Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by Donna Bluemink.
JOURNALS OF THE MILITARY EXPEDITION
OF MAJOR GENERAL JOHN SULLIVAN
AGAINST THE SIX NATIONS OF INDIANS
IN 1779 WITH RECORDS OF CENTENNIAL CELEBRATIONSPrepared Pursuant to Chapter 361, Laws of the State of New York, of 1885.
by Frederick Cook, Secretary of State
Auburn, N.Y. Knapp, Peck & Thompson Printers
1887.The Following
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF THE OFFICERS
appear in the order they are listed in the site index - by page number.Sergeant William Rogers (complete journal).
Send request for a journal to be posted to the transcriber.
[3] LIEUT. WILLIAM BARTON.
William Barton, Lieutenant in General Maxwell's New Jersey Brigade. Journal published in the Proceedings of the New Jersey Historical Society, Vol II, 1846-7.
The editor states that the journal commences on the 11th May, 1779, "but as Lieut Barton passed the greater part of the succeeding three weeks on furlough at his own home, there is little recorded in it during that period of general interest, and that portion is consequently omitted. What follows embraces the remainder part of the manuscript, except some unimportant or uninteresting details." From June 8 to October 9, 1779.
[15] LIEUT. ERKURIES BEATTY.
(See Journal)[38] LIEUTENANT THOMAS BLAKE.
Lieutenant Thomas Blake was of Dorchester, Mass. He was the son of Samuel and Patience Blake, and was born October 7, 1752. In 1775 when the alarm, consequent upon the attack of the British at Lexington and Concord reached him, he immediately joined the continental army at Cambridge. In November, 1776, he was commissioned as Ensign in Colonel Stark's First New Hampshire Regiment, with which he continued until its dissolution in January, 1784. In 1778 he was promoted to a Lieutenant and was afterwards Paymaster and Regimental Clothier. His journal of the marches and campaigns of the Regiment for about five years was published in the "History of the First New Hampshire Regiment in the War of the Revolution, by Frederick Kidder, Joel Munsell, Albany, 1868," from which the following, embracing what relates to the Sullivan expedition, is extracted. After the Revolution he settled in Boston, Mass., where he died February 16, 1840.
[42] MAJOR JOHN BURROWES.
Major John Burrowes married Margaret, daughter of Judge Samuel Forman and Helen Denise, his wife, both families living at Middletown Point, (now Matawan), N. J. He was brought up as a merchant, entered the continental army at the beginning of the war, and came out a Major with a high reputation, having been in several engagements and had many narrow escapes. He was much with General David Forman (who was nicknamed "Black David") and gained from the Tories—who were much afraid of both—the sobriquet of "Black David's Devil." His wife died, leaving three children, of whom the daughters, Mrs. Jacob W. Hallett and Mrs. Sidney Breeze of Oneida, N. Y., survive. After the war, Major Burrowes went to Georgia, and was never heard from after starting on a journey into the interior at an unhealthy season. Of Mrs. Burrowes' sisters, Eleanor Forman married Philip Freeman, the poet, Catharine married Benjamin Ledyard, of New London, Conn., who was later a merchant in New York city, and later still, County Clerk, at Aurora, N. Y. The brother Jonathan Forman married Benjamin Ledyard's sister Mary, who "went over her shoe tops in blood" in the barn where the wounded lay, the morning after Arnold's descent upon New London, where her uncle, Colonel William Ledyard was killed after his surrender. The only surviving child of General Jonathan Forman (who served throughout the war in the New Jersey line and later went to Cazenovia, N. Y.), Mary Ledyard Forman, married Henry Seymour and was the mother of Horatio, and John F. Seymour, of Utica, N. Y.
Captain John Burrowes was Major in Spencer's Fifth New Jersey Regiment He was formerly of Forman's Regiment. By general orders of June 26, 1779, Colonel Spencer was directed to join Maxwell's Brigade and "the companies of late Forman's Corps will join Spencer's Regiment."
The following is from a copy of the journal made from the original manuscript by Mrs. Elizabeth Breeze Stevens, a granddaughter of Major Burrowes, living at Oneida, Madison County, N. Y., and has been carefully compared by George G. Barnum, Esq., Corresponding Secretary of Buffalo Historical Society, with a copy in the archives of that society. The original manuscript, in the possession of Hon. Breeze J. Stevens, Madison, Wis., a son of Mrs. E. B. Stevens, has been mislaid,
[53] DR. JABEZ CAMPFIELD.
Dr. Jabez Campfield, Surgeon in Spencer's Fifth New Jersey Regiment, from May 23 to Oct. 2, 1779. He was a resident of New Jersey and has grand children living. One of them resided a few years since at Lisbon, St. Lawrence County, N. Y. Published in the Proceedings of the New Jersey Historical Society, Vols. 3 and 4, 1873, pp. 115 to 136, from the original presented to the Society, by Edmund D. Halsey, Esq.; also in the Wyoming County (Pa.) Democrat, Dec. 31, 1873, Jan. 28, 1874.
[63] LIEUT.-COL. HENRY DEARBORN.
Henry Dearborn, Lieutenant Colonel commanding the Third New Hampshire (Scammel's) Regiment. The following sketch is by Genl John S. Clark, Auburn, N. Y.:
Colonel Dearborn was born in Hampton, N. H., in March, 1751. He was a captain at Bunker Hill, and accompanied Arnold in the march through the woods against Quebec, in which expedition he was captured. He was exchanged in 1777, and soon after was appointed Major of Scammel's regiment. At Saratoga he commanded a separate battalion under General Gates, and was afterwards at Monmouth, where he distinguished himself and the regiment by a gallant charge. In 1779 Colonel Scammel was acting as Adjutant General of the army, leaving Lieut. Colonel Dearborn in command of the regiment during Sullivan's campaign. He was at the siege of Yorktown in 1781, and afterward on garrison duty at Saratoga and West Point until 1784. He served two terms in Congress, was for eight years secretary of war under Jefferson, and in the war of 1812 was senior Major General of the army. In 1822 he was minister to Portugal, from whence he returned after two years' service, and died in Roxbury, Mass., June 6, 1829. After his death, his son, Henry Alexander Scammel Dearborn, collected and arranged the valuable papers of his father, transcribed the journals, which extended through the entire period of the revolution, and added important historical sketches, the whole making forty-five large volumes handsomely bound in morocco, the exterior approximating in elegance to the inestimable value of the material within. On the death of the son all of these, excepting seven volumes, were taken apart, and the contents, made up of valuable autograph letters of the revolutionarv period, scattered to the four winds by a sale at public auction. The seven volumes, containing no autographs, were reserved at the sale and remain intact. In one of these is the Journal kept during Sullivan's campaign, as arranged by the son, but this copy differs from the original in many particulars, and includes much matter evidently obtained from other sources. The original manuscript Journal of Sullivan's campaign, together with many other valuable original documents, are now in the possession of Charles P. Greenough, Esq., of Boston, Massachusetts, who intends to present them, through his brother William Greenough, Esq., of New York city, to the Waterloo Library and Historical Society, of Waterloo, Seneca county, N. Y. With the consent and approbation of that Society, a literal copy of the original journal has been obtained through the kindness and courtesy of Mr. Greenough, who has taken great pains to make the copy accurate, and sincere acknowledgments are due to him and also to the Waterloo Library and Historical Society, for the great favors so cheerfully bestowed.
[81] DR. EBENEZER ELMER.
Dr. Ebenezer Elmer, Surgeon in second New Jersey Regiment. The following is a literal copy of his journal, made by Rev. David Craft, from a verbatim copy in the hands of Lyman C. Draper, Esq., Corresponding Secretary of Historical Society, Madison, Wis., printed in the "Proceedings of the New Jersey Historical Society," Vol. II. pp. 43-50.
[86] SERGEANT MOSES FELLOWS.
Moses Fellows, of Salisbury, Vt., was Orderly Sergeant in Capt James Gray's Company of Scammel's, 3d N. H. Regiment. This company was of Salisbury men. He has worthy descendants, grandsons, residing in that vicinity. The original journal is in possession of A. Tiffany Norton Esq., Lima, N. Y. The following is a literal copy, the first thirteen pages are missing.
[92] MAJOR JEREMIAH FOGG.
Major Jeremiah Fogg, the oldest son of Rev. Jeremiah Fogg, of Kensington, was born in 1749, graduated at Harvard College in 1768; spent several years as a teacher, in Newburyport, where he commenced the study of law with Theophilus Parsons, the most eminent jurist of the time. At the commencement of hostilities, in 1775, he entered Col. Poor's regiment as one of the staff officers and continued in the service through the whole war. At the close of the revolution, he returned to Kensington, took a prominent part in the political movements of the country, was for several years a member of the New Hampshire Senate, and died in 1808, at the age of 59. He married Lydia Hill of Cambridge.
The following is from a printed copy of his journal, 150 copies of which were published, Exeter, N. H., from the News Letter Press, 1879. He held the position on the roster as captain in the second New Hampshire regiment
[102] ENSIGN DANIEL GOOKIN.
Daniel Gookin, Ensign in Second New Hampshire Regiment. He was the son of Rev. Nathaniel Grookin of Northampton N. H., born March 2, 1756; was commissioned as Captain after the war from Oct. 20, 1786. In 1809 was appointed a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, and in Dec. 1815, Judge of Probate, which office he held until constitutionally disqualified by age. He was an active member of the county Agricultural Society and of the New Hampshire Cincinnati. He died Sept 4, 1831. A portion of his Journal, from May 4 to September 15, 1779, was published in Vol XVI, No 1, New England Hist. and Gen'l Register, January, 1862.
[107] SERG'T MAJOR GEORGE GRANT.
George Grant, Sergeant Major in the Third New Jersey Regiment Journal published in the Wyoming Republican, July 16, 1834, from the original furnished by Thomas Gordon, of Trenton, N. J., which has since been destroyed by fire. Republished in Hazard's Register (Pa), Vol. XIV, pp. 72-76.
[116] LIEUT. JOHN L. HARDENBERGH.
1st Map. 2nd Map.John Leonard Hardenbergh was a native of Rosendale, Ulster County, N. Y., born in 1748. In July 1776, his name appears as First Lieutenant in the Second New York Militia, which regiment was raised under a special call. November 21, 1776, he was commissioned First Lieutenant in the Second New York Continental Regiment, Col. Ritzema, who was soon superceded by Colonel Philip Van Cortlandt. From the autumn of 1776 to the winter of 1780, Lieutenant Hardenbergh was identified with the Second New York, sharing its fortunes, and participating in the important battles in which it was engaged, when the five New York regiments were consolidated into two, in which arrangement he fell into that class of officers who were retained in service but not attached to any battalion. But in July, 1782, he was made Captain of Levies under Lieut Col. Weissenfels, in which capacity he continued for the remainder of the war.
He was one of the surveyors of the Military Tract and his field books, neatly kept and carefully preserved, are now in the possession of the Cayuga County Historical Society. He was the first settler and owner of a tract of land at what was called Hardenbergh's Corners, now the flourishing city of Auburn, N. Y., having settled there in 1792. He died April 25, 1806.
In 1879, the Cayuga County Historical Society published No. 1 of their Collections, comprising the journal of Lieut Hardenbergh, which was then in the possession ot the family, in the hand writing of Lieut. Hardenbergh and undoubtedly an original made by him during the campaign of General Sullivan against the Indians. The notes of Gen. John S. Clark are valuable, as they are the result of a laborious investigation of some two years, during which time he was indefatigable in searching out every scrap of historical information relating to the Sullivan expedition, and made a thorough inspection of the line of march of the army, tracing up and critically examining all the important localities and Indian village sites. Being by profession a Civil Engineer and Surveyor, and having seen active service all through the late civil war, none could be more thoroughly competent for such a task than Gen. Clark, and it will be found that his notes are invaluable and his maps and description of the battle of Newtown and of the Groveland ambuscade, are an important addition to the literature of the campaign and a valuable aid in arriving at a correct understanding, the conclusions reached being the result of a most patient examination of all accessible authorities and likely to stand the test of the most intelligent and critical scrutiny.
[136] THOMAS GRANT.
Thomas Grant, appears from the Journal, to have been one of the surveying party under Lieut. Benjamin Lodge, who accompanied the army from Easton, Pa., and with chain and compass, surveyed the entire route to the Genesee river. Published in the Historical Magazine for August and September, 1862, Vol. VI., p. 233 and p. 273.
[144] LIEUT.-COL. ADAM HUBLEY
(See Journal)[168] LIEUT. JOHN JENKINS.
Lieut. Jenkins was bom in Now London, Conn., at Gardner's Lake, 27th November, 1751, O. S. He was a surveyor and conveyancer, schoolteacher, constable, agent for the Susquehanna Company at Wyoming, farmer, merchant and iron-monger. He came to Wyoming Valley, with his father Judge John Jenkins a native of East Greenwich, R. I., in 1769, and at once took an active part in the Pennamite and subsequently in the Revolutionary wars. He entered into the service of the United States, 26th Aug., 1776, was taken prisoner by the Indians and Tories in the latter part of November, 1777, carried to Niagara where he remained during the winter and in the spring was taken to Montreal and Albany, whence they proposed taking him to Kanadaseago, to a grand Indian Council for final disposition. On the way he escaped and after great fatigue and suffering from hunger, reached home on the 2d of June, 1778, previous to the advent of the forces under Butler and Brant, of whose coming he brought intelligence. He was in command of Forty Fort when the settlers marched out to meet and turn back the invaders. He subsequently joined (6th July, 1778), Captain Spalding's Company as Lieutenant; went with Col. Hartley to Tioga Point in the latter part of September, 1778.
The next year, in April, he waited on General Washington at his request giving him important information relating to the Indian country. He served throughout the Sullivan campaign as a guide to the army, and received the thanks of Gen'l Sullivan in general orders, for "the services rendered the same by his vigilance and exertion," in the Battle of Newtown, 29th Aug., 1779. On his return from that campaign he remained on duty at Wyoming until 25th February, 1781, where he set out with his company to join General Washington at Headquarters on the Hudson, and arrived on the 10th of March. He was engaged in the battle of King's Bridge 3d July, 1781, and when the army marched for Yorktown accompanied them; was at the surrender of Cornwallis, 17th Oct., 1781, serving under Baron Steuben. Returning with the army to the Hudson that same fall, and the war being virtually at an end, he on the 1st of March, 1782, resigned his commission and returned home to the defense of his family and friends.
He was an active, leading man in all the struggles of the settlers, firm and unyielding in his adherence to their rights, never compromising, never surrendering.
After the Revolutionary war, he settled in Exeter, on the battlefield of Wyoming, where he died 19th March, 1827. He married Bethiah, daughter of Jonathan Harris of Colchester, Conn., on the 23d June, 1778, and by her had eight children. She survived him and died 12th August, 1842, aged 90 years.
From the 5th of June, 1778, up to the time of his joining Washington on the Hudson, he kept a journal of events, with which he was connected. So much of it, is here given, as relates to the Sullivan Campaign.
The original manuscript, is in the hands of his grandson, Hon. Steuben Jenkins, Wyoming, Pa., to whom we are indebted for the following copy and the foregoing biographical sketch. It has never before been published.
[178] CAPTAIN DANIEL LIVERMORE.
Daniel Livermore, Captain in the Third New Hampshire Regiment. He was born in Watertown, Mass., in 1749. After serving an apprenticeship to a house carpenter at Concord. N. H., he continued there working at his trade until the commencement of the revolution, when, in June, 1775, he was commissioned as Ensign in Third New Hampshire Reg't and in January, 1776, was appointed as First Lieutenant, and not long after was appointed Captain, and commanded a company of foot in the Sullivan expedition, during which time the following journal was written. Oct. 10th, 1783, Captain Livermore was promoted by Congress to rank of Major by brevet and Dec. 10, 1783, he retired from the army and returned to Concord where he continued to reside until his death, June 22, 1798.
His journal was published in the New Hampshire Historical Collections, Vol. VI, page 308, having been furnished by Joseph B. Walker, Esq., of Concord.
[192] CAPTAIN THOMAS MACHIN.
Thomas Machin in Colonel John Lamb's Second Regiment (N. Y.) Artillery. From April 19 to 23, 1779, in Colonel Van Schaick's expedition against the Onondages. Published in the Magazine of American History, November, 1879, and republished here by permission, through the courtesy of Mrs. Martha J. Lamb, Editor of that Magazine.
[199] LIEUT. WILLIAM McKENDRY.
William McKendry, Lieutenant, and Quarter Master in Colonel Alden's, Sixth Massachusetts Regiment. He was at Cherry Valley at the time of the massacre and with Clinton's column in the Sullivan expedition. He died at Canton, Mass., in 1798. His original journal, commencing with October 25, 1777 and ending with January 3, 1780, is yet in existence. A copy of the same was procured by the late Ellis Ames, Esq., for the Massachusetts Historical Society, and prefixed with a list of diaries relating to the Sullivan campaign by A. McF. Davis, Esq., is published in the "Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society, second series, Vol. II, pp. 436-478," October, 1886.
Acknowledgments are due and heartily tendered to the Massachusetts Historical Society for their cheerful and prompt compliance with the request to furnish advanced sheets, from,which that portion covering the Sullivan campaign from June 1, 1779, is herewith printed. The portion of the journal that precedes, (from Oct. 25, 1777, to June 1, 1779), is to be found in the publication above named.
[211] LIEUT. CHARLES NUKERCK.
Nukerck, Charles, Lieutenant and Captain in Colonel Van Cortlandt's Second New York Regiment. From May 1, 1779, to December 11, 1780. Captain (afterward Colonel) Nukerck was born in Hurley, Ulster County, New York. In 1776 he was serving as Second Lieutenant in Colonel Ritzema's 3d New York Regiment, organized to garrison the forts southward of Crown Point. Under the call of September 16, 1776, he entered the Second New York Regiment to serve during the war, and continued with that regiment as Lieutenant and Captain until the consolidation of the five New York regiments into two in December, 1780, when he was assigned to the class of deranged officers, and continued in service to the close of the war. He afterward settled at Palatine Church, in the Mohawk Valley, where he died greatly respected in November, 1822.
[223] MAJOR JAMES NORRIS.
James Norris, Captain in the Third New Hampshire Regiment, and afterwards Major. Original manuscript in the archives of the Buffalo Historical Society, N. Y. Published in July, 1879, Vol. I, No. 7, of the publications of that society, by Bigelow Brothers, Buffalo, N. Y.
The following has been carefully revised and corrected by George G. Barnum, Esq., Corresponding Secretary, in accordance with a resolution of the Board of Councilors of the Buffalo Historical Society, which, by a resolution unanimously adopted, authorized the use of the "Norris Journal" in the present publication, together with any other document in its archives.
An imperfect copy of this journal, with several omissions and many important errors, said to have been found among Gen. Sullivan's papers after his death, was printed in Hill's New Hampshire Patriot, at Portsmouth, September 16, 1843.
[239] SERGEANT THOMAS ROBERTS.
Journal of Sergeant Thomas Roberts. Grateful acknowledgments, are due the New York Historical Society, New York City, for the many favors bestowed in furnishing information and copies of papers, maps and journals from their archives, embracing also the following journal: From entries in the journal, the author, Thomas Roberts, appears to have been a Sergeant in Captain John Burrowes' Company of Colonel Oliver Spencer's Fifth New Jersey regiment. He was a shoemaker by trade and a resident of Middletown Point, Monmouth County, New Jersey. The manuscript was purchased from a book-stall in Nassau street, New York City, by Alexander Campbell, who presented it to the New York Historical Society, February 10,1886. The writing is much faded and almost illegible. The original manuscript is carefully kept in the archives of the Society.
[246] Rev. William Rogers, D. D.
(See Journal)[266] JOURNAL OF SERGEANT WILLIAM ROGERS.
(Complete as below)William Rogers, Quartermaster Sergeant in Malcolm's N. Y. Regiment in 1777, but in 1779 appears to have belonged to the Second New York. His diary, from April 5 to September 14, 1779, contains names, of places, dates and distances. The original manuscript is in the hands of Mr. B. L. Rogers, Newark, N. J., who kindly furnished Gen. John S. Clark of Auburn, N. Y., a copy, from which the following is taken :
JOURNAL.
Embarked from Haverstraw the fifth of April 1779, and went to White Plains, the Regt to Newburgh. Went to Litchfield and returned. Overtook the Regiment at Minisink after
297 miles travel . . . Miles 297.
Marcht from Minisink the 25th of April to Eastown . . . Miles 50.
Continued there untill the 14 of May set out for Wiony . . . Miles 65.
Arrived there the 14 of June after one months fatigue in the Great Swamp.
The 31st of June we marched to Lackawany . . . Miles 10.
The 2d of August marched from Laccowany to Wilutimink . . . Miles 7.
The 3 to Tunkhanack . . . Miles 12.
The 4th to Nicodepen . . . Miles 13.
The 5th to Wilucy Continued there two days . . . Miles 8.
The 8th to Standing Stone . . . Miles 10.
The 9th to Meshopping, there the 10th . . . Miles 14.
The 11th to Teogy . . . Miles 5.
The 12th in morning marcht for Shimmung in hopes to surprise it, But found it Deserted. Burnt it But was fired upon By the Enemy above. Returned to Teogy
the Same Day after a march of . . . Miles 28.
The 20 of August set out from Teogy and in two Days after arrived at Shimmung and came to Newtown where we were smartly opposed But obtained the victory, Reduced it to Ashes and Destroyed their crops. The 31 marched from Newtown,
Destroyed Knowahole, and encamped after march . . . Miles 13.
The 1st of September arrived at Catherines town . . . Miles 14.
The 3d encamped By the Seneca Lake . . . Miles 10.
The 4th Destroyed a Small Settlement By the Lake . . . Miles 13.
The 5th came to Kendaia, Destroyed it . . . Miles 8.
The 6th marched in from that . . . Miles 3.
The 7th Crossed the Outlet to the Seneca Lake and came to Canandaigue . . . Miles 14.
9th to Run . . . Miles 8.
10th to Kanandague . . . Miles 12.
11th to Hannayaye . . . Miles 16.
13th [12th] to Kaneghsaws . . . Miles 12.
13th to Squatehokus . . . Miles 8.
14th to Chinesee . . . Miles 7.[267] LIEUT. SAMUEL M. SHUTE.
Journal of Samuel Moore Shute, Lieutenant in Second New Jersey Regiment. The original manuscript has been in the Elmer family since the death of Dr. Shute, in 1816, and was accidentally discovered during the centennial year, by a relative. It is now in possession of William E. Potters, Esq., of Princeton, N. J.
The journal of the expedition, with the exception of a very little, is complete and contains some incidents which are nowhere else to be found. Although some of it is very indistinct, having apparently been wet by exposure, yet it has been accurately deciphered by General John S. Clark, Auburn, N. Y., who, with the assistance of Judge A. S. Thurston, Elmira, N. Y., carefully compared his copy with the original, August 25, 1879.
The following is taken from the literal copy made by General Clark, who says, that the reference notes were evidently made at about the same time as the journal, and could very properly be incorporated with it. In one or two instances, some doubt appeared as to the proper reference, but on a careful examination he reached the conclusion that they referred to the subjects as herein indicated.
[275] LIEUT. RUDOLPHUS VAN HOVENBURGH
Rudolphus Van Hovenburgh, Lieutenant in Lieutenant Colonel Weissenfels' 4th N. Y. Regiment. He was an original member of the New York Society of Cincinnati. He died about 1824 or 1825.
From an entry in his journal, June 24th, "one of our Regt. was shot," and the fact that the person thus mentioned was James Titus, of the 5th New York, some have supposed that Van Hovenburgh was of that regiment; but that the above entry is an inadvertence is evident from the entry next day,"Col. Debois Reg't past ours on their March for Otsago." The name of Rand. Van Hovenburgh appears in the United States Register, as a Lieutenant of the 4th New York. This is evidently an error in copying or in printing, as his name was not Randolph, but Rudolph or Rudolphus. He was ensign in 3d Co., 4th New York Regiment Nov. 21, 1776. Lieut, Jan. 9, 1778, mustered Jan. 1782. It must be remembered, however, that in 1780, the five New York regiments were consolidated into two, and therefore, although a Lieutenant in the 4th New York during the Sullivan Campaign, he was afterwards and at the close of the war, a Lieutenant in the 2d New York.
Rev. David Craft received a certified copy of this journal from the late Franklin B. Hough, M. D., from which the following is taken. Dr. Hough had tracings of the signature of Van Hovenburgh, but could tell nothing more about him. The name still occurs in Ulster county, and he probably lived near Kingston, N. Y. This journal has never before been published.
[285] SERGEANT NATHANIEL WEBB.
Nathaniel Webb, was Sergeant Major in the Second N. Y. Regiment. The original journal was in possession of his son, Dr. Ezekiel Webb in 1855, at which time a part of it was putblished in the Elmira Republican, September 11th and 12th. No trace of the original can be found, and as no files of the paper are in existence, that part published on the 12th of September, cannot be found.
The following is taken from a copy furnished General John S. Clark, by Lyman C. Draper, Esq., Corresponding Secretary of the State Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin:
FROM THE ELMIRA DAILY REPUBLICAN,
SEPT . 11TH, 1855.RELICS OF THE OLDEN TIME.
Dr. Ezekiel Webb has placed in my hands a journal kept by his father, Nathaniel Webb, who was an officer in Colonel Van Cortlandt's regiment, Mc.Dougal's Brigade, having entered the service in April, 1777. He was present at the surrender of Burgoyne, at the battles of Germantown, Monmouth and several other engagements, notes of which appear in this Journal.
In April, 1779, Van Cortlandt's regiment was ordered from Albany to accompany Sullivan's Expedition against the Indians. The journal states the details of the expedition, from day to day, until it reaches Wyoming where the regiment to which he belonged (Van Cortlandt's) arrived the 14th of June.
[288] MAP AND LETTER OF CAPT. WILLIAM GRAY.
Schohara OCT 28th 1778.
SR.
I Recd yours of the 20th Inst & understand the Contents & have Accordingly Sent you a Draught of Part of Schoara, Part of the west Branch of Delaware & Part of Susquehana which is all that I Can Colect. I shewed your Leter to Col Butler who has Promised to Let me Have Leave & men to Asist me to Survay the Roads you mentioned If possible, which I Doubt not but it will. If so I shall write to you as soon as I begin I had Neither pencil or Indian Ink to shade the Hills which are Very Numerous as there is nothing Else after you Quite the waggon Road. too you Can Reach Unendilla the Road or path from thence Ononaughquaga is much Better as it gos all the way along the River.As to my finding out the Varyation at this place I imagine that it will be very Difficult as sun is not to be scene for at least one hour after he Rises & an hour before he sets However I will try my Best
I shall now give you an Acct. of our March & Expedition to the Indian towns as well as I Can. We Marched from Fort Defiance on friday 2d ult with a Party of men Consisting of the 4th Pennsy.. a Regt, Part of the Rifel Chore & some Malitia in Number about 260—Officers Included. along the Line you see Marked on the Draught, without anything worthy Notice till we Came to Unendilla which we found Evacuated, from thence we Marched Down the River Susquehana for Ononaughquaga the Chief Indian town where we thought to Start a Party of Savages & torys By Surprise, but we Happened Unluckily to be Discovered by Some Scouting Savages who made the best of their way & as they knew the path Better than we Did & had Got the start So far we Could not Come up with them though our Scoting Party traveled all Night, to no purpos, we Got to Ononaughquaga on Thursday the 8th Ult. About 10 o Clock at Night which we found Evacuated Also in the Greatest Disorder Every thing Seemed as if the[y] had fled in the Greates Haste. Nex Morning we set the town (which Consisted of About 30 or forty good Houses in) in flames Destroying therein Great Quantitys of Household Furniture & Indian Corn, After the Burning of the town two men of our party went out to Sarch for some Horses that were Lost, & not minding to take their Arms with them were fired on from a thicket by some Lurking Indians who wounded one of them (that is Since Dead of the wound) on which Col. Butler ordered Capt Parr with a party of Rifel Men to Go in Sarch of them but they Could not Come up with them though they Marched five or six miles Down the River Seting fier to a very Large Indian Council house in their Return, the same Day About 2. o.Clock we marched from Ononaughquaga up the River too another Town Called Cunahunta (burning Some Indian Houses & Corn on the Road) from thence we Marched Next morning Early Leaving it in flames, but that Night & the Day Raining so terrably that it Rendred Every small Run both Difficualt & Dangerous in Crossing but when we Came to the River below Unendilla (as Pr Draught) it was Dreadful to see so Large a stream to the Mens Breast & very Rappid & Rising at the Rate of one Inch P Minet, but by the Pressing Desire of the men to Get over & the Deligence of the officers with their owne & the Pack Horses they were all Got over Safe which if we had been but one houre Longer we Could not have Crossed & God only knows what would have been the Dreadfull Consequences.
We Marched that Evening up the East side of the River as far as the Scotch Settlement burning all as we went along that Could be of any use to the Enimy. We Could not March thence on Sunday by Reason of the Great Rains on Munday we Marched burning some Tory Houses before we Set out & Encamped in the wood that Night, Marched Early Next Morning but when we Came to Delaware we Could not Cross it but was obliged to March up the N. W. Side of the River & the Pilot not Knowing the Road & Night Coming on we Lost our Road about five or six miles & had to March over two very Large Hills Before we Could Get to the River again However the Party Got Home on Saterday the 16th. Ult in good spirits After a march of Near 300 Miles in Such Terrible Weather Almost bairfooted & Naked, we suffered a good Deal for want of Bread as we had not any of that very usefull Articles for four Days, you Doubtles May see a more Particular Acct. of this at Head Quarters but I have Endeavored to Give it as True as I Could. Present My Best Compliments to Capt Scull & the Rest of the Party & Let them See this. &
I am Sr. your
very Hul. Servt
WM. GRAYP. S. If you see Col. Stewart Shew him this my Compliments to him & I Desire that he may Leave My Accts. weth you as I hope to see you My self soon
To
ROBERT ERSKINE
Head Quarters
faverd by ye Revd Dr Jones On public ServiceA true copy from the original in the Simeon De Witt collection of maps in the archives of the New York Historical Society, made Sept. 8, 1886. See also reference to this map on page 294 hereof.
JOHN S. CLARK.* * * * * *
[341] Biographical Sketch of Brigadier-General Enoch Poor.
Brigadier-General Enoch Poor was born in Andover, Mass., June 21, 1736, but for most of his life resided in Exeter, N. H. Immediately after the battle of Lexington, New Hampshire resolved to raise three regiments, the third being placed under the command of Col. Poor. He was promoted to the rank of Brigadier by commission, dated February 21, 1777. In the indecisive but hard-fought battle of Stillwater, General Poor's Brigade was so closely engaged that it suffered more than two-thirds of the whole American loss in killed, wounded and missing. At the battle of Saratoga, General Poor led the attack. The vigor and gallantry of the charge, supported by an adroit and furious onset from Colonel Morgan, could not be resisted and the British line was soon broken. The year after the Sullivan Campaign, two brigades of Light Infantry chosen from the whole army were formed, the command of one of which, at the request of La Fayette, was given to Gen. Poor. He died of fever September 9, 1780, in camp at Hackensack, N. J., where he was buried the next day with military honors, greatly lamented by the army in which he was deservedly popular. General Washington declared him to be "an officer of distinguished merit, who as a citizen and a soldier, had every claim to the esteem of his country." It has been mentioned as no small tribute to his memory, that the Marquis La Fayette, on his second visit to this country, at a public entertainment, should have propsed the sentiment, "The memory of Light Infantry Poor and Yorktown Scammel."
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