USA > New York > Oneida County > History of Oneida County, New York, 1667-1878 > Part 31
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" Captain Hoyes was immediately detached to ent in upon their rear, while they engaged the lieutenant. Immediately upon the de- parture of Captain Hoyes, having learned that Lieutenant Baird, misled by the information of a cowardly Indian that Sir John was pressed,¿ had quitted his post to march to his assistance, I marched tho detachment of the king's regiment, in support of Captain Hoyes, by a road in sight of the garrison, which, with exceutive fire from his party, immediately drove the enemy into the fort, without any further advantage than frightening some squaws, and pilfering the packs of the warriors which they left behind them. After this affair
# Brant.
+ Supposed to have been a brother of General Nicholas Herkimer.
# This may have reference either to the battle of Oriskany or the sortie of Colonel Willett.
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HISTORY OF ONEIDA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
was over, orders were immediately given to complete a two-gun battery and mortar-beds, with three strong redonbts in their rear, to enable me, in case of another attempt to relieve the garrison by their regimental troops, to march out a larger body of the king's troops.
"Captain Lernoult was sent with 110 men to the lower landing- place, where he established himself with great judgment and strength, having an enclosed battery of a three-ponnder opposed to any sally from the fort, and another to the side of the conntry, where a relief must approach, and the body of his camp deeply intrenched and abbatised.
"When, by the unabating labor of officers and men (the smallness of our numbers never admitting of a relief, or above three hours' cessation for sleep or cooking), the batteries and redonbts were finished, and new cheeks and axle trees made for the six-pounders, those that were sent being rotten and unserviceable, it was found that our cannon had not the least effect upon the sod-work of the fort, and that our royals had only the power of teasing, as a six- inch plank was a sufficient security for their powder-magazine, as we learnt from the deserters. At this time Lieutenant Glenie, of the artillery, whom I appointed to act as assistant engineer, proposed a conversion of the royals (if I may use the expression) into howitzers. The ingenuity and feasibility of this measure striking me very strougly, the business was set about immediately, and soon executed, when it was found that nothing prevented their operating with the desired effect but the distance, their chambers being too small to hold a sufficiency of powder. There was nothing now to be done but to approach the work, by sap, to such a distance that the ramparts might be brought within their practice, at the same time all materials were preparing to run a mine nnder their most formidable bastion.
" In the midst of these operations intelligence was brought in by onr scouts of a second corps of 1000 men being on their march. The same zeal no longer animated the Indians. They complained of onr thinness of troops and their former losses. I immediately called a council of the chiefs, encouraged them as much as I could, promised to lead them on myself, and hring into the field 300 of the best troops. They listened to this, and promised to follow me, and agreed that I should reconnoitre the ground properest for the field of battle the next morning, accompanied by some of their chief warriors, to settle the plan of operations. When upon the ground appointed for the field of battle, scouts came in with the account of the first number swelled to 2000. Immediately after a third, that General Burgoyne's army was cut to pieces, and that Arnold was advancing, by rapid and forced marches, with 3000 men. It was at this moment I began to suspect cowardice in some and treason in others. However, I returned to camp not withont hopes, with the assistance of my gal- lant coadjutor, Sir John Johnson, and the influence of the superin- tending Colonels, Claus and Butler, of inducing them to meet the enemy. A eonneil, according to their custom, was called, to know their resolutions, before the breaking up of which I learned that 200 were already decamped. In about an hour they insisted that I should retreat, or they would be obliged to abandon me. I had no other part to take, and a hard part it was to troops who conld do nothing without them, to yield to their resolves, and therefore pro- posed to retire at night, sending on before my sick, wounded, artil- lery, etc., down the Wood Creek, covering them hy our line of march.
"This did not fall in with their views, which were no less thau treacherously committing ravage upon their friends, as they had lost the opportnuity of doing it upon their enemies. To effcet this they art- fully caused messengers to come in, one after the other, with accounts of the near approaches of the rebels; one and the last affirmed that they were within two miles of Captain Lernonlt's post. Not giving entire credit to this, and keeping to my resolution of retiring by night, they grew furious and abandoned, seized upon the officers' liquors and cloaths in spite of the efforts of their servants, and became more formidable than the enemy we had to expect. I now thought it time to call in Captain Lernoult's post, retiring with the troops in camp to the ruined fort called William," in the front of the garrison, not only to wait the enemy if they thought proper to sally, but to protect the boats from the fury of the savages, having sent forward Captain Iloyes, with his detachment, with one piece of cannon, to the place where Bull Fort stood, to receive the troops, who waited
the arrival of Captain Lernoult. Most of the boats were escorted that night heyond Canada Creek, where no danger was to be appre- hended from the enemy. The creek at this place, bending from the road, has a deep cedar swamp between. Every attention was now turned to the month of the creck, which the enemy might have pos- sessed themselves of by a rapid march by the Oncyda Castle. At this place the whole of the little army arrived by twelve o'clock at night, and took post in such manner as to have no fears of anything the enemy could do. Here we remained until three o'clock next morning, when the boats which could come up the creek arrived, or rather that the rascally part of all nations of the Indians would snffer to come up ; and proceeded across Lake Oncyda to the ruined fort Brewerton, where I learnt that some boats were still lahoring down the creek, after being lightened of the best part of their freight by the Massasagoes. Captain Lernoult proposed, with a boatfnl of armed men, to repass the lake that night to relieve them from their labor, and supply them with provision. This transaction does as much honor to the humanity as the gallantry of this valnable officer.
"On my arrival at the Onondago Falls, I received an answer to my letter from Your Excellency, which showed, in the clearest light, the scenes of treachery that had been practiced upon me. The mes- senger had heard, indeed, on his way that they were collecting the same kind of rabble as hefore, but that there was not an enemy within forty miles of Fort Stanwix.
" Soon after my arrival here I was joined by Captain Lernoult, with the men and boats he had heen in search of. I mean immediately to send off, for the nse of the upper garrison, all the overplus pro- visions I shall have, after keeping a sufficiency to carry my detach- ment down, which I mean to do with every expedition in my power the moment this business is effected, for which purpose I have ordered here the scow. The sloop is already gone from this with her full lading.
"Officers from each corps are sent to Montreal to procure necessa- ries for the men, who are in the most deplorable situation from the plunder of the savages, that no time may he lost to join your army.
" I have the honor to be, with the greatest respect, sir, Your Excel- lency's most obedient and most faithful servant,
" BARRY ST. LEGER.
"OSWEGO, August 27, 1777. " His Excellency GENERAL BURGOYNE."
The following letter from Colonel Daniel Claus, written at Montreal, Oct. 16, 1777, to Secretary Knox in London, gives another view of the campaign, and, though not so strictly military nor so scholarly as St. Leger's report, is valuable as a contemporaneous document. It may be found in the eighth volume of the "Documentary History of New York":
"SIR,-I take the liberty to give you such an account of the expe- dition I was appointed to this campaign as my capacity will permit mne, and which, though tedious, I nsed all the conciseness in my power.
"Ou wy arrival at Quebec, the first of June, Sir Guy Carleton being at Montreal, my letter from Lord George Germaine was for- warded to him by Lieutenant-Governor Cramahe that day, and my- self arrived there a few days after. I waited upon Sir Guy, who acknowledged the receipt of the letter, but said nothing further npon it, than addressing himself to Captain Tice, who was in England with Joseph (Brant), and there at Levyt that I had now the com- mand of him and those Indian officers and Indians that were des- tined for Brigadier St. Leger's expedition. A day or two after I waited on him again for his orders and instructions, aud asked what rank I was to have on the expedition. He replied ou the latter that it could not be settled here. . ..
" Some time before our march I informed myself of Sir Gny Carle- ton, of the state Fort Stanwix was in. He told me that by the latest accounts from Colouel Butler there were sixty men in a picketed place. Determined to be sure, I dispatched one John Hare, an active Indian officer, with the Mohawk chief, John Odiseruney, to collect a small party of Indians at Swegachy, and reconnoitre Fort Stanwix as well as possible, and bring off some prisoners if they could.
St. Leger here evidently refers to the work called Fort Newport, situated ou Fish Creek, as he had no boats in the Mohawk, and Fort Williams was npon the latter stream. See map.
+ The old French Fort Levis, on Oraconenton Island.
Į Ogdensburgh.
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HISTORY OF ONEIDA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
" On the 23d of June I set out from La Chine, near Montreal,- the Brigadier, who was getting the artillery-hoats ready to take in two sixes, two threes, and four cohorns (being our artillery for tho oxpedition), was to follow the day after,-and proceeded for an island destined for our rendezvous, in the entrance of Lake Ontario, called Buek Island, in company with Sir John Johnson and his regi- ment. In my way thither I collected a body of 150 Mi. ixagey and Six Nation Indians. All the Indians of the inhabited parts of Canada, whom I had under my care for fifteen years, and was best acquainted with, were destined for General Burgoyne's army. The Minisagey and Six Nations the Brigadier intended should aecompany him in an alert to Fort Stanwix, by a short cut through the woods from a place called Salınon Creek, on Lake Ontario, about twenty miles from Os- wego, in order to surprise the garrison and take it with small arms.
"Between sixty and seventy leagues from Montreal iny recon- noitering party returned and met we, with five prisoners (one lieu- tenant) and four scalps, having defeated a working party of sixteen rebels as they were cutting sod towards repairing and finishing the old fort, which is a regular square, and garrisoned by upwards of 600 men, the repairs far advanced, and the rebels expecting us, and were ae- quainted with our strength and route. I immediately forwarded the prisoners to the Brigadier, who was about fifteen leagues in our rear. On his arrival within a few leagues of Buck Island he sent for me, and, talking over the intelligence which the rebel prisoners gave, he owned that if they intended to defend themselves in that fort our artillery was not sufficient to take it. However, he said he had de- termined to get the truth of these fellows. I told him that, having examined them separately, they agreed in their story. And here the Brigadier had still an opportunity and time for sending for a better train of artillery and wait for the junction of the Chasseurs, which must have seeured us success, as every one will allow. However, he was still full of his alert," making little of the prisoners' intelligence.
"On his arrival at Buek Island the 8th of July, he put me in orders as superintendent of the expedition, and empowered mne to act for the best of my judgment for His Majesty's service, in the manage- ment of the Indians on the expedition, as well as what regarded their equipment, presents, etc., he being an entire stranger thereto. There was then a vessel at the island which had some Indian goods on board, which Colonel Butler had procured for the expedition, but, upon examination, I found that almost every one of the above articles I demanded at Montreal were deficient, and a mere impossibility to procure them at Buek Island, had I not luckily provided some of those articles before I left Montreal at iny own risk, and with diffi- culty Brigadier St. Leger found out thirty stand of armus in the artil- lery stores at Swegachy, and I added all my eloquence to satisfy the Indians about the rest.t
" The Brigadier set out from the island upon his alert the 19th of July, I having been ordered to proceed to Oswego with Sir John Johnson's regiment and a company of Chasseurs lately arrived, there to convene and prepare the Indians to join the Brigadier at Fort Stanwix. On my arrival at Oswego, 23d July, I found Joseph Brant there, who acquainted me that his party, consisting of about 300 Indians, would be in that day, and having been more than two months upon service, and were' destitute of necessaries, ammunition, and some arms. Joseph at the same time complained of having been very seantily supplied by Colonel Butler with ammunition wheu at Niagara in the spring, although he acquainted Colonel Butler of his being threatened with a visit from the rebel General Herkimer, of Tryon County, and actually was afterwards visited by him, with 300 men with him, and 500 at some distance, when Joseph had not 200 Indiaus together ; but resolutely declaring to the rebel general that he was determined to aet against them for the king, he obliged them to retreat with mere menaces, not having twenty pounds of powder among his party.
" The 24th of July I received an express from Brigadier St. Leger, at Salmon Creek, ahout twenty miles fromn Oswego, to repair thither with what arms and vermilion I had, and that he wished I would come prepared for a march through tho woods. As to arms and vermilion I had none, but prepared myself to go upou the march, and was ready to set off, when Joseph camo into my tent and told me that as no person was on the spot to take care of the number of
Indians with him, he apprehended in case I should leave them they would become disgusted, and disperse, which might prevent the rest of the Six Nations to assemble, and be hurtful to the expedition, and begged I would first represent these circumstanees to the Brigadier by letter. Brigadier St. Leger mentioned, indeed, my going was chiefly intended to quiet the Indians with him, who were very drunk and riotous, and Captain Tice, who was the messenger, informed me that the Brigadier ordered the Indians a quart of rum apiece, which made them all beastly drunk, and in which case it is not in the power of man to quiet them. Accordingly, I mentioned to the Brigadier, by letter, tho consequences that might affect his Majesty's Indian interests in ease I was to leave so large a number of Indiaus that were come already and still expected. Upon which representation, and finding the Indians disapproved of the plan, and were unwilling to proceed, the Brigadier came away from Salmon Creek, and arrived the next day at Oswego with the companies of the 8th and 34th Regiments, and about 250 Indians.
" Having equipped Joseph's party with what necessaries and am- munition I had, I appointed the rest of the Six Nations to assemble at the Three Rivers,f a convenient place of rendezvous, and in the way to Fort Stanwix, and desired Colonel Butler to follow me with the Indians he brought with him from Niagara, and equip them all at Three Rivers.
"The 26th of July, left Oswego, and 2d of August arrived with the Brigadier and the greatest part of the troops before Fort Stanwix, which was invested the same evening. The enemy having stopped up a uarrow river, called Wood Creek, by cutting of trees across it for about twenty miles, along which our artillery, provisions, and baggage were to pass, which passage to cut open required a num- ber of men, as well as cutting a road through the woods for twenty- five miles to bring up the artillery, stores, cte., that were immediately wanted, which weakened our small arms greatly.
" The 3d, 4th, aud 5th, the Indians surrounded the fort, and fired from behind logs and rising grounds at the garrison wherever they had an object, which prevented them from working on the fortifica- tions in the day. The 5th, in the afternoon, accounts were brought by Indians, sent by Joseph's sister from Canajoharie, that a body of rebels were on their march, and would be within ten or twelve miles of our camp by night. A detachment of about 400 Indians was ordered to reconnoitre the enemy. Sir John Johnson asked leave to join his company of light infantry and head the whole, which was granted. Colonel Butler and other Indian officers were ordered with the Indians.
" The rebels having an imperfect account of the number of Indians that joined us (being upward of 800), not thinking them hy one- fourth as many, and being sure as to our strength and artillery (which we learned by prisoners), that they knew it from their emis- saries before we left Canada. They therefore, on the 6th, marched on, to the number of upwards of 800, with security and carelessness.
" When within six quiles of the fort, they were waylaid by our party, surprised, briskly attacked, and, after a little resistance, repulsed and defeated, leaving upwards of 500 killed on the spot, among which were their principal officers and ringleaders; their general was shot through the knee, and a few days afterward died of au amputation.
" We lost Captains Hare and Wilson of the Indians, Lientenant McDonald of Sir John's regiment, two or three privates, and thirty- two Indians, among which were several Seneka chiefs, killed. Cap- tain Watts, Lientenant Singleton, of Sir John's regiment, and thirty- three Indians wounded.
" During the action, when the garrison found the Indians' eamp (who went out against their reinforcement) empty, they boldly sallied ont, with three hundred men and two field-pieces, and took away the Indians' packs, with their clothes, wampum, and silver work, 'they having gone in their shirts as naked to action ;' and when they found n party advancing from our camp they returned with their spoil, taking with them Lieutenant Singleton and a private of Sir John's regiment, who lay wounded in the Indian enmp.
" The disappointment was rather greater to the Indians than their loss, for they had nothing to cover themselves at night, or against the weather, and nothing in our camp to supply them till I got to Oswego.
" After this defeat, and having got part of our artillery up, some
# The juuction of the Oswego, Oncida, and Sencea Rivers.
# The colonel is disposed to be sareastie upon St. Leger.
+ Whatever else may be said against Colonel Claus, it is evident he was not afraid to murder the King's English.
16
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HISTORY OF ONEIDA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
eohorn shells were thrown into the fort, and a few shots fired. A flag then was sent with an account of the disaster of their intended relief, and the garrison was summoned to surrender prisoners of war, to be marched down the country, leaving baggage, &c., behind, to satisfy the Indians for their losses.
" The rebels, knowing their strength in garrison as well as fortifi- cation, and the insufficiency of our field-pieces to hurt them, and apprehensive of being massacred by the Indians for the losses sus- tained in the action, they rejected the summons, and said they were determined to hold out to the last extremity.
" The siege then was carried on with as much vigor as possible for nineteen days, but to no purpose. Sir John Johnson proposed to follow the blow given to the reinforcements (who were chiefly Mohawk River people), to march down the country with about two hundred men, and I intended joining him with a sufficient body of Indians ; hut the Brigadier said he could not spare the men, and disapproved of it. The inhabitants in general were ready (as we afterwards learned) to submit and come in. A flag then was sent to invite the inhabitants to submit and be forgiven, and assurance given to pre- vent the Indians from being outrageous ; but the commanding officer of the German Flats hearing of it, seized the flag, consisting of En- sign Butler, of the Eighth Regiment, ten soldiers, and three Indians, and took them up as spics. A few days after General Arnold, com- ing with some cannon and a reinforcement, made the inhabitants return to their obedience. The Indians, finding that our besieging the fort was of no effect, our troops but few, a reinforcement, as was reported, of fifteen hundred or two thousand men, with field-pieces, by the way, began to be dispirited, and fell off by degrees. The chiefs advised the Brigadier to retreat to Oswego, and get better artillery from Niagara, and more men, and so return and renew the siege; to which the Brigadier agreed, and accordingly retreated on tho twenty-second of August .*
"On our arrival at Oswego, the twenty-sixth, and examining into the state of the troops' necessaries, the men were without shoes and other things, which only could be got at Montreal, the Brigadier at the same time having received a letter from General Burgoyne to join him, either by a march through the woods back of Tryon County (which was impracticable) or the way he came. Hle adopted the latter on account of procuring necessaries for the men. The Indians were as much as possible reconciled to this resolution, with a promise that they should be convened as soon as Col. Butler could return from Montreal with some necessaries for them. There being Indian traders at Oswego, I saw myself under a necessity to clothe these Indians that lost their packs by the rebels at Fort Stanwix, which made them return home contented.
"Tbus has an expedition miscarried merely for want of timely and good intelligence. For it is impossible to believe that, had the Brigadier St. Leger known the real state of the fort and garrison of Fort Stanwix, he could possibly have procceded from Montreal with- out a sufficient train of artillery and his full complement of troops. And yet, hy what I find, very large sums have been expended on account of government at Niagara upon the Indians these two years past, and they at the same time kept inactive; whereas, had these presents been properly applied, the Six Nations might not ouly pre- vent Fort Stanwix from being re-established, but even Ict not a rebel come near it or keep it up,-it being almost in the heart of their country, and they with reluctance saw the Crown creet a' fort there last war. All the good done by the expedition was, the ringleaders and principal men of the rebels of Tryon County were put out of the way ; but had we succeeded, it must he of vast good effect to the northern operations, and its miscarrying, I apprehend, to my deep coneern, to be the reverse."
The following interesting account of St. Leger's expedi- tion was published in the "British Annual Register" for 1777, and is copied from the Oriskany Centennial volume. It gives a view of the subject taken from another stand- point :
"St. Leger's attempt upon Fort Stanwix (now named by the Amer- icans Fort Schuyler) was, soon after its commencement, favored by
a success so signal as would, in other cases and a more fortunate season, have been decisive as to the fate of a stronger and more impor- taut fortress. General Herkimer, a leading man of that country, was marching at the head of eight or nine hundred of the Tryon County militia, with a convoy of provisions, to the relief of the fort. St. Leger, well aware of the danger of being attacked in his trenches, and of withstanding the whole weight of the garrison in some par- ticular and probably weak point at the samo instant, judiciously dec- tached Sir John Johuson, with some regulars, the whole or part of his own regiment, and the savages, to lie in ambush in the woods and interrupt the encuy upon their march.
"It should scem, by the conduct of the militia and their leader, that they were not only totally ignoraut of military duties, but that they had uever heard by report of the nature of an Indian war, or of that peculiar service in the woods to which, from its nature and situ- ation, this country was at all times liable. Without examination of their ground, without a reconnoitering or flanking party, they plunged blindly into the trap that was laid for their destruction. Being thrown into a sudden and inevitable disorder by a near and heavy fire on almost all sides, it was completed by the Indians, who, instantly pursuing their fire, rushed in upon their broken ranks and made a most dreadful slaughter amongst them with their spears and hatchets. Notwithstanding their want of conduct the militia showed no want of courage in their deplorable situation. In the midst of such ex- treme dauger and so bloody an execution, rendered still more terri- ble by the horrid appearance and demeanor of the principal actors, they re-collected themselves so far as to recover an advantageous ground, which enabled them after to maintain a sort of running fight, by which about one-third of their number was preserved.
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