USA > New York > Ulster County > Kingston > The history of Kingston, New York : from its early settlement to the year 1820 > Part 15
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determined upon. The British general was to march to Fort Duquesne. Governor Shirley, who had received a major-general's commission from the king, was to march with the American troops against Niagara, and the militia of the northern colonies against Crown Point.
While these preparations were being made at Annapolis, some English troops commanded by Colonel Monckton, with the New England forces commanded by John Winslow, reduced Nova Scotia.
As to the result of the proposed attack against Fort Duquesne, Braddock was defeated with his English troops, and lost his life at Pittsburg. Sir William Johnson, to whom was intrusted the command of the expedition against Crown Point, proceeded with an army of six thousand men, supplied by New England and New York, including the troops from Ulster County, and three hundred Indians. A portion of the troops was left at Fort Edward. The main body proceeded to Lake George. Upon hearing that the French general, Baron Dieskau, was approaching to attack Fort Edward, Johnson despatched Colonel Williams with twelve hun- dred men to Fort Edward. Colonel Williams when he had pro- ceeded about four miles met the entire French force in a narrow defile. Williams was killed on the first charge, and his command nearly annihilated. A few escaped by rapid flight to Johnson's camp.
The French general proceeded at once to attack Johnson. Sir William was severely wounded in the early part of the battle, and the command devolved on General Lyman ; he not only succeeded in repelling the attack, but the French army was nearly destroyed, and its commander mortally wounded.
No advantage was taken of this victory, the objective point, Crown Point, although within easy grasp, was left unmolested, and the French permitted to continue their fortifications at Ticon- deroga. .
As soon as General Johnson ascertained the strength of the French forces ready to attack him, he called for re-enforcements. They were at once forwarded with all the despatch possible, but the French were defeated before their arrival. The following officers were sent from Ulster County on such call for re enforce- ments with the companies under their command : Lieutenant Zachariah Hoffman, Lieutenant Hendrick Vandemark, Captain Johannis Newkirk, and Captain Cornelis Hoornbeck; by order of Colonel Gaasbeek Chambers ; also Captain Jonathan Hasbrouck, Lieutenant William Nealy, Lieutenant Noah Eltinge, Captain Arnout Nile, Captain Simon Freer, and Captain Petrus Bogardus.
Governor Shirley marched from Albany, with troops from New
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England, New York, and New Jersey, and some Iroquois Indians, to attack the French fortifications at Niagara. But before reach- ing Oswego news was received of Braddock's defeat, which pro- duced such a disheartening effect, that his Indians, his boatmen, and some soldiers deserted, and he proceeded no farther than Oswego. While there sickness broke out among his troops, heavy rains set in, and the expedition was abandoned. He left a garrison of seven hundred men at Oswego with directions to build two forts, and returned to Albany without having seen the enemy. Thus ended the campaign of 1755.
In the month of December in that year Ensign Thomas Bull, Sergeant James Crawford, Jr., and John Wharry, with detach- ments of militia under them, were kept guarding and exploring the frontiers of Ulster County to protect the inhabitants against the Indians.
The death of General Braddock left General Shirley in com- mand of the English forces, and he summoned a congress of the several governors of the colonies to meet in New York on the 12th of December, 1755, for consultation in regard to aggressive warlike action and defence. At that meeting it was determined to raise ten thousand troop's in the provinces, organize expeditions -to re- duce the French forts on Lakes Champlain and Ontario, and con- quer Canada. This was the work laid out by the commanding general for accomplishment ; what was attempted, not to say ac- complished, will be seen in the sequel.
In September, 1755, Sir Charles Hardy arrived in New York, with the royal commission as governor of the province, and as- sumed its duties. He was a British admiral, in no respect versed in or familiar with the duties of an executive. It is said that he placed himself under the guidance of Governor De Lancey, who thereby virtually remained the governor.
On the 17th of December, 1755, the governor transmitted a special message to the Assembly, informing it that he had received information that hostile Indians were infesting the northern parts of Pennsylvania, near the river Delaware, and had committed sev- eral murders, burned houses within a few miles of the settlements in this province, that they had also appeared in Minisink, Ulster County, and that he had ordered a detachment of thirty men from each of the regiments in Orange County and sixty from Ulster, to march to the frontiers, in order to protect the settlers and prevent them from deserting their habitations.
The Assembly on the following day unanimously resolved that in their opinion " provision should be made for a competent num- ber of Rangers, to be raised out of the Counties of Orange and Ulster, for guarding the Western frontier of this Colony." And
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on the 20th of December, 1755, the Assembly passed a bill entitled an act "to enable his Excellency the Governor or Commander in Chief, for the time being, to make detachments from the militia of the several counties therein mentioned, for protecting and securing the frontiers of this Colony." This bill was designed to enable the governor to raise a number of rangers out of the counties of Orange and Ulster by detachments, in case volunteers could not be pro- cured for guarding the western frontier of this colony ; and such number of effective men out of the county of Albany as might be sufficient to complete the quota of this colony for garrisoning Fort Edward on the carrying place, and Fort William Henry at Lake George. This bill having been passed by the legislative council without amendment, was signed by the governor, and became a law on the 23d of December, 1755.
General Shirley, in regard to the project contemplated by the congress of provincial governors to make a winter attack upon Crown Point, asked of the Governor of New York one thousand men as the quota for this province. The Legislature before passing any law to that effect, desired information in regard to the quotas to be furnished by the other provinces, and also as to the number of regular troops to be engaged. General Shirley stated that only two hundred regulars could be spared for the expedition. The Assembly took the ground that at least four hundred regular troops should be provided.
Before any action was taken, General Shirley, with the usual fate of an unsuccessful general, was temporarily superseded in command by General Abercrombie, until the arrival of the per- manent commander.
In the mean time nothing was accomplished, or, in fact, at- tempted against the French, and thus the Indians, unrestrained by aggressive warfare against their allies, were left free to make their raids upon the colonial frontiers.
On the 13th of January, 1756, Governor Hardy sent a message to the Legislature, in regard to the protection of the frontier settle- ments in the counties of Ulster and Orange, and advised the build- ing of a line of block houses at some distance from the settlements, extending from a place called Machackamock to the town of Rochester.
No definite action having been taken, he sent another commu- nication to them on the 2d of March, informing them that "on Tuesday last (February 23d) about noon, a party, consisting of about thirty or forty Indians, attacked and burned the house of Philip Swartwout in Ulster County, murdered five of the people, took a woman prisoner, and destroyed the cattle, and that lately a man was killed by the Indians near Goshen." He earnestly recom-
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mended the Assembly " to make provision for supporting a suffi- cient force to drive off the enemy, and pursue them even to their places of residence or retreat, and thus reduce them to the neces- sity of desiring peace."
The Legislature in March passed a bill, which was approved by the governor, April 1st, and intended to provide both for the ex- pedition to Crown Point and the protection of the frontier borders of Ulster and Orange counties. It was entitled an " act for rais- ing, paying and subsisting 1715 effective men, officers included, to be employed, in conjunction with the neighboring Colonies, on an expedition for reducing the French fort at Crown Point, and carry- ing on an offensive war against the Indians, who infest the Western frontiers of this colony, and for other purposes therein mentioned."
Messrs. Jacobus Bruyn and Charles Clinton in the months of April and May surveyed a road in the county of Ulster from Mini- sink to Rochester for the block-houses. They were guarded by a number of militia, under the command of Dirck Roosa, detached from the company commanded by Captain David Hays.
In 1756 the Indians made an attack upon the house of Rodger Blameless in Ulster County, and murdered him and his family. Ensign Matthew Rea, with a detachment of militia, was sent in pur- suit of the marauders, but they escaped.
It was not until the 23d day of July, 1756, that Lord Loudoun arrived in New York, commissioned as commander-in-chief of his Majesty's forces in America. He at once assumed the command. War had now been formally declared between England and France. Although it had for two years and upward existed in America, there had been no formal declaration thereof until 1756.
The French had sent the Marquis de Montcalm as the com- mander-in-chief of their forces in America to succeed Dieskau, who was slain at the battle of Lake George. Montcalm was a man of very superior ability, active and energetic. The English general, Lord Loudoun, on the contrary, was entirely devoid of genius, and one of those characters who, always in a hurry and fussy, never make any progress.
The campaign of 1756 resulted disastrously to the English. The French reduced and demolished the English forts at Oswego. The garrison was surrendered to the French as prisoners of war, and a large amount of warlike stores of every description fell into the hands of the victors. The loss of that important military post caused great consternation throughout the English provinces.
Loudoun having so far attempted little and accomplished noth- ing, withdrew his troops into winter quarters.
Such want of activity, coupled with the disasters sustained by the English, encouraged the Indians to make raids upon the west-
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ern frontiers of the provinces, and it became necessary to keep large bodies of men constantly on guard upon the western frontier of Ulster as well as the other border counties. Detachments were sent at different times from the different companies, and relief for- warded at short intervals, so that every company in the county was called upon more or less to aid in the performance of such duty.
The following are the names, so far as can be ascertained, of the officers commanding detachments, and detailed with their men to guard the frontiers and scour the woods of Ulster County in the year 1756. These men were called out at, different periods and rendered unequal length of service :
Captains John Bevier, Jr., Jacob Rutsen De Witt, Samuel Crawford, Thomas Ellison, and Stephen Nottingham.
Lieutenants James McLaughry, James Humphrey, William Hall, William Faulkner, Noah Eltinge, Thomas Goldsmith, Hen- drick Van Keuren, Benjamin Hoornbeek, James McNeal, and Isaac Decker.
Ensigns Adam Newkirk, Petrus Masten, Elias Depuy, John Dumond, and John Lefevre.
Sergeants Johannis Mele, Daniel Butterfield, John Thompson, Benjamin Klaarwater, William Crawford, and John Masten.
Corporals Jacobus Bush, Jacob Terwilliger, Daniel Brown, John Miller, Frederick Feckert, and John Wilken.
General Loudoun made preparations for a grand campaign in 1757, in which he expected to capture Louisburg, on Cape Breton, and conquer Canada. The colonies complied liberally with his de- mand for troops, so that on his departure for Halifax, en route for Louisburg, he left an army of six thousand men under General Webb for operations against the enemy. Sir Charles Hardy, the Governor of New York, being an admiral in the British navy, as- sumed the command of the fleet destined for Louisburg, and left the government of New York in the charge of Lieutenant-Governor De Lancey. Before reaching Louisburg it appears General Loudoun came to the conclusion that he could not capture that fortress with the forces he had with him, and at once abandoned the attempt.
The operations of General Webb in command of the forces left him by General Loudoun were not only disgraceful, but savored strongly of cowardice, if not something worse. He was at Fort Edward with a force of four thousand men. Colonel Munroe, another British officer, was at Fort William Henry, at the head of Lake George, fourteen miles distant, with three thousand men. The French general, Montcalm, finding that Louisburg was in no danger, turned his attention to Fort William Henry, and ap- proached with a reported force of nine thousand men. Upon such
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intention being discovered word was at once despatched from the army at the north to Albany, and the governor for re-enforcements, and Munroe called upon Webb, his superior officer, to re-enforce him.
When Montcalm arrived before the fort, he at once demanded its surrender. Munroe, notwithstanding the overwhelming forces opposed to him, refused, expecting, as he had a right to expect, re-enforcements from his commanding officer.
The siege and battle were begun, and continued for six days without interruption. Colonel Munroe transmitted daily, to his superior officer at Fort Edward, requests for re-enforcements. They were not forwarded. The troops under Webb, as well as the re-en- forcements arriving at Fort Edward, urged and clamored to be sent, but Webb refused. Thus the large body of troops at Fort Edward were kept in idleness, while their comrades, almost within hail, were left to be butchered and murdered by the savages.
On the sixth day the Marquis de Montcalm renewed his demand upon Colonel Munroe for surrender, and accompanied it with a letter from Webb to Munroe, which he claimed to have intercepted. The letter from Webb advised Munroe to surrender. Munroe thus finding that there was no hope of any assistance from Fort Edward, and his ammunition being exhausted, was compelled to capitulate.
The terms of the capitulation were substantially as follows : the soldiers were to surrender their arms, march out with their bag- gage, with the honors of war, to Fort Edward, and be provided with a sufficient escort for their protection against the Indians, and they were not to serve against the French for eighteen months.
The escort provided was either inefficient or insufficient, and, perhaps, both ; for as soon as the Indians saw the troops divested of their arms, and carrying their baggage, they at once rushed upon, robbed and murdered, or carried off, to a captivity worse than death, at least fifteen hundred men. The Indians of the garrison were all either killed at once or reserved for torture. The rest of the garrison escaped, some by refuge and concealment in the woods, and the rest with the escort. It is said that Montcalm was on the point of abandoning the siege when the intercepted letter came into his hand ; he then renewed his demand for surrender, which resulted as above.
Such was the inglorious termination of the campaign of 1757, throwing discredit and dishonor upon the English. The prov- inces, the governmental officers, and their troops were anxious to do their duty, but, hampered by inefficiency, if not worse, in the commanding, haughty, self-sufficient Briton, they could do nothing.
As soon as advised that there was apprehension of danger at
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Fort William Henry, Governor De Lancey at once ordered re-enforce- ments and troops to be despatched from the river counties, and they were forwarded with all possible speed. The following-named officers, many of them from Ulster County, went with their com- mands, proceeded as far as Fort Edward, and reported themselves for duty to the general in command, and remained there until dis- charged. Many of them had been forwarded on sloops from Kings- ton as far as the river could be used for that purpose.
Captains Thomas Allison, William Nealy, Johannis Newkirk, Jonathan Hasbrouck, Johannis Hardenbergh, William Borland, Jacob Hoornbeek, Stephen Nottingham, Evert Wynkoop, Cor- nelius Van Buren, Tobias Wynkoop, John Van Dusen, Josiah Eltinge, Arnout Velie, Henry Rosecrans, Isaac Delamater, Hen- dricus Hermans, Samuel Jackson, Francis Nebar, Robert Embree, Francis Brett, Daniel Burns, Cornelius Leyder, Thomas Smyth, David Marson, and James Smyth ; Lieutenants Johannis Snyder, Jr., Wilhelmus Houghteling, John Brinckerhoff, Peter Du Bois, and Jacob W. Vrooman. Joseph Gasherie went as clerk of Colonel Hardenbergh's regiment.
Colonel Thomas Ellison, of New Windsor, on the 1st of Novem- ber, 1757, wrote a communication in regard to some matters con- nected with the expedition from Ulster County for the relief. of Fort William Henry, from which the following extracts are in- serted :
" It is but too well known, by the late numerous murders, bar- barously committed on our borders, that the county of Ulster and north end of Orange is become the only frontier part of the Prov- ince that is unguarded and exposed to the cruel incursions of the Indian enemy ; and the inhabitants of those parts have been obliged to perform very hard military duty for these two years past in ranging the woods and guarding the frontiers-those two coun- ties keeping out, almost constantly from fifty to an hundred men. sometimes by forced detachments, out of the Militia ; and other times men in pay by voluntary subscription, nay oftener two hundred men, which has been an insupportable burden on the poor people and has drove all the young men out of the Country. And yet the whole of the Militia of these parts were ordered to March to Fort Edward, while the officers had no orders to leave a detach- ment to guard the frontiers. So orders were given for the whole to March. But one might as well have torn a man asunder, as to have compelled those who lived in the very outside houses to leave their wives and children to become a sacrifice to worse than wolves. However the generality of them marched, and that as soon as it was possible to get so scattered a people together. And I must say for the three hundred, who went out of the little distressed second
1
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regiment of Ulster, that men never marched with more cheerful- ness and resolution ; and had not the wind proved unfavorable towards the end of their passage to Albany they would have been at fort Edward a day before Fort Wm. Henry surrendered. When the wind failed us every man labored at the oars, and when we arrived at Albany made no stay there. But every one both officers and men packed their bundles on their backs, and the Colonel, though an old man and afflicted with Rheumatism, marched on foot with his musket on his shoulder at the head of his men ; and waded through rivers crotch deep, and in two very hot days marched from Albany to Fort Edward, in less time I believe, than troops ever marched it before. Some of the men in- deed dropped by the way, not being able to hold out, and in gen- eral all complained that the officers marched too hard for them. When we reached the camp opposite Fort Edward, we heard the melancholy news of the surrender of Fort William Henry, which could not but affect the spirits of every one. . . When Sir Win. Johnson informed them that an advanced party of the enemy lay between the two Forts, and desired such as had courage to fight to go voluntarily with him to rout them, the whole camp in less than an hour got under arms, and waded up to their middles in water through Hudson River to Fort Edward with all the life and courage imaginable. Scarce could any be persuaded to stay in the camp to take care of what was left there. No one exam- ined into the probability of success, but placing confidence in the judgment of commanders they left that to them. The last of the Militia had not got well through the river before the attempt was thought too hazardous, whereupon we were ordered immediately back to our camp.
" THOMAS ELLISON."
The following officers, with detachments under their command, having been detailed by their commanding officers, were engaged more or less scouting and scouring along the western frontier of Ulster County during the year 1757 :
Captain Matthew Ray, with his company of rangers.
Captain William Nealy and his company of rangers.
Captains Johannis Newkirk, Johannis Bruyn, Stephen Not- tingham, Johannis Crispell, Cornelius Van Buren, Benjamin Low, and Jacobus Low.
Lieutenants William Faulkner, William Burr, Jacobus Depuy, Jr., and Abraham Deyo.
Ensigns Jacob Schoonmaker and Isaac Davis.
Sergeants Abraham Post, Joseph Decker, George Gallaspy, James Crawford, Thomas Simeral, Jacobus Osterhoudt, Lambert
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Van Valkenburgh, Moses Read, Daniel Butterfield, George Booth, Petrus Schoonmaker, Jacob Giles, Joshua Conklin, Patrick Hogan, William Ellsworth, John Simpson, and Johannis Snyder.
Corporals Jacob Terwilliger and John Youngs.
Captain Porter, with his company of rangers, was detached to range and guard the frontier in December, 1757, and January and February, 1758, and Jacob Low, Johannis Freer, Philip Schoon- maker, Anthony Dumond, and Sylvanus Van Etten were detailed, and served as their guides.
About ten o'clock in the morning of October 12th, 1757, while Petrus Jans Saxe and two sons were on his farm, in the vicinity of what is now called Homowack in the town of Warwasing, a band of predatory Indians made a sudden attack on his house and family. There were three rangers stationed there at the time, two of whom, with one daughter, were killed before the doors of the dwelling could be closed. The remaining soldier, assisted by Saxe's wife and two daughters, made a good defence, and finally drove the savages off, when he conducted the women in safety to the residence of Charles Brodhead at Leuren Kill, which was used as a fort. The father and sons were absent on the farm at the time, and not injured.
The trustees of the corporation of Kingston at a meeting held by them on the 27th day of January, 1757, appointed one of their number, Cornelius Jansen, as a committee, to make arrangements for a convenient watch-house, which was done, and the house rented of Isaac Decker for use of the military. On the 18th day of October, 1757, they resolved to send ten men, at their own ex- pense, to act as scouts and patrol the woods belonging to the cor- poration, to see if there were any hostile Indians or Frenchmen to be discovered, and to continue until further orders under the command of the colonel or next commanding officer of the regi- ment. The employment of the men and management of the busi- ness was intrusted to two of their number, Petrus Dumont and Edward Whitaker.
They further directed the purchase of one hundred pounds of powder, and lead in proportion, for the use of the corporation whenever it might be needed. On the 4th of November, 1757, they renewed their arrangement with Isaac Decker for the use of his house as a guard-house, he to furnish the same with fuel and candle-light for use of the soldiers.
The trustees having in November, 1754, sent to England for a fire-engine, the same was received in the spring of 1757, and at a meeting held in May, 1757, they agreed with William Eltinge to take care of the same, "and to clean and grease and keep the same in good order."
T
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Adam Persen was on the 4th of November, 1757, authorized to procure fifteen hundred brick and fifteen hundred shingles for a block-house. On the 18th of November Adam Persen, Anthony Hoffman, and Johannis Snyder were appointed by the trustees to confer and consult with Captain Porter and his officers, who com- manded the company of rangers appointed by the colonial author- ities to range the colonial borders, as to their lodging, and in what manner they should be billeted and provided for. On the 21st of November, 1757, the trustees ordered that Conrad Crook, Conrad Joost, and Hendrick Myer be moved out of the house they live in to some other quarters at the expense of the trustees, until Captain Porter leaves with his command. And the trustees appointed Adam Persen and Anthony Hoffman as a committee to make needed repairs, provide household furniture, and other needed matters to the officers, as they might request, in the best manner they were able. They were also subsequently directed to provide the officers and soldiers with firewood. On the 14th of December, 1757, the trustees appointed Adam Swart and Cornelius Low a committee to procure and provide a house for a hospital, and to furnish it with necessary beds and bedding.
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