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 23
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Be the facts as they may, however, no opportunity was given to put the scheme in execution, for Brant was exceed- ingly wary, and as he entered the council circle he drew himself up with dignity and said to General Herkimer, "I have five hundred warriors with me, armed and ready for battle. You are in my power ; but as we have been friends and neighbors, I will not take advantage of you."* As he said this he made a signal, and in an instant, like the High- landers of Rhoderick Dhu, his armed and painted warriors came rushing from the forest, whooping for the fray.
Bold Herkimer, how sayest thou now ? These are my warriors of the wood, Five hundred braves in fighting mood.
With vengeance on each lowering brow, They wait my battle-cry
To leap like panther from his lair,
With gleaming axe and scalp-knife baro And death in every eye,'
To slaughter on this grassy plain
Each warrior in yon pale-face train ! Fear not, the Mohawk shall not show Less honor than a whiter foe, And Thay-en-dan-e-gea's name Shall stand, unsullied, on the scroll of fame.
The chief advised the general to go back to his own house, thanked him for coming so far to see him, and re- marked that he might some day return the compliment.
* Manuscript statemont of Joseph Waggoner.
12
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HISTORY OF ONEIDA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
He said he would now go back to his village, and promised the general that for the present the Indians would not begin hostilities. He requested that Rev. Mr. Stewart, the Eng- lish missionary at Fort Hunter, and the wife of Colonel Butler might be permitted to retire to Canada ; to which requests Herkimer assented, though the last was not com- plied with. A dozen heads of cattle were then presented to the Indians, which they slaughtered immediately. The parties then separated, Brant turning proudly away and disappearing in the forest, while Herkimer struck his tents and marched back to the Mohawk, to meet in a few weeks amid the thunder of battle on the bloody field of Oriskany.
In speaking of the breaking up of this conference, Colonel Stone says, quoting from " Annals of Tryon County," " Thus terminated this most singular conferenee. It was early in July, and the morning was remarkably clear and beautiful. But the echo of the war-whoop had scarcely died away, before the heavens became black, and a violent storm obliged each party to seek the nearest shelter. Men less superstitious than many of the unlettered yeomen, who, leaning upon their arms, were witnesses of the events of this day, could not fail in after-times to look back upon the tempest, if not as an omen, at least as an eniblen of those bloody massacres with which these Indians and their associates afterwards visited the inhabitants of this unfor- tunate frontier."
Immediately succeeding this conference, which was the last held with the hostile Mohawks, Brant left the Susquehanna with his warriors, and hastened to Oswego, where he joined Colonels John Butler and Sir John Johnson, who were then concentrating at that point the Tories and refugees from all parts of the State. A council was also called by the officers of the British Indian Department, who invited the savages to assemble and " eat the flesh and drink the blood of a Bostonian," meaning, according to an English interpretation, the roasting of an ox and a grand banquet, with plenty of liqnors.
When the council had assembled the British commission- ers opened the business by informing the chiefs that the object of the meeting was to enlist the Indians in the ser- vice of the king against the colonies, who were attempting to rob him of the fairest portion of his dominions. At first the Indians pointed to their treaties at German Flatts and Albany, and declared their intention of abiding in good faith by the terms of those treaties; but the commissioners ridiculed the idea of the colonies being able to maintain themselves against the tremendous power of the govern- ment, and by tempting bribes of pay and emoluments, and plenty of rum and gewgaws distributed among them, they at length prevailed upon them to conclude a treaty whereby they agreed to take up arms and fight for the crown until the rebels were subducd.
At the close of this treaty, according to Stone, each In- dian was presented with a suit of clothes, a brass kettle, a gun, a tomahawk and scalping-knife, a quantity of ammu- nition, a piece of gold, and the promise of a bounty upon every scalp he should bring in.
From the date of this treaty the Mohawk chieftain was the acknowledged leader of that portion of the Six Nations which adhered to the English interest, and doubtless exerted
a most powerful influence in the councils of the British and loyalist officers. Uniting the native eunning, and, to a cer- tain extent, the ferocity, of the savage with the cultivation and knowledge of the white man, he was well qualified to lead the dusky warriors of the " Forest Cantons" not only in their stealthy and destructive inroads among the peaecful settlements of the Mohawk, the Susquehanna, and the Scho- harie Kill, but in the van of the deadly conflicts with the militia and trained soldiers of the colonies.
His first hostile demonstration within the colony of New York was supposed to have been made in May preceding his interview with General Herkimer, in the vicinity of Cherry Valley.
This place was first settled in 1739, by emigrants from Ireland and New Hampshire. In consequence of its fron- tier exposure a force had been stationed for its protection in 1763; but no military works were erected, and at the opening of the Revolution it was without defense. While Brant was collecting his forces at Oquaga, the house of Colonel Samuel Campbell was inclosed with a breastwork of logs and earth, and the dwelling and out-buildings put in as good a state of defense as possible. In the latter part of May, Brant had conceived the picject of making a deseent upon the place for the purpose of destroying or making cap- tives the principal citizens who were prominent in their opposition to the acts of the British government, and active in supporting the colonies.
Martial law was proclaimed in the place, and all the male inhabitants of proper age were enrolled and made subject to military duty. A juvenile company was also organ- ized, and drilled with wooden substitutes for more deadly weapons. Upon the very day on which Brant approached the place these boys, or cadets, were drilling in front of Colonel Campbell's house, and were mistaken by the chief- tain for a veritable company of soldiers ; and, conceiving the place to be well prepared for him, he contented himself with lying in ambush on the road leading from Cherry Valley to the Mohawk, at a point where a small creek tumbles through a darksome glen overhung by evergreens .* The ravine is said to be 150 feet deep.
On the morning of the same day a promising young man, Lieutenant Wormwood, had been dispatched from Palatine with the information that Colonel Klock's regiment of militia would come to the defense of Cherry Valley on the follow- ing day. On his return to the Mohawk in the afternoon, accompanied by one Peter Sitz, he was fired upon and killed, and Sitz was taken prisoner at the ravine before mentioned.
It is said that the gallant young offieer was scalped by the chief's own hand, who mistook him for an officer of the Continental army, and that when he saw who he was he greatly lamented his death.t The dispatches in duplicate, which Sitz bore upon his person, and of which the dupli- cate was worded purposely to deceive any enemy into whose. hands they might fall, were the cause of misleading Brant as to the strength of the fortifications at Colonel Camp- bell's (for Sitz had managed to destroy or hide the genuine
# The fall of this place was called by the Indians Te-ka-ha-ra-wa. + They had been acquaintances and friends. [Annals of 'Tryon County.]
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HISTORY OF ONEIDA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
papers), and he accordingly drew off his forces and retired from the valley. Colonel Klock arrived the next day and relieved the place. The remains of the young officer were secured by his friends, who found them where he had fallen, and buried amid the mourning of the whole region, for he was greatly esteemed.
CHAPTER X. BURGOYNE'S CAMPAIGN.
St. Legor's Expeditico-Statistics of his Force-Correspondenco- Colonel Gansevoort, General Schuyler-Incidents at Fort Staowix -Reinforcements and Supplies-The Flag-Roster of Officers- The Oncidas-Herkimer's Proclamation-The Gathering-St. Le- ger invests the Fort.
WHEN the first collision occurred between the king's troops and a few of the colonial militia there is little doubt but the British government looked upon it as something like a street mob on election day, a thing to be cleared away by a few companies of troops; and even after the battle of Bunker Hill they congratulated themselves that the dis- affected inhabitants of New England had learned a lesson which would bring them to their senses and speedily pro- duce a reaction among them and thus end the troubles. But when thirty thousand men from all parts of the colo- nies environed Boston with strong lines and frowning bat- teries, and the rebels had captured Lake Champlain with all its fortresses and even assumed the bold offensive and invaded Canada, -then it is quite probable the ministry awakened to the actual possibilities of the situation.
The campaign in Canada during the season of 1776 was vigorously prosecuted by Sir Guy Carleton and other competent officers, and after a desperate struggle the Pro- vincial army was compelled to fall back within its own ter- ritory. But notwithstanding the successes of the British arms and the ravages of disease, the Americans stubbornly clung to Ticonderoga and the south end of Lake Cham- plain, and the British generals saw that another more im- portant campaign was to be directed against them before they were completely crippled.
After the evacuation of Boston the British army, largely reinforced, had occupied New York City and the adjacent country on Long Island and in New Jersey, after defeating the Americans on the 27th of August; and they had, late in the season of 1776, occupied a portion of the Hudson River works ; but the American army under Washington was still considerable, and the British commanders realized that the operations of 1775 and 1776 had done very little towards subduing the rebellion.
Under this state of affairs it was resolved to make a series of grand military and naval movements. Two formidable expeditions were fitted up in Canada; the principal one under General Sir John Burgoyne, consisting of a picked army of about eight thousand British and German veterans and Canadian troops, with a splendid train of brass field guns, and a powerful naval force on Lake Champlain, the whole supplemented by a formidable Indian force, was to move early in the season of 1777 up the valley of Lake Champlain to Skenesborough, now Whitehall, and thence
viu Wood Creek to the valley of the Hudson. Another forinidahle force was to move up the St. Lawrence, across Lake Ontario to Oswego; thence up the Oswego River, and over Oneida Lake, upon Fort Stanwix; and thence down the valley to join Burgoyne at Albany. A third movement was to be made by Sir Henry Clinton with a strong army and fleet up the Hudson River, reducing the fortifications by the way, and finally meeting with the two first named armies at Albany ; thus cutting New England off from communication with the more southern colonies.
A fourth movement was arranged by Sir William Howe, with 16,000 men and a powerful naval squadron, against Philadelphia and the Middle States. With all these plans successfully carried out, the British government believed the rebellion would quickly collapse. They were certainly well-arranged movements, and but for the stubborn resist- ance of the ill-armed and half-starved colonial militia would have proved fatal at that time to the hopes of the Ameri- cans. One of these formidable expeditions only succeeded. Owing to the weakness of the army under Washington, Sit William Howe was enabled to take possession of Philadel- phia and find winter quarters for his army, though the American commander gave him severe battle at Brandy- wine and Germantown.
The principal interest to the people of Oneida County centres in St. Leger's campaign, but a glance at the move- ments of Burgoyne's army is necessary to a full understand- ing of the situation. For a long time the Americans were uncertain where the army concentrating in Canada was destined to strike. The New England people believed that Boston was the objective point, and the retreat of Sir Guy Carleton from the valley of Lake Champlain in the autumn of the preceding year led the people to doubt very much whether any serious movement was intended in that quar- ter. The British commanders and even the home govern- ment industriously cultivated this error on the part of Congress and the American commanders, and the result was that only a small force was placed at the disposal of General Schuyler, who had been again assigned to the com- mand of the northern department, while Washington was compelled to remain simply on the watch in New Jersey, prepared for any sudden movement of Sir William Howe.
But in the course of the month of June the real designs of the enemy were developed. The following item is from the " Life and Correspondence of Washington," by Sparks, copied from Stone :
" A person from Canada, arrested as a spy, and brought before General Schuyler, stated on his examination 'that the British forces were approaching St. Johns, and were to advance through Lake Champlain, uuder General Bur- goyne; and also that a detachment of British troops, Cana- dians, and Indians was to penetrate the country by way of Oswego and the valley of the Mohawk. He added many particulars respecting the strength and arrangements of the British army, which turned out in the end to be nearly accurate, but of which no intelligence had before been obtained, or by many anticipated.'"
Burgoyne entered Lake Champlain in June, and pushed on with celerity for Ticonderoga, which was still held by the Americans, and fondly believed by many to be nearly
92
HISTORY OF ONEIDA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
impregnable. It was occupied by General Arthur St. Clair, with a force variously estimated, but probably not excecd- ing 2500 men, and many of these badly armed and provided.
Burgoyne reached Crown Point on the 21st of June, and appeared before Ticonderoga on the 2d of July. Ou his way up the lake he had prepared a stirring manifesto, which was scattered through the country, setting forth the irresistible power which he was leading against them, and calling on the people at once to renounce their errors and submit to the king.
Ticonderoga was strongly fortified with a single excep- tion,-Sugar Loaf Hill, or Mt. Defiance, which commanded all the surrounding heights, but which the American engi- Deers had foolishly deemed inaccessible. This point the British at once scized, and erected batteries thereon.
The moment this movement was discovered it became apparent that the American works were untenable. A council of war on the 5th of July unanimously decided upon an evacuation, which was effected on the 6th. The British pursued vigorously, and overtaking the rear of the Americans, heavy fighting occurred near Skenesborough and Fort Anne, and the left rear of St. Clair's army, which had retreated by way of Hubbardton in Vermont, under command of Colonel Seth Warner, was attacked on the morning of the 7th of July by the British advance under General Fraser, and forced to fly after a desperate and bloody action, in which the "Green Mountain Boys" greatly distinguished themselves. Every obstacle was overcome by the English army, and in a few days Burgoyne was at Fort Edward on the Hudson.
But here the career of victory, which had been thus far unchecked by a reverse, terminated. The melancholy fate of Miss Jane McCrea had roused the entire country, and the militia were flocking to the standard of Schuyler from all directions. The movements of the British army were delayed by the necessity of constructing roads and clearing Wood Creek, which had been blocked up by the retreating Americans, and the troubles of General Burgoyne now began in earnest.
Leaving the British commander in the encircling toils, we will proceed to consider another branch of this campaign, having for its object the conquest of Fort Stanwix and the Mohawk Valley.
The forces placed under command of Colonel Barry St. Leger* were designated io London, as appears by the following extract from an official letter from Lord George Germaine to Governor Sir Guy Carleton, dated at White- hall, 26th of March, 1777, taken from the "State of the Expedition from Canada," published in London, 1780, by General Burgoyne. We copy from the Oriskany Centen- nial volume:
" With a view of quelling the rebellion na quickly as possible, it is become highly necessary that the most speedy junction of the two armiea should he effected, and therefore, na the security and good government of Canada absolutely require your presence there, it is the king's determination to lenve about 3000 men under your eom- mand, nod to employ the remainder of your army upon two expedi- tions, the one under the command of Lieutenant-General Burgoyne, who is to force his way to Albany, and the other uoder command of Lieutenant-Colonel St. Leger, who is to make a diversion on the Mohawk River.
" As this plan cannot be advantageously executed without the assistance of Canadians and Indians, His Majesty strongly recem- mends it to your enre to furnish both expeditions with good and suffi- cient bodies of these men ; and I am happy in knowing that your influence among them is so great, there can he no room to apprehend that you will find it difficult to fulfill His Majesty's expectations. .. . " It is the king's further pleasure that you put under command of Colonel St. Leger :
Detaehments from the 8th Regiment 100
Detachments from the 34th Regiment. 100
Sir John Johnson's Regiment of New Yorkt. 133
Ilanau Chasseurs .. 342
675
Together with a sufficient number of Indians und Canadians, and after having furnished him with proper artillery, stores, provisions, and every other necessary article for his expedition, and seeured to him every assistance in your power to afford and procure, you are to give him orders to proceed forthwith to, and down, the Mohawk River to Albany, and put himself under the command of Sir William Howe.
"I shall write to Sir William Howe from henee hy the first paeket, but you will nevertheless endeavor to give himn the earliest intelli- gence of this measure, and also direct Lieutennot-General Burgoyne and Lientenant-Colonel St. Leger to neglect no opportunity of doing the same, that they may receive instructions from Sir William Howe. You will at the same time inform them that until they shall have received orders from Sir William Howe, it is His Majesty'a pleasure that they net ns exigencies may require, and in such mauner as they shall judge most proper for making an impression on the rebels and bringing them to chedience; but that in so doing they must never lose view of their intended junetions with Sir William Howe as their principal objects.
"In ense Lieutenant-General Bargoyne or Lieutenant-Colonel St. Leger should happen to die, or be rendered, through illness, incapa- hle of executing these great trusts, you are to nominate to their re- speetive commands such officer or officers as you shall think hest qualified to supply the place of those whom His Majesty has, in bis wisdom, at present appointed to conduct these expeditions."
From this letter it would appear that neither the king nor his ministers had any doubts as to the sufficiency of the respective armies or the ultimate success of their operations ; and Lord Germaine knew or thought so little of Fort Stao- wix that it is not even mentioned as an impediment to the march of St. Leger down the valley. Sir Guy Carleton supposed the fort to be ouly a stockade garrisoned by about sixty soldiers.
How many Canadians joined St. Leger's forces we have no means of knowing,§ but it is probable that the most of these were with Burgoyne's army. The total of his forces, after the whole were collected at Oswego and Three Rivers, at which points Colonel John Butler from Niagara and Thay-en-dan-e-gea with the warriors of the Six Nations joined the expedition, is stated by Colonel Stone at 1700, not probably including boatmen and wagon-drivers. || The
# Colonel Barry St. Leger entered the army as ensigo in the 28th Regiment of Foot, April 27, 1756. Came to Amerien io 1757. He was present at the siege and capture of Louisburg, in 1758, and served as captain noder Wolfe, during the operations around Quebec, in 1759. Was appointed brigade major in July, 1760. Major of the 95th Regiment, Sept. 16, 1760 ; promoted lieutenant-colonel in May, 1772, and placed in command of the 34th Regiment of Foot in May, 1775. Commaoded the expedition against Fort Stanwix, as acting brigadier-general, in 1777, and died in 1789, without having acquired any special distinction in his profession. [Doc. Hist., viii. 714.]
" Familiarly known as "Johnson's Greens."
++=
# Colonel Claus' letter to Secretary Knox, at London.
¿ Certain accounts say that there was one company of Canadians. ( Some accounts state that 2000 Canadians were with the expedi- tion as axemen, but this was no doubt an exaggeration.
HISTORY OF ONEIDA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
93
Indian forces under the great Mohawk chief included a band iof 150 Messasagoes, or Misisagey Indians, and numbered .altogether from 800 to 1000. The field and siege guns, according to Colonel Claus' statement to Secretary Knox, were two six-pounders, two three-pounders, and four co- horns, the latter a sort of siege-piece long since gone out of use. Why St. Leger should have depended on guns of .such- small calibre does not appear. He probably under- estimated the strength of the works as well as that of the garrison.
The order of march of St. Leger's army was captured among his papers, and has been reproduced in Stone's " Life of Brant." The order of march for an army on paper and its actual movements over hills and through swamps, val- leys, and ravines are two things, as any one conversant with the movements of armies in the field well understands. The order is followed as nearly as the topography of the country and other circumstances will permit. Subjoined is the plan of St. Leger's march .*
5 COLUMNS
of INDIANS.
LINE OF
COMMUNICATION
ADVANCE
GUARD.
ON FLANKS
34TH REGIMENT
ON
INDIANS
8TỪ
NDIANS
REAR
GUARD.
* From the print in Stone's Life of Brant.
The following description of the order of march is from Colonel Stone's " Life of Brant": "The advance of the main body, it will be seen, was formed of Indians marching in five columns ; that is, in single files, at large distances from each other, and 460 paces in front of the line. From these columns of Indians files were stretched at a distance of ten paces from each other, forming a line of communica- tion with the advance guard of the line, which was 100 paces in front of the column. The right and left flanks were covered by Indians at 100 paces, forming likewise lines of communication with the main body. The King's Regi- ment moved from the left by Indian file, while the Thirty- fourth moved in the same order from the right. The rear- guard was formed of regular troops; while the advance guard, composed of 60 marksmen detached from Sir John Johnson's regiment of Royal Greens, was led by Sir John's brother-in-law, Captain (Major ?) Watts. Each corps was likewise directed to have ten chosen marksmen in different parts of its line, in case of attack to be pushed forward to any given point as circumstances might require."
From all these precautions we learn that the commander of this expedition appreciated the possibilities that might overtake him, and like a good general covered his troops at all times from sudden surprise.
Leaving St. Leger's army on the move from Oswego towards Fort Stanwix, let us go back a little and look at the situation on the side of the Americans.
At the commencement of the year, as we have seen, Col- onel Elmore, of the State service, was in command of Fort Stanwix. His term expired in April, and Colonel Peter Gansevoort, f also of the State service, was directed to suc- ceed him, by an order from General Gates, on the 26th of the month. On his arrival, Colonel Gansevoort found that notwithstanding the labors of Colonel Dayton the year pre- ceding, the works were in no condition for defense, and were, in fact, almost untenable. The colonel had but a small num- ber of men, and with the certainty of an early attack by a large force of the enemy from the west, his situation was anything but agreeable.
On the 18th of May Colonel Marinus Willettt was or- dered to join the garrison with his regiment. He arrived at the fort on the 29th of the month. A better selection of officers to hold this important post could not possibly have been made. Colonel Gansevoort had seen service under Montgomery, where he won his colonel's commission, and his military experience had peculiarly fitted him for the position assigned him. He evidently came of a family whose blood had no tinge of cowardice, and could remain cool and determined in the midst of dangers and death. Colonel Willett had served in the French war and knew the In- dians well. He belonged to a good family, and was a splen- did sample of the beau ideal Revolutionary soldier. Bold and prompt to do and dare, he was a fitting lieutenant for the gallant Gansevoort, and the story of the siege of Fort Stanwix and its successful defense (one of the few made by the American arms during the war) will tell to the latest
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