The Assault
If I have not spoken of Peter Sitz since he was rescued by the Minute
Boys, it is because he did not remain in the barracks with us from Cherry
Valley, but messed with some of his acquaintances from German Flats,
therefore we saw very little of him until the garrison was mustered to
repel the threatened attack.
Then I noted that Colonel Gansevoort had entrusted to him the charge of a
certain portion of the wall nearly opposite where the Minute Boys were
stationed, and because he had been placed in command, even though it was
of course only temporary, I judged, and truly, that Jacob's father was
accounted an able assistant in such work as we most likely had before us.
Sergeant Corney remained with the Minute Boys, as was his duty. I believe
of a verity my company would have grumbled almost as loudly as had General
Herkimer's men on the morning before the fight at Oriskany, had the old
soldier taken station elsewhere, and yet it would have been but natural
for him to go into the fight side by side with those of the garrison who
were most experienced in warfare.
As I have said, we were given a post which had in it no inconsiderable
honor, since it was at that point where the most fighting might be
expected, and from where we stood it was possible to have a fairly good
view of the plain immediately surrounding the fort.
Within twenty minutes after the alarm was first given, we could see the
British and Tory soldiers forming in line, while to the southward, below
the bend in the river, the Indians were crossing hurriedly, which last
fact caused me to say to the sergeant:
"I am of the mind that the savages count on attacking the stockaded
portion of the fortification," and the old man replied:
"Ay, lad, an' one might have guessed that without stopping to see from
which direction they were comin'. Thayendanega may prate as much as he
pleases about the bravery of his warriors, but he cannot find a corporal's
guard among the whole crowd that would dare march up to a direct assault
upon earthworks."
"What portion of the force is on duty in the stockade?" Jacob asked, but
none of our company could answer him. It was reasonable to suppose Colonel
Gansevoort had stationed there those of his men who were most experienced
in savage warfare, and we whose duty it was to hold the walls in the
vicinity of the sally-port had no need to trouble our heads concerning
them.
The one thing which puzzled me was as to why St. Leger was making this
attack, since he had begun to approach the fort by parallels. I was eager
to have some expert opinion as to whether the British were apparently
abandoning the slow method of reducing the fortification, or if, having
learned perchance that we were running short of ammunition for the big
guns, they were making an attack in order to provoke us to waste powder
which would be more sadly needed at some later day. Therefore it was that
I asked Sergeant Corney what his belief was regarding the matter.
"It looks to me much as if Colonel Willett an' Lieutenant Stockwell had
been captured."
"How do you figure that out?"
"Because an assault is evidently about to be made. If they are not
prisoners, the enemy has learned that they left the fort."
I was still in darkness as to why he arrived at such conclusion, but found
the reason exceedingly plain when he said:
"If St. Leger knows that a man of Colonel Willett's rank was eager to take
the chances of leaving the fortification to summon assistance, he must
believe the garrison is in sore straits, an' therefore it is that I
believe the mistake was made in allowin' him to go out when there were
plenty of others here willin' to take the chances."
It grieved me sorely to think that the brave officer might be at that
moment in the hands of the savages, or, what amounted to much the same
thing, in the custody of the Britishers, for it was charged openly that,
in order to keep the Indian allies in good temper, prisoners taken by his
Majesty's troops were often delivered over to the red-skinned wolves for
torture.
However, there was but little time left me in which to speculate upon this
painful matter, for even as Sergeant Corney and I spoke together the
British troops, supported by the Johnson Greens, came out into view from
amid the encampment, marching directly toward the fort.
"There is more in this than an ordinary assault," I heard the sergeant
mutter, as he looked to the priming of his musket. "St. Leger would not
expose his men to the slaughter which must follow without good and
sufficient cause. I'm not overly given to praising the Britishers; but we
must admit that he who's in command here is a thoroughly good soldier."
Under ordinary circumstances I would have been conscious of a certain
chill along my spine, and felt my knees trembling beneath me at the
certainty of soon being engaged in a life or death struggle; but after my
experience as a prisoner there was but one thought in my heart, and that
of repaying the enemy for some of the sufferings I had undergone.
The desire for revenge was greater than the fear of death.
Before many moments passed Sergeant Corney hit upon what I firmly believed
was the true answer to my question of why an assault was to be made at
this time.
The Britishers and Tories advanced in good order until facing the
northerly and westerly sides of the fort, within musket-shot range, and
from that distance poured their bullets into us without doing much
execution; but calling for strict attention on our part lest a charge be
made, for the ditch was not so wide or deep but that a body of trained
soldiers could have overcome the obstacle.
Only twice were the guns, which could be trained in that direction,
discharged, and then we inflicted no slight injury upon the foe; but
Colonel Gansevoort soon showed that he was far too prudent a commander to
shoot away all his powder at one time, even though it was possible to
punish the enemy severely.
It looked much as if the king's forces were bent on continuing the battle
with small arms at short range, for they discharged their pieces as
rapidly as it was possible to reload them, making a great din even though
the execution was slight.
Then it was that Sergeant Corney hit upon the meaning of this odd move.
Without a word he leaped down from the wall where he had been stationed,
running swiftly toward the unfinished portion of the fortification, and
was gone no more than three or four minutes when he returned with more
show of excitement than I had ever known him to exhibit.
"Yonder Britishers and renegades are but holding our attention in order to
give Thayendanega's wolves a chance to scale the stockade," he said,
hurriedly. "The force there is all too small. I will take half of the
company, at risk of disobeying orders, to that point, while you go with
all speed and tell the commandant what I have learned."
I understood the situation without further explanation, and, realizing the
necessity for haste, went as rapidly as my legs would carry me to the
northeast bastion, where I had last seen Colonel Gansevoort.
Fortunately for my purpose he was still there, giving directions as to the
firing of the guns, and in a twinkling I had acquainted him with the
situation as described by Sergeant Corney, at the same time explaining
that half the Minute Boys had been withdrawn from near the sally-port.
"The sergeant has done well," the commandant replied. "Ten of your number
should be more than sufficient there, if matters are as they seem. Tell
Sergeant Braun I will join him as soon as possible."
Then I ran with all speed to my company, and, explaining to John Sammons
my purpose, took with me half the number remaining under his command.
With this small force I set off at full speed, and we arrived none too
soon at the place where the most desperate fighting was going on.
At the beginning of the action no more than forty men had been stationed
in the "horn-works," and it seemed to me as if the entire stockaded
portion was surrounded by a dancing horde of howling, maddened Indians,
who, bringing with them tree-trunks or stout branches, were throwing up
such a heap of odds and ends as admitted of their gaining the top of the
logs despite the fire which our people were pouring upon them.
It must be set down here that there were no cannon in this unfinished
portion of the fortification. The so-called rebellion against the king had
broken out before this very necessary adjunct to the strength of the fort
could be completed, and, consequently, it was the weakest portion of our
defence.
When I arrived with my comrades at this point, our people were engaged in
a hand-to-hand struggle with the savages, three score or more having
succeeded in effecting an entrance, and it needed no experienced eye to
say that unless the onrush could be speedily checked, the capture of the
fort might be effected at a time when we had believed St. Leger was simply
making a feint.
Exactly what happened during the next half-hour I am unable to state of my
own knowledge, for I had no sooner entered the horn-works than it became
necessary to put forth every effort in the saving of my own life.
A gigantic savage discharged his musket with seemingly true aim directly
at my head; but, strangely enough, missed the target, and then he came at
me, hatchet in hand, with such fury that for an instant it seemed as if I
was at his mercy.
So excited was I that my bullet, which should have found lodgment in his
heart, went as wild as had his, and then was I forced to use a clubbed
musket for defence.
Had any one asked me on that morning if I believed it possible to
withstand the attack of an Indian, the two of us using the weapons I have
just described, my answer would have been a decided "no," and yet now I
held him in good play, although realizing that each moment I was growing
weaker and he gaining the advantage.
Already were my eyes becoming suffused with blood; my brain was in a
whirl, as I leaped here or there, parrying with the butt of the musket the
blows of his hatchet, and all the time he continued to press me nearer and
nearer toward the wall, where my resistance would have been overcome
within a very short time.
I wondered why it was that Colonel Gansevoort delayed in the coming, and
could see, without looking in any direction save at my foe, that the
number of savages inside the stockade was increasing each moment.
[Illustration: "The painted villain sank down upon the ground"]
Only a brief delay now on the part of the commandant, and they would gain
so great an advantage that such portion of the garrison as could be
withdrawn from the walls where the Britishers were making the pretended
attack, would not be able to dislodge them.
Then suddenly, at the very moment when it seemed impossible I could
struggle any longer, the painted villain sank down upon the ground as if
having received his death-blow, and I dimly heard Sergeant Corney cry,
cheerily:
"That was a narrow squeak, lad, an' we'll hope there'll be many more of
'em before the last one comes! Keep yourself well in hand, for of a verity
our work is cut out for us here!"
Now it was I knew that a shot from the old soldier's musket had put an end
to the combat in which I was most deeply interested, and I strained every
nerve to gather myself together as he had commanded.
By this time I dare venture to say no less than two hundred of the howling
demons had scaled the stockade, and we who were defending this weakest
portion of the fortification were pressed back and back until we stood
massed against that opening which gave entrance to the main fortification.
We were in good position for the enemy to mow us down with bullets, and in
such close formation that only those in the outermost ranks could use
their weapons to advantage.
"It is all over," I said to myself, realizing that within a very few
moments we must be killed or disabled under such a fire as Thayendanega's
scoundrels were pouring upon us. Then from our rear I heard ringing
cheers, the trampling of many feet, and realized that assistance had come
at the most critical moment.
Sixty seconds later we had all been slain like sheep in the shambles!
"Give way, give way, lads in front!" I heard Colonel Gansevoort shout,
and, hardly understanding the words, instinctively we surged either side
of the passage, having hardly done so before a shower of grape-shot came
hurtling between our ranks, dealing death to scores of the
feather-bedecked wretches.
"Stand to your muskets, you Minute Boys!" Sergeant Corney shouted, and the
sound of his voice stiffened my courage wonderfully. "Now is the time to
pay back some of our old scores, and every bullet should cut short a life
from among those who would harry us of the valley."
He had hardly more than ceased speaking when a great uproar could be heard
from the distance, and, without turning my head, I understood that the
British regulars and the Johnson Greens were pressing the attack on the
west and the front, in order to hold our men at the walls that we might
not be able to regain possession of the stockade.
Now the fight was on in good earnest, and a bloodier one or a more
desperate struggle I hope never to see again.
After the single cannon which Colonel Gansevoort had caused to be brought
in was discharged, the reinforcements betook themselves to their muskets,
for our frontiersmen were more accustomed to the use of small arms than
big guns, and the tide surged this way and that, with the fate of the fort
trembling more than once in the balance, until I had before my eyes only
great billows of feathered forms, which rose and fell, advanced and were
forced back, until I was well-nigh bewildered.
Before this portion of the fighting had come to an end, fully half the
garrison was engaged in repelling the attack of Thayendanega's forces, and
during such time the white portion of the enemy's army might have made a
successful assault upon the walls, I verily believe, but for the cowardice
displayed by the Tories.
How long we struggled there hand to hand, stumbling now over the lifeless
forms of our comrades, and again finding our way checked by the dead
bodies of the savages, I cannot say; but certain it is that we finally
drove the last of the hated foe over the stockade, and gave Thayendanega's
boasting braves such a lesson as they would not need to have repeated for
many days.
I was not less wearied with the carnage than those around me. Even
Sergeant Corney, to whom such scenes were not strange, leaned against a
portion of the earthworks as if for support while he dashed the
perspiration from his eyes, and then we knew by the sounds that the battle
was being waged severely over against the sally-port.
Then it was I called for the Minute Boys to follow me, as I ran at the
best pace possible in that direction, for there was our post of duty.
Now Colonel Gansevoort no longer husbanded his store of ammunition
intended for the cannon, and every piece in the northern and eastern
bastions was being worked with the utmost rapidity, sending among the
Tories such a shower of iron as their cowardly hearts could not hold out
against, and, when they turned with cries of fear to flee, the British
regulars, understanding that they were too few in number to effect
anything against us, joined in the retreat.
The assault had come to an end, and we of the garrison were triumphant,
but at such an expense of life that we could not well afford many more
such victories.
During that night we buried our dead,--four and twenty men,--committing
them to the dust under cover of darkness lest the enemy see how much
injury he had inflicted, and, thank God, never a member of my company who
could not answer to the roll-call.
There were forty-one so seriously wounded that it was necessary a certain
force be told off from among the garrison to play the part of nurses, and,
when to the number of disabled is added those who were to care for them,
it can be seen that St. Leger struck us a severe blow, even though he did
not succeed in his purpose.
We buried our comrades in the horn-works, just under the stockade they had
defended so gallantly, and threw over the fence of logs fifty-two of
Thayendanega's wolves who would take no further part in murder and rapine.
It is positive that there must have been many wounded among the Indians,
some so severely that it would have been impossible for them to accompany
their fellows in the retreat; but yet we found none that had any life in
them when we searched among the ghastly evidences of the fight for our own
people.
Peter Sitz declared that he had seen one of the wounded savages
deliberately kill himself with a knife, when it was seen that the assault
had failed, and I doubt not but that several did the same rather than fall
into our hands. Then, also, it is possible, in the heat of battle, and
remembering what these human wolves had done to the women and children of
the settlements which had been attacked, some of our men had sent more
than one of the helpless wretches to the Happy Hunting Grounds. I count
myself as tender-hearted as any other, and yet it would not have troubled
my conscience had I put a few wounded villains out of the world, rather
than let them live to commit yet more murders.
On the morning after the assault a white flag was raised over the fort,
and when St. Leger sent in hot haste a messenger to learn what we wanted,
thinking, most like, we had made up our minds to surrender, he was
informed that Colonel Gansevoort was willing to grant an hour's truce that
the British and Indian dead might be buried.
This the enemy accepted, and I was surprised to see that never one of
Thayendanega's beauties came forward to carry off the slain of his tribe.
I had always heard it said that the redskins would brave any danger rather
than allow a dead Indian to fall into the hands of an enemy; but certain
it is that on this day the rascally Tories dragged away the bodies, with
not even a squaw to help them.
Within the time set we were rid of the ghastly evidence of the battle,
which might have proven a menace to the health of the garrison had the
corpses been allowed to remain unburied while the weather was so warm, and
during all the coming night we could hear distinctly cries of lamentation
from the Indian camp. It was as if every brave, squaw, and papoose howled
his or her loudest in token of sorrow, and three of us within the fort had
a very good idea of what would have been our fate had we not been rescued
before the assault.
"This would have been our last night on earth, had the Minute Boys not
come to the rescue," Peter Sitz said to me, as we stood near the
sally-port for an instant, listening to the wild cries, and, strong man
though he was, I took note of the fact that his face shone pale in the
faint light.
It did not need that I should strain my imagination very much to paint a
mental picture of our condition at that time, if we had remained in the
power of the savages. Of a verity we would have tested their keenest
torture before death came to our relief.
"It would seem as if that company of ours had been formed to some purpose,
an' not all of them were children," I said, minded that he who had laughed
most heartily at what he was pleased to call our "pretensions," should
give credit where it was due.
"If I live to see home again, there is never a man in Cherry Valley who
shall not hear from me what I owe to you lads!"
"Don't forget that I had no part in the rescue, Master Sitz, for surely I
was trussed up as stoutly as either you or Sergeant Corney."
"Yet but for your persistence we would never have thought of enlisting the
boys to aid in our defence, therefore must you take your portion of the
praise, an' more especially since it is said by Sergeant Corney himself
that you have proven yourself a man at every time when danger threatened."
"Sergeant Corney has no idea how my knees shook beneath me when, as he
believed, I was stout-hearted," I replied, with a careless laugh that
served to cloak the feeling of pride which rose in my bosom when he gave
good words to the Minute Boys.
While weeping over our dead, and rejoicing because of having beaten back
the enemy when it seemed as if the assault was about to be successful,
fear regarding the safety of Colonel Willett and Lieutenant Stockwell lay
heavily upon our hearts. It was the belief of nearly all the garrison that
the two officers had been captured, and, if such had been the case, there
could be no question but that they suffered a terrible death at the stake
while the savages were mourning over their loss.
Those among us who felt convinced that the messengers had succeeded in
their attempt, and Colonel Gansevoort was one of the hopeful ones,
insisted that if the Indians had tortured any prisoners to death, we must
have heard yells and shouts of triumph; yet the night wind had brought to
our ears nothing more than the cries of sorrow.
Viewing the situation in the brightest light possible, many days must of a
necessity elapse before we could hope for any good results from their
brave venture, and if in the meantime the enemy pressed us sharply, we
would be in hard straits, more particularly since so much of our
ammunition had been expended in defending the fort against that first
assault.
When a large number of men are confined in a limited space, and exposed to
danger, it needs but the lightest word to make cowards of the more
faint-hearted, as we soon had good proof.
On the day following the truce, after the enemy had buried their dead,
work on the parallels was continued, and it gave me no little satisfaction
to see that the Tories were forced to perform the greater portion of the
labor.
As I have already said, these trenches extended within an hundred and
fifty yards of the fort by this time, and we knew only too well that it
was not within our power to prevent their being advanced as near as the
enemy saw fit to carry them.
After a certain time mining would probably be begun, and then, if our
supply of ammunition had not been replenished, the end must be near at
hand, when St. Leger would have opportunity to carry into execution his
threat of allowing Thayendanega's murderers to work their cruel will.
All this was talked over and commented upon by our people as the days wore
on, and the more timid seemed to find delight in picturing what would take
place if the fort was captured.
"Why must they keep harpin' on that possibility all the time?" I asked,
angrily, of Sergeant Corney, when I had turned away in disgust from a
group of men who were painting horrible word-pictures, and the old soldier
had followed me to the parade-ground beyond sound of such words.
"It is all as plain as the nose on your face, lad," the old man said,
grimly. "Look about, an' you'll see that them as are makin' the howl over
what the Injuns may do are the faintest-hearted among us. It's all done
for one purpose."
"What can that be?" I asked, in surprise. "How do they suppose any good
can come of conjuring up everything horrible?"
"They're of the same kidney that drove General Herkimer into the ambush,
an' are tryin' to force the colonel to surrender."
"That can't be possible!" I cried, sharply. "There's never one among them
who does not know full well what the result will be if Colonel Gansevoort
surrenders the fort! St. Leger's promises would be as the idle wind when
Thayendanega's followers wanted victims for the stake!"
"True for you, lad, an' yet these cowards are ready to howl for
capitulation rather than fight as men should, in the presence of such an
enemy, to the last ditch," the sergeant replied, bitterly.
I could not believe that among the entire garrison might be found one
soldier who would willingly consent to a surrender, and said as much to
the old man, who replied, grimly:
"I haven't been around here for the past four an' twenty hours with my
eyes shut an' my ears filled with moss. Take a turn about the works,
listenin' to all that is said, an' you'll find I'm not wrong in my
figgerin'. The colonel knows as well as do I what's in the wind, an' I'll
agree never to eat sweet-cake agin if he ain't makin' ready for trouble
inside the fort as well as outside."
I remained silent a full minute, horrified by the bare possibility, and
then asked, in a voice which trembled despite all my efforts to render it
steady:
"Think you they can force him against his will, as the militia did General
Herkimer?"
"It is my belief that he'd shoot down a round dozen before consentin' to
give us all over to death; but there's no knowin' what a man may be forced
into when pressure enough has been brought to bear upon him."
At this moment Jacob came up, looking like his old self now that his
father was safe, at least, for the time being, and to him I put the matter
much as I had had it from the sergeant.
"Within the hour I have heard the same word from my father. He believes
there are a full hundred of the garrison who, when they have worked
themselves up to just such a pitch, will howl for surrender."
Even then I refused to believe in what was as yet no more than a
suspicion, and Sergeant Corney said, impatiently:
"It won't cost you much time to find out for yourself, lad. Take a couple
of turns around, an' I'll guarantee you'll agree that Peter Sitz an' I are
not tryin' to make mountains out of mole-hills."
"I'll go with you," Jacob said, promptly, and straightway we set out,
keeping our ears open whenever we came within speaking distance of a
group of men who appeared to be talking earnestly upon some particular
subject.
It was not necessary that we should go twice around the inside of the
fortification, for before we completed the first circuit I had heard
enough to convince me that Sergeant Corney, instead of exaggerating the
matter, had not made his statements strong enough by one-half.
As it seemed to me, a full third of the garrison were arguing in favor of
surrender, giving as their reasons the scanty supply of powder for the
cannon, and the probability that St. Leger's army would constantly
increase as the Tories from the Mohawk Valley got wind of what was going
on.
I was sick at heart and literally faint with fear when this knowledge was
forced in upon me, for I knew only too well how idle would be all the
promises of St. Leger if the savages were inclined to massacre the
prisoners that were surrendered on promises of fair treatment.