No. IX

[Reference from Page 274.]

Extracts from Mad. de Riedesel's account of her Residence in America.

When the army broke up, on the 11th of September, 1777, I was at first told that I must remain behind; but on my repeated entreaties, and as other ladies had been permitted to follow the army, the same indulgence was extended to me. We advanced by short journeys, and went through many toils; yet I would have purchased at any price the privilege thus granted to me of seeing daily my husband. I had sent back my baggage, and only kept a small bundle of summer dresses. In the beginning, all went well; we thought that there was little doubt of our being successful, and of reaching "the promised land;" and when, on the passage across the Hudson, general Burgoyne exclaimed, "Britons never retrograde," our spirits rose mightily. I observed, however, with surprise, that the wives of the officers were beforehand informed of all the military plans; and I was so much the more struck with it, as I remembered with how much secrecy all dispositions were made in the armies of Duke Ferdinand during the seven-years' war. [FN] Thus the Americans anticipated our movements, and expected us wherever we arrived; and this of course injured our affairs. On the 19th of September, an action took place, which ended to our advantage; but we were, in consequence, obliged to halt at a place called Freeman's Farm. I witnessed the whole action, and knowing that my husband was among the combatants, I was full of anxiety and care, and trembled at every shot—and nothing escaped my ear. I saw a great number of wounded, and, what was still worse, three of them were brought into the house where I was. One of them was a Major Harnage, whose wife was with us; the second, a lieutenant, whose wife was of our acquaintance; and the third, a young English officer called Young. The Major occupied, with his wife, a room close by to that where I was. He had received a shot through his body, and suffered exquisite pains. A few days after our arrival, I heard groans in another room, and was told that the young officer, whom I have just mentioned, was lying there, and that his recovery was very doubtful. I took much interest in him, as a family of his name had shown me great kindness during my stay in England. He expressed a great desire to see his benefactress, for so he called me. I went into his room, and found him on a thin bed of straw, for he had lost his whole baggage. He was eighteen or nineteen years old, an only son, and the nephew of the same Mr. Young I had known in England. He lamented for his parents' sake, but said nothing of his sufferings. He had lost much blood, and the surgeon advised him to submit to the amputation of his wounded leg; but he would not consent to it, though the limb had become gangrenous. I sent him pillows and blankets, and my maids gave him their mattress. I took more and more care of him, and visited him daily; for which he thanked me a thousand times. At last the amputation took place; but it was too late, and he died a few days afterwards. My room being close to his, and the walls very thin, I heard his last moans.

[FN] Lieutenant Auburey made a similar remark when the army was yet in Canada: "We have more dangerous enemies at home than any we have to encounter abroad; for all the transactions that are to take place, are publicly known long before they are officially given out in orders; and I make no doubt but you will be as much surprised as the General (Burgoyne) was, when I tell you that the whole operations of the ensuing campaign were canvassed for several days before he arrived, who, no doubt, supposed, that in giving out his orders, he was communicating an entire secret."—[Montreal, May 20th, 1777. Vol. i, p. 203.]

Great secrecy, observes the same writer, was, on the contrary, observed in the American army.

I occupied a tolerably good house, and had a large room. The door and the wainscot were of cedar, a sort of wood which is found in abundance here; insects are driven away by the smell of it when it is burned, and it is often used for that purpose; but some people believe that the smoke of it is injurious to the nerves, and principally to females in certain situations.

For our farther march, I had caused a calash to be made for me, in which I could take, not only my children, but also my two female attendants; and thus I followed the army in the midst of the troops, who were in great spirits, and sang and longed for victory. We marched through endless forests, and a beautiful district, though deserted by the inhabitants, who ran away at our approach to reinforce General Gates's army. They are naturally soldiers and excellent marksmen, and the idea of fighting for their country and their liberty increased their innate courage. My husband was encamped with the rest of the army; being myself an hour's ride behind the army, I went every morning to pay him a visit in the camp, and sometimes I dined there with him, but generally he took his dinner in my quarters. There were daily skirmishes with the enemy, generally of little importance. But my husband could never sleep without his clothes. The weather having already grown rougher, Colonel Williams of the artillery thought our mutual visits were rather too fatiguing for us, and proposed to have a house built for me with a chimney, which should not cost more than five or six guineas, and which I could uninterruptedly inhabit. I accepted of his offer; and the building, which was to be about twenty feet square, was begun. Such a dwelling is called a block-house, for which logs nearly of equal diameter are put together; and if the interstices are filled up with clay, it is not only very solid, but very warm. I was to take possession of it on the next day; and I rejoiced in it the more, as the nights were damp and cold, and it being close to the camp, my husband would be able to be with me. But all at once, on the 7th of October, he marched away with the whole staff, and then our misfortunes began. While breakfasting with my husband, I heard that something was under contemplation. General Fraser, and, I believe, Generals Burgoyne and Phillips, were to dine with me on that day. I remarked much movement in the camp. My husband told me that it was a mere reconnaissance; and as this was frequent, I was not much alarmed at it. On my way homeward I met a number of Indians, armed with guns, and clad in their war dresses. Having asked them where they were going, they replied, "War, war;" by which they meant that they were about to fight. This made me very uneasy, and I had scarcely got home before I heard reports of guns; and soon the fire became brisker, till at last the noise grew dreadful, upon which I was more dead than alive. About 3 o'clock in the afternoon, instead of guests whom I had expected to dine with me, I saw one of them, poor General Fraser, brought upon a hand-barrow, mortally wounded. The table, which was already prepared for dinner, was immediately removed, and a bed placed in its stead for the General. I sat, terrified and trembling, in a corner. The noise grew more alarming, and I was in a continual tremor while thinking that my husband might soon also be brought in, wounded like General Fraser. That poor General said to the surgeon, "tell me the truth; is there no hope?" His wound was exactly like that of Major Harnage; the ball had passed through his body, but, unhappily for the General, he had that morning eaten a full breakfast, by which the stomach was distended, and the ball, as the surgeon remarked, passed directly through it. I heard often, amidst his groans, such words as these, "O bad ambition! poor General Burgoyne! poor Mistress Fraser." Prayers were read, after which he desired that General Burgoyne should be requested to have him buried the next day, at six o'clock in the evening, on a hill where a breast-work had been constructed. I knew not what to do; the entrance and all the rooms were full of sick, in consequence of the dysentery which prevailed in the camp. At length, toward evening, my husband came; and from that moment my affliction was much soothed, and I breathed thanks to God. He dined with me and the aids-de-camp in great haste, in an open space in the rear of the house. We poor females had been told that our troops had been victorious; but I well saw, by the melancholy countenance of my husband, that it was quite the contrary. On going away, he took me aside to tell me every thing went badly, and that I should prepare myself to depart, but without saying any thing to any body. Under the pretense of removing the next day to my new lodgings, I ordered the baggage to be packed up. Lady Ackland's tent was near ours. She slept there, and spent the day in the camp. On a sudden she received news that her husband was mortally wounded and taken prisoner. She was much distressed; we endeavored to persuade her that the wound was not so dangerous, but advised her to ask permission to join her husband, to take care of him in his sickness. She was much attached to him, though he was rude and intemperate; yet he was a good officer. She was a lovely woman. I divided the night between her whom I wished to comfort, and my children who were asleep, but who, I feared, might disturb the poor dying General. He sent me several messages to beg my pardon for the trouble he thought he gave me. About 3 o'clock I was informed that he could not live much longer, and as I did not wish to be present at his last struggle, I wrapped my children in blankets, and retired into the entrance hall. At 8 o'clock in the morning he expired.