USA > New York > Oneida County > Annals and recollections of Oneida County > Part 26
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64
In an address before the New York Historical Society. Governeur Morris said : - " Let me recal, gentlemen, to your recollection, the bloody spot where Herkimer fell. There was found the Indian and the white man, born on the banks of the Mohawk, their left hand clenched in each other's hair, the right grasping in the grasp of death the knife. plunged in each other's bosoms ; thus they lay frowning."
Although the struggle at the time was so nearly balanced, yet in its results, it was to the Americans a victory achieved. The spirit of the Six Nations was in a great measure broken, and although scattered bands of them committed their de- predations and cruelties, they never afterwards would make stand for a field fight.
J. R. Simms, Esq., in his " History of Schoharie County, and Border Wars of New York," has recorded a great num- ber of personal incidents, and feats of courage and prowess, (in many cases taken from the relations of the actors.) con- neeted with Indian and tory irruptions upon the Mohawk, and from among which the author has selected the following relating to the Oriskany battle :-
After the Indians had mostly left upon hearing the firing at Fort Stanwix during the sortie of Col. Willett, Capt. John James Davis remarked to Isaac Covenhoven, a soldier
349
ROME.
xIx. ]
standing near, that he " believed the red devils had pretty mueh all left them." " I don't know," said C., "there may be some of them lurking about yet." These words were scarcely uttered before Capt. Davis, a brave and meritorious officer, fell mortally wounded, a bullet from the rifle of an Indian having passed through his lungs.
Capt. Jacob Gardinier, of the Tryon County militia, was distinguished for his bravery and personal aets during this terrible conflict. " With a few of his men, he vanquished a whole platoon, killing the captain thereof, after he had held him for a long time by his collar, as a shield against the balls and bayonets of the whole platoon. The brave militia captain lived many years, and was cured of thirteen wounds. After being literally riddled by bullets and bayonets, Capt. Gardinier crept into a cavity at the roots of a fallen tree, and continued the fight. He had with him a German lad as a waiter, who then became very useful, bringing to his master guns of the fallen, loading such as were not loaded, ete. He was so wounded that he could neither stand nor load his own gun, and yet from his place of temporary safety he did no little exceution. Observing an Indian stealthily lodging from tree to tree to get a shot at an American officer, upon whom he had brought his rifle several times with partial aim, Capt. G. shot him, and sent his High Dutch boy, as he called him, to get his gun. The lad returned with a report that the Indian was not dead, but was kicking, as he had fallen across a log with his feet up, and was probably in his death struggle. After a few min- utes, the boy was sent again, and soon returned with all the Indian possessed, save his carease.27
Capt. Gardinier was a blacksmith previously to the war, and had in his employ a man named Henry Thompson, a native of New Jersey, who " was a tall, lank-looking fellow,
350
ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY.
[CHAP.
as oud as he was ungainly. He was in the Oriskany battle, as a private under his employer, and after the conflict had lasted some time, and groans and death were rendered familiar, he approached the captain, and told him he was hungry. 'Fight away' said the intrepid officer. ' I can't, without cating,' said Thompson. ' Then go and get a piece,' was the reply. He did so; sat down in the midst of the battle. on the body of a dead soldier, and ate heartily, while the bullets were cutting the air around his head like hail- stones. Having finished his repast. he arose, and fought with renewed energy, appearing in the thickest of the fight. Such an evidence of cool bravery to gratify hunger, I be- lieve was never excelled, if before equalled."
Samuel Gardinier, a brother of the captain, received two balls from opposite directions, evidently from fowling pieces, and which met in his side, just above the groin. After the balls were extracted, he recovered, and the balls are still kept as sacred relies by his descendants.
In the heat of the battle, a little aside from the main body, William Merekley, of Stone Arabia, was shot by an Indian, and mortally wounded. Valentine Fralick, a neigh- bor, seeing him fall, came to him, and kindly offered to assist him. " Take care of yourself, and leave me to my fate." was the wounded man's reply. Several Indians ap- proaching at this moment, Fralick concealed himself under a fallen tree, and shortly after, going to the spot, he found that his friend had been tomahawked and scalped. Giving the body a temporary burial, he returned to the American camp on the battle field.
" After the battle of Oriskany, a song, commemorative of the event, was composed, and for a long time sung in the Mohawk Valley, of which the following is a stanza : -
.
351
ROME.
XIX. ]
"Brave Herkimer, our General, is dead, And Colonel Cox is slain ; And many more and valiant men, We ne'er shall see again."
As has been stated, Gen. Herkimer was wounded early in the battle, yet he continued to give his orders with coolness and promptness until the enemy withdrew. At one time, while the battle was raging fiercely around him, not forget- ting his Dutch habit, he deliberately took his tinder box from his pocket, and with his pocket knife and a flint arrow head, carried for the purpose, he lit his pipe, and smoked with great composure. After the battle, he was removed on s. litter to his house, two miles below the Little Falls. In a few days amputation became necessary, but through want of skill in the operator, the arteries were not properly se- cured .* His attendants, the night following, were cautioned to keep a close watch, to see that the wound did not bleed, and if it did, to give immediate notice ; but the bottle of spirits, which was formerly thought to be indispensable in the sick room, was too powerful for the nerves of the watch- ers. and they all went to sleep, and when they awoke they found the wound bleeding profusely. The alarm was given, but it was too late, the loss of blood had been such that he could not be saved. The General himself now becoming satisfied that but few more of the sands of life were left to run, called for his Bible, and very composedly selected one of the Psalms most appropriate to his case, which he read with great fervor, soon after which the hero who had thus shed his blood for his country-now the Christian hero-
* Col. Willett ealled to see the General soon after the operation, and found him sitting in bed smoking his pipe, and conversing in fine spirits. Early the next morning he learned that the General had died in the night, having bled to death. - Willett's Narrative.
352
ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY.
[CHAP.
calmly and composedly resigned his spirit to Him who gave it.
Thus one of the most valuable lives in his county was lost for lack of scientific skill in the operator, and the effects of alcohol on the attendants .*
Since writing the foregoing, the author accidentally dis- covered the following letter in a number of The Political Atlas, published in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, in June, 1807. The facts and incidents related are singular and interesting.
" SCHENECTADY, June 8, 1807.
"On Thursday, the 4th inst., about four miles from the city of Schenectady, aside of the Mohawk turnpike, sitting under a tree, I discovered Petrus Groot, who was supposed to have been slain in the Oriskany battle, under Gen. Herkimer, on the 6th of August, in the year 1777. I immediately recognized him, and on conversing. with him, he confessed himself to be the person I took him to be. 1 thien carried him to the nearest tavern, where I left him to be sent to his children and brothers, from whence, however, he departed before day the next morning, and was seen in Albany on Friday. Ilis mental faculties are much impaired, supposed to have been occasioned by a wound of a tomahawk near the fore part of his head, though he is at most times tolerably rational. His head is bald, the circle or scar of the scalping knife is plainly to be seen on it, as also a stab on the side of his neck, near the shoulder, and a small scar near the anche. * He speaks English, French, Dutch, and Indian, and says he has been last a prisoner among the
* The auther has made great exertion to obtain the age of Gen. Herkimer at the time of his death. Even since the printer had commenced this chapter, through a friend we have communica ed with a nephew of the General, by the name of Her- kimer. residing at Rockton, Herkimer County. The nephew is entirely unable, from any means in his possession, to give the desired information, but stated as lus LeHed, That his uncle at the time of his death was but about forty-five years of age. The author had supposed that he was considerably further advanced in life, and here the question rests, perhaps never to be solved.
.
353
ROME.
xix.]
Indians, north of Quebec. Had on an old dark gray coat, old brown- ish pantaloons, and has a large pack with him. He refused to go home, as one of his former neighbors whom he saw would not recog- nize him, he was fearful his children and brothers would not. He said he would go to the Governor's. Being at times deranged, it is feared he will stray away too far for his friends to find him. He is, of a very respectable family and connection.
" The printers in this and neighboring States are requested to give this a few insertions in their papers, to aid in restoring a poor sufferer to his children and friends, who has been thirty years a prisoner among the Indians. He is now sixty-five years of age. He was a Lieutenant in the militia at the time he was supposed to have been slain. JOIN SANDERS."
But to return to the fort. After experiencing many de- lays and encountering many difficulties, Adam Helmer- who, it will be recollected, was dispatched by Gen. Her- kimer from Oriskany-succeeded in getting into Fort Stan- wix and delivering his message at about 1 o'clock P. M., or, as other accounts say, 10 or 11 A. M. The signal guns were fired, but whether they were heard by Gen. Herkimer or his men, is not known. Col. Gansevoort immediately de- tailed 200 men, with a field piece, under Col. Willett, his second in command, to make a sally, and cause a diversion in favor of Herkimer, for the firing had been heard from the battle field, and the uncommon bustle in the tory and Indian camps led Col. Gansevoort to very correctly appreciate the posture of affairs. Just as the detachment under Col. Willett was about to leave the fort, the shower previously mentioned came on, which caused a delay. Fifty men, with a light three-pounder on a travelling carriage, having been added to Col. Willett's party, and the rain having ceased, at about two o'clock the sortie was made, Col. Willett proceed- ing directly to the tory camp. Such was the impetuosity of their movements, that Sir John Johnson's regiment sought
23
354
ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY. [CHAP.
safety in flight. Willett then marched to the Indian camp, which was forced with equal celerity.
The Americans captured the entire camp equipage, cloth- ing, blankets, stores, etc., of the two camps, and the baggage and papers of most of the officers.
There were in the fort seven teams of horses and waggons, and these were now dispatched for the plunder taken in the enemies' camps, and they passed to and from them three times each, twenty-one loads in all. The storming party having accomplished their work. now made a move to re- turn, when it was found that St. Leger was making an attempt to intercept them. A.sharp fire from the party, aided by the cannon on the fort, caused him to desist, and the Americans arrived safely in the fort, without the loss of a single man. Among the plunder were five British stand- ards, and these were immediately run up to flutter in the breeze beneath the stars and stripes. Within a few years paat, Gen. Peter Gansevoort, of Albany, son of the com- mandant of Fort Stanwix, presented to an Independent Military Company of that city, a brass drum taken in this sortie.
St. Leger, though in effect defeated, resolved not to regard the events of the day in that light, but to use them even to aid him in obtaining the surrender of the fort. He com- pelled Col. Bellinger and Major Frey, who were now in his camp as prisoners, to address a letter to Col. Gansevoort, dated 9 o'clock in the evening, August 6th, exaggerating the disasters of the day, and strongly urging a surrender, telling him how strong were his besiegers, that no succor could reach him, and assuming that Burgoyne was already at Albany. After a verbal demand for a surrender, which was indignantly rejected on the ground that it was a breach of the etiquette always due from honorable belligerents to
355
ROME.
xxx.]
send a verbal messsage for a surrender, St. Leger imme- diately followed it by a written one, to which Col. Ganse- voort sent the following laconic answer : -
"SIR: - In answer to your letter of to-day's date, I have only to say, that it is my determined resolution, with the forces under my command, to defend this fort, at every hazard, to the last extremity, in behalf of the United American States, who have placed me here to defend it against all their enemies.
" I have the honor to be, Sir,
" Your most obedient and humble servant,
"PETER GANSEVOORT, Col., " Commanding Fort Stanwix."
The only damage which the besieged had as yet received. was caused by the bursting of a few shells, killing a small number of the garrison, and slightly injuring the barracks, St. Leger's cannon being found altogether too light to make any impression on the walls of the fort.
Gen. Schuyler, on hearing of the attack on Gen. Herki- mer, and its results, dispatched Gen. Arnold with Gen. Larned's brigade to its relief, at the same time writing a letter to Col. Gansevoort, exhorting him to hold out to the last extremity, and encouraging him with flattering accounts of the prospects of staying the march of Burgoyne. On the 22d of August, Gen. Arnold, with about 900 light troops, arrived at Fort Dayton, which stood in the present village of Herkimer, where he halted, thinking it advisable not to proceed further until the arrival of reinforcements. He also addressed a letter to Col. Gansevoort, urging him to suffer ro apprehensions as to the result, for he knew the strength of the enemy, and knew how to deal with them, stating that he had been retarded by the roads, etc., and that militia were now joining him in great numbers, etc. He also an-
356
ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY.
[CHAP.
nounced to Col. Gansevoort the victory of Stark at Benning- ton, and eloses :- " Burgoyne, I hear this minute, is retreating to Ty. I make no doubt our army, which is near fifteen thousand strong, will cut off his retreat."
The situation of the garrison, although not desperate, was becoming critical. If not relieved soon, the want of pro- vision would compel them either to surrender or cut their way through a superior force in the night time, and retreat to join Arnold at Fort Dayton. The latter alternative Col. Gansevoort had resolved to pursue when he should be re- duced to one or two days' rations. " Those who knew him best. knew how well he dared to execute his resolves."
That nothing might be left undone, Col. Gansevoort thought it advisable to dispatch the brave Col. Willett and Lieut. Stockwell * to apprise Gen. Schuyler of his situation, and urge him to send an adequate force to his relief. We will accompany these two, and briefly relate the occurrences which followed, and which eventuated in the raising the siege. These officers left at 10 o'clock in the evening, on the 10th of August, creeping on their hands and knees through the enemy's lines, and adopting various arts of con- cealment on their way through swamps and pathless woods. From the manner in which they were obliged to make their egress from the fort, they could take no provisions with them, except a few crackers and cheese. In pursuing their way on the north side of the Mohawk, they very opportunely came to a place where a hurricane had, a few years previously,
* There is some difficulty at this time in ascertaining Stockwell's rank. In some accounts he is called Lieutenant, in others Major. Even in Willett's Narrative both titles are promiscuously used. The probability is, that in 1777 he was but a Lieutenant, but before the close of the war had been promoted to a Majority. Lient. Stock- well had been selected on account of his peculiar fitness for such un enterprise. as he was an excellent woodsman and hunter.
357
ROME.
XIX.]
prostrated the trees of the forest, and these had been suc- ceeded by a luxuriant growth of blackberry bushes, whose fruit was then ripe, and of which they made their only meal until they arrived at Fort Dayton .* On arriving there, they received a hearty welcome from Col. Weston, who was sta- tioned there with his regiment, and who gave them the agreeable intelligenec that Gen. Larned had been ordered by Gen. Schuyler to march his brigade of Massachusetts troops to the relief of the fort. Resting but one night at Fort Dayton, Col. Willett and Lieut. Stockwell started early the next morning, on horseback, to meet these troops. which they had the satisfaction of doing the same day at night. Gen. Larned informed them that Gen. Arnold, who was then at Albany, was to command the troops marching to the relief of the fort. Col. Willett the next day repaired to that city, where he learned from Gen. Arnold that the first New York regiment was on its march to join Larned's bri- gade. The next day Gen. Arnold and Col. Willett followed the troops up the Mohawk, and in two days arrived at Fort Dayton.
Arnold received information that there was to be a gather- ing of tories on a certain night at Shoemaker's, one of the king's Justices of the Peace, on the south side of the Mo- hawk, a few miles above, and Col. Willett, who was at the time at Fort Dayton, was dispatched with a competent force to arrest them. Col. Willett and his party arrived and sur-
* The "British Annual Register," of 1777, thus speaks of this enterprise : - " Col. Willett afterwards [after the sally] undertook, in company with another officer, a much more perilous expedition. They passed by night through the besiegers' works, and in contempt of the danger and cruelty of the savages, made their way for fifty miles through pathless woods and unexplored morasses, in order to raise the country, and bring relief to the fort. Such an action de- mands even the praise of an enemy."
-
358
ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY.
[CHAT.
rounded Shoemaker's in the night time, and made prisoners of the whole party, some twenty in number, and they were soon lodged in Fort Dayton. Among the number was Hanyost Schuyler, one of the coarsest and most ignorant specimens of humanity to be found in the valley, and yet a large share of shrewdness and low cunning werc interwoven in his character. He had been so notorious as a spy, that a drum-head court-martial, which was called the next day for his trial, found no difficulty in pronouncing him guilty, and he was sentenced to be hung the following morning. Capt. Hull was a member of this court martial, he who was the General Hull who so ingloriously surrendered Detroit in the war of 1812, and who was sentenced to death for his base conduct.
The mother and brother of Hanyost resided at the Little Falls, who, having heard of his capture and sentence, lost n > time in applying to Arnold to spare his life ; the General was, however, inexorable. Major Brooks, of Larned's bri- gade, perceiving the posture of affairs, and believing that some capital might be made out of the spy, went to Gen. Arnold and stated the scheme to him. Gen. Arnold, warned by the fate of Gen. Herkimer, and fearing his force insuf- ficient to raise the siege, the more readily agreed to resort to stratagem. The plan concocted was this :- Hanyost was to be suffered to escape from the guardhouse, and his life spared, on condition that he should repair to the Indian and tory camps in the vicinity of Fort Stanwix, and by an exagger- ated account of Arnold's force, induce them to desert their leader in sufficient numbers to cause St. Leger to raise the siege. If he failed, his brother, who consented to remain as a hostage, was to grace the same noose which had been pre- pared for Hanyost. All having been arranged, Arnold and Brooks went out, and related the particulars of the plan iu
)
359
ROME.
XIX.]
the presence and hearing of the sentinel at the door of the guardhouse, and after they were through, Arnold, with a significant look, asked the sentinel if he knew his duty, to which the latter gave an affirmative reply. After dark Hanyost made his escape from the guardhouse, the sentinel being cautious not to fire the alarm until the double traitor had time to get beyond the reach of pursuit. Then the alarm was given, the guard turned out in the pursuit, but without avail. All who were not in the secret regretted that such an arrant villain should have escaped the just doom that awaited him.
The life of his brother for this once caused Hanyost to be true to his country, and he fulfilled his contract to the letter. An Oneida Indian had also been let into the secret, who . cheerfully embarked in the enterprise. Hanyost, who was acquainted with many of St. Leger's Indians, upon his arrival in their camp told a most piteous story of his having been taken by the rebels, and his escape from being hanged, and also showed them several holes through his coat, made by bullets, which, he said, were fired at him when he made his escape. Well acquainted with Indian character, he com- municated his intelligence to them in a mysterious and imposing manner. When asked as to the number of men with Arnold, he shook his head, and pointed upward to the leaves of the trees ; and upon being farther questioned, he said the number of Arnold's men could not be less than 10,000. This news soon spread through the camps. At this juncture the Oneida arrived, and with a belt confirmed Hanyost's statement. On his way he had fallen in with two or three Oneida Indians of his acquaintance, who readily engaged in furthering his design, and these, dropping into the camp one after another, as if by accident, spoke of the great number of warriors marching against them. They
360
ANNALS OF ONEIDA COUNTY.
[CHAP.
also stated that the Americans did not wish to injure the Indians, but if they continued with the British they must all share one common fate. By these means, alarm and coL .- sternation were thoroughly spread among the whole body of Indians, and they resolved upon immediate flight. St. Leger did all in his power to prevent their leaving at this critical juneture, but in vain. As a last resort, he tried to get them drunk, but the dram bottle had lost its charms, and they refused to drink. After he had failed in every attempt to induee them to remain, he tried to persuade them to fall into the rear, and form a covering party to his army, but this only inereased their dissatisfaction, and they charged him with the design of sacrificing his red allies to the safety of the whites. In a mixture of rage and despair, St. Leger immediately ordered the siege to be raised, and with his entire force of regulars, tories, and Indians, he left in such haste as to leave his tents standing, abandoning all his artillery, and some accounts state that they left their dinners cooking over their camp fires. The Oneida Indian, it seems, had a spice of the wag in his composition, for he followed in the rear, and occasionally raised the cry, They are coming, they are coming, for his own diversion in seeing the red coats take a foot race, and the retreating army never felt entirely safe until fairly embarked on the Oneida Lake.
Hanyost kept with St. Leger's army on the retreat, until it arrived at the mouth of Wood Creek, when he returned to. Fort Stanwix, and gave Col. Gansevoort the first intelligence of the approach of Gen. Arnold's command. From thence he returned to Fort Dayton, and having fulfilled, on his part, every part and parcel of the contract, his brother was at once discharged. His principles had, however, undergone no change ; he was still a tory, and, Balaam-like, soon after
361
ROME.
XIX. ]
rejoined the British standard, attaching himself to the forces of Sir John Johnson. After the peace of 1783, Hanyost came back, and resided in the valley of the Mohawk. He was well known by some of the first settlers in Westmore- land, and was represented by them as a low, coarse, and apparently a very stupid being.
The author, in February, 1797, when a few weeks more than seven years of age, passed over the Oriskany battle field. For nearly a mile the road ran through the scarred forest. Many of the trees, from the ground to the height of twenty or thirty feet, were so perforated with balls, that they had the appearance of a building lately battered by a hail-storm. There was then but about an acre of the battle field cleared, and that of quite a recent date. In the clear- ing stood a log house, and near the house stood the stump of the beech tree beside which Gen. Herkimer received the fatal wound. From thence the author went to Fort Stan- wix. the appearance of which was truly formidable. The cannon mounted on its angles, and the pickets then mostly standing, plainly spoke of the purpose for which it was erected. Many of the pickets were standing as late as 1806.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.