IRLF 
 
 SB S3fl 7M1 
 
BORDER WARS 
 
 AMERICAN REVOLUTION 
 
 BY WILLIAM L. STONE, 
 
 AUTHOR OF THE "LIFE AND TIMES OF RED JACKET," "HIS 
 TORY OF WYOMING," &C., &C., &C. 
 
 IN TWO VOLUMES. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS, 
 
 329 & 331 PEARL STREET, 
 
 FRANKLIN SQUARE. 
 
 1857. 
 
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1843, by 
 
 HARPER & BROTHERS, 
 In the Clerk s Office of the Southern District of New York. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 IT is related by jiEsop, that a forester once meet 
 ing with a lion, they travelled together for a time, 
 and conversed amicably without much differing in 
 opinion. At length a dispute happening to arise 
 upon the question of superiority between their re 
 spective races, the former, in the absence of a 
 better argument, pointed to a monument on which 
 was sculptured in marble the statue of a man stri 
 ding over the body of a vanquished lion. " If 
 this," said the lion, " is all you have to say, let us 
 be the sculptors, and you will see the lion striding 
 over the man." 
 
 The moral of this fable should ever be borne in 
 mind when contemplating the character of that 
 brave and ill-used race of men, now melting away 
 before the Anglo-Saxons like the snow beneath a 
 vertical sun the aboriginals of America. No 
 Indian pen traces the history of their tribes and 
 nations, or records the deeds of their warriors and 
 chiefs their prowess and their wrongs. Their 
 spoilers have been their historians ; and although 
 a reluctant assent has been awarded to some of 
 the nobler traits of their nature, yet, without yield 
 ing a due allowance for the peculiarities of their 
 situation, the Indian character has been presented, 
 
 M90350 
 
IV PREFACE. 
 
 with singular uniformity, as being cold, cruel, mo. 
 rose, and revengeful, unrelieved by any of those 
 varying traits and characteristics, those lights and 
 shadows, which are admitted in respect to other 
 people no less wild and uncivilized than they. 
 
 Without pausing to reflect that, even when most 
 cruel, they have been practising the trade of war 
 always dreadful as much in conformity to their 
 own usages and laws as have their more civilized 
 antagonists, the white historian has drawn them 
 with the characteristics of demons. Forgetting 
 that the second .of the Hebrew monarchs did not 
 scruple to saw his prisoners with saws, and har 
 row them with harrows of iron ; forgetful, likewise, 
 of the scenes at Smithfield, under the direction of 
 our own British ancestors, the historians of the 
 poor, untutored Indians, almost with one accord, 
 have denounced them as monsters sui generis 
 of unparalleled and unapproachable barbarity as 
 though the summary tomahawk were worse than 
 the iron tortures of the harrow, and the torch of 
 the Mohawk hotter than the fagots of Queen Mary. 
 
 Nor does it seem to have occurred to the " pale- 
 faced" writers that the identical cruelties, the rec 
 ords and descriptions of which enter so largely 
 into the composition of the earlier volumes of 
 American history, were not barbarities in the esti 
 mation of those who practised them. The scalp- 
 lock was an emblem of chivalry. Every warrior, 
 in shaving his head for battle, was careful to leave 
 the lock of defiance upon his crown, as for the 
 bravado, " Take it if you can." The stake and 
 the torture were identified with their rude notions 
 of the power of endurance. They were inflicted 
 
PREFACE. V 
 
 upon captives of their own race as well as upon 
 the whites ; and, with their own braves, these tri 
 als were courted, to enable the sufferer to exhibit 
 the courage and fortitude with which they could be 
 borne the proud scorn with which all the pain 
 that a foe might inflict could be endured. 
 
 If the moral ol the fable is applicable to aborigi 
 nal history in general, it is equally so in regard to 
 very many of their chiefs whose names have been 
 forgotten, or only known to be detested. Peculiar 
 circumstances have given prominence and fame of 
 a certain description to some few of the forest 
 chieftains : as in the instances of Powhatan in the 
 South, the mighty Philip in the East, and the great 
 Pondiac of the Northwest. But there have been 
 many others, equal, perhaps, in courage, and skill, 
 and energy to the distinguished chiefs just men 
 tioned, whose names have been steeped in infamy 
 in their preservation, because " the lions are no 
 sculptors." They have been described as ruth 
 less butchers of women and children, without one 
 redeeming quality, save those of animal courage 
 and indifference to pain ; while it is not unlikely 
 that were the actual truth known, their characters, 
 for all the high qualities of the soldier, might sus 
 tain an advantageous comparison with those of half 
 the warriors of equal rank in Christendom. Of 
 this class was a prominent subject of the present 
 volumes, whose name was terrible in every Amer 
 ican ear during the War of Independence, and was 
 long afterward associated with everything bloody, 
 ferocious, and hateful. It is even within our own 
 day that the name of Brant would chill the young 
 blood by its very sound, and cause the lisping child 
 
VI PREFACE. 
 
 to cling closer to the knee of its mother. As the 
 master-spirit of the Indians engaged in the British 
 service during the war of the Revolution, not only 
 were all the border massacres charged directly 
 upon him, but upon his head fell the public male 
 dictions for every individual atrocity which marked 
 that sanguinary contest, whether committed by In 
 dians, or Tories, or by the exasperated regular sol 
 diery of the foe. In many instances great injus 
 tice was done to him : as in regard to the affair of 
 Wyoming, in connexion with which his name has 
 been used by every preceding annalist who has 
 written upon the subject ; while it has, moreover, 
 for the same cause been consigned to infamy, deep 
 and foul, in the deathless song of Campbell. In 
 other cases, again, the Indians of the Six Nations, 
 in common with their chief, were loaded with ex 
 ecrations for atrocities of which all were alike in 
 nocent, because the deeds recorded were never 
 committed : it having been the policy of the pub- 
 *ic writers, and those in authority, not only to mag 
 nify actual occurrences, but sometimes, when these 
 were wanting, to draw upon their imaginations for 
 accounts of such deeds of ferocity arid blood as 
 might best serve to keep alive the strongest feel 
 ings of indignation against the parent-country, and 
 likewise induce the people to take the field for re 
 venge, if not driven thither by the nobler impulse 
 of patriotism. 
 
 In the execution of this task, the author had sup 
 posed that the bulk of his labour would cease with 
 the close of the war of the Revolution, or, at most, 
 that some fifteen or twenty pages, sketching rap 
 idly the latter years of the life of Thayendanegea 
 
PREFACE. V 
 
 would be all that was necessary. Far otherwise 
 was the fact. When the author came to examine 
 the papers of Brant, nearly all of which were con 
 nected with his career subsequent to that contest, 
 it was found that his life and actions had been in 
 timately associated with the Indian and Canadian 
 politics of more than twenty years after the treaty 
 of peace ; that a succession of Indian congresses 
 were held by the nations of the great lakes, in all 
 which he was one of the master-spirits ; that he 
 was directly or indirectly engaged in the wars be 
 tween the United States and Indians from 1789 to 
 1795, during which the bloody campaigns of Har- 
 mar, St. Clair, and Wayne took place ; and that he 
 acted an important part in the affair of the North 
 western posts, so long retained by Great Britain 
 after the treaty of peace. This discovery compel 
 led the writer to enter upon a new and altogether 
 unexpected field of research. Many difficulties 
 were encountered in the composition of this branch 
 of the work, arising from various causes and cir 
 cumstances. The conflicting relations of the Uni 
 ted States, the Indians, and the Canadians, togeth 
 er with the peculiar and sometimes apparently 
 equivocal position in which the Mohawk chief the 
 subject of the biography stood in regard to them 
 all ; the more than diplomatic caution with which 
 the British officers managed the double game 
 which it suited their policy to play so long ; the 
 broken character of the written materials obtained 
 by the author, and the necessity of supplying many 
 links in the chain of events from circumstantial 
 evidence and the unwritten records of Indian di 
 plomacy, all combined to render the matters to be 
 
Vlll PREFACE. 
 
 elucidated exceedingly complicated, intricate, and 
 difficult of clear explanation. But, tangled as was 
 the web, the author has endeavoured to unravel the 
 materials, and weave them into a narrative of con 
 sistency and truth. The result of these labours is 
 imbodied in the second part of the present work ; 
 and, unless the author has over-estimated both the 
 interest and the importance of this portion of Amer 
 ican history, the contribution now made will be 
 most acceptable to the reader. 
 
 In addition to the matters here indicated, a pret 
 ty full account of the life of Brant, after the close 
 of the Indian wars, is given, by no means barren 
 either of incident or anecdote ; and the whole is 
 completed by some interesting particulars respect 
 ing the family of the chief, giving their personal 
 history down to the present day. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 OF 
 
 THE FIRST VOLUME. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 I irentage of Joseph Brant. Extracts from Sir William Johnson s 
 Journal. Miss Alolly Brant. Joseph goes to Battle at the Age of 13. 
 His Marriage Page 13 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 The first Blood of the Revolution. Loyalists in the Valley of the Mo 
 hawk. Influence of Sir William Johnson. His Death. Colonel Guy 
 Johnson. Walter Butler. Meeting of the Whigs in Palatine. Meet 
 ing of the General Congress. Cresap s War, and the Death of Lo 
 gan 35 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Battle of Lexington. First Strife in Tryon County between the Whigs 
 and Loyalists. The Stockbridge Indians. Intercepted Letter from 
 Brant. Colonel Guy Johnson s Intrigues with the Six Nations. Zeal 
 of the Tryon County Patriots 56 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Correspondence between the Patriots and Colonel Guy Johnson. Cap 
 ture of Ticonderoga. Battle of Bunker Hill. Colonel Johnson holds 
 Councils with the Indians. The Oneidas and Tuscaroras promise 
 Neutrality. Colonel Johnson escapes to Canada, accompanied by 
 Chiefs and Warriors of the Six Nations . ... . 72 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Meeting of the Second Continental Congress. George Washington ap 
 pointed Commander-in-chief. Council with the Six Nations. First 
 Outbreak of Hostilities in the Mohawk Valley. Movements of the 
 Tryon County Committee. Correspondence with Sir John Jonnson. 
 Invasion of Canada. Death of Montgomery .... 84 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Retirement of Lord Dunmore from Virginia. Suspicious Conduct of Sir 
 John Johnson. Council with the Mohawks held by General Schuyler. 
 Correspondence between General Schuyler and Sir John Johnson. 
 Surrender by the latter of his Arms and Munitions of War. His Flight 
 to Montreal .109 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Visit of Brant to England, and final Resolution to take Sides against the 
 Colonists. Battle of The Cedars. Cruel Treatment of the Prisoners 
 
 VOL. L B 
 
f CONTENTS. 
 
 Resolutions by Congress denouncing these Barbarities. Evacuation 
 of Boston by the British. Expulsion of the Americans from Canada. 
 Issuing of the Declaration of Independence. Battle of Long Island. 
 Battle of White. Plains. Retreat of Washington to the Dela 
 ware Page 126 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Battle of Princeton. Final Extinguishment of the Council Fire of the 
 Six Nations at Onondaga. Capture of an Indian Scouting Party. 
 Interview between General Herkimer and Brant. Its Failure. Mur 
 der of Lieutenant Wormwood by Brant. Death of the Indian Chiefs 
 Cornstalk and Ellinipsics 154 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Expedition under General Burgoyne. Occupation of Philadelphia by 
 General Howe. Evacuation of Ticonderoga. Murder of Miss M Crea. 
 Terrors preceding the March of Burgoyne. Narrow Escape of Gen 
 eral Schuyler from Assassination 174 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 March of Colonel St. Leger to co-operate with Burgoyne. Prevalence 
 of Disaffection among the Militia of Tryon County. Flight of Scotch 
 and German Settlers to Canada. Strenuous Efforts of General Her 
 kimer. Investment of Fort Schuyler. Gallant Defence of the Be 
 sieged. Battle of Oriskany. Death of General Herkimer . 187 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Siege of Fort Schuyler. St. Leger s Efforts to induce a Capitulation. 
 Bold Achievement of Colonel Willett. Capture of Walter N. Butler, 
 Trial as a Spy, and Condemnation to Death. His Escape. Hasty 
 Abandonment of the Siege of Fort Schuyler. Its laughable Cause. 
 Precipitate Flight of the Besiegers 221 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Embarrassments of Burgoyne. He encamps at Saratoga. First Battle 
 there, on the 19th of September. Increasing Difficulties of Burgoyne. 
 Second Battle on the 7th of October. Death of General Frazer. 
 Retreat of Burgoyne. His Surrender. Presumptuous Conduct of 
 General Gates towards Washington. Noble Treatment of Burgovne 
 by Schuyler 237 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Movement of Sir Henry Clinton to relieve Burgoyne. Capture of Forts 
 Clinton and Montgomery. Burning of Esopus. Of Danbury. Death 
 of General Wooster. Massacre at Paoli. Battle of Germantown. 
 Horrible Murder of Captain Diet/ s Family by Tories and Indians. 
 Removal of Lady Johnson. Attempts to capture Mr. Taylor and to 
 kill General Schuyler 252 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Treaty of Alliance between France and the United States. Abortive 
 Plan of General Gates to invade Canada. Great Council held with 
 the Six Nations at Johnstown. Irruption of Loyalists from Canada 
 into the Valley of the Mohawk. Murder of an Infant by one of the 
 Loyalists . , 267 
 
CONTENTS. XI 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 The Massacre at Wyoming. Description of the Village. History of its 
 Settlement. Warfare of the early Settlers. Expedition against Wy 
 oming under Colonel Butler. Disastrous Battle, and Defeat of the 
 Americans. Surrender of Fort Wyoming. Horrible Atrocities of 
 the Tories. Brant not present on this Occasion. Catharine Mon- 
 tour Page 287 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 Occupation of New-York by the British. Battle of Monmouth. Arri 
 val of the French Fleet. Battle of Rhode Island. Operations against 
 the Indians at the West. Colonel Clarke s Expedition. Daring Ex 
 ploits of Captain Bowman. Border Forays in New- York. Bold Es 
 cape of Mr. Sawyer from seven Indians. Treachery in Fort Schuyler. 
 Murders in the German Settlements. Destruction of the German 
 Flatts 312 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 Destruction of Cherry Valley by Butler and Brant. Murder of Mr. Wells 
 and his Family. Humanity of Joseph Brant. Letter from Butler in 
 vindication of his Conduct. Indian Dance of Thanksgiving. Sir Will 
 iam Johnson s Iron Chest. Its Burial and subsequent Recovery. Cap 
 ture of Savannah 335 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 Beleaguerment of Fort Laurens by the Indians. Relief of the Garrison. 
 Final Abandonment of the Fort. Capture of Colonel Hamilton and 
 a British Force on the Wabash. Treachery of the Onondagas. Their 
 severe Punishment. Indian Murders and Ravages in the Mohawk 
 Valley. Destruction of Cobleskill. Descent of Brant upon Minisink. 
 Disastrous Battle at the Delaware . . 359 
 
BORDER WARS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 AMERICAN REVOLUTION 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE birth and parentage of JOSEPH BRANT, or, 
 more correctly, of THAYENDANEGEA for such was 
 his real name have been involved in uncertainty, 
 by the conflicting accounts that have been published 
 concerning him. By some authors he has been 
 called a half-breed. By others he has been pro 
 nounced a Shawanese by parentage, and only a 
 Mohawk by adoption. Some historians have spo 
 ken of him as a son of Sir William Johnson ; while 
 others, again, have allowed him the honour of Mo 
 hawk blood, but denied that he was descended from 
 a chief. 
 
 The facts are these : the Six Nations had carried 
 their arms far to the west and south, and the whole 
 country south of the lakes was claimed by them, to 
 a certain extent of supervisory jurisdiction, by the 
 right of conquest. To the Ohio and Sandusky coun 
 try they asserted a stronger and more peremptory 
 claim, extending to the right of soil, at least on the 
 lake shore as far as Presque Isle. From their asso 
 ciations in that country, it had become usual among 
 the Six Nations, especially the Mohawks, to make 
 temporary removals to the west during the hunting 
 seasons, and one or more of those families would 
 frequently remain abroad, among the Miamis, the 
 
l4 BOllPSR WARS OF THE 
 
 Hurons, and Wyandots, for a longer or shorter pe 
 riod, ftS they chose. 
 
 ?.t was while his parents were abroad upon one 
 of those hunting excursions that Thayendanegea 
 was born, in the year 1742, on the banks of the Ohio. 
 The home of his family was at the Canajoharie 
 Castle the central of the three castles of the Mo 
 hawks, in their native valley. His father s name 
 was Tehowaghwengaraghkwin, a full-blooded Mo 
 hawk of the Wolf Tribe.* Thayendanegea was 
 very young when his father died. His mother mar 
 ried a second time to a Mohawk ; and the family 
 tradition at present is, that the name of Brant was 
 derived from that of her second husband, whose 
 Christian name was Barnet, or Bernard, modified, by 
 contraction, to " Brant." There is reason to doubt 
 the accuracy of this tradition, however, since it is 
 believed that there was an Indian family, of some 
 consequence and extent, bearing the English name 
 of Brant. Indeed, from the recently -discovered 
 manuscripts of Sir William Johnson, it may be 
 questioned whether Tehowaghwengaraghkwin, and 
 an old chief, called by Sir William sometimes Brant, 
 and at others Nickus Brant, were not one and the 
 same person. 
 
 The denial that he was a born chief is likewise 
 believed to be incorrect. The London Magazine for 
 July, 1776, contains a sketch of him, probably fur 
 nished by Boswell, with whom he was intimate du 
 ring his first visit to England in 1775-76. In that 
 account it is affirmed that he was the grandson of 
 one of the five sachems who visited England, and 
 excited so much attention in the British capital, in 
 1710, during the reign of Queen Anne. Of those 
 
 * Each of the original Five Nations was divided into three tribes : the 
 Tortoise, the Bear, and the Wolf. The subject of the present memoir 
 was of the latter. According to David Cusick, a Tuscarora, who has 
 written a tract respecting the history of the ancient Five Nations, the 
 laws of the confederation required that the Onondagas should provide 
 the king and the Mohav/ks a great war-chief. 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 15 
 
 chiefs, two were of the Muhhekaneew, or River In 
 dians, and three were Mohawks one of whom was 
 chief of the Canajoharie clan.* Thayendanegea 
 was of the latter clan ; and as there is reason to 
 believe that his father was a sachem, there can be 
 little doubt of the correctness of the London publi 
 cation, in claiming for him direct descent from the 
 Canajoharie chief who visited the British court at 
 the time above mentioned. But there is other evi 
 dence to sustain the assumption. In the Life of the 
 first President Wheelock, by the Reverend Messrs. 
 M Clure and Parish, it is asserted that the father 
 of Joseph Brant " was sachem of the Mohawks after 
 the death of the famous King Hendrick." The in 
 timacy for a long time existing between the family 
 of Brant and the Wheelocks, father and sons, ren 
 ders this authority, in the absence of unwritten tes 
 timony still more authentic, very good ; and, as 
 Hendrick fell in 1755, when Thayendanegea was 
 thirteen years of age, the tradition of the early death 
 of his father, and his consequent assumption of a 
 new name, is essentially weakened. Mrs. Grant, 
 of Laggan, who in early life was a resident of Al 
 bany, and intimately acquainted with the domestic 
 relations of Sir William Johnson, speaks of the sis 
 ter of young Thayendanegea, who was intimately 
 
 * These five sachems, or Indian king s, as they were called, were taken 
 to England by Colonel Schuyler. Their arrival in London created a 
 great sensation, not only in the capital, but throughout the kingdom. 
 The populace followed them wherever they went. The court was at 
 that time in mourning for the death of the Prince of Denmark, and the 
 chiefs were dressed in black under-clothes, after the English manner ; 
 but, instead of a blanket, they had each a scarlet ingrain cloth mantle, 
 edged with gold, thrown over all their other clothes. This dress was 
 directed by the dressers of the playhouse, and given by the queen. A 
 more than ordinary solemnity attended the audience they had of her 
 majesty. They were conducted to St. James s, in two coaches, by Sir 
 Charles Cotterel, and introduced to the royal presence by the Duke of 
 Shrewsbury, then lord-chamberlain. (Smith s History.) Oldmixon has 
 preserved the speech delivered by them on the occasion, and several his 
 torians record the visit. Sir Richard Steele mentions these chiefs in the 
 Taller of May 13, 1710. They were also made the subject of a number 
 o* the Spectator, by Addison, 
 
16 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 associated in the family of the baronet, as " the 
 daughter of a sachem." 
 
 Jn the manuscript diary of Sir William Johnson, 
 just referred to, the baronet often had occasion to 
 speak of Brant, of Canajoharie. Sometimes he was 
 called " Nickus Brant," and at others Aroghyadagha, 
 but most frequently " Old Nickus," or " Old Brant." 
 As these private journals of Sir William have never 
 seen the light, and are curious in themselves, a few 
 extracts will probably not be unacceptable to the 
 reader, serving, as they will, not only to illustrate 
 the present history, but also the character of the in 
 tercourse and relations existing between the English 
 and the Indians, under the administration of the In 
 dian department by that distinguished officer. A 
 more just idea of the character and importance of 
 the chieftain s family may likewise be derived from 
 a perusal of the extracts proposed to be given, ex 
 hibiting, as they do, something of the intercourse 
 maintained between the families of the white and 
 the red warriors. 
 
 It must be borne in mind that the diary was writ 
 ten in the years 1757, 1758, and 1759, in the midst 
 of the old French war, ending by the conquest of 
 Canada in 1763. An expedition against that colony, 
 under the conduct of Lord Loudoun, projected early 
 in the former year, had been abandoned, in conse 
 quence of his lordship s inability to bring a sufficient 
 number of troops into the field to meet the heavy 
 re-enforcements sent over that year from France. 
 Meantime, the Marquis de Montcalm, with an army 
 of 9000 men, had advanced through Lake George, 
 and carried Fort William Henry the siege of which 
 was followed by a frightful massacre and was then 
 threatening Fort Edward and the settlements on the 
 Hudson ; while, at the west, the French, with their 
 Indian allies, were continually threatening an inva 
 sion by the way of Oswego, and by their scouts and 
 scalping parties were vexing the German settle- 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 1 7 
 
 ments on the Upper Mohawk, and continually har 
 assing the Six Nations, or Iroquois, ever the objects 
 of French hostility. In this state of things, it re 
 quired the utmost activity on the part of Sir William 
 Johnson, his officers, and Indian allies, to keep them 
 selves well informed as to the actual or intended 
 movements of their subtle enemies. There was, 
 therefore, constant employment, until the close of 
 the year, for Indian scouts and messengers, through 
 out the whole wilderness country from Lake Cham- 
 plain to Niagara, and Fort Du Quesne, on the Ohio. 
 With this explanation we proceed to the diary : 
 
 " 1757. November 4th. Canadiorha, alias Nickus 
 Brant s son, who was in quest after De Couagne as 
 far as Oneida, came here (Fort Johnson), and said 
 he inquired what news was stirring among the Onei- 
 das. One of the sachems told him the same piece 
 of news Ogaghte brought some days since, about 
 the French intending to stop the powder from the 
 Six Nations, building a fort near Chennessio, &c. ; 
 that it made a great noise among the nations, and 
 gave them uneasiness ; wherefore they were assem 
 bling often at Chennessio, and keeping (holding) 
 often great councils among themselves how to act 
 in this affair of last moment." 
 
 In the next extract it will be seen that Sir William 
 speaks of Brant as a " sachem." Of course it could 
 be none other than the elder, or " Old Brant," at the 
 time, as Joseph was not then more than sixteen 
 years old. 
 
 " 1758. April I5ih. Sir William set out for Cana- 
 joharie, and took with him Captains Johnson,* Fon 
 da, and Jacobus Clement, in order to settle some 
 matters with the Indians of that castle. He arrived 
 that night. 
 
 " April 16th. He delivered a string of wampum to 
 Brant and Paulus, two sachems, desiring them to 
 call all their people out of the woods to attend a 
 
 * Guy Johnson > his son-in-law. 
 
18 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 meeting he proposed the next day with them, at 
 which he should let them know General Abercrom- 
 bie s pleasure, and his own inclination and advice ; 
 also what passed between him and the several na 
 tions, who of late had had several meetings with 
 him." 
 
 Preparations were now making for a more for 
 midable and vigorous campaign, under General Ab- 
 ercrombie, who had succeeded Lord Loudoun. His 
 object was an attack upon Ticonderoga, and, if suc 
 cessful, a descent upon Crown Point and Montreal. 
 The French in Canada were, of course, making cor 
 responding exertions to repel the expected invasion. 
 With a view of creating a diversion, by annoying 
 the colony of New- York from another quarter, they 
 were said to be preparing to invade the Mohawk 
 Valley by the way of Oswego and Fort Stanwix. 
 A party of their Indians had made a bold irruption, 
 towards the close of April, upon Burnetsfield, on 
 the south side of the Mohawk, and destroyed the en 
 tire settlement ; massacring men, women, and chil 
 dren thirty-three in number being the whole pop 
 ulation save two persons. There had likewise been 
 outrages at the German Flatts, where several In 
 dians had been killed by the inhabitants. The mili 
 tia were promptly ordered into the field, to rendez 
 vous at Canajoharie, whither Sir William repaired 
 on the 4th of May, to lead them against the enemy, 
 reported, on the same day, to be in force at the great 
 carrying-place (Fort Stanwix). 
 
 Meantime, it was well known that the French had 
 left no means untried to seduce the five westernmost 
 tribes of the Six Nations from their allegiance to 
 the English. They had long had their Jesuit priests 
 among the Oneidas, Onondagas, &c. ; and a variety 
 of circumstances had occurred to induce the Mo 
 hawks to distrust their brethren of the other tribes. 
 Under these circumstances Sir William received the 
 invitation thus noted in his diary : 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 19 
 
 " April 4th. Sir William having had an invitation 
 from the Six Nations to attend a grand meeting to 
 be held at Onondaga within a few days hence, where 
 he intends to proceed, in case the last alarm should 
 prove groundless." 
 
 The baronet arrived at Canajoharie in the evening, 
 and attended a dance of the young warriors, having 
 the scalp of one of the hostile Indians engaged in 
 the recent irruption, who had been killed at the Ger 
 man Flatts. He is thus spoken of in the diary, in 
 the handwriting of Sir William s secretary : 
 
 " The body of Otqueandageghte, an Onondaga 
 warrior, who lived for some years at Swegachy, 
 and formerly a mate of Sir William s, was found. 
 His name was engraved on the handle (of his knife), 
 and how often he had been to war, together with 
 this inscription : Otqueandageghte le Camera de Jean- 
 son. 1 " 
 
 Sir William was highly respected by the Six Na 
 tions, and by the Mohawks, in particular, was great 
 ly beloved. This affection was not only manifested 
 by their actions, but often in their speeches at their 
 councils, and in their concern for his welfare when 
 sick, and for his safety when in the field. Such be 
 ing their feelings towards the baronet, they were 
 reluctant, under existing circumstances, to allow 
 him to place himself in the power of the Indians 
 about to assemble at the Great Council Fire at On 
 ondaga. They were likewise apprehensive that he 
 might incur danger from some of the scalping par 
 ties of the French. These explanations will render 
 the following extracts from the diary intelligible : 
 
 "Afay 5th. Sir William having no farther ac 
 counts of the enemy s appearance, sent a scout of 
 two Mohawks, two Canajoharies, and a white man, 
 to go as far as Wood Creek and the Oneida Lake, in 
 order to obtain the certainty of the alarm. About 
 noon, all the women of the chief men of this castle 
 met at Sir William s lodging, and brought with them 
 
20 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 several of the sachems, who acquainted Sir William 
 that they had something to say to him in the name 
 of their chief women. 
 
 " Old Nickus (Brant) being appointed speaker, 
 opened his discourse with condoling with Sir Will 
 iam for the losses his people had sustained, and 
 then proceeded : 
 
 * BROTHER We understand you intend to go to a 
 meeting to Onondaga ; we can t help speaking with 
 this belt of wampum to you, and giving our senti 
 ments on your intended journey. In the first place, 
 we think it quite contrary to the customs of any 
 governor or superintendent of Indian affairs being 
 called to Onondaga upon public business, as the 
 council fire which burns there serves only for pri 
 vate consultations of the confederacy; and when 
 matters are concluded and resolved upon there, the 
 confederacy are to set out for the great fireplace 
 which is at your house, and there deliver their con 
 clusion. In the next place, we are almost convin 
 ced that the invitation is illegal, and not agreed 
 upon or desired by the confederacy, but only the 
 Oneidas which gives us the more reason to be un 
 easy about your going, as it looks very suspicious. 
 Did not they tell you, when they invited you, the 
 road of friendship was clear, and every obstacle re 
 moved that was in before ! They scarce uttered rt, 
 and the cruelties were committed at the German 
 Flatts, where the remainder of our poor brethren 
 were butchered by the enemy s Indians. Is this a 
 clear road of peace and friendship ? W^ould not you 
 be obliged to wade all the way in the blood of the 
 poor innocent men, women, and children, who were 
 murdered after being taken T 
 
 " BROTHER, by this belt of wampum, we, the wom 
 en, surround and hang about you like little children, 
 who are crying at their parents going from them 
 for fear of their never returning again to give them 
 suck ; and we earnestly beg you will give ear to 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 21 
 
 our request, and desist from your journey. We 
 flatter ourselves you will look upon this our speech, 
 and take the same notice of it as all our men do, 
 who, when they are addressed by the women, and 
 desired to desist from any rash enterprise, they im 
 mediately give way, when, before, everybody else 
 tried to dissuade them from it, and could not pre 
 vail. Gave the belt." 
 
 "May Wth. This afternoon Sir William returned 
 his answer to the speech of the chief women of this 
 castle, made to him on the 5th instant, which is as 
 follows : 
 
 " DYATTEGO Your tender and affectionate speech, 
 made some days ago, I have considered, and there 
 upon have despatched messengers to Oneida, in or 
 der to inquire how things stand there after what 
 happened at the German Flatts, and whether my 
 presence at the meeting would be still necessary. 
 These messengers are returned, and I find by them 
 that the sachems of Oneida likewise disapprove my 
 proceeding any farther, for sundry reasons they 
 give in their reply. Wherefore I shall comply with 
 your request to return, and heartily thank you for 
 the great tenderness and love expressed for me in 
 your speech. Returned their belt." 
 
 The next mention of the Brants contained in the 
 broken manuscripts of Sir William, is found in the 
 private journal kept by him of his tour to Detroit, 
 in 1761, after the surrender of the Canadas. The 
 duty then devolved upon Sir William of meeting 
 the upper Indians around the great lakes, previous 
 ly under the influence, and many of them in the 
 service, of the French, in Grand Council at Detroit 
 to establish friendly relations with them, and re 
 ceive a transfer of that quasi allegiance which the 
 Indians have generally acknowledged to the whites, 
 French, English, or American. In addition to his 
 own immediate suite, among whom was his son, 
 Lieutenant Johnson (afterward Sir John), he was 
 
22 BORDER WARS OP THE 
 
 attended on the expedition by a detachment of 
 troops and a band of the Mohawk warriors. While 
 at Niagara, Sir William notes : 
 
 "Monday, August 10. Nickus,* of Canajoharie> 
 an Indian, arrived here, and acquainted me that sev 
 eral of his castle had died of malignant fever ; and 
 that all Brant s family were ill of the same disorder, 
 except the old woman. He also told me that he 
 had heard by the way, from several Indians, that I 
 was to be destroyed or murdered on my way to De 
 troit ; and that the Indians were certainly determin 
 ed to rise and fall on the English, as several thou- 
 
 * Nickus Hance another name and a different person from Nickus 
 Brant ; of this Nickus, repeated mention is made in Sir William s pre 
 vious official diaries. The following quotations are given as curious il 
 lustrations of Indian customs : 
 
 " Fort Johnson, May 22, 1757. Sir William spoke with Nickus Hance, 
 alias Taicarihogo, a Canajoharie chief, who came to see him, and told 
 him that, as he was much concerned for the loss of his (said Hance s) 
 mother, who lately died, he expected he would remove his concern by 
 going to war, and bringing either a prisoner or a scalp to put in her 
 room, or stead, as is usual among Indians. Upon this, Sir William gave 
 him a very fine black belt to enforce his request. Taicarihogo returned 
 Sir William thanks for the concern he shared for the loss of his mother, 
 accepted the belt, and promised he would, on his return home, call his 
 young men together, and lay Sir William s belt and request before them." 
 [The giving of a belt in this way was a sort of commission to make up 
 a scalping party against the forces or the settlements of the enemy. 
 Author.] 
 
 Of a similar character is the following extract from the diary : 
 " Albany, May 18, 1758. Capt. Jacob Head, of a company of Stock- 
 bridge Indians, brought to Sir William s lodgings four French scalps, 
 which his cousin, chief of another company of said Indians, had taken 
 from the enemy some few days before, and the aforesaid Jacob spoke as 
 follows : 
 
 " Brother Warraghayagey^ This scalp (the one with a black belt tied 
 to it, painted) I desire may be delivered to my wife s uncle> old Hickus. 
 of Canajoharie, to replace her mother, who was his sister. 
 
 " This scalp (meaning another upon the same stick, with a bunch of 
 black wampum tied to it) I send to the aforesaid man to replace Euse- 
 nia, who was Taraghyorie s wife. 
 
 " This scalp (meaning a scalp by itself on a stick, with a bunch of 
 black wampum) my cousin, Captain Jacob, gives to replace old King 
 Hendrick, of Canajoharie. [Killed, in 1755, at the battle of Lake George. 
 Author.1 
 
 " This scalp (meaning the small one tied round with a bunch of wam 
 pum) my said cousin gives to replace Hickus s son, who was killed at 
 the battle of the lake under vour rommand, " 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 23 
 
 sands of the Ottoways and other nations had agreed 
 to join the Five Nations in this scheme or plot." 
 
 It is needless, however, to multiply citations to 
 the point immediately in view. The object of those 
 already made has been to clear up the doubts, if 
 possible, and establish the fact as to the immediate 
 ancestry of Thayendanegea, alias Joseph Brant; 
 and although the fact is nowhere positively assert 
 ed, yet there is much reason to suppose that he 
 was the son of Nickus Brant, whose Indian name, 
 according to Sir William Johnson, was Aroghyadec- 
 ka, but which has been furnished to the author by 
 the family as Tehowaghwengaraghkwin. It has been 
 seen, from the extracts, that Nickus Brant was a 
 Canajoharie chief of character and celebrity, be 
 tween whom and Sir William a close intimacy sub 
 sisted. When called to Canajoharie upon business 
 or pleasure, the baronet s quarters were " at Brant s 
 house," as noted in his own diary. It is likewise 
 well known that, after the decease of Lady John 
 son (an event which occurred several years antece 
 dent to the period of which we are now writing, and 
 before he had won his baronetcy at Lake George), 
 Sir William took to his home as his wife, Mary 
 Brant, or " Miss Molly," as she was called, with 
 whom he lived until his decease, in 1774, and by 
 whom he had several children. This circumstance 
 is thus mentioned by Mrs. Grant, in her delightful 
 book already referred to : " Becoming a widower 
 in the prime of life, he connected himself with an 
 Indian maiden, daughter to a sachem, who possess 
 ed an uncommonly agreeable person and good un 
 derstanding ; and, whether ever formally married to 
 him according to our usage or not, continued to 
 live with him in great union and affection all his 
 life." The baronet himself repeatedly speaks of 
 this Indian lady in his private journals. While on 
 his expedition to Detroit, entries occur of having 
 received news from home, and of having written 
 
24 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 to "Molly." He always mentioned her kindly, 
 
 ex. gr. : 
 
 " Wednesday, Oct. 2lst. Met Sir Robert Davers 
 and Captain Etherington, who gave me a packet of 
 letters from General Amherst. * * * Captain Eth 
 erington told me Molly was delivered of a girl ; that 
 all were well at my house, where they staid two 
 days." 
 
 But to return from these digressions. Molly, as 
 it has already been stated, was the sister of Thay- 
 endanegea ; and both, according to the account of 
 the London Magazine of 1776, the earliest printed 
 testimony upon the subject, were the grandchildren 
 of one of the Mohawk chiefs who visited England 
 half a century before. That his father was a chief, 
 several authorities have likewise been cited to show ; 
 to which may be added that of Allen s Biographical 
 Dictionary, where the fact is positively asserted.* 
 From such a body of testimony, therefore, direct 
 and circumstantial, it is hazarding but very little to 
 assume, that, so far from having been of humble and 
 plebeian origin, Joseph Brant was of the noblest de 
 scent among his nation. 
 
 Of the early youth of Joseph, there are no ac 
 counts, other than that he was very young when 
 first upon the war-path. In one of the authorities 
 it is stated that, having attained the age of thirteen 
 years, he joined the warriors of his tribe under Sir 
 William Johnson, and was present at the memora 
 ble battle of Lake George, in which the French were 
 defeated, and their commander, the Baron Dieskau, 
 mortally wounded. The Mohawks were led into 
 action by their celebrated king, the brave old Hen- 
 drick, who was slain.f It was this victory which 
 
 * President Allen is connected by marriage with the family of the 
 late President Wheelock, and has had excellent opportunities for arri- 
 Ting at the probable truth. 
 
 t A council of war was called, Sept. 8. It was proposed to send a de- 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 25 
 
 aid the foundation of Sir William s military fame, 
 and in reward for which he was created a baronet. 
 It is reported, that in relating the particulars of this 
 bloody engagement, the warrior acknowledged, 
 " That this being the first action at which he was 
 present, he was seized with such a tremour when the 
 firing began, that he was obliged to take hold of a 
 small sapling to steady himself; but that, after the 
 discharge of a few volleys, he recovered the use of 
 his limbs and the composure of his mind, so as to 
 support the character of a brave man, of which he 
 was exceedingly ambitious." He was, no doubt, a 
 warrior by nature. " I like," said he once, in after 
 life, when the conversation was about music, " the 
 harpsichord well, and the organ still better ; but 1 
 like the drum and trumpet best of all, for they make 
 my heart beat quick." 
 
 President Allen states that the father of Thayen- 
 danegea had three sons in the army of Sir William 
 Johnson in the year 1756. Of these, Joseph was 
 probably the youngest, since he was but thirteen 
 at the battle of Lake George, in 1755. A young 
 warrior, truly ; but he might well have been there, 
 even at that tender age, since, by all the accounts 
 that have descended to us, he must have been a lad 
 of uncommon enterprise giving early promise of 
 those eminent qualities which were developed in 
 the progress of U life of various and important ac 
 tion. 
 
 The youthful warrior likewise accompanied Sir* 
 William during the Niagara campaign of 1759, and, 
 in the brilliant achievements of the baronet, after 
 the chief command had devolved upon him by the 
 
 tachment to meet the enemy. When the number was mentioned to 
 Hendrick, he replied, " If they are to fight, they are too few ; if they 
 are to be killed, they are too many." When it was proposed to send 
 out the detachment in three parties, Hendrick took three sticks, and 
 said, " Put these together, and you can t break them ; take them one 
 by one, and you will do it easily." Hendrick s advice was taken, and 
 victory was the result. Holmes. 
 
 VOL. I. C 
 
26 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 death of General Prideaux, is said to have acquitted 
 himself with distinguished bravery. On the 24th 
 of July, Monsieur d Aubrey approached the fortress 
 with a strong force, for the purpose of raising the 
 siege. A severe engagement ensued in the open 
 field, which resulted in the triumph of the British 
 and provincial arms. The action was commenced 
 with great impetuosity by the French, but Sir Will 
 iam was well prepared for their reception. After 
 a spirited contest of half an hour, the French broke, 
 and the fate of the day was decided. The flight of 
 the French was bloody and disastrous for the space 
 of five miles, at which distance D Aubrey and most 
 of his officers were captured. The Indians behaved 
 uncommonly well on this occasion, and Brant was 
 among them. On the following day, so vigorously 
 did the baronet prosecute his operations, the fort 
 was taken, with all its military supplies and about 
 six hundred prisoners. By this blow the French 
 were cut off from their project of keeping up a lino 
 of fortified communications with Louisiana. 
 
 The exertions of Sir William Johnson to improve 
 the moral and social condition of his Mohawk neigh 
 bours were not the least of his praiseworthy la 
 bours among that brave and chivalrous people. 
 Having aided in the building of churches and loca 
 ting missionaries among them, at the request of the 
 Rev. Mr. Kirkland and others, he selected numbers 
 of young Mohawks, and caused them to be sent to 
 >the " Moor Charity School," established at Lebanon, 
 Connecticut, under the immediate direction of the 
 Rev. Doctor Eleazer Wheelock, afterward President 
 of Dartmouth College, of which, by its transfer, that 
 school became the foundation. Among the youths 
 thus selected was young Thayendanegea, the prom 
 ising brother of " Miss Molly." 
 
 The precise year in which he was thus placed 
 under the charge of Dr. Wheelock cannot now be 
 ascertained. The school itself was opened for the 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 27 
 
 reception of Indian pupils, avowedly as an Indian 
 missionary school, in 1748 ; the first Indian scholar, 
 Samson Occum, having been received into it five 
 years before.* It has been asserted that Joseph 
 was received into the school in July, 1761, at which 
 time he must have been nineteen years old, and a 
 memorandum of his preceptor to that effect has 
 been cited. According to Dr. Stewart, however, he 
 was a mere boy when first sent to Lebanon ; and it 
 will presently appear that the entry of Dr. Wheelock 
 was most probably incorrect. He was doubtless at 
 the school in that year, and very likely on the point 
 of leaving it ; since, three years afterward, he will 
 be found settled in his own native valley, and enga 
 ged in very different pursuits. 
 
 The correspondence between Doctor Wheelock 
 and Sir William was quite active at this period upon 
 the subject of the school, and Joseph was himself 
 employed as an agent to procure recruits for it. 
 Thus, in a letter from the baronet to the doctor, da 
 ted November 17, 1761, he says, " I have given in 
 charge to Joseph to speak in my name to any good 
 boys he may see, and encourage to accept the gen 
 erous offers now made to them ; which he promised 
 to do, and return as soon as possible, and that with 
 out horses." The probability, however, is, that he 
 went to the school immediately after his return from 
 the Niagara campaign, in 1759. No doubt he had 
 left it before Sir William wrote the letter just cited, 
 and, being engaged upon some Indian mission, had 
 been instructed to interest himself among the people 
 of the forest in behalf of that institution. That he 
 did not himself remain long at the school, is conce 
 ded. According to Dr. Stewart, moreover, he made 
 
 * The success of the doctor with him was a strong- inducement for 
 establishing the school. Occum was ordained to the ministry in 1759, 
 and was subsequently located as a missionary among the Oneidas, to 
 which place he was accompanied by Sir William himself. T!;s Indian 
 preacher afterward compiled and published a volume of devotionaJ 
 hymns. 
 
28 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 but little proficiency in his studies at this seminary, 
 having " learned to read but very indifferently in 
 the New Testament, and to write but very little." 
 The fact, however, that the Rev. Charles Jeffrey 
 Smith, a missionary to the Mohawks, took Thayen 
 danegea as an interpreter in the year following 
 (1762), and gave him an excellent character, pre 
 sents a much more favourable idea of his progress 
 in learning while at the school ; as also does the 
 following passage from the memoirs of his teacher : 
 " Sir William Johnson, superintendent of Indian af 
 fairs in North America, was very friendly to the de 
 sign of Mr. Wheelock, and at his request sent to the 
 school, at various times, several boys of the Mo 
 hawks to be instructed. One of them was the since 
 celebrated Joseph Brant, who, after receiving his ed 
 ucation, was particularly noticed by Sir William 
 Johnson, and employed by him in public business. 
 He has been very useful in advancing the civiliza 
 tion of his countrymen, and, for a long time past, 
 has been a military officer of extensive influence 
 among the Indians in Upper Canada." Accompa 
 nying Thayendanegea to the " Moor School" were 
 several other Mohawk youths, and two Delawares 
 had entered the school before him. The name of 
 one of Thayendanegea s companions was William, 
 a half-breed, who was supposed to be the son of 
 his patron. Only two of the number remained to 
 receive the honours of the future college. The oth 
 ers, impatient of the restraints of a school, and de 
 lighting more in the chase of game than of literary 
 honours, returned to their hunter state in about two 
 years. Thayendanegea probably left the school at 
 the same time. He used, when speaking of the 
 school, to relate with much pleasantry an anecdote 
 of " William," who, as he affirmed, was one day or 
 dered by Mr. Wheelock s son to saddle his horse. 
 The lad refused, alleging that, as he was a gentle 
 man s son, the performance of such a menial office 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 29 
 
 would be out of character. " Do you know," inqui 
 red the younger Wheelock, " what a gentleman is V 
 " I do," replied William : " a gentleman is a person 
 who keeps racehorses and drinks Madeira wine, 
 and that is what neither you nor your father do 
 therefore, saddle the horse yourself!" 
 
 The exigences of the frontier country did not al 
 low Thayendanegea to remain long associated in 
 the mission with Mr. Smith. He was again called 
 out upon the war-path, as appears by the following 
 paragraph in one of the Rev. Mr. Kirkland s* earli 
 est reports to the Rev. Dr. Wheelock, in regard to 
 the Christian missionaries and teachers employed 
 among the Six Nations : 
 
 " Joseph Brant, a Mohawk Indian, and of a family 
 of distinction in that nation, was educated by Mr. 
 Wheelock, and was so well accomplished, that the 
 Rev. Charles Jeffrey Smith (a young gentleman, 
 who, out of love to Christ and the souls of men, de 
 votes his life, and such a fortune as is sufficient to 
 support himself and an interpreter, wholly to this 
 glorious service) took him for his interpreter when 
 he went on his mission to the Mohawks, now three 
 years ago. But the war breaking out at that time 
 between the back Indians and the English, Mr. Smith 
 was obliged to return ; but Joseph tarried, and went 
 out with a company against the Indians, and was 
 useful in the war, in which he behaved so much like 
 the Christian and the soldier, that he gained grea* 
 esteem. He now lives in a decent manner, and en 
 deavours to teach his poor brethren the things of 
 God, in which his own heart seems much engaged 
 
 *The Rev. Samuel Kirkland, father of President Kirkland, late o* 
 Harvard University, and for more than forty years a missionary among 
 the Six Nations, chiefly the Oueidas. He was the son of the Rev. Daniel 
 Kirklaiid, of Norwich, Connecticut, where he was born in 1742. He first 
 commenced his labours among the Senecas in 1766, having learned the 
 Mohawk language while in college HR was often employed by the 
 government in various Indian transactions, and died at Paris, Oiieida 
 County, in March, 1808. 
 
30 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 His house is an asylum for the missionaries in that 
 wilderness." 
 
 Neither the particular war in which the young 
 chief was then engaged, nor the time of the cam 
 paign, is noted in the foregoing extract. A passage 
 contained in a letter from Sir William Johnson to 
 Dr. Wheelock, however, dated April 25th, 1764, af 
 fords a clew to the desired information : " J is 
 
 just returned from an expedition against the enemy, 
 who have abandoned their towns, of which three 
 were burned, with four villages, consisting, in all, 
 of about two hundred houses, built with squared 
 logs, and vast quantities of corn, &c. Parties are 
 now in pursuit of the enemy." It was, therefore, 
 early in the spring of 1764 that young Brant return 
 ed from the war, then brought to a close. The war 
 itself could have been none else than that against 
 the great Otto way chief Pontiac, who, in 1763, un 
 dertook to dispossess the English of the country of 
 the lakes, then recently acquired by conquest from 
 the French. Pontiac was by far the most formida 
 ble chief with whom the English colonists had had 
 to contend since the fall of Philip. He combined 
 the great Indian tribes of the northwest almost as 
 one man, and in 1763 led thirty-six chiefs, with their 
 trains of warriors, against Detroit, after having car 
 ried several of the remote western posts. A well- 
 concerted stratagem, timely discovered to the Brit 
 ish commander by an Indian woman, had welmigh 
 placed that important position within his power also. 
 Foiled in the plan of obtaining admission by strata 
 gem and putting the garrison to death, Pontiac laid 
 siege to the fort, attacking it with great fury. It 
 was besieged for a long time, as also were the fort 
 at Niagara and Fort Pitt. It was not until the au 
 tumn of 1763 that the English were able to throw 
 succours into Detroit, in accomplishing which en 
 terprise some of the Mohawk warriors were enga 
 ged. There had been several severe engagements 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 31 
 
 with Pontiac s warriors in the course of that sum 
 mer, in which the Indians attached to the English 
 cause had fought with great bravery. The vessel 
 carrying the supplies to Detroit was likewise furi 
 ously attacked by a force of 350 Indians, in boats on 
 the lake, but they were bravely repulsed. In what 
 particular battles, during this contest, Thayendane- 
 gea was engaged, does not appear. But he was in 
 the war, and his courageous and enterprising spirit 
 offered the best evidence that he neither avoided the 
 post of danger, nor failed to reach it for want of ac 
 tivity. Having invested Detroit for a twelvemonth, 
 the French, moreover, with whom lie was in alli 
 ance, having lost their power in America, Pontiac 
 sued for peace on the approach of General Brad- 
 street from Pittsburg, at the head of 3000 men.* 
 
 In 1765, Thayendanegea, having been previously 
 married to the daughter of an Oneida chief, was set 
 tled at Canajoharie, as appears by a letter from the 
 Rev. Theophilus Chamberlain, one of the mission 
 aries to the Six Nations, to the Rev. Dr. Wheelock, 
 written from Canajoharie, and dated July 17th of 
 that year. 
 
 Three years afterward, he was still leading a 
 peaceful life at the same place, as we learn from the 
 following entry in the journal of Mr. Ralph Whee 
 lock, who had been sent to Oneida to relieve Mr. 
 Kirkland, that gentleman being sick : 
 
 " March 18, 1768. At my old friend, Joseph Brant s, 
 I met one of the chiefs of the Onondagas (who is, by 
 way of eminence, called the Wise Man) on his re 
 turn to his tribe, with his wife and child ; and, by 
 Joseph Brant s help, I was able to discourse with 
 him, and delivered my message to his nation." 
 
 During the three years next ensuing, no certain 
 information has been obtained respecting his course 
 of life. As the country was at peace, ho\vever, he 
 
 * Pontiac was assassinated in 1779, during- a war between the lowaya 
 and Ottoways. He was a great man. 
 
32 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 was probably leading a life of repose at home, save 
 when acting, upon occasional business visits among 
 the Indians, under the direction of Sir William John 
 son. It is very probable, moreover, that he was at 
 that time connected with the English Episcopal 
 Missions to the Mohawks, commenced in the Mo 
 hawk Valley so early as 1702, and continued down 
 to the beginning of the Revolutionary war. Having 
 been employed as an interpreter by one of the mis 
 sionaries several years beforehand as the Rev. Dr. 
 John Ogilvie, the predecessor of Dr. Barclay in that 
 mission, was engaged, in the year 1769, in revising, 
 extending, and reprinting the Mohawk Prayer Book, 
 embracing additional passages of Scripture, some 
 occasional prayers, and Indian versifications of sev 
 eral psalms, it is highly probable that Thayendane- 
 gea was employed as an assistant in that labour, 
 since he was partial to exercises of that description. 
 In the year 1771, the Rev. Mr. Stewart conducted 
 a school at Fort Hunter, thirty miles below Canajo- 
 harie. A venerable friend of the author, yet living 
 in Albany,* states, that being a pupil in Dr. Stew 
 art s school at about that time, he had opportunities 
 of seeing Thayendanegea at that place frequently, 
 and formed an acquaintance with him, which con 
 tinued, interrupted only by the war of the Revolu 
 tion, until the death of the warrior. He then form 
 ed an excellent opinion of the young chief in regard 
 to talents and good disposition. It is believed that, 
 from the shrewdness of his sister Molly, and the in 
 fluential position which she occupied in the family 
 of Sir William, added to his own talents and sagaci 
 ty, he was much employed at home by the baronet, 
 in the discharge of the multifarious duties incident 
 to his important official station. He was also fre 
 quently engaged upon distant embassies among the 
 
 * Douw Fonda, Esq., son of Captain Jelles Fonda, who was an active 
 and very efficient officer, both in the Indian and military service, uudel 
 Sir William Johnson. 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 33 
 
 western tribes, and talents and tact as a diplomatist 
 of the forest were qualities pertaining to his char 
 acter through life. 
 
 Thayendanegea was thrice married, having been 
 twice a widower before the war of the Revolution, 
 His first two wives were of the Oneida tribe. The 
 Reverend Dr. Stewart states that he first became ac 
 quainted with him in the winter of 1771. He was 
 then still residing at Canajoharie, on visiting which 
 village, the doctor says he found him comfortably 
 settled, in a good house, with everything necessary 
 for the use of his family, consisting of a wife, in the 
 last stage of consumption, and two children, a son 
 and a daughter. His wife died some time afterward, 
 on which Thayendanegea repaired to Fort Hunter, 
 and resided with the doctor for a considerable length 
 of time. Doctor Stewart was then engaged upon 
 another revision of the Indian Prayer Book, and Jo 
 seph assisted him in making various additional trans 
 lations. He likewise assisted the doctor in transla 
 ting a portion of the Acts of the Apostles, and a 
 short history of the Bible, together with a brief ex 
 planation of the Church catechism, into the Mohawk 
 language.* 
 
 It is stated on the same authority, that in the win 
 ter of 1772-3, he applied to Dr. Stewart to marry 
 him to the half-sister of his deceased w r ife, but the 
 divine refused the application, on the ground of the 
 forbidden relationship. Brant, however, vindicated 
 the act, much in the manner of white widowers de 
 sirous of forming the like connexion ; arguing, very 
 naturally, that the fact of the relationship would se 
 cure a greater degree of tenderness and care for his 
 children. Still the Episcopal minister persisted in 
 
 * Dr. Stewart states that he was directed to repair to New- York and 
 publish these books at the expense of the Missionary Society, but wa 
 prevented by the breaking out of the war. He took the MSS. to Can 
 ada, and afterward delivered them to Colonel Daniel Claus, by whom 
 they were taken to England ; but it does not appear that they were ever 
 published. 
 
34 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 his refusal, and a less scrupulous German ecclesias- 
 tic gratified his desire by performing the ceremony 
 
 It was at about the same period of his life that 
 Thayendanegea became the subject of serious re 
 ligious impressions. He attached himself to the 
 Church ; was a chastened and regular communicant 
 at the celebration of the Eucharist ; and from his 
 serious deportment, and the anxiety he had evei 
 manifested to civilize and Christianize his people 
 great hopes were entertained from his future exer 
 tions in that cause. No doubt has ever been enter 
 tained of his sincerity at that time ; and it has been 
 attributed to the counteracting influences of the 
 dreadful trade of war, in which it was his fortune 
 afterward again so actively to become engaged, 
 that those manifestations of Christian utility were 
 effaced ; entirely eradicated they were not, as will 
 be seen at a subsequent stage of the career of this 
 remarkable man. 
 
 In compliance with Indian custom, he selected a 
 bosom friend, during that period of his life we are 
 now contemplating, in the person of a Lieutenant 
 Provost, a half-pay officer residing in the Mohawk 
 Valley. Those unacquainted with Indian usages 
 are not probably aware of the intimacy, or the im 
 portance attached to this relationship. The select 
 ed friend is, in fact, the counterpart of the one who 
 chooses him, and the attachment often becomes ro 
 mantic ; they share each other s secrets, and are 
 participants of each other s joys and sorrows. As 
 the Revolutionary troubles were approaching, Lieu 
 tenant Provost was ordered to his regiment and upon 
 foreign service, greatly to the regret of the future 
 chieftain. His lamentations attracted the attention 
 of Dr. Stewart, who advised him to select another 
 friend, offering to stand as a substitute himself. But 
 no ; the young chief declared that such a transfer 
 of his affections could not take place. He was Cap 
 tain John s friend, and another such friend could not 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 35 
 
 be in existence at the same time. Lieutenant Pro 
 vost had been ordered to the West Indies ; and, in 
 order to assure him of the strength and constancy 
 of his attachment, Thayendanegea procured an en 
 tire Indian costume of the richest, furs he could ob 
 tain, which was sent to him in Jamaica. This inci 
 dent has been detailed, not because in itself of any 
 particular importance, but as disclosing an excellent 
 trait of character, besides illustrating a feature of 
 Indian life which may not be familiar to all.* Oth 
 er events will now occupy the attention of the reader, 
 in which the Mohawk chieftain will be but one of 
 many actors, though seldom an obscure one. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 IT has been usually asserted by historians, that 
 the first blood in the war of the American Revolu 
 tion was shed at Lexington, but such is not the 
 fact. The Boston massacre of 1770 was the begin 
 ning of that contest, so fearful in its commence 
 ment, so doubtful in its progress, and so splendid in 
 its results. The storm had even then been gather 
 ing for several years, and the public mind had be 
 come exceedingly feverish, not only in regard to 
 the conduct of the parent government, but in respect 
 to the language and bearing of the officers of the 
 crown stationed in the colonies. When, moreover, 
 the people of Boston were subjected to what they 
 considered a still greater indignity, by the quarter 
 ing of soldiers among them, the irritation was such, 
 that but a small degree of forecast was necessary 
 
 * A similar custom prevailed among- the ancient Greeks. Two young 
 warriors often assumed this obligation of brotherhood, which was taken 
 with peculiar ceremonies, and maintained inviolate through life. 
 
36 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 to the perception of an approaching explosion. The 
 affair at Gray s Ropewalk, on the 2d of March, in 
 creased the mutual exasperation ; and the massacre 
 that followed on the 5th was but the natural conse 
 quence. The first blow was then struck. The 
 town was thrown into commotion, the drums beat 
 to arms ; and the news, with the exaggerations and 
 embellishments incident to all occasions of alarm, 
 spread through the country with the rapidity of 
 lightning. Everywhere, throughout the wide ex 
 tent of the old thirteen colonies, it created a strong 
 sensation, and was received with a degree of indig 
 nant emotion which very clearly foretold that blood 
 had only commenced flowing; and although five 
 years intervened before the demonstration at Lex 
 ington, there were too many nervous pens and elo 
 quent tongues in exercise to allow those feelings to 
 subside, or to suffer the noble spirit of liberty that 
 had been awakened to be quenched. Such stirring 
 orations as those of Joseph Warren were not utter 
 ed in vain ; and so often as the anniversary of the 
 5th of March returned, were the people reminded 
 by him or by his compatriots of kindred spirit, " The 
 voice of your brethren s blood cries to you from the 
 ground." The admonition had its effect, and the 
 resolutions of vengeance sank deeper and deeper 
 into the hearts of the people, until the fulness of 
 time should come. 
 
 Sir William Johnson was too observing and saga 
 cious not to note the signs of the times. He saw 
 the gathering tempest, and it is believed to have 
 given him great uneasiness. His sympathies, ac 
 cording to the testimony of those who knew him, 
 were undoubtedly with the people. He was from 
 the body of the people himself, having been the ar 
 chitect of his own rank and fortunes ; and those who 
 were acquainted with, and yet survive him, repre 
 sent the struggle in his bosom to have been great, 
 between those sympathies and his own strong prin- 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 37 
 
 ciples of liberty on the one hand, and his duty to 
 his sovereign on the other a sovereign whom he 
 had served long and faithfully, and who, in turn, had 
 loaded him with 4 princely benefactions. His do 
 mains in the Valley of the Mohawk were exten 
 sive ; and his influence, through a large number of 
 subordinate officers and a numerous tenantry, was 
 correspondingly great. To the Indians, not only 
 of the Six Nations, but those far in the west beyond, 
 who had fallen within the circle of his influence af 
 ter the conquest of Canada and the subjugation of 
 Pontiac, he had been as a father, and they looked 
 up to him with veneration. Long association with 
 him and great respect for his character which, 
 from its blunt honesty, frankness, and generosity, 
 not altogether devoid of that roughness incident to 
 a border population, was well calculated to secure 
 the attachment of such people had also given to 
 his opinions the force of legal authority among the 
 colonists. The population, aside from the Indians, 
 was chiefly Dutch, in the lower part of the Mohawk 
 Valley ; while in the interesting vale of the Scho- 
 harie Kill and the upper district of the Mohawk, it 
 was composed of the descendants of the German 
 Palatinates, .who had been planted there fifty years 
 before. It was not at that period a very intelli 
 gent population ; and the name of Sir William, who 
 had been their friend and companion in peace, and 
 their leader in war, like that of the king, was a 
 tower of strength. It was very natural, therefore, 
 that their opinions upon the great political questions 
 then agitating the country should take their com 
 plexion, for the most part, from those entertained by 
 him. Hence, when the storm of civil war commen 
 ced, the loyalists in that valley were probably more 
 numerous, in proportion to the whole number of the 
 population, than in almost any other section of the 
 northern colonies. 
 
 In connexion with the troubles which every man 
 
38 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 of ordinary sagacity could not but perceive vere 
 fermenting, Sir William visited England for t? ; last 
 time in the autumn of 1773, returning in the suc 
 ceeding spring. He probably came back with his 
 loyal feelings somewhat strengthened. It was not 
 his fortune, however, good or ill, to see the break 
 ing out of the tempest, the near approaches of which 
 he had been watching with an intenseness of obser 
 vation corresponding with the magnitude of his own 
 personal interests, which must necessarily be in 
 volved. He died suddenly, at Johnson Hall, on or 
 about the 24th of June, 1774. 
 
 It was reported by his enemies or, rather, by the 
 enemies of the crown that he perished by his own 
 hand, in consequence of the clouds which he saw 
 darkening the political sky ; and such an impres 
 sion is yet very generally entertained. The tradi 
 tion is, that on the day of his decease he had receiv 
 ed despatches from England, which were handed to 
 him while sitting in court, and with which he imme 
 diately left the courthouse and walked to his own 
 house. These despatches, it was afterward report 
 ed, contained instructions to him to use his influ 
 ence with the Indians in behalf of the crown, in the 
 event of hostilities. Another version of the tradi 
 tion is, that on the day in question he had received 
 despatches from Boston, the complexion of which, 
 in his own mind, indicated that a civil war was near 
 and inevitable. In such an event, he saw that he 
 must either prove recreant to his principles, or t ke 
 part against the crown ; and, to avoid either alter 
 native, it has been extensively believed that he put 
 an end to his life. But there is no just ground for 
 this uncharitable conclusion. It is true that he had, 
 on the evening of the 24th, received despatches from 
 Massachusetts, the tenour of which, by excitement, 
 may have hastened the malady to which his system 
 was predisposed. It was a busy day at Johnstown. 
 The Circuit Court was in session, at. which, howev 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 39 
 
 er, Sir William was not present, being engaged in 
 holding a treaty with some of the Six Nations. In 
 the course of his speech to the Indians on that oc 
 casion, he alluded to the despatches he had received, 
 and stated to them that troubles were brewing be 
 tween the Americans and their king, advising them 
 not to abandon the cause of the latter, who had al 
 ways been benevolent and kind to them. " What 
 ever may happen," said the baronet, " you must not 
 be shaken out of your shoes." 
 
 In the afternoon of that day Sir William was ta 
 ken with a fit. Colonel Johnson, his son, was ab 
 sent at the Old Fort, distant nine miles. An ex 
 press was sent for him, and, mounting a fleet Eng 
 lish blood-horse, he rode for the hall with all possi 
 ble haste. His horse fell dead when within three 
 quarters of a mile of the house, having run upward 
 of eight miles in fifteen minutes. The colonel hired 
 the horse of some one standing by, and pushed for 
 ward to the hall. On entering the room, he found 
 his father in the arms of a faithful domestic, who at 
 tended upon his person. He spoke to his parent, 
 but received no answer ; and in a few minutes af 
 terward the baronet expired of apoplexy, beyond 
 a doubt. This was early in the evening. While 
 the judges of the court were at supper in the village, 
 one mile distant, a young Mohawk Indian entered 
 their apartment and announced the event. 
 
 Sir William was succeeded in his titles and es 
 tates by his son, Sir John Johnson ; but the reins 
 of authority, as general superintendent of the In 
 dian department, fell into the hands of the son-in- 
 law of Sir William, Colonel Guy Johnson, who had 
 long been in office as the assistant or deputy of the 
 old baronet. This officer was assisted by Colonel 
 Daniel Glaus, who had likewise married a daughter 
 of Sir William. On the decease of his father, Sir 
 John also succeeded to his post as major-general of 
 the militia. 
 
40 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 Of the early life of Sir John Johnson not much is 
 known. He was not as popular as his father, being 
 less social, and less acquainted with human nature 
 and the springs of human action. He accompanied 
 his father on some of his warlike expeditions, how 
 ever, and probably saw considerable service. Be 
 fore the Revolution commenced, Sir John married 
 Miss Mary Watts, of the city of New- York.* 
 
 The successors of Sir William Johnson did not 
 possess the same degree of moral power over the 
 population of Tryon county, Indian or white, as had 
 been exercised by him. But they, nevertheless, de 
 rived essential aid from " Miss Molly," who was a 
 woman of talents as well as tact, and possessing 
 great influence among the Indians, who were her 
 own people. Molly was, in turn, aided by the coun 
 sels and exertions of her brother, Joseph Thayen- 
 danegea, who had been much in the service of Sir 
 William during the latter years of his life, and who, 
 on the death of the baronet, was advanced to the 
 post of secretary of Guy Johnson. These gentle 
 men, however (Sir John Johnson, Guy Johnson, and 
 Colonel Glaus), living in great splendour at, and in 
 the neighbourhood of Johnstown, and thus allied 
 with the family of a powerful Mohawk sachem, 
 were still enabled to exert a decided influence, es 
 pecially among the Indians. They were likewise 
 in close official and political alliance with Colonel 
 John Butler, an opulent and influential gentleman of 
 that county, and his son, Walter N. Butler names 
 rendered memorable, if nothing worse, by associa 
 tion with certain bloody transactions, which will be 
 developed in the progress of the present volume. 
 
 But, notwithstanding all their influence and no 
 family in America had ever been regarded with 
 greater deference by the surrounding population 
 than that of the Johnsons they were not long in 
 discovering that the principles now openly avowed 
 
 * Sister to the late venerable John Watts, who died in September, 1836 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 41 
 
 in Massachusetts could not be confined within the 
 limits of that colony, or even of New-England. 
 Though less openly proclaimed, yet, as the waters 
 of a fountain ooze through the earth unseen until 
 they have gathered force enough to break the sur 
 face and gush forth, so was it with the principles of 
 liberty sent abroad by " the Boston rebels," as they 
 worked their way up the valley of the Mohawk ; 
 and the successors of Sir William Johnson were -not 
 long in discovering that, although they could still 
 count among their retainers a large number of ad 
 herents, the leaven of civil liberty had been more 
 deeply at work than they had desired, or probably 
 supposed. The celebrated " Boston Port Bill," en 
 acted in consequence of the destruction of the tea 
 in that harbour in 1773, had gone into operation only 
 a month preceding the death of Sir William ; and, 
 in the month subsequent to his decease, a public 
 meeting was held in the Palatine district, warmly 
 seconding the proposition of Massachusetts for the 
 assembling of a General Congress, for mutual con 
 sultation and counsel in the existing posture of the 
 political affairs of the colonies. The original draught 
 of the proceedings of that meeting is yet in exist 
 ence, in the handwriting of Colonel Hendrick Frey, 
 a patriot who lived to a great age, and is but re 
 cently deceased. They breathed the genuine spirit 
 of freedom, and, as a declaration of rights, are well 
 entitled to a place among the fervid papers of that 
 day, which were so powerful in their operation upon 
 the public mind. After setting forth the concern 
 and sorrow felt by the meeting at the shutting up 
 the port of Boston, and the tendency of the acts of 
 Parliament for raising a revenue in the American 
 colonies, which they held to be an abridgment of 
 the privileges of the people, the meeting resolved, 
 1st. That they recognised the king as their lawful 
 sovereign, would bear true faith and allegiance to 
 him, and would, with their lives and fortunes, sup- 
 
 VOT, r. n 
 
42 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 port and maintain him on the throne of his ances 
 tors, and the just dependance of the colonies upor 
 the crown of Great Britain. 2d. That they consid 
 ered it their greatest happiness to be governed 03 
 British laws, and would pay cheerful submission tc 
 them, as far as they could do so consistently witt 
 the security of the constitutional rights of English 
 subjects, " which were so sacred that they could not 
 permit them to be violated" 3d. That all taxes with 
 out their own consent, or the consent of their rep 
 resentatives, were unjust and unconstitutional ; and 
 the acts of Parliament upon the subject were de 
 nounced, as obvious encroachments upon the rights 
 and liberties of British subjects. 4th. That the act 
 closing the port of Boston was arbitrary, and op 
 pressive to the inhabitants, whom they considered 
 to be suffering in the common cause. 5th. That 
 they would unite with their brethren elsewhere in 
 relieving the necessities of the suffering poor in 
 Boston, and in " anything tending to support our 
 rights and liberties." 6th. Approving of the calling 
 of a General Congress, and of the five members who 
 had already been appointed by their brethren of 
 New- York. 7th. That they would abide by such 
 regulations as might be agreed upon by the said 
 Congress. 8th. Appointing a committee of corre 
 spondence for that district,* and recommending the 
 other districts of the county to do the same. 
 
 The Congress met k in Philadelphia in September, 
 1774, and after adopting a declaration of rights, and 
 setting forth wherein those rights had been violated, 
 they agreed upon an address to the king, exhibiting 
 the grievances of the colonies, and praying for his 
 majesty s interposition for their removal. An ad 
 dress to the people of British America was likewise 
 adopted, together with an appeal to the people of 
 Great Britain, as also a letter to the people of Cana 
 da. The Congress then adjourned, to meet again in 
 
 * Christopher P Yates, Isaac Paris, and John Frey 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 43 
 
 May, 1775. The papers put forth from that august 
 assembly had a powerful effect upon the public 
 mind. They were also highly extolled by Lord 
 Chatham in the House of Peers, who declared, that 
 " In all his reading and observation and it had been 
 his favourite study, for he had read Thucydides, and 
 had studied and admired the master states of the 
 world for solidity of reasoning, force of sagacity, 
 arid wisdom of conclusion, under such complication 
 of circumstances, no nation or body of men could 
 stand in preference to the General Congress at 
 Philadelphia." 
 
 The Provincial Assembly of New- York was the 
 only legislature in the colonies that withheld its ap 
 probation from the proceedings of the Congress 
 the loyalists of that colony being, from a variety of 
 causes, more numerous and influential than in any 
 other of the provinces. In the Valley of the Mohawk 
 they were particularly zealous and active ; and the 
 Johnson family, with their associates, were cease 
 less in their efforts to divert the revolutionary spirit, 
 which was but too obviously abroad. 
 
 But, like the bitter plant in the vegetable pharma 
 copoeia, the principles of liberty only thrive more 
 rapidly beneath a pressure ; and the spark which had 
 been struck in the Palatine district they not only 
 found it impossible to extinguish, but a measure of 
 their own adoption had the effect of kindling it into 
 a blaze ; and, once kindled, the fire of liberty is as 
 inextinguishable as the Greek. 
 
 In Massachusetts, however, other menacing meas 
 ures besides the passage of resolutions were adopted 
 towards the close of 1774. Governor Gage having 
 issued writs for the holding of a General Assembly, 
 in October, afterward countermanded the writs by 
 proclamation. But the new members, to the num 
 ber of ninety, maintaining the illegality of the proc 
 lamation, met notwithstanding. Neither the gov 
 ernor, nor any substitute, appearing to complete 
 
44 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 their organization, they formed themselves into a 
 Provincial Congress, and adjourned to Concord. 
 From Concord, after some collisions with the gov 
 ernor, they removed to Cambridge ; and in the 
 course of their sittings measures were adopted for 
 the public defence, and the organization of minute 
 men, to the number of twelve thousand. Connecti 
 cut and New-Hampshire were requested to augment 
 the number to twenty thousand. Governor Gage 
 complained bitterly that the edicts of this Congress 
 were implicitly obeyed throughout the country. Be 
 fore the year had expired, a royal proclamation was 
 received, prohibiting the exportation of military 
 stores to America. This document caused general 
 indignation. In Rhode Island and New-Hampshire 
 the people at once seized upon the arms and ordnance 
 in their public places and garrisons, and other cor 
 responding measures were adopted by the colonial 
 authorities. In the more southern provinces signs 
 of jealousy and discontent began to be more unequiv 
 ocally manifested. A meeting of the military offi 
 cers of Virginia, under Lord Dunmore, was held, at 
 which resolutions, professing loyalty and looking 
 rebellion, were adopted. The Provincial Congress 
 of Maryland approved of the proceedings of the 
 General Congress ; and in South Carolina, Judge 
 Dayton, in a memorable charge to a grand-jury at 
 Camden, set the ball in motion in that colony. 
 Doctor Franklin, being in London, was required to 
 attend a meeting of the Committee for Plantations, 
 to whom had been referred the petition of the Mas 
 sachusetts Assembly for the removal of Governor 
 Hutchinson and Lieutenant-governor Oliver. He 
 supported the petition, and was, the day after, dis 
 missed by the crown from the office of postmaster 
 for the colonies. 
 
 It may readily be conceived that an excitement 
 thus increasing from day to day, and thus rapidly 
 extending the circle of its influence, would not long 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTJON. 45 
 
 be confined to measures of remonstrance and peti 
 tion. Most unfortunate was it, therefore, that just at 
 this conjuncture, while all sagacious men saw by 
 the shadows what events were coming, and all good 
 men were solicitous for the preservation of the 
 character and augmentation of the physical strength 
 of the country, a small band of bad ones adopted a 
 course well fitted to awaken the jealousy of the 
 whole Indian race, and exasperate a portion of them 
 to the highest pitch of anger and revenge. It was 
 evident that the colonies were about to measure 
 swords with one of the strongest powers in Chris 
 tendom, and to strike for freedom. True wisdom, 
 therefore, required that the clouds of Indians dark 
 ening more than a thousand miles of our border, and 
 in the North forming an intermediate power between 
 our own settlements and the country of the antici 
 pated foe, should be at least conciliated into neu 
 trality, if not courted into an alliance. But a con 
 trary course was taken by some of the frontier-men 
 of Virginia, and a hostile feeling awakened by a suc 
 cession of outrages, unprovoked and more cruel than 
 savages, as such, could have committed. The well- 
 informed reader will at once anticipate that refer 
 ence is now had to the hostilities upon the north 
 western frontier of Virginia, commonly known as 
 CRESAP S WAR, from the agency of a subaltern officer 
 of that name, whose wanton cruelty provoked it, and 
 one striking event of which has rendered every 
 American ear familiar with the name of LOGAN, the 
 celebrated " Mingo Chief."* 
 
 The wars and the conquests of the Six Nations 
 had been the cause of transplanting many families, 
 among whom were some of distinction, over the 
 countries subjected to their arms. Among these 
 was the family of Logan, the son of Shikellimus, a 
 distinguished Cayuga sachem, who had removed 
 
 * Mingo, Mengwe, Maqun.s, and Iroquois, are all only different name* 
 applied to the Six Nations. 
 
BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 from the particular location of his own tribe to 
 Shamokin, or Canestoga, within the borders of Penn 
 sylvania, where he executed the duties of principal 
 chief of those of the Six Nations residing on the 
 Susquehanna. He was a man of consequence and 
 humanity, and one of the earliest to encourage the 
 introduction of Christianity by Count Zinzendorf. 
 He was a great friend to the celebrated James Logan, 
 who accompanied William Penn on his last voyage 
 to America, and who subsequently became distin 
 guished in the colony for his learning and benevo 
 lence. Hence the name of the famous son of Shi- 
 kellimus, so closely identified with the scenes about 
 to be described. 
 
 Logan had removed from his father s lodge at 
 Shamokin to the Shawanese country on the Ohio, 
 where he had become a chief. He was a friend of 
 the white men, and one of the noblest of his race ; 
 not only by right of birth, but in consideration of 
 his own character. During the Indian wars con 
 nected with the contest with France, which were 
 continued for a considerable time after the conquest 
 of Canada, he took no part, save in the character of 
 a peacemaker. 
 
 The circumstances which transformed this good 
 and just man from a sincere friend into a bitter foe, 
 will appear in the following narrative : It happened, 
 in April or May of 1774, that a party of land-jobbers, 
 while engaged in exploring lands near the Ohio Riv 
 er, were robbed, or pretended to have been robbed, 
 of a number of horses by the Indians. The leader 
 of the land-jobbers was Captain Michael Cresap. 
 Alarmed at the depredation upon their property, or 
 affecting to be so, Cresap and his party determined 
 to make war upon the Indians, without investiga 
 tion, and irrespective, as a matter of course, of the 
 guilt or innocence of those whom they should at 
 tack. On the same day, falling in with two In 
 dians, Cresap and his men killed them. Hearing, 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 47 
 
 moreover, of a still larger party of Indians encamped 
 at some distance below the site of the present town 
 of Wheeling, the white barbarians proceeded thither, 
 and, after winning the confidence of the sons of the 
 forest by pretended friendship, fell upon and slaugh 
 tered several of their number, among whom were a 
 part of the family of the white man s friend Logan. 
 
 Soon after this atrocious affair, another followed, 
 equally flagitious. There was a white settlement on 
 the east bank of the Ohio, about thirty miles above 
 Wheeling, among the leading men of which were 
 one named Daniel Greathouse, and another named 
 Tomlinson. A party of Indians, assembled on the 
 opposite bank of the river, having heard of the mur 
 ders committed by Cresap, determined to avenge 
 their death, of which resolution Greathouse was ad 
 monished by a friendly squaw, who advised him to 
 escape, while he was reconnoitring for the purpose 
 of ascertaining their numbers. He had crossed the 
 river with thirty-two men under his command, and 
 secreted them for the purpose of falling upon the 
 Indians ; but finding that they were too strong for 
 him, he changed his plan of operations, recrossed the 
 river, and, with a show of friendship, invited them 
 over to an entertainment. Without suspicion of 
 treachery, the Indians accepted the invitation, and, 
 while engaged in drinking some of them to a state 
 of intoxication they were set upon and murdered 
 in cold blood. Here, again, fell two more of the 
 family of Logan a brother and sister, the latter be 
 ing in a situation of peculiar delicacy. The Indians 
 who had remained on the other side of the river, 
 hearing the noise of the treacherous attack, flew to 
 their canoes to rescue their friends. This move 
 ment had been anticipated ; and sharp-shooters, sta 
 tioned in ambuscade, shot numbers of them in their 
 canoes, and compelled the others to return. 
 
 These dastardly transactions were enacted on the 
 24th of May. They were soon followed by anoth- 
 
48 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 er outrage, which, though of less magnitude, was 
 not less atrocious in its spirit, while it was even 
 more harrowing to the feelings of the Indians. The 
 event referred to was the murder, by a white man, 
 of an aged and inoffensive Delaware chief, named 
 the Bald Eagle. He had for years consorted more 
 with the white people than his own, visiting those 
 most frequently who entertained him best. At the 
 time of his murder he had been on a visit to the fort 
 at the north of the Kanhavva, and was killed while 
 alone, paddling his canoe. The man who commit 
 ted the murder, it was said, had been a sufferer at 
 the hands of the Indians ; but he had never been in 
 jured by the object upon whom he wreaked his ven 
 geance. After tearing the scalp from his head, the 
 white savage placed the body in a sitting posture in 
 the canoe, and sent it adrift down the stream. The 
 voyage of the dead chief was observed by many, 
 who supposed him living, and upon one of his ordi 
 nary excursions. When, however, the deed be 
 came known, his nation were not slow in avowals 
 of vengeance. Equally exasperated, at about the 
 same time, were the Shawanese against the whites, 
 by the murder of one of their favourite chiefs, Silver 
 Heels, who had, in the kindest manner, undertaken 
 to escort several white traders across the woods 
 from the Ohio to Albany, a distance of nearly two 
 hundred miles. 
 
 The consequence of these repeated outrages, per 
 petrated by white barbarians, was the immediate 
 commencement of an Indian war, the first leader of 
 which was Logan, who, with a small party of only 
 eight warriors, made a sudden and unexpected de 
 scent upon a Muskingum settlement, with complete 
 success. In the course of the summer great num 
 bers of men, women, and children fell victims to 
 the tomahawk and scalping-knife. Logan, howev 
 er, though smarting under a keen sense of his own 
 wrongs, set his face against the practice of putting 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 49 
 
 prisoners to the torture, so far as he could. In one 
 instance, he so instructed a prisoner doomed to run 
 the guantlet, as to enable him to escape without re 
 ceiving essential injury. In another case, with his 
 own hand he severed the cord which bound a pris 
 oner to the stake, and by his influence procured his 
 adoption into an Indian family. 
 
 To punish these atrocities, provoked, as all au 
 thorities concur in admitting, by the whites, a vig 
 orous campaign was undertaken by the Governor of 
 Virginia, Lord Dunmore, with a force of between 
 two and three thousand men. Eleven hundred of 
 these provincials, mostly riflemen, and comprising 
 much of the chivalry of Virginia, constituting the 
 left wing, were intrusted to the command of Gen 
 eral Andrew Lewis, with instructions to march di 
 rect for Point Pleasant, at the mouth of the Great 
 Kanhawa ; while his lordship, proceeding with the 
 right wing, was to cross the Ohio at a higher point, 
 and fall upon the Indian towns in their rear. For 
 reasons never satisfactorily explained, although the 
 cause of some controversy at the time, there was a 
 failure of the expected co-operation on the part of 
 Lord Dunmore. 
 
 General Lewis commenced his march on the llth 
 of September. His course was direct, through a 
 trackless wilderness, one hundred and sixty miles, 
 over which all the supplies of the army were to be 
 transported on pack-horses. The march was very 
 slow and tedious, occupying nineteen days. Ar 
 rived at or near the junction of the Kanhawa with 
 the Ohio, Lewis waited eight or nine days to obtain 
 tidings from Lord Dunmore, but heard not a syl 
 lable. 
 
 Early on the morning of the 10th of October, two 
 of Lewis s scouts, who were about a mile in ad 
 vance, were fired upon by a large body of Indians ; 
 one of the scouts was killed, and the other escaped 
 to camp with the intelligence. It was yet half an 
 
 VOL. I. E 
 
50 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 hour to sunrise, and instant dispositions were made 
 to move forward and attack. Just as the sim was 
 rising, the Indians, who were advancing upon a like 
 errand, were met, and an engagement ensued, which 
 continued with greater or less severity through the 
 day. The Virginians had bivouacked upon a point 
 of land between the two rivers, giving the Indians 
 an important advantage of position, inasmuch as, if 
 defeated, retreat would be impossible for the former, 
 while the latter could fly at their pleasure. But 
 such was not the purpose of the Indians. Their 
 numbers have been variously stated from eight to 
 fifteen hundred, consisting of Shawanese, Dela- 
 wares, Mingoes, Wyandots, Cayugas, and several 
 other tribes, led in chief by Logan, assisted by oth 
 er celebrated chiefs, among whom were Cornstock, 
 Ellenipsico (his son), and the Red Eagle. 
 
 The onset was impetuous on both sides. Colonel 
 Charles Lewis led the right of the Virginians, and 
 was in advance. He fell almost at the first fire, 
 mortally wounded, and shortly afterward expired, 
 having walked back to his own camp. The Virgin 
 ians, like the Indians, sought every advantage by 
 fighting from the shelter of trees and bushes ; but in 
 the first part of the engagement the advantages were 
 with the Indians, and two of the Virginia regiments , 
 after severe loss, especially in officers, were com 
 pelled to give way. Colonel Fleming, who com 
 manded the left, though severely wounded, in the 
 beginning of the action, by two balls through his 
 arm and another through the breast, bravely kept 
 the field for some time, cheering his men, and, ur 
 ging them not to lose an inch of ground, directed 
 them to outflank the enemy. But the assault of the 
 Indians was vigorous, and their fire so severe, that 
 the left, like the right, was yielding, when, at the 
 most critical moment, Colonel Field s regiment was 
 brought with great spirit and resolution into the ac 
 tion, by which timely movement the fortunes of the 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 51 
 
 lay were retrieved. The impetuosity of the Indians 
 was checked, and they were in turn forced to re 
 treat, falling back to avail themselves of a rude 
 breastwork of logs and brushwood, which they had 
 taken the precaution to construct for the occasion. 
 Colonel Field was killed at the moment his gallant 
 regiment had changed the aspect of the battle, and 
 he was succeeded by Captain Isaac Shelby, after 
 ward the brave and hardy old Governor of Kentucky. 
 The Indians made a valiant stand at their breast 
 work, defending their position until nearly nightfall. 
 For several hours every attempt to dislodge them 
 was unsuccessful, the savages fighting like men who 
 had not only their soil and homes to protect, but 
 deep wrongs to avenge. " The voice of the mighty 
 Cornstock was often heard during the day, above 
 the din of battle, calling out to his warriors, Be 
 strong! Be strong! And when, by the repeated 
 charge of the Virginians, some of his warriors began 
 to waver, he is said to have sunk his tomahawk into 
 the head of a coward who was attempting to fly." 
 
 The action had continued extremely hct until past 
 twelve o clock, after which it was abated at inter 
 vals, though a scattering fire was kept up most of 
 the time during the day. Towards night, finding 
 that each successive attack upon the line of the In 
 dians in front but weakened his own force, without 
 making any perceptible impression upon the Indians, 
 and rightly judging that, if the latter were not rout 
 ed before dark, the contest must be resumed under 
 at least doubtful circumstances on the following day, 
 Lewis made a final attempt to throw a body of troops 
 into the rear. Three companies were detached upon 
 this service, led by Captain Shelby. The ground 
 favoured the enterprise. Availing themselves of the 
 tall weeds and grass upon the bank of a creek flow 
 ing into the Kanhawa, those companies passed the 
 flank of the Indian ranks unobserved, and, falling 
 vigoi-ously upon their rear, drove them from their 
 
52 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 lines with precipitation. Night came on, and the 
 Indians, supposing that re-enforcements of the Vir 
 ginians had arrived, fled across the Ohio, and con 
 tinued their retreat to the Scioto. They had not 
 the satisfaction of taking many scalps the bodies 
 of a few stragglers only falling into their posses 
 sion. In the official account, it was stated that they 
 scalped numbers of their own warriors to prevent 
 the Virginians from doing it. Of those Indians first 
 killed, the Virginians scalped upward of twenty. 
 The loss of the Indians was never known. It must, 
 however, have been severe ; since, in addition to the 
 killed and wounded borne away, numbers of the 
 slain were thrown into the river, and thirty-three 
 of their warriors were found dead upon the field on 
 the following day. The loss of the Virginians was 
 likewise severe. Two of their colonels were kill 
 ed, four captains, many subordinate officers, and be 
 tween fifty and sixty privates, besides a much lar 
 ger number wounded.* 
 
 Arrived at Chilicothe, a council of the Indians was 
 convened to debate upon the question what was next 
 to be done. Cornstock, it was said, had been op 
 posed to giving battle at Point Pleasant, but had re 
 solved to do his best on being overruled in council. 
 Having been defeated, as he had anticipated, he de 
 manded of the council, "What shall we do now ? The 
 Long Knives are coming upon us by two routes. Shall 
 we turn out and fight them ?" No response being 
 made to the question, he continued, " Shall we kill 
 all our squaws and children, and then fight until we are 
 
 * Doddridge states the number of killed at 75, and of wounded at 140 
 In the estimate given in the text, Thatcher has been followed. It is 
 stated by Drake, that a stratagem was resorted to in this action by the 
 Virginians, similar to one that had been practised in the early New-Eng 
 land war of the Indians at Pawtucket. The Virginians, concealing 
 themselves behind trees, would hold out their hats from behind and draw 
 the fire of the Indians ; the hat being instantly dropped, the Indian war 
 rior who had brought it down, supposing that he had killed the owner, 
 would rush forward to secure the scalp of his supposed victim, only to fall 
 beneath an unexpected tomahawk. 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 53 
 
 all killed ourselves ?" As before, all were silent ; 
 whereupon Cornstock struck his tomahawk into the 
 war-post standing in the midst of the council, and 
 remarked, with emphasis, "Since you are not inclined 
 to fight, I will go and make peace." Saying which, 
 he repaired to the camp of Lord Dunmore, who, hav 
 ing descended the Ohio, was now approaching the 
 Scioto. 
 
 Meantime, General Lewis, having buried his dead 
 and made the necessary dispositions for an advance 
 into the heart of the Indian country, moved forward 
 in pursuit of the enemy, resolved upon his extermi 
 nation. He was soon afterward met by a counter- 
 order from Lord Dunmore, which he disregarded ; 
 and it was not until the governor visited Lewis in 
 his own camp that a reluctant obedience was ex 
 acted. Meantime the negotiation proceeded, but un 
 der circumstances of distrust on the part of the Vir 
 ginians, who were careful to admit only a small 
 number of the Indians into their encampment at any 
 one time. The chief speaker on the part of the In 
 dians was Cornstock, who did not fail to charge the 
 whites with being the sole cause of the war, enu 
 merating the provocations which the Indians had 
 received, and dwelling with peculiar force upon the 
 murders committed in the family of Logan.* This 
 lofty chief himself refused to appear at the council. 
 He was in favour of peace, but his proud spirit scorn 
 ed to ask for it ; and he remained in his cabin, brood 
 ing in melancholy silence over his own wrongs. 
 
 Of so much importance was his name considered 
 by Lord Dunmore, however, that a special messen- 
 
 * Cornstock was a truly great man. Colonel Wilson, who was present 
 at the interview between the chief and Lord Dunmore, thus speaks of 
 the chieftain s bearing 1 on the occasion : " When he arose he was in no 
 wise confused or daunted, but spoke in a distinct and audible voice, with 
 out stammering or repetition, and with peculiar emphasis. His looks, 
 while addressing Dunmore, were truly grand and majestic, yet graceful 
 and attractive. I have heard the first orators in Virginia, Patrick Henry 
 and Richard Henry Lee, but never have 1 heard one whose poweis of 
 delivery surpassed those of Cornstock." 
 
54 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 ger was despatched to ascertain whether he would 
 accede to the articles of peace. This messenger 
 was Colonel John Gibson, an officer in Dunmore s 
 army, and afterward a man of some distinction. 
 The " Mingo Chief" did not dissent from the terms, 
 but gave not his sanction without an eloquent re 
 hearsal of his grievances, relating in full the cir 
 cumstances of the butchery of his own entire fami 
 ly, to avenge which atrocities he had taken up the 
 hatchet. His conference with Gibson took place in 
 a solitary wood, and, at its close, he charged him 
 with the celebrated speech to Lord Dunmore, which 
 has become familiar wherever the English language 
 is spoken : 
 
 " I appeal to any white man to say if he ever en 
 tered Logan s cabin hungry, and he gave him not 
 meat ; if ever he came cold and naked, and he clo 
 thed him not. During the course of the last long 
 and bloody war, Logan remained idle in his cabin, 
 an advocate for peace. Such was my love for the 
 whites, that my countrymen pointed as they passed, 
 and said, Logan is the friend of the white men. I 
 had even thought to live with you, but for the inju 
 ries ~0f one man. Colonel Cresap, the last spring, 
 in cold blood and unprovoked, murdered all the re 
 lations of Logan, not even sparing my women and 
 children. There runs not a drop of my blood in the 
 veins of any living creature. This called on me for 
 revenge. I have sought it ; I have killed many ; I 
 have fully glutted my vengeance. For my country, 
 I rejoice at the beams of peace ; but do not harbour 
 a thought that mine is the joy of fear. Logan nev 
 er felt fear. He will not turn on his heel to save 
 his life. Who is there to mourn for Logan] Not 
 one." 
 
 This speech has ever been regarded as one of the 
 most eloquent passages in the English language. 
 Mr. Jefferson remarked of it, " I may challenge the 
 whole orations of Demosthenes, and of Cicero, and 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 55 
 
 of any more eminent orator, if Europe has furnish 
 ed more eminent, to produce a single passage supe 
 rior to it ;" and an American statesman and schol 
 ar,* scarcely less illustrious than the author of this 
 noble eulogium, has subscribed to that opinion. f 
 
 Lord Dunmore, it is believed, was sincerely desi 
 rous of peace from motives of humanity, we are 
 ready to believe, although writers of less charity 
 have attributed his course to a more unworthy feel 
 ing. Peace, therefore, was the result of the council. 
 But it will readily be conceded that the Indian war 
 riors could not have retired to their respective tribes 
 and homes with any feelings of particular friendship 
 towards the white men. On the contrary, the pain 
 of defeat, and the loss of the warriors who fell, were 
 causes of irritating reflection, in addition to the ori 
 ginal and grievous wrong they had suffered at the 
 hands of Cresap and Greathouse. The Six Nations, 
 
 * De Witt Clinton. 
 
 t Thatcher s Indian Biography. It is due in candour to state, that 
 the authenticity of this celebrated speech has been questioned. On the 
 first publication of Jefferson s Notes, the relatives and friends of Cresap 
 made a great outcry against the charge of his having murdered Logan s 
 family. Among other arguments in his defence, it was contended that 
 the speech attributed to Logan had in substance, and almost in words, 
 been delivered to the General Assembly of Virginia by a sachem named 
 Louan, twenty years before the date assigned to it by Mr. Jefferson. The 
 speech referred to was discovered in the travels of Robin, a Frenchman, 
 who visited the colonies at an early period of the war of the Revolution. 
 The passage stands thus in the English translation of " Robin s New 
 Travels in America :" 
 
 " Speech of the Ravage Lonan, in a General Assembly, as it was sent 
 to the Governor of Virginia, anno 1754 : 
 
 " Lonan will no longer oppose making the proposed peace with the 
 white men. You are sensible he never knew what fear is ; that he nev 
 er turned his back in the day of battle. No one has more love for the 
 white men than I have . The war we have had with them has been long 
 and bloody on both sides. Rivers of blood have run on all parts, and yet 
 iio good has resulted therefrom to any. I once more repeat it let us be 
 at peace with these men. I will forget our injuries ; the interest of my 
 .country demands it. I will forget but difficult, indeed, is the task ! 
 
 Yes, I will forget that Major cruelly and inhumanly murdered, in 
 
 iheir canoes, my wife, my children, my father, my mother, and all my 
 kindred. This roused me to deeds of vengeance ! I was cruel in despite 
 of myself. I will die content if my country is once more at peace But 
 when Lonan shall l>e no more, who, alas ! wiU drop a tear to the mera 
 <iry of Lonan? " 
 
56 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 as a confederacy, had not taken part in the war of 
 the Virginia border ; but many of their warriors were 
 engaged in it, especially the Cayugas, to which na 
 tion Logan belonged, and the warriors of the Six 
 Nations colonized on the banks of the Susquehanna, 
 and its tributary, the Shamokin. These, it may be 
 reasonably inferred, returned from the contest only 
 to brood over their accumulated wrongs, and in a 
 temper not over-inclined to cultivate the most ami 
 cable relations with the colonies. In one word, the 
 temper of the whole Indian race, with the exception 
 of the Oneidas, was soured by these occurrences of 
 the year 1774: a most unfortunate circumstance, 
 since events were then following in rapid succes 
 sion, which within a twelvemonth rendered the 
 friendship of the nations not only desirable, but an 
 object of vast importance. 
 
 But before the direct narrative leading to those 
 events is resumed, it may be well to end the mel 
 ancholy tale of Logan, " which can be dismissed with 
 no relief to its gloomy colours." After the peace of 
 Chilicothe, he sank into a state of deep mental de 
 pression, declaring that life was a torment to him. 
 He became in some measure delirious ; went to De 
 troit, and there yielded himself to habits of intoxica 
 tion. In the end, he became a victim to the same 
 ferocious cruelty which had already rendered him a 
 desolate man. Not long after the treaty, a party of 
 whites murdered him as he was returning from De 
 troit to his own country. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE parent government did not relax its coerciw 
 measures, notwithstanding the efforts of the Ear] oi 
 Chatham, now venerable for his years, who, after a 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 57 
 
 long retirement, returned into public life, to interpose 
 his eloquence and the influence of his great name in 
 behalf of the colonies. His lordship s address to 
 the king for the removal of the troops from Boston 
 was rejected by a large majority. His conciliatory 
 bill was also rejected. On the 26th of January, 
 Messrs. Bolland, Franklin, and Lee, the committee 
 from the colonies charged with presenting the pe 
 tition of the Continental Congress for a redress of 
 grievances, brought the subject before the House of 
 Commons, and after an angry debate, they refused 
 to receive it by a decisive vote. Meantime, bills 
 were passed, by large majorities, restraining all the 
 thirteen colonies, excepting only New-York, Dela 
 ware, and North Carolina, from the prosecution of 
 any foreign commerce other than with Great Britain 
 and her dependances. The Eastern States were 
 likewise excluded from the fisheries of Newfound 
 land. But notwithstanding that, from motives of 
 policy, New- York had been thus excepted from the 
 restraining law, its local legislature was at the same 
 time engaged in preparing a memorial to the crown 
 for a redress of grievances : a fact which the minis 
 ters soon learned, and not without mortification. 
 The New-York address was a strong denunciation 
 of the measures of the government towards the colo 
 nies, and an energetic appeal for redress. The ad 
 dress was presented to the House of Commons by 
 Mr. Burke, but was never called up. 
 
 A new Provincial Congress was assembled in Mas 
 sachusetts in February, which, anticipating that the 
 parent government was preparing to strike the first 
 blow at that colony, adopted farther means of pre 
 caution and defence, but, with great wisdom, avoid 
 ing anything like an overt act of resistance. Hos 
 tilities had wellnigh been commenced, on the 26th 
 of February, between Salem and Danvers, by the 
 opposition of Colonel Timothy Pickering and others 
 to Colonel Leslie, who had been sent to Salem by 
 
58 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 General Gage to seize some military stores which 
 he had been informed were collecting at the former 
 place. The interposition of Mr. Barnard, the min 
 ister of Salem, prevented the effusion of blood, and 
 Leslie returned to Boston from a bootless errand. 
 
 The ill-starred expedition, by the direction of Gen 
 eral Gage, to Concord, and the battle of Lexington 
 on the 19th of April, gave the signal of a general 
 rush to arms throughout most of the colonies. True, 
 it was not admitted to be a formal commencement 
 of hostilities, and the Provincial Congress of Massa 
 chusetts despatched an account of that affair to Great 
 Britain, with depositions establishing the fact, indis 
 putably, that both at Concord and Lexington the firing 
 had been commenced by the king s troops, Major 
 Pitcairn himself discharging the first shot at the 
 former place. But although this message was ac 
 companied by an address to the people of Great 
 Britain with continued professions of loyalty, those 
 professions were sent, hand in hand, with a declara 
 tion that they would " not tamely submit to the per 
 secution and tyranny" of the existing ministry, and 
 with an appeal to Heaven for the justice of a cause 
 in which they were determined to die or conquer. 
 It was very evident, therefore, that reconciliation 
 was out of the question, and that a trial of arms was 
 near at hand. Of course, the exasperation of the 
 public mind was now at its height, and those who 
 had not taken sides could no longer stand neutral. 
 
 It was at this moment, just as the Continental 
 Congress was about to reassemble, that, most un 
 wisely for themselves, the influential Loyalists of 
 Tryon county undertook to make a demonstration 
 against the proceedings of the Congress of the pre 
 ceding autumn. A declaration in opposition to those 
 proceedings was drawn up, and advantage taken 
 of the gathering of the people at a court holden in 
 Johnstown, to obtain signatures. The discussions 
 ran high upon the subject, but the movers in the affair 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 59 
 
 succeeded in obtaining the names of a majorit) of 
 the grand-jurors, and the greater portion of the ma 
 gistracy of the county. 
 
 The Whigs in attendance at the court were indig 
 nant at this procedure, and, on returning to their 
 respective homes, communicated their feelings to 
 those of their neighbours who had embraced kindred 
 principles. Public meetings were called, and com 
 mittees appointed in every district, and sub-commit 
 tees in almost every hamlet in the county.* The 
 first of these public meetings was held at the house 
 of John Veeder, in Caughnawaga. It was attended 
 by about three hundred people, who assembled, un 
 armed, for the purpose of deliberation, and also to 
 erect a liberty-pole the most hateful object of that 
 day in the eyes of the Loyalists. Among the leaders 
 of the Whigs on that occasion were SAMPSON SAM- 
 MONS, an opulent farmer residing in the neighbour 
 hood, and two of his sons, JACOB and FREDERIC. 
 Before they had accomplished their purpose of rais 
 ing the emblem of rebellion, the proceedings were in 
 terrupted by the arrival of Sir John Johnson, accom 
 panied by his brothers-in-law, Colonels Glaus and 
 Guy Johnson, Colonel John Butler, and a large num 
 ber of their retainers, armed with swords and pistols. 
 Guy Johnson mounted a high stoop and harangued 
 .he people at length, and with great vehemence. 
 He dwelt upon the strength and power of the king, 
 md attempted to show the folly of opposing his offi 
 cers or revolting against the authority of his crown. 
 i. single ship, he said, would be sufficient to capture 
 ill the navy which could be set afloat by the colo 
 nies ; while on the frontiers, the Indians were under 
 his majesty s control, and his arms were sustained 
 
 * The county of Tryon then included nil the colonial settlements west 
 and southwest of Schenectady. It was taken from Albany county in 
 1772, and named in honour of William Tryon, then governor of the prov 
 ince. In 1784 the name was changed to Montgomery. When formed, 
 it embraced all that part of the state lying west of a line running north 
 and south, nearly through the centre of the present county of Schoharie. 
 
60 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 by a chain of fortified posts, extending from the Gulf 
 of the St. Lawrence to the Mississippi. He was 
 "very virulent in his language towards the disaffected, 
 causing their blood to boil with indignation. But 
 they were unarmed, and for the most part unpre 
 pared, if not indisposed, to proceed to any act of 
 violence. The orator at length became so abusive, 
 that Jacob Sammons, no longer able to restrain him 
 self, imprudently interrupted his discourse by pro 
 nouncing him a liar and a villain. Johnson there 
 upon seized Sammons by the throat, and called him 
 a d d villain in return. A scuffle ensued between 
 them, during which SammOns was struck down with 
 a loaded whip. On recovering from the momentary 
 stupor of the blow, Sammons found one of Johnson s 
 servants sitting astride of his body. A well-directed 
 blow relieved him of that encumbrance, and, spring 
 ing upon his feet, he threw off his coat and prepared 
 for fight. Two pistols were immediately presented 
 to his breast, but not discharged, as Sammons was 
 again knocked down by the clubs of the Loyalists, 
 and severely beaten. On recovering his feet once 
 more, he perceived that his Whig friends had all de 
 camped, with the exception of the families of the 
 Fondas, Veeders, and Visschers.* The Loyalists 
 also drew off, and Jacob Sammons returned to his 
 father s house, bearing upon his body the first scars 
 of the revolutionary contest in the county of Tryon. 
 
 One of the largest and most spirited of these 
 meetings took place in Cherry Valley. It was held 
 in the church, and the people entered into the sub 
 ject with so much enthusiasm, that they took their 
 children to the assembly, that they might imbibe 
 lessons of patriotism, as it were, at the altar thus 
 hallowing the cause in which they were about to 
 engage with the impressive sanctions of religion. 
 The orator of the occasion was an Indian interpret- 
 
 * Narratives of Jacob and Frederic Sammons, furnished to the autho* 
 repeated references to both of which will be made hereafter. 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 61 
 
 er named Thomas Spencer ; he was rude of speech, 
 but forcible ; and, warming with his theme, spoke 
 with such power and effect, that the story of his el 
 oquence yet lives in the annals of tradition. The 
 result of this meeting was the adoption of a strong 
 counter-declaration, condemning the proceedings of 
 the Loyalists at Johnstown, and approving, in the 
 most unequivocal and solemn terms, of the proceed 
 ings of the Continental Congress. 
 
 These proceedings took place early in May. But 
 from a letter addressed to the Committee of Safety 
 of Albany, by the Committee of the Palatine Dis 
 trict, on the 18th of that month, it appears that the 
 Johnsons, and their powe rful confederates in the 
 Mohawk District, succeeded, by threats, intimidation, 
 and an array of military strength, in preventing the 
 adoption of a corresponding declaration by the 
 Whigs. The committee farther notified their friends 
 in Albany, that Sir John Johnson was fortifying the 
 Baronial Hall, by planting several swivels around 
 it ; and he had paraded parts of the regiment of mi 
 litia which he commanded, on the day previous, for 
 the purpose of intimidation, as it was conjectured, 
 It was likewise reported that the Scotch Highland 
 ers, settled in large numbers in and about Johns 
 town, who were Roman Catholics, had armed them 
 selves to the number of one hundred and fifty, ready 
 to aid in the suppression of any popular outbreaks 
 in favour of the growing cause of liberty. 
 
 Strong suspicions were early entertained that the 
 Johnsons, Butlers, and Colonel Clans, were endeav 
 ouring to alienate the good-will of the Indians fY;m 
 the colonists, and prepare them, in the event ;>f 
 open hostilities, to take up the hatchet against them. 
 Thayendanegea, alias Joseph Brant, as heretofore 
 mentioned, was now the secretary of Colonel Guy 
 Johnson, the superintendent, and his activity was 
 ceaseless. Notwithstanding his former friendship 
 for Mr. Kirkland, the faithful missionary to the One- 
 
62 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 Idas, Thayendanegea was apprehensive that his in 
 fluence would be exerted to alienate the Indians 
 from the interests of the crown, and attach them to 
 those of the colonists. The wily chief, accordingly, 
 attempted to obtain the removal of Mr. Kirkland 
 from his station ; and at his instigation a dissolute 
 sachem of the Oneidas preferred charges against 
 the minister to Guy Johnson, the superintendent. 
 A correspondence took place between Johnson and 
 Mr. Kirkland upon the subject, in which the latter 
 sustained himself with force and dignity. The One- 
 ida nation, moreover, rallied to his support, almost 
 to a man ; so that the superintendent was obliged, 
 for the time, to relinquish the idea of his forcible 
 removal. 
 
 Justice, however, both to Brant and Guy Johnson, 
 requires it to be stated, that the vigilant eyes of the 
 Bostonians had already been directed to the impor 
 tance of securing an interest among the Indians of 
 the Six Nations, in anticipation of whatever events 
 were to happen. To this end, a correspondence was 
 opened through Mr. Kirkland, even with the Mo 
 hawks, by the Provincial Congress of Massachu 
 setts, before the affair of Lexington and Concord. 
 
 There were at that time dwelling at Stockbridge, 
 in the western part of Massachusetts, a remnant of 
 the Mohickanders, or " River Indians," as they were 
 usually called during the greater portion of the lasi 
 century, but latterly Stockbridge Indians, from theii 
 locality. These Indians were the remains of the 
 Muhhekaneew* of the Hudson River, at the time o 
 
 * This is the orthography of Dr. Edwards, who was long a missionarj 
 among them at Stockbridge. Hecke welder says their proper name wai 
 Mahicanni. It is one of the most difficult things in the world to arrivf 
 at anything like system or certainty in regard to Indian names of per 
 sons, places, or things. For instance, the author has papers before hin 
 at the time of writing, in which the River Indians are called Moheagans, 
 Mourigans, or Mahingans (French), Mahickanders (Dutch), Mohiccont 
 (English), Mohuccans, Mahickindcrs, Schaticooks, Wabingas, Muhhcak 
 unnuks, and the Moheakounucks ; indeed, it has been the practice of wri 
 ters of different, and of evf-n the same nations, to spell more by the eai 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. C3 
 
 the discovery. They came originally, according to 
 their own traditions, from the far West -even be 
 yond the great lakes. That such was their original 
 location is supported by the fact, that their language 
 was radically different from that of the Narragan- 
 setts and New-England Indians generally, and also 
 from the language of the Five Nations. Its affini 
 ties were allied to the Shawanese and Chippewa, 
 affording farther evidence that they had emigrated 
 from the West, crossing the country of the Dela- 
 wares, and establishing themselves on the banks of 
 the Hudson, or Mohickannittuck, as the North River 
 was called. They were a powerful tribe at the time 
 of the discovery, numbering a thousand warriors, 
 and inhabiting the country between the Upper Del 
 aware and the Hudson, together with portions of 
 territory now included in Massachusetts and Ver 
 mont. They dwelt mostly in little towns and villa 
 ges, their chief seat being the site of the present 
 city of Albany, called by them Pempotowwuthut- 
 Muhhecanneuw, or the Fireplace of the Nation. 
 Becoming feeble and dispersed as the white popula 
 tion increased around and among them although 
 their numbers had been partially recruited by refu 
 gees from the Narragansetts and Pequods, on tho 
 conquest of those nations the Muhhekaneew were 
 collected together at Stockbridge, in 1736, under the 
 care of the Rev. John Sergeant, who, and his son 
 after him, were long the spiritual guides of the 
 tribe. They were ever faithful to the English, hav 
 ing been actively employed by General Shirley to 
 range the country between Lake George and Mon 7 
 treal, during the French war ending in the conquest 
 of Canada. 
 
 The relations of the Stockbridge Indians with the 
 Oneidas had become intimate, and it is very possi 
 ble that the negotiations had even then commenced 
 
 than by rule, until our Indian names have been involved in almost iner 
 tricahlo confusion. 
 
64 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 between the two tribes, which a few years after 
 ward resulted in the removal of the Stockbridge In 
 dians to the Oneida. Be that, however, as it may, 
 when the troubles began to thicken, the Provincial 
 Congress of Massachusetts sent a message to the 
 Stockbridge Indians, apprizing them of the gather 
 ing tempest, and expressing a desire to cultivate a 
 good understanding between them. The Indians, 
 in return, despatched Captain Solomon Ahhaunnau- 
 waumut, their chief sachem, to the Congress, to 
 make a reply, and on the llth of April he delivered 
 the following speech : 
 
 " BROTHERS We have heard you speak by your 
 letter we thank you for it : we now make answer. 
 
 " BROTHERS You remember, when you first came 
 over the great waters, I was great, and you was lit 
 tle, very small. I then took you in for a friend, and 
 kept you under my arms, so that no one might in 
 jure you ; since that time we have ever been true 
 friends ; there has never been any quarrel between 
 us. But now our conditions are changed. You are 
 become great and tall. You reach to the clouds. 
 You are seen all around the world, and I am be 
 come small, very little. I am not so high as your 
 heel. Now you take care of me, and I look to yoi 
 for protection. 
 
 " BROTHERS I am sorry to hear of this great quar 
 rel between you and Old England. It appears that 
 blood must soon be shed to end this quarrel. We 
 never till this day understood the foundation of this 
 quarrel between you and the country you came 
 
 BROTHERS Whenever I see your blood running, 
 von will soon find me about to revenge my brother s 
 blood Although I am low and very small, I will 
 eripe hold of your enemy s heel, that he cannot run 
 so fast, and so light, as if he had nothing at his 
 
 6 BROTHERS You know I am not so wise as you 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 65 
 
 are ; therefore I ask your advice in what I am now 
 going to say. I have been thinking, before you 
 come to action, to take a run to the westward, and 
 feel the mind of my Indian brethren, the Six Na 
 tions, and know how they stand whether they are 
 on your side, or for your enemies. If I find they are 
 against you, I will try to turn their minds. I think 
 they will listen to me, for they have always looked 
 this way for advice concerning all important news 
 that comes from the rising of the sun. If they 
 hearken to me, you will not be afraid of any danger 
 behind you. However their minds are affected, you 
 shall soon know by me. Now I think I can do you 
 more service in this way than by marching off Im 
 mediately to Boston, and staying there ; it may be a 
 great while before blood runs.* Now, as I said, 
 you are wiser than I ; I leave this for your consid 
 eration, whether I come down immediately, or wait 
 till I hear some blood is spilled. 
 
 " BROTHERS I would not have you think, by this, 
 that we are falling back from our engagements. 
 We are ready to do anything for your relief, and 
 shall be guided by your counsel. 
 
 " BROTHERS One thing I ask of you : if you send 
 for me to fight, that you will let me fight in my own 
 Indian way. I am not used to fight English fash 
 ion, therefore you must not expect I can train like 
 your men. Only point out to me where your ene 
 mies keep, and that is all I shall want to know." 
 
 These facts are introduced, not only as being con 
 nected with the main history, and interesting in 
 themselves, but in justice to Guy Johnson ; since, 
 in regard to his own measures of defensive prepar 
 ation, he is entitled to the benefit of all the facts, 
 going to warrant his suspicions that an extraneous 
 
 * A company of minute-men, composed of the Stockbridge Indians, 
 was organized by the Massachusetts Congress before the battle of Lex 
 ington. They were retained in service some time after the war began, 
 and came down and joined the camp at Cambridge. Spark*. 
 
 VOT,. L F 
 
66 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 influence was exerting over the subjects of his gen 
 eral superintendence ; and it can hardly be suppo 
 sed that he was kept altogether in ignorance, either 
 of the correspondence with Mr. Kirkland or of that 
 with the Stockbridge Indians, through whom, prob 
 ably, the Bostonians were at the same time holding 
 intercourse with the Six Nations. These circum 
 stances could not but awaken a lively jealousy in 
 regard to the movements of the white people among 
 the Indians under his charge, and especially in re 
 gard to Mr. Kirkland. Accordingly, although in the 
 month of February the superintendent had not been 
 able to effect the removal of Mr. Kirkland from his 
 station among the Oneidas, he accomplished that 
 object in the course of the spring, as appears by a 
 letter from the missionary himself, addressed from 
 Cherry Valley to the Albany Committee. 
 
 The influence of Mr. Kirkland was great among 
 the Oneidas, and deservedly so. Hence, had he un 
 dertaken the task, he might, beyond all doubt, and 
 easily, have persuaded the Indians of his forest- 
 charge to espouse the cause of the colonies. But 
 he did no such thing ; or, at least, he avoided the 
 exertion of any farther influence than to persuade 
 them to the adoption of a neutral policy. This de 
 termination, probably, was an act of their own voli 
 tion, after listening to the interpretation of the pro 
 ceedings of Congress. It was made known to the 
 people of New-England by the following address, 
 transmitted by the Oneidas to Governor Trumbull, 
 of Connecticut, with a request that he would cause 
 it to be communicated to the four New-England 
 colonies : 
 
 THE ONEIDA INDIANS TO GOVERNOR TRUMBULL. 
 
 "As my younger brothers of the New-England 
 Indians, who have settled in our vicinity, are now 
 going down to visit their friends, and to move up 
 parts of their families that were left behind with 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION 67 
 
 this belt by them, I open the road wide, clearing it 
 of all obstacles, that they may visit their friends 
 and return to their settlements here in peace. 
 
 " Now we more immediately address you, our 
 brother, the governor, and the chiefs of New-Eng 
 land. 
 
 " BROTHERS We have heard of the unhappy dif 
 ferences and great contention between you and Old 
 England. We wonder greatly, and are troubled in 
 our minds. 
 
 " BROTHERS Possess your minds in peace re 
 specting us Indians. We cannot intermeddle in 
 this dispute between two brothers. The quarrel 
 seems to be unnatural. You are two brothers of one 
 blood. We are unwilling to join on either side in 
 such a contest, for we bear an equal affection to 
 both you Old and New England. Should the great 
 King of England apply to us for aid, we shall deny 
 him ; if the colonies apply, we shall refuse. The 
 present situation of you two brothers is new and 
 strange to us. We Indians cannot find, nor recol 
 lect in the traditions of our ancestors, the like case, 
 or a similar instance. 
 
 " BROTHERS For these reasons possess your 
 minds in peace, and take no umbrage that we In 
 dians refuse joining in the contest. We are for 
 peace. 
 
 " BROTHERS As we have declared for peace, we 
 desire you will not apply to. our Indian brethren in 
 New-England for their assistance. Let us Indians 
 be all of one mind, and live with one another ; and 
 you white people settle your own disputes between 
 yourselves." 
 
 Of an Indian foe the inhabitants of Tryon county 
 entertained a special dread. In the communication 
 of the Palatine Committee to that of Albany, there 
 fore, cited a few pages back, it was suggested 
 whether it would not be expedient to prevent the 
 
68 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 sending of powder and ammunition into the Mo 
 hawk Valley, unless consigned to the committee, to 
 be sold under their inspection. In conclusion, the 
 committee declared that, although few in number, 
 they were determined to let the world see who 
 were, and who were not, attached to the cause of 
 American liberty ; and they closed by avowing their 
 fixed determination " to carry into execution every 
 thing recommended by the Continental Congress, 
 and to be free or die." 
 
 Three days after making this communication to 
 their Albany brethren, that is to say, on the 21st of 
 May, the question whether Guy Johnson was or 
 was not tampering with the Indians in anticipation 
 of hostilities, was solved by an intercepted commu 
 nication from Thayendanegea to the chiefs of the 
 Oneida tribe. The letter, written in the Mohawk 
 language, was found in an Indian path, and was sup 
 posed to have been lost by one of their runners. 
 The following is a translation, being the earliest 
 specimen extant of the composition of Brant : 
 
 "Written at Guy Johnson s, May, 1775. 
 
 " This is your letter, you great ones or sachems. 
 Guy Johnson says he will be glad if you get this in 
 telligence, you Oneidas, how it goes with him now ; 
 and he is now more certain concerning the inten 
 tion of the Boston people. Guy Johnson is in great 
 fear of being taken prisoner by the Bostonians. 
 We Mohawks are obliged to watch him constantly. 
 Therefore we send you this intelligence, that you 
 shall know it; and Guy Johnson assures himself, 
 and depends upon your coming to his assistance, 
 and that you will, without fail, be of that opinion. 
 He believes not that you will assent to let him suf 
 fer. We therefore expect you in a couple of days 
 time. So much at present. We send but so far as 
 to you Oneidas, but afterward, perhaps, to all the 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 69 
 
 other nations. We conclude, and expect that you 
 will have concern about our ruler, Guy Johnson, 
 because we are all united. 
 
 ** (Signed) " AREN KANNENZARON, 
 
 " JOHANNES TEGARIHOGE, 
 " DEYAGODEAGHNAWEAGH. 
 "JOSEPH BRANT, 
 
 " Guy Johnson s Interpreter." 
 
 The surface of this intercepted despatch discloses 
 nothing- more than a desire on the part of Guy John 
 son to strengthen his domestic forces for the pro 
 tection of his person, in the event of any attempt to 
 seize and carry him away. But the inhabitants al 
 lowed him no credit for sincerity. Information had 
 been received from Canada, through the emissaries 
 sent thither by the revolutionary leaders in Massa 
 chusetts, that secret agents of the crown had been 
 sent among the Six Nations to stir them up against 
 the colonies. Hence the correspondence of the 
 Massachusetts Congress with Mr. Kirkland and the 
 Indians ; and hence, also, the increasing apprehen 
 sion of the people that the Indians were to be in 
 flamed and let loose upon them. Such, consequent 
 ly, was their distrust of Johnson, that they neither 
 believed there was any design against his person, 
 nor that he was labouring under any apprehension 
 of the kind. There is no reason to doubt, however, 
 that Guy Johnson did feel his position to be critical. 
 General Schuyler had his eye upon him ; and, be 
 yond question, his every motion was so closely 
 watched as to make him feel very uncomfortable.* 
 
 In addition to the before-mentioned intercepted 
 letter, it was ascertained that already expresses had 
 actually been sent to the upper tribes of the Six Na- 
 
 * " Watch the movements of the Indian agent, Colonel Guy Johnson, 
 s.nd prevent, so far as vou can, the effect of his influence, to our preju 
 dice, with the Indians." Letter from Washington to General Schuyler, 
 June, 1775. 
 
70 
 
 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 tions, to invite them down to Guy Johnson s house. 
 His own domestic army amounted to five hundred 
 men, and he had now cut off all free communication 
 between the upper Mohawk settlements and Albany. 
 And although the districts of Palatine, Canajoharie, 
 and the German Flatts were sanctioning the pro 
 ceedings of .he Continental Congress with much 
 unanimity, they were in a great measure unarmed 
 and destitute of ammunition, not having more than 
 fifty pounds of powder in the districts. Under these 
 circumstances, the committee wrote an urgent let 
 ter to Albany, representing their situation, and sug 
 gesting whether it might not be expedient to open 
 the communication through the lower districts of the 
 valley by force. They also advised the sending of 
 two trusty messengers, well acquainted with the In 
 dian language, to the upper nations, to dissuade 
 them, if possible, from obeying the summons of Guy 
 Johnson, and to enlighten them in respect of the true 
 nature and causes of the quarrel with the king s 
 government. 
 
 This letter was despatched by express, and the 
 Albany Committee replied on the following day, 
 advising their friends of the upper districts that they 
 had no ammunition to spare, and dissuading them 
 from any attempt to reopen the communication by 
 force. That project was, accordingly, abandoned ; 
 but the committee sent four of its members to Al 
 bany, to gain information as to the condition of 
 the country generally, and with instructions to pro 
 cure a quantity of powder and lead, the committee 
 holding itself responsible for the purchase money. 
 Meantime, they pushed their measures of internal 
 organization with great energy and success, estab 
 lishing sub-committees wherever it was expedient, 
 and assuming the exercise of legislative, judicial, 
 and executive powers. Secret articles for mutual 
 succour and defence were prepared, and very gener 
 ally signed by the Whigs ; and threats having been 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 71 
 
 attered by Guy Johnson, that unless the committees 
 desisted from the course they were pursuing, he 
 would seize and imprison certain of their number, 
 they solemnly bound themselves to rescue any who 
 might thus be arrested by force, " unless such per 
 sons should be confined by legal process, issued upon 
 a legal ground, and executed in a legal manner." 
 
 It is here worthy, not only of special note, but of 
 all admiration, how completely and entirely these 
 border-men held themselves amenable, in the most 
 trying exigencies, to the just execution of the laws. 
 Throughout all their proceedings, the history of the 
 Tryon Committees will show that they were gov 
 erned by the purest dictates of patriotism, and the 
 highest regard to moral principle. Unlike the rude 
 inhabitants of most frontier settlements, especially 
 under circumstances when the magistracy are, from 
 necessity, almost powerless, the frontier patriots of 
 Tryon county were scrupulous in their devotion to 
 the supremacy of the laws. Their leading men were 
 likewise distinguished for their intelligence ; and 
 while North Carolina is disputing whether she did 
 not, in fact, utter a declaration of independence be 
 fore it was done by Congress, the example may 
 almost be said to have proceeded from the Valley 
 of the Mohawk. 
 
 On the whole, there is no good reason to doubt 
 that Guy Johnson was, in reality, apprehensive of a 
 clandestine visit from the Yankees, and possibly of 
 an abduction. The great influence of his official 
 station, and his equivocal conduct, had created uni 
 versal distrust ; and the affair of the " Tea Party" 
 had taught the Loyalists that the Bostonians were as 
 adroit and fearless in stratagem as in deeds of open 
 daring and bold emprise. It was well understood 
 that he had arrested and searched the persons of 
 two New-Englanders, suspicious, as it was inferred, 
 and probably not without reason, that they had been 
 despatched on a mission to the Indians, with whom 
 
72 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 it was policy to prevent any communication, save 
 through his own interposition. Nor could he be 
 ignorant of the fact, that at that critical conjuncture, 
 the possession of his person might be of as much 
 consequence to those who were on the verge of re 
 bellion as of detriment to the service in which his 
 predilections would probably induce him to engage. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 A COUNCIL of the Mohawk chiefs was held at Guy 
 Park* on the 25th of May, which was attended by 
 delegates from Albany and Tryon counties. The 
 records of this council are very scanty and unsatis 
 factory. The principal chief of the Mohawk tribe 
 at that time was Little Abraham^ a brother of the 
 famous Hendrick who fell at Lake George, in the 
 year 1775. 
 
 This council having been but thinly attended, and 
 only by one tribe of the Indians, the superintendent 
 immediately directed the assembling of another in 
 the western part of the county, to attend which he 
 proceeded to the German Flatts with his whole 
 family and retinue. His quarters were at the house 
 of a Mr. Thompson, on Cosby s Manor, a few miles 
 above the Flatts. It has been alleged that this sec 
 ond council was convoked because of the superin 
 tendent s dissatisfaction with the first a conclusion 
 not unlikely, from the absence of the western In 
 dians, who had been invited. 
 
 On the 2d of June there was, for the first time, a 
 
 * Guy Park, a beautiful situation immediately on the bank of the Mo 
 hawk. The elegant stone mansion is yet upon the premises, giving the 
 best evidences of substantial building. 
 
 t Little Abraham seems rather to have been a leading chief at th 
 Lower Castle of the Mohawks not the principal war-chief. 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 73 
 
 lull meeting of the Tryon County Committee, the 
 Loyalists having previously prevented the attendance 
 of delegates from the lower, or Mohawk District.* 
 This committee addressed a strong and patriotic let 
 ter to the superintendent, formally notifying him of 
 the purposes of their organization. The following 
 is an extract from this letter : 
 
 " We are not ignorant of the very great impor 
 tance of your office as superintendent of the Indians, 
 and therefore it is no more our duty than inclina 
 tion to protect you in the discharge of the duty of 
 your proper province ; and we meet you with pleas 
 ure, in behalf of ourselves and our constituents, to 
 thank you for meeting the Indians in the upper 
 parts of the county, which may be the means of 
 easing the people of the remainder of their fears on 
 this account, and prevent the Indians committing ir 
 regularities on their way down to Guy Park. And 
 we beg of you to use your endeavours with the In 
 dians to dissuade them from interfering in the dis 
 pute with the mother-country and the colonies. 
 We cannot think that, as you and your family pos 
 sess very large estates in this county, you are unfa 
 vourable to American freedom, although you may 
 differ with us in the mode of obtaining a redress of 
 grievances. Permit us farther to observe, that we 
 cannot pass over in silence the interruption which 
 
 * It may be interesting to some to give the names of this body of men, 
 who had so often professed their willingness to peril their lives and 
 property hi defence of the liberties of their country. (From Palatine Dis 
 trict) Christopher P. Yates, John Frey, Andrew Fink, Andrew Reeber, 
 Peter Waggoner, Daniel M Dougal, Jacob Klock, George Ecker, Jun., 
 Harmanus Van Slyck, Christopher VV. Fox, Anthony Van Veghten. 
 (Canajoharie District) Nicholas Heikimer, Ebenezer Cox, William See- 
 ber, John Moore, Samuel Campbell, Samuel Clyde, Thomas Henry, John 
 Pickard. (Kingsland and German Flatts Districts) Edward Wall, Will 
 iam Petry, John Petry, Augustine Hess, Frederic Orendorf, George 
 Wentz, Michael Ittig, Frederic Fox, George Ilerkimer, Duncan M Dou 
 gal, Frederic Helmer, John Frink. (Mohawk District) John Morlett, 
 John Bliven, Abraham Van Home, Adam Fonda, Frederic Fisher, 
 Sampson Sarnmons, William Schuyler, Volkert Veeder, James M Master, 
 Daniel Line 42. Christopher P. Yates was chosen chairman of thii 
 body Campbell s Annals. 
 
74 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 the people of the Mohawk District met in their meet- 
 ing, which, we are informed, was conducted in a 
 peaceable manner ; and the inhuman treatment of 
 a man whose only crime was being faithful to his 
 employers, and refusing to give an account of the 
 receipt of certain papers, to persons who had not 
 the least colour of right to demand anything of that 
 kind. We assure you that we are much concerned 
 about it, as two important rights of English subjects 
 are thereby infringed to wit, a right to meet, and 
 to obtain all the intelligence in their power." 
 
 Colonel Nicholas Herkimer and Edward Wall 
 were deputed to deliver the letter to the superintend 
 ent, for which purpose they proceeded to Cosby s 
 Manor, and discharged their trust. The following 
 was Colonel Johnson s reply manly and direct; 
 and with which, if sincere, certainly no fault could 
 be found, bating the lack of courtesy in its com 
 mencement : 
 
 " Thompson s, Cosby s Manor, June 5th, 1775. 
 
 " GENTLEMEN, 
 
 I have received the paper signed Chris. P. Yates. 
 chairman, on behalf of the districts therein men 
 tioned, which I am now to answer, and shall do it 
 briefly, in the order you have stated matters. As to 
 the letter from some Indians to the Oneidas, I real 
 ly knew nothing of it till I heard such a thing had 
 been by some means obtained from an Indian mes 
 senger ; and from what I have heard of its contents, 
 I can t see anything material in it, or that could jus 
 tify such idle apprehensions ; but I must observe, 
 that these fears among the people were talked of 
 long before, and were, I fear, propagated by some 
 malicious persons for a bad purpose. 
 
 " As to your political sentiments, on which you 
 enter in the next paragraph, I have no occasion to 
 enter on them or the merits of the cause. I desire 
 to enjoy liberty of conscience and the exercise of 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 75 
 
 my own judgment, and that all others should have 
 the same privilege ; but, with regard to your saying 
 you might have postponed the affair, if there had 
 been the least kind of probability that the petitior 
 of the General Assembly would have been noticed 
 more than that of the delegates, I must, as a true 
 friend to the country, in which I have a large inter 
 est, say, that the present dispute is viewed in differ 
 ent lights, according to the education and principles 
 of the parties affected ; and that, however reasona 
 ble it may appear to a considerable number of hon 
 est men here, that the petition of the delegates 
 should merit attention, it is not viewed in the same 
 light in a country which admits of no authority that 
 is not constitutionally established ; and I persuade 
 myself you have that reverence for his majesty, 
 that you will pay due regard to the royal assu 
 rance given in his speech to Parliament, that when 
 ever the American grievances should be laid before 
 him by their constitutional assemblies, they should 
 be fully attended to. I have heard that compulsory 
 steps were taken to induce some persons to come 
 into your measures, and treasonable toasts drank ; 
 but I am not willing to give too easy credit to flying 
 reports, and am happy to hear you disavow them. 
 
 " I am glad to find my calling a Congress on the 
 frontiers gives satisfaction ; this was principally my 
 design, though I cannot sufficiently express my sur 
 prise at those who have, either through malice or 
 ignorance, misconstrued my intentions, and suppo 
 sed me capable of setting the Indians on the peace 
 able inhabitants of this county. The interest our 
 family has in this county, and my own, is consider 
 able, and they have been its best benefactors ; any 
 malicious charges, therefore, to their prejudice, are 
 highly injurious, and ought to be totally suppressed. 
 
 " The office I hold is "greatly for the benefit and 
 protection of this county, and on my frequent meet 
 ings with the Indians depends their peace and secu- 
 
76 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 rity ; I therefore cannot but be astonished to find 
 the endeavours made use of to obstruct me in my 
 duties, and the weakness of some people in with 
 holding many things from me, which are indisputa 
 bly necessary for rendering the Indians contented ; 
 and I am willing to hope that you, gentlemen, will 
 duly consider this, and discountenance the same. 
 
 " You have been much misinformed as to the or 
 igin of the reports which obliged me to fortify my 
 house and stand on my defence. I had it, gentle 
 men, from undoubted authority from Albany, and 
 since confirmed by letters from one of the commit 
 tee at Philadelphia, that a large body of men were 
 to make me prisoner. As the effect this must have 
 on the Indians might have been of dangerous con 
 sequences to you (a circumstance not thought of), 
 I was obliged, at great expense, to take these meas 
 ures. But the many reports of my stopping travel 
 lers were false in every particular, and the only in 
 stance of detaining anybody was in the case of two 
 New-England men, which I explained fully to those 
 of your body who brought your letter, and wherein 
 I acted strictly agreeable to law, and as a magis 
 trate should have done. 
 
 " I am very sorry that such idle and injurious re 
 ports meet with any encouragement. I rely on you, 
 gentlemen, to exert yourselves in discountenancing 
 them ; and I am happy in this opportunity of assu 
 ring the people of a county I regard, that they have- 
 no thing to apprehend from my endeavours, but that 
 I shall always be glad to promote their true in 
 terests. 
 
 " I am, gentlemen, your humble servant, 
 
 " G. JOHNSON." 
 
 Guy Johnson did not remain long at Cosby s 
 Manor, nor did he hold the Indian council there 
 which had been notified, but departed immediately 
 farther west. His removal from Thompson s was 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 77 
 
 thus announced to the Committee of Palatine by Mr. 
 Wall, on the 8th of June : " Our people are greatly 
 alarmed at Colonel Johnson s motions, and cannot 
 understand his reasons for the same. We dare say 
 that before now you have been [made] acquainted 
 that he has removed with his retinue from Mr. 
 Thompson s to Fort Stanwix, and there are rumours 
 that he intends to move yet farther. We leave you 
 to conjecture what may be his reasons." 
 
 These apprehensions were certainly not unreason 
 able. For although Colonel Johnson s letters were 
 plausible, and apparently frank and sincere, when 
 the people saw him setting his face thus to the west, 
 and moving up through the valley, not only with 
 his own family, but accompanied by a large retinue 
 of his dependants and the great body of the Mohawk 
 Indians who left their own delightful country at 
 this time, never more peaceably to return it is not 
 strange that suspicions as to his ulterior designs 
 were excited. 
 
 The affair of Lexington had, of course, been the 
 signal for war throughout the colonies. The forts, 
 magazines, and arsenals were everywhere seized. 
 Troops were raised, and money for their support ; 
 and it was not many weeks before an army of thir 
 ty thousand men appeared in the environs of Bos 
 ton, under the command of General Putnam a vet 
 eran of the old French war, in whom the people had 
 great confidence. Early in May, Colonel Ethan 
 Allen, a hardy leader of the settlers upon the New- 
 Hampshire grants (now Vermont), concerted an ex 
 pedition against Ticonderoga and Crown Point. 
 About forty volunteers from Connecticut were of 
 the expedition, which, with the forces collected for 
 the object at Castleton, made up the number of two 
 hundred and thirty. Allen w r as unexpectedly join 
 ed by Colonel Benedict Arnold, who had planned 
 the same enterprise. They readily agreed to act in 
 concert; and so admirably was the project carried 
 
78 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 into execution, that the Americans actually entered 
 the fortress by the covered way just at daylight, 
 formed upon the parade ground within, and awoke 
 the sleeping garrison by their huzzas. A slight 
 skirmish ensued, and the commander, De la Place 
 surrendered to the novel summons of Allen, " I de 
 mand a surrender in the name of the great Jehovah 
 and the Continental Congress." Colonel Seth War 
 ner was sent thence to Crown Point, which was 
 easily taken, the garrison consisting of only a doz 
 en men, commanded by a sergeant. Arnold pro 
 ceeded northward to St. Johns, and succeeded in 
 capturing a sloop-of-war by surprise ; while, at the 
 same time, the pass of Skenesborough, at the south 
 end of Champlain, was taken possession of, Colonel 
 Skene and a small number of troops being made 
 prisoners, and several pieces of cannon taken. 
 Thus, by a sudden blow, and without the loss of a 
 man, was the command of Lakes George and Cham- 
 plain obtained. 
 
 The next act in the grand drama then unfolding 
 was the battle of Bunker Hill. Towards the close 
 of May re-enforcements of troops from England had 
 arrived at Boston, with Generals Howe, Burgoyne, 
 and Clinton, all of whom were officers of reputa 
 tion. The Provincial Congress of Massachusetts 
 had, early in that month, renounced General Gage 
 as governor of the colony, declared him an enemy 
 of the country, and forbidden obedience to his or 
 ders. On the other hand, General Gage had issued 
 his proclamation, promising a gracious pardon to all 
 who would lay down their arms and return to the 
 duties of peaceable subjects, excepting only Sam 
 uel Adams and John Hancock, whose offences were 
 declared to be of " too flagitious a nature to admit 
 of any other consideration than that of condign pun 
 ishment." By the same instrument Massachusetts 
 was declared to be under martial law. General 
 Gage was also preparing, in other respects, for more 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 79 
 
 energetic action ; but every measure he took, and 
 every moment that passed, served only to unite and 
 imbolden the Whigs, and increase the audacity with 
 which they now, in action, if not in words, contemned 
 the royal authority. The provincial troops began to 
 assemble in force around Boston, and were throw 
 ing up defences, when the battle of Bunker Hill, at 
 once and forever, severed the tie that bound the col 
 onies to the parent country. The fighting on this 
 occasion was of such a determined character as to 
 show the enemy that it was no pastime upon which 
 they had entered. One of the British officers, in 
 writing home to a friend, declared that " the rebels 
 fought more like devils than men." The loss of the 
 British, in killed and wounded, was 1054. That of 
 the provincials, 139 killed and 314 wounded. The 
 great calamity of the day was the fall of the brave 
 and accomplished Warren, who was shot through 
 the head early in the action. 
 
 It is not to be supposed that, with the evidence be 
 fore them of Colonel Johnson s exertions to excite 
 he Indians against the provincial cause, the friends of 
 the latter were by any means inactive. On the con 
 trary, they left no fair and honourable means untried 
 so far to win upon their favour as, at least, to secure 
 their neutrality in the contest ; nor were they whol 
 ly unsuccessful, although the majority of the Six 
 Nations ultimately threw themselves into the oppo 
 site scale. Disappointed in not meeting a fuller and 
 more general council at Guy Park in May, a confer 
 ence was arranged with the Oneidas and Tuscaro- 
 ras, through the agency of their friend, the Rev. 
 Mr. Kirkland, which took place at the German 
 Flatts on the 28th of June. The Indians were met 
 by the inhabitants of that district, and also by a 
 deputation from Albany. The minutes of that meet 
 ing were not preserved at large among the papers 
 of the Tryon County Committee. The result of 
 the council, hov/ever, was to obtain a pledge of neu- 
 
80 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 trality from the greater portion of the Indians as 
 sembled. The efforts of Mr. Kirkland had uniform 
 ly been directed to the same humane design. 
 
 Colonel Guy Johnson, as we have already seen, 
 had previously left the lower district of the Mohawk 
 Valley. He was a man of too much discernment, 
 holding the opinions he did, to remain at Johnstown 
 an inactive spectator of events, the inevitable ten 
 dency of which could only be very soon to rouse 
 the whole thirteen colonies to arms against the 
 British power, and he had prudently anticipated 
 the battle of Bunker Hill in his departure. But his 
 movements had thus far been pacific, or, rather, not 
 openly belligerant ; and it is probable that an exci 
 ted and jealous people may not have treated him, 
 during his hegira, with all their wonted respect. 
 
 Making a very brief sojourn at Fort Stanwix, Guy 
 Johnson hastened as far west as Ontario, there to 
 hold a grand council with the Indians, remote from 
 the white settlements ; and where, as he alleged, 
 their action might be independent, and unembar 
 rassed by the interference of the colonists. It was 
 at Ontario that he received a letter from the Pro 
 vincial Congress of New- York, written at the soli 
 citation of the Congress of Massachusetts, and com 
 plaining of his alleged endeavours to fill the minds 
 of the Indian tribes with sentiments injurious to the 
 colonies. He replied to it, on the 8th of July, in a 
 letter glowing with loyalty, and complaining bitter 
 ly of the malecontents, and those in opposition tc 
 regular governments, who, he again repeated, were 
 exciting the Indians against him. 
 
 Colonel Johnson was accompanied in his depar 
 ture by Joseph Brant, or Thayendanegea, his secre 
 tary, and by Colonel John Butler and his son Wal 
 ter, and they succeeded in convening a very largo 
 council at Ontario. The greater portion of the In 
 dians attending, however, were probably Cayugas 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 81 
 
 and Senecas. These were now far the most nu 
 merous of the Six Nations, although the Mohawks 
 yet stood in rank at the head of the confederacy. 
 Formerly the last-mentioned tribe had been the 
 most numerous and powerful of the cantons ; but 
 at an early day after the planting of the colony of 
 New- York, the French had succeeded in seducing a 
 large section of the Mohawks to return to Canada, 
 whence they originally came, after breaking the vas 
 salage in which they had been held by the Algon- 
 quins. Their proximity to the whites, moreover, 
 had been attended jpy the effect, invariable and seem 
 ingly inevitable, in regard to their race, of diminish 
 ing their numbers. Added to all which, their war 
 like character, and their daring ferocity, exposing 
 them to more frequent perils than were encountered 
 by their associated cantons, had contributed still 
 farther to this unequal diminution.* 
 
 It is not known that any record of this council 
 was preserved, although the speeches interchanged 
 were doubtless written, since that was the universal 
 practice in the conduct of Indian intercourse. But 
 no doubt exists as to the fact that the superintend 
 ent succeeded in still farther alienating the affec 
 tions of the great majority of the Indians from the 
 Americans, if they did not immediately join the 
 ranks of the invaders. Nor, when all the circum 
 stances of their case and position are dispassion 
 ately considered, is it surprising that their inclina 
 tions were favourable to the crown. On the con 
 trary, the wonder is that Colonel Johnson did not 
 
 * Among- the manuscripts of Sir William Johnson, I have found a cen 
 sus of the Northern and Western Indians, from the Hudson River to the 
 great lakes and the Mississippi, taken in 1763. The Mohawk warriors 
 were then only 160; the Oneidas, 250; Tuscaroras, 140; Onondagas, 
 150 ; Cayugas, 200 ; Senecas, 1050 : total, 1950. According- to the cal 
 culation of a British agent, several of the tribes must have increased 
 between the close of the French war and the beginning of the American 
 Revolution, as it was computed that, during the latter contest, the Eng 
 lish had in service 300 Mohawks, 150 Oneidas, 200 Tuscaroras, 300 
 Onondagas, 230 Cayutras, and 400 Seneoas. Author. 
 
 VOL. L c; 
 
82 BORDERS WARS OF THE 
 
 succeed in carrying with him the Oneidas and Tus- 
 caroras also ; and he probably would have done so 
 but for the salutary, though indirect influence of Mr 
 Kirkland, and their noble chief, the sagacious Schen- 
 andoah, always the warm and unwavering friend 
 of the colonists. With regard to these Indians, it 
 must be considered that they had then been in alli 
 ance with Great Britain during a period of more 
 than one hundred years. In all their wars with 
 their implacable enemies the Algonquins, acting in 
 alliance with the French, the Six Nations had been 
 assisted by the English, or fighting side by side with 
 them. For a long series of years Sir William 
 Johnson had been their counsellor and friend. His 
 family was, to a certain extent, allied with the head 
 canton of the confederacy, and he was consulted by 
 them in all affairs of business, or of high emergen 
 cy, as an oracle. They had drawn their supplies 
 through him and his agents, and it was natural that, 
 upon his decease, their affection for him should be 
 transferred to his successor in office, who was also 
 his son-in-law. Miss Molly, moreover, was a woman 
 of vigorous understanding and of able management. 
 And, as we have already seen, she and Colonel Guy 
 himself were sustained by the powerful aid of Thay- 
 endanegea, who united the advantages of education 
 with the native sagacity of his race. Added to all 
 which, the cause was considered, if not desperate, 
 at least of doubtful issue ; while the unenlightened 
 Indians had been taught to hear the name of the 
 king with great reverence, and to believe him all- 
 powerful. They considered the officers of the crown 
 their best friends ; and it was but natural that they 
 should hold on upon the great chain which they had 
 so long laboured to keep bright between them. 
 
 It has already been remarked, that, thus far, Col 
 onel Guy Johnson had committed no act of actual 
 hostility. While this council was holding in Onta 
 rio, however, the whole valley of the Mohawk was 
 filled with alarm, bv reports that he was preparing an 
 
AMERIC\N REVOLUTION. 83 
 
 expedition to return upon them, and lay the country 
 waste oy rire and sword. On the llth of July, Col 
 onel Keikirner wrote from Canajoharie to the Pala 
 tine Committee, that he had received credible intelli 
 gence that morning, that Guy Johnson was ready to 
 march back upon them with a body of eight or nine 
 hundred Indians, and that the attack would be com 
 menced from the woods below the Little Falls, on the 
 northern side of the river. He therefore proposed 
 sending to Albany immediately for a corresponding 
 number of men: An urgent letter was forthwith de 
 spatched by the committee to Schenectady and Al 
 bany for the amount of assistance mentioned, " to 
 prevent these barbarous enterprises," and to enable 
 them " to resist their inhuman enemies with good 
 success that they might not be slaughtered, like 
 innocent and defenceless sheep before ravaging 
 wolves." 
 
 From the positive character of the intelligence, 
 and the mysterious movements of Guy Johnson and 
 his followers, the inhabitants had good cause of 
 alarm ; more especially as Sir John Johnson* re 
 mained at the Hall in Johnstown, having at his beck 
 a large body of Loyalists, making his castle (for the 
 Hall was now fortified) their headquarters, who, in 
 the event of such a movement by his brother-in-law 
 from the west, would doubtless be prepared to join 
 the Indians in the enterprise, and, between them 
 both, be able to whelm the settlements in destruc 
 tion at a single blow. Every possible preparation 
 was therefore made for their defence, but the alarm 
 proved to be without foundation ; and after Guy 
 Johnson had completed his business at Ontario, he 
 returned to Oswego, where he very soon afterward 
 convened another council and held a treaty, at which 
 he succeeded in still farther estranging the Indians 
 from the colonies. f 
 
 * Sir John Johnson held a commission as brifradicr-general of militia, 
 t The following passage from Ramsay s History of tho Revolution 
 
84 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 From Oswego Guy Johnson crossed into Canada, 
 and thence descended the St. Lawrence to Mon 
 treal, accompanied by a large number of the chiefs 
 and warriors of the Six Nations, who were invited 
 to an interview with Sir Guy Carleton and Sir Fred 
 eric Haldimand both those distinguished officers 
 being in that city at the time and were induced by 
 them to embark in the cause of the king. 
 
 It has often been asserted, especially by British 
 historians, that Sir Guy Carleton was opposed to 
 the employment of the Indians in the contest, from 
 principles of humanity. Such, however, was not 
 the fact. Brant repeatedly asserted in after life, in 
 speeches delivered by him, copies of which are yet 
 extant, that on their first arrival in Montreal, Gen 
 eral Carleton proposed to them to enter the service. 
 
 Strict historical accuracy is often of slow at 
 tainment ; but, after all deductions from the merits 
 of General Carleton, afterward Lord Dorchester, 
 enough that is truly excellent and great will remain 
 to leave him a reputation of which most public men 
 might well be proud. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE second Continental Congress, composed of 
 delegates, assembled at Philadelphia on the 10th of 
 
 seems to refer to this Indian convocation at Osweg-o. There was no other 
 meeting- during that year to which this notice of Ramsay could refer. 
 " Colonel Johnson had repeated conferences with the Indians, and endeav 
 oured to influence them to take up the hatchet, but they steadily refused. 
 In order to gain their co-operation, he invited them to a feast on a Bos- 
 tonian, and to drink his blood. This, in the Indian style, meant no more 
 than to partake of a roasted ox and a pipe of wine at a public entertain 
 ment, which was given on design to influence them to co-operate with 
 the British troops. The colonial patriots affected to understand it in its 
 literal sense. It furnished, in their mode of explication, a convenient haa 
 lie for operating on the passions of the people." 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 85 
 
 iVTay. Hostilities having actually commenced, and 
 it being- well understood that large re-enforcements 
 of the British army were on their way from Eng 
 land, no time was lost in preparing for the public de 
 fence. Protesting that they " wished for a restora 
 tion of the harmony formerly subsisting between 
 the mother-country and the colonies," they resolv 
 ed again to present " a humble and dutiful petition 
 to his majesty ;" prepared addresses to the people 
 of Great Britain, to those of Canada, and to the 
 Assembly of Jamaica ; voted for the immediate 
 equipment of 20,000 men ; voted to raise three mill 
 ions on bills of credit for the prosecution of the 
 war ; and, on the nomination of John Adams, com 
 missioned GEORGE WASHINGTON, of Virginia, as com- 
 mander-in-chief. On the 4th of July, Congress de 
 nounced the two acts of Parliament of the prece 
 ding session, restraining the trade and commerce 
 of the colonies, as "unconstitutional, oppressive, and 
 cruel ;" and on the 6th they agreed to a manifesto, 
 " setting forth the causes and necessity of their 
 taking up arms." After a spirited but temperate 
 preamble, presenting an historical view of the or 
 igin, progress, and conduct of the colonies, and of 
 the measures of the British government since the 
 peace of 1763 ; and after an eloquent recapitula 
 tion of the grievances which had produced the col 
 lision, and proclaiming their confidence of obtaining 
 foreign aid if necessary, and of ultimate success ; 
 disavowing, moreover, any intention to dissolve the 
 connexion between the parent country and the colo 
 nies, the declaration proceeded, "We most solemn 
 ly, before God and the world, DECLARE, that, exerting 
 the utmost energy of those powers which our benefi 
 cent Creator hath bestowed upon us, the arms we 
 have been compelled by our enemies to assume, we 
 will, in defiance of every hazard, with unabating firm 
 ness and perseverance, employ for the preservation 
 of our liberties, being with one mind resolved to 
 
86 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 die FREEMEN rather than live SLAVES." They pro 
 tested that they would lay down their arms when 
 hostilities should cease on the part of the aggres 
 sors, and not before. Reposing their confidence in 
 the mercy of the Impartial Judge and Ruler of the 
 Universe, and imploring his goodness to protect 
 and carry them through the conflict, they appointed 
 the 20th of July to be observed as a day of public 
 humiliation, fasting, and prayer with that view. It 
 was generally observed, and was the first national 
 fast ever proclaimed in the New World. 
 
 But amid all the arduous duties demanding the 
 attention of Congress, the importance of keeping a 
 watchful eye upon the Indians was universally con 
 ceded. The position of the Six Nations, as well as 
 their power to do mischief, could not but strike the 
 observation of all. They had served as a useful 
 barrier between the English settlements and the 
 French in Canada in former wars, and were often 
 actively engaged as auxiliaries. Their position 
 and their utility would be now precisely the same 
 between the Americans and the English in Canada. 
 It was, therefore, deemed of the first consequence, 
 if possible, to prevent them from taking sides with 
 the English ; not, however, with a view to their em 
 ployment in arms by ourselves ; since, notwith 
 standing the disposition manifested by the Congress 
 of Massachusetts to employ the Indians, and the ac 
 tual engagement of the Stockbridge Indians as aux 
 iliaries, it was, nevertheless, the anxious desire of 
 the Congress to keep them in a position of neutral 
 ity as between England and the colonies, and at 
 peace among themselves and with all. For the 
 purpose of closer observation and more efficient ac 
 tion in respect to the Indian relations of the coun 
 try, therefore, an Indian Department, with three sub 
 divisions, Northern, Middle, and Southern, was es 
 tablished on the 12th of July, and commissioners 
 were appointed for each, " with power to treat with 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 87 
 
 the Indians in their respective departments, to pre 
 serve peace and friendship, and to prevent their ta 
 king any part in the present commotions." The 
 commissioners of the Northern Department were, 
 Major-general Philip Schuyler, Major Joseph H\w- 
 ley, Mr. Turbot Francis, Mr. Oliver Wolcott, and 
 Mr. Volkert P. Douw. The form of an address to 
 the several tribes of Indians, in all the departments, 
 was agreed upon, to be altered as occasion might 
 require for local adaptation. This address was fra 
 med after the manner of Indian speeches, and con 
 tained a summary history of the colonies, and of 
 the rise and progress of the difficulties between 
 them and the parent country. In the course of the 
 address, the Indians were informed of the nature 
 and objects of the contest then begun, and were 
 strongly advised to the preservation of neutrality. 
 
 No time was lost by the commissioners of the 
 Northern Department in the adoption of measures 
 pursuant to its wise spirit and policy. For this 
 purpose, a treaty Avas appointed to be held with the 
 Six Nations at Albany, in the month of August, and 
 the tribes were all invited to attend. Previous to 
 the day of meeting, two of the commissioners, Mr. 
 Douw and Colonel Francis, met a number of the 
 chiefs and warriors in a preliminary council at the 
 German Flatts, which was not well attended. This 
 conference w r as holden on the 15th and 16th days 
 of August. Observing that the council was thinly 
 attended, Colonel Francis urged them, in his speech, 
 to send a general invitation to all the Six Nations 
 to appear at Albany ; and he proposed that they 
 should also send belts of invitation to the Caughna- 
 wagas in the neighbourhood of Montreal, together 
 with the Indians of the Seven Nations on the St. 
 Lawrence. 
 
 The council having adjourned over to the 16th, 
 Tiahogwando, an Oneida sachem, made the follow 
 ing reply to the speech of the commissioners : 
 
88 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 "BROTHER SoLmoANY,*>and our Albany Brothers, 
 attend ! We are now assembled at the German 
 Flatts, at which place you kindled up a council fire, 
 and yesterday called us together, and acquainted us 
 from whence you came, and by whose authority 
 namely, by that of the Twelve United Colonies 
 and you opened your business to us. 
 
 "BROTHERS We thank you for this invitation. 
 It meets with our entire approbation. Here we are, 
 of every tribe in the Six Nations. It shall be done 
 as you have said. 
 
 " BROTHERS You have desired that all our con 
 federates should receive this invitation. This can 
 not be done short of one year, as we extend very 
 far, and could not possibly call the extremities of 
 our confederacy to this intended meeting. But pos 
 sess your minds in peace. When this congress is 
 over, and the council fire is raked up, we shall ac 
 quaint all our allies with what has passed. This is 
 the answer of all the Six Nations, who are now here 
 represented from every tribe. 
 
 " BROTHERS, ATTEND ! Yesterday you said you 
 were sensible our confederacy extended to Caugh- 
 nawaga, and you desired our assistance to forward 
 this your belt of invitation to the Caughnawagas and 
 the seven tribes in that quarter. 
 
 " BROTHERS Possess your minds in peace. We, 
 the Six Nations, are put to difficulty to grant this 
 request. We are much embarrassed, for this rea 
 son. The man is now there who will vex your 
 minds, and never consent to their coming down, and 
 will draw hard upon their minds another way. j He 
 is of your own blood. 
 
 " BROTHERS Possess your minds in peace. We, 
 of the Six Nations, have the minds of the Caughna 
 wagas and the seven tribes in that quarter. At our 
 central council-house, when this took place, they 
 
 * The name bestowed upon Colonel Francis by the Indians, 
 t Guy Johnson was doubtless the man referred to. 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 89 
 
 addressed us of the Six Nations in the following 
 manner : You are better capable of maintaining 
 peace than we are ; therefore we deliver up our 
 minds to you. For these reasons we advise you 
 to reconsider your petition to us, seeing we are so 
 embarrassed we cannot grant it. Perhaps you will 
 say to us, when your intended council fire shall be 
 over, Brother^, do you of the Six Nations acquaint 
 all your confederates and allies of what has passed 
 at this council fire of peace ; and this we shall do 
 with great care and exactness. Now, brothers, you 
 see how we are embarrassed, and therefore give 
 you this advice." Belt returned. 
 
 The Board of Commissioners for the Northern 
 Department met at Albany on the 23d of August 
 (with the exception of Major Hawley, who had de 
 clined his appointment in consequence of ill health), 
 and made the necessary arrangements for holding 
 the treaty. An invitation was given to the civil au 
 thorities of Albany, to pay the sachems and war 
 riors a complimentary visit, in company with the 
 commissioners, which was accepted. A committee 
 of the principal gentlemen of Albany was likewise 
 appointed to join in the complimentary visit on the 
 24th. 
 
 In the course of this interview, the sachems inti 
 mated a desire to have a consultation with the mu 
 nicipal officers of the city of Albany before they 
 met the commissioners in formal council. It ap 
 pears that there had been some diplomatic passages 
 between the Oneida Indians and the Albanians, and 
 an interchange of messengers, and the chiefs were 
 now desirous of having a conference with them. 
 The commissioners, anxious to humour the Indians, 
 assented to the request ; and the Albanians appoint 
 ed a committee, consisting of Walter Livingston, 
 Jeremiah Van Rensselaer, and Samuel Stringer, to 
 make the arrangements. The interview took place 
 he same evening, when Seaghnagerat, an Oneida 
 VOL I. H 
 
90 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 chief, opened the proceedings with a speech of very 
 unusual length for an Indian. He commenced by 
 an expression of his gratification that, on opening 
 the ashes to rekindle the old council fire, they had 
 found some of the sparks remaining. He next re 
 ferred to the proceedings of a previous consultation 
 at the German Flatts, touching the conduct of Guy 
 Johnson in removing their missionaries, and other 
 matters. The meeting referred to seems to have 
 been a partial council, to which the Albanians had 
 sent a deputation, the object of which was, by the 
 exhibition of some ancient belts, to remind the In 
 dians of a former covenant of peace with Quedar, 
 and to dissuade them from engaging in the existing 
 quarrel. What had been said by the Albany depu 
 ties at the conference referred to, but of which no 
 record seems to have been preserved, was now re 
 peated in substance by the Oneida chief, after the 
 Indian manner of conducting their councils. He 
 then proceeded to reply seriatim ; from which cir 
 cumstance it is probable that the former council 
 fire had been raked up before its proceedings were 
 brought to a close. The chief admitted that " evil 
 birds" had been busy in circulating unpleasant ru 
 mours, and that efforts had been made to make them 
 swerve from their neutrality by Guy Johnson or his 
 agents at least, such was the inference from the 
 speech ; but he over and over again protested the 
 determination of the Six Nations to avoid interfe 
 ring with the controversy, and only exhorted the 
 colonists to keep the path into their country open, 
 so that they could pass and repass without molesta 
 tion. In regard to the removal of their missiona 
 ry, the chiefs said Guy Johnson had done it pursu 
 ant to " a belt"* received from Governor Gage. He 
 expressed the greatest respect for Mr. Kirkland; 
 but, at the same time, under the circumstances of 
 the case, suggested whether it would not, on the 
 
 * An order. 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 91 
 
 whole, be better for Mr. K. to leave them for the 
 present, until the storm should be over and gone. 
 
 The speech having been ended, the Albanian Com 
 mittee thanked them for it, and promised a reply 
 after the grand council with the Commissioners of 
 the Twelve Colonies should be terminated. 
 
 That council commenced its sittings on the day 
 following, August 25th. The Oneida speaker of 
 the preceding evening opened the council very ap 
 propriately, after which the commissioners, before 
 proceeding formally to business, proposed that they 
 should all sit down and smoke the pipe of peace to 
 gether. The suggestion was acceded to, and the 
 calumet passed round. This ceremony having been 
 ended, the commissioners opened their mission by 
 a very appropriate and effective speech, reminding 
 the Indians of some ancient covenants of friendship 
 with the colonists, and repeating to them a portion 
 of the speech of Cannassateego, an old and popular 
 sachem of the Six Nations, whose name and char 
 acter were held in great reverence by them, deliv 
 ered thirty years before at a great council held in 
 Lancaster.* The exhortation was, to union among 
 themselves, and peace and friendship with the col 
 onists. 
 
 The council was then adjourned to the 26th, when 
 the commissioners presented the address from the 
 Congress, of which particular mention has been 
 made on a preceding page. The deliberations of 
 Indian councils are slow procedures. Their lan 
 guage is composed of long and intricate compounds, 
 and the necessity of deliberate and thorough inter 
 pretations, so that the matter spoken and explained 
 be fastened upon the memories of the Indians, who 
 possess not the advantage of written language, ren 
 ders the process tedious. The entire sittings of two 
 days were therefore required for the delivery and 
 
 * A brother of Cannassateego was present on this occasion, and well 
 remembered his words. 
 
92 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 interpretation, by Mr. Kirkland, of the congressional 
 talk with which the commissioners were charged. 
 At the close, one of the chiefs declared that he ad 
 dress contained "nothing but what was pleasant 
 and good." But, as the matters proposed were of 
 n?gh importance, they requested the next day for 
 separate deliberation among the msel >V^? 
 on the succeeding day, August 27th, to make then: 
 reply. It was not, however, until the 31st ol Au 
 gust that the Indians were ready to ^ known 
 fhe results of their own secret co uncils The r an- 
 swer was delivered by ^ Abraham ,^e Mohawk 
 
 of the Lower Castle. It was an awe 
 
 thoroughly 
 
 1 veracity o 
 and the covenant w 
 
 anthe covenan wc 
 
 by Brant and his followers with Sir Guy ^" let 
 nnrt Oeneral Haldimand at Montreal. We allude 
 the declaration of Little Abraham, that Johnson had 
 advised "hem to assume and P-serve a neural po^ 
 
 then probably transpired in the Mpkawk vai 
 
 son of their old friend, Sir William, who was born 
 momr them and of Dutch extraction by his moth- 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 93 
 
 had been sent to them by the king ; and also be 
 cause he never "meddled with civil affairs," but 
 was intent only on " instructing them in the way to 
 heaven." 
 
 In the conclusion of his speech, Abraham took 
 occasion to refer to some domestic matters between 
 themselves and the people of Albany. He charged 
 them with having taken two pieces of land from the 
 Mohawks, without paying therefor so much even as 
 a pipe. These lands the Indians desired the Twelve 
 Colonies to restore, and put them into peaceable 
 possession again. " If you refuse to do this," said 
 he, " we shall look upon the prospect as bad ; for if 
 you conquer, you will take us by the arm and pull 
 us all off." In thus saying, he spoke with the spirit 
 of prophecy ! 
 
 When Little Abraham had ended, Tiahogwando, 
 an Oneida, made a short speech on the subject of 
 the then pending bloody and bitter controversy be 
 tween Connecticut and Pennsylvania respecting 
 the territory of Wyoming, of which a full account 
 will follow in its proper place. The Indians avow 
 ed that the land had been conveyed by them to Penn 
 as a free gift, the Great Spirit not allowing them 
 to sell that country. In the course of their speech 
 es, the chiefs requested that the Indian trade might 
 be reopened with them, both at Albany and Sche- 
 nectady, and that somebody might be appointed to 
 guard the tree of peace at Albany, and keep the con- 
 cil fire burning. 
 
 On the 1st of September the commissioners made 
 their reply, conciliatory in its character, and ac 
 ceding to the principal requests of the Indians. They 
 also informed the chiefs that they had appointed 
 General Schuyler and Mr. Douw to keep the fire 
 burning. Thus ended the council with the agents 
 of the colonies. The " unfinished business" with 
 the Albanians was resumed on the next day, Sep 
 tember 2d, for which purpose a council was formed 
 
94 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 in the Presbyterian church. The Commissioners 
 of the United Colonies were likewise in attendance. 
 After the preliminaries of form had been gone 
 through with, the Indians were addressed at length 
 by the Albany Committee. In the course of their 
 speech, they adverted particularly to the council at 
 Oswego, and the proceedings of Guy Johnson at 
 that place, respecting which, they said, they had re 
 ceived no certain advice, and of which they wished 
 to be fully and explicitly informed. In regard to 
 the land-question interposed by the Indians, the 
 committee said they presumed reference was had 
 to the lands" at Ticonderoga. That was a question 
 between the Indians and the corporation of Albany , 
 whereas they were a committee from the people, 
 and could not entertain the question. They remind 
 ed the Indians, however, that the question had been 
 agitated before, and settled by the Colonial Assem 
 bly. They also gave them to understand that the 
 Indians were not the party having cause of com 
 plaint in that matter. 
 
 The reply of the Indians was delivered by Little 
 Abraham. Waiving the land-question, he proceed 
 ed to answer the questions put to them concerning 
 the Oswego council. " We look upon it," said he, 
 " that God will punish us should we conceal any 
 thing from you." The following passage is quoted 
 from the reply of Abraham : 
 
 " BROTHERS The transactions of that treaty were 
 very public. The Shawanese were there, and some 
 from Detroit. Mr. Johnson told us that the fire 
 kindled there was a fire of peace ; that all the white 
 people were the king s subjects, and that it seemed 
 they were intoxicated. He said the white people 
 were all got drunk, and that God s judgment hung 
 over them, but he did not know on which side it 
 would fall. Mr. Johnson farther told us that the 
 present council fire was kindled on account of the 
 present dispute, and desired us not to interfere, as 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 95 
 
 they were brothers ; and begged us to sit still and 
 maintain peace. This is what Colonel Johnson told 
 us at that council fire. He also said he had his eye 
 on Mr. Kirkland : that he was gone to Philadelphia, 
 and along the seacoast : that he was become a great 
 soldier and a leader. Is this your minister ? says 
 he ; do you think your minister minds your souls I 
 jNo. By the time he comes to Philadelphia, he will 
 be a great warrior, and when he returns, he will be 
 the chief of all the Vive Nations, " 
 
 The report of the proceedings of Guy Johnson at 
 Oswego was certainly unexpected, and entirely at 
 variance with the tenour of his conduct previous to 
 his departure from the Mohawk Valley, and during 
 his progress to the West It is barely possible that 
 he had not fully made up his mind as to the course 
 he might ultimately pursue, and that his purpose 
 was not definitively determined upon until after his 
 meeting with Carleton and Haldimand at Montreal ; 
 and it is abundantly certain that his notions of Indian 
 neutrality, even had he entertained them, were very 
 speedily abandoned. 
 
 With the delivery of Abraham s speech, however, 
 the council was closed ; and although Schuyler and 
 Douw had been appointed to keep the council fire 
 burning, the ashes were soon raked up never to be 
 opened again at Albany, for that was the last grand 
 Indian council ever held in that city. 
 
 The result was highly satisfactory to the com 
 missioners, and apparently so to the Indians, who 
 had been well provided for during the three weeks oc 
 cupied at the German Flatts and Albany. On their 
 departure, moreover, they were handsomely supplied 
 with presents, and they took their Leave with mani 
 festations of great good-wilL 
 
 Most unfortunately, soon after their retuni from 
 Albany, an epidemic disorder appeared among them, 
 in the form of a highly malignant fever. It was a 
 disease which they had never seen, and by it great 
 
96 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 numbers were swept away. The Schoharie canton 
 of the Mohawks, in particular, suffered very severe 
 ly; indeed, they were almost exterminated. The 
 small number who survived, imbibed the impression 
 that the Great Spirit had sent the pestilence upon 
 them in anger for not having taken sides with the 
 king. They therefore followed their brethren from 
 the Mohawk Valley, who had escaped to Canada 
 with Guy Johnson. In the subsequent invasions of 
 the Tryon county settlements, these Schoharie In 
 dians, who thus deserted by an impulse of supersti 
 tion, were among the most forward and cruel. It 
 should also be borne in mind that, after all, the 
 council comprised but an inadequate and partial rep 
 resentation of the Six Nations, with the exception 
 of the Oneidas and the lower clan of the Mohawks. 
 The great body of the Mohawk warriors, headed by 
 Thayendanegea, had left the country ; and the most 
 influential of the Onondagas, Cayugas, and Senecas 
 had also accompanied Brant and Guy Johnson to 
 Montreal ; and events, at no very distant day, proved 
 that the Albany treaty had been held to very little 
 purpose. It is not consistent with the nature or 
 habits of Indians to remain inactive in the midst of 
 war. 
 
 Still, for a time,, those proceedings were not with 
 out benefit to the cause of the country. The people 
 of Tryon county were relieved, by the stipulations 
 of peace and neutrality, from apprehensions of im 
 mediate danger from without; and the Committee 
 of Safety was consequently enabled to direct its at 
 tention, not only to the more efficient organization 
 of the settlements for defence, but to the civil gov 
 ernment of the country. 
 
 But, notwithstanding the fine spirit manifested 
 thus far by a majority of the people in the interior, 
 and that, too, under all the disadvantages we have 
 been contemplating; notwithstanding the decisive 
 tone of the language used in denouncing the oppress 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 97 
 
 sions of the crown, it was not yet exactly certain 
 that the colony of New-York would range itself 
 against the royal authority. Governor Tryon, who 
 was popular in the colony, had recently been recall 
 ed from North Carolina, and again appointed govern 
 or of New- York ; and he was exerting his utmost 
 powers to detatch her from the cause of the Union, 
 seconded by the Asia man-of-war, then lying in the 
 harbour, and commanding the city of New- York by 
 her guns. The captain of the Asia had threatened 
 to destroy the town should General Lee, who was 
 then approaching with an army from the east, be 
 allowed to enter it ; and such were the prevalence 
 of terror and the power of intrigue, that disaffection 
 to the cause of the Union began to exhibit itself 
 openly in the Provincial Congress. Indeed, avow 
 als of a design to place themselves under the royal 
 standard were unequivocally uttered. These un 
 toward appearances were rendered the more threat 
 ening by the discovery of a secret correspondence, 
 from which it was ascertained that the parent gov 
 ernment was preparing to send a fleet into the Hud 
 son, and to occupy both New- York and Albany with 
 its armies. Of these designs Sir John Johnson was 
 probably well aware, and the hope of their accom 
 plishment may have induced him to linger behind, 
 watching the signs of the times, after the departure 
 of his brother-in-law and his army of followers. Sir 
 John had also a numerous tenantry, who were mostly 
 Loyalists ; and the Scotch colonists, settled in large 
 numbers in Johnstown and its neighbourhood, of 
 whom mention has formerly been made, being Loy 
 alists likewise, constituted for him a respectable 
 force upon which he could rely in a case of emer 
 gency. 
 
 The Dutch and German population of the valley, 
 however, were chiefly Whigs ; as also, by this time, 
 were a decided majority of the entire white popu 
 lation, not only of the Mohawk Valley, but of Scho- 
 
98 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 harie, Cherry Valley, and the other settlements in 
 the southern part of that widely-extended county. 
 The General Committee executed their functions 
 with equal diligence and vigour. The inhabitants 
 were enrolled and organized into militia ; the com 
 mittee deposed the sheriff, Alexander White, arid 
 caused Colonel John Frey to be appointed in his 
 place ; and, in one word, they took upon themselves 
 both the civil and military jurisdiction of the large 
 section of country over which they had provision 
 ally assumed the government. White had rendered 
 himself particularly odious to the Whigs from the 
 first. Under some trifling pretext, he had arrested 
 a Whig named John Fonda, and committed hkn to 
 prison. His friends, to the number of fifty men, 
 under the conduct of Sampson Sammons, went to 
 the jail at night and released him by force. From 
 the prison they proceeded to the lodgings of the 
 sheriff, and demanded his surrender. White looked 
 out from the second story window, and probably rec 
 ognising the leader of the crowd, inquired, " Is that 
 you, Sammons]" "Yes," was the prompt reply; 
 upon which White discharged a pistol at the sturdy 
 Whig, but happily without injury. The ball whizzed 
 past his head, and struck in the sill of the door. 
 This was the first shot fired in the war of the Rev 
 olution west of the Hudson. It was immediately 
 returned by the discharge of some forty or fifty 
 muskets at the sheriff, but the only effect was a 
 slight wound in the breast, just sufficient to draw 
 blood. The doors of the house were broken, and 
 White would have been taken, but at that moment 
 a gun was fired at the hall by Sir John. This was 
 known to be a signal for his retainers and Scotch 
 partisans to rally in arms ; and as they would muster 
 a force of five hundred men in a very short time, the 
 Whigs thought it most prudent to disperse. They 
 collected again at Caughnawaga, however, and sent 
 a deputation to Sir John, demanding that White 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 99 
 
 should be given up to them. This demand, of 
 course, was not complied with. 
 
 After his dismissal, as already mentioned, by an 
 act of the people "in their sovereign capacity," 
 White was recommissioned by Governor Tryon ; 
 but the County Committee would not suffer him to 
 re-enter upon the duties of the office. On the con 
 trary, so high was the popular indignation against 
 him that he was obliged to fly, setting his face to 
 wards Canada, accompanied by a white man named 
 Peter Bone, and two or three Indians. He was pur 
 sued to Jessup s Landing on the Hudson River, 
 where the house in which he lodged was surround 
 ed, and the fugitive sheriff taken prisoner; from 
 thence he was taken to Albany and imprisoned. 
 Shortly afterward he was released on his parole, and 
 left the country. 
 
 The exigencies of the times required prompt and 
 vigorous action, and the committee seems to have 
 been composed of exactly the right description of 
 men. They arrested suspicious persons, tried them, 
 fined some, imprisoned more, and executed others. 
 Their duties also involved the preservation of the 
 peace in a critical period, among a mixed population 
 of border-men, ever more or less disposed to impa 
 tience under legal restraint, and, of course, requi 
 ring the controlling power of a strong arm. And 
 yet these high duties were generally discharged 
 with great satisfaction to the public the Loyalists 
 excepted, of course and their resolutions and de 
 crees were submitted to by their constituents with 
 alacrity. Their influence was likewise successfully 
 exerted in winning friends to the popular cause, by 
 deciding the wavering and confirming the irresolute. 
 
 Added to these multifarious duties was the ne 
 cessity of keeping a vigilant watch over the motions 
 of Sir John Johnson, whose position and conduct 
 were alike equivocal, and the numerous Loyalists 
 by whom he was surrounded. By these people ev- 
 
100 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 ery possible obstacle was thrown in the way of the 
 committee, and no method of annoying and embar 
 rassing them left untried. They laboured to destroy 
 the confidence of the people in the committee ; call 
 ed public meetings themselves, and chose counter- 
 committees ; now attempted to cover the Whig com 
 mittees with ridicule, and now again charged them 
 with illegal and tyrannical conduct. The conse 
 quence was mutual exasperation sometimes be 
 tween near neighbours, and the reciprocal engen 
 dering of hostile feelings between friends, who ran 
 ged themselves under opposing banners. These in 
 cipient neighbourhood quarrels occasioned, in the 
 progress of the contest that ensued, some of the 
 most bitter and bloody personal conflicts that ever 
 marked the annals of a civil war. Several mem 
 bers of the committee subsequently acted a distin 
 guished part in the field ; many of them sacrificed 
 their estates, and some of them fell. CHRISTOPHER 
 P. YATES, the first chairman, accompanied General 
 Montgomery as a volunteer to Ticonderoga and Can 
 ada, and afterward raised and commanded a corps 
 of rangers. The fate of Nicholas Herkimer is well 
 known, though his death will be invested with new 
 and additional interest in the progress of this narra 
 tive. 
 
 In regard to Sir John, matters were now fast ap 
 proaching to a crisis. On the 7th of September the 
 committee wrote to the Provincial Congress in 
 New- York, denouncing his conduct and that of his 
 associates, particularly the Highlanders, who, to the 
 number of two hundred, were said to be gathered 
 about him, and by whom the Whigs " were daily 
 scandalized, provoked, and threatened." They ad 
 ded, " We have great suspicions, and are almost as 
 sured, that Sir John has a continual correspondence 
 with Colonel Guy Johnson and his party."* 
 
 * It was afterward ascertained that such a correspondence was car 
 ried on through the Indians, who conveyed letters in the heads of their 
 
AMERICAN, REVOLUTION _ _ , 101 
 
 No sooner had the Congress* of THE TWELVE UNI 
 TED COLONIES agreed to the Declaration, or manifes 
 to, mentioned in the beginning of the present chap 
 ter, proclaiming to the world the causes, and the ne 
 cessity of their appeal to arms, than it was felt, on 
 all hands, even by the timid and hesitating, that 
 England and the colonies now stood, not in the re 
 lation of parent and children, but in the attitude of 
 two nations legally at war. Hence the patriots of 
 Tryon county began to look more closely, and with 
 greater assurance, to the deportment of Sir John, 
 of whose designs, as has been seen, they had from 
 the first entertained strong suspicions. The move 
 ments of Sir Guy Carleton, moreover, Governor- 
 general of Canada, who had been commissioned to 
 muster. and arm all persons within that province, 
 and to wage war by land and sea against " all ene 
 mies, pirates, or rebels, either in or out of the prov 
 ince," to " take them and put them to death, or pre 
 serve them alive, at his discretion," were now cre 
 ating great uneasiness on the northern frontier, from 
 which quarter they were apprehending a formidable 
 invasion. The management of the northern depart 
 ment having been committed to Generals Schuyler 
 and Montgomery, who were now directing a force 
 upon Montreal and Quebec, the Tryon County Com 
 mittee determined to probe the intentions of Sir John 
 Johnson at once and to the bottom. For this pur 
 pose, on the 26th of October, they addressed him 
 *lie following letter : 
 
 " Tryon County Committee Chumber, Oct. 2G. 177j 
 
 " HONOURABLE SIR, 
 
 " As we find particular reason to be convinced of 
 your opinion in the questions hereafter expressed, 
 we require you that you ll please to oblige us with 
 your sentiments thereupon in a few lines by our 
 
 tomahawks and in the ornaments worn about thoir persons. The In 
 dians also brought powder across from Canada. CampbelVs Annals. 
 
102 t BQRDI?R .WARS OF THE 
 
 messengers, tho bearers- hereof, Messrs. Ebenezt* 
 Cox, James M Master, and John James Klock, meri- 
 be*s of our committee. 
 
 " We want to know whether you will allow that 
 the inhabitants of Johnstown and Kingsborough may 
 form themselves into companies, according to the 
 regulations of our Continental Congress, for the de 
 fence of our country s cause ; and whether your hon 
 our would be ready himself to give his personal as 
 sistance to the same purpose 1 
 
 " Also, whether you pretend a prerogative to oui 
 county courthouse and jail, and would hinder or in 
 terrupt the committee to make use of the same pub 
 lic houses to our want and service in the common 
 cause ! 
 
 " We don t doubt you will comply with our rea 
 sonable requests, and thereby oblige, 
 
 " Honourable Sir, 
 " Your obedient and humble servants. 
 
 " By order of the committee, 
 
 " NICHOLAS HERKIMER, Chairman. 
 
 " To the lion. Sir John Johnson, Johnson Hall." 
 
 The deputation named in the letter waited upon 
 Sir John in person to receive his answer, the sub 
 stance of which they reported to the committee ver 
 bally as follows, viz. : 
 
 "1. By perusing our letter, Sir John replied that 
 he thinks our requests very unreasonable, as he nev 
 er had denied the use either of the courthouse or 
 jail to anybody, nor would yet deny it, for the use 
 which these houses have been built for ; but he looks 
 upon it that the courthouse and jail are his property 
 till he is paid 700, the amount of which being out 
 of his pocket for the building of the same. 
 
 " 2. In regard of imbodying his tenants into com 
 panies, he never did forbid them, neither should do 
 it, as they may use their pleasure ; but we might 
 save ourselves the trouble, he being sure that they 
 would not. 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 103 
 
 " 3. Concerning himself, he said, that before he 
 would sign any association, or would lift his hand 
 up against his king, he would rather suffer that his 
 head shall be cut off. 
 
 " Farther, he replied, that if we should make any 
 unlawful use of the jail, he would oppose it, and also 
 he mentions that there have many unfair means 
 been used for increasing the association and uniting 
 the people ; for he was informed by credible gentle 
 men in New- York that they were obliged to unite, 
 otherwise they could not live there ; and that he was 
 informed by good authority that likewise two thirds 
 of the Canajoharie and German Flatts people have 
 been forced to sign the articles ; and in his opinion 
 the Boston people are open rebels, and the other 
 colonies have joined them." 
 
 Immediately on receiving this report, the com 
 mittee determined to bring the question of the oc 
 cupancy of the jail to an issue. They therefore di 
 rected that two of their prisoners, named Lewis 
 Clement and Peter Bowen, who had been sentenced 
 to certain periods of confinement for political offen 
 ces, should be forthwith conveyed to the prison, un 
 der a guard commanded by Captain JACOB SEEBEH. 
 with instructions that, should the jailer refuse to re 
 ceive them into close confinement for the time spe 
 cified, or should they be opposed by Sir John, then 
 Captain Seeber was to bring them to the house of 
 " our voted and elected new high-sheriff, John Frey, 
 Esq., who shall immediately inform thereof our 
 chairman for farther directions." 
 
 Sir John did not allow the committee to take pos 
 session of the jail, and they were obliged to fit up a 
 private house as a temporary prison ; while some 
 of their prisoners were sent to Albany, and others 
 us far as Hartford, for safe keeping. 
 
 The first act of positive hostility on the part of 
 the Indians, during this bitter and bloody contest, 
 was committed in the autumn of the present year. 
 
104 BORDER WARS OP THE 
 
 General Schuyler having been obliged temporarily 
 to leave the northern army in consequence of ill 
 health, the command devolved upon General Mont 
 gomery, who had advanced a second time upon St. 
 John s and captured the fortress, Sir Guy Carleton 
 having been repulsed by Colonel Warner, at Lon- 
 gueil, in his attempt to cross the St. Lawrence and 
 advance to its succour. It appears that, either in 
 the first or second attack upon St. John s, or in both, 
 the Americans had been opposed by some of the 
 Mohawk Indians those, doubtless, who had accom 
 panied Guy Johnson to Canada. Hence, on the 27th 
 of October, the Tryon County Committee " unani 
 mously resolved that a letter should bo sent to th*> 
 sachems of the Canajoharie Castle, in regard to the 
 return and present abiding of some Indians in their 
 castle from Canada, who have acted inJTnically 
 against us, and fought against our united forces nea, 
 the Fort St. John, not to give shelter to such res, 
 enemies among them." 
 
 No copy of the letter written pursuant to this res 
 olution has been preserved. It is noted among ihf 
 papers of the committee, however, that the sachem? 
 and warriors of Canajoharie Castle appeared before 
 them in person, and made a pacific answer to theia 
 letter of remonstrance, from which, and other cir 
 cumstances, the presumption is reasonable that the 
 Mohawks remaining about their ancient castles had 
 not yet determined to swerve from their engage 
 ment of neutrality. 
 
 Such was the progress of the Revolution in the 
 county of Tryon down to the close of 1775. A 
 rapid glance at contemporaneous events not already 
 noted, occurring elsewhere, will close the history 
 of the year. The battle of Bunker Hill had roused 
 all New-England to arms ; and by the time of Gen 
 eral Washington s arrival to assume the command, 
 during the first week in July, the British forces were 
 so effectually shut up in Boston as to be obliged to 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 105 
 
 Bend out small vessels to a distance for supplies. 
 To cut up this species of coastwise commerce, the 
 colonies of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Con 
 necticut each fitted out two small cruisers, before 
 Congress had made a suggestion respecting a naval 
 armament. The first avowal of offensive hostility 
 against the mother-country was contained in the act 
 of the Massachusetts Congress for fitting out a na 
 val armament ; and among the first fruits was the 
 capture, by Captain Manly, of Marblehead, of a large 
 British ordnance brig, laden with several brass pie 
 ces of artillery, a large supply of small arms, tools, 
 and utensils of all warlike descriptions, &c. Three 
 days afterward Captain Manly captured three more 
 British ships laden with military stores. South 
 Carolina was at the same time making vigorous 
 preparations for war, but had not exceeding 3000 Ibs 
 of gunpowder within the province. By fitting out a 
 fast-sailing vessel, however, they were enabled to 
 intercept a supply vessel off St. Augustine, and ob 
 tain a large and timely addition to their stores 
 15,000 pounds of gunpowder alone. Meantime, the 
 affairs of the colonies continued to form the leading 
 and most exciting topic of debate in the British 
 Parliament. Lord North, who, it is now known, 
 acted throughout this great struggle more in obedi 
 ence to the positive requisitions of the king than in 
 accordance with his own private wishes, insisted 
 upon the strongest measures of compulsion. Gen 
 eral Conway, Colonel Lutterell, Mr. James Gren- 
 ville, the Duke of Grafton, and Lord Lyttleton, spoke 
 in favour of concession, and argued in favour of re 
 pealing every enactment respecting the matters in 
 dispute with the colonies subsequent to the year 
 1763. The ministers contended that they might as 
 well acknowledge the independence of the colonies 
 at once. Mr. Burke, during this season, made his 
 great speech on American affairs, and introduced his 
 conciliatory bill, proposing " a renunciation of the 
 VOL. I. I 
 
106 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 exercise of taxation, without at all interfering with 
 the question of right. It preserved the power of 
 levying duties for the regulation of commerce, but 
 the money so raised was to be at the disposal of the 
 several general assemblies. The tea-duty was to 
 be repealed, and a general amnesty granted." This 
 proposition, though regarded with more favour than 
 the others, was rejected; and the administration 
 was sustained in the policy of sending a large sea 
 and land force against the colonies, with offers of 
 mercy upon a proper submission. The Continental 
 Congress, however, still continued its efforts to pre 
 vent a final separation ; and another address to the 
 king was adopted, beseeching the interposition of 
 his royal authority to afford relief from their afflict 
 ing fears and jealousies, and restore harmony by 
 the adoption of such measures as would effect a 
 permanent reconciliation. This petition, signed by 
 John Hancock, was presented in Parliament on the 
 7th of December, and gave rise to several motions 
 for pacification, all of which were rejected. 
 
 The military operations of the autumn were chief 
 ly confined to the expedition against Canada. Lord 
 Dunmore, it is true, had given several additional im 
 pulses to the revolutionary spirit in Virginia by the 
 manner of his opposition, and the enemy had still 
 farther exasperated the people of New-England by 
 burning the town of Falmouth, in the northeastern 
 part of Massachusetts. Having timely notice, the 
 people fled from the town, which was furiously 
 bombarded, and 139 dwelling-houses and 278 ware 
 houses were burned. The invasion of Canada by 
 Generals Schuyler and Montgomery has already 
 been incidentally mentioned. General Schuyler had 
 issued a suitable proclamation to the inhabitants of 
 Canada on entering that territory, but he was obli 
 ged by ill health to relinquish the command to Gen 
 eral Montgomery. St. John s surrendered on the 3d 
 of November ; but, while the siege was pending, 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 107 
 
 Colonul Ethan Allen, with thirty-eight of hiv Green 
 Mountain Boys, was captured, and sent to England 
 in irons. Allen deserved his fate, however, for his 
 rashness and disobedience of orders. Still, he was 
 veiy near capturing Montreal with the small party 
 he had led in advance, as was subsequently admitted 
 by one of the British officers. 
 
 The fort at Chamblee fell into the hands of Mont 
 gomery, together with a large quantity of military 
 stores, which were of great use ; among them were 
 three tons of powder. Montreal was next taken by 
 the provincials, General Carleton escaping in a boat 
 with muffled oars to Three Rivers, whence he hast 
 ened to Quebec. Montgomery, with his little army, 
 was swift to follow him thither, where his arrival 
 had been anticipated by Colonel Arnold, with up 
 ward of 700 New-England infantry and riflemen, 
 with whom he had performed the incredible service 
 of traversing the unexplored forest from the Ken- 
 nebec to the mouth of the Chaudiere. Uniting the 
 forces of Arnold with his own, Montgomery laid 
 siege to Quebec on the 1st of December. His artil 
 lery, however, was too light to make any impres 
 sion upon its walls, and it was at length determined, 
 if possible, to carry the town by a combined assault 
 from two directions, one division to be led by Mont 
 gomery, and the other by Arnold. The enterprise 
 was undertaken on the 31st of December, and the 
 year closed by the repulse of both divisions and the 
 fall of Montgomery. 
 
 The success which had marked the American 
 arms in the early part of the Canadian campaign, 
 made a strong impression upon the Caughnawaga 
 Indians. The Canadians, generally, were exceed 
 ingly averse to engaging in the unnatural contest, 
 and were strongly inclined to favour the cause of 
 the colonies ; and, notwithstanding the descent of 
 Brant and the Mohawks to Montreal, and the solici 
 tations of Governor Carleton, the Caughnawagas 
 
108 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 sent a deputation to General Washington, at Cam 
 bridge, as early as the month of August, avowing 
 their readiness to assist the Americans in the event 
 of an expedition into Canada. This assurance was 
 fulfilled. In a letter from Sir Guy Carleton to Gen 
 eral Gage, written in August, which was intercept 
 ed, the Canadian governor said, " Many of the In 
 dians have gone over to them (the Americans), and 
 large numbers of the Canadians are with them." 
 " I had hopes of holding out for this year, though I 
 seem abandoned by all the world, had the savages 
 remained firm. I cannot blame these poor people 
 for securing themselves, as they see multitudes of 
 the enemy at hand, and no succour from any part, 
 though it is now four months since their operations 
 against us first began." The subsequent reverses 
 of the Americans, however, changed the masters 
 of those Indians, and they were, ere long, found war 
 ring in the ranks of the crown. 
 
 But all the Indians did not join the British stand 
 ard. Notwithstanding that the Delawares had been 
 engaged in the Cresap war the year before, they 
 refused the solicitations of the British emissaries 
 and the Senecas to take up the hatchet with them 
 in this contest. A meeting of Indians was held in 
 Pittsburg to deliberate upon the question, at which 
 a select deputation of the Senecas attended. Cap 
 tain White Eyes, a sensible and spirited warrior of 
 the Lenape, boldly declared that he would not em 
 bark in a war to destroy a people born on the same 
 soil with himself. The Americans, he said, were 
 his friends and brothers, and no nation should dic 
 tate t } him or his tribe the course they should pur 
 sue. 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 109 
 
 CHAPTER VL 
 
 THE dawn of the New Year was lighted up by the 
 conflagration of Norfolk, by order of Lord Dunmore, 
 the royal governor of Virginia. His lordship had 
 previously retired with his adherents to the fleet ; 
 and this act of Vandalism was directed by way of 
 retaliating upon the Whigs of that borough for hav 
 ing refused supplies to the Liverpool man-of-war. 
 The people themselves destroyed the buildings near 
 est the water, in order to deprive the ships even of 
 those sources of supply. After cruising for a time 
 on the coast of Virginia, and being everywhere re 
 pulsed some of h<is ships having been driven on 
 shore, and their crews captured and imprisoned by 
 the colonists his lordship was obliged to destroy 
 those of his vessels which were not seaworthy, and 
 seek refuge himself in Florida and the West Indies. 
 Another incident adverse to the royal arms was the 
 defeat, by the provincials under General Moore, of 
 General M Donald (commissioned by Governor Mar 
 tin), in his attempts to bring North Carolina to obe 
 dience. The battle resulting in this defeat was gal 
 lantly fought at Moore s Creek Bridge by Colonels 
 Caswell and Lillington, commanding about 1000 
 minute-men and militia, A large quantity of arms 
 tell into the hands of the provincials, and the defeat, 
 equally unexpected and decisive, greatly depressed 
 the spirits of the Loyalists in that quarter. 
 
 Resuming the history of the Mohawk Valley : al 
 though the autumn of the preceding year had passed 
 quietly away in that region, no small degree of 
 uneasiness was created, early in the winter, by the 
 suspicious conduct of Sir John Johnson ; heightened, 
 as will appear in the sequel, by false representations 
 
HO BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 sent forth by u man who, in the end, proved to be 
 an impostor. Such were the spirit of the times, 
 moreover, and the jealousies mutually entertained, 
 that it is more than probable the measures of Sir 
 John were concerted in consequence of apprehen 
 sions honestly indulged, and in all likelihood awa 
 kened by the same or a kindred imposture. At all 
 events, Sir John was actively engaged in defensive 
 preparations, with a view, as it was believed, of 
 throwing up fortifications around the baronial hall 
 His adherents, as we have seen, were numerous, 
 particularly among the Scotch Highlanders, by sev 
 eral hundreds of whom he was surrounded ; and re 
 ports became rife, that, in addition to these, the works 
 he was erecting were to be garrisoned by three hun 
 dred Indians, to be let loose upon the settlements 
 as opportunities might occur. 
 
 It was undoubtedly true that the Tories of that 
 region were preparing actively to espouse the royal 
 cause, and enlistments for the king s service, it is 
 very likely, were secretly making. Information to 
 this effect was laid before Congress in December. 
 It was also declared, by a man named Connell, that 
 a considerable quantity of arms and ammunition, 
 and other warlike articles, had been collected and 
 concealed by the Tories at Johnstown, to be used 
 when the proper moment for action arrived. The 
 facts disclosed by Connell were supported by his 
 deposition ; whereupon a resolution was adopted by 
 Congress, directing General Schuyler to be informed 
 of these circumstances, and requesting him to adopt 
 the most speedy and effectual measures for securing 
 the said arms and military stores ; for disarming the 
 Loyalists, apprehending their leaders, and taking 
 such measures in general as might be judged neces 
 sary to ensure the tranquillity of the frontier.* This 
 
 * The sum of forty dollars was appropriated by Congress for this ob 
 ject, and the special committee having the subject in charge were 
 directed to count the gold and silver in the treasury, and forward the 
 same to General Schuvler under a guard ! 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. HI 
 
 resolution was received by General Schuyler at Al 
 bany early in January, and no time was lost in con 
 certing measures for its execution. General Schuy 
 ler at first supposed that a force of three hundred 
 men, with the assistance they would be certain to 
 receive from the Whigs of Tryon county, would be 
 amply sufficient. It was determined, however, in 
 order to produce a deeper effect upon the Loyalists 
 against whom they were proceeding, to march with 
 a force of seven hundred men. 
 
 Nevertheless, in order to preserve the good-will 
 of the Indians of the Lower Mohawk Castle,* and 
 guard against taking them by surprise or giving 
 them unnecessary alarm, Mr. Bleecker, the Indian 
 interpreter, residing at Albany, was despatched to 
 the castle on the 15th, charged with a belt and a 
 friendly message to the Indians. 
 
 General Schuyler, however, did not wait for the 
 return of his messenger from the Indians, but pro 
 ceeded to Schenectady on the 16th, at the head of a 
 strong division of militia, and accompanied by Gen 
 eral Ten Broeck, Colonel Varick, and several other 
 officers. The militia turned out with great alacrity, 
 notwithstanding the severity of the weather and the 
 badness of the roads. On the evening of his arrival 
 at Schenectady, General Schuyler was met by a 
 deputation of the Mohawks, headed by Little Abra 
 ham, who, in a very haughty tone, addressed him as 
 follows : 
 
 " BROTHERS You lately sent to our place four 
 men, who arrived to us last Sunday morning. They 
 told us they were sent up to us by you to inform us 
 of those military preparations which were making 
 down in this quarter. By them you let us know 
 that you thought it not prudent to send armed men 
 among us without previously notifying us. Like 
 wise, brothers, your messengers informed us of the 
 
 * The Mohawks of the Lower Castle, with Little Abraham, had not 
 ceen drawn away by Thayendanegea and Guy Johnson. 
 
112 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 reasons of your coming in this manner. You in 
 formed us that you had heard that there were a 
 number of men imbodied at Sir John s about Johns 
 town. You told us likewise, that, as soon as they 
 had completed their body, they intended to destroy 
 the settlements up and down the river. 
 
 " BROTHERS You told us that you came to inquire 
 into the truth of the report, which might be done by 
 four or six without any danger in making the inquiry. 
 We proposed your sending up six persons to inquire 
 into the truth of this matter, as it would be a shame 
 to interrupt them, as no person would be so mean 
 to give them any obstruction. As for sending your 
 belt forward, we thought to retain it until we had 
 heard whether our proposal had been accepted or no. 
 And we desire that you would consider of this mat 
 ter, and keep your troops at home, and let us know 
 your mind ; and if, after considering of our proposals, 
 you do not agree to them, that you will then let us 
 know what you intend to do. 
 
 " BROTHERS We expected an answer to our pro 
 posals, but none arrived until we were informed by 
 a woman who returned from Albany that those 
 preparations were actually making, and that troops 
 were actually marching in the country. We come, 
 brothers, to beg of you that you take good care and 
 prudence of what you are going about. We beg of 
 you, brothers, to remember the engagement which 
 was made with the Twelve United Colonies at our 
 interview last summer, as we then engaged to open 
 the path of peace, and to keep it undenled from blood. 
 At the same time, something of a different nature 
 made its appearance. You assured us, brothers, 
 that if any were found in our neighbourhood inimi 
 cal to us, you would treat them as enemies. The 
 Six Nations then supposed that the son of Sir Will 
 iam was pointed at by that expression. We then 
 desired particularly that he might not be injured, as 
 it was not in his power to injure the cause, and that, 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 113 
 
 therefore, he might not be molested. The Six Na 
 tions then said they would not concern themselves 
 with your operations in other parts, but particularly 
 desired that this path might be free from blood. 
 And now, brothers, we repeat it again: we beg of 
 you to take good care and not to spill any blood in 
 this path ; and the more especially, brothers, as it is 
 but of this day that the Six Nations had so agreeable 
 an interview with the colonies ; and our chiefs are 
 now hunting in the woods, and not dreaming that 
 there is any prospect that this path is or will be de 
 filed with blood. 
 
 " BROTHERS, ATTEND ! It was your request, and a 
 matter agreed upon by the twelve United Colonies, 
 that we should mind nothing but peace ; therefore, 
 brothers, as we mean to observe that agreement, we 
 have expressed ourselves as above, and as brothers : 
 we mind nothing but peace. We look upon our 
 selves as mediators between the two parties ; there 
 fore, brothers, as your messengers declared that you 
 would not be the aggressors, we informed Sir John 
 of this, and earnestly begged of him not to be the 
 aggressor, or the means of spilling blood ; and at the 
 same time assured him, that if we found that he 
 should be the aggressor, we would not pay any far 
 ther attention to him ; and likewise told him, that if 
 our brothers of the United Colonies were the aggres 
 sors, we should treat them in the same manner. 
 This is what we told Sir John, as we look upon our 
 selves to be the mediators between both parties, and, 
 as we have said before, desired him not to be the 
 aggressor. To which Sir John replied, that we knew 
 his disposition very well, and that he had no mind 
 to be the aggressor. He assured us that he would 
 not be the aggressor, but if the people came up to 
 take away his life, he would do as well as he could, 
 as the law of nature justified every person to stand 
 in his own defence. 
 
 " According to the news we have heard, it is as 
 
114 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 though Sir John would shut up the path of peace in 
 that quarter ; but it is impossible he should do it, as 
 he had but a mere handful of friends ; but, brothers, 
 if this company, who are now passing by, should go 
 up, and anything bad should happen, we shall look 
 on you as shutting up the path. 
 
 " It has been represented to you, brothers, that it 
 seems that Sir John is making military prepara 
 tions, and that he is making a fort around his house , 
 but, brothers, as we live so near him, we should cer 
 tainly know it if anything of that nature should be 
 done, especially as we go there so frequently on ac 
 count of our father, the minister, who sometimes 
 Derforms divine service at that place. We have 
 never seen any hostile preparations made there ; 
 there is no cannon, or anything of that kind, and all 
 things remain in the same situation it was in the 
 lifetime of Sir William. 
 
 " We have declared to you, brothers, that we 
 would not deceive, and that we mean to declare our 
 minds to you openly and freely. We, the sachems, 
 have all along inculcated to the warriors sentiments 
 of peace, and they have hitherto been obedient to 
 us, though there have been frequent rumours that 
 they should be disturbed; yet we have, hitherto, 
 been able to calm their minds. But now, brothers, 
 so large a party coming alarms the minds of our 
 warriors. They are determined, brothers, to go 
 and be present at your interview with Sir John, and 
 determined to see and hear everything that should 
 be there transacted ; and, if it shall then appear that 
 this party shall push matters to extremes, we then 
 cannot be accountable for anything that may hap 
 pen. But as for us, brothers, the counsellors are 
 fully determined ever to persevere in the path of 
 peace. 
 
 " BROTHERS, ATTEND ! Though I have finished what 
 I had purposed to say, yet I will add one thing more. 
 When the news of your approach arrived at our 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 115 
 
 town, it caused great confusion : some were ready 
 to take to their arms, observing that those reports 
 respecting the unfriendly disposition of the colonies 
 were now verified. I begged of them, brothers, to 
 possess their minds in peace for a few days. I told 
 them that I myself would go to Albany, and inquire 
 into the truth of the matter ; I was so conscious of 
 my own innocency, that no hostile appearance could 
 deter me, however formidable. I therefore desired 
 them to sit still until my return, which might be in 
 two days, if I went to Albany. This, brothers, is 
 the present situation of our people. They are wait 
 ing to see what news I bring. 
 
 "BROTHERS When I made this request to the 
 warriors, that they should sit still till my return, 
 they told me that they would, which they are now 
 in expectation of, and will do nothing till I get back. 
 But, brothers, after my return I will repeat to them 
 the speech you will now make to me ; and if any of 
 our people should still persist to be present at your 
 interview with Sir John, we hope, brethren, you will 
 not think hard of us as counsellors, as it is not in 
 our power to rule them as we please. If they should 
 go, and anything evil should happen, we beg to know, 
 brothers, what treatment we may expect who remain at 
 home in peace. 
 
 " BROTHERS This is all we have to say. This is 
 the business which has brought us down, and we 
 now expect an answer to carry home to our people." 
 
 General Schuyler made a reply, as long as the 
 speech of Little Abraham, touching on all the points 
 adverted to by the latter, explaining and enforcing 
 the necessity of the movement in progress, reitera 
 ting assurances of none but friendly purposes to 
 wards the Indians, assenting to their presence at 
 the desired interview with Sir John Johnson, ex 
 horting them to peace, but warning them against 
 the consequences of a violation, by any of their 
 
116 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 warriors, of the agreement to remain neutral which 
 had been entered into at Albany. 
 
 Little Abraham responded briefly, expressing his 
 satisfaction, and that of his people, at what they had 
 heard, and promising the best efforts of the Indians 
 to maintain peace uninterrupted. 
 
 General Schuyler assured them again of his pa 
 cific intentions, and that nothing unpleasant should 
 happen to them. He also informed them, that if 
 they desired to attend the expedition to Johnstown, 
 or to be present at the intended interview with Sir 
 John as mediators, they should be protected in that 
 character. With this understanding, they took their 
 departure the same night. A letter, of which the 
 following is a copy, was at the same time despatch 
 ed to Sir John Johnson : 
 
 GENERAL SCHUYLER TO SIR JOHN JOHNSON. 
 
 " Schenectady, January 16, 1776. 
 " SIR, 
 
 " Information having been received that designs 
 of the most dangerous tendency to the rights, liber 
 ties, property, and even lives of those of his majes 
 ty s faithful subjects in America who are opposed 
 to the unconstitutional measures of his ministry, 
 have been formed in a part of the county of Tryon, 
 I am ordered to march a body of men into that coun 
 ty to carry into execution certain resolutions of my 
 superiors, and to contravene those dangerous de 
 signs. 
 
 " Influenced, sir, by motives of humanity, I wish to 
 comply with my orders in a manner the most peace 
 able, that no blood may be shed. I therefore re 
 quest that you will please to meet me to-morrow, 
 at any place on my way to Johnstown, to which I 
 propose then to march. For which purpose, I do 
 hereby give you my word of honour, that you, and 
 such persons as you may choose should attend you, 
 shall pass safe and unmolested to the place where 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 117 
 
 you may meet me, and from thence back to the 
 place of your abode. 
 
 " Rutgers Bleecker and Henry Glen, Esqrs., are 
 the bearers hereof, gentlemen who are entitled to 
 your best attention, which, I dare say, they will ex 
 perience, and by whom I expect you will favour me 
 with an answer to this letter. 
 
 " You will please to assure Lady Johnson, that 
 whatever may be the result of what is now in agita 
 tion, she may rest perfectly satisfied that no indig 
 nity will be offered her. 
 
 " I am, sir, your humble servant, 
 
 " PH. SCHUYLER. 
 
 " To Sir John Johnson, Baronet." 
 
 General Schuyler resumed his march on the 
 morning of the 17th, his forces constantly increas 
 ing, until, before nightfall, they numbered upward 
 of three thousand. Having proceeded about sixteen 
 miles from Schenectady, the expedition was met by 
 Sir John, attended by several of his leading friends 
 among the Scotchmen, and two or three others. 
 The result of the interview was the proffer, by Gen 
 eral Schuyler, of the following terms to Sir John 
 and his retainers : 
 
 " That Sir John should give up all cannon, arms, 
 and military stores within his possession or con 
 trol, whether belonging to the crown, or private 
 property ; that he should remain quietly on his pa 
 role of honour, at such place of residence as should 
 be assigned to him by the Continental Congress ; 
 that the Scotch inhabitants of the county should 
 give up their arms,^and promise not to take any 
 part in the approaching contest, giving hostages for 
 the fulfilment of such promise ; that such other in 
 habitants of the county as had avowed themselves 
 hostile to the measures of the United Colonies should 
 do the same ; and, finally, that all articles belonging 
 to the crown, and intended as presents to the In 
 
118 BORDER WARS OP THE 
 
 dians, should be given up for distribution, under the 
 direction of General Schuyler." 
 
 On these conditions, the general promised that 
 Sir John Johnson and his adherents should not be 
 molested, but protected in the quiet enjoyment of 
 their property ; and that, at the close of the contest, 
 the surrendered arms, &c., being private property, 
 should be restored or paid for. 
 
 In the course of the interview, Sir John assured 
 General Schuyler that the Indians would support 
 him, and that numbers of them were already at 
 Johnson Hall for that purpose. He was assured, in 
 return, that if the proffered terms were not acceded 
 to, force would be opposed to force, without distinc 
 tion of persons, and that the consequences of resist 
 ance would be of the most serious description. In 
 conclusion, Sir John begged until the evening of the 
 following day to consider of the propositions, whicl. 
 request was granted, and the baronet took his leave 
 
 In about an hour after his departure, Abraham 
 and another of the Mohawks, made their appearance 
 at General Schuyler s quarters. On being informec 
 of what Sir John had said respecting the Indians be 
 ing in arms at the Hall for his defence, Abrahan 
 pronounced the story untrue, and repeated his assu 
 rances that the Mohawks would interfere in no oth 
 er way than as mediators. The general replied, 
 that he hoped they would not ; but he at the same 
 time assured them, with emphasis, that if they 
 should do so, he should not hesitate a moment in 
 destroying every one who opposed him in arms. 
 
 On the following day (the 18th), General Schuy 
 ler moved forward to Caughnawaga, four miles from 
 Johnstown, where he was joined by Colonel Herki- 
 mer and the Tryon county militia. At about 6 
 o clock in the afternoon, Sir John s answer to the 
 terms proposed to him was received, as follows : 
 
 " That Sir John Johnson and the rest of the gentle 
 men expect that all such arms, of every kind, as are 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 119 
 
 their own property, may remain in their possession ; 
 all the other arms shall be delivered up to such per 
 son 01 persons as may be appointed for that pur 
 pose ; as to military stores belonging to the crown, 
 Sir John has not any. 
 
 " Sir John expects that he will not be confined to 
 any certain county, but be at liberty to go where he 
 pleases. 
 
 "The Scotch inhabitants will deliver up their 
 arms, of what kind soever they may be ; and they 
 will each solemnly promise that they will not, at 
 any time hereafter, during the continuance of this 
 unhappy contest, take up arms without the permis 
 sion of the Continental Congress, or of their gener 
 al officers. Hostages they are not in a capacity to 
 give, no one man having command over another, 
 or power sufficient to deliver such. Therefore, this 
 part of the article to be passed over, or the whole 
 included women and children to be required, being 
 a requisition so inhuman as, we hope, the general 
 will dispense with. 
 
 " Sir John has not any blankets, strouds, or other 
 presents intended for the Indians." 
 
 These propositions were rejected by General 
 Schuyler as altogether unsatisfactory, and four 
 hours were given by him for reconsideration ; at 
 the expiration of which, he wrote to Sir John, no 
 proposals would be received, and he should go on 
 to obey his orders. 
 
 Immediately after the latter had been despatched 
 to the Hall, the sachems of the Lower Castle, with 
 all their warriors and several from the Upper Cas 
 tle, called upon General Schuyler, having come to 
 his quarters directly from the residence of the bar 
 onet. They informed the general that Sir John had 
 related to them the substance of the terms of sur 
 render that had been proposed. Sir John, they said, 
 had declared to them that all he desired was pro 
 tection for his family and friends from insult and 
 
120 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 the outrages of riotous people, and protested that 
 he had no unfriendly intentions against the country. 
 The Indians, therefore, begged the general to accept 
 the terras offered by Sir John. The general told 
 the chiefs that he could not accept of those terms, 
 and pointed out the objections. He likewise in 
 formed them of the tenour of the letter he had just 
 transmitted to the Hall. The Indians were appa 
 rently contented with those reasons and with the 
 course adopted, but begged that, should the answer 
 of Sir John be still unsatisfactory, the general 
 would give him until four o clock in the morning, that 
 they might have time to go and " shake his head," 
 as they expressed it, " and bring him to his senses." 
 They likewise begged, as an additional favour, that 
 General Schuyler would not remove Sir John out 
 of the country. They apologized for the threats of 
 their own warriors, alleging that they were attribu 
 table to the circumstance of their not being present 
 at the treaty of Albany, and repeated the assurance 
 that they would never take arms against the colo 
 nies. In reply, General Schuyler complimented 
 the Indians for their pacific intentions, and inform 
 ed them that he should accede to their request, al 
 though the conduct of Sir John had been so censu 
 rable that he should be justified in holding him a 
 close prisoner. His reason for granting the request, 
 the general told them, were twofold : first, to show 
 the love and affection of the Americans for the In 
 dians, and to convince them that they could ob 
 tain, by asking as a favour, that which they could 
 not obtain by demanding as a right. Secondly, that 
 by leaving Sir John among them, they might, by 
 their example and advice, induce him to alter his 
 conduct. 
 
 The extension of time solicited by the Indians 
 proved to be unnecessary, the answer of Sir John, 
 acceding to the terms proposed, with some modifi 
 cations, being received at the hour originally desig- 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 121 
 
 nated ; and these modifications, somewhat limited, 
 being assented to by General Schuyler, the latter 
 on the same day marched lo Johnstown, having pre 
 viously detailed several detachments of his. troops 
 to scour the country, and bring in the disaffected not 
 comprehended in the arrangements with the baron 
 et. On the same afternoon Sir John delivered up 
 the arms and ammunition in his possession, the quan 
 tity of both being much smaller than was expected. 
 On Saturday, the 20th, General Schuyler paraded his 
 troops at noon, to receive the surrender of the High 
 landers, who, to the number of between two and three 
 hundred, marched to the front and grounded their 
 arms. These having been secured, the Scotchmen 
 were dismissed with an exhortation to remain peacea 
 ble, and with an assurance of protection if they did so. 
 
 The general s attention was next directed to the 
 discovery and capture of the secret depot of arms 
 and ammunition, of which information had been giv 
 en by Connell. Two of the persons named in his af 
 fidavit were taken, but they denied, most unequivo 
 cally, all knowledge upon the subject. Connell was 
 produced to confront them ; but they still persisted 
 in maintaining their innocence, and denounced him 
 as a perjured villain. He was then sent with a 
 number of officers to point out the spot where, as 
 he alleged, the arms were concealed. He conduct 
 ed them to a pond of water, containing a small isl 
 and or mound in the middle, within which he de 
 clared the arms were buried. The snow and ice 
 were forthwith removed, and the mound dug down. 
 Connell had particularly described the manner in 
 which the arms had been deposited under ground, 
 but it was soon discovered that the earth had not 
 recently been disturbed, if ever ; and in the end it 
 was ascertained, to the satisfaction of all, that the 
 fellow was a base impostor. General Schuyler re 
 turned to Caughnawaga that evening. On the two 
 following days upward of a hundred Tories were 
 
 VOL. I. K 
 
122 BORDER WARS OP THE 
 
 brought in from different parts of the country. Col 
 onel Herkimer was left to complete the disarming 
 of the disaffected and receive the hostages, and the 
 general, with his miscellaneous army, marched back 
 to Albany. In his letters to Congress, and also to 
 General Washington, he spoke of the anxiety and 
 trouble he had experienced in preventing so large a 
 body of men, collected on the sudden, without dis 
 cipline, and, withal, greatly exasperated, from run 
 ning into excesses. In these efforts, however, he 
 succeeded much better than, under the circumstan 
 ces, was reasonably to have been anticipated. Be 
 fore his return, Mr. Dean, the Indian interpreter, 
 was despatched by the general with a belt and a 
 talk to the Six Nations, which has not been pre 
 served. Thus ended the expedition to Johnstown. 
 
 General Schuyler transmitted a full report of his 
 proceedings to Congress, by whom a special reso 
 lution was passed thanking him for the fidelity, 
 prudence, and expedition with which he had per 
 formed such a meritorious service. A second res 
 olution was also adopted, so curiously constructed, 
 and containing such an ingeniously-inserted hint to 
 the officers and militia-men accompanying General 
 Schuyler on this expedition, as to render it worthy 
 of preservation. It was in the words following : 
 
 " Resolved^ That the cheerful and ready assistance 
 of those who accompanied General Schuyler in his 
 march to the county of Tryon, and their useful ser 
 vices in that expedition, discovered such a patriotic 
 spirit, that it is hoped none of them will allow their 
 countrymen to entertain a suspicion that any igno 
 ble motive actuated them, by requiring a pecuniary 
 reward, especially when they were employed in sup 
 pressing a mischief in their own neighbourhood." 
 
 The resolutions were enclosed to General Schuy 
 ler in a flattering letter from President Hancock, 
 in which, among other things, he says : " It is with 
 great pleasure I inform you that the prudence, zeal, 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 123 
 
 and temper manifested in your late expedition, met 
 with the warmest approbation of Congress." 
 
 For some unexplained reason, Sir John Johnson 
 did not observe the compact of neutrality, nor the 
 obligations of his parole. Or. if he kept himself 
 within the letter, his conduct was such as to rea 
 waken the suspicions of the people, and was con 
 sidered by General Schuyler a virtual violation of 
 the spirit of the parole he had given, to take no part 
 against the colonies. In fact, the information re 
 ceived by General Schuyler convinced him that Sir 
 John was secretly instigating the Indians to hostili 
 ties, and was thus likely to produce much mischief 
 on the frontiers. To prevent such a calamity, it 
 was thought advisable by Schuyler to secure the 
 person of Sir John, and once more to quell the ri 
 sing spirit of disaffection in the neighbourhood of 
 Johnstown, especially among the Highlanders. For 
 this purpose, in the month of May following the 
 events already narrated, Colonel Dayton, with a 
 part of his regiment then on its way to Canada, 
 was despatched by General Schuyler to prosecute 
 this enterprise. There were, however, large num 
 bers of Loyalists in Albany, with whom Sir John 
 was then and subsequently in close correspondence. 
 It is therefore not surprising that he received time 
 ly notice of these preparations for his second arrest, 
 in anticipation of Dayton s arrival. Such was the 
 fact ; and, hastily collecting a large number of his 
 tenants and others, disaffected towards the cause of 
 the colonists, the baronet was prepared for instant 
 flight on the approach of the Continentals. This 
 purpose was successfully executed. Colonel Day 
 ton arrived at Johnstown in the evening, whereup 
 on Sir John and his retainers immediately took to 
 the woods by the way of the Sacandaga.* Not 
 
 * There is some reason to suppose that an expedition, led by the Mo 
 hawk Indians, was sent from Montreal on purpose to bring Sir John 
 away, <r rescue him from the espionage of the Americans. In one of 
 
124 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 knowing whether his royalist friends were in pos 
 session of Lake Champlain or not, the fugitives 
 dared not venture upon that route to Montreal ; and 
 Sir John was, accordingly, obliged to strike deeper 
 into the forests between the headwaters of the Hud 
 son and the St. Lawrence. Having but a brief pe 
 riod of preparation for their flight, the party was but 
 ill supplied for such a campaign. Their provisions 
 were soon exhausted ; their feet became sore from 
 travelling ; and several of their number were left, 
 from time to time, in the wilderness, to be picked up 
 and brought in afterward by the Indians sent out for 
 that purpose. 
 
 After nineteen days of severe hardship, the bar 
 onet and his partisans arrived at Montreal in a piti 
 able condition, having encountered all of suffering 
 that it seemed possible for man to endure. Such 
 was the precipitation of his departure from the pa 
 rental hall, and such his deficiency of the means of 
 transportation, that an iron chest, containing the 
 most valuable of his family papers, was hastily bu 
 ried in the garden. The family Bible, containing 
 the only record of the marriage of his father and 
 mother, and, of course, the only written evidence of 
 his own legitimacy, was also left behind.* Such 
 of the papers as were found were examined by Col- 
 Brant s speeches, delivered long 1 afterward, when rehearsing the ex 
 ploits of the Mohawks in the Revolutionary war, the following passage 
 occurs : " We then went in a body to a town then in the possession of 
 the enemy, and rescued Sir John Johnson, bringing him fearlessly 
 through the streets." Brant, at the time of this rescue, was himself in, 
 England, as also was Guy Johnson. 
 
 * After the confiscation of the property of Sir John, the furniture of 
 the hall was sold by auction at Fort Hunter. The late Lieutenarit-gov- 
 ernor of New-York, John Taylor, purchased several articles of the furni 
 ture, and, among other things, the Bible mentioned in the text. Perceiv 
 ing that it contained the family record, which might be of great value to 
 Sir John, Mr. Taylor wrote a civil note t<~ Sir John, offering its restora 
 tion. Some time afterward, a messenger from the baronet called for 
 the Bible, whose conduct was so rude as to give offence. " I have come 
 for Sir William s Bible," said he, * and there are the four guineas which 
 it cost." The Bible was delivered, and the runner was asked what mes 
 sage Sir John had sent. The reply was, " Pay four guineas, and tak 
 the book !" 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 125 
 
 onel Dayton, in compliance with his orders ; " and 
 Lady Johnson was removed to Albany, where she 
 was retained as a kind of hostage for the peaceable 
 conduct of her husband. She wrote to General 
 Washington complaining of this detention, and ask 
 ing his interference for her release ; but the com- 
 mander-in-chief left the matter with General Schuy- 
 1 er and the Albany Committee." Colonel Dayton 
 was stationed several weeks at Johnstown with his 
 troops, and for the time secured the tranquillity of 
 the country. 
 
 Sir John was immediately commissioned a colonel 
 in the British service, and raised a command of two 
 battalions, composed of those who accompanied him 
 in his flight, and other American Loyalists who 
 subsequently followed their example. They were 
 called the Royal Greens. In the month of January 
 following he found his way into New- York, then in 
 possession of the British forces. From that period 
 he became not only one of the most active, but one 
 of the bitterest foes of his ow T n countrymen of any 
 who were engaged in that contest, and repeatedly 
 the scourge of his own former neighbours. He was 
 unquestionably a Loyalist from principle, else he 
 would scarcely have hazarded, as he did, and ulti 
 mately lost, domains larger and fairer than probably 
 ever belonged to a single proprietor in America, 
 William Penn only excepted. But the immediate 
 cause of his breaking his pledge of honour is not 
 known. Unexplained as it ever has been, the act 
 has always been regarded as a stain upon the bar 
 onet s character. It was held as such by the Pro 
 vincial Congress of New- York, as will be seen by 
 the annexed extract from a letter addressed by that 
 Dody to General Washington immediately after his 
 flight : " We apprehend no doubt can exist whether 
 the affair of Sir John Johnson is* within your imme 
 diate cognizance. He held a commission as brig 
 adier-general of the militia, and, it is said, another 
 
126 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 commission as major-general. That he hath shame 
 fully broken his parole is evident, but whether it 
 would be more proper to have him returned or ex 
 changed, is entirely in your excellency s prudence." 
 His estates were, of course, confiscated by thr 
 Provincial Congress of New- York, and in due timt 
 sold under the direction of the committee of thai 
 body having such matters in charge. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE progress of events renders it necessary again 
 to introduce the Indian hero of the war of the Rev 
 olution more prominently upon the stage of action. 
 Thayendanegea had now been advanced to the sit 
 uation of principal war-chief of the confederacy, an 
 officer, according to the ancient usages of the Six 
 Nations, uniformly taken from the Mohawks. 
 
 It has been seen, in a preceding chapter, that 
 Thayendanegea had accompanied Guy Johnson from 
 the Mohawk Valley, first, westwardly to Ontario, 
 thence back to Oswego, and thence to Montreal, 
 where his services, and those of his warriors, were 
 courted by Generals Carleton and Haldimand, and 
 an agreement was speedily made that they were to 
 take up the hatchet in the cause of the king. For 
 the prosecution of a border warfare the officers of 
 the crown could scarcely have engaged a more val 
 uable auxiliary. Distinguished alike for his ad 
 dress, his activity, and his courage possessing, in 
 point of stature and symmetry of person, the ad 
 vantage of most men even among his own well- 
 formed race tall, erect, and majestic, with the air 
 and mien of one born to command having, as it 
 were, been a man of war from his boyhood his 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 127 
 
 name was a tower of strength among the warriors 
 of the wilderness. Still more extensive was his in 
 fluence rendered by the circumstance that he had 
 been much employed in the civil service of the In 
 dian department, under Sir William Johnson, by 
 whom he was often deputed upon embassies among 
 the tribes of the confederacy, and to those yet more 
 distant, upon the great lakes and rivers of the north 
 west, by reason of which his knowledge of the 
 whole country and people was accurate and exten 
 sive. 
 
 Whether, after the compact with Sir Guy Carle- 
 ton, the chief again visited the Indian country of 
 the Six Nations during the summer of 1775, is un 
 known. Probably not ; since, in the autumn of that 
 year, or early in the following winter, he embarked 
 on his first visit to England. What was the precise 
 object of this visit does not appear. It is very prob 
 able, however, that, notwithstanding the agreement 
 so hastily formed at Montreal, the sagacious chief 
 tain may have judged it prudent to pause before 
 committing himself too far by overt acts of hostility 
 against the colonies. The Oneidas were evidently 
 inclining to espouse the colonial side of the contro 
 versy, if any ; the River Indians had already ranged 
 themselves-on the same side ; Captain White-Eyes, 
 of the Delawares, had determined upon neutrality ; 
 and the Caughnawagas, or, at least, some of their 
 leading chiefs, were in the camp with Washington. 
 To all which may be added the fact, that at that 
 time the American arms were carrying everything 
 before them in Canada. These circumstances were 
 certainly enough to make the chieftain hesitate as 
 to the course dictated by true wisdom. His predi 
 lections, doubtless, from the first, inclined him to 
 espouse the cause of the king. Nay, he maintained 
 through life, that the ancient covenants of his peo 
 ple rendered it obligatory upon him so to do. In 
 addition to which were the strong ties of blood, of 
 
128 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 association, and of gratitude, by which he was 
 bound to the family and the interests of the John 
 sons. Still, the brilliant successes with which the 
 Americans had opened the campaign in Canada pre 
 sented another view of the case, which was certain 
 ly entitled to grave consideration. . Thus situated, 
 the chief may have found his position so embarrass 
 ing as to induce him to visit the parent country, and 
 go himself into the presence of " THE GREAT KING," 
 as the British monarch was styled by the Indians, be 
 fore he should finally determine whether actually to 
 take the field or not. By making the voyage, he 
 would have the additional advantage of studying the 
 resources and the power of the parent country, and 
 would thereby be the better able to determine for 
 himself whether success was likely to crown his 
 majesty s arms in the end, or whether, by an over 
 scrupulous observance of an ancient stipulation of 
 alliance, he should not, with his people, be rushing 
 upon certain destruction. 
 
 But whether he thus reasoned or not, it is certain 
 that he sailed for England towards the close of the 
 year 1775, and reached London early in 1776, ac 
 companied by Captain Tice, an officer of English 
 extraction, born in America, who had resided in the 
 neighbourhood of the Mohawk nation. . 
 
 Only a very brief account of this, his first visit to 
 England, has been found. It has always been said, 
 however, that he was not only well received, but 
 that his society was courted by gentlemen of rank 
 and station statesmen, scholars, and divines. He 
 had little of the savage ferocity of his people in his 
 countenance ; and when, as he ordinarily did, he 
 wore the European dress, there was nothing besides 
 his colour to mark wherein he differed from other 
 men Upon his first arrival in the British capital, 
 he was conducted to the inn called " The Swan with 
 two Necks." Other lodgings were soon provided for 
 him more suitable to his rank as an Indian king ; but 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 129 
 
 he said the people of the inn had treated him with 
 so much kindness and civility, that he preferred re 
 maining there during his stay in London ; and he 
 accordingly did so. 
 
 Although he was dressed in the European habit, 
 he was not unprovided with a splendid costume af 
 ter the manner of his own nation, in which he ap 
 peared at court, and upon visits of state and cere 
 mony. James Boswell was at that time in his glo 
 ry, and an intimacy appears to have been contracted 
 between him and the Mohawk chief, since the latter 
 sat for his picture at the request of this most inter 
 esting of egotists. He also sat, during the same 
 visit, to Romney, one of the most distinguished art 
 ists of his day, for the Earl of Warwick. He was, 
 of course, painted in his native dress, and the pic 
 ture was greatly prized. The tomahawk worn by 
 him in London was a very beautiful article, pol 
 ished to the highest degree ; upon which was en 
 graved the first letter of his Christian name with 
 his Mohawk appellation, thus : "/. Thayendanegea" 
 
 He did not remain in England many months, but, 
 in company with Captain Tice, sailed on his return 
 towards the close of March or early in April, and 
 arrived on the coast near the harbour of New- York, 
 after a very short passage. Having fully deter 
 mined to fulfil his stipulations with General Carle- 
 ton, and take up the hatchet in the cause of the 
 crown, he was cautiously and privately landed some 
 where in the neighbourhood of New- York, whence 
 he performed a very hazardous journey to Canada, 
 having, of course, to steal his way through a hostile 
 population, until he could hide himself in the forests 
 beyond Albany. He had taken the precaution, how 
 ever, in England, to provide evidence of the identity 
 of his body in case of disaster, or of his fall in any 
 of the battles he anticipated, by procuring a gold fin 
 ger ring, with his name engraven thereon at length.* 
 
 * Tliis ring he wore until his death. It was kept as a precious reHe 
 
 VOL. I L 
 
130 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 What were the particular arguments addressed to 
 the Mohawk in the British capital, or by what pro 
 cess he became impressed with the idea that the 
 arms of the king would, in the end, be victorious in 
 the colonies, is not known. It is certain, however, 
 that whatever doubts he might have entertained, 
 were most effectually dispelled; since, on taking 
 leave, it was understood that he pledged himself 
 heartily to embrace the royal cause, and promised 
 to take the field with three thousand warriors of his 
 race.* 
 
 It is no more than justice, however, to allow Cap 
 tain Brant to speak for himself in regard to the 
 principle by which he was governed in his decision. 
 In a letter written by him to Sir Evan Nepean, the 
 under-secretary of state, when in England after the 
 peace of 1783, he said : " When I joined the Eng 
 lish in the beginning of the war, it was purely on 
 account of my forefathers engagements with the 
 king. I always looked upon these engagements, or 
 covenants between the king and the Indian nations, 
 as a sacred thing : therefore, I was not to be fright 
 ened by the threats of the rebels at that time ; I as 
 sure you I had no other view in it, and this was my 
 real case from the beginning." 
 
 by his widow foi four years, when it was lost. Strange as it may seem, 
 however, during the last summer (1836), the identical ring was found by 
 a little girl in a ploughed field near. Wellington Square, while the ven 
 erable Indian queen was on a visit to her daughter, the accomplished lady 
 of Colonel Kerr. The aged widow of the old chief was overjoyed at once 
 more possessing the memento, after it had been lost six-and-twenty years. 
 * It appears that Colonel Guy Johnson must have visited England at 
 the same time, or nearly the same time, with Brant. Perhaps they went 
 together, although Johnson did riot return so soon. General Washing 
 ton announced his arrival at Staten Island, from England, on the Cth 
 of August, 1776, in a letter written to the President of Congress on the 
 8th. In Dunlap s History of the American Stage, Guy Johnson s name 
 is given, in 1778, as one of the managers of the old Theatre Royal, John- 
 street. The players were all amateurs, officers of the British army, and 
 the avails of their performances were appropriated for benevolent purpo 
 ses. The unfortunate Major Andre was one of the actors, and the scene 
 painter. A drop-curtain, painted by him, was used many years after 
 his death. 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 131 
 
 By " threats," in this letter to the under-secretary, 
 .Urant probably meant no more than the efforts made 
 by the Americans to prevent his joining the royal 
 standard, and to preserve the neutrality of the In 
 dians. In connexion with these efforts, there is a 
 scrap of unwritten history, which, whether true or 
 not, is characteristic of the shrewdness, and drv 
 sarcastic humour of the chief. It is related, that 
 during the early part of the year 1775, while it was 
 yet considered doubtful which side the Mohawks 
 would espouse, and when it was, of course very de 
 sirable to ascertain the views of Brant upon the 
 subject, President Wheelock was applied to as a 
 medium of communication with his former pupil 
 Ihe doctor, according to the tradition, wrote him a 
 long epistle upon the aspect of the times, and urged 
 upon Brant those considerations which appeared 
 most likely to win him over, or, rather, to secure 
 his neutrality, if not his friendship, to the colonists 
 Brant replied very ingeniously. Among other things 
 He referred to his former residence with the doctor, 
 recalled the happy hours he had passed under his 
 root, and referred especially to his prayers and the 
 family devotions to which he had listened. He said 
 he could never forget those prayers ; and one pas 
 sage, in particular, was so often repeated, that it 
 could never be effaced from his mind. It was 
 among other of his good preceptor s petitions, " that 
 they might be able to live as good subjects to fear 
 trod and HONOUR THE KING." 
 
 If doubt had existed among the colonists before, 
 as to the direction of the channel in which ran his 
 inclinations, there was surely none after the perusal 
 of this letter. But scenes of a more stirring char 
 acter now demand the attention. 
 
 Towards the close of the memorable Canadian 
 campaign so brilliantly commenced, so success- 
 fully prosecuted for many months, and yet so disas 
 trously terminated while the shattered remains of 
 
132 BORDER WARS OP THE 
 
 the American forces were retiring before the troops 
 of Sir Guy Carleton, the former experienced a sad 
 disaster at " the Cedars," a point of land extending 
 far into the St. Lawrence, about forty miles above 
 Montreal, which was occupied by Colonel Bedell 
 with three hundred and ninety provincial troops and 
 two fieldpieces. General Carleton directed a de 
 scent upon this post from the British station at Os- 
 wegatchie, under the command of Captain Forster, 
 at the head of one company of regular troops and a 
 body of Indians numbering nearly six hundred. The 
 latter were led by Thayendanegea. On the appear 
 ance of the enemy before the American works, Col 
 onel Bedell repaired immediately to Montreal for 
 assistance, leaving the Cedars in charge of Major 
 Butterfield. Colonel (afterward general) Arnold, 
 who was then in command of Montreal not yet 
 evacuated by the Americans forthwith detached 
 Major Sherburne with one hundred men, to proceed 
 to the Cedars, and prepared to follow himself with a 
 much larger force. Meantime, however, Major But 
 terfield, who, it was believed, might have easily de 
 fended the position, was intimidated by a threat 
 from the enemy, that, should the siege continue and. 
 any of the Indians be slain, in the event of an event 
 ual surrender it would be impossible for the British 
 commander to prevent a general massacre, and 
 consented to a capitulation, by which the whole gar 
 rison became prisoners of war. Major Sherburne 
 approached on the day following, without having 
 received any information of the change of circum 
 stances until within four miles of the post, where, 
 on the 20th of May, he was attacked by the Indians, 
 and, after a sharp conflict, compelled to surrender at 
 discretion. No sooner had Arnold received infor 
 mation of these events, than he marched against the 
 foe, then at Vaudreuil, at the head of seven hundred 
 men, with a view of chastising the enemy and re 
 covering the prisoners. " When preparing for an 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 engagement, he received a flag accompanied by Ma 
 jor Sherburne, giving him the most positive assu 
 rances that if he persisted in his design it would be 
 entirely out of the power of Captflin Forster to pre 
 vent his savages from pursuing their horrid customs, 
 and disencumbering themselves of their prisoners 
 by putting every man to death. This massacre 
 was already threatened, and Major Sherburne con 
 firmed the information. Under the influence of this 
 threat, Arnold desisted from his purpose, and con 
 sented to a cartel, by which the prisoners were de 
 livered up to him ; he agreeing, among other things, 
 not only to deliver as many British soldiers in ex 
 change for them, but also that they should imme 
 diately return to their homes." 
 
 This disaster, or, perhaps, more correctly speak 
 ing, the conduct of the officers to whose cowardice 
 it was imputed, was a source of deep mortification 
 to General Washington, and he gave utterance to 
 his vexation in several letters written soon after 
 ward. Nor was Butterfield alone blamed, Colonel 
 Bedell being placed in the same category of con 
 demnation. The commander-in-chief was likewise 
 incensed at the conduct of Captain Forster, in re 
 sorting to deceptive and very unjustifiable means to 
 procure hostages for ratifying a treaty of exchange. 
 The name of Captain Brant is not mentioned in 
 any of the books in connexion with these transac 
 tions at the Cedars. There is positive evidence, 
 however, that he was not only there, but that he 
 exerted himself efficiently, after the surrender of 
 Major Sherburne, to control the Indians and pre 
 vent the massacre of the prisoners. Among these 
 latter was Captain John M Kinstry, who command 
 ed a company on that occasion. From his account 
 of the battle, Major Sherburne fell into an ambus 
 cade, and the fighting was severe. Captain M Kins 
 try s command was engaged sharply with a body 
 of Indians, before whom his troops were several 
 
134 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 times compelled to retire. Rallying, however, with 
 spirit, the Indians were repeatedly driven back in 
 turn ; and the respective parties were thus succes 
 sively driven by each other, back and forth, accord 
 ing to the doubtful and varying fortunes of the hour, 
 until the Americans were overpowered by numbers, 
 and compelled to surrender; Captain M Kinstry 
 being wounded, fell by the side of a tree, and was 
 there taken. He subsequently ascertained that he 
 had been marked as a victim by the Indians, who 
 had actually made the usual preparations for putting 
 him to death by the torture of fire ; and that he was 
 rescued by the personal exertions of Captain Brant, 
 who, in connexion with some humane English offi 
 cers, made up a purse and purchased an ox, which 
 the Indians roasted for their carousal instead of the 
 gallant prisoner. Captain M Kinstry was treated 
 with kindness while a prisoner, and contracted an 
 intimacy with Brant, which continued until the chief 
 tain s death. Brant never visited the Hudson after 
 the Revolution without spending a few days with 
 Colonel M Kinstry at the Manor ; and at the time 
 of his last visit, about the year 1805, in company 
 with his friend, who, like himself, was a member of 
 the brotherhood, he attended the Freemason s Lodge 
 in the city of Hudson, where his presence attracted 
 great attention. 
 
 But to return. The conduct of Major Butterfield 
 at the Cedars was likewise severely denounced in 
 Congress, and his capitulation pronounced, by reso 
 lution, " a shameful surrender." Due credit was at 
 the same time awarded to Major Sherburne for the 
 bravery displayed by himself and his troops, who 
 only " surrendered at last on absolute necessity." 
 Notwithstanding, moreover, the interposition of 
 Captain Brant to prevent a massacre, and the res 
 cue of Captain M Kinstry, such outrages were re 
 ported to Congress as to call forth a series of indig 
 nant resolutions upon the subject. In the preamble 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 135 
 
 to these resolutions, it was stated that, immediately 
 after the surrender, the prisoners were delivered 
 over to the Indians ; their baggage plundered, their 
 clothes taken from them, and several of their num 
 ber killed ; and one of them, who had only been 
 wounded, roasted alive. From the circumstance 
 that Captain M Kinstry had been wounded, and 
 designated for the torture, though rescued, as we 
 have already seen, by Captain Brant, it is quite 
 probable that Congress was misinformed as to the 
 actual consummation of such a purpose in the per 
 son of any prisoner. Assuming the fact, however, 
 the enemy s conduct was denounced in the strongest 
 terms : Congress asserting the right of demanding 
 indemnification for the wrongs inflicted upon the 
 prisoners in their persons and property ; and in re 
 gard to the murder of prisoners by the Indians, re 
 quiring that the authors of those murders be deliv 
 ered into their hands for condign punishment, as a 
 condition precedent to an exchange of prisoners. 
 In regard to the torturing of prisoners, a resolution 
 was also adopted, denouncing, " as the sole means 
 of stopping the progress of human butchery," a re 
 taliation of punishment, of the same kind and degree, 
 to be inflicted upon a like number of prisoners of 
 the enemy, in every case of outrage thereafter to 
 occur. 
 
 These resolutions were, in effect, a refusal to 
 confirm the treaty for the exchange of prisoners 
 entered into by General Arnold, and were so con 
 sidered by the commanding officers in Canada. The 
 consequence was, the indulgence of much crimina 
 tion and recrimination on the part both of the Ameri 
 can and British commanders. Indeed, complaints 
 of the cruel treatment of the prisoners falling into 
 their hands had been preferred against the enemy 
 several months before, particularly in the case of 
 Colonel Ethan Allen and his fellow-captives. Allen 
 had been captured by General Prescott, by whom. 
 
BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 in addition to other indignities, he had been heavity 
 ironed, and sent like a common felon to England. 
 Prescott was afterward taken by the Americans 
 and treated with considerable rigour, in retaliation 
 for the ill usage of Allen. This produced a remon 
 strance from General Howe, who, on being remind 
 ed of the case of Allen, disclaimed any responsibil 
 ity in regard to that transaction, inasmuch as it was 
 an occurrence in a district beyond the boundaries 
 of his particular command. The affair of the Ce 
 dars excited the strongest feelings of indignation T 
 not only in Congress and among the people, but in 
 the army. Soon afterward the account was in part 
 balanced, by a diabolical outrage committed by an 
 American scouting party in the neighbourhood of St. 
 John s. It was the deliberate assassination, by the 
 lieutenant at the head of the party, of Brigadier- 
 general Gordon of the British army. General Gor 
 don was riding alone, and in full uniform, from La- 
 prairie to St. John s. The lieutenant and his party 
 were in ambush within the British lines ; and, as 
 the general passed, the former wantonly and bar 
 barously shot him through the body. Although the- 
 wound was mortal, the general rode on, and speed 
 ily reached St. John s, where he expired. This 
 painful incident aroused as warm a burst of indig 
 nation among the British officers as the affair of the 
 Cedars had done among the Americans. General 
 Carleton availed himself of the occurrence to issue 
 a violent, though artful proclamation, which was 
 pronounced by Washington, in a letter to the Presi 
 dent of Congress, to be " highly unbecoming the 
 character of a soldier and gentleman." Although 
 the prisoners were not exchanged, under the arrange 
 ment made with Arnold, yet Carleton set the Ameri 
 can captives at liberty, on condition of their return 
 ing to their own homes, there to remain as prisoners. 
 Each of the prisoners was furnished with a copy 
 of his insidious proclamation. 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 137 
 
 It was not supposed that any considerable num 
 bers of the Indians of the Six Nations participated 
 in the battle of the Cedars, other than the Mohawks 
 and their kindred tribe, the Caughnawagas, or the 
 Seven Nations of Canada, as they chose to call 
 themselves. Indeed, the Six Nations were, at that 
 stage of the contest, far from being unanimous in 
 opposition to the colonies ; and at the very time of 
 these occurrences, a deputation from four of the 
 nations was at Philadelphia, on a peaceable mission 
 to Congress. 
 
 On the 25th of May, 1776, the Congress resolved 
 " that it was highly expedient to engage the Indians 
 in the service of the United Colonies ;" and they 
 empowered the commander-in-chief to employ, in 
 Canada and elsewhere, a number not exceeding two 
 thousand, offering them " a reward of one hundred 
 dollars for every commissioned officer, and thirty 
 dollars for every private soldier of the king s troops, 
 that they should take prisoner in the Indian coun 
 try, or on the frontier of these colonies/ The 
 Congress also authorized General Washington to 
 employ the Indians of Penobscot, St. John s, and 
 Nova Scotia, who had proffered their services, and 
 were to receive the same pay as the Continental 
 soldiers. 
 
 Whether any of those Eastern Indians were ever 
 actually engaged in the American service, is not 
 known. In regard to the employment of the North 
 ern Indians, Washington forthwith entered into a 
 correspondence with General Schuyler upon the sub 
 ject, and pressed him to carry the resolutions into 
 effect. The latter, however, was averse to the 
 measure as much so as at the first. He disliked 
 to employ such a force under any circumstances, 
 contending that they were too fickle and uncertain 
 to allow any well-founded reliance to be placed upon 
 them at the moment of emergency. At that partic 
 ular conjuncture, especially, when our troops, bro- 
 
138 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 ken and dispersed, were flying like fugitives from 
 Canada, he thought the chances of obtaining Indian 
 auxiliaries exceedingly slender ; and as to the num 
 ber prescribed (two thousand), the general intima 
 ted, in one of his letters to the commander-in-chief 
 that it would have been well if Congress had conde 
 scended to inform him where so many Indian war 
 riors, not already in the service of the enemy, were 
 to be found. In short, General Schuyler s opinion 
 was correct from the beginning, that the colonies 
 could expect no essential aid from the Indians ; and 
 whatever aid they might receive, would be sure to 
 cost more than it would come to. So the event 
 proved. But, although the British profited most by 
 the employment of the Indians, they are not alone 
 to blame for using them. So far, certainly, as prin 
 ciple and intention are concerned, the Americans 
 are equitably entitled to a due share of the censure. 
 In recurring to coincident events transpiring in 
 other parts of the country, it must be remarked, that 
 the commander-in-chief was often placed in cir 
 cumstances not the most promising. On his arri 
 val at the camp before Boston, the preceding year, 
 he had found only " the materials for a good army" 
 not the organized army itself. The troops were 
 mostly undisciplined ; and having taken arms to 
 fight for liberty, it was no easy matter to bring 
 them into those habits of subordination which ne 
 cessarily render a soldier a mere machine to be 
 moved at the will of his commander. The first ob 
 ject of General Washington, therefore, was to bring 
 the troops into a state of discipline. But another 
 difficulty presented itself in the fact that, owing to 
 the short periods of enlistment, the times of service 
 of the greater portion of the army were to expire in 
 November and December. To which was added the 
 embarrassing discovery that all the powder at his 
 command was barely sufficient to supply nine 
 rounds of cartridges per man. There was, more- 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 139 
 
 over, a general want of camp equipage and clothing, 
 and, indeed, of everything necessary alike to the com 
 fort and the efficiency of an army. But Heaven, in its 
 mercy, seemed to have devolved the command upon 
 the man of all others best calculated to meet the 
 emergency and overcome it. His destitution of 
 ammunition was artfully and effectually concealed 
 from the enemy ; and although, on the discharge of 
 those of his troops who would not re-enlist, at the 
 close of December (1775), he had no more than 
 <J650 men left, he yet contrived to sustain himself 
 and keep the enemy beleaguered in Boston during 
 the whole winter. " It is not in the pages of history, 
 perhaps," he wrote to Congress, " to furnish a case 
 like ours. To maintain a post within musket-shot 
 of the enemy for six months together, without am 
 munition, and at the same time to disband one army 
 and recruit another, within that distance of twenty 
 old British regiments, is more, probably, than was 
 ever attempted." 
 
 The Continental Congress had been induced by 
 the influence of the commander-in-chief to resolve 
 upon the raising of an army of 75,000 men. to be 
 enlisted for the term of three years, or during the 
 war. It was not until January, however, that they 
 could be induced to offer bounties for enlistments, 
 and even then the ranks were not rapidly filled. At 
 the close of February, the whole effective force of 
 the Americans was no more than 14,000 men, ex 
 clusive of 6000 of the Massachusetts militia. An 
 assault upon Boston had been meditated in Febru 
 ary by General Washington ; but the opinion of his 
 principal officers, expressed in a council of war, 
 being strongly against such a movement, the enter 
 prise was reluctantly abandoned. Wearied by inac 
 tion, the next project of the American commander 
 was to take possession of Dorchester Heights, a 
 position commanding the town of Boston, the occu 
 pation of which would compel General Howe either 
 
140 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 to attempt its dispossession by the Americans, or to 
 evacuate the town. The enterprise was so well 
 planned, as to be executed by General Thomas with 
 complete and brilliant success, on the night of the 
 4th of March. Having diverted the attention of the 
 enemy by a bombardment of his lines in another 
 direction, the movement was unperceived. The 
 weather being mild, the American troops were en 
 abled to labour with energy in throwing up defences, 
 which, on the following morning, struck the gener 
 al of the British army with astonishment, from their 
 sudden appearance and their magnitude. A heavy 
 atmosphere contributed to magnify the height of 
 the works and increase the wonder of the foe. 
 Sir William Howe made immediate preparations to 
 drive the Americans from their new, and, to him, 
 dangerous position ; for which purpose two thousand 
 choice troops were embarked to cross over the 
 same evening ; but a severe tempest frustrated his 
 design. On the following morning General Howe 
 convened a council of war, at which it \vas resolved 
 to evacuate the town as soon as possible. This de 
 termination was carried into execution on the 17th, 
 by the embarcation of the whole British army, and 
 the sailing of the British fleet, first to Halifax, but 
 ultimately, as the event proved, for New-York. On 
 the same day General Washington entered Boston 
 in triumph, and was hailed, by the universal acclaim 
 of the people, as their deliverer. Thus was the 
 town which first raised the standard of rebellion the 
 first to rejoice at the retreat of its oppressors. Nor 
 was it the fortune of the invaders ever to set foot 
 there again. 
 
 In the North, the operations of the Provincial 
 army had been far less propitious. The conquest of 
 Canada was a favourite project with Congress, and 
 every possible effort within the slender means of 
 the colonies was made to that end. But the fall of 
 Montgomery had thrown a gloom over the enterprise 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTKN. 141 
 
 which was never dissipated. Colonel, now General 
 Arnold, had maintained himself before Quebec du 
 ring the winter, and until late in the spring, with 
 but a handful of men, numbering, at one time, not 
 more than five hundred effectives. But the re-en 
 forcements were slow in arriving; the Canadians, 
 from a variety of causes the principal of which, 
 beyond doubt, was bad treatment from an undisci 
 plined soldiery became less friendly to the Ameri 
 cans than at first, notwithstanding the mission of 
 Messrs. Franklin, Chase, and Carroll, accompanied 
 by a Catholic priest, to conciliate them ; and on the 
 arrival of General Wooster at his quarters, about 
 the 1st of April, Arnold obtained leave of absence, 
 and took the command at Montreal. General Thom 
 as, who had been assigned to the command of the 
 army in Canada, after the exploit of Gloucester 
 Heights, arrived before Quebec on the 1st of May, 
 where he found an army of nineteen hundred men, 
 less than one thousand of whom were effective, and 
 three hundred of these, being entitled to their dis 
 charge, refused to perform duty. They had but one 
 hundred and fifty barrels of powder, and six days 
 provisions. Well knowing that with the opening of 
 the navigation, Sir Guy Carleton s expected re-en 
 forcements would arrive, the circumstances in which 
 he was placed were altogether so unpromising, that 
 General Thomas, with the concurrence of a council 
 of war, determined to raise the siege on the 5th of 
 May, and assume a more eligible position farther 
 up the river. It was the intention of the American 
 commander to remove the sick to the Three Kiv< --s ; 
 but oil the 6th, before the arrangements for ret.v.it- 
 ing were all concerted, a British fleet, with re-en 
 forcements, arrived. General Carleton immediately 
 made a sortie at the head of one thousand men, to 
 oppose whom General Thomas had not more than 
 three hundred available troops. No other course 
 remained, therefore, but a precipitate retreat to all 
 
142 BORDER WARS OP THE 
 
 who could get away, leaving the sick and the mili 
 tary stores to the enemy. General Thomas led his 
 little band back to the mouth of the Sorel, where ho 
 was seized with the smallpox, and died. Large 
 re-enforcements joined the fugitive army at that 
 place under General Sullivan. Before General 
 Carleton moved from Quebec, an expedition was 
 undertaken from Sorel to the Three Rivers, against 
 General Frasier, under the direction of General 
 Thompson and Colonel St. Clair. It was unsuc 
 cessful : from which time disaster followed disas 
 ter, until, owing to the combined causes of defeat, 
 sickness, and insubordination, the Americans found 
 themselves, on the 18th of June, driven entirely out 
 of Canada ; the British army following so closely 
 upon their heels, as immediately to occupy the differ 
 ent posts as they were successively evacuated. 
 
 The Americans, however, still retained the con 
 trol of Lake Champlain, and occupied the fortifica 
 tions upon its shores, the command of which had 
 now been assigned by Congress to General Gates, 
 with great and manifest injustice towards General 
 Schuyler. Gates at first established his headquar 
 ters at Crown Point, but soon afterward withdrew 
 his forces from that post, and fell back upon Ticon- 
 deroga. This step was taken by the advice and 
 concurrence of a board of general officers, but con 
 trary to the wishes of the field-officers. The com- 
 mander-in-chief was exceedingly dissatisfied with 
 this movement of Gates, believing that the relin- 
 quishment of that post, in its consequences, would 
 be equivalent to an abandonment of Lakes George 
 and Champlain, and all the advantages to be derived 
 therefrom. In reply to the concern that had been 
 expressed by Washington on the occasion, General 
 Gates contended that Crown Point was untenable 
 with the forces then under his command, nor could 
 it be successfully defended even with the aid of the 
 expected re-enforcements. These re-enforcements, 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 143 
 
 moreover, the general added, could not be allowed 
 to approach nearer to Crown Point than Skenes- 
 borough, since " it would be only heaping one hos 
 pital upon another."* The annals of disastrous 
 war scarce present a more deplorable picture than 
 that exhibited by the Americans escaping from 
 Canada. In addition to the smallpox, the army 
 had been afflicted by other diseases, generated by 
 exposure, destitution, and laxity of discipline. Fleets 
 of boats came up the lake freighted with the sick 
 and dying, and even those reported from day to 
 day fit for duty presented but the appearance of a 
 haggard skeleton of an army. " Everything about 
 this army," said General Gates in the letter already 
 cited, " is infected with the pestilence ; the clothes, 
 the blankets, the air, and the ground they walk upon. 
 To put this evil from us, a general hospital is estab 
 lished at Fort George,! where there are now between 
 two and three thousand sick, and where every in 
 fected person is immediately sent. But this care 
 and caution have not effectually destroyed the dis 
 ease here ; it is, notwithstanding, continually break 
 ing out." 
 
 Such was the deplorable condition in which an 
 army, so recently victorious, had been driven back 
 from what was in fact a conquered country, lost 
 entirely through mismanagement, and the want of 
 an army upon the basis of permanent enlistment. 
 Added to which, was another difficulty lying beneath 
 the surface. Many prisoners had fallen into the 
 hands of the enemy at Quebec, and during the sub- 
 
 * The smallpox, which had been so fatal to the troops in Canada, had 
 now broken out at Crown Point and Ticonderoga, the pestilence having 
 been purposely introduced by a villain calling- himself Doctor Barker. 
 This fact is stated in a letter from the Adjutant-general of the North 
 ern Department to Colonel Gansevoort, dated from Ticonderog-a, July 
 24. " The villain," says the letter, " by private inoculations in the 
 army, has caused, in a great degree, the misery to which we are reduced 
 by that infectious disorder." Barker was arrested and sent to Albany. 
 MS. letter of Colonel Trumbull to Colonel Gansevoort. 
 
 t At ihe head of Lake George. 
 
144 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 sequent retreat. Towards all these the conduct of 
 Sir Guy Carleton had been most politic. They had 
 been treated with the greatest care and humanity, 
 and so much of the subtle poison of flattery, mingled 
 with kindness, had been poured into their ears, that 
 their return on parole, which was presently allowed 
 by the British commander, was regarded with ap 
 prehension. On one occasion, a large number of 
 prisoners arriving at Crown Point from St. John s 
 in a vessel provided by Sir Guy Carleton, were 
 visited, before landing, by Colonel John Trumbull, 
 the adjutant-general for the northern department. 
 From the feelings they manifested, and the tenour 
 of their conversation, Colonel Trumbull saw at once 
 that it would not be prudent to allow them to land, 
 or to hold the least intercourse with the suffering 
 troops of the garrison. He immediately reported 
 the fact to the general, and advised that the said 
 prisoners should be sent directly forward to Skenes- 
 borough, and despatched to their respective homes, 
 without allowing them to mingle with the troops at 
 that place. The suggestion was adopted. 
 
 Nor were the difficulties enumerated, all which 
 the officers had to encounter. The spirit of disaf 
 fection was far more extensive than those who are 
 left to contemplate the scenes through which their 
 fathers passed, and the discouragements against 
 which they were compelled to struggle, have been 
 wont to suppose. The burden of many of General 
 Schuyler s letters, and also the letters of other offi 
 cers, during the whole of this season, was the fre 
 quency of desertions to the ranks of the enemy. 
 
 Glancing for a moment at the situation of affairs 
 at tlio South, the gloom of the picture is somewhat 
 relieved. The expedition of General Clinton and 
 Sir Peter Parker, for the reduction of Charleston, 
 had signally failed. The defence of the fort bear 
 ing his own name, by Colonel Moultrie, was one of 
 the most gallant exploits of the whole contest, and 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 145 
 
 served to lighten the despondency that had been 
 produced by the disasters we have been sketching 
 at the North. It was at this place that the celebrated 
 Sergeant Jasper signalized himself, when the flag 
 staff was shot away, by leaping from the parapet of 
 the fort upon the beach, seizing the flag, and, amid 
 the incessant firing of the fleet, mounting, and again 
 placing it on the rampart. 
 
 But the grand event of the year, the transactions 
 of which are now under review, was the DECLARA 
 TION of INDEPENDENCE, a motion for which was sub 
 mitted in Congress by Richard Henry Lee, of Vir 
 ginia, on the 7th of June, and the declaration itself 
 solemnly adopted on the 4th of July. This measure 
 at once cut off all hope of reconciliation with the 
 parent country, and all prospect of a termination 
 of the war, unless by the complete triumph in arms 
 of one party or the other. Such a declaration was 
 an event not originally anticipated, even if desired 
 by the mass of the people ; although it had, unques 
 tionably, and from the first, entered into the calcu 
 lations of the daring master spirits of the movement 
 in Boston. It had furthermore been greatly accel 
 erated by the conduct of the British government it 
 self, during the preceding session of Parliament, by 
 act of which the Americans had been declared out 
 of the royal protection ; so widely mistaken had 
 been the Congress of the preceding year, which 
 had adjourned with strong hopes that the differences 
 between the two countries would soon be adjusted 
 to their mutual satisfaction. At the same time, the 
 parent government was putting forth its energies to 
 crush the colonies at a blow. For this purpose 
 25,000 British troops were to be employed, in ad 
 dition to 17,000 German mercenaries jourc/iased from 
 the Landgrave of Hesse Cassel, the Duke of Bruns 
 wick, and the Count of Hanau. These troops, with 
 the Canadian recruits, the American Loyalists, and 
 the Indians, it was intended should constitute an in- 
 
 Yof,. I. M 
 
146 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 vading force of 55,000 men. With such prepara 
 tions in prospect against them, it was no time for 
 inactivity on the part of the colonists ; and having, 
 by the declaration, thrown away the scabbard of 
 the sword that had been drawn fifteen months be- 
 fore, there was no alternative but resistance to the 
 end. 
 
 Recurring, for a brief space, to the history proper 
 of the Mohawk Valley, it may be assumed, in be 
 half of its patriotic population, that the new attitude 
 of the country was neither unexpected nor unwel 
 come. On the contrary, having been among the 
 earliest to propose a separation, the great act of 
 the 4th of July was nowhere more cordially re 
 ceived than by the Whigs of Tryon county. Nor 
 did they falter in their purpose of sustaining the 
 cause in which the country had embarked, amid all 
 the disasters of the early part of the season or those 
 that followed. In their own section of country, 
 however, the flight of Sir John Johnson and his re 
 tainers was the only important incident occurring 
 during that memorable year. Still there was no 
 relaxation of vigilance, or of preparation for the 
 worst, should the storm of war, so long muttering 
 in the distance, actually break upon those settlements. 
 The frontiers were at all times liable to the sudden 
 irruptions of savages, and it was necessary to keep 
 scouting parties continually upon the alert. Cherry 
 Valley being the principal settlement south of the 
 Mohawk, and lying directly in the line of communi 
 cation between the Mohawk castles and the Indian 
 post at Oghkwaga,* was particularly exposed. Early 
 in the present summer, therefore, a company of 
 rangers was organized under the command of Cap 
 tain Robert M Kean. The public service requiring 
 
 * As with most other Indian names, there is difficulty respecting- the 
 correct orthography of this place. It is spelled Oquaga, Oghquaga, and 
 sometimes Oneaquaga. Brant and John Norton, however, were wont to 
 spell it Oghkwaga. I have adopted the latter method, as supported *>y 
 the best authorities. A uthor. 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 147 
 
 the captain and his little corps elsewhere, the in 
 habitants strongly remonstrated with the Committee 
 of Safety against the removal of that corps, but 
 without effect. They next addressed themselves to 
 the Provincial Congress of New- York, and, by a for 
 cible and eloquent appeal, obtained another compa 
 ny of rangers to be stationed among them, under 
 the command of Captain Winn.* These papers 
 were written with ability, and with the energy of 
 men in earnest. They had even then received, 
 through their missionaries, intimations that Sir John 
 Johnson and Colonel John Butler were instigating 
 the Indians to make a descent upon them ; and al 
 ready were the scattered settlers in other and new 
 er locations coming in to Cherry Valley for protec 
 tion. Apprehending, also, sudden irruptions of 
 scalping parties, the aged, and such as from other 
 causes were exempt from military service, now or 
 ganized themselves into a company for the protec 
 tion of the settlement. 
 
 In the course of the season, General Schuyler 
 was directed by Congress to cause Fort Stanwix to 
 be strengthened, and other fortifications to be erect 
 ed, at proper places, along the Mohawk River. Col 
 onels Van Schaick and Dayton had previously been 
 stationed in Tryon county with detachments of reg 
 ular troops the former at Johnstown, and the latter 
 at German Flatts. Upon Colonel Dayton was im 
 posed the duty of carrying forward the works at 
 Fort Stanwix, for which purpose the Tryon county 
 militia were ordered to his assistance. The site of 
 that military defence had early been improved, as 
 one of the most important inland posts of the col 
 onies. It was originally built early in 1758, during 
 the French war of 1755-61, by General Stanwix, for 
 
 * The names of the Cherry Valley Committee who took the lead in 
 these matters were, John Moore, Samuel Clyde, Samuel Campbell, 
 Samuel Dunlop, James Scott, Robert Wells, James Richey, and Jarae* 
 Moore 
 
148 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 the purpose of commanding the carrying-place be 
 tween the Mohawk River and Wood Creek, leading 
 into the Oneida Lake, and thence into Lake Ontario, 
 by the Oswego River. There were several other 
 fortifications at different points of the narrow strip 
 of land between the two streams already mention 
 ed, such as Fort Bull and Fort Newport; the former 
 commanding the creek, about three miles distant. 
 These were strong redoubts ; but. Fort Stanwix was 
 comparatively a formidable work, having its bomb- 
 proofs, its sally-port, and a covered way to the 
 spring brook. Altogether these works formed an 
 ample defence of the key from Upper Canada to the 
 Mohawk Valley, and were likewise of signal ser 
 vice for the protection they afforded to the Indian 
 trade. But, although the principal fortress had been 
 erected at the great expense enormous in those 
 times of 266,400 dollars, the commencement of the 
 war of the Revolution found the whole in ruins. 
 Colonel Dayton appears to have made but little 
 progress in rebuilding the fort, since it will be 
 found that other officers had the works in charge 
 early in the following year, and they were far from 
 complete when subsequently invested by the motley 
 forces of General St. Leger. Colonel Dayton, how 
 ever, thought proper to change its name in honour 
 of the general commanding the Northern depart 
 ment, and it was subsequently known as Fort 
 Schuyler during the residue of the war.* 
 
 A rapid glance at the other warlike events of the 
 season will close the history of the year. Anticipa 
 ting, on the evacuation of Boston by General Howe, 
 that his next point of attack would be New- York, 
 General Lee was detached by the commander-in- 
 
 * There was another Fort Schuyler built on the present site of Utica 
 during the old French war, and named thus in honour of Colonel Schuy 
 ler, an uncle of General Philip Schuyler of the Revolution. The two 
 are often confounded in history, and the change in the name of Fort 
 Stanwix was alike unnecessary and unwise. 
 
AMEHICAN REVOLUTION. 149 
 
 chief with a portion of the army to put Long Island 
 and the harbour of New- York in a posture of de 
 fence. Washington followed soon afterward him 
 self, and established his headquarters in the city. 
 Having been joined by his brother, Lord Howe, as 
 commander of the fleet at Halifax, General, after 
 ward Sir William Howe, with his re-enforcements, 
 arrived off Sandy Hook, the latter on the 25th of 
 June, and the former on the 12th of July. General 
 Clinton arriving at about the same time from the un 
 successful enterprise against Charleston, with Ad 
 miral Hotham, the combined forces of the enemy 
 now amounted to about 24,000 men, including the 
 Hessians. 
 
 Lord and Sir William Howe were clothed with 
 powers, as commissioners, to treat with the colo 
 nies for a reconciliation. Their pacific errand was 
 proclaimed before hostilities were recommenced, 
 and promises of pardon were proffered to all who 
 would avail themselves of the royal clemency, and 
 return to their allegiance and duty. Their proposals, 
 however, were considered too exceptionable, both 
 in matter and form, to receive the least attention. 
 
 On the 22d of August the British army was land 
 ed upon Long Island, at Gravesend. The American 
 army, at this time consisting of 15,000 men, under 
 General Sullivan, was encamped in the neighbour 
 hood of Brooklyn. The battle of Long Island, 
 which was severely, though ineffectually, contested 
 by the American forces under Sullivan and Lord 
 Stirling, was fought on the 27th of August. In this 
 action, the loss of the enemy was differently re 
 ported at from 300 to 450. The loss of the Ameri 
 cans was far more considerable. General Wash 
 ington admitted it to be 1000, but is believed only to 
 have referred to the loss of the regular troops. 
 General Howe claimed 1097 prisoners, among whom 
 were Generals Sullivan, Stirling, and Woodhull. 
 On the 30th, the Americans effected a masterly re- 
 
150 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 treat across the East River to New- York.* The en* 
 emy made immediate dispositions for attacking 
 New- York ; and so prompt and skilful were his 
 movements, that, in a council of general officers, an 
 evacuation forthwith was deemed the only means 
 of saving the army. The British fleet was divided 
 into two squadrons, one of which entered the East 
 and the other the North River. Under cover of the 
 former, Sir Henry Clinton crossed from Long Isl 
 and, and landed at Kipp s Bay, with such celerity 
 that the Americans fled in disorder. Indeed, the 
 evacuation resembled rather a flight than a retreat ; 
 all the heavy artillery, military stores, baggage, and 
 provisions, falling into the hands of the enemy. A 
 large portion of the American forces at that time 
 consisted of militia, the conduct of which was scan 
 dalous beyond endurance. They deserted, not only 
 in small numbers, but in companies and squadrons, 
 whenever they could ; and their conduct in the face 
 of the enemy, or, rather, when running from the faces 
 of the enemy, was most cowardly. So disorderly 
 was their demeanour, and so like poltroons did they 
 behave when flying from Sir Henry Clinton, that 
 even Washington himself lost his patience, and was 
 excited to a degree of hot exasperation. In wri 
 ting from Harlaem Heights to a friend. General 
 Greene said that two brigades of militia ran away 
 from about fifty men, leaving the commander-in- 
 chief on the ground within eighty yards of the ene 
 my, so vexed with the conduct of his troops that he 
 sought death rather than life. His attempts to stop 
 them were fruitless. He drew his sword, and threat- 
 
 * During the operations upon Long Island and New- York, Captain 
 Brant contrived to pass from Canada, and join the king s forces. He was 
 with Governor Tryon at Flatbush. The late Mr. John Watts, a brother- 
 in-law of Sir John Johnson, used to speak of taking a walk with Govern 
 or Tryon, Colonel Asgill, and Brant, through an orchard in that vil 
 lage. " During their stroll, Brant plucked a crude crab-apple from a tree, 
 which, on tasting it, he threw away, screwing his face, and exclaim 
 ing, " It is as bitter as a Presbyterian ." 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 151 
 
 ened to run them through, and cocked and snapped 
 his pistols. But all his exertions were to no pur 
 pose. In a letter upon the subject of this infamous 
 conduct of the militia to the President of Congress, 
 the commander-in-chief declared that, were he call 
 ed to give his opinion upon oath, he should say that 
 the militia did more injury to the service than good. 
 General Greene had strongly urged the destruc 
 tion of the city by fire a measure afterward so ef 
 fectively adopted by Count Rostopchin, governor of 
 the ancient capital of Muscovy, to arrest the career 
 )f Napoleon that the enemy might be deprived of 
 he advantage of establishing their winter-quarters 
 therein. His reasons for this measure were sound, 
 and it ought, doubtless, to have been adopted. 
 Washington was believed to be of the same opin 
 ion, especially as two thirds of the property which 
 it was proposed to destroy belonged to undisguised 
 Loyalists. But Congress would not allow the sacri 
 fice ; and on the 15th of September the city was in 
 full possession of the enemy, General Washington 
 having retired with the army to King s Bridge. A 
 succession of movements, manoeuvres, and engage 
 ments followed in Westchester, terminating, for the 
 moment, in the drawn battle of White Plains on the 
 18th of October.* Washington then divided his ar 
 my, and crossed into New-Jersey with a portion, 
 leaving 7500 troops at North Castle, under General 
 Lee. The next disaster to the American arms was 
 the fall of Fort Washington, on the 16th of Novem 
 ber, after a brave defence by Colonel Magaw, not 
 withstanding the refusal of a portion of his troops to 
 man the lines. That fortress was attacked with 
 great gallantry at four points, led by General Knyp- 
 hausen, Matthews, Cornwallis, and Lord Percy. 
 The regiment of Colonel Rawlings, on that occa 
 sion, behaved with great spirit ; nor would Colonel 
 
 * The Stockbridg-e Indians were engaged with the Americans in this 
 battle. They fought bravely, and suffered severely. 
 
152 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 Magaw have given up the post but for the conduct 
 of the disaffected. After the fall of Fort Washing 
 ton, Lord Cornwallis crossed into New-Jersey with 
 6000 men for the purpose of attacking Fort Lee, of 
 which General Lee was then in command. But the 
 means of this skilful officer were not adequate to the 
 defence of the post against a force of such unequal 
 strength ; the people of New-Jersey were at that 
 time intent rather to make terms with the enemy 
 than to afford efficient assistance,* and the garrison 
 was saved by an evacuation. General Washington 
 had taken post at Newark; but the fall of Forts 
 Washington and Lee, together with the diminution 
 of his own strength by the expiration of the term of 
 service of his men, obliged him to retreat rapidly 
 across New-Jersey to the other side of the Dela 
 ware, followed so closely by Lord Cornwallis, that 
 the van of the pursuers was often engaged with the 
 rear of the pursued. 
 
 In addition to this succession of disasters, Sir 
 Guy Carleton had appeared upon Lake Champlain 
 with a flotilla superior to that of the Americans un 
 der General Arnold, and which seemed to have been 
 called into existence as if by enchantment. Two 
 naval engagements followed, on the llth and 13th 
 of October, contested with undaunted bravery, but 
 resulting in the defeat of Arnold, the annihilation 
 of his flotilla, and the possession of the lake and 
 Crown Point by the foe. Early in December Rhode 
 Island also fell into his hands. The forces of the 
 commander-in-chief, at the same time, numbered 
 only from two to three thousand men, and scarcely H 
 
 * " The conduct of the Jerseys has been most infamous. Instead of 
 turning out to defend their country, and affording aid to our army, they 
 are making submissions as fast as they can. If the Jerseys had given 
 us any support, we might have made a stand at Hackensack, and after 
 that at Brunswick ; but the few militia that were in arms disbanded 
 themselves, and left the poor remains of an army to make the best we 
 could of it." Letter of Washington to his brother, John Avgustint 
 Washington, Nov. 18, 1776. 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 153 
 
 new recruit supplied the place of those whose terms 
 of service were expiring. And even those recruits 
 that were furnished were so badly supplied with offi 
 cers as almost to extinguish the hope of forming an 
 army from which any efficient services were to bo 
 expected. 
 
 Worse than all, a spirit of disaffection was rife in 
 the States of New-York and New-Jersey, which not 
 only thwarted the purposes of the commander-in- 
 chief, but threatened the most lamentable conse 
 quences to the cause. Although there were many 
 stanch Whigs in Albany and its vicinity, there were 
 many vigilant Loyalists in that region, who continu 
 ed to keep in correspondence with the enemy during 
 nearly the whole contest. In the summer of this 
 year. General Schuyler had detected a dangerous 
 plot in the neighbourhood of Albany, and apprehend 
 ed some of the ringleaders. During the operations 
 of the army in tlje autumn, in New- York and its 
 neighbourhood, it was only with the utmost difficulty 
 that large portions of the fluctuating army could be 
 kept in the line of duty, while other large portions 
 either went off in masses, or proved unfaithful while 
 they remained. The conduct of the militia at Fort 
 Washington has been noted. General Greene worte, 
 on the 5th of November, that the New- York militia, 
 under Colonel Hawkes Hay, actually refused to do 
 duty. They said General Howe had promised them 
 peace, liberty, and safety ; and that was all they 
 wanted. 
 
 These are but few of the discouragements under 
 which the commander-in-chief was labouring. To 
 borrow his own expressive language in the private 
 letter to his brother cited in a preceding note, " You 
 can form no idea of the perplexity of my situation. 
 No man, I believe, ever had a greater choice of dif 
 ficulties, and less means to extricate himself from 
 them." Nevertheless, the last sun of that year did 
 not sink behind so deep a cloud of gloom as had 
 
154 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 been anticipated. In the North, General Carleton, 
 who had occupied Crown Point after the defeat of 
 Arnold s flotilla, had returned to Canada without at 
 tempting anything farther ; and before the close of 
 the year, the commander-in-chief had the satisfac 
 tion to announce that, instead of imitating the bad 
 example of others, the Continental regiments from 
 the Eastern States had agreed to remain six weeks 
 beyond the term of their enlistment. In addition to 
 which, were the bold return of Washington upon 
 Trenton, and his brilliant victory over the Hessian 
 forces at that place on the morning of the 26th of 
 December. " This well-judged and successful en 
 terprise revived the depressed spirits of the colo 
 nists, and produced an immediate and happy effect in 
 recruiting the American army." 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 HAVING secured his prisoners on the Pennsylvania 
 side of the Delaware, General Washington estab 
 lished himself at Trenton. But he was not long 
 permitted its undisturbed possession. Collecting 
 his forces, Cornwallis advanced rapidly on the capi 
 tal of New-Jersey, where he arrived on the 2d of 
 January. Some skirmishing ensued towards even 
 ing, but both armies encamped for the night without 
 coming to a general engagement being separated 
 only by Assumpinck Creek and apparently both 
 expecting a battle in the morning. The force of the 
 enemy, however, was too great to render it safe 
 for the American commander-in-chief to hazard an 
 action. By an adroit and masterly movement, 
 therefore, leaving his fires burning, General Wash 
 ington succeeded in getting away unperceived, and 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 155 
 
 throwing himself into the enemy s rear. The battle 
 and victory of Princeton followed, and the Amer 
 ican army moved to Morristown, while Cornwal- 
 lis hastened back to New-Brunswick, and thence 
 to New- York, the different detachments of British 
 troops, which had been scattered through New- Jer 
 sey, being at all points discomfited. 
 
 Returning from this digression to the Indian rela 
 tions of New- York, there is one event to be noted, 
 the character of which cannot be explained. Among 
 the manuscripts preserved in the family of the hero 
 of Oriskany,* is a speech from the Oneida chiefs to 
 Colonel Elmore, the officer who, at the commence 
 ment of the present year, was in the command of 
 Fort Schuyler, announcing the final extinguishment 
 of the great council fire of the Six Nations at Onon- 
 daga. As the central nation of the confederacy, 
 their general councils, time immemorial, had been 
 holden at the Onondaga Castle, at which, in their 
 own figurative language, their council fire was ever 
 kept burning. These councils assembled annually 
 to discuss the exterior relations, and all matters of 
 national concernment. They were composed of 
 chiefs delegated from each member of the federa 
 tive republic, and sometimes numbered as many as 
 eighty sachems in the assembly. By what means 
 the event had been accomplished whether the ca 
 lamity was the result of pestilence or war the 
 speech of the Oneidas does not inform us ; although 
 it announces the fall of a large number of the Onon 
 daga warriors, in connexion with the catastrophe. 
 Still, the transaction is veiled in darkness so thick 
 as to baffle investigation. The following is the 
 speech : 
 
 SPEECH OF THE ONEIDA CHIEFS TO COL. ELMORE. 
 
 " Fort Schuyler, Jan 
 
 R We are sent here by tl 
 
 * Colonel, afterward General Herkimer. 
 
 " Fort Schuyler, Jan. 19th, 1777. 
 
 " BROTHER We are sent here by the Oneida 
 
156 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 chiefs, in conjunction with the Onondagas. They 
 arrived at our village yesterday. They gave us the 
 melancholy news that the grand council fire at 
 Onondaga was extinguished. We have lost out ol 
 their town by death ninety, among whom are three 
 principal sachems. We, the remaining part of the 
 Onondagas, do now inform our brethren that there 
 is no longer a council fire at the capital of the Six 
 Nations. However, we are determined to use our 
 feeble endeavours to support peace through the con 
 federate nations. But let this be kept in mind, that 
 the council fire is extinguished. It is of impor 
 tance to our well-being that this be immediately 
 communicated to General Schuyler, and likewise to 
 our brothers the Mohawks. In order to effect this, 
 we deposite this belt with Tekeyanedonhotte, Colo 
 nel Elmore, commander at Fort Schuyler, who is 
 sent here by General Schuyler to transact all mat 
 ters relative to peace. We therefore request him 
 to forward this intelligence, in the first place, to Gen 
 eral Herkimer, desiring him to communicate it to 
 the Mohawk Castle near to him, and then to Major 
 Fonda, requesting him to immediately communicate 
 it to the Lower Castle of Mohawks. Let the belt 
 then be forwarded to General Schuyler, that he 
 may know that our council fire is extinguished, and 
 can no longer burn." 
 
 This singular document is worthy of preservation, 
 not only as the authentic, but as the only account 
 of the occurrence recorded. It contains a mystery, 
 however, which cannot now be solved. Still, as no 
 belligerant events are known to have been enacted 
 in the Onondaga country during that winter, the 
 most plausible conjecture would attribute the mor 
 tality indicated in the speech to some pestilential 
 disorder, which might have swept over them, as 
 with the Schoharie canton eighteen months before. 
 
 In the county of Tryon, which now demands our 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 157 
 
 chief attention, great uneasiness was again awaken 
 ed among the inhabitants towards the close of the 
 winter, especially in the remoter settlements south 
 of the Mohawk, by the reported gathering of the 
 Indians at Oghkwaga. The fact that their numbers 
 were increasing at that point having been satisfacto 
 rily ascertained, Colonel John Harper, of Harpers- 
 field, was despatched thither by the Provincial Con 
 gress of New- York to ascertain their intentions. 
 Taking every necessary measure of precaution to 
 guard against surprise, and to be ready for any emer 
 gency, by having the officers of his militia regiment 
 on the alert, Colonel Harper departed upon his mis 
 sion, accompanied only by a single white man and 
 one Indian. He arrived on the 27th of February, 
 and was well received by the Indians, who manifest 
 ed a perfectly friendly disposition towards himself, 
 and also towards the settlements. So far from ex 
 hibiting any belligerant intentions, they expressed 
 their sorrow for the troubles of the country, and de 
 clared their determination to take no part in the 
 controversy. Satisfied as to the sincerity of their 
 professions, although subsequent events proved that 
 they must have been dissembling, Colonel Harper 
 supplied the means of a festival, and presented them 
 with an ox, which was roasted for the occasion. 
 
 Colonel John Harper was one of four brothers, 
 William, John, Alexander, and Joseph Harper, who, 
 with eighteen others, planted themselves upon a 
 tract of country, in 1768, which was subsequently 
 named Harpersfield. After his return from this 
 mission, he was for a time in command of one of 
 ;he little forts in Schoharie. On one occasion, in 
 March or April of this year, he took a circuit alone 
 f rom Schoharie through the woods to Harpersfield, 
 and thence, when returning, struck farther to the 
 westward, towards the head waters of the Susque- 
 hanna. While ascending a hill, he suddenly saw a 
 company of Indians approaching. As they 1 .ad die- 
 
158 BORDER WARS OP THE 
 
 covered him, any attempt to fly would have been in 
 vain. They would have shot him down. Having 
 a greatcoat over his military dress, he fnade no at 
 tempt to avoid a meeting, and, in passing, the colo 
 nel and the Indians exchanged salutations. In one 
 of the Indians he recognised Peter, a Mohawk whom 
 he had formerly seen at Oghkwaga. They did not 
 recognise him, however, but from his manner of 
 speech supposed him to be a Loyalist, and, under 
 that impression, communicated to him the fact that 
 their destination was to cut off " the Johnstone set 
 tlement," a small Scotch colony on the eastern 
 shore of the Susquehanna, near Unadilla, or Anaqua- 
 qua, as that place was sometimes called. Having 
 obtained this information, he changed his course, 
 and, hurrying back to Harpersfield, collected fifteen 
 resolute men, with whom he gave chase to the ma 
 rauders. In addition to their arms, the colonel 
 caused each man of his little band to provide him 
 self with two days provisions and a rope. In the 
 course of the following night, in descending the val 
 ley of the Charlotte River, they descried the fire 
 where the Indians were encamped. Halting for a 
 while to refresh and prepare for the contest, the 
 colonel and his men now stole upon the foe with 
 the utmost caution. It was almost daylight, and 
 the Indians were in a profound slumber, their arms 
 being stacked in the middle of their little encamp 
 ment. These were carefully removed by Harper 
 and his party, as a measure of precaution. The 
 moment for action having arrived, the cords were 
 made ready, and every Indian, ere he was well 
 awake, found himself bound and in the grasp of a 
 foe. When it became light in the morning, Peter 
 discovered his captor. t; Ugh !" he exclaimed : 
 " Colonel Harper ! why did 1 not know you yes 
 terday V The gallant colonel proceeded to Albany 
 with his prisoners, and surrendered them to the 
 commanding officer of the station. It was a bold 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 159 
 
 and well-executed achievement, and all the better 
 that it was bloodless. 
 
 Although, as we have seen, Colonel Harper had 
 parted from the Indians at Oghkwaga upon the most 
 amicable terms, yet indications of a different temper 
 were soon afterward manifested by this fickle peo 
 ple, of which the movement of Peter, so opportunely 
 discovered and intercepted, was the first outbreak. 
 Thayendanegea, likewise, appeared among them in 
 the course of the spring, having separated from Guy 
 Johnson, between whom and himself some difficulty 
 had occurred. Intelligence of the chieftain s depar 
 ture from Canada, and march across the country to 
 Oghkwaga with a large body of warriors, was re 
 ceived by the Tryon County Committee early in 
 May from Fort Schuyler, and communicated to the 
 Provincial Congress by its chairman, Isaac Paris. 
 Not a little additional uneasiness was also occasion 
 ed, at the same time, by the spirit discernible among 
 the Tories. Many of those Loyalists who had ta 
 ken their departure the preceding year with Sir 
 John Johnson had, nevertheless, left their wives and 
 children in the remote settlements, with whom they 
 were evidently in communication; while scouting 
 parties, both of Tories and Indians, were hovering 
 on the northern outskirts of the county. 
 
 The presence of the crafty chieftain at Oghkwaga 
 did not improve the pacific disposition of the natives, 
 as will appear in the sequel, although Brant himself 
 had not, thus far, committed any act of hostility with 
 in the province of New-York. The fact of his hav 
 ing borne a part in the battle of the Cedars seems, 
 moreover, not to have been known in the Mohawk 
 Valley, since they were yet uncertain whether it 
 was his intention to raise the hatchet in the contest 
 or not. 
 
 But these uncertainties were not of long duration. 
 In the month of June, 1777, the chief of the Mohawks 
 ascended the Susquehanna from Oghkwaga to Una- 
 
160 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 dilla, attended by seventy or eighty of his warriors, 
 and requested an interview with the Rev. Mr. John- 
 stone and the officers of the militia of the neigh 
 bourhood. He stated that the object of his visit 
 was to procure provisions, of which his people were 
 greatly in want. And such were their necessities, 
 that, if peaceable means would not answer, the In 
 dians must obtain them by force. 
 
 Advantage was taken of the interview to sound 
 the chief as to his future intentions whether he 
 was for peace or for war ; and his answers were far 
 less difficult of solution than the riddle of the 
 Sphinx. He complained of the ill-treatment which, 
 as he alleged, some of the Mohawks, who had re 
 mained behind on the flight of the majority of the 
 nation, had received at the hands of the Whigs. 
 The Mohawks, he said, were as free as the air they 
 breathed, and were determined to remain so : and 
 they could not brook it that any of their brethren 
 should be seized and imprisoned, as had been the 
 case at the Castle.* These, he demanded, should 
 be set at liberty, and suffered to remove from the 
 country. In regard to the question of peace or war, 
 he said the Mohawks were always warriors ; that 
 their agreement with the king was very strong, and 
 they were not such villains as to break their cove 
 nant. 
 
 The visit continued two days, during which time 
 the Indians were well supplied with provisions, and 
 on their departure permitted to take away some live 
 cattle and sheep. The inhabitants, however, scat 
 tered and few, and quite remote from any consider 
 able settlement, no longer feeling themselves safe 
 in their houses, sought protection in places of great 
 er security principally in Cherry Valley, the place 
 of their first location, whence they had removed, a 
 few years before, into the vale of the Susquehanna. 
 
 * Probably on suspicion of maintaining correspondence with the en 
 emy. 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 161 
 
 Some of the scattered settlers in the Unadilla region 
 fled to the German Flatts, and others, probably, to 
 the older towns upon the Hudson. 
 
 The Indian forces of Captain Brant continuing to 
 increase at Oghkwaga, and the anxiety of the people 
 becoming greater with every report from that quar 
 ter, General Herkimer determined to repair thither 
 and obtain an interview. For this purpose the gen 
 eral despatched a messenger to that place, and in 
 vited the chief to meet him at Unadilla ; moving for 
 ward himself, at the same time, at the head of about 
 three hundred of the local militia, from the regi 
 ments of Colonels Cox, Klock, and Isenlord, well 
 armed and provided. The precise object of the gen 
 eral in seeking this interview with Brant remains 
 to this day more a matter of conjecture than of cer 
 tainty. The few scattered fragments of Herkimer s 
 correspondence which have fallen into the hands of 
 the writer show that it was no sudden movement ; 
 but, on the contrary, that General Schuyler, Colonel 
 Van Schaick, Colonel Harper, and others, were con 
 sulted upon the subject. On the application of Her 
 kimer, Colonel Van Schaick was detached to his as 
 sistance, on the 15th of June, with one hundred and 
 fifty men, with which force he repaired to Cherry 
 Valley, but could proceed no farther, for want of 
 provisions. General Schuyler was also to repair 
 thither in person, in the event of his presence being 
 deemed necessary. Ostensibly, the expedition was 
 one of peace ; but the extent of the preparations, 
 and the physical strength of the expedition, impart 
 ed an equivocal character to the movement ; not 
 more so, however, than was the conduct of Brant 
 luring the whole spring, since his proceedings were 
 such as to keep the minds of the people in a state of 
 everish excitement and uncertainty. Thus, on the 
 10th of June, Colonel Harper wrote urgently to 
 General Herkimer for a supply of ammunition, in 
 he expectation of an immediate hostile irruption o f 
 
 VOL. I. N 
 
162 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 Brant into the valley of the Schoharie Kill. On the 
 13th, the Cherry Valley Committee wrote to the 
 general a still more alarming letter. Brant, accord* 
 ing to this statement, in connexion with some of 
 the Loyalists of Unadilla, had marked a path direct 
 ly through the forest to ./Esopus, by which route the 
 Tories of Ulster and Orange counties were to join 
 his forces at Oghkwaga ; at which place the chief 
 had vaunted that shortly he would not fear the ap 
 proach of three thousand men. On the other hand, 
 Major Fonda wrote, on the 19th of June, that an em 
 bassy of chiefs and sachems of the Cayuga and Sen 
 eca nations, having repaired to Oghkwaga to re 
 monstrate with Thayendanegea against farther hos 
 tilities, the latter had determined to listen to their 
 councils, and withdraw into the Cayuga country. In 
 pursuance of this policy, it was added, on what was 
 esteemed good authority, that the Mohawk chief 
 had released a prisoner with his own hands, telling 
 the captors that they had acted wrong. 
 
 Such was the uncertain condition of things when 
 the expedition under consideration was commenced. 
 Brant and Herkimer had been near neighbours and 
 personal friends before the troubles came on, and it 
 is possible the general still cherished a belief that 
 he might yet detach the dusky warrior from the 
 cause he had embraced, but. nevertheless, might not 
 be disinclined to relinquish. Perhaps he designed 
 nothing more than to drive him from his equivocal 
 position. Perhaps, also, should opportunity be pre 
 sented, it was his intention to seize his person. 
 But be these suppositions as they may, it will be 
 seen that there was at least one moment in which 
 he contemplated a more decisive course. 
 
 It was a full week after the arrival of General 
 Herkimer at Unadilla before Captain Brant made 
 his appearance. He came to the neighbourhood of 
 the general s encampment, accompanied by five 
 hundred warriors. Having halted, he despatched a 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 163 
 
 runner to General Heikirner with a message, desi 
 ring to be informed of the object of his visit. Gen 
 eral Herkimer replied iaat he had merely come to 
 see and converse witi. ins brother. Captain Brant. 
 The quick-witted messenger inquired if all those 
 men wished to talk to his chief too. However, he 
 said to the general that lit would carry his talk back 
 to his chief; but he charged him that he must not 
 cross the field upon the margin of which they were 
 standing, and departed. But an arrangement was 
 soon made, through the agency of messengers, by 
 which a meeting was effected. The scene exhibit 
 ed at this interview, as related by those who were 
 present at it, was novel and imposing. The hostile 
 parties were now encamped within the distance of 
 two miles from each other. About midway between 
 their encampments a temporary shed was erected, 
 sufficiently extensive to allow some two hundred 
 persons to be seated. By mutual stipulation, their 
 arms were to be left in their respective encamp 
 ments. Soon after the adjustment of the prelimina 
 ries and the completion of the fixtures above men 
 tioned, the chief of the Mohawks appeared in the 
 edge of the distant forest and approached the place 
 designated, already in the occupation of Herkimer, 
 somewhat warily, accompanied by Captain Bull (a 
 Tory), William Johnson (son of Sir William, by 
 Brant s sister Mary), a subordinate chief of the Mo 
 hawks, an Indian woman, and about forty warriors. 
 After some little parleying, a circle was formed by 
 General Herkimer, into which Brant and the gener 
 al entered, together with the other Indian chief and 
 two of Herkimer s officers. After the interchange 
 of a few remarks, the chieftain, keeping an eagle 
 eye upon his visiter, inquired the reason of his be 
 ing thus honoured. General Herkimer replied as 
 he had done to the avant-courier, that he had come 
 to see him on a friendly visit. " And all these have 
 come on a friendly visit tool" replied the chief. 
 
164 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 " All want to see the poor Indians ; it is very kind," 
 he added, with a sarcastic curl of the lip. General 
 Herkimer expressed a desire to go forward to the 
 village, but the chief told him he was quite neir 
 enough, and that he must not proceed any farther. 
 
 The general next endeavoured to enter into a con 
 versation with the Mohawk touching the difficulties 
 with England, in order to ascertain his feelings and 
 intentions. The conference now became earnest 
 and animated, although the chief at first gave Her 
 kimer evasive answers. To a question, however, 
 put to him directly, he finally replied, " That the In 
 dians were in concert with the king, as their fa 
 thers had been ; that the king s belts were yet lodg 
 ed with them, and they could not violate their 
 pledge ; that General Herkimer and his followers 
 had joined the Boston people against their sovereign ; 
 that, although the Boston people were resolute, the 
 king would humble them ; that General Schuyler 
 was very smart on the Indians at the treaty of Ger 
 man Flatts, but, at the same time, was not able to af 
 ford the smallest article of clothing ; and, finally, 
 that the Indians had formerly made war on the 
 white people when they were all united; and, as 
 they were now divided, the Indians were not fright 
 ened." 
 
 Colonel Cox, who was in the suite of General 
 Herkimer, then made a few remarks, the substance 
 of which was, that if such was the fixed determina 
 tion of the Indians, nothing farther need be said. 
 But his manner, or some of the expressions uttered 
 by the colonel, which have not been preserved, gave 
 offence to the chief. He was exceedingly irritated ; 
 and, by a signal to the warriors attending him at a 
 short distance, they ran back to their encampment, 
 and soon afterward appeared again with their rifles, 
 several of which were discharged, while the shrill 
 war-whoop rang through the forest. Meantime, 
 however, by explanations or otherwise, the chief 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 165 
 
 was soothed and his warriors were kept at a proper 
 distance, although the demand of General Herkimer 
 for the surrender of sundry Tories was peremptorily 
 refused. The conference ended by an agreement 
 between the parties to meet again at 9 o clock the 
 following morning. General Herkimer and his 
 forces, forbidden to advance any farther, encamped 
 as before. 
 
 The next morning General Herkimer called one 
 of his most trusty men aside, Joseph Waggoner by 
 name, for the purpose of communicating to him a 
 matter of great importance, respecting which the 
 most profound secrecy was enjoined. He then in 
 formed Waggoner that he had selected him and 
 three others to perform a high and important duty, 
 requiring promptness, courage, and decision. His 
 design, the general said, was to take the lives of 
 Brant and his three attendants on the renewal of 
 their visit that morning. For this purpose, he should 
 rely upon Waggoner and his three associates, on 
 the arrival of the chief and his friends within the 
 circle as on the preceding day, each to select his 
 man, and, at a concerted signal, shoot them down 
 upon the spot. There is something so revolting 
 so rank and foul in this project of meditated treach 
 ery, that it is difficult to reconcile it with the known 
 character of General Herkimer. And yet it is giv 
 en on the written authority of Waggoner himself, 
 Avhose character was equally respectable. The pa 
 triotic veteran, in devising such a scheme, had 
 probably reasoned himself into the belief that the- 
 intended victims were only Indians, and thai in the 
 emergency of the country it would be justifiable to 
 do evil that good might come. It was, however, a 
 most reprehensible scheme. Indian that he was, 
 there is no known act of perfidy chargeable upon 
 rant ; and he had met Herkimer on his own invi 
 tation. A betrayal of his confidence, under those 
 circumstances, \vould have brought a stain upon the 
 
166 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 character of the Provincials, which all the waters 
 of the Mohawk could not have washed away. 
 
 Fortunately, however, the design was not carried 
 into execution. Whether the wary chieftain enter 
 tained any suspicions of foul play, is not known. 
 But certain it is, that his precaution and his bearing, 
 when he arrived at Herkimer s quarters, were such 
 as to frustrate the purpose. As he entered the 
 circle, attended as before, he drew himself up with 
 dignity, and addressed General Herkimer as fol 
 lows : k I have five hundred warriors with me, 
 armed and ready for battle. You are in my power ; 
 but as we have been friends and neighbours, I will 
 not take the advantage of you." At a signal, a host 
 of his armed warriors darted forth from the con 
 tiguous forest, all painted and ready for the on 
 slaught, as the well-known war-whoop but too 
 clearly proclaimed. The chief continued the dis 
 course by advising the general to go back to his 
 own home ; thanked him for his civility in coming 
 thus far to see him, and told him that perhaps he 
 might one day return the compliment. Meantime, 
 he said he would go back to his village, and for the 
 present, the general might rest assured that no hos 
 tilities should be committed by the Indians. He 
 then requested that the Rev. Mr. Stuart, the English 
 missionary at Fort Hunter, might be permitted to 
 retire into Canada, as also the wife of Colonel But 
 ler. To these requests General Herkimer assented, 
 although the latter was not complied with. He 
 then presented the Indians with ten or a dozen 
 heads of cattle, which they fell upon and slaughter 
 ed incontinently. Brant himself turned proudly 
 away, and buried himself in the forest ; while Gen 
 eral Herkimer struck his tents, and retraced his 
 steps to the valley of the Mohawk. 
 
 This was the last conference held with the hos 
 tile Mohawks. Their chief very soon afterward 
 drew off his warriors from the Susquehanna, and 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 167 
 
 united them to the forces of Sir John Johnson and 
 Colonel John Butler, who were concentrating the 
 Tories and refugees at Oswego. It was at about 
 the same period that the officers of the British In 
 dian department had summoned a general council 
 of the Six Nations, to be held at that place ; and it 
 is probable that Brant arrived at the post with his 
 warriors for that occasion. According to Ramsay, 
 the invitations to this council were sent forth by 
 Guy Johnson, the Indians being requested to as 
 semble " to eat the flesh and drink the blood of a 
 Bostonian." This language was understood figura 
 tively, however the roasting of an ox and a ban 
 quet being intended. 
 
 The discussions were protracted, nor were the 
 entreaties of the commissioners of any avail against 
 the resolution of the Indians to maintain their good 
 faith, until they addressed their avarice, " by telling 
 them that the people of the colonies were few in 
 number, and would be easily subdued ; and that, on 
 account of their disobedience to the king, they 
 justly merited all the punishment that it was pos 
 sible for white men and Indians to inflict upon them. 
 The king," they said, " was rich and powerful, both 
 in money and subjects. His rum was as plenty as 
 the water in Lake Ontario, and his men as numer 
 ous as the sands upon its shore ; and the Indians 
 were assured that, if they would assist in the war, 
 and persevere in their friendship for the king until 
 its close, they should never want for goods or mon 
 ey." Overcome by their persevering importuni 
 ties, and by more direct and palpable appeals to 
 their senses, in a rich display of tawdry articles 
 calculated to please their fancies, the Indians proved 
 recreant to their plighted faith to the colonies, and 
 concluded a treaty of alliance with .Great Britain, 
 binding themselves to take up the hatchet against 
 the rebels, and continue in his majesty s service un 
 til they were subdued. 
 
168 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 At the close of the treaty, each Indian was pre 
 sented with a suit of clothes, a brass kettle, a gun, 
 a tomahawk and scalping-knife, a quantity of am 
 munition, a piece of gold, and the promise of a 
 bounty upon every scalp they should bring in. 
 " Thus richly clad and equipped, the Indians return 
 ed to their respective homes, after an absence of 
 about two weeks, full of the fire of war, and anxious 
 to encounter their (new-made) enemies." 
 
 From that day Thayendanegea was the acknowl 
 edged chief of the Six Nations, and soon became 
 one of the master-spirits of the motley forces em 
 ployed by Great Britain in her attempts to recover 
 the Mohawk Valley, and to annoy the other settle 
 ments of what then constituted the Northwestern 
 frontier. Whether in the conduct of a campaign 
 or of a scouting-party, in the pitched battle or the 
 foray, this crafty and dauntless chieftain was sure 
 to be one of the most efficient as he was one of 
 the bravest of those who were engaged. Com 
 bining with the native hardihood and sagacity of his 
 race the advantages of education and of civilized 
 life in acquiring which, he had lost nothing of his 
 activity or his power of endurance he became the 
 most formidable border foe with whom the Provin 
 cials had to contend, and his name was a terror to 
 the land. His movements were at once so secret 
 and so rapid, that he seemed almost to be clothed 
 with the power of ubiquity. 
 
 The first of his hostile demonstrations within the 
 colony of New- York is believed to have been made 
 in the month of May preceding the interview with 
 General Herkimer ; although, from the semi-pacific 
 intercourse maintained with him for several weeks 
 longer, the fact was not then certainly known. The 
 settlement of Cherry Valley was commenced in 
 1739 ; and, in consequence of some threatened In 
 dian troubles, a detachment of troops had been 
 stationed there as early as 1763. But no military 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 169 
 
 works were erected, and the breaking out of the 
 war of the Revolution found the place defenceless. 
 While Brant was collecting his warriors at Ogh- 
 kwaga, however, the inhabitants bethought them 
 selves of the necessity of defences. But not hav 
 ing the means to undertake the erection of any 
 formidable work, the house of Colonel Samuel 
 Campbell was selected as the largest, strongest, and 
 most eligibly situated for military purposes. A 
 rude embankment of logs and earth was thrown up 
 around this building, so extended in its dimensions 
 as likewise to include two large barns. These 
 buildings were all strengthened, and provided with 
 doors and window-shutters bullet-proof. Small block 
 houses were also erected within the enclosure ; and 
 to this place, in moments of peril and alarm, the in 
 habitants fled for protection. Martial law was pro 
 claimed, and no persons were allowed either to 
 enter or leave the settlement without permission. 
 
 Towards the close of May, and soon after these 
 precautionary measures had been executed, Brant 
 conceived the idea of making a descent upon the 
 settlement, for the purpose of either killing or ma 
 king captive the principal inhabitants, especially the 
 vigilant members of the committee, it has been 
 stated in a former page that, among the precaution 
 ary measures adopted the preceding year, the ex 
 empts from military duty had organized themselves 
 into a volunteer company. The martial fever, of 
 course, descended from sire to son ; and as the popu 
 lation had been considerably augmented by the ar 
 rival of distant settlers for safety, a goodly number 
 of boys were collected, who formed a corps of ca 
 dets, with no better armour than wooden swords and 
 guns. These juvenile soldiers happened to be pa 
 rading upon the esplanade in front of Colonel Camp 
 bell s house at the very hour, one bright sunny 
 morning, when Brant and his party of warriors, who 
 had secretly arrived from Oghkwaga, were recon- 
 
 VOL. I. O 
 
170 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 noitring the post under shelter of a tangled thicket 
 skirting the brow of a hill about a mile distant. His 
 vision being somewhat obstructed by the intercept 
 ing shrubbery, the chief mistook the lads for bona 
 fide soldiers. Observing the semblance of a forti 
 fication before described, Captain Brant moved his 
 party to a convenient lurking-place near the road 
 leading to the Mohawk River, and there lay in am 
 bush for the purpose of obtaining such information 
 as might chance to come in his way. A short dis 
 tance from where the chief lay ensconced behind a 
 large rock, " the road wound along^ near the edge 
 of a cliff, overhanging a rocky glen of one hundred 
 and fifty feet deep. This chasm was shaded by 
 evergreens, and the whole scene was shadowy, and 
 almost dark, even at midday. The wildness of the 
 place was increased by the dashing of a mountain 
 torrent into the gloomy abyss, called by the Indians 
 the Falls of Tekaharawa." 
 
 It chanced that, on the morning of that day, Lieu 
 tenant Wormwood, a promising young officer from 
 Palatine, of an opulent family, had been despatched 
 to Cherry Valley, with information to the authori 
 ties that a detachment from Colonel Klock s regi 
 ment of militia was to march to their defence on 
 the following day. It was towards evening that 
 Lieutenant Wormwood started on his return to the 
 Mohawk, accompanied by the bearer of some de 
 spatches, named Peter Sitz. As he mounted his- horse 
 in the village, he threw down his portmanteau, re 
 marking that he need not to take it, as he should re 
 turn on the next morning with his company. 1I 
 was well mounted, and richly dressed ;> in a suit of 
 :ish-coloured velvet, which attracted much attention 
 ..luring his stay;" and many persons remained at 
 :,he door, looking at the noble bearing of the young 
 patriot, until he disappeared behind the crest of the 
 hill in the direction of the Tekaharav/a. Scarcely, 
 aowever, had the clattering of hoofs died away 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 171 
 
 upon their ears, before a discharge of musketry re 
 sounded from the glen, the startling report being 
 speedily followed by the soldier s horse returning 
 at full speed, the saddle crimsoned with blood. 
 Suspicions of the most painful description at once 
 flashed upon the minds of the people, and a party 
 was immediately despatched to investigate the cir 
 cumstances. They returned without success that 
 night, but on the following morning the body of 
 Wormwood was found behind the rock heretofore 
 described, scalped and lifeless. It afterward ap 
 peared that, as Wormwood and Sitz approached the 
 rock, they were hailed, but instead of answering, 
 they put spurs to their horses and endeavoured to 
 pass. Being fired upon, Lieutenant Wormwood 
 fell wounded, as did the horse of Sitz. The Indians 
 rushed forth from their ambuscade, and Sitz was 
 made prisoner, while the gallant officer was scalped 
 by Brant s own hand. The chief is said to have 
 lamented the death of this young man. They were 
 not only acquaintances, but friends ; and lie had 
 been fired upon under the supposition that he was 
 an officer of the Continental army. The despatches 
 carried by Sitz were double, and it was fortunate 
 that he had sufficient presence of mind to destroy 
 the genuine, and deliver the delusive papers to his 
 savage captors. Deceived thereby as to the real 
 strength at Cherry Valley, Brant retired without 
 committing any farther act of hostility. Colonel 
 Klock arrived at Cherry Valley on the following 
 morning, accompanied by the afflicted father of the 
 slaughtered officer, who was mourned and wept by 
 all who knew him. 
 
 Another coincident event, forming an appropriate 
 conclusion to the present chapter, was the tragic 
 death of the great Shawanese chief, Cornslock, with 
 his gallant son, Ellimpsico ; both of whom will be 
 remembered as among the brave Indian leaders at 
 the battle of the Kanhawa, the last action of the 
 
172 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 Cresap war, in 1774 ; and both of whom were now 
 as basely murdered by white men as were the family 
 of Logan. Cornstock, after the defeat of his war 
 riors at Point Pleasant, and his subsequent treaty of 
 peace with Lord Dunmore, had become sincerely 
 and truly the friend of the colonies ; and while the 
 Indians of the Northwest, generally, were preparing 
 to take up arms with the English, he exerted himself 
 to the utmost to prevent his own nation from any par 
 ticipation in the contest. But the influence of the 
 British agents, and the example of the surrounding 
 Indian nations, were so powerful upon the minds of 
 the Shawanese, that Cornstock perceived his pacific 
 efforts were likely to prove futile. Thus circum 
 stanced, he repaired to the fort which had been 
 erected at Point Pleasant after the battle of the 
 Kanhawa, to lay the matter before the officer in 
 command Captain Arbuckle and take his advice. 
 He was accompanied on this mission by a young 
 Delaware chief named Redhawk, who had also fought 
 by his side in the Cresap war. Having made a full 
 development of the state of Indian affairs in the 
 Northwest, and frankly admitted that, from the 
 causes already indicated, he should be unable to pre 
 vent the Shawanese from taking up the hatchet in 
 the cause of the crown, the commander of the fort 
 deemed it expedient to detain the old chief, with his 
 Delaware companion, as hostages for the good con 
 duct of their people. Nor did they remain unwill 
 ingly, little anticipating the fate that awaited them, 
 and giving all the information respecting the In 
 dians and their country, that could be desired by the 
 Americans. 
 
 Uneasy at the protracted absence of his father, 
 Ellinipsico, his son, went in pursuit, and traced him 
 to the fort, where they had an affectionate meeting. 
 Unfortunately, the day after the arrival of the young 
 warrior at Point Pleasant, two white men having 
 crossed the Kanhawa on a hunting expedition, were 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 173 
 
 fired upon by some straggling Indians, and one of 
 them, whose name was Gilinore, was killed. The 
 other escaped. No sooner was the event of Gil- 
 more s deatli known, than the cry of revenge was 
 raised, and a party of ruffians assembled, under the 
 command of a Captain Hall, not to pursue and punish 
 the perpetrators of the murder, but to fall upon the 
 friendly and peaceable Indians in the fort. Arming 
 themselves, and cocking their rifles, they proceeded 
 directly to the little garrison, menacing death to any 
 or all who should oppose their nefarious designs. 
 Some friend of the hostage-chiefs attempted to ap 
 prize them in advance of the approaching danger ; 
 but the savage mob were probably too close upon 
 the heels of the messenger to allow of their escape. 
 At the sound of the clamour without, Ellinipsico is 
 said to have been somewhat agitated. Not so the 
 veteran Cornstock. He had too often grappled with 
 death on the war-path to fear his approaches now. 
 Perceiving the emotion of his son, he calmly ob 
 served, " My son, the Great Spirit has seen Jit that ive 
 should die together, and has sent you to that end. It 
 is his will, and let us submit." The infuriated mob 
 had now gained the apartment of the victims ; Corn- 
 stock fell, perforated with seven bullets, and died 
 without a struggle. The son, after the exhortation 
 of his father, met his fate with composure, and was 
 shot on the seat upon which he was sitting. Red- 
 hawk, the young Delaware, died with less fortitude. 
 He hid himself away, but was discovered and slain. 
 Another friendly Indian, in the fort at the time, was 
 likewise killed, and his body mangled by the barba 
 rians in a manner that would have disgraced savages 
 of any other complexion. 
 
 It argues a sad deficiency of military discipline, 
 that such a foul transaction could occur at any reg 
 ularly-established post. The command of Arbuckle, 
 however, must have been small, inasmuch as he was 
 not only opposed to the commission of the outrage, 
 
174 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 but sallied forth, in company with another captain, 
 named Stuart, for the purpose of intercepting the 
 ruffians, and preventing the execution of their pur 
 pose. But all remonstrance was vain. The enraged 
 assailants, pale, and quivering with fury, presented 
 their rifles to the breasts of those officers, threaten 
 ing them with instant death if they stood in their way. 
 The Indian biography of our country supplies but 
 few additional facts concerning the life of this brave 
 and just man. He had a son, known among the 
 whites as The Wolf, whose name was somewhat 
 conspicuously associated with the earlier events of 
 the Revolution. The Wolf, with three others, was 
 a hostage at Williamsburg, Virginia, at the time of 
 Lord Dunmore s embarcation on board of the British 
 fleet. After the escape of his lordship, he solicited 
 and obtained an interview with The Wolf and his as 
 sociates on board of his ship ; during which he ex 
 plained to them the causes of his flight, and urged 
 them to flee also, as the only means of escaping the 
 fury of the revolutionists. Adopting this council, 
 they took to the woods on returning to the shore. 
 The night following came on excessively dark. One 
 of The Wolf s companions separated from his fel 
 lows and was lost. The others soon after returned 
 to Williamsburg, where they were well received by 
 the inhabitants. What farther befell The Wolf, or 
 the house of Cornstock, is not known. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 HAVING failed in their efforts to extinguish the re 
 bellion during the preceding year, the government 
 of the parent country resolved to put forth still 
 greater energies during the present. For this pur- 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 175 
 
 pose, a powerful force was organized in Canada, the 
 command of which was transferred from Sir Guy 
 Carleton the ablest British general, by-the-way, at 
 that time or subsequently in America and con 
 ferred upon General Burgoyne, an officer, alsft, of 
 unquestioned merit, whose spirit of enterprise and 
 thirst for military glory could not be exceeded. It 
 was the aim of this Northern army to open a com 
 munication between Canada and New- York, thus 
 cutting off New-England, which the ministry justly 
 considered the hotbed of the Revolution, from all 
 communication with the Middle States ; while Sit 
 William Howe, with ail army of 16,000 men, was t 
 withdraw from New-Jersey, and move round Isimul 
 taneously to the Chesapeake, and take possessioi 
 of the Middle States ; and thus, as it was hoped 
 compel the whole to return to their allegiance. 
 
 Doubts, however, for several months hung over 
 the intentions of the enemy, whose designs were so 
 skilfully veiled as for a long time almost to para 
 lyze the exertions of the Americans. The retreat 
 of Carleton from Lake Champlain, the preceding 
 autumn, even after the lake was in his power and 
 Crown Point in kis possession, suggested a doubt 
 whether a serious invasion was meditated from that 
 quarter. On the contrary, the impression was gen 
 eral that the expedition of Burgoyne was destined 
 against Boston ; and that Sir William Howe, whose 
 movements in New-Jersey were enigmatical to per 
 plexity, was taco-operate in an effort to resubjugate 
 New-England. The British government itself, as it 
 is believed, ^contributed to the distractions of Con 
 gress and the American commander, by causing re 
 ports to be circulated that Boston was to be the next 
 point of attack, Arthur Lee, being then in France, 
 was thus confidentially advised, and lost no time in 
 communicating such supposed intention to the Se 
 cret Committee of Congress, who, in turn, gave the 
 like information to the commajider-in-chief, and alsc 
 
176 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 to the Legislature of Massachusetts. The conse 
 quence of these distractions was unfortunate for th& 
 Americans. Less attention was paid to preparations 
 for the defence of the North than otherwise would 
 have been given ; while Massachusetts, apprehend 
 ing that all her strength would be required for her 
 own defence, set about raising troops for her own 
 protection, at the expense of the main army, from 
 which its quota of recruits was withheld. 
 
 Before the close of June, however, the designs of 
 the enemy in regard to the North became obvious. 
 A person from Canada, arrested as a spy, and brought 
 before^ General Schuyler, stated, on his examination, 
 " that the British forces were approaching St. John s, 
 and were to advance through Lake Champlain under 
 General Burgoyne ; and also that a detachment of 
 British troops, Canadians, and Indians, was to pene 
 trate the country by the way of Oswego and the Val 
 ley of the Mohawk. He added many particulars re 
 specting the strength and arrangements of the British 
 army, which turned out in the end to be nearly ac 
 curate, but of which no intelligence had before been 
 obtained, or by many anticipated." 
 
 The movements of General Howe were still equiv 
 ocal, even after Burgoyne had commenced his de 
 scent upon the North, thus adding to the embarrass 
 ments of Washington. And in order the more cer 
 tainly to mislead the American commander as to his 
 real intentions, General Howe wrote a feigned de 
 spatch to Burgoyne on the subject of ascending the 
 Hudson to join him, the bearer of which fell pur 
 posely into the hands of the Americans, while pre 
 tending to be on his way to Canada. Unable, there 
 fore, to determine whether such might not be his 
 design (although the intercepted despatch was re 
 garded with strong suspicion), or whether, on the 
 other hand, it might not be the purpose of Howe to 
 pass round to the Chesapeake and thence strike at 
 Philadelphia, the American general was compelled 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 177 
 
 to remain inactively watching his motions, strength 
 ening, in the mean time, to the utmost of his power, 
 nis positions in the Highlands, without being able 
 to detach any large number of troops to the assist 
 ance of General Schuyler, then commanding the 
 Northern department. And even after General 
 Howe had embarked his troops and dropped down 
 to Sandy Hook having evacuated New-Jersey on 
 the 30th of June Washington was still in doubt 
 whether it might not yet be his intention to return 
 with the tide, and pass up the river in the night. 
 Such, however, was no part of the plan of the British 
 commander. His destination, on leaving the har 
 bour of New-York, was the Chesapeake and Phila 
 delphia ; and the latter branch of the campaign, in 
 dicated in the opening of the present chapter, was 
 so far successful, that, after a series of victories over 
 the forces of General Washington, commencing at 
 Brandywine and ending at Germantown, General 
 Howe took possession of, and established himself 
 in, the capital of Pennsylvania. 
 
 But a far different fortune attended the arms of 
 Burgoyne. The regular troops of his command, 
 English and German, amounted to above seven 
 thousand men, added to which were large numbers 
 of American and Canadian Loyalists, together with 
 many hundred Indians : a species of force which, it 
 has been held by British historians, Sir Guy Carleton 
 was reluctant to employ, while General Burgoyne 
 it has been alleged, entertained no such scruples. 
 
 Never, probably, at the time, had there been an ar 
 my of equal numbers better appointed than that of 
 Burgoyne. The train of brass artillery, in particu 
 lar, was perhaps the finest that had ever been allot 
 ted to an army not far exceeding the present in nu 
 merical strength, and for a time victory seemed to 
 perch upon his ensigns. 
 
 General Carleton, it will be remembered, had 
 made himself master of Lake Champlain, and the 
 
178 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 fortifications at Crown Point, the autumn before. 
 The first object for attack presenting itself to Gen 
 eral Burgoyne, therefore, was Ticonderoga, situated 
 in the mountain gap through which the waters of 
 Lake George fall into Lake Champlain. This for 
 tress was then in command of General St. Glair, 
 and was supposed by the Americans to be a post of 
 great security. The principal fortress, the ruins o/ 
 which are yet standing in frowning and ruggec 1 
 strength, was situated on an angle of land surround 
 ed on three sides by water filled with rocks. A grea- 
 part of the south side was covered by a deep mo 
 rass ; and where that failed, in the northwest quar 
 ter, the old French lines served as a defence. 
 These lines had been strengthened by additional 
 works and a blockhouse. The Americans had 
 other defences and blockhouses in the direction of 
 Lake George, together with two new blockhouses 
 and some other works, to the right of the French 
 lines. Still greater pains had been taken in fortify 
 ing the high circular hill on the eastern shore of 
 the inlet opposite, known as Mount Independence. 
 r On the summit of this mountain, which is table 
 land, the Americans had erected a star- fort, enclo 
 sing a large square of barracks, well fortified, and 
 supplied with artillery. The foot of the mountain, 
 on the west side projecting into the water, was 
 strongly intrenched to its edge, and the intrench- 
 ment lined with heavy artillery. These lower 
 works were sustained and covered by a battery 
 about half way up the side of the mountain, and 
 were connected by a bridge across the inlet, which 
 had been constructed at great labour and expense. 
 These, and other works of defence, had been judged 
 sufficient to render the post secure. The command- 
 er-in-chief himself, although, indeed, the works had 
 not fallen under his own inspection, had formed a 
 very erroneous opinion of their strength, or per 
 haps, to speak more correctly, of the natural advan- 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 179 
 
 tages of the position, and of the defensibility of the 
 works. Such, in fact, was his confidence in the 
 post, that the idea of its loss seems, from his corre 
 spondence, scarce to have entered his mind. 
 
 But in all their labours the American engineers 
 had overlooked the high peak or mountain called 
 Sugar Hill, situated south of the bridge, on the 
 point of land at the confluence of the waters of 
 Lakes George and Champlain. Originally it had 
 been supposed and taken for granted that the crest 
 of Sugar Hill was not only inaccessible, but too dis 
 tant to be of any avail in covering the main fortress. 
 This opinion was an error, to which the attention 
 of the officers had been called the preceding year 
 by Colonel John Trumbull, then adjutant-general for 
 the Northern department. When Colonel Trum 
 bull made the suggestion, he was laughed at by the 
 mess ; but he soon proved the greater accuracy of 
 his own vision by throwing a cannon-shot to the 
 summit ; and subsequently clambered up to the top, 
 accompanied by Colonels Wayne and Arnold, it 
 was a criminal neglect on the part of the Americans 
 that the oversight was not at once^corrected by the 
 construction of a work upon that point, which would 
 have commanded the whole post. 
 
 General Burgoyne arrived at Crown Point on the 
 21st of June ; and after meeting and feasting the In 
 dians, and attempting to instruct them in the rules 
 and principles of civilized war, and making other 
 necessary preparations not forgetting to send forth 
 a manifesto which he supposed would spread terror 
 through the Northern colonies he advanced with 
 great caution to the investment of Ticonderoga 
 where he arrived on the 2d of July. Most unac 
 countably, the Americans immediately abandoned 
 all their works in the direction of Lake George, 
 setting fire to the blockhouses and sawmills ; and, 
 without sally or other interruption, permitted the 
 enemy, under Major-general Philips, to take pos- 
 
180 BORDER WARS OP THE 
 
 session of the very advantageous post of Mount 
 Hope, which, besides commanding their lines in a 
 dangerous degree, totally cut off their communica 
 tion with Lake George. The only excuse for such 
 an early abandonment of this important point, was 
 found in the fact that General St. Clair had not 
 force enough to man all his defences. 
 
 One of the first objects that attracted the atten 
 tion of the British commander was the unoccupied 
 point of Sugar Hill. It was forthwith examined, 
 and its advantages were found to be so great, that 
 immediate dispositions were made for its occupa 
 tion. A winding road was cut to its summit, a bat 
 tery commenced, and cannon to serve it transport 
 ed thither. Under these circumstances, finding 
 himself invested on all sides, and batteries ready to 
 be opened upon him not only from around, but 
 above ; and having, moreover, not half troops enough 
 to man his works, St. Clair hastily convened a coun 
 cil of war on the 5th of July, and an evacuation was 
 unanimously decided upon as the only alternative 
 for the emergency. 
 
 Following up * such a promising advantage, the 
 British commander pushed forward upon the reti 
 ring army with such a degree of vigour, that the re 
 treat became almost a rout. The Americans, how 
 ever, made a stand between Skenesborough and 
 Fort Anne in a well-contested battle, but, after 
 much hard fighting, were again compelled to retreat. 
 Another engagement ensued at Fort Anne with a 
 like result; and the victorious Briton entered the 
 valley of the Hudson, and took possession of Fort 
 Edward, which, weak and unprovided, had likewise 
 been evacuated on his approach by General Schuy- 
 ler. 
 
 These movements by the British commander had 
 been made with equal vigour and celerity; and 
 such was the confusion of the Americans in their 
 flight, that no advices of the disaster were forward- 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION 181 
 
 ed by express to General Schuyler to prepare him 
 for the approach of the victors. Indeed, that offi 
 cer was suffered to remain several days without in 
 telligence from St. Clair of any description, except 
 ing some vague flying rumours of the evacuation. 
 During this suspense, General Schuyler wrote to 
 the commandcr-in-chief upon the subject, who, in 
 turn, expressed his amazement at the mystery which 
 seemed to hang over the affairs of the fortress. At 
 one moment Washington was led to believe that 
 St. Clair and the whole garrison had been made 
 prisoners, and at another that the rumour of the 
 evacuation was wholly untrue ; and that the silence, 
 for which it baffled conjecture to account, arose from 
 the circumstance that the Americans were shut up 
 in their works. But this doubt did not continue long. 
 Notwithstanding that the advance of the enemy was 
 repulsed at Fort Anne, Colonel Long, who was in 
 command of that post, immediately evacuated it, 
 contrary to the express orders of General Schuyler ; 
 and Schuyler himself, at the head of only fifteen 
 hundred men at Fort Edward, " without provision, 
 with little ammunition, not above five rounds to a 
 man, having neither balls nor lead to make any, and 
 the country in the deepest consternation," was 
 obliged also to fall back in the direction of Albany. 
 The blow was a severe one, but the commander-in- 
 chief possessed a soul equal to every crisis. No 
 undue elevation of spirit followed his successes ; nei 
 ther did the clouds of adverse fortune, so frequently 
 darkening the prospect of the American arms, sink 
 him into despondency. Indeed, each succeeding 
 calamity was but another test of his moral gn.-.ii,- 
 ness, for he rose above them all. 
 
 Nothing, however, could exceed the terror which 
 these events diffused among the inhabitants, not 
 only of Northern New-York, but of the New-Eng 
 land States. The consternation was, moreover, in 
 creased by the reported murders and the cruelties of 
 
182 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 the savages, since all the efforts of General Bur- 
 goyne to dissuade them from the perpetration of 
 their cruel enormities were ineffectual. Restrain 
 them he could not ; and it was admitted by the Brit 
 ish writers of that day, that the friends of the roy 
 al cause, as well as its enemies, were equally vic 
 tims to their indiscriminate rage. It was even as 
 certained that the British officers were deceived by 
 their treacherous allies into the purchase of the 
 scalps of their own comrades. 
 
 Among other instances of cruelty, the well- 
 known murder of Miss Jane M Crea, which happen 
 ed in the early part of the campaign, filled the pub 
 lic mind with horror. Every circumstance of this 
 unnatural and bloody transaction around which 
 there lingers a melancholy interest to this day- 
 served to heighten alike its interest and its enormi 
 ty. Many have been the versions of this bloody tale. 
 General Gates, who had at this juncture been direct 
 ed to supersede General Schuyler in the command 
 of the Northern department, assailed General Bur- 
 goyne in the newspapers with great virulence upon 
 the subject of these outrages. After charging the 
 British commander with encouraging the murder of 
 prisoners, and the massacre of women and children, 
 by paying the Indians a stipulated price for scalps, 
 Gates, in a letter addressed to General Burgoyne, 
 thus spoke of the case now specially under consider 
 ation : "Miss M Crea, a young lady lovely to the 
 sight, of virtuous character and amiable disposition, 
 engaged to an officer of your army, was, with other 
 women and children, taken out of a house near 
 Fort Edward, carried into the woods, and there 
 scalped and mangled in the most horrid manner. 
 Two parents, with their six children, were treated 
 with the same inhumanity, while quietly resting in 
 their own happy and peaceful dwelling. The miser 
 able fate of Miss M Crea was particularly aggrava 
 ted by being dressed to receive her promised hus- 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 183 
 
 band, but met her murderer, employed by you. Up 
 ward of one hundred men, women, and children 
 have perished by the hands of the ruffians to whom, 
 it is asserted, you have paid the price of blood." 
 
 General Burgoyne replied, and repelled with in 
 dignation the charge of encouraging, in any respect, 
 the outrages of the Indians, He asserted that from 
 the first he had refused to pay for scalps, and had so 
 informed the Indians at their council. The only re 
 wards he gave them were for prisoners brought in, 
 and by the adoption of this course he hoped to en 
 courage a more humane mode of warfare on their 
 part. In this letter Burgoyne said, " I would not 
 be conscious of the acts you presume to impute to 
 me for the whole Continent of America, though the 
 wealth of worlds were in its bowels, and a paradise 
 upon its surface." In regard to the hapless fate of 
 Miss M Crea, General Burgoyne remarked, " Her 
 fall wanted not the tragic display you have laboured 
 to give it to make it as sincerely abhorred and la 
 mented by me as it can be by the tenderest of her 
 friends. The act was no premeditated barbarity. 
 On the contrary, two chiefs, who had brought her 
 off for the purpose of security, not of violence to 
 her person, disputed which should be her guard, and 
 in a fit of savage passion in one, from whose hands 
 she was snatched, the unhappy woman became the 
 victim. Upon the first intelligence of this event, I 
 obliged the Indians to deliver the murderer into my 
 hands ; and though to have punished him by our 
 laws, or principles of justice, would have been per 
 haps unprecedented, he certainly should have suf 
 fered an ignominious death, had I not been convin 
 ced, from my circumstances and observations, be 
 yond the possibility of a doubt, that a pardon under 
 the terms which I presented and they accepted, 
 would be more efficacious than an execution, to pre 
 vent similar mischiefs. The above instance except- 
 ed, your intelligence respecting the cruelty of the 
 Indians is false." 
 
184 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 The British commander doubtless laboured to 
 make the best of his case, and in respect to Miss 
 M Crea, his statement was much nearer to the truth 
 than that of General Gates. The actual circum 
 stances of the case, stripped of its romance, were 
 these : Miss M Crea belonged to a family of Loyal 
 ists, and had engaged her hand in marriage to a 
 young refugee named Jones, a subordinate officer in 
 the British service, who was advancing with Bur- 
 goyne. Anxious to possess himself of his bride, he 
 despatched a small party of Indians to bring her to 
 the British camp. Her family and friends were 
 strongly opposed to her going with such an escort ; 
 but her affection overcame her prudence, and she 
 determined upon the hazardous adventure. She set 
 forward with her dusky attendants on horseback. 
 The family resided at the village of Fort Edward, 
 whence they had not proceeded more than half a 
 mile before her conductors stopped to drink at a 
 spring. Meantime, the impatient lover, who deserv 
 ed not her embrace for confiding her protection to 
 such hands, instead of going himself, had despatch 
 ed a second party of Indians upon the same errand. 
 The Indians met at the spring ; and before the march 
 was resumed, they were attacked by a party of the 
 Provincials. At the close of the skirmish, the body 
 of Miss M Crea was found among the slain, toma 
 hawked, scalped, and tied to a pine-tree, yet stand 
 ing by the side of the spring, as a monument of the 
 bloody transaction. The name of the young lady is 
 inscribed on the tree, the trunk of which is thickly 
 scarred with the bullets it received in the skir 
 mish. It also bears the date 1777. " Tradition 
 reports that the Indians divided the scalp, and that 
 each party carried half of it to the agonized lover." 
 The ascertained cause of the murder was this : The 
 promised reward for bringing her in safety to her 
 betrothed was a barrel of rum. The chiefs of the 
 two parties sent for her by Mr. Jones quarrelled 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 185 
 
 respecting the anticipated compensation. Each 
 claimed it, and, in a moment of passion, to end the 
 controversy, one of them struck her down with his 
 hatchet. 
 
 As the invader advanced, the inhabitants fled in the 
 wildest consternation. The horrors of war, howev 
 er mitigated by the laws and usages of civilization, 
 are at all times sufficiently terrific ; but when to 
 these the fierce cruelties of a cloud of savages are 
 superadded, those only who have been familiar with 
 an American border warfare can form an adequate 
 opinion of its atrocities. Among the fugitives driv 
 en from their peaceful abodes on the present occa 
 sion was Mrs. Ann Eliza Bleecker, a lady who has 
 been somewhat celebrated as one of the early poets 
 of our country. She was the daughter of Mr. 
 Brandt Schuyler, of the city of New- York, and the 
 wife of John J. Bleecker, Esq., of New-Rochelle, 
 whose enterprise, together with his lady s love for 
 the wild scenery of the forest, had induced him to 
 exchange a residence among the busy haunts of 
 men for a solitary plantation in the vale of the 
 Tomhanic, a mountain stream flowing into the 
 Hoosic River, about twenty miles from Albany. Mr. 
 Bleecker s residence lay directly in the march of 
 Burgoyne, on whose approach he hastened to Alba 
 ny to provide accommodations for his family. But 
 a few hours after his departure, Mrs. Bleecker, as 
 she sat at the table, received intelligence that the 
 enemy, with tomahawk and brand, was within two 
 miles of her residence. Instant flight was the only 
 alternative. Taking one of her children in her 
 arms, and seizing the other by the hand, she started 
 off on foot, attended only by a young mulatto girl, 
 and leaving her house and all its contents a prey to 
 the Indians. The roads were encumbered by car 
 riages, loaded with women and children, each intent 
 upon his or her own safety ; so that no assistance 
 could be obtained, and her only recourse was to 
 VOL. T. P 
 
]86 BORDER WAUS OF THE 
 
 mingle in the fugitive throng, and Participate in the 
 
 Hudson as far as Red Hook, one of her child 
 
 ^ifthirscene of desolation and affright, there 
 Js yet one woman whose proud spirit was un- 
 Snted. It was the lady of General Schuyler. The 
 general s country-seat was upon his estate in Sara, 
 tno-a standinff upon the margin of the river, un me 
 Broach o? g Bu P rgoyne, Mrs. Schuyler we up to 
 in order to remove their furniture, t 
 
 to return She had yet to pass through a dense for 
 est within which even then some of the savage 
 tro^ptmightte lurking for prey But to these pru 
 dential counsels she would not listen "The gen 
 eral s wife," she exclaimed, "must not be airaia 
 And, pTshing forward, she accomplished her pui 
 
 ^Before the mansion was evacuated, however, the 
 general himself had a narrow esc f \ ^f ns ^ t ^ 
 nation by the hand of a savage, who had insinuated 
 
 behind the door. The servant was a 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 187 
 
 ulack slave, who had sufficient presence of mind 
 not to appear to have made the discovery. Passing 
 directly through the door into the apartment where 
 the general was yet standing near the fireplace, 
 with an air of unconcern she pretended to arrange 
 such articles as were disposed upon the mantel 
 piece, while in an under-tone she informed her mas 
 ter of her discovery, and said, aloud, "I will call 
 the guard." The general instantly seized his arms, 
 while the faithful servant hurried out by another 
 door into a long hall, upon the floor of which lay a 
 loose board which creaked beneath the tread. By 
 the noise she made in tramping rapidly upon the 
 board, the Indian for such he proved was led to 
 suppose that the Philistines were upon him in num 
 bers, sprang from his concealment and fled. He 
 was pursued, however, by the guard and a few 
 friendly Indians attached to the person of General 
 Schuyler, overtaken, and made prisoner. Exas 
 perated at his treachery, the friendly Indians were 
 resolved to put him to death, and it was with much 
 iifficulty that they were diverted from their purpose 
 jy the general. 
 
 The effect of the incidents we have been detail 
 ing, and other recitals of savage cruelties, not all, 
 is General Burgoyne represented, without founda- 
 ion, was extensive and powerful. The cry of ven 
 geance was universal, and a spirit was aroused 
 which proved of speedy and great advantage to the 
 A.merican arms. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 CONTEMPORANEOUSLY with the descent of Burgoyne 
 |on Northern New- York, Colonel Barry St. Leger 
 
188 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 had been despatched from Montreal, by the way of 
 the St. Lawrence and Lake Ontario, to Oswego, 
 there to form a junction with the Indians and Loy 
 alists under Sir John Johnson and Captain Brant. 
 From Oswego, St. Leger was to penetrate by the 
 way of Oneida Lake and Wood Creek to the Mo 
 hawk River, with a view of forming a junction with 
 Burgoyne, on his arrival in Albany. The alarm 
 everywhere felt on the approach of Burgoyne from 
 the North was greatly increased in Tryon county 
 on receiving intelligence of the contemplated inva 
 sion by the Indians and Loyalists from the West. 
 The news of this movement was first brought to the 
 inhabitants by an Oneida half-breed sachem named 
 Thomas Spencer, who came therewith direct from 
 Canada, whither he had gone as a secret emissary 
 to obtain information. Spencer stated that he had 
 been present at a council held at the Indian castle 
 of Cassassenny, at which Colonel Clans presided.* 
 According to Thomas s relation, Colonel Clans 
 strongly urged the Indians to join the expedition 
 into the Mohawk Valley, by the western approach ; 
 boasting of the strength of the army under Bur 
 goyne, which had gone against Ticonderoga, and 
 the number of Indians with them, before whom he 
 assured them Ticonderoga would fall. The Oneida 
 sachem farther informed the people that Sir John 
 Johnson and Colonel Claus were then at Oswego 
 with their families, with seven hundred Indians and 
 four hundred regular troops. There were also six 
 hundred Tories on one of the islands above Oswe- 
 gatchie preparing to join them ; and Colonel Butler 
 was to arrive at Oswego on the 14th of July from 
 Niagara, to hold a council with the Six Nations, to 
 all of whom he would offer the hatchet to join them 
 and strike the Americans. Thomas thereupon con- 
 
 * Colonel Daniel Claus. a brother-in-law of Sir John Johnson, had 
 either superseded Guy Johnson as Indian superintendent in Canada, or 
 been appointed a deputy. 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 189 
 
 eluded his communication by urging an immediate 
 march to the assistance of Fort Schuyler, represent 
 ing, among other things, that the successful tt lvance 
 of the enemy would compel the friendly Indians 
 either to fly or to join the ranks of the invaders. 
 
 The counsel of the faithful Oneida was neither 
 early enough, nor was it seconded with sufficient 
 promptitude on the part of the inhabitants. Indeed, 
 it must be confessed that, as the storm of war rolled 
 onward, gathering at once from different directions, 
 and threatening daily to break upon them with in 
 creasing fury, many of the yeomen who had hith 
 erto born themselves nobly began to falter. A 
 spirit of disaffection had also been more widely dif 
 fused among the settlements than could have been 
 supposed from the previous patriotic conduct of the 
 people, while treason lurked in many places where 
 least suspected. 
 
 As early as the 10th of April, Colonel Robert Van 
 Rensselaer wrote to a friend that the chairman of 
 the County Committee had applied to him for the 
 assistance of his militia to quell an insurrection of 
 the Loyalists in Ballston ; but such was the condition 
 of his own regiment, that he was obliged to decline 
 the request. The spirit of disaffection had become 
 so prevalent among his men, that numbers of them 
 had taken the oath of secrecy and allegiance to 
 Great Britain. However, he added that seventeen 
 of the villains had been arrested by the vigilance of 
 the officers, and were then in confinement ; and a 
 hope was indulged of being able to detect the whole. 
 Early in the following month the residue of the 
 Roman Catholic Scotch settlers in the neighbour 
 hood of Johnstown ran off to Canada, together with 
 some of the loyalist Germans, all headed by two 
 men named M Donald, who had been permitted by 
 General Schuyler to visit their families. The fact 
 that the wives and families of the absconding Loy 
 alists were holding communication with them, and 
 
190 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 administering to their subsistence on the outskirts 
 of the settlements, had suggested their arrest, and 
 removal to a place of safety, to the number of four 
 hundred a measure that was approved by General 
 Herkimer and his officers. Alarming reports of 
 various descriptions were continually in circulation, 
 and the inhabitants were harassed beyond measure 
 by the necessity of performing frequent tours of 
 military duty, acting as scouts and reconnoitring 
 parties, and standing, some of them as sentinels, 
 around their fields, while others did the labour, No 
 neighbourhood felt secure, and all were apprehen 
 sive that the whole country would be ravaged by 
 the Indians ; while parties of the disaffected were 
 continually stealing away to augment the ranks of 
 the enemy. Thus circumstanced, and at the very 
 moment when they were called upon to re-enforce 
 Fort Schuyler, the committees both of Palatine and 
 Schoharie, feeling that they were not strong enough 
 even for self-defence, were calling upon the Coun 
 cil of Safety at Albany to send additional forces for 
 their protection. On the 18th of July, General 
 Schuyler wrote to the Hon. Pierre Van Courtlandt, 
 from Saratoga, and again on the 21st from Fort 
 Edward, to the same effect. " I am exceedingly 
 chagrined," he says, " at the pusillanimous spirit 
 which prevails in the county of Tryon. I appre 
 hend much of it is to be attributed to the infidelity 
 of the leading persons of that quarter. If I had one 
 thousand regular troops, in addition to those now 
 above and on the march, I should venture to keep 
 only every third man of the militia, and would send 
 them down." 
 
 The complaints of General Schuyler were not 
 without just foundation, as the reader has already 
 seen. Indeed, both regulars and militia in Tryon 
 county seemed, for the moment, to have lost all the 
 high qualities of soldiers or citizens. Of two hun 
 dred militiamen ordered to muster and join the gar- 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 191 
 
 rison of Fort Schuyler, only a part obeyed : while 
 two companies of regular troops, receiving the ike 
 orders, entered upon the service with great reluc 
 tance, and not without urging various excuses, 
 complaining that service in scouting parties had i; 
 fitted them for garrison duty. Under circumstan 
 ce* of such discouragement, it was a time ol pecu 
 liar trial to the officers and committees of safety. 
 Tryon county had early espoused the cause pi 
 freedom, and apparently with greater unanimity 
 than any other county in the state ; and the exten 
 sive defection, or criminal apathy, which we have 
 just been contemplating, was altogether unexpected. 
 But a crisis was approaching which necessity soon 
 obliged them to meet. Accordingly, on the 17th of 
 July, General Herkimer issued a patriotic procla 
 mation to the inhabitants of the county, announcing 
 the gathering of the enemy at Oswego, " Christians 
 and savages," to the number of two thousand 
 strong, with the intention of invading the frontier, 
 and calling upon the people, en masse, to be ready at 
 a moment s warning to repair to the field, with 
 arms and accoutrements, on the approach of the 
 enemy. Those in health, from 16 to 60 years of 
 age, were designated for actual service ; while those 
 above 60 years of age, or invalids, were directed to 
 arm for the defence of the women and children at 
 whatever place they might be gathered in for safety. 
 Concerning the disaffected, and those who might 
 refuse to obey the orders, it was directed in the 
 proclamation that they should be arrested, their 
 arms secured, and themselves placed under guard 
 to join the main body. All the members of the 
 committee, and all those who, by reason of having 
 formerly held commissions, had become exempts 
 from service, were invited to repair to the rendez 
 vous, and aid in repulsing the foe : " not doubting 
 that the Almighty Power, upon our humble prayers 
 and sincere trust in Him, will then graciously sue- 
 
192 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 cour our arms in battle for our just cause, and vic 
 tory cannot fail on our side." 
 
 The Oneida Indians, who were sincerely disposed 
 to favour the cause of the United States, but who, 
 pursuant to the humane policy of Congress, and 
 the advice of General Schuyler, had determined to 
 preserve their neutrality, beheld the approaching 
 invasion from Oswego with no small degree of ap 
 prehension. The course they had marked out for 
 themselves, as they were well aware, was viewed 
 with displeasure by their Mohawk brethren, while 
 the other members of their confederacy were ob 
 viously inclined to side with their " Uncle."* Liv 
 ing, moreover, in the immediate neighbourhood of 
 Fort Schuyler, where St. Leger s first blow must 
 be struck, they were not a little troubled in the pros 
 pect of what might happen to themselves. 
 
 The certainty that the invaders were approach 
 ing, the earnestness of the appeals of the commit 
 tee to the patriotism of the people, the influence of 
 the proclamation of the German general, who was 
 a much better man than officer, save only in the 
 single attribute of courage ; and, above all, the posi 
 tive existence of a common danger from which 
 there was no escape, were circumstances, together, 
 not without their effect. And although the eleventh 
 hour had arrived, the militia, and all upon whom 
 the call to arms had been made, now began to move 
 with a degree of alacrity, and an exhibition of spirit 
 that went far to atone for the unpatriotic, if not 
 craven, symptoms already noticed. 
 
 Meantime, having completed his organization at 
 Oswego, General St. Leger commenced his march 
 upon Fort Schuyler, moving by the route already 
 indicated, though with great circumspection. The 
 name of this place of rendezvous has already re 
 curred more than once or twice in the preceding 
 
 * In the Six Nations, the Mohawks the head tribe were called 
 " Uncle " " The Oneidas were the " elder brother," &c. 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 193 
 
 pages. Its position was important, and it had been 
 a place of renown in the earlier wars of the colony. 
 The river bearing 1 the same name, which here pours 
 northwardly into Lake Ontario, is the outlet both 
 of the Oneida and Seneca Rivers, through which, 
 and their tributary streams, it is connected with the 
 chain of small lakes bearing the names of Oneida, 
 Cazenovia, Skaneateles, Owasco, Cayuga, Seneca, 
 and Canandaigua. Its estuary, of course, forms 
 the natural opening into the rich district of country 
 surrounding those lakes, which, down to the period 
 of the present history, contained the principal towns 
 of four of the Five Nations of Indians. During the 
 wars between the French and Five Nations, Oswego 
 was repeatedly occupied by the armies of the former. 
 It was here that Count Frontenac landed on his in 
 vasion of the Onondaga country in 1692 ; at which 
 time, or subsequently, a considerable military work 
 was erected on the western side of the river. During 
 the war with France, which was closed in America 
 by the conquest of Canada, it was in the occupancy 
 of the Provincials and English. The expedition, 
 destined to descend the St. Lawrence upon Mon 
 treal, was assembled at this point in 1759, after the 
 fall of Niagara, under General Shirley and Sir Will 
 iam Johnson. The army was encamped here sev 
 eral \veeks, and finally broke up without attempting 
 its main object, owing, as Sir William Johnson in 
 timates in his private diary, to a want of energy on 
 the part of Shirley. After the fall of Quebec and 
 Montreal into the hands of the English, a battalion 
 of the 55th regiment was stationed at Oswego, un 
 der Major Duncan, a brother of the naval hero of 
 Camperdown. A new and far more formidable 
 work was constructed upon the eastern, or north 
 eastern promontory, formed by the embouchure of 
 the river into the lake. The new position was far 
 better chosen for a fortress than the old ; and, ulti 
 mately, before the Britons were dispossessed of it 
 
194 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 by the Americans, it became a work of somewhat 
 formidable strength and dimensions. The situation 
 is one of the most beautiful that can be imagined ; 
 and, during the two or three years in which Major 
 Duncan was in command, by the cultivation of a 
 large garden, the laying out and improving of a 
 bowling-green, and other pleasure grounds, it was 
 rendered a little paradise in the wilderness. 
 
 All told, the army of St. Leger consisted of seven 
 teen hundred men, Indians included. These latter 
 were led by Thayendanegea. The advance of the 
 main body was formed of Indians, inarching in five 
 Indian columns that is, in single files, at large dis 
 tances from each other, and four hundred and sixty 
 paces in front of the line. From these columns of 
 Indians, files were stretched at a distance of ten 
 paces from each other, forming a line of communi 
 cation with the advanced guard of the line, which 
 was one hundred paces in front of the column. The 
 right and left flanks were covered by Indians at one 
 hundred paces, forming, likewise, lines of communi 
 cation with the main body. The king s regiment 
 moved from the left by Indian file, while the 34th 
 moved in the same order from the right. The rear 
 guard was formed of regular troops ; while the ad 
 vance guard, composed of eixty marksmen, detach 
 ed from Sir John Johnson s regiment of Royal 
 Greens, was led by Sir John s brother-in-law, Cap 
 tain Watts. Each corps was likewise directed to 
 have ten chosen marksmen in different parts of its 
 line, in case of attack, to be pushed forward to any 
 given point, as circumstances might require. 
 
 From these extraordinary precautions, it may 
 well be inferred that General St. Leger, who prob 
 ably acted much under the advice of Sir John 
 Johnson and the refugee Provincials, who must 
 have been best acquainted with the country and the 
 character of the enemy they were going to encoun 
 ter, was not a little apprehensive of an attack by 
 surprise while on his march. 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 195 
 
 In addition to the arrangements already indicated, 
 a detachment from the 8th regiment, with a few 
 Indians, was sent a day or more in advance, under 
 the command of Lieutenant Bird. This officer 
 pushed forward with spirit, but was somewhat an 
 noyed by the insubordination and independent action 
 of his allies. 
 
 On the 2d of August, Bird wrote back to his gen 
 eral that no savages would advance with him except 
 Henriques, a Mohawk, and one other of the Six 
 Nations, an old acquaintance of his. The letter con 
 tinues : " Those two, sir, I hope to have the honour 
 to present to you. A savage, who goes by the 
 name of Commodore Bradley, was the chief cause 
 of their not advancing to-day. Twelve Messe- 
 saugues came up two or three hours after my de 
 parture. Those, with the scout of fifteen I had the 
 honour to mention to you in my last, are sufficient 
 to invest Fort Stanwix, if you favour me so far as 
 not to order to the contrary." 
 
 The investment of the fort was made by Lieu 
 tenant Bird forthwith, Brant arriving to his assist 
 ance at the same time. But the result of the siege 
 that followed proved that the British commander 
 had grievously miscalculated the spirit of the gar 
 rison of Fort Stanwix in his anticipations of a speedy 
 capitulation. Still, his prudential order, the object 
 of which was to prevent an unnecessary sacrifice 
 of life at the hands of his Indian allies, calculating, 
 of course, upon an easy victory, was not the less 
 commendable on that account. 
 
 The situation of Fort Stanwix itself or, rather, 
 Fort Schuyler, as it must now be called next de 
 mands attention. At the beginning of the year, as 
 we have already seen, the post was commanded by 
 Colonel Elmore, of the state service. The term 
 of that officer expiring in April, Colonel Peter Ganse- 
 voort, also of the state troops, was designated as 
 Colonel Elmore s successor, by an order from Gen- 
 
196 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 eral Gates, dated the 26th of that month. Notwith 
 standing the labours of Colonel Drayton in repairing 
 the works the preceding year, Colonel Gansevoort 
 found them in such a state of dilapidation, that they 
 were not only indefensible, but untenable. A brisk 
 correspondence ensued between that officer and 
 General Schuyler upon the subject, from which it 
 is manifest that, to say nothing of the miserable 
 condition of his defences, with the prospect of an in 
 vasion from the west before him, his situation was 
 in other respects sufficiently deplorable. He had but 
 a small number of men, and many of those were 
 sick by reason of destitution. Added to all which, 
 was the responsibility of the Indian relations con 
 fided to him by special order of General Schuyler 
 on the 9th of June. 
 
 Colonel Marinus Willett was soon afterward di 
 rected to join the garrison at Fort Schuyler with his 
 regiment, and most fortunate was the selection of 
 such ah officer as Willett to co-operate with such 
 another as Gansevoort ; since all the skill, and en 
 ergy, and courage of both were necessary for the 
 situation. The work itself was originally a square 
 fort, with four bastions, surrounded by a ditch of 
 considerable width and depth, with a covert way 
 and glacis around three of its angles ; the other be 
 ing sufficiently secured by low, marshy ground. 
 In front of the gate there had been a drawbridge, 
 covered by a salient angle raised in front of it on 
 the glacis. In the centre of the ditch a row of per 
 pendicular pickets had been erected, with rows of 
 horizontal pickets fixed around the ramparts under 
 the embrasures. But, since the conclusion of the 
 French war, the fort had fallen into decay ; the 
 ditch was filled up, and the pickets had rotted and 
 fallen down ;* nor had any suitable progress been 
 made in its reparation. Immediate exertions, ener- 
 
 * Willet-t s Narrative. 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 197 
 
 getic and unremitting, were necessary to repair, or, 
 rather, to renew and reconstruct, the works, and 
 place them in a posture of defence, should the long- 
 anticipated invasion ensue from that quarter. A 
 more correct idea of the wretched condition of the 
 post, even down to the beginning of July, may be 
 formed from the annexed letter :* 
 
 COLONEL GANSEVOOUT TO GENERAL SCHUYLER. 
 
 "Fort Schuyler, July 4th, 1777. 
 
 " SIR, 
 
 " Having taken an accurate review of the state 
 of the garrison, I think it is incumbent on me to in 
 form your excellency by express of our present cir 
 cumstances. Every possible assistance is given to 
 Captain Marquizee to enable him to carry on such 
 works as are deemed absolutely necessary for the 
 defence of the garrison. The soldiers are constant 
 ly at work ; even such of them as come off guard 
 are immediately turned out to fatigue. But I can 
 not conceal from your excellency the impossibility 
 of attending fully to all the great objects pointed 
 ^out in the orders issued to the commanding officer 
 on the station, without farther assistance. Sending 
 out sufficient parties of observation, felling the tim 
 ber into Wood Creek, clearing the road from Fort 
 Dayton, which is so embarrassed in many parts as 
 to be impassable, and prosecuting, at the same time, 
 the internal business of the garrison, are objects of 
 the greatest importance, which should, if possible, 
 be immediately considered. But while no exertions 
 compatible with the circumstances we are in, and 
 necessary to give your excellency satisfaction with 
 respect to all these interesting matters, shall bo 
 omitted, I am very sensible it is not in our power to 
 get over some capital obstructions without a re-en 
 forcement. The enclosed return, and the difficul- 
 
 * MS. copy, preserved araon General Gansevport s papers. 
 
198 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 ties arising from the increasing number of hostile 
 Indians, will show to your excellency the grounds 
 of my opinion. One hundred and fifty men would 
 be needed speedily and effectually to obstruct Wood 
 Creek ; an equal number will be necessary to guard 
 the men at work in felling and hauling of timber. 
 Such a deduction from our number, together with 
 smaller deductions for scouting parties, would 
 scarcely leave a man in the garrison, which might 
 therefore be easily surprised by a contemptible par 
 ty of the enemy. The number of inimical Indians 
 increases. On the affair of last week only two 
 made their appearance. Yesterday a party of at 
 least forty, supposed to be Butler s emissaries, at 
 tacked Ensign Sporr with sixteen privates, who 
 were out on fatigue, cutting turf about three quar 
 ters of a mile from the fort. One soldier was brought 
 in dead and inhumanly mangled ; two were brought 
 in wounded, one of them slightly, and the other 
 mortally. Six privates and Mr. Sporr are missing. 
 Two parties were immediately sent to pursue the 
 enemy, but they returned without being able to 
 come up with them. This success will, no doubt, 
 encourage them to send out a greater number ; and 
 the intelligence they may possibly acquire will 
 probably hasten the main body destined to act 
 against us in these parts. Our provision is greatly 
 diminished by reason of the spoiling of the beef, and 
 the quantities that must be given from time to time 
 to the Indians. It will not hold out above six 
 weeks. Your excellency will perceive, in looking 
 over Captain Savage s return of the state of the ar 
 tillery, that some essential articles are very scarce. 
 As a great number of the gun-bullets do not suit the 
 firelocks, some bullet-moulds of different sizes for 
 casting others would be of great advantage to us. 
 Our stock of powder is absolutely too little ; a ton, 
 in addition to what we have, is wanted, as the low 
 est proportion for the shot we have on hand. We 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 199 
 
 will, notwithstanding every difficulty, exert our 
 selves to the utmost of our power ; and if your ex 
 cellency will be pleased to order a speedy re-en 
 forcement, with a sufficient supply of provision and 
 ammunition to enable us to hold out a siege, we 
 will, I hope, by the blessing of God, be able to give 
 a good account of any force that will probably come 
 against us." 
 
 The picture is gloomy enough ; and was rendered 
 the more so from the mistakes of the engineer, a 
 Frenchman, who had been employed by General 
 Schuyler, and whom it was ultimately found neces 
 sary to arrest and send back to headquarters. Col 
 onel Willett had, from the first, doubted the capaci 
 ty of Marquizee, and after his dismissal the work 
 proceeded, for the most part, under his own immedi 
 ate direction. 
 
 The garrison had likewise other difficulties to en 
 counter. With the gathering of St. Leger s motley 
 forces at Oswego, preparatory to his descent upon 
 the Mohawk, the Indians, as has already been seen 
 by Gansevoort s letter, began to appear in scouting 
 parties in the circumjacent forests. The utmost 
 caution was, therefore, necessary on leaving the fort 
 even for a short distance. It was during this criti 
 cal period that the familiar incident of Captain 
 Gregg and his faithful dog occurred. 
 
 According to the narrative of President Dwight, 
 it appears that Gregg and his companion had been 
 seduced into a fatal disobedience of orders by the 
 clouds of pigeons appearing in the adjoining woods. 
 Immediately upon their fall the Indians rushed upon 
 them for their scalps, which they took, giving each 
 a simultaneous cut upon the head with their toma 
 hawks. The corporal had been killed by the shot, 
 but Captain Gregg was only wounded.* Feigning 
 
 * It has been asserted in history that St. Leger encouraged these iso- 
 
200 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 death, however, he had the presence of mind, and 
 the fortitude, to submit to the subsequent torture, 
 without betraying himself by a groan or the quiver 
 ing of a muscle. The Indians departing immedi 
 ately, Captain Gregg crawled to his lifeless com 
 panion, and pillowed his head upon his body ; while 
 his faithful dog ran to a place at no great distance 
 thence, where two men were engaged in fishing, 
 and, by his imploring looks and significant actions, 
 induced them to follow him to the spot where lay 
 his wounded master. Hastening to the fort, the 
 fisherman reported what they had seen, and a par 
 ty of soldiers being forthwith despatched to the 
 place, the bodies of the wounded and the dead were 
 speedily brought into the garrison, as we have seen 
 from the colonel s official account. 
 
 Captain Gregg recovered and resumed his duties, 
 and having served to the end of the war, lived many 
 years afterward. 
 
 Another tragic incident occurred at nearly the 
 same time. About noon, on the third of July, the 
 day being perfectly clear, Colonel Willett was start 
 led from his siesta by the report of musketry. Hast 
 ening to the parapet of the glacis, he saw a little 
 girl running with a basket in her hand, while the 
 blood was trickling down her bosom. On investi 
 gating the facts, it appeared that the girl, with two 
 others, was picking berries, not two hundred yards 
 from the fort, when they were fired upon by a party 
 of Indians, and two of the number killed. Happily, 
 she who only was left to tell the tale was but 
 slightly wounded. One of the girls killed was the 
 daughter of an invalid who had served many years 
 in the British artillery. He was entitled to a situ- 
 
 lated murders by large bounties for scalps. Twenty dollars is said to 
 have been the price he paid ; but his despatch to Lieutenant Bird, be 
 fore cited, does not corroborate the charge of such inhumanity. That 
 despatch was a private document, moreover, not written for the light, or 
 for effect, and must therefore be received as true. It was found among 
 Colonel Gansevoort s papers. 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 201 
 
 ation in Chelsea Hospital, but had preferred rather 
 to remain in the cultivation of a small piece of 
 ground at Fort Stanwix, than again to cross the 
 ocean. 
 
 By the middle of July, the Indians hovering about 
 the fort became so numerous and so bold as to oc 
 casion great annoyance. Large parties of soldiers 
 only could venture abroad on the most pressing 
 emergencies ; and even one of these was attacked, 
 several of its numbers being killed and wounded, 
 and the officer in command taken prisoner. The 
 force of the garrison, at this time, consisted of 
 about five hundred and fifty men ; ill supplied, as we 
 have already seen, both with provisions and muni 
 tions of war. Fortunately, however, on the 3d of 
 August, the very day of the investiture of the fort 
 by the advance of St. Leger s army under Thayen- 
 danegea and Bird, Lieutenant-colonel Mellon, of 
 Colonel Weston s regiment, arrived with two hun 
 dred men, and two batteaux of provisions and mili 
 tary stores. Not a moment was lost in conveying 
 these opportune supplies into the fort. Delay 
 would, indeed, have been dangerous ; for at the in 
 stant the last loads arrived at the fort, the enemy 
 appeared on the skirt of the forest, so near to the 
 boats, that the captain who commanded them be 
 came their prisoner. 
 
 The command of Colonel Gansevoort now con 
 sisted of seven hundred and fifty men, all told ; and 
 upon examination it was ascertained that they had 
 provisions for six weeks, with fixed ammunition 
 enough for the small arms. But for the cannon they 
 were lamentably deficient, having barely enough for 
 nine rounds per diem during the period specified. A 
 besieging army was before the fort, and its garrison 
 was without a flag ! But as necessity is the mother 
 of invention, they were not long thus destitute. 
 Stripes of white were cut from ammunition shirts ; 
 blue from a camblet cloak captured from the ene- 
 VOL. L Q 
 
202 BORDERS WARS OF THE 
 
 my ; while the red was supplied from such odds and 
 ends of clothes of that hue as were at hand. 
 
 Such -was the condition of Fort Schuyler at the 
 commencement of the memorable siege of 1777 : an 
 event, with its attending circumstances, forming an 
 important feature in the Northern border warfare 
 of the Revolution. Colonel St. Leger himself ar 
 rived before the fort on the 3d of August, with his 
 whole force, a motley collection of British regulars, 
 Hessian auxiliaries, New- York Loyalists, usually 
 denominated " Johnson s Greens," together with 
 numbers of the Canadians, and the Indians under 
 Thayendanegea. Sir John Johnson, and Colonels 
 Glaus and Butler, were also engaged with him in 
 the expedition. A flag was sent into the fort on the 
 morning of that day, with a copy of a rather pom 
 pous proclamation from St. Leger, which, it was 
 probably supposed, from its vaunting threats and 
 lavish promises, might produce a strong impression 
 upon the garrison. The object of his address was 
 to hold forth security, and not depredation ; he offer 
 ed employment to those who would join his stand 
 ard ; security to the infirm and industrious ; and pay 
 ment in coin for all the supplies the people would 
 bring to his camp. 
 
 This manifesto, however, produced no effect, then 
 or afterward. -The siege had been anticipated, and 
 the brave garrison, officers and men, had counted 
 the cost, and determined to defend the fortress to the 
 last. Accordingly, hostilities commenced actively 
 on the morning of the following day. The Indians, 
 concealing themselves behind clumps of shrubbery 
 and stumps of trees, annoyed the men who were 
 employed in raising the parapets not a little with 
 their rifles. Several were wounded ; and it was found 
 necessary immediately to station sharp-shooters at 
 suitable points, to watch opportunities, and fire in 
 return. The 5th was spent in much the same man 
 ner, with the addition of the throwing of a few 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 203 
 
 shells by the enemy, several of which fell within the 
 fort, and some in the barracks. On the evening of 
 this day, soon after it was dark, the Indians, who 
 were at least one thousand in number, spread them 
 selves through the woods, completely encircling the 
 fort, and commenced a terrible yelling, which was 
 continued at intervals the greater part of the night. 
 Having thus commenced his operations, Colonel 
 St. Leger found means of conveying the intelligence 
 to General Burgoyne, not for a moment anticipa 
 ting the distressing circumstances in which the 
 Northern commander-iii-chief already found him 
 self involved, though but midway in the career of 
 victory. Harassed incessantly by the foes he had 
 vanquished; unable to obtain supplies, except by 
 sending back for them to Fort George, in which ser 
 vice his troops were already greatly fatigued ; not 
 one third of his horses arrived from Canada ; the 
 roads excessively bad, and rendered all but impas 
 sable by a deluge of rain ; with only four days pro 
 visions on hand, the vaunting general, who had 
 boasted in the British capital that with ten thousand 
 men he could march through the whole rebel coun 
 try at pleasure, already found himself in an unen 
 viable situation. But on learning the advance of 
 General St. Leger, he instantly and justly consider 
 ed that a rapid movement forward, at this critical 
 juncture, would be of the utmost importance. If the 
 retreating Americans should proceed up the Mo 
 hawk with a view of relieving Fort Schuyler, in the 
 event of St. Leger s success against that place they 
 would place themselves between two fires ; or per 
 haps Burgoyne supposed that, were such a move 
 ment to be made on the part of the Americans, he 
 might yet throw his army between them and Al 
 bany, and thus compel them either to stand a gen 
 eral engagement or to strike off to the right, and, by 
 recrossing the Hudson higher up, secure a retreat 
 into New-England. If, on the other hand, the Amer- 
 
204 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 leans should abandon Fort Schuyler to its fate, and 
 themselves fall back upon Albany, he argued that 
 the Mohawk country would, of course, be entirely 
 laid open to him, his junction with St. Leger estab 
 lished, and the combined army be at liberty to select 
 its future line of operation. But his supplies were 
 inadequate to such an extensive operation, and his 
 army was too weak to allow him to keep up such a 
 chain of posts as would enable him to bring them 
 up daily from the depot at Lake George. With a 
 view, therefore, of obtaining immediate relief, and 
 of opening a new source of supply, especially of 
 cattle, from the upper settlements of New-England, 
 the expedition to Bennington, the place of deposite 
 of provisions for the Provincial forces, was planned, 
 and committed to a detachment of the Hessian 
 troops, under Colonel Baum, for execution. The 
 signal failure of this expedition was calculated still 
 farther both to embarrass and depress the invaders ; 
 while the brilliant success of the militia under Gen 
 eral Starke on that occasion, proving, as it had done, 
 that neither English nor German troops were in 
 vincible, revived the drooping spirits of the dis 
 heartened, reinspired the people with confidence of 
 ultimate success, and was the source of universal 
 exultation. 
 
 The progress of events brings us back to the 
 lower Valley of the Mohawk. No sooner was the 
 advance of St. Leger upon Fort Schuyler known to 
 the committee and officers of Tryon county, than 
 General Herkimer, in conformity with the procla 
 mation heretofore cited, summoned the militia of 
 his command to the field, for the purpose of march 
 ing to the succour of the garrison. Notwithstanding 
 the despondency that had prevailed in the early part 
 of the summer, the call was nobly responded to, not 
 only by the militia, but by the gentlemen of the 
 county, and most of the members of the committee, 
 who entered the field either as officers or private 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 205 
 
 volunteers. The fears so generally and so recent 
 ly indulged seemed all to have vanished with the 
 arrival of the invader, and the general soon found 
 himself at the head of between eight hundred and a 
 thousand men, all eager for action and impatient of 
 delay. Their place of rendezvous was Fort Day 
 ton (German Flatts), in the upper section of the 
 Mohawk Valley, and the most beautiful. The regi 
 ments were those of Colonels Klock, Visscher, Cox, 
 and one or two others, augmented by volunteers 
 and volunteer officers, who were pushing forward 
 as though determined at all hazards to redeem the 
 character of the county. Indeed, their proceedings 
 were by far too impetuous, since they hurried for 
 ward in their march without order or precaution, 
 without adequate flanking parties, and without re 
 connoitring the ground over which they were to 
 pass. They moved from Fort Dayton on the 4th, 
 and on the 5th reached the neighbourhood of Oris- 
 kany,* where they encamped. From this point an 
 express was sent forward by General Herkimer to 
 apprize Colonel Gansevoort of his approach, and to 
 concert measures of co-operation. The arrival of 
 the express at the fort was to be announced by 
 three successive discharges of cannon, the report of 
 which, it was supposed, would be distinctly heard at 
 Oriskany, only eight miles distant. Delays, how 
 ever, intervened, so that the messengers did not 
 reach the fort until ten or eleven o clock on the fol 
 lowing morning ; previous to which, the camp of the 
 enemy being uncommonly silent, a portion of their 
 troops had been observed by the garrison to be 
 moving along the edge of the woods down the river, 
 in the direction of the Oriskany Creek. The con 
 certed signals were immediately fired ; and as the 
 proposition of Horkimer was to force a passage to 
 
 * Probably the site of Whitestown. One of the MS. narratives in the 
 fcuthor s possession says they crossed the river at old Fort Schuyler (now 
 Utica). 
 
206 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 the fort, arrangements were immediately made by 
 Colonel Gansevoort to effect a diversion of the ene 
 my s attention, b y making a sally from the fort upon 
 the hostile camp ; for which purpose two hundred 
 men were detailed, consisting one half of Ganse- 
 voort s and one half of the Massachusetts troops, 
 and one fieldpiece, an iron three-pounder. The ex 
 ecution of the enterprise was intrusted to Colonel 
 Willett. 
 
 It appears that on the morning of that day, which 
 was the 6th of August, General Herkimer had mis 
 givings as to the propriety of advancing any farther 
 without first receiving re-enforcements. His offi 
 cers, however, were eager to press forward. A 
 consultation was held, in which some of the officers 
 manifested much impatience at any delay, while the 
 general still urged them to remain where they were 
 until re-enforcements could come up, or at least un 
 til the signal of a sortie should be received from the 
 fort. High words ensued, during which Colonels 
 Cox and Paris, and many others, denounced their 
 commander to his face as a Tory and a coward. 
 The brave old man calmly replied that he consider 
 ed himself placed over them as a father, and that it 
 was not his wish to lead them to any difficulty from 
 which he could not extricate them. Burning, as they 
 now seemed, to meet the enemy, he told them round 
 ly that they would run at his first appearance. But his 
 remonstrances were unavailing. Their clamour in 
 creased, and their reproaches were repeated, until, 
 stung by imputations of cowardice and a want of 
 fidelity to the cause, and somewhat irritated, withal, 
 the general immediately gave the order, " March 
 on!" The words were no sooner heard than the 
 troops gave a shout, and moved, or, rather, rushed 
 forward. They marched forward in files of two 
 deep, preceded by an advanced guard and keeping 
 flanks upon each side. 
 
 Having, by 10 o clock, proceeded rapidly forward 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 207 
 
 to the distance of only two or three miles, the 
 guards, both front and flanks, were suddenly shot 
 down, the forest rang with the war-whoops of a sav 
 age foe, and in an instant the greater part of the di 
 vision found itself in the midst of a formidable am 
 buscade. Colonel St. Leger, it appeared, having 
 heard of the advance of General Herkimer, in order 
 to prevent an attack in his intrenchments, had de 
 tached a division of Sir John Johnson s regiment 
 of Greens, under Sir John s brother-in-law, Major 
 Watts, Colonel Butler with his rangers, and Joseph 
 Brant with a strong body of Indians, to intercept his 
 approach.* With true Indian sagacity, Thayenda- 
 negea had selected a position admirably fitted for 
 his purpose, which was to draw the Americans, 
 whom he well knew to be approaching in no very 
 good military array, into an ambuscade. The lo 
 cality favoured his design. There was a deep ravine 
 crossing the path which Herkimer, with his undis 
 ciplined array, was traversing, " sweeping towards 
 the east in a semicircular form, and bearing a 
 northern and southern direction. The bottom of 
 this ravine was marshy, and the road crossed it by 
 means of a causeway. The ground, thus partly en 
 closed by the ravine, was elevated and level. The 
 ambuscade was laid upon the high ground west of 
 the ravine." 
 
 The enemy had disposed himself adroitly, in a 
 circle, leaving only a narrow segment open for the 
 admission of the ill-starred Provincials on their ap 
 proach. The stratagem was successful. Uncon 
 scious of the presence of the foe, Herkimer, with 
 his whole army excepting the rear-guard, composed 
 of Colonel Visscher s regiment, found himself en- 
 
 * In every account of this battle which has fallen under the author s 
 observation, excepting that of Colonel Willett, Sir John Johnson is made 
 the British commander at this battle. He was not in it at all, as will ap 
 pear a few pages forward. Even the cautious and inquisitive President 
 Dwighf falls into the error, nnd carries it through his whole account. 
 
208 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 compassed at the first fire, the enemy closing up 
 the gap at the instant of making himself known. 
 By thus early completing the circle, the baggage 
 and ammunition wagons, which had just descended 
 into the ravine, were cut off and separated from the 
 main body, as also was the regiment of Colonel 
 Visscher, yet on the eastern side of the ravine ; 
 which, as their general had predicted, instantly and 
 ingloriously fled, leaving their companions to their 
 fate. They were pursued, however, by a portion of 
 the Indians, and suffered more severely, probably, 
 than they would have done had they stood by their 
 fellows in the hour of need, either to conquer or to 
 fall. 
 
 Being thrown into irretrievable disorder by the 
 suddenness of the surprise and the destructiveness 
 of the fire, which was close and brisk from every 
 side, the division was for a time threatened with an 
 nihilation. At every opportunity, the savages, con 
 cealed behind the trunks of trees, darted forward 
 with knife and tomahawk to ensure the destruction 
 of those who fell ; and many and fierce were the 
 conflicts that ensued hand to hand. The veteran 
 Herkimer fell, wounded, in the early part of the ac 
 tion, a musket ball having passed through and killed 
 his horse, and shattered his own leg just below the 
 knee. The general was placed upon his saddle, 
 however, against the trunk of a tree for his support, 
 and thus continued to order the battle. Colonel Cox, 
 and Captains Davis and Van Sluyck, were severally 
 killed near the commencement of the engagement ; 
 and the slaughter of their broken ranks, from the 
 rifles of the Tories and the spears and tomahawks 
 of the Indians, was dreadful. But even in this de 
 plorable situation, the wounded general, his men 
 dropping like leaves around him, and the forest re 
 sounding with the horrid yells of the savages, ringing 
 high and wild over the din of battle, behaved with 
 the most perfect firmness and composure. The 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 209 
 
 action had lasted about forty-five minutes, in great 
 disorder, before the Provincials formed themselves 
 into circles in order to repel the attacks of the en 
 emy, who were concentrating, and closing in upon 
 them from all sides. From this moment the re 
 sistance of the Provincials was more effective, and 
 the enemy attempted to charge with the bayonet. 
 The firing ceased for a time, excepting the scatter 
 ing discharges of musketry from the Indians ; and 
 as the bayonets crossed, the contest became a death 
 struggle, hand to hand and foot to foot. Never, 
 however, did brave men stand a charge with more 
 dauntless courage, and the enemy for the moment 
 seemed to recoil just at the instant when the work 
 of death was arrested by a heavy shower of rain, 
 which suddenly broke upon the combatants wit! 
 great fury. The storm raged for upward of an hour 
 during which time the enemy sought such shelter 
 as might be found among the trees at a respectful 
 distance ; for they had already suffered severely, 
 notwithstanding the advantages in their favour. 
 
 During this suspension of the battle, both parties 
 had time to look about, and make such new dispo 
 sitions as they pleased for attack and defence, on 
 renewing the murderous conflict. The Provincials, 
 under the direction of their general, were so fortu 
 nate as to take possession of an advantageous piece 
 of ground, upon which his men formed themselves 
 into a circle, and, as the shower broke away, awaited 
 the movements of the enemy. In the early part ol 
 the battle, the Indians, whenever they saw a gun 
 fired by a militiaman from behind a tree, rushed 
 upon and tomahawked him before he could reload 
 In order to counteract this mode of warfare, two men 
 were stationed behind a single tree, one only to fire 
 at a time, the other reserving his fire until the In 
 dians ran up as before. The fight was presently re 
 newed, and by the new arrangement, and the cool 
 execution done bv the fire of the militia forming 
 VOL. I.R 
 
210 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 the main circle, the Indians were made to suffe f 
 severely; so much so, that they began to give 
 way, when Major Watts came up with a re-enforce 
 ment, consisting of another detachment of Johnson s 
 Greens. These men were mostly Loyalists, who 
 had fled from Tryon county, now returned in arms 
 against their former neighbours. As no quarrels are 
 so bitter as those of families, so no wars are so cruel 
 and passionate as those called civil. Many of the 
 Provincials and Greens were known to each other ; 
 and as they advanced so near as to afford opportu 
 nities of mutual recognition, the contest became, if 
 possible, more of a death struggle than before. Mu 
 tual resentments, and feelings of hate and revenge, 
 raged in their bosoms. The Provincials fired upon 
 them as they advanced, and then springing like 
 chafed tigers from their covers, attacked them with 
 their bayonets and the butts of their muskets, or both 
 parties, in closer contact, throttled each other and 
 drew their knives ; stabbing, and sometimes literally 
 dying in one another s embrace. 
 
 At length a firing was heard in the distance from 
 the fort, a sound as welcome to the Provincials as 
 it was astounding to the enemy. Availing them 
 selves of the hint, however, a ruse-de-gucrre was at 
 tempted by Colonel Butler, which had wellnigh 
 proved fatal. It was the sending, suddenly, from 
 the direction of the fort, a detachment of the Greens 
 disguised as American troops, in the expectation that 
 they might be received as a timely re-enforcement 
 from the garrison. Lieutenant Jacob Sammons was 
 the first to descry their approach, in the direction of 
 a body of men commanded by Captain Jacob Gar- 
 denier, an officer who, during that memorable day, 
 performed prodigies of valour. Perceiving that 
 their hats were American, Sammons informed Cap 
 tain Gardenier that succours from the fort were com 
 ing up. The quick eye of the captain detected the 
 ruse, and he replied, " Not so : they are enemies 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 211 
 
 don t you see their green coats !" They continued 
 to advance until hailed by Gardenier ; at which 
 moment one of his own soldiers, observing an ac 
 quaintance, and supposing him a friend, ran to meet 
 him, and presented his hand. It was grasped, but 
 with no friendly gripe, as the credulous fellow was 
 dragged into the opposing line, and informed that 
 he was a prisoner. He did not yield without a 
 struggle ; during which Gardenier, watching the ac 
 tion and the result, sprang forward, and with a blow 
 from his spear levelled the captor to the dust and 
 liberated his man. Others of the foe instantly set 
 upon him, of whom he slew the second and wounded 
 a third. Three of the disguised Greens now sprang 
 upon him, and one of his spurs becoming entan 
 gled in their clothes, he was thrown to the ground. 
 Still contending, however, with almost superhuman 
 strength, both of his thighs were transfixed to the 
 earth by the bayonets of two of his assailants, while 
 the third presented a bayonet to his breast, as if to 
 thrust him through. Seizing this bayonet with his 
 left hand, by a sudden wrench he brought its owner 
 down upon himself, where he held him as a shield 
 against the arms of the others, until one of his 
 own men, Adam Miller, observing the struggle, 
 flew to his rescue. As the assailants turned upon 
 their new adversary, Gardenier rose upon his seat ; 
 and although his hand was severely lacerated by 
 grasping the bayonet which had been drawn through 
 it, seized his spear lying by his side, and, quick as 
 lightning, planted it to the barb in the side of the as 
 sailant with whom he had been clinched. The man 
 fell and expired, proving to be Lieutenant M Don- 
 ald, one of the Loyalist officers from Tryon county. 
 All this occurred in far less time than is necessarily 
 occupied by the relation. While engaged in the 
 struggle, some of his own men called out to Garde 
 nier, " For God s sake, captain, you are killing your 
 own men !" He replied, " They are not our men 
 
212 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 they are the enemy fire away!" A deadly fire 
 from the Provincials ensued, during which about 
 thirty of the Greens fell slain, and many Indian war 
 riors. The parties once more rushed upon each 
 other with bayonet and spear, grappling and fighting 
 with terrible fury ; while the shattering of shafts and 
 the clashing of steel mingled with every dread sound 
 of war and death, and the savage yells, more hideous 
 than all, presented a scene which can be more easily- 
 imagined than described. The unparalleled forti 
 tude and bravery of Captain Gardenier infused fresh 
 spirits into his men, some of whom enacted wonders 
 of valour likewise. It happened during the mtlee, in 
 which the contending parties were mingled in great 
 confusion, that three of Johnson s Greens rushed 
 within the circle of the Provincials, and attempted 
 to make prisoner of a Captain Dillenback. This 
 officer had declared he never would be taken alive, 
 and he was not. One of his three assailants seized 
 his gun, but he suddenly wrenched it from him, and 
 felled him with the butt. He shot the second dead, 
 and thrust the third through with his bayonet. But 
 in the moment of his triumph at an exploit of which 
 even the mighty Hector, or either of the sons of 
 Zeruiah might have been proud, a ball laid this brave 
 man low in the dust. 
 
 Such a conflict as this could not be continued 
 long ; and the Indians, perceiving with what ardour 
 the Provincials maintained the fight, and finding 
 their own numbers sadly diminished, now raised the 
 retreating cry of " Oonah /" and fled in every direc 
 tion, under the shouts and hurrahs of the surviving 
 Provincials, and a shower of bullets. Finding, 
 moreover, from the firing at the fort, that their pres 
 ence was necessary elsewhere, the Greens and Ran 
 gers now retreated precipitately, leaving the victo 
 rious militia of Tryon county masters of the field.* 
 
 * It is an extraordinary fact, that every historian who has written of 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 213 
 
 Thus ended one of the severest, and, for the num 
 bers engaged, one of the most bloody battles of the 
 Revolutionary war. Though victorious, the loss of 
 the Provincials was very heavy ; and Tryon coun 
 ty long had reason to mourn that day. Colonel Par 
 is was taken prisoner by the enemy, and afterward 
 murdered by the Indians. Several other prisoners 
 were also killed by the savages, after they had been 
 brought into Colonel Butler s quarters, and, as it 
 was said, by the colonel s own tacit consent, if not 
 permission in terms. But the general character of 
 that officer forbids the imputation.* Major John 
 Frey, of Colonel Klock s regiment, was likewise 
 wounded and taken ; and, to show the more than 
 savage fury burning in the bosoms of the men 
 brought into conflict on this occasion, the disgrace 
 ful fact may be added, that his own brother, who 
 was in the British service, attempted to take his life 
 after he had arrived in Butler s camp. The major 
 saw his brother approaching in a menacing manner, 
 and called out, " Brother, do not kill me ! do you 
 not know me ?" But the infuriated brother rushed 
 forward, and the major was only saved by the inter 
 position of others. The whole number of the Pro 
 vincial militia killed was two hundred, exclusive of 
 wounded and lost as prisoners. Such, at least, 
 was the American report. The British statements 
 
 the battle of Oriskuny has recorded it as a defeat of the Provincials, 
 from Marshall and Ramsay down, to say nothing of the British chroni 
 clers. Such was also the author s impression until he undertook the 
 present investigation. Captain Brant himself, in conversation with 
 Samuel Woodruff, Esq., admitted that they were the victors ; and all the 
 written statements which the author has been able to procure from the 
 survivers of that battle bear the same testimony. 
 
 * The late Doctor Moses Younglove, of Hudson, Columbia county, 
 was the surgeon of General Herkimer s brigade. He was taken prison 
 er in this battle by a sergeant of Sir John Johnson s regiment. After 
 his release, he made a deposition setting forth many grievous barbarities 
 committed, both by the Indians and Tories, upon the prisoners who fell 
 into their hands that day. They were cruelly tortured, several of them 
 murdered ; and, as the docttfr hud reason to believe, some of them were 
 subsequently taken to an island in Lake Ontario, and eaten. This ia 
 scarcely to be believed. 
 
214 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 claimed that four hundred of the Americans were 
 killed, and two hundred taken prisoners. 
 
 Retaining possession of the field, the survivers 
 immediately set themselves at work in construct 
 ing rude litters, upon which to bear off the wounded. 
 Between forty and fifty of these, among whom was 
 the commanding general, were removed in this 
 manner. The brave old man, notwithstanding the 
 imprudence of the meaning imprudence in allow 
 ing a premature movement at the dictation of his 
 subordinates had nobly vindicated his character 
 for courage during the day. Though wounded, as 
 we have seen, in the onset, he had borne himself 
 during the six hours of conflict, under the most try 
 ing circumstances, with a degree of fortitude and 
 composure worthy of all admiration. Nor was his 
 example without effect in sustaining his troops amid 
 the perils by which they were environed. At one 
 time during the battle, while sitting upon his sad 
 dle raised upon a little hillock, being advised to se 
 lect a less exposed situation, he replied, " I will 
 face the enemy." Thus, " surrounded by a few 
 men, he continued to issue his orders with firmness. 
 In this situation, and in the heat of the onslaught, 
 he deliberately took his tinder-box from his pocket, 
 lit his pipe, and smoked with great composure." 
 At the moment the soldiers were placing him on the 
 litter, while adjusting the blankets to the poles, three 
 Indians approached, and were instantly shot down 
 by the unerring rifles of three of the militia. These 
 were the last shots fired in that battle. 
 
 The loss of the enemy in this engagement was 
 equally, if not more severe, than that of the Ameri 
 cans. The Greens and Rangers of Sir John John 
 son and Colonel Butler must have suffered badly, 
 although no returns were given in the contempora 
 neous accounts. Major Watts was severely wound 
 ed, and left on the field, as was Supposed, among the 
 glain. His death was reported by Colonel Willett, 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 215 
 
 in his letter to Governor Trumbull, and by other au 
 thorities. But such was not the fact. Reviving 
 from fain ti; ess produced by loss of blood, some 
 hours after the action, he succeeded in crawling to 
 a brook, where, by slaking kis thirst, he was pre 
 served from speedy death, and in the course of two 
 or three days was found by some Indian scouts, and 
 brought into St. Leger s camp.* But the Indians 
 were the most roughly handled, having lost nearly 
 one hundred warriors, several of whom were sa 
 chems in great favour, Frederic Sammons, who 
 had been detached upon a distant scout previous to 
 the battle, returning some days after, crossed the 
 battle-field, where, he says, "I beheld the most 
 shocking sight I had ever witnessed. The Indians 
 and white men were mingled with one another, just 
 as they had been left when death had first comple 
 ted his work. Many bodies had also been torn to 
 pieces by wild beasts." 
 
 It lias been affirmed that the Indians were per 
 suaded to join in this battle only with great difficul 
 ty, and not until they had been induced to sacrifice 
 their reason to their appetites. It was very mani 
 fest that during the action many of them were in 
 toxicated. The consequence was, that they suffered 
 more severely than ever before. According to the 
 
 ~* This statement respecting Major Walts \vzs derived from the late 
 Mr. John Watts, of New-York, his brother. As mentioned in the text, 
 St. Leger, in his official report, did nut state the number of his own kill 
 ed and wounded. Colonel Butler, however, wrote to Sir Guy Carleton, 
 Of the IS ew- Yorkers, Captain M Donald was killed, Captain Watts 
 dangerously wounded, and oue subaltern. Of the Rangers, Captains 
 Wilson and Hare killed, and one private wounded. The Indians suffer 
 ed much, having thirty-three killed and twenty-nine wounded ; the Sen- 
 ecus lost seventeen, among whom were several of their chief warriors, 
 and had sixteen wounded. During the whole action, the Indians show 
 ed the greatest zeal for njs majesty s cause ; and had they not been a Jit- 
 tie too precipitate, scarcely a rebel of the party would have escaped. 
 Most of the leading rebels are cutoff in the action, so that any farther at 
 tempts from that quarter are not to be expected. Captain Watts, of the 
 lloyal New-Yorkers, whose many amiable qualities deserved a better 
 fate, lay, wounded in three places, upon the field two days before he was 
 & Lmd. : - Parlujmetitartt Register. 
 
216 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 narrative of Mary Jemison, the Indians (at least the 
 Senecas) were deceived into the campaign. " They 
 were sent for to see the British whip the rebels. 
 They were told that they were not wanted to fight, 
 but merely to sit down, smoke their pipes, and look 
 on. The Senecas went to a man ; but, contrary to 
 their expectation, instead of smoking and looking 
 on, they were obliged to fight for their lives ; and in 
 the end of the battle were completely beaten, with 
 a great loss of killed and wounded." 
 
 The whole Indian force was led by Thayendanegea 
 in person, " the great captain of the Six Nations," as 
 he was then called ; and as the Cayugas had now 
 likewise joined the Mohawks in alliance with the 
 arms of England the Onondagas adopting a doubt 
 ful policy, but always, in fact, acting against the Pro 
 vincials he must have had a large force in the field. 
 Of the Senecas alone, thirty-six were killed and a 
 great number wounded. Captain Brant was accus 
 tomed, long years afterward, to speak of the suffer 
 ings of his " poor Mohawks" in that battle. Indeed, 
 the severity with which they were handled on that 
 occasion rendered them morose and intractable du 
 ring the remainder of the campaign ; and the unhap 
 py prisoners were the first to minister with their 
 blood to their resentment. ; Our town," says Mary 
 Jemison, " exhibited a scene of real sorrow and dis 
 tress when our warriors returned and recounted their 
 reverses, and stated the real loss they had sustained 
 in the engagement. The mourning was excessive, 
 and was expressed by the most doleful yells, shrieks, 
 and howlings, and by inimitable gesticulations." 
 
 It was unfortunate that General Herkimer form 
 ed his line of march with so little judgment that, 
 when attacked, his men were in no situation to sup 
 port each other ; and more unfortunate still, that he 
 marched at all, so long before he could expect to 
 hear the concerted signal for the diversion to be 
 made in his favour by the sortie of Colonel Willett. 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 217 
 
 The heavy rainstorm, moreover, which caused a 
 suspension of the battle, had likewise the effect of 
 delaying the sally for nearly an hour. It was made, 
 however, as soon as it was practicable, and was not 
 only completely successful, but was conducted with 
 such ability and spirit by the gallant officer to whom 
 it was confided, as to win for him the applause of 
 the foe himself. In addition to the two hundred 
 men detailed for this service, under Colonel Wil- 
 lett s command, as before stated, fifty more were 
 added to guard the light iron three-pounder already 
 mentioned. 
 
 With these troops, and this his only piece of 
 mounted ordnance, Colonel Willett lost not a mo 
 ment, after the cessation of the rain, in making the 
 sally. The enemy s sentinels being directly in 
 sight of the fort, the most rapid movements were 
 necessary. The sentinels were driven in, and his 
 advanced guard attacked, before he had time to form 
 his troops. Sir John Johnson, whose regiment was 
 not more than two hundred yards distant from the 
 advanced guard, it being very warm, was in his 
 tent, divested of his coat at the moment, and had 
 not time to put it on before his camp was assailed. 
 Such, moreover, were the celerity of Willett s move 
 ment and the impetuosity of the attack, that Sir 
 John could not bring his troops into order, and theii 
 only resource was in flight. The Indian encamp 
 ment was next to that of Sir John, and, in turn, was 
 carried with equal rapidity. The larger portion of 
 the Indians, and a detachment from the regiment of 
 Sir John, were, at the very moment of this unex 
 pected assault upon their quarters, engaged in the 
 battle of Oriskany. Those who were left behind 
 now betook themselves Sir John and his men to 
 the river, and the Indians to their natural shelter, 
 the woods, the troops of Colonel Willett firing 
 briskly upon them in their flight. The amount of 
 spoil found in the enemy s camp was so great, that 
 
218 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 Willett was obliged to send hastily to the fort for 
 wagons to convey it away. Seven of these vehi 
 cles were three times loaded and discharged in the 
 fort, while the brave little Provincial band held pos 
 session of the encampments. Among the spoils 
 thus captured, consisting of camp equipage, cloth 
 ing, blankets, stores, &c., were five British stand 
 ards, the baggage of Sir John Johnson, with all his 
 papers, the baggage of a number of other officers, 
 with memoranda, journals, and orderty-books, con 
 taining all the information desirable on the part of 
 the besieged. While Colonel Willett was returning 
 to the fort, Colonel St. Leger, who was on the op 
 posite side of the river, attempted a movement to 
 intercept him. Willett s position, however, enabled 
 him to form his troops so as to give the enemy a 
 full fire in front, while at the same time he was en 
 filaded by the fire of a small fieldpiece. The dis 
 tance was not more than sixty yards between them ; 
 and although St. Leger was not backward in return 
 ing the fire, his aim was, nevertheless, so wild as to 
 be entirely without effect. The assailants returned 
 into the fortress in triumph, without having lost a 
 man ; the British Hags were hoisted on the flagstaff 
 under the American ; and the men, ascending the 
 parapets, gave three as hearty cheers as were ever 
 shouted by the same number of voices. Among the 
 prisoners brought off by the victors was Lieutenant 
 Singleton, of Sir John Johnson s regiment. Several 
 Indians were found dead in their camp, and others 
 were killed in crossing the river. The loss to the 
 enemy, particularly in stores and baggage, was 
 great ; while the affair itself was of still more im 
 portance, from the new spirit of patriotic enthusi 
 asm with which it inspired the little garrison. For 
 this chivalrous exploit, Congress passed a resolution 
 of thanks, and directed the commissary-general of 
 military stores to procure an elegant sword, and 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 219 
 
 present the same to Colonel Willett in the name of 
 the United States. 
 
 General Herkimer did not long survive the battle. 
 He was conveyed to his own house near the Mo 
 hawk River, a few miles below the Little Falls, 
 where his leg, which had been shattered five or six 
 inches below the knee, was amputated about ten 
 days after the battle, by a young French surgeon in 
 the army of General Arnold, and contrary to the 
 advice of the general s own medical adviser, the 
 late Doctor Petrie. But the operation was unskil 
 fully performed, and it was found impossible by his 
 attendants to stanch the blood. Colonel Willett 
 called to see the general soon after the operation. 
 He was sitting up in his bed, with a pipe in his 
 mouth, smoking, and talking in excellent spirits. 
 He died the night following that visit. His friend, 
 Colonel John Roff, was present at the amputation, 
 and affirmed that he bore the operation with uncom 
 mon fortitude. He was likewise with him at the 
 time of his death. The blood continuing to flow- 
 there being no physician in immediate attendance 
 and being himself satisfied that the time of his 
 departure was nigh, the veteran directed the Holy 
 Bible to be brought to him. He then opened it and 
 read, in the presence of those who surrounded his 
 bed, with all the composure which it was possible 
 for any man to exhibit, the thirty-eighth Psalm, 
 applying it to his own situation. He soon after 
 ward expired ; and it may well be questioned 
 whether the annals of man furnish a more striking 
 example of Christian heroism calm, deliberate, 
 and firm in the hour of death than is presented in 
 this remarkable instance. Of the .early history of 
 General Herkimer but little is known. It has been 
 already stated that his family was one of the first 
 of the Germans who planted themselves in the Mo 
 hawk Valley ; and the massive stone mansion, yet 
 standing at German Flatts, bespeaks its early opu- 
 
220 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 lence. He was an uneducated man, with, if pos 
 sible, less skill in letters even than General Put 
 nam, which is saying much. But he was, neverthe 
 less, a man of strong and vigorous understanding 
 destitute of some of the essential requisites of gen 
 eralship, but of the most cool and dauntless cour 
 age. These traits were all strikingly disclosed in 
 the brief and bloody expedition to Oriskany. But 
 he must have been well acquainted with that most 
 important of all books THE BIBLE. Nor could the 
 most learned biblical scholar, lay or clerical, have 
 selected a portion of the sacred Scriptures more 
 exactly appropriate to the situation of the dying 
 soldier than that to which he himself spontane 
 ously turned. If Socrates died like a philosopher, 
 and Rousseau like an unbelieving sentimentalist, 
 General Herkimer died like a CHRISTIAN HERO. Con 
 gress passed a resolution requesting the Governor 
 and Council of New- York to erect a monument, at 
 the expense of the United States, to the memory of 
 this brave man, of the value of five hundred dollars 
 This resolution was transmitted to the Governor of 
 New- York, George Clinton, in a letter, from which 
 the following passage is quoted : " Every mark of 
 distinction shown to the memory of such illustrious 
 men as offer up their lives for the liberty and hap 
 piness of their country, reflects real honour on 
 those who pay the tribute ; and, by holding up to 
 others the prospect of fame and immortality, will 
 animate them to tread in the same path." Govern 
 or Clinton thus wrote to the committee of Try on 
 county on the occasion : " Enclosed you have a let 
 ter and resolves of Congress for erecting a monument 
 to the memory of your late gallant general. While 
 with you I lament the cause, I am impressed with a 
 due sense of the great and justly merited-honour 
 the continent has, in this instance, paid to the mem 
 ory of that brave man." Such were the feelings of 
 respect for the services and memory of the deceas- 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 221 
 
 ed entertained by the great men of that day. Sixty 
 years have since rolled away, and the journal of 
 Congress is the only monument, and the resolution 
 itself the only inscription, which as yet testify the 
 gratitude of the Republic to GENERAL NICHOLAS HER- 
 KIMER. 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 THOUGH in fact defeated at Oriskany, the enemy 
 claimed, as we have seen, a victory. In one sense, 
 it is true, the achievement was theirs. They had 
 prevented the advance of the Americans to the suc 
 cour of the fort, and on their retreat the Americans 
 were unable to pursue. Still the field was won, 
 and retained by them. Availing himself of his 
 questionable success, however, and well knowing 
 that days must probably elapse before the garrison 
 could become apprized of the whole circumstances 
 of the engagement and its issue, St. Leger lost no 
 time in endeavouring, by false representations, to 
 press the besieged to a capitulation. On the same 
 night of the battle, therefore, at nine o clock, Col 
 onel Bellinger and Major Frey, being in St. Leger s 
 camp as prisoners, were compelled to address a 
 note to Colonel Gansevoort, greatly exaggerating 
 the disasters of the day, and strongly urging a sur 
 render. In this letter they spoke of the defeat at 
 Oriskany, of the impossibility of receiving any far 
 ther succour from below, of the formidable force of 
 St. Leger, together with his train of artillery, an 
 nounced the probable fact that Burgoyne and his 
 army were then before Albany, and stated that 
 longer resistance w r ould only result in "inevitable 
 ruin and destruction." The letter was transmitted 
 
222 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 to Colonel Gansevoort by St. Lexer s adjutant- 
 general, Colonel Butler, who, in delivering it, made 
 a verbal demand of surrender. Colonel Gansevoort 
 replied that he would give no answer to a verbal 
 summons, unless delivered by Colonel St. Leger 
 himself, but at the mouth of his cannon. 
 
 On the following day a white flag approached the 
 garrison, with a request that Colonel Butler, and 
 two other officers, might be admitted into the fort 
 as bearers of a message to the commanding officer. 
 Permission being granted, those officers were con 
 ducted blindfolded into the fort, and received by 
 Colonel Gansevoort in his dining-room. The win 
 dows of the room were shut, and candles lighted ; 
 a table was also spread^ upon which were placed 
 some slight refreshments. Colonels Willett and 
 Mellen were present at the interview, together with 
 as many of the American officers as could be ac 
 commodated in the quarters of their commander. 
 After the officers were seated and the wine had 
 been passed around, Major Ancrom, one of the mes 
 sengers, addressed Colonel Gansevoort in substance 
 as follows : 
 
 " I am directed by Colonel St. Leger, the officer 
 commanding the army now investing this fort, to in 
 form the commandant that the colonel has, with 
 much difficulty, prevailed on the Indians to agree 
 that if the fort, without farther resistance, shall be 
 delivered Up, with the public stores belonging to it, 
 to the investing army, the officers and soldiers shall 
 have all their baggage and private property secured 
 to them. And in order that the garrison may have 
 a sufficient pledge to this effect, Colonel Butler ac 
 companies me, to assure them that not a hair of the 
 head of any one of them shall be hurt/ (Here 
 turning to Colonel Butler, he said, " That, I think, 
 was the expression they made use of, was it not ?" 
 to which the colonel answered, " Yes. 1 ) " I am 
 likewise directed to remind the commandant thai 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 223 
 
 the defeat of General Herkimer must deprive the 
 garrison of all hopes of relief, especially as General 
 Burgoyne is now in Albany ; so that, sooner or 
 later, the fort must fall into our hands. Colonel 
 St. Leger, from an earnest desire to prevent farther 
 bloodshed, hopes these terms will not be refused, 
 as in this case it will be out of his power to make 
 them again. It was with great difficulty the Indians 
 consented to the present arrangement, as it will de 
 prive them of that plunder which they always cal 
 culate upon on similar occasions. Should, then, the 
 present terms be rejected, it will be out of the pow 
 er of the colonel to restrain the Indians, who are 
 very numerous, and much exasperated, not only 
 from plundering the property, but destroying the 
 lives, probably, of the greater part of the garrison. 
 Indeed, the Indians are so exceedingly provoked 
 and mortified by the losses they have sustained in 
 the late actions, having had several of their favourite 
 chiefs killed, that they threaten and the colonel, if 
 the present arrangements should not be entered into, 
 will not be able to prevent them from executing 
 their threats to march down the country, and de 
 stroy the settlement, with its inhabitants. In this 
 case, not only men, but women and children, will ex 
 perience the sad effects of their vengeance. These 
 considerations, it is ardently hoped, will produce a 
 proper effect, and induce the commandant, by com 
 plying with the terms now offered, to save himself 
 from future regret, when it will be too late." 
 
 This singular oration was of course delivered ex 
 temporaneously, as also was the following reply, by 
 Colonel Willett, with the approbation of Colonel 
 Gansevoort : 
 
 " Do I understand you, sir 1 I think you say that 
 you come from a British colonel, who is command 
 er of the army that invests this fort ; and, by your 
 uniform, you appear to be an officer in the British 
 service. You have made a long speech on the oc- 
 
224 BORDER WARS OP THE 
 
 casion of your visit, which, stripped of all its super 
 fluities, amounts to this : that you come from a Brit 
 ish colonel to the commandant of this garrison, to 
 tell him that, if he does not deliver up the fort into 
 the hands of your colonel, he will send his Indians 
 to murder our women and children. You will please 
 to reflect, sir, that their blood will be on your 
 head, not on ours. We are doing our duty ; this 
 fort is committed to our charge, and we will take 
 care of it. After you get out of it, you may turn 
 round and look at its outside, but nev.er expect to 
 come in again, unless you come a prisoner. I con 
 sider the message you have brought a degrading one 
 for a British officer to send, and by no means repu 
 table for a British officer to carry. For my own 
 part, I declare, before I would consent to deliver 
 this fort to such a murdering set as your army, by 
 your own account, consists of, I would suffer my 
 body to be filled with splinters and set on fire, as 
 you know has at times been practised by such 
 hordes of women and children killers as belong to 
 your army." 
 
 Colonel Willett observes, in his narrative, whence 
 these facts are drawn, that in the delivery he looked 
 the British major full in the face ; and that he spoke 
 with emphasis is not doubted. The sentiments con 
 tained in this reply were received with universal ap 
 plause by the Provincial officers, who, far from be 
 ing intimidated by the threats of the messengers, 
 were at once impressed with the idea that such 
 pressing efforts to induce a capitulation could only 
 be the effect of doubt, on the part of the enemy him 
 self, of his ability either to sustain the siege or car 
 ry the works by assault. Before the interview was 
 closed, Major Ancrom requested that an English 
 surgeon who was with him might be permitted to 
 visit the British wounded in the fort, which request 
 was granted. Major Ancrom also proposed an ar 
 mistice for three days, which was likewise agreed 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 225 
 
 to by Colonel Gansevoort the more readily, prob 
 ably, because of his scanty supply of ammunition. 
 
 On the 9th of August, Colonel Gansevoort having 
 refused to recognise any verbal messages from the 
 British commander, Colonel St. Leger transmitted 
 the substance of Major Ancrom s speech in the form 
 of a letter, protesting that no indignity was intend 
 ed by the delivery of such a message a message 
 that had been insisted upon categorically by the In 
 dians and formally renewing the summons of a 
 surrender ; adding, that the Indians were becoming 
 exceedingly impatient, and if the proposition should 
 be rejected, the refusal would be attended with very 
 fatal consequences, not only to the garrison, but to 
 the whole country of the Mohawk River. 
 
 The reply of Colonel Gansevoort was written 
 with soldierly brevity, in the following words : 
 
 COL. GASNEVOORT TO COL. ST. LEGER. 
 
 " Fort Schuyler, Aug. 9th, 1777. 
 " SIR, 
 
 " Your letter of this day s date I have received, 
 in answer to which I say, that it is my determined 
 resolution, with the forces under my command, to 
 defend this fort to the last extremity, in behalf of the 
 United American States, who have placed me here 
 to defend it against all their enemies. 
 " I have the honour to be, sir, 
 
 " Your most ob t humble serv t, 
 
 " PETER GANSEVOORT, 
 " Col. commanding Fort Schuyler. 
 " Gen. Barry St. Leger." 
 
 Failing in these attempts to induce a surrender, 
 the besiegers, four days afterward, had recourse to 
 another expedient. It was the issuing of an appeal to 
 the inhabitants of Tryon county, signed by Sir John 
 Johnson, Colonel Claus, and Colonel John Butler, 
 similar in its tenour to the verbal and written messa 
 ges of St. Leger to Colonel Gansevoort. Messen- 
 VOL. I. S 
 
226 BORDER WARS OP THE 
 
 gers were despatched with this document into Try- 
 on county, but- to no good purpose ; while, as will 
 soon appear, some of those messengers were in 
 volved in serious difficulty by their errand. 
 
 But if Colonel Willett s success in the brilliant 
 execution of the sortie on the 6th entitled him, as it 
 unquestionably did, to the commendations he re 
 ceived, a still more perilous enterprise, undertaken 
 by him a few days afterward, was thought, alike by 
 friends and foes, to entitle him to still greater ap 
 plause. The artillery of the besiegers was not suf 
 ficiently heavy to make any impression upon the 
 works, and there was every probability that the gar 
 rison might hold out until succours should be ob 
 tained, could their situation be made known. Col 
 onel Willett was not only well acquainted, but ex 
 ceedingly popular, in Tryon county ; and it was sup 
 posed that, should he show himself personally among 
 the militia of that district, notwithstanding the ex 
 tent of their suffering in the late expedition, he might 
 yet rally a force sufficient to raise the siege. The 
 bold project was therefore conceived by him of 
 passing at night, in company with another officer, 
 through the enemy s works, and, regardless of the 
 danger from the prowling savages, making his way 
 through some forty or fifty miles of sunken morass 
 es and pathless woods, in order to raise the county 
 and bring relief. Selecting Major Stockwell for his 
 companion, Colonel Willett undertook the expedi 
 tion on the 10th, and left the fort at ten o clock that 
 night, each armed with nothing but a spear, and pro 
 vided only with a small supply of crackers and 
 cheese, a small canteen of spirits, and in all other 
 respects unencumbered, even by a blanket. Having 
 emerged from the sally-port, they crept upon their 
 hands and knees along the edge of a morass to the 
 river, which they crossed by crawling over upon a 
 log, and succeeded in getting off unperceived by the 
 sentinels of the enemy, although passing very near 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 227 
 
 to them. Their first advance was into a deep-tan 
 gled forest, in which, enveloped in thick darkness, 
 they lost their direction, and found it impossible to 
 proceed. While in this state of uncertainty, the 
 barking of a dog added little to their comfort, inas 
 much as it apprized them that they were not far 
 from a new Indian encampment, formed subsequent 
 to the sortie a few days before. They were there 
 fore compelled to stand perfectly still for several 
 hours, and until the morning star appeared to guide 
 their way. Striking first in a northern direction for 
 several miles, and then eastwardly, they traced a 
 zigzag course, occasionally adopting the Indian 
 method of concealing their trail by walking in the 
 channels of streams, and by stepping on stones 
 along the river s edge. In this way they travelled 
 the whole of the ensuing day, without making a sin 
 gle halt. On the approach of night they dared not 
 to strike a light, but lay down to sleep interlocked 
 in each other s arms. Pursuing their journey on 
 the 12th, their little stock of provisions being ex 
 hausted, they fed upon raspberries and blackberries, 
 of which they found abundance in an opening occa 
 sioned by a windfall. Thus refreshed, they pushed 
 forward with renewed vigour, and at an accelerated 
 pace, and arrived at Fort Dayton at three o clock in 
 the afternoon.* 
 
 The colonel and his friend received a hearty wel 
 come from Colonel Weston, whose regiment was 
 then in charge of Fort Dayton, and from whom he 
 obtained the agreeable intelligence that, on learning 
 the news of General Herkimer s disaster, General 
 Schuyler had ordered Generals Arnold and Lamed, 
 with the Massachusetts brigade, to march to the re 
 lief of Colonel Gansevoort. Colonel Willett there 
 upon took horse immediately for Albany to meet 
 
 * " So successful was Colonel Willett in all his movements, that the 
 Indians, believing him to be possessed of supernatural power, gave to 
 him the name of the Devil." Campbell. 
 
228 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 General Arnold, who was to command the expedi 
 tion ; and in four days afterward accompanied Arnold 
 back to Fort Dayton, where the troops were assem 
 bling. The first New- York regiment had been add 
 ed to the brigade of General Larned, who was yet 
 in the rear bringing up the heavy baggage and stores. 
 During Willett s brief absence to Albany, an in 
 cident occurred in the neighbourhood of Fort Day 
 ton, showing that, if he had been active in his at 
 tempts to bring succours to the fort, the enemy, on 
 the other hand, had not been idle. About two miles 
 above Fort Dayton resided a Mr. Shoemaker, a dis 
 affected gentleman, who had been in his majesty s 
 commission of the peace. Having heard of a clan 
 destine meeting of Tories at the house of that gen 
 tleman, Colonel Weston despatched a detachment 
 of troops thither, which came upon the assemblage 
 by surprise, and took them all prisoners. Among 
 them was Lieutenant Walter N. Butler, from St. 
 Leger s army, who, with fourteen white soldiers 
 and the same number of Indians, had visited the 
 German Flatts secretly, with the appeal of Sir 
 John Johnson, Glaus, and the elder Butler, referred 
 to in a preceding page, for the purpose of persuading 
 the timid and disaffected inhabitants to abandon the 
 Provincial cause, and enrol themselves with the 
 king s army before Fort Schuyler. Butler was in 
 the midst of his harangue to the meeting at the mo 
 ment of the unwelcome surprise. General Arnold 
 ordered a court-martial, and caused him to be tried 
 as a spy. Of this tribunal Colonel Willett officia 
 ted as judge-advocate. The lieutenant was con 
 victed, and received sentence of death ; but, at the 
 intercession of a number of officers who had known 
 him while a student at law in Albany, his life was 
 spared by a reprieve. He was, however, removed 
 to Albany, and closely imprisoned until the spring 
 of the following year. When General the Marquis 
 de Lafayette assumed the command of the Northern 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 229 
 
 department, the friends of the Butler family, in con- 
 3equence, as it was alleged, of his ill health, inter 
 ceded for a mitigated form of imprisonment. He 
 was then removed to a private house and kept un 
 der guard, but short.ly afterward effected his escape 
 owing, it was reported, to treachery and was sub 
 sequently distinguished as one of the severest 
 scourges of the beautiful valley which had given 
 him birth. 
 
 The address of Johnson, Claus, and Butler hav 
 ing been thus introduced among the people of the 
 county, Arnold issued a proclamation from Fort 
 Dayton for the purpose of counteracting its influ 
 ence. It was couched in severe language in regard 
 to St. Leger and his heterogeneous army ; denoun 
 ced those of the people who might be seduced by his 
 arts to enrol themselves under the banner of the 
 king; but promised pardon to all, whether Ameri 
 cans, savages, Germans, or Britons, who might re 
 turn to their duty to the states. 
 
 Meantime, Colonel St. Leger was pushing his op 
 erations before the fort with considerable vigour. 
 Every effort to intimidate the garrison having fail 
 ed, and the commander exhibiting an unsubmitting 
 spirit, St. Leger commenced approaching by sap, 
 and had formed two parallels, the second of which 
 brought him near the edge of the glacis ; but the fire 
 of musketry from the covert way rendered his far 
 ther progress very difficult. The fire of his ord 
 nance producing no effect, his only means of annoy 
 ing the garrison was by throwing shells ; but these 
 proved of so little consequence as to afford a dis 
 couraging prospect of success. Having advanced, 
 however, within one hundred and fifty yards, it is 
 not to be denied that some uneasiness began to be 
 manifested within the garrison. Ignorant of the 
 fate of Colonel Willett and Major Stockwell, and en 
 tirely cut off from all communication from without, 
 their provisions daily oxhausting, and having no cer- 
 
230 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 tain prospect of relief, some of the officers com 
 menced speaking in whispers of the expediency of 
 saving the garrison from a re-enactment of the 
 Fort William Henry tragedy, by acceding to St. 
 Leger s proffered terms of capitulation. Not so the 
 commander. After weighing well the circumstan 
 ces of the case, he came to the deliberate resolve, 
 in the event of obtaining no succour from without r 
 when his provisions were about exhausted, to make 
 a sally at night, and cut his way through the en 
 campment of the besiegers, or perish in the attempt. 
 Fortunately, the necessity of executing the bold 
 determination did not arrive. The siege had con 
 tinued until the 22d of August, when suddenly, with 
 out any cause within the knowledge of the garrison, 
 the besiegers broke up their encampment, and reti 
 red in such haste and confusion as to leave their 
 tents, together with a great part of their artillery, 
 camp equipage, and baggage behind. What was 
 the motive for this unexpected flight of a vaunting 
 and all but victorious foe, was a problem they were 
 unable to solve within the fort, although their joy 
 was not, on that account, the less at their deliver 
 ance. It subsequently appeared that the panic 
 which produced this welcome and unexpected 
 change in the situation of the garrison was caused 
 by a ruse-de-guerre, practised upon the forces of St. 
 Leger by General Arnold, who had been waiting 
 at Fort Dayton several days for the arrival of re-en 
 forcements and supplies. But, having heard that 
 St. Leger had made his approaches to within a short 
 distance of the fort, Arnold, on the 22d of August, 
 determined, at all events, to push forward and haz 
 ard a battle, rather than see the garrison fall a sac 
 rifice. With this view, on the morning of the 23d 
 he resumed his march for Fort Schuyler, and had 
 proceeded ten miles of the distance from Fort Day 
 ton, when he was met by an express from Colonel 
 Gansevoort with the gratifying intelligence that the 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 231 
 
 siege had been raised. The cause of this sudden 
 movement was yet as great a mystery to the colo 
 nel and his garrison as was the flight of the host of 
 Ben-hadad from before Samaria to the King of Isra 
 el, when the Syrian monarch heard the supernatural 
 sound of chariots, and the noise of horses, in the 
 days of Elisha the prophet. Arnold was, of course, 
 less in the dark. The circumstances were these : 
 
 Among the party of Tories and Indians captu 
 red at Shoemaker s, under Lieutenant Butler, was 
 a singular being named HON-YOST SCHUYLER. His 
 place of residence was near the Little Falls, where 
 his mother, and a brother named Nicholas, were 
 then residing. Hon-Yost Schuyler was one of the 
 coarest and most ignorant men in the valley, ap 
 pearing scarce half removed from idiocy ; and yet 
 there was no small share of shrewdness in his 
 character. Living upon the extreme border of civi 
 lization, his associations had been more with the 
 Indians than the whites ; and tradition avers that 
 they regarded him w r ith that mysterious reverence 
 and" awe with which they are inspired by fools and 
 lunatics. Thus situated, and thus constituted, Hon- 
 Yost had partially attached himself to the Royalist 
 cause, though probably, like the Cowboys of West 
 Chester, he really cared little which party he served 
 or plundered ; and had he been the captor of the 
 unfortunate Andre, would have balanced probabili 
 ties as to the best way of turning the prize to ac 
 count. Be these things, however, as they may, 
 Hon-Yost was captured with Walter Butler, and, 
 like him, was tried for his life, adjudged guilty, and 
 condemned to death. His mother and brother hear 
 ing of his situation, hastened to Fort Dayton, and 
 implored General Arnold to spare his life. The old 
 woman strongly resembled the gipsy in her char 
 acter, and the eloquence and pathos with which she 
 pleaded for the life of her son were long remem 
 bered in the unwritten history of the Mohawk Val- 
 
232 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 ley. Arnold was for a time inexorable, and the 
 woman became almost frantic with grief and pas 
 sion on account of her wayward son. Nicholas, 
 likewise, exerted himself to the utmost in behalf 
 of his brother. At length General Arnold proposed 
 terms upon which his life should be spared. The 
 conditions were, that Hon-Yost should hasten to 
 Fort Schuyler, and so alarm the camp of St. Leger 
 as to induce him to raise the siege and fly. 
 convict-traitor gladly accepted the proposition and 
 his mother offered herself as a hostage for the faith 
 ful performance of his commission. Arnold, how 
 ever, declined receiving the woman as a hostage, 
 preferring, and insisting that Nicholas should be re 
 tained for that purpose. To this the latter readily 
 assented, declaring that he was perfectly willing to 
 pledge his life that Hon-Yost would fulfil his en- 
 Saffements to the utmost. Nicholas was therefore 
 placed in confinement, while Hon-Yost departed 
 for the camp of Colonel St. Leger, having made 
 an arrangement with one of the Oneida Indians, 
 friendly to the Americans, to aid him in the enter 
 prise Before his departure several shots were 
 fired through Schuyler s clothes, that he might ap 
 pear to have had a narrow escape ; and the Oneida 
 Indian, by taking a circuitous route to lort bchuy- 
 ler was to fall into the enemy s camp from another 
 direction, and aid Hon-Yost in creating the pan 
 desired. The emissary first presented himself among 
 the Indians, who were in a very suitable state ol 
 mind to be wrought upon by exactly such a person 
 age They had been moody and dissatisfied evei 
 since the battle of Oriskany ; neither the success 
 nor the plunder promised them had been won, and 
 they had previously received some vague and indefi 
 nite intelligence respecting the approach of Arnold. 
 They had likewise just been holding a pow-wow, 
 or were actually convened in one, for the purpose 
 of consulting the Manitto touching the dubious ea- 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. . 233 
 
 terprise in which they were engaged when Hon- 
 Yost arrived. Knowing their character well, he 
 communicated his intelligence to them in the most 
 mysterious and imposing manner. Pointing to his 
 riddled garments, he proved to them how narrow 
 had been his escape from the approaching army of 
 the rebels. When asked the number of the troops 
 that Arnold was leading against them, he shook his 
 head mysteriously, and pointed upward to the leaves 
 of the trees. The reports spread rapidly through 
 the camps, and, reaching the ears of the commander, 
 Hon-Yost was sent for to the tent of St. Leger 
 himself. Here he. was interrogated, and gave infor 
 mation that General Arnold, with two thousand 
 men, was so near that he would be upon them within 
 twenty-four hours. He gave St. Leger a pitiable 
 narrative of his captivity, trial, and condemnation 
 to the gallows. It was while on his way to execu 
 tion, as he alleged, that, finding himself not very 
 closely guarded, he took an opportunity to effect hi& 
 escape, thinking, at the worst, that he could only 
 die, and it would be as well to be shot as hanged. 
 A shower of bullets had, indeed, been let fly at him, 
 but fortunately had only wounded his clothes, as the 
 general might see. Meantime, the Oneida messen 
 ger arrived with a belt, and confirmed to the Indians 
 all that Schuyler had said ; adding, that the Ameri 
 cans had no- desire to injure the Indians, and were 
 intent only upon attacking the British troops and 
 rangers. While making his way to the camp of 
 the besiegers, the ingenious Oneida had fallen in 
 with some two or three straggling Indians of his 
 acquaintance, to whom he communicated his busi 
 ness, and whose assistance in furthering the design 
 he engaged. These sagacious fellows dropped into 
 the Indian camp at different points, and threw out 
 alarming suggestions, shaking their heads mysteri 
 ously, and insinuating that a bird had brought them 
 intelligence of great moment. They spoke of war 
 
234 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 riors in great numbers advancing rapidly upon them 
 and used every indirect method of infusing a panic 
 into the minds of the listeners who gathered around 
 them. The Indians presently began to give signs 
 of decamping, and St. Leger assayed in vain to re 
 assure them. He convened a council of their chiefs, 
 hoping that, by the influence of Sir John Johnson 
 and Colonels Claus and Butler, he should still be 
 able to retain them. Other reports of a yet more 
 terrifying tendency getting afloat, not only among 
 th<>, Indians, but in the other camp, the former de 
 clared that " the pow-wow said they must go ;" and 
 a portion cf them took their departure before the 
 council broke up. The result was a general and 
 precipitate flight. It has been stated that, in the 
 commencement of the retreat, the Indian? made 
 themselves merry at the expense of their white 
 allies, by raising a shout that the Americans were 
 upon them, and fhcn laughing at the groundless ter 
 ror thus created. According to the account derived 
 by Gordon from the Rev. Mr. Kirkland, an alterca 
 tion took place between Colonel St. Leger and Sir 
 John Johnson, the forrrer reproaching the latter 
 with the defection of the Indians, while the baronet 
 charged his commander with but an indifferent pros 
 ecution of the siege. It was in the gray of twilight 
 when a couple of sachems, standing upon a little 
 eminence not far in the rear, and overhearing thr 
 interchange of sharp words between them, put aa 
 end to the unpleasant colloquy by raising the- shout, 
 " They are coming ! they are coming . " Both St. Lego-, 
 and Sir John commenced their retreat with all pos 
 sible expedition upon hearing such an alarm. Thei 
 troops were equally nimble of foot on the occasion 
 throwing away their knapsacks and arms, and dis 
 encumbering themselves of every hinderance to the 
 quick-step ; while the Indians, enjoying the panic 
 and confusion, repeated the joke by the way until 
 they arrived at the Oneida Lake. It is believed, 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 235 
 
 however, that it was not the Americans alone pi 
 whom St. Leger began to stand in fear, being quite 
 as apprehensive of danger from his own dusky al 
 lies as he was of the approaching army of Arnold. 
 There is British authority for stating that the In 
 dians actually plundered several of the boats belong 
 ing to their own army, robbing the officers of whatso 
 ever they liked. Within a few miles of the camp they 
 first stripped off the arms, and afterward murdered, 
 with their own bayonets, all those British, German, 
 and American soldiers who were separated from 
 the main body.* Thus were the threats of savage 
 vengeance sent by Colonel St. Leger to the garri 
 son in some degree wreaked upon his own army. 
 Hon-Yost Schuyler accompanied the flying host to 
 the estuary of Wood Creek, where he deserted, 
 thridding his way back to Fort Schuyler the same 
 evening, imparting to Colonel Gansevoort his first 
 information of the advance of Arnold. From Fort 
 Schuyler Hon-Yost proceeded back to the German 
 Flatts. On presenting himself at Fort Dayton, his 
 brother was discharged, to the inexpressible joy of 
 his mother and their relatives. But he proved a 
 Tory in grain, and embraced the first opportunity 
 subsequently presented, which was in October, of 
 running away to the enemy, with several of his 
 neighbours, and attaching himself to the forces of 
 Sir John Johnson. 
 
 Immediately on the receipt of Colonel Ganse- 
 voort s despatch announcing St. Leger s retreat, 
 General Arnold push forward a detachment of nine 
 hundred men, with directions, if possible, to over- 
 
 * St. Leger s report of this disastrous retreat, addressed to General 
 Burgoyne from Oswego, on the 27th of August, corresponds very 
 closely with the American accounts whence the present narrative has 
 been drawn. He states that the Indians fell treacherously upon their 
 friends, and became more formidable than the enemy they had to ex 
 pect, lie leaves no room, however, to suppose that there was any diffi 
 culty between Sir John Johnson and himself, calling him " his gallant 
 coadjutor," &c., and commending his exertions to induce the Indians 
 again to meet the enemy, as also those of Colonels Claus and Butter 
 
236 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 take the fugitives, and render their flight still more 
 disastrous. On the day following, Arnold himself 
 arrived at the fort, where he was received with a 
 salute of artillery and the cheers of the brave gar 
 rison. He, of course, found that Gansevoort had 
 anticipated his design of harassing the rear of the 
 flying enemy, and had brought in several prisoners, 
 together with large quantities of spoil. So great 
 was their panic, and such the precipitancy of their 
 flight, that they left their tents standing, their pro 
 visions, artillery, ammunition, their entire camp 
 equipage, and large quantities of other articles en 
 hancing the value of the booty.* 
 
 Thus ended the siege of Fort Schuyler, or Fort 
 Stanwix, as the public have always preferred calling 
 it. St. Leger hastened with his scattered forces back 
 to Oswego, and thence to Montreal. From that post 
 he proceeded to Lake Champlain, passing up the 
 same to Ticonderoga, for the purpose of joining 
 the army of Burgoyne. Finding that the enemy 
 had evacuated the country between the fort and 
 Lake Ontario, and that the post could be in no im 
 mediate danger from that direction, Colonel Ganse 
 voort took the opportunity of visiting his friends at 
 Albany, and at the seat of the state government, 
 then just organized at Kingston. 
 
 As an evidence of the value placed upon the ser 
 vices of the colonel in the defence of Fort Schuy 
 ler, he was shortly afterward promoted in the state 
 line to the rank of brigadier-general, while his gal 
 lantry was farther rewarded by a colonel s commis 
 sion from Congress in the "army of the United 
 States. f On leaving his regiment, its officers pre- 
 
 * Among other articles was the escritoire of St. Leger himself, con 
 taining his private papers, several of which have been used by the 
 author in writing- this and the preceding chapters. 
 
 t There seems to have been something peculiar and special in this 
 commission. In a letter which Colonel Gansevoort wrote jointly to 
 William Duer and Gcmverneur Morris, a copy of which is preserved 
 among his papers, he observes : " Congress have done me the honour of 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 237 
 
 sented him with an affectionate letter of congratu 
 lation on his promotion, mingled with an expression 
 of their regret at the loss to the regiment of " so 
 worthy a patron." To which the colonel returned 
 an appropriate letter of thanks. The people of 
 Tryon county were, of course, rejoiced that the blow, 
 directed, as the enemy supposed, with unerring cer 
 tainty against them, had been averted. They had 
 suffered severely in the campaign, but there were 
 enough of her sons yet left to swell the ranks of 
 General Gates not a little ; and they pressed ardently 
 to join his standard, although circumstances did not 
 then require them long to remain in the field. 
 
 In October following, when Sir Henry Clinton 
 was ascending the Hudson for the purpose either 01 
 succouring or of co-operating with Burgoyne, Colo 
 nel Gansevoort was ordered to Albany by General 
 Gates, to take command of the large force then con 
 centrating at that place. Happily, as will appear in 
 the succeeding chapters, there was no occasion to 
 test his prowess in his new and temporary com 
 mand. 
 
 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 
 
 appointing me colonel commandant of Fort Schuyler. I should esteem it 
 as a favour if you would inform me whether I am to receive any pay for 
 that commission other than as colonel of the third regiment of New- 
 Yorkers ; and if not, I should be glad if you would endeavour to get 
 something allowed me, as my present pay will not reimburse my table 
 liquors, which you may well conceive to be something considerable as 
 commanding officer. I am not solicitous to make money by my com 
 mission ; but I could wish not to sink by it, as I am obliged to do now 
 The commission which Congress has sent me as commandant of For 
 Schuyler subjects me as much to the command of my superior officers as 
 any former one. If that was the intention of Congress, the appointment 
 is nugatory. If not, I wish Congress to alter the commission." 
 
238 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 left in the mid career of victory, checked, it is true, by 
 unexpected and increasing difficulties, until brought 
 to a standby the serious affair of Bennington, hereto 
 fore 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 in 
 debted 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 Con 
 gress. There had, during the present year, been a 
 very unwise, unworthy, and capricious interference, 
 on the part of Congress, with the command of this 
 department. On the 25th of March, without a reason 
 assigned, General Gates had superseded General 
 Schuyler, his superior officer, by order of Congress , 
 and on the 22d of May, without any expressed mo 
 tive, 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 Wash 
 ington received a letter from the New-England del 
 egation in Congress, suggesting the name of General 
 Gates as the officer who would be most likely to 
 restore harmony, order, and discipline, and to re 
 lieve 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 Merchant, Elbridge Gerry, Eliphalet Dyer, William 
 
 Williams. 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 239 
 
 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 re 
 taliation which might bring glory upon our arms. 
 
 The commander-in-chief paid no heed to the ad 
 visory 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 be 
 hests 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 re 
 port himself at headquarters, General Schuyler was 
 allowed to remain at the North, with the approba 
 tion 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. Glair s camp, and by his order picked up, and trans 
 mitted to Schuyler at Fort George. Wilkinson, who was Gates s adjutant- 
 general, avers that respectable people questioned him with much gravity 
 as to the fact ! These slanders were, for factious purposes, counte 
 nanced by respectable men, and the consequence was general defection 
 and desertion, in the early part of the summer ; so that, at one time, the 
 Noithern army was reduced to less than three thousand, and the militia 
 to less than thirteen hundred, and these subject to no effectual restraint. 
 
240 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 render of the British commander and his army. 
 Nor were his exertions the less active, or his coun 
 sels 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 men 
 tioned 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 in 
 credible labour, brought up from Fort George a sup 
 ply of provisions for thirty days, and thrown a 
 bridge of boats over the Hudson, the British com 
 mander, 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 Amer 
 ican 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 Col 
 onel Breyman, with the grenadiers and light infantry, 
 who were posted along some high grounds on the 
 right. The front and flanks were covered by In 
 dians, Provincials, and Canadians. The enemy s 
 left wing and artillery were commanded by Gen 
 erals 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 Gen 
 eral Matthew Clarkson, of New- York then Major Clarkson, and aid to 
 General Arnold was wounded by a ball which passed through the mus 
 cular integuments of the throat. The wound was supposed to be fatal 
 at the time, but he soon recovered. 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 241 
 
 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 scatter 
 ed by the vigour of the attack, the battle was re 
 newed 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 bat 
 tle, 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 bat 
 tle were frequent during the day, and although the 
 British artillery fell into the hands of the Americans 
 
 * Holmes, who follows Stcdman. 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 Gen 
 eral Lamed was ordered out. About the same time Generals Gates and 
 Arnold were in front of the centre of the camp, listening to the peal of 
 small arms, when Colonel Morgan Lewis, deputy quartermaster-general, 
 returned from the field, and being questioned by the general, he reported 
 the undecisive progress of the action ; at which Arnold exclaimed, By 
 Gd, 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 maj 
 by some rash act do mischief. I was instantly despatched, overtook, 
 md remanded Arnold to camp." Memoirs, vol. i, chap. vi. 
 
 VOL. I. T 
 
242 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 at every alternate charge, the latter could neithef 
 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 al 
 low 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 eligi 
 ble 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 diffi 
 culties of obtaining supplies, and the perpetual an 
 noyances to which he was subjected by the Amer 
 ican scouts, and still larger detachments, who were 
 attacking his pickets, hanging upon his flanks, and 
 cutting off his foraging parties. By the 4th of Oc 
 tober his supplies were so far reduced that the sol 
 diers 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 ad 
 vancing was relinquished, and instead thereof, dis 
 cussions were held respecting the practicability of a 
 retreat. This could only be done by first dislodging 
 the Americans, whose forces, disciplined and undis 
 ciplined, now far outnumbered his own, from their 
 posts on the heights. On the 4th of October, Bur- 
 
 foyne sent for Generals Phillips, Riedesel, and 
 razer, to consult with them on the best measures 
 to be taken. His project was to attack and attempt 
 to turn the left wing of the Americans at once ; but 
 the other generals judged that it would be danger 
 ous to leave their stores under so feeble a protec- 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 243 
 
 tion as eight hundred men, according to the propo 
 sition 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 re- 
 cross the Hudson, and retreat upon Fort George. 
 Frazer approved of the latter suggestion, and Phil 
 lips declined giving an opinion. General Burgoyne, 
 to whom the idea of retreating was most unwel 
 come, declared that he would make, on the 7th, a re- 
 connoissance 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 Bur 
 goyne drew out fifteen hundred men for the purpose 
 of making his proposed reconnoissance, which he 
 headed himself, attended by Generals Phillips, Rie 
 desel, and Frazer. They advanced in three col 
 umns towards the left wing of the American posi- 
 -tions, entered a wheat-field, deployed imo 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, in 
 forming General Gates that they were foraging ; at 
 tempting also to reconnoitre the Ameiican left, and 
 likewise, in his opinion, offering battle. After a 
 brief consultation, Gates said he would indulge them ; 
 
244 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 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 circui 
 tous 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 criti 
 cal 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, sus 
 tained 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, com 
 manded 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 re- 
 treat 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 Wilkin 
 son and he not been attacked, he should have finished his observations 
 and returned to his camp. 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 245 
 
 than four hundred officers and men, killed, wounded, 
 and captured, and among them the flower of his of 
 ficers, 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 oi 
 grapeshot and musketry, assaulted their works 
 throughout their whole extent from right to left. 
 Towards the close of the day, the enemy s intrench- 
 ments 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 Majoi 
 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, de 
 liberately aiming at a wounded officer, lying in the angle of a worm- 
 fence. The purpose of the boy was arrested : the officer proved to be 
 the brave Ackland, who had commanded the grenadiers, and was wound 
 ed in both legs. He was immediately sent to headquarters. The story 
 of Major Ackiand 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 di 
 vested of its poetry, however, and reduced to the plain matter of fact, 
 according to the statement of the late General Dearborn, which he au 
 thorized 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 ar 
 rived 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 Amer 
 ican prisoners. After his return to England, he sacrificed his life in de 
 fence of American honour. Having procured a regiment, at a dinner of 
 military men, the courage of the Americans was questioned. He repell 
 ed 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 ; aftei 
 which she married a gentle man named Urudenell, \vho had accompanied 
 her from the camp of Burgoyne. at Saratoga, to that of Gates, i i search 
 of hei woanded husband. 
 
246 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 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 ene 
 my s right, and carried by storm the works occupied 
 by the German reserve. Colonel JBreyman, 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 re 
 tained 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 hall 
 until the evening, because his hospital could not be 
 sooner removed.* The Americans immediately 
 moved forward, and took possession of the aban 
 doned 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 vis 
 ion. It was by a shot from one of these lurking par 
 ties 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 Wilkin 
 son says, " I have more than once seen her charming- blue eyes bedewed 
 with tears at the recital of her sufferings. With two infant children, 
 she accompanied her husband, Major-general the Baron de Riedesel, 
 from Germany to England, from England to Canada, and from the last 
 place to the termination of General Burgoyne s campaign, in which she 
 suffered more than the horrors of the grave in their most frightful as 
 pect." Her Memoirs were published in Berlin, in 1800. They are full 
 of interest. 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 247 
 
 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 re 
 cover, 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 breast 
 work had been constructed. It was a subject of 
 complaint against Burgoyne, that, in order to com 
 ply 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 fu 
 neral 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 ene 
 my s camp, that he was preparing to retreat ; but 
 the American troops having, in the delirium of joy 
 consequent upon ther 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. Re 
 treat was, indeed, the only alternative remaining to 
 the British commander, since it was now quite cer- 
 
 * The Baroness Riedesel, from whose spirited Memoirs the circum- 
 itances of this funeral are drawn, states that General Gates protested 
 ifterward that, had he known what was going ou, he would have stopped 
 the fire immediately. It must have been a solemn spectacle, and Gener- 
 il 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 ali 
 tides of him ; the mute, but expressive mixture of sensibility and indig 
 nation upon every countenance these objects will remain to the last of 
 life upon the mind of every man who was present. The growing duski 
 ness added to the scenery, and the whole marked a character of that junc 
 ture that would make one of the finest subjects for the pencil of a mas 
 ter that the field ever exhibited. State of the Expedition from Canada, 
 *<., <frr. t p. 169. 
 
24.8 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 tain that he could not cut his way through the Amer 
 ican army, and his supplies were reduced to a short 
 allowance for five days. He accordingly commen 
 ced 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 or 
 dered 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 move 
 ment 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 hun 
 dred 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 open 
 ing 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 in 
 creasing 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 array, in burning- the 
 gentlemen s and farmers houses as it pass? d along, are almost, among 
 civilized nations, without precedent ; they snould not endeavour to ruin 
 those they could not conquer ; their conduct betrays more of the vindic 
 tive malice of the monk than the generosity of a soldier." Letter of 
 Gates to Burgoyne, Oct. 12, 1777. 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 249 
 
 assed at all points, especially by the sharp-shoot 
 ers 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 partic 
 ularly 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 hav 
 ing ordered his whole army out of sight, that not 
 
 * The first meeting of Burgoyne with Gates is thus described by Wil 
 kinson : " General Gates, advised of Burgoyne s approach, met him at 
 the head of his camp, Burgoyne in a rich royal uniforn, 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 conquer 
 or, returning a courtly salute, promptly replied, I shall always be 
 ready to bear testimony that it has not been through any fault ot your 
 excellency. " 
 
 VOL. 1. U 
 
250 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 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 delica 
 cy, and of military generosity and politeness, re 
 flecting the highest credit upon the conqueror ; anrJ 
 was spoken of by the officers of Burgoyne in the 
 strongest terms of approbation. 
 
 Flushed with his fortuitous success, or, rather, 
 with the success attending his fortuitous position? 
 Gates did not wear his honours with any remarka 
 ble meekness. On the contrary, his bearing, even 
 towards the commander-in-chief, was far from re 
 spectful. 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 pa 
 pers before they were presented.* The first men 
 tion which Washington makes of the defeat of Bur 
 goyne is contained in a letter written to his brother 
 on the 18th of October, the news having been com- 
 municated 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 ad 
 dressed to that officer, he acknowledges the receipt 
 of a copy of the articles of capitulation from him ; ad 
 ding, 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 previ 
 ous accounts were premature. And it was not un 
 til the 2d of November that Gates deigned to com 
 municate 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 th^ cubist m the Liter referred to was 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 251 
 
 General Schuyler was in the camp with Gates at 
 the time of the surrender, though without any per 
 sonal 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 re 
 ceived 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 Alba 
 ny. The urbanity of his manners, and the chivalric 
 magnanimity of his character, smarting as he was 
 under the extent and severity of his pecuniary loss 
 es, are attested by General Burgoyne himself, in 
 his speech, in 1778, in the British House of Com 
 mons. 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 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 
 
 comprised in these words: " Congress having been requested immedi 
 ately to transmit copies of all my despatches to them, I am confident 
 your excellency has long ago received all the good news from thid 
 quarter." Two days before this, in a letter directed to Gates, Wash 
 ington had administered one of those mild and dignified rebukes so very 
 like himself. In this letter, written in reference to a special mission of 
 Colonel Hamilton to the North, the commander-in-chief said, " By this 
 opportunity I do myself the pleasure to congratulate you on the signal 
 success of the army under your command, in compelling General Bur 
 goyne and his whole force to surrender themselves prisoners of war." 
 * " At the same time, I cannot but regret that a 
 matter of such magnitude, and so interesting to our general operations, 
 should have reached me by report only, or through the channel of letters 
 not bearing that authenticity which the importance of it required, and 
 which it would have received by a line under your signature, stating tha 
 simple facts." 
 
352 BORDER WARS OF 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 pro 
 cure 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." 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 SIMULTANEOUSLY with the events rapidly sketched 
 in the preceding chapter, an expedition from New- 
 York to the North was undertaken by Sir Henry 
 Clinton, to which an incidental reference has al 
 ready been made. The obvious intention of Sir Hen 
 ry was to relieve General Burgoyne : a fact admitted 
 by Sir Henry himself, who excused the delay by 
 stating that he could not attempt it sooner without 
 leaving the defences of New- York too feebly guard 
 ed. This expedition consisted of about three thou 
 sand men, convoyed by a fleet under Commodore 
 Hotham, who proceeded up the Hudson River early 
 in October, and was destined, in the first instance, 
 against Forts Montgomery and Clinton, near the 
 southern boundary of the Highlands. These for 
 tresses had been constructed chiefly for the pur 
 pose of preventing the ships of the enemy from as 
 cending the river, and were not defensive in the 
 rear. They were commanded by Governor Clinton, 
 with the assistance of General James Clinton, his 
 brother. 
 
 * The late Colonel Richard Varick, then the military 
 General Schuyler. 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 The troops- of the enemy were landed at Stoney 
 Point, twelve miles below the forts. A small ad 
 vanced party of the Americans was met and attack 
 ed at about 10 o clock in the morning of the 6th of 
 October, when within two and a half miles of the 
 fort. This party was, of course, driven in, having 
 returned the enemy s fire. When arrived within a 
 mile of the forts, Sir Henry divided his troops into 
 two columns ; the one, consisting- of nine hundred 
 men under Lieutenant-colonel Campbell, was destin 
 ed for the attack on Fort Montgomery ; the other, 
 under the immediate command of Sir Henry Clin 
 ton, was to storm the stronger post of Fort Clinton. 
 Ascertaining that the enemy were advancing to the 
 west side of the mountain, to attack his rear, Gov 
 ernor Clinton ordered a detachment of upward of 
 one hundred men under Colonel Lamb, together 
 with a brass fieldpiece and fifty men more, to take 
 a strong position in advance. They were soon 
 sharply engaged, and another detachment of an 
 equal number was sent to their assistance. They 
 kept their fieldpiece sharply playing upon the ene 
 my s advancing column, and were only compelled 
 to give way by the point of the bayonet, spiking 
 their fieldpiece before they relinquished it. In this 
 preliminary encounter the loss of Sir Henry was 
 severe. 
 
 Pressing rapidly onward, both forts were in a 
 few minutes attacked with vigour upon all sides. 
 The fire was incessant during the afternoon until 
 about five o clock, when, a flag approaching, Lieuten 
 ant-colonel Livingston was ordered to receive it. 
 The officer was the bearer of a peremptory sum 
 mons to surrender, as he alleged, to prevent the ef 
 fusion of blood. Nor would he treat, unless upon 
 the basis of a surrender of the garrison as prisoners 
 of war, in which case he was authorized to assure 
 them of good usage. The proposition being reject 
 ed " with scorn," in about ten minutes the attack 
 
254 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 was renewed, and kept up until after dark, when 
 the enemy forced the American lines and redoubts 
 at both forts, and the garrisons, determined not to 
 surrender, undertook to fight their way out. The 
 last attack of the enemy was desperate ; but the 
 Americans, militia as well as regulars, resisted with 
 great spirit, and, favoured by the darkness, many of 
 them escaped. Governor Clinton himself escaped 
 by leaping a precipice in the dark, and jumping into 
 a boat, in which he was conveyed away. His broth 
 er was wounded and taken prisoner. Of the British 
 forces, Lieutenant-colonel Campbell and Count Gra- 
 bouski, a Polish nobleman, engaged as a volunteer 
 under Sir Henry, were slain. The loss of the 
 Americans, killed, wounded, and missing, was stated 
 at two hundred and fifty. The British loss was sta 
 ted at two hundred, but was believed to have been 
 much more than that of the Americans. 
 
 On the 7th, a summons to surrender, signed joint 
 ly by Sir Henry Clinton and Commodore Hotham, 
 was sent to Fort Constitution ;* but the flag was 
 fired upon, and returned. To avenge the insult, an 
 attack was immediately determined upon ; but on ar 
 riving at the fort on the following day, there was 
 no enemy to assault, an evacuation having taken 
 place, so precipitate as to leave considerable booty 
 to the conqueror. Sir Henry Clinton proceeded no 
 farther, but a strong detachment of his army, under 
 General Vaughan, pursued the enterprise, with 
 Commodore Hotham, as far north as jEsopus,f de 
 stroying several vessels by the way. At JEsopus 
 Creek there were two small batteries and an arm 
 ed galley, mounting, however, in all, but six or sev- 
 
 * Situated at West Point. 
 
 t The ancient Dutch name of Kingston, the present shire town of the 
 county of Ulster, New- York. It was a large and wealthy inland town, 
 built almost entirely of stone, upon a rich and beautiful plain about three 
 miles from the river. The naked walls of many of the houses destroyed 
 by General Vaughan were standing-, unrepaired, until within five or 
 $ix years. 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 255 
 
 en guns. These were easily silenced. General 
 Vaughan then effected a landing, marched to the 
 town, and laid it in ashes. Large quantities of 
 stores had been accumulated at this place, which 
 were, of course, destroyed. Disappointed, however, 
 by the disastrous termination of the campaign of 
 Burgoyne, Sir Henry Clinton made an expeditious 
 return to the city. 
 
 But the war was this year fruitful in military 
 events in other parts of the confederation, some of 
 the principal of which may appropriately be passed 
 in review at this stage of the present chapter. In 
 the month of March, after the return of the British 
 troops from their bootless expedition through the 
 Jerseys, to New-York, Colonel Bird was detached 
 against Peekskill, with five hundred men, for the 
 purpose of destroying the American stores deposit 
 ed at that place. General M Dougall, commanding 
 a small guard at the depot, on the approach of a 
 force which he had not the power to resist, set fire 
 to the stores and retreated. A similar expedition, 
 for the same object, was directed against Danbury 
 towards the close of April, consisting of two thou 
 sand men, under the conduct of Major-general Try- 
 on. Landing at Compo Creek, between Norwalk 
 and Fairfield, the march of Governor Tryon to the 
 point of his destination was almost unopposed. A 
 large quantity of provisions, beef, pork, and flour, 
 had been collected by the Americans at that place, 
 which were guarded only by about one hundred mi 
 litia and Continental troops. Not being able to 
 oppose the enemy, Colonel Huntington retired to a 
 neighbouring height, and awaited re-enforcements. 
 The town of Danbury and the stores were burned on 
 the 26th of April.* During the afternoon and fol 
 lowing night, Generals Wooster, Arnold, and Silli- 
 
 i The property destroyed consisted of eighteen houses ; eight huu- 
 d/ed barrels of pork and beef; eight hundred barrels of flour ; two thou 
 sand bushels of grain, and seventeen hundred tents. 
 
254 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 was renewed, and kept up until after dark, when 
 the enemy forced the American lines and redoubts 
 at both forts, and the garrisons, determined not to 
 surrender, undertook to fight their way out. The 
 last attack of the enemy was desperate ; but the 
 Americans, militia as well as regulars, resisted with 
 great spirit, and, favoured by the darkness, many of 
 them escaped. Governor Clinton himself escaped 
 by leaping a precipice in the dark, and jumping into 
 a boat, in which he was conveyed away. His broth 
 er was wounded and t jken prisoner. Of the British 
 forces, Lieutenant-colonel Campbell and Count Gra- 
 bouski, a Polish nobleman, engaged as a volunteer 
 under Sir Henry, were slain. The loss of the 
 Americans, killed, wounded, and missing, was stated 
 at two hundred and fifty. The British loss was sta 
 ted at two hundred, but was believed to have been 
 much more than that of the Americans. 
 
 On the 7th, a summons to surrender, signed joint 
 ly by Sir Henry Clinton and Commodore Hotham, 
 was sent to Fort Constitution ;* but the flag was 
 fired upon, and returned. To avenge the insult, an 
 attack was immediately determined upon ; but on ar 
 riving at the fort on the following day, there was 
 no enemy to assault, an evacuation having taken 
 place, so precipitate as to leave considerable booty 
 to the conqueror. Sir Henry Clinton proceeded no 
 farther, but a strong detachment of his army, under 
 General Vaughan, pursued the enterprise, with 
 Commodore Hotham, as far north as JEsopus,f de 
 stroying several vessels by the way. At ^Esopus 
 Creek there were two small batteries and an arm 
 ed galley, mounting, however, in all, but six or sev- 
 
 * Situated at West Point, 
 
 t The .ancient Dutch name of Kingston, the present shire town of the 
 county of Ulster, New- York. It was a large and wealthy inland town, 
 built almost entirely of stone, upon a rich and beautiful plain about three 
 miles from the river. The naked walls of many of the houses destroyed 
 by General Vaughan \vere standing-, unrepaired, until within five of 
 eix years. 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 255 
 
 en guns. These were easily silenced. General 
 Vaughan then effected a landing, inarched to the 
 town, and laid it in ashes. Large quantities of 
 stores had been accumulated at this place, which 
 were, of course, destroyed. Disappointed, however, 
 by the disastrous termination of the campaign of 
 Burgoyne, Sir Henry Clinton made an expeditious 
 return to the city. 
 
 But the war was this year fruitful in military 
 events in other parts of the confederation, some of 
 the principal of which may appropriately be passed 
 in review at this stage of the present chapter. In 
 the month of March, after the return of the British 
 troops from their bootless expedition through the 
 Jerseys, to New-York, Colonel Bird was detached 
 against Peekskill, with five hundred men, for the 
 purpose of destroying the American stores deposit 
 ed at that place. General M Dougall, commanding 
 a small guard at the depot, on the approach of a 
 force which he had not the power to resist, set fire 
 to the stores and retreated. A similar expedition, 
 for the same object, was directed against Danbury 
 towards the close of April, consisting of two thou 
 sand men, under the conduct of Major-general Try- 
 on. Landing at Compo Creek, between Norwalk 
 and Fairfield, the march of Governor Tryon to the 
 point of his destination was almost unopposed. A 
 large quantity of provisions, beef, pork, and flour, 
 had been collected by the Americans at that place, 
 which were guarded only by about one hundred mi 
 litia and Continental troops. Not being able to 
 oppose the enemy, Colonel Huntington retired to a 
 neighbouring height, and awaited re-enforcements. 
 The town of Danbury and the stores were burned on 
 the 26th of April.* During the afternoon and fol 
 lowing night, Generals Wooster, Arnold, and Silli- 
 
 i The property destroyed consisted of eighteen houses ; eight hun- 
 4red barrels of pork and beef; eight hundred barrels of flour ; two thou- 
 arul bushels cf grain, and seventeen hundred tents. 
 
258 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 General Washington had taken post on the east- 
 em bank of the Schuylkill, about sixteen miles from 
 Germantown. General Howe marched upon Ger- 
 maiitown with his main army, where he arrived on 
 the 26th of September. On the 27th, Lord Cornwal- 
 lis took possession of Philadelphia without resist 
 ance. On the 4th of October, the battle of German- 
 town was fought, in which it was claimed by the 
 enemy that the Americans were defeated, although 
 it was, in fact, a drawn battle. This action was 
 produced by an attempt of the commander-in-chief 
 to effect something by way of surprise. Having 
 ascertained the situation of the enemy, the Amef- 
 icans marched all night, and arrived at Germantown 
 at daylight. The enemy was attacked upon two 
 quarters, in both of which the Americans were suc 
 cessful. Indeed, the enemy, as it was afterward 
 ascertained, were thrown into such a state of tumult 
 and disorder, and so panic-stricken, that a retreat to 
 Chester had been resolved upon. But the morning 
 was so excessively dark and foggy, that neither the 
 advantages gained by the Americans, nor the confu 
 sion of the enemy, could be perceived. This cir 
 cumstance, by concealing from the Americans the 
 
 a sacrifice to British barbarity, during- the struggle for American inde 
 pendence, during the night of the 20th of September, 1777." 
 
 SECOND: "Here repose the remains of fifty-three American soldiers, 
 who were the victims of cold-blooded cruelty in the well-known massa 
 cre of the Paoli, while under the command of General Anthony Wayne, 
 an officer whose military conduct, bravery, and humanity were equally 
 conspicuous throughout the Revolutionary war." 
 
 THIRD : " The atrocious massacre, which this stone commemorates, 
 was perpetrated by British troops under the immediate command of 
 Major-general Gray." 
 
 FOURTH : " This memorial, in honour of Revolutionary patriotism, was 
 erected September 20, 1817, by the Republican Artillerists of Chester 
 county, aided by the contributions of their fellow-citizens." 
 
 An annual military parade is held upon this interesting field. The 
 name The Paoli is derived from a celebrated tavern, at two miles dis 
 tance, on the great Lancaster road, which was established contempora 
 neously with the Corsican struggle fur independence, and named ia 
 honour of the unfortunate chieftain of that enterprise. It bears th 
 Karae name still 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 259 
 
 true situation of the enemy, obliged the commander- 
 in-chief to act with more caution and less expedi 
 tion than he could have wished ; and, what was still 
 more unfortunate, it served to keep the different di 
 visions of the Americans in ignorance of each other s 
 movements, and preventing their acting in concert. 
 It also occasioned them to mistake one another for 
 the eneni) . In this situation, it was considered un 
 safe to push too far through a strong village, while 
 enveloped in a haze so thick as to border upon posi 
 tive darkness. The consequence was a retreat by 
 the Americans at the very instant when victory was 
 declaring in their favour. The action lasted two 
 hours, and the fighting was severe, the loss of the 
 Americans being about one hundred men, killed, 
 wounded, and missing. Among the slain was the 
 brave General Nash, of North Carolina. Severe, 
 however, as the action was, the enemy were ren 
 dered nothing better by the event ; while the result 
 was regarded by Washington " as rather unfortu 
 nate than injurious."* 
 
 But all the advantages thus gained by the enemy 
 
 * This brief account of the battle of Germantown is drawn from Wash 
 ington s letters to the President of Congress, his brother, and Governor 
 Trumbull. General Washington attributed the successes of Sir Will 
 iam Howe in Pennsylvania, and his own consequent disasters, to the 
 apathy and disaffection of the people of that state. In one of his letters 
 upon the subject, he says, " The Northern army, before the surrender 
 of General Burgoyne, was re-enforced by upward of twelve hundred mi 
 litia, who shut the only door by which Burgoyne could retreat, and cut 
 off all his supplies. How different our case ! The disaffection of a great 
 part of the inhabitants of this state, the langour of others, and the inter 
 nal distraction of the whole, have been among the great and insuperable 
 difficulties which I have met with, and have contributed not a little to 
 my embarrassments this campaign." Many other letters from the COHI- 
 mander-in -chief, written during the winter and spring of 1778, complain 
 of the conduct of the people of Pennsylvania in supplying the enemy in 
 Philadelphia with provisions, particularly from Bucks county. In a let 
 ter to Major-general Armstrong, of that state, dated at Valley Forge, 
 March 27th, he says, "The situation of matters in this state is melan 
 choly and alarming. We have daily proof that a majority of the people 
 in. this quarter are only restrained from supplying the enemy with horses, 
 and every kind of necessary, through fear of punishment ; and although 
 I have made a number of severe examples, I cannot put a stop to the in 
 tercourse." 
 
260 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 had been more than counterbalanced by the rever 
 ses of St. Leger, and the nearly simultaneous cap 
 ture of Burgoyne and his well-appointed army at 
 the North. Another circumstance, gratifying to the 
 friends of the American arms, was the repulse of 
 Count Donop, at Red Bank. The count, a brave 
 and experienced officer, fell, mortally wounded, and 
 about 400 hundred of his troops were killed. The 
 laurels won by Colonel Christopher Greene, the 
 American commander on that occasion, were not 
 the less creditably worn because of the necessity 
 which compelled him subsequently to abandon the 
 post, on the approach of Cornwall s with a greatly 
 superior force. 
 
 But neither the fall of Burgoyne nor the flight of 
 St. Leger relieved the border settlements beyond 
 Albany from their apprehensions. Though in less 
 clanger of a sweeping invasion, yet the scouts and 
 scalping parties of the Tories and Indians were con 
 tinually hovering upon their outskirts ; and so crafty 
 were the foe, and so stealthy their movements, that 
 no neighbourhood, not even the most populous vil 
 lages, felt themselves secure from those sudden and 
 bloody irruptions which mark the annals of Indian 
 warfare. Very soon after the capture of Burgoyne, 
 there was an occurrence in the neighbourhood of Al 
 bany, of a highly painful description. Previous to 
 the commencement of the war, a militia company 
 had been organized in the town of Berne, compri 
 sing eighty-five men, commanded by Captain Ball. 
 On the breaking out of hostilities, the captain, with 
 sixty-three of his men, went over to the enemy. 
 Thus deserted by their leader, the command of the 
 residue of the company devolved upon the ensign, 
 Peter Deitz. These all embraced the cause of the 
 country, and for the safety of their settlement threw 
 up a little picketed fort, at a place now called the Bea 
 ver Dam. Deitz was soon afterward commissioned 
 a captain, and his brother, William Deitz, his lieu- 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 261 
 
 tenant. On the approach of Burgoyne they march 
 ed to Saratoga, and joined the army of Gates. Here 
 the captain was killed by the accidental discharge 
 of the gun of one of his own men. William Deitz 
 immediately succeeded to the vacancy, and render 
 ed such good service in the campaign as specially 
 to incur the vengeance of the Tories and Indians. 
 Availing themselves of an early opportunity to glut 
 their hate, a party of them stole into the settlement 
 of Berne, where they surprised and made prisonei 
 of the captain in his own house. They next brought 
 him forth into the court, bound him to the gate-post, 
 and then successively brought out his father and 
 mother, his wife and children, and deliberately mur 
 dered them all before his eyes ! The captain was 
 himself carried a prisoner to Niagara, where he ul 
 timately fell a sacrifice to their cruelty. An in 
 stance of more cool and fiendlike barbarity does 
 not occur in the annals of this extraordinary con 
 test. It was only equalled by the conduct of the 
 Tories afterward at Wyoming, and transcended by 
 the refinement of cruelty practised by a French offi 
 cer, during one of the earlier wars of the Indians, 
 upon an unhappy prisoner among the remote tribe 
 of the Dionondadies, as related by La Potherie. 
 
 Other incidents occurred at Albany and in its 
 neighbourhood, at about the same period, which are 
 deemed worthy of note. At the time of Sir John 
 Johnson s flight from Johnstown, his lady had re 
 mained behind, and was removed immediately, or 
 soon afterward, to Albany. It was in this year that 
 Mr. John Taylor, after having performed several 
 important confidential services under the direction 
 of General Schuyler, was appointed a member of the 
 Albany Council of Safety. He was a man of great 
 shrewdness and sagacity, deliberate in the forma 
 tion of his purposes, and resolute in their execution 
 when matured. The W T higs of Albany were greatly 
 annoyed during the whole contest by the Loyalists 
 
262 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 resident among them ; many of whom, it was dis* 
 covered from time to time, must have been in cor 
 respondence with the enemy. The duties of the 
 Council of Safety were consequently the more ar 
 duous, requiring sleepless vigilance and unwearied 
 activity, together with firmness and energy in some 
 cases, and great delicacy in others. A watchful 
 though general surveillance was necessarily enfor 
 ced over the community at large, while an eye of 
 closer scrutiny was kept upon the character and 
 conduct, of great numbers of individuals composing 
 that community. Mr. Taylor was in every respect 
 equal to the station, and was singularly fortunate 
 both in detecting and defeating the evil machina 
 tions of the adherents of the crown. 
 
 Among his early discoveries was the important 
 circumstance that Lady Johnson was in active and 
 frequent correspondence with her husband, and that 
 the facilities derived from confidential agents and 
 her powerful connexions enabled her to keep the 
 enemy on either side in New-York and Canada 
 correctly advised, not only of the movements and 
 designs of each other, but likewise of the situation 
 of American affairs. Under these circumstances, Mr, 
 Taylor proposed a resolution to the council, directing 
 her removal forthwith from that part of the country. 
 The proposition was received with disfavour, and 
 encountered much opposition in the council. Some 
 of the members seemed to lack the firmness neces 
 sary to adopt such a resolution, anticipating the re 
 sentment and probable vengeance of the baronet, on 
 hearing that his lady had been treated with anything 
 bordering upon harshness ; while others, probably, 
 ! nought the precaution either would be useless, or 
 that it was scarce worth while thus to wage war 
 upon a woman. Convinced, however, of the dan 
 ger of her longer presence in that section of the 
 country, Mr. Taylor urged her removal so strenu 
 ously as at length to prevail, taking upon himself 
 the execution of the order 
 
AMERICAN KEVOLUTiON. 263 
 
 Sir John, greatly exasperated at the measure, 
 availed himself of a flag to admonish the mover of 
 ,the resolution that, should the chances of war 
 throw that gentleman into his possession, he should 
 be instantly delivered over to the fury of the sava 
 ges. The reply of the councillor was characteristic 
 of the man : " If Mr. Taylor should be so fortunate 
 as to have Sir John Johnson in his power, he should 
 most assuredly be treated as a gentleman." Sever 
 al attempts were subsequently made by the enemy, 
 probably under the direction of Sir John, to make a 
 captive of that gentleman. It being his custom to 
 ride frequently on horseback for exercise, and often 
 on the road leading towards Schenectady, in compa 
 ny, generally, with his intimate friend through life, 
 Major Popham, who was then in the military family 
 of General James Clinton, a small scout of Indians, 
 under the direction of Captain Brant, was on one 
 occasion planted in ambush upon that road, at a 
 point where it was supposed he would be sure to 
 pass. Providentially, however, and for reasons 
 never explained, and perhaps not known to them 
 selves, on the morning referred to the friends short 
 ened their ride, and wheeled about without passing 
 the ambuscade, though approaching it within stri 
 king distance. One of the Indians, afterward taken 
 prisoner, stated that Mr. Taylor might easily have 
 been shot, but that their orders were to take him 
 alive. 
 
 Another, and a yet bolder scheme, was subsequent 
 ly adopted to effect the capture of the sagacious 
 committee-man, for which purpose a party of the 
 enemy were actually introduced, not only into the 
 city of Albany, but into the loft of Mr. Taylor s own 
 stable, standing in the rear of his house, and upon 
 die margin of the river. In order, moreover, to fa 
 cilitate their flight with the intended captive, a ca 
 noe had been procured and moored at the waters 
 edge. Their design was to enter the house in the night* 
 
264 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 and seize and bear him silently away. One of the 
 servants happening to step into the yard v after the 
 family had retired to rest, the lurking foes thought 
 the time for a rush had arrived. But, in their prep 
 arations to spring forward, they alarmed the ser 
 vant too soon, and he was enabled to get back into 
 the house, bolt the door, and give timely warning. 
 The insidious purpose was, of course, frustrated. 
 
 Nor were these the only hostile attempts direct 
 ed, at about the same period, against individuals at 
 Albany ; General Schuyler was again selected for a 
 victim even of assassination. Smarting under their 
 disappointment in the overthrow of Burgoyne, to 
 which discomfiture the energy and efforts of Schuy 
 ler had so essentially contributed, a conspiracy was 
 formed either to capture or destroy him. For this 
 purpose the Tories corrupted a white man, who had 
 been patronised by the general, and who was even 
 then in his employment, to do the foul deed, and 
 also one of the friendly Indians, whose clan had for 
 years been in the habit of hutting upon his premises 
 in Saratoga, during the fishing season at Fish Creek, 
 which ran through his farm, and in which immense 
 quantities of fish were then taken. To effect their 
 object, the two assassins took their station under a 
 covert, in a valley about half a mile from the gen 
 eral s premises, by which they had previously ascer 
 tained he was shortly to pass. They soon descried 
 his approach on horseback. As he advanced, they 
 took deliberate aim ; when, with a sudden move 
 ment, the Indian struck up his associate s gun, with 
 the exclamation, " / cannot kill him : I have eaten his 
 bread too often /" 
 
 Karly in the autumn, the inhabitants of Unadilla 
 and the contiguous settlements in that direction 
 were again imploring the commander of Fort Schuy 
 ler for a detachment, of troops to protect them from 
 another expedition, which, the Oneidas had inform 
 ed them, Colonels Johnson and Butler were getting 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 265 
 
 on foot at Oswego. The project, according to the 
 news obtained from the Oneidas, contemplated a 
 simultaneous descent of the Tories and Indians 
 upon five different points, comprehending all the 
 principal settlements west of Schenectady. These 
 unpleasant tidings were in some degree confirmed 
 by the discovery of a large scouting party of the en 
 emy on the Sacondaga, at the north of Johnstown. 
 
 The alarm was increased, towards the close of 
 October, by the arrival of an express at the Canajo- 
 harie Castle, announcing that within a few days Sir 
 John Johnson would return to Oswego, with six 
 hundred regular troops and a large body of Indians. 
 It was stated that Sir John had succeeded in raising 
 twenty-two Indian nations in arms against the colo 
 nists. They were about sending a belt to the Onei 
 das, and, in the event of their refusal to take up the 
 hatchet with their brethren in behalf of the king, 
 they were themselves to be attacked, as the first 
 measure of the invasion. These facts were imme 
 diately communicated to General Schuyler by a let 
 ter dated October 25th, announcing also the flight, to 
 the ranks of Sir John Johnson, of Hon-Yost Schuy 
 ler, and twelve or fourteen of his neighbours at Fall 
 Hill and in that vicinity, as heretofore stated. The 
 letter contained a strong appeal for an additional 
 force to defend the valley, with an assurance that, 
 in the event of receiving no farther means of secu 
 rity, the greater part of the inhabitants had become 
 so discouraged that they would probably lay down 
 iheir arms ; in other words, throw themselves upon 
 the protection of the king. 
 
 But, after all the alarm, nothing very serious re 
 sulted from these threatening indications during the 
 residue of the year 1777. Still the Congress was 
 unwilling that the year should close without making 
 one more effort to win back the Six Nations from 
 the British service, at least to a state of neutrality, 
 if nothing more. With this view, on the 3d of De- 
 
 VOL. I. X 
 
266 BORDER WARS OP THE 
 
 cember an eloquent and powerful address to the 
 Indians of those nations was reported by the com 
 mittee on Indian affairs, and adopted. 
 
 But the appeal produced no effect. It was one of 
 the misfortunes incident to the poverty of the coun 
 try at that crisis, that Congress was unable to con 
 ciliate the friendship of the Indians by such a liberal 
 dispensation of presents as they had been in the 
 habit of receiving from the superintendents of the 
 crown, and as they were yet enabled to receive 
 from the British government at or by the way of 
 Montreal. Thayendanegea, early in the preceding 
 year, had taunted General Herkimer, at Unadilla, 
 with the poverty of the Continental government, 
 which, he said, was not able to give the Indians a 
 blanket. The charge was but too true ; and the 
 officers of the crown were not slow in availing 
 themselves of it, not only by appeals to their cupid 
 ity, but by a more lavish bestowment of presents 
 than ever. And under these circumstances, with 
 the single exceptions of the Oneidas and the feeble 
 band of the Tuscaroras, all the efforts of Congress 
 to conciliate their friendship, or even to persuade 
 them to neutrality, proved unavailing. 
 
 Thus ended the military operations of the year 
 1777. At the close of the Pennsylvania campaign, 
 the British army went into winter-quarters in Phila 
 delphia, and the American at Valley Forge. On the 
 15th day of November, what are now called the old 
 "Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union" 
 between the thirteen colonies were adopted by 
 Congress ; and on the 22d of the same month it 
 was resolved that all proposals for a treaty between, 
 the United States and Great Britain inconsistent 
 with the independence of the former should be re 
 jected. It was likewise farther resolved that no 
 conference should be held with any commissioners 
 on the part of Great Britain, unless, as a measure 
 preliminary, the fleets and armies of that power 
 were withdrawn. 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 267 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 year 1778 was marked by an 
 
 >vnt mar e y an 
 
 event that diffused universal joy among the people 
 It had been rightly judged by American statesmen 
 that, smarting under the loss which France had ex 
 penenced by the war ending in 1763 of hertroad 
 JNorth American possessions, the government of 
 
 nmctionT M ** "^ J th tO 2H thi 
 Great Brit/i llk ? d ? me erment of territory upon 
 trreat Britain. With a view, therefore, of cultiva 
 ting friendly relations with France, and deririmr a 
 
 5SJhfi l H 11 ^ e vernme <" Still, rorTthan a 
 had been exert th^ T Mch the c ^rnissioners* 
 been exerting themselves to the utmost to ob- 
 
 wiSt 1011 f the in T de P ende ^e of the United 
 
 nnnn t! SUCCeSJ S- R Was evident that France 
 uon t 
 
 looked nnnn t- as event tat France 
 
 >oked upon the revolt of the American colonies 
 
 eaenevt 
 
 needed ? for I ^ C nteSt that time was 
 
 HencP frnm fh P Se ^ re covery of her strength. 
 French cZ ? ^n^ 1 l the com missioners in the 
 1777 thPv P / H f i n D T mber 17 76, to the close of 
 
 ItL trueVit th ! n llVmg Up n " h P e d eferred. 
 t is true that the Americans received zre at assist 
 ance from the French in supplies of arSs and am 
 munition; and although n 
 
 H 
 
 dispose of their prizes in French ports. 
 
 onad bee , and Ar- 
 
 comoussioners but dedmint fh nglna - U y des.gnated as one of the 
 in his stead. declmm ^ the appointment, Mr. Lee was selected 
 
268 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 Still, the government was lavish in its professions 
 of friendship for England, even though confiden 
 tially giving the Americans strong assurances of 
 sympathy and ultimate assistance. The untoward 
 result of Burgoyne s campaign, intelligence of which 
 was received in Paris early in December, was the 
 opportune means of ending this vascillating policy 
 on the part of the court of Versailles. The feelings 
 of the French people towards England could no 
 longer be disguised, since the news occasioned as 
 much general joy as though the victory had been 
 achieved by their own arms. The consequence 
 was, that, on the 6th of February, the French gov 
 ernment entered into treaties of amity, commerce, 
 and alliance with the United States, on principles 
 of the most perfect reciprocity and equality. The 
 French cabinet clearly foresaw that this measure 
 would soon produce a war between themselves and 
 England, and acted in the expectation of such a con 
 sequence. Indeed, M. Girard, one of the French sec 
 retaries of state, in his conferences with the Amer 
 ican commissioners, had the frankness to avow that 
 they were not acting wholly for the sake of the 
 United States, but because they thought the mo 
 ment a favourable one for humbling their haughty 
 rival, by aiding in the dismemberment of her em 
 pire. Hence, the king had not only determined to 
 acknowledge the independence of the United States, 
 but to support it, without the expectation of compen 
 sation. 
 
 The news of the treaty with France was not re 
 ceived in the United States until late in the spring.* 
 
 * The event was commemorated in the American camp, on the 7th of 
 May, in a style corresponding with its importance, a general order for 
 the celebration having been issued by the commander-in-chief. It be 
 gan as follows : " It having pleased the Almighty Ruler of the Universe 
 to defend the cause of the United American States, and finally to raise 
 us up a powerful friend among the princes of the earth to establish our 
 liberty and independence upon a lasting foundation, it becomes us to set 
 apart a day for gratefully acknowledging the Divine goodness, and cele 
 brating the important event, which we owe to his divine interposition." 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 269 
 
 Meantime other circumstances occurred during the 
 winter, in the northern part of New- York, deserv 
 ing of note in the present narrative. First among 
 these was the notable project of General Gates for 
 a second descent, in mid-winter, upon Canada. In 
 November following the defeat of Burgoyne, on the 
 reorganization of the Board of War, Gates, in the 
 first flush of his popularity, was placed at its head 
 as president. He had not been long at Yorktown, 
 where Congress was then in session, before he con 
 ceived the project of directing an irruption into 
 Canada across the ice upon Lake Champlain, for the 
 purpose of destroying the stores and shipping of the 
 enemy at St. John s, and, possibly, of striking a 
 sudden blow upon Montreal. It was subsequently 
 but too well ascertained that the condition of the 
 Northern army, with which Gates certainly ought 
 to have been acquainted, was by no means such as 
 to warrant the undertaking of any offensive enter 
 prise. Still, the victorious commander of the North 
 had the address to obtain a vote of Congress direct 
 ing the expedition, the conduct of which was in 
 trusted to the Marquis de Lafayette. This gallant 
 young nobleman had been burning with a desire to 
 distinguish himself in a separate command, and this 
 project opened to him the prospect of realizing the 
 object dearest to his heart. 
 
 But neither in the inception nor in the maturing 
 of the enterprise had the commander-iii-chief been 
 consulted ; and the first knowledge he possessed of 
 the project was derived from a letter from General 
 Gates, enclosing another to the marquis, informing 
 him of his appointment to the command. The dis- 
 
 The pageant was strictly military, and is described by the letters of that 
 day as exceedingly brilliant. The joy manifested was unfeigned and 
 unspeakable. The commander-in-chief dined in public with all the offi 
 cers of his army. " When his excellency took his leave, there was a 
 universal clap, with loud huzzas, which continued until he had proceed 
 ed a quarter of a mile, during which time there were a thousand hats 
 tossed in the air. His excellency turned round with his retinue, and 
 buzzaed several times." Letter o f an officer. 
 
270 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 respect to the commander-in-chief, to whom th 
 youthful soldier was bound by the strongest ties of 
 friendship and respect, was so manifest, that the 
 marquis at first hesitated in accepting the command. 
 Nor was his reluctance lessened by the suspicious 
 circumstance that General Conway, the base instru 
 ment of the Gates faction in the conspiracy against 
 Washington, had been assigned as his second in 
 command. Soaring above all selfish considerations, 
 however, Washington advised the marquis to accept 
 the trust confided to him by Congress. Lafayette, 
 therefore, repaired from the camp at Valley Forge 
 to Yorktown, to be more particularly advised as to 
 the object and the details of the enterprise. The 
 plan of organizing a light but efficient force, to make 
 a sudden dash upon St. John s, and destroy the flo 
 tilla which gave the enemy the command of Lake 
 Champlain, and to inflict such farther injury as might 
 be effected in a rapid campaign, was fully unfolded 
 to him. Ample supplies of men and means were 
 promised by Gates ; and, after securing the services 
 of the Baron de Kalb to the expedition an officer 
 older in rank than Conway, who would necessarily 
 be his second in command the marquis accepted 
 the appointment. 
 
 Full ofhigh hopes, a brilliant enterprise before him/ 
 and panting for an opportunity to signalize himself in 
 a separate command, the marquis pushed forward to 
 Albany, amid all the rigours of winter, to enter at 
 once upon the service, and apparently with as much 
 confidence as though he had achieved the exploit. 
 Sad, however, was his disappointment at the posture 
 of affairs on his arrival at Albany. Conway, who had 
 arrived there three days before him, at once assured 
 him that the expedition was quite impossible. Such, 
 likewise, was the opinion of Generals Schuyleir 
 Lincoln, and Arnold, the latter two of whom werr 
 detained at Albany by the unhealed wounds receiv 
 ed upon the fields of Saratoga. Indeed, he was ncv 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 271 
 
 long in ascertaining, from the quartermaster, com 
 missary, and clothier-generals, that there was a 
 lamentable deficiency of almost every necessary of 
 which he had been led to expect an abundant sup 
 ply. The number of troops was altogether inade 
 quate. Three thousand effective men were believ 
 ed to be the smallest force that would suffice, and 
 that number was promised. But scarcely twelve 
 hundred could be mustered fit for duty, and the 
 greater part of these were too naked even for a 
 summer campaign. Their pay was greatly in ar- 
 rear, and officers and men were alike indisposed to 
 the service.* Originally it had been intended to 
 confide the proposed expedition to General Stark, 
 whose prowess at the battle of Bennington had ren 
 dered him exceedingly popular with the people ; and 
 it was supposed that he could at once bring into the 
 field a sufficient number of his mountaineers to strike 
 the blow with success. Stark was invited to Al 
 bany, and James Duane was sent thither from Con 
 gress to confer with him upon the subject. But the 
 inducement offered by Congress being in the form 
 of a bounty, contingent only upon success, was 
 thought not sufficient ; and when a representation 
 of the circumstances was made by Mr. Duane to 
 that body, the scheme was changed and enlarged, at 
 the suggestion of General Gates, according to the 
 plan which the marquis was to execute. 
 
 Having attentively examined the situation of af 
 fairs and the means within his control, and consult- 
 
 * On the 19th of February, James Duane wrote to Governor Clinton 
 respecting- the impracticability of the enterprise, since the marquis could 
 find neither the troops nor the preparations. In the course of his letter, 
 Mr. Duane said of the marquis, " His zeal for this country, of which 
 he has given marks even to enthusiasm, and his ardent desire of glory, 
 iead him to wish the expedition practicable ; but he is too considerate to 
 pursue it rashly, or without probable grounds of a successful issue. I 
 must mention to your excellency a circumstance which shows the liber 
 ality of his disposition. He determined, on his entering into Canada, to 
 supply his army through his own private bills on France to the amount 
 of five or six thousand guineas, and to present that sum to Congress a 
 a proof of his love to America and the rights of human nature." 
 
272 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 ed with the several able captains at Albany, the 
 young 1 soldier saw with inexpressible chagrin that 
 the obstacles were insuperable. In the language of 
 another, amounting to a bitter satire, whether thus 
 intended or not, " the generals only were got in 
 readiness ;" and the gallant marquis was compelled 
 to relinquish the enterprise, without, even the poor 
 privilege of making an attempt. He certainly had 
 great reason, not only for vexation, but disgust : ad 
 vised, as he had been, to announce to his court the 
 degree of confidence reposed in him by Congress, 
 in thus confiding to him a separate command of 
 such importance ; not, of course, suspecting, for a 
 moment, that General Gates could be so ignorant 
 of the actual situation of the department from which 
 he had been so recently transferred. 
 
 The true position of affairs at Albany having been 
 made known to Congress, it was resolved to instruct 
 the marquis to suspend the expedition, and, at the 
 same time, to assure him " that Congress entertained 
 a high sense of his prudence, activity, and zeal ; and 
 that they were fully persuaded nothing would have 
 been wanting on his own part, or on the part of the 
 officers who accompanied him, to give the expedi 
 tion the utmost possible effect." 
 
 But to return to the Indian affairs of the Mohawk 
 Valley. Early in the year, various unpleasant symp 
 toms were perceptible, indicating the design of a re 
 newed and more extensive Indian war than had been 
 anticipated at any previous moment. Information 
 was received from the remote West of a general 
 disposition among the nations in the region of the 
 great lakes, and the Upper Mississippi, to join the Mo 
 hawks, Cayugas, Onondagas, and Senecas, against 
 the United States. The master-spirit of those threat 
 ened movements was Joseph Brant, whose winter- 
 quarters were at the central and convenient point of 
 Niagara. Nor were Sir John Johnson and his asso 
 ciates, Claus and Butler, inactive ; while the Brit- 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 273 
 
 ish commander at Detroit, Colonel Hamilton, was 
 .t the same time exercising a powerful influence 
 over the surrounding nations of the forest On the 
 opening of the year, therefore, great fears were en 
 tertained for the security of the frontiers from the 
 Mohawk to the Ohio. Still, with the Six Nations 
 Congress resolved to make yet another effort of 
 concihation to secure their neutrality, if nothing 
 rther. Accordingly, on the 2d of February, reso 
 lutions were passed directing a council to be held 
 with these nations at Johnstown, in the county of 
 liyon. General Schuyler and Volkert P Douw 
 were appointed commissioners for that purpose, and 
 Governor Clinton was requested to designate a spe 
 cial commissioner, to be present on the occasion 
 In pursuance of this solicitation, James Duane was 
 appointed for that duty. The resolutions of Co?i! 
 gress instructed the commissioners to speak to the 
 Indians in language becoming the representatives 
 ot Iree, sovereign, and independent states, and in 
 such a tone as would convince them that they felt 
 themselves to be so." It was left to the discretion 
 3f the commissioners to determine whether it would 
 be prudent to insist upon their taking up arms in be- 
 hali of the States, or to content themselves with ef 
 forts to secure their neutrality. 
 
 The directions were, that the council should be 
 holden between the 15th and 20th of February but 
 so slow or reluctant were the Indians in assem- 
 
 nrf th oV f A P r rOC f dingS were not commenced 
 until he 9th of March. Whether General Schuyler 
 attended is not known. The Marquis de Lafayette, 
 who was then temporarily in command of the North 
 ern Department, accompanied Mr. Duane to Johns- 
 
 sev V e n n h!!n7 a L P1 ? Serit at the COunciL More tha 
 seven hundred Indians were collected at the treaty 
 
 consisting of Oneidas, Tuscaroras, Onondagas a 
 few Mohawks, and three or four Cayugas; but not 
 a single Seneca, which was by far the most power- 
 
274 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 ful nation. On the contrary, they had the boldness 
 to send a message, affecting great surprise, "that 
 while our tomahawks were sticking in their heads, 
 their wounds bleeding, and their eyes streaming 
 with tears for the loss of their friends at German 
 Flatts, the commissioners should think of inviting 
 them to a treaty !" 
 
 The proceedings were opened by an address from 
 Congress, framed in accordance with the spirit of 
 the resolutions already cited, asserting the power 
 of the United States, and their magnanimous con 
 duct towards the Six Nations ; and charging them 
 distinctly with the ingratitude, cruelty, and treach 
 ery with which their pacific advances had been re 
 quited, and for which reparation was demanded. 
 From this charge of treachery the Oneidas and Tus- 
 caroras were not only honourably excepted, but, on 
 the contrary, were applauded for their firmness and 
 integrity, and assured of friendship and protection. 
 
 An Onondaga chief spoke in behalf of the guilty 
 tribes. He exculpated himself and his brother sa 
 chems, casting the blame on the young and head 
 strong warriors, who, he said, would not listen to 
 prudent councils, illustrating their own internal dif 
 ficulties by those occasionally existing among the 
 people of the States, which it was, at times, found 
 impossible to repress. He also spoke of the diffi 
 culty they were obliged to encounter in withstand 
 ing the influence of Butler and others in the service 
 of the crown, acquired by bribery and other kindred 
 artifices. 
 
 An Oneida chief answered for his own nation and 
 the Tuscaroras, with a spirit and dignity which 
 would not have disgraced a Roman senator. He 
 pathetically lamented the degeneracy of the un 
 friendly tribes ; predicted their final destruction ; 
 and declared the fixed and unalterable resolution of 
 the tribes which he represented, at every hazard, to 
 hold fast the covenant chain with the United States, 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 275 
 
 and be buried with them in the same grave, or with 
 them to enjoy the fruits of victory and peace. He 
 fully evinced the sincerity of these professions, by 
 desiring that the United States would erect a for 
 tress in their country, and station a small garrison 
 within it for their defence. A promise to this ef 
 fect having been given, the Oneida concluded with 
 a solemn assurance that the two nations for whom 
 he spoke would at all times be ready to co-operate 
 with the United States against all their enemies. 
 
 In a private interview afterward, the Oneidas 
 warned the commissioners against trusting to the 
 Onondagas, whom they considered as enemies to 
 the United States, notwithstanding their seeming 
 contrition for the past. The Oneidas declared that 
 they had not the least doubt that the Onondagas, 
 Cayugas, and Senecas would renew their hostili 
 ties early in the spring ; that Colonel Butler would 
 again be in possession of Oswego, which he would 
 more strongly fortify ; and for these events they 
 entreated the commissioners to be prepared. 
 
 The inhabitants of Tryon county, many of whom 
 were spectators at the council, were highly gratified 
 with the proceedings ; and it was supposed that the 
 moral effect would be good, not only in regard to 
 the Oneidas, but also upon the Onondagas, those 
 tribes being closely connected by intermarriages ; 
 but the commissioners left the council under the full 
 persuasion that from the Senecas, Cayugas, and the 
 greater part of the Mohawks, nothing but revenge 
 for their lost friends and tarnished glory at Oriska- 
 ny and Fort Schuyler was to be anticipated ; more 
 especially since the enemy was so plentifully sup 
 plied with the means of corruption, while it was not 
 in the power of the United States so much as to fur 
 nish their best friends with the necessaries of life, 
 even in the course of trade. Still, in order, as far 
 as possible, to regain some of their lost ascendency 
 over the Indians, by means of traffic, the commia* 
 
27& BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 sioners of that department were shortly afterward 
 authorized by Congress to open a trading establish 
 ment at Fort Schuyler. But the inadequacy of the 
 provision must be evident, from the fact that the 
 slender exchequer of the government allowed an 
 appropriation of no greater sum for that important 
 object than ten thousand dollars. 
 
 While at Johnstown during this visit, the Marquis 
 de Lafayette was waited upon by Colonel Campbell 
 and others, for the purpose of calling his attention 
 to the exposed -situation of Cherry Valley. The 
 consequence was an order for the erection of a fort 
 at that place. An engineer was detailed upon that 
 duty, and detachments of troops were ordered both 
 to that place and Schoharie. Three slight fortifica 
 tions had been built in the valley of the Schoharie 
 Kill during the preceding year, called the Upper, 
 Middle, and Lower Forts. These works were mere 
 ly circumvallations of earth and wood, thrown up 
 around some strong dwelling-houses constructed of 
 stone, within which the women and children were 
 placed in moments of peculiar danger. The church 
 was the citadel of the Lower Fort, and all were 
 manned by small companies of soldiers, having 
 each a single brass fieldpiece. The marquis like 
 wise directed the erection of a fort in the Oneida 
 country, pursuant to the request of the Indians of 
 that nation. 
 
 It was but too evident, from the reports borne 
 upon every western breeze, that all these measures 
 of precaution in that direction were necessary. To 
 the Johnsons and their adherents the recovery of 
 the Valley of the Mohawk was an object of the first 
 importance ; and they watched every opportunity 
 of moving in that quarter which promised even a 
 possible chance of success. Even while the mar 
 quis was present with the Indian commissioners at 
 Johnstown, no less a personage than a British colo 
 nel, a nephew of Sir Guy Carleton, and bearing the 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 277 
 
 same honourable name, was well understood to be 
 lurking in that vicinity as a spy. Every effort was 
 made for his arrest ; and, as an inducement to the 
 militia and Indians to be on the alert, the marquis 
 offered a reward of fifty guineas from his own purse. 
 
 But the search was fruitless. Carleton was an 
 active and efficient partisan officer, and was never 
 taken. The marquis retained the command at the 
 North only until the middle of April, when he was 
 ordered to headquarters, and Gates again assumed 
 the command of the department. 
 
 In the month of June, the Loyalists who had fled 
 to Canada with Sir John Johnson, to the number of 
 one hundred and upward, performed an exploit 
 equally bo-Id and remarkable, which naturally sug 
 gests the inquiry, Where were the Whigs of Tryon 
 county at that time ; and in what were they engaged ? 
 The incident to which reference is had was the 
 return of those selfsame Loyalists for their fami 
 lies, whom they were permitted to collect together, 
 and with whom they were suffered to depart into 
 the country, and the active service of the enemy. 
 Nor was this all. Not only was no opposition made 
 to their proceedings, but on their way they actually 
 committed acts of flagrant hostility, destroyed prop 
 erty, and took several prisoners. Having com 
 pleted their arrangements, they moved northward 
 from Fort Hunter, through Fonda s Bush, making 
 four prisoners on their way thither, and at Fonda s 
 Bush five others. From this place they proceeded 
 across the great marsh to Sir William Johnson s 
 fish-house, on the Sacondaga, capturing a man 
 named Martin, and another named Harris, on the 
 way, and at the fish-house taking a brave fellow 
 named Solomon Woodworth, and four others. They 
 burned the house and out-buildings of Godfrey Shew 
 at this place, and departed with their prisoners, 
 leaving the women and children houseless. Em 
 barking on the Sacondaga in light canoes, previous- 
 
278 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 ly moored at that place for the purpose, they de 
 scended twenty-five miles to the Hudson, and thence, 
 by the way of Lakes George and Champlain, pro 
 ceeded to St. John s in safety. The day after his 
 capture, Woodworth succeeded in making his es 
 cape. At St. John s, John Shew and four others 
 were given up to the Indians, by whom they were 
 taken to their village in Canada. They were nei 
 ther considered nor treated exactly as prisoners of 
 war ; and Shew, with three of his companions, soon 
 afterward escaped and returned home.* From St. 
 John s the loyal party proceeded down the St. Law 
 rence to Quebec, where the residue of the prison 
 ers were kept in close confinement about four 
 months. Some of the number died, and the re 
 mainder were sent to Halifax, and thence exchanged 
 by the way of Boston. This movement of the Tories 
 back in a body to their deserted homes, and its suc 
 cess, form one of the most extraordinary incidents, 
 though in itself comparatively unimportant, which 
 transpired during the wars of the Mohawk country. 
 With the opening of the season for active opera 
 tions though he was himself never inactive Thay- 
 endanegea had again returned to his former haunts 
 on the Susquehanna, Oghkwaga and Unadilla. He 
 soon proved himself an active and dreaded partisan. 
 No matter for the difficulties or the distance, wher 
 ever a blow could be struck to any advantage, Jo 
 seph Brant was sure to be there. Frequent, more 
 over, were the instances in which individuals, and 
 even whole families in the outskirts of the settle 
 ments, disappeared, without any knowledge on the 
 part of those who were left that an enemy had 
 been near them. " The smoking ruins of their 
 
 * In the autumn of 1780, young Shew was again captured by a scout 
 ing party of Indians and Tories, in the woods in the neighbourhood of 
 Ballston, and, at the instigation of one of the latter, named John Parker, 
 was immediately murdered. Parker was himself soon afterward taken 
 as a spy by Captain Bernett of the militia, carried to Albany, tried, 
 convicted, and executed. 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 279 
 
 dwellings, the charred bones of the dead," and the 
 slaughtered carcasses of the domestic animals, were 
 the only testimonials of the cause of the catastrophe, 
 until the return of a captive, or the disclosures of 
 some prisoner taken from the foe, furnished more 
 definite information. But there is no good evidence 
 that Brant was himself a participator in secret 
 murders, or attacks upon isolated individuals or 
 families ; and there is much reason to believe that 
 the bad feelings of many of the Loyalists induced 
 them to perpetrate greater enormities themselves, 
 and prompt the parties of Indians whom they often 
 led to commit greater barbarities than the savages 
 would have done had they been left to themselves. 
 In support of the foregoing opinion of Captain 
 Brant, the following incident, occurring in the sum 
 mer of the present year, may be adduced. A lad 
 in Albany county, named William M Kown, while 
 engaged in raking hay alone in a meadow, happen 
 ing to turn round, perceived an Indian very near 
 him. Startled at his perilous situation, he raised 
 his rake for defence, but his fears were instantly 
 dissipated by the savage, who said, "Do not be 
 afraid, young man ; I shall not hurt you." He then 
 inquired of the youth for the residence of a Loyal 
 ist named Foster. The lad gave him the proper 
 direction, and inquired of the Indian whether he 
 knew Mr. Foster. " I am partially acquainted with 
 him," was the reply, "having once seen him at the 
 Half-way Creek." The Indian then inquired the 
 lad s name ; and having been informed, he added, 
 " You are a son of Captain M Kown who lives in 
 the northeast part of the town, I suppose : I know 
 your father very well : he lives neighbour to Captain 
 M Kean : I know M Kean very well, and a very fine 
 fellow he is, too." Imboldened by the familiar 
 discourse of the Indian, the lad ventured to ask his 
 name in turn. Hesitating for a moment, his rather 
 unwelcome visiter replied, "My name is Brant!" 
 
280 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 "What! Captain Brant?" eagerly demanded the 
 youth. " No : I am a cousin of his," was the re 
 joinder; but accompanied by a smile and a look 
 that plainly disclosed the transparent deception. It 
 was none other than the terrible Thayendanegea 
 himself. 
 
 On the other hand, the following tragic circum 
 stance sustains the assertion that the Tories were 
 oftentimes more cruel than their savage associates. 
 While a party of hostiles were prowling about the 
 borders of Schoharie, the Indians killed and scalped 
 a mother, and a large family of children. " They 
 had just completed the work of death, when some 
 Loyalists of the party came up, and discovered an 
 infant breathing sweetly in its cradle. An Indian 
 warrior, noted for his barbarity, approached the 
 cradle with his uplifted hatchet. The babe looked 
 up in his face, and smiled ; the feelings of nature 
 triumphed over the ferocity of the savage ; the hatch 
 et fell with his arm, and he was about stooping 
 down to take the innocent in his arms, when one 
 of the Loyalists, cursing him for his humanity, thrust 
 it through with his bayonet ; and, thus transfixed, 
 held it up struggling in the agonies of death, as he 
 exclaimed, This, too, is a rebel / " 
 
 To guard against these painful transactions, no 
 thing short of the most exemplary watchfulness 
 would suffice. Not only their habitations, but those 
 who laboured in the fields, were guarded, being 
 themselves armed at their ploughs, like the labour 
 ers of the prophet in rebuilding the walls of Jerusa 
 lem. Nor was this vigilance confined to any par 
 ticular location. The inhabitants around the whole 
 border, from Saratoga, north of Johnstown, and 
 west to the German Flatts, thence south stretching 
 down to Unadilla, and thence eastwardly crossing 
 the Susquehanna, along the Charlotte River to Har- 
 persfield, and thence back to Albany, were neces 
 sarily an armed yeomanry, watching for themselves, 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 281 
 
 and standing sentinels for each other in turn ; har 
 assed daily by conflicting rumours ; now admon 
 ished of the approach of the foe in the night by the 
 glaring flames of a neighbour s house ; or compelled 
 suddenly to escape from his approach, at a time 
 and in a direction the least expected. Such was 
 me tenure of human existence around the confines 
 jf this whole district of country, from the spring 
 f 1777 to the end of the contest in 1782. 
 
 The first movement of Brant himself, this season 
 (1778), was upon the settlement of Springfield, a 
 small town at the head of Otsego Lake, lying di 
 rectly west " of Cherry Valley, about ten miles. 
 Those of the men who did not fly were taken pris 
 oners. The chieftain then burned the entire settle 
 ment, with the exception of a single house, into 
 which he collected all the women and children, 
 and left them uninjured. 
 
 It was reported in the month of June that Brant, 
 whose forces were increasing at Unadilla, was forti 
 fying that post ; and Captain M Kean was despatch 
 ed with a small patrol in that direction, by the peo 
 ple of Cherry Valley, to make observation. Ar 
 riving at a house about twenty-five miles from that 
 place, Captain M Kean was informed that Brant had 
 been there with fifty men that day, and would 
 probably return in the evening. M Kean was at 
 first disposed to take possession of the house, arid 
 attempt its defence, his force consisting of but five 
 men, exclusive of himself. But, ultimately form 
 ing a more prudent resolution, he withdrew " his 
 forces" before nightfall, and returned home without 
 having reconnoitred the chieftain s position at Una 
 dilla. In the course of his journey, he wrote a let 
 ter to Brant, upbraiding him for the predatory sys 
 tem of warfare in which he was engaged, and chal 
 lenging him either to single combat, or to meet him 
 with an equal number of men and have a pitched 
 battle ; adding, that if he would come to Cherry 
 VOL. I. Y 
 
282 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 Valley, they would change him from a Brant to a 
 "goose." This chivalrous missive was fastened to 
 a stick, and placed in an Indian path. No modern 
 postoffice could have transmitted the letter with 
 greater speed or safety. The " contents" were 
 " noted" by Brant in a letter addressed to Mr. Par- 
 cifer Carr, a Loyalist living some fifteen or twenty 
 miles north, upon the Unadilla settlement, to whom 
 the chief wrote for provisions. He also solicited 
 Mr. Carr to allow two or three of his men to join 
 him, and likewise to send him a few guns, with 
 some ammunition ; adding, " I mean now to fight 
 the cruel rebels as well as I can." In a postscript, 
 h*e intimated that the people of Cherry Valley, 
 though very bold in words, would find themselves 
 mistaken in calling him a " goose." Whether the 
 challenge of Captain M Kean, and the pun upon the 
 chieftain s name, had any influence upon his subse 
 quent conduct in that section of the country, is not 
 known. 
 
 On the 2d of July a smart engagement took place, 
 on the upper branch of the Cobleskill, between a 
 party of regular troops and Schoharie militia under 
 Captain Christian Brown, and a large body of In 
 dians. There were twenty-two militiamen and thirty 
 regulars, the latter under charge of a lieutenant 
 whose name has not been preserved. The Indians, 
 by their own account, were four hundred and fifty 
 strong. They were victorious, the Americans re 
 treating with a loss of fourteen killed, eight wound 
 ed, and two missing. The Indians burned several 
 houses, killed and destroyed all the horses and cat 
 tle which they could not drive away, and took con 
 siderable plunder besides. They remained in the 
 woods adjoining the battle-ground one day and two 
 nights, dressing the wounded, and packing up their 
 booty, with which they retired unmolested. 
 
 Thenceforward, until the close of the war, the 
 settlements of Schoharie were perpetually harassed 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 283 
 
 by the strolling bands of the enemy, until at length 
 they were entirely laid waste by a formidable in 
 vasion. The principal of these settlements was the 
 vale of the Schoharie Kill doubly inviting from the 
 beauty of its scenery and the fertility of its soil 
 which was even then thickly inhabited. But al 
 though frequently doomed to suffer from the savage 
 tomahawk, justice, nevertheless, demands the ad 
 mission, that the first blood was drawn in that val 
 ley, and the first act of barbarity committed, by the 
 white man, upon the body of an Indian sachem. 
 
 The circumstances leading to the outrage were 
 these : At an early stage of the contest, the officers 
 of the crown made a very strenuous effort to control 
 the popular feeling, and preserve the loyalty of the 
 people of Schoharie. For this purpose, not only 
 the regular militia of the settlements, but all the 
 male population capable of bearing arms, were re 
 quired to meet the king s commissioners at the 
 house of Captain George Mann, a Loyalist of great 
 wealth and influence, to take the oath of allegiance. 
 They assembled in arms, and were kept on parade, 
 day after day, as they slowly gathered at the place 
 of rendezvous in obedience to the requisition. 
 Those who were Loyalists at heart readily took the 
 oath ; but great reluctance was manifested on the 
 part of those whose predilections ran with the 
 Whigs. These, however, were threatened with the 
 pains and penalties of arrest, confiscation, and 
 death, in case of refusal ; so that for the most part 
 they complied with the demand of the commission 
 ers, and took the path of fidelity to the crown.. Im 
 mediately on taking the oath, the hat of the subject 
 was decorated with a piece of scarlet cloth ; while 
 some of those most strongly desirous of manifesting 
 their loyalty wore scarlet caps. Prominent among 
 the latter class were Lodwig Snyder, of the Danes- 
 burg settlement, and a Mohawk sachem named 
 Peter Nickus, who gave offence to the Whigs by 
 
284 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 brandishing his tomahawk and occasionally sound 
 ing the war-whoop. 
 
 But there were a few bold spirits upon whom nei 
 ther the threats of his majesty s officers nor tl e 
 menaces of the Indians in their company had any 
 effect. They refused peremptorily to take the oath. 
 Chief among these were Nicholas Sternberg and 
 William Deitz, who left the parade on the evening 
 of the first or second day, and returned to their 
 homes, bitterly denounced as rebels and traitors by 
 the Royalists, and threatened with a visit of Tories 
 and Indians during the night. To avoid an arrest, 
 Sternberg took to the woods at evening, leaving his 
 family in great anxiety, although the slaves, of 
 whom he possessed a large number, volunteered to 
 defend their mistress and the children. But there 
 was no pursuit, and the recusants both returned to 
 the parade on the following day, determined, of 
 course, to render all proper obedience to the laws 
 yet in force, but equally determined not to take the 
 oath of allegiance ; although Mrs. Sternberg be 
 sought her husband, with tears, not to jeopard his 
 own safety, and the lives of his family, by longer 
 refusal. Nay, she went farther ; and appealing to 
 the Bible, the good woman showed him the passage 
 in which all men are enjoined " to fear God and 
 honour the king." But it was with Sternberg as 
 with the Puritans. He believed that " opposition 
 to tyrants was obedience to God," as implicitly as 
 did the regicides who engraved that immortal senti 
 ment upon the New-Haven rock ; and he was in 
 flexible in his purpose. 
 
 Fortunately, however, in the course of the day 
 affairs took quite a different turn. It was at about the 
 middle of the afternoon that Captain Mann mustered 
 those who had taken the oath and received the red 
 badge. They numbered one hundred and upward, 
 and were paraded before the captain s own house to 
 perform their martial exercise, when their attention 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 285 
 
 was arrested by the sound of steeds trampling in the 
 distance. A moment longer, and a cloud of horse 
 men came galloping along the highway from the 
 direction of Albany, with drawn swords flashing 
 brightly in the sun. These unexpected visiters pro 
 ved to be Captain Woodbake and two hundred cav 
 alry, the object of whose approach was to disperse 
 the royal gathering, and proclaim the government 
 of the Republic. Their arrival was exceedingly in 
 opportune for Captain Mann, who was cut short in 
 the midst of a loyal oration, in which he was com 
 mending his citizen-soldiers for their loyalty, and 
 threatening those who refused the badge of their 
 sovereign with vengeance, swift and inevitable. As 
 the cavalry approached. Captain Mann took to his 
 heels and fled ; while his loyal followers, many of 
 whom had assumed the before-mentioned insignia, 
 and signed the royal muster-roll on compulsion, 
 either followed his example, or threw away their 
 red caps, and tore off the scarlet patches from their 
 hats, with the utmost possible expedition. Orders 
 were immediately issued by Captain Woodbake 
 that Mann should be taken and brought to him, 
 alive, if possible, but if not not. Numbers started 
 in pursuit, while those who remained upon the 
 ground were collected into line, and a proclamation 
 was read to them by Captain Woodbake, declaring 
 the royal authority at an end, pronouncing the acts 
 of the king s commissioners null and void, and ab 
 solving the people from the oath of allegiance just 
 taken, upon the ground that, by the laws neither of 
 God nor man, are oaths binding which have been 
 taken upon compulsion. Commending those who 
 had refused to take the oath for their patriotism, he 
 informed them that a committee of safety must be 
 appointed, who would temporarily be invested with 
 the civil and military authority of the district, and 
 until, by elections and otherwise, the government 
 could be organized in a more regular manner. Nich- 
 
286 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 olas Sternberg and William Deitz were thereupon 
 nominated by Woodbake to serve as said commit 
 tee, and invested orally with all necessary power 
 for the government of the district ; and the people 
 were enjoined to obedience. 
 
 The affairs of the government having thus been 
 settled, all hands were ordered in pursuit of Cap 
 tain Mann, and sentinels were posted at different 
 points of observation. Among these was Mr. Stern- 
 berg s eldest son, Lambert, who was stationed by 
 the side of a wheat-stack, sheltered by a roof of 
 thatch upon four posts. The orders were strict, 
 that, if Mann would not surrender, he must be shot. 
 Towards evening, on the approach of a thunder- 
 gust, young Sternberg, who was a lad of only six 
 teen years, climbed to the top of the wheat-stack 
 for shelter, where, to his great surprise, he stumbled 
 upon the loyal captain. The youth informed him at 
 once that he must surrender or be shot. The cap 
 tain implored for mercy, declaring that he dared not 
 to surrender himself to Woodbake, because his life 
 would be taken. The youth repeated that his orders 
 were explicit, and he must surrender or be shot. 
 But Mann had lived a neighbour to his father, had 
 ever been kind to him, and his heart failed at the 
 thought of taking his life. He then proposed to the 
 captain to fire his musket by way of alarm, that oth 
 ers might come and take him. But this was object 
 ed to by Mann with equal earnestness. It now 
 thundered and lightened fearfully, while the rain 
 descended in torrents. Watching his opportunity, 
 therefore, and availing himself of the conflict of the 
 elements, and that, also, which was working in the 
 bosom of his young neighbour, so suddenly placed 
 in hostile array against him, Mann contrived to 
 spring from his hiding-place, and, by sliding down 
 upon one of the barrack-posts, effected his escape 
 into a corn-field, and thence into the woods. The 
 stripling soldier fired, as in duty bound, but doubt 
 less rejoiced that the shot was without effect. 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 287 
 
 On the next day, information having been receiv 
 ed that a body of Indians were lurking in the neigh 
 bourhood of Middle burg", a few miles farther up the 
 valley, Captain Woodbake proceeded thither with 
 his squadron of horse. The only Indian seen was 
 the before- mentioned sachem, Peter Nickus, who 
 was discovered in a thicket of hazel bushes, and 
 immediately brought to the ground by a shot that 
 broke his thigh. Several pistols were simultane 
 ously snapped at him, but without effect ; the troops 
 then dismounted, and, running upon the wounded In 
 dian, inhumanly hacked him to pieces with their 
 swords. Peter Nickus was therefore the first vie 
 tim of the Revolution in the Valley of the Scho- 
 harie Kill, nor does it appear that he had himself 
 been guilty of any act of positive hostility. 
 
 All search for Captain Mann was, for the time, 
 fruitless. He succeeded in escaping to the mount 
 ains, where he remained fifteen days ; but at length 
 was induced to surrender through the intervention 
 of friends, on condition that he should receive no 
 personal injury. He was thereupon taken to Alba 
 ny, and kept in confinement to the end of the war 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 THE melancholy story of Wyoming stands next 
 in chronological order. It does not, indeed, apper 
 tain directly to the history of the Mohawk Valley, 
 but it is, nevertheless, connected intimately with 
 that history, while it has ever been regarded as one 
 of the most prominent events in the border history 
 of the Revolutionary contest. Its importance, more 
 over, as a section of the Indian portion of that con 
 test, is such as to warrant the episode, if such it 
 
288 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 must be called. Many were the battles, during that 
 struggle, of far greater importance than the affair 
 of Wyoming, both in regard to their magnitude and 
 their results ; and many were the scenes character 
 ized by equal, if not greater atrocity. But, from a 
 variety of circumstances, as well antecedent as sub 
 sequent to the battle, it has happened that no event 
 connected with the aboriginal wars of our country 
 stands out in bolder relief than that. Sixty years 
 have elapsed since the tragedy of Wyoming was en 
 acted ; the actors themselves are no more ; and yet 
 the very mention of the event sends a chill current 
 to every youthful heart, while the theatre of the ac 
 tion itself has been rendered classic, as well as con 
 secrated, by the undying numbers of one of the most 
 gifted bards of the age. So long as English poetry 
 exists, will the imaginary tale of GERTRUDE OF WY 
 OMING be read, admired, and wept ; and thousands, 
 in every generation to come, will receive the beau 
 tiful fiction for truth, while the details of fact by the 
 faithful historian, rejecting the exaggerations of 
 Ramsay and Gordon, and their associate writers 
 of the Revolutionary era, together with compilers 
 more modern, who have taken no pains to inquire 
 for the truth, may be regarded as too commonplace 
 and unimportant for attention. 
 
 Wyoming is the name of a beautiful section of 
 the vale of the Susquehanna, situated in the north 
 eastern part of the State of Pennsylvania. It is 
 twenty-five miles in length by about three in breadth, 
 lying deep between two parallel ranges of mount 
 ains, crested with oak and pine. The scenery 
 around is wild and picturesque, while the valley it 
 self might be chosen for another paradise. 
 
 The possession of this valley has not been an ob 
 ject of the white man s ambition or cupidity alone. 
 It has been the subject of controversy, and the fierce 
 battle-ground of various Indian tribes, within the 
 white man s time, but before his possession ; and 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 289 
 
 from the remains of fortifications discovered there, 
 so ancient that the largest oaks and pines have 
 struck root upon the ramparts and in the intrench- 
 ments, it must once have been the seat of power, 
 and perhaps of a splendid court, thronged by chival 
 ry, and taste, and beauty : of a race of men far dif 
 ferent from the Indians, known to us since the dis 
 covery of Columbus. It was here that the benevo 
 lent Count Zinzendorf pitched his tent on commen 
 cing his Christian labours among the Shav/anese, 
 and where he was saved from assassination by the 
 providential intervention of a poisonous reptile. 
 
 The first movement towards the planting of a 
 white colony in the Wyoming Valley was made by 
 Connecticut in 1753. It was justly held that this 
 section of country belonged originally to the grant 
 of James I., in 1620, to the old Plymouth Company. 
 The Earl of Warwick and his associates having pur 
 chased the right of the Plymouth Company to the 
 territory of Connecticut and the lands beyond New- 
 Jersey, west, " from sea to sea," within certain lim 
 its, Connecticut claimed under that grant. But no 
 sooner was a company formed to plant a colony in 
 Wyoming, called the Susquehanna Company, than 
 Pennsylvania preferred a claim to the same territo 
 ry, under a grant from Charles II. to William Penn, 
 in 1681, covering the whole claim of Connecticut; 
 and a rival association, under a lease from Pennsyl 
 vania, granted to Charles Stewart, Amos Ogden, and 
 John Jennings, was organized in like manner to set 
 tle it. The strife of each, at first, was to circum 
 vent the other in purchasing the Indian title. At 
 this time it was conceded that the aboriginal pro 
 prietaries were the Six Nations ; and, though beset 
 on all sides, King Hendric refused, for a time, to 
 dispose of the territory to either party. Ultimate 
 ly, however, the Six Nations sold to the Susquehan 
 na Company; and in 1755 the Connecticut Colony 
 was commenced. But, by reason of the French and 
 
 VOL. L7, 
 
290 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 Indian wars, their settlers were compelled to re* 
 turn to Connecticut, and the obstacles became so 
 numerous, that it was not until 1762 that they were 
 enabled to obtain a foothold. 
 
 The Pennsylvanians immediately prepared to op 
 pose the settlers from Connecticut. A case was 
 made up and transmitted to England, on which Mr. 
 Pratt, the attorney-general (afterward Lord Cam- 
 den), gave an opinion in favour of the successors of 
 Penn. Connecticut likewise sent over a case, and 
 on her part obtained a like favourable opinion from 
 eminent counsel. In this position of the controver 
 sy, a catastrophe befell the infant settlement which 
 put an end to the enterprise for several years. 
 Thus far the relations between the colonists and 
 the Indians had been of the most pacific character. 
 The old Delaware chief, Tadeuskund, who had em 
 braced the Christian religion, was, with his people, 
 their friend. But he had given offence to some of 
 the Six Nations in 1758, a party of whom came 
 among" the Delawares, under the guise of friendship, 
 in April, 1763, and murdered the venerable chief by 
 setting fire to his dwelling, in which he was con 
 sumed.* The murder was charged by the Indians 
 upon the adventurers from Connecticut. But the 
 emigrants, unconscious that a storm was rising 
 against them, remained in fancied security. They 
 had given no offence ; and, in order to allay any sus 
 picions that might otherwise be awakened among 
 the Indians, they had even neglected to provide 
 themselves with weapons for self-protection. The 
 consequence was the sudden destruction of their 
 
 * Tadeuskund was a Delaware chief of note. Previous to the year 
 1750, he was known among the English by the name of Honest John. 
 He was baptized by the Moravians, but was wavering 1 and inconstant. 
 He was too fond of the war-path to become a consistent follower of the 
 pacific Moravians. When he saw opportunities of signalizing himself as 
 a warrior, therefore, he left his faith, to re-embrace it as might suit his 
 policy. He inclined to the French in the war, but assisted in conclu 
 ding- a peace among several Indian nations in 1758, which gave um 
 brage to the Six Nations. 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 291 
 
 settlement by a party of Delaware Indians, on the 
 15th of October, The descent was made upon the 
 town while the men were at work in the fields. 
 About twenty persons were killed, and several were 
 taken prisoners. Those who could, men, women, 
 and children, fled to the woods and the mountains, 
 whence they were compelled to behold the sad 
 spectacle of their dwellings in flames, and the Indi 
 ans making off with the remains of their little prop 
 erty. Their flight through a trackless forest to the 
 Delaware, unprovided with food, and unprotected 
 by suitable clothing against the searching weather 
 of autumn, was very painful. But even then their 
 journey was not ended, as they had yet to proceed 
 back to Connecticut, destitute, and on foot. 
 
 In 1668 the Pennsylvania lessees, afterward most 
 commonly called the Ogden Land Company, took 
 advantage of a treaty holden at Fort Stanwix, and 
 purchased of the same Six Nations, who had sold to 
 the Connecticut Company, the same territory of 
 Wyoming. The Pennsylvanians entered upon im 
 mediate possession ; and when, on the opening of 
 the ensuing spring, the Connecticut colonists re 
 turned with recruits, they found others in the occu 
 pancy of the lands, with a blockhouse erected, and 
 armed for defence, under the direction of Amos Og 
 den and Charles Stewart. Here was a new and un 
 expected state of things. Some of the leading men 
 of the Connecticut colony were decoyed into the 
 blockhouse, arrested, and sent off to a distant prison. 
 But recruits coming on from Connecticut, they, in 
 turn, built works of defence, and proceeded with 
 their colonial labours. 
 
 In the summer of 1769, the Governor of Pennsyl 
 vania made preparations to dispossess the intruders, 
 as they considered the Connecticut people, by force ; 
 and a detachment of armed men, to the number of 
 two hundred, was sent into the territory. The col 
 onists prepared for a siege ; but one of their leaders 
 
292 BORDER WARS OP THE 
 
 having been taken prisoner and sent to jail in Phil 
 adelphia, after a show of resistance, and having no 
 weapons of defence but small arms, they capitula 
 ted, and agreed to leave the territory, with the ex 
 ception of seventeen families, who were to remain 
 and Secure the crops. But no sooner had the colo 
 nists departed, than the Pennsylvanians, led by Og- 
 den, plundered the whole colony, destroying their 
 fields of grain, killing their cattle, and laying the 
 whole settlement in ruin ; so that the seventeen 
 families were compelled to fly from starvation. 
 
 In the month of February, 1770, the Connecticut 
 colonists rallied, and marched upon Wyoming, un 
 der a man named Lazarus Stewart. They took 
 Ogden s house and his piece of artillery, during his 
 absence. But, on his return, he collected his friends, 
 and hostilities ensued between the two parties, 
 which were prosecuted with varying success for 
 several weeks. During this time, an engagement 
 occurred, in which several were killed and wounded 
 on both sides. Ogden s house, which had been for 
 tified, was besieged, and finally taken, after several 
 days cannonading, and the destruction of one of his 
 blockhouses, containing his supplies, by fire. In 
 the terms of capitulation, the Connecticut party al 
 lowed Ogden to leave six men in charge of his re 
 maining property. But the conduct of Ogden the 
 preceding year had not been forgotten, and the lex 
 talionis was rigidly and speedily executed. 
 
 In September following, a force of one hundred 
 and fifty men was sent against the Connecticut set 
 tlers, under the command of Captain Ogden, as he 
 was now called. He took the settlement entirely 
 by surprise, while the labourers were in the fields 
 at work, and the women and children in the fort. 
 Many of the men, nevertheless, reached the fort, 
 and prepared to defend it ; but it was carried by as 
 sault in the night ; the women and children were 
 barbarously trampled under foot, and the whole set- 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION, 293 
 
 tlement plundered and destroyed the following day, 
 with more than Indian rapacity. The colonists 
 were made prisoners, and sent off to distant jails. 
 Thus was the settlement again broken up. But the 
 triumph of Ogden was brief. In December the fort 
 was again surprised and carried by Captain Stewart, 
 at the head of some Lancastrians united with the 
 late colonists. A few of the men fled naked to the 
 woods ; but the greater portion, together with the 
 women and children, residing for security in houses 
 built within the ramparts, were taken prisoners. 
 These, having been deprived of their property, were 
 driven from the valley. 
 
 The parties to these controversies, which could 
 not but engender all the bitterest passions in the 
 nature of man, rendering what might have been a 
 second Eden a theatre of strife, discord, and " hell- 
 born hate," fought, of course, as they pretended, 
 under the jurisdiction of the respective states to 
 which they assumed to belong. The civil authori 
 ties of Pennsylvania frequently interposed ; and 
 after the burning of Ogden s blockhouse, attempts 
 were made to arrest several of the Connecticut 
 party for arson. Stewart was apprehended, but was 
 soon afterward rescued. 
 
 After the capture of the fort in December, the Su 
 preme Court of Pennsylvania once more issued a 
 writ for his arrest, and the sheriff was sent with the 
 posse at his heels ; but the garrison would not admit 
 him. The fort was fired upon by the posse, under 
 the direction of the sheriff, and in returning the fire, 
 one of the Ogdens (Nathan) was killed. The sheriff 
 thereupon drew off his forces for the night. But it 
 was no sooner dark, than Stewart and forty of his 
 men withdrew from the fortress, leaving a garrison 
 of only twelve persons, who capitulated on the fol 
 lowing morning. Three hundred pounds reward 
 was offered by the Governor of Pennsylvania for 
 the arrest of Stewart. The fort was left in charge 
 
294 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 of Amos Ogden, who induced most of his former as 
 sociates to return with him. 
 
 In July following, this important post was again 
 doomed to change hands. The colony was invaded 
 by Captain Zebulon Butler, with upward of seventy 
 men These being joined by Lazarus Stewart and 
 his party, they immediately took possession ot the 
 lands, while Ogden with his people, to the number 
 of eighty-two, retired into the new fort of Wyoming, 
 which they had just built, and prepared for resist 
 ance The contest was now assuming greater im 
 portance than ever. Butler and Stewart at once 
 invested the fortress, and, recruits arriving from 
 Connecticut, they were enabled to throw up re 
 doubts, and open intrenchments for a regular siege. 
 This new fort was planted directly upon the bank 
 of the river. Perceiving himself thus completely 
 shut in, Ogden formed the bold design of leaving 
 his garrison in the night, and floating down the 
 river past the works and the sentinels of the enemy, 
 in order to repair to Philadelphia for succours. I or 
 the purpose of better securing his escape, by means 
 of a cord he caused a bundle to be floated along in 
 the river following him, which, being the most per 
 ceptible object, would naturally attract the attention 
 and receive the fire of the enemy, if discovered. 
 The ruse was completely successful. The decep 
 tive object did attract the attention of the besiegers, 
 and received their fire ; although Ogden himself was 
 in immediate peril, since his hat and clothes were 
 riddled with bullets. He nevertheless escaped to 
 Philadelphia, and is entitled to the credit of per 
 forming one of the boldest and most difficult individ 
 ual exploits on record. 
 
 In consequence of these tidings, the government 
 ordered a force of one hundred men to be sent to the 
 relief of Fort Wyoming, commanded by Colonel 
 Asher Clayton. These were to be separated into 
 two divisions, and marched to the fort from differ- 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 295 
 
 eat directions. Captain Dick, with one division, 
 proceeded towards the fort with pack-horses of pro 
 visions for one hundred men. When in its neigh 
 bourhood, however, he was ambuscaded by the troops 
 of Butler and Stewart, and thrown into confusion by 
 the fire. Twenty-two of the party succeeded in get 
 ting 1 into the fort, and the remainder, with four pack- 
 horses of provisions, fell into the hands of Butler. 
 The siege continued, and was prosecuted with great 
 vigour until the 14th of August, when, his supplies 
 being exhausted, Colonel Clayton, the assailant, ca 
 pitulated, stipulating that his troops, together with 
 Ogden and his party, should withdraw from Wyo 
 ming. Ogden was wounded during the siege, and 
 a second shot killed another officer, named Wil 
 liam Ridyard, upon whom the former was leaning, 
 being faint from loss of blood. 
 
 The president of the Pennsylvania proprietaries 
 complained of the conduct of the Connecticut peo 
 ple in these hostilities, and Governor Trumbull dis 
 claimed any connexion with the affairs of Wyo 
 ming on the part of the state over which he presided. 
 But as the Connecticut people continued to pour 
 re-enforcements into the settlement, the Pennsylva- 
 nians withdrew their forces, and, for a season, made 
 no farther attempts upon the territory. 
 
 The settlers now claimed the protection of Con 
 necticut, the government of which attempted a 
 mediation between the people of Wyoming and the 
 government of Pennsylvania, but without success. 
 Meantime, the people of the colony proceeded to 
 organize a government, and to exercise almost all 
 the attributes of sovereignty. The general laws of 
 Connecticut were declared to be in force ; but for 
 their local legislation, they organized a pure democ 
 racy ; the people of all their towns and settlements 
 meeting in a body, as in Athens of old, and making 
 their laws for themselves. The Legislature of Con 
 necticut extended its broad aegis over them, framed 
 
296 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 a new county, called Westmoreland, and attached 
 it to the county of Litchfield in the parent state. 
 Zebulon Butler and Nathan Denniston were ap 
 pointed justices of the peace, and the people sent 
 one representative to the Legislature of Connecti 
 cut. The governments of Connecticut and Penn 
 sylvania kept up a war of proclamations and edicts 
 upon the subject, while the settlement advanced in 
 population and extent with unexampled rapidity. 
 
 Thus matters proceeded until the year 1775, when, 
 just after hostilities had been commenced between 
 the colonies and the British troops at Lexington, the 
 old feuds between the settlers of the rival compa 
 nies suddenly broke forth again. A new settlement 
 of the one was attacked by the militia of the other, 
 one man was killed, several were wounded, and 
 others made prisoners, and carried off to a distant 
 jail. Other outrages were committed elsewhere, 
 and of course all the angry passions, all the bitter 
 feelings of hatred and revenge, between the rival 
 parties claiming the soil and the jurisdiction, brokt> 
 out afresh. The settlements of each had become 
 extended during the five years of peace, which, of 
 course, had multiplied the parties to the contest ; so 
 that, as the men of Wyoming flew to arms, a more 
 formidable civil war than ever was in prospect, at 
 the moment when every arm should have been 
 nerved in the common cause of the whole country.* 
 
 Congress being now in session, interposed its au 
 thority by way of mediatorial resolutions ; but to 
 no purpose. The interposition was repeated, and 
 again disregarded. In the mean time, the Pennsylva- 
 nians brought seven hundred men into the field, who 
 were marched against Wyoming under the direction 
 
 * At this time the settlements consisted of eight townships, viz. : 
 Lackawana, Exeter, Kingston, Wilksbarre, Plymouth, Nanticoke, Hunt- 
 ingtou, and Salem, each containing five miles square. The six town 
 ships were pretty full of inhabitants ; the two upper ones had compara 
 tively few, thinly scattered. 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 297 
 
 of Colonel Plunkett. But in ascending the west 
 bank of the Susquehanna, on coming to a narrow 
 defile, naturally defended by a rocky buttress, their 
 march was suddenly arrested by a volley of mus 
 ketry. An instant afterward the invaders discerned 
 that the rocky parapets were covered with men 
 bristling in arms, prepared for a Tyrolese defence 
 of tumbling rocks down upon the foe, should their 
 fire-arms prove insufficient to repel him. Taken 
 thus suddenly and effectively by surprise, Plunkett 
 retreated with his forces behind a point of rocks, for 
 consultation. He next attempted to cross the river, 
 and resume his march on the other side. But here, 
 too, the people of Wyoming had been too quick for 
 him. The invaders were so hotly received by a de 
 tachment in ambuscade on the other side, that they 
 were constrained to retreat, nor did they attempt to 
 rally again. 
 
 Thus terminated the last military demonstration 
 of the provincial government of Pennsylvania 
 against the Valley of Wyoming, previous to the war 
 of the Revolution. Never, however, had a civil war 
 raged with more cordial hatred between the par 
 ties, not even during the bloody conflicts between 
 the Guelphs and the Ghibellines, than was felt be 
 tween the adherents of the respective land compa 
 nies, in the collisions just passed under review. 
 Most unfortunate was it, therefore, that the quarrel 
 broke out afresh at the precise moment when the 
 services of all were alike wanted for the common 
 defence, especially on a border exposed to the daily 
 irruptions of the Indians. 
 
 Nor was this the only evil. There being a wide 
 difference of opinion between the people in almost 
 every section of the country on the great question 
 at issue between the parent country and the colo 
 nies, it was natural to anticipate that such of these 
 contending parties as adhered to the Royalist cause, 
 would cherish a twofold enmity towards those Re- 
 
298 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 publicans who had been previously in arms against 
 them. These feelings of hostility were of course 
 mutual ; and, as many of the adherents of the Dela 
 ware Company, and perhaps some from both fac 
 tions, early escaped to the enemy, and enrolled 
 themselves under the banners of Sir John Johnson 
 and Colonel John Butler, there can be no difficulty 
 in accounting for the peculiar ferocity which marked 
 the conduct of such of the refugees as returned in 
 arms against their former belligerant neighbours. 
 
 The population of the Wyoming settlements, at 
 the commencement of the war, numbered five thou 
 sand souls. Three companies of regular troops 
 were enlisted among them for the service of the 
 United States. Their militia, regularly enrolled, 
 amounted to eleven hundred men capable of bearing 
 arms, and of this force three hundred entered the 
 army ; so -prolific was their soil, and so industrious 
 were the people, that they were enabled to furnish 
 large supplies of provisions for the army. Three 
 thousand bushels of grain were sent in the spring 
 of the present year. The same plan of watchful 
 ness against the scouts and scalping parties of the 
 enemy was adopted as in other frontier settlements, 
 and the utmost vigilance was observed ; while reg 
 ular garrison duty was, in successive turns, per 
 formed by the citizen soldiers in the several fortifi 
 cations which defended their valley. 
 
 Some faint demonstrations were made by strag 
 gling parties of Tories and Indians, who prowled 
 about the settlements during the summer of the 
 preceding year, while St. Leger was besieging Fort 
 Schuyler; but after a few skirmishes with the in 
 habitants they dispersed, and the latter remained 
 undisturbed during the rest of the year. Still, an 
 impression that some of the Tories who had been 
 in arms against them, or who had been instrumental 
 in bringing the Indians upon them, were yet lurking 
 in the vicinity, and bent upon mischief, left the peo- 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 299 
 
 pie not altogether at ease ; and in the month of 
 January, 1778, twenty-seven suspected inhabitants 
 were arrested. Nine of these were discharged, on 
 examination, for want of sufficient evidence to war 
 rant their detention ; while the remaining eighteen 
 were sent to Hartford in Connecticut, and im 
 prisoned. The nine who were first discharged im 
 mediately fled to the enemy, and were followed 
 thither by such of their suspected associates as 
 were subsequently set at liberty in Connecticut. 
 It was but natural that these proceedings still more 
 imbittered the feelings of these Loyalists against 
 the Whigs, and the effect was soon perceptible in 
 the behaviour of the Tories and Indians occasion 
 ally patrolling their borders. 
 
 For a time, however, the apprehensions thus ex 
 cited were allayed by several pacific messages from 
 the Indian nations deeper in the interior, who sent 
 parties of runners with assurances of a desire for 
 peace. But these assurances were deceptive. In 
 stead of being messengers of peace, it was ascer 
 tained in March, from one of them while in a state 
 of intoxication, that their business was to amuse 
 the people and allay their fears while preparations 
 were making to attack them. This Indian, with 
 his associate warriors, was immediately arrested 
 and placed in confinement, while the women of the 
 party were sent back with a flag. The alarm was 
 likewise given to the scattered and remote settlers, 
 some of them living thirty miles up the river, who 
 thereupon immediately sought for greater security 
 in the more populous towns. During the months 
 of April and May, the settlements began to be more 
 considerably annoyed by larger parties of Tories 
 and Indians, who hung upon their borders, and made 
 frequent incursions among them for purposes of 
 plunder, robbing the people, as opportunity afford 
 ed, of live-stock, grain, and other articles of pro 
 visions. Waxing yet more audacious in June, sev- 
 
300 BORDERS WARS OF THE 
 
 eral murders were committed. Six of these victims 
 were a mother and her five children, who were 
 doubtless killed under a misapprehension as to her 
 character, since the woman was the wife of one 
 of the Tories who had been arrested in January. 
 The houses and plantations of the slain were, of 
 C3iirse, plundered of everything of value which the 
 marauders could carry away. 
 
 Towards the close of June, the British officers in 
 command at Niagara determined to strike a blow 
 upon these settlements ; for which purpose about 
 three hundred white men, consisting in part of regu 
 lar troops, but principally of refugee Loyalists, un 
 der the command of Colonel John Butler, together 
 with about five hundred Indians, chiefly Senecas, 
 under a celebrated war chief named Gi-en-gwah-toh 
 (He-who-goes-in-the-smoke), marched in that direc 
 tion. Arriving at Tioga Point, Butler and the In 
 dian leaders procured floats and rafts, upon which 
 they embarked their forces ; and, descending the 
 Susquehanna, landed at a place called the Three 
 Islands, whence they marched about twenty miles, 
 and, crossing a wilderness, entered the Valley of 
 Wyoming through a gap of the mountain near its 
 northern extremity. They took possession of two 
 small forts, without opposition, on the 3d of July, 
 the first of which was called the Exeter Fort. It 
 was said the garrison consisted chiefly of Tories, 
 who treacherously surrendered it to the enemy. 
 The other was the fort of Lackawana, where the 
 enemy encountered some resistance. But it was 
 soon carried, a magistrate named Jenkins being 
 killed, together with his family, and several others, 
 mostly women and children, made prisoners. One 
 of these forts was burned. In the other, the proper 
 name of which was Fort Wintermoot, Colonel John 
 Butler established his headquarters. 
 
 The inhabitants, on receiving intelligence of the 
 approach of the invaders, assembled within a forti- 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 301 
 
 fication four miles below, called Fort Forty, from 
 the circumstance of its having been occupied by 
 forty men at some period of the antecedent troubles 
 of the colony. Colonel Zcbulon Butler, whose 
 name has occurred several times in the preceding 
 summary of the history of Wyoming, was in com 
 mand of about sixty regular troops, and he now 
 made every exertion to muster the militia of the 
 settlements. But in his official despatch he com 
 plained that, as the women and children had fled to 
 the several forts, of which there were seven within 
 the distance of ten miles along the valley, the men, 
 too many of them, would remain behind to take 
 care of them. Still, he succeeded in collecting 
 about three hundred of the militia, and commenced 
 his march to meet the enemy on the 1st of July, in 
 connexion with the regular troops before mentioned, 
 commanded by Captain Hewett. On their first ad 
 vance, they fell in with a scout of Indians, of whom 
 they killed two. These savages had just murdered 
 nine men engaged at work in a corn-field. Not 
 being supplied with provisions, Colonel Zebulon 
 Butler was obliged to fall back upon Fort Forty, 
 while his militia procured supplies. They muster 
 ed again on the 3d, and a council of war was con 
 vened. Messengers having been despatched to the 
 headquarters of General Washington for assistance, 
 immediately after the enemy s movements were 
 known at Wyoming, Colonel Z. Butler was desi 
 rous of waiting for re-enforcements. But his offi 
 cers and men were impatient for a trial of strength. 
 The messengers had already been gone so IO-ILT, 
 that it was supposed they had been cut oft*, a:i-.l, 
 consequently, that General Washington was igno 
 rant of their situation. In that case no re-enforce 
 ments could reach them in season to save their val 
 ley from being ravaged ; and as the enemy s forces 
 were daily increasing, it was held to be the part of 
 wisdom to attack him at once. 
 
302 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 While the question was under debate, five officers 
 arrived from the Continental army, who, on hearing 
 the tidings of the meditated invasion, had thrown up 
 their commissions and hastened home to protect their 
 families.. They had heard nothing of the messengers, 
 and intimated that there was no prospect of speedy 
 assistance. The discussions were animated ; but 
 the apprehension that, in the event of longer delay, 
 the enemy would become too powerful for them, 
 and thus be enabled to sweep through their valley 
 and destroy their harvest, was so strong, and the 
 militia were so sanguine of being able to meet and 
 vanquish the enemy, that Colonel Butler yielded, 
 and set forward at the head of nearly four hundred 
 men, Colonel Denniston, his former associate in 
 the commission of the peace, being his second in 
 command. 
 
 It was intended to make a quick movement, and 
 take the enemy by surprise. Having approach 
 ed within two miles of Fort Wintermoot,* a small 
 reconnoitring party was sent forward for observa 
 tion. They ascertained that the enemy were ca 
 rousing in their huts in perfect security ; but on 
 their return they were so unfortunate as to fall in 
 with an Indian scout, who immediately fired and 
 gave the alarm. The Provincials pushed rapidly 
 forward ; but the British and Indians were prepared 
 to receive them, their line being formed a small 
 distance in front of their camp, in a plain thinly 
 
 * The fort was thus called after the proprietor of the land whereon it- 
 was built, and the adjacent territory, a distinguished Tory named W:u- 
 termoot. He was active in bringing destruction upon the valley ; and, 
 after doing all the mischief he could to the settlement, removed tu 
 Canada. During the waf with England in 1812-15, while the British 
 were investing Fort Erie, a son of old Mr. Wintermoot, a lieutenant in 
 the enemy s service, was killed by a volunteer from the neighbourhood of 
 Wyoming. Young Wintermoot was reconnoitring one of the American 
 pickets, when he was shot down by the said volunteer, who was engaged 
 in the same service against a picket of the enemy. The volunteer re 
 turned into the fort, bringing in the arms and commission of the officer 
 he had slain as a trophy. 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 303 
 
 covered with pine, shrub-oaks, and undergrowth, 
 and extending from the river to a marsh at the foot 
 of the mountain. On coming in view of the enemy, 
 the Americans, who had previously marched in a 
 single column, instantly displayed into a line of 
 equal extent, and attacked from right to left at the 
 same time. The right of the Americans was com 
 manded by Colonel Zebulon Butler, opposed to 
 Colonel John Butler, commanding the enemy s left. 
 Colonel Denniston commanded the left of the Ameri 
 cans, and was opposed by Indians forming the ene 
 my s right. The battle commenced at about forty 
 rods distance, without much execution at the onset, 
 as the brushwood interposed obstacles to the sight. 
 The militia stood the fire well for a short time, and 
 as they pressed forward there was some giving way 
 on the enemy s right. Unluckily, just at this mo 
 ment the appalling war-whoop of the Indians rang 
 in the rear of the American left, the Indian leader 
 having conducted a large party of his warriors 
 through the marsh, and succeeded in turning Den- 
 niston s flank. A heavy and destructive fire was 
 simultaneously poured into the American ranks ; 
 and amid the confusion, Colonel Denniston directed 
 his men to "fall back" to avoid being surrounded, 
 and to gain time to bring his men into order again. 
 This direction was mistaken for an order to " re 
 treat," whereupon the whole line broke, and every 
 effort of their officers to restore order was unavail 
 ing. At this stage of the battle, and while thus 
 engaged, the American officers mostly fell. The 
 flight was general. The Indians, throwing away 
 their rifles, rushed forward with their tomahawks, 
 making dreadful havoc, answering the cries for 
 mercy with the hatchet, and adding to the univer 
 sal consternation those terrific yells which invest 
 savage warfare with tenfold horror. So alert was 
 the foe in this bloody pursuit, that less than sixty 
 of the Americans escaped either the rifle or the 
 
304 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 tomahawk. Of the militia officers, there fell one 
 lieutenant-colonel, one major, and ten captains, six 
 lieutenants, and two ensigns. Colonel Durkee and 
 Captains Hewett and Ransom were likewise killed. 
 Some of the fugitives escaped by swimming the 
 river, and others by flying to the mountains. As 
 the news of the defeat spread down the valley, the 
 greater part of the women and children, and those 
 who had remained behind to protect them, likewise 
 ran to the woods and the mountains ; while those 
 who could not escape thus, sought refuge in Fort 
 Wyoming. The Indians, apparently wearied with 
 pursuit and slaughter, desisted, and betook them 
 selves to secure the spoils of the vanquished. 
 
 On the morning of the 4th, the day after the bat 
 tle, Colonel John Butler, with the combined British 
 and Indian forces, appeared before Fort Wyoming, 
 and demanded its surrender. The inhabitants, both 
 within and without the fort, did not, on that emer 
 gency, sustain a character for courage becoming 
 men of spirit in adversity. They were so intimida 
 ted as to give up without fighting ; great numbers 
 ran off; and those who remained all but betrayed 
 Colonel Zebulon Butler, their commander. The 
 British Colonel Butler sent several flags, requiring 
 an unconditional surrender of his opposing name 
 sake and the few Continental troops yet remaining, 
 but offering to spare the inhabitants their property 
 and effects. But with the American colonel the 
 victor would not treat on any terms ; and the peo 
 ple thereupon compelled Colonel Denniston to com 
 ply with conditions which his commander had refu 
 sed. The consequence was, that Colonel Zebulon 
 But lor contrived to escape from the fort with the re- 
 mains of Captain Hewett s company of regulars, 
 and Colonel Denniston entered into articles of capit 
 ulation. By these it was stipulated that the settlers 
 should be disarmed, and their garrison demolished ; 
 hat all the prisoners and public stores should be 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 305 
 
 given up ; that the property of " the people called 
 Tories 1 should be made good, and they be permit 
 ted to remain peaceably upon their farms. In behalf 
 of the settlers, it was stipulated that their lives and 
 property should be preserved, and that they should 
 be left in the unmolested occupancy of their farms. 
 
 Unhappily, however, the British commander either 
 could not or would not enforce the terms of the ca 
 pitulation, which were, to a great extent, disregard 
 ed as well by the Tories as Indians. Instead of 
 finding protection, the valley was again laid waste ; 
 the houses and improvements were destroyed by 
 fire, and the country plundered. Families were bro 
 ken up and dispersed, men and their wives separa 
 ted, mothers torn from their children, and some of 
 them carried into captivity, while far the greater 
 number fled to the mountains, and wandered through 
 the wilderness to the older settlements. Some died 
 of their wounds, others from want and fatigue, while 
 others still were lost in the wilderness, or were 
 heard of no more. Several perished in a great 
 swamp in the neighbourhood, which, from that cir 
 cumstance, acquired the name of " The Shades of 
 Death" and retains it to this day. 
 
 These were painful scenes. But it does not ap 
 pear that anything like a massacre followed the ca 
 pitulation.* Nor, in the events of the preceding day, 
 is there good evidence of the perpetration of any 
 specific acts of cruelty, other than such as are usual 
 in the general rout of a battle-field, save only the 
 unexampled atrocities of the Tories, thirsting, prob 
 ably, for revenge in regard to other questions than 
 that of allegiance to the king. 
 
 There seems, from the first, to have been an un- 
 
 * It will be seen, a few pages forward, by a letter from Walter Butler, 
 writing on behalf of his father, Colonel John Butler, that a solemn de 
 nial is made of any massacre whatever, save the killing of men in arms 
 in the open field. This letter, in vindication of the refugee Butlers, 
 would have been introduced here, but for its connexion with the affair 
 of Cherry Valley. 
 
 VOL. I. A A 
 
306 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 commonly large proportion of Loyalists in the Wyo 
 ming settlements, whose notions of legal restraint, 
 from the previous collisions of the inhabitants, were 
 of course latitudinarian ; nor were their antecedent 
 asperities softened by the attempts of the Whigs to 
 keep them within proper control, after hostilities 
 had commenced. The greater number of these, as 
 we have already seen, together with those who \vere 
 arrested, had joined themselves to the enemy. But 
 these were not all the defections. After the arrival 
 of the enemy upon the confines of the settlement, 
 and before the battle, a considerable number of the 
 inhabitants joined his ranks, and exhibited instances 
 of the most savage barbarity against their former 
 neighbours and friends. Nor has it ever been deni 
 ed, in regard to the battle of Wyoming, that none 
 were more ferocious and cruel, more destitute of 
 the unstrained quality of mercy, than those same 
 Loyalists or Tories. An example of the spirit by 
 which they were actuated is found in the following 
 occurrence, which, on account of its Cainlike bar 
 barity, is worthy of repetition. Not far from the 
 battle-ground was an island in the Susquehanna, 
 called Monockonock, to which several of the fugi~ 
 tive militiamen fled for security, throwing away 
 their arms, and swimming the river. Here they 
 concealed themselves as they could among the 
 brushwood. Their place of retreat being discover 
 ed, several Tories followed them ; and, though obli 
 ged to swim, yet so intent were they upon the work 
 of death, that they succeeded in taking their guns 
 with them. Arriving upon the island, they deliber 
 ately wiped their gunlocks, recharged their pieces, 
 and commenced searching for the fugitives. Two 
 of these were concealed in sight of each other, but 
 one of them escaped. But it was, nevertheless, his 
 lot to behold a scene painful enough to make the 
 most hardened offender weep, and "blush to own 
 himself a man." One of the pursuers came upon 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION 307 
 
 his companion in partial concealment, who proved 
 to be his own brother. His salutation was, " So, it 
 is you, is it 1" The unarmed and defenceless man, 
 thus observed, came forward and fell upon his knees 
 before his brother, begging for mercy ; promising to 
 live with him, and serve him forever, if he would 
 but spare his life. " All this is mighty fine," replied 
 the unrelenting traitor; " but you are a d d rebel !" 
 saying which, he deliberately levelled his rifle, and 
 shot him dead upon the spot. In a domestic war 
 marked by such atrocity, even among those claim 
 ing to be civilized, it becomes us to pause before 
 we brand the untutored savage, who fights accord 
 ing to the usages of his own people, with all that is 
 revolting and cruel.* 
 
 There is still another important correction to be 
 made in reference to every written history of this 
 
 * Doctor Thatcher, in his Military Journal, records still greater bar 
 barities as having- been perpetrated on this bloody occasion, lie says, 
 " One of the prisoners, a Captain Badlock, was committed to torture, by 
 having his body stuck full of splinters of pine knots, and a fire of dry 
 wood made around him, when his two companions, Captains Ransom 
 and Durkee, were thrown into the same fire, and held down with pitch 
 forks till consumed. One Partial Terry, the son of a man of respectable 
 character, having joined the Indian party, several times sent his father 
 word that he hoped to wash his hands in his heart s blood. The monster, 
 with his own hands, murdered his father, mother, brothers, and sisters, 
 stripped off their scalps, and cut off his father s head ! . Thomas Terry, 
 with his own hands, butchered his own mother, his father-in-law, his sis 
 ters and their infant children, and exterminated the whole family . . " 
 Upon which the worthy doctor remarks, " It is only in the infernal re 
 gions that we can look for a parallel instance of unnatural wickedness." 
 It is doubtful whether so great an atrocity was ever committed even 
 there. Certainly no such were perpetrated at Wyoming. Dr. Thatch 
 er also states, that when Colonel Z. Butler sent a flag to propose terms 
 of capitulation, the reply of Colonel John Butler was in two words 
 " The Hatchet." He also remarks, in regard to the moral and social 
 condition of Wyoming, that but for the dissensions produced by the war 
 of the Revolution, " the inhabitants of this secluded spot might have 
 lived in the enjoyment, of all the happiness which results from harmony 
 and the purest natural affection." Witness the ten years of civil wars 
 iketched in the preceding pages. It was also reported that a man na 
 med Thomas Hill with his own hands killed his own mother, his father- 
 in-law, his sisters and their families ! And such is history ! Thesa 
 monstrous exaggerations were the reports of the battle first published at 
 Poughkeepsie, on the 20th of July, as derived from, the lips of the terri 
 fied fugitives who wore wending their way back to Conoec .icut. 
 
308 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 battle extant, not even excepting the last revised 
 edition of the Life of Washington, by Chief-justice 
 Marshall. This correction regards the name, and 
 the just fame, of Joseph Brant, whose character has 
 been blackened with all the infamy, both real and 
 imaginary, connected with this bloody expedition. 
 The Indian leader, as already stated, was a brave 
 and popular Seneca warrior, named Gi-en-gwah-toh ; 
 and the Indians engaged in the affair were almost 
 exclusively Senecas. There were few, if any, Mo 
 hawks among them. Captain Brant was at no time 
 in company with this expedition ; and it is certain, 
 in the face of every historical authority, British and 
 American, that, so far from being engaged in the 
 battle, he was many miles distant at the time of its 
 occurrence. Such has been the uniform testimony 
 of the British officers engaged in that expedition, 
 such was always the word of Thayendanegea him 
 self, and such is the statement that has been made 
 to the author by Captain Pollard, a Seneca chief of 
 renown, who was himself in the battle. It will, 
 moreover, be seen, towards the close of the present 
 work, that after the publication of Campbell s " Ger 
 trude of Wyoming," in which poem the Mohawk 
 chieftain was denounced as "the Monster Brant," 
 his son repaired to England, and, in a correspond 
 ence with the poet, successfully vindicated his fa 
 ther s memory from the calumny. 
 
 It is related in the unwritten history of this battle, 
 that the celebrated Catharine Montour was present, 
 with her two sons ; and that she ranged the field of 
 blood like a chafed tigress, stimulating the warriors 
 of her adopted race to the onslaught, even in the 
 hottest of the fight. But, from the antecedent char 
 acter of that remarkable woman, the story can hard 
 ly be credited. She was a native of Canada, a half- 
 breed, her father having been one of the early 
 French governors, probably Count Frontenac, as he 
 must have been in the government of that country 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 309 
 
 at about the time of her birth. During the wa/s 
 between the Six Nations and the French and Hu- 
 rons, Catharine, when about ten years of age, was 
 made a captive, taken into the Seneca country, 
 adopted, and reared as one of their own children. 
 When arrived at a suitable age, she was married to 
 one of the distinguished chiefs of her tribe, who 
 signalized himself in the wars of the Six Nations 
 against the Catawbas, then a great nation living 
 southwestward of Virginia. She had several chil 
 dren by this chieftain, who fell in battle about the 
 year 1730, after which she did not again marry. 
 She is said to have been a handsome woman when 
 young, genteel, and of polite address, notwithstand 
 ing her Indian associations. It was frequently her 
 lot to accompany the chiefs of the Six Nations to 
 Philadelphia, and other places in Pennsylvania, 
 where treaties were holden ; and from her character 
 and manners she was greatly caressed by the Amer 
 ican ladies, particularly in Philadelphia, where she 
 \vas invited by the ladies of the best circles, and en 
 tertained at their houses. Her residence was at the 
 head of the Seneca Lake. 
 
 Some of the flying fugitives from Wyoming had 
 not proceeded many miles from their desolate 
 homes before they met a detachment of Continent 
 al troops on their way to assist the conlony. It 
 was now too late. But the detachment, neverthe 
 less, remained at Stroudsburg three or four weeks ; 
 by which time Colonel Zebulon Butler had collect 
 ed a force consisting of straggling settlers and 
 others, with whom, and the regular troops just men 
 tioned, he returned, and repossessed himself of Wy 
 oming, the enemy having retired shortly after the 
 battle, Colonel John Butler to Niagara, and the In 
 dians to their homes ; while Thayendanegea moved 
 as he had occasion, from his old haunts higher up 
 the Susquehanna, at Oghkwaga and Unadilla. 
 
 Immediately on the reception of the disastrous 
 
308 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 battle extant, not even excepting the last revised 
 edition of the Life of Washington, by Chief-justice 
 Marshall. This correction regards the name, and 
 the just fame, of Joseph Brant, whose character has 
 been blackened with all the infamy, both real and 
 imaginary, connected with this bloody expedition. 
 The Indian leader, as already stated, was a brave 
 and popular Seneca warrior, named Gi-en-gwah-toh ; 
 and the Indians engaged in the affair were almost 
 exclusively Senecas. There were few, if any, Mo 
 hawks among them. Captain Brant was at no time 
 in company with this expedition ; and it is certain, 
 in the face of every historical authority, British and 
 American, that, so far from being engaged in the 
 battle, he was many miles distant at the time of its 
 occurrence. Such has been the uniform testimony 
 of the British officers engaged in that expedition, 
 such was always the word of Thayendanegea him 
 self, and such is the statement that has been made 
 to the author by Captain Pollard, a Seneca chief of 
 renown, who was himself in the battle. It will, 
 moreover, be seen, towards the close of the present 
 work, that after the publication of Campbell s " Ger 
 trude of Wyoming," in which poem the Mohawk 
 chieftain was denounced as "the Monster Brant," 
 his son repaired to England, and, in a correspond 
 ence with the poet, successfully vindicated his fa 
 ther s memory from the calumny. 
 
 It is related in the unwritten history of this battle, 
 that the celebrated Catharine Montour was present, 
 with her two sons ; and that she ranged the field of 
 blood like a chafed tigress, stimulating the warriors 
 of her adopted race to the onslaught, even in the 
 hottest of the fight. But, from the antecedent char 
 acter of that remarkable woman, the story can hard 
 ly be credited. She was a native of Canada, a half- 
 breed, her father having been one of the early 
 French governors, probably Count Frontenac, as he 
 must have been in the government of that country 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 309 
 
 at about the time of her birth. During th 
 between the Six Nations and the French and Hu- 
 rons, Catharine, when about ten years of age, was 
 made a captive, taken into the Seneca country, 
 adopted, and reared as one of their own children. 
 When arrived at a suitable age, she was married to 
 one of the distinguished chiefs of her tribe, who 
 signalized himself in the wars of the Six Nations 
 against the Catawbas, then a great nation living 
 southwestvvard of Virginia. She had several chil 
 dren by this chieftain, who fell in battle about the 
 year 1730, after which she did not again marry. 
 She is said to have been a handsome woman when 
 young, genteel, and of polite address, notwithstand 
 ing her Indian associations. It was frequently her 
 lot to accompany the chiefs of the Six Nations to 
 Philadelphia, and other places in Pennsylvania, 
 where treaties were holden ; and from her character 
 and manners she was greatly caressed by the Amer 
 ican ladies, particularly in Philadelphia, where she 
 was invited by the ladies of the best circles, and en 
 tertained at their houses. Her residence was at the 
 head of the Seneca Lake. 
 
 Some of the flying fugitives from Wyoming had 
 not proceeded many miles from their desolate 
 homes before they met a detachment of Continent 
 al troops on their way to assist the conlony. It 
 was now too late. But the detachment, neverthe 
 less, remained at Stroudsburg three or four weeks ; 
 by which time Colonel Zebulon Butler had collect 
 ed a force consisting of straggling settlers and 
 others, with whom, and the regular troops just men 
 tioned, he returned, and repossessed himself of Wy 
 oming, the enemy having retired shortly after the 
 battle, Colonel John Butler to Niagara, and the In 
 dians to their homes ; while Thayendanegea moved 
 as he had occasion, from his old haunts higher up 
 the Susquehanna, at Oghkwaga and Unadilla. 
 
 Immediately on the reception of the disastrous 
 
310 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 tidings from Wyoming at the Continental head 
 quarters, Colonel Hartley s regiment was ordered 
 thither, with instructions from Congress to remain 
 on that frontier until the crops were secured and 
 the enemy should have retreated. He was joined 
 by several militia companies, and, among other offi 
 cers, by Colonel Dennison, who, in the capitulation 
 of Wyoming, had stipulated not again to serve 
 against the king s troops. He accompanied Colonel 
 Hartley in an expedition against some of the Indian 
 towns up the Susquehanna, in the direction of Ogh- 
 kwaga, several of which were destroyed. A few 
 prisoners were also taken. It appearing, however, 
 that the enemy were gathering in too much force 
 for him to remain long within their territory, Col 
 onel Hartley was constrained to retreat. An attack 
 was made upon his rear, but the assailants were re 
 pulsed. Colonel Dennison doubtless felt himself 
 warranted in breaking the stipulations of Fort Wy 
 oming, by the fact that those stipulations were not 
 strictly observed by the Tories and Indians. But 
 the enemy made no such allowance ; and this expe 
 dition, or, rather, the conduct of Colonel Dennison, 
 was subsequently used as a pretext for some of the 
 incidents connected with the attack upon Cherry 
 Valley. 
 
 Colonel Zebulon Butler built another fort at Wy 
 oming, which he continued to occupy until the next 
 year, when the command of that region devolved 
 upon General Sullivan. In the mean time, the out 
 skirts of the settlements were frequently harassed 
 by straggling parties of Tories and Indians, who oc 
 casionally committed an assassination, or carried 
 off a few prisoners. The Americans, in turn, de 
 spatched every Indian who fell in their way. In 
 March following, the fort was surrounded by a force 
 of two hundred and fifty Indians, and Tories dis 
 guised as such. They attacked the fortress, but fled 
 on the discharge of a single piece of artillery, burn- 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 311 
 
 ing whatever buildings had either been re-erected 
 or left standing at the former invasion. The gar 
 rison was too weak to allow of a pursuit. A few 
 weeks afterward, as a company of Continental 
 troops were approaching the fort, under the com 
 mand of Major Powell, they were iired upon by a 
 party of Indians in ambush, while passing along a 
 single track through a difficult swamp. In this at 
 tack, Captain Davis, Lieutenant Jones, and four 
 privates, were killed. The detachment formed for 
 action with all possible despatch, but the Indians 
 fled after two or three discharges. Nor did they re 
 appear afterward, in that immediate neighbourhood, 
 in any subsequent stage of the Revolutionary con 
 test, although other sections of the Pennsylvania 
 frontier, farther south and west, suffered occasion 
 ally from their depredations, particularly in the fol 
 lowing year, while Sullivan was preparing to ad 
 vance into the Seneca country.* 
 
 * Thus ends the Revolutionary history of Wyoming-. But from what 
 has been given in the preceding pages, touching the history of this val 
 ley and its feuds before the Revolution, the reader may possibly feel 
 some desire to learn the subsequent progress of the long-pending land 
 quarrel. After the Indians had been chastised, the settlers returned, 
 and the valley and its precincts once more began to flourish. Pennsyl 
 vania again interposed her claims ; and a commission was appointed by 
 Congress, which met in New Jersey, to hear the case and decide the 
 question. It was unanimously decided in favour of Pennsylvania. The 
 people held that this decision was one of jurisdiction merely, and with 
 this understanding cheerfully acquiesced in it. But fresh troubles arose. 
 A company of Continental troops was stationed there in 1783, to keep 
 the peace, and this only made matters worse ; the soldiers became licen 
 tious and overbearing, and the people were exceedingly annoyed thereat. 
 In the spring of 1784, by a succession of ice-dams which accumulated in 
 the river, the valley was overflowed, and the inhabitants were compelled 
 to fly to the mountains for safety. When the ice gave way, the floods 
 swept off everything, leaving the whole valley a scene of g reater deso 
 lation than ever. Presently afterward the old troubles broke out afresh. 
 The inhabitants refused to obey their new masters. The Connecticut 
 settlers flew to arms ; the Pcnnsylvanians sent troops thither ; the Con 
 necticut settlers laid siege to the fort ; there were riots and skirmish 
 ings, and some killed and wounded. The Connecticut people wero 
 taken prisoners by treachery, and sent off to prison. They escaped. Re- 
 enforcemeuts of troops were sent by Pennsylvania ; there was more 
 blood shed. Various attempts were made to settle the difficulties. Com 
 missioners were appointed upon the subject, ore of whom was Timothy 
 
312 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 No sooner had Great Britain been apprized of the 
 alliance between France and her revolted colonies, 
 than it was determined to evacuate Philadelphia, and 
 concentrate the royal army at New- York. Accord 
 ingly, on the 18th of June, the British troops cross 
 ed the Delaware into New-Jersey, and commenced 
 their march for New-York, ascending the east bank 
 of the river to Allentown, and thence taking the 
 lower road leading through Monmouth to Sandy 
 Hook. General Washington, anticipating this move 
 ment, had previously detached a division of the ar 
 my, under General Maxwell, to impede the enemy s 
 march. It was known that General Gates was ap 
 proaching with the army from the North, and the 
 enemy s motions were no sooner ascertained, than 
 General Wayne was despatched, with one thousand 
 chosen men, to strengthen the lines. The Marquis 
 de Lafayette was directed to take command of the 
 whole force thus sent in advance, while Washington 
 himself moved rapidly forward with the main army. 
 It was his design to bring on a general, and, if pos 
 sible, a decisive engagement. The result of his 
 movements for that object was the battle of Mon 
 mouth, fought on the 28th of June. The disposi 
 tions for this engagement were admirably arranged 
 on the night of the 27th, the position of the enemy 
 being such as to afford the best advantages for ;iu 
 attack upon his rear the moment ho should get iu 
 
 Pickering. He was forcibly seized, and carried into captivity. His 
 story has been written by himself, and is full of interest. These diffi 
 culties continued, with feelings of the bitterest contention, ten years, 
 before matters were compromised between the parties so that they set 
 tled down in peace. It is now a rich and flourishing county, and ma/ 
 be called the Paradise of Pennsylvania. 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 313 
 
 motion. Such being the intentions of the com- 
 mander-in-chief, they were communicated to Gen 
 eral Lee, who was ordered to make his dispositions 
 accordingly, and to keep his troops lying upon their 
 arms to be in readiness at the shortest notice. At 
 five in the morning of the 28th, the front of the en 
 emy was observed to be in motion, and orders were 
 instantly despatched to General Lee to move on and 
 attack, " unless there should be very powerful rea 
 sons to the contrary." Lee was also advised that 
 Washington was himself advancing to support him. 
 After marching about five miles, to the great sur 
 prise and mortification of the commander-in-chief, 
 he met the whole advanced corps retreating, by 
 the orders of Lee, without having made any oppo 
 sition, except one fire given by a party under Col 
 onel Butler, on their being charged by the enemy s 
 cavalry, who were repulsed. Lee was sharply re 
 buked, and placed in arrest. Hurrying to the rear 
 of the retreating corps, which the commander-in- 
 chief found closely pressed by the enemy, he arrest 
 ed their flight, re-formed them, and with the aid of 
 some well-served pieces of artillery, at once check 
 ed the enemy s advance, and gained time for making 
 such dispositions as the unexpected emergency re 
 quired. The battle soon became general, and was 
 obstinately contested at various points through the 
 whole day, until dark, Sir Henry Clinton and Gen 
 eral Washington heading their respective armies in 
 person. By the misconduct of Lee, however, and 
 an error of General Scott in the morning, advanta 
 ges had been lost which entirely disconcerted the 
 views of the commander-in-chief. and deprived the 
 American arms of a victory which was all but cer 
 tain. Still, the fortunes of the day were so far re 
 covered, that, from being the pursued, the Ameri 
 cans drove the enemy back over the ground they 
 had followed, and recovered the field of battle, and 
 possessed themselves of their dead. But as they 
 
314 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 retreated behind a morass very difficult to pass, and 
 had both flanks secured with thick woods, it was 
 found impracticable for the Americans, fainting with 
 fatigue, heat, and want of water, to do anything 
 more that night. 
 
 Both armies encamped in the field, and lay upon 
 their arms, Washington himself sleeping in his 
 cloak, under a tree, in the midst of his soldiers. His 
 intention was to renew and end the battle on the 
 following morning, not doubting as to the issue. In 
 deed, the result of that day s fight was justly con 
 sidered a victory by the American officers ; and but 
 for the conduct of Lee in the morning, it would, al 
 most beyond question, have been decisive. But the 
 purpose of the commander-in-chief to renew the en 
 gagement was frustrated by a silent midnight retreat 
 of the enemy so silent, indeed, that his departure 
 was not known until the morning. A variety of cir 
 cumstances concurred to render a pursuit by the 
 Americans unadvisable ; among the principal of 
 which were, the extreme heat of the weather, the 
 fatigue of the army from its march through a deep 
 sandy country, almost entirely destitute of water, 
 and the distance the enemy had gained by his mid 
 night march. A pursuit, it was believed, would aji- 
 swer no valuable purpose, and would certainly be 
 fatal to numbers of the men, several of whom had 
 perished of heat on the preceding day. The Amer 
 ican commander thereupon drew off his army to the 
 Hudson, crossed over, and once more established 
 his headquarters at White Plains. Meantime, Sir 
 Henry Clinton proceeded to Sandy Hook, and thence 
 passed his troops over to New- York. The loss of 
 the Americans in this battle was eight officers and 
 sixty-one privates killed, and one hundred and sixty 
 wounded. That of the enemy was three hundred 
 and sixty-eight in killed, wounded, and missing, and 
 about one hundred taken prisoners. One thousand 
 of their men deserted on their march. Both parties 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 315 
 
 claimed the victory, which was, in fact, won by 
 neither. The advantages, in the earlier part of the 
 day, were in favour of the British ; in the after part, 
 of the Americans. The stealthy retreat of the for 
 mer, moreover, covered by the darkness, left no 
 doubt as to which army was best prepared to renew 
 the conflict with the return of daylight. 
 
 The French fleet, under the Count d Estaing, con 
 sisting of twelve ships of the line and six frigates, 
 having on board four thousand troops, arrived on the 
 coast of Virginia about the 1st of July. The design 
 of the French commander was to engage the Brit 
 ish squadron in the Chesapeake. But, unfortunate 
 ly, the latter had sailed for New-York a few days 
 before. Thither the count followed the British ad 
 miral, but the bar of the New- York harbour would 
 not allow the entrance of his heavy ships. An at 
 tack upon New- York thus proving to be impractica 
 ble, by the advice of General Washington it was de 
 termined to make an attempt upon Rhode Island, 
 then occupied by six thousand British troops, com 
 manded by Major-general Sir Robert Pigott. Gen 
 eral Sullivan, with an army of ten thousand men, 
 was lying in the neighbourhood of Providence. 
 Count d Estaing arrived off Newport on the 25th of 
 July, and arrangements were soon adjusted between 
 General Sullivan and himself for a combined at 
 tack upon the town of Newport, by land and sea. 
 The assault was to be made on the 9th of August, 
 for which purpose Sullivan moved down to Tiver- 
 ton, where he was joined by General Green, and the 
 ships of war entered the channel. But the militia 
 not having joined the regular troops so promptly as 
 was expected, General Sullivan judged it necessary 
 to postpone the attack for a day or two. Meantime, 
 Lord Howe appeared off the harbour with the Brit 
 ish fleet, and the Count d Estaing immediately put 
 to sea to engage him. The French fleet having the 
 weather gage, the British admiral weighed anchor 
 
316 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 and put to sea, followed by the count. A storm sep 
 arated the fleets, so that no engagement took place ; 
 and on his return to port on the 19th, Count d Es- 
 taing found it necessary to repair to Boston to refit. 
 During the absence of the count, however, while in 
 chase of Lord Howe, General Sullivan had crossed 
 over to the island, and on the 15th laid siege to the 
 town of Newport. But when the French admiral de 
 parted for Boston, the militia, disappointed and dis 
 heartened at being thus abandoned by their allies, left 
 the service in such numbers, that Sullivan was com 
 pelled to raise the siege and retire. He was pursued 
 to the distance of a mile north of Quaker Hill, where, 
 on the 29th of August, was fought the battle of Rhode 
 Island. It was a sharp and obstinate engagement 
 of half an hour, at the end of which the enemy gave 
 way and retreated. The loss of the Americans was 
 two hundred and eleven ; that of the enemy two 
 hundred and sixty. Ascertaining, soon afterward, 
 that strong re-enforcements were coming from New- 
 York to the aid of General Pigott, a resolution was 
 immediately adopted by Sullivan to evacuate the 
 island. This determination was executed on the 
 night of the 30th most luckily, as the event proved ; 
 for on the very next day Sir Henry Clinton arrived 
 at Newport with four thousand troops, which re-en 
 forcement would doubtless have enabled the enemy 
 to cut off the retreat of the Americans. 
 
 In September, after the return of the British 
 troops to New- York, strong divisions moved north 
 ward on each side of the Hudson River. By a de 
 tachment of one of these, under General Gray, a 
 regiment of American cavalry, commanded by Col 
 onel Baylor, was surprised while asleep at Tappan, 
 and almost entirely cut off. The enemy rushed 
 upon the sleeping troopers, numbering one hundred 
 and four privates, with their bayonets. The loss, 
 killed, wounded, and taken, was sixty-four. This 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 317 
 
 exploit was very similar to that of the Paoli, under 
 the same general, the preceding year. 
 
 In consequence of the hostile spirit very gener 
 ally and extensively manifested by the Indians the 
 great Western tribes becoming more and more res- 
 tiff early in June, immediately preceding the affair 
 of Wyoming, Congress had determined upon a more 
 enlarged and decisive campaign against them. This 
 had, indeed, become the more necessary from the 
 belligerant indications among the Delawares and 
 Shawanese, inhabiting the territory now forming the 
 State of Ohio. At the commencement of the war, 
 Koquethagaeehlon, the Delaware chief usually known 
 as Captain While-Eyes, a firm friend of the colonies, 
 had succeeded in preventing his people from taking 
 up the hatchet against them, in opposition to the 
 views of his rival chief, Captain Pipe. But in the 
 spring of the present year, the policy of the latter 
 had wellnigh prevailed, through the revengeful 
 machinations of three celebrated Loyalists, named 
 M Kee, Elliot, and Simon Girty, who had been con 
 fined at Pittsburgh as Tories ; but who, effecting 
 their escape, traversed the Indian country to De 
 troit, proclaiming, as they went, that the Americans 
 had resolved upon their destruction, and that their 
 only chance of safety was to espouse the cause of 
 the crown, and fight. Availing himself of the ex 
 citement created by those fugitives, Captain Pipe 
 assembled a large number of his warriors, and pro 
 claimed " every one an enemy to his country who 
 should endeavour to persuade them against fighting 
 the Americans, and declared that all such ought 
 surely to be put to death." But White-Eyes was 
 by no means inactive in his efforts to preserve 
 peace. Collecting the people of his tribe, he ad 
 dressed them with great earnestness and pathos. 
 Observing that some of his warriors were preparing 
 to take up the hatchet, he admonished them strong- 
 
318 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 ly against such a course, which, in the end, could 
 only bring upon them sure destruction. 
 
 The counsel of White-Eyes, supported by a con 
 ciliatory message, which was received just in good 
 time, from the Americans, prevailed for the mo 
 ment, and the Delawares came to the unanimous 
 determination to follow his advice, and his alone. 
 
 But the hostile action of these people was only 
 suspended for a short time, and it became necessary 
 for more extended and efficient operations against 
 nearly the whole race.* In the project of Congress 
 already adverted to, it was intended that one expe 
 dition should move upon Detroit, while General 
 Gates was instructed by resolution to co-operate 
 
 * Indeed, the Shawanese had not been remarkably quiet antecedent 
 to the visitation of M Kee, Elliot, and Girty, since they had for several 
 years been engaged in a system of predatory warfare against the cele 
 brated Colonel Daniel Boon and his adventurous companions, almost 
 from the day they made their appearance upon the banks of the Ohio, with 
 their families, in 1773, when the settlement of the present State of Ken 
 tucky was commenced. Boon had been engaged with Lord Dunmore in 
 his war against the Shawanese in 1774. In the following year he was 
 attacked in Boonsborough, his principal settlement ; and through the 
 entire years of 1776 and 1777, hostilities were actively piosecuted by the 
 savages against the advancing colonists. In one of the earlier battles 
 Boon had lost a son. A second son fell afterward, and his daughter was 
 taken a captive, but bravely rescued by the chivalrous father. la April, 
 1777, the Indians so divided their forces as to fall upon all the infant set 
 tlements at once, and their little forts only saved the people from de 
 struction. On the 15th of April, Boonsborough was attacked by one hun 
 dred Indians, at which time the inhabitants suffered severely. On the 
 19th, Colonel Logan s fort was attacked by a force of two hundred In 
 dians, but they were repulsed by the garrison, consisting of only thirteen 
 men, two of whom were killed. Re-enforcements arriving from Virginia, 
 the skirmishes became almost daily. In February of the present year 
 (1778) Boonsborough was again attacked, and the gallant colonel him 
 self taken prisoner. lie was taken first to Chilicothe, and thence to 
 Detroit, where he was treated with humanity by Colonel Hamilton, the 
 governor, who offered the Indians 100 if they would surrender him 
 into his hands, that he might liberate him on his parole. But having 
 imbibed a strong affection for their most subtle and successful enemy, 
 the Indians declined the offer. Taking him back to Chilicothe, the 
 colonel was duly adopted into one of the Shawanese families as a son, 
 to whom his new parents became strongly attached. He soon acquired 
 their confidence to such an extent, that they allowed him to wander off 
 and hunt by himself. Ascertaining, however, that they were meditating 
 another descent upon Boonsborough, he absconded, and, eluding pursuit, 
 reached his home on the 20th of June. 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 319 
 
 with that expedition by carrying the war into the 
 Seneca country, and also to dispossess the enemy 
 of Oswego, should he be found in the occupancy of 
 that post. It appears that, at the very moment of 
 the invasion of Wyoming, there was a delegation 
 of Seneca chiefs at Philadelphia ; but having taken 
 their departure without communicating with the 
 government, a resolution was passed by Congress, 
 immediately upon the receipt of Colonel Z. Butler s 
 despatches, instructing the board of war to send 
 after the chiefs, and ascertain from them in what 
 character, and for what purpose, they had made the 
 said visit ; and also to inquire whether the Seneca 
 warriors had not been engaged in hostilities against 
 the United States. On the 16th of July information 
 was received that the chiefs refused to return, and 
 instructions to General Schuyler were proposed, di 
 recting him to intercept and detain them at Albany. 
 The motion was negatived ; but on the 25th of July, 
 Congress having ascertained that the Senecas were 
 actually engaged in the invasion of Wyoming, " aid 
 ed by Tories and other banditti from the frontiers 
 of New- York, New-Jersey, and Pennsylvania," it 
 was resolved that the expedition against the hos- 
 tiles of the Six Nations should be forwarded with 
 all possible despatch. In the mean time, however, 
 from the expensiveness of the undertaking, the ex 
 pedition against Detroit was reluctantly abandoned ; 
 but, in lieu thereof, General M Intosh, commanding 
 the Western Department, was ordered to proceed 
 from Pittsburgh against those of the Indian towns 
 the destruction of which, in his opinion, would tend 
 most effectually to intimidate and chastise them. 
 M Intosh had been stationed at Pittsburgh early in 
 the spring, and, with a small party of regulars and 
 militia, had descended the Ohio about thirty miles, 
 and erected a fort, which was called by his own 
 name, at Beavertown. It was a small work, built 
 of strong stockades, and furnished with bastions 
 
320 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 mounting one six-pounder each. The situation 
 was well chosen, as a point affording the best facil 
 ities for intercepting the war parties of the West 
 ern Indians in their frequent hostile incursions the 
 present year. 
 
 This expedition was doubtless judged the more 
 important from the increasing audacity of the In 
 dians on the Ohio border of Virginia, now forming 
 the State of Kentucky. In August, Colonel Boon 
 had led a small band of nineteen men against one 
 of the Indian towns on the Scioto, before reaching 
 which he fell in with and dispersed a party of forty 
 Indians then on their way to Boonsborough. The 
 colonel found the town at Point Creek deserted, 
 and learned that their whole force had gone against 
 his own settlement, to the defence of which he was, 
 consequently, compelled to hasten back. Fortu 
 nately, he anticipated their arrival by a few hours, 
 and was enabled to prepare his little garrison for 
 defence. On the 8th of August, the Indians, to the 
 number of about four hundred and fifty, arrived be 
 fore the fort, led. in addition to their own chiefs, 
 by Captain Duquesne, and eleven other Canadian 
 Frenchmen. The garrison was formally summon 
 ed to surrender, which summons was peremptorily 
 refused. A treaty was then proposed by the be 
 siegers, and acceded to, the Indians requiring that 
 nine men should be sent out to them as negotiators. 
 But this movement proved to be an artifice, by 
 means of which they hoped to gain access to the 
 fort. An attempt to grapple with and carry off the 
 nine negotiators, though happily unsuccessful, dis 
 closed their treacherous design. The besiegers then 
 attempted a regular approach from the river s brink 
 by mining ; but finding that the garrison had discov 
 ered their purpose, and were engaged in counter 
 mining them, the siege was abandoned on the 20th 
 of August. The loss of the enemy was thirty-seven 
 killed, and a much larger number wounded. The 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 321 
 
 loss of the garrison was only two men killed and 
 four wounded. 
 
 But, as we have seen, the expedition of General 
 M intosh, as authorized by the vote of Congress 
 recently cited, was specially destined against the 
 Sandusky towns. It was commanded by the gen 
 eral himself, and consisted of one thousand men ; 
 but such were the delays in getting it on foot, that 
 the officers, on arriving at Tuscarawa, judged it im 
 prudent to proceed farther at such an advanced sea 
 son of the year. They therefore halted at that 
 place, and built Fort Laurens, in which M intosh 
 left a garrison of one hundred and fifty men, under 
 the command of Colonel John Gibson, and returned 
 himself to Fort Pitt for the winter. 
 
 Connected with these distant Indian operations 
 of the summer of 1778, was one equally distinguish 
 ed by the boldness of its conception and the brill 
 iancy of its execution. The increasing hostility of 
 the remote tribes upon the waters of the Mississippi 
 and its tributaries had induced a belief that a pow 
 erful influence must have been exerted upon their 
 minds by the settlements planted long before at 
 Kaskaskias, and in the country of the Upper Mis 
 sissippi, by the French, in connexion with Canada. 
 For the purpose of striking at once at the root of 
 the evil, an expedition was organized early in the 
 season, the object of which was to invade and take 
 possession of those settlements. The command 
 was intrusted to Colonel George Rogers Clarke, of 
 Virginia, a bold and experienced border officer ; and 
 his whole force, destined to penetrate twelve hun 
 dred miles through a wilderness, which was, in fact, 
 the enemy s country, did not exceed two hundred 
 men. The rendezvous of this little army was at 
 the Great Kanhawa, where they were attacked by 
 a superior Indian force before their embarcation. 
 But, finding they were not able to make any im- 
 Dression upon the fort, the assailants drew off, 
 VOL. I. B B 
 
322 BORDER WARS OP THE 
 
 having killed but one man and wounded one or two 
 more. Descending to the falls of the Ohio, a small 
 fort was erected at that place, in which a garrison 
 was left of ten or twelve families. Arriving within 
 about sixty miles of the mouth of the Ohio, the 
 troops were landed, and, with only four days pro 
 visions, marched for the Illinois. They reached 
 the precincts of Kaskaskias at midnight on the 
 sixth day, having marched two days without food, 
 and determined forthwith, and unanimously, to take 
 the town or die in the attempt. The town was 
 strongly fortified, and contained about two hundred 
 and fifty well-built houses ; but the approach of the 
 invaders was unknown ; the people and the garrison 
 were alike slumbering in security ; and both town 
 and fort were taken, the latter being carried by 
 surprise, although the defences were sufficiently 
 strong to resist a thousand men. The command 
 ing officer, Philip Rocheblave, was made prisoner ; 
 and among his papers, falling into the hands of Col 
 onel Clarke, were the instructions which he had 
 from time to time received from the British govern 
 ors of Quebec, Detroit, and Michilimackinack, ur 
 ging him to stimulate the Indians to war by the prof 
 fer of large bounties for scalps. Rocheblave was 
 sent a prisoner to Williamsburg, in Virginia, and 
 with him were sent the papers taken from his port 
 folio. 
 
 On the day after the fall of Kaskaskias, Captain 
 Joseph Bowman, at the head of thirty mounted 
 men, was sent to attack three other towns upon the 
 Mississippi, the first of which, called Parraderuski, 
 distant fifteen miles from Kaskaskias, was surpri 
 sed, and taken without opposition, the inhabitants 
 at once assenting to the terms of the conqueror. 
 The next town was St. Philip s, distant nine miles 
 farther up. The force of Captain Bowman was so 
 small, that he wisely determined to make a descent 
 upon St. Philip s in the night, that his strength, or 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 323 
 
 rather, his weakness, might be concealed. The 
 precaution ensured success ; and the inhabitants, 
 with whom the whole negotiation was conducted in 
 the night, acceded to the terms prescribed. From 
 St. Philip s, Captain Bowman directed his course 
 upon the yet more considerable town of Cauhow, 
 distant between forty and fifty miles. This town 
 contained about one hundred families, and was also 
 approached secretly, and entered in the night. Cap 
 tain Bowman, with his troop, rode directly to the 
 quarters of the commander, and demanded the sur 
 render of himself and the whole town, which was 
 immediately complied with. Taking possession of 
 a large stone house, well fortified, the "bold dra 
 goon" immediately established his quarters therein, 
 and awaited the morning s dawn, which would dis 
 close to the people the diminutive force to which 
 they had surrendered. Enraged at the discovery, 
 one of the enemy threatened to bring a body of one 
 hundred and fifty Indians against the little American 
 squadron, and cut them off. But he was secured, 
 and in the course of ten days upward of three hun 
 dred of the inhabitants became so reconciled to their 
 change of masters as to take the oath of allegiance 
 to the United States. Leaving a small guard at 
 Cauhow, Captain Bowman returned to Kaskaskias. 
 But the enemy on the New- York frontiers were 
 by no means inactive. In addition to the severe af 
 fair in the Cobleskill settlement, in which Captain 
 Christian Brown was the leader of the American 
 militia and. a small band of regulars, as noted in the 
 last preceding chapter but one, a large band of In 
 dians and Tories, under the conduct of Brant and 
 Barent Frey, broke into the same district at the 
 close of May, and inflicted no small degree of dam 
 age, by the destruction of both life and property. 
 They were met by Captain Patrick, belonging to 
 Colonel Alden s regiment, and a handful of troops, 
 who were entirely cut to pieces. Captain Patrick 
 
324 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 fell early in the engagement. His lieutenant, a cor 
 poral, and nineteen men, were also killed. The 
 command then devolved upon a sergeant, who fought 
 bravely, as all had done. But they were surround 
 ed by a force greatly superior in numbers, and but 
 four men, exclusive of the sergeant, escaped, all 
 wounded. The bodies of Patrick and his lieutenant 
 were shockingly mutilated. A portion of the set 
 tlement was burned, and the settlement of Turlock, 
 in the same vicinity, was also ravaged. 
 
 Nor was this all. In the course of the summer, 
 and probably at about the time of Colonel Hartley s 
 expedition into the country above Wyoming, one of 
 the M Donalds, who had fled from Johnstown, a 
 Loyalist officer, distinguished for his activity, made 
 a sudden irruption into the Schoharie settlements, 
 at the head of about three hundred Tories and In 
 dians, burning houses, and killing and making pris 
 oners such of the inhabitants as came in his way, 
 and were not able to make their escape. The little 
 fortress of Schoharie was occupied by a small gar 
 rison, commanded by Colonel Vrooman, one of that 
 class of men who, though officers, are certain never 
 to be called soldiers. They saw the ravages of the 
 enemy the conflagrations by night rendering visi 
 ble the acts of outrage committed by day but, from 
 their own weakness, dared not to venture forth, or 
 make a show of opposition. The brave Colonel 
 Harper was in the fort with Vrooman, and was little 
 satisfied with the course of that officer. Leaving 
 the fort, therefore, himself, he succeeded in making 
 his way through the enemy, mounted his horse, and 
 started express for Albany. His movement was 
 discovered, and several Tories and Indians were 
 despatched in pursuit. They overtook him in the 
 night, at an inn at Fox s Creek, after he had retired 
 to bed. Hearing the noise below, the colonel sprang 
 up in full panoply, and as they broke open the door, 
 which he had locked, he presented his arms with 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 325 
 
 such earnestness that they recoiled. Standing upon 
 the watch until the dawn of morning, he again suc 
 ceeded in getting to horse, and rode off. One of the 
 Indians followed him almost to Albany, the colo 
 nel being obliged frequently to turn upon his dusky 
 pursuer, who as often took to his heels as his pur 
 suit was discovered. Having communicated the 
 situation of affairs in the Schoharie Valley to Colo 
 nel Gansevoort, a squadron of cavalry was forth 
 with detached to their assistance. The detachment 
 rode all night, and early on the following morning, 
 to the great joy of the terrified inhabitants who re 
 mained, the tramp of hoofs announced the approach 
 of succours. The spirited light-horsemen had no 
 sooner sounded a charge and made a dash upon the 
 besiegers, led on by Harper, than the troops sallied 
 out from the fort, and a precipitate retreat of the en 
 emy was the consequence. 
 
 The people of Schoharie had suffered severely 
 from the scouts and scalping parties of the enemy 
 during the summer, but their bravery in individual 
 contests had amply avenged their wrongs. On one 
 occasion a party of seven Indians made prisoner 
 of a Mr. Sawyer, whom they bound and marched 
 off into the wilderness. Having proceeded eight or 
 ten miles, they laid themselves down to sleep for 
 the night. But their prisoner had been less effect- 
 aally secured than they supposed. In the course 
 )f the night he succeeded in disengaging his hands, 
 and cautiously taking a hatchet from the girdle of 
 one of the Indians, he despatched six of them in 
 rapid succession, and wounded the seventh, who 
 made his escape. Having thus relieved himself of 
 his keepers, Sawyer returned home in safety, and 
 at his leisure. 
 
 Soon after the battle of Monmouth, Lieutenant- 
 colonel William Butler, with OUG of the Pennsyl 
 vania regiments and a detachment of Morgan s rifle 
 men, was ordered to the North, and stationed at 
 
326 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 Schoharie. Butler was a brave and experienced 
 officer, especially qualified for the service upon 
 which he was appointed. His arrival in Schoharie 
 had a salutary effect, by discouraging the disaffect 
 ed, and, by the presence of a stronger force than had 
 yet been among them, establishing the confidence 
 and reviving the spirits of the people. Several of 
 his scouting parties also returned with good success. 
 Attached to the rifle corps, under Captain Long, 
 were several bold spirits, who signalized themselves 
 so greatly in the partisan warfare in which they 
 were engaged, that many of their exploits are fresh 
 ly remembered among the inhabitants of Schoharie 
 to this day. Of this number were David Elerson 
 and a Virginian named Murphy. The first expedi 
 tion of Captain Long was directed to the valley of 
 the Charlotte River, one of the upper tributaries of 
 the Susquehanna, flowing from the mountains south 
 of Schoharie. The object was to arrest and bring 
 to the fort a conspicuous Tory living upon that 
 stream, named Service. His house being a point 
 of rendezvous and supply for the Tory and Indian 
 scouts, it was desirable that it should be broken up. 
 While on his way to the place of destination, it was 
 the good fortune of Captain Long to intercept a 
 company of Tories, enlisted for the king s service, 
 in the neighbourhood of Catskill, by a Captain 
 Smith, who were then on their way to join Sir John 
 Johnson at Niagara. Smith was killed by the si 
 multaneous shots of Elerson and his captain, they 
 being a few rods in advance at the moment when 
 the Tory leader emerged at the head of his men 
 from a thicket. His followers fled in every direc 
 tion. They had intended to lodge that night with 
 Service, but that unfortunate man had guests of 
 quite another character. While unapprized of dan 
 ger, his house was surrounded by the troops of 
 Long, when in an instant Murphy and Elerson rush 
 ed in, and made him a prisoner. Having been in- 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 327 
 
 t ormed that he must accompany them to Schohans, 
 on leaving his house he seized an axe standing by 
 the door, which he poised, and directed for a blow 
 at the head of Murphy. The latter was too quick- 
 sighted to receive it ; but as he sprang aside to avoid 
 the descending weapon, Service fell dead from the 
 rifle of Elerson. 
 
 After his term of enlistment had expired, Murphy 
 remained in Schoharie, and made war on his own 
 account. He was as remarkable for his fleetness 
 as for his courage and great precision in firing. He 
 used a double-barrelled rifle ; and the fact of his fre 
 quently firing twice in succession without stopping 
 to load, and always bringing down his man, rendered 
 him a terror to the Indians. Not knowing the pe 
 culiar construction of his rifle, they were impressed 
 with the belief that it was a charmed weapon, and 
 supposed he could continue firing as long and as 
 often as he pleased without loading at all. He 
 fought the savages after their own fashion ; was 
 more than their equal in stratagem or with his heels ; 
 and, the greater the apparent danger he was en 
 countering, the greater was his delight. When he 
 had opportunity, he took pattern of the Indians in 
 scalping those who fell by his unerring aim ; and it 
 was said that he killed forty of their warriors with 
 his own hands. 
 
 Colonel Gansevoort yet remained in the command 
 of Fort Schuyler, and was continued there during 
 nearly the whole year, although, weared by inaction, 
 Willett and others of his officers made a strong and 
 formal effort to be relieved, that their regiment 
 might have an opportunity to distinguish themselves 
 in the field with the main army. At Fort Schuyler 
 they could have little else to do than observe the 
 motions of the enemy on the lakes and the St. Law 
 rence, and to watch, and occasionally cut off, a hos 
 tile party when venturing too near the garrison. 
 But, from the correspondence of the officers, it 
 
328 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 would appear that the troops of the garrison must 
 have been the severest sufferers from this petty 
 mode of warfare, since the enemy seemed ever to 
 be hovering in the precincts, ready to bring down 
 or carry into captivity such straggling soldiers as 
 ventured beyond musket-shot from the fort.* 
 
 Early in July, Lieutenant M Clellan, an active and 
 efficient officer, was sent with a small party to de 
 stroy the buildings and public works at Oswego, 
 which it was ascertained were not at that moment 
 in the occupation of the enemy. The object of the 
 expedition was accomplished, and the buildings 
 were burned to the ground, together with a quantity 
 of ammunition, provisions, and other public stores. 
 It seems unaccountable that this post was left thus 
 wholly unprotected ; the only occupants found by 
 the American party being a woman and her children, 
 and a lad fourteen years old. The woman and her 
 family, together with her furniture and a suitable 
 supply of provisions, were placed in an out-building, 
 and left without farther molestation. The boy was 
 brought off as a prisoner, and furnished some im 
 portant information touching the movements of the 
 
 * As an example of these individual murders, the following passage 
 is copied from a MS. letter from Major Robert Cochran to Colonel Ganse- 
 voort, dated September 8, 1778. During the occasional absences of Colo 
 nel Gansevoort, Major Cochran was in command of the post: "This 
 morning Benjamin Acker, of Captain De Witt s company, who was out 
 in the meadow, was killed and scalped by a party of Indians, -who were 
 seen and fired at by the sentinel near Brodack s house. I heard the 
 firing in my room, and ran to the officer of the guard to know what was 
 the matter. I was informed that a party of Indians had fired upon one 
 of our men who had gone to catch a horse, and that he had either been 
 killed or taken prisoner. I ordered Captain Bleecker to go out imme 
 diately, with the guard just parading, to see if he could find him dead 
 or alive. They found Acker lying dead. He was scalped, and a weapon 
 about two feet and a half long, like this" [here Major Cochran gave 
 a drawing of the instrument a war club, with a blade like the spear 
 of a lance inserted in the side, near the upper end of it] " lying near 
 him. This lance-head had been stuck several times in his body. It is 
 supposed to have been left behind on purpose, as there were several 
 marks on it, denoting the number of persons killed and scalps taken by 
 the means of it." [Captain Bleecker, mentioned in the foregoing extract, 
 is the venerable Leonard Bleecker, yet living at Sing Sing. He was a 
 very active and efficient officer at Fort Schuyler for a long time.] 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 329 
 
 enemy between their island rendezvous in the St. 
 Lawrence and Niagara. 
 
 But Colonel Gansevoort had some serious troubles 
 to encounter within the garrison, and some painful 
 duties to execute. Notwithstanding the high char 
 acter which the forces constituting the garrison had 
 acquired, and the sound patriotism of his officers, 
 the spirit of disaffection appeared among them in 
 the spring, and the early part of the summer, to an 
 alarming extent. Distant as was the post of Fort 
 Schuyler from New- York, Sir Henry Clinton had 
 succeeded in the introduction of an emissary within 
 the fort, in the character of a recruit. His name 
 was Samuel Geake. He was an American soldier, 
 and had been corrupted while a prisoner in New- 
 York, whence he was sent forth, in company with 
 Major Hammell, also an American prisoner, whose 
 virtue yielded to the all-subduing power of gold. 
 Geake accompanied Hammell to Poughkeepsie, 
 where, in furtherance of his iniquitous designs, he 
 enlisted in Captain Abraham Swartwout s company, 
 and was transferred to Fort Schuyler, to join Colo 
 nel Gansevoort s regiment; into which place, for 
 specific objects, he was instructed to insinuate him 
 self by an aid-de-camp of Sir Henry Clinton. After 
 Hammell s arrest, Colonel Varick wrote to Ganse 
 voort, putting him on his guard as to the character 
 of Geake. A sergeant named Kartele was employ 
 ed by Colonel Gansevoort to ingratiate himself in 
 Geake s confidence, and, if possible, ascertain his 
 true character, and penetrate his designs. The 
 commission was successfully executed by the ser 
 geant, and the whole circumstances of Hammell s 
 employment by the enemy, and his own, were elicit 
 ed. Geake was thereupon arrested, but not until he 
 had made great progress in his designs, and was on 
 the eve of desertion, for the purpose of joining the 
 British army in Philadelphia. He was tried by a 
 court-martial, made a full confession, and, with his 
 VOL. I.-C c 
 
332 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 ment on the south side of the river numbered thirty- 
 four dwelling-houses, and there were about an equal 
 number upon the north side, together with as many 
 barns and other out-buildings, and several mills. 
 The population, for the number of houses, was nu 
 merous. The lands, rich by nature, and well culti 
 vated, had that year brought forth by handfuls ; so 
 that the barns were amply stored vvith their prod 
 ucts. 
 
 It was at the close of August, or early in the month 
 of September, that this fine district was laid waste 
 by the Indians under the direction of Brant. Most 
 providentially, however, the invasion was attended 
 with the loss of but two lives ; one man being killed 
 outright, and another, named M Ginnis, perished in 
 the flames. The particulars of this hostile irrup 
 tion were these : Entertaining some suspicions of 
 Brant, who was at Unadilla, a scout of four men had 
 been despatched into that vicinity for observation. 
 Three of these men were killed at the Edmeston 
 settlement. The fourth, John Helmer, succeeded 
 in making his escape, and returned to the flatts at 
 half an hour before sundown, just in time to an 
 nounce that Brant, with a large body of Indians, 
 was advancing, and would, in a few hours, be upon 
 them. All was, of course, terror and alarm through 
 the settlement ; and the inhabitants, men, women, 
 and children, were gathered into Forts Dayton and 
 Herkimer for security. In flying to those defences, 
 they gathered up the most valuable of their stuff, 
 and, by means of boats and canoes upon the river, 
 succeeded, in the course of the evening, in collect 
 ing a large portion of their best articles of furniture. 
 But they had no time to look after their flocks and 
 herds. 
 
 Early in the evening, Brant arrived at the edge 
 of the settlement, but as the night came on exces 
 sively dark and rainy, he halted with his forces in a 
 ravine, near the house of his Tory friend, Shoe- 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 333 
 
 maker, where the younger Butler and his party 
 were captured the preceding year. Here the chief 
 tain lay with his warriors until the storm broke 
 away towards morning, unconscious that his ap 
 proach had been notified to the people by the scout 
 in season to enable them to escape the blow of his 
 uplifted arm. Before the dawn he was on foot, and 
 his warriors were sweeping through the settle 
 ment ; so that the torch might be almost simul 
 taneously applied to every building it contained. 
 Just as the day was breaking in the east, the fires 
 were kindled, and the whole section of the valley 
 was speedily illuminated by the flames of houses 
 and barns, and all things else combustible. The 
 spectacle, to the people in the forts, was one of mel 
 ancholy grandeur. Every family saw the flames 
 and smoke of its own domicil ascending to the 
 skies, and every farmer the whole product of his 
 labour for the season dissolving into ashes. 
 
 Having no fire-arms larger than their rifles, the 
 Indians avoided even a demonstration against the 
 forts, notwithstanding their chagrin that neither 
 scalps nor prisoners were to grace their triumph. 
 But as the light of day advanced, their warriors were 
 seen singly, or in small groups, scouring the fields, 
 and driving away all the horses, sheep, and black 
 cattle that could be found. Nothing upon which 
 they could lay their hands was left ; and the settle 
 ment, which, but the day before, for ten miles, had 
 smiled in plenty and in beauty, was now houseless 
 and destitute. Happily, however, of human life 
 there was no greater sacrifice than has already been 
 mentioned. After the Indians had decamped with 
 their booty, a force of between three and four hun 
 dred militiamen collected, and went in pursuit, fol 
 lowing as far as Edmeston s plantation on the Una- 
 dilla River, where the bodies of the three scouts 
 were found and buried. But no other results at- 
 tended this expedition. A party of the Oneida In- 
 
334 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 dians was more successful. They penetrated into 
 one of the Unadilla settlements burned several 
 houses, retook some of the cattle driven from the 
 German Flatts, and brought off a number of pris 
 oners. 
 
 The Oneidas, with very few exceptions, were 
 ever faithful to the cause of the Whigs, and some 
 times fought with great personal bravery. The 
 Oriskany clan of that nation joined General Herki- 
 mer on the morning of his disastrous battle, under 
 their chiefs Cornelius and Colonel Honyerry, and 
 sustained themselves valiantly in that murderous 
 conflict. 
 
 But the acquisitions of booty by the Indians at 
 the German Flatts were more than counterbal 
 anced, a few days afterward, by their losses in 
 their own chief towns, Unadilla and Oghkwaga, 
 which were invaded, and in turn laid waste, by Col 
 onel William Butler, with the 4th Pennsylvania 
 regiment, a detachment of Colonel Morgan s rifle 
 men, then recently stationed at Schoharie, as we 
 have already seen, and a corps of twenty rangers. 
 Having marched from Schoharie to the head waters 
 of the Delaware, and descended that stream two 
 days march, Colonel Butler struck off thence to 
 the Susquehanna, upon which he emerged in the 
 neighbourhood of Unadilla. He approached the set 
 tlement with great caution, but the enemy had left 
 the place several days before. Two of the white 
 settlers, Tories, were made prisoners, however, 
 one of whom was compelled to guide the forces 
 of Butler to Oghkwaga, which service he perform 
 ed. The town was taken possession of without 
 interruption, the Indians having fled the day before 
 in the greatest confusion, leaving behind a large 
 quantity of corn, their dogs, some cattle, and a 
 great part of their household goods. The march of 
 Butler s troops had been fatiguing, and the vegeta 
 bles and poultry, which they found here in great 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 335 
 
 abundance, enabled them to fare sumptuously during 
 their stay. The town was uncommonly well built 
 for an Indian settlement, there being a considerable 
 number of good farmhouses on either side of the 
 river. These were all destroyed, together with 
 the Indian castle three miles farther down the 
 river, as also large quantities of provisions, intend 
 ed for their winter s supply. They saw nothing of 
 the enemy, and lost only one man at that place, who 
 was shot by an Indian straggler lurking in ambush. 
 Returning to Unadilla, that settlement, upon both 
 sides of the river, was burned, as also a gristmilf 
 and sawmill, the only ones in the Susquehannr 
 Valley. 
 
 But although, so far as fighting was concerned, i 1 
 was an easy campaign, still the difficulties encoun 
 tered by the expedition were very great, and such 
 as could not have been undergone but by men pos 
 sessing a large share of hardiness, both of body and 
 mind. They were obliged to carry their provisions 
 on their backs, and, thus loaded, frequently to ford 
 creeks and rivers. After the toils of hard marches, 
 they were obliged to camp down during wet and 
 chilly nights without covering, or even the means 
 of keeping their arms dry. They completed their 
 work in sixteen days, and returned to Schoharie. 
 But the Indians were not slow in taking their re 
 venge for this destruction of their towns. An In 
 dian s vengeance slumbers no longer than until an 
 opportunity is afforded for sating it, as will appeal 
 in th/e ensuing chapter. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 THE arrest of Walter N. Butler at the Germtm 
 Flatts, in the summer of 1777, his trial, and con 
 demnation to death, his reprieve, as also his sub- 
 
336 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 sequent imprisonment in Albany, and his escape, 
 are facts with which the reader has already been 
 made acquainted. Although his execution would 
 have been perfectly justifiable under the code mih- 
 taire, taken, as he had been within the American 
 lines, in the very act of inviting the people to trea 
 son, yet the respectability of his family, and the 
 associations he had himself formed in Albany, 
 where he had been educated to the profession of the 
 law, were the causes, through the interposition of 
 those who had been his personal friends before the 
 war, of saving his life. Still the reprieve granted 
 by General Arnold was followed by rigorous con 
 finement in the jail at Albany until the spring of 
 the present year, when, being either sick in reality,. 
 or feigning to be so, through the clemency of Gen 
 eral Lafayette his quarters were changed to a pri 
 vate house, where he was guarded by a single sen 
 tinel. The family with whom he lodged were To 
 ries, and having succeeded in making the sentinel 
 drunk, through their assistance Butler was enabled 
 to effect his escape. A horse having been provided 
 for him, he succeeded in joining his father at Ni 
 agara soon after the affair at Wyoming. His tem 
 per was severe and irascible, but he was, never 
 theless, not without his good qualities, and was a 
 young man of fair promise ; " a pretty able young 
 lawyeiy to use an expression from the lips of one 
 who knew him well. It is believed, however, that 
 he took mortal offence at his treatment while in 
 Albany, and re-entered the service of the crown, 
 turning with resentment and thirsting for revenge. 
 
 This recapitulation, in part, of a portion of the 
 younger Butlers history, is deemed essential in 
 Connexion with the events to be recorded in the 
 present chapter. 
 
 There was with General Washington, during most 
 of the summer, a Seneca chief, called The Grea 
 Tree, who, on leaving the headquarters of the com 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 337 
 
 mander-in-chief, professed the strongest friendship 
 for the American cause, and his first object, after his 
 return to his own people, was to inspire them with 
 his own friendly sentiments. While passing through 
 the Oneida nation on his way home, he professed 
 the strongest confidence in his ability to keep his 
 own tribe bound in the chain of friendship, and 
 pledged himself, in the event of his failure, to come 
 down with his friends and adherents, and join the 
 Oneidas. But, on his arrival in his own country, 
 The Great Tree found his tribe all in arms. The 
 warriors had been collected from the remotest of 
 their lodges, and were then thronging the two prin 
 cipal towns, Kanadaseago and Jennesee. Having 
 heard that the Americans were preparing an expe 
 dition against their country, they had seized their 
 hatchets ; and The Great Tree was himself deter 
 mined to chastise the enemy who should dare to 
 penetrate his country. All the Indians west of their 
 own tribe, including, of course, the Onondagas, to 
 gether with the Indian settlements on the Susque- 
 hanna and its branches, were to join them ; to ren 
 dezvous on the Tioga, and make a descent either 
 upon the Pennsylvania or New-Jersey frontier. 
 
 The Mohawk chief, Thayendanegea, was not 
 among the Senecas at this time, and it is believed 
 that the fermentation had been wrought by Butler 
 after his return to Niagara. Be that as it may, he 
 obtained the command of a detachment of his fa 
 thers rangers, with permission to employ the forces 
 of Captain Brant. Though late in the season, young 
 Walter determined to undertake an expedition into 
 Try on county, and avenge his imprisonment. It 
 has been asserted that, \vhile on his way from Ni 
 agara with his rangers, Butler met Brant returning 
 from the Susquehanna country to his old winter- 
 quarters at Niagara, and that the proud Mohawk 
 was not a little displeased at the idea of being as 
 signed to a subordinate station under a man whom 
 
338 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 he cordially disliked. But the difficulty was adjust 
 ed, and the sachem was prevailed upon to turn back 
 upon the white settlements, with five hundred of 
 his warriors. The united force comprised seven 
 hundred men. 
 
 The point selected by the enemy was Cherry 
 Valley, a settlement as remarkable for the respect 
 ability of its inhabitants as its location was for its 
 beauty. Unlike the generality of border settlements, 
 the people were intelligent, and exemplary for their 
 morals. So scrupulous were they in regard to ob 
 serving the precepts of Christianity, that their Com 
 mittee of Safety declined sitting with the Tryon 
 County Committee on the Sabbath day, unless in 
 the event of such alarming circumstances as would 
 necessarily " super-exceed the duties to be perform 
 ed in attending the public worship of God," which 
 they said did not then appear to be the case. 
 
 It has already been stated that, in consequence 
 of their exposed situation, the Marquis de Lafayette 
 had directed the erection of a fortification at that 
 place early the preceding spring. Colonel Gansevoort 
 at once solicited the command of the post, with the 
 regiment which had so greatly distinguished itself 
 the preceding year in the defence of Fort Schuyler ; 
 but it was given to Colonel Ichabod Alden, at the 
 head of an eastern regiment, unfortunately but lit 
 tle accustomed to Indian warfare. 
 
 On the 8th of November, Colonel Alden received 
 a despatch from Fort Schuyler by express, advising 
 him that his post was to be attacked by the Tories 
 and Indians. In consequence of the lateness of the 
 season, the inhabitants, not anticipating any farther 
 hostilities before spring, had removed their effects 
 from the fortification, where, during the summer, 
 they had been deposited for safety, back to their 
 own dwellings. On the receipt of this intelligence, 
 they requested permission to remove once more in 
 to the fort, or at least to be allowed again to depos- 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 339 
 
 ite their most valuable property within its walls. 
 But Colonel Alden, discrediting the intelligence as 
 an idle Indian rumour, denied their solicitations, 
 assuring the people that he would use all diligence 
 against surprise, and, by means of vigilant scouts, 
 be at all times prepared to warn them of approach 
 ing danger. Accordingly, scouts were despatched 
 in various directions on the 9th. The party pro 
 ceeding down the Susquehanna, as it were in the 
 very face of the enemy, very wisely kindled a fire 
 in the evening, by the side of which they laid them 
 selves down to sleep. The result might have been 
 foreseen. They were all prisoners when they awoke ! 
 Extorting all necessary information from the 
 prisoners so opportunely taken, the enemy moved 
 forward on the 10th Butler with his rangers, and 
 Thayendanegea with his Indians encamping for 
 the night on the top of a hill thickly covered with 
 evergreens, about a mile southwest of the fort aim 
 village of Cherry Valley. The snow fell several 
 inches during the night, the storm turning to rain 
 in the morning, with a thick and cloudy atmosphere. 
 The officers of the garrison were accustomed to 
 lodge about among the families near the fort ; and 
 from the assurances of Colonel Alden, the appre 
 hensions of the people were so much allayed that 
 they were reposing in perfect security. Colonel 
 Alden himself, with Stacia, his lieutenant-colonel, 
 lodged with Mr. Robert Wells, a gentleman of great 
 respectability, recently a judge of the county, who 
 was, moreover, an intimate friend of Colonel John 
 Butler, as he had also been of Sir William Johnson.* 
 Having aocert-ained the localities in which the offi 
 cers lodged, the enemy approached the unsuspect- 
 v,ig village in the greatest security, veiled by the 
 Viaze which hung in the atmosphere. An alarm 
 was, however, given before the enemy had actually 
 
 * Robert WeHs was the father of the late distinguished counsellor, 
 loLn Woll?, of New-York. 
 
340 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 arrived in the village, by the firing of an Indian 
 upon a settler from the outskirts, who was riding 
 thither on horseback. He was wounded, but, never 
 theless, pushed forward, and gave instant informa 
 tion to the vigilant colonel. Strange as it may 
 seem, this officer still disbelieved the approach of 
 an enemy in force, supposing the shot to have pro 
 ceeded from a straggler. But he was soon con 
 vinced of his error ; for, even before the guards 
 could be called in, the Indians were upon them. 
 Unfortunately, probably, for the inhabitants, the 
 rangers had halted just before entering the village 
 to examine their arms, the rain having damaged 
 their powder. During this pause the Indians sprang 
 forward ; and the Senecas, being at that period the 
 most ferocious of the Six Nations, were in the van. 
 The house of Mr. Wells was instantly surrounded 
 by the warriors of that tribe, and several Tories of 
 no less ferocity, who rushed in and massacred the 
 whole family, consisting at that time of himself, his 
 mother, his w r ife, his brother and sister, John and 
 Jane, three of his sons, Samuel, Robert, and Will 
 iam, and his daughter Eleanor. The only survivor 
 of the family was John, who was then at school in 
 Schenectady. His father had taken his family to 
 that place for safety some months before, but his 
 fears having subsided, they had just removed back 
 to their home. Colonel Alden having escaped from 
 the house, was pursued some distance down a hill 
 by an Indian, who repeatedly demanded of him to 
 surrender. This, however, he refused to do, turn 
 ing upon his pursuer repeatedly, and snapping his 
 pistol, but without effect. The Indian ultimate!} 
 hurled his tomahawk with unerring direction at his 
 head, and, rushing forward, tore his scalp from him 
 in the same instant. Thus, in the very outset of 
 the battle, fell the commander, who, had he been as 
 prudent as he was brave, might have averted the 
 tragic scenes of that hapless day. Lieutenant-colo 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 341 
 
 nel Stacia was made prisoner, and the American 
 guards stationed at the house of Mr. Wells were all 
 either killed or taken. 
 
 The destruction of the family of Mr. Wells was 
 marked by circumstances of peculiar barbarity. It 
 was boasted by one of the Tories that he had killed 
 Mr Wells while engaged in prayer certainly a 
 happy moment for a soul to wing its flight to another 
 state of existence ; but what the degree of hardi 
 hood that could boast of compassing the deatli of 
 an unarmed man at such a moment ! His sister 
 Jane was distinguished alike for her beauty, her 
 accomplishments, and her virtues. As the savages 
 rushed into the house, she fled to a pile of wood on 
 the premises, and endeavoured to conceal herself. 
 She was pursued and arrested by an Indian, who, 
 with perfect composure, wiped and sheathed his 
 dripping knife, and took his tomahawk from his 
 girdle. At this instant a Tory, who had formerly 
 been a domestic in the family, sprang forward and 
 interposed in her behalf, claiming her as a sister. 
 The maiden, too, who understood somewhat of the 
 Indian language, implored for mercy. But in vain. 
 With one hand the Indian pushed the Tory from 
 him, and with the other planted his hatchet deep 
 into her temple ! 
 
 The fort was repeatedly assaulted during the day, 
 and at times with spirit ; but the Indians being receiv 
 ed by a brisk fire of grape and musketry from the 
 garrison, avoided the fort, and directed their attention 
 chiefly to plundering and laying waste the village, 
 having sated themselves in the onset with blood. 
 
 Among the families which suffered from the toma 
 hawks of the Indians and Tories for the latter, as 
 at Wyoming, were not to be outdone by their un 
 civilized allies were those of the Rev. Samuel 
 Dunlop and a Mr. Mitchell. Mrs. Dunlop was killed 
 outright, and thus shared the fate of Mrs. Wells, 
 her daughter. Mr. Dunlop and another daughter 
 
342 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 would likewise have been murdered but for the in- 
 terposition of Little Aaron, a chief of the Oghkwaga 
 branch of the Mohawks, who led the old gentleman, 
 tottering beneath the weight of years, to the door, 
 and stood beside him for his protection. The In 
 dians attempted to plunder him of some of his at 
 tire, but the sachem compelled them to relinquish 
 that portion of their spoil. The venerable servant 
 of God, shocked by the events of that day beyond 
 the strength of his nerves, died within a year after 
 ward. 
 
 The case of Mr. Mitchell was still more painful. 
 He was in the field at work when he beheld the In 
 dians approaching, and, being already cut off from 
 his house, his only course was to the woods. Re 
 turning, after the enemy had retired, he found his 
 house on fire, and within its plundered walls the 
 murdered bodies of his wife and three of his chil 
 dren. The fourth, a little girl of ten or twelve years 
 of age, had been left for dead. But signs of life ap 
 pearing, the parent, having extinguished the fire, 
 which had not yet made much progress, brought his 
 little mangled daughter forth to the door, and, while 
 bending over her, discovered a straggling party of 
 the enemy approaching. He had but just time to 
 conceal himself, before a Tory sergeant, named New- 
 berry, rushed forward, and, by a blow of his hatchet, 
 extinguished what little growing hope of life had 
 been left by a darker though less savage enemy than 
 himself. It is some consolation, while recording 
 this deed of blood, to be able to anticipate the course 
 of events so far as to announce that this brutal fel 
 low paid the forfeit of his life on the gallows, by or 
 der of General James Clinton, at Canajoharie, in 
 the summer of the following year. On the next 
 day Mr. Mitchell removed his dead to the fort with 
 his own arms, and the soldiers assisted in their in 
 terment. Several other ^families were cut off, the 
 whole number of the inhabitants slain being thirty- 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 343 
 
 two, mostly women and children. In addition to 
 these, sixteen soldiers were killed. Some of the 
 inhabitants escaped, but the greater proportion were 
 taken prisoners. Among the former were Mrs. 
 Clyde, the wife of Colonel Clyde, who was absent, 
 and her family. She succeeded in reaching the 
 woods with her children, excepting her eldest 
 daughter, whom she could not find at the moment : 
 and although the savages were frequently prowling 
 around her, she yet lay secure in her concealment 
 until the next day. The eldest daughter, likewise, 
 had made a successful flight, and returned in safety. 
 Colonel Campbell was also absent ; but hastening 
 home on hearing the alarm, he arrived only in time 
 to behold the destruction of his property by the 
 conflagration of the village, and to ascertain that 
 his wife and children had been carried into captiv 
 ity. The torch was applied indiscriminately to 
 every dwelling-house, and, in fact, to every building 
 in the village. The barns, being filled with the com 
 bustible products of husbandry, served to render the 
 conflagration more fierce and terrific, especially to 
 the fugitive inhabitants who had escaped to the 
 woods for shelter, and whose sufferings were ag 
 gravated by the consciousness that their retreating 
 footsteps were lighted by the flames of their own 
 households. 
 
 The prisoners taken numbered between thirty 
 and forty. They were marched, on the evening of 
 the massacre, down the valley about two miles 
 south of the fort, where the enemy encamped for 
 the night. Large fires were kindled round about the 
 camp, into the centre of which the prisoners, of all 
 ages and sexes, were promiscuously huddled, and 
 there compelled to pass the hours till morning, 
 many of them half naked, shivering from the inclem 
 ency of the weather, with no shelter but the frown 
 ing heavens, and no bed but the cold ground. It 
 was a dismal night for the hapless group, rendered, 
 
344 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 if possible, still more painful by the savage yells of 
 exultation, the wild, half-frantic revelry, and other 
 manifestations of joy on the part of the victors, at 
 the success of their bloody enterprise. In the 
 course of the night a division of the spoil was made 
 among the Indians. 
 
 The retiring enemy had not proceeded far on their 
 way before the prisoners, with few exceptions, ex 
 perienced a change in their circumstances, as happy 
 as it was unexpected. They had been separated, 
 for the convenience of travelling, into small groups, 
 in charge of different parties of the enemy. On 
 coming to a halt, they were collected together, and 
 informed that it had been determined to release all 
 the women and children excepting Mrs. Campbell 
 and her four children, and Mrs. Moore and her chil 
 dren. These it was resolved to detain in captivity 
 as a punishment to their husbands, for the activity 
 they had displayed in the border wars. With these 
 exceptions, the women and their little ones were 
 immediately sent back, bearing a letter from the 
 commander of the rangers to General Schuyler. 
 A key, perhaps, to the motives of Captain Butler in 
 this act of humanity is found in the circumstance 
 that, on the flight of his father and himself to Can 
 ada, his mother and the younger children had been 
 left behind. Mrs. Butler and her children were de 
 tained by the Committee of Safety, and permission 
 to follow the husband and son to Canada had been 
 refused, as has been stated in a former chapter. 
 
 Having thus, in a great measure, disencumbered 
 themselves of their prisoners, the enemy proceeded 
 on their journey, by their usual route at that period, 
 down the Susquehanna to its confluence with the 
 Tioga, thence up that river into the Seneca country, 
 and thence to Niagara. Mrs. Cannon, an aged lady, 
 and the mother of Mrs. Campbell, was likewise helu 
 in captivity ; but being unfitted for travelling by rea 
 son of her yenrs, the Indian having both in charge 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 345 
 
 despatched the mother with his hatchet, by the side 
 of the daughter, on the second day of their march. 
 Mrs. Campbell was driven along by the uplifted 
 hatchet, having a child in her arms eighteen months 
 old, with barbarous rapidity, until the next day, 
 when she was favoured with a more humane master. 
 In the course of the march, a straggling party of 
 the Indians massacred an English family, named 
 Buxton, residing on the Butternut Creek, and re 
 duced their buildings to ashes. 
 
 Thus terminated the expedition of Walter N. But 
 ler and Joseph Brant to Cherry Valley. Nothing 
 could exhibit an aspect of more entire desolation 
 than did the site of that village on the following day, 
 when the militia from the Mohawk arrived, too late 
 to afford assistance. The inhabitants who escaped 
 the massacre, and those who returned from captiv 
 ity, abandoned the settlement, until the return of 
 peace should enable them to plant themselves down 
 once more in safety, and, in the succeeding summer, 
 the garrison was withdrawn, and the post aban 
 doned. 
 
 Next to the destruction of Wyoming, that of 
 Cherry Valley stands out in history as having been 
 the most conspicuous for its atrocity. And, as in the 
 case of Wyoming, both in history and popular tradi 
 tion, Joseph Brant has been held up as the foul fiend 
 of the barbarians, and, of all others, deserving the 
 deepest execration. Even the learned and estima 
 ble counsellor, who so long reported the adjudicated 
 law of the State of New-York, in the tribute to the 
 memory of the late John Wells, with which he 
 closed the last volume of his juridical labours, has 
 fallen into the same popular error, and applies the 
 second stanza in the striking passage of " Gertrude 
 of Wyoming," which called forth the younger Brant 
 in vindication of his father s memory, to the case 
 of his departed and eminent friend. It was. indeed, 
 most true, as applied to the melancholy case of Mr. 
 VOL. I. Do 
 
346 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 Wells, of whose kindred " nor man, nor child, nor 
 thing of living- birth," had been left by the Indians. 
 But it may be fearlessly asserted that it was not 
 true as coupled with the name of Joseph Brant, 
 His conduct on that fatal day was neither barbar 
 ous nor ungenerous. On the contrary, he did all in 
 his power to prevent the shedding of innocent blood ; 
 and had it not been for a circumstance beyond his 
 control, it is more than probable that the distin 
 guished counsellor referred to would not have been 
 left " alone of all his race." Captain Brant assert 
 ed, and there is no reason to question his veracity, 
 that on the morning of the attack he left the main 
 body of the Indians, and endeavoured to anticipate 
 their arrival at the house of Mr. Wells, for the pur 
 pose of affording protection to the family. On his 
 way it was necessary to cross a ploughed field, the 
 yielding of the earth in which, beneath his tread, so 
 retarded his progress, that he arrived too late. 
 
 But this is not all. On entering one of the dwell 
 ings, he found a woman employed in household 
 matters. " Are you thus engaged," inquired the 
 chief, "while all your neighbours are murdered 
 around you?" The woman replied that they were 
 in favour of the king. " That plea will not avail you 
 to-day," replied the warrior. " They have murder 
 ed Mr. Wells s family, who were as dear to me as 
 my own." " But," continued the woman. " there is 
 one Joseph Brant ; if he is with the Indians, he will 
 save us." "I am Joseph Brant!" was the quick 
 response, " but I have not the command, and I know 
 not that I can save you ; but I will do what is in my 
 power." At the moment of uttering these words, 
 he observed the Senecas approaching. " Get into 
 bed quick," he commanded her, " and feign your 
 self sick." The woman obeyed, and when the In 
 dians came up, he put them off with that pretext. 
 Instantly, as they departed, he rallied a few of his 
 Mohawks by a shrill signal, and directed them to 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 347 
 
 paint his mark upon the woman and her children. 
 " You are now probably safe, "he remarked, and de 
 parted. 
 
 Another instance will serve farther to illustrate 
 the conduct and bearing- of this distinguished Indian 
 leader on that occasion : After the battle was over, 
 he inquired of one of the captives for Captain 
 M Kean, who had retired to the Mohawk Valley 
 with his family. " He sent me a challenge once," 
 said the chief; " I have now come to accept it. He 
 is a fine soldier thus to retreat !" It was said, in 
 reply, " Captain M Kean would not turn his back 
 upon an enemy where there was a probability of 
 success." "I know it," rejoined Brant: "he is a 
 brave man, and I would have given more to take 
 him than any other man in Cherry Valley ; but J 
 would not have hurt a hair of his head." 
 
 These were generous sentiments, worthy of a gen 
 erous soldier. Indeed, the whole conduct of the 
 Mohawk chief on that melancholy day was anything 
 rather than characteristic of the " monster " Brant 
 has been represented to be. Of the conduct of the 
 leader of the expedition, Captain Walter N. Butler, 
 a less charitable judgment must be formed, not so 
 much, perhaps, on account of the atrocities commit 
 ted because these, too, may have been beyond his 
 control, or suddenly perpetrated without his knowl 
 edge but because the expedition was entirely one 
 of his own undertaking. It was said that Colonel 
 John Butler was grieved at the conduct of his son 
 at this place ; remarking, on one occasion, in regard 
 to the murder of Mr. Wells and family, " I would 
 have gone miles on my hands and knees to save 
 that family, and why my son did not do it, God only 
 knows." It has also been asserted that the colonel 
 accused Brant of having incited the Indians secretly 
 to commit the excesses in question, in order to 
 bring odium upon his son, under whose command, 
 as the reader has already been informed, he had 
 
348 BORDER \\AUS OF THE 
 
 been placed, strongly in opposition to his own wish 
 es. But the Mohawk repelled the charge, and ap 
 pealed to his former conduct, particularly in the 
 case of Springfield, as a vindication of his charac 
 ter from the imputation of wanton cruelty. 
 
 These things may, or they may not, be true ; but 
 in either case the Loyalist Butlers, father and son, 
 should be justly dealt by, although they have not 
 been as yet. At least the world has never heard 
 what they might possibly have said in their own 
 defence nay, what they did say in regard to the 
 affairs of Wyoming and Cherry Valley ; and can 
 dour requires the admission, that the narratives of 
 those events which have descended to us were 
 written too soon after their occurrence to warrant 
 a belief in the entire impartiality of the writers. 
 But as truth constitutes the great excellence of 
 history, and as a just opinion can rarely be formed 
 upon testimony altogether ex-parte after fifty-eight 
 years of silence, it may be allowed to the Butlers, 
 though dead, to speak a word for themselves. The 
 elder Butler lived at Niagara many years after the 
 close of the contest ; and, though employed in the 
 British Indian Department, his conduct was such, 
 both in public and private life, as to command the 
 respect of those who knew him. 
 
 The letter of Captain Butler to General Schuyler, 
 written the day after the affair at Cherry Valley, 
 was delivered by the gentleman who, of all others, 
 felt the greatest interest in facilitating the arrange 
 ment proposed Colonel Campbell himself. It was 
 not answered by General Schuyler, for the reason 
 that he was not then in command of the district ; 
 and for the still farther reason that, from the cir 
 cumstances of the case, it took a different direction. 
 On the 1st of January, however, a letter upon the 
 subject was addressed to Captain Butler by Briga 
 dier-general James Clinton, which called forth the 
 following reply : 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 349 
 
 CAPTAIN BUTLER TO GENERAL CLINTON. 
 
 " Niagara, 18th February, 1779. 
 " SIR, 
 
 " I have received a letter dated the 1st of January 
 last, signed by you, in answer to mine of the 12th 
 of November. 
 
 "Its contents I communicated to Lieutentant- 
 colonel Bolton, the commanding officer of this gar 
 rison, &c., by whom I am directed to acquaint you 
 that he had no objection that an exchange of prison 
 ers, as mentioned in your letter, should take place ; 
 but not being fully empowered by his Excellency 
 General Haldimand to order the same immediately 
 to be put in execution, has thought proper I should 
 go down to the commander-in-chief for his direction 
 in the matter. 
 
 " In the mean time, Colonel Butler, as he ever has 
 done on every other occasion, will make every ef 
 fort in his power to have all the prisoners, as well 
 those belonging to your troops as the women 
 and children in captivity among the different Indian 
 nations, collected and sent in to this post, to be 
 forwarded to Crown Point, should the exchange 
 take place by the way of Canada, or to Oswego, if 
 settled there. In either case, Colonel Bolton de 
 sires me to inform you that the prisoners shall re 
 ceive from him what assistance their wants may 
 require, which prisoners have at all times received 
 at this post. 
 
 " The disagreeable situation of your people in the 
 Indian villages, as well as ours among you, will in 
 duce me to make all the expedition in my power to 
 Canada (Quebec), in order that the exchange may 
 be settled as soon as possible. For the good of 
 both, I make no doubt that his Excellency General 
 Haldimand will acquiesce in the proper exchange. 
 The season of the year renders it impossible that 
 it should take place before the 10th or 15th of May 
 next. However, 1 shall write you, by the way of 
 
350 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 Crown Point, General Haldimand s determination, 
 and when and where the exchange will be most 
 agreeable to him to be made. I could wish Mrs. 
 Butler and her family, including Mrs. Scheehan and 
 son, and Mrs. Wall, were permitted to go to Canada 
 in the spring, even should the exchange be fixed at 
 Ontario. 
 
 " It is not our present business, sir, to enter into 
 an altercation, or to reflect on the conduct of either 
 the British or the Continental forces, or on that of 
 each other ; but since you have charged (on report, 
 I must suppose) the British officers in general with 
 inhumanity, and Colonel Butler and myself in par 
 ticular, in justice to them, and in vindication of his 
 and my own honour and character, I am under the 
 disagreeable necessity to declare the charge unjust 
 and void of truth, and which can only tend to de 
 ceive the world, though a favourite cry of the Con 
 gress on every occasion, whether in truth or not. 
 
 " We deny any cruelties to have been committed 
 at Wyoming, either by whites or Indians ; so far to 
 the contrary, that not a man, woman, or child was 
 hurt after the capitulation, or a woman or child be 
 fore it, and none taken into captivity. Though, 
 should you call it inhumanity, the killing men in arms 
 in the field, we, in that case, plead guilty. The in 
 habitants killed at Cherry Valley do not lay at 
 my door : my conscience acquits. If any are guilty 
 (as accessories) it s yourselves ; at least, the con 
 duct of some of your officers. First, Colonel Hart 
 ley, of your forces, sent to the Indians the enclosed, 
 being a copy of his letter charging them with crimes 
 they never committed, and threatening them and 
 their villages with fire and sword, and no quarters. 
 The burning of one of their villages, then inhabited 
 only by a few families your friends who imagined 
 they might remain in peace and friendship with you, 
 till assured, a few hours before the arrival of your 
 troops, that they should not even receive quarters, 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 351 
 
 took to the woods ; and, to complete the matter, 
 Colonel Denniston and his people appearing again 
 in arms with Colonel Hartley, alter a solemn capitu 
 lation and engagement not to bear arms during the 
 war, and Colonel Denniston not performing a prom 
 ise to release a number of soldiers belonging to 
 Colonel Butler s corps of rangers, then prisoners 
 among you, were the reasons assigned by the In 
 dians to me, after the destruction of Cherry Valley, 
 for their not acting in the same manner as at Wy 
 oming. They added, that, being charged by their 
 enemies with what they never had done, and threat 
 ened by them, they had determined to convince you 
 it was not fear which had prevented them from 
 committing the one, and that they did not want 
 spirit to put your threats against them in force 
 against yourselves. 
 
 " The prisoners sent back by me, or any now in 
 our or the Indians hands, must declare I did every 
 thing in my power to prevent the Indians killing 
 the prisoners, or taking women and children cap 
 tive, or in anywise injuring them. Colonel Stacey 
 and several other officers of yours, when exchanged, 
 will acquit me ; and must farther declare, that they 
 have received every assistance, before and since 
 their arrival at this post, that could be got to relieve 
 their wants. I must, however, beg leave, by-the- 
 by, to observe, that I experienced no humanity, or 
 even common justice, during my imprisonment 
 among you. 
 
 " I enclose you a list of officers and privates 
 whom I should be glad were exchanged likewise. 
 The list of the families we expect for those as well 
 sent back as others in our hands, you have likewise 
 enclosed. 
 
 ki Colonel Stacey and several officers, and others, 
 your people, are at this post, and have leave to 
 write. I am your very humble serv t, 
 
 u WALTER N. BUTLER, Capt. Corps of Rangers. 
 
 " Brigadier-general Clinton, of the Continental Forces." 
 
352 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 This is a straightforward, manly letter ; and 
 when the impartial reader is weighing the testimony 
 in regard to the transactions of which it speaks, it 
 certainly deserves consideration. It is, moreover, 
 believed to be the first time that the accused have 
 been permitted to relate their own side of the case. 
 There were, no doubt, bloody outrages committed, 
 probably on both sides, because in such a contest, 
 waged by borderers, many of whom, as has been 
 seen, were previously burning with indignation 
 against each other, it is hardly to be expected that 
 individual combatants would always contend hand 
 to hand with all the courtesy which characterized 
 gallant knights in the days of chivalry. In justice 
 to Colonel John Butler, moreover, it must be ad 
 mitted that his conduct towards his prisoners at 
 Niagara, and among the Indians in that country, 
 was uniformly characterized by humanity. One 
 proof of this disposition was afforded in the case 
 of Colonel Stacia, whose destruction had, for some 
 reason or other, been determined upon by Molly 
 Brant, the Indian wife of Sir William Johnson, 
 who, in her widowhood, had been taken from Johns 
 town to Niagara.* 
 
 The few prisoners from Cherry Valley were 
 marched, by the route already indicated, to the 
 
 * Molly Brant s descendants from Sir William Johnson compose some 
 of the most respectable and intelligent families of Upper Canada at this 
 day. The traditions of the Mohawk Valley state that the acquaintance 
 of Sir William with Molly had a rather wild and romantic commence 
 ment. The story runs, that she was a very sprightly and beautiful In 
 dian girl of about sixteen when he first saw her. It was at a regimental 
 militia muster, where Molly was one of a multitude of spectators. One 
 of the field-officers coming near her upon a prancing steed, by way of 
 banter she asked permission to mount behind him. Not supposing she 
 could perform the exploit, he said she might. At the word she leaped 
 upon the crupper with the agility of a gazelle. The horse sprang ofr 
 at full speed, and, clinging to the officer, her blanket flying, and her 
 dark tresses streaming in the wind, she flew about the parade-ground 
 swift as an arrow, to the infinite merriment of the collected multitude. 
 The baronet, who was a witness of the spectacle, admiring the spirit 
 of the young squaw, and becoming enamoured of her person, took her 
 home as his wife. 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 353 
 
 Seneca country. Mrs. Campbell was carried to the 
 Seneca Castle at Kanadaseaga, where she was pre 
 sented to a family to fill a place made vacant by 
 the death of one of its members. Her children, the 
 infant included, were separated from her, and dis 
 tributed among- different Indian families. Being 
 skilful with her needle, and rendering herself use 
 ful to those with whom she lived, she was treated 
 with indulgence. Among- other little civilities, per 
 ceiving that she wore caps, an Indian presented her 
 one, which was cut and spotted with blood. On a 
 closer scrutiny, h^r feelings were shocked by the dis 
 covery, from the mark, that it had belonged to the 
 lovely companion of her youth, the hapless Jane 
 Wells ! 
 
 After returning from a successful expedition, a 
 dance of Thanksgiving is performed by the Iroquois, 
 which partakes of the character of a religious cere 
 mony, and Mrs. Campbell had the opportunity, soon 
 after her arrival at Kanadaseaga, of seeing the fes 
 tival in honour of their recent victory, of which she 
 herself was one of the trophies. A grand council 
 was convoked for this purpose, and preparations 
 were made for the observance of the festival, upon 
 a scale corresponding with the importance of the 
 achievements they were to celebrate. The arrange 
 ments having been completed, the warriors came 
 forth to the centre of the village, where the great 
 fire had been kindled, horribly disfigured by black 
 and red paint, and commenced their savage rites by 
 singing of their own exploits, and those of their an 
 cestors ; by degrees working themselves up into a 
 tempest of passion ; whooping, yelling, and utter 
 ing every hideous cry ; brandishing their knives and 
 war-clubs, and throwing themselves into the most 
 menacing attitudes, in a manner terrific to the un- 
 practiced beholder. There was no prisoner put to 
 the torture, or attired with the raven death-cap on 
 this occasion ; but the prisoners were paraded, and 
 
354 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 the scalps borne in procession, as would have been 
 the standards taken in civilized warfare in the cele 
 bration of a triumph. For every scalp, and for every 
 prisoner taken, the scalp-yell, or, as it is sometimes 
 called, the death-halloo, was raised in all its mingled 
 tones of triumph and terror. The white dog for the 
 sacrifice was then killed ; the offerings collected 
 were thrown into the fire ; whereupon the dog \vas 
 laid upon the pile and thoroughly roasted. The 
 flesh was then eaten, and the wild festival closed. 
 
 From an account of the ceremonies at one of the 
 festivals, of which Mrs. Campbell was a spectator 
 during her captivity, she must have been present at 
 the great annual feast of thanksgiving and remission 
 of sin, which is held by the Senecas and other tribes 
 of the confederacy. This is their greatest national 
 and most solemn sacrifice. It is invariably held at 
 the time of the old moon in January, and is cele 
 brated with great parade ; the ceremonies being 
 conducted with the utmost order, harmony, and de 
 corum, under the direction of a large committee ap 
 pointed for that purpose. 
 
 The festivities continued nine days, on the first 
 of which two white dogs, without spot or blemish, 
 if such could be found, were strangled and hung up 
 before the door of the council-house, at the height 
 of twenty feet. Not a drop of blood was allowed 
 to be shed in compassing their death, as the victims 
 would thereby be rendered unfit for the sacrifice. 
 After the animals were killed, and before their sus 
 pension, their faces were painted red, as also the 
 edges of their ears and other parts of their bodies. 
 They were then fantastically decorated with rib 
 ands and feathers, rendering them as beautiful, in 
 the eye of an Indian, as possible. Their fancy dress 
 being completed, the dogs were hung up, and the 
 ceremonies of the frolic commenced. In the course 
 of the first day every lodge in the town was visited 
 by the committee, each member being provided with 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 355 
 
 a shovel, with whic> he amoved the ashes and coals 
 from every hearth, .aid scattered them to the winds. 
 In this manner th.- fire of every lodge was ex 
 tinguished, to be rekindled only by striking virgin 
 sparks from the flint. The discharge of a gun at 
 every lodge announced that the work of purification, 
 even of fire itself, had been performed ; and with 
 this ceremony ended the labours of the first day. 
 
 The ceremonies of the second day were opened 
 with a dance by the committee, after which, dressed 
 in bear-skins, the members visited every lodge, with 
 baskets to take up alms, receiving whatever was 
 bestowed, but particularly tobacco, and other arti 
 cles used for incense in the sacrifice. Two or three 
 days were occupied in receiving these grateful dona 
 tions, during which time the people at the council- 
 house were engaged in dances and other recreations. 
 On the fifth day masks were added to the bear-skin 
 dresses of the masters of the festival, some ludicrous 
 and others frightful, in which they ran about the vil 
 lage, smearing themselves with dirt, and bedaubing 
 all such as refused tc add to the contents of their 
 baskets of incense. While thus engaged, the col 
 lectors were supposed to receive into their own 
 oodies all the sins of their tribe, however numerous 
 or heinous, committed within the preceding year. 
 
 On the ninth day of the feast, by some magical 
 process, the sins of the nation thus collected were 
 transfused from the several members of the com 
 mittee into one of their number. The dogs were 
 then taken down, and the whole weight of the na 
 tion s iniquity, by another magical process, was 
 transfused into their lifeless carcasses. The bodies 
 of the dogs were next laid upon an altar of wood, 
 to which fire was applied, and the whole consumed : 
 the masters of the sacrifice throwing the tobacco 
 and other odoriferous articles into the flames, the 
 incense ascending from which was supposed to be 
 acceptable to the Great Spirit. The sacrifice ended, 
 
356 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 the people all partook of a bountiful feast, the chief 
 article of which was succatash. Then followed the 
 war and peace dances, and the smoking of the calu 
 met. Thus refreshed, and relieved from the burden 
 of sin at peace with the Great Spirit, and with each 
 other the warriors, with their families, returned, 
 each to his own house, prepared to enter upon the 
 business and duties of another year ; the chiefs, du 
 ring the festival, having carefully reviewed the past, 
 and adjusted their policy for the future. 
 
 Captain Butler having returned from his visit to 
 General Haldimand, with permission for the pro 
 posed exchange of prisoners, the colonel, his father, 
 proceeded to the Seneca castle to negotiate for the 
 release of Mrs. Campbell. The family by whom she 
 had been adopted were very reluctant to part with 
 her ; but after the holding of a council, the strong 
 appeals of Colonel Butler, who was anxious for the 
 release of his own wife and family, prevailed, and 
 Mrs. Campbell reached Niagara in June, 1779. 
 While residing there, among others she had an op 
 portunity of seeing the celebrated Catharine Mon- 
 tour, whose name occurs in the preceding pages in 
 connexion with the battle of Wyoming. One of her 
 two sons, who had signalized themselves at Wy 
 oming, was also in the affair at Cherry Valley. 
 
 It was not until June of the following year that 
 Mrs. Campbell was sent from Niagara to Montreal, 
 on her way home. While residing at the former 
 post, the Indians having been driven into the fort, 
 she was enabled to recover three of her children. 
 On her arrival at Montreal, she met with Mrs. But 
 ler and her family, who had been previously releas 
 ed. Here, also, and in charge of that lady, Mrs. 
 Campbell found her fourth child, a little son who 
 had been torn from her in the Cherry Valley mas 
 sacre. He was dressed in the green uniform of 
 Butler s rangers; but had forgotten the English 
 language, speaking nothing but Indian. From Mon 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 357 
 
 treal Mrs. Campbell was sent, to Albany by the way 
 of Lake Champlain, where she was shortly afterward 
 joined by her husband, who had been stationed at 
 Fort Schuyler most of the time during her captivity. 
 
 The destruction of Cherry Valley closed the war 
 like operations of both nations in the North for that 
 year. A formidable campaign had, indeed, been 
 projected early in the season, as has been already 
 stated, not only against the hostiles of the Six Na 
 tions, but likewise against the nations more remote, 
 for whom Detroit was the common centre. But the 
 larger half of this enterprise had been abandoned 
 after the irruption into Wyoming, and the next proj 
 ect contemplated the invasion of the Seneca coun 
 try by way of the Tioga and Chemung Rivers. In 
 October this branch of the project was likewise de 
 ferred, at the suggestion of Generals Gates and 
 Schuyler. Thus closed the Northern campaigns of 
 1778. The British, Tories, and Indians went into 
 winter-quarters, and the frontier inhabitants dispo 
 sed of themselves as best they could. 
 
 Much has been said in the traditions of Tryon 
 county, and somewhat, also, in the courts of law, 
 in cases involving titles to real estate formerly in 
 the family of Sir William Johnson, respecting the 
 burial of an iron chest, by his son, Sir John, previous 
 to his flight to Canada, containing the most valuable 
 of his own and his father s papers. Late in the 
 autumn of the present year, General Haldimand, at 
 the request of Sir John, sent a party of between forty 
 and fifty men privately to Johnstown, to dig up and 
 carry the chest away. The expedition was suc 
 cessful ; but the chest not being sufficiently tight to 
 prevent the influence of dampness from the earth, 
 the papers had become mouldy, rotten, and illegible, 
 when taken up. The information respecting this 
 expedition was derived, in the spring following, from 
 a man named Helmer, who composed one of the 
 party, and assisted in disinterring the chest. Hel- 
 
358 BORDER WARS OP THK 
 
 mer had fled to Canada with Sir John. While re 
 tiring from Johnstown with the chest, he injured his 
 ankle ; and by reason of his lameness, went back to 
 his father s house, where he remained concealed 
 until spring, when he was arrested. He was tried 
 as a spy by a court-martial, at Johnstown, April 15, 
 1779, and sentenced to death, chiefly on his own 
 admissions to the court. A considerable number 
 of rather summary executions, by the Whigs of 
 Tryon county, took place in the course of the con 
 test. 
 
 The leading military events occurring in other 
 parts of the country, during the year 1778, have 
 already been incidentally adverted to, with the ex 
 ception of those at the South. In the course of the 
 summer, two incursions of British regulars and 
 American refugees had been made from Florida into 
 Georgia. Both expeditions met with such dis 
 heartening obstacles as to induce their retreat with 
 out accomplishing more than the destruction of the 
 church, dwelling-houses, and rice fields of Midway. 
 In return for these visitations, General Robert 
 Howe led an expedition of about two thousand men, 
 mostly militia, into Florida. He captured the Brit 
 ish posts on the St. Mary s River, and was proceed 
 ing successfally, when his march was arrested by 
 sickness so fatal to his army as to compel a re- 
 linquishment of the enterprise. Towards the close 
 of the year, the British commander-in-chief deter 
 mined to strike a signal blow against the South. 
 For this purpose, an expedition of two thousand 
 men, under the command of Colonel Campbell, an 
 officer of courage and ability, embarked at New- 
 York on the 27th of November, destined against 
 Savannah. General Howe, to whom the defence 
 of Georgia had been confided, had but six hun 
 dred regular troops and a few hundred militia to 
 oppose the invaders. This officer had taken a posi 
 tion between the landing and the town, where a bat- 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 359 
 
 tie was fought on the 29th of December. He was 
 outnumbered, outgeneralled, and beaten, with a loss 
 of one hundred killed. The town and fort of Sa 
 vannah, thirty-eight officers, four hundred and fifteen 
 privates, twenty-three mortars, together with the 
 shipping in the river, and a large quantity of am 
 munition and provisions, fell into the hands of the 
 conquerors. It was an easy victory to the enemy, 
 whose loss was but seven killed and nineteen 
 wounded. 
 
 From these glimpses of the events of the year 1778, 
 occurring elsewhere than in the Indian country, it 
 seems, after the battle of Monmouth, to have been 
 a season of comparative inactivity on both sides. 
 Still, having repossessed themselves of the strong 
 pass of the Highlands, immediately after the return 
 of Sir Henry Clinton and Commodore Hotham to 
 New- York, towards the close of the preceding year, 
 no lack of industry was exhibited on the part of the 
 Americans in strengthening and multiplying its de 
 fences, from which neither force nor treachery ever 
 again dislodged them. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 THE erection of an advanced post, called Fort 
 Laurens, on the Tuscarawa, by General M Intosh, 
 who was directed to advance upon the Indian towns 
 of Sandusky, has been mentioned in a preceding 
 chapter. Colonel Gibson, who had been left in 
 command of the fort, with a garrison of one hun 
 dred and fifty men, soon found his position rather 
 uncomfortable, by reason of the swarms of Indians 
 hovering about the precincts, who soon became so 
 numerous as completely to invest the little fortress 
 
360 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 The first hostile demonstration of the forest war 
 riors was executed with equal cunning and success. 
 The horses of the garrison were allowed to forage 
 for themselves upon the herbage, among the dried 
 prairie-grass immediately in the vicinity of the fort, 
 wearing bells, that they might be the more easily 
 found, if straying too far. It happened, one morn 
 ing in January, that the horses had all disappeared, 
 but the bells were heard, seemingly at no great dis 
 tance. They had, in truth, been stolen by the In 
 dians, and conveyed away. The bells, however, 
 were taken off, and used for another purpose. 
 Availing themselves of the tall prairie-grass, the 
 Indians formed an ambuscade, at the farthest ex 
 tremity of which they caused the bells to jingle as 
 a decoy. The artifice was successful. A party of 
 sixteen men was sent in pursuit of the straggling 
 steeds, who fell into the snare. Fourteen were 
 killed upon the spot, and the remaining two taken 
 prisoners, one of whom returned at the close of the 
 war, and of the other nothing was ever heard. 
 
 Towards evening of the same day, the whole force 
 of the Indians, painted, and in the full costume of 
 war, presented themselves in full view of the garri 
 son, by marching in single files, though at a respect 
 ful distance, across the prairie. Their number, ac 
 cording to a count from one of the bastions, was 
 eight hundred and forty-seven ; altogether too great 
 to be encountered in the field by so small a garri 
 son. After this display of their strength, the In 
 dians took a position upon an elevated piece of 
 ground at no great distance from the fort, though 
 on the opposite side of the river. In this situation 
 they remained several weeks, in a state rather of 
 armed neutrality than of active hostility. Some of 
 them would frequently approach the fort sufficiently 
 near to hold conversations with those upon the 
 walls. They uniformly professed a desire for peace, 
 but protested against the encroachments of the 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 361 
 
 white people upon their lands ; more especially was 
 the erection of a fort so far within the territory 
 claimed by them as exclusively their own, a cause 
 of complaint, nay, of admitted exasperation. There 
 was with the Americans in the fort an aged friend 
 ly Indian, named John Thompson, who seemed to 
 be in equal favour with both parties, visiting the In 
 dian encampment at pleasuie, and coming and going 
 as he chose. They informed Thompson that they 
 deplored the continuance of hostilities, and finally 
 sent word by him to Colonel Gibson that they were 
 desirous of peace, and if he would present them 
 with a barrel of flour, they would send in their pro 
 posals the next day. The flour was sent, but the 
 Indians, instead of fulfilling their p\rt of the stipula 
 tion, withdrew, and entirely disappeared. They 
 had, indeed, continued the siege as long as they 
 could obtain subsistence, and raised it only because 
 of the lack of supplies. Still, as the beleaguerment 
 was begun in stratagem, so was it ended. Colonel 
 Gibson s provisions were also running short, and, 
 as he supposed the Indians had entirely gone off, he 
 directed Colonel Clark, of the Pennsylvania line, 
 with a detachment of fifteen men, to escort the in 
 valids of the garrison, amounting to ten or a dozen 
 men, back to Fort M Intosh. But the Indians had 
 left a strong party of observation lurking in the 
 neighbourhood of the fort, and the escort had pro 
 ceeded only two miles before it was fallen upon, 
 and the whole number killed with the exception of 
 four, one of whom, a captain, escaped back to the 
 fort. The bodies of the slain were interred by the 
 garrison, on the same day, with the honours of war. 
 A party was likewise sent out to collect the re 
 mains of the fourteen who had first fallen by the 
 ambuscade, and bury them. 
 
 The situation of the garrison was now becoming 
 deplorable. For two weeks the men had been re 
 duced to half a pound of sour flour, and a like quan- 
 
 VOL. L E E 
 
362 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 tity of offensive meat, per diem ; and for a week 
 longer they were compelled to subsist only upon 
 raw hides, and such roots as they could find in the 
 circumjacent woods and prairies, when General 
 M Intosh most opportunely arrived to their relief, 
 with supplies, and a re-enforcement of seven hun 
 dred men. But still they came near being imme 
 diately reduced to short allowance again, by an un 
 toward accident causing the loss of a great portion 
 of their fresh supplies. These supplies were trans 
 ported through the wilderness upon pack-horses. 
 The garrison, overjoyed at the arrival of succours, 
 on their approach to within about a hundred yards 
 of the fort manned the parapets and fired a salute 
 of musketry. But the horses, young in the service, 
 were affrighted at the detonation of the guns, and 
 broke from their guides. The example was con 
 tagious, and in a moment more the whole caval 
 cade of pack-horses were bounding into the woods 
 at full gallop, dashing their burdens to the ground, 
 and scattering them over many a rood in all direc 
 tions, the greater portion of which could never be 
 recovered. But there was yet enough of provisions 
 saved to cause the mingling of evil with the good. 
 Very incautiously, the officers dealt out two days 
 rations per man, the whole of which was devoured 
 by the famishing soldiers, to the imminent hazard 
 of the lives of all, and resulting in the severe sick 
 ness of many. Leaving the fort again, General 
 M Intosh assigned the command to Major Vernon, 
 who remained upon the station several months. 
 He, in turn, was left to endure the horrors of fam 
 ine, until longer to endure was death ; whereupon 
 the fort was evacuated and the position abandoned, 
 its occupation and maintenance, at the cost of great 
 tutiguc and suffering, and the expense of many lives, 
 having been not ofthe least service to the country. 
 But, notwithstanding f hc n^tov/ ird result of Gen 
 eral M*Intosh s expedition, the Indian branch of the 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 363 
 
 service opened auspiciously the present year else 
 where, and first in a region yet deeper in the West 
 than Fort Laurens. Colonel Hamilton, the British 
 lieutenant-governor of Detroit, a rough, bad-tem 
 pered, and cruel officer, who had signalized himself 
 oy the exertion of a malignant influence over the 
 Indians, and had provoked them to take up the 
 hatchet against the Americans by every possible 
 means instigating them to deeds of blood by large 
 rewards had projected a powerful Indian expedi 
 tion against the Virginia frontier, to be executed 
 early in the spring. With this design, at the close 
 of the preceding autumn Hamilton left Detroit, and 
 took post at St. Vincent s, on the Wabash, in order 
 to act earlier and more efficiently immediately after 
 the breaking up of winter. But his purpose was 
 most happily defeated by a blow from a direction 
 which he did not anticipate. Colonel Clarke, who 
 was yet with a small force in command of Kaskas- 
 kias, having learned in February that Hamilton had 
 weakened himself by despatching many of his In 
 dians in different directions to annoy the frontiers 
 of the states, formed the bold resolution of attack 
 ing him in his quarters. After a difficult, movement 
 by land and water, at the head of one hundred and 
 thirty men, Clarke suddenly arrived before St. Vin 
 cent s. The town at once submitted, and on the" 
 following day Colonel Hamilton and the garrison 
 surrendered themselves prisoners of war. It was 
 the good fortune of Colonel Clarke, also, to inter 
 cept and capture a valuable convoy of provisions 
 and stores coming to St. Vincent s from Detroit. 
 Hamilton was transferred to Virginia, where the 
 Council of the Commonwealth instituted an inquiry 
 into the inhuman conduct imputed to him, and his 
 confinement in irons, on a diet of bread and water, 
 was recommended. The plans of the enemy were 
 not a little disconcerted by this small, though brill 
 iant affair; and peace with several of the Indian 
 
364 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 tribes in that direction was the immediate conse. 
 qU T e n C the mean time, and before this disaster befell 
 
 * On the 9th of April, 1779, 
 the commission of captain to four of the One ^ tbe then pnnci . 
 
 and eight commissions of . l ^ ^^ ^ Commissioned a lieuten- 
 pal Oneida chief, Louis Atayatarouhta ^ afteward called> 
 
 ant-colonel. Louis, or Colonel Louis, a indian negro> 
 
 was the representative of three races b^ s g iQ P s w 
 
 rank 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 365 
 
 accordingly done, by the transmission of a large 
 olafrk belt of wampum. The Onondagas replied, 
 " That they were very glad to hear the resolution 
 which their children, the Oneidas and Tuscaroras, 
 had made, and were determined to join them to op 
 pose any invader." 
 
 The Onondagas farther engaged, upon their re 
 turn home, to effect a final separation in their tribe, 
 and insist that every one should declare for one 
 side or the other. The conduct of most of the 
 Onondagas had been from the first equivocal, often 
 openly hostile. But those present at this council 
 manifested a better feeling, and joined in the request 
 of the Oneidas for troops to aid in their protection. 
 The Oneidas, on this occasion, placed great confi 
 dence in the professions of their Onondaga breth 
 ren, and were in high spirits at the result of the 
 council. 
 
 There was other evidence, not only of the inten 
 tion of Thayendanegea to make a powerful Indian 
 descent upon the Mohawk during this winter, but 
 of the supposed fidelity of these Onondagas to the 
 United States. About the middle of February, 
 General Clinton having, through various channels, 
 and by several expresses, received information at 
 Albany of such a design, marched to Schenectady 
 with Colonel Van Schaick s regiment, ordering the 
 latter as far up the Mohawk as Caughnawaga, there 
 to await the event. On the 26th of February, Cap 
 tain Copp, of Fort Van Dyck, wrote to Captain Gra 
 ham, then in charge of Fort Schuyler, announcing 
 that two of the Oneida messengers, of distinguished 
 (Indian) families, had just returned from Niagara, 
 where they had obtained positive evidence of Brant s 
 purpose. The Mohawk chief had received express 
 es announcing that the Shawanese and Delawares 
 were to strike a simultaneous blow upon the fron 
 tier of Virginia ;* and Brant himself was to lead 
 
 * The project of Colonel Hamilton, frustrated by his capture. 
 
366 BORDER WARS OF TW 
 
 the main expedition direct to the Moh i.^ , /.lie, 
 another diversion was to be created by sending a 
 smaller force round by the Unadilla, to fail upon the 
 settlements of Schoharie. In regard to the fidelity 
 of the Onondagas, it was stated by the Oneida 
 chiefs that fourteen of that nation had been de 
 spatched to Niagara by the chiefs of the tribe, to 
 persuade their brethren, who had taken up the hatch 
 et with the Mohawks, to return. But these four 
 teen messengers had not been permitted to come 
 back themselves, and the Onondagas were appre 
 hensive that they and all their people at Niagara 
 had been made prisoners. The uneasiness in Tryon 
 county was greatly increased under these circum 
 stances. Major Jelles Fonda wrote to General 
 Clinton that there were yet three hundred Tory 
 families in the northern part of that settlement, af 
 fording aid and comfort to the hostile refugees, who 
 kept up a continual intercourse with them, across 
 through the woods, or by Lake Champlain to Canada. 
 For greater security, therefore, he urged permission 
 to build a strong blockhouse, and station fifty ran 
 gers within it, on the Sacondaga River, directly north 
 of Johnstown. 
 
 Captain Brant, however, either abandoned or de 
 ferred the threatened invasion. The winter, conso 
 quently, passed away without any serious disturb 
 ance in that region. But, notwithstanding all the 
 fair professions of the Onondagas, their treachery 
 had become alike so manifest and so injurious as to 
 render it expedient, immediately on the opening of 
 the spring, to make them a signal example to their 
 red brethren. Accordingly, early in April an expe 
 dition was detailed upon this service by General 
 Clinton, with the approbation of the commander-in- 
 chief, consisting of detachments from the regiments 
 of Colonels Van Schaick and Gansevoort, to the 
 number of five hundred men, under the conduct of 
 the former. The troops were moved as expedi 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTIOiN 36? 
 
 tiously as possible to Fort Schuyler, and thirty bat- 
 teaux were simultaneously ordered thither to trans 
 port them down Wood Creek, and through the Onei- 
 da Lake to Three Rivers, Colonel Van Schaick s 
 instructions were very full and explicit upon every 
 point. The design was to proceed as rapidly and 
 cautiously as possible, in order to take the Indians 
 by surprise ; for which purpose, on the morning of 
 the departure of the expedition, it was to be an 
 nounced that its destination was against Oswego. 
 Colonel Van Schaick was directed to burn and ut 
 terly destroy the village and castle of the Ononda- 
 gas, together with all their cattle and effects ; but 
 he was strictly enjoined to make as many prisoners 
 as possible, and put none to death who could be 
 taken alive. The following passage occurs in the 
 instructions of General Clinton on this occasion, 
 which is worthy of preservation : " Bad as the sav 
 ages are, they never violate the chastity of any 
 women, their prisoners. Although I have very lit 
 tle apprehension that any of the soldiers will so far 
 forget their character as to attempt such a crime 
 on the Indian women who may fall into their hands, 
 yet it w r ill be well to take measures to prevent such 
 a stain upon our army." This injunction speaks 
 volumes in praise of the soldier who wrote it. 
 
 The orders to Colonel Van Schaick were issued 
 on the 9th of April, and so rapidly were the neces 
 sary arrangements expedited, that everything was 
 in readiness for the departure from Fort Schuyler 
 on the 18th. During the evening of that day, the 
 batteaux, with the necessary stores, were silently 
 removed across the carrying-place to Wood Creek, 
 and all things there placed in order. The troops 
 were early in motion on the morning of the 19th, 
 and a thick mist contributed essentially in covering 
 the movement, had there been any spies lurking 
 about to make observation. The number of men 
 embarked, including officers, was five hundred and 
 
368 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 fifty-eight. Their progress to the Oneida Lake was 
 considerably impeded, by reason of trees which had 
 fallen across the creek, so that much of the first 
 day s journey was performed by the troops on foot. 
 The passage of the Oneida Lake was effected as ex- 
 peditiously as possible ; and although they encoun 
 tered a strong and excessively disagreeable head 
 wind, they nevertheless reached the Onondaga Land 
 ing, opposite to old Fort Brewington, with the whole 
 flotilla, by three o clock in the afternoon of the 20th. 
 Leaving a suitable guard with the boats, the little 
 army pushed immediately forward, and, despite the 
 obstacles in traversing a deep-tangled forest, the 
 soil resembling a morass, they marched nine miles 
 without halting. The night was dark, wet, and 
 cold ; but knowing well the wariness of the enemy 
 and the celerity of their movements, and how fre 
 quently they were prepared to strike when least 
 expected, the troops were necessarily precluded 
 from kindling fires, and obliged to sleep on their 
 arms. The march was resumed very early on the 
 morning of the 21st, and, in order to save time, they 
 were obliged to ford an arm of the Onondaga Lake, 
 about two hundred yards wide and four feet in depth. 
 Arriving at the estuary of Onondaga Creek, at the 
 head of the lake, Captain Graham, commanding the 
 advanced guard, captured one of the warriors of the 
 tribe ; and although they were now within two or 
 three miles of the village and castle, this was the first 
 Indian seen, or who was apprized of the approach of 
 the expedition. Captain Graham was now directed 
 again to advance with all possible rapidity and cau 
 tion, for the purpose of surrounding the lower castle, 
 while the residue of the main force was divided into 
 small detachments, and hurried forward for the pur 
 pose of falling upon the other towns in such rapid 
 succession as, if possible, to take all the villages by 
 surprise. This chain of villages extended through 
 the valley of the Onondaga Creek for the distance 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 369 
 
 of ten miles. The tribe had once been among the 
 most powerful of the Aganuschioni, or confeder 
 ated people of the Five Nations. Situated in the 
 centre of the confederacy, to the Onondagas, time 
 immemorial, had been committed the keeping of the 
 great council fire. This fire had been extinguished 
 in 1G92 by Count Frontenac, who then came against 
 it at the head of a powerful expedition from Mon 
 treal, and utterly destroyed the village. It had again 
 been put out in the spring of 1777, and was now 
 doomed to a third extinction, equally summary and 
 complete with the former. But although the expe 
 dition of Colonel Van Schaick had been thus far, 
 and was throughout, admirably conducted, the sur 
 prise was not as complete as had been intended. 
 While Captain Graham s company was securing a 
 few prisoners taken in the outskirts of the village, 
 near the principal castle, means were found by the 
 wily adversary to give the alarm in advance. The 
 tidings, of course, rlew from village to village with 
 greater rapidity than the several detachments of 
 troops could equal, and the Indians scattered off to 
 the woods in all directions. But such was the pre 
 cipitancy of their flight, that they carried nothing 
 with them, not even their arms. Still, thirty-three 
 of their number were taken prisoners, and twelve 
 killed. Three villages, consisting of about fifty 
 houses, were burned to the ground, and a large 
 quantity of provisions, consisting chiefly of beans 
 and corn, destroyed. Nearly one hundred muskets 
 were taken among the booty, and several rifles, to 
 gether with a considerable quantity of ammunition. 
 Their swivel at the council-house was rendered 
 useless, and their cattle and horses were destroyed. 
 The work of destruction having been completed, 
 the detachment immediately commenced its return 
 to Fort Schuyler. It was fired upon in the after 
 noon by a small party of Indians in the woods, but 
 without injury, while one of the enemy fell by the 
 
370 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 return fire. On Saturday, the 24th, the troops were 
 aK back again at Fort Schuyler, having performed 
 a journey, going and returning, of one hundred and 
 eighty miles, and effected their object without the 
 loss of a single man. 
 
 At this distance of time, from the very imperfect 
 data afforded by written history, this expedition 
 against the Onondagas appears like a harsh, if not 
 an unnecessary measure. But, notwithstanding the 
 professions of this nation, those in the direction of 
 public affairs at that period unquestionably felt its 
 chastisement to be a work of stern necessity. Gen 
 eral Schuyler had written that, unless some exem 
 plary blow should be inflicted upon the hostiles of the 
 Six Nations, Schenectady w T ould shortly become the 
 boundary of the American settlements in that direc 
 tion. The enterprise had, moreover, the sanction 
 of the commander-in-chief ; while nothing could be 
 more humane, in regard to a warlike expedition, 
 than the instructions of General Clinton. 
 
 It is, perhaps, a coincidence worth noting, that on 
 the very day on which Colonel Van Schaick depart 
 ed from Fort Schuyler for Onondaga, the lower sec 
 tion of the Mohawk Valley was thrown into alarm 
 by the sudden appearance of an Indian force simul 
 taneously on both sides of the river, in the vicinity 
 of Palatine. On the south side, a party rushed 
 down upon the settlement, took three prisoners, to 
 gether with several horses, and drove the inhabi 
 tants into Fort Plank. At the very same hour, an 
 other division of the savages made a descent upon 
 the back part of Stone-Arabia, where, in the onset, 
 they burned two houses and murdered one man. 
 The next house in their course belonged to Captain 
 Richer. The occupants were Richer, his wife and 
 two sons, and an old man. The captain and his two 
 boys, being armed, on the near approach of the In 
 dians gave them a warm reception. A sharp action 
 ensued. The old man, being unarmed, was killed; 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 371 
 
 as also was one of the brave boys, a lad seventeen 
 years of age. Captain Richer was severely wound 
 ed, and his arm was broken ; his other son was 
 also wounded in the elbow, and his wife in one of 
 her legs. And yet, notwithstanding that the whole 
 garrison was either killed or wounded, the Indians 
 retreated on the loss of two of their number. 
 
 On the same day, a party of Senecas appeared in 
 Schoharie, made prisoners of Mr. Lawyer and Mr. 
 Cowley, and plundered their houses. The panic 
 was again general ; the people flying to the forts for 
 safety, and the Committee of Palatine writing im 
 mediately to General Clinton, at Albany, for assist 
 ance. The general was an officer of great activity, 
 and so rapidly did he move in cases of alarm, that 
 he traversed the Mohawk Valley with Colonel 
 Gansevoort s regiment and the Schenectady militia, 
 and was back at Albany again on the 28th. The 
 Indians who appeared on the south side were from 
 the West ; those on the north side were Mohawks 
 from Canada. General Clinton, in his despatches 
 to the governor, his brother, expressed an opinion 
 that, but for his timely movement on that occasion, 
 the enemy would have driven the settlements all in 
 upon Schenectady. 
 
 On the 30th of April, Lieutenants M Clellan and 
 Hardenburgh returned to Fort Schuyler from an un 
 successful expedition, at the head of a body of In 
 dians, against the small British garrison at Oswe- 
 gatchie. It was their intention to take the fort by 
 surprise ; but, falling in prematurely with some 
 straggling Indians, several shots were imprudently 
 exchanged, by reason of which their approach be 
 came known to the garrison. They then attempted 
 by stratagem to draw the enemy from the fort, and 
 partly succeeded, but could not induce them to ven- 
 ture far enough from their works to cut them off; 
 and on approaching the fort themselves, the assail 
 ants were so warmly received by cannister and 
 
372 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 grape as to be compelled to retreat without unne 
 cessary delay. The only service performed was to 
 send a Caughnawaga Indian into Canada with a let 
 ter in French, by " a French general," probably the 
 Marquis de Lafayette, addressed to the Canadians, 
 and written in the preceding autumn. This expe 
 dition was despatched from Fort Schuyler on the 
 daybefoie Colonel Van Schaick moved upon Onon- 
 daga ; and, from a letter addressed by General Clin 
 ton, six weeks afterward, to General Sullivan, there 
 is reason to believe one object was to get clear of 
 the Oneida Indians then in the fort, until Colonel 
 Van Schaick should have proceeded so far upon his 
 expedition that they or their people would not be 
 able to give the Onondagas notice of his approach. 
 All the Indians still remaining in Fort Schuyler on 
 the 17th were detained expressly for that object of 
 precaution. General Clinton conceded their use 
 fulness as scouts and spies upon the British forces ; 
 but, he observed, " Their attachment to one another 
 is too strong to admit of their being of any service 
 when employed against their fellows." This testi 
 mony is certainly not discreditable to the Indian 
 character as such. 
 
 The Onondagas, fired with indignation at the de 
 struction of their villages and castle, and the put 
 ting out of the great council-fire which they had so 
 long kept burning at their national altar, resolved 
 upon summary vengeance. To this end, three hun 
 dred of their warriors were speedily upon the war 
 path, bending their steps to the valley of the Scho- 
 harie Kill. The settlement of Cobleskill, which 
 had suffered so severely the preceding year, situated 
 about ten miles west of the Schoharie Kill, and yet 
 comprising nineteen German families, was the first 
 object of attack. But they were prevented from 
 taking the place by surprise, in consequence of two 
 of their number straggling a considerable distance 
 in advance of the main body, who were discovered 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 373 
 
 by a scout of two of the Cobleskill militia. One of 
 the Indians was shot, and the other fled ; and the 
 scouts hastened home to give the alarm. Intelli 
 gence of the enemy s approach was immediately 
 despatched to Schoharie, with a request for assist 
 ance. A captain of the Continental army was 
 thereupon sent to Cobleskill with a detachment of 
 regular troops. On the following morning a party 
 of Indians sallied out of the woods, and after ap 
 proaching the settlement, suddenly returned. They 
 were pursued by a small detachment of troops to the 
 edge of the forest, where their reception was so 
 sharp as to compel a retreat. The captain himself 
 immediately marched to the scene of action with 
 the whole of his little band, together with fifteen 
 volunteers of the militia. The Indians receded be 
 fore the whites for a time, and continued the decep 
 tion by showing themselves at first in small num 
 bers on the skirt of the forest, until they had accom 
 plished the identical purpose they had in view. The 
 captain and his men pursued, without any knowl 
 edge of the disparity of numbers they had to en 
 counter, until the Indians had drawn them sufficient 
 ly within their toils to make a stand. Their num 
 bers now multiplied rapidly, and the battle became 
 animated. The captain fell wounded, and was soon 
 afterward killed. His men, panic-stricken, instant 
 ly fled ; but in the twinkling of an eye, a cloud of 
 several hundred savages, until then in concealment, 
 rose up on all sides of them, pouring : : n a deadly 
 shower of rifle balls, and making the forest ring 
 with their appalling yells. The inhabitants of the 
 settlement, on perceiving the disaster which had be 
 fallen the troops, fled in the direction of Schoharie 
 with a portion of the fugitive soldiers. Their flight 
 was facilitated, or, rather, they were prevented from 
 being overtaken, by seven of the captain s brave 
 fellows, who took possession of a deserted house, 
 and made a resolute defence. From the windows 
 
374 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 of their castle they fired briskly upon the Indians, 
 and, bringing them to a pause, detained them until 
 the inhabitants had made good their flight to Scho- 
 harie. Unable to drive the soldiers from the house, 
 the Indians at length applied the brand, and the 
 brave fellows were burned to death within its walls. 
 The whole settlement was then plundered and burn 
 ed by the Indians. But they did not proceed farther 
 towards Schoharie. The loss of the whites was 
 twenty-two killed and two taken prisoners. The 
 bodies of the slain were found the next day, sadly 
 mutilated ; and in the hand of one of them the Indians 
 had placed a roll of Continental bills, a severe satire 
 upon the description of money for which the soldiers 
 were serving. The great fact, however, that it was 
 the CAUSE, and not the PAY, which kept the Amer 
 icans in the field, could scarcely be appreciated by 
 the forest warriors. They were led in this battle by 
 a Tory, who was subsequently killed by the cele 
 brated Murphy. Their loss was severe, but to what 
 extent was not known. Thus was amply avenged 
 the destruction of Onondaga. 
 
 During the month of April, the inhabitants of Mo- 
 nongalia, on the northwestern Virginia border and 
 the western part of Pennsylvania, in the vicinity of 
 Fort Pitt, had been severely harassed by the In 
 dians, and numbers of the people murdered. These 
 individual murders were the more cruel, inasmuch 
 as they could have no effect upon the result of the 
 pending contest. The snatching away of prisoners 
 by these petty expeditions was a different affair; 
 and often served a twofold purpose, enabling the 
 enemy frequently to extort information, and, by a 
 silent operation, continually increasing the number 
 of prisoners in their hands for exchange. But, 
 whether murdered outright or carried into captivity, 
 the trials of the inhabitants upon a frontier, thus 
 hourly exposed to dangers of the most appalling de 
 scription, can scarcely be appreciated by those who 
 have not been plncerl in similar peril 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 375 
 
 The frontier towns of the comity of Ulster were 
 likewise not a little annoyed, in the early part of 
 May, by a detachment of thirty or forty of Butler s 
 rangers, who, from their knowledge of the country, 
 were supposed to have fled to the royal standard 
 from that neighbourhood. On the 4th of May, four 
 dwelling-houses and five barns were burned by them 
 in Famine Kill. Six of the inhabitants were mur 
 dered, besides three or four more who were sup 
 posed to be burned in their houses. Colonel Philip 
 Van Courtlandt, stationed at that time with one of 
 the New-York regiments at Warwasing, went in 
 pursuit of the traitors ; but although he twice came 
 in sight of them- upon the crest of a mountain, they 
 were too dexterous in thridding the forests to allow 
 him to overtake them ; and the colonel had scarcely 
 turned back from the pursuit before they fell upon 
 the town of Woodstock, in the neighbourhood of 
 Kingston, where they burned several houses and 
 committed other depredations. They made a few 
 prisoners, some of whom were carried away ; while 
 others were compelled, by the upraised hatchet, to 
 take an oath not to serve in arms against the king. 
 
 In order to preserve unbroken a narrative of the 
 principal Indian campaign of the present year, it is 
 necessary somewhat to anticipate the progress of 
 events, by recording in this place the particulars of 
 the celebrated invasion of Minisink, and the bloody 
 battle that immediately ensued near the Delaware.* 
 The brave Count Pulaski, with his battalion of cav 
 alry, had been stationed at Minisink during the pre 
 ceding winter ; but in the month of February he was 
 ordered to South Carolina, to join the army of Gen- 
 
 * Miuisink, for an inland American town, is very ancient. It is situa- 
 tod about ten miles west of Goshen, in the county of Orange (N. Y.), on 
 the Nav sink River, and among what an,- called the Shawangunk Mount 
 ains. It is bordered on the southwest by both the States of New- Jersey 
 .UK! Pennsylvania. The Wallkill also rises in this town. Its history, 
 previous to the v/ar of the Revolution, is full of interest. A severe bat- 
 t r, was fought with the Indians in Minisink, July 22. 1069, the bloody 
 horrors of which yet live in the traditions of that neighbourhood. 
 
376 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 eral Lincoln. Left" thus wholly unprotected, save 
 by its own people, Captain Brant determined to 
 make a descent upon it, for the purpose of taking 
 both plunder and prisoners. Accordingly, on the 
 20th of July, or, rather, during the night of the 19th, 
 the crafty Mohawk stole upon the slumbering town, 
 at the head of sixty Indians and twenty-seven Tory 
 warriors disguised as Indians, which was a very 
 common practice with the Loyalists when acting 
 with the savages. This was only a detachment of 
 a much larger force which Brant had left among the 
 mountains between Minisink and the Delaware. 
 Such was the silence of their approach, that sever 
 al houses were already in flames when the inhabi 
 tants awoke to their situation. Thus surprised, and 
 wholly unprepared, all who could escape fled in 
 consternation, leaving the invaders to riot upon the 
 spoil. Ten houses and twelve barns were burned, 
 together with a small stockade fort and two mills. 
 Several persons were killed, and others taken pris 
 oners. The farms of the settlement were laid 
 waste, the cattle driven away, and all the booty car 
 ried off which the invaders could remove. Having 
 thus succeeded in his immediate object, Brant lost 
 no time in leading his party back to the main body 
 of his warriors, whom he had left at Grassy Brook. 
 No sooner had the fugitives from Minisink arri 
 ved at Goshen with the intelligence, than Dr. Tusten, 
 the colonel of the local militia, issued orders to the 
 officers of his command to meet him at Minisink on 
 the following day, with as many volunteers as they 
 could raise. The order was promptly obeyed, and 
 a body of one hundred and forty-nine men met their 
 colonel at the designated rendezvous at the time 
 appointed, including many of the principal gentle 
 men of the county. A council of war was held to 
 determine upon the expediency of a pursuit. Colonel 
 Tusten was himself opposed to the proposition, with 
 so feeble a command, and with the certainty, if they 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 377 
 
 overtook the enemy, of being obliged to encounter 
 an officer combining, with his acknowledged prow 
 ess, so much of subtlety as characterized the move 
 ments of the Mohawk chief. His force, moreover, 
 was believed to be greatly superior to theirs in num 
 bers, and to include many Tories as well acquaint 
 ed with the country as themselves. The colonel, 
 therefore, preferred waiting for the re-enforcements 
 which would be sure soon to arrive, the more espe 
 cially as the volunteers already with him were but 
 ill provided with arms and ammunition. Others, 
 however, were for immediate pursuit. They affect 
 ed to hold the Indians in contempt, insisted that they 
 would not fight, and maintained that a recapture of 
 the plunder they had taken would be an easy achieve 
 ment. Town-meeting counsels in the conduct of 
 war are not usually the wisest, as will appear in the 
 sequel. The majority of Tusten s command were 
 evidently determined to pursue the enemy ; but their 
 deliberations were cut short by Major Meeker, who 
 mounted his horse, flourished his sword, and vaunt- 
 ingly called out, " Let the brave men follow me, the 
 cowards may stay behind !" It may readily be sup 
 posed that such an appeal to an excited multitude 
 would decide the question, as it did. The line of 
 march was immediately taken up, and after pro 
 ceeding seventeen miles the same evening, they en 
 camped for the night. On the morning of the 22d 
 they were joined by a small re-enforcement under 
 Colonel Hathorn, of the Warwick regiment, who, 
 as the senior of Colonel Tusten, took the command. 
 When they had advanced a few miles, to Halfway 
 Brook, they came upon the Indian encampment of 
 the preceding night, and another council was held 
 there. Colonels Hathorn, Tusten, and others, whose 
 valour was governed by prudence, were opposed to 
 advancing farther, as the number of Indian fires, and 
 the extent of ground they had occupied, removed 
 all doubt as to the superiority of their numbers. A 
 VOL. I. F F 
 
378 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 scene similar to that which had broken up the for- 
 mer council was acted at this place, and with the 
 same result. The voice of prudence was compelled 
 to yield to that of bravado. 
 
 Captain Tyler, who had some knowledge of the 
 woods, was sent forward at the head of a small 
 scouting party, to follow the trail of the Indians, and 
 to ascertain, if possible, their movements, since 
 it was evident that they could not be far in ad 
 vance. The captain had proceeded but a short dis 
 tance before he fell from the fire of an unseen ene 
 my. This circumstance occasioned considerable 
 alarm ; but the volunteers, nevertheless, pressed 
 eagerly forward, and it was not long before they 
 emerged upon the hills of the Delaware, in full view 
 of that river, upon the eastern bank of which, at the 
 distance of three fourths of a mile, the Indians were 
 seen deliberately marching in the direction of a 
 fording-place near the mouth of the Lackawaxen. 
 This discovery was made at about 9 o clock in the 
 morning. The intention of Brant to cross at the 
 fording-place was evident ; and it was afterward as 
 certained that his booty had already been sent thith 
 er in advance. 
 
 The determination was immediately formed by 
 Colonel Hathorn to intercept the enemy at the ford 
 ing-place, for which purpose instant dispositions 
 were made. But, owing to intervening woods and 
 hills, the opposing bodies soon lost sight of each 
 other, and an adroit movement on the part of Brant 
 gave him an advantage which it was impossible for 
 the Americans to regain. Anticipating the design 
 of Hathorn, the moment the Americans were out of 
 sight Brant wheeled to the right, and, by thridding a 
 ravine across which Hathorn had passed, threw him 
 self into his rear, by which means he was enabled 
 deliberately to select his ground for a battle and 
 form an ambuscade. Disappointed in not finding 
 the enemy, the Americans were brought to a stand, 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 379 
 
 when the enemy disclosed himself partially, in a 
 quarter altogether unexpected. According to the 
 American account, the lirst shot was fired upon an 
 Indian, who was known, and who was mounted upon 
 a horse stolen at Minisink. The Indian fell, and the 
 firing soon became general : the enemy contriving, 
 in the early part of the engagement, to cut oft" from 
 the main body of Hathorn s troops a detachment 
 comprising one third of his whole number. The 
 conflict was long and obstinate. The number of the 
 enemy being several times greater than that of the 
 Goshen militia, the latter were surrounded, and ulti 
 mately hemmed within the circumference of an acre 
 of ground. Being short of ammunition, Hathorn s 
 orders were strict that no man should fire until very 
 sure that his powder would not be lost. The battle 
 commenced about 11 o clock in the morning, and 
 was maintained until the going down of the sun ; 
 both parties fighting after the Indian fashion, every 
 man for himself, and the whole keeping up an ir 
 regular fire from behind rocks and trees as best they 
 could. About sunset the ammunition of the militia 
 was expended, and the survivors attempted to re 
 treat, but many of them were cut down. Doctor 
 Tusten was engaged behind a cliff of rocks in dress 
 ing the wounded when the retreat commenced. 
 There were seventeen disabled men under his care 
 at the moment, whose cries for protection and mercy 
 were of the most moving description. The Indians 
 fell upon them, however, and they all, together with 
 the doctor, perished under the tomahawk. Among 
 the slain were many of the first citizens of Goshen ; 
 and of the whole number that went forth, only about 
 thirty returned to tell the melancholy story.* Sev- 
 
 * Among the slain were Jones, Little, Duncan, Wisner, Vail, Towns- 
 nd, and Knapp. In 1822 the people of Orange county collected the 
 fcones, which until then had been left to bleach on the battle-field, and 
 r.auscd them to be buried. The funeral procession numbered twelve 
 thousand people, among whom was Major Poppino, one of the survivers 
 of the battle, then nearly one hunded years old 
 
380 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 eral of the fugitives were shot while attempting to 
 escape by swimming the Delaware. 
 
 Brant has been severely censured for the cruel 
 ties perpetrated, or alleged to have been perpetrated, 
 in this battle. He always maintained that he had 
 been unjustly blamed, and that his conduct had been 
 the subject of unjust reproach. He stated that, 
 having ascertained that the Goshen militia were in 
 pursuit of him, determined to give him battle, he, of 
 course, prepared himself for the reception. Still, 
 having obtained the supplies he needed, his own ob 
 ject was accomplished. He also stated, that on the 
 near approach of the Americans, he rose, and pre 
 sented himself openly and fairly to their view, ad 
 dressed himself to their commanding officer, and de 
 manded their surrender, promising, at the same time, 
 to treat them kindly as prisoners of war. He as 
 sured them, frankly, that his force in ambush was 
 sufficient to overpower and destroy them ; that then, 
 before any blood had been shed, he could control 
 his warriors ; but should the battle commence, he 
 could not answer for the consequences. But, he 
 said, while he was thus parleying with them, he was 
 fired upon, and narrowly escaped being shot down, 
 the ball piercing the outer fold of his belt. Imme 
 diately upon receiving the shot, he retired, and se 
 creted himself among his warriors. The militia, 
 imboldened by his disappearance, seeing no other 
 enemy, and disbelieving what he had told them, 
 rushed forward heedlessly until they w y ere com 
 pletely within his power. In crossing a creek they 
 had broken their order, and before they could form 
 again on the other side, Brant gave the well-known 
 signal of the war-whoop. Quick as the lightning s 
 (lash, his dark cloud of warriors were upon theii 
 feet. Having fired once, they sprang forward, toma 
 hawk in hand. The conflict was fierce and bloody. 
 Few escaped, and several of the prisoners were 
 killed. There was one who, during the battle, saved 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 8 
 
 himself by means which Brant said were dishonour 
 able. By some process or other, though not a Free 
 mason, he had acquired a knowledge of the master 
 mason s grand hailing signal of distress ; and having 
 been informed that Brant was a member of the 
 brotherhood, he gave the mystic sign. Faithful to 
 his pledge, the chieftain interposed and saved his 
 life. Discovering the imposture afterward, he was 
 very indignant. Still, he spared his life, and the 
 prisoner ultimately returned to his friends after a 
 long captivity. 
 
 There was another occurrence of deep and thrill 
 ing interest connected with this battle, the particu 
 lars of which were related in after years by Brant 
 himself, while on a visit to the city of New- York. 
 Among those who were grievously wounded was 
 Lieutenant-colonel Gabriel Wisner, a gentleman of 
 great respectability, a magistrate, serving among 
 the Goshen volunteers. In surveying the battle 
 field, the situation of Wisner arrested the attention 
 of the Indian commander, who examined his con 
 dition. The chief saw that he was wounded past 
 hope of recovery ; but he was, nevertheless, in the 
 full possession of his faculties, and was even able 
 to converse. Believing his case to be altogether 
 beyond the power of medical and surgical skill, and 
 having no means of carrying him away, Brant re 
 flected a moment upon his own course of duty. He 
 was disposed to save his life if he could, and yet 
 felt that it was impossible. To leave him thus help 
 less and alone upon the field, in the possession of 
 his senses to a degree enabling him to appreciate 
 all the horrors of his situation, would be the height 
 of cruelty. Added to which was the moral certainty 
 that the wolves abounding in the forest, guided by 
 the scent of blood, would soon be gorging them 
 selves alike upon the wounded and the dead. The 
 thought, therefore, that Wisner might be torn in 
 pieces while yet alive, seemed to him even more 
 
382 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 than savage cruelty. Under these distressing cir 
 cumstances and considerations, the chief argued 
 with himself that true humanity required a speedy 
 termination of his sufferings. Having formed this 
 conclusion, the next point was to compass his death 
 without inflicting additional torture upon his feel 
 ings. With this view, he engaged Wisner in con 
 versation, and, while diverting his attention, struck 
 him dead in an instant, and unperceived, with his 
 hatchet. It was but a savage exhibition of human 
 ity ; but there was benevolence in the intention, 
 however strangely reasoned ; and the motive of 
 the final blow is to be applauded, notwithstanding 
 the shudder caused by its contemplation. 
 
 From Minisink, by a rapid movement, Brant fell 
 upon a settlement on the south side of the Mohawk, 
 where, on the 2d of August, he made a few prison 
 ers, the name of one of whom was House. This 
 man, with his companions, was carried back into 
 the woods, and left in charge of the Indians, while 
 Brant, with four or five of his warriors, went off 
 upon some secret enterprise. On the fourth day after 
 his absence, he returned, attended by his four war 
 riors, but on horseback himself, having been wound 
 ed in the foot by a musket-shot. The wound, how 
 ever, was not like that of Achilles, in the heel, but 
 by a buckshot in the ball of the great toe, and there 
 fore in a place less equivocal for a soldier s honour. 
 They then commenced their march in the direction 
 of Tioga ; but as House became too lame by walk 
 ing to continue the journey on foot, the Indians 
 proposed killing him. To this Brant objected ; and 
 having been acquainted with House before the war, 
 he released him on condition of his taking an oath 
 of neutrality, which was written by the chief in the 
 Indian language. House signed the oath, and Brant 
 witnessed it. He was then released, and being some 
 where in the vicinity of Otsego Lake, where Gen 
 eral Clinton was then making preparations for his 
 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 383 
 
 celebrated descent of the Susquehanna, House came 
 into Clinton s camp on the 8th of August, the day 
 previous to his embarcation. 
 
 Contemporaneously with these occurrences, and 
 while, as will subsequently appear, the attention of 
 the American officers was directed to more impor 
 tant movements, the Indians and Tories once more 
 broke in upon the Pennsylvania border, in North 
 ampton, Lyconia, and the neighbourhood of Sunbury. 
 In a succession of petty affairs between the 1st and 
 21st of July, several neighbourhoods were destroyed 
 and mills burned. On the 17th, all the principal 
 houses in the township of Munsey were burned. 
 Two persons were killed on that day, and four had 
 been killed a few days previous, besides several 
 taken prisoners. On the 20th, three men were 
 killed by a small party hovering about Freeland s 
 Fort, situated on the west branch of the Susque 
 hanna, seventeen miles from Sunbury. On the 28th, 
 five days after the affair of Minisink, this little de 
 fence, which was garrisoned by only thirty men, 
 and about fifty women and children, who had sought 
 refuge within its walls, was invested by one of the 
 M Donalds, at the head of two hundred Indians, and 
 one hundred troops, calling themselves regulars. 
 But, although wearing the British uniform, it was 
 believed that they were American Loyalists. The 
 enemy met with less resistance during this irruption 
 than would have been the case, but for the circum 
 stance that the greater part of the men had been 
 draughted for the boat service of General Sullivan, 
 who was then at Wyoming, preparing to enter the 
 Seneca country. Fort Freeland was too weak of 
 itself, and too weakly garrisoned, to hold out long 
 against such a disparity of force. Captain Hawkins 
 Boone, a brave officer, stationed with thirty men at 
 a distance of some miles, marched to the relief of 
 the fort immediately on hearing of the investment 
 The garrison had surrendered before his arrival 
 
384 BORDER WARS OF THE 
 
 Boone, nevertheless, gave battle to the enemy ; but, 
 overpowered by numbers, he was slain, together 
 with eighteen of his men, whose scalps were car 
 ried as trophies into the fort. Two other officers, 
 Captains Dougherty and Hamilton, were also killed. 
 By the terms of capitulation, M Donald stipulated 
 to spare the women and children, and allow them 
 to depart. The fort, and the houses iu :ts vicinity, 
 were then burned. 
 
 Meantime, the Shawanese were continuing their 
 depredations upon the Ohio border of Virginia, with 
 results certainly not unfavourable to the former. 
 
 With these incidents closes the present volume. 
 The second will open with a narrative of the most 
 formidable Indian campaign undertaken during the 
 contest for American Independence. 
 
 END OF VOL. 1. 
 
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