History of Oneida County, New York : with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 11

Author: Durant, Samuel W
Publication date: 1878
Publisher: Philadelphia : Everts & Fariss
Number of Pages: 920

USA > New York > Oneida County > History of Oneida County, New York : with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 11

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).

War was the final result, and the summer of 1696 wit- nessed another great expedition from Canada into the Iroquois country. Count Frontenac left Montreal on the 4th of July with an army of about 2200 men, consisting of regulars, Canadians, and Indians, commanded by Vaudreuil, Callières, Ramesay, De Crisasy, Suberease, and others, and accompanied by batteries for siege operations. He passed up the St. Lawrence, reaching Fort Frontenac on the 19th, and on the 26th erossed to the southern shore of Like On- tario. From thence the army ascended the Oswego River, dragging their bateaux, guns, mortars, and munitions past the rapids, on rollers. A strong work was constructed at the mouth of the Oswego, and the Marquis de Crisasy left with a detachment to hold it.

When, after herculean toil, the army reached the Indian capital, Onondaga, they found it a smoking ruin, and not an enemy to be seen. The dead bodies of two French pris- oners were found among the charred ruins. The army busied itself for two days entting down the growing corn, and destroying the caches of provisions. The Oneidas sent a messenger to beg for peace, which the haughty Governor offered to grant on condition that the nation should mi- grate to Canada and settle there; and Vaudreuil was detached with 700 men to enforce the demand.

An old Onondaga Indian was found hidden in a hollow tree, and the French Indians were elamorous to burn him; and, to the disgrace of Frontenac, he deemed it best to let them have their wish.

The old man of eighty years was accordingly made to suffer all that savage ingenuity could devise; but not a marmur escaped his lips. He taunted them and defied them to do their worst, until one of them, getting enraged, rushed upon him and gave him a mortal stab. " I thank you," said he, " but you ought to have finished as you be- gan and killed me by fire. Learn from me, you dogs of Frenchmen, how to endure pain ; and you, dogs of dogs ! their Indian allies, think what you will do when you are burned like me."

Vaudreuil destroyed the principal town of the Oneidas,

# Colonel Schuyler had greater influence with the Indians of the Five Nations than any other man except Sir William Johnson. Ite took a delegation of Mohawk warriors to England in Queen Anne's time, and they were treated with marked respeet by the court and the people.

HISTORY OF ONEIDA COUNTY, NEW YORK.

together with the growing corn and whatever he could find, and returned at the end of three days, bringing several chiefs as hostages for the fulfillment of the demands of the Governor. There was talk of marching upon the Cayugas, but the project was finally abandoned and the army returned to Canada. The expedition of Vaudreuil was the first that had penetrated the country of the Oncidas, and the visit of Frontenae was the last made by the French in force to the Iroquois country for many years.

EMBASSIES AND FORTIFICATIONS.

About the year 1700 the English began to think seriously of building forts in the Iroquois country, and we find by reference to the Colonial History, that Lord Bellamont men- tions the matter in a letter to the Lords of Trade, wherein he advocates the erection of a work near Oncida Lake. In September of that year a commission, consisting of Colonel Romer, an engineer, Major Van Brugh, and Hendrick Hansen, was sent from Albany to Onondaga, for the pur- pose of holding couneils with the Indians, to look after matters concerning the French, and also to examine with reference to erecting forts. On their way they lodged over night at the Oneida capital, whose chief was making preparations for an expedition against the Choctaws.

The commission visited the Mohawks, Oneidas, and On- ondagas. At a council held at Onondaga, Teganisorens, an orator and chief of the Onondagas, made a speech. The commissioners reported in favor of erecting fortifications at the carrying-place between the Mohawk and Wood Creck.

In June, 1701, Captain Johannes Bleecker and David Schuyler were sent as agents of the government to Onon- daga, to learn of the movements of the French. They visited Oneida Castle on their way.

In the same month the French sent M. Marricour ( Mer- cier ?) and the Jesuit father, Bruyas, to hold a council at Onondaga. Tegunisorens again made a great speech, in which he described his recent journey to Canada and his reception by the Governor. Both the French and English were desirous of establishing trading-posts and missions in the Indian country, and in July of this year the former took possession of Tjugh-sagh-ron-die, now Detroit, and erected a fort, which was named Pontchartrain, after a prominent nobleman of France. A strong work called Fort Anne, after the English queen, was begun at Albany in August, 1702, under the orders of Governor Cornbury.

In 1708, Rev. Father Jacques Ileu was a missionary with the Onondagas.

In April and May, 1711, Colonel Peter Schuyler, Cap- tain Johannes Roseboom, Jobannes Bleecker, Nicholas Schuyler, and John Baptist Van Eps, an interpreter, vis- ited Onondaga to treat with the Iroquois. At that time the French, under the direction of M. de Longueil, were constructing a small block-house at Onondaga. Colonel Schuyler took the liberty to tear it down. It was 24} by 18 feet in dimensions, and was probably designed for a trading-house. The French had collected lumber to build a chapel, and this also was destroyed by Schuyler. In 1713 another embassy, consisting of Captain John Bleecker, Hen- drick Hansen, and Lawrence Clase, visited the Iroquois.

As early as 1697, William III., of England, had noticed

the location called, by the French and Indians, Chonaguen, now Oswego, and determined to erect a fort and establish a mission there, and the plate and furniture for the chapel were said to have been forwarded to America, but the death of the sovereign put an end to the project.

The territory occupied by the Iroquois Confederacy had been claimed by both the French and English as a part of their respective domains, but at the Treaty of Utrecht, in 1713, the nominal jurisdiction was conceded to the English. About this time (1712-13) the Five Nations became Six, by the admission of the Tuscaroras.

With the conclusion of peace trade and enterprise re- vived, and the English and Dutch traders passed up the Mohawk and penetrated to the great lakes, and even to the Mississippi, rivaling the French in their enterprise for the control of the fur trade. Various attempts were made to establish trading-stations; among others, a post was erected on Irondequoit Bay by Governor Burnet in 1721, but it seems not to have remained long. The French were natu- rally jealous of what they deemed the encroachments of the English, and strove by every means, save open bostilities, to counteract them.

The Indians found that they could trade to much better advantage with the English than the French, and the latter were likely to lose all their traffic in furs, which, up to this time, they had practically monopolized, at least so far as the western nations were concerned.

In May, 1725, M. de Longueil visited Chouaguen, and passed up as far as the portage around the falls of the Oswego River. He did not find any English forts or trading-houses, but met no less than a hundred English and Dutch traders, with sixty canoes, engaged in the fur trade, who compelled him to show his passport, and pro- duced their order from Governor Burnet that no Frenchman should be allowed to proceed without one. The French officer passed on, and visited Onondaga, where, at a council, he obtained permission to navigate Lake Ontario with two small vessels, and likewise to build a stone fort, or house, at Niagara. The house and vessels were built in 1726.

In the early spring of 1727, Governor Burnet sent a strong party of workmen to construct a fort at Oswego, or Chouaguen, and these were speedily followed by a body of sixty soldiers to defend the post in case of necessity. It was built upon the west bank of the river, near its mouth, of large stones, and declared to be capable of resisting any force which the French could bring against it. The extent and importance of the fur trade at that point may be esti- mated from a statement by a French writer that there were no less than seventy English and Dutch cabins at onee erected there.

CHAPTER VI.

SETTLEMENTS IN THE MOHAWK VALLEY.

Sir William Johnson-Erection of Forts at Rome and Utica-The French War of 1754-60.

THE earliest settlers in the lower Mohawk Valley were Hollanders, or Dutch, as they were more commonly called. Their first settlement at Albany, called by them Fort

HISTORY OF ONEIDA COUNTY, NEW YORK.

Orange, after William, Prince of Orange, was made in 1613 or 1614, at which date a small stockade fort was built and traffic opened with the Indians.

They gradually spread up the valley of the Mohawk, and a settlement was made at Schenectady* in 1662. The rich bottom-lands of the valley were occupied by them as far west as Cuugh-na-wa-ga at an early day. Beyond this the valley, as far up as the German Flats (or Flatts, as it was then written), was settled by the German Palatinates, who first came to America in the beginning of the eigh- teenth century, to the number of three thousand, under the patronage of Queen Anne of England. The larger number settled in Pennsylvania. About 1713 a small colony settled in the valley of Schoharie Creek. Other colonies settled at various points along the Mohawk, and as early as 1722 had been established as far west as the Ger- man Flats, near the present village of Herkimer.

Cherry Valley, on the head-waters of the Susquehanna, was settled by Scotch-Irish in 1739. Grants of land as far west as Rome had been made as early as 1705, but pre- vious to the French war of 1754-60 there were no settlements outside of fortified posts west of the German settlement at the Flats.

SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON.

This gentleman, then only plain William Johnson, arrived in America in 1737, when about twenty-three years of age. Ile was sent out by his uncle, Sir Peter Warren, who was an extensive land-owner, and acted as his agent. He settled at first at what is still known as " Fort Johnson," on the Mohawk, three miles above the village of Amster- dam ; but about 1761 he removed to a location near the present village of Johnstown, the county-seat of Fulton County, where he erected the well-known " Johnson Hall," and here he continued to live until his sudden death, in June, 1774. He at first engaged in the fur trade, which proved lucrative, and in 1746 was appointed by Governor George Clinton Indian agent for the colony of New York. In 1755 he was appointed by General Braddock (then for a short time commander-in-chief of the British forces in America) general superintendent of Indian affairs for the colonies. This appointment was confirmed by the Crown in October of the same year. His successful man- agement of Indian affairs gave him a high standing with the government, both in England and America, and his military successes against the Baron Dieskau, in 1755, and again, at Niagara, in 1759, brought him titles and lands. He was created a major-general, and had the honors of knighthood conferred upon him. A very large tract of land, ; situated between the East and West Canada Creeks, was granted him as a gift from the king direct; and when the troubles which immediately preceded the American Revolution came on, he was one of the wealthiest land- holders in the colonies.

During his publie life, which only ended with his death, he probably possessed more influence than any man, before or since, over the American Indians, and especially the Six

Nations, who held him in the greatest respect and venera- tion, and at his death " exhibited the most extraordinary signs of distress and sincere affliction that ever were ob- served among that people." He probably attended more councils and treaties, connected with Indian affairs, than any other public man in the history of the country. His Indian title was War-ragh-i-ya-gey. The name of the baronet will frequently appear in the course of this work, as also his son's, Sir John Johnson, who succeeded to his titles and estates, which by his adhesion to the British in- terest were considered forfeited, and were subsequently con- fiscated by the American Congress.#

FORTS IN THE MOHAWK VALLEY.

Forts were erected at an carly day in the valley at Schenectady, at Canajoharie, at the mouth of the Scho- harie Creek (called Fort Hunter), and at a point nearly opposite the mouth of West Canada Creek ; this last was variously called Fort Kouari, Hareniger, and Herkimer. The Mohawk River was called by the French Rivière des Agnies.

As early as 1736 the Indian fur-traders petitioned the Assembly for the erection of a fort at the " carrying-place at the upper end of the Mohawk River." The trade of Oswego was quite extensive, and when war finally broke out between the English and French, in 1744, there was a great commotion on the frontiers.

In 1745, William Johnson was commissioned colonel in the colonial militia. He had been interested in the for trade, at Oswego, for about two years, and after his com- mission was issued he was also made contractor for supply- ing Fort Oswego. A small garrison was maintained at that post, and all supplies were transported up the Mohawk in bateaux, across the portage to Wood Creek on wheels, and thence in bateaux to Oswego.

As the traveler of to-day is whirled at rapid speed along the New York Central Railway, and catches glimpses of a little sluggish stream between Utica and Rome, and remem- bers that in that narrow and tortuous channel have passed the light canoes of a thousand Indian war-parties, and the more clumsy bateaux of the white man for generations, his imagination can have full play. The ancient forest covers

# Ahout the year 1750, while Sir William was supplying the garri- son at Oswego, a difficulty arose between him and the Colonial As- sembly, who refused to allow the amount of his bills, which thoy claimed were much in excess of the actual amount suppliedl. Ile immediately resigned his position as superintendent of Indian affairs, but continued his business as fur-trader. He claimed to have paid out of his own funds £7177, of which only £5801 had been allowed him, and of that nearly one-half remained unpaid. There was trouble at, once with the Indians, who could not be satisfied with any other agent.

Soon after this occurrence, hearing that the Jesuits were endeavor- ing to establish a missionary station at Oneida Lake, he convened the Onondaga and Oneida chiefs, and purchased of them the wholo lake, and a strip of land two miles in width entirely around it, for the sum of £350. This territory he offered to the colonial govern- ment at the same price, but they declined purchasing. About 1752 he was reinstated as Indian superinten lent, and his accounts were also probably settled. His Indian purchase was confirmed by the colonial government, and the lands thus purchased no doubt formed a part of his estate, which was confiscated by Congress during the War of the Revolution.

# In the Mohawk tongue, O-no-ii-la-gone'-na.

+ About 93,000 acres.

HISTORY OF ONEIDA COUNTY, NEW YORK.

all the landscape onee more, with hardly a cultivated spot, save where occasionally may be seen the rude bark cabins of the Iroquois, and the little field of stunted corn and beans, where the toiling squaw, with her elam-shell hoe, managed to raise a scanty allowance of vegetables for the winter's needs. The shrill whoop or the guttural exclama- tion of the savage is heard at intervals, as the painted war- riors ply the paddle along the shadowy stream. Anon a detachment of the king's regulars in scarlet uniforms ap- pears through an opening in the overhanging trees, and a long array of loaded bateaux toils slowly on with pole and paddle towards the distant fort on the banks of Ontario.

Now and then the journey is enlivened by a song, and occasionally a solid English oath grates harshly on the ear, for " our army swore terribly," no doubt, on the Mohawk as well as " in Flanders."

It is hard to realize that upon the bosom of this insig- nificant streamu have floated bands of savage warriors and regiments of English and American troops, with frowning guns and vast munitions of war.

The distance between the two points where the Mohawk River and Wood Creek approach nearest each other, at Rome, is less than a mile, but the portage was generally, unless at high water, about two miles.

The exact date of the erection of the first fortification at the carrying-place is not known ; but it was probably not long after the erection of the work at Oswego.

According to an old map in the Colonial History of the State, there was a small stockade work situated at the ex- treme western bend of the Mohawk River, in the city of Rome, south of the New York Central Railway, and very near where the Erie Canal passes. This work was quite likely to have been erected soon after the establishment of a trading-post at the mouth of the Oswego River, in 1727, as all the supplies for that post made the portage from this point to the navigable waters of Wood Creek. However, there is no certain evidence of the date of its erection. It was named on the map in question Fort Craven, but why so named it is impossible at this day to determine. Stand- ing a few rods south of this work was Fort Williams, which was erected at a later date, most probably about 1755, as it was in existence at the time of the capture of Fort Bull, on the 27th of March, 1756, by M. de Lery, and gar- risoned by a foree stated at 150 men, under command of Captain William Williams. This was, as shown on the map, built in the form of a five-pointed star, and must have been a very respectable fortification. Fort Craveu is said to have been destroyed by a flood in the Mohawk, and Fort Williams was destroyed by Colonel Webb upon his re- treat after the capture of Oswego by Montealın, in August, 1756. The site of these two old fortifications was buried under the debris from the Erie Canal, at the time its loea- tion was changed, in 1844 .*

Fort Bull (named, probably, from the officer who eon- structed it) stood on Wood Creek, about two and a half miles west-northwest from the site of Fort Stanwix, and near the junction of Mud Creek. The date of its erection is also

involved in impenetrable mystery. There is a strong proba- bility that it may have been the first one erected on the carrying-place, or it may have been erected at the same time with Fort Craven, for there is little doubt that the latter was in existence for some time previous to the erec- tion of Fort Williams. Fort Stanwix will be treated of farther on. There was still another fortification, partially completed, within the limits of the present city of Rome. It stood on or near the present United States Arsenal grounds. It was called Fort Newport, and was erected at some period prior to the siege of Fort Stanwix, as it is de- picted on Flury's map of the siege (see map) as being then in ruins. It may have been destroyed by the advance of St. Leger's army, under Lieutenant Bird, though the fact is not mentioned in his journal. In the journal of a Frenchman, probably an officer, who made a journey from Oswego to Albany in 1757-58, this work is mentioned as having been commenced by the English before the capture of Fort Bull, in March, 1756, but was never finished. He states that it was near a small stream, and precisely on the summit between Fort Williams and Fort Bull. It was, no doubt, the same as the ruined work shown on Flury's map of the siege of Fort Stanwix.

It would seem that previous to the opening of the war of 1754-60 the Indians had the monopoly of carrying gouds across this portage, for in 1754, according to colonial documentary history, the traders made bitter complaints against them for exorbitant charges.

The Six Nations had become jealous and uneasy at the proceedings of the English as early as 1748, in which year the celebrated Ohio Land Company was chartered, and half a million acres granted it on the Ohio River. Other companies were chartered in 1750-51, and extensive traets granted them in Northwestern Pennsylvania and Western Virginia. All these regions were claimed by the Six Na- tions, and they justly looked upon these great monopolies in the light of trespassers upon their ancient domain. These jealousies were so deep-seated that the Six Nations refused to send their warriors to assist Braddock ; and it is well known that he fought the terrible battle of Monon- gahela, July 9, 1755, without the aid of any considerable number of Indians, and these few did not belong to the Iroquois.

They also complained of the land-grants which had been made within the limits of the Oneidu territory, as early as 1705 and 1734, without consulting the Indians.

At the breaking out of the French war the population of Albany County, which then included all the country to the west of Albany, was said to have been 17,424, and of the whole colony of New York, 96,765 ; the latter 20,000 less than the present population of Oneida County. It is stated in the "Documentary History," vol. vii. page 101, that on the 21st of April, 1756, Sir William Johnson sent Captain Marcus Petry to build a fort at the " Oneida Car- rying-Place ;"f and under same date Jacob Vroman was sent to build one at Onondaga.

# Other accounts would indicate that Fort Williams stood on or near the site of Fort Stanwix.

+ This fort was located at O-na-mar-a-gha-ra, near Oncida Castle. IIc was dirceted by Sir William to ereet a work of logs 120 feet square, and, in addition, to build two block-houses, cach 24 feet square.

HISTORY OF ONEIDA COUNTY, NEW YORK.

FORT BULL CAPTURED .*

The first hostile demonstration of the French in the country of the Iroquois, in the war of 1754-60, was made in March, 1756, by M. de Lery, at the head of a foree of 362 men, according to his report, of whom 259 were French and Canadians, and the remainder (103) Indians.

A translation of De Lery's report, taken from the Docu- mentary History of the State, is herewith given. No eon- temporaneous English account would seem to be accessible, and no doubt for the very good reason that the garrison, including their officers, were nearly all put to the sword.

Due allowance is to be made for exaggerated statements relating to the geography of the country, distances, etc.

Fort Bull was probably never repaired after its destrue- tion by De Lery, but it has been much better treated than Fort Stanwix, for remains of it are still to be seen.

CAPTURE OF FORT BULL BY M. DE LERY.

"On the 27th of March, 1756, at four o'clock in the morning, the detachiments commanded by M. de Lery, lieutenant of the colonial troops, commeneed their march, very much weakened by the fatigue they experienced during fifteen days since they left Montreal, for they were two days entirely out of provisions.

" At half past five they arrived at the head of the carrying- place, and the scouts in advance brought in two Englishmen, who were coming from the fort nearest to Chouaguen (Oswego), whom M. de Lery informed that he should have their brains knocked out by the Indians if he perceived that they endeavored to conceal the truth, and if they com- municated it to him he should use all his efforts to extrieate them from their [the Indians'] hands.

" These prisoners stated that the fort this side of Choud- guen was ealled Bull, having a garrison of sixty soldiers, commanded by a lieutenant; that there was in this fort a considerable quantity of munitions of war and provisions ; that the fort was constructed of heavy pickets, fifteen to eighteen feet above ground, doubled inside to a man's height, and was nearly of the shape of a star ; that it had no cannon, but a number of grenadoes which Colonel Johnson had sent, on intelligence being communicated to him, by the Indians, of our march ; that the commandant of this fort was called Bull ; that fifteen bateaux were to leave in the evening for Chouaguen ; that at the moment sleighs were arriving with nine bateau-loads ; that the fort on the Corlear side, at the head of the carrying-place, was of much larger piekets, and well planked, having four pieces of cannon and a garrison of 150 men, commanded by Captain Williams, whose name the fort bore; that they did not know if there were any provisions in the fort, not having been in it.§

" At ten o'clock the savages captured ten men, who were conducting the sleighs loaded with provisions. These eon- firmed what the prisoners had stated, and added that 100 men arrived at eight o'clock on the preceding evening, who were said to be followed by a large force.

" Monsieur de Lery, whilst occupying himself in distrib- uting among his detachment the provisions found in the sleighs, was informed that a negro who accompanied the loads had escaped, taking the road to Fort Williams ; whereupon, not doubting but they would have information of him at that fort, he acquainted M. de Montigny, his second, of his determination to attack Fort Bull, the prisoners having assured him that the greater part of the provisions and stores were there. Each officer received immediate orders to form his brigade, and M. de Lery told the savages that he was about to attack the Bull, but they represented to him that now they had provisions to carry the detachment to La Presentation-English meat that the Master of Life had bestowed on them, without costing a man-to risk another affair would be to go contrary to His will; if he desired absolutely to perish he was master of his French- men. The commander replied that he did not wish to ex- pose them, and asked them only for two Indians to guide his expedition, which they with difficulty granted. Some twenty determined afterwards to follow him, being eneour- aged by some drams of brandy. The Algonquins, Nepis- sings, and those Iroquois who were unwilling to follow him, accepted the proposition made by M. de Lery to guard the road and the twelve prisoners. They assured the com- mander that he might make the attack ; they would take possession of the road and watch the movements of the English at Fort Williams.||

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.

History of Oneida County, New York : with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 11

Author: Durant, Samuel W Publication date: 1878 Publisher: Philadelphia : Everts & Fariss Number of Pages: 920

Author: Durant, Samuel W
Publication date: 1878
Publisher: Philadelphia : Everts & Fariss
Number of Pages: 920