USA > New York > Warren County > Queensbury > A history of the town of Queensbury, in the state of New York : with biographical sketches of many of its distinguished men, and some account of the aborigines of northern New York > Part 46
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I am Sir
Your Hu Sert .
Ph : Schuyler.
Head Quarters July 26 1777 To Major Gray
D : Commissary.
No. 10.
James Higson's Affidavit respecting losses.
In the month of July 1777, the Undermentioned articles were taken from me for the use of the Continental Army By General orders & delivered to Brigadier Genl. Larned, vizt.
One Large Bay Mare value, .. £20-0-0
One Large Bay Mare value, 15-0-0
Two very Large Milch Cows,. 16-0-0
1 Large Heifer, 4-0-0
2 Store Calves, 3-0-0
£58-0-0
For the above cattle which when taken were worth in Specie fifty-eight pounds I do solemnly swear that I never received any compensation nor any person On my behalf.
I do most solemnly Swear that in the month of July 1777, a quantity of corn as appraised by Col. Lewis & others to four acres, a Quantity of oats as appraised by Col. Lewis & others to three acres & Potatoes appraised by the same to one half acre were taken from me for the use of the Continental Army, for none of which I have received any compensation, nor any person on my behalf.
JAMES HIGSON. "
Washington { County S this day personally appeared before me James Higson and made oath in the presence of Almighty God that the above act. was Just and True Fort Edward 6th March, 1786.
ADIEL SHERWOOD Jus. :
443
THE COUNTRY STRIPPED OF RESOURCES.
Edward, and everywhere destroying the roads, and preparing to drive and burn the country towards Albany."1
On the 15th of July, during the interim of Burgoyne's slow and toilsome progress from Skenesborough to Fort Edward, the records of the provincial congress show that Col. John Ashley was in command of a military station at the five mile run in the town of Queensbury. His force was sufficient to enable him to detach forty men as an escort for wagons to Fort George, and another party of half that number as a scout to South bay.
About the same time a large fortified encampment was es- tablished on the height of ground across the Hudson at South Glen's Falls. Fort George was destroyed July the 16th.2 On, or about the same date, General Nixon with his brigade, sup- ported by about six hundred militia, was sent to Fort Anne to fell trees into Wood creek, and obstruct the roadway in the same manner so as to delay the advance of the enemy.3
Previous to the advance of Burgoyne from Canada, it was well known to the committee of safety, that a regular system of communication had been established between the British leaders at the north and south. To intercept these despatches became an object of such vital importance to the success of the campaign, that General Schuyler was privately instructed to make careful and diligent inquiry, for some active, shrewd, intelligent, and courageous person both competent, self reliant, and above all, of thoroughly assured fidelity to the cause, who would take upon himself the delicate, difficult, and dangerous task of acting the part of a double spy. While casting about for a suitable person to discharge this important trust, he fell in company
No. 11.
Permit from Col. Yates to Abraham Wing, Junr., to keep a horse.
Saratoga, Nov. 17th, 1777.
I have considered about your Sons Horse and give him Leave to keep the Same until some higher Power shall order it otherwise. I also grant you Leave to keep a hunting gun in your house and forbid any one to take the same without orders from the general.
A True Copy
I am Sir Your friend & Hu Servt. CHRIS : YATES
To Abraham Wing
1 Lossing's Life of Schuyler, vol. II, p. 231.
2 Letter from Gouverneur Morris, quoted in the journal of the provincial congress.
3 Letter from Schuyler to Washington, Washington Correspondence, vol. I, p. 399.
444
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY.
with an active, ardent whig by the name of Fish, who resided in what is now the town of Easton, Washington county, N. Y., who recommended to him Moses Harris 1 of Dutchess county, a young man of education, resources, self dependence, and great personal courage, as a most suitable person for the position. Harris was sent for, and had an interview with General Schuyler at Albany, and after considerable solicitation, he finally con- sented to undertake the arduous, and dangerous duty. A suit- able outfit was provided for him, and having received his in- structions, he entered upon the accomplishment of his task.
One of the earliest settlers on the Bradshaw patent, was Gilbert, familiarly and traditionally called Gil. Harris. He was the owner of the well known Colvin, or thousand apple tree
1 The name of Moses Harris jr. appears attached to the articles of association for Amenia precinct, Dutchess county, New York June and July, 1775 .- Rev. Papers, vol. 1, p. 75.
The name of Moses Harris, and most probably the father of the person herein mentioned, is spoken of in connection with the development and working of a lead mine in Dutchess county, August 17th, 1776 .- Idem, vol. II, p. 101.
Moses Harris jr., whose name frequently appears in the town records of Queens- bury after the close of the revolutionary war, was a surveyor by profession, and a large per centage of the early road surveys of the town were made by him. A monument to his memory (erected by his grandson, the late John J. Harris) stands in the rural burial ground attached to the Episcopal church at Harrisena on which are engraved the following inscriptions :
West Side. MOSES HARRIS. DIED Nov. 13, 1838. Aged 89 years, 11 Mo's and 24 Days.
North Side.
In June, 1787, I moved with two of my brothers, William and Joseph Harris, on to the John Lawrence Patten, as you may see by the records in the Living's office of the county at that age in 1786. But now I am done with this world and race, and none but God shall say, where shall be my abiding place.
South Side.
He was a man that was true to his friends and his country. He was the man that carried the package for Gen. Schuyler and from Gen. Schuyler to Gen. Washington. It went, and without doubt was the instrument that put Gen. Burgoyne's journey to an end. He it was that bought the Patten granted to John Lawrence and others when wild; and settled the same, being two thousand acres, to the benefit of his children and grandchildren. For which I think I ought to do something to his memory .- J. J. H. Grandson.
1
445
MOSES HARRIS THE PATRIOT SCOUT.
farm, which originally embraced one square mile of the rich and fertile farm land in the north part of the town of Kingsbury. He was a bitter, uncompromising royalist, and, although he was careful not to commit himself publicly by any overt action, he was one of the most efficient and energetic of the secret agents employed by the British authorities for obtaining, and trans- mitting intelligence through the American lines to the officers commanding the royal armies both north and south. He had been a militia man at the capture of Port Royal, and con-
sequently familiar with soldier life and discipline. This man was Moses Harris's uncle. Before the war they had been on quite friendly terms; had hunted and fished together at Lake George, and prospected in its neighborhood for the location of bounty lands, and soldiers' claims. To him Moses proceeded, and securing his confidence, gave him to understand that he had changed his views, that he was tired of the troubled and. disturbed state of the country ; and dissatisfied with the course pursued by the whigs, and, believing that the rebellion would be crushed out sooner or later, he had about come to the con- clusion to join the British army, unless some more congenial employment was offered.1 At this stage of affairs the notorious Joseph Betteys seems to have been consulted, and to have com- pleted the negotiations and arrangements by which Harris was to act as a courier in conveying despatches between this point and Albany. He was conducted to a tory rendezvous on the Half-way brook in the vicinity of the settlement now known as Tripoli, where in an underground apartment, amply furnished with arms, ammunition and provisions, he was sworn to secrecy and fidelity, and the despatches here concealed, were delivered to him for transmission to one William Shepherd, a tory who occupied by arrangement an old tenement on the Patroon's creek, near the old Colonie in Albany, and who in turn, was to forward them to their destination for the British authorities down the river. The route pursued by Harris, took him at night to the house of Fish in Easton, who lived about two miles from the river. Here the papers were transferred to Fish, who
1 The main, portions of this narrative were communicated to the author on the 11th of August, 1850, by Moses Harris, a son of the spy, who then stated his own. age to be seventy-five years. It has been largely supplemented by information derived from Judge Hay who years before had reduced to writing the local tra- ditions and legends of this vicinity, and whose meinory was usually good au- thority upon questions relating to American history.
1
446
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY.
hastened with them to Albany, where they were submitted to General Schuyler when present, and to his private secretary when absent, by whom they were carefully opened, examined, transcribed, sealed up and returned to Harris, who then resumed his journey, and deposited the papers in Shepherd's hands, re- ceiving at the same time his return message when there was one. Harris, in the meantime by his uncle's advice, stopped for refreshments at a tavern in the city, where he was on the best of terms with the partisans of freedom.
This system was followed up for several weeks, when the British leaders finding their plans discovered and thwarted, suspicion fell upon Harris, and he was arrested at his uncle's house, taken to another of the secret rendezvous of the royalists, on an island in the big swamp east of Sandy Hill, where he was charged with his treachery and his life threatened ; but his cool self possession never for a moment forsook him, and he suc- ceeded in persuading them that they had done him great injustice, after which he resumed his duties.
On another occasion, by previous arrangement and under- standing with General Schuyler for the purpose of averting sus- picion, he was arrested and thrown into jail in Albany, where he remained for several days, whence by collusion with the keeper who had his private instructions, he was permitted to escape, and went to Canada, where he was handsomely rewarded, and made much of by the authorities, and renegade tories.
On this occasion he communicated false and deceptive in- telligence, agreed upon in Albany, and which was near bring- ing him into trouble. On his return from St. Johns, he was again entrusted with despatches, which in consequence of the sickness of Fish, he was obliged to take to Schuyler in person, and thence by his orders to Gen. Washington. Whether he was dogged by spies or by reason of previous suspicions, Shep- herd attempted to poison him for his defection; and Jo, Betteys having entrapped him he was obliged to flee for his life. He at this time took refuge with one Dirk, or Diedrich Swart, a whig living at Stillwater, a friend of General Schuyler, who had requested him to afford Harris aid and protection in case of trouble. To complicate his dangers at this time, Swart in- formed him that one Jacob Bensen, a whig, had threatened to " put a ball thorough the cussed tory " under the supposition that he was a loyalist, and that he was lying in wait for him,
A
447
THRILLING ADVENTURES OF A SPY.
for that purpose in the adjacent woods. Another danger almost as formidable arose from competition among the tories for the position of spy and messenger, and the enhanced pay that went with it, together with the consequence and considera- tion that the position gave. Among the rivals floated to the surface by the turbid current, were two loyalists named Caleb Closson and Andrew Rakely living in Kingsbury, and David Higginbottom, who had been a sergeant in the 31st British re- giment. On his last excursion, he was weakened by a wound he had received in one of his adventures, and exhausted by the pain and fatigue, he was forced to halt at brief intervals, stop- ping first with one Humighaus, a tory living on the south line of Fort Ann. and next at the house of Peter Freel at Fort Edward. From here he proceeded toward Fort Miller, but on the way was pursued by a scouting party of whigs, and com- pelled to seek safety in flight across the river, and shelter in the house of Noah Payn, a whig who resided opposite to the block house at Fort Miller. His danger was so imminent that he was obliged to make known to the latter his relations to General Schuyler and the American army. His secret was faithfully kept, and Payn afforded him the needed protection, and rest, and assisted him on the way to Easton, giving him at the same time a letter of recommendation to Gen. Putnam a former townsman, neighbor, and friend of Payne.1
After the battle of Stillwater, and Burgoyne's surrender, Harris received (so runs the family tradition) a purse of one hundred guineas from General Schuyler for services, and after the close of the war a pension of ninety-six dollars per annum was awarded him by the government. After the war he re- turned to his favorite hunting haunts in the vicinity of Lake
1 Alexander Bryant, who subsequently settled at Saratoga Springs, was sub- stituted as a confidential spy for Burgoyne's camp after the advance of the in- vading army to Fort Edward, where, as a pretended loyalist, he obtained, valuable information, which was communicated to the officers of the American army by signals. Judge Hay, in a communication to the author, states in some of his manu- scripts that he had seen a certificate which was given to Moses Harris by General Schuyler, setting forth his faithful and important services and honorable discharge. That Schuyler liberally rewarded him, and referred him to congress for further compensation ; and further tendered him a letter of recommendation to General Washington for a position in the southern army. This, however, was declined, Harris asserting that all the tories this side of -, should not drive him an inch.
He was very near being made a prisoner with other residents of Queensbury at the time of the northern invasion in 1780.
448
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY.
George, where he purchased a tract of two thousand acres of land 1 to which, and the adjacent territory, the name of Harrisena was given, where the remainder of his life was passed amidst the tranquility of peaceful scenes, and where many of his de- scendants still reside.
In a communication from Gouverneur Morris 2 at Saratoga dated July 17th to the council of safety, he says, " I left Fort Ed- ward with General Schuyler at noon, and shall return thither some time to-morrow morning. Fort George was destroyed yesterday afternoon, previous to which, the provisions, stores, batteaux, &c., were removed, and this morning at ten o'clock the last of them passed us about three miles to the northward of Fort Edward,3 at which place all the troops from the lake have ar- rived, and these, together with some others, form an advanced post towards Fort George; 4 about twelve hundred, perhaps
1 Mr. Benjamin Harris states that there were 21 corners to this lot, that he bought of Lawrence, Boel and Tuttle, who had a king's patent which was surveyed by him in 1775. The three brothers Moses, Joseph and William came to settle on this tract in 1786.
In the Calendar of N. Y. Land Papers there is record of 16 certificates of location for about 5000 acres of land in small parcels - adjoining the other main tract : all in favor of Moses Harris jr., occurring from 1786 to 1789.
In the same authority p. 506, there is a return of survey Oct. 12, 1770, for two tracts of land of 3000 acres each within the bounds of the Robert Harpur patent sur- rendered to the crown, lying partly in Queensbury and partly in Fort Anne, to John Lawrence, Henry Boel and Stephen Tuttle.
2 Journal of the New York Provincial Congress, vol. II, p. 508. A letter from Matt Visscher at Albany, quoted on the same page dated on the 17th, stated that the stores from Fort George all are safely brought to Fort Edward, and that Major Yates with about 700 still possesses the former."
3 On the 26th of July Gen. Schuyler writes to General Washington as follows : " I find by letters from below, that an idea prevails that Fort Edward is a strong and regular fortification.
" It was once a regular fortification, but there is nothing but the ruins of it left, and they are so utterly defenceless that I have frequently galloped my horse in on one side and out at the other. But when it was in the best condition possible, with the best troops to garrison it, and provided with every necessary, it would not have stood two days' siege after proper batteries had been opened. It is situated in a bottom on the banks of the river, and surrounded with hills from which the parade may be seen within point blank shot. I doubt not that it will be said that Fort Miller, Fort Saratoga, and Stillwater are considerable fortifica- tions, of neither of which is there a trace left although they still retain their names."- Lossing's Schuyler, vol. II, pp. 248-9.
4 Gen. Washington having stated in a letter to Gen. Schuyler as follows : " They say, that a spirited, brave, judicious officer with two or three hundred good men, together with the armed vessels you have built, would retard General Burgoyne's passage across the lake for a considerable time."
General Schuyler replies June 18th as follows : " The fort was part of an un.
449
HARSH MEASURES.
more are somewhat further advanced upon the road to Fort Anne. The enemy have not yet made any motion that we know of, nor indeed can they make any of consequence until they shall have procured carriages, and then they may find it rather difficult to come this way, if proper care be taken to pre- vent them from procuring forage. For this purpose I shall give it as my opinion to the general, whenever he asks it, to break up all the settlements upon our northern frontier, to drive off the cattle, secure or destroy the forage, etc. ; and also to destroy the saw mills.
" These measures, harsh as they may seem, are, I am con- fident, absolutely necessary. They ought undoubtedly to be taken with prudence, and temperately carried into execution. But I will venture to say, that if we lay it down as a maxim never to contend for ground but in the last necessity, to leave nothing but a wilderness to the enemy, their progress must be impeded by obstacles which it is not in human nature to sur- mount ; and then, unless we have, with our usual good nature, built posts for their defence, they must at the approach of winter retire to the place from whence they at first set out. The militia from the eastward come in by degrees, and I expect we shall soon be in force to carry on the petite guerre to advantage, provided, always, Burgoyne attempts to annoy us, for it is pretty clear that we cannot get at him."
At the near approach of the enemy, the women and children had been collected under escort, and sent forward within the American lines to places of quiet and security for protection. Most of the residents of Queensbury, who desired to avail them- selves of the privilege, took refuge in Dutchess county. Some few remained behind, depending for safety upon their principles of non-resistance and their faith and reliance in God's protection. The scene of this general flitting, expedited by the frequent
finished bastion of an intended fortification. The bastion was closed at the gorge. In it was a barrack capable of containing between thirty and fifty men ; without ditch, without wall, without cistern ; without any picket to prevent an enemy from running over the wall; so small as not to contain over one hundred and fifty men ; commanded by ground greatly overlooking it, and within point blank shot ; and so situated that five hundred men may lie between the bastion and the lake from this extremely defensible fortress. Of the vessels built there, one was afloat and tolerably fitted, the other still upon the stocks ; but, if the two had been upon the water, they would have been of little use without rigging or guns."- Sparks's Life and Writings of Washington, vol. IV, p. 494.
57
450
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY.
appearance of small bands of armed savages, is thus graphically portrayed by another.1
" The roads were filled with fugitives; men leading little children by the hand, women pressing their infant offspring to their bosoms, hurrying forward in utmost consternation, from the scene of danger. Occasionally passed a cavalcade, two and even three mounted on a single steed, panting under its heavy load; sometimes carrying a mother and her child, while the father ran breathless by the horse's side. Then came a pro- cession of carts drawn by oxen, laden with furniture hastily collected ; and here and there, mingling with the crowd of vehicles, was seen many a sturdy husbandman followed by his household and driving his domestic animals before him."
After the engagement at, and the evacuation of Fort Anne, an interval of nearly three weeks elapsed before Burgoyne com- menced making his advance to Fort Edward. This delay 2 was fatal to his success. It gave the Americans time to rally from the stupefying blow of defeat. Washington issued his proclama- tion to the militia of western Massachusetts and Connecticut for help. It was read from pulpits and market places of New England, and thousands responded to the call.
Various reasons have been assigned for this neglect on the part of Burgoyne to improve his first brilliant successes. The following is given by an English writer,3 who strives to make all the events of the campaign enure to the credit of the British arms. "It may not be improper to relate here one of those stratagems in which the genius of the Americans, during the whole course of the war, was remarkably fertile. Schuyler took out of a canteen with a false bottom, a letter from a person in the interest of the provincials to General Sullivan, and prepared
1 Wilson's Life of Jane McCrea, p. 80.
2 Although this interval, as has been stated in the text, was actively improved by the Americans in placing obstructions in the streams and roadways, it appears by the testimony given by Earl Balcarras on the court martial which investigated this affair, that the British army was about six or seven days in making the road from Skenesborough to Fort Anne ; that the advance of the army was not delayed an hour on account of the roads ; that the rebels had made a very good road from Fort Anne to Fort Edward the year before ; and, that the few obstructions placed on the route were removed by the provincials of the British army in a few hours.
Burgoyne's despatches show that his head quarters were at Skenesborough during this interval ; and there are traditions related of high revel and debauch, which rendered him unfit for his position, and the proper discharge of his duties .- See State of the Expedition. Appendix XLII.
3 Stedman's American War, vol. I, p. 326.
451
GENERAL BURGOYNE'S MOVEMENTS.
an answer to it, drawn up in such a strain as to perplex and distract Burgoyne, and leave him in doubt what course to follow. This letter, which fell, as was intended into the English general's hand, had the desired effect, for he was completely duped and puzzled by it for several days, and at a loss whether to advance or retreat."
At length this unnatural quiet was broken. Burgoyne, who, on the 21st, had gone forward in person on a reconnoitering expedition in the direction of Fort Edward, having received in- telligence of the arrival of his long expected supplies from Eng- land, finally ordered a forward movement. The right wing under Fraser advanced on the 22d, and went into camp near Gordon's house at Kingsbury street. On the 26th Riedesel sent back from Skenesborough to Ticonderoga the bateaux loaded with the sick and disabled, the superfluous baggage and stores, the former of which were to be consigned to hospital at the fort; the latter with the boats to be transported across the portage, and shipped to the head of Lake George. To expedite the march, boats were sent forward with necessary baggage by the way of Wood creek to Fort Anne.
On the morning of the same day, the outposts of the American army stationed at Moss street, three miles north of Sandy Hill, were driven in, and a sharp skirmish ensued at that place, with an advanced party of British, provincials and Indians, in which several of the Americans were killed and wounded. The sur- vivors, with the remaining outposts and picket guard, retreated to Fort Edward, to seek such shelter as its crumbled embank- ments could afford. At noon the family of John Allen 1 of Argyle (a loyalist), consisting of himself, his wife and her sister, three children, and three negroes, slaves owned by his father- in-law Gilmore, nine persons in all, were butchered while at dinner by a party of savages under the command of Le Loup a Wyandot chief, who headed a force of Burgoyne's dusky allies.2
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