USA > New York > Fulton County > The border warfare of New York, during the revolution; or, The annals of Tryon county > Part 1
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GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01066 0147
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THE
BORDER WARFARE OF NEW YORK,
DURING THE REVOLUTION;
OR, THE
ANNALS OF TRYON COUNTY.
BY WILLIAM W. CAMPBELL.
" The whole confederacy, except a little more than half of the Oneidas, took up arms against us. They hung like the scythe of death upon the rear of our settlements, and their deeds are inscribed with the scalping-knife and the tomahawk, in characters of blood, on the fields of Wyoming and Cherry Valley, and on the banks of the Mohawk." DE WITT CLINTON.
NEW YORK : BAKER & SCRIBNER, 145 Nassau Street, and 36 Park Row. 1849.
ENTERED, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1849, by BAKER & SCRIBNER, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, for the Southern District of New York.
EDWARD O. JENKINS, PRINTER, 114 Nassau St., New York.
1136754
HON. WILLIAM KENT.
MY DEAR SIR : Eighteen years ago the following " Annals of Tryon County" were dedicated to your illustrious father. He, who was regarded by you with such deep filial affection, and who was the object of veneration to his friends, has recently, after a long sojourn upon the earth, been gathered to his fathers in peace. It is a source of unaffected gratifi- cation to me, that I was permitted, when a young man, to form his acquaintance, and from that period down to the close of his life, continued to share somewhat of his notice and his friendship. To you, his son, my early professional instructor and my friend, I now present this new edition of a work, which, though it has but little intrinsic merit, either in its style or arrangement, possesses, perhaps, some interest, from the fact that it was the pioneer history of the border wars of our native State. For me it has a melancholy interest, be- cause all the actors in the Revolutionary drama who were living at the time of its first appearance, in 1831, and from whose lips the personal narratives were gathered, have gone the way of all the living, and are now numbered with the atud. Of the then aged men and women scattered along the valley of the Mohawk and the head-waters of the Susque- hanna, with whom it was my good fortune to sit down and
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HON. WILLIAM KENT.
listen to the stories of their trials and their triumphs, not one survives.
The materials were, at the time, collected from the manu- scripts of the Committee of Safety on the borders, from the correspondence of the principal actors, and from the oral statements of those who survived to my day. While several large volumes have since been written, covering the same ground, it is believed that the Annals, as originally drawn and published by me, contained all the principal events which occurred upon the frontier of New York during the Revolu- tion, and were in all essential particulars correct. When first published, the whole history of the border wars of New York scarcely made up a page in any then existing historical work. As this book was the first, and was prepared from materials in a great degree new, succeeding writers on the same sub- ject drew largely upon it, and, in some instances, made exten- sive extracts without credit or reference. My first intention was, in presenting a new edition, to revise and alter, but upon reflection I determined to leave the work substantially in its original form. Since its first publication I have at various times examined many additional documents, and pre- pared articles which throw some new light upon portions of the work, and which tend to confirm its positions and state- ments. The-original text will be left as it was, and these articles, even at the expense of some repetition, will be inserted in the Appendix. Such is the " Memoir of General James Clinton," read before the New York Historical Society in 1837; also, the article on the "Direct agency of the British Government in the employment of the Indians in the
V
HON. WILLIAM KENT.
Revolutionary war," read before the same Society in 1845, and the "Centennial Address," delivered at my native town of Cherry Valley, in 1840.
The novelist and the poet have embellished and adorned the annals of our brave and patriotic borderers. My ambi- tion was to rescue from oblivion, materials for the future historian of the Empire State. Like the wandering Arab, who, as he passes, lays a stone upon his father's grave, to mark the place of his sepulture, I bring my contribution, my rough block, in the hope that it may be hewn into shape and polished by others, and form a part of that historic column, upon which our children and their descendants may read the record of the struggles and the patriotism of those ancestors, to whom we and they are and will be indebted for our liberty and our Republic.
I am, respectfully, your friend,
WILLIAM W. CAMPBELL.
NEW YORK, January 1st, 1849.
TO THE
HON. JAMES KENT, LL.D.
LATE CHIEF JUSTICE AND CHANCELLOR OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, AND PRESIDENT OF THE NEW YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY,
THE FOLLOWING PAGES ARE RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED.
" Historia, testis temporum et nuntia veritatis, præclari facinoris famam, posteritatis memoria tradet."
That the evening of your life may be as serene and happy as its meridian has been useful and distinguished, is the sincere wish of
THE AUTHOR,
NEW YORK, 1831
PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION.
IN presenting this volume of Annals to the public, I would wish to say a few words as to its origin. It is a right which every reader of a book, purporting to be a record of facts, possesses, and may exercise, to examine its authenticity, and to demand whence the author has drawn his conclusions. In the fall of 1830 a society was formed in the village of Cherry Valley for literary purposes generally, but especially for col- lecting facts illustrative of the natural and civil his- tory of that section of country. I had been often requested to collect and imbody the events of its civil history, and was again solicited to prosecute this branch of inquiry. I at first contemplated writing only the history of Cherry Valley. Born and reared in that valley, I had, from early life, been in some de- gree familiar with the incidents which had occurred there. They were interwoven with my earliest im-
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X
PREFACE
pressions ; and I entered upon the business of arrang- ing and compiling them with an interest which the subject, perhaps, did not merit. Upon examina- tion, I found its revolutionary history connected with that of the valley of the Mohawk, and think- ing I might, from the documents and information which I had obtained, throw some light upon the com- paratively imperfect history of that valley, during that interesting period, I dropped the original plan, and adopted the one which I have followed in the subse-
quent pages. I have, however, dwelt more particu- larly upon the events which occurred in Cherry Val- ley ; not that they were more important or interesting, but partly from reasons before mentioned, and partly for the reason that an accurate account of the minute transactions of that settlement was immediately within my reach, and upon the authenticity of which I could rely with the greatest confidence.
Some of the written documents were obtained in the office of the Secretary of State, but most of them from the venerable John Frey, one of the chairmen of the Tryon County committee, and who is now stand- ing almost upon the brow of a hundred years-a mon- ument of other days. Several gentlemen, relatives or descendants of those who acted conspicuous parts, have very politely furnished me with original papers. To all of them I would here most sincerely tender my
XI
PREFACE.
thanks. Some of the accounts, merely traditionary, have been obtained from persons conversant and on intimate terms with the actors ; but most of them from those who could say to me, " pars magna fui." Under these circumstances, it is possible there may be errors. I have, however, in all cases, compared the state- ments where they varied ; and I flatter myself that I have generally arrived at the truth. I may be mis- taken ; but I have written nothing which I do not be- lieve to be true.
WILLIAM W. CAMPBELL.
New York, August 16th, 1831.
r
3.
y
CONTENTS.
INTRODUCTION,
Page
Containing a summary view of the Iroquois or Six Nations . 17
CHAPTER I.
First Settlement of Cherry Valley-Population of the Province of New York at the commencement of the Revolution-Limits of the County of Tryon, and Districts in the County 27
CHAPTER II.
Position of the Province of New York-The gathering of the Storm of the Revolution on the Frontiers-The Johnson Family-But- lers and Brant-The first Committees of Safety in Tryon County, and their noble and patriotic resolves, that they would live free or die-Correspondence with Col. Guy Johnson, In- dian Superintendent-Departure of the Superintendent for Canada, accompanied by the Mohawks, never to return again to their homes on the banks of that river which bears their name .
40
CHAPTER III.
Powers and difficulties of the Committees of Safety-Influence of the Tories in Tryon County-Character of the Members of the Committee-Their patriotism-Sir John Johnson-Correspond- ence with him relative to his fortifying Johnson Hall-Capitu- lation-Afterwards breaks his Parole and goes to Canada-In- terview between General Herkimer and Brant at Unadilla, and singular termination of it
-
72
xiv
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER IV. Page.
Opening of the Campaign of 1777-Fort Stanwix, or Fort Schuy- ler-Rumored advance of St. Leger-Militia of Tryon County called out by General Herkimer-Siege of Fort Stanwix-Bat- tle of Oriskany-Bravery and Death of General Herkimer- Retreat of St. Leger-Battle of Saratoga, and brilliant success of American Arms 85
CHAPTER V.
Cherry Valley-The Religious Character of its Committee of Safety-Its exposed situation-Fort built there by order of La Fayette-Brant and Capt. M'Kean-Massacre and entire de- struction of Cherry Valley, 11th November, 1778-Melancholy Death of all the Wells family, except the late distinguished lawyer, John Wells, of New York-Condition of those who were taken prisoners by the Indians . 120
CHAPTER VI.
The Expedition, known as Sullivan's Expedition, against the Six Nations in 1779 . . 149
CHAPTER VIL.
Settlements in the Valley of Schoharie by German Palatinates in the reign of Queen Anne-Revolutionary movements in that valley-Destruction of the Settlements-Account of Murphy, the famous white border-warrior . 167
CHAPTER VIII.
The Harper Family-Harpersfield, Delaware County-Col. John Harper-His Capture of a band of Indians-Captain Alex- ander Harper taken prisoner, and runs the gauntlet at Fort Niagara . . 183
CHAPTER IX.
The life of an Officer at Fort Stanwix saved by the sagacity of his dog-La Fayette in the valley of the Mohawk-The ravages of the valley of the Mohawk by Sir John Johnson in 1780-His retreat-General condition of the border settlements . . 189
XV
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER X.
Page,
Mohawk Valley in 1781-Fort Dayton-Col. Willet's and Capt. M'Kean's battle with the Indians and Tories in the Cedar Swamp at Durlach, near the Sharon Springs-Death of the brave M'Kean-Battle of Johnstown-Retreat of the British under Major Ross-Death of Walter Butler . 202
CHAPTER XI.
The residence of Mrs. Jane Campbell, wife of Col. Samuel Camp- bell, of Cherry Valley, among the Indians as an Indian priso- ner-Also a prisoner at Fort Niagara-Her return to Albany and Cherry Valley - The return of the inhabitants at the close of the war-Visit to Cherry Valley of General Washington --- Eccentric Character of Mr. Shankland-Conclusion . 214
APPENDIX.
Speech of Mohawk Chiefs to the Magistrates of Albany, in 1689 . 235 Sketch of the Life of Sir William Johnson-King Hendrick . 241
Sketch of the Life and Character of Joseph Brant . 248 Skenando, the white man's friend . . 264
Dr. Moses Younglove-Poetic Description of Indian Customs . 268
Biographical Sketch of Governor George Clinton . 277
Biographical Sketch of General Philip Schuyler . 283
Battle and Massacre at Wyoming . 300
A Letter, containing an invoice of Scalps taken by the Senecas . 307
Song, reciting the brave deeds of one Christian Shell . 312
The Sacrifice of the Senecas . 316
Number of Indian Warriors employed by the British in the Revo- lutionary War . 319
The Direct Agency of the English Government in the employ- ment of the Indians . . 321
Life and Services of General James Clinton . 338
Centennial Address, delivered at Cherry Valley, July 4, 1840 . 367
-
INTRODUCTION.
NEW YORK, at the time of its discovery and settle- ment by the Europeans, was inhabited by a race of men distinguished, above all the other aborigines of this Continent, for their intelligence and prowess. Five distinct and independent tribes, speaking a lan- guage radically the same, and practicing similar customs, had united in forming a confederacy which, for durability and power, was unequalled in Indian history. They were the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onon- dagas, Cayugas, and Senecas, called the Iroquois by the French, and the Five Nations by the English. In cases of great emergency, each tribe or nation acted separately and independently ; but a general council usually assembled at Onondaga, near the centre of their territory, and determined upon peace or war, and all other matters which regarded the in- terests of the whole. The powers of this council appear to have been not much dissimilar to those of the United States Congress under the old confede- ration.
Their language, though guttural, was sonorous. Their orators studied euphony in their words and in their arrangement. Their graceful attitudes and ges-
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INTRODUCTION.
tures, and their flowing sentences, rendered their discourses, if not always eloquent, at least highly impressive. An erect and commanding figure, with a blanket thrown loosely over the shoulder, with his naked arm raised, and addressing in impassioned strains a group of similar persons sitting upon the ground around him, would, to use the illustration of an early historian of this State, give no faint picture of Rome in her early days .*
They were very methodical in their harangues. When in conference with other nations, at the con- clusion of every important sentence of the opposite speaker, a sachem gave a small stick to the orator who was to reply, charging him at the same time to remember it. After a short consultation with the others, he was enabled to repeat most of the discourse, which he answered article by article.t
These nations were distinguished for their prowess in war, as well as for their sagacity and eloquence in council. War was their delight. Believing it to be the most honorable employment of men, they infused into their children in early life high ideas of military glory. They carried their arms into Canada, across the Connecticut, to the banks of the Mississippi, and almost to the Gulf of Mexico. Formidable by their numbers and their skill, they excited respect and awe in the most powerful tribes, and exacted tribute and obedience from the weak.
In 1608, the first efficient settlement was made in Canada by Governor Champlain, who founded Que-
# Smith's History of New York. + Ibid.
19
INTRODUCTION.
bec. At this time the Five Nations were waging a desperate war with the Hurons and Algonquins, who inhabited a part of that province. Champlain, un- fortunately for the colony, entered into an alliance with the latter tribes, and by furnishing them with men and fire-arms, enabled them to gain a temporary ascendency .* The confederates, who had always been victorious, and who considered the Hurons and Algonquins as little better than vassals, could not brook this defeat. They applied to, and courted the friendship of the Dutch, who found their way up the Hudson River, and established themselves at Albany, soon after the settlement of Quebec. From them they obtained arms and munitions, and soon regained the influence and power which they had lost. This op- portune arrival and assistance of the Dutch, together with their mild, concilatory manners, endeared them to the Five Nations, who afterward looked up to them for advice and direction in their own affairs, and pro- tected and fought for them with cheerfulness and courage. But the interference of the French aroused the indignation of these haughty warriors ; for almost a century they harassed their infant colonies, and visited with a dreadful vengeance both the authors of their disgrace and their descendants. This, if not the
iron, was the golden age of the Iroquois. During this period, the hardy German passed up the Mohawk in his light canoe, and penetrated into the remote bounds of their territory, where he exchanged his
* Vide Edinb. Encyclopedia-Art. America.
0
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INTRODUCTION.
merchandise and munitions of war for the peltry of the Indians .*
In 1664 the province of New York was surrendered to the English by Peter Stuyvesant, the last of the Dutch governors. The English, perceiving the im- portance of being on friendly terms with the Indians, exerted themselves to preserve that good understand- ing which had existed between the latter and the Dutch. Conventions were frequently called at Al- bany, at which the governors met and conferred with them ; presents were distributed liberally, and no opportunity was neglected to impress them with ideas of the wealth and power of the English monarch. The French were not idle. Jealous of the growing power and influence of the English colonies, and desirous of monopolizing the Indian trade, they adopted various plans to detach the Iroquois from their alliance with the English. They endeavored to break up the confederacy, that they might conquer the nations in detail. They attacked the English, in hopes that, by gaining some splendid victories over them, they would convince the Indians of the weak- ness of their allies, and of the strength of their ene- mies. They sent missionaries among them, more desirous of making allies for France than converts to Christianity ; in this they partially succeeded ; and in 1671, persuaded the Caughnawagas to remove from their settlements on the Mohawk, and to establish themselves in Canada.
In 1688 the vengeance of the Five Nations was
* Memoirs of an American Lady.
21
INTRODUCTION.
again aroused by a stratagem of the Dinondadies, a tribe at war with them, and in alliance with France. The Dinondadies killed several of their ambassadors while going to hold a conference in Canada, and falsely pretended that they had been informed of their journey by the French governor. Incensed at what they considered a great breach of faith, about twelve hundred warriors of the Five Nations landed at Mon- treal on the 26th July, 1688, and killed about a thou- sand French-men, women, and children, and carried away twenty-six prisoners, whom they afterward burned alive. The French retaliated for these ag- gressions by making incursions into the Indian coun- try, and burning their villages.
In 1690 the French made an attack upon Schenec- tady ; took the place by surprise, as it was in the dead of winter, and no danger was apprehended ; the whole village was destroyed; about sixty of the inhabitants were killed, and most of the remainder perished, as they fled naked through the snow toward Albany .*
This was the first intimation the colony of New York received that a war was meditated on the part of the French ; it was the more perfidious, as nego- tiations were then pending in Europe for the purpose of settling the claims of the two governments in America. During this war the confederates remained attached to the English, and rendered important ser- vices by harassing the frontiers of their enemies. About 1701 a general treaty of peace was made be-
* See Appendix-Note A.
22
INTRODUCTION.
tween the French and Five Nations, which put an end to these long and afflicting wars, in which both parties had been sufferers. In the early part of this century, (about 1712,) the Monecons, or Tuscaroras, a tribe of Indians living in the Carolinas, made war upon the inhabitants of those colonies ; they were vanquished by the colonists, and forced to abandon their country ; they are thought to have been allies of the Five Nations in some of their southern expedi- tions. From a similarity in their language, the con- federates supposed them derived from a common origin ; they received them into the confederacy, assigned them a section of their territory to dwell in ; after this they were called the Six Nations. The Tuscaroras never possessed the energy and courage of the other confederates. Tradition says that they were obliged to wear a woman's pocket for a tobacco pouch, as a mark of their effeminacy and want of courage.
From the commencement of this century down to 1750, the French missionaries and agents were very successful. That body of men, the French Jesuits, who by their zeal put to shame many men engaged in a better cause, entered upon this field of labor with great ardor. At one time they doffed the clerical habit, and putting on the Indian garb, accompanied the warriors on distant and hazardous expeditions ; and at another, they astonished their savage audience with the splendid and imposing rites and ceremonies of the Romish church. They spoke in glowing terms of the resources and magnificence of le grand Mo- narque, as they termed the King of France.
23
INTRODUCTION.
They obtained permission for the French to build forts in their territory ; and in short, when the last French war broke out in 1754, the four western tribes went over to the French, and took up the hatchet against the English. This war terminated by the complete subjection of Canada, and the annexing it to the British dominions. The Indians,* however,
* In 1774 Governor William Tryon, the royal governor of the prov- ince of New York, made a return to the British government, embracing the general condition of the province, its civil history, political and judicial, the general features of the country, rivers, mountains, cities, forts, population, commerce ; in short, giving a complete view of the province. This document is among the papers at Albany, obtained by Mr. Brodhead, and ought to be published at length. It was the closing account of the province of New York, which was soon thereaf- ter to give place to the state.
One of the questions relates to the Indians, and was answered by Gov. Tryon, upon information derived from Sir William Johnson, and the statement may be implicitly relied on. It shows of course the numbers and situation of the Indians at the commencement of the war. -
" What number of Indians have you, and how are they inclined ?"
"The Indians who formerly possessed Nassau or Long Island, and that part of this province which lies below Albany, are now reduced to a small number, and are in general so scattered and dispersed, and so addicted to wandering, that no certain account can be obtained of them. They are the remnants of the tribes Montocks and others of Long Island, Wappingers of Dutchess County, Esopus, Papagonk, &c. in Ulster County, and a few Skachticokes. These tribes have gene- rally been denominated River Indians, and consist of about three hun- dred fighting men.
" They speak a language radically the same, and are understood by the Delawares, being originally of the same race. Most of these peo- ple at present profess Christianity, and as far as in their power adopt our customs. The greater part of them attended the army during the late war, but not with the same reputation as those who are still deemed hunters.
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INTRODUCTION.
witnessing the defeat of the French, had many of them returned, before the close of the war, to the English, by whom they were again received as allies.
"The Mohawks, the first in rank of the Six Nation confederacy, though now much reduced in numbers, originally occupied the country westward from Albany to the German Flats, a space of about ninety miles, and had many towns, but having at different times been pre- vailed on to dispose of their lands, they have little property left ex- cept to the northward, and are reduced to two villages on the Mohawk river, and a few families at Schoharie. The lower Mohawks are in number about one hundred and eighty-five, and the upper, or those of Canajoharie, two hundred and twenty one, making together four hundred and six. This nation hath always been warm in their attachment to the English, and on this account suffered great loss during the late war.
"The nation beyond and to the westward of the Mohawk, is the Oneidas. The villages where they reside, including Onoaughquaga, are just beyond the Indian line or boundary established at Fort Stan- wix, in 1768, and their property within that line, except to the north- ward, has been sold. This nation consists of at least fifteen hundred, and are firmly attached to the English.
" The other nations of that confederacy, and who live further beyond the Indian line, are the Onondagas, Cayugas, Senecas and Tuscaroras, and are well inclined to the British interest. The whole Six Nations consist of about two thousand fighting men, and their number of souls according to their latest returns at least ten thousand; the Seneca nation amounting alone to one half that number."
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