USA > New York > Cortland County > Pioneer history; or, Cortland County and the border wars of New York, from the earliest period to the present time > Part 3
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When Burgoyne, with his well-disciplined army of over 7,500 regulars, besides Canadian and Indian auxiliaries, was rapidly advancing upon Crown Point, he detached Col. St. Leger with a body of light troops, Canadians, Indians, and tories, in all amounting to about 2,000, by the way of Oswego and the Mohawk river, with orders to take Fort Schuyler, and join him as he advanced to the Hudson, on his way to New York.
Eearly in August, Gen. St. Leger and his forces ap- proached Fort Schuyler in all the "pomp and parade" of victorious troops fresh from the tented field of blood. The fortification was a rude structure formed of logs, and located on a well-selected elevation near the source of the Mohawk river. It was garrisoned by about six hundred continentals under the order and control of Col. Gansevoort. It undoubtedly appeared to St. Leger as an undertaking of no very great effort to reduce the fort and hang the rebels. The garlands of immortal
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fame were to cluster around his brow, and his name to be recorded upon the fairest page of English history ! Nodding plumes were to droop and wither at his ap- proach, and the revolutionists to seek mercy at the feet of the king's appointed dignitary ! But how sadly was he disappointed. On the 3d he invested the place with about two-thirds of his army, and demanded a surrender of the fort. The reply of Gen. Gansevoort was, that he would defend it to the last extremity.
Gen. Herkimer, with 800 troops, had marched to reïn- force the garrison. During the forenoon of the sixth day he sent forward a messenger, who informed the defenders of the fort that he was within eight miles of them, and expected to be able during the day to force a passage and enter the garrison.
Of this fact Gen. St. Leger had been by some means apprised, and forthwith detached a strong body of regu- lars and Indians, under the command of Brant and Butler, with orders to ambuscade, and if possible, inter- cept and cut off the forces of Gen. Herkimer. The plan was adopted, and told with awful and heart-rending effect upon the approaching army. The spot was admi- rably chosen, being along a ravine which swept through a deep-cut gorge thickly studded with the "dark forest trees" of Oriskany.
There is a sublime and imposing appearance in a well- equipped and well-drilled army. You see generals and their aids clad in rich and tasteful uniform, with glitter- ing shields and nodding plumes, mounted on richly caparisoned steeds, giving their hurried orders as the battalions wheel into columns and prepare for the deadly conflict. To see the two opposing forces rapidly closing
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in upon each other, and suddenly swayed back like the surging waves of the ocean, as their ranks are opened by shot or chain belched from the mouths of brazen cannons, is indeed an awful scene. The earth trembles as if convulsed by some mighty volcanic eruption, and the red-hot balls and bursting shells resemble so many fiery orbs gemming the earth. Not so, however, in the battle scene we are about to record.
The tory and savage forces were crouched, tiger-like, along the banks of the ravine, entirely secluded from the sight of General Herkimer and his little gallant army of well-tried soldiers, yet ready to pounce upon them with the ferocity of hungry hyenas. The heroic forces of Herkimer, unapprised of danger, were moving along the winding gorge, but were suddenly startled by a heavy discharge of musketry, followed by the war-whoop of the painted savages and royal allies, who came rushing down the banks, screeching and yelling like ten thousand demons fresh from the portals of the infernal pit. This precipitate movement on the part of the enemy, so unexpected, so sudden, and so furious, threw the army of Herkimer into considerable disorder. Indeed, the greatest consternation spread throughout the ranks. The rear division of the column broke and fell back on the first attack, and fled. The forward division had no alternative left but to fight, and gallantly they defended themselves in the unequal contest. The royal troops and the militia became so closely pressed together as to be unable to use their fire-arms, and one of the most deadly hand to hand conflicts ensued that is recorded in either ancient or
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modern history. Confusion and carnage reigned su- preme, and hundreds fell, pierced to the heart with the deadly steel. The earth was red with the blood of the dead and dying, and the purple current was seen min- gling with the crystal element as it swept along in its hurrying course. Those who fled at the first onset, sought for safety behind trees, from which they poured the most raking and disastrous shots into the enemy's ranks. But the wily savages, not willing to be out- managed, especially in their own mode of fighting, watched for the smoke of each discharged gun, then suddenly sallied forth, tomahawked and scalped the unerring marksman before he had time to reload. This way of taking scalps was, however, soon checked. Two men were directed to take a position behind the forest rampart, and while the one should bring down his foe, the other to reserve his charge for the seeker of scalps. In this way sad havoc was made with the savage foe.
In this severe struggle, General Herkimer's loss was computed to amount to four hundred men ; the gallant leader himself was found among the slain. Many of the most active political characters of that unfortunate portion of country were either made prisoners, wounded, or fell-gloriously fell-in the defense of that principle which has established republics, demolished thrones, wrecked kingdoms, and divided empires. Nor was the loss less severely felt by the allied party. The dusky chieftain mourned the fate of his brave warriors, who lay thick as autumn leaves around him. His grief was almost bordering on despair. He wept as the red man was unused to weep, for he plainly saw the wide-spread
3*
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desolation that was at almost every point staring him in the face. And while the few remaining sons of the forest bewailed the loss of their friends, and exhibited the deepest sorrow and distress of mind, as they saw the result of their inhumanity in the mangled forms, in the blasted hopes, in the unutterable agony of the fallen braves, and, while their doleful yells rent the air, the old scarred chieftain stood still and motionless as the sleep- ing marble. His countenance, however, soon changed to that of a demon, for the spirit of vengeance was at work in his breast, and his dark eye flashed a falcon glance at the heroic warriors who passed hurriedly by with their dead and dying, who, but a little while be- fore, were flushed with manly pride and noble bearing. That glance was indicative of his deep and undying hatred towards the Americans, and was ominous of . future devastation, of massacre, and blood.
During this severe contest Col. Willett made a suc- cessful sally, killed a number of the enemy, destroyed their provisions, carried off their spoils and plunder, and returned to the fort without losing a man.
In the meantime Arnold had been dispatched with a respectable force of Continentals for the purpose of preventing a junction of St. Leger with General Bur- goyne. St. Leger had become aware of the expected arrival of Arnold, and after again demanding, in the most haughty manner, the surrender of the fort, and meeting with the same patriotic and prompt refusal, began to make arrangements for its destruction. But just at this important crisis of affairs, Arnold appre- hended an American of wealth and influence, whom he strongly suspected of being a traitor. He agreed,
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BORDER WARFARE.
however, to spare his life and fortune, on the condition that he would go forthwith to the British camp before Fort Schuyler, and circulate a report to the effect that an overwhelming force was rapidly approaching. The prisoner consented ; and, true to his word, entered the camp, and very greatly magnified the force that was marching against it. As was anticipated, this report spread consternation and alarm throughout the forces of St. Leger. The Indians had no notion of remaining there to be overpowered by Arnold. They had rather take scalps than to be marks for the keen-eyed revolu- tionists. St. Leger was fully satisfied as regarded his strength and ability to defend the position he had taken, as also, of the weakness of the fort, and reluc- tantly listened to his Indian allies, who were open in avowing their disappointment. They had presumed it an easy matter to triumph over the Americans, and were to share equally with the British in the division of the spoils of conquest. Thus defeated and deceived, they resolved to fly for safety, and seek trophies in another quarter. And all the art and genius of Leger failed to detain them. Many left, and the remainder declared they would if the siege was persevered in. Thus he was compelled to abandon the siege, and, on the 22d of August, retired in great confusion ; the tents were left standing, the artillery abandoned, and the greater part of the baggage, ammunition, and pro- visions fell into the hands of the garrison, a detachment from which pursued the retreating enemy as he bent his course in the direction of Montreal.
CHAPTER IV.
FLIGHT OF ST. LEGER .- BRANT GATHERING HIS FORCES. -THE MASSACRE.
" Hark ! hark ! methinks I hear some melancholy moan, Stealing upon my listening ear, As tho' some departing spirit was about To soar, amid the horrors of a massacre ! Yes ! the savage fiend, with glittering knife, And tomahawk, reeking with infant blood, Stands in awful prospect before my vision."
THE circumstances under which St. Leger made his hurried flight from Fort Schuyler, were by no means flattering to his vain-glorious disposition. He had the command of an army which boasted of being in the en- joyment of the full powers of health, discipline and valor, and into whose minds he had labored to infuse a spirit of opposition to republican liberty, as well as to prejudice them in favor of the crown of Great Britain. He had endeavored to prove that the government of the mother country, with all her fading splendors of an- archy, was in every respect superior to the one designed to be established in the colonies. He was peculiarly lavish with his promises to all who would assist in redeeming the cause of the king from the usurpers, and continue submissive to his arrogant behests, and tyran- nic acts of his minion serfs in Parliament. The children of the colonists were to receive their full measure of
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FLIGHT OF ST. LEGER.
vengeance and wrath from the ministers of justice, who were to visit with devastation, famine, and the long train of unmitigated horrors of a scourging war, all who refused to acknowledge the "Divine Right of Kings." Yet after having exhausted his powers in rhe- torical flourishes, begging, promising and threatening those under his command, he suddenly abandons the siege, and retires from the "field" in the utmost confusion.
The Indians continued their depredations, for mas- sacre and murder had become the cherished objects of their lives.
In the summer of 1778 Brant made his head quarters at Oquago,* and Unadilla, and gathered around him several hundred Indians and tories, ready for any emer- gency,-to pillage and devastate the country.
A fort was erected at Cherry Valley by order of Gen- eral Lafayette, and became a retreat when the incursions of the Indians gave alarm to the surrounding inhabi- tants. Brant resolved upon its destruction, was pre- pared for an attack, and was only prevented by being frightened by a band of boys who, in honor of their pa- triotic fathers, were marching out in the direction of Brant's hiding place, where they were to engage in a sham battle. Brant, presuming it to be an approaching army, discharged a few scattering shots, killing Lieut. Wormwood, and Capt. Peter Sitz, and decamped, leav- ing the boys
" To beat the sheepskin, blow the fife, And march in trainin' order."
In July, Wyoming, a new and flourishing settlement on
* Now Windsor.
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BRANT GATHERING HIS FORCES.
the eastern branch of the Susquehanna, was devastated and laid waste, many of the inhabitants were ruthless- ly murdered, others burned at the stake, or tortured in the most barbarous and unrelenting manner.
In the following November, Brant, at the head of 700 warriors, 500 of whom were his own men, accompanied by Capt. Walter Butler, son of Col. John Butler, the devastator of Wyoming, who had obtained 200 Butler Rangers of his father, marched upon Cherry Valley, where was perpetrated one of the most inhuman mas- sacres recorded in history, and which proves to an ab- solute certainty the tory commander to be a most im- placable enemy to freemen, a reckless tyrant, a bar- barian well suited to the capacity of his calling, a mid- night marauder, and wanton ravager of the inno- cent.
Col. Ichabod Alden was in command of the fort, and through his inexcusable neglect the surrounding inhab- itants did not take shelter in the fort, as he had pro- mised to keep scouts out, who, in case of danger, would sound the alarm. His scouts built a large fire, around which they were enjoying a comfortable nap. Brant and his allies fell upon them just before daylight had dawn- ed on the ill-fated settlement, capturing them, and mak- ing the surprise most complete. Back settlers were surprised in their dwellings, and murdered with every circumstance of fiendish barbarity. The village was invested in all parts at the same moment, and then ensued a scene at which humanity would shudder and angels might weep. Fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters and friends, were inhumanly tomahawked and scalped, to appease the Indian and tory spirit of revenge. Even
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THE MASSACRE.
lisping infancy was made to share the like fate, cruel and barbarous as it was.
The commander of the rude fortification, refusing to yield to the usurper's call to surrender, fell by the tom- ahawk. Brant and his Mohawks nerved themselves for the scene of blood and woe that was to follow, but were less furious, less depraved, and still less cruel, torturing and fiendlike, than were the Senecas; for they, as if inspired by the arch demon of Hades, sprung upon the innocent, the helpless and unoffending, and murder- ed them without exhibiting one touch of remorse, or emotion of sympathy. So, too, with the tory, or rene- gade allies,-they were ripe for massa cre and blood.
The troops in the fort made a gallant and noble defence; but they were not sufficiently strong to make a successful sally from their entrenchments.
When darkness had again curtained the earth, the invaders, with about forty prisoners, were hurrying from the scenes of devastation and death.
The next day a detachment of militia arrived from the Mohawk, just in time to see the last of the prowling foe disappear from the settlement. To them the cruel- ties and disastrous effects were exhibited in all their hateful and sickening deformities. The inhabitants who escaped the tomahawk and scalping knife, fled from their homes, seeking the protection of others whose hearts and desires were with the advocates and sup- porters of republican freedom and entire indepen- dence.
A volume might be filled with incidents, cold-blooded and heart-chilling, detailing the horrid massacres where whole families were indiscriminately murdered.
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THE MASSACRE.
Robert Wells, his mother, wife, four children, his brother and sister, with three domestics,-twelve in all, -were cruelly slaughtered by the Indians, leaving only one of this large and interesting family to tell the fate of the others. The blood runs cold as we contemplate the inhumanity exhibited towards Miss Jane Wells, the sister, an amiable and worthy young lady, who, on seeing her brother cut down while bowed in prayer, fled from the house and secreted herself behind some wood. Pale and trembling with fear, she was discovered by a Seneca Indian, who, as he approached her, very coolly wiped the blood from the glittering steel on his leggins, and sheathed it by his side; then seized her by the arm and dragged her from her covert. Looking up imploringly in his face, and in Indian accents, she begged him to spare her life. Vain supplication ! Raising his tomahawk, yet red with the blood of her kindred, he buried it in her brains.
The wife of the Rev. Samuel Dunlap was cloven down before his eyes, and he barely escaped, through the in- terposition of a young chief of the Oquago branch of the Mohawks.'
In the absence of William Mitchell, his wife and four children were ruthlessly murdered by the cowardly assassins ; the house plundered and set on fire. The husband and father returned just in time to put out the fire, and discover the faint glimmerings of life remaining in one of his children. He had conveyed it to the door, and was in the act of stopping the flowing blood, when he saw to his horror another band approaching ; he hast- ily secluded himself from sight, and there beheld a blood-thirsty tory extinguish with a blow of his hatchet
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THE MASSACRE.
the last spark of life that remained in the breast of his child. What a scene to meet a parent's eye !
The day following was one of sorrow and sadness to him. Without the assistance of a single friendly arm, he conveyed the remains of his dear ones to the Fort, where they were entombed in the "cold earth." Who can refrain from weeping at his loss ! What eye can remain dry, or what heart untouched !
A Mrs. Campbell and her four children were taken prisoners and carried away into captivity. Long, long years of suffering, worse than death, passed away, be- fore the husband and father learned the fate of his wretched family.
Many escaped to the mountains, and looking down into the valley saw their houses wrapped in flames, and heard the yells of the savages as they triumphed in their work of death.
Girls in their teens, mothers with infants at the breast, fled to the woods without clothing, and for twelve or fifteen hours endured the most excruciating agony. A. cold November wind whistled through the tree-tops, and moaned over the mountain gorges. The earth was covered with snow, and a drizzling rain added to the sufferings of the fugitives.
Retributive justice will, however, sooner or later, overtake the vile oppressor. Capt. Walter Butler, the acknowledged instigator of all this havoc, was captured at Johnstown in 1781. He had been defeated, and fled. Swimming his horse across the river, the moment he gained the shore he turned and defied those in pursuit ; a ball from one of the Yankee rifles brought him to the ground. An Indian of the Oneida tribe, who favored
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THE MASSACRE.
the American cause, sprang into the stream and swam across, when Butler immediately cried for quarter. But the old chieftain shouted in his ear, " Sherry Val- ley ! Remember Sherry Valley!" and instantly clove his skull with a tomahawk. Hastily pulling off his scalp, he held it up to the gaze of his followers while his yet bleeding victim was gasping out his death groans,
CHAPTER V.
SULLIVAN'S CAMPAIGN-INTERESTING INCIDENTS.
"Go, seek the covert of the savage foe, Disperse them at thy weal or woe."
DURING the year 1779, General Sullivan made a suc- cessful expedition into the Indian territory, destroyed forty of their towns, and put the enemy to flight.
Influenced by the numerous presents and promises made by the British agents and tory adherents, and with the desire to plunder, five of the confederated In- dian tribes invaded the north-western frontiers, spread- ing devastation and death wherever they went .* Their object was to ravage, burn, and kill. To check the career of these lawless intruders, and to mete out to them a due amount of retributive justice, Congress placed three thousand continental troops under the command of General Sullivan.
When the savage allies received the first news rela- tive to the projected expedition against them, they im- mediately began to fortify their strongholds and prepare themselves for a determined resistance. They well knew that the horrid murders and midnight massacres, in addition to the rapine and plunder which they had
" The Oneidas alone remained favorable to the American cause.
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SULLIVAN'S CAMPAIGN.
committed, were laid up against them, and that if unable to withstand the force which was marching through the wilderness, they would be indiscriminately cut down and despoiled of their country.
General Sullivan marched from Easton, Pennsylvania, and arrived with his army at Wyoming on the 24th day of June. The enemy having fled before him, and learn- ing that they were committing outrages of the grossest character, he determined to pursue, and if possible drive them from the country.
On the 31st of July he left, with his forces, for the Indian settlements farther up the Susquehanna and its tributaries. His stores and artillery were conveyed up the river in one hundred and fifty boats, and presented a grand and imposing appearance. The lurking sav- ages, who still hovered about the country for the sake of plunder, were not only surprised but greatly fright- ened, as they viewed them from the long range of mountains which bordered the majestic Susquehanna. The horses, as they moved along in single file, formed a continuous line of six miles in length. They numbered about two thousand.
The forces arrived at Tioga Point on the 11th of August, and were joined by Gen. Clinton on the 22d, he having marched from the Mohawk with a detachment of one thousand troops, thus swelling the command of General Sullivan to four thousand. The Indians had taken a position near Newtown, where they had strongly entrenched themselves, determined to resist the advance of Gen. Sullivan. Their combined forces numbered eight hundred Indians and two hundred tories, and were commanded by Brant and Butler. On the 29th the
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SULLIVAN'S CAMPAIGN.
Americans were drawn up before their breastworks, and commenced a most deadly attack. The Indians withstood the fierce shocks of a terrible cannonade for upwards of two hours, making the most determined efforts at resistance recorded in our country's history. They fought with desperation, while the shot and chain from the well-drilled forces of Sullivan were making terrible havoc in their ranks. But though they warred for country and home, and sought for victory as a last forlorn hope to their sinking cause, it was vain, for it was impossible to withstand the perfect shower of balls that were poured in among them, answered by the cries and groans of the wounded and dying. The tories faltered ; the Indians broke and made a precipitate re- treat. The victory was achieved.
The contest was one which has but few parallels. The enemy yielded, inch by inch, and when finally forced at the point of the bayonet to leave their entrenchments and flee, terror-stricken, to the mountain gorges or almost impassable lagoons, the ground they had occupied was found literally drenched with the blood of the fallen victims. Eleven of the dead re- mained upon the field, and fourteen were found but partially covered with leaves. Two canoes were very much stained with blood, and their trail, even in the mind of Col. Stone, author of the life of Brant, exhibited " the most indubitable proof that a portion of their dead and wounded had been carried off." The Americans lost, according to the highest account which we have found on record, "only six men," and from forty to fifty were wounded. Among these were Major Titcomb, Captain Clayes, and Lieut. M'Colley.
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SULLIVAN'S CAMPAIGN.
The Indians who had escaped the terrible fire of Sulli- van's artillery, saw with horror the destruction of their orchards, cornfields and cabins. It was to them a scene of utter desolation. They had, it is true, made some preparation to intercept and cut off the progress of Sullivan, but had no idea that such a formidable force could successfully penetrate through an almost un- broken forest, convey their heavy baggage, and drive them from their strongholds.
Like a tornado sweeping over the country, destroying everything in its onward march, passed the army of Generals Sullivan and Clinton, spreading the most utter desolation on every side.
At Knawaholee, twenty cabins with their contents were consumed. The corn, which looked very promising, was also destroyed.
At Catharine Town,-the home of Catharine Montour, the wife of the stern Canadesaga chief,-the wigwams, orchards and cornfields were entirely destroyed, the inhabitants having, previous to the approach of the army, deserted their homes.
Their cluster of houses on the east side of Seneca lake, and near the old Indian Peach Orchard, in the [now] town of Hector, shared a like fate.
The army, like so many vultures, hovered for an hour about Apple Tree Town, leaving nothing but desolation to mark the destroyer's course.
Arriving at Kandaia, an old town of twenty houses, which exhibited considerable taste, the warriors paused for a short time, making a few general flourishes in true knight-errant style. The houses, as represented by one who shared the honors and privations attending
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