the New York Historical Society, at its annual meeting, 6th January, 1880, Mr. de Lancey has not only been quoted at length, but additional evidence printed derived from other and various sources. Sf'r John Johnson. XXXI X tliosi' who were styliiii:; themselves at tlie time "faithful subjects of his Majesty." If faithful subjects, how had Sir John rendered himself liable when the orijLjinal charges a<::ainst him were " subse<|uentl y j)rove(l false?" There are some curious circumstances connected with this consideration would recjuire a lawyer's brief to make them ])lain to conmion observation. Sufficient to say, everythinu; turns on the success of the devolution. Might made right, and Sir .lohn, who if the Crown had won would have been exulted to the seventh heaven of honor, since the mother c(^untry failed, is thrust down into the lowest nether depths by those who rose on his fall and profited by the confiscation of his extensive estates. Such is human jndgment. ft is to be hoped the same law does not rule elsewhere. If, however, it was a simple exem- jilification of "might makes right," there is no more to be said. That is the supreme law of this country to- day ; no other. Here it is not only pertinent but just to remark, that (^ount d'Estaing, the first French C/onnnander who brought assistance to this country, had notoriously broken his parole, and yet American writers have never alluded to the fact as prejudicial to his honor, ft did not serve their purpose. The French held that Washington once violated his parole; and Michelet, a devoted friend to liberty and this country, feelingly refers to the case of .Fumonville, to demonstrate one of the heart-burnings which France had to overcome in lending assistance to the revolted colonies. Marshall, in his "Life of Wash- xl Sir John Johnson. ington, " enters into a detailed explanation of this event ; but it only shows that if national antagonism is so difficult to reconcile, how much more so is the intenser spite of civil differences after blood has been shed. How many South- ern officers, in spite of their paroles, met the Union troops on battlefield after battlefield. Regiments and brigades, if not divisions, paroled at Vicksburg, were encountered, it is averred, within a few weeks in the conflicts around Chattanooga. French generals, paroled by the Prussians, it has also been charged, did not hesitate to accept active commands in even the shortest space of time. Circum- stances alter cases, and under those which govern in re- spect to him, the charge against Sir John was a pretext ; but, weak as it is, it is not true. Power in all ages has not been delicate in its choice of means to destroy a dan- gerous antagonist. It would have been well for some of the noblest histor- ical victims, such as Abner, Amasa, Sertorius, Viriathus, Abd el-Kader, Osceola,— if they had comprehended the spirit of these verses (Ecclesiasticus xii., 10, 16) as well as the reply of van der Does, in Leyden, to the Spanish general Valdez, besieging tlie place : "The fowler plays sweet notes on his pipe M'hen he spreads his net for the bird." Sir John was to have been simultaneously released from his parole and made a prisoner. The officer who carried the communication discharging Sir John from his parole, was the bearer also of directions to arrest him as soon as he had read it, "and make him a close prisoner, and care- Sir John Johnson, xli fully guard liitn that ho may not have the least opportunity to escape." Sir John hud some friends amonij^ those who M^ere now in power, and received intelligence of what was going on. He exercised ordinary discretion, and escaped before the trap — a "".snare," as Lossing styles it — could be S})rung u])on him. Sir John fled, but he did not fly unaccompanied; and among his subsequent associates, oflficers and soldiers, were men of as good standing as those who remained be- hind to profit by the change of authority. Many of the latter, however, expiated their sins or errors on the day of reckoning at ( )ri8kany. " Sir John, after nineteen days of inconceivable hardships, reached Montreal with his companions in a state of fatigue and destitution which they could not have survived many days longer. The regular roads were so entirely occupied by the rebels, that they had to take a circuitous route through the thickets of the forests. The few provisions the Indians had prepared were soon exhausted, and they had to subsist on roots ; their boots and clothes were coiu])lete]y destroyed, and when they reached the sliores of the St. Lawrence, it was difficult to recognize or understand the gaunt spectres who emerged from the ' bush,' to seek shelter and a passage across [the St. Law- rence] from the wondering ' habitans' of the first settlement they came to. But a few weeks sufficed to restore Sir John to his usual vigor, both of mind and body ; and, before he was able to assume an active command, he was at work organizing a force of Loyalists, of which he is the colonel, and his frequent irruptions into the territory held by the Continentals, as they call themselves, were the causes of your [Lady .Tohnson's] being removed from Albany. He is charged by them with having broken his word of honor, pledged that he would remain pas- i II : «J ,1 xHi Sir John JoJuisnn. sive ; but we all know that his person wmdd have been seized^ had he remained that nifjlu [wlieii Col. Dayton arrived] at the llalV Stone, in his 'Life of Brant' (I., 14-t), corroV)oratcs this, 'After nineteen days of severe hardship, the Baronet and liis partisans arrived at Montreal in a pitiable condition — having encountered all of suft'ering that it seemed possible for man to endure.' Stone then adds {Ibid, 144), and he presents almost the identical idea of tlie niagnanimoiis Sabine (I., 581): 'Sir Jolin was immediatelv conunissioned a colonel in the British service, and raised a command of two battalions, composed of those who accompanied him in his flight, and other American loyalists who subsequently followed their example. They were called tlie 'Royal Greens.' In the month of January following, he found his way into Xew York, then in possession of the British ibrces. From that period he became, not only one of the most active, but one of the bitterest foes of his own countrymen of any who were engaged in that contest — and repeatedly the scoiirge of his own former neighbors. He was unquestionably a loyalist from principle, else he would scarcely have ha/arded, as he did, and ultimately lost, domains larger and fairer than probably ever belonged to a single proprietor in America, Willian Penn only excepted." Sabine (I., 581) observes: "It is thought that he was a conscientious loyalist; and this may be allowed. lie lived in a style of luxury and splendor which few country gentlemen in America possessed the means to support. His domains were as large and as fair as those of any colonist of his time, the estate of Lord Fairfax only excepted; and no American hazarded more, probably, in the cause of the Crown. Faith- fulness to duty is never a crime; and, if he sacrificed his home, his fortune, and his country, for his principles, he deserves admiration. * * * r^^iQ conduct of the Whigs towards him may have been harsh, and, in the beginning, too harsh for liis offences." The majority of those who were most active in wrong- Sir John Johnson. xliii ing the family of Sir William Johnson experienced severe punishment, either in themselves or their surroundings, and the consequences of their injustice tlircatened to undo the work of a century and make Schenectady once more a frontier town. Not able to seize the man (Sir John), disii})pointment determined to capture a wonuin. The victim was his wife. Why? The answer is in the words of a letter preserved in the series of the well-known Peter Force, which says: "It is the general opinion of people in Tryon County, that while Lady Johnson is kept as a kind of hostage, Sir John will not carry matters to excess." Lady Johnson must have been a bold woman ; for even when under con- straint, and in the most delicate condition that a woman can be, she exulted in the prospects of quickly hearing that Sir John would speedily ravage the country on the Mohawk river to redress his own and her wrongs and suffering. To quote another letter from the highest authority, ''It has been hinted that she is a good se- curity to prevent the effects of her husband's virulence." With a determination even superior to that exhibited by her husband, because she was a woman and he a man. Lady Johnson in midwinter, January, 1777, in disguise, made her escape through hardships which would appal a person in her position in the present day. Through the deepest snows, through the extreme cold, through lines of ingrates and enemies, she made her way into the loyal city of New York. Her story reads like a romance. People cite Flora MacDonald, Grace Darrell, Florence Nightin- 1 £3ii xHv Sir John Johnson. gale. Wo had a heroine in onr midst who ;h relying much on the zeal and fidelity of hor devoted servants, yet felt keenly the loss of her active and affectionate sister [Anne Watts, afterwards Countess of Cassilis], whose stronger health and spirits were such an inestimable sup])ort. Poor Tony's [one of her Imsband's faithful negro slaves, who risked so much from affection for the family] chief ground of consolation arose from the conviction that, being so very near the British lines, they could not fail of reaching them — they were almost within sight, he said! Poor fellow, strength and coinage could have insured the safety of his mis tress and her children, he would have carried them or fought for them till he had dropped ; but, as resistance to sentries was out of the question, the present business of all was to be prepared to exercise self command, and to reply with composure to the Sir John JohnHon. Aw questions thnt would be asked. Fortunately, Grove Ilotise was but a little out of the way of their real disiinntion, and as it was probable inquiries iniLjht be made there, it would not have been safe for them to take the slei