Three Rivers
Hudson~Mohawk~Schoharie
History From America's Most Famous Valleys
Life of Joseph Brant-Thayendanegea

Including the Indian Wars of the American Revolution

by William L. Stone. Volume II

Buffalo: Phinney & Co., 1851.

Chapter IV

General progress of the War-Design against New-York-Glance at the Southern Campaigns-Treason of Arnold-Execution of Andre-Indian deputation to Count de Rochambeau, in Rhode Island-Invasion of the Schoharie-kill and the Mohawk Vallies, by Sir John Johnson, Brant, and the Corn-planter-Surprise of the upper fort-The middle fort invested-Conduct of Murphy in firing upon a flag-Singular prosecution of the siege-Murphy's contumacy-The flags fired upon thrice-Sir John proceeds to the lower fort-After a brief halt, advances again to the Mohawk, destroying every thing in his way-Murder of the inhabitants-The Vroomans-Heroism of a woman-Sir John arrives at Fort Hunter-Ravages the Mohawk Valley-Battle of Stone Arabia and death of Colonel Brown-His character-Remarkable anecdote of General Arnold- Sir John proceeds to Klock's Field-Is pursued by Van Rensaelaer, though with unaccountable delay-Battle of Klock's Field-Flight of the Indians-Strange retreat of Van Rensselaer-Affairs of the night -Secret flight of the Greens and Rangers-The pursuit-General Van Rensselaer prematurely relinquishes it-Capture of Captain Vrooman and his company, by Brant, in the neighborhood of Oneida-Touching incident at Fort Hunter-Singular story respecting the Corn-planter-Major Carleton's expedition against Forts Anne and George-Correspondence on the subject of prisoners-Affairs at Niagara-Setting in of Winter.

THE active operations of the war, during the open months of the present year, with the exception of the successive invasions of the Mohawk Valley by Sir John Johnson and Captain Brant at the head of the loyalists and Indians, were chiefly confined to the Southern states. True, indeed, in anticipation of the arrival of another French fleet, with an army under the Count de Rochambeau, for the land service, an attack had been meditated by the Commander-in-chief upon New-York, and various preliminary measures were adopted for that object. But, in order to cover the real design, an attempt was made, after the return of the Marquis de Lafayette from France, in the Spring, to divert the attention of the British Commander by inducing a belief that Canada was again to be invaded by a combined movement of the Americans and their allies. For this purpose, proclamations, addressed to the Canadian people, were prepared, one of which was written in French, and signed by Lafayette. These proclamations were printed with great secrecy, but at the same time for the express purpose of allowing copies of them to fall into the hands of the enemy, to mislead Sir Henry Clinton. The printing was confided by Washington to General Arnold ; and as the stratagem was unsuccessful, subsequent events induced a belief that the treasonable practices of that officer had then, already commenced. The letter from Washington to Arnold, respecting the printing of those proclamations, was dated June 4th. It was afterward satisfactorily ascertained, that for several months previously Arnold had endeavored to recommend himself to the enemy, by sending intelligence concerning the movements and plans of the American army. * Various untoward circumstances concurred in frustrating the design of the intended combined movement upon New-York. In the first place, although Congress had made large promises to France, of efficient co-operation, in the event of assistance from that quarter, yet the backwardness of many of the States in furnishing their respective quotas of men, and the continued deficiency of supplies, were serious discouragements to the Commander-in-chief, and he almost began to despair of the undertaking before the arrival of his allies. In the second place, the fleet of the Chevalier Turnay, with the army of the Count de Rochambeau, did not arrive so early by several weeks as was intended. In the third place, Sir Henry Clinton having returned to New York from the south, instead of entering the harbor of New York direct, the French admiral was constrained to put into the harbor of Rhode Island, where the army was landed ; and before dispositions could be made for a combined movement thence upon New-York, the British Admiral Graves arrived off Rhode Island with a superior force, so that the Chevalier Ternay was blockaded. The result of all these occurrences was a relinquishment, for the time, of the enterprise against New-York; and the French and American armies were doomed to comparative inactivity at the north the whole season.

Not so, however, at the south. After the fall of Charleston, in the Spring, the British troops, under those able and active officers, Cornwallis, Tarleton, Lord Rawdon, and others, almost entirely over-ran the Southern States. Tarleton's first achievement was the cutting up of Colonel Buford, with about four hundred men, at the Waxhaws. In South Carolina all ideas of farther resistance seemed to be abandoned, until Sumpter returned, and revived their spirits by proving at Williamson's plantation that the invaders were not invincible. But in July, after General Gates had assumed the command in the Southern
* Sparks's Life and Correspondence of Washington, vol. vii. Vide several letters from Washington to Lafayette, Arnold, and others, during the month of May, 1780.

Department, to -which the brave Baron De Kalb had opened the way, the severe disaster at Camden, where the militia ran away, as usual, at the beginning of the battle, rendered all again gloomy as before.* The Baron De Kalb fell in this action, covered with wounds. Close upon the heels of this defeat, followed the surprise and all but annihilation of Sumpter's forces, by Tarleton, at the Wateree. But the splendid affair at King's Mountain, on the 7th of October, in which Ferguson, with a body of twelve or fifteen hundred loyalists, and about one hundred British regulars, was defeated and taken by Campbell, Shelby, and Cleaveland, at the head of the hardy mountaineers of Virginia and North Carolina, with the re-appearance of Sumpter in the field at the head of a body of volunteers-defeating Major Wemys at Broad river, on the 12th of November, and repulsing Tarleton himself at Black-stocks near the Tiger river, on the 20th,-contributed not a little to revive the spirits of the Americans in that quarter. At the north, the only considerable movement by the enemy was the expedition of the Hessian General Knyphausen into New Jersey, during which he burnt thirteen houses and the church at Connecticut Farms, and fifty houses at Springfield. Fighting a battle at that place without achieving a victory, he returned to "Elizabethtown, and thence back to New-York.

But the great event of the Summer at the north, was the capture of the British Adjutant General, Major Andre, in the character of a spy, and the consequent detection of the treason of General Arnold. The annals of war furnish not a more flagrant instance of treachery than that Arnold was a brave man, who had shared largely in the confidence of Washington during the earlier years of the war; and although events had subsequently occurred which must seriously have shaken the faith of the Commander-in-chief in his private virtue and integrity, still he could not have entertained the slightest suspicion of his patriotism, or his integrity to the country; ignorant, probably, of the fact which will appear a few pages ahead, that even that had been questioned, during the Canadian campaign of 1776. But, aside from Arnold's thirst for military fame, which
* From the time of his leaving the command at Providence in the beginning of the preceding winter, General Gates had been residing at his own home in Virginia. He was unanimously appointed by Congress, on the 13th of June, to take command in the southern department.-Sparks.

certainly cannot be denied to him, his ruling passion was avarice. During his residence in Philadelphia, with the command of which he was invested after its evacuation by the British troops in 1778, he had lived in a style of splendor altogether beyond his means. Embarking largely in* privateering and other speculations, he had suffered heavy losses; and to supply an exchequer which had been exhausted by an almost boundless prodigality, he had resorted to acts of oppression and base dishonor. Another device to obtain the means of indulging his extravagance, was the exhibition of accounts against the public, so enormous as to demand an investigation by a Board of Commissioners. Many of these accounts being disallowed by the Commissioners, Arnold appealed to Congress. A committee of re-examination was appointed; the report of which was, that the Board of Commissioners had already allowed too much. He was shortly afterward brought to answer for his speculations, and other malpractices, before a General Court-martial; and he only escaped being cashiered, by the death of one witness and the unaccountable absence of another. Still, his conduct was pronounced highly reprehensible by the Court, for which he was subjected to a reprimand from the Commander-in-chief. The impression, however, was strong, and very general, that he ought to have been dismissed from the army. Stung to the quick at these censures of the Congress, the Court, and of his commander-hating that commander now, if he had not done so before, for the high-souled honor of his sentiments, and the exalted virtue and moral purity of his life-hating him the more bitterly because of his own fall-and stimulated to the foul purpose, like the Thane of Cawdor, by his wife, who was a traitress before him.*-Arnold had almost consummated his long-medi-
* It is well known that, on the detection of Arnold's treason and his flight, Mrs. Arnold was apparently deeply affected-tearing her hair, and seeming almost frantic. So great was her agony, that the feelings of Washington, Hamilton, and other officers, were greatly excited in her behalf. The author has long been aware, through the confidential friends of the late Colonel Burr, that Mrs. Arnold was only acting a part when she exhibited her distress. She was the daughter of Chief Justice Shippen, of Pennsylvania, and had been married to Arnold at Philadelphia in 1779. She had corresponded with Major Andre, during the Summer, under a pretext of obtaining supplies of millinery, &c. Her habits were extravagant, and had doubtless contributed to involve her husband more deeply in pecuniary difficulties. Having obtained from General Washington a passport, and permission to join her husband in New-York, Mrs. Arnold stopped on the way at the house of Mrs. Provost, at Paramus, the lady of a British officer, and afterward the wife of Colonel Burr, where she stayed one night. Here the frantic scenes of West Point were reenacted while there were strangers present; but as soon as they were alone, she became tranquilised, and assured Mrs. Provost that she was heartily sick of the theatrics she was playing. She stated that she had corresponded with the British commanderthat she was disgusted with the American cause, and those who had the management of it; and that, through great precaution and unceasing perseverance, she had ultimately brought the General into the arrangement to surrender West Point to the British, &c. &c. For farther particulars upon the subject, see Davis's Life of Burr, pp. 219, 220. In his letter in her behalf to General Washington, Arnold of course entirely exculpated his wife. The public vengeance, he said, "ought alone to fall on me. She is as good and as innocent as an angel, and is incapable of doing wrong."

tated treachery,* when the arrest of the unfortunate Andre saved not only the citadel of the army, but probably the cause of the country itself.

With a seeming desire of active service, Arnold had urged forward his trial," that, as he protested, he might be enabled the earlier to take the field. But in pursuance, no doubt, of his understanding with Sir Henry Clinton, his great anxiety was to obtain the command of West Point. With this view he wrote to General Schuyler, who was then in camp, as one of a Committee of Congress; and it is supposed that he likewise corresponded with Robert R. Livingston upon the subject. At all events, Mr. Livingston applied to General Washington for that station in behalf of Arnold. The application was successful, though not immediately. On the first of August, Arnold was assigned to the command of the left wing of the army. Complaining, however, that his wounds were yet too painful to allow him to act with efficiency in the field, on the 3d of the same month he was directed to repair to West Point, and take the command of the post.+

It would be foreign to the main design of the present work, to recapitulate the history of this memorable instance of the blackest treachery. Suffice it to say, that, after his arrest, the conduct of Andre was characterised by candor, manliness, and honor. He was tried by a board of officers, and convicted on
* Eighteen months before the consummation of his treason, General Arnold commenced writing to Sir Henry Clinton anonymously, and from time to time commicated to him important intelligence.-Sparks.

+ Letter of Washington to General Arnold, August 3, 1780. See, also, note of Sparks to the same, and other antecedent letters.

his own frank confessions, without the testimony of a single witness. His main object, after he saw his destiny was inevitable, was to relieve himself from the reproach of having been guilty of any act of personal dishonor; and to show that in fact he had been compelled to assume the disguise in which he was taken, by Arnold himself. And when he had expiated his error by his life, the feeling was almost universal, that the iron hand of the law-martial had fallen upon the wrong individual. For, although, in regard to Andre himself, it was doubtless right, under the circumstances of the case, that justice should be inexo rable; yet humanity cannot but weep over the hard fate of the victim, while it marvels that an inscrutable Providence did not so order events as to bring Arnold to the gibbet on which the youthful stranger so nobly died. " Never, perhaps, did a man suffer death with more justice, or deserve it less," was the remark of a gallant soldier who was in attendance upon him during his imprisonment; and the account of his character, written by that officer, and his demeanor during the trying scenes intervening between his arrest and execution, cannot be read without exciting emotions of high admiration and profound regret.* Happy, however, was his fate, compared with that of the archtraitor, whose moral leprosy, like the plague-spot, caused him to be shunned through life by all honorable men-an object of loathing and scorn, to fill-unregretted by any one-a dishonorable grave!

Resuming, again, the Indian relations of the North, the first occurrence to be noted is a visit made by several of the Oneida, Tuscarora, and Caughnawaga Indians to the French army in Rhode Island. The Caughnawaga Indians, residing at the Lachine rapids near Montreal, had been altogether in the interest of France down to the time of the conquest of Canada by the British and Provincial arms; and it was supposed that the ancient attachment of other branches of the Six Nations to the French had not been entirely lost. It was also recollected, that " when M. de Vaudreuil surrendered Canada to the En-
* The document referred to is a letter published in the Pennsylvania Gazette of October 25th, 1780, written, as was supposed, by Alexander Hamilton, at that time an Aid-de-camp to the Commander-in-chief. There is, either in the library or the picture gallery of Yale College, New-Haven, a likeness of Major Andre, sketched upon paper, by himself, during his confinement, and but a short time before his execution.

glish, he gave to the Indians, as tokens of recognizance, agolden crucifix and a watch; and it was supposed that a renewal of the impressions, which had been in some degree preserved among them by these emblems of friendship, might have the effect to detach them from the influence of the English, and strengthen their union with the Americans and French."* That the British officers were apprehensive that an influence adverse to the cause of the King might be awakened among the Indians by the alliance of the French with the Americans, was rendered highly probable, from the pains taken by the former to impress them with a belief that no such alliance had been formed.+ Hence it was judged expedient by General Schuyler, who was then at Albany, that a delegation of the Indians should be sent to Rhode Island, where conviction of the fact might be wrought upon their senses by the substantial evidence of the fleet and army.++ Thirteen Oneidas and Tuscaroras, and five Caughnawagas, were accordingly despatched to Rhode Island, under the conduct of Mr. Deane the Interpreter. They arrived at Newport on the 29th of August, and were received with distinguished marks of attention by the French commanders. " Entertainments and military shows were prepared for them, and they expressed much satisfaction at what they saw and heard. Suitable presents were distributed among them ; and to the chiefs were given medals representing the coronation of the French King. When they went away, a written address was delivered to them, or rather a kind of proclamation, signed by Count Rochambeau, copies of which were to be distributed among the friendly Indians." It was in the following words:-

"The King of France, your father, has not forgotten his children. As a token of remembrance, I have presented gifts to your deputies in his name. He learned with concern, that many nations, deceived by the English, who were his enemies, had attacked and lifted up the hatchet against his good and faithful allies, the United States. He has desired me to tell you, that he is a firm and faithful friend to all the friends of America, and a decided enemy to all its foes. He hopes that all his
* Sparks.
+ Letter from Washington to Count de Rochambeau. ++Idem.

children, whom he loves sincerely, will take part with their father in this war against the English."

The Caughnawagas being more conversant with the French than with the English language, the address was written in both languages, and signed and sealed in due form. *It is doubtful, however, whether either good or ill came from the movement. The Oneidas and Tuscaroras were already sufficiently true in their alliance with the Americans. The Caughnawagas had made friendly advances to the Americans before, which resulted in nothing. And as for the other and greater divisions of the Six Nations, their hostility, it will soon be perceived, was not abated.

But even yet the desire of vengeance, on the part of the savages, had not been satisfied. Smarting from the devastations of Sullivan's expedition, neither the irruption of Sir John Johnson to Johnstown and Caughnawaga, nor the invasion and destruction of Canajoharie byThayendanegea, was deemed by them a sufficient retaliatory visitation. Another and yet more extensive expedition, both as to the numbers to be engaged, and the object to be accomplished, was therefore planned and carried into execution, under the auspices of Sir John Johnson, Joseph Brant, and the famous Seneca warrior, the Corn-Planter.+ This latter chief was a half-breed, his fattier being a white man, living in the Mohawk country, named John O'Bail.++

The Indian portion of this expedition was chiefly collected at Tioga Point, whence they ascended the Susquehanna to Unadilla, where a junction was formed with Sir John Johnson, whose forces consisted, besides Mohawks, of three companies of his own regiment of Greens; one company of German Yagers; a detachment of two hundred men from Butler's rangers ;§ and one company of British regulars, under the immediate command
*Note in the Life and Correspondence of Washington by Sparks, and also a letter from the Count de Rochambeau, cited by him.

+ This is the first time that the name of this chief, afterward celebrated in our Indian annals, occurs in the history of the revolution, although he was in the field with his tribe against General Sullivan. There is some doubt as to the orthography of his parental name. It has been written Abeel, O'Beal, and O'Bail. The latter is the name according to Mary Jemison. He was, for a considerable period, the rival of the eloquent Keeper-Awake, Red Jacket, by whom his influence was ultimately destroyed and himself supplanted.
++ Mary Jemison. § MSS. of Major Thomas Sammons.
VOL. II. 8

of Captain Richard Duncan, the son of an opulent gentleman residing, previous to the war, in the neighborhood of Schenectady.* The troops of Sir John were collected at Lachine, near Montreal, whence they ascended the St. Lawrence to Lake Ontario and Oswego. From this point they crossed the country to the Susquehanna, where they were joined by the Indians and Tories from Tioga. Sir John had with him two small mortars, and a brass three-pounder, called a grasshopper, from the. circumstance of its being mounted upon iron legs instead of wheels. These pieces of ordnance were transported through the woods upon pack-horses. Every soldier, and every Indian, was provided with eighty rounds of cartridges.+

The Indians never breathed more fiercely for vengeance than at this time, and they went forth upon the war-path with a determination that nothing should impede their march or prevent their depredations.++ Their numbers have been variously estimated at from eight hundred to fifteen hundred and fifty-all descriptions of troops included. The latter estimate is probably the nearest to the truth, judging from the results of the campaign. Their course was by their old route, along the Charlotte river, (sometimes called the eastern branch of the Susquehanna,) to its source, and thence across to the head of the Schoharie-kill, for the purpose of making thorough work- in the destruction of the continuous chain of settlements through that beautiful valley to its junction with the Mohawk. The enemy had designed to keep the movement a profound secret, until proclaimed by his actual presence. Two of the Oneidas, in their service, having deserted, frustrated that design by giving information of their approach to the settlements.§ Whether from weariness of continual alarms, or from ignorance or doubt as to the quarter where the blow was to be struck, or from criminal negligence, cannot be told ; but it is certain that the surprise was as complete as the success of the campaign was discreditable to those who did not prevent it.

The plan of Sir John and Captain Brant was to enter the valley by night, pass, if possible, the upper fort unobserved, and then, by silently destroying the intervening settlements, attack
* Giles F. Yates, Esq. + Major Sammons.
++ Mary Jemison, who seems to have been present at the gathering.
§ Letter of General Haldimand to Lord George Germaine.

the middle fort, at Middleburgh, early in the morning. This fort was garrisoned by about one hundred and fifty state troops, called three months men, exclusive of some fifty militia-men-the whole under the command of Major Woolsey,* who, from all accounts; appears to have been an inefficient officer, and by some writers has been represented as the most miserable of poltroons.+ The design of passing the upper fort unperceived, was in part successful; nor was the enemy's approach to the middle fortress discovered until just at break of day, on the morning of the 16th of October, when a sentinel, named Philip Graft, standing upon the parapet of a mud wall, discovered a fire kindling in some buildings not more than a quarter of a mile distant. Calling to the sergeant of the guard, he communicated the discovery through him to the commanding officer. The drums at once beat to arms, and Major Woolsey requested forty volunteers to sally forth and discover the cause of the alarm. Every man on duty promptly responded to the invitation, and the complement was thereupon counted off from the right, and sent out in charge of Lieutenant Spencer. The little band proceeded, with alacrity in the direction of the burning buildings, until they suddenly encountered the enemy's advance. Three shots were exchanged, when Spencer retreated, and brought his detachment back into the fort without the loss of a man.++ At this moment the concerted signal of three guns from the upper fort came rolling down the gorge of the mountains, from which it was evident that the enemy had passed that fortress without molesting it. A proper degree of vigilance, however, ought certainly to have enabled the sentinels of that garrison to observe the advance of the invading army, instead of merely catching a glimpse of its rear. The moment the enemy had thus been discovered, front and rear, concealment of his approach being no longer possible, the torch was indiscriminately applied to such houses and barns as came in his way. The season had been bountiful, the rich alluvial
* MS. statement of Philip Graft, in the author's possession.
+ " Woolsey's presence of mind forsook him in the hour of danger. He concealed himself at first with the women and children in the house, and when driven out by the ridicule of his new associates, he crawled round the intrenchments on his hands and knees, amid the jeers and bravos of the militia, who felt their courage revive as their laughter was excited by the cowardice of their major."-Campbell's
Annals.
++ MS. statement of Philip Graft.

bottoms of the Schoharie-kill producing an unusually abundant harvest that year. The barns were therefore well stored with the earlier grains, while the fields were yet heavily burdened with the autumnal crops. But the husbandmen in the neighborhood, or those lodging for greater security in the little apology for a fortress, looked abroad at sunrise to behold the produce of their industry in flames.

Soon after sunrise the main forces of the enemy had arrived, and the fort was completely invested. A column of troops, with the pieces of light artillery heretofore mentioned, passed round the north-east side of the fort, and planted their guns upon an eminence commanding the American works. An officer with a flag was now despatched toward the garrison, and from the moment he was seen, an order was given to cease firing. All was silent until he had approached to within the distance of fair rifle shot, when the reader's old acquaintance, Murphy, recently of Morgan's rifle corps, but now making war on his own responsibility, expressed a determination to shoot down the officer by whom the flag was borne. He was instantly ordered by the officers of the regular troops to forbear. But the militia irregulars encouraged him to persist in his mutinous determination. He did so; but for once his rifle was untrue, and the flag-officer immediately faced about and retired to his own ranks.

Sir John thereupon opened his artillery upon the fort, while the Indians and rangers kept up a brisk fire of musketry-both without much effect. The enemy's field-pieces were probably of too small calibre for the distance, and the shells were thrown with so little skill, for the most part, as either to fall short, or fly over the works, or to explode in the air. Two shells, however, fell upon the roof of the house within the fort, one of which was precipitated down into a room occupied by two sick women. It sank into a feather bed, and exploded-but without inflicting farther injury. Fire was communicated to the roof of the building by the other shell, and was extinguished with a single pail of water carried up and applied by Philip Graft. Unfortunately the garrison was unable to return the fire with spirit, for the want of powder. The regular troops had only a few rounds each, and the militia were but little better provided in that respect. Messengers had been despatched to Albany on the preceding day for ammunition, and also for reinforcements; but neither had yet been received, so that the fort was but ill prepared for protracted or efficient resistance. But of this destitution the enemy was of course ignorant; and the shooting at his flag-officer may have been, and probably was, construed by Sir John as evidence of a determination to make no terms. Expecting a desperate resistance, therefore, the Baronet may, from that circumstance, have proceeded with the greater caution.

It was indeed a singular siege. The enemy, spreading over the whole of the little plain, were now occupied in feeble attacks upon the fort, and now dispersing in small detachments, to plunder another farm-house and burn another corn-stack. There was one large barn, situated near the fort, and around which stood a circle of stacks of wheat. These the enemy attempted several times to fire, but Lieut. Spencer sallied forth with his little band of forty, and so gallantly protected the property, that the enemy reluctantly abandoned his design upon that point Spencer was fired upon briskly in this sortie, but lost only one of his men.

In the course of the forenoon, another flag was despatched toward the fort by Sir John, which Murphy again determined to shoot down the moment the officer came within range of his trusty rifle. Major Woolsey and the officers interposed, but the militia again rallied round Murphy; and although one of the officers drew his sword, and threatened to run the offender through if he persisted, yet the rifleman coolly replied that he had no confidence in the commanding officer, who he believed intended to surrender the fort; that, if taken, he knew well what his own fate would be, and he would not be taken alive. As the flag approached, therefore, he fired again, but happily without effect; and the flag officer once more returned to the head-quarters of Sir John.* When the officers of the regular troops remonstrated against such a barbarous violation of the usages of honorable war, the militia soldiers replied that they were dealing with a foe who paid no regard to such usages; and, however strictly they might observe the rules of war and of etiquette themselves, the besiegers would be the last men to exhibit a corresponding course of conduct in the event of their success. The wailings of plundered and murdered families without the fort, and the columns of
* Statement of Philip Graft.

smoke and flame then ascending to the heavens, afforded ample testimony of the truth of their position. " The savages, and their companions, the Tories, still more savage than they, had shown no respect to age, sex, or condition; and it was not without force that the question was repeated, are we bound to exercise a forbearance totally unreciprocated by the enemy? "Besides,-" it was added, " let us show that we will neither take nor give quarters; and the enemy, discovering our desperation, will most likely withdraw."*

The desultory battle was again renewed-small parties of the garrison occasionally watching opportunities to sally forth and do what mischief they could to the enemy, retreating within the gates again when likely to be borne down by superior numbers. Sir John, perceiving at length that neither shot nor shells made any impression upon the garrison, formed his disciplined troops under shelter of a small building more immediately in the neighborhood of the fort, and prepared for an attempt to carry it by assault. A flag again approached, and Murphy brought up his rifle to fire upon it the third time. He was admonished, as before, to desist, and an effort was made to arrest him. But he was a universal favorite, and the soldiers would not allow the procedure. A white flag was then ordered to be raised from the fort, but Murphy threatened instant death to any one who obeyed the direction; and as the enemy's flag continued to approach, he was again preparing his piece, when an officer once more interposed. Captain Reghtmeyer, of the militia, standing by the side of Murphy, gave him the order to fire. The continental officer made a demonstration toward Reghtmeyer, by attempting to draw his sword; but immediately desisted as the latter clubbed his fusee, and gave an impressive motion with its breech, of an import not to be misunderstood; whereupon the Major stepped back, and there the matter ended.+ The officer bearing the flag, having been thus a third time repulsed, Sir John convened a council of war, and after a brief consultation, abandoned the siege, and proceeded on his Vandal march down the valley. The reason of this hasty change ofpurpose has never been known. Some have asserted that a pretended loyalist gave the Baronet an exaggerated account of
* The Sexagenary. + Ibid.

the strength of the garrison and its means of resistance.* Others have said that rumors of approaching reinforcements induced him to hasten forward, lest his projected march of desolation should be interrupted. But it is likely that the repeated violations of the flag had created an impression that such an indomitable garrison might not prudently be engaged steel to steel and hand to hand, by assailants not to be relied upon with much confidence in such emergencies.

The march of the invaders was rapid in the direction of Fort Hunter, at the confluence of the Schoharie-kill with the Mohawk river, in the course of which they destroyed the buildings and produce of every agricultural description.+ On arriving in the vicinity of the Lower Fort at Old Schoharie, Sir John divided his forces-the regulars continuing- down on the bank of the creek to the left of the fort, while the Indians skirted the meadows half a mile distant on the right. Having thus gained the north side of the fort, they made a stand for a brief space of time, and a few shots were interchanged. Some sharp-shooters having been stationed in the tower of the church, the enemy brought one of their field-pieces to bear upon it. A single shot only struck, which lodged in the cornice, and a discharge of grape from the fort drove the invaders back,++ whereupon their march was resumed and continued to Fort Hunter ; at which place they arrived in the night without interruption. In their course the whole valley was laid in ruins. The houses and barns were burnt; the horses and cattle killed or taken; and those of the inhabitants who were not safely within the walls of their little fortifications, were either killed or carried into captivity. Not a building, known by the Indians and Tories to belong to a Whig, was saved. Sir John had ordered his forces to spare the church at the upper Fort, but his mandate was disobeyed, and the structure was laid in ashes. The houses of the loyalists were passed unmolested ; but, exasperated by the destruction of their own habitations, the Whigs soon caused these
* Campbell.
+ The destruction of grain was so great as to threaten the most alarming consequences, in respect to the forming of magazines for the public service at the North. But for that event, the settlement of Schoharie, alone, would have delivered eighty thousand bushels of grain.-Letter of Washington to the President of Congress, Nov. 7, 1780.
++ Campbell's Annals.

to be numbered in the common lot.* Thus was the whole valley of the Schoharie-kill made desolate.

The loss of the Americans at the forts was very trifling. Only two were killed, and one wounded, at the middle Fort, and none at the lower. But of the unprotected inhabitants, numbers-according to some accounts, one hundred-were killed. There were some individual occurrences during the day, moreover, which are worthy of being specially noted. It happened early in the morning, that John Vrooman and two of his neighbors were upon a scout in the woods, about eight miles from the fort, when they discovered an Indian. Vrooman fired, and the Indian fell. At the same instant another Indian was discovered through the bushes, who was also brought down by one of Vrooman's companions. A third savage was now seen ; but as Vrooman's third companion hesitated about firing, Vrooman himself snatched his rifle from him, and brought that warrior also to the ground. At the same instant-for it was all the work of a moment-up rose from the ground a group of Indians and Tories, who set upon them with a terrible yell. Vrooman and his companions fled in different directions at the top of their speed, and succeeded, by reason of their wind and bottom, and their zigzag flights, in making their escape. It was noon when the former reached his own home,-only to behold his house in flames. His wife and her mother were made captives by an Indian named Seth Hendrick, who had formerly resided in Schoharie ; but they were released and sent back on the following day, by Captain Brant, together with a letter, written upon birch bark, explaining his reasons for allowing their return.+

One of the farmers, on that day, while engaged with his boys in unloading a wagon of grain at the barn, hearing a shriek, looked about, and saw a party of Indians and Tories between
* The Indians spared one house, from the consideration that it had formerly been occupied at one of their treaties.
+ The Sexagenary. The Vroomans were an extensive family in the Schoharie Settlements, and were severe sufferers. In the last preceding chapter but one, the boastings of Becraft, who had murdered one entire family of that name, have been noted. During the present expedition, the following persons, among others, were murdered, viz:-Tunis Vrooman, his wife and son ; while at the same time Ephraim Vrooman and his two sons, Bartholomew and Josias, John Vrooman, Martin Vrooman, Bartholomew Vrooman, Jun., Simon Vrooman, his wife and his son Jacob, were taken prisoners and carried to Canada.- Giles F. Yates

himself and the house. " The enemy, my boys!" said the father, and sprang from the wagon, but in attempting to leap the fence, a rifle ball brought him dead upon the spot. The shriek had proceeded from his wife; who, in coming from the garden, had discovered the savages, and screamed to give the alarm. She was struck down by a tomahawk. Her little son, five years old, who had been playing about the wagon, ran up to his mother, in an agony of grief, as she lay weltering in blood, and was knocked on the head, and left dead by the side of his parent. The two other boys were carried away into Canada, and did not return until after the war.*

The family of Ephraim Vrooman was also particularly unfortunate. He was at work in the field when he first discovered a straggling party of the enemy approaching. He started at full speed for his house, in order to obtain his arms, and sell his life as dearly as possible. But in climbing a fence he was seized, and taken prisoner. His wife, in endeavoring to escape by flight, was shot dead before his eyes. As she fell, her little daughter, aged eleven years, ran up, and cast herself down by the side of her dying parent, as clinging to her for protection, when an Indian came up, and added to the agony of the father and the crimes of the day, by crushing her head with a stone.+ There was an aged man in the middle Fort, who performed a bold exploit. He was the owner of a mill about two miles distant, at which his son had passed the night. Knowing that some one or more of the enemy's plundering parties would assuredly visit the mill, at the instant Lieutenant Spencer's party encountered Sir John's advance guard in the morning, the old
* The Sexagenary. "Ephraim Vrooman himself was carried away by Seth Hendrick, who treated him with much kindness by the way. There were two or three other Indians in the immediate party with Seth. These, before they arrived at their place of destination, grew tired of their prisoner, and proposed to despatch him. Mr. Vrooman overheard the conversation, which was conducted in a whisper, and repeated it to Hendrick. Hendrick assured him, in the most positive manner, that ' not a hair of his head should be touched,' and gave his companions a severe reprimand for their ungenerous conspiracy. After the termination of the revolutionary contest, Hendrick paid Mr. Vrooman a visit, and apologized for his conduct during the war, in the strong metaphorical language of his nation. The tomahawk, said he, is used only in war; in time of peace it is buried-it cuts down the sturdy oak as well as the tender vine, but I (laying his hand on Mr. V's shoulder,) I saved the oak."-Giles F. Yates.
+ The Sexagenary.

man sallied out and hastened to the rescue of his son. Mounting each a horse to return to the fort, they found it already invested by the enemy on their arrival. Nothing daunted, however, they passed within a hundred yards of the enemy at full speed, dashed up to the rear of the Fort, and were received in safety.* There was another incident transpiring at the fort, which stands in happy contrast with the conduct of the commanding major. The females -within the fortress are said to have displayed a decree of heroism worthy of commendation and of all praise. Being well provided with arms, they were determined to use them in case of an attempt to carry the works by storm. One of them, an interesting young woman, whose name yet lives in story among her own mountains, perceiving, as she thought, symptoms of fear in a soldier who had been ordered to a well without the works, and within range of the enemy's fire, for water, snatched the bucket from his hands, and ran forth for it herself. Without changing color, or giving the slightest evidence of fear, she drew and brought bucket after bucket to the thirsty soldiers, and providentially escaped without injury.+

Sir John remained in the neighborhood of Fort Hunter on the 17th, continuing the work of destruction in every possible direction. On the evening of that day Captain Duncan crossed the river with three companies of the Greens and some Indians. On the morning of the 18th, all that had been left standing of Caughnawaga at the time of the irruption of Sir John in the preceding Spring, and all that had been rebuilt, was ruthlessly destroyed by fire. A simultaneous and most desolating march up the river was then commenced by Sir John and the main body of his forces on the south side of the river, and by Captain Duncan's division on the north. As at Schoharie, the march of both was one of entire devastation. Rapine and plunder were the order of the day, and both shores of the Mohawk were lighted up by the conflagration of every thing combustible; while the panic-stricken inhabitants only escaped slaughter or captivity by flight-they knew not whither.+ Conspicuous among the sufferers was Major Jelles Fonda, a faithful and confidential officer under the father of Sir John; but who, having turned his
*The Sexagenary. +Idem. ++ MSS. of Major Thomas Sammons.

back upon the royal cause, was singled out as a special and signal mark of vengeance. His mansion at " The Nose," in the town of Palatine, was destroyed, together with property to the amount of sixty thousand dollars. The Major was himself absent.* His wife escaped under the curtain of a thick fog, and made her way on foot, twenty-six miles, to Schenectady. + Sir John encamped with his forces on the night of the 18th nearly opposite, or rather above the Nose On the following morning he crossed the river to the north side, at Keder's Rifts. The greater part of the motley army continued its progress directly up the river, laying waste the country as before. A detachment of one hundred and fifty men was, however, dispatched from Keder's Rifts against the small stockade called Fort Paris, in Stone Arabia, some two or three miles back from the river, north of Palatine. But, after marching about two miles, the main body also wheeled off to the right, to assist in attacking the fort. The work of devastation was continued also in this direction, as at other places.

The small fort just mentioned was at this time in command of Colonel Brown, with a garrison of one hundred and thirty men. An unfortunate occurrence induced him to leave his defences, and resulted in his discomfiture and fall. The circumstances were these:-the moment tidings that Sir John had broken into the settlements of the Schoharie reached Albany, General Robert Van Rensselaer, of Claverack, at the head of the Claverack, Albany, and Schenectady militia, pushed on by forced marches to encounter him, accompanied by Governor Clinton. Having arrived at Caughnawaga on the 18th, and having likewise ascertained that Fort Paris was to be assaulted on the morning of the 19th, Van Rensselaer dispatched orders to Colonel Brown to march out and check 'the advance of the enemy, while at the same time he would be ready to fall upon his rear. Brown, faithful to the hour designated, sallied forth, and gave Sir John battle near the site of a former work, called Fort Keyser. But General Van Rensselaer's advance had been impeded, so that no diversion was created in Brown's favor; and his forces were too feeble to withstand the enemy, or even to check his progress. Colonel Brown tell gallantly at the head of his
* In the State Senate, the legislature being then in Session at Poughkeepsie.
+ Antiquarian Researches, by Giles F. Yates.

little division, of which from forty to forty-five were also slain. The remainder of his troops sought safety in flight.

Colonel Brown, who fell on this occasion, was a soldier of great courage and high moral worth. He was early in the service, and was engaged in the memorable and ultimately disastrous campaign in Canada. While the American army was at Sorel, he detected, or believed he detected, a design on the part Of General Arnold then to play the traitor. Arnold was about making a mysterious night movement of the flotilla of light vessels belonging to the Americans, then with the army in the St. Lawrence, which Colonel Easton, suspecting all was not right, prevented-but not until he had ordered two or three pieces of ordnance to bear upon the vessels, threatening to fire upon them if they proceeded. The conviction upon the minds of Easton and Brown was, that it was the purpose of Arnold to run off with the flotilla, and sell out to Sir Guy Carlton.

After the close of the Canadian campaign, during the winter of 1776-77, while Arnold and many of the officers were quartered in Albany, some difficulty occurred between Brown and the former, which resulted in ill-feeling between them. Arnold was at the head of a mess of sixteen or eighteen officers, among whom was Colonel Morgan Lewis. Colonel Brown, having weak eyes, and being obliged to live abstemiously, occupied quarters affording greater retirement. In consequence of the misunderstanding referred to, Colonel Brown published a handbill, attacking Arnold with great severity; rehearsing the suspicious circumstances that had occurred at Sorel; and upbraiding him for sacking the city of Montreal while he was in the occupancy of that place. The handbill concluded with these remarkable Words :-" MONEY IS THIS MAN'S GOD, AND TO GET ENOUGH OF IT, HE WOULD SACRIFICE HIS COUNTRY."

Such a publication could not but produce a great sensation among the officers. It was received at Arnold's quarters while the mess were at dinner, and read aloud at the table-the accused himself sitting at the head. Arnold, of course, was greatly excited, and applied a variety of epithets, coarse and harsh, to Colonel Brown, pronouncing him a scoundrel, and declaring that he would kick him wheresoever and whensoever he should meet him. One of the officers present remarked to the General, that Colonel Brown was his friend; and that, as the remarks just applied to him had been so publicly made, he presumed there could be no objection to his repeating them to that officer. Arnold replied, certainly not; adding, that he should feel himself oblige to any officer who would inform Colonel Brown of what had been said. The officer replied that he should do so before he slept.

Under these circumstances no time was lost in making the communication to Colonel Brown. Colonel Lewis himself called upon Brown in the course of the evening, and the matter was the principal topic of conversation. The Colonel was a mild and amiable man, and he made no remark of particular harshness or bitterness, in respect to Arnold; but, toward the close of the interview, he observed-" Well, Lewis, I wish you would invite me to dine with your mess to-morrow." " With all my heart," was the reply; " will you come ?" Brown said he would, and they parted. The next day, near the time of serving dinner, Colonel Brown arrived, and was ushered in. The table was spread in a long room, at one end of which the door opened directly opposite to the fireplace at the other. Arnold was at the moment standing with his back to the fire, so that, as Brown opened the door, they at once encountered each other face to face. It was a moment of breathless interest for the result. Brown walked calmly in, and turning to avoid the table, passed round with a deliberate step, and advancing up close to Arnold, stopped, and looked him directly in the eye. After the pause of a moment, he observed: " I UNDERSTAND, SIR, THAT YOU HAVE SAID YOU WOULD KICK. ME : I NOW PRESENT MYSELF TO GIVE YOU AN OPPORTUNITY TO PUT YOUR THREAT INTO EXECUTION !" Another brief pause ensued. Arnold opened not his lips. Brown then said to him-" SIR, YOU ARE A DIRTY SCOUNDREL." Arnold was still silent as the sphinx. Whereupon Brown turned upon his heel with dignity apologised to the gentlemen present for his intrusion, and immediately left the room.

This was certainly an extraordinary scene, and more extra ordinary still is the fact, that the particulars have never been communicated in any way to the public. Arnold certainly did not lack personal bravery ; and the unbroken silence preserved by him on the occasion, can only be accounted for upon the supposition that he feared to provoke inquiry upon the subject while at the same time he could throw himself upon his well attested courage and his rank, as excuses for not stooping to a controversy with a subordinate officer. But it must still be considered as one of the most extraordinary personal interviews to be found among the memorabilia of military men.*

In the year following, during the campaign of Burgoyne, owing to the intrigues of Arnold, Brown was left without any command. But he was too much of a patriot to remain idle in such a moment of his country's peril. He raised a corps of volunteers on his own account, and performed one of the most daring exploits of the whole war. While Burgoyne was yet in the full career of victory, Brown dashed into his rear, and proceeding down to the north end of Lake George, fell upon a small post, which he carried without opposition. The surprise was complete. He also took possession of Mount Defiance, Mount Hope, the landing-place, and about two hundred batteaux. With the loss of only three killed and five wounded, Colonel Brown liberated one hundred American prisoners, and captured two hundred and ninety-three of the enemy. He made an attempt on Mount Independence and Ticonderoga; but, too weak for the investment of those works, he returned through Lake George to Diamond Island, containing the enemy's depot of provisions. He attacked the works upon this island, but being repulsed, burnt the vessels he had captured, and returned to his former station. This brilliant affair by Colonel Brown took place at the time when Arnold had the ear of General Gates; and the consequence was, that in giving an account of the expedition, Gates carefully avoided even naming the gallant officer who had planned and achieved it. It was an instance of neglect for which that officer ought for ever to have been ashamed. Colonel Brown was a gentleman of education, bred to the bar, and greatly respected by those who enjoyed the pleasure of his acquaintance. But to return.

After the fall of Colonel Brown, and the defeat of his troops,Sir John dispersed his forces in small bands, to the distance offive or six miles in all directions, to pillage and destroy. Latein the afternoon he reunited hiss troops, and leaving Stone Ara* The particulars of this interesting story were derived by the author from the lips of General Lewis himself.

bia a desert, marched back to the river road, east of Caroga Creek. The detachment of Captain Duncan having come up, Sir John again moved toward the west. There was a small defence not far from the mouth of the creek, called Fox's Fort. Avoiding this work by diverging from the road to the margin of the river on the left, Sir John continued his course three miles farther, to a place called Klock's Field, where, from the fatigue of his troops, and the over-burdens of provisons and plunder with which they were laden, it became necessary to halt.

General Van Rensselaer was now close in pursuit of Sir John, with a strong force. Indeed, he ought to have overtaken him in the early part of the day, since he had encamped the night before on the south side of the river, at Van Eps's, nearly opposite Caughnawaga, while Sir John himself was encamped opposite the Nose, only two or three miles farther up the river. Sir John's troops, moreover, were exhausted by forced marches, active service, and heavy knapsacks, while those of Van Rensselaer were fresh in the field. On the morning of the same day, while Continuing his march on the south side of the river, Van Rensselaer was joined by Captain M'Kean, with some eighty volunteers, together with a strong body of Oneida warriors, led by their principal chief, Louis Atayataronghta, who, as stated in a former chapter, had been commissioned a lieutenant colonel by Congress. With these additions, the command of General Van Rensselaer numbered about fifteen hundred-a force in every way superior to that of the enemy.

Sir John had stationed a guard of forty men at the ford, to dispute its passage. On approaching this point, General Van Rensselaer halted, and did not again advance until the guard of the enemy had been withdrawn. Continuing his march still upon the South side of the river, while the enemy was actively engaged in the work of death and destruction on the North, Van Rensselaer arrived opposite the battle-ground where Brown had fallen, before the firing had ceased, and while the savage war-whoop was yet resounding. This was at 11 o'clock in the morning, and the Americans came to a halt, about three miles below Caroga Creek, still on the south side. While there, some of the fugitives from Colonel Brown's regiment came running down; and jumping into the river, forded it without difficulty. As they came to the south bank, the General inquired whence they came. One of them, a militia officer named Van Allen, replied that they had escaped from Brown's battle. " How has it gone?" "Colonel Brown is killed, with many of his men. Are you not going there'?" " I am not acquainted with the fording place," said the General. He was answered that there was no difficulty in the case. The General then inquired of Van Allen if he would return as a pilot, and the reply was promptly in the affirmative. Hereupon Captain M'Kean and the Oneida chief led their respective commands through the river to the north side, expecting the main army immediately to follow. At this moment Colonel Dubois, of the State levies, rode up to the General, who immediately mounted his horse, and instead of crossing the river, accompanied the Colonel to Fort Plain, some distance above, to dinner as it was understood. Meantime the baggage wagons were driven into the river, to serve in part as a bridge for the main body of Van Rensselaer's forces, and they commenced crossing the stream in single files. The passage in this way was not effected until four o'clock in the afternoon, at which time the General returned and joined them, just as the last man had crossed over. Governor Clinton remained at the fort. As the General arrived at the water's edge, Colonel Louis, as the Oneida chieftain was called, shook his sword at him, and denounced him as a Tory. Arrived on the north side, Colonel William Harper took the liberty of remonstrating with the General at what he conceived to be a great and unnecessary delay, attended with a needless loss of life and property, on the part of the inhabitants who had been suffered thus long to remain unprotected. From that moment Van Rensselaer moved with due expedition. The troops were set in motion, and marched in regular order, in three divisions, with the exception of the Oneida warriors and the volunteers under M'Kean, who regulated their own movements as they pleased-showing no disposition, however, to lag behind. The advance was led by Colonel Morgan Lewis.

Anticipating that he should be compelled to receive an attack, Sir John had made his dispositions accordingly. His regular troops, Butler's rangers, and the Tories less regularly organized, -were posted on a small alluvial plain, partly encompassed by a - sweeping bend of the river. A slight breast-work had been hastily thrown across the neck of the little peninsula thus formed, for the protection of his troops, and the Indians, under Thayendanegea, were secreted among the thick shrub oaks covering the table-land of a few feet elevation, yet farther north. A detachment of German Yagers supported the Indians.*

It was near the close of the day when Van Rensselaer arrived, and the battle was immediately commenced in the open field. Two of the advancing divisions of State troops, forming the left, were directed against the regular forces of Sir John on the flatts, commencing their firing from a great distance with small arms only-the field-pieces not having been taken across the river. Colonel Dubois commanded the extreme right, which was so far extended that he had no enemies to encounter. Next to him were M'Kean's volunteers and the Oneida Indians, whose duty it was to attack Thayendanegea's Indians and the Yagers. These were supported by a small corps of infantry, commanded by Colonel Morgan Lewis. The American left was commanded by Colonel Cuylor of Albany. Sir John's right was formed of a company of regular troops. His own regiment of Greens composed the centre, its left resting upon the ambuscaded Indians. The latter first sounded the war-whoop, which was promptly answered by the Oneidas. Both parties eagerly rushed forward, and the attack, for the instant, was mutually impetuous. Dubois, though too far extended, brought his regiment speedily to the support of M'Kean's volunteers, who were following up the attack of the Oneidas. The hostile Indians manifested a disposition to stand for a few moments; but Dubois had no sooner charged closely upon them, than they fled with precipitation to the fording place near the upper Indian Castle, about two miles above-crossing the road in their flight, and throwing themselves in the rear of the Greens as a cover. The Mohawk chief was wounded in the heel, but not so badly as to prevent his escape.

The enemy's regular troops and rangers, however, fought with spirit, although Sir John himself was reported by some to have fled with the Indians.+ On the flight of the Indians, Major
* These Yagers were a sort of rifle corps-using short rifles.
+ Major Thomas Sammons, from whose manuscripts the author has chiefly drawn the facts of this portion of the narrative-i. e. after the arrival of Gen. Van Rensselaer at Van Eps's-is positive in his declarations, that the British Commander was among the first to flee. Other accounts speak differently. Major Sammons was in the battle, among the volunteers of M'Kean.
VOL. II.

Van Benschoten, of Dubois's regiment, hastened to the General for permission to pursue the flying enemy. It was just twilight; o and the indications were not to be mistaken, that the best portion of the enemy's forces were in confusion, and on the point of being conquered. The disappointment was therefore great, when, instead of allowing a pursuit of the Indians, or charging upon the feeble breast-work on the flatts, and thus finishing the battle, General Van Rensselaer ordered his forces to retire for the night. His object was to obtain a better position for a bivouac, and to renew and complete the battle in the morning-for which purpose he fell back nearly three miles, to Fox's Fort. His troops were not only disappointed, but highly incensed at this order, believing that the contest might have been victoriously ended in a very few minutes. Indeed, the brave Colonel Louis, of the Oneidas, together with Colonel Clyde and Captain M'Kean, refused to retreat, but sheltered themselves in the adjacent buildings-hanging upon the enemy's lines several hours, and making some prisoners. In the course of the evening Clyde, with a handful of Schoharie militia, succeeded in capturing one of the enemy's field-pieces. The Americans were still more chagrined on learning from one of the prisoners that the troops of Sir John were on the point of capitulating at the very moment of Van Rensselaer's order to retreat. And from the fact that the river was alike too rapid and too deep, where it curved round the battle-field, to admit of an escape in that direction, no doubt can be entertained that the enemy had been entirely within their power. Bin it was now too late. The golden opportunity had been lost. On the morrow's dawn there was no enemy in the field to encounter. Under cover of darkness the Royal Greens and Butler's Rangers had followed the example of the. Indians, and made good their escape.

Louis with his warriors, and M'Kean with his volunteers; crossed the river early in the morning, in pursuit. General Van Rensselaer also arrived on the battle-ground between 8 and 9 o'clock, for the purpose of completing the work of the preceding day. While he was crossing the river and preparing to follow on, some of M'Kean's volunteers, who were waiting for the main army, in strolling about, came upon a little block-house, in which they found nine of the enemy who had been made prisoners during the night. One of the party making the discovery was Thomas gammons, and among the prisoners was a Tory who had been his near neighbor in Johnstown. On being asked how they came there, this man, whose name was Peter Cass, replied " Why, l am ashamed to tell. Last night, after the battle, we crossed the river. It was dark. We heard the word, ' lay down your arms.' Some of us did so. We were taken, nine of us, and marched into this little fort by seven militia-men. We formed the rear of three hundred of Johnson's Greens, who were running promiscuously through and over one another. I thought General Van Rensselaer's whole army was upon us. Why did you not take us prisoners yesterday, after Sir John ran off with the Indians and left us? We wanted to surrender."

When Sir John fled from the field with the Indians and Yagers, he doubtless supposed all was lost. He laid his course direct for the Onondaga lake, where his boats had been concealed, pursuing the main road, and making only a slight deviation to the south of the German Flatts, to avoid the forts at that place. His Greens and Rangers followed closely upon his heels, and overtook him at Oneida. Van Rensselaer pressed forward in pursuit, with all his forces, as far as Fort Herkimer, where he was overtaken by Governor Clinton, who did not, however, interfere with the command. Louis and M'Kean were now pushed forward in advance, with orders to overtake the fugitive army if possible, and engage them-Van Rensselaer promising to continue his march with all possible rapidity, and be at hand to support them in the event of an engagement. On the next morning the advance struck the trail of Sir John, and took one of his Indians prisoner. Halting for a short time, Colonel Dubois came up, and urged them forward, repeating the assurances of the General's near approach and sure support. The march of the advance was then resumed, but they had not proceeded far before they came upon the enemy's deserted encampment, the fires yet burning. The Oneida chief now shook his head, and refused to proceed another step until General Van Rensselaer should make his appearance. There was accordingly a halt for some time, during which a Doctor Allen arrived from the main army, informing the officers that the pursuit had already been abandoned by the General, who was four miles distant on his return-march!

The expedition was of course at an end. But fortune had yet another favor in store for Sir John Johnson-to be won without the bloodshed that had attended his desolating course through the Mohawk Valley. Having ascertained where Sir John's boats were concealed, General Van Rensselaer had despatched an express to Fort Schuyler; ordering Captain Vrooman, with a strong detachment, to hasten forward in advance of the enemy, and destroy them. Vrooman lost no time in attempting the execution of his orders; but one of his men falling sick, or feigning himself to be so, at Oneida, was left behind. Sir John soon afterward came up; and being informed by the treacherous invalid of Vrooman's movement, Brant and his Indians, with a detachment of Butler's rangers, were hastened forward in pursuit. They came suddenly upon Vrooman and his troops while they were engaged at dinner, and every man was captured without firing a gun.*

The last obstacle to his escape having thus been removed, Sir John reached Oswego without farther molestation. By this third and most formidable irruption into the Mohawk country during the season, Sir John had completed its entire destruction above Schenectady-the principal settlement above the Little Falls having been sacked and burnt two years before. General Van Rensselaer has always been censured for his conduct in this expedition. Indeed his behavior was most extraordinary throughout. On the night before the battle of Klock's Field, Sir John was not more than six miles in advance-having left Van Eps's just before dark, where Van Rensselaer arrived and encamped early in the evening; and it was obvious to all that no extraordinary share of energy was required to bring the enemy to an engagement, even before the encounter with Colonel Brown. Major Sammons, at the close of his account of the expedition, remarks with emphasis-" When my father's buildings were burnt, and
* Major Sammons; also statement of John More, yet living, who was one of Sir John's soldiers. According to the official returns of Sir John Johnson, this affair of the capture of Captain Vrooman and his detachment took place on the 23d of October, at a place called Canaghsioraga. Two captains and one lieutenant were taken, together with eight non-commissioned officers and forty-five privates. Three privates and one lieutenant were killed.

" my brothers taken prisoners, the pain I felt was not as great as " at the conduct of General Robert Van Rensselaer."*

But Sir John's escape, after all, was rather a flight than a rettreat; and had it not been for the capture of Vrooman's detachment-a most unexpected conquest-the visible trophies of his expedition would have been few and dearly purchased. Indubitable evidences were discovered by the pursuers, that he was reduced to a most uncomfortable situation ; and from the Baronet's own letter to General Haldimand, it appears that there were many missing, who it was hoped would find their way to Oswego or Niagara. General Haldimand wrote to his government that Sir John " had destroyed the settlements of Schoharie and Stone Arabia, and laid waste a great extent of country", which was most true. It was added:-"He had several engagements with the enemy, in which he came off victorious. In one of them, near Stone Arabia, he killed a Colonel Brown, a notorious and active rebel, with about one hundred officers and men." " I cannot finish without expressing to your Lordship the perfect satisfaction which I have, from the zeal, spirit, " and activity with which Sir John Johnson has conducted " this arduous enterprise."+

While General Van Rensselaer was pushing forward in pursuit of Sir John Johnson, an incident occurred at Fort Hunter, which speaks volumes in favor of the character of Joseph Brant. The plundered and distressed inhabitants of the Schoharie settlements, the day after the enemy had departed from Fort Hunter, crowded about the fort, each his tale of loss or grief to relate. Among them was a woman, whose husband and several
* "With regard to the battle on Klock's Farm, and the facts stated in these papers, I would say that I joined with Captain M'Kean as a volunteer, and met Gen. Van Rensselaer on the south side of the river, opposite Caughnawaga, early in the morning; and of my own knowledge I know most of the facts to be as they are elated. I staid with the volunteers after the battle, and held the conversation with the prisoners found in the little block-house the next morning, as stated. I was with Capt. Kean when he had orders to advance and overtake Sir John, and a short time after saw Dr. Allen, who came to inform us that Van Rensselaer was returning. With regard to the route of Sir John, I received my account from those of his own party who are now living, and men of undoubted veracity."-Note of Major Summons-1836.

+ Letter of Sir Frederick Haldimand to Lord George Germaine, New Annual Register 1781.

other members of the family were missing. She was in an agony of grief, rendered more poignant by the loss of her infant, which had been snatched from the cradle. Early the next morning, while the officers at Van Rensselaer's head-quarters were at breakfast, a young Indian warrior came bounding into the room like a stag, bearing an infant in his arms, and also a letter from Brant, addressed " to the commanding officer of the rebel army." General Van Rensselasr not being present at the moment, the letter was opened by one of his suite, and read substantially as follows:-

" Sir: I send you by one of my runners, the child which he will deliver, that you may know that whatever others may do, I do not make war upon women and children. I am sorry to say that I have those engaged with me in the service, who are more savage than the savages themselves."

Among those thus referred to, he proceeded to name several of the leading Tories, including the two Butlers, and others whose names are not recollected.* It was very speedily ascertained that the infant was none other than that of the disconsolate mother of whom mention has just been made. Her sensations on again clasping her infant to her bosom need not be described; nor could they be.+

There was yet another adventure connected with this expedition, which was alike interesting and amusing. The Senecas, it has already been stated, were led by the Corn-Planter, whose

* The bitter hostility of the Tories of the Mohawk country toward their former neighbors, was at times exhibited in acts of such fiend-like ferocity as to defy explanation and stagger belief. In a former chapter the case of an infant murdered in its cradle by a Tory, after the refusal of an Indian to kill it, has been stated. There was another like instance in the neighborhood of the Little Falls, marked, if possible, by still greater brutality. An Indian having refused to kill an infant as it lay smiling in the cradle, the more savage loyalist, rebuking the compassion of the red man, thrust it through with his bayonet as a fisherman would spear a salmon, and held it writhing in its agonies in triumph above his head. A gentleman of the Bar, late of Little Falls, has assured the author, that to his knowledge the wretch who committed that diabolical act had the effrontery a few years since to present himself as a candidate for a pension, under one of the acts of Congress for rewarding the surviving soldiers of the revolution. The fact just related was fortunately elicited before his papers were completed, and the result need not be stated.

+ The author has received the account of this interesting occurrence from General Morgan Lewis, who was present at the time, a spectator of all the particulars.

father, as it has also been stated, was a white man named O'Bail. According to Mary Jemison, the residence of -the Corn-Planter's father was in the vicinity of Fort Plank, and, of course, not far from the battle-ground of Klock's Field. He had formerly been in the habit of travelling back and forth from Albany through the Seneca country, to Niagara, as a trader. Becoming enamored of a pretty squaw among the Senecas, in process of time the Corn-Planter became one of the living evidences of his affection. Whether the father was aware that a chief of so much eminence was his own son, history does not tell; but the son was ignorant neither of his parentage, nor of the residence of his sire ; and being now in his close vicinity, he took a novel method of bringing about an acquaintance with him. Repairing with a detachment of his warriors to his father's house, he made the old man a prisoner, and marched him off. Having proceeded ten or twelve miles, the chief stepped up before his sire, and addressed him in the following terms :-

" My name is John O'Bail, commonly called Corn-Planter. I am your son ! You are my father ! You are now my prisoner, and subject to the customs of Indian warfare. But you shall not be harmed. You need not fear. I am a warrior ! Many are the scalps which I have taken ! Many prisoners I have tortured to death ! I am your son ! I am a warrior ! I was anxious to see you, and to greet you in friendship. I went to your cabin, and took you by force : but your life shall be spared. Indians love their friends and their kindred, and treat them with kindness. If now you choose to follow the fortunes of your yellow son, and to live with our people, I will cherish your old age with plenty of venison, and you shall live easy. Bat if it is your choice to return to your fields, and dive with your white children, I will send a party of my trusty young men to conduct you back in safety. I respect you, my father. You have been friendly to Indians : they are your friends."*
* Life of Mary Jemison. In a letter written by Corn-Planter to the Governor of Pennsylvania, in 1822, complaining of an attempt made by the officers of that State to impose taxes upon him and the Senecas residing on the Alleghany, he began as follows:-"When I was a child, I played with the butterfly, the grasshopper, and the frogs. As I grew up, I began to pay some attention, and play with the Indian boys in the neighborhood, and they took notice of my skin being a different color from theirs, and spoke about it. I inquired of my mother the cause, and she told me that my father was a resident of Albany. I ate still my victuals out of a bark

The old gentleman, however, had sown his wild oats. His days of romance were over. Preferring, therefore, the produce of his own fields, the company of his white children, and the comforts of his own house, to the venison, the freedom, and the forests of the western wilds, he chose to return. His son, fulfilling his word, bowed to the election, and giving his father in charge to a suitable escort, he was enabled to reach his own dwelling in safety. The proud Seneca and his warriors moved off to their own wilds.

Simultaneously with the movements of Sir John Johnson through the Schoharie and Mohawk country, the enemy had been actively engaged against the settlements at the North of Albany, between the Hudson and Lake Champlain, and like-wise against some of the upper settlements on the Connecticut river. In order to create a diversion in favor of Sir John, Major Carleton came up the lake from St. John's, with a fleet of eight
dish: I grew up to be a young man, and married me a wife, but I had no kettle or gun. I then knew where my father lived, and went to see him, and found he was a white man, and spoke the English language. He gave me victuals while I was at his house, but when I started to return home, he gave me no provision to eat on the way. He gave me neither kettle nor gun, neither did he tell me that the United States were about to rebel against the government of England," &c. &c. By this statement it appears that he must have seen his father several years before the Mohawk campaign This may very well have been, and yet the anecdote related by Mary Jemison be true also. In every instance in which the author has had an opportunity of testing the correctness of her statements by other authorities, they have proved to be remarkably correct. Corn-Planter lived to a great age, having deceased within the last eight or ten years. He was an able man-distinguished in subsequent negotiations. He was eloquent, and a great advocate for Temperance. He made a very effective and characteristic speech upon that subject in 1822. " The Great Spirit first made the world, and next the flying animals, and found all things good and prosperous. He is immortal and everlasting. After finishing the flying animals, he came down on earth, and there stood. Then he made different kinds of trees, and woods of all sorts, and people of every kind. He made the Spring, and other seasons, and the weather suitable for planting. These he did make. But stills to make whiskey to give to Indians, he did not make."

"The Great Spirit told us there were three things for people to attend to. First, we ought to take care of our wives and children. Secondly, the white people ought to attend to their farms and cattle. Thirdly, the Great Spirit has given the bears and deers to the Indians." * * "The Great Spirit has ordered me to quit drinking. He wishes me to inform the people that they should quit drinking intoxi- cating drink." In the course of the same speech, he gave evidence that he was not overmuch pleased with the admixture of his own blood. " * * " The different kinds the Great Spirit made separate, and not to mix with and disturb each other. But the white people have broken this command, by mixing their color with the Indians. The Indians have done better by not doing so."

large vessels and twenty-six flat-bottomed boats, containing upward of one thousand men, regular troops, loyalists and Indians. Fort George and Fort Anne were both taken by surprise, and their garrisons, which were not large, were surrendered prisoners of war.* The party directed against the upper settlements of the Connecticut river, was commanded by Major Haughton of the 53d regiment, and consisted almost entirely of Indians, of whom there were two hundred. This marauding incursion was likewise successful. In addition to the booty taken, thirty-two of the inhabitants were carried away prisoners. Several of the militia, who turned out in pursuit of Major Haughton, were killed. In regard to Major Carleton's expedition, sad tales of cruelty were reported. One of these was a relation: by a deserter named Van Deusen, of a horrible case of torture inflicted upon a soldier of Colonel Warner's regiment, taken by Carleton in the action near Fort George. Van Deusen was a deserter from the American army to the enemy; but having stolen back into his own country, was apprehended and executed. Colonel Gansevoort, however, then in command at the North, wrote to Major Carleton upon the subject on the 2d of November, stating the particulars of the story. Carleton repelled the charge in the most positive and earnest manner, as will presently appear.+

The correspondence between Gansevoort and Carleton, however, was not confined to this particular transaction. Indeed, that was altogether an incidental affair, and the correspondence with Carleton himself was also incidental, being part only of a more extended negotiation with other and higher officers of, the British army in Canada, the object of which was the settlement of a cartel for an extensive exchange of prisoners at the North. The story will be best told by the introduction of a
* Forts Anne and George were taken by Major Carleton on the 10th and 11th of October. In his official report, Major Carleton stated his own loss, on both occasions, at four officers and twenty-three privates killed. The number of prisoners taken is stated at two captains, two lieutenants, and one hundred and fourteen privates.

+ Speaking of Carleton's expedition, Sir Frederick Haldimand, in a letter to Lord George Germaine, observes:-" The reports assiduously published on all occasions by the enemy, of cruelties committed by the Indians, are notoriously false, and propagated merely to exasperate the ignorant and deluded people. In this late instance Major Carleton informs me, they behaved with the greatest moderation, and did not strip, or in any respect ill use, their prisoners." Sir John Johnson had less control over his Indians at Schoharie.

portion of the correspondence itself, while at the same time several other points will receive satisfactory illustration.
GENERAL POWELL TO COLONEL VAN SCHAICK.
" St. John's, Sept. 22d, 1780.
"SIR,
"Agreeable to the promise made in my letter of the 15th of last March, I send by your returning nag of truce, Mrs. Campbell, Mrs. Moore, and their families, together with Matthew Cannon, and five others, made prisoners by the Indians on the Mohawk river, whose advanced time of life and earnest solicitations to return to their families, have induced General Haldimand to grant them that permission ;* as also Mr. Williams of Detroit, who desires to go to his relatives; and Mary and Betsey Lewis, who beg to go to their father near Albany. His Excellency is sorry that the breach of faith on the part of the colonists, in the cartel of the Cedars, has put it out of his power to enter upon an exchange of prisoners, and, notwithstanding their repeated attempts to escape, many throughout the province are enlarged upon their parole. o They have all a plentiful allowance of wholesome provisions, and those whom it is thought necessary to keep in confinement, are accommodated in the most comfortable manner circumstances will admit of. They have, besides, received money to the amount of the within accounts; and if this last indulgence is to be continued, it is but reasonable it should be remitted in coin; to which I am to desire your attention, as very heavy bills are every day presented from our troops who are prisoners in the colonies. "

"The attention which has been shown to Mrs. Campbell, and those in her unfortunate circumstances, as well as the good treatment of the prisoners, which it is hoped they will have the candor to acknowledge, is referred to for comparison, to those by whose orders or permission His Majesty's subjects have experienced execution, the horrors of a dungeon, loaded with irons, and the miseries of want.

" The families specified in the enclosed list have been long in expectation, and many of them promised permission, to join
* The prisoners above-mentioned, it will be recollected, were taken at Cherry Valley in 1778. See Mrs. Campbell's Narrative, sketched in Vol. I.

their husbands and relatives in this province: it is therefore requested they may be sent to your advanced post on the Skenesborough communication, and a flag of truce shall be sent from hence, in the course of three weeks, in order to receive them.
"I am, Sir,
" Your most obedient,
" Humble servant,
" H. WATSON POWELL,
" Brigadier General

" To Colonel Van Schaiek".
.COLONEL GANSEVOORT TO GENERAL POWELL.
" Saratoga, Nov. 2d, 1780.
" Sin,
" Your letter of 22d September last, directed to Colonel Van Schaiek, it becomes my duty to answer, as commanding this department until the arrival of General McDougall, who is daily expected.* The prisoners whom you noticed, I am informed, have taken the route to Albany, through Bennington." The families specified in your list,+ whom I believe to be
" This reference to the expected arrival of General McDougall was not exactly true, and was made as a ruise de guerre to mislead the British General as to the strength of the "Northern Department. The truth was, that Colonel Gansevoort was so weak in point of troops, that he was apprehensive of a second visitation from St. John's should Powell and Carleton obtain information of his actual means of resistance. Hence he threw in the name of McDougall, in order to create an impression at St. Johns that there was at least a General's command of troops at Saratoga. Colonel Gansevoort wrote to General Washington upon the subject, and gave this explanation for the deception he had practised in his letter to General Powell. There was, indeed, good cause for apprehension at that time. After Carleton had captured forts George and Anne, and returned down the lakes to St. John's, he had suddenly returned with reinforcements. The leaders in Vermont were also at the same time holding a correspondence with the British Commanders in Canada, of which semi-treasonable conduct. Ethan Allen himself was at the head, as will appear hereafter. General Schuyler had obtained some knowledge upon the subject, which he lost no time in communicating to the Commander-in-chief. The consequence was, the ordering of several regiments to the North, and the appointment of General James Clinton to the command of the Department at Albany.-Washington's Letters-Sparks.

+ The following is the list referred to, as enclosed by General Powell, viz:- "Names of the different families belonging to the following men of the 84th Reg't. residing at Saratoga: John McDonell's family; Donald McGrewer's family; Duncan McDonell's family; John Mclntosh's ditto ; Duncan McDonell's ditto; Donald McDonald's ditto; Kenneth McDonell's ditto; John McDonell's father and mother.

all in the vicinity of this place, were to have been sent to the British shipping in Lake Champlain in the beginning of last month. Major Carleton's incursion prevented their being forwarded then, and as all the batteaux in Lake George -were carried off by that gentleman, it may have been impracticable to send them on since, if even it had been proper, while he remained at Ticonderoga and Crown Point. I have written Major Carleton, and requested him to send batteaux to Fort Anne or Fort George, if he can, for their conveyance. As soon as I am advised of his determination, the necessary measures will be taken. The accounts of cash advanced to the prisoners in Canada, I shall do myself the honor to transmit to his Excellency, General 'Washington.

" It affords me great satisfaction to learn that the British have at length found it prudent to follow the generous example exhibited to them by the Americans, in the mild treatment with which the prisoners in the power of the latter have been invariably indulged during the war.

" It is, however, a justice due to General Carleton and his successors to declare that, from all accounts, the prisoners immediately in their power have been treated with much lenity.

" But you, Sir, suppose that British subjects in our possession have experienced executions, the horrors of a dungeon, loaded with irons, and the miseries of want. It is true some spies have been executed, and amongst these Major Andre, Adjutant General of the British army under the command of Sir Henry Clinton. And even his death, although justice required it, and the laws of nations authorised it, was and is lamented by us with a feeling of generosity which does honor to human nature. None have experienced the horrors of a dungeon, or been loaded with irons, excepting a few on whom it was thought proper to retaliate for the many, the very many, indeed, of ours, whom British cruelty and inhumanity could suffer to perish for want in dungeons and prison-ships, loaded with irons and with insults. If you are ignorant of these facts, I can excuse your observations. If not, give me leave to tell you they are unworthy the gentleman and the officer, and evince a degree of disingenuousness unbecoming either.

" If General Haldimand considers the governing powers of these States to have been guilty of a breach of faith with regard to the cartel of the Cedars, he ought to apply to them in regard to that matter. Barely to mention it to a subordinate officer, was indelicate and improper. But as you have ventured to accuse, I will venture to deny the justice of the charge; and, as far as my memory of that transaction serves, I think I can do it with propriety.*
" The newspapers announce that a general exchange of prisoners is settled below. Whether it extends to Canada, is not specified.
"l am, Sir,
" Your most obedient,
" Humble servant,
"PETER GANSEVOORT,
"Col. 3d N. Y. Reg't.

" To Brigadier General Powell."
COLONEL GANSEVOORT TO MAJOR CARLETON.
" Saratoga, Nov. 26, 1780.
"SIR,
" This will be delivered you by Major Rosecrantz, of my regiment, who, together with the persons named in my pass of this day's date, goes as a flag to carry the letters he is charged with, and to return with your answer.

" General Powell's letter of the 22d September last, Captain Monsell's of the 19th, and your's of the 24th ultimo, were, delivered me about noon to-day.

" I have left the letter for General Powell under flying seal for your perusal, that you may learn my determination respecting the families he requested to have sent. Should you conclude to send batteaux for them, they must come as far as Fort Anne, as the roads to Skeneshorough are impassable for carriages, or to the farther end of Lake George, which would be much easier for the women and children. Their number amounts to nearly three hundred; and I believe ten batteaux will be neces-
* The maxim of Colonel Gansevoort was, " his country, right or wrong." He would have found it a difficult undertaking, however, to justify the course adopted by Congress touching the cartel agreed upon by General Arnold at the Cedars. Indeed, the violation of the stipulations made on that occasion, had created difficulties in regard to exchanges of prisoners during the whole war. It was frequently a source of embarrassment, and even of mortification, to General Washington, during the course of nearly the whole war.

sary to carry them all at once. You will please to give directions to the officer whom you may send with your flag, to pass his receipt for the number of men, women, and children which shall be delivered. - Pray advise me on what day you think the batteaux will arrive at the place you may intend to send them, that I may so arrange matters as to cause the least delay.

" A certain James Van Deusen, who deserted from our service to you, and who, since you were on this side the, lake, has stolen back into the country, has been apprehended, and will suffer death as a deserter. He confesses that after the rencontre near Fort George, with some of Colonel Warner's men and your party, in which one of our Indians was killed, your Indians, in cool blood, scalped one of Warner's men alive, tormented him a considerable time and afterward cut his throat and all this in your presence. Your character, Sir, suffers greatly on this account. It has hitherto been marked by conduct the reverse of this sad catastrophe; and men of honor are unwilling to believe Van Deusen. I wish you to explain yourself to me on the subject.
" I am, Sir,
" Your most obedient and
"Humble servant,
"PETER GANSEVOORT,
" Col. 3d N. Y. Reg't.

"Major Carleton."
MAJOR CARLETON TO COLONEL GANSEVOORT.
" Mile Bay, Nov. 6th. 1780.
"SIR,
" By your flag I have this moment received your letter of the 2d instant, with one directed to Brigadier General Powell. Respecting the families intended to be sent in, I answer to both. Being entirely ignorant of the purport of Brigadier Powell's letter to you on the subject, and having no instructions from General Haldimand respecting that business, I can only say that such persons as are specified in the Brigadier's list will be received, provided the number of boats mentioned in my postscript can contain them. Should there be room to spare, the names contained in the enclosed list, or as many of them as can be taken on board, will be received. My boats shall be at Skenesborough on the 9th, where they shall remain till the 14th at night, and then return to me, as I could not take upon me the risk of their being frozen up there.

" I should have expected Captain Chapman would have given a flat contradiction to James Van Deusen's confession. No prisoner was scalped, or tortured alive. I saved the lives of several of the prisoners, who were neither stripped nor insulted in the smallest decree after the affair was over. I heard of one man being killed after he was taken during the firing, owing to a dispute between the two Indians, of different villages, who had taken him. He was either a negro or a Stockbridge Indian I believe, and he would not suffer himself to be conducted to the British guard by a loyalist officer. The attention of the officer was necessarily directed to the care of his own men; and after the action I heard of the man being killed."
"I am, Sir,
" Your most obedient, and
" Most humble servant,
"CHR. CARLETON,
" Major 29th Reg't.

" Colonel Gansevoort.
" P. S. There being no idea of this business, the shipping went down some days ago. I find it will not be in my power to furnish more than five boats. Could not the boat I gave to carry up the last families, be sent down with these?"*

No farther outrages were committed on the northern and western frontiers during that Autumn. The next information received of Brant and his associates, was brought to Fort Schuyler by a family of Oneidas who had been released from Niagara. They arrived at the Fort on the 6th of December. Colonel Weisenfeldts, then in command, caused the head Indian of the party, whose name was Jacob Reed, to be examined; and the whole examination was transmitted, as taken down by question and answer, to General Clinton. From this statement it appeared that Joseph Brant, Colonel Butler, and Colonel Guy
* These letters are contained among the Gansevoort papers, and have been copied from the originals by the author. The same papers, together with a letter from General Haldimand to Lord George Germaine, are likewise the author's authorities for the brief sketch of the expeditions of Carlelon and Major Haughton.

Johnson, were then in their old winter-quarters at Niagara. Of the Oneida warriors only thirty-seven had been persuaded to join the royal cause; one of whom had been killed, and five others had returned with Reed. The forces at Niagara at this time were stated to be sixty British regulars, commanded by a captain ; four hundred loyalists commanded by Colonel Butler, and twelve hundred Indians (including women and children), commanded by Brant and Guy Johnson. One of the objects of the late expedition to the Mohawk was stated by Reed to be the destruction of Schenectady; but as they had not penetrated so far, Brant and Johnson were meditating another campaign. The prisoners taken from Stone Arabia, after reaching Niagara, had been shipped for Buck Island in the river St. Lawrence; but from the long absence of the vessel, and the fragments of a wreck, drums, furniture, &c., which had been washed ashore, it was believed that she had been lost, and that all on board had perished. Reed farther stated, that as soon as the snow was hard, Brant, with five or six hundred warriors, was coming to the Oneida country, in order to keep within a convenient distance for sending scouts down the Mohawk. One of their objects was to be at all times prepared for cutting off the supplies proceeding for the garrison of Fort Schuyler. The Indians at Niagara, according to Reed's account, were well provided with every thing they could desire.* But it was far otherwise with Fort Schuyler at this time. The letters of General Schuyler were full of complaints, not only of the difficulty of procuring provisions, but also of forwarding them to the outposts. In one of his letters, written at that period, he said there was not flour enough in Fort Schuyler to suffice for a single day's consumption.+

Thus ended the Indian campaigns of the North for the year 1780. There were, indeed, other petty occurrences on the outskirts, alarms, and now and then a few shots exchanged with a straggling Indian or Tory scout. But no other occurrence of importance within the range of the present history, marked the winter then closely advancing. And never did winter spread his mantle over a scene of greater desolation than lay beneath it in the Valley of the Mohawk.

* General Clinton's Manuscripts, + MSS. of General Schuyler.

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