Siege of Fort Schuyler continued--Forced letter from prisoners to Col.
Gansevoort--St. Leger summons the garrison to surrender--Refusal of
Gansevoort--Appeal of Sir John Johnson to the people of Tryon
County--Secret expedition of Colonel Willett and Major
Stockwell--Schuyler orders Arnold to the relief of Gansevoort--Willett
proceeds to Albany--Arrest of Walter Butler, and others, at German
Flats--Tried and convicted as a spy--Reprieved--Sent to
Albany--Escapes--Arnold's proclamation--Advance of the
besiegers--Uneasiness of the garrison--Sudden flight of St. Leger and
his forces--Stratagem of Arnold--Story of Hon-Yost Schuyler--Merriment
and mischief of the Indians--Arrival of Arnold at the Fort--The spoils
of victory--Public estimation of Gansevoort's services--Address to his
soldiers--His promotion--Address of his officers.
Though in fact defeated at Oriskany, the enemy claimed, as we have seen,
a victory. In one sense, it is true, the achievement was theirs. They had
prevented the advance of the Americans to the succor of the fort; and on
their retreat the Americans were unable to pursue. Still the field was
won, and retained by them. [FN-1] Availing himself of his questionable
success, however, and well knowing that days must probably elapse before
the garrison could become apprised of the whole circumstances of the
engagement and its issue, St. Leger lost no time in endeavoring, by false
representations, to press the besieged to a capitulation. On the same
night of the battle, therefore, at 9 o'clock, Colonel Bellinger and Major
Frey, being in St. Leger's camp as prisoners, were compelled to address
a note to Colonel Gansevoort, greatly exaggerating the disasters of the
day, and strongly urging a surrender. In this letter they spoke of the
defeat at Oriskany, of the impossibility of receiving any farther succor
from below--of the formidable force of St. Leger, together with his train
of artillery--announced the probable fact that Burgoyne and his army were
then before Albany, and stated that longer resistance would only result
in "inevitable ruin and destruction." [FN-2] The letter was transmitted to
Colonel Gansevoort by St. Leger's Adjutant-general, Colonel Butler, who,
in delivering it, made a verbal demand of surrender. Colonel Gansevoort
replied that he would give no answer to a verbal summons, unless delivered
by Colonel St. Leger himself, but at the mouth of his cannon.
* * * * *
[FN-1] It was alleged, in some of the contemporaneous accounts, that the
forces engaged with Herkimer were ordered back in consequence of the
sortie of Willett. That circumstance, however, does not alter the
essential facts of the case. The victory was the same.
[FN-2] See Appendix, No. V. for a copy of this letter, written while
under duress.
On the following day a white flag approached the garrison, with a request
that Colonel Butler, and two other officers, might be admitted into the
fort as bearers of a message to the commanding officer. Permission being
granted, those officers were conducted blind-folded into the fort, and
received by Colonel Gansevoort in his dining-room. The windows of the room
were shut, and candles lighted; a table was also spread, upon which were
placed some slight refreshments. Colonels Willett and Mellen were present
at the interview, together with as many of the American officers as could
be accommodated in the quarters of their commander. After the officers
were seated and the wine had been passed around, Major Ancrom, one of the
messengers, addressed Colonel Gansevoort in substance as follows:--
"I am directed by Colonel St. Leger, the officer commanding the army now
investing this garrison, to inform the commandant that the Colonel has,
with much difficulty, prevailed on the Indians to agree, that if the
garrison, without farther resistance, shall be delivered up, with the
public stores belonging to it, to the investing army, the officers and
soldiers shall have all their baggage and private property secured to
them. And in order that the garrison may have a sufficient pledge to this
effect, Colonel Butler accompanies me to assure them, that not a hair of
the head of any one of them shall be hurt." (Here turning to Colonel
Butler, he said, "That, I think, was the expression they made use of, was
it not?"--to which the Colonel answered, "Yes.") "I am likewise directed
to remind the commandant, that the defeat of General Herkimer must deprive
the garrison of all hopes of relief, especially as General Burgoyne is now
in Albany; so that, sooner or later, the fort must fall into our hands.
Colonel St. Leger, from an earnest desire to prevent farther bloodshed,
hopes these terms will not be refused; as in this case it will be out of
his power to make them again. It was with great difficulty the Indians
consented to the present arrangement, as it will deprive them of that
plunder which they always calculate upon on similar occasions. Should,
then, the present terms be rejected, it will be out of the power of the
Colonel to restrain the Indians, who are very numerous and much
exasperated, not only from plundering the property, but destroying the
lives, probably, of the greater part of the garrison. Indeed, the Indians
are so exceedingly provoked and mortified by the losses they have
sustained in the late actions, having had several of their favorite chiefs
killed, that they threaten--and the Colonel, if the present arrangements
should not be entered into, will not be able to prevent them from
executing their threats--to march down the country, and destroy the
settlement, with its inhabitants. In this case, not only men, but women
and children, will experience the sad effects of their vengeance. These
considerations, it is ardently hoped, will produce a proper effect, and
induce the commandant, by complying with the terms now offered, to save
himself from future regret, when it will be too late."
This singular oration was of course delivered extemporaneously, as also
was the following reply by Colonel Willett, with the approbation of
Colonel Gansevoort:--
"Do I understand you, Sir? I think you say, that you come from a British
colonel, who is commander of the army that invests this fort; and by your
uniform, you appear to be an officer in the British service. You have
made a long speech on the occasion of your visit, which, stripped of all
its superfluities, amounts to this--that you come from a British colonel,
to the commandant of this garrison, to tell him, that if he does not
deliver up the garrison into the hands of your Colonel, he will send his
Indians to murder our women and children. You will please to reflect, sir,
that their blood will be on your head, not on ours. We are doing our duty;
this garrison is committed to our charge, and we will take care of it.
After you get out of it, you may turn round and look at its outside, but
never expect to come in again, unless you come a prisoner. I consider the
message you have brought, a degrading one for a British officer to send,
and by no means reputable for a British officer to carry. For my own part,
I declare, before I would consent to deliver this garrison to such a
murdering set as your array, by your own account, consists of, I would
suffer my body to be filled with splinters, and set on fire, as you know
has at times been practised, by such hordes of women and children killers
as belong to your army."
Colonel Willett observes in his narrative, whence these facts are drawn,
that in the delivery he looked the British major full in the face; and
that he spoke with emphasis is not doubted. The sentiments contained in
this reply were received with universal applause by the Provincial
officers, who, far from being intimidated by the threats of the
messengers, were at once impressed with the idea that such pressing
efforts to induce a capitulation could only be the effect of doubt, on the
part of the enemy himself, of his ability either to sustain the siege or
carry the works by assault. Before the interview was closed, Major Ancrom
requested that an English surgeon who was with him might be permitted to
visit the British wounded in the garrison, which request was granted.
Major Ancrom also proposed an armistice for three days, which was
likewise agreed to by Colonel Gansevoort--the more readily, probably,
because of his scanty supply of ammunition.
On the 9th of August, Colonel Gansevoort having refused to recognize any
verbal messages from the British commander, Colonel St. Leger transmitted
the substance of Major Ancrom's speech in the form of a letter--protesting
that no indignity was intended by the delivery of such a message--a
message that had been insisted upon categorically by the Indians--and
formally renewing the summons of a surrender--adding, that the Indians
were becoming exceedingly impatient, and if the proposition should be
rejected, the refusal would be attended with very fatal consequences, not
only to the garrison, but to the whole country of the Mohawk river. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] See Appendix, No. VI.
The reply of Colonel Gansevoort was written with soldierly brevity, in
the following words:--
"Col. Gansevoort to Col. St. Leger.
_Fort Schuyler, Aug_. 9_th,_ 1777.
"Sir,
"Your letter of this day's date I have received, in answer to which I say,
that it is my determined resolution, with the forces under my command, to
defend this fort to the last extremity, in behalf of the United American
States, who have placed me here to defend it against all their enemies.
"I have the honor to be, Sir,
Your most ob't. humble serv't.,
Peter Gansevoort,
_Col. commanding Fort Schuyler._
"_Gen. Barry St. Leger._" [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] Copied, by the author, from the original draft, found among the
Gansevoort papers.
Failing in these attempts to induce a surrender, the besiegers, four days
afterward, had recourse to another expedient. It was the issuing of an
appeal to the inhabitants of Tryon County, signed by Sir John Johnson,
Colonel Claus, and Colonel John Butler, similar in its tenor to the verbal
and written messages of St. Leger to Colonel Gansevoort. The appeal
commenced with strong protestations of a desire for the restoration of
peace, with a promise of pardon, and oblivion for the past,
notwithstanding the many and great injuries the signers had received, upon
a proper submission by the people. They, too, were threatened with the
ravages of a victorious army, and the resentment of the Indians for the
losses they had sustained at Oriskany, in the event of rejecting this
appeal. In regard to the garrison of Fort Schuyler, its longer resistance
was pronounced "mulish obstinacy," and the people of the Mohawk Valley
were urged to send up a deputation of their principal men, to oblige the
garrison to do at once what they must be forced to do soon--surrender. If
they did not surrender, the threat was again repeated that every soul
would be put to death by the Indians. [FN] Messengers were despatched with
this document into Tryon County, but to no good purpose; while, as will
soon appear, some of those messengers were involved in serious difficulty
by their errand.
* * * * *
[FN] See Appendix, No. VII. I have found this document only in _The
Remembrancer_ for 1777, page 451.
But if Colonel Willett's success in the brilliant execution of the sortie
on the 6th, entitled him, as it unquestionably did, to the commendations
he received, a still more perilous enterprise, undertaken by him a few
days afterward, was thought, alike by friends and foes, to entitle him to
still greater applause. The artillery of the besiegers was not
sufficiently heavy to make any impression upon the works, and there was
every probability that the garrison might hold out until succors should
be obtained, could their situation be made known. Colonel Willett was not
only well acquainted, but exceedingly popular, in Tryon County; and it was
supposed that, should he show himself personally among the militia of that
district, notwithstanding the extent of their suffering in the late
expedition, he might yet rally a force sufficient to raise the siege. The
bold project was therefore conceived by him of passing by night, in
company with another officer, through the enemy's works, and, regardless
of the danger from the prowling savages, making his way through some
forty or fifty miles of sunken morasses and pathless woods, in order to
raise the County and bring relief. [FN-1] Selecting Major Stockwell for
his companion. Colonel Willett undertook the expedition on the 10th, and
left the fort at ten o'clock that night, each armed with nothing but a
spear, and provided only with a small supply of crackers and cheese, a
small canteen of spirits, and in all other respects unincumbered, even by
a blanket. Having escaped from the sally-port, they crept upon their
hands and knees along the edge of a morass to the river, which they
crossed by crawling over upon a log, and succeeded in getting off
unperceived by the sentinels of the enemy, although passing very near to
them. Their first advance was into a deep-tangled forest in which,
enveloped in thick darkness, they lost their direction, and found it
impossible to proceed. While in this state of uncertainty, the barking of
a dog added little to their comfort, inasmuch as it apprized them that
they were not far from a new Indian encampment, formed subsequent to the
sortie a few days before. They were therefore compelled to stand perfectly
still for several hours, and until the morning star appeared to guide
their way. Striking first in a Northern direction for several miles, and
then Eastwardly, they traced a zig-zag course, occasionally adopting the
Indian method of concealing their trail by walking in the channels of
streams, and by stepping on stones along the river's edge. In this way
they traveled the whole of the ensuing day without making a single halt.
On the approach of night they dared not to strike a light, but lay down
to sleep, interlocked in each other's arms. Pursuing their journey on the
12th, their little stock of provisions being exhausted, they fed upon
raspberries and blackberries, of which they found an abundance in an
opening occasioned by a windfall. Thus refreshed, they pushed forward with
renewed vigor and at an accelerated pace, and arrived at Fort Dayton at
three o'clock in the afternoon. [FN-2]
* * * * *
[FN-1] British Universal Magazine.
[FN-2] "So successful was Colonel Willett in all his movements, that the
Indians, believing him to be possessed of supernatural power, gave to
him the name of the Devil."--_Campbell._
The Colonel and his friend received a hearty welcome from Colonel Weston,
whose regiment was then in charge of Fort Dayton, and from whom he
obtained the agreeable intelligence that, on learning the news of General
Herkimer's disaster. General Schuyler had ordered Generals Arnold and
Larned, with the Massachusetts brigade, to march to the relief of Colonel
Gansevoort. Colonel Willett thereupon took horse immediately for Albany
to meet General Arnold, who was to command the expedition; and in four
days afterward accompanied Arnold back to Fort Dayton, where the troops
were assembling. The first New-York regiment had been added to the brigade
of General Larned, who was yet in the rear, bringing up the heavy baggage
and stores.
During Willett's brief absence to Albany, an incident occurred in the
neighborhood of Fort Dayton, showing that if he had been active in his
attempts to bring succors to the fort, the enemy, on the other hand, had
not been idle. About two miles above Fort Dayton resided a Mr. Shoemaker,
a disaffected gentleman, who had been in his Majesty's commission of the
peace. Having heard of a clandestine meeting of Tories at the house of
that gentleman, Colonel Weston despatched a detachment of troops thither,
which came upon the assemblage by surprise, and took them all prisoners.
Among them was Lieutenant Walter N. Butler, from St. Leger's army, who,
with fourteen white soldiers and the same number of Indians, [FN-1] had
visited the German Flats secretly, with the appeal of Sir John Johnson,
Claus, and the elder Butler, referred to in a preceding page, for the
purpose of persuading the timid and disaffected inhabitants to abandon
the Provincial cause, and enroll themselves with the King's army before
Fort Schuyler. Butler was in the midst of his harangue to the meeting at
the moment of the unwelcome surprise. General Arnold ordered a
court-martial, and caused him to be tried as a spy. [FN-2] Of this
tribunal Colonel Willett officiated as Judge Advocate. The Lieutenant was
convicted, and received sentence of death; but at the intercession of a
number of officers, who had known him while a student at law in Albany,
his life was spared by a reprieve. He was, however, removed to Albany and
closely imprisoned until the Spring of the following year. When General
the Marquis de Lafayette assumed the command of the Northern department,
the friends of the Butler family, in consequence, as it was alleged, of
his ill-health, interceded for a mitigated form of imprisonment. He was
then removed to a private house and kept under guard, but shortly
afterward effected his escape--owing, it was reported, to treachery--and
was subsequently distinguished as one of the severest scourges of the
beautiful valley which had given him birth.
* * * * *
[FN-1] The Remembrancer for 1777, page 395.
[FN-2] The Remembrancer states that Butler came "on a truce to the
inhabitants of the County." But if he did bear a flag, it could be no
protection for such a mission--as it was not.
The address of Johnson, Claus, and Butler, having been thus introduced
among the people of the County, Arnold issued a proclamation from Fort
Dayton for the purpose of counteracting its influence. It was couched in
severe language in regard to St. Leger and his heterogeneous
army--denounced those of the people who might be seduced by his arts to
enroll themselves under the banner of the king--but promised pardon to
all, whether Americans, Savages, Germans, or Britons, who might return to
their duty to the States. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] See Appendix, No. VIII.
Meantime Colonel St. Leger was pushing his operations before the fort with
considerable vigor. Every effort to intimidate the garrison having failed,
and the commander exhibiting an unsubmitting spirit, St. Leger "commenced
approaching by sap, and had formed two parallels, the second of which
brought him near the edge of the glacis; but the fire of musketry from the
covert way rendered his farther progress very difficult." [FN] The fire
of his ordnance producing no effect, his only means of annoying the
garrison was by throwing shells; but these proved of so little consequence
as to afford a discouraging prospect of success. Having advanced, however,
within one hundred and fifty yards, it is not to be denied that some
uneasiness began to be manifested within the garrison. Ignorant of the
fate of Colonel Willett and Major Stockwell, and entirely cut off from
all communication from without, their provisions daily exhausting, and
having no certain prospect of relief, some of the officers commenced
speaking in whispers of the expediency of saving the garrison from a
re-enactment of the Fort William Henry tragedy, by acceding to St. Leger's
proffered terms of capitulation. Not so the commander. After weighing well
the circumstances of the case, he came to the deliberate resolve, in the
event of obtaining no succor from without, when his provisions were about
exhausted, to make a sally at night, and cut his way through the
encampment of the besiegers, or perish in the attempt.
* * * * *
[FN] Willett's Narrative.
Fortunately, the necessity of executing the bold determination did not
arrive. The siege had continued until the 22d of August, when, suddenly,
without any cause within the knowledge of the garrison, the besiegers
broke up their encampment, and retired in such haste and confusion as to
leave their tents, together with a great part of their artillery, camp
equipage, and baggage behind. What was the motive for this unexpected
flight of a vaunting and all but victorious foe, was a problem they were
unable to solve within the garrison, although their joy was not, on that
account, the less at their deliverance. It subsequently appeared that the
panic which produced this welcome and unexpected change in the situation
of the garrison, was caused by a _ruse-de-guerre,_ practised upon the
forces of St. Leger by General Arnold, who had been waiting at Fort Dayton
several days for the arrival of reinforcements and supplies. [FN-1] But,
having heard that St. Leger had made his approaches to within a short
distance of the fort, Arnold, on the 22d of August, determined at all
events to push forward and hazard a battle, rather than see the garrison
fall a sacrifice. [FN-2] With this view, on the morning of the 23d, he
resumed his march for Fort Schuyler, and had proceeded ten miles of the
distance from Fort Dayton when he was met by an express from Colonel
Gansevoort, with the gratifying intelligence that the siege had been
raised. The cause of this sudden movement was yet as great a mystery to
the Colonel and his garrison, as was the flight of the host of Ben-hadad
from before Samaria to the king of Israel, when the Syrian monarch heard
the supernatural sound of chariots, and the noise of horses, in the days
of Elisha the prophet. Arnold was, of course, less in the dark. The
circumstances were these:--
* * * * *
[FN-1] "I wrote you, the 21st instant, from German Flats, that from the
best intelligence I could procure of the enemy's strength, it was much
superior to ours; at the same time I inclosed you a copy of the
resolutions of a council of war, and requested you to send me a
reinforcement of one thousand light troops."--_Letter of Arnold to
General Gates, Aug,_ 23, 1777.--"I have been retarded by the badness of
the roads, waiting for some baggage and ammunition, and for the militia,
who did not turn out with that spirit which I expected. They are now
joining me in great numbers. A few days will relieve you."--_MS. letter
from Arnold to Colonel Gansevoort, Aug,_ 22, 1777.
[FN-2] Letter above cited from Arnold to General Gates. Vide
Remembrancer, 1777, page 444.
Among the party of Tories and Indians captured at Shoemaker's under
Lieutenant Butler, was a singular being named Hon-Yost Schuyler. His place
of residence was near the Little Falls, where his mother and a brother
named Nicholas, were then residing. Hon-Yost Schuyler was one of the
coarsest and most ignorant men in the valley, appearing scarce half
removed from idiocy; and yet there was no small share of shrewdness in his
character. Living upon the extreme border of civilization, his
associations had been more with the Indians than the whites; and
tradition avers that they regarded him with that mysterious reverence and
awe with which they are inspired by fools and lunatics. Thus situated and
thus constituted, Hon-Yost had partially attached himself to the Royalist
cause, though probably, like the Cow-boys of West Chester, he really cared
little which party he served or plundered; and had he been the captor of
the unfortunate Andre, would have balanced probabilities as to the best
way of turning the prize to account. Be these things, however, as they
may, Hon-Yost was captured, with Walter Butler, and, like him, was tried
for his life, adjudged guilty, and condemned to death. His mother and
brother, hearing of his situation, hastened to Fort Dayton, and implored
General Arnold to spare his life. The old woman strongly resembled the
gypsy in her character, and the eloquence and pathos with which she
pleaded for the life of her son, were long remembered in the unwritten
history of the Mohawk Valley. Arnold was for a time inexorable, and the
woman became almost frantic with grief and passion on account of her
wayward son. Nicholas, likewise, exerted himself to the utmost in behalf
of his brother. At length General Arnold proposed terms upon which his
life should be spared. The conditions were, that Hon-Yost should hasten to
Fort Schuyler, and so alarm the camp of St. Leger as to induce him to
raise the siege and fly. The convict-traitor gladly accepted the
proposition, and his mother offered herself as a hostage for the faithful
performance of his commission. Arnold, however, declined receiving the
woman as a hostage, preferring and insisting that Nicholas should be
retained for that purpose. To this the latter readily assented, declaring
that he was perfectly willing to pledge his life that Hon-Yost would
fulfill his engagements to the utmost. Nicholas was, therefore, placed in
confinement, while Hon-Yost departed for the camp of Colonel St.
Leger--having made an arrangement with one of the Oneida Indians, friendly
to the Americans, to aid him in the enterprise. Before his departure
several shots were fired through Schuyler's clothes, that he might appear
to have had a narrow escape; and the Oneida Indian, by taking a circuitous
route to Fort Schuyler, was to fall into the enemy's camp from another
direction, and aid Hon-Yost in creating the panic desired. The emissary
first presented himself among the Indians, who were in a very suitable
state of mind to be wrought upon by exactly such a personage. They had
been moody and dissatisfied ever since the battle of Oriskany--neither the
success nor the plunder promised them had been won, and they had
previously received some vague and indefinite intelligence respecting the
approach of Arnold. They had likewise just been holding a pow-wow, or were
actually convened in one, for the purpose of consulting the Manitto
touching the dubious enterprise in which they were engaged, when Hon-Yost
arrived. Knowing their character well, he communicated his intelligence to
them in the most mysterious and imposing manner. Pointing to his riddled
garments, he proved to them how narrow had been his escape from the
approaching army of the rebels. When asked the number of the troops that
Arnold was leading against them, he shook his head mysteriously, and
pointed upward to the leaves of the trees. The reports spread rapidly
through the camps, and reaching the ears of the commander, Hon-Yost was
sent for to the tent of St. Leger himself. Here he was interrogated, and
gave information that General Arnold, with two thousand men, was so near
that he would be upon them within twenty-four hours. He gave St. Leger a
pitiable narrative of his captivity, trial, and condemnation to the
gallows. It was while on his way to execution, as he alleged, that,
finding himself not very closely guarded, he took an opportunity to effect
his escape--thinking, at the worst, that he could only die, and it would
be as well to be shot as hanged. A shower of bullets had indeed been let
fly at him, but fortunately had only wounded his clothes, as the General
might see. [FN-1] Meantime the Oneida messenger arrived with a belt, and
confirmed to the Indians all that Schuyler had said; adding, that the
Americans had no desire to injure the Indians, and were intent only upon
attacking the British troops and rangers. While making his way to the camp
of the besiegers, the ingenious Oneida had fallen in with some two or
three straggling Indians of his acquaintance, to whom he communicated his
business, and whose assistance in furthering the design he engaged. These
sagacious fellows dropped into the Indian camp at different points, and
threw out alarming suggestions--shaking their heads mysteriously, and
insinuating that a bird had brought them intelligence of great
moment. [FN-2] They spoke of warriors in great numbers advancing rapidly
upon them, and used every indirect method of infusing a panic into the
minds of the listeners who gathered around them. The Indians presently
began to give signs of decamping, and St. Leger assayed in vain to
reassure them. He convened a council of their chiefs, hoping that by the
influence of Sir John Johnson, and Colonels Claus and Butler, he should
still be able to retain them. Other reports, of a yet more terrifying
tendency, getting afloat, not only among the Indians but in the other
camp, the former declared that "the pow-wow said they must go;" and a
portion of them took their departure before the council broke up. The
result was a general and precipitate flight. It has been stated, that in
the commencement of the retreat the Indians made themselves merry at the
expense of their white allies, by raising a shout that the Americans were
upon them, and then laughing at the groundless terror thus created. [FN-3]
According to the account derived by Gordon from the Rev. Mr. Kirkland, an
altercation took place between Colonel St. Leger and Sir John Johnson, the
former reproaching the latter with the defection of the Indians, while the
Baronet charged his commander with but an indifferent prosecution of the
siege. It was in the gray of twilight, when a couple of sachems, standing
upon a little eminence not far in the rear, and overhearing the
interchange of sharp words between them, put an end to the unpleasant
colloquy by raising the shout--"_they are coming!--they are coming!"_
Both St. Leger and Sir John recommenced their retreat with all possible
expedition upon hearing such an alarm. Their troops were equally nimble
of foot on the occasion, throwing away their knapsacks and arms, and
disencumbering themselves of every hindrance to the quick-step; while the
Indians, enjoying the panic and confusion, repeated the joke by the way
until they arrived at the Oneida Lake. It is believed, however, that it
was not the Americans alone of whom St. Leger began to stand in fear,
being quite as apprehensive of danger from his own dusky allies as he was
of the approaching army of Arnold. There is British authority for stating
that the Indians actually plundered several of the boats belonging to
their own army; robbing the officers of whatsoever they liked. Within a
few miles of the camp, they first stripped off the arms, and afterward
murdered, with their own bayonets, all those British, German, and
American soldiers who were separated from the main body. [FN-4] Thus were
the threats of savage vengeance sent by Colonel St. Leger to the garrison,
in some degree wreaked upon his own army. Hon-Yost Schuyler accompanied
the flying host to the estuary of Wood Creek, where he deserted, threading
his way back to Fort Schuyler the same evening--imparting to Colonel
Gansevoort his first information of the advance of Arnold. [FN-5] From
Fort Schuyler, Hon-Yost proceeded back to the German Flats. On presenting
himself at Fort Dayton, his brother was discharged, to the inexpressible
joy of his mother and their relatives. But he proved a Tory in grain, and
embraced the first opportunity subsequently presented, which was in
October, of running away to the enemy, with several of his neighbors, and
attaching himself to the forces of Sir John Johnson. [FN-6]
* * * * *
[FN-1] Remembrancer, for 1777--p. 447-448.
[FN-2] Travels of President Dwight, vol. iii. p. 195-197.
[FN-3] Travels of President Dwight, vol. iii. p. 195-197.
[FN-4] British Universal Magazine. Indeed, St. Leger's report of this
disastrous retreat, addressed to General Burgoyne from Oswego, on the
27th of August, corresponds very closely with the American accounts
whence the present narrative has been drawn. He states that the Indians
fell treacherously upon their friends, and became more formidable than
the enemy they had to expect. He leaves no room, however, to suppose that
there was any difficulty between Sir John Johnson and himself--calling
him "his gallant coadjutor," &c. and commending his exertions to induce
the Indians again to meet the enemy, as also those of Colonels Claus and
Butler.
[FN-5] Letter of Colonel Gansevoort to General Arnold.
[FN-6] After the close of the contest, Hon-Yost returned to the Mohawk
Valley, and resided there until his death--which event occurred about
twenty years since.
Immediately on the receipt of Colonel Gansevoort's despatch announcing St.
Leger's retreat. General Arnold pushed forward a detachment of nine
hundred men, with directions, if possible, to overtake the fugitives, and
render their flight still more disastrous. On the day following, Arnold
himself arrived at the fort, where he was received with a salute of
artillery and the cheers of the brave garrison. He, of course, found that
Gansevoort had anticipated his design of harassing the rear of the flying
enemy, and had brought in several prisoners, together with large
quantities of spoil. [FN-1] So great was their panic, and such the
precipitancy of their flight, that they left their tents standing, their
provisions, artillery, ammunition, their entire camp equipage, and large
quantities of other articles enhancing the value of the booty. [FN-2]
* * * * *
[FN-1] Letter of Arnold to General Gates, Aug. 24, 1777.
[FN-2] Among other articles was the escritoire of St. Leger himself,
containing his private papers, several of which have been used by the
author in writing this and the preceding chapters.
Thus ended the siege of Fort Schuyler, or Fort Stanwix, as the public have
always preferred calling it. St. Leger hastened with his scattered forces
back to Oswego, and thence to Montreal. From that post he proceeded to
Lake Champlain, passing up the same to Ticonderoga, for the purpose of
joining the army of Burgoyne. Finding that the enemy had evacuated the
country between the fort and Lake Ontario, and that the post could be in
no immediate danger from that direction, Colonel Gansevoort took the
opportunity of visiting his friends at Albany, and at the seat of the
State government, then just organised at Kingston. His reception was most
cordial, as appears not only from contemporaneous accounts, but from the
following modest address to his fellow-soldiers of the garrison, on his
return to resume his command:--
"I should be wanting in justice to you, if I did not give some testimony
of your good conduct during the time you have been in this garrison, and
especially while we were besieged by the enemy. Believe me, that I am
impressed with a proper sense of the behavior by which you have done
essential service to your country, and acquired immortal honor to
yourselves. Nothing can equal the pleasure I have experienced since my
absence, in hearing and receiving the public approbation of our country
for our services, which is, and must be, to every soldier, a full and
ample compensation for the same. Permit me to congratulate you upon the
success of the American arms, both to the Southward and Northward. Every
day terminates with victory to America; and I make not the least doubt,
but in this campaign we shall effectually establish the Independence of
the United States, and thereby secure to ourselves the rights and
liberties for which we have so nobly stood forth." [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] Copied by the author from the original manuscript. It was filed away
among the Colonel's papers, with the following inscription:--"A laconic
address to my fellow officers and soldiers after our success at Fort
Stanwix."
As an evidence of the value placed upon the services of the Colonel in the
defence of Fort Schuyler, he was shortly afterward promoted in the State
line to the rank of Brigadier General, while his gallantry was farther
rewarded by a Colonel's commission from Congress in the army of the United
States. [FN-1] On leaving his regiment, its officers presented him with an
affectionate letter of congratulation on his promotion, mingled with an
expression of their regret at the loss to the regiment of "so worthy a
patron." To which the Colonel returned an appropriate letter of
thanks. [FN-2] The people of Tryon County were of course rejoiced, that
the blow, directed, as the enemy supposed, with unerring certainty against
them, had been averted. They had suffered severely in the campaign; but
there were enough of her sons yet left to swell the ranks of General
Gates not a little; and they pressed ardently to join his standard,
although circumstances did not then require them long to remain in the
field.
* * * * *
[FN-1] There seems to have been something peculiar and special in this
commission. In a letter which Colonel Gansevoort wrote jointly to William
Duer and Gouverneur Morris, a copy of which is preserved among his
papers, he observes:--"Congress have done me the honor of appointing me
Colonel Commandant of Fort Schuyler. I should esteem it as a favor if
you would inform me whether I am to receive any pay for that commission,
other than as Colonel of the third regiment of New-Yorkers; and if not,
I should be glad if you would endeavor to get something allowed me, as
my present pay will not reimburse my table liquors, which you may well
conceive to be something considerable as commanding officer. I am not
solicitous to make money by my commission; but I could wish not to sink
by it, as I am obliged to do now. The commission which Congress has sent
me as _commandant of Fort Schuyler,_ subjects me as much to the command
of my superior officers, as any former one. If that was the intention of
Congress, the appointment is nugatory. If not, I wish Congress to alter
the commission."
[FN-2] The following is a copy of the address referred to in the
text:--"Honored Sir: From a just sense of that conduct which has hitherto
been so conspicuously shown to advance the third New-York regiment to
honor and public notice, we congratulate you that those characteristics
which so eminently point out the gentleman and soldier, have by your
personal bravery been deservedly noticed by our bleeding country.
Although we rejoice at your promotion, yet we cannot but regret the loss
of so worthy a patron. That the prosperity which has crowned your conduct
with victory may still be continued, is the sincere wish and prayer of,
honored Sir, your most obedient and very humble servants." It was signed
by twenty-six officers. Colonel Gansevoort replied as
follows:--"Gentlemen: Your polite address on my promotion merits my
sincerest thanks. Gratitude, I hope, shall never be wanting in me to the
third N. Y. regiment, who have, by their firmness and discipline, been
the chief authors of my promotion. Therefore, Gentlemen, please to accept
my warmest wishes for the prosperity of the corps, that all their
virtuous endeavors in the defence of their bleeding country may be
crowned with honor and success, which will always be the earnest prayer
of, Gentlemen, your most obliged, humble servant."
In October following, when Sir Henry Clinton was ascending the Hudson for
the purpose either of succoring, or of co-operating with, Burgoyne,
Colonel Gansevoort was ordered to Albany by General Gates, to take command
of the large force then concentrating at that place. Happily, as will
appear in the succeeding chapters, there was no occasion to test his
prowess in his new and temporary command.