The foregoing statement is taken from Sabine; we shall now give information derived from Captain Myer’s descendants, and others who knew him well. It is without doubt correct.
Captain Myer’s father and brother identified themselves with the rebel party, and we have heard it stated that he was at first, a rebel also, but not receiving promotion as he expected, forsook the cause, and upon the offer of a captaincy in the British forces allied himself to them. That this was the pure invention of his enemies is sufficiently plain. At the beginning of the rebellion Captain Myers, with his father, was a farmer in the vicinity of Albany, and could have had no reason for promotion. As to the captaincy, we find that he did not receive it until 1782, when the war had virtually closed, as the following shows:
Frederick Haldimand, Captain-General and Governor-in-Chief of the Province of Quebec and territories depending thereon, &c., &c., &c. General and Commander-in-Chief of His Majesty’s forces in said Province and territories thereof, &c., &c., &c.
TO JOHN WALTER MYERS, ESQ.:
By Virtue of the power and authority in me vested, I do hereby constitute, appoint you to be captain in the corps of Loyal Rangers whereof Edward Jessup, Esq., is Major-Commandant. You are therefore carefully and diligently to discharge the duty of captain by exercising and well disciplining both the inferior officers and soldiers of the corps, and I do hereby command them to obey you as their captain, and you are to observe and follow such orders and directions as you shall from time to time receive from me your Major, Major-Commandant, or any other of your superior officers, according to the rules and discipline of war. In pursuance of the trust hereby reposed in you. Given under my hand and seal at Arms, at the Castle of St. Louis, at Quebec, this thirtieth day of May, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-two, and in the twenty-second year of the reign of our Sovereign, Lord George the Third, by the Grace of God, Great Britain, France and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, and so forth.
(Signed) Fred. Haldimand.
By His Excellency’s Command,
R. Mathews.
It is true that during the war he made the attempt to take General Schuyler a prisoner. He went with ten men to Albany for the purpose of seizing the General, and carrying him away captive. On entering the yard at night, they looked through the window and saw the object of the expedition, but when they had entered the house he could no where be found, although search was made from cellar to garret. But in the garret were a number of puncheons turned up side down. Some of them were examined, but not all. After the war had closed, the Governor called on Myers and told him that had he turned over the other puncheons he would have found him. A faithful female slave had placed him there. The men with Myers had instruction to touch none of the Governor’s property, after leaving the place, however, he found one of the men in possession of a silver cup. This was sent back to the Governor afterward.
During the war, Myers on one occasion, perhaps when he was returning from his attempt to take Schuyler, was nearly starved to death. He had with him a favorite dog, which became sick for want of food. He carried the dog for days, not knowing but he would have to kill him for food. But they all got safely out of it, and he retained the dog for many a day, and on one occasion he showed him to Schuyler. After the war Captain Myers enjoyed a pension of 5s. 6d. a day. He lived in Lower Canada two years. A certificate of Masonry informs us that he was in Quebec in 1780. He frequently carried despatches to New York, in the first years of the war; upon one occasion he was in a friend’s house when the rebels came up, he jumped out of the back window and ran to the woods, he was seen, and persons on horseback came rapidly to the woods, and tied their horses, to pursue him on foot, which they hastily did; Myers had, however, hidden himself close by, and when they had fairly entered the woods in pursuit of him, he jumped up and deliberately selected the best horse, upon which he mounted, and so made an easy escape to New York.