Landmarks of Oswego County, New York, Part 9

Author: Churchill, John Charles, 1821-1905; Smith, H. P. (Henry Perry), 1839-1925; Child, W. Stanley
Publication date: 1895
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : D. Mason
Number of Pages: 1410

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1 The woods in the vicinity of this battle-ground long bore bullet marks, and the island men- tioned has ever since been known as Battle Island. About the year 1830 Jacob Raynor dug up at the west end of the free bridge a mile above Minetto, a beautifully wrought gold ornament, worth by weight about $20; and about the same time John Cole ploughed up in a field near the same place an old-fashioned bottle filled with rum. A few rods from Oswego Falls, on the east side of the river, were formerly to be seen remains of an old fortification, which was occupied by the En- glish during the war now under consideration, which was probably erected as early as 1756, at about the time of the construction of the works at Brewerton. Both were fortifications of con- siderable strength, and in 1759 that one at the Falls was garrisoned by 100 men, and about the same number were in Fort Brewerton .- [From a paper prepared and read at the Oswego Centen nial of 1876. See Clark's Onondaga, vol. II, pp. 364-365.

LANDMARKS OF OSWEGO COUNTY.

Six Nations to his building a military road to Oswego, declared that his influence with the Indians would be lost if the post should fall into the hands of the enemy. Governor Shirley, too, added his counsel in the same direction ; but Abercrombie was busying himself with forti- fying Albany, and with other affairs. The Earl of Loudon, weak and inefficient, arrived at Albany on the 29th of July, as commander in- chief of the English forces in America, to begin a campaign. He ap- parently gave little thought to Oswego, but finally, after being im- portuned by almost every person of importance whose opinion was valuable, did order the incapable Colonel Webb to march with a brigade to the menaced point, as appears a little further on.

While the foregoing events were taking place, Montcalm was exhib- iting that consummate military genius and efficiency for which he became famous, and in most of his plans it is more than probable that the ultimate capture of Choueguen was an important feature. De Vaudreuil was sent with a body of troops and Indians to Hen- derson Bay, to occupy the position from which De Villiers had made his numerous expeditions. The force at Frontenac was in- creased by Bearn's battalion, which was called from Niagara, and Colonel de Bourlamaque at Frontenac was ordered to make prepara- tions for forwarding an army; while an engineer, Sieur Decombles, with an escort of Canadians and Indians, reconnoitered Oswego. On the 27th of June Montcalm left Montreal for Crown Point and Ticon- deroga, where he remained about two weeks, encouraging the forces in that vicinity, and perhaps frightening Abercrombie at Albany. Re- turning to Montreal, he arrived there on the 19th of July, but re- mained only one day, when he set out for Frontenac up the St. Lawrence. His plans at this time are foreshadowed in the following extract from a letter written by him on the 20th of July (the only day that he per- mitted himself to remain in the city) :

The object which has recalled me to Montreal so soon, and causes my departure for Frontenac, is a project which appears to me sufficiently military, if all the details be well combined, and I leave without being either assured or well convinced of that. It is proposed to proceed with three battalions of La Sarre, Guyenne, and Bearn, stationed at Frontenac and Niagara, and some Canadians who are on shore in the vicinity of Chouaguen, to attempt the siege of that place, or at least, to make a diversion. The Marquis de Vaudreuil has issued, during my absence, several orders relative to this ex-

MONTCALM'S ADVANCE ON OSWEGO.

pedition, the success of which is of the greatest importance. I have no need of enlarging on all the difficulties of this expedition, which is, in fact, undertaken only on the supposition that the enemy has but 1,000 men there. You may be assured, my lord, that I readily yield to this project ; and that I count myself as nothing on an occasion of so much interest, and which has appeared to me quite pregnant with obstacles to be surmounted.1

During this period, also, efforts were never relaxed to secure and hold the allegiance, or at least the neutrality, of the Iroquois. De Vaudreuil wrote on the 13th of August to De Machault as follows :

These Senecas and Cayugas have assured M. Duplessis that they would remain per- fectly neutral. The Cayugas have added that they would never consent that the English should construct forts in their country ; that they will be always attached to the French. . . . M. Duplessis pressed them warmly to revenge the blows which the English struck on their nephews, the Delawares. I never flattered myself with determining the mass of the Five Nations to make war on the English. I endeavored to divide them and to seize every opportunity to make them strike the others. . . . M. de la Chauvignerie has formed a party of twenty-nine Senecas, Cayugas, and Onondagas, among whom are some belonging to the Grand village. He has sent them to M. Dumas, who will not fail to make them strike. The Onondagas and Oneidas have sent me eighty deputies, who arrived here whilst the Marquis of Montcalm was on his way with the expedition against Chouaguen. They have promised me to do their best, in remembrance of my father, so as to afford me proofs of their attachment to the French.2*

Montcalm arrived at Frontenac on the 29th of July, and within the succeeding six days had his army of about 3,000 (stated by some English authorities as high as 5,000) ready for the campaign. On the 4th of August he left Frontenac, and on the 6th arrived at the general rendezvous at Henderson Bay with his first division, consisting of the battalions of La Sarre and Guyenne, with four cannon. The second division, comprising Bearn's battalion with eighty bateaux laden with artillery and stores, reached the bay on the 8th.

Montcalm's genius will be noticed in every detail of this movement, his precautions being no less conspicuous than his watchful vigilance and untiring energy. Before leaving Frontenac he had ordered two barks of twelve and sixteen guns respectively to " cruise in the latitude of Chouaguen," and "a corps of scouts, Canadians and Indians, were

1 Doc. Col Hist., vol. X, pp. 433 4.

2 Doc. Col. Hist, vol. X, pp. 438-9.

LANDMARKS OF OSWEGO COUNTY.

sent on the road between the latter place and Albany, to intercept ex- presses."1

Promptly on the 8th of August Montcalm sent forward a vanguard towards Oswego. Rowing all night they reached a cove, which has been located both at Sandy Creek Bay (by the editor of the Docu- mentary History of New York), and at a point in the northeast corner of the town of Scriba.2 On the same night (the 8th) Montcalm pro- ceeded in person with his first division to Sandy Creek Bay, where he remained through the 9th. During the night they advanced to the cove before mentioned, arriving at 2 o'clock in the morning of the 10th. " Four hours later the vanguard proceeded across the woods to another cove situated half a league from Chouaguen, to cover the debarkation

of the artillery and troops."3 Here they lay through that day, and at midnight were joined by the first division of the army. The four guns were landed and a battery erected on the shore by a part of the men, while the remainder sought such rest as their circumstances offered. At 3 o'clock in the morning the engineer, Decombles, was killed by an Indian, a French ally, who mistook him for an Englishman, as he was returning from a reconnoissance of the fort. While this was a de- plorable occurrence, the French had two other engineers with them. One of these was Sieur Desandronius, a young man, who opened through the woods a road which had been explored on the previous even - ing. The road was begun at II o'clock in the morning and was fin- ished by the following morning for the passage of artillery. The other engineer was the veteran Pouchot, who immediately began constructing works for the protection of the besiegers.

On the night of the 12-13, at half past eleven in the evening, M. Pouchot caused a parallel to be opened, at sixty geometrical paces from Fort Ontario, about ninety toises long, with an abbattis of very large trees, nearly all of which were to be cut. It was,

1 Doc. Col. Hist., vol. X, p. 441.

2 In Montcalm's journal of the siege of Oswego he says: " The vanguard set out to advance to a cove called L'Anse aux Cabanes, within three leagues of Chouaguen." This would be about seven and one-half miles, making Sandy Creek Bay as the point in question impossible. The French league here referred to is about two and one-half English miles.

3 This cove is believed by the best authorities to have been the sheltered water behind a pro- jection of land just east of the present city limits. M. Pouchot thus describes it (vol. II, p, 125): " Half a league east of Oswego is a little bay with sandy bottom, where M. de Montcalm landed and encamped when he besieged Oswego in 1756. The English have since made a clearing, and built redoubts which look upon this bay."

MONTCALM'S ATTACK.

however, finished by daybreak. On the 13th they worked in throwing up batteries, and at three in the afternoon the enemy, surprised to see us so near them, abandoned the fort which they could have held but a little longer, as the artillery had been ad- vantageously posted. They retired in the greatest disorder across the river into the old fort.1

While these operations were taking place, intelligence of the move- ments of the French reached Colonel Mercer in Fort Ontario, and he dispatched a schooner with information to Commodore Bradley, who was then on a cruise with a large brigantine and two sloops, and requested him to sail as far eastward as he could and prevent the approach of the French on the lake. A gale on the following day drove the brigantine ashore while attempting to come into the harbor. On the morning of the IIth the schooner before mentioned was sent out eastward to recon- noiter, and returned with intelligence of a large encampment around the opposite point. Two sloops were thereupon ordered to that vicinity, with instructions to attack or annoy the enemy. When within cannon shot of the encampment, they were fired upon by a French battery. The fire was returned from both vessels, but to little purpose "as their shot fell short of the shore and the enemy's cannon were large and well managed, and hulled the vessels almost every shot." 2

At daybreak on the IIth, after the killing of the engineer, the Cana- dians and Indians advanced to within a short distance of Fort Ontario and invested the work. We quote further from Montcalm's journal :

The precaution of marching only at night, and of entering rivers when halting, by which we were concealed, had till then hid our advance from the enemy.3 It was an- nounced to them only that same day by the Indians who went even to the foot of the fort to fire. Three armed sloops which sailed at noon from the River Chouaguen, came cruising in front of the camp, discharged some pieces of artillery, but the fire from our battery forced them to sheer off. Since then they cruised only at a distance.

On the 12th at daybreak, the regiment of Bearn arrived with the bateaux of artillery and provisions. These bateaux were forthwith unloaded in presence of the English barks which cruised in front of the camp. The battery on the beach was increased- the park of artillery and the depot of provisions established, and Captain Pouchot . . received orders to act as Engineer during the siege. Arrangements were made to open trenches that very night; six pickets of workmen, fifty men each, were under orders

I Pouchot's Memoirs, vol. I, pp. 64-5.

2 From the 26th number of the " Gentleman's Magazine," 1757.

3 This statement needs qualification, for Colonel Mercer certainly possessed information of Montcalm's movements, as will appear.

LANDMARKS OF OSWEGO COUNTY.

for that night ; two companies of grenadiers and three pickets to support them. The enemy's fire, which had been very brisk since the break of day, ceased about 11 o'clock at night, and it was perceived that the garrison evacuated Fort Ontario and passed over to that of Chouaguen at the opposite side of the river. They abandoned, in retiring, eight pieces of cannon and four mortars. The fort having been immediately occupied by the grenadiers of the trench, the workmen were commanded to continue the communication of the parallel to the river side, where, at nightfall, was commenced a large battery, placed so as to batter Fort Chouaguen, the road from that fort to Fort George, and take the intrenched camp in the rear. Twenty pieces of cannon were con- veyed, during the night, in men's arms, a labor which occupied the whole army, with the exception of the pickets and the camp guard.

14th. At daylight the Marquis of Montcalm ordered Sieur de Rigaud to ford the river to the other side with the Canadians and Indians, to occupy the woods and harass the communication with Fort George, where the enemy appeared making considerable prep- arations. At 6 o'clock we had nine pieces ready to bear, and though the fire of the besieged, up to that time, was more brisk than ours, they hoisted the White flag at 10 o'olock and sent two officers to demand a capitulation.1

While the fire of the English in the early part of the day was un- doubtedly brisk and effective (as noted by Montcalm), it soon decreased, and the evacuation of Fort Ontario, which took place about six o'clock in the afternoon, was the beginning of the end. The crossing of the river was accomplished under Colonel Mercer in whale boats, which were almost completely protected by the guns of Fort Oswego. Only four persons had been struck in Fort Ontario. The French witnessed the evacuation with the keenest satisfaction ; for to them it foreshadowed final victory. The guns of Fort Ontario were turned upon Fort Oswego, a battery was placed in the trench near the water's edge on the east side commanding Fort Oswego, while De Vaudreuil crossed the river above to harass the English rear. Meanwhile Colonel Mercer had sent one regiment, and one hundred men from another, to reinforce the redoubt on the hill back of Fort Oswego. From six o'clock in the morning of the 14th the battle was fierce until the surrender, the artil- lery fire being especially heavy and effective. Between eight and nine o'clock Colonel Mercer was killed; he was undoubtedly a brave man and fell while gallantly directing the fire of the large guns. The com- mand devolved upon Lt .- Col. John Littlehales, who seems to have been unequal to the situation. He ordered Colonel Schuyler to abandon Fort George in rear of Fort Oswego, and two of Schuyler's men were

1 Doc. Col. Hist., vol. X, pp. 442-3.

SURRENDER OF FORT ONTARIO.

killed while marching down. Littlehales soon called a council of officers and the capitulation was agreed upon.

A statement has been put forth and found many believers to the effect that Fort Ontario was not evacuated until the supply of ammunition was exhausted and utensils of various kinds had been used in the guns instead of balls. There is probably no foundation for this belief, as in the report of Montcalm of property captured and specifically mentioned as having been found in Fort Ontario, was one hundred and fifty shot and forty grape shot, a part of which had been thrown into the well.

In comparison with great battles of modern times, this siege seems insignificant; but it was of great consequence to the English cause, as it was the loss of their most important frontier post. The loss to the English was probably not more than thirty killed and wounded, and that of the French about the same number. The total number sur- rendered was 1. 520, many of whom were mechanics and laborers.

The French, surprised at the ease with which they had been captured, took immediate possession of the works, and destroyed them. It is believed that one purpose of this destruction was to disabuse the Indians of the idea that the French desired to maintain a military station within their territory.

Concerning the victory Montcalm wrote as follows :

The number of prisoners was nearly 1,700 men, to wit: Shirley's and Pepperell's regiments [neither of which was commanded by those men], arrived from Old England and who were at the battle of Fontenoy ; a detachment of Schuyler's regiment, Militia of the country ; about 80 officers, among whom were two artillery, two engineer and 12 navy officers. We captured, also, 7 vessels of war; one of 18 guns, one of 14, one of 10, one of 8, three mounted with swivels, 200 barges or bateaux, 7 pieces of bronze, 48 of iron, 14 mortars, 5 howitzers, 47 swivels, a quantity of shot, bombs, balls, powder, and a considerable pile of provisions.1

According to Montcalm the works were demolished by the 21st of the month, the prisoners and property removed, and the army re- embarked for Henderson Bay, whence the several divisions proceeded to other points. Many writers have stated, and it is generally believed, that after the surrender nearly one hundred of the prisoners were tortured, slain and scalped by the savages. There is considerable evi- dence that some atrocities were committed ; but on the other hand,

1 Doc. Col. Hist., vol. X, p. 443.

LANDMARKS OF OSWEGO COUNTY.

it is difficult to believe that any slaughter was committed, with the the knowledge of Montcalm. While nearly all the authorities com- ment upon the conduct of Montcalm on this occasion, they at the same time do not always assert it as a fact. Mr. Hough, in a foot note in Pouchot's Memoirs, p. 68, quotes Entick, Mante and Garreau as authority on the subject ; but he carefully qualifies his own state- ments with the words, "it is said." It is known that the Indians committed barbarities under Montcalm at Fort William Henry ; but so excellent an authority as Mante says: "But the truth is, that as soon as the horrid scene commenced, M. de Montcalm exerted his utmost endeavors to put a stop to it. He laid bare his own bosom, and bade them kill their father, but spare the English, who were now under his protection."

Brave men are not usually cruel and vindictive, and a consent to barbarities upon helpless prisoners would not have been consistent with Montcalm's conduct at Fort William Henry, where he " agreed to an honorable surrender, and a safe escort of the troops [English] to Fort Edward." 1 The able historian, Lossing, also gives him credit for the display of skill, courage and humanity in this campaign.

A fair consideration of the siege and capture of Oswego by Mont- calm reveals not only the masterly military qualifications of that general, but also a deplorable lack of the same qualities in the English forces. While the French outnumbered the English two to one, justifying a prudent and conservative course, they also battled under the disadvan- tages always attending a besieging army ; and if we can, in our mental review of the struggle, transpose the positions of the two forces, we can easily believe that Montcalm in Fort Ontario and with an armed fleet on the lake, would have wrought havoc on the English before he hoisted a white flag.

Lord Loudon attempted to shift the responsibility for the English disasters from his own shoulders, and at a military council held in Bos- ton in January, 1757, he made the claim that to the colonies only should be attributed the blame ; that the condition of Oswego and other posts had not been correctly represented to him by his predecessor, and that the colonies had not efficiently supported him in his requisitions.

1 Harper's Cyclopedia of U. S. History, Lossing, vol. I, p. 524.

MEDAL OF LOUIS XV.

Previous to the investment of Oswego General Webb had been tardily sent with a detachment for its relief. Reaching the carrying-place between the Mohawk and Wood creek after considerable delay, he met a messenger with tidings of the fall of Oswego. Apprehending danger to himself from the victorious French, as well as to the Mohawk settle- ments, he obstructed the channel of the creek with fallen trees, and hastily returned to Albany.

The loss of Oswego was appreciated as a national misfortune by the English and as a corresponding triumph by the French. It practically gave the latter dominion on all the lakes. The value of the property taken was immense for those times, while the post itself was of still , greater consequence. Moreover, the moral effect of the victory was disastrous to the English, and all offensive operations ceased for a time. Forts Edward and William Henry were placed in defensive condition, and the contemplated expedition against Ticonderoga was abandoned. General Webb was posted at the carrying place with 1,400 men, and Sir William Johnson was stationed at German Flats. These various dispositions were made to protect the frontiers against expected incur- sions by the French and their allies. The victory of the French so impressed the Iroquois that in April, 1757, a delegation of chiefs visited Montreal to treat for peace. The result of this was that while the Iroquois, excepting the Mohawks, remained neutral for a period, the French and their red adherents were left to ravage the frontier as oppor- tunity offered.

The Capture of Oswego produced the greatest effect upon all the Indian tribes, be- cause the English had affected a decided superiority over us, and by their bragadocio on their power and courage sought to make the Indians believe that we should not be able to resist them. The latter saw with what ease we took a post which had as many defenders as assailants, and their brisk cannonade, of which they had never heard the like, did not disturb the French troops. We may say, that since this event, they have redoubled their attachment and friendship for the French.1

The importance attached in France to the capture of Oswego is shown by a medal issued by Louis XV in 1758, now in the collection of Theo- dore Irwin, esq., of Oswego, and herewith presented. War between England and France was declared in May, 1756, and opened with sig- nal successes on the part of the latter. In June of that year, Port Ma-

1 Pouchot's Memoirs, vol. I, p. 70.

LANDMARKS OF OSWEGO COUNTY.

hon, the finest harbor in the Mediterranean, which had been taken from Spain by the English in 1708, and had been fortified by them at vast expense until it was regarded as the strongest place in Europe after Gibralter, was taken by the French. Its possession gave them a com- manding position in the Mediterranean, and neutralized to a great ex- tent the possession by England of Gibralter. In August of the same year, as we have seen, Oswego was taken. This removed what the French regarded as the chief danger to their plans respecting the North American continent and left unbroken their possession of the valleys of the St. Lawrence, the Great Lakes, the Ohio, and the Mississippi.

OSWEGO

ANION

0,13

EXPUG.ST. DAVIDIS ARCE ET SOLO EQUATA

OBVERSE.

REVERSE.

Photographed from a copy of the original in the possession of Mr. Theodore Irwin, of Oswego.

Early in 1757 Count Lally was sent to take command in India. In one month after his arrival he had driven the English from the Coro- mandel Coast, and had taken and razed to the ground Fort St. David, the most formidable of the English fortresses in India. His successes seemed to promise that India as well as North America was to become a province of France. About the same time, in that part of the war which was being carried on upon the Continent of Europe, the siege of Wesel, a strongly fortified position on the lower Rhine, held by the French, and the possession of which was of great importance to them, was raised, and an important victory gained in a battle fought in its vicinity.

TURNING OF THE TIDE.

These successes seem to have revived in Louis XV the dream of French ascendency, which had been the goal towards which the efforts of the great monarch, his predecessor, had been directed, and hence this medal in which he styles himself " Imperator Orbis."

Wesel, Oswego, Port Mahon, St. David are the places named on the medal, as furnishing the foundation for this claim of universal do- minion.

The remaining years of the war were years of disaster to France, and by the peace of Paris of 1763, which terminated the war, the French pos- sessions in India, Africa and North America were transferred to Eng- land. Had Montcalm and Lally received the support to which their courage, ability, and devotion entitled them, the map of the world would not likely be what it now is.

During the years 1757-8 Oswego remained in comparative quiet. Trading had almost ceased, and the destruction of the forts and build- ings had left a scene of desolation. The campaign of 1757 terminated disastrously, leaving the affairs of Great Britain in America in a worse condition than at any former period. Fort William Henry, a strong work at the head of Lake George, fell before Montcalm's army in Au- gust, giving the French control of that lake, while they also retained possession of the Ohio region and Fort Duquesne. But a change was at hand. William Pitt, a devoted friend to the colonies and a man of great ability and energy. succeeded to the prime ministry in England, and he promptly assured the colonists that ample forces should be sent over, and recommended that they raise as large bodies of soldiery as possible. Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, and New York voted from five to seven thousand men each, and so inspiriting was the outlook that those troops were ready for the field in May, 1758. The impotent Loudon returned to Europe, and the command of all the forces in America devolved upon Gen. James Abercrombie. Three ex- peditions were planned for the year, neither of which directly involved Oswego. They were directed against Louisburg, which fell before the army of Major-Gen. Jeffrey Amherst ; a second against Ticonderoga and Crown Point, under Abercrombie himself, who was defeated; the third, which was successful, against Duquesne.

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Landmarks of Oswego County, New York, Part 9

Author: Churchill, John Charles, 1821-1905; Smith, H. P. (Henry Perry), 1839-1925; Child, W. Stanley Publication date: 1895 Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : D. Mason Number of Pages: 1410

Author: Churchill, John Charles, 1821-1905; Smith, H. P. (Henry Perry), 1839-1925; Child, W. Stanley
Publication date: 1895
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : D. Mason
Number of Pages: 1410