3 9002 06126 5691 ^ ;i*HW - > (\3 : £'<:, -:m. mm? * ¦ ¦' \£mk VM yt *&*!)** ¦%* MkU \ fflik '%&, »' «SBi *a YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY THE PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK OF THE REVOLUTION OR. ILLUSTRATIONS, BY PEN AND PENCIL, OF THE HISTORY, BIOG RAPHY, SCENERY, RELICS, AND TRADITIONS OF THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE. BY BENSON J. LOSSING. WITH ELEVEN HUNDRED ENGRAVINGS ON WOOD, BY LOSSING AND BARRITT, CHIEFLY FROM ORIGINAL SKETCHES BY THE AUTHOR. IN TWO VOLUMES. VOL. I. NEW YORK : HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS. FRANKLIN SQUARE. 1855. Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year one thousand eight hundred and fifty, by Harper & Brothers, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Southern District of New York. HE story of the American Revolution has been well and often told, and yet the most careless observer of the popular mind may perceive that a large proportion of our people are but little instructed in many of the essential details of that event, so im portant for every intelligent citizen to learn. Very few are ig norant of the more conspicuous circumstances of that period, and all who claim to be well-informed have a correct general knowledge of the history of our war for independence. But few even of that intelligent class are acquainted with the location of the various scenes depicted by the histo rian, in their relation to the lakes and rivers, towns and cities, whose names are familiar to the ears of the present generation. For example : the citizen of Saratoga may have a thorough knowledge of the memorable places in his own vicinage, and of the incidents which have hallowed them, yet how puzzled he would be if asked to tell the inquiring stranger, or his more inquisitive children, upon what particular stream, or lofty height, or broad plain, or in what mount ain gorge, occurred the battles of Rocky Mount, King's Mountain, Eutaw Springs, or the Cowpens. These are places- widely known in their respective districts, and the events connected with them form as important links in the chain of cir cumstances which were developed in the progress of the colonies toward independ ence, as the surrender of Burgoyne and his army upon the plain at Saratoga. Among this class, claiming to be generally informed, but ignorant in many partic ulars, especially in relation to the character and situation of localities, the writei places himself; and to an appreciation of the necessity of a more thorough knowl edge of these places, and of the men who are identified with the Revolution, the reader is partially indebted for the pages which follow this confession. To obtain this accurate chorographical knowledge of our early history as a confed eration of states, was not the only incentive to undertake a journey to the battle fields and other localities hallowed by the events of the Revolution. My limited observation had perceived many remaining physical vestiges of that struggle. Half- viii PREFACE. hidden mounds of old redoubts ; the ruined walls of some stronger fortification ; dilap idated buildings, neglected and decaying, wherein patriots met for shelter or in council; and living men, who had borne the musket and knapsack day after day in that conflict, occasionally passed under the eye of my casual apprehension. For years a strong desire was felt to embalm those precious things of our cherished house hold, that they might be preserved for the admiration and reverence of remote pos terity. I knew that the genius of our people was the reverse of antiquarian rever ence for the things of the past ; that the glowing future, all sunlight and eminence, absorbed their thoughts and energies, and few looked back to the twilight and dim valleys of the past through which they had journeyed. I knew that the invisible ringers of decay, the plow of agriculture, and the behests of Mammon, unrestrained in their operations by the prevailing spirit of our people, would soon sweep away every tangible vestige of the Revolution, and that it was time the limner was abroad. I knew that, like stars at dawn which had beamed brightly through a long night, the men of old were fast fading away, and that relics associated with their trials and triumphs would soon be covered up forever. Other men, far more competent than myself to use the pen and pencil, appeared indisposed to go out into the ap parently shorn and unfruitful field upon which I looked with such covetous delight, except to pick up a grain here and there for special preservation. I knew that the vigorous reapers who had garnered the products of that broad field, must have let fall from their full hands many a precious ear loaded with choice grain, and I re solved to go out as a gleaner, carefully' gather up what they had left behind, and add the winnings to their store. Like the servants of Boaz, when Ruth followed the reapers, they seem to have "let fall also some of the handfuls of purpose for me, that I might glean them," for I found a far greater abundance than hope had promised. I have " gleaned in the field until even, and beat out that I have gleaned," and here is my " ephah of barley." In the arrangement of a plan for presenting the result of these labors to the public in an acceptable form many difficulties were perceptible. Other histories of our Revolution had been written, embellished, and read ; what could be produced more attractive than they ? The exciting literature of the day, ranging in its in toxicating character from the gross pictures of sensual life drawn by the French wri ters of fiction, to the more refined, but not less intoxicating works of popular and esteemed novelists, so cheaply published and so widely diffused, has produced a degree of mental dissipation throughout our land, destructive, in its tendency, to sober and rational desires for imbibing useful knowledge. Among the young, where this dissipation is most rife, and deleterious in its effects, it seemed most desi rable to have the story of our Revolution known and its salutary teachings pondered and improved, for they will be the custodians of our free institutions when the active men of the present generation shall step aside into the quiet shadows of old age. Next to tales of love and gallantry, the young mind is most charmed by the narra tives of the traveler. The woof of our history is too sacred to be interwoven with the tinsel filling of fiction, and we should have too high a regard for truth to seek the potential aid of its counterfeit in gaining audience in the ear of the million ; but to the latter taste we may consistently pay court, and in behalf of sober history, use its PREFACE. ix power in disputing for the preference with the tourist. As my journey was among scenes and things hallowed to the feelings of every American, I felt a hope that a record of the pilgrimage, interwoven with that of the facts of past history, would attract the attention, and win to the perusal of the chronicles of, our Revolution many who could not be otherwise decoyed into the apparently arid and flowerless domains of mere history. I accordingly determined to make the record of the tour to the important localities of the Revolution a leading feature in the work. Here another difficulty was encountered. So widely scattered are those localities, and so simultaneous were many of the events, that a connected narrative of the journey must necessarily break up the chronological unity of the history* and, at times, produce some confusion. To give incidents of the journey, and sketches and de scriptions of the scenery and relics as they appear at present, in fragmentary notes, would deny to the work the charm of a book of travel, and thus almost wholly re move the prime object in view in giving such narrative. The apparently less objec tionable course was chosen, and the history was broken into fragments, arranged, in the exhibition, in accordance with the order in which each locality was visited, the fragments individualized as much as possible, yet always maintaining a tie of visible relationship with the whole. The apparent difficulties in the way of the student which this plan suggests, are removed by the aid of a complete Ana lytical Index at the close of the work, while the narrative of the tour remains un broken, except by the continually recurring appendices of history. How far this arrangement shall accomplish the desired result the candid judgment of the reader must determine. To collect the pictorial and other materials for this work, I traveled more than eight thousand miles in the Old Thirteen States and Canada, and visited every im portant place made memorable by the events of the war ; yet, in all that long and devious journey, through cities and villages, amid mountains and vast pine forests,' along rivers and over fertile plantations, from New England to Georgia, with no passport to the confidence, no claim to the regard of those from whom information was sought, except such as the object of my errand afforded, and communing with men of every social and intellectual grade, I never experienced an unkind word or cold repulsion of manner. On the contrary, politeness always greeted my first sal utation, and, when the object of my visit was announced, hospitality and friendly services were freely bestowed. Every where the memorials of our Revolution are cherished with devotional earnestness, and a feeling of reverence for these things abounds, though kept quiescent by the progressive spirit of the age. To those who thus aided and cheered me in my enterprise, I here proffer my sincere thanks. I can not name them all, for they are too numerous, but they will ever remain cher ished "pictures on memory's wall." . It has been said that "diligence and accuracy are the only merits which a his torical writer may ascribe to himself." Neither labor nor care has been spared in the collection of materials, and in endeavors to produce a work as free from grave errors as possible. It has imperfections ; it would be foolish egotism to assert the contrary. In the various histories of the same events many discrepancies appear ; these I have endeavored to reconcile or correct by documentary and other reliable- x PREFACE. testimony ; and if the work is not more accurate than its predecessors, it is believed to be equally so with the most reliable. Free use has been made of the available labors of others in the same department of literature, always accrediting the source from whence facts were derived. I have aimed to view men and events with an impartial eye, censuring friends when they deserved censure, and commending en emies when truth and justice demanded the tribute. The historical events recorded were those of a family quarrel concerning vital principles in jurisprudence ; and wisely did a sagacious English statesman console himself, at the close of the war, with the reflection, "We have been subdued, it is true, but, thank Heaven, the brain and the muscle which achieved the victory were nurtured by English blood ; Old England, upon the Island of Great Britain, has been beaten only by Young England, in America." In the pictorial department, special care has been observed to make faithful de lineations of fact. If a relic of the Revolution was not susceptible of picturesque effect in a drawing, without a departure from truth, it has been left in its plainness, for my chief object was to illustrate the subject, not merely to embellish the book. I have endeavored to present the features of things as I found them, whether homely or charming, and have sought to delineate all that fell in my way worthy of pres ervation. To do this, it was necessary to make the engravings numerous, and no larger than perspicuity demanded, else the work would be filled with pictures to the exclusion of essential reading matter. The plans of military movements have been drawn chiefly from British sources, for very few were made by the engineers in the Continental service. These appear to be generally pretty correct, so far as they represent the immediate movements of the armies in actual conflict ; but the general topographical knowledge possessed by those engineers, was quite defective. I have endeavored to detect and correct their inaccuracies, either in the drawings or in the illustrative descriptions. With these general remarks respecting the origin and construction of the work, it is submitted to the reading public. If a perusal of its pages shall- afford as much pleasure and profitable knowledge as were derived from the journey and in the arrangement of the materials for the press, the effort has not been unfruitful of good results. With an ardent desire that it may .prove a useful worker in the maintenance and growth of true patriotism, ILLUSTRATIONS— Vol. I. 70.71.72.73. 74.75. 76.77. 78. 79.BO.Bl. 62. 83.84. 85. Illuminated Frontispiece. Title-page. Ornamental Head for Proface and Initial Letter. . . Page iii. TailPiece vi. Ornamental Head for Contents vii. Initial Letter — Introduction xv. Portrait and Signature of Columbus xviii. Portrait of Isabella xxii. Spanish Caravel xxiii. View of Palos xxiii. Ruins of the Pinzon Mansion xxiii. Landing of Columbus xxv. Banner of the Expedition xxv. Portrait of Sebastian Cabot .' xxvii. Portrait, of Amerigo Vespucci xxviii. Portrait of De Soto ¦. xxxi. Portrait of Verrazzani xxxii.. Initial Letter 33 The Clermont 35 Portrait of Lieutenant General Burgoyne 37 Portrait of General Schuyler 38 Initial Letter 43 Localities at Bemis's Heights 46 Portrait of Thadde'us Kosciusko 49 Battle-ground of Stillwater f 53 Burgoyne's Encampment on the Hudson 57 House in which Genera] Fraser died 64 29. Tomahawks 64 Fraser's Burial-place 66 Lady Ackland proceeding to the American Camp 68 Initial Letter 69 Schuyler's Mill, Saratoga 73 Schuyler's Mansion 74 General Gates's Head-quarters at Saratoga 75 Plan of the Armies at Burgoyne's Surrender 77 Fac-simile of the Signatures of Burgoyne and Gates. . . 79 View of the Place where the British laid down their Arms ' 80 Site of the first Interview between Gates and Bur goyne 81 Medal struck in Honor of General Gates and his Army 83 Portrait of Silas Deane 85 Initial Letter 88 The Riedesel House, Saratoga 89 Cellar of the Riedesel House 89 General Schuyler and Baroness Riedesel 91 Place where Lovelace waa executed 92 Bloody Run 94 Fort Miller, Fording place '. 94 Fort Edward 95 Balm of Gilead at Fort Edward 95 Diagram illustrating a Fortification 96 Jane M'Crea Tree, Tort Edward 97 A River Bateau , 98 Jane M'Crea Spring 99 Grave of Jane M'Crea 101 Colonel Cochran's Monument 102 Mouth of Fort Edward Creek 102 A curious Skull 103 Two Sides of a Cross-pistareen 103 Initial Letter 104 Viewbelow Glenn's Falls 105 Williams's Rock 106 Portrait of King Hendrick 106 Bloody Pond 107 Fort William Henry 108 Ruins of the Citadel of Fort George 112 Head of Lake George 113 Long Point and Vicinity 114 Sabbath Day Point. . . : 115 Lake George and part of Lake Champlain 115 Rogers's Rock 116 Ground Plan of Fort Ticonderoga 118 Initial Letter 121 Portrait of Isaac Rice 122 Ruins at Ticonderoga 127 The Bakery 128 View from the Top of Mount Defiance 131 Portrait of General St. Clair 132 Site of Fort Anne. 139 Major Tsrael Putnam in* British Uniform 140 Battle-ground near Fort Anne 141 View at Putnam's Rock 142 The Battleground at Hubbardton 145 Plan of the Battle -f. 146 Head-stone, Mount Independence 148 86. View from Sholes's Landing Page 149 87. Initial Letter. 150 88. Plan of the Fort 151 89. Crown Point J.52 90. Inscribed Stone 152 91. Well at Crown Point .'/ 153 92. " Virtual Representation," a Caricature 158 93. Split Rock 159 94. Burgoyne addressing the Indians 160 95. Tomb of Ethan Allen 161 96. Scene of Arnold's Naval Battle 1 162 97. Plan of Arnold's first Engagement 163 98. Plan of Arnold's second Engagement 164 99. Washington's Hair-p'owder Pouch 166 100. Isle Aux Noix, in the Sorel 167 101. Military Establishment at St. John's 169 102. Fort at Chambly. 171 103. St. John's, on the Richelieu River 172 104. Portrait of Lord George Germain 173 105. French Canadian House 173 106. Canadian Peasant Girl 174 107. Beloeil Mountain 174 108. Portrait of Francois Vest 175 109. A Thunderstruck Rock 175 110, 111. A Caleche— Aurora Borealis 176 112. Initial Letter 177 113. Grey Nun Praying 178 114. View of Montreal and its Walls in 1760 179 115. Signature of Ethan Allen 180 116. Portrait of Sir Guy Carleton .' 181 117. Walls ofQuebec 183 118. View of Point Levi from Durham Terrace 185 119. Wolfe's Ravine 187 120. Portrait of General Wolfe^ '. 188 121. Wolfe's Monument 189 122. Norridgewock Falls, 1775 191 123. Arnold's Route through the Wilderness, 1775 193 124. Initial Letter 195 125. St John's Gate .198 126. Cape Diamond 198 127. Place where Arnold was wounded 199 128. Palace Gate, outside 199 129. Portrait of General Montgomery 200 130. Montgomery's Monument- 201 131. Palace Gate, inside 202 132. Temperance Cross 203 133. Montmorenci Falls 203 134. Wolfe and Montcalm's Monument 205 135. The Cascades, or St. Ann's Rapids 206 136. Cedar's Rapids, at St. Timothy 1 207 137. Lumber Raft on the St Lawrence 209 138. Cairn 209 139. Sheldon House 210 140. Wind-mill Point 211 141. Portrait and Signature of Lord Amherst 213 142. Initial Letter 214 143. Bomb-proof Tower 214 144! Oswego in 1755 217 145. Forts at Oswego 217 146. Remains of " New Fort," Oswego 218 147. View of Oswego and the Fort in 1798 220 148. View of Oswego Harbor, 1848 221 149. Portrait of Mrs. Cochran 223 150. Distant View of Fort Niagara 225 151. Niagara Suspension Bridge 228 152. Sepulchral Stone 230 153. Site of Fort Stanwix 231 154. Portrait of Sir William Johnson 232 155. Fort Johnson 232 156. Caughnawaga Church 233 157. Guy Park 234 158. Initial Letter 240 159. Portrait of Colonel Gansevoort 240 160. Order of March of St. Leger's Forces 241 161. Portrait of Colonel Marinus Willett 244 162. Battle-ground of Oriskany 245 163. BowlofaPipe 246 164. Fort Schuyler and Vicinity 249 165. Old Stone Church, German Flats 254 166. The Pulpit of the Church 254 167. Fort Herkimer 25» 168. Portrait of Joseph Brant 256 169. Hieroglyph of Teymdagages, or Little Hendrick 256 170. Hieroglyph of Kanadagea, or Hans 256 171. Signature and Hieroglyph of King Hendrick 256 ILLUSTRATIONS. 172. Cross of Kanadagea Page 256 173. Cross of Tinyahasara, or Little Abraham 256 174. Signature of Daniel 256 175. Excavations at Little Falls 259 176. View of Little Falls .' 259 177. View below Moss Island 259 178. General Herkimer's Residence 260 179. Herkimer's Grave 260 180. Castle Church 261 181. Fort Plain 261 182. Fort Plain Block-house 262 183. Lipe's House 263 184. Old Parsonage and Church 263 185. Initial Letter *. 264 186.- Armed Settlers 266 .87. Signature of Walter Butler 270 188. Portrait of General Sullivan 272 189. Order of March against the Indians 274 190. InitialLetter 284 191. The Butler House 285 192. Signature of John Butler 285 193. North Front of Johnson Hall 286 194. Signature of Sir John Johnson. 286 195. Vignette on Sir William Johnson's Diploma 288 196. The Kane House 292 197. Portrait, House, and Signature of J. Dievendorf 293 198. Mansion of Judge Campbell 296 199. Distant View of Cherry Valley 297 200. Branf s Rock 297 201. Portrait of Hendrick Hudson 301 202. Schuyler's Mansion at Albany 304 203. Initial Letter 305 204. Washington's Head-quarters at Morristown -v 309 205. Schuyler's Head-quarters at Morristown ' 315 206. Fac-simile of the Continental Paper Money 317 207. Fac-simile of the first Money coined in the United States i 318 208. Cipher Alphabet 320 209. Fac-simile of Cipher Writing 320 210. Old Apple-tree at Springfield 322 211. Plan of the Battle at Springfield 322 212. Mrs. Mathews's House , 323 213. Caldwell's Monument 326 214. Boudinofs Vault 326 215. Old Tavern at Elizabethport 328 216. Franklin's Stove 326 217. "Liberty HaU" 329 218. Portrait of Governor Livingston 330 219. Steuben's Head-quarters at Middlebrook 333 220. Washington's Rock 334 221. InitialLetter 337 222. Scene in the Wyoming Valley 341 223. Portrait of Count Zinzendorf 342 224. View near Toby's Eddy 343 225. Site of Wintermoot's Fort 351 226. Position of the Wyoming Forts 353 227. Signature of Colonel Z. Butler 355 228. The Susquehanna at Monocasy Island 356 229. Queen Esther's Rock 357 230. The Treaty Table 359 231. Initial Letter 364 232. Wyoming Monument 365 233. Frances Slocum — Ma-con-a-qua 369 234. Timothy Pickering 374 235. The "Red House" 375 236. Cars entering the Mines at Carbondale 378 237. LampofaMlner 378 238. Appearance of the Chambers in the MineB 379 239. View from the Shawangunk Mountains 381 240. InitialLetter 382 241. The Van Kleek House, Poughkeepsie 383 242. The Livingston Mansion 385 243. The Constitution House, Kingston 387 244. The Yeoman House} .». 388 245. Monument in Church-yard, Kingston 389 246. View at the Mouth of the Rondout 390 247. Van Schaick's Mill 391 248. Portrait of General Stark 394 249. Plan of the Battle of Bennington 395 250. The Bennington Battle-ground 396 251. InitialLetter 401 252. .Distant View of Compo 402 253. Head quarters of Agnew and Erskine 403 254. Dibble's Barn 404 255. Portrait of Joel Barlow 405 256. Portrait of Joseph Dibble 406 257. Portrait of General Wooster 408 258. Place of the Barricades, Ridgefield 409 259. Place where Wooster Fell 410 260. Putnam's Quarters 411 261. Putnam's Hill 412 262. Fitch's Point, the Landing-place of the British 413 263. Darien Church 414 264. Grummon's Hill 415 265. The Green, Fairfield 416 266. The Regicides' Tomb-stones 420 267. Arnold's Residence, New Haven Page 421 268. Savin Rock 422 269. West Bridge and Milford Hill 423 270. Campbell's Monument 423 271. Landing-place of General Tryon. -\ 424 272. The Buckley House 426 273. Humphreys's Monument 429 274. Portrait of Colonel Humphreys 429 275. Portait of Dr. Eneas Munson 430 276. Signature of Nathan Beers.'. 431 277. Initial Letter 432 278. First Meeting-house in Connecticut 433 279. The Charter Oak - 434 280. The Webb House 436 281. Elder Brewster'B Chest, brought in the May Flower. 437 282. Key of the Chest 437 283. Fac-simile of the Signatures of the Pilgrims 438 284. Ancient Chair 438 285. Chopping-knife 438 286. Putnam's Tavern Sign 439 287. The old Colony Seal 445 288. Ancient Map of Massachusetts Bay 446 289. The " Pine tree Shilling" 449 290. The Beacon in Boston 451 291. Facsimile of the first American Paper Money 452 292. Sealof George III., the Purse, and Chancellor's Mace. 456 293. InitialLetter 457 294. Portrait* of George III. at the Time of his Accession.. 457 295. Usual Appearance of King George III., 1776 458 296. Portrait of Queen Charlotte 458 297. Portrait of George Grenville 460 298. Portrait of Colonel Barre 463 *ffl9. Liberty Tree 466 300. Portrait of Governor Hutchinson 468 301. Portrait of Charles, Marquis of Rockingham 470 302. Portrait of William Pitt 472 303. The Province House 474 304. Portrait of John Dickinson 476 305. Faneuil Hall 479 306. Portrait of Augustus Henry, Duke of Grafton 482 307. Portrait of Lord North 483 308. Initial Letter 485 309. Title-page of the Boston Almanac, 1770 486 310. Music of the " Massachusetts Song of Liberty" 487 311. The " Old South" Meeting-house 490 312. Signature of James Otis 492 313. Portrait of Lord Dartmouth 495 314. Portrait of David Kinnison 499 315. Portrait of G. R. T. Hewes 501 316. Portrait of Edmund Burke 503 317. Hancock's House, Boston 507 318. Skull and "Cross-bones".. 507 319. Disjointed Snake— device at the head of Newspapers 508 320. InitialLetter 509 321. Portrait of Samuel Adams 510 322. View of Boston from Dorchester, 1774 512 323. View of the Lines on Boston Neck 513 324, Portrait of John Hancock 515 325. Medallion Likeness of Adam Smith 517 326. Portrait of Edward Gibbon 519 327. Medallion Likeness of John Wilkes 520 328. Clarke's House, Lexington 523 329. Skirmish at Lexington 524 330. Signature of Colonel James Barret 525 331. Colonel Barret's House 526 333. Battle-ground at Concord 526 333. Plan of the Monuments at Concord 527 334. InitialLetter 533 335. Reverse of a Massachusetts Treasury Note, 1775 534 336. Charlestown and adjacent Hills in 1775 538 337. Plan of the Redoubt on Breed's Hill 540 338. The New England Flag 541 339. Action on Breed's Hill 543 340. Portrait of Joseph Warren 5*48 341. Warren's Monument 549 342. Initial Letter 551 343. Monument at Concord 552 344. Monument at Lexington 553 345. Near View of the Monument 553 346. Portrait of Jonathan Harrington 554 347. Washington's Head-quarters at Cambridge 555 348. The Riedesel House, Cambridge 557 349. Bunker Hill Monument 558 350. Signature of the Baroness Riedesel 558 351. Chantrey's Statue of Washington 561 352. Mather's Vault 561 353. Cotton Mather's Writing 562 354. Speaker's De6k and Winthrop's Chair 562 355. King Philip's Samp-pan 562 356. Captain Church's Sword 562 357. The Washington Elm, Cambridge 564 358. Boston with its Environs, 1776 566 359. The Pine-tree Flag '_'. 570 360. Signature of Governor Gage 573 361. British Fort on Bunker Hill , . 574 362. American Floating Battery 575 ILLUSTRATIONS. 363.364.365.366.367. 368. 369.370.371.372.373. 374. 375. 376.377.378.379.380. 381.382.383.384. 385. 386.387. 390.391. 392. 393.394.395. 396. 397.398.399.400.401. 402.403. 404.405.406.407.408.409.410.411.412.413. 414.415.416. 417. 418. 419,420.421. 422. 423. 424.425.426. 427. 428. 429. 430.431. 432.433. 434.435.436. 437.438.439.440. 441. 442. Initial Letter Page 577 Gold Medal awarded to Washington 584 Medal struck in Honor of Lord North S86 R-oxbury Fort ; 592 Ground Plan of the Fort 592 Initial Letter 595 Signatures of Uncas and his Sons ...'. 597 Uncas's Monument 598 Residence of General Huntington 600 Portrait of Jonathan Trumbull 601 Governor Trumbull's War Office 602 The Trumbull House 602 The Alden Tavern 603 The Williams House 603 The Trumbull Vault 603 Birth-place of Benedict Arnold 604 Governor Huntington's Mansion 606 Governor Huntington's Tomb .* 607 General Huntington's Tomb . . .. 607 Map of New London Harbor 609 New London Harbor, looking North.* 610 View of the Landing-place of Arnold 611 Monument at Groton 614 Portrait of Mrs. Bailey 617 Bishop Seabury's Monument .-. 618 Initial Letter 619 Landing-place of Roger Williams 620 Signature of Roger Williams 623 Hopkins's Monument 624 Governor Cooke's Monument 625 Signature of Stephen Hopkins 625 Old Tavern in Providence 626 Stone Tower 628 Gaspee Point 628 Signatures of the Commissioners ' 630 Old Tower at Newport 633 Inscription on Dighton Rock 634 Prescott's Head-quarters 635 Perry's Monument 635 Top of 'Tonomy Hill 636 Hubbard's House and Mill 636 Initial Letter 642 Portrait of Colonel William Barton 643 Prescott's Head-quarters _..... 644 Portrait of D'Estaing 646 Plan of Operations upon Rhode Island in 1778 648 Scene of the Engagement on Rhode Island, August 29, 1778 651 Ancient Sycamore 653 Quaker Hill, from the Fort on Butts's Hill 657 View Northward from Butts's Hill 658 Portrait and Sign-manuel of King Philip 659 Three Signatures of chief Warriors of King Philip. . 659 Handwriting of Elliot and Gookin 660 Conannicut, or Dumplings Fort 665 Initial Letter 666 Washington's Head-quarters at Newburgh 667 The Dining-hall, or Room with seven Doors 668 Monument at Goshen 671 Signature of Lewis Nicola 672 Portrait of John Armstrong 674 Portrait of James Clinton 680 Remains of Fortifications at Plum Point 681 Head-quarters of Greene and Knox 682 Signatures of young Ladies on a pane of Glass 683 The Square, New Windsor -¦ 683 Residence of Mrs. Falls 684 The Temple , 685 View of the Camp Ground 685 Ancient Stone House near the Temple 685 Portrait of Robert Burnet 686 Portrait of Usual Knapp 687 Signatures of the Officers of Washington's Life Guard. 688 Banner of Washington's Life Guard 688 Fac Simile of a Return of the Commander-in-chiefs Guard 6*89 The Wharton House -.690 Portrait of Enoch Crosby 690 Dutch Church, Fishkill •* ¦ • . 691 Trinity Church 692 The Verplanck House 693 Society of the Cincinnati— Member's Certificate 696 Order of the Cincinnati 697 444. 445. 446. 447.448.449.450. 451.452.453.454.455.456. 457.458.459.460.461.462. 463. 464.465. 470.471.472.473.474.475. 476. 477. 478. 479.480. 481. 482. 483.484. 485. 486.487.488.489. 490. 491. 492. 493. 494.495. 496. 497. 498.499.500.501. 502.503. 504.505.506.507.508.509.510.511.512.513.514.515.516. 517. 518.519. 520.521.522.523.524. 525. Initial Letter Page 698 Great Chain and Mortars 700 View from Fort Clinton, looking North 701 Koscuisako's Garden 701 Koseuiszko's Signature 701 Interior of Fort Putnam .- '. 703 Signature of Bernard Romans 703 Plan of Fort Constitution 703 Plan of the Magazine 704 Signature of La Radiere 704 View of WestPoint in 1780 704 Signature of Duportail 704 Map of West Point 705 Ruins of Fort Putnam, as seen from Fort Webb 707 View from Constitution Island 708 Arnold's Willow 708 The Robinson House 708 Portrait of Beverly Robinson 709 Portrait of Benedict Arnold 710 Fac Similes of a part of Arnold and Andre's Letters. 714 Signature of Elisha Sheldon 715 Map showing the Scene of Arnold's Treason 716 Smith's House 720 Signature of Villefranche 721 Signature of Major Bauman 722 Fac Simile of Arnold's Pass 723 Signature of Joshua H. Smith 724 Initial Letter 725 Signatures of Arnold's Aids ¦ 725 The Breakfast Room. , 726 View at Beverly Dock 729 View near Fort Montgomery 731 Lake Sinnipink, or Bloody Pond 731 Portrait of Beverly Garrison 732 Picture of part of a Boom 732 Plan of Attack upon Fort Montgomery 734 View from Peekskill Landing .- 734 Signatures of Vaughan and Wallace 736 The Birdsall House 738 Signature of Philip Van Cortlandt 739 Paulding's Monument, and St. Peter's Church 739 View from Gallows Hill 740 Signature of Alexander M'Dougal ' 740 Signature of Samuel H. Parsons 742 Map of Verplanck's and Stony Points 743 Rear View at Stony Point 744 Portrait of General Wayne 745 Wayne's Monument 745 View of Stony Point from the Southwest 746 Fac Simile of Wayne's laconicDispatoh toWashifrgton 747 Gold Medal awarded by Congress to General Wayne. 748 Medal awarded to Lieutenant-colonel De Fleury. . . . 749 Medal awarded to Major Stewart 750 Initial Letter , 751 The Ferryman , 751 King's Ferry Sign-board — ' ; 751 View from Smith's House 753 View of the Place where Andre was captured 754 Colonel Jameson's Head-quarters 756 Ancient Dutch Church 758 Bridge over Sleepy Hollow Creek 759 The Vane 759 Communion-table 759 Receiving Tomb 760 Van Wart's Monument 760 View of " Sunnyside," the Residence of Washington Irving 761 View from the Ruins of the old Fort 762 The Livingston Mansion 763 Washington's Head-quarters at Tappan 764 Portrait of John Andre, from a Miniature, by himself 765 Major Andre, from a Pencil Sketch. 765 Andre's Monument in Westminster Abbey 767 Portrait of Aaron Ogden ' 768 Major Andre, from a pen-and-ink Sketch, by himself 771 Place of Andre's Execution 772 The Captor's Medal 773 Ruins of a Forge near Ramapo Village 778 Torn Rock 780 Remains of Intrenchments at the Ramapo Pass 781 The Hopper House 782 Hopper's Monument 782 Burr's HsaoVquarters 783 INTRODUCTION. Far o'er yon azure main thy view extend, Where seas and skies in blue confusion blend ¦ Lo, there a mighty realm, by Heaven design'd, The last retreat for poor, oppress'd mankind ; Form'd with that pomp which marks the hand divine, And clothes yon vault, where worlds unnumber'd shine. Here spacious plains in solemn grandeur spread ; Here cloudy forests cast eternal shade ; Rich valleys wind, the sky-tall mountains brave, And inland seas for commerce spread the wave. With nobler floods the sea-like rivers roll, And fairer luster purples round the pole.Timothy Dwight. VERY nation eminent for its refine ment, displayed in the cultivation of the arts, had its heroic age : a period when its first physical and moral conquests were achieved, and when rude society, with all its impurities, was fused and re fined in the crucible of progress. When civilization first set up its standard as a permanent ensign in the Western hemisphere, north ward of the Bahamas and the great Gulf, and the contests for possession began between the wild Aborigines, who thrust no spade into the soil, no. sickle into ripe' harvests, and those earnest delvers from the Old World* who came with th§ light of Christianity to plant a new empire and redeem the wilderness by cultivation, then commenced the heroic age of America. It ended when the work of the Revolution, in the eighteenth century, was accomplished ; when the bond of vassalage to ¦ ' / Great Britain was severed by her colonies, and when the thirteen confed erated States ratified a federal Constitution, and upon it laid the broad found ation of our Republic. Those ancient civilizations, registered by the stylus of history, were mere gleamings of morning compared with the noontide radiance which now lights up the Western World ; and even the more modern nations of Europe, brilliant as they appear, have so many dark spots upon the disk of their enlightenment, that their true glory is really less than that of the waxing Star in the West. These ancient and modern civilizations, now past or at their culminating points, were the results of the slow progress of centuries ; the heroic age i*>i INTRODUCTION. of America, meteor-like, was brilliant and rapid in its course, occupying the space of only a century and a half of time from the permanent implanting of a British colony, weak and dependent, to the founding of our government, which, like Pallas Athena, was, at its birth, full panoplied, strong, eminently individual in its character, and full of recuperative energies. The head of Britannia was cleft by the Vulcan of the Revolution, and from its teeming brain leaped the full-grown daughter, sturdy and defiant. Long anterior to the advent of Europeans in America, a native empire, but little inferior to Old Rome in civilization, flourished in that region of our continent which now forms the southwestern portion of the Republic. The Aztec empire, which reached the acme of its re finement during the reign of Montezuma, and crumbled into fragments when Cortez dethroned and murdered that monarch, extended over the whole of Central America ; and when 1521. the Spaniards came it was gradually pushing its conquests northward, where all was yet darkness and gloom. To human apprehension, this people, apparently allied by various ties to the wild nations of North America, appeared to be the most efficient instruments in spreading the light of civilization over the whole continent ; yet they were not only denied this glorious privilege, but, by the very race which first attempted to plant the seeds of Eu ropean refinement in Florida and among the Mobilian tribes, and to shed the illumination of their dim Christianity over the dreary regions of the North, was their own bright light extinguished. The Aztecs and their neighbors were beaten into the dust of debasement by the falchion blows of avarice and bigotry, and they form, apparently, not the most insignifi cant atom of the chain of events which connects the history of the empires of the Old World with that of our Republic. It is believed that, two hundred years before the Aztecs subdued the more ancient people of the Mexican valley and founded Tenochtitlan,1 a handful of rough, half-civilized adven turers from the wintery shores of Iceland and the neighboring main, driven by adverse winds they knew not whither, touched upon the bleak shores of Labrador, and traversed the Amer ican continent southward as far as Rhode Island, and, it may be, the capes of Virginia.*1 These supposed first modern discoverers of America were the children of the " mighty sea kings" of the Teutonic romances — the Scandinavian reguli, who, scorning to own Gorm the Old of Norway, and Harold Fairhair of Denmark, their conquerors, as masters, forsook their country and colonized Iceland, Greenland, Shetland, and the Orkney Islands, whence they sent forth piratical expeditions, which became a terror to Western Europe. They traded as well as plundered, and by commerce and conquest became potential. Every coast was visited by their squadrons, either for war or traffic. They swept over Denmark and Germany, and by conquest obtained possession of the best portions of Gaul.3 They invaded the British Islands, and placed the renowned Canute upon the throne of Alfred. Long before Christianity had shed its genial rays over their frozen territory of the North, and banished the barbarous rites of Pagan worship, the lamp of learning had been 1 This city was founded about the year 1210, and was afterward called Mexico, which signifies the place of Mexilli, the Aztec god of war. The present capital of Mexico is upon the site of that ancient city. The Aztecs, at that time, were settled in Lower California. They were divided into six tribes. The Mexican tribe wandered off southward, subdued the Toltecs, and founded the city around which the whole Aztec nation subsequently gathered. The T61tecs were far more refined than their conquerors, and from members of that dispersed nation the Aztecs were first made acquainted with painting, sculpture, astronomy and many of the useful arts, such as working in metals, building bridges and aqueducts, agriculture &c. s See note on page 633. 3 Charles III., called the Simple, the eighth of the Carlovingian kings of France, ceded to Rolf or Rollo one of the Northmen chiefs, the large province called by them Normandy. This event occurred in the year 918. Rollo and his subjects embraced Christianity, and became the guardians of France against further invasion from the Northmen. INTRODUCTION. xvii taken from the cloisters of the South and placed within their temples, and upon dreary and desolate Iceland and Norway civilization erected its humanizing altars. Ardent, im aginative, and devotional, they eagerly accepted Christianity, and it became to them really a " Star in the East," leading to where " the infant Jesus laid." It was not to them st much a personal treasure to be valued for its immortal blessings, as a glorious idea full of temporal advantage. It became an intense passion, not a sober belief, and its warmth gen era ted mighty events. Among them the spirit of chivalry had its birth and early nurture , and in those unholy wars against the possessors of the land of Palestine and of the sepulcher of Christ, called the Crusades, which shook the nations during three consecutive centuries, these Northmen furnished the bravest leaders. From such a people, possessed of every attribute necessary to the successful founding of new empires, having the*ocean pathway to a broad and fertile continent made clear before them, what great results might not be expected ? But, with the prize just within their grasp, they, too, were denied the honor of first peopling our land ; yet their mixed descend' ants, the Anglo-Saxons, now possess it. It is supposed that. they attempted settlements, but failed, and in the lapse of centuries their voyages were forgotten, or only remembered in the songs of their bards or the sagas of their romancers. For more than five hundred years after the voyages of those navigators, America was an unknown region ; it had no place upon maps, unless as an imaginary island without a name, nor in the most acute ge ographical theories of the learned.1 It was reserved for the son of an humble wool-carder of Genoa to make it known to the world. - During the first half of the fifteenth century, maritime discoveries were prosecuted with untiring zeal by the people inhabiting the great peninsula of Southwestern Europe. The incentives to make these discoveries grew out of the political condition of Europe and the promises of great commercial advantages. The rich commerce of the East centered in Rome, when that empire overshadowed the known world ; when it fell into fragments, the1 Italian cities continued their* monopoly of the trade of the Indies. Provinces which had become independent kingdoms became jealous of these cities, so rapidly outstripping them in power and opulence ; and Castile and Portugal, in particular, engaged in efforts to open a direct trade with the East. The ocean was the only highway for such commerce toward which they could look with a hope of success. The errors of geographical science inter posed their obstacles ; the belief that a belt of impassable heat girdled the earth at the equator intimidated mariners, and none were willing to double Cape Bojador, beyond which was the fancied region of fire. Prince Henry of Portugal, son of John the First and Philippa of Lancaster (sister of Henry "the Fourth of England), having accompanied his father into Africa, in an expedition against the Moors, received much information concerning the mineral riches and fertility of Guinea and other portions of the coast. The idea of making discoveries along the Afri can shores filled his mind, and on his return to Portugal he abandoned the court, retired to a secluded spot near Cape St. Vincent, in full view of the ocean, and drawing around him the most eminent scientific men in the kingdom, pursued geographical and nautical inquiries with untiring zeal. He became convinced that Africa was circumnavigable, and that the 1 "The [Atlantic] Ocean," observes Xerif al Edrisi, an eminent Arabian writer, quoted by Irving, "en circles the ultimate bounds of the inhabited earth, and all beyond is unknown. No one has been able to verify any thing concerning it, on account of its difficult and perilous navigation, its great obscurity, its profound depth, and frequent tempests ; through fear of its mighty fishes and its haughty winds ; yet there are many islands in it, some of which are peopled and others uninhabited. There is no mariner who dares to enter into its deep waters ; or, if any have done so, they have merely kept along its coasts, fearful of departing from them. The waves of this ocean, although they roll as high as mountains, yet maintain, themselves without breaking, for if they broke, it would be impossible for a ship to plow through them." B INTRODUCTION. 14Pfi Indies might be reached by doubling its most southerly headlands. Expeditions were fitted out ; the Cape de Verd and the Azore Islands were discovered ; Cape Bojador was passed ; the tropical region was penetrated, and divested of its terrors ; and at length the lofty prom ontory which terminates Africa on the south, was descried. It "was hailed as a har binger of the coveted passage to the Indian Seas, and on that account King John gave it the appellation of the Cape of Good Hope. The Spaniards were also making maritime discoveries at the same time, but Lisbon was the point of great at traction to the learned, the curious, and the adventurous, who were desir ous to engafe in the expeditions then continually fitting out there. Among them came Christopher Columbus, or Colombo, a native of Genoa, then in the vigor of maturity.1 Already he had made many a perilous voyage upon the ocean, having engaged in the life of a mariner at the age of fourteen'years. The bent of his mind for such pursuits was early discovered by his father, and in the University of Pavia he was allowed, by a short course of study, to obtain sufficient elementary knowledge of geometry, as tronomy, geography, and navigation, and of the Latin language, to enable him to make those sciences afterward subservient to his genius. From the commencement of his nautical career to his landing in Portugal, his history Xf <• ftKZHZ 1 is very obscure. 1 There is some obseurity and doubt respecting the precise year in which Columbus was born. Muiioz in his History of the New World, places it in 1446. Mr. Irvirig, relying upon the authority of Bernaldez who says that "he died in 1506, in a good old age, at the age of seventy, a little more or less," places it in 1436, which would make him about forty-eight years old when he landed in Portugal. 2 This peculiar signature of Columbus is attached to various . documents written by him subsequent to his first voyage. It was customary, in his time, to precede a signature with the initials (and sometimes with the words in full) of some pious ejaculation. We accordingly find the signature of Columbus with initial prefixes, thus : S S A S X M Y Xpo FERENS The interpretation is supposed to be " Sancta ! Sancta, Ave, Sancta ! Christo, Maria, Yoseph-'' id est. Christ, Mary, Joseph. The xp° are Greek letters ; the word FERENS Roman capitals. X or a. cross. is the sign for Christo or Christ, and xpo is an abbreviation of xpto-ros*, anointed, and expressed the first and chief portion of the Christian name of Columbus. The Latin word ferens (bearing, carryin" or en during) expressed not only the latter portion of his name, but also his character, accordino- to his own lofty conceptions of his mission. He believed himself to be Christo ferens, Christ-bearer or Gospel-bearer to the heathen inhabitants of. an unknown world. It may be added, that Colombo (Colurabus)1 a dove or INTRODUCTION. xix In person, Columbus was tall and commanding ; in manners, exceedingly winning and graceful for one unaccustomed to the polish of courts or\he higher orders in society. He was a strict observer of the rituals of his religion. His piety was not a mere form, but an ele vated and solemn enthusiasm, born of a deep .conviction of the vital truths of Christianity. While in Lisbon, he never omitted religious' duties in the sanctuary. At the chapel of the Convent of All Saints, where he was accustomed to worship, he became acquainted with a young lady of rank named Donna Felipa, the daughter of Monis de Palestrello, an Italian cavalier, who had been one of the most distinguished navigators in the service of Prince Henry. They loved, and were married. His wife's sister Was married to Pedro Correo, a navigator of note. In the family of his mother-in-law he learned all the incidents of the voyages of her husband ; and the charts, journals, and other manuscripts of that navigator she delivered to Columbus. These possessions awakened new aspirations in his mind. He had made himself familiar, by study and large experience, with all the nautical knowledge of the day, and, in common with the most enlightened mefi of his time, he was disposed to credit the narratives of Plato and other ancient writers respecting: the existence of a conti nent beyond a glorious island called Atlantis,1 in the waste of waters westward of Europe. Such a continent was necessary to make his own geographical theory perfect. The gor geous pictures of Zipango or Cipangi and Cathay, on the eastern coast of Asia, drawn by Marco Polo »and Mandeville, also excited his warm imagination ; and the alleged appari tions of land seen to the westward by the people of the Canary Isles were treasured in his mind as great realities.2 His comprehensive genius constructed a new and magnificent the ory, and his bold spirit stood ready to act in unison with his genius. He based his whole theory upon the fundamental principle that *the earth was a terraqueous globe, which might be traveled round from east to west, and that men stood foot to foot at opposite points. pigeon, was doubtless associated, in his imagination, with the carrier-bird, and had its due weight, not only in his" conceptions of his destiny, but in forming his sigh-manual. The signature to his will is EL ALMI- RANTE (the Admiral), with the above letters, instead of xpo FERENS. 1 Ancient writers speak of an island which existed at a very early period in the Atlantic Ocean, and said to have been eventually sunk beneath its waves. Plato, who gave the first account of it, says he ob tained his information from the priests of Egypt. The island was represented to be larger than Asia and Africa, as they were then known, and beyond it was a large continent. Nine thousand years before Plato's time, this island was thickly inhabited and very powerful, its sway extending over all Africa, including Egypt, and also a large portion of Europe. A violent earthquake, which lasted for the space of a day and a night, and was accompanied by inundations of the sea, caused the island to sink, and, for a long period subsequent to this, the sea in this quarter was impassable by reason of slime and shoals. Learned men of modern times have been disposed to believe in the ancient existence of such an island, and suppose the West India Islands to be the higher portions of the sunken land. If this belief is correct^ then the conti nent beyond was America. According to the account given to Plato, Atlantis was the most productive region upon the earth. It produced wine, grain, and delicious fruits in abundance. It had wide-spread forests, extensive pasture- grounds, mines of gold and silver, hot springs, and every luxury for human enjoyment. It was divided into ten kingdoms, governed by as many kings, all descendants of Neptune, and living in perfect harmony with each other. It had splendid cities, rich and populous villages, vast fortifications, arsenals, and equipments for navies. There was a temple in the island a stadium (six hundred and six feet nine inches) in length, dedicated to Neptune. It was ornamented with gold, silver, orichaloium, and ivory. It contained a golden statue of Neptune, representing the god as standing in his chariot, and holding the reins of his winged steeds, Such was the ancient vision. 5 So confident were the people of the Canaries that land lay to the westward of them, that they sought and obtained permission from' the King of Portugal to fit out various expeditions in search of it. A belief was so prevalent Jhat a Scottish priest named Brandon discovered an island westward of the Canaries, in the sixth century, that maps, in the time of Columbus, had the Island of St. Brandon upon them. It was placed under the equator. xx INTRODUCTION. This was seventy years before Copernicus announced his theory of the form and mo tion of the planets,a and one hundred and sixty years before Galileo was obliged, be fore the court of the Inquisition at Rome, to renounce his belief in the diurnal revo- bl633. , . . , , , lution 01 the earth." Columbus divided the circumference of the earth at the equator, according to Ptolemy's system, into twenty-four hours of fifteen degrees each, making three hundred and sixty de grees. Of these he imagined that fifteen hours had been known to the ancients, extending from the Fortunate or Canary Islands to the city of Thinoe in Asia, the western and eastern boundaries of the known world. By t"he discovery of the Cape de Verd and the Azore Isl ands, the Portuguese had advanced the western frontier one hour, leaving about one eighth of the circumference of the globe yet to be explored. The extent of the eastern region of Asia was yet unknown, although the travels of Polo in the fourteenth century had extended far beyond the Oriental boundary of Ptolemy's map. Columbus imagined that the unex plored part of Asia might occupy a large portion of the yet undefined circumference of the earth, and that its eastern headlands might approach quite near to those of Western Europe and Africa. He therefore concluded that a navigator, pursuing a direct course from east to west, must arrive at the extremity of Asia by a far easier' and shorter route than following the coast of Africa around the Cape of Good Hope.^ Fortunately, he adopted the opinions of Aristotle, Pliny, and other writers, who considered the ocean as but of moderate breadth, so that it might be crossed from Europe in the space of a few days. A knowledge or sus picion of its actual extent would have deterred even the bold enterprise of Columbus from attempting an exploration of its waters in the small ships of that day. Reports of strange trees, reeds of immense size, curiously-carved pieces of wood, and the bodies of two men — un like, in color and visage, any of the known races extant — having drifted ashore upon the Canary and Azore Islands by westerly winds, confirmed him in his belief, and a desire and determination to undertake a demonstration of his theory by an exploring voyage absorbed his whole attention. " He never spoke in doubt or hesitation," says Irving, " but with as much certainty as if his eyes had beheld the Promised Land. A deep religious sentiment mingled with his thoughts, and gave them at times a tinge of superstition, but of a sublime and lofty kind. He looked upon himself as standing in the hand of Heaven, chosen from among men for the accomplishment of its high purpose. He read, as he supposed, his con templated discovery foretold in Holy Writ, and shadowed forth darkly in the prophecies. The ends of the earth were to be brought together, and all nations, and tongues, and lan guages united under the banner of the Redeemer."1 The prophetic passage in Pulci's " Morgante Maggiore" was' to him full of promise : " Know that this theory is false ; his bark The daring mariner shall urge far o'er The Western wave, a smooth and level plain, Albeit the earth is fashion'd like a wheel. Man was in ancient days of grosser mold, And Hercules might blush to learn how far Beyond the limits he had vainly set8 The dullest sea-boat soon shall wing her way. Men shall descry another hemisphere, Since to one common center all things tend. So earth, by curious mystery divine 1 Life and Voyages of Columbus. 3 Calpe and Abila, or Gibraltar, on the Spanish, and Cape Serra, on the African shore of the Straits of Gibraltar, were called the Pillars of Heroules ; it being said, in ancient fable, that Hercules placed them ¦there as monuments of his progress westward, and beyond which no mortal could pass. INTRODUCTION. xxi Well balanced, hangs amid the starry spheres. At our antipodes are cities, states, And thronged empires, ne'er divined of yore. But see, the sun speeds on his western path To glad the nations with expected light." , Prescott's translation of stanza 229, 230, canto xxv. While maturing his plans, Columbus extended the bounds of his observation and study by a voyage to Thule, or Iceland, from which remote point he says he advanced one hundred leagues northward, penetrated the polar circle, and convinced himself of the fallacy of the popular belief that the frozen zone was uninhabitable.1 Whether he saw, in Iceland, written accounts of the voyages of the Northmen to America, or heard of them as related by tradi tion or chanted in songs, we have no means of determining. If he did, it is singular, as Prescott remarks, that they were not cited by him in support of his hypothesis, while'earn- estly pressing his suit for aid before the courts of Portugal and Spain ; and it is equally sur prising that he did not, in his first voyage to America, pursue the route traversed by those eajly navigators. He probably heard little more than vague rumors of their voyages, such as presented insufficient data even for a plausible opinion. His magnificent idea was all his own, sustained by the opinions of a few learned men, and confirmed by his observations while on this northern voyage. Filled with his noble resolutions and lofty anticipations, Columbus submitted the theory on which rested his belief in a practicable western route to Asia, to King John the Second of Portugal. That monarch's sagacity perceived the promised advantages to be derived from such an enterprise, and he eagerly sought the counsel of his ministers and wise men. But his court and the college of scientific sages could not comprehend the sublime project ; and after a long and fruitless negotiation, during which the Portuguese meanly attempted to avail themselves clandestinely of his informatipn, Columbus quitted Lisbon in disgust, determined to submit his proposals to Ferdinand and Isabella, the Spanish sovereigns, whose wisdom and liberal views were the admiration of men of science and learning. His wife was dead ; his feelings had no hold upon Portugal, and he quitted it forever. It was toward the close of 1484 when Columbus appeared at the Spanish court.11 It was an unpropitious hour, for the whole resources of the nation were theh employed jn pros ecuting a war with the Moors. For a long time he awaited the decision of the sovereigns, employing his leisure in the alternate pursuits of science, and engagements in some of the military campaign's. He was treated with gre^t deference, and, after much delay, a council of Teamed men were convened at Salamanca to consider his plans and propositions. After mature deliberation, they pronounced his scheme "vain, impracticable, and resting on grounds too weak to merit the support of government." A minority -of the council were far from acquiescing in this decision, and, with the Cardinal Mendoza and other officers of govern ment, and Fray Juan Perez de Marchena, guardian of the ancient monastery of La Rabida, 1 In the age of Columbus, Greenland was laid down upon the maps as a continuation or projection west ward of Scandinavia. Columbus discovered this error in his northern voyage, which discovery was a new fact in support of his theory of a continent lying westward from Europe, or at least a proximity of the east ern coast of Asia. At that time the climate of Iceland and Greenland was far more genial than at present, and there is reason to believe that those portions of the latter country which for two or three hundred years have been ice-bound and uninhabitable, were then tillable. Philosophers of our day, who have studied the phenomena of terrestrial magnetism with care, have advanced a plausible theory whereby to explain this fact. 8 It is asserted, but without positive proof, 'that Columbus, before going to Spain, made application to the authorities of his native city, Genoa, for aid in his enterprise ; but failing in this he went to Venice, and also sent his brother Bartholomew to England, to lay his plans before Henry the Seventh, Jf these statements are true, they exhibit his perseverance in a still stronger light than truthful history presents it. INTRODUCTION. they induced the sovereigns to soften the decisions of the council by a promise to give the proposition a fair audience when their pressing state engagements should be ended. Co lumbus, wearied by procrastination, at length lost all hope of effecting any thing, with the Spanish court. He turned from it with disgust, and made application to two wealthy and enlightened Southern dukes, who had ample means af command. He was unsuccessful, and with a heavy heart he left Spain, to carry his proposals to the King of France. Isabella of Castile and Leon, sister of the profligate Henry the Fourth, was the successor „ t ,„ of that monarch to the throne. She married Ferdinand, the son of old John the Ootober 19, •ii 1469- Second of Aragon, and, associating him with herself in the government, united the two monarchies into one great kingdom, the renowned modern Spain. Isabella was emi nently virtuous, and her piety and daily good ness were the fruit of a deep religious feeling. Ferdinand was ambitious, and, in the midst of his perplexity with the Moors, he felt a strong desire to advance the interests and glory of the new kingdom, by maritime discoveries ; yet he could not comprehend the vast plans of Columbus, and he looked coldly upon the project. To the pious sentiments of the queen, Father Perez, a former confessor of Isabella and a friend of Columbus, appealed with suc cess ; and before the navigator had entered the dominions of France, he was summoned back to the court, then in the camp at 'Santa Fe. He arrived in time to witness the sur render of Grenada. Joy and exultation per vaded aU classes. Columbus took advantage of this state of things, and while he excited the acquisitiveness of the nobles by reciting wonderful tales of the riches of Cipangi and Cathay, he eloquently portrayed to the queen the glorious prospect of extending the influ ence of the Gospel over benighted heathens, promising to devote the profits, of the enterprise to the recovery of the Holy Sepulcher at Jerusalem from the hands of the Paynim. His elo quence was seconded by that of Louis de St. Angel, a. favorite officer of the crown. The re ligious zeal of Isabella was fired, and, notwithstanding the extravagant demands of Colum bus,2 she resolved, in opposition to the wishes of Ferdinand, to aid him in fitting out an ex- IsABELLA OF CaSTILE.1 1 Isabella was of middle size, and well formed, with a fair complexion, auburn hair, and clear, blue eyes. There was a mingled gravity and sweetness in her countenance, and a singular modesty, gracing, as it did, great firmness of purpose and earnestness of spirit. Though strongly attached to her husband, and studious of his fame, yet she always maintained her distinct rights as an allied prince. She exceeded him in beauty, personal dignity, acuteness of genius, and grandeur of soul. Combining the active and resolute qualities of man with the softer charities of woman, she mingled in the warlike councils of her husband and, being inspired with a truer idea of glory, infused a more lofty and generous temper into his subtile and calculating policy. — Washington Irving. * Columbus, in the demands set forth in his proposition, stipulated for 'himself and heirs the title and au thority of admiral and viceroy over all* lands discovered by him. This demand was inadmissible, yet the navigator persisted in it, though it appeared an effectual bar to any arrangement with the queen. His ' stipulations were finally acceded to, and Columbus always regarded the queen with feelings of the liveliest gratitude. "In the midst of the^general incredulity," he said in a letter, "the Almighty infused into the queen, my lady, the spirit of intelligence and energy, and while every one else, in his ignorance, was ex patiating only on the inconvenience and cost, her highness approved it, on the contrary, and gave it all the support in her power." \ INTRODUCTION. A Spanish Caravel. ^edition. These demands almost frustrated his designs, and Columbus had, again turned his back upon the Spanish court, when, through the wise counsels of friends, the queen's ob jections were overcome, and the warmest impulses of her nature aroused. " I will assume the undertaking," she said, when opposed by her husband and his counsel ors, " for my own crown of Castile, and am ready to pawn my jewels to defray the expense of it, if the funds in the treas ury shall appear inadequate." All ' preliminaries being ' arranged, the queen lost no time in fitting out two ves sels,1 and Columbus, aided chiefly by the wealthy and enterprising family of the Pinzons, equipped a third. With this fee ble squadron, manned with timid mariners, Columbus left tbe little port of Palos, upon the Tinto Riv er, in Andalusia, on Friday, the third of August, 1492, and, spread ing his sails to an easterly breeze, turned his prow toward the waste of waters in the direction of the setting sun. He had no, reliable chart for his guidance, no director in his course but the sun and stars, and the imperfect mariner's com- View of Palos.2 pass, then used only by a few iu 1 The vessels furnished by Isabella were only caravels, light coasting ships, without decks, and furnished with oars like the ancient galleys. The picture here given is from a low relief sculpture, on the tomb of Fernando Columbus, a son of the navigator, in the Cathedral of Seville. Such a vessel would be consid ered quite inadequate to perform a coasting voyage at the present day. The larger vessel, with a deck, fitted out by Columbus and his friends, was called the Santa Maria ; the caravels were named respect ively Pinta and Mina. Martin Alonzo Pinzon commanded the Pinta, and Vincent Yanez Pinzdn the Mina. Garcia Fernandez, the physician of Palos, accompanied the expedition as steward. The whole number of persons that embarked was one hundred and twenty. The whole expenditure of the queen in filling out the caravels amounted to only seventeen thousand florins, or between eight and nine thousand dollars.* These were small preparations for an exploring expedition of such vast extent and importance. The descendants of the Pinzons are still quite numerous in the vicinity of Palos. When Mr. Irving visited that town in 1828, he saw the ruins of a family mansion which belonged to one of the two Pinzons who sailed with Columbus on his first voyage. Mr. Irving was accompanied in his visit to Palos, the monastery, of Ribida, and other localities in the vicinity, by Juan Fernandez Pinzon, a descendant of one of the compan ions of Columbus. 2 The pile of buildings in this view, standing upon the bluff, is the ancient Church of St. George. For some misdemeanor, the people of Palos were obliged to serve the crown for one year with two armed car * This is the amount given by Mufloz, one of the most reliable of Spanish authors. Others have named a much higher sum Dr. Robertson rates the amount at £4000 sterling, or about $20,000, but docs not give his authority. The Pinzon Mansion. xxiv INTRODUCTION. navigating the pleasant seas of the Old World. After various delays at the Canary Islands, they passed and lost sight of Ferro, the most westerly one of the group, on Sunday, the ninth of September. Now Europe was left behind, and the broad Atlantic, mysterious and un known, was before them. As the space widened between them and their homes, the hearts September, of the mariners failed ; and when, on the thirteenth, the commander and his 1492- pilots discovered the variations of the magnetic needle, misgivings arose in the stout hearts of the explorer and his friends, the Pinzons. They were now six hundred miles westward of the Canaries, in an unknown sea. It was a phenomenon unknown to the world of science, and Columbus tried in vain to satisfy himself respecting the cause. He could not long conceal the fact from his seamen. It filled them with consternation and awe ; for they believed they were entering another world, subject to the influence of laws unknown and dreadful. Columbus quieted their apprehensions by telling them that the nee dle did not point to the north star, but to an invisible point around which that star revolved daily. Thus he explained a phenomenon now well known ; and his companions, relying upon his astronomical knowledge, received his theory as truth, and their alarm subsided. For several days after this event they were wafted pleasantly by the trade winds, which blow continually from east to west. The air was balmy, and soon vast fields of sea-weeds, and an occasional petrel upon the wing, heralded an approach to land ; but head winds and days of profound calm deferred the joyful consummation of their hopes ; and the sea men, wearied and home-sick, resolved to retrace their path, and seek the shores of Spain. Even the little land birds that came upon the spars, and sung merrily their welcome to the New World, and then left at evening for their distant perches in the orange groves, failed to inspire the mariners with confidence in the truth of their commander's reasonings, and open mutiny manifested itself. With gentle words, promises of rewards, and threats of punishment against the most refractory, Columbus kept them from actual violence for sev eral days. One evening, just at sunset, Martin Alonzo Pinzon, mounted on the stern of the Pinta, shouted) "Land ! land ! Senor, I claim the reward !'" Aiong the southwestern horizon was stretched an apparent island. Columbus, throwing himself upon his knees, with all the crews, chanted Gloria in Excelsis .' In the morning the island had vanished, for it was nothing but a cloud. For a fortnight longer they floated upon an almost unruffled sea, when land birds came singing again, and green herbage floated by ; but days passed on, and the sun, each evening, set in the waves. Again the seamen mutinied, and Columbus was in open defiance with his crew ; for he told them that the expedition had been sent by their sovereigns, and, come what might, he was determined to accomplish his purpose. They were on the point of casting him into the sea, when, just at sunset, a coast-fish glided by ; a branch of thorn, with berries upon it, floated near ; and a staff, artificially carved, came upon the waters to tell them of human habitations not far off*. . The vesper hymn to the Virgin was now sung, and Columbus, after recounting the bless ings of God thus far manifested on the voyage, assured the crews that he confidently ex pected to see land in the morning. On the high poop of his vessel he sat watching until avels. They were under this penalty when Columbus made his arrangement with Isabella, and they were ordered to fit out the two caravels for the expedition. In the porch of the old Church of St. George, Co lumbus first proclaimed this order to the inhabitants of Palos. Mr. Irving, who visited Palos in 1828, says of this edifioe, " It has lately been thoroughly repaired, and, being of solid mason-work, promises to stand for ages, a monument of the discoverers. It stands outside of the villaffe, on the brow of a hill, looking along a little valley to the river/ The remains of a Moorish arch prove it to have been a mosque in former times. Just above it, on the crest of the hill, is the ruin of a Moorish castle.'' 1 Columbus agreed to give a silk waistcoat, besides the royal pension of thirty dollars, to the person who first discovered land. — Munoz. October 12, 1492. INTRODUCTION, xxv near midnight, when he saw the glimmer of moving lights upon the verge of the horizon gearing his hopes might have deceived his vision, he called Pedro Gutierrez, gentleman of the king s bed-chamber, and also Rodrigo Sanchez, of Segovia, to confirm his dis covery. They also saw the gleams of a torch. All night the overjoyed Co lumbus watched. At dawn, beautiful wooded shores were in full view ; the perfumes of flowers came upon the light land breeze ; and birds in gorgeous plu mage hovered around the vessels, carol ing morning hymns, which seemed like the voices of angels to the late despair ing seamen. In small boats they landed, the naked na tives, who stood upon the beach in won der, fleeing to the deep shadows of the forest in alarm. Columbus, dressed in gold -embroidered scarlet, bearing the royal standard, first stepped upon the shore. He was followed by the Pinzons, each bearing the banner of the enter prise.1 On reaching the land, they all fell upon their knees, kissed the earth, and, with tears of joy in their eyes, chanted the Te Deum Lauda- mus. Rising from the ground, Columbus displayed the royal stand ard, drew his sword, and took possession of the land in the name of the Spanish sovereigns, giving the island the title of San Salvador * With the most extravagant demonstrations of joy, his followers crowded around him. The most insolent in the mutinous displays were the most abject in making vows of service and faithfulness. All present took an oath of obedience to him as admiral and viceroy, and representative of Ferdinand and Isabella. The triumph of Co lumbus was complete. The natives had beheld the approaching ships at dawn with fear Landing of Columbus.3 Banneb. of the Expedi tion. 1 This was a white banner, emblazoned with a green cross, having on each side the letters F. and Y., the Spanish initials of Ferdinand and Ysabel, surmounted by golden orowns. 2 The island on which Columbus first set his foot in the New World is one of the Ludayas or Bahama group, and was called by the natives Guanahana. The Spaniards and others still call it San Salvador ; the English have given it the vulgar name of Cat Island. It' lies between the twenty-fourth and twenty- fifth degrees of north latitude, and the second and third degrees of longitude easj; of the meridian of Wash ington city, eighty or ninety miles northeast of Havana, Cuba. Munoz, a learned Spanish writer, thinks Watling's Island, and not the one called San Salvador on our maps, was the first landing-plaoe. 5 This is copied, by permission of the author, from Irving's Life of Columbus. It is a fac-simile of a sketch supposed to have been made by Columbus, in a letter written by him to Don Raphael Xansis, treas urer of the King of Spain. i xxvi INTRODUCTION. arid awe, regarding them as monsters of the deep. By degrees their alarm subsided, and they approached the Europeans. Each party was a wonder to the other. The glittering armor, shining lace, and many-colored dresses of the Spaniards filled the natives with admi ration and delight ; while they, entirely naked, with skins of a dark copper hue, painted with a variety of colors and devices, without beards and with straight hair, were objects^ of great curiosity to the Spaniards. They were unlike any people of whom they had knowl edge. Not doubting that he was upon an island near the coast of Farther India, Colum bus called these wild inhabitants Indians, a name which all the native tribes of America still retain. It is not within the scope of my design to relate, in detail, the subsequent career of Co lumbus in the path of discovery, nor of those navigators who succeeded him, and share with him the honor of making known our continent to the Old World. He was the bold pio neer who led the way to the New World, and as such, deserves the first and highest reward ; yet he was not truly the first discoverer of the continent of North America. Eager in his search for Cathay, he coasted almost every island composing the groups now known as the West Indies, during his several voyages, but he never saw the shores of the Northern August Continent. He did, indeed, touch the soil of South America, near the mouth of 1498- the Oronoco, but he supposed it to be an island, and died in the belief that the lands he had discovered were portions of Farther India.1 Intelligence of the great discovery of Columbus, though kept concealed as much as pos sible by the Spanish court, for reasons of state policy, nevertheless went abroad, and aroused the ambition of other maritime powers. The story that Columbus had found vast and pop ulous gold-producing regions in the Western Ocean excited the cupidity of individuals, and 1 Columbus returned to Europe in March, 1493. Ferdinand and Isabella bestowed upon him every mark of honor and distinction, and the nobles were obsequious in their attentions to the favorite of royalty. On the 25th of September, 1493, he left Cadiz, on a second voyage of discovery. He had three large ships and fourteen caravels under his command. His discoveries were principally among the West India Islands, where he founded settlements. He returned to Spain in June, 1496. Misfortunes had attended him, yet the sovereigns treated him with distinguished favor. On the 30th of May, 1498, Columbus sailed from San Lucar de Barrameda, with a squadron of six vessels, on a third voyage of discovery. He found the settlements which had been planted in great confusion, and civil war among the Spaniards and natives was rife in Hispaniola. In the mean while, intrigues against him were having due weight in the Spanish court. It was alleged that Columbus designed to found an empire in the New World, cast off all allegiance to Spain, and assume the title and pomp of king. He had already offended the conscientious Isabella by persisting in making slaves of the natives, and she readily gave her consent to send out a commissioner to investigate the conduct of the navigator. Bobadilla, a tool of Columbus's enemies, was intrusted with that momentous duty ; and, as might have been expected, he found Columbus guilty of every charge made against him. Bobadilla seized Columbus, and sent him in chains to Spain. His appearance excited the indignation of the sovereigns, and they declared to the world that Bobadilla had exceeded his instruc tions ; yet justice was withheld, through the influence of Ferdinand, and Columbus was not reinstated as viceroy of Hispaniola. While these events were occurring, Vasco de Gama, a Portuguese navigator, had reached Calicut, in. the East Indies, by doubling the Cape of Good Hope, and traversing the Indian Ocean. But Columbus still persevered in his determination to reach Asia by a western route. He induced Isabella to fit out a fourth expedition for him, and on the 9th of May, 1502, he sailed for Hispaniola. After many troubles and hardships, he returned to Spain in 1504. His patron and best friend, the queen, died that same year. Old age had made its deep furrows, and, in the midst of disappointment and neglect, the great discoverer died on the 20th of May, 1506, at the age of seventy. He never realized his grand idea of reaching India by a western route. The honor of that achievement was reserved for the expedition of Magellan, fourteen years after the death of Columbus. That navigator passed through the straits which bear his name, at the southern extremity of our continent, and launched boldly out upon the broad' Pacific. He died on the ocean, but his vessels reached the Philippine Islands, near the coast of India, in safety. Magellan gave the name of Pacific to the pleasant ocean over which he was sailing. INTRODUCTION. many adventurers offered their services to sovereigns and men of wealth. Almost simulta neously, Sebastian Cabot, of Bristol, and Amerigo Vespucci, a Florentine, sailed for the lands discovered by Columbus ; the former under the auspices of Henry the Seventh of England, and the latter in the employment of Spanish merchants, with the sanction of Fer dinand. Cabot's father was an Italian, and had been long a resident of Bristol, then the chief commercial mart of England. The Northwestern seas were often traversed as far as Iceland by the Bristol mariners, and they had probably extended their voyages westward to Greenland in their fishing enterprises. Cabot seems to have been familiar with those seas, and the English merchants had great confidence in his abilities. Pie obtained a commis sion from Henry the Seventh, similar, in its general outline, to that given to Columbus by Ferdinand and Isabella. It empowered him and his three sons, their heirs or deputies, to • discover and settle unknown lands in the Eastern, Northern-, or Western seas, such lands to be taken possession of in the name of the King of England. He fitted out two vessels at his own expense, which were freighted by merchants of London and Bristol ; and it was stipulated that, in lieu of all customs and imposts, Cabot was to pay to the King one fifth part of all the gains. Cabot's son, Sebastian, a talented young man of only twenty years, with aboutthree hund red men, sailed from harbor of Bris tol in May, 1497. He directed his course to the northwest, until he reach ed the fifty-eighth degree of north lat itude, when floating ice and intense cold induced him to steer to the south west. Fair winds produced a rapid voyage, and he discovered land on the twenty-fourth of June, which he call ed Prima Vista, because it' was his first view of a new region. The ex act point of this first discovery is not certainly known ; some supposing it to have been on the coast of Labrador, and others the Island of Newfound land or the peninsula of Ndva Scotia. He touched at other points, but did . not attempt a settlement : the climate seemed too rigorous, the people too fierce, and he returned to Bristol. • • Cabot made arrangements for a February, second voyage. He did not ' 1498- go in person, but fitted out vessels for- the purpose. His son, Sebastian, was placed at the head of the expedition, and in May, 1498, the month in which De Gama reached Calicut, in the East Indies, byway of the Cape of Good Hope, he sailed for the New World with several ships. He visited the region first discovered by his father and himself, and called it Newfoundland. It was not rich in gold and spices, but its shoals abounded with vast schools*of codfish ; and within a few years affer his return to England a permanent fishery was established there-. Cabot sailed along the whole coast of- the present United States, beginning at latitude fifty-six degrees, and ferminating at about thirty-six degrees, or Albemarle Sound. His provisions ailing, he returned to England. He made another voyage in 1517, as far south as the Sebastian Cabot. INTRODUCTION. May, 1497. Brazils ; but failing to discover a western passage to the East Indies, he again returned to England.1 In the same month when young Cabot sailed from Bristol, Amerigo Vespucci departed from Cadiz on his first voyage to the New World. In that voyage he appears to have held a subordinate station. The expedition under Ojeda, which Amerigo calls his second voyage, was not undertaken until 1499. Whether any vessel in that ex pedition was under his command is question able. Spanish writers assert to the contrary, and say that he was first a captain when in the service of Emanuel of Portugal ; but it is not my 'province to inquire into this dis puted matter. Spanish historians, jealous of the fame of Columbus, charge Vespucci with falsehood and fraud ; but early Spanish au thors were not always scrupulous in regard to truth when national pride demanded prevari- Amekigo Vespucci.* cation, or even absolute falsehood. It was 1 After his second voyage, Sebastian Cabot was invited to Spain, and sailed on a. voyage of discovery, in the service of the Spanish monarch, in 1525. . He visited Brazil, and, coasting southward to the thirty- fifth degree, he entered a large river, which he called Rio de la Plata. Up this river he sailed one hundred and twenty leagues. After an absence of six years, he returned to Spain, but seems not to have been well received by the sovereign. He made other, but less conspicuous voyages, and in his old age retired to Bristol, where he died about the year 1557, at the age of eighty years. He received a pension from Ed ward the Sixth, and was appointed governor of a company of merchants associated for the purpose of making discoveries. 2 The name of the Florentine is variously spelled, Amerigo Vespucci, Americus Vespucius, Amerigo i Vespuche. The latter orthography is according to the entry in an account-book containing the expenditure of the treasurer-«of the royal mercantile house of Seville, quoted by Munoz, tome i., page xix of the Intro duction. It appears by that account, that on the 24th of February, 1512, was paid to Manuel Catano, executor of the will of Amerigo,' " 10937 and a half maravedis," which was due to him for services as chief steersman to his majesty. Amerigo was appointed to that. office, in March, 1508, with a salary of 50,000 maravedis a year. Whether he ever commanded an expedition in the Spanish service is a disputed question. He made several voyages to the New World between 1497 and 1512, the year of his death. With ah expedition under the command of Ojeda, in 1499, he visited the Antilles and the coast of Guiana and Venezuela. On his return, Emanuel, king of Portugal, invited him to his capital, and gave him the command of three ships for a voyage of discovery. He left Lisbon May 10th, 1501, visited Brazil, and traversed the coa^t of South America as far as Patagonia, but failed to discover the straits through which Magellan passed at a later day. He returned to Lisbon in 1502. He made a fourth voyage, and returned to Portugal in 1504. Soon after this he wrote an account of his voyage. The book was dedicated to Rene II., duke of Lor raine. He again entered the service- of the King of Spain, who appointed him to draw sea-charts and gave him the title and salary of chief steersman or pilot, which commission he held until his death. Ac cording to some accounts, he died in the Island of Terceria, one of the Azores, in 1514; others affirm that his death occurred at Seville. The portrait of the navigator, here given, was copied, by permission, from the original picture by Bron- zino, now in possession of c. Edwards Lester, Esq., late United States oonsul at Genoa. It was commit ted to his care by the Vespucci family, to be placed in the possession of our government. No arrange ment for its purchase has yet been made, I believe. € An Italian woman named Elena Vespucci, bearing proofs of her lineal descent from the famous navi gator, came to America a few years ago, and made application to our Congress for a grant of land, on ac count of her relationship to the Florentine from whom our continent derived its name. Subsequently, her INTRODUCTION. xxlx natural that they should be tender of the reputation of Columbus, although he was not a Spaniard,, for his discoveries reflected great luster upon the Spanish crown. For this reason they haye ever disputed the claims of Vespucci, and denounced him as a liar and a char latan. These denunciations, however, prove nothing, and the fame of Columbus loses none of its brightness by admitting the claims of the Florentine ; claims, it must be acknowl edged, that have sound logic and fair inferences as a basis. Amerigo seems to have been the first who published an account of the discoveries in the New World, and for this pri ority the narrow and selfish policy of the Spanish government is responsible. His first an nouncement was made in a letter to Lorenzo de Medici,* and soon afterward he pub lished a volume giving an account of his four voyages, which he dedicated to the ,15W" Duke of Lorraine.b In these he claims the merit of discovering the continent, hav- b 1507' ing landed upon the coast of Paria,° in Colombia, South America, and traversed the ° 1497 shores, according to his own account, as far northward as the Gulf of Mexico. If this statement is true, he visited the continent nearly a year previous to the landing of Colum bus at the mouth of the Oronoco, in the same district of Paria. From the circumstance of Amerigo making the first publication on the subject, and claiming to be the discoverer of the continent, the New World was called America, and the Florentine bears the honor of the name ; but to neither Columbus nor Vespucci does the honor of first discoverer of Amer ica properly belong, but to young Cabot, for he and his crew first saw its soil and inhabit ants. He alone, of all those voyagers in the fifteenth century, beheld North America Whether to Columbus, Vespucci, or Cabot, truth should award the palm, Italy bears the imperishable and undisputed honor of giving birth to all three. The expeditions of the Cabots turned attention to the regions north of the West India Islands. Emanuel of Portugal dispatched some vessels, under the command of Gaspar Cortereal, in 1501, to follow in the track of the English. Cortereal sailed between two and three hundred leagues along the North American coast, but his voyage was fruitless of good results, either to science or humanity. He made few discoveries of land, carried on no traffic, planted no settlements, but kidnapped and carried to Portugal several friendly na tives, to be sold as slaves ! Perfidy and cruelty marked the first intercourse of the whites with the tribes of our continent ; is it to be wondered that the bitter fruits of suspicion and hostility should have flourished among them ? Ponce de Leon, one of the companions of Columbus, and first governor of Porto Rico, a small island sixty miles east of Haiti, sailed on a voyage of discovery among the Ba hamas, in search of the fabled Fountain of Youth. It was generally believed in Porto Rico, and the story had great credence in Old Spain, that the waters of a clear spring, bub bling up in the midst of a vast forest, upon an island among the Bahamas, possessed the singular property of restoring age and. ugliness to youth and beauty, and perpetuating the lives of those who should bathe in its stream. De Leon was an old man, and, impressed with the truth of this legend, he sought that wonderful fountain. After cruising for a while among the Bahamas, he landed upon the peninsula of Florida, in the harbor of St., Augus tine. It was on Palm Sunday when he debarked. That day is called by the Spaniards Pasqua de Flares, and, partly from that circumstance, and partly on account of the great profusion of flowers which, at that early season of the year, were blooming on every side, brother and two sisters, Amerigo, Eliza, and Teresa Vespucci, made a similar petition to Congress. They mention the fact that Elena, " possessing a disposition somewhat indocile and unmanageable, absented her self from her father's house, and proceeded to London. Hence she crossed the ocean, and landed upon the shores of Brazil, at Rio Janeiro. From that city she proceeded to Washington, the capital of the United States." Elena Vespucci was treated with respect. Possessed of youth and beauty, she attracted much attention at the metropolis,T>ut the prayer in the petition of both herself and family was denied. She was living at Ogdensburgh, New York, when I visited that place in 1848. xxx INTRODUCTION. Ponce de Leon gave the country (which he supposed to be a large island like Cuba) the name of Florida. He took formal possession in the name of the Spanish monarch ; but, feeling unauthorized to proceed to making conquests without a royal commission, he sailed for Spain to obtain one, after failing in his search after the Fountain of Youth. He had plunged into every stream, however turbid, with the vain expectation of rising from it young and blooming ; but, according to Oviedo, instead of returning to vigorous youth, he arrived at a second childhood within a few years. He was afterward appointed Governer of Florida*, and was killed while on an expedition against the natives. While Ponce de Leon was in Europe,* where he remained several years, some wealthy gentlemen of Haiti fitted out two vessels to explore the Bahamas. The squadron was commanded by Lucas Vasquez d'Aillon or Allyon, a Spanish navigator. Their ves sels were driven northward by a hurricane, and came near being stranded upon the low coasts. They finally made land in St. Helen's Sound, near the mouth of the Combahee River, in South Carolina, about half way between Charleston and Savannah. D'Aillon called the river Jordan, and the country Chicora. He carried off several natives, whom he enticed on board his ships, with the intention of selling them as slaves in Haiti.. A storm destroyed one of the vessels, and the captured Indians in the other voluntarily starved them selves to death, so the avaricious whites were disappointed in their expectations of gain. D'Aillon afterward returned, with three ships, to conquer the whole of Chicora. The na tives feigned friendship, decoyed the whites on shore, and then, with poisoned arrows, mas sacred nearly the whole of them, in revenge for their former perfidy. But few returned with D'Aillon to Haiti. This was the first discovery of the Carolina coast. While these events were in progress, Cortez, at the head of an expedition fitted out by Velasquez, the governor of Cuba, was destroying the pmpire of Montezuma, in Mexico, then recently discovered. The success of Cortez excited the jealousy of Velasquez, for he feared a renunciation of his authority by that bold leader. He sent Pamphilo de Narvaez, with a strong force, to arrest and supersede Cortez ; but he was defeated, and most of his troops joined his enemy. Narvaez afterward obtained from the Spanish court a commission as adelantado or Governor of Florida, a territory quite indefinite in extent, reaching from the southern capes of the peninsula to the Panuco River in Mexico. With a force of three April 22, hundred men, eighty of whom were well mounted, Narvaez landed in Florida, 1528- where he raised the royal standard, and took possession of the country for the crown of Spain. With the hope of finding some wealthy r-egion like Mexico and Peru, he penetrated the vast swamps and everglades in the interior of the flat country along the northern shore of the Gulf of Mexico. His men suffered terribly from the almost daily attacks of the natives and the nightly assaults of the deadly malaria of the fens. They t t=™> reached the fertile regions of the Appalachians ; but the capital of the tribe, in- June, X.jJo. t # ' stead of being a gorgeous city like Mexico or Cuzco, was a mean village of two hundred huts and wigwams.- Disappointed, and one third of his number dead, Narvaez turned southward, reached the Gulf near the present site of St. Mark's, on the Appalachie Bay, constructed five frail barks, and launched upon the waters. Nearly all his men, with himself, perished during a storm. Four of the crew, who were saved, wandered for years 1536 throuSn tlie wild regions of Louisiana and Texas, and finally reached a Spanish set tlement in Northern Mexico. These men gave the first intelligence of the. fate of the expedition. Two years after the return of these members of the expedition of Narvaez, Fernando de ,=,» Soto PIanned an expedition to explore the interior of Florida, as all North America was then called, m search of a populous and wealthy region supposed to exist there. By permission of the Spanish monarch, he undertook the exploration and conquest of Florida INTRODUCTION. June 25, 1539. Fkrnando de Soto. 1540. at his own risk and expense. He was commissioned governor-general of that country and of Cuba for life. Leaving his wife to govern Cuba during his absence, he sailed in June, 1539, and landed at Tampa Bay with a force of six hundred men in com plete armor. There he established a small garrison, and then sent most of the ves sels of his fleet back to Cuba. He .found a Spaniard, one of Narvaez^s men, who had learned the native language. Taking him with him as interpreter,. De Soto marched with his force into the interior. For five months they wandered among the swamps and everglades, fighting their way against the natives, when they reached the fertile region of the Flint River, in the western part of Georgia. There they passed the winter, with- i in a few leagues of the Gulf, making, through exploring parties, some new discoveries, among which was the harbor of Pensacola. Early in May they broke up their encampment, and, marching northeasterly, reached the head-waters of the Savannah River. After a brief tarry there, they turned their faces westward, and, on the twenty-eighth of October, came upon a fortified town, near the junction of the Alabama and Tombeckbee Rivers. A severe battle of nine hours' duration ensued. Several thousands of the half-naked Indians were slain, and their village reduced to ashes. Several of the mailed Spaniards were killed, and the victory availed De Soto nothing. All his baggage was consumed, and much pro vision was destroyed. The wild tribes, for many leagues around, were aroused by this event. De Soto went into winter quarters in a deserted Indian village on the Yazoo. There he was attacked by the swarming natives, bent on revenge. The town was burned, all the clothing of the Spaniards, together witft many horses and nearly all the swine which they brought from Cuba, were destroyed or carried away, and several of the whites were killed. Early in the spring the shorn invaders pushed westward, and discovered the Mississippi, They crossed it at the Chickasaw Bluffs, and traversed the country on its western shore up to the thirty- seventh degree, nearly opposite the mouth of the Ohio. . They penetrated the wilderness almost three hundred miles west of the Mississippi during the summer, and wintered upon the Washita, in Arkansas. They passed down the Red River to the Mississippi in the spring, where De Soto sickened and died.a He had appointed a successor, who now a Mnv31 attempted to lead the remnant of the expedition to Spanish settlements in Mexico. For several months they wandered in the wilderness, but returned in December,0 to winter upon the Mississippi, a short distance above the mouth of the Red River. There they constructed seven large boats, and in July following embarked in them. On reaching the Gulf of Mexico, they crawled cautiously along its sinuous coast, until the twen tieth of September, when, half naked and almost famished, they reached a white settlement near the mouth of the Panuco River, about thirty miles north of Tampico. While the Spaniards were making these useless discoveries of the southern regions of our Republic along the Gulf of Mexico, the French fitted out several expeditions to explore the coast between the peninsula of Florida and the banks of Newfoundland. John Verrazzani, a celebrated Florentine navigator, proceeded to America with a squadron of four ships, undc 1542. bl543 INTRODUCTION. Verrazzani. the auspices of Francis the First of France, in 1523. Three of his vessels were so dam aged by a storm that they were sent back ; in the fourth, he proceeded on his voyage. Weathering a terrible tempest, he reached our coast near the mouth of Cape Fear River, in North Carolina. He explored the whole coast from the Carolinas to Nova Scotia, and taking formal possession of the country in the name of the French king, he called it New France, the title held by Canada while it remained in possession of the French. Verrazzani was fol lowed, the next year, by Cartier (also in the service of the French king), who discovered the Gulf and River St. Lawrence j1 and soon afterward by the Lord of -Roberval, a wealthy nobleman, who proposed to plant a. colony in the New World. Roberval failed in his un dertaking, and returned to France. He sailed on another voyage, and was never heard of aft erward. Other efforts at settlement along the southern coasts were made by the French, but were unsuccessful. A Protestant French colony, planted in Florida, was destroyed by the , Spaniards in 1564, and over the dead bodies, of the Huguenots the murderers placed the inscription, "We do this not as unto Frenchmen, but as unto Heretics." In 1567, De Gourgues, a Gascon soldier, fitted out an expedition at his own expense, to avenge this out rage. He surprised the Spanish forts erected near St. Augustine, and hung the soldiers of the garrison upon the trees. Over them he placed the inscription, " I do this not as unto Spaniards or mariners, but as unto traitors, robbers, and murderer^." Thus white people wore exterminated hy white people, and Indians again posessed the landji The history of the early discoveries in North America forms a wonderful chapter in the great chronicle of human progress and achievements, and in its details there are narratives" of adventure, prowess, love, and all the elements of romance, more* startling and attractive than the most brilliant conceptions of the imagination ever evolved. The story of the prog ress of settlements which followed is equally marvelous and attractive. These tempt the pen on every side, but as they are connected only incidentally with my subject, I pass them by with brevity of notice. In the preceding pages I have taken a very brief survey of events in the progress of discovery which opened the way to settlements in the New World; a brief survey of the progress of settlements will be found interwoven with the records upon the pages which follow. They are all united by the often invisible threads of God's prov idence ; and each apparently insignificant event in the wondrous history of our continent is a link as important in the great chain of human deeds, directed by divine intelligence, as those which arrest the attention and command the admiration of the world. ¦ Never was this truth oftener and more strikingly illustrated than in our. history of the war for independ ence ; and the student of that history, desirous of understanding its true philosophy, should make himself familiar with the antecedents which have a visible relation thereto. See page 178, vol. i. PICTORIAL FIELD-BO OK THE REVOLUTION. CHAPTER I. " Our young wild land, the free, the proud ! Uncrush'd by power, unawed by fear, Her knee to none but God is bow'd, For Nature teaches freedom.here : From gloom and snow to light and flowers Expands this heritage of ours : Life with its myriad, hopes, pursuits, Spreads sails, rears roofs, and gathers fruits. But pass two fleeting centuries back ; This land, a torpid giant, slept, ' Wrapp'd in a mantle thick and black That o'er its mighty frame had crept, Since stars and angels sang, as earth Shot, from its Maker, into birth." , Street. 1 ' /"" HE love of country, springing up from the rich soil of the domestic affections, is a feeling coexistent and coextensive with social union itself. Although a dreary climate, barren lands, and unrighteous laws, wickedly administered; may repress the luxuriant growth of this sentiment, it will still .- f maintain firm root in the heart, and bear with patience the most cruel wrongs. Man loves the soil that gave him birth as the child loves' the mother, and- from the same inherent im- "5l pulses. When exiled from his father-land, he yearns for it as a child yearns for home ; and though he may, by legal oath, dis claim allegiance to his own and swear fealty to another government, the invisible- links of patriotism which bind him to- his country can not be severed ; his lips and hand bear false witness against his truth ful heart. Stronger far is this sentiment in the bosom of him whose country is a pleasant land, where nature in smiling beauty and rich beneficence woos him on every side ; where education quickens into refining activity the intellect of society ; and where just laws, righteously administered, impress all possession, whether of property or of character, with the broad seal of security. An honest, justified pride elevates the spirit of the citi zen of a land so favored ; makes him a vigilant guardian of its rights and honor, and inspires him with a profound reverence for the men and deeds consecrated by the opinions of the just as the basis upon which its glory rests. C 34 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Classic Localities. Departure for Saratoga. Voyage up the Hudson. It was under the influence of this sentiment, so natural to every American, and a strong desire to make a personal visit to the classic grounds of my country, and portray their feat ures before every ancient lineament should be effaced, that, during the sultriness of midsum mer, I left behind me the cares of business life within the confines of our commercial me tropolis, and commenced a pilgrimage to the most important localities connected with the events of the war for our national independence. For many years, ate I occasionally saw some field consecrated by revolutionary blood, or building Hallowed as a shelter of the heroes of that war, I have felt emotions of shame, such as every American ought to feel, on seeing the plow leveling the breast- works and batteries where our fathers bled, and those edifices, containing the councilTchambers of men who planned the attack, the ambuscade, or the re treat, crumbling into utter ruin. While England erects a monument in honor of the am putated leg of a hero who fought for personal renown, we allow these relics, sanctified by the deeds of soldiers who were more than heroes as the world regards heroism, to pass away and be forgotten. Acquisitiveness is pulling down walled fortresses ; the careless agriculturist, unmindful of the sacredness of the ditch and mound that scar his fields, is sowing and reap ing where niarble monuments should stand ; and improvement, a very Cambyses among achievements of labor of former times, under the fair mask of refined taste, is leveling nearly all that remains of the architecture of the Revolution. To delineate with pen and pencil what is left of the physical features of that period, and thus to rescue from oblivion, before it should be too late, the mementoes which another generation will appreciate, was my employ ment for several months ; and a desire to place the result of those journeyings, with a record of past events inseparably connected with what I have delineated, in an enduring form before my countrymen, has given birth to these pages. I resolved to visit the scenes of the northern campaigns during the summer and early av tumn. With the exception of the historic grounds lying around New York and among the Hudson Highlands, the fields of Saratoga, in point of importance and distance, invited the initial .visit. I left New York on the evening of the 24th of July for Poughkeepsie, on the banks of the Hudson, there to be joined by a young lady, my traveling" companion for the summer. For many days the hot sun had been unclouded, and neither shower nor dew imparted grateful moisture to town or country. " The whispering waves were half asleep, The clouds were gone to play, And on the woods and on the deep The smiles of Heaven lay." Sbjelley. During the afternoon the barometer indicated a change, and portents of a gathering storm arose in the west. At twilight we entered the great amphitheater of the Hio-hlands, and darkness came down suddenly upon us as a tempest of wind, thunder, and rain burst over the Dunderberg and the neighboring heights. A thunder-storm at night in the Hud son Highlands ! It is a scene of grandeur and sublimity vouchsafed to few, and never to be forgotten. The darkness became intense, and echo confused the thunder-peals into one con tinuous roar. The outlines of the hills disappeared in the gloom, and our vessel seemed the only object wrapped in the bosom of the tempest, except when, at every flash of lightning, high wooded cones, or lofty ranges, or rocky cliffs burst into view like a sudden creation of the Omnipotent fiat, and then melted into chaos again. The storm continued until we passed West Point. The clouds then broke, and as we emerged from the upper gate of the Highlands into the beautiful expanse of Newburgh Bay, the moon came forth, like a queen from her pavilion, in beauty and majesty, the winds were quiet, the waters placid, and the starry sky Serene, for . " The thunder, tramping deep and loud Had left no foot-marks there." OF THE REVOLUTION. 35' Returning Volunteers. Albany. Troy. Fulton's Steam-boat. The next morning the air was clear and cool as in September. At noon we took passage hi one of those floating palaces which are the pride of the Hudson River. What a con trast to the awkward contrivance — the mere germ of the steam-boat of the present day — that gave such glory to Fulton, and astonished the world.1 • Her saloon, like a ducal draw ing-room ;' her table, spread as with a royal banquet ; her speed, like that of the swift bird, are all the creations of one generation, and seem like works of magic. Among the passen gers there were a few — plain and few indeed — who -attracted general attention. They were a remnant of a regiment of Volunteers returning home, weary and spirit-broken, from the battle-fields of Mexico. Of the scores who went with them, these alone returned to tell of havoc in battle and slaughter by the deadly vomito. They were young, but the lesson of sad experience might be read on each brow, and the natural joy of the homeward-bound beamed not in their eyes. To them military glory was a bubble burst ; and the recollec tions of the recent past brought not to them that joy which the soldier feels who has battled in defense of country and home. At Albany preparations had been made to receive them, and for half a mile the wharves, bridges, vessels, and houses were thickly covered with peo ple anxious to see the returning heroes. We landed with difficulty in the midst of the ex citement and noise, for cannon-peals, and drum and fife, and the rattle of military accouter- ments, and wild huzzas of the crowd, and the coaxing and swearing of porters and coach men, were enough to confound confusion itself. How changed was the scene when we re turned, a few weeks later. Wharves, bridges, and houses had been swept by conflagration, and acres of the dense city were strewn with smoking ruins. Early on the morning of the 26th we left Albany for Bemis's Heights, near the village of Stillwater. An omnibus ride of an hour, over a fine McAdam road, placed us in Troy, where we took stage for the Waterford ferry at Lansingburgh, four miles above. The day was excessively warm, and eleven passengers occupied " seats for nine." Not a zephyr stirred the waters or the leaves. A funny little water-man, full of wine and wit, or something stronger and coarser, offered to row us across in his rickety skiff. I demanded the price for ferriage. 1 For the gratification of the curious, I here present a drawing of the " Clermont," Fulton's experi ment boat, with some notices of her earlier voyages. It was' constructed under the personal supervision of Fulton, in 1807. It was one hundred feet long, twelve feet wide, and seven feet deep. In 1808 it was lengthened to one hundred and 'fifty'feet, widened to eighteen, and its name changed to North River. The engine was constructed by Watt & Bolton, En gland, and the hull by David Brown, of New York. In August, 1807, the boat was propelled from the East River to the Jersey shore ; and about the first of September it was started on its first. trip to Albany. The following advertisement appeared in the Albany Gazette, September 1st, 1807 - The Ulermokt. „ The ^orth juver steam-boat will leave Paulus's Hook [Jersey City I on Friday, the 4th of September, at 9 in the morning, and arrive at Albany on Saturday, at 9 in the afternoon. Provisions, good" berths, and accommodations, are provided. The charge to each passenger is as follows : To Newburgh, dolls. 3, time 14 hours. " Poughkeepsie, " 4, " 17 .'" " Esopus, " 5, " 20 " » Hudson. " 5i " 30 " " Albany,' " 7; " 36 " It is noticed in the same paper, of October 5th, 1807, that "Mr. Fulton's new steam-boat left New York on the 2d, at 10 o'clock A.M., against a strong tide, very rough water, and a violent gale from the north. She made a headway against the most sanguine expectations, and without being rocked by the waves." What a change in about forty years ! Forty years ago a steam-boat voyage from Albany to New York, one hundred and sixty miles, was accomplished in thirty-six hours, at an expense of seven dol lars exclusive of cost of meals. Now the passage is easily and often made in nine and a half hours, at a cost of one dollar, and frequently for less. Now our first class steam-boats are nearly four hundred feel long, and of proportionate depth and breadth of beam. •36 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Crossing the Hudson. Cohoes' Falls. Van Schaick's Island. State of Affairs in 1777. " Five thousand doUars," hiccoughed the Charon. I did not object to the price, but. valuing safety at a higher figure, sought the owner of a pretty craft near by, while the little votary of Bacchus was tugging manfully, but unsuccessfully, at a huge trunk, to lift it into his boat. Before he was fairly conscious that he was not yet toiling at our luggage, we were out upon the stream in the " Lady of the Lake." I compensated the tipsy boatman for his labor of love by a brief temperance lecture ; but the seed doubtless fell upon " stony ground," Tor he had the hard-heartedness to consign me to the safe keeping of him whom " The old painters limned with a hoof and a horn, A beak and a scorpion tail." We pushed across the Hudson to the upper mouth or "sprout" of the Mohawk, and, gliding under the rail-road bridge and along a sluice of the Champlain Canal, clambered up a high bank, and reached the packet office at Waterford1 toward noon. The suppressed roar of Cohoes' Falls, two miles distant, wooed us to the pleasures of that fashionable resort, to while away the three hours before the arrival of the canal packet. These falls, though not so grand as many others either in volume or altitude of cataract, or in the natural scenery around, nevertheless present many points of beauty and sublimity exceedingly attractive to the tourist. The Mohawk is here more than one hundred yards wide, and perfectly rock-ribbed on both sides. The fall is nearly seventy feet perpendicu lar, in addition to the turbulent rapids above and below. A bridge, eight hundred feet long, spans the river half a mile below the falls, from which a fine view may be obtained of the whole scene. Before entering the Hudson, the river is divided into four mouths or sprouts, as they are called, by three rocky islands, Haver's, Van Schaick's or Cohoes', and Green's or Tibbetts's Islands, which form a scene that is singularly picturesque. It is generally supposed that Henry Hudson, the discoverer of the river bearing his name, ascended' as far as this point in 1609, and that he and his boat's crew were the first white men who beheld the cataract of Cohoes. The mouth of the Mohawk was a point of much interest toward the close of the summer of 1777, when Van Schaick's Island was fortified by General Schuyler, then in command of the northern division of the Continental army. Properly to understand the position of affairs at that period, it is necessary to take a brief view of events immediately antecedent to, and intimately connected with, the military operations at this point, and at Stillwater a few weeks later. Incensed at the audacity of the American Congress in declaring the colonies free and in dependent states ; piqued at the consummate statesmanship displayed by the members of that Congress, and foiled in every attempt to cajole the Americans by delusive promises, or to crush the spirit of resistance by force of arms', the British ministry, backed by the stubborn king and a strong majority in both Houses of Parliament, determined to open the campaign of 1777 with such- vigor, and to give to "the service in America such material, as should not fail to put down the rebellion by midsummer, and thus vindicate British valor, which seem ed to be losing its invincibility. So long as the Americans were tolerably united ; so long as there remained a free communication between Massachusetts and Virginia, or, in other words, between the Eastern and the Middle and Southern Sjates, permanent success of the British arms in America was very questionable. The rebellion was hydra-headed, spring ing into new life and vigor suddenly and powerfully, from the inherent energies of union, in places where it seemed to be subdued and destroyed. To sever that union, and1 to paralyze the vitality dependent thereon, was a matter of great importance, and to effect this was a paramount object of the British government. General Howe was then in the quiet possession of the city of New York and its vicinity • Waterford is on the west bank of the Hudson, at the head of sloop navigation. OF THE REVOLUTION. 37 English Preparations for the Campaign of 1777. Instructions of Lord George Germain. Biographical Sketch of Burgoyne. a strong British force occupied Rhode .Island and overawed the eastern coast; the patriot insurgents had been driven out of Canada by General Carleton, and nothing remained to complete the separation of the two sections, of the American States but to march an invad ing army from the north, which, forming a junction with Howe, should secure the country and the strong-holds upon Lakes Champlain and George and the Hudson River.1 Such an expedition was planned jointly by the king, Lord George Germain, and General Burgoyne, and agreed upon in council.3 The general command was intrusted to Bur goyne, who was a natural son of Lord Bingley, and at that time high in the confidence of the king and his advisers. ' He was brave, skillful, and humane, proud of distinction, san guine of success, and eager for military renown. If the tac tics of European warfare had been appropriate for the expedi tion, success might have attended his efforts. But in his ap pointment, as well as in the minute and positive instructions given him, without reference to any contingency that might demand a wide departure from their letter and spirit, the Lieutenant General Burgoyne f . -\ From an English print, 1783. British ministry, always at fault in the management 01 1 Lord George Germain, then colonial secretary, in a letter to Governor Carleton, of Canada, dated March 26th, 1777, observes, " With a view of quelling the rebellion as soon as possible, it is become highly necessary that the most speedy junction of the two armies should be effected [the forces from Can ada a;id those of General Howe at New York] ; and, therefore, as the security and good government of Canada absolutely require your presence there, it is tlje king's determination to leave a"bout 3000 men un der your command for the defense and duties of that province, and to employ the remainder of your army upon two expeditions, the one lander the command of Lieutenant General Burgoyne, who is to force his way to Albany, and the other under Lieutenant Colonel St. Leger, who is to make a diversion on the Mo hawk River."— Burgoyne's Statementof the Expedition from Canada, &c. (Appendix), p. xiii., London, 1780. 2 Pictorial History of George III., vol. i., p. 306. 3 Lieutenant General Burgoyne was an illegitimate son of Lord Bingley. He entered the army at an early age, and his education and the influence of his father soon placed him in the line of promotion. In 1762 he was sent into Portugal with an English force to assist in the defense of that kingdom against the Spaniards. He then held the commission of a brigadier* and distinguished himself in the capture of the garrison of Almeida. After his return to England,, he became a privy councillor, and was elected to a seat in Parliament as representative for Preston, in Lancashire. He came over to America in 1775, and was at Boston at the time of the battle of Bunker Hill. He was sent to Canada the same year, but early in 1776 returned to England. Through the influence of the king and Lord George Germain, he was ap pointed to the command of the northern British army in America in the spring of 1777. After some suc cesses, he was captured, with all his army, at Saratoga, in October of that year. After, some delay, he was allowed to return to England on parole, and he was actually engaged in debates upon the floor of the British House of Commons at the very time he was a prisoner to the Americans. His misfortunes lost him the friendship of the kuig, and he was denied access to his presence. In 1780 he published a narra tive of his Expedition, together with the proceedings of his trial before a committee of Parliament, in which he well vindicated his character. He soon afterward resigned his emoluments from government, amount ing to $15,000 a year. In 1 781 he joined the opposition in Parliament, and opposed the further prosecu tion of the war against the Americans as impolitic and cruel. From the conclusion of peace until his death, he devoted his time to pleasure and literary pursuits. Hfe died of an attafik of gout, on the 4th of August, 1792. - Among his literary productions, are The Maid of the Oaks, Bon Ton, and The Heiress, dramas which at one time were highly popular. Benevolence and humanity were strong features in Burgoyne's character, and I think the fierce anathema of Philip Freneau, ». poet of the Revolution, was altogether too severe. After giving Burgoyne several hard rubs in the course of his epic, he describes an ice-bound, fog-covered, dreary island north of Scotland, and there consigns the Tories, with Burgoyne at their head, as follows : " There, Loyals, there, with loyal hearts retire, There pitch your tents, and kindle there your Are , There desert Nature will her stings display, And fiercest hunger on your vitals prey ; And with yourselves let John Burgoyne retire, I To reign your monarch, whom your hearts desire." Fbenkac's Poems, -p. 246 38 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Burgoyne s Arrival in Canada. His Preparations for the Campaign. Appointment of General Schuyler to the Command. American affairs, made a most egregious blunder. Sir Guy Carleton, then Governor of Canada, and perfectly acquainted with the people and country, should have been placed in command. Burgoyne was almost totally ignorant of the Canadians and Indians, who formed a large part of his force, and he knew absolutely nothing of the true character and temper of the people he was sent to oppose and oppress. Burgoyne arrived at Quebec in March, 1777, bearing the commission of a lieutenant general. Carleton, though greatly aggrieved, nobly aided Burgoyne in preparing the ex pedition. By extraordinary activity, vessels were constructed, stores were collected, and a force of more than seven thousand men was mustered at St. John's, at the foot of Lake Champlain, on the first of June. Lieutenant Colonel St. Leger, with a detachment of seven hundred Rangers, was sent up the St. Lawrence and Lake Ontario to Oswego, to penetrate the country from that point, arouse and conciliate the Indians, capture Fort Schuyler,1 sweep the valley of the Mohawk with the aid of Johnson and his Tories, and join Burgoyne at Albany when Lake Champlain and the valley of the Upper Hudson should lie prostrate at his feet. As- soon as Congress perceived the storm that was gathering on the northern frontier, they felt the necessity of prompt action and the services of an influential commander. Fear, loyalty, British gold, would undoubtedly lead the van of the invading army, and none but a wise and tried man could quiet the alarm of the people and command the fidelity of the militia. Philip Schuyler, a a gentleman of fortune, and possessed of military skill, experience, sound judgment, prudent forethought, and lofty patriotism, was reap pointed to' the com mand of the forces of the north, in which position he had been superseded, in effect, a few weeks before, by Horatio Gates, the Adjutant General of the Continental ar my. No appointment could have been more popular with the peo ple of Northern New York, who .were in a state of great excite ment and alarm. In the late campaigns against the French and Indians upon Lakes George and Champlain, he had rendered essential service to the colony and to the people of the northern frontier, and his many virtues endeared him to all who knew him. His large estate was lying directly in the path of the invader ; and if a mercenary feeling could have existed in a soul so noble as his, the defense of his own broad acres and costly mansion would have made him vigilant and brave. General Schuyler arrived in Albany on the third day of June, where he met General Gates, and, with all the frankness of a gener ous and unsuspecting 1 Fort Schuyler stood at the head of boat navigation, on the Mohawk, where the village of Rome now is. It was erected in 1758, and was then called Fort Stanwix. It was repaired in 1776 and named Fort Schuyler, in honor of 'General Schuyler, in whose military department it was located 3 General Philip Schuyler was born at Albany, on the 22d of November, 1733. His grandfather Peter Schuyler, was Mayor of Albany, and commander of the northern militia in 1690. His father John Schuy- ler, married Cornelia Van Courtlandt, a woman of strong mind, and Philip was their eldest son By vii* tue of primogeniture law, he inherited the real estate of his father at his death, but he generously shared it with his brothers and sisters. His father died when Philip was young, and to the thorough training of OF THE REVOLUTION. 39 Schuyler and Gates. Advance of Burgoyne. Condition of the Continental Army. nature, sought the aid of his counsel, and his sword. But he encountered a smaller mind than his- own, and both counsel and sword were refused. He was coldly received by the adjutant general, who was deeply offended because Congress had not allowed him to retain his command. A brave soldier always seeks the post of greates't danger ; and General Schuyler, not doubting the courage or devotion of Gates, offered him the. command of Ti conderoga, the point where the first conflict with Burgoyne would inevitably take place, and where the first laurels were to be won. But the pride of Gates stifled his patriotism. He refused to serve under Schuyler, and, at his own request, had leave to withdraw from the department, where, indeed, he had done literally nothing. ' All was terror and alarm among the inhabitants of the north, as Burgoyne victoriously swept Champlain from St. John's to Crown Point, and with his formidable force, daily aug mented by loyalists and savage allies, prepared to beleaguer the strong fortress of Ticonder oga. Mount Hope, commanding the road to Lake George, was occupied ; the American outposts were driven in ; the lake was studded with armed vessels, and the formidable height of Mount Defiance was scaled, and artillery planted upon its very summit, seven hundred feet above the fort helow. General St. Clair, who commanded the garrison, when he saw the battery above him, and the girdle of strong battalions that was closing around him, knew that resistance would be madness. Under cover of night, he retreated across to Mount Independence, and, with the small garrison there, fled toward Fort Edward by the way of Castleton and Skenesbor- ough, leaving the stores and ammunition behind. The British eagerly pursued the flying Americans. The battle of Hubhardton, so disastrous to the patriots, was fought. The boom across the lake at Ticonderoga was broken, and a free passage made for the vessels of the enemy. They swept the lake to Skenesborough (now Whitehall), when the Ameri can works and the stores that were left became an easy prey to the invaders.. The army under General Schuyler was in a wretched condition, and daily diminishing. Food, clothing^ ammunition, and artillery were all wanting. The pecuniary resources and credit of Congress were daily failing, and all the future seemed dark, and foreboding of evil. The Eastern militia, sick and disheartened by late reverses, became restless and insubordi- his gifted mother he was greatly indebted for lys success in life. He entered the army against the French and Indians in 1755, and commanded* a company which attended Sir William Johnson to Fort Edward. and Lake George. He soon attracted the attention of Lord Howe, who commanded the first division of the British army against the forts on Lake George and Lake Champlain, and was placed in the commis sariat department. When Lord Howe fell at Ticonderoga, to Colonel Schuyler was intrusted the duty of conveying the body of that greatly-beloved young nobleman to Albany for sepulture. After the peace of 1763, he was much in active service in the civil government of his state. In the Colonial Assembly of New York, he was one of the warmest opponents of the British government in its attempts to tax the colo nies without their consent. He was elected a delegate to the Continental Congress which assembled in May, 1775, and in June following he was appointed by that body one of the major generals (the third) of the American army. He was charged by Washington with the command of the army in the province of New York, and directed to secure the lakes and prepare for invading Canada. He was taken sick, and the command devolved on Montgomery. During 1776, he was active in Indian affairs, and in perfecting the order and discipline of the northern army. For causes quite inexplicable, he was superseded, in effect, by Gates in March, 1777, but was reinstated in May. Again, when Burgoyne drove St. Clair from Ti conderoga, and .prudence caused General Schuyler to retreat with his army from Fort Edward down the Hudson River, calumny, that had successfully poisoned the minds of the Eastern people and the militia, be came so clamorous for his removal, that Congress placed Gates again in charge of the army in August. Injured and insulted, the patriot still continued to devote his services and his fortune in aid of his country. He demanded a court of inquiry, and its verdict, acquitting him of all blame, conferred as much honor upon him as his successes won at Saratoga. He was urged by Washington to accept military command, but he preferred to lend his aid to his country in another way. He was a member of the old Congress under the Confederation ; and after the adoption of the Constitution of the United States, he was a senator from New York, with Rufus King. He was again a senator, in place of Aaron Burr, in 1797. He died at Albany, November 18th, 1804, aged 71 years. He has two daughters still living — Elizabeth, the venerable widow of General Alexander Hamilton, and now (1849) ninjfy-two years of age; and Catharine, his youngest daughter, widow of the late Major Cochrane, of Oswego, son of Dr. Cochrane, the distinguished Surgeon General of the Revolutionary Army. See page 19 J Vol. II. 40 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Retreat of Schuyler to the Mohawk. St. Leger in the Mohawk^Valley. Relief of the Valley proposed by Schuyler, nate, and nearly all of them left the army and returned home. These things were exceed ingly discouraging to the commander, yet his stout heart never failed. " Should it be ask July 24, ed>" he said, in a letter to the Albany Committee, fronl Moses's Creek, four miles be- 1777. iow Fort Edward, " what line of conduct I mean to hold amid this variety of difE culties and distress, I would answer, to dispute every inch of ground with General Bur goyne, and retard his descent into the country as long as possible." Burgoyne's force, in the mean while, was constantly augmented by accessions from the families of the loyal and the timid. Slowly and surely he advanced from Skenesborough to Fort Anne, and was pressing onward, in the midst of fearful obstacles, toward the Hudson! Under all these circumstances, General Schuyler thought it prudent to retreat until new recruits, or a re-enforcement from Washington, should give more strength to his army. He accordingly fell back from Fort Edward, the' general rendezvous of his forces after the evac uation of Ticonderoga, Mount Independence, and Fort George. As Burgoyne approached, the people fled, in terror and dismay, toward Albany, leaving their ripe harvest fields and pleasant homes to be trodden down or burned by the enemy. Burgoyne at length reached Fort Edward ; and as he marched slowly down the valley of the Hudson, Schuyler retreat ed in good order to Saratoga, then to Stillwater, and. finally to Cohoes' Falls. * In the mean while the people in the Mohawk Valley were in the greatest consternation. St. Leger had arrived from Oswego, and was besieging Fort Schuyler, while the Tories and Indians were spreading death and desolation on every hand. Colonel Gansevoort, with a handful of men, was closely shut up in the fort ; General Herkimer, with the brave militia of Tryon county, had been defeated at Oriskany, and the people below hourly ex- ugl18 ' pected the flood of destroyers to pour down upon them. It was a fearful emergen cy. Without aid all must be lost. Brave hearts were ready for bold deeds, and during a night of fearful tempest of thunder and rain, Colonel Willett and Lieutenant Stockwell crept stealthily from the fort, through groups of sleeping besiegers, beyond their lines, and at dawn on the second day, mounted upon fleet horses, sped down the valley to the headquarters of General Schuyler, at Stillwater, and, in the name of the beleaguered garrison and the peo ple of Tryon county, implored assistance. Not a moment was to be lost. The subjugation of the whole valley would inevitably follow the surrender of Fort Schuyler, and the victor's, gathering strength, would fall like an avalanche upon Albany, or, by junction, swell the approaching army of Burgoyne. The prudent foresight and far-reaching humanity of General Schuyler at once dictated his course. He called a council,1 and proposed sending a detachment immediately to the relief of Fort Schuyler. His officers opposed him, with the plea that his whole force was not then suffi cient to stay the oncoming of Burgoyne. The clearer judgment of Schuyler made him per sist in his opinion, and he earnestly besought them to agree with him. While pacino- the floor in anxious solieitude, he overheard the half-whispered remark, " He means to weaken the army."3 Treason in the heart of Philip Schuyler ! Never was a thought more foul 1 General Schuyler was then quartered in the house of Derrick Swart, Esq., at Stillwater. The house is still standing, just at the foot of the hill. — Charles Neilson, Esq. 2 At this time jealousy had created secret enemies for General Schuyler, and he was even charged with being associated with St. Clair in preliminary acts of treason, about the time the latter evacuated Ticonder oga. The ridiculous story got abroad that they had been paid for their treason by the enemy in silver balls, shot from Burgoyne's guns into the American camp ! — See Thatcher's Military Journal, p. 86. Note. — It will be observed that, in this rapid view of events connected with the American 'encampment at the mouth of the Mohawk, I have avoided all details, where, perhaps, the reader may have wished more minute information. The necessity for this course arises from the nature of the plan of my work which is to notica*in detail the various important localities, in the order in vihich I visited them, and not m' chrono logical succession, as the mere historian would do. For example, I visited Cohoes' and Bemis's Heights before Fort Edward and Ticonderoga. I therefore describe the scenery and events of the former places minutely, and reserve similar minute details concerning the latter until, in the order of the narrative of my tour, I reach them. This explanation is necessary, as some might suppose that important places are to be slightly noticed, while others of less moment have an undue share of attention. I have* visited all the OF THE REVOLUTION. 41 Volunteers for the Relief of Fort* Schuyler. Position of the Americans at Cohoes. Active Preparations to oppose Burgoyne. or charge more wicked. Wheeling suddenly toward the' slanderer and those around him, and unconsciously biting into several pieces a pipe he was smoking, he indignantly exclaim ed, "Gentlemen, I shall take the responsibility upon myself; where is the brigadier that will take command of the relief? I shall beat up for volunteers to-morrow." The brave and impulsive Arnold, ever ready for deeds of daring, at once stepped forward and offered his services. The next morning the drum beat, and eight hundred stalwart men AugU8t15 were enrolled for the service before meridian. Fort Schuyler was saved, and the 1777- forces of St. Leger scattered to the winds. In after years the recollection of those burning words of calumny always stirred the breast of the veteran patriot with violent emotions If ever a bosom glowed with true devotion to country, it was that of Philip Schuyler. Such, in brief, were the events which placed the remnant of the main army of the north at the mouth of the Mohawk in August, 1777, and caused Van Schaick's and Haver's Islands to be fortified. That seemed to be the most eligible point at which to make a stand in defense of Albany against the approaches of the enemy from the north and from the west. Nowhere else could the comparatively feeble force of the Americans so effectually oppose the overwhelming number of the invaders. At that time there were no bridges across the Hud son or the Mohawk, and both streams were too deep to be fordable except in seasons of ex treme drought. There was a ferry across the Mohawk, five miles- above the falls,1 and one across the Hudson at Half Moon Point,*- or Waterford. The " sprouts" of the Mohawk, between the islands, were usually fordable ; and as Burgoyne would not, of course, cross the Hudson, or attempt the ferry upon the Mohawk, where a few' resolute men could success fully oppose him, his path was of necessity directly across the mouth of the river. Fortifi- cations were accordingly thrown up on the islands and upon the main land, faint traces of which are still visible. In this position, with his headquarters at Stillwater, in advance of his army, > General Schuyler brought all his energies and resources into requisition for the augmentation and discipline of his troops, preparatory to a first determined conflict with Burgoyne. His pri vate purse was freely opened,3 and 'by unwearied exertions day and night the army rapidly improved in numbers, discipline, and spirits. His correspondence at that time with men of every degree, from the President of Congress and the commander-in-chief to subordinate officers and private gentlemen, was very extensive, all having relation to the one great wish of his heart, the cheeking of the progress of the British army. He addressed the civil and military authorities in every direction, urging them to assist him with men and arms. The Council of Safety, at Albany, was appealed to. " Every militia-man," he said, " ought to turn out without delay in a crisis the most alarming since the contest began." He appealed to the Eastern States. " If," he said, in a letter to Governor Trumbull, of Connecticut, " the Eastern militia do not turn out with spirit and behave better, we shall be ruined." To Washington he repeated, in substance, what he had said on the 1 2th of July previous. " If my countrymen will support me with vigor and dexterity, and do not meanly despond, most important localities of the Revolution, and each in its turn, in the course of the work, will receive its full share of notice. - It is my intention to give in notes, in the course of the work, brief biographical sketches of all the most important actors in our Revolutionary war, both domestic and foreign. These sketches will be introduced at points where the record exhibits the most prominent events in the life of the subject. Prominent men will, therefore, be mentioned often before a biography will be given ; but the reader i9ay rely upon find ing it in the work, if a memoir can be found. 1 Loudon's ferry. At this place the left wing of the armyrosted, under the command of General Arnold. s So called from the name of Henry Hudson's ship, the Half Moon. 3 General Schuyler never allowed'-his private interest to interfere in the least degree with the public' good. When the Continental army was retreating from Fort Edward, Mrs. Schuyler rode up from Albany to their beautiful country seat at Saratoga, and superintended the removal of their furniture. While there she received direction from her husband to set fire with her own hands to his extensive fields of wheat, and to request his tenants to do the same, rather than suffer them to be reaped by the enemy. — Women of the Revolution, vol. i., p. 60. 42 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Schuyler superseded by Gates. Factions in Congress. v Noble Conduct of Schuyler. we shall be able to prevent the enemy from penetrating much further into the country." At the same time all was life and activity in his camp. From his own state recruits were constantly filling his thinned regiments, and the heart of the patriot was cheered with the prospect of soon winning back those laurels which, by the late reverses and the events of the last campaign, had been, in a measure, stripped from his brow. But secret enemies had been for some time plotting his disgrace by poisoning the minds of the Eastern people, and raising a clamor in favor of the reinstatement of Gates, who as yet, for obvious reasons, had met with no reverses. The friends of that officer were an active faction in Congress at that time, sub rosa,. but the next year were far more undisguised in favoring the scheme for giving Gates the chief command in place of Washington. We are so accustomed to look upon all the men of the Revolution who took sides with the friends of America as pure and holy in all their thoughts and actions, that we reluctantly yield to the conviction that they were ever actuated by motives less worthy and exalted than those of the loftiest patriotism. This is claiming too much for human nature. While we may award to them all that is noble and disinterested in feeling, when the good of the common cause demanded personal sacrifice and pliancy of opinion, it is folly to deny that the spirit of faction was rife among the members of the Old Continental Congress,, and that selfish motives often controlled their actions. Congress, listening to the clamors from the East, the importunities of Gates's friends, and the suggestions of a false military philosophy, de prived General Schuyler of his command just^ as he was about to lead his troops to victory. General Gates, with his new commission, arrived at Van Schaick's on the 1 9th of Au gust, three days after the battle of Bennington, a battle which, in its effect upon the British army, gave full assurance of future victory to the Americans. How nobly did the conduct of Schuyler on this occasion contrast with that of Gates a few weeks previous. On Gates's arrival, without the slightest indication of ill humor, the patriot resigned his command, com municated all the intelligence he possessed, and put every interesting paper into his han9s, simply adding, " I have done all that could be done, as far as the means were in my power, to injure the enemy, and to inspire confidence in the soldiers of our own army, and, I flatter myself, with some success ; but the palm of victory is denied me, and it is left to you, gen eral, to reap the fruit of my. labors. I will not fail, however, to second your views ; and my devotion to my country will cause me with alacrity to obey all your orders."1 " I am sensible," he said, in a letter to Congress, "of the indignity of being ordered from the com mand of the army at the time when an engagement must soon take place ;" yet he preferred to suffer reproach in silence rather than allow his bleeding country to be injured by the with drawal of a single arm from its support. Although disgraced by the act of Congress, he persevered assiduously in strengthening the army and preparing for the coming conflict. " I shall go on," he said to Washington, " in doing my duty and endeavoring to deserve your esteem." And when General Gates arrived, he cordially proffered his co-operation, was very active in promoting the success of the battles which soon after took place, was present at Saratoga when Burgoyne surrendered his sword, and rejoiced, because his country was the gainer, when the laurels which should have graced his brow were placed upon that of another. Warmed by such impulses, who can doubt that the bosom of the generous patriot on that day heaved with nobler pride and purer joy than that of the lauded victor ? 1 Garden, *p. 359. * ' * i OF THE REVOLUTION. 43 Canal Voyage from Waterford to Bemis's Heights. Appearance of the Country CHAPTER II. " Led on by lust of lucre and renown, Burgoyne came marching with his thousands down ; ~ High were his thoughts and furious his career, Puff 'd with self-confidence and pride severe ; Swoll'n with" the idea of his future deeds, Onward to ruin each advantage leads." Philip Fbeneau, 1778. Q,' .-"V***^"*0 E left * Waterford at two o'clock P.M. for Bemiss ~F^ss~^?^ Heights, the famous battle-ground where Burgoyne was 'Qf^s checked and defeated in the autumn of 1777, a few weeks after General Gates succeeded to the command of the northern army. Our conveyance was a neat little canal packet, its cabin crowd ed with passengers and a well-supplied dinner-table, and its 'deck piled with as much luggage and as many loungers as low bridges and a hot sun would allow. For a loiterer who takes no note of passing hours but to mark and mourn their excessive length, and who loves to glide along listlessly among green fields and shady woods without the disturbance of even a carriage ride, <$-p a day voyage upon a canal is really delightful, especially if the face of nature is ¦v attractive, and a pleasant companion or agreeable book assists in smoothing 'the passage of time. Such seemed to be the character of nearly all our fellow-passengers, pleas ure from personal enjoyment being their chief object. When dinner was over, some slept, some read, and every body talked to every body as freely as old acquaintances would chat. The country through which we passed is very fertile, and beautifully diversified in aspect. The plain over which, the Hudson here flows is a narrow alluvial bottom, of garden rich ness, along the western edge of which passes the canal, Green woods and cultivated fields skirted the river on either side, and those conical hills and knolls, like western tumuli, which are prominent features from Stillwater to Sandy Hill, here begin to appear. Some of them were still covered with the primeval forest, and others were cultivated from base to summit, giving a pleasing variety to the ever-changing landscape. The dark green corn, just flower ing ; the wheat ears, fading from emerald to russet ; the blackberries, thick in -the hedges ; the flowers innumerable, dotting the pasture fields, and the fragrance of the new-mown hay, scattered in wind-rows along the canal, were pleasant sights to one just escaped from the dust and din of the city, and imparted a gratification which only those can feel and appre ciate who seldom enjoy it. There was one thing wanting, which leafy June would have supplied — the melody 6f birds. " Silence girt the woods ; no warbling tongue Talks now unto the echo of the groves ; Only the curled, stream soft chidings kept ; And little gales that from the green leaves swept Dry summer's dust, in fearful whisperings stirr'd, As, loth to waken any singing bird," for it was just the season when the warblers of the forest are still, except at early morning, when they carol a brief matin hymn, and then are quiet. Yet " The poetry of earth is**, never dead. When all the birds are faint with the hot sun, And hide in cooling trees, a voice will run 44 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Young Tourists from Saratoga Springs. Gates and Burgoyne. An Evening Visit to Bemis's Heights From hedge to hedge about the new-mown mead ; That is the grasshopper's." Keats. At the Borough, or Mechanicsville, nine miles above Waterford, the rail-road from Sara toga Springs reaches the canal. Here our boat was filled to repletion with a bevy of young people, who, tired of medicinals and midnight merriment at that Mecca of fashion in sum mer, had determined to take a " slow coach" to Whitehall, and meet the stronger tide of gay tourists flowing to Ticonderoga from Lake George. They were full of life, and not one of them had eve** passed a night upon a canal-boat. Poor souls ! how we pitied them, while we rejoiced at our own better fortune, intending, as we did, to debark toward cooling sunset. If " affliction is necessary to temper the over-joyous," our young travelers were doubtless well annealed before morning in the vapor bath of a packet cabin. One of the passengers was a roving journeyman printer, full of the general intelligence of the craft, an inveterate tobacco chewer, and evidently a boon companion of John Barley corn and his cousins. His 'hat was a-slouch and his coat seedy. His wit kept the deck vocal with laughter ; yet, when at times he talked gravely, the dignity of intelligence made us all respectful listeners. He was perfectly familiar with the history of the classic grounds through which we were then passing. His father was one of the special adjutants appointed by General Gates on the morning of the action of the 1 9 th of September, and from him he had often received minute details of the events of "that contest. He mentioned a circum stance connected with the commander on that occasion, which, in some degree, explains the singular fact that he was not upon the field of action — a fact which some have adduced as evidence of cowardice. It is admitted that General Gates did not leave his camp during the contest ; and the special adjutant referred to asserted boldly that intoxication was the chief cause. That, in the opinion of the world at that time, was a weakness far more ex cusable, and a crime less heinous, than cowardice ; for a night's debauch and a morning of dullness and stupidity were things too common among gentlemen to affect reputation seri ously, unless bad consequences ensued. He was not alone in devotion to the wine-cup at that very time, for it is said that Burgoyne and Earl Balcarras did not leave their flagon and their cards until dawn that morning. Burgoyne and the earl, however, had either stouter heads or stouter hearts than Gates, for they were on duty in the field when the con test was raging. It may be that neither wine nor cowardice controlled the American com mander. Let us charitably hope that it did not, and charge the fault upon a weak judg ment ; for. we should be ever ready to act toward erring brother-man according to the glo rious injunction of Prior : " Be to his faults a little blind ; Be to his virtues very kind." We reached Bemis's Heights between five and six o'clock in the evening. The hotel is situated a few rods south of the site of the old residence of Bemis. The obliging landlord anticipated our impatience to view the battle-ground, and when supper was over we found a horse and light wagon in readiness to carry us to the residence of Charles Neilson, Esq., on the summit of the heights, whence a fine view of ihe whole scene of conflict and of the surrounding country might be obtained.1 It was too late for much observation, for twilight soon spread its veil over every object. After spending an hour pleasantly and profitably with Mr. Neilson and his family, I made an engagement to meet him early next morning, to ride and ramble over, the historic grounds in the neighborhood. 1 Mr. Neilson occupies the mansion owned by his father, an active Whig, at the.time of the battles there. He has written and published a volume entitled " An original, compiled, and corrected Account of Bur goyne's Campaign and the memorable Battles of Bemis's Heights." It contains many details not found in other books, which he gathered from those who were present, and saw and heard what they related. It is valuable on that account. OF THE REVOLUTION. 45 View from Bemis's Heights. ' Topography. Origin of the Name. Headquarters of Revolutionary Officers. The morning broke with an unclouded sky, and before the dew was off the grass I was upon Bemis's Heights, eager to see what yet remained of the military works of a former time. Alas ! hardly a vestige is to be seen ; but a more beautiful view than the one from Mr. Neilson's mansion I have seldom beheld. The ground there is higher than any in the vicinity, except the range of hills on the east side of the Hudson, and the eye takes in a varied landscape of a score of miles in almost every direction. Bounding the horizon on the north and west are the heights of Saratoga and the high mountains on the eastern shore of Lake George. On the south stretch away into tbe blue distance toward Albany the gentle hills and the pleasant valley of the Hudson. On the east, not far distant, riseSWillard's Mount ain, and over and beyond its Southern neighbors of less altitude may be seen the heights of Bennington on the Walloomscoik,** the Green Mountains, and the lofty summit of far-famed •Mount Tom. Bemis's Heights are situated on' the right, bank of the Hudson, about four miles north of the pleasant village of Stillwater (which is on the same side of the river), and about twenty- five miles from Albany. The ground here- rises abruptly from an extensive alluvial flat, about half a mile in width a little above, but here tapering until it forms quite a narrow defile of not more than thirty or forty rods on each side of the river/ At the time of the Revolution, the whole country in this vicinity was covered with a dense forest, having only an occasional clearing of a few acres.; and deep ravines furrowed the land in various direc tions. Fronting the river, a high bluff of rocks and soil, covered with, stately oaks and maples, presented an excellent place on which to plant a fortification to command the pas sage of the river anjbthe narrow valley below. The bluff is still there, but the forest is gone, and many of the smaller ravines have been filled up>by the busy hand of cultivation. The only road then much traveled passed along the margin of the river. Upon the road, at the southern extremity of the bluff, was a tavern kept by a man named Bemis, the only one of note between Albany and Fort Edward. Good wines and long pipes, a spacious ball-room and a capital' larder, made Bemis's. house a famous place of 'resort for sleighing parties in winter, throughout the whole of the Saratoga valley of the Hudson. He owned ' a portion of the heavy-timbered heights near him, and from that circumstance the hill de rived its name. , On the summit of the height, three fourths of a mile northwest of Bemis s, the father of \ Mr. Neilson owned a clearing of a few acres when the war broke out, and he had erected j a small dwelling and a log barn thereon. The dwelling, with large additions, is still there, , but the log barn, which was picketed and used for a fort, has long since given place to an- / other. Around that old mansion cluster many interesting -Oiistoric associations, and if its ? walls could articulate, they might tell of heroism in action and patient endurance which / the pen of history has never yet recorded. • Upon the next -page are given a group of localities about Bemis's Heights and' a min iature map of the engagements' there. The picture at the top of the page represents the mansion of Mr. Neilson, as seen from the opposite side of % road, looking eastward. It stands upon the east side of the highway leading to Quaker Springs, about one hundred rods north of the road from Bemis's Heights to the watering places of *allston and Saratoga. It is a frame house, and the part next to the road is modern compared with the other and smaller portion, which is the original dwelling. The room in the old part (a. sketch of which is given in the third picture from the top) is quite large, and was occupied by Brigadier-gen eral Poor and Colonel Morgan as quarters at the time of the encampments there. It was in this room that Major Ackland, the. brave commander of the British Grenadiers, who was severely wounded in the battle of the 7th of October, was kindly received by the American officers, and visited and nursed by his heroic wife, Lady Harriet Ackland, of whom, and the event in question, I shall hereafter speak. The bed of the wounded officer was beneath 1 It is isaid that the smoke of the battle of Bennington, thirty miles distant, was distinctly seen from Bemis's Heights. OF THE REVOLUTION. 47 Localities about Bemis's Heights. Gates's Quarters. Willard's Mountain. ~ Condition of the Northern Army. the window on the left. The door in tbe center opens into a small bed-room; and this as weir as every thing' else about the room, is carefully preserved in its original condition. Where the smaller poplar tree stands was a building which General Arnold occupied ; and further to the left the small buildings are upon the spot where the fortified log barn stood, which was at the northwest angle of the American works. In compliment to the owner, the rude fortification was called Fort Neilson. Between the smaller poplar tree and the house is seen Willard's Mountain, five miles distant, on the east side of the Hudson. This eminence commands a fine view of the valley for many miles. From its summit a Mr. Willard and a few others, with a good spy-glass, watched all the movements of Burgoyne, and made regular reports" to General Gates. This service was exceedingly valuable, for a fair estimate of the number of troops, their baggage, stores, artillery, &c, was made from his observations. His name is immortalized by a gigantic monument, which has borne it ever since. The second vignette from the top is a view of Gates's headquarters at the time of the battle of the. 7th of October. He first made his headquarters at Bemis's house, but after ward removed them hither. Tbis house was demolished about four years ago, but, from a sketch furnished -by Mr. Neilson, L^am enabled to give a correct view. The old well curb is still there, and seems as though it might survive a generation yet. This, house stood about one hundred and fifty rods south of Fort Neilson, and the traces of the cellar may now be seen a few yards to the left of the Ballston road,, ascending from the river. The third vignette represents the room mentioned above. The picture at the bottom of the page is a view from the Bemis's Heights Hotel, representing*1 the Champlain Canal, the Hudson River, and the hills on the eastern side. Near the large trees on the left maybe seen traces of a redoubt which defended a floating bridge that was thrown across the river here, aiid so constructed that one. end could be .detached at pleasure, allowing the bridge to swing around with the current, and thus prevent the enemy from entering upon it. The lumber for this bridge was furnished by General Schuyler, at his own private expense, and floated down the river from Saratoga or Schuylerville. The map I shall have occasion to refer to when noticing the fortifications and the battles. The halbert,, represented on the left of the picture, was plowed up in the neighborhood, and is in the possession of Mr. Neilson. When found, it had a small British flag or cloven pen non attached to it, which soon occupied the utilitarian and more peaceful position of patches in the hedrquilt of a prudent housewife. When General Gates took the command of the Northern army,a events were oc- »Au"usti9 curring favorable to his success. Burgoyne was at Fort Edward, paralyzed with 17T7- alarm and perplexity on account of the failure of an expedition to Bennington — a failure, in its immediate as- well as prospective effects, extremely disastrous. The obstructions which General Schuyler had thrown in the way on his retreat from Fort Anne, made the march of the enemy slow and toilsome in the extreme.1 The plethora of thecommissariat depart ment was rapidly subsiding by the delay ; the supplies of the surrounding country, already heavily levied on, were totally inadequate to the demand,: and the capture of American stores was an object called for by stern necessity. Burgoyne, therefore, halted at Fort Ed ward, and sent an expedition to Bennington to seize a large quantity of clothing and pro- 1 General Schuyler felled large trees across the roads and bridle-paths through the woods, sunk deep ditches, and destroyed all the bridges. These evils Burgoyne was obliged to overcome and repair. With immense toil, the obstructions were removed, and no less than forty bridges over streams and morasses were constructed, so as to allow the passage of artillery. It must be remembered, too, that a sojdier in actual service is not so lightly accputered as a soldier on parade. Besides the actual fatigue of traveling and la bors, he has a heavy back-burden to bear. '• Respecting this, we quote Burgoyne's own words: "It consists of a knapsack, containing his bodily necessaries, a blanket, a haversack with provisions, a canteen, a hatchet, and a fifth share of the general camp equipage belonging to his tent." These articles (reckoning the pro visions to ie for four days), added to his accouterments, arms, and sixty rounds of ammunition, make a bulk totally incompatible with combat, and a weight of about sixty pounds. 48 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK British Reverses in the Mohawk Valley. Perplexity of Burgoyne. Advance of Gates to Stillwater. Kosciusko. visions which the Americans had collected there. The detachment sent thither so weak ened his forces that he dared not proceed until it should return, bringing back, as he confi dently expected, ample provisions for his army until he should enter Albany triumphant. But the New England militia were on the alert,- and they not only saved their stores and live cattle at Bennington, but defea'ted and dispersed the enemy, capturing a large number, together with arms and ammunition, then much needed by the growing ranks of ' the volunteers. Burgoyne had hardly recovered from this shock, before a courier, guided by a friendly Indian, came in breathless haste by the way of Saratoga Lake and Glenn's Falls, bearing the direful news of the desertion of the Indians, the defection of the loyalists of the Mohawk Valley, and the complete defeat of St. Leger at Fort Schuyler. These reverses fell like an incubus upon the spirits of his army. The Indians in his camp, al ready vexed because Burgoyne's humanity had restrained their purposes of rapine and mur der, began to waver in their fidelity, and the Canadians and timid loyalists became luke. warm through very cowardice, and deserted by hundreds. Burgoyne was greatly" perplexed. To proceed at that time would be madness ; to retreat would not only lose him a promised order, perhaps a peerage, but would operate powerfully in giving friends to the republicans. The idea of British invincibility would be dissipated, and thousands who favored the cause of the king on account of that supposed invineibility and the hopelessness of resistance, would join the- patriots, or would, at least, beco*me mere passive loyalists. In view of all -these difficulties, the British commander wisely resolved to remain at Fort Edward until the panic should subside and stores should be brought for ward from his posts on Lake George and Lake Champlain. He was also in daily expec tation of advices from General Howe or Sir Henry Clinton, at New York, announcing a movement upon the Hudson for the purpose of producing a diversion in favor of Burgoyne, by drawing away a portion of the American army from the North. These disasters of the enemy greatly inspirited the Americans, and the. Eastern, militia, among whom Gates was very popular, flocked to his standard with great alacrity. The murder of Jane M'Crea at Fort Edward (of which I shall hereafter speak) was another powerful agency in swelling the ranks of the patriots. Fierce indignation was aroused in every honest heart by the highly-colored recital of that event, and loyalists by hundreds withdrew their support from a cause which employed such instrumentalities as savage war riors to execute its purposes. Perceiving, the disposition of Burgoyne to halt at Fort Edward, and the difficulties that were gathering around him, General Gates advanced up the Hudson to Stillwater, and pre pared to act offensively or defensively, as circumstances should dictate. It was at first re solved to throw up fortifications at the place where the village of Stillwater now is ; but the narrowness of the valley and the abruptness of the bank on the western margin of the flat at Bemis's offered a more advantageous position, and there, by the advice of Kosciusko, who was an engineer in the army, General Gates made his encampment and fortified it.1 1 Thaddeus Kosciusko was born in Lithuania in 1736, of an ancient and noble family. He was educated at the military school of Warsaw, and afterward became a student in France. There he became acquainted with Dr. Franklin, and was by him recommended to General Washington. Before leaving Poland, he had eloped with a beautiful lady of high rank. They were overtaken in their flight by her father, who made a violent attempt to rescue his daughter. The young Pole had either to slay the father or abandon the young lady. Abhorring the former aot, he sheathed his sword, and soon after obtained permission of his sovereign to leave his country. He came to America, and presented himself to the commanderlin-chief. He answered the inquiry of his excellency, " What do you seek here ?" by saying, ." I come to fight as a volunteer for American independence." " What can you do ?" asked Washington. " Try me " was Kos ciusko's laconic reply. Greatly pleased with him, Washington made him his aid. In October 1776 he was appointed engineer by Congress, with the rank of colonel. In the autumn of 1777 he fortified'the camp of Gates at Bemis's Heights, and afterward superintended the construction of the works at West Point, among the Hudson Highlands. He was greatly esteemed by the American officers, and admitted a member of the Cincinnati Society At the close of our Revolution he returned to Poland, and was made OF THE REVOLUTION. 40 Fortifications at Bemis's Heights. Their present Appearance. Preparations for Battle Thaddeus Kosciusko. Along the. brow of the hill toward the river a line of breast-works was thrown up, about three fourths of a mile in extent, with a strong battery at each extremity, and one near the center in such position as to completely sweep the valley, and command even the hills upor» the eastern side of the river. Faint traces of these redoubts and the connecting breast-works are still visible. At the northern extremity, where the largest and strongest battery was erected, the mound is leveled, but the ditch is quite deep, and may be traced many rods west ward from the brow of the hill, along the. line of breast- works that were thrown up after the first battle. But every year the plow casts in the soil of its furrows, and ere long no vestige will remain of these intrenchments.. Within the area of the northeast redoubt, at the time of my visit, potatoes in desecrating luxuriance were flourishing, except upon a very small spot occupied as a burial-place for a few of the Vanderburgh family. It really seemed sacrilegious for the vulgar vines of the nutritious tuber to intertwine with the long, grass and beautiful wild flowers that covered the graves. The elder one of those buried \ there was an active republican, and had his house burned by the enemy. A few plain slabs • with inscriptions tell who lie beneath the several mounds, but no stone marks the grave where sleeps that venerable patriot. From the foot of the hill, across the flats to the river, an intrenchment was opened, and at the extremity, on the water's edge, a strong battery was erected, which guarded the floating bridge constructed there, and also commanded the plain on the east side of the river in such a manner that the enemy might have been terribly enfiladed in case they had at tempted to pass down- the river or the valley. Near where the road crossed Mill Creek, a small stream nearly half a mile above Bemis's tavern, were a short line of breast-works and a strong battery, which, with those mentioned above, composed all the fortifications previous to the first battle. These being completed- about the l'5th of September, and the enemy approaching, General Gates made preparations for resistance. Brave officers and determined soldiers, in high spirits, were gathered around him, and the latter were hourly increasing in numbers. The counsels of General Schuyler and the known bravery of General Arnold were at his command ; and he felt confident of victory, aided by such men as Poor, Learned, Stark, Whipple, Paterson, Warner, Fellows, a major general under Poniatowski. He'commanded judiciously and fought bravely ; and when, in 1794, a new "revolution broke out in Poland, he was made generalissimo, and vested with-the, power of a military dictator. In October of that year he was overpowered, wounded, and taken prisoner. In reference to this event, Campbell, in his Pleasures of Hope, says, " Hope for a season hade the world farewell. And freedom shrieked when Kosciusko fen." He was kept in prison in St. Petersburg until the death of the Empress Catharine, when he was liberated by Paul, loaded with honors, and oJFered a command in the Russian service, which he declined. The em peror besought him to accept the proffered honor, and presented him with his own sword. But bitterly reflecting that his country had been annihilated, he refused to receive his sword, saying, " I no longer need a sword, since I have no longer a country to defend." He visited the United States in 1797, and received from Congress a grant of land for his services. He returned to Switzerland toward the close of his life, and died There October the 16th, 1817. His remains were taken to Cracow, and at Warsaw a public fun-, eral was made for him. At West Point, on the Hudson, the cadets erected a monument to his memory. We have <*-iven a drawing of the monument, and a more particular notice, on page 705, of this volume D {,0 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Expedition against the Posts on Lakes George and Champlain. March of Burgoyne to Saratoga and Stillwater Bailey, Glover, Wolcott, Bricketts, and Tenbroeck, with their full brigades, and the brave Virginian, Colonel Morgan, with his unerring marksmen, supported by the regiments of Dearborn, Brooks, Cilley, Scammel, and Hull. Small successes about this time, important in the aggregate result, tended materially to keep up the spirits of the American troops, and made them eager to encounter the main body of the enemy. General Lincoln, with about two thousand militia, got in the rear of Burgoyne, and, by dividing his force into detachments, operated with much effect. One detachment, under Colonel Brown, surprised the British posts on Lake George, captured a vessel containing provisions for the enemy, took possession of Mount Hope and Mount De fiance, and, appearing before Ticonderoga, demanded its surrender. But the walls and gar rison were too strong, and, after a cannonade of four days, the siege was abandoned, and all the troops prepared to unite and attack the enemy in the rear. The threatening kspect of this movement of Lincoln at the beginning, and the probability of having his supplies from the lakes cut off, induced Burgoyne, in self-defense, to move forward and execute promptly what he intended to do. Having, by great diligence, brought forward provisions for about thirty days, he advanced along the left bank of the Hudson to the mouth of the Batten Kill, where he encamped preparatory to crossing the river.1 His officers were somewhat divided in opinion in regard to the expediency of further attempts to reach Albany ; and it had been plainly intimated to Burgoyne that it might be greater wisdom to fall back from Fort Edward, rather than advance, for it was evident that perils of no ordinary kind were gathering around the invading army. Unwilling to act in opposition to the expressed opinions of his officers, Burgoyne avoided any intimations of judgment on their part by omitting to consult them at all ; and he as sumed the responsibility of crossing the Hudson, resting for his defense, if adversity should ensue, upon the peremptory nature of his instructions.2 He constructed a bridge of boats, and on the 13th and 14th of September passed his whole army over, and encamped on the heights and plains of Saratoga, at the mouth of the Fish Creek, where Schuylerville now is, and within about five miles of the American works below. On the 3>5th, having suc ceeded in getting his artillery, baggage, and stores across the river, Burgoyne moved down as far as Do-ve-gat (now Coveville), where he halted until the morning of the 1 7th, for the purpose of repairing the roads and bridges before him, when he advanced as far as Swords's house and encamped for the night. On the morning- of the 1 8th he moved down as far as the place now called Wilbur's Basin, within two miles of the American camp, and here he made preparations for battle. His chief officers were Major-general Phillips, of the artillery, who had performed signal service in Germany ; iBrigadier-general Fraser, commander of the grenadiers and light infantry ; Brigadiers Hamilton and Powell ; and the Brunswick major general, Baron de Riedesel,. with his brigadiers, Specht and Gall. Earl Balcarras, Colbnel Breyman, Major Ackland, Lieutenant Kingston, and others of minor 'grade, were men of tried courage, and ardently attached to their general and the service. When the defeat of Burgoyne, a few days later, became known in England, the crossin°- of the Hudson River and his persistence in pressing toward Albany, with the American army in' front and a wilderness filling with armed republicans in his rear, formed the chief theme for the vituperative assaults of his enemies ; and to these steps all his subsequent misfortunes were attributed. But, as we have seen, he retreated behind the peremptory instructions of ministers ; and Botta very justly observes, » that at that time he had not 1 His place of encampment was about one hundred rods north of Lansing's saw-mill. The farm till within a few years, was occupied by Mr. Thomas Rogers. Burgoyne had quite an extensive slaughter- yard there, which so enriched the soil, that its effects are still visible on the corn crops and other produc tions. — C. Neilson. 2 In his dispatch to Lord George Germain, dated at Albany, October 20th, 1777, Burgoyne alludes to this fact, and says, " 1 did not think myself authorized to call any men into council, where the peremptory tenor of my orders and the season of the year admitted no alternative." — State of the Expedition, &c. Ap pendix, p. lxxxiv. OF THE REVOLUTION. 51 Material of the American Army on Bemis's Heights. Relative Position of the two Armies. Burgoyne's Plan of Attack yet received any intelligence either of the strength of the army left at New York, or the movements which Sir Henry Clinton intended to make, or had made, up the North River toward Albany. He calculated on a powerful co-operation on the part of that general. Such was the plan of the ministers, and such the tenor of their peremptory instructions."1 Whether the movement was judicious or injudicious we will not stop to inquire, but, having arranged the two armies within cannon-shot of each other, will pass on to' the con sideration of an event which solved the question by arguments far more potential than logic can command. — THE FIRST BATTLE OF STILLWATER.11 l777 The morning of the 1 9th of September was clear and calm, and every thing without was white with hoar-frost. The hostile armies, within ear-shot of each other's re veille, were disposed in similar order, each extending from the river westward over the hills. The main body of the American army composing the right wing, which consisted chiefly of Glover's, Nixon's, and Patterson's brigades, was under the immediate command of General Gates, and occupied the hills near the river and the narrow flats below them. The left wing, composed of the brigade of General Poor, consisting of Cilley's, Scammel's, and Hale's regiments, of New Hampshire ; Van Courtlandt's and Henry Livingston's, of New York ; Latimer and Cook's Connecticut militia ; the corps of riflemen under Morgan, and infantry under Dearborn, was posted on the heights about three fourths of a mile from the river, and commanded by General Arnold.3 The center, on the elevated plain near the residence of Mr. Neilson, was composed of Learried's brigade, with Bailey's, Wesson's, and Jackson's regiments, of Massachusetts, and James Livingston's, of New York. The left wing of the British army, which included the immense train of artillery under Generals Phillips and Riedesel, rested upon the flats upon the bank of the river. The cen ter and the right wing, composed principally of Hessians,4 extended westward upon the hills, and were commanded by Burgoyne in person, covered by General Fraser and Colonel Brey- man, with the grenadiers and light infantry. The front and flanks were covered by the Indians, Canadians, and loyalists, who still remained in the camp. General Gates resolved to maintain a defensive position, and await the approach of Burgoyne, who, on the contrary, had made every preparation for advancing. Phillips and Reidesel were to march with the artillery along the road on the margin of the river. The Canadians and Indians in front were to attack the central outposts of the Americans, while Burgoyne and Fraser, with the grenadiers and infantry, in separate bodies, and strongly flanked by Indians, were to make a circuitous route through the woods back of the river hills, form a junction,' and fall upon the rear of the American camp. It was arranged that three minute-guns should be fired when Burgoyne and Fraser should join their forces, as a signal for the artillery to make an attack upon the American front and right, force their way through the lines, and scatter them in confusion. At an early hour the American pickets observed great activity in the British camp ; the glitter of bayonets and sabers and the flashing of scarlet uniforms were distinctly seen through 1 Otis's Botta, vol. ii., p. 9. 2 The conflicts. at this point are known by the several titles Bemis's Heights, Stillwater, and Saratoga, from the fact that the battles occurred upon Bemis's Heights, in the town of Stillwater, and county of Saratoga. 3 These were the same troops which formed the left wing of the army when encamped at the mouth of the Mohawk. They were stationed at London's ferry, five miles from the movjth of the river, and there Arnold took the command after his return from Fort Schuyler. 4 The Hessians were some of the German soldiers, hired by Great Britain of their masters, petty German princes, at a stipulated sum per head, to come to America and butcher her children. The Landgrave o(J Hesse-Cassel furnished the larger number, and from that circumstance all of the Germans received the general appellation of Hessians. Ihave given a minute account of them, and of the debates in Parliament which the infamous bill providing for the hiring of these mercenaries produced, on page 589, of this vol- 52 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK ^ _j« Approach of the two Armies. Engagement between the Advance Corps. Maneuvers of Arnold and Fraser the vistas of the forest as the troops of the enemy marched and countermarched to form the various lines for battle. These movements were constantly reported to General Gates, yet he issued no orders and evinced no disposition to fight. About ten o'clock it was clearly perceived that the whole of the enemy's force was in motion, and separated into three divi sions. Phillips and Reidesel, with the artillery, commenced marching slowly down the road along the river ; Burgoyne, with the center division, followed the course of the stream, now forming Wilbur's Basin, westward ; and Fraser and Breyman commenced a circuitous route along a new road partially opened from the basin, and intersecting the road from Bemis's ibout two and a half miles north of the American lines. Arnold was fully apprised of all this, and became as impatient as a hound in the leash His' opinion, earnestly and repeatedly expressed to the commander during the morning, that a detachment should be sent out to make an attack, was at length heeded. About noon, Colonel Morgan with his light-horse, and Major Dearborn with his infantry, were detached from Arnold's division, and, marching out, made a vigorous attack upon the Canadians and Indians who swarmed upon the hills. They met at the middle ravine, south of Freeman's cottage.1 The enemy was repulsed ; but so furious was Morgan's charge, that his men - became scattered in the woods, and a re-enforcement of loyalists under Major Forbes soon drove the Americans back. Captain Van Swearingen and Lieutenant Morris, with twenty privates, fell into the hands of the British. For a moment, on finding himself almost alone, Morgan felt that his corps was ruined ; but his loud signal- whistle soon gathered his brave followers around him, and the charge was renewed. Dearborn seconded him, and Cilley and Scammel hastened to their support. The contest was quite equal, and both parties at length retired within their respective lines. About the same time a party of Canadians, savages, and loyalists were detached through the skirt of the woods along the margin of the flats near the river. They were met by the American pickets on a flat piece of ground near Mill Creek, and a smart skirmish ensued. The enemy was much cut up and broken, and finally fled, leaving thirteen dead on the field and thirty-five taken prisoners. In the mean while, Burgoyne and Fraser were makino* rapid movements for the purpose of falling upon the Americans in front and on the left flank. The center division marched through some partial clearings to Freeman's farm,2 while Fraser, having reached a high point about one hundred and fifty rods north of the " cottage," moved rapidly southward for the purpose of turning the left flank of the Americans. Arnold, at the same time, made a similar attempt upon Fraser. He called upon Gates for a re-en forcement from the right wing, but the commander deemed it prudent not to weaken it, for the left of Burgoyne's army was then within half a mile of his lines, and spreading out upon the heights. Arnold resolved to do what he could with those under his command, which consisted of General Learned's brigade and the New York troops. With these he attempted to turn ' the enemy's right, and, if possible, cut off the detachment of Fraser from the main army. So dense was the forest and so uneven was the ground, that neither party fairly compre hended the movements of the other, or knew that each was attempting the same maneuver. They met suddenly and unexpectedly upon the level ground near Mill Creek, or Middle Ravine, about sixty yards west of Freeman's cottage, and at once an action, warm and de structive, began. Arnold led the van of his men, and fell upon the foe with the fury and impetuosity of a tiger. By voice and action he encouraged his troops ; but the overwhelm ing numbers of the enemy for a time repulsed them. ' By a quick movement, Fraser attacked the left flank of the right wing of the American army ; but fearing that Arnold (who had 1 The attention of the reader is called to the small map or plan of the engagement, upon pao-e 46 while perusing the notices of the battle. ^ B ' 2 Freeman's farm, as it was called, was a small cultivated clearing, about half a mile east of the present road leading to Quaker Springs. The farm was an oblong clearing in front of the cottage, about sixty rods in length from east to west, skirted by thick woods, and sloping south. Neilson, p. 141. OF THE REVOLUTION. 53 Approach of a British Reinforcement under Phillips. View of the Battle-ground. A Lull in the Battle rallied his-troops, and was re-enforced by four regiments under Lieutenant-colonels Brooks, Cilley, and Scammel, and Majors Dearborn and Hull) might cut the British lines and sep arate the two wings, he brought up the twenty-fourth regiment, some light infantry, and Breyman's riflemen, to strengthen the point of attack. The Americans made such a vigor ous resistance, that the British began to give way and fall into confusion ; but General Phillips, who, from his position below the heights, heard the din of conflict on the right wing of his army, hurried over the hills, through the thick woods, with fresh troops and part of the artillery under Captain Jones, and appeared upon the ground at the very mo ment when victory seemed within the grasp of the Americans. For an hour the repub licans had disputed the ground inch by inch, but the crushing force of superior numberf pressed them back to their lines. The Battle-ground, It was now about three o'clock. The contest suddenly ceased, but it was only the lull which precedes a more furious burst of the tempest. Each army took breath, and gathered up new energies for a more desperate conflict. They were beyond musket-shot of each other, and separated by a thick wood and a narrow clearing. Each was upon' a gentle hill, one sloping toward the south, the other toward the north. The Americans were sheltered by the intervening wood ; the British were within an open pine forest. The Americans stood 1 This view is taken from near the house of Mr. Neilson, looking northwest. In the foreground,- on the right, are seen the remains of the intrenchments which here crossed the road from Fort Neilson, the forti fied log barn. The light field in the distance, toward the right of the picture, with a small house within it, is the old clearing called " Freeman's farm." On the rising ground over the tree upon the slope, near the center of the foreground, is the place where Fraser wheeled southward to turn, the right flank of the Americans. On the level ground, near the small trees on the right of the large tree upon the slope, is the place where Arnold and Fraser met and fought. On the high middle ground beyond the woods, toward the left, where several small houses are seen, the British formed their line for the second battle on the 7th of October. The detachments -under Poor, Learned, and Morgan, which marched to the attack on that day, diverged from near the point seen in the foreground on the right, and marched down the slope by the sheep across the flat. The brigade of Learned passed on where are seen the dark trees on the left. Mor- o-an kept further to the .extreme left, and Poor made a direct line across the level ground and up the hill m the direction marked by the four slender trees by the fence in the center of the picture. The range of mountains in the extreme distance borders the eastern shore of Lake George. The highest peak in the center Is Buck Mountain, and that upon the extreme left is French Mountain, at the foot of which are the remains of Forts George and William Henry, at the head of Lake George. 54 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Renewal of the Battle. Loss sustained by both Armies. The number and the particular Troops engaged. in determined silence; and heard distinctly the voices of the , officers upon the opposite hill as they gave their orders along the lines. Again the enemy made the first hostile movement, and from a powerful battery opened a terrible fire, but without effect. To this the Americans made no reply. Burgoyne then ordered the woods to be cleared by the bayonet, and soon, across the open field, column after column of infantry steadily advanced toward the patriot lines. The Americans kept close within their intrenchments until the enemy fired a volley and pressed onward to the charge, when they sprang upon their assailants with -a force that drove them far back acro'ss the clearing; Like the ebbing and flowing of the tide, the contending armies alternately ad vanced and retreated, and foi? more than three hours the conflict was severe and the result doubtful. And it was not until the sun went down and darkness came upon them, that the warriors ceased their horrid strife. Even amid the gloom of evening there were furious con tentions. Just at dusk, Lieutenant-colonel Marshall, with the tenth Massachusetts regi ment, encountered some British grena#diers and infantry on a rise of ground a little west of Freeman's cottage, and a brisk but short action ensued.1 The commander of the enemy was killed, and the troops fled in confusion. Lieutenant-colonel Brooks, of the eighth Mas sachusetts regiment, remained upon the field until eleven o'clock at night, and in the course of the evening he had a skirmish on the extreme left with some of Breyman's riflemen, whom he knew as such only by the brass match-cases upon their breasts. He was the last to leave the field of action. The conflict at length ended. The Americans retired within their lines, and the British rested on their arms all night upon the field of battle.2 The loss of the Americans was, officers included, sixty-four killed, -two hundred and^seven- teen wounded, and thirty-eight missing ; in all, three hundred and nineteen.3 The British lost, in killed, wounded, and prisoners, " rather more than less tha%five hundred!"4 Both parties claimed the honor of victory. The British, it is true, remained masters, or, at least, possessors, of the field, but this was not their- ultimate object. It was to advance,, and that they failed to do ; while ?the Americans were intent only upon maintaining their ground, and this they accomplished; The advantage, therefore, was certainly on the side of the republicans. ^ Very few battles have been marked by more determined bravery and patient endiirance on both sides than this. Phillips and Riedesel, who had served in the wars in Flanders and other parts, of Europe, said they never knew so long and hot a fire ; and Burgoyne, in his defense before Parliament, remarked, "few actions have been characterized by more ob stinacy in attack or defense." The number of Americans engaged in the action was about two thousand five hundred, and of the British about three thousand. The whole British army in camp and on the field numbered about five thousand, and that of the American about seven thousand. Although the aggregate number of killed on both sides did not exceed one hundred and fifty, the slaughter and maiming were dreadful in particular instances. Major Jones, of the British army, commanded a battery, and fell, while at his jpost, during the swaying to and fro of the armies across the clearing, toward evening, when several of the cannons were taken and retaken a number of times. Thirty-six out of forty-eight of his artillery-men were killed or wounded. Lieutenant Hadden was the only officer unhurt, and he had his cap shot from his head by a musket-ball while spiking the cannon. The sixty -second regiment5 ' 1 At the urgent solicitation of Arnold, Gates sent out this feeble re-enforcement, which was all that was detached from the right wing during the action. Had fresh troops been supplied to support the left win" uO doubt the Americans would have gained a decided victory. 3 See Gordon, Ramsay, Botta, Marshall, Sparks, Pictorial History of the Reign of George III., Stedman, Burgoyne's State of the Expedition, Thatcher, Neilson, &c. 3 Report to the Board of War. 4 Lieutenant-colonel Kingston, the adjutant general, before a committee of Parliament. 6 The particular troops engaged in tfiis action were, of the British, the ninth, twenty-first, sixty-seconC, and twentieth of Hamilton's brigade ; the twenty-fourth, belonging to Fraser's brigade ; Breyman's rifle- OF THE REVOLUTION. ' -g <, Baroness Reidesel's Notice of the Battle. Major Hull, Narrow Escape of Burgoyne. Arnold, and the Testimony of History. of Hamilton's brigade, which consisted. of six hundred when it left Canada, was so cut in pieces, that only sixty men and five officers were left capable of duty. The commander, Colonel Anstruther, and Major Harnage, were both wounded. The Baroness Riedesel, wife of General Riedesel, who accompanied her husband through this whole campaign, wrote an admirable narrative of the various events connected there with. In relation to the battle of the 19th of September, she says, « An affair happened, which, though it turned out to our advantage' yet obliged us to halt at a place called Free man's farm. I was an eye-witness to the whole affair, and, as my husband was engaged in it, I was full of anxiety, and trembled at every shot I heard. I saw a great number of the wounded, and, what added to the distress of the scene, three of them were brought into the house in which I took shelter. One was a Major Harnage, of the sixty-second regi ment, the husband of a lady of my acquaintance ; another was a lieutenant, married to a lady with whom I had the honor to be on terms of intimacy ; and the third was an officer by the name of Young." More than one half of an American detachment under Major Hull,1 consisting of two hundred men, was killed or wounded. Some of the Americans ascended high trees, and from their concealed perches picked off" the British officers in detail. Several were killed by the bullets of these sure marksmen. , Burgoyne himself came very near being made a victim to this mode of warfare. A bullet, intended for him, shattered the arm of Captain Green, aid-de-camp to General Phillips, who at that moment was handing a letter to Bur goyne. The captain fell from his horse. In the confusion of the smoke and noise, it was supposed to be Burgoyne, and such was the belief, for some hours, in4he American camp. Among the Americans who were killed in the battle were Colonels Adams and Colburn, valuable officers. But it is unpleasant and unprofitable to ponder upon the painful details of a battle, and we will pass on to the consideration of subsequent events. Let us pause a moment, however, and render justice to as brave a soldier as ever drew ' blade for freedom. Although in after years he was recreant to the high and sacred responsi bilities that rested upon him, and committed an act deserving the execrations of all good men, strict justice demands a fair acknowledgment of his brave deeds. I mean Benedict Arnold * The testimony of historians is in conflict respecting the part which Arnold performed in the battle just noticed'; and prejudice and evident falsehood have denied Kim the honor of being personally engaged in it. Gordon says, ¦> Arnold's division was out in the action, but he himself did not head them ; he remained in the camp the whole time." General Wil- 1 kinson, the adjutant general of Gates at that time, says in his Memoirs that " no general officer was on the- field of battle during the day," and intimates that he himself chiefly con ducted affairs. He further says, that when; toward evening, Gates and Arnold were to gether in front of the camp, Major Lewis2 came in from the scene of action, and announced that its progress was undecisive.' Arnold immediately exclaimed, " I will soon put an end to' it," and set off in a full gallop from the camp. Gates dispatched an officer- after him, and ordeted him back. Botta, who was acquainted with many of the foreign officers who served in this War, and whose sources of eorrect information were very ample, observes, men ; a corps of grenadiers ; a part of the artillery, and a motley swarm of Indians and loyalists. The American troops in action were those under Morgan and Dearborn ; the first, second, and third New Hamp shire regiments ; the eighth, ninth, and tenth Massachusetts regiments ; the second and third of New York, and a Connecticut regiment of militia. 1 He was a major general in our war with Great Britain in 1812. He surrendered his whole army, with all the forts and garrisons in the neighborhood of Detroit, to General Brock on the 16th of August of that year. His wife, Sarah Hull, to whom he had .been married but a few weeks when the battle of Stillwater occurred, determined to share the fortunes and perils of her husband, was in the camp, and was active among those Amer ican women who extended comfort and kind attentions to the ladies of the British army after the surrender of Burgoyne-. Because of his surrender at Detroit, General Hull was tried for cowardice, treasbn, &c, and condemned to be shot ; but, in consideration of his Revolutionary se.-vices and~ his age, he was pardoned He lived to see his character vindicated, and died in 1825. His wife died the following year. 2 Morgan Lewis, afterward governor of the state of New York. Sf? PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Colonel Varick's Letter respecting Arnold. General Gates's Treatment of Arnold. Rupture between them " Arnold exhibited upon this. occasion all the impefuqsity of his courage ; he' encouraged his men by voice and example." Stedman, a British officer who served under Cornwallis here, says, in his " History of the American War," " The enemy were led to the battle by Gen eral Arnold, who distinguished himself in an extraordinary manner." Allen, in his Bio graphical Dictionary, says, " In the battle near Stillwater, September the 19th, he conducted nimself with his usual intrepidity, being engaged incessantly for four hours." M'Farlane, in the Pictorial History of England, says, "*Gates's detachment, being re-enforced and led on luy Arnold, fell upon Burgoyne and the right wing." Again : " Arnold behaved with extraordinary gallantry, but he could make an impression nowhere." Again : " Every time that Arnold was beaten back, Gates sent him more men from the star redoubt." The well-founded traditions of the vicinity support the position that Arnold was actively engaged in the conflict, and a knowledge of the locality is sufficient to cause a doubt -of the correct ness of Wilkinson's statement. Finally, Colonel Varick, writing from camp to General Schuyler, three days after the action, said, " He [Gates] seems to be piqued that Arnold's division had the honor of beat ing the enemy on the 19th. This I am certain of, that Arnold has all the .credit of the action. And this I further know, that Gates asked where the troops were going when Scammel's battalion marched out, and, upon being told, he declared no more troops should go ; he would not suffer the camp to be exposed. Had Gates complied with Arnold's re- - peated desires, he would haye obtained a general and complete victory over the enemy. But it is evident to me he never intended to fight Burgoyne, till Arnold urged, begged, and entreated him to de it." In another letter which he wrote to Schuyler, about a month afterward, from Albany, Colonel Varick observed, "During Burgoyne's stay here, he gave Arnold great credit for his bravery and military abilities, especially in the" action of the 19th, whenever he spoke of him, and once in the presence of Gates." Under ordinary circumstances, the statements of General Wilkinson, he being adjutant general at that time, and presumed to be cognizant of all the events of the battle, ought to be received as semi-official ; but in this case they must be taken with great allowance. Gates was evidently jealous of Arnold's well-earned reputation and growing popularity with the army ; and Wilkinson, who was his' favorite, and seemed ever ready fo pander to his commander's vanity, caused, by his officious interference at that very time, a serious mis understanding between the two generals, which resulted in an open rupture. In the first place, he caused a part of Arnold's division to be withdrawn without his knowledge, and he was put in the ridiculous light of presuming to give orders which were contravened by the general orders of the commander-in-chief. Wilkinson also insisted on the return of a part of Arnold's division (Morgan's corps) being made directly to him, and Gates sustained the unjust demand in general orders. And then, to crown his injustice toward a brave of ficer, Gatesi in his communication to Congress respecting the battle, said nothing of Arnold , or his division, but merely observed that " the action was fought by detachments from the army." This was ungenerous, not only to Arnold, but to the troops under his command, and he justly complained of the neglect when it became known. Harsh words passed be tween the two officers, and Gates, even told Arnold that he thought him of little conse quence in the army, that when Lincoln arrived he should take away his command, and that he would give him a pass to leave the camp as soon as he pleased.1 Under the excitement of his feelings, Arnold demanded a pass for himself and suite to join General Washington. The pass was granted, but in his cooler moments he saw how injurious it might be to the cause, and how hazardous to his reputation,, if he should volun tarily leave the army when another battle was hourly expected. He remained,, but with out any employment in the camp, for Gates put his threat into execution, took command of Arnold's division himself, and, onthe arrival of General Lincoln, r>n the 29 th, placed him over the right wing. Sparks:s Life of Arnold. OF THE REVOLUTION. 57 Condition of the Armies after the Battle. Burgoyne's Encampment Poverty of the American Commissariat The morning, of the 20th of September was cloudy, dull, and cheerless, and with the gloomy aspect of nature the spirits of the British army sympathized. TIt; combatants had slumbered upon the field during the night, and at dawn, seeing no disposition on the part of the Americans to renew the conflict, they retired to their camp on the river hills, and upon the flats at the mouth of the creek, now Wilbur's Basin. t • Bohqoyne's Encampment on the West Bank of the Hudson, September 20, 1777. From a print published in London, 1779. Burgoyne was surprised and mortified at the bold and successful resistance of the Amer icans, and saw clearly that it would be useless to attempt -to carry the works by storm, or in any other way to push forward toward Albany. He resolved to strengthen his position, endeavor to communicate with Howe and Clinton at New York, and effect by their co-op eration what his own unaided troops could not accomplish. Had he-been aware of the true condition of the Americans on the morning after the battle, he might easily have won a victory, for the, soldiers composing the left wing, which sustained the conflict, had only a single round of cartridges left. Nor was the magazine in a condition to supply them, for such was the difficulty of procuring ammunition at that time, that the army had a very meager quantity when the conflict began the day previous, and now there were not in the magazine forty rounds to each man in the service. At no time was there more than three days' provisions in the camp, and on the day of action there was no flour. A supply ar rived on the 20 th, and the disheartening contingency of short allowance to the weary sol diers was thus prevented. General Gates alone was privy to this deplorable deficiency, and it was not until after a supply of powder and window-leads for bullets was received from Albany that he made the fact known, and thus gave a plausible reason for not complying with Arnold's urgent request to commence the battle early again the next morning, Both parties now wrought diligently in strengthening their respective positions. The Americans extended and completed their line of * breast- works from the northeastern angle on the river hills,1 westward about three fourths of a mile, to the heights, a few rods north 1 Se« the small map on page 46, 68 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Fortifications of both Camps. Junction of Lincoln with the Army at Bemis's. Relative Position of the Armies. of the dwelling of Mr. Neilson. From this point they were extended south and southwest to a large ravine, now on the south side of the road leading to" Saratoga Springs*. At the northwest angle, near Mr. Neilson's, stood the log barn before alluded to. This was strengthened by a double tier of logs on three sides. Strong batteries, in circular form, ex tended about one hundred and fifty feet south. The whole was encircled by a deep trench and a row of strong palisades. The area within was about half an acre. When completed, it formed quite a strong bulwark, and was named Fort Neilson. About fifty rods south of the fort was a strong battery ; and in the rear, near the center of the encampment, stood the magazine, made bomb-proof. The front of the camp was Covered by a deep ravine skirted by a dense forest, running nearly parallel with the lines, from the river hills westward. For some distance west of the fort, large trees were felled, ana presented a' strong abatis toward the enemy.1 Burgoyne was equally busy in strengthening his position. His camp was pitched within cannon-shot of the American lines. Across the plain to the river hills a line of intrench- ments, with batteries, was thrown up, crossing the" north ravine not far from its junction with the Middle Ravine or Mill Creek. The intrenchments extended northward on the west side of Freeman's farm. The Hessian camp was pitched upon an eminence about half a mile northwest of Freeman's farm, where a strong redoubt was reared, and a line of intrenchments of a horse-shoe form was thrown up. Intrenchments were also made along the hills fronting the river ; and four redoubts, upon four hills or huge knolls, were erected, two above and two below Wilbur's Basin. A short line of intrenchments, with a battery, extended across the flats to the river, and covered their magazine and hospital in the rear. These composed the principal defenses of the enemy. In many places these works, may still be traced, especially by mounds and shallow ditches in the woods. As soon as the works were completed, General' Gates moved his quarters from Bemis's house to the one delineated in the second picture from the top, among the group of localities on page 46. The house belonged to Captain Ephraim Woodworth. A barn, which stood about fifteen rods east of the house, was used for a hospital. September, General Lincoln, with two thousand New England troops, joined the main army 1777- on the 29th. Gates at once gave up the right wing to him, and assumed the command of the left, which was composed of two brigades under Generals Poor and Learned, Colonel Morgan's rifle corps, and a part of the fresh New England militia. Morgan occu pied the heights immediately south of the fort ; Learned's brigade the plain on the east, and General Poor's brigade the heights south of Morgan, between him and Gates's headquar ters.3 In fact, the position of the American army was about the same as at the time of the battle of the 1 9th. Burgoyne disposed his troops to the best advantage. The Hes sians, under Colonel Breyman, occupied a height on the extreme right, and formed a flank defense rather than a wing of the main army. The light infantry, under Earl Balcarras, with the choicest portion of Fraser's corps, flanked on the left by the grenadiers and Ham ilton's brigade, occupied the vicinity of Freeman's farm ; the remainder of the army, in cluding the artillery under Phillips and Reidesel, occupied the plain and the high ground north of Wilbur's Basin ; and the Hessians of Hanau, the forty-seventh regiment, and some loyalists, were situated upon the flats near the river, for the protection of "the bateaux, hos pital, and magazine. Thus in parallel lines to each other, and within cannon-shot, the two armies lay in menacing attitude from the 20th of September until the 7th of October. Each exercised the utmost vigilance, expecting the other to fall upon them in' full power, or1 en tangle them by strategy. There were constant skirmishes between small detachments, some times foraging parties, and at others a few pickets ; and not a night passed without the per- 1 Abati* is a French word signifying trees cut down. It is a phrase used in fortifications ; and an abat- is which is composed of trees felle#, so as to present their branches to the enemy, is frequently found in , woody country one of the most available and efficient kinds of defense 2 Neilson, p. 15, 35 OF THE REVOLUTION gg Effect of the Battle on the People. Diminution of Burgoyne's Army, and Increase of Gates's. Condition of the Enemy formance^of some daring exploit, either for the sake of adventure, or to annoy each other. The Americans were constantly gaining strength, and their superiority of numbers enabled them to form expeditions to harass the British, without weakening- their lines by fatigue or endangering the safety of the camp. The success of the Americans in the late battle, and the rapid increment of the army, almost annihilated loyalty in the neighborhood, and made every republican, whether soldier or citizen, bold and adventurous. At one time about twenty young Americans, farmers re siding in the vicinity, not belonging to the camp, and intent on having a frolic, resolved to capture an advance picket-guard of the enemy, stationed on the north bank of the middle ravine. They selected their officers, and each being armed with a fowling-piece and plenty of powder and shot, fhey marched silently through the woods in the evening, until they got within a few yards of the picket. The captain of the party then gave a tremendous blast upon an old horse-trumpet which he carried, and, with yells and the noise of a whole regi ment, they rushed through, the bushes upon the frightened enemy. No time was given for the sentinel's hail, for, simultaneously with their furious onset, the captain of the frolickers cried out lustily, " Ground your arms, or you are all dead men !" Supposing half the Amer ican army was upon them, the astonished pickets obeyed, and thirty British soldiers were taken by the jolly young farmers into the republican camp with all the parade of regular prisoners of war. This was one of many similar instances, and thus the British camp was kept in a state of constant alarm.1 Burgoyne saw, with deep anxiety, the rapid increase of the American forces, while his own were daily diminishing by desertion. Nearly one hundred and fifty Indian warriors, from the tribes of the Oneidas, Tuscaroras, Onondagas, and Mohawks, accepted the war- belt, partook of the feast, and joined the republican army within three days after the battle of the 1 9th. The Indians with Burgoyne were so dissatisfied with the results of that bat tle, and so disappointed in their hopes of blood and plunder, that they deserted him in large numbers in that hour of his greatest peril. It *vAs their hunting season, too, and this was another strong inducement to return to their wives and children, to keep starvation from , their wigwams. The Canadians and loyalists were not much more faithful-.2 Burgoyne used every means in his power to transmit intelligence of his situation to Howe, and to, implore his assistance either by co-operation or a diversion in his, favor. But the American pickets, vigilant and wary, were planted in all directions ; and it was by the merest chance that the British commander received a letter from Sir Henry Clinton, at New York,3 written in cipher on the 10th, informing him that he should make a diversion in his favor by attacking Forts Clinton and Montgomery, in the Hudson Highlands, on the 20 th. This information raised the hopes of Burgoyne, for he supposed that the attack at those points would draw off large detachments from Gates for their defense, and render the belligerent forces at Stillwater nearly equal in numbers. He immediately dispatched two officers in disguise^ and several other persons in different directions, to Sir Henry Clinton, with a letter, urging him to make the diversion without fail, and saying that he had pro visions enough to hold out until the 1 2th of October. Time rolled on, and Burgoyne heard nothing further from Clinton. His provisions began to fail, and on the 1st of October he was obliged to put his troops on short allowance. Not a man or a biscuit was allowed to reach him from any quarter. The militia were flocking into Gates's camp from all directions, and perils of every kind were weaving their web around the proud Briton. At last he was reduced to the alternative to fight or fly. 1 " I do not believe either officer or soldier ever slept during that interval without his clothes, or that any general officer or commander of a regiment passed a single night v-jjthout being upon his legs occa sionally at different hours, and. constantly an hour before daylight." — Burgoyne's '" Review of the Evi dence," p. 166. -» 2 Marshall's Life of Washington. 3 General Howe had left Clinton in command at New York, and was then engaged against Washington on the Delaware, for the purpose of making a conquest of Philadelphia. 60 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Hostile Movements of the British. Preparations of the Americans for Battle. Second Battle of Stillwater. The latter was both impracticable and inglorious, and at a council of officers it was re solved to fight. On the morning of the 7th of October, Burgoyne, at the head of fifteen hundred regular troops, with two twelve pounders, two howitzers, and six six pounders, moved toward 'the American left, to the northern part of a low ridge of land about three fourths of a mile northwest from the American camp, where they formed a line in double ranks. He was seconded by Phillips, Riedesel, and Fraser. The guard of the camp upon the high grounds - was committed to Brigadiers Hamilton and Specht, and that of the redoubts and plain near the river to Brigadier-general Gall. This movement was for a two-fold purpose, to cover a foraging party sent out to supply the pressing wants of the camp, and, if the prospect was favorable, to turn the left of the American army, and fall upon its flank and rear. Small parties of loyalists and Indians were sent around through by-paths, to hang upon the Amer ican rear and keep them in check. Before this movement was known to General Gates, he had ordered out a detachment of three hundred men under Colonel Brooks, to gain the rear of the enemy and fall upon his outposts. While Brooks was at headquarters, receiving his instructions", a sergeant ar rived with intelligence of the movement of the British army. The order to Colonel Brooks was revoked, the officers in camp were summoned to their posts, and an aid was sent out by the commander-in-chief to ascertain the exact position and probable intentions of the en emy. He proceeded to a rise of ground covered with woods, half a mile from Fort Neilson (near the house of Asa Chatfield), where he discovered the British in a wheat field cutting straw, and several officers on the top of a cabin (Joseph Munger's) with a spy-glass, en deavoring to ascertain the condition of the American left. The aid returned, and had just reached headquarters with his intelligence, when a party of Canadians, Indians, and loyal ists, who had been sent forward to scour the woods, attacked the American pickets near the middle ravine. They were soon joined by a detachment of grenadiers, drove the Americans before them, and pressed forward until 0-ithin musket-shot of the republican lines. For half an hour a hot engagement ensued at the breast-work, a little south of the fort. Mor gan, with his riflemen, supported by a corps of infantry, at length charged the assailants with such deadly effect, that they retreated in confusion to the British line, which was forming upon a newly-cleared field, preparatory to marching into action. It was now two o'clock, about the same hour at which the two armies summoned their ¦strength for- combat on the 1 9th of September. The grenadiers, under Major Ackland, and the artillery, under Major Williams, were stationed on the left, upon a gentle eminence on the borders of a wood, and covered in front by Mill Creek or Middle Ravine. The light infantry, under Earl Balcarras, were placed on the extreme right, and the center was com posed of British and German troops, under Generals Phillips and Reidesel. Near the cabin of Mr. Munger, and in advance of the right wing, General Fraser had command of a de tachment of five hundred picked men, destined to fall upon the American flank as soon as the action in front should commence. This design was at once perceived, and, at the suggestion "of Morgan, Gates dispatched that sagacious officer, with his rifle corps and other troops amounting to fifteen hundred men, in a circuitous route to some high ground on the extreme right of the enemy, thence to fall upon the flanking party under Fraser at the same moment when an attack should be made upon the British left. For the latter service the brigade of General Poor, composed of New York and New Hampshire troops, and a part of Learned' s brigade, were detached. , About half past two the conflict began. The troops of Poor and Learned marched steadily up the gentle slope of the eminence on which the British grenadiers, and part of the artillery under Acklani and Williams, were stationed, and, true to their orders not to fire until after the first discharge of the enemy, pressed on in awful silence toward the bat talions and batteries above them. Suddenly a terrible discharge of musket-balls and grape- shot made great havoc among the branches of the trees over their heads, but scarcely a shot took effect among the men. This was the signal to break the silence of our troops, aud, OF THE REVOLUTION. 61 Bravery of both Armies. . Quick and bold Movements of Morgan. Impetuosity and Bravery of Arnold. General Fraser with a loud shout, they sprang forward, delivered their fire in rapid volleys, and opened right and left to avail themselves of the covering of the trees on the margin of the ridge on which the artillery was posted. The contest now became fierce and destructive. The Americans rushed up to the very mouths" of the cannon, and amid the carriages of the heavy field-pieces they struggled for victory. Valor of the highest order on both sides marked the conflict, and for a time the scale seemed equipoised. Five times one of the cannon was taken and retaken, but at last it remained in. possession of the republicans as the British fell back. Colonel Cilley, who, during the whole contest, had fought at the head of his troops, leaped upon the captured piece, waved his sword high in air, dedicated the brazen engine of death to " the American cause," wheeled its muzzle toward the enemy, and with their own ammunition opened its thunder upon them. It was all the work of a moment of exultation when the enemy fell back from their vantage ground. The effect was electrical, and seemed to give the repub licans stronger sinews and fiercer courage. The contest was long and obstinate, for the enemy were brave and "skillful. Major Ackland, who was foremost in the conflict, was at last severely wounded, and Major Williams was taken prisoner. Suddenly deprived of their superior officers, the grenadiers and artillery-men fled in confusion, and left the fieid in possession of the Americans. Almost simultaneously with the attack on the British left, Morgan with his corps rushed down the hills that skirted the flanking party of Fraser in advance of the enemyls right, and opened upon them such a destructive storm of well-aimed bullets, that they were driven hastily back to their lines. Then, with the speed of the wind, Morgan wheeled and fell upon the British right flank with such appalling force and impetuosity, that their ranks . were at once thrown into confusion. The mode and power of attack were both unexpected to the enemy, and they were greatly alarmed. While thus in confusion, Major Dearborn, with some fresh troops, came up and attacked them in front. Thus assailed, they broke and fled in terror, but were Tallied by Earl Balcarras, and again led into action. ,. The shock on right and left shook the British center, which was composed chiefly of Germans and Hessians, yet it stood firm. General Arnold had watched with eager eye and excited spirit the course of the battle thus far. Deprived of all command, he had no authority even to fight, much less to order Smarting under" the indignitv heaped upon him by his commander ; thirsting for that glory which beckoned him to the field ; burning with a patriotic desire to serve his country, now bleeding at every pore ; and stirred by the din of battle around him, the brave soldier be came fairly maddened by his emotions, and, leaping upon his large brown horse, he started off on a full gallop for the field of conflict. Gates immediately sent Major Armstrong1 after him to order him back. Arnold saw him approaching, and, anticipating his errand, spurred his horse and left his pursuer far behind, while he placed himself at the head of three regi ments of Learned's brigade, who received their former commander with loud huzzas. He immediately led them against the British center, and, with the .desperation of a madman, rushed into the thickest of the fight, or rode along the lines in rapid* and erratic movements, brandishino- his broadsword above his head, and delivering his orders every where in person. Armstrong kept up the chase for half an hour, but Arnold's course was so varied and peril ous that he gave it up. The Hessians received the first assault of Arnold's troops upon the British center with a brave resistance ; but when, upon a second charge, he dashed furiously among them at the head of his men, they broke and fled in dismay. And now the .battle became general along the whole lines. Arnold and Morgan were the ruling spirits that controlled the storm on the part of the Americans, and the gallant General Fraser was the directing soul of the British troops in action. His skill and courage were every where conspicuous. When the i The author of the celebrated "Newburgh letters," written in the spring of 1783. See pages 672 to 678, inclusive, of this volume. 62 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Death of General Fraser. Censure of Morgan. Panic in the British Line. Timothy Murphy. lines gave way, he brought order out of confusion ; when regiments began to waver, he in fused courage into them by voice and example. He was mounted upon a splendid iron- gray gelding ; and, dressed in the full uniform of a field officer, he was a conspicuous object for the Americans. Itr* was evident that the fate of the battle rested upon him, and this the keen eye and sure judgment of Morgan perceived.1 In an instant his purpose was con ceived, and, calling a file of his best men around him, he said, as he pointed toward the British right, " That gallant officer is General Fraser. I admire and honor him, but it is necessary he should die ; victory for the enemy depends upon him. 'Jte.ke your stations in that clump of bushes, and do your duty." Within five minutes Fraser fell mortally wound ed, and was carried to the camp by two grenadiers. Just previous to being hit by the fatal bullet, the crupper of his horse was cut by a rifle-ball, and immediately afterward another passed through the horse's mane, a little back of his ears. The aid of Fraser noticed this, and said, " It is evident that you are marked out for particular aim ; would it not be pru dent for you to retire from this place ?" Fraser replied, " My duty forbids, me to fly from danger," and the next mbment he fell.* Morgan has been censure'd for this order, by those who profess to understand the rules of war, as guilty of a highly dishonorable act ; and others, who gloat over the horrid details of the slaying of thousands of humble rank-and-file men as deeds worthy of a shout for glory, and drop no tear for the slaughtered ones, affect to shudder at such a cold-blooded murder 1 of an officer upon the battle-field. War is a monstrous wrong and cruel injustice at all times; but if it is right to kill at all upon the field of battle, I can perceive no greater wrong in slaying a general than a private. True, he wears the badge of distinction, and the trumpet of Renown speaks his name to the world, but his life is no dearer to himself, and wife, and children, and friends, than that of the humblest private who obeys his com mands. If Daniel Morgan was guilty of no sin, no dishonor, in ordering his men to fall upon and slay those under the command of Fraser, he was also guiltless of sin and dishonor in ordering the sacrifice of their chief. Indeed, it is probable that the sacrifice of his life saved that of hundreds, for the slaughter was stayed. As soon as Fraser fell, a panic spread along the British line. It was increased by the appearance, at that moment, of three thousand New York troops, under General Tenbroeck. Burgoyne, who now took command in person, could not keep up the sinking courage, of his men. The whole line gave way, and fled precipitately within the intrenchments of the Samuel Woodruff, Esq., of Connecticut, a volunteer in the army at the lime, visited Bemis's Heights some years since, and wrote an interesting account of some of the transactions of the day. He says the importance of the death of Fraser was suggested to Morgan by Arnold. : 2 The name of the rifleman who killed General Fraser was Timothy Murphy. He took sure aim from a small tree in which- he was posted, and saw Fraser fall on the discharge of his rifle. Fraser told his friends before he died that he saw the man who shot him, and that he was in a tree. Murphy afterward accompanied General Sullivan in his expedition against the Indians in Central and Western New York where he had a narrow escape from death. In the fall of 1778 he was stationed in Schoharie county' where he became enamored of a young girl of sixteen, named Margaret Feeck. He was twelve years her senior, yet his love was reciprocated. Her parents " denied the bans," and attempted to break off the engagement by a forcible confinement. But "love laughs at locksmiths," and, under pretense of eoino- after a cow some distance from home to milk her, she stole away one evening barefooted, to meet her love" according to an appointment through a trusty young friend, upon the'bank of the Schoharie Creek He was not there, and she forded the stream, determined to go to the fort where Murphy was stationed '" She found him, however, upon the opposite side of the stream, and, mounting his horse behind him thev en tered the fort amid the cheering of the.inmates. The young females there fitted her up with comfortable attire, and the next day they set 'out for Schenectady. There the soldier purchased for his intended bride silk for a gown, and several dress-makers soon completed it. They repaired to the house of Rev Mr Johnson where they were married, and then returned to Schoharie. The parents became reconciled and they lived happily together many years. Murphy was an uneducated man, but was possessed of a strong mtellect and had a good deal of influence over a certain class. He was an early friend of the Hon William C, Bouck late governor of New York, and was among the most active in bringing him forward 'in public life. He lost his Margaret ,n 1807, and in 1812 married Mary Robertson. He died of a cancer to his throat in 1818.— See Simm's ''History of Schoharie County." " mS OF THE REVOLUTION. 63 Bravery of General Arnold. Assault on the German Works. Arnold Wounded. Gates and Sir Francis Clarke. camp. The tumultuous retreat was covered by Phillips and Reidesel. The Americans pursued them up to their very intrenchments in the face of a furious storm of grape-shot and musket-balls, and assaulted their works vigorously without the aid of field pieces oi other artillery. The conflict was now terrible indeed, and in the midst of the flame, and smoke, and metal hail, Arnold was conspicuous. His voice, clear as a trumpet, animated the soldiers, and, as if ubiquitous, he seemed to be every where amid the perils at the same moment. With a part of the brigades of Patterson and Glover, he assaulted the works occupied by the light infantry under' Earl Balcarras, and at the point of the bayonet drove the enemy from a strong abatis, through which he attempted to force his way into the camp. He was obliged to abandon the effort, and, dashing forward toward the right flank of the enemy, exposed to the cross-fire of the contending armies, he met Learned's brigade advancing to make an assault upon the British works at an opening in the abatis, between Balcarras's light in fantry and the German right flank defense under Colonel Breyman. Canadians and loyal ists' defended this part of the line, and were flanked by a stockade redoubt on each side. Arnold placed himself at the head of the brigade, and moved rapidly on to the attack. He directed Colonel Brooks to assault the redoubt, while the remainder of the brigade fell upon the front. The contest was furious, and the enemy at length gave way, leaving Brey man and his Germans completely exposed. At this moment Arnold galloped to the left, and ordered the regiments of Wesson and Livingston, and Morgan's corps of riflemen, to advance and make a general assault. At the head of Brooks's regiment, he attacked the German works. Having found the sally-port, he rushed within the enemy's intrenchments. The Germans, who had seen him upon his steed in the thickest of the fight for more than two hours, terrified at his approach, fled in dismay, delivering a volley in their retreat, which killed Arnold's horse under him, and wounded the general himself very severely, in the same leg which, had been badly lacerated by a musket-ball at the storming of Quebec, two years before. Here, wounded and disabled, at the head of conquering troops led on by his valor to the threshold of victory, Arnold was overtaken by Major Armstrong, who delivered to him Gates's order to return to camp, fearing he " might do some rash thing !" He indeed did a rash thing in the eye of military discipline. He led troops to victory without an order from his commander. His conduct was rash indeed, compared with the stately method of General Gates, who directed by orders from his camp' vjhat his presence should have sanc tioned. While Arnold was wielding the fierce sickle of war without, and reaping golden sheaves for Gates's garner, the latter (according to Wilkinson) was within his camp, more intent upon discussing the merits of' the Revolution with Sir Francis Clarke, Burgoyne's aid-de-camp, who had been wounded and taken prisoner, and was lying upon the, command er's bed at his quarters, than upon winning a battle, all-important to the ultimate triumph of those principles for which he professed so warm an attachment. When one of Gates's aids came up from the field of battle for orders, he found the general very angry because Sir Francis would not allow the force of his" arguments. He left the room, and, calling his aid after him, asked, as they went out, " Did you ever hear so impudent a son of a b— h ?" Poor Sir Francis died that night upon Gates's bed. " It is. a curious fact," says Sparks, " that an officer who really had not command in the army was the leader of one of the most spirited and important battles of the Revolution. His madness, or rashness, or whatever it may be called, resulted most fortunately for him self. The wound he received at the moment of rushing into the arms of, danger and of death added fresh luster to his military glory, and was a new claim to public favor and applause. In the heat of the action, he struck an officer on the head with his sword, an indignity and offense which might justly have been retaliated upon the spot in the most fatal manner. The officer forbore ; and the next day, when he demanded redress, Arnold declared his entire ignorance of the act, and expressed his regret."1 Life of Arnold, p. 118. 6 1 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Retreat of the Germans, and Close of the Battle. Preparations of Burgoyne to Retreat. The Killed and Wounded. It was twilight when Arnold was wounded and conveyed by Major Armstrong and a sergeant (Samuel Woodruff) from the field. The Germans who fled at his approach, find ing the assault general, threw down their arms and retreated to the interior of the camp, leaving their commander, Colonel Breyman, mortally wounded. The camp of Burgoyne was thus left exposed at a strong point. He endeavored to rally the panic-stricken Germans in the midst of the increasing darkness, but they could not be again brought into action.1 In truth, both armies were thoroughly fatigued, and the Americans were as loth to follow up the advantage thus presented as were the British to repair their discomfiture. As night drew its curtain over the scene, the conflict ended, the clangor of battle was hushed, and all was silent except the groans of the wounded, an occasional word of command, and the heavy tread of retiring columns, seeking for a place of repose. About midnight, General Lincoln, with his division, which had remained in camp during the action, marched out to relieve those upon the field, and to maintain the ground acquired. Perceiving this, and knowing the advantage the Americans would possess with fresh troops and such an easy access to his camp, Burgoyne felt the necessity of guarding against the peril at once by changing his position. Before dawn he removed the whole of his army, camp, and artillery about a mile north of his first position, above Wilbur's Basin, whence he contemplated a speedy retreat toward Fort Edward. October, Early on the morning of the 8th the Americans took possession of the evacuated 1777. British camp, and skirmishes took place between detachments from the two armies during the day, in one of which General Lincoln was badly wounded in the leg. As the news that the British had retreated spread over the surrounding country, a great* number of men, women, and children came flocking into camp to join in the general joy, or to per form the more sorrowful duty of seeking for relatives or friends among the wounded and slain. The loss of the Americans in killed and wounded did not exceed one hundred and fifty. Arnold was the only commissioned officer who received a wound. The British army* suf- fe-ed severely, and their loss in killed, wounded, and prisoners was about seven hundred. *• Among the officers killed were the gallant Fraser, Sir Francis Clarke (Burgoyne's aid-de- camp,) Colonel Breyman, and Lieutenant Reynell. The latter two died on the field ; Sir Francis Clarke was taken prisoner and carried to Gates's quarters, where he died that night. Major Ackland; who was severely wounded, was also taken prisoner, and, with Major Will- -^^ iams, was, carried into the American camp ; and Fraser, who was conveyed to the house of John Taylor, near Wilbur's October 8. ~ . . J .basin, expired the next morning at about eight o'clock Burgoyne had several narrow escapes. One ball passed through his hat and another his coat. The house in which General Fraser died stood until 1846, upon the right bank of the Hudson, about three miles above Bemis's Heights, near Ensign's store, and exhibited the marks of the con flict there in numerous bullet-holes. It was used by Burgoyne House in which General Fraser died./ 1 Evidence of Captain Money before a 2 " The British and Hessian troops killed on the battle-field. It was not uncom mon, after the land was cleared and cul tivated, to see many, sometimes twen ty, human skulls piled upon stumps in the fields. I have myself, when a boy, seen human bones thickly strewn about the ground, which had been turned up by the plow." — C. Neilson. Bur goyne's Campaign, p. 182. I saw, in the possession of Mr. Neilson, many relics plowed up from the battle-field, such as cannon-balls, No. l committee of Parliament in the case of Burgoyne. in the foregoing actions were slightly covered with earth and brush grape-shot, tomahawks, arrow-heads, buttons, knives, &c, and among them were some teeth, evidently front ones, but double. It is supposed that they belonged to the Hessians, for it issaid that many of them had double teeth all around, in both jaws. The annexed are drawings of two tomahawks in my possession. No. 1 is made of iron, No 2 of stone. It is graywacke, and is creased for the purpose of securing the handle by a string or by green withes. OF THE REVOLUTION. 65 Place of General Fraser's Death. Account of his Death by the Baroness Reidesel. Fraser'B last Request granted. for quarters when he first pitched his camp there, and it was a shelter to several ladies attached to the British army, among whom were the Baroness Riedesel and Lady Harriet Ackland. General Fraser was laid upon a camp-bed near the first window on the right of the door, where he expired. I can not narrate this event and its attendant circumstances better than by quoting the simple language of the Baroness Riedesel. " But," she says, " severer trials awaited us, and on the 7th of October our misfortunes began. I was at breakfast with my husband, and heard that something was intended. 'On the same day I expected Generals Burgoyne, Phillips, and Fraser to dine with us. I saw a great movement among the troops ; my husband told nre it was merely a reconnois- sance, which gave me no concern, as it often happened. I walked out of the house, and met several Indians in their war dresses, with guns in their hands. When I asked them Where they were going, they cried out, 'War! war !' meaning that they were going to battle. -This filled me with apprehension, and I had, scarcely got home before I heard reports of cannon and musketry, which grew louder by degrees; till at iast ihe noise became excessive. ' , " About four q'clock in the afternpon, (instead of the, guests whom I expected, General Fraser was brought on a litter, mortally wounded. The table, which was already set, was instantly removed, and a bed" placed in its stead for the *yyounded general. I sat trembling in a corner ; the noise grew louder, and the alarm ihpf eased ; the thought that my husband might, perhaps, be brought in, wounded in the same manner, was terrible to me, and dis tressed me exceedingly. General Fraser said to the surgeon, < Tell me, if my, wound is mortal ; do not flatter me.' The ball, had passed through his body, and, unhappily for tbe general, he had eaten a very hearty breakfast, by which- the stomach was distended, and the ball, as the surgeon said, had passed 'through it. I heard him often exclaim, with a ,. sigh, ' 0 fatal ambition! Poor General Burgoyne ! Oh! my poor wife!' He was asked if he, had any request to make, to which he replied that, if General Burgoyne would permit it, he should like to be buried^ at six o'clock in the evening, on the top. of a mount- 'am, in a redoubt which had been built there. I did not know which way to turn; all the other rooms were full of sick. Toward evening I saw my husband coming ; then I forgot, all my sorrows, and thanked God .that he was spared to me. ' ' He ate in great haste, with me and his aid-de-camp, behind the house. We had been told that we had ihe ad vantage over the enemy, but the sorrowful faces I beheld told a different tale ; and before my husband went away, he took me aside, and said every thing was going very badly, and that I must keep myself in readiness to leave the place, but not to* mention it to an^ one I made the pretense that I- would move the next morning into my new house, and had every thing packed up ready. ; - *. * " I could not go to, sleep, as Lhad General Fraser and all the other wounded gentlemen in my room, and. I was sadly afraid my children would wake, and, by their crying, disturb the dying man in his last moments, who often addressed me and apologized 'for 'the trouble he gave me.' About three o'clock in the morning I was told that he could not hold out much longer ; I had desired to. be info-rrtied of the near approach of this sad. crisis, and I then wrapped up my children in their rcldthes, and went with them into the room below About eight o'clock in the morning he died. , "After, he was laid out, arid his corpse wranped up in a sheet, we came again into the room, and' had -this sorrowful sight before us the whole day ; and, to add to the melancholy scene, almost every momerit some officer of my acquaintance was brought in wounded. The cannonade commenced again ; a retreat was spoken of, but not the smallest motion was made toward it. About four o'clock in the afternoon I saw the house which had just been built for me in flames, and the enemy was now not far off. We knew that General Bur goyne would not refuse the last request of General Fraser, though, by his acceding to it, an unnecessary delay *vyas oc*asioned, by which the inconvenience of the army was much in- cieased. At six o'clock the corpse was brought out, and we saw all the generals attend it to the mountain. The chaplain, Mr. Brudenell, performed the funeral service, rendered E 66 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Burial of Fraser. ' Humanity of the Americans. Lady Harriet Ackland. unusually solemn and awful from its being accompanied by constant peals from the enemy's artillery. Many cannon-balls flew close by me, but I had my eyes directed toward the mountain1 where my husband was standing amid the fire of the enemy, and of course I could not think of my own danger." It was just at sunset, on that calm October evening, that the corpse of General Fraser was carried up the hill to the place of burial within the " great redoubt." It was attended only by the members of his military family and Mr. Brudenell, the chaplain ; yet the eyes , of hundreds of both armies followed the solemn procession, while the Americans, ignorant of its true char acter, kept up a constant cannonade upon the redoubt. The. chaplain, unawed by the danger to which he was' exposed, as the cannon- balls that struck the hill threw the loose soil over him, pronounced the impressive funeral service of the Church of England with an unfal tering voice.3 The growing dark- Fraser s burial-place.*! ness added solemnity to the scene. Suddenly the irregular firing ceased, and the solemn voice of a single cannon, at measured intervals, boomed along the valley, and awakened the responses of the hills. It was a minute-gun fired by the Americans in honor of the gallant dead. The moment information was given that the gathering at the redoubt was a funeral company, fulfilling, amid imminent perils, the last-breathed wishes of the noble Fraser, orders were issued to withhold the cannonade with balls, and to render military homage to the fallen brave. How such incidents smooth the rough features of war ! In contrast with fiercer ages gone by, when human sympathy never formed a holy communion between enemies on the battle field, they seem to reflect the radiance of the future, and exhibit a glimpse of the time to which a hopeful faith directs our vision, when " nation shall not war against nation," when "one law shall bind all people, kindreds, and tongues, and that law shall be the law of UNIVERSAL BROTHERHOOD." The case of Major Ackland and his heroic wife presents kindred features. He belonged to the corps of grenadiers, and was an accomplished soldier. His wife accompanied him to Canada, in 1776, and during the whole campaign of that year, and until hi? return to En gland after the surrender of Burgoyne, in the autumn of 1777, endured all the hardships, dangers, and privations of an active campaign in an enemy's country. At Chambly, on the Sorel, she attended him in illness, in a miserable hut ; and when he was wounded in the battle of Hubbardton, Vermont, she hastened to him at Skenesborough from Montreal, where she had been persuaded to remain, and resolved to follow the army thereafter. Just before crossing the Hudson, she and her husband came near losing their lives in consequence of their tent taking fire from a candle overturned by a pet dog. . During the terrible engage ment of the 7th of October she heard all the tumult and dreadful thunder of the battle in which her husband was engaged ;' and when, on the morning of the 8th, the British fell ' The height occupied by Burgoyne on the 18th, which ran parallel with the river till it approached 2 The^hill on which the*" great redoubt" was erected, and where General Fraser was buried: is about one hundred feet high, and almost directly west from the house wherein he died. The relative situation of this eminence to the Hudson will be best understood by looking at the view of Burgoyne's encampment page 57. The center hill in that drawing is the one here represented. Ttfb grave is within the incisure on the summit ol the hill. 3 Burgoyne's " State of the Expedition," p. 169. Lieutenant Kingston's Evidence, p. 107. OF THE REVOLUTION. 67 ¦Courage and Fortitude of Lady Harriet Ackland. ' Burgoyne's Request and Gates's Generosity. back in confusion to Wilbur's Basin, she, with the other women, was obliged to take refuge among the dead and dying, for the tents were all struck, and hardly a shed was left stand ing. Her husband was wounded, and a prisoner in the American camp. That gallant officer was shot through both legs when Poor and Learned's troops assaulted the grenadiers and artillery on the British left, on the afternoon of the 7th. Wilkinson, Gates's adjutant genera], while pursuing 'the flying enemy when they abandoned their battery, heard a feeble voice exclaim, " Protect me, sir, against that boy." He turned and saw a lad with a musket, taking deliberate aim at a wounded British officer, lying iii a corner of a worm fence. Wil kinson ordered the boy to desist, and discovered the wounded man to be Major Ackland. He had him conveyed to the quarters of General Poor (now the residence of Mr. Neilson), on the heights, where every attention was paid to his wants. When the intelligence .that he was wounded and a prisoner reached his wife, she was greatly distressed, and, by the advice of her friend, the Baroness Riedesel, resolved to visit the American camp, and implore the favor of a personal attendance upon her husband. On the 9th she sent a message to Burgoyne by Lord Petersham, his aid, asking per- October, mission to depart. " Though I. was ready to believe," says Burgoyne, "that pa- 1777- tience and fortitude, in a supreme degree, were to be found, as. well as every other virtue, under the most tender forms, I was astonished at this proposal. After so long an agitation of spirits, exhausted not only for want of rest, but absolutely want of food, drenched in rains foi twelve hours together, that a woman should be capable of such an undertaking as de livering herself to an enemy, probably in the night, and uncertain of what hands she might fall- into, appeared an effort above human nature. The assistance I was enabled to give was small indeed ; I had not even a cup of wine to offer her ; but I was told she had* found, from some kind and fortunate hand, a little rum and dirty water. All I could furnish to her was an open boat and a few lines, written upon dirty wet paper, to General Gates, recommending her to his protection."1 She set out in an open boat upon the Hudson, accompanied by Mr. Brudenell the chap lain, Sarah Pollard her waiting-maid, and her husband's valet, who had been severely wounded while searching for his master upon the battle-field. It was about sunset when they started, and a violent storm of rain and wind, which had been increasing since rhorn- ing, rendered the voyage tedious and perilous in the extreme. It was long after dark wherr they reached the American outposts. The sentinel heard their oars and hailed them. Lady Harriet returned the answer herself. -' The clear, silvery tones of a woman's voice amid the darkness filled the soldier on duty with superstitious fear, and he called a comrade to accompany him to the Hver bank. The errand of the voyagers was made kriown, but ¦ the faithful guard, apprehensive of treachery, would not allow them to land until they sent for Major Dearborn. This delay was only for a few minutes, not " seven or eight dark and cold hours," as asserted by Burgoyne. They were invited by that officer to his quarters, where a cup of tea and other comforts were provided ; and Lady Harriet was also comforted by the joyful tidings that her husband was safe. In the morning she experienced parental tenderness from General Gates,, who sent her to her husband at Poor's quarters, under a suitable escort. There she remained until he was removed to Albany .a 1 The following is a copy of the note from Burgoyne to General Gates : " Sir — Lady Harriet Ackland, a lady of the first distinction of family, rank, and personal virtues, is under such concern on account of Major Ackland, her husband, wounded and a prisoner in^your hands, that I can not refuse her request to commit her to your protection. Whatever general impropriety there may be in persons in my situation and yours to solicit favors, I can not see the uncommon perseverance in every female' grace and exaltation • of character of this lady, and her very hard fortune, without testifying that your attentions to her will lay me under obligations. ¦ " I am, sir, your obedient servant, "J. Burgoyne."* 2 Major Ackland reciprocated tho generous treatment here extended, by doing all in his power, while on parole in New York; to alleviate the condition of distinguished American prisoners there. After his * The original is among Gates's papers (vol. s.), in the possession of the New York Historical Society, from which this was copied. t ' 68 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Lines by Mrs. Morton. Death of Major Ackland. Second Marriage of Lady Harriet When we consider the delicate form, the gentleness and refinement in which she had been nurtured in the lap of rankan'd fortune, the shining virtues of connubial constancy, heroic devotion, and unbending fortitude stand out in bold relief in the character of Lady Harriet Ackland ; and these, in their practical development in her case, furnish romance with a stranger page than imagination can command, and lend to poetry half its inspiration. They gave impulse to the lyre of the accomplished lady of Perez Morton, Esq. ; and I will close this chapter with an extract from her poem, suggested by the events above noticed. " To gallant Gates, in war serenely brave, The tide of fortune turns its refluent wave ; Forced by his arms, the bold invaders yield The prize and glory of the well-fought field : Bleeding and lost, the captured Ackland lies, While leaden slumber seals his Fraser's eyes ; Fraser! whose deeds unfading glories claim, Endeared by virtues and adorned by fame. 4f w ^ ^ "St* "jf "if 'Twas now the time, when twilight's misty ray Drops the brown curtain of retiring day, The clouds of heaven, like midnight mountains, lower, y- ' Waft the wild blast and dash the drizzly shower, Through the wet path her restless footsteps roam, To where the leader spread his spacious dome. Low at his feet she pours the desperate prayer — Give my lost husband to my soothing care, Give me in yorfder solitary cave, With duteous love, his burning wounds to lave ; . On the warm pillow which his breast supplies, Catch his faint breath and close his languid eyes, Or in his cause my proffered life resign — Mine were his blessings, and his pains were mine." return to England, he warmly defended, American courage, at a dinner party, against the aspersions of a Lieutenant Lloyd. High words passed, and a duel ensued. The major was shot dead ; Lady Harriet be came a maniac, and remained so two years. After her recovery, she married Mr Brudenell, the chaplain , already mentioned. - aHT OF THE REVOLUTION. 69 Present Peacefulness.at Saratoga. Curious Meteorological Phenomena. Departure for Schuylerville. CHAPTER III. "ff\ URGOYNE and his army are at Wilbur's Basin, prepared to retreat toward Lake Champlain, but lingering to pay a last sad tribute of affectionate regard to the remains of the accomplished Fraser. Night has drawn its veil over the scene, and we will turn away for a moment from the sorrowful contemplation of war and its horrid retinue, to glance ' at a picture lovely to the eye, ennobling to the spirit, and fruitful of pleas ant impressions upon the heart and memory. Like a " dissolving view," the smoking ruins, the sodden field, the trailing ban- ir, the tent and breast- work and abatis, and slaughtered hundreds, and wailing famihes, painted in gore by the hand of human, discord ; and the roar of Cannon, the rattle of musketry, the roll of drums, the hiss and detonation of bombs, the sav- ' age yell, the loud huzza, the shriek and groan, the prayer and curse made audible by the boastful voice of physical strength, have all passed away with the darkness, and a bright summer's- sunlight is upon the landscape. Turning the eye northward from the American camp, there are the same gentle slopes, and deep ravines, and clustering hills, and flowing river ; and the heights of Saratoga in the far distance loom up as of yore. But herds are grazing upon the lowlands, and flocks are dotting the hills ; the ring of the mower's scythe is heard in the meadow, and the merry laugh goes up from the russet harvest-field. Art, with its strong arm of industry, has dug another river along the plain for the use of commerce ; the forest has been reaped by agriculture, habitations of prosperity are on every band, and the white wing of peace is spread out over all. It is a pleasant sight ; v therefore let us enjoy it, and', for a while, forget the dark picture of the past which we have been contemplating. I spent nearly the whole of the day rambling and sketching upon the camp and Juiy2v battle grounds of Stillwater. It was excessively warm, although a strong breeze 1848* from the south constantly prevailed. As early as ten o'clock dark clouds began to rise in the west, and the rumbling of distant thunder was audible. All day long, shower after shower arose threateningly, sometimes approaching so near that sharp claps of thunder would startle us ; but they all swept along the horizon west and north, and disappeared behind the eastern hills. Not a drop of rain fell at Bemis's. I remarked the phenomenon, and was told that showers never reached there, from the west. Their- birth-place seems to be Saratoga Lake, about six miles westward from the Hudson, and the summer rain-clouds which rise there generally pass up the lake to its outlet, the Fish Creek, and, traversing that stream until it falls into the Hudson, cross the valley and pass on to the Green Mountains, or spend their treasures upon the intervening country. About half past three in the afternoon a canal packet arrived from the south, and we embarked for Schuylerville, nine miles above Bemis's. N As usual, the boat was crowded to excess, and, the sun being veiled by the clouds in the west, the passengers covered the deck. As we passed .quietly along the base of the hills whereon was Gates's camp, crossed Mill Creek or Middle Ravine, and approached Wilbur's Basin, it required but small exercise of the imagination, while listening to the constant roll of thunder beyond the heights, to realize the appalhng sounds of that strife of armies which shook those hills seventy years before, as it fell upon the eager ears of wives, and sisters, and children whose cherished ones were in the midst of the storm. Proceeding northward, we approached the track of the showers, and, just before we 70 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Approach of a Tempest. A violent Gale. Misfortunes of an Irish Way-passenger reached Wilbur's Basin, a cloud, black as Erebus, and so low that it seemed to rest upon the hill-tops, spread out above us like the wings of a monster bird ; and in its wake huge masses of vapor, wheeling like the eddies of a whirlpool, came hastening on. The experi enced boatmen understood these portents, and covering the baggage with strong canvas, •lashed it tightly to the vessel. The breeze was still, and a hot, suffocating calm ensued. The passengers, warned by the helmsman, retreated into the cabin, and the windows were closed. The cattle in the fields huddled in groups, and every bird and fowl, conscious of impending danger, sought shelter. A flash of lightning, followed instantly by a crashing thunder-peal, broke over the valley, and seemed to sever the fetters of the wind. A sullen roar was heard in the distance, like the rush of great waters ; the trees of the forest began to rock, and from the roads behind us clouds of dust arose and filled the air. In a few mo ments a tornado was upon us in its strength. It lasted only two minutes, but in its track the results of the labor of the farmer for many days were destroyed. Hay-cocks and wheat sheaves were scattered like thistle-down, and the standing grain was laid upon the earth as by the tread of a giant footstep. As the wind passed by, the rain came down gently, and continued to fall until we reached Schuylerville. There came on the boat at Bemis's " a poor exile from Erin," with a patched coat and pair of thin pantaloons hanging pver one arm. He was immediately introduced to the captain by the attentive steward, when he pleaded poverty, and declared that he hadn't a " cint in the world." He was ordered ashore, and the boat was guided accommodatingly near the bank. The poor fellow urged fatigue, and the. weight of his brogans testified to the truth of the appeal, if he had walked a mile. It was cruel to doubt the honesty of that hard-favored face, and fifty cents were soon collected for him as a peace-offering to the ¦-captain. When the gust came on, he refused to go into the cabin. He had been in a three days' gale upon the Atlantic, and was not' to be frightened by a squall on land. The first blast of the hurricane wheeled him several times around upon deck, and came very near putting him ashore, willing or not willing. While he was endeavoring to seize a support, the wind' grasped his extra pantaloons, and, in utter dismay, he saw them gyrating, like a spread eagle, high in air, and. becoming "small by degrees and beautifully less" in the. dis tance. The loss distressed him greatly — far more than the helmsman thought necessary, and he ordered him to be quiet. " Indade," said the poor fellow, " do ye think a man can be quiet when the wind is rolling him like a bag o' feathers tied fast at one end, and all he has in the world snatched from him by the blackguard gale ?" and he looked agonizingly toward the point where his pantaloons had vanished. " Precious small estate," answered the amused helmsman, " if a pair of old pantaloons is all you have in the world. I'll give you a better pair than that if you'll stop your noise." " An' wid three Vickeys sowed up in the waistbands ?" eagerly inquired the exile. His cautiousness was here at fault. He hadn't a " cint in the world," but he had three sovereigns sewed up in the waistbands of the pantaloons which had gone a-ballooning. As soon as the gale passed by, a child of -the Green Isle was a foot-passenger upon the tow- path, bearing sorrowful testimony to the truth of the ethical maxim, that retributive justice is always swift to punish offenders against truth and honesty. No doubt his thoughts were all with his absconded sub-treasurer, and the prose of Holmes's poem evidently engrossed his mind : " I saw them straddling through the air, ,'^i Alas ! too late to win them ; I saw them chase the clouds as if i The devil had been in them. They were my darlings and my pride, They carried all my riches : *' Farewell, farewell !' I faintly cried. / ' ' My breeches ! 0 my breeches !' " It was about four o clock when we passed the burial-place of General Fraser. It had been my intention to stop there for an hour, and visit the last earth-home of the illustrious OF THE REVOLUTION. 71 Fraser's Grave Dove-gat or Coveville. Colonel Van Vechten. Origin of " Whig" and " Tory." Arrival at Schuylerville. dead. But the rain fell fast, and the day was so far consumed that I was obliged to forego the melancholy pleasure. The canal is so near the base of the hill, that I easily made the sketch of it (printed on page 67) from the cabin- window. Many years ago a distant rela tive of the general proposed to remove his remains to Scotland, and lay them beside those of his mother ; but they are still undisturbed where his sorrowing comrades laid them. We reached the little settlement of Coveville at half past four, the rain still falling gently. This was formerly Do-ve-gat, or Van Vechten's Cove, as it was sometimes called, the place where the British tarried from the loth till the 1 7th of September, while a working party repaired the roads and bridges in advance to Wilbur's Basin. Here was the l residence of Colonel Van Vechten, of the Saratoga militia, one of General Gates's staff. He was a zealous Whig, and the active Tories, whose plans his vigilance often frustrated, were greatly imbittered' against him politically, while they honored him as a brave man and good neighbor.1 Burgeyne, on his retreat to Saratoga after the battle of the 7th of October, ordered the dwellings of several Whigs to be destroyed ; and at Dd-ve-gat the buildings of Colonel Van Vechten were the first to which the torch of the invader was laid. • His family fled to Albany on the approach of Burgoyne from Fort Edward ; and when they returned, late in October, their fine estate was a perfect wreck, and they had no shelter for their heads. " Colonel Van Vechten was at Albany, on public business, at the time of the first battle on Bemis's Heights. He had received an order from the Committee of Safety at that city, when Burgoyne marched from Fort Edward, to remove every ^Pory or disaffected person from his vicinage into Connecticut. This order touched his excellent heart with grief, for many of "those included in the proscription were his neighbors, and some were his personal friends, who honestly differed from him in relation to the momentous political questions at issue. Within six hours after receiving the order he was in Albany, and procured its re call. The humanity, policy, and sound wisdom of that step were soon illustrated by the firm support which some of these disaffected ones gave to the American cause. We landed at Schuylerville in the midst of " sun and shower," for the sky was clear in the west, yet the rain-drops came glittering down profusely. The Fish Creek, which here has a succession' of falls and rapids 'for nearly, a mile, affording fine wafer-power for several mills, was .brimful with the showers of the day, and poured its flood, roaring and foaming, under the canal viaduct with such force as to shake the solid masonry. It empties -its waters into the Hudson about one hundred rods east of the canal, at the southeast angle of Old Fort Hardy, now among the buried things of the past. Upon the plain north of the creek, near the old fort, the forces of Burgoyne laid down their arms ; and on every side of that pleas ant village scenes of historic interest lie scattered. The earth was too wet to invite a sun set ramble, and we contented ourselye* with viewing the beauty of the scene that spread out before us eastward while loitering upon the upper piazza of the Schuylerville House. 1 I have already had occasion to use the terms Whig and Tory, and shall do so often in the course of this work. They were copied by us from the political vocabulary of Great Britain, and were first used here, to distinguish the opposing parties in the Revolution, about 1770. The term originated during the reign of Charles II., or about that time. Bishop Burnet, in his History of his own Times, gives the following explanation : " The southwest counties of Scotland have seldom corn enough to serve them round the year : and die northern parts producing more .than they need, those in the west come in the summer to bay at Leith the stores that come from the north ; and, from a word, itthiggam, used in driving their horses, all that drove were called whiggamores, and shorter, whiggs. Now in that year, after the news came down of Duke Hamilton's defeat, the ministers animated their people to rise and march to Edinburgh, and then came up marching at the head of their parishes, with unheard-of fury, praying and preaching all the way as they came. The Marquis of Argyle and his' party came and headed them, they being about six thou sand. This was called the Whiggamore's inroad, and ever after that all that opposed the courts came, in contempt, to be called Whigg; and from* Scotland the word was brought into England, where it is now one of our unhappy terms of distinction." Subsequently all whose party bias was democratic were called Whigs. The origin of the word Tory is not so well attested. The Irish malcontents, half robbers and half insurgents, who harassed the English in Ireland at the time of the massacre in 1 640, were the first lo -whom this epithet was applied. It was also applied to the* court party as a term of reproach. — See, also± Macaulay's History of England, i., 240. 72 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Beautiful Evening Scene. Commencement of Burgoyne's Retreat toward Saratoga. His Retreat anticipated by Gates. It was, indeed, a charming scene, enhanced by the associations of the vicinity. The face of nature was washed clean by the drenching showers ; the trees and*) shrubs were brilliant green ; and from the clustering knolls or loftier hills beyond the Hudson, once bristling with bayonets or wreathed by the smoke of cannon, the evening sunlight was reflected back by the myriad rain-drops lying upon trees, and grass, and blooming corn. Nor was this all. Upon the dark background of the hills was Iris, " That beautiful one, Whose arch is refraction, whose keystone the sun ; In the hues of its grandeur sublimely it stood . O'er the river, the village, the field, and the wood." Charles Swain. Springing from the plain, its double arch spanned the whole ground where British pride was humbled and American valor acknowledged. I never gazed upon the "bow of prom ise" with so much interest, for thought unconsciously bridged over, the chasm of seventy buried years, and it seemed for a moment as if the dark hours of our rebellious conflict had returned, and that in the covenant seal before me the eye of hope read prophetically the his tory of the happy present. As the sun went down and the bow faded, the Spirit of Beauty left traces of its pencil on my thoughts, and I felt, with " Amelia," that " There are moments, bright moments, when the spirit receives Whole volumes of thought on its unwritten leaves, When the folds of the heart in a moment unclose, Like the innermost leaves from the heart of the rose ; And thus, when the rainbow had passed from the sky, The thoughts it awoke were too deep to pass by ; It left my full soul like the wings of a doVe, All flutt'ring with pleasure, and flutt'ring with love." In the evening I visited the son of Colonel Van Vechten just named, a man of three score and ten years. His memory is unclouded, and extends back to the closing scenes of the Revolution. His father stored that memory with the verbal history of his times, and every noteworthy locality of Saratoga is as familiar to him as the flower-beds of his beautiful garden. He kindly offered to be my guide in the morning to all the places here made mem orable by the events connected with the surrender of Burgoyne. While awaiting the dawn, let us turn to the past, and view occurrences from the burial of Fraser to the closing scenes of the drama. October, As soon as the funeral ceremonies at Fraser's burial were ended on the evening 1777- of the 8th, Burgoyne, fearing that the Americans (whose forces constantly increased, and whose activity denoted preparations for some bofd movement) might succeed .in turning his right and surrounding him, commenced a night march toward Saratoga. A retreat was anticipated by General Gates, and, previous to the action on the 7th, he sent General Fellows with a detachment of fourteen hundred men to occupy the high grounds east of the Hudson, opposite the Saratoga ford, intending, in case the enemy retreated, to follow so closely in pursuit as to be able to re-enforce that officer from the .ranks of the main army. He also sent another detachment, after the action, to occupy ground higher up near Fort Miller, and ordered a selected corps of two thousand men to push forward and occupy the heights beyond Saratoga, in the direction of Lake George. But the retreat of Burgoyne was at a time when Gates least expected it. The troops of the former had been in motion all the night before, and under arms all day on the 8th, and he supposed that they would tarry for rest until the morning of the 9th. At sunset on the 8th a lurid haziness in the west indicated an approaching storm and before midnight the rain began to" fall. The enemy felt that' his situation was too perilous to be maintained, and the whole British army commenced its march at nine o'clock in the evening. The loss of Fraser was now severely felt, for he had always showed as consum mate skill in managing a retreat as bravery in leading to an attack. General Riedesel OF THE REVOLUTION. 73 Melancholy Condition of the British Army. Gates's Kindness to the Invalids. Destruction of Schuyler's Mills and Mansion. commanded the van-guard and General Phillips the rear-guard. The night was so dark, the rain so incessant in the morning, and the reads were so bad; that the royal army did not reach Saratoga until the evening of the 9th. They made a halt about six o'clock in the morning, and General Riedesel, exhausted by fatigue, went into the caleche in which his wife and children were, and slept soundly for about three hours. Wet and weary, and harassed, by the Americans all the way, the poor soldiers were too much exhausted even to cut wood for fires, and they lay down upon the cold, wet' ground and slept. The generals reposed in the open air, upon mattresses, with no other covering than oil-cloth. The Bar oness Reidesel and other women of the British camp were obliged to submit to these priva tions. " My dress," the former says, " was wet through and through with rain, and in this state I had i o remain the whole night, having no place to change it ; I, however, got close to a large fire,, and at last * lay down on some straw. At this moment General Phillips came up to me, and I asked him why he had not continued our retreat, as my husband had promised to cover it and bring the army through. ' Poor dear woman,' he said, - 1 wonder how, drenched as you are, you have the courage still to persevere, and venture further in this kind of weather. I wish,-' he continued, ' you were our commanding general ; General Burgoyne is tired, and means to halt here to-night and give us our supper.' '"* No doubt there was more sincerity than compliment in General Phillips's wish, for the frequent halts and great delays of Burgoyne had dissatisfied his officers, and were, doubtless, chief, causes of his misfortunes. His ambition and his love of ease were often wrestling, and the latter too frequently gained the mastery. The retreat of Burgoyne was so sudden, that he left all his sick and wounded in the hos pital behind him, together with a great number of wheel carriages "and other things collected. at Wilbur's Basin. The invalids, amounting to about three hundred, were treated by Gen eral Gates with the utmost humanity, which- Burgoyne^afterward gratefully acknowledged. On retiring, the English burned tire houses they had occupied, and many other things which they could not carry away with them. They also wantonly set* fire to several buildings on the way, by order of Burgoyne himself; .and among others, when they crossed the Fisb * Creek, the mansion of General Schuyler, his mills and other -property, amounting in value to twenty thousand dollars, were destroyed by them. The house of General Schuyler was elegant for the times, and was very pleasantly situ ated upon the south bank of the Fish Kill or Fish Creek. It was rebuilt after the war, but in a style much inferior in beauty and expense. . It is still standing, _., . _____ and in the present possession of George Strover, Esq. 'The broad law -" ^r>*^ in front is beautifully shaded with venerable trees ; and the falls of the V '~_XS|__ Fish Creek close .by contribute, by their music and wild beauty, . much to the interest of the scene. The mill was also rebuilt in tlie same style. In the engraving is given a correct representation of it, Many of the logs in the dam are the same that curbed the stream in the time of the Revolu tion ; and I was told that !._ _. little was wanted to make the whole appear as at that _^ period, but that the sur rounding hills sbould be covered with dense woods. The rain was so heavy on the 9 th, that General Gates did not commence his pursuit until nearly Schuyler's Mills, Saratoga. noon on the tenth. The Letters of the Baroness Riedesel. 74 PICTORIAL FIELD-B,OOK Situation of Fellows's Detachment. Conduct of the American Militia. Burgoyne's Attempt to Retreat General Schuyler's Mansion. detachment under Fellows was unconsciously in a perilous situation for want of re-enforce ments. Resting in supposed security on the night of the 9th, his camp was left so entirely unguarded that an officer, who had been sent forward by Burgoyne to reconnoiter, marched all around it without meeting a sentinel ! This neglect would have been fatal if Burgoyne had known the exact position of his enemies around him. The officer urged him to allow him to sur prise Fellows, but misfortune had made the Brit ish general wary and suspicious, and, fortunately for the Americans, the request was denied. . The main army of Gates reached the high ridge between Saratoga Church and the Fish Creek at about four in the afternoon of the 10th. The British had crossed over the creek, and were encamped upon the high grounds on the slope of which Schuylerville is now built.1 The two armies were within the sound of each other's music. The boats of Burgoyne, with his baggage and provisions, were at the mouth of the creek. A fatigue party began to carry, the stores from the boats to the heights, but Fellows constantly played upon them with two field pieces stationed on the flats beyond the river, and they were obliged to rgtreat to the camp. Several of the bateaux of the enemy, with their provisions, were captured, and immediately became objects of plunder for the raw militia and motley followers of the army. Even the Continental troops were implicated in taking " pay and rations" for serv- . ices, directly from the enemy, instead of receiving them through the paymaster. These irregularities became so extensive tbat General Gates issued an order on the 1 2th, in which he declared that he " saw so many scandalous and mean transactions committed by persons who sought more after plunder than the honor of doing their duty, that it was his unalter able resolution to have the first person who should thereafter be detected in pillaging the baggage and stores taken from the enemy, tried and punished with the utmost severity of the military law."2 Finding the ford across the Hudson strongly guarded by the Americans, Burgoyne re solved to continue his retreat up the right bank of the river to the front of Fort Edward, force his way across, and take possession of that fortress. He sent forward a working party, consisting chiefly of loyalists, guarded by Fraser's marksmen, to repair the bridges and open the roads, and also a detachment of troops to take possession of the fort. ' The Americans, who were spreading but in small detachments upon every height, on all sides, soon drove the workmen hack into the camp ; and the British troops found the fort in the possession of two hundred Americans, under Colonel Cochrane. The militia were flockino- to the fort to strengthen the garrison, and the enemy, believing the Americans to be as numerous in front as in rear, hastily retreated back to their lines. 1 The village of Schuylerville is on the north bank of the Fish Creek. Old Saratoga, with its church, was on the south side. The church was about eight hundred yards south of the creek, on the road to Albany' 2 It is said that when Burgoyne proposed in council, oh the 13th, to retreat precipitately, he mildly re proached Major, Skene, a stanch loyalist, with having brought him into this difficulty by injudicious advice particularly with regard to the expedition to Bennington. " You have brought me into this difficulty " he said ; " now advise me how to get out of it." " Scatter your baggage, stores, and ever)' thine- else' that can be spared, at proper distances," replied the major, "and. the militia will be so engaged nT collecting and securing the same, that the troops will have an opportunity of getting clear off." , 3 The two victories on Bemis's Heights greatly inspirited the Americans, and when, after the last battle General Gates, in order to make victory secure, applied to the Legislature of New Hampshire for more troops, the militia turned out with alacrity. The speaker of the Assembly, John Langdon, Esq. upon re ceiving the application, immediately proposed an adjournment, and that as many members 'as Could should set off directly as volunteers for the cause, taking with them all the men they could collect. It was agreed to, and done by himself and others.— Gordon, ii., 262. ° OF THE REVOLUTION. 75 Unsuccessful Stratagem' of Burgoyne. Perilous Situation of two American Brigades. Deserters from the British Army. Thus the cloud of perils', thickened around Burgoyne. He now abandoned all idea of saving his artUlery and baggage, and saw no other mode of escape than a precipitate retreat. The provisions and other stores in his bateaux were captured or destroyed by the republicans, and from every direction he was galled by a desultory fire from cannon and small arms. So overwhelming was the number of the Americans, that to fight would be madness, and Burgoyne lost all hope of saving his doomed army. * But in the midst of all these perils and despondencies, a stratagem of the British com mander, suggested by an erring apprehension on the part of General Gates, aided by the occurrence of a natural phenomenon, came very near being successful, and for a time greatly cheered the drooping spirits pf the enemy. Rumor reached General Gates that the whole British army had moved toward Fort Edward, leaving only a small detachment, as a rear guard, in defense of the camp. This rumor originated from the march of the detachment already mentioned,* which was sent forward to Fort Edward. General Gates, therefore, determined to cross the Fish Creek on the morning of the 11th, fall in full force upon and crush the British rear-guard,- and make a vigorous pursuit after the main body. By some means this determination of Gates's became known to Burgoyne, and he resolved . to profit by the false rumor. He left a strong guard at the battery on the creek, and con cealed his troops in the thicket, a few rods in the rear. In the morning the sky was cloud less, but a thick fog rested upon the whole country and obscured. every object. This was hailed as a favorable event by both generals, Gates supposing that it would veil his move ments from the British rear-guard, and Burgoyne confidently believing that it would conceal his ambush, and that victory was now certain. The brigades of Generals Nixon and Glover, and Morgan's corps, were ordered to cross the creek and fall upon the enemy's camp. Morgan advanced at about daylight, the fog being so thick that he could see but a few rods around him. He at once fell in with the British pickets, who pouredln a volley upon him and killed a lieutenant and several privates. Morgan instantly conceived that the rumor was false, and that the enemy was in force near. At that moment Deputy Adjutant-general Wilkinson, who had been sent by Gates to re- connoiter, rode up, and, coinciding in opinion with Morgan, hastened to report to his com mander the supposed peril of his corps. The brigades of Patterson and Learned were im mediately dispatched to 'its support. Nixon and Glover were at the same time pressing forward to attack the camp, while the whole army advanced to the heights immediately south of the creek. Nixon crossed the creek to the plain, and surprised a picket guard at Fort Hardy ; and Glover was about to follow him, when a British soldier was seen hastily fording the stream. He was captured, and professed to be a deserter. Glover questioned him, and was informed that the entire British army were in their camp, drawn up in order of battle. The general suspected him of untruth, and threatened him with, instant death if he should deceive him. The soldier declared that he was an honest deserter, and sol emnly affirmed the truth of his tale, which was soon confirmed by a German deserter, and by *he capture of a reconnoitering party, .consisting of jW, ^=--E /_ a subaltern and thirty-five men, by the advance guard, under Captain Goodale, of Putnam's regi ment. The deserter was immediately sent with one of Glover's aids to General Gates, and infor mation was forwarded to General Nixon, with urgent advice to halt. Satisfied of the deserter's I truth, Gates revoked all the orders of the evening previous, and directed the troops to return to their respective positions. His headquarters were near ly a irule in the rear of his army, and his order came almost too late to save the troops, who had General Gates's headquarters at Saratoqa,! 1 This house is still standing. The view is taken from the road, a few rods southwest of the building. 76 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Retreat of the Americans to their Camp. Perplexity of Burgoyne. A scattered Retreat proposed already crossed the creek, from destruction, for the fog soon passed away and discovered them to the enemy, then in full view, and under arms upon the heights. Nixon, however, had retreated, and the cannonade opened upon him by the British took effect only upon the rear of his brigade.1 General Learned, in the mean while, with his own and Patterson's brigades, had reached Morgan's corps, and was pressing on rapidly to the attack when Wilkinson came up, not with a counter order from G^es, but with the intelligence that the right wing of the Amer icans had given way. The brave veteran disliked the idea of retreating, preferring to carry out the standing order of the previous day to the very letter ;2 but, on counseling with Colonels Brooks and Tupper, and some other officers, a retreat was deemed advisable. As they turn ed, th« British, who were awaiting an attack, opened a fire upon them ; but the Americans were soon masked by the woods, and Morgan took post upon the flank and rear of the enemy. Thus, by the providential circumstance of a deserter flying to our camp, our army was saved from a terrible, perhaps fatal, loss; "for, had the several brigades of Nixon, Glover, Learned, and Patterson been cut off, Burgoyne might have so much weakened the Ameri can army, and strengthened his own by the adherence of the now wavering loyalists and Indians, as to scatter the remainder of the Continental forces and reach Albany, the darling object of all his efforts. But the breath of the deserter blasted all his hopes, and the incident was, to use his own words, " one of the most adverse strokes of fortune during the campaign."3 Burgoyne now saw no way of escape. He sent out scouts toward the north, who reported the roads impassable and the woods swarming with republicans. The few Indians who had remained now left him, utterly disheartened ; and the loyalists, feeling that their personal security would be jeoparded in case of a surrender, left the army every hour. It was pro posed to make a scattered retreat, each soldier carrying in his knapsack provisions enough' for two or three days, Fort George being the place of rendezvous ; but such a step would be perilous in the extreme, for the Americans, apparently as numerous as the leaves upon the trees, and ever on the alert, would cut them off in detail. In battle, a fortunate cir cumstance might occur in their favor ; but General Gates, assured that he had his enemy in his power, could not be induced to jeopard the lives of his troops by an engagement. Burgoyne's only hope rested upon aid from Clinton below. Not a word, however, could he get from that general ; yet, clinging with desperation to every hope, however feeble, he re solved to await that succor quietly in his strong camp as long as his exhausted stores and a powerful enemy would allow. Burgoyne's camp, upon the heights near the Fish Creek, was fortified, and, extending more than half a mile in the rear, was strengthened by artillery. On an elevated plain, northwest of the village of Schuylerville, his heavy guns were chiefly posted. Directly in his rear Morgan and his corps were stationed. In front, on the east side of the Hudson, It is of wood, and has been somewhat enlarged since the Revolution. It was used by General Gates for his quarters from the 10th of October until after the surrender of Burgoyne on the 17th. It belonged to a Widow Kershaw, and General Gates amply compensated her for all he had. on leaving it. It is now well preserved. It stands on the east side of the Albany and Whitehall turnpike, about a mile and a half south of the Fish Creek. The Champlain Canal passes immediately in the rear of it ; and nearly half a mile eastward is the Hudson River. 1 John Nixon was born at Framingham, Massachusetts, March 4th, 1726. He was at the sieo-e of Louisburg in 1745, was captain in the provincial troops under Abercrombie at Ticonderoo-a, and was es teemed a valiant soldier during the whole of the French and Indian war. He took the patriot side when our Revolution broke out. He was one of the minute men at the Lexington battle, was at the head of a regiment in the battle of Bunker Hill, and was made a brigadier in the Continental army in August 1776 He was then placed in command at Governor's Island, near New York. In the battle of Bemis's Heio-hts a cannon-ball passed so near his head it impaired the sight of one eye and the hearing of one ear. On^ac- count of ill health, he resigned his commission in 1780. He died March 24th, 1815, aged 90 years. *- The standing order _was, "In case of an attack against any point, whether front, flank, or rear the troops are to fall on the enemy at all quarters." 3 Letter to Lord George Germain, dated Albany 20th, 1777. OF THE REVOLUTION. 77 Relative Position of the two Camps. Exposed Condition of the British Camp. Burgoyne determines to Surrender Fellows, with three thousand troops, was strongly intrenched. The main body of the Amer ican army, under Gates, was on the south side of the Fish Creek ; and in every direction small detachments of Continentals or republican militia were vigorously watching the enemy at bay.1 Fort Edward was in possession of the Americans, and upon high grpund in the vicinity of Glenn's Falls they had a fortified camp. Burgoyne was completely environed, and every part of the royal camp was exposed to the fire of cannon and musketry. Tbe soldiers slept under arms continually. There was not a place of safety for the sick, wounded, and dying, or for the wom en and children of the officers and soldiers: There was no secure place 'for a council. None dared go to the river for water, and thirst began to" distress the camp.3 The desertions of the Indians and Canadians, the cowardice and disaffection of the loy alists, and the losses in killed and wound ed, had so thinned Burgoyne's ranks, that his army was reduced one half, and a large proportion of those who remained were not Englishmen. There was not bread for three days in store,- and of course none could be obtained. Not a word came from General Clinton, and Burgoyne was totally ignorant of his having made any movement up the Hudson. The last ray of hope faded away, and toward the even ing of the 12th the British commander held a council with Generals Reidesel, Phillips, and Hamilton. It was decided to retreat before morning, if possible ; but returning scouts brought only hopeless in telligence respecting the. roads and the strength of the enemy. On the morning of the 13th Burgoyne called a general council of all officers, in cluding captains of companies. Their de liberations were held in a large tent, which was several times perforated by musket- balls from the Americans. Several grape- shot struck near the tent, and an eighteen pound cannon-ball swept across the table at which sat Burgoyne and the other gen erals. Their deliberations were short, as might be expected, and it was unanimous ly resolved to ftpen a treaty with General It was a bitter pill for the proud lieutenant general, but Gates for an honorable surrender. there was no alternative. 1 By reference to the above map, the position of the two armies at this junoture will be more clearly un derstood. They held the same relative position until the surrender on the 17th. 2 The consideration of Americans for, women was conspicuously displayed at this time. While every man who went to the river for \>/ater became a target for the sure marksmen of the Americans, a soldier's wife went back and forth as often as she pleased, and not a gun was pointed at her. 78 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Proposition of Burgoyne to surrender his Troops. Terms proposed by Gates. Terms finally agreed upon. * Toward evening a flag was sent to General Gates, with a note, intimating that General Burgoyne was desirous of sending a field officer to him upon a matter of great moment to both armies, and wishing to know at what hour the next morning it would suit General Gates to receive him. The reply was, " At ten o'clock, at the advanced post of the army of the United States." Accordingly, Lieutenant Kingston, Burgoyne's adjutant general, ap peared at the appointed hour and delivered the following note from his commander : " After having fought you twice, Lieutenant-general Burgoyne has waited some days in his present position, determined to try a third . conflict against any force you could bring against him. He is apprized of your superiority of numbers, and the disposition of your troops to impede his supplies, and render his retreat a scene of carnage on both sides. In this situation, he is impelled by humanity, and thinks himself justified by established principles and precedents of state and war, to spare the lives of brave men upon honorable terms. Should Major general Gates be inclined to treat upon that idea, General BurgoynS would propose a cessa tion of arms during the time necessary to communicate the preliminary terms by which, in any extremity, he and his army mean to abide." General Gates had already prepared a schedule of terms upon which he was willing to treat. It enumerated the distresses of the British army, and declared that they could only be allowed to surrender as prisoners of war, and that they must lay down their arms in their camp. Burgoyne replied, with spirit, that he would not admit that the retreat of his army was cut off while they had arms in their hands, and that the degrading act of laying down their arms within their own camp would not be submitted to. The latter condition was waived, and in the afternoon General Gates ordered a cessation of hostilities till sunset. Negotiations continued until the 16th, when every thing was agreed upon and adjusted, ready for the signatures of the contracting parties. This*! last act was to be performed on the morning of the 17 th. The substance of the " Convention between Lieutenant-general Burgoyne and Majoi- general Gates," as the British commander superscribed it, was, 1st. That Burgoyne's troops were to march out of their camp with all the honors of war, tbe artillery to be moved to the verge of the Hudson, and tiiere left, together with the soldiers' arms — the said arms to be piled by word of command from their own officers ; 2d. That a free passage should be granted the troops to Great Britain, on condition of their not serving again during the war ; 3d. That if any cartel should take place by which Burgoyne's army, or any part of it, should be exchanged, the foregoing article should be void as far as such exchange should extend ; 4th. That the army should march to the neighborhood of Boston by the most expeditious and convenient route, and not be delayed when transports should arrive to receive them ; 5th. That every care should be taken for the proper subsistence of the troops till they should be embarked ; 6th. That all officers should retain their carriages, horses, bat-horses, &c, and their baggage, and be exempt from molestation or search ; 7th. That on' the march, and while the army should remain at Boston (the port selected for their embarkation), the officers should not be separated from their men ; 8th." That all corps whatsoever, whether composed of sailors, bateaux-men, artificers, drivers, independent companies, or followers of • the army, of wbatever country they might be, should be included in the fullest sense and to the utmost extent of the articles, and comprehended in every respect as British subjects, whose general had capitulated for them ;' 9th. That all Canadians and persons belonging to the Canadian establishment should be permitted a free return to Canada, should be con ducted by the shortest route to the British posts on Lake George, should be treated in all respects like the rest of the army, and should be bound by the same conditions not to serve during the war, unless exchanged ; 1 Oth. That passports should be immediately granted for three officers, to carry Burgoyne's dispatches to General Howe at Philadelphia, to Sir Guy Carleton in Canada,, and to the government of Great Britain by way of New York ; 1 ljth. That all officers, during their stay in Boston, should be admitted to parole, and from 1 This was to afford protection to the loyalists or Tories. OF THE REVOLUTION. 79 Message to Burgoyne from General Clinton. Disposition of Burgoyne to withhold his Signature. Laying down of Arms. first to last be permitted to wear their side-arms ; 1 2th. That if the army found it necessary to send for their clothing and other baggage from Canada, they should be permitted to do so, and have the necessary passports granted them; 13th. That these articles should be signed and exchanged on the following morning at nine o'clock, the troops to march out of their intrenchments at three o'clock in the afternoon. Appended 0ctober 17' to these articles was an addendum or postscript, signed by'General Gates, declaring that General Burgoyne, whose name was not mentioned in the above treaty, was fully compre hended in it.1 * Fac-simile of the Signatures of Burgoyne and Gates to the " Convention." M During the night of the 16th Captain Campbell succeeded in eluding the American sentinels, and reached the British camp with dispatches from Sir Henry Clinton announcing his capture of the forts among the Hudson Highlands, and the expedition, ofVaughan and Wallace as far up. the river as Esopus. , Here was a ray of hope, and Burgoyne felt disposed to withhold his signature from the "convention." Gen eral Gates was apprized of this, and of the cause which had excited new hopes in the Brit ish commander. He was better acquainted, too, with the threatening aspect below than Burgoyne, and he knew that "delays are dangerous.'' He drew up his army on the morn ing of the 17th in order of battle, and then sent a peremptory message to Burgoyne, that if the articles were not signed by him immediately, he should open a fire upon him. Under the circumstances, the terms were exceedingly humane and honorable ; far more so than might be expected if the negotiation should be here broken off and again commenced. With reluctance Burgoyne subscribed his name, and preparations were immediately made for the. ceremonies of surrender. The British army left their camp upon the hills, and marched sorrowfully down upon the " green" or level plain in front of old Fort Hardy,2 where the different companies were drawn up in parallel lines, and, by order of their several commanders, grounded their arms and emptied their cartridge-boxes. They were not subject to the mortification of thus sub mitting under the gaze of an exulting foe, for General Gates, with a delicacy and magna- \ A copy of these articles, said to be in the handwriting of General Gates, and signed by the two com manders, is in the possession of the New York Historical Society, from which the above fac-similes were copied. , ¦ s Fort Hardy was situated at the junction of the Fish Creek with the Hudson River, on the north side of. the former. It was built pf earth and logs, and was thrown up by the French, under Baron Dieskau, in 1755, when Sir William Johnson was making preparations at Albany to march against the French on Lakes Champlain and George. It was abandoned by the French, and named by the English Fort Hardy, in honor of Sir Charles Hardy, who was that year appointed Governor of New York. The lines of the in trenchments of the fort inclosed about fifteen acres, bounded south by the Fish Creek and east by tbe Hud son River. This fort was a ruin at the time of the Revolution; yet, when I visited it (July, 1848), many traces of its outworks were still visible. Its form may be seen by reference to the map, page 77. Many 'military relief have been found near the fort, and I was told that, in excavating for the Champlain Canal; a great number of human skeletons were found. The workmen had, doubtless, struck upon 'the burial- place of the garrison. 80 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Courtesy of General Gates. The Place of Surrender. First, personal Meeting of Gates and Burgoyne. nimity of feeling which drew forth the expressed admiration of Burgoyne and his officers, had ordered all his army within his. camp, out of sight of the vanquished Britons.1 Col onel Wilkinson, who had been sent to the British camp, and, in company with Burgoyne, selected the place where the troops were to lay down their arras, was the only American officer present at the scene.2 ->- _ ,o The sketch here presented, of the place where the British army sur- s rendered, was made from one of the canal bridges at Schuyler- Jjp ville, looking east-northeast. The stream of water in the ¦>-¦ ¦_ fore-ground is Fish Creek, and the level ground seen between *3jS it and the distant hills on the left is the place where the ¦¦^ife; humiliation of the Britons occurred. The tree by the fence, in the center of the picture, designates the north west angle of Fort Hardy, and the other three trees ?> "._ on the right stand nearly on the line of the north ern breast-works. The row of small trees, ap- VlEW OF THE PLACE WHERE THE BRITISH LAID DOWN THEIR ARMS. parently at the foot of the distant .hills, marks the course of the Hudson ; and the hills that bound the view are those on which the Americans were -posted. This plain is directly in front of Schuylerville, between that village and the Hudson. General Fellows was sta tioned upon the high ground seen over the barn on the right, and the eminence on the ex treme left is the place whence the American cannon played upon the house wherein the Baroness Reidesel and other ladies sought refuge. As soon as the troops had laid down their arms, General Burgoyne proposed to be intro duced to General Gates. They crossed Fish Creek, and proceeded toward headquarters, Burgoyne in front with his adjutant general, Kingston, and his aids-de-camp, Captain Lord Petersham and Lieutenant Wilford, behind him. Then followed Generals Phillips, Riede sel, and Hamilton, and other officers and suites, according to rank. General Gates was informed of the approach of Burgoyne, and with his staff met him at the head of his camp, about a mile south of the Fish Creek, Burgoyne in a rich uniform of scarlet and gold, and Gates in a plain blue frock-coat. When within about a sword's length, they reined up and halted. Colonel Wilkinson then named the gentlemen, and General Burgoyne, raising his hat gracefully, said, " The fortune of war, General Gates, has made me your prisoner " The victor promptly replied, « I shall always be ready to bear testimony that it has not 1 Letter of Burgoyne to the Earl of Derby. Stedman, i., 352. Botta, ii., 21. » See Wilkinson. OF THE REVOLUTION. 81 Site of the first interview between Gates and Burgotne.*" HumUiating Review of the British Prisoners. Burgoyne's Surrender of his Sword. The Spoils of Victory. Yankee Doodle. been *th rough any fault of your excellency." The other officers were introduced in turn, and the whole party repaired to Gates's headquarters, where a sumptuous dinner was served.1 After dinner the Ameri can army was drawn up in parallel lines on each side of the road, extending near ly a mile. ' Between these victorious troops the Brit ish army, with light infan try in front, and escorted by a company of light dragoons, preceded by two mounted officers . bearing the American flag, marched to the Hvely tune of Yankee Doodle.3 Just as they passed, the two commanding, generals, who were in Gates's marquee, came out together, and, fronting the procession, gazed upon it in silence a few moments. What a contrast, in every partic ular, did the two present ! Burgqyne, though possessed of coarse features, had a large and commanding person; Gates was smaller and far less dignified in appearance. Burgoyne was arrayed in the splendid military trappings of his rank ; Gates was clad in a plain and unassuming dress. Burgoyne was the victim of disappointed .hopes and foiled ambition, and looked upon the scene with exceeding sorrow ; Gates was buoyant with the first flush of a great victory. Without exchanging a word, Burgoyne, according to previous understand ing, stepped back, drew his sword, and, in the presence pf the two armies, presented it to General Gates. He received it with a courteous inclination of the bead\, and instantly re turned it to the vanquished general. They then retired to the marquee together, the Brit- isb army filed off and took up their line of march for Boston, and thus ended the drama upon the heights of Saratoga. Tbe whole number of prisoners surrendered was five thousand seven hundred and ninety? one, of whom two thousand four hundred and twelve were Germans and Hessians. The force of the Americans, at the time of the surrender, was, according to a statement which General Gates furnished to Burgoyne, thirteen thousand two hundred and twenty-two, of which number nine thousand and ninety-three were Continentals, or regular soldiers, and four thousand one hundred and twenty-nine were militia. The arms and ammunition which came into the possession of the Americans were, a fine train of brass artillery, consisting of 2 twenty-four pounders, 4 twelve pounders, 20 sixes, 6 threes, 2 eight inch howitzers, 5 five and a half inch royal howitzers, and 3 five and a half inch royal mortars ;* in all forty-two 1 See Wilkinson. . ' ** This view .is taken from the turnpike, looking south. The old road vvjas where the canal now. is, and the place of .meeting was about at the point where the bridge is seen. 3 Thatcher, in his Military Journal (p. 19), gives the following account of the origin of the word Yan kee and of Yankee Doodle : " A farmer of Cambridge, Massachusetts, named Jonathan Hastings, who lived about the year, 1713,' used it as a favorite cant word to express excellence, as a yankee good horse or yon- kee good cider. The students of the college, hearing him use it a great deal, adopted it, and called him ' Yankee Jonatham, ; and as he was a rather weak man, the students, when they wished to denote a charac ter of that kind, would call him Yankee Jonatham. Like other cant words, it spread, and came finally to be applied to the New Engjanders as a term of reproach. Some suppose the term to be the Indian cor ruption of the word English — Yenglees, Yangles, Yankles, and.finally Yankee. "A song, called Yankee Doodle, was written by a British sergeant at Boston, in 1775, to ridicule the people there, when the American army, under Washington, was encamped at Cambridge and Roxbury." See " Origin of Yankee Doodle," page 480, of this volume. * Two of these, drawings of which will be found oh page 700; are now in the court of the laboratory of the West Point Military Academy, on the Hudson. F 82 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK The Germans and Hessians. Their Arrival at Cambridge and wretched Appearance. Kindness of the Peopla pieces of ordnance. There were four thousand six hundred and forty-seven muskets, and six thousand 'dozens of cartridges, besides shot, carcasses, cases, shells, &c. Among the En glish prisoners were six members of Parliament.1 Cotemporary writers represent the appearance of the poor German and Hessian troops as extremely miserable and ludicrous. They deserved commiseration, but they received none. They came not here voluntarily to fight our people ; they were sent as slaves by their mas ters, who received the price of their hire. They were caught, it is said, while congregated in their churches and elsewhere, and forced into the service. Most of them were torn re luctantly from their families and friends ; hundreds of them deserted here before the close of the war ; and many of their descendants are now living among us. Many had their wives with them, and these helped to make up the pitiable procession through the country. Their advent into Cambridge, near Boston, is thus noticed by the lady of Dr. Winthrop of that town, in a letter to Mrs. Mercy Warren, an early historian of our Revolution : "On Friday we heard the Hessians were to make a procession on the same route. We thought we should have nothing to do but view them as they passed. To be sure, the sight was truly astonishing. I never had the least idea that the creation produced such a sordid set of creatures in human figure — poor, dirty, emaciated men. Great numbers of women, who seemed to be the beasts of burden, having bushel baskets on their backs, by which they were bent double. The contents seemed to be pots and kettles, various sorts of furniture, children peeping through gridirons and other utensils. Some very young infants, who were born on the road ; the women barefooted, clothed in dirty rags. Such effluvia filled the air while they were passing, that, had they not been smoking all the time, I should have been appre hensive of being contaminated."2 The whole view of the vanquished army, as it marched through the country from Saratoga to Boston, a distance of three hundred miles, escorted by two or three American officers and a handful of soldiers, was a spectacle of extraordinary interest. Generals of the first order of talent ; young gentlemen of noble and wealthy families, aspiring to military renown ; legis lators of the British realm, and a vast concourse of other men, lately confident of victory and of freedom to plunder and destroy, were led captive through the pleasant land they had covet ed, to be gazed at with mingled joy and scorn by those whose homes they came to make des olate. " Their march was solemn, sullen, and silent; but they were every where treated with such humanity, and even delicacy, that they were overwhelmed with astonishment and gratitude. Not one insult was offered, not an opprobrious reflection cast ;"s and in all their long captivity4 they experienced the generous kindness of a people warring only to be free. 1 Gordon, ii., 267. 3 Women of the Revolution, i., 97. 3 Mercy Warren, ii., 40. 4 Although Congress ratified the generous terms entered into by Gates with Burgoyne in the convention • at Saratoga, circumstances made them suspicious that the terms would not be strictly complied with. They feared that the Britons would break their parole, and Burgoyne was required to furnish a complete roll of his army, the name and rank of every officer, and the name, former place of abode, occupation, age, and size of every non-commissioned officer and private soldier. Burgoyne murmured and hesitated. Gen eral Howe, at the same time, was very illiberal in the exchange of prisoners, and exhibited considerable duplicity. ' . Congress became alarmed, and resolved not to allow the army of Burgoyne to leave our shores until a formal ratification, of the convention should be made by the British government. Burgoyne alone was allowed to go home on parole, and the other officers, with the army, were marched into the interior of Virginia, to await the future action of the two governments. The British ministry charged Congress with positive perfidy, and Congress justified their acts by charging the ministers with meditated perfidy. That this suspicion was well founded is proved by subsequent events. In the autumn of 1778, Isaac Og den, a prominent loyalist of Newa Jersey, and then a refugee in New York, thus wrote to Joseph Galloway, an American Tory in London, respecting an expedition of four thousand British troops which Sir Henry Clinton sent up the Hudson a week previous : " Another object of this expedition was to open the country for many of Burgoyne's troops that had escaped the vigilance of their guard, to come in-. About forty of these have got safe in. If this expedition had been a week sooner, greater part of Burgoyne's troops prob ably would have arrived here, as a disposition of rising on their guard strongly prevailed, and all they wanted to effect it was some support near at hand." OF THE REVOLUTION. 83 Relative Condition and Prospect of the Americans before the Capture of Burgoyne. Effect of that Event The surrender of Burgoyne was an event of infinite importance to the struggling republic ans. Hitherto thexpreponderance of siiccess had been on the side of the English, and only a few partial victories had been &on by the Americans. The defeat on Long Island had eclipsed the glory of the siege of Boston ; the capture of Fort Washington and its garrison had overmatched the brilliant defense of Charleston ; the defeat at Brandywine had balanced the victory* at Trenton ; White Plains and Princeton were in fair juxtaposition in the ac count current ; and at the very time when the hostile armies at the north were fighting for the mastery, Washington was suffering defeats in Pennsylvania, and Forts Clinton, Mont gomery, and Constitution were passing into the hands of the royal forces. Congress had fled from Philadelphia to York, and its. sittings were in the midst of loyalists, ready to at tack or betray. Its treasury. was nearly exhausted ; its credit utterly, so. Its bills to the amount of forty -millions of dollars were scattered over the-country. Its frequent issues were inadequate to the demands of the commissariat, and distrust was rapidly depreciating their value in the public mind. Loyalists rejoiced; the middlemen were in a dilemma; the patriots trembled. Thick clouds of doubt and dismay were .gathering in every jpart of the political horizon, and the acclamations which had followed the Declaration of Independence, tbe year before, died away like mere whispers upon the wind. All eyes were turned anxiously to the army of the north, and upon that strong arm of Congress, wielded, for .the time, by Gates, the hopes of "the patriots leaned. How eagerly they listened to every breath of rumor from Saratoga ! How enraptured were they when the cry of victory fell upon their ears ! All over the land a shout of triumph went up, and from the furrows, and workshops, and marts of commerce ; from the pulpit, from provincial halls of legislation, from partisan camps, and from the shattered ranks of the chief at White Marsh, it was echoed and re-echoed. Toryism, which had begun, to lift high its head, re treated behind the defense of inaction ; the bills of Congress rose twenty per cent, in value ; capital came forth from its hiding-places ; the militia readily obeyed the summons to the camp, and the great patriot heart of America beat strongly with pulsations of hope. Amid the joy of the moment; .Gates was -apotheosized in the hearts of his countrymen, and they Medal struck in honor of Geneeal Gates and his army. 1 The engraving exhibits a view of both sides of the medal, drawn the size of the original. On one side is a bust of General Gates, with the Latin inscription, "Horatio Gates Duci Strenuo Cokitea On the other side, or Americana;" The American ' Congress, to Horatio Gates, the valiant leader. reverse Burgoyne is represented in the attitude of delivering up his sword;, and in the background, on either side of them, are seen the two armies of England and America, the former laying down their arms. At the top is the Latin inscription, " Sai^us regionum Septentrional :" literal English, Safety of thi northern region or department. Below is the inscription, "Hoste ad Saratosam in dedition, acoepi3 die xvn Oct. mdcclxxvii. ;" English, Enemy at Saratoga surrendered October 17tA, 1777. B4 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Wilkinson hefore Congress. Gold Medal awarded to Gates., Proceedings of the British Parliament. Speech of Chatham. generously overlooked the indignity offered by him to the commander-in-chief when he re fused, in the haughty pride of his heart in that hour of victory, to report, as. in duty bound, his success to the national council through him. Congrfess, too, overjoyed at the result, for got its own dignity, and allowed Colonel Wilkinson,1 the messenger of the glad tidings, to stand upon their floor and proclaim, " The whole British army have laid down their arms at Saratoga ; our own, full of vigor and courage, expect your orders ; it is for your wisdom to decide where the country may still have need of their services." Congress voted thanks to General Gates and his army, and decreed that he should be presented with a medal of gold, to be struck expressly in commemoration of so glorious a victory. This victory was also of infinite importance to the republicans on account of its effects beyond the Atlantic. The highest hopes of the British nation, and the most sanguine ex pectations of the king and his ministers, rested on the success of this campaign. It had been a favorite object with the administration, and ihe people were confidently assured that, with the undoubted success of Burgoyne, the turbulent spirit of rebeUion would be quelled, and the insurgents would be forced to return to their allegiance. Parliament was in session when the intelligence 'of Burgoyne's defeat reached England ; Decemher3, and when the mournful tidings were communicated to that body, it instantly 1777- ' aroused all the fire of opposing parties.*- The opposition opened anew their elo quent batteries upon the ministers. For several days misfortune had been suspected. The last arrival from America brought tidings of gloom. The Earl of Chatham, with far-reach ing comprehension, and thorough knowledge of American affairs, had denounced the mode of warfare and the material used against the Americans. He refused to vote for the lauda tory address to the king. Leaning upon his crutch, he -poured forth his vigorous denuncia tions against the course of the ministers like a mountain torrent; " This, my lords'," he said, " is a perilous and tremendous moment ! It is no time for adulation. The smooth ness of flattery can not now avail — can not save us in this rugged and awful crisis. It is now necessary to instruct the throne in the language of truth You can not, I venture to say it, you can not conquer America. What is your present situation there ? We do not know the worst, but we know that in three campaigns we have suffered much and gained nothing, and perhaps at this moment the northern army (Burgoyne's) may be a total loss You may swell every expense, and every effort, still more extrava gantly ; pile and accumulate. every assistance you can buy or borrow; traffic and barter with every little pitiful German prince that sells and sends his subjects to the shambles of a foreign power ; your efforts are forever vain and impotent ; doubly so from this mercenary aid on wbich you rely, for it irritates to an incurable resentment the minds of your enemies. To overrun with the mercenary sons of rapine and plunder, devoting them and their posses sions to the rapacity of hireling cruelty ! If I were an American, as I am an Englishman, while a foreign troop was landed in my country, I never would lay down my arms — never, never, never !"s The Earl of Coventry, Earl Temple Chatham's brother-in-law, and the Duke of Rich mond, all spoke in coincidence with Chatham. Lord Suffolk, one of the Secretaries of State, undertook the defense of ministers for the employment of Indians, and concluded by saying, " It is perfectly justifiable to use all the means that God and nature have put into our hands." This sentiment brought Chatham upon the floor. " That God and nature put 1 James Wilkinson was born in Maryland about 1757, and, by education, was prepared for the practice of medicine. He repaired to Cambridge as a volunteer in 1775. He was captain of a company in a regi ment that went to Canada in 1776. He was appointed deputy adjutant general by Gates, and, after the surrender of Burgoyne, Congress made him a brigadier general by brevet. At the conclusion of the war he settled in Kentucky, but entered the army in 1806, and had the command on the Mississippi. He com manded on the northern frontier during our last war with Great Britain. At the age of 56 he married a young lady of 26. He died of diarrhea, in Mexico, December 28th, 1825, aged 68 years. 2 Pitkin, i., 399. 3 Parliamentary Debates. OF THE REVOLUTION. 85 The Opposition in the House of Commons. Policy of Lord North. Exalted Position of the American Commissioners at Paris. into our hands !" he reiterated, with bitter scorn. " I know not what idea that lord may entertain of God and nature, but I know that such abominable principles are equally abhor rent to religion and humanity. What ! attribute the sacred sanction of God and nature to the massacres of the Indian scalping-knife, to the cannibal and savage, torturing, murdering, roasting, and eating — literally, my lords, eating — the mangled victims of his barbarous bat tles These abominable principles, and this most abominable avowal of them, demand most decisive indignation. I call upon that right reverend bench (pointing to ihe bishops), those boly ministers of the Gospel and pious pastors of the Church I conjure them to join in the holy work, and to vindicate the religion of their God." In the Lower House, Burke, Fox, and Barr6 were equally severe upon the ministers ; and on the 3d of December, when the news of Burgoyne's defeat reached London, the latr ter arose in his place in the Commons, and, with a severe and solemn countenance, asked Lord George Germain, the Secretary of War% what news he had received by his last ex presses from Quebec, and to say, upon his word of honor, what had become of Burgoyne and his brave army. The haughty secretary was irritated by the cool irony of the ques tion, but he was obliged to unbend and to confess that the unhappy intelligence' had reached bim, but added it was not yet authenticated.1 i Lord North, the premier, with his usual adroitness, admitted that misfortune had befallen the December, 1777. British arms, but denied that any blame could be imputed to ministers themselves, and proposed an adjournment of Parliament on the 11th (which was carried) until tbe 20 th of January.2 It was a clever trick of the premier to escape the cas- tigations which he knew the opposition would inflict while the nation was smart ing under the goadings of mortified pride. The victory over Bur goyne, unassisted as our troops were by foreign aid, placed the prowess of the- United States in the most favorable light upon the Continent. Our urgent so licitations- for aid, hitherto but little noticed except by France, were now listened to with respect, and the American commissioners at Paris, Dr. Franklin, Silas Deane,3 and Arthur Lee,* occupied a commanding po sition among the diploma tists of Europe. France, Spain, the States Gen- — eral of Holland, the Prince of Orange, and even Catharine of Russia and Pope Clement XIV. (Ganganelli), all ' History of the Reign of George III., i., 326. s Pitkin, i., 397. Annual Register, 1778, p. 74. 3 Silas Deane was a native of Groton, Connecticut. He graduated at Yale College, 1758, and was a member of the first Congress, 1774. He was sent to France Early in 1776, as political and commercial agent for the United Colonies, and in the autumn of that year was associated with Franklin and Lee as commissioner. He seems to have been unfit, in a great degree, for the station he held, and his defective judgment and extravagant promises greatly embarrassed Congress. He was recalled at the close pf 1777, and John Adams appointed in his place. He published a defense of his character in 1778, and charged Thomas Paine and others connected- with public affairs with using their official influence for purposes of private .gain. This was the charge made against himself, and he never fully wiped out all suspicion. He went to England toward the close of 1784, and died in extreme poverty at Deal, 1789. 4 Dr. Lee was born in Virginia in 1740 — a brother to the celebrated Richard Henry Lee. He was edu cated at Edinburgh, and, on returning to America, practiced medicine at Williamsburgh about five years. He went to London in 1766, and studied law in the Temple. He kept his brother and other patriots o£ the Revolution fully informed of all political matters of importance abroad, and particularly the movements of the British ministry. He wrote a great deal, and stood high as an essayist and political pamphleteer. He was colonial agent for Virginia in 1775. In 1776 he was associated with Franklin and Deane, as min ister at the court of Versailles. He and John Adams were recalled in 1779. On returning to the United States, he was appointed to offices of trust. He died of pleurisy, December 14th, 1782, aged nearly 42. 86 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Our relative Position to the Governments of Europe. Policy of Vergennes. Beaumarchais's Commercial Operations, of whom feared and hated England because of her increasing potency in arms, commerce, diplomacy, and the Protestant faith, thought kindly of us and spoke kindly to us. We were loved because England was hated ; we were ' respected because we could injure En gland by dividing her realm and impairing her growing strength beyond the seas. There was a perfect reciprocity of service ; and when peace was ordained by treaty, and our inde pendence was established, the balance-sheet showed nothing against us, so far as the govern ments of continental Europe were concerned. , In the autumn of 1776, Franklin and Lee were appointed, jointly with Deane, resident commissioners at the court of Versailles, to negotiate a treaty of amity and commerce with the French king. They opened negotiations early in December with the Count De Vergennes, the premier of Louis XVI. He was distinguished for sound wis dom, extensive pohtical knowledge, remarkable sagacity, and true greatness of mind. He foresaw that generous dealings with the insurgent colonists at the outset would be the surest means of perpetuating the rebellion until a total separation from the parent state would be accomplished — an event eagerly coveted- by the French government. ¦ France hated En gland cordially, and feared her power. She had no special love for the Anglo-American colonies, but* she was ready to aid them in reducing, by disunion, the puissance of the Brit ish empire. To widen the breach was the chief aim of Vergennes. A haughty reserve, he knew, would discourage the Americans, while an open reception, or even countenance, of their deputies might alarm the rulers of Great Britain, and dispose them to a compromise with the colonies, or bring on an immediate rupture between France and England. A middle line was, therefore, pursued by him.' While the French government was thus vacillating during the first three quarters o***" 1777, secret aid was given to the republicans, and great quantities of arms and ammunition were sent to this country, by an, agent of the French government, toward the close of the year, ostensibly through the channel of commercial operations.2 But when the capture Qf 1 Ramsay, ii., 62, 63. 2 In the summer of 1776, Arthur Lee, agent of the Secret Committee of Congress, made an arrange ment by which the French king provided money and arms secretly for the Americans. An agent named Beaumarchais was sent to London to confer with Lee, and it was arranged that two hundred thousand Louis d'ors, in arms,, ammunition, and specie, should be sent to the Americans, but in a manner to make it appear as a commercial transaction. Mr. Lee assumed the name of Mary Johnson, .and Beaumarchais that of Roderique, Hortales, & Co. Lee, fearing discovery if he should send a written notice to Congress of the arrangement, communicated the fact verbally through Captain Thomas Story, who had been upon the" continent in the service of the Secret Committee. Yet, after all the arrangements were made, there was hesitation, and it was not until the autumn of 1777 that the articles were sent to the Americans. They were shipped on board Le Henreux, in the fictitious name of Hortales, by the way of Cape Francois and arrived at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on the 1st of November of that year. The brave and efficient Baron Steuben was a passenger in that ship. This arrangement, under the disguise of a mercantile operation, subsequently produced a great deal -of trouble, a more minute account of which is given in the Supplement to this work. Beaumarchais was one of the most active business men of his time, and became quite distinguished in the literary and political world by his "Marriage of Figaro," and his connection with the French Revolu tion in 1793. Borne, in one of his charming Letters from Paris, after describing his visit to the house where Beaumarchais had lived, where " they now sell kitchen salt," thus speaks of him .- " By his bold and fortunate commercial undertakings, he had become one of the richest men in France. In the war of Amer ican liberty, he furnished, through an understanding with the French government, supplies of arms to the insurgents. As in all such undertakings, there were captures, shipwrecks, payments deferred or refused yet Beaumarchais, by his dexterity, succeeded in extricating himself with personal advantao*e from ail these difficulties. " Yet this same Beaumarchais showed himself, in the (French) revolution, as inexperienced as a child and as timid as a German closet-scholar. He contracted to furnish weapons to the revolutionary govern ment, and not only lost his money, but was near losing his head into the bargain. Formerly he had to deal with the ministers of an absolute monarchy. The doors of great men's cabinets open and close softly and easily to him who knows how to oil the locks and hinges. Afterward Beaumarchais had to do with honest, in other words with dangerous people ; he had not learned to make the distinction, and accordingly he was ruined." He died in 1799, in his 70th vear, and his death, his friends suppose, was voluntary. OF THE REVOLUTION. g.7 Unmasking of the French King. , Independence of the United States acknowledged by France. Letter of Louis XVI. Burgoyne and his army (intelligence of which arrived at Paris by express on the 4th of De cember) reached Versailles, -and the ultimate success of the Americans was hardly problem atical, Louis cast off all disguise, and informed the American commissioners, through M. Gerard, one of his Secretaries of State, that the treaty of alliance and commerce, already negotiated, would be ratified, and "that it was decided to acknowledge the independence of the United States." He wrote to his uncle^ Charles IV. of Spain, urging his co-opera tion ; for, according to the family compact of the Bourbons, made in 1761, the King of Spain was to be consulted before such a treaty could be ratified.1 Charles refused to co operate, but Louis persevered, and in February, 1778, he acknowledged the in dependence of the United States, and entered into treaties of alliance and com- e ruary ' merce with them on a footing of perfect equality and reciprocity. War against England was to be made a common cause, and it was agreed that neither contracting party should conclude truce or peace with Great Britain without the formal consent of the other first ob tained ; and it was mutually covenanted not to lay down their arms until the independence of the United States should be formally or tacitly assured by the treaty or treaties that should terminate the war.3 Thus allied, by treaty, with the ancient and powerful French nation, the Americans felt certain of success. 1 This letter of Louis was brought to light during the Revolution of 1793. It is a curious document, and illustrates the consummate duplicity practiced by that monarch and his ministers. Disclosing, as it does, the policy which governed the action of the French court, and the reasons which induced the king to accede to the wishes of the Americans, its insertion here will doubtless be acceptable to the reader. It was dated January 8th, 1778. " The sincere desire," said Louis, " which I feel of maintaining the true harmony and unity of our sys: tem of alliance, which must always have an imposing character for our enemies, induces me to state to your majesty jny way of thinking on the present condition of affairs. England, our common and inveterate enemy, has been engaged' for three years in a war with her American colonies. We had agreed not to intermeddle with it, and, viewing both sides as English, we made our trade free to the one that found most advantage in commercial intercourse. In this manner America provided herself with arms and ammuni tion, of which she was destitute ; I do not speak of the succors of money and other kinds which we have given her, the whole ostensibly on the score of trade. England has taken umbrage at these succors, and has not concealed from us that she will be revenged sooner or later. She has already, indeed; seized several of . our merchant vessels, and refused restitution. We have lost no time on our part. We have fortified our most exposed colonies, and placed our fleets upon a respectable footing, which has continued to aggravate the ill humor of England. " Such was the posture of affairs in November last. The destruction of the army of Burgoyne and the straifcned condition of Howe have lately changed the face of things. America is triumphant and England cast down; but the. latter has still a great, unbroken maritime force, and the hope of forming a beneficial alliance with the colonies, the impossibility of their being subdued by arms being now demonstrated. All the English parties agree on this point. Lord North has himself announced in full Parliament a plan of pacification for the first session, and all sides are assiduously employed upon it. Thus it is the same to us whether' this minister or any other be in power. From different motives they join against us, and do not forget our bad offices. They will fall upon us in as great strength as if the war had not existed. This being understood, and our grievances against England notorious, I have thought, after taking the advice of my council, and particularly that of M. D'Ossune, and having consulted upon the proppsitions which the insurgents' make, to treat, with them, to prevent their reunion with the mother country. I lay before your majesty my views of the subject. -I have ordered a memorial to be submitted to you, in whichi they are presented in more detail. I desire eage^jy that they should meet your approbation. Knowing the weight of your probity, your majesty will not doubt the lively and sincere friendship with which I am jours," &c— Quoted by Pitkin \l, 399) from Histoire, &c, de la Diplomatique Francaise, vol. vii. 2 Sparksrs Life of Franklin,, 430, 433. 88 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK A Lady of the Revolution. Sufferings of herself and Family. Her Husband's Pension allowed her. CHAPTER IV. " The sun has drunk | The dew that lay upon the morning grass ; There is no rustling in the lofty elm That canopies my dwelling, and its shade Scarce cools me. All is silent saye the faint And interrupted murmur of the bee, Sitting on the sick flowers, and then again Instantly on the wing. The plants around , Feel the too potent fervors ; the tall maize Rolls up its long green leaves ; the clover droops Its tender foliage, and declines its bloom's. But far in the fierce sunshine tower the hills, With all their growth of woods, silent and stern, As if the scorching heat and dazzling light Were but an element they loved." Bb-yant. T was early in the morning of such a day as the poet refers to that we commenced a ride and a ramble over the historic grounds of Saratoga near Schuylerville, accompanied by the friendly guide whose proffered services I have already mentioned. We first rode to the residence of Mrs. J — n, one of the al most centenarian representatives of the generation cotemporary with our Revo lution, now so few and hoary. She was in her ninety-second year of life, yet her mental faculties were quite vigorous, and she related her sad experience of the ¦ trials of that war with a memory remarkably tenacious and correct. Her sight and hearing were defective, and. her skin wrinkled ; but in her soft blue eye, reg ular features, and delicate form were lingering many traces of the beauty of her early womanhood. She was a young lady of twenty years when Independence r& was declared, and was living with her parents at Do-ve-gat (Coveville) when Bur- t goyne came down the valley. She was then betrothed, but her lover had shouldered his musket, and was in Schuyler's camp. While Burgoyne was pressing onward toward Fort Edward from Skenesborough, the people of the valley below, -who were attached to the patriot cause, fled hastily to Albany. Mrs. J — n and her parents were among the fugitives. So fearful were they of the Indian scouts sent forward, and of the resident Tories, not a whit less savage, who were emboldened by the proximity of the invader, that for several nights previous to their flight they slept in a swamp, apprehending that their dwelling would be burned over their heads or that murder would break in upon their repose. And when they refirned home, after the surrender of Burgoyne, all was desolation. Tears filled her eyes when she spoke of that sad return. " We had but little to come home to," she said. " Our crops and our cattle, our sheep, hogs, and horses, were all gone, yet we knelt down in our desolate room and thanked God sincerely that our house and barns were not destroyed." She wedded her soldier soon after ward, and during the long widowhood of her evening of life his pension has been secured to her, and a few years ago it was increased in amount. She referred to it, and with quiver ing lip — quivering with the emotions of her full heart — said, " The government has been very kind to me in my poverty and old age." She was personally acquainted with General Schuyler, and spoke feehngly of the noble-heartedness of himself and lady in all the relations of life. While pressing her hand in bidding her farewell, the thought occurred that we OF THE REVOLUTION. 89 Remains of the Fortifications of Burgoyne's Camp. The Riedesel House. Narrative of tbe Baroness Riedesel. represented the linking of the living, vigorous, active present, and the half-buried, decaying past ; and that between her early womanhood and now all the grandeur and glory of our Republic had dawned and brightened into perfect day. From Mrs. J — n's we rode to the residence of her brother, the house wherein the Baron ess Riedesel, with her children and female companions, was sheltered just before the sur render of Burgoyne. It is. about a mile above Schuylerville, and nearly opposite the mouth of the Batten Kill. On our way we paused to view the remains of the fortifications of Burgoyne's camp, upon the heights a little west of the village. Prominent traces of the mounds and ditches are there visible in the woods. A little northwest of the village the lines of the defenses thrown up by the Germans, and Hessians of Hanau mayrbe distinctly seen. (See map, page 77.) The house made memorable by the presence and the pen of the wife of the Brunswick ..«^J. sssL. general is well preserved. At the time of mm The Riedesel House, Saratoga. the Revolution it was owned by Peter Lan sing, a relative of the chancellor of that name, and now belongs to Mr. Samuel Mar shall, who has the good taste to keep up its original character. It is upon the high bank west of the road from Schuylerville to Fort Miller, pleasantly shaded in front by lo custs, and fairly embowered in shrubbery and fruit trees. We will listen to the story of the sufferings of some of the women of Burgoyne's camp in that house, as told by the baroness herself : "About two o'clock in the afternoon we again heard a firing of cannon and small arms ; in stantly all was alarm, and every thing in motion. My husband told me to go to a house not far off. I immediately seated myself in my caleche, with my children, and drove off; but scarcely had we reached it before I discovered five or six armed men on the other side of the Hudson. Instinctively I threw my children down in the caleche, and then concealed mysejf with them. , At this moment the fellows fired, and wounded an already wounded English soldier, who was behind me. Poor fellow ! I pitied him exceedingly, but at this moment had no power to relieve him. " A terrible cannonade was commenced by the enemy against the house in which I sought to obtain shelter for myself and children, under the mistaken idea that all the generals were in it. Alas ! it contained none but wounded and women. We were at last obliged to re port to the cellar for refuge, and in one corner of this I remained the whole day, my children sleeping on the earth with their heads in my lap ; and in the same situation I passed a sleepless night.1 Eleven cannon-balls passed through the house, and we could distinctly hear them roll away. One poor soldier, who was lying on a table for the purpose of having his leg amputated, was struck by a shot, which carried away his other ; his comrades .had left him, and when we went to his assistance we found him in a corner of the room, into which he had crept, more dead than alive, scarcely breathing.*1 My reflections on the dan: ger to which my husband was exposed* now agonized me exceedingly, and the thoughts of my children, and the necessity of struggling for their preservation, alone sustained me. Cellar of the Riedesel House. 1 The cellar is about fifteen by thirty feet in size, and lighted and ventilated by two small windows only. a The place where this ball entered is seen under the window near the corner, and designated in the picture by a small black spot. 90 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Companions in Misery of the Baroness Riedesel. Wounded Soldiers. Kindness of General Schuyler. "The ladies of the army who were with me were Mrs. Harnage,. a Mrs. Kennels the widow of a lieutenant who was killed, and the lady of the commissary. Major Harnage, his wife, and Mrs. Kennels made a little room in a corner with curtains to it, and wished to do the same for me, but I preferred being near the door, in case of fire. Not far off my women slept, and opposite to us three English officers, who, though wounded, were determ ined not to be left behind ; one of them was Captain Green, an aid-de-camp to Major-gen eral Phillips, a very valuable, officer and most agreeable man. They each made me a most sacred promise not to leave *me behind, and, in case of sudden retreat, that they would each of them take one of my children on his horse ; and for myself one of my husband's was in constant readiness The want of water distressed us much ; at length we found a soldier's wife who had courage enough to fetch us some from the river, an office nobody else would undertake, as the Americans shot at every person who approached it ; but, out of respect for her sex, they never molested her. " I now occupied myself through the day in attending the wounded '; I made them tea and coffee, and often shared my dinner with them, for which they offered me a thousand expressions of gratitude. One day a Canadian officer came to our cellar, who had scarcely the power of holding himself upright, and we concluded he was dying for want of nourish ment ; I w|s happy in offering him my dinner, which strengthened him, and procured me his friendship. I now undertook the care of Major Bloomfield, another aid-de-camp of Gen eral Phillips ; he had received a musket-ball through both cheeks, which in its course had knocked out several of his teeth and cut his tongue ; he could hold nothing in his mouth, the matter which ran from his wound almost choked him, and he was not able to take any nourishment except a little soup or something liquid. We had some Rhenish wine, and, in the hope that the acidity of it would cleanse his wound, I gave him a bottle of it. He took a little now and then, and with such effect that' his cure soon followed ; thus I added another to my stock of friends, and derived a* satisfaction which, in the midst of sufferings. served to tranquilize me and diminish their acuteness. . ' " One day General Phillips accompanied my husband, at the risk of their lives, on a visit to us. The general, after having beheld our situation, said to him, ' I would not for ten thousand guineas come again to this place ; my heart is almost broken.' " In this horrid situation we remained six days ; a cessation of hostilities was now spoken of, and eventually took place." The baroness, in the simple language of her narrative, thus bears testimony to the gen erous courtesy of the American officers, and to the true nobility of character of General Schuyler in particular : " My husband sent a message' to me to come over to him with my children. I seated myself once more in my dear caleche, and then rode through the Amer ican camp. As I passed on I observed, and this was a great consolation to me, that no one eyed me with looks of resentment, but they all greeted us, and even showed compassion in their countenances at the sight of a woman with small children I was, I confess, afraid to go over to the enemy, as it was quite a new situation to me. When I drew near the tents a handsome man approached and met me, took my children from the caliche, and hugged and kissed them, which affected me almost to tears. • You tremble,' said he, ad dressing himself to me ; ' be not afraid.' < No,' I answered, « you seem so kind and tender to 'my children, it inspires me with courage.' He now led me to the tent of General Gates, where I found Generals Burgoyne and Phillips, who were on a friendly footing with the former. Burgoyne said to me, ' Never mind ; your sorrows have now an end.' I answered him that I should be reprehensible to have any cares, as he had none ; and I was pleased to see him on such friendly footing with General Gates. All the generals remained to dine with General Gates. " The same gentleman who received me so kindly now came and said to me, ' You will be very much embarrassed to eat with all these gentlemen ; come with your children to my tent, where I will prepare for you a frugal dinner, and give it with a free will.' I said, ' You are certainly a husband and a father, you-have shown me so much kindness.' OF THE REVOLUTION. 91 Arrival of the British Officers and Women at Albany. Courtesy of General Schuyler and Family. I now found that he was General Schuyler.- He treated me with excellent smoked I General Schuyler and Baroness Riedesel. tongue, b'eef-steaks, potatoes, and good bread and butter ! Never could I have wished to eat a better dinner ; I was content ; I saw all around me were so likewise ; and, what was better 'than all, my husband was out of danger. " When we had dined he told me his residence was at Albany, and that General Bur goyne intended to honor him as his guest, and invited myself and children to do so likewise. I asked my husband Jiow I should act ; he told me to accept the invitation. .As it was two days' journey there, he advised me to go to a place which was about three hours' ride distant. " Some' days after this we arrived at Albany, where we so often wished ourselves ; but we did not enter it as we expected, we should — victors !' We were received by the good General Schuyler, his wife, and daughters, not as enemies, but kind friends ; and they treated us with the most marked attention and politeness, as they did General Burgoyne, who had caused General Schuyler's beautifully-finished house to be burned. In fact, they behaved like persons of exalted minds, who determined to bury all recollections of their own injuries in the contemplation of our misfortunes. General Burgoyne was struck with General Schuy ler's generosity, and said to him,. ' You show me great kindness, though I haye done you much injury.' ' That was the fate of war,' replied the brave man ; ' let us say ho more about it.' " General Schuyler. was detained at Saratoga when Burgoyne and suite started for Albany. 1 General Burgoyne boasted at Fort Edward that he should eat a Christmas dinner in Albany, surrounded by his victorious army. 92 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK British Officers at Schuyler's House. Execution-place of Lovelace. Active and Passive Tories. Rendezvous of Lovelace. He wrote to his wife to give the English general the very best reception in her power. " The British commander was well received," says the Marquis de Chastellux,1 in his Trav els in America, " by Mrs. Schuyler, and lodged in the best apartment in the house. An excellent supper was served him in the evening, the honors of which were done with so much grace that he was affected even to tears, and said, with a deep sigh, ' Indeed, this is doing too much for the man who has ravaged their lands and burned their dwellings.' The next morning he was reminded of his misfortunes by an incident that would have amused any one else. His bed was prepared in a large room ; but as he had a numerous suite, or family, several mattresses were spread on the floor for some officers to sleep near him. Schuyler's second son, a little fellow about seven years old, very arch and forward, but very amiable, was running all the morning about the house. Opening the dsor of the saloon, he burst out a laughing on seeing all the English collected, and shut it after him, exclaiming, ' You are all my prisoners !' This innocent cruelty rendered them more melancholy than before." We next visited the headquarters of General Gates, south of the Fish Creek, delineated on page 75. On our way we passed the spot, a few rods south of the creek, where Lovelace, a prominent Tory, was hung. It is upon the high bluff ^jx "'~ ^ seen on the right of the road in the annexed sketch, which was taken SJBii from the lawn in front of the rebuilt mansion of General Schuyler. **; ;v *" ^1S Lovelace was a fair type of his class, the bitterest and most impla- JgjPTr." .., _*=N> cable foes of the republicans. There were many Tories who were so from principle, and re- a*"E5§ fused to.take sides against the parent coun- -JUJIH try from honest convictions of the wrong- If fulness of such a course. They looked upon the Whigs as rebels against their sovereign ; condemned the war as unnatural, and re garded the final result as surely disastrous ^ B J Place where Lovelace was Executed. to those who had lifted up the arm of oppo sition.. Their opinions were courteously but firmly expressed ; they took every opportunity to dissuade their friends and neighbors from participation in the rebellion ; and by all their words and acts discouraged the insurgent movement. But they shouldered no musket, girded on no sword, piloted no secret expedition against the republicans. They were passive, noble- minded men, and deserve our respect for their consistency and our commiseration'' for their sufferings at the hands of those who made no distinction between the man of honest opin ions and the marauder with no opinions at all. There was another class of Tories, governed by the footpad's axiom, that " might makes right." They were Whigs when royal power was weak, and Tories when royal power was strong. Their god was mammon, and they offered up human sacrifices in abundance, upon its altars. Cupidity and its concomitant vices governed all their acts, and the bonds of con sanguinity and affection were too weak to restrain their fostered barbarism. Those born in the same neighborhood ; educated (if at all) in the same school ; admonished, it may be, by the same pastor, seemed' to have their hearts suddenly closed to every feeling of friendship or of love, and became as relentless robbers and murderers of neighbors and friends as the sav ages of the wilderness. Of this class was Thomas Lovelace, who, for a time, became a ter ror to his old neighbors arid friends in Saratoga, his native district. At the commencement of the war Lovelace went to Canada, and there confederated with five other persons from his own county to come down into Saratoga and abduct, plunder, or betray their former neighbors. He was brave, expert, and cautious. His quarters were in a large swamp about five miles from the residence of Colonel Van Vechten at Do-ve-gat, but his place of rendezvous was cunningly concealed. Robberies were frequent, and several inhabitants were carried off. General Schuyler's house was robbed, and an attempt was 1 A French officer, who served in the army in this oountry during a part of the Revolution. OF THE REVOLUTION. 93 Capture and Death of Lovelace. Daring Adventure of'an American Soldier. Departure from Schuylerville. made by Lovelace and his companions to carry off Colonel Van Vechten ; but the active vigilance of General Stark, then in command of the barracks north of the Fish Creek,1 in furnishing the colonel with a guard, frustrated the marauder's plans. Intimations of his in tentions and of his place of concealment were given to Captain Dunham, who commanded a company of militia in the neighborhood, and he at once summoned his lieutenant, ensign, orderly, and one private to his house.11 At dark they proceeded to the " Big Swamp," three miles distant, where two Tory families resided. They separated to reconnoiter, but two of them, Green and Guiles, were lost. The other three kept together, and at dawn discovered Lovelace and his party in a hut covered over with boughs, just drawing on their stockings. The three Americans crawled cautiously forward till near the hut, when they sprang upon a log with a shout, leveled their muskets, and Dunham exclaimed, " Surrender, or you are all dead men !" There was no time for parley, and, believing that the Americans were upon them in force, they came out one by one without arms, and were marched by their captors to General Stark at the barracks. They were tried by a court-martial as spies, traitors, and robbers, and Lovelace, who was considered too dangerous to be allowed to escape, was sen tenced to be hung. He complained of injustice, and claimed the leniency due to a prisoner of war ; but his plea was disallowed, and three days afterward he was hung upon the brow of the hill at the place delineated, during a tremendous storm of rain and wind; accompanied by vivid lightning and clashing thunder-peals. These facts were communicated to me by the son of Colonel Van Vechten, who accompanied me to the spot, and who was well ac quainted with all the captors of Lovelace and his accomplices. The place where Gates and Burgoyne had their first interview (delineated on page 81) is about half way between the Fish Creek and Gates's headquarters. After visiting these localities, we returned to the village, and spent an hour upon the ground where the British army laid down their arms. This locality I have already noted, and will not detain the reader longer than to mention the fact that the plain whereon this event took place formed a part of the extensive meadows of General Schuyler, and to relate a characteristic adven ture which»occurred there. ' _¦_ . While the British camp was on the north side of the Fish Creek, a number of the offi cers' horses were let loose in the meadows to feed. An expert swimmer among the Amer icans who swarmed upon the hills east of the Hudson, obtained permission to go across and capture one of the horses. He swam the river, seized and mounted a fine bay gelding, and in a few moments was recrossing the stream unharmed, amid a volley of bullets from a party of British soldiers. Shouts greeted him as he returned ; and, when rested, he asked per mission to go for another, telling the captain that he ought to have a horse to ride as well as a private. Again the adventurous soldier was among the herd, and, unscathed, returned with an exceedingly good match for the first, and presented it to his commander.8 Bidding our kind friend and guide adieu, we left Schuylerville toward evening, in a pri vate carriage, for Fort Miller, six miles further up the Hudson. The same beautiful and diversified scenery, the same prevailing quiet that charmed us all the way from Waterford, still surrounded us ; and the river and the narrow alluvial plain through which.it flows, bounded on either side by high undulations or abrupt pyramidal hills, which cast lengthened shadows in the evening sun across the meadows, presented a beautiful picture of luxurious repose. We crossed the Hudson upon a long bridge built on strong abutments, two miles and a half above Schuylerville, at the place where Burgoyne and his army crossed on the 12th of September, 1777. The river is here quite broad and shallow, and broken by fre quent rifts arid rapids. We arrived at Fort Miller village, on the east bank of the river, between five and six o'clock ; and while awaiting supper, preparatory to- an evening canal voyage to Fort Ed ward, nine miles above, I engaged a water-man to row me across to the western bank, to 1 The place where these barracks were located is just within the northern suburbs of Schuylerville. * Davis, Green, Guiles, and Burden. Neilson, 223. 94 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Visit to the Site of old Fort Edward. Tragedy of "Bloody Run." Daring Feat by Putnam. Fort Miller Fording-place. view the site of the old fort. He was a very obliging man, and well acquainted with the localities in the neighborhood, but was rather deficient in historical knowledge. His at tempts to relate the events connected with the old fort and its vicinity were amusing ; for Pritnam's ambush on Lake Champlain, and the defeat of Eyles by Lee, in North Carolina, with a slight tincture of correct narrative, were blended together as parts of an event which occurred at Fort Miller. We crossed the Hudson just above the rapids. A dam for milling purposes spans the stream, causing a sluggish current and deeper water for more than two miles above. Here was the scene of one of Putnam's daring exploits. While a major in the English provincial army, nearly twenty years before the Revolution, he was lying in a bateau on the east side of the river, and was suddenly surprised by a party of Indians. He could not cross the river swiftly enough to escape the balls of their rifles, and there was no alternative but to go down the foaming rapids. In an instant his purpose was fixed, and, to the astonishment of the savages, he steered directly down the current, amid whirling eddies and over shelving rocks. In a few moments his vessel cleared the rush of waters, and was gliding upon the smooth cur rent below, far out of reach of the weapons of the Indians. It was a feat they never dared at-> tempt, and superstition convinced them that he was so favored by the Great Spirit that it would be an affront to Manitou to attempt to kill him with powder and ball. Otber Indians of the tribe, however, soon afterward gave practical evidence of their unbelief in such interposition. There is not a vestige of Fort Miller left, and maize, and potatoes, and pumpkin vines were flourishing where the rival forces of Sir William Johnson and the Baron Dieskau al ternately paraded. At the foot of the hill, a few rods below where the fort stood, is a part of the trench and bank of a redoubt, and this is all that remains even of the outworks of the fortification. ,An eighth of a mile westward is Bloody B-un, a stream which comes leaping in spark ling cascades from the hills,, and affords fine trout fishing. It derives its name from the fact that, while the English had possession of the fort in 1759, a party of soldiers from the gar rison went out to fish at the place represented in the picture. The hills, now cultivated, were then covered with dense forests, and afforded the Indians excellent ambush. A troop of savages, lying near; sprang silently from their covert upon the fishers, and bore off nine reeking scalps be fore tho?e who escaped could reach the fort and give the alarm. This clear mountain stream enters the Hudson a little above Fort Miller, where the river makes a sudden curve, and where, before the erection of the dam at the rapids, it was quite shallow, and usually fordable. This was the crossing-place for the armies ; and there are still to be seen some of the logs and stones upon the shore which formed a part of the old " King's Road" leading to the fording-place. They are now sub- Bloody Run. Fobt Miller Fording-place."- ¦ ' This view is taken from the site of the fort, looking northward. The fort was in the town of Northum berland. It was built of logs and earth, and was never a post of great importance. OF THE REVOLUTION. 95 Canal Voyage to Fort Edward. Scene on Board. Fort Edward. National Debt of England. merged, tbe river having been made deeper by the dam ; but when the water is limpid they can be plainly seen. It was twilight before we reached the village on the eastern shore We supped and repaired to the packet office, where we waited until nine o'clock in the evening before the shrill notes of a tin horn brayed out the annunciation of a packet near. Its deck was covered with passengers, for the interesting ceremony of converting the dining- room into a dormitory, or swinging the hammocks or berths and selecting their occupants, had commenced, and all were driven out, much to their own comfort, but, strange to say, to the. dissatisfaction of rnany who lazily preferred a sweltering lounge in the cabin to the delights oj fresh air and the bright starlight. Having no interest in the scramble for beds, we enjoyed the evening breeze and the excitement of the tiny tumult. My companion, fear ing the exhalations upon the night air, did indeed finally seek shelter in one end of the cabin, but was driven, with- two other young ladies, into the captain's state-room, to allow the " hands" to have full play in making the beds. Imprisoned against their will, the ladies made prompt restitution to themselves by drawing the cork of a bottle of sarsaparilla jrid sipping its contents, greatly to the consternation of a meek old dame, the mother of one of the girls, who was sure it was " bed-bug pizen, or some thing a pesky sight worse." We landed at Fort Ed: ward at midnight, and" took lodgings at a small but tidily-kept tavern close by the canal. Fort Edward was a military post of considerable im portance during the French andf Indian Wars and the Revolution.1 The locality, previous to the erection of the fortress, was called the first carrying-place, being the first and nearest poirit on the Hudson where the troops, -stores, &c, were landed while passing to or from the south end of Lake Champlain, a distance of about twenty-five fniles. The fort was built in 1755, wheri six thousand troops were collected there, under General Lyman, waiting the arrival of General Johnson, the com mander-in-chief of an expedition against Ticonderoga and Crown Point. It was at first called Fort Lyman, in honor of the general who superintended its erection. It Fort Edward.2 1 I refer, particularly to the war between England and France, commonly called, in Europe, the Seven Years' War. It was declared on the 9th of June, 1756, and endea with thei treaty at Paris, concluded and signed February 10th,- 1763. It extended to the cdlohies of the two nations in America, and was car ried on with much vigor here until the victory of Wolfe at Quebec, in 1759, and the entire subjugation of Canada by the English. The French managed to enlist a large proportion of the Indian tribes in their favor, who were allied with them against theBritons. It. is for that reason that the section of the Seven Years' War in America was called by the colonists the " French and Indian War." I would here mention incidentally- that that war cost Great Britain five hundred and sixty millions of dol lars,' and laid one of the largest foundation stones of that national debt under which she now groans. It was twenty millions in the reign of William and MSiry, in 1697, and was then thought to be enormous; in 1840 it was about four thousand millions of dollars ! 2 Explanation : a aa a a a, six cannons ; A, the barracks ; B, the store-house; C, the hospital; D, the magazine; E, a flanker; F, a bridge across Fort Edward Creek; and G, a balm of Gilead tree which then overshadowed the massive water-gate. That, tree is still standing, a majestic relic of the past, amid the surrounding, changes in nature and art., It is directly upon the high bank of the Hudson, and its branches, heavily foliated when I was there, spread very high and wide. At the union below its- three trunks it measures more than twenty feet in circumference. v-; - Balm or Gilead at Fort, Edward. 96 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Daring Feat of Putnam at Fort Edward. Jane M'Crea Tree. , Sir William Johnson and his Title. Fortifications. was built of logs and earth, sixteen feet high and twenty-two feet thick, and stood at the junction of Fort Edward Creek and the Hudson River. From the creek, around the fort to the river, was a deep fosse or ditch, designated in the engraving by tbe dark dotted part outside of the black lines. There are still very prominent traces of the banks and fosse of the fort, but the growing (Tillage will soon spread over and obliterate them forever. Already a garden was within the lines ; and the old parade-ground, wherein Sir William Johnson strutted in the haughty pride of a victor by accident,1 was desecrated by beds of beets, parsley, radishes, and onions Fort Edward was the theater of another daring achievement by Putnam. In the win ter of 1-756 the barracks, then near the northwestern bastion, took fire. The magazine was only twelve feet distant, and contained three hundred barrels of gunpowder. Attempts were made to batter the barracks to the ground with heavy cannons, but without success. Put nam, who was stationed upon Rogers's Island, in the Hudson, opposite the fort, hurried -.hither, and, taking his station on the roof of the barracks, ordered a line of soldiers to hand him water. But, despite his efforts, the flames raged and approached nearer and nearer to the magazine. The commandant, Colonel Haviland, seeing his danger, ordered him down ; but the brave major did not leave his perilous post until the fabric began to totter. He then leaped to the ground, placed himself between the falling building and the, magazine, and poured on water, with all his might. The external planks of the magazine were con sumed, and there was only a thin partition between the flames and the powder. But Put nam succeeded in subduing the flames and saving the ammunition. His hands and face were dreadfully burned, his whole body was more, or less blistered, and it was several weeks before he recovered from the effects of his daring conflict with the fire. The first place of historic interest that we visited at Fort Edward was the venerable and blasted pine tree near which, tradition asserts, the unfortunate Jane M'Crea lost her life while General Burgoyne had his encampment near Sandy Hill. It stands upon the west side of the road leading from Fort Edward to Sandy Hill, and about half a mile from the canal-lock in the former village. The tree had exhibited unaccountable signs of decadence for several years, and when we visited it, it was sapless and bare. Its top was torn off by a November gale, and almost every breeze diminishes its size by scattering its decayed twigs. The trunk is about five feet in diameter, and upon the bark is engraved, in bold letters, Jane M'Crea, 1777. The names of many ambitious visitors are intaglioed upon it, and reminded me of the line " Run, run, Orlando, carve on every tree." I carefully sketched all itr branches, and the engraving is a faithful portraiture of the interesting relic, -as viewed from the opposite side of the road. In a few years this tree, around which history -and ro mance have clustered so many associations, will crumble and pass away forever.2 The sad story of the unfortunate girl is so interwoven in our history that it has become a component* part ; but it is told with so many variations, in essential and non-essential par- 1 Sir William Johnson had command of the English forces in 1755, destined to act against Crown Point He was not remarkable for courage or activity. He was attacked at the south end of Lake George by the French general, Deiskau, and was wounded at the outset. The command then devolved on Major-general Lyman, of the Connecticut troops, who, by his skill and bravery,, secured a victory over the French and Indians. General Johnson, however, had the honor and reward thereof. In his mean jealousy he gave General Lyman no praise ; and the British king (George H.) made him a baronet, and a present of twenty thousand dollars to give the title becoming dignity. Note.— As I shall have frequent occasion to employ technical terms used in fortifications, I here give a diagram, which; with the explanation, will make those terms clear to the reader. The figure is a vertical ' N/ I section of a fortification. The mass of earth, abode fgh, forms the rampart with ~o ^ its parapet ; a b is the interior slope of the rampart ; ft c is the terre-plein of the ram- ~K" W .Part' on whlch the ^ooP8 and cannon are placed ; d e is the banquette, or step, on ^which the soldiers mount to fire over the parapet ; e fg is the parapet ; g h is the exterior slope ofthe parapet ; h % is the revetment, or wall of masonry, supporting the rampart ; h k, the exterior front covered with the revetment, is called the escarp ; i k I m is the ditch ; Z m is the counterscarp ; m n is the covered way having a banquette n op ; s r is the glacis. When there are two ditches, the works between the inner and the outer. ditch are called ravelins and all outside of the ditches, outworks. — See Brande's Cyc, art. Fortification. ' It was cut down in 1853, and converted into canes, boxes, &c. OF THE REVOLUTION. 97 lTae Fort Edward Romance. Mrs. M'Neil and her^Grand-daiighter. Narrative of the latter ticulars, that much of the narratives we have is evidently pure fiction ; a simple tale of In dian abduction, resulting in death, having'its counterpart in a -hund red like occurrences, has been gar nished with all the high coloring of a romantic love story. It seems a pity to spoil the romance of the matter, but truth always makes sad havoc with the frost-work of the im agination, and sternly demands .the homage of tjje historian's pen. All accounts agree that Miss M'Crea was staying at the house of a Mrs. M'Neil, near- the fort, at the time of the tragedy. A grand- daugbter of Mrs. M'Neil (Mrs. F — n) is now living at Fort Edward, and from her I re ceived a minute account of the, whole transaction, as she had heard it a " thousand times" from her grandmother. She is a woman of remarkable intelligence, about sixty yealrs old. When I was at Fort Edward she was on a visit, with her sister at Glenn's Falls. It had been my intention to go direct to Whitehall, on Lake Champlain, by way of Fort Ann, but the tra ditionary accounts in the neigh- L848. S**^?r:g**5# Jane M'Crea Tkee, Fobt Edwaed. borhood of the event in question were so contradictory of the books, and I received such ab- surances that perfect reliance might be placed upon the statements of Mrs. F — n, that, anx ious to ascertain the truth of the matter, if possible, we went to Lake Champlain by way of Glenn's'Falls and Lake George. After considerable search at the falls, I found Mrs. F — n, and the following is hei; »elation of the tragedy at Fort Edward : Jane M'Crea was the daughter of a Scotch Presbyterian clergyman of Jersey City, oppo site New York ; and while Mrs. M'Neil (then the wife of a former husband named Camp bell) was a resident of Ne- - York City, an acquaintance and intimacy had grown up between Jenny and her daughter. After the death of Campbell (which occurred at sea) Mrs. Camp bell married M'Neil. He too, was lost at sea, and she removed with her family to an estate a 98 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK « Residence of Jane M'Crea at Fort Edward. Her Betrothal. Abduction of Mrs. M'Neil and Jane. owned by him at Fort Edward. Mr. M'Crea, who was a widower, died, and Jane went to live with her brother near Fort Edward, where the intimacy of former years with Mrs. M'Neil and her daughter was renewed, and Jane spent much of her time at Mrs. M'Neil's house. Near her brother's lived a family named Jones, consisting of a widow and six sons, and between Jenny and David Jones, a gay young man, a feeling of friendship budded and ripened into reciprocal love. When the war broke out the Joneses took the royal side of the question, and David and his brother Jonathan went to Canada in the autumn of 1776. They raised a company of about sixty men, under pretext of re-enforcing the American gar rison at Ticonderoga, but they went further down the lake and joined the British garrison at lune 1, Crown Point. When Burgoyne collected his forces at St. John's, at the foot of Lake 1777. Champlain, David and Jonathan Jones were among them. Jonathan was made captain and David a lieutenant in the division under General Fraser, and at the time in ques tion they were with the British army near Sandy Hill. Thus far all accounts nearly agree. The brother of Jenny was a Whig, and prepared to move to Albany ; but Mrs. M'Neil, who was a cousin of General Fraser (killed at Stillwater), was a stanch loyalist, and intended to remain at Fort Edward. Whe"n the British were near, Jenny was at Mrs. M'Neil's, and lingered there even after repeated solicitations from her brother to return to his house, five miles further down the river, to be ready to flee when riecessity should conrpel. A faint ' hope that she might meet her lover doubtless was the secret of her tarrying. At last her brother sent a peremptory order for her to join him, and she promised to go down in a large bateau1 which was expected to leave with several families on the following day. Early the next morning a black juiya7, servant boy belonging to Mrs. M'Neil 1777- espied some Indians stealthily approaching the house, and, giving the alarm to the inmates, A K,ver Bateau. he fled tQ ^ ^ about eighty rodg digtant Mrs. M'Neil's daughter, the young friend of Jenny, and mother of my informant, was with some friends in Argyle, and the family consisted of only the widow and Jenny, two small children, and a black female servant. As usual at that time, the kitchen stood a few feet from the house ; and when the alarm was given the black woman snatched up the children, fled ty the kitchen, and retreated through a trap-door to the cellar.*- Mrs. M'Neil and Jenny followed, but the former being aged and very corpulent, and the latter young and agile, Jenny reached the trap-door first. Before Mrs. M'Neil could fully descend, the Indians were in the house, and a powerful savage seized her by the hair and dragged' her up. Another went into the cellar and brought out Jenny, but the black face of the negro womEtn was not seen in the dark, and she and the children remained unharmed. With the two women the savages started off on the road toward Sandy Hill, for Bur goyne's camp ; and when they came to the foot of the ascpnt on which the pine tree stands, where the road forked, they caught two horses that were grazing, and attempted to place their prisoners upon them. Mrs. M'Neil was too heavy to be lifted on the horse easily, and as she signified by signs that she could not ride, two stout Indians took her by the arms and hurried her up the road over 'the hill, while the others, with Jenny on the horse, went along the road running west of the tree. The negro boy who ran to the fort gave the alarm, and a small detachment was imme- 1 Bateaux were rudely constructed of logs and planks, broad and without a keel. They had small draught. and would carry large loads in quite shallow water. In still water and against currents they were pro pelled by long driving-poles. The ferry-scows or flats on the southern and western rivers are very much like the old bateaux. They wer<3 sometimes furnished with a mast , for lakes and other deep water, and had cabins erected on them. , 3 Traces of this cellar and of the foundation of the house are still visible in the garden of Dr. Norton, in Frrt Edward village, who is a relative of the family by marria"*e. OF THE REVOLUTION. 99 Flight of the Indians toward Sandy Hill. Treatment of Mrs. M'Neil. Indian Account of the Death of Jane. The Spring. diately sent out to effect a rescue. They fired several volleys at the Indians, but the sav- , ages escaped unharmed. Mrs. M'Neil said that the Indians, who were hurrying her up the hill, seemed to watch the.flash of the guns, and several times they threw her upon her face, at the same time falling down themselves, and she distinctly heard the balls whistle above them. When they got above the second hill from the village the firing ceased ; they then stopped, stripped* her of all her garments except her chemise, and in that plight led her into the British camp. There she met her kinsman, General Fraser, and reproached him bit terly for sending his " scoundrel Indians" after her. He denied all knowledge of her being away from the city of New York, and took every pains to make her comfortable. She was so large that not a woman in camp had a gown big enough for her, so Fraser lent her his camp-coat for a garment, and a pocket-handkerchief as a substitute for her stolen cap. Very soon after Mrs. M'Neil was taken into the British camp, two parties of Indians ar rived with scalps. She at once recognised the long glossy hair of Jenny,1 and, though shud dering with horror, boldly charged the savages with her murder, which they stoutly denied. They averred that, while hurrying her along the road on horseback, near the spring west of the pine tree, a bullet from one of the American guns, intended for them, mortally wounded the poor girl, and she fell from the horse. Sure of losing a prisoner by death, they took her scalp as the next best thing for them to. do, and that they bore in triumph to the camp, to *tain the promised reward for such trophies. Mrs. M'Neil always believed the story of the Indians to be true, for she knew that they were fired upon by the detach ment from the fort, and it was far more to their interest to carry a prisoner than a scalp to the' British commander, the price for the former being much greater. In fact, the In dians were so restricted by Burgoyne's humane instructions respecting the taking of scalps, that their chief solicitude was to bring a prisoner alive and unharmed into the camp." And the probability that Miss M'Crea wasTtilled as they alleged is strengthened by'the fact that they took the cor pulent Mrs. M'Neil, with much fatigue and difficulty, un injured to' the British fines, while Miss M'Crea, quite light and already on horseback, might have been carried off with far greater ease. It was known in camp that Lieutenarlt Jones was betrothed to Jenny, and the story got abroad that he had sent the Indians for her, that the/ quarreled on the way respecting the reward he had offered, and murdered her to settle the dispute. Receiving high touches of coloring as it went from'or»e narrator to another, the sad story became a tale of darkest hor ror, and produced a deep and wide-spread indignation. This was heightened by September 2, a published letter from Gates to Burgoyne, charging him with allowing the In- 1777- 1 It was of extraordinary length and beauty, measuring a yard and a quarter. She was then about twenty years old, and a, very lovely girl ; *jjot lovely in beauty of face, according to the common standard of beauty, but so lovely in disposition, so graceful in manners, and so intelligent in features, that she was a favorite of all who knew her. . 2 "I positively forbid bloodshed when you are not opposed in arms. Aged men, women, children, and prisoners must be held sacred from the knife and hatchet, even in the time of actual conflict. You shall receive compensation for the prisoners you take, but you shall be called to account for scalps. In con formity and indulgence of your customs, which have affixed an idea of honor to such badges of victory, you shall be allowed to take the scalps of the dead when killed by your fire and in fair opposition ; but on no account, or pretense, or subtilty, or prevarication are they to be taken from the wounded, or even the dy ing ; and still less pardonable, if possible, will it be held to kill men in that condition on purpose, and upon a supposition that this, protection to the wounded would be thereby evaded."— Extract from the Speech of Burgoyne to the Indians assembled upon the Bouquet River, June 21, 1777. 3 This is a view of a living spring, a few feet below the noted pine tree, the lower portion of which is seen near the top of the engraving. The spring is beside the old road, traces of which may be seen. The Speino.3 100 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Massacre of the Allen Family. Gates's Letter. Inquiry respecting the Death of Miss M'Crea. Desertion of Lieutenant Jones dians to butcher with impunity defenseless women and children. " Upward of one hund red men, women, and children," said Gates, " have perished by the hands of the ruffians, to whom, it is asserted, you have paid the price of blood." Burgoyne flatly denied this asser tion, and declared that the case of Jane M'Crea was the only act of Indian cruelty of which he was informed. His information must have been exceedingly limited, for on the same day when Jenny lost her life a party of savages murdered the whole family of John Allen, of Argyle, consisting of himself, his wife', three children, a sister-in-law, and three negroes. The daughter of Mrs. M'Neil, already mentioned, was then at the house of Mr. Allen's father-in-law, Mr. Gilmer, who, as well as Mr. Allen, was a Tory. Both were afraid of the savages, nevertheless, and were preparing to flee to Albany. On the morning of the massacre a younger daughter of Mr. Gilmer went to assist Mrs. Allen in preparing to move. Not returning when expected, her father sent a negro boy down for her. He soon returned, screaming, "They are all dead — father, mother, young missus, and all !" It was too true. That morning, while the family were at breakfast, the Indians burst in upon them and slaughtered every one. Mr. Gilmer and his family left in great haste for Fort Edward, but proceeded very cautiously for fear of the savages. When near the fort, and creeping warily along a ravine, they discovered a portion of the very party who had plundered Mrs. M'Neil's house in the morning. They had emptied the straw from the beds and filled the ticks with stolen articles. Mrs. M'Neil's daughter, who accompanied the fugitive family, saw her mother's looking-glass tied upon the back of one of the savages. They succeeded in reaching the fort in safety. Burgoyne must soon have forgotten this event and the alarm among the loyalists because of the murder of a Tory and his family ; forgotten how they flocked to his camp for protec tion, and Fraser's remark to the frightened loyalists, '.' It is a conquered couhtry, and we must wink at these things ;" and how his own positive orders to the Indians, not to molest those having protection, caused many of them to leave him and return to their hunting- grounds on the St. Lawrence. It was all dark and dreadful, and Burgoyne was willing to retreat behind a false assertion, to escape the perils which were sure to grow out of an ad mission of halfjthe truth of Gates's letter. That letter, as Sparks justly remarks, was more ornate than forcible, and abounded more in bad taste than simplicity and pathos ; yet it was suited to the feelings of the moment, and produced a lively impression in every part of Amer ica. Burke, in the exercise of all his glowing eloquence, used the story with powerful effect in the British House of Commons, and made the dreadful tale familiar throughout Europe. Burgoyne, who was at Fort Ann, instituted an inquiry into the matter. He summoned the Indians to council, and demanded the surrender of the man who bore off the scalp, to be punished as a murderer. Lieutenant Jones denied all knowledge of the matter, and ut terly disclaimed any such participation as the sending of a letter to Jenny, or of an Indian escort to bring her to camp. He had no motive for so doing, for. the American army was then retreating ; a small guard only was at Fort Edward, and in a day or two the British would have full possession of that fort, when he could have a personal interview with her. Burgoyne, instigated by motives of policy rather than by judgment and inclination, pardoned the savage who scalped poor Jenny, fearing that a total defection of the Indians would be the result of his punishment.1 Lieutenant Jones, chilled witi*-, horror and broken in spirit by the event, tendered a resig nation of his commission, but it was refused. He purchased the scalp of his Jenny, and with this cherished memento deserted, with his brother, before the army reached Saratoga, and retired to Canada. Various accounts have been given respecting then subsequent fate of Lieutenant Jones. Some assert that, perfectly desperate and careless of life, he rushed into the thickest of the battle on Bemis's Heights, and was slain ; while others allege that he died within' three years afterward, heart-broken and insane. But neither assertion is true. While searchmg for Mrs. F — n among her friends at Glenn's Falls, I called at the Earl of Harrington's Evidence in Burgoyne's "State of the Expedition,'' p. 66. OF THE REVOLUTION. 101 Effect of Miss M'Crea's Death on Lieutenant Jones. -Attack of Indians upon American Troops. Reinterment of Miss M-Crea. house of Judge R — s, whose lady is related by marriage to the family of Jones. Her aunt married a brother of Lieutenant Jones, and she often heard this lady speak of him. He lived in Canada to be an old man, and died but a few years ago. The death of Jenny was a heavy blow, and he never recovered from it. In youth he was gay and exceedingly gar rulous, but .after that terrible event he was melancholy and taciturn. He never married, and avoided society as much as business would permit. Toward the close of July in every year, when the anniversary of the tragedy approached, he would shut himself in his room and refuse the sight of any one ; and at all times his friends avoided any reference to the Revolution in his presence. At the time of this tragical event the American army under General Schuyler was en camped at Moses's Creek, five miles below Fort Edward. One of its two divisions was placed under the command of Arnold, who had just reached the army. His divi- jujy 23, sion included the rear-guard left at the fort. A picket-guard of one hundred" men, 1777- under Lieutenant Van Vechten, was stationed on the hill a little north of the pine tree ; and at the moment when the house of Mrs. M'Neil was attacked and plundered, and her self and' Jenny were carried off, other parties of Indians, belonging to the same expedition, came rushing through the woods from different points, and fell upon the Americans. Lieu tenant Van Vechten and several others were killed and their scalps borne off. Their bodies, with that of Jenny, were found by the party that went out from the fort in pursuit. She and the officer were lying near together, close by the spring already mentioned,' and only a few feet from the pine toe. They were stripped of clothing, for plunder was the chief in centive of the savages to war. They were borne immediately to the fort, which the Amer icans at once evacuated, and Jane did indeed go down the river in the bateau in which she had intended to embark, but not glowing with life and beauty, a^ was expected by her fond brother. With the deepest grief, he took charge of her mutilated corse, which was buried at. the same time and place with that of the lieutenant, on the west bank of the Hudson, near the mouth of a small creek about three miles below Fort Edward. Mrs. M'Neil lived many years, and was buried in the small village cemetery, very near the ruins of the fort. In the summer of 1826 the remains of Jenny were taken up and de- . posited in the same grave with her. They were followed by a long train of young men and maidens, and the funeral ceremonies were conducted by the eloquent but unfortunate Hooper Cummings, of Albany, at that time a brilliant light in the American pulpit, but destined, like a glowing meteor, to go suddenly down into darkness and gloom. Many who were then young have a vivid recollection of tbe pathetic discourse of-that gifted man, who on that oc casion " made all Fort Edward weep," as he delineated anew the sorrowful picture of tbe immolation of youth and* innocence upon the horrid altar of war. . A plain white marble' slab, about Jhree feet high, with the simple inscription Jane M'Crea, marks the spot of her interment. Near by, as seen in the picture, is an antique brown stone slab, erected to the memory of Duncan Campbell, a relative of Mrs. M'Neil's first husband, who wasmortally wounded at Ticonderoga in 1758.1 Several others of the same name lie near, members of the family of Don ald Campbell, a brave Scotchman who was with Grave 0F jANE M'CKEA' Montgomery at the storming of Quebec in 1 775. We lingered long in the "cool shade at the spring before departing for the village burial- ground where the remains of Jenny rest. As we emerged from the woods we saw two or 1 The following is the inscription : Here Lyes The Body of Duncan Campbell, of Inversaw, Esqr., Major to the Old Highland Rest., Aged' 55 Years, Who Died The 17th July, 1758. of The Wounds He Received in the Attack of The Retrenchments of Ticonderoga or Carillon the 8th July, 1758. 102 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Young Girl struck by Lightning, Village Burial-ground. Colonel Cochran and his Adventures. Rogers's Island. three persons with a horse and wagon, slowly ascending the hill from the village. In the wagon, upon a mattress, was a young girl who had been struck by lightning, two days be fore, while drawing water from a well.1 Although alive, her senses were all paralyzed by the shock, and her sorrowing father was carrying her home, perhaps to die. With brief words of consoling hope, we stepped up and looked upon the stricken one. Her breathing was soft and slow — a hectic glow was upon each cheek ; but all else of her fair young face was pale as alabaster except her lips. It was grievous, even to a stranger, to look upon a young life so suddenly prostrated, and we turned sadly away to go to the grave of another, who in the bloom of young womanhood was also smitten to the earth, not by the lightning from Heaven, but by the arm of warring man. The village burial-ground is near the site of the fort, and was thickly strewn with wild flowers. We gathered a bouquet from the grave of Jenny, and preserved it for the eye of the curious in an impromptu' herbarium made of a city newspaper. A few feet from her " narrow house" is the grave of Colonel Robert Cochran, whom I have *• already mentioned as commanding a detachment of militia at Fort Ed ward at the time of Burgoyne's surrender. He was a brave officer, and was warmly attached to,, the American cause. In 1778 he was sent to Canada as a spy. His errand being suspected, a large bounty was offered for his head. He was obliged to conceal himself, and while doing so atv one time, in a brush-heap, he was taken dangerously ill. Hunger and dis ease made him venture to a log cabin in sight. As he approached he heard three men and a woman conversing on the subject of the reward for his head, and discovered that they were actually forming plans for his cap ture. The men soon left the cabin in pursuit of him, and he immediately crept into the presence ofthe woman, who was the wife of one of the meii, frankly told her his name, and asked her protection. That she kindly promised him, and gave him some nourishing food and a bed to rest upon. The men returned in the course of a few hours, and she concealed Cochran in a cupboard, where he overheard expressions of their confident anticipations that before another sun they would have the rebel spy, and claim the reward. They refreshed themselves, and set off again in search of him. The kind woman directed him to a place of concealment, some distance from her cabin, where she fed and nourished him until he was able to travel, and theri he escaped beyond the British lines. Several years afterward, when the war had closed, the colonel lived at Ticonderoga, and there he accidentally met his deliverer, and rewarded her handsomely for her generous fidelity in the cause of suffering humanity. Colonel Cochran died in 1812, at Sandy Hill, and was buried at Fort Edward. It was hot noon when I left the village cemetery, and took shelter under the shadow of the venerable balm of Gilead tree at the place of the water-gate of the fort. A few rods be low is the mouth of Fort Edward Creek, on the south of which the British army were encamped when Burgoyne tarried there to send an expedition to Bennington, and, aft er that disastrous affair, to recruit and dis cipline his forces. Dividing the waters of the Hudson in front of the fort is Rogers's Island, a beautiful and romantic spot, which was used as a camp-ground by the English' and French alternately during the French Mouth or Fokt Edward Cheek.** and Indian war. Almost every year the 1 This mournful event occurred in the village, very near the same spot where, a year before, five men in a store were instantly killed by one thunder-bolt. 2 This sketch is taken from within the intrenchments of Fort Edward, near the magazine, looking south west. On the left, just beyond the balm of Gilead tree, is seen the creek, and on the right, across the water, Rogers's Island. OF THE REVOLUTION. 103 Relics found on Rogers's Island. A remarkable Skull. Silver Coin found at Fort Edward. plow turns up some curious relics of the past upon the island, such as bayonets, tomahawks, buttons, bullets, cannon-balls, coin, arrow-heads, &c. Dr. Norton, of Fort Edward, gave me a skull that had been exhumed there, which is remarkable for its ^., — .___ excessive thickness ; not so thick, however, as to resist the force of a musket-ball which penetrated it, and doubtless deprived its owner of life. It is three eighths of an inch thick where the bullet entered in front, and, notwithstandingtits long inhumation, the sutures are per fect. Its form is that of the negro, and it probably belonged to the servant of some officer stationed there. The silver coin found in the vicinity of Fort Edward is called by the people " cob money." The derivation of this name I could not learn. 1 obtained two pieces of it, both of which are Spanish coin. TheiAarger one is a cross-pistareen, of the value of sixteen ce'nts ; the other is a quarter fraction of the same coin. They are very irregular in form, and the devices and dates are quite imperfect. The two in my possession are dated respectively 1741, 1743. These Spanish small coins composed the bulk of specie Two sides of a CKoss-risTAREis-s. circulation among the French in Canada at that time. 104 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Ride from Fort Edward to Glenn's Falls. Appearance of tho Country. Interesting Character of the Region. CHAPTER V. " Though of the past from no carved shrines, Canvass, or deathless lyres, we learn, Yet arbor'd streams and shadowy pines Are hung with legends wild and stern : In deep dark glen — on mountain side, Are graves whence stately pines have sprung, Naught telling how the victims died, Save faint tradition's faltering tongue." Street. E dined at three, and immediately left the pleasant little village of Fort Edward in a barouche for Glenn's Falls, by the way of Sandy Hill, a distance of six miles. The latter village is beautifully situated upon the high left bank of the Hudson, where the river makes a sudden sweep from arf easterly to a southerly course. Here is the termination of tbe Hudson Valley, and above it the river courses its way in a narrow channel.-among rugged rocks and high, wooden bluffs, through as wild and romantic a region as the most enthusiastic .. traveler could desire. ^\ It was early in the afternoon when we reached the Mansion House at Glenn's Falls, near the cataract. All was bustle and confusion, for here is the brief tarrying-place of fashionable tourists on their way from Saratoga Springs to Lake George. There was a constant arrival and departure of visitors. Few remained longer than to dine or sup, view the falls at a glance, and then hasten away to the grand summer lounge at Caldwell, to hunt, fish, eat, drink, dance, and sleep to their heart's content. We were thoroughly wearied by the day's ramble and ride, but time was too precious to allow a mo ment of pleasant weather to pass by unimproved. Comfortfed by the anticipation of a Sab bath rest the next day, we brushed the dust from our clothes, made a hasty toilet, and started out to view the falls, and search for the tarrying-place of Mrs. F — n, of Fort Edward. Here the whole aspect of things is changed. Hitherto our journey had been among the quiet and beautiful ; now every thing in nature was turbulent and grand. The placid river was here a foaming cataract, and gentle slopes, yellow with the ripe harvest, were exchanged for high, broken hills, some rocky and bare, others green with the oak and pine or dark with the cedar and spruce. Here nature, history; and romance combine to interest and please, and geology spreads out one of its most wonderful pages for the scrutiny of the student and philosopher. All over those rugged hills Indian warriors and hunters scouted for ages before the pale face made his advent among them ; and the slumbering echoes were often awaken ed in the last century by the crack of musketry and the roar of cannon, mingled with the loud war-hoop of the Huron, the Iroquois, the Algonquin, the Mohegan, the Delaware, the Adirondack, and the Mohawk, when the French and English battled for mastery in the vast forests that skirted the lakes and the St. Lawrence. Here, amid the roar of this very cataract, if romance may be believed, the voice of Uncas; the last of the Mohegans, was heard and heeded ; here Hawk Eye kept 'his vigils ; here David breathed his nasal melody ; and here Duncan Heyward, with his lovely and precious wards, Alice and Cora Monroe, fell into the hands of thfe dark and bitter Mingo chief.1 1 See Cooper's "Last of the Mohicans." OF THE REVOLUTION 105 Scenery about the Falls. !' Indian Cave" and "Big Snake." Departure for Lake George. The natural scenery about the falls is very picturesque, but the accompaniments of puny art are exceedingly incongruous, sinking the grand and beautiful into mere burlesque. How expertly the genius of man, quickened by acquisitiveness, fuses the beautiful and useful in the crucible of gain, and, by the subtle alchemy of profit, transmutes the glorious cascade and its fringes of rock and shrub into broad arable acres, or lofty houses, or speeding ships, simply by catching the bright stream in the toils of a mill-wheel. Such" meshes are here spread out on every side to ensnare the leaping Hudson, and the rickety buildings, the clat ter of machinery, and the harsh grating of saws, slabbing the huge black marble rocks of the shores into city mantels, make horrid dissonance of that harmony which the eye and ear ex pect and covet where nature is thus beautiful and musical. A bridge, nearly six hundred feet long, and resting in the center upon a marble island, spans the river at the foot of the falls, and from its center there is a fine view of the cata ract. The entire descent of the river is about sixty feet. The undivided stream first pours over a precipice nine hundred feet long, and is then separated into three channels, by rocks piled in confusion, and carved, and furrowed, and welled, and polished by the rushing waters.' Below, the channels unite, and in one deep stream the waters flow on gently between the quarried cliffs of fine, black marble, which rise in some places from thirty to seventy feet in height, and are beautifully stratified. Many fossils are imbedded in the rocks, among which the trilobite is quite plentiful. Here the heads (so exceedingly rare) are fre quently found. By the contribution of a York shil ling to an intelligent lad who kept " watch and ward" at a flight of steps below the bridge, we procured his permission to descend to the rocks below, and his serv ices as guide to the "Big Snake," -and the " Indian Cave." The '"~ former is a petrifaction on the surface of a flat rock, having the ap pearance of a huge serpent ; the latter extends through the small island from one channel to the other, and is, pointed out as the place where Cooper's sweet young heroines, Cora, and Alice, with Major Heyward and the singing-master, were conceal ed. The melody of a female voice, chanting an air in a minor key, came up from the cav ern, and we expected every moment to hear the pitch-pipe of David and the " Isle of Wight." The spell was soon broken by a merry laugh, and three young girls, one with a torn barege, came clambering up from the narrow entrance over which Uncas and Hawk Eye cast the green branches to conceal the fugitives. In time of floods this cave is filled, and all the dividing rocks below the main fall are covered with water, presenting one vast foaming sheet. A long drought had greatly diminished the volume of the stream When we were there, and materially lessened the usual grandeur of the picture. We passed the Sabbath -at the falls. . On Monday morning I arose at four, and went down to the bridge to sketch the cascade. The whole heavens were overcast, and a fresh breeze from the southeast was driving portentous scuds before it, and piling them in dark masses along the western horizon. Rain soon began to fall, and I was obliged to retreat under the bridge, and content myself with sketching the more quiet scene of the river and shore below the cataract. We left Glenn's Falls in a " Rockaway" for Caldwell, on Lake George, nine miles north ward, at nine in the morning, the rain falling copiously. The road passes over a wild, 1 This view was take_n from under the bridge', looking down the river. river just below where the figures stand. The noted cave opens upon the i 06 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Williams's Rock. Approach of Dieskau. Hendrick, the Mohawk Sachem. broken, and romantic region. Our driver was a perfect Jehu. The plank road (since fin ished) was laid a small part of the way, and the speed he accomplished thereon he tried to keep up over the stony ground of the old track, to " prevent jolting !" On the right side of the road, within four miles of Lake George, is a huge boulder called " Williams's E-ock." It was so named from the fact that near it Colonel Ephraim Williams was killed on the 8th of September, 1755, in an engagement with the French and Indians under Baron Dieskau. Majdr-general (afterward Sir William) John son was at that time at the head of Lake George, with a body of provincial troops, and a large Williams's Rock.1 party of Indians under Hendrick, the famous Mohawk sachem. Dieskau, who was at Skenesbor ough, marched along the course of Wood Creek to attack Fort Edward, but the Canadians and Indians were so afraid of cannon that, when within two miles of the fort, they urged him to change his course, and attack Johnson in his camp on Lake George. To 1755. this request he acceded, for he ascertained by his scouts that Johnson was rather carelessly encamped, and was probably unsuspicious of danger. Information of his march was communicated to the English commander at midnight, September 7th, and early in the morning a council of war was held. It was determined to send out a small party to meet the French, and the opinion of Hendrick was ask ed. He shrewdly said, " If they are to fight, they are too few ; if they are to be killed, they are too many." His objection to the proposition to separate them into three divisions was quite as sensibly and laconically ex pressed. Taking three sticks and putting them togeth er, he remarked, " Put them together, and you can't break them. Take them one by one, and you can break them easily." Johnson was guided by the opinion of Hendrick, and a detachment of twelve hundred men ip one body, under Colonel Williams, was sent out to' meet the approaching enemy. Before commencing their march, Hendrick mounted • a gun-carriage and harangued his warriors in a strain of eloquence which had a powerful effect upon them. He was then about sixty-five years old. His head was covered with long white locks, and every warrior loved him with the deepest veneration.3 President Dwight, referring to this speech, says, "Lieutenant-colenel Hendrick.2 1 This view is taken from the road, looking northward. In the distance is seen the highest point of the French Mountain, on the left of which is Lake George. From this commanding height the French scouts had a fine view of all the English movements at the head of the lake. 2 The portrait here given of the chief is from a colored print published in London during the lifetime of the sachem.. It was taken while he was in England, and- habited in the full court dress presented to him by the king. Beneath the picture is engraved, " The brave old Hendrick, the great sachem or chief of the Mohawk Indians, one of the six nations now in alliance with, and subject to, the Kino- of Great Britain " 3 Hendrick (sometimes called King Hendrick) was born about 1680, and generalfy lived at the Upper Castle, upomthe Mohawk. He stood high in the estimation of Sir William Johnson, and was one of the most active and sagacious sachems of his time. When the tidings of his death were communicated to his son, the young chier gave the usual groan upon such occasions, and, placing his hand over his heart ex claimed, " My father still alive here. The son is now the father, and stands here ready to fight."— Gen tlemen's Magazine. Sir William Johnson obtained from Hendrick nearly one hundred thousand acres of .choice land now lying chiefly in Herkimer county, north of the Mohawk, in the following manner : The sachem, being at the baronet's house, saw a richly-embroidered coat and coveted it. The next morning he said to Sir Will iam, "Brother, me dream last night." "Indeed," answered Sir William; "what did my red brother OF THE REVOLUTION. 107 Speech of Hendrick. Fight with the French, and Death of Colonel Williams and Hendrick. Bloody Pond. Pomeroy, who was present and' heard this effusion of Indian eloquence, told me that, al though he did not understand a word of the language, such were the animation of Hendrick, the fire of his eye, the force of his gestures, the strength of his emphasis, the apparent pro priety of the inflections of his voice, and the natural appearance of his whole manner, that himself was more deeply affected with this speech than with any other he had ever heard." The French, advised by scouts of the march of the English, approached with their line in the form of a half moon, the road cutting the center. The country was so thickly wooded that all correct observation was precluded, and at Rocky- Brook, four miles from Lake George, Colonel Williams and his detachment found themselves directly in the hollow of the half moon. A heavy fire was opened upon them in front and on both flanks at the same mo ment, and the slaughter was dreadful. , Colonel Williams was shot dead near the rock be fore mentioned, and Hendrick fell, mortally wounded by a musket-ball in the back. This circumstance gave him great uneasiness, for it seemed to imply that he had turned his back upon his enemy. The fatal bullet came from one of the extreme flanks. On the fall of Williams, Lieutenant-colonel Whiting succeeded to the command,, and effected a retreat so judiciously that he saved nearly all of the detachment who were not killed or wounded by the first onslaught.1 So careless and apathetic was General Johnson, that he did not commence throwing up breast-works at his camp until after Colonel Williams had marched, and Dieskau was on , the road to meet him. The firing was heard at Lake George, and then the- alarmed com mander began in earnest to raise defenses, by forming a breast-work of trees, and mounting two cannon which he had fortunately received from Fort Edward the day before, when his men thus employed should have been sent out to re- enforce the/ retreating regiment. Three hund red were, indeed, sent out, but were totally in adequate. They met the flying English, and, joining in the retreat, hastened back to the camp, closely pursued by the French. A short distance from Williams's Rock is a small, slimy, bowl-shaped pond, about three hundred feet in diameter, and thickly covered with the leaves of the water-lily. It is near the battle-ground where Williams and his men1 were slain, and the French made it the sepulcher for the slaughtered Englishmen. Tradition avers that for many years its waters bore a bloody hue, Bloody Pond, dream?" " Me dream that coat be mine." " It is yours," said the shrewd baronet. Not long afterward Sir William visited the sachem, and he too had a dream. "Brother," he said, "I dreamed last night." "What did my pale-faced brother dream?" asked Hendrick. "I dreamed that this tract of land was mine," describing a square bounded on the south tfy the Mohawk, on the east by Canada Creek, and north and west by objects equally well known. Hendrick was astonished. He saw the enormity of the request, but was not to be outdone in generosity. He sat thoughtfully for a moment, and then said, " Brother, the land is yours, but you must not dream again." The title was confirmed by the British government, and the tract was called the Royal Grant. — Simms's Schoharie County, p. 124. 1 Colonel Ephraim Williams was born in 1715, at Newton,. Massachusetts. He made several voyages to Europe in early life. Being settled at Stockbridge when the war with France, in 1740, commenced,:, and possessed of great military talent, he was intrusted with the command of the line of Massachusetts' forts on the west side of the Connecticut River. He joined General Johnson, at the head of a regiment, in 1755, and, as we have seen, fell while gallantly leading his men against the enemy. By -his will, made before joining Johnson, he bequeathed his property to a township , west of Fort Massachusetts, on the con dition that it should be called Williamstown, and the money used for the establishment and maintenance of a free school. The terms were complied with, and the school was afterward incorporated (1793*) as a college. Such was the origin of Williams's College. ' Colonel Williams was forty years old at the time of his death. 108 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Arrival at Caldwell. Indian and French Names of Lake George. Fort William Henry. Attack upon Johnson's Camp, 1755 • and it has ever since been called Bloody Pond. I alighted in the rain, and made my way through tall wet grass and tangled vines, over. a newly-cleared field, until I got a favorable view for the sketch here presented, which I hope the reader will highly prize, for it cost a pair of boots, a linen "sack" ruined by the dark droppings from a cotton umbrella, and a box of cough lozenges. It was almost noon when we reined up at the Lake House at Caldwell. We had an ticipated much pleasure from the first sight of Horicon, but a mist covered its waters, and its mountain frame-work was enveloped in fog ; so we reserved our sentiment for use* the next fair day, donned dry clothing, and sat quietly down in the parlor to await the sover eign pleasure of the storm. Lake George is indeed a beautiful sheet of water, and along its whole length of thirty-six miles almost every island, bay, and bluff is clustered with historic associations. On account of the purity of its waters, the Indians gave it the name of Horicon, or Silver Water. They also called it Canideri-oit, or The Tail of the Lake, on account of its connection with Lake Champlain.1 It was visited by Samuel .Champlain in 1609, and some suppose that he gave his name to this lake instead of the one which now bears it. It is fair to infer, from his own account, that he penetrated southward as far as Glenn's Falls ; and it is not a little remarkable.that in the same year, and possibly at the same season, Hendrick Hudson was exploring below the very stream near the head-waters of which the French navigator was resting. Strange that two adventurers, in the service of different sovereigns ruling three thousand miles away, and approaching from different points of the compass, so nearly met in the vast forests of wild America. The French, who afterward settled at Chimney Point, on Lake Champlain, frequently visited this lake, and gave it the name of Sacrament, its pure waters suggesting the idea.s The little village of Caldwell contains about two hundred inhabitants, and is situated near the site of Fort William Henry, at the head of the lake, a fortress erected by General Johnson to ward the close of 1755, after his battle there with the French under Dieskau. That battle occurred on the same day when Colonel Williams and his de tachment were routed at Rocky Brook. The French pursued the retreating English vigorously, and about noon they were seen approaching in considerable force and regular order, aiming directly toward the center of the British encampment. When within one hund red rods of the breast-works, in the open valley in front of the elevation on which Fort George (now a picturesque ruin) was afterward* built, Dieskau halt ed and disposed his Indians and Canadians upon the right and left flanks. The regular troops, under the immediate command of the baron, attacked the' En glish center, but, having only small arms, the effect was trifling. The English reserved their fire until the Indians and Canadians were close upon them, when with sure aim they poured upon them a volley of musket-balls which mowed them down like grass before the 1 Spafford's Gazetteer of New York. a The bed of the lake is a yellowish sand, and the water is so transparent that a white object, such as ¦an earthen plate, may be seen upon the bottom at a. depth of nearly forty feet. The delicious salmon trout, that weigh from five to twenty pounds, silver trout, pike, pickerel, and perch are found here in great abundance, -and afford fine sport and dainty food for the swarms of visitors at the Lake House during the summer season. , 3 The extent of the embankments and fosse of this fort was fourteen hundred feet, and the barracks were built of wood upon a strong foundation of lime-stone, which abounds in the neighborhood. This -plan is copied from a curious old picture by Blodget, called a " Prospective Plan of the Battles near Lake George, 1755." • Fort William Henry.3 OF *?HE REVOLUTION. 1 g y Battle of Lake George, and Death of Dieskau. Weakness of British Commanders. The Six Nations. Hendrick's Rebuke. scythe. At the same moment a bomb-shell was thrown among them by a howitzer, while two field pieces showered upon them a quantity of grape-shot. The savage allies, and al most as savage colonists, greatly terrified, broke and fled to the swamps in the neighborhood. The regulars maintained their ground for some time, but, abandoned by their companions, and terribly galled by the steady fire from the breast-works, at length gave way, and Dies kau attempted a retreat. Observing this, the English leaped over their breast-works and pursued them. The French were dispersed in all directions, and Dieskau, wounded and helpless, was found leaning upon the stump of a tree. As the provincial soldier1 who dis covered him approached, he put his hand in his pocket to draw out his watch as a bribe to allow him to escape. Supposing that he was feeling for a pocket pistol, the soldier gave him a severe wound in the hip with a musket-balL He was carried into the English camp in a blanket and tenderly treated, and was, soon afterward taken to Albany, then to New York, and finally to England, where he died from the effects of his wounds. Johnson was wounded at the commencement of the conflict in the fleshy part of his thigh, in which a musket-ball lodged^ and the whole battle was directed for five consecutive hours by General Lyman, the Second in command.2 Johnson's Indians, burning with a fierce desire to avenge the death of Hendrick, were eager to follow the retreating enemy ; and General Lyman proposed a vigorous continuation of efforts by attacking the French posts at Ticonderoga and Crown Point, on Lake Cham plain. But Johnson, either through fear, a love of ease, or some other inexplicable cause, withheld his consent, and the residue of the autumn was spent in erecting Fort William Henry. In the colonial wars, as well as in the war of our Revolution, the British government was often unfortunate in its choice of commanders. Total inaction, or, at best, great tardi ness, frequently marked their administratfen of military affairs. They could not comprehend the elastic activity of the provincials, and were too proud to listen to their counsels. This tardiness and pride cost them many misfortunes, either by absolute defeat in battle, or the theft of glorious opportunities for victory through procrastination. Their shrewd savage allies saw and lamented this, and before the commissioners of the several colonies, who met at Albany in 1754 to consult upon a plan of colonial alliance, in which the Six Nations3 were invited to join, Hendrick administered a pointed rebuke to the governor and military commanders.' The sachems were first addressed by James Delancy, then lieutenant-gov ernor of New York ; and Hendrick, who was a principal speaker, in the course of a reply remarked, " Brethren, we have not as yet confirmed the peace with them (meaning the French-Indian allies). 'Tis your fault, brethren ; we are not strengthened by conquest, for* we should have gone and taken Crown Point, but you hindered us. We had concluded to go and take it, but were told it was too late, that the ice would not bear us. Instead of this, you burned your own fort at Sar-ragh-to-gee [near old Fort Hardy], and ran away from it, which was a shame and a scandal to you. Look about your country, and see ; you have no fortifications about you— no, not even to this city. 'Tis but one step from Canada hither, and the French may easily come and turn you out of doors. " Brethren, you were desirous we should open our minds and our hearts to you : look at 1 This soldier is believed to have been General Seth Pomeroy, of Northampton, Massachusetts. — Ever ett's Life of Stark. 2 At this battle General Stark, the hero of Bennington, then a lieutenant in the corps of Rogers's Rangers, was first initiated in the perils and excitements of regular warfare. 3 The Six Nations consisted of the tribes of the Mohawks, Onondagas, Oneidas, Senecas, Cayugas, and Tuscaroras. The first five were a long time allied, and known as the Five Nations. They were joined by the Tuscaroras of North Carolina in 1714, and from that time the confederation was known by the title of the Six Nations. Their great council fire was in the special keeping of the Onondagas, by whom it was always kept Miming. This confederacy was a terror to the other Indian tribes, and extended its con quests even as far as South Carolina, where it waged war against, and nearly exterminated, the once pow erful Catawbas. When, in 1744, the Six Nations ceded a portion of their lands to Virginia, they insisted* on tine continuance of a free warTpath through the ceded territory. t HO PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Lord Loudon. Montcalm's first Attack on Fort Wilham Henry. Perfidy and~Cov^ardice of Webb. Vigilance of Stark the French, they are men — they are fortifying every where ; but, we are ashamed to say'it, you are like women, bare and open, without any fortifications."1 The head of Lake George was the theater of a terrible massacre in 1757. Lord Lou don, a man' of no energy of character, and totally deficient in the requisites for a military leader, was appointed that year governor of Virginia, and commander-in-chief of all the British forces in North America. A habit of procrastination, and his utter indecision, thwarted all his active intentions, if he ever had any, and, after wasting the whole season in getting- here and preparing to do something, he was recalled by Pitt, then prime minister, who gave as a reason for appointing Lord Amherst in his place, that the minister never heard from him, and could not tell what he was doing? Opposed to him was the skillful and active French commander, the Marquis Montcalm, who succeeded Dieskau. Early in the spring he made- an attempt to capture Fort* William March 16 Henry. He passed up Lake George on St. Patrick's eve, landed stealthily behind 1757. Long Point, and the next afternoon appeared suddenly before the fort. A part of the garrison made a vigorous defense, and Montcalm succeeded only in burning some build ings and vessels which were out of reach of the guns at the fort.3 He returned to Ticon deroga, at which post and at Crown. Point he mustered all his forces, amounting to nine thousand men, including Canadians and Indians, and in July prepared for another attempt to capture Fort William Henry. General Webb, who was commander of the forces in that quarter, was at Fort Edward with four thousand men. He visited Fort William Henry under an escort of two hundred men commanded by Major Putnam, and while there he sent that officer with eighteen Rangers down the lake, to ascertain the position of the enemy on Champlain. They were discovered to be more numerous than was supposed, for the-islands at the entrance of North west Bay were swarming with French and Indians. Putnam returned, and begged Gen eral Webb to let him go down with his Rangers in full force and attack them, but he was allowed only to make another reconnoissance, and bring off two boats and their crews which he left fishing. The enemy gave chase in canoes, and at times nearly surrounded them, but they reached the fort in safety. Webb caused Putnam to administer an oath of secrecy to his Rangers respecting the proximity of the enemy, and then ordered him to escort him back immediately to Fort Ed ward. This order was so repugnant to' Putnam, both as to its perfidy and unsoldierly char acter, that he ventured .to remonstrate by saying, " I hope your excellency does not intend to neglect so fair an opportunity of giving battle should the enemy presume to land." Webb "coolly and cowardly replied, " What do you think we should do here ?" The near approach of the enemy was cruelly concealed from the garrison, and under his escort the 'general re turned to Fort Edward. The next day he sent Colonel Monroe with a regiment to re-en force and to take command of the garrison at Lake George. Montcalm, with more than nine thousand men, and a powerful train of artillery, landed 1 Reported for the Gentlemen's Magazine, London, 1755. 5 This is asserted by Dr. Franklin in his Autobiography (Sparks's Life, 219), where he gives an anec dote illustrative of the character of Loudon. Franklin had occasion to go to his office in New York, where he met a Mr. Innis, who had brought dispatches from Philadelphia from Governor Denny, and was await ing his lordship's answer, promised the following day. A fortnight afterward he met Innis, and expressed his surprise at his speedy return. But he had not yet gone, and averred that he had called at Loudon's office every morning during the fortnight, but the letters. were not yet ready. " Is it possible," said Frank ¦ lin, " when he is so great a writer ? I, see him constantly at his escritoire." " Yes," said Innis, " but he, is like St. George on the signs, always on horseback, but never rides forward." 3 The garrison and fort were saved by the vigilance, of Lieutenant Stark, who, in the absence of Rogers,- had command of the Rangers, a large portion of which were Irishmen. On the evening of the 16th he overheard some of these ^planning a celebration of St. Patrick's (the following day). He ordered the sutler not to issue spirituous liquors the next day without a written order. When applied to lie pleaded a lame wrist as an excuse for not writing, and his Rangers were kept sober. The Irish in the regular regiments got drunk, as usual on such an occasion. Montcalm anticipated this, and planned his attack on the night of St. Patrick's day. Stark, with his sober Rangers, gallantly defended and saved the fort. OF THE REVOLUTION. m Montcalm's second Attack on Fort William Henry. Surrender of the Garrison. Perfidy of the French and Indians. at the head of the lake, and beleaguered the garrison, consisting of less than three thousand men.1 He sent in proposals to Monroe for a surrender of the fort, urging his humane desire to prevent the bloodshed which a stubborn resistance would assuredly cause. ' Monroe, con fidently expecting re-enforcements from Webb, refused to listen to any such proposals. The French then commenced the siege, which lasted six consecutive days, without much slaugh ter on either side. Expresses were frequently sent to General Webb in the mean while, imploring aid, but he remained inactive and indifferent in his camp at Fort Edward. Gen eral Johnson was at last allowed to march, with Putnam and his Rangers, to the relief of the beleaguered garrison ; but when about three miles from Fort Edward, Webb recalled them, and sent a letter to Monroe, saying he could render him no assistance, and advising him to surrender. This letter was intercepted by Montcalm, and gave him great joy, for he had been informed by some Indians of > the movements of the provincials under Johnson and Putnam, who represented them'to be as numerous as the leaves on the trees. Alarmed at this, Montcalm was beginning to suspend the operations of the siege preparatory to a re treat, when the letter from the pusillanimous Webb fell into his hands. He at once sent it in to Monroe, with proposals for an immediate surrender. Monroe saw that his case was hopeless, for two of his cannon had burst'ed, and his ammu nition and stores were nearly exhausted. Articles of capitulation were agreed upon, and, under promise of protection, the -garrison marched out of the fort preparatory to being es corted to Fort Edward. ' • The savages, two thousand warriors in number, were enraged at the terms of capitula tion, for they were mduced to serve in this expedition by a promise of.plunder.3 This was denied them, and they felt at liberty to throw off all restraint. As soon as the last man left the gate of the fort, they raised the hideous war-whoop, and fell upon the English with the fury of demons. The massacre was indiscriminate and terrible, and the French were idle spectators of .the perfidy of their allies. They refused interference, withheld the prom ised escort, and the savages pursued the poor , Britons with great slaughter, half way to Fort Edward.4 Fifteen hundred of thei 1 were butchered or carried into hopeless captivity. Montcalm utterly disclaimed all connivance, and declared his inability to prevent the mas sacre without ordering his men to fire upon the Indians. But it left a deep stain upon his otherwise humane character, and the indignation excited by the event aroused the English colonists to more united and vigorous action. Montcalm "burned and otherwise destroyed every thing connected with the forti- August 9, fication. Major Putnam, who had! been sent with his Rangers from Fort Edward 1757- to watch the movements of Montcalm, reached Lake George just as the rear of the enemy left the shore, and truly awful was the scene there presented, as described by himself : " The fort was entirely demolished ; the barracks, out-houses, and buildings were a heap of ruins ; the cannon, stores, boats, and vessels were all carried away. The fires were still burning, the smoke and stench offensive and suffocating. Innumerable fragments, human skulls and bones, and carcasses half consumed, were still frying and broiling in the decaying fires. 1 The place where Montcalm landed is a little north of the Lake House, at Caldwell, and about a mile from the site of the fort. s It was stipulated, 1st. That the garrison should march out with their arms and baggage ; 2d. Should be' escorted to Fort Edward by a detachment of French troops, and should not serve against the- French for a term of eighteen months ; 3d. The works and all the warlike stores should be delivered to the French ; 4th. That the sick and wounded of the garrison should remain under the protection of Montcalm, and should be permitted to return as soon as they were recovered. 3 Dr. Belknap. 4 The defile through which the English retreated, and in which so many were slaughtered, is called the Bloody Defile. It is a deep gorge between the road from Glenn's Falls to Lake George and the high range of hills northward, called the French Mountain. In excavations for the plank road near the defile a large number of skeletons were exhumed. I saw the skull of one, -which was of an enormous size, at least one third larger than any other human head I ever saw. The occipital portion exhibited a long fracture, evi dently made by a tomahawk. 112 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Destruction of Fort William Henry. Brilliant Expedition under Abercrombie. Visit to the Ruins of Fort George Dead bodies, mangled with scalping-knives and tomahawks in all the wantonness of Indian fierceness and barbarity, were every where to be seen. More than one hundred women, butchered and shockingly mangled, lay upon the ground, still weltering in their gore. Dev astation, barbarity, and horror every where appeared, and the spectacle presented was too diabolical and awful either to be endured or described." Fort William Henry was never rebuilt. Upon an eminence about a mile southeast of it, and half a mile from the lake, Fort George was erected, but it was never a scene of very stirring events. A little south of Fort George was a small fortification called Fort Gage, so named in honor of General Gage, who served under Lord Amherst, and ^succeeded him in the command of the forces in America in 1760, and was Governor of Massachusetts when the Revolution broke out. Hardly a vestige of this fort can now be seen. The English, under General Abercrombie and the young Lord Howe, quartered at F^ort George in 1758, preparatory to an attack upon the French posts upon Lake Champlain. Seven thousand regulars and nine thousand provincial troops were there assembled, with a one train of artillery and all necessary military stores, the largest and best-appointed army yet seen in America. On the 5th of July they embarked on Lake George, on board nine hundred bateaux and one hundred and thirty-five whale-boats, and the next day landed at the foot af the lake and pushed on toward Ticonderoga. Of the events which befell them there I' shall hereafter write. Let us glance a moment at the present. Toward evening the rain abated, and, accompanied by an #ld resident shoemaker as guide, I made a visit to the remains of the two English-forts. The elder one (Fort William Henry) stood directly upon the lake shore, on the west side of a clear mountain stream called West Creek, the main inlet of Lake George. Nothing of it now remains but a few mounds and shallow ditches, so leveled and filled that the form of the works can not be distinctly traced. The road along the lake shore passes across the northeast and northwest aftgles, but the feat ures of the past are hardly tangible enough to attract the attention of a passer«by. A little southwest of the fort, at the base of Rattlesnake or Prospect Hill, is a level clearing called the French Field. It is the place where Dieskau halted and disposed his troops for action. Many of the slain were buried there ; and I saw a rough-hewn stone at the head of a grave, upon which was inscribed, in rude characters, "Jacques Cortois, 1755." Fort George, the remains of which are scattered over several acres, was situated about a mile southeast from William Henry, upon an eminence gently sloping back from the lake. The dark limestone or black marble, such as is found at Glenn's Falls, here e.very where approaching near the surface or protruding above, formed a solid foundation, and supplied ample materials for a fortress. A quadrangular citadel, or sort of castle, was built within the lines of breast-works, and the ruins of this constitute all that is left of the old fort. I observed vestiges of the foundations of the barracks and other buildings ; and the quarries whence materials were taken for the buildings and ramparts seem almost as fresh as if just opened. The wall- of the citadel, on the east ern side (the left of the picture), is now about ^ ifai" twenty feet high. Within the ancient area ,^^s#:^^*^7/ii35.=t^' "**>-- ' of the fort there is just sufficient earth to nour ish a thick growth of dark juniper bushes, which, with the black rocks and crumbling masonry, presented a somber aspect. Both forts commanded a fine view of the lake for ten miles north. The indications of fair weather which lured me out suddenly disappeared, and before I reached the Lake House the heavy clouds that came rolling up from the south poured RulNS 0FTHE ClTADEL 0F FoET Geokge. down their contentscopiously. Dark masses of vapor hovered upon the mountains that begirt the lake, and about sunset the tops of all OF THE REVOLUTION* 113 Storm upon Lake George.! Arrivals from Ticonderoga. Departure from. Caldwell. were buried in the driving mists. We seemed to be completely shut up within mighty prison walls; and early in the evening vivid lightning and heavy thunder-peals contributed to produce a scene of sirigular grandeur and awe. In the midst of the elemental strife the steam-boat arrived with passengers from Ticonderoga, and those pleasure seekers who came in her, bedraggled and weary, were capital studies for an artistic Jeremiah in search of lam entations personified. But an excellent supper, in dry quarters, soon brought the sunshine of gladness to every face, and before ten o'clock more than half the new-comers were among the-Iiveliest in quadrille, cotillion, waltz, or gallopade. I arose the next morning at four. The scene from my chamber window was one of quiet beauty. The sky was cloudless, and the lake, without a ripple, was spread out before me, " A glorious mirror of the Almighty's form." The east was all glowing with the soft radiaifbe of approaching sunlight, giving a deeper gray to the lofty hills that intervened, and every tree was musical with the morning song of tbe birds.* " The south wind was like a gentle friend, Parting the hair so softly on my brow. It had come o'er the gardens, and the flowers That kissed it were betrayed ; for as it parted With its invisible fingers my loose hair, I knew it had been trifling with the rose And stooping to the violet. There is joy For all God's creatures in it." Willis. From the piazza of the Lake House, fronting the water, a compre hensive view of the historic grounds in the vicinage may be seen, as delin eated in the picture. In the extreme distance on the left is the range of the French Mountain, and on the right Rattlesnake Hill (one thousand five hundred feet high), with other lofty elevations, heavily wooded to their very summits. By the trees on the' shore, in the center of the picture, is the site of Fort William Henry ; and further on the left, and directly over the flag-staff, is the site of Fort George. We left this fine summer resort in the steam-boat William Caldwell, at eight in the morning. The air was clear and cool, the company agree able, and the voyage down the lake delightful. The mountain shores, the deep bays, and the numerous islands (said to be three hundred and sixty-five, the number of days in the year) present a constant variety, and all that the eye takes in on every side is one vision of ' beauty. I procured a seat in the pilot's room aloft, whence I had a broad view of the whole ' ever-changing panorama of the lake in the course of the voyage. • The first island which we passed, of any considerable size, was Diamond Island,1 lying 1 This name was given it on account of the number and beauty of the quartz crystals which are found apon it In shape and brilliancy they resemble pure diamonds. H "T***j- 1 14 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Diamond Island. Successful Expedition under Colonel Brown. Long Point, Dome Island, and the Narrows. directly in front of Dunham's Bay. Here was a depot of military stores for Burgoyne's army in 1777, and the scene of a sharp conflict between the small garrison that defended it and a detachment of Americans under Colonel Brown. . Between the actions of the 1 9th of September and '7th of October at Bemis's Heights, General Lincoln, with a body of New England militia, got in the rear of Burgoyne near Lake Champlain. He sent Colonel Brown with a strong division to attempt the recapture of Ticonderoga and the posts in the vicinity, and thus to cut off the retreat of the British as well as their supplies. It was a service September 25 exactly suited to Brown's active and energetic character, and, by a rapid and 1777- stealthy movement on a stormy night, he surprised and captured all the Brit ish outposts between the landing-place at the north end of Lake George and the main for tress at Ticonderoga. Mount Hope, Mount Defiance, the French lines, and a block-house, with an armed sloop, two hundred bateaux, and several gun-boats, fell into his hands. He also captured two hundred and ninety-three prisoners, and released one hundred Americans ; and, among other things, he retook the old Continental standard which St. 'Clair left at Ti conderoga when he evacuated that post. He then attacked the fortress, but its walls were impregnable, and he withdrew. Flushed with success, Colonel Brown determined to sweep Lake George, and in the ves sels they had captured the Americans proceeded to Diamond Island. The little garrison there made a vigorous resistance, and the republicans were repulsed with some loss. They then pushed for the shore on the south side of Dunham's Bay, where they burned all the vessels they had captured, and returned to Lincoln's camp. A little north of Diamond Island is Long Island, which" lies directly in front of Long Long Point and Vicinity. ' Point, a narrow, fertile strip of land that projects far into the lake from the eastern shore. The estuary between the north side of the point and the mountains is Harris's Bay, the place where Montcalm moored his bateaux and landed on the 16th of March, 1757. About twelve miles from Caldwell, in the center- of the lake, is Dome Island, which, at the distance of two or three miles, has the appearance of the upper portion of a large dome, with an arch as regular as if made by art. This island was the shelter for Putnam's men whom he left -in the two boats while he informed General Webb of the presence of the French and Indians upon the two islands near the entrance of Northwest Bay, and nearly in front of the landing-place at Bolton, on the western shore. Shelving Rock, a lofty cliff on the eastern shore, and Tongue Mountain, a bold, rocky promontory on the west, flank the entrance to the Narrows, where the islands are so numer- ous, varying in size from a few rods to an acre, that there is only a very narrow channel for a steam-boat to pass through. A little north of Shelving Rock is the Black Mountain, its summit twenty-two hundred feet high, thickly covered with the dark spruce, and its sides robed with the cedar, fir, pine, and tamarac. There the wild deer, the bear, and the cata mount have free-range, for the hunter seldom toils up its weary ascent. 1 This little sketch was taken from the steam-boat, near the south end of Long Island which appears in the foreground. Long Point is seen in the center, and on the right, are Dunham's Bay and the northern extremity of the French Mountain. The highest peak on the left is Deer Pasture, or Buck Mountain OF THE REVOLUTION. 1 1 Sabbath Day Point Skirmish in 1756. Halt of Abercrotnbie's Army. Splendid Appearance of the Armament A few miles beyond the entrance to the Narrows, on the western shore, is another fertile l= _ strip of land projecting into the lake, called Sab bath Day Point. It is between three and four miles from the little village of Hague, in the midst of the most picturesque scenery imagina ble. Here, in 1756, a small provincial force, pressed by a party of French and Indians, and unable to escape across the lake, made a des perate resistance, and defeated the enemy with Here, in the summer of 1758, General Abercrombie, with his fine Sabbath DAT Point. considerable slaughter. army, already noticed as having embarked in bateaux and whale- boats at the head of the lake, landed for refreshments. It was just at dark, on a sultry Saturday July 5, evening, when the troops 1758. debarked and spread over the beautiful cape for a few hours' repose. The young Lord Howe, the well-beloved of both officers and soldiers, was there, and call ed around him, in serious consul tation, some of the bravest-of the youthful partisans who accom panied the expedition. 'Captain Stark (the Revolutionary gener al) was invited to sup with him ; and long and anxious were the inquiries the young nobleman made respecting the fortress of. Ticonderoga and its outposts, which they were about to assail, as if a presentiment of personal . disaster possessed his mind. It was after midnight, when the whole armament moved slow ly down the lake, and it was late on the Sabbatb morning before they reached the landing- place at the foot of it." The scene exhibited by this strong and well-armed force of sixteen thousand men was very imposing- " The order of march," says Major Rogers, " exhibited a splendid military show." Howe, in a large boat, led the van of the flotilla. He was accompanied by a guard of Rangers and boatmen. The regular troops occupied the center and the provincials tbe wings. The sky was clear and starry, and not a breeze ruffled the dark waters as they slept quietly in the shadows of the mountains. Their oars were muf- Lake George and part of Lake Champlain.1 1 Explanation of the references : 1. Fort Ticonderoga. 2. Fort Howe. 3. Mount Defiance. 4. Mount Independence. 5. Village of Alexandria. 7. Black Point. 8. Juniper Island. 9. Anthony's Nose. 10. M'Donald's Bay. .11. Rogers's retreat on the ice to Fort William Henry. 1 2. Cook's Isl ands. 13. Scotch Bonnet. 14. Odell Island. 15. Buck Mountain and Rattlesnake Dens. 16. Shelv ing Rock. 17. Phelps's Point. 18. Long Point. 19. Long Island. 20. Dome Island. 21. Diamond Island. 22, Dunham's Bay. 23. Harris's Bay. 24. The route of Dieskau from Skenesborough to Fort William Henry. 3 It being early on Sunday morning when the army left the point, General Abercrombie named the place Sabbath Day Point. The little sketch' here given was taken from the steam-boat, half a mile above, look ing northeast. » 1 16 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Skirmish at Sabbath Day Point, 1776. Rogers's Slide.- Narrow Escape of Major Rogers. Prisoners' Island. fled ; and so silently did they move on in the darkness, that not a scout upon the hills ob served them. Day dawned just as they were abreast of the Blue Mountain, four miles from the landing-place ; and the first intimation which the outposts of the enemy, stationed there, had of the approach of the English was the full blaze of Ted uniforms which burst upon their sight as the British army swept around a point and prepared to land. At Sabbath Day Point a party of American militia of Saratoga county had a severe bat tle with Tories and -Indians in 1776. Both were scouting parties, and came upon each other unexpectedly. The Americans repulsed the enemy, and killed and wounded about forty. There are now a few buildings upon the point, and the more peaceful heroism pf the culturist, in conflict with the unkindness of nature, is beautifying and enriching it. On the western shore of the lake, three miles .northward of the little village of Hague, is Rogers's Rock, or Rogers's Slide. The lake ^ is here quite narrow, and huge masses of rocks, some a hundred feet high, are piled in wild .„,_ ,''"-".' ~ confusion on every side. The whole height ; ¦*'_ of Rogers's Rock is about four hundred feet; and the " slide," almost a smooth surface, with a descent on an angle of about twenty-five degrees from meridian, is two hundred feet. This hill' derives its name from the fact, that from its summit Major Rogers, commander of a corps of Rangers, escaped from Indian pur suers. With a small party who were recon- noitering at the outlet of the lake, in the win ter of 1758, he was surprised and put to flight by a band of Indians. He was equipped with snow-shoes, and eluded pursuit until he came to the summit of the mountain. Aware lhat they would follow his track, he descended to the top of the smooth rock, and, casting liis knapsack and his haversack of provisions down upon the ice, slipped off his snow-shoes, and, without moving them, turned himself about and put them on his feet again. He then retreated along the southern brow of the rock several rods, and down a ravine he made his way safely to the lake below, snatched up his pack, and fled on the ice to Fort George. The Indians, in the mean while, coming to the spot, saw the two tracks, both apparently approaching the precipice, and concluded that two persons had cast themselves down the rock rather than fall, into their hands. Just then they saw the bold leader of the Rangers making his way across the ice, and believing that he had slid down the steep face of the rock, considered him (as did 'the Indians Major Putnam at Fort Miller) under the special protection of the Great Spirit, and made no attempt at pursuit.2 In consequence of a detention at Bolton, we did not reach the landing-place at the outlet of the lake until noon. Within a mile of the landing is a small island covered with shrub bery, called Prisoners' Island, where the French, in the Seven Years' War, kept their En glish captives who were taken in that vicinity. The first party confined there easily es- Rogers's Rock.1 1 This sketch is from the lake, a little south of Cook's Point, seen just over the boat on the left. Imme diately beyond is seen the smooth rock. Nearly opposite the "slide" is Anthony's Nose, a hio-h rocky promontory, having the appearance of a human nose in shape when viewed from a particular point. 3 Major Rogers was the son of an Irishman, who was an early settler of Dumbarton, in New Hampshire. He was appointed to the command of a party of Rangers in 1755, and with them did signal service to the British cause. In 1759 he was sent by General Amherst from Crown Point to destroy the Indian villao-e of St. Francis. He afterward served in the Cherokee war. In 1766 he was appointed governor of Michilti- mackinac. He was accused of constructive treason, and was sent in irons to Montreal for trial. In 1769 he went to England, was presented to the king, but soon afterward was imprisoned for debt. He returned to America, and in the Revolution took up arms for the king. In 1777 he returned to England, where he died. His name was on the proscription list of Tories included in the act of New Hampshire against them in 1778. His journal of the French War, first published at London in 1765, was republished at Concoid in 1831. OF THE REVOLUTION. 117 Debarkation of British Troops. A pleasant traveling Companion. Trip from Lake George to Ticonderoga. caped, in consequence of the carelessness of the victors in not ascertaining the depth of the water, which on one side is fordable. A small guard was left in charge of them, and, as soon as the main body of tbe French had retreated, the English prisoners waded from the island and escaped. Directly west of this island is Howe's Landing, the place where Lord Howe with the van-guard df Abercrombie's army first landed, the outlet, a mile below, being in possession of the enemy. The whole British force debarked here on the morning after leaving Sab bath Day Point, and before noon the Rangers under Rogers and Stark were pushing Ju]y 6 forward toward Ticonderoga, as a flank or advance-guard to clear the woods, while 1758-' the main army pressed onward. The distance from the steam-boat landing'to Fort Ticonderoga is four miles. We found vehicles in abundance awaiting our arrival, and prepared to carry passengers with all their baggage, frorri a clean dickey only to a four-feet trunk, for twenty-fiVe cents each. I suc ceeded in securing my favorite seat on a pleasant day, the coachman's perch. At the Lake House we became acquainted with a young lady from the vicinity of the lofty Catskills, whose love of travel and appreciation of nature made her an enthusiast, and one of the most agreeable companions imaginable. She fairly reveled in the beauties of Lake George, not exhibited in the simpering lip-sentimentality, borrowed frorri the novelist, which so often annoys the sensible man when in the midst of mere fashionable tourists, but in hearty, in telligent, and soul-stirring emotions of pleasure, which lie far deeper in the heart than mor tal influence can fathom, and which gleam out in every lineament of the face. While others were afraid of spoiling their complexions in the sun, or of crumpling their smooth dresses or fine bonnets, she bade defiance to dust and crowds, for her brown linen " sack," with its capacious pockets for a guide-book and other accessories, and her plain sun-bonnet gave her no uneasiness ; arid her merry laughter, which awoke ringing echoes along the hills as she, too, mounted the coachman's seat to enjoy the fresh air and pleasant landscape, was the very soul of pleasure. We rambled with herself and brother that afternoon over the ruins of Ticonderoga, and at evening parted company. We hope her voyage of life may be as pleasant and joyous as those few hours which she spent that day, where, " In the deepest core Of the free wilderness, a crystal sheet Expands its mirror to the trees that crowd Its mountain borders." The road from the foot of Lake George to Fort " Ty" is hilly, but the -varied scenery makes the ride a pleasant one. We crossed the outlet of the lake twice ; first at the Upper Falls, where stands the dilapidated village of Alexandria, its industrial energies weighed down, J was told, by the narrow policy of a " lord of the manor" residing in London, who owns the fee of all the land and of the water privileges, and will not sell, or give long leases. The good people of the place pray for his life to be a short and a happy one — a very gener ous supplication. From the high ground near the village a fine prospect opened on the east ward ; and suddenly, as if a curtain had been removed, the cultivated farms and pleasant villages of Vermont along the lake shore, and the blue line of the Green Mountains in the far distance, were spread out before us. The second or Lower Falls is half wayibetween the two lakes, and here the thriving vil lage of Ticonderoga is situated. A bridge and a saw-mill were there many years before the Revolution ; and this is the spot where Lord Howe, at the head of his column, crossed the stream and pushed forward through the woods toward the French lines, a mile and a quarter beyond. We arrived at the Pavilion near the fort at one o'clock, dined, and with a small party set off immediately to view the interesting ruins of one of the most noted fortresses in America. Before noticing its present condition and appearance, let us glance at its past history. Ticonderoga is a corruption of Cheonderoga, an Iroquois word, signifying Sounding «•<*» 1 18 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Topographyt-of Ticonderoga. The Fortress. Its Investment by Abercrombie. Bravery of Lord Howe. t.ers, and was applied by the Indians to the rushing waters of the outlet of Lake George at the falls. The French, who first built a fort at Crown Point (Fort St. Frederic), estab lished themselves upon this peninsula in 1755, and the next year they began the erection of a strong fortress, which they called Fort Carillon.1 The Indian name was generally applied to it, and by that only was it known from the close of the French and Indian war in 1763. 2 The peninsula is elevated more than one hund red feet above the lake, and contains about five hundred acres. Nature and art made it a strong place. Water was upon three sides, and a deep swamp extended nearly across the fourth. Within a mile north of the fortress intrenchments were thrown up, the remains of which may still be seen at each side of the road, and are known as the French lines. The whple defenses were completed by the erection of a breast- work nine feet high, upon the narrowest part of the neck between the swamp and the outlet of Lake George ; and before the breast-work was a strong abatis. Here, as I have already mentioned, was the general rendezvous of the French under Montcalm, August 3 preparatory to the attack on Fort William H,enry. It continued to be the head- 1757. quarters of that general until Quebec was threatened by an expedition under Wolfe,- up the St. Lawrence, when he abandoned the posts on Lake Champlain, and mustered all his forces at the capital of Lower Canada. Montcalm cornmanded a force of four thousand men at Ticonderoga when Abercrombie July 6 approached, and was in daily expectation of receiving a re-enforcement of three thou sand troops under M. de Levi. The English commander was advised of this ex- Ground Plan. 1759. 1758. pected re-enforcement of the garrison, and felt the necessity of making an immediate attack upon the works. His army moved forward in three columns ; but so dense was the forest that covered the whole country, that their progress was slow. They were also deficient in suitable guides, and in a short time were thrown into a great deal of confusion. They pressed steadily forward, and the advanced post of the French (a breast-work of logs) was set fire to by the enemy themselves and abandoned. Lord Howe, who was Abercrombie's lieutenant, or second in command, led the advanced column ; and as they pressed onward after crossing the bridge, Major Putnam, with about one hundred men, advanced as a scouting party to reconnoiter. Lord Howe, eager to make the first attack, proposed to accompany Putnam, but the major tried to dissuade him, by saying, " My lord, if I am killed the loss of my life will be, of little consequence, but the preservation of yours is of infinite importance to this army." The answer was, " Putnam, your life is as dear to you as mine is to me. I am determined to go."3 They dashed on through the woods, and in a few minutes fell in with the advanced guard of the French, who had retreated from the first breast-works, and, with out a guide and bewildered, were endeavoring to find their way back to the lines. A sharp skirmish ensued, and at the first fire Lord Howe, another officer, and several privates were 1 This is -a French word, signifying chime, jingling, noise, bawling, scolding, racket, clatter, riot. — Bayer. Its application to this spot had the same reference tc the rush of waters as the Indian name Che- onderoga. 2 This fortress was strongly built. Its walls and barracks were of limestone, and every thing about it was done in the most substantial manner. Explanation of the ground plan : a, entrance and wicket gate ; b, counterscarp twenty feet wide ; c c, bastions ; d, under-ground' room and ovens ; eeee, barracks and officers' quarters ; /, court or parade- ground ; g g, trench or covert-way, sixteen feet wide and ten feet deep ; h, the place where Ethan AUec and his men entered by a covert-way from the outside. 3 Humphrey's Life ef Putnam. OF THE REVOLUTION. j j 9 Fight with the French, and Death of Howe. Attack on Ticonderoga, and Defeat of the English. Other Expeditions killed.1 The French were repulsed with a loss of three hundred killed and one hundred and forty-eight taken prisoners. The English column's were so much broken, confused, and fatigued, that Abercrombie marched them back to the landing-place on Lake George, to bivouac for the night. Early the next morning Colonel Bradstreet advanced and took pos session of the saw-mills, near the present village of Ticonderoga, which the enemy had abandoned. Abercrombie sent an engineer to reconnoiter, and on his reporting that the works were unfinished and might easily be taken, the British troops were again put in motion toward the fortress. As they approached the lines, the French, who were completely shel- Jul ^ tered behind their breast-works, opened a heavy discharge-' of artillery upon them, but 1758- they pressed steadily forward in the face of the storm, determined to assault the works, and endeavor to carry them by sword and bayonet. They found them so well defended by a deep abatis, that it was almost impossible to reach them ; yet, amid the galling fire of the enemy, the English continued for four hours striving to cut their way through the limbs and bushes to the -breast-works with their swords. Some did, indeed, mount the parapet, but in a moment they were slain. Scores of Britons were mowed down at every discharge of cannon. Perceiving the rapid reduction of his army, Abercrombie at last sounded a retreat , and, without being pursued by the French, the English fell back to their encampment at the foot of Lake George, from which the wounded were sent to Fort Edward and to Albany The English loss was nearly two thousand men and twenty-five hundred stand of arms. Never did troops show bolder courage or more obstinate persistence against fearful obstacles. The wh'ole army .seemed emulous to excel, but the Scotch Highland regiment of Lord John Murray was foremost in the conflict, and suffered the severest loss. One half of the privates and twenty-five officers were slairi on the spot or badly wounded. Failing in this attempt, Abercrombie changed his plans. He dispatched General Stanwix to build a fort near the head-waters of the Mohawk, at the site of the present village of Rome, Oneida county. Colonel Bradstreet, at his own urgent solicitation, was ordered, with three thousand troops, mostly provincials, to proceed by the way of Oswego and Lake Ontario, to attack Fort Fron- tenac, where Kingston, in Upper Canada, now stands ; and himself, with the rest of the army, returned to Albany.2 While misfortunes "were attending the English under the immediate command of Aber crombie, and the power and influence of the French were gaining strength on the lake, a British force was closely beleaguering Louisburg, on the Island of Cape Breton, at the mouth of the St. Lawrence, then the strongest fortification in America, and the rallying point of French power on this Continent! Early in 1758 Admiral Boscawen sailed from 1 George, Lord-viscount Howe, was the eldest son of Sir E. Scrope, second Viscount Howe in Ireland. He commanded five thousand British troops which landed at Halifax in 1757, and, as we have seen, the- next year accompanied General Abercrombie against Ticonderoga. Alluding to his death, Mante ob serves, " With him the soul of the army seemed to expire." He was the idol of his soldiers, and, in order to accommodate himself and his regiment to the nature of the service, he cut his hair short, and fashioned his clothes for activity. His troops followed his example, and they were, indeed, the soul of Abercrombie's army. He was in the thirty-fourth year of his age when he fell. The General Court of Massachusetts Bay, as a testimony of respect for his character, appropriated two hundred and fifty pounds sterling for the erection of a monument in Westminster Abbey. Captain (afterward general) Philip Schuyler, who was highly esteemed by Lord Howe, and who at that time was employed in the commissary department, was commissioned to carry the young nobleman's re mains to Albany and bury them with appropriate honors. They were placed in a vault, and I was in formed by a daughter of General Schuyler (Mrs. Cochran, of Oswego) that when, many yeari afterward, the coffin was opened, his hair had grown to long, flowing locks, and was very beautiful. 2 General James Abercrombie was descended from a wealthy Scotch family, and, in consequence of signal services on the Continent, was promoted to the rank of major general. In 1758 fifty thousand troops were placed under -his command by Mr. Pitt, and sent with him to America to attempt a recovery, of all that the French had taken from the English. He was the successor of Lord Loudon, but was not much superior to the earl in activity or military skill. He was superseded by Amherst after his "defeat at Ticon deroga, and in the spring of 1759 he returned to England. 120 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Siege and Capture of Louisburg. Preparations for the Conquest of Canada. Capture of Ticonderoga and Crown Point. Halifax, Acadia,1 with forty armed vessels, bearing a land force of twelve thousand men under General Amherst. General Wolfe was second in command ; and in appointing that young soldier to a post so important, Pitt showed that sagacity in correctly appreciating character for which he was so remarkable. On the 2d of June the fleet anchored in Gabarus Bay, and the whole armament reached the shore on the 8th. The French, alarmed at such a formidable force, called in their out- , posts, dismantled the royal battery, and prepared for a retreat.* But the vigilance and act ivity of Wolfe prevented their escape. He passed around the Northeast Harbor, and erected a battery at the North Cape, from which well-directed shots soon si lenced the guns of the smaller batteries upon the island. Hot shots were also poured into the small fleet of French vessels lying in the harbor of Louisburg, and three of them were burned. The town was greatly shattered by the active artillery ; the vessels which were not consumed were dismantled or sunken ; and several breaches were made in the massive walls. Certain destruction awaited the garrison and citizens, and at last the fortress, together with the town and St. John's (now Prince Ed ward's) Island, was surrendered into the hands of the English by capitulation. The skill, bravery, and activity of General Amherst, exhibited in the capture of Louis burg, gained him a vote of thanks from Parliament, and commended him to Pitt, who, the next year, appointed him to the chief command in America, in place of the less active Aber crombie. So much did Pitt rely upon his judgment and ability, that he clothed him with discretionary powers to take measures to make the complete conquest of all Canada in a single campaign. His plans were arranged upon a magnificent scale. Appreciating the services of Wolfe, one expedition was placed under his command, to ascend the St. Lawrence and attack Quebec. General Prideaux was sent with another expedition to capture the strong-hold of Niagara, while Amherst himself took personal command of a third expedition against the fortress on Lake Champlain. It was arranged for the three armies to form a junction as conquerors at Quebec. Prideaux, after capturing the fort at Niagara, was to proceed down the lake and St. Lawrence to attack Montreal and the posts below, and Am herst was to push forward after the capture of Ticonderoga and Crown Point, down the Richelieu or Sorel River to the St. Lawrence, and join with Wolfe at Quebec. Amherst collected about eleven thousand men at Fort Edward, and its vicinity, and, moving cautiously along Lake Champlain, crossed the outlet of Lake George, and appeared before Ticonderoga on the 26th of July. He met with no impediments by the way, and at once made preparations for reducing the fortress by a regular siege. The gar rison were strong, and evinced a disposition to make a vigorous resistance. They soon dis covered, however, that they had not Abercrombie to deal with, and, despairing of being able to hold out against the advancing English, they dismantled and abandoned . the fort, and fled to Crown Point. Not a gun was fired or a sword crossed ; and the next day Am herst marched in and took possession of the fort. He at once set about repairing and en larging it, and also arranging an expedition against the enemy at Crown Point, when, to his astonishment, he learned from his scouts that they had abandoned that post also, and fled down the lake to Isle Aux Noix in the Richelieu or Sorel. Of his operations in that direction I shall hereafter write. 1 Acadia was the ancient name of the whole country now comprehended within the boundaries of Nova Scotia, or New Scotland. OF THE REVOLUTION. ]; g 1 Ticonderoga and its Associations. Visit to tbe Ruins of the Fort. A living Soldier of the Revolution, CHAPTER VI. " I'm not romantic, but, upon my word, There are some moments when one can't help feeling* As if his heart's chords were so strongly stirred By things around him, that 'tis vain concealing A little music in his soul still lingers, Whene'er the keys are touched by Nature's fingers." C. F. Hoffman. ATURE always finds a chord of sympathy in the human heart harmoni ously respondent to her own sweet music ; and when her mute but elo quent language weaves in with its teachings associations of the past, or when, in the midst of her beauties, some crumbling monument of history stands hoary and oracular, stoicism loses its potency, and the bosom of the veriest churl is opened to the genial warmth of the sun of sentiment. Broken arches and ruined ramparts are always eloquent and suggestive of valiant deeds, even where their special teachings are not comprehend ed ; but manifold greater are the impressions which they make when the patriotism we adore has hallowed them. To impressions like these the American heart is plastic while tarrying among the ruins of Ticonderoga, for there the first trophy of our war for independence was won, and there a soldier of the British realm first stooped a prisonei to the aroused colonists, driven to rebellion by unnatural oppression. A glimpse from the coach, of the gray old ruins of the fortress of " Ty," as we neared the Pavilion, made us impatient as children to be among them. Our own curiosity was shared by a few others, and a small party of us left early and ascended the breast-works, over scat tered fragments of the walls, and eagerly sought out the most interesting localities, by the aid of a small plan of the fort which I had copied. for the occasion. Without a competent guide, our identifications were not very reliable, and our opinions were as numerous and diverse as the members of our party. We were about to send to the Pavilion for a guide and umpire, when a venerable, white-haired man, supported by a rude staff, and bearing the insignia of the " Order of Poverty," came out from the ruins of the northern line of barracks, and offered his services in elucidating the confused subject before us. He was kind and intelligent, and I lingered with him among the ruins long after the rest of the party had left, and listened with pleasure and profit to the relation of his personal experience, and of his familiar knowl edge of the scene around us. Isaac Rice was the name of our octogenarian guide, whose form and features, presented upon the next page, I sketched for preservation.1 Like scores of those who fought our battles for freedom, and lived the allotted term of human life, he is left in his evening twilight to depend upon the cold friendship of the world for sustenance, and to feel the practical ingratitude of a people reveling in the. enjoyment which his privations in early manhood contributed to secure He performed garrison duty at Ticonderoga under St. Clair, was in the field at Saratoga in 1777, and served a regular term in the army ; but, in consequence of some lack of doc- 1 Mr. Rice sat down in the cool shadow of the gable of the western line of barracks while I sketched his person and the scenery in the distance. He is leaning against the wall, within a few feet of the entrance of the covert- way to the parade-ground, through which Allen and his men penetrated. In the middle grpund is seen the wall of the ramparts, and beyond is the lake sweeping around the western extremity of Mount Independence, on the left beyond the steam-boat. For a correct apprehension of the relative posi tion of Mount Independence to Ticonderoga, the reader is referred to the map, ante page 115. 1 22 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Position of Affairs in the Colonies at the beginning of 1775. Secret Agent sent to Canada uments or some technical error, he lost his legal title to a pension, and at eighty-five years of age that feeble old soldier was obtaining a precarious support for himself from the free will offerings of visitors to the ruins of the for tress where he was gar risoned when it stood in the pride of its strength, before Burgoyne scaled the heights of Mount Defiance. He is now alone, his family and kindred having all gone down into the grave. His elder brother, and the last of his race, who died in 1838, was one of the little band who, under Colonel Ethan Allen, surprised and captured Fort Ticon deroga in the spring of 1775. We will con sider that event and its consequences before further examining the old ruins around us. ¦ The contempt with which the l#yal and respectful addresses of the first Continental Congress of 1774 were treated by the British ministry and a majority in Par liament ; the harsh measures adopted by the government early in 1775, to coerce the colonists into submission, and the methodical tyranny of General Gage to arms was inevitable. They were convinced, also at Boston, and of other colo- nia govern ors, convinced the Americans that an appeal that the province of Quebec, or Can ada, would remain loyal,1 and that there would be a place of rendezvous for British troops when the colonies should unite in open and avowed rebellion. The strong fortresses of Ti conderoga and Crown Point formed the key of all communication between New York and Canada, and the vigilant patriots of Massachusetts, then the very hot-bed of rebellion, early perceived the necessity of securing these ' posts the moment hostilities should commence. Early in March, Samuel Adams and Joseph Warren, members of the Committee of Corre spondence of Boston, sent a secret agent into Canada to ascertain the opinions and temper of the people of that province concerning the great questions at issue and the momentous 1 On the 26th of October, 1774, the Congress adopted an address to the people of Canada, recounting the grievances the American colonies suffered at the hands of the parent country, and including that province in the category of the oppressed, urging them to affiliate in a common resistance. But its Legislative As sembly made no response, and Congress construed their silence into a negative. — Journals of Congress, i., 55 OF THE REVOLUTION. 123 Report of the secret Agent Plan formed in Connecticut to Capture Ticonderoga. Expedition under Ethan Allen. events then pending. After a diligent but cautious performance of his delicate task, the agent sent word to them from Montreal that the people were, at best, lukewarm, and ad vised that, the moment hostilities commenced, Ticonderoga and its garrison should be seized. This advice was coupled with the positive assertion that the people of the New Hampshire Grants were ready to undertake the bold enterprise.1 Within three weeks after this information was received by Adams and Warren, the bat tle of Lexington occurred, The event aroused the whole country, and the patriots Apri] ]9 flocked to the neighborhood of Boston from all quarters. The provincial Assembly 1775- ' of Connecticut was then in session, and several of its members2 concerted and agreed upon a plan to seize the munitions of war at Ticonderoga, for the use of the army gathering at ¦Cambridge and Roxbury. They appointed Edward Mott and Noah Phelps a committee to proceed to the frontier towns, ascertain the condition of the fort and the strength of the garrison, and, if they thought it expedient, to raise men and attempt the surprise and cap ture of the post. One thousand dollars were advanced from the provincial treasury to pay the expenses of the expedition. The whole plan and proceedings were of a private character, without the public sanction of the Assembly, but with its full knowledge and tacit approbation. Mott and Phelps col lected sixteen men as they passed through Connecticut ; and at Pittsfield, Massachusetts, they laid their plans before Colonel Easton and John Brown (the latter was afterward the Colonel Brown* whose exploits on Lake George have been noticed), who agreed to join them. Colonel Easton enlisted volunteers from his regiment of militia as he passed through the country, and about forty had been engaged when he reached Bennington. There Colonel Ethan Allen, a man of strong mind, vigorous frame, upright in all his ways, fearless in the discharge of his duty, and a zealous patriot, joined the expedition with his Green Mount ain Boys, and the whole party, two hundred and seventy men, reached Castleton, fourteen miles east of Skenesborough, or Whitehall, at dusk on the 7th of May. A cpuncil of war was immediately held, and Allen was appointed commander of the expeditioji, Colonel James Easton, second in command, and Seth Warner, third. It was arranged that Allen and the principal officers, with the main body, should march to Shoreham, opposite Ticon deroga ; that Captain Herrick, with thirty men, should push on to Skenesborough, and cap ture the young Major Skene (son of the governor, who was then in England), confine his people, and, seizing all the boats they might find there, hasten to join Allen at Shoreham ; 1 By the grant of Charles II. to his brother James, duke of York, the tract in America called New York was bounded on the, east by the Connecticut River, while the charters of Massachusetts and Connecticut gave those provinces a westward extent to the " South Sea" or the Pacific Ocean. When, toward the middle of the last ¦ century, settlements began to be made westward of the Connecticut River, disputes arose, and the line .between Connecticut and New York was finally drawn, by mutual agreement, twenty miles east. of the Hudson. Massachusetts claimed a continuation of the Connecticut line as its western, boundary, but New York contested the claim as interfering with prior grants to that colony. New Hamp shire, lying north of Massachusetts, was not as yet disturbed by these disputes, for the country west of the* Green Mountains was a wilderness, and had never been surveyed. When Benning Wentworth was made Governor of New Hampshire, he was authorized to issue patents for unimproved lands within his province, and in 1749 applications were made to him for grants beyond the mountains. He gave a patent that year for a township six miles square, having its western line twenty miles east of the Hudson, and in his honor it was named Bennington. The Governor and Council of New York remonstrated against this grant, yet Wentworth continued to issue patents ; and in 1.754 fourteen townships of this , kind were laid out and set tlements commenced. During the French and Indian war settlements increased tardily, but after the victory of Wolfe at Quebec numerous applications for grants were made ; and at the time of the peace, in 1763, one hundred and thirty-eight townships were surveyed west of the Connecticut River, and these were termed the New Hampshire Grants. The controversy between New York and the Grants became so violent that military organizations took place in the' latter section to resist the civil power of New York, and about 1772 the military thus enrolled were first called Green Mountain Boys ; among the most active and daring of whom were Ethan and Ira Allen and Remember Baker, men of whom I shall have occasion to speak hereafter. — See Sparks's Life of Ethan" Allen, and Thompson's Vermont, part ,ii. 3 Amono* these were Silas Deane, David Wooster, Samuel H. Parsons, and Edward Stevens, all distin guished men during the Revolution. 124 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Expedition against Ticonderoga. Arnold joins Allen at Castleton. Dispute about Rank. Surprise of the Garrison. and that Captain Douglas should proceed to Panton, beyond Crown Point, and secure every boat or bateau that should fall in his way. Benedict Arnold, who joined the army about this time, doubtless received a hint of this expedition before he left New Haven, for the moment he arrived at Cambridge with the company of which he was captain, he presented himself before the Committee of Safety, and proposed a similar expedition in the same direction. He made the thing appear so feasible, May 3| that the committee eagerly accepted his proposal, granted him a colonel's commission, 1773- and gave him the chief command of troops, not exceeding four hundred in number, which he might raise to accompany him on an expedition against the lake fortresses. Not doubting his success, Arnold was instructed to leave a sufficient garrison at Ticonderoga, and with the rest of the troops return to Cambridge with the arms and military stores that should fall into his possession. He was also supplied with one hundred pounds in cash, two hundred pounds weight each of gunpowder and leaden balls, one thousand flints, and ten horses, by the provincial Congress of Massachusetts. His instructions were to raise men in Western Massachusetts, but, on reaching Stockbridge, he was disappointed in finding that another expedition had anticipated him, and was on its way to the lake. He remained only long enough to engage a few officers and men to follow him, and then hastened onward and May 9, ¦ joined the other expedition at Castleton. He introduced himself to the 'officers, pulled 177d- a bit of parchment from his pocket, and, by virtue of what he averred was a superior commission, as it was from the Massachusetts Committee of Safety, claimed the supreme command. This was objected to, for he came single-handed, without officers or troops; and the soldiers, a large proportion of whom were Green Mountain Boys, and who were much attached to Allen, declared that- they would shoulder their muskets and march home rather than serve under any other leader. Arnold made a virtue of necessity, and united himself to the expedition as a volunteer, maintaining his rank, but having no command. The momentary interruption of Arnold produced no change in the plans, and Allen marched to the shore of the lake, opposite Ticonderoga, during the night. He applied to a farmer in Shoreham, named Beman, for a guide, who offered his son Nathan, a lad who passed a good deal of time within the fort, with the boys of the garrison, and was well ac quainted with every secret way that led to or within the fortress.1 But a serious difficulty now occurred. They had but a few boats, and none had been sent from Skenesborough or May 10, Panton. The day began to dawn, and only the officers and eighty -three men had 1775- crossed the lake. Delay was hazardous, for the garrison, if aroused, would make stout resistance. Allen, therefore, resolved not to wait for the rear division to cross, but to attack the fort at once. He drew up his men in three ranks upon the shore, directly in front of where the Pavilion now stands, and in a low but distinct tone briefly harangued them ; and then, placing himself at their head, with Arnold by his side, they marched quickly but stealthily up the height to the sally port. The sentinel snapped his fusee at the com mander, but it missed fire, and he retreated within the fort under a covered way. The Americans followed close upon his heels, and were thus guided by the alarmed fugitive di rectly to the parade within the barracks. There another sentinel made a thrust at Easton, but a blow upon the head from Allen's sword made him beg for quarter, and the patriots met with no further resistance. As the troops pushed into the parade under the covered way, they gave a tremendous shout, and, filing off into two divisions, formed a line of forty men each along the south western and northeastern range of barracks. The aroused garrison leaped from their pal lets, seized their arms, and rushed for the parade, but only to be made prisoners by the in trepid New Englanders. At the same moment Allen, with young Beman at his elbow as guide, ascended the steps to the door of the quarters of Captain Delaplace, the commandant ' He died in December, 1846, in Franklin county, New York, when nearly ninety years old He had lived to see our confederacy increase from thirteen to thirty states, and from three millions of people to twenty millions. r r OF THE REVOLUTION. i 2 5 Interview between Allen and Delaplace. Allen's Order to surrender obeyed. Trouble with Arnold about command. of the garrison, and, giving three loud raps with the hilt of his sword, with a voice of pecu liar power, ordered him to appear, or the whole garrison should be sacrificed. It was about four o'clock in the morning. The loud shout of the invaders had awakened the captain and his wife, both of whom sprang to the door just as Allen made his strange demand. Dela place appeared in shirt and drawers, with the frightened face of his pretty wife peering over 'his shoulder. He and Allen had been old friends, and, upon recognition, the captain assumed boldness, and authoritatively demanded his disturber's errand. Allen pointed to his men and sternly exclaimed, " I order you instantly to surrender." " By what authority do you demand it ?" said Delaplace. " In the name of the Great Jehovah and the Continental Congress !"' thundered Allen, and, raising his sword over the head of the captain, who was about to speak, ordered him to be silent and surrender immediately. There was no alterna tive. Delaplace had about as much respect for the " Continental Congress" as Allen had for " Jehovah," and they respectively relied upon and feared powder and ball more than either. In fact, the Continental Congress was but a shadow, for it did not meet for organi- zation until six hours afterward,2 and its " authority" was yet scarcely acknowledged even by the patriots in the field. But Delaplace ordered his troops to parade without arms, the garrison of forty-eight men were surrendered prisoners of war, and, with the women and children, were sent to Hartford, in Connecticut. The spoils were one hundred and twenty pieces of iron cannon, fifty swivels, two ten-inch mortars, one howitzer, one cohorn, ten tons of musket-balls, three, cartloads of flints, thirty new carriages, a considerable' quantity of shells, a ware-house full of material for boat building, one hundred stand of small arms, ten casks of poor powder, two brass cannon, tbirty barrels of flour, eighteen barrels of pork, and some beans and peas. Warner crossed the lake with the rear division, and marched up to the fort just after the surrender was made. As soon as the prisoners were secured, and all had breakfasted, he was sent off with a detachment of men in boats to take Crown Point ; but a strong head wind drove them back, and they slept that night at Ticonderoga. Another and successful attempt was made on the 12th, and both fortresses fell into the hands of the patriots with out bloodshed. Arnold, who yielded his claifns to supreme command at Castleton, assumed control the moment the fort was surrendered. But his orders were not heeded, and the Connecticut Committee, s of semi-official origin, which accompanied the expedition, interposed, formally installed Colonel Allen in the command of Ticonderoga and its dependencies; and authorized him to remain as such until the Connecticut Assembly or the Continental Congress should send him instructions. They affirmed that the government of Massachusetts had no pari in the transaction ; that the men from Pittsfield were paid by Connecticut ; and that Arnold could be considered only as a volunteer. Finding his commands unheeded, and unwilling to allow personal considerations to affect, inimically, the public good, Arnold again yielded He sent a written protest, with a statement of his grievances, to the Massachusetts Legis lature. The Connecticut Committee also sent a statement to the same body. The appoint ment of Allen was confirmed, and the Assembly of Massachusetts directed Arnold not to in terfere. He soon afterward went down the lake to seize a British sloop of war at St. John's, and to seek other occasions where glory might be won in the service of his country. The capture of Ticonderoga and Crown Point was an event wholly unlooked for by the 1 According to Mr. Rice, history has omitted the suffix to this demand, which in those days was consid ered a necessary clincher to all solemn averments. It is characteristic of the man and the times. Rice's brother was within a few feet of Allen, and said he exclaimed, " In the name of the Great Jehovah and the Continental Congress, by God." 3 The second Continental Congress assembled-at Philadelphia at ten o'clock that day (May 10th), and chose Peyton Randolph President, and Charles Thompson Secretary. 3 One of the committee, Mr. Phelps, visited the fort, in disguise, the day before Allen and his men ar rived. He pretended to be a countryman wishing to be shaved, and, while looking about for the garrison barber, observed every thing carefully, and saw the dilapidation of the walls and the laxity of duty and discipline, particularly as to sentinels. 126 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Forbearance of the Colonists. Consistent Course of their Delegates in Congress. Various Addresses of the second Congress Continental Congress, then in session at Philadelphia, and many members were alarmed at the serious aspect of affairs at the east and north, for as yet the Americans had harbored no distinct thought or wish derogatory to the truest loyalty. They were aggrieved by the rulers and legislators of the parent country, and were earnestly seeking redress. Ten years they had been petitioning the king and Parliament to exercise righteousness and equity toward them, but their prayers were unheeded and their warnings were scoffed at and answered by new oppressions. Yet the colonists remained loyal, and never breathed an aspiration for political independence. The colonial Assemblies, as well as the mass of the people, looked forward with anxiety for a reconciliation, for they felt proud of their connection with the British realm, whose government was then among the most powerful upon earth.1 When the news of the capture of the forts on Champlain reached Congress, they recom mended to the committees of New York and Albany to remove the cannon and stores to the south end of Lake George, and to erect a strong post at that place. They also directed an exact inventory of, the cannon and military stores to be taken, "in order," as the dispatch said, " that they may be safely returned when the restoration of harmony between Great Britain and the colonies, so ardently desired by the latter, shall render it prudent and con sistent with the over-ruling law of self-preservation."*1 > The delegates to the first Continental Congress, who met in September of the pre vious year, while they exhibited rare firmness of purpose in tone and manner, again and again avowed their loyalty, and made most humble petitions to the king and the Legis lature for a redress of grievances. And those of tbe Congress in session when the first hos tile movements on Lake Champlain occurred, while they saw clearly that nothing but a general resort to arms was now left for the colonists, resolved to make fresh appeals to the king and Parliament before taking decidedly offensive steps in acts of open hostility. They felt quite certain, however, that the haughtiness of power would not bend so long as its pride was wounded, and that it would never yield to an agreement for a reconciliation upon terms other than the absolute submission of the insurgents. Congress, therefore, correctly repre senting the public sentiment, resolved to be, at the same time, free 'men and loyal subjects as long as a link of consistency should bind those conditions, in unity. They adopted an •¦May 29, address to the inhabitants of Canada ;a a declaration, setting forth the -causes and b July 6. the necessity for the colonies to take up arms ;b an humble petition to the king ;c j July Is. an address to the Assembly of Jamaica ;d" and an address to the people of Ire- * • July 28. land.e4 To the king they expressed their continued devotion to his person, and their deep regret that circumstances had in the least weakened their attachment to the crown. To the people of Great Britain they truthfully declared that their acts were wholly defensive ; that the charge which had been made against them, of seeking absolute independ ence, was a malicious slander ; and that they had never, directly or indirectly, applied to a foreign power for countenance or aid in prosecuting a rebellion. They truly set forth that the rejection of their petitions and the accumulation of oppressive acts of Parliament were the causes that placed them in the attitude of resistance which they then assumed an atti- 1 The affections of the people of the colonies were very much alienated by the grievances of the Stamp Act in 1765, and kindred measures, yet they still had a strong attachment to the mother country, even when the Revolution finally broke out. Dr. Franklin's testimony in 1766 may be quoted as illustrative of the temper of the people nearly ten years later. In answer to the question concerning the feelings of the people of America toward Great Britain before the passage of the Stamp Act, he said, " They had not only a respect but an affection for Great Britain, for its laws, its customs, and its manners, and even a fond ness for its fashions, that greatly increased the commerce. Natives of Britain were always treated with particular regard ; and to be an Old Englandman was of itself a character of some respect, and gave a kind of rank among us." — Examination of Dr. Franklin before the BritishHouse of Commons relative to tht Repeal of the American Stamp Act. 2 Pitkin, i., 355. 3 Jamaica, one of the West India Islands, was then a British colony, with a provincial Legislature like those on the American Continent. 4 See Journals of Congress, i., p, 100-168. OF THE REVOLUTION. 127 Military Preparations made by Congress. The Continental Army. Spirit of the People. Ticonderoga, tude at once necessary. and justifiable, and worthy of the-free character of subjects of the Brit ish realm. " While we revere," they said, " the memory of our gallant and virtuous ancestors, we never can surrender these glorious privileges for which they fought, bled, and conquered : your fleets and armies can destroy our towns and ravage our coasts*; these are inconsiderable objects — things of no -moment to men whose bosoms glow with the ardor of liberty. Wo can retire beyond the reach of your navy, and, without any sensible diminution of the necessaries of life, enjoy a luxury which, from that period, you will want — the luxury of being free." *; TlCOJTDEKOGA AT SUNSET. While petitions and addresses were in course of preparation and adoption, Congress proceeded to make extensive military arrangements. The militia of the % 1---1A various colonies, and such volunteers as could be ob tained, were mustered into service under the title of the Conti nental army ; and the troops which had flocked to the vicinity of Bos ton from all parte of New England after the skirmishes at Lexington and Concord,1 and were then investing that city, were adopted and enrolled under the same title. b Congress vot'ed to issue bills of credit, or paper money, to the amount of three millions of dollars, for the pay of the army, and also took measures for the establishment of provisional Assemblies in the several colonies instead of the royal govern ments ; for acts of Parliament, declaring the colonies in a state of rebellion, and providing for the destruction of tbe commerce of several sea-port towns, and for the sending of fleets and armies to enforce submission, were regarded by the Americans as virtual acknowledg ments of the abdication of all power here.1 Thus, while the colonists kept the door of rec onciliation wide open, they prepared to maintain the righteous position which they had as. sumed at all hazards. Let us for a moment close the chronicles of the past, and oonsider one of the most inter esting relics of the Revolution yet remaining — the ruins of Ticonderoga. I lingered with the old soldier among the fragments of the fortress until sunset ; and just as the luminary a Ap*ril 19, • 1775. b June, 1775. See Parliamentary Register (1775), p 6-69. !28 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Present Appearance of Fort Ticonderoga and Vicinity. The Bakery. Grenadiers' Battery went down behind Mount Defiance I made the preceding sketch, which may be relied upon as a faithful portraiture of the present features of Fort Ticonderoga. The view is from the remains of the counterscarp, near the southern range of barracks, looking northward. The barracks or. quarters for the officers and soldiers were very substantially built of limestone, two stories high, and formed a quadrangle.. The space within was the parade. Upon the good authority of his brother, our venerable guide pointed out the various localities of inter est, and, having no doubt as to the correctness of his information, I shall accord it as truth The most distinct and best-preserved building seen in the sketch is the one in which the commandant of the. garrison was asleep when Allen and his men entered the fort. -On the left of the group of figures in the fore-ground is the passage leading from the covered way into the parade, through which the provincials passed. The two lines of forty men each were drawn up along the range of buildings, the remains of which are seen on the right and left of the picture. The most distant building was the officers' quarters. A wooden piazza, or sort of balcony, extended along the second story, and was reached from the ground by a flight of stairs at the left end. The first door in the second story, on the left, was the en trance to Delaplace's apartment. It was up those rickety steps, with young Beman at his side, that Colonel Allen ascended ; and at that door he thundered with his sword-hilt, con fronted the astonished captain, and demanded his surrender. Between the ruined walls on the extreme left is seen Mount Defiance, and on the right is Mount Hope. The distant wall in the direction of Mount Hope is a part of the ramparts or out-works, and the woods be yond it mark the location of the remains of the " French lines," the mounds and ditches of which are still very conspicuous. Near the southeastern angle of the range of barracks is the bakery ; it is an under-ground arched room, -and was beneath the glacis, perfectly bomb-proof, and protected from all danger from with out. This room is very well preseryed, as the annexed sketch of it testifies ; but the entrance steps are much broken, and the passage is so filled with rubbish that a descent into it is difficult. It is about twelve feet wide and thirty long. On the right is a window, and at the" end were a fire-place and chimney, now in ruins. On either side of the fire-place are the ovens, ten feet deep. We had no light to explore them, but they seemed to be in good condition. This bakery and the ovens are TuE , . , |: the best-preserved portions of the fortress. For more than half a century the walls of the fort have been common spoil for all who chose to aval themselves of such a convenient quarry ; and the proximity of the lake affords rare facilitj for builders to carry off the plunder. The guide informed me that sixty-four years ago h» assisted in the labor of loading a vessel with bricks and stones taken from the fort, to build an earthen-ware factory on Missisqui Bay, the eastern fork of the lower end of Lake Cham plain. Year after year the ruins thus dwindle, ,and, unless government shall prohibit the robbery, this venerable landmark of history will soon have no abiding-place among us. The foundation is almost a bare rock, earthed sufficient to give sustenance to mullens, rao--weed, and stinted grass only, so that the plowshare can have no effect ; but desecrating avarice, with its wicked broom, may sweep the bare rock still barer, for the site is a glorious one for a summer hotel for invalids. I shall, doubtless, receive posthumous laudation for this sug gestion from the money-getter who here shall erect the colonnade, sell cooked fish and fla vored ices, and coin wealth by the magic of the fiddle-string. On the point of the promontory, just above the steam-boat landing, are the remains of the " Grenadiers' Battery," a strong redoubt built of earth and stone. It was constructed by the French, and enlarged by the English. It commanded the narrow part of the lake, between that point and Mount Independence, and covered the bridge, which was made by the Americans, extending across to the latter eminence. The bridge was supported by OF- THE REVOLUTION. • 129 The floating Bridge. View of the Ruins by Moonlight. The old Patriot, his Memories and Hopes. twenty-two sunken piers of large timber, at nearly equal distances ; the space between was made of separate floats, each about fifty feet long and twelve feet wide, strongly fastened together by chains and rivets, and also fastened to the sunken piers. Before this bridge was a boom, made of very large pieces of timber, fastened together by riveted bolts and chains of iron, an inch arid a half square.1 There was a battery at the foot of Mount Independ ence, which covered that end of the bridge ; another half way up the hill ; and upon the table-land summit was a star fort well picketed. Here, strongly stationed, the Americans held undisputed possession from the 1 Oth of May, 1775, until the 5th of July, 1777, when they were dislodged by Burgoyne, who began to plant a battery upon Sugar Hill, or Mount Defiance. This event we shall consider presently. I went up in the evening to yiew the solitary ruins by moonlight, and sat upon the green *, sward of the old esplanade near the magazine. All was hushed, and association, with its busy pencil, wrought many a -startling picture. The broken ruins around me, the lofty hills ; adjacent, the quiet lake at my feet, all fading into chaos as the evening shadows came on, were in consonance with the gravity of thought induced by the place and its traditions. " The darkening woods, the fading trees, The grasshopper's last feeble sound, The flowers just waken'd by the breeze, All leave the stillness more profound. The twilight takes a deeper shade, , The dusky pathways blacker grow, And silence reigns in glen and glade — All, all is mute below." Miller's Evening Hymn. So smoothly ran the current of thought, that I was almost dreaming, when a footstep startled me. It was that of the old patriot, who came and sat beside me. He always spends the pleasant moonlight evenings here, for he has no companions of the present, and the sight of the old walls kept sluggish memory awake to the recollections of the light and love of other days. " I am alone in the world," he said, " poor and friendless ; none for me to care for, and none to care for me. Father, mother, . brothers, sisters, wife, and -children have all passed away, and the busy world has forgotten me. I have been for alm6st eighty years a toiler for bread for mygelf and loved ones, yet I have never lacked for comforts. I can say with David, ' Once I was young, but now I am old, yet I have never seen the right eous forsaken or his*eed begging bread.' I began to feel my strength giving way last spring, and looked fearfully toward the poor-house, when I heard that the old man who lived here, to show visitors about, was dead, and so I came down to take his place and die also." He brushed away a tear with his hard and shriveled hand, and, with a more cheerful tone, talked of his future prospects. How true it is that blessed • " Hope springs immortal in the human breast," for this poor, friendless, aged man had bright visions of a better earthly condition even in the midst of his poverty and loneliness. He took me to an opening in the broken wall, which fronted a small room near the spot where the provincials entered, and with a low voice, as if afraid some rival might hear his business plans, explained how he intended, another year, to clear away the rubbish, cover the room over with boards and brush, arrange a sleeping- place in the rear, erect a rude countei* in front, and there, during the summer, sell cakes, beer and fruit to visitors. Here I saw my fancied hotel in embryo. He estimated the cash capital necessary for the enterprise at eight dollars, which sum he hoped to save frorn his season's earnings, for the French woman who gave him food and shelter charged him but a trifling weekly sum for his comforts. He calculated upon large profits and extensive sales, > and hoped, if no opposition marred his plans, to make enough to keep him comfortable through 1 Burgoyne's Narrative, Appendix, p. xxx. I 130 „ -PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Trip to Mount Defiance. Ascent of the Mountain. An English Major and Provincial Subaltern. life. He entertained me more than an hour with a relation of his own and his father's ad ventures,1 and it was late in the evening when I bade him a final adieu. " God bless you, my son,'- he said, as he grasped my hand at parting. " We may never meet here again, but I hope we may in heaven !" Au^at2 Early the next morning I started for Mount Defiance in company with an En- 1848. ' giish gentleman, a resident of Boston. We rode to the " lower village," or Ticon deroga, where we left our ladies to return by the same stage, while we climbed the rugged heights. We hired a horse and vehicle, and a lad to drive, who professed to know all about the route to the foot of the mountain. We soon found that he was bewildered'; and, un willing to waste time by losing the way, we employed an aged resident near the western slope to pilot us to the top of the eminence. He was exceedingly garrulous, and boasted', with much self-gratulation, of having assisted in dragging a heavy six pounder up to the top of the mountain, five years ago, for the purpose of celebrating -the " glorious Fourth" on the very spot where Burgoyne planted his cannon sixty-six years before. We followed him along a devious cattle-path that skirted a deep ravine, until we came to a spring that bub bled up from beneath a huge shelving rock whose face was smooth and mossy. The trick ling of the water through the crevices within, by which the fountain below was supplied, could be distinctly heard. From a cup of maple-leaves we took a cool draught, rested a moment, and then pursued our toilsome journey. ' Our guide, professing to know every rock and tree in the mountain, now left the cattle- path for a " shorter cut," but we soon wished ourselves back again in the beaten track The old man was evidently " out of his reckoning," but had too much " grit" to acknowl edge it. For nearly an hour we followed him through thickets tangled with vines, over the trunks of huge trees leveled by the wind, and across a dry morass covered with brakes and wire-grass shoulder high, where every, trill of the grasshopper sounded to our suspicious and vigilant ears like the warning of a rattle-snake, until at length we were confronted by a wall of huge broken rocks, almost perpendicular, and at least fifty feet high. It seemed to ex tend north and south indefinitely, and we almost despaired of scaling it. The guide insisted upon the profundity of his knowledge of the route, and we, being unable to contradict his positive assertions that he was in the right way, followed him up the precipice. It was a toilsome and dangerous ascent, but fortunately the sun was yet eastward of meridian, and we were in shadow. We at last reached a broad ledge near the summit, where, exhausted, we sat down and regaled ourselves with some mulberries which we had gathered by the way. A large wolf-dog, belonging to our guide, had managed to follow his master, and seemed quite as weary as ourselves when he reached us. Another scramble of about twenty min utes, over broken rocks and ledges like a giant's stair-case, brought us upon the bold, rocky summit of the mountain. The view from this lofty hill is one of great interest and beauty, including almost every variety of natural scenery, and a region abounding with historical 1 His father was a lieutenant in the English service, and belonged to the Connecticut troops that were with Amherst when he took Ticonderoga. While the English had possession of that post, before seizing Crown Point, he was much annoyed by a swaggering English major, who boasted that no American in the country could lay him upon his back. Lieutenant Rice accepted the general challenge. For twenty min utes it was doubtful who the successful wrestler would be. Rice was the more agile of the two, and, by a dexterous movement, tripped his adversary and brought him upon his back. The burly major was greatly nettled, and declared the act unfair and unmanly. Rice made a rejoinder, and hard words passed, which ended in a challenge from the major for a duel. It was accepted, and the place and time of meeting were appointed. But the fact having reached the ears of Amherst, he interposed his persuasion. The English man was resolved on fighting, and would listen to no remonstrance until Amherst touched his national and military pride. " Consider," he said, "how glorious is our conquest. We have taken this strong fortress without shedding one drop of blood. Shall Britons be such savages, that, when they can not spill the blood of enemies, they will shed that of each other?" The appeal had the desired effect, and the parties sealed their reconciliation and pledged new friendship over a glass of grog. They then tried their strength again. The major was prostrated in an instant by a fair exertion of superior strength, and from that hour he was :Rice!s warmest friend. The major's name was Church. He was a lieutenant colonel under Prevost, and \was killed at Savannah on the 16th of September, 1779. OF THE REVOLUTION. 131 View from the Top of Mount Defiance. Mount Independence, Ticonderoga, W Lake, and the Green Mountains associations. The fore-ground of the picture represents the spot whereon Burgoyne began the erection of a battery ; and a shallow hole, drilled for the purpose of making fastenings VlEW FBOM THE Top. OF MOUHT DEFIANCE. for the cannon, may still be seen. The sheet of water toward the left is the outlet of Lake George, where it joins Lake Champlain, which sweeps around the promontory in the middle ground, whereon Fort Ticonderoga is situated. Gray, like the almost bald rock on which they stand, the ruins were scarcely discernible from tbat height, and the Pavilion appeared like a small white spot among the green foliage that embowers it. On the point which the steam-boat is approaching is the Grenadiers' Battery already mentioned, and on the ex treme right is seen a portion of Mount Independence at the mouth of East Creek. This eminence is in Vermont — Mount Defiance and Fort Ticonderoga are in New York. The point beyond the small vessel with a white sail is the spot whence the Americans under Allen and Arnold crossed the lake to attack the fort ; and between Mount Independence and the Grenadiers' Battery is the place where- the bridge was erected. The lake here is quite narrow, and., sweeping in serpentine curves around the two , points, "it flows northward on the left, and expands gradually into a sheet of water several miles wide. The bill's seen in the far distance are the Green Mountains of Vermont, between which lofty range and the lake is a beautifully diversified and fertile agricultural country twelve miles wide, a portion of the famous New Hampshire Grants. From this height the eye takes in a range along the lake of more than thirty miles, and a more beautiful rural panorama can not often be found. Let us retreat to the cool shadow of the shrubbery on the left, for. the summer sun is at meridian ; and, while gathering new strength to make our toilsome descent, let us open again the volume of history, and read the page on which are recorded the stirring events that were enacted within the range of our vision. 132 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Crown Point and Ticonderoga invested by Burgoyne. Material of his Army. Weakness of the Garrison at Ticonderoga. Lieutenant-general Burgoyne, with a strong and well-appointed army of more than seven thousand men,1 including Indians, came up Lake Champlain and appeared before Crown Point on the 27th of June. The few Americans in garrison there abandoned the fort and retreated to Ticonderoga. The British quietly took possession, and, after estab lishing a magazine, hospital, and stores there, proceeded to invest Ticonderoga on the 30th. Some light infantry, grenadiers, Canadians, and Indians, with ten pieces of light artillery, under Brigadier-general Fraser, were encamped on the west side of the lake, at the mouth of Putnam's Creek. These moved up the shore to Four Mile Point, so called from being that dis tance from Ticonderoga. The German reserve, consisting of the chasseurs, light infantry, and grenadiers, under Lieutenant-colonel Breyman, were moved at the same time along the eastern shore, while the remainder of the army, under the immediate command of Burgoyne himself, were on bqard the Royal George and Inflexible frigates and several gun-boats, which moved up the lake between the two strong wings on land. The land force halted, and the naval force was anchor ed just beyond cannon-shot from the American works. Major-general Arthur St. Clair** was in com mand of the American garrison at Ticonderoga, a post of honor which Schuyler had offered to Gates. He found the garrison only about two thousand strong ; and so much were the stores reduced, that he was afraid to make any consid erable addition to his force frorii the militia who were coming in from the east, until a replenish ment of provisions could be effected. Had the garrison been well supplied with stores, six or eight thousand men might have been collected there before the arrival of the enemy. 1 The day when the British army encamped before Ticonderoga (July 1st), the troops consisted of Brit ish, rank and file, three thousand seven hundred and twenty-four ; Germans, rank and file, three thousand and sixteen ; Canadians and provincials about two hundred and fifty, and Indians about four hundred, mak ing a total of seven thousand four hundred and ninety. 2 Arthur St. Clair was a native of Edinburgh, in Scotland. He was born in 1734, and came to America . with Admiral Boscawen in 1759. He served in Canada in 1759 and 1760, as a lieutenant under General Wolfe, and, after the peace of 1763, was, appointed to the command of Fort Ligonier, in Pennsylvania. In January, 1776, he was appointed a colonel in the Continental army, and was ordered to raise a regiment destined for service in Canada. Within six weeks from his appointment his regiment was on its march. He was appointed a brigadier in August of that year, and was an active participant in the engagements at Trenton and Princeton. In February, 1777, he received the appointment of major general, and on the 5th of June was ordered by General Schuyler to the command of Ticonderoga. He reached that post on the 12th, and found a. garrison of two thousand men, badly equipped and very short of ammunition and stores. He was obliged to evacuate the post on the 5th of July following. In 1780 he was orde^d to Rhode Island, but circumstances prevented him from going thither. When the allied armies marched toward Virginia, in 1781, to attack Cornwallis, St. Clair was directed to remain at Philadelphia with the recruits of the Pennsylvania line, for the protection of Congress, He was, however, soon afterward allowed to join the army, and reached Yorktown during the siege, From Yorktown he was sent with a considerable force to join Greene, which he did at Jacksonville, near Savannah. He resided in Pennsylvania after the peace ; was elected to Congress in 1786, and was president of that body in 1787. Upon the erection of the North western Territory into a government in 1788, he was appointed governor, whioh qffice he held until 1802. when Ohio was admitted as a state into* the Union, and he declined an election to the post he had held. His military operations within his territory against the Indians were disastrous, and when he retired from office he was almost ruined in fortune. He made unsuccessful applications to Congress for the payment of certain claims, and finally died almost penniless, at Laurel Hill in Western Pennsylvania, Aug. 31,1818 aged 84 years. ' OF THE REVOLUTION. 13; Outposts undefended. Fort on Mount Independence. Tardiness of Congress in supplying Men and Munitions J. St. Clair was an officer of acknowledged bravery and prudence, yet he was far from being an expert and skillful military leader. His self-reliance and his confidence in the valor and strength of those under him often caused him to be less vigilant than necessity demanded ; and it was this fault, in connection with the weakness of the garrison, which gave Burgoyne his only advantage at Ticonderoga. He soon perceived, through the vigilance of his scouts, that St. Clair had neglected to secure those two important eminences, Mount Hope and Sugar Loaf Hill (Mount Defiance), and, instead of making a direct assault upon the fortress, the British general essayed to possess himself of these valuable points. Wh«n Burgoyne approached, a small detachment of Americans occupied the old French lines north of the fort, which were well repaired and guarded by a block-house. They also had an outpost at the saw-mills (now the village of Ticonderoga), another just above the mills, and a block-house and hospital at the entrance of the lake. Between the lines and the old fort were two block-houses,, and the Grenadiers' Battery on the point was manned. The garrison in the star fort, on Mount Independence, was rather stronger than that at Tfconderoga, and better provisioned. The fort was supplied with artillery, strongly picketed, and its approaches were well guarded by batteries. The foot of the hill on the northwest ern side was intrenched, and had a strong abatis next to the water. Artillery was placed in the intrenchments, pointing down the lake, and at the point, near the mouth of East Creek, was a strong circular battery. The general defenses of the Americans were formidable to an enemy, but tbe tardiness of Congress in supplying the garrison with food, clothing, am munition, and re-enforcements, made them quite weak.1 Their lines and works were exten sive, and instead of a full complement of men to man and defend them, and to occupy Sugar Loaf Hill .and Mount Hope, the whole force consisted of only two thousand five hundred and forty-six Continentals and nine hundred militia. Of the latter not one tenth had bayonets. While at Crown Point, Burgoyne sent forth a pompous and threatening procla- June29 mation, intended to awe the -republicans into passiveness, and confirm the loyalists in their position by a sense of the presence of overshadowing power." In his proclamation the British commander set forth the terrible character of the Indians that accompanied him, greatly exaggerated their numbers, and magnified their eagerness to be let loose upon the republicans, whether found in battle- array or in the bosom of their families. " I have," he said, " but to give stretch to the Indian forces under my direction, and they amount to thou sands, to overtake the hardened enemies of Great Britain and America. I consider them the same wherever they may lurk." Protection and security, clogged with conditions, were held out to the peaceable who remained in their habitations. All the outrages of war, arraved in their most terrific- forms, were denounced against those who persisted in their 1 It was generally believed, until Burgoyne appeared at St. John's, that the military preparations in progress at Quebec were intended for an expedition by sea against the coast towns still in possession ol the Americans ; and influenced by this belief, as well as by the pressing demands for men to keep General Howe and his army from Philadelphia, Congress made but little exertion to strengthen the posts on Lake Champlain. This was a fatal mistake, and it was perceived too late for remedy.- 3 This swaggering proclamation commenced as follows : " By John Burgoyne, Esquire, lieutenant gen eral of his majesty's forces in America, colonel of the Queen's regiment of Light Dragoons, governor of Fort William in North Britain, one of the Commons of Great Britain in Parliament, and commanding an army and fleet employed on an expedition from Canada," &c. " From the pompous manner in which he has arrayed his titles," says Dr. Thatcher, " we are led to siippose that he considers them as more than a natch for all the military force which' we can bring against them."— MUitary Journal, p. 82. General Washington, from his camp at Middlebrook, in New Jersey, issued a manifesto or counter proc- amation, which, in sincerity and dignity, was infinitely superior to that issued by Burgoyne. He alluded to the purity of motives and devotion of the patriots, the righteousness of their cause, and the evident guard ianship of an overruling Providence in the direction of affairs, and closed by saying, "Harassed as we are bv unrelenting persecution, obliged by every tie to repel violence by force, urged by self-preservation to exert the streno-th which Providence has given us to defend bur natural rights against the aggressor, we amieal to the hearts of all mankind for the justice of our cause ; its event we leave to Him who speaks the fate of nations, in humble confidence that as his omniscient eye taketh note even of the sparrow that falleth to the ground, so he will not withdraw his countenance from a people who humbly array themselves under his banner in defense of the noblest principles with which he has adorned humanity." 134 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Ticonderoga invested by the British. Council of War in the American Camp. The British on Mount Defiance. hostility. But the people at large, and particularly the firm republicans, were so far from being frightened, that they treated the proclamation with contempt, as a complete model of pomposity.1 On the 2d of July the right wing of the British army moved forward, and Geu- OT7' eral St. Clair believed and hoped that they intended to make a direct assault upon the fort. The small American detachments that occupied the outposts toward Lake George made but a feeble resistance, and then set fire to and abandoned their works. Generals Phillips and Fraser, with an advanced corps of infantry and some light artillery, immedi ately took possession of Mount Hope, which completely commanded the road to Lake George, and thus cut off all supplies to the patriot garrison from that quarter. This accomplished, extraordinary energy and activity were manifested by the enemy in bringing up their artil lery, ammunition, and stores to fortify the post gained, and on the 4th Fraser's whole ,uly' corps occupied Mount Hope." In the mean while Sugar Loaf Hill had been recon- noitered by Lieutenant Twiss, the chief Engineer, who reported that its summit had com plete command of the whole American works at Ticonderoga and Mount Independence, ftnd that a road to the top, suitable for the conveyance of cannons, though difficult, might be made in twenty-four hours. It was resolved to erect a battery on the height, and, by ardu ous and prolonged labor, a road was cleared on the night of the 4th. The Thunderer, carrying the battery train and stores, arrived in the afternoon, and light twelve pounders, medium twelves, and eight-inch howitzers were landed. So completely did the enemy occupy the ground between the lake, Mount Hope, and Sugar Loaf Hill, that this important movement was concealed from the garrison ; and when, at dawn on the morning of the 5th, the summit of Mount Defiance3 glowed with the scarlet Uniforms of the British troops, and heavy artillery stood threateningly in their midst, the •• Americans were paralyzed with astonishment, for that array seemed more like the lingering apparitions of a night vision than the terrible reality they were forced to acknowledge. From that height the enemy could look down into the fortress, count every man, inspect all their movements, and with eye and cannon command all the extensive works of Ticonderoga and Mount Independence. St. Clair immediately called a council of war, and presented to them the alarming facts, that the whole effective strength of the garrison was not sufficient to man one half of the works ; that, as the whole must be constantly on duty, they could not long endure the fatigue ; that General Schuyler, then at Fort Edward, had not suffi cient troops to re-enforce or relieve them ; that tbe enemy's batteries were nearly ready to open upon them, and that a -complete investment of the place would be accomplished within- twenty-four hours. It seemed plain that nothing could save the troops but evacuation, and the step was proposed by the commander and agreed to by his officers. It was a critical and trying moment for St. Clair. To remain would be to lose his army, to evacuate would Jul 6 be to lose his character. He chose to make a self-sacrifice, and at about two o'clock 1777- on the following morning the troops were put in motion. As every movement of the Americans could be seen through the day from Mount Defi ance, no visible preparations for leaving the fort were made until after dark, and the purpose of the council was concealed from the troops until the evening order was given. It was arranged to place the baggage, and such ammunition and stores as might be expedient, on board two hundred bateaux, to be dispatched, under a convoy of five armed galleys, up the lake to Skenesborough (Whitehall), and the main body of the army to proceed by land to 1 Gordon, ii., 205. * This title was given to it by General Fraser, in allusion to the hope they entertained of dislodging the Americans. ' I was informed by an old man, ninety years of age, residing at Pittsford, not far from the battle-ground at Hubbardton, that the British gave the name of Mount Defiance to Sugar Loaf Hill on tho day when they erected their battery upon it, for from that height they defied the Americans either to resist or dislodge them. The old man was one of the British regulars under Burgoyne, but soon afterward deserted to the Continentals. OF THE REVOLUTION. 135 Retreat of the Americans from Ticonderoga and Mount Independence. Imprudence of Fermoy. Pursuit by the Encmj the same destination, by way of Castleton. The cannons that could not be moved were to be spiked ; previous to striking the tents, every light was to be extinguished ; each soldier was to provide himself with several days' provisions ; and, to allay any suspicions on the part of the enemy of such a movement, a continued cannonade was to be kept up from one of the batteries in the direction of Mount Hope until the moment of departure. These arrangements were all completed, yet so short was the notice that a good deal of confusion ensued. The garrison of Ticonderoga crossed the bridge to Mount Independent at about three o'clock in the morning, the enemy all the while unconscious of the escape oi their prey. The moon was shining brightly, yet her pale light was insufficient to betray the toiling Americans in their preparations and flight, and they felt certain that, before day light should discover their withdrawal, they would be too far advanced to invite pursuit. But General De Fermoy, who commanded on Mount Independence, regardless of express orders, set fire to the house he had occupied as the troops left. The light of the conflagra tion revealed the whole scene and every movement to the enemy, and the consciousness of discovery added to the confusion and disorder of the retreating republicans. The rear-guard, under Colonel Francis, left the mount at about four o'clock in the morning, and the whole body pressed onward in irregular order toward Hubbardton, where, through the energy and skill of the officers, they were pretty well organized after a halt of two hours. The main army then proceeded to Castleton, six miles further, and the rear-guard, with stragglers picked up by the way, were placed under the command of Colonel Seth Warner, and re mained a,t Hubbardton until some, who were left behind, should come up. Here a despe rate, and, to the Americans, a disastrous battle was fought the next morning, the details of which will be given hereafter. As soon as the movement of the Americans was perceived by the British, General Fraser commenced an eager pursuit with his pickets, leaving orders for his brigade to follow. At daylight he unfurled the British flag oyer Ticonderoga, and before sunrise U had passed the bridge and Mount Independence, and was in close pursuit of the flying patriots.1 Major- general Riedesel and Colonel Breyman, with their Germans and Hessians, soon followed to sustain Fraser, while Burgoyne, who was on board the Royal George, prepared for an im mediate pursuit of the bateaux and convoy by water. The Americans placed great reliance upon their strong boom at Ticonderoga, and regarded pursuit by water as almost impossible ; but the boom and bridge were speedily cleft by the enemy. Long before noon a free pas sage was made for the gun-boats and frigates, and the whole flotilla were crowding all sail to°overtake the American bateaux. These, with the baggage and stores, were all destroyed at Skenesborough* before sunset. The evacuation of Ticonderoga, without' efforts at defense, was loudly condemned through out the country, and brought down a storm of indignant abuse upon the heads of Generals St Clair and Schuyler, for much of the responsibility was laid upon the latter because he was the commander-in-chief of the northern department. The weakness of the garrison, the commanding position of the enemy upon Mount Defiance, where they could not be reached by the guns of the fort, and the scarcity of stores and ammunition, were not taken into the account, and, consequently, the verdict of an excited public was very unjust toward those unfortunate officers. Washington had placed great reliance upon them both ; nor did the event destroy his confidence in their ability and bravery, yet he was perplexed, and ' This was the third time in consecutive order that the fortress was captured by an enemy to the gar rison witho.it bloodshed, namely, in 1759, by the "English under General Amherst ; in 1775, by the New Englald provincials under Colonel Ethan Allen, and now (1777) by the British under Lieutenant-general BU* The" chief thus wrote to General Schuyler on hearing of the disaster : " The evacuation of Ticonder- ' o«ra and Mount Independence is an event of chagrin and surprise not apprehended nor -within the compass of mv reZniL. I know not upon what principle it was founded, and I should suppose it would be still 1™ difficult to be accounted for if the garrison amounted to five thousand men in h.gh spirits, healthy, well supplied with provisions and ammunition, and the Eastern militia were marching to their succor, as 7ou men^ned in yoPur letter of the 9th [June] to the Council of Safety of New York." 136 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Washington's Recommendation of Arnold. Acquittal of Schuyler and St. Clair of Blame. Return to Ticonderoga. clearly foresaw that some other leader would be necessary to inspire sufficient confidence in the minds of the Eastern militia to cause them to turn out in force to oppose the progress of Burgoyne. Accordingly, he recommended Congress to send an " active, spirited officer to conduct and lead them (the militia) on."1 But Congress, went further. Unwisely list ening to and heeding the popular clamor, they suspended St. Clair from command, and ap pointed Adjutant-general Gates to supersede General Schuyler. St. Clair did not leave the army, but was with Washington at tbe battle of Brandywine. By a general court-martial, held in the autumn of 1778, he was acquitted of all blame, with the highest honor, and this decision was fully confirmed by Congress in December following. The noble conduct of General Schuyler toward Gates, and his continued patriotic efforts in behalf of his country after suffering the injustice inflicted by Congress, have been mentioned in another chapter. After the lapse of several months the public mind was brought to bear with calmness upon the subject, and, before the close of the war, both generals were fully reinstated in the con fidence of the people. Our historic picnic upon the mountain-top is ended, and, being well rested, let us " gather up the fragments, that nothing be lost," and descend to the village of "Ty," by the way of the military road which was made impromptu by General Phillips for his cannon, up the northern slope of Defiance. Very slight traces of it are now visible, and these consist chiefly of a second growth of timber, standing where the road was cut. We parted with our guide at the foot of the mountain. Our boy-driver and -the vehicle had disappeared, and we were obliged to walk in the hot sun to the village. Our good tem pers were not at all improved when we learned the fact that the stage from Lake George had passed nearly an hour before, and that no "conveyance could be procured until toward evening to take us to the fort, unless the boy, who had not returned, should make his ap pearance ; and where he had gone was a mystery. Dinner at the Pavilion was an event only a half hour in the future, and two miles in distance stretched between us and the viands. So we stopped grumbling, trudged on, and, whiling away the moments by pleasant conversa tion, we reached the Pavilion in time to take our places at table, too much heated and fatigued, however, to enjoy the luxuries set before us. Our Boston friends left that afternoon, but we tarried until two o'clock the next morning, when we departed on the Burlington for Whitehall. The air was cool and the sky unclouded when we left Ticonderoga. The moon had gone down, and it was too dark to see more than the outlines of the romantic shores by which we were gliding, so we took seats upon the upper deck and surveyed the clear heavens, jewel ed with stars. The Pleiades were glowing in the southern sky, and beautiful Orion was upon the verge of the eastern horizon. Who can look upward on a clear night and not feel the spirit of worship stirring within! Who can contemplate those silent watchers in the firmament and not feel the impulses of adoration ! " I know they must be holy things That from a roof so sacred shine, Where sounds the beat of angels' "wings, And footsteps echo all divine. Their mysteries I never sought, - Nor hearken to what science tells ; For oh, in childhood I was taught That God amid them dwells." Miller. 1 In his letter to Congress (from which this sehtence is quoted), dated at Morristown, July 10th 1777, Washington continues, " If General Arnold has settled his affairs, and can be spared from Philadelphia, I would recommend him for this business, and that he should immediately set out for the northern depart ment. He is active, judicious, and brave, and an officer in whom the militia will repose great confidence. Besides this, he is well acquainted with that country, and with the routes and most important passes and defiles in it. I do not think he can render more signal services, or be more usefully employed at this time, lhan in this way. I am persuaded his presence and activity will animate the militia greatly, and spur them on to a becoming conduct." Arnold was sent accordingly, and his signal services at Bemis's Hei"*hts we have already considered. OF THE REVOLUTION. 137 Arrival at Whitehall or old Skenesborough. Historical Notice of the Place. Capture of Major Skene and his People. Just as the day dawned tiny spiral columns. of vapor began to rise from the lake, and before sunrise we were completely wrapped in a dense fog. After passing the bay south of Mount Independence, the lake becomes very narrow, and the channel is so sinuous that our vessel proceeded' very cautiously in the dense mist. At the Elbow, half a mile from White hall Landing, a rocky point containing " Putnam's Ledge" projects from the west, and occa sions such a short and narrow turn in the lake, that it is with much difficulty large class steam-boats make their way through. It can only be done by the use of hawsers attached to the bow and stern, and this process requires an annoying delay. We reached Whitehall, at the mouth of Wood Creek,1 at the head of th*e lake, about seven in the evening, and found comfortable quarters at a well-conducted temperance hotel near the landing.8 This is ancient Skenesborough, and was a point of considerable importance during the wars on our northern frontier, from 1745 till the close of the Revolution. Here armies halted, and provisions, ammunition, and stores were collected and distributed. A picketed fort was erected here during the French and Indian war, upon the brow of the hill east of Church-street. Soon after the peace of Paris, in 1763, Philip K. Skene, an English major under half pay, purchased several soldiers' grants located here, and, to make his title secure, procured a royal patent. He effected a small settlement at this point, and named it Skenes- < borough, which title it bore until after the Revolution. He had procured a second patent, and became possessor of the whole of the land comprised within the present township of Whitehall, except four thousand acres on its eastern border. He was a magistrate of the crown, the owner of black slaves, and was sometimes honored with the title of governor, on account of having held the office of Lieutenant-governor of Crown Point and Ticonderoga. In addition to a stone residence, he erected another stone edifice, one' hundred and thirty feet long, for a military garrison and depot, upon the spot used as a garden by the family of the late Judge Wheeler. Near the east end was an arched gateway, the key-stone of which is now in the north basement wall of the Baptist Church, and bears the initials, "P. K. S.," and date "1770." Skenesborough was a point included in the programme of operations against/ Ticonderoga, in the expedition under Colonel Allen in 1775. The council held at Castleton, where Allen was appointed commander-in-chief, resolved to send thirty men, under Captain Herrick, to surprise Skenesborough, capture the son of the proprietor (the latter was then in Europe), his negroes and tenantry, seize all the boats and other vessels that might be founds -there, and hasten down the lake with them to Shoreham. The surprise was so complete, that the plan was all accomplished without bloodshed. Major Skene the younger was captured while out shooting ; the twelve negroes and fifty tenants were secured, and the governor's strong stone buildings were taken possession of by the captors. In the cellar of his house was found the body of the wife of the elder Skene, where it had been preserved many years to secure to the husband an annuity devised to her " while she remained above ground !" The Amer- 1 In the older histories and in the geographies of the state of New York the whole narrow part of Lake Champlain south of Ticonderoga was called respectively Wood Creek and South River. For fifty years these names for that portion of the lake have become obsolete, and as historians write for the future, they should be careful to note these changes, so as not to mislead the student. Mr. Headly carelessly observes, when speaking of the retreat from Ticonderoga, that " their long procession of boats began by moonlight to wind up Wood Creek," &c. Again, speaking of Putnam's position when he attacked the French and Indians in their canoes, he represents the place as upon " Wood Creek where it falls into the lake." The fact is the spot is upon the lake, about a mile below where Wood Creek' proper " falls into the lake." He says ao-ain "'A whole fleet of canoes, filled with soldiers, was entering the mouth of the creek." The mouth "of the creek being a cascade^it would have been difficult for the canoes to enter it. Wood Creel? proper rises in French Pond, in Warren county, and, flowing by Fort Anne in a deep and sluggish stream, receives the waters of the Pawlet, and falls into Lake Champlain at Whitehall. 3 Whitehall is a growing and flourishing village. It is within a rocky ravine at the foot of a high emi nence called Skene's Mountain, at the mouth of Wood Creek and the northern terminus of the Champlain Canal arid Rail-road. It has a beautiful agricultural country behind it, and the natural scenery in the vi cinity is very picturesque. The Indian name of the locality, when the whites first explored the neighbor hood was Kah-cho-qua-na, which, literally interpreted, is, "place where dip fish." 13£ PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Destruction of American Vessels at Skenesborough, Flight of the Americans toward Fort Anne. Major Skene. icans buried the body in the rear of the house, and, embarking on board a schooner in the harbor, belonging to Skene, they, sailed down the lake to join Allen at Shoreham.1 A garrison was stationed at Skenesborough in 1776, and there the vessels of the little fleet which Arnold commanded in an action on the lake, below Crown Point, were constructed and partially armed. The Americans strengthened the military works there, and made it quite a strong post. This was the stipulated point for rendezvous of the army under St. Clair, on its retreat from Ticonderoga in 1777. I have already observed that those who escaped by water were unsuspicious of pursuit, and that the flotilla was scarcely moored at Skenesbor ough before the frigates appeared and attacked the galleys. Two of them were captured, and the other three were blown up. Unsupported by the feeble garrison at Skenesborough or by detachments from the army retreating by land," and conscious of the futility of conten tion with such a force as Burgoyne presented, the Americans abandoned their bateaux, set fire to them, together with the fort, mills, block-ho\ises, &c, aiid fled toward the camp of General Schuyler at Fort Edward.3 At Fort Anne they were joined by a few other troops sent forward with provisions and ammunition by General Schuyler, but it was a feeble re- enforcement, for he had with him at Fort Edward only about seven hundred Continentals and fifteen hundred militia. The supplies which he sent so reduced the ammunition and stores of his garrison, that they were several dayf without lead, except a small quantity which they received from Albany, and which was obtained by stripping the windows. The troops borne by the flotilla under Burgoyne, and those that marched from Ticonder oga in pursuit of the Americans, conjoined at Skenesborough, where the British commander resolved to make thorough preparations for pushing forward to the Hudson River. He was informed by the people at Skenesbdrough that the Americans were retreating toward Fort Edward. Lieutenant-colonel Hill, of the ninth regiment, was sent forward on the 7th to take post' at J/ort Anne and watch the movements of the republicans. The rest of the British army were encamped at "Skenesborough and vicinity, where they remained nearly three weeks, while detachments were repairing the roads and bridges, and construct ing new ones on the way to Fort Anne. Burgoyne and his staff were entertained at the mansion of Major Skene, whose familiarity with the country and the people caused him to be introduced into the military family of the commander. He was considered a valuable acquisition, but the result proved otherwise. He advised the disastrous expedition to Ben nington, and accompanied the enemy there. He was personally known to many of the Americans engaged in that affair, who made great efforts to capture him alive. Four horses were shot under him, but, mounting a fifth, he made his escape, although the poor animal fell and expired 'from the effects of a shot, after carrying his rider beyond the reach of his foes. Skene was with Burgoyne when his army surrendered at Saratoga. He dared not return home under his parole, but went to England. He ordered his house to be burned, to prevent its falling into the hands of the Americans. His lands were confiscated and sold by the state,4 and soon after the Revolution the name of Skenesborough was repudiated by the people, and that of Whitehall substituted. Hardly a vestige of the Revolution 1 See Reverend Lewis Kellogg's Historical Discourse, Whitehall, 1847. 2 At Castleton St. Clair was informed of the approach of Burgoyne by water, and, instead of marching to Skenesborough, he struck off into the woods on the left, fearing that he might be intercepted by the ene my at Fort Anne. 3 General Mattoon, late of Amherst, Massachusetts, was a subaltern in the American convoy. Accord ing to his account, there were then only four houses at Skenesborough, besides those belonging to. Skene. While he was in one of them, occupied by a French family, and just in the act of partaking of some refresh ments, a cannon-ball from the enemy's fleet entered, crushed the table, and scattered the victuals in all di rections over the room. — Kellogg's Discourse, p. 6. 4 The place was very unhealthy at that time. The mortality from sickness among the troops stationed there during the Revolution was fearful ; and so bad was the reputation of Whitehall in this particular at the close of the war, that, when the lands of Skene were offered for sale, no competitor appeared, and 29,000 acres were struck off' at the first offer of £14 10s. to an agent of the purchasers, John Williams. Joseph ¦ Stringham, and John Murray. — Kellogg's Discourse, p. 14. A remarkable case of longevity occurred near Whitehall. Henry Francisco, a native of'England, died OF THE REVOLUTION. 139 Whitehall in 1814. Ride to Fort Anne Village. Site of the Fort. Present Appearance of the Locality. is now left there. When another war was waged against us by the same enemy, in 1812, this was again, the theater of hostile preparations. The block-house within the old fort' was repaired, furnished with artillery, and garrisoned for the defense of the place. Intrench ments and a magazine were constructed on an island a few hundred yards north of the vil lage, and barracks were erected on the brow of the hill west of Church Street, the remains of which have but recently been demolished. The American fleet engaged in September Ui the battle of Plattsburgh, with the vessels captured from the enemy in that en- 1814- gagement, were anchored in the harbor at Whitehall soon after that event ; and the remains of some of the vessels of both nations may now be seen decaying together in the lake, a short distance from the harbor. After breakfast, on the morning of our arrival at Whitehall, I rode to Fort Anne Au^,Bt a Village, eleven miles south, accompanied by the editor of the "Democrat,"1 whose 1848- kind attentions |ind free communications of valuable knowledge concerning historical locali ties in the vicinity contributed much to the pleasure and instruction of the journey thither. It is a pleasant little village, situated upon a gently undulating plain near the junction of Wood Creek and East Creek, and exhibited a charming picture of quiet and prosperity There I found a venerable kinsman, nearly eighty years of age, who, in the vigor of manhood, fifty years ago, purchased an extensive tract of land in this then almost unbroken wilderness.5 His dwelling, store-house, and barns occupy the site of Fort Anne, the only traces of which Site of Fort Anne.3 are the stumps of the strong pine pickets with which it was stockaded. It was built by the Eno-lish, under General Nicholson, in 1757, two years after the construction of Fort Ed ward. It was a small fortress, and was never the scene of any fierce hostility. Although ninety vears had elapsed since its pickets were set in the ground, what remained of them near there in November, 1820, aged one hundred and thirty-four years. He was present at the corona tion of Queen Anne, March 8th; 1702. He served in the French wars and in the Revolution, and lived in this country nearly ninety years; since deceased. , i D. S. Murray, Esq. 2 William A. Moore, Esq., president of the Whitehall Bank. '» This view is from the bridge which crosses Wood Creek, looking south. The distant building on the rio-ht is the dwelling of Mr. Moore. Nearer is his 'store-house, and on the left are his out-houses. The stumps of the pickets may be traced in a circular line from his dwelling along the road to the crook in the fence, and so on to the barns and in their yards. 14*0 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Putnam and Rogers near Fort Anne. Ambush of French and Indians. Desperate Battle., Perilous Situation of Putnam. exhibited but slight tokens of decay, and the odor of turpentine was almost as strong and fresh when one was split as if it had been planted but a year ago. August, About a mile northwest of Fort Anne is the place where a severe battle was 1758. fought between a corps of five hundred Rangers, English and provincials, under Put nam and Rogers, and about the same number of French and Indians, under the famous par tisan Molang. Putnam and Rogers were sent by Abercrombie to watch the enemy in the neighborhood of Ticonderoga. When they arrived at South Bay, an expansion of Lake Champlain near Whitehall, the two leaders separated, taking with them their respective divisions, but, being discovered by the watchful Molang, they deemed it expedient to reunite and return immediately to Fort Edward. Their troops were marched in three divisions, the right commanded by Rogers, the left by Putnam, and the center by Captain Dalyell (sometimes written D'Ell). They halted at evening oil the border of Clear River, a fork of Wood Creek before its junction with East Creek, and within a mile of Fort Anne. Early in the morning, while the lines were forming, Major Rogers, regardless of the teachings of the Ranger's great virtue, precaution, amused himself by firing at a target with a British officer. The sound reached the vigilant' ears of Molang and his Indian allies, who, unknown to the Americans, were then encamped within a mile of. them. He had been searching for the Rangers to intercept them, and the firing was a sure guide. His men were posted in am bush along the paths which he knew they must take, and as the Americans, just at sunrise, emerged from a dense thicket into the open woods, Molang and his followers fell upon them with great fury. Rogers seemed to be appalled by the fierce onslaught and fell back, but Put nam and Dalyell sustained their position and returned the fire. The conflict be came desperate. At length Putnam's fu see missed fire when the muzzle was within a few inches of the breast of a giant savage, who thrust it aside and fell upon the major with the fierceness of a panther, made him prisoner, bound him firmly to a tree, and then returned* to the battle. Captain Dal yell now assumed the command. The provincials fell back a little, but, rallying, the fight continued with great vigor. The tree to which Putnam was bound was about midway between the combatants, and he stood in the ,center of the hottest fire of both, utterly unable to move body or limb, so firmly had -the savage secured him. His garments were riddled by bul lets, but not one touched his person. For an hour he remained in this horrible posi tion, until the enemy were obliged to re treat, when he was unbound and carried off by his savage captors.1 Wounded, exhausted, and dispirited, Putnam was forced to make a weary Major Israel Putnam in British Uniform. Prom an old picture in the possession oi^l gentleman in New London, Connecticut march OVer a TOUQ-h COUntrV led On bv 1 At one time, when the provincials fell back, and the Indians were near him, a young warrior amused himself by trying his skill in throwing his tomahawk as near Putnam's head as possible without hitting him. When he was tired of his amusement, a French subaltern, more savage than the Indian, leveled his musket at Putnam's breast, but it missed fire. The major claimed the consideration due to a prisoner of war, but the barbarous Frenchman was unmoved, and, after striking him a violent blow upon his cheek with the butt end of his musket, left him to die, as he thought. OF THE REVOLUTION. 141 Humanity of Putnam's Captor. Preparation. for Torture. Interposition of Molang. Battle-ground near Fort Anne. the savages, who had tied cords so tightly around his wrists that his'hands were swollen and dreadfully tortured. He begged for release either from the pain or from life. A French officer interposed and unbound the cords ; and just the*, his (japtor came up, and, with a sort of savage humanity, supplied him with moccasins, and expressed great indignation because of the harsh treatment his prisoner had endured. I say savage humanity, for it was pres ent kindness, exercised while a dark and atrocious intention for the future made the Indian complaisant— the prisoner was reserved for the stake, and all those exquisite tortures with which savage cruelty imbitters the death of its victims. Deep in the forest he was stripped naked, and with green withes was bound fast to a sapling. ,The wood was piled high around him, and the wild death-songs of the savages, mingled with fierce yells, were chanted. The torch was applied, and the crackling flame began to curl around the fagots, when a black cloud, that for an. hour had been rising in the west, poured down such a volume of water that! the flames we're nearly extinguished. But they burst forth again in fiercer intensity, and Putnam lost all hope of escape, when. a French officer dashed through -the crowd of savages, scattered the burning wood, and cut the cords of the victim. It was Molang him self. Some relenting savage had told him of the horrid orgies in the forest, and he flew to the rescue of Putnam, just in time to save him. After enduring much suffering, he was delivered to Montcalm at Ticonderoga, and by him sent to Montreal, where he experienced great kindness from Colonel Peter Schuyler, a fellow-prisoner, through whose influence he was exchanged for a prisoner taken by Colonel Bradstreet at Fort Frontenac.1 About three fourths of a mile north of Fort Anne is a narrow, rocky defile, through which Wood Creek and the Champlain Canal flow and the rail-road is laid. Art has widened the defile by excavation, and cultivation has swept away much of the primitive forest. Here in this rocky gorge, then just wide enough for the stream and a narrow pathway, a severe Battle-ground near Fort ASne.2 engagement occurred between the ninth British regiment, under Lieutenant-colonel Hill, and a detachment of Americans, under Colonel Long. This officer, with about five July 8| hundred republicans, principally of the invalids and convalescents of the army, was 1777- posted at Fort Anne by General Schuyler, with directions to defend it. Warned of the approach of the enemy, Colonel Long prepared not only for defense, but to go out and meet him. The Americans fit for duty were mustered, and early in the morning they marched up to the southern edge of the defile. " At half past ten in the morning," said Major i See Humphrey's and Peabody's Biographies of Putnam. 2 This sketch was taken from the rail-road, looking north. The forest upon the left is the thick wood of the Revolution, but on the right cultivated fields have taken the place of the forest to a considerable ex tent On the right is seen the Champlain Canal, here occupying the bed of Wood Creek. The fence on the left indicates the place of the public road between Fort Anne and Whitehall When this, sketch was made (1848) the rail-road was unfinished. 1 42 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Battle near Fort Anne. Return to Whitehall. Visit to " Putnam's Rock." View of the Scene Forbes in his testimony on the trial of Burgoyne, " they attacked us in front with a heavy and well-directed fire ; a large body of them passed the creek on the left, and fired from a thick wood across the creek on the lfft flank of the regiment ; they then began to recross the creek and attack us in the rear ; we then found it necessary to change our ground, to prevent the regiment being surrounded ; we took post on a high hill to our right. As soon as we had taken post, the enemy made a very vigorous attack, which continued upward of two hours ; and they certainly would have forced us, had it not been for some Indians that arrived and gave the Indian hoop, which we answered with three cheers ; the rebels soon after that gave way."1, The major's facts are correct, but his inferences are wide of the mark. The Americans were not frightened by the Indian war-hoop, for it was a sound very familiar to their ears, but they " gave way" because their ammunition gave out. Had Colonel Long been well supplied with powder and ball, tbe British troops would have been destroyed or made prisoners. Captain Montgomery, of Hill's regiment, was severely wound ed and captured by the Americans, who, when they gave way, set fire to Fort Anne and retreated to the headquarters of General Schuyler at Fort Edward. We returned to Whitehall toward evening. The ride was delightful through a country _ ever-changing and picturesque, par ticularly when approaching the lake. On the left rise the lofty summits of the hills on Lake George ; on the east those of Vermpnt and Massa chusetts ; and down the lake, north ward, Mount Defiance may be plainly seen. After an early evening meal, I procured a water-man and his boat, and, accompanied by my traveling companion and Mr. M., proceeded to "Put's Rock," near "the Elbow," a mile from the landing, and near the entrance of South Bay.2 The lake is here very narrow, and the shores on either side are abrupt, rocky, and wooded. It was about sunset when we arrived at the scene of ""Putnam's exploit, and the deep shadows that gathered upon the western shore, where the famous ledge is situated, height ened the picturesque character of the scenery and the force of the historical associations which lionize the spot. Upon the rough ledge of rocks seen on the right of the picture Ma- or Putnam and fifty men boldly opened a musket battery upon about five hundred! French and Indian warriors under the famous Molang, who were in canoes upon the water.3 This event occurred a few days previous to the unfortunate battle View at Putnam's Rock. v. 1 Burgoyne's State of the Expedition, &c, p. 81. Here I will correct a serious geographical error which I find in Peabody's Life of Putnam. He says, " Abercrombie ordered Major Putnam to proceed with fifty men to South Bay, in Lake George." Again, " The detachment marched to Wood Creek, near the point where it flows into South Bay." South Bay is in Lake Champlain, and Wood Creek does not flow into it at all. See note respecting Wood CTeek, , ante, page 137. 3 The view is taken from the Vermont shore, where rafts of timber and piles of lumber (as seen on the left) betoken the chief article of commerce here. The ledge of rocks, which rises about fourteen feet in height, is on the New York side. From the perpendicular point, rugged and broken, there is a gentle slope thickly covered with timber and shrubbery, and affording an excellent place for an ambuscade. The small t|ees,in the distance mark the point at the Elbow, and the hill beyond is a portion of Skene's Mountain, whieh\verlooks the harbor at Whitehall. OF THE REVOLUTION. 143 Putnam and Rogers on Lake Champlain. Attack of the former on the French and Indians. The Saratoga and Confianoe near Fort Anne, where Putnam was taken prisoner. Major Rogers, who was also sent by Abercrombie to watch the movements of the enemy, had taken a station twelve miles dis tant, and Putnam and his fifty rangers composed the whole force at this point. Near the front of the ledge he constructed a parapet of stone, and placed young pine trees before it in such a natural manner that they seemed to have grown there, and completely hid the de fense from observers on the water below. Fifteen of his men, disabled by sickness, were sent back to the camp at Fort Edward, and with his thirty-five he resolved to attack what ever force might appear upon the lake. Four days he anxiously awaited the appearance of the enemy, when early one evening he was gratified by the intelligence that a large fleet of canoes, filled with warriors, was leisurely approaching from South Bay. It was the time of full moon, the sky was unclouded, and from his hiding-place every movement of the In dians could be distinctly seen. Putnam called in all his sentinels, and in silence every man was stationed where his fire might be most effective. Not a musket was to be moved until orders were given by the commander. The advanced canoes had. passed the parapet, when one of the soldiers hit his firelock against a stone. The sound was caught by the watchful ears of Molang and his followers. The canoes in the van halted, and the whole fleet was crowded in confusion and alarm directly beneath the ledge. A brief consultation ensued, and then they turned their prows back toward South Bay. As they, wheeled the voice of Putnam shouted " Fire," and with sure aim each bullet reached a victim. The enemy re turned the fire, but without effect, and for a time the carnage produced by the Rangers was dreadful in that dense mass upon the waters. Molang soon perceived by the firing that his assailants were few, and detached a portion of his men to land below and attack the provin cials in the rear. Putnam* had perceived this movement, and sent a party of twelve men, under Lieutenant Durkee, who easily repulsed them when they attempted to land. About daybreak he learned that the enemy had actually debarked at a point below, and was march ing to surround him. This fact, and the failure of his ammunition, warned him to retreat. Nearly half the number of the enemy perished on that fatal night, while Putnam lost but two men, who were wounded.1 While retreating through the thick forest, an unexpected enemy fired upon them, but wounded only one man. Putnam instantly ordered his men to charge^ when his voice was recognized by the other leader, who cried out, " Hold, we* are friends !" " Friends or foes," shouted Putnam, " you deserve to perish for doing so little exe cution with so fair a shot." The party proved to be a detachment sent to cover their retreat. It was late in the evening twilight before I finished, my sketch, but our obliging water man would not consent to row us back until we should go' to his house near by and see his " pullet and chickens" — -his wife and children. His dwelling was at the foot of the steep Vermont shore, completely hemmed in by rocks and water, but embowered in shrubbery. His children brought us fruit, and we were refreshed by draughts of water from a mountain spring close by, of iey coldness. The moon was shining brightly when we passed the Elhow on our return, and by its pale light we could see the ribs and other decaying timber of the British ship of war Confiance and the American ship Saratoga.* The former was sunk there in 1814, and the latter, which was afterward used as a store-ship, was scuttled by some miscreants while her officers and crew were at the village participating in a Fourth of July celebration. It was about nine in the evening when we reached the hotel. There I met that distinguished and venerable divine, Rev. Mr. Pierce, of Brookline, Massachusetts, and was charmed and edified by his conversation for more than an hour.*1 His memory was 1 These men, one a provincial, the other an Indian, were placed under an escort of two others, and sent toward the camp. They were pursued and overtaken by the Indians. The wounded men told the escort to leave them to their fate, which they did. Wh* the savages came up, the provincial, knowing that he would be put to death, fired and killed three. He was instantly tomahawked. The Indian was kept a prisoner, and from him Putnam learned the above facts when they met some time afterward in Canada. 2 Mr. Pierce was seventy-five years old. He distinctly remembered Washington's visit to Boston in 1789. The cavalcade halted near the entrance to the city, and Washington was obliged to sit on horseback two hours, while the state authorities and the selectmen decided a point of etiquette — whose province it was to 144 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Departure from Whitehall. Sholes's Landing. Ride to the Battle-ground of Hubbardton. Picturesque Scenery. richly stored with historic learning, and our interdourse was to me a pleasant and profitable appendix to the events and studies of the day. Early the next morning we left Whitehall on the steamer Saranac, and landed at Chip- man's Point, or Sholes's Landing, the port of Orwell, and the most eligible point whence to reach the battle-ground of Hubbardton. The morning was delightful, and the ride in a light wagon, accompanied by the intelligent son of Mr. Sholes, proved to be one of peculiar pleas ure. Our route was through the pleasant little village of Orwell, five miles southeast of the landing. There we turned southward, and followed the margin of the broad ravine or valley through which the retreatihg Americans and pursuing British passed when St. Clair evacuated Ticonderoga. The road was made very tortuous to avoid the high ridges and deep valleys which intersect in all directions, while at the same time it gradually ascends for several miles. I never passed through a more picturesque country. The slopes and valleys were smiling with cultivation, and in every direction small lakes were sparkling in the noonday sun. Within about six miles of the battle-ground we descended into -a roman tic valley imbosomed in a spur of the Green Mountains. We passed several small lakes, lying one below another, over which arose rough and lofty precipices, their summits crowned with cedar, hemlock, pine, and spruce. The tall trunks of the pines, black and branchless, scathed by lightning and the tempest, arose above the surrounding forests like mighty senti nels, and added much to the wild grandeur of the scene. From the rough and narrow val ley we ascended to a high, rolling table-land, well cultivated ; and upon the highest part of July 7 this tract, surrounded on the south and east by loftier hills, the battle of Hubbardton 1777- occurred. General Fraser, whom I have already mentioned as having started after the Americans from Ticonderoga, continued his pursuit of St. Clair and his army through the day, uy ' and, learning from some Tory scouts that they were not far in advance, he ordered his men to lie that night upon their arms, to be ready to push -forward at daybreak. About three in the morning his troops were put in motion, and about five o'clock his advanced scouts discovered the American sentries, who discharged their pieces and retreated to the main body of the detachment, which was left behind by St. Clair, under the command of Coldhels Warner and Francis. Their place of encampment was in the southeast part of Hubbardton, Rutland county, near the Pittsford line, upon the farm of John Selleck,1 not far from the place where the Baptist meeting-house now stands. The land is now owned by a son of Captain Barber, who was in the engagement. He kindly accompanied me to the spot, and pointed out the localities, according to the instructions of his patriotic father. The engraving on the opposite page represents the general view of the place of encampment and the battle-ground. When the British advanced guard discovered the Americans, they were breakfasting near a dwelling which stood close by the Baptist meeting-house, the two- story building seen in the center of the picture. The dark spot near the fence, seen between tbe larger trees in the foreground (I in the map of the battle), marks the remains of the cel- >'lar of the old house. The road on the right is that leading toward Ticonderoga ; and the roofs of the houses, seen over the orchard on the right, mark the direction of the road lead- receive him. The selectmen carried the day. He explained to me the nature of the apparent error in the registration of the birth and christening of Dr. Franklin. The entries of both events are upon the same day, Sunday, 17th of January, 1706. An old man, who remembered the circumstance well, for it caused some gossip at the time, told him that Dr. Franklin's mother went to church and received the communion in the morning, gave birth to her son at noon, and in the afternoon the child was christened. 1 The first settlement in this town was in the spring of 1774, and consisted of only two families. In 1775 seven other families joined them, among whom was Mr. Selleck, and these nine constituted the whole population of the town when the battle occurred. On the day previous a party of Indians and Tories, un der Captain Sherwood, came upon the inhabitants and mdde prisoners of two farmers named Hickock, and their families, and two young men named Keeler and Kellogg. They captured two or three others, and carried them all off to Ticonderoga, leaving their families to shift for themselves. The sorrowing wives and children made a toilsome journey over the mountains to Connecticut, whence they had emigrated. The men remained prisoners at Ticonderoga (except two who escaped) until after the surrender of Bur goyne in October, when that fortress was retaken by the Americans. — See Thompson's Gazetteer of Vermont, OF THE REVOLUTION. 145 View of the Battle-ground. Retreat and Surrender of Colonel Hale. His reasonable Excuse. ing down to the valley toward Castleton. The large boulder in front is famed by local tra- The battle-ground of Hubbardton. dition as the observatory of the first man of the British van who discovered the Americans ; and if is related that he was shot "by a sentinel before he could leap down. The range of hills in the distance are the Pitts- ford Mountains, over which a portion of the Americans fled toward B-utland. A small branch of a tributary of Castleton Creek runs through the intervale between the meeting-house and the hills, beyond. The hottest of the fight occurred upon the slope between the large tree and the meeting-house. It was covered with ripe grain when I visited it, and Auguatr the achievements of the tiller gathering his sheaves seemed more truly great than all 1848- the honors and renown which wholesale slaughter ever procured for a warrior chieftain. It was an excessively hot morning in July when the battle of Hubbardton com- Jul_ 7 menced. The American force consisted of the three regiments of Warner, Francis, 1777- and Hale, and such stragglers from the main army then at Castleton (six miles in advance) as had been picked up on the way. The Americans were about thirteen hundred strong, and the British, under Fraser, about eight hundred. Reidesel and his Germans were still in tbe rear, but, jexpecting his arrival every moment, Fraser began the attack at seven in the morning, fearing that the Americans might escape if he delayed. The charge of the enemy was well received, and the battle raged furiously. Had Warner been well sustained by the militia regiment under Colonel Hale, he might have secured a victory ; but that officer, with his troops, fled toward Castleton, hoping to join the main army there under St, Clair, leaving the commander with only seven hundred men to oppose the enemy. On the way, Hale and his men fell in with an inconsiderable party of British soldiers, to whom they surrendered, without offering any resistance, although the numbers were about equal.1 They 1 Colonel Hale has-been severely censured for this act of apparent cowardice, but when every circum stance is taken into account, there is much to induce a mitigation of blame. Himself and a large portion of his men were in feeble health, and quite unfit for active service, and his movement was one of precau tion rather than of cowardly alarm. Rivals, soon after he surrendered, circulated reports unfavorable to hte reputation. On hearing of them, he wrote to General Washington, asking him to obtain his exchange, that he might vindicate his character by a court-martial ; but before this could be accomplished he died, while a prisoner on Long Island, in September, 1780. K I 46 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Battle of Hubbardton. Defeat of the Americans. Death of Colonel Francis. were well stationed upon the brow of the hill, but so sudden and unexpected was the attack, that no other breast-works could be thrown up than such as a few trees afforded. For a long time the conflict was severe, for Reide sel still did not make his appearance. The British grenadiers occupied the Castleton road, and pre vented the Americans ' from retreating in that direction ; but the re publicans poured such a galling fire upon them, that they gave way and victory was almost within the grasp of the patriots. At that mo ment Rie desel with his com panionsappear-prisoners ed, bis drums beating and ban- ' n ers flying. The firing reaching his ears, he had pressed on as rapidly as the rough forest road would allow. His Chasseurs, under Major Barner, were immediately brought into action in support of Fraser's left flank. At that moment the whole British line made a bayonet .charge upon the Americans with terrible effect. The latter, suppos ing that the Germans in full force were coming upon them, broke and fled with great precipitation, some ovef the Pittsford Mountains toward Rutland, and others down the valley toward'Castleton.1 The Americans lost three hundred and twenty-four in killed, wounded, and The brave Colonel Francis was slain while gallantly fighting at the head of his regiment, and twelve officers were made prisoners. The British loss was one hundred and eighty-three, among whom were Major Pratt and about twenty inferior officers. ' The British also captured about two hundred stand of arms. When General St. Clair heard the firing at Hubbardton, he attempted to send a force to the relief of Warner, but the militia absolutely refused to go, and the regulars and others were too far on their way to Fort Edward to be recalled. St. Clair had just learned, too, that Burgoyne was at Skenesborough, and he hastened forward to join General Schuyler, which he did on the 12 th, with his troops worn down by fatigue and lack of pro visions. The loss to the Americans by the evacuation of these posts on the lake was one hundred and twenty-eight pieces of cannon and a considerable quantity of ammu- Explanation of the Map. — A, advanced corps of General Fraser, attacked at B ; C, position of the corps while it was forming ; D, Earl of Balcarras detached to cover the right wing ; E, the van-guard and Brunswick company of Chasseurs coming up with General Reidesel; F, position of 'the Americans after Riedesel arrived. The lines extending downward show the course of the retreat of the Americans over the Pittsford Mountains. H, position of the British after the action ; I, house where the wounded were carried, mentioned,in the description of the picture on page 144; 0, position of the Americans pre vious to the action. This map is a reduced copy of one drawn by P. Gerlaeh, Burgoyne's deputy quarter master general. 1 Many of the Americans, in their precipitate retreat, threw away their muskets to rid themselves of the encumbrance. Some have been found, within a few years, in the woods on the line of the retreat. One of them, of American manufacture, is in my possession, and dated 1774. The bayonet is fixed, the flint is in the lock, and the powder and ball are still Jn the barrel. 2 The statements concerning the loss in this battle are various and contradictory. Some accounts say that nearly six hundred, who were wounded, crawled off into the woods and died ; and others, again, put the American loss down at less than three hundred. There is a preponderance of testimony in favor of the number I have given, and it is, doubtless, near the truth. OF THE REVOLUTTOiY 147 General Schuyler's Forces at Fort Edward. Return to Lake Champlain. An old Soldier. Mount Independence. nition and stores. In every respect the event was disastrous, and, as we have seen, pro duced much discontent in the army and disappointment throughout the country. ' General Schuyler summoned the fragments of the broken armies to his camp at Fort Ed ward. All united, numbered only four thousand four hundred men, and this was the whole effective force opposed to the southward progress of Burgoyne. Nearly one half of these de serted, not to the enemy, but to their homes, before the end of the month. Yet the general neither despaired nor remained idle. He kept his men busily engaged in destroying bridges, felling trees, digging deep trenches, and making other obstructions in the forest paths from Fort Anne to Fort Edward, to delay the progress of the enemy ; and this labor resulted in greatly impeding Burgoyne's march, and in delaying his arrival upon the Hudson. The subsequent events connected with these two armies, excepting the battle of Bennington and the expedition of St. Leger, have already been noticed in detail. The latter will be con sidered in their proper order. I lingered upon the ba,ttle-ground in Hubbardton as long as time would allow, for the view from that lofty table-land is l)oth beautiful and grand, particularly in the direction of Castleton, on the southwest. A broad valley, bounded on either side by ranges of high hills, cultivated to their summits, and diversified by rich intervales covered with ripe harvests and dark green corn, spread out below us, a lovely picture of peace and prosperity. The view at its further extremity is bounded by the high hills near the Hudson, and on the left some of the higher summits were dark with spruce and cedar trees. We returned to Sholes's by the way of Hyde's, in Sudbury, where we dined. As usual, every delicacy of the season was upon hSfcable. Indeed, " a table equal to Hyde's" has become a proverbial expression of praise among tourists, for it is his justifiable boast that he spreads the choicest repasts that are given between Montreal and New Orleans. His beautifully embowered mansion is near the base of the Green Mountains, by the margin of a charming lake, on the borders of a rich valley, about twelve miles east of Lake Champlain, and a more delightful summer retreat can not well be imagined. Our route thither was over a rough mountain road. Among the rugged hills we met a venerable, white-haired man leaning upon two canes, and greatly bowed by the weight of years. I accosted him- with reverence, and, in answer to my inquiry whether he was a soldier of the Revolution, he informed me that he was with General Sullivan on Rhode Island, and was on duty in the fort on Butt's Hill at the time of the engagement there on the 29th of August, 1778, known as the battle of Quaker Hill. We arrived at Sholes's between five and six o'clock in the evening.' Our excellent host and his neighbor and friend, living at the foot of Mount Independence, anticipating my wishes, had a slSff in readiness to convey us across the bay to visit that memorable spot. Although I had ridden forty miles during the day, and storm-clouds had been gathering • thick and fast for two hours, and now threatened a speedy down-pouring, I was too anxious for the visit to allow fatigue or rain to thwart my purpose. Accompanied by my companion and another young lady, the daughter of Mr. S., we pushed across the ba^— five of us in a bght skiff, and the wind rising — to tbe foot of Mount Independence, on its steep southern side. We ascended by the old road constructed in 1776. THe top of the summit is flat table land, and afforded a very eligible site for strong military works. It was first occupied by the Americans early in 1776, when they commenced the erection of batteries, barracks, and houses, with the view of making it a place of general rendezvous, and a recruiting station for the army of the north.1 It was heavily timbered when they took possession of it, but almost all the trees were felled for building purposes and for fuel. A second growth of tim- 1 Mount Independence is situated in the southwest corner of Orwell, in Vermont, one mile north of Sholes s T andinff and contains about two hundred and fifty acres of land, some of which is arable. The troops sta- • rl there in 1776 reoeived-the news of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, by -the Conti- "Tal Consress with the most extravagant demonstrations of joy. It was just after the reveille, on the "nine of the 18th of July, that a courier arrived with the glad tidings ; and, by a general order, a gala rW for the soldiers ensued. At sunset they fired a salute of thirteen guns, in honor of the confederation, A ed the place on which they were eneamped Mount Independence, in commemoration of the event. 148 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Present Appearance of Mount Independence. Graves of Soldiers. Vandalism. Money-digging. ber now covers it, except where the parades were. The trees are chiefly maple, some of them twenty inches in diameter. There are about two hundred of them on the mount, large enough for the extraction of sap for sugar. The young shoots never sprang up where the old parades were, and they present bald spots, bearing only stinted vegetation. During, the summer and autumn of 1776 the Americans were diligent in fortifying this spot. They erected a picketed fort and several batteries^ dug many wells, and constructed nearly three hundred houses for the use of the soldiers. The remains of these are scattered in all directions upon the mount ; and the foundation walls of the hospital, just commenced when the evacuation in 1777 took place, are now nearly as perfect as when first laid. Nar row ditches, indicating the line of pickets on the north part of the mount, and running in various directions and at every angle, are distinctly seen ; and the remains of the " horse shoe battery," on the extreme north end, are very prominent. Near this battery is a flint quarry, which seems to have been well known and used by the Indians, for arrow-heads in every stage of manufacture, from the almost unshapen flint to the perfect weapon, are found ' there, I was told, in abundance. Toward the close of 1776 a fatal epidemic prevailed in the garrison there, called the "camp distemper," and the graves of- the victims are thickly strewn among the trees; At one time the deaths were so numerous that it was found im possible to dig a grave for each, and the spot was shown to me where fourteen bodies were deposited in a single broad grave, about daylight one morning. Among the hundreds of these mounds of the dead, scattered over the mount, there was only one individualized by an inscribed stone. * The rude monument is a rough limestone, and the inscription, " M. Richardson Stoddard," appeareoftis if carved with the point of a bayonet. The tenant was prob ably an officer of militia from a town formerly named Stod dard, in Vermont. Already some Vandal visitor had broken off a " relic" from its diminutive bulk, and ere this some pa triotic antiquary has doubtless slipped the whole stone into his pocket, and secured a legacy of rare value for his wondering children ! A propensity to ap propriate to private use a fragment of public monuments, and a pitiful ambition, allied in kind to that of the Ephesian incendiary, to associate one's name by pencil or penknife in scription with places of public resort, have already greatly marred and disfigured a large pro portion of our few monuments, and can not be too severely condemned. Charity, that " cov- ereth the multitude of sins," has not a mantle broad enough to hide this iniquity, for none but heartless knaves or brainless fools would thus deface even the meanest grave-stone in a church-yard. Wolfe's monument on the Plains of Abraham, and the mrSnuments at Red Bank and Paoli, bear mournful testimony of this barbarism which is abroad. At various times Mount Independence, as well as Crown Point and other localities in the neighborhood of Lake Champlain, has been scarred by money-diggers. In 1 8 1 5 a company came hither from Northern Vermont, to search for military treasures which wise seers and the divining rod declared were buried there. The chief of the party, entertaining misgiv ings on his arrival as to the success of money-digging, purchased land in the neighborhood, and while his more credulous companions were digging deep into the mount, he was plowing deep into his land. He raised grain and esculent roots — they raised gravel and worthless clay. When their patience and money were exhausted, they shouldered their" picks and de parted for Western New York. He remained, became a thrifty farmer, and, by the unerr ing divining rod of industry, found the treasure. Credulous people still dig at these locab- ties, and several pits were pointed out to me which had been recently excavated.1 1 Three or four years ago the white wife of a negro dreamed three times — the cabalistic number that at a certain place on Mount Independence immense treasures were buried when the Americans evacuated that post. They were, doubtless, the identical silver balls which calumny asserted Burgoyne fired into St. Clair's camp as the price of treason. The negro procured aid, and a pure white dog to watoh them while digging. A moonlight night was the chosen time. The secret leaked into the ears of some boys, and set their mischievous wits at work. A large pumpkin was emptied of its seeds, and staring eyes wide nos OF THE REVOLUTION. 149 Return to SholeB's. Darkness on the Lake. View from Sholes's Landing. Darkness came on, and the rain pattered upon the leaves hefore we descended to the shore ; and by the time we were fairly out upon the lake our destined haven was invisible. The wind was fresh and the waters rough. One of the ladies guided the helm, but her bright eyes could not discern the distant shore, and her nautical skill was unavailing. The son of Mr. S., anticipating such a dilemma, discharged a small swivel at the landing, and by its beacon flash we were safely guided until we came within the rays of the candles at the house. Wet and weary, we supped and retired early, to resume our journey in the morning. View from Sholes's Landing l trils, and grinning teeth were cut out of the- rind, and a lighted candle was placed within the sphere. This hideous head, with its fiery eyes and nostrils, was placed on the caput of a bold boy, who marched up to the pit where the money-diggers were at work. The dog first discovered the grinning specter, and, with a loud veil, leaped from the cavity and ran for life. The men followed, leaving pick, spade, hat, and coat behind, 'quite sure that the " gentleman in black" was close upon their heels ; and they have ever since be lieved that he guards the treasures, and sometimes takes an evening stroll on Mount Independence. 1 This is a view from Chipman's Point, or Sholes's Landing looking north. The high ridge on the right, in the distance, is Mount Independence. The higher and more distant hill on the left, over the cedar, is Mount Defiance, and the elevation beyond is Mount Hope. Fort Ticonderoga is on the other side of Mount Independence, in a line with the highest part. ^ ;, 150 Chimney Point - PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK First Settlement by the French. Fort St. Frederic. Distant View of Crown Point. CHAPTER VII. " The green earth sends its incense up from every mountain shrine, From every flower and dewy cup that greeted the sunshine. The mists are lifted from the rills like the white wing of prayer ; They lean above the ancient hills, as doing homage there. The forest-tops are lowly cast o'er breezy hill and glen, As if a prayerful spirit pass'd on nature as on men." Whittier. LIGHT mist was upon the water when we departed from Sholes's, but a gentle breeze swept it off to the hills as we turned the point of Mount Independence and entered the broader expanse near Ticonderoga. We caught a last glimpse of the gray ruins as our boat sped by, and before nine o'clock we landed at Chimney Point, opposite Crown Point, where the lake is only half a*nile wide.1 Here the French established their first settlement on Lake Champlain, in 1731, and commenced the culti vation of the grains of- the country. They erected a stone wind-mill in the neighborhood, which was garrisoned and used as a fort during the wars with the English colonies. When Professor Kalm, the Swedish naturalist and traveler, during his botanical tour through New York and Canada in 1749, visited this settlement, five or six cannons were mounted in the mill. The place was then called Wind-mill Point.11 The same year in which the French settled at Chimney Point, they built a strong fort upon the shore opposite, and called it Fort St. Frederic, in honor of Frederie Mau- repas^ the then Secretary of State. It was a starwork, in the form of a pentagon, with bastions at the angles, and surrounded by a ditch walled in with stone. Kalm says there was a considerable set tlement around the fort, and pleasant, cultivated gardens adorned the rude dwellings. There was a neat little gave the name of Chimney Point to the bold promontory. 1 Chimney Point is in the southwestern corner of Addison town, Vermont, and is the proper landing-place for those who desire to visit the ruins of Crown Point fortress, on the opposite side of the lake. 2 From Kalm's account it appears probable that the wind-mill was upon the shore opposite, at the point where now may be seen the ruins of what is called the Grenadiers' Battery. He says it was " within one or two musket-shots of Fort St. Frederic," a fortification immediately on the shore opposite Chimney Point. 3 This view is taken from the green in front of the inn at Chimney Point, looking west-southwest. The first land seen across the lake is Crown Point, with the- remaining barracks and other works of the fortress, and the dwellings and outhouses of Mr. Baker, a resident farmer. Beyond the point is Bulwaggy Bay, a broad, deep estuary much wider than the lake at Chimney Point. Beyond the bay, and rising from its western shore, is Bulwaggy Mountain, varying in perpendicular height from four to nine hundred feet, and distant from the fort between one and .two miles. A little to the riant of the larger tree on the shore is thf Chimney Point Landing.3 church within the ramparts, and every thing betokened a smiling future for a hap py and prosperous colony. But the rude clangor of war disturbed their repose a few years afterward ; the thun der of British artillery fright ened them away, and they retired to the north end- of the lake. For many years the chimneys of their desert ed dwellings on the eastern shore were standing, and OF THE REVOLUTION. 151 Visit to Crown Point. Description of the Fortress. Its present Appearance. Anxious to leave in the evening boat for Burlington, we sent our light baggage to the inn, and immediately crossed over to Crown Point on a horse-boat, the only ferry vessel there. Mr. Baker, an aged resident and farmer upon the point, kindly guided us over the remains of the mihtary works in the vicinity, where we passed between three and four hours. We first visited old Fort St.. Frederic, the senior fortress in chronological order. It is upon the steep bank of the lake, and the remains of its bomb-proof covered way, oven, and magazine can still be traced ; the form of its ramparts is indicated by a broken line of mounds. The average width of the peninsula of Crown Point is one mile, and the principal works are upon its highest part, near the northern end. The peninsula is made up of dark lime stone, covered quite slightly with earth. This physical characteristic lent strength to the post, for an enemy could not approach it by parallels or regular advances, but must make an open assault. St. Frederic, standing close by the water, lacked this advantage ; and the French, feeling their comparative weakness, exercised the valor of prudence, and abandoned it on the approach of the English and provincials under General Amherst, in 1759, and retired to the Isle Aux Noix,1 in the Sorel. The British commander took im- July26' mediate possession, but the works were so dilapidated that, instead of repairing them, he at once began the erection of a hew and extensive fortress about two hundred yards south west of it, and upon more commanding ground. The ram parts were about twenty-five feet thick, and nearly the same in height. of solid masonry. curtains varied in length from fifty- Westeen Line of Barracks.^0 to one hundred yards, and the whole circuit, measuring along the ramparts, and including the bastions, was eight hundred and fifty-three yards, a trifle less than half a, mile. A broad ditch cut out of solid limestone surrounded it. The fragments taken from the ex cavation were used to construct the revering, and the four rows of barracks erected within. On the north was a gate, and from the northeastern bastion was a covered -foray leading to the lake. Within this bastion a well, nearly eight feet in diameter and nine ty feet deep, was sunk, from which the garrison was supplied with water. This fortress was never entirely finished, although the British government spent nearly ten millions of dollars upon it and its outworks. Its construction was a part of the grand plan de vised by Pitt to crush French power in America, and hence, for site of Fort St. Frederic, and at the edge of the circle on the left, along the same 'shore, is the locality of the Grenadiers' Battery. The wharf and bridge in the foreground form the steam -boat and ferry landing at Chimney Point. ** This is pronounced O Noo-ah. 2 There were four large buildings used for barracks within the fort, the walls or chimneysof which were built of limestone. One of them has been entirely removed, and another, two hundred and eighty-seven feet long, is almost demolished. Portions of it are seen on the left, in the foreground of the picture. The walls of the other two — one, one hundred and ninety-two, and the other two hundred and sixteen feet long, and two stories high — are quite perfect, and one of them was roofed and inhabited until within two or three years. At each end, and between these barracks, are seen the remains of the ramparts. The view is from the northwestern angle of the fort, a little south of the remains of the western range of barracks, and look ing southeast. The hills in the distance are the Green Mountains on the left, and the nearer range called Snake Mountain, on the right. Explanation of ihe Plan. — A, B, C, the barracks ; D, the well ; the black line denotes the ramparts, with its parapet ; the white space next to it the ditch, and the shaded part outside, the covered way, banquette, and glacis. Plan of the Fort. 152 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Proposed Attack on the Freuch at Isle Aux Noix. Approach of Winter. Appearance of Crown Point. Inscriptions this as well as for every other part of the service here, the most extraordinary efforts were made, and pecuniary means were freely lavished.1 Amherst constructed several small vessels at Crown Point, and, leaving a garrison to de fend the partly finished fort, embarked with the rest of his troops, and sailed down the lake, to attack the French in their new position in the Sorel. Storm after storm arose upon the lake, and greatly endangered the safety of his men and munitions in thejrail vessels. The season being considerably advanced, he abandoned the design, and resolved not to risk the snow-storms that would soon ensue, and the general barrenness of food and forage that now October 2 prevailed in an enemy's country. So he returned to Crown Point, and went into .1759. winter-quarters. The works at Crown Point are much better preserved than those at Ticonderoga, and the present owner of the ground, with a resolu tion which bespeaks his taste and patriot ism, will not allow a stone to be removed. The view here given is from the parapet near the end of the southeastern range of barracks, where, the flag-staff was, looking down the lake north west. At the foot of the hills on the lake shore, toward the left, is Cedar Point, at the entrance of Bulwag gy Bay, and a little north of it is the vil lage of Port Henry, the location of the There is a ferry between Crown Point. works of a large iron company, composed chiefly of Bostonians. this place and Chimney Point, the boats touching at Crown Point. In the gable wall of the nearest barracks in the view are two inscribed stones, faced smooth where the inscription is carved. One bears the initials "G. R.," George Rex or King ; the rude form of an anchor, a mark peculiar to Great Britain, and placed upon her cannon-balls and other military articles ; and the date of the construction of the fortress, " 1759." -The other stone has the initial "G." without the R., the monogram of Amherst, the anchor, and a number of* rectangular and diagonal lines of inexplicable mean ing. The deep well, already alluded to, is close by the covered way that leads to the lake, and a few rods northeast from the eastern range of barracks. It was nearly filled with rubbish, and almost hidden from view by the weeds and shrubbery upon its margin. I was informed that a general impression prevailed in the vicinity, about twenty-five years ago, that this deep well was the depository of vast treasures, which were cast into it by the French for conceal- 1 For the campaign of 1759 the Legislature of New York authorized the levy of two thousand six hund red and eighty men, and issued the sum of five hundred thousand dollars in bills of credit, bearing interest, and redeemable in 1768 by the proceeds of an annual tax. OF THE REVOLUTION. 153 The Well. Search for Treasure in the Well. A venerable Money-digger. _ Capture of Crown Point by the Patriots. Seth Warner. ment when they abandoned the fort in 1759. Accordingly, a stock company of fifty men, whose capital was labor, and whbse dividends were to be the treasure found, cleared the well of all its rubbish, in search of the gold and silver. One of the company fur nished the whisky which was drunk on the occasion, and agreed to wait for his pay until the treasure was secured. The men " kept their spirits up by pouring spirits down," and before the work was completed nearly three hogs heads of alcohol were swallowed by them. They cleared and drained the well to its rocky bottom, and all the metal which they found was iron in the form of nails, spikes, bolts, axes, shovels, &c. The whisky and the labor were lost to the owners, but they found the saying cor rect, that " truth lies at the bottom of a well," for they discovered, when at the bottom, the important truth, which doubtless taught them' wisdom, that credulity is a faithless though smiling friend, and a capricious and hard master to serve. Money-digging still continues in the neighborhood, and several excavations within the fort were pointed out as the scene of quite recent labor in that line. In 1844 a venerable, white-haired man, apparently between eighty and ninety years of age, leaning upon a staff, and accompanied by-two athletic men, came to the fort and began to dig. They were observed by Mr. B., and-ordered away. The old man was urgent for leave to dig, for he had come from the northern part of Vermont, was very poor, knew ex actly where the treasure was, as he had assisted in concealing it, and asked but thirty min utes to finish bis work. Mr. B. left them, and, returning an hour afterward, saw quite a deep hole, but no man was near. The diggers were gone, and the impression is that they really " found something!" There has been a great' deal of money-digging upon Snake Mountain, on the eastern side of the lake, induced, to some extent, by the wonderful discovery of a crucible there. Among those rugged hills was doubtless the residence of " May Martin," the lovely heroine of the " Money-diggers.'-'1 Crown Point remained in the quiet possession of the British from 1759 until 1775, when it was surprised and taken by a small body of provincials called " Green Mountain Boys," under Colonel Seth Warner.2 I have already mentioned the fact that he attempted its cap ture on the same day that Delaplace surrendered Ticonderoga to Ethan Allen, but was thwarted and driven back by a storm. That was on the 1 Oth of May. The attempt * iwg was renewed on the 1 2th, with success, and the garrison, consisting of only a sergeant and eleven men, were made prisoners without firing a shot.3 Among the spoils were a hund red and fourteen cannons, of which only sixty-one were fit for service. 1 See Thompson's pretty fiction, "May Martin, or the Money-diggers." 2 Seth Warner was born in Woodbury, Connecticut, about 1744. He moved to Bennington, Vermont, in 1773 and wafe noted for his skill in hunting. He and Ethan Allen were the leaders of the people of the New Hampshire Grants in their controversy with New Yo^k, and on the 9th of March, 1774, the Legisla ture ofjhe latter province passed an act of outlawry against them. After the capture of Ticonderoga and CrowiiHbint, he received a colonel's commission from the Continental Congress, and joined Montgomery in Canada. His regiment was discharged at St. John's, and, after the death of his general, he raised an other body of troops and marched to Quebec. He covered the retreat of the Americans from Canada to Ticonderoga, was with the troops when they evacuated that post in 1777, and commanded the rear-guard that fought a severe battle at Hubbardton. He was one of General Starks's aids at the battle of Benning ton and then joined the army under Gates at Stillwater. His health soon afterward gave way, and he died at Woodbury in 1785, aged forty-one years. The state of Vermont gave his widow and children a valua ble tract of land.— Allen's American Biography. 3 On the day when Allen captured Ticonderoga, he sent a message to Captain Remember Baker, one of his colleagues in the violent boundary disputes between the New Yorkers and the people of the New Hampshire Grants, to join him at that post. Baker obeyed the summons, and when he was coming up 154 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Expeditions of Allen and Arnold against St. John's. Preparations to oppose General Carleton on the Lake. Arnold arrived at Ticonderoga the same evening, and on the 14th about fifty men, who had enlisted in compliance with his orders given by the way while hurrying on to Castleton to overtake Allen, arrived from Skenesborough, and brought with them the schooner which belonged to Major Skene. He manned this vessel instantly, armed it with some of the guns taken at the fort, and sailed down the lake to St. John's, on the Sorel. There he surprised and made prisoners the garrison, consisting of a sergeant and twelve men ; captured a king's sloop with seven men ; destroyed five bateaux ; seized four others ; put on board some of the valuable stores from the fort, and with his prisoners, and favored by a fair wind which had chopped around from south to north just as he had secured his .prizes, he returned to Ticonderoga. Colonel Allen, with one hundred and fifty men in bateaux, started upon the same expedition, but Arnold's schooner outsailed the flat-boats, and Allen met him within fifteen miles of St. John's, returning with his prizes. Arnold was on board the king's sloop, where Allen visited him, and, after ascertaining the actual state of affairs, the latter determ ined to go on to St. John's and garrison the fort with about one hundred men. He landed just before night, marched about a mile toward Laprairie, and formed his men in ambush to attack an expected re-enforcement for the enemy. He soon learned that the approaching force was mucb larger than his own, and retired across the river, where he was attacked early in the morning by two hundred men. He fled to his boats and escaped to Ticonder oga, with a loss of three men taken prisoners. Thus within one week the strong fortresses of Ticonderoga and Crown Point, with all their dependencies upon the lake, were snatched from the British by the bold provincials, without their firing a gun or losing a man ;, and their little fleet upon the lake,' their only strength left, was captured and destroyed in a day. These events aroused General Carleton, the governor of Canada, and a re-enforcemerit of more than four hundred British and Canadians was speedily sent to St, John's. It was de termined to send small water craft from Chambly and Montreal, to be armed and manned at St. John's ; and other measures were planned for dispatching a sufficient force up the lake to recapture Ticonderoga and Crown Point. Tidings of these preparations soon reached the ears of Arnold, and afforded him an opportunity to sever his connection with Allen, so ill suited to his restless and ambitious spirit. A fleet to oppose the enemy was now necessary, and, having had some experience at sea in earlier life, Arnold assumed to be the commander of whatever navy should be fitted out. His assumption was not complained of, and he pro ceeded vigorously in arming and manning Skene's schooner, the king's corvette, and a small flotilla of bateaux. With these and about one hundred and fifty men, he took post at Crown Point to await the approach of the enemy. _ There he organized his little navy by the ap pointment of a captain and subordinate officers for each vessel. He mounted six carriage guns and twelve swivels in the sloop, and four carriage guns and eight swivels in the schooner. He was also active in sending off the ordnance from Crown Point to the army at Cambridge, and at the same time he sent emissaries to Montreal and the Caughnawagas to sound the inten tions of the Canadians and Indians, and ascertain what was the actual force under Carleton and the nature of his preparations. He also wrote to the Continental Congress in June, 1775 . . . proposing a plan of operations whereby, he confidently believed, the whole of Canada might be conquered by two thousand men. He asserted that persons in Montreal had agreed to open the gates when a strong Continental force should appear before the city ; assured Congress that Carleton had only five hundred and fifty effective men under him ; and^ffered to lead the expedition and to be responsible for consequences. His representations werFuoubt- less true, but Congress was not prepared to sanction such an expedition. Allen, in a letter dated Crown Point, June 2d, 1775, made a similar proposition to the Provincial Congress of New York. In the mean while letters had been sent from Ticonderoga to the Provincial. Congress of Massachusetts, complaining of Arnold's arrogant assumptions, and otherwise dis- the lake* with his party, he met two small boats with British soldiers, going to St. John's with the intelli gence of the reduction of Ticonderoga, and to solicit a re-enforcement of the garrison at Crown Point. Ba ker seized the boats, and with his prisoners arrived at the fort just in time to join Warner in taking posses rion of it. — Sparks's Life of Ethan Allen. OF THE REVOLUTION. 155 Commission from Massachusetts. Re-enforcements for the Lake Forts. Regiment of Green Mountain Boys. paraging his deeds. A committee of inquiry was appointed, who proceeded to Lake Cham plain. Arnold was at Crown Point, acting as commandant of the fort and commodore^of the navy, and, not suspecting the nature of their visit, he was enthusiastic in his" discourse to them of his expected victories. The first intimation of their errand aroused Arnold's in dignation ; and when he fully understood the purport of their commission, he wrote them a formal letter of resignation, discharged his men, and returned to Cambridge, uttering loud complaints of ill usage by the Provincial Congress of Massachusetts. Thus ended the naval operations upon the lake in 1775. When Ticonderoga and Crown Point were securely in the power of the provincials, Col onel Easton went to Massachusetts^id Connecticut, and explained to the respective gov-* trnments all the transactions connected with the reduction of these important posts. The Massachusetts Assembly wrote to Governor Trumbull, of Connecticut, expressing their will ingness to allow that colony all the honor, and to withhold all interference in future opera tions in that quarter. Trumbull immediately prepared to send a re-enforcement for the' garrisons, of four hundred men. Meanwhile messages were sent to the Continental Con gress, and, through courtesy, to the Provincial Congress- of New York, within whose juris diction the fortresses were situated, to ascertain their views. The Continental Congress approved the measures of Governor. Trumbull, and requested the Convention of New York to supply the troops with provisions. The four hundred men were immediately sent, under Colonel Hinman, who superseded Colonel Allen in the command at Ticonderoga. The latter, with Warner, set off for the Continental Congress at Philadelphia, to procure pay for their soldiers, whose terms had expired, and to solicit authority to raise a new regi ment in Vermont. The appearance' of these men occasioned a great sensation in Philadel phia, and they were introduced upon the floor of Congress, to make their communications to that body orally. Congress at once acquiesced in their wishes, granted the soldiers the same pay as was received by those of the Continental army, and recommended to the New York Convention that, after consulting General Schuyler, they should " employ in the army to be raised in defense of America those called Green Mountain Boys, under such officers as the said Green Mountain Boys should choose." This resolution was dispatched to the New York Convention, and thither Allen and Warner repaired, and obtained an audience.1 The Assembly resolved that a regiment of Green Mountain Boys, consisting of seven companies, and not exceeding five hundred men in number, should be raised. The matter was referred to General Schuyler, who immediately notified the people of the New Hampshire Grants, and ordered them to raise the regiment. Allen and Warner were not members of the regi ment, but soon afterward they both joined General Schuyler at Ticonderoga, where he was stationed with about three thousand troops from New York and New England, pre- August] paratory to an invasion of Canada. Early in September Generals Schuyler and 177S- Montgomery sailed from Ticonderoga and Crown Point with their whole force, and appeared before St. John's, on the Sorel. Let us for a moment take a general view of affairs having a relation to the northern section of operations at this juncture and immediately anteced ent thereto. ' The Assembly of New York was embarrassed when Allen and Warner appeared at the door of its hall and asked for admission, and a warm debate ensued.; During the then recent controversy of the Legislature of New York with the people of the New Hampshire Grants, these men had been proclaimed outlaws, arid that attainder had never been wiped off by a repeal. There were members of that body who had taken a Very active part, personally, in the controversy, and they were unwilling to give their old enemies a friendly Ireetin". The /prejudices, and the scruples of others who cbuld not recognize the propriety of holding S conference with men whom the law of the land had declared to be rioters and felons produced a strong opposition to their admission to the hall. The debates were becoming v.ery warm, when Captain Sears (thPe noted « King Sears") moved that " Ethan Allen be admitted to the floor of the House." It was carried by a very large majority, as was also a similar resolution in regard to Warner. Allen afterward wrote a litter of thanks to the New York Assembly, in which, after referring to the formation of he bat- Xn of Green Mountain Boys, he concluded by saying, "I will be responsible that they will reciprocate thi °favor by boldly hazarding their lives, if need be, in the common cause of America. 156 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK General View of Affairs. The " Canada Bill." Opposition to it in Parliament. Denunciations of Barrfi. The British ministry, alarmed at the rapid progress of the rebellion in America, and par ticularly at the disaffection to the royal government which was manifest in Canada, and ob serving that all their coercive measures in relation to Massachusetts had thus far augmented rather than diminished the number and zeal of the insurgents in that colony, determined, in 1774, to try a different policy with Canada, to secure the loyalty of the people. A large proportion of the inhabitants were of French descent, and members of the Romish commun ion. Those who composed the most influential class were of the old French aristocracy, and any concessions made in favor'of their caste weighed more heavily with them than any that might be made to the whole people, involving the extension of the area of political free'dom-, an idea which was a mere abstraction to them. Rfjj^gious concessions to the other and more ignorant class were a boon of great value, and by these means the king and his advisers determined to quiet the insurrectionary spirit in Canada. A bill was accordingly introduced into Parliament, " For making more effectual provision for the government of the province of Quebec, in North America." It provided for the establishment of a Legislative Council, invested with all powers except that of levying taxes. ' It was provided that its members should be appointed by the crown, and continue in authority during its pleasure ; that Ca nadian subjects professing the Catholic faith might be called to sit in the Council ; that the Catholic clergy, with the exception of the regular orders, should be secured in the enjoyment of their professions, and of their tithes from all those who professed their religion ; that the French laws without jury should be re-established, preserving, however, the English laws, with trial by jury, in criminal cases. The bill also provided that the limits of Canada should be extended so as to inclose the whole region between the lakes and the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, regardless of the just claims of other colonies under old and -unrepealed charters.1 These liberal concessions to the Canadians would have been highly commendable, had not other motives than a spirit of liberality manifestly actuated ministers. The most obtuse ob server could plainly perceive their object to be to secure a strong footing north and west of the refractory colonies, where troops might be concentrated and munitions of war collected, to be used at a moment's warning, if necessary, in crushing rebellion near. Such a design was at once charged upon ministers by the ever-vigilant Colonel Barre, on the floor of the British House of Commons. " A very extraordinary indulgence," he said, " is given to the inhabitants of this province, and one calculated to gain the hearts and1 affections of these people. To this I can not object, if it is to be applied to good purposes ; but if you are about to raise a popish army to serve in the colonies, from this time all hope of peace in America will be destroyed. Tbe Americans will look on the Canadians as their task-masters, and, in the end, their executioners." It was urged by ministers that common justice demanded the adoption of such a measure, for a very large proportion of the people of Canada were Roman Catholics." Edmund Burke, Thomas Townshend, Charles Fox, Sergeant Glynn, and others joined Colonel Barre in his denunciations of the bill, particularly in relation to the clauses concerning the Roman Catholic religion, and that providing for the establishment of a Legislative Council to be appointed by the crown. The former were considered a dan gerous precedent for a Protestant government, and the latter was regarded as shadowing forth the ultimate design of the king and his ministers to subvert the popular form of gov ernment in America, and to make the legislators mere creatures of the crown. By its pro visions the Governor of Canada was vested with almost absolute and illimitable power, and permitted to be nearly as much a despot, if he chose, as any of the old Spanish viceroys of 1 Thomas and John Penn, son and grandson of William Penn, then the proprietaries of Pennsylvania and Delaware, entered a protest against the boundary section of this bill, because it contemplated an encroach ment upon their territory. Burke, who was then the agent of the colony of New York, also opposed this section of the bill for the same reason, in behalf of his principal. The letter of that statesman to the As sembly of New York on the subject is published among the Collections of the New York Historical Society, and is said to be the only one known to be extant of all those which he wrote to that body 8 Governor Carleton asserted, on oath, before a committee of Parliament, that there were then only about three hundred and sixty Protestants in Canada, while the Roman-Catholics numbered one hundred and fifty thousand. OF THE REVOLUTION. 157 Passage of the " Canada Bill" Effect of the Measure m the Colonies. Boldness of Orators and the Press. , . •_ South America. On this point Lord Chatham (William Pitt) was particularly eloquent, and he also took ground against the religious features of the bill, as an innovation dangerous to the Protestant faith and to the stability of the throne. The bill, however, with all its exceptionable clauses, was adopted by quite a large majority in both Houses, and received the royal assent on the 22d of June. It was introduced into the House of Lords by the Earl of Dartmouth, and passed that House without opposition. This bill is refer red to in our Declaration of Independence as one of the " acts of pretended legislation" that justified the separation from the parent country. While this act, with the Boston Port Bill, that for, the subversion of the charter of Massa chusetts, and the law authorizing the transportation of criminals to Great Britain for trial, were in transit through Parliament and receiving the rojral signature, the colonists were pre paring to make a successful resistance against further legislative encroachments. Through out the whole summer and autumn of 1774 the greatest excitement prevailed. The com mittees of correspondence were every where active and firm, and were constantly supplied with minute knowledge of all the movements of the home government by secret agents in the British metropolis. The people by thousands signed non-importation agreements, and otherwise attested their willingness to make personal sacrifices in the cause of freedom. The press spoke out boldly, and orators no longer harangued in parables, but fearlessly called upon the people to unite. The events of the French and Indian war had demonstrated the prowess and strength of the Anglo-Americans against the foes of Britain, and they felt con fident in that strength against Britain herself, now that she bad become the oppressor of her children, if a bond of union could be made that should cause all the colonies to act in con cert. A general Congress, similar to that which convened in New York in 1765, was therefore suggested. Throughout the colonies the thought was hailed as a happy one, and soonKwas developed the most energetic action. The Congress met in September, adopt ed loyal addresses to the king and Parliament, to the people of the colonies, of Canada, of Ireland, and of Great Britain, and took precautionary measures respecting future aggres sions upon their rights. The people, highly indignant, every where evinced the strength of that feeling by open contempt for all royal authority exercised by officers of the crown. The acts alluded to were denounced as " barbarous and bloody," the British ministry were pub lished in the gazettes, and placarded upon the walls as papists and as traitors to the Consti tution, and the patriots even had the boldness to lampoon the king and Parliament. (For an illustration, see next page.) Such was the temper of the Americans at the opening of the year 1775. The events at Lexington and Concord added fuel to the flame of indignation and rebellion. As we have seen, Ticonderoga and other posts on Lake Champlain were assailed, and fell into the hands of the Americans. In June the battle of Bunker Hill was fought. A Continental Ju?e 17_ army was speedily organized. Hope of reconciliation departed. The sword was m5- fairly drawn, and at the close of summer an expedition was arranged to invade Canada, for which an armament was collected at Ticonderoga. Such a step seemed essential for two reasons : first, to confirm the Canada patriots (who were chiefly in the neighborhood of Mon treal) in their opposition to Great Britain by the pressure, of armed supporters ; and, sec ondly, to secure the strong-hold of Quebec while its garrison was yet weak, and before Gen eral Carleton could organize a sufficient force to defend it. That officer, it was well known, was vested with almost unlimited power as governor of the province, under the act which we have just considered ; and it was also well known that he was using every means at his command to induce the Canadians to take up arms against the rebellious colonists. Neither bribes nor promises were spared. The imperial government resolved to send out fifteen thousand muskets to arm the French Catholics, and agents of the crown were busy among the Indian tribes upon the St. Lawrence and the Ottawa, inciting them to an alliance with the army of the king. Congress had already sent an affectionate address " To the oppressed inhabitants M„ya9j of Canada," and its effects were so palpable to Governor Carleton, that he feared m5- 1 58 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK The British Government caricatured. Carleton's attempt to seduce the Bishop of Quebec. Consistency of the Prelate. entire disaffection to the royal government would ensue. The people were disappointed in the operations of the act of 1 774, and all but the nobles regarded it as tyrannical. Unable Vtbtuai. Representation. 1775 i April 1, 1775. 1. One String Jack, Deliver your property. 2. Begar, just so in France, j A..nm.n.p, 3. Te Deum. j Accomplices. 4. I give you that man's money for my use. 5. I will not be robbed. 6. I shall be wounded with you. 7. I am blinded. 8. The French Roman Catholic town of Queoec. 9. The English Protestant town of Boston. to make an impression favorable to the* king upon the Canadians by an appeal to their loy alty, Carleton had recourse to the authority of religion. He endeavored to seduce Brand, the Roman Catholic bishop of Quebec, from his exalted duties as a Christian pastor, to en gage in the low political schemes of a party placeman, and publish a mandement, to be read from the pulpit by the curates in time of divine service. He also urged the prelate to ex hort the people to take up arms against the colonists. But the consistent bishop refused to exert his influence in such a cause, and plainly told Carleton that such conduct would be unworthy of a faithful pastor, and derogatory to the canons of the Romish Church. A few priests, however, with the nobility, seconded Carleton's views, but their influence was feeble with the mass of the people, who were determined to remain neutral. The governor now tried another scheme, and with better effect. He could make no. impression upon the masses by appeals to their loyalty or their religious prejudices, and he determined to arouse them by 1 The above engraving is an exact copy, reduced, of a caricature which I found in the possession of the Massachusetts Historical Society at Boston, entitled " Virtual Representation." On the back of it, appar ently in the hand-writing of the time, is the following : " A full explanation of the within print. — No. 1 intends the K — g of G. B., to whom the House of Com mons (4) gives the Americans' money for the use of that very H. of C, and which he is endeavoring to take away with, the power of cannon. No. 2, by a Frenchman, signifies the tyranny that is intended for America. No. 3, the figure of a Roman Catholic priest with his crucifix and 'gibbet, assisting George in enforcing his tyrannical system of civil and religious government. Nos. 5 and 6 are honest American yeo men, who oppose an oaken staff to G — 's cannon, and determine they will not be robbed. No. 7 is poor Britannia blindfolded, falling into the bottomless pit which her infamous rulers have prepared for the Amer icans. Nos. 8, 9 represent Boston in flames and Quebec triumphant, to show the probable consequence of submission to the ,present wicked ministerial system, that popery and tyranny will triumph over true re ligion, virtue, and liberty. " N.B. Perhaps this may remind the Bostonians of the invincible attachment of the Numantines* to their liberty," &c. * The Numantines inhabited a city on the banks of the Douro, in Spain. Twenty years they were besieged by the Romans, until at length the younger Scipio Africanus entered their city (one hundred and thirty-three years B.C., and twelve years after the destruction of Carthage). The Numahtines, seeing all hope gone, set fire to tbeir city and perished in the flames rUthei than become slaves to their oppressors. OF THE REVOLUTI Q'N. 1 5 9 Royal Highland Regiment, how raised. Our Departure from Crown Point Split Rock. War-feast on the Bouquet River appealing to their cupidity. Accordingly, he caused the drums to beat up for volunteers in Quebec, and by offers of good pay, privileges, and bounties, he succeeded in enrolling a few, under the title of the Royal Highland Regiment} ' About the same time Colonel Jul Guy Johnson arrived at Montreal with a large number of Indian chiefs and warriors 1775- of the Six Nations, who, despite their solemn promises of neutrality, were induced to join the soldiers of the king. They made oath of allegiance to the. crown in the presence of Carle ton, and were held in readiness to serve him when he should call. A small number of regular British troops, with the volunteers and Indians, composed the bulk of Carleton's army at the close of the summer of 1775, the time when General Schuy ler was preparing, at Ticonderoga and Crown Point, for a campaign against Canada. We thus come back from our historic ramble to our starting-place at Crown Point. The ruins are sufficiently explored ; ' let us pass over to Chimney Point and dine, for the steamer will soon come down the lake to convey us to our Sabbath resting-place at Burlington. We left Chimney Point in the evening, a cool, gentle breeze blowing from the northwest. The western shore is bold, and in many places precipitous, and in the distance the blue peaks and lofty ridges of the Adirondack Mountains skirt the horizon. The eastern margin is the termination of the pleasant slopes and beautiful intervales between the Green Mountains and the lake, cultivated and' wooded alternately to the water's verge. At dusk we reached the . famous Split Rock. The moon was shining llfftBg |jl brightly in the west, where faint tints of day- WBIlEE -2s -li * |HpSs|fe=-5§ "- ' " light still lingered, and we passed so near that *Hp?(- - - . ^ illBfi&. - aPfl we h*11-*- a ^ne vlew °f ^hat geological wonder. ''l$$t';y> ..---aA afc jgfcfc^ f aft - l*j^jLj&**2j/Bk It is on the west side of the lake, about thirty Ltt^^K»|gj^Sa*B^g-E^^^^||*^"»*J* j^-h miles below Crown Point. Here is a sharp ™*****^E*amB^k*^^^^^miFm(s'^*asat^^^k*^S promontory jutting into the lake, the point of which, containing about half an acre, and cov ered with bushes, is separated from the main land by a cleft fifteen feet wide. It was ob served as a curiosity by the old French explorers. Soundings to the depth of five hundred feet have been made between the fragment and the main rock, without finding a bottom. Geologists differ in opinion respecting the cause which formed the chasm, some ascribing it to an earthquake, and others to the slow attrition of the current upon a portion of the rock of softer texture than the rest.' A light-house stands near as a guide to the navigator, for the lake is only a mile wide at this point. Here it suddenly expands, and at the mouth of the Bouquet River, eight miles above, it is about five miles wide. At the fall's in the Bouquet, two miles from the lake, is the village of Willsborough, the place where Burgoyne encamped and gave a war-feast to about four hundred Indians of the tribes of the Algonquins, Iroquois, and Ottawas, who, accompanied by a Roman Catholic priest, joined him there. Both he and Carleton were averse to the measure of em- June 21( ploying the savages in the British army, but the express instruction! °*-? ministers 17T>- demanded it, and he dared not disobey.3 He made a speech to them, in which he humanely endeavored to soften their savage ferocity and restrain their thirst for rapine and blood. His exordium was words of flattery in praise of their sagacity, faithfulness, forbearance, and loy alty. He then spoke of the abused clemency of the king toward the, colonies, and declared to the warriors their relief from restraint. " Go forth," he said, " in the might of your valor 1 Their time of service was limited to the continuance of the disturbances ; each soldier was to receive two hundred acres of land in any province in North America he might choose ; the king paid himself the accustomed duties upon the acquisition of lands ; for twenty years new proprietors were to be exempted from all contribution for the benefit of the crown ; every married soldier obtained other fifty acres, in con sideration of his wife, and fifty more for account of each of his children, with the same privilege and ex emptions, besides the bounty of a guinea at the time of enlistment. — Botta, vol. i., p. 220. s The employment of Indians by the British ministry, in this campaign, has been excused upon the lame plea, which has not the shadow of truth, that, unless they were thus employed, the Americans would have mustered them into their service. — See Knight's Pictorial England, vol. v., p. 306. 16 0 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Burgoyne's Interview with the Indians. Speech of an Iroquois. Approach to Burlington. and your cause. Strike at the common enemies of Great Britain and of America ; disturb ers of public order, peace, and happi ness ; destroyers of commerce ; par ricides of the state." He told them that his officers and men would en deavor to imitate their example in perseverance, enterprise, and con stancy, and in resistance of hunger, weariness, and pain. At the same time he exhorted them to listen to his words, and allow him to regula,te their passions, and to conform their warfare to his, by the rules of Euro pean discipline and the dictates of his religion and humanity. He re minded them that the king had many faithful subjects in the provinces, and, therefore, indiscriminate butch ery of the people might cause the sacrifice of many friends. He then charged them, in the words quoted from his speech in the note on ante, page 99, not to kill for scalps, or de stroy life except in open warfare, and claimed for himself the office of um pire on all* occasions. When he bad finished, an old Iroquois chief arose and said : " I stand up in the name of all the nations present, to assure our father that we have at tentively listened to his discourse. We receive you as our father, because when you speak we hear the voice of our great father beyond the great lake. We rejoice in the approbation you have expressed of our behavior. We have been tried and tempted by the Bostonians,1 but we loved our father, and our hatchets have been sharpened upon our affections. In proof of the sincerity of our professions, our whole villages able to go to war are come forth. The old and infirm, our infants and wives, alone remain at home. With one common as sent we promise a constant obedience to all you have ordered and all you shall order; and may the Father of Days give you many and success."-1 These promises were all very fine, and Burgoyne, to his sorrow, had the credulity to rely upon them. At first the Indians were docile, but as soon as the scent of blood touched their nostrils their ferocious natures were aroused, and the restraints imposed by the British com mander were too irksogie to be borne. Their faithfulness disappeared ; and in the hour of his greatest need they deserted him, as we have seen, by hundreds, and returned home. As the lake widened and the evening advanced, the breeze freshened almost to a gale, and, blowing upon our larboard quarter, it rolled up such swells on our track that the Vessel rocked half the passengers into silent contemplation of the probability of casting their supper to the fishes. The beacon upon Juniper Island was hailed with delight, for the Burlington break-water was just ahead. We entered the harbor between nine and ten in the evening, Burgoyne addressing the Indians. 1 The old chief spoke truly. They had been " tempted by the Bostonians," but not by the Boston patri ots. General Gage, then governor of Massachusetts, and other loyalists in Boston, serit emissaries among the Indians in various ways, and these were the tempters which the old chief oonfounded with the enemies of the crown. I shall have occasion hereafter to speak of Connelly, one of Gage's emissaries, who went to Virginia, and, under the auspices of Lord Dunmore, oarried promises and money to the Indians on the frontier, to instigate them to fall upon the defenseless republicans of that stanch Whig stato. ¦-.So interpreted by Burgoyne in his " State of the Expedition," &o. OF THE REVOLUTION. iel Sabbath Morning in Burlington. Visit to the Grave of Ethan Allen. Ira Allen. and were soon in comfortable quarters at the American, fronting the pleasant square in the center of the village. The next morning dawned calm and beautiful. The wind was hushed, and the loveli ness of repose was upon the village, lake, and country. It was our second Sabbath from home, and never was its rest more welcome and suggestive of gratitude, for the preceding week had been to me one of unceasing toil, yet a toil commingled with the most exalted ¦ pleasure. T had been among scenes associated with the noblest sentiments of an American's heart ; and when, mingling with the worshipers in St. Paul's Church, the clear voice of Bishop Hopkins repeated the divine annunciation, " From the rising of the sun unto the go ing down of the same, my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the Lord," I felt that our own country, so late a wilderness and abiding-place for pagans, but now blooming under the beneficent culture of free institutions that were born amid the labor-throes of the Revolution, was a special illustration of that glorious declaration. Early on Monday morning we procured saddle horses and rode out to the resting-place of General Ethan Allen, a burial-ground embowered in shrubbery, lying upon the brow of the hill over looking the Winooski, and within sound of its cas cades. It is on the south side of the road leading east from Burlington, nearly half a mile from the University of Vermont, that stands upon the sum mit of the hill, upon the western slope of which is the village. Allen's monument is a plain marble slab, resting upon a granite foundation, and bears the following inscription : Tomb of Ethan Allen. THE CORPOREAL PART OF General Ethan Allen rests beneath this stone, the 12th day of Feb., 1789, aged 50 years. his spirit tried the mercies of his god, in whom alone he believed and strongly trusted. Near his are the graves of his brother Ira1 and several other relatives. The whole are in closed within a square defined by a chain supported by small granite obelisks. A willow drooped over the tombs of the patriot dead, and rose-bushes clustered around the storm-worn monuments. The dew was yet upon the grass, and its fragrant exhalations filled the air with such grateful incense, that we were loth to leave the spot. We galloped our horses back to the village in time for breakfast, delighted and -profited, by our morning's ride. Halt- 1 Ira Allen was born in Salisbury. Connecticut, in 1752. He went to Vermont in early life, and became one of the most active citizens of that state, particularly in the controversy between Vermont and New York respecting the territory called the New Hampshire Grants. It is said that when the Revolution broke out he sided with .the crown and went to Canada. His stanch Whig brother, Ethan, indignant at his choice, recommended the Vermont Assembly to confiscate his brother's property. Ira heard of it, and challenged Ethan to fight a duel. Ethan refused, on the ground that it would be " disgraceful to fight a Tory, and so the matter ended. Ira finally became a warm republican, and was active during the remainder oi the war He was a member of the Convention which formed the Constitution of Vermont, and became the first secretary of the state. He was afterward treasurer, member of the council, and surveyor general. He rose to the rank of major general of militia, and in 1795 he went to Europe to purchase arms for the sup ply of his state. Returning with several thousand muskets and some cannon, he was captured by an En glish vessel and carried to England, where he was accused of supplying the Irish rebels with arms. A litigation for eight years, in the Court of Admiralty, was the consequence, but a final decision was in his fiivor. He died at Philadelphia, January 7th, 1814, aged 62 years. L 162 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Burlington and Vicinity. Adjacent Lake Scenery. Place of Arnold's first Naval Battle. Military Operations on the Lake. ing near the university a few minutes, we enjoyed the beautiful view which the height com mands. The Green Mountains stretched along the east ; the broken ranges of the Adiron dack, empurpled by the morning sun, bounded the western horizon ; and below us, skirting the lake, the pleasant village lay upon the slope, and stretched its lengthening form out to ward the rich fields that surrounded it. To the eye of a wearied dweller in a dense city all vil lages appear beautiful in summer, but Burlington is eminently so when compared with others. We left the metropolis of the lake for Plattsburgh about noon. On our left, as we emerged from the harbor, were the Four Brothers, small islands swarming with water-fowl, and the bald point of Rock Dunder, a solitary spike rising, shrubless and bare, about twenty feet above the water. Before us spread out the two Heros (North and South), green islands, which belonged to the Allen family during the Revolution. The first landing-place below Burlington is Port Kent, on the west side of the lake, ten miles distant. A little below is Port Jackson, nearly west of the south end of Valcour's Island. This is an interesting por- v. --^m- Aa8feji»»- - ' --;ii~~^. ^H *i°n °*-* ^e *^a^e **° *ke American tourist, for it is the place where our first naval battle with Great Britain was fought. This event took place October the 11th, 1776. The American flotilla was commanded by Bene dict Arnold, and the English vessels by Cap tain Pringle, accompanied by Governor Carleton. In order to a lucid understanding of the. position of affairs at that time, we must consider for a moment the connecting chain of events from the autumn of 1775, when General Schuyler, was at Ticonderoga and Crown Point preparing to invade Canada, to the meeting of the belligerents in question. The forces under Generals Schuyler and Montgomery proceeded to execute the will of September 10, Congress, and in September appeared before St. John's, at the Sorel. Finding 1775- the fort, as they supposed, too strong for assault, they returned to and fortified Isle Aux Noix. Schuyler went back to Ticonderoga and hastened forward re-enforcements, but was unable to return on account of sickness. Montgomery succeeded him in command. He captured Fort St. John's and Fort Chambly, and entered Montreal in triumph. He then pushed on to Quebec, when he was joined by a force under Arnold, and early in De cember laid siege to that city. After besieging it unsuccessfully for three weeks, the Amer- December 31, icans commenced an assault. Montgomery was killed, the Americans were re- 1775. pulsed, and many of them made prisoners. Arnold was wounded. He became the chief in command, and kept the remnant of the republican army together in the vicinity l776 °f Quebec, until the arrival of General Wooster early in the spring and General Thomas in May. General Carleton soon afterward received re-enforcements from England, and by the middle of June the Americans, after retreating from post to post, were driven out of Canada. '- Not doubting that Carleton would follow up his successes by providing water craft upon the lake, to attempt the capture of Ticonderoga and Crown Point, a council of officers, un der General Gates, who in the spring was appointed to the command of the Northern army, resolved to abandon the latter post and concentrate all their forces at the former. Accord- Scene of Arnold's Naval Battle.1 1 This sketch was made from the pilot's room of the steam-boat just after leaving Port Jackson. On the left is a point of the main land, and on the right is seen a portion of Valcour's Island. The high ground in the extreme distance, on the left, is Cumberland Head, and that dimly seen in the center of the picture is the Vermont shore. OF THE REVOLUTION. 163 Formation of a little Fleet Excursion down the Lake. Appearance of the British Fleet. Plan of the Battle. ingly, General Sullivan, who was at Crown Point, withdrew with his forces to Ticonderoga, and active measures for offensive and defensive operations were there adopted. Materials for constructing vessels, as well as skillful artisans, were scarce. The latter had to be ob tained from the sea-ports ; yet such was the zeal of the Americans, that by the middle of August a small squadron, consisting of one sloop, three schooners, and five gondolas, was in readiness and rendezvoused at Crown Point under Arnold, who received the command of it from General Gates. The sloop carried twelve guns, one schooner the same number, the others eight, and the gondolas three each. Toward the close of the month Arnold sailed down the lake, under positive instructions from Gates not to pass beyond Isle Aux Tetes, near what is now called Rouse's Point, and to act only on the defensive. He halted at Wind-mill Point, four miles above Isle Aux Tetes, to reconnoiter, and anchored his vessels across the lake, to prevent any boats of the. enemy from passing up. As soon as Carleton was advised of the movements of the Americans at Ticonderoga, he sent seven hundred men from Quebec to St. John's, to construct a fleet, and in the course of a few weeks several strong vessels were finished and armed for duty. A radeau called the Thunderer (a kind of flat-bottomed vessel carrying heavy guns), and twenty-four gun boats, armed each with a field piece or carriage gun, were added to the fleet. Forty boats with provisions accompanied the expedition. Convinced that his position was dangerous, for the British and Indians were collecting on the shores, Arnold fell back about ten miles to Isle La Motte, where he need not fear an at tack from the main land. Here his fleet was considerably increased, and consisted of three schooneis, two sloops, three galleys, eight gondolas, and twenty-one gun-boats. Ignorant of the real strength of the armament — which he knew Carleton was prepar- „ G p, gTm E h j- ing at St. John's, and unwilling to en- ^d' — - BEWtN -_^==: — ~..,,.\ gage a superior force on the broad lake, ™>-COUR i.STHS WlsMftH SHORE U.CHAMPLM,) Arnold withdrew his fleet still further back, and anchored it across the nar row channel between Valcour's Island and the western shore. Early on the morning of the L™' 1 1 th of October the British fleet appeared off Cumberland Head, mov ing up the lake, and in a short time it swept around the southern point of Valcour's Island. The enemy's force was formidable, for the vessels were manned by seven hundred chosen sea men-. Captain Pringle was commo dore, and made the Inflexible his flag ship. Among the young officers in the fleet was Edward Pellew, after ward Admiral Viscount Exmouth, one of the most distinguished of En gland's naval commanders. The ac tion began, about twelve o'clock, by the attack of the Carleton upon the American schooner Royal Savage and three galleys. The latter, in attempting to return to the line, grounded, Explanation of the Map.— A, American fleet under Arnold ; B, 21 gun-boats ; C, schooner Carleton, 12 six pounders ; D, ship Inflexible, 18 twelve pounders ; E, anchorage of the British fleet during the night, to cut off the Americans' retreat; F, radeau Thunderer, 6 twenty-four pounders and 12 six pounders; G, o-ondola Loyal Convert, 7 nine pounders; H, schooner Maria, 14 six pounders, with General Carleton on board • I the place where the American schooner Royal Savage, of 8 six pounders and 4 four pounders, was burned This plan is copied from Brasrier's Survey of Lake Champlain, edition of 1779. 164 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Severe Battle on the Lake. Escape of the Americans through the British Line. Chase by the Enemy. Another Battle and was burned, but her men were saved. Arnold was on board the Congress galley, and conducted matters with a great deal of bravery and skill. About one o'clock the engage ment became general, and the American vessels, particularly the Congress, suffered severely^ It was hulled twelve times, received seven shots between wind and water, the main-mast was shattered in two places, the rigging cut to pieces, and many of the crew were killed or wounded. Arnold pointed almost every gun on his vessel with his own hands,1 and with voice and gesture cheered on his men. In the mean while the enemy landed a large body of Indians upon the island, who kept up an incessant fire of musketry, but with little effect. The battle continued between four and five hours, and the Americans lost, in killed and wounded, about sixty men. Night closed upon the scene, and neither party were victors. The two fleets anchored within a few hundred yards of each other. Arnold held a council with his officers, and it was determined to retire during the night to Crown Point, for the superiority of the vessels, and the number and discipline of the men composing the British force, rendered another en gagement extremely hazardous. Anticipating such a movement on the part of the Ameri cans, the British commander anchored -his vessels in a fine extending across from the island to the main land. A chilly north wind had been blowing all tbe afternoon, and about sunset dark clouds overcast the sky. It was at tbe time of new moon, and, therefore, the night was very dark, and favored the design of Arnold. About ten o'clock he weighed anchor, and with the stiff north wind sailed with his whole flotilla, unobserved, through the enemy's lines. Arnold, with his crippled galley, brought up the rear. It was a bold movement. At daybreak the English watch on deck looked with straining eyes for their ¦ expected prey, but the Americans were then at Schuyler's Island, ten miles south, busily engaged in stopping leaks and repairing sails. The British weighed anchor and gave chase. Toward evening the wind changed to the south, and greatly retarded the progress of both fleets during the night. Early on the morning of the 1 3th the enemy's ves- 0ctober sels were observed under full sail, and 17m rapidly gaining upon the Americans. The Congress galley (Arnold's "flag-ship") and the Washington, with four gondolas, were be hind, and in a short time the British vessels Carleton, Inflexible, and Maria were along side, pouring a destructive fire upon them. The Washington soon struck, and General Waterbury the commander, and his men, were made prisoners.*- The whole force of the 1 Sparks's Life of Arnold. 8 Among the prisoners was Josfeph Bettys, afterward the notorious outlaw and bitter Tory, better known as Joe Bettys ; He was a native of Saratoga county, and joined the Whigs on the breaking out of the Revolution While a captive in Canada, after the battle on Lake Champlain, he was induced to join the royal standard, and was made an ensign. He became notorious as a spy, and, having been caught by the Americans he was at one time conducted to the gallows. At the instance of his aged parents, Washing ton granted him a reprieve on condition of his thoroughly reforming. But he immediately joined the enemy again, and for a long time his cofd-blooded murders, his plunder and incendiarism made hira the terror of OF THE REVOLUTION. 165 Bravery of Arnold on the Congress Galley. Desperate Resistance. Retreat to Crown Point Effect of the Battle. attack now fell upon the Congress, but Arnold maintained his ground with unflinching reso lution for four hours. The galley was at length reduced almost to a wreck, and surrounded by seven sail of the enemy. Longer resistance was vain, and the intrepid Arnold ran the galley and four gondolas into a small creek on the east side of the lake, about ten miles be low Crown Point, and not far from Panton. He ordered the marines to set fire to them as soon as they were grounded, leap into the water and wade ashore with their muskets, and form in such a manner upon the beach as to guard the burning vessels from the approach of the enemy. Arnold remained in his galley till driven off by the fire, and was the last man that reached the shore. He kept the flags flying, and remained upon tbe spot until his little flotilla was consumed, and then, with the small remnant of his brave soldiers, marched off through the woods toward Chimney Point, and reached Crown Point in safety. Tbe rapidity of his march saved him from an Indian ambush that waylaid his path an hour after he passed by. Two schooners, two galleys, one sloop, and one gondola, the remnant of his fleet, were at Crown Point, and General Waterbury and most of his men arrived there on parole the next day, when all embarked and sailed to Ticonderoga. General 0otober i4i Carleton took possession of Crown Point, and for a few days threatened Ticon- 1776- deroga, but tbe season was so far advanced that he prudently withdrew, and sailed down the lake to go into winter-quarters in Canada.1 The whole American loss in thje two actions was between eighty and ninety, and that of the enemy about forty. Although the repubficans were defeated, and the expedition was disastrous in every par ticular, yet such were the skill, bravery, and obstinate . resistance of Arnold and his men against a vastly superior force, the event was hailed as ominous of great achievements on the part of the patriots when such fearful odds should not exist. Arnold's popularity, so justly gained at Quebec, was greatly increased, and the country rang with his praises. Sparks justly observes, respecting Arnold's conduct in the engagement on the 13th, that " there are few instances on record of more deliberate courage and gallantry than were dis played by him from the beginning to the end of this action." j, We arrived at Pittsburgh at about two o'clock in the afternoon. The day was excess ively warm, and I felt more like lounging than rambling. In fact, the spot has no Revo lutionary history worth mentioning, for its existence as a lonely settlement in the wilderness is only coeval with that of our independence. Count Vredenburgh, a German nobleman, whosmarried a lady of the household of the queen of George II. of England, obtained a grant for thirty thousand acres of land on Cumberland Bay, and just before the Revolution he set tled there. When the war broke out he sent his family to Montreal, and soon afterward his splendid mansion, which stood where the Plattsburgh Hotel now is, and his miUs, three miles distant, were burned. He had remained to look after his property, and it is supposed that he was murdered for his riches, and his house plundered and destroyed. In 1783 some Canadian- and Nova Scotia refugees, under Lieutenant (afterward Major-general) Mooers," who were stationed on the Hudson near Newburgh, left Fishkill Landing, in a boat, and, proceeding by the way of Lakes George and Champlain, landed and commenced the first permanent settlement in that neighborhood, within seven or eight miles of the present vil lage of Plattsburgh. Judge Zephaniah Piatt and others formed a company, after the war, to purchase military land-warrants, and they located tbeir lands on Cumberland Bay, and organized the town of Plattsburgh in 1785. Such is its only connection with the history the whole region in the neighborhood of Albany. At last he was captured (1782), and was executed as a spy and traitor, at Albany. . . . 1 It is related that while Carleton was at Ticonderoga, Arnold Ventured m the neighborhood in a small boat He was seen and chased by young Pellew (afterward Lord Exmouth), and so rapidly did his pursu ers sain upon him, that he ran his boat ashore and leaped on land, leaving his stock and buckle behind him. It is said that the stock and buckle are still in possession of the Pellew fanuly— See Ostler's Life ofAdmt- r°» Bra'jamin Moors' served as a lieutenant and adjutant in the Revolution. He commanded the militia in the battle of Plattsburgh in 1814. For thirty years he was county treasurer, and often represented his county in the Assembly and Senate of New York. He died in February, 1838. 166 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Battle of Plattsburgh. Military Remains. Incidents of the Naval Battle. Relic of Washington. of our Revolution. It is a conspicuous point, however, in the history of our war with Great Britain commenced in 1812, for it is memorable as the place where one of the severest en gagements of that contest took place, on the 1 1th of September, 1814, between the combined naval and military forces of the Americans and British. General Macomb commanded the land, and Commodore M'Donough the navftl forces of the former, and General Prevost and Commodore Downie1 those of the latter. The engagements on the land and water were simultaneous, and for some time the issue was doubtful. The Americans, however, were successful. When the flag of the British commodore's ship was struck, the enemy on land, disheartened and confused, retreated across the Saranac, and the carnage ceased. The loss of the Americans was about one hundred and fifty ; that of the enemy, in killed, wounded, prisoners, and deserters, more than one thousand. I passed a considerable portion of the afternoon with General St. John B. L. Skinner, who was a volunteer under Macomb in the battle. He was a member of a company of joung men and boys of the village, who, after the military had gone out on the Chazy road, organized and offered their services to the commander-in-chief. They were accepted, and Ihe brave youths were immediately armed with rifles and ordered to the headquarters of General Mooers. Only tbree of the company were over eighteen years old, and not one of them was killed, though for a long time they were exposed to a hot fire while occupying a •nill upon the Saranac and keeping the enemy at bay.- General Skinner's beautiful man sion and gardens are upon the lake shore, and from an upper piazza we had a fine view of ihe whole scene of the naval engagement, from Cumberland Head on the north to Valcour's fsland on the south, including in the far distance eastward the blue lines of the northern /ange of the Green Mountains. The bay in which the battle occurred is magnificent, fringed with deep forests and waving grain-fields. A substantial stone break- water defends the har bor from the rude waves which an easterly wind rolls in, and the village is very pleasantly situated upon a gravelly plain on each side of the Saranac River. A short distance from the village of Plattsburgh are the remains of the cantonments and breast- works occupied by Macomb and his forces ; and to the kind courtesy of General Skin ner, who accompanied me to these relics of the war, I am indebted for many interesting de- Vails in relation to that memorable battle.2 But as these have no necessary connection with our subject, on account of their remoteness from the time of the Revolution, I will bid adieu lo Plattsburgh, for the evening is far gone, the lights of the " Burlington" are sparkling upon the waters near Valcour's Island, and the coachman at the hotel front is hurrying us with his loud "All aboard !" It was nearly midnight when we passed the light on Cumberland Head,3 and we reached 1 Commodore Downie was slain in the battle and buried at Plattsburgh. His sister-in-law, Mary Downie, erected a plain monument to his memory over his remains. 2 General S. mentioned one or two circumstances connected with the naval engagement worth recording. He says that, when the fleet of the enemy rounded Cumberland Head, M'Donough assembled his men on board his ship (Saratoga) on the quarter-deck. He then knelt, and, in humble, fervent supplication, com mended himself, his men, and his cause to the Lord of Hosts. When he arose, the serenity of faith was upon his countenance, and seemed to shed its influence over his men. A curious incident occurred on his ship during the engagement. The hen-coop was shot away, and a cock, released froln prison, flew into the rigging, and, flapping his wings, crowed out a lusty defiance to the enemy's guns. There he remained, flapping his wings and crowing, until the engagement ceased. The seamen regarded the event as encouraging, and fought like tigers while the 'cock cheered them on. A notice of a relic of Washington, in the possession of General S., may not be inappropriate here. It is a pouch and puff-ball, for hair-powder, which belonged to the chief several years. It is made of buckskin, and is about twelve inches long. The puff is made of cotton yarn. Mr. Gray, who was a number of years sheriff of Clinton county, readily recognized it as the one used by himself in powdering Washington's hair, when he was a boy and attached to the gen eral in the capacity of body servant. When La Fayette was at Burlington, in 1824, Mr. Gray went up to see him, and the veteran remembered him as the " boy Gray" in Washington's military family. 3 On this point is situated the farm presented to Commodore M'Donough by the Legislature of Vermont. The point is connected with Grand Island, or North Hero (the largest island in the lake), by a ferry. ;OF THE REVOLUTION. 167 Rouse's Point and Military Works. The Territorial Line. Isle Auk Noix. Historical Associations Rouse's Point, the last landing-place on the lake within " the States," between one and two in the morning, where we remained until daylight, for the channel here, down the outlet of the lake, is so narrow and sinuous that the navigation is difficult in the night. On a lov* point a little northward of the landing the United States government commenced building a fort in 1815, and, after expending about two hundred thousand dollars, it was discovered that the ground was British soil. The work was abandoned, and so remained until the con clusion of the treaty formed by Daniel Webster and Lord Ashburton in. 1842, when the territorial line was run a little north of the fort. It is now in course of completion. The morning on which we left Rouse's Point was clear and calm. A slight Angnsts, mist lay upon the water, and over the flat shores of the Richelieu or Sorel River, 1848- which we had entered, a thin vapor, like a gauze veil, was spread out. We watched with interest for the line of separation between the territories. It was about four o'clock in the morning when we crossed it, twenty-three miles south of St. John's, and so became " foreign ers." A broad stripe like a meadow-swathe, running east and west, cut in the dwarf forest upon either side, denotes the landmark of dominion, and by a single revolution of the paddle- wheel we passed from the waters of our republic to those of the British realm. In less than an hour we were at the landing-place on Isle Aux Noix, a small low island in the Sorel, strongly fortified by the British as one of their most important outposts in the direction of the United States. This island is all clustered with historic associations. While the fussy custom-house officer and his attendants are boarding our boat, let us look into the mirror of retrospection. When the French settlement at Chimney Point was broken up on the approach of Gen eral Amherst, in 1759, the people fled down the lake, and, landing : upon this island, fortified it. The walnut and hazel abounded there, and they gave it a name significant of this fact. Commanding, as it does, completely the outlet of Lake Champlain, the importance of its position, in a military view, was at once appreciated. But the French held possession only a few' months, for in the spring of 1760 they were driven from it by Amherst m his march toward Montreal. After the treaty of Paris in 1763, the necessity for a garrison upon Isle Aux Noix no longer existed, and the fortifications were allowed to crumble into ruins. In the autumn of 1775 the island was occupied by the Americans, under General Schuy ler With a considerable force, destined to invade Canada, he sailed down the lake and ap- peared before St. John's. Informed that the garrison there was too strong for September6, him he returned to Isle Aux Noix and fortified it. From this post he sent out ™5. a declaration among the Canadians, by Colonel Allen and Major Brown, assuring them that the Americans intended to act only against the British forts, and not to interfere with the people or their religion. ' The sketch was made from the pilot's room of the steam-boat, about half a mile above the island, look- inn- east northeast. The landing is a little beyond the trees on the right, where sentinels are stationed. Thp island is small and wholly occupied by the military works. A broad fen extends some distance from th northern side, and the wild ducks that gather there afford fine amusement' for sportsmen during the hunting season. 168 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK .John's. St Custom-house Officer. Suspicious of an Israelite. Apparently treasonable Acta of leading Vermonters. Early in October the Americans, under General Montgomery (Schuyler being ill), left the island and proceeded to St. John's, whence they marched victoriously to Quebec. From that time until the close of the Revolution no permanent garrison was established there, but the island was the halting-place for the troops of both parties when passing up and down the lake. It was the principal scene of the negotiations between some of the leading men of Vermont and British officers, which were so. adroitly managed by the former as to keep an Engbsh army of ten thousand men quite inactive on our northern frontier for about three years.1 The British strongly fortified it in 1813, and it has been constantly garrisoned since. We arrived at St. John's, on the Richelieu or Sorel River, between six and seven o'clock in the morning, where our luggage was overhauled by the custom-house officer, who was re ceived on board at Isle Aux Noix. The operation was neither long nor vexatious, and seemed to be rather a matter of legal form than induced by a desire or expectation of detecting con traband articles. In fact, the polite government .functionary seemed to have great faith in , mere assertions, and to rely more upon physiognomy than personal inspection of the luggage for assurance that her majesty's revenue laws were inviolate. He looked every trunk-owner full in the face when he queried about the nature of his baggage, and only two persons were obliged to produce their keys for his satisfaction. Our trunk was of prodigious size and weight, and made him very properly suspicious of the truth of my allegations that its contents were only articles for personal use. A descendant of Abraham at my elbow, with nothing but a rotund bandana handkerchief, appeared to be my scape-goat on the occasion, for while the officer was making him untie its hard knots, he ordered my luggage to pass. I was told that the word of a poor Jew is never believed by the uncircumcised Gentile who " sits at the re ceipt of customs ;" but in this instance his incredulity was rebuked, for the Israelite's bundle contained nothing but a tolerably clean shirt, a cravat, and a small Hebrew Bible. At eight 1 In 1779-80 the partial dismemberment of Vermont and its connection with New York and New Hamp shire produced great bitterness of feeling, and the Legislature of the former demanded of Congress the en tire separation of that state from the other states, and its admission into the confederacy upon a basis of perfect equality. The disputes ran high, and the British entertained hopes that Vermont would be so far alienated from the rebel cause, by the injustice of Congress, as to be induced to return to its allegiance to the British crown. Accordingly, in the spring of 1780, Colonel Beverly Robinson wrote to Ethan Allen from New York, making overtures to that effect. The letter was not answered, and in February, 1781, he wrote another, inclosing a copy of the first. These letters were shown to Governor Chittenden and a few others, and they concluded to make use of the circumstances for the benefit of Vermont. Allen sent both letters to Congress, and at the same time wrote to that body, urging the justice of the demand of his state. He closed his letter by saying, " I am as resolutely determined to defend the independence of Ver mont as Congress is thai of the United States ; and, rather than fail, I will retire with the hardy Green Mountain Boys into the desolate caverns of the mountains and wage war with human nature at large."* In the mean while, some British scouting parties had captured some Vermonters, and Governor Chittenden sent Ira Allen and others to negotiate with Colonel Dundas for an exchange of prisoners. They met upon Isle Aux Noix, and there Dundas, under the direction of General Haldimand, made verbal overtures simi lar to the written ones of Robinson to Ethan Allen. The proposals of the British officers were received by- Allen with apparent favor. Haldimand and Dundas were delighted with their skill in diplomacy, and readily acceded to the proposition of Allen not to allow hostilities on the Vermont frontier until after the next ses sion of its Legislature. The British force, consisting of about ten thousand men, was thus kept inactive. These negotiations with the enemy excited the suspicion of the Whigs and the fears of Congress ; yet with such consummate skill did Allen manage the affair, that when he reported the result of his mission to the Legislature of Vermont, where British emissaries as well as ardent Whigs were in waiting, he satisfied both parties. Soon afterward a letter from Lord George Germain to Sir Henry Clinton was intercepted and sent to Congress. It contained so much evidence of the treasonable designs of the leading men in Ver mont, that Congress felt more disposed to accede to the demands of that state, and thus retain her in the Union. Peace soon afterward ensued, and Vermont was one of the United States included in the treaty. How far the designs of the Aliens, of Chittenden, the Fays, and others, were really treasonable, or were measures of policy to bring Congress to terms, and prevent hostilities upon their weak frontier, can not be certainly determined. The probabilities are in favor of the ruse rather than the treason. At any rate, they should have tbe benefit of a doubt, and a verdict of acquittal of all wrong intentions. * A convention, held at Westminster on the 15th of January, 1777, declared " That the district and territory comprehending and uaually known hy the name and description of the New Hampshire Grants of right ought to be and is declared forever here- after to be a free and independent jurisdiction or state, to be forever hereafter called, known, and distinguished by the name of New Connecticut*, alias Vermont." — See Blade's State Papers, p. 70. OF THE REVOLUTION. 169 Military Remains at St. John's. Present Works. Athenaise. Approach of the Americans in 1775. o'clock my companion and our luggage proceeded by rail-road by way of La Prairie to Mont real, while I prepared to journey to the same city in a Ught wagon by way of Chambly and Longueuil. St. John's is pleasantly situated upon the western side of the Sorel, at the termination of steam-boat navigation on Lake Champlain, and near the head of Chambly Rapids. It has always been a place of considerable importance as a frontier town since the Revolution, al though its growth has been slow, the population now amounting to not quite four thou sand. The country on both sides of the river here is perfectly flat, and there is no place whence the town may be seen to advantage. A little south of the village, and directly upon the shore, is a strong military establishment, garrisoned, when we visited it, by three Military Establishment at St. John's. companies of Highland infantry. Accompanied by an intelligent young gentleman of the village as guide, I visited all the points of historic interest in the vicinity. We crossed the deep, sluggish river in a light zinc shallop, and from the middle of the stream we obtained a fine view of the long bridge*- which connects St. John's with St. Athenaise on the opposite shore, where the steep roof and lofty glittering spire of the French church towered above the trees.3 After visiting the remains of Montgomery's block-house, we recrossed the river and rambled among the high mounds which compose the ruins of old Fort St. John's. They occupy a broad area in the open fields behind the present military works. The embank ments, covered with a rich green sward, averaged about twelve feet in height, and the whole were surrounded by a ditch with considerable water in it. We lingered half an hour to view a drill of the garrison, and then returned to the village to prepare for a pleasant ride to Chambly, twelve miles distant. Military works were thrown up at St. John's by the French, under Montcalm, in 1758, and these were enlarged and strengthened by Governor Carleton at the beginning of our Revolution. Here, as we have seen, the first organized American flotilla, under Arnold, made a regular assault upon British vessels and fortifications, and arotfsed Sir Guy Carleton to a sense of the imminent danger of Montreal and Quebec. Here too was the scene of the -first regular siege of a British fort by the rebellious colonists. In September, geptemter6 1775, the Americans, as we have already noticed, sailed down the Richelieu and appeared before St. John's. They were fired upon by the English garrison when about two miles distant, but without effect. They landed within about a mile and a half of the fort, and, while marching slowly toward the outworks, a small party of Indians attacked them and produced some confusion. In the evening General Schuyler was informed, by a man who appeared to be friendly and intelligent, that, with the exception of only fifty men retained in Montreal by General Carleton, the whole regular British force in Canada was in the garrison at St. John's ; that this and the fort at Chambly were strongly fortified and well supplied ; that one hundred Indians were in the fort at St. John's, and that another large body, under Colonel John Johnson, was hovering near ; that a sixteen gun vessel was 1 This view is taken from the eastern side of the river, near the remains of a block-house erected by Mont- o-omerv when he besieged the fort in 1775. On the right is seen the fort, which incloses the magazine ; in the center is the building occupied by the officers, on either side of which are the barracks of the soldiers. The large building on the left is the hospital, and the smaller one still further left is the dead-house. The river here is about a quarter of a mile wide. The present military works are upon the site of those of the ^"was built by the Honorable Robert Jones, the proprietor, and is called Jones's Bridge. 3 This spacious church was not finished. The old one, a small wooden structure, was undisturbed within the new one and was used for worship until tbe completion of the exterior of the present edifica 170 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Advance of Montgomery against St. John's. Mutiny in Ihe American Camp. Operations at St. John's. about ready to weigh anchor at St. John's ; and that not a single Canadian could be induced to join the insurgent standard. The informer was doubtless an enemy to the Americans, for his assertions were afterward proved to be untrue. General Schuyler, however, gave credence to them, and returned with his troops to Isle Aux Noix, where illness obliged him to leave the army in charge of Montgomery, and retire to the healthier post of Ticonderoga. Thence he soon went to Albany, and, his health being partially restored, he was active in forwarding re-enforcements to Isle Aux Noix. Montgomery, with more impetuosity and less caution than Schuyler, determined to push forward at once, for the season was near when military operations there would be difficult. About this time a small train of artillery and a re-enforcement arrived, and he made vigor ous preparations to invade Canada. Before leaving the island, a chevaux-de-frise was thrown across the channel to intercept the progress of Carleton's vessels up the lake. On the sev- september, enteenth his whole force was landed on the west side of the Richelieu. On the 1775. eighteenth he led a corps of five hundred men, in person, to the north side of the fort, where the village now is. There he met a detachment from the garrison, which had just repulsed and pursued a small party of Americans under Major Brown, and a short skirmish ensued. Two field pieces and the whole detachment would doubtless have been trophies for the Americans had they been true to themselves ; but here that insubordination which gave Montgomery so much trouble was strongly manifested, and caution, secrecy, and concert of action were out of the question.1 Montgomery pushed on a little further north west, and, at the junction of the roads running respectively to Montreal and Chambly, formed an entrenched camp of three hundred men to cut off supplies for the enemy from the interior, and then hastened back to his camp to bring up his artillery to bear upon the walls of the fort. The supplies for a siege were very meager. The artillery was too light, the mortars were defective, the ammunition scarce, and the artillerists unpracticed in their duties. The ground was wet and swampy, and in many places closely studded with trees. In a day or two disease began to appear among the troops, and, in consequence of their privations, dis affection was working mischief in the army. To escape these unfavorable circumstances, Montgomery proposed to move to the northwest side of the fort, where the ground was firm and water wholesome, and commence preparations for an assault. But the troops, unused to military restraint, and judging for themselves that an attack would-be unsuccessful, refused to second the plan of their leader. Unable to punish them or convince them of their error, Montgomery yielded to the pressure of circumstances, and so far gratified the mutinous regi ments as to call a council of war. It resulted, as was expected, in a decision against his plan. Disorder continually reigned in the American camp. Irregular firing occurred al most daily, and the enemy threw some bombs, but it was a waste of ammunition by both parties. At length the proposed plan of Montgomery was adopted, and the camp was moved October 7, to tbe higher ground northwest of the fort, where breast-works were thrown up. 1775. While the main army was thus circumvallating St. John's, but, for want of am munition and heavy guns, unable to breach the walls, small detachments of Americans, who were joined by many friendly Canadians, were active in the vicinity. One, under Ethan Allen, attempted the capture of Montreal. Of this foolish expedition I shall hereafter write. But another, and a successful one, was undertaken, which hastened the termination of the siege of St. John's. Carleton, supposing that the fort at Chambly, twelve miles north ward, could not be reached by the Americans unless the one at St. John's was captured, had neglected to arm it, and kept but a feeble garrison there. Montgomery was informed of this by Canadian scouts, and immediately sent Colonel Bedell of New Hampshire, Major Brown of Massachusetts, and Major Livingston of New York, with detachments, to capture the fort. The method of attack was planned by Canadians familiar with the place. Ar tillery was placed upon bateaux, and during a dark night was conveyed past the fort at St. John's to the head of Chambly Rapids, where it was mounted on carriages and taken to the 1 Montgomery's dispatch to General Schuyler. OF THE REVOLUTION. 171 Attack upon and Surrender of FortChambly. Repulse of Carleton at Longueuil. Surrender of St. John's. The Spoils point of attack. The garrison made but a feeble resistance, and soon surrendered. This Fort at Chambly,' was a most important event, for it furnished Montgomery with means to carry on the siege of St. John's vigorously." The large quantity of ammunition that was captured was sent immediately to "the besiegers, who, by vigorous exertions, erected a strong battery within two hundred and fifty yards of the fort. A strong block-house was also erected before it, on the opposite side of the river. The former was mounted with four guns and October30 six mortars, and the latter had one gun and two mortars. While these preparations were in progress, Carleton, informed of the capture of Fort Chambly, left Montreal with a re-enforcement for the garrison at St. John's. He embarked upon the St. Lawrence in bateaux and flat-boats, and attempted to land at Longueuil, a mile and a half below the city. Colonel Seth Warner, with three hundred Green Mountain Boys, was on the alert in the neighborhood, and lay in covert near the spot where Carleton was about to land. He allowed the boats to get very near the shore, when he opened a terrible storm of grape-shot upon them from a four pound cannon, which drove them across the river precipitately and in great confusion. The tidings of this event reached Mont- NoTember 1, gomery toward evening, and Colonel Warner soon afterward came in with several prisoners captured from one of Carleton's boats that reached the shore. The commander- in-chief immediately sent a flag and letter to Major Preston, the commandant of the garri son by one of Warner's prisoners, informing him of the defeat of Carleton, and demanding a surrender of the fortress to prevent further effusion of blood. Hostilities ceased for the night and in the morning Preston asked for a delay of four days before he should make pro posals to surrender. The request was denied and the demand renewed. There was no al ternative and the garrison surrendered prisoners of war.- The siege had continued six weeks and the braverv and perseverance of the British troops were sueh, that Montgomery granted them honorable' terms. They marched out of the fort with the honors of war, and the troops « This is a view of the south and west sides of the fort, looking toward the river It stands directly upon the Richelleurat the foot of the Chambly Rapids, and at the head of the navigation of the river up from he St Lawrence. It is strongly built of stone, and, as seen in the picture, is in a state of excellent pres- ervation. butter, 1 ™n' ™n> taken at Chambly were 6 tons of powder; 80 barrels of flour; a large quantity of rice, The yoils taken *™™}*. 3Q0 ^^'.hot ; 1 box of musket shot; 6364 musket cartridges; ^1^ French arm" 3 ^ mortars; 61 shells; 500 hand grenades; 83 royal fusileer's muskets .50 stand of French arm ¦ * Tbe if,dnerg consisted of , majol. 2 captains, 3 llenlen. t In^Ta sihoonerf a "Lmissary and surgeon, and 83 privates. The colors of the seventh regi- ants, c*tP"1 _e_ulars were there, and were captured. These were sent to the Continental Congress, ment oi ^™SI B q{ the kind which that body received. There were a great number of women and Xldren in tbe fort, and these were allowed to accompany the prisoners, who were sent with their baggage to Connecticut. 172 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK Surrender of St John's. Insubordination. Retreat of the Americans out of Canada. grounded their arms on the plain near by. The officers were allowed to keep November 3. their side-arms, and their fire-arms were reserved for them. Canadian gentle men and others at St. John's were considered a part of the garrison. The whole number of troops amounted to about five hundred regulars and one hundred Canadian volunteers.1 The Continental troops took possession of the fort, and Montgomery proposed to push on to Montreal. Insubordination again raised its hydra-head in the American camp. The cold season was near at hand, and the raw troops, unused to privations of the field, yearned for home, and refused, at first, to be led further away. But the kind temper, patriotic zeal, and winning eloquence of Montgomery, and a promise on his part that, Montreal in his possession, no further service would be exacted from them, won them to obedience,, and all but a small garrison for the fort pressed onward toward the city.*1 The fort, at St. John's remained in possession of the Americans until the latter part of May, 1776, when they were completely driven out of Canada. Arnold and Sullivan, with their detachments, were the last to leave that province. The former remained in Montreal until the last moment of safety, and then pressed on to St. John's, with the enemy close at his heels. Two days before, he had ordered the encampment closed there, and a vessel upon St. John's, on the Richelieu or Sorel. From a drawing: by Captain Anbrey, who assisted at its capture in 1776. the stocks to be taken apart and sent to Ticonderoga. Sullivan, who was stationed at the mouth of the Sorel, also retreated to St. John's. The commanders wished to defend the fort against the pursuing enemy, but the troops absolutely refused to serve longer, and they all embarked, and sailed up the lake to Isle Aux Noix. When every loaded boat had left the shore, Arnold and Wilkinson, his aid, rode back two miles and discovered the enemy in rapid march under Burgoyne. They reconnoitered them a few moments, and then galloped back, 1 The spoils of victory were 17 brass ordnance, from two to twenty-four pounders ; 2 eight-inch howit zers ; 7 mortars ; 22 iron ordnance, from three to nine pounders ; a considerable quantity of shot and small shells ; 800 stand of arms, and a small quantity of naval stores. The ammunition and provisions were in considerable, for the stock of each was nearly exhausted. ' Armstrong's Life of Montgomery. OF THE REVOLUTION 173 *& 1777. Lord George Germain. Rendezvous of Burgoyne's Army at St. John's. Departure for Chambly. French Canadian Houses, Farms, and People. stripped and shot tbeir horses, set fire to the works at St. John's, pushed off from shore in a small boat, and overtook the flotilla before they reached Isle Aux Noix. Having no vessels with which to pursue the Americans, Burgoyne rested at St. John's. In the course of the autumn he returned to England. Early in the summer of 1777 St. John's was the theater of active preparations, on the part of the British, for the memorable campaign which terminated in the capture of Bur goyne and his whole army at Saratoga. This campaign was planned chiefly by Lord George Germain, the Secretary of War, and Burgoyne, with the approval of the king and the full sanction of the Council. Burgoyne was made commander of the expedition, and arrived at Quebec on the 6th of May. Carleton gave him his cordial co-operation, and St. John's was the place of general rendezvous for all the regulars, provincials, and volunteers. On the 1st of June an army of six thousand men was collected there, and, embarking in boats, sailed up the lake to Cumberland Head, where it halted to await the arrival of ammunition and stores. These collected, the whole armament moved up the lake to the north of the Bou quet, where, as already narrated, a council was held with the In dian tribes. As the rest of the story of that campaign, so disas trous to British power in America, has been told in preceding chapters, we will return to St. John's, and pass on to Chambly.1 I left St. John's about eleven o'clock in a light wagon, accom panied by the young man who acted as guide among the old mil itary remains. There is but little in the appearance of St. John's to distinguish it from a large village in the States, but the moment we emerged into the country I felt that I was in a strange land. The road traverses the line of the Chambly Canal, which runs paral lel with the Richelieu or Sorel River. The farm-houses are thickly planted by the road side ; so thickly that all the way from St. John's to Chambly and Longueuil we seemed to be in a village suburb. The farms are diminutive compared with ours, averaging from fif teen to forty acres each, and hence the great number of dwellings and out-houses. They are generally small, and built of hewn logs or stone. Most of the dwellings and out-houses are whitewashed with lime, even the roofs, which gives them a very neat appearance, and forms a beautiful contrast in the landscape to the green foliage which embowers them. I was told that each house contains a consecrated broom. When a new dwelling is erected, a broom is tabooed by the priest and hung up in the dwelling by the owner, where it remains untouched, a sort of Lares or household god. Many of them have a cross erected near, as a talisman to guard the dwelling from evil. They are generally dedicated to St. Peter, the chief patron saint of the rural French Canadians. A box, with a glass door, inclosing an image of the saint, a crucifix, or some other significant object, is placed upon or within the body of the cross, and the whole is usually surmounted by a cock. A singular choice for a crest, for it is a fowl identified with St. Peter's weakness and shame. It was in the time of hay harvest, and men, women, and children were abroad gathering the crops. As among the peasantry of Europe and the blacks of our Southern States, the women labor regularly in the fields. They are tidily habited in thin stuff of cotton or worsted, generally dyed blue, and all of domestic manufacture. Their costume is graceful, and, sitting loosely, gives full play to the muscles, and contributes to the high health which every where abounds in the rural districts of this region. Their broad-rimmed straw hats, like the Mexican sombrero, afford ample protection against the bot sun. These also are home-made, and the manufacture of them for our markets, during the long Canadian win ters, affords quite a cash revenue to most of the families. These simple people are generally 174 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOB. The Richelieu and its Rapids. Chambly. The Fort. Beloeil Mountain. Large Cross. uneducated, and superstition is a strong feature in their religious character. They arc honest, kind-hearted, and industrious, have few wants, live frugally, and, in their way, seem to enjoy a large share of earthly happiness. The Richelieu has either a swift current or noisy rapids nearly the whole distance between St. John's and Chambly. The stream is broad, and in many places deep, for it is the outlet for the whole volume of the waters of Lake Cham plain into the St. Lawrence. In some places the foaming rapids produce a picturesque effect to the eye and ear, and vary the pleasure of the otherwise rather monotonous journey be tween the two villages. Chambly is an old town, at the foot of the rapids, and bears evidence of thrift. A French man bearing that name built a small wood fort there, which was afterward replaced by the solid stone structure pictured on page 171. The latter retained the name of the original fort, as also does the village. It is a military station at present, and, being at the head of the navigation of the Richelieu or Sorel from the St. Lawrence, has a commanding position. The river here, at the foot of the falls, expands into a circular basin about a mile and a half in diameter. The old fort is dismantled and ungarrisoned, and is now used only for a store-house. Near it are seen the remains of the battery erected by Bedell, while pre paring to storm the fort in 1775. I'tarried at Chambly long enough only to reconnoiter and sketch the old fortress and the features of (he Beloeil, the onlv mountain ran