tageous piece of ground.-Baum | perceived the Americans were too strong to be attacked with his present force, and sent an express to Burgoyne with an account of his situation, and to have Breyman march immediately to support him. In the mean time small parties of the Americans kept up a skirmish with the enemy, killed and wounded thirty of them, with two of their Indian chiefs, without any loss to themselves. The ground the Americans had taken, was unfavourable for a general action, and Stark retreated about a mile, and encamped. A council of war was held, and it was agreed to send two detachments upon the enemy's rear, while the rest of the troops should make an attack upon their front. The next day the weather was rainy, and though it prevented a general action, there were frequent skirmishings in small parties, which proved favour able and encouraging to the Ameri

cans.

the

prospect, and pushed off between the two corps; but received a fire as they were passing, by which_three of them were killed, and two wounded. Nichols then began the attack, and was followed by all the other divisions; those in the front immediately advanced, and in a few minutes the action became general. It lasted about two hours, and was like one continued peal of thunder. Baum made a brave defence; and the German dragoons, after they had expended their ammunition, led by their colonel, charged with their swords, but they were soon overpowered. Their works were carried on all sides, their two pieces of cannon were taken, Colonel Baum himself was mortally wounded and taken prisoner, and all his men, except a few, who had escaped into woods, were either killed or taken prisoners. Having completed the business by taking the whole party, the militia began to disperse and look out for plunder. But in a few On August the sixteenth, in the minutes Stark received information morning, Stark was joined by Co- that a large reinforcement was on lonel Symonds and a body of militia their march, and within two miles of from Berkshire, and proceeded to him. Fortunately at that moment attack the enemy, agreeably to the Colonel Warner came up with his plan which had been concerted. regiment from Manchester. This Colonel Baum in the mean time had brave and experienced officer comentrenched, on an advantageous manded a regiment of continental piece of ground near St. Koicks troops, which had been raised in mills, on a branch of Hoosic river; Vermont. Mortified that he had and rendered his post as strong as not been in the former engagement, his circumstances and situation he instantly led on his men against would admit. Colonel Nichols was Breyman, and began the second endetached with two hundred men to gagement. Stark collected the milithe rear of his left, Col. Herrick, tia as soon as possible, and pushed with three hundred men to the on to his assistance. The action berear of his right; both were to came general, and the battle contijoin, and then make the attack. Co-nued obstinate on both sides till sunlonel Hubbard and Stickney, with two hundred more were ordered on the right, and one hundred were advanced towards the front to draw the attention of the enemy that way. About three o'clock in the afternoon the troops had taken their station, and were ready to commence the action. While Nichols and Herrick were bringing their troops together, the Indians were alarmed at the

set, when the Germans were forced to give way, and were pursued till dark. They left their two fieldpieces behind, and a considerable number were made prisoners. They retreated in the best manner the could, improving the advantages of the evening and night, to which alone their escape was ascribed.

In these actions the Americans took four brass field-pieces, twelve

brass drums, two hundred and fifty dragoon swords, four ammunition wagons, and about, seven hundred prisoners, with their arms and accoutrements. Two hundred and seven men were found dead upon the spot, the numbers of wounded were unknown. The loss of the Americans was but small; thirty were slain, and about forty were wounded. Stark was not a little pleased to have so fair an opportunity to vindicate his own conduct. He had now "On what small events does the shown that no neglect from congress popular humour and military success had made him disaffected to the depend? The capture of one thouAmerican cause, and that he had sand Germans by Gen. Washington rendered a much more important at Trenton, had served to wake up, service than he could have done by and save the whole continent. The joining Schuyler, and remaining in exploit of Stark at Bennington, opeactive in his camp. Congress em- rated with the same kind of influbraced the opportunity to assign to ence, and produced a similar effect. him his rank, and though he had not This victory was the first event that given to them any account of his vic- had proved encouraging to the Ametory, or wrote to them at all upon the ricans in the northern department, subject, on October the fourth they since the death of Gen. Montgomeresolved,-"That the thanks of conMisfortune had succeeded misgress be presented to General Stark fortune, and defeat had followed deof the New-Hampshire militia, and feat from that period, till now. The the officers and troops under his present instance was the first, in command, for their brave and suc- which victory had quitted the royal Cessful attack upon, and signal vic-standard, or seemed even to be watory over the enemy in their lines atvering. She was now found with Bennington: and that Brigadier the American arms, and the effect Stark be appointed a brigadier general in the army of the UnitedStates." And never were thanks more deserved, or more wisely given to a military officer."*

on their march within two miles. Colonel. Warner's regiment, luckily coming up at the moment, renewed the attack with fresh vigour. I pushed forward as many of the men as I could to their assistance; the battle continued obstinate on both sides until sunset; the enemy was obliged to retreat; we pursued them till dark, and had day lasted an hour longer, should have taken the whole body of them."

In his official account of the affair, Gen. Stark thus writes :-" It lasted two hours, the hottest I ever saw in my life; it represented one continued clap of thunder: how ever, the enemy were obliged to give way, and leave their field-pieces, and all their baggage behind them; they were all environed within two breast-works with artillery; but our martial courage proved too strong for them. I then gave orders to rally again, in order to secure the victory; but in a few minutes was informed that there was a large reinforcement

* Williams's Vermont.

ry.

seemed in fact to be greater than the cause. It raised the spirit of the country to an uncommon degree of animation; and by showing the militia what they could perform, rendered them willing and desirous to turn out and try what fortunes would await their exertions. It had a still greater effect on the royal army. The British generals were surprised to hear that an enemy, whom they had contemplated with no other feelings than those of contempt, should all at once wake up, and discover much of the spirit of heroism. To advance upon the mouth of cannon, to attack fortified lines, to carry strong entrenchments, were exploits which they supposed belonged exclusively to the armies of kings. To see a body of American militia, ill dressed, but little disciplined, without cannon, armed

ed to fly at their approach; that such men should force the entrenchments, capture the cannon, kill and make prisoners of a large body of the royal army, was a matter of indignation, astonishment, and surprise."*

was of the middle stature, not form

only with farmers' guns without bayonets, and who had been accustomed by nature to exhibit an erect soldierly mien. His manners were frank, and unassuming, but he manifested a peculiar sort of eccentricity and negligence, which precluded all display of personal dignity, and seemed to place him among those of ordinary rank in life. His charac"General Stark volunteered his ter as a private citizen was unbleservices under Gen. Gates at Sara-mished, and he was ever held in restoga, and assisted in the council which stipulated the surrender of General Burgoyne, nor did he relinquish his valuable services till he could greet his native country as an Independent Empire. Gen. Stark * Williams's Vermont.

pect. For the last few years of his
life, he enjoyed a pecuniary bounty
from the government.
He lived to
the advanced age of ninety-three
years eight months and twenty-four
days, and died May 8th, 1822.” *
Thacher's Journal,

ARTHUR ST. CLAIR,

Major General in the American Army.

ease and independence, with the fairest prospects of affluent fortune, the foundation of which had been al

GEN. ST. CLAIR was a soldier | rising family, in the enjoyment of from his youth. At an early age. while the independent states were yet British colonies, he entered the royal American army, and was com-ready established by his intelligence, missioned as an ensign. He was industry, and enterprise. actively engaged, during the French war, in the army of Gen. Wolfe, and was in the battle, carrying a pair of colours, in which that celebrated commander was slain, on the plains of Abraham. He was highly esteemed, by the distinguished commanders under whom he served, as a young officer of merit, capable of obtaining a high grade of military reputation. "After the peace of '63, he sold out, and entered into trade, for which the generosity of his nature utterly disqualified him; he, of course, soon became disgusted with a profitless pursuit, and having married, after several vicissitudes of fortune, he located himself in Ligonier valley, west of the Alleghany mountain, and near the ancient route from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh.

In this situation the American revolution found him, surrounded by a

From this peaceful abode, these sweet domestic enjoyments, and the flattering prospects which accompanied them, he was drawn by the claims of a troubled country. Ă man known to have been a military officer, and distinguished for knowledge and integrity, could not, in those times be concealed even by his favourite mountains, and therefore, without application or expectation on his part, he received the commission of a colonel in the month of December, 1775, together with a letter from President Hancock, pressing him to repair immediately to Philadelphia. He obeyed the summons, and took leave not only of his wife and children, but in effect of his fortune, to embark in the cause of liberty and the united colonies.— In six weeks he completed the levy of a regiment of 750 men; six com

.

panies of which marched in season to join our troops before Quebec; he followed with the other four in May, and after the unlucky affair at Three Rivers, by his counsel to Gen. Sullivan at Sorel, he saved the army we had in Canada."*

in accordance with the opinion of a
council of war, ordered the move-
ment on his own responsibility, and
thereby saved the state of New-York
from British domination, and his
gallant army from capture. Stung
with the injustice of a charge against
Gen. Schuyler, for an act for which
he alone was responsible, he mag-
nanimously wrote the following let-
ter to the Hon. John Jay, on the

The active and persevering habits of St. Clair, and the military knowledge, as displayed by him during the Canadian campaign, brought him into high repute, and he was subse-subject :quently promoted to the rank of major general. On all occasions he supported an honourable distinction, and shared largely in the confidence and friendship of the Commander in chief.

The misfortunes attending the early military operations of the northern campaign of 1777, did not fail to bring reproach upon the characters of those who conducted it. The loss of Ticonderoga and Fort Independence, and the subsequent retreat of Gen. St. Clair, cast a gloom over the minds of patriotic men, and in their consequences gave rise to the malignant passions of the human heart, which were put in motion to depreciate the worth, impair the influence, and destroy the usefulness of Generals Schuyler and St. Clair. It was proclaimed that they were traitors to their country, and acted in concert with the enemy; and the ignorant and the credulous were led to believe that they had received an immense treasure in silver balls, fired by Burgoyne into St. Clair's camp, and by his order picked up and transmitted to Schuyler, at Fort George !! Extravagant as was this tale, it was implicitly believed.

At the time of the evacuation of Ticonderoga by St. Clair, which so auch exasperated the people, Gen. Schuyler was absent upon a different duty, and was totally ignorant of the fact, though the commanding officer in that district. Gen. St. Clair,

* Wilkinson's Memoirs.

66

SIR,

"Moses' Creek, July 25, 1775.

"General Schuyler was good
enough to read to me a part of a let
ter he received last night from you.
I cannot recollect that any of my
officers ever asked my reasons for
leaving Ticonderoga: but as I have
found the measure much decried, I
I have often expressed myself in this
manner:- "That as to myself I was
perfectly easy; I was conscious of
the uprightness and propriety of my
conduct, and despised the vague cen-
sure of an uninformed populace;"
but had no allusion to an order from
Gen. Schuyler for my justification,
because no such order existed.

"The calumny thrown on Gen.
Schuyler, on account of that matter
has given me great uneasiness.
assure you, Sir, there never was any
thing more cruel and unjust; for he
knew nothing of the matter until it
was over, more than you did at
Kingston. It was done in conse-
quence of a consultation with the
other general officers, without the
possibility of General Schuyler's
concurrence; and had the opinion
of that council been contrary to what
it was, it would nevertheless have
taken place, because I knew it to
be impossible to defend the posi
with our numbers.

"In my letter to congress. from Fort Edward, in which I gave them an account of the retreat, is this para graph:-' It was my original design to retreat to this place, that I might be betwixt General Burgoyne and

I

the inhabitants, and that the militia | conderoga and Mount Independence, might have something in this quar- forthwith repair to head-quarters." ter to collect to. It is now effected, and the militia are coming in, so that I have the most sanguine hopes that the progress of the enemy will be checked, and I may have the satisfaction to experience, that although I have lost a post, I have eventually saved a state."'