LORD HOWE AND HIS DEATH--THE LOYALTY OF JOHN STARK
Early in the spring, Lord Loudon was recalled, and General Abercrombie
was appointed in his stead, with young Lord Howe as second in command.
Abercrombie was the kind of English general to which we were
accustomed,--a dull, heavy man, who owed his position to influence at
court. We put little faith in him. But Lord Howe gained our hearts and
confidence at once.
It was well understood in the army that Lord Howe was sent over to
furnish the brains and ability in this campaign, and was to direct the
fighting, and that General Abercrombie was to reap the benefit.
Lord Howe spent much of his time among the Rangers, and went out with us
on scouting-parties. He showed none of the arrogance and conceit so
common to British officers, and appeared to be an apt, quick scholar.
[Sidenote: LORD HOWE]
Rogers and Stark were delighted with his military instincts and the keen
intelligence with which he made himself master of what was to him a new
method of fighting.
When he lived with us, he was as one of us. He washed his own linen at
the brook, and ate our coarse fare with his jack-knife. He cut off the
skirts of his coat, and had his men do the same, that they might not be
impeded by them in the woods. He made them wear leggings and brown the
barrels of their guns, that they should not glitter in the sun, and to
prevent them from rusting. He had his men cut their hair short, and each
of them carried thirty pounds of meal in his knapsack, so that they
could go on a long expedition without a wagon-train.
He had great talents as a soldier. Any one who talked with him felt it
at once. And with it all he was simple in his habits and manners,
living like one of us, and making his officers lead the same plain life.
The days he spent with the Rangers were days of pride and pleasure to
us, for we not only saw his greatness as a soldier, but the bearing of
the man was so modest, so genial and lovable, that every one was greatly
attached to him. He liked best of all to talk with John Stark, and to
get him to tell of Indians and their habits and ways of fighting. And
here he showed his keen insight. For Captain Stark was the best man in
the Rangers. Rogers got the credit for what the Rangers did. But much of
their success was due to Stark. He was a man whose judgment was sure,
who did not make mistakes.
After our defeat in March, Rogers went to Albany to see about getting
recruits. While there he was given his commission as Major of the Corps
of Rangers.
On the way from Concord to Fort Edward he became well acquainted with
Edmund, whose business-like ways and attention to details pleased Rogers
so much that when he was made major he appointed Edmund adjutant of the
Rangers--a very responsible position for so young a man. It was his duty
to record the paroles and countersigns, the various orders for the next
day, and to see that they were attended to.
[Sidenote: THE PROVINCIAL LEVIES]
In May the new provincial troops began to come in. We had been long
enough in the army to become disciplined, though not in the manner that
the regulars were, and had grown accustomed to seeing regiments dressed
in uniforms; so that when the new levies came in, we felt some of the
amusement of the regulars at their green and awkward ways. Gathered
together from country villages, they came in the clothes they wore at
home, and put me in mind of Falstaff's soldiers. Some wore long coats,
some short coats, and some no coats at all. All the colours of the
rainbow were there. Some wore their hair cropped close. Others had their
hair done up in cues, and every man in authority wore a wig. All kinds
of wigs could be seen,--little brown wigs and great, full-bottomed wigs
hanging down over their shoulders.
But they were a sturdy set. When you looked at each of them, you saw a
man used to hard work from boyhood, more or less accustomed to the
woods, and almost without exception a fair shot. Handsome is as handsome
does. As the war went on, the regulars found that the rabble were as
brave as themselves, more expert in wood-fighting, and far better shots.
But the ridicule that was heaped upon them at first caused a bitter
feeling which lasted and prepared the way for the Revolution.
Toward the end of May, it was evident that the army would soon make an
advance on the enemy; for every one was called in, and no furloughs were
granted.
We had by this time a great army of nine thousand provincial troops, six
thousand regulars, and six hundred Rangers. Many of the regulars were
old veterans from European battlefields; and we had not the least doubt
but that, when we started, we should go straight through to Canada.
Montcalm's little army of thirty-five hundred men at Ticonderoga could
offer but slight resistance.
[Sidenote: SCOUTING-PARTIES]
Several scouting-parties from the Rangers were sent out to inspect
Ticonderoga, and capture prisoners in order to get information from
them.
Stark went through the woods to the west of Ticonderoga and brought back
six prisoners. Captain Jacobs, with some of his Indians, went down the
east side of Lake Champlain. He had a fight with some of the French, and
returned with ten prisoners and seven scalps. Rogers, with our party,
went through the woods till we were opposite Crown Point, where we had a
little fight and killed one Frenchman, and captured three, whom we
brought back.
At the end of May, Lord Howe sent fifty of us under Rogers to inspect
the landing-place at the lower end of Lake George, and to make a map of
it. We were also to report upon the paths to Ticonderoga, and to find
out the number of the French army.
We went down the lake in boats, and while some of the officers were
making plans, the rest of us proceeded toward Ticonderoga. We marched,
as usual, in single file, along the path we had taken in our trip in
March.
Amos said, "I have no p-pleasant recollection of this place, and feel as
if we should have some more b-bad luck."
Rogers halted us and went forward with three men, to take a look at the
fort. As he was returning, a large party of the enemy set upon us, and
we had a lively fight.
Captain Jacob ran off with his Indians, crying out to us: "Come on!
Follow me! No good stay here. Heap French! Heap Injun!"
"That's Injun all over," said Martin. "If he gets the upper hand, he'll
fight like fury. But if the odds are against him, he'll run like a
deer."
We got behind trees and logs, and kept the enemy back. Rogers came round
through the woods; and as the attention of the enemy was given entirely
to us, he and his party made a rush and joined us.
The enemy had us pretty well surrounded, but we broke through them,
losing eight men. We rallied at our boats, and returned home.
[Sidenote: THE ARMY EMBARKS FOR TICONDEROGA]
By the 28th of June the whole army under General Abercrombie had arrived
at Lake George. A great deal of time seemed to be wasted. But on the 5th
of July the whole army of nearly sixteen thousand men embarked in boats
and batteaux for Ticonderoga. The advanced guard was up and out on the
lake before daylight,--the light infantry on the right, our Rangers on
the left, and Colonel Bradstreet's batteaux men in the centre.
Then came the main body of the army,--the provincials, dressed in blue
with red facings, on the right and left wings. In the centre were the
regulars, in scarlet with white facings, and the 42d Regiment, the Black
Watch, in kilts and tartans. Behind them came the rear guard of
provincials.
The whole army was on the lake as the sun rose, breaking up the mist on
the hillsides. The lake was calm and without a ripple.
It was a sight I shall never forget,--the beautiful lake covered by over
a thousand boats, the various coloured uniforms, the gun-barrels
glittering in the sun, the flags of the different regiments, the
bagpipes and bands playing, the pretty islands, the green hills and
mountains, the mist rising and floating away.
The army rowed till twilight, when we reached Sabbath Day Point, where
we rested and ate some food; at ten we started again, and at daybreak
the Rangers reached the lower part of the lake. We landed, and received
orders from Captain Abercrombie, one of the general's aides-de-camp, to
gain the top of a mountain a mile from the landing, and from there to
march east to the river that flows into the falls, and get possession of
some rising ground there. When we had done this, we were to wait for the
army to come up. In an hour's time we got to the rising ground, and
found quite a large body of French in front of us. We waited for further
orders.
At noon some provincial troops under Colonels Fitch and Lyman came up.
And while Rogers was talking to them we heard a sharp firing in the rear
of these troops.
Rogers led us round to the left, and we met a force of the enemy who
were fighting our men, and had thrown them into confusion. We engaged
with them, and killed many. Lord Howe, with Major Israel Putnam and his
men, came up on the other side of the French, who were thus surrounded,
and almost all of them were killed or captured.
[Sidenote: LORD HOWE'S DEATH]
It was a party of some four hundred Canadians, who had been sent out to
watch us, and though they were good woodsmen, they had lost their way in
the dense forest, and had wandered into the middle of our army.
There seemed to be a great commotion among Lord Howe's men. I ran over
to them with Captain Stark; and there we saw Lord Howe stretched out on
the ground--dead.
John Stark is not a man easily stirred. I remember at the battle of
Bunker's Hill, when a man rushed up to him, and told him that his son
was killed,--which was a mistake, for he is alive at this day,--John
turned to the man and said: "Back to your post. This is no time to think
of our private affairs."
But when he saw that brilliant soldier, that man whose virtues,
accomplishments, and genial, lovable nature showed us what a man might
be, lying there, dead, he knelt down beside him, and the tears ran down
his cheeks. All of us were overcome with grief, we loved the man so
much.
Stark took his hand, bent over, and kissed his forehead.
"Good-by, my dear friend. God bless you and have mercy on us." He rose,
and I walked away with him.
"Comee, the life is departed out of Israel. I have no further faith in
this expedition. Our sun is set."
We mourned his loss a long time, and our Province raised the money for a
great monument, which was erected to him in Westminster Abbey, in memory
of "the affection her officers and soldiers bore to his command."
After Lord Howe was killed, everything fell into disorder. The army
became all mixed up in the thick woods, and was sent back to the
landing-place.