Yale University Librae;

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Colonel John Brown, his services in the
Revo Iut ionary V/ar,
I Rev. Garret L.Roof.
j (Oneida Hist .Soc, 1884)

160

for/ the. ftmnding of .a Gotkgt m this _ Colony"

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ONEIDA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
1884.

Colonel John Brown,
HIS SERVICES IN THE. REVOLUTIONARY WAR,
' BATTLE OF«TONE ARABIA^

REV. GARRET L. ROOF, D. D.

ONEIDA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

Colonel John Brown,
HIS SERVICES IN THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR,
BATTLE OF STONE ARABIA.

BY
Rev. GARRET L. ROOF, D. D.

An Address Delivered before the Oneida Historical Society, at
Utica, X. Y„ April 28, 1884.

UTICA, X. V.
Ellis II. Roberts _ Co., Book and Job Printers.
1884.

At the conclusion of the address of the Rev. Gabbet L. Roof,
D. D., upon the civil and military services of John Beown during
the revolutionary war, delivered by special request before the
Oneida Historical Society at Utica, on the evening of April 28th,
1884, it was unanimously resolved, on motion of John" F. Set-
moue, that the thanks of the Society be returned to Mr. Roof for
his able and interesting address, and that he be requested to
furnish a copy to the Society for publication.
M. M. BAGG,
Recording Secretary.

-*~\

COLONEL JOHN BROWN.
HIS SERVICES IX THE REVOLUTIOXARY WAR — BATTLE OF
STOKE ARABIA.

Tbe residents of the Mohawk valley will ever feel a deep interest
in the career of Colonel John Brown, who in the fall of 1780, under
the inspiration of a lofty patriotism, came with his Berkshire
Levies to this valley, to protect its fields from pillage, its dwellings
from conflagration, and its early settlers from the cruelty of a sav
age foe. This interest is doubtless enhanced by the consideration
that when he first engaged actively in the business pursuits of life,
he was a resident of this valley, and that he fell while fighting
heroically on one of its battle-fields, near which his ashes now
repose. It may be proper here to remark that we are not to judge of the
importance of the battles of the Revolution by the numbers en
gaged, but by the issues involved therein, which certainly were
among the most momentous in this world's history.
We should then love to trace the glorious events in the lives of
that little band of patriotic men who first raised the standard of
resistance to British oppression, and by the wisdom of their coun
sels and their valor in the battle-field, secured for us the blessings
of constitutional liberty.
It may not prove an easy undertaking to present the principal
events in the life of Colonel John Brown with clearness, and in
chronological order, as in the presentation of them, we will have
to rely much on tradition.
And to tradition we should not always attach the fullest cre
dence, even when supplemented by the written statements of per
sons whoso lives were contemporaneous with the events they aimed
to describe; for such statements, though honestly made, will some
times be found to conflict to a greater or lesi extent with each

4 ONEIDA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
other. Hence are we often embarrassed by the scantiness of
authentic materials for the faithful delineation of the characters of
many of the heroic men ofthe war of our independence.
Among the patriots of the Revolution who, in the Mohawk
valley, freely presented their lives as an offering on the altar of
their country, was John Brown.
In the account I shall here give of this intrepid defender of the
rio-hts of the colonists, that this sketch may not be extended to
too great a length, it will be my aim to present only what I regard
as the most important and best authenticated events in his civil
and military career.*
John Brown, who was the youngest of five brothers, was bom
October 19th, 1744, at Haverhill, in the State of Massachusetts.
BROWN STUDIES LAW.
He was graduated at Yale College in 1771. Soon after his
graduation he became a law student in the office ofhis brother-in-
law, the Hon. Oliver Arnold, at Providence, Rhode Island. After
finishing his legal studies, he commenced the practice of the law at
Caughnawaga (now Fonda) in this State, where he was appointed
one of the attorneys for King George the Third. After a brief
residence at this place, with a heart glowing with the enthusiasm
ofthe times, he dismissed Coke and Littleton and the pursuits of
civil and criminal jurisprudence, that he might be more active in
the service of his country, and took up his residence at Pittsfield,
Massachusetts. Here he soon engaged in the patriot cause. At
this time the dispute between the colonies and Great Britain had
assumed a threatening aspect. Taxation without representation
was regarded by the colonists as an invasion of chartered rights,
and as a direct violation of the British constitution. In fact, so

* The principal authorities consulted iu the preparation of this address are
as follows : " Campbell's Anuals of Tryon County," " Lossing's Field Book
of the Revolution," "Thatcher's Military Journal," "The Frontiersmen of
New York," " Hough's Northern Invasion," '• History of Berkshire County,"
- Stone's Life of Brandt," "Manuscript of Hon. Jacob Snell," " Relations of
Henry Brown (son of Col. Brown), at personal interviews," besides tradition
ary accounts from living witnesses.

ADDRESS OF REV. GARRET L. ROOF, D. D. 5
determined at this time had become the spirit of hostility in this
country to British aggressions, and so wide the breach between
Great Britain and the colonies, as to lead John Adams to declare
that " the trumpet of the Revolution had already been sounded."
During this excited state of the public mind, John Brown at
once attracted attention by his commanding talents and by that
love of country which was ever with him an inspiration, and which
sosignally marked his subsequent career.
HE BECOMES A MEMBER OF THE COUNTY AND PRO
VINCIAL CONGRESSES.
In 17*M$ie was chosen a delegate to what was then termed "a
county ^congress," which convened at Stockbridge on the 6th
July of that year. In that body, which was composed of very
able men, he was appointed, with four other members, a committee
to make a report on the obnoxious acts of the British Parliament,
and their report was unanimously adopted. On the 11th October
of the same year, he was chosen a representative from Pittsfield to
the Provincial congress, which assembled at Concord. In Decem
ber he was appointed by that body, with Dr. Joseph Warren,
Samuel Adams, and others, a committee to open a correspondence
with leading men in Canada friendly to the American cause, and
to John Brown was committed " the difficult and dangerous task
of sounding the disposition of the Canadians, instituting a Revo
lutionary party among them, and organizing a system of secret
-communication with its leaders."
BROWN'S FIRST CANADIAN EXPEDITION.
Upon the acceptance of his appointment as envoy to Canada, he
resigned his seat in the Provincial congress and started without
delay on his Canadian mission. After encountering many perils
and enduring many severe hardships, he reached Montreal, where
he met with a cordial reception from the committee of corres
pondence which had been organized in that city, and also from a
delegation from Quebec. From them he learned, as he states, " that

6 ONEIDA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
the military commanders in the service of the king were intriguing
to array the Canadian savages against the colonists; that there was
no prospect of Canada sending delegates to the Continental con
gress, and that without the presence of a colonial army there would
be no probability of an uprising there for the colonists."
This information he communicated without delay by letter to
Dr. Joseph Warren and Samuel Adams, of. the committee of cor
respondence.
ENGAGED IN THE CAPTURE OF FORT TICONDEROGA.
He suggested to the committee in the same letter the importance
(should hostilities be commenced) of seizing as soon as possible
the Fortress of Ticonderoga. The suggestion of the importance
of seizing that post (as says the author of the History of Pittsfield)
"was highly creditable to the political and military sagacity of
Mr. Brown."'
I will not stop here to dwell upon all the measures projected
for the capture of the celebrated Fortress of Lake Champlain,.
which for a long time, in the new England States, had been
regarded as the Key of Canada. Mr. Brown was decidedly of the
opinion that the Green Mountain Boys were the persons who
should be employed in the projected attack upon Ticonderoga;.
and that Ethan Allen was the most suitable person to command
them in this important enterprise. Suffice it here to say, that
Colonel Ethan Allen soon received directions from the General
Assembly of Connecticut to surprise and take the Fortress of
Ticonderoga; and that in obedience to these directions, this
brilliant exploit was accomplished before sunrise on the morning
of the 10th May, 1775, when the Fortress was surrendered to that
intrepid commander in compliance with his famous demand made
" IN THE NAME OF THE GeEAT J EHOVAH AND OF THE CONTINENTAL
Congeess." John Brown, who was personally engaged in this bold
enterprise, and whose name was honorably mentioned in Colonel
Allen's official report, was immediately sent to announce the sur
render of the Fortress to the Continental Congress. We next

ADDRESS OF REV. GARRET L. ROOF, D. D. 7
hear of him in the First Canadian campaign in which he rendered
important service to the colonies.

HIS SECOND CANADIAN EXPEDITION.
He now held the rank of major, and on the 24th July, 1775,
duly commissioned, he set out on his second expedition to Canada,
"to obtain," as he said, in his letter to Governor Trumbull, "the
fullest intelligence of the military operations making by the King's
troops, the Canadians and the Indians; to learn the situation of
St. Johns, Chamblee, Montreal and Quebec; and the number of
troops with which each was garrisoned ; whether the Canadians
designed taking up arms against the colonies ; and whatever else
it was of consequence, that an invading army should know." In
this expedition Major Brown took with him a Canadian and three
other men as guides ; and had a long, tedious and an exceedingly
perilous journey down the west side of Lake Champlain, through
fields flooded by the lake, and also through extensive marshes, in
which he was often compelled to camp at night. He had not
traveled many days before it was suspected that he was a colonial
emissary; and, to clear himself so far as possible, from all harm
ful suspicions, he professed to be a dealer in horses, and while en
gaged in this new vocation (iu which it is not recorded that he had
much success, as he seemed to have less dexterity as a horse dealer
than skill as a diplomatist,) he went through the country, and
learned much by secret conferences with French Canadians, and in
various other ways, ofthe true state of Canadian affairs.
Not a few French Canadians, however, who were friendly to the
American cause were sagacious enough to discover (as says one
account,) and they so declared, that our American envoy was " an
odd sort of a jockey, as he never got a nag to his liking." This
account further states that "he was sometimes hotly pursued by a
military force, and that on one occasion, a large squad of red-coats
surrounded the house in which he lodged, from which he contrived
to escape by a back window, and make good his flight." Alter
many perilous adventures, "hair-breadth 'scapes,'' and sleepless

8 ONEIDA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
nights, Major Brown arrived at Crown Point on the 10th day of
August, having obtained much valuable and important informa
tion for the American army. A full account of his adventures in
this Canadian expedition would read somewhat like a legendary
tale.
BROWN CAPTURES FORT CHAMBLEE.
Passing by matters of less interest in the career of Major Brown,
(not to speak of the unsuccessful attempt to capture Montreal, the
plan for the capture of which was proposed by Major Brown ; but
was not carried into successful execution by Colonel Allen,) we
next hear of his brilliant operations at Fort Chamblee on the River
Sorel. He had been intrusted by General Montgomery, (who was
then engaged in the seige of St. Johns,) with the important under
taking of capturing that strongly constructed Fortress. Accord
ingly, on the 18th October, 1775, on a very dark night, under the
directions of Brown, cannon were placed on bateaux and taken
silently past the fortifications to the head of the Chamblee Rapids,
and were soon put in position for attack. In fact the Fortress was
now closely invested and at the mercy of Brown. Fifty Ameri
cans and four hundred Canadians were engaged in this expedition.
The commander of the Fortress, Major Stopford, was suddenly
aroused from his slumbers near midnight by a demand from Major
Brown to surrender. The British Major had doubtless retired to
his lodgings that night regarding his Fortress as a second Gibral-
ter. He believed that its massive walls could successfully resist
any assault that might be made upon them ; and that the Ameri
cans could not approach them with artillery, as the guns of the
Fortress of St. Johns commanded the River Sorel on both sides
for the distance of ten or twelve miles. Inexpressibly great, then,
must have been his surprise (wheu awakened by the summons of
Major Brown to surrender) to find the Fortress so closely invested
and himself and his garrison fixed in such a state of " unpleasant
ness." Yet unpleasantly situated as Major Stopford was, he
submitted the following modest proposals to the demands of Major
Brown:

ADDRESS OF REV. GARRET L. ROOF, D. D. 9
" The garrison should not be made prisoners, but should be
permitted to march out with drums beating and colors flying ;
with their arms and accoutrements ; and twenty-four rounds of
ammunition each ; and carts and provisions sufficient to pass by
the shortest route to Montreal or any other place in the province
at the option of M;ijor Stopford."
This document is certainly a model of its kind ; and it may be
difficult to find its like among the memorabilia of military events.
Burgoyne once boastfully declared that " Britons never retreati"
When effectually hemmed in near Bemus Heights, confronted by
the troops of Gates, to meet whom again in battle in the condition
he then was, would have resulted in the destruction of his own
army; with large detachments in his rear, cutting off his supplies,
and with still other obstacles multiplying in that direction, Bur
goyne could neither get back to Canada, as he desired to do by
a hasty retreat, nor could he advance by a forced march to
Albany, and there according to his declared purpose, "eat his
Christmas dinner."
Equally embarrassing on the dark night of the 18th of October
was the situation of that son of Mars, the redoubtable Major
Stopford. To abandon Fort Chamblee and attempt to retreat
with his garrison under the cover of the night, would have been
with him a futile undertaking. Equally futile would have be.en
any attempt on his part to advance on the beleaguering force of
Brown. But the American Major was not to be influenced by " the
option " or modest proposals of Major Stopford, and like a cele
brated commander of later days, refused to consent to any terms
but an unconditional surrender; and accordingly on the morning
ofthe 19th the Fortress with its garrison was surrendered uncon
ditionally. The fruits of this bold and successful exploit (besides the sur
render of the Fortress) were one Major, three Captains, three
Lieutenants, a Commissary and a Surgeon, eighty-three non-com
missioned officers and privates of the Royal Fusilleers, besides a
large quantity of stores, including one hundred and thirty-four

10 ONEIDA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
barrels of gunpowder, which were of almost incalculable value to-
our needy and ill-disciplined army. At this time General Philip
Schuyler addressed a letter to the Continental Congress, in which
he stated, that Major Brown " during the past year had rendered
extraordinary service."
ENGAGED IN THE SECOND CANADIAN CAMPAIGN.
Major Brown was also engaged in the second Canadian^catn-
paign. On the 31st December, 1775, he participated in the
memorable attack on Quebec, in which General Richard Montgom
ery fell, and although he fell not like Wolfe or Epaminondas, in "the
arms of victory," yet he exhibited in his brief career that sublime
heroism and true nobility of character which have rendered his
name immortal.
Major Brown was directed to co-operate by making a false attack
upon the walls to the south of St. John's gate, and to set fire to
the gate with combustibles prepared for that purpose, which duty
he successfully performed. And during the subsequent siege of
the city he occupied an advanced post with the soldiers under his
command. On the 1st August, 1776, Congress voted him the commission of
Lieutenant Colonel, with rank and pay in the Continental army
from November, 1775.
EXTRAORDINARY INTERVIEW BETWEEN BROWN
AND ARNOLD.
It became well known about this time that an unfriendly feeling
existed between Brown and Arnold. Brown had learned much of
Arnold's base character and low intrigues.
An account of an extraordinary interview between these two
military men, though doubtless familiar to most readers of Ameri
can history, should not be omitted here. I summarize it from a
more detailed account given by Colonel Stone, in his Life of Brandt.
When Arnold was quartered at Albany, during the winter of
1776-1777, a difficulty arose between him and Brown, which re-

ADDRESS OF REV. GARRET L. ROOF, D. D. 11
suited in the publication by the latter of a handbill attacking
Arnold. The handbill contained these severe and scathing words :
" Monet is this man's God, and to get enough of it he would
saceifice his country." The handbill was read aloud at Arnold's
quarters, and in his presence. Arnold at once pronounced Brown
a scoundrel, and declared further that he would kick him when
soever and wheresoever he should meet him. Brown saw Major
Lewis, one of his most intimate friends, in the evening of the day
when the handbill was issued, and then obtained from him an invi
tation to dine with his mess on the morrow, hoping at that time to
meet Arnold. On the next day, shortly before dinner would
be served, Brown arrived and was ushered at once into the room
where Arnold was standing with his back to the fire. Brown then
deliberately approached Arnold, and, looking him directly in the
eye, observed : " I understand that you have said you would
kick me. I now present myself to give you an opportunity to put
your threat into execution.'''' Arnold was silent. Brown then
added : " You are a dirty scoundrel." Arnold still remained
silent, whereupon, after a short pause, Brown apologized to the
gentlemen present for his intrusion, and left the room.
I will not attempt to explain this continued silence on the part
of Arnold, who was personally brave and had a very resentful dis
position. The language employed by Brown on this occasion and
in the presence of several gentlemen, had doubtless the possible
merit of being sufficiently direct and explicit, but it was not such
language as might have been expected from a gentleman of his
refined manners and his well-known amiability of disposition. But
it should be borne in mind that he had already endured much from
the persecution of Arnold, and it may less surprise us then, that
under a keen sense of the injustice done him by that bold, bad
man, he should, in the employment of terms on this occasion, have
transcended somewhat the limits of a gentlemanly propriety.
AVith a mens conscia recti, he feared not to express publicly his
opinion of the man who, he believed, would prove a traitor to the
American cause ; for it was as true of Colonel Brown as it was of
Chevalier Bayard, that "he was without fear and without re
proach."

12 ONEIDA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Colonel Brown was a remarkably sagacious man; and it seems
was the first person to detect and comprehend the true character
of Arnold.
During the Canadian campaigns he had learned much of
Arnold's profligacy, his base arts of dissimulation, his malignant
disposition, his lavish expenditures of money fraudulently obtained,
and the shallowness of his patriotism. He regarded him as a
second Catiline "who made money his God," and harbored
treasonable designs against his country, for he could not fail to
discover in the character of Catiline and Arnold many strong
points of resemblance.
The historian Sallust in his " Catiline Conspiracy," speaks of
the arch Roman traitor in the following terms : " He was of a
disposition equally profligate and depraved." " He was expert in
all the arts of simulation and dissimulation, and covetous of what
belonged to others." "His disposition naturally violent was
hurried to the execution of his design by the consciousness of his
crime." What the Roman historian said of Catiline proved
equally true of Arnold.
BROWN'S IMPORTANT SERVICES DURING THE
BURGOYNE CAMPAIGN.
During the early part of the Campaign of Burgoyne, in conse
quence of the plottings of Arnold, Colonel Brown was not engaged
in active service, but he could not long remain unemployed while
his country was struggling to shake off the yoke of British
domination. He accordingly on his own account raised a regiment of militia,
which he hoped in a short time to lead into the service of his
country. The opportunity was soon presented. Colonel Brown
was ordered by General Lincoln " to proceed to Lake George and
destroy the British stores collected there, and release the American
prisoners for whom that port had been made the depot."
This was an enterprise that greatly suited the adventurous spirit
of Brown. With a detachment of 500 men he left Pittsfield, and
soon reached Pawlet, the headquarters of General Lincoln.

ADDRESS OF REV. GARRET L. ROOF, D. D. 13
From Pawlet on the 13th September, 1777, with his usual
promptitude, he started on his expedition, and proceeding to the
north end of Lake George, from the 13th to the 18th September,
he had passed up Lake George, and captured all the outworks
between its Northern Landing place and the main Fort at
Ticonderoga (including Mount Hope, Mount Defiance, and the old
French lines), an armed brig, several gun boats, 200 bateaux, five
cannon and small arms in proportion to the number of captured
soldiers. He had made 298 prisoners, besides the officers and
crews of the Flotilla. He had released 100 American soldiers, and
retaken the Continental flag which General St. Clair had left
behind him at Ticonderoga in his great haste to evacuate that
Fortress. The guns at Mount Defiance were then turned upon the
Fortress at Ticonderoga, but without a successful result; and an
attack made on the 24th ou Diamond Island was also unsuccessful.
In this expedition with the loss of only three killed and five
wounded, Brown had fallen upon the rear of Burgoyne's army,
and had virtually cut off his communication with Canada and
his means for supplying his troops. This brilliant exploit was
regarded as an event of the highest importance by the American
army, and was certainly an essential link in the chain of events
that soon rendered the surrender of Burgoyne inevitable.
INVASION OF THE MOHAWK VALLEY.
We now pass over a period of about three years in the life of
Colonel Brown in which but little is recorded of the nature and
scenes ofhis activities; and find the field ofhis military operations
transferred to the Valley of the Mohawk.
In the fall of 1780, Sir John Johnson resolved upon the destruc
tion of the settlements of the Schoharie and Mohawk valleys.
Ilis force consisting of British Regulars, Loyalists, Tories and
Indians, numbering one thousand persons, assembled on the Tioga;
marched up along the eastern branches of the Susquehanna, and
crossed thence to Schoharie, aided much in their progress by the
intimate acquaintance of several of the men with the topography

14 ONEIDA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
¦of the country. They made a desolating march through the most
fertile parts of the Schoharie settlements ; and on the 17th October
reached Fort Hunter in the Mohawk valley at the confluence of
the Schoharie Creek and the Mohawk river. From thence they
proceeded towards Caughnawaga; and on the night of the 18th,
bivouacked in the vicinity of " The Nose," a point well known
through the Mohawk valley.
INDIAN BARBARITIES.
On the memorable night of the 17th and the eventful morning
of the 18th October, the devastating march of the enemy pre
sented a spectacle of horror, of which it is impossible to give an
adequate description. Both shores of the Mohawk were lighted
up by the conflagration of houses, barns and stacks of hay and
grain. The abundant crops upon which the commissariat of the
illustrious head of the American army largely depended, were laid
waste by the ruthless foe. No regard was had by the savages and
tories for age, or sex or station, and their deeds of barbarity are
written " with the scalping knife and tomahawk in characters of
blood." The loud cries of terrified children; the sad moan-
ings of aged and helpless men and women, as they saw their once
fair homes wrapped in flames and themselves doomed to a fearful
death ; the piteous pleadings of mothers for their own lives, and
for the lives of their infants, as they lay in their cradles uncon-
cious of the cruel fate that awaited them, were alike unheeded by
the murderous savage and the unfeeling tory. These events fur
nish as dark a page in the story of human woes as that presented
by the massacres at Cherry Valley and Wyoming.
It is difficult even at this day to suppress the feelings of indigna
tion, that will rise in our breasts at the thought of the inhumanity
of the British Government in employing savages in the war with
the colonists; and in putting into their hands the scalping knife
and tomahawk to effect the work of subjugation, and we yet
recoil with horror from the words of Lord Suffolk, the British
Secretary of State, who declared openly in the House of Lords,

ADDRESS OF REV. GARRET L. ROOF, D. D. 15
that "the measure" for the employment of savages was
••allowable on principle."
Soon after the news of the invasion of Schoharie reached
Governor Clinton at Albany, in obedience to orders, General
Robert Van Rensselaer, who commanded the Claverack, Albany
and [Schenectady militia, started in the pursuit of the invading
army. On the night of the 18th October, he encamped (as stated
by the author of The Life of Brandt,) at "Van Eps " now
Fultonville, about nine miles, or (as stated by the author of
The Frontiersmen of New York,) on a hill near " The Stanton
Place," in the present town of Florida, about fourteen or fifteen
miles east of the enemy's encampment.
General Van Rensselaer now learning that Fort Paris, at
Stone Arabia, was to be assaulted on the next morning by
Johnson's forces, dispatched a messenger to the commander of
the fort with orders for him to march out on the morning of the
19th, at nine o'clock, and attack the invaders, while at the same
time he would assist him by falling upon the rear of the enemy.
BROWN COMMANDER OF FORT PARIS.
Colonel John Brown was now in the command of Fort Paris
with a force of two hundred and fifty, or (as stated by the author
of The History of Pittsfield,) of three hundred men consisting
mostly of New England Levies. This number comprised a few
militiamen and volunteers from Palatine and the adjoining towns.
Colonel Brown had a few weeks previously been at Albany, and
while ffiere, was offered the command of Fort Paris, which he
readily accepted. The Fort was situated about three miles north
of the Mohawk river, and the present village of Palatine Bridge.
BATTLE OF STONE ARABIA.
Early on the morning of the 19th October, Sir John Johnson,
with his army, forded the Mohawk at Kkatok's Rifts, near the
present village of Spraker's Basin ; and then made a desolating

16 ONEIDA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
march in the direction of Stone Arabia with the intention of
attacking Fort Paris.
The hour had now nearly arrived when the little band of
Colonel Brown, in pursuance of the orders of General Van Rens
selaer was to march out of the Fort to meet the enemy. It is
related, that at about this time several, of Brown's officers remon
strated with him against the ordered movement, regarding it as
exceedingly injudicious ; and that one of the men, well known as
as a brave soldier, addressed the commander in language of
solemn warning, and recited the particulars of a remarkable dream
that occurred to him on the night ofthe 18th, full of fearful fore
bodings. But the brave Colonel, it seems, had little^faith in
dreams or supernatural apparitions. No evil genius had appeared
to him on the previous night, as is related to have appeared to
Marcus Brutus on a certain night before the memorable battle ou
the plains of Philippi. ,
And ever prompt in obeying the orders of his superior officer,
he gave no further heed to the soldier's dream, than did the
first and greatest of the C-ssars to the dream of his wife, Calpur-
nia, or to the vaticinations of the soothsayer forewarning him of
danger on the Ides of March.
DEATH OF COLONEL BROWN.
Everything being in readiness, at nine o'clock in the morning
of the 19th October, Colonel Brown and his men sallied forth
from Fort Paris to meet the enemy.
They marched towards Fort Keyser, a little stockade situated
a mile and a half from the Mohawk river, Avhich stockade they
soon passed. After they had proceeded a short distance further
one of Colonel Brown's volunteers discovered an Indian;(who was
less wary than others of his tribe) pursuing two women as they
were fleeing from their homes. The Indian discharged his musket
at one of the women. The woman fell, and as he ran to scalp her
the fire ofthe brave volunteer brought the savage to the earth.

ADDRESS OF REV. GARRET L. ROOF, D. D. 17
A destructive fire was then opened upon the soldiers of Brown,
which though returned by them with great spirit, was on account
of their exposed condition less effective than that of the enemy.
Brown maintained his position for a time with his characteristic
bravery ; but finding eventually, that he was attacked by over
whelming numbers, who were gaining upon his flank, and that the
army of Van Rensselaer did not come up as promised to assist
him in the battle, he ordered a retreat, when he was shot through
the heart by a musket ball from the enemy and fell lifeless to the
earth. Colonel Brown, according to tradition, was mounted during the
engagement on a black horse and fell about one hour after he had
left the Fort. With his fine person, his official uniform, and his
superior military bearing, he was a conspicuous mark for the
muskets of the British Regulars and Indians. He fell in battle on
the very day he attained the age of thirty-six years, so that the
anniversary of his birth was also the day ofhis death. The sav
ages, while his life blood was yet oozing warm from his heart,
gathered around his body making the place hideous witli their
exultant yells. They tore off his scalp. They stripped his body
of every article of clothing except hi -3 ruffled shirt, and then left
his body where it had fallen in this bloody encounter.
About forty-five of Colonel Brown's men were slain and scalped.
The remainder of his troops, overpowered by numbers, dispersed
and sought safety in flight. A few of his men fled towards Fort
Rensselaer, a pallisadcd stone house, on the south side of the Mo
hawk river, yet standing in Canajoharie village. Others found
places of concealment in the adjoining woods. It is related that
six ofthe men took shelter behind a large rock from which they
continued to discharge their muskets at the enemy until all of the
men were slain.
We have not sufficient data on which we can form a reliable
estimate ol the number of Johnson's men that fell during the
eno-acrement. We have traditions however, that of the British
Regulars a few then fought their last battle; that ofthe savages a

18 ONEIDA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
much larger number then for the last time sounded the hideous
war-whoop, and that of the Tories not a few were then doomed to
" Go down
To the vile earth from whence they sprung,
Unwept, unhonored and unsung."
After the battle, the army of Johnson was divided into small
bands which marched through Stone Arabia during the afternoon
engaged in the further destruction of the settlements. Several
of them were composed mostly of Tories and Indians, incarnate
devils, who delighted in deeds of murder and laughed at the
shrieks of the victims of their cruelty. These bands continued
their work of devastation and death until they were reunited by
Johnson, who then marched them to the river road east of the
Garoga Creek.
The enemy were hardly out of sight when four young militia
men, who had escaped the scalping knivss and tomahawks of the
savages, came out of their lurking-places, took up the body of
their fallen commander, and bore it in their arms to Fort Keyser,
which had not been assaulted by the enemy. On the next day the
bodies of Colonel Brown and the soldiers killed in the engage
ment, mostly of the New England Levies, were buried in a pit
near Fort' Paris. Two or three days afterwards the pit was
opened, and the body of Colonel Brown was removed to a place of
interment about three hundred yards west of the Reformed Dutch
Church of Stone Arabia ; and there now repose the remains of
one of the noblest and bravest defenders of the Mohawk valley.
" New England's dead! New England's dead!
t On every hill tLiey lie;
********** Each valley where the battle pour'd
Its red and awful tide,
Beheld the brave New England swoid
With slaughter deeply dyed.
Their bones are on the northern hill
And on the southern plain;
By brook and river, lake and rill
And by the roaring main."

ADDRESS OF REV. GARRET L. ROOF, D. D. 19
It may be supposed here that Colonel Brown did not exercise a
proper degree of caution while inarching down towards the
Mohawk river to attack the enemy, and was therefore ambuscaded
by the Indians, as was the imperious Braddock near the Fords of
the Monongahela, or as was the brave and heroic Herkimer at the
Battle of Oriskany. The wily Indians, who thought nothing prop
erly done, unless done by stratagem; whose art of war consisted
chiefly of the " art of surprise," whose crafty spirits forbade them
from engaging in open warfare with an opposing force, and who
regarded the scalp as their most valuable trophy, in great wariness
had lain in ambush for the detachment of Colonel Brown. It
would hardly be proper at this late day, with the somewhat con
flicting statements of the survivors of this engagement, and when
we have to rely so much on tradition, to employ words of censure
against Colonel Brown for his conduct on the morning of the 19th
October. His movements hitherto had been characterized by
good judgment and a commendable degree of circumspectness.
His march after sallying forth from Fort Paris was through a sec
tion of country yet densely covered with woods, passing through
which he would be greatly exposed to the perils of ambuscade.
GENERAL VAN RENSSELAER'S DILATORY
MOVEMENTS.
He had every reason to believe that General Van Rensselaer
would be present, as promised, with his forces and fall upon the
rear of the enemy. But General Van Rensselaer, for some cause
that has never yet. been explained, failed to come up to the support
of Colonel Brown, and it is quite obvious that he was not like
the gallant Hotspur, impatient for the fight. Early in the
evening of the isth October, he was probably not more than uine,
and certainly not more than fifteen miles from the enemy's encamp
ment. He had a force about double that of the enemy, and as the
enemy's force did not move during the night of the 18th, General
Van Rensselaer could easily have overtaken the invaders before they
reached the battle field. A competent, a prompt and an intrepid

20 ONEIDA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
commander would have done so, and thus averted the fall of Brown
and the loss of a part ofhis heroic band. This was the concurrent
opinion, so far as known, of the survivors of the battle. But this
commander, instead of advancing with all due promptness to the-
relief of Colonel Brown, moved along tardily in the direction of
the enemy's forces and arrived at Canajoharie, nearly opposite to,
and about two miles distant from the battle-ground, while the
shrill war cry of the savages engaged in deeds of blood could yet
be heard, and while the hills of Palatine were yet reveiberating
with tbe roar of musketry. It does not appear that General Van
Rensselaer made any effort during the morning of the 19th to cross
over to the north side of the Mohawk with his troops, but he suc
ceeded, according to several accounts, in reaching Fort Plain, three
miles west of Canajoharie, in time to accept an invitation to dine
with a military friend. If we may charitably suppose that he pur
posed, on the morning of the engagement, to move with all due
speed to the support of Colonel Brown, yet it is certain he " made
haste slowly." It is due, however, to the memory of General Van
Rensselaer to state that at a court of inquiry, held at Albany on the
12th March, 1781, he was exonerated from all blame for his con
duct on the 19th day of October, 1780. But that court, like all
other earthly tribunals, was by no means infallible, and its decis
ion was not only non-concurred in by a majority of his cotempora-
ries, but has since been completely reversed by the judgment of
posterity. PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS.
Colonel Brown had a noble person, was an accomplished scholar,.
fond of elegant literature, and gifted with talents of a high order.
He was pure in his morals, winning in his address, and greatly
respected and beloved by the officers of the American army. One
of his most attached friends was the lamented Montgomery. Hav
ing engaged early in life in the service of his country, at his coun
try's call he was ready to march to battle and to death. He was
as true a patriot as ever raised his voice, and as intrepid a soldier

ADDRESS OF REV. fi ARRET L. ROOF, D. D. 21
as ever drew his sword in the defense of liberty. He did not live
to see the united colonies enrolled among the free and independent
nations of the earth, but he knew much of American prowess, for
he had been in the storm and tempest of battle, and never doubted
the final triumph of the American arms. He had an active mind,
a chivalric nature, and a passionate fondness for adventurous enter
prises. His remarkable geniality of disposition often led him to
indulge in pleasantries, and he was inclined to bs very observant
of whatever in this world was rare and peculiar.
Lossing in his Field Book of the Revolution relates the follow
ing occurrence: "While on his way to the Mohawk river, Colonel
Brown called on Ann Lee, the founder of the sect of American
Shakers, and told her by way of pleasantry that on hio return he
would join her society. A fortnight after he fell in battle two
members ofthe society waited on his widow, and tohl her that her
husband in spirit had joined mother Ann; and that he had given
express directions for her to become a member of the society.
But his widow was not to be duped by their representations, and
bade them begone." If Colonel Brown really had the interview
referred to with mother Ann, how little was he then aware that he
was so soon to be numbered with the martyr-heroes ofthe Mohawk
Valley.
MONUMENT TO COLONEL BROWN.
On the 19th day of October, ls.iO, fifty-six years alter the death
of Colonel Brown a monument was erected by filial piety over his
remains, which, (as already stated), were deposited a few days
after the battle in a place of interment a little west of the
Reformed Dutch Church of Stone Arabia. A son of Colonel
Brown (Henry Brown), then sheriff of Berkshire County,
Massachusetts, a gentleman of dignified presence, and said to bear
a stroii"- personal resemblance to his Hither, was present on the
occasion, but died soon afterwards, leaving to a large circle of
relatives and friends an honorable record and an unsullied name.

22 ONEIDA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
The monument bears the following inscription :
" In Memory op Col. John Brown,
Who was Killed in Battle on the 19th day of October, 1780,
At Palatine, in the County of Montgomery.
Aged 86."
After the ceremony of raising the monument, a sermon was
preached by the Reverend Abraham N. Van Home, of Caughna-
waga. And very appropriately was this aged and respected
clergyman called at this time to officiate, for he had conducted
the religious services (from 1795 to 1832), in the Stone Church at
that place, the same venerable structure in which Colonel Brown
was a worshipper when a practicing lawyer in this valley. The
sermon was followed by an address from him, who then spoke (as
he this evening, after the elapse of so many years, again speaks)
of the memorable events that occurred in the Mohawk valley in
the fall of 1780; and your speaker yet well remembers how deep
were the emotions of the dutiful son as he stood by the grave of
his honored father, and in the exercise of filial love and piety paid
to his memory the tributary tear.
The presence of the son of Colonel Brown, and also of a few of
the brave volunteers, survivors of the battle of Stone Arabia,.
added much to the interest of the occasion. These volunteers
were then octogenarians, or what is more probable, each of them
had then attained an age exceeding that of four score years.
They never spoke of their former commander, but with feelings
of deep emotion. His manly and soldierly bearing ; his uniform
kindness to his men, and his words of patriotic cheer as they were
about to march against the invaders, were to'them ever welcome
themes in their declining years, and seemed to be ever fresh in
their memories.
I trust it will be pardonable in me in this connection to present
a few passages from the address (already referred to) delivered on
the occasion of the erection of the monument to Colonel Brown.
" I now see before me a little remnant of those intrepid spirits who

ADDRESS OF I!KV. GARRET L. ROOF, D. D. 23
fought in the memorable engagement of October 19th, 1780.
Fifty-six years ago this day, led on by your gallant commander,
you battled with greatly superior numbers, consisting of British
Regulars, loyalists and savages.
" Venerable patriots ! We bid you welcome here this day. In
the name of our country, we thank you for the services you rend
ered her in the darkest days of the Revolution. Be assured they
will be held in grateful remembrance while the Mohawk shall
•continue to wind its course through yonder rich and fertile valley.
They will be the theme of praise, long after the marble erected
this day to the memory of your brave commander, shall have
crumbled Jo dust. Look ! look around you ! The field ! the field
is before us on which the heroic Brown poured out his life blood
in the defense of his country's liberties. You fought by his side.
You saw him as he' fell in battle with his face to the foe. You
bore his bleeding and lifeless body from the battle field. With
gentle hands, and sorrowing hearts you committed his remains to
the earth ahd ' ' Carved not a line and raised not a stone,
But left him alone in his glory."
At the Berkshire jubilee, held at Pittsfield, August 23, 1844,
Governor Briggs, of Massachusetts, in referring to Colonel Brown,
said : " You know the history of John Brown. He sleeps at Stone
Arabia where he fell in that murderous attack of the Indians upon
the Mohawk. And he sleeps not there alone. Many a Berkshire
boy fell with him. From our little sister town of Lanesborough
three of her sons perished in that bloody conflict. Many a Berk
shire mother's heart sunk within her at the news of that day's
work."
CONCLUSION.
In bringing this imperfect account of the civil an 1 military
career of Colonel Brown to a close, T may add very briefly:

24 ONEIDA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
The beautiful and magnificent valley of the Mohawk is well
known historic ground, for its battle fields have been signalized
by martial achievements, that have conferred lasting renown upon
the country. Its soil has been baptized with the blood, and
consecrated by the ashes of Revolutionary patriots, among whom,
Colonel Brown deserves conspicuous mention. The citizens of
this valley will ever delight to do honor to his memory, and the
-sad story of his death on the battle field of Stone Arabia, will
never [be told without awakening in their bosoms greater love for
their native land, and for the institutions of their fathers. They
will ever speak gratefully of him who at the time of our country's
tribulation left his home in New England, to engage in deadly
strife with savages along the Mohawk, and fell while nobly
battling in the cause of liberty.
" Ah ! never shall the land forget,
How gushed the life blood of her brave;
Gushed warm with hope and courage yet
Upon the soil they fought to save."

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