THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS WASHINGTON 25, D. C. OFFICIAL BUSINESS .S7T7 15 E 241 .S7 T7 Copy 1 AND OXJR XUH^^ BY M.\RION EMMA. TRACrr ATORT-WHICH-NEVER SURRENDERED DEFENDED-AUGUST 1777- BY -COL- PETER GANSEVOORT.&'LIEUT. COL-MARINUS-WILLETT. HERE-THE- STARS •& STRIPES • WERE- riRST UNFURLED-IN-BATTLE. ERECTED -1758. This fort occupied a portion of the block bounded by North James, East Domlnick, Spring and Liberty Streets, Rome.N.Y. ■S7TJ \ Copyrighted, 1914, by ROBERT BRUCE and MARION EMMA TRACY. Rome Club House, Rome, N. Y., on the site of Fort Stanwix. The Elm beside it was a sapling inside the Fort in 1777. OaA371698 MAY "4 1914 FOREWORD HIS story, vividly portraying the siege of Fort Stanwix, the first unfurling of the Stars and Stripes in battle, and the historic march of General Nicholas Herkimer, was originally intended as a magazine contribution. While well suited to such use, its ownership would afterwards have been vested elsewhere than in the district where it should be best known and most appreciated. Hence the decision to publish it in this souvenir booklet form, with the hope that the people of Central New York, and particularly of Rome, may always cherish the memories which the portrayal was designed to perpetuate. Robert Bruce. Clinton, Oneida Co., N. Y., April 15, 1914. (A.dditional copies of this booklet can be had at 50 cents each, postpaid, from Marion Emma Tracy, 707 E. Dominicic Street, Rome, N. Y.) Photograph of General Nicholas Herkimer, copied from a portrait painted in oil, in possession of Oneida County Historical Society. Fort Stanwix and Our Flag. By MARION EMMA TRACY. To be eoiiiiiiissioiied to a frontier i'ort whieli was in a deplorable state of disrepair, and the solitary sentinel in a vast wooded wilderness, savored more of hardships than of honors. Bnt sueh was General Schuyler's order to Colonel Peter Gansevoort. and sncli Avas the condition of Fort Stanwix, NeAV York, in April, 1777. Fort Osw^eg'o, on Lake Ontario. aAvay to the north- west, had long been abandoned, and Albany with its military reserves lay five days' march to the east. Be- tween these extremes on the lonely, exposed portage separating AVood Creek and the Mohawk River, Colonel Gansevoort and his garrison of five hundred fifty men of the Third New York regiment, found themscdves posted. His was the third detachment stationed here ; still the fort, strategic and important as it Avas in guard- ing the ]\lohaAvk vallt\v. Avas an insecure defense against an enemy mightier than the Avild things of the Avoods. Colonel Gansevoort 's iuA^entory shoAved inadequate ra- tions, and the excessive heat rendc^ring much of this unfit for consumption. PoAvder. also, Avas conspicuous in its scarcity, bullets did not fit the guns, and ammu- nition guaranteed l)ut nine rounds per gun each day for a possible six Aveeks' tenancy. Besides these per- plexing conditions, decay was every Avh(M'e. Parapets Avere brokc^n. liastions Avholly ineffective, and the moat about the fortification choked Avith debris, a Aveakened barrier to dcdermined invasion. In addition. tim])ers nee- essaiy for the work of reconstruction must be hewn by hand, while those wielding- authority in military circles, familiar witii the reports of previously withdrawn troops, had, thus far. been surprisingly slow in dispatching sup- plies and e(iuipment to outlast an impending attack of the British. Viewed in its entirety, the task appointed the young commander was a colossal one, and under a less mag- netic. I'esourceful leader the issue might easily have been reversed. The entii'e war situation was steadil3' growing more serious. Eai'ly in ]\Iarch, across the Atlantic, came the authentic report that Sir John Burgoyne had theoreti- call.y outlined a plan of attack which, unless baffied, would mean probably defeat to the struggling Conti- nental army and the great cause of independence. Later, this being endorsed by the royal council, Sir Guy Carl- ton of Canada was instructed to provide troops, food, supplies and anununition sufficient to carry the project to compilation under Sir John and Colonel Barry St. Leg(M*. June brought a subsequent rumor that General Bur- goyne had already started across northern wastes to- ward Lakes Champlain and G<^orge, intending by this route to tap the Hudson and thereby effect a junction with Howe's forces. Simultaneously. St. Leger, with six hundred British regulars, left Lachine, six miles from Montreal, to drift down the St. Lawri^ice to Ontario, through the Oswego River to Oneida Lake and thence by Wood Creek to the portage. Once in the Mohawk valley — God help those who had repudiated George HI and his emissaries ! Another cause for anxiety develo])ed also when Joseph Brant — a half-breed — disappeared and was said to be in l(»ague with St. Leger, commanding the Lidians as allies, one thousand strong. Twenty dollars a scalp and [ 61 a ({uart of rum were the brazen, unqualified terms oL' reimbursement for the savages. The lower Mohawk region through which Colonel Gansevoort and his men had come was a seething pot of strife. Allegiance to the Crown and the cry for free- dom were the twin agencies which, ])arbed by individual decisions, conscientious or otherwise, were dividing fam- ilies, leaving fathers and sons in opposing ranks, mak- ing enemies of brothers and turning the love of lifelong friendships to hate. Discontent was rife among the regu- lar troops and the citizen soldiery had mutinied when ordered to the relief of Fort Stanwix. Slowly Burgoyne was hewing his way south, and the forts to the north — Crown Point, Ticonderoga and Ed- ward — were, one after another, compelled to surrender. Precious supplies at Whiteliall had also been confiscated. Lacking troops, Schuyler could only temporarily retard his advance by felling trees across his path. Because of this, the prospective onslaught, with its reinforcement of British troops, caused nuich dismay, and members of the Continental Congress found solving the new nation's problems a hazardous and not altogether satisfactory undertaking. The general longing for independence was quite as keen, but the fate of the new cause was just now jeop- ardized, and this uncertainty left all else subordinate to self-interests. The price of li])erty was none too posi- tively outlined to the wavering ones. King George's yok(^ had galled, but where were they to find a haven if his supremacy was re-established? This doubt led many deserters back to the ranks of royalty. General Schuyler's position, due to this wave of in- decision, was now a most trying one, and the gloom of that summer seemed but the s])ectral shadows of Val- ley Forge. Yet the success of the Revolution was the one theme of conversation, of dream, of prayer. [7] July had eoine with its enervating heat, and many of Colonel Gansevoort's men were on the sick list. The Indians, daily becoming more hostile, skulked about the fort in constantly increasing numbers with undisguised motive; i-aids from them were hourly anticipated. In- deed, to venture alone five hundred yards from the en- closure was to court disaster. Two young girls had been murdered, a third escaping with a l)ullet wound in one shoulder. Settlers about the fort were growing appre- hensive, and the least intrepid among them braved cap- ture and death in a hurried flight down the river. Despite his limited resources. Colonel Gansevoort sent a detachment of one hundred fifty men to block the progress of the enemy when they should reach Wood Creek ; thus fourteen daj's Avere spent. Concerted ac- tion must also be centered on making the fort impreg- nable, as the coming of the British was close at hand. St. Leger's troops had been met hy Brant and his In- dians at Oswego and the whole body thereafter shadowed by friendly Oneidas, Avho, from this time, kept Ganse- voort informed of their location. July was waning before the heartening information came to the fort that a number of batteaux, freighted with provisions and military supplies, were coming up from Schenectady under a guard two hundred strong, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel James INIellen of the Ninth Massachusetts regiment. With this knowledge, the future of the fort took on its first rose-tints since the advent of the garrison, and a company of one hundred men were sent out as a reception committee to welcome the newcomers. Spirits caught new^ inspiration, and the ra])id ring of axes made merry echoes in the woods. De- fying King George was not the irksome task it had been! At five o'clock Saturday afternoon, August second, the relief party swung into the waters of the ox-bow curve This profile of Gen. Herkimer's route was built up from maps of the Province of New York, made by English Geographers in 1767, 1775 and 1777. Mr. W. Pierrepont White, of Utica. gave much research to it, and was principally responsible for its present form. The map is absolutely to scale. of the ^loliawk A\ here the river ci'ci)! in closer to the fort. American hustle is the offspring of just such emer- gencies as this, and these Avelct)me additions to the fort's depleted stock Avere presently housed witli more haste than ceremony. And haste was imperative. An Indian runni'r had, at this juncture, come into camp, bringing the disconcerting news that the English Avere almost upon them. In fact, the final boat -load was hardly within the lamparts when the van of the advance guard, ac- companied by numy of the scalp-hungry savages under Bi'ant. could be seen coming down the trail. On this isolated amphitheater of the wilderness Fate had arranged the most dramatic setting of the Revo- lution, and sealed its opening scene with the capture of the captain of the relief boats, temporarily h^ft be- hind ! Quick work of a sagacious foe, indeed, and the incidiMit flattered the inherent conceit of the invaders. It also fired the dogged persistence of the beleagured Americans. Night passed with no further demonstrations, and the day following broke fair and bright. Aw^ay to the west the trail Avas nominally clear and for a half-mile to- ward Wood Creek glimpses of red-coats were becoming more frequent. Faint echoes of martial music could now be heard and soldiers at the fort climbed the parapets to listen. The last of St. Leger's troops had arrived, and. impatient of restraint, the Colonel quickly formed them into line and gave command to march. On they came Avith measured tread, confidently, de- terminedly, deploying until their lines spread out ini- mitably, and. to the spectators on the parapets, seemed an unnund)ered host. The bright uniforms of the regu- lars AA'ith the gay trappings, and feathers Muttering in the head-gear of their allies, contributed a gorgeous dash of color to an otherAvise somber setting of the picture. The gai'i'ison Avatched them in silence. Not a gun [ 1<» 1 was fired, no cry of defiance broke the Sabbath still- ness, and the men slipped back to their places peculiarly elated. This was certainly no nnworthy foe to defy, but yesterday's vietory should be their last! The old fort should be held till either the enemy capitulated or not a live patriot remained inside to defend it ! St. Leger appeared at this time, the embodiment of English pomp and assurance, openly enthusiastic over the lack of American resistance thus far. arrogant and egotistically confident of ultimate success. Directing the erection of his headquarters at the summit of a slight eminence to the north of the fort, he took possession with all the assumption of a reigning monarch — as though it parodied the throne-room over-seas. Immedi- ately he sent Colonel Gansevoort a formal demand to surrender, and with corresponding directness that of- ficer's unconditional and scornful refusal was given back. Notwithstanding the untiring effort of the men at the fort since early in June, the threatened crisis had stolen upon them while yet the parapets w^ere incomplete and the magazine — ^a necessity wholly overlooked by the en- gineer until now — was not even begun. Under fire from the enemy, this was built and the parapets completed. Occasionally a patriot fell, but another took his place and the work went on at fearful cost. In return sharp- shooters in the covert-way picked off men of the invad- ing ranks and so. as the days came and went, the open- ing chapters of Fort Stanwnx's glorious struggle were ineffaceably w-ritten. As dawn broke over camp on the fourth of August the tactics of the British were further revealed when Indians began "pot-hunting" exposed soldiers from be- hind trees. The stars that night looked down upon a l)esieged garrison puzzling over this ciuestion : How was ignominious defeat to be eventually dealt out to the opposing hordes confronting them? [ 11 ] Bronze Tablet placed by the D. A. R. upon the Post Office, Rome, N. Y., located near the probable path across the Great Carrying Place, connecting Wood Creek with the Mohawk River, used by Traders and Indians. AVitli the coming- of the British and tlieir display of colors and iiuisie, a peculiar eondtion became apparent, not emphasized before ; the old flag-staff, rising from the south-west l)astion, was without an ensign and seemed orphaned! In June Congress had adopted a design, but that did not relieve the present incongruous situation. A flag nnist be had by some means! However, of the poetic conditions regarding the momentous development of this idol of liberty, history is disappointingly silent. Intent upon the sterner things of duty and necessity, it has left us to imagine the consternation at the fort, following the Indians' warning, the frantic rush of re- maining settlers into the enclosure, the probable transfer of household treasure. Yet, withal, between the non- committal lines, facts render a tenable supposition easy. It is not improbable, therefore, that that memorable Saturday night of the opening of the siege found women trying to preserve some semblance of home amid adverse surroundings; listening, perhaps, to the: ''Now I lay me" of some wee tot tucked into an improvised bed; again, tossing a bone to some trapper's dog, hungry and neglected, and later, tiptoeing away to hospital quar- ters to relieve the needs of men whom heat and long hours had overcome. Women of those frontier days were inured to hardships and too accustonunl to danger to be appalled l)y the present (^nergency. AVith character- istic rc^sourcefulness they met this situation and thereby unwittingly stamped history with their individual seal. Certainly the time was not propitious for a ''thimble part3^" yet somewhere within the fort — possibly in the officers' headquarters — materials were asseml)led, deft fingers measured and joined while l)i-ave spirits sew^ed calmly on disregarding the thunder of cannon, the sharp popping of muskets, and a rain of bullets about the fort. As th(^ precious eml)lem nmtured undei* their skillful touches a <'ontagion of entlnisiasm s])i-(>ad ra])idly among [ l:^> 1 \hv soldiers. One t^Toup after aiiotlier Imrried iu for a glimpse, and. with genuine ardor, proudly saluted the Stars and Stripes! And then — we do not know whieh of those initial days of the siege — an exultant garrison, wildly cheering, thrilled over the sight of their new pen- nant as it rose gaily up the weather-beaten old flagstaff, above the parapets and on, to Avhere the breeze caught it, and for the first time, snapped it defiantly in the face of a foe. Against the blue, softened by distance, the crudeness of its manufacture was lost, and the liter- alness of a woman's red petticoat, a soldier's white shirt, and an army coat of blue, were transmuted into the romance of a new nation's birth and its Declaration of Independence. Mute companion of their stress and struggle, yet magnetic, inspiring, it waved above them, a subtle factor in keeping hearts stout and unyielding during the perplexing days which followed. Closely allied with the liag incident were two days of intermittent firing Avith but little result and condi- tions practically unchanged. In the light of Colonel Gansevoort's contemptuous refusal to surrender and the further evidence of fearlessness among his men, the next manoeuvre of Colonel St. Leger's could not be considered seriously. The evening of the fifth, under cover of dark- ness, the Indians in full force circled their supposed victims and held an impromptu war-dance, far into the night, hideous with war-whoop and pent-up cruelty. As a specialty between acts its grim humor lent a spectacular feature to the carnage of war. During this time stories from Indian runners had per- colated through the valley and aroused among its people a much keener appreciation of the imperiled patriots at Fort Stanwix than heretofore ; they also better compre- hended what it might mean should the rabble-host, venge- ance-mad, sweep down the river looting, burning, scalping, to salve the wounded British pride. MM (liMioral IIci'kiiiK'i'. with a spirit undismayed, loving the cause of Anie**iean independence better than life it- self, had at last electrified the countryside about Fort Dayton by his determined eloquence. Repeated protes- tations that, as men. they should cease halting between two opinions and with marshalled strength go to the rescue of the men at the fort, had met response. To guard family and home was not a duty to be cielegated to national troops, ])ut was now become the necessity of the hour — an individual task. The present exigency of the Mohawdv vallej^ must be met by its militia and its citizens. General Washington could not do their work for til em. Vantage points along the Hudson must not be left imperfectly guarded to invite attack through with- drawal of troops. As a result, the afternoon of August third saw thirty- three companies of militia gathered at Fort Dayton. The homespun and linsey-w^oolsey of grangers, the buckskin of trappers and the Continental blue-and-buff of officers suggested the polls at a fall election. Styles of head- gear were as diversified as the faces beneath them, and weapons, obsolete and recent, glinted menacingly in the sun's rays. Neither could the ba])el of dialect result- ing have been compassed by less than a half-dozen dif- fering mother-tongues. l)ut there they were Germans, Dutch, Irish, Scotch and Frc^ich Ilugenots, Englishmen proudly calling themselves Americans, and Yankees from New England, undisciplined, garrulous, insubordinrte as a tlock of sheep — a possible thousand of peace-loving men — eager now to be off and aw^ay on rhe march to- ward the enemy. That evening General Herkimer summoned to a Avar- council on the heights of Fort Dayton many whose names are listed among the hero-martyrs of that eventful strag- gle. Colonels Ebenezer Cox. Peter Bellinger, Jacob Klock and Frederick Visscher were in command of troops. [ b5 1 There Avere Isaac Paris in eitizeii's dress, a member of the State Senate; Tliomas Spencer, a Seneca half-breed, an advocate of the cause, and Skenandoah, chief of the Oneidas, whom Dominie Kirkiand had influenced in be- half of the oppressed. The big chief had come to offer the assistance of his warriors in this work of rescue and defense, which service General Herkimer graciously accepted. Couriers were soon sent to appraise Colonel Gansevoort of relief en route, and the trip west was begun the day following — August fourth. News of the arrival of the British at Fort Stanwix having been brought by an Indian runner intensified the necessity, as well as the willingness of the men, for forced marching. The night of the fiftli found this craftsman 's-army encamped near Oriskany — a village of the Oneidas — and from this point Adam Helmer, with tAvo other scouts, stole away along the south side of the river to burrow through dangers besetting them and arrange with Colonel Gansevoort for a combined attack upon the British. Sig- nals had been agreed upon, and thus the camp fell asleep, a Inisli of expectancy brooding over them, the fortunes of Ihe moiM'ow yet to be revealed. Championing the cause her brother had espoused, INIolly Brant, in the household of Sir William Johnson, greedily spied among her patriot neighbors and reported all that hei- woman's Avit and savage instinct told her Avas de- siral)le iiifoi'mation for tlu^ enemy. So Avith tlie march- ing away of General Herkimer's men. this Avily Tory in jx'lticoats also dcspatclied an agile scout. Avho AA'as to obsci-vc tlie movements of the army from ambush, and, at llic ci'ucial momcMit, dash on to tlie camp of St. Leger. Having stalked llie expedition till its final bivouac he, too, stealthily disai)peared, still keeping to the north of the river. Thus, Avith its Avaters betAveen them, and niglit shielding their action, the scouts of oj)j)osin,u' t'oi'ces were seeking to accomplish similar ends. I l'-' 1 The Gansevoort Statue, East Park, Rome, N. Y. Karly on Ihc morning* of the sixth tlic liritish were seen inanoeiivriiig to the east of Fort Stanwix. hut the movement did not then seem espeeially sigjiitieant. At ten o\'h)el\. howcvt i', Adam Jlclmcr and his aich's reached the fort, having gone far lo the south to avoid the ene- my's sentries, and fears quickly arose that St. Leger might also have l)een informed of Herkimer's coming and had, therefore, withdrawn certain of his troops to intercept reinforcements. The signal of three cannon sliots immediately l)oomed out their message of co-operation to the waiting men at Oriskany. All was now excitement at the fort. ^les- sengers hurried here and there across the pai'ade ground; officers were shouting orders, and soldiers testing their rifles, gathered in groups as hasty preparations for a Hank movement were l)eing made. At the same time over the bog-covered trail, with its treacherous stretches of corduroy road. Avinding through a gulch and out upon the slimy l)ottom-lands of the Mohawk, a fateful struggle was being waged. General Herkimer's nuni. restive under delay, doubting the need or advisability of longer waiting for Helmer's signals, had about nine o'clock, after much controA'crsy. over- borne the General's caution and marched without a rec- onnoitering guard into an ambuscade of the enemy. Thi' rank underbrush had suddenly become the h'afy embra- sures of hostile muskets, and arrows hissed viiulicatively as they cut the air. while tomahawks shone, blood-spat- tered, in the sunlight. The attack was paralyzing in its suddenness. Prerog- atives of rank were ignored and every man defended himself desperately ; then, after the first benund)ing shock had passed, troops reassembled and fought as coolly as their more experienced antagonists. Over all at this point. the excessive heat of the preceding days culminated in a terrific storm, so marked that the frenzy of nature [ 18 1 abashed even St. Leger's spirit and hostilities were aban- doned for a time. Preparations at the fort were now complete, and with llie lessening- of the storm two hundred men under Colonel ]\Iarinus Willett passed out the sally-port on double-quick, followed by fifty others in charge of a fieldpiece mounted on a gun-carriage. Marching straight for the enemy in plain view, they drove in their sentries and fell with such rapid, decisive fire upon the advance guard of Sir John Johnson's two commands as to leave no choice but that of flight to. those in camp. Sir John, with coat off, overtaken in his incautious assurance of security, ingloriously took to his heels, as did his allies. The rout of the enemy was complete, and the exhilaration of the men boundless. Colonel Willett remained on the enemy's ground until twenty-one wagon-loads of camp equipment had been transferred to the fort, then, leaving some dead for burial, he fought his way back to headquarters, dispers- ing the enemy in a half-formed aml)uscade of rallied forces that added greatly to the royal losses. Blankets and brass kettles, muskets and ammunition, tomahawks, spears, with tents and commissary stores, were the ordi- nary returns of their venture. Sir John's personal bag- gage, diary and memoranda added another trophy. But the most precious of all, not excepting four prisoners captured, were five British flags, which, upon the re- turn of the men to the fort, they hoisted beneath the Stars and Stripes amid such cheers as the wilderness had never before echoed. And there they floated, a con- stant taunt of American prow^ess, until the siege was ov(^r. Evidence was found in Sir John's papers that orders from General Schuyler had at some time been intercepted wliilc the messenger no doubt met death. A letter to Colonel AVillctt was also disclosed, and rarest of all, f 10 1 GENERAL HERKIMER CAMPED NEAR THIS SPOT ON THE NIGHT or AUGUST 4;!777. VITH HIM WERE HIS 800 MEN. AND 400 OX-CARTS FILLED WITH SUPPLIES FOR THE RELIEF OF FORT STANWIX. Sixth Marker, located two miles to the east of Deerfield Corners on the State Road from Trenton to Herkimer, near Staring Creek. one for Colonel Gansevoort from his sAveetlieart in Al- bany. What a pitying- providence that released (lipid, monrning over his captivity in this wilderness camp ! Sir John had so far respected the privacy of these mis- sives as to leave them nnopened, and who shall say how mnch of new hope and conrage r(\snlted from their mys- tei'ions preservation and delivery? St. jjeger had effectnally delayed reinforcements, and confidently fancied that the disappointed garrison wonld noAv be willing to consider terms of surrender. The awfnl toll of death following the battle of the morning, ])i'is{)ners taken and the hopelessness he anticipated would I)ai'alyze the besieged garrison, touched his own future with kaleidoscopic changes. Such masterly frustration of an opponent's plans merited much from King George. It was but a matter of time ere the triumphal return of himself and Sir John Burgoyne should emblazon the annals of history and the mother-country confer requi- site honors ! However, a new conception of Yankee spunk and no small chagrin dampened his ardor when knowl- edge of Sir John's entire rout forced a readjustment of logic. That Willett should not lose a man, while his own losses were heavy, was another humiliating item; and the confiscating of his favorite officer's personal ef- fects was a most undignified entry to Hgure in royal history. Besides, thei'e were plans of campaigns and informa- tion of the Crown which, unfortunately, were now in the hands of the foe. Fort Stanwix, with all it held of value to his cause, nnist be taken ! St. Leger, no doubt, considered it but small equivalent for his ill-timed episode. The disaffection of the Indians over the morn- ing's devastation of their own I'anks and the death of several chiefs, also added another anxiety to the Colonel's seore. How to placate their anger was a new task at hand. [ 21 1 In camp the siiccci