V – TWO RAIDS INTO CANADA
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IT was no mean performance, the capture of Ticonderoga. An expedition begun in Hartford and in Cambridge went on for two weeks, moved hundreds of miles, developed, gathered a military force, collected materials of war, and finally reached its point of attack, without permitting the enemy to get wind of the secret. In view of the possibilities of defence, it required no little courage to assault such a post, garrisoned with regulars and guarded by sentries ; and skill in addition to good fortune was necessary, if eighty-five farmers were to disarm and shackle fifty British soldiers without losing a life. Lieutenant-Governor Golden of New York wrote the Earl of Dartmouth in amazement of ‘the actual takeing’ of His Majesty’s fort; while Dartmouth in turn pronounced it an ‘extraordinary ‘ as well as ‘very unfortunate ‘ event. Yet this exploit was only the beginning. (1 – Colden, June 7, 1775: Pub. Rec. Off., Am. and W. Ind., Vol. 185, p. 360. Dartmouth to Gage, July 1, 1775 ib., Vol. 130, p. 343.)
About fifteen. miles below Ticonderoga, Lake Champlain makes a sharp twist, and the opposing capes pinch it down to the width of about a quarter of a mile. Here, on the Vermont side, the French had planted their first settlement in this district (1731); and, when their cabins went to ruin after the English took possession, the brick- work that remained standing gave the spot a name, — Chimney Point.(2 – Thompson, Lake Geo., etc., p. 16.) Far more important, however, was the peninsula on the other shore, commanding the lake below; for, if properly armed, it could solidly bar this passage between south and north.
Long before the Seven Years War, the French built here at the water’s edge a small stone fort garnished with a tower and redoubts, christening it Fort St. Frederic in honor of Frddi^ric Maurepas, their Secretary of State. When Ticonderoga was abandoned to the English, this lower post met the same fate, and Amherst then resolved to make the most of its advantages. Discarding the works already there, he planted a five-pointed star of cut stone a little behind them. Much of the moat had to be carved from the living rock; but the British government achieved the task with picks of solid gold, — in other words, millions of sterling money. The ramparts made a promenade twenty-five feet wide and half a mile long. Redoubts protected the main fort on the land side, and the subsoil of dense limestone rendered it impossible to dig approaches. Crown Point seemed the fitting name for such a stronghold.’ (3 – Thompson, Lake Geo,, etc., pp. 18-20).
Yet all this magnificent work was soon undone. Some accident started a blaze, and the fire spread to the magazine. Ninety-six barrels of powder, if the figures did not lie, exploded. The tops of the splendid stone barracks — most of them, at all events — were thrown down by the shock. The woodwork, all of pine, ‘caulked with oakum and paid with Spanish Brown and Tar,’ burned like pitch; and soon only a mighty skeleton remained. Sergeant Barlow thought it still ‘a very strong curious Fort,’ in the summer of 1775; while it struck Barnabas Deane ‘with horror to see such grand fortifications in ruins. Impressive, Crown Point could certainly be called, but not formidable; and, on the day Ticonderoga changed masters, only some ten men of the 26th Regiment, acting as caretakers rather than garrison, stood guard over the ordnance and stores. (4 – Haldimand to Barrington, Feb. 2, 1774: Can. Arch., B, 36, p. 66. Carroll Journal, p. 79. Montresor. Report, May 7, 1774: Can. Arch., B, 35, p. 123. Barlow, Journal, Sept. 5. Kalm, Travels, III., pp. 21, 22, 35. Brown’s account- 4 Force, II., 623. Arnold to Mass. Cong., May 14, 1775: ib., 584. Carleton to Dartmouth, June 7, 1775: Pub. Rec. Off., Colon. Corres., Quebec, 11, p 383 B Deane’s letter, June 1, 1775: Conn. Hist. Soc. Coll., II., p. 246.
Seth Warner, for all his coolness, loved fun and adventure. Both tastes might be gratified in an attack upon such a post; and no sooner had Ticonderoga been secured, than he asked leave to make it. The fact that he had consented to wait on the Vermont shore and so missed the glory of that affair gave him a claim; and without delay he and Peleg Sunderland set off in the boats with fifty men. Head winds drove him back, however; and the project was given up, — perhaps because it seemed likely that an alarm would soon travel north in spite of the winds, and Crown Point would be ready. But the next day a second attempt had better fortune, and Warner took possession of fort and garrison without a struggle ‘in the name of the country.’ Fifty or sixty good cannon, four mortars, and ‘great quantityes’ of stores well rewarded this comfortable venture. (5 – Hall, Vt., p. 473. Goodhue, Shoreham, p. 15. Letter of Warner and Sunderland: Dartmouth Mag., May, 1872. Allen to Albany Cora., May 12, 1775- Mag. Am. Hist., XIV., p. 319. Given up, etc : Arnold to Mass., May 11, 14, 1775 (4 Force, II., 557, 584); Id. to [.Mass. Com. Safety], May 19, 1775 (Coll. of Mr. F. A. Arnold).
Prizes lay in the opposite direction as well. Separated from the southern part of Lake Champlain by rugged and picturesque mountains and shielded on the other side by outposts of the Adirondacks, beautiful Lake George, the Horicon of the Indians and the Lac St. Sacrement of the French, lay stretched at full length, reposing in a bed of fresh verdure. The easiest escape from the basin ran toward the north; and the Outlet of the lake, after circling through the forest and tumbling over two series of ledges in the tumultuous and ‘noisy’ falls that gave Ticonderoga its name, flowed nearly two miles more in peace, and entered Lake Champlain just above the fort.
By the road that traversed the same pass, Amos Callender, with a small party, went south. At the bridge over the Outlet, not far below the lower falls, he found three heavy cannon and as many large mortars. Passing on, he launched his canoes in the lake and paddled to a small affair of stone called Fort George at the farther end. Dominating a little eminence and fluttering a royal banner in the gusty spring breeze, the one bastion did its utmost to look formidable; but its walls were proof only against bullets; heavy guns lay near at hand, and the commander. Captain Nordberg of the 60th, stood almost alone. Neither he nor the fort could venture to be obstinate; and Callender soon returned in triumph with his prisoners, noting fifty more battering cannon at the two ends of the lake. All the captives were now bundled off to Connecticut, reports despatched to Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, and Philadelphia, and the spoils of victory carefully reckoned up. (6 – Goodhue, Sboreham, p. 15. Minutes of ordnance: 4 Force, IV., 534. Carroll Journ., pp. 62, 71-73. Robbins, Journ., Apr. 7, Arnold to [Mass. Coin. Safety] May 19: Note 5. Easton’s account: 4 Force, n., 624. Nordberg : Halifax letter 4 Force, VI., 513; Nordberg to N. Y. Cong.. Dec, 1775 (Amer. Bibliopolist, Apr. 1871). Reports: Chap. VI., Notes 32-34; Arnold, May 19 (supra); Id to Mass. Com. Safety, May 14, 1775: 4 Force, II., 584. )
Yet something was lacking,— something vitally important. Captain Herrick had undertaken to surprise and capture Skenesborough, the Whitehall of to-day, seize the boats lying there, and rejoin the main body; but he did not appear. The eventful tenth passed without him; and the eleventh and twelfth went by. Apparently something had gone wrong; and for a special reason this probability of a mishap caused great anxiety. The British government had an armed sloop on I^ake Champlain, which gave it the power of sending fleets of bateaux and landing forces where it would, outside the range of the forts.
Although Arnold’s avowed aim in proposing his expedition was merely to get cannon, he had seen with characteristic promptness the importance of capturing the sloop; and, besides mentioning this to the Committee of Safety, he seems to have enlisted and forwarded a crew for her. (7 – Arnold to Mass. Com. Safety, May 14, OF 1776 1774: 4 Force, II., 584. Id. to Mass. Com. Safety, Apr. 30, 1775: ib., 450. Id. to Id., May 23, 1775: ib., 693. Capt. Sloan’s pay-roll: 4 Force, III,, 355. The pay began May 3. The fact that the roll is dated at New Haven (July 24, 1775) suggests that Sloan belonged to Arnold’s New Haven Co. Stephen to Fleming, May 31, 1775: Emmet Coll.
It had probably been expected that the vessel would be found at Ticonderoga or Crown Point; but unfortunately she ;had gone to St. Johns for provisions and other freight. It was then hoped that she would return and fall with her lading into the patriots’ hands. Scouts patrolled both land and water to prevent information from going north; but a bark canoe was seen paddling with all speed in that direction, and other boats might have passed. The alarm would be given, and she would remain in safer company. It would then be necessary to go after her, and the schooner lying at Skenesborough, though not a large one, would be very convenient, — in fact, indispensable. Why did she not round the point, with Herrick and his brave lads cheering on her deck? (8 – Arnold, May 19, 1775 ; Note 5. Id., May 14, 1775 : 4 Force, II., 584. Warner and Sunderland’s letter : riartmouth Mag., May, 1872.)
Major Philip Skene, who fought like a hero in ‘Nabbecromby’s’ ridiculous attack on Ticonderoga, had a business eye. The fertile district around the southern end of Lake Champlain, then a solid wilderness, pleased him greatly; and after the war ended, although no grant had been assured him as yet, he made the venture of settling thirty families there. In the Havana campaign he distinguished himself no less than before; and finally, to reward these services, he received in the spring of 1765 a grant of 25,000 broad acres on Wood Creek, at the head of the lake. Importing negroes from Cuba, he proceeded to develop his property; and the saw-mill, grist-mill, and iron-works of Skenesborough became no less valuable than its deep forests and oozing meadows.” (9 – Stone, Wash. County, passim. Carroll, Journal, p. 102. Skene’s title in a grant at Westport (3000) acres) was Captain, but in the N. Y. records he appears as Major. Haddeu, Journ., pp. 505-509.)
In May, 1775, the proprietor of this great estate was absent. More precisely, he might have been seen pacing the deck of an English vessel heading toward Philadelphia, with an appointment in his pocket as Governor of Ticonderoga and Crown Point, and also — if whispers about lyondon could be trusted — with a less visible commission to buy up every member of the Continental Congress. (10 – W. Lee to S. Adams, Apr. 10, 1775 : S. Adams Papers. Letter from London, May 5, 1775 : 4 Force, II., 508. New London letter in Boston Gazette, June 19, 1775. Journ. Cong., June 8, 1775.) But his son, Andrew Philip Skene, ruled the estate in his place, and on that ninth of May ruled it most probably in a very cheerful mood.
The big manor-house of iron-grey stone, slowly weathering toward a light grey-buff, pictured both strength and comfort, shielded, as it was, from the north winds by a lofty hill of limestone — piled in vast sloping beds fit for the roof of the world — and looking down upon broad, sunny meadows, through which the Dipwater, as the Indians called Wood Creek, stealing from the low hills in the distance to the quiet of the lake near by, drew a waving line of brightness. A little higher on the hill stood a huge stone barn, — a fort in case of need. Busy servants were piling up riches for their masters. Creeping ploughs marked long furrows across the fields; the veins of red hematite began to bleed again for the benefit of the iron-foundry; while, hardly forty rods from the mansion, the mill-wheel turned sturdily at the falls. Besides, young Skene was a lieutenant in His Majesty’s 43d Regiment, and, by the special grace of General Gage, Major of Brigade for the Northern District. He felt so highly pleased about his father’s new dignity and power in the region that, only the Saturday before, he had put wings to Major Beach’s feet by telling hira about the new Governor’s plan to bring up a thousand men and re- build the forts; and, finally, as the day drew to a close, there gathered with him round the big hearth, two fair and lively sisters, an estimable aunt, and a congenial friend. (11 - Stone, Wash. Co., passim. Hadden, Journal, p. sog. Skene Memorial: Conn. Arch., Rev. War, I., doc. 402. Can. Arch., B, 213, p. 2. E. Phelps to Conn. Assemb., May 16, 1775 ; Conn. Hist. Soc. Coll., I., p. 174. Chittenden Ti., p. 107.
A small shadow crept along by the edge of the meadow. No one at the fireplace observed it; but presently they all heard furtive, hasty steps, and little clashes of steel; and, looking out, they found the mansion surrounded by rough-looking men, total strangers. There was no chance to rally the tenants or even to gain the barn. Captain Herrick presented himself with all the grace and graciousness. of the Catamount Tavern; only one reply to his pressing invitation could be made; and thus, in what the Brigade-Major pronounced ‘a sudden and unexpected Manner,’ the Bennington Mob did ‘seize upon and take’ his entire household. (12 – Skene, Memorial: Note 11.)
The advantage to be gained from this capture proved social rather than military, however; and, when Herrick reached for the more substantial prizes, he found them quite beyond his reach. Doubtless the proceedings at the mansion gave an alarm. The tenants and laborers had time to arm and assemble. Several small brass cannon were put in position. The invaders, very much at home with the rifle but destitute of ordnance, found themselves well matched, especially as some of their opponents were veteran soldiers; and, in short, the two parties held each other at bay. Luckily, Arnold had ordered that some of his men should march for Ticonderoga by the way of Skenesborough on the same mission as Herrick’s; and Captains Oswald and Brown, arriving there with fifty volunteers, weighed down the balance and took the Skene retainers into custody. The shipping also fell into their hands; and on May the fourteenth, after a tedious voyage, the coveted schooner appeared at Ticonderoga, already rechristened Liberty. (13 – Stone. Wash. Co, Easton’s account; 4 Force, II., 624. Arnold’s report: 4 Force, II., 584. N. Eng. Chronicle, June 1, 1775. Cannon : 4 Force, II., 450, 624 CBaston). Voyage: ib., 686. This Capt, Brown must not be confounded with John Brown. Remark VII.)
Meanwhile the lion and the unicorn were hard at it again. Arnold, while capable of tenderness and graciousness and of holding his temper in hand under great provocation, always found it much easier to display the opposite qualities. As a boy he had tyrannized over his playmates, and as a man he saw no reason to prefer the will of any peer to his own will. Conscious of superior abilities, he felt still more pride perhaps in his military training, his knowledge of the world, his business experience, his social polish, his commission, and his uniform. Allen he described, with an approach to accuracy, as ‘a proper man to head his own wild people, but entirely unacquainted with, military service’; and he explained his own position with equal frankness: ‘as I am the only person who has been legally authorized to take possession of this place, I am determined to insist on my right, and I think it my duty to remain here against all opposition, until I have further orders. (14 – Arnold to Mass. Com. Safety, May II, 1775. 4 Force. II., 557 As a boy I. N. Arnold, B. Arnold, p. 22. Self-control: Smith, Pittsfield, I., p. 274.)
Allen, on his side, made up in picturesqueness and force for whatever he lacked in elegance. He was a big, rough man with a big, rough heart; capable of twisting a ten- penny nail in two with his teeth and of roaring out a cyclopean oath; a patriot, a fighter; bold, enterprising, headstrong, rash, vain; much given to swagger, but very-far indeed from witless. With due allowance for the elevation of the Bennington Catamount above the Tiger’s lair and the difference between Tammany Hall and the Green Mountains in point of ventilation, he might be called a sort of ‘Bill’ Devery; and all had to admit that Devery could both wield the police force and illuminate the daily press of the American metropolis, besides looking out at the same time for sundry small interests of his own. The capture of Ticonderoga had naturally multiplied both Allen’s prestige and his self-confidence. It is said that when the Reverend Jedediah Dewey made a prayer ascribing the glory of that victory to the Omnipotent, Allen, who somehow chanced to be sitting below, called out, ‘Parson Dewey, Parson Dewey, please mention to the Lord that I vi’as there! ‘ To expect such a temper, supported by the willful and fearless Green Mountain Boys, to back down at the behest of a paper colonel would have been absurd.” (15 – Allen, Narrative, passim; Merrill, Hist. Bennington; etc., etc.)
Arnold’s treatment of Allen’s partner, Easton, probably did not help matters. This gentleman appears to have had the forethought to wet his gun in crossing the lake, and to have occupied the critical moments of the assault in drying it. Then, to atone for what some doubtless regarded as a lack of courage, he rated the unpopular New Haven colonel very soundly — behind his back; though perhaps Arnold’s refusing him, as apparently he did refuse him, a lieutenant-colonel’s commission had something to do with the matter. At all events, Arnold heard of the unpleasant language, taxed the culprit with it, and, on his refusing to give ‘proper satisfaction,’ kicked him about the premises before a number of bystanders, though Easton wore a cutlass at the time and had a brace of loaded pistols in his pocket. (16 – Remark VIII.)
But the trouble ran deeper than personalities. Arnold, a responsible commissioned officer, stood — and had to stand — for discipline and subordination; while, in the very- nature of things, Allen’s foresters knew nothing of the first and scouted the second. ‘Everything,’ wrote Arnold, ‘is governed by whim and caprice’; and no doubt the criticism had some ground. (17 – To Mass. Com. Safety, May 11, 1775 4 Force, II., 557.)
Scarcely had the garrison at Ticonderoga been secured, when its conquerors — in Allen’s own phrase — began to ‘toss round the flowing bowl.’ Like all such militia, they would obey their chosen leader for a special purpose and a special time, but no farther would they go. They had acquired, too, certain unconventional ideas about the property of people whom they did not like. In the case of Yorkers, they felt perfectly justified; but still their conduct, however well grounded as against the government of New York, violated the legal claims of settlers perhaps no less honest than themselves, and could not fail to beget a certain general carelessness in distinguishing between meum and tuum. It became very easy, then, since the British — and therefore the Tories— were enemies, to appropriate their belongings; and Arnold increased his unpopularity by trying to check such liberties. (19 – Cf. Allen, Narrative, p. 21. Remark IX.)
Beyond all this lay a still deeper trouble. The people of the Grants belonged to no Colony and had no voice in the Continental Congress. Undoubtedly they sympathized with Massachusetts and Connecticut, from which so many of them had come; but, on the other hand, the Colony with which they had most to do was their mortal foe. Allen wished and hoped sincerely to get somehow within the pale; but for the present the settlers had to guard their own interests and fight their own battle as they could. Accordingly, the Green Mountain leaders, who had thought of capturing the forts on the lake as a measure of self-defence against the British, appear to have resolved now upon holding them as a security for their lands against enemies in whatever quarter, and even upon pushing bej’ond the edge of Canada, seizing an advantageous point there, and in that way standing solidly entrenched at both ends of their frontier. How New York would relish this, and what effect the plan might have upon the relations of the Colonies to one another or upon the delicate question of Canada, could easily be guessed; and in this matter also Arnold set his face like a flint against the wishes of Allen’s party.’ (19 - Cf. Allen ‘s remarks, Chapter IV. , p. 116, with his determined efforts to hold control of Ti., and get possession of St. Johns, when he admitted (Mag. Am. Hist , XIV , p. 319) that his men were needed at their homes ; and note particularly B. Deane’s report to his brother Silas, June 1, 1775: Conn. Hist. Soc. Coll., II., p. 246)
The combination of so many and so radical differences brought matters into ‘ a very critical situation,’ as Barnabas Deane reported. Not only did Arnold find his commission despised, but Allen declined to allow him the share of authority previously agreed upon, and boldly signed himself ‘Commander at this Place.’ Without a force at his back the paper colonel could only argue and protest; yet that sufficed to annoy and embarrass his opponents. He even ‘ had a musket presented at his breast by one of that party,’ Deane reported, and the fellow ‘ threatened to fire him through if he refused to comply with their orders, which he very resolutely refused doing, as inconsistent with his duty, and as directly contrary to the opinion of the Colonies.’ In fact, Arnold was twice fired at. (20 – B. Deane to Silas: Note 19. Allen to Albany Com., May 12, 1775- Mae Am. Hist,, XIV., p. 3iq. E. Phelps to Conn. Assembly, May 16, 1775 Conn. Hist. Soc. Coll., I., p. 174. Arnold, Regt. Mem. Book, May 10.)
Finally, to dispose of this very disagreeable customer, a scheme wholly without a legal basis was put through. The Connecticut expedition had rested upon no public authority. Nothing could well be clearer, and Allen undoubtedly understood the case. Certain citizens, believing the enterprise would prove advantageous to the cause, had taken upon themselves the responsibilit}’ for it.” Yet, when the soldiers ‘ paraded, and declared they would go right home,’ and ‘reasoning’ had no effect upon Arnold, Mott, as Chairman of the Committee, furnished Allen with formal written orders, ‘ agreeable to the Power and Authority to us given by the Colony of Connecticut,’ directing him to ‘keep the command.’ In plain language, a sort of conspiracy— mainly well- intended, no doubt — was planned and carried through against Arnold, and he found himself completely set aside. ‘ I should be extremely glad to be honorably acquitted of my commission,’Remark X. he wrote to tfae Provincial Congress, ‘ and that a proper person might be appointed in my room ‘ ; although, as he repeated, he intended to remain ‘ at every hazard ‘ until he received further orders. (22 – Mott, Journal: Conn. Hist. Soc. Coll., I., p. 165. Arnold to Mass. Prov, Cong., May 11, 1775: 4 Force, II., 557. Arnold, Regt. Mem. Book.
But the wheel soon turned. With the schooner, Captains Oswald and Brown brought men enlisted under Arnold’s commission. It was the Sabbath when they arrived, but no great depth of ‘ heavenly manna ‘ fell near the south end of Lake Champlain. The Colonel could now report about one hundred men under his lawful command. The schooner also belonged to him by right of con- quest; or, if not, by a still better right, for he and his Captain Sloan understood seamanship, while probably not a man in the other faction had ever trimmed a sail. Here in his hand, then, were the means of doing something, at last. The loaded sloop was still waiting at St. Johns for a northerly breeze, and he resolved to carry out immediately his plan of going after her. To be sure this meant an invasion of Canada. What effect would that have on the people of the north, what on the Colonies, what on the British government, what on the opinion of the world ? Doubtless Arnold felt sure the move could easily be justified as a military necessity, especially as he did not propose to occupy St. Johns; but, whatever he thought about that, his commission directed him to capture the British ‘vessel,’ and so he would.” (23 – Arnold, Regt, Mem. Book. Arnold to Mass. Com. Safety, May 14,1775:4 Force, II., 584. Orders to Arnold, May 3, 1775: 4 Force, II., 485. Memorial of Oswald and Brown: Cont. Cong. Papers, No. 41, X., p. 221.)
An outfit of cannon was hastily fixed on the schooner; and, with her and an armed bateau, he set out on Sunday afternoon, supported by Captain Oswald, Captain Brown, and about thirty men, for the north. Contrary winds compelled him to anchor Monday night at Crown Point. The next day, leaving the schooner to beat down against them if she could, he put his men into a couple of boats, and undertook to make the long journey by rowing. Wednesday, a fair gale set in; and the schooner, over- hauling Arnold, took his party on board and made good time. But this did not last; and at evening the Colonel found himself thirty miles from St. Johns, gazing at the dreamy images of a sea of glass : totally becalmed.
Not mesmerized, however. ‘ Manned out two small batteaus,’ — was the Admiral’s cure for his trouble. All night they rowed; and at sunrise, pushing into ‘ a small creek, infested with numberless swarms of gnats and muskitoes, ‘ about half a mile from St. Johns, they sent a scout forward to investigate the situation. Time passed slowly in such a place, but at length he returned. The garrison of about a dozen, from the 26th Regiment, had received news of the doings above, but no more suspected that the same bag yawned for them, than Arnold suspected that Major Preston with one hundred more of their regiment was coming that way from Montreal. The Americans pushed on at once and landed about sixty rods from the post. The old French works, built of wood, had virtually gone to ruin; and the garrison, when the invaders ‘marched briskly up in their faces,’ retired within the barracks, and presently, without loss on either side, yielded. (24 – For Arnold’s expedition to St. Johns: his Regt. Mem, Book ; his letter to Mass. Com. Safety, May 19, 1775 (4 Force, II., 645); another (unaddressed) letter of his of that date belonging to Mr. F. A. Arnold ; his letter to the Cont. Cong., May 29 (4 Force, II., 734 : the original in Cont. Cong. Papers, 162, I., p. 8); his Certificate (Cont. Cong. Papers, 41, X., p. 223); Memorial of Oswald and Jonathan Brown (ib., p. 221); journal in Essex Gazette, June i, 1775 ; Carleton to Dartmouth, June 7, 1775 (Pub. Rec. Off., Colon. Corres., Quebec, 11, p. 283); Letter to Maseres, June 22, 1775 (Bancroft Coll., Bug. and Am., Jan.-Aug., 1775, p. 482); Caldwell to , May, 1775 (ib., p. 157). French works. Franquet, Voyages, p. 61 ; I. Allen, Vt., p. 59 ; Précis of Oper.
Reinforcements were ‘ hourly expected ‘ not only from Montreal but from the nearer post at Chambly; but that proved hardly soon enough. Arnold seized the sloop, a handy vessel of about seventy tons, carrying two fine 6- pounders of brass and a crew of seven; destroyed about five defective bateaux ; took as many more that were large and good; and embarked all the stores and provisions. Afine gale from the north sprang up; the sails were spread; and, within two hours after his arrival, he .set out for home with his captures, ‘ not leaving any one Craft of any kind behind that the Enemy could cross the Lake in.’ So far as concerned that region, the nerve of Britain’s right arm had been cut at a stroke.
Bowling steadily along with a fine breeze and finer spirits, the conquerors met Allen half a dozen leagues above, with four bateaux and ninety or a hundred men. Determined not to be outdone, they had followed after Arnold, and proposed to establish themselves at St. Johns according to their ambitious plan of defence. It was a hardy enterprise. For nearly three-days and nights the poor fellows had not rested, and they were now about starved as well as beat out. (25 – For Allen’s expedition to St. Johns, besides the references in Note 24 ; his Narrative, p. 21 ; his letter to merchants (Pub. Rec. Off., Colon. Corres., Quebec. 11, p. 291); Arnold to Mass. Com. Safety, May 23, 1775 (4 Force, II., 694); Id. to Conn. Assembly, May 23, 1775 (ib-. 840); Id. to Albany Com., May 22, 1775 ib., 839); Verreau (Sanguinet, Berthelot), Invasion, pp. 29, 227.
There have been imaginations deep enough and subtle enough to paint the smile on Arnold’s face at that moment, but not the smile in his heart. The play was over, the curtain rung down, the audience dismissed, the lights put out, the company going along to sup with him; and here stood the Green Mountain Boys at the door! And possibly behind the roses of that smile, wriggled the scaly thought of letting Allen forge on without a warning into the trap at St. Johns.
But the victor did better every way than that. Combining duty with pleasure, he addressed his lately triumphant rival in the scornful tone of a mentor. The plan, he declared, was ‘ a wild, expensive, impracticable Scheme,’ and ‘of no Consequence’ either so long as the Americans were masters of the lake, — as he intended they should be. But obviously Allen could not yield at that stage; and Arnold, after enjoying the further delight of feeding his enemies, went on. His grey sails caught the first hints of dawn off Cumberland Head, and he soared gaily into the snug haven under the beak of Ticonderoga, with a booming salute, just as the sun dropped into the forest behind it. ‘Providence seems to have smil’d on us,’ he observed complacently.
From Allen fell no such remark. Scarcely had his worn followers groped their way ashore in the dark at St. Johns, when a horseman came in by the Montreal road. Seized and examined — not against his will, said friends of the government — he proved to be a merchant named Bindon, friendly to the Colonials. Only the day before, he had sent off supplies for Major Skene to the value of some £200, and then, feeling uneasy about them, had obtained permission from the military commander to follow his property to the landing. lyittle good it did him, but much good the Americans. Preston’s detachment had crossed the St. Lawrence with him, he informed them, and could not be far behind. Still undaunted, however, Allen wrote a letter ‘ To the Merchants of Montreal ‘ for Bindon to carry back the next morning.
‘Gentlemen,’ said he, ‘The Advance Guard of the Army is now at Saint John’s and Desire Immediately to have a Personal Intercourse with you your Immediate Assistance as to Provision Ammunition and Spiritous Liquors is wanted and fourthwith Expected Not as a Donation for I am Impowrd by the Colonies to Purchase the same and Desire you would Fourthwith and without further Notice Prepare for the Use of the Army of those articles to the Amount of Five Hundred Pounds and deliver the same to me at Saint John’s or at least a part of it almost Instantaniously as the soldiary press on faster than Provision — I need [not] Inform you that my Directions from the Colonies is not to Contend with or any Way Injure or Molest the Canadians or Indians but on the other Hand treat them with the greatest Friendship and Kindness. (26 – It will be observed that some of Allen’s letters (particularly those from Force) appear with correct spelling, etc : others not. The former were doubtless emended by the editor The same may be said of Arnold’s and other letters. For Bindon see his Memorial, April i8, 1783: Cor.t. Cong. Papers, No. 41,II.,p 134.)
Allen’s name could cast a shadow even beyond the St. Lawrence, for the fame of Ticonderoga had no doubt arrived there; and some of the merchants were for delivering him the goods. Had they succeeded in doing so, the consequences must have been unfortunate, for the leader of the Green Mountain Boys cannot have possessed anything near the sum he promised, and sympathy for his cause among the Montreal traders would have been rudely chilled. But, happily for the Colonials, his letter fell into the hands of the authorities; and they, with natural though mistaken prudence, placed an embargo on the proposition.
This business attended to— for hunger and thirst could not allow delay’ — Allen marched his ‘Army’ forward to ambuscade the British. As his letter showed, he meant to hold the ground. But the Boys could hardly keep their eyelids apart; and in that state of exhaustion, although as brave as any men, they might well dread a fight with an equal number of regulars. Anyhow, when the British had come within a mile or two, they decamped, crossed the wide Richelieu, and fell — rather than lay down — to sleep. Yet not quite all of them : Preston and the regulars got within reach of the very last, wounded some, and captured two or three prisoners. The next morning, the reveille of the invaders, and that early, was the roar of field-pieces and the rattle of grapeshot; upon which, making a futile reply with musketry, they tumbled, panting and fainting, into their boats, and pulled away south for dear life. (27 - Two or three men were left behind ; but it is not certain that aU of them were wounded or all captured: B. Deaneto S. Deane (Note 28).
How they contrived to live for the next few days with- out the provisions and spirituous liquors needed ‘almost Instantaniously’ they did not record; but at last, with the wreck of their hopes and the ruins of Allen’s prestige, they reached the forts. One or two of the men left behind escaped from the British; and when they reappeared, their complaints doubtless added venom to the leader’s wormwood. Many of the Green Mountain Boys had already been compelled to leave, for both farms and families cried aloud for attention. Naturally, they scattered the faster now, while some of them enlisted under the rising star. On the twenty-ninth of May, Arnold wrote, ‘ Colonel Allen has entirely given up the command ‘ ; and, though Allen still remained on the ground, ever active and ever hopeful, he made a public declaration that, until affairs were regulated and an oflScer appointed to hold the fortress, he would take no authority upon himself, but would give it up wholly to his rival. (28 – Arnold to Conn. Assembly, May 23, 1775; 4 Force, II., 840. Id. to Cont. Cong., May 2g, 1775: ib., 734. Id. to Mass. Com. Safety, May 29, 1775; ib., 735. Herrick to Arnold, May 31, 1775: Ford Coll. B. Deane to S. Deane, June 1, 1775: Conn. Hist, Soc. Coll., II., p. 246. The desire of Allen’s party to take post on the Richelieu was not given up, however, as Deane shows. )
Arnold for his part begged to be released, because he felt himself not qualified to superintend the rebuilding of Ticonderoga; but meantime his energy did not flag. News came that boats were to be transported from Montreal to St. Johns and come up the lake. One of the Green Mountain Boys who had escaped from the British reported that four hundred regulars were repairing the craft that Arnold had broken up, and making ‘ all possible preparations ‘ for this aggressive movement, counting upon the Indians for aid.” (29 – Arnold to Mass. Com. Safety, May 19, 1775: 4 Force, II., 645. Id. to Conn. Assembly, May 23, 1775. ib., 840. Id., Summons, May, 23, 1775: ib., 841. Id., Regt. Mem. Book.)
The Americans had only about one hundred and fifty men at both posts, and as many pounds of powder. With such feeble resources, the prospect of stopping General Carleton’s move seemed hardly brilliant; but Arnold resolved to make a fight. The pass must be held, if possible: and the coveted ordnance, not yet on its way to Cambridge, must be defended at all hazards. With this in view, headquarters advanced immediately to Crown Point, nearer the enemy, and the country for fifty miles below Skenesborough and Fort George was roused. All patriotic men were urged to come with whatever good arms they had, and their powder, hoes, pickaxes, and spades. Fortifications were to be thrown up; and the commander hoped, ‘with the smiles of Providence,’ to keep his ground if not ‘overpowered by numbers.’ But there was really no danger. The work of the destroyer at St. Johns had been done thoroughly. Later the British would come, and Arnold would be there to meet them ; but for the present they were helpless. (30 – Force, II., 840, 841 (Note 29).
Yet the Americans had enough to do. Scouts watched for the British continually, and one reconnoitring expedition exchanged shots with the enemy at St. Johns. Ammunition and provisions had to be obtained. With both vessels in his hands, Arnold found it necessary to send for more seamen, and help manage one of them himself meanwhile. King George’s trim sloop, renamed the Efiterprise, and two of his large bateaux were fully armed with cannon and swivels, and all the navy prepared to sweep the lake as soon as men should arrive. Wheel-carriages to transport the cannon eastward began to be made, and a messenger went down to Albany for more of them. Specifications were issued for two big, flat- bottomed boats of four-inch oak to convey the heaviest pieces across Lake George. Finally, a long list of requisitions for the summer was made out and forwarded to New York. Everything seemed to be included. Twelve hundred men, counting the Massachusetts regiment as four hundred of them, should be sent up, with twenty-five ship carpenters and twenty-five house carpenters; hatchets, axes, spades, hoes, and tents were specified; and finally Arnold proved the closeness of his calculations by asking for ‘ three seines, thirty fathoms long, capped twelve feet, and arms six feet deep, made of large twine, the meshes one and a half inches wide, which will probably supply the Army with fish, as they are plenty and good.’ (31 – Arnold, Regt. Mem, Book. Id. to Mass. Com. Safety, May ig, 23, 26, 1775: 4 Force, II., 645, 694, 714. Id- to Albany Cora,, May 22, 1775: ib., 839 Essex Gazette, June 1, 22, 1775. B. Deane to S. Deane, June i, 1775: Note 28. Arnold to N. Y. Cong., May 29, 1775: 4 Force, II,, 847.)
At this point, affairs at the lakes appeared to have worked themselves out for awhile. Seemingly the forces were balanced.
In reality, this was not the case. Events had not ended but merely begun. The need of heavy arms at Cambridge, tripping off a mechanism of circumstances, had moved still larger and more complicated trains. Getting the forts meant a great deal more. The most surprising embodiment of enterprise, daring, and force, of self-will, unscrupulousness, and ambition to be found in the Revolutionary War, had been set on a conspicuous pinion, and the lever that planted Arnold upon the pass between Canada and the Colonies, had caught him at the same time in a dizzy maze of clockwork. The road north had been cleared; and, in doing that, the events that favored Adams’s plan so remarkably had opened the way for many other events. Unexpected consequences were bound to follow.
But naturally all this was not seen at the time. People -rejoiced in the surprising series of triumphs without looking very far in advance ; and most of them gratefully echoed what some of them cried: ‘The Lord is a Man of War; let Salvation be ascribed to the Lord!’ (32 – Essex Gazette, June i, 1775.)
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