The Life of George Washington, Vol. 2 (of 5)
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A court of inquiry justified his conduct, and he retained the
confidence of the Commander-in-chief.
On learning the distressed state of the remnant of the army, General
Washington made great exertions to repair its losses, and to reinforce
it. The utmost industry was used to procure a supply of tents;
artillery and ammunition were forwarded from Massachusetts; the
remaining troops of that state were ordered to that department; and
General Lincoln, who possessed, in a high degree, the confidence of
the New England militia, was directed to raise and command them.
General Arnold, so often distinguished for his gallantry in the field,
was ordered to the northern army, in the hope that his presence and
reputation might reanimate the troops; and Colonel Morgan, with his
corps of riflemen, was detached on the same service. Through the
present dark gloom, Washington discerned a ray of light, and already
cherished the hope that much good might result from present evil. "The
evacuation of Ticonderoga and Mount Independence," said he in a letter
of the 15th of July, to General Schuyler, "is an event of chagrin and
surprise, not apprehended, nor within the compass of my reasoning.
This stroke is severe indeed, and has distressed us much. But,
notwithstanding, things at present wear a dark and gloomy aspect, I
hope a spirited opposition will check the progress of General
Burgoyne's arms, and that the confidence derived from success will
hurry him into measures that will, in their consequences, be
favourable to us. We should never despair. Our situation has before
been unpromising, and has changed for the better. So, I trust, it will
again. If new difficulties arise, we must only put forth new
exertions, and proportion our efforts to the exigency of the times."
On receiving a letter from General Schuyler of the seventeenth,
stating the divided situation of the British army, he seemed to
anticipate the event which afterwards occurred, and to suggest the
measure in which originated that torrent of misfortune with which
Burgoyne was overwhelmed. "Though our affairs," he said in reply to
this information, "have for some days past worn a dark and gloomy
aspect, I yet look forward to a fortunate and happy change. I trust
General Burgoyne's army will meet, sooner or later, an effectual
check; and, as I suggested before, that the success he has met with
will precipitate his ruin. From your accounts, he appears to be
pursuing that line of conduct which, of all others, is most favourable
to us. I mean acting in detachment. This conduct will certainly give
room for enterprise on our part, and expose his parties to great
hazard. Could we be so happy as to cut one of them off, though it
should not exceed four, five, or six hundred men, it would inspirit
the people, and do away much of their present anxiety. In such an
event, they would lose sight of past misfortunes; and, urged at the
same time by a regard for their own security, would fly to arms, and
afford every aid in their power."
After allowing a short repose to his army, General Burgoyne proceeded
with ardour to the remaining objects of the campaign. The toils and
delays which must be encountered in reaching the Hudson were soon
perceived. He found it necessary to open Wood creek, and to repair the
roads and bridges which Schuyler had broken up. Such was the
unavoidable delay of this difficult operation, that the army did not
arrive on the Hudson, in the neighbourhood of fort Edward, till the
fourteenth of July. At this place it was necessary again to halt, in
order to bring artillery, provisions, batteaux, and other articles
from fort George.
[Sidenote: Burgoyne approaches Fort Edward and Schuyler retires to
Saratoga.]
[Sidenote: From thence to Stillwater.]
The time afforded by this delay had been employed by Schuyler to the
utmost advantage. Some reinforcements of continental troops had
arrived from Peekskill, and the militia had been assembled; but his
strength did not yet afford a reasonable prospect of success in a
contest with the enemy opposed to him. On this account, as Burgoyne
approached fort Edward, Schuyler retired over the Hudson to Saratoga,
and soon afterwards to Stillwater, not far from the mouth of the
Mohawk. At this place, General Lincoln, who had been detached to take
command of the militia assembling at Manchester, was ordered to rejoin
him, and he fortified his camp in the hope of being strong enough to
defend it.
{August 15}
At Stillwater, information was obtained that Burgoyne had evacuated
Castletown; so that the only communication with Ticonderoga, whence
nearly all his supplies were drawn, was through Lake George; and that
the garrison of that important place had been reduced to three hundred
men. In consequence of this intelligence, the orders to General
Lincoln were countermanded, and he was directed with the militia of
Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and of the Grants, making, as was
understood, a total of between two and three thousand men, to place
himself in the rear of the British army, and cut off its communication
with the lakes. Here too he was informed that Colonel St. Leger, with
a large body of Indians, in addition to his regulars, had penetrated
from Oswego, by the way of the Oneida lake and Wood creek, to the
Mohawk, where he had laid siege to fort Schuyler, and had totally
defeated General Herkimer, who had raised the militia of Tryon county,
in order to relieve the fort. The importance of protecting the
inhabitants from the savages, and of preventing a junction between St.
Leger and Burgoyne, and the consequent loss of the country on the
Mohawk, determined Schuyler, weak as he was, to detach Major General
Arnold with three continental regiments to raise the siege. The army
was so enfeebled by this measure, that its removal to a place of
greater security became necessary, and it was withdrawn to some
islands in the confluence of the Hudson and the Mohawk, where the camp
was deemed more defensible. Burgoyne had now marched down the east
side of the Hudson, and his advanced parties had crossed the river,
and occupied the ground at Saratoga.
[Sidenote: St. Leger invests Fort Schuyler.]
On the 3d of August, after a message vaunting of his strength, and
demanding a surrender, which was answered by a declaration that the
fort would be defended to the last extremity, St. Leger invested fort
Schuyler. The garrison amounted to six hundred men, all continental
troops, who were commanded by Colonel Gansevoort. The besieging army
rather exceeded fifteen hundred, of whom from six to nine hundred were
Indians.
On the approach of the enemy, General Herkimer, who commanded the
militia of Tryon county, assembled them in considerable numbers, and
gave information to the garrison, about eleven in the morning of the
sixth, of his intention to force a passage that day through the
besieging army. Gansevoort determined to favour the execution of this
design by a vigorous sortie; and upwards of two hundred men, to be
commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Willet, were drawn out for that
purpose.
[Sidenote: Herkimer, advancing to the relief of the fort, falls into
an ambuscade, and is defeated with loss.]
Unfortunately St. Leger received information the preceding day of
Herkimer's approach, and, early in the morning, placed a strong party,
composed of regulars and Indians, in ambuscade on the road along which
he was to march. His first notice of it was given by a heavy discharge
of small arms, which was followed by a furious attack from the Indians
with their tomahawks. He defended himself with resolution; but was
defeated with great slaughter. The general and several of the field
officers were wounded; and many others, among whom were several
persons of distinction, were killed or taken prisoners. The loss was
estimated at four hundred men. The destruction was prevented from
being still more complete, by the very timely sortie made by
Lieutenant Colonel Willet, which checked the pursuit, and recalled
those engaged in it to the defence of their own camp.
As soon as Gansevoort understood that Herkimer was advancing, the
sortie which he had planned was made. Lieutenant Colonel Willet fell
on the camp of the besiegers, and routed them at the first onset.
After driving them, some into the woods, and others over the river, he
returned to the fort without the loss of a man.
Burgoyne had received early intimation of the arrival of St. Leger
before fort Schuyler; and was aware of the advantage to be derived
from an immediate and rapid movement down the Hudson. But the
obstacles to his progress multiplied daily, and each step produced new
embarrassments. Not more than one-third of the horses expected from
Canada had arrived; and Schuyler had been active in removing the draft
cattle of the country. With unremitting exertion, he had been able to
transport from fort George to the Hudson, a distance of eighteen
miles, only twelve batteaux, and provisions for four days in advance.
The defectiveness of his means to feed his army until it should reach
the abundant country below him, presented an impediment to his farther
progress, not readily to be surmounted. The difficulty of drawing
supplies from fort George would increase every day with the increasing
distance; and the communications, already endangered by a considerable
body of militia assembling at White Creek, could be secured only by
larger detachments from his army than he was in a condition to make.
These were strong inducements to attempt some other mode of supply.
[Sidenote: Colonel Baum is detached to seize the magazines at
Bennington.]
It was well known that large magazines of provisions for the use of
the American army were collected at Bennington, which place was
generally guarded by militia, whose numbers varied from day to day.
The possession of these magazines would enable him to prosecute his
ulterior plans without relying for supplies from Lake George; and he
determined to seize them.
To try the affections of the country, to complete a corps of
loyalists, and to mount Reidisel's dragoons, were subordinate objects
of the expedition.[79] Lieutenant Colonel Baum with five hundred
Europeans, and a body of American loyalists, was detached on this
service.
[Footnote 79: Letter of Burgoyne.]
To facilitate the enterprise, and be ready to take advantage of its
success, Burgoyne moved down the east side of the Hudson, and threw a
bridge of rafts over that river for the passage of his van, which took
post at Saratoga. At the same time Lieutenant Colonel Brechman, with
his corps, was advanced to Batten Hill, in order, if necessary, to
support Colonel Baum.[80]
[Footnote 80: Letter of Burgoyne.]
On approaching Bennington, Baum discovered that he should have to
encounter a much more considerable force than had been suspected. The
New Hampshire militia, commanded by General Starke, had reached that
place on their way to camp; and, uniting with Colonel Warner, made in
the whole about two thousand men.
Perceiving his danger, Baum halted about four miles from Bennington,
and despatched an express for a reinforcement. In the mean time, he
strengthened his position by intrenchments.
Lieutenant Colonel Brechman was immediately ordered to his assistance;
but, such was the state of the roads that, though the distance was
only twenty-four miles, and his march was pressed unremittingly from
eight in the morning of the 15th, he did not reach the ground on which
Baum had encamped, until four in the afternoon of the next day.[81]
[Footnote 81: Ibid.]
[Sidenote: Is attacked in his intrenchments by General Starke, and
entirely routed.]
In the mean time, General Starke determined to attack him in his
intrenchments. So confident were the provincials belonging to this
party, of the attachment of the country to the royal cause, that the
American troops, while making their dispositions for the attack, were
mistaken for armed friends coming to join them. On discovering his
error, Baum prepared for the contest, and made a gallant defence. His
works however were carried by storm, and great part of his detachment
killed, or taken prisoners. A few escaped into the woods, and saved
themselves by flight.
[Sidenote: Brechman advances to Baum's aid, is attacked by Colonel
Warner, and defeated.]
Brechman arrived during the pursuit, and obtained from the fugitives,
the first intelligence of the disaster which had befallen them. He
immediately attacked the parties of militia who were engaged in the
pursuit, and gained some advantage over them. Fortunately for the
Americans, Colonel Warner[82] came up at this critical juncture with
his continental regiment, and restored, and continued the action,
until the main body of the militia re-assembled, and came to support
him. Brechman in turn was compelled to retire; but he maintained the
engagement until dark, when, abandoning his artillery and baggage, he
saved his party under cover of the night.
[Footnote 82: Gordon.]
One thousand stand of arms, and nine hundred swords were taken in this
battle. General Burgoyne represented his loss in men at about four
hundred; but thirty-two officers, and five hundred and sixty-four
privates, including Canadians and loyalists, were made prisoners. The
number of the dead was not ascertained, because the action with
Brechman had been fought in the woods, and been continued for several
miles.
The British general therefore must have included in his estimate of
loss, only his European troops.
This important success was soon followed by another of equal influence
on the fate of the campaign.
Fort Schuyler had been fortified with more skill, and was defended
with more courage, than St. Leger had expected. His artillery made no
impression on its walls; and his Indians, who were much better pleased
with obtaining plunder and scalps, than besieging fortresses, became
intractable, and manifested great disgust with the service. In this
temper, they understood that Arnold was advancing with a large body of
continental troops; and, soon afterwards were told that Burgoyne and
his army had been totally defeated; a report probably founded on the
affair at Bennington. Unwilling to share the misfortune of their
friends, they manifested a determination not to await the arrival of
Arnold. The efforts of St. Leger to detain them being ineffectual,
many of them decamped immediately, and the rest threatened to follow.
[Sidenote: St. Leger abandons the siege of Fort Schuyler, and retreats
to Ticonderoga.]
The time for deliberation was past. The camp was broken up with
indications of excessive alarm. The tents were left standing; and the
artillery, with great part of the baggage, ammunition, and provisions,
fell into the hands of the Americans. The retreating army was pursued
by a detachment from the garrison; and it was stated by deserters,
that the Indians plundered the remaining baggage of the officers, and
massacred such soldiers as could not keep up with the line of march.
St. Leger returned to Montreal, whence he proceeded to Ticonderoga,
with the intention of joining General Burgoyne by that route.
The decisive victory at Bennington, and the retreat of St. Leger from
fort Schuyler, however important in themselves, were still more so in
their consequences. An army, which had spread terror and dismay in
every direction, which had, previously, experienced no reverse of
fortune, was considered as already beaten; and the opinion became
common, that the appearance of the great body of the people in arms,
would secure the emancipation of their country. It was too an
advantage of no inconsiderable importance resulting from this change
of public opinion, that the disaffected became timid, and the wavering
who, had the torrent of success continued, would have made a merit of
contributing their aid to the victor, were no longer disposed to put
themselves and their fortunes in hazard, to support an army whose fate
was so uncertain.
The barbarities which had been perpetrated by the Indians belonging to
the invading armies, excited still more resentment than terror. As the
prospect of revenge began to open, their effect became the more
apparent; and their influence on the royal cause was the more sensibly
felt because they had been indiscriminate.
[Sidenote: The murder of Miss M'Crea.]
The murder of Miss M'Crea passed through all the papers of the
continent: and the story, being retouched by the hand of more than one
master, excited a peculiar degree of sensibility.[83] But there were
other causes of still greater influence in producing the events which
afterwards took place. The last reinforcements of continental troops
arrived in camp about this time, and added both courage and strength
to the army. The harvest, which had detained the northern militia upon
their farms, was over; and General Schuyler, whose continued and
eminent services had not exempted him from the imputation of being a
traitor, was succeeded by General Gates, who possessed a large share
of the public confidence.
[Footnote 83: See note No. IX. at the end of the volume.]
[Sidenote: General Gates takes command of the Northern Army.]
When Schuyler was directed by congress to resume the command of the
northern department, Gates withdrew himself from it. When the
resolution passed recalling the general officers who had served in
that department, General Washington was requested to name a successor
to Schuyler. On his expressing a wish to decline this nomination, and
representing the inconvenience of removing all the general officers,
Gates was again directed to repair thither and take the command, and
their resolution to recall the brigadiers was suspended until the
Commander-in-chief should be of opinion that it might be carried into
effect with safety.
Schuyler retained the command until the arrival of Gates, which was on
the 19th of August, and continued his exertions to restore the affairs
of the department, though he felt acutely the disgrace of being
recalled in this critical and interesting state of the campaign. "It
is," said he, in a letter to the Commander-in-chief, "matter of
extreme chagrin to me to be deprived of the command at a time when,
soon if ever, we shall probably be enabled to face the enemy; when we
are on the point of taking ground[84] where they must attack to a
disadvantage, should our force be inadequate to facing them in the
field; when an opportunity will, in all probability, occur, in which I
might evince that I am not what congress have too plainly insinuated
by taking the command from me."
[Footnote 84: The islands in the mouth of the Mohawk.]
If error be attributable to the evacuation of Ticonderoga, no portion
of it was committed by Schuyler. His removal from the command was
probably severe and unjust as respected himself; but perhaps wise as
respected America. The frontier towards the lakes was to be defended
by the troops of New England; and, however unfounded their prejudices
against him might be, it was prudent to consult them.
Notwithstanding the difficulties which multiplied around him, Burgoyne
remained steady to his purpose. The disasters at Bennington and on the
Mohawk produced no disposition to abandon the enterprise and save his
army.
{September 14.}
[Sidenote: Burgoyne encamps on the heights of Saratoga.]
It had now become necessary to recur to the slow and toilsome mode of
obtaining supplies from fort George. Having, with persevering labour,
collected provision for thirty days in advance, he crossed the Hudson
on the 13th and 14th of September, and encamped on the heights and
plains of Saratoga, with a determination to decide the fate of the
expedition in a general engagement.
General Gates, having been joined by all the continental troops
destined for the northern department, and reinforced by large bodies
of militia, had moved from his camp in the islands, and advanced to
the neighbourhood of Stillwater.
[Sidenote: He attacks Gates at Stillwater.]
{September 19.}
The bridges between the two armies having been broken down, the roads
being excessively bad, and the country covered with wood, the progress
of the British army down the river was slow. On the night of the 17th,
Burgoyne encamped within four miles of the American army, and the next
day was employed in repairing the bridges between the two camps.[85]
In the morning of the 19th he advanced in full force towards the
American left. Morgan was immediately detached with his corps to
observe the enemy, and to harass his front and flanks. He fell in with
a picket in front of the right wing, which he attacked with vivacity,
and drove in upon the main body. Pursuing with too much ardour, he was
met in considerable force, and, after a severe encounter, was
compelled, in turn, to retire in some disorder. Two regiments being
advanced to his assistance, his corps was rallied, and the action
became more general. The Americans were formed in a wood, with an open
field in front, and invariably repulsed the British corps which
attacked them; but when they pursued those corps to the main body,
they were in turn driven back to their first ground. Reinforcements
were continually brought up, and about four in the afternoon, upwards
of three thousand American troops[86] were closely engaged with the
whole right wing of the British army commanded by General Burgoyne in
person. The conflict was extremely severe, and only terminated with
the day. At dark, the Americans retired to their camp, and the
British, who had found great difficulty in maintaining their ground,
lay all night on their arms near the field of battle.
[Footnote 85: Letter of Burgoyne.]
[Footnote 86: The accounts of the day stated that the
Americans were commanded by General Arnold, but General
Wilkinson says that no general officer was in the field.]
In this action the killed and wounded on the part of the Americans
were between three and four hundred. Among the former were Colonels
Coburn and Adams, and several other valuable officers. The British
loss has been estimated at rather more than five hundred men.
Each army claimed the victory; and each believed itself to have beaten
near the whole of the hostile army with only a part of its own force.
The advantage, however, taking all circumstances into consideration,
was decidedly with the Americans. In a conflict which nearly consumed
the day, they found themselves at least equal to their antagonists. In
every quarter they had acted on the offensive; and, after an encounter
for several hours, had not lost an inch of ground. They had not been
driven from the field, but had retired from it at the close of day, to
the camp from which they had marched to battle. Their object, which
was to check the advancing enemy, had been obtained; while that of the
British general had failed. In the actual state of things, to fight
without being beaten was, on their part, victory; while, on the part
of the British, to fight without a decisive victory, was defeat. The
Indians, who found themselves beaten in the woods by Morgan, and
restrained from scalping and plundering the unarmed by Burgoyne, who
saw before them the prospect of hard fighting without profit, grew
tired of the service, and deserted in great numbers. The Canadians and
Provincials were not much more faithful; and Burgoyne soon perceived
that his hopes must rest almost entirely on his European troops.
With reason, therefore, this action was celebrated throughout the
United States as a victory, and considered as the precursor of the
total ruin of the invading army. The utmost exultation was displayed,
and the militia were stimulated to fly to arms, and complete the work
so happily begun.
General Lincoln, in conformity with directions which have been stated,
had assembled a considerable body of New England militia in the rear
of Burgoyne, from which he drew three parties of about five hundred
men each. One of these was detached under the command of Colonel
Brown, to the north end of Lake George, principally to relieve a
number of prisoners who were confined there, but with orders to push
his success, should he be fortunate, as far as prudence would admit.
Colonel Johnson, at the head of another party, marched towards Mount
Independence, and Colonel Woodbury, with a third, was detached to
Skeensborough to cover the retreat of both the others. With the
residue, Lincoln proceeded to the camp of Gates.
Colonel Brown, after marching all night, arrived, at the break of day,
on the north end of the lake, where he found a small post which he
carried without opposition. The surprise was complete; and he took
possession of Mount Defiance, Mount Hope, the landing place, and about
two hundred batteaux. With the loss of only three killed and five
wounded, he liberated one hundred American prisoners, and captured two
hundred and ninety-three of the enemy. This success was joyfully
proclaimed through the northern states. It was believed confidently
that Ticonderoga and Mount Independence were recovered; and the
militia were exhorted, by joining their brethren in the army, to
insure that event if it had not already happened.