USA > Massachusetts > Berkshire County > Pittsfield > The history of Pittsfield (Berkshire County), Massachusetts, from the year 1734 to the year 1800 > Part 22
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It is by no means necessary to impeach the claim of Messrs. Parsons and Mott to originality, in suggesting the Ticonderoga expedition, in order to trace its triumphant success, link by link, directly back to the chance-meeting of John Brown and Ethan Allen on the flooded shores of Champlain.
Capt. Mott set out on the afternoon of Saturday, April 29, to overtake his associates; 1 and on the morning of that day, or the evening previous, John Hancock and Samuel Adams, members of the Massachusetts committee to correspond with neighboring colonies, reached Hartford on their way to attend the Continental Congress.2 The great undertaking on foot was naturally commu- nicated to them, and received their approval, as well as that of the Governor and Council of Connecticut, who were, perhaps now for the first time, officially apprised of it.3
1 Con. Hist. Col., vol. i. p. 167.
2 Am. Ar., ser. 4th, vol. ii. p. 401.
8 Rev. Mr. Allen, Chairman of the Pittsfield Committee of Correspondence and Inspection, in a letter of May 4, speaks of the "plan " of the expedition as having been "concerted " at this interview. He obtained his information from the verbal,
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It may be that Capt. Mott now first learned the recommendations of John Brown; for, even if loose talk of the capture of Ticon- deroga as desirable had arisen in the Cambridge camp from the Montreal letter, its details were, as the writer requested, kept a profound secret. But it would have been strange indeed, and most unlike the man, had Mr. Adams allowed the Connecticut leader to depart on such a mission as he was sent upon, without the aid of all the information pertinent to it which his position upon the Canadian committee enabled him to impart. It is incredible that he left him in ignorance of facts so essential to the business which he had in hand, as the measures already taken and proposed by John Brown in the same direction. It is clear, from Capt. Mott's subsequent proceedings, that Mr. Adams was guilty of no such culpable and thoughtless oversight.
Having been joined by their leader, who left Hartford on the 29th, the Connecticut party, increased in number to sixteen, reached Daniel Dewey's tavern in Sheffield, and thence sent a delegation of two to Albany to "discover the temper of the people at that place," -so uncertain, at that time, were the people of different colonies of each other's patriotism. The same night they reached Pittsfield, and took quarters at the tavern then kept by Col. Easton, about eighty feet south of the present corner of Park Square and South Street.
"They had intended to keep their business secret, and ride through the country unarmed, until they came to the new settle- ments on The Grants;" but at Col. Easton's they found John Brown,1 and determined to take him into their councils, as well as their landlord, the colonel of the Berkshire militia.
Mr. Brown's opinion that the Green-Mountain Boys were the proper persons to undertake the "job" at Ticonderoga, will be
and not very precise or minutely detailed statements of the Connecticut commis- sioners during their brief stay in Pittsfield. Plans for the expedition were, as the reader knows, concerted previously ; but they were, without doubt, in some degree modified by the advice and information received from Hancock and Adams, and especially the latter. Mr. Allen's letters to Gen. Pomeroy, referred to in this chapter, are printed in the Am. Ar., ser. 4th, vol. ii. pp. 507, 546.
1 Mr. Brown, after establishing "a channel of communication, whichi could be depended upon," from Canada, "through the New-Hampshire Grants" had just returned home ; and his presence in Pittsfield was probably neither known to Mr. Adams, nor expected by Capt. Mott, - a supposition which explains passages in the latter's diary, otherwise obscure.
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remembered. It had probably been communicated by Mr. Adams to the Hartford Committee. Capt. Mott certainly left Hartford with instructions not to increase his party of sixteen until he reached The Grants.
Circumstances, aided no doubt by sympathy with Col. Easton's desire that his Berkshire regiment should have a part in the achievement, had modified Mr. Brown's views; and he now con- curred with the colonel in representing, that "as there was great scarcity of provisions in The Grants, and the people were generally very poor, it would be difficult to raise a sufficient body of men there."
The commissioners yielding to this advice, Mr. Brown, Capt. Dickinson, and four or five others from Pittsfield, were admitted to the party ; and Col. Easton's offer to assist with some men from his regiment was accepted. To preserve secrecy, however, it was thought advisable to raise, no more men in Pittsfield; but, while their associates proceeded to Bennington, Col. Easton and Capt. Mott crossed the mountain into Jericho, now Hancock. There they, with the aid of Capt. Asa Douglas, an active and noted patriot of that place, enlisted twenty-four men, to whom fifteen were added in Williamstown. Col. Easton's regiment contributed in all forty-seven men to the expedition.
Leaving Capt. Douglas to follow with his company, Messrs. Easton and Mott hastened forward to Bennington, where they found that a part of their advanced delegation were staggered by the report of some nameless fellow, who pretended that he had just come from Ticonderoga, and that the garrison, re-enforced and alert, were diligently repairing their works. A messenger had even been sent to advise Capt. Mott to dismiss his recruits, and abandon his project ; but, by his eloquence and personal influ- ence, he soon revived the drooping spirits of his comrades; tell- ing them that it would never do to go back to Hartford with a story like that; and that, as for himself, he would not fear, with the two hundred men which they proposed to raise, to go round the fort in broad daylight. Even were its garrison five hundred, they would not dare follow them to the woods. Others of his companions responding in the same tone, the disheartened few were reassured ; and all determined to go forward except Bernard Romans. Of him they were well rid : he " had been but a trouble."
At Bennington, Ethan Allen came to them, evidently to meet
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his old engagement with John Brown. There is no hint of any new negotiation ; and it seems to have been expected, as a matter fully provided for, that, when the great partisan received the signal that the hour for action had come, he would be found prompt at the rendezvous, and ready to assume the chief burden of the undertaking.
A council of war, Col. Easton presiding, directed Col. Allen, who was rapidly calling his Green-Mountain Boys around him, to send forward patrols on the northern road, and prevent news of their approach preceding them.
They then advanced to Castleton, -twenty-five miles, by the route pursued, from Ticonderoga, -and there, on the 8th of May, held a general council, at which they considered their methods of further procedure, and of retreat in case of repulse. It was agreed that Capt. Herrick should proceed to Skenesborough, and capture Major Skene and his party; take what boats they found there, and, the next night, drop down to Shoreham,1 there to ferry the attacking party across the lake. This party consisted of abont one hundred and forty men : and in fulfilment of a promise made to them when enlisting, that they should be commanded by their own officers, Ethan Allen was placed first, James Easton second, and Seth Warner third in command; the rank of these officers being fixed in proportion to the number of men they respectively procured. In addition to these arrange- ments, Capt. Douglas was sent to Crown Point to hire the king's boats at that post, if he could do so by some stratagem, aided by his brother-in-law, who lived there.
The whole plan having been harmonionsly " settled by a vote of the committee," and the time fixed when " he must be ready, and must take possession of the garrison at Ticonderoga," Col. Allen left to make some arrangements at Shorcham.2
That evening, mischief appeared at Castleton, in the ill-omened shape of Benedict Arnold. This man was already odious in Con- netient ; but he had led a volunteer company from New Haven to Cambridge, and had there obtained from the Committee of Safety
' Major Skene, a half-pay British officer, of the French and Indian wars, and supposed to be the confidential agent of the government, had built up the flourish- ing village of Skenesborough - now Whitehall - at the head of Lake Champlain. Shoreham is twenty-five miles below Whitehall, and nearly opposite Ticonderoga. 2 Mott's Diary.
Raport 8:th May 1775
Gentlemen By the best Information I can get there Is One hundred Men or more, at Ticonderoga who are alarmed In keep a good look But, I am also Informed, the sloop is gone to I Johns for Provisions, that She has Six Guns Mounted, A Twenty Men. We have Only One hundred I Fifty Mengon On, which are not Sufficient to Secure the Vehicle & Keep the Lake, this Ought by all Means to be done, that we may Cut of Their Communica tion, I Hope all Supplys Going to the Fort untill we can have a Sufficient Number Men from the Lower Towns. - I beg the favour of you Gentlemen, as far Down as hall Reach to esent your Selves & send forward as many here to Join the firmy here as you can - Bosably Share there is Plenty of Provisions
Engaged, & on the Road for five hundred men Sit or 0 Eight weeks, but Every man bring as much Browder to Dall as he can also a Blanket Their Wages are not for Month. I humbly engaged to be paid also the Is langt Sam Gentleman your Hund
To the Gentlemen Inthe Southern Towns Benedict arnold, Com mander of the Forces.
Am Photo-Lithographic Co N Y Osbornes Process
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a commission as " colonel and commander of a body of forces, not to exceed four hundred, to be raised for the reduction of Ticonderoga."
He proposed to obtain his forces in Berkshire, and is said to have authorized enlistments in Stockbridge. But, on reaching Pittsfield, he learned of the expedition which was anticipating him, and hastened to overtake it, determined, with his accus- tomed effrontry, to assume command; although the troops - en- listed by Connecticut, receiving her pay, and operating beyond the bounds of Massachusetts - owed no more allegiance to the com- mittee at Cambridge, than Capt. De la Place's garrison in Ticon- deroga did.
Ile needed to move quickly who would overtake Ethan Allen in the execution of his plans; but Arnold, when spurred by the promptings of selfish ambition, was equal to any achievement. In his haste, he, however, found time to send back the following letter 1 to the committees of the Berkshire towns :-
REUPORT, 8th May, 1775.
GENTLEMEN, - By the best information I can get, there is one hundred men, or more, at Ticonderoga, who are alarmed, and keep a good lookout. I am also informed, the sloop is gone to St. John's for provisions ; that she had six guns mounted, and twenty men. We have only one hundred and fifty men gone on, which are not sufficient to secure the vessels, and keep the lakes ; this ought by all means to be done, that we may cut off their commu- nication, and stop all supplies going to the fort, until we can have a sufficient number of men from the lower towns.
I beg the favor of you, gentlemen, as far down as this reaches, to exert your- selves, and send forward as many men to join the army here as you can pos- sibly spare. There is plenty of provisions engaged, and on the road, for five hundred men six or eight weeks. Let every man bring as much powder and ball as he can, also a blanket. Their wages are 40s. per month. I humbly engaged to see paid ; also the blankets.
I am, gentlemen, Your humble servant, BENEDICT ARNOLD, Commander of the forces.
TO THE GENTLEMEN IN THE SOUTHERN TOWNS.
1 This letter, whose authenticity is beyond dispute, was found in 1844 by the late Hon. E. R. Colt of Pittsfield, among the papers of David Dunnels, a Revolu- tionary pensioner of Cheshire. It is now in the Hon. Thomas Colt's collection of historical documents.
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Nothing surely could be more unlike to Arnold's plan of opera- tions than that which had been agreed upon at Castleton, in which he expressed his utter want of confidence. Capt. Mott and his friends were " shockingly surprised " - as they well might have been -" when Col. Arnold presumed to contend for the command of the forces they had raised," in the manner, and upon the con- ditions which have been stated : but that master of impudent assumption, having been generously told all their plans, continued strenuously to insist upon his right to command; which was as strenuously resisted. Defeated here, Arnold, the next morning, proceeded to overtake Allen, with the rather desperate hope of inducing that hero to surrender his rights. It seems that even the members of the expedition did not yet quite understand the nature of the man who led them; for the moment Arnold started, the whole party, leaving Capts. Mott and Phelps, with a single companion, to care for the baggage as they best could, followed, pell-mell, " for fear he should prevail with Col. Allen." 1
If Arnold's conduct shocked the leaders, it bred a mutiny amongst the soldiers, and almost "frustrated the design they were upon." 2 "Our men," wrote Capt. Mott to the Massachusetts Council of War, "were for clubbing their firelocks and marching home: but were prevented by Col. Allen and Col. Easton, who told them that Arnold should not have the command of them ; or, if he had, that their pay should be the same as if they were under their own command. But they would damn the pay, and say they would be commanded by no other than those they had engaged with." And so Arnold at last, perceiving the folly of issuing com- mands which none would obey, consented, although still meditating mischief, to join the party as a volunteer. An honorable posi- tion was assigned him by the magnanimity of those towards whom he had shown none; and the little army moved on to the execution of its appointed task.
They reached Shoreham on the evening of the 8th of May, but found none of the boats which they had hoped to receive either from Skenesborough or Crown Point. Capt. Phelps also, who had visited the fort in disguise, was detained with the baggage, and had not yet come up. It was determined, however, to lose no time. Nathan Beman, a boy of the neighborhood, who was familiar with every nook and crany of the fort, was engaged as guide;
1 Mott's Diary. 2 Jour. Prov. Cong., p. 697.
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and, availing themselves of such scant ferriage as was at hand, the party began to cross the lake. Barely eighty-three men had reached the Ticonderoga shore when day began to dawn, and there remained no safety but in an immediate advance. The boats were hastily despatched for the rear division. Allen, drawing his corps up in three columns, made them a brief, earnest harangue, such as he well knew how to address to his followers, and then, with Nathan Beman by his side, led them, rapidly and in silence, up the steep ascent. Before sunrise, he entered the gate ; the sentinel snapping his fusee, which missed fire, in his face as he passed. The surprise was complete. The flying guard guided the Ameri- cans directly to the parade-ground within the barracks, where a second sentinel made a bayonet thrust at Col. Easton, inflicting a slight wound ; for which attention to his friend, Allen repaid the unlucky soldier with a sword-cut on the head, which induced him to beg quarter.
The victors were then drawn up on the parade, and gave three rousing cheers; which not sufficing to bring out Capt. de la Place, the post-commander, Col. Allen mounted to the door of his apart- ment, which was reached by a flight of stairs on the outside of the barracks, and there, in full view of the party below, ensued the famous scene which resulted in the surrender of Ticonderoga to the demand made in the name of Almighty God and the Conti- nental Congress.
The Connecticut Committee, through their chairman, Capt. Mott, thus recognized the services of Col. Easton and John Brown, in their report to the Massachusetts Congress : -
" Col. James Easton was of great service, both in council and action ; raising men for the expedition, and appearing to be well qualified, not only for colonel of militia at home, but for service in the field.
" John Brown, Esq., of Pittsfield, we recommend as an able counsellor, and full of spirit and resolution. We wish they may be both employed in the service of their country in a situation equal to their merits." 1
Col. Allen, in his report to the Congress, wrote, -
" The soldiery were composed of about one hundred Green-Mountain Boys, and near fifty veteran soldiers of the Massachusetts Bay. The latter were commanded by Col. James Easton, who behaved with great zeal and fortitude, not only in council, but in the assault. The soldiery behaved
1 Jour. Prov. Con., p. 697.
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with such resistless fury, that they so terrified the king's troops that they durst not fire on their assailants; and our soldiery were agreeably disap- pointed. The soldiery behaved with uncommon rancor when they leaped into the fort; and it must be confessed that the colonel has greatly con- tributed to the taking of that fortress, as well as John Brown, Esq., who was personally in the attack." 1
Col. Easton, in his report, wrote, -
" As to other regimental officers, Capt. Israel Dickinson and John Brown, Esq., distinguished themselves very highly, both in couneil and in action, and, in my humble opinion, are well qualified to command in the field." 2
The news of so brilliant and unexpected an exploit as the capture (without the loss of life, and at so trifling a cost of treasure) of the famous fortress of Lake Champlain, with its vast military stores, sent a thrill of joy and courage through the land. And, as the imminence of a grand campaign on the northern frontier loomed on the popular apprehension, a cooler estimate of the gains which had accrued to the Colonies enhanced their value.
In reference to the primary object of Connecticut, to secure heavy artillery for the siege of Boston, Rev. Mr. Allen, on the 9th of May, wrote to Gen. Pomeroy at Cambridge, -
" Should the expedition succeed, and should the Council of War send up their orders for the people this way to transport by land twenty or thirty of the best eannon to head-quarters, I doubt not but the people in this county would do it with expedition. We could easily raise a thousand yoke of oxen for the business."
In view, however, of the hostilities from the north which John Brown had predicted, and which were now seen to be almost inevitable, it was considered unadvisable to weaken the defences of that frontier; and although some of the cannon were removed to Fort George, at the upper end of the lake of that name, Ticon- deroga was not dismantled, but greatly strengthened in its works.
John Brown was sent to announce the capture to the Conti- nental, and Col. Easton to the Provincial Congress. Both were cordially received, and introduced to the floors of the bodies to which they were respectively accredited, that they might give the details of the glorious enterprise in which they had taken promi- nent parts. After listening to Col. Easton, the Congress at
1 Am. Ar., 4th ser., vol. ii. p. 556. 2 Jour. Prov. Con., p. 713.
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Cambridge passed suitable resolutions, with which he was de- spatched to Hartford, where he was again received with enthusi- asm, and handsomely entertained by the Connecticut authorities.
His mission to the two governments was managed with disere- tion and ability ; and the favorable impression which he made at Cambridge was soon manifested by substantial tokens. All parties acted towards each other with consideration and magnanimity, except Arnold. It was the complaints which he was pouring into headquarters that gave Col. Easton's visit there the character of something more than mere congratulation.
The surrender of Ticonderoga had no sooner taken place than Arnold renewed his pretensions to command, and insisted that Allen was acting under no proper authority; upon which Capt. Mott, in the name of Connecticut, drew up and signed a commis- sion, placing Allen in command of the party, and directing him to keep the possession of Ticonderoga and its dependencies until further orders from the Colony or from the Continental Congress.
In the mean time, under the requisition sent from Rupert, a con- siderable body of levies from the Berkshire militia had reached Arnold ; among them a detachment, composed of fifteen men from each company in Pittsfield and vicinity, led by Capt. James Noble of that town, a brother of him who marched the minute-men to Cambridge. With a portion of the troops which he had thus . received, Arnold made the capture of the king's sloop, upon which he had laid so much stress in his Rupert Circular,1 and thus was enabled to establish a rival command upon the lake.
While engaged in these legitimate, although not always mag- nanimous operations, the embryo traitor was flooding the Massa- chusetts Congress, the public press, and influential individuals, with letters vilifying, in the most malignant terms, the heroes who had just met the approval of so glorious success; and it was in counteracting the effect of these vile missives, that Col. Easton's mission at Cambridge and Hartford required all his taet, temper, and ability; and it was by successfully exercising these qualities, that the colonel laid the foundation of that enmity with which Arnold followed him until he drove him from the army.
The Provincial Congress, greatly perplexed by the conflicting
1 Capt. Noble did not personally take part in this exploit, having been sent to Albany by Arnold for supplies for his army.
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reports from Ticonderoga, could, with certainty, infer from them one truth ; and that was, that the state of affairs upon the lakes was such as could not safely continue. It therefore, on the 13th of June, sent a joint committee to the post, charged, among other duties, to inform themselves of the manner in which Arnold had executed his commission. They found him, at St. John's, with the sloop which he had taken, and claiming, also, "the command of all the posts and fortresses at the south end of Lakes Champlain and George; although Col. Hinman of Connecticut was at Ticonder- oga, with near a thousand men under his command at the several posts."
The committee informed Arnold of the commission intrusted to them, and handed him their instructions ; which authorized them to continue him in the service of Massachusetts, with such orders as they saw fit, "provided ... he and his men were willing to remain at one, or both, of the lake-posts, under such chief officer as Connecticut might appoint."
Then the spirit of Arnold broke forth. "He seemed greatly disconcerted, declared that he would not be second in command to any person whomsoever;" and, after considering the matter a while, disbanded the men he had raised, and handed the com- mittee his resignation. They immediately appointed Col. Easton to fill the vacancy, and soon after gave him John Brown for his major. The unwarrantable and petty conduct of Arnold, in spite- fully disbanding the men which he had raised at the expense of the colony, cansed some little annoyance for a time. But Capt. Noble, who was at Crown Point with some of the disbanded sol- diers, expressed in their behalf a willingness to return to the service; and, being intrusted with one hundred pounds to be used as advance pay, he succeeded in re-enlisting a company of fifty-one. Col. Easton's command soon assumed respectable proportions.
With one more incident, we close this first chapter of Benedict Arnold's dealings with the Pittsfield soldiery. His "humble engagement to see paid the wages" of the recruits who responded to his call from Rupert will be remembered. How that promise was kept will be best told by an extract from the records of the General Court, dated four months after he had disbanded and abandoned, at Ticonderoga, the men who had trusted him.1
1 Mass. Ar., vol. ccvii. p. 200.
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IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES," Nov. 9, 1775.
The Committee on Col. Arnold's account have examined Capt. Noble's pay-roll, and find that the said Arnold has charged this colony with said Noble's pay-roll, and has received the whole amount thereof. It further ap- pears that the balance due the said Noble, which the said Arnold has re- ceived, amounts to £36. 5s. 5d .; and as it appears that the said Noble and his men are in great want of their money, and the said Arnold is now in the Continental service, and cannot at present be come at, to pay the sum he re- ceived for the use of the said Noble and his company - therefore resolved, that there be allowed and paid by the Treasurer of this colony to the said Capt. James Noble the sum of £36 5s. 5d., being the full balance of his muster-roll ; he giving security to pay the men made up in said roll the sums severally due to them.
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