Reign of George III. (Continued.) page 16

This was to send a part of Lincoln's militia, under colonel Brown, to endeavour to surprise Fort Ticonderoga, Mount Independence, and Fort George, to capture or destroy all the stores there, to hold them in strong force, and thus completely to cut off Burgoyne's retreat by the lakes to Canada, Brown managed at the outlet of Lake George to surprise a sloop there, carrying provisions to Burgoyne. He took possession of Mount Hope and Mount Defensive, made about three hundred prisoners, captured a fleet of batteaux, also carrying provisions; and, being joined by another body/' of militia under colonel Johnson, he invested Ticonderoga. Being repulsed there, he sailed through Lake George in the vessels he had taken; made a fresh attempt upon Diamond Island, and, being also repulsed there, he set fire to the captured vessels, and returned to the American camp in the rear of Burgoyne. Partial as his success had been, he had, however, opened the route, and whilst he and the rest of the militia were watching Burgoyne, other bodies of Americans were mustering in his track, and the retreat of Burgoyne became an impossibility. His longer stay was impossible. His provisions were exhausted; his horses were dying for lack of forage, and his situation was most deplorable. The Canadians and loyal Americans lost all heart; and the Indians, finding no plunder, and being sternly forbidden by Burgoyne the luxury of scalping, began rapidly to disappear in the woods.

In this situation the English general determined to attempt - what he should have attempted at first - to force the American lines. Then his troops were full of spirit and good keep, now they were half starved, much reduced in number by the desertion of their allies, and their enemies were as much augmented. To advance or retreat was equally difficult. He could hear nothing of Clinton's movements, for his enemies had possession of the passes, and intercepted all dispatches. They knew that Clinton was advancing, and that determined measures were necessary on their part; but Burgoyne knew it not.

Accordingly, on the 7th of October, Burgoyne drew out one thousand five hundred picked men, and formed them less than a mile from the American camp. They were commanded by himself, Reidesel, Philips, and Frazer. No sooner were they descried, than they were attacked furiously by Poor's New Hampshire brigade. The attack extended rapidly to the right, where Morgan and his rifle corps stole round through some woods, and opened fire on the flank of the column. Other troops rushed out of the American entrenchments, and endeavoured to force their way betwixt the British and their camp; but major Ackland and his riflemen withstood them bravely; yet Burgoyne and his one thousand five hundred men were forced to fall back, leaving their cannon behind them. Morgan and his riflemen were now arriving, under cover of the woods, near the flank of the right wing; and Frazer, perceiving them, advanced to dislodge them. In this he succeeded, but was picked off by the American marksmen, as usual safe behind their trees, and fell mortally wounded.

Gates, during this action, did not appear on the field any more than in the former battle; but Arnold seemed inspired by the furies of war. He galloped hither and thither, shouting, encouraging, dashing on to lead the way, and as the British retired in confusion within their lines, he spurred his horse through one of the sally-ports into the entrenchments. His horse was there shot beneath him, and his column was driven back. Colonel Brooks, at the head of Jackson's regiment of Massachusetts, was more successful. He turned the entrenchments of the German brigade, maintained his ground within the lines, and, to the wonderful relief of the Americans, seized the baggage of the Germans, and an ample supply of ammunition. Thus, once again, were the British destined to be fought with their own powder and ball!

Night closed the scene, leaving Brooks and his detachment lying on their arms within the English lines. The latter had lost about four hundred men killed, wounded, and taken prisoners. They had lost baggage, cannon, and ammunition, thus enabling the enemy to continue the fight. It was necessary to withdraw his troops to a more secure situation, and this Burgoyne did during the night with much industry and address. In the morning he was beheld posted on some high ground in the rear in order of battle. The day was spent in skirmishes. Whilst attempting to reconnoitre, general Lincoln was severely wounded, so as to be disabled for further service. Frazer was buried on a hill on which he had himself fixed, amid showers of ball from the American fines. The baroness Reidesel, who followed the camp with her young children, and whose quarters were turned into a hospital for the wounded officers, has left a pathetic account of the horrors of that day, and of the retreat which followed it.

Retreat was now inevitable, and Burgoyne determined to attempt to reach Fort George, at the southern end of Lake George. He had but three days' provisions left, and his force was now reduced to three thousand five hundred men, and these had to make their way through a wilderness swarming with active and elate enemies. Gates, aware of the movement which Burgoyne was intending to make, sent troops up the river to occupy the banks of the Hudson, and to guard all passages of escape. To anticipate this event Burgoyne decamped with such speed that he left all his sick and wounded behind him, amounting to about three hundred, whom Gates treated with much humanity. The distance to Saratoga was only six miles, but the rain fell in torrents, the roads were almost impassable, the bridges over the Fishkill were all broken down by the Americans. Burgoyne sent forward detachments of soldiers to repair the bridges and re-open the roads; but they found the woods swarming with riflemen, and that it was impossible to execute the task assigned them. On the 10th, when he arrived at the fords of the Fishkill, he found them obstructed by strong forces of Americans. He soon dispersed them with cannon, but they only retired to the Hudson, where still stronger bodies of troops were posted to oppose his crossing. He might, perhaps, have dispersed these too, but other bodies were seen already in line on the left bank, and to cross there appeared hopeless. So far from that, the Americans were now actively attacking his batteaux on the river, which conveyed all the provisions which he had now left for his army. The plunder of these boats excited the cupidity of the New England militia to a perfect fury. They were not contented to seize and appropriate the boats and their contents, and set up a market for the goods in their camp, but they would rob the American regulars, whenever they could, of their share of the booty, and sell it on their own account. Gates issued a general order on the 12th," That, seeing so many scandalous and mean transactions committed by persons who sought more after plunder than the honour of doing their duty, it was his unalterable resolution to try and punish to the utmost severity the first person that he saw pillaging the baggage taken from the enemy."

Driven to desperation, Burgoyne now contemplated crossing the river in the very face of the enemy, and fighting his way through, and for this purpose he sent a party up the river to reconnoitre a suitable spot. Once over, he had little doubt of making his way to Fort Edward, and thence to the Canadian lakes. At this moment Gates was informed that Burgoyne had effected his passage, and that he had left only the rear-guard in the camp. He was in full march upon the camp, in the belief that he could seize it with ease, and part of his forces had actually crossed the fords of Fishkill, near which Burgoyne was strongly posted, when a spy or a deserter informed him of his mistake. Had it not been for this circumstance he must have suffered a surprise and a certain defeat, and the fortunes of Burgoyne would probably have been different. He was now on the alert to receive the Americans, and when, to his mortification, he saw them at a signal again retreating, he poured a murderous fire into them, and pursued them in confusion across the creek.

This was his last chance. No news reached him from Clinton; but he ascertained that the Americans had already, in strong force, blocked up his way to Fort Edward. This was decisive. On the 13th he called together a council of war, at which every captain was invited to attend, and the result of the deliberations was unanimously - that they must capitulate. Accordingly, an officer was sent with a note to the American head-quarters that evening, to propose an interview betwixt general Burgoyne and general Gates. The American general agreed to the meeting at ten o'clock the next morning. There Burgoyne stated that he was aware of the superiority of Gates's numbers, and, to spare the effusion of useless blood, he proposed a cessation of arms, to give time for a treaty to that effect.

Gates replied that he was well aware that general Burgoyne's army was reduced to the last extremity, that it had lost the greater part of its men by repeated defeats, sickness, &c., together with their artillery, horses, and ammunition; that their retreat was cut off, and therefore, he could listen to nothing but an absolute surrender. Burgoyne said he would never admit that his retreat was cut off whilst he had arms in his hands; and Gates, who knew that Clinton was on his march, and might soon alter the whole face of things, was only too anxious to have Burgoyne's army out of the way. After some preliminaries, therefore, to save appearances, on the 16th it was agreed to that the British should march out of their camp with all the honours of war; should deposit their cannon on the banks of the Hudson, and there pile their arms at the command of their own officers; that the troops, of whatever nation they might be composed, should retire in all security and honour to Boston, where they should be provided with all necessary comforts until they embarked for England, under condition of not serving against the United States again during that war; that the Canadians should be allowed to return in all honour to their own country; and that in no case should officers be separated from their own men.

These were not such terms as are usually granted to conquered armies; and the reason was, that Clinton was every day drawing nearer. Scarcely were these terms agreed on, when this fact became known to Burgoyne. For a moment he hesitated whether he should sign the contract; but, on consultation with his officers, he felt himself bound in honour to ratify, and accordingly, the next morning, the 17th of October, the deed was signed, and the troops, marching out, grounded their arms. Many of the officers are said to have scarcely been able to pronounce the words of command for that purpose, and the soldiers to have set down their arms with tears. The Germans had taken care not to leave their colours or trophies to the Americans, by cutting them from the staves and stowing them away in Madame Reisedel's luggage. General Gates, unlike the generality of American officers of the time, a gentleman in feelings as well as manners, neither attended the humiliating spectacle nor would allow his own people to be there. He found himself, on its completion, in possession of four thousand muskets, forty pieces of artillery, a small quantity of powder and ball, and not much of the contents of the captured batteaux, the New Englanders having taken good care of that.

No sooner did the garrisons of Ticonderoga and Fort George hear of Burgoyne's surrender, than they abandoned those places, and retired, by the Sorel, to Fort St. John and Montreal. Burgoyne had most earnestly entreated Carleton to send reinforcements to Ticonderoga, but Carleton refused to send a single regiment, pleading that he had not more troops than was necessary for the defence of Canada with a triumphant enemy so near. On the contrary, the Americans hastened to take possession of them. Putnam, who was watching the movements of Clinton on the Hudson, sent urgent demands for reinforcements for this purpose. The capture of a whole British army, lately the object of so much terror, occasioned to the Americans, especially in New England, which was to have been totally cut off from the other colonies, a wonderful exultation. Gates was declared a far superior general to Washington, who had been chased through the Jerseys, and had lost Philadelphia. Young Wilkinson, who had acted as adjutant-general to the successful army, and who brought the news of their victory to congress, was created at once brigadier-general. But this well-merited promotion was as quickly protested against by no less than forty-seven colonels of the line. These republicans could not comprehend that there is such a thing as genius, which at once raised a man above all his fellows, and which no levelling principles can pull down to the plane of common-place. Wilkinson, whose " Memoirs " give us the best account of these transactions, with a zeal as magnanimous as the jealousy of the forty-seven colonels was envious, at once abandoned the new honour.

Whilst Burgoyne had been looking in vain for aid from New York, Sir Henry Clinton, at length daring the responsibility of a necessary deed, had set out with three thousand men, in vessels of different kinds, up the Hudson. It was on the 6th of October - ten days before Burgoyne signed the capitulation - that he set out. He had waited in daily anxiety for the much-needed reinforcements from England, before he could do this. He had only seventeen battalions of regulars, a single regiment of light horse, and some provincial militia, to defend New York, in the absence of Howe at Philadelphia, and the brave old general Putnam hovering in the neighbourhood with an army of regulars small but well trained, and large bodies of militia watching to take advantage of the too accessible condition of New York, and, if possible, to destroy the stores there laid up for the whole British army, both of arms, ammunition, clothes, and provisions. But this government of king George, so high-toned in language and so stubborn in spirit, were as helpless as children in all necessary measures for so important a war. The English government, which had, in days scarcely gone by, equipped hundreds of thousands of men for the campaigns of Marlborough, and raised millions on millions to defend the interests of Austria, now, when a continent of their own was at stake, could let the whole summer pass on without sending reinforcements, and then only furnish a set of raw recruits to fill up vacancies. Could general Clinton have commenced his ascent of the Hudson a fortnight earlier, the result, from what he did accomplish, would clearly have been the rescue of Burgoyne and the brilliant completion of the campaign.