Annals of Tryon County; or, the Border warfare of New-York, during the Revolution

Front matter

ANNALS OF TRYON COUNTY; OR, THE BORDER WARFARE OF NEW-YORK, DURING THE REVOLUTION. BY WILLIAM W. CAMPBELL. ** The whole confederacy, except a little more than half os the Oneidas, took up arms against us. They hung like the scythe of death upon the rear of our settlements, and their deeds are inscribed with the scalping-knife and the tomahawk, in characters of blood, on the fields of Wyoming and Chen-y- Valley, and on the banks of the Mohawk." De Witt Clinton. NEW- YORK: PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY J. & J. HARPER, NO. 82 CLIFF-STREET. AND BOLD BY THE PRINCIPAL BOOKSELLERS THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES. 1831. Entered according to the Act os Congress, in the year 1831, by J. & J. Harper, in the office of the Clerk of the Southern District of New York. TO THE HON. JAMES KENT, LL.D. LATE CHIEF JUSTICE AND CHANCELLOR OF THE STATE NEW-YORK, AND PRESIDENT OF THE NEW-YORK HISTdRICAL SOCIETY, THE FOLLOWING PAGES ARE RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED.

" Historia, testie temporum et nuntia veritatis, prœclari facinoris famam, posteritatis memoria tradet." That the evening of your life may be as serene and happy as its meridian has been useful and distinguished, is the sincere wish of THE AUTHOR.

Preface

. In presenting this volume of Annals to the public, I would wish to say a few words as to its origin. It is a right which every reader of a book purporting to be a record of facts pos sesses and may exercise, to examine its authenticity, and to de mand whence the author has drawn his deductions. In the fall of 1830 a society was formed in the village of Cherry- Valley for literary purposes generally, but especially for collecting facts illustrative of the natural and civil history of that section of country. I had been often requested to collect and imbody the events of its civil history, and was again solicited to prosecute this branch of inquiry. I at first contemplated writing only the history of Cherry- Valley. Born and reared in that valley, I had from early life been in some degree familiar with the inci dents which had occurred there.

They were interwoven with my earliest impressions ; and I entered upon the business of arranging and compiling them with an interest which the sub ject, perhaps, did not merit. Upon examination, I found its revolutionary history connected with that of the valley of the Mohawk ; and thinking I might, from the documents and in formation which I had obtained, throw some light upon the comparatively imperfect history of that valley during that inter esting period, I dropped the original plan, and adopted the one which I have followed in the subsequent pages. I have, how ever, dwelt more particularly upon the events which occurred

PREFACE.

. in Cherry -Valley ; not that they were more important or inter esting, but partly from reasons before mentioned, and partly for the reason that an accurate account of the minute transac tions of that settlement was immediately within my reach, and upon the authenticity of which I could rely with the greatest confidence. Some of the written documents were obtained in the office of the Secretary of State, but most of them from the venerable John Frey, one of the chairmen of the Tryon County Committee, and who is now standing almost upon the brow of a hundred years, — a monument of other days. Several gentlemen, relatives or descendants of those who acted conspicuous parts, have very politely furnished me with original papers. To all of them I would here most sincerely tender my thanks. Some of the accounts merely traditionary have been obtained from persons conversant and on intimate terms with the actors, but most of them from those who could say to me, " pars magna fui."

Under these circumstances, it is possible there may be errors. I have, however, in all cases compared the statements where they varied, and I flatter myself that I have generally arrived at the truth. I may be mistaken ; but I have written nothing which I do not believe to be true. WILLIAM W. CAMPBELL, New-York, August 16th, 1831. TABLE OF CONTENTS.

Introduction

. Page Containing a short sketch of the History of the Six Nations, from the tune of the first settlement of New-York to the commencement of the Revo lution

Chapter I

Settlement at Cherry-Valley in 1738, and its history to tne commencement of the Revolution . 17

Chapter II

Influence of the Johnsons in Tryon County — First Committee chosen — Correspondence between Guy Johnson, superintendent of Indian affairs, and the Committee for Tryon County, and also the Corporation of the City of Albany — Indian Council at Guy Park — Departure of Guy Johnson to Canada, accompanied by the Mohawks — Speech of thqggihabitants of German Flats to the Oneidas 28!

Chapter III

Powers and Duties of Committee — Correspondence between Committee and Sir John Johnson — Surrender of Sir John, and his tenants disarmed — Sir John breaks his parole, and goes to Canada — Interview between General Herkimer, at the head of the Tryon County militia, and Joseph Brant, with his Mohawk warriors, at Unadilla . . 56

Chapter IV

Campaign of 1777 — Fort Scnuyler besieged oy the British and Indians under General St. Leger— General Herkimer marches to its relief — Battle of Oriskany — Death of General Herkimer — Approach of the American troops, under General Arnold, to the relief of the fort — Retreat of St. Leger 67

Chapter X

Battle between the New-York levies under Col. Willet and the Indians under John Doxtadcr, at Turlach, in Schoharrie County — Battle between the militia and levies under Colonel Willet and the British and Indians under Major Ross and Walter Butler, at Johnstown — Death of Walter Butler 168

Chapter XI

Account of the residence of Mrs. Campbell, a prisoner, among the Senecas — Her exchange, and return by the way of Canada to Cherry-Valley— Visit of General Washington and Governor Clinton to Cherry- Valley — Adventures of Mr. Shankland — Return of the inhabitants 177

Appendix

. Note A. Speech of the Mohawks after the destruction of Schenectady in 1689 3 B. Biographical sketch of Sir William Johnson 8 C. Biographical sketch of Joseph Brant 14 D. Character of Skenando, an Oneida chief 28 E. Extracts from poem of Dr. Younglove 32 F. Biographical sketch of Governor George Clinton 41 G. Biographical sketch of General Philip Schuyler 46 H. Battle and massacre at Wyoming 60 I. A letter, containing an invoice of scalps taken by the Senecas . 67 J. Song reciting thebravedeeds of one Christian Shell .... 71 K. Sacrifice of the Senecas .75 L. Number of Indians of the different tribes employed by the British in the Revolutionary War ....

INTRODUCTION.

. New-York, at the time of its discovery and settlement by the Europeans, was inhabited by a race of men distin guished, above all the other aborigines of this Continent, for their intelligence and prowess. Five distinct and independent tribes, speaking a language radically the same, and practising similar customs, had united in forming a confederacy which, for durability and power, was unequalled in Indian history. They were the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onon dagas, Cayugas, and Senecas, called the Iroquois by the French, and the Five Nations by the English. In cases of great emergency, each tribe or nation acted separately and independently; but a general council usually assem bled at Onondaga, near the centre of their territory, and determined upon peace or war, and all other matters which regarded the interests of the whole.

The powers of this council appear to have been not much dissimilar to those of the United States Congress under the old confederation. Their language, though guttural, was sonorous. Their orators studied euphony in their words and in their ar rangement. Their graceful attitudes and gestures, and their flowing sentences, rendered their discourses, if not always eloquent, at least highly impressive. An erect and commanding figure, with a blanket thrown loosely over the shoulder, with his naked arm raised, and addressing in im passioned strains a group of similar persons sitting upon the ground around him, would, to use the illustration of an early JB

INTRODUCTION.

. historian of this State, give no faint picture of Rome in her early days.* They were very methodical in their harangues. When in conference with other nations, at the conclusion of every important sentence of the opposite speaker, a sachem gave a small stick to the orator who was to reply, charging him at the same time to remember it. After a short consultation with the others, he was enabled to repeat most of the dis course, which he answered article by articles These nations were distinguished for their prowess in war, as well as for their sagacity and eloquence in council. War was their delight. Believing it to be the most honourable employment of men, they infused into their children in early hfe high ideas of military glory. They carried their arms into Canada, across the Connec ticut, to the banks of the Mississippi, and almost to the Gulf of Mexico.

Formidable by their nmnbers and their skill, they excited respect and awe in the most powerful tribes, and exacted tribute and obedience from the weak. In 1608, the first efficient settlement was made in Canada by Governor Champlain, who founded Quebec. At this time the Five Nations were waging a desperate war with the Hurons and Algonquins, who inhabited a part of that province. Cham plain, unfortunately for the colony, entered into an alliance with the latter tribes, and by fumbhing them with men and fire-arms, enabled them to gain a temporary ascendancy.! The confederates, who had always been victorious, and who considered the Hurons and Algonquins as little better than vassals, could not brook this defeat They applied to, and courted the friendship of the Dutch, who found their way up the Hudson river, and established themselves at Albany, * Smith's History of New-York. t Ibid. t Vide Edinb.

Encyclopædia— Art. America. I-NTRODTJCTTON. soon after the settlement of Quebec. From them they obtained arms and munitions, and soon regained the influence and power which they had lost. This opportune arrival and assistance of the Dutch, together with their mild, conciliatory manners, endeared them to the Five Nations, who afterward looked up to them for advice and direction in their own af fairs, and protected and fought for them with cheerfulness and promptitude. But the interference of the French aroused the indignation of these haughty warriors : for almost a century they harassed their infant colonies, and visited with a dreadful vengeance both the authors of their disgrace and their descendants. This, if not the iron, was the golden age of the Iroquois. During this period, the hardy German passed up the Mohawk in his light canoe, and penetrated into the remote bounds of their territory, where he exchanged his merchandize and munitions of war for the peltry of the Indians* In 1664 the province of New-York was surrendered to the English by Peter Stuyvesant, the last of the Dutch go vernors.

The English, perceiving the importance of being on friendly terms with the Indians, exerted themselves to preserve that good understanding which had existed between the latter and the Dutch. Conventions were frequently called at Albany, at which the governors met and conferred with them ; presents were distributed liberally, and no op portunity was neglected to impress them with ideas of the wealth and power of the English monarch. The French were not idle. Jealous of the growing power and influence of the English colonies, and -desirous of monopolizing the Indian trade, they adopted various plans to detach the Iro quois from their alliance with the English. They endea- * Memoirs of an American Lady.

INTRODUCTION.

. voured to break up the confederacy, that they might conquer the nations in detail. They attacked the English, in hopes that, by gaining some splendid victories over them, they would convince the Indians of the weakness of their allies, and of the strength of their enemies. They sent missiona ries among them, more desirous of making allies for France than converts to Christianity: in this they partially succeeded ; and in 1671, persuaded the Caughnawagas to re move from their settlements on the Mohawk, and to establish themselves in Canada. In 1688 the vengeance of the Five Nations was again aroused by a stratagem of the Dinondadies, a tribe at war with them, and in alliance with France. The Dinondadies killed several of their ambassadors while going to hold a conference in Canada, and falsely pretended that they had been informed of their journey by the French governor.

Incensed at what they considered a great breach of faith, about twelve hundred warriors of the Five Nations landed at Montreal on the 26th July, 1688, and killed about a thousand French — men, women, and children, and carried away twenty-six prisoners, whom they afterward burned alive. The French retaliated for these aggressions by making in cursions into the Indian country, and burning their villages. In 1690 the French made an attack upon Schenectady ; took the place by surprise, as it was in the dead of winter, and no danger was apprehended :• the whole village was de stroyed; about sixty of the inhabitants were killed, and most of the remainder perished, as they fled naked through the snow toward Albany. * This was the first intimation the colony of New- York received that a war was meditated on the part of the French ; it was the more perfidious, as negotiatio»s were then pending in Europe for the purpose of settling the claims of the two * See Appendix— Note A.

INTRODUCTION.

. 13 governments in America. During this war the confederates remained attached to the English, and rendered important services by harassing the frontiers of their enemies. About 1701 a general treaty of peace was made between the French and Five Nations, which put an end to these long and afflict ing wars, in which both parties had been sufferers. In the early part of this century, (about 1712) the Monecons, or Tuscaroras, a tribe of Indians living in the Carolinas, made war upon the inhabitants of those colonies; they were van quished by the colonists, and forced to abandon their coun try ; they are thought to have been allies of the Five Nations in some of their southern expeditions. From a similarity in their language, the Confederates supposed them derived from a common origin ; they received them into the confederacy, assigned them a section of their territory to dwell in ; after this they were called the Six Nations.

The Tuscaroras never possessed the energy and courage of the other confederates. Tradition says that they were obliged to wear a woman's pocket for a tobacco pouch, as a mark of their effeminacy and want of courage. From the commencement of this century down to 1750, the French missionaries and agents were very successful. That body of men, the French Jesuits, who by their zeal put to shame many men engaged in a better cause, entered upon this field of labour with great ardour. At one time they doffed the clerical habit, and putting on the Indian garb, accompanied the warriors on distant and hazardous expe ditions ; and at another, they, astonished their savage audience with the splendid and imposing rites and ceremo nies of the Romish church. They spoke in glowing terms of the resources and magnificence of le grand Monarque, as they termed the King of France. They obtained permission for the French to build forts in

INTRODUCTION.

. their territory ; and in short, when the last French war broke out in 1754, the four western tribes went over to the French, and took up the hatchet against the English. This war terminated by the complete subjection of Canada, and the annexing it to the British dominions. The Indians, however, witnessing the defeat of the French, had many of them returned, before the close of the war, to the English, by whom they were again received as allies. Major General William Johnson* rendered very important services during this war ; his complete victory over Baron Dieskau, Sept. 1757, at the head of Lake George, and the capture of Fort Niagara by him, had aided materially in bringing the war to a successful termination. He was cre ated a Baronet, and Parliament voted him five thousand pounds sterling ; he was also appointed general superinten dent of Indian affairs ; he had settled upon the Mohawk in 1734, having emigrated there from Ireland, and thus rose to rank and affluence.

Stern, determined in purpose, at times even arbitrary, sagacious and penetrating, but, when necessa ry, urbane and conciliatory in his manners, he was eminently qualified for the station to which he was appointed. No per son has ever exerted an equal influence over those unlettered children of the forest. He lived at Johnstown, where he had a beautiful residence, and was surrounded by the Mohawks. The Indians looked up to him as their father, paying the ut most deference to his advice, and consulting him on all oc casions. Out of compliment to them, he frequently wore in winter their dress; he received them cordially at his house, where sometimes hundreds of them assembled. So great was the respect they had for him, that though the house contained many valuables, nothing was purloined * See Appendix— Note B.

INTRODUCTION.

. from it, even in their carousals. Being a widower, he re ceived into his family an Indian maiden, a sister of the cele brated sachem Joseph Tayadanaga, called the Brant. The influence of Sir William continued until his death, about the commencement of the revolutionary war, when the principal events took place, which I design hereafter to relate.

Chapter I

" Time rolls his ceaseless course. The race of yore, Who danced our infancy upon their knee, And told our marvelling boyhood legend's store Of their strange ventures happ'd by land or sea ; How they are blotted from the things that be ! How few, all weak, and withered of their force, Wait on the verge of dark eternity, Like stranded wrecks, the tide returning hoarse, To sweep them from our sight ; Time rolls his ceaseless course." It is always a pleasing task to rescue from oblivion the names, and to record the deeds, of those individuals, how ever humble, who were the pioneers of our country, who purchased the wilderness from the savage, and afterward disputed the dominion over it with the wolf and the bear. The pleasure is increased, and a deep and thrilling inter est is awakened, as we trace out those individuals ardently engaged on the side of their country in that revolution which terminated in our entire independence ; in the planting of that tree of liberty, whose beautiful foliage and wide spread ing branches have excited universal admiration, and a scion from which may yet be engrafted into all the nations of the east.

This is the object of the following imperfect sketch, which, if it add little to the materials for tbe future history of our state, may be a source of some pleasure and satisfaction to those connected with the actors themselves ; and to the sur vivors, those venerable relics of other times, a few of whom have come down to us, but who, one by one, are daily drop ping into eternity. C 2* ANNALS O^ In 1738 a patent for 8000 acres of land, lying about ten miles south of the Mohawk river, and fifty-two west from Albany, was granted by George Clark, then Lieutenant Go vernor, with the consent of the council of the then province of New-York, to John Lindesay, Jacob Roseboom, Lendert Gansevoort, and S)'brant Van Schaick. Tliis patent is situated in the extreme northeastern part of the now county of Otsego, embracing a part of the town and village of Cherry Valley.

The face of the country generally, in this county, is uneven; a great number of valleys run nearly north and south, in which are Otsego and Schuyler lakes, and through which flow several streams, forming the eastern branch of the Susquehanna. These valleys are bounded on the north by a ridge of table land, in which many of the smaller streams take their rise, and from whose northern declivity flow several unimportant tributaries of the Mohawk ; there are indentations or passes at the. northern extremities of all these valleys; differing, however, in their elevations and in the distances between the sources of the tributary waters of the two rivers. None of these valleys are very extensive, but the soil is fertile, and the rolling land between them pro duces all kinds of grain, and furnishes excellent pasturage in great abundance.

Tbe valley, through which runs Cherry Valley Creek, is about sixteen miles in length, and varies from one quarter, to a mile in breadth ; at the village it is 1335 feet, and where it terminates in its pass about a mile north, 1418 feet, above tide water. Chains of high land stretch along both sides of this valley ; that on the east may properly be considered a spur of the Oatskill. It terminates abruptly about three miles northeast of the village, in Mount Inde pendence, from whose top the land slopes gradually to the north ; its summit is more than 2000 feet above tide water, and 1700 above the valley of the Mohawk; from hence a beautiful prospect opens in some directions nearly one hundred miles in extent. The Mohawk valley, with a large portion of the northern part of the State, is spread out as a map ; while far in the northeast are dimly seen the tops of the Green Mountains, as they mingle with the horizon.

Early in the eighteenth century, nearly three thousand German Palatinates emigrated to this country under the pa tronage of queen Ann ; most of them settled in Pennsyl vania ; a few made their way, in 1713, from Albany, over the Helleberg, to Schoharie creek, and under the most dis couraging circumstances succeeded in effecting a settlement upon the rich alluvial lands bordering upon that stream. Small colonies from here, and from Albany, and Schenec tady, established themselves in various places along the Mo hawk ; and in 1722 had extended as far up as the German Flatts, near where stands the village of Herkimer ; but all the inhabitants were found in the neighbourhood of these streams ; none had ventured out in that unbroken wilder ness which lay to the south and west of these settlements.

Mr. Lindesay, having obtained an assignment from the three other patentees to himself and Gov. Clark, in 1739 caused the patent to be surveyed and subdivided into lots, and chose for himself the farm afterward successively owned by Mr. John Wells and Judge Hudson, and gave to it the name of Lindesay's Bush. In the following summer he left New- York with his family, consisting of his wife, and father in-law, Mr. Congreve, a Lieutenant in the British Army, and a few domestics, and settled upon his farm. He was a Scotch gentleman of some fortune and distinction having held several offices under government, and anticipated much pleasure from a residence in this high and rolling country, whose valleys, and hills, and lakes, would constantly remind him of the wild and romantic scenery of his native land.

A luxuriant growth of beech and maple, interspersed with the wild cherry, covered the valley, aud extended along up the sides of the hills, whose tops were crowned with clusters of evergreen ; elk and deer were found here iu great number?, as were bears, wolves, beavers, and foxes ; it was a favourite hunting ground of the Mohawks, who erected their cabins near some little spring, and bunted their game upon the mountains. Mr. Lindesay, as well as all the early settlers, found it important to cultivate their friendship ; he received them into his house, and treated them with such hospitality as circumstances would permit ; this kindness was not lost upon the high-minded savages, one of whom gave proof of no ordinary friendship during the first winter after his removal to Lindesay's Bush. Whatever of happiness and independence Mr. Lindesay may have looked for ward to, he knew little of the privations of the settlers of a new country, especially such a country as he had selected ; his farm was fifteen miles from any settlement, diflicult of access from that settlement which was on the Mohawk river, by reason of its elevation above it ; and the interve ning country was traversed only by an Indian footpath.

In the winter of 1740, the snow fell to a great depth ; the paths were filled up; all communication with the settlers upon the Mohawk was stopped ; Mr. Lindesay had not made sufficient preparation for such a winter; he had but a scanty supply of provisions ; these were almost consumed lono before spring ; a wretched and lingering death was in prospect for him and his family. At this critical tune, an Indian eame to his house, having travelled upon the snow with snow shoes ; when informed of their situation, he readily undertook to relieve them ; he went to the settlements upon the Mohawk, and having procured provisions, returned with them upon his back, and during the remainder of the winter, this faithful child of the forest thus continued to relieve them, and thus preserved the lives of the first inhabitants of our town and county.

In New-York, Mr. Lindesay became acquainted with the Rev. Samuel Dunlop, and prevailed upon him to visit his patent, offering him a tract of land of several hundred acres, on condition that he would settle upon it, and would use his influence with his friends, and persuade them to accompany him. Pleased with the situation, and the generous proprietor of the patent, be accepted of the proposal ; he was an Irishman by birth, but had been educated in Edinburgh ; had spent several years in tbe provinces, having travelled over most of those at the south ; and at the time of his first ac quaintance with Mr. Lindesay, was on a tour through those at the north. He went to Londonderry in New-Hampshire, where several of his countrymen were settled, whom he per suaded to remove, and in 1741 David Ramsay, William Gallt, James Campbell, William Dickson, and one or two others, with their families, in all about thirty persons, came and purchased farms, and immediately commenced making improvements upon them.

They had emigrated from the north of Ireland several years anterior to their removal here ; some of them were originally from Scotland ; they were called Scotch Irish — a general name given lo the inhabi tants of the north of Ireland, many of whom are of Scotch descent ; hardy and industrious, inured to toil from their infancy, they were well calculated to sustain the labours necessary in clearing the forest, and fitting it for the abode of civilized man. The following circumstance gave rise to its name : Mr. Dunlop, engaged in writing some letters, inquired of Mr. Lindesay where he should date them, who proposed the name of a town in Scotland ; Mr. Dunlop, pointing to some fine wild cherry-trees, and to the valley, replied, "let us give our place an appropriate name, and call it Cherry Valley," which was readily agreed to; it was for a long time the distinguishing name of a large section of country, south and west.

Soon after the arrival of these settlers, measures were taken for the erection of a grist-mill and saw-mill, and a building for a schoolhouse and church. Mr. Dunlop left Ireland under an engagement of marriage with a young lady of that country, and having made the necessary arrangements for his future residence in Cherry Valley, returned to fulfil it. This engagement was conditional ; if he did not return in seven years from the time of his departure, it should be optional with her to abide by or put an end to the contract ; the time had almost expired ; she had heard nothing from him for some time, and supposed him either dead or unfaithful ; another offered, was accepted, and the day appointed for the marriage. In the mean time Mr. Dunlop had been driven off the coast of Scotland by a storm : after a detention of several days, he finally made port in Ireland, and hastening on his journey, arrived the day previous ; his arrival was as joyful as it was unexpected ; he was married, and returned immediately with his wife to Cherry Valley, and entered upon his duties as the first pas tor of its little church.

A log-house had been erected to the north of Mr. Lindesay's, on the declivity of the little hill upon which his house was situated ; where, though possess ing little of this world's wealth, they offered up the homage of devout and grateful hearts. Most of the adult inhabitants were members of the church ; the clergyman was to receive ten shillings on the hundred acres of land ; a mere pittance, by reason of the small number of inhabitants ; but he lived frugally ; they made presents to him of the productions of their farms, which, with the avails of his own, asforded him a competent support. In these early days, an excellent state of feeling toward each other prevailed ; com mon danger, and common interest, united them. In their worship and observances they were very strict. During the ten subsequent years, not more than three or four families had come into the settlement.

Among them was Mr. John Wells, grandfather of the late John Wells of New- York City. He also was an Irishman, and became a resident in 1743 and in '44, purchased the farm, which Mr. Lindesay had selected for himself and upon which he resided. Mr. Lindesay was unacquainted with practical farming, and his property had been expended to little advantage ; after struggling several years, he was compelled to abandon his enterprise. The war between France and Great Britain had been, in part, transferred to America, and in 1744 our northern frontier was threatened with an attack by the French and Indians. Reinforcements were ordered to Os wego, and among them, the company of Independent Greens, in which Mr. Congreve was a Lieutenant ; he re signed his commission in favour of his son-in-law Mr. Lindesay, who, having spent several years in the service, died in New-York, leaving no children.