HISTORY OF

SARATOGA COUNTY, NEW YORK.

by NATHANIEL BARTLETT SYLVESTER

1878

--------------------

CHAPTER XVI.

THE THIRD PERIOD OF THE BURGOYNE CAMPAIGN.

-------------------------

I. - THE RAPIDLY-INCREASING AMERICAN ARMY.

As early as the 13^th of August, the British army commenced active operations with the view of soon crossing the Hudson river. An advance was made down the east bank of the Hudson to the mouth of the Battenkill, and the army encamped nearly opposite what is now Schuylerville, - then called Saratoga.

After the heavy detachment under Lieut.-Col. Baum was sent off through the woods to Bennington, of which a full account is given in the last chapter, a bridge of rafts was flung across the Hudson, over which, on the 14^th of August, Gen. Fraser crossed with the advance corps of the army and encamped on the heights of Saratoga to await the return of Baum. But neither Baum nor his soldiers ever came hack; and after the defeat of Baum at Bennington, on the 16^th of August, Gen. Fraser led his troops back again to the east side of the Hudson, where the whole British army remained encamped till the final advance made in September. Meanwhile the Americans under Schuyler had left Stillwater and taken their stand on the islands at the mouth of the Mohawk, where, throwing up intrenchments, they awaited the approach of the enemy.

On the 19^th of August Gen. Schuyler, New York's favorite general, was superseded in the command of the Continental forces by Gen. Horatio Gates. Gen. Schuyler was removed in consequence of the clamor raised over the surrender of Ticonderoga, for which it has been seen Gen. Schuyler was in nowise to blame. But nothing short of his removal from the head of the army would satisfy the disaffected, and the victory he had organized was snatched from his grasp and thrown to the hands of another just as he was on the point of receiving it.

The fortunes of war were now turning decidedly in favor of the Americans. The defeat of Baum and the retreat of St. Leger had aroused the sinking hopes of the colonists, and, already flushed with victory, they flocked in crowds to the American camp. On the 23^d of August, Col. Morgan's regiment of riflemen arrived in the American camp from Virginia. On the 8^th of September, Gen. Gates left his encampment at the mouth of the Mohawk, and once more the Continental forces, now consisting of about six thousand men, marched up the Hudson to meet the invading foe. Gen. Gates stopped in the first place near the present village of Stillwater - where old Fort Ingoldsby had been built by Col. Schuyler in 1709, and Fort Winslow in the place of it by Gen. Winslow in 1756 - and began to throw up intrenchments. But not satisfied with the ground at Stillwater, Gen. Gates abandoned it in a day or two, and, marching two miles up the Hudson, took possession of the much stronger position of Bemus Heights.

At Bemus Heights the river-hills crowd down quite abruptly to the west bank of the Hudson, leaving there only a narrow defile between them and the river-bank, through which what was then the King's highway ran up and down the river from Albany to Saratoga. By the side of the highway at the foot of the hills and near the bank of the Hudson, at the period of the Revolution, was a somewhat famous tavern-stand owned and kept by one J. Bemus. This tavern had for some time been celebrated as one of the best stopping-places on the river-road. Bemus then owned the land in the rear of the tavern, and his farm extended up over the hills, and the hills were consequently known as Bemus Heights.

Gen. Gates took possession of the narrow defile at the tavern-stand of Bemus, and extending his line westerly for a mile from the river, over the heights, began to throw up intrenchments, and there awaited the approach of Burgoyne. He did not wait long.

------------------------------

II. - THE PASSAGE OF THE HUDSON.

On the 13^th and 14^th of September, Burgoyne crossed to the west side of the Hudson with his whole army and encamped on the heights of Saratoga. On the 15^th he marched his army slowly down five miles to Dovegat, now called Coveville. The British army, in full dress, with drums beating and colors flying, set off on this march on a lovely autumn day, "reminding one," says an eye-witness, "of a grand parade in the midst of peace." At Dovegat Burgoyne halted two days for the purpose of repairing the roads and bridges in his advance, and of sending out scouts to reconnoitre the enemy. But, strange to say, no enemy was discovered. Burgoyne at this time seemed to know nothing about the position or the numbers of the Continental forces, but went on marching blindly through the woods in search of an enemy supposed to be somewhere in the forest before him. On the morning of the 17^th, Burgoyne himself headed a scouting-party, and proceeded as far as "Sword's house," which was within four miles of the American lines, encamped his whole army there during the 18^th, and until the morning of the 19^th, the day of the first great battle.

In the mean time the Americans had been busy strengthening their position at Bemus Heights, Under the direction of Kosciusko their line of intrenchments ran from the river half a mile westwardly over the hills to what is now called the "Neilson house." The right wing occupied the hill-side near the river, protected in front by a marshy ravine, and in the rear by an abatis. The left wing, in command of Gen. Arnold, occupied the heights to the west. Gen. Gates' headquarters were near the centre, a little south of the "Neilson farm." Thus were the two armies situated about four miles apart on the morning of the battle.

------------------------------

III. - THE BATTLE OF THE 19^TH OF SEPTEMBER.

Between the two hostile armies thus sleeping on that pleasant autumn morning, one hundred years ago, stretched four miles of the primeval forest, in which there were four or five little clearings of a dozen acres in extent, in the centre of which was to be seen the deserted log cabin of the settler. Down the slope of the hills ran several small brooks into the river, each having worn a deep ravine through the woods in its passage. Such were the difficulties in the way of the passage of Burgoyne's army. On the opposite side of the river, a few miles to the eastward of the armies rose a mountain peak since known as Willard's mountain. From the top of this mountain the American scouts had full view of both armies. On the morning of the 19^th of September there was unusual commotion in the British camp. Gen. Burgoyne was preparing to make another "reconnaissance in force," and attack the Americans in their intrenchments. About ten o'clock the whole British army moved out of its camp at "Sword's house," in three divisions. The left wing, under Gens. Phillips and Riedesel, took the river-road down the flats. The centre, under Burgoyne in person, took the middle route across the ravines, going in a zig-zag course about a mile from the river, while the right wing, under Gen. Fraser, took a circuitous route a half-mile farther back from the river than Burgoyne's, towards the extreme American left. It was agreed that upon the junction of the two divisions under Burgoyne and Fraser, about a mile from the enemy, three minute-guns should be fired to notify the left wing on the river-read, and that then the three divisions should in concert make their combined attacks upon the American camp. About a mile north of the centre of the American camp was a little clearing which had been made by one Freeman, containing some fourteen acres of land, near the centre of which stood a log house on a slight elevation. This little clearing, then and since called "Freeman's farm," lay directly in the route of the centre division of the army advancing under Burgoyne, and in and around this clearing was fought the famous battle of the 19^th of September as well as that in part of the 7^th of October following.

On the morning of the 19^th the American scouts on Willard mountain had seen the forward movement of the British, and had lost no time in informing Gen. Gates of the intentions of the enemy. It was the intention of Gen. Gates to remain quietly in his intrenched, camp and await the attack of the British, but Arnold was impatient to meet the enemy in the woods half-way. He said if they were defeated in that encounter they would still have their works to fall back on, and thus stand a double chance of victory. The importunity of Arnold prevailed, and a part of the infantry and Morgan's rifle corps were sent off, headed by Arnold, to meet the advancing British. A detachment of Morgan's riflemen was stationed in the log house and behind the fences of "Freeman's farm." About one o'clock in the afternoon the advanced party of Gen. Burgoyne's division, consisting of the pickets of the centre column under command of Major Forbes, fell in with Morgan's men at the log house, and after considerable firing were driven back by them. Upon reaching the main body of the British division, Morgan's men were driven back in terror, and sought shelter in the surrounding forest, awaiting reinforcements. About this time Gen. Fraser, with his grenadiers and light infantry, reached an elevated position about three hundred yards westerly of "Freeman's farm," and was met there by Arnold at the head of a heavy body of troops, each trying to cut the other off from reinforcing the troops at "Freeman's farm." There, in the open woods, a most sanguinary engagement took place between the troops under Arnold and Fraser, which lasted for an hour with great fury. At some places on the field, it is stated, the blood was ankle-deep, such was the carnage. At length Fraser was reinforced, and Arnold retired from the field.

In the mean time the British troops of Burgoyne's division were formed in order of battle on the field of "Freeman's farm," and a large body of Americans advanced to the attack. At three o'clock the action became general, close, and bloody. The struggle of the combatants was for the possession of the clearing. The Twentieth, Twenty-first, and Sixty-second Regiments of British, under Brig.-Gen. Hamilton, were headed by Burgoyne in person, and drawn up in regular order of battle across the field. For six times in succession that bloody afternoon were detachments of the Continental troops hurled against the British columns, and as many times driven back by them into the protection of the surrounding forest. The Continentals would rally in the edge of the forest on their side and drive the British in disorder back into and across the clearing. The British would then rally in the clearing, and, reforming in line, in turn drive the Continentals back again into the woods. Thus the battle swayed back and forth across the bloody field, like the waves of a stormy sea, until darkness put an end to the contest. In the early part of the action, Gen. Phillips, hearing the firing, made his way with much difficulty through the woods, accompanied by Maj. Williams, with four pieces of artillery, and throwing himself at the head of the Twentieth Regiment, charged the Continentals in time to save Burgoyne from certain defeat. At this juncture, Gen. Arnold, seeing the British reinforcements, rode his gray horse back to Gen. Gates, and addressed him: "General, the British are reinforced; we must have more men." "You shall have them, sir," replied Gen. Gates, and at once ordered out Gen. Learned's brigade. Arnold, in full gallop, hurried back to the battle, and the men followed after in double-quick time. Again the battle raged until sunset, when the British, who were about being driven from the field, were further reinforced by the Germans, under Gen. Riedesel. The timely arrival of Riedesel and his men saved the army of Burgoyne from utter rout. The British cannon were already silenced, there being no more ammunition for them, and out of forty-eight artillerymen thirty-six, including the captain, were lying dead or wounded on the field. The three British regiments had lost half their men, and now formed a small band in one corner of the clearing, surrounded with heaps of dead and dying. The Americans were already rushing on once more, when they were met by Riedesel and his fresh German troops, and again turned back. The advantage thus gained by Gen. Riedesel was about being followed up by Gen. Fraser, when Burgoyne countermanded his movement. But the swift-falling darkness of our American autumn evenings soon covered the bloody field like a shadowy pall, and put an end to the conflict.

Never on a thousand battle-fields had British valor been put to a more severe test. Said the Earl of Balcarras, "The Americans behaved with great obstinacy and courage." The British forces of Burgoyne's central division were eleven hundred strong when they went into the battle. At its close more than five hundred of these were among the dead, the wounded, and the dying. The American loss was between three hundred and four hundred, including Cols. Adams and Coburn.

As the darkness set in the Americans withdrew within their lines. The British bivouacked on the field.

Both parties claimed the victory. But it ia easily seen that the advantage was decidedly with the Americans. It was the intention of the British not to hold their ground, but to advance. This intention to advance was completely frustrated by this battle. It was the desire of the Americans not to advance, but to hold their ground. They held it then, and have held it ever since. The victory was ours.

On the morning of the 20^th the Americans expected another attack. Had it been made, Burgoyne would have doubtless achieved an easy victory. The left wing of the Americans under Arnold had expended all their ammunition in the battle of the 19^th. The terrible secret was, it seems, known only to Gen. Gates. A supply from Albany was at once sent for, which arrived the next day, and the anxiety of Gen. Gates was relieved.

But the British army was too much shattered by the action of the 19^th to make another attempt so soon to turn the American intrenchments on Bemus Heights, and so Burgoyne determined simply to hold his position at "Freeman's farm," and await some future day before he made another advance. This was Burgoyne's fatal error. During his long delay of eighteen days, until the 7^th of October, when he made his last abortive struggle, the American army was reinforced by thousands, and was then altogether too formidable a body of troops to be resisted by any force under Burgoyne's command.

So Burgoyne remained on the field and threw up a line of intrenchments about three-fourths of a mile in length, extending from the river at what is now called Wilbur's Basin westerly to and surrounding the field of "Freeman's farm," and the small knolls near it, and the large one about three hundred yards to the northwest of it. These intrenchments of the British corresponded in shape and position to the American intrenchments; the two armies thus lying not quite a mile apart and within easy cannon-shot of each other. But a dense forest, broken by two deep impassable ravines, lay stretched between them, hiding each from the other's view. Thus the two armies lay at bay, continually harassing each other and both in continual alarm, for a period of eighteen days, until the morning of the 7^th of October. The situation of the army of Burgoyne each day grew more critical. On the 3^d of October it was placed on short rations. Around them on every hand stretched the interminable forests of the old wilderness, broken here and there by little settlements and small scattered clearings. They could go neither to the right hand nor the left. To retreat was quite impossible. To advance was to meet a formidable army, whose pulse they had already felt to their sorrow in the action of the 19^th of September. But to advance was the only alternative. The order of Burgoyne was still imperative, "This army must not retreat."

------------------------------

IV. - THE BATTLE OF THE 7^TH OF OCTOBER, 1777.

Gen. Burgoyne, with the centre division of his army, consisting mainly of the regiments engaged in the action of the 19^th of September, was encamped on the plain about half-way between "Freeman's farm" and Wilbur's Basin, on the river. The right wing, under Gen. Fraser, consisting of grenadiers under Major Ackland and light infantry in command of Earl Balcarras, was encamped on "Freeman's farm." Breymann's corps, also of Fraser's command, was located on the elevation about three hundred yards north of "Freeman's cottage." The left wing, under Phillips and Riedesel, was encamped on the river at Wilbur's Basin, to protect the hospital located there and to guard the bateaux of provisions on the river.

The Americans had not changed the order of their encampment since the last battle. A disagreement, however, had sprung up between Gates, Wilkinson, and Arnold, and Arnold was suspended from his command for the time being.

On the 7^th of October, 1777, the morning dawned cheery and bright in the old wilderness of the upper Hudson, but the autumn was swiftly advancing, and already the forests had put on their golden and crimson glories. At ten o'clock on this bright morning Burgoyne left his camp on his "reconnaissance in force." He took with him fifteen hundred men, eight cannon, and two howitzers. He was accompanied by Gens. Phillips, Reidesel, and Fraser. Burgoyne marched his troops in a southwesterly direction about half a mile from "Freeman's farm," and deployed in line on the slope of the rise of ground just north of the middle ravine. The highway now running northerly from the "Neilson house" crosses the centre of this possession. After the British troops formed in line of battle they sat down, and Burgoyne's foragers began to cut a field of grain in their rear. Burgoyne then sent forward towards the American camp on the heights Capt. Fraser's rangers, with a body of Canadian Indians. This scouting-party under Capt. Fraser reached the front of the American intrenchments near the Neilson house, and after a smart engagement of a quarter of an hour retired from the field. This was the only fighting done near the American lines at Bemus Heights in either action.

In Burgoyne's line of battle the grenadiers under Maj. Ackland occupied the left, nearest the "Freeman farm," the artillery under Maj. Williams the centre, and the extreme right was covered by Lord Balcarras' light infantry under Fraser. The Americans soon discovered the movement of the British, and again, as on the 19^th of September, marched out to meet them. At half-past two o'clock in the afternoon the New York and the New Hampshire troops, under Gen. Poor, marched across the middle ravine and up the slope towards the British grenadiers under Ackland. The British artillery and grenadiers opened fire upon them; the Americans rushed forward with great fury, and were soon at a hand-to-hand conflict with the British grenadiers. Thus the battle lasted for thirty minutes, when, Maj. Ackland being badly wounded, the grenadiers broke and fled, leaving their dead upon the ground as thick as sheaves upon the harvest field. In the mean time Morgan had fallen upon and driven in the British extreme right, and Fraser fell back in the rear, and soon came to the assistance of the retreating grenadiers. Under Fraser the attack of the Americans was repelled, and the British again advanced with a loud cheer. "It was at this moment," says De Fonblanque, "that Arnold appeared on the field. He had remained in the camp after being deprived of his command and stripped of all authority; and when the Americans prepared for battle he asked permission to serve as a volunteer in the ranks. Gates refused his request, and now his restless spirit chafed as he saw others advancing upon the enemy at the head of those troops which he had formed and led. Eagerly gazing to the front, he listened to the din of battle until, unable to curb his instincts longer, he sprang upon his charger and rushed into the field. In vain did Gates dispatch messengers go recall him. The adjutant-general, who attempted in person to cheek his progress, was warned aside by a decisive wave of his sword, and, calling upon the soldiers, by whom he was known and trusted, to follow him, he then himself fell upon the advancing line of British with the reckless fury of a man maddened with thirst for blood and carnage. Gen. Fraser's quick eye saw the danger. Conspicuous wherever the fight was thickest, his commanding figure had already become the mark of the American riflemen, and, as he rode forward to sustain the staggering column, Col. Morgan, their commander, called one of his best marksmen, and, pointing to the English general, said, 'That is a gallant officer, but he must die. Take post in that clump of bushes and do your duty.' The order was but too well obeyed. Fraser fell mortally wounded."

Meanwhile the American forces were pouring in ever increasing masses upon the British line, and the contest became a hand-to, hand struggle; bayonets were crossed again and again; guns were taken and retaken; but our men were falling fast under the withering fire of the riflemen, and there were no reserves to fill the big gaps in their ranks. A desperate struggle ensued in the attempt to recover one of our guns, - finally it was turned against us. Again Arnold, at the head of a fresh column of troops, charged upon the centre, carrying all before him. Thrown into inextricable disorder, Burgoyne's column regained their camp, leaving ten guns and hundreds of their dead and wounded on the field.

But the warlike rage of Arnold was not yet appeased, and before the English had completely regained their lines he was again upon them. Repelled in the centre by a desperate fire of grape-shot, he flung himself upon the German reserves on the right with irresistible fury, and crashing through their intrenchments, although himself severely wounded, gained an opening upon the rear of the British camp. Col. Breymann gallantly resisted the charge, but fell, shot through the heart; when the Germans, who had hitherto borne themselves well, broke and fled, or surrendered.

The abrupt darkness of an American autumn evening now fell upon the blood-stained field, and mercifully interposed its shadows between the combatants.

There was nothing now left for Burgoyne but to retreat. During the night of the 7^th he changed his position, and huddled his whole army down on the bank of the river, at and above Wilbur's Basin. The Americans also advanced, and posted a large force on the plain below the British camp to watch their motions. Burgoyne remained at Wilbur's Basin all day of the 8^th, and at sunset buried Gen. Fraser in the great redoubt on one of the river hills, and at nine o'clock on the evening of the 8^th took his line of march up the river to the heights of Saratoga, where, on the 17^th of October, he surrendered his whole army prisoners of war to the victorious Gates.

------------------------------

V. - EPISODES AND ROMANCE OF THE BATTLE-FIELD.

Now that a century has passed since these battles were fought, and all feelings of resentment are buried with the buried dead, the prominent persons who took part in them begin to appear to us not unlike the figures of some grand historical drama as they flit across the stage.

But the strong men who figured on either side were not the only interesting persons who took part in the campaign, and braved its hardships and dangers. Among the women of Burgoyne's campaign were two, alike conspicuous for their noble birth, their beauty, and modest worth. We refer to the Bareness Riedesel, wife of Gen. Riedesel, and the lady Harriet Ackland, wife of Maj. Ackland, commander of the British grenadiers.

The Bareness Riedesel upon her return published an account of life in America, and her account of the incidents of the battles near Bemus Heights is so interesting that we cannot refrain from copying a part of it for the reader.

"But severe trials awaited us, and on the 7^th of October our misfortunes began. I was at breakfast with my husband, and heard that something was intended. On the same day I expected Gens. Burgoyne, Phillips, and Fraser to dine with me. I saw a great movement among the troops, and inquired the cause. My husband told me it was merely a reconnaissance, which gave me no concern, as it often happened. I walked out of the house and met several Indians in their war-dresses, with guns in their hands. When I asked them where they were going, they cried out 'War! War!' (meaning they were going to battle). This filled me with apprehension, and I scarcely got. home before I heard reports of cannon and musketry, which grew louder by degrees till at last the noise became excessive. About four o'clock in the afternoon, instead of the guests whom I had expected, Gen. Fraser was brought on a litter mortally wounded. The table, which was already set, was instantly removed and a bed placed in its stead for the wounded general. I sat trembling in a corner; the noise grew louder and the alarm increased; the thought that my husband might perhaps be brought in wounded in the same way was terrible to me, and distressed me exceedingly. Gen. Fraser said to the surgeon, 'Tell me if my wound is mortal; do not flatter me.' The ball had passed through his body, and unhappily for the general, he had eaten a very hearty breakfast by which the stomach was distended, and the ball, as the surgeon said, had passed through it. I heard him often exclaim with a sigh, 'Oh, fatal ambition! Poor Gen. Burgoyne. Oh, my wife!' He was asked if he had any request to make; to which he replied that, if Gen. Burgoyne would permit it, he should like to be buried at six o'clock in the evening on the top of a hill on a redoubt which had been built there. I did not know which way to turn, all the other rooms were full of the sick. Toward evening I saw my husband coming; then I forgot all my sorrows, and thanked God that he was spared to me. He ate in great haste with me and his aid-de-camp behind the house. I had been told that they had the advantage of the enemy, but the sorrowful faces I beheld told a different tale, and before my husband went away he took me one side and said everything was going bad; that I must keep myself in readiness to leave the place, but not to mention it to any one. I made the pretense that I would move the next morning into my new house, and had everything packed up ready. Lady Harriet Ackland had a tent not far from my house; in this I slept, and the rest of the day I was in camp.

"All of a sudden a man came to tell her that her husband was mortally wounded and taken prisoner. On hearing this she became very miserable. I comforted her by telling her that the wound was only slight, and at the same time advised her to go over to her husband, to do which I certainly could obtain permission, and then she could attend to him herself. She was a charming woman, and very fond of him. I spent much of the night in comforting her, and then went again to her children, whom I had put to bed. I could not go to sleep as I had Gen. Fraser and all the other wounded gentlemen in my room, and I was sadly afraid my children would awake, and by their crying disturb the dying man in his last moments, who often addressed me, and apologized for the trouble he gave me. About three o'clock in the morning I was told he could not hold out much longer; I had desired to be informed of the near approach of this sad crisis, and I wrapped up my children in their clothes and went with them into the room below. About eight o'clock in the morning he died. After he was laid out, and his corpse wrapped up in a sheet, I came again into the room, and had this sorrowful sight before me the whole day, and, to add to this melancholy scene, almost every moment some officer of my acquaintance was brought in wounded. The cannonade commenced again; a retreat was spoken of, but not the smallest motion was made towards it. About four o'clock in the afternoon I saw the house which had just been built for me in flames, and the enemy was not far off. They knew that Gen. Burgoyne would not refuse the last request of Gen. Fraser, though by his acceding an unnecessary delay was occasioned, by which the inconvenience of the army was much increased. At about six o'clock the corpse was brought out, and I saw all the generals attend it to the hill; the chaplain, Mr. Brudenell, performed the funeral services, rendered unusually solemn and awful from its being accompanied by constant peals from the American artillery. Many cannon-balls flew close by me, where my husband was standing amid the fire of the Americans, and, of course, I could not think of my own danger. Gen. Gates afterwards said that if he had known it had been a funeral he would not have permitted it to be fired on."

Of equal interest was the experience of Lady Harriet Ackland, who was a niece of the first Lord Holland. In his statement Gen. Burgoyne, in his graceful style, says this of the Lady Harriet:

"From the date of that action [the 19^th September] to the 7^th of October, Lady Harriet, with her usual serenity, stood prepared for new trials; and it was her lot that their severity increased with their numbers. She was again exposed to the hearing of the whole action, and at last received the shock of her individual misfortune, mixed with the intelligence of the general calamity; the troops were defeated and Major Ackland, desperately wounded, was a prisoner.

"The day of the 8^th was passed by Lady Harriet and her companions in common anxiety; not a tent nor a shed being standing, except what belonged to the hospital, their refuge was among the wounded and the dying.

"When the army was upon the point of moving, I received a message from Lady Harriet, submitting to my decision a proposal (and expressing an earnest solicitude to execute it, if not interfering with my designs) of passing to the camp of the enemy, and requesting Gen. Gates' permission to attend her husband.

"The assistance I was enabled to give was small indeed; I had not even a cup of wine to offer her; but I was told she had found, from some kind and fortunate hand, a little rum and dirty water. All I could furnish to her was an open boat and a few lines, written upon dirty and wet paper, to Gen. Gates, recommending her to his protection.

"Mr. Brudenell, the chaplain to the artillery (the same gentleman who had officiated so signally at Gen. Fraser's funeral), readily undertook to accompany her, and with one female servant, and the major's valet-de-chambre (who had a ball, which he had received in the late action, then in his shoulder), she rowed down the river to meet the enemy. But her distresses were not yet to end. The night was advanced before the boat reached the enemy's outposts, and the sentinel would not let it pass, nor even come to shore. In vain Mr. Brudenell offered the flag of truce and represented the state of the extraordinary passenger. The guard, apprehensive of treachery, and punctilious to their orders, threatened to fire into the boat if it stirred before daylight. Her anxiety and suffering was thus protracted through seven or eight dark and cold hours, and her reflections upon that first reception could not give her very encouraging ideas of the treatment she was afterwards to expect. But it is due at the close of this adventure to say, that she was received and accommodated by Gen. Gates with all the humanity and respect that her rank, her merits, and her fortunes deserved.

"Let such as are affected by these circumstances of alarm, hardship, and danger recollect, that the subject of them was a woman, of the most tender and delicate frame, of the gentlest manners, habituated to all the soft elegancies and refined enjoyments that attend high birth and fortune, and far advanced in a state in which the tender cares always due to the sex become indispensably necessary. Her mind alone was formed for such trials."

Such are a few of the interesting episodes of the Saratoga battle-fields, in the language of the very persons who participated in the stirring scenes of the campaign.

------------------------------

VI. - THE RETREAT OF BURGOYNE TO SARATOGA.

The reader will remember that Gen. Fraser was mortally wounded in the battle of the 7^th of October, and carried from the field to the Smith house, near the British hospital on the bank of the river, where he lingered in great agony until eight o'clock on the morning of the 8^th, when he died. Before his death Gen. Fraser sent, with the "kindest expression of his affection for Gen. Burgoyne, a request that he might be carried without parade by the soldiers of his corps at sunset to the great redoubt and buried there." This last dying request of his favorite general Burgoyne would not refuse, so all through the desolate day of the 8^th the British army waited for the burial, amid continual alarms, exposed to the fire of the Americans, and in momentary expectation that another general engagement would be brought on.

At length the weary hours passed away, and in the darkening gloom of the autumnal evening, which was intensified by the lowering clouds of the coming tempest, the funeral cortege marched to the burial place. In his statement made afterwards, Burgoyne gives this eloquent delineation of the scene:

"The incessant cannonade during the solemnity; the steady attitude and unaltered voice with which the clergyman officiated, though frequently covered with dust which the shot threw up on all sides of him; the mute but expressive mixture of sensibility and indignation upon every countenance; these objects will remain to the last of life upon the mind of every man who was present. The growing duskiness added to the scenery, and the whole marked a characteristic of that juncture that would make one of the finest subjects for the pencil of a master that the field ever exhibited. To the canvas, and to the page of a more important historian, gallant friend, I consign thy memory. There may thy talents, thy manly virtues, their progress and their period, find due distinction; and long may they survive - long after the frail record of my pen shall be forgotten."

The Americans, seeing a collection of people, without knowing the occasion, at first cannonaded the procession, and their shot covered it with dust, but as soon as they saw it was a funeral train they ceased throwing shot at it, and began firing minute-guns in honor of the distinguished dead. The soldier who shot Gen. Fraser was Timothy Murphy, a native of Virginia, and a member of Morgan's rifle corps. After the surrender of Burgoyne, the company to which Murphy belonged was sent to Schoharie and Cherry Valley, where Murphy became distinguished in the border warfare of the period. A romantic incident in his life at Schoharie was his marriage to the girl of his choice, who ran away from her father's house, and braved the dangers of the Indian war-trail, on foot and alone, in her journey from one fort to another to meet her lover.

After the burial of Fraser, at nine o'clock in the evening, the retreat of the British army began, Maj.-Gen. Riedesel commanding the van-guard, and Maj.-Gen. Phillips the rear. The wounded and dying who fell in the previous battles were abandoned by the British and left in their hospitals, with a recommendation to the mercy and kind treatment of the Americans couched in touching language by Gen. Burgoyne. On the morning of the 9^th the British army arrived at Dovegat, now Coveville, where the rear-guard was attacked by the Americans, but a pouring rain prevented much damage from the encounter.

On the evening of the 9^th the British army reached the Fishkill, and, crossing the ford, took possession of the heights of Saratoga. They had been twenty-four hours in marching a distance of eight miles in a pitiless rain-storm, and, scarcely able to stand from cold and exposure, bivouacked in the darkness on the sodden ground, without food and without camp-fires, till the morning of the 10^th. The Fishkill was swollen by the abundant rains, and poured a turbid torrent down the declivity of the hills through its narrow channel. The artillery was not taken across the dangerous ford till daylight on the morning of the 10^th. When the van-guard of the British reached Saratoga, Gen. Fellows was encamped on the west side of the Hudson, with a small body of Americans, his main force being posted on the hills on the east side of the Hudson, upon the site of old Fort Clinton of the colonial period. Upon the approach of Burgoyne, Gen. Fellows retired with his detachment to this strong position on the hills on the east side of the river, to cut off the retreat of the British in that direction. A strong detachment of American troops had also been sent by Gen. Gates to take possession of the roads and bridges above Saratoga, in the direction of Fort Edward, and the British army was already most effectually hemmed in and surrounded on every side by the victorious Americans.

On account of the pouring rain and the almost impassable condition of the roads, Gen. Gates did not reach the south bank of the Fishkill, with the main body of his army, until four o'clock in the afternoon of the 10^th. Upon his arrival there he encamped his army along the heights bordering Fish creek on the south, and supposing that Gen. Burgoyne would continue his retreat, ordered an advance across the creek at daybreak in the morning. On the morning of the 11^th, in pursuance of this order, Col. Morgan crossed the Fishkill, and, to his surprise, found the enemy's pickets in position, indicating that the main body was close at hand. Gen. Nixon, with his brigade, also crossed the Fishkill, and surprised the British pickets at Fort Hardy. Gen. Learned, at the head of two more brigades, crossed the creek and advanced to the support of Col. Morgan.

During all this time a thick fog prevailed, through which nothing could be seen at the distance of twenty yards. Gen. Learned advanced, and had arrived within two hundred yards of Burgoyne's strongest post, when the fog suddenly cleared up and revealed to the astonished Americans the whole British army in their camp under arms. The Americans beat a hasty retreat in considerable disorder across the Fishkill, under a heavy fire from the British artillery and small arms, and soon regained their camp on the heights along the south bank of the stream.

The British army was now in a most critical position. The main body of the line under Gen. Burgoyne was encamped on the heights north of the Fishkill. The Hessians under Riedesel were located on the ridge extending northerly towards the Marshall House, and the artillery was on the elevated plain extending between the Hessians and the river flats. In this exposed position the British army was completely surrounded by the American forces. There was not a spot anywhere throughout the whole British encampment which was not exposed to the fire of the American batteries posted on the heights around.

------------------------------

VII. - THE "CONVENTION" OF SARATOGA.

On the 12^th of October, Gen. Burgoyne called a council of war, which assembled on the heights of Saratoga. There were present Lieut.-Gen. Burgoyne, Maj.-Gen. Phillips, Maj.-Gen. Riedesel, and Brig.-Gen. Hamilton. To this council Gen. Burgoyne stated the situation of affairs to be as follows:

"The enemy in force, according to the best intelligence he can obtain, to the amount of upwards of fourteen thousand men and a considerable quantity of artillery, are on this side the Fishkill, and threaten an attack. On the other side of the Hudson's river, between this army and Fort Edward, is another army of the enemy, the number unknown, but one corps, which there has been an opportunity of observing, is reported to be fifteen hundred men. They have likewise cannon on the other side the Hudson's river, and they have a bridge below Saratoga church, by which the two armies can communicate. The bateaux of the army have been destroyed and no means appear of making a bridge over the Hudson's river, were it even practicable, from the position of the enemy. The only means of retreat, therefore, are by the ford at Fort Edward, or taking the mountains in order to pass the river higher up by rafts or by any other ford, which is reported to be practicable with difficulty, or by keeping the mountains to pass the head of Hudson's river, and continue to the westward of Lake George all the way to Ticonderoga. It is true this last passage was never made but by the Indians or very small bodies of men. In order to pass cannon or any wheel carriages from hence to Fort Edward, some bridges must be repaired under fire of the enemy from the opposite side of the river, and the principal bridge will be a work of fourteen or fifteen hours; there is no good position for the army to take to sustain that work, and if there were, the time stated as necessary would give the enemy on the other side of the Hudson's river an opportunity to take post on the strong ground above Fort Edward, or to dispute the ford while Gen. Gates' army followed in the rear.

"The intelligence from the lower part of Hudson's river is founded upon the concurrent reports of prisoners and deserters, who say it was the news in the enemy's camp that Fort Montgomery was taken; and one man, a friend to the government, who arrived yesterday, mentions some particulars of the manner in which it was taken.

"The provisions of the army may hold out to the 20^th; there is neither rum nor spruce beer.

"Having committed this state of facts to the consideration of the council, the general requests their sentiments on the following propositions:

"First - To wait in the present position an attack from the enemy, or the chance of favorable events.

"Second - To attack the enemy.

"Third - To retreat, repairing the bridges as the army moves for the artillery, in order to force the passage of the fort.

"Fourth - To retreat by night, leaving the artillery and the baggage; and should it be found impracticable to force the passage with musketry, to attempt the upper ford, or the passage round Lake George.

"Fifth - In case the enemy, by extending to their left, leave their rear open, to march rapidly for Albany.

"Upon the first proposition, resolved that the provision now in store is not more than sufficient for the retreat should impediments intervene, or a circuit of the country become necessary; and, as the enemy did not attack when the ground was unfortified, it is not probable they will do it now, as they have a better game to play.

"The second unadvisable and desperate, there being no possibility of reconnoitering the enemy's position, and his great superiority of numbers known.

"The third impracticable.

"The fifth thought worthy of consideration by the lieutenant-general, Maj.-Gen. Phillips, and Brig.-Gen. Hamilton, but the position of the enemy yet gives no opening for it.

"Resolved, That the fourth proposition is the only resource; and that, to effect it, the utmost secrecy and silence is to be observed; and the troops are to be put in motion from the right, in the still part of the night, without any change in the situation."

It was soon ascertained by Gen. Burgoyne, who sent out a scouting-party for the purpose, that owing to the strength of the American detachment along the Hudson above Saratoga the last proposition was also utterly impracticable, and it was therefore likewise abandoned.

On the 13^th Gen. Burgoyne called another council of war. It was composed of general officers, field officers, and captains commanding corps. As this body of officers was deliberating on the heights at the headquarters of the commander, cannon-balls from the American guns crossed the table around which they sat. The following is copied from the minutes:

"The lieutenant-general having explained the situation of affairs as in the preceding council, with the additional intelligence that the enemy was intrenched at the fords of Fort Edward, and likewise occupied the strong position on the pine plains between Fort George and Fort Edward, expressed his readiness to undertake, at their head, any enterprise of difficulty or hazard that should appear to them within the compass of their strength or spirit, He added that he had reason to believe a capitulation had been in the contemplation of some, perhaps of all who knew the real situation of things; that upon a circumstance of such consequence to national and personal honor, he thought it a duty to his country and to himself to extend his council beyond the usual limits, that the assembly present might justly be esteemed a full representation of the army, and that he should think himself unjustifiable in taking any step in so serious a matter without such a concurrence of sentiment as should make a treaty the act of the army as well as that of the general.

"The first question, therefore, he desired them to decide was, whether an army of 3500 fighting men and well provided with artillery were justifiable upon the principles of national dignity and military honor in capitulating in any possible situation?

"Resolved, Nem. con., in the affirmative.

"Question second. - Is the present situation of that nature?

"Resolved, Nem. con., that the present situation justifies a capitulation upon honorable terms."

Gen. Burgoyne then drew up a message to Gen. Gates, and laid it before the council. It was unanimously approved, and upon that foundation the treaty opened.

On the morning of the 14^th of October, Maj. Kingston delivered the message to Gen. Gates, at the American camp, which was in the words following:

"To Major-Gen. Gates: After having fought you twice, Lieut.-Gen. Burgoyne has waited some days, in his present position, determined to try a third conflict against any force you could bring to attack him.

"He is apprised of the superiority of your numbers and the disposition of your troops to impede his supplies and render his retreat a scene of carnage on both sides. In this situation he is impelled by humanity, and thinks himself justifiable by established principles and precedents of state and of war, to spare the lives of brave men upon honorable terms. Should Major-Gen. Gates be inclined to treat upon that idea, Gen. Burgoyne would propose a cessation of arms during the time necessary to communicate the preliminary terms by which, in any extremity, he and his army mean to abide."

In the afternoon of the 14^th, Major Kingston returned to the British camp with the following propositions from Gen. Gates, which are given below, with the answer to each made by Gen. Burgoyne, and approved by his council of war.

At sunset the same evening Maj. Kingston met the adjutant-general of the American army, Gen. Wilkinson, in the American camp, and delivered the foregoing answers to Gen. Gates' proposals, and also the following additional message from Gen. Burgoyne:

"If Gen. Gates does not mean to recede from the sixth article the treaty ends at once. The army will to a man proceed to any act of desperation rather than submit to that article. The cessation of arms ends this evening."

Gen. Gates was at first disposed to insist upon the objectionable article, but after some further negotiation he substituted the following article:

"The troops under Gen. Burgoyne to march out of their camp with the honors of war, and the artillery of the intrenchments to the verge of the river, where their arms and their artillery must be left. The arms to be piled by word of command from their own officers."

"A free passage to be granted to the army under Gen. Burgoyne to Great Britain, upon condition of not serving again in North America during the present contest; and the port of Boston to be assigned for entry of transports to receive the troops whenever Gen. Howe shall order."

On the 15^th the above amended proposals of Gen. Gates were presented to the British council of war, and being satisfactory, Gen. Burgoyne was authorized to sign a definitive treaty.

During the night of the 15^th a messenger from Gen. Clinton arrived in the British camp with the news that he had moved up the Hudson as far as Esopus, taking Fort Montgomery from the Americans on the way. This information seemed to revive Burgoyne's hopes of safety. He called together the officers of his council and requested them to declare whether they were of opinion that in case of extremity the soldiers were in a situation to fight, and whether they considered the public faith as already pledged to a surrender, no convention being then signed. A great number of the officers answered that the soldiers, weakened by hunger and fatigue, were unable to fight, and all were decidedly of the opinion that the public faith was engaged. But Burgoyne was of a contrary opinion, and hesitated to sign the treaty. Gen. Gates, on the morning of the 16^th, hearing of Burgoyne's delay, and being aware of the cause, formed his army in the order of battle and sent word to the British general that the time having arrived he must either sign the articles or prepare himself for battle. Burgoyne hesitated no longer, but signed the paper, which has ever since been known in history as the "convention" of Saratoga.

------------------------------

"ARTICLES OF CONVENTION BETWEEN LIEUT.-GEN. BURGOYNE AND MAJOR-GEN. GATES.

"I. The troops under Lieut.-Gen. Burgoyne to march out of their camp with the honors of wars and the artillery of intrenchments to the verge of the river where the old fort stood, where the arms and artillery are to be left; the arms to be piled by word of command from their own officers.

"II. A free passage to be granted to the army under Lieut.-Gen. Burgoyne to Great Britain, on condition of not serving again in North America during the present contest; and the port of Boston is assigned for the entry of transports to receive the troops whenever Gen. Howe shall so order.

"III. Should any cartel take place by which the army under Gen. Burgoyne, or any part of it, may be exchanged, the foregoing articles to be void as far as such exchange should be made.

"IV. The army under Lieut.-Gen. Burgoyne to march to Massachusetts Bay by the easiest, most expeditious, and convenient route, and be quartered in, near, or as convenient as possible to Boston, that the departure of the troops may not be delayed when the transports shall arrive to receive them.

"V. The troops to be supplied on their march, and during their being in quarters, with provisions by Gen. Gates' orders, at the same rate of rations as the troops of his own army: and, if possible, the officers' horses and cattle are to be supplied with forage at the usual rates.

"VI. All officers to retain their carriages, battle-horses, and other cattle, and no baggage to be molested or searched, Lieut.-Gen. Burgoyne giving his honor that there are no public stores secreted therein. Maj.-Gen. Gates will of course take the necessary measures for the due performance of this article. Should any carriages be wanted during the transportation of officers' baggages, they are, if possible, to be supplied.

"VII. Upon the march, and during the time the army shall remain in quarters in Massachusetts Bay, the officers are not, as far as circumstances will admit, to be separated from their men. The officers are to be quartered according to rank, and are not to be hindered from assembling their men for roll call and the necessary purposes of regularity.

"VIII. All corps whatever of Gen. Burgoyne's army, whether composed of sailors, bateaux men, artificers, drivers, independent companies, and followers of the army, of whatever country, shall be included in every respect as British subjects.

"IX. All Canadians and persons belonging to the Canadian establishment, consisting of sailors, bateaux men, artificers, drivers, independent companies, and many other followers of the army who come under the head of no particular description, are to be permitted to return there; they are to be conducted immediately by the shortest route to the first British post on Lake George, are to be supplied with provisions in the same manner as other troops, are to be bound by the same conditions of not serving during the present contest in North America.

"X. Passports to be immediately granted for three officers, not exceeding the rank of captain, who shall be appointed by Lieut.-Gen. Burgoyne, to carry dispatches to Sir William Howe, Sir Guy Carleton, and to Great Britain, by way of New York, and Maj.-Gen. Gates engages the public faith that these dispatches shall not be opened. These officers are to set out immediately after receiving their dispatches, and to travel the shortest route, and in the most expeditious manner.

"XI. During the stay of the troops in Massachusetts Bay, the officers are to be admitted on parole, and are to be allowed to wear their side-arms.

"XII. Should the army under Lieut.-Gen. Burgoyne find it necessary to send for their clothing and other baggage to Canada, they are to be permitted to do so in the most convenient manner, and the necessary passports granted for that purpose.

"XIII. These articles are to be mutually signed and exchanged to-morrow morning at nine o'clock, and the troops under Lieut.-Gen. Burgoyne are to march out of their intrenchments at three o'clock in the afternoon.

------------------------------

VIII. - SURRENDER OF BURGOYNE AND HIS ARMY ON THE 17^TH OF OCTOBER, 1777.

The morning of the 17^th of October, 1777, dawned in the old wilderness of the upper Hudson amid full but fading forest splendors. To the British soldiers at Saratoga, lying on their beds of already fallen leaves, the emblems of their withered hopes, it was the saddest morning of the year. To the Americans it was full of the brightness of their country's opening glory, typified by the crimson and purple tints which were still blazing over all the forest tops.

At nine o'clock Gen. Wilkinson rode over to the British camp and accompanied Gen. Burgoyne to the green in front of old Fort Hardy, where his army was to lay down their arms. From thence they rode to the margin of the river, which Burgoyne surveyed with attention, and asked whether it was fordable. "Certainly, sir," said Wilkinson, "but do you observe the people on the opposite shore?" "Yes," replied Burgoyne, "I have seen them too long." "Burgoyne then proposed," continues Gen. Wilkinson, "to be introduced to Gen. Gates, and we crossed the Fishkill and proceeded to headquarters, Gen. Burgoyne in front with his adjutant-general, Kingston, and his aides-de-camp, Capt. Lord Petersham and Lieut. Wilford, behind him. Then followed Maj.-Gen. Phillips, the Baron Riedesel, and the other general officers and their suites according to rank. Gen. Gates, advised of Burgoyne's approach, met him at the head of his camp, - Burgoyne in a rich royal uniform, and Gates in a plain blue frock. When they had approached nearly within sword's length they reined up and halted. I then," continues Wilkinson, "named the gentlemen, and Gen. Burgoyne, raising his hat most gracefully, said, 'The fortune of war, Gen. Gates, has made me your prisoner;' to which the conqueror, returning a courtly salute, promptly replied, 'I shall always be ready to bear testimony that it has not been through any fault of your excellency.' Maj.-Gen. Phillips then advanced, and he and Gen. Gates saluted and shook hands with the familiarity of old acquaintances. The Baron Riedesel and the other officers were introduced in their turn."

The general officers then proceeded to the marquee of Gen. Gates, where dinner was served. The dinner consisted of only three or four simple dishes of the plain fare common in these days, and was laid upon a table of rough boards stretched across some empty barrels. The marquee of Gen. Gates was situated near the road leading to Albany, about three-fourths of a mile south of the Fishkill. While the officers were at dinner the whole American army were marched out of their camp: with drums beating, and stationed along this road for miles, to view the passage of the now disarmed British troops on their way to Boston.

Before this conquering army on the field of old Saratoga our country's flag, the stars and stripes, was first flung to the breeze. The glorious old flag has never waved over a prouder scene than that.

While the American army was forming its victorious lines along the Albany road, another and a different scene was about to be enacted on the green at the verge of the river-side near the ruins of old Fort Hardy.

After dinner was over in the marquee of Gen. Gates, the two commanding generals walked out of it together. "The American commander faced front," says Gen. Wilkinson, "and Burgoyne did the same, standing on his left;. Not a word was spoken, and for some minutes they stood silently gazing on the scene before them, - the one no doubt in all the pride of honest success, the other the victim of regret and sensibility. Burgoyne was a large and stoutly-formed man; his countenance was rough and harsh, but he had a handsome figure and a noble air. Gates was a smaller man, with much less of manner and none of the air which distinguished Burgoyne. Presently, as by a previous understanding, Gen. Burgoyne stepped back, drew his sword, and, in the face of the two armies, as it were, presented it to Gen. Gates, who received it and instantly returned it in the most courteous manner."

By this time three o'clock in the afternoon had come, and what was left; of the British army was marched to the green on the verge of the river, where, out of view of the American lines, at the command of their own officers, they piled their arms. "Many a voice," says De Fonblanque, "that had rung in tones of authority and encouragement above the din of battle now faltered; many an eye that had unflinchingly met the hostile ranks now filled with tears.

Young soldiers who had borne privation and suffering without a murmur stood abashed and overcome with sorrow and shame; bearded veterans for whom danger and death had no terrors sobbed like children as for the last time they grasped the weapons they had borne with honor on many a battle-field."

But this was but a remnant of the once proud army which so full of hope in the early summer had crossed the Canadian frontier. In killed and wounded they had lost eleven hundred and sixty, of whom seventy-three were officers. The numbers who now laid down their arms did not exceed three thousand five hundred officers and men, of whom sixteen hundred were Germans.

In this procession of conquered men the poor Hessians cut a sorry figure. They were extremely dirty in their persons, their ponderous caps being heavier than the whole accoutrement of a British soldier. They had with them a large number of women, who to the Americans appeared oddly dressed and gypsy featured. They had with them a large collection of wild animals which they had caught on their way through the wilderness. Young foxes peered slyly out from the top of a baggage-wagon, and young raccoons from the arms of riflemen. A grenadier was here seen leading a lightly-tripping deer, and a stout artilleryman playing with a black bear.

After the army of Burgoyne had piled their arms, they were again formed into line, the light infantry in front, and escorted by a company of American light dragoons, headed by two mounted officers bearing the stars and stripes, they marched across the Fishkill, and through the long lines of American soldiers posted along the road to Albany, the band playing" Yankee Doodle."

The long agony was over; the British soldiers were on their way to Boston prisoners of war, bivouacking the first night of their captivity on their old camping-ground at Wilbur's Basin, near the grave of Gen. Fraser.

------------------------------

THE RESULT OF THE BATTLES.

Of the result of the battles of Freeman's Farm, at Bemus Heights, and the surrender of Burgoyne and his army at Old Saratoga, enough has already been written, and they are sufficiently familiar to the American reader. The last was the closing scene of the last act of one of the world's great dramas which change forever the destinies of nations.

The defeat of Burgoyne and the surrender of his army assured the independence of the American colonies and changed the destinies of the world. Henry Hallam, author of the celebrated work entitled, "View of the State of Europe during the Middle Ages," defines decisive battles as "those battles of which a contrary event would have essentially varied the drama of the world in all its subsequent scenes." Following this idea, E. S. Creasy, professor of history in the University College of London, has selected fifteen battles, beginning with Marathon and ending with Waterloo, as the only ones coming within the definition of Mr. Hallam. Among the fifteen he names Saratoga.

The scenes of this great encounter remained until the hundredth anniversary of the surrender without a slab or stone to mark the spot. On that day, the 17^th of October, 1877, the corner-stone of a monument was laid amid a vast concourse of people, of which some account is given elsewhere in this volume.

----------------------------------------

Transcribed from the original text and html prepared by Bill Carr, last updated 2/7/00.