"Dear Morris,
"The situation of Tryon County is both shameful and alarming. Such abject dejection and despondency, as mark the letters we have received from thence, disgrace human nature. God knows what to do with, or for them. Were they alone interested in their fate, I should be for leaving their cart in the slough till they would put their shoulders to the wheel.
"Schuyler has his enemies here, and they use these things to his disadvantage. Suspicions of his having been privy to the evacuation of Ticonderoga spread wide; and twenty little circumstances, which perhaps are false, are trumped up to give color to the conjecture. [FN] We could wish that your letters might contain paragraphs for the public. We are silent because we have nothing to say; and the people suspect the worst because we say nothing. Their curiosity must be constantly gratified, or they will be uneasy. Indeed, I do not wonder at their impatience, the late Northern events having been such as to have occasioned alarm and suspicion. I have not leisure to add any thing more, than that I am, very sincerely, yours, &c.
"John Jay."
[FN] Reference has already been made, in the text, to the injustice done toward General Schuyler during this memorable year. There was probably no officer in the service, the Commander-in-chief alone excepted, who was considered by the enemy so great an obstacle to the success of their arms. A narrow sectional prejudice existed against him in New England. The failure of the Canadian campaign had been most wrongfully attributed to him in 1776, and with equal injustice the fall of Ticonderoga was now charged to his remissness by his own countrymen. The enemy were not slow to avail themselves of these prejudices and groundless imputations, and through the agency of the Tories, the most artful and insidious means were employed to destroy the public confidence in his integrity and capacity. The flame of suspicion was fanned by them until it became general, and was openly avowed. Committees, towns, and districts, assembled, and passed resolves expressing their distrust in him, and both Congress and the Provincial Legislature of New-York were addressed upon the subject. General Schuyler, than whom there was not a truer patriot, nor a more earnest or active in the public service, was well aware of these movements. To a Committee of the Provincial Congress, who had formally communicated the charges to him, he returned an answer worthy of a brave and magnanimous soldier. The character of this answer will be understood from this single sentence:—"We must bear with the caprice, jealousy, and envy of our misguided friends, and pity them."
As early as the 10th of April, Colonel Robert Van Rensselaer wrote to a friend, that the Chairman of the County Committee had applied to him for the assistance of his militia, to quell an insurrection of the loyalists in Ballston; but such was the condition of his own regiment, that he was obliged to decline the request. The spirit of disaffection had become so prevalent among his men, that numbers of them had taken the oath of secrecy and allegiance to Great Britain. However, he added that seventeen of the villains had been arrested by the vigilance of the officers, and were then in confinement; and a hope was indulged of being able to detect the whole. [FN-1] Early in the following month the residue of the Roman Catholic Scotch settlers in the neighborhood of Johnstown ran off to Canada, together with some of the loyalist Germans—all headed by two men named McDonald, who had been permitted by General Schuyler to visit their families. The fact that the wives and families of the absconding loyalists were holding communication with them, and administering to their subsistence on the outskirts of the settlements, had suggested their arrest, and removal to a place of safety, to the number of four hundred—a measure that was approved by General Herkimer and his officers. [FN-2] Alarming reports of various descriptions were continually in circulation, and the inhabitants were harassed beyond measure by the necessity of performing frequent tours of military duty—acting as scouts and reconnoitering parties; and standing, some of them, as sentinels around their fields, while others did the labor. No neighborhood felt secure, and all were apprehensive that the whole country would be ravaged by the Indians; while parties of the disaffected were continually stealing away to augment the ranks of the enemy. Thus circumstanced, and at the very moment when they were called upon to reinforce Fort Schuyler, the Committees both of Palatine and Schoharie, feeling that they were not strong enough even for self-defence, were calling upon the Council of Safety at Albany to send additional forces for their protection. Mr. Paris wrote repeatedly upon the subject. The Schoharie Committee, on the 17th of July, wrote very frankly, that "the late advantages gained by the enemy had such an effect, that many who had been counted as friends of the State were drawing back. Our situation," he added, "is deplorable—excepting those who have sought protection from the enemy. We are entirely open to the Indians and Tories, whom we expect every hour to come upon us. Part of our militia are at Fort Edward; and of the few that are here, many are unwilling to take up arms to defend themselves, as they are unable to stand against so many enemies. Therefore if your honors do not grant us immediate relief to the amount of about five hundred men, we must either fall a prey to the enemy, or take protection also." [FN-3] On the 18th of July, General Schuyler wrote to the Hon. Pierre Van Courtlandt, from Saratoga, and again on the 21st from Fort Edward, to the same effect. "I am exceedingly chagrined," he says, "at the pusillanimous spirit which prevails in the County of Tryon. I apprehend much of it is to be attributed to the infidelity of the leading persons of that quarter. If I had one thousand regular troops, in addition to those now above and on the march, I should venture to keep only every third man of the militia, and would send them down. The substance of Colonel Harper's information had been transmitted about a month ago. In consequence whereof, I sent Colonel Van Schaick into Tryon County with as many troops as I could collect. After the improper agreement made by General Herkimer, [FN-4] these troops were marched back; but as soon as I was informed of the march, I ordered them to remain in Tryon County, where they are still, and I have sent up Colonel Wesson's regiment to reinforce them. But if I may be allowed to judge of the temper of General Herkimer and the Committee of Tryon County, from their letters to me, nothing will satisfy them unless I march the whole army into that quarter. With deference to the better judgment of the Council of Safety, I cannot by any means think it prudent to bring on an open rupture with the savages at the present time. The inhabitants of Tryon County are already too much inclined to lay down their arms, and take whatever terms the enemy may please to afford them. Half the militia from this (Tryon) County, and the neighboring State of Massachusetts, we have been under the necessity of dismissing; but the whole should go. I enclose you the proceedings of a council of General officers, held at this place on the 20th instant. You will perceive that we have been driven to the necessity of allowing some of the militia to return to their plantations. The remainder have promised to remain three weeks longer—that is to say, unless they choose to return sooner, which will doubtless be the case, and for which they have many reasons." [FN-5]
[FN-1] MS. documents in the Department of State, Albany.
[FN-2] MS. documents in the Department of State, Albany—Letter of Isaac Paris.