Читать книгу I am heartily ashamed - Gavin K. Watt - Страница 14

Undoubtedly, similar instructions and codes were issued to scouts from Lachine, Kanehsatake, Oswegatchie, Carleton Island, and Fort Niagara. No doubt, these cryptic messages caused unrest when discovered by rebel patrols.

On October 19, Riedesel reported to the governor regarding arrangements he had made for the employment of two detachments over the winter. Three officers and twenty-four men from the King’s Rangers and Fraser’s Independent Company had been chosen for the duty. Two of the officers and sixteen men would be posted at the Upper Yamaska Blockhouse on the river of the same name and a third officer and eight men would operate from the Loyal Blockhouse at Dutchman’s Point at Longe Isle on Lake Champlain. An officer and eight men would patrol south from Yamaska to the Bayley-Hazen Road, and another party would cover ground from the Loyal Blockhouse eastward along the Missisquoi River. They were “to observe very carefully all Tracks as well as those which go out of the Province as those which come in to it, and when they find any fresh to follow them; they are not always to take the same route, but they must strike some part of Hazen’s Road, and they are to make particular marks at certain distances for which the Officers commanding at each Post have rec’d instructions.”³

John Stuart, the Anglican priest who had been the missionary to the Fort Hunter Mohawk castle and its nearby European community, had been one of Haldimand’s most useful spies. When the priest realized he was in imminent danger of exposure, he obtained permission from New York’s governor, George Clinton, to remove his family to Canada and, after enduring an arduous journey, the Stuarts arrived in Montreal on October 13. The priest wrote of his experiences to his superiors at the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, reporting that the rebels had first set up a tavern in his church and dispensed liquor from its reading desk. Next, they converted the building into a stable and, in 1781, into a fort, “to protect a Set of as great Villains as ever disgraced Humanity.” As Stuart had been forced to come away without the protection of a flag of truce, he had left behind the mission’s books and its silver plate with a trusted friend in Schenectady.

After Burgoyne’s defeat, his Mohawk congregation relocated at Lachine, seven miles from Montreal, and, when Stuart arrived in the city, they enthusiastically greeted him and requested that he reside with them at their new settlement. But, Stuart had a family to support and his personal property had been so thoroughly looted that he was without resources and was therefore compelled to take employment as chaplain of the second battalion, King’s Royal Regiment of New York (2KRR).⁴

The same day that Stuart wrote to the SPG, Montreal district’s commander, Brigadier Ernst de Speth, former commander of Riedesel’s Musketeer regiment, reported a revolt of the rebel prisoners at Coteau-du-Lac where an offshore island prison held the most intransigent captives. He had immediately reinforced the garrison with a detachment of Sir John’s first battalion (1KRR). Complicating this affair was a collection of forty-seven new prisoners that was to be sent to the island from Fort St. John’s in the next few days.⁵

A week later, Royal Yorker major, James Gray, wrote that the report of a revolt had been groundless and described his battalion’s garrison at the post; on the island he had a subaltern and thirty men and, on the mainland, a captain, subaltern, and fifty men.

Another week passed and the post’s commandant, Captain Joseph Anderson, apprised Gray about a fire in the Prison Island’s joiner’s shop and the prisoners’ barracks. He did not say if the prisoners had had a hand in the incident, but to judge from earlier strife, the blaze was likely set as cover for another escape attempt. It seems that Gray had been indulging in another cover-up to protect the reputation of his captain and battalion. Earlier in the year, a similar “game” had infuriated the district’s previous brigadier, Allan Maclean, RHE.⁶

Captain Georg Pausch of the Hesse-Hanau artillery, who had seen praiseworthy service under Burgoyne in 1777, had returned to Quebec with Riedesel. He wrote to his Crown Prince on October 16 reporting that the Hanau Jägers were on an expedition under St. Leger, “which supposedly is to cross Lakes Champlain and Ontario, in the region of Niagara and Detroit.” For someone who had earlier been in Canada for well over a year, Pausch had as little understanding of the country’s geography as his fellow Hessian, Lieutenant-Colonel von Kreutzbourg, revealed in his personal journals.

The captain described the material state of his artillery company, noting that, in obedience to the prince’s orders, the men were without firelocks. They had bayonets with sheaths mounted on their cartridge pouch straps, but why they had either item of equipment without the requisite long arms is a matter of conjecture. With some difficulty, he had purchased a small wooden drum similar to that used by the English on which his newly recruited black drummers could practice. He praised the new powder flasks and slings supplied by the prince as being beautifully decorated, but again, of what use were these without muskets? He had unsuccessfully requested hangers from Lieutenant-Colonel Macbean, the British artillery commander. The few he had were without sheaths or scabbards, so he had the latter made locally and employed surplus flask slings for carriages, assuring the prince that they would be kept whole so they might be returned to their original purpose. He had brought new, plain uniforms from New York and had gold lace mounted. Further, he had purchased new stockings and shoes and had short, black woollen gaiters made.⁷

On October 20, Haldimand sent dispatch No. 94 to Lord George Germain to advise that Major-General Alured Clarke had arrived with his family. Clarke had been sent to Canada in response to the governor’s request for a Briton to outrank his German senior officers in whom he had so little confidence, but Riedesel’s surprising arrival had altered the situation. The governor enclosed a copy of a letter, in which the baron wrote of his disappointment at finding himself ranked junior to Clarke, noting that the Briton had been serving as a colonel long after his own appointment to major-general. Haldimand was concerned for Riedesel, as his claim was valid and his military talents unquestioned. To avoid giving offence, he had posted the two generals “as distant from one another as possible;” Riedesel at Sorel, where he had particular knowledge of the town and the adjacent frontiers, and Clarke at headquarters in Quebec City.⁸

Arent Schuyler DePeyster, 1736– 1832. Born in New York, DePeyster joined the 8th Regiment in 1755. In 1779, he was appointed major-commandant at Michilimackinac and took command at Detroit that October.

As to affairs at Niagara, sometime during the fall, a dissatisfied clerk employed by the trading company of Forsyth and Taylor reported that the government was being robbed of vast sums. The company had been Colonel Guy Johnson’s major supplier for the Six Nations’ Indian Department (6NID), particularly when supplies from Britain ran short. The trading partners were arrested and ordered down to Montreal and Guy was instructed to follow with his account books.

All of Haldimand’s suspicions about the superintendent’s lack of acumen and managerial skill were confirmed during the interminable investigation. In the meantime, the sick and grieving father, John Butler, who was the department’s deputy agent at Niagara and the commander of Butler’s Rangers, once again assumed Johnson’s responsibilities.⁹

On October 20, Brigadier Henry Watson Powell, Niagara District’s commandant, reported news from Major Arent DePeyster, 8th Regiment, the senior military officer at Detroit. Butler’s Ranger captain, Andrew Thompson, had fallen overboard and drowned in Lake Erie en route to Niagara. Not mentioned was the fact that Thompson had quarreled with the vessel’s master and, in a furious attack, was fended off and tumbled overboard to his death. It was an ignominious end to a gallant loyalist officer who had performed such good service in the 1780 October expedition and on detachment in the west in 1781.

Powell reported that Lieutenant Richard Wilkinson, 6NID, was desirous of succeeding Thompson and, “with the greatest pleasure,” forwarded his pretensions “knowing him to be an active, good Officer that Colonel Butler is desirous to have in his Corps.” The brigadier was unaware that Wilkinson had displeased the governor when he earlier quit the Royal Yorkers on what — in Haldimand’s view — was the slim pretense of family affairs.

The report ended with the advice that Butler had sent Captain Caldwell and twenty-five men to Detroit to relieve Thompson’s company. This was all that could be spared, as the commitment to Ross’s expedition was so great.¹⁰

In a similar fashion, ordinary military business had continued at the rebels’ northern posts. Just days before Ross struck, Lieutenant-Colonel Marinus Willett, the officer responsible for the defence of the Mohawk region, reported to his political master, Governor George Clinton, that he had received advice about the pay, subsistence, and clothing for his regiment of Levies and a handful of three-years’ men, but there was no word about how they would be mustered. He noted that regulations required that every brigade have a Commissary of Muster, but, as his regiment was not brigaded, he had no one to turn to and earnestly requested the appointment of a major of Levies. The governor complied by appointing a major to muster and inspect the Levies in the valley and arranged for a New Hampshire captain at Saratoga to muster those Levies stationed there.

On October 23, the governor attended the state legislature at Poughkeepsie to remind the assembly that the terms of their regiments of Levies were about to expire and that a new arrangement would be required for the upcoming year. He suggested revising the law for raising three-years’ men on land bounties, as the officers of the current Levies believed that, if further time was allowed and a small additional bounty granted, a number of recruits might be obtained from amongst their men.¹¹

Only a few weeks remained of open navigation when Haldimand made the facile observation in a letter to Germain dated October 22 that Quebec was no longer in danger of invasion for the present campaign. He also agreed with the secretary’s observations that, while offensive operations in the south occupied the Allies’ attention and, as long as Vermont could be prevented from taking an active part, no serious attempt would be made against Quebec, which made his earlier concerns about an attack even less understandable. As to the offensives he was expected to mount, he wrote:

I have always Sent Detachments upon the Frontiers of the Rebel Provinces to alarm the Country and destroy Supplies — These Continued Excursions have so desolated the Settlements and driven in the Inhabitants, that it now becomes necessary for Parties to penetrate so far into the Country, to have any Effect, as to endanger their Safety, every Peasant being now a soldier, and prepared to assemble on the Shortest notice which was Experienced upon Sir John Johnson’s last Excursion to the Mohawk River, from whence his Retreat became difficult & hazardous, & if vigorously opposed would have been very fatal.

The governor then addressed the subject of Colonel Guy Johnson, which had “occasioned to me more uneasiness than I have words to Express.” He had concluded from the tone of Germain’s correspondence that the secretary and the King believed his removal of Johnson was the result of a personal vendetta:

I should be the most unhappy man living, could I suppose His Majesty, or Your Lordship thought my Conduct in that Affair actuated by an unhandsome motive, or any other than that alone which intirely occupies my thoughts & directs my actions, the Good of the Kings Service & the Welfare and happiness of his Subjects entrusted to my Direction — Your Lordship may Depend I shall on all future occasions most punctually Observe His Majestys Commands Conveyed to me in Your Lordship’s Letter, and I firmly Rely on His Majesty’s Justice so strongly Expressed by Your Lordship that he will never Condemn any man unheard, or act upon any Information he may Receive relative to the Province in which I Command, without giving me an Opportunity of Submitting my Sentiments to the Royal Consideration.

As to the great difficulties of controlling Indian Department expenses, he intended “to reduce them more to Method and render them less obscure.”

The next day, the governor wrote a secret dispatch to Germain to advise that he had just received the secretary’s information of May 4, to wit — that the French Court intended to dissuade Congress from any attempt on Canada until all the king’s troops were driven from the thirteen colonies. Germain had recommended that Haldimand co-operate with Sir Henry Clinton by sending a large force to Vermont to encourage their declaration for his majesty and he was able to report that this measure was already in train.

In a second dispatch, he duplicated his private letter of July 8 and added up-to-date information about his Vermont negotiations, including an explanation of the rationale behind the proclamation he had sent with St. Leger:

Guy Johnson habitually put the wrong foot forward in his dealings with Governor Haldimand, which ultimately led to his removal as the senior Indian superintendent.

The very Strong assurances of Sincerity Made, by the agents of Vermont in this Business in Behalf of the Governor, part of the Council, and the obvious difficulties they represent in the Way of a Sudden Revolution Where the Prejudice of a People is So Violent, demand some Credit and Attention, and in a great Measure have removed my Suspicions of the Sincerity of Allen’s Party…. The Prejudice of a great Majority of the Populace, and the Prevailing Influence of Congress are too powerful to admit of a Sudden Change by negotiation. The Leading Men who profess themselves in the King’s Interest advised as a last Resource, My Issuing a Proclamation Confirming to Vermont the late assumed Territory, and Other Privileges … thinking that from a Late Refusal of these by Congress, the Populace May be inclined to accept of Terms from Government.

The Crisis is arrived when Some Serious Measures must be taken with Vermont, their Strength & Influence is growing Rapidly, and the Congress are upon the Point of according to their Demands — In So Critical a Juncture I most Sensibly Feel the Want of Particular Instructions, fearing on one Side to Let an opportunity escape, which May never be recalled, and on the Other, taking upon My Self a Decision of Such Importance as is proposed in my Proclamation…. How far Incroachments by Vermont on New York and New Hampshire May Affect Future Politicks, I know not — at present, I conceive them indiscriminately engaged in Rebellion, and if a Reunion of the Most Valuable of them with the Mother Country Cannot be effected by any other means than by Sacrifising the Interest of one to another, I consider it My Duty to Make the Attempt … But if nothing Decisive should happen this Season, and that Vermont remains in her present State, I See no other means to gain her, than by the Same Measure in the Spring when, favored by the Season and the Supply of Provisions I have now got, it May be undertaken with more Vigour.

From his description of Vermonters, it becomes clear that Haldimand’s attempt to bring them into the British fold was as much from a desire to remove a potent enemy, as it was to discomfit the United States. He continued:

[They have a] Knowledge of the Country and the facility with Which Bodies, now used to Arms & to Danger can on the Shortest Notice present themselves — In Such a State are at present the Inhabitants of Vermont & its neighbourhood, the Former Much Superior, the Latter very little Inferior to the Continental Troops. — Too Much Cannot be Said upon the advantages that would Result from a Reunion of Vermont and the Evil Consequences Which Must attend Her uniting With the Other States against us. [I]n this Conviction, I have Spared no pains to bring about the former.

In yet another dispatch, he revisited the subject of the Indian Department:

I have been Reflecting upon Means to controle the Expense … and cannot devise any other than by appointing Some Person of Rank, Influence, Knowledge, Activity and Perfect Honor to Superintend the Northern Confederacy, and Make an Annual Visit to the Several Posts, to Examine into the Transactions of them, and Make Such Reformations from time to Time as he Shall find necessary, first having laid down a Regular System calculated for the local Circumstances of Each. Such a Salary to be annexed to this Employment as would be adequate to the Laborious Duties of it, and every Consideration from Contracts, or Connections with Supplying Presents, to be positively prohibited, these to rest entirely to the Crown, but Subject to Inspection With Regard to the Qualities, Shipping &c of the Goods, by Such persons as the Superintendent shall appoint. Sir John Johnson being the only Person here, or any where Else within my knowledge, Whose Qualities in every Respect Come within the above Description, I would humbly Propose for Your Lordship’s Consideration, the Expediency of this measure. Knowing that Sir John Johnson from other Views, formerly declined this Office, it was necessary for me, before I could Mention it to Your Lordship, to ask him if it would be agreeable to him to accept of it, provided Such a Measure Should take Place, which I have Just done and Find that in Consideration of the ruinous State of his Private Affairs, the great uncertainty of their being Repaired, and having a growing Family, it would not be unacceptable to him, and if he does undertake it, I have that Confidence in his Virtuous Zeal for the King’s Service that I have not a doubt he would be indefatigable in forming a Reformation of infinite moment to the State. Sir John Johnson would be better Received, and assisted than any other Person by Colonel Johnson & Mr. Claus from his Family Connection With them. I have long Wished to give him the Rank of Brigadier General, but my aversion from Multiplying appointments and Expense has hitherto prevented it. This would be a favorable opportunity for me to promote him to that Rank, and it would have this good Effect, by being Joined to the appointment, it would give him the entire Command of the Lieutenant Governor & Superintendents who, in the latter Capacity, appear too apt to considere Themselves independently with Regard to the Expense they incur. The Appointment of a Brigadier General While it existed, Might in Some Measure diminish the Salary of the other — Should this Plan take Place, an interior arrangement must be naturally Considered of as every Circumstance relating to the Department should Come thro’ the Superintendent. All Bills before they appear for acceptance Should be Certified by Him, as from the Separate directions. He would give, He would be enabled to judge of the Propriety, and to cheque Expenses Which appeared unnecessary — It is not in nature that a Person residing at the distance I do from these Posts, Can have any Personal Knowledge of the Variety of Contingencies, Which put together, amount to amazing Sums — when, after writing Volumes upon the Subject of Economy, I am told Such and Such Expences are Absolutely Necessary to the Service, I must Submit, or Stand by the Consequences — These Centering in one Person, whose Duty It becomes Personnally, to investigate every Circumstance, and be responsable for the Propriety of the Charges, Cannot fail to controle, and keep within Bound, the Expences.

In another dispatch, the governor addressed the topic of his problematical Provincials, duplicating an earlier report that had gone missing. He mentioned the new footing on which the king had placed the Provincial Corps appeared to have “removed a Jealousy and Langour which promised but little Success in New Levies.” He had given a beating order to Sir John for a second battalion, which was currently “in great forwardness.” He had “likewise directed Messrs Jessup and Peters to Compleat their Battalions … with all possible Dispatch, and Recruiting Parties have been Some time in the Colonies for that Purpose;” however, he worried that:

[M]ore Should be expected from those Gentlemen than they can perform, [as] that they are by no means possessed of the Influence and Abilities represented by their Friends at Home…. Many of the Officers proposed for their Corps (by whom assistance alone they Can expect to raise them) have Expressed a disinclination of Serving under them, and they wished to be allowed to raise independent Companies. This I have discouraged, in order to Support Messrs Jessup and Peters who certainly are not without Some Merit.

The small corps had “Suffered Much by the Death of Major McAlpin, an Old and Valuable Officer, Who had been Settled Some Years in the Neighbourhood of Albany, and being generally beloved, had great Influence with the People.” He had hopes that the new recruiting parties would “favor the Escape of a great Number of Loyal Subjects said to be in those Parts in waiting for opportunity and by that means compleat Sir John Johnson’s and the two other Battalions.”

On a related topic, he advised that farming at the upper posts was in a forward state and families of loyalists were established for that purpose. New settlements had been carefully selected in the Niagara region for the Six Nations’ Indians; however, “these People are So averse from Labour that Little Progress can be expected …While the King’s Stores remain open to their demands.” (By this, he revealed a typical white prejudice against native men, as native women, in their own fashion, worked as hard and as productively as any white farmer. It was a societal division of labour that was ill-understood or accepted by Europeans.) The governor closed by commenting that rations were being issued to both natives and loyalists according to age; children under twelve received a half ration, as did the natives when they were not on campaign.¹²

Shifting the scene to the Mohawk region — while St. Leger’s Provincials were setting fires along Lake George and Willett was pursuing Ross’s troops through the woods north of Fort Dayton, four Tryon militiamen went to New Dorlach to harvest peas and pen in some hogs. The day was cold and raw with rain and snow falling alternately. They searched the nearby woods for the swine without realizing that a war party was hidden nearby in a barn. After looking for some time, the four were thoroughly wet and cold and retired to the house to get warm. After propping their guns against a wall, they gathered around the fireplace to enjoy a fire. The Indians crept into the house and had the men surrounded before one fellow recognized the danger and lunged for his firelock. He was easily thwarted. A chair was stripped from the grasp of another and the men bowed to the inevitable. After plundering the house, the natives led the prisoners away in falling snow. The captives experienced the usual ordeal — horrid depravation on the trip to Niagara and the mandatory running of the gauntlet at several native villages. One man was singled out for very heavy beatings and gave up and died. Another was sent to Coteau-du-Lac from where he successfully escaped with several others.¹³

In late September, Lieutenant Adam Crysler, 6NID, had been instructed by Colonel Guy Johnson to raid the Schoharie Valley. Crysler’s frequent appearances there prompted militiaman John Bellinger to recall that the country was in a continual state of alarm. Over a span of six months, Bellinger had only farmed for a total of six weeks, and, even while doing so, he “was never without his gun near him & within a moment’s reach.”

Over a month after leaving Niagara, Crysler’s band emerged in the Schoharie. Where they had been during October and what mischief they had committed is a mystery. Early on the chilly morning of November 9, the twenty-eight-man party of Oquagas and Schoharies broke cover in Vroomansland at the home of Colonel Peter Vrooman, the commander of the 15th Albany County Militia (15ACM). Their goal was abduction, as a high-ranking, dedicated rebel such as the colonel would yield a handsome reward.

As the campaign season had been judged over, Peter’s relative, former committeeman Isaac Vrooman, had returned to the Valley to make preparations for bringing his family back from the Hellebergh for the winter. Peter himself had spent the summer and early fall in a hut in the Upper Fort and, just a few days before, had come home to organize his winter quarters.

Mohawk ball-headed club or casse-tête and “Seth of Scoharee’s” hieroglyph. A very effective hand-to-hand combat weapon. Note the large mass of the ball, which could readily crack a skull or break a limb. At least two of Seth’s sons, Henry and Joseph, were British partisans. Seth’s Henry was a particularly active, bold, and vicious warrior.

Isaac rose before dawn to work on some horseshoes in a little blacksmithing shop near the house and took a shovel of coals to start a fire. At first light, he left the shop to call for Peter’s help. Suddenly, two shots were fired, one by Crysler, the other by a native standing at his side. On hearing the gunfire, Peter burst from the house and sprinted for the fort, which lay some four hundred yards off. He had a solid lead before several warriors set off in pursuit.

The colonel’s wife, Engeltie, rushed upstairs when she heard firing. Peering out a window, she witnessed Isaac bellowing in agony while the Schoharie warrior, Seth’s Henry, tore off his scalp. The deed done, Henry gave Isaac a crack with his war club, slashed his throat and, using the bloody knife, cut a notch into the club’s handle beside many others. In one of his bizarre and macabre acts of bravado for which he was so well known, he laid the club on Isaac’s corpse as a sign to his enemies of his prowess.

When the Indians entered the house to plunder, Engeltie bravely descended the stairs and spoke to them in their dialect. Women were often spared from death and this occasion was no exception, particularly as the lady was recognized for her many kindnesses before the war. Coolly, she shook Henry’s hand, which was slathered in Isaac’s blood. With such a sign of friendship and show of sheer sang-froid, her children were spared from abduction.

With one child on her back and another in her arms, Engeltie was about to leave for the fort when a ten-year-old black boy clutched her petticoat and pled to be taken with her, but she knew that the natives’ generosity and patience would not extend that far and told him to go with them. The shots fired at Peter had increased her anxiety, so she was relieved to find him safe and sound in the fort.

After setting Vrooman’s house and outbuildings alight, the raiders marched past the Upper Fort, torched another house, and drove off fifty head of cattle and some horses. In the meantime, forty mixed rifle and musketmen of Captain Jacob Hager’s militia company were assembled at the Upper Fort. The men were led by Hager and guided by a Virginia rifleman, Timothy Murphy, who had gained much notoriety with his claim to have sniped the British general, Simon Fraser, in 1777 with his double-barreled rifle. The pursuit travelled the eastern shore of the Schoharie Kill and, despite Murphy’s fabled skill, he led them into an ambush opposite Bouck’s Island. The militia returned fire, but one of their men fell mortally wounded and the natives’ musketry grew too hot to be borne. As they turned to retreat, the wounded man pled not to be left and Murphy rallied a few men to carry him off.

Upon returning to the Upper Fort, no one in the company was able to estimate Crysler’s strength, so Vrooman decided to reinforce Hager with Captain Aaron Hale’s Levies’ company. Hale took overall command and, after collecting three days’ provisions, the two companies set off. Because of their local knowledge, Hager and his men were in the van. When darkness fell, the pursuers camped in a pine grove and, although it was bitterly cold, no fires were lit. About three hours before daybreak, Hale assigned two youngsters to guard a depot of provisions and a keg of rum, and resumed the pursuit. The lads later admitted to securing most of the liquor in their bellies.

The early morning was dark and cloudy and the rebels advanced cautiously. As daylight broke, they came to a fork in the road; one track led to Harpersfield, the other to Lake Utsayantha. Hale called a halt. Fires were lit for breakfast while scouts were sent down both tracks to determine the enemy’s route. When it was confirmed that the raiders had gone toward the lake, Hale held an orders group to discuss options. He was in favour of taking the Harpersfield route to get ahead of the raiders and cut them off; however, other officers were afraid of losing them and opted for a direct pursuit down the lake fork. The latter opinion prevailed and, when the meal was finished, the detachment marched on.

The rebels had gone but a short distance when they were spotted by Crysler’s piquets, one of whom ran to tell the lieutenant. After abandoning some of their plunder, the raiders marched swiftly along the road searching for a good ambush site.

The pursuers were about a mile from the pine grove when they found two of Hager’s horses hobbled together. Hale was at the column’s head with Murphy, who stepped up and deftly cut the animals’ bonds. Continuing on, they heard a whoop and assumed that some of the Indians were searching for the missing horses, but, more likely, the shout warned of the rebels’ approach. The pursuit pushed on rapidly and came across seven large fires still burning and several abandoned horses loaded with plunder and a number of beeves. When they arrived at the lake, they kept to the track as it paralleled the shore and approached a ridge that extended almost down to the lake. Suddenly, the Indians opened fire from the high ground.

In the vanguard, Hager signalled Hale to flank right and catch the raiders in a vice against the shore, but the Levies’ officer judged the opposition too strong and retreated. Seeing the rebels were in confusion, the Indians burst from cover, whereupon the vanguard sprang away from their tree cover and took off down the road. A Levy who had fallen behind was cut down, as was a militiaman, and Hager’s brother Joseph was hit in the head, but kept running. The natives immediately scalped the two fallen men.

After running five hundred yards, Hager’s men caught up with Hale’s company and the two captains exchanged hot words. As the natives had seen they were outnumbered, they decided not to run down the retreating troops. While the two companies were resting, Colonel Vrooman arrived with a forty-man reinforcement. When the chase resumed, it was discovered that raiders had escaped, although the rest of the cattle were recovered.

Crysler reported that 150 men had pursued him, but that number seems high. Everyone exaggerated their opposition; for example, one rebel rifleman reported Crysler’s band was two hundred strong. With so much plunder lost, there was little to show for such an arduous and dangerous venture, other than two successful ambushes, three dead rebels, a young captive, and some scalps. Probably that was enough.

A few days later, a stranger’s corpse was found propped against a tree about a mile from Bouck’s Island. He had been shot through the body and his firelock and gear lay near. He was reckoned as one of Crysler’s men, although the lieutenant reported no losses. Perhaps the fellow was one of those much-hated, secretive local Tories who came and went from war parties.¹⁴

At his Quebec City headquarters, General Haldimand had entirely lost patience with the recruiting efforts of the small loyalist units. The following document, entitled “Proposals for forming the several Corps of Loyalists,” summarized the situation:

As Lieutenant-Colonel [Robert] Rogers Corps of Rangers is raising by the Authority of General Sir Henry Clinton, and the Men belonging to it in this Province are subject to be called from it upon the shortest notice, it woud be improper to incorporate them with any Corps belonging to the Province. It will therefore remain distinct, and be formed into three Companies under the Command of Major [James] Rogers, who will have one of the Companies, two Captains, three Lieutenants, & three Ensigns to be appointed to these Companies…. All other Officers belonging or attached to that Corps to be sent to New York or Halifax by the first Opportunity in order to join their Corps.

Haldimand’s initial displeasure over the uninvited arrival of Robert Rogers and his King’s Rangers in Canada had dissipated; no doubt, due to the excellent service of Major James Rogers, Robert’s brother, during Carleton’s raid of 1780 and St. Leger’s expedition of 1781, as well as the Rangers’ performance on Secret Service, garrison, and marine duties. As it was now unlikely that James’s small battalion would be recalled to New York City or sent to Nova Scotia, the governor had decided to make the best of the situation and officially recognize them. He continued:

The Impossibility of Messrs Jessup and Peters compleating separate Corps is evident from their unsuccessful Endeavours during four years, in which time, the former has got together no more than 127 Men, and the latter only 82 — These two Corps will therefore be formed into one, including Lieut. Fraser’s Men, which will compose a Body of about 260 Men these to be formed into Six Companies consisting of one Major, five Captains, six Lieutenants and Six Ensigns — to be completed to 3 Serjeants, 3 Corporals, 2 Drummers and 50 Private Men each — The Officers to be chosen from each Corps, and to Rank according to the number of Men they have raised, provided there are no other material Objections to their Appointment, and they will receive full Pay from the dates of their Commissions. This Corps will be augmented by as many Companies as can be raised, and the Officers will be appointed from the Supernumerary, or Pension, List according as they shall raise Men.

Putative officers’ button of the King’s and Loyal Rangers.

The Invalid States of Messrs Ebinezer Jessup and Peters Healths render them incapable of active Service, they will be removed to the Company of Pensioners, upon their present subsistence the Command of which to be given to one of these Gentlemen — and to insure to them His Majesty’s gracious Bounty of Half Pay, they will be mustered as belonging to the Corps formed, should it be completed only to nine Companies, in confirmation of which, Letters will be given to them from His Excellency the Commander-in-Chief. Mr. Edward Jessup’s robust Constitution, his Personal Activity, Merit and Experience having served last war, are Circumstances which render Him a fit Person to command the above mentioned Corps, with the Rank and Pay of Major.¹⁵

Peters was devastated by this decision and later wrote:

The cruel degrading change was worked while I was at Skenesborough, where I had been sent by Gen. Haldimand with a flag and rebel prisoners, with a view to gain intelligence from the Southern Army, which I performed and reported to him. On my return to Quebec I complained to the General of the hard measures he had dealt out to me by degrading me below those who had been under my command in 1777; nor did I understand why I was invalided. Mr. Mathews, a secretary to Gen. Haldimand, gave me for answer I had a wife and eight children and I might starve if refused captain’s pay; besides I should not be allowed rations if I refused. My subsistence money being stopped, I was obliged to accept the pay of a captain … or perish with my family. My son John, the oldest ensign in the Queen’s Loyal Rangers, was neglected by Gen. Haldimand when he drafted the Provincial corps in Canada, and a son of Major Jessup’s[,] quite a boy, who had never done any service, was appointed lieutenant over my son and all the ensigns who had served during the war.

Peters’s cause had in no way been helped by his former major, Zadock Wright, refusing to accept an exchange and rejoin his corps after three years’ absence. Whether Eben Jessup shared Peters’s outrage has not been determined; however, he had virtually retired from active duty and the governor’s decision in his regard was more understandable. Besides, it was his elder brother who was favoured with command of the new regiment.

The summary continued:

Captain [Robert] Leake’s Corps will be incorporated with Sir John Johnson’s second Battalion, together with about 24 Men who will probably attach themselves to Mr. [James] McAlpin, having belonged to the late Major McAlpin’s Corps. The Remainder of which, are claimed by Mr. [Peter] Drummond and others, and may be thrown into Sir John Johnson’s second Battalion or Major Jessup’s Corps.

There are 21 Men of Captn Leake’s Corps who were raised by a Lieutenant [Henry] Ruyter now serving in it — as he is not nominated for Sir John’s second Battalion, he will expect that his men continue with Him to whatever Corps he shall be placed — On the other Hand, there are about the same number mustered in Mr. Peters’s Corps, claimed by Mr. [Jeremiah] French who will accompany Him to Sir John’s second Battalion, in which he is nominated a Lieutenant.

The Supernumerary Officers, and all those Subsisted in the Company of Pensioners who are able to carry Arms, are to serve as Voluntiers upon all occasions where their Service may be required, until such Time as they shall be entitled to Commissions by raising their Proportions of Men for the Augmentation of Major Jessup’s Corps.

A company of artificers was later formed from Jessup’s new corps to work with the Engineers, but its men continued to be mustered and subsisted in the companies they were drawn from.¹⁶

On October 28, a Brunswick surgeon named Julius Wasmus noted that the fall fleet, composed of two hundred transports and an escort of six frigates, lay in the basin at Quebec City ready to sail for Britain.¹⁷

Still angered by the revelations of fraudulent misspending in the Six Nations’ Indian Department, Haldimand wrote to Major Arent DePeyster at Detroit on November 1 to express his annoyance that the pursuit of the Virginia rebel, George Rogers Clark (who had enjoyed so much success in prior years on the far western frontier), had been abandoned “owing to the caprice of the Indians in dispersing at the time their assistance was most wanted to give an ultimate blow to the enterprise and hopes of Mr. Clark in that country.” He continued in full torrent:

Southeast view of the basin of Quebec. Surgeon Wasmus observed two hundred transports and an escort of six warships assembled on this body of water ready to sail to Britain.

But this conduct has been uniformly their system, and notwithstanding the treasure which has been, I must say from their conduct, thrown away upon them this year, it appears that no more than one hundred could be brought to action, and those from the influence and under the direction of Joseph, a Six Nations Chief. If even as many more and the Company of Rangers had joined that party, Mr. Clarke’s fate would have been decided … and in the meantime, you will have perpetual demands for assistance, equipment, &c, to oppose incursions upon the Indian villages…. [T]hose Indians who distinguish themselves with Brant should be well rewarded from the donations intended for those who have not so well deserved them.¹⁸

The governor was clearly already primed for the complaints he would soon receive from Major Ross when he returned from his arduous expedition.

The same day that Haldimand wrote his angry letter to DePeyster about the Lakes’ and Ohio Indians, he had Mathews deliver a tough message to John Butler:

I am directed … to acquaint you that however sensible His Excellency is of and desirous to reward Captain [Walter] Butler’s merits, he cannot, in justice to the Army, promote him to the rank of Major over the heads of so many elder and more experienced officers, and to the Service commit to his care and direction the economy and discipline of a young Corps, a task so arduous that Officers possessed of approved military knowledge and long experience without entering into a detail of the many requisites, find it difficult and are very fortunate when they accomplish it. Could His Excellency get over the first difficulty, he appeals to yourself … whether a young Corps now complete to ten companies, and to be recommended to His Majesty, should be delivered up to the direction of (allowing him every possible merit to be derived from his experience) a very young Officer. Or whether it would be more for the advantage of the Service (which is His Excellency’s chief care), and of the Corps (which is yours), to find out some officer of experience in every respect, or as nearly as can be found, qualified to take upon him that very serious charge. Such a person, His Excellency is now looking out for. He thinks it still more necessary as there are so few of your Officers who have been brought up in the Army and consequently require themselves instruction.

Mathews’s letter arrived at Niagara about the same time as the news of Walter’s death and must have added to the father’s distress. In any event, the issue of Walter’s rank was now put to bed.

There was more unpleasant news for John. Haldimand said that Carleton’s promises to the two Butlers must “be considered conditional and entirely depend[ent] upon contingencies.” How this news must have disappointed Butler, a man who had sacrificed so much to ensure the friendship of the Six Nations while his wife, daughter, and two sons were held hostage in the Mohawk Valley and his second-eldest son was imprisoned in New England. Guy Carleton had fully appreciated John Butler’s selfless contributions, but it was Haldimand who sat in Quebec City now.

Mathews gently chided Butler that his regimental return had not been signed by General Powell, as it should have been before being sent to the king with the request for his Royal Bounty. He concluded this painful letter with a tiny bit of positive news. The governor agreed that the 10th company should be the lieutenant-colonel’s and commanded by a captain-lieutenant, which would allow John to draw pay as the company’s nominal captain.¹⁹

Mathews then wrote to Brigadier Powell about Lieutenant-Colonel Butler’s memorial on behalf of his officer corps requesting that the phrase “To serve with the Indians” be expunged from their commissions, as it was considered a liability should they fall into enemy hands. The governor acceded to this appeal and promised to send out new commissions accordingly.

Further, he advised that the complaint of the Rangers’ captains concerning the rank of John McKinnon (who had been thrust upon the corps as a patronage appointment) would be answered by the adjutant general and that commissions were coming for a captain-lieutenant and two lieutenants of the 10th company.

On November 2, Mathews wrote to advise Lieutenant-Colonel Butler that his warrants for pay, arms, and medicines had been approved, although the meticulous governor was upset that the indent did not specify the corps involved, nor was it signed by the regimental or post surgeon, and Brigadier Powell.²⁰

As soon as Willett returned to Fort Rensselaer on November 2 from his pursuit of Ross, he celebrated the news of Cornwallis’s capitulation with the firing of a 12-pdr gun and small arms’ volleys by his Levies and local militia, followed by the roasting of an ox.

As the term of Willett’s Massachusetts companies was now expired, their officers were ordered to have their men deliver their ammunition to the Conductor of Ordnance before marching for home.²¹

Reverend Stuart had received the governor’s permission to establish a scholastic academy in Montreal and on November 3, the priest’s advertisement to attract students came to the governor’s attention. Ever sensitive about Canadien Roman Catholics, Haldimand severely chastised Stuart, noting that, “Principally Intended for the Children of Protestants Could not fail to Create Jealousies, [and was] at all times improper, but more particularly so at present.” Stuart was most apologetic, advising that boys of all faiths were already in attendance at his school.²²

Plan of the town and fortifications of Montreal.

On November 4, Major Gray wrote to the adjutant general, Major Richard Lernoult, 8th, with a grim account of the state of the arms in 1KRR:

Sir John Johnson has applied for arms to his Regiment sometime ago, I beg here to mention it again we have not 100 stand of good arms in the Regiment —, its true we goat 150 stand of good arms two winters ago, betwixt Prisoners taken & Arms Brock upon service & great many of them are Lost, what arms we goat before that, were old Repaired Arms not worth sixpence for Service, nor were we ever at any time Completed with Arms, good and Bad arms we have not above 250, now I should be glad to know whether we are to have Arms this winter.²³

The next day, 1KRR’s surgeon, Charles Austin, reported that Volunteer John Thompson of the Major’s Company was lying “dangerously ill at his Quarters, in consequence of the ill Treatment he met with from some Canadians last Thursday at Pt Clair.” An examination into the incident was held by James McGill, the commissioner of the peace for Montreal and district. John Helmer, a fellow Royal Yorker, testified that, on the afternoon of November 1, near the church in Pointe Clair, he witnessed an argument between a 1KRR drummer boy and a Canadien lad. When Thompson stepped in to separate the boys and make peace between them, Pierre Charlebois, the local lieutenant of militia, assaulted him with a stick, striking and cutting him in the face and knocking him down. Whereupon, Charlebois’s son, Etiat (who may have been the boy involved in the fight), jumped on Thompson. Helmer noted that the Volunteer’s eye was “greatly swelled.” Why Helmer had stood aside watching this outrage was unstated.

Canadiens were jaded with having “foreign” troops quartered in their villages who often indulged in thoughtless, and frequently drunken, pranks. Due to their declining fortunes, the loyalists were equally distressed, and, being unable to make the rebels pay sufficiently for their grief, there was a danger that the Canadiens could become a target of their resentment. An ugly incident such as this beating was precisely what Haldimand feared — a potential spark to tinder.²⁴

On November 5, Riedesel reported to the governor that the Yamaska Blockhouse, a key installation in the defence of lower Quebec province, was strong enough for temporary defence, but represented very “dull and dreary” duty.²⁵

That same day, Haldimand wrote to Powell about more unrest in Butler’s Rangers’ officer corps, which had begun during the 1777 siege of Stanwix when three Indian Department officers — captains Walter Butler and Peter Ten Broeck and Lieutenant William Ryer Bowen — were captured in German Flatts in the Mohawk Valley. The following year, Butler and Bowen seized the opportunity to escape, but Ten Broeck chose not to join them. Meantime, a company in the newly founded Butler’s Rangers was being held in Ten Broeck’s name at Niagara. When he failed to appear for another two years, suspicions were raised that he either lacked the courage to rejoin, or was lukewarm in his attitude toward the king’s cause. That his rebel brother Abraham was a rebel militia brigadier complicated the issue. So, Peter Ten Broeck was discontinued on the regiment’s pay list and his company was given to another officer. When he suddenly reappeared in Niagara, he requested full reinstatement. Haldimand consulted Sir John Johnson and the baronet thought that Ten Broeck had suffered a great deal, so the governor instructed Powell to set up an inquiry to investigate the issue.²⁶

The map traces the Mohawk River from its junction with the Hudson River to Fort Stanwix, then over the Oneida Carry and along the waterways to Oswego on Lake Ontario.

On November 6, Ross sent Haldimand a detailed report of his expedition, including a chronological return of the men killed, wounded, and missing. He assured the C-in-C that the provisions cached at Ganaghsaraga would be brought back to Oswego, indicating that he was, as yet, unaware that Captain Gilbert Tice, 6NID, had found them either consumed or carried off, probably by Captain David Hill’s party of Mohawks that had been sent to destroy the boats. Ross deplored the loss of Captain Butler and Lieutenant Docksteder and commended Rangers’ serjeant Solomon Secord, who had performed some unspecified exceptional service.

A major thrust of the report was a condemnation of the support he had received from the natives and Colonel Guy Johnson. “The promised succour of Indians was a mere Illusion,” those that joined were the dregs of the tribes and there were no important leaders amongst them. To Haldimand, who was already stressed over 6NID’s expenses and incensed about the natives’ inadequate support in the far west, the criticisms struck deep and resulted in an uncharacteristically angry outburst.²⁷

Counterespionage was an important function of Canada’s Secret Service. Dr. George Smyth, the service’s second-in-command, had been warned that a Canadian named Mrs. Cheshire was providing a safe haven for enemy spies. He set a trap, selecting “three cunning fellows with Old Clothes, Yankee Firelocks, a number of Vermont and Connecticut Bills & a Forged Letter which contains Instruction from, & is signed by Bailey [Vermont General Jacob Bayley] &, I hope they will soon find out Madam Cheshire & her connections.” His ruse must have succeeded, as there was no more mention of the lady in the records.²⁸

Major Balthasar von Lücke arrived from New York City with a further 231 exchanged Brunswick soldiers, which allowed Riedesel to re-establish the original regiments of 1777, except for von Breymann’s Grenadier battalion, which had its few remaining companies distributed to the other regiments. One company went to the very badly depleted Regiment von Rhetz, as did another from Prinz Friedrich’s. Captain of Cavalry Carl von Schlagenteuffel took command of Prinz Ludwig’s Dragoon regiment; Lieutenant-Colonel Christian Prätorius retained command of Prinz Friedrich, as did Lieutenant-Colonel Ferdinand Albrecht von Barner of the Light Infantry battalion. Lieutenant-Colonel Johann Gustavus von Ehrenkrook commanded von Rhetz; Lieutenant-Colonel Friedrich von Hille took the Regiment von Riedesel, and Major von Lücke headed up the Regiment von Specht.

Riedesel noted that the regiments’ companies were about half their 1777 strength and that there was an inadequate number of non-commissioned officers — only seventy-four across all of the regiments. Consequently, only one serjeant, a quartermaster, a captain at arms, and three corporals could be allotted per company and a number of “vice-corporals” had to be appointed to offset the deficiency. As well, a great many companies lacked sufficient subalterns and those available were equally distributed.²⁹

At Saratoga, the New Hampshire Continental general, John Stark, resumed the routine of commanding the district now that St. Leger’s expedition had retired to Canada. He notified General William Heath (Washington’s surrogate while the C-in-C was in Virginia) that he had ordered local teams to draw timber for the two blockhouses he had been ordered to construct, which he expected would be complete in a fortnight. To promote the work, he had promised the Massachusetts Levies an early discharge if they cut and drew the timber and they had fallen to work with “unremitted vigor.”

Stark asked Heath to remember the poor half-naked New Hampshire Continentals at Saratoga, many of whom were unfit for duty for want of proper clothing, noting that the surgeon had attributed their nakedness to the “inflammatory disorders epidemical in camp.”³⁰

Governor Clinton wrote to Colonel Willett on November 8 to offer effusive praise for his “successes over the Enemy…. I am sensible of the Dangers & Difficulties you had to encounter on this Occasion & I am persuaded much is due to your Personal Exertions & that nothing was wanting on your part to have Conceived a complete Victory & I trust the vigor with which the Enemy was attacked, routed & pursued will be attended with the most salutary Consequences to the Frontier Settlements.”

Willett had earlier taken advantage of his success to criticize Stark’s removal of two companies of Weissenfel’s New York Levies from Johnstown just a few days before Ross appeared, so it was undoubtedly music to his ears when the governor commented in his letter that, from the beginning of the alarms, he had believed the enemy’s true object lay west of Saratoga, and that “being the case I leave you to judge of my sentiments respecting the Removal of Major Logan & his detachment.” Clinton had recommended that the legislature adopt “seasonable &proper Measures for the future Defence of the Frontiers,” but candidly feared these would be inadequate. He closed by asking Willett to accept reappointment as the commander of New York’s northwestern frontiers.³¹

On November 9, General Heath posted General Orders at his Continental Village headquarters, reporting the enemy’s failures “on the northern frontiers of this State.” He attributed the prevention of an enemy landing “on this side” of the lakes to Lord Stirling, Stark, and “the officers and soldiers of both the regular troops and militia, who, with great zeal and alertness, pressed forward to meet the enemy.” Of course, Heath was unaware of either the limitations placed on St. Leger, or of Jessup’s free reign up and down Lake George, in the face of which his report seems much exaggerated, which is not to suggest that his army’s response had not been superb.

As to Ross, Heath noted that he had been “defeated and pursued into the wilderness.” He repeated the then-common fantasy that “many of them probably will perish.” Willett was publicly acknowledged for his “address, gallantry, and persevering activity” and “the conduct of the officers and soldiers … deserves high commendation,” in particular, “Major Rowley, and the brave levies and militia under his immediate command, who, at a critical moment, not only did themselves honor, but rendered essential service to their country” — fulsome, public, well-deserved praise.³²

On November 11, Mathews sent the deputy quartermaster general, Lieutenant Jacob Maurer, 2KRR, a list of the long-awaited farming utensils wanted for the settlement on the Canadian side opposite Fort Niagara. The tools were to be forwarded from Montreal.³³

That same day, Lieutenant William Morison, 1KRR, wrote to Major Gray about Volunteer Thomson’s beating. Fully aware that the governor might be extremely upset over the incident, Morison was concerned that the local militia colonel’s report would reflect badly on his personal conduct. To justify his actions, he asked Gray to forward the doctor’s certificate and Helmer’s testimony to the governor through District Commander de Speth. There were four additional witnesses available to testify in court, which again begged the question of why no one had taken action to protect their fellow soldier. Were they really that concerned about earning the governor’s wrath if a Canadien was hurt?

Morison knew that the Canadien militia colonel had complained that Charlebois had been detained without a warrant; however, he reported that, although there had been no magistrate nearby, the perpetrator had been correctly apprehended. Even the local captain of militia had acquiesced in the proceeding; Charlebois had not been arrested by soldiers, nor was he confined in a guardroom. “It is notorious that Mr. Charlebois[’s] conduct has always been, overbearing & refractory to the Troops, & that those who are best acquainted with him, & who stand up for him now, were they put to the test, coud not but own, his being of a very indifferent Character, and from his being almost always Drunk, very unfit for his present employ.”³⁴

At Niagara, Captain Gilbert Tice received a shock when he returned to the fort on November 12 from Ross’s expedition and, following his usual practice, promptly went to Colonel Guy Johnson’s office to make a verbal report and found it empty. He wrote Johnson, “My surprise on my arrival is not in my Power to express” and assured Guy that his recall to Montreal was the result of some report from “some one that knows nothing, or little of the matter.” Enclosed with his letter was his journal of the raid. He had brought sixteen prisoners and six scalps, all male, and at one point had twice that number of captives, but they were allowed to escape from the main guard and, he thought, had compromised the expedition. He made an observation about native participation that was remarkably at odds with Ross’s vitriolic rhetoric:

[T]he Indians did not attempt to meddle with any Women, Children, old men, or men not in arms, neither was any man or person killed by them, or striped of what they had on, only in the engagement, except one man who fired his piece at an Indian that Broke open the Door of his House, they took him out, and shot him, but did not as much as scalp him, which I think is remarkable.³⁵

After bearing months of delays and participating in a major expedition, officers were at last appointed to the Royal Yorkers’ second battalion on November 12. Of the seven captains, the senior was Robert Leake, whose independent company (which had operated with 2KRR since its inception) was to be absorbed. Deservedly, Thomas Gumersall, who had managed the second battalion’s troops in lower Canada while upholding his responsibilities as captain-lieutenant of the first battalion’s Colonel’s Company, became second senior captain. Jacob Maurer was third senior, but would continue as the province’s DQMG. William Redford Crawford, who had served with distinction in the Quebec Indian Department and earlier in the year had been active in patrolling and raiding, was seventh. Four lieutenants entered from Leake’s. Five 1KRR ensigns, who had performed special duties in the Indian Department and Secret Service, were promoted to lieutenant and transferred. Two others came from the smaller loyalist corps and one was a patronage appointment. These promotions resulted in changes in the first battalion in which the senior lieutenant was promoted to captain-lieutenant, five ensigns to lieutenant, and seven Volunteers to ensign.

Officers were also appointed to the yet-unnamed “Corps of Loyalists to be Commanded by Major Edward Jessup.” As major-commandant, Edward would continue to nominally command a company. As noted above, two companies — one of invalids, the other of pensioners — were ostensibly captained by the two ex-lieutenant-colonels, Eben Jessup and John Peters. Of the five captains named, Justus Sherwood (who was to continue in the Secret Service) was senior; two others were from the KLA. William Fraser and Peter Drummond, who had recently commanded independent companies, had previously served in McAlpin’s American Volunteers.³⁶

The same day, Major Gray forwarded to headquarters all the records relating to the unfortunate John Thomson and added a postscript, “The Soldier is still in danger of His Life from the Beating he has got from the Lt of Militia.”³⁷

The fact that General Cornwallis’s southern army had been forced to submit at Yorktown had still not been confirmed by reliable sources in Quebec. On November 12, Riedesel wrote to the governor to offer a perceptive appreciation of the situation:

I think as you do, my dear General, about the state of our affairs in the South, and the paper I send you persuades me that we touch on the most interesting period of this unfortunate war. Although I believe that news that the Rebels publish so much, is exaggerated to sway the people, it appears however, that Lord Cornwallis is in a very critical situation, lacking, probably, provisions and the means of getting them. In this case his destiny will depend on the ship, if ours could be reinforced, and arrive in time enough at the mouth of the Chesapeake to properly give battle to the combined fleet, before Lord Cornwallis is reduced to the extremity, chance could be turned to our favor; and we, given a superiority by sea, can re-establish our affairs and end this war. But if the opposite happens, I can easily forsee unpleasantness to follow. I await news from New York with impatience. The Chiefs of Vermont appear very well disposed toward us, but the populace is always in agreement with Congress.³⁸

The disastrous defeat at Yorktown led to the collapse of the British ministry that had hitherto prosecuted the war.

On November 13, the prisoners that Ross had taken on his raid (a captain, subaltern, and twelve men) arrived in the lower province. The officers were to be held at Montreal and the men sent to Prison Island at Coteau-du-Lac. Coincidently, fifteen rebel officers had just been retaken after escaping from Île Perrot, an isolated island northeast of Montreal that had previously been considered entirely secure.³⁹

Powell wrote to the governor from Niagara on November 13 with contradictory reports about the bateaux left by Ross at Ganaghsaraga. He had initially heard that both the sloop Caldwell and Ross’s boats had fallen into rebel hands; however, Tice calmed those fears by reporting that he had removed eleven boats from Ganaghsaraga to Oswego and destroyed the rest for want of hands to bring them off. This report was at odds with Tice’s earlier report to Guy Johnson that he and some Butler’s Rangers had been forced to repair one miserable old bateau in order to get away from Ganaghsaraga. Both of Tice’s accounts disagreed with David Hill’s account that he had destroyed all the boats. Perhaps there been a second depot that Hill had not found and Tice had gone back to retrieve those boats? Whatever the case, the Caldwell was still in British hands and the original rumour was quashed.

Thirteen Butler’s Rangers reported missing after the Canada Creek skirmish had joined the Indians at Oswego and Powell thought that more would do so.

This same day, Surgeon John Kerr, 2KRR, submitted his account for medical services rendered to the Oswegatchie and Mississauga Indians on Ross’s expedition.⁴⁰

In a private letter dated November 15, Haldimand confessed to Riedesel his deep concern over the fate of Cornwallis:

By the latest intelligence, and on which I can rely, I am assured that Lord Cornwallis had been taken prisoner with his whole army, the news of which was received by express at Forts Johnsto[w]n and Arabia, the 19th of last month. The person who reports this [Lieutenant Walter Sutherland] … was on the 30th two miles from Fort Johnsto[w]n, and from that neighborhood at noon of that day heard rifle salutes of joy. He sent trusted persons into the two forts who reported … that the salutes were in celebration for the capture of Lord Cornwallis. If the news is true, how much misery can we expect in the coming days, in the long uncertainty — days seeming like years.... In that case I will fear that the Vermonters will but join [the rebels.]⁴¹

In a November 16 letter to Brigadier Powell, Haldimand praised Ross and expanded on the themes of poor native support and the overwhelming number of rebels encountered. “His conduct … gives me much satisfaction, as it seemed to be directed with prudence and enterprise. And notwithstanding the very superior force which were at all times opposed to him, had he been well supported, even by the few Indians Colonel Johnson sent with him, there is every reason to believe that the rebels would have severely felt the incursion and Major Ross’s loss would have been in a great measure prevented.” He reported that Ross would personally inform Powell of “the shameful, dastardly conduct of a people who cost Government so many thousands yearly.” The governor wrote he was unable to think “of the subject with any degree of patience” and expected Powell and Butler to paint his displeasure in the highest colours. “I desire you will do it fully, and what is [of] more consequence, let them feel it in the distribution of presents.”

He offered condolences for Butler’s loss of his eldest offspring, adding the conventional expression of sympathy that John must be proud of “the honourable cause in which his son fell.”

In the second letter to Powell that day, the governor dismissed any thought of Richard Wilkinson being commissioned in the Rangers. First, Wilkinson had “left and returned to the Service to suit the convenience of his private circumstances,” and second, the Rangers’ officers, who were having difficulty reconciling a few experienced Regular officers being put over them as captains, would “think it hard that an Officer of the Indian Dept, inferior to them in every respect to rank, should be so promoted.” Contrary to the governor’s expressions, it is entirely possible that the Rangers’ officers would have welcomed Wilkinson into the corps, as he was well-regarded and scarcely a stranger, unlike the other candidates who were being thrust upon the regiment.⁴²

That same day, Powell wrote the governor to report that he had sent an express to Detroit to recall Captain Brant and been advised that there was some doubt that the Mohawk would recover the full use of his leg, which had been infected from a wound said to have been inflicted by the famous Indian Department lieutenant, Simon Girty. Whatever the cause, Brant would have to spend the winter in the west.⁴³

This same busy day, the governor sent Ross his “perfect approbation of your proceedings throughout your late expedition.” His losses were “inconsiderable, which must justly be greatly attributed to your Prudence and Activity, as well as to the Spirited Behaviour of the Troops under your Command, whose efforts, I am sorry to find were so ill seconded by the Indians. A circumstance, I shall not fail minutely to enquire into.” Even Butler’s death was laid at the feet of the natives. “Had the Indians done their duty, it is probable this misfortune … would have been prevented.”

As Carleton Island’s garrison had been depleted, the governor would send one hundred men with officers and non-commissioned officers in proportion. Although unstated, these were Ross’s men of 2KRR who had been training in the lower province. A letter from Mathews reported that three hundred stand of arms had been already sent upriver, although he warned there would be a delay in shipping the requested medicines. As it transpired, severe weather prevented the concentration of the battalion. While the promised issue of arms raised hopes that 2KRR would finally be properly equipped as infantry, Ross’s complaint the following March revealed that more Indian Trade fusils had been sent, rather than military pattern muskets.

An Indian Department fusil and land (Infantry) Pattern muskets. Long and short Pattern muskets (forty-six- and forty-two-inch barrels, respectively) were on issue to the British infantry of the Canadian Army. Both Patterns were robustly made and mounted a socket bayonet with a fifteen-to-seventeen-inch triangular blade, which was the primary assault weapon. In contrast, the Indian Trade fusil was a lightweight, smaller-calibre firearm unable to mount a bayonet.

Surgeon Wasmus of the Brunswick Dragoons returned to his regiment on November 12 after being exchanged in Boston and making a remarkably hazardous voyage from Halifax. He had lost all of his baggage and expensive medicines in a shipwreck on the St. Lawrence River and was fortunate to have escaped with his life. Having arrived at Sorel a virtual pauper, he was pleased to recover pieces of his luggage he had left there in 1777 before embarking on the Burgoyne expedition, but, upon opening them, he discovered that his colleagues had thoroughly looted his coffer and portmanteau and replaced his clothing with dirty, worn-out stockings, shirts, and trousers. Obviously, he had not been expected to return.⁴⁴

On November 22, Ross reported new information about the boats left at Lake Oneida:

The parties and provisions left at Canasagara and Oswego are safely arrived by the precautions I had taken…. Seven bateaux were obliged to be left behind at Canasagara, which I ordered to be destroyed as they were old and rotten. I had them merely patched up for the expedition, being unwilling to take good bateaux which were then so much wanted for the transport of provisions. All the best have been brought to this place and Niagara, there are still five left at Oswego which, owing to the season being so far advanced, I have declined sending for them until spring. They are also very old and crazy.

Two of the Royal Yorkers “sent out as Spies just before the Action at Johnstown” had returned to Fort Haldimand with a loyalist who reported the rebels had forty-two killed and wounded at Canada Creek, including a colonel and several officers from Schenectady. Such utter poppycock! The fellow must have thought Ross’s ego needed a great deal of stroking. He claimed that, after the Johnstown action, Willett had been “so sensible of his defeat that he acknowledged he was much beholden to night coming,” then added that the rebels were said to have been reinforced overnight and by next morning had assembled 1,400 men. While there may have been that number of troops moving about in the Mohawk Valley, they were certainly not all concentrated at Johnstown.

The fellow also provided details of the number of men who had “delivered themselves up as Prisoners of War.” Ross noted that they amounted to the greater part of the men missing from the expedition and noted that none had been taken during the Johnstown action. He added: “There is great reason to believe that the rebels exercised the greatest cruelty on many occasions which I will endeavour to know the truth of. On our part the greatest humanity was shewn nor did the Indians hurt a Woman or Child.” (Perhaps he had not heard of the murder of the prisoner William Scarborough by one of his officers. On the other hand, perhaps the murder was a rebel invention.) He closed, “I every day expect a prisoner from the Mohawk, [i.e., the Mohawk River] having sent out two scouts for that purpose, by which means further particulars may be learned.”⁴⁵

General Heath wrote another plaintive letter to Governor Clinton on November 13 regarding the extreme distress in the Highlands Department over a lack of bread. When Clinton answered two days later, he offered little encouragement other than to say that he had referred the matter to the state legislature.

On November 14, Heath wrote to Stark to approve the early release of the New Hampshire militia after they returned all public stores that had been temporarily issued, such as ammunition and camp utensils. He enthusiastically mentioned a new supply of clothing for the army, part of which was already in finished inventory and the balance in materials that were on hand for the regimental tailors. He recommended that the paymasters of the New Hampshire Continental regiments at Saratoga be sent to headquarters with their complete, signed returns to be present for the clothing distribution. While it had been his intention to have these two regiments winter in the northern district, there was now some doubt, but Stark was to make preparations as if they would stay and Heath would reserve their last year’s huts for them at the Continental Village until the matter was determined. The regiments’ artificers and small detachments were ordered to rejoin, as soon as it was set where they would winter.⁴⁶

On November 16, Willett reported to the governor that the inhabitants’ losses during the Ross raid had been slight. “Many of the Horses as well as the Horned Cattle &c were shot and left lying dead without the enemies receiving any advantage from them.” Such a fatuous observation! The rebels had no advantage of them, either, which was precisely the point of the killings. The colonel sought Clinton’s advice about what troops would winter in the Mohawk, noting, “[A] state of security can never be justified as long as the war lasts and this County continues to be a Frontier.” Further, whatever troops were assigned, a quantity of snowshoes should be provided to ensure mobility.⁴⁷

Political squabbling between New York and Vermont boiled over in the Western Union. On November 20, Vermont’s governor, Thomas Chittenden, accused a Yorker bureaucrat of “warning the People in Vicinity of the New City to pay a Certain Provision Tax to the State of New York.” He reminded the fellow that Vermont had made proposals to New York State to desist in imposing such “coercive Measures” while boundary disputes were unresolved. The official had better comply, or suffer the consequences. As the New City (formerly Lansinghburgh) was firmly in “old” New York, this was a contentious order to say the least. Obviously, such posturing and threats distracted New York from its war effort.

Coincidently, three days later, Governor Clinton forwarded the resolutions of the state legislature relative to the “New Hampshire Grants” for the guidance of the Congressional delegates — note his very deliberate use of the name “Grants” instead of Vermont.⁴⁸

On November 20, Haldimand applied to the home administration for half pay for the officers of Butler’s Rangers in consideration of the regiment’s continued hard service and its completion to ten companies.

This same day, he confided to Riedesel that, “the misfortune of Lord Cornwallis is nearly certain.” His only remaining doubt was not having received confirmation from Sir Henry Clinton, the C-in-C America who was headquartered in New York City.

On November 23, the governor reported to Lord George Germain the details of the two fall expeditions. Both had “fully answered the Several Purposes for which they were Sent — The Former [St. Leger’s] by Judicious Manoeuvres, gave the Enemy Reason to think they were to penetrate into the Country, and Obliged them to Assemble all the Force they Could Collect at Saratoga & in the neighbourhood of Albany, not Venturing to Detach a Man for the Protection of the Mohawk River.” This was followed by a very complete description of Ross’s endeavour, painting the raid as a major achievement, which, in the sense of endurance and courage, it was. “Major Ross Marched with about 320 Men, without the least Opposition, within twelve miles of Schenectady where he Compleatly destroyed the only remaining Settlement of any Consequence between fort Hunter, Schohary & Schenectady.” He emphasized the troops’ physical accomplishment during their undetected infiltration across enemy territory, noting “The Fatigue the Men had endured in a March of fifteen Days from Oswego, entirely Exposed to very inclement Weather & Short of Provisions.” He played upon Ross’s theme of native misbehaviour in failing to run down Willett’s fleeing Levies, claiming that the troops had been “Shamefully abandoned by the Indians [which] prevented the advantage to be derived from a Rapid Pursuit.” Yet, “the Victory however was decisive,” which the repulse of Willett’s Levies early in the Johnstown action had been.

To explain how Willett managed to overtake Ross at West Canada Creek, he referred to the “unavoidable Delays occasioned by Excessive Fatigue & Hunger, the Party now living Entirely upon Horses they had taken.” Ross was given credit for anticipating Willett’s interception and the rearguard was excused for not repulsing Willett’s van as, “The Enemy had much the Advantage of Ground & their Favorite Object of firing at a Distance, both which precluded a Charge from our Party, which However kept up a heavy fire that did Execution.” Yet, despite this rhetoric, we know from Willett’s reports that he took no casualties at the ford.

Reporting Walter Butler’s death, he described him as “a very Zealous enterprising & promising officer.” The governor concluded:

I have been very Prolix in my account of this little Enterprise to make Your Lordship acquainted with the difficulties attending Incursions in Small Parties into the Enemies Country, & the Many advantages they have Over Troops worn out by Hunger & Fatigue before they reach their object & who have a Retreat to make equally tedious — Major Ross’s Party consisted of picked men enured to Marching & Fatigue. They nevertheless owe their Retreat to the judicious & Spiritted Conduct of their Leader, & to his Prudence in concealing from all with him the Route by Which he determined to effect it.

Very clearly, it was good to be a favourite of the governor.⁴⁹

On the night of November 22, the Richelieu River at Sorel froze over. Just the evening before, the ferry had been operating, but wagons and carts were crossing on the ice by the next day. Two weeks later, the St. Lawrence froze over and shortly after, Surgeon Julius Wasmus recorded that snowdrifts were fifteen to eighteen feet high and on the flat, it was four feet deep, which was the precursor of one of the worst winters in Canadian memory. With wry humour, the doctor referred to Canada as the American Siberia.

With the rivers frozen, access for friend and foe alike to the posts in Riedesel’s district was easy, although arduous, and to keep his troops alert, the baron made regular sleighing tours with his adjutant, a servant, and a very competent Canadien driver who travelled so swiftly that they were able to cover great distances each day.⁵⁰