History of the Mohawk Valley: Gateway to the West 1614-1925
Chapter 69: Johnson's Great Raid., continued ...
"Gen. Van Rensselaer returned and dismissed his men at Schenectady, Albany and Claverack, where they had been enrolled."
"It is here proper to add that when Sir John marched up the south side of the Mohawk river Gen. Van Rensselaer was very near to him, Sir John passing Van Epps' just before dark and Van Rensselaer encamping there, just after Sir John occupied the greater part of the night in going six miles, the river separating him from a large portion of his men; burning a great many buildings, destroying property and plundering and laying waste the country in the very face of Gen. Van Rensselaer."
"Sir John's men were tired with their long marches and laboring under knapsacks heavily laden with provisions and plunder, whereas Gen. Van Rensselaer's were fresh troops and unburdened."
"The delay of Gen. Van Rensselaer, his orders to Col. Brown, those to Capt. McKean and Col. Louis as also those to Capt. Vrooman, could not have been given in any way in which they would have more assisted Sir John, either in effecting his retreat or doing injury to the country."
"When my father's buildings were burned and my brothers taken prisoners the pain that I received was not as great as this conduct on the part of Gen. Robert Van Rensselaer."
"With regard to the battle on Klock's farm and the facts stated in the annexed papers, I would say that I joined with Capt. McKean as a volunteer and met Gen. Van Rensselaer on the south side of the river, opposite Caughnawaga, early in the morning [of October 19, 1780, the day of the battle of Stone Arabia, in the morning, and of Klock's Field, in the evening]; of my own knowledge know most of the facts to be as they are stated; stayed with the volunteers after the battle, and had the conversation with one of the prisoners in Windecker fort as is stated; was with Capt. McKean when he had orders to advance and overtake Sir John, and a short time after saw Dr. Allen who came to inquire as to why Van Rensselaer was returning."
"With regard to the route of Sir John Johnson, that [is] from those of his own party who are now living and men of undoubted veracity."
"Thomas Sammons."
Thomas Sammons was engaged in a number of valley Revolutionary military movements.
He was in the battle of Oriskany in 1777 and, in 1780, was with the militia under Col. Wemple when it marched to the relief of Fort Plain at the time of Brant's raid about that post.
Sammons was also in the Johnstown battle in 1781, where he captured a British prisoner at the end of the action and brought him in to the Johnstown jail, where he, Sammons, counted 37 British prisoners taken on that day.
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HISTORY OF THE MOHAWK VALLEY
Re: HISTORY OF THE MOHAWK VALLEY
History of the Mohawk Valley: Gateway to the West 1614-1925
Chapter 69: Johnson's Great Raid., continued ...
This American army, under Van Rensselaer, was one of the largest yet concentrated in the valley and was only excelled in numbers by that of Clinton which had encamped at Canajoharie the year before, with the exception of the force of 3,000 men under Gen. Schuyler, who disarmed Sir John Johnson at Johnstown in 1776, when no battle was fought.
The force that took the field on both sides at Klock's Field was the largest which arrayed itself for battle on any one Revolutionary field in the Mohawk country.
About the same numbers were here engaged as at Oriskany (2,500), but at the action near present St. Johnsville the clash took place on one battleground while Oriskany consisted of two fights several miles apart — the bloody struggle in the ravine and Willett's destructive sally from Fort Stanwix.
Van Rensselaer's army had accomplished practically nothing and, moreover, had sat supinely by while Brown's heroic band was being scattered by the enemy.
And all this lost opportunity and disgraceful record was due to the incapacity or cowardice of a general totally unfitted for military command.
It was left for Willett, a year later, to show how effectively the valley Americans, when properly led, could beat off the Canadian invaders.
Time after time, up to the day of the Stone Arabia battle, the local patriot soldiers had attempted to grapple with their savage white and red invaders, only to see them slip away on each occasion, unharmed and unpunished.
Now, after the enemy had been cornered at Klock's Field and could have been easily destroyed or captured, they had been practically given their liberty by Van Rensselaer.
The valley militia had flocked to the American standard, eager to strike a fatal blow at their hated foes.
The patriot population and soldiers of the Mohawk must have been indeed disheartened, discouraged and disgusted at this fiasco of a campaign, which initially had promised complete American success.
Van Rensselaer's conduct was the worst display of inefficiency or cowardice seen in the valley, and perhaps anywhere, during the Revolution.
An opportunity was lost of crushing completely the raiders and probably preventing future bloodshed and loss in the valley.
Van Rensselaer was subsequently court-martialed at Albany for his conduct but was acquitted, largely on account of his wealth and social position, it is said.
There was much scurrilous intrigue, dissension, bickering and petty jealousy among certain cliques of so-called patriots.
The real American Revolutionary fighters were compelled to combat these vicious forces from within as well as the enemy.
The acquittal of Van Rensselaer is an evidence that all Americans were not actuated by high-minded patriotism and strict justice, during the War for Independence.
Had the Continental Revolutionary forces been composed exclusively of men like Washington and Willett the conflict would have ended within a year or two in complete American success.
Not only did such patriots have to fight the early battles with raw, undisciplined and frequently unreliable troops, but they had to constantly combat an insidious Tory influence among the people and the effect of such inefficiency as that exemplified in Van Rensselaer and men of his ilk.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
Chapter 69: Johnson's Great Raid., continued ...
This American army, under Van Rensselaer, was one of the largest yet concentrated in the valley and was only excelled in numbers by that of Clinton which had encamped at Canajoharie the year before, with the exception of the force of 3,000 men under Gen. Schuyler, who disarmed Sir John Johnson at Johnstown in 1776, when no battle was fought.
The force that took the field on both sides at Klock's Field was the largest which arrayed itself for battle on any one Revolutionary field in the Mohawk country.
About the same numbers were here engaged as at Oriskany (2,500), but at the action near present St. Johnsville the clash took place on one battleground while Oriskany consisted of two fights several miles apart — the bloody struggle in the ravine and Willett's destructive sally from Fort Stanwix.
Van Rensselaer's army had accomplished practically nothing and, moreover, had sat supinely by while Brown's heroic band was being scattered by the enemy.
And all this lost opportunity and disgraceful record was due to the incapacity or cowardice of a general totally unfitted for military command.
It was left for Willett, a year later, to show how effectively the valley Americans, when properly led, could beat off the Canadian invaders.
Time after time, up to the day of the Stone Arabia battle, the local patriot soldiers had attempted to grapple with their savage white and red invaders, only to see them slip away on each occasion, unharmed and unpunished.
Now, after the enemy had been cornered at Klock's Field and could have been easily destroyed or captured, they had been practically given their liberty by Van Rensselaer.
The valley militia had flocked to the American standard, eager to strike a fatal blow at their hated foes.
The patriot population and soldiers of the Mohawk must have been indeed disheartened, discouraged and disgusted at this fiasco of a campaign, which initially had promised complete American success.
Van Rensselaer's conduct was the worst display of inefficiency or cowardice seen in the valley, and perhaps anywhere, during the Revolution.
An opportunity was lost of crushing completely the raiders and probably preventing future bloodshed and loss in the valley.
Van Rensselaer was subsequently court-martialed at Albany for his conduct but was acquitted, largely on account of his wealth and social position, it is said.
There was much scurrilous intrigue, dissension, bickering and petty jealousy among certain cliques of so-called patriots.
The real American Revolutionary fighters were compelled to combat these vicious forces from within as well as the enemy.
The acquittal of Van Rensselaer is an evidence that all Americans were not actuated by high-minded patriotism and strict justice, during the War for Independence.
Had the Continental Revolutionary forces been composed exclusively of men like Washington and Willett the conflict would have ended within a year or two in complete American success.
Not only did such patriots have to fight the early battles with raw, undisciplined and frequently unreliable troops, but they had to constantly combat an insidious Tory influence among the people and the effect of such inefficiency as that exemplified in Van Rensselaer and men of his ilk.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
Re: HISTORY OF THE MOHAWK VALLEY
History of the Mohawk Valley: Gateway to the West 1614-1925
Chapter 69: Johnson's Great Raid., continued ...
At this time, and until its discontinuance as an army post, the Minden fort was known both as Fort Plain and Fort Rensselaer, the latter being its official title, conferred upon it probably by Van Rensselaer himself; Fort Plain evidently being its popular name and the one which survived until a later date.
In S. L. Frey's article on Fort Rensselaer (Fort Plain) published in the (Fort Plain) Mohawk Valley Register of March 6, 1912, he says: "Gen. Van Rensselaer * * * was appointed to the command of some of the posts in this section in the summer of 1780, Fort Paris, Fort Plank, Fort Clyde, Fort Windecker, Fort Plain and others."
"His headquarters were at Fort Plain."
"In the fall of that year he wrote to Gov. Clinton from Fort Plain, dating his letter 'Fort Rensselaer, Sept. 4, 1780'."
"This is the first time the name appears."
Van Rensselaer evidently gave his name to his headquarters post on his arrival there in the summer of 1780, which may have been in August after the Minden raid.
At the time of the Stone Arabia battle, Col. John Harper was in command of Fort Plain (under Gen. Van Rensselaer, of course).
In the courtmartial of Gen. Van Rensselaer the designation "Fort Plane or Rensselaer" is frequently used in the testimony of the witnesses.
In this evidence appears the names of the following as having been engaged in the valley military operations of the time of the Stone Arabia battle: Col. Dubois, Col. Harper, Major Lewis R. Morris, Col. Samuel Clyde (who commanded a company of Tryon county militia), Lieut. Driscoll and Col. Lewis.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
Chapter 69: Johnson's Great Raid., continued ...
At this time, and until its discontinuance as an army post, the Minden fort was known both as Fort Plain and Fort Rensselaer, the latter being its official title, conferred upon it probably by Van Rensselaer himself; Fort Plain evidently being its popular name and the one which survived until a later date.
In S. L. Frey's article on Fort Rensselaer (Fort Plain) published in the (Fort Plain) Mohawk Valley Register of March 6, 1912, he says: "Gen. Van Rensselaer * * * was appointed to the command of some of the posts in this section in the summer of 1780, Fort Paris, Fort Plank, Fort Clyde, Fort Windecker, Fort Plain and others."
"His headquarters were at Fort Plain."
"In the fall of that year he wrote to Gov. Clinton from Fort Plain, dating his letter 'Fort Rensselaer, Sept. 4, 1780'."
"This is the first time the name appears."
Van Rensselaer evidently gave his name to his headquarters post on his arrival there in the summer of 1780, which may have been in August after the Minden raid.
At the time of the Stone Arabia battle, Col. John Harper was in command of Fort Plain (under Gen. Van Rensselaer, of course).
In the courtmartial of Gen. Van Rensselaer the designation "Fort Plane or Rensselaer" is frequently used in the testimony of the witnesses.
In this evidence appears the names of the following as having been engaged in the valley military operations of the time of the Stone Arabia battle: Col. Dubois, Col. Harper, Major Lewis R. Morris, Col. Samuel Clyde (who commanded a company of Tryon county militia), Lieut. Driscoll and Col. Lewis.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
Re: HISTORY OF THE MOHAWK VALLEY
History of the Mohawk Valley: Gateway to the West 1614-1925
Chapter 69: Johnson's Great Raid., continued ...
The number of Oneidas engaged in the foregoing military operations is given as 200 warriors by one authority and 80 by another, the smaller figure probably being nearer the truth.
During part, at least, of the war this tribe lived in, about and under the protection of Schenectady their main Oneida Castle having been burned early in 1780.
The Oneidas were generally loyal to the American cause and did good service for the patriots on several occasions — notably the campaign treated in this chapter, at Oriskany and at West Canada creek.
As previously stated Col. John Harper was in command of these Indians, taking rank over their native chief.
After the Stone Arabia battle, some 25 or 30 Americans were buried in an open trench near Fort Paris.
The situation is believed to have been a few rods southeast of the present schoolhouse.
John Klock drew the bodies of Brown's men thither on a sled although there was no snow on the ground.
They were buried side by side in the clothes in which they fell.
Some others who were slain were interred elsewhere.
Colonel Brown was buried in the Stone Arabia Reformed Church graveyard.
Some of the Americans killed on this field were New England men, although local militiamen were also engaged.
The loss of the enemy probably did not exceed half of the 25 or 30 patriots supposed to have been slain.
On the anniversary of Col. John Brown's death in 1836, a monument was erected over his grave by his son, Henry Brown, of Berkshire, Mass., bearing the following inscription: "In memory of Col. John Brown, who was killed in battle on the 19th day of October, 1780, at Palatine, in the county of Montgomery. Age 36."
This event was made a great occasion and was largely attended, veterans of the Stone Arabia battle being present.
It is mentioned in a later chapter dealing with its period in Palatine.
Col. John Brown was born in Sandersfield, Mass., in 1744.
He was graduated at Yale college in 1771 and studied law.
He commenced practise at Caughnawaga (Fonda) and was appointed King's attorney.
He soon went to Pittsfield, Mass., where he became active in the patriot cause and in 1775 went to Canada on a mission to try to get the people there to join the American cause.
He was elected to congress in 1775 but joined Allen and Arnold's expedition against Ticonderoga.
He was at Fort Chambly and Quebec.
In 1776 he was commissioned lieutenant-colonel.
In 1777 he commanded the expedition against Ticonderoga and soon after left the service on account of his detestation of Arnold.
Three years before the latter became a traitor Brown published a hand bill in which he denounced Arnold as a traitor and concluded: "Money is this man's god, and to get enough of it he would sacrifice his country."
This was published in Albany in the winter of 1776-7, while Arnold was quartered there.
Arnold was greatly excited over it and called Brown a scoundrel and threatened to kick him on sight.
Brown heard of this and the next day, by invitation, went to a dinner to which Arnold also came.
The latter was standing with his back to the fire when Brown entered the door, and they met face to face.
Brown said: "I understand, sir, that you have said you would kick me; I now present myself to give you an opportunity to put your threat into execution."
Arnold made no reply.
Brown then said: "Sir, you are a dirty scoundrel."
Arnold was silent and Brown left the room, after apologizing to the gentlemen present for his intrusion.
Col. Brown, after he left the army, was occasionally in the Massachusetts service.
In the fall of 1780, with many of the Berkshire militia, he marched up the Mohawk River, his force to be used for defense as required.
In the Burgoyne campaign of 1777, Col. Brown led an American raiding party which got in the rear of Burgoyne's army after the first battle of Bemis Heights (Sept. 19) and destroyed stores and defeated British outposts around Fort Ticonderoga.
Brown then sailed up Lake George and attempted to capture Burgoyne's depot of supplies on Diamond Island near the head of the lake.
The British guard made such a valiant defense that Brown's party was repulsed.
Brown is said to have been a man of medium height, of fine military bearing and with dark eyes.
He generally wore spectacles.
His courage was proverbial among his men and in the Stone Arabia action seems to have run into recklessness, although, soldier that he was, he probably figured on holding the enemy at any cost until Van Rensselaer's large force could come up and, falling on the rear, crush them completely, which could have been readily accomplished by a skilful and determined commander.
Col. Brown was immensely popular with his troops — with the militiamen from the valley as well as with the soldiers he commanded who were from his own state of Massachusetts.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
Chapter 69: Johnson's Great Raid., continued ...
The number of Oneidas engaged in the foregoing military operations is given as 200 warriors by one authority and 80 by another, the smaller figure probably being nearer the truth.
During part, at least, of the war this tribe lived in, about and under the protection of Schenectady their main Oneida Castle having been burned early in 1780.
The Oneidas were generally loyal to the American cause and did good service for the patriots on several occasions — notably the campaign treated in this chapter, at Oriskany and at West Canada creek.
As previously stated Col. John Harper was in command of these Indians, taking rank over their native chief.
After the Stone Arabia battle, some 25 or 30 Americans were buried in an open trench near Fort Paris.
The situation is believed to have been a few rods southeast of the present schoolhouse.
John Klock drew the bodies of Brown's men thither on a sled although there was no snow on the ground.
They were buried side by side in the clothes in which they fell.
Some others who were slain were interred elsewhere.
Colonel Brown was buried in the Stone Arabia Reformed Church graveyard.
Some of the Americans killed on this field were New England men, although local militiamen were also engaged.
The loss of the enemy probably did not exceed half of the 25 or 30 patriots supposed to have been slain.
On the anniversary of Col. John Brown's death in 1836, a monument was erected over his grave by his son, Henry Brown, of Berkshire, Mass., bearing the following inscription: "In memory of Col. John Brown, who was killed in battle on the 19th day of October, 1780, at Palatine, in the county of Montgomery. Age 36."
This event was made a great occasion and was largely attended, veterans of the Stone Arabia battle being present.
It is mentioned in a later chapter dealing with its period in Palatine.
Col. John Brown was born in Sandersfield, Mass., in 1744.
He was graduated at Yale college in 1771 and studied law.
He commenced practise at Caughnawaga (Fonda) and was appointed King's attorney.
He soon went to Pittsfield, Mass., where he became active in the patriot cause and in 1775 went to Canada on a mission to try to get the people there to join the American cause.
He was elected to congress in 1775 but joined Allen and Arnold's expedition against Ticonderoga.
He was at Fort Chambly and Quebec.
In 1776 he was commissioned lieutenant-colonel.
In 1777 he commanded the expedition against Ticonderoga and soon after left the service on account of his detestation of Arnold.
Three years before the latter became a traitor Brown published a hand bill in which he denounced Arnold as a traitor and concluded: "Money is this man's god, and to get enough of it he would sacrifice his country."
This was published in Albany in the winter of 1776-7, while Arnold was quartered there.
Arnold was greatly excited over it and called Brown a scoundrel and threatened to kick him on sight.
Brown heard of this and the next day, by invitation, went to a dinner to which Arnold also came.
The latter was standing with his back to the fire when Brown entered the door, and they met face to face.
Brown said: "I understand, sir, that you have said you would kick me; I now present myself to give you an opportunity to put your threat into execution."
Arnold made no reply.
Brown then said: "Sir, you are a dirty scoundrel."
Arnold was silent and Brown left the room, after apologizing to the gentlemen present for his intrusion.
Col. Brown, after he left the army, was occasionally in the Massachusetts service.
In the fall of 1780, with many of the Berkshire militia, he marched up the Mohawk River, his force to be used for defense as required.
In the Burgoyne campaign of 1777, Col. Brown led an American raiding party which got in the rear of Burgoyne's army after the first battle of Bemis Heights (Sept. 19) and destroyed stores and defeated British outposts around Fort Ticonderoga.
Brown then sailed up Lake George and attempted to capture Burgoyne's depot of supplies on Diamond Island near the head of the lake.
The British guard made such a valiant defense that Brown's party was repulsed.
Brown is said to have been a man of medium height, of fine military bearing and with dark eyes.
He generally wore spectacles.
His courage was proverbial among his men and in the Stone Arabia action seems to have run into recklessness, although, soldier that he was, he probably figured on holding the enemy at any cost until Van Rensselaer's large force could come up and, falling on the rear, crush them completely, which could have been readily accomplished by a skilful and determined commander.
Col. Brown was immensely popular with his troops — with the militiamen from the valley as well as with the soldiers he commanded who were from his own state of Massachusetts.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
Re: HISTORY OF THE MOHAWK VALLEY
History of the Mohawk Valley: Gateway to the West 1614-1925
Chapter 69: Johnson's Great Raid., continued ...
Governor George Clinton visited Fort Plain on at least two known occasions.
The first was during the Klock's Field operations and the second was when he accompanied Washington through the Mohawk valley in 1783.
Clinton was a brother of Gen. James Clinton and an uncle of Dewitt Clinton, later the famous "canal Governor."
He was born in Ulster County in 1739. In 1768 he was elected to the Colonial legislature, and was a member of the Continental congress in 1775.
He was appointed a brigadier in the United States army in 1776, and during the whole war was active in military affairs in New York.
In April, 1777, he was elected governor and continued so for eighteen years.
He was president of the convention assembled at Poughkeepsie to consider the federal constitution in 1788.
He was again chosen governor of the state in 1801, and in 1804.
Afterward he was elected vice president of the United States and continued in that office until his death in Washington in 1812, aged 73 years.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
Chapter 69: Johnson's Great Raid., continued ...
Governor George Clinton visited Fort Plain on at least two known occasions.
The first was during the Klock's Field operations and the second was when he accompanied Washington through the Mohawk valley in 1783.
Clinton was a brother of Gen. James Clinton and an uncle of Dewitt Clinton, later the famous "canal Governor."
He was born in Ulster County in 1739. In 1768 he was elected to the Colonial legislature, and was a member of the Continental congress in 1775.
He was appointed a brigadier in the United States army in 1776, and during the whole war was active in military affairs in New York.
In April, 1777, he was elected governor and continued so for eighteen years.
He was president of the convention assembled at Poughkeepsie to consider the federal constitution in 1788.
He was again chosen governor of the state in 1801, and in 1804.
Afterward he was elected vice president of the United States and continued in that office until his death in Washington in 1812, aged 73 years.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
Re: HISTORY OF THE MOHAWK VALLEY
History of the Mohawk Valley: Gateway to the West 1614-1925
Chapter 69: Johnson's Great Raid., continued ...
In the fall of 1780 and the spring of 1781 the fortification of Fort Plain was strengthened by the erection of a strong blockhouse.
It was situated about a hundred yards from the fort, commanding the steep northern side of the plateau on which both blockhouse and fort stood.
The construction was of pine timber, 8x14 inches, dovetailed at the ends, and Thomas Morrel of Schenectady, father of Judge Abram Morrel of Johnstown, superintended its erection.
It was octagonal in shape and three stories in height, the second projecting five feet over the first, and the third five feet over the second, with portholes for cannon on the first floor, and for musketry on all its surfaces; with holes in projecting floors for small arms, so as to fire down upon a closely approaching foe.
The first story is said to have been 30 feet in diameter, the second 40 and the third 50, making it look top heavy for a gale of wind.
It mounted several cannon for signal guns and defense — one of which was a twelve-pounder — on the first floor.
It stood upon a gentle elevation of several feet.
This defense was not palisaded, but a ditch or dry moat several feet deep extended around it.
The land upon which both defenses stood was owned by Johannes Lipe during the Revolution.
It is said it was built under the supervision of a French engineer employed by Col. Gansevoort.
The latter, by order of Gen. Clinton, had repaired to Fort Plain to take charge of a quantity of stores destined for Fort Stanwix, just prior to Brant's Minden raid of August 2, as we have seen.
It was probably at this time its erection was planned.
Ramparts of logs were thrown up around the defenses at the time of the blockhouse erection.
Some little time after this, doubts were expressed as to its being cannon-ball proof.
A trial was made with a six-pounder placed at a proper distance.
Its ball passed entirely through the blockhouse, crossed a broad ravine and buried itself in a hill on which the old parsonage stood, an eighth of a mile distant.
This proved the inefficiency of the building, and its strength was increased by lining it with heavy planks.
In order to form a protection against hot shot for the magazine, the garrison stationed there in 1782 commenced throwing up a bank of earth around the blockhouse.
Rumors of peace and quiet that then prevailed in the valley, caused the work to cease.
A representation of this blockhouse constitutes the seal of the village of Fort Plain.
It was as much a part of the defensive works of Fort Plain as the stockaded fort and was of a more picturesque appearance and so was chosen for the seal.
Fort Willett was begun in the fall of 1780 and finished in the spring of 1781.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
Chapter 69: Johnson's Great Raid., continued ...
In the fall of 1780 and the spring of 1781 the fortification of Fort Plain was strengthened by the erection of a strong blockhouse.
It was situated about a hundred yards from the fort, commanding the steep northern side of the plateau on which both blockhouse and fort stood.
The construction was of pine timber, 8x14 inches, dovetailed at the ends, and Thomas Morrel of Schenectady, father of Judge Abram Morrel of Johnstown, superintended its erection.
It was octagonal in shape and three stories in height, the second projecting five feet over the first, and the third five feet over the second, with portholes for cannon on the first floor, and for musketry on all its surfaces; with holes in projecting floors for small arms, so as to fire down upon a closely approaching foe.
The first story is said to have been 30 feet in diameter, the second 40 and the third 50, making it look top heavy for a gale of wind.
It mounted several cannon for signal guns and defense — one of which was a twelve-pounder — on the first floor.
It stood upon a gentle elevation of several feet.
This defense was not palisaded, but a ditch or dry moat several feet deep extended around it.
The land upon which both defenses stood was owned by Johannes Lipe during the Revolution.
It is said it was built under the supervision of a French engineer employed by Col. Gansevoort.
The latter, by order of Gen. Clinton, had repaired to Fort Plain to take charge of a quantity of stores destined for Fort Stanwix, just prior to Brant's Minden raid of August 2, as we have seen.
It was probably at this time its erection was planned.
Ramparts of logs were thrown up around the defenses at the time of the blockhouse erection.
Some little time after this, doubts were expressed as to its being cannon-ball proof.
A trial was made with a six-pounder placed at a proper distance.
Its ball passed entirely through the blockhouse, crossed a broad ravine and buried itself in a hill on which the old parsonage stood, an eighth of a mile distant.
This proved the inefficiency of the building, and its strength was increased by lining it with heavy planks.
In order to form a protection against hot shot for the magazine, the garrison stationed there in 1782 commenced throwing up a bank of earth around the blockhouse.
Rumors of peace and quiet that then prevailed in the valley, caused the work to cease.
A representation of this blockhouse constitutes the seal of the village of Fort Plain.
It was as much a part of the defensive works of Fort Plain as the stockaded fort and was of a more picturesque appearance and so was chosen for the seal.
Fort Willett was begun in the fall of 1780 and finished in the spring of 1781.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
Re: HISTORY OF THE MOHAWK VALLEY
History of the Mohawk Valley: Gateway to the West 1614-1925
Chapter 69: Johnson's Great Raid., continued ...
There are extant few records of the garrisons which tenanted Fort Plain, for ten years or more, and also those of its adjoining posts.
Some have been preserved by Simms and the gist of a few are here given:
In the summer of 1780, Captain Putman's company of rangers from Fort Plain started for Fort Herkimer.
They stopped for the night at Fort Windecker and Cobus Mabee of Fairfield, was put on picket duty for the night outside the post.
About midnight the guard saw a savage stealing up behind a rail fence.
He deftly slipped his hat and coat over a stump and dropped down behind a nearby log and waited.
The Indian came very near and at a short distance fired at the dummy man, drew his tomahawk and rushed up.
But before he could sink it in the stump, Mabee shot him dead.
The garrison, half dressed, rushed to arms and found their comrade had bagged a remarkably large Indian.
As showing the crudity of the times, it is said the corpse lay unburied near the fort for some time and was made the butt of Indian play by the boys of Fort Windecker.
In the summer of 1780 the enemy was reported to be in the vicinity of Otsego Lake and Capt. Putman led his company of rangers from Fort Plain to the lake, accompanied by a company of militia under Maj. Coapman, a Jerseyman.
The route was from Fort Plain to Cherry Valley and from there to Otsego Lake.
Finding no signs of an enemy a return march was made to Cherry Valley and from there to the Mohawk.
On the way back an argument arose as to relative physical superiority of the rangers or scouts and the militia.
To prove which was the better set of men, a race was proposed to Garlock's tavern on Bowman (Canajoharie) Creek.
Major Coapman and Captain Putman were both heavy men and did not last long in the race of five or six miles, which soon started between the two rival companies.
Putman's scouts were victorious and three of them, John Eikler, Jacob Shew and Isaac Quackenboss (a "lean man") distanced the militiamen and reached Garlock's pretty well played out.
The soldiers were strung along the highway for miles in this run.
"After the men had all assembled at the tavern, taken refreshments and the bill had been footed by Major Coapman, the party returned leisurely and in order to Fort Plain."
It is a significant comment on the hardihood of the Revolutionary soldiers that they should find excitement in a five-mile run over a rough highway carrying their guns and packs.
Under date of April 3, 1780, Col. Fisher writes to Col. Goshen Van Schaick to order "some rum and ammunition for my regiment of militia [then stationed mostly in the Mohawk valley posts from Fort Johnson westward], being very necessary as the men are daily scouting."
TO BE CONTINUED ...
Chapter 69: Johnson's Great Raid., continued ...
There are extant few records of the garrisons which tenanted Fort Plain, for ten years or more, and also those of its adjoining posts.
Some have been preserved by Simms and the gist of a few are here given:
In the summer of 1780, Captain Putman's company of rangers from Fort Plain started for Fort Herkimer.
They stopped for the night at Fort Windecker and Cobus Mabee of Fairfield, was put on picket duty for the night outside the post.
About midnight the guard saw a savage stealing up behind a rail fence.
He deftly slipped his hat and coat over a stump and dropped down behind a nearby log and waited.
The Indian came very near and at a short distance fired at the dummy man, drew his tomahawk and rushed up.
But before he could sink it in the stump, Mabee shot him dead.
The garrison, half dressed, rushed to arms and found their comrade had bagged a remarkably large Indian.
As showing the crudity of the times, it is said the corpse lay unburied near the fort for some time and was made the butt of Indian play by the boys of Fort Windecker.
In the summer of 1780 the enemy was reported to be in the vicinity of Otsego Lake and Capt. Putman led his company of rangers from Fort Plain to the lake, accompanied by a company of militia under Maj. Coapman, a Jerseyman.
The route was from Fort Plain to Cherry Valley and from there to Otsego Lake.
Finding no signs of an enemy a return march was made to Cherry Valley and from there to the Mohawk.
On the way back an argument arose as to relative physical superiority of the rangers or scouts and the militia.
To prove which was the better set of men, a race was proposed to Garlock's tavern on Bowman (Canajoharie) Creek.
Major Coapman and Captain Putman were both heavy men and did not last long in the race of five or six miles, which soon started between the two rival companies.
Putman's scouts were victorious and three of them, John Eikler, Jacob Shew and Isaac Quackenboss (a "lean man") distanced the militiamen and reached Garlock's pretty well played out.
The soldiers were strung along the highway for miles in this run.
"After the men had all assembled at the tavern, taken refreshments and the bill had been footed by Major Coapman, the party returned leisurely and in order to Fort Plain."
It is a significant comment on the hardihood of the Revolutionary soldiers that they should find excitement in a five-mile run over a rough highway carrying their guns and packs.
Under date of April 3, 1780, Col. Fisher writes to Col. Goshen Van Schaick to order "some rum and ammunition for my regiment of militia [then stationed mostly in the Mohawk valley posts from Fort Johnson westward], being very necessary as the men are daily scouting."
TO BE CONTINUED ...
Re: HISTORY OF THE MOHAWK VALLEY
History of the Mohawk Valley: Gateway to the West 1614-1925
Chapter 69: Johnson's Great Raid., continued ...
On July 4, 1780, the hated Tory Adam Crysler with a band of raiders captured eight persons at New Dorlach in the present town of Sharon, Schoharie County.
During and after the Revolution, Crysler was as much hated and as much of a scourge along the Schoharie and its tributaries as Walter Butler was in the Mohawk Valley section.
Elias Krepp, an old bachelor, was the miller of the grist mill erected by Sir William Johnson, in the then Tilleborough at the now village of Ephratah.
In 1780 a party of raiders burned the mill and took Krepp to Canada.
After the war he returned and, with George Getman, went to the ruined mill and, from its walls, removed several hundred dollars in gold and silver which he had there hidden for safety.
The chief national events of the year 1780 are summarized as follows: 1780, May 12, capture of Charleston, S. C., by British; 1780, August 16, American army under Gates defeated at Camden, S. C.; 1780, Sept. 23, capture of Major Andre of the British army by three Continental soldiers, Paulding, Williams and Van Wart, and subsequent disclosure of Arnold's treason, following his flight from his post at West Point on the Hudson.
Timothy Murphy, who "fired the bullet which was the turning point of the Revolution," is revealed by consulting the following authorities on the events of the Revolution: Campbell's "History of Tryon County," [i.e., William W. Campbell, Annals of Tryon County; or, The Border Warfare of New York, During the Revolution] Simms' "History of Schoharie County," Doty's "History of Livingston County," [i.e., Lockwood Lyon Doty, A History of Livingston County, New York] Lossing's "Field Book of the American Revolution," Volume I, [i.e., Benson John Lossing, Pictorial Field Book of the Revolution] and Colonel W. L. Stone's "History of the Battle of Saratoga." [probably William Leete Stone, Visits to the Saratoga Battle-grounds, 1780-1880]
Murphy was one of that band of frontiersmen from the Shenandoah Valley who composed the celebrated rifle corps commanded by Colonel Daniel Morgan of Virginia.
This gallant aggregation of fighting men wore upon their breasts the motto "Liberty or Death."
Lossing says: "A large proportion of them were Irishmen, who were not very agreeable to the New Englanders."
The men attracted much attention throughout the Revolutionary struggle and on account of their sure and deadly aim they became a terror to the British.
Wonderful stories of their exploits went to England and one of the riflemen who was carried there a prisoner was gazed at as a great curiosity.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
Chapter 69: Johnson's Great Raid., continued ...
On July 4, 1780, the hated Tory Adam Crysler with a band of raiders captured eight persons at New Dorlach in the present town of Sharon, Schoharie County.
During and after the Revolution, Crysler was as much hated and as much of a scourge along the Schoharie and its tributaries as Walter Butler was in the Mohawk Valley section.
Elias Krepp, an old bachelor, was the miller of the grist mill erected by Sir William Johnson, in the then Tilleborough at the now village of Ephratah.
In 1780 a party of raiders burned the mill and took Krepp to Canada.
After the war he returned and, with George Getman, went to the ruined mill and, from its walls, removed several hundred dollars in gold and silver which he had there hidden for safety.
The chief national events of the year 1780 are summarized as follows: 1780, May 12, capture of Charleston, S. C., by British; 1780, August 16, American army under Gates defeated at Camden, S. C.; 1780, Sept. 23, capture of Major Andre of the British army by three Continental soldiers, Paulding, Williams and Van Wart, and subsequent disclosure of Arnold's treason, following his flight from his post at West Point on the Hudson.
Timothy Murphy, who "fired the bullet which was the turning point of the Revolution," is revealed by consulting the following authorities on the events of the Revolution: Campbell's "History of Tryon County," [i.e., William W. Campbell, Annals of Tryon County; or, The Border Warfare of New York, During the Revolution] Simms' "History of Schoharie County," Doty's "History of Livingston County," [i.e., Lockwood Lyon Doty, A History of Livingston County, New York] Lossing's "Field Book of the American Revolution," Volume I, [i.e., Benson John Lossing, Pictorial Field Book of the Revolution] and Colonel W. L. Stone's "History of the Battle of Saratoga." [probably William Leete Stone, Visits to the Saratoga Battle-grounds, 1780-1880]
Murphy was one of that band of frontiersmen from the Shenandoah Valley who composed the celebrated rifle corps commanded by Colonel Daniel Morgan of Virginia.
This gallant aggregation of fighting men wore upon their breasts the motto "Liberty or Death."
Lossing says: "A large proportion of them were Irishmen, who were not very agreeable to the New Englanders."
The men attracted much attention throughout the Revolutionary struggle and on account of their sure and deadly aim they became a terror to the British.
Wonderful stories of their exploits went to England and one of the riflemen who was carried there a prisoner was gazed at as a great curiosity.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
Re: HISTORY OF THE MOHAWK VALLEY
History of the Mohawk Valley: Gateway to the West 1614-1925
Chapter 69: Johnson's Great Raid., concluded ...
In describing the battle of Bemis Heights on September 19, 1777, Lossing says:
"It was evident that the fate of the battle rested upon Fraser, and this the keen eye and sure judgment of Morgan perceived."
"Calling a file of his best men around him, he said, as he pointed towards the British right:"
"'That gallant officer is General Fraser.'"
"'I admire and honor him, but it is necessary he should die; victory for the enemy depends on him.'"
"'Take station in that clump of bushes and do your duty.'"
"Within five minutes Fraser fell mortally wounded."
"The rifleman who killed General Fraser was Timothy Murphy."
"He took sure aim from a small tree in which he was posted and saw Fraser fall on the discharge of his rifle."
The ubiquitous Murphy is again mentioned as a participant in the battle of Monmouth, and his heroic part in the expedition of General Sullivan through central and western New York and especially in defense of the fort at Middleburgh in October, 1780, reads like a chapter from a romantic novel.
He is described as a man of handsome features, of great muscular power, fleet of foot and wary as an Indian.
While he was not a man of any education he was possessed of a strong intellect and had much influence over his associates.
His skill in the desultory warfare with the Indians gave him so high a reputation that, though not nominally the commander, he usually directed all the movements of the scouts that were sent out, and on many important occasions the commanding officers found it dangerous to neglect his advice.
He used a double barreled rifle, which was something of a curiosity in those days, and the Indians, seeing him fire twice without stopping to reload, supposed he could fire as often as he pleased in the same manner, and they usually fled in terror when they learned that the dreaded Murphy was in their immediate neighborhood.
A volume could be written about the exploits of this gallant Revolutionary soldier.
He died at Schoharie in 1818.
Murphy married Peggy Feeck, a girl of Holland Dutch descent, and daughter of Johannes Feeck, whose dwelling stood inside the Upper Fort, near present Fultonham.
A monument to Tim Murphy stands in the Middleburgh Cemetery.
It consists of a tall tablet set in a base.
On one side is a striking bas relief of Murphy, in his deerskin uniform as one of Morgan's Riflemen, which he and the detachment of Morgan's men wore on service on the Schoharie and at other points in the Mohawk Valley.
On the reverse side of the tablet is the inscription:
"To the memory of Timothy Murphy, patriot, soldier, scout, citizen, who served in Morgan's rifle corps, fought at Saratoga and Monmouth and whose bravery repelled the attack of the British and their Indian allies upon the Middle Fort, October 17, 1780, and saved the Colonists of the Schoharie Valley. 1751-1818."
The final figures on the monument are those of Murphy's birth and death.
This memorial was unveiled, with impressive ceremonies on Oct. 17, 1910, the 130th anniversary of the attack on the Middle Fort, during Johnson's raid, which Tim Murphy and his trusty rifle, repulsed almost single-handed.
Murphy settled in the Schoharie Valley, in the John Feeck house in the Upper Fort.
He is one of the several great scouts, who served on the Schoharie and Mohawk rivers during the Revolution.
Others were Colonel Willett, Lieutenant Stockwell, Captain Demuth, John Adam Helmer, John Adam Hartmann and others.
David Williams, who helped capture Major Andre, was another ranger who settled after the Revolution along the Schoharie, in 1806 and whose remains are buried in the cemetery at the Old Stone Fort at Schoharie.
See "Life and Adventures of Timothy Murphy" (1912) by Paul B. Mattice.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
Chapter 69: Johnson's Great Raid., concluded ...
In describing the battle of Bemis Heights on September 19, 1777, Lossing says:
"It was evident that the fate of the battle rested upon Fraser, and this the keen eye and sure judgment of Morgan perceived."
"Calling a file of his best men around him, he said, as he pointed towards the British right:"
"'That gallant officer is General Fraser.'"
"'I admire and honor him, but it is necessary he should die; victory for the enemy depends on him.'"
"'Take station in that clump of bushes and do your duty.'"
"Within five minutes Fraser fell mortally wounded."
"The rifleman who killed General Fraser was Timothy Murphy."
"He took sure aim from a small tree in which he was posted and saw Fraser fall on the discharge of his rifle."
The ubiquitous Murphy is again mentioned as a participant in the battle of Monmouth, and his heroic part in the expedition of General Sullivan through central and western New York and especially in defense of the fort at Middleburgh in October, 1780, reads like a chapter from a romantic novel.
He is described as a man of handsome features, of great muscular power, fleet of foot and wary as an Indian.
While he was not a man of any education he was possessed of a strong intellect and had much influence over his associates.
His skill in the desultory warfare with the Indians gave him so high a reputation that, though not nominally the commander, he usually directed all the movements of the scouts that were sent out, and on many important occasions the commanding officers found it dangerous to neglect his advice.
He used a double barreled rifle, which was something of a curiosity in those days, and the Indians, seeing him fire twice without stopping to reload, supposed he could fire as often as he pleased in the same manner, and they usually fled in terror when they learned that the dreaded Murphy was in their immediate neighborhood.
A volume could be written about the exploits of this gallant Revolutionary soldier.
He died at Schoharie in 1818.
Murphy married Peggy Feeck, a girl of Holland Dutch descent, and daughter of Johannes Feeck, whose dwelling stood inside the Upper Fort, near present Fultonham.
A monument to Tim Murphy stands in the Middleburgh Cemetery.
It consists of a tall tablet set in a base.
On one side is a striking bas relief of Murphy, in his deerskin uniform as one of Morgan's Riflemen, which he and the detachment of Morgan's men wore on service on the Schoharie and at other points in the Mohawk Valley.
On the reverse side of the tablet is the inscription:
"To the memory of Timothy Murphy, patriot, soldier, scout, citizen, who served in Morgan's rifle corps, fought at Saratoga and Monmouth and whose bravery repelled the attack of the British and their Indian allies upon the Middle Fort, October 17, 1780, and saved the Colonists of the Schoharie Valley. 1751-1818."
The final figures on the monument are those of Murphy's birth and death.
This memorial was unveiled, with impressive ceremonies on Oct. 17, 1910, the 130th anniversary of the attack on the Middle Fort, during Johnson's raid, which Tim Murphy and his trusty rifle, repulsed almost single-handed.
Murphy settled in the Schoharie Valley, in the John Feeck house in the Upper Fort.
He is one of the several great scouts, who served on the Schoharie and Mohawk rivers during the Revolution.
Others were Colonel Willett, Lieutenant Stockwell, Captain Demuth, John Adam Helmer, John Adam Hartmann and others.
David Williams, who helped capture Major Andre, was another ranger who settled after the Revolution along the Schoharie, in 1806 and whose remains are buried in the cemetery at the Old Stone Fort at Schoharie.
See "Life and Adventures of Timothy Murphy" (1912) by Paul B. Mattice.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
Re: HISTORY OF THE MOHAWK VALLEY
History of the Mohawk Valley: Gateway to the West 1614-1925
Chapter 70: Colonel Willett, Valley Commander.
1781 — June, Colonel Willett, appointed commander of Mohawk Valley posts, makes Fort Plain his headquarters — Dreadful Tryon County conditions — July 9, Currytown raid — July 10, American victory at Sharon — Fort Stanwix abandoned.
Of the conditions in the Mohawk country at the opening of 1781, Beers' History of Montgomery County has the following:
"Gloomy indeed was the prospect at this time in the Mohawk valley."
"Desolation and destitution were on every side."
"Of an abundant harvest almost nothing remained."
"The Cherry Valley, Harpersfield, and all other settlements toward the headwaters of the Susquehanna, had been entirely deserted for localities of greater safety."
"Some idea of the lamentable condition of other communities in Tryon county may be obtained from a statement addressed to the legislature, December 20, 1780, by the supervisors of the county."
"In that document it was estimated that 700 buildings had been burned in the county; 613 persons had deserted to the enemy; 354 families had abandoned their dwellings; 197 lives had been lost; 121 persons had been carried into captivity, and hundreds of farms lay uncultivated by reason of the enemy."
"Nor were the terrible sufferings indicated by these statistics, mitigated by a brighter prospect."
"Before the winter was past, Brant was again hovering about with predatory bands to destroy what little property remained."
"Since the Oneidas had been driven from their country, the path of the enemy into the valley was almost unobstructed."
"It was with difficulty that supplies could be conveyed to Forts Plain and Dayton without being captured, and transportation to Fort Schuyler was of course far more hazardous."
"The militia had been greatly diminished and the people dispirited by repeated invasions, and the destruction of their property; and yet what information could be obtained indicated that another incursion might be looked for to sweep perhaps the whole extent of the valley, contemporaneously with a movement from the north toward Albany."
Gov. Clinton was greatly pained by the gloomy outlook and knowing that Col. Willett was exceedingly popular in the valley, earnestly solicited his services in this quarter.
Willett had just been appointed to the command of one of the two new regiments formed by the consolidation of the remnants of five New York regiments, and it was with reluctance that he left the main army for so difficult and harassing an undertaking as the defense of the Mohawk region.
The spirit of the people, at this time lower than at any other during the long struggle, began to revive when Col. Willett appeared among them.
It was in June that he repaired to Tryon County to take charge of the militia levies and state troops that he might be able to collect.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
Chapter 70: Colonel Willett, Valley Commander.
1781 — June, Colonel Willett, appointed commander of Mohawk Valley posts, makes Fort Plain his headquarters — Dreadful Tryon County conditions — July 9, Currytown raid — July 10, American victory at Sharon — Fort Stanwix abandoned.
Of the conditions in the Mohawk country at the opening of 1781, Beers' History of Montgomery County has the following:
"Gloomy indeed was the prospect at this time in the Mohawk valley."
"Desolation and destitution were on every side."
"Of an abundant harvest almost nothing remained."
"The Cherry Valley, Harpersfield, and all other settlements toward the headwaters of the Susquehanna, had been entirely deserted for localities of greater safety."
"Some idea of the lamentable condition of other communities in Tryon county may be obtained from a statement addressed to the legislature, December 20, 1780, by the supervisors of the county."
"In that document it was estimated that 700 buildings had been burned in the county; 613 persons had deserted to the enemy; 354 families had abandoned their dwellings; 197 lives had been lost; 121 persons had been carried into captivity, and hundreds of farms lay uncultivated by reason of the enemy."
"Nor were the terrible sufferings indicated by these statistics, mitigated by a brighter prospect."
"Before the winter was past, Brant was again hovering about with predatory bands to destroy what little property remained."
"Since the Oneidas had been driven from their country, the path of the enemy into the valley was almost unobstructed."
"It was with difficulty that supplies could be conveyed to Forts Plain and Dayton without being captured, and transportation to Fort Schuyler was of course far more hazardous."
"The militia had been greatly diminished and the people dispirited by repeated invasions, and the destruction of their property; and yet what information could be obtained indicated that another incursion might be looked for to sweep perhaps the whole extent of the valley, contemporaneously with a movement from the north toward Albany."
Gov. Clinton was greatly pained by the gloomy outlook and knowing that Col. Willett was exceedingly popular in the valley, earnestly solicited his services in this quarter.
Willett had just been appointed to the command of one of the two new regiments formed by the consolidation of the remnants of five New York regiments, and it was with reluctance that he left the main army for so difficult and harassing an undertaking as the defense of the Mohawk region.
The spirit of the people, at this time lower than at any other during the long struggle, began to revive when Col. Willett appeared among them.
It was in June that he repaired to Tryon County to take charge of the militia levies and state troops that he might be able to collect.
TO BE CONTINUED ...