Life and Treason of Benedict Arnold

by Jared Sparks

The bodies of the slain were found by a party, that went in pursuit, and were carried across the river. They had been stripped of their clothing, and the body of Miss McCrea was wounded in nine places, either by a scalping knife or a tomahawk. A messenger was despatched to convey the afflicting intelligence to her brother, who arrived soon afterwards, took charge of his sister's remains, and had them interred on the east side of the river about three miles below the fort. The body of Lieutenant Van Vechten was buried at the same time and on the same spot.

History has preserved no facts by which we can at this day ascertain the reason, why Miss McCrea should remain as she did in so exposed and unprotected a situation. She had been reminded of her danger by the people at the fort. Tradition relates, however, and with seeming truth, that through some medium of communication she had promised her lover, probably by his advice, to remain in this place, until the approach of the British troops should afford her an opportunity to join him, in company with her hostess and friend. It is said, that, when they saw the Indians coming to the house, they were at first frightened and attempted to escape; but, as the Indians made signs of a pacific intention, and one of them held up a letter intimating that it was to be opened, their fears were calmed and the letter was read. It was from Jones, and contained a request that they would put themselves under the charge of the Indians, whom he had sent for the purpose, and who would guard them in safety to the British camp. Unfortunately two separate parties of Indians, or at least two chiefs acting independently of each other, had united in this enterprise, combining with it an attack of the picket guard. It is incredible that Jones should have known this part of the arrangement, or he would have foreseen the danger it threatened. When the prize was in their hands, the two chiefs quarrelled about the mode of dividing the reward they were to receive; and, according to the Indian rule of settling disputes in the case of captives, one of them in a wild fit of passion killed the victim and secured the scalp. Nor is it the least shocking feature of the transaction, that the savage seemed not aware of the nature of his mission. Uninformed as to the motive of his employer for obtaining the person of the lady, or not comprehending it, he regarded her in the light of a prisoner, and supposed the scalp would be an acceptable trophy. Let it be imagined what were the feelings of the anxious lover, waiting with joyful anticipation the arrival of his intended bride, when this appalling proof of her death was presented to him. The innocent had suffered by the hand of cruelty and violence, which he had unconsciously armed; his most fondly cherished hopes were blasted, and a sting was planted in his soul, which time and forgetfulness could never eradicate. His spirit was scathed and his heart broken. He lived but a few years, a prey to his sad recollections, and sunk into the grave under the burden of his grief.

The remembrance of this melancholy tale is still cherished with a lively sympathy by the people, who dwell near the scene of its principal incidents. The inhabitants of the village of Fort Edward have lately removed the remains of Miss McCrea from their obscure resting-place, and deposited them in the public burial-ground. The ceremony was solemn and impressive. A procession of young men and maidens followed the relics, and wept in silence when the earth was again closed over them, thus exhibiting an honorable proof of sensibility and of respect for the dead. The little fountain still pours out its clear waters near the brow of the hill, and the venerable pine is yet standing in its ancient majesty, broken at the top and shorn of its branches by the winds and storms of half a century, but revered as marking the spot where youth and innocence were sacrificed in the tragical death of Jane McCrea. *

* The circumstances attending the murder of Miss McCrea have been variously represented. Samuel Standish himself related to me the above particulars, as far as they came under his own observation. When he arrived at the British camp he was taken before General Fraser, who asked him many questions and treated him kindly. He was then sent a prisoner to Ticonderoga, whence he contrived to make his escape two months afterwards. Miles Standish, the famous military leader of the first Pilgrims at Plymouth, was his ancestor in a direct line.

The first report of the attack upon the picket guard, which was brought to Arnold, magnified the number of the assailants so much, that he detached a thousand men, with orders to march in two divisions, one to fall upon their rear, and the other to gain their front. The attempt was defeated by a heavy shower of rain, which wet the arms of the troops and damaged their powder. It is not likely, indeed, that in any event they would have overtaken the enemy, who moved off without delay, and were not inclined to wait an attack.

The day after this affair an advanced party of the British troops took possession of Fort Edward, and General Schuyler soon retreated with his whole army to Stillwater. In the mean time the question of Arnold's rank was again brought up in Congress, and decided against him by a majority of nearly three to one. It was the first occasion on which the yeas and nays were entered in the journals. Arnold had previously received a letter from one of his friends in Congress, who assured him, that, in the present temper of the members, he could have no hope of the restoration of his rank. Piqued and mortified at this obstinate determination to withhold from him what he deemed to be a right, and from the refusal of which his reputation was suffering, he asked leave of General Schuyler to retire; but by the persuasion of that officer, and a representation of the absolute necessity of his services at so critical a moment, he was induced again to suspend his purpose.

While the army was at Stillwater, intelligence arrived of the defeat of General Herkimer at the bloody battle of Oriskany, the investiture of Fort Schuyler by St. Leger with a large body of British troops, Canadians, and Indians, and the imminent danger to which the garrison was exposed. Eight hundred men under General Learned were immediately detached to the relief of the garrison. Arnold volunteered to command the expedition, and set off with instructions to call out as many of the militia as he could, and to adopt the most effectual measures to repel the enemy, and protect the settlements on the Mohawk River.

Washington had already advised his being sent into that quarter, but General Schuyler was reluctant to spare him from the main army.

When the detachment reached Fort Dayton at the German Flats, where there was a guard of Continental troops, it appeared by the adjutant's return, that the whole force then assembled was nine hundred and forty-six regulars, and less than one hundred militia. It was ascertained at the same time, that the number of the enemy besieging Fort Schuyler amounted to at least seventeen hundred, including one thousand Indians. In the opinion of a council of war, with these facts before them, it was imprudent to hazard an attack until a reinforcement could be obtained. Arnold accordingly sent an express to General Gates, who had superseded General Schuyler and was then at Van Schaick's Island, at the mouth of the Mohawk, soliciting an additional detachment of one thousand light troops. He likewise issued a tumid proclamation, after the example of Burgoyne and St. Leger, and, according to the fashion of those times, offering pardon to Indians, Germans, Americans, or Britons, if within ten days they would sue for protection and take the oath of allegiance to the United States, but threatening direful vengeance upon those, who should neglect this proffer of mercy, and be captured in prosecuting their hostile designs.

Stratagems in war are sometimes more effectual than arms or military skill. A singular instance of this kind occurred on the present occasion. A man by the name of Cuyler was seized as a spy. * There was little doubt of his guilt, or at least of his coming under the heavy penalties of the proclamation. Cuyler was a refugee, an inhabitant of that region, a man of some consideration among the people, and known in the enemy's camp, whence he had lately come out with a flag to entice the settlers to rally under the standard of St. Leger. It is said to have been first suggested by Lieutenant-Colonel Brooks, of the Massachusetts line, to employ him as a messenger of deceptive intelligence to the enemy. He was brought before Arnold, who questioned him, and promised a pardon of all past offences and the security of his property, if he would return to St. Leger's camp, and make so exaggerated a report of the number of Americans approaching, as to alarm the Indians and cause them to despair of success. To this he assented, and his brother was retained in confinement as a hostage for the faithful fulfilment of his promise.