USA > New York > Saratoga County > Our county and its people : a descriptive and biographical record of Saratoga County, New York > Part 8
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He had now only five days' rations for his army, and not a spot where he could hold a council of officers in safety. On the 13th he called thein together to consider their desperate condition, and there "General Burgoyne solemnly declared, that no one but himself should answer for the situation in which the army found itself." Three questions were then submitted for their consideration. "1st. Whether military his- tory furnished any example of an army having capitulated under sim- imar circumstances. 2d. Whether the capitulation of an army placed in such a situation would be disgraceful. 3d. Whether the army was actually in such a situation as to be obliged to capitulate." These were
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answered in the affirmative, and there was a unanimous declaration in favor of capitulation. The terms of surrender were then discussed. A messenger was sent to General Gates, who agreed to an armistice. A meeting of officers to represent the commanders of the respective armies was arranged to take place on the spot where General Schuyler's house had stood.
The terms proposed by Burgoyne required that his army, upon its surrender, should be marched to Boston, and from there be shipped to England. Gates refused this proposition, and demanded an unconditional surrender as prisoners of war. Burgoyne rejected these terms indig- nantly.
The armistice ceased. Burgoyne prepared for the worst.
Gates now heard of Sir Henry Clinton at the Highlands. His fears were aroused; he dispatched a message to Burgoyne, in which he agreed to almost every article of the first proposition. Burgoyne gave his assent to these terms. Some further negotiations were in progress in regard to points of minor importance. News of Sir Henry Clin- ton's expedition now reached Burgoyne. Again delusive hopes awoke in his heart. He hurriedly called his officers together to consider whether they could honorably withdraw from the agreement to sur- render. It was held that honor held them fast, although the papers were not signed. On the 17th of October, the capitulation, or conven- tion, as Burgoyne stipulated it should be called, received the signa- tures of the two commanders, Gates and Burgoyne.
The British army were now marched out of their camps, under their own officers, to a plain near old Fort Hardy, where the Fish Kill emp- ties into the Hudson. Here, in the presence of only one American, an aid-de-camp of Gates, they laid down their arms. Generals Burgoyne, Riedesel and Phillips now passed over the Fish Kill to the headquar- ters of Gates, who rode out to meet them accompanied by his aids. When they met, Burgoyne said: "The fortunes of war, General, have made me your prisoner; " to which Gates replied: "I shall ever be ready to bear testimony that it has not been through any fault of your excellency."
The American army were drawn up in ranks on either side of the road. The whole army of British prisoners, preceded by a guard bear- ing the stars and stripes, and a band playing Yankee Doodle, were marched between the files of their victors.
Gates and Burgoyne stood contemplating the scene. In the presence
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CAPITULATION OF BURGOYNE.
of both armies, General Burgoyne stepped out, and drawing his sword from its scabbard, presented it to General Gates; he received it, and silently returned it to the vanquished general.
The surrendered army numbered 5, 791 men, six of whom were mem- bers of the British Parliament. A splendid train of brass artillery, consisting of forty-two pieces, together with nearly 5,000 muskets, and an immense quantity of ammunition and stores, was the further fruit of this famous victory.
The importance of this triumph upon the fortunes of the American struggle for independence is undisputed. The battle of Saratoga is de- clared upon high authority to be one of the fifteen decisive battles of the world. The reactionary feeling it called forth in the colonies, after the disasters and anxieties of the campaign of the previous year in Canada, strengthened public sentiment in favor of the patriotic cause, and filled the depleted ranks of the army. It led directly to the indispensable assistance received from France, and thus to the later recognition of other foreign governments. As in the last French and English war, the campaign of 1759, which embraced the rocky heights of Quebec, the great water line of New York, and the western posts on the Great Lakes, was the decisive campaign; so by this one of 1777, similar in construction, it was proposed by the English king and his American minister, Lord Germaine, to divide and crush the colonies and terminate the war.
Articles of Convention between Lieut .- Gen. Burgoyne and Major- Gen. Gates:
I. The troops under Lieut .- Gen. Burgoyne to march out of their camp with the honors of war, and the artillery of intrenchments to the verge of the river where the old fort stood, where the arms and artillery are to be left; the arms to be piled by word of command from their own officers.
II. A free passage to be granted to the army under Lieut .- Gen. Burgoyne to Great Britain, on condition of not serving again in North America during the present con- test; and the port of Boston is assigned for the entry of transports to receive the troops whenever Gen. Howe shall so order.
III. Should any cartel take place by which the army under Gen. Burgoyne, or any part of it, may be exchanged, the foregoing articles to be void as far as such exchange should be made.
IV. The army under Lieut .- Gen. Burgoyne to march to Massachusetts Bay by the easiest, most expeditious and convenient route, and be quartered in, near, or as con- venient as possible to Boston that the departure of the troops may not be delayed when the transports shall arrive to receive them.
V. The troops to be supplied on their march, and during their being in quarters,
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with provisions by Gen. Gates's orders, at the same rate of rations as the troops of his own army; and, if possible, the officers' horses and cattle are to be supplied with forage at the usual rates.
VI. All officers to retain their carriages, battle horses, and other cattle, and no baggage to be molested or searched, Lieut .- Gen. Burgoyne giving his honor that there are no public stores secreted therein. Major-Gen. Gates will, of course, take the necessary measures for the due performance of this article. Should any car- riages be wanted during the transportation of officers' baggages, they are, if possi- ble, to be supplied.
VII. Upon the march, and during the time the arny shall remain in quarters in Massachusetts Bay, the officers are not, as far as circumstances will admit, to be sep- arated from their men. The officers are to be quartered according to rank, and are not to be hindered from assembling their men for roll call and the necessary purposes of regularity.
VIII. All corps whatever of Gen. Burgoyne's army, whether composed of sailors, bateaux men, artificers, drivers, independent companies, and followers of the army, of whatever country, shall be included in every respect as British subjects.
IX. All Canadians and persons belonging to the Canadian establishment, consist- ing of sailors, bateaux men, artificers, drivers, independent companies, and many other followers of the army who come under the head of no particular description, are to be permitted to return there; they are to be conducted immediately by the shortest route to the first British post on Lake George, are to be supplied with pro- visions in the same manner as other troops, are to be bound by the same conditions of not serving during the present contest in North America.
X. Passports to be immediately granted for three officers, not exceeding the rank of captain, who shall be appointed by Lieut .- Gen. Burgoyne, to carry dispatches to Sir William Howe, Sir Guy Carleton, and to Great Britain, by way of New York, and Major-Gen. Gates engages the public faith that these dispatches shall not be opened. These officers are to set out immediately after receiving their dispatches, and to travel the shortest route, and in the most expeditious manner.
XI. During the stay of the troops in Massachusetts Bay, the officers are to be ad- mitted on parole, and are to be allowed to wear their side arms.
XII. Should the army under Lieut .- Gen. Burgoyne find it necessary to send for their clothing and other baggage to Canada, they are to be permitted to do so in the most convenient manner, and the necessary passports granted for that purpose.
XIII. These articles are to be mutually signed and exchanged to-morrow morning at nine o'clock, and the troops under Lieut .- Gen. Burgoyne are to march out of their intrenchments at three o'clock in the afternoon.
Signed, Signed,
HORATIO GATES, Major .- Gen. . J. BURGOYNE, Lieut .- Gen.
Saratoga, Oct. 16, 1777.
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THE ATTACK ON BALLSTON.
CHAPTER VI.
The Attack on the Ballston Settlement by Munroe and His Band of Tories and Indians -- Capture of Col. James Gordon and Others and Their Imprisonment in Canada -Escape of the Captives and Their Return to Their Homes -- The Invasion Under the Command of Joseph Bettys, the Notorious Renegade -- His Valiant Serv- ices to the American Government -- Piqued at Being Unrewarded for His Valor, He Turns Spy in the Service of the British-His Capture-Tried and Executed as a Spy -- Major Mitchell's Peril-End of the War.
For three years after the Burgoyne invasion Saratoga county enjoyed comparative peace, though the war continued through other parts of the colonies. General Gates had been given command of the Army of the South, though he had demonstrated little but incompetence. Corn- wallis had pressed a vigorous campaign in the South and had com - pletely subdued South Carolina. Georgia had already fallen into the hands of the enemy and North Carolina was about to be invaded. France had come to our rescue a little more than a year after the vic- tory at Saratoga, but still the patriots lost ground everywhere. The inhabitants of Saratoga county shared in the general gloom which enshrouded the nation. Then, while the whole country was expe- riencing the shock caused by the intelligence of the treachery of the gallant Arnold, who had done so much to save the day at Saratoga, the country suffered from the British raid known as the Northern Invasion of 1780.
The British government intended to make this invasion one of con- siderable strength and importance, but the original plans failed to carry and the blow spent itself in an attack on settlements in the central part of the county-at Ballston. The British hoped, with the assistance of Canadian militia and a band of Canadian Indians, to subdue at least the northern part of the colony. They also believed that many disaffected persons residing in the valleys of the Hudson and Mohawk could be in- duced to join the royal cause. Many of the men were in distant parts of the country engaged in warfare, and the opportunity for conquering the northern country seemed to be ripe. The Albany authorities had been put on their guard regarding this contemplated invasion early in
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the summer of 1780, but the details of the plan could not be learned. The summer months passed with nothing alarming except one or two small raids in the Mohawk valley, and it was confidently believed that, with the approach of winter, nothing would be done by the enemy in these latitudes.
But the Americans reckoned falsely. Early in October, 1780, Major Carleton left Canada at the head of an expedition, entering New York by way of Lake Champlain. At Crown Point two hundred men were landed for the purpose of proceeding either to Schenectady or Ballston. The main body, about eight hundred men, was reserved to attack Fort Anne and Fort George. The first detachment was in charge of Cap- tain Munroe, a Tory, who before the war had been a trader at Sche- nectady and had been more or less actively interested in the settlement of Saratoga county. It consisted of a few men from Sir John John- son's corps, a number of rangers (some of whom were refugees from the settlement at Ballston), and a party of Mohawk Indians headed by "Captain John," their chief. Munroe's orders were to proceed to- wards Schenectady and reconnoiter. If conditions were favorable, that village was to be attacked. If not the band should fall upon Ballston, plunder, burn and take prisoners, but to kill no one unless attacked or resisted.
Major Carleton's command moved rapidly to the attack of Fort Anne, which surrendered upon demand October 10. The British burned the fort and made the garrison prisoners. The next day the garrison at Fort George also capitulated after a short engagement, and this fort likewise was destroyed. During his brief stay in this vicinity Carleton sent out numerous marauding parties, who destroyed by fire all the property belonging to patriots they could find, principally in the west- ern part of Washington county, in Warren county and in the extreme eastern part of Saratoga county. About the middle of the month this expedition returned to Canada, having accomplished little except the destruction of property belonging to American farmers.
But the detachment under the Tory, Munroe, met with more exciting times. They followed the old Indian trail, crossing the Sacandaga in the town of Hadley, passing through Corinth and Greenfield, and en - camped for several days in the northwestern part of the town of Milton. They remained hidden in the woods, nobody knowing of their presence except some Tories, who kept them supplied with provisions. Here learning through scouts and Tories, that the small fort at Ballston had
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CAPTURE OF COLONEL GORDEN.
been garrisoned by two hundred militiamen from Schenectady, and that Schenectady, too, was well defended, they concluded to proceed no farther than the mansion of Colonel Gordon. 1
The inhabitants of Ballston had been expecting an invasion of this character. During the early fall some of them even abandoned their homes at night and lodged in the woods, carrying with them many of their valuables. They had been frightened by the massacre at Cherry Valley two years before and the more recent ravages of the Mohawk valley; but as the autumn progressed and the long expected attack did not come, their confidence in their security returned. Colonel Gordon had been serving as a member of the Assembly, and during September and October he had been at Kingston, then the capital of the State, attending a special session of the Legislature which had been convened by Governor Clinton. This session adjourned October 10 and he started for home, reaching Ballston October 13. Munroe was informed of his return and made preparations to capture him.
On the evening of October 16 the invading band stopped at the resi- dence of James McDonald, which stood about a mile west of Court House hill. From that point McDonald, a Tory who hated the patriot Gordon, led the party through the woods to the rear of Gordon's home. Awakened by the crashing in of his windows, the gallant patriot sprang from his bed, in which his wife and young daughter lay, and partly dressing himself, entered the hall, where he was confronted by a num- ber of Indians. One of them aimed a terrific blow with a tomahawk, at Gordon's head, but a Tory officer caught the savage's arm in time to prevent the murder. The party then began to plunder the house, and several made an attempt to fire it, but were prevented from so doing by some of the officers. Colonel Gordon was made a prisoner, as were two of his servants, John Parlow and Jack Colbraith, and three negro slaves, Nero, Jacob and Ann.
Just before the party reached the main road Isaac Stow, Colonel Gordon's miller, came running towards them shouting: "Colonel Gordon, save yourself! The Indians!" But seeing his employer a cap- tive he turned to run, when he was killed and scalped by a savage.
While one section of the invading party attacked Gordon's house, a
1 This mansion was located on the Middle Line road, on the estate now owned by George T. and Roland W. Smith, sons of the late Andrew Smith of Ballston Spa. The fort mentioned above was constructed of oak logs surrounded with pickets. It stood on the southwest corner of the square, a mile and a half from Gordon's house, at the red meeting house, then in course of construction,
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part of them crossed the Mourning Kill, which flowed near Gordon's home, and captured Captain Collins and his female slave. Manasseh Collins, son of the captain, succeeded in escaping through an upper window and ran to the fort and gave the alarm. Meanwhile, the enemy continued up the Middle Line road and captured Thomas Bar- num, John Davis, Elisha Benedict and his three sons, Caleb, Elias and Felix Benedict; Dublin, Mr. Benedict's slave; Edward A. Watrous, Paul Pierson and his young son John, John Higby and his son Lewis, George Kennedy, Jabez Patchin, Josiah Hollister, Ebenezer Sprague and his sons, John and Elijah Sprague; Thomas Kennedy, Enoch Wood, and a man named Palmatier, living near Milton Centre.
While the marauders were between the homes of John Higby and George Kennedy, in the town of Milton, about fifty of them in command of Lieutenant Frazer, a Tory who had resided near Burnt Hills, left the main party and attacked the residence of George Scott. The latter, awakened by his watchdog, armed himself with his musket and went to the door. Not obeying the command to throw down his gun, he was almost instantly prostrated by the blows from three tomahawks thrown at him at the same moment. Lieutenant Frazer and Sergeant Spring- steed, a refugee who had formerly been in Scott's employ, prevented the savages from scalping the prostrate patriot, though all believed him to be dying. The party left and joined the main body after pillag- ing the house, leaving Scott in a dying condition, as they believed.1
About daylight the invaders and their captives crossed the Kayade- rosseras near Milton Centre and prepared for the march to Canada. Munroe, the Tory commander, informed his little army that they prob- ably would be pursued, and gave orders that, should any sign of pursuit be discovered, every prisoner must be killed .? But there was no pur-
1 George Scott miraculously recovered, lived for some years after this, and died May 21, 1782, aged sixty years. His children were thenceforward brought up and educated by the Gordon family.
2 Munroe was subsequently dismissed from the British service in disgrace for having given such an inhuman order. His property had already been confiscated by the American govern- ment, so that he was left without property and with a stain upon his name from which he never recovered.
The first man in front of Gordon was a British regular, a German, who was next behind Cap- tain Collins and had charge of him. Gordon's captor was a ferocious savage. Gordon afterward related that he heard the soldier say to Captain Collins: "I have been through the late war in Europe, and through many battles, but I never before have heard such a bloody order as this. I can kill in the heat of battle, but not in cold blood. You need not fear me for I will not obey the order. But the Indian in charge of Gordon is thirsting for his blood, and the moment a gun is fired Gordon is a dead man." The prisoners expected that the troops from the fort would over- take them and fire upon the party, and that every captive would be killed.
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suit. That night the party encamped about two miles north of Lake Desolation, where Munroe released Ebenezer Sprague, Paul Pierson and his son John, and George Kennedy.
In the mean time Gordon had succeeded in sending back a private message advising the forces at the fort of Munroe's inhuman order and requesting that no attempt at rescue be made. Captain Stephen Ball, at the head of the militia at the fort, had already started out to effect the release of the prisoners; but fortunately Gordon's messenger met the former in the town of Milton and the relief expedition returned to the fort. The retreating Tory and Indian force continued the march northward with their captives. Arriving at Bulwagga bay October 24, they joined Carleton's division of the army and proceeded down Lake Champlain to St. John's, and thence to Montreal. Arriving in that city the patriots were imprisoned in the Recollet convent, but were soon afterward transferred to a jail. After remaining in Montreal until spring Colonel Gordon was removed to Quebec, where he was kept in prison for two years. He was afterward transferred to the Isle of Or- leans, but subsequently was ransomed for £3,000 by his friend James Ellice, a member of the trading firm of Phynn & Ellice of Schenectady, with whom Gordon had had large commercial transactions.
Another brief account of this thrilling incident follows:1
In October of this year [1779], the enemy, about two hundred strong, under Major Monroe, consisting of British regulars, tories and Indians, entered the Ballston settlement. An invasion had been anticipated, and two hundred Schenectada militia were sent to aid in protecting the settlement. A church, called afterwards the red meeting-house, was being erected at the time, and opposite and near it, a dwelling owned by a Mr. Weed was inclosed in pickets, at which place the Sche- nectada troops were stationed. About the same time, the Ballston militia, thinking the troops sent to aid them were not sufficiently courageous, erected a small defence on Pearson's Hill, afterwards called Court House Hill, nearly two miles in advance of the stockade named, and where the invaders were expected to enter. The little fortress on the hill was guarded several nights, but as the enemy did not appear it was abandoned.
The second night (Sunday night) after the Fallston troops dispersed, the enemy broke into the settlement. They made their first appearance at Gordon's Mills, sit- uated on a stream called the Morning kill, entering the public road at the foot of the hill noticed. Col. James Gordon, who commanded the Ballston militia, and Capt. Collins, an active partisan officer, living near him, were both surprised at their dwellings, and borne into captivity, with nearly thirty of their neighbors. On the
' This account is taken from the " History of Schoharie County, and Border Wars of New York," by Jeptha R. Simms, published in 1845. This author gives 159 as the year in which this invasion took place.
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arrival of the enemy at the house of Capt. Collins, Mann Collins, his son, escaped from it, and gave the alarm to John and Stephen Ball, his brothers-in-law. The latter mounted a horse, and rode to the house of Maj. Andrew Mitchell (Major under Col. Gordon) who, with his family, fled into the fields, and escaped. The Balls also communicated intelligence of the enemy's proximity to the Schenectada troops at the Fort.
At Gordon's Mills, one Stowe, his miller, was captured on the arrival of Monroe's party, and, for some reason, soon after liberated. Feeling himself obligated to Col. Gordon, he thought it his duty to inform him of his danger, and afford him a chance of escape. Crossing a field with that laudable intent, he met an Indian, who, seeing a fugitive, as he supposed, attempting to escape, thrust a spontoon through his body, and instantly killed him.
Great numbers of cattle and hogs were driven away at this time, or killed, several dwellings and out-buildings burned, and the whole settlement greatly alarmed by the invaders, who proceeded directly back to Canada by the eastern route. Among the dwellings burned were those of one Walters, one Pearson, several Spragues and several Patchins. Two dwellings, a little north of the present residence of Judge Thompson, owned at the time by Kennedys, escaped the torch, as they had a friend among the invaders.
The troops assembled in the neighborhood were on their trail by daylight on Mon- day morning, and followed some distance; but meeting a liberated captive, who bore a message from Col. Gordon advising the Americans to abandon the pursuit, it was given over. Why the message was sent, I am not informed, but presume he either thought the enemy too strong to warrant it, or the prisoners in danger of assassina- tion if a hasty retreat was necessary. Col. Gordon was an Irishman by birth, and a firm patriot. He was confined in a Canadian prison for several years, and was one of a party of six or eight prisoners, who effected their escape in the latter part of the war, and after much suffering succeeded in reaching home. Henry and Christian Banta, Epenetus White, an ensign of militia, and several others, neighbors of Col. G., and captured subsequently, also escaped with him. Procuring a boat, the fugi- tives crossed the St. Lawrence, and from its southern shore directed their steps through the forest, coming out at Passamaquoddy Bay, in Maine, where they found friends. Before reaching a dwelling the party were all in a starving condition, and Col. Gordon gave out, and was left, at his request, by his friends, who proceeded to a settlement, obtained assistance, returned, and bore him in a state of entire help- lessness to a place of safety, where he recovered.
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