In the year following, during the campaign of Burgoyne, owing to the intrigues of Arnold, Brown was left without any command. But he was too much of a patriot to remain idle in such a moment of his country's peril. He raised a corps of volunteers on his own account, and performed one of the most daring exploits of the whole war. While Burgoyne was yet in the full career of victory, Brown dashed into his rear, and proceeding down to the north end of Lake George, fell upon a small post, which he carried without opposition. The surprise was complete. He also took possession of Mount Defiance, Mount Hope, the landing-place, and about two hundred batteaux. With the loss of only three killed and five wounded, Colonel Brown liberated one hundred American prisoners, and captured two hundred and ninety-three of the enemy. He made an attempt on Mount Independence and Ticonderoga; but, too weak for the investment of those works, he returned through Lake George to Diamond Island, containing the enemy's depot of provisions. He attacked the works upon this island, but being repulsed, burnt the vessels he had captured, and returned to his former station. This brilliant affair by Colonel Brown took place at the time when Arnold had the ear of General Gates; and the consequence was, that in giving an account of the expedition, Gates carefully avoided even naming the gallant officer who had planned and achieved it. It was an instance of neglect for which that officer ought forever to have been ashamed. Colonel Brown was a gentleman of education, bred to the bar, and greatly respected by those who enjoyed the pleasure of his acquaintance. But to return.
After the fall of Colonel Brown, and the defeat of his troops, Sir John dispersed his forces in small bands, to the distance of five or six miles in all directions, to pillage and destroy. Late in the afternoon he reunited his troops, and leaving Stone Arabia a desert, marched back to the river road, east of Caroga Creek. The detachment of Captain Duncan having come up, Sir John again moved toward the west. There was a small defence not far from the mouth of the creek, called Fox's Fort. Avoiding this work by diverging from the road to the margin of the river on the left, Sir John continued his course three miles farther, to a place called Klock's Field, where, from the fatigue of his troops, and the over-burthens of provisions and plunder with which they were laden, it became necessary to halt.
General Van Rensselaer was now close in pursuit of Sir John, with a strong force. Indeed, he ought to have overtaken him in the early part of the day, since he had encamped the night before on the south side of the river, at Van Eps's, nearly opposite Caughnawaga, while Sir John himself was encamped opposite the Nose, only two or three miles farther up the river. Sir John's troops, moreover, were exhausted by forced marches, active service, and heavy knapsacks, while those of Van Rensselaer were fresh in the field. On the morning of the same day, while continuing his march on the south side of the river, Van Rensselaer was joined by Captain McKean, with some eighty volunteers, together with a strong body of Oneida warriors, led by their principal chief, Louis Atayataronghta, who, as stated in a former chapter, had been commissioned a lieutenant colonel by Congress. With these additions, the command of General Van Rensselaer numbered about fifteen hundred—a force in every way superior to that of the enemy.
Sir John had stationed a guard of forty men at the ford, to dispute its passage. On approaching this point, General Van Rensselaer halted, and did not again advance until the guard, of the enemy had been withdrawn. Continuing his march still upon the South side of the river, while the enemy was actively engaged in the work of death and destruction on the North, Van Rensselaer arrived opposite the battle-ground where Brown had fallen, before the firing had ceased, and while the savage war-whoop was yet resounding. This was at 11 o'clock in the morning, and the Americans, came to a halt, about three miles below Caroga Creek, still on the south side. While there, some of the fugitives from Colonel Brown's regiment came running down, and jumping into the river, forded it without difficulty. As they came to the south bank, the General inquired whence they came. One of them, a militia officer named Van Allen, replied that they had escaped from Brown's battle. "How has it gone?" "Colonel Brown is killed, with many of his men. Are you not going there?" "I am not acquainted with the fording place," said the General. He was answered that there was no difficulty in the case. The General then inquired of Van Allen if he would return as a pilot, and the reply was promptly in the affirmative. Hereupon Captain McKean and the Oneida chief led their respective commands through the river to the north side, expecting the main army immediately to follow. At this moment Colonel Dubois, of the State levies, rode up to the General, who immediately mounted his horse, and instead of crossing the river, accompanied the Colonel to Fort Plain, some distance above, to dinner as it was understood. Meantime the baggage wagons were driven into the river, to serve in part as a bridge for the main body of Van Rensselaer's forces, and they commenced crossing the stream in single files. The passage in this way was not effected until four o'clock in the afternoon, at which time the General returned and joined them, just as the last man had crossed over. Governor Clinton remained at the fort. As the General arrived at the water's edge, Colonel Louis, as the Oneida chieftain was called, shook his sword at him, and denounced him as a Tory. Arrived on the north side, Colonel William Harper took the liberty of remonstrating with the General at what he conceived to be a great and unnecessary delay, attended with a needless loss of life and property, on the part of the inhabitants who had been suffered thus long to remain unprotected. From that moment Van Rensselaer moved with due expedition. The troops were set in motion, and marched in regular order, in three divisions, with the exception of the Oneida warriors and the volunteers under McKean, who regulated their own movements as they pleased—showing no disposition, however, to lag behind. The advance was led by Colonel Morgan Lewis.
Anticipating that he should be compelled to receive an attack, Sir John had made his dispositions accordingly. His regular troops, Butler's rangers, and the Tories less regularly organized, were posted on a small alluvial plain, partly encompassed by a sweeping bend of the river. A slight breast-work had been hastily thrown across the neck of the little peninsula thus formed, for the protection of his troops, and the Indians, under Thayendanegea, were secreted among the thick shrub oaks covering the table-land of a few feet elevation, yet farther north. A detachment of German Yagers supported the Indians. [FN]
[FN] These Yagers were a sort of rifle corps—using short rifles.
It was near the close of the day when Van Rensselaer arrived, and the battle was immediately commenced in the open field. Two of the advancing divisions of State troops, forming the left, were directed against the regular forces of Sir John on the flats, commencing their firing from a great distance with small arms only—the field-pieces not having been taken across the river. Colonel Dubois commanded the extreme right, which was so far extended that he had no enemies to encounter. Next to him were McKean's volunteers and the Oneida Indians, whose duty it was to attack Thayendanegea's Indians and the Yagers. These were supported by a small corps of infantry, commanded by Colonel Morgan Lewis. The American left was commanded by Colonel Cuyler of Albany. Sir John's right was formed of a company of regular troops. His own regiment of Greens composed the centre, its left resting upon the ambuscaded Indians. The latter first sounded the war-whoop, which was promptly answered by the Oneidas. Both parties eagerly rushed forward, and the attack, for the instant, was mutually impetuous. Dubois, though too far extended, brought his regiment speedily to the support of McKean's volunteers, who were following up the attack of the Oneidas. The hostile Indians manifested a disposition to stand for a few moments; but Dubois had no sooner charged closely upon them, than they fled with precipitation to the fording place near the upper Indian Castle, about two miles above—crossing the road in their flight, and throwing themselves in the rear of the Greens as a cover. The Mohawk chief was wounded in the heel, but not so badly as to prevent his escape.
The enemy's regular troops and rangers, however, fought with spirit, although Sir John himself was reported by some to have fled with the Indians. [FN] On the flight of the Indians, Major Van Benschoten, of Dubois's regiment, hastened to the General for permission to pursue the flying enemy. It was just twilight; and the indications were not to be mistaken, that the best portion of the enemy's forces were in confusion, and on the point of being conquered. The disappointment was therefore great, when, instead of allowing a pursuit of the Indians, or charging upon the feeble breast-work on the flats, and thus finishing the battle, General Van Rensselaer ordered his forces to retire for the night. His object was to obtain a better position for a bivouac, and to renew and complete the battle in the morning—for which purpose he fell back nearly three miles, to Fox's Fort. His troops were not only disappointed, but highly incensed at this order, believing that the contest might have been victoriously ended in a very few minutes. Indeed, the brave Colonel Louis, of the Oneidas, together with Colonel Clyde and Captain McKean, refused to retreat, but sheltered themselves in the adjacent buildings—hanging upon the enemy's lines several hours, and making some prisoners. In the course of the evening Clyde, with a handful of Schoharie militia, succeeded in capturing one of the enemy's field-pieces. The Americans were still more chagrined on learning from one of the prisoners that the troops of Sir John were on the point of capitulating at the very moment of Van Rensselaer's order to retreat. And from the fact that the river was alike too rapid and too deep, where it curved round the battle-field, to admit of an escape in that direction, no doubt can be entertained that the enemy had been entirely within their power. But it was now too late. The golden opportunity had been lost. On the morrow's dawn there was no enemy in the field to encounter. Under cover of darkness the Royal Greens and Butler's Rangers had followed the example of the Indians, and made good their escape.