USA > New York > A history of New York, for schools. Vol. II > Part 4
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At their meeting the usual form of making speeches took place. "They acknowledged the receipt of his message, and his information that a number of men were imbodied about Johnstown and St. Johns, and intended to commit hostilities down the river; and that he was coming to inquire into the matter. They acknowledged that he had assur- ed them no harm was intended to them; as they had the last summer publickly engaged to take no part against him in the dispute with the " great king over the water." They proposed to Schuyler, that instead of marching his troops to Johnstown, he should send up six men to inquire into the truth of what he had heard, and send his soldiers home. They said that the council of their nation had sent them to meet him, and warn him to take care what he is about. They remind him again of their agreement to keep peace, and that he had said " if any person was found in their neighbourhood inimical to peace, he should consider such person as an enemy ;" and the Six Nations thought he meant " the son of Sir William," and they particularly desire that he should not be injured. They repeatedly warn the general " not to spill blood," and say that they intend to ob- serve the treaty made with him, and remain at peace. They say that their chiefs had begged Sir John not to be the aggressor : that he had promised he would not. That he had but "a handful of men," and could not be the aggressor; therefore, if Schuyler and bis men should come up and any evil happen, they should look upon him as the aggressor, or as "shutting upthe path of peace." They denied that Sir John was making military preparations or forti- fying his house, and asserted that every thing re- mained as in the time of Sir William. They profess a sincere desire for peace, but acknowledge that some among them are disposed to hostilities. They in-
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sinuate that if this hostile array proceeds they may not be able to restrain their warriours, who are de- termined, if Schuyler persists in going to Johnson- Hall, that they will be present at his meeting with Sir John, and the counsellors and chiefs cannot be answerable for what may happen. The orator con- cludes by saying that he had persuaded the war- riours "to sit still," and await his return with the answer Schuyler may give him.
John. This was all very artful, sir.
Un. And no doubt dictated by Johnson. Schuy- ler answered them in their own fashion. The sub- stance was, that he had hoped a previous message sent by him to the Six Nations had convinced them no hostile intentions were entertained towards them; and is sorry the Mohawks had not sent that message. That he has full proof that many people in Johns- town and the neighbourhood have been making preparations to carry into execution "the wicked designs of the king's evil counsellors." That the force he commands is not brought for war with the Six Nations, but to prevent it, by seeing that the people of Johnstown do not interrupt the harmony of the colonies with the Indians. That he will not injure the people of Johnstown, if they agree to such terms as shall give assurance of security to their neighbours. That he will not permit any of his followers "to set foot on the Mohawk lands;" all he requires of them being that they do not interfere in the " family quarrel of the whites." Hle reminds them that notwithstanding their treaty of peace, some of their warriours had attacked the Americans at St. Johns, and had been killed there; which, he says, "you did not complain of, as you knew it was right to kill them in self-defence." He says, " in a little time, I and my friends may be called to fight our enemies to the eastward, and will it be prudent
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to leave our wives and children exposed to enemies here at hand ? We shall send a letter to Sir John inviting him to meet us on the road, and if every thing is not settled he shall return safe to his own house." He wished the Indians to be present at the interview; but added, that if he is obliged to resort to force, and they join his enemies, they must take the consequence. He begs them to repeat all this to their council.
John. Hle shows that he understands both the In- dians and Sir John.
Un. The 16th.of January the general despatched a letter to Johnson, saying that information having been received of designs dangerous to the liberties of his majesty's subjects in the county of Tryon, he had been ordered to march thither to contravene them, and wishing that no blood may be shed, he requests Sir John to meet him to-morrow on his way to Johnstown, pledging his honour for his safe con- duct back and forth; concluding with a message tending to quiet any apprehensions in the mind of Lady Johnson. Accordingly, the next day Johnson met the general on his march, and received terms requiring the delivery of all the cannon and milita- ry stores under his control, except his personal arms and ammunition therefor. That he should remain on parole in Tryon county. That the Scotch inhab-
itants immediately deliver up their arms and give hostages. That all presents intended by England for the Indians be delivered to a commissary ap- pointed to receive them. These terms, if agreed to, Schuyler pledges himself for the protection of Sir John and the inhabitants of the county.
W'm. What said the knight to this ?
Un. At first he blustered a little, and said the In- dians would support him, and that some were alrea- dy at Johnson- Hall for the purpose. To this the an-
A
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swer was, " force will be opposed to force, and blood must follow ;" on which Sir John asked time to con- sider until next evening, which was granted. Another Mohawk chief waited on Schuyler, and assured him that the Indians would not interfere except as medi- ators. . The general then marched forward and halt- ed within four miles of Johnstown, where he received propositions from Johnson for himself and the peo- ple of Kingsborough, which were, that all arms be- longing to Sir John "and the other gentlemen" should remain with them, all others to be given up. Of military stores belonging to the crown he says he has none. He expects to go where he pleases. 'The Scotch inhabitants will deliver up their arms, and promise not to take any without permission from the continental congress ; but they cannot command hostages. This is signed, J. Johnson, Allan Mc- Dougall; and dated, Johnson-Hall, 18th January, 1776. Schuyler answers, that this proposition can- not be accepted, and he must obey his orders. He at the same time seuds a passport to Lady Johnson, with a request that she would retire. Time is al- lowed until midnight for another answer, and gen- tlemen sent to receive it. Soon after, the sachems of the Mohawks wait upon Schuyler and ask more
time for Sir John's answer. This is granted " for their sakes," and within the period fixed the knight agrees for himself and the inhabitants of Kingsbo- rough to give up their arms, and that he would not go westward of German Flatts and Kinsland dis- trict; likewise, that six Scotch inhabitants may be taken as hostages. Sir John and the Scotch gentle- men pledge themselves, as far as their influence gors, for the delivery of the arms of the inhabitants, and Johnson gives assurance that he has no stores in his possession as presents to the Indians. Upon receiving the last answer, Schuyler told the Indians
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that all would be settled, and they may go home. On the 19th the general marched into Johnstown and drew up his men in a line; the Highlanders were drawn up facing them, and grounded their arms. The military stores were surrendered; and this service being performed, Schuyler and his mi- litia returned. It was found afterward that the High- landers had not delivered up their broadswords or their ammunition. Here is a picture of Johnson- Hall, as it appeared in 1815. But for many years the provincial governors and other king's officers were frequent visiters, and no stranger of rank but was entertained at Johnson-Hall ; while the sachems of the Six Nations and all the Mohawks repaired thither for the gifts from the great king over the water.
VOL II .- 5
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CHAPTER V.
John. Now, sir, we wish to hear something of the early history of the famous General Gates.
Un. We have seen that on the 15th of June, 1775, the continental congress made choice, by a unanimous vote, of Colonel George Washington to be commander-in-chief of the armies of America. As his major-generals they appointed Artemas Ward, Charles Lee, Philip Schuyler, and Israel Putnam. Now, I think, we had better pass these gentlemen in review, in the order of their rank, only omitting Schuyler, as circumstances have brought him before us out of the order which his appointment would mark.
Wm. And then, sir, if you tell us of the adjutant- general, and the brigadiers, we shall go to war as regularly as Homer and Virgil do after reviewing their heroes.
Un. True, boy. Mr. Ward, as you know, command- ed the troops assembled before Boston at the com- mencement of the war. He soon retired from the ser- vice, and left Charles Lee the oldest major-general. This officer was an English gentleman of some for- tune, and son to a colonel in his majesty's service. Charles was commissioned at the age of eleven, so that he was almost from birth in the army. Quick in perception, and ardent in all his pursuits, he be- came a good scholar, and an able tactician, as far as a man devoid of prudence may be so esteemed. His first military service was under General Abercrom- bie, in America, and as I have incidentally mentioned, he was wounded at the defeat of that officer by the French on the banks of Lake Champlain. Great were the preparations of the English for attacking
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Ticonderoga, a strong fortress near the outlet of Lake George into the greater inland sea which it was built to command; and it was garrisoned by a veteran French force of four or five thousand men. Abercrombie advanced with as fine an army of dis- ciplined soldiers as the world could produce, and like Braddock, sacrificed them by disdaining the ad- vice of provincials. Charles Lee was a captain in the forty-fourth regiment, and is twice mentioned by Mrs. Grant; who says the army advanced in detachments from Albany by the Flats, to the residence of the Schuylers. "One of the first of these divisions was commanded by Lee, of frantick celebrity." She adds, "Captain Lee neglected to bring the customary warrants for impressing horses and oxen, &c .; he, however, seized every thing he wanted where he could most readily find it, as if he were in a conquered country ; and not content with this violence, poured forth a volley of execrations on those who presumed to question his right" of appropriation. Even Mrs. Schuyler "was not spar- ed." Such is the testimony of a lady, herself the daughter of an English officer, and partial to the military of her own country.
John. This agrees with all you have told us, sir, of the insolence of these foreign officers, and their contempt for the provincials.
Un. In a few days the wounded of this proud army, after their defeat, were brought back to "the Flits," and received by the Schuylers as "men and brethren." The barn was fitted up as an hospital, atl a part of the house allotted to the surgeon, among whose patients, says Mrs. Grant, " was Lee, the enne insolent and rapacious Lee, who had in- sulted" the mistress of the mansion. He was re- cried and treated as a child. "Even Lee," says the writer, "felt and acknowledged the resistless
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force of such generous humanity. He swore, in his vehement manner, he was sure there was a place reserved for her in heaven, though no other woman should be there." Such, children, is the power of true benevolence upon the most reckless characters. But Lee, though selfish, vain, presu- ming, and passionate, was not without many good qualities; he was quick-witted, frank, courageous, and capable of feeling and admiring the character of the benevolent and forgiving Mrs. Schuyler.
John. I think this lady was the aunt of General Schuyler.
Un. Yes; at that time the widow of Colonel Philip Schuyler the second. Lee returned to Eu- rope, and in 1762 served with General Burgoyne in Portugal. Ever restless, he entered the Polish service, and had attained the rank of major-general before he returned to America, for which country he appears to have had a sincere attachment, not the less probably for his adventures at Schuyler's Flats. He, however, had rambled all over Europe; had killed his man in a duel, and had been engaged in several others before he again crossed the At- lantick. He was in Philadelphia in 1774, and in July of that year, Horatio Gates, then on a planta- tion in Virginia, wrote to him a letter of invitation, and persuaded him to buy a farm in his neighbour -. hood, which, after visiting New York, Rhode Island, and Boston, he accomplished. He was now a vio- lent anti-ministerialist, and had published several essays in defence of the colonies. Gates, in his let- ter, says, "a good bed is provided for you, two or three slaves to supply all your wants and whimseys ; and space enough about us for you to exercise away all your spleen and gloomy moods, whensoever they distress you." The farm bought by Lee is deseri- bed as containing two thousand four hundred acres,
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and is valued at thirty shillings sterling an acre. Besides these, he had a claim for five thousand acres on the Ohio, to be granted by warrant from Lord Dunmore. Gates advises him to be cautious in re- spect to Gage, and professes his own willingness to join the cause of America.
Wm. These gentlemen were old acquaintances, it seems.
Un. Both military men, and long known as sol- diers to each other. They were in exteriour and in manner extremely different; Gates was courteous, accommodating, and insinuating; with a very prepos- sessing person. Lee, abrupt, rude, careless, ca- pricious, and so unaccommodating as to be very disagreeable to the neat or the scrupulous, especially to ladies. He was always attended by his only fa- vourites, two dogs; who by his desire must be at his side in the drawing-room or at the dinner-table. At the time he entered the American service, and formally renounced his English commission and half-pay, he was supposed to be an immense acqui- sition to the cause; and it was well known that Washington recommended both Lee and Gates to congress for the several commissions they bore. General Clinton, with a British force, arrived at New York, and Lee came on to that place in 1776, and was very active in throwing up fortifications in and around the town. Tryon and the commander of the king's ships in the harbour, "threatened per- dition to the town if the cannon were removed from the batteries and wharves;" "but," says Lee, in a letter to Gates, " I ever considered threats a brutum fulmen, and even persuaded the town to be of the same way of thinking ; we accordingly conveyed them to a place of safety in the middle of the day, and no cannonade ensued. Captain Parker pub- lishes a pleasant reason for his passive conduct.
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He says it was manifestly my intention, and that of the New England men under my command, to bring destruction on this town, so hated for its loyal prin- ciples, but he was determined not to indulge us ; so remained quiet out of spite. The people here laugh at his nonsense, and begin to despise the menaces, which formerly used to throw them into convul. sions. To do them justice, the whole show a won- derful alacrity ; and in removing the cannon, men and boys of all ages worked with the greatest zeal and pleasure. I-really believe that the generality are as well affected as any on the continent." The " convulsions," he alludes to, were the symptoms of terrour shown by the defenceless inhabitants when the Asia fired upon the town in 1775.
WVm. What did Parker mean by calling New York a loyal or a tory town ?
Un. It was the plan of Tryon and others to divide the colonists, therefore New York was represented as attached to England, and hated by the whigs. But the people were, as elsewhere, loval to their country. New York was found too well prepared to resist the force under Sir Henry Clinton, and he sailed to the South, where Lee was despatched to meet him, and when the British appeared off Charles- ton, General Lee was already there in command. The defeat of the British ships of war by the gal- lant Moultrie belongs to the history of the United States, but we must observe that this added greatly to the already high reputation of Charles Lee. Lee and Gates visited Washington at Mount Vernon just before he went to congress, and there doubtless it was proposed and settled that they should enter the ser- vice as American officers. The fourth major-general appointed by congress was Israel Putnam, of Con- necticut, a man recommended by his zeal for the cause, and by his having been a good subaltern
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scouting officer in the provincial service during the French war; of his qualifications for com- manding an army we must judge hereafter by events.
Wm. Now, sir, for General Gates.
Un. Horatio Gates was born in England, and was the son of Captain Robert Gates of the British army; so you see that both Lee and Gates were not only Englishmen and in the British army, but sons of his majesty's officers. Gates received his first name from his godfather, the celebrated Horatio or Horace Walpole; who mentions him as his " godson," on an occasion hereafter to be noticed. What farther connexion Gates had with the family of the Earl of Orford, I do not know ; certainly he was in early life protected by high aristocratick influence, and had hopes, from that class, of promotion of no ordi- nary character until 1773. That he received a lib- eval education is evident from his letters. As early as 1749 he served as a volunteer under General Ed- ward Cornwallis, who commanded in Nova Scotia as governor of Halifax. By him Horatio was appoint- ed a captain-lieutenant in Warburton's regiment, and Cornwallis espoused his interest very warmly, offering by letter to his father, an advance of money for the purchase of a company for the young man. In this letter, directed to Captain Gates, Southamp- ton street, London, he farther says, that he has giv- en his son an employment that will bring him in 2007. a year. Four years after this, young Gates was in England, busily engaged in purchasing promotion in the army, and on the 13th of September, 1754, is dated his commission as captain of an independent company, at New York, late Clarke's. This is signel " Holderness," by order of George the Sec- ond. In 1755, Captain Horatio Gates had re- turned to America, and shared with Braddock in
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the disasters of Monongahela. Here may have commenced his acquaintance. with Colonel George Washington of the despised provincials. Previous to leaving England the young captain had married Miss Phillips, the daughter of an English officer. In the years 1756, '7 and '8, Gates was on service in the western part of the province of New York, and in the last of these years received the appoint- ment of brigade-major from General Stanwix, whose name was long attached to a frontier fort at the sources of the Mohawk river, where now the town of Rome is built. During these years Major Gates held the independent company stationed at New York, which he purchased of Captain Clarke.
John. Was it the custom to purchase promotion in the English army ?
Un. Yes; the universal usage. Clarke writes to Gates in 1756, that Calcraft, the agent in pur- chasing the independent company, will " bear no more blame" respecting the settlement; and had re- quired Clarke to apply to Gates. He tells Gates to convince the world that he "prefers equity and truth to all those mean refuges that artful men make to save their interest for a little while." He adds, " I want nothing of you but what honesty and truth demand ; I have been injured, and you know it."
Wm. Why this looks like quarrelling over a marketable commodity between two hucksters.
Un. These highminded gentlemen in scarlet and gold were as anxious to seize upon a bargain as any dealers in other marketable commodities ; and watched the expected death of a messmate for an opportunity to purchase and obtain rank, as eagerly as the lowest huckster ever sought to fore- stall a market.
John. Where was Mr. Gates at this time ?
Un. In the western part of the province of New
-.
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York ; and while there, James Abercrombie writes to him, giving some incidents of the war, and saying that the provincials through ignorance missed an opportunity of defeating a French force near Fort Edward. He says, they are averse to "a junction with the king's troops." "Since they are unwil- ling to take our assistance, I would e'en let them try it themselves, but have regulars to secure the fools in case they should be repulsed."
John. I don't wonder the provincials were averse to a junction which subjected them to the commands of such self-sufficient gentry.
Un. This will remind you of the letter I men- tioned to you before, written to Gates in the year 1759, when he was at Pittsburgh, from another of his brother king's-officers.
WVm. I remember it, sir; where he says, nothing but consideration for his majesty's service, prevents his answering a letter from a member of the New York provincial legislature with his cane.
Un. Such was the universal feeling of these gen- tlemen in livery. When there was an exception, it was to a general rule. In 1760, General Robert Monckton was commander-in-chief of the troops at New York, and he appointed . Major Gates one of his aids. The major being in Philadelphia in Oc- tober of this year, Governor Boone of New Jersey wrote to him. An extract from his letter shows something of the feelings among the rulers of the time, which can only appear in these confidential communications. Read it.
John. "October 13th, 1760. Poor Delancey ! have I written to you since his death ? General Monckton is talked of for the government, (of New York,) and desired. Pownal is expected and dreaded. General Gage is said likewise to have applied. Speaking of the colonists, he says, their
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politicks are confounded, and their society is worse, by the loss of the best companion in it. Oliver is in the council, and Jemmy Delancey, no longer a soldier, is a candidate for the city." He says, al- though he has been governor a good while, he had not yet met his assembly."
Un. The troops destined to attack Martinique were encamped on Staten Island, under Monckton's com- mand; and General Amherst came on from the north to succeed Monckton as commander-in-chief. Strange as it may appear, on Staten Island, Amherst was invested with the insignia and title of a knight of the Bath, by Monckton ; due authority having been received from Lord Chatham. Mouckton and Gates departed for the West Indies, and Sir Jef- fery remained commander of the troops in the prov- ince. Monckton took Martinique, and despatched Gates with the triumphant news to London, which of course gained him promotion ; and on the 26th April, 1762, Mr. Townsend informs him that he is appointed to be major to the forty-fifth regiment of foot. It was on this occasion that Horace Walpole, by way of badinage, claimed credit for the capture of Martinique, as his godson and namesake brought the news. The connexion of Gates with Lord Or- ford appears mysterious. Major Gates remained sev- eral months in London, much dissatisfied with the promotion he had attained, and assiduously endeav- ouring, by petition and the influence of friends among the nobility, to obtain something more lucra- tive; but his success was not equal to the efforts inade, and he returned to America as major of the forty-fifth. He had been successful in disposing of his company of independents ; for in August, 1763, these companies had been disbanded, and Gates is congratulated as being " out of the scrape."
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John. Why, sir, all that these officers seem to think of is making money.
Un. Certainly the major does not appear inatten- tive to what is vulgarly called the main-chance. He made frequent applications to the war office, and in August, 1703, gained Amherst's very reluctant leave of absence to go to London. He does not appear to have been a favourite with Sir Jeffery, who fairly tells him that his desire to leave his station appears to be only "dictated by his own interest." His hopes were with Monckton, and he was assured by one of his correspondents that the general had under- taken " his affair." The leave of absence was com- inunicated in these ungracious words : " If you are determined to go, you have his leave to settle accord-
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