History of Oneida County, New York : with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 12

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

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" The detachments having commenced their march along the high road, the soldiers having their bayonets fixed, M. de Lery gave orders, when within fifteen acres of the fort, to move straight forward without firing a shot, and seize the guard on entering the fort. He was still five acres off when he heard the whoop of the savages, notwithstanding the prohibition he had issued. He instantly ordered an advance, double-quick, in order to carry the gate of the fort, but the enemy had time to close it. Six Indians only followed the French ; the others pursued six English- men, who, unable to reach the fort, threw themselves into the bush.

" M. de Lery set some men to cut down the gate, and caused the commandant to be summoned to surrender, promising quarter to him and all his garrison ; to which he only answered by a fire of musketry, and by throwing a quantity of grenades. Our soldiers and Canadians, who ran full speed the moment the Indians whooped, got pos- session of the port-holes ; through these they fired on such

# This fort is referred to in a report of a committee appointed to explore the western waters in the State of New York. [Albany, Barber & Southwick, 1792.] It is laid down in Snuthier's map as Fort Bute. Its situation was about two miles west of Rome (two and a half miles according to Jones).

+ Paris Doe., xii.

# De Lery's detachment left Montreal on the 17th of March, on the ice, and came rie La Presentation,-now Ogdensburg, -thenec over the hills and up Black River.

¿ The necessity of fortifying this pass was pointed out for the first

time in October, 1736, by a number of Indian traders, who petitioned the Assembly to crect a fort at " the carrying-place at the upper end of the Mohawk River." When Fort Williams was ereeted has not been ascertained. There was a Fort William in the Mohawk country as early as 1745-46, but whether it be identical with this Fort Wil- liams is undetermined. The latter stood until 1756, when it was do- stroyed by General Webb, on his famous flight from Wood Creek, immediately after the fall of Oswego. It was succeeded in 1758 by Fort Stanwix, and finally by the present city of Rome. || This fort was on the site of Rome City.

HISTORY OF ONEIDA COUNTY, NEW YORK.

of the English as they could get a sight of. Great efforts were made to batter down the gate, which was finally cut in pieces in about an hour. The whole detachment, with the cry of ' Vive le Roi" rushed into the fort, and put every one to the sword they could lay hands on. One woman and a few soldiers only were fortunate enough to escape the fury of our troops. Some pretend that only one pris- oner was made during this action .*

"The commandant and officers repaired to the stores, and caused their men to use diligence in throwing the barrels of powder into the river ; but one of the magazines having caught fire, and M. de Lery considering that he could not extinguish it without incurring the risk of having the people blown up who should be employed, gave orders to retire as quick as possible. There was hardly time to do this when the fire communicated to the powder, which blew up at three points.

" The explosion was so violent that a soldier of Guienne and an Iroquois of the Sault were wounded by the debris of the fort, though they were already at a distance. The Indian, especially, is in danger of losing his life by the wound.

" A detachment was, however, sent to look after the bag- gage that remained on the road, and shortly after an Indian came to notify M. de Lery that the English were making a sortie. This caused him to rally his forces, and placing himself on the bank of the creek, he had the bombs, gre- nades, bullets, and all the ammunition that could be found thrown into the water. He had the fifteen bateaux staved in, and then set out to meet the sortie of which he had been informed. But he learned on the road that the In- dians had repulsed it after having killed seventeen men. This sortie was from Fort Williams, on the intelligence carried thither by the negro. The Indians who, unwilling to attack Fort Bull, took charge of the road acquitted themselves so well that the detachment quickly retreated with the loss of seventeen men. The Indians, coming some hours after to congratulate M. de Lery on his fortunate success, failed not to make the most of their advantage.

" A chief asked him if he proposed attacking the other fort, which was nothing more than braggadocio on his part. M. de Lery replied he would proceed forthwith if the Indians would follow him. This reply drove the chief away, and his party prepared to follow him. Our troops did the same, and encamped in the woods three-quarters of a league from the fort. The Fort Bull prisoners were ex- amined, and we learned that Col. Johnson, having been informed of our march, had sent notice to all the posts, re- garding it, however, as impossible, on account of the rigor of the season. Fort Bull is situated near a small creek, that falls into that of Chonaguen about four miles from the fort. Fort Williams is near the river Mohawk, which falls into that of Corler.t

"The carrying-place, from one fort to the other, is about four miles long, over a pretty level country, though swampy in some places."

This expedition, according to M. de Lery's particular euumeration, consisted of 15 officers, 2 cadets, 76 regular soldiers, 166 Canadians, and 103 Indians,-the latter being a gathering from the Oswegatchie, the Lake of the Two Mountains, the Sault St. Louis, St. Bigin, Alenakis, Al- gonquins, and Nipissings ; the whole amounting to 362 whites and Indians, of whom 265 attacked the fort. The French and Indian loss was five men wounded, and one soldier and one Indian killed.

The French commander estimated that more than 40,000 pounds of powder were burned or thrown into the creek, with a number of bombs, grenades, and balls of various calibres. A large amount of clothing and provisions was also destroyed or carried away. The loss of the English is stated at 90 men, of whom 30 were prisoners. About 30 horses were also killed or captured.

The command retreated by rapid marches, and reached Lake Ontario in seven days, were they were met by a con. voy of provisions in bateaux, and thence proceeded down the lake and St. Lawrence River to Montreal. A portion of their prisoners were left at Oswegatchie, or La Presen- tation, now Ogdensburg.t

The French account is substantially corroborated by the newspapers of the colonies published at the time. It was no doubt a barbarous massacre. A secret agent of the French, who passed down the Mohawk in 1757, in speak- ing of Fort Bull, says, " It was situated on the right bank of this river" (meaning Wood Creek ), " near its source, at the height of land. From Fort Bull to Fort Williams is esti- mated to be one league and a quarter (French measure). This is the carrying-place across the height of land. The English had constructed a road there, over which all the carriages passed. They were obliged to bridge a portion of it, extending from Fort Bull to a small stream, near which a fort had been begun, though not finished. It was to be intermediate between the two forts, having been located pre- cisely on the summit level. Fort Williams was situated on the right bank of the river Mohawk or Des Agnies, near the rise of that river, on the height of land. It was abandoned and destroyed by the English after the capture of Chou- aguen."§

It would appear that the Six Nations were in some doubt as to their standing with the belligerents in this war, for at a " peace talk," held at the residence of Sir William John- son, in May, 1756, Cun-agh-qui-es-on, a chief sachem of the Oneidas, reported the following : " Brothers; several sol- diers from Oswego and the carrying-place have come among us at Oneida, and among the Tuscaroras, and tell us that the great king, our father's son, has arrived at Boston with a great army, and is coming up to destroy all the Six Nations, to begin with the Mohawks, and that all the troops from Oswego and the carrying-place are to surround and assist in cutting us off."

On the 14th of June, Sir William Johnson was at Oneida, where he held a council, at which the Oneidas, Tuscaroras, and Skan-i-ad-a-ra-digh-roon-as were represented by Te- na-son-da. At this meeting the Oneidas complained of

" One Robert Eastburn, who was taken prisoner and carried to Os- wegatchie, says, "Except five persons, they put every soul they found to the sword."

t The Hudson River.

# The Abbe Picquet accompanied this expedition, at the head of 33 converted Indians, from his mission at La Presentation,

¿ Annals of Oneida County,

HISTORY OF ONEIDA COUNTY, NEW YORK.

their treatment at the hands of Captain Williams, at the carrying-place. On the 19th, Sir William continued his journey to Onondaga, where a great " condolence ceremony" was performed for the death of the Onondaga sachem, Cagh-ho-wat-i-to-ny, or " red head." The ceremony, which took place at the Onondaga Castle, was conducted by Abra- ham, chief of the Mohawk sachems, and Te-sa-nun-da and Can-agh-quay es-on, chief's of the Oneidas. Abraham was a brother of Hendrick, the great Mohawk sachem, killed at Lake George in 1755.

On the 4th of July, Sir William encamped at Oneida on his return, and on the next day he was waited on by all the Oneida sachems, who made many complaints against Captain Williams. It would seem that these complaints were duly considered, for shortly after Captain Williams was removed from his command and tried by court-martial .*

The first years of the French war were very disastrous to the British arms. Braddock was cut to pieces, Oswego and Fort William Henry were taken, Abercrombie's splendid army was defeated at Ticonderoga, and the English had but a " beggarly account" to offer as an offset.

In June, 1756, Colonel John Bradstreet passed up the Mo- hawk Valley with a fleet of bateaux, carrying thirty-two guns for the armament of the fort at Oswego, besides an immense amount of munitions of war and supplies. He also took along a reinforcement of 200 men for the garrison. Philip Schuyler, then a captain of militia, accompanied Brad- street on this journey, as his principal assistant. The ex- pedition reached Oswego in safety on the 1st of July. On the 3d, Bradstreet set out on his return, with his empty bateaux guarded only by the bateaux-men.

About ten miles above Oswego the command was sud- denly attacked by M. de Villiers, who had laid an anıbus- cade for the purpose of surprising him. A very sharp confliet ensued on the banks of the river and an island in the stream. But Bradstreet and the chivalrons Schuyler were more than a match for their subtle enemies, and, after several desperate conflicts, succeeded in beating them off at all points. This force under M. de Villiers had come on in advance of Montealm's army, from Henderson Bay, or Salmon River, for the purpose of waylaying any reinforce- ments for Oswego. After his repulse, De Villiers fell back upon his base of operations, and awaited the arrival of the main army, under Montcalm.

Bradstreet hastened back to Albany, where he found General Abercrombie lately arrived from England. He waited on the general, and laid before him the situation of Oswego, at the same time urging its reinforcement. Sir William Johnson also strongly seconded Bradstreet, and stated that if Oswego were taken it would be hard to hold the Six Nations in the English interest. But Abercrombie encamped his forces at Albany, and began fortifying.

The commander-in-chief, the Earl of Loudon, arrived in August, and assumed command. But he, too, was for a long time deaf to their entreaties to send the necessary re-

inforcements. At length, however, he was persuaded to send forward Colonel Webb with a brigade for the purpose. Colonel Mercer held Oswego with a force estimated at 1500 men, consisting of Shirley's and Pepperell's regiments, com- manded respectively by himself and Lieutenant-Colonel Littlehales, a small regiment of New Jersey militia, under Colonel Schuyler, a relative of Philip Schuyler, two or three independent companies, and several hundred carpenters and laborers.

On the 11th of August, Montealm appeared before the place, and at once proceeded with his usual alacrity to invest it. His whole force was less than 3000, yet he had that audacity which in itself is worth a host, and proceeded, as if there was no doubt of success, to erect his batteries. Mean- while, Colonel Webb, who, as we have seen, had been ordered forward with a brigade, did not get in motion from Albany until Montcalm was in sight of Oswego, and was met on his way up the Mohawk by an express bringing news of the surrender of Oswego, with all its garrison, stores, guns, ete., and the shipping on Lake Ontario, which took place on the 14th of August, after an investment of three days. Colonel Mercer was killed during the siege.

As soon as the news reached Albany, Lord Loudon ordered Sir William Johnson to march to the assistance of Colonel Webb. It appears that the latter officer had pro- ceeded as far as the carrying-place, where he cut down the timber along Wood Creek to obstruct the passage, and when he heard of the surrender of Oswego he set fire to Fort Williams and fled in haste towards Albany .; It was in perfect keeping with what we know of his character. In August, 1757, he was stationed at Fort William Henry, at the south end of Lake George, and when he heard of Mont- calm's approach, with a powerful army, he sneaked from the fortress and hurried to Fort Edward, about fifteen miles away, on the Hudson, where he remained at the head of a British force of 4000 men, and when importuned by the brave Scotsman, Colonel Munro, for assistance, he deliber- ately sent him a note advising him to make the best terms he could with the marquis. At this day he appears in the character of a poltroon, and is rarely spoken of save with the same contempt with which Americans invariably asso- ciate the names of Arnold and Hull. Had the English nation remained in the incompetent hands which, in 1757, threatened to sacrifice their whole empire in America, and Montcalm had been furnished with the necessary troops, there is little doubt but Loudon and Abererombie and Webb would have fled ingloriously on board the English ships, and the French arinies would have marched from Lake Champlain to Boston and New York.t

In June, 1757, William Pitt, Earl of Chatham, was placed at the head of the British ministry, competent gen- erals were put in the command of the army, and from this time the spirits of the English people revived, and their cause began to brighten. But we are anticipating.

In 1757, as before stated, Fort William Henry, at the

# Captain William Williams belonged to Sir William Pepperell's regiment, and was a native of Massachusetts. Ile probably con- structed the fort named in his honor, about 1755. Ilis regiment was disbanded Dec. 25, 1756, and he was retired on half-pay. He died about 1787. (Doc. Hist., vii. 151.)

t It is claimed that Colonel Webb had positive orders from the Earl of London to destroy this fort.

# In April, 1757, Sir William Johnson, with a force of 2000 men, encamped fifteen days at the German Flats, in anticipation of an attack.

HISTORY OF ONEIDA COUNTY, NEW YORK.

south end of Lake George, was taken by Montcalm, and the close of the year found the French masters of the Ohio River at Fort Duquesne, of the great lakes at Oswego and Niagara, and the route from Lake Champlain to the Hudson at Ticonderoga and Crown Point.

The carrying-place of Oneida remained unoccupied, after the destruction of Fort Williams by the pusillanimous Webb, until the summer of 1758, when General John Stanwix was sent with a body of troops to rebuild a thorough work. This was accomplished during the season, and the fort was named, in compliment to its builder, Fort Stanwix .* It stood on the east part of what is now block twelve in the first ward of the city of Rome, bounded by Dominick, Liberty, James, and Spring Streets. It was about 300 yards distant from the Mohawk River, as it now runs. Forts Craven and Williams were about 500 yards farther down the river.

CAPTURE OF THE GERMAN FLATS, NOVEMBER, 1757.

We will now go back a little in order to give an account of another inroad into the Mohawk Valley. Early in No- vember, 1757, M. de Bellestre, with 300 men, marines, Canadians, and Indians, left Montreal, and moved up the St. Lawrence and Lake Ontario to Rivière à la Famine, which is variously supposed to mean both Black and Salmon Rivers, and thence to Chouaguen, and up the Oswego River four leagues, and thence hy land to the vicinity of Oneida Lake. (It is probable that they left their boats and eanoes on the Oswego River and marched to the north of Oneida Lake.) On the 11th of November this party crossed the river Corleur ( Mohawk) in water up to the neck, and encamped for the night five miles above the upper fort ( Fort Kouari, or Herkimer), that protected the Pala- tine settlements. On the 12th they attacked and captured five forts (probably block-houses) and the village of German Flats, all of which were destroyed. Fort Herkimer, which was reported to have had a garrison of 350 men, was not attacked, probably because the detachment had no artillery.

About 40 of the inhabitants were killed and 150 taken prisoners. The destruction of property was irumense, though greatly overrated by the French commander. The settlement was rich and flourishing. The painful results of this attack might, to a great extent at least, have been avoided had the people of the valley paid heed to infor- mation of the enemy's advance, which was sent them by the friendly Oncidas fifteen days before the attack. The entire settlements were laid waste, the grain and provisions were all destroyed, and the stock killed or driven away.

The French began their return march on the 13th, and escaped unmolested with their booty and prisoners to Canada. A few days subsequent to this affair, Sir William Johnson dispatched George Croghan, Esq., with Mr. Mon- tour as interpreter, who held a council with the Ouridas at the German Fla's. at which the facts concerning the catas- trophe were elicited. At this council a chief named Co-

nagh-qui-e-son was the principal speaker for the Oneidas. This was the last raid made by the French into the valley of the Mohawk, and from this time until the opening of the American Revolution it was comparatively undisturbed by the din of war, except that various expeditions destined against the French in Canada passed through its borders.

It is said that in 1737 Schenectady, or Chenectedi, con- tained 300 houses. The valley was sparsely settled as far as the German Flats, and the total number of its arms- bearing population was given at nine companies. About the first of July, 1758, General Abercrombie moved towards Lake George with an army variously stated at from 15,000 to 18,000 men, composed of nearly equal propor- tions of English regulars and American troops. Colonel Bradstreet had asked permission to load a force via Oswego to Frontenac, which was known to be but indifferently gar- risoned, but the general refused. On the 8th of July occurred the memorable defeat of the Anglo-American army by Montcalm, at the head (according to French accounts) of 2992 meu, in the lines of Carillon (Ticon- deroga).

BRADSTREET'S EXPEDITION.

Smith, in his history of the colony, vol. ii. page 266, gives the following account of Bradstreet's expedition against Frontenac :

" Lieutenant-Colonel Bradstreet, impatient at this dis- grace, t and hoping nothing from a general who, while he calumniated his army as broken-spirited, discovered that he wanted firmness himself, urged an attempt upon Frontenac. Ile was sent to Oswego in 1755, was there again in 1756, and had entered into Shirley'st views of the importance of cont- manding the waters of Ontario, and offered his services to ennduct the enterprise. Abercrombie gave him a de- tachment of 3000 men ; he rather flew than marched with them through that long route from Lake George to Albany, and thenee again up the stream of the Mohawk River, then across the portage, down the Wood Creek to the lake of the Oneidas, and the rapids of the Onondaga to Oswego. Thenee he pushed his open boats into the sea of Ontario, traversing the southeastern coast from point to point, till he crossed the St. Lawrence and surprised the garrison at Frontenac. He invested it, took it, burnt an immense magazine for the supply of the interior depend- encies, and in twenty-four days after, having destroyed the vessels on the lake, returned to assist in securing the important pass in the country of the Queidas, which Mr. Webb had the year before [two years] abandoned to the in- timidation of all the six Indian tribes. But either by the fatigue of these vigorous exertions, or the bad quality of the waters of Wood Creek [and the Mohawk River], we lost 500 men of this detachment, a great part of whom were levies of this colony."§

Hon. Pomeroy Jones, in his excellent compilation,

" General Stanwix, during the years 1759-60, also built Fort Pitt at what is now Pittsburgh, Pa. He filled many honorable positions under his government, and was lost with his family at sea, while erassing from Dublin, Ireland, to Holyhead, in December, 1766. [Pennsylvania Register.]

t The defent of the army.

# Governor Shirley, of Massachusetts. Colonel Bradstreet was a native-born American.

¿ It is stated in the Documentary Ilistory that an Oneida chief, Kiu-da-ron-ta, was killed by the French, or their Indians, near Fort Stanwix.

HISTORY OF ONEIDA COUNTY, NEW YORK.

" Annals of Oneida County," gives the following summary of Bradstreet's army :

" The force commanded by Colonel Bradstreet, and which marebed against Frontenac [now Kingston], left Lake George carly in August and proceeded to Albany, and fromn thence ascending the Mohawk, rendezvoused at Fort Stan- wix, consisted of the following troops: Regulars, 135 ; Royal Artillery, 30; New York Provincials, 1112 ; Massa- chusetts Provincials, 675; New Jersey Provincials, 412; Rhode Island Provineials, 318; bateau-men, 300 ; Rangers, 60; in all, 3042. The regulars were commanded by Captain Ogilvie, and the artillery by Lieutenant Brown. The New York troops consisted of two detachments; the first, com- manded by Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Clinton, of Ulster, amounted to 440 men, under Captains Ogden, of West- chester, Peter Dubois, of New York, Samuel Bladgley, of Dutchess, and Daniel Wright, of Queens. The second was commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Isaae Corse, of Queens, and Major Nathaniel Woodhull, of Suffolk, and amounted to 672 men, under Captains Elias Hand, of Suffolk, Richard Hewlet, of Queens, Thomas Arrowsmith, of Richmond, Wil- liam Humphrey, of Dutchess, Ebenezer Seeley, of Ulster, and Peter Yates and Goosen Van Schaik, of Albany.

" The troops left Fort Stanwix on the 14th of August, and thence moved down Wood Creek, through Oneida Lake to Oswego, down Lake Ontario and across the St. Lawrence in open boats, and arrived and landed within a mile of Frontenac on the 25th. Colonel Corse, who had distin- guished himself in three preceding campaigns, volunteered with a part of his detachment to erect a battery, in the night of the 20th, in the midst of the enemy's fire, and which in the morning commanded their fort, and led to an immediate surrender. The commander of the fort was afterwards exchanged for Colonel Peter Schuyler, who was taken at Oswego, and while a prisoner had rendered ninch service to the English prisoners in Canada."

On the whole, the events of the year 1758, notwithstand- ing the defeat of General Abercrombie, were considered as of vast importance to the English cause. Louisburg, Fron- tenac, and Duquesne were taken, and a strong work was con- structed at the Oneida carrying-place, and Lieutenant- Governor Delancy congratulated the New York Assembly upon the improved prospects of the colony.

The influence of the new prime minister (Lord Chatham) soon began to be felt, and immense preparations were made for the reduction of Canada. A powerful British force was raised, and the colonics were required to supplement it with a levy of at least 20,000 men, of which the colony of New York was to furnish 2680 as her quota.

Three grand expeditions were planned for the campaign of 1759 : one, under General Prideaux and Sir William Johnson, of 2200 men, against Niagara ; one of 12,000 men, under Sir Jeffrey Amherst (commander-in-chief ), against the forts on Lake Champlain and Montreal ; and a third under General James Wolfe, of 8000 men, aided by a pow- erful fleet, against the stronghold of Quebec.

The army destined to reduce Niagara, which was strongly fortified and garrisoned with about 600 men, under M. Pou- chot, a captain of the French regiment of Bearn, and an accomplished engineer, consisted of 2200 men, and a strong

foree of Indians under Sir Wm. Johnson, which joined the main army at Oswego .* This foree invested Niagara in the beginning of July. A few days subsequently General Prideaux was accidentally killed by the premature dis- charge of a eohorn,t and Sir Wm. Johnson succeeded to the command, and pressed the siege with great vigor. Captain Pouchot made a gallant defense, and M. de Au- brey hastily collected a force of French and Indians from the posts at Detroit, on the Ohio, and the Illinois, and made a determined attempt to raise the siege; but his motley army was completely overthrown by Sir Wm. Johnson on the 24th of July, and on the 25th the fort, having become untenable, was surrendered.

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History of Oneida County, New York : with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 12

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