[FN] Letter to Tryon County Committee, signed by John Moore, Samuel Clyde, and Samuel Campbell, dated June 9, 1775.
It has already been stated, that in consequence of their exposed situation, the Marquis de Lafayette had directed the erection of a fortification at that place early the preceding Spring. Colonel Gansevoort at once solicited the command of the post, with the regiment which had so greatly distinguished itself the preceding year in the defence of Fort Schuyler. But it was given to Colonel Ichabod Alden, at the head of an eastern regiment, unfortunately but little accustomed to Indian warfare.
On the 8th of November, Colonel Alden received a despatch from Fort Schuyler by express, advising him that his post was to be attacked by the Tories and Indians. The intelligence had been conveyed to Fort Schuyler by an Oneida Indian, reporting that he received it from one of the Onondagas, who had been present at a great meeting of the Indians and Tories at Tioga, at which the determination was formed. In consequence of the lateness of the season, the inhabitants, not anticipating any farther hostilities before Spring, had removed their effects from the fortification, where, during the Summer, they had been deposited for safety, back to their own dwellings. On the receipt of this intelligence, they requested permission to remove once more into the fort, or at least to be allowed again to deposite their most valuable property within its walls. But Colonel Alden, discrediting the intelligence as an idle Indian rumor, denied their solicitations, assuring the people that he would use all diligence against surprise, and by means of vigilant scouts, be at all times prepared to warn them of approaching danger. Accordingly scouts were despatched in various directions on the 9th. The party proceeding down the Susquehanna, as it were in the very face of the enemy, very wisely kindled a fire in the evening, by the side of which they laid themselves down to sleep. The result might have been foreseen. They were all prisoners when they awoke!
Extorting all necessary information from the prisoners so opportunely taken, the enemy moved forward on the 10th—Butler with his rangers, and Thayendanegea with his Indians—encamping for the night on the top of a hill, thickly covered with evergreens, about a mile south-west of the fort and village of Cherry Valley. The snow fell several inches during the night—the storm turning to rain in the morning, with a thick and cloudy atmosphere. The officers of the garrison were accustomed to lodge about among the families near the fort; and from the assurances of Colonel Alden, the apprehensions of the people were so much allayed, that they were reposing in perfect security. Colonel Alden himself, with Stacia, his lieutenant-colonel, lodged with Mr. Robert Wells, a gentleman of great respectability, recently a judge of the county, who was, moreover, an intimate friend of Colonel John Butler, as he had also been of Sir William Johnson. [FN-1] Having ascertained the localities in which the officers lodged, the enemy approached the unsuspecting village in the greatest security, veiled by the haze which hung in the atmosphere. An alarm was, however, given, before the enemy had actually arrived in the village, by the firing of an Indian upon a settler from the outskirts, who was riding thither on horseback. He was wounded, but nevertheless pushed forward, and gave instant information to the vigilant Colonel. Strange as it may seem, this officer still disbelieved the approach of an enemy in force—supposing the shot to have proceeded from a straggler. But he was soon convinced of his error; for even before the guards could be called in, the Indians were upon them. Unfortunately, probably, for the inhabitants, the rangers had halted just before entering the village to examine their arms, the rain having damaged their powder. During this pause, the Indians sprang forward; and the Senecas, being at that period the most ferocious of the Six Nations, were in the van. The house of Mr. Wells was instantly surrounded by the warriors of that tribe, and several Tories of no less ferocity, who rushed in and massacred the whole family, consisting at that time of himself, his mother, his wife, his brother and sister, John and Jane, three of his sons, Samuel, Robert, and William, and his daughter Eleanor. The only survivor of the family was John, who was then at school in Schenectady. His father had taken his family to that place for safety some months before, but his fears having subsided, they had just removed back to their home. [FN-2] Colonel Alden, having escaped from the house, was pursued some distance down a hill by an Indian, who repeatedly demanded of him to surrender. This, however, he refused to do, turning upon his pursuer repeatedly, and snapping his pistol, but without effect. The Indian ultimately hurled his tomahawk with unerring direction at his head, and rushing forward, tore his scalp from him in the same instant. Thus, in the very outset of the battle, fell the commander, who, had he been as prudent as he was brave, might have averted the tragic scenes of that hapless day. Lieutenant-colonel Stacia was made prisoner; and the American guards, stationed at the house of Mr. Wells, were all either killed or taken.
[FN-1] Robert Wells was the father of the late distinguished counselor, John Wells, of New-York.
[FN-2] Notice of John Wells by William Johnson, Esq. concluding vol. of Johnson's Reports.
The destruction of the family of Mr. Wells was marked by circumstances of peculiar barbarity. It was boasted by one of the Tories, that he had killed Mr. Wells while engaged in prayer—certainly a happy moment for a soul to wing its flight to another state of existence; but what the degree of hardihood that could boast of compassing the death of an unarmed man at such a moment! His sister Jane was distinguished alike for her beauty, her accomplishments, and her virtues. As the savages rushed into the house, she fled to a pile of wood on the premises, and endeavored to conceal herself. She was pursued and arrested by an Indian, who, with perfect composure, wiped and sheathed his dripping knife, and took his tomahawk from his girdle. At this instant a Tory, who had formerly been a domestic in the family, sprang forward and interposed in her behalf—claiming her as a sister. The maiden, too, who understood somewhat of the Indian language, implored for mercy. But in vain. With one hand the Indian pushed the Tory from him, and with the other planted his hatchet deep into her temple!
The fort was repeatedly assaulted during the day, and at times with spirit; but Indians are not the right description of troops for such service, and being received by a brisk fire of grape and musketry from the garrison, they avoided the fort, and directed their attention chiefly to plundering and laying waste the village, having sated themselves in the onset with blood. In this work of destruction they were unmolested, since, numbering more than twice as many as the garrison, a sortie was felt to be unwarrantable.
Among the families which suffered from the tomahawks of the Indians and Tories—for the latter, as at Wyoming, were not to be outdone by their uncivilized allies—were those of the Rev. Samuel Dunlop, and a Mr. Mitchell. Mrs. Dunlop was killed outright, and thus shared the fate of Mrs. Wells, who was her daughter. Mr. Dunlop and another daughter would likewise have been murdered but for the interposition of Little Aaron, a chief of the Oghkwaga branch of the Mohawks, who led the old gentleman, tottering beneath the weight of years, to the door, and stood beside him for his protection. The Indians attempted to plunder him of some of his attire, but the sachem compelled them to relinquish that portion of their spoil. The venerable servant of God, shocked by the events of that day beyond the strength of his nerves, died within a year afterward.