USA > Ohio > Biographical and historical memoirs of the early pioneer settlers of Ohio, with narratives of incidents and occurrences in 1775 > Part 2
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Being determined to see as much as possible of the adven- tures and hardships of a military life, he joined the corps of Rangers, as a volunteer, and on the 8th of July, marched on a scout under Lieut. Collins, with twenty-two men, to
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reconnoitre South Bay, the southerly extremity of Lake Champlain, distant about twenty-five miles from Fort Ed- ward. On the 9th, having approached, as they thought, near the bay, the main party was halted, and three men, of whom Mr. Putnam was one, sent forward to learn its situation. Supposing it would occupy but a few hours, they left their blankets and provisions with the men that remained in camp. It proved to be much further than they had anticipated, and after fulfilling their orders, it was nearly night when they got back to the encampment. Much to their vexation and disap- pointment, they found that the lieutenant and his men, had left the ground, carrying with them their blankets and pro- visions. It seems that the leader had taken alarm at their long absence, supposing them either killed or captured by the Indians, and had hastily retreated in confusion. The deserted Rangers fired their guns, to give notice of their return, but no answering signal was heard. Two nights were thus spent in the woods, exposed, without their blankets, to the annoyance of gnats and musquitoes, which swarmed in vast numbers over this humid region. The dress of the Rangers was similar to that of the Indians, leaving their thighs bare, and exposed to their attacks. They reached Fort Edward on the 11th, having been forty-eight hours without food, thus realizing a little foretaste of a ranger's life. Lieut. Collins did not get in until the following day, and confessed that he heard their signal guns, but supposed them fired by the Indians. He, however, by vari- ous excuses, pacified Mr. Putnam and his comrades; yet he remarks on the transaction, "It was extremely unsoldier- like to leave us in the woods in the manner he did. If our long absence gave cause of alarm, he ought to have with- drawn but a short distance, placed himself in ambush, and posted two men under cover to watch for our return, or give notice of the approach of the enemy."
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On the 23d of July, about eight o'clock in the morning, a large party of Indians fired on the Carpenters', or Mechanics' Guard, within half a mile of the fort, and killed thirteen men, with one missing. This was the first view he had of Indian butchery; and says, "It was not very agreeable to the feelings of a young soldier, and I think there are few who can look on such scenes with indifference." In the afternoon, two hundred and fifty men, under Capt. Israel Putnam, were sent out in pursuit. They followed the trail until sunset, when the main body was halted, and three men, of whom Mr. Putnam was one, sent forward a mile or more, with orders to secrete themselves near the trail until after dark, watching closely for any scout that might be sent back, "for," said the captain of the Rangers, "if they do not embark to-night in their boats, they will send a party back to see if they are pursued." They went as ordered, but made no discovery. He remarks, "It was a maxim I treasured up in my mind, as applicable, especially in the woods, whether you are pursuing, or are pursued by the enemy," and was the beginning of his military knowledge.
CAPTURE OF FORT WILLIAM HENRY.
THE Marquis de Montcalm, who commanded the French forces in Canada, was a man of intelligence and vast enter- prise. After one or two ineffectual attempts to surprise the fort without the trouble, of a regular siege, he finally con- cluded to collect all the troops in his power, and set about the work by regular approaches. This fort stood near the head of Lake George, distant fourteen miles from Fort Ed- ward, and seventy from Albany, and was built by Gen. Johnson in 1755, who named it after one of the princes of the reigning family. It was a square work, with four bas- tions. The walls were made of timber, filled in with earth
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with a ditch on the outside; and was able, for a time, to re- sist a cannonade or bombardment. Having arranged his plan of operations, Montcalm came up the lake with a for- midable array of boats; and on the 3d of August, 1757, landed an army of ten thousand men, and a large body of Indians, with a heavy train of artillery; and immediately commenced the siege. Col. Munroe, who commanded the fort, had arrived only the day before, with his regiment, from Fort Edward, to reinforce the garrison. He was a brave man, and made the best defense in his power; but the troops under his command were too few in number, to hold out long against so formidable an attack. Many of his can- non burst, and the ammunition failed. After a spirited de- fense of six days, a capitulation was entered into for the surrender of the fort and troops, on the 9th of August. "About half a mile east of the fort, separated from it by a swamp and creek, lay a body of fifteen hundred Provincials, encamped within a low breastwork of logs. On these Mont- calm made no serious attack; and they might at any time have made their escape, by forcing their way through the enemy posted in that quarter; but the next morning after the surrender, or the 10th of August, as the Provincials were paraded, to march to Fort Edward, agreeably to capitula- tion, the Indians attacked them, and a horrid butchery en- sued. Those who escaped with their lives were stripped almost naked; many were lost in the woods, where they wandered several days without food. One man, in particu- lar, was out ten days; and there is reason to believe, that some perished, especially the wounded. The number mur- dered, and missing, was some hundreds.
"Gen. Webb lay, all the time of the siege, at Fort Ed- ward, with not less than four thousand men, and for a con- siderable part of the time with a larger number, by the coming up of the New York militia. He was informed,
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every day of the siege, by an express from Col. Munroe, of the progress of affairs at the lake, and knew that the enemy had made an attempt on the fortified camp of the Pro- vincials. It was the opinion of many officers, that he might have relieved the fort, and that he was much to blame for not attempting it. The general opinion amongst the sol- diers was, that he was a coward; for he took no care to bury the men butchered in the manner mentioned, or to seek for the wounded, should there be any living among the dead. I was on the ground a short time after, and saw the dead bodies as much neglected as if they had been wild beasts." (MAN. JOUR.) He remarks, that the Provincials lost all confidence in Gen. Webb, and many of them left the army, and returned home. He was himself, at one time, being under great excitement at the dastardly conduct of Webb, on the point of leaving, but was providentially pre- vented.
On the 8th of October, the campaign being closed for that year, the Provincials, who composed the corps of Rangers, were discharged. He, however, continued to do camp duty some days longer, and then attached himself to a company of artisans, who were employed, until the 10th of Novem- ber, in completing the defenses of Fort Edward. On that day, the remnant of Col. Frye's regiment, himself, and the larger portion of his men, having been captured at Fort William Henry, marched down to the Half-moon, a post twelve miles above Albany. His providentially joining the Rangers, no doubt, saved him from participating in this slaughter and captivity.
On the 18th of November, three hundred and sixty men of the detachment were drafted into four companies, and ordered to different posts for winter quarters. This was a vexatious disappointment, as the Provincials expected to be
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discharged at the close of the campaign, although, accord- ing to their enlistment, they were to serve until the 2d day of February, 1758.
Capt. Learned's company, to which Mr. Putnam be- longed, was ordered up to Stillwater, on the east side of the Hudson; while he and several other mechanics were de- tained and employed in completing the king's works at the Half-moon, until the 29th of December.
The 1st of January, 1758, was celebrated by the men in great festivity, with an earnest looking forward to Candle- mas, or 2d of February, as the period of their release from servitude.
From the movements of the commander of the stockaded garrison, Capt. Skene, afterward major, and proprietor of Skenesborough, they began to suspect he intended to retain them in service beyond the time of their enlistment. The Provincials were quartered in huts by themselves, a short distance from the post, which was guarded by a com- pany of British regulars. Having decided on making a push for home, as soon as they considered themselves fairly at liberty, previous arrangements were made for the jour- ney, by preparing snow shoes for each man, as there was no possibility of marching through the woods, where the snow was three or four feet deep, without this ingeniously contrived Indian apparatus, which had been adopted by the New Englanders from them. Capt. Learned, who had just returned from a furlough to Massachusetts, when made ac- quainted with the design of his men, approved of their plan, and said he would lead them, unless he could procure their regular discharge. Mr. Putnam observes on this transac- tion, that he thought well of the captain at the time, but had since learned, that for an officer to desert his post is unpardonable.
On the 2d of February, Capt. Skene ordered the Provin-
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cials into the fort, and read a letter from Gen. Abercrombie, directing him to persuade the Massachusetts men under his command, to tarry a few days, until he could hear from that government, and know their intentions in regard to them. To this they replied, that he is a good soldier who serves his full time, and that the province had no farther concern with them; neither would they remain any longer. Capt. Skene threatened them with death if they departed without a regular discharge, and ordered them back to their bar- racks. He, however, took no forcible measures to detain them, nor did he search their huts for the snow-shoes, which they took the precaution to secrete under the snow. Their huts were sheltered by a high bank, out of sight of the fort, which screened their movements from observation.
Firm to their purpose, about three o'clock in the morning of the 3d of February, they marched off as silently as pos- sible, seventy in number, under the command of Capt. Learned and Lieut. Walker; leaving Lieut. Brown, and a few invalids, who did not choose to join them. After leav- ing their barracks, they had a level piece of intervale, bor- dering the Hudson, about half a mile wide to cross, exposed to the artillery of the fort, had they been discovered by the sentinels, which was the reason of their departure in the night. They did not fear any opposition from the men in the garrison in the open field, as they outnumbered them. As to provisions for the march, they had provided as well as they could, by saving a portion of their daily rations for a week or two previous, and had hoarded up in this way, two or three days' allowance. The distance to Hoosack fort, as it was called, a small stockaded garrison belonging to Mas- sachusetts, was thirty miles, and was allotted for two days march. The snow in the woods was deeper than expected, and made the traveling laborious for the leading men of the file, while those who followed after had a pretty firm
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path. The second day of the march was in a snow storm; nevertheless, they bore manfully on, directing their course for Hoosack river, which was to be their guide to the fort; but during the snow storm they became bewildered, and fall- ing on a westerly branch, instead of the main stream, it led them far out of their course, and at night they encamped without reaching their desired haven. Two turkeys were killed during the day, which aided their scanty stock of food. On the third day's march, they decamped very early, confi- dent of reaching the fort before noon, but mid-day passed by, and the night arrived without the sight of it. One tur- key was killed, and the camp formed with heavy hearts; which was done by kindling fires against a fallen tree, and lying down on the snow with their blankets, in the open air. Their provision was now nearly spent, and they were led, reluctantly, to believe, that they were actually lost in the woods. Several of the men, from the extreme severity of the weather, had frozen their feet; and one had lost a snow shoe by breaking through the ice.
On the fourth day the march was continued up the stream until noon, when they concluded to alter their course. This branch of the Hoosack, it seems, led up into the New Hampshire grants, afterward Vermont, where the town of Bennington was subsequently built. The direction of the march, by the advice of Capt. Learned, was now about south-east, over a hilly broken region, and the sun went down as they reached the top of a high mountain, which appeared to be the water shed, or dividing ridge between the streams which fell into the Hudson and Connecticut rivers. The weather was excessively cold, and the snow five feet deep. On the morning of the fifth day, after a very uncomfortable night, thirty of the men, Mr. Putnam being one of them, breakfasted on a small turkey, without salt or bread. After traveling about five miles they fell on a
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small branch, running south-east, down which they followed · until several tributaries had enlarged it, by night, to a con- siderable river. All this day they had no food but the buds of the beech trees, and a few bush cranberries. At night they encamped, weary and faint, but not disheartened. The sixth day's march was continued along the course of the river discovered the day before, which none of them knew the name of, in a broken, hilly region, not very favor- able to the point of compass they wished to follow. The weather was cold and stormy, while the men were so feeble and lame from frozen feet, that only a few were able to lead the trail, and break the path in the snow. By march- ing on the frozen river, the lame men found a smooth path, or it is probable some of them would have perished. At night they encamped by tens in a mess. As it happened they had with them one dog, and only one. He was large and fat. At night it was concluded to kill him for supper. This was done, and his body divided into seven portions, or one part to every ten men, the entrails falling to the butcher as his fee; and as he belonged to Mr. Putnam's mess, they made their supper on the fat. On the morning of the sev- enth day, his men breakfasted on one of the feet, and a hind leg cut off at the gambrel joint, which being pounded and roasted in the embers, so as to separate the bones of the foot, made quite a palatable viand to a hungry stomach. That day the party confined their march to the river, and about noon came to a spot where some trees had been recently cut for some shingles. This was the first sign of inhabitants they had seen, and it revived their drooping spirits. At sunset one of the men noticed a small stream putting in on the left bank, which he recognized as Pelham brook, and that Hawk's fort, on Deerfield river, was not more than three miles distant. This latter river is a branch of the Connecticut.
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Their leader now ordered two men to go forward to the fort, and make provision for the arrival of the party in the morning, which was a wise measure, and directed the most active men to make fires for the more feeble and lame ones, as they came up, which happily they all did by dark. That night Putnam's mess supped on the thigh bone of the dog, made into soup, with a small bit of pork and a little ginger, which made a very palatable dish. With respect to the flesh of a dog, he observes, "since the experience of that day, I have believed it to be very good meat, and could eat it at any time without disgust." This goes to confirm the experience of Lewis and Clark's men in their journey over the Rocky mountains, who lived on it for weeks, and pre- ferred it to any other meat.
On the eighth day's march, which was the 10th of Feb- ruary, early in the forenoon, they met some men from the fort, coming to their relief with slices of bread and meat, to appease their appetites and enable them to reach the post, where they were received with great kindness. Many of the men were badly frozen, and nearly exhausted with hunger. As a proof of the vigor of his frame, Mr. Putnam . carried the pack of a sick man in addition to his own, and was always one of the leaders in breaking the path; although he felt the cravings of hunger, yet never failed in vigor or activity. One cause of this he attributes to the use of a little honey, which one of his mess had in a bottle, about a pound weight. Into this honey bottle, each man dipped the end of a rod and put to his mouth, and not like Jonathan into a honey comb.
On the 15th of February, he arrived at his former home, very thankful for his preservation amidst so many dangers. Capt. Learned was much censured for his conduct, and was not again commissioned during the war. 0
After passing the remainder of the winter at home, and
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forgetting the sufferings of the last campaign, he again enlisted in the provincial service, for another tour of duty, in Capt. Joseph Whitcomb's company, and Col. Rug- gles' regiment. The war, thus far, had been a continued scene of disasters, and disgrace to the crown; one army after another had been defeated or captured, and the French were in a fair way of overrunning the British possessions in America; and although the number of inhabitants in the Canadas was not more than one quarter as great as that of the colonies, yet their military commanders were much more able and energetic than the British, and carried con- quest and victory wherever they turned their arms.
The regiment to which he was attached, rendezvoused at Northampton, in Massachusetts, and marched for Albany on the 3d of June. On the 6th, they passed Pantoosac fort, a small post on the Hoosack river, then within the boundaries of the province of Massachusetts. This was the station that Capt. Learned expected to reach on the second day after his unmilitary and disastrous desertion of his post at Stillwater, on the 2d of February. ()n the 8th, the regiment arrived at Greenbush, opposite to Albany. "From Northampton street to this place was through a wilderness, with but one house in the whole distance, except the little fort above mentioned." This was in the year 1758; since that time vast changes have taken place in this region, and the railroad, in a few hours, would transport the whole regiment over the distance which occupied five days of steady marching.
On the 12th of June, he was detached with about eighty other artisans from the regiment under Lieut. Pool, and ordered on to the head of Lake George to erect works, in advance of the army. On the 5th of July, the troops being, assembled, embarked in batteaux, amounting to seventeen thousand men, under the command of Gen. Abercrombie,
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Lord Howe, the second in command, Gen. Gage, the third, and Col. Bradstreet, quarter-master-general. The com- mander-in-chief was an old man, and entirely unfit for the post, as was proved by the result of the campaign. The army had but little respect for his abilities; while on the contrary, Lord Howe was their idol, and in him they placed their utmost confidence. He was remarkably easy and affable in his manners, mixing familiarly with the mechan- ics and common soldiers, inquiring into their condition and wants, displaying a real interest in their welfare, very different from those generally in high authority. This won the regard of the troops, and they would undergo any sac- rifice at his bidding. Gen. Gage never acquired much rep- utation as a commander, and the furious Bradstreet was hated by all the army. The batteaux moved down the lake until evening, when the troops landed at Sabbath- day Point for refreshment, and then rowed all night. On the 6th they disembarked at the northern extremity of Lake " George, in two divisions, one on each side of the outlet. On the approach of the division on the right bank, a detachment of the enemy stationed there, retired without firing a gun. That division of the army on the left bank, was under the command of Lord Howe, and on its advance was met by a skirmishing party of the French, who, very unfortunately for the British, killed Lord Howe in the early part of the engagement. His death struck a damp on the spirits of the whole army, and no doubt had an influence in causing the defeat which followed. Mr. Putnam was left in charge of the boats, but soon volunteered his service in the attack on the works, and joined his regiment, which was posted with Col. Lyman's, of Connecticut, on the west of the mills, and was busily employed in erecting a breast- work. The attack on the fort at Ticonderoga, began at twelve o'clock, and was continued without intermission for
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several hours, without making any impression. At length the ammunition of the regular troops was exhausted, and a call was made on the Provincials to forward them a sup- ply. Mr. Putnam again volunteered in this service. When they approached the scene of action, they found that the attacked troops had been effectually repulsed in their attempt to storm the enemy's lines, but did not consider it a total defeat, as it finally proved to be. Col. Ruggles' regiment remained in their breast-work until midnight unmolested, and then retreated to the shore of the lake, where they had landed on the 6th. On the morning of the 9th, Ruggles found his regiment in the rear of the army, which had retreated in the night, leaving them with the Rangers of the other regiment of Provincials near the French lines. In the forenoon of that day, all the troops embarked and returned to the south end of the lake, closing Gen. Abercrombie's expedition, which commenced with such high hopes, under a cloud of disgrace, and a loss of fifteen hundred men, in killed and wounded. Ticonderoga fort was protected on three of its sides by water, and on the other for some distance in front extended a morass; the remainder was fortified with a breast-work, eight feet high, and planted with artillery. In addition to which the ground for one hundred yards in front, was covered with abatis. After reconnoitering the works, the engineer sent on this important duty, was so stupid as to report to the commander that they might be carried by musketry. The difficulty of advancing artillery over the morass and broken ground in front, led to the adopting of this fatal advice, and the defeat of the army. The post was defended by about four thou- sand men, and although their actual assailants amounted to twelve or fifteen thousand, and the attack lasted for more than four hours, yet they could make no impression on the garrison. The loss must have been greater than actually
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estimated, as twenty-five hundred stands of arms were picked up by the French. Mr. Putnam remarks that "when he subsequently became acquainted with the strength of the works and the mode of attack, he considered it the most injudicious and wanton sacrifice of men, that ever came within his knowledge or reading."
Nothing further of an offensive nature was attempted in that quarter, by Abercrombie, this season. A fort was com- menced on the ground occupied by the fortified camp of the Provincials, in 1757, during the siege and capture of Fort William Henry, which was called Fort George, and stood half a mile east of that unfortunate garrison. On the 22d of July, the regiment to which he belonged was ordered to Fort Edward, and the men employed in repairing the roads from that post to Albany, until the 29th of October, when they were discharged.
On the 9th of November, he arrived at Sutton, his native place, where he passed the winter. On this campaign, in after life, he has these remarks : " Thus was I carried through a second campaign, enjoying uninterrupted health, the friend- ship of my officers, and never charged with a fault. But, alas ! in my journal, I cannot find any acknowledgment to my divine Benefactor and Preserver, nor do I recollect that 1 had any serious reflections on the subject." This is in accor- dance with the natural heart, but when it becomes touched with the influences of the Holy Spirit, it is ready and wil- ling to acknowledge its obligations to its rightful Lord and Benefactor.
On the 2d of April, 1759, he decided on again entering the military service, and enlisted into Capt. John Fibley's com- pany, as a substitute for Moses Leland, who had been drafted into the army, but did not wish to serve. For this enlistment he received fourteen pounds, thirteen shillings, Massachusetts currency, or forty-five dollars, fifty cents. The original receipt
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