"My name is John O'Bail, commonly called Corn-Planter. I am your son! You are my father! You are now my prisoner, and subject to the customs of Indian warfare. But you shall not be harmed. You need not fear. I am a warrior! Many are the scalps which I have taken! Many prisoners I have tortured to death! I am your son! I am a warrior! I was anxious to see you, and to greet you in friendship. I went to your cabin, and took you by force; but your life shall be spared. Indians love their friends and their kindred, and treat them with kindness. If now you choose to follow the fortunes, of your yellow son, and to live with our people, I will cherish your old age with plenty of venison, and you shall live easy. But if it is your choice to return to your fields, and live with your white children, I will send a party of my trusty young men to conduct you back in safety. I respect you, my father. You have been friendly to Indians; they are your friends." [FN]
[FN] Life of Mary Jemison. In a letter written by Corn-Planter to the Governor of Pennsylvania, in 1822, complaining of an attempt made by the officers of that State to impose taxes upon him and the Senecas residing on the Allegheny, he began as follows:—"When I was a child, I played with the butterfly, the grasshopper, and the frogs. As I grew up, I began to pay some attention, and play with the Indian boys in the neighborhood, and they took notice of my skin being a different color from theirs, and spoke about it. I inquired of my mother the cause, and she told me that my father was a resident of Albany. I ate still my victuals out of a bark dish: I grew up to be a young man, and married me a wife, but I had no kettle or gun. I then knew where my father lived, and went to see him, and found he was a white man, and spoke the English language. He gave me victuals while I was at his house, but when I started to return home, he gave me no provision to eat on the way. He gave me neither kettle nor gun, neither did he tell me that the United States were about to rebel against the government of England," &c., &c. By this statement it appears that he must have seen his father several years before the Mohawk campaign. This may very well have been, and yet the anecdote related by Mary Jemison be true also. In every instance in which the author has had an opportunity of testing the correctness of her statements by other authorities, they have proved to be remarkably correct. Corn-Planter lived to a great age, having deceased within the last eight or ten years. He was an able man—distinguished in subsequent negotiations. He was eloquent, and a great advocate for Temperance. He made a very effective and characteristic speech upon that subject in 1822. "The Great Spirit first made the world, and next the flying animals, and found all things good and prosperous. He is immortal and everlasting. After finishing the flying animals, he came down on earth, and there stood. Then he made different kinds of trees, and woods of all sorts, and people of every kind. He made the Spring, and other seasons, and the weather suitable for planting. These he did make. But stills to make whiskey to give to Indians, he did not make. . . . The Great Spirit told us there were three things for people to attend to. First, we ought to take care of our wives and children. Secondly, the white people ought to attend to their farms and cattle. Thirdly, the Great Spirit has given the bears and deers to the Indians. . . . The Great Spirit has ordered me to quit drinking. He wishes me to inform the people that they should quit drinking intoxicating drink." In the course of the same speech, he gave evidence that he was not overmuch pleased with the admixture of his own blood. . . . "The different kinds the Great Spirit made separate, and not to mix with and disturb each other. But the white people have broken this command, by mixing their color with the Indians. The Indians have done better by not doing so."
The old gentleman, however, had sown his wild oats. His days of romance were over. Preferring, therefore, the produce of his own fields, the company of his white children, and the comforts of his own house, to the venison, the freedom, and the forests of the western wilds, he chose to return. His son, fulfilling his word, bowed to the election, and giving his father in charge to a suitable escort, he was enabled to reach his own dwelling in safety. The proud Seneca and his warriors moved off to their own wilds.
Simultaneously with the movements of Sir John Johnson through the Schoharie and Mohawk country, the enemy had been actively engaged against the settlements at the North of Albany, between the Hudson and Lake Champlain, and likewise against some of the upper settlements on the Connecticut river. In order to create a diversion in favor of Sir John, Major Carleton came up the lake from St. John's, with a fleet of eight large vessels and twenty-six flat-bottomed boats, containing upward of one thousand men, regular troops, loyalists and Indians. Fort George and Fort Anne were both taken by surprise, and their garrisons, which were not large, were surrendered prisoners of war. [FN-1] The party directed against the upper settlements of the Connecticut river, was commanded by Major Haughton of the 53d regiment, and consisted almost entirely of Indians, of whom there were two hundred. This marauding incursion was likewise successful. In addition to the booty taken, thirty-two of the inhabitants were carried away prisoners. Several of the militia, who turned out in pursuit of Major Haughton, were killed. In regard to Major Carleton's expedition, sad tales of cruelty were reported. One of these was a relation, by a deserter named Van Deusen, of a horrible case of torture inflicted upon a soldier of Colonel Warner's regiment, taken by Carleton in the action near Fort George. Van Deusen was a deserter from the American army to the enemy; but having stolen back into his own country, was apprehended and executed. Colonel Gansevoort, however, then in command at the North, wrote to Major Carleton upon the subject on the 2d of November, stating the particulars of the story. Carleton repelled the charge in the most positive and earnest manner, as will presently appear. [FN-2]
[FN-1] Forts Anne and George were taken by Major Carleton on the 10th and 11th of October. In his official report, Major Carleton stated his own loss, on both occasions, at four officers and twenty-three privates killed. The number of prisoners taken is stated at two captains, two lieutenants, and one hundred and fourteen privates.
[FN-2] Speaking of Carleton's expedition, Sir Frederick Haldimand, in a letter to Lord George Germaine, observes:—"The reports assiduously published on all occasions by the enemy, of cruelties committed by the Indians, are notoriously false, and propagated merely to exasperate the ignorant and deluded people. In this late instance Major Carleton informs me, they behaved with the greatest moderation, and did not strip, or in any respect ill use, their prisoners." Sir John Johnson had less control over his Indians at Schoharie.
The correspondence between Gansevoort and Carleton, however, was not confined to this particular transaction. Indeed, that was altogether an incidental affair, and the correspondence with Carleton himself was also incidental, being part only of a more extended negotiation with other and higher officers of the British army in Canada, the object of which was the settlement of a cartel for an extensive exchange of prisoners at the North. The story will be best told by the introduction of a portion of the correspondence itself, while at the same time several other points will receive satisfactory illustration.
"General Powell to Colonel Van Schaick.
"St. John's, Sept. 22d, 1780.
"Sir,
"Agreeable to the promise made in my letter of the 15th of last March, I send by your returning flag of truce, Mrs. Campbell, Mrs. Moore, and their families, together with Matthew Cannon, and five others, made prisoners by the Indians on the Mohawk river, whose advanced time of life and earnest solicitations to return to their families, have induced General Haldimand to grant them that permission; [FN] as also Mr. Williams of Detroit, who desires to go to his relatives; and Mary and Betsey Lewis, who beg to go to their father near Albany. His Excellency is sorry that the breach of faith on the part of the colonists, in the cartel of the Cedars, has put it out of his power to enter upon an exchange of prisoners, and, notwithstanding their repeated attempts to escape, many throughout the province are enlarged upon their parole. They have all a plentiful allowance of wholesome provisions, and those whom it is thought necessary to keep in confinement, are accommodated in the most comfortable manner circumstances will admit off. They have, besides, received money to the amount of the within accounts; and if this last indulgence is to be continued, it is but reasonable it should be remitted in coin; to which I am to desire your attention, as very heavy bills are every day presented from our troops who are prisoners in the colonies."
[FN] The prisoners above-mentioned, it will be recollected, were taken at Cherry Valley in 1778. See Mrs. Campbell's Narrative, sketched in Vol. I.
"The attention which has been shown to Mrs. Campbell, and those in her unfortunate circumstances, as well as the good treatment of the prisoners, which it is hoped they will have the candor to acknowledge, is referred to for comparison, to those by whose orders or permission His Majesty's subjects have experienced execution, the horrors of a dungeon, loaded with irons, and the miseries of want.
"The families specified in the enclosed list have been long in expectation, and many of them promised permission, to join their husbands and relatives in this province; it is therefore requested they may be sent to your advanced post on the Skenesborough communication, and a flag of truce shall be sent from hence, in the course of three weeks, in order to receive them.
"I am, Sir, Your most obedient, Humble servant, H. Watson Powell, Brigadier General
"To Colonel Van Schaick."
"Colonel Gansevoort to General Powell.
"Saratoga, Nov. 2d, 1780.
"Sir,
"Your letter of 22d September last, directed to Colonel Van Schaick, it becomes my duty to answer, as commanding this department until the arrival of General McDougall, who is daily expected. [FN] The prisoners whom you noticed, I am informed, have taken the route to Albany, through Bennington."
[FN] This reference to the expected arrival of General McDougall was not exactly true, and was made as a ruse de guerre to mislead the British General as to the strength of the Northern Department. The truth was, that Colonel Gansevoort was so weak in point of troops, that he was apprehensive of a second visitation from St. John's should Powell and Carleton obtain information of his actual means of resistance. Hence he threw in the name of McDougall, in order to create an impression at St. Johns that there was at least a General's command of troops at Saratoga. Colonel Gansevoort wrote to General Washington upon the subject, and gave this explanation for the deception he had practised in his letter to General Powell. There was, indeed, good cause for apprehension at that time. After Carleton had captured forts George and Anne, and returned down the lakes to St John's, he had suddenly returned with reinforcements. The leaders in Vermont were also at the same time holding a correspondence with the British Commanders in Canada, of which semi-treasonable conduct Ethan Allen himself was at the head, as will appear hereafter. General Schuyler had obtained some knowledge upon the subject, which he lost no time in communicating to the Commander-in-chief. The consequence was, the ordering of several regiments to the North, and the appointment of General James Clinton to the command of the Department at Albany.—Washington's Letters—Sparks.
"The families specified in your list, whom I believe to be all in the vicinity of this place, were to have been sent to the British shipping in Lake Champlain in the beginning of last month. Major Carleton's incursion prevented their being forwarded then, and as all the batteaux in Lake George were carried off by that gentleman, it may have been impracticable to send them on since, if even it had been proper, while he remained at Ticonderoga and Crown Point. I have written Major Carleton, and requested him to send batteaux to Fort Anne or Fort George, if he can, for their conveyance. As soon as I am advised of his determination, the necessary measures will be taken. The accounts of cash advanced to the prisoners in Canada, I shall do myself the honor to transmit to his Excellency, General Washington."
[FN] The following is the list referred to, as enclosed by General Powell, viz:—"Names of the different families belonging to the following men of the 84th Regt. residing at Saratoga: John McDonell's family; Donald McGrewer's family; Duncan McDonell's family; John McIntosh's ditto; Duncan McDonell's ditto; Donald McDonald's ditto; Kenneth McDonell's ditto; John McDonell's father and mother."
"It affords me great satisfaction to learn that the British have at length found it prudent to follow the generous example exhibited to them by the Americans, in the mild treatment with which the prisoners in the power of the latter have been invariably indulged during the war.
"It is, however, a justice due to General Carleton and his successors to declare that, from all accounts, the prisoners immediately in their power have been treated with much leniency.
"But you, Sir, suppose that British subjects in our possession have experienced executions, the horrors of a dungeon, loaded with irons, and the miseries of want. It is true some spies have been executed, and amongst these Major André, Adjutant General of the British army under the command of Sir Henry Clinton. And even his death, although justice required it, and the laws of nations authorised it, was and is lamented by us with a feeling of generosity which does honor to human nature. None have experienced the horrors of a dungeon, or been loaded with irons, excepting a few on whom it was thought proper to retaliate for the many, the very many, indeed, of ours, whom British cruelty and inhumanity could suffer to perish for want in dungeons and prison-ships, loaded with irons and with insults. If you are ignorant of these facts, I can excuse your observations. If not, give me leave to tell you they are unworthy the gentleman and the officer, and evince a degree of disingenuousness unbecoming either.
"If General Haldimand considers the governing powers or these States to have been guilty of a breach of faith with regard to the cartel of the Cedars, he ought to apply to them in regard to that matter. Barely to mention it to a subordinate officer, was indelicate and improper. But as you have ventured to accuse, I will venture to deny the justice of the charge; and, as far as my memory of that transaction serves, I think I can do it with propriety." [FN]
[FN] The maxim of Colonel Gansevoort was, "his country, right or wrong." He would have found it a difficult undertaking, however, to justify the course adopted by Congress touching the cartel agreed upon by General Arnold at the Cedars. Indeed, the violation of the stipulations made on that occasion, had created difficulties in regard to exchanges of prisoners during the whole war. It wan frequently a source of embarrassment, and even of mortification, to General Washington, during the course of nearly the whole war.
"The newspapers announce that a general exchange of prisoners is settled below. Whether it extends to Canada, is not specified.
"I am, Sir, Your most obedient, Humble servant, Peter Gansevoort, Col.3d N. Y. Reg't.
"To Brigadier General Powell."
"Colonel Gansevoort to Major Carleton.
"Saratoga, Nov. 26, 1780
"Sir,
"This will be delivered you by Major Rosecrantz, of my regiment, who, together with the persons named in my pass of this day's date, goes as a flag to carry the letters he is charged with, and to return with your answer.
"General Powell's letter of the 22d September last, Captain Monsell's of the 19th, and your's of the 24th ultimo, were delivered me about noon to-day.
"I have left the letter for General Powell under flying seal for your perusal, that you may learn my determination respecting the families he requested to have sent. Should you conclude to send batteaux for them, they must come as far as Fort Anne, as the roads to Skenesborough are impassable for carriages, or to the farther end of Lake George, which would be much easier for the women and children. Their number amounts to nearly three hundred; and I believe ten batteaux will be necessary to carry them all at once. You will please to give directions to the officer whom you may send with your flag, to pass his receipt for the number of men, women, and children which shall be delivered. Pray advise me on what day you think the batteaux will arrive at the place you may intend to send them, that I may so arrange matters as to cause the least delay.
"A certain James Van Deusen, who deserted from our service to you, and who, since you were on this side the lake, has stolen back into the country, has been apprehended, and will suffer death as a deserter. He confesses that after the rencontre near Fort George, with some of Colonel Warner's men and your party, in which one of our Indians was killed, your Indians, in cool blood, scalped one of Warner's men alive, tormented him a considerable time, and afterward cut his throat—and all this in your presence. Your character, Sir, suffers greatly on this account. It has hitherto been marked by conduct the reverse of this sad catastrophe; and men of honor are unwilling to believe Van Deusen. I wish you to explain yourself to me on the subject.
"I am, Sir, Your most obedient and Humble servant, Peter Gansevoort, Col. 3d N. Y. Reg't.
"Major Carleton"
"Major Carleton to Colonel Gansevoort.
"Mile Bay, Nov. 6th. 1780.
"Sir,
"By your flag I have this moment received your letter of the 2d instant, with one directed to Brigadier General Powell. Respecting the families intended to be sent in, I answer to both. Being entirely ignorant of the purport of Brigadier Powell's letter to you on the subject, and having no instructions from General Haldimand respecting that business, I can only say that such persons as are specified in the Brigadier's list will be received, provided the number of boats mentioned in my postscript can contain them. Should there be room to spare, the names contained in the enclosed list, or as many of them as can be taken on board, will be received. My boats shall be at Skenesborough on the 9th, where they shall remain till the 14th at night, and then return to me, as I could not take upon me the risk of their being frozen up there.
"I should have expected Captain Chapman would hare given a flat contradiction to James Van Deusen's confession. No prisoner was scalped, or tortured alive. I saved the lives of several of the prisoners, who were neither stripped nor insulted in the smallest degree after the affair was over. I heard of one man being killed after he was taken during the firing, owing to a dispute between the two Indians, of different villages, who had taken him. He was either a Negro or a Stockbridge Indian I believe, and he would not suffer himself to be conducted to the British guard by a loyalist officer. The attention of the officer was necessarily directed to the care of his own men; and after the action I heard of the man being killed.
"I am, Sir, Your most obedient, and Most humble servant, Chr. Carleton, Major 29th Reg't.
"Colonel Gansevoort.
"P. S. There being no idea of this business, the shipping went down some days ago. I find it will not be in my power to furnish more than five boats. Could not the boat I gave to carry up the last families, be sent down with these?" [FN]
[FN] These letters are contained among the Gansevoort papers, and have been copied from the originals by the author. The same papers, together with a letter from General Haldimand to Lord George Germaine, are likewise the author's authorities for the brief sketch of the expeditions of Carleton and Major Haughton.
No farther outrages were committed on the northern and western frontiers during that Autumn. The next information received of Brant and his associates, was brought to Fort Schuyler by a family of Oneidas who had been released from Niagara. They arrived at the Fort on the 6th of December. Colonel Weisenfeldts, then in command, caused the head Indian of the party, whose name was Jacob Reed, to be examined; and the whole examination was transmitted, as taken down by question and answer, to General Clinton. From this statement it appeared that Joseph Brant, Colonel Butler, and Colonel Guy Johnson, were then in their old winter-quarters at Niagara. Of the Oneida warriors only thirty-seven had been persuaded to join the royal cause; one of whom had been killed, and five others had returned with Reed. The forces at Niagara at this time were stated to be sixty British regulars, commanded by a captain; four hundred loyalists commanded by Colonel Butler, and twelve hundred Indians (including women and children,) commanded by Brant and Guy Johnson. One of the objects of the late expedition to the Mohawk was stated by Reed to be the destruction of Schenectady; but as they had not penetrated so far, Brant and Johnson were meditating another campaign. The prisoners taken from Stone Arabia, after reaching Niagara, had been shipped for Buck Island in the river St. Lawrence; but from the long absence of the vessel, and the fragments of a wreck, drums, furniture, &c., which had been washed ashore, it was believed that she had been lost, and that all on board had perished. Reed farther stated, that as soon as the snow was hard, Brant, with five or six hundred warriors, was coming to the Oneida country, in order to keep within a convenient distance for sending scouts down the Mohawk. One of their objects was to be at all times prepared for cutting off the supplies proceeding for the garrison of Fort Schuyler. The Indians at Niagara, according to Reed's account, were well provided with every thing they could desire. [FN-1] But it was far otherwise with Fort Schuyler at this time. The letters of General Schuyler were full of complaints, not only of the difficulty of procuring provisions, but also of forwarding them to the outposts. In one of his letters, written at that period, he said there was not flour enough in Fort Schuyler to suffice for a single day's consumption. [FN-2]
[FN-1] General Clinton's Manuscripts.
[FN-2] MSS. of General Schuyler.
Thus ended the Indian campaigns of the North for the year 1780. There were, indeed, other petty occurrences on the outskirts, alarms, and now and then a few shots exchanged with a straggling Indian or Tory scout. But no other occurrence of importance within the range of the present history, marked the winter then closely advancing. And never did winter spread his mantle over a scene of greater desolation than lay beneath it in the Valley of the Mohawk.
Gloomy opening of the year—Distresses of the army—Revolt of the Pennsylvania line—Negotiations—Revolt of the New Jersey troops—Arnold's expedition to Virginia—Progress of the war at the South—Distresses at the North—Active movements of Brant in the Mohawk country—Meditated attack upon the Oneidas—Letter of Colonel Claus—Destitution of the country—Letter of General Schuyler—Destruction of Fort Schuyler by fire and flood—Suspicions of design—General Clinton's correspondence respecting that catastrophe—Hostile indications in the North—Indications of extensive treachery—Arrest of the disaffected at Ballston and its vicinity—Bearing of Washington in adversity—Colonel Willett appointed to the command of the Mohawk District—Slender means at his disposal—Burning of Currie-town—Battle of Durlagh—Defeat of the Indians—Death of Captain McKean—Irruption into Palatine—Willett's letter to Washington—Willett's influence upon the broken militia—Battle near the German Flats—Death of Solomon Woodworth—Story of John Christian Shell—Invasion of Ulster County by Indians and Tories under Captain Cauldwell—Another case of individual bravery—Incidents on the Kentucky border.
The sun of the new year was veiled by a cloud of deeper gloom than had previously darkened the prospects of the American arms at any period of the contest. The whole army, in all its divisions, at the North and in the South, was suffering severely both for clothing and provisions. Indeed, the accumulated sufferings and privations of "the army constitute a large and interesting portion of the history of the war of American independence. At the date now under review, Winter, without much lessening the toils of the soldiers, was adding to their sufferings. They were perpetually on the point of starving, were often entirely without food, were exposed without proper clothing to the rigors of the season, and had, moreover, now served almost twelve months without pay." [FN] Such was the general fact. The Pennsylvania troops had still farther grievances of which to complain. They had been enlisted in ambiguous terms—to "serve three years, or during the war." At the expiration of the stipulated period, "three years," the soldier claimed his discharge, while the officers insisted upon holding him to the other condition of the contract. The consequence was great dissatisfaction, increased, of course, by the much higher bounties subsequently paid for enlistments.
[FN] Marshall's Life of Washington.
The Pennsylvania line, consisting of six regiments, was cantoned at Morristown, under the immediate command of Brigadier General Wayne. So long had they been brooding over their wrongs, so intense had become their sufferings, and so discouraging were the prospects of remedy or redress, that the discontents which, down to the last day of the preceding year, had only been nurtured, broke out into open mutiny on the evening of the next. The spirit of insubordination was from the first so decided, and the evidences of revolt were so general, as at once to jeopard the cause. An effort was made to quell the mutiny, in the course of which several of the turbulent soldiers were wounded, as also were some of the officers, who were endeavoring to repress the disorder. One of the officers, Captain Billings, was killed. But the cause of the revolt was too deeply seated, and the disaffection too extensive, to be easily overcome. Even Wayne himself, the favorite of the Pennsylvanians, was without power. Drawing a pistol and threatening one of the most turbulent of the revolters; a bayonet was presented at his own bosom. [FN-1] In a word, the authority of the commissioned officers was at an end. The non-commissioned officers were generally engaged in the mutiny, and one of their number being appointed Commander-in-chief, they moved off in the direction of Philadelphia, with their arms and six pieces of artillery—deaf to the arguments, the entreaties, and the utmost efforts of their officers to change their purposes. [FN-2] As a last resort, Wayne and his officers attempted to divide them, but without effect. Those who at first appeared reluctant, were soon persuaded to unite with their comrades, to march upon Philadelphia and demand a redress of their wrongs at the doors of Congress.
[FN-1] Marshall.
[FN-2] Letter of Washington to President Weare of New Hampshire. This was a letter urging upon the government of New Hampshire to make some exertion to relieve the distresses of the army. A circular was sent to all the New England States to the same effect, and confided to General Knox, as a special agent to enforce the appeal. To President Weare, the Commander-in-chief said, plainly:—"I give it decidedly as my opinion, that it is in vain to think an army can be kept together much longer under such a variety of sufferings as ours has experienced; and that unless some immediate and spirited measures are adopted to furnish at least three months' pay to the troops in money, which will be of some value to them, and at tho same time provide ways and means to clothe and feed them better than they have been, the worst that can befall us may be expected." The Legislatures of Massachusetts and New Hampshire nobly responded to the call, and immediately voted a gratuity of twenty-four dollars in hard money to each of the non-commissioned officers and soldiers belonging to those States, who were engaged to serve daring the war.—Sparks.
The number of the revolters was about thirteen hundred—a loss that would have been severe of itself. But the most unpleasant apprehensions arose from the danger, not only that the spirit of insubordination might spread to other corps of the army, but that the mutineers might fall away in a body to the enemy, who would, of course, lose not a moment in availing himself of such a diversion in his favor. Coercive measures having failed to bring the revolters back to the path of duty, Wayne, with his principal officers, determined to follow close upon their rear and after the first transports of their passion should subside, try what virtue might be found in the arts of persuasion. The General overtook them at night in the neighborhood of Middlebrook, but being advised in their present temper not to venture among them, he invited a deputation of one sergeant from each regiment to meet him in consultation. The deliberations were amicable, and the General suggested a mode of obtaining redress of their grievances, which satisfied the delegates, who, on retiring, promised to exert their influence in bringing the men back to duty. But the attempt was ineffectual; and on the day following the mutineers marched to Princeton—the few who were well disposed and willing to separate from the mutineers, continuing with the majority at the request of their officers, in the hope that their exertions might "moderate the violence of their leaders, and check the contagion of their example."
The crisis was most critical. The Commander-in-chief, on receiving the first advices of the revolt, was disposed to repair at once to the camp of the mutineers; but on advisement and reflection, this course was relinquished. The complaints of the Pennsylvania line, in regard to destitution of provisions and clothing, were common to the whole army, and it was doubtful how far the contagion of disaffection might already have spread. Nor could the Commander-in-chief, whose head-quarters were at New Windsor, venture upon a visit to the mutineers, without taking with him a sufficient force to compel obedience to his commands should the exertion of force become necessary. But a sufficient body of troops for such an object could not be spared without leaving the fortresses in the Highlands too weak to resist an attack from Sir Henry Clinton, who would be sure to strike upon those important works at the first favorable moment. The river being free from ice, Sir Henry would possess every facility for such a movement the instant the back of Washington should be turned upon the North. Under all the circumstances of the case, therefore, the Commander-in-chief remained at his post, neglecting, however, no measure of justice within his power to heal the discontents, or of precaution to prevent their farther extension.
Meantime the mutineers remained several days at Princeton, refusing to proceed to the Delaware and cross into Pennsylvania, while Sir Henry Clinton made every disposition to avail himself of the revolt, and lost not a moment in despatching emissaries to their camp, with tempting offers to induce them to join the armies of the King. But, mutineers as they were, they nevertheless spurned the proposition; and retaining the emissaries in custody, handed the communications, of which they were the bearers, over to General Wayne. Though in rebellion against their officers, the soldiers were nevertheless indignant at the idea of turning their arms, as Arnold had done, against their own country; and those about them who were well disposed, availed themselves of the occasion, with much address, to impress upon their minds the magnitude of the insult conveyed in propositions made to them in the character of traitors. [FN]
[FN] Five days after their arrival among the mutineers, viz. on the 11th of January, Sir Henry's emissaries were tried by a court-martial, and executed.
News of the revolt had no sooner reached Philadelphia, than a committee was appointed by Congress, consisting of General Sullivan, [FN-1] and two other gentlemen, in conjunction with President Reed on behalf of the Council of Pennsylvania, to meet the revolters, and attempt to bring them back to reason. The demands of the mutineers were exorbitant, but were in the end acceded to with some unimportant modifications. They then moved forward to Trenton, and in the end, although better things were anticipated from the stipulations agreed upon, the Pennsylvania line was almost entirely disbanded. A voluntary performance, by Congress, of much less than was yielded by the committee, would have averted the evil, and saved the division. [FN-2]
[FN-1] Very soon after he left the army, at the close of the Seneca campaign, General Sullivan was elected to Congress, of which body he was an efficient and patriotic member. Afterward, in the years 1786, 1787, and 1788, he was President of New Hampshire, in which situation, by his vigorous exertions, he quelled the spirit of the insurrection which exhibited itself at the time of the trouble with Shays in Massachusetts. In 1789 he was appointed a District Judge. He died in 1795, aged 54.
[FN-2] Although the Pennsylvania line was thus dissolved, the evil was surmounted much sooner than had been anticipated. Before the close of January, Wayne wrote to Washington that the disbanded soldiers were "as impatient of liberty as they had bean of service, and that they were as importunate to be re-enlisted as they had been to be discharged." A reclaimed and formidable line was the result in the Spring.
The success of the Pennsylvania mutineers induced the New Jersey line, then stationed at Pompton, to follow the bad example; and on the night of the 20th of January a large portion of the brigade rose in arms. Their claims were precisely the same as those which had been yielded to the Pennsylvanians. By this time, however, the Commander-in-chief had satisfied himself that he could rely upon the eastern troops; and, chagrined as he had been by the result of the Pennsylvania revolt, he determined, not only that nothing more should be yielded to the spirit of insubordination, but that such an example should be made as would operate as a check to the like proceedings in future. A strong detachment of troops was accordingly led against the insurgents by General Howe, with instructions to make no terms whatsoever while they continued in a state of resistance. General Howe was farther instructed to seize a few of the ringleaders, and execute them on the spot. The orders were promptly complied with, and the insurrection was crushed at a blow. The mutinous brigade returned to its duty; and such vigorous measures were taken by the States to supply the wants of the army, as effectually checked the progress of discontent. [FN] But it was only by the strong process of impressment that those supplies could be wrung from the people, whose discontents, though less immediately alarming, were, nevertheless, as great as had been those of the army.
[FN] Sir Henry Clinton endeavored to avail himself of this New Jersey insurrection, in like manner as he had attempted to tamper with the Pennsylvanians. But his emissary, who was in the American interest, delivered his papers to the first American officer with whom he met.
The first active demonstration of Sir Henry Clinton, on the opening of the new year, was the expedition against Virginia, under the conduct of General Arnold. The arch-traitor had, in fact, sailed from New-York toward the close of December, but he did not enter the Capes of Virginia until the beginning of January—landing at Westover on the 6th. He marched to Richmond, and after some trifling skirmishes on the way, destroyed the stores at that place, and also at Westham; whereupon he retired to Norfolk. This was a mere predatory expedition, attended by no important result. Farther south, events were continually occurring of greater moment. General Greene having been assigned to the command of that department, after the signal discomfiture of Gates, affairs soon wore a brighter aspect. The loss of the battle of Camden, a few months before, was balanced, and, in its moral effect, more than balanced, by the decisive victory over Tarleton, achieved by General Morgan at the Cowpens on the 17th of January. And although Greene was defeated at Guilford on the 15th of March, yet the victory was too dearly won by Earl Cornwallis to render it a just occasion of triumph. So likewise in the repulse of Greene by Lord Rawdon at Camden, owing to the misconduct of the militia, the British commander was nevertheless so roughly handled that, although he received a reinforcement in the course of the following night, he deemed it expedient to destroy the town, and retire farther down the Santee. But these apparent disadvantages were amply compensated by the masterly manœuvres of Greene, and the brilliant succession of victories over the smaller works and detachments of the enemy. In these latter affairs, Forts Watkinson, Orangeburgh, Motte, Silver Bluff, Granby, and Cornwallis were successively taken, and the enemy was compelled to evacuate other forts. Lord Rawdon was likewise obliged to fall back upon Charleston, while Cornwallis was pursuing a doubtful march into Virginia. The great disadvantage labored under by General Greene, was the necessity of depending in a great measure upon the militia—not having regular troops sufficient to cope with the veterans from Europe. But, though not always victorious in battle, he was invariably so in the results. And his masterly movements proved him far in advance of any of his antagonists, in all the requisites of an able commander.
But while events thus propitious to the American arms were occurring at the South, the aspect of affairs, as has already been seen, was sadly discouraging at the North. In addition to the destitution of the main army, causing the insurrections in the Pennsylvania and New-Jersey lines, so wretchedly supplied were the small garrisons from Albany northward and westward, both in respect to food and clothing, that it was only with the utmost difficulty that the officers could keep the soldiers upon duty. Ravaged as the whole Mohawk country had been the preceding Summer and Autumn, no supplies could be drawn from the diminished and impoverished inhabitants remaining in those settlements; while it was equally difficult to procure supplies, either at Albany or below, or eastwardly beyond that city. It is painful to read the private correspondence of General Schuyler, and Governor and General Clinton upon this subject. Orders for impressing provisions were freely issued, particularly against the disaffected portion of the people, who had greatly increased in numbers in that section of the country; but some of the supplies thus taken were returned, from the knowledge of General Schuyler that they had nothing more for their own support. Meantime, emboldened by his successes the preceding year, the enemy hung around the skirts of the settlements, approaching almost beneath the very guns of the forts, cutting off all communication with them, unless by means of strong escorts, so that it was difficult and often impossible even to throw such scanty supplies into the garrisons as could be obtained.
The Oneidas having been driven from their country the preceding year, even the slight barrier against irruptions from the more western tribes, who were all hostile, into the Mohawk country, afforded by that slender people, was gone. On the 15th of January, the scouts of Thayendanegea appeared openly in the German Flats, and attacked some of the inhabitants. During the months of February and March, Brant was hovering about the Mohawk, ready to spring upon every load of supplies destined for Forts Plain, Dayton, and Schuyler, not too strongly guarded, and cutting off every straggling soldier or inhabitant so unfortunate as to fall within his grasp.
On the 6th of March, Major Nicholas Fish wrote to General Clinton, from Schenectady, informing him that a party of fifteen of Colonel Van Cortlandt's regiment, at Fort Schuyler, had fallen into the hands of Brant's Indians; and on the 2d of April, in moving to the neighborhood of that fort, to cut off another escort of supplies, the same lynx-eyed chieftain made prisoners of another detachment from that garrison of sixteen men. The difficulty of transporting the provisions, however, the unbeaten snow lying to a great depth, had so greatly retarded the progress of the scouts, that the intrepid warrior was disappointed in this portion of the spoils, having, as it subsequently appeared, attempted to strike too soon.
But the hunted Oneidas, notwithstanding the neutrality of the greater part of them, were not altogether safe in their new position near Schenectady. It seems to have chafed both Brant and his employers, that a single tribe of Indians had been detached from their influence or service; and their destruction was again seriously meditated, with the sanction of Sir Frederick Haldimand, as will more fully appear by the annexed letter from Colonel Daniel Claus, the brother-in-law of Sir John Johnson, to Captain Brant.
"Colonel Claus to Captain Brant.
"Montreal, 3d March, 1781.
"Dear Joseph,
"Captain John Odeserundiye, about a month ago, showed me a letter he received from you, with a proposal to him about the Oneidas, telling me he had answered you that he would join you with his party about the 20th of this month, desiring me at the same time to keep it a secret from the Mohawk Indians and others, for fear of being made public; he then asked me where the Oneidas now lived, which then I could not tell him; but since that I was informed that the rebels had posted themselves at a place called Palmerstown, about twelve or fifteen miles west of Saraghtoga, of which I acquainted His Excellency General Haldimand, together with your intentions and plan; whereupon I received His Excellency's answer enjoining the utmost secrecy to me, and which I hereby give you in the words of his letter, by Captain Mathews his secretary, and is the occasion of this express.
"His Excellency, General Haldimand, commands me to acquaint you that Captain Brant's intention meets highly with his approbation, and wishes to assist it; which might be done from this place in the following manner, but the General desires you will keep it inviolably secret. He has for some time intended sending a party of about sixty chosen loyalists, under the command of Major Jessup, toward Fort Edward; this party might join Joseph against Palmerstown could he ascertain the time and place, which might be nearly done by calculating the time his express would take to come from Carleton Island—his march from thence, and Major Jessup's from Point au Fez, alias Nikadiyooni. If Joseph wishes to have this assistance, he must confer with Major Ross, who will send off an active express; otherwise, if Joseph should prefer aid from that quarter, Major Ross and Captain Robertson are directed to afford it; and, indeed, the delays and uncertainty of the parties joining punctually, incline the General to think it more eligible.
"Should you upon this adopt the General's offer and opinion, and proceed from Carleton Island to Palmerstown, which place I am sure several of Major Ross's men and others at the island are well acquainted with, I wish you the aid of Providence with all the success imaginable; in which case it will be one of tho most essential services you have rendered your king this war, and cannot but by him be noticed and rewarded; your return by Canada will be the shortest and most eligible, and we shall be very happy to see you here. As I received the General's letter this afternoon only, I could not speak with Odeserundiye, but have wrote to him by express to let you know the precise time he intends meeting you. Mrs. Claus and all friends are well here, and salute you heartily; also your sister and daughters; the others here are well, and desire their love and duty. I hope she received the things safe which I sent lately by Anna. Adieu. God bless and prosper you.
"Yours most sincerely, Dan'l. Claus.
"Captain Brant.
"P. S. The great advantage of setting out from Carleton Island, is the route, which is so unexpected a one, that there is hardly any doubt but you will surprise them, which is a great point gained. Whereas, were you to set out from Canada, there are so many friends, both whites and Indians, to the rebel cause, that you could not well get to the place undiscovered, which would not do so well.
"D. C."
Happily, from some cause now unknown, this project, so well devised, and apparently so near its maturity, was never executed. The narrative is therefore resumed.
So great, and so universal, was the distress for provisions, already adverted to, that, on the 29th of March, General Clinton wrote to the Governor, "I am hourly under apprehensions that the remaining different posts occupied for the defence of the frontiers of this State, will be abandoned, and the country left open to the ravages of the enemy." Such continued suffering of course produced disaffection in this department also; and the greatest possible prudence was required, on the part of the officers, to prevent desertions of whole bodies. So critical was their situation, that in a letter to the Governor, of May 3d, General Clinton mentions the fact, that a small scout, commanded by a corporal, in the neighborhood of Port George, having captured a party of the enemy, "with a packet, had been bribed to release them for a guinea each and two silk handkerchiefs." Still worse than this was the fact that the General was afraid to proceed openly to punish the delinquency. On the 5th General Clinton again wrote to the Governor—"From the present appearance, I am convinced that the troops will abandon the frontier. It is absurd to suppose they can or will exist under the present circumstances. However, let what will be the consequences, I have nothing to reproach myself with. I have repeatedly called for assistance from every quarter, but could obtain none." On the 8th of May, General Schuyler, writing from Saratoga, said—"I wrote you this morning, since which, finding the troops exceedingly uneasy, Colonel Van Vechten and I turned out each one of the best cattle we had; the meat proved better than was expected, but the soldiers still continue troublesome; they have hung part of it on a pole with a red flag above a white one, and some of them hold very alarming a conversation. I dread the consequences, as they can so easily a join the enemy. If a body of nine-months men were here, it a would probably deter the others from going off to the northward, [the enemy meaning] if they should have such an intention."
Great blame was imputed to Congress; and likewise to the State governments, for allowing the commissariat to come to such a deplorable pass. The resources of the country were known to be abundant for the comfortable sustenance of a much larger army than was at that time in the field; but the efficient action of Congress was fettered by its want of power. The States, jealous of their own sovereignty, had withholden from the central government powers which were essential to the vigorous prosecution of the war, while it was but seldom that they could be brought into a simultaneous and harmonious exertion of those powers themselves. Hence the frequent and keen distresses of the army, and the complicated embarrassments under which the officers were compelled to struggle during the whole war. Still, the blame did not rest wholly with the States. There were jealousies, and heart-burnings, and intrigues, in the Congresses of that day, as in later times; and their conduct was often the subject of bitter complaint in the letters of the Commander-in-chief. The following letter from General Schuyler bears hard upon the officers of the federal government, while at the same time it depicts the extreme destitution of the country at the north, at the period under consideration:—