August 18, 2025 • 19 mins
In 1755, twelve-year-old Mary Jemison was captured by Native Americans, marking the beginning of a remarkable journey that would define her life. This compelling narrative recounts the tragic murder of her father and family, her profound struggles, and the complexities of her marriages to two Native men. Mary’s account reveals the harsh realities she faced, the brutalities of the French and Revolutionary Wars, and the historical truths that have long remained untold. Join us as we explore her extraordinary story, as narrated by James Seaver.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Appendix Part one of a narrative of the Life of
Missus Mary Jemison. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox
recordings are in the public domain. For more information or
to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. Recording by Barry Eads.
A Narrative of the Life of Missus Mary Jemison by
(00:21):
James E. Sever Appendix Part one, an account of the
destruction of a part of the British Army by the
Indians at a place called the Devil's Hole on the
Niagara River in the year seventeen sixty three. It is
to be regretted that an event of so tragical a
nature as the following should have escaped the pens of
(00:42):
American historians, and have been suffered to slide down the
current of time to the verge of oblivion, without having
been snatched almost from the vortex of forgetfulness, and placed
on the faithful page as a memorial of premeditated cruelties
which in former times were practiced upon the white people
by the North American savages. Modern history perhaps cannot furnish
(01:06):
a parallel so atrocious in design and execution as the
one before us and it may be questioned even if
the history of ancient times, when men fought hand to
hand and disgrace their nature by inventing engines of torture,
can more than produce its equal. It will be observed
in the preceding narrative that the affair at the Devil's
(01:28):
Hole is said to have happened in November seventeen fifty nine.
That Missus Jemison arrived at Genesee about that time is
rendered certain from a number of circumstances, and that a
battle was fought on the Niagara in November seventeen fifty nine,
in which two prisoners and some oxen were taken and
brought to Genesee, as she has stated, is altogether probable.
(01:50):
But it is equally certain that the event which is
the subject of this article did not take place till
the year seventeen sixty three. In the time of the
French War, the neighborhood of Fort's Niagara and Sclusser or
Sclosser as it was formerly written, on the Niagara River
was a general battleground, and for this reason Missus Jemison's
(02:11):
memory ought not to be charged with treachery for not
having been able to distinguish accurately after the lapse of
sixty years between the circumstances of one engagement and those
of another. She resided on the Genesee at the time
when the warriors of that tribe marched off to assist
in laying the ambush at the Devil's Hole, and no
(02:32):
one will doubt her having heard them rehearse the story
of the event of that nefarious campaign after they returned.
Chronology and History concur in stating that Fort Niagara was
taken from the French by the British, and that General
Prideaux was killed on the twenty fifth of July seventeen
fifty nine. Having obtained from Missus Jemison a kind of
(02:54):
introduction to the story, I concluded that if it yet
remained possible to procure a care direct account of the
circumstances which led to and attended that transaction, it would
be highly gratifying to the American public. I accordingly directed
a letter to mister Linus S. Everett of Buffalo, whose
ministerial labor I well knew frequently called him to Lewiston,
(03:16):
requesting him to furnish me with a particular account of
the destruction of the British at the time and place
before mentioned. He obligingly complied with my request and gave
me the result of his inquiries on that subject in
the following letter. Copy of a letter from mister Linus S. Everett,
dated Fortes Clusser, twenty ninth December eighteen twenty three. Respected
(03:40):
and dear friend, I hastened with much pleasure to comply
with your request in regard to the affair at the
Devil's Hole. I have often wondered that no authentic account
has ever been given of that bloody and tragical scene.
I have made all the inquiries that appear to be
of any use, and proceed to give you the result.
At this place, Fort Sclusser, an old gentleman, now resides
(04:03):
to whom I am indebted for the best account of
the affair that can be easily obtained. His name is
Jesse Ware, his age about seventy four. Although he was
not a resident of this part of the country at
the time of the event, yet from his intimate acquaintance
with one of the survivors, he is able to give
much information which otherwise could not be obtained. The account
(04:26):
that he gives is as follows. In July seventeen fifty nine,
the British, under Sir William Johnston, took possession of Forts
Niagara and Sclusser, which had before been in the hands
of the French. At this time, the Seneca Indians, which
were a numerous and powerful nation, were hostile to the
British and warmly allied to the French. These two posts,
(04:49):
Niagara and Sclusser, were of great importance to the British
on the account of affording the means of communication with
the posts above or on the upper Lakes. In seventeen
sixty a contract was made between Sir William Johnston and
a mister Stedman to construct a portage road from Queenston
Landing to Fort Sclusser, a distance of eight miles, in
(05:12):
order to facilitate the transportation of provision, ammunition, et cetera
from one place to the other. In conformity to this agreement,
on the twentieth of June seventeen sixty three, Steadman had
completed his road and appeared at Queenston Landing now Lewiston
with twenty five portage wagons and one hundred horses and
(05:33):
oxen to transport to forts Glusser the King's stores. At
this time, Sir William Johnston was suspicious of the intentions
of the Senecas, for after the surrender of the forts
by the French, they had appeared uneasy and hostile. In
order to prevent the teams, drivers and goods receiving injury,
he detached three hundred troops to guard them across the portage.
(05:56):
The teams under this escort started from Queenston Landing Stedman,
who had the charge of the hole, was on horseback
and rode between the troops and teams, all the troops
being in front. On a small hill near the Devil's Hole.
At that time was a redoubt of twelve men, which
served as a kind of guard on ordinary occasions against
(06:18):
the depredations of the savages. On the arrival of the
troops and teams at the Devil's Hole, says a manuscript
in the hands of my informant, the sachems, chiefs and
warriors of the Seneca Indians sallied from the adjoining woods
by thousands, where they had been concealed for some time before,
for that nefarious purpose, and falling upon the troops, teams
(06:39):
and drivers, and the guard of twelve men before mentioned.
They killed all the men but three on the spot
or by driving them together with the teams down the precipice,
which was about seventy or eighty feet. The Indians seized
Stedman's horse by the bridle while he was on him,
designing no doubt, to make his sufferings more lasting than
(06:59):
that of his companions. But while the bloody scene was
acting the attention of the Indian who held the horse
of Stedman being arrested, he cut the reins of his bridle,
clapped spurs to his horse, and rode over the dead
and dying into the adjacent woods without receiving injury from
the enemy's firing. Thus he escaped, and besides him two others,
(07:20):
one a drummer, who fell among the trees, was caught
by his drum strap and escaped unhurt. The other one
who fell down the precipice and broke his thigh, but
crawled to the landing or garrison down the river. The
following September, the Indians gave Steedman a piece of land
as a reward for his bravery, with sentiments of respect,
I remain sir here sincere friend l s Everett, mister J. E.
(07:46):
Sever a particular account of General Sullivan's expedition against the
Indians in the western part of the state of New
York in seventeen seventy nine. It has been thought expedient
to publish in this volume the following account of General
Sullivan's expedition, in addition to the facts related by Missus Jemison,
(08:06):
of the barbarities which were perpetrated upon Lieutenant Boyd and
two others who were taken and who formed a part
of his army, et cetera. A detailed account of this
expedition has never been in the hands of the public,
and as it is now produced from a source deserving
implicit credit, it is presumed that it will be received
(08:26):
with satisfaction. John Salmon, Esquire, to whom we are happy
to acknowledge our indebtedness for the subjoined account, is an
old gentleman of respectability and good standing in society, and
is at this time a resident in the town of Groveland,
Livingston County, New York. He was a hero in the
American War for Independence, fought in the battles of his
(08:48):
country under the celebrated Morgan, survived the blast of British oppression,
and now, in the decline of life, sits under his
own well earned vine and fig tree, near the grave
of his unfortunate countrymen, who fell gloriously while fighting the
ruthless savages. Under the command of the gallant Boyd. In
the autumn after the battle at Manmoth seventeen seventy eight,
(09:12):
Morgan's riflemen to which Corps I belonged, marched to Skoheri
in this state of New York, and there went into
winter quarters. The company to which I was attached was
commanded by Captain Michael Simpson, and Thomas Boyd of Northumberland County,
Pennsylvania was our lieutenant. In the following spring, our corps,
together with the whole body of troops under the command
(09:34):
of General Clinton, to the amount of about fifteen hundred,
embarked in boats at Schenectady and ascended the Mohawk as
far as German Flats. Thence we took a direction to
Otsego Lake, descended the Susquehanna, and without any remarkable occurrence,
arrived at Tioga Point, where our troops united with an
(09:54):
army of fifteen hundred men under the command of General Sullivan,
who had marched through a part of New Jersey, and
had reached that place by the way of Wyoming some
days before us. That part of the army under General
Sullivan had, on their arrival at Toyoga Point, found the
Indians in some force there, with whom they had had
(10:14):
some unimportant skirmishes before our arrival. Upon the junction of
these two bodies of troops, General Sullivan assumed the command
of the whole and proceeded up the Tioga, When within
a few miles of the place now called Newtown, we
were met by a body of Indians and a number
of troops, well known in those times by the name
(10:35):
of Butler's Rangers, who had thrown up hastily a breastwork
of logs, trees, et cetera. They were, however, easily driven
from their works, with considerable loss on their part, and
without any injury to our troops. The enemy fled with
so much precipitation that they left behind them some stores
and camp equipage. They retreated but a short distance before
(10:57):
they made a stand and built another breastwork of concersiderable
length in the woods near a small opening. Sullivan was
soon apprised of their situation, divided his army and attempted
to surround by sending one half to the right and
the other to the left, with directions to meet on
the opposite side of the enemies. In order to prevent
(11:17):
their retreating. He directed bomb shells to be thrown over them,
which was done, but on the shells bursting, the Indians
suspected that a powerful army had opened a heavy fire
upon them on that side, and fled with the utmost
precipitation through one wing of the surrounding army. A great
number of the enemy were killed, and our army suffered considerably.
(11:37):
The Indians, having in this manner, escaped, they went up
the river to a place called the Narrows, where they
were attacked by our men, who killed them in great numbers,
so that the sides of the rocks next to the
river appeared as though blood had been poured on them
by pailfuls. The Indians threw their dead into the river
and escaped the best way they could. From New Town,
(11:58):
our army went directly to the head of the Seneca Lake,
thence down that lake to its mouth, where we found
the Indian village. At that place evacuated, except by a
single inhabitant, a male child about seven or eight years
of age, who was found asleep in one of the
Indian huts. Its fate I have never ascertained. It was
taken into the care of an officer of the army, who,
(12:20):
on account of ill health, was not on duty, and
who took the child with him, as I have since understood,
to his residence on or near the North River. From
the mouth of Seneca Lake, we proceeded without the occurrence
of anything of importance, by the outlets of the Canandagua, Honeoe,
and Hemlock Lakes to the head of Canisius Lake, where
the army encamped on the ground that is now called
(12:42):
Henderson's Flats. Soon after the army had encamped, at the
dusk of the evening, a party of twenty one men
under the command of Lieutenant Boyd was detached from the
rifle course and sent for the purpose of reconnoitering the
ground near the Genesee River at a place now called Williamsburg,
at a distance from the camp of about seven miles,
(13:03):
under the guidance of a faithful Indian pilot. That place
was then the site of an Indian village, and it
was apprehended that the Indians and rangers might be there
or in that vicinity, in considerable force. On the arrival
of the party at Williamsburg, they found that the Indian
village had been recently deserted, as the fires in the
huts were still burning. The night was so far spent
(13:26):
when they got to their place of destination that Lieutenant Boyd,
considering the fatigue of his men, concluded to remain during
the night near the village and send two men messengers
with a report to the camp in the morning. Accordingly,
a little before daybreak, he despatched two men to the
main body of the army with information that the enemy
(13:47):
had not been discovered. After daylight, Lieutenant Boyd cautiously crept
from the place of his concealment, and, upon getting a
view of the village, discovered two Indians hovering about the settlement,
one of whom was immediately and scalped by one of
the riflemen, whose name was Murphy. Supposing that if there
were Indians in that vicinity or near the village, they
(14:08):
would be instantly alarmed by this occurrence, Lieutenant Boyd thought
it most prudent to retire and make the best of
his way to the general encampment of our army. They
accordingly set out and retraced the steps which they had
taken the day before, till they were intercepted by the enemy.
On their arriving within about one mile and a half
of the main army, they were surprised by the sudden
(14:29):
appearance of a body of Indians to the amount of
five hundred under the command of the celebrated Brand and
the same number of rangers commanded by the infamous Butler,
who had secreted themselves in a ravine of considerable extent
which lay across the track that Lieutenant Boyd had pursued.
Upon discovering the enemy, and knowing that the only chance
(14:50):
for escape was by breaking through their line. One of
the most desperate enterprises ever undertaken, Lieutenant Boyd, after a
few words of encouragement, led his men to the attempt.
As extraordinary as it may seem, the first onset, though unsuccessful,
was made without the loss of a man on the
part of the heroic band, though several of the enemy
(15:10):
were killed. Two attempts more were made, which were equally unsuccessful,
and in which the whole party fell except Lieutenant Boyd
and eight others. Lieutenant Boyd and a soldier by the
name of Parker were taken prisoners on the spot. A
part of the remainder fled and a part fell on
the ground, apparently dead, and were overlooked by the Indians,
(15:31):
who were too much engaged in pursuing the fugitives to
notice those who fell. When Lieutenant Boyd found himself a prisoner,
he solicited an interview with Brandt, whom he well knew
commanded the Indians. This chief, who was at that moment
near immediately presented himself. When Lieutenant Boyd, by one of
those appeals which are known only by those who have
(15:52):
been initiated and instructed in certain mysteries, and which never
failed to bring secure to a distressed brother, addressed him
as the only source from which he could expect a
respite from cruel punishment or death. The appeal was recognized
in Brandt immediately, and in the strongest language, assured him
that his life should be spared. Lieutenant Boyd and his
(16:13):
fellow prisoner, Parker, were immediately conducted by a party of
the Indians to the Indian village called Beardstown on the
west side of Genesee River in what is now called Leicester.
After their arrival at Beardstown, Brandt, their generous preserver, being
called on service which required a few hours absence, left
them in the care of the British Colonel Butler of
(16:35):
the Rangers, who, as soon as Brant had left them,
commenced an interrogation to obtain from the prisoners a statement
of the number, situation, and intentions of the army under
General Sullivan, and threatened them, in case they hesitated or
prevaricated in their answers, to deliver them up immediately to
be massacred by the Indians, who, in Brant's absence and
(16:57):
with the encouragement of their more savage commander Butler, were
ready to commit the greatest cruelties. Relying probably on the
promises which Brandt had made them and which he undoubtedly
meant to fulfill. They refused to give Butler the desired information. Butler,
upon this, hastened to put his threat into execution. They
were delivered to some of their most ferocious enemies, who,
(17:20):
after having put them to very severe torture, killed them
by severing their heads from their bodies. The main army
immediately after hearing of the situation of Lieutenant Boyd's detachment,
moved on towards Genesee River, and, finding the bodies of
those who were slain in Boyd's heroic attempt to penetrate
through the enemy's line, buried them in what is now
(17:40):
the town of Groveland, where the grave is to be
seen at this day. Upon their arrival at the Genesee River,
they crossed over, scoured the country for some distance on
the river, burnt the Indian villages on the genese flats,
and destroyed all their corn and other means of subsistence.
The bodies of Lieutenant Boyd and Parker were found and
(18:01):
buried near the bank of Beard's Creek under a bunch
of wild plum trees, on the road as it now
runs from Moscow to Geneseo. I was one of those
who committed to the earth the remains of my friend
and companion in arms, the gallant Boyd. Immediately after these events,
the army commenced its march back by the same route
that it came to Tioga Point, thence down the Susquehanna
(18:25):
to Wyoming, and thence across the country to Morristown, New Jersey,
where we went into winter quarters. General Sullivan's bravery is unimpeachable.
He was unacquainted, however, with fighting the Indians, and made
use of the best means to keep them at such
a distance that they could not be brought into an engagement.
It was his practice morning and evening to have cannon
(18:47):
fired in or near the camp, by which the Indians
were notified of their speed in marching and of his situation,
and were enabled to make a seasonable retreat. The foregoing account,
according to the best of myne my recollection, is strictly accurate.
John Salmon, Groven, January twenty fourth, eighteen twenty four Esquire.
(19:08):
Salmon was formerly from Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, and was first
sergeant in Captain Simpson's and Lieutenant Boyd's company. End of
Appendix Part one
Appendix Part one of a narrative of the Life of
Missus Mary Jemison. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox
recordings are in the public domain. For more information or
to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. Recording by Barry Eads.
A Narrative of the Life of Missus Mary Jemison by
(00:21):
James E. Sever Appendix Part one, an account of the
destruction of a part of the British Army by the
Indians at a place called the Devil's Hole on the
Niagara River in the year seventeen sixty three. It is
to be regretted that an event of so tragical a
nature as the following should have escaped the pens of
(00:42):
American historians, and have been suffered to slide down the
current of time to the verge of oblivion, without having
been snatched almost from the vortex of forgetfulness, and placed
on the faithful page as a memorial of premeditated cruelties
which in former times were practiced upon the white people
by the North American savages. Modern history perhaps cannot furnish
(01:06):
a parallel so atrocious in design and execution as the
one before us and it may be questioned even if
the history of ancient times, when men fought hand to
hand and disgrace their nature by inventing engines of torture,
can more than produce its equal. It will be observed
in the preceding narrative that the affair at the Devil's
(01:28):
Hole is said to have happened in November seventeen fifty nine.
That Missus Jemison arrived at Genesee about that time is
rendered certain from a number of circumstances, and that a
battle was fought on the Niagara in November seventeen fifty nine,
in which two prisoners and some oxen were taken and
brought to Genesee, as she has stated, is altogether probable.
(01:50):
But it is equally certain that the event which is
the subject of this article did not take place till
the year seventeen sixty three. In the time of the
French War, the neighborhood of Fort's Niagara and Sclusser or
Sclosser as it was formerly written, on the Niagara River
was a general battleground, and for this reason Missus Jemison's
(02:11):
memory ought not to be charged with treachery for not
having been able to distinguish accurately after the lapse of
sixty years between the circumstances of one engagement and those
of another. She resided on the Genesee at the time
when the warriors of that tribe marched off to assist
in laying the ambush at the Devil's Hole, and no
(02:32):
one will doubt her having heard them rehearse the story
of the event of that nefarious campaign after they returned.
Chronology and History concur in stating that Fort Niagara was
taken from the French by the British, and that General
Prideaux was killed on the twenty fifth of July seventeen
fifty nine. Having obtained from Missus Jemison a kind of
(02:54):
introduction to the story, I concluded that if it yet
remained possible to procure a care direct account of the
circumstances which led to and attended that transaction, it would
be highly gratifying to the American public. I accordingly directed
a letter to mister Linus S. Everett of Buffalo, whose
ministerial labor I well knew frequently called him to Lewiston,
(03:16):
requesting him to furnish me with a particular account of
the destruction of the British at the time and place
before mentioned. He obligingly complied with my request and gave
me the result of his inquiries on that subject in
the following letter. Copy of a letter from mister Linus S. Everett,
dated Fortes Clusser, twenty ninth December eighteen twenty three. Respected
(03:40):
and dear friend, I hastened with much pleasure to comply
with your request in regard to the affair at the
Devil's Hole. I have often wondered that no authentic account
has ever been given of that bloody and tragical scene.
I have made all the inquiries that appear to be
of any use, and proceed to give you the result.
At this place, Fort Sclusser, an old gentleman, now resides
(04:03):
to whom I am indebted for the best account of
the affair that can be easily obtained. His name is
Jesse Ware, his age about seventy four. Although he was
not a resident of this part of the country at
the time of the event, yet from his intimate acquaintance
with one of the survivors, he is able to give
much information which otherwise could not be obtained. The account
(04:26):
that he gives is as follows. In July seventeen fifty nine,
the British, under Sir William Johnston, took possession of Forts
Niagara and Sclusser, which had before been in the hands
of the French. At this time, the Seneca Indians, which
were a numerous and powerful nation, were hostile to the
British and warmly allied to the French. These two posts,
(04:49):
Niagara and Sclusser, were of great importance to the British
on the account of affording the means of communication with
the posts above or on the upper Lakes. In seventeen
sixty a contract was made between Sir William Johnston and
a mister Stedman to construct a portage road from Queenston
Landing to Fort Sclusser, a distance of eight miles, in
(05:12):
order to facilitate the transportation of provision, ammunition, et cetera
from one place to the other. In conformity to this agreement,
on the twentieth of June seventeen sixty three, Steadman had
completed his road and appeared at Queenston Landing now Lewiston
with twenty five portage wagons and one hundred horses and
(05:33):
oxen to transport to forts Glusser the King's stores. At
this time, Sir William Johnston was suspicious of the intentions
of the Senecas, for after the surrender of the forts
by the French, they had appeared uneasy and hostile. In
order to prevent the teams, drivers and goods receiving injury,
he detached three hundred troops to guard them across the portage.
(05:56):
The teams under this escort started from Queenston Landing Stedman,
who had the charge of the hole, was on horseback
and rode between the troops and teams, all the troops
being in front. On a small hill near the Devil's Hole.
At that time was a redoubt of twelve men, which
served as a kind of guard on ordinary occasions against
(06:18):
the depredations of the savages. On the arrival of the
troops and teams at the Devil's Hole, says a manuscript
in the hands of my informant, the sachems, chiefs and
warriors of the Seneca Indians sallied from the adjoining woods
by thousands, where they had been concealed for some time before,
for that nefarious purpose, and falling upon the troops, teams
(06:39):
and drivers, and the guard of twelve men before mentioned.
They killed all the men but three on the spot
or by driving them together with the teams down the precipice,
which was about seventy or eighty feet. The Indians seized
Stedman's horse by the bridle while he was on him,
designing no doubt, to make his sufferings more lasting than
(06:59):
that of his companions. But while the bloody scene was
acting the attention of the Indian who held the horse
of Stedman being arrested, he cut the reins of his bridle,
clapped spurs to his horse, and rode over the dead
and dying into the adjacent woods without receiving injury from
the enemy's firing. Thus he escaped, and besides him two others,
(07:20):
one a drummer, who fell among the trees, was caught
by his drum strap and escaped unhurt. The other one
who fell down the precipice and broke his thigh, but
crawled to the landing or garrison down the river. The
following September, the Indians gave Steedman a piece of land
as a reward for his bravery, with sentiments of respect,
I remain sir here sincere friend l s Everett, mister J. E.
(07:46):
Sever a particular account of General Sullivan's expedition against the
Indians in the western part of the state of New
York in seventeen seventy nine. It has been thought expedient
to publish in this volume the following account of General
Sullivan's expedition, in addition to the facts related by Missus Jemison,
(08:06):
of the barbarities which were perpetrated upon Lieutenant Boyd and
two others who were taken and who formed a part
of his army, et cetera. A detailed account of this
expedition has never been in the hands of the public,
and as it is now produced from a source deserving
implicit credit, it is presumed that it will be received
(08:26):
with satisfaction. John Salmon, Esquire, to whom we are happy
to acknowledge our indebtedness for the subjoined account, is an
old gentleman of respectability and good standing in society, and
is at this time a resident in the town of Groveland,
Livingston County, New York. He was a hero in the
American War for Independence, fought in the battles of his
(08:48):
country under the celebrated Morgan, survived the blast of British oppression,
and now, in the decline of life, sits under his
own well earned vine and fig tree, near the grave
of his unfortunate countrymen, who fell gloriously while fighting the
ruthless savages. Under the command of the gallant Boyd. In
the autumn after the battle at Manmoth seventeen seventy eight,
(09:12):
Morgan's riflemen to which Corps I belonged, marched to Skoheri
in this state of New York, and there went into
winter quarters. The company to which I was attached was
commanded by Captain Michael Simpson, and Thomas Boyd of Northumberland County,
Pennsylvania was our lieutenant. In the following spring, our corps,
together with the whole body of troops under the command
(09:34):
of General Clinton, to the amount of about fifteen hundred,
embarked in boats at Schenectady and ascended the Mohawk as
far as German Flats. Thence we took a direction to
Otsego Lake, descended the Susquehanna, and without any remarkable occurrence,
arrived at Tioga Point, where our troops united with an
(09:54):
army of fifteen hundred men under the command of General Sullivan,
who had marched through a part of New Jersey, and
had reached that place by the way of Wyoming some
days before us. That part of the army under General
Sullivan had, on their arrival at Toyoga Point, found the
Indians in some force there, with whom they had had
(10:14):
some unimportant skirmishes before our arrival. Upon the junction of
these two bodies of troops, General Sullivan assumed the command
of the whole and proceeded up the Tioga, When within
a few miles of the place now called Newtown, we
were met by a body of Indians and a number
of troops, well known in those times by the name
(10:35):
of Butler's Rangers, who had thrown up hastily a breastwork
of logs, trees, et cetera. They were, however, easily driven
from their works, with considerable loss on their part, and
without any injury to our troops. The enemy fled with
so much precipitation that they left behind them some stores
and camp equipage. They retreated but a short distance before
(10:57):
they made a stand and built another breastwork of concersiderable
length in the woods near a small opening. Sullivan was
soon apprised of their situation, divided his army and attempted
to surround by sending one half to the right and
the other to the left, with directions to meet on
the opposite side of the enemies. In order to prevent
(11:17):
their retreating. He directed bomb shells to be thrown over them,
which was done, but on the shells bursting, the Indians
suspected that a powerful army had opened a heavy fire
upon them on that side, and fled with the utmost
precipitation through one wing of the surrounding army. A great
number of the enemy were killed, and our army suffered considerably.
(11:37):
The Indians, having in this manner, escaped, they went up
the river to a place called the Narrows, where they
were attacked by our men, who killed them in great numbers,
so that the sides of the rocks next to the
river appeared as though blood had been poured on them
by pailfuls. The Indians threw their dead into the river
and escaped the best way they could. From New Town,
(11:58):
our army went directly to the head of the Seneca Lake,
thence down that lake to its mouth, where we found
the Indian village. At that place evacuated, except by a
single inhabitant, a male child about seven or eight years
of age, who was found asleep in one of the
Indian huts. Its fate I have never ascertained. It was
taken into the care of an officer of the army, who,
(12:20):
on account of ill health, was not on duty, and
who took the child with him, as I have since understood,
to his residence on or near the North River. From
the mouth of Seneca Lake, we proceeded without the occurrence
of anything of importance, by the outlets of the Canandagua, Honeoe,
and Hemlock Lakes to the head of Canisius Lake, where
the army encamped on the ground that is now called
(12:42):
Henderson's Flats. Soon after the army had encamped, at the
dusk of the evening, a party of twenty one men
under the command of Lieutenant Boyd was detached from the
rifle course and sent for the purpose of reconnoitering the
ground near the Genesee River at a place now called Williamsburg,
at a distance from the camp of about seven miles,
(13:03):
under the guidance of a faithful Indian pilot. That place
was then the site of an Indian village, and it
was apprehended that the Indians and rangers might be there
or in that vicinity, in considerable force. On the arrival
of the party at Williamsburg, they found that the Indian
village had been recently deserted, as the fires in the
huts were still burning. The night was so far spent
(13:26):
when they got to their place of destination that Lieutenant Boyd,
considering the fatigue of his men, concluded to remain during
the night near the village and send two men messengers
with a report to the camp in the morning. Accordingly,
a little before daybreak, he despatched two men to the
main body of the army with information that the enemy
(13:47):
had not been discovered. After daylight, Lieutenant Boyd cautiously crept
from the place of his concealment, and, upon getting a
view of the village, discovered two Indians hovering about the settlement,
one of whom was immediately and scalped by one of
the riflemen, whose name was Murphy. Supposing that if there
were Indians in that vicinity or near the village, they
(14:08):
would be instantly alarmed by this occurrence, Lieutenant Boyd thought
it most prudent to retire and make the best of
his way to the general encampment of our army. They
accordingly set out and retraced the steps which they had
taken the day before, till they were intercepted by the enemy.
On their arriving within about one mile and a half
of the main army, they were surprised by the sudden
(14:29):
appearance of a body of Indians to the amount of
five hundred under the command of the celebrated Brand and
the same number of rangers commanded by the infamous Butler,
who had secreted themselves in a ravine of considerable extent
which lay across the track that Lieutenant Boyd had pursued.
Upon discovering the enemy, and knowing that the only chance
(14:50):
for escape was by breaking through their line. One of
the most desperate enterprises ever undertaken, Lieutenant Boyd, after a
few words of encouragement, led his men to the attempt.
As extraordinary as it may seem, the first onset, though unsuccessful,
was made without the loss of a man on the
part of the heroic band, though several of the enemy
(15:10):
were killed. Two attempts more were made, which were equally unsuccessful,
and in which the whole party fell except Lieutenant Boyd
and eight others. Lieutenant Boyd and a soldier by the
name of Parker were taken prisoners on the spot. A
part of the remainder fled and a part fell on
the ground, apparently dead, and were overlooked by the Indians,
(15:31):
who were too much engaged in pursuing the fugitives to
notice those who fell. When Lieutenant Boyd found himself a prisoner,
he solicited an interview with Brandt, whom he well knew
commanded the Indians. This chief, who was at that moment
near immediately presented himself. When Lieutenant Boyd, by one of
those appeals which are known only by those who have
(15:52):
been initiated and instructed in certain mysteries, and which never
failed to bring secure to a distressed brother, addressed him
as the only source from which he could expect a
respite from cruel punishment or death. The appeal was recognized
in Brandt immediately, and in the strongest language, assured him
that his life should be spared. Lieutenant Boyd and his
(16:13):
fellow prisoner, Parker, were immediately conducted by a party of
the Indians to the Indian village called Beardstown on the
west side of Genesee River in what is now called Leicester.
After their arrival at Beardstown, Brandt, their generous preserver, being
called on service which required a few hours absence, left
them in the care of the British Colonel Butler of
(16:35):
the Rangers, who, as soon as Brant had left them,
commenced an interrogation to obtain from the prisoners a statement
of the number, situation, and intentions of the army under
General Sullivan, and threatened them, in case they hesitated or
prevaricated in their answers, to deliver them up immediately to
be massacred by the Indians, who, in Brant's absence and
(16:57):
with the encouragement of their more savage commander Butler, were
ready to commit the greatest cruelties. Relying probably on the
promises which Brandt had made them and which he undoubtedly
meant to fulfill. They refused to give Butler the desired information. Butler,
upon this, hastened to put his threat into execution. They
were delivered to some of their most ferocious enemies, who,
(17:20):
after having put them to very severe torture, killed them
by severing their heads from their bodies. The main army
immediately after hearing of the situation of Lieutenant Boyd's detachment,
moved on towards Genesee River, and, finding the bodies of
those who were slain in Boyd's heroic attempt to penetrate
through the enemy's line, buried them in what is now
(17:40):
the town of Groveland, where the grave is to be
seen at this day. Upon their arrival at the Genesee River,
they crossed over, scoured the country for some distance on
the river, burnt the Indian villages on the genese flats,
and destroyed all their corn and other means of subsistence.
The bodies of Lieutenant Boyd and Parker were found and
(18:01):
buried near the bank of Beard's Creek under a bunch
of wild plum trees, on the road as it now
runs from Moscow to Geneseo. I was one of those
who committed to the earth the remains of my friend
and companion in arms, the gallant Boyd. Immediately after these events,
the army commenced its march back by the same route
that it came to Tioga Point, thence down the Susquehanna
(18:25):
to Wyoming, and thence across the country to Morristown, New Jersey,
where we went into winter quarters. General Sullivan's bravery is unimpeachable.
He was unacquainted, however, with fighting the Indians, and made
use of the best means to keep them at such
a distance that they could not be brought into an engagement.
It was his practice morning and evening to have cannon
(18:47):
fired in or near the camp, by which the Indians
were notified of their speed in marching and of his situation,
and were enabled to make a seasonable retreat. The foregoing account,
according to the best of myne my recollection, is strictly accurate.
John Salmon, Groven, January twenty fourth, eighteen twenty four Esquire.
(19:08):
Salmon was formerly from Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, and was first
sergeant in Captain Simpson's and Lieutenant Boyd's company. End of
Appendix Part one
Popular Podcasts
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and current events with intelligence and humor. From the border crisis, to the madness of cancel culture and far-left missteps, Clay and Buck guide listeners through the latest headlines and hot topics with fun and entertaining conversations and opinions.