History of Chittenden County, Vermont, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 16

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 16

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HISTORY OF CHITTENDEN COUNTY.

site side of the lake. A hospital for the sick and wounded was established at Fort George, and received those who were afflicted with the small-pox. The army soon began to mend in every way, and greatly to increase in numbers.

In the earlier pages of this chapter we have described the great disparity which existed between the advantages of the Americans and of the British. The work of preparing for the campaign of 1776 went on among the British with unexpected rapidity. An attempt was made to haul the large vessels by land round the portage of the Richelieu ; but after they had moved a hundred paces the project was abandoned, as too slow and costly, and they were taken to pieces, to be re-constructed at St. Johns. The Inflexible, which was three- masted and carried eighteen twelve-pounders and ten smaller guns, was rebuilt in twenty-eight days after its keel was laid. A large number of boats were dragged up entire, and by the Ist of October the enemy was ready to enter the lake with their fleet. This consisted of the Inflexible, the Maria, which carried fourteen six-pounders, the Carleton, with twelve six-pounders, the Thunderer, a flat-bottomed radeau with six twenty-pounders, six twelve- pounders and two howitzers, a number of gondolas carrying seven nine-pound- ers, twenty gun-boats, with each one brass field-piece, from nine to twenty-four pounders, and some with howitzers, and four long-boats, with a carriage gun each, serving as tenders. These were to be followed by a sufficient number of vessels and boats for the transportation of the royal army with its stores, artil- lery, baggage and provisions. About seven hundred sailors and the best young naval officers were picked from the ships of war and transports to man and command the fleet. Until October Arnold had roamed about the lake without check ; on the 4th of that month Carleton began a cautious advance, and on the 10th all his fleet was in motion. Arnold, whose courage exceeded his judgment, moored his squadron in the bay between Valcour Island and the mainland - a choice of a station which met the warm approval of General Gates, but which proved to be absurd and dangerous by leaving the great channel of the lake undisputed to the enemy. On the morning of the 11th the British fleet, favored by a northwest wind, passed between Grand and Val- cour Islands, and came into Arnold's rear. They were sensible of their supe- rior strength, having more than twice his weight of metal, twice as many fighting vessels, and skilled seamen and officers against landsmen. Arnold soon awoke to the hopelessness of his position, but not until the opportunity of seeking a more advantageous stand had passed. His audacity did not fail him, however, and he formed a line at anchor from the island to the mainland, from which he advanced in the schooner Royal Savage, with the support of his row-galleys. The wind was now in his favor, and kept off the Inflexible; but the Carleton, sustained by the artillery boats, was able to get into action. One of the Brit- ish artillery boats was sunk, but the men were saved. The galleys were driven back, and the Royal Savage, with its masts and rigging made useless, drifted to

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the leeward and was stranded on Valcour Island, whence Arnold and his crew escaped to the Congress. Meantime the Carleton and the artillery boats beat up against the wind and came within musket-shot of the American line. The Carleton then opened a terrible fire from both sides ; injured the yards and mainmast of the Congress, hulled her twelve times, and hit her seven times between wind and water. The gondola New York lost all her officers except her captain. General Waterbury, in command of the galley Washington, had all his officers except one lieutenant and a captain of marines either killed or wounded, and the main-mast of the galley shot through so as to be made use- less. One of their gondolas was sunk. One or two of the British artillery boats also went down. The Carleton, owing to the wind, could not be suc- cored, and suffered severely ; its captain, Dacres, was felled to the deck by a blow from an unknown quarter; a lieutenant of marines, named Brown, lost an arm ; and a lad of nineteen years, by the name of Pellew, succeeded to the command, and resolutely carried on the fight to prevent Arnold's escape. Shortly before dark, when sixty or more of the Americans and forty or more of the British had been disabled by death or wounds, the artillery boats, in obedience to the recall, towed the Carleton out of gun-shot. The British fleet anchored about eight o'clock in the evening, with their left wing near the main- land and the right near Valcour Island, while several armed boats were stationed still farther to the right, to guard the channel between Valcour and Grand Isl- ands. They now rested in the confidence that by the dawn of the next morn- ing all the American vessels must be captured or destroyed. Arnold saw but one chance of escape, and that one was most desperate. They must run the blockade. Nature favored them in this attempt. It was the night of the new moon, and the darkness was almost impenetrable. An hour or two before mid- night they silently hoisted anchor, and having a fair wind, stole unobserved through the British fleet, close to its left wing; Wigglesworth, commander of the forces in the Trumbull, leading the retreat, followed first by the gondolas and small vessels, then by Waterbury in the Washington, and last of all, Arnold in the Congress. When day disclosed this marvelous escape, Carleton could not conceal his anger. He immediately set out in pursuit of the fugitives, ad- vancing slowly against a southerly breeze, and in the morning of the 13th dis- covered them near the Island of Four Winds ; before one o'clock he was near enough to begin a cannonade. An hour later the wind shifted to the north ; the Washington was overtaken near Split Rock, on the west side of the lake, and was compelled to strike. Arnold, in the Congress, with four gondolas, kept up a running fight of nearly five hours, giving a number of the vessels an op- portunity to escape to Ticonderoga, and was finally driven into a small creek in Panton, where he set fire to that part of the fleet which was left him, with all colors flying. He was himself the last to go on shore, where he coolly formed his crews and, in sight of the English ships, marched off in perfect

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order. The charred remains of Arnold's vessels were until recently to be seen on the beach in Panton.

On the 14th Carleton landed at Crown Point, which the Americans had a few days before abandoned after dismantling the fort and destroying what they could not carry away. He was now master of the lake, and was within two hours' sail of Ticonderoga, which was feebly garrisoned by not more than 3,000 effective men, with about 2,500 more at Mount Independence. Had he im- mediately invested the place, it must have soon surrendered for lack of pro- visions. Riedesel, who joined him on the 22d, went near enough to the fort to view it from a hill, and informed Carleton that it could easily be taken. But that general at once announced his intention of taking the army back into winter quarters in Canada. Not knowing that he was already superseded by Burgoyne, he reserved that conquest for the opening of his next campaign. He waited for intelligence from Howe; and on the 27th learned of the battle on Long Island. His army was in motion on the next day, and on the 3d 'of November his rear-guard abandoned Crown Point. His retreat was regarded by both the British and Americans as a shameful dereliction of duty. Three days later there was not even a barrel of flour in Ticonderoga. The garrison was commanded by Colonel Wayne, and were suffering terribly. The sick were numerous, and daily perishing. They were all suffering for want of clothing.

It was the general opinion among the British that the campaign of 1777 would end the war in their favor. After the successes of their forces on Lake Champlain during the previous summer, they thought themselves easy masters of the communication between Canada and New York. Flushed with confi- dence of military glory, Carleton employed the winter, which was unusually mild, in preparations. In the spring he attempted to engage the services of the Six Nations and other large bodies of Indians. "Wretched colonies," said he, " if these wild souls are indulged in war." In attempting to secure the Mohawks to the side of the British, their chief, Joseph Brant, urged them to retreat to lands more remote from American settlements ; while General Gates endeavored to counteract his influence in a speech to the council of the Six Nations. He told them that they would be no longer a people if they should quit their ancient habitations; that before many moons should pass away the pride of England would be laid low, and concluded with the following words : " Brothers of the Six Nations: The Americans well know your great fame and power as warriors ; the only reason why they did not ask your help against the cruelty of the king was, that they thought it ungenerous to desire you to suffer in a quarrel in which you had no concern. Brothers: treasure all I have now said in your hearts ; for the day will come when you will hold my memory in veneration for the good advice contained in this speech."

General Schuyler placed St. Clair in command of the forces at Ticonderoga

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while he repaired to Fort Edward for reinforcements and supplies. St. Clair arrived at Ticonderoga on the 12th day of May, and five days later received a visit from Schuyler. By a strange and well-nigh fatal oversight, Mount Defi- ance, which was the outlet of Lake George and the "key of the position," was left unoccupied. "From the old French intrenchments to the southeastern works on the Vermont side, the wretchedly planned and unfinished defenses extended more than two miles and a half; and from end to end of the strag- gling lines and misplaced block-houses there was no spot which could be held against a superior force." Schuyler seemed to fear popular clamor; and to avoid the responsibility of giving definite instructions returned to Albany and began sending supplies to Ticonderoga.

Lieutenant-General Burgoyne arrived at Quebec on the 6th of May with dispatches rebuking Carleton for his pusillanimous abandonment of Crown Point in the previous campaign, and ordering him to make over the command to his inferior officer. He obeyed with haughty reluctance. Fifteen hundred horses and five hundred carts were at once contracted for; and six weeks' sup- plies for the army were sent ahead upon the line of communication on the Sorel. Sir William Howe received prompt notification that Burgoyne, who had nearly all the force that he had required, would open the communication between Canada and New York. On the 15th of June Burgoyne advanced from St. Johns, so confident of victory that by his advice many officers' wives attended their husbands for a pleasant trip to New York. The first blood was shed by the Indians, who, on the 20th, brought in ten scalps and as many prisoners. The next day Burgoyne met about four hundred Iroquois, Algonkin, and Ot- tawa Indians on Willsborough Point, on a tract of land which the king had granted to a British sergeant of the previous war for military services, and which is watered by the Bouquet River, to complete the compact for savage assistance. In a proclamation issued at Crown Point a few days later the British general said : "Let not the people consider their distance from my camp; I have but to give stretch to the Indian forces under my direction, and they amount to thousands, to overtake the hardened enemies of Great Britain. If the frenzy of hostility should remain, I trust I shall stand acquitted in the eyes of God and man in executing the vengeance of the State against the willful outcasts." On the Ist of July the invading army moved up the lake and en- camped at evening before Ticonderoga. They then numbered, exclusive of Indians, 3,724 British, 3,016 Germans, and 250 provincials, besides 473 skilled artillerists with the most complete outfit in artillery ever provided such an army. On the 3d, even while Riedesel was planning the investment of Mount Independence, one of St. Clair's aids assured Washington of the total defeat of the enemy. On the following day Phillips took the mills near the outlet of Lake George, and cut off Ticonderoga from the south. The next night a party of infantry took possession of Mount Defiance ; and in another day would have

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HISTORY OF CHITTENDEN COUNTY.

their batteries ready to play on both forts, while Riedesel would complete the investment of Mount Independence. St. Clair now awoke to his desperate situ -. ation and called a council of war, which determined upon an immediate retreat. The garrison consisted of less than 2,500 effective men, with scarcely more bay -. onets than would be needed by one-tenth of that number. That night one regi- ment, with all the sick and a quantity of stores, was sent to Whitehall in boats, while the rest of the garrison, under St. Clair, marched with some confusion along the military road to Hubbardton. The next morning dawned upon the British forces in possession of the forts. They found plentiful stores of ammu- nition, salt meat, flour and herds of oxen, more than seventy cannon, and a large number of tents. Fraser, with twenty companies of English grenadiers, followed by Riedesel's infantry and reserve corps, was dispatched in pursuit of St. Clair ; while, as soon as a passage could be cut through the bridge that barred the channel between Ticonderoga and Mount Independence, Burgoyne with the rest of his forces took the fleet after the detachment that had fled by water. The Americans were hard pressed, and were obliged to burn three of their vessels and abandon two others and the fort at Whitehall, thus destroying or giving up to the enemy everything that they had taken from Ticonderoga.

On the night of the 6th, the party under Fraser made their bivouac about seventeen miles from the lake, with Riedesel three miles to the rear. Both detachments began to move at three o'clock the next morning, and at five, led by the Indians, who had discovered the rear guard of St. Clair's army at Hub- bardton, the British troops advanced. Warner, aided by Colonel Eben Francis. and his New Hampshire regiment, turned on the enemy to their great surprise and began a vigorous attack. The issue had assumed a dubious aspect for the British, whose strength was nearly spent, when the vanguard under Riedesel, and a company of Yagers came up, "their music playing, the men singing a battle-hymn." Francis charged three times at the head of his regiment, and held the enemy in check until he fell. On Riedesel's approach, his men re- treated toward the south. The loss of the Americans was slight, though dur- ing the day the British took more than 200 stragglers, wounded men and sick. Of the pursuing party, the Brunswickers lost twenty-two killed and wounded, and the British, 155. Owing to this heavy loss, the defeat of the American forces had the effect of a victory ; the pursuit was relinquished, and St. Clair, at the head of 2,000 continental troops, marched unmolested to Fort Edward.

Burgoyne was conscious of the savage ferocity of Indian warfare, but did not falter, nevertheless, in his determination to use his barbarous allies as "in- struments of terror." Every day they brought in scalps as well as prisoners. On the 27th of July a young woman by the name of Jane McCrea, betrothed to a loyalist in the service of the British, and confident in the protection of British arms, was riding from Fort Edward to the British camp at Sandy Hill, escorted by two Indians, who had been promised a reward on the safe arrival

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of the party at their destination. The Indians quarreled on the way about the reward, and when about half a mile from Fort Edward one of them buried his tomahawk in her skull. This barbarous murder so aroused the indignation of the British and Americans alike, that Burgoyne sought out the assassin and threatened to visit him with death. But he was made to know that the execu- tion of this threat would be followed by the total defection of the Indians; and he therefore relented.

Meantime General Schuyler was evincing by his timorous idleness his total unfitness for a place to which his social position, instead of his military abilities, had raised him. He could not restore confidence to his disaffected troops, nor rouse the people to co-operation with him against the invading army. On the 22d, long before Burgoyne had manifested a disposition to advance, he retreated to a point four miles below Fort Edward. At the same time that he was thus proving his cowardice, he was boasting of his prowess. On the 24th he wrote to the New York Council of Safety : "I mean to dispute every inch of ground with Burgoyne, and retard his descent as long as possible ; " and before the ex- piration of the week, without having made a single stand against the enemy, he retreated to Saratoga. Notwithstanding the evident necessity of the assist- ance of New England, he repeatedly insulted the government of Vermont, and gave leave for one-half of the militia of New England to go home at once, and the rest to follow in three weeks. He then distressed Washington by his. nonsensical importunity in soliciting aid. Alarmed at this want of fortitude, Washington admonished Schuyler to keep up his courage ; at the same time sending on Arnold and Lincoln, and another brigade of continental troops un- der Glover. Yet he continued to despond, and on the 14th of August moved his army to the first island in the mouth of the Mohawk River, and continued his lamentations in this secure retreat.

On the 15th of July the Committee of Safety of Vermont assembled at Man- chester, and agreed to raise all the men in their power to check the advance of the enemy on Fort Edward. At the same time they urgently solicited the co-operation of New Hampshire and Massachusetts. In response, the Legis- lature of New Hampshire, after forming their militia in two brigades, placed one under the command of General William Whipple, and the other under General John Stark. One-fourth of Stark's brigade and a part of Whipple's were then dispatched under General Stark to aid in checking the progress of the enemy. This brave officer had done good service in the French war and at the Battle of Bunker Hill, but had left the Continental army because he con- sidered that Congress had failed to give him a deserved promotion, and ac- cepted the present command only on condition that he should serve under a. Continental officer, or not, as he should choose. As the saving of time was of the utmost importance, the Assembly of New Hampshire complied with his con- ditional offer. He therefore pushed speedily forward with about 800 men and

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joined the Vermont troops, numbering about 600 more, under Col. Seth War- ner, at Manchester, where he was placed in command of both detachments. The timidity of General Schuyler impelled him to order Stark to join him with his forces, but Stark believed that the most effectual way of checking the ad- vance of the enemy was to hang upon his rear and embarrass him by cutting off his supplies from that quarter. On the complaint of Schuyler Congress passed a vote of censure on the insubordination of General Stark, and required the Assembly of New Hampshire to enforce his compliance with the same rules which governed the conduct of other officers of his rank from the militia. Nearly at the same time that Congress was thus employed, the object of their censure, who had written a conciliatory though independent letter to Schuyler, was ren- dering the cause of liberty a service which should evoke from the same Con- gress a vote of thanks, and secure his promotion to the rank of brigadier-gen- eral in the army of the United States. The difficulty which Burgoyne had in transporting the necessary military stores and bateaux from Lake George to the first navigable part of the Hudson River induced him to attempt the replen- ishment of his own stores at the expense of the Americans. Receiving intelli- gence that many of the inhabitants of Bennington and vicinity were loyal to the king, and that the place, which was guarded only by the militia, was rich in provisions, he determined to effect its capture and secure the stores to his own army. He therefore sent a detachment of about 500 regular German troops, a number of Canadians and more than 100 Indians, with two light pieces of ar- tillery, under command of Colonel Baum. Another detachment was posted upon the east bank of the Hudson, opposite to Saratoga, and still another under Col. Breymann at Battenkill, to facilitate the operations of Baum. On the 12th of August Baum moved toward Bennington and reached Cambridge, twelve miles northwest from Bennington, that night. Three days before, Stark had arrived at Bennington with his whole force excepting Warner's regiment, which remained at Manchester under command of Major Samuel Safford. On the 13th, learning that a party of Indians had been seen at Cambridge, Stark dis- patched Lieut. Col. Gregg with 200 men to check their advance, but he was soon authoritatively informed that the Indians were followed by a large body of troops and a train of artillery. He rallied his forces, called for aid upon the neighboring militia, and sent for Major Safford with Warner's regiment. The next morning he started for Cambridge with his whole force, and had gone but five or six miles when he met Gregg retreating before the British, who were only a mile in his rear. Stark halted and drew up his men in order of battle. Baum also halted, and seeing that the Americans were too strong to be safely attacked with his present force, began to intrench himself upon a commanding piece of ground, and dispatched an express to Col. Breymann to hasten to his support. Inclement weather prevented a general engagement on the 15th, though a number of skirmishes occurred, all resulting favorably for the Ameri-

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cans. At sunrise on the 16th Stark concerted with all his officers the plan for the day. Small bands of men in shirt-sleeves, and carrying fowling pieces without bayonets, stole behind the camp of Baum, who mistook them for inhabitants of the neighborhood seeking protection, and did not inquire into their proceed- ings. In this way 500 men under Nichols and Herrick united in their rear. Stark, with 200 or 300 men, took the front, and while the British officer's atten- tion was arrested by a feint, two hundred more posted themselves on his right. At three o'clock he was vigorously attacked on every side. The Indians im- mediately fled, leaving their grand chief and others on the field. According to the report of the Germans themselves, the New England sharpshooters ran up to within eight yards of the loaded cannon and fired upon the cannoneers. Af- ter about two hours of desperate fighting the firing from the German dragoons slackened from scarcity of ammunition, and the Americans scaled the breast- work and fought them hand to hand. Baum placed himself at the head of the dragoons and ordered them to force a way in conjunction with the infantry, whose bayonets were already fixed, but he was mortally wounded and his troops surrendered. The prisoners were sent off under a guard to Bennington, and Stark, unaware of danger, permitted his men to scatter in search of food and plunder. Just then the battalion of Breymann, which had been thirty hours in marching twenty-four miles, came up, and before Stark could get his forces in order began the attack. Warner now first brought his regiment of 150 men into the action, at a juncture when the forces under Stark were slowly, and in or- der, giving ground. The Americans renewed the attack with resistless energy, and pressed the fight until sunset, when Breymann, abandoning his artillery and most of his wounded men, ordered a retreat. His fleeing forces were pursued until dark, those who escaped being indebted to the darkness for their safety. During the day the Americans lost less than thirty killed, and about forty wounded, while the loss of the enemy was estimated at fully twice as many, besides at least 692 prisoners, of whom more than 400 were Germans. This brilliant and eventful victory of undisciplined militia over veteran troops, the spontaneous achievement of the farmers of Vermont, New Hampshire and Western Massachusetts, carried hope and enthusiasm to the dispirited friends of American liberty, and spread alarm and consternation to the arrogant regi- ments that made up the army of Burgoyne ..

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History of Chittenden County, Vermont, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 16

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