USA > Vermont > History of eastern Vermont, from its earliest settlement to the close of the eighteeth century with a biographical chapter and appendixes > Part 5
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More effectual measures for the defence of the country were taken at the beginning of the year 1747, than had been adopted for some time previous. On the 17th of March, Governor Shirley presented to the General Court a message relative to the state of Fort Dummer, and the importance of its position, and advised that it should be garrisoned with a larger force than was ordinarily stationed there. That body having voted in accordance with this recommendation, Brigadier-Gen. Joseph Dwight, by order of the governor, requested Lieut. Dudley Bradstreet to take the command of forty men, and with them garrison Fort Dummer, in place of the guard then stationed there. The request was obeyed, and the fort with its stores was, on the 15th of April, delivered by Col. Josiah Willard into the hands of his successor. Bradstreet retained the charge of the fort for five months, at the end of which time it was again placed in the care of its former commander.t
* In a letter from Col. Josiah Willard, of Fort Dummer, written probably in the year 1746, is a recommendation that a General Commander of the forces stationed north of Massachusetts be appointed. "I am willing," said he, "to take the office under the Hon. Col. Stoddard, and run the risque of obtaining pay from the government for my trouble." It does not appear that his advice was taken .- MSS. in office Sec. State Mass. liii. 193.
+ Whether Bradstreet was incompetent to command the fort does not appear. Gen. Dwight, when informing him of his appointment, wrote, " You must take the most effectual care to avoid any surprise from the enemy, for should that fort or any of your men be lost by any misconduct in you, it will be vastly dishonour- able." He was the son of the Rev. Dudley Bradstreet, who was " minister of the
38
HISTORY OF EASTERN VERMONT.
[1747.
In the latter part of March of the same year, Governor Shirley ordered Capt. Phineas Stevens with thirty men, being a por- tion of the levies which had been raised for an expedition against Canada, to take possession of Number Four, which had been without protection for more than two months, fears being entertained that it would either be burned or taken by the enemy. This movement was most fortunate. Hardly was the fort garrisoned, when on the 4th of April it was attacked by a very large party of French and Indians, under the command of Monsieur Debeline. The siege continued during three days, and in that time thousands of balls were poured upon the fort, yet not one belonging to the garrison was killed, and two only were wounded. Debeline giving up all hopes of carrying the fortification, reluctantly withdrew. His forces, however, con- tinued to hover about the frontiers in small parties, annoying all whom they chanced to fall in with. In admiration of the skill displayed by Stevens in this defence, Sir Charles Knowles, who happened at that time to be in Boston, sent him an elegant sword, and Number Four, when incorporated as a town in 1753, was called in honor of the commodore, Charlestown. During the remainder of the war, the garrison at Number Four was supported at the expense of Massachusetts .*
An alarm having been given in the month of July, that the enemy had taken and were fortifying a position upon or near Black river, Col. William Williams, in pursuance of Gov- ernor Shirley's order, sent out a scouting party under the charge of Matthew Clesson, pilot, which went as far as Otter creek, but discovering no very significant signs of Indians, returned after an absence of twenty-one days. On the 24th of August following, as twelve men were passing down Connecti- cut river from Number Four, they were surprised and attacked by the Indians. Nathan Gould and Thomas Goodall were killed and scalped, Oliver Avery was wounded, and John Henderson captured. The rest escaped. A few days before
Church of Christ" in Groton, Massachusetts, from 1706-1712, and was born in that town, March 12, 1703 .- Butler's Hist. Groton, pp. 170, 390, 391.
The stores which were left in the fort by Col. Willard, comprised the following articles :- " 2 Carriage guns and furniture ; 5 Patteraroes, one, exclusive of ye five being burst, all which belonged to the Province stores of ye Truck Trade ; 12 Small fire arms; } barrel cannon powder; 20 lbs. of other powder; 140 lbs. of lead; A quantity of Flints ; One large iron pot."
* For a more detailed account of the "Siege of Number Four," see Belknap's Ilist. N. H., ii. 248-251, and Hoyt's Indian Wars, pp. 242-245.
39
MEASURES FOR DEFENCE.
1747-1748.]
this occurrence, Jonathan Sartwell was captured at Hinsdale. Several others in the vicinity were killed by the Indians, who, lurking in small parties, when least expected would fall upon their victims, and usually with mournful success. In the fall of the year, they burned Bridgman's fort, killed several persons, and took others prisoners. In consequence of this last act, Col. John Stoddard, on the 22d of October, sent Capt. Seth Dwight with a force of thirty-six men in quest of the enemy ; but the search was unsuccessful, it being usual with the Indians to depart carefully, and with the greatest secresy and speed, when they had accomplished their object. In place of this fort, which was in more proper terms a fortified house, a similar building was soon after constructed.
Later in the autumn several persons at Number Four were taken captive, but it was impossible to pursue the captors, as the garrison was not provided with snow-shoes, though many hun- dreds had been paid for by government. For the protection of the frontiers during the winter, a garrison of twenty men was continued at Fort Dummer, and another at Number Four. The block-houses were also better defended than they had been previously at this season of the year, and for these reasons those who remained were in greater security, and enjoyed a longer respite from the ravages of their foes, than they had done since the war was declared.
In the month of February, 1748, the Massachusetts General Court directed the number of men at Forts Massachusetts and Number Four to be increased to one hundred at each place. Of these, a suitable force was to be constantly employed "to intercept the French and Indian enemy in their marches from Wood creek and Otter creek" to the frontiers ; and was to be continued in the service until the first day of October following. The commanding officers were ordered to keep " fair journals" of their marches, and in order to excite the soldiers to vigilance and activity, the sum of one hundred pounds was ordered to be divided in equal parts among the officers and soldiers of any scouting party that might capture an Indian, or produce the scalp of one they had killed. Capt. Stevens was again appointed commander of Number Four, and Capt. Hobbs was ordered to the same post as second in office .*
* The number of officers allowed at this period to a company of fifty men, and the wages they received per month, were as follows: one captain, £4; one lieu-
40
HISTORY OF EASTERN VERMONT.
[1748.
A report which was presented to the General Court in February by Col. Willard of Fort Dummer, showed that he had again made such repairs as were necessary to the comfort of his quarters, and had added two more swivels to its munitions. During this year the post of Chaplain at the fort was held by the Rev. Andrew Gardner. * In order to afford the greatest protection possible, larger garrisons were stationed at Forts Shirley and Pelham, at Upper and Lower Ashuelot and Colrain, and at all the stations or out-garrisons where it was deemed neces- sary. The complement of men for Fort Dummer was fixed at twenty, but by the solicitations of Col. Willard was increased to thirty. The first attack by the Indians this year was made at Number Four, on the 15th of March. Twenty of them sur- prised eight of the garrison at a short distance from the fort. " Stevens sallied and engaged the enemy, and a sharp skirmish ensued." Charles Stevens was killed, Eleazer Priest captured, and Nathaniel Andross wounded. A post was immediately sent to carry the news to Fort Dummer, and warn the garrison of the danger to which they were exposed. Nothing was seen of the enemy during the next two weeks, but on the 29th of March a party of them attacked several of the men belonging to Fort Dummer, as they were working in an adjoining field. Lieut. John Serjeants, Corporal Joshua Wells, and Private Moses Cooper were slain, and Daniel Serjeants, son of the Lieut., was captured and taken to Canada. A company, under the command of Lieut. Ebenezer Alexander, were soon after dispatched to the place of action, who buried the dead they there found, but could discover no further traces of the enemy.
Much advantage having resulted on former occasions from watching the motions of the enemy, an expedition for this pur- pose was projected during the spring by some of the ranging officers, and was soon after accomplished. Preparations having been consummated, a scout of nineteen men, under the com- mand of Capt. Eleazer Melvin, marched on the 13th of May from Fort Dummer. Proceeding up Connecticut river as far as Number Four, they were there joined by Capts. Stevens and Hobbs, with a force of sixty men, and the whole party, on Sun-
tenant, £3 0s. 9d .; one clerk, £2 12s. 9d .; three sergeants, £2 128. 9d .; three corporals, £2 12s. 3d.
* A very interesting account of all that is known concerning this quaint and eccentric clergyman, may be found in that valuable ecclesiastical monograph, entitled The Worcester Pulpit, by the Rev. Elam Smalley, DD., pp. 31-42.
41
1748.]
ATTACK ON CAPT. MELVIN'S PARTY.
day the 15th, at sunset, set out from Number Four on their hazardous enterprise. They followed the "Indian road" along the banks of Black river, but sometimes would lose it in fording streams and in traversing the forests where the ground was covered with a thick growth of underbrush. On reaching the main branch of Otter creek, Capt. Melvin and his men, accord- ing to previous agreement, left the party, crossed the stream, and set out for Crown Point. Capt. Stevens and his men pur- sued their way down the east side of Otter creek.
Capt. Melvin's party having met during the two following days with many indubitable signs of the enemy, came on the 23d to a large camp inclosed by a thick fence, where they found about twelve pounds of good French bread, and a keg, which from appearances had lately contained wine. Having arrived oppo- site to Crown Point on the 25th, they perceived two canoes with Indians on the lake, and imprudently fired upon them. The garrison at Crown Point, taking the alarm, fired several guns, and sent out a party to intercept them. Melvin and his party immediately started on their return, marching for three or four miles through a deep morass. On the 26th, they saw the tracks of a hundred and fifty or two hundred of the enemy, who had evidently left that morning, having taken the course by which Melvin's party had reached Lake Champlain. Upon this they took a south direction, marched up the south branch of Otter creek, and on the 30th came upon a branch of West river. Pro- visions being very short, they began their march before sunrise on the 31st, and travelled until about half after nine o'clock in the morning. On the banks of West river, several of the com- pany being faint and weary, desired to stop and refresh them- selves. Having halted, they took off their packs and began shooting the salmon, then passing up the shoals of the river. While thus engaged, the Indians, who, unknown to Melvin, were then in pursuit of him and his party, directed probably by the report of the guns, pressed forward, and suddenly opened a fire upon the incautious scout from behind the logs and trees, about thirty feet distant. Melvin endeavored to rally his men, who had been thrown into the greatest confusion by. this unexpected attack, but was unsuccessful, for after firing one volley, they retreated, some running up, some down the river, others cross- ing to the opposite side, and two or three escaping to a neigh- boring thicket. Deserted by his men, Capt. Melvin was left alone to defend himself. Several of the Indians attempted to
42
HISTORY OF EASTERN VERMONT.
[1748.
strike him with their hatchets, others threw them at him, and one of them, or a shot, carried away his belt, and with it his bul- lets. He then ran down the river, and was followed by two Indians, who as they approached, called to him, "Come Cap- tain," "Now Captain." On pointing his musket at them, they fell back a little, upon which he ascended the bank of the river, when they again fired at him. Gaining a side hill, commanding a view of the place where the skirmish had taken place, he there sat down to watch for his men, and wait for the shout of the Indians, usually given when they have obtained a victory ; but not seeing the former, nor hearing the latter, he started for Fort Dummer, where he arrived on the 1st of June, about noon time. One of his men had come in a little before him, and eleven more arrived, though in several companies, in the course of a few hours.
In this fight, five of Melvin's party, viz. Sergt. John Hey- wood, Sergt. Isaac Taylor, Privates John Dodd, Daniel Mann and Samuel Severance were killed outright. Joseph Petty was wounded, and his comrades being unable to take him with them in their flight, left him in a hut made with boughs, situated near a spring. Before departing, they placed beside him a pint cup filled with water, and told him "to live if he could" until they should return with assistance. On the 2d, Capt. Melvin, with forty-six men, left Fort Dummer for the place where the fight had occurred. Great search was made for Petty, but he was nowhere to be found. After having buried the dead above named, with the exception of Samuel Severance, whose body was not discovered until some time after, the party returned to Fort Dummer, having been absent about three days. On the 6th, Lieuts. Alexander and Hunt, with a large force, went again to search for Petty. In one report it is stated that he was found dead; in another, that his body was never discovered. From the secresy used in concealing the bodies of their companions, it was impossible to determine the loss of the enemy. The fight is supposed by some to have taken place within the limits of the present township of New Fane, but it is more probable that the scene of the conflict was within the bounds of either Jamaica or Londonderry, the latter being the most likely, as the situa- tion corresponds best with that given by Capt. Stevens, viz. " thirty-three miles from Dummer, up West river."*
* N. H. Hist. Soc. Coll, v. 208-211.
43
AN AMBUSCADE.
1748.]
Capt. Stevens's party, who separated from Capt. Melvin's, as has been previously mentioned, passed down Otter creek a short distance, and then struck eastward in the hope of reach- ing White river. After travelling five days along one stream, which they crossed in one day thirty-five times, they reached its mouth and found it to be the "Quarterqueeche." Proceed- ing down the Connecticut on rafts and in canoes, they reached Number Four on the 30th of May after an absence of two weeks. Having remained there a few days Capt. Stevens, with a force of sixty men, started on the 2d of June for Fort Dum- mer. Setting out about sunset they arrived there the next morning about three o'clock. A number of the inhabitants of Northampton, Hadley, Hatfield, Deerfield, Northfield, and Fall Town, had already assembled to render such assistance as they could to Capt. Melvin, but on the appearance of Capt. Stevens with his men they returned to their homes. Stevens remained at Fort Dummer nearly two weeks, at the end of which time he returned in safety to Number Four with his men and a stock of provisions.
On the 16th, the day after his return, a party of fourteen men, while on their way from Hinsdale in New Hampshire to Fort Dummer, fell into an ambuscade of Indians, and Jona- than French, Joseph Richardson, and John Frost were killed. Henry Stevens, Benjamin Osgood, William Blanchard, Joel Johnson, Matthew Wyman, Moses Perkins, and William Bick- ford were made prisoners, of whom the latter died of a wound received in the encounter. Of the remaining four, one was wounded in the thigh and three escaped unhurt. On the fol- lowing day Capt. Ebenezer Alexander, who, with a party of sixteen, had been sent from Northfield to bring in the dead and wounded, discovered signs which led him to conclude that a great number of the enemy were scattered in small parties throughout that region of country.
The prisoners, six in number, were taken to Canada, whence they all returned in the course of time. The stories of five of them, which have been preserved, may not be wholly uninter- esting. Henry Stevens Jr., of Chelmsford, at the time he was taken captive, was under the command of Col. Josiah Willard at Fort Dummer. After being plundered by the Indians of everything he had of value, he was carried to Quebec, where he arrived on the 1st of July after a journey of two weeks. There he lay in prison until the 27th of August, when he was
44
HISTORY OF EASTERN VERMONT.
[1748.
put on board a French man-of-war about to sail as a flag of truce to Cape Breton. On the passage from Quebec to Cape Breton, where he arrived about the middle of September, he was very sick of a fever, and, continuing so on landing, he was placed in the hospital, where he remained until the 14th of October, when he took passage for New England, and reached his home on the 12th of November, after an absence of five months, having endured in that time many and severe hard- ships.
Benjamin Osgood of Billerica, and William Blanchard of Dunstable, both belonging to the garrison at Ashuelot, under the command of Capt. Josiah Willard Jr., were taken as cap- tives to Canada, and after remaining there several months were permitted to return under a flag of truce. They reached their homes on the 15th of October, but the former died soon after, from causes superinduced by the trials he had undergone. Joel Johnson, of Woburn, who in the month of March previous had been impressed as a soldier, also belonged to the garrison at Ashuelot. When captured he was stripped of most of his ap- parel, deprived of his gun, and when he arrived in Canada " suffered great abuse by the Indians there in running the gauntlet .* He was released in September, and reached his home in the beginning of the following month, feeble, ema- ciated, and unfit for active labor. Matthew Wyman, of the
An incident in the life of General Stark furnishes an explanation of the term used in the text. It will be necessary to premise that John Stark and Amos Eastman had, on the 28th of April, 1752, been taken prisoners by a party of St. Francis Indians, while hunting along the banks of Baker's river in Rumney, New Hampshire. The narrative then proceeds: "On the 9th of June, the party returned to St. Francis, where Stark rejoined his companion Eastman. They were compelled to undergo what is called the ceremony of running the gauntlet ; a use of that term which modern effeminacy would hardly admit. It was the universal practice of the North American Indians to compel their captives to pass through the young warriors of the tribe, ranged in two lines, each furnished with a rod, and when highly exasperated with deadly weapons-and to strike the prisoners as they passed. In the latter case, the captive was frequently killed before he could reach the council house, at which the two lines of Indians ter- minated. On the present occasion, Eastman was severely whipped as he passed through the lines; Stark, more athletic and adroit, and better comprehending the Indian character, snatched a club from the nearest Indian, laid about him to the right and left, scattering the Indians before him, and escaped with scarcely a blow ; greatly to the delight of the old men of the tribe, who sat at some distance witnessing the scene, and enjoying the confusion of their young warriors."-Eve- rett's Life of Stark, in Sparks's Library of American Biography, i. 9, 10; Memoir of General Stark, by his Son, pp. 174, 175.
45
FIGHT BETWEEN HOBBS AND SACKETT.
1748.]
same garrison, after being relieved of his gun and hat, was treated in the same manner as his companions in affliction. Being exchanged he sailed for Boston, which port he reached in October, in company with Capt. Britt of Newbury, and more than forty other prisoners of war.
While the condition of the frontiers was very unsafe, owing to the virulence of Indian enmity, and at a time when wise counsel and discretionate zeal were most needed, Col. John Stoddard, of Northampton, who had been intrusted with the general superintendence of the defence of this portion of the country, and who for many years, by the faithful discharge of his various duties in public life, had well merited the praises he received, died while attending the General Court at Boston.
Col. Israel Williams of Hatfield, who had acted as Commis- sary under him, was chosen his successor ; and Major Elijah Williams of Deerfield, was appointed Commissary under John Wheelwright, the Commissary-General .*
Soon after Col. Williams had entered upon the duties of his arduous office, Capt. Humphrey Hobbs, with forty men, was ordered from Number Four to Fort Shirley, in Heath, one of the forts of the Massachusetts cordon. Their route lay through the woods, and the march was made for two days without any interruptions save those occasioned by natural obstructions. On Sunday, the 26th of June, having travelled six miles, they halted at a place about twelve miles north-west of Fort Dummer, in the precincts of what is now the town of Marl- borough. A large body of Indians who had discovered Hobbs's trail had made a rapid march, in order to cut him off. They were commanded by a resolute chief named Sackett, said to have been a half-blood, a descendant of a captive taken at Westfield, Massachusetts. Although Hobbs was not aware of the pursuit of the enemy, he had circumspectly posted a guard on his trail, and his men having spread themselves over a low piece of ground, covered with alders intermixed with large trees, and watered by a rivulet, had prepared their dinner, and were regaling themselves at their packs. While in this situa- tion, the rear guards were driven in from their posts, which was the first intimation given of the nearness of the enemy. With- out knowing the strength of his adversaries, Capt. Hobbs
* Hoyt's Indian Wars, p. 249.
46
HISTORY OF EASTERN VERMONT.
[1748.
instantly formed his men for action, each one, by his advice, selecting a tree as a cover.
Trusting in the superiority of their numbers and confident of success, the enemy rushed forward with shouts, but Hobbs's well directed fire, by which several were killed, checked their impetuosity and caused them to retreat for shelter behind the trees and brush. The action now became warm, and a severe conflict followed between sharpshooters. The two commanders had been known to each other in time of peace, and both bore the character of intrepidity. Sackett, who could speak English, frequently called upon Hobbs in the tones of a Stentor, to sur- render, and threatened, in case of refusal, to destroy his men with the tomahawk. Hobbs, with a voice equally sonorous, returned the defiance as often as given, and urged his antago- nist to put his threat into execution. The action continued for four hours, Hobbs's party displaying throughout the most con- summate skill and prudence, and neither side withdrawing an inch from its original situation. The Indians not unfrequently approached the line of their adversaries, but were as often driven back to their first position by the well directed fire of the sharp-sighted marksmen. Finding Hobbs determined on resistance, and that his own men had suffered severely in the struggle, Sackett finally ordered a retreat, and left his opponent master of a well fought field.
Hobbs's men were so well protected, that only three, Ebene- zer Mitchel, Eli Scott, and Samuel Gunn, were killed in the con- flict. Of the remainder, Daniel Mckinney of Wrentham, Massachusetts, had his thigh broken by a ball from the enemy, and was thereby disabled for life. Samuel Graves Jr. of Sunderland, Massachusetts, a lad seventeen years of age, " behaved with good resolution and courage, and well acquitted himself in his place, and stood his ground till he was unfortu- nately shot by a ball from the Indian enemy, which struck him near the middle of his forehead, went through part of his head and came out of the left side, almost over his ear, bringing with it almost two spoonfuls of his brains, by which unhappy accident his life was in very great danger and almost despaired of." "But through divine undeserved goodness," in the words of his memorial, " his life is continued, but under great diffi- culty, by reason of fits of the falling sickness, which render him incapable of business." Nathan Walker, of Sudbury,
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