LIBRARY EDITION. CAMPAIGN AGAINST QUEBEC: BEING AN ACCURATE AND INTERESTING ACCOUNT OF THE HARDSHIPS AND SUFFERINGS OF THAT BAND OF HEROES WHO TRAVEKSED THE WILDERNESS, BY THE ROUTE OF THE KENNEBEC, AND CIIAUDIERF. RIVER, TO QUEBEC, IN THE YEAR 1775. By JOHN JOSEPH HENRY, Esq. Late President of the Second Judicial District in Pennsylvania. REVISED EDITION, WITH CORRECTIONS AND ALTERATIONS. WATERTO WN, N. Y. PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY KNOWLTON & RICE. 1844 Advertisement to the First Edition. TO THE PUBLIC. THIS work is given to the world, as left by Judge Hen¬ ry. Had he lived to superintend the printing of it him¬ self, many alterations would, no doubt, have been made \ many passages which may at present appear obscure, would have been fully explained, and many differences of style corrected. As the work purports to be written by Judge Henry, it was thought, improper to make any alterations or additions, trusting that the world, when acquainted with the circumstances under which it was published, would be disposed to pardon trivial errors. As to the truth of the principal facts, the following letter from General Michael Simpson to Judge Henry, is ample testimony : Dear Sir, 1 have read vour manuscript “ of the Expedition through the Wilderness, in 1775.” So far as I was concerned, in the transac¬ tions related in the work, they are truly stated That expedition, perhaps the most arduous during the revolutionary war, is truly represented. The public may, in the general, be assured that the account is genuine. Your humble servant, MICHAEL SIMPSON. To J. J. Henry, Esq. Advertisement to the Second Edition . TIIE PUBLISHERS Of this “Revised Edition , with corrections ,” deem it prop¬ er to state that the alterations or corrections extend no fur¬ ther than to render what was in a degree obscure, more plain. In many instances the style is also thought to be improved ; yet care has been taken to follow as nearly as possible the author’s phraseology, that the excitement of TO THE PUBLIC. Tl the narration may be preserved. The lengthy Notes of the original edition have been mainly omitted, as they relate to subjects mostly local, and of but little import to the general reader, or that are well understood at the pres¬ ent day from other sources. It is a fact no more to be regretted than true, that care enough has not been taken to preserve incidents of those days which “ tried men’s soulsand it is principally to snatch from oblivion a feat of the Revolutionary times, but slightly touched upon by historians, that the present Nar¬ rative is re-published. The actors, or their immediate successors, have little idea of the momentous interest which future generations will attach to every deed that tended to free us as a peo¬ ple from foreign domination, and to the establishment of a government whose theory is in a measure new, and need¬ ing every patriotic incitement to preserve unimpaired in practice. In this particular, the example of our fathers may be more useful than the precepts of cotemporaries. The read¬ er can form his own estimate when he shall have read the following interesting pages. Furthermore, it is an important truth, that although now, 1844, seventy years have passed away since the “ Cam- paign against Quebec” took place, and that the line of march was through what has been denominated the “ Dis¬ puted Territory,” the account given in this narrative of the face of the country, its natural productions, &c. is su¬ perior to any yet before the public. This alone contributes in no small measure to the usefulness of the work. LIFE OF THE AUTHOR, BY HIS DAUGHTER. IT is an observation, trite, true, and universally admit¬ ted, that the lives of those who have not embraced a wide sphere of action, are uninteresting and perfectly devoid of any incitements to attention. On the contra¬ ry, the biography of warriors and statesmen is perused with avidity—not merely on account of the incidents of their own history, but of those of the times in \\ 11 c 1 they lived. In descending to the humbler walks of life, when we trace the history of a good and unfortu¬ nate man through all the varied evolutions that pecu¬ liarly mark his fate, and which prevent him from being enrolled in the list of those beings who have found then- path divested of thorns, it is to some, still interesting ; and although the incidents may not be of a nature to excite wonder or astonishment, they may still possess the power to call forth the sympathy of minds that have been taught to feel for others’ woes. John Joseph Henry, the author of the following pao-es, was born November 4th, 1758, at Lancaster, Pennsylvania. His father was William Henry, Lsq. a man whose memory is still revered by those who pos¬ sessed any knowledge of him. His strict honesty and known probity, render it sacred to such as claimed him as their friend. He was possessed of a strong mechan- ical genius.* * Ha was the inventor of the well-known screw auger. viii LIFE OF Warmly attached to this his favorite pursuit, he wish¬ ed to instil into the minds of his children a taste for mechanics. With some of them he succeeded. As soon as his son John Joseph had attained the age of 14, he bound him an apprentice to an uncle, who was a gunsmith, then a resident of Lancaster, but after some time removed to Detroit, taking his nephew with him. At that place his stay was but short, on account of scarcity of business. He returned on foot with a single guide, who died in the wilderness which lay be¬ tween Detroit and his home. It was here that those hardships and misfortunes first were felt, which were his future companions during a length of years devoted to God and his country. Young Henry returned to his parents and home, dissatisfied with the employment a judicious father had pointed out for him, as the means by which he wished him to gain a future subsistence. His arduous mind panted after military glory; the troubles of his country, fomenting and producing vig¬ orous, and ultimately successful struggles for a total e- mancipation from slavery, wrought strongly upon one, the acme of whose hopes and wishes was, to be one of those who contended most for freedom. In the fall of 1775 he clandestinely joined a regiment of men rais¬ ed in Lancaster county, for the purpose of joining Ar¬ nold, who at that time was stationed at Boston. His father was commissary to the troops, which office obli¬ ged him to attend them to Reading. It was at this time, under circumstances which rendered him most liable to detection from his parent, he left his home to wander at the age of 16, in a strange land. Thus a thirst for glory inflamed his youthful breast, and super¬ seded every other passion and affection of his heart. After enduring all the fatigues of a veteran soldier, the army entered Canada on his birth-day—an eventful one to him. He endured hardships there which in his own simple style, he fully enumerates. It was in prison, where he lay for nine months, that he contracted a dis- THE AUTHOR. ease (the scurvy,) which at that time did not make its appearance—but six weeks afterwards, on his return home, at a time when least expected, it made its ap¬ pearance under its most malignant form. It was at a time when it became a duty incumbent on him to con¬ tinue in the army. A captaincy had been procured for him in the Virginia line, and a lieutenancy m that ot Pennsylvania. He had designed to accept of the com¬ mand under the hero Morgan, which was that of cap¬ tain ; but the disposer of all events arrested his career, and instead of his fond expectations being accomplish- i _nn/1 Ina nior! nrosnects ed, all his hopes were blasted, and liis high prospects rendered a dreary void, by the order of that Ommpo- tence who furnished him with that fomtude -which en ; tence wno iurmaucu ... abled him, through all his misery, to kiss the rod that chastised him. It was after two years continuance on the couch of sickness, that his leg, which was the: un¬ fortunate cause of all his illness began to heahand ie- novated health, to give hopes that peace yet remained for him. # As his lameness precluded all possibility of his again entering the army; as he had, by a ^regard of pa- rental authority, at least so far as concerned his trade, forfeited his claim to his father’s exertions to place him in such a situation as would make him capalde of ren¬ dering himself useful to society, a vigorous efiort on his part was necessary. Resolution was not wanting. He bound himself as an apprentice to John Hublej, Esq. prothonotary of the county ot Lancaster, as a clerk in the office, where for four years he pursued his business with the closest application, and discharged the duties of his office with unabated care and strictness , and when the labors of the day were over, his nights were consumed in study, endeavoring to compensate Eelf i„ some measure for the cation had suffered by his becoming a soldier, ills frame, still somewhat debilitated capable of sustaining the fatigues of office, his health X LIFE OF suffered much from labor so severe, and application so intense. 1 he time of his indentures having expired, he commenced the study of the law under Stephen Chambers, Esq. Here he became acquainted with his iuturg companion in life, the youngest sister of Mr. C. He practised law from the year 1785, until December, . . As “ 1S . le o al knowledge was known to be exten¬ sive, his abilities and talents met their due reward, in an appointment, by his excellency Thomas Mifflin cr OV - ernor, to the office of president of the second judicial district of Pennsylvania. J A number of years had now elapsed, and his family 'VI 11 ^ 1 '' . y an unfortunate removal to a country, at that period sickly, he was attacked by the gout, which, from inexperience, and owing to his having no knowledge as to the consequences that would necessa- n y ensue , did not take proper precautions, so as to lcntei it a regular disease. Under that deceptive name, numerous disorders invaded his frame, and at times with so much severity, that he was compelled to continue at home, and thus prevented from executing his official duties as a judge. It was during seven long years of bodi.y suffering, that his mind and memory re¬ vel ted to those scenes, (more forcibly than ever,) which formed so eventful a period in a life of misfortune and .vicissitude. The interesting narrative of the sufferings that band of heroes, of which he was the youngest is a simple tale of truth, which he undeviatingly throuer 12 and 13, 1759, on¬ ly 16 years previous to the period arrived at in this Narrative; and their details are copied from “ Hume's History of Eng¬ land—continued by Smollett .”— Editor.] The historian says, “ The troops and artillery were landed at Point Levi: they afterwards passed up the river in transports; while admiral Holmes made a movement with his ships, to amuse the enemy posted on the north shore : and the men being much crowded on board, the General ordered one-half of them to be landed for refreshment on the other side of the river. As no possibility appeared of annoying the enemy a- bove the town, "the scheme of operations was totally changed. A plan was formed for conveying the troops farther down in boats, and landing them within a league of Cape Diamond, in hopes of ascending the heights of Abraham, which rise abruptly with a steep ascent from the banks of the river, that they might take pos¬ session of the ground on the back of the city, where it was but indifferently fortified. The dangers and diffi¬ culties attending the execution of this design were so peculiarly discouraging, that one would imagine it could not have been embraced but by a spirit of enterprize that bordered on desperation. The stream was rapid ; the shore shelving; the bank of the river lined with sentinels ; the landing-place so narrow as to be easily missed in the dark; and the ground so difficult as hard¬ ly to be surmounted in the day-time, had no opposition been expected. If the enemy had received the least intimation from spy or deserter, or even suspected the scheme ; had the embarkation been disordered in con¬ sequence of the darkness of the night, the rapidity of the river, or the shelving nature of the north shore, near which they were obliged to row; had one senti¬ nel been alarmed, or toe landing place much mistaken \ AGAINST QUEBEC. 81 the heights of Abraham must have been instantly se¬ cured by such a force as would have rendered the un¬ dertaking abortive; confusion would necessarily have ensued in the dark ; and this would have naturally pro¬ duced a panic, which might have proved fatal to the greater part of the detachment. These objections could not escape the penetration of the gallant Wolfe, who nevertheless adopted the plan without hesitation, and even executed it in person; though at that time la¬ boring under a severe dysentery and fever, which had exhausted his constitution, and reduced him almost to an extremity of weakness. The previous steps being taken, and the time fixed for this hazardous attempt, admiral Holmes moved with his squadron farther up the river, about three leagues above the place appoint¬ ed for the disembarkation, that he might deceive the enemy, antj amuse M. de Bougainville, whom Mont¬ calm had detached with fifteen hundred men to watch the motions of that squadron : but the English admi¬ ral was directed to sail down the river in the night, so as to protect the landing of the forces; and these or¬ ders lie punctually fulfilled. On the twelfth day of September, an hour after midnight, the first embarka¬ tion, consisting of four complete regiments, the light infantry commanded by Colonel Howe, a detachment of Highlanders, and the American grenadiers, was made in fiat-bottomed boats, under the immediate command of the brigadiers Monckton and Murray ; though Gen¬ eral Wolfe accompanied them in person, and was a- mong the first who landed ; and they began to fall down with the tide, to the intended place of disembarkation : rowing close to the north shore, in order to find it the more easily. Without any disorder the boats glided gently along, but by the rapidity of the tide, and the darkness of the night, the boats overshot the mark, and the troops landed a little below the place at which the disembarkation was intended. As the troops laud¬ ed, the boats were sent back for the second embarka- 82 CAMPAIGN tion, which was superintended hv brigadier Towns- bend In the mean time, Colonel Howe, with the light infantry and the Highlanders, ascended the woody pre¬ cipice with admirable courage and activity, and dislodg¬ ed a serjeant’s guard, which defended a small intrench¬ ed narrow path, by which alone the rest of the forces could reach the summit. Then they mounted without further molestation from the enemy, and the General drew them up in order as they arrived. Monsieur de Montcalm no sooner understood that the English had gained the heights of Abraham, which in a manner commanded the town on its weakest part, than he re¬ solved to hazard a battle; and began his march with¬ out delay, after having collected his whole force from the side of Beauport. General Wolfe, perceiving the enemy crossing the river St. Charles, began to form his own line, which consisted of six battalions, and the Louisbourg grena¬ diers ; the right commanded by brigadier Monckton, and the left by brigadier Murray : to the rear of the left, Colonel Howe was posted with his light infantry, just returned from a four-gun battery, which they had taken without opposition. M de Montcalm advancing in such a manner as to show his intention was to Hank the left of the English, brigadier Townshend was sent thither with the regiment of Amherst, which he form¬ ed en potence , presenting a double front to the enemy ; he was afterwards reinforced by two battalions; and the reserve consisted of one regiment drawn up in eight subdivisions, with large intervals. The right of the enemy was composed of half the colony troops, two battalions, and a body of Canadians and savages: their centre consisted of a column formed by two other reg¬ ular battalions ; and on the left one battalion, with the remainder of the colony troops, was posted : the bush¬ es and corn-fields in their front were lined with fifteen hundred of their best marksmen, who kept up an ir¬ regular galling fire, which proved fatal to many brave AGAINST QUEBEC. 85 officers, thus singled out for destruction. This fire, in¬ deed, was in some measure checked by the advanced posts of the British line, who piqueered with the ene¬ my for some hours before the battle began. Both ar¬ mies were destitute of artillery except two small pie¬ ces on the side of the French, and a single gun which the English seamen made shift to diaw up from the landing-place. This was very well served, and galled their column severely. At length, about nine in the morning, the enemy advanced to the charge with great order and vivacity, though their fire was irregular and ineffectual. On the contrary, the British forces re¬ served their shot until the French had approached with¬ in forty yards of their line: then they poured in a ter¬ rible discharge; and continued the fire with such de¬ liberation and spirit, as could not fail to produce a very considerable effect. General Wolfe was stationed on the right, at the head of Bragg’s regiment and the Lou- isbourg grenadiers, where the attack was most warm. As he stood conspicuous in the front of the line, he had been aimed at by the enemy’s marksmen, and received a shot in the wrist, which however did not oblige him to quit the field. Having wrapped a handkerchief a- round his hand, he continued givingorders without the least emotion ; and advanced at the head of the grena¬ diers with their bayonets fixed , when another ball un¬ fortunately pierced the breast of tiiis young hero, who fell in the arms of victory, just as the enemy gave way. At this very instant, every separate regiment of the British army seemed to exert itself for the honor of its own peculiar character. While the right pressed on with their bayonets, brigadier Murray briskly advanced with the troops under his command, and soon broke the centre of the enemy ; then the Highlanders, draw¬ ing their broadswords, fell in among them with irresis¬ tible impetuosity, and drove them with great slaughter into the town, and the works they had raised at the bridge of the river St. Charles. On the left and rear 8 CAMPAIGN so of the English, the action was not so violent. Some of the light infantry had thrown themselves into hou¬ ses ; where, being attacked, they defended themselves with great courage and resolution. Colonel Howe hav¬ ing taken post with two companies behind a small copse, sallied out frequently on the flanks of the enemy, du¬ ring this attack, and often drove them into heaps ; while brigadier Townshend advanced platoons against their front; so that the right wing of the French were total¬ ly prevented from executing their first intention. The brigadier himself remained with Amherst’s regiment, to support this dispostion, and to overawe a body of savages posted opposite to the light infantry, waiting for an opportunity to fall upon the rear of the British army- General Wolfe being slain, and at the same time Mr. Monckton being dangerously wounded at the head of Lascelles’ regiment, where he distinguished himself with remarkable gallantry, the command de¬ volved on brigadier Townshend, who hastened to the centre; and finding the troops disordered in the pur¬ suit, formed them again with all possible expedition. This necessary task was scarce performed, when M de Bougainville, With a body of two thousand fresh men, appeared in the rear of the English. He had begun his march from Cape Rouge as soon as he received in¬ telligence that the British troops had gained the heights of Abraham, but did not come up in time to have any share in the battle. Mr Townshend immediately or¬ dered two battalions, with two pieces of artillery, to advance against this officer; who retired, at their ap¬ proach, among woods and swamps, where General Townshend very wisely declined hazarding a precari¬ ous attack. He had already obtained a complete victo¬ ry, taken a great number of French officers, and was possessed of a very advantageous situation, which it would have been imprudent to forego. The Frencli General, M. de Montcalm, was mortally wounded in the battle, and conveyed into Quebec; from whence. AGAINST QUEBEC. 87, before be died, he wrote a letter to General Towns- hend, recommending the prisoners to that generous hu¬ manity by which the British nation is distinguished. His second in command was left wounded on the field; and next day expired on board an English ship, to which he had been conveyed* About one thousand of the enemy were made prisoners, including a great num¬ ber of officers; and about five hundred were slain on the held of battle. The wreck of their army, after they had reinforced the garrison of Quebec, retired to Point-au-Tremble; from whence they proceeded to Jacques Quatiers, where they remained intrenched un¬ til they were compelled by the severity of the weather to make the best of their way to Trois Rivieres and Montreal. This important victory was obtained at the expense of fifty men killed, including nine officers : but the death of General Wolfe was a national loss, uni¬ versally lamented. He inherited from natuie an ani¬ mating' fervor of sentiment, an intuitive perception, an extensive capacity, and a passion for glory, which stim¬ ulated him to acquire every species of military knowl¬ edge that study could comprehend, that actual service could illustrate and confirm. This noble warmth of disposition seldom fails to call forth and unfold the lib¬ eral virtues of the soul Brave above all estimation of danger, he w T as also generous, gentle, complacent, and humane ; the pattern of the officer, the darling of the soldier; there was a sublimity in his genius which soar¬ ed above the pitch of ordinary minds ; and had his fac¬ ulties been exercised to their full extent by opportuni¬ ty and action, had his judgment been fully matured by age and experience, he would without doubt have ri¬ valled in reputation the most celebrated captains of an¬ tiquity. Immediately after the battle of Quebec, Admiral Saunders, who, together with his subordinates Durrel and Holmes, had all along co-operated heartily with the land forces for the advantage of the service, sent up all 89 CAMPAIGN the boats of the fleet with artillery and ammunition: and on the seventeenth day of the month sailed up, with all the ships of war, in a disposition to attack the lower town, while the upper part should be assaulted by General Townshend. This gentleman had employ¬ ed the time from the day of action in securing the camp with redoubts, in forming a military road for the can¬ non, in drawing up the artillery, preparing batteries, and cutting off the enemy’s communication with the country. On the seventeenth, before any battery could be finished, a flag of truce was sent from the town with proposals of capitulation; which, being maturely con¬ sidered by the General and Admiral, were accepted, and signed at eight next morning. They granted the more favorable terms, as the enemy continued to as¬ semble in the rear of the British army ; as the season was become wet, stormy, and cold, threatening the troops with sickness, and the fleet with accident, and as a considerable advantage would result from taking possession of the town while the walls were in a state of defence. What rendered the capitulation still more fortunate for the British General, was the information he afterwards received from deserters, that the enemy bad rallied, and were reinforced behind Cape Rogue, under the command of M.de Levy, arrived from Mont¬ real for that purpose, with two regular battalions; and that M. de Bougainville, at the head of eight hundred men, with a convoy of provisions, was actually on his march to throw himself into the town on the eighteenth, that very morning on which it was surrendered. The place was not then completely invested, asrthe enemy had broke the bridge of boats, and posted detachments in very strong works on the other side of the river St. Charles. The capitulation was no sooner ratified, than the British forces took possession of Quebec on the land side; and guards were posted in different parts of the town, to preserve order and discipline ; at the same time Captain Palliser, with a body of seamen, entered » AGAINST QUEBEC. & the lower town, and took the same precautions. Next day about a thousand prisoners were embarked on board transports, which proceeded to France with the first opportunity. Meanwhile the inhabitants of the coun¬ try came in great numbers to deliver up their arms, and take the oath of fidelity to the English govern¬ ment. The death of Montcalm, which was indeed an irreparable loss to France, in all probability over¬ whelmed the enemy with consternation, and confound¬ ed all their councils ; otherwise we cannot account for the tame surrender of Quebec to a handful of troops, even after the victory they had obtained : for although the place was not regularly fortified on the land side, and most of the houses were in ruins, their walls and parapets had not yet sustained the least damage ; the besiegers were hardly sufficient to complete the inves¬ titure ; a fresh army was assembled in the neighbor¬ hood, with which their communication continued open; the season was so far advanced that the Liitisli foices in a little time must have been forced to desist by the severity of the weather, and even retire with their fleet before the approach of winter, which never fails to freeze up the river St Lawrence. * [Mr. Henry's Narrative resumed .] November 15th. Arriving on ilie brow of the precipice, we found ourselves on the plains of Abra¬ ham, so deservedly famous in story. 1 he morning was cold, and we were thinly clad. While an ad¬ venturous party despatched by Arnold, under i he com¬ mand of one of Morgan’s Lieutenants, were exam¬ ining the walls of the city, we were pacing theplains to-and-fro, in silence, to keep ourselves warm. 1 he winter had set in—a cold northwester blew with un¬ common keenness. By the time the reconnoitering party returned, daylight was not very distant. 1 he party found every thing towards the city in a state of perfect quietness. This report was delivered, in my SM) CAMPAIGN hearing, to Morgan, however the world may have since been made to believe. Not even the cry of “ All’s well” was uttered, was a part of their report; yet we heard that cry from the walls, even where we were : but this, in a direct line, was nearer to us than the voices opposite to the party. This was the hap¬ py moment; but with our small and disjointed force, what could be done ? There was scarcely more than thiee hundred and fifty men, willing and determined to be sure, but too few to assail a fortress like Que¬ bec. If that had been known this night which was evidenced in a few days by the fugitives from the city, Arnold would most assuredly have hazarded an attack. St. John’s gate, which opens on Abraham’s plains, and is a most important station, was unbar¬ red, nay, unclosed : nothing but a single cannon un¬ der the care of a drowsy watch, was there as a de¬ fence ; we w r ere not a mile distant, and might have entered unknow n, and even unseen. These ar6 un¬ certain opinions, resting on the vague reports of the moment, which might have been true or untrue. My memory is, however, fresh in the recollection of the heart-burnings this failure caused among us. Prov¬ idence, for wise purposes, would have it otherwise. Near daylight, requiring rest and refreshment, the troops moved a mile, to a farm-house of Lieutenant Governor Cab I well. This was a great pile of wood¬ en buildings, with numerous out-houses, w hich tes¬ tified the agricultural spirit and taste of the owner. He, good soul, was then snug in Quebec. Those w ho came first fared well, and as luck would have it, we were of the number: every thing within and without the house, became a prey. Adversity had destroyed in our minds every decorous or delicate sen¬ sation. Guards were stationed next the city. Wrap¬ ped in my blanket., fearless of events, casting my AGAINST QUEBEC. 01 person on the floor of an elegant parlor, I slept sweet¬ ly and soundly lili two in the afternoon, and then was roused solely by a cry that the enemy was ad¬ vancing. We flew to arms, and rather in a hurried manner, ran towards the city, w hich was nearly two miles from us. We saw no enemy. It turned out that a Mr. Ogden, a cadet from Jersey, a laige and handsome young man, in favor with Arnold, had been authorized to place the sentinels that day. He did place them, most stupidly. George Merchant, of Morgan’s, a man who would at any time, give him fair-play, have sold his life dearly, he stationed in a thicket, within view f of the enemy. At the time of placing him, when at his post, he was out of sight of the garrison ; but the mischief was, (though he could not be seen,) he could see no one approach ; he was taken absolutely unaware of danger. A ser¬ geant of the “seventh,” who, from the manner of the thing, must have been clever, accompanied by a few privates, slily creeping through the streets of the suburbs of St. John, and then under the cover of the bushes, sprung upon the devoted xMerchant, even be¬ fore he had time to cock his rifle. Merchant was a tall and handsome Virginian. In a few days, he, hunting-shirt and all, was sent to England, proba¬ bly as a finished specimen of the riflemen of the col¬ onies. The government there very liberally sent him home in the following year. The capture of Merchant grieved us, and brought us within a few hundred yaids of the city. Arnold had the boldness, you might say the audacity, or still more correctly, the folly, to draw us up in a line in front and opposite to the wall of the city. The par¬ apet was lined by hundreds of gaping citizens and soldiers, whom our guns could not harm, because of the distance. They gave us a huzza ! We return- g* CAMPAIGN ed it, and remained a considerable time huzzaing, and spending our powder against the walls, for we harmed no one. Some of our men to the right, un¬ der cover of something like ancient ditches and hil¬ locks, crept forward within two hundred yards of the works, but their firing was disregarded by the enemy as farcical. Febiger, who was a real and well-in¬ structed soldier and engineer, did advance singly within a hundred paces, and pored with the eye of an adept. During all this, as my station in the line happened to he on a mound, a few feet higher than the common level of the plain, it was perceptible through the embrasures that there was a vast bustle within. After some minutes a thirty-six pounder was 'let loose upon us; but so ill was the gun pointed, that the ball fell short, or passed high over our heads. Another and another succeeded—to these salutes, we gave t hem all we could, another and another huzza. It must he confessed that this ridiculous affair gave me a contemptible opinion of Arnold. This notion was by no means singular. Morgan, Febiger, and other officers, who bad seen service, did not. hesitate to speak of it. in that point of view. However, Ar¬ nold had a vain desire to gratify, of which we were then ignorant. He was well known at Quebec. Formerly he had traded from this port to the West Indies, inost particularly in the article of horses. Hence he was despised by the principal people. The epithet of “ Horse-jockey,” was freely and universal¬ ly bestowed upon him by the Biitish. Having now obtained power, he became anxious to display it in the faces of those who had formerly despised and contemned him. The venerable Carleton, an lii^h- man of a most amiable and mild character, Colonel Maclean, a Scotchman, old in w arfare, wouldtint, in any shape, communicate with him. If Montgomery AGAINST QUEBEC. 93 had originally been our commander, matters might have been more civilly conducted. This particulari¬ ty in relating a most trivial and disgusting occur¬ rence, arises from a desire to set before you a cau¬ tionary rule, which it will be prudent for you to ob¬ serve in your historical reading. “ Do not believe “an author unless the story he relates be probable, “ accompanied by such circumstances as might rea- “ sonably attend the transaction, unless he is corrob- 11 orated by others who speak on that subject.” Many of our wisest men within the colonies wrote and spoke of this bravading as a matter of moment, and with much applause. Some of our historians, (Gor¬ don,) have given it celebrity. But a more silly and boastful British historian, (Amwell,) says there was a dreadful cannonad e by which many of the rebels were destroyed. The truth is, that this day not a drop of blood was shed but that of Governor Cald¬ well’s horned cattle, hogs, and poultry, which run plentifully. After this victory in huzzaing, which was boy’s play, and suited me to a hair, we return¬ ed to quarters to partake of the good things of this world. '1 he next day, (Nov. 15th,) a scene of a different kind opened, winch let us into the true character of Arnold. In the wilderness the men had been stint¬ ed to a pint of flour by the day. This scanty allow¬ ance of Hour had been continued since we had come into this plentiful country. Morgan, Hendricks, and Smith, wailed upon the commander-in-chief, to rep¬ resent the grievance and obtain redress. Altercation and warm language took place. Smith, with his u- sual loquacity, told us that Morgan seemed at one time on the point of striking Arnold. We fared the better for this interview. On the following day, (Nov. 16th,) the rifle-com- 04 CAMPAIGN panics removed further from the city. About half a mile from Caldwell’s house our company obtained ex¬ cellent quarters, in the house ol a French gentleman, who seemed w ealthy. He w as pleasing in his man¬ ners, but the rudeness our ungovernable men exhib¬ ited, created in him an apparent disgust towards us. Here we remained near a week. During that time, w e had constant and severe duty to perform. '1 here was a large building on the low grounds, near the river St. Charles, which was occupied as a nunneiy, by a most respectable society of ladies. In tront of this house, at the distance of fifty yards, there was a spacious log building, which seemed to be a school- house, occupied by the priesthood attendant ou the nunnery. This* house we took possession of as a guard-house, under an idea, (as it stood directly be¬ tween the town and the nunnery, w hich contained some precious deposites, that they had not had time to remove,) that the enemy would not lire in this di¬ rection. The conjecture was just. Nov. 16th.—In the afternoon a distressing occur¬ rence took place here, notwithstanding i ur vicinity to this holy place. Towards the evening the guard was relieved. Lieutenant Simpson commanded it. This guard was composed of two-and-twenty fine fellows of out company. When the relief-guard came, a Frenchman, of a most villainous appearance, bot h as to person and visage, came to our Lieutenant with a w ritten order from Colonel At nold, commanding him to accompany the bearer, w ho would be our guide a- cross the river St. Charles, to obtain some cattle feed¬ ing beyond it, on the account of government. 1 be order, in the first instance, because of its preposter¬ ousness, was doubted, but, upon a little reflection, o- beyed/ Knowing the danger, our worthy Lieuten¬ ant also knew the best and only means of executing AGAINST QUEBEC. 95 ihe enterprize. The call “ come on, lads,” was ut¬ tered. We ran with speed from the guard-house some hundreds of yards, over the plain to the mouth of the St. Charles, where the ferry is. Near the fer¬ ry there was a large wind-mill, and near it stood a small house resembling a cooper’s shop. Two carts of a large size were passing the ferry heavily laden with the householdsuff, women, and children of the townsmen living from the subuibsof St. Roque, con¬ tiguous to palace-gate, to a.void the terrible and fatal effects of war. The carts were already in a large scow or flat-bottomed boat, and the ferrymen, seeing us coming, were tugging hard at the ferry-rope to get off the boat, which was aground, before we should arrive. It was no small matter, in exertion, to out¬ do people of our agility. Simpson, with his usual good humor, urged the race, from a hope that the gairison would not fire upon us when in the boat \vitl> their flying townsmen. The weight of our bodies and arms put the boat aground in good earnest.— Simpson vociferously urging the men to free the boat, directed them to place their guns in my arms, stand¬ ing on the bow. He ordered me to watch the Hash¬ es of the cannon* of the city, near palace gate.— Jumping into the water mid-deep, all but Serjeant Dixon and myself, they were pushing, pulling, and with handspikes attempting to float the scow. One of the carts stood between Dixon and myself-—he was tugging at the ferry rope. Presently “a shot,” was called ; it went wide of the boat, its mark. The exertions of the party were redoubled. Keeping an eye upon the town, the sun about setting in a clear *This was a ridiculous practice, universally adopted in the camp near Boston, and was now pursued at tins place. It is merely de- eignative of the raw soldier. Such indications of fear should now- a-day9 be severely reprimanded. 98 CAMPAIGN skv, the view was beauiiful indeed, but somewhat terrific. Battlements like these had been unknown to me. Our boat lay like a rock in the water, and was a target at point blank shot about three-foil tins of a mile from palace gate, which issues into Saint Roque. 1 would have adored all the saints in the calendar if honor and their worships would have per¬ mitted the transportation of my person a few perches from the spot where it then stood, by the austere com¬ mand of duty. It was plainly obsei vable that many persons were engaged in preparing the guns lor an¬ other discharge. Our brave men were straining ev¬ ery nerve to obtain success. “ A shot,” was all that could be said, when a thirty-six pound ball, touching the lower edge of the nob of the cart-wheel, descend¬ ing a little, took the leg of my patriotic friend below the knee, and carried away the bones of that part entirely. “ Oh ! Sim|ison,” he cried, " l am gone. Simpson, whose heart was lender and kind, leaped into the boat: calling to the men, the person of Dix¬ on was borne to the wind-mill. Now a roar of tri¬ umph was heard from the city, accompanied by some tolerably well directed shots. The unfoitunate man was borne at a slow and soleun pace to the guard- house_the enemy every now and then sending us his majesty’s compliments, in the shape ol a 24 or 30 pound ball. When the procession came into a line with the town, the guard-house, and nunnery, the firing ceased. At the time we were most busily engaged with Dixon, atthe wind-mill,thevileFrench¬ man, aghast and horror-stricken, fled from us to the city. If his desertion had been noticed in time, his fate had been sealed ; but the rascal was unohsei v- ed till he had run several hundred yards along the beach of the bay of St. Charles. He turned out to ' be a spy, puiposely sent by government to decoy and AGAINST QUEBEC. 97 entrap us, and he succeeded but too easily with the vigilant Arnold. Dixon was now carried on a litter to the house of an English gentleman, about a mile off. An amputation took place—a tetanus followed, which, about nine o’clock of the ensuing day, ended in the dissolution of this honorable citizen and sol¬ dier. There are many reasons for detailing this af¬ fair so minutely to you. Among these are, to impress upon your minds an idea of the manners and spirit of those times r our means and rude method of war¬ fare ; but more particularly for the purpose of intro¬ ducing to your observation an anecdote of Dixon, which is characteristic of the ideas and feelings then entertained by the generality of his countrymen. Be¬ fore we left our native homes, tea had. as it were, be¬ come an abomination even to the ladies. The taxa¬ tion of it by the Parliament of England, with de¬ sign to draw from us a trifling revenue, was made the pretence with the great body of the people, for our opposition to government. The true ground, however, with the politically wise, was, that that law annihilated our rights as Englishmen. It is an ax¬ iom of the common law of our glorious ancestors, that taxation and representation must, go hand in hand. This rule was now violated. Hence it was, that no male or female, knowing their rights, if pos¬ sessed of the least spark of patriotism, would deign to taste of that delightful beverage. The lady of the house, though notone who approved of our principles of action, was very attentive to our wounded com¬ panion ; she presented him a bowl of tea: “No, madam,” said he, “it is the ruin of my country.” Uttering this noble sentiment, (Nov. 17th,) this in¬ valuable citizen died, sincerely lamented by every one who had the opportunity of knowing his virtues. Dixon was a gentleman of good property aud edu- 9 CAMPAIGN OS cation, though no more than the first sergeant of our company. His estate lay in West Hanover town¬ ship, in the county of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He was’an agriculturist, which, in the vagueness and uncertainty of our language, is called “ a farmer.” In fact he was a freeholder, the possessor of an ex¬ cellent tract of land, accompanied by all those agree- ables which render the cultivator of the earth, in Pennsylvania, the most independent, and, with pru¬ dent economy, the most happy of human beings. The following morning, Simpson was the first to give me an account of Dixon s death, which affect¬ ed us much. His corpse received the usual military honors. Duty compelled my absence elsewhere. The blood of Dixon was the first oblation made up¬ on the altar of liberty at Quebec, and Merchant was the first prisoner. The latter was a brave and de¬ termined soldier, fitted for subordinate station , the former was intuitively a captain. The city and vi¬ cinity occupied the attention of the commandei neat¬ ly a week Nov. 18th.—Not being fully in the secret, it does not become me to recount the causes ol our retreat to Point aux Tremble. We did, however, make this retrograde movement rather in a slovenly style, ac¬ companied, probably, by the maledictions of the clei- gy and nobility, but attended by the regrets of a host of well-wishers among the peasantry. Point aux Tremble is at the distance of twenty, or more, miles from Quebec. The route thither, though in a se¬ vere winter, was interesting. The woods were leaf¬ less, except as to those trees of the fir-kind ; but nu¬ merous neat and handsomely-situated farm-houses, and many beautiful landscapes were presented, and enlivened our march along t his majestic stream. At Detroit, which is supposed to be little short of nine AGAINST QUEBEC. 09 hundred miles from Quebec, even there it is no con¬ temptible river ; but here the immense volume of its waters, strikes the mind of the stranger with aston¬ ishment anil rapture. Our Susquehanna, which, from its grandeur, attracts the European eye, stands in a low grade when compared with the St. Law¬ rence. Ascending the river, at a distance of ten or fifteen miles we observed the rapid passage, down stream, of a boat, and soon afterwards of a ship, one or the other of which contained the person of Sir Guv Oarleton. That it was the Governor of the province, flying from Montgomery, who had by this time captured Montreal, we were informed by a spe¬ cial kind of messenger, which was no other than the report of the cannon, by way of feu-dc-joie , upon his arrival at the capital. Water, in regard to the com¬ munication of sound, is nearly as good a conductor as metals are, for the transmission of the electric flu¬ id. Though near to the place of our destination, we could mark with precision the report of every gun. Point aux Tremble, at this time, had assumed the appearance of a straggling village. There was a spacious chapel, where the ceremonies of the Roman Catholic religion were performed with a pomp not seen in our churches, hut by a fervency and zeal ap¬ parently very pious, which became a severe and ad¬ ditional stroke at early prejudices. Quarters were obtained in the village and farm houses, dispersed o- ver a space of some miles, up and down the river. We enjoyed as much comfort as light houses, warm fires, and our scantiness of clothing would admit. Provisions were in plenty, particularly beef, which, though small in bulk, was of an excellent flavor* Being in a few da\s domesticated, as it were, in a re¬ spectable farmer’s house, we bad leisure to observe the economy of the family, Every crevice through CAMPAIGN 100 which cold air could penetrate, was carefully pasted with strips of paper of every color. To permit the cold air to intrude is not the only evil which results ; hut the smallest interstice admits with the air an al¬ most impalpable snow, which is very inconvenient, particularly at night, when the winds blow most sharply. A stove of iron stood a small space from the wall of the kitchen chimney, but in such a way that it might be encompassed by the family or guests. This stove was kept continually hot, both by day and by night. Over the stove there is a rack so con¬ structed as to serve for the drying of wet clothes, moccasins, &c. &c. When these people slaughter their beasts for winter use, they cut up the meat in¬ to small pieces, such as a halt pound, two pounds, &c. according to the number in the family. In the evening before bedtime, the females of the house pre¬ pare the dinner of the following day. It may be par¬ ticularly described, as it was done in our view for a number of days together, and during the time was never varied. This was the manner: a pieceof pork or beef, or a portion of each kind, together with a suf¬ ficiency of cabbage, potatoes, and turnips, seasoned with salt, and an adequate quantity of water, were put into a neat tin kettle with a close lid. The ket¬ tle, thus replenished, was placed on the stove in the room where we all slept, and there it simmered till the time of rising, when it was taken to a small fire in the kitchen, where a stewing continued till near noon, when they dined. The contents were turned into a large basin. Each person had a plate ; no knife was used, except one to cut the bread, but. a five or six pronged fork answered the purposes of a spoon. The meat required no cutting, as it was re¬ duced to a mucilage, or at least to shreds. This, you may say, is trifling information, and unworthy AGAINST QUEBEC. 101 of your notice ; but according* Jo my mind, it is im¬ portant to all of us, to know the habits, manners, and means of existence of that class of society, which in all nations, compose the bulk and strength of the body politic. Our dinner followed in a few hours. The manner of our cookery excited astonishment in our hosts. As much beef was consumed at a single meal, as would have served this family for a week. Remember, however, that the mess consisted of per¬ sons who were entitled to double and treble rations. Two rosy cheeked daughters of the house, soon con¬ trived the means and obtained the surplus. This circumstance most probably made us agreeable to the family, for we had nothing else to bestow. The snow had now fallen in abundance, and en¬ livened the country. Sleighs and sleds were passing in every direction. The farmers began to supply themselves with a full stock of winter’s fuel from the forest. JNo fowls were visible about the house ; a few were kept alive for breeding in the ensuing summer, in a close and warm coop in the upper story of the barn. The rest of the fowls, intended for the market or winter’s use, had been slaughtered early in au¬ tumn, at the setting in of the frost, and were hung up in the feathers in the garret. Thence they were taken as wanted. Towards March they become un¬ savory, but in no way tainted. Webecame acquain¬ ted with this kind of economy, but upon a much lar¬ ger scale afterwards, when in a state of affliction and sorrow. The roads in this part of Canada are kept in ex¬ cellent order. The corvee of European France is maintained by the Government in full effect, as to its principles, but far less rigid in its practice. The roads in low grounds were ditched on the sides and curved towards the centre. Every forty or fifty yards 9* 102 CAMPAIGN on each side of the road, throughout the extent of it, young pines were stuck in the ground, to mark the cential and safest passage. It is a law that the land¬ holder, whenever a snow falls, either by day or night, when it ceases, shall, with his horses and cariole, re¬ trace the road formed on the preceding snow, through¬ out the extent of his grounds. This is a laborious duty, but it was discernible that it was peformed with punctuality, if not with pleasure. In December, January, and February, when the snow lays from three to five feet deep over the surface, there is no travelling in this country, but by ways thus formed, or upon snow shoes. On the 1st of December, General Montgomery, who was anxiously expected, arrived. Arnold’s corps was paraded in front of the chapel. It was lowering and cold, but the appearance of the General here, gave us warmth and animation. He was well-limb¬ ed, tall, and handsome, though his face was much pock-marked. His air and manner designated the real soldier. He made us a short, but energetic and elegant speech, the burthen of which was, an ap¬ plause of our spirit in passing the wilderness ; a hope that our perseverance in the same spirit would con¬ tinue ; and a promise of warm clothing. The lat¬ ter was a most comfortable assurance. A few huz¬ zas from our freezing bodies were returned to this ad¬ dress of the gallant hero. Now new life was infu¬ sed into the whole of the corps. The next day (December 2,) we retraced the route from Quebec. A snow had fallen during the night, and continued falling. To march on this snow was a most fatiguing business. By this timewe had gen¬ erally furnished ourselves with seal-skin moccasins, which are large, and according to the usage of the country, stuffed with hay or leaves, to keep the feet AGAINST QUEBEC. IOS dry and warm. Every step taken in the dry snow, the moccasin having no raised heel to support the position of the foot, ii slipped back and produced great weariness. On this march the use of the snow-shoe was very obvious, but wt^were destitute of that ar¬ ticle. The evening brought up the riflemen at an extensive house in the parish of St. Foix, about, three miles from Cluebec. It was inhabited by tenants. We took possession of a front parlor on the left, Mor¬ gan upon the light, Hendricks a back apartment, and the soldiery in the upper parts of the house,and some warm outbuildings. The next day, (December 3d,) Morgan not find¬ ing himself comfortable, moved a short space near¬ er to the city. Here, in low and pretty country hou¬ ses, he and his men were neatly accommodated. It seemed to me that the Canadians in the vicinage of Quebec lived quite as comfortably as the gener¬ ality of the Pennsylvanians did at that time in the county of Lancaster. It may readily occur to you that some restriction ought to cramp this latitude of expression : take it, however, as a description of our sensations, entertained in our minds by the conve¬ niences we now enjoyed, in opposition to our late pri¬ vations We had just arrived from a dreary and in¬ hospitable wild,'half-starved and thinly clothed, in a land of plenty, where we had full rations and warm quarters; consequently our present feelings, contrast¬ ed with former sufferings, might have appreciated in too high a degree the happiness of the Canadian.— What is now said, ought not to be taken in anywise as an allusion to the political rights, but be confined solely to the apparent prosperity and economy of fam¬ ilies. December 12th. We remained about ten days at these quarters. The tours of duty, to Arnold’s par- 106 CAMPAIGN ty, were peculiarly severe. The officers and men 6till wore nothing else than the remains of the sum¬ mer clothing, which, being on their backs, had esca¬ ped destruction in the disasters of the wilderness. The snow lay three feet d& p over the face ot the whole country, and there was an addition to it al¬ most daily. Many impediments occurred to delay the transportation of the clothing which Gen. Mont¬ gomery had procured for us at Montreal. Our mis¬ erable state, contrary to our principles, excited an il¬ licit desire to be apparelled more comfortably. This desire would probably have lain dormant, but for a scoundrel Canadian, who in all likelihood was an en¬ emy of Lieutenant Governor Cromie. One morn¬ ing, having returned from a cold night’s duty near palace gate, the fellow addressed Simpson, who was the only officer in quarters, and communicated the information, u That about two miles up the St. Law¬ rence, lay a country seat of Governor Cromie, slock¬ ed with many things we wanted, and he would be our guide.” Carioles were immediately procured. The house, a neat box, was romantic, lly situated on the steep bank of the river, not very distant from a chapel. Though in the midst of winter, the spot displayed the elegant taste and abundant wealth of the owner. It must be a most delightful summer residence, in the months of July and August, when the heat of this northern climate seems greater to sensation than that of our country in the same sea¬ son. The house was closed ; knocking, the hall door was opened to us by an Irishwoman, who, of the fair sex, was the largest and most brawny that ever came under my notice. She was the stewaid- ess of t he house. Our questions were answered with an apparent affability and frankness. She introdu¬ ced us into the kitchen, a large apartment, well-fill- ~ — r i AGAINST QUEBEC. 107 cd with those articles which good livers think neces¬ sary to the happy enjoyment of life. Here we ob¬ served five or six Canadian servants huddled into a corner of the kitchen, trembling with feat. Our pry¬ ing eyes soon discovered a trap door leading into the cellar. In the country houses of Canada, because of the frigidity of the climate, the cellars are usually under a warm room, and are principally intended for the preservation of vegetables. The cavity in this instance abounded with a great variety of eatables, of which we were not in the immediate want. The men entered it—firkin after firkin of butter, lard, tal¬ low, beef, pork, fresh and salt—all became a prey. While the men were rummaging below, the Lieuten¬ ant descended to cause more despatch. My duty was to remain at the end of the trap door, with my back to the wall, and lifle cocked as a sentry, keep- inga strict eve on the servants. My good Irishwo¬ man frequently beckoned to me to descend : her drift was to catch us all in the trap. Luckily she was comprehended. The cellar and kitchen being thor¬ oughly rifled, and the spoil borne to the sleighs, the party dispersed into the other apartments. Here was elegance. The walls and partitions weie beautiful¬ ly papered, and decorated with large engravings, maps, osis of the first palisade. Here, if not very erroneous, four posts were sawed and thrown aside, so as to admit four men abreast. The column entered with a manly fortitude. Montgom¬ ery, accompanied by bis aids MTherson and Cheese- man, advanced in front. Arrivingat thesecond pal¬ isade, the general, w ith his own bands, sawed dow n two of the pickets in such a manner as to admit two men abreast. These sawed pickets were dose un¬ der the hill, and but a few yards from the very point of the rock, out of the view and fire of the enemy from the block house. Until our troops advanced to the point, no harm could ensue, but by stones thrown from above. Even now there had been but an im¬ perfect discovery of the advancing of an enemy, and that only by the intoxicated guard. The guard fled; the general advanced a few paces. A drunken sail¬ or returned to his gun, swearing he would not for- 152 CAMPAIGN sake it while undischarged. This fact is related from the testimony of the guard on the morning of our capture, some of those sailors being our guard. Ap¬ plying the match, this single discharge deprived us of our excellent commander. Examrng the spot, the officer who escorted us, (pro¬ fessing to be one of those who first came to the place after the death of the general,) showed the position in which the general’s body was found. It lay two paces tiom the brink of the river, on the back, the arms extended. Cheeseman lay on the left,and M’- Pherson on the right, in a triangular position. Two other brave men lay near them. The ground a- bove described was visited by an inquisitive eye, so that you may rely with some implicitness on the truth of the picture. As all danger from without had vanished, the government had not only permitted the mutilated palisades to remain without renewing the enclosure, but the very sticks sawed by the hand of our commander still lay strewed about the spot. Colonel Campbell, appalled by the death of the general, retreated a little way from Cape Diamond, out of the reach of the cannon of the block house, and pretendedly called a council of officers, who, it was said, justified his receding from the attack. If rushing on, as military duty required, and a brave man would have done, the block house might have been occupied by a small number, and was unassail¬ able from without, but by cannon. From the block house to the centre of the lower town, where we were, there was no obstacle to impede a force so pow¬ erful as that under Colonel Campbell. Cowardice, or a want of good will towards our cause, left us to our miserable fate. A junction, al¬ though we might not conquer the fortress, would en¬ able us to make an honorable retreat, though with AGAINST QUEBEC. 153 the loss of many valuable lives. Campbell, who was ever after considered as a poltroon in grain, retreat¬ ed, leaving the bodies of the general, M’Pherson, and Cheeseman, to be devoured by the dogs. The dis¬ gust caused among us, as to Campbell, was so great as to create the unchristian wish that he might be hanged. In that desultory period though he was tri¬ ed, he was acquitted ; that was also the case of Col¬ onel Kuos, who deserted us on the Kennebec. On the 3d or 4th of January, being, as it were, domesticated in the sergeant’s mess in the Reguliers , a file of men headed by an officer, called to conduct me to the seminary. Adhering to the advice of Col. M’Dougal, the invitation was declined, though the hero Morgan had solicited this grace from Governor Carlton, and had sent me a kind and pressing mes¬ sage. My reasons, which were explained to Mor¬ gan, in addition to the otie already given, operated forcibly on my mind. Having lost all my clothes in the wilderness, except those on my back, and those acquired by the provident and gratuitous spirit of General Montgomery, nothing remained fitting me to appear in company anywhere. Additionally, it had become a resolution, when leaving Lancaster, (as my absence would go near to break the hearts of my parents,) never to break upon my worthy father’s purse. Dire necessity compelled me to rescind this resolution, in part, in the wilderness; but that cir¬ cumstance made me the more determined to adhere to the resolve afterwards : again, my intimate friends were not in the seminary. Steele was in the hospi¬ tal, and Simpson, (by previous command,) on the charming Isle of Orleans; which, from its fruitful¬ ness, had become, as it were, our store-house. Add to all these reasons: it could not be said of the gen¬ tlemen in the seminary “ they are my intimates,” 154 CAMPAIGN except as to Captain Morgan, and Lieut. F. Nichols of Hendricks. Besides, my leather small-clothes, all in fritters, had been cast away, and a savage cover¬ ing adopted until more auspicious times came. But even now an idea of escape and vengeance inflamed the breasts of many, and we were here in a much superior situation for such a purpose, than that of the seminary. More of this hereafter. All these facts and circumstances induced an evasion of the friendly solicitation of the kind-hearted Morgan. On (he third day of our capture the generous Carl¬ ton despatched a flag to Arnold, to obtain what tri¬ fling baggage we had left at our quarters; mine was eitliei forgotten, or miserable as it was, had been plun- deied; but as good luck would have it, the knap- sack of one Alexandei Nelson of our company, who was killed when running to the first, barrier, was dis¬ claimed by all of our men. Your father in conse- quence laid violent hands upon the spoil. It furnish¬ ed Boyd and myself with a large, but coarse blue 0,1 d, called a “ slroud,” and a drummer’s regi¬ mental coat. The blanket became a real comfort the coat an article of barter. It was on this day that my heart was ready to burst with grief at view¬ ing the funeral of our beloved general. Carlton had in our former wars with the French, been the friend and fellow-soldier of Montgomery. Though politi¬ cal opinion, perhaps ambition or inteiest, had thrown these worthies on different sides of the great ques- tion, yet the former could not but honor the remains of Ins quondam friend. About noon the procession passed our quarters. It was most solemn. The cof¬ fin, covered with a pall, surmounted by transverse swords, was borne by men. The regular troops, with reversed arms, and scarfs on the left elbow, ac¬ companied the corpse to the grave. The funerals of AGAINST QUEBEC. 159 the other officers, both friends and enemies, were per¬ formed this day. Fiom many of us it diew tears of affection for the defunct, and speaking for myself, tears of greeting and thankfulness towards General Carlton. The soldieiy and inhabitants appeared af¬ fected bv the loss of this valuable man, though he was their enemy. If such men as Washington, Carl¬ ton, and Montgomery, had had the entire direction of the adverse war, the contention, in the event, might have happily terminated to the advantage of both sections of the naiion. M’Pherson, Cheeseman, Hendricks, and Humphreys, were all dignified by the same manner of burial. On the same, or the following day, we were com¬ pelled, (if we would look,) to behold a more disgust¬ ing and torturing sight. Many carioles repeatedly, one after the other, passed our dwelling loaded with the dead, whether of the assailants or of the garri¬ son, to a place emphatically called the ‘dead house.’ Here the bodies were heaped in monstrous piles. The horror of the sight, to us southern men, principally consisted in seeing our companions borne to inter¬ ment uncoffined, and in the very clothes they had worn in battle; their limbs distorted in various di¬ rections, such as would ensue in the moment of death. Many of our friends and acquaintances weie appa¬ rent. Poor Nelson lay on the top of half a dozen other bodies—his arms extended beyond his head, as if in the act of prayer, and one knee crooked and raised, seemingly when he last gasped in the agonies of death. Curse on these civil wars, which extin¬ guish the sociabilities of mankind, and annihilate the strength of nations ! A flood of tears was conse¬ quent. Though Montgomery w r as beloved, because of his manliness of soul, heroic bravery, and suavity of manners, Hendricks and Humphreys, for the same 156 CAMPAIGN admirable qualities, and especially for the endurances we underwent in conjunction, enforced many a tear. Still mv unhappy and lost brethren, though in hum¬ ble station, with whom that dreadful wild was pene¬ trated, and from whom came many attentions to¬ wards me, forced melancholy sensations. From what is said relative to the “dead house,” you might con¬ clude that General Carlton was inhuman or hard¬ hearted. No such thing. In this northern latitude, at this season of the year, according to my feelings, (we had no thermometer,) the weather was so cold as usually to be many degrees below 0. A wound, if mortal, or even otherwise, casts the party wounded into the snow ; if death should follow it throws the sufferer into various attitudes, which are assumed in the extreme pain accompanying death. The mo¬ ment death takes place, the frost fixes the limbs in whatever situation they may happen to be and which cannot be reduced to decent order until they are thawed. In this state the bodies of the slain are deposited in the “dead house,” hard as ice. At this season of the year the earth is frozen from two to five feet deep, impenetrable to the best pick-axe, in the hands of the stoutest men. Hence you may per¬ ceive a justification of the “dead house.” It is no new observation, “ that climates form the manners and habits of the people.” On the next day, (January 4th,) we were visited by Colonel Maclean, an old man. attended by other officers, for a peculiar purpose ; that is, to ascertain who among us were born in Europe. We had many Irishmen and some Englishmen. The question was put to each ; those who admitted a British birth were told they must serve his majesty in Col. Maclean’s regiment, a new corps, called the 1 Emigrants.’ Our poor fellows, under the fearful penalty of being car- AttAINST QUEBEC. 1&7 ried to Britain, there to be tried for treason, were compelled by necessity, and many of them did en¬ list. Two of them, very brave men, Edward Cave- naugh and Timothy Conner, deserve to be named, because of a particular occurrence which happened shortly after. These two men, among others, called upon me for my advice how to act. Being, at that time, neither a lawyer nor a casuist, they had my o- pinion according to the dictates of nature, and some slight reading. That is, that they should enlist; for a constrained oath, (as theirs would be,) could not be binding on the conscience—and bv all means to join our army as soon as practicable. They enlisted un¬ der the notion that the oath was non-obligatory, and a hope of a speedy return to their friends and wives. Allow me here to recount, by anticipation, the resi¬ due of the adventures of “honest Ned.” Towards the end of January, Oavenaugh and Conner hap¬ pened to compose a part of the same guard at Pal¬ ace gate, where the walls are from thirty to forty feet high, independently of the declivity of the hill.— Cavenaugh was stationed as a sentry in conjunction with one of the British party. Conner had procured a bottle of rum ; coming to the station, he drank, him¬ self, and presented the bottle to the British sentry. \V bile the latter was in the act of drinking, Cave¬ naugh gave him a push with the butt of his musket, which stunned and brought him to the earth. Ta¬ king his arms, they sprung over the wall into a bed of snow, perhaps twenty-five feet deep. This aver¬ ment concerning the depth of the snow, may appear problematical, as we know nothing like it in our cli¬ mate. Form no definite opinion until you have heard the reasons why it does happen. As you may recollect several instances in this narrative, where the asperity of a Quebec winter is intimated, and a de- 153 CAMPAIGN scription of its effects attempted; such as frequent snow storms and fierce winds. In the month of January, particularly, when the snow lias increased to a depth of seven feet over the face of the country, notwith¬ standing the shining of the sun, the cold is so great that those winds drive the snow daily against the high ramparts of the city, where it forms a compact mass —the last stratum being light and dry as the finest sand, which may be whirled by the w T ind. Cave naugh and Conner leaped into such a soft bed. Their disadvantage consisted in sinking too deep; the height of the leap plunging them deeper than or¬ dinary walking would do, made it difficult for them to extricate themselves. The relief-guard came in time to give them a volley, as they were scampering away. Thanks to God, my worthy Irishmen esca¬ ped unharmed, though as they passed through St, Roque, they were complimented by several dischar¬ ges of cannister and grape shot. This was the first notice we had of the escape of our daring friends. We heard, next morning, all the minutiae from those who gilarded us. By the middle of January we were settled down into a state of something like household order: those who could economise fared tolerably well, though they could have used more. Our daily provisions consisted of a biscuit made of a coarse meal, from something like our chopped rye ; very often chaff or straw, hah an inch in length, was found in this spe¬ cies of bread. A biscuit of the size of a cake of gin¬ gerbread, now sold with us for a cent, was the daily allowance of this article : half a pound of pork, or three quarters of a pound of beef, though these were much salted, even so as to be uncomfortable—they were of Irish preparation, perhaps for the sea-service : a competent allowance of butter, originally fine, yet AGAINST QUEBEC. 159 now rancid : candles, molasses, and even vinegar- ting last article, so long as it could be afforded us, was a preservative from the disorders which unwit¬ tingly we were imbibing daily. Knowing ihe diffi¬ culties under which the garrison lay—foes at the gates, and an uncertainty of succor; the governor was thought of by me, with similar allowances, that ought to be made to our own generals, in circumstan¬ ces of such pinching necessity. From all informa¬ tion attainable on our part, we w ere as well treated as those of the garrison, who lived on the same kinds of food, except as to liquor, which deprivation was more beneficial than injurious to our men. It is grateful to my heart now to remember and repeat the benevolent sensations this mildness and humani¬ ty created in my mind, towards the virtuous, the amiable and venerable Carlton. He was a genuine representative of the gentility of the Irish nation, which is so deservedly famous for the production of real heroes, patriotic statesmen, and a generosity and suavity of manners. He was of great candor, up¬ rightness and honor, and full of the spirit of philan¬ thropy, which marks the real gentleman. He made us several visits, in all of which he seemed merely to ha\e a solicitude for our welfare, without any sinis¬ ter view, such as seduction from our principles, (fee. That he granted us every accommodation his try¬ ing situation authorized, there can be no doubt.— Shoitly after the time now spoken of, we were con¬ ducted to the Dauphin jail. Before we quit the reg- uliers, admit me to state to you something more, re¬ lating to our manner of living there. My youthful appetite required and demanded a greater quantity of food than we then enjoyed. We wanted spoons, not only in our own mess, but throughout the w hole corps. There was no money among us to purchase 160 CAMPAIGN such an implement, and if there had been, and op¬ portunity had offered, it is likely the jealousy of gov¬ ernment would have deprived us of them, if formed of metal of any kind. One day being at the unloading of a cord of wood, a birch slick, the only piece of hard wood in (he load, was eagerly laid hold of, and borne to the mess- room ; from this a wooden spoon was soon formed for in v own use. Lobscouse made a part of our diurnal food. This term, though vulgar, conveys to one, who, when hungry, has tasted the dish, some agree¬ able ideas. Among soldiers and sailors it is esteem¬ ed equal to the “ olla podrida” of ihe Spaniards, and nearly so to the “speck and oyer” of the Germans ; it is certainly more nourishing than what the latter call “ water soup,” and even “meal soup.” VVe put our vile biscuit into a tin vessel, with a sufficient quantity of water, and permitted it to slew on the stove, until there was a perfect mucilage, some thin slices ot bacon fat, (the reserve of the last meal,) were then added ; or some of the skimmings of the boil¬ ers, but most usually, the rancid butter, (which was thus made palatable:) when these substances were well incorporated with the biscuit ; a fe\v r spoon-fulls of molasses finished the dish. This was the ordina¬ ry breakfast, and a good one, when we could spoon it into our mouths. My spoon, therefore, was an ar¬ ticle in great demand, and of prime necessity. The production of one spoon created a desire for more; they were manufactured in abundance by the means of two knives—a great and a small, but always dis¬ posed of for biscuit. Spoons w ere made as large as small ladles, some w ith a deer at full stretch, a hound pmstiing an Indian sitting—a beaver—and twenty other devices were invented, and tolerably well carv¬ ed. Some came to five biscuits, some to ten, and AGAINST QUEBEC. 161 one in particular at twenty, which my friends thought worthy of the acceptance of the governor, hut care was taken not to present, it. Boyd and Cunningham carefully furnished the wood. Thus we could exist pretty well on our slender diet. But we had other resources which were by no means neglected. Hen¬ ry Crone, a well bred young man, descended from a worthy and respectable family of York county, Penn¬ sylvania, much my senior, but who was known to me during his apprenticeship at Lancaster, had dis¬ sipated a good fortune at the gaming table; he was a sergeant of Hendricks’. Miserable as was our pre¬ dicament, the demon of play had intruded itself a- mong us, though there was neither money nor clo¬ thing, but that upon our backs, and our daily provis¬ ions, to sport with. The play was for biscuit, and most usually at a game called “ all-fours,” in which Crone was a real adept. He was a droll dog, and much inclined to play with and beat the Yankees, as he termed them. Many mornings, being com¬ pelled by the inclemency of the season, to leave our uncomfortable bed, pacingthe avenues in front of our cells for exercise and warmth, drawing aside the cur¬ tain of the gambling room door, which was no other than a thread-bare blanket, Crone was seen and heard with bleared eye and a vociferous voice, after a night’s sitting, contending for a biscuit with as much spirit and heat as most probably he had done in former times for fifty or a hundred dollars. The passion for gaming is almost an inexplicable trait in the human character—the poor, the rich, the savage and the civ¬ ilized, are equally its devotees. The greatest and the least are alike subject to its fascinations. Crone, poor dog, was one of the devoted. Montgomery, in his care for Arnold’s party, besides an excellent blanket coat, had assigned to each man 14 * 162 CAMPAIGN a new red regimental coat of the seventh, or some other regiment stationed in the upper country. This clothing had been seized at Montreal. Crone, in the general division, had fared well. He had ob¬ tained a large superfine broad cloth coat, such as is worn by the sergeant-major of the British army, which “fitted him like a shirt.” He was so totally devoid of care that he never once applied to the tai¬ lors of the army, who were employed by the public, to fit the coat to his back, and to sew it regularly.— What was still more laughable, he had no pockets to his coat, unless you may call the flannel such, which inside lined the lappets, and bore the appearance of large bags dangling about his heels. Crone was facetious and clever ; he had an affection for me. Often about daylight he would come to my blanket and waken me, and shake the lappets of his coat. He would say, “ Come, Jack, here’s something foi you,” and would force upon me, ten, fifteen, and sev¬ eral times, even thirty biscuits. With all bis vices be bore a great share of my esteem, for the goodness of his heart. When ill-luck occurred, there was a refunding on my part, but it seldom happened. Our oilier resource was William M’Coy, a sergeant of Hendricks’, an excellent clerk, who came into favor with the Governor, by giving to Major Murray of the garrison, a genuine copy of his journal of the route through the wilderness into Canada. He was a se¬ date and sensible man. He was installed “clerk of the kitchen,” and put me much in mind of Gil Bias’ clerk. The cook, whom M’Coy patronized, was a very Boniface in accomplishments, and a Sancho Panza in rotundity. He was of Thayei’s or Dear- boitie’s company. Believe me, that these two men were courted by our hungry wights among the sol¬ diery with as much eagerness and solicitude, ami of- AGAINST QUEBEC. 163 ten sycophancy, as would have been the case had they been the ministers of a great state. YV hat could you suppose to he the object of such servility ? To explain : the boiling utensils were two very large coppers. A boiling of pork produced a great quanti¬ ty of liquid fat, which the men called slush. The skimmings constituted the importance of the cook, who made a profit from it by selling it to certain tradesmen of the city. A half pint ot this slush was a good succedaneum for better food, to a mess of six stout men. It, with the molasses, formed an excel¬ lent lobscouse. Oleaginous matter, next to bread, is, however, the great support of the animal functions, and even superior to bread, to sustain life and gratily the palate. Here you see the real ground of the cau¬ ses of distinctions in society. The cook, possessing this perquisite, commanded his applicants for addi¬ tional food with an unwarrantable austerity. As to our mess, it was strong in habits of intimacy with M’Coy, who was one of us. The cook was far be¬ low our notice. Friend M’Coy gave us every ad¬ vantage our melancholy situation afforded him. Coming to the Dauphin jail, escorted by the mili¬ tary, we found it well accommodated for our lodg¬ ment. There were fout rooms below, and as many above stairs, all capacious and well supplied with births or bulks, in the common method of barracks. Our company taking the right our precedence in the pro¬ cession gave us, assumed the possession of a room in the third story, which was in truth the very best. Morgan’s took a room immediately below us ; Hen¬ dricks’ one adjoining: but remember that at this time we were reduced most lamentably by killed, wound¬ ed and missing. Many were in the hospital. Out of sixty-five who came on Abraham’s plains in No¬ vember, we had scarcely more than thirty left with 164 CAMPAIGN us in prison, the fire of the enemy and disease had so thinned us. Morgan’s gallant men fared worse.— J ake (he eastern people, before, and at that period, they detested the introduction of the small-pox into their country by innoculation Now they were its victims. Less than twenty-fiveof the privates oft hat company regained their native homes. They were originally as elegant a body of men as ever came in¬ to my view, lu use the style of my friend Simp¬ son, “ they were beautiful boys, who knew how to handle and aim the rifle.” Indeed, many of them, (adroit young men, courageous and thorough-going,) became the subjects of death by that virulent disease, both without and within the city. We, of Penn- syhania, hail no fears from that source. This dis¬ ease had visited us in youth, either naturally or by innoculation. This observation, which is a serious one, should convey to your minds the immensity of the discovery of the innoculation of the kine pox, by doctor Jenner. The dis overy of the causes of lightning, its dreadful effects, the means of avoiding its power, by the celebrated Franklin, our country¬ man, is, (as it concerns the happiness of man, speak- mg diffidently.) perhaps inferior to that of Jenner. 1 lie Jennerian discovery tends to save the lives of millions—the Franklinian, of hundreds. But all lovers of natural philosophy are compelled to admit that the identity of theelectiic fluid, obtained artific- lally, with that of the clouds, has given a wider scope to human thought than the recency of the Jenneri¬ an discovery, has as yet, afforded. There can be hi tie doubt, (hat in a succession of years, some gigan¬ tic genius of the medical profession will improve and extend the benefits of the happy disclosure. At the Dauphin jail, our notions of escape were strengthened. The prison may be 300 yards from AGAINST QUEBEC. 165 St. John’s gate: the interval, at that time, was free from buildings. From without the building appear¬ ed formidable. The court-yard was very contracted for so large a house, and was encompassed by a strong stone wall, at least twenty feet high. The windows and doors were seemingly, by their bars, impenetra¬ ble. But what cannot men of true spirit effect when made the subjects of oppression. Opposite to the jail, across the street leading to Si. John’s gate, at a distance of forty yards, there stood a house, which became the station of the guard, who superintended us. In the first of our imprisonment we were attend¬ ed by the regular troops, or sailors, who were embod¬ ied by government as soldiers ; but now the guard, (as our force without had made a firm stand,) was replaced by the militia, who were the most inert and despicable of military men. The sentries were sta¬ tioned on the outside of the jail—we had no witness¬ es of our conduct within, except the captain of the provost, who did not pry with a suspicious eye. He was a generous and open-hearted enemy—had no guile himself, nor imputed it to others. The princi¬ pal defence on this side of the city, as it regarded our attempt at evasion, lay at and near St. John’s gate. The guard here was most usually composed of thirty men, of the regular troops or sailors. They would have given us a hustle, but of a certainly we should have overpowered them by the force of numbers, as stout and as able bodied men as themselves, whose courage was not to be questioued, though there was a great difference in the nature of our respective arms. Having examined the jail carefully, its imbe¬ cility to restrain us was apparent. It was an old French building in the Bastile style. The walls of stone, and more than three feet thick, were impene¬ trable by any of our means. Upon examining the 166 CAMPAIGN bars of the windows, which were originally ill-con- sti tided, many were found so much corroded, as to move up and down in (lie sockets. r rhese could be taken out. The mildness of Governor Carlton’s reign seemed not to require a strict inspection into places of this kind. About this time a selected coun¬ cil was called, of which your father had the honor to be one, and was chiefly composed of the sergeants. Major Joseph Aston, then a sergeant-major, had the presidency. Our discoveries "were debated—the means of escape considered, and a consultation of the men recommended. This was done, and there was not a dissentient voice. At the stair head there was a small room lighted by a small window; the door was locked. Peeping through the key-hole, large i- ron hoops were discovered : the spring of the lock kindly gave way to our efforts ; the room was ran¬ sacked, and as neatly closed. The room furnished us with a large number of strong iron hoops, two and three inches broad, and a considerable quantity of other iron, of different shapes and sizes, deposited theie as lumber. Prom the first of these at tides we formed a rough but weighty species of sword, with a wooden handle ; a blow from which, in the hands of one of our stout men, would have brought down one of the stoutest of the enemy. The residue of the iron was applied to the formation of spear-heads. These were affixed to splits of fir-plank, about ten feet in length, which had formed in part the bottoms of the lower births. 1 hese weapons, it is true, were of the coarsest make, yet in the hands of men deter¬ mined to sacrifice their lives for freedom, they would have had a considerable sway. Our long knives, which many of us secreted when captured, also be¬ came spear points. These weapons were concealed under the lower range of births, which were raised a AGAINST QUEBEC. 1C7 foot from the floor. The planks were neatly raised, the nails were extricated, and the nail head, with a part of its shank, placed in its former position. Over these lay our blankets and bundles. It was a stand¬ ing rule to have two sentries constantly on thewatch, one at each end of the interior of tlie jail. Their duty consisted in giving a signal of the approach of the officers of the garrison, who were in the habit of visiting us daily : as there were shoe makers and tai¬ lors among us, who worked cheaper than those of the city, merely for the purpose of bettering their con¬ dition, there was policy in this watchfulness.— When the signal was given, the inner doors were thrown open ; those appointed for the purpose, laid upon the birth which hid our arms, as if in a drow¬ sy state. The officers were accosted with assumed confidence, and much complaisance. The council met daily, sometimes in small squads, and when any thing of much consequence was to be considered, in larger; but at all times secretly, or at least not obvi¬ ously as a council, from fear of traitors, or some in¬ discretion of the young men. Our arrangements, as far as my judgment could discern, were judicious. Aston was to act as general; M’Coy and some oth¬ ers became colonels. Boyd and others of the most spirit, became majors, captains, lieutenants, &c. That which cheered me much, was that the council assign¬ ed me a first lieutenancy under my friend Boyd, whose vigor and courage were unquestionable. The plan of the escape was thus : Ashton, who was an excellent engineer, was to have the particu¬ lar superintendence of Lamb’s company, which, to a man, was well-informed in its duty, active and spir¬ ited. These were to be increased to a band of one hundred and fifty men, whose duty it was to attack the guard at St. John’s gate. The attack of the I0S CAMPAIGN guard opposite the jail, was assigned to the discretion ol Boyd, Cunningham and myself; the council gen¬ erously giving us the authority of a first selection of twenty-two persons, from the whole body of our men. The residue of our force was so disposed of as to act as a body of reserve to Aston, under the command of M’Coy, and another smaller body was reserved to sup¬ port Boyd, particularly by way of setting fire to the jail, the guard-house, and the buildings in its neigh¬ borhood, to amuse or employ the enemy while we were tunning to St. John’s gate. It was expected we could arrive there by the time Aston and his par¬ ty would be victorious. Our particular duty was of the desperate kind, something of the nature of the “forlorn hope.” Nothing but the virtue and bravery of our comrades could ensure the safety of our lives ; for if they should arrive at St. John’s gate and dis¬ comfit. the guard, and then seek safety by flight, they would leave us to the mercy of an enraged enemy, who would sacrifice us to their fury. But there has been too much precipitation in the relation. Previ¬ ous to the last observations, besides being told of our force, our weapons, and our military plans, you should have been informed also of the real site of "the jail— of its internal structure, from which the sally w'as to be made. The Dauphin jail is built on a plain pret¬ ty much inclined to the street. It follows that the front of the lower story, (that is, the cellars,) w^as on a level with the street. The back ground was ten or twelve feet higher. In the cellar, near the foot of the stairway, there was a plenteous fountain of w a¬ ter, which supplied the house. The conduits lead¬ ing from the spring, by the severity of the weather, were impeded by the ice, so that the w r ater, in great quantity, remained in the cellar, which, with the ad¬ ditional carelessness of our people, who cast the rin- AGAINST QUEBEC. 169 sing of their buckets on the floor of the apartment, formed a bed of ice a foot thick, and very firm and solid. •This cellar had a door newly made, of strong pine plank, five feet in width, which opened inwards —the sill was level with the street. The door was hung upon H hinges of a large size, fixed on the in¬ side, exposed to our view and operations. But what was still more absurd, the door was hasped within, and secured by a large pad lock. Close inspection and thoughtfulness had made the members of the council, by the means that they enjoyed, perlect. mas¬ ters of those hinges and the lock ; they would not have stood a second of time. The principal obstacle was the ice, which was raised fully a foot against the door. Even this would have given way to our inge¬ nuity. The whole of our plan was well laid, and thoroughly digested. That door was to be our sally port. Boyd preceding with our division—Aston and M’Coy following, they turning rapidly to the left for St. John’s gate. The dislocation of the iron bars of the window, was to ensue: all those which could be removed being known, were to become issues for our bravest men. Every man knew his station. It is an old and a trite observation, that it is a difficult thing to describe a battle so as to give a clear idea of all the causes and effects of each movement, with¬ out overloading and confusing the picture. The same may be said of a conspiracy such as ours. Going through the entry from the front door into the jail- yard, near the back door, but still within the prison, there are two cavities opposite to each other, strongly walled and arched. We called them the black holes. On the outside of the building, in the yard, those cav¬ ities assumed the forms of banks, ten or eleven feet high, and as wide ; and well sodded. With some address and agility a sprightly man could surpass ei- 170 CAMPAIGN (her of them. The wall above these banks was probably ten feet higher. In the daytime we often climbed up the wall, by means of its interslices, from which the mortar had fallen in the course of time, to take a peep at the city, merely putting our eyes above the level of the top of it. A Mr. Martin, a hardy, daring and active } 7 oung man of Lamb’s company, I think a sergeant, propo¬ sed to bear intelligence of our projects to the Ameri¬ can commander, without the walls. His plan was approved. A time for irruption was named, though the day was not particularized The signals to in¬ vite the advance of our army to St. John’s gate, were the burning of the houses, and the firing of the guns of the 1 ramparts towards the city. As yet, we were unprepared to move. This expedition of Martin’s was a profound secret among the council, from a fear that some bungler might attempt the same path, fail, and by his being taken, unveil our plots. Permit me a short episode on the escape of Martin. It was sin¬ gularly adventurous, and the neatness of its execu¬ tion renders it worthy of remark. I had the pleasure of hearing it recounted, in more happy times, at New York. Martin was dressed in warm clothing, with good gloves ; a white cap, shirt and over-alls were prepared for him. He appeared in the jail-yard a- mong the prisoners, in his daily dress. The time of locking up and calling the roll generally happened about sun-down. It was the business of the captain of the provost, who was accompanied by a file of men. The prisoners, instigated by those in the secret, em¬ ployed themselues out of doors until late in the eve¬ ning, in play, as if to keep their bodies warm. It was a blowing and dreary evening, which was pur¬ posely chosen. At locking up, those in the secret lagged behind, tardily, pushing the uninformed be- AGAINST QUEBEC. 171 fore, yet so slowly, as effectually to crowd the gang¬ way ; Martin remaining in the rear. The operation took place at the clanging of the lock of the great front door. This measure was imagined and effect¬ ed on purpose to procure to Martin a sufficiency of leisure to get to his hiding place, which was no oth¬ er than a nook formed by the projection of the door way, and on the top of one of the banks before spo¬ ken of. Here he had time to put on his cap, shirt, * &c. The officer who examined the yard could not perceive him unless he went out of the door, several paces to the left, and most probably not even then, for Martin would be covered in the snow, and imper¬ ceptible. Happily the officer went no fuither than the threshold, and made but a slight survey of the yard. This account, so far, is derived from my own knowledge; what follows, is from Marlin himself. “ Martin tarried there until seven or eight o’clock. The dilemma he was in could only be surpassed in imminence of danger, by his extreme activiiy, skill and courage. There were four sentries stationed a- routul the jail—two at each coi ner in front, and the like number at the corners of the yard in the rear. Those seniries, though relieved every quarter of an hour, were soon driven into the sentry boxes by the cold and keenness of the whistling winds. If they had paced the spaces allotted them by duty, the e- scape of Martin must have been impossible. Watch¬ ing the true time he slipped down the wall into ihe deep snow underneath unobserved. Hence he made a sudden excursion to the left of St. John’s gale, at a part of the wail where he knew no sentry was pla¬ ced. Leaping the wall into the snow, he received the fire of a distant sentry. Martin was unharmed. The soldier fired, as it were, at a phantom ; for when Martin’s body came into contact with the snow 172 CAMPAIGN it was indiscernible ; the desired information was giv¬ en but of this we could merely make surmises un¬ til the May following. That which is very remark¬ able is that the absence of Marlin was unknown to government until the explosion of our plot. ^ Our next solicitude was the acquisition of powder. This ailide could be obtained but bv sheer address and shrewd management. But we had to do with men who were not of the military cast. We began fust to enter into familiarity with the sentries, joking with them and pretending to learn French from them. The guard, usually of Canadians, consisted of many old men and young boys, who were very 1 coming? A few small gun-carriages were constructed, not more than six inches in length, and mounted with cannon or howitzers, which were made of many folds of pa¬ per, and w'ere bound tightly around with thread.— These were shown to the sentries from time to time, and a little powder was requested, with which to charge them. Our births formed an angle of the room. The upper births, as w ell as the lower, had a ledge of several inches in height, in which embra¬ sures were formed with the knife. Two patties were raised in opposition to each other, each of which took possession of one side of the angle. The blaze and report, which was nearly as great and as loud as that of small pistols, created much laughter and merri¬ ment. This sport, the child of a seeming folly, ser¬ ved us as a pretence and justification for soliciting powder. The apparent joy prevailing among us, pleased the Canadians, both old and young, and did not alarm the government. We obtained many car¬ tridges in the course of a few weeks, two-thirds of which came to the hands of Aston and his corps, for the purpose of manufacturing matches, &c. &c.— Fire arms of any kind could not by any finesse be AGAINST QUEBEC. 173 procured. The commerce of cartridges, accompa¬ nied by a suavity and deference of manners towards our young friends, procured us many quarters of pounds of powder, which they bought secretly out of funds, some of which were procured in a ludicrous way. We had many sick in the hospital; for when any one appeared to be disordered in the least de¬ gree, he was hurried to the infirmary ; when cured, he was returned to us. Some of the men went so far as to feign sickness, to get to that place, where they lived in a more sumptuous style than that of the jail. The frequent removals caused the propa¬ gation of a report that the prison was unhealthy.— Many pious matrons came to see us, and never emp¬ ty handed. Some elderly nuns, of respectable fam¬ ilies, were of the number, and generally brought mon¬ ey—truly not in great quantity, but not the less ac¬ ceptable to the sick and convalescent, as these alms procured them some slight comforts, such as tea, and in this manner pro¬ ceeded to name all the leading characters. Happen¬ ing to be very near the amiable, it might be said, ad¬ mirable Major Carlton, be was overheard to say, *(. ol- onel, ambition is laudable ; cannot the irons of these men be struck off )’ This the Colonel ordeted to be done immediately. Our kind-hearted blacksmith was not distant: he came, and the officers remained to see some of the largest bolls divested, and then left us. 1 Come, come, gentlemen, 7 said the blacksmith, / 188 Campaign ‘.von can put off your irons.’ In a minute, the vast pile lay before him. Being now at full bodily liber¬ ty, we completed a ball court which had been origin¬ ally formed, as it were, by stealth. II- re a singular phenomenon that attends the scurvy, discovered it¬ self. The venerable and respectable Mayhin had rec¬ ommended tousexercise, not only asa meansofcure, but as a preventive of the scorbutic humors operating. Four ol the most active would engage at. a game of fives.” Having played some games in continua¬ tion. if a party incautiously sat down, he was seized by the most violent pains in the hips and knees, that incapacitated him fioin play for many hours, and from rising from the earth, where the patient had seated himself. These pains taught us to keep afoot all day, and even to eat our food in an erect posture, doing to bed in the evening, after a hard days play, those sensations of pain upon lying down, immedi¬ ately attacked us, The pain would continue half an hour, and often longer. My own experience w ill authorise me to say two hours. In the morning we rose tree from pain, and the routine of play and fa¬ tigue ensued, hut always attended by the same ef¬ fects, particularly to the stubborn and incautious, who would not adhere to the wholesome ad\ice ol doctor May bin. Those who were inactive retained those excruciating pains to.the last, together with their dis¬ torted, bloated, and blackened limbs. Upon our re¬ turn from Canada, in the autumn of 1776, I saw fiveor sixof my crippled compatriots hobbling through the streets of Lancaster on their wav home It cost a tear—a l that could be given. By the month of August, the active were relieved from those pains. Towards the end of May Governor Carlton order¬ ed each of the prisoners a linen shirt. This gift, to me, was most agreeable, as linen next the skin, for AGAINST QUEBEC. 189 some months pist, was unfelt, and few persons who have not felt the extremity of such endurances as ours, can form a full conception of the gratification we enjoyed. Having had hut one shirt on at the time of our capture, it was soon destroyed by the wearing and the repeated washings it required. Del¬ icacy forbids a dilation upon the consequences. You would laugh at the description of one of our wash¬ ing parties. Rising early, the prime object was to make a strong lye of wood-ashes, of which we had plenty, into which the linen was plunged, and con¬ cocted for an hour or more, under a hope of putting an end to certain vagrants, of a genus with which most of us are acquainted. During the boiling (lie votaries of cleanliness, cloaked in a blanket, or blan¬ ket coat, watched the ebulitions of the kettle. The boiling done, the linen was borne to the yard, where each one washed his own, and watched it during the drying, almost in a state of nature. Captain Pren- tis, pitying my sad condition, pressed upon me often to accept from him money to purchase a suit of clothes, and he would trust to the honor and integri¬ ty of my father for' payment, whose chaiacter he knew. Adhering to my first determination, this po¬ lite and generous proposal of my amiable and deser¬ ving friend, was as often, yet most thankfully declin¬ ed, maugre the advice of my bosom friends, Boyd and Cunningham, to the contrary. He, however, forced upon me half a johannes. This small sum was applied to the solace of my heart. In the first place, to an article still more necessary than a shirt. The residue was expended upon matters whichcheer- ed the hearts of my messmates, whom 1 dearly lov¬ ed ; cheese, sugar, tea, coffee, &c. Spirits were de¬ tested, as we knew* it to be a poison to scorbutic per¬ sons. What pleased me much more, and gave me CAMPAIGN 1M pure delight, was the following occurrence: Of my own accord, no one knowing of the intention, the good old Irishman was delegated to purchase three or four pounds of tobacco. It was secreily bought, and as secretly borne to our room. A pound was produced and fairly parted among our tobacco chew- ers. You cannot conceive their joy. When the first paroxism was over, the remainder was disposed of in the same way. The thankfulness of those brave, but destitute men, arose towards me, nearly to ador¬ ation. You will ask why? Hear the reason. From your small knowledge of mankind, you can have little conception of the force habit has on the human race. One who chews, smokes or snufls to¬ bacco, is as little able to abstain from that en joyment as you would he if compelled to refrain from your usual meals. This particular is spoken of, to per¬ suade you by no means to use tobacco in an\ shape. It is a poison of the most inveterate kind, which like opium, arsenic, and several other medicaments, may be applied to healthful purposes, yet, if employed in an extreme degree, produces instantaneous death. These ideas are not visionary, but are supportable by the authority of some of the best physicians. You are at full liberty to put your own consirut tions up¬ on these observations. But to return to my fellow- prisoners. In the wilderness, where the army soon run out the article of tobacco, the men had many valuable succedaneums. The barks of the different kinds of firs, the cedar, the red willow, and the leaves of many astringent or bitter plants supplied the place ; but within the bare walls of our jail there was no substi¬ tute tor this dear and inebriating vegetable. Thus was all my money expended, and much to my satis¬ faction, and to the heart-felt pleasure of my biave ■WBHH AGAINST QUEBEC. 19! and worthy companions, whose suffering, in cer¬ tain points, were greater than my own. The table of the virtuous and generous Prentis had often fur¬ nished me liberally with wholesome viands. With convalescency. though pennyless, we again became merry and light -hearted. In the beginning of August we were told by Pap tain Prentis that the Governor had concluded to send ih by sea to New York, upon parole, for the purpose of being exchanged ; that the transports, which had brought the late reinforcements from Europe, were cleansing and preparing for the voyage. Now there was exultation. On the Tth of August we subscri¬ bed our written paroles. Captain Prentis procured me permission from government, with a few friends, to traverse the city. An officer of the garrison at¬ tended us. Our first desire was to see the grave of our General and those of Ids Aids, as well as those of the beloved Hendricks and Humphreys. The graves were within a small place of interment, neat Iv walled with stone. The coffins of Montgomery, Cheeseman and M’Pherson, were well arranged, side by side; those of Hendricks, Humphreys Cooper, &c. were arianged on the south side of the inclo¬ sure. As the burial of these heroes took place in a dreary winter, and the earth impenetrable, there was hut little earth on the coffins: the snow and ice, which had been the principal covering, being now dissolved, the foot of the General’s coffin was expo¬ sed to the air and view. The coffin was well form¬ ed of fir plank. Captain Prentis assured me that the graves should he deepened and the bodies duly d posited, for he also knew Montgomery as a fe low- soldier and lamented his untimely fate. Thence we proceeded past the citadel along the ramparts to Cape Diamond, descended the declivity slantingly, and ex- 192 CAMPAIGN amined the stockades and block-house. It is this lit¬ tle lour that enabled me to describe to you the site and defences uf that formidable pass. Proceeding thence through a part of the lower town, we came to a narrow street, which led us to an immense stair¬ way, one of the ascents into the upper town. As¬ cending here, we came to the main passage, which curvatured down the hill into the lower town, and which was to lead us in our supposed attack upon (he upper town ; this we pursued, and came to the place of the second barrier, which had been lately demol¬ ished. The houses on both sides of the street, in which we had taken our stand, were now in ruins, having been burnt by the garrison, as were the sub¬ urbs of St. Roque and St. John’s. This was done to render them unfit for the shelter of future assailants. Thus it is, that war destroys the wealth, and robs the individual of happiness. We had no time to make observations but such as could be done in pass¬ ing hastily. Returning to the upper town by the principal and winding road, we were strongly im¬ pressed with the opinion that if our whole force, as was intended, had formed a junction in the lower town, that it was utterly impracticable, either from our number or our means, to mount by a road such as this was. Suppose it not to have been barricaded and enfiladed by cannon, it must be assailed by the bayonet, of which weapon we had very few, and the enemy was fully supplied. But when we reflect that across the toad, at. the centre of the arc of each curve, there was a barricade, and cannon placed to rake the intervals between the differ* nt barricades, the difficulties of the ascent, which is very steep, would be increased even to insurmountability. The road is very narrow, and lined next the hill, by a stupendous precipice ; on the other hand there were AGAINST QUEBEC. 193 some houses romantically perched on tlie side of the declivity, and some rocks. The declivity, of itself, was an excellent defence, if the besieged could main¬ tain the position in front, for in a short time, in so confined a space, the assailants must either die, re¬ treat, or be thrown down the hill from the road..— But suppose all these defences overcome, and we had arrived at the brow of the hill at the entrance ot the upper town, here a still more formidable obstacle pre¬ sented itself than those which could be formed by art in the lower parts of the road. At this place there is a hollow way, which in the hurry we were in, and the slight view we dared take, appeared as if cut out of the solid rock, of a depth of thirty or forty feet. Athwart this way there was a strong stockade, of a height nearly equal with the perpendicular sides of the way or gulley. From the surface above, we might have been stoned to death by the defenders of the fortress, without a probability of their receiving harm from us below, though ever so well armed. But the stockade itself, from its structure and abun¬ dant strength, would have resisted a force manifold our numbers, and much better supplied and accou¬ tred. From these observations, (those of an unin¬ structed youth, to be sure,) there was no hesitation in telling mv intimate friends, then and since, that the scheme of the conquest of the upper town was vis¬ ionary and groundless; not the result of our dear General’s reflections, but forced upon him by the na¬ ture and necessities of the times, and his disagreea¬ ble predicament. If a coalition of our forces in the lower town had taken effect, the General would then most probably have developed his latent and real plans. The reasons given in council may have been promulgated merely to induce a more spirited exer¬ tion upon the part of the officers and soldiery who 194 CAMPAIGN were not in the secret, to excite a fictitious valor. Get¬ ting into serious action, and warmed by the opposi¬ tion of the enemy, the troops might have been indu¬ ced to persevere in any apparently sudden design of the General. The cupiditv of the soldiers had been plaved upon. This latter fact is known to me of mv own particular knowledge. Some weeks before the attack the soldiers, in their common conversations, spoke of the conquest of the cit.v as a certaintv, and exultingly of the plunder they should win by their bravery. It was not mv business to contradict, hut to urge them on. Perhaps bv setting fire to the low¬ er town, on the side of Gape Diamond, (considering the prevailing wind, which was at south-east, hut afterwards changed to north and north-west ) such a design might have been effected. The shipping also ice-bound, numerous and valuable, moored around the point, would have been consumable. All this de¬ struction would have been a victory of no mean kind \ but adding eclat to the known gallantry and prowess of the General. The Almighty willed that we should never know the pith or marrow of his pro¬ jects ; whatever they were, mv mind is assured that they were considerately and well designed. He was not a man to act incautiously and without motive, and too honest and brave to adopt a sinister part. No doubt we could have escaped by the way of St. Roane, protected by the smoke of the conflagration, and the terror and hustle which would consequently he crea¬ ted in the town. Though this path is too narrow for the operation of a large body of men. in an ex¬ tended front, still we should have been too numerous (under the circumstances supposed A for the enemy to afford a force, issuing from Palace gate, adequate to oppose us. In the next instance. if we should happen to be 90 very fortunate in such a retreat; as AGAINST QUEBEC. Its to beat the foes, they must retreat into the city by the way of Palace gate, and we should have entered pell mell, and should thus have achieved the posses¬ sion of that important place, the upper town, which was the primary view, and last hope of the general and the army. These were the crude notions of a youth, formed upon the spot, but in a maturation of thirty yeais are still retained. The General did not want for information. Many persons, male and female, (unnecessary mouths,) were expelled the city, to wander for subsistence a- mong their friends in the country. His own knowl¬ edge of Quebec, where he had served, would enable him by interrogation to extort from these emigrants a full stock of information of all the new defences e- re< ted by Governor Carlton since. Consequently, knowing the practicability of Cape Diamond as an entrance to the lower town, (but a most dangerous one,) and that of St. Roque, with which and its bar¬ riers, he was particularly acquainted, from his own and the observations of others ; if so, he would most assuredly be informed of the defensive obstructions on the slope of the hill, and the employment of the troops that would in consequence attend: and he would also know that this place, to the garrison, would be a perfect Theimopylee, impassable by ten times our number, if we had been veterans and were bettei furnished. From these reasons there was an inducement for my mind, at all times since the at¬ tack, to conclude that it was never General Mont¬ gomery’s real design to conquer the upper town by an invasion from the lower town, but his hidden and true plan was, by a consolidation of our whole force, to burn .the lower town and shipping, and to retreat by the way of Palace gate and St. Roque. It a sally was made at Palace gate, the event, as was ob- 196 CAMPAIGN served before, might be fatal to the enemy. The comprehensive mind of Montgomery would not only appreciate to the full extent the peculiar advantages of the enemy, but estimate to its true value I he means he possessed, and the merits of his own army. Pre¬ suming the colonists to be successful in the lower town, where there was much wealth, and the ava¬ ricious among us be in some degree gratitied, it would have created a spirit of hope and enterprize among the men, tending to induce them to remain with us. Afterwards, combining our whole force, with the re¬ inforcements we had a prospect of receiving, an at¬ tack upon the upper town might have succeeded. In a word, the destruction of the lower town, in my ap¬ prehension, should be considered merely as prepara¬ tory to a general assailment of the upper town, not¬ withstanding all that has been said in the memoirs of those days. A contrary opinion went abroad that “ the General if he hatf lived, by this assault would have conquered Quebec.” No idea could he more fallacious. It was politically right to keep up thato- pinion among the people in those trying times, but its accomplishment with our occompaniment of men and defective arms, was ideal. Our walk from the great gate and palisade was considerable, ere we reach¬ ed our detestable dwelling ; as we had enjoyed a few hours of fleeting liberty, the “locking-up” became the more horrible to our feelings. The next day, however, we had the ineffable pleasure of marching in a body to the water side, and embarked on board five transports. On the following day a new joy was in store for me. General William Thompson, (of whom it might well be said, 1 this is a man,') who had commanded our regiment at Prospect hill, as its Colonel, had been taken prisoner at the Three Riv¬ ers, with several other officers, in the preceding month AGAINST QUEBEC. m of June He was now aboard of our little fleet, des¬ tined to New York. Thompson came to our ship to visit the miserable remnant of a part of his gallant corps. The General had a special message to me from my fat her, with whom he was intimate. Com¬ ing through Lancaster in his way to bis command in Canada, he was authorized by my father, if he saw me in that country, to furnish me with money. The good man proffered me four half-johannes; one only was accepted. What was nearer and dearer to my heart was the information that my parents, rela¬ tives and friends were well. That money was ap¬ plied to the use of my messmates in the way of sea stores. Permission being obtained, Boyd and myself went ashoie: our purchases consisted of a very large Cheshire cheese, coffee, tea and sugar, together with a large roll of tobacco lor the men. Again penny- less, jollity and mirth did not forsake us. We -ailed on the tenth of August, convoyed by the Pearl frigate, Captain M’Kenzie. Parsing the delightful island o( Urb ans, much in shoie, we ob¬ served the farmers reaping their wheat, and as we run along we could see that thehau • », in many instances, was green toward' the foot of the stalk. From this circumstance it was concluded that frequently, partic¬ ularly in cold or wet seasons, the gram must be kiln- dried, as is done in the north of Kngiand aim in Scot¬ land, before it is housed and threshed. The wheat, though sown between the fifteenth and twentieth ot May, and probably sometimes eailier or later, is weighty, and produces a very fine white flour. The voyage down the river, except a few boisterous days, was pleasant. We had some noble views, intersper¬ sed here and there with something like villages, chap¬ els and farm houses. Afterwards, we had in pros¬ pect a bleak and dreary coast and country, whose 198 CAMPAIGN* c ragged ness inspired disagreeable sensations. The greatest curiosities were the seals, whose history and manners were (lien known to me, but whose living form excited attention as they were creeping up or basking on the rocks. The pot poises, perfectly white, in vast droves, played before and around us, and drew my attention and surprise, as none but the black southern porpoise had before come under my view. To become a naturalist it is necessary a man should travel; it was many years before books could per¬ suade me of the existence of a green--haired monkey ; but these were diminutive objects indeed in nature’s scale of comparative imagery, when contrasted with the immense river Cadaracqua , or as it is now call¬ ed St. Lawrence, second to no river in the world, un¬ less it be the La Plata, of South America. Making this observation, you must understand me to include within it the lake Superior, and the waters that feed that lake. Off Gaspy Point, where we soon arrived, in a due north line across the island of Anticosta, the liver is about ninety miles wide. Steeling with fa¬ vorable weather, the island of St John’s came in view ; passing it, and the Gut of Canceaux, experi¬ encing some stormy weather upon the ocean, atid a few difficulties, we happily arrived at New York on the 11th of September, i776, and anchored three miles south of Governor’s Island. Now it was, for the first time, that we heard of the dilemma in which our country stood. The battle of Long Island, on the 27th of August, had been unsuccessfully fought by our troops, many of whom were prisoners. In such hurrying times intercourse between hostile armies in the way of ne¬ gotiation upon any point, is effected with difficulty. We had waited patiently several weeks to be disem¬ barked on our own friendly shore, yet tantalized ev- AGAINST QUEBEC. 199 ery day with reports that to-morrow we should be put on shore; some, and in a little while all, began to fear it was the intention of General Howe to detain us as prisoners in opposition to the good will of Sir Guy Carlton. This notion had so strongly impress¬ ed the minds of my friend Doctor Thomas Gibson, and a young man called John Blair, of Hendricks, that they determined to escape from the ship. They were both of them at hletic and able bodied men, and most adroit. Gibson planned the manner of escape ; its ingeniousness, hazard, boldness of execution, and eventual success, received the applause of all, but was disapproved upon the principle that it trenched upon their honor, and would impede our release.— The story is this : Gibson and Blair, in the evening, dressed in shirts and trowsers, were upon the main deck with their customary flapped hats upon their heads. Gibson gave me a squeeze of the hand in token of farewell: he was greeted kindly, for he was the brother of my soul. He and his companion went to the forecastle, where there were two large New Foundland dogs, each of which had his party, or rather, his partizans among the crew. These the adventurers hissed at each other ; the dogs being en¬ gaged wit!) their usual fury, attracted the attention of the sailors and many of the prisoners; they took this opportunity of stripping and letting themselves down at the bow into the water. Leaning over the sides of the ship in company of some friends in the secret, and unregardful of the dogs, we awaited the management of the flight. The last lighted cloud appeared low in the west. Something extraordinary passed along the side : a foolish fellow asked ‘ what is that?’ 4 A wave, you fool—a mere deception of sight, 7 was answered. It was the head ot Gibson, covered by his large black hat. Within a few yards 20# CAMPAIGN of Gibson came Blair, but with a smaller haf ; he was obvious. His white skin discovered him, but luckily tire attention of the ignoramus was engaged another way. These daring men swam to the barge at ibe stern, entered it, and slipped the rope. They had towed a t housand yards before the boat was miss¬ ed. The other boats of our ship, and t hose near us, were despatched after the runaways; it was too late, the fugitives had too much of a start to be easily o- vertaken. They landed, (having rowed about live miles.) naked in our own country, somewhere in the vicinity of Bergen-weck, and bartered the boat for some ordinary clothing. They waited on General Washington, who disapproved of their conduct. A short time after the foregoing occurrence, a most beautiful and luminous, but baleful sight occurred to us ; that is, the city of New York on fire. One night, (Sept. 22,) the watch on deck gave a loud no¬ tice of this disaster. Running upon deck we could percei e a light, which, at the distance we were from it, (four miles,) was apparently of the size of the flame of a candle. This light to me appeared to be the burning of an old and noted tavern, called the ‘b ighting Cocks,’ (w here, ere this I had lodged,) to the east of the battery, and near the wharf. The w ind was southwardly, and blew a fresh gale ; the flames at this place, because of the wind, incieased tapidly. In a moment we saw another light at a great distance from the first, up the North River.— '1 he latter light seemed to bean original, distinct and new T formed fire, near a celebrated tavern in the Broad¬ way called ‘ White Hall.’ Our anxiety for the fate of so fine a city caused much solicitude, as we har¬ bored a belief that the enemy had fired it. The flames were fanned by the briskness of the breeze, and drove the destructive effects of the elements on AGAINST QUEBEC. 201 all sides. When the fire reached the spire of a large steeple, south of the tavern, which was attached to a large church, the effect upon the eye was astonish¬ ingly grand. If we could have divested ourselves of the knowledge that it was the property of our fellow citizens which was consuming, the view might have been esteemed sublime, if not pleasing. The deck of our ship, for many hours, was lighted as at noon day. In the commencement of the conflagration, we observed many boats putting off from the fleet, low¬ ing speedily towards the city ; our boat was of the number. This circumstance repelled the idea that our enemies were the incendiaries, for indeed they professedly went in aid of the inhabitants. 1 lie boat returned about day light, and from the relation of the officer and the crew we clearly discerned that the burning of JNew York was the act of some mad cap Americans. The sailors told us, in their blunt manner, that they had seen one American hanging by the heels dead, having a bayonet wound through his breast. They named him by his Christian and sirname, which they saw imprinted on his arm; they averred he was caught in the act of firing the hou¬ ses. They told us also that they had seen one per¬ son who was taken in the act tossed into the fire, and that several who were stealing, and suspected as in¬ cendiaries, were bayonetted. Summary justice is at no time laudable, but in this instance it may have been correct. If the Greeks could have been resisted at Persepoln, every soul of them ought to have been massacred. The testimony we received from the sailors, my own view of the distinct beginning of the fire, in various spots, remote from each other, and the manner of its spreading, impressed my mind with the belief that the burning of the city was the do¬ ings of the most low and vile of persons, for the pur- MU BHBSfiSSS 202 CAMPAIGN poses not only of thieving, but of devastation. This seemed to be the general sense, not only of the Brit¬ ish, but that ol the prisoners then aboaid the trans- po.ts. Laying directly south of the cily, and in a lange with Broadway, we had a fair and full view o he whole process. The persons in the ships near- omni™ i?" lhan We we,e ’ unifor, "ly LelcJ the same opimon. It was not until some years afterwards that frv ° a llb | T dS C T'’ but ,or l,,e llonor °f our coun- y and its good name, an ascription was made of the nng o the city to accidental circumstances. It may be well that a nation, in the heat and turbu¬ lence of war, should endeavor to promote its interests by piopagaimg reports ol itsown innocenceand prow¬ ess, and accusing its enemy of flagrant enormity and dasiaidhness, (as was done in tins particular case.) but when peace comes, let us, in God’s name, do ius- tice to them and to ourselves. Baseness and villany are the growth of all climes, and of all nations.— without the most cogent testimony, as the fact oc¬ curred within my own view, the eloquence of Cicero could not convince me that the firing was accidental, borne tune after the burning ol the city we under¬ stood that we were to be embarked m shallops, and landed at Elizabethtown point. I he intelligence caused a sparkling in every eye. Un the next day about noon we were in the boats. Adveise winds retarded us. It was ten or eleven at night before we landed ; the moon shone beautiful- y. irloigan stood in the bow of the boat; making a spring not easily surpassed, and falling on the earth as a were to grasp it, cried “ Oh my country.” We that were near him, pursued his example. Now a lace commenced, which in quickness could scarcely be exceeded, and soon brought us to Elizabethtown, liete those ol us who were drowsy spent an uneasy AGAINST QUEBEC. 20S night. Being unexpected quests and the town full of troops, no quarters were provided for us. Joy ren¬ dered beds useless ; we did not close our eyes till day¬ light. Singing, dancing, the Indian halloo, in short, every species of vociferous ness was adopted by the men, and many of the most respectable sergeants, to express their extreme pleasure. A stranger coming among them would have pronounced them mad, or at least, intoxicated; though since noon neither food nor liquor had passed our lips ; thus the passions may at times have an influence on the human frame as inebriatingas wine, or any other liquor. The morning brought us plenty, in the form of rations of beef and bread. Hunger aliaved, my only desire was to pro¬ ceed homewards. Money was wanting. How to obtain it in a place where all my friends and acquain¬ tances were alike poor and destitute, gave me great, anxiety and pain. Walking up the street very mel¬ ancholy, unknowing what to do, I observed a wag¬ gon, built in the Lancaster county fashion, (which at that time was peculiar in Jersey.^ unloading stores for the troops, come or coming. The owner seeing me, grasped mv hand with fervor, and told meeveiy one believed me to be dead. Telling him our story in a compendious manner, the good old man, with¬ out solicitation, presented me two silver dollars, to be repaid at Lancaster. They were gladly received. Mv heart became easv. The next day, in company with the late Colonel Febiger, and the present Gen¬ eral Nichols, and some other gentlemen, we procured a light return wagon, which gave us a cast as far as Princeton. Here we had the pleasure of conversing with Dr. Witherspoon, who was the first that inform¬ ed us of the resolution of Congress to augment the army. Tt gave ns pleasure* as we had devoted our¬ selves individually to the service of our country.-—- CAMPAIGN 204 The next day, if not incorrect, we proceeded on foot, no carriage of any kind being procurable. Night brought us up at a farm house, somewhere near Bris¬ tol. The owner was one of us, that is, a genuine whig. He requested us to tarry all night, which we declined. He presented us a supper that was grate¬ fully received. Hearing our story, he was much af¬ fected. We then tried to prevail on him to take us to Philadelphia in his light wagon. It was objected that it stood loaded with hay on the barn floor; his sons were asleep or abroad. We removed these ob¬ jections by unloading the hay, while this good citi¬ zen prepared the horses. Mounting, we arrived at the u Harp and Crown,” about two o’clock in the morning. To us, it was most agreeable, that we passed through the streets of Philadelphia in the night time, as our clothing was not only thread-bare but shabby. Here we had friends and funds. A gen¬ tleman advanced me a sum sufficient to enable me to exchange my leggins and mockasins for a pair of stockings and shoes, and to bear my expenses home. A day and a half brought me to the arms of my be¬ loved parents. At Philadelphia, I waited upon a cousin of my mother, Mr. Owen Biddle, then a member of the “ Council of Safety,” who informed me that while in captivity he had procured me a Lieutenancy. My heart was otherwise engaged. Morgan, the hero, had promised and obtained for me, a Captaincy in the Virginia line. Following the fortunes of that bold and judicious commander, my name might have been emblazoned in the rolls of patriotic fame. But alas ! in the course of eight weeks after my return from captivity, a slight cold, caught while skating on the ice of Susquehanna, or in pursuing the wild tur¬ key among the Kittatinny hills, put an end to all my AGAINST QUEBEC. 205 visionary schemes of ambition. This cause renew¬ ed that abominable disorder, (he scurvy, (which I had supposed was expelled from my system,) accompani¬ ed by every morbid symptom that had been so often observed at Quebec, attendant upon others. The medical men of all classes being engaged in the ar¬ my, that species of assistance was unattainable in the degree requisite ; lameness, as you now observe it, was the consequence. Would to God my extreme sufferings had then ended a life which since has been a tissue of labor, pain, and misery ! SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF ARNOLD. Benedict Arnold was born at Norwich, Conn, on the 3d of January, 174U. Win e yet a lad he was apprenticed to two gentlemen by the name of Lathrop, who were partners as druggists in a large establishment at Norwich, and alike disungu shed lor their probity, worth, and the wide extent ol then bu¬ siness. Being allied by a distant relationship m the mother of the young apprentice, they tell a peisonal interest in his welfare. , , . It was soon made obvious.to these gentlemen that they had neither an agreeable nor an easy task be¬ fore them. To an innate love ol nnscluel, young Arnold added an obduracy of conscience, a cruety ot disposition, an irritability of temper, and a reckless indifference to the good or ill opinion ol others, that left but a slender foundation upon which to eiect a system of correct principles or habits. Weary of the monotonous duty of the shop, and smitien with the attractions ol a military hie, lie en¬ listed as a King’s soldier, without the knowledge of his friends, when he was sixteen years old, and went off with other recruits to Hartford. This caused sue 1 deep distress to his mother, that the Rev '■ 011 > pastor of the church to which she belonged, and some other persons, took a lively interest in the matter, and succeeded in getting him released and brought back. 208 SKETCH OF THE Not long afterwards he ran away, enlisted a second time, and was stationed at Ticonderoga and different places on the frontiers; but being employed in garri¬ son duty, and subject to more restraint and discipline than were suited to his restless spirit and unyielding obstinacy, and seeing no prospect of an opportunity for gratifying his ambition and love of bold adven¬ ture, he deserted, returned to Norwich, and resumed his former employment. When a British officer pass¬ ed through the town in pursuit of deserters, fearing a discovery, his friends secreted him in a cellar till night, and then sent him several miles into the country* where he remained concealed till the officer was gone. After he had served out his apprenticeship, Arnold left Norwich and commenced business as a druggist in New Haven. At length he took up the profession of a navigator, shipped horses, cattle, and provisions to the West Indies, and commanded his own vessels. His speculations ended in bankruptcy, and under cir¬ cumstances, which, in the opinion of the world, left a stain upon his honesty and good faith. He resu¬ med his business, and applied himself to it with his accustomed vigor and resource, and with the same obliquity of moral purpose, hazard, and disregard of public sentiment, that had always marked his con¬ duct. He was early married ax New Haven to a lady by the name of Mansfield. She died at New Haven a- bout the lime the war began. 'There were in Connecticut two companies of mil¬ itia called the Governor’s Guards, and organized in conformity to an act of the legislature. One of these companies belonged to New Haven, and in March, 1775, Arnold was chosen to be its commander. This company consisted of fifty-eight men. When the news of the battle of Lexington reached New Ha- LIFE OF ARNOLD. 209 ven, the bells were rung, and great excitement pre¬ vailed among the people. Moved by a common im¬ pulse, they assembled on the green in the centie of the town, where the Captain of the Guards took oc¬ casion to harangue the multitude, and alter address¬ ing himself to their patriotic feelings, and rousing their martial spirit by suitable appeals and represen¬ tations,* he propo-ed to head any number ol volun¬ teers that would join him, and march with them im¬ mediately to the scene of action. He ended his ad¬ dress by appointing a time and place for all such to meet, and form themselves into a company. When the hour arrived, sixty volunteers appeared on the ground, belonging mostly to the Guards, with a few students Irom the College. INo time was lost in preparing lor their departure, and on the morning of the next day they were ready to march. Bring provided with ammunition, and participating the ar¬ dor of their leader, the company hastened forward by a rapid march to Cambridge, the head quarters of the troops, who were collecting Irom various parts to resist any further aggressions from the British army in Boston. On the 3d of May the Massachusetts Committee of Safety commissioned Benedict Arnold as a Colon¬ el in the service of Massachusetts, and commander- in-cluef of a body of troops not to exceed lour hun¬ dred, with whom he was to proceed on an expedition to subdue and take Fort Ticonderoga. The temperament of Colonel Arnold admitted no delay after matters had been thus arranged, and he made all haste to the theatre of operations. He ar¬ rived at Stockbridge, on the frontier ot Massachusetts, within three days of the time of receiving his com¬ mission. He there found himself anticipated by the expedition set on foot under the command of Ethan IS* 210 SKETCH OF THE Allen. A compromise in the command was efle ted, by which Arnold acted in the capacity of a volun¬ teer. The party advanced to Ticonderoga, took the fort by surprise on the morning of the 10 th of May, and made the whole garrison prisoners. Ethan Al¬ len, as the commander, entered the fort at the head of his men. Arnold, ever foremost in scenes of dan¬ ger and feats of courage, assumed the privilege of passing through the gate at his left hand. Thus the love of glory, common to them both, was gratified ; and the pride of Arnold was soot hed, after the wound it had received by the disappointment of his ambi¬ tious hopes. Four days after the capture of the fortress, about 50 men, who had been enlisted in compliance with the orders given by Arnold on the road, joined him with two Captains at Ticonderoga. These were properly under his command. They came by the way of Skenesborough, and brought forward the schooner ta¬ ken at that place, which belonged to Major Skene. He manned this vessel, proceeded immediately down the Lake to St. John’s, where he surprised the garri¬ son, taking a sergeant and twelve men prisoners, and captured a King’s sloop with seven men. After destroying five batleaux, seizing four others, and put¬ ting on board some of the valuable stores from the fort, he returned to Ticonderoga. Colonel Allen went upon the same expedition with one hundred and fifty men in batleaux from Crown Point, but, as the batleaux moved with less speed than the schooner, he met Arnold leturning about fifteen miles from St. John’s. After some other minor transactions on the fron¬ tiers, Arnold made haste back to Cambridge, where he arrived early in July. Arnold was now unemployed, but a project was LIFE OF ARNOLD. *11 soon set on foot suited to his genius and capacity.— General Washington had taken command of the ar¬ my at Cambridge. The Continental Congress had resolved that an incursion into Canada should be made by the troops under General Schuyler. To fa¬ cilitate this object, a plan was devised about the mid¬ dle of August, by the Commander-in-Chief and sev¬ eral members of Congress then on a visit to the ar¬ my during an adjournment of that body, to send an expedition to Quebec through the eastern wilderness, by the way of the Kennebec river, which should e- yentually co-operate with the other party, or cause a diversion of the enemy, that would be favorable to its movements. Arnold was selected to be the con¬ ductor of this expedition, and he received from Wash¬ ington a commission of Colonel in the Continental service. The enterprise was bold and perilous, en¬ compassed with untiied difficulties, and not less haz¬ ardous in its execution, than uncertain as to its re¬ sults. These features, repelling as they were in themselves, appeared attractive in the eyes of a man whose aliment was glory, and whose spirit was san¬ guine, restless, and daring. About eleven hundred effective men were detached and put under his com¬ mand, being ten companies of musketmen from New England, and three companies of riflemen from Virginia and Pennsylvania. The field officers, in addition to the chief, were Lieutenant-Colonel Christopher Greene, afterwards the hero of Red Bank, Lieutenant-Colonel Roger Enos, and Majors Bigelow and Meigs. At the head of the riflemen was Captain Daniel Morgan, renowned in the sub¬ sequent annals of the war. These troops inarched from Cambridge to Newbu¬ ry port, where they embarked ou board eleven trans- 21* SKETCH, &c. ports, September 18th, and sailed the next day for the Kennebec river. Mr. Henry’s account of the expedition through the wilderness covers, in a degree, ilie history of Arnold, until his return. The subsequent events of his life, occupying too much space, even with abridgement, for this volume, the reader w ill find in “ The Life and Treason of Benedict Arnold, by Jared Sparks” —Harper’s edition, N. York. THE END. %b9in73