USA > New York > Washington County > Washington county, New York; its history to the close of the nineteenth century > Part 12
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1 One is reminded by this incident of the well authenticated one regarding Grant and President Lincoln, who, when remonstrated with for keeping Grant at the head of the army on the ground that he drank large quantities of whiskey, replied : " Give me the name of the particular brand he drinks, that I may send it to some of my other Generals!"'
2 General Webb's recall was attributed at the time to the representations of Colonel Monro to the Ministry. MS. letter Guy Johnson to Sir William Johnson.
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WASHINGTON COUNTY : ITS HISTORY.
Colonists with delight; sick, as their hearts had so long been, with hope long deferred. The recall of Loudoun was accepted by them as a desire of the Parent Government to conciliate; and they all, New England, especially, entered into the work of co-operation with alacrity. Massachusetts raised seven thousand men; Connecticut five thousand; and New Hampshire, one regiment of eight hundred. Rhode Island and New Jersey were not backward; and the Assembly of New York having voted without hesitation, in March, to raise, clothe and pay two thousand, six hundred and eighty men, besides providing for the support of every needy soldier's family in his absence, twenty thousand Provincials were in Albany and ready to take the field early in May.1
With the expedition to Halifax, we have nothing to do as it does not come within the province of this History except to say it was in the main successful.
Meantime, while preparations were making for a formidable and vigorous campaign against Ticonderoga, under General Abercromby, who had resolved to lead the expedition in person, the French were making corresponding exertions to repel the expected invasion. With a view of creating a division, by annoying the Colony of New York, it was given out that an attempt was to be made on Oswego. This, however, was ignored-as it was determined that every effort should be made to resist the attack of the French by way of the Lakes.
For the prosecution of the campaign against Ticonderoga and Crown- Point, an army of regular troops and Provincials was assembled, unprecedented for its numbers in the annals, thus far, of American war- fare. General Abercromby, as before remarked, determined to lead the expedition in person. The rendezvous of the formidable army destined upon this service was first at Fort Edward, where, on the 5th of June, General Viscount Howe arrived with the first division of the army of invasion-Major Rogers being sent ahead with fifty men to Lake Champlain on a reconnoisance. On the 22nd Lord Howe moved forward to the head of Lake George, where the charred and blackened ruins of Fort William Henry-a monument to General Webb's coward- ice-yet remained.
Meantime, with a view of keeping the enemy at Ticonderoga ignorant of the advance of the army, Putnam was dispatched with fifty men to
1 1 have been particular to mention these strenuous efforts on the part of the Colonies to show how they responded to the call of the Mother Country-and as it will afterwards be seen how shamefully all their efforts were rendered nugatory by Abercromby.
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MOONLIGHT FIGHT AT PUT'S ROCK.
the head of Lake Champlain with the object of preventing the French from reconnoitering in the vicinity of Fort Edward. Proceeding down Wood-Creek, the veteran ranger posted himself and party in a position well adapted for the object in view. "Three-fourths of a inile distant from the point where South Bay makes off from Lake Champlain and about the same distance north from the present Village of Whitehall, there is a short and sudden turn in the Lake called, in allusion to its shape, 'the Fidler's Elbow.' High ledges of rock here border the Lake on each side so as to render it extremely difficult for passing steamboats to clear the overhanging cliffs on either hand." On the promontory on the west side and behind some breastworks hastily thrown up, the rangers took their stand to drive back any bands of the enemy that might approach. Fifteen out of his fifty men, Putnam was forced by sickness, to send back to Fort Edward. Their patience and perseverance were at length rewarded: for, on the evening of the fourth day, a great number of canoes filled with nearly five hundred French and Indians and led by the ferocious and notorious French Partizan Marin were espied coming up the Lake and into the mouth of South Bay. When the enemy had well advanced into his trap, Putnam sprung it by ordering his men to fire. The moon being at its full enabled this fire to be of deadly effect-every ball counting; and the battle, if so it ·can be called, was kept up till daylight, when the French, seeing the smallness of the force against them, attempted to outflank the rangers. Their leader perceiving this, and his amunition being expended, with- drew and fell back on Fort Edward. The rock from which Putnam and his men delivered such an effective fire is called "Put's Rock " and is still pointed out to the curious tourist of the present day. Of Putnam's party only one was killed and one other wounded and captured; while, according to Marin, who told Putnam (when the latter was a captive in Canada) the French had nearly one-half of their men killed. Before arriving at the Great Carrying-Place, however, Putnam was destined to meet with another adventure which might have proved serious enough to counteraet the recent advantage just gained over the French. As he was making his way through the tangled underbrush of the primeval forest, he was suddenly fired upon, by which one of his men was wounded. "Charge bavonets," cried Putnam, thinking that he in his turn, had fallen into a trap. "We are friends," exclaimed the leader of the suspected enemy who was also on a scouting expedition.
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" Friends or foes," exclaimed Putnam, "you ought to be cut to pieces. for doing such poor shooting when you had so fair a shot ! "
The morning of the fifth of July-the day of the embarkation -- was. clear and beautiful. The spectacle was full of life and animation and withal very imposing. The forces collected on the occasion numbered seven thousand British troops of the line, and upward of ten thousand Provincials, exclusive of the many hundreds of non-combatants neces- sarily in the train of such an army. The flotilla for their transporta- tion to Ticonderoga, consisted of nine hundred bateaux, and one hundred and thirty-five whale-boats, together with a sufficient number of rafts to convey the heavy stores and ammunition, and the artillery to cover the landing of the troops, in the neighborhood of the works. first to be invested. The utmost confidence of success inspired both officers and men; and all was activity and gayety in getting in motion, from the instant the reveille startled the armed host from their repose at the dawn, until the embarkation was complete. So sure were all of an easy victory, that they went forth as to a grand review, or the pageant of a national festival. A part of England's chivalry was. gathered there, of whom was the accomplished Lord Howe, distin- guished alike for his generosity, his gallantry, and his courage. Many other young noblemen of high bearing and promise were also there; together with a still greater number of nature's noblemen, in the persons. of New England's hardy sons, both in commission and in the ranks. Nor, were the spirited Colonists of the Colony of New York unrepre- sented. Their sons, both of English and Dutch descent, sustained a generous rivalry in their chivalrous bearing, and evinced an equal readiness to "rush to glory or the grave," for the honor of their coun- try. These proud spirited Americans, with the blood of freemen hotly coursing through their veins neither knew nor cared whether they were. descended from the Talbots, the John of Gaunts, or the Percys; but their hearts beat as high, and their souls were as brave, and their sinewy arms could strike as heavy blows, as those who could trace the longest. ancestry, or wore the proudest crest. There, also, was the proud High- land regiment of Lord John Murray, with their bag-pipes, their tartan breacan, fringed down their brawny legs, and their black plumes in their bonnets. What an array, and what a splendid armament, for a small and quiet Lake, sequestered so deeply in the interior of what was. then a woody continent, and imbedded in a wild and remote chasm, among a hundred mountains. Yet this lonely and inhospitable region,
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DEFEAT OF ABERCROMBY.
where there were nothing but rocks and solitudes and bleak mountains to contend for, was to be the theatre on which the rival courts of St. James and St. Cloud were to be decided-and on which, the embattled host of Europe, at the distance of a thousand leagues from their respective homes, were to be joined in the bloody conflict for empire !
The morning being perfectly clear, after the light mists which floated peacefully along the sides of the hills had disappeared, the sky glowed brighter and purer than many in that army had ever seen it. Before them, at their feet, lay the crystal waters of the Lake, like a mirror of molten silver-the emerald islands tufted with trees, floating as it were in the clear element. In the camp, on the open esplanade by the shore, was the mustering of troops, the hurrying to and fro of the officers, the rattling of the military equipments, the neighing of steeds with all the inharmonious confusion which such a scene must necessarily present. Beyond, wide spread upon the Lake, were the thousand barges, shifting and changing places as convenience required, the banners of the differ- ent regiments streaming gaily in the breeze; while the swell of cheer- ful voices, the rolling of the drums; the prolonged and exhilarating notes of the bugle, as they resounded among the mountains, combined to throw over the entire wild region an air of enchantment.
Indeed, the whole of this memorable passage of Lake George resembled more the pageant of a grand aquatic gala, or a dream of romance, than a chapter of stern history. Stretching down the Lake, the scenery. partook of the same wild and glorious character, and every mile of their progress disclosed new objects of wonder, or presented fresh sources of delight. It was a day, moreover, of unmingled pleasure. A fine elastic breeze swept through the gorges of the mountains, serving to brace the nerves, and produce a glow of good feeling, humor and hilarity, which lasted till the setting sun. The animal spirits were often cheered and enlivened by favorite airs from the well appointed regimental bands. Wheeling aloft, with untiring wing, as if moving with, and watching over the armament, were several noble bald eagles, whose eyries hung on the beetling crags, affording to the soldiers a happy presage of victory ! The bag-pipes of the Highlanders would thrill every soul in the armada with the pibroch, or an expert bugle- man electrify the multitude by causing the hills and the glens to echo with the stirring notes wound from his instrument. Indeed, the effect of the varying and shifting movements of the barges among the islands,
[ 12]
WASHINGTON COUNTY : ITS HISTORY.
with their different streamers fluttering in the air. now shooting in this direction, and now running in that-was exceedingly fine, animating and romantic. Taking these movements in connection with the nodding of plumes, the dazzling glitter of the uniforms, and the flashing of the oars, as at every stroke they rose from the sparkling waters, the whole prospect was of surpassing magnificence. Far different was the scene presented the following day, when amid the lengthening shadows of the mountains, a solitary barge bore back the remains of him, who was the soul of the expedition-Lord Howe.
The landing of the troops was effected in good order in a cove on the west side of the Lake at noon of the following day. Here the troops, having been joined by Sir William Johnson, with three hundred Indians, formed in four columns and began their march, leaving behind all the artillery and heavy baggage, which could not be transported until the bridges, that the advanced guard of the enemy had burned in their retreat, could be rebuilt. The purpose of Abercromby was to hasten forward and carry Ticonderoga by storm before the reinforce- ments which, it was said, were hastening to the relief of Montcalm under De Levy, could arrive. But the British General (like Braddock, who was brought up in the same school) could easier manoeuver his troops in Hyde-Park, than conduct them through dense and pathless woods and over morasses covered with thick and tangled underbrush. He grew confused; his guides became bewildered; while, to increase the general perplexity, the advance guard fell in with a body of the enemy, under De Trépézée, who had also lost their way, and in the skirmish that ensued, the gallant Howe, of the Fifty-fifth Regiment, fell at the head of his men. He, as well as his brother, the admiral and his successor to the title, was very greatly beloved in the army and his death was deeply regretted. He had distinguished himself in a peculiar manner by his courage, activity and rigid observance of military discipline, and he had acquired the esteem and affection of the soldiery by his frank generosity, his sweetness of manner and his engaging address. The utter route of De Trépézée's party, however, was but a small compen- sation for the loss which the English had sustained in the death of their young leader. The fate of this officer, who was the life of the men, at once threw a damper and a gloom over the entire army; and from that moment "an almost general consternation and languor" took the place of its previons confidence and buoyancy.1 Utterly discomfited at
1 Roger's Journal.
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DEFEAT OF ABERCROMBY.
this untoward occurrence on the very threshold, as it were, of the expedition, Abercromby, uncertain what course to pursue, drew back his army early the next morning to the landing-place.
While the British General was yet hesitating, Colonel Bradstreet, with Rogers and four hundred rangers pushed forward, rebuilt the bridges, and took possession of some saw-mills which the French had erected at the lower rapids, about two miles from Ticonderoga.1 The indomitable energy of the Provincial Colonel, reassured Abercromby, who now advanced to the saw-mills and sent forward Clerk, his chief engineer, together with Stark and a few rangers, to reconnoiter the enemy's works. The party returned at dusk. Clerk reported, that, although to the unpracticed eye, the defences of the French appeared strong, yet in reality they would offer but a feeble defence to the charge of the British bayonet. The cool Stark, however, was of a different opinion. Without doubt recollecting the successful resistance which the rude and hastily constructed breastworks of Johnson, three years before, had opposed to the flower of the French regulars, he rightly judged that the defences of Montcalm were capable of withstanding a powerful attack, and so informed Abercromby.
His advice, however, was rejected by that supercilious commander, as worthy only of an ignorant Provincial unacquainted with British prowess: and the army having rested on their arms that night, the English commander, early on the morning of the eighth, gave orders to advance without artillery, and to carry the enemy's works at the point of the bayonet.
For the defence of Ticonderoga against the formidable preparations of the English, Montcalm had but thirty-six hundred and fifty men. Instead, however, of despairing, he caused a heavy breastwork to be constructed within six hundred paces of the main works; while, at the same time, huge trees were felled, and laid with their branches outward, for a distance of a hundred yards in front of the log-breastworks. Having thus constructed a strong chivaux de frise, defended by a strong force in its rear, which could not be reached without the greatest exertions, especially in the absence of cannon, Montcalm threw off his eoat in the trenches; and, forbidding his men to fire a musket until he should give the word, calmly awaited the approach of the British.
1 These rapids are caused by the descent of the waters of Lake George into Lake Champlain. The outlet of Lake George is four miles in length, and in that distance falls about 157 feet.
L. of C.
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WASHINGTON COUNTY : ITS HISTORY.
At one o'clock, the English, preceded by Major Rogers and his sharp- shooters, advanced gallantly in four columns to the attack, the Highland soldiers of the Forty-second being placed in the rear. At the first onset, the ranks of the English were thrown into dire confusion by the branches of the trees; and at the same time, at a signal from Montcalm, a terrific fire was opened upon the assailants from swivels and small arms. In vain was it that the English in the first rank rallied and endeavored again and again to penetrate through the trees to the entrenchments beyond. The more they struggled the more they became entangled in the branches while rank after rank was mowed down by the well directed and galling fire of the enemy. At this point the gallant Highlanders could endure their position no longer. Impatient of their position in the rear, they rushed forward, hewed their way through the obstacles with their broadswords, and, since no ladders had been provided, made strenuous efforts to carry the chevaux de frise, partly by mounting on each other's shoulders and partly by fixing their feet in holes which they had excavated with their swords and bayonets in the face of the work.1 But their bravery was to no purpose. The defenders were so well prepared that the instant an assailant reached the top, that instant he was thrown down or shot. At length, after great exertions, Capt. John Campbell, one of the two soldiers who had been presented to George II at Whitehall in 1743, and a handful of val- iant followers forced their way over the breastworks, only to be instantly dispatched by the bayonet. Finally, driven from the left, the assaulting party attempted the center, then the right, till at length after sustaining without flinching, the enemy's fire for over five hours, they retreated in the utmost disorder, having lost in killed and wounded the appalling number of nineteen hundred and sixteen men." Notwithstanding this terrible loss, the soldiers had become so exasperated by the opposition which they had encountered, and by the loss of so many of their comrades, that they could, with difficulty, be recalled. Indeed, the Highlanders in particular, were so obstinate that it was not until the third peremptory order from the General that Lieutenant-Colonel Grant, the commanding
1 The " Black Watch," " the Record of an Historic Regiment " New York, 1898.
2 In reading the reports of the late engagements in South Africa between the Boers and the British forces-particularly the one at the Modder River, I have been greatly struck with the fuss and exaggeration made over the fact that some 400 of Gen. Methuen's command were killed and wounded This statement, moreover, being heralded with that General's announcement "that not even in the annals of British warfare wasthere ever such slaughter, &c., &c." In view of the above, how ridiculous such statements appear !
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DEFEAT OF ABERCROMBY.
officer of the regiment, was able to prevail on them to withdraw, after more than one-half of his men and twenty-five of his officers had been either killed or desperately wounded. "The attack," wrote Grant, afterward, in commenting upon the event, "began a little past one in the afternoon, and about two the fire became general on both sides. It was exceedingly heavy and without any cessation, insomuch that the oldest soldiers never saw so furious and incessant a fire. The affair at Fontenay was nothing to it-I saw both. We labored under insurmount- able difficulties. The enemy's breastworks were about ten feet high, on the top of which they had plenty of wall-pieces fixed * They had taken care to cut down monstrous large trees. This not only broke our ranks, but put it entirely out of our power to advance till we had cut our way through. I had seen men behave with courage and reso- lution before that day, but so much determined bravery can scarcely be paralleled. Even those who lay mortally wounded cried aloud to their companions not to mind or waste a thought upon them, but to follow their officers and remember the honor of their country. The remains of the regiment (the Forty-second) had the honor to cover the retreat of the army, and brought off the wounded as we did at Fontenay."
But, notwithstanding this reverse, the British were more than twelve thousand strong, with plenty of artillery with which the enemy might easily have been driven from their intrenchments. Abercromby,
however, instead of bringing up his artillery from the landing-place where it had been left, and rallying his men, had retreated, upon the first news of the defeat, from the mills (where he had remained during the fight) leaving orders for the army to follow him to the landing; and while the entire night was spent by Montcalm in strengthening his defences and encouraging his men (the French General not dreaming but that Abercromby would return in force with his artillery to redeem his disaster) the English were retreating in the footsteps of their valor- ous commander. ' Reaching the landing early on the morning of the ninth, the army in wild affright would have rushed into the bateaux and sunk the greater portion of them, had not Colonel Bradstreet by his coolness convinced them that there was no immediate danger, and
1 Of what metal, anyway, were these remarkable Generals made of. Loudoun and Webb were of the same character, while this action of Abercromby reminds one at once of the poltroonery of Gates (brought up in the same school, and companions at arms with the above, at the Battle of Saratoga, when from a distant eminence a mile from the scene of battle, on Bemis Heights, he watched the ebb and How of the action-having all his preparations made to retreat should the tide of battle go against him !
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WASHINGTON COUNTY : ITS HISTORY.
prevailed upon them to embark quietly and in good order. Nor, did. Abercromby breathe freely until, Fort Edward being reached, Lake George was between himself and the French, and his artillery and ammunition fairly on their way to Albany.
As soon as the main army reached the head of the Lake, all those of the wounded who could be sent ahead were conveyed to Fort Edward .. " Loads after loads of miserable sufferers," writes Dr. Fitch, who had it from the son of an eye-witness, "were brought hither, pale and ghastly, to breathe out their dying groans upon the air that so lately had resounded with their hearty shouts, and to mingle their dust with that of the surrounding plain-their names to perish from earth, and not so much as a rude stone set at their graves to indicate to succeed- ing generations, that the spot was the hallowed repository of the dead." 1
Of all that gallant dead who fell on this occasion, the name and place of two only are preserved to the present day, viz: That of Lord Howe, and of Major Duncan Campbell of the Forty-second Highland Regiment.
Regarding Lord Howe, various accounts have been given as to his- burial place-some authorities stating that he was buried near the present village of Ticonderoga, and others equally positive, give Albany. I think, however, that there can be no doubt that his remains were taken to Albany for interment. Regarding this, the following extract from- " The Life of Philip Schuyler " is in point :
" Two days before the Courier was sent, another boat had passed over the Lake, but upon a different errand. It contained the body of young Lord Howe, who fell as we have seen, in the first encounter with the French in the forest of Ticonderoga. Its arrival upon the sandy beach at the head of the Lake was the first intimation to Colonel. Cumming and his command of the great loss the army had sustained. None grieved more sincerely than Major Schuyler, and he asked and received permission to convey the dead body of his friend to Albany for interment. It was carried on a rude bier to Fort Edward, and thence to Albany in a bateau. Major Schuyler caused it to be entombed in his family vault, and there it lay many years, when the remains were placed in a leaden coffin and deposited under the chancel of St. Peter's. church in that city. They rest there still. We have observed that Lord Howe, as an example for his soldiers, had cut his fine and abundant
1 In making excavations for cellars, sewers, &c., in the vicinity of the Village of Fort Edward, at points distant from any spots suspected of having been occupied as places of interment, rows of human skeletons are sometimes unearthed-the date of whose burial is, of course, entirely conjectural.
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BURIAL OF LORD HOWE.
hair very short. When his remains were taken from the Schuyler vault in 1859 for re-entombment, his hair had grown to long, flowing locks, and was very beautiful. "The ribbon, indeed, as I learn from another source, that bound it, was yet black and glossy, all, on exposure, sank into dust. The remains, enclosed in a new chest, were reverently placed along the north wall of the modern edifice."
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