ALLEN'S NARRATIVE.--ATTACK ON MONTREAL.--DEFEAT AND
SURRENDER.--BRUTAL TREATMENT.--ARRIVAL IN ENGLAND.--DEBATES IN
PARLIAMENT.
The story of Allen's captivity is best told in his own vivid
narrative as follows:
On the morning of the 24th day of September I set out with my
guard of about eighty men, from Longueuil, to go to Laprairie,
from whence I determined to go to General Montgomery's camp; I
had not advanced two miles before I met with Major Brown, who has
since been advanced to the rank of a colonel, who desired me to
halt, saying that he had something of importance to communicate
to me and my confidants; upon which I halted the party and went
into a house, and took a private room with him and several of
my associates, where Colonel Brown proposed that, provided I
would return to Longueuil and procure some canoes, so as to
cross the river St. Lawrence a little north of Montreal, he
would cross it a little to the south of the town, with near two
hundred men, as he had boats sufficient, and that we could make
ourselves masters of Montreal. This plan was readily approved by
me and those in council, and in consequence of which I returned
to Longueuil, collected a few canoes, and added about thirty
English-Americans to my party and crossed the river in the night
of the 24th, agreeably to the proposed plan.
My whole party at this time consisted of about one hundred and
ten men, near eighty of whom were Canadians. We were most of
the night crossing the river, as we had so few canoes that they
had to pass and repass three times to carry my party across.
Soon after daybreak, I set a guard between me and the town, with
special orders to let no person pass or repass them, another
guard on the other end of the road with like directions; in the
mean time, I reconnoitred the best ground to make a defence,
expecting Colonel Brown's party was landed on the other side of
the town, he having the day before agreed to give three huzzas
with his men early in the morning, which signal I was to return,
that we might each know that both parties were landed; but the
sun by this time being nearly two hours high, and the sign
failing, I began to conclude myself to be in a præmunire, and
would have crossed the river back again, but I knew the enemy
would have discovered such an attempt; and as there could not
more than one-third part of my troops cross at a time, the other
two-thirds would of course fall into their hands. This I could
not reconcile to my own feelings as a man, much less as an
officer; I therefore concluded to maintain the ground if possible
and all to fare alike. In consequence of this resolution, I
dispatched two messengers, one to Laprairie to Colonel Brown, and
the other to L'Assomption, a French settlement, to Mr. Walker who
was in our interest, requesting their speedy assistance, giving
them at the same time to understand my critical situation. In
the mean time, sundry persons came to my guards pretending to
be friends, but were by them taken prisoners and brought to me.
These I ordered to confinement until their friendship could be
further confirmed; for I was jealous they were spies, as they
proved to be afterward. One of the principal of them making his
escape, exposed the weakness of my party, which was the final
cause of my misfortune; for I have been since informed that Mr.
Walker, agreeably to my desire, exerted himself, and had raised a
considerable number of men for my assistance, which brought him
into difficulty afterward, but upon hearing of my misfortune he
disbanded them again.
The town of Montreal was in a great tumult. General Carleton
and the royal party made every preparation to go on board their
vessels of force, as I was afterward informed, but the spy
escaped from my guard to the town occasioned an alteration in
their policy and emboldened General Carleton to send the force
which had there collected out against me. I had previously
chosen my ground, but when I saw the number of the enemy as
they sallied out of the town I perceived it would be a day of
trouble, if not of rebuke; but I had no chance to flee, as
Montreal was situated on an island and the St. Lawrence cut off
my communication to General Montgomery's camp. I encouraged
my soldiers to bravely defend themselves, that we should soon
have help, and that we should be able to keep the ground if no
more. This and much more I affirmed with the greatest seeming
assurance, and which in reality I thought to be in some degree
probable.
The enemy consisted of not more than forty regular troops,
together with a mixed multitude, chiefly Canadians, with a number
of English who lived in town, and some Indians; in all to the
number of five hundred.
The reader will notice that most of my party were Canadians;
indeed, it was a motley parcel of soldiery which composed both
parties. However, the enemy began to attack from wood-piles,
ditches, buildings, and such like places, at a considerable
distance, and I returned the fire from a situation more than
equally advantageous. The attack began between two and three
o'clock in the afternoon, just before which I ordered a volunteer
by the name of Richard Young, with a detachment of nine men as
a flank guard, which, under the cover of the bank of the river,
could not only annoy the enemy, but at the same time serve as a
flank guard to the left of the main body.
The fire continued for some time on both sides; and I was
confident that such a remote method of attack could not carry
the ground, provided it should be continued till night; but near
half the body of the enemy began to flank round to my right, upon
which I ordered a volunteer by the name of John Dugan, who had
lived many years in Canada and understood the French language, to
detach about fifty Canadians, and post himself at an advantageous
ditch which was on my right, to prevent my being surrounded.
He advanced with the detachment, but instead of occupying the
post made his escape, as did likewise Mr. Young upon the left,
with their detachments. I soon perceived that the enemy was in
possession of the ground which Dugan should have occupied. At
this time I had but about forty-five men with me, some of whom
were wounded; the enemy kept closing round me, nor was it in
my power to prevent it; by which means my situation, which was
advantageous in the first part of the attack, ceased to be so in
the last; and being entirely surrounded with such vast, unequal
numbers, I ordered a retreat, but found that those of the enemy
who were of the country, and their Indians, could run as fast
as my men, though the regulars could not. Thus I retreated near
a mile, and some of the enemy with the savages kept flanking
me, and others crowded hard in the rear. In fine, I expected
in a very short time to try the world of spirits; for I was
apprehensive that no quarter would be given to me, and therefore
had determined to sell my life as dear as I could. One of the
enemy's officers boldly pressing in the rear, discharged his
fusee at me; the ball whistled near me, as did many others that
day. I returned the salute and missed him, as running had put
us both out of breath; for I concluded we were not frightened.
I then saluted him with my tongue in a harsh manner, and told
him that inasmuch as his numbers were so far superior to mine,
I would surrender provided I could be treated with honor and be
assured of a good quarter for myself and the men who were with
me; and he answered I should; another officer, coming up directly
after, confirmed the treaty; upon which I agreed to surrender
with my party, which then consisted of thirty-one effective men
and seven wounded. I ordered them to ground their arms, which
they did.
The officer I capitulated with then directed me and my party to
advance toward him, which was done; I handed him my sword, and
in half a minute after a savage, part of whose head was shaved,
being almost naked and painted, with feathers intermixed with the
hair of the other side of his head, came running to me with an
incredible swiftness; he seemed to advance with more than mortal
speed; as he approached near me, his hellish visage was beyond
all description; snakes' eyes appear innocent in comparison to
his; his features distorted, malice, death, murder, and the wrath
of devils and damned spirits are the emblems of his countenance,
and in less than twelve feet of me, presented his firelock; at
the instant of his present, I twitched the officer to whom I
gave my sword between me and the savage; but he flew round with
great fury, trying to single me out to shoot me without killing
the officer, but by this time I was nearly as nimble as he,
keeping the officer in such a position that his danger was my
defence; but in less than half a minute, I was attacked by just
such another imp of hell. Then I made the officer fly around with
incredible velocity for a few seconds of time, when I perceived
a Canadian who had lost one eye, as appeared afterward, taking
my part against the savages; and in an instant an Irishman
came to my assistance with a fixed bayonet, and drove away the
fiends, swearing by ---- he would kill them. This tragic scene
composed my mind. The escaping from so awful a death made even
imprisonment happy; the more so as my conquerors on the field
treated me with great civility and politeness.
The regular officers said that they were very happy to see
Colonel Allen. I answered them that I should rather choose to
have seen them at General Montgomery's camp. The gentlemen
replied that they gave full credit to what I said, and as I
walked to the town, which was, as I should guess, more than two
miles, a British officer walking at my right hand and one of
the French noblesse at my left; the latter of which, in the
action, had his eyebrow carried away by a glancing shot, but was
nevertheless very merry and facetious, and no abuse was offered
me till I came to the barrack yard at Montreal, where I met
General Prescott, who asked me my name, which I told him; he then
asked me whether I was that Colonel Allen who took Ticonderoga.
I told him that I was the very man; then he shook his cane over
my head, calling me many hard names, among which he frequently
used the word rebel, and put himself in a great rage. I told him
he would do well not to cane me, for I was not accustomed to it,
and shook my fist at him, telling him that was the beetle of
mortality for him if he offered to strike; upon which Captain
M'Cloud of the British, pulled him by the skirt and whispered
to him, as he afterward told me, to this import, that it was
inconsistent with his honor to strike a prisoner. He then ordered
a sergeant's command with fixed bayonets to come forward and kill
thirteen Canadians who were included in the treaty aforesaid.
It cut me to the heart to see the Canadians in so hard a case, in
consequence of their having been true to me; they were wringing
their hands, saying their prayers, as I concluded, and expected
immediate death. I therefore stepped between the executioners and
the Canadians, opened my clothes, and told General Prescott to
thrust his bayonet into my breast, for I was the sole cause of
the Canadians taking up arms.
The guard in the mean time, rolling their eyeballs from the
General to me, as though impatiently waiting his dread command
to sheath their bayonets in my heart; I could however, plainly
discern, that he was in a suspense and quandary about the matter;
this gave me additional hopes of succeeding; for my design was
not to die, but to save the Canadians by a finesse. The general
stood a minute, when he made the following reply: "I will not
execute you now, but you shall grace a halter at Tyburn, ----
you."
I remember I disdained his mentioning such a place; I was,
notwithstanding, a little pleased with the expression, as it
significantly conveyed to me the idea of postponing the present
appearance of death; besides, his sentence was by no means final
as to "gracing a halter," although I had anxiety about it after
I landed in England, as the reader will find in the course of
this history. General Prescott then ordered one of his officers
to take me on board the _Gaspee_ schooner of war and confine me,
hands and feet, in irons, which was done the same afternoon I was
taken.
The action continued an hour and three-quarters by the watch, and
I know not to this day how many of my men were killed, though I
am certain there were but few. If I remember right, seven were
wounded; one of them, Wm. Stewart by name, was wounded by a
savage with a tomahawk after he was taken prisoner and disarmed,
but was rescued by some of the generous enemy, and so far
recovered of his wounds that he afterward went with the other
prisoners to England.
Of the enemy, were killed a Major Carden, who had been wounded in
eleven different battles, and an eminent merchant, Patterson, of
Montreal, and some others, but I never knew their whole loss, as
their accounts were different. I am apprehensive that it is rare
that so much ammunition was expended and so little execution done
by it; though such of my party as stood the ground, behaved with
great fortitude--much exceeding that of the enemy--but were not
the best of marksmen, and, I am apprehensive, were all killed or
taken; the wounded were all put into the hospital at Montreal,
and those that were not were put on board of different vessels in
the river and shackled together by pairs, viz., two men fastened
together by one handcuff being closely fixed to one wrist of
each of them, and treated with the greatest severity, nay, as
criminals.
I now come to the description of the irons which were put on
me. The handcuff was of common size and form, but my leg irons
I should imagine would weigh thirty pounds; the bar was eight
feet long and very substantial; the shackles which encompassed
my ankles were very tight. I was told by the officer who put
them on that it was the king's plate, and I heard other of their
officers say that it would weigh forty weight. The irons were
so close upon my ankles, that I could not lay down in any other
manner than on my back. I was put into the lowest and most
wretched part of the vessel, where I got the favor of a chest
to sit on; the same answered for my bed at night; and having
procured some little blocks of the guard, who day and night, with
fixed bayonets watched over me, to lie under each end of the
large bar of my leg irons, to preserve my ankles from galling
while I sat on the chest or lay back on the same, though most
of the time, night and day, I sat on it; but at length having a
desire to lie down on my side, which the closeness of my irons
forbid, I desired the captain to loosen them for that purpose,
but was denied the favor. The captain's name was Royal, who did
not seem to be an ill-natured man, but oftentimes said that his
express orders were to treat me with such severity, which was
disagreeable to his own feelings; nor did he ever insult me,
though many others who came on board did. One of the officers, by
the name of Bradley, was very generous to me; he would often send
me victuals from his own table; nor did a day fail, but he sent
me a good drink of grog.
The reader is now invited back to the time I was put into irons.
I requested the privilege to write to General Prescott, which was
granted. I reminded him of the kind and generous manner of my
treatment of the prisoners I took at Ticonderoga; the injustice
and ungentlemanlike usage I had met with from him, and demanded
better usage, but received no answer from him. I soon after
wrote to General Carleton, which met the same success. In the
mean while, many of those who were permitted to see me were very
insulting.
I was confined in the manner I have related, on board the
_Gaspee_ schooner, about six weeks, during which time I was
obliged to throw out plenty of extravagant language, which
answered certain purposes, at that time, better than to grace a
history.
To give an instance: upon being insulted, in a fit of anger, I
twisted off a nail with my teeth, which I took to be a ten-penny
nail; it went through the mortise of the band of my handcuff,
and at the same time I swaggered over those who abused me,
particularly a Doctor Dace, who told me that I was outlawed by
New York, and deserved death for several years past; was at last
fully ripened for the halter, and in a fair way to obtain it.
When I challenged him, he excused himself, in consequence, as
he said, of my being a criminal; but I flung such a flood of
language at him that it shocked him and the spectators, for my
anger was very great. I heard one say, "Him! he can eat iron!"
After that, a small padlock was fixed to the handcuff instead
of the nail, and as they were mean-spirited in their treatment
to me, so it appeared to me that they were equally timorous and
cowardly.
I was after sent with the prisoners taken with me to an armed
vessel in the river, which lay off against Quebec under the
command of Captain M'Cloud of the British, who treated me in a
very generous and obliging manner, and according to my rank; in
about twenty-four hours I bid him farewell with regret, but my
good fortune still continued. The name of the captain of the
vessel I was put on board was Littlejohn, who with his officers
behaved in a polite, generous, and friendly manner. I lived with
them in the cabin and fared on the best, my irons being taken
off, contrary to the order he had received from the commanding
officer, but Captain Littlejohn swore that a brave man should not
be used as a rascal on board his ship.
That I found myself in possession of happiness once more, and the
evils I had lately suffered gave me an uncommon relish for it.
Captain Littlejohn used to go to Quebec almost every day in order
to pay his respects to certain gentlemen and ladies; being there
on a certain day, he happened to meet with some disagreeable
treatment as he imagined, from a Lieutenant of a man-of-war and
one word brought on another, until the Lieutenant challenged him
to a duel on the plains of Abraham. Captain Littlejohn was a
gentleman, who entertained a high sense of honor, and could do no
less than accept the challenge.
At nine o'clock the next morning they were to fight. The captain
returned in the evening, and acquainted his lieutenant and me
with the affair. His lieutenant was a high-blooded Scotchman,
as well as himself, who replied to his captain that he should
not want for a second. With this I interrupted him and gave the
captain to understand that since an opportunity had presented, I
would be glad to testify my gratitude to him by acting the part
of a faithful second; on which he gave me his hand, and said that
he wanted no better man. Says he, I am a king's officer, and you
a prisoner under my care; you must therefore go with me to the
place appointed in disguise, and added further: "You must engage
me, upon the honor of a gentleman, that whether I die or live,
or whatever happens, provided you live, that you will return to
my lieutenant on board this ship." All this I solemnly engaged
him. The combatants were to discharge each a pocket pistol, and
then to fall on with their iron-hilted muckle whangers, and one
of that sort was allotted for me; but some British officers, who
interposed early in the morning, settled the controversy without
fighting.
Now having enjoyed eight or nine days' happiness from the polite
and generous treatment of Captain Littlejohn and his officers,
I was obliged to bid them farewell, parting with them in as
friendly a manner as we had lived together, which, to the best
of my memory, was the eleventh of November; when a detachment of
General Arnold's little army appeared on Point Levi, opposite
Quebec, who had performed an extraordinary march through a
wilderness country with design to have surprised the capital of
Canada; I was then taken on board a vessel called the _Adamant_,
together with the prisoners taken with me, and put under the
power of an English merchant from London, whose name was Brook
Watson; a man of malicious and cruel disposition, and who was
probably excited, in the exercise of his malevolence, by a junto
of tories who sailed with him to England; among whom were Colonel
Guy Johnson, Colonel Closs, and their attendants and associates,
to the number of about thirty.
All the ship's crew, Colonel Closs in his personal behavior
excepted, behaved toward the prisoners with that spirit of
bitterness which is the peculiar characteristic of tories when
they have the friends of America in their power, measuring their
loyalty to the English king by the barbarity, fraud and deceit
which they exercised toward the whigs.
A small place in the vessel, inclosed with white-oak plank,
was assigned for the prisoners, and for me among the rest. I
should imagine that it was not more than twenty feet one way,
and twenty-two the other. Into this place we were all, to the
number of thirty-four, thrust and handcuffed, two prisoners more
being added to our number, and were provided with two excrement
tubs; in this circumference we were obliged to eat and perform
the offices of evacuation during the voyage to England, and
were insulted by every blackguard sailor and tory on board, in
the cruellest manner; but what is the most surprising thing
is, that not one of us died in the passage. When I was first
ordered to go into the filthy inclosure, through a small sort
of door, I positively refused, and endeavored to reason the
before-named Brook Watson out of a conduct so derogatory to
every sentiment of honor and humanity, but all to no purpose,
my men being forced in the den already; and the rascal who had
the charge of the prisoners commanded me to go immediately in
among the rest. He further added, that the place was good enough
for a rebel; that it was impertinent for a capital offender
to talk of honor or humanity; that anything short of a halter
was too good for me, and that would be my portion soon after I
landed in England, for which purpose only I was sent thither.
About the same time a lieutenant among the tories insulted me
in a grievous manner, saying I ought to have been executed for
my rebellion against New York, and spit in my face, upon which,
though I was in handcuffs, I sprang at him with both hands and
knocked him partly down, but he scrambled along into the cabin,
and I after him; there he got under the protection of some men
with fixed bayonets, who were ordered to make ready to drive
me into the place aforementioned. I challenged him to fight,
notwithstanding the impediments that were on my hands, and had
the exalted pleasure to see the rascal tremble for fear; his name
I have forgot, but Watson ordered his guard to get me into the
place with the other prisoners, dead or alive; and I had almost
as lieve died as do it, standing it out till they environed me
round with bayonets, and brutish, prejudiced, abandoned wretches
they were, from whom I could expect nothing but wounds or death;
however, I told them that they were good honest fellows, that I
could not blame them; that I was only in dispute with a calico
merchant, who knew not how to behave toward a gentleman of
the military establishment. This was spoken rather to appease
them for my own preservation, as well as to treat Watson with
contempt; but still I found they were determined to force me
into the wretched circumstances, which their prejudiced and
depraved minds had prepared for me; therefore, rather than die I
submitted to their indignities, being drove with bayonets into
the filthy dungeon with the other prisoners, where we were denied
fresh water, except a small allowance, which was very inadequate
to our wants; and in consequence of the stench of the place,
each of us was soon followed with a diarrhœa and fever, which
occasioned intolerable thirst. When we asked for water, we were,
most commonly, instead of obtaining it, insulted and derided;
and to add to all the horrors of the place, it was so dark that
we could not see each other, and were overspread with body-lice.
We had, notwithstanding these severities, full allowance of salt
provisions, and a gill of rum per day; the latter of which was of
the utmost service to us, and, probably, was the means of saving
several of our lives. About forty days we existed in this manner,
when the land's end of England was discovered from the mast head;
soon after which, the prisoners were taken from their gloomy
abode, being permitted to see the light of the sun, and breathe
fresh air, which to us was very refreshing. The day following we
landed at Falmouth.
A few days before I was taken prisoner I shifted my clothes, by
which I happened to be taken in a Canadian dress, viz., a short
fawn-skin jacket, double breasted, an undervest and breeches of
sagathy, worsted stockings, a decent pair of shoes, two plain
shirts, and a red worsted cap; this was all the clothing I had,
in which I made my appearance in England.
When the prisoners were landed, multitudes of the citizens of
Falmouth, excited by curiosity, crowded to see us, which was
equally gratifying to us. I saw numbers on the house tops and the
rising adjacent grounds were covered with them, of both sexes.
The throng was so great, that the king's officers were obliged to
draw their swords, and force a passage to Pendennis castle, which
was near a mile from the town, where we were closely confined, in
consequence of orders from General Carleton, who then commanded
in Canada.