An Englishman's travels in America

by John Benwell

Soon after landing, I was accosted by a middle-aged gentlemanly man, on the subject of the outrage on board the boat, and as he appeared to have less of that swaggering air about him than most men in the south possess, I entered freely into conversation with him, and in a very short time our interchange of sentiments created a mutual partiality, that led to his inviting me to pass the following evening at his house, a result I rather wished for, as he manifested a disposition to inform me fully on several questions I put to him relative to the state I was now in and my future movements; moreover, he seemed somewhat attached to the English, or rather was not strong in his prejudices against them.

I accordingly repaired to his residence at the time appointed. This was situated in one of the lateral streets of the city leading to the outskirts, and, although not large, was furnished with great taste and elegance. His lady, who was, I think, from Illinois, made herself very agreeable, her kind attentions tending to confirm the impression I already entertained of her countrywomen; they had no children, and the husband was engaged in some way with the Fur Company established in St. Louis. I was entertained with great hospitality; my kind host materially assisting me by information, &c. in my intention to pursue my route south.

He was the son of a New Englander, or native of one of the eastern states; his father having fought at Bunker's Hill, and otherwise taken an active part in the struggle for independence, between the years 1776 and 1785. This made it the more extraordinary that he should treat an Englishman with the courtesy he showed to me, especially as under such circumstances a bias is in general handed down from father to son, which operates prejudicially to my countrymen.

After putting a variety of questions, as to the "old country" as he termed Great Britain, on which I readily satisfied his curiosity, he entered into a detail of some of the stirring events relating to the period of his father's career in arms against the British; some of these were of a thrilling character, and strongly depicted the miseries of war, presenting a lamentable picture of the debasing influence of sanguinary struggles on the human mind. The barbarous mode of harassing the British troops, by picking off stragglers, which the lower orders of Americans pursued, in most instances for the sake of the wretched clothing and accoutrements of the victims, the former being dyed of a dark colour, and sold for a dollar per set (as he called the military suit), to the American citizen-soldiers, fairly made my blood creep; one instance in particular filled me with horror, for it was a cold-blooded murder of the deepest dye I must, however, do the narrator the justice to say that he viewed the atrocity in the same light as I did.

The occurrence I am about to relate, took place somewhere on the banks of the Hudson, below West Point, where a force of British troops were encamped or pursuing their operations under the protection of some vessels of war lying in the stream, he mentioned the exact spot where it occurred, but I have forgotten it. It appeared that this force was harassed and beset by parties of citizens, who, by pursuing a guerilla system of warfare, surprising small parties, and firing entirely in ambush, made great havoc amongst the rank and file of the invaders, almost every straggler falling a victim. One evening, during this state of things, two of the citizens, whilst prowling in a coppice, within a few miles of the camp, on the look-out, came suddenly upon an infantry soldier, who was off his guard at the moment, and whose firelock was resting against a tree; the foremost of the Americans darted forward and seized the weapon, while the second captured the wretched soldier. Under ordinary circumstances, and in more honourable hands, the man would have been conveyed as a prisoner of war to the American camp, but plunder being their object, this would not answer the purpose of the miscreants, the most resolute of whom ordered the captive (who was a lad of seventeen or eighteen), to take off his jacket. Knowing this was a preliminary step to his being shot, he fell on his knees and implored mercy. His captors were, however, inexorable, and he began to cry bitterly, and besought them to spare his life; these manifestations had, however, no effect on his deadly foes, who now threatened to fell him with the butt end of a fusee if he did not comply: this had the effect, and the poor captive reluctantly pulled off the jacket and threw it on the ground; this was immediately picked up by one of the party, to avoid its being stained with the life-blood of the victim. Withdrawing now a few paces, one of the Americans took a deliberate aim; the young soldier instantly turned to run, but as he wheeled round for the purpose (for his enemies were facing him), a ball entered his left side, just under the armpit, and springing frantically several feet into the air, he fell dead to the ground. He was then stripped, and left on the spot.

This horrid relation I should have thought, for the credit of his country, an American would have kept secret; but as I before observed, he was by no means disposed to take the part of these so-called patriots, although he stated that many atrocities were committed by the British, some of which he related, and which were, he said, never recorded; these, I fear, if exposed, would not much redound to their credit with the present generation.

At first I could not understand why the soldier was ordered before being shot to pull his jacket off; this he explained by saying, that a rent in the garment made by the ball of a fusee, would have lessened its value; and further, that the American soldiers were averse, from superstitious fear at the time, to wearing any article of dress in which an enemy had yielded his breath; notwithstanding which repugnance, the American soldiers not long after dismissed the objection, from the extreme scantiness of the clothing afforded them.

On my intimating the abhorrence I felt at the relation, my entertainer informed me that it was impossible at the time to prevent such occurrences, the annihilation of the invaders was the primum mobile of all Americans, and many citizens harassed the enemy on their own account, the principle being the same on which European vessels bearing letters of marque, are suffered to waylay and seize, for the purpose of private gain, the merchant vessels belonging to the country with which they are at war. Such atrocities, as he remarked, however horrifying in times of peace, are of every-day occurrence between contending armies.

Amongst those I had occasion to call on at St. Louis, was a Major ----. He had formerly been engaged in Indian warfare, and, having received a wound from a rifle-ball, that incapacitated him for active military duty, he was living as a retired citizen—his wife's jointure, and an allowance from Government, allowing him to keep up a tolerably good establishment. He was the owner of several slaves, and, amongst the rest, a young woman who was employed as nursemaid in the family. The first time I called at his residence, I thought him a man of superior manners and education, and was much pleased with the visit, which was concluded with a promise to renew it on a future day. When, however, I repeated my visit soon after, I found him alone in his study, and his constrained manner soon led me to perceive that something unusual perturbed his mind. The cause was soon after explained, for, the negress, before mentioned, coming into the room on some trifling errand, to my surprise accosted him rather freely. Her master suddenly broke out in a paroxysm of rage, swore at her awfully, and accused her in a ruffianly way of being insolent to her mistress. Then, violently ringing a bell which stood on the table, he summoned a negro lad into the room, and at once despatched him to a neighbour's house to borrow a new raw-hide whip, threatening all the while to flay her alive. In vain the terrified creature pleaded innocence; he would take no excuse, and, although I begged earnestly for him to pass over the offence, and the poor slave fell on her knees in the greatest terror, he vowed vengeance with dreadful imprecations. At last the whip came, and, disregarding alike the presence of a stranger, and the entreaties of a woman, he began the flagellation with murderous earnest. My interference only added to his ungovernable rage. The raw-hide was new, and the major being a strong, muscular man, every stroke told. The blood soon flowed from the back, neck, and breasts, of the poor victim, whose cries, as she writhed under the savage infliction, entered my soul. They, however, made no impression on her brutal tormentor, who kept vociferating with all his energy to keep her quiet. It was with some difficulty I stood by and witnessed the assault, but I well know my life would be in jeopardy if I attempted to interfere. I, however, screwed up my courage to stay, in the hope that some sense of shame might induce the fellow to hold his hand. This was, however, a delusive hope, for he continued to lay on the whip until he was exhausted.

The girl was now on the floor of the room, moaning piteously, and a stream of blood was flowing from her lacerated person, which soaked the matting that covered the floor. Her dress was hanging in tatters, and the blood trickling down her cheeks had a horrifying effect. As soon as the ruffian was tired, he bid the woman get down stairs and wash herself. The miserable creature arose with difficulty, and picking up her apron and turban, which were in different parts of the room, she hobbled out crying bitterly. As soon as she was gone, the major pointed to the blood, and said, "If we did not see that sometimes, there would be no living with the brutes;" to which I replied in terms he could not misunderstand, and at once left the house, determined never again to enter it—a resolution I religiously kept. I afterwards heard that this miserable creature was pregnant at the time, a circumstance that would have induced at least some regard to leniency in any man not utterly debased.