CHAPTER on the representation of Washington that the northern XXXVI. army could not be left without officers. Washington 1777. shared the general surprise and vexation; but he had confidence in Schuyler, and he did all in his power to re-enforce the northern army. Two brigades from the Highlands, Morgan with his rifle corps, the impetuous Arnold, and Lincoln, a great favorite with the Massachu setts militia, were ordered to the northern department. Washington declined the selection of a new commander Aug 4. tendered to him by Congress, and that selection, guided by the New England members, fell upon Gates. Burgoyne meanwhile issued a new proclamation for a convention of ten deputies from each township, to assemble at Castleton, to confer with Governor Skene, and to take measures for the re-establishment of the royal authority. Schuyler, in a counter-proclamation, threatened the utmost rigor of the law of treason against all who complied with Burgoyne's propositions. Subsequently to the Declaration of Independence, the inhabJan. 15. itants of Vermont had organized themselves into an inJuly 2. dependent state, had applied to Congress for admission into the Union, and had adopted a Constitution. A Continental regiment had been raised and officered in Vermont, of which Warner had been commissioned as colonel. But Congress, through the influence of New York, disclaimed any intention to countenance the pretensions of Vermont to independence; and the Vermont petition for admission into the Union had been lately dismissed with some asperity. If Burgoyne, however, founded any hopes of defection upon this circumstance, he found himself quite mistaken. The advance from Skenesborough cost the British infinite labor and fatigue; but beyond breaking up the roads and placing obstacles in their way, Schuyler was not strong enough to annoy them. These impediinents CHAPTER XXXVI were at length overcome; and Burgoyne, with his troops, artillery, and baggage, presently appeared on the banks 1777. of the Hudson. The British army hailed with enthusiasm the sight of that river, object of their toil, which July 29 they had reached with great efforts indeed, but with an uninterrupted career of success, and a loss of not above two hundred men. It now only remained for the British to force their way to Albany; nor did it seem likely that Schuyler could offer any serious resistance. His army, not yet materially increased, was principally composed of militia without discipline, the troops from the eastward very little inclined to serve under his orders, and constantly deserting. Fort Edward was untenable. As the British approached, the Americans crossed the river, and retired, first to Saratoga, and then to Stillwater, a short distance above the mouth of the Mohawk. Hardly had Schuyler taken up this position, when news arrived of another disaster and a new danger. While moving up Lake Champlain, Burgoyne had detached Colonel St. Leger, with two hundred regulars, Sir John Johnson's Royal Greens, some Canadian Rangers, and a body of Indians under Brant, to harass the New York frontier from the west. St. Leger laid siege to Aug. 3 Fort Schuyler, late Fort Stanwix, near the head of the Mohawk, then the extreme western post of the State of New York. General Herkimer raised the militia of Tryon county, and advanced to the relief of this important post, which was held by Gansevoort and Willett, with two New York regiments. About six miles from the fort, owing to want of proper precaution, Herkimer Aug. fell into an ambush. Mortally wounded, he supported himself against a stump, and encouraged his men to the XXXVI. CHAPTER fight. By the aid of a successful sally by Willett, they succeeded at last in repulsing the assailants, but not with. 1777. out a loss of four hundred, including many of the leading patriots of that region, who met with no mercy at the hands of the Indians and refugees. Tryon county, which included the whole district west of Albany, abounded with Tories. It was absolutely necessary to relieve Fort Schuyler, lest its surrender should be the signal for a general insurrection. Arnold volunteered for that service, and was dispatched by Schuyler with three regiments; with the rest of his army he withdrew into the islands at the confluence of the Mohawk and the Hudson, a more defensible station than the camp at Stillwater. The command of Lake George, as well as of Lake Champlain, had passed into the hands of the British. That lake furnished a convenient means of transportation; a large quantity of provisions and stores for the British army had arrived at Fort George, and Burgoyne was exerting every effort for their transportation to his camp on the Hudson. The land carriage was only eighteen miles; but the roads were so bad, and the supply of draft cattle so small, that, after a fortnight's hard labor, the British army had only four days' provisions in advance. To try the affections of the country, to mount Reidesel's dragoons, to complete Peters's corps of Loyalists, and to obtain a large supply of cattle, horses, and carriages," so Burgoyne expressed himself in his instructions, it was resolved to send a strong detachment intc the settlements on the left. Colonel Baum was sent on this errand, with two pieces of artillery and eight hundred men, dismounted German dragoons and British marksmen, with a body of Canadians and Indians, and Skene and a party of Loyalists for guides. XXXVI. Langdon, the principal merchant at Portsmouth, and CHAPTER a member of the New Hampshire council, having patriotically volunteered the means to put them in motion, 1777. a corps of New Hampshire militia, called out upon news of the loss of Ticonderoga, had iately arrived at Bennington under the command of Stark. Disgusted at not having been made a brigadier, Stark had resigned his Continental commission as colonel, and, in agreeing to take the leadership of the militia, had expressly stipulated for an independent command. On that ground he had just declined to obey an order from Lincoln to join the main army a piece of insubordination which might have proved fatal, but which, in the present case, turned out otherwise. Informed of Baum's approach, Stark sent off expresses for militia, and for Warner's regiment, encamped at Manchester, and joined by many fugitives since the battle of Hubberton. Six miles from Bennington, on the appearance of Stark's forces Baum began to intrench Aug. 14 himself, and sent back to Burgoyne for re-enforcements. The next day was rainy, and Stark, also expecting re-enforcements, delayed the attack. Baum improved the interval in throwing up intrenchments. Breyman marched to his assistance, but was delayed by the rain and the badness of the roads, which also kept back Warner's regiment. Having been joined the next day by some Berk- Aug. 18 shire militia under Colonel Simmons, Stark drew out his forces, and about noon approached the enemy. "There they are!" exclaimed the rustic general-" we beat today, or Molly Stark's a widow!" The assault was made in four columns, in front and rear at the same time, and after a hot action of two hours the intrenchments were carried. The Indians and provincials escaped to the woods; the Germans were mostly taken or slain. The battle was hardly over, and Stark's men were in a good CHAPTER deal of confusion, when, about four in the afternoon, Brey. XXXVI. Iman was seen coming up. 1777. arrived at the same time. Warner's regiment luckily The battle was renewed and kept up till dark, when Breyman abandoned his baggage and artillery, and made the best retreat he could. Besides the killed, about two hundred in number, the Amer icans took near six hundred prisoners, a thousand stand of arms, as many swords, and four pieces of artillery— a seasonable supply for the militia now flocking in from all quarters. The American loss was only fourteen killed and forty-two wounded. Just at the moment when a turn in the affairs of the northern department became fully apparent, the two brigades from the Highlands having arrived, and the militia fast pouring in, Schuyler, much to his mortification, was Aug 22. superseded by Gates. He still remained, however, at Albany, and gave his assistance toward carrying on the campaign. The day after Gates assumed the command, Morgan arrived with his rifle corps, five hundred strong, to which were presently added two hundred and fifty picked men under Major Dearborn, of Scammell's New Hampshire regiment. The victory of Stark had a magical effect in reviving the spirits of the people and the courage of the soldiers. Indignation was also aroused by the cruelties reported of Burgoyne's Indian allies. A most pathetic story was told of one Jenny M'Rea, murdered by Indians near Fort Edward. Her family were Loyalists; she herself was engaged to be married to a Loyalist officer. She was dressed to receive her lover, when a party of Indians burst into the house, carried off the whole family to the woods, and there murdered, scalped, and mangled them in the most horrible manner. Such, at least, was the story, as told in a letter of remonstrance from Gates |