USA > New York > Washington County > Washington county, New York; its history to the close of the nineteenth century > Part 11
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84
WASHINGTON COUNTY: ITS HISTORY.
Montcalm was a true soldier. Disdaining the effeminate accompani- ments of civilization, he strove to inure his men to hardship, himself setting the example. " In such an expedition," he said to his officers who were disposed to grumble, " a blanket and a bear-skin are the bed of a warrior. Imitate me. A soldier's allowance ought to suffice us." Still, with the thoughtfulness which characterized him, he did not forbid a mattress when age or infirmity rendered one necessary. Inspirited by his example, hundreds of the Red men from the shores of the Great Lakes to the forests of Acadia and Maine, flocked to his standard. " Father," said they, "we are come to do your will;" and the close of July found him at the foot of Lake George with ten thousand men- two thousand of whom were Indians.'
The Savages yelled with delight as they pushed off their bark canoes from the shore. Montcalm followed with the bulk of his army in two hundred and fifty boats; while De Levi, with the remainder, marched through the forest on the Western shore of Lake George, guided by some of the recreant Iroquois from the Sault St. Louis. On the first of August, a council of war was held in their boats in the North-west Bay; and on the second, Montcalm disembarked with his troops and artil- lery in a cove about two miles from Fort William Henry, where he was entirely sheltered from its cannon. De Levi encamped with his regulars directly in the rear of the fort, and where is (1900) the site of Fort Gage; while the Canadians and Indians under St. Luc, took up a position on the road to Fort Edward, thus cutting off all communication with that garrison. Montcalm, with the main body of his army, occu- pied a wood about three-quarters of a mile from the fort, north of a small creek, and near the site of the Court House in the Village of Cald- well. To resist these formidable preparations, Lieutenant-Colonel Mon- ro had but four hundred and forty-nine men within the fort, and only seventeen hundred men in a fortified camp on the rocky eminence now (1900) the site of Fort George.
The French commander, having sent, on the fourth of August, a summons to Monro to surrender, and having received a point blanc refusal, opened upon the fort a battery of nine cannon and two mortars.
1 MS. letter : Doriel to Paulmy, gist July, 1757.
85
CAPTURE OF FORT WILLIAM HENRY.
Two days afterwards, two more batteries having been placed in position, played on the English camp with telling effect. Meanwhile, the brave Monro, confident of reinforcements from Webb, to whom he had dispatched an express messenger informing him of his situation, plied his guns with spirit, throwing vast quantities of shot and shell into the enemy's camp. The men in the intrenchments also worked hard, pour- ing a galling fire into the French, by day; and each night, by the light of the fires, toiling to repair the breaches made in their defences.
Colonel Monro's hope of reinforcements was vain. With four thousand men. Webb lay at Fort Edward, listening in abject terror to the distant roar of the artillery.1 For this conduct of Webb, there is not the slight- est palliation. The approach of Montcalm, as we have seen, had not taken him by surprise. Sir William Johnson had written him to be on his guard; that the French were short of provisions, and that, if they came, they would come in large numbers, and would "make a bold push."" He had also received intelligence that Montcalm was moving 11p Lake Champlain with an army "numerous as the leaves of the trees." Beyond, however, sending to the Lieutenant-Governor and the Baronet to hurry up the militia, he did nothing for the relief of the beleaguered garrison, although express after express arrived, from its gallant com- mander imploring aid.
Sir William Johnson was at Fort Johnson, holding an important council with the Cherokees, when news arrived on the first of August from Webb, of the approach of Montcalm. Notwithstanding he had his " hands and head full,"" yet, he abruptly broke up the conference, and hastily collecting what militia and Indians he could muster, started for the relief of Webb, arriving at Fort Edward two days after the investment of Fort William Henry. Seeing at once the position of affairs, he begged that he might be sent to the relief of Monro. After repeated solicitations, his request was granted; but scarcely was he fairly on his way' with Putnam's Rangers and some Provincials who
1 1 say " distant . " though the roar of the artillery was heard as far south as Albany ; nor. is this strange, as the ravines between the mountains acted, so to speak, as a speaking trumpet.
2 MS. Letter : Johnson to Webb. The correctness of this information given by Johnson, is verified by a letter from Doreil to Paulmy, under date of 14th August, 1757, in which the writer says : " In the article of subsistence, we are in the greatest distress since winter ; and each person in Quebec has been for more than a month reduced to four ounces of bread. It is but too evident that a long time will elapse before we shall be more at our ease."
3 MS. Letter. Johnson to Webb, ist August, 1757, in my possession.
4 He had got as far as the present site of William's monument
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WASHINGTON COUNTY : ITS HISTORY.
had volunteered to share the danger, when Webb ordered him and his: detachment back, sending in their place a letter to Monro full of exaggerations, and advising him to surrender! Could poltroonery have gone further ! This letter was intercepted by Montcalm, who immedi- ately sent it to Monro, with the request that he would follow Webb's advice and thus save any further effusion of blood. That gallant officer thanked him for his courtesy, and renewed his firing. At length, ten of his cannon having burst, his ammunition being nearly exhausted, and all hope from his commanding officer being at an end, Colonel Monro, on the ninth, hoisted the white flag.
The terms given by Montcalm to the garrison were fair. They were to march out with all the honors of war, taking with them their baggage and small arms, and also one cannon out of respect for the gallant defence they had made. In return, they were to pledge themselves. that they would not bear arms against the French for eighteen months; and were to deliver up at Ticonderoga within four months all the French and Indian prisoners which they had taken since the beginning of the war. Montcalm, on his part, pledged himself to furnish them with an escort of at least five hundred men, to accompany them seven miles on the road to Fort Edward.
Late in the afternoon of the same day, Montcalm took formal posses- sion of the Fort, the garrison of which joined their comrades in their entrenchments. The French General knowing well the Indian character, especially warned the English against giving the Savages anything that might intoxicate them. Well would it have been had this timely and judicious caution been followed. But the Indians, unable to obtain any rum from the French, begged it of the English, who disregarding Montcalm's advice, and hoping in this manner to win the good will of the Indians, freely supplied them with that drink during the entire night.1 At sunrise, the Indians gathered around the intrenchments; and as the English began their march, the Savages, maddened by their night's debauch, hovered around them, brandishing their tomahawks and uttering horrid yells. Still, even at this time, had the English stood their ground, or even manifested any firmness whatever, it is. probable that the scenes which followed would never have occurred; but loosing all presence of mind, they fled down the road in the wildest confusion, throwing down their baggage, arms and even their clothes.2
1 Vaudreuil to Morras, Sept. 1757.
2 See Dr. Dwight's Travels. Also, Vaudreuil to Morras, Sept. 1757.
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THE MASSACRE.
This, of course, only increased the rage and violence of the Indians, who now boldly attacked them, plundering some, scalping others, and taking many prisoners.
Of the few individuals, the incidents of whose perilous escape on this occasion have been handed down to us, 1 quote the account of the afterwards celebrated traveller, Jonathan Carver, who chanced to be present during this flight. He says:
" At the camp, I had my money, buckles, coat, waistcoat and hat wrested from me; and though I applied to a French sentinel near by for protection, I was only called an 'English Dog,' and was violently pushed back into the midst of the Savages. Subsequently, when it was found that our only chance of life was to break through the hordes of Savages by which we were environed, 1, with twenty more, sprang into the midst of the Indians. In a moment we were all separated, and what was the fate of my companions, I could not learn, till some months after, when I found that only six or seven of them had effected their escape. Intent only on my own hazardous situation, I endeavored to make my way through my Savage enemies in the best manner possible. Some I overturned, being at that time young and athletic, and others I passed by, dexterously avoiding their weapons; till, at last, two very stout chiefs of the most savage tribes, as I could distinguish by their dress and whose strength I could not resist, laid hold of me by each arm, and began to force me through the crowd. But, before we had got many yards an English gentleman of some distinction, as I could discern by his breeches (the only clothing he had on) which were of fine scarlet velvet, rushed close by us. One of the Indians instantly springing on this new object, endeavored to seize him as his prey; but the gentleman being strong, threw him on the ground, and would probably have got away, had not he who held my other arm, quitted me to assist his brother. I seized the opportunity, and hastened away to join another party of English troops that were yet unbroken, and stood in a body at some distance; but before I had taken many steps, I hastily cast my eyes towards the gentleman and saw the Indians' tomahawks gash in his back, and heard him utter his last groan.1 I had left this shocking scene but a few yards, when a fine boy, about twelve years of age, that had hitherto escaped, came up to me, and begged that I would let him
* It would be futile, I know, to trace this gentleman's family in England; still some of his descendants may even yet say that their ancestor was never heard from after the French War in America.
WASHINGTON COUNTY: ITS HISTORY.
lay hold of me, so that he might stand some chance of getting out of the hands of the Savages. I told him that I would give him every assistance in my power; and to this purpose, bid him to lay hold; but in a few moments he was torn from my side, and by his shrieks I judged he was soon demolished."
The miserable remnants of this ill-starred garrison, after straggling through the woods, reached Fort Edward singly or in small parties. Many, after sleeping one or two nights in the open air, came in, in a most pitiable and forlorn condition, nearly or quite naked-their bodies. gashed with the knife or tomahawk and some of them in a state of delirium from the awful horrors they had passed through. Major Putnam was dispatched with his rangers the following morning to watch the motions of Montcalm, and arrived as the rear-guard of the French force, after demolishing and burning all the fortifications, was disappearing down the Lake on its return to Ticonderoga. " The spectacle," says Putnam, "that was presented was so shockingly diabolical, that human eyes were scarcely able to endure the sight. Though fourteen thousand persons' had been congregated upon that spot the preceding morning, not a living thing was now standing there. But, scattered over and covering the ground thick as the leaves of autumn, lay the ghastly corpses, weltering in their gore, mangled and mutilated with all the wantonness of Indian fierceness and barbarity; some with their throats cut; others with their brains oozing out from their cloven heads; and yet others, with the hair and scalp torn away, leaving only the naked, bloody skull. Upon the plain all was now still and silent, save an occasional faint moan from some poor victim, in whom the spark of life yet lingered. Within the camp enclosure, innumerable fragments of human bones and carcasses half consumed were still frying and broiling in the decaying fires. In fact, devasta- tion, barbarity and horror, indescribably awful, everywhere appeared."
Montcalm was in his tent when the news of the behavior of his Savage allies was brought to him. With all possible speed he hastened to the spot ; and with De Levi and other officers rushed into the mêlée, exposing himself to death; using prayers, threats and caresses; begging the interposition of the Chiefs and interpretors; and in short applying every means in his power to stop the horrid carnage. The French soldiers, also aided their General, receiving, in many instances, serious wounds-one
1 Bad enough at the best- still, Putnam certainly exaggerates this number.
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THE MASSACRE.
of them, indeed, being killed.' Finally, after thirty of the Provincials had been massacred," those of the soldiers who had not succeeded in reaching Fort Edward were rescued from the Indians, and sent into Fort William Henry; receiving new clothes and every attention that humanity could suggest. The next day the unfortunates (not including those who, as we have seen, reached Fort Edward on their own hook, as it were, ) numbering four hundred, were sent under a strong guard to that Fort-two Chiefs of each Nation being detailed with the party, as an additional protection against any further assaults from their warriors. Two hundred of the garrison were carried by the Indians to Montreal; but they, together with those taken from the bateaux under Colonel Palmer were immediately ransomed by De Vandrenil, and sent by an armed vessel to Halifax.
Dreadful as was this example of Punic faith on the part of the Indians, Montcalm himself must be exonerated from being instrumental in it, either by accident or design. His conduct, the previous year at Oswego, in arresting the contemplated massacre by shooting six Indians on the spot, allows us reasonably to infer, that if he had known of this affair before it was fairly under way, he would have adopted the same sum- mary means, and thus prevented the bloody scene which has just been described. While, therefore, our sympathies must ever flow out towards the unfortunate garrison, we should never allow them to prejudice us against one who ever proved himself as humane as he was brave. Rather, let our indignation fall upon him, who with ample means at his command and within fourteen miles of the Fort, allowed its brave defenders to become the victims of such barbarity.
By the orders of Montcalm, the walls of the Fort were leveled with the ground, and everything of a combustible nature consumed. The destruction being complete, the French, having with them large stores taken from the English, returned to Ticonderoga, leaving behind only blackened and smouldering ruins. Instead of the evening gun, now arose the howl of the wolf preying on the mangled bodies of the slain; and the waters of the Lake reposing peacefully among the hills told not of the bloody struggle, nor of the war and din of arms."
1 Journal of the Expedition.
2 The New Hampshire Regiment, in the war, felt the chief fury of the enemy .- Belknap.
3 Before the present hotel, "The Fort William Henry " was built, on the site of this fort. 1 have often dug up skeletons and silver buttons belonging to the poor unfortunate victims.
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WASHINGTON COUNTY : ITS HISTORY.
Upon the fall of Fort William Henry, Webb was paralyzed with terror. He sent his personal effects by an express messenger under a heavy escort to Albany, and was on the point of falling back upon the Highlands when Lord Howe, who had arrived on the seventh with reinforcements calmed his fears by assuring him that there was no prospect of an immediate attack ; and soon after, having ascertained to a certainty that the enemy were on their retreat to Ticonderoga, he dismissed to their homes twenty thousand of the militia, who had arrived at Fort Edward a few days after the surrender.
But the morale of the army was completely destroyed. Sir William Johnson returned in disgust to Albany; while among the powers in authority mutual recriminations followed. Webb accused De Lancy of not sending reinforcements in time; and the latter, with far more truth, insisted that Webb was strong enough to have marched to the relief of the besieged long before they surrendered. The militia, willing to fight, but weary of being led to slaughter by incompetent leaders, deserted by scores, and in one instance, out of a company of forty men stationed at Fort Edward, ten only were left !
The news of the capitulation reached Albany on the 8th of August just as additional reinforcements were on their way to Fort Edward; but as the conduct of Webb was sustained by the regular troops,' the Lieutenant-Governor feared to make such representations to the British Ministry, as it desired. Consequently, Webb returned to England, and far from being court-martialed for his outrageous conduct, received additional honors. No wonder that with such influences the English forces were for many years the sport of an active and determined foe.
" As to our military operations, " wrote at this time, Mr. De Lancy, in his message to the New York Colonial Assembly, " we are still on the losing side, Fort William Henry, near Fort Edward, at the head of Lake George, being taken and demolished by the enemy after a seige of eight days, with no great loss of men on either side. It surrendered on capitulation, by which the French became masters of the fort, artillery. and all the stores; and that which makes it more unfortunate is, that here were lodged all our cannon and stores intended against Crown- Point. It seems very strange to us that the French can send such large supplies to America and always before us, notwithstanding the great
1 So inveterate and unreasonable is the prejudice of regulars against volunteers a prejudice which neither the French Wars, nor the American Revolution, nor yet the late Civil War, and the war with Spain has yet eradicated !
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REPULSE OF THE OTTAWAS.
superiority of the British navy. Surely there must be a great failure somewhere, which if not timely remedied, may probably end in the entire loss of English-America."
The close of the year was marked by nothing of particular moment. General Lyman succeeded Webb in command of Fort Edward ; and the winter wore away with nothing worthy of mention except, perhaps, an attempt on the part of some Ottawas to surprise that fort. It seems, that while making some repairs to the fort a hundred and fifty workmen were sent out into the neighboring forest to obtain the necessary timber; a Captain Little being posted with a small force of soldiers to protect the wood-choppers. While the work was in progress, in the early dawn of an autumn morning the party were suddenly attacked by a portion of that nation. General Lyman, ignorant of the enemy's force, did not dare to send aid to the party thus assailed (not knowing in what force the enemy were) and ordered the gates of the fort to be closed. Mean- while, Major Putnam, who with his rangers, was stationed on the island in the river opposite the fort, hearing the fire of musketry, leaped into the water, and followed by his men eagerly pressed forward to the relief of Captain Little's band. As they passed the fort, Lyman called out ordering them to halt and retire within the fort. Putnam and his men, however, paying no heed to this command from his superior offi- cer, continued on to the rescue. Reaching by this time the almost exhausted and nearly overpowered party; and with a shout, which drowned the war-cries of the Ottawas, they swept through a morass in their front and put the savages to flight. Lyman took no notice of Putnam's disobedience of orders-success being fully a vindication of this insubordination; to which, also, may have been added in his own mind that an investigation would not have contributed anything to his own reputation in the affair.1
Shortly after this skirmish (whether caused by Lyman's seeming delinquency in allowing himself to have been so nearly "caught napping," is not known,) that officer was relieved; Colonel Haviland of the regular army, succeeding him in the command of that fort.
1 Dr. Fitch.
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WASHINGTON COUNTY : ITS HISTORY.
CHAPTER IX.
1758-1763.
THE FRENCH WAR CONTINUED -ROGERS SURPRISED - MOONLIGHT FIGHT AT " PUT'S ROCK," NEAR WHITEHALL - DEFEAT OF GENERAL. ABERCROMBY - DUNCAN CAMP- BELL'S GHOST - THE CONQUEST OF CANADA BY WOLFE AND AMHERST.
The campaign against Canada, of 1758, opened with great apparent spirit : the hostile incursions of the Canadian Indians serving to rouse the Colonists to greater activity. On the 13th of March of that year. a party of some seven hundred French and Indians, commanded by Duvantaye and the Sieur de Langly. surprised and fell upon a detach- ment of two hundred rangers, under Major Rogers, who were scouting in the neighborhood of Ticonderoga. The Indians brought back one hundred and forty-four scalps and some prisoners, among the later of whom were two officers-Captain, afterwards Major-General Henry Pringle, and Lieutenant Roche. Rogers retired with fifteen men and two officers. Three days afterwards, these two officers, having wan- dered around and lost themselves in the forest in a vain attempt to escape, came into Fort St. Frederick (Ticonderoga) and surrendered themselves to the French. Rogers himself escaped by approaching the summit of Bald Mountain on the shore of Lake George at the place since called " Rogers' Slide;" when, reversing his snow-shoes, and taking a back track for some distance he swung himself by a friendly and over- hanging branch into a defile and found his way thence down the Lake. The Indians, following his tracks, approached the top of the slide, and were astounded and nearly awe-struck at the apparent feat of sliding down five or six hundred feet into the Lake. But there was to them no question of the fact! There was Rogers, in plain sight, gliding on the ice of the Lake-and so they gave up the pursuit. Again, on June 2d, Le Sieur de Outelas, marching from Carillon1 to Fort Edward, at the head of twenty-nine Nepissings, and Algonquins, discovered a party of English troops and Mohawks. The former uttered their war- cry, and buried the hatchet to the heft in the heads of the latter, who, greatly frightened by the suddenness of the attack, took to their heels-
1 Fort St. Frederick, Fort Ticonderoga, and Fort Carillon (meaning a chime of Bells from the noise of the rapids) are all one and the same.
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THE FRENCH WAR CONTINUED.
leaving four killed and six captives in the hands of the enemy-these last being taken alive for the more dreadful death by torture.
The Mother Country and her Colonies alike, in view of these atrocities, therefore felt that they had much to accomplish if they would repair the losses and disappointments of the preceding two years. Indeed, the repeated failures of Braddock and Webb, and Lord Loudoun, had chagrined and exasperated the Nation. The elder Pitt, who had succeeded the silly Newcastle, even declared in Parliament that there appeared to be a determination on the part of the officers in command, against any vigorous execution of the service of the country ; and when, during the same year, the King was remonstrated with on appointing so young and rash a madman as Wolfe to conduct the meditated expedition against Quebec, the sturdy Brunswicker vexedly replied-" If he is mad, I hope he will bite some of my Generals.1 It was under these circumstances, that England determined to put forth her whole energies in the three formidable expeditions this year projected ;- against Louisburgh under General Amherst; against Fort Du Quesne, on the Ohio ; and the third and most formidable division against Ticonderoga and Crown- Point with a view of striking a blow upon Montreal.
With the great Commoner's entrance into power a new order of things arose in America. That half idiot Lord Loudoun, was superseded in March by Abercromby, and General Webb soon after, followed the former to England." The same vessel which brought the news of Lou- doun's recall, brought also circular letters from the War Minister to the Colonial Governor, informing them that the British Cabinet had determined to send on a large force for offensive operations against the French by sea and land; and calling upon them for as large a number of men as they felt able to raise according to their population, "arms, ammunition, tents, provisions and boats," it was declared, "would be furnished by the Crown, " and the Provincial Governors, meanwhile, were desired to buy clothes and pay their troops, and appoint the officers of the various regiments. All the Provincial Colonels were to be made Brigadier-Generals: and the Lieutenant-Colonels while in service in America, were to rank as Colonels. These tidings were hailed by the
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