USA > New York > New York City > History of the New Netherlands, province of New York, and state of New York : to the adoption of the federal Constitution. Vol. II > Part 2
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The English took possession of St. John's with a force much greater than the New England leaders had in the vicinity, and it was rumoured that they intended to come up the lake. Arnold, who acted independently of Allen, and considered himself as the naval
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BENEDICT ARNOLD.
commander, prepared itis flotilla to oppose them. Besides a num- ber of batteaux, he had the captured schooner and sloop, and with this force he took post at Crown Point. With part of the artillery taken in the forts he armed his vessels, and despatched cannon by the way of Lake George, intended for the army at Cambridge .*
In the meantime, doubts respecting Arnold's conduct in mat- ters respecting property, very naturally arose in the minds of those who first commissioned him as a colonel, and gave a command of men and money, and moreover his former reputation might well occasion suspicions as to his prudence, and the legislature of Mas- sachusetts sent three delegates to Lake Champlain to inquire into the state of affairs. They were instructed to inquire into his " spirit, capacity, and conduct," and authorized, if they saw fit, to order his return to Massachusetts to give an account of the money, ammunition, and stores, intrusted him. Inquiries of this nature troubled Arnold all through life : and . this at the commencement of his heroick carreer greatly irritated him. He was likewise superseded in command ; Colonel Hinman being appointed his superiour. Truly all this did not appear a suitable return for the activity and ability he had displayed, and Arnold complained loudly of the injustice and indignity with which he was treated, and in conclusion resigned his commission.
Having no further business on the lake, he proceeded to Cam- bridge, loudly complaining of the treatment he had received. His accounts were allowed, but not without that suspicion which seems to have attended him in every period of his life.
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'The military talents Arnold had displayed, his intelligence, spirit, activity, and perseverance, recommended him to General Wash- ington as a leader fit for the arduous enterprize of conducting a force through the eastern wilderness by the way of Kennebec River to Quebec, a task justly considered to be of a most arduous nature, and requiring a man of tried hardihood and undaunted resolution. Such a man, Washington saw in Benedict Arnold, and the moral deformities of his character, were passed over-he was a tool fitted for the work to be done-and the commander-in-chief commis- sioned him as a colonel in the army of the continent, furnished him with the necessary instructions, and put under his command 1,100 mer., and several officers, who subsequently became famous in the struggle then commencing. Lieutenant Colonel Christo- pher Greene, afterwards the hero of Red Bank ; Lieutenant Co- Ionel Enos; Majors Bigelow and Meigs ; Captain Dearborn and Captain Daniel Morgan with his riflemen, so famously conspicuous
* The committee at Albany forwarded abundant supplies of pork and flour to the conquerors of the lake.
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MONTGOMERY.
in every action from Quebec to Monmouth, and at a later period in a higher command, the conqueror of Tarleton at the Cowpens.
These troops were designed to co-operate.with the force which invaded Canada, and formed a junction with them under the walls of Quebec.
In surmounting the difficulties of the arduous march through the wilderness to Quebec, and in every action attendant upon the dis- astrous expedition and attack upon the capital of Canada, in which Montgomery fell, Arnold by his ardour and daring-by his cool intrepidity and endurance of hardship-by his resources in every difficult emergency, increased his military reputation, and his popu- - larity with all the friends of the great cause he so conspicuously served. I leave to the historian of the United States, the details of the Canada expedition, and will take up the story of Benedict Arnold, when we again meet him on the territory of New York.
Richard Montgomery was born in the year 1736, near the town of Raphoe, in the north of Ireland, and educated at the college of Dublin. At the age of eighteen he entered the army, and was sent to Halifax with the regiment to which he belonged in 1757.
In 175S, he served under Amherst at the capture of Louisbourg, . the American Gibraltar, which as we have seen, had been before taken by the American provincials and restored to France by Great Britain, to the great detriment of the colonists.
The 17th regiment, to which Montgomery was attached, fol- lowed Amherst to Lake Champlain, and introduced him to the fu- ture scenes of his republican military service under his friend Philip Schuyler. He followed the triumphant course of General Amherst until the conquest of Canada was completed in 1760. In the latter year, Montgomery was promoted to the rank of captain, and as such followed Monckton from Staten Island and New York to Martinico, the surrender of which, and of the Havana, was soon followed by the peace of February 10th, 1763.
Returning with the regiment to New York, he remained there, as it appears, some years, and then went to England. From some disgust to the service, he sold his commission and returned to New York in 1773. Having purchased an estate on the Hudson, in the neighbourhood of the Livingston family, he married the daugh- ter of Robert R. Livingston, and thus became the brother-in-law of the late accomplished chancellor.
In the year 1775, he was elected by the county of Duchess, to the first provincial convention held in New York.
1775 The continental congress, probably guided by the ad- vice of Washington, as in the choice of Charles Lee and Horatio Gates, appointed Captain Montgomery one of the first brigadier-generals that were selected for their army.
Philip Schuyler who at the same time was selected as a major- VOL. 11. 3
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MONTGOMERY.
general, was appointed to command the army intended for an at- tempt upon Canada, by the way of Lake Champlain, while ano- ther force was pushed for the same purpose by land through the wilderness under Arnold ; but intended for Schuyler's com- mand.
. Montgomery repaired to Albany, and was ordered by his friend Schuyler, to Ticonderoga, recently seized upon by Ethan Allen.
He proceeded with a small body of troops down the lake. Being joined by his friend and commander, they effected a landing near St. Johns, and proceeded on their march to the fort on · the 5th of September, but were attacked while fording a creek, and thrown in some disorder by an Indian ambuscade. The enemy was however soon dispersed with loss to theinselves, and principally by the prompt movement of the command immediately led by Montgomery.
General Schuyler was carried back to Ticonderoga in a state of extreme sickness and exhaustion, yet never ceasing to forward the men, artillery and stores, necessary for the expedition. On re- ceiving a reinforcement, Montgomery began his investment of St. Jolins.
After establishing an entrenched camp of 300 men in a position to intercept communication between St. Johns, Chamblee, and Mon- treal, he opened his fire of artillery upon the beseiged. But he experienced all the difficulties arising from incompetent guns, am- munition, and artillerists-his engineer was without the rudiments of knowledge, as snch-his troops were undisciplined, and sunk , under the effect of exposure to cold and wet, fatigue and unwho !- some water. His efforts were counteracted by the insubordination of his officers and men. The conduct of Ethan Allen in making an attack on Montreal without orders from the general, and with a force altogether inadequate, added to the mortifications of Mont- gomery.
The capture of Allen took place on the 25th of September. Shortly after, Mr. James Livingston, who had at the instance of Montgomery, succeeded in raising a corps of 300 Canadians, in conjunction with Major Brown, and a detachment from the army, succeeded in capturing Chamblee, its garrison and stores, among which was the very acceptable acquisition of one hundred and twenty-six barrels of gunpowder.
This success and the danger of the post of St. Johns, rendered it necessary for General Carleton the English commander in Co- nada, to quit Montreal, and with a motley army of Canadians, Scotch emigrants, Indians, and some English troops of the regular force, to risk a field movement for the purpose of attacking Mont- gomery. Mc Lean of the British army was encamped at the mouth of the Sorel, and Carleton's first move was a junction with
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MONTGOMERY'S LETTERS.
bim. This Montgomery foresaw, and gave such orders to Colone! Warner as placed him in a situation at Longuiel to oppose the movement of Carleton, who crossing the St. Lawrence, was received from the south bank by a fire of minsketry and artillery, which had been masked, and which put to rout the whole armament. _ T'his success, and the advance of a further American force, induced Mc Lean to abandon his post and descend the St. Lawrence.
Carleton giving up all hope of saving Montreal, put himself on · board of a boat, and with muffled oars, in a dark night, succeeded in passing the American posts and descended the river in safety. St. Johns surrendered on the 3d of November, and on the 13th Montgomery had full possession of Montreal, eleven sail of English vessels, General Prescott, and 120 regular troops of the seventh and twenty-sixth regiments.
On the 4th of December, Montgomery effected a junction with Arnold, and immediately proceeded to Quebec. In this fortress, under the command of a veteran soldier, the force consisted of 450 seamen and marines ; 50 privates of the 7th regiment ; 150 of Mc Lean's corps, and 250 Canadian militia. To invest the place with his miserable shadow of an army, less in number than the garrison, was out of the question with the commander of the Americans, and the inclemency of winter in Canada equally forbade it. Es- calade was determined on. After the ceremony of surrender and some preparation, the attempt was made as detailed in many of our histories, and the gallant Montgomery fell. The Lieutenant Governour Cramahé, requested that the body of the fallen general might be buried within the walls, and Carleton granted the request. It was subsequently removed to the city of New York, and depo- sited many years after his death, with all military honours, under the monument voted by congress and erected to his memory in St. Paul's chapel .*
The following extractst from unpublished letters of Montgomery, written during the last and most eventful period of his life, to his friend Schuyler, whom he constantly addresses in the most respect- ful and affectionate terms, cannot but be read with interest.
Ticonderoga, August 18, 1775. - " The troops destined for the generous effort to relieve our brethren of Canada, will in all probability be at St. Johns in fourteen days."
Ticonderoga, August 25 .- " I hope you will join us with all expedition. Let me intreat you (if you can possibly) to follow in a whale boat, leaving somebody to bring forward the troops and
* As to the lives of Allen and Montgomery, see Sparks's American Biography, Vol. I .- of Arnold-Sparks, Vol. 3.
t For these I am indebted to my highly esteemed friend, Ex-chancellor Kent.
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MONTGOMERY'S LETTERS.
artillery. It will give the men great confidence in your spirit and activity. Be assured I have your honour and reputation highly at heart, as of the greatest consequence to the public service ; that all my ambition is to do my duty in a subordinate capacity, without the least ungenerous intention of lessening the merit so justly your due, which I omit no opportunity of setting in its fullest light."
Camp, near St. Johns, Sept. 19, 1775 .- " We arrived here on the 17th, in the evening. I have great dependence on your pres- ence to administer to our many wants. Major Brown was driven off yesterday morning by a party of British when he landed on the left side of the lake."
Camp, south side St. Johns, Sept. 24 .- " I can say nothing pleasing as to my troops. The other night Captain Mott basely deserted the mortar battery without being attacked, though he made me a report that the enemy had rushed on him. I expect to set our mortars to work to night. If successful I shall endeavour to have deputies sent from Canada to the congress, giving them assurances that before an accommodation takes place, Canada must have a free government, and that the congress will as soon give up the Massachusetts government to the resentment of the ministry as relinquish this point.
I should like to have three enlightened members of congress as a council, immediately, lest I should make a faux pas.
Should Arnold come in my neighbourhood, has he orders to put himself under my command ? You know his ambition, and I need not point out the bad consequences of a separate command."
Camp, near St. Johns, Sept. 25 .- " Colonel Allen passed the St. Lawrence below St. Johns with twenty of ours and fifty Canadians. He was attacked from the garrison and taken prisoner, and two or three of his men killed. I lament that his imprudence and ambi- tion urged him to this affair singlehanded."
Samc date .- " We have opened a battery of two twelve pounders upon the ship yards and schooner. I want men and ammunition ; · the weather is bad, and the ground encamped on, swampy. We are scanty in pork and flour. I have sent back ten boats with the naked and lazy."
Cump, south side St. Johns, Oct. 6 .- " Your diligence and fore- sight have saved us from the difficulties that threatened us, and we are no longer afraid of starving. I am waiting with impatience for the arrival of troops.
We have a post at La Prairie, and a conference by Major Brown, and some of our officers, with the principal inhabitants of Mon- treal, at La Prairie to-morrow. I am too feeble in men. The weather has been miserable. If I could send 500 men to Montreal it would declare for us.
Our army shows a great want of military spirit. They petition
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MONTGOMERY'S LETTERS.
for the release of the base coward Captain Mott. Our sensible officers swallow every old woman's story that is dropped into their mouths. General Carleton is still at Montreal."
Camp, south side St. Johns, Oct. 9th .- " There has been shock- ing embezzlement of the public stores and monies. Pray send me Yorkers, they dont meit away half so fast as their Eastern neighbours. We want iron, steel, ammunition, a ten inch mortar. Your residence at Ticonderoga has probably enabled us to keep our ground. How much do the public owe you for your attention and activity ?"
Camp, near St. Johns, Oct. 13th .- " A general dissatisfaction prevails in the army, and that unless something is done in a few days, I am told there will be a mutiny. It seems I am at the head of troops who carry the spirit of freedom into the field and think for themselves. Owing to the want of subordination and discipline, 1 thought it expedient to call a council of the field officers. 'T'he result has deprived me of all hopes of success. The troops at . the post of La Prairie have shown great intimidation, and I have had great difficulty in keeping them there. The friendly Canadians grow exceedingly uneasy at their situation should we not succeed.
You will see the propriety of putting Ticonderoga in a state of defence against a winter coup-de-main, by a stockade, and by having a post at Crown Point. The vessels to be placed in stockade also : preparations for a naval armament in the spring."
Camp, near St. Johns, Oct. 20th .- " Chamblee surrendered to Major Brown and Mr. Livingston. The latter headed 300 Cana- dians. He had not above 500 of our troops. It was a plan of the Canadians, who carried down the artillery past the fort of St. Johns in batteaux. We have got six tons of powder, which with the blessing of God, will finish our business here. I have found Major Brown on all occasions active and intelligent. We have sunk the enemy's schooner ; our troops are now in high spirits.
The quantity of women and baggage taken at Chamblee is aston- ishing. The officers of the 7th regiment taken at Chamblee are genteel mien. I have had great pleasure in showing them all the attention in my power. I have not in my camp above 750 men."
Camp, near St. Johns, Oct. 26th .- " In a few days I hope to have a battery to the north side, of three twelve, and one nine pounders, upon a dry piece of ground to the north west."
St. John's, October 31 .- " I must earnestly request to be suf- fered to retire should matters stand on such a footing this winter as to permit me to go off with honour. I have not talents nor temper for such a command. I am under the disagreeable neces- sity of acting eternally out of character-to wheedle, flatter and lie. I stand in a constrained attitude. I will bear with it for a
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MONTGOMERY'S LETTERS.
short time, but I cannot bear it long. Mr. Wooster bas behaved hitherto much to my satisfaction."
Camp, Hear St. John's, Norember 3d .- " The garrison surrender- ed last night, and this morning we take possession. We played on the fort from our battery of four twelve pounders on the north west, and of two twelve pounders on the east side. Major Preston commanded. Governour Carleton made an attempt to land with thirty-four boats full of men at Longuiel, and was repulsed with Warner's detachment : seud all the troops you can."
Montrea!, November 13 h .- " This morning this city capitulated, and Carleton with his garrison has gone down to Quebec." [He talk : of finishing the business at once by a vigorous attack on Quebec.] " If your health will not permit you to engage in this affair, Lee ought by all means to have the command here. The troops are exceedingly turbulent, and indee I mutinous. My vex- ation and distress can only be alleviated by reflecting on the great public advantages which must arise from my unparalleled good fortune. I shall call a convention in Canada when my intended expedition is finished. Will not your health permit you to reside at Montreal this winter ? I must go home this winter-I am weary of power, and totally want that patience and temper so requisite for such a command. [ wish some method could be fallen upon . of engaging gentlemen to serve : a point of honour and more know- ledge of the world to be found in that class of men, would greatly reform discipline and render the troops much more tractable. "The officers of the 1st regiment of Yorkers were very near a mutiny the other day, because I would not stop the clothing of the garrison of St. Johns. I would not have sullied my own reputation, nor disgraced the continental ariny, by such a breach of capitulation,. for the universe. There was no driving it into their noddles that the clothing was really the property of the soldier, that he liad paid for it."
Montreal, November 17th .- " Colonel Easton has six guns mounted at the Sorrel, and disturbs Carleton's eleven sail in the river. I am making preparations to attack him on my side with artillery. I hope to give a final blow to ministerial politics in this province. I cannot retire with honour until the campaign is fin- ished, but that instant it is over I must retire."
Montreal, November 19th .- " I have an express from General Arnold-he has crossed the river to the Quebec side-he had been near surprising the town. Carleton is fifteen miles this side Sorrel. I presume he is with that fleet. Arnold has no artillery, and is in want of warm clothing. I have set a regiment on foot of Canadians-James Livingston, colonel. I have declared to the inhabitants that I should call a convention upon my return fron Quebec. The Popish priests have hitherto done us all the mischief
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MONTGOMERY'S LETTERS.
in their power. The inhabitants are our friends on both sides of the river down to Quebec. . They permit our expresses to pass unmolested."
Montreal, November 20th .- " Captain Lanib of the artillery is active, spirited and industrious. The rascally Green Mountain Boys have left me in the lurch, after promising to go down to Quebec. I am obliged to speak to you of Colonel Easton in the warmest terms of acknowledgment."
Montreal, November 24th .- " I am ashamed of staying here so long and not getting to Arnold's assistance. To-morrow I shall sail with two or three hundred men, some mortars and other ar- tillery. Lieutenant Halsey, whom I left as assistant engineer at St. Johns, has run away and taken the artificers I had left to carry on the works ; he deserves the severest punishment. Poor Allen is sent to England in irons. I wish Lee could set off immediately for the command here. Our commissaries have made great havoc with the public stores. There are great abuses to be rectified. Several commissaries and other officers have flown without settling their accounts. I wish exceedingly for a respectable committee of congress. I really have not weight enough to carry on business by myself. I have not above 800 effectives here ; but I can have as many Canadians as I know how to maintain.
An affair hapened yesterday which had very near sent me home. A number of officers presumed to remonstrate against the indul- gence I had given some of the officers of the king's troops. Such an insult I could not bear and immediately resigned. To-day they qualified it by such an apology as puts it in my power to re- sume the command. Captain Lamb is a restless genius, and of a bad temper, and at the head of it : he is brive, active and intelli- gent, but very turbulent and troublesome."
Holland House, near the Heights of Abraham, Dec. 5th .- " 1 have joined Colonel Arnold at Point aux Trembles, where I ar- rived with the vessels. "They carried 300 troops equipped for a winter campaign. Colonel Livingston is on the way with a part of his regiment of Canadians. Mr. Carleton is shut up in the town with a shew of defence. I mean to assault his works towards the lower town, which is the weakest part. I shall be very sorry to be reduced to this mode of attack, because I know the melan- choly consequences.
Colonel Arnold's corps is an exceeding fine one, and have a superiour style of discipline. I am not intoxicated with the favour I have received at the hands of fortune, but I do think there is a 'fair prospect of success. I have been under the necessity of clothing the troops. As a stimulant to the troops to go forward, I was obliged to offer as a reward all public stores taken in the vessels, to the troops, except ammunition and provisions. I gave
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MONTGOMERY'S LETTERS. -
them the year's clothing of the seventh and twenty-sixth regiments. I would not wish to see less than 10,000 men ordered here in the spring to protect the province, with artillery, row-gallies, etc. The Canadians will be our friends so long as we are able to main- tain our ground. I am much obliged to you for communicating to congress my desire of retiring. I wish like a New England man for the moment of my release. Mc Pherson is a young man (Cap- tain) of good sense and a great deal of spirit, and most amiable."
Head Quarters, before Quebec, Dec. 16th .- " Yesterday we opened a battery of five guns ; very little effect : the governour would not receive any letter or summons. The enemy have very heavy metal. I never expected any advantage from our artillery than to amuse the enemy and blind them to my real intention. I propose the first strong north wester to make two attacks by night-one with about one-third of the troops on the lower town-the other upon Cape Diamond bastion by escalade. I am fully convinced of the practicability ; but if the men should appear not to relish this mode of proceeding, I shall not press it.
The enemy are weak in pro- portion to the extent of their works. We have not much above 800 men fit for duty, exclusive of a few raggamuffin Canadians. We want cash, and shirts and artillery stores. The Canadians will not relish a union with the colonies till they see the whole country in our hands. Were it not for this I should have been inclined to a blockade till towards the first of April."
Head Quarters, before Quebec, Dec. 26th .- " I have discovered that three companies of Colonel Arnold's detachment are very averse to a coup-de-main. Captain Hanchel, who has incurred Colonel Arnold's displeasure, is at the bottom of it : a field officer is concerned in it. This dangerous party threatens the ruin of our affairs. I shall at any rate be obliged to change my plan of attack. I am afraid my friend Major Brown is deeply concerned in this - affair : he wishes to have, and they wish him to have, the separate command of those companies. "The officers have offered to stay, - provided they may join some other corps. This is resentment against Arnold.
Send a large corps of troops down as soon as the lake is passa- ble. I am distressed for money. Paper will not pass in Canada. Mr. Price, of Montreal, has been a most faithful and valuable friend to our cause. I have had £5000 York currency cash from him. I take it for granted measures are taken to supply my place, as I am determined to return home. If this business should ter- minate in a blockade, I shall think myself at liberty to return ; however, if possible, I shall first make an effort for the reduction of the town."
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