History of Chittenden County, Vermont, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 15

Author: Rann, W. S. (William S.)
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : D. Mason & Co.
Number of Pages: 1054

USA > Vermont > Chittenden County > History of Chittenden County, Vermont, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 15

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ously espoused the cause of liberty, and bore an active, in many cases an emi- nent, part in the war.

The events of the Revolution, in which the inhabitants of the several towns now comprising the county of Chittenden figured prominently, are so few that this chapter cannot be confined to a narration of them alone. We have con- cluded, therefore, to give a brief account of the part which Vermont took in that great struggle. Several skirmishes took place along the lake and on the Winooski River, notably the attack on Moses Pierson in Shelburne, Joseph Brown in Jericho, and Captain John Barnet in Richmond, which will receive more particular mention in the histories of the respective towns in which they occurred.

In 1769 Sir Guy Carleton had urged the British ministry to hold the line of communication between the St. Lawrence and New York as a means of pre- venting the combination of the colonies in the controversies then agitating be- tween Great Britain and her refractory provinces in America. When the war came on he looked upon the office of recovering that line as reserved of right for himself. He proposed in the campaign of 1777 to advance to Albany ; designing for the present only to acquire the mastery of Lake Champlain. In building vessels of war on these waters the Americans had the advantage in nothing but time. The skill of their ship-builders was demanded elsewhere in fitting out public vessels and privateers ; the naval stores, meager as they were, had to be transported from tide-water to the lake, over almost impassable roads ; and every stick of timber was to be cut in the adjacent forests. When the resolute zeal of the patriots had constructed a fleet of eight gondolas, three row-galleys, and four sloops, or schooners, there were no naval officers, nor mariners, nor gunners to take charge of them. The chief command fell on Arnold, a landsman ; his second was Waterbury, a brigadier in the Connecticut militia ; while the crews were mostly soldiers. On the other hand Carleton had the assistance of constructors from England, from the fleet in the St. Law- rence, and from the province of Quebec. Naval equipments and materials for ship-building were contributed in abundance by the admiralty. It sent from the British yards three vessels of war fully prepared for service, in the belief that they could be dragged up the rapids of the Richelieu. More than two hundred flat-boats were constructed at Montreal and hauled to St. Johns, from where a deep channel leads to the lake. The army was composed in part of the men of Brunswick and of Waldeck, who were provided with a seemingly invincible artillery, and were flushed with confidence of victory. Moreover, while the fleet was being built and transferred to Lake Champlain, the troops for nearly three months were trained as sharp-shooters; were exercised in charging upon imagined enemies in a forest ; were taught to row, and became familiar with the manners of the Indian warriors, who were to form their van in four hundred canoes. From a comparison of the advantages enjoyed by the

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Americans with those which favored the British, the result of the conflict on Lake Champlain would seem easy to predict.

In the mean time how had the several posts on the lake passed from the pos- session of the British into the hands of the Americans ? As soon as it became certain that the war could not be averted, the importance of securing the com- mand of the lake to the Americans was perceived, and the design of effecting the reduction of the forts engaged the attention of several persons both in Massachusetts and Connecticut, though the practical development of this design was reserved for Connecticut. A loan of $1,800 was obtained from the Legislature of that State, with which a quantity of ammunition was pur- chased, and the projectors hastened to Bennington to procure the services of Ethan Allen. He readily consented to conduct the expedition, and started north for the purpose of collecting the required number of men, while his friends from Connecticut repaired to Castleton, and were soon after joined by himself and his recruits. During these proceedings Colonel Benedict Arnold had received his commission from the Massachusetts Committee of Safety, and by reason of his representations that the forts of Ticonderoga and Crown Point were in a ruinous condition and feebly garrisoned, obtained orders to raise a force of four hundred men and effect the reduction of these important posts. Arnold had reached Stockbridge, on the western border of Massachu- setts, on Saturday, May 6, but had scarcely begun the labor of collecting his force when he learned that a party of men from Connecticut were in advance of him with the same object, and he followed with all haste in their train and reached Castleton on Monday evening. His commission as colonel was not in the usual form of such documents, but was restricted to the particular purpose of raising men for the capture of Ticonderoga. According to its terms he was merely authorized to enlist the men by whom the reduction was to be made, and to command only those whom he should enlist. It was plain that he had no right to assume the command of the men from Connecticut or those whom Allen had collected, without their consent. He insisted upon being placed at the head of this expedition, however, with so great pertinacity, that the men, to whom he was a stranger, became alarmed lest he should prevail, and de- clared their intention of serving under the officers whom they had already engaged, or returning home at once. Arnold therefore yielded with no good grace, but was permitted to serve as a volunteer, with the rank of colonel, but without any command. Notwithstanding these difficulties the matter had been conducted with such dispatch that on the evening of the 9th of May, Allen reached Orwell, opposite Ticonderoga, while the British garrison were totally ignorant of the proceedings, and unapprehensive of a hostile visit at this time. Allen's whole force numbered 270 men, of whom 230 were Green Mountain Boys. A Mr. Douglas was sent to Bridport to procure aid in men, and a scow for the transportation of troops. He stopped by the way to enlist a Mr. Chap-

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man in the enterprise, when James Wilcox and Joseph Tyler, two young men who were in bed in the chamber, and who heard the story, conceived the design of decoying to the shore a large oar-boat belonging to Major Skeene, which then lay off against Willow Point. They dressed, and with a jug of rum which they knew would be a powerful argument with the black commander, gathered four assistants as they went, and after hailing the boat offered to help row it to Shoreham if they could be carried there immediately, where they were waited for by a hunting party. The ruse succeeded, and the three men on the boat, when they reached Allen's party, were made prisoners. At about the same time Douglas arrived with the scow, and several other boats were discovered, so that Allen embarked with eighty-three men and landed near the fort. The boats were sent back for the rear guard under Colonel Seth Warner, but as the day was already dawning, and the fort must be surprised at once or not at all, the men were drawn up in three ranks, while Allen addressed them : "Friends and fellow-soldiers :

We must this morning quit our pretensions to valor or possess ourselves of this fortress; and inasmuch as it is a desperate attempt, which none but the bravest men dare undertake, I do not urge it on any contrary to his will. You that will undertake voluntarily, poise your fire-locks." Every fire-lock was poised, whereupon Allen placed him- self at the head of the men and led them up the height to the fortress. Before the sun rose he had entered the gate and formed his men on the parade, be- tween the barracks. Here they gave three cheers. When Allen had passed the gate a sentinel snapped his fusee at him and retreated under a covered way ; another guard made a thrust at one of the officers with a bayonet, slightly wounding him ; but Allen struck the assailant on the side of his head with a sword, at which he threw down his musket and asked quarter. This being granted, Allen demanded to be led to the apartment of Captain Dela- place. This was reached by a staircase on the outside of the barracks. The brief dialogue that followed between Allen and Captain Delaplace is familiar to every school- boy: " Deliver to me the fort instantly," demanded Allen to the terrified and half dressed commander of the fort. " By what authority ?" asked the latter. " In the name of the great Jehovah and the Continental Con- gress," answered Allen. Delaplace began to remonstrate, but was peremp- torily interrupted, and at sight of the drawn sword of Allen near his head he surrendered the garrison and ordered the men to be paraded without arms. This "reduction " of Fort Ticonderoga was accomplished before sunrise on May 10, 1775, only a few hours before the first meeting of the " Continental Congress" in the State House at Philadelphia ; and to Allen belongs the honor of accomplishing, without the loss of blood or money, that which by ordinary methods or ordinary men would have been the work of weeks, and which, indeed, might never have been achieved by others. With the fortress were surrendered fifty prisoners and 120 pieces of cannon, besides swivels, small

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arms and stores. Crown Point surrendered at the first summons, to a detach- ment under Colonel Seth Warner, its garrison of twelve men, with sixty-one cannon fit for service and fifty-three that were useless. Another party took Skeenesborough the same day, making the younger Major Skeene a prisoner and capturing a schooner and several bateaux, with all of which the victors hastened to Ticonderoga. Elated with their success the Americans now deter- mined to obtain the command of the lake by getting possession of an armed sloop which then lay at St. Johns. They armed and manned a schooner and procured a number of bateaux. Arnold again arrogantly interposed his claim of the command, but was forced to submit to the unanimous opposition of the officers and men, who delivered to Colonel Allen a certificate or com- mission signed by Edward Mott, chairman, stating that "by virtue of the power given them by the colony of Connecticut" they had appointed him to command the expedition against the fort, and requiring him to " keep the com- mand and possession of the same for the use of the American colonies until he should have further orders from the colony of Connecticut or the Continental Congress." A copy of this commission, with an account of the capture, and the claims of Arnold, was transmitted to the Provincial Congress of Massachu- setts by Colonel Easton, and Arnold sent his version of the affair to the same body. His pretensions were not sanctioned by them, however. He had assisted with bravery in the attack on the fort, marching on the left of Allen, seeming to have consented to a divided control with him, taking the position of a subordinate who was entitled to some official consideration. In the expe- dition against St. Johns he took command of the schooner and Allen com- manded the bateaux. A fresh wind sprang up from the south, enabling the schooner to out-sail the bateaux and reach St. Johns some hours ahead. Ar- nold surprised and captured the sloop, and in obedience to the wind, which shifted to the north, he started south with his prize and met Allen with his bateaux some distance from St. Johns. Lake Champlain and its fortresses were now completely in the hands of the Americans.

In the hope that Canada could be induced to join the other colonies in the struggle against Great Britain, and for the purpose of frustrating the designs of the governor of that province, who had been making exertions to engage the Canadians and Indians to fall upon the colonial frontiers, Congress deter- mined to send a body of American troops to the north. Accordingly about a thousand men were collected and placed under command of Generals Schuyler and Montgomery. A large number of bateaux and flat-boats were constructed at Ticonderoga and Crown Point, in the manner and at the disadvantages before described. But soon after Montgomery had set out from Crown Point he received information that General Carleton was prepared to defeat his inten- tions ; that he had provided a powerful naval force and was soon to enter the lake from the north with a body of British troops. Montgomery proceeded

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down the lake to prevent this, and landed with that portion of the men who had joined him at Isle La Motte, where he was soon overtaken by Schuyler. They then moved forward to Isle aux Noix, where they took measures to oppose the entrance of the British into the lake. They sent proclamations into the adjacent country, assuring the Canadians of their friendly disposition toward them, and inviting them to join hands with the Americans in asserting their rights and securing their liberties. On the 6th of September they con- tinued their progress down the lake without opposition and effected a landing about a mile and a half above the fort at St. Johns. While advancing to recon- noiter the works their left was attacked by a party of Indians, who were not repulsed until three of the Americans had been killed and eight wounded. The Indians lost five killed and four severely wounded. The fort was found to be well garrisoned and prepared for an attack, wherefore the Americans deemed it prudent to return to Isle aux Noix and await the expected artillery and reinforcements. Schuyler returned to Albany from there on a necessary errand, leaving the command to Montgomery. That general on the 17th of September proceeded to St. Johns with the reinforcements, and laid siege to the fort. It was garrisoned by nearly two British regiments and contained most of the regular troops of Canada, besides being well supplied with artillery, ammunition and military stores. Montgomery first attempted to detach the Indians, who had united with Carleton, from the British cause. In this he was successful. He then dispatched parties of the provincials over the adjacent country, who were favorably received by the Canadians and informed that Fort Chambly, a small fortress farther down the Sorel, contained a large quan- tity of ammunition and military stores, which were much needed by the Amer- icans. Majors Brown and Livingston were therefore ordered to proceed against it, and after a short struggle took the garrison of about 100 men, together with 120 barrels of powder, a large quantity of military stores and provisions, and the standard of the Seventh Regiment. This standard was immediately transmitted to Congress. And thus Lake Champlain witnessed the capture of the first fort and the first trophy in the War of the Revolution.

The besiegers now renewed their advances upon the fort at St. Johns with redoubled energy. The garrison, which consisted of between six hundred and seven hundred men, was in daily expectation of relief from General Carleton, and therefore made a determined resistance. Owing to the disaffection of the Canadians Carleton could not muster more than a thousand men, including enlistments from every source. Purposing to cross the St. Lawrence and join the forces of Colonel MacLean, who had taken post at the mouth of the Riche- lieu with a few hundred Scotch immigrants, and with his aid raise the siege of Fort St. Johns, he embarked his troops at Montreal for Longueil. It happened that Colonel Seth Warner, at the head of about three hundred Green Mountain Boys, observed this embarkation from the opposite shore and prepared for the

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approach of the British. When they had come within easy 'range the Ameri- cans opened upon them a vigorous and well-directed fire of musketry and of grape from a four-pounder which was in their possession, which threw the British into irrecoverable confusion. They almost immediately beat a precipi- tate retreat. The intelligence of this defeat so discouraged the commander of the garrison at St. Johns, Major Preston, that on the 3d of November he sur- rendered. The garrison of 500 regular troops and more than 100 Canadian volunteers became prisoners of war, and were conducted into the interior of New England.

In the mean time Col. Ethan Allen had been urged by Major Brown to co- operate with him in the reduction of Montreal. He was to cross the river and land a little north of the city, with his band of eighty men, while Brown with a force numbering about two hundred, was to land a little to the south. Both were to commence the attack at the same time. Allen crossed the river accord- ing to agreement, and waited for the appearance of Brown upon the other side. But he waited in vain. Daylight came on and Allen could have saved himself by a retreat, but he hardly knew the meaning of the word, and somewhat rashly determined to hold his ground. Early in the morning of September 25, General Carleton marched out against him with a force of about forty regulars and several hundred English settlers, Indians and Canadians. Allen had in addition to his Green Mountain followers, a few Canadians. These soon deserted him, and he was left to oppose the British with his resolute band from the " New Hampshire Grants." They fought with desperate courage until fif- teen of their men were killed and several wounded, when Allen and thirty- eight of his men were taken prisoners, and immediately loaded with irons. They were then put on board a man-of-war and carried to England, suffering the most inhuman treatment on the voyage.

After defeating Carleton and compelling MacLean to retire to Quebec, Col. Warner proceeded to insure the command of the entrance into Lake Cham- plain by the erection of a battery at the mouth of the Richelieu. From St. Johns, Montgomery went to Montreal and took possession on the 13th of November, without opposition, General Carleton having abandoned it to its fate, and made good his escape down the river in the night, in a canoe with muffled oars. General Prescott with 120 British officers and privates, who had not yet been sent to New England, also attempted to escape with a number of armed vessels laden with provisions and other necessaries, but were intercepted at the mouth of the Sorel River, and captured without the loss of a man.

Carleton went to Quebec, where he began preparations for defense. On the 9th of November Col. Arnold, notwithstanding the incredible hardships which attended the undertaking, reached Quebec by the way of Maine and Canada, with a force of 700 men. Montgomery joined him on the Ist of De- cember. The garrison at Quebec numbered fifteen hundred men, while that

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of Arnold and Montgomery combined did not exceed one thousand. The siege was begun by the artillery and shells, but as these produced little effect on the works, it was agreed to make a general assault. On the morning of the 3 Ist of December the troops were led on to the attack. The carnage was fearful. Nearly one-half of the American troops were either killed or taken prisoners, and the brave Montgomery was slain. Arnold was severely wounded, but he took command of the forces that were left, and continued the blockade, in the belief that reinforcements would soon arrive. This was the end of the campaign of 1775.

The expected reinforcements came so slowly that when General Thomas reached the camp before Quebec, on the Ist of May, 1776, the total number of men in the American army there did not exceed 1,900. The number gradu- ally increased, however, and before preparations for an attempt against the city could be completed, amounted to 3,000 in all. But the troops had suffered fearfully from the ravages of small-pox, a disease until then unknown to the Americans. So terrified were the soldiers that it was almost impossible to keep them from dispersing and fleeing in disorder from the fatal pestilence. Of the 3,000 troops which had arrived, not more than 900 were fit for duty. In this state of things it was decided, in a council of war, that nothing could be effected against the city, and that the best move, therefore, would be to abandon the siege and make an immediate but orderly retreat. The next day a British man-of-war and two frigates, which had cut their way through the ice while the navigation was extremely dangerous, arrived at Quebec. One thousand marines disembarked, and with 800 of the troops of Quebec, under General Carleton, marched out about noon to give battle to the Americans. But they had already retreated, and so precipitately that all their artillery, stores and baggage, and many of their sick, were left behind and fell into the hands of the British. The prisoners received the most humane treatment from their cap- tors. The Americans retreated forty-five miles without halting, and at the Richelieu found several regiments under the command of General Thompson, waiting for them. In a few days General Thompson succeeded General Thomas in the command, the latter having died of the small-pox. The new com- mander was almost immediately superseded by General Sullivan, who arrived with several battalions and planned an imprudent expedition against the Brit- ish. The army of the enemy had increased by continual accessions from Europe to about 13,000 in number, and were stationed principally at Three Rivers, which was situated on the north side of the St. Lawrence, half way be- tween Quebec and Montreal. To surprise this post, General Sullivan, on the 7th of June, detached General Thompson with 1,800 men, who went down the river in the night. They were unable to reach Three Rivers before daylight, were discovered by the British before they reached the village, and dispersed with the loss of their general and about 200 men, who were taken prisoners.

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Early in the spring Montreal had been placed under command of Arnold, who was raised to the rank of brigadier-general. He posted one Col. Beadle with 380 men at a small fort called the Cedars, about forty-three miles above Montreal. On the advance of a force down the river which were apparently directing their movements against the Cedars, Beadle abandoned the command to Major Butterfield, and hurried for reinforcements to Montreal. On the 15th of May Butterfield, with reprehensible pusillanimity, surrendered the fort and garrison to the British. Meantime Major Sherburne had been detached from Montreal to the relief of the Cedars, with a force of 140 men, but on their way were attacked by a body of about 500 Indians, and after a spirited defense of nearly two hours, were made prisoners. During the engagement many of the Americans were killed and many wounded. Twenty others were afterwards brutally massacred, and the remainder stripped and delivered to Captain Foster, the British successor to Major Butterfield at the Cedars. Ar- nold determined to avenge these barbarities, and repaired to the fort at the head of 800 or 900 men, but was there met with a communication from Captain Foster stating that Major Sherburne and other officers had signed a cartel, and that unless he should consent to do the same, the prisoners should all be imme- diately put to death. The proposition was therefore necessarily acceded to. Nothing now remained for the American army in Canada to do except to make a rapid retreat with as little loss as possible. The post at Sorel was abandoned on the 14th of June, and in a few hours was in possession of the British. On the 15th of June Arnold led his troops from Montreal to Chambly, where the American forces were engaged in dragging their artillery and stores up the rapids. Notwithstanding the difficulty of the task, they succeeded in drawing up more than one hundred bateaux laden with stores, and in setting fire to the mills and the shipping which they could not take with them. They went out of the village on one side at the same time that the British were entering it on the other. In the mean time General Burgoyne had been detached in pur- suit of the Americans, and on the 18th of June, in the evening, reached St. Johns, only to find that the Americans had destroyed everything of value that they could not take with them, Major Bigelow and about forty men having remained to complete the demolition, until the evening of Burgoyne's arrival, when he joined the rest of the American army at Isle aux Noix. General Sullivan continued the retreat to Crown Point with such skill as to retrieve his reputation from the imputations against it because of his rashness in the early part of the campaign, while the British were vainly endeavoring to get their vessels over the rapids at Chambly.

On the 12th of July General Gates succeeded Sullivan in the command of the American forces in the north, and immediately adopted measures to restore health and discipline to the army. Crown Point was abandoned, and the forces were concentrated at Ticonderoga and on Mount Independence, on the oppo-

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History of Chittenden County, Vermont, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 15

Author: Rann, W. S. (William S.) Publication date: 1886 Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : D. Mason & Co. Number of Pages: 1054

Author: Rann, W. S. (William S.)
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : D. Mason & Co.
Number of Pages: 1054