"Secondly: General Schuyler, out of personal respect for Sir John, and from a regard to his rank, consents that Sir John shall retain for his own use a complete set of armor, and as much powder as may be sufficient for his domestic purposes.
"Thirdly: That Sir John Johnson shall remain upon his parole of honour in any part of Tryon County which he may choose, to the eastward of the district of —— unless it should appear necessary to the Honourable the Continental Congress to remove him to some other part of this, or any other Colony; in which case he is immediately to comply with such orders as they may think proper to give for that purpose.
"Fourthly: That the Scotch inhabitants of the said County shall, without any kind of exception, immediately deliver up all arms in their possession, of what kind soever they may be; and that they shall each solemnly promise that they will not at any time hereafter, during the continuance of this unhappy contest, take up arms without the permission of the Continental Congress, or of their general officers;—and for the more faithful performance of this article, the General insists that they shall immediately deliver up to him six hostages of his own nomination.
"Fifthly: That such of the other inhabitants of Tryon County as have avowed themselves averse to the measures of the United Colonies, shall also deliver up their arms, of what kind soever they may be, and enter into the like engagement as is stipulated in the preceding article, both with respect to their future conduct and the number of hostages.
"Sixthly: That all blankets, strouds, and other Indian articles belonging to the Crown, and intended as presents to the Indians, shall be delivered up to a commissary appointed by General Schuyler, in the presence of three or more of the Mohawk chiefs, in order that the same may be dispensed amongst the Indians, for the purpose of cementing the ancient friendship between them and their brethren of the United Colonies, for which sole purpose they ought to have been furnished.
"Seventhly: If Sir John Johnson, and the people referred to in the aforegoing articles, shall justly abide by, and perform what is thereby required of them, the General, in behalf of the Continental Congress, doth promise and engage, that neither Sir John Johnson nor any of those people shall be molested by any of the other inhabitants of the said County, or by any of the inhabitants of the thirteen United Colonies; but that, on the contrary, they will be protected in the quiet and peaceable enjoyment of their property;—the sole intent of this treaty being to prevent the horrid effects of a civil and intestine war betwixt those who ought to be brethren. That all the arms which shall be delivered up in consequence of the preceding articles shall be valued by sworn appraisers. That if the Continental Congress should have occasion for them, they may be taken. If not, they will be delivered to the respective proprietors when this unhappy contest shall be at an end."
In the course of the interview. Sir John assured General Schuyler that the Indians would support him, and that numbers of them were already at Johnson Hall for that purpose. He was assured, in return, that though averse to the shedding of blood, if the proffered terms were not acceded to, force would be opposed to force without distinction of persons, and that the consequences of resistance would be of the most serious description. In conclusion, Sir John begged until the evening of the following day to consider of the propositions, which request was granted, and the Baronet took his leave.
In about an hour after his departure, Abraham, and another of the Mohawks, made their appearance at General Schuyler's quarters. On being informed of what Sir John had said respecting the Indians being in arms at the Hall for his defence, Abraham pronounced the story untrue, and repeated his assurances that the Mohawks would interfere in no other way than as mediators. The General replied that he hoped they would not, but he at the same time assured them with emphasis, that if they should do so, he should not hesitate a moment in destroying every one who opposed him in arms.
On the following day, (the 18th,) General Schuyler moved forward to Canghnawaga, four miles from Johnstown, where he was joined by Colonel Herkimer and the Tryon County militia. At about 6 o'clock in the afternoon Sir John's answer to the terms proposed to him was received, as follows:—
"Terms proposed by Sir John Johnson, Baronet, and the people of Kingsborough and the adjacent neighborhood, to the Honorable Philip Schuyler, Esq. Major General in the army of the thirteen United Colonies, and commanding in the New-York Department.
"First: That Sir John Johnson and the rest of the gentlemen expect that all such arms of every kind as are their own property may remain in their possession; all the other arms shall be delivered up to such person or persons as may be appointed for that purpose; as to military stores belonging to the Crown, Sir John has not any.
"Secondly: Answered in the first.
"Thirdly: Sir John expects that he will not be confined to any certain County, but be at liberty to go where he pleases.
"Fourthly: The Scotch inhabitants will deliver up their arms of what kind soever they may be, and they will each solemnly promise that they will not at any time hereafter, during the continuance of this unhappy contest, take up arms without the permission of the Continental Congress or of their general officers. Hostages they are not in a capacity to give—no one man having command over another, or power sufficient to deliver such. Therefore this part of the article to be passed over, or the whole included—women and children to be required, being a requisition so inhuman as we hope the General will dispense with.
"Fifthly: Answered in the fourth,
"Sixthly: Sir John has not any blankets, strouds, or other presents, intended for the Indians.
"Seventhly: If the above proposals are agreed to and signed by the General, Sir John and the people referred to will rely on the assurances of protection given by the General.
"[Signed] John Johnson, Allan McDonell. "To the Hon. Philip Schuyler, Major-general"
This answer was in all respects unsatisfactory, as will appear by the annexed letter from General Schuyler in reply:—
"General Schuyler to Sir John Johnson, Baronet.
Caughnawaga, Jan. 18th, 8 o'clock, P. M., 1776.
"Gentlemen,
"Messrs. Adams and McDonell have delivered me your answer to my proposals of yesterday's date. The least attention to the articles I offered, when compared with yours, must convince you that you omitted replies to several of them, and consequently that what you have sent me is very imperfect, and also unsatisfactory. I waive pointing out some of the inconsistencies in your proposals, as the whole are exceptionable excepting the last.
"I must therefore obey my orders, and again repeat, that, in the execution of them, I shall strictly abide by the laws of humanity; at the same time assuring you, that if the least resistance is made, I will not answer for the consequences, which may be of a nature the most dreadful.
"If Lady Johnson is at Johnson Hall, I wish she would retire, (and therefore enclose a passport,) as I shall march my troops to that place without delay.
"You may, however, still have time to reconsider the matter, and for that purpose I give you until 12 o'clock this night—after which I shall receive no proposals; and I have sent you Mr. Robert Yates, Mr. Glen, and Mr. Duer, to receive the ultimate proposals you have to make. This condescension I make from no other motive than to prevent the effusion of blood, so far as it can be effected without risking the safety of the County, or being guilty of a breach of the positive orders I have received from the Honorable Continental Congress.
"I am, Gentlemen, With due respect, Your humble Servant, Ph. Schuyler. "To Sir John Johnson and Mr. Allan McDonell."
Immediately after the preceding letter had been despatched to the Hall, the sachems of the Lower Castle, with all their warriors and several from the Upper Castle, called upon General Schuyler, having come to his quarters directly from the residence of the Baronet. They informed the General that Sir John had related to them the substance of the terms of surrender that had been proposed. Sir John, they said, had declared to them that all he desired was protection for his family and friends from insult and the outrages of riotous people, and protested that he had no unfriendly intentions against the country. The Indians therefore begged the General to accept the terms as offered by Sir John. The General told the chiefs that he could not accept of those terms, and pointed out the objections. He likewise informed them of the tenor of the letter he had just transmitted to the Hall. The Indians were apparently contented with those reasons and with the course adopted, but begged that, should the answer of Sir John be still unsatisfactory, the General would give him until 4 o'clock in the morning, that they might have time to go and "shake his head," as they expressed it, "and bring him to his senses." They likewise begged it as an additional favor, that General Schuyler would not remove Sir John out of the country. They apologized for the threats of their own warriors, alleging that it was attributable to the circumstance of their not being present at the treaty of Albany; and again repeated the assurance that they would never take arms against the Colonies. In reply. General Schuyler complimented the Indians for their pacific intentions, and informed them that he should accede to their request, although the conduct of Sir John had been so censurable that he should be justified in holding him a close prisoner. His reasons for granting the request, the General told them, were two-fold:—first, to show the love and affection of the Americans for the Indians, and to convince them that they could obtain, by asking as a favor, that which they could not obtain by demanding as a right. Secondly, that by leaving Sir John amongst them, they might, by their example and advice, induce him to alter his conduct.
The extension of the time until 4 o'clock was unnecessary however, the following answer from Sir John having been received at 12 o'clock, at midnight:—
"Answers to the terms proposed by the Honorable Philip Schuyler, Esq. Major-general in the army of the thirteen United Colonies, and commanding in the New-York Department, to Sir John Johnson, Baronet, the inhabitants of Kingsborough, and the neighborhood adjacent.
"First and second articles agreed to, except a few favorite family arms.
"Third: Sir John Johnson having given his parole of honor not to take up arms against America, and conceiving the design of this military operation to be with no other view than that of removing the jealousies of which his countrymen are unhappily and unjustly inspired with against him, can by no means think of submitting to this article in its full latitude, though, for the sake of preserving peace and removing any suspicions of undue influence, he consents not to go to the westward of the German Flats and Kingsland Districts. To every other part of the continent to the southward of this County, he expects the privilege of going.
"Fourthly: Agreed to, excepting that part of the article which respects the giving hostages. After the Scotch inhabitants have surrendered arms, the General may take any six prisoners from amongst them as he chooses, without resistance. They expect, however, that the prisoners so taken, will be maintained agreeable to their respective ranks, and that they may have the privilege of going to any part of the province of New Jersey or Pennsylvania, which the General, or the Continental Congress may appoint. They likewise expect, from the General's humanity, that provision will be made for the maintenance of the prisoner's wives and children, agreeable to their respective situations in life. Yet, for the sake of promoting the harmony of the country, they will not break off this treaty merely on that account, provided the General thinks he cannot exert a discretionary power in this matter; in which case they rely upon the General's influence with the Continental Congress, which they cannot persuade themselves will be inattentive to the voice of humanity, or to the feelings of parents who may be torn from their families. Those to whose lot it may fall to be taken prisoners, it is expected will be allowed a few days to settle their business, and, if gentlemen, to wear their side arms.
"Fifth: Neither Sir John Johnson nor the Scotch gentlemen, can make any engagement for any other persons than those over whom they may have influence. Neither can they possibly know the names of all such persons who have shown themselves averse to the measures of the United Colonies. They give their word and honor, that, so far as depends on them, the inhabitants shall give up their arms, and enter into the like engagement with the Scotch inhabitants. The General has it more in his power to discover those who are obnoxious, and to make as many as he pleases prisoners. Neither shall they adopt the quarrel of any such persons as their own.
"Sixth: Sir John gives his word of honor that he has no blankets, strouds, or other presents, belonging to the Crown, intended for the Indians; and therefore this requisition cannot be complied with.
"Seventh: If the above proposals are agreed to, and signed by the General, Sir John and the people referred to will rely on the assurances of protection given by the General. But as it will be impossible for the arms to be collected till Saturday next at twelve o'clock, all the men referred to in the above articles will be then paraded in Johnstown, and ground their arms in the presence of such troops as the General may appoint.
"[Signed.] John Johnson, Allan McDonell. "Johnson Hall, January 18th, 1776."
The Indians were yet present at the quarters of General Schuyler when this despatch was received from Sir John, and, on being informed that matters were likely to terminate amicably, they retired with warm expressions of gratification. The following letter was thereupon despatched to the Hall:—
"General Schuyler to Sir John Johnson.
Caughnawaga, January 19, 1776.
"General Schuyler's feelings as a gentleman induce him to consent that Sir John Johnson may retain the few favorite family arms—he making a list of them.
"The General will also consent that Sir John Johnson may go as far to the westward as the German Flats and Kingsland Districts in this County, and to every other part of this Colony to the Southward and Eastward of said Districts, provided he does not go into any seaport town. The General, however, believes, that if Sir John's private business should require his going to any of the other ancient English Colonies, he will be permitted the indulgence by applying to Congress for leave.
"The General will take six of the Scotch inhabitants prisoners, since they prefer it to going as hostages. It has been the invariable rule of Congress, and that of all its officers, to treat prisoners with the greatest humanity, and to pay all due deference to rank. He cannot ascertain the places to which Congress may please to send them. For the present they will go to Reading or Lancaster in Pennsylvania. Nor can he make any promises with respect to the maintenance of the women and children. His humanity will certainly induce him to recommend to Congress an attention to what has been requested on that head. General Schuyler expects that all the Scotch inhabitants, of whatsoever rank, who are not confined to their beds by illness, will attend with their arms, and deliver them on Saturday at 12 o'clock. If this condition be not faithfully performed, he will consider himself as disengaged from any engagements entered into with them.
"General Schuyler never refused a gentleman his side-arms.
"The prisoners that may be taken must be removed to Albany immediately, where the General will permit them to remain a reasonable time to settle their family affairs.
"If the terms General Schuyler has offered on the 17th inst. are accepted with the above qualifications, fair copies will be made out and signed by the parties, one of which will be delivered to Sir John and Mr. McDonell, signed by the General. To prevent a waste of time, the General wishes Sir John and Mr. McDonell immediately to send an answer.
"He remains, with due respect, Sir John's and Mr. McDonell's humble Servant, Ph. Schuyler."
These terms were acceded to by Sir John, and on the same day General Schuyler marched to Johnstown—having previously detailed several detachments of his troops to scour the country, and bring in the disaffected not comprehended in the arrangements with the Baronet. On the same afternoon Sir John delivered up the arms and ammunition in his possession the quantity of both being much smaller than was expected. On Saturday, the 20th, General Schuyler paraded his troops at 12 o'clock at noon, to receive the surrender of the Highlanders, who, to the number of between two and three hundred, marched to the front and grounded their arms. These having been secured, the Scotchmen were dismissed with an exhortation to remain peaceable, and with an assurance of protection if they did so.
The General's attention was next directed to the discovery and capture of the secret depot of arms and ammunition, of which information had been given by Connell. Two of the persons named in his affidavit were taken, but they denied, most unequivocally, all knowledge upon the subject. Connell was then produced to confront them; but they still persisted in maintaining their innocence, and denounced him as a perjured villain. Connell was then sent with a number of officers to point out the spot, where, as he alleged, the arms were concealed. He conducted them to a pond of water, containing a small island, or mound, in the middle, within which he declared the arms were buried. The snow and ice were forthwith removed, and the mound dug down. Connell had particularly described the manner in which the arms had been deposited under ground; but it was soon discovered that the earth had not recently been disturbed, if ever; and in the end it was ascertained, to the satisfaction of all, that the fellow was a base impostor. General Schuyler returned to Caughnawaga that evening. On the two following days upward of a hundred Tories were brought in from different parts of the country. Colonel Herkimer was left in charge to complete the disarming of the disaffected and receive the hostages, and the General, with his miscellaneous army, marched back to Albany. In his letters to Congress, and also to General Washington, he spoke of the anxiety and trouble he had experienced in preventing so large a body of men, collected on the sudden, without discipline, and withal greatly exasperated, from running into excesses. In these efforts, however, he succeeded much better than, under the circumstances, was reasonably to have been anticipated. Before his return, Mr. Dean, the Indian interpreter, was despatched by the General with a belt and a talk to the Six Nations, which has not been preserved. Thus ended the expedition to Johnstown.
General Schuyler transmitted a full report of his proceedings to Congress, by whom a special resolution was passed, thanking him for the fidelity, prudence, and expedition with which he had performed such a meritorious service. A second resolution was also adopted, so curiously constructed, and containing such an ingeniously-inserted hint to the officers and militia-men accompanying General Schuyler on this expedition, as to render it worthy of preservation. It was in the words following:—
"Resolved, That the cheerfulness and ready assistance of those who accompanied General Schuyler in his march to the County of Tryon, and their useful services in that expedition, discovered such a patriotic spirit, that it is hoped none of them will allow their countrymen to entertain a suspicion that any ignoble motive actuated them, by requiring a pecuniary reward, especially when they were employed in suppressing a mischief in their own neighborhood."
The resolutions were enclosed to General Schuyler in a flattering letter from President Hancock, in which, among other things, he says:—"It is with great pleasure I inform you that the prudence, zeal, and temper, manifested in your late expedition, met with the warmest approbation of Congress."
For some unexplained reason, Sir John Johnson did not observe the compact of neutrality, nor the obligations of his parole. Or, if he kept himself within the letter, his conduct was such as to re-awaken the suspicions of the people, and was considered by General Schuyler a virtual violation of the spirit of the parole he had given, to take no part against the Colonies. In fact, the information received by General Schuyler convinced him that Sir John was secretly instigating the Indians to hostilities, and was thus likely to produce much mischief on the frontiers. To prevent such a calamity, it was thought advisable by Schuyler to secure the person of Sir John, and once more to quell the rising spirit of disaffection in the neighborhood of Johnstown, especially among the Highlanders. For this purpose, in the month of May following the events already narrated in the present chapter, Colonel Dayton, with a part of his regiment then on its way to Canada, was dispatched by General Schuyler to prosecute this enterprise. [FN-1] There were, however, large numbers of loyalists in Albany, with whom Sir John was then and subsequently in close correspondence. It is therefore not surprising that he received timely notice of these preparations for his second arrest, in anticipation of Dayton's arrival. Such was the fact; and, hastily collecting a large number of his tenants and others, disaffected toward the cause of the Colonists, the Baronet was prepared for instant flight on the approach of the Continentals. This purpose was successfully executed. Colonel Dayton arrived at Johnstown in the evening, whereupon Sir John and his retainers immediately took to the woods by the way of the Sacandaga. [FN-2] Not knowing whether his royalist friends were in possession of Lake Champlain or not, the fugitives dared not venture upon that route to Montreal; and Sir John was accordingly obliged to strike deeper into the forests between the head waters of the Hudson and the St. Lawrence. Having but a brief period of preparation for their flight, the party was but ill supplied for such a campaign. Their provisions were soon exhausted; their feet became sore from traveling; and several of their number were left from time to time in the wilderness, to be picked up and brought in afterward by the Indians sent out for that purpose.
[FN-1] Sparks's Life and Writings of Washington Note in vol. iv. p. 409—410.
[FN-2] There is some reason to suppose that an expedition, led by the Mohawk Indians, was sent from Montreal on purpose to bring Sir John away, or rescue him from the espionage of the Americans. In one of Brant's speeches, delivered long afterward, when rehearsing the exploits of the Mohawks in the Revolutionary war, the following passage occurs:—"We then went in a body to a town then in the possession of the enemy, and rescued Sir John Johnson, bringing him fearlessly through the streets." Brant, at the time of this rescue, as will presently be seen, was himself in England—as also was Guy Johnson.
After nineteen days of severe hardship, the Baronet and his partisans arrived at Montreal in a pitiable condition—having encountered all of suffering that it seemed possible for man to endure. Such was the precipitation of his departure from the parental hall, and such his deficiency of the means of transportation, that an iron chest, containing the most valuable of his family papers, was hastily buried in the garden. The family Bible, containing the only record of the marriage of his father and mother, and of course the only written evidence of his own legitimacy, was also left behind. [FN-1] Such of the papers as were found, were examined by Colonel Dayton, in compliance with his orders; "and Lady Johnson was removed to Albany, where she was retained as a kind of hostage for the peaceable conduct of her husband. She wrote to General Washington, complaining of this detention, and asking his interference for her release; but the Commander-in-Chief left the matter with General Schuyler and the Albany Committee." [FN-2] Colonel Dayton was stationed several weeks at Johnstown with his troops, and for the time being secured the tranquility of the country.
[FN-1] After the confiscation of the property of Sir John, the furniture of the hall was sold by auction at Fort Hunter. The late Lieut. Governor of New-York, John Taylor, purchased several articles of the furniture; and among other things, the Bible mentioned in the text. Perceiving that it contained the family record, which might be of great value to Sir John, Mr. Taylor wrote a civil note to Sir John, offering its restoration. Some time afterward, a messenger from the Baronet called for the Bible, whose conduct was so rude as to give offence. "I have come for Sir William's Bible," said he, "and there are the four guineas which it cost." The Bible was delivered, and the runner was asked what message Sir John had sent. The reply was—"Pay four guineas, and take the book!"—Letter of John Taylor Cooper (grandson of the Lt. Governor) to the author.
[FN-2] Sparks.
Sir John was immediately commissioned a Colonel in the British service, and raised a command of two battalions, composed of those who accompanied him in his flight, and other American loyalists who subsequently followed their example. They were called the Royal Greens. In the month of January following, he found his way into New-York, then in possession of the British forces. From that period he became not only one of the most active, but one of the bitterest foes of his own countrymen of any who were engaged in that contest—and repeatedly the scourge of his own former neighbors. He was unquestionably a loyalist from principle, else he would scarcely have hazarded, as he did, and ultimately lost, domains larger and fairer than probably ever belonged to a single proprietor in America, William Penn only excepted. But the immediate cause of his breaking his pledge of honor is not known. Unexplained as it ever has been, the act has always been regarded as a stain upon the Baronet's character. It was held as such by the Provincial Congress of New-York, as will be seen by the annexed extract from a letter addressed by that body to General Washington immediately after his flight:—"We apprehend no doubt can exist whether the affair of Sir John Johnson is within your immediate cognizance. He held a commission as Brigadier-General of the militia, and, it is said, another commission as Major-General. That he hath shamefully broken his parole is evident, but whether it would be more proper to have him returned or exchanged, is entirely in your Excellency's prudence." His estates were, of course, confiscated by the Provincial Congress of New-York, and in due time sold under the direction of the Committee of that body having such matters in charge.
CHAPTER VII.
History of Brant resumed—Advanced to the chieftaincy of the Confederacy—Mode of appointing chiefs and sachems—Embarks for England—Arrives in London—Received with marked consideration—Becomes acquainted with James Boswell and others—Agrees to espouse the Royal cause, and returns to America—Steals through the country to Canada—Curious supposed letter to President Wheelock—Battle of the Cedars—Cowardice of Major Butterfield—Outrages of the Indians—Story of Capt. McKinstry, who was saved from the stake by Brant—Indignation of Washington, the people, and Congress—Resolutions of retaliation—Mutual complaints of treatment of prisoners—Murder of Gen. Gordon—Indignation at the outrage—Indian deputation at Philadelphia—Speech to them—Congress resolves upon the employment of an Indian force—Schuyler opposed—Review of the incidents of the war elsewhere—Destitution of the Army—Evacuation of Boston by the English—Disastrous termination of the Canadian campaign—Deplorable condition of the army—Humanity of Sir Guy Carleton—Glance at the South—Declaration of Independence—Spirit of Tryon County—Cherry Valley—Fortifications at Fort Stanwix—American army moves to New-York—Arrival of the British fleet and army—Battle of Long-Island—Washington evacuates New-York—Battle of White Plains—Retreats across New-Jersey—Followed by Cornwallis—Defeat of Arnold on Lake Champlain—Fall of Rhode Island—Battle of Trenton.
The progress of events renders it necessary again to introduce the Indian hero of the war of the Revolution more prominently upon the stage of action. Thayendanegea had now been advanced to the situation of principal war-chief of the confederacy [FN-1]—an officer, according to the ancient usages of the Six Nations, uniformly taken from the Mohawks. [FN-2] How, or in what manner. Brant arrived at that dignity, history does not inform us. Hendrick, the last of the Mohawk chiefs who bore the royal title of King, fell under Sir William Johnson at Lake George twenty years before. He was succeeded by Little Abraham, whose name has frequently occurred in the preceding pages, and who has been designated by some writers as the brother of Hendrick. But whether such was the fact or not, no farther mention of his name occurs in the history of the war. He was uniformly friendly to the Colonists; and as he refused to leave the valley with Thayendanegea and the majority of the nation who accompanied Guy Johnson in his flight—preferring to remain with the tribe at the Lower Castle—it is not improbable that Brant assumed the superior chieftaincy from the force of circumstances. Sir William Johnson informs us, that the sachems of each tribe of the Six Nations were usually chosen in a public assembly of the chiefs and warriors, whenever a vacancy happened by death or otherwise. They were selected from among the oldest warriors for their sense and bravery, and approved of by all the tribe—after which they were selected as sachems. Military services were the chief recommendations to this rank; but in some instances a kind of inheritance in the office was recognized. [FN-3] We have seen that Thayendanegea was descended from a family of chiefs, and his birth may have contributed to his elevation. His family and official connexion with the Johnsons, whose name continued so potent with the Indians, likewise, without doubt, facilitated his advancement. But Mr. Stewart, denying that the family of Thayendanegea was remarkable for any preeminence in their village, represents his influence to have been acquired by his uncommon talents and address as a counselor and politician; by which means he subdued all opposition and jealousy, and at length acquired such an ascendancy that, even in the hour of action and danger, he was enabled to rule and direct his warriors as absolutely as if he had been born their General.
[FN-1] I am aware that the dignity of "Principal Chief" has been denied to Captain Brant by several writers, and expressly by the Rev. Mr. Stewart, who says he was not a war-chief by birth, and not so often in command as has been supposed. It will be seen, however, toward the close of this work, from the speech of a Seneca chief, that Thayendanegea was the head chief of the confederacy—Mr. S. to the contrary notwithstanding.
[FN-2] David Cusick's sketches of the Ancient History of the Six Nations. Cusick was himself an Indian of the Tuscarora tribe.
[FN-3] Letters of Sir William Johnson to Arthur Lee—vide London Philosophical Transactions.
This inquiry, however, is of no great importance. The fact that he had now become the chief sachem is unquestionable; and from this point of the present history, Joseph Thayendanegea becomes one of the principal personages engaged in its progress. He was ordinarily called by his other name of Joseph Brant, or "Captain Brant"—the title of "Captain" being the highest military distinction known to the Indians; and that, moreover, being the military rank actually conferred upon him in the army of the Crown. In much of his correspondence, when wishing to be formal and writing to distinguished men, he was accustomed to write his name "Joseph Brant—Thayendanegea;" the latter being his legitimate Indian name.
It has been seen, in a preceding chapter, that Thayendanegea had accompanied Guy Johnson from the Mohawk Valley, first, westwardly to Ontario, thence back to Oswego, and thence to Montreal, where his services, and those of his warriors, were courted by Generals Carleton and Haldimand, and an agreement was speedily made that they were to take up the hatchet in the cause of the King. For the prosecution of a border warfare, the officers of the Crown could scarcely have engaged a more valuable auxiliary. Distinguished alike for his address, his activity, and his courage—possessing, in point of stature and symmetry of person, the advantage of most men even among his own well-formed race—tall, erect, and majestic, with the air and mien of one born to command,[FN-1]—having, as it were, been a man of war from his boyhood,[FN-2]—his name was a tower of strength among the warriors of the wilderness. Still more extensive was his influence rendered, by the circumstance that he had been much employed in the civil service of the Indian department, under Sir William Johnson, by whom he was often deputed upon embassies among the tribes of the confederacy, and to those yet more distant, upon the great lakes and rivers of the north-west, by reason of which his knowledge of the whole country and people was accurate and extensive.
[FN-1] Letter of General P. B. Porter to the author.
[FN-2] He was but thirteen years old when in the battle of Lake George.
Whether, after the compact with Sir Guy Carleton, the chief again visited the Indian country of the Six Nations during the summer of 1775, is unknown. Probably not; since, in the autumn of that year or early in the following winter, he embarked on his first visit to England. What was the precise object of this visit does not appear. It is very probable, however, that, notwithstanding the agreement so hastily formed at Montreal, the sagacious chieftain may have judged it prudent to pause, before committing himself too far by overt acts of hostility against the Colonies. The Oneidas were evidently inclining to espouse the Colonial side of the controversy, if any; the River Indians had already ranged themselves on the same side; Captain White-Eyes of the Delawares, had determined upon neutrality; and the Caughnawagas, or at least some of their leading chiefs, were in the camp with Washington. To all which may be added the fact, that at that time the American arms were carrying every thing before them in Canada. These circumstances were certainly enough to make the chieftain hesitate as to the course dictated by true wisdom. His predilections, doubtless, from the first, inclined him to espouse the cause of the King. Nay, he maintained through life, that the ancient covenants of his people rendered it obligatory upon him so to do. In addition to which were the strong ties of blood, of association, and of gratitude, by which he was bound to the family and the interests of the Johnsons. Still, the brilliant successes with which the Americans had opened the campaign in Canada presented another view of the case, which was certainly entitled to grave consideration. Thus situated, the chief may have found his position so embarrassing as to induce him to visit the parent country, and go himself into the presence of "The Great King," as the British monarch was styled by the Indians, before he should finally determine whether actually to take the field or not. By making the voyage, he would have the additional advantage of studying the resources and the power of the parent country, and would thereby be the better able to determine for himself whether success was likely to crown his Majesty's arms in the end, or whether, by an over-scrupulous observance of an ancient stipulation of alliance, he should not, with his people, be rushing upon certain destruction.
But whether he thus reasoned or not, it is certain that he sailed for England toward the close of the year 1775, and reached London early in 1776, accompanied by Captain Tice, an officer of English extraction, born in America, who had resided in the neighborhood of the Mohawk nation.
Only a very brief account of this, his first visit to England, has been found. [FN] It has always been said, however, that he was not only well received, but that his society was courted by gentlemen of rank and station—statesmen, scholars, and divines. He had little of the savage ferocity of his people in his countenance; and when, as he ordinarily did, he wore the European dress, there was nothing besides his color to mark wherein he differed from other men. Upon his first arrival in the British Capital, he was conducted to the inn called "The Swan with two Necks." Other lodgings were soon provided for him, more suitable to his rank as an Indian king; but he said the people of the inn had treated him with so much kindness and civility, that he preferred remaining there during his stay in London; and he accordingly did so.
[FN] London Magazine for July, 1776.
Although he was dressed in the European habit, he was not unprovided with a splendid costume after the manner of his own nation, in which he appeared at Court, and upon visits of state and ceremony. James Boswell was at that period in his glory, and an intimacy appears to have been contracted between him and the Mohawk chief, since the latter sat for his picture at the request of this most interesting of egotists. He also sat, during the same visit, to Romney, one of the most distinguished artists of his day, for the Earl of Warwick. He was, of course, painted in his native dress, and the picture was greatly prized. [FN] The tomahawk worn by him in London, was a very beautiful article, polished to the highest degree; upon which was engraved the first letter of his Christian name, with his Mohawk appellation, thus:—"J. Thayendanegea."
[FN] The frontispiece of the present volume is from the last-mentioned picture.
{TN} {The aforementioned frontispiece is not included in this scanned version of the book.}
He did not remain in England many months, but, in company with Captain Tice, sailed on his return toward the close of March or early in April, [FN-1] and arrived on the coast near the harbor of New-York after a very short passage. Having fully determined to fulfill his stipulations with General Carleton, and take up the hatchet in the cause of the Crown, he was cautiously and privately landed somewhere in the neighborhood of New-York, whence he performed a very hazardous journey to Canada—having, of course, to steal his way through a hostile population, until he could hide himself in the forests beyond Albany. He had taken the precaution, however, in England, to provide evidence of the identity of his body in case of disaster, or of his fall in any of the battles he anticipated, by procuring a gold finger ring, with his name engraven thereon at length. [FN-2]
[FN-1] The London Universal Magazine for July of 1776, states that he embarked for America in May. But there must have been a mistake in the date, since Brant, as will soon appear, was in the battle of the Cedars, above Montreal, in that month.
[FN-2] This ring he wore until his death. It was kept as a precious relic by his widow for four years, when it was lost. Strange as it may seem, however, during the last Summer, (1836,) the identical ring was found by a little girl in a ploughed field near Wellington Square, while the venerable Indian queen was on a visit to her daughter, the accomplished lady of Colonel Kerr. The aged widow of the old chief was overjoyed at once more possessing the memento, after it had been lost six and twenty years.
What were the particular arguments addressed to the Mohawk in the British capital, or by what process he became impressed with the idea that the arms of the King would, in the end, be victorious in the Colonies, is not known. It is certain, however, that whatever doubts he might have entertained, were most effectually dispelled; since, on taking leave, it was understood that he pledged himself heartily to embrace the Royal cause, and promised to take the field with three thousand warriors of his race. [FN]
[FN] It appears that Colonel Guy Johnson must have visited England at the same time, or nearly the same time, with Brant. Perhaps they went together, although Johnson did not return so soon. General Washington announced his arrival at Staten Island, from England, on the 6th of August, 1776, in a letter written to the President of Congress on the 8th. In Dunlap's History of the American Stage, Guy Johnson's name is given, in 1778, as one of the managers of the old Theatre Royal, John-street. The players were all amateurs, officers of the British army; and the avails of their performances were appropriated for benevolent purposes. The unfortunate Major Andre was one of the actors and the scene painter. A drop-curtain, painted by him, was used many years after his death.
It is no more than justice, however, to allow Captain Brant to speak for himself, in regard to the principle by which he was governed in his decision. In a letter written by him to Sir Evan Nepean, the Under Secretary of State, when in England after the peace of 1783, he said:—"When I joined the English in the beginning of the war, it was purely on account of my forefathers' engagements with the King. I always looked upon these engagements, or covenants between the King and the Indian nations, as a sacred thing; therefore I was not to be frightened by the threats of the rebels at that time; I assure you I had no other view in it, and this was my real case from the beginning."
By "threats" in this letter to the Under Secretary, Brant probably meant no more than the efforts made by the Americans to prevent his joining the Royal standard, and to preserve the neutrality of the Indians. In connexion with these efforts, there is a scrap of unwritten history, which, whether true or not, is characteristic of the shrewdness and dry sarcastic humor of the chief. It is related, that during the early part of the year 1775, while it was yet considered doubtful which side the Mohawks would espouse, and when it was of course very desirable to ascertain the views of Brant upon the subject, President Wheelock was applied to as a medium of communication with his former pupil. The Doctor, according to the tradition, wrote him a long epistle upon the aspect of the times, and urged upon Brant those considerations which appeared most likely to win him over, or rather to secure his neutrality, if not his friendship, to the Colonists. Brant replied very ingeniously. Among other things, he referred to his former residence with the Doctor—recalled the happy hours he had passed under his roof—and referred especially to his prayers and the family devotions, to which he had listened. He said he could never forget those prayers; and one passage, in particular, was so often repeated, that it could never be effaced from his mind. It was, among other of his good preceptor's petitions, "that they might be able to live as good subjects—to fear God, and honor the King."
If doubt had existed among the Colonists before, as to the direction of the channel in which ran his inclinations, there was surely none after the perusal of this letter. But scenes of a more stirring character now demand the attention.
Toward the close of the memorable Canadian campaign,—so brilliantly commenced, so successfully prosecuted for many months, and yet so disastrously terminated,—while the shattered remains of the American forces were retiring before the troops of Sir Guy Carleton, the former experienced a sad disaster at "the Cedars," a point of land extending far into the St. Lawrence, about forty miles above Montreal, which was occupied by Colonel Bedell with three hundred and ninety Provincial troops and two field-pieces. General Carleton directed a descent upon this post from the British station at Oswegatchie, under the command of Captain Forster, at the head of one company of regular troops and a body of Indians numbering nearly six hundred. The latter were led by Thayendanegea. On the appearance of the enemy before the American works, Colonel Bedell repaired immediately to Montreal for assistance, leaving the Cedars in charge of Major Butterfield. Colonel (afterward General) Arnold, who was then in command of Montreal—not yet evacuated by the Americans—forthwith detached Major Sherburne with one hundred men, to proceed to the Cedars, and prepared to follow himself with a much larger force. Meantime, however, Major Butterfield, who, it was believed, might have easily defended the position, was intimidated by a threat from the enemy, that, should the siege continue and any of the Indians be slain, in the event of an eventual surrender it would be impossible for the British commander to prevent a general massacre, and consented to a capitulation, by which the whole garrison became prisoners of war. Major Sherburne approached on the day following, without having received any information of the change of circumstances until within four miles of the post, where, on the 20th of May, he was attacked by the Indians, and after a sharp conflict compelled to surrender at discretion. No sooner had Arnold received information of these events, than he marched against the foe, then at Vaudreuil, at the head of seven hundred men, with a view of chastising the enemy and recovering the prisoners. "When preparing for an engagement, he received a flag accompanied by Major Sherburne, giving him the most positive assurances that if he persisted in his design, it would be entirely out of the power of Captain Forster to prevent his savages from pursuing their horrid customs, and disencumbering themselves of their prisoners by putting every man to death. This massacre was already threatened, and Major Sherburne confirmed the information. Under the influence of this threat, Arnold desisted from his purpose, and consented to a cartel, by which the prisoners were delivered up to him; he agreeing, among other things, not only to deliver as many British soldiers in exchange for them, but also that they should immediately return to their homes." [FN]
[FN] Marshall's Life of Washington.
This disaster, or, perhaps, more correctly speaking, the conduct of the officers to whose cowardice it was imputed, was a source of deep mortification to General Washington, and he gave utterance to his vexation in several letters written soon afterward. Nor was Butterfield alone blamed—Colonel Bedell being placed in the same category of condemnation. [FN] The Commander-in-Chief was likewise incensed at the conduct of Captain Forster, in resorting to deceptive and very unjustifiable means, to procure hostages for ratifying a treaty of exchange.
[FN] "If the accounts of Colonel Bedell's and Major Butterfield's conduct be true, they have certainly acted a part deserving the most exemplary notice. I hope you will take proper measures, and have good courts appointed to bring them, and every other officer, that has been, or shall be, guilty of misconduct, to trial; that they may be punished according to their offences. Our misfortunes at the Cedars were occasioned, as it is said, entirely by their base and cowardly behavior, and cannot be ascribed to any other cause."—Letter of Washington to General Schuyler, June 10, 1776.
The name of Captain Brant is not mentioned in any of the books, in connexion with these transactions at the Cedars. There is positive evidence, however, that he was not only there, but that he exerted himself efficiently after the surrender of Major Sherburne, to control the Indians and prevent the massacre of the prisoners. Among these latter, was Captain John McKinstry, [FN-1] who commanded a company on that occasion. From his account of the battle, Major Sherburne fell into an ambuscade, and the fighting was severe. Captain McKinstry's command was engaged sharply with a body of Indians, before whom his troops were several times compelled to retire. Rallying, however, with spirit, the Indians were repeatedly driven back in turn; and the respective parties were thus successively driven by each other, back and forth, according to the doubtful and varying fortunes of the hour, until the Americans were overpowered by numbers, and compelled to surrender; Captain McKinstry, being wounded, fell by the side of a tree, and was there taken. He subsequently ascertained that he had been marked as a victim by the Indians, who had actually made the usual preparations for putting him to death by the torture of fire; and that he was rescued by the personal exertions of Captain Brant, who, in connexion with some humane English officers, made up a purse, and purchased an ox, which the Indians roasted for their carousal instead of the gallant prisoner. Captain McKinstry was treated with kindness while a prisoner, and contracted an intimacy with Brant which continued until the chieftain's death. Brant never visited the Hudson, after the Revolution, without spending a few days with Colonel McKinstry at the Manor; [FN-2] and at the time of his last visit, about the year 1805, in company with his friend, who, like himself, was a member of the brotherhood, he attended the Freemason's Lodge in the city of Hudson, where his presence attracted great attention.
[FN-1] Late Colonel McKinstry, of Livingston's Manor.
[FN-2] Letter to the author, from George McKinstry, Esq. of Claverack.
But to return. The conduct of Major Butterfield at the Cedars was likewise severely denounced in Congress, and his capitulation pronounced by resolution "a shameful surrender." Due credit was at the same time awarded to Major Sherburne, for the bravery displayed by himself and his troops, who only "surrendered at last on absolute necessity." Notwithstanding, moreover, the interposition of Captain Brant to prevent a massacre, and the rescue of Captain McKinstry, such outrages were reported to Congress as to call forth a series of indignant resolutions upon the subject. In the preamble to these resolutions, it was stated that, immediately after the surrender, the prisoners were delivered over to the Indians; their baggage plundered, their clothes taken from them, and several of their number killed; and one of them, who had only been wounded, roasted alive. From the circumstance that Captain McKinstry had been wounded, and designated for the torture, though rescued, as we have already seen, by Captain Brant, it is quite probable that Congress was misinformed as to the actual consummation of such a purpose in the person of any prisoner. Assuming the fact, however, the enemy's conduct was denounced in the strongest terms—Congress asserting the right of demanding indemnification for the wrongs inflicted upon the prisoners in their persons and property; and in regard to the murder of prisoners by the Indians, requiring that the authors of those murders be delivered into their hands for condign punishment, as a condition precedent to an exchange of prisoners. In regard to the torturing of prisoners, a resolution was also adopted, denouncing, "as the sole means of stopping the progress of human butchery," a retaliation of punishment, of the same kind and degree, to be inflicted upon a like number of prisoners of the enemy, in every case of outrage thereafter to occur.
These resolutions were, in effect, a refusal to confirm the treaty for the exchange of prisoners entered into by General Arnold, and were so considered by the commanding officers in Canada. The consequence was, the indulgence of much crimination and recrimination, on the part both of the American and British commanders. Indeed, complaints of the cruel treatment of the prisoners falling into their hands had been preferred against the enemy several months before, particularly in the case of Colonel Ethan Allen and his fellow-captives. Allen had been captured by General Prescott, by whom, in addition to other indignities, he had been heavily ironed, and sent like a common felon to England, Prescott was afterward taken by the Americans and treated with considerable rigor, in retaliation for the ill-usage of Allen. This produced a remonstrance from General Howe, who, on being reminded of the case of Allen, disclaimed any responsibility in regard to that transaction, inasmuch as it was an occurrence in a district beyond the boundaries of his particular command. The affair of the Cedars excited the strongest feelings of indignation, not only in Congress and among the people, but in the army. "The inhuman treatment of the whole, and murder of part, of our people, was certainly a flagrant violation of that faith, which ought to beheld sacred by all civilized nations, and was founded in the most savage barbarity." [FN-1] Soon afterward the account was in part balanced, by a diabolical outrage committed by an American scouting party in the neighborhood of St. John's. It was the deliberate assassination, by the lieutenant at the head of the party, of Brigadier-General Gordon of the British army. General Gordon was riding alone, and in full uniform, from Laprairie to St. John's. The lieutenant and his party were in ambush within the British lines, and as the General passed, the former wantonly and barbarously shot him through the body. Although the wound was mortal, the General rode on, and speedily reached St. John's, where he expired. [FN-2] This painful incident aroused as warm a burst of indignation among the British officers, as the affair of the Cedars had done among the Americans. General Carleton availed himself of the occurrence to issue a violent, though artful proclamation, which was pronounced by Washington, in a letter to the President of Congress, to be "highly unbecoming the character of a soldier and gentleman." Although the prisoners were not exchanged, under the arrangement made with Arnold, yet Carleton set the American captives at liberty, on condition of their returning to their own homes, there to remain as prisoners. Each of the prisoners was furnished with a copy of his insidious proclamation.
[FN-1] Letter of Washington to the President of Congress, July 15, 1776.
[FN-2] Note in vol. iv. of Sparks's Life and Correspondence of Washington.
It was not supposed that any considerable numbers of the Indians of the Six Nations participated in the battle of the Cedars, other than the Mohawks and their kindred tribe, the Caughnawagas, or the Seven Nations of Canada, as they chose to call themselves. Indeed, the Six Nations were at that stage of the contest far from being unanimous in opposition to the Colonies; and at the very time of these occurrences, a deputation from four of the nations was at Philadelphia, on a peaceable mission to Congress. The arrival of this deputation was announced to that assembly on the 24th of May. On the 11th of June they were presented to the House, preparatory to their departure, and addressed by the President as follows:—
"Brothers: We hope the friendship that is between you and us will be firm, and continue as long as the sun shall shine and the waters run, that we and you may be as one people, and have but one heart, and be kind to one another as brethren.
"Brothers: The King of Great Britain, hearkening to the evil counsel of some of his foolish young men, is angry with us, because we will not let him take away from us our land, and all that we have, and give it to them; and because we will not do every thing that he bids us; and hath hindered his people from bringing goods to us, but we have made provision for getting such a quantity of them, that we hope we shall be able to supply your wants as formerly.
"Brothers: We shall order all our warriors and young men not to hurt you or any of your kindred; and we hope you will not suffer any of your young men to join with our enemies, or to do any wrong to us, that nothing may happen to make any quarrel between us.
"Brothers: We desire you to accept a few necessaries, which we present you with, as tokens of our good-will toward you."
The presents having been delivered, the Indian deputies expressed a desire to give a name to the President of Congress. Permission for that purpose having been granted, a chief of the Onondagas arose, and saluted the President by the name of Ka-ran-dua-an, or the Great Tree; by which name John Hancock was afterward known among the Six Nations.
Although it would appear upon the surface of these resolutions, that Congress was yet persevering in the humane policy of keeping the Indians in a state of neutrality, yet candor and truth require a different record. Much as sound moralists had condemned the employment of this species of force in civilized warfare, and strongly as Congress had exerted its influence the preceding year to prevent the Indians from taking the field in behalf of either of the combatants, that policy was abandoned. On the 25th of May, 1776, the Congress resolved "that it was highly expedient to engage the Indians in the service of the United Colonies;" and they empowered the Commander-in-Chief to employ, in Canada and elsewhere, a number not exceeding two thousand, offering them "a reward of one hundred dollars for every commissioned officer, and thirty dollars for every private soldier of the King's troops, that they should take prisoner in the Indian country, or on the frontiers of these Colonies." The Congress also authorized General Washington to employ the Indians of Penobscot, St. John's, and Nova Scotia, who had proffered their services, and were to receive the same pay as the Continental soldiers. [FN]
[FN] Sparks's Life and Cor. of Washington, vol. iv, Appendix. [Mr. Sparks seems to have fallen into an error as to the immediate motive of Congress in changing its Indian policy at this time. He leaves his readers to infer, that the measure was one of retaliation for the conduct of the British and Indians at the Cedars. But such could not have been the fact. The battle of the Cedars was fought on the 20th of May, and these resolutions were passed on the 25th—before the news, in those days, could possibly have reached Philadelphia.]
Whether any of those Eastern Indians were ever actually engaged in the American service, is not known. In regard to the employment of the Northern Indians, Washington forthwith entered into a correspondence with General Schuyler upon the subject, and pressed him to carry the resolutions into effect. The latter, however, was averse to the measure—as much so as at the first. He disliked to employ such a force under any circumstances, contending that they were too fickle and uncertain to allow any well-founded reliance to be placed upon them at the moment of emergency. At that particular conjuncture, especially when our troops, broken and dispersed, were flying like fugitives from Canada, he thought the chances of obtaining Indian auxiliaries exceedingly slender; and as to the number prescribed, (two thousand,) the General intimated in one of his letters to the Commander-in-Chief, that it would have been well if Congress had condescended to inform him where so many Indian warriors, not already in the service of the enemy, were to be found. In short, General Schuyler's opinion was correct from the beginning, that the Colonies could expect no essential aid from the Indians; and whatever aid they might receive, would be sure to cost more than it would come to. So the event proved. But, although the British profited most by the employment of the Indians, they are not alone to blame for using them. So far, certainly, as principle and intention are concerned, the Americans are equitably entitled to a due share of the censure. [FN]
[FN] Sparks.
In recurring to coincident events transpiring in other parts of the country, it must be remarked, that the Commander-in-Chief was often placed in circumstances not the most promising. On his first arrival at the camp before Boston, the preceding year, he had found only "the materials for a good army"—not the organized army itself. The troops were mostly undisciplined; and having taken arms to fight for liberty, it was no easy matter to bring them into those habits of subordination, which necessarily render a soldier a mere machine to be moved at the will of his commander. The first object of General Washington, therefore, was to bring the troops into a state of discipline. But another difficulty presented itself in the fact, that, owing to the short periods of enlistment, the times of service of the greater portion of the army were to expire in November and December. To which was added the embarrassing discovery, that all the powder at his command was barely sufficient to supply nine rounds of cartridges per man. There was, moreover, a general want of camp equipage and clothing, and indeed of every thing necessary alike to the comfort and the efficiency of an army. But Heaven, in its mercy, seemed to have devolved the command upon the man of all others best calculated to meet the emergency and overcome it. His destitution of ammunition was artfully and effectually concealed from the enemy; and although, on the discharge of those of his troops who would not re-enlist, at the close of December, (1775,) he had no more than 9650 men left, he yet contrived to sustain himself and keep the enemy beleaguered in Boston during the whole winter. "It is not in the pages of history, perhaps," he wrote to Congress, "to furnish a case like ours. To maintain a post within musket shot of the enemy for six months together, without amunition, and at the same time to disband one army and recruit another, within that distance of twenty odd British regiments, is more, probably, than was ever attempted." [FN]
[FN] Holmes's Annals.
The Continental Congress had been induced by the influence of the Commander-in-chief to resolve upon the raising of an army of 75,000 men, to be enlisted for the term of three years, or during the war. It was not until January, however, that they could be induced to offer bounties for enlistments; and even then the ranks were not rapidly filled. At the close of February, the whole effective force of the Americans was no more than 14,000 men, exclusive of 6000 of the Massachusetts militia. An assault upon Boston had been meditated in February by General Washington; but the opinion of his principal officers, as expressed in a council of war, being strongly against such a movement, the enterprize was reluctantly abandoned. Wearied by inaction, the next project of the American commander was to take possession of Dorchester Heights—a position commanding the town of Boston, the occupation of which would compel General Howe either to attempt its dispossession by the Americans, or to evacuate the town. The enterprize was so well planned, as to be executed by General Thomas with complete and brilliant success, on the night of the 4th of March. Having diverted the attention of the enemy by a bombardment of his lines in another direction, the movement was unperceived. The weather being mild, the American troops were enabled to labor with energy in throwing up defences, which, on the following morning, struck the General of the British army with astonishment, from their sudden appearance and their magnitude. A heavy atmosphere contributed to magnify the height of the works, and increase the wonder of the foe. Sir William Howe made immediate preparations to drive the Americans from their new, and, to him, dangerous position; for which purpose two thousand choice troops were embarked to cross over the same evening; but a severe tempest frustrated his design. On the following morning General Howe convened a council of war, at which it was resolved to evacuate the town as soon as possible. This determination was carried into execution on the 17th, by the embarkation of the whole British army, and the sailing of the fleet—first to Halifax—but ultimately, as the event proved, for New-York. On the same day General Washington entered Boston in triumph, and was hailed by the universal acclaim of the people as their deliverer. Thus was the town which first raised the standard of rebellion, the first to rejoice at the final retreat of its oppressors. Nor was it the fortune of the invaders ever to set foot there again.
In the North, the operations of the Provincial army had been far less propitious. The conquest of Canada was a favorite project with Congress, and every possible effort within the slender means of the Colonies was made to that end. But the fall of Montgomery had thrown a gloom over the enterprise which was never dissipated. Colonel, now General Arnold, had maintained himself before Quebec during the winter, and until late in the spring, with but a handful of men—numbering, at one time, not more than five hundred effectives. But the reinforcements were slow in arriving; the Canadians, from a variety of causes—the principal of which, beyond doubt, was bad treatment from an undisciplined soldiery—became less friendly to the Americans than at first, notwithstanding the mission of Messrs. Franklin, Chase, and Carroll, accompanied by a Catholic priest, to conciliate them; and on the arrival of General Wooster at his quarters, about the 1st of April, Arnold obtained leave of absence, and took the command at Montreal. General Thomas, who had been assigned to the command of the army in Canada, after the exploit of Gloucester Heights, arrived before Quebec on the 1st of May, where he found an army of nineteen hundred men, less than one thousand of whom were effective, and three hundred of these, being entitled to their discharge, refused to perform duty. They had but one hundred and fifty barrels of powder, and six days' provisions. Well knowing that with the opening of the navigation. Sir Guy Carleton's expected reinforcements would arrive, the circumstances in which he was placed were altogether so unpromising, that General Thomas, with the concurrence of a council of war, determined to raise the siege on the 5th of May, and assume a more eligible position farther up the river. It was the intention of the American commander to remove the sick to Three Rivers; but on the 6th, before the arrangements for retreating were all concerted, a British fleet, with reinforcements, arrived. General Carleton immediately made a sortie at the head of one thousand men; to oppose whom, General Thomas had not more than three hundred available troops. No other course remained, therefore, but a precipitate retreat for all who could get away—leaving the sick and the military stores to the enemy. General Thomas led his little band back to the mouth of the Sorel, where he was seized with the small-pox, and died. Large reinforcements joined the fugitive army at that place, under General Sullivan. Before General Carleton moved from Quebec, an expedition was undertaken from Sorel to the Three Rivers, against General Frasier, under the direction of General Thompson and Colonel St. Clair. It was unsuccessful; from which time disaster followed disaster, until, owing to the combined causes of defeat, sickness, and insubordination, the Americans found themselves, on the 18th of June, driven entirely out of Canada; the British army following so closely upon their heels, as immediately to occupy the different posts as they were successively evacuated.
The Americans, however, still retained the control of Lake Champlain, and occupied the fortifications upon its shores, the command of which had now been assigned by Congress to General Gates, with great and manifest injustice toward General Schuyler, [FN-1] Gates at first established his head-quarters at Crown Point, but soon afterward withdrew his forces from that post, and fell back upon Ticonderoga. This step was taken by the advice and concurrence of a board of general officers, but contrary to the wishes of the field officers. The Commander-in-chief was exceedingly dissatisfied with this movement of Gates, believing that the relinquishment of that post, in its consequences, would be equivalent to an abandonment of Lakes George and Champlain, and all the advantages to be derived therefrom. [FN-2] In reply to the concern that had been expressed by Washington on the occasion. General Gates contended that Crown Point was untenable with the forces then under his command, nor could it be successfully defended even with the aid of the expected reinforcements. These reinforcements, moreover, the General added, could not be allowed to approach nearer to Crown Point than Skenesborough, since "it would be only heaping one hospital upon another." [FN-3] The annals of disastrous war scarce present a more deplorable picture than that exhibited by the Americans escaping from Canada. In addition to the small pox, the army had been afflicted by other diseases, generated by exposure, destitution, and laxity of discipline. Fleets of boats came up the lake, freighted with the sick and dying; and even those reported from day to day fit for duty, presented but the appearance of a haggard skeleton of an army. "Every thing about this army," said General Gates in the letter already cited, "is infected with the pestilence; the clothes, the blankets, the air, and the ground they walk upon. To put this evil from us, a general hospital is established at Fort George, [FN-4] where there are now between two and three thousand sick, and where every infected person is immediately sent. But this care and caution have not effectually destroyed the disease here; it is, notwithstanding, continually breaking out." [FN-5]
[FN-1] The appointment of Gates to the command of this department, was from the first unacceptable to the officers of New-York, nor was his own course very conciliatory toward them. In the course of the present Summer, it was reported to Lieutenant-Colonel Gansevoort, a brave and deservedly popular officer, belonging to the regiment of Colonel Van Schaick, and then in command of Fort George at the head of the lake of that name, that the General had spoken disrespectfully of that regiment, and also of the regiments of Colonels Wynkoop and Fisher. His letters to Col. Gansevoort were unnecessarily harsh and pragmatical, so much so as justly to give offence. Irritated by such treatment, Gansevoort wrote a spirited letter to Gates, referring to several matters in which he had been aggrieved by the letters and conversation of that officer. He requested a Court of Inquiry, and avowed his determination, with the leave of Gen. Schuyler, to relinquish the command of the post.—MS. letters of Gates and Col. Gansevoort in the author's possession.
[FN-2] Letter of Washington to Gen. Gates, July 19, 1776.
[FN-3] Letter of Gen. Gates to Washington in reply, July 28. The small pox, which had been so fatal to the troops in Canada, had now broken out at Crown Point and Ticonderoga—the pestilence having been purposely introduced by a villain calling himself Doctor Barker. This fact is stated in a letter from the Adjutant-General of the Northern Department to Colonel Gansevoort, dated from Ticonderoga, July 24. "The villain," says the letter, "by private inoculations in the army, has caused, in a great degree, the misery to which we are reduced by that infectious disorder." Barker was arrested, and sent to Albany.—MS. letter of Colonel Trumbull to Col. Gansevoort.
[FN-4] At the head of Lake George.
[FN-5] Sparks.
Such was the deplorable condition in which an army, so recently victorious, had been driven back from what was in fact a conquered country, lost entirely through mismanagement, and the want of an army upon the basis of permanent enlistment. Added to which, was another difficulty lying beneath the surface. Many prisoners had fallen into the hands of the enemy at Quebec and during the subsequent retreat. Toward all these, the conduct of Sir Guy Carleton had been most politic. They had been treated with the greatest care and humanity, and so much of the subtle poison of flattery, mingled with kindness, had been poured into their ears, that their return on parole, which was presently allowed by the British commander, was regarded with apprehension. [FN-1] On one occasion, a large number of prisoners arriving at Crown Point from St. John's, in a vessel provided by Sir Guy Carleton, were visited, before landing, by Colonel John Trumbull, the Adjutant-General for the Northern Department. From the feelings they manifested, and the tenor of their conversation, Colonel Trumbull saw at once that it would not be prudent to allow them to land, or hold the least intercourse with the suffering troops of the garrison. He immediately reported the fact to the General, and advised that the said prisoners should be sent directly forward to Skenesborough, and despatched to their respective homes, without allowing them to mingle with the troops at that place. The suggestion was adopted. [FN-2]