THE CAPTURE OF PHILADELPHIA.
During the course of the spring of 1777 a large number of loyal
colonists had volunteered their services. They had been embodied into
battalions, and when the army prepared to take the field they were
placed in garrisons in New York and other places, thus permitting the
employment of the whole of the British force in the field. The Americans
had occupied themselves in strongly fortifying the more defensible
positions, especially those in a mountain tract of country called the
Manor of Courland. This was converted into a sort of citadel, where
large quantities of provisions, forage, and stores of all kinds were
collected. About fifty miles from New York, up the North River, was a
place called Peekskill, which served as a port to the Manor of Courland.
The country was so difficult and mountainous that General Howe shrank
from engaging his army in it. He determined, however, to attack and
destroy Peekskill, and a party of 500 men, under the command of Colonel
Bird of the Fifteenth Regiment, were sent up the river in two transports
to destroy it. The garrison, consisting of 800 men, set fire to the
place and withdrew without firing a shot. The British completed the
destruction of the stores and returned to New York.
A little later 2000 men were sent on a similar expedition against the
town of Danbury, another place on the confines of Courland Manor, where
great stores had also been collected. They proceeded up the East River
and landed at Camp's Point. They started on foot at ten o'clock at
night, and after a ten hours' march arrived at eight o'clock at Danbury.
The enemy evacuated the place on their approach, and the English set
fire to the great magazines filled with stores of all kinds.
The news of the march of the English had spread rapidly, and the enemy
assembled from all quarters and posted themselves under the command of
General Arnold at a town called Ridgefield, through which the English
would have to pass on their return. Here they threw up intrenchments. It
was late in the afternoon when the English, fatigued with the long
march, arrived at this spot. They did not hesitate, but when the
Americans opened fire they boldly assailed the intrenchments and carried
them with the bayonet. They were unable to march further, and lying down
so as to form an oblong square, slept till morning. All night the
Americans continued to come up in great force, and in the morning as the
troops advanced a terrible fire was opened upon them from the houses and
stone walls in which the country abounded. The British had to fight
every foot of their way. General Wooster had brought up some
field-artillery on the side of the Americans. Gradually the column
fought its way forward until it arrived within half a mile of Camp's
Point. Here two strong bodies of the enemy barred their way. The column
was by this time greatly exhausted; the men had had no real rest for
three days and two nights, and several dropped on the road with fatigue.
Brigadier General Erskine picked out 400 of those who were in the best
condition and attacked the two bodies of the enemy with such vigor that
he put them utterly to flight, and the column, again advancing, reached
their destination without further molestation. Nearly 200 men, including
10 officers, were killed and wounded on the part of the British; the
loss of the Americans was still greater, and General Wooster and some
field officers were among the slain.
Many other skirmishes took place with varied success. The Americans at
Bondwick, seven miles from Brunswick, 1200 in number, were surprised and
routed by Cornwallis, while on the other hand the American Colonel Meigs
carried out a most dashing expedition by crossing to Long Island and
destroying a quantity of stores at a place called Sag Harbor, burning a
dozen brigs and sloops which lay there, taking 90 prisoners, and
returning safely across the Sound.
In June Washington with 8000 men was encamped in a strong position at
Middlebrook. General Howe, although he had 30,000 men, hesitated to
attack him here. By a feigned retreat he succeeded in drawing General
Washington from his stronghold and inflicted a decisive defeat on 3000
of his men. Washington fell back to his position in the mountains, and
General Howe retired altogether from Jersey and withdrew his troops to
Staten Island. A dashing feat was executed at this time by Colonel
Barton of the American army. Learning that General Prescott, who
commanded at Rhode Island, had his headquarters at a distance of a mile
from his troops, he crossed from the mainland in two boats, seized the
general in his bed, and carried him off through the British fleet. The
object of this dashing enterprise was to obtain a general to exchange
for the American General Lee, who had been captured by the British.
General Howe, in June, again marched against Washington and again fell
back without doing anything. Had he, instead of thus frittering away his
strength, marched to the Delaware, crossed that river, and advanced
against Philadelphia, Washington would have been forced to leave his
stronghold and either fight in the open or allow that important city to
fall into the hands of the English.
General Howe now embarked his army in transports. Had he sailed up the
North River to Albany he would have effected a junction with General
Burgoyne's army, which was advancing from Canada, and with the united
force could have marched through America from end to end as he chose.
Instead of doing so he sailed down to Chesapeake Bay and there
disembarked the whole army, which had been pent up in transports from
July 3 to August 24. Not till September 11 did they advance in earnest
toward Philadelphia. The Americans thus had ample time to take up a
strong position and fortify it. This they did on the other side of
Brandywine Creek. Under cover of a cannonade the British advanced,
mastered the fort, and carried the intrenchments. General Sullivan, with
a considerable force, had now arrived, accompanied by General Washington
himself. He took up his position a short distance from the Brandywine,
his artillery well placed and his flanks covered with woods.
The following afternoon the British attacked. The Americans fought well,
but the British were not to be denied, and rushing forward drove the
enemy from their position into the woods in their rear. Here they made a
stand and were only dislodged after a desperate resistance. The greater
portion of them fled in all directions. Washington himself, with his
guns and a small force, retreated eight miles from Chester and then
marched by Derby to Philadelphia. Here he waited three days rallying his
troops, and then, having recruited his stores from the magazines,
marched away.
All this time the British remained inactive on the ground they had won.
In the battle the Americans lost 300 killed, 600 wounded, and 400
prisoners. Several guns were also taken. The British lost 100 killed and
400 wounded.
On September 20 they advanced toward Philadelphia. The American General
Wayne had concealed himself in the woods with 1500 men, with the
intention of harassing the rear of the British army. News of this having
been obtained, Major General Grey was dispatched at once to surprise
him; he ordered his men not to load, but to rely wholly on the bayonet.
The success of the expedition was complete. General Wayne's outpost was
surprised and the British troops rushed into his encampment. Three
hundred of the Americans were killed or wounded and 100 taken prisoners.
The rest escaped through the woods. On the English side 1 officer was
killed and 7 privates killed and wounded.
The capture of Philadelphia was an important advantage to the British,
but it could not be thoroughly utilized until the fleet could come up
the river to the town. The American Congress, which had sat at
Philadelphia until General Howe approached the town, had taken extensive
measures for rendering the passage impracticable. Three rows of
chevaux-de-frise, composed of immense beams of timber bolted and
fastened together and stuck with iron spikes, were sunk across the
channel, and these lines were protected by batteries. At these forts
were fourteen large rowboats, each carrying a heavy cannon, two floating
batteries carrying nine guns each, and a number of fireships and rafts.
The forts commanding the chevaux-de-frise were abandoned on the
approach of the British, and Captain Hammond of the _Roebuck_
succeeded, in spite of the opposition of the enemy's boats and
batteries, in making an opening through the chevaux-de-frise
sufficiently wide for the fleet to pass.
Large numbers of troops having been sent away from Germantown, a place
seven miles from Philadelphia, where the main body of the British army
were posted, General Washington determined to attempt the surprise of
that position. For this purpose he re-enforced his army by drawing 1500
troops from Peekskill and 1000 from Virginia, and at daybreak on October
4, under cover of a thick fog, he made an attack on the troops posted at
the head of the village.
Half of the British force lay on one side of the village, and half on
the other, and had the attack upon the place succeeded the British army
would have been cut in two. The village was held by the Fortieth
Regiment, who, fighting obstinately, were driven back among the houses.
The Americans were pushing forward in five heavy columns, when
Lieutenant Colonel Musgrave, who commanded the Fortieth, threw himself
into a large stone house. Here he offered a desperate resistance, and so
impeded the advance of the enemy that time was given for the rest of the
British troops to get under arms.
General Washington ordered a whole brigade of infantry to attack the
house and turned four guns against it. Colonel Musgrave and his men
resisted desperately and held the post until Major General Grey, with
the Third Brigade, and Brigadier General Agnew, with the Fourth Brigade,
came up and attacked the enemy with great spirit. The engagement was for
some time very hot. At length a part of the right wing fell upon the
enemy's flank, and the Americans retired with great precipitation. The
fog was so dense that no pursuit could be attempted.
On the part of the English 600 were killed and wounded. The loss of the
Americans amounted to between 200 and 300 killed, 600 wounded, and 400
taken prisoners. General Howe had on the previous night been acquainted
with the intention of General Washington to attack the place, and had he
taken the proper measures to have received them the American army would
have been destroyed. He took no measures whatever, gave no warning to
the army, and suffered the camp to be taken by surprise.
After this battle the fleet and army united, cleared away the
chevaux-de-frise across the Delaware, and took the forts commanding them
after some hard fighting.
The passage of the Delaware being thus opened and the water
communication secured, the army went to their winter quarters at
Philadelphia.
Captain Wilson, and his son had taken no part in any of these
operations, as a short time after the capture of Harold and Harvey by
the American cavalry the company had been disbanded. The men, when they
entered the service, had volunteered for a year. This time already had
been greatly exceeded--twenty months had passed since the battle of
Bunker's Hill--and although the men were willing to continue to give
their services so long as it appeared to them that there was a prospect
of a favorable termination of the war, no such hope any longer remained
in their minds. The great army which England had sent over had done
nothing toward restoring the king's authority in the colonies, and if,
after a year's fighting, its outposts were still within a few miles of
New York, how could it be expected or even hoped that it could ever
subdue a country containing hundreds of thousands of square miles? The
retreat from the Delaware and the virtual handing over of New Jersey
again to Washington was the finishing stroke which decided the
volunteers to demand their discharge, according to the terms of their
engagement. Except during the Canadian campaign they had had but little
fighting, nor in such a warfare as that which General Howe was carrying
on was there much scope for their services. Many of the gentlemen who
formed the majority of the company, and who for the most part had
friends and connections in England, sailed for that country; some had
left wives and families on their estates when they took up arms; and
most of them, despairing of the final success of the war, had instructed
their agents to sell these estates for any sum that they would fetch;
others--among them Captain Wilson--now followed their example. It was
but a mere tithe of the value of the property that was obtained, for
money was scarce in the colonies, and so many had sold out and gone to
England, rather than take part on one side or the other of the
fratricidal strife, that land and houses fetched but nominal prices.
Mrs. Wilson had long since gone to England, and her husband, having made
arrangements for the disposal of his property, now determined to join
her. Fortunately he possessed means, irrespective of his estate in
America. This had come to him through his wife, and his own fortune and
the money obtained by the sale of his commission had remained invested
in English securities. While determined on this course for himself, he
left it to his son to choose his own career. Harold was now nearly
eighteen, and his life of adventure and responsibility had made a man of
him. His father would have preferred that he should have returned with
him to England, but Harold finally decided upon remaining. In war men's
passions become heated, the original cause of quarrel sinks into
comparative insignificance, and the desire for victory, the
determination to resist, and a feeling of something like individual
hatred for the enemy become predominant motives of the strife.
This was especially the case in the American war. On both sides there
were many circumstances which heightened the passions of the combatants.
The loyalists in the English ranks had been ruined by the action of
their opponents--many had been reduced from wealth to poverty, and each
man felt a deep passion of resentment at what he regarded his personal
grievance. Then, too, the persistent misrepresentations both of facts
and motives on the part of the American writers and speakers added to
the irritation. The loyalists felt that there were vast numbers
throughout the colonies who agreed with them and regarded Congress as a
tyrannical faction rather than the expression of the general will. In
this, no doubt, they were to some extent mistaken, for by this time the
vast majority of the people had joined heart and soul in the conflict.
Men's passions had become so stirred up that it was difficult for any to
remain neutral; and although there were still large numbers of loyalists
throughout the States, the vast bulk of the people had resolved that the
only issue of the contest was complete and entire separation from the
mother country.
Harold had now entered passionately into the struggle. He was in
constant contact with men who had been ruined by the war. He heard only
one side of the question, and he was determined, so long as England
continued the struggle, to fight on for a cause which he considered
sacred. He was unable to regard the prospects of success as hopeless; he
saw the fine army which England had collected; he had been a witness of
the defeat of the Americans whenever they ventured to stand the shock of
the British battalions; and in spite of the unsatisfactory nature of the
first campaign, he could not bring himself to believe that such an army
could fail.
When the company was disbanded he decided to continue to serve as a
scout, but, sharing in the general disgust in the army at the incapacity
of General Howe, he determined to take ship again for Canada and take
service under General Burgoyne, who was preparing with a well-appointed
army to invade the States from that side.
When he communicated his determination to Peter Lambton the latter at
once agreed to accompany him.
"I've gone into this business," the hunter said, "and I mean to see it
through. Settling down don't suit me. I aint got any friends at New
York, and I'd be miserable just loafing about all day doing nothing. No,
I'll see this business out to the end, and I'd much rather go with you
than anyone else."
Jake was of the same opinion. Accustomed all his life to obey orders and
to the life on his master's plantation, he would not have known what to
do if left to his own devices. Captain Wilson pointed out to him that he
could easily obtain work on the wharves of New York or as a laborer on a
farm, but Jake would not listen to the proposal and was hurt at the
thought that he could leave his young master's side as long as Harold
continued in the war.
Accordingly, the day after Captain Wilson sailed for England the three
comrades embarked in a ship for Halifax, whence another vessel took them
to Quebec. They then sailed up the river to Montreal and took service as
scouts in General Burgoyne's army.
For political reasons General Burgoyne had been appointed to the command
of the expedition which had been, prepared, and General Carleton,
naturally offended at being passed over, at once resigned the
governorship. His long residence in Canada, his knowledge of the
country, of the manners of its inhabitants and the extent of its
resources, and his acquaintance with the character of the Indians,
rendered him far more fit for command than was General Burgoyne. In
military knowledge and experience, too, he was his superior, and had he
retained a command the fate of the expedition would probably have been
very different.
The army under General Burgoyne consisted of 7173 men, exclusive of
artillerymen. Of these about half were Germans. The Canadians were
called upon to furnish men sufficient to occupy the woods on the
frontier and to provide men for the completion of the fortifications at
Sorrel, St. John's, Chamblée, and Isle-aux-Noix, to furnish horses and
carts for carriage, and to make roads when necessary. A naval force was
to go forward with him on the lake. The Indian question had again to be
decided. Several tribes volunteered to join the British. General
Burgoyne hesitated, as General Carleton had done before, to accept their
services, and only did so finally on the certainty that if he refused
their offers they would join the Americans. He resolved to use them as
little as possible. He knew that their object in all wars was murder and
destruction, and although he wished to conquer the Americans, he did not
desire to exterminate them.
On June 16, 1777, General Burgoyne advanced from St. John's. The naval
force had preceded the army and opened a way for its advance. The troops
were carried in a flotilla of boats, and under the protection of the
fleet passed Lake Champlain and landed at Crown Point.
Harold and his companions had joined the army a fortnight previously,
and as they crossed the lake with the fleet they could not but
remember their last expedition there. At Crown Point they were joined
by 1000 Indians, who marched round the lake, and at this place General
Burgoyne gave them a great feast and afterward made a speech to them,
exhorting them to abstain from all cruelty, to avoid any ill-treatment
of unarmed combatants, and to take as prisoners all combatants who
fell into their hands.
But while thus exhorting the Indians to behave with humanity and
moderation, the general took a most ill-judged step, which not only
did the English cause great harm, but was used by the Americans with
much effect as a proof of the cruel way in which England warred
against the colonists. He issued a proclamation threatening to punish
with the utmost severity all who refused to attach themselves to the
British cause, and at the same time he magnified the ferocity of the
Indians; pointing out with great emphasis their eagerness to butcher
those who continued hostile to the mother country, whose interests
they had espoused.
This proclamation was naturally construed by the Americans as a threat
to deliver over to the tender mercies of the Indians to slay, scalp, and
destroy all who ventured to resist the authority of the king.
The Americans had fallen back on the approach of the British, and upon
the landing being effected, the scouts were instantly sent forward.
Among the Indians who had joined at Crown Point were the Senecas--among
them their old friend Deer Tail.
The scouts received no particular orders and were free to regulate their
own movements. Their duty was to reconnoiter the country ahead and to
bring in any information they might gather as to numbers and positions
of the enemy.
Finding that Peter and his companions were about to start, Deer Tail
said that, instead of waiting for the feast, he would take five of his
warriors and accompany them.
It was at Ticonderoga that the Americans had prepared to make their
first stand. The place lies on the western shore of the lake a few miles
to the northward of the narrow inlet uniting Lake Champlain to Lake
George. It was to reconnoiter the fort that the party now set out. News
had been brought that the Americans had been executing great additional
works, and the British general was anxious to learn the nature of these
before he advanced.
It was certain that the enemy would on their side have sent out scouts
to ascertain the movements of the royal army, and the party proceeded
with the greatest care. They marched in the usual fashion--in Indian
file; the Seneca chief led the way, followed by one of his braves; then
came Peter, Harold, and Jake; the other Senecas marched in the rear.
When they came within a few miles of the fort their progress was marked
with profound caution. Not a word was spoken, their tread was noiseless,
and the greatest pains were taken to avoid stepping on a twig or dried
stick. The three scouts when they left St. John's had abandoned their
boots and had taken to Indian moccasins. Several times slight murmurs
were heard in the forest, and once a party of four American frontiersmen
were seen in the wood. The party halted and crouched in the bushes. The
Senecas turned toward Peter as if asking if an attack should be made,
but the latter shook his head. A single shot would have been heard far
away in the woods and their further progress would have been arrested.
Their object now was not to fight, but to penetrate close to the
American intrenchments.
When the enemy had passed on the party continued its way. As they neared
the fort the caution observed increased. Several times they halted,
while the Seneca, with one of his braves, crawled forward to see that
all was clear. At last they stood on the edge of a great clearing.
Before them, just within gunshot range, stood the fort of Ticonderoga.
Peter Lambton was well acquainted with it, and beyond the fact that the
space around had been cleared of all trees and the stockades and
earthworks repaired, little change could be seen.
As he was gazing the Indian touched his shoulder and pointed to a high
hill on the opposite side of the narrow straits. This had been cleared
of trees and on the top a strong fort had been erected. Many cannon were
to be seen along its crest, the roofs of huts, and a large number of
men. Halfway up the hill was another battery and a third, still lower
down, to sweep the landing.
"They've been working hard," the hunter said, "and the army'll have a
mighty tough job before it. What do you think of that, Harold?"
"It is a very strong position," Harold said, "and will cost us a
tremendous number of men to take it. The fort cannot be attacked till
that hill has been carried, for its guns completely command all this
clearing."
For some time they stood gazing at the works, standing well back
among the trees, so as to be screened from all observation. At last
Harold said:
"Look at that other hill behind. It is a good bit higher than that which
they have fortified and must be within easy range both of it and the
fort. I don't see any works there--do you?"
Peter and the Seneca chief both gazed long and earnestly at the hill and
agreed that they could see no fortification there.
"It won't do to have any doubt about it," Peter said. "We must go round
and have a look at it."
"We shall have to cross the river," Harold remarked.
"Ay, cross it we must," Peter said. "That hill's got to be inspected."
They withdrew into the wood again and made a circuitous deviation till
they came down upon the river, two miles above Ticonderoga. They could
not reach the water itself, as a road ran along parallel with it and the
forest was cleared away for some distance. A number of men could be seen
going backward and forward on the road.
Having made their observations, the scouts retired again into a thick
part of the forest and waited till nightfall.
"How are we to get across?" Harold asked Peter. "It's a good long swim,
and we could not carry our muskets and ammunition across."
"Easy enough," the scout said. "Didn't you notice down by the road a
pile of planks? I suppose a wagon has broke down there, and the planks
have been turned out and nobody has thought anything more about 'em.
We'll each take a plank, fasten our rifle and ammunition on it, and swim
across; there won't be any difficulty about that. Then, when we've seen
what's on the top of that 'ere hill, we'll tramp round to the other end
of the lake. I heard that the army was to advance half on each side, so
we'll meet 'em coming."
When it was perfectly dark they left their hiding place and crossed the
clearing to the spot where Peter had seen the planks. Each took one of
them and proceeded to the river side. Peter, Harold, and Jake divested
themselves of some of their clothes and fastened these with their rifles
and ammunition to the planks. To the Indians the question of getting wet
was one of entire indifference, and they did not even take off their
hunting shirts. Entering the water the party swam noiselessly across to
the other side, pushing their planks before them. On getting out they
carried the planks for some distance, as their appearance by the water's
edge might excite a suspicion on the part of the Americans that the
works had been reconnoitered.
After hiding the planks in the bushes they made their way to Sugar Hill,
as the eminence was called. The ascent was made with great
circumspection, the Indians going on first. No signs of the enemy were
met with, and at last the party stood on the summit of the hill. It was
entirely unoccupied by the Americans.
"Well, my fine fellows," laughed the scout, "I reckon ye've been doing a
grist of work, and ye might jest as well have been sitting down quietly
smoking yer pipes. What on arth possessed ye to leave this hill
unguarded?"
In point of fact General St. Clair, who commanded the Americans, had
perceived that his position was commanded from this spot. He had only
3000 men under him, and he considered this number too small to hold
Ticonderoga, Mount Independence, and Sugar Hill. The two former posts
could afford no assistance to the garrison of a fort placed on Sugar
Hill, and that place must therefore fall if attacked by the British. On
the other hand, he hoped that, should the attention of the English not
be called to the importance of the position by the erection of works
upon it, it might be overlooked, and that General Burgoyne on his
arrival might at once attack the position which he had prepared with so
much care.
Having ascertained that the hill was unoccupied, Peter proposed at once
to continue the march. Harold suggested to him that it would be better
to wait until morning, as from their lofty position they would be able
to overlook the whole of the enemy's lines of defense and might obtain
information of vital importance to the general. Peter saw the advantage
of the suggestion. Two of the Indians were placed on watch, and the rest
of the party lay down to sleep. At daybreak they saw that the delay had
been fully justified, for they had now a view of the water which
separated Ticonderoga from Mount Independence, and perceived that the
Americans had made a strong bridge of communication between these posts.
Twenty-two piers had been sunk at equal distances, and between them
boats were placed, fastened with chains to the piers. A strong bridge of
planks connected the whole. On the Lake Champlain side of the bridge a
boom, composed of great trees fastened together with double chains, had
been placed. Thus, not only had communication been established across
the stream, but an effectual barrier erected to the passage of the
fleet. Fully satisfied with the result of their investigations, the
party set out on their return.