Читать книгу I am heartily ashamed - Gavin K. Watt - Страница 16

3 TO TAKE POST AT OSWEGO An Object of Great Importance

As winter gripped the Mohawk Valley, supplies of provisions grew so short that Captain Garret Putman’s company of Willett’s Levies had to be discharged two months early, on New Year’s Day. As most of the men were from Tryon County, they did not have far to travel.

Militiaman William Feeter of Tryon’s Palatine District, who was serving in Captain Seferinus Klock’s 2TCM company, recalled being sent out several times to fend off the enemy. Natives attacked a settlement in Fairfield and several people were killed or taken prisoner and their property destroyed. Another raid struck in northeastern German Flatts. In both instances, Klock’s company pursued the raiders without success.

Captain Job Wright’s company of three-years’ men had been posted at Fort Rensselaer. A sixteen-man platoon guarding Walradt’s ferry was alarmed when a large scouting party of whites and natives hove into sight; however, nothing came of it and the raiders went elsewhere to commit their depredations.¹

While these minor events were disturbing the Mohawk Valley, George Washington unofficially wrote a reasoned, powerful letter to Thomas Chittenden, which later was claimed to have greatly influenced Vermont’s future course. He recommended that the republic’s claims to the two unions be relinquished and gave hopes that, if the original boundary claims were returned to, Congress would view her request to join the union favourably. On the other hand, maintaining these two claims could lead to general antipathy and a likely intervention by the United States.

There is no calamity within the Compass of my foresight which is more to be dreaded than a necessity of coercion on the part of Congress and consequently every endeavour should be used to prevent the execution of so disagreeable a measure. It must involve the Ruin of that State against which the resentment of the others is pointed.

He ostensibly accepted Chittenden’s assertion that the negotiations with the British “were so far innocent, that there never was any serious intention of joining Great Britain”; however, he stressed that the talks gave the enemy great advantages and, by creating “internal disputes and feuds,” encouraged all enemies of the United States, at home and abroad, and sowed “seeds of distrust and jealousy … among ourselves.”

One Vermont historian later claimed this letter precipitated a grave political crisis, as some citizens who discovered the contents proposed to act immediately on Washington’s advice, but “[t]he Allens, who were no longer sincerely attached to the American cause, were opposed to dissolving the unions.”²

Sometime in January, the double agent, Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Johnson, was visited at his home in Cöos, in eastern Vermont, by Levi Sylvester, one of his Tory captors from the previous March. Levi brought a letter from Captain Azariah Pritchard, KR, pressing for information about the movements of Johnson’s friend, General Jacob Bayley, and other prominent rebels. Such visits and requests became a regular feature of the tortured Johnson’s existence and, when he later revealed his secret life to Washington, he noted that several other persons in the vicinity were similarly “favoured.”³

The January return of the two New Hampshire Continental regiments on duty in the Albany area listed eight staff, sixteen commissioned, and eighty-one non-commissioned officers and 459 rank and file, 175 of which were “Sick Present,” sixty-two were “Sick Absent,” 236 were on command or extra service, and thirty-two on furlough for a total of 561 all ranks.⁴

On January 2,Secretary Germain wrote to Governor Haldimand predicting that “Cornwallis’s misfortune will deter Vermont from declaring for His Majesty but I trust you will find means to encourage them.” It was as if the surrender at Yorktown was a mere hiccup in a very long, tiring, and indigestible meal. He encouraged Haldimand to employ his troops in the spring to recover that wayward republic. Of course, it would be weeks and weeks before this “encouraging” note reached the governor.⁵

At Niagara, a court reviewed the case of Captain Peter Ten Broeck. Two years after Ten Broeck had chosen not to escape with Walter Butler and William Ryer Bowen, Lieutenant Joseph Ferris had been sent to help him “come off” and again he had declined. The court heard Peter’s account of his confinement and concluded that “his conduct … appears irreproachable and that he took the earliest opportunity of joining the Corps.” His rank was restored and he was ordered to resume duty with his regiment.⁶

On January 2, Major Jessup wrote to Captain Mathews to request green clothing for the Loyal Rangers. As his officers preferred the pattern of Captain Sherwood’s green jacket with its green facings, he requested additional green cloth from stores, perhaps “Rat eaten or Damaged Coats,” so that the red facings supplied with the kits in QMG stores could be replaced.⁷

During the French regime, a great many prisoners had been taken in New England by the Canada Indians. Many had been adopted and thoroughly acculturated and, as a result, large numbers of the Catholic Indians were of mixed blood. Many of them rose to prominent positions, which gave their villages a pronounced leaning toward the rebels and caused the governor’s office much anxiety throughout the war. One of the most accomplished rebel spies of the period was an Oneida named Oratoskon, who skulked about Kahnawake and, according to Lieutenant-Colonel Campbell, “circulated all the poison he was charged with, and debauched … [the] young men.” Claus sent the Fort Hunter’s senior war captain, John Desertonyon, to visit an acquaintance at Kahnawake and investigate the rumours of Oratoskon. Although Assharegown, a village headman, assured Deserontyon that, if the rebel was discovered, he would be secured, nothing happened.⁸

If the troops in the Mohawk Valley thought they were in the grip of winter, they would have been astounded to see the conditions in Quebec. Surgeon Wasmus wrote in his diary on January 6 that he was again snowed into his barracks at Sorel by terrible storms and no one had been able to go in or out for twelve hours. Finally, the men dug a tunnel to gain access. If the snow was deep at Sorel, one might be assured that it would be equally deep at Montreal, and worse at Quebec City. Wasmus wrote, “The Canadians cannot remember such a hard winter or one in which so much snow has fallen.”

At mid-month, the day after the garrison celebrated Queen Charlotte’s birthday, Surgeon Wasmus wrote in his journal that Serjeant-Major Reinemund, Colonel Baum’s brother-in-law, had drowned in the hole in the St. Lawrence where the garrison drew its water. A day or two later, he dryly noted, “One does not receive any news here. In winter time, Canada has no communication with the rest of the world; it is as if this was the end of the world.” This was a common complaint of German diarists, who seemed to feel the isolation worse than their British allies.⁹

Correspondence between Brigadier Johann August von Loos and his superior and close friend, Major-General Riedesel, reveals details of the relations between the governor and the German officers and much about winter garrison life in Quebec City. Von Loos, who, it would seem, was one of the German brigadiers that Haldimand had little faith in, habitually employed nicknames when referring to the governor such as “the premier” or “the growler” and, considering he was quite senior himself, “the old fellow.” Of the baroness, von Loos wrote, “Your wife, whom every one loves, will be a thousand times welcome here. I would strew her road with flowers, if there were any.” There was to be a ball on Wednesday and the next evening, a concert and on the Saturday, a “conversation,” one supposes to play cards, which were followed by “cold, fried meat, ham and cake.” He added, “The people here kill themselves with eating.” The venues for such entertainments were the homes of wealthy members of both Franco and Anglo society. Loos expected a ball to be held at “the premier’s” in time for Riedesel’s visit and mentioned that Major-General Alured Clarke intended to visit Riedesel in February. Rather cryptically, he added, “Whether he will travel as one who knows the country, and return a learned man, time must show.”¹⁰

Baroness Friederike von Riedesel (née von Massow), aged sixteen, 1746– 1808. A very courageous and enchanting lady, beloved by all who knew her.

On January 7, Lieutenant Walter Sutherland’s scouting party was at Mill Bay on Lake Champlain, having dragged a small boat from Dutchman’s Point to the upper end of Tory Island and from there across open water to the bay. The next day, the party was joined by Ensign Roger Stevens and his men and Jonathon Miller with a third group. Stevens had seen tracks in the snow at Crown Point, so at midnight, the three leaders and their men set off across the ice to Chimney Point and arrived at “St. Leger’s house” about 7:00 a.m. where they found a sled and horses tethered outside and a rifle, two muskets, and provisions inside.

Sutherland spotted seven men at work digging across the lake at Crown Point. Earlier, the lake had been open water and these fellows, thinking they were secure, had left their arms at Chimney Point; however, the ice now proved strong enough for the loyalists to cross and the workers were easily taken. They reported that two sleds loaded with scrap iron had already been sent into Vermont and that about thirty gun carriages had been dug up and were ready to be taken across the lake when the ice firmed up. They claimed that parties as large as twenty-one men had been digging ever since St. Leger retired from the lake, but, more important, they confidently reported that Cornwallis had been taken.

Stevens recognized a “friend to government” named Ailsworth amongst the captives and persuaded Sutherland to allow him to join his party, saying he could get all the intelligence needed, as well as supplies of provisions. Accordingly, Sutherland swore the man and sent him off with Stevens.

At Schroon Lake, Sutherland’s party shot a moose and a bear, which provided a large supply of meat. Walter sent four men back to Fort St. John’s with the six remaining prisoners and an interim report. As to completing the rest of his mission, he anticipated “a troublesome and tedious journey as there is no possibility as yet of leaving the lake, the snow being as soft as when it fell.”

Sutherland had just left Stevens when Ailsworth announced that a party would arrive at Crown Point that very night. A large group had been earlier spotted at Chimney Point attempting to set fire to a hut (perhaps St. Leger’s so-called “house”), so Stevens had hopes of a large haul. After re-crossing the lake, he and his men hid about twenty yards from the hut. At 5:00 p.m. a rebel appeared; however, when one of the loyalists ran to secure him, the fellow took off, shedding his hat, coat, pack, and blanket to make better speed, and ran to a convoy of five sleighs that was just arriving to collect the iron. In a flurry of shouts, the sleighs hurriedly turned about and escaped.

True to his word, over the ensuing days, Ailsworth visited contacts in the country and secured information and food. Stevens returned to St. John’s on January 31.¹¹

While these scouts and agents were on the frontiers, there was much end-of-campaign tidying up in the Canadian Department. On January 7, the deputy adjutant general issued a General Order that the British regiments and loyalist corps were to send in a state of their arms, noting all deficiencies and when each occurred.

Loyalist Christian Wehr wrote to Captain Mathews to complain that, despite Major Jessup’s promise of a captaincy, he now found himself on the pensioners’ list without rank and wished to be transferred to 2KRR with the men he had recruited at such effort and expense. Wehr had an interesting history. He had been a KLA captain in 1777, but rather than command a company, had served as a blacksmith during Burgoyne’s expedition, yet he was listed as a captain on the KLA’s 1778 roll. By June 1779, he held the same rank in the “Loyal Volunteers,” but when Leake’s Independent Company was formed, Wehr was not one of the chosen officers and, when the Loyal Rangers was created, he was again not selected for command. Wehr got his wish and was ranked as a 2KRR second lieutenant backdated to December 11, 1781. Obviously, this lower rank was preferred to being on the pensioners’ list.¹²

Captain Robert Leake wrote to Mathews on January 10 in his role as paymaster to advise that 2KRR’s non-commissioned officers had only been paid as privates since the battalion first formed in 1780 and requested permission to make up the difference.¹³

The Loyal Rangers’ Regimental Orders of January 12 directed the officers commanding companies to immediately submit an exact return of their non-commissioned officers, drummers, and private men to the acting adjutant so that clothing could be issued. Men employed at work or absent from the corps, or who had received clothing since last June, were not to be included. This same day, Mathews wrote to Jessup to confirm that the uniform kits had been ordered for the corps, but there was no mention of a supply of additional green cloth to change the facings.¹⁴

Riedesel noted that the issuing of rum at Sorel district’s advance posts was unevenly applied, and provided a set of regulations that exempted the Secret Service scouts who performed hazardous duty. A few days later, Deputy Adjutant General Lernoult withdrew the rum allowance for artificers and workmen of all branches in the lower province, replacing it with a three-pence allowance per diem.

On January 13, Captain William Fraser reported to Major-General Riedesel from Yamaska Blockhouse that Colonel St. Leger was supplying snowshoes and a guide to lead the “Grand Scout.” The Rangers at the post had made all their clothes and were ready for service, and Lieutenant Israel Ferguson, KR, who was well acquainted with Hazen’s Road, was to command the scout and was waiting for Riedesel’s final orders and the arrival of the native guide. The “Grand Scout” departed on January 19 for the Loyal Blockhouse. A native sent to guide a second scout leaving from the lower blockhouse to the St. Francis River arrived on January 24, and this second party set out with sixteen days’ provisions.¹⁵

Lieutenant-Colonel Claus reported from Montreal on January 14 that four of his men who had been with Sutherland had brought in six Vermont prisoners. Under careful interrogation, the captives confirmed Cornwallis’s defeat, although it was said that the local loyalists considered it a “framed story.” They told about Chittenden sending a body of five hundred troops into New York three weeks previously “to drive off a parcell of tax Collectors and others from New York State.” Families from the White Creek area (in the Western Union) and New Hampshire were daily arriving in Vermont, which might “occasion a dispute & rupture between those respective States.”

Lieutenant-Colonel Daniel Claus, 1727–1787. Claus served in lower Quebec as the senior deputy agent of the Six Nations’ Indian Department.

Three days later, Mathews informed Claus that the governor wished him to send the prisoners to Sherwood for additional interrogation, as, with his New Hampshire Grants’ background, he might be able to uncover more information. In addition, Haldimand wished to dispatch an “Extraordinary Scout” to gather intelligence, and Claus was to send Sherwood a native guide and two of his rangers. Did the governor still doubt Cornwallis’s defeat or simply its extent?¹⁶

The trial of the lieutenant of militia, Pierre Charlebois, who had been charged with assaulting John Thompson, 1KRR, sentenced him to pay a fine of twenty shillings and the costs of the prosecution. All of the Crown’s witnesses were allowed forty shillings for their expenses. Considering the unprovoked brutality of the beating and Charlebois’s reputation as a vicious bully, this was a mild penalty indeed and reflected the administration’s sensitivity over the general temper of the Canadiens. For Thompson, who had earlier suffered fourteen months of malignant imprisonment by the rebels, the finding was hardly just.¹⁷

Major Gray wrote to Mathews with a melancholy summation of Charlebois’s bad behaviour.

I have transmitted some time ago a Charge Against the Lieutenant of Militia of Point Clair, for Beating a Soldier in Our Regiment, which he has done some others of the Soldiers before, but rather than Encourage any disputes betwixt the men and the Inhabitants, I over looked it[. A]t this time I could not[,] so I entered a process against him[. T]he determination of the Court, I here enclose[.] I am sorry to inform you, that the men meet with many Insults from the Inhabitants, which they are obliged to Bear with, from the strick orders Given to keep clear of any Dispute.

Gray had no redress against such abuses except through civil law, which he avoided like the plague. In his words, “It must be great provocation [that] will drive me to have anything to do with the Country People…. If the Commander in Chief knows the Character of the Lieutenant of Malitia he would give orders to turn him out of His Office, in short hes every thing that’s bad nor no advantage to the Service, as I knew these three years.”¹⁸

As General Moses Hazen had either not arrived in the north, or declined to accept the command, Washington’s military secretary advised Heath on January 8 that command in the north should be left in the hands of Colonel George Reid, or the eldest officer in the New Hampshire brigade, an instruction that unwittingly sowed the seeds of a future command struggle.¹⁹

Chittenden’s response to Washington’s sentiments scarcely read true in view of his council’s position on boundary issues:

I am exceeding unhappy when I view the critical Situation of the Interest of the United States and the great Evils which attend the people in this Quarter by the unhappy internal Broils and Contentions caused by the Disputes between them and the several adjacent States.

He then attempted to convince Washington of the republic’s dedication to “the grand Cause of Liberty” and assured him of Vermont’s devotion to his disinterested leadership. As Vermont no longer had any regiments in the Continental service, this must have been a bitter pill for Washington to swallow. The governor closed by reporting that there were many Vermonters still held prisoner in Canada, a comment likely intended to disguise the continuation of the negotiations.²⁰