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He told them that his officers and men would endeavor to imitate their example in perseverance, enterprise, and constancy, and in resistance of hunger, weariness, and pain. At the same time he exhorted them to listen to his words, and allow him to regulate their passions, and to conform their warfare to his, by the rules of European discipline and the dictates of his religion and humanity. He reminded them that the king had many faithful subjects in the provinces, and, therefore, indiscriminate butchery of the people might cause the sacrifice of many friends. He then charged them, in the words quoted from his speech in the note on ante, page 99, not to kill for scalps, or destroy life except in open warfare, and claimed for himself the office of umpire on all occasions. When he had finished, an old Iroquois chief arose and said:
"I stand up in the name of all the nations present, to assure our father that we have attentively listened to his discourse. We receive you as our father, because when you speak we hear the voice of our great father beyond the great lake. We rejoice in the approbation you have expressed of our behavior. We have been tried and tempted by the Bostonians,1 but we loved our father, and our hatchets have been sharpened upon our affections. In proof of the sincerity of our professions, our whole villages able to go to war are come forth. The old and infirm, our infants and wives, alone remain at home. With one common assent we promise a constant obedience to all you have ordered and all you shall order; and may the Father of Days give you many and success." **
These promises were all very fine, and Burgoyne, to his sorrow, had the credulity to rely upon them. At first the Indians were docile, but as soon as the scent of blood touched their nostrils their ferocious natures were aroused, and the restraints imposed by the British commander were too irksome to be borne. Their faithfulness disappeared; and in the hour of his greatest need they deserted him, as we have seen, by hundreds, and returned home.
As the lake widened and the evening advanced, the breeze freshened almost to a gale, and, blowing upon our larboard quarter, it rolled up such swells on our track that the vessel rocked half the passengers into silent contemplation of the probability of casting their supper to the fishes. The beacon upon Juniper Island was hailed with delight, for the Burlington break-water was just ahead. We entered the harbor between nine and ten in the evening,
* The old chief spoke truly. They had been "tempted by the Bostonians," but not by the Boston patriots. General Gage, then governor of Massachusetts, and other loyalists in Boston, sent emissaries among the Indians in various ways, and these were the tempters which the old chief confounded with the enemies of the crown. I shall have occasion hereafter to speak of Connelly, one of Gage's 'emissaries, who went to Virginia, and, under the auspices of Lord Dunmore, carried promises and money to the Indians on the frontier, to instigate them to fall upon the defenseless republicans of that stanch Whig state.
** So interpreted by Burgoyne in his "State of the Expedition," &c.
Sabbath Morning in Burlington.—Visit to the Grave of Ethan Allen.—Ira Allen
and were soon in comfortable quarters at the American, fronting the pleasant square in the center of the village.
The next morning dawned calm and beautiful. The wind was hushed, and the loveliness of repose was upon the village, lake, and country. It was our second Sabbath from home, and never was its rest more welcome and suggestive of gratitude, for the preceding week had been to me one of unceasing toil, yet a toil commingled with the most exalted pleasure. I had been among scenes associated with the noblest sentiments of an American's heart; and when, mingling with the worshipers in St. Paul's Church, the clear voice of Bishop Hopkins repeated the divine annunciation, "From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same, my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the Lord," I felt that our own country, so late a wilderness and abiding-place for pagans, but now blooming under the beneficent culture of free institutions that were born amid the labor-throes of the Revolution, was a special illustration of that glorious declaration.
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Early on Monday morning we procured saddle horses and rode out to the resting-place of General Ethan Allen, a burial-ground embowered in shrubbery, lying upon the brow of the hill overlooking the Winooski, and within sound of its cascades. It is on the south side of the road leading east from Burlington, nearly half a mile from the University of Vermont, that stands upon the summit of the hill, upon the western slope of which is the village. Allen's monument is a plain marble slab, resting upon a granite foundation, and bears the following inscription:
THECORPOREAL PART OFGeneral Ethan AllenRESTS BENEATH THIS STONE,the 12th day of Feb., 1789,AGED 50 YEARS.his spirit tried the mercies of his God,IN WHOM ALONE HE BELIEVED AND STRONGLY TRUSTED.
Near his are the graves of his brother Ira * and several other relatives. The whole are inclosed within a square defined by a chain supported by small granite obelisks. A willow drooped over the tombs of the patriot dead, and rose-bushes clustered around the storm-worn monuments. The dew was yet upon the grass, and its fragrant exhalations filled the air with such grateful incense, that we were loth to leave the spot. We galloped our horses back to the village in time for breakfast, delighted and profited by our morning's ride. Halt-
* Ira Allen was born in Salisbury. Connecticut, in 1752. He went to Vermont in early life, and became one of the most active citizens of that state, particularly in the controversy between Vermont and New York respecting the territory called the New Hampshire Grants. It is said that when the Revolution broke out he sided with the crown and went to Canada. His stanch Whig brother, Ethan, indignant at his choice, recommended the Vermont Assembly to confiscate his brother's property. Ira heard of it, and challenged Ethan to fight a duel. Ethan refused, on the ground that it would be "disgraceful to fight a Tory," and so the matter ended. Ira finally became a warm republican, and was active during the remainder of the war. He was a member of the Convention which formed the Constitution of Vermont, and became the first secretary of the state. He was afterward treasurer, member of the council, and surveyor general. He rose to the rank of major general of militia, and in 1795 he went to Europe to purchase arms for the supply of his state. Returning with several thousand muskets and some cannon, he was captured by an English vessel and carried to England, where he was accused of supplying the Irish rebels with arms. A litigation for eight years, in the Court of Admiralty, was the consequence, but a final decision was in his favor He died at Philadelphia, January 7th, 1814, aged 62 years.
Burlington and Vicinity.—Adjacent Lake Scenery.—Place of Arnold's first Naval Battle.—Military Operations on the Lake
ing near the university a few minutes, we enjoyed the beautiful view which the height commands. The Green Mountains stretched along the east; the broken ranges of the Adirondack, empurpled by the morning sun, bounded the western horizon; and below us, skirting the lake, the pleasant village lay upon the slope, and stretched its lengthening form out toward the rich fields that surrounded it. To the eye of a wearied dweller in a dense city all villages appear beautiful in summer, but Burlington is eminently so when compared with others.
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We left the metropolis of the lake for Plattsburgh about noon. On our left, as we emerged from the harbor, were the Four Brothers, small islands swarming with water-fowl, and the bald point of Rock Dunder, a solitary spike rising, shrubless and bare, about twenty feet above the water. Before us spread out the two Heros (North and South), green islands, which belonged to the Allen family during the Revolution. The first landing-place below Burlington is Port Kent, on the west side of the lake, ten miles distant. A little below is Port Jackson, nearly west of the south end of Valcour's Island. This is an interesting portion of the lake to the American tourist, for it is the place where our first naval battle with Great Britain was fought. This event took place October the 11th, 1776. The American flotilla was commanded by Benedict Arnold, and the English vessels by Captain Pringle, accompanied by Governor Carleton. In order to a lucid understanding of the position of affairs at that time, we must consider for a moment the connecting chain of events from the autumn of 1775, when General Schuyler was at Ticonderoga and Crown Point preparing to invade Canada, to the meeting of the belligerents in question.
The forces under Generals Schuyler and Montgomery proceeded to execute the will ofSeptember 10, 1775Congress, and in September appeared before St. John's, at the Sorel. Finding the fort, as they supposed, too strong for assault, they returned to and fortifiedIsle Aux Noix. Schuyler went back to Ticonderoga and hastened forward re-enforcements, but was unable to return on account of sickness. Montgomery succeeded him in command. He captured Fort St. John's and Fort Chambly, and entered Montreal in triumph. He then pushed on to Quebec, when he was joined by a force under Arnold, and early in December laid siege to that city. After besieging it unsuccessfully for three weeks, the AmericansDecember 31, 1775commenced an assault. Montgomery was killed, the Americans were re-pulsed, and many of them made prisoners. Arnold was wounded. He became the chief in command, and kept the remnant of the republican army together in the vicinity of Quebec, until the arrival of General Wooster early in the spring and General Thomas in May. General Carleton soon afterward received re-enforcements from England, and by the middle of June the Americans, after retreating from post to post, were driven out of Canada.
Not doubting that Carleton would follow up his successes by providing water craft upon the lake, to attempt the capture of Ticonderoga and Crown Point, a council of officers, under General Gates, who in June was appointed to the command of the Northern army, resolved to abandon the latter post and concentrate all their forces at the former. Accord-
* This sketeh was made from the pilot's room of the steam-boat just after leaving Port Jackson. On the left is a point of the main land, and on the right is seen a portion of Valcour's Island. The high ground in the extreme distance, on the left, is Cumberland Head, and that dimly seen in the center of the picture is the Vermont shore.
Formation of a little Fleet—Excursion down the Lake.—Appearance of the British Fleet.—Plan of the Battle.
ingly, General Sullivan, who was at Crown Point, withdrew with his forces to Ticonderoga, and active measures for offensive and defensive operations were there adopted. Materials for constructing vessels, as well as skillful artisans, were scarce. The latter had to be obtained from the sea-ports; yet such was the zeal of the Americans, that by the middle of August a small squadron, consisting of one sloop, three schooners, and five gondolas, was in readiness and rendezvoused at Crown Point under Arnold, who received the command of it from General Gates. The sloop carried twelve guns, one schooner the same number, the others eight, and the gondolas three each. Toward the close of the month Arnold sailed down the lake, under positive instructions from Gates not to pass beyondIsle Aux Tètes, near what is now called Rouse's Point, and to act only on the defensive. He halted at Wind-mill Point, four miles aboveIsle Aux Tètes, to reconnoiter, and anchored his vessels across the lake, to prevent any boats of the enemy from passing up.
As soon as Carleton was advised of the movements of the Americans at Ticonderoga, he sent seven hundred men from Quebec to St. John's, to construct a fleet, and in the course of a few weeks several strong vessels were finished and armed for duty. A radeau called theThunderer(a kind of flat-bottomed vessel carrying heavy guns), and twenty-four gunboats, armed each with a field piece or carriage gun, were added to the fleet. Forty boats with provisions accompanied the expedition.
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Convinced that his position was dangerous, for the British and Indians were collecting on the shores, Arnold fell back about ten miles toIsle La Motte, where he need not fear an attack from the main land. Here his fleet was considerably increased, and consisted of three schooners, two sloops, three galleys, eight gondolas, and twenty-one gun-boats. Ignorant of the real strength of the armament1776.which he knew Carleton was preparing at St. John's, and unwilling to engage a superior force on the broad lake, Arnold withdrew his fleet still further back, and anchored it across the narrow channel between Valcour's Island and the western shore.
Early on the morning of the 11th of October the British fleet appeared off Cumberland Head, moving up the lake, and in a short time it swept around the southern point of Valcour's Island. The enemy's force was formidable, for the vessels were manned by seven hundred chosen seamen.
Captain Pringle was commodore, and made theInflexiblehis flagship. Among the young officers in the fleet was Edward Pellew, afterward Admiral Viscount Exmouth, one of the most distinguished of England's naval commanders. The action began about twelve o'clock, by the attack of the Carleton upon the American schoonerRoyal Savageand three galleys. The latter, in attempting to return to the line, grounded,
* Explanation of the Map.—A, American fleet under Arnold; B, 21 gun-boats; C, schooner Carleton, 12 six pounders; D, ship Inflexible, 18 twelve pounders; E, anchorage of the British fleet during the night, to cut off the Americans' retreat; F, radeau Thunderer, 6 twenty-four pounders and 12 six pounders; G, gondola Loyal Convert, 7 nine pounders; H, schooner Maria, 14 six pounders, with General Carleton on board; I, the place where the American schooner Royal Savage, of 8 six pounders and 4 four pounders, was burned. This plan is copied from Brasrier's Survey of Lake Champlain, edition of 1779.
Severe Battle on the Lake.—Escape of the Americans through the British Line.—Chase by the Enemy.—Another Battle
and was burned, but her men were saved. Arnold was on board theCongressgalley, and conducted matters with a great deal of bravery and skill. About one o'clock the engagement became general, and the American vessels, particularly theCongress, suffered severely. It was hulled twelve times, received seven shots between wind and water, the main-mast was shattered in two places, the rigging cut to pieces, and many of the crew were killed or wounded. Arnold pointed almost every gun on his vessel with his own hands,1 and with voice and gesture cheered on his men. In the mean while the enemy landed a large body of Indians upon the island, who kept up an incessant fire of musketry, but with little effect. The battle continued between four and five hours, and the Americans lost, in killed and wounded, about sixty men.
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Night closed upon the scene, and neither party were victors. The two fleets anchored within a few hundred yards of each other. Arnold held a council with his officers, and it was determined to retire during the night to Crown Point, for the superiority of the vessels, and the number and discipline of the men composing the British force, rendered another engagement extremely hazardous. Anticipating such a movement on the part of the Americans, the British commander anchored his vessels in a line extending across from the island to the main land. A chilly north wind had been blowing all the afternoon, and about sunset dark clouds overcast the sky. It was at the time of new moon, and, therefore, the night was very dark, and favored the design of Arnold. About ten o'clock he weighed anchor, and with the stiff north wind sailed with his whole flotilla, unobserved, through the enemy's lines. Arnold, with his crippled galley, brought up the rear. It was a bold movement. At daybreak the English watch on deck looked with straining eyes for their expected prey, but the Americans were then at Schuyler's Island, ten miles south, busily engaged in stopping leaks and repairing sails. The British weighed anchor and gave chase. Toward evening the wind changed to the south, and greatly retarded the progress of both fleets during the night. Early on the morning of the 13th the enemy'sOctober, 1776vessels were observed under full sail, and rapidly gaining upon the Americans. TheCongressgalley (Arnold's "flag-ship") and the Washington, with four gondolas, were behind, and in a short time the British vesselsCarl et on,Inflexible, andMariawere alongside, pouring a destructive fire upon them. The Washington soon struck, and General Waterbury the commander, and his men, were made prisoners. ** The whole force of the
* Sparks's Life of Arnold.
** Among the prisoners was Joseph Bettys, afterward the notorious outlaw and bitter Tory, better known as "Joe Bettys." He was a native of Saratoga county, and joined the Whigs on the breaking out of the Revolution. While a captive in Canada, after the battle on Lake Champlain, he was induced to join the royal standard, and was made an ensign. He became notorious as a spy, and, having been caught by the Americans, he was at one time conducted to the gallows. At the instance of his aged parents, Washington granted him a reprieve on condition of his thoroughly reforming. But he immediately joined the enemy again, and for a long time his cold-blooded murders, his plunder and incendiarism made him the terror of the whole region in the neighborhood of Albany. At last he was captured (1782), and was executed as a spy and traitor, at Albany.
Bravery of Arnold on the Congress Galley.—Desperate Resistance. —Retreat to Crown Point—Effect of the Battle.
attack now fell upon theCongress, but Arnold maintained his ground with unflinching resolution for four hours. The galley was at length reduced almost to a wreck, and surrounded by seven sail of the enemy. Longer resistance was vain, and the intrepid Arnold ran the galley and four gondolas into a small creek on the east side of the lake, about ten miles below Crown Point, and not far from Panton. He ordered the marines to set fire to them as soon as they were grounded, leap into the water and wade ashore with their muskets, and form in such a manner upon the beach as to guard the burning vessels from the approach of the enemy. Arnold remained in his galley till driven off by the fire, and was the last man that reached the shore. He kept the flags flying, and remained upon the spot until his little flotilla was consumed, and then, with the small remnant of his brave soldiers, marched off through the woods toward Chimney Point, and reached Crown Point in safety. The rapidity of his march saved him from an Indian ambush that waylaid his path an hour after he passed by. Two schooners, two galleys, one sloop, and one gondola, the remnant of his fleet, were at Crown Point, and General Waterbury and most of his men arrived there on parole the next day, when all embarked and sailed to Ticonderoga. GeneralOctober 14, 1776Carleton took possession of Crown Point, and for a few days threatened Ticonderoga, but the season was so far advanced that he prudently withdrew, and sailed down the lake to go into winter-quarters in Canada. * The whole American loss in the two actions was between eighty and ninety, and that of the enemy about forty.
Although the republicans were defeated, and the expedition was disastrous in every particular, yet such were the skill, bravery, and obstinate resistance of Arnold and his men against a vastly superior force, the event was hailed as ominous of great achievements on the part of the patriots when such fearful odds should not exist. Arnold's popularity, so justly gained at Quebec, was greatly increased, and the country rang with his praises. Sparks justly observes, respecting Arnold's conduct in the engagement on the 13th, that "there are few instances on record of more deliberate courage and gallantry than were displayed by him from the beginning to the end of this action."
We arrived at Plattsburgh at about two o'clock in the afternoon. The day was excessively warm, and I felt more like lounging than rambling. In fact, the spot has no Revolutionary history worth mentioning, for its existence as a lonely settlement in the wilderness is only coeval with that of our independence. Count Vredenburgh, a German nobleman, who married a lady of the household of the queen of George II. of England, obtained a grant for thirty thousand acres of land on Cumberland Bay, and just before the Revolution he settled there. When the war broke out he sent his family to Montreal, and soon afterward his splendid mansion, which stood where the Plattsburgh Hotel now is, and his mills, three miles distant, were burned. He had remained to look after his property, and it is supposed that he was murdered for his riches, and his house plundered and destroyed. In 1783 some Canadian and Nova Scotia refugees, under Lieutenant (afterward Major-general) Mooers ** who were stationed on the Hudson near Newburgh, left Fishkill Landing in a boat, and, proceeding by the way of Lakes George and Champlain, landed and commenced the first permanent settlement in that neighborhood, within seven or eight miles of the present village of Plattsburgh. Judge Zephaniah Platt and others formed a company, after the war, to purchase military land-warrants, and they located their lands on Cumberland Bay, and organized the town of Plattsburgh in 1785. Such is its only connection with the history
* It is related that while Carleton was at Ticonderoga, Arnold ventured in the neighborhood in a small boat. He was seen and chased by young Pellew (afterward Lord Exmouth), and so rapidly did his pursuers gain upon him, that he ran his boat ashore and leaped on land, leaving his stock and buckle behind him. It is said that the stock and buckle are still in possession of the Pellew family.—See Ostler's Life of Admiral Viscount Exmouth.
** Benjamin Mooers served as a lieutenant and adjutant in the Revolution. He commanded the militia in the battle of Plattsburgh in 1814. For thirty years he was county treasurer, and often represented his county in the Assembly and Senate of New York. He died in February, 1838
Battle of Plattsburgh.—Military Remains.—Incidents of the Naval Battle.—Relic of Washington.
of our Revolution. It is a conspicuous point, however, in the history of our war with Great Britain commenced in 1812, for it is memorable as the place where one of the severest engagements of that contest took place, on the 11th of September, 1814, between the combined naval and military forces of the Americans and British. General Macomb commanded the land, and Commodore M'Donough the naval forces of the former, and General Prévost and Commodore Downie * those of the latter. The engagements on the land and water were simultaneous, and for some time the issue was doubtful. The Americans, however, were successful. When the flag of the British commodore's ship was struck, the enemy on land, disheartened and confused, retreated across the Saranac, and the carnage ceased. The loss of the Americans was about one hundred and fifty; that of the enemy, in killed, wounded, prisoners, and deserters, more than one thousand.
I passed a considerable portion of the afternoon with General St. John B. L. Skinner, who was a volunteer under Macomb in the battle. He was a member of a company of young men and boys of the village, who, after the military had gone out on the Chazy road, organized and offered their services to the commander-in-chief. They were accepted, and the brave youths were immediately armed with rifles and ordered to the headquarters of General Mooers. Only three of the company were over eighteen years old, and not one of them was killed, though for a long time they were exposed to a hot fire while occupying a mill upon the Saranac and keeping the enemy at bay. General Skinner's beautiful mansion and gardens are upon the lake shore, and from an upper piazza we had a fine view of the whole scene of the naval engagement, from Cumberland Head on the north to the whole region in the neighborhood of Albany. At last he was captured (1782), and was executed as a spy and traitor, at Albany.
the whole region in the neighborhood of Albany. At last he was captured (1782), and was executed as a spy and traitor, at Albany.
Valcour's Island on the south, including in the far distance eastward the blue lines of the northern range of the Green Mountains. The bay in which the battle occurred is magnificent, fringed with deep forests and waving grain-fields. A substantial stone break-water defends the harbor from the rude waves which an easterly wind rolls in, and the village is very pleasantly situated upon a gravelly plain on each side of the Saranac River.
A short distance from the village of Plattsburgh are the remains of the cantonments and breast-works occupied by Macomb and his forces; and to the kind courtesy of General Skinner, who accompanied me to these relics of the war, I am indebted for many interesting details in relation to that memorable battle. ** But as these have no necessary connection with our subject, on account of their remoteness from the time of the Revolution, I will bid adieu to Plattsburgh, for the evening is far gone, the lights of the "Burlington" are sparkling upon the waters near Valcour's Island, and the coachman at the hotel front is hurrying us with his loud "All aboard!"
It was nearly midnight when we passed the light on Cumberland Head, *** and we reached
* Commodore Downie was slain in the battle and buried at Plattsburgh. His sister-in-law, Mary Downie, erected a plain monument to his memory over his remains.
** General S. mentioned one or two circumstances connected with the naval engagement worth recording. He says that, when the fleet of the enemy rounded Cumberland Head, M'Donough assembled his men on board his ship (Saratoga) on the quarter-deck. He then knelt, and, in humble, fervent supplication, commended himself, his men, and his cause to the Lord of Hosts. When he arose, the serenity of faith was upon his countenance, and seemed to shed its influence over his men. A curious incident occurred on his ship during the engagement. The hen-coop was shot away, and a cock; released from prison, flew into the rigging, and, flapping his wings, crowed out a lusty defiance to the enemy's guns.
** There he remained, flapping his wings and crowing, until the engagement ceased. The seamen regarded the event as encouraging, and fought like tigers while the cock cheered them on. A notice of a relic of Washington, in the possession of General S., may not be inappropriate here. It is a pouch and puff-ball, for hair-powder, which belonged to the chief several years. It is made of buckskin, and is about twelve inches long. The puff is made of cotton yarn. Mr. Gray, who was a number of years sheriff of Clinton county, readily recognized it as the one used by himself in powdering Washington's hair, when he was a boy and attached to the general in the capacity of body servant. When La Fayette was at Burlington, in 1824, Mr. Gray went up to see him, and the veteran remembered him as the "boy Gray" in Washington's military family.
*** On this point Is situated the farm presented to Commodore M'Donough by the Legislature of Vermont. The point is connected with Grand Island, or North Hero (the largest island in the lake), by a ferry.
Rouse's Point and Military Works.—The Territorial Line.—Isle Aux Noix.—Historical Associations
Rouse's Point, the last landing-place on the lake within "the States," between one and two in the morning, where we remained until daylight, for the channel here, down the outlet of the lake, is so narrow and sinuous that the navigation is difficult in the night. On a low point a little northward of the landing the United States government commenced building a fort in 1815, and, after expending about two hundred thousand dollars, it was discovered that the ground was British soil. The work was abandoned, and so remained until the conclusion of the treaty formed by Daniel Webster and Lord Ashburton in 1842, when the territorial line was run a little north of the fort. It is now in course of completion.
The morning on which we left Rouse's Point was clear and calm. A slightAugust 8, 1848mist lay upon the water, and over the flat shores of the Richelieu or Sorel River, which we had entered, a thin vapor, like a gauze veil, was spread out. We watched with interest for the line of separation between the territories. It was about four o'clock in the morning when we crossed it, twenty-three miles south of St. John's, and so became "foreigners." A broad stripe like a meadow-swathe, running east and west, cut in the dwarf forest upon either side, denotes the landmark of dominion, and by a single revolution of the paddle-wheel we passed from the waters of our republic to those of the British realm. In less than an hour we were at the landing-place onIsle Aux Noix, a small low island in the Sorel, strongly fortified by the British as one of their most important outposts in the direction of the United States. This island is all clustered with historic associations. While the fussy custom-house officer and his attendants are boarding our boat, let us look into the mirror of retrospection.
0171m
When the French settlement at Chimney Point was broken up on the approach of General Amherst in 1799.
They gave it a name significant of this fact. Commanding, as it does, completely the outlet of Lake Champlain, the importance of its position, in a military view, was at once appreciated. But the French held possession only a few months, for in the spring of 1760 they were driven from it by Amherst in his march toward Montreal. After the treaty of Paris in 1763, the necessity for a garrison uponIsle Aux Noixno longer existed, and the fortifications were allowed to crumble into ruins.
In the autumn of 1775 the island was occupied by the Americans, under General Schuyler. With a considerable force, destined to invade Canada, he sailed down the lake and appeared before St. John's. Informed that the garrison there was too strong forSeptember 6, 1775him, he returned toIsle Aux Noixand fortified it. From this post he sent out a declaration among the Canadians, by Colonel Allen and Major Brown, assuring them that the Americans intended to act only against the British forts, and not to interfere with the people or their religion. *
* The sketch was made from the pilot's room of the steam-boat, about half a mile above the island, looking east-northeast. The landing is a little beyond the trees on the right, where sentinels are stationed. The island is small, and wholly occupied by the military works. A broad fen extends some distance from the northern side, and the wild ducks that gather there afford fine amusement for sportsmen during the hunting season.
St.John's St.—Custom-house Officer.—Suspicious of an Israelite.— Apparently treasonable Acts of leading Vermonters.
Early in October the Americans, under General Montgomery (Schuyler being ill), left the island and proceeded to St. John's, whence they marched victoriously to Quebec. From that time until the close of the Revolution no permanent garrison was established there, but the island was the halting-place for the troops of both parties when passing up and down the lake. It was the principal scene of the negotiations between some of the leading men of Vermont and British officers, which were so adroitly managed by the former as to keep an English army of ten thousand men quite inactive on our northern frontier for about three years. * The British strongly fortified it in 1813, and it has been constantly garrisoned since.
We arrived at St. John's, on the Richelieu or Sorel River, between six and seven o'clock in the morning, where our luggage was overhauled by the custom-house officer, who was received on board atIsle Aux Noix. The operation was neither long nor vexatious, and seemed to be rather a matter of legal form than induced by a desire or expectation of detecting contraband articles. In fact, the polite government functionary seemed to have great faith in mere assertions, and to rely more upon physiognomy than personal inspection of the luggage for assurance that her majesty's revenue laws were inviolate. He looked every trunk-owner full in the face when he queried about the nature of his baggage, and only two persons were obliged to produce their keys for his satisfaction. Our trunk was of prodigious size and weight, and made him very properly suspicious of the truth of my allegations that its contents were only articles for personal use. A descendant of Abraham at my elbow, with nothing but a rotund bandana handkerchief, appeared to be my scape-goat on the occasion, for while the officer was making him untie its hard knots, he ordered my luggage to pass. I was told that the word of a poor Jew is never believed by the uncircumcised Gentile who "sits at the receipt of customs but in this instance his incredulity was rebuked, for the Israelite's bundle contained nothing but a tolerably clean shirt, a cravat, and a small Hebrew Bible. At eight
* In 1779-80 the partial dismemberment of Vermont and its connection with New York and New Hampshire produced great bitterness of feeling, and the Legislature of the former demanded of Congress the entire separation of that state from the other states, and its admission into the confederacy upon a basis of perfect equality. The disputes ran high, and the British entertained hopes that Vermont would be so far alienated from the rebel cause, by the injustice of Congress, as to be induced to return to its allegiance to the British crown. Accordingly, in the spring of 1780, Colonel Beverly Robinson wrote to Ethan Allen from New York, making overtures to that effect. The letter was not answered, and in February, 1781, he wrote another, inclosing a copy of the first. These letters were shown to Governor Chittenden and a few others, and they concluded to make use of the circumstances for the benefit of Vermont. Allen sent both letters to Congress, and at the same time wrote to that body, urging the justice of the demand of his state. He closed his letter by saying, "I am as resolutely determined to defend the independence of Vermont as Congress is that of the United States; and, rather than fail, I will retire with the hardy Green Mountain Boys into the desolate caverns of the mountains and wage war with human nature at large." * In the mean while, some British scouting parties had captured some Vermonters, and Governor Chittenden sent Ira Allen and others to negotiate with Colonel Dundas for an exchange of prisoners. They met uponIsle Aux Noix, and there Dundas, under the direction of General Haldimand, made verbal overtures similar to the written ones of Robinson to Ethan Allen. The proposals of the British officers were received by Allen with apparent favor. Haldimand and Dundas were delighted with their skill in diplomacy, and readily acceded to the proposition of Allen not to allow hostilities on the Vermont frontier until after the next session of its Legislature. The British force, consisting of about ten thousand men, was thus kept inactive. These negotiations with the enemy excited the suspicion of the Whigs and the fears of Congress; yet with such consummate skill did Allen manage the affair, that when he reported the result of his mission to the Legislature of Vermont, where British emissaries as well as ardent Whigs were in waiting, he satisfied both parties. Soon afterward a letter from Lord George Germain to Sir Henry Clinton was intercepted and sent to Congress. It contained so much evidence of the treasonable designs of the leading men in Ver mont, that Congress felt more disposed to accede to the demands of that state, and thus retain her in the Union. Peace soon afterward ensued, and Vermont was one of the United States included in the treaty. How far the designs of the Allens, of Chittenden, the Fays, and others, were really treasonable, or were measures of policy to bring Congress to terms, and prevent hostilities upon their weak frontier, can not be certainly determined. The probabilities are in favor of theruserather than thetreason. At any rate, they should have the benefit of a doubt, and a verdict of acquittal of all wrong intentions.
** A convention, held at Westminster on the 15th of January, 1777, declared "That the district and territory comprehending and usually known by the name and description of the New Hampshire Grants of right ought to be and is declared forever hereafter to be a free and independent jurisdiction or state, to be forever hereafter called, known, and distinguished by the name of New Connecticut, alias Vermont."—See Slade's State Papers, p. 70.
Military Remains at St. John's.—Present Works.—Athenaise.— Approach of the Americans in 1775.
o'clock my companion and our luggage proceeded by rail-road by way of La Prairie to Montreal, while I prepared to journey to the same city in a light wagon by way of Chambly and Longueuil.
0173m
St. John's is pleasantly situated upon the western side of the Sorel, at the termination of steam-boat navigation on Lake Champlain, and near the head of Chambly Rapids. It has always been a place of considerable importance as a frontier town since the Revolution, although its growth has been slow, the population now amounting to not quite four thousand. The country on both sides of the river here is perfectly flat, and there is no place whence the town may be seen to advantage. A little south of the village, and directly upon the shore, is a strong military establishment, garrisoned, when we visited it, by three companies of Highland infantry. Accompanied by an intelligent young gentleman of the village as guide, I visited all the points of historic interest in the vicinity. We crossed the deep, sluggish river in a light zinc shallop, and from the middle of the stream we obtained a fine view of the long bridge ** which connects St. John's with St. Athenaise on the opposite shore, where the steep roof and lofty glittering spire of the French church towered above the trees.3 After visiting the remains of Montgomery's block-house, we recrossed the river and rambled among the high mounds which compose the ruins of old Fort St. John's. They occupy a broad area in the open fields behind the present military works. The embankments, covered with a rich green sward, averaged about twelve feet in height, and the whole were surrounded by a ditch with considerable water in it. We lingered half an hour to view a drill of the garrison, and then returned to the village to prepare for a pleasant ride to Chambly, twelve miles distant.
Military works were thrown up at St. John's by the French, under Montcalm, in 1758, and these were enlarged and strengthened by Governor Carleton at the beginning of our Revolution. Here, as we have seen, the first organized American flotilla, under Arnold, made a regular assault upon British vessels and fortifications, and aroused Sir Guy Carleton to a sense of the imminent danger of Montreal and Quebec. Here too was the scene of the first regular siege of a British fort by the rebellious colonists. In September,September 61775, the Americans, as we have already noticed, sailed down the Richelieu and appeared before St. John's. They were fired upon by the English garrison when about two miles distant, but without effect. They landed within about a mile and a half of the fort, and, while marching slowly toward the outworks, a small party of Indians attacked them and produced some confusion. In the evening General Schuyler was informed, by a man who appeared to be friendly and intelligent, that, with the exception of only fifty men retained in Montreal by General Carleton, the whole regular British force in Canada was in the garrison at St. John's; that this and the fort at Chambly were strongly fortified and well supplied; that one hundred Indians were in the fort at St. John's, and that another large body, under Colonel John Johnson, was hovering near; that a sixteen gun vessel was
* This view is taken from the eastern side of the river, near the remains of a block-house erected by Montgomery when he besieged the fort in 1775. On the right is seen the fort, which incloses the magazine, in the center is the building occupied by the officers, on either side of which are the barracks of the soldiers. The large building on the left is the hospital, and the smaller one still further left is the dead-house. The river here is about a quarter of a mile wide. The present military works are upon the site of those of the Revolution.
** It was built by the Honorable Robert Jones, the proprietor, and is called Jones's Bridge.
*** This spacious church was not finished. The old one, a small wooden structure, was undisturbed within the new one, and was used for worship until the completion of the exterior of the present edifice-
Advance of Montgomery against St. John's.—Mutiny in the American Camp.—Operations at St. John's.
about ready to weigh anchor at St. John's; and that not a single Canadian could be induced to join the insurgent standard. The informer was doubtless an enemy to the Americans, for his assertions were afterward proved to be untrue. General Schuyler, however, gave credence to them, and returned with his troops toIsle Aux Noix, where illness obliged him to leave the army in charge of Montgomery, and retire to the healthier post of Ticonderoga. Thence he soon went to Albany, and, his health being partially restored, he was active in forwarding re-enforcements toIsle Aux Noix.
Montgomery, with more impetuosity and less caution than Schuyler, determined to push forward at once, for the season was near when military operations there would be difficult. About this time a small train of artillery and a re-enforcement arrived, and he made vigorous preparations to invade Canada. Before leaving the island, a chevaux-de-frise was thrown across the channel to intercept the progress of Carleton's vessels up the lake. On theSeptember, 1775seventeenth his whole force was landed on the west side of the Richelieu. On the eighteenth he led a corps of five hundred men, in person, to the north side of the fort, where the village now is. There he met a detachment from the garrison, which had just repulsed and pursued a small party of Americans under Major Brown, and a short skirmish ensued. Two field pieces and the whole detachment would doubtless have been trophies for the Americans had they been true to themselves; but here that insubordination which gave Montgomery so much trouble was strongly manifested, and caution, secrecy, and concert of action were out of the question.1 Montgomery pushed on a little further north-west, and, at the junction of the roads running respectively to Montreal and Chambly, formed an entrenched camp of three hundred men to cut off supplies for the enemy from the interior, and then hastened back to his camp to bring up his artillery to bear upon the walls of the fort. The supplies for a siege were very meager. The artillery was too light, the mortars were defective, the ammunition scarce, and the artillerists unpracticed in their duties. The ground was wet and swampy, and in many places closely studded with trees. In a day or two disease began to appear among the troops, and, in consequence of their privations, disaffection was working mischief in the army. To escape these unfavorable circumstances, Montgomery proposed to move to the northwest side of the fort, where the ground was firm and water wholesome, and commence preparations for an assault. But the troops, unused to military restraint, and judging for themselves that an attack would be unsuccessful, refused to second the plan of their leader. Unable to punish them or convince them of their error, Montgomery yielded to the pressure of circumstances, and so far gratified the mutinous regiments as to call a council of war. It resulted, as was expected, in a decision against his plan. Disorder continually reigned in the American camp. Irregular firing occurred almost daily, and the enemy threw some bombs, but it was a waste of ammunition by both parties. At length the proposed plan of Montgomery was adopted, and the camp was movedOctober 7, 1775to the higher ground northwest of the fort, where breast-works were thrown up.
While the main army was thus circumvallating St. John's, but, for want of ammunition and heavy guns, unable to breach the walls, small detachments of Americans, who were joined by many friendly Canadians, were active in the vicinity. One, under Ethan Allen, attempted the capture of Montreal. Of this foolish expedition I shall hereafter write.
But another, and a successful one, was undertaken, which hastened the termination of the siege of St. John's. Carleton, supposing that the fort at Chambly, twelve miles northward, could not be reached by the Americans unless the one at St. John's was captured, had neglected to arm it, and kept but a feeble garrison there. Montgomery was informed of this by Canadian scouts, and immediately sent Colonel Bedell of New Hampshire, Major Brown of Massachusetts, and Major Livingston of New York, with detachments, to capture the fort. The method of attack was planned by Canadians familiar with the place. Artillery was placed upon bateaux, and during a dark night was conveyed past the fort at St. John's to the head of Chambly Rapids, where it was mounted on carriages and taken to the
* Montgomery's dispatch to General Schuyler.
Attack upon and Surrender of Fort Chambly.—Repulse of Carleton at Longueuil.—Surrender of St. John's.—The Spoils
point of attack. The garrison made but a feeble resistance, and soon surrendered. This was a most important event, for it furnished Montgomery with means to carry on the siege of St. John's vigorously. **