[FN] It was the original purpose of General Washington to invest General Gates with the command of this expedition, and the appointment was tendered to that officer by letter, on the 6th of March. Gates declined it, in a manner not very agreeable to the Commander-in-chief. The latter, in writing subsequently to the President of Congress upon the subject, in the course of sundry explanations, not unmingled with strictures upon the conduct of Gates, wrote as follows:—"The plan of operations for the campaign being determined, a commanding officer was to be appointed for the Indian expedition. This command, according to all present appearances, will probably be of the second, if not of the first, importance for the campaign. The officer conducting it has a flattering prospect of acquiring more credit than can be expected by any other this year; and he has the best reason to hope for success. General Lee, from his situation, was out of the question; General Schuyler, (who, by the way, would hare been most agreeable to me,) was so uncertain of continuing in the army, that I could not appoint him; General Putnam I need not mention. I therefore made the offer of it, for the appointment could no longer be delayed, to General Gates, who was next in seniority, though, perhaps, I might have avoided it, if I had been so disposed, from his being in a command by the special appointment of Congress. My letter to him on the occasion I believe you will think was conceived in very candid and polite terms, and that it merited a different answer from the one given to it"—Letter of Washington to the President of Congress, April 14th, 1779. The answer of Gates referred to by the Commander-in-chief; was in the following words:—"Last night I had the honor of your Excellency's Letter. The man who undertakes the Indian service, should enjoy youth and strength; requisites I do not possess. It therefore grieves me that your Excellency should offer me the only command to which I am entirely unequal. In obedience to your command, I have forwarded your letter to General Sullivan," &c—Sparks's Life and Correspondence of Washington.
On the 2d of June, General Clinton received his instructions from Sullivan, to proceed forthwith in the measures of co-operation according to the plan of the campaign already indicated, viz: the descent of the Susquehanna by the northern forces to unite with the main division at Tioga. Preparations for the enterprise, however, were already in a state of great forwardness, since General Washington had been in free communication with Governor Clinton upon the subject; and the latter, with the General his brother, had been actively engaged in anticipation of the order. [FN] Accordingly, batteaux had already been provided at Schenectady, which, after ascending the Mohawk to Canajoharie, were thence to be transported over land to the head of Otsego Lake at Springfield, while at the same time a large quantity of provisions had been thrown into Fort Schuyler in case of emergency. After making all his arrangements, and ordering the different corps which were to compose his command, to concentrate at Canajoharie, General Clinton arrived at that post on the 16th of June, where he found himself at the head of fifteen hundred troops.
[FN] General James Clinton was at that time in command of the Northern department. The troops assigned for this campaign were, the brigades of Generals Clinton, Maxwell, Poor, and Hand, to which last brigade were assigned, in addition, all the detached corps of Continental troops on the Susquehanna. The independent companies of the State of Pennsylvania were likewise ordered upon the expedition together with Colonel Van Courtlandt's regiment, Butler's, Alden's, and the rifle corps. Colonel Gansevoort's regiment formed a part of Clinton's brigade. The brigade had already been ordered by the Commander-in-chief himself to rendezvous at Canajoharie, subject to the orders of Sullivan, either to form a junction with the main body by the way of Otsego, or to proceed up the Mohawk and co-operate as circumstances might best permit.—Letter of instructions from the Commander-in-chief to General Sullivan.
The portage from the Mohawk river at Canajoharie to the head of Otsego Lake is about twenty miles. On the 17th, General Clinton commenced the transportation of his boats and stores across the country—the region being hilly, and the roads excessively bad. Two hundred boats were found to be necessary, and four horses were required for the draught of each boat. The troops were disposed by regiments along the route, both for safety, and to assist at difficult points of ascent. But, notwithstanding these obstacles, and the magnitude of the enterprise, General Clinton was enabled to announce to his immediate superior, by letter on the 26th, that one hundred and seventy-three of the boats had already reached the head of the lake; that thirty more were on their way; and that the residue, making up the complement of two hundred and twenty, would be forwarded thither immediately on their arrival from Schenectady. The provisions and stores for a three months' campaign had likewise been already transported across the carrying-place; so that the expedition was nearly in readiness to commence its final movement. [FN-1] In a letter to General Schuyler announcing the same intelligence, the General spoke particularly of the alacrity and spirit with which the inhabitants of the country had rallied to his assistance. He likewise bestowed high praise upon Colonel Willett, acting as a volunteer, for his timely and energetic assistance in forwarding the arrangements. In performing this labor, no other interruption took place than what arose from the arrest of two spies, formerly inhabitants of the county, one of whom was named Hare, a lieutenant in the British service, and the other a Tory sergeant named Newberry,—the same wretch whose name has already occurred as a brutal murderer at Cherry Valley. They had left the Seneca country with sixty warriors of that tribe, to be divided into three parties, one of which was to fall upon Cherry Valley again, the other upon Schoharie, and the third to be employed in lurking about Fort Schuyler. They were tried by a court-martial, convicted, and "hanged pursuant to the sentence of the court, and to the entire satisfaction of all the inhabitants of the county." [FN-2]
[FN-1] General Washington was greatly displeased at the amount of stores and baggage by which Clinton was encumbered, apprehending "the worst consequences" from the obstacles his stores would interpose to the rapidity of his march, and also from the publicity which would as a consequence be given to his movements. Although he had left it optional with Sullivan to direct Clinton to join him by the route of the Susquehanna, yet the Commander-in-chief evidently preferred that the more northern route should be taken. He wrote to Sullivan upon the subject with more sharpness than he was wont to do—[See Letter of Washington to Sullivan, July 1, 1779.] The event, however, aided by the sagacity of Clinton in the adoption of a measure presently to be noted, proved that he took the right direction.
[FN-2] Letter from General Clinton to General Schuyler. In General Schuyler's answer to this letter, he says, speaking of the execution of Hare—"In executing Hare, you have rid the State of the greatest villain in it. I hope his abettors in the country will meet with a similar exaltation."—Gov. Clinton's Manuscripts.
It was the desire of General Sullivan that Clinton should employ in his division as large a number of the Oneida warriors as could be induced to engage in the service. The latter officer was opposed to this arrangement; but at the importunities of Sullivan, the Rev. Mr. Kirkland, their missionary, who was now a chaplain in the army, had been summoned to Albany for consultation. From thence Mr. Kirkland was despatched to Pennsylvania directly to join Sullivan's division, while to Mr. Deane, the interpreter connected with the Indian commission at Fort Schuyler, was confided the charge of negotiating with the Oneida chiefs upon the subject. At first all went smoothly with the Indians. The Oneidas volunteered for the expedition, almost to a man; while those of the Onondagas who adhered to the cause of the Americans, were equally desirous of proving their fidelity by their deeds. Under these circumstances Clinton wrote to Sullivan on the 26th, that on the following Saturday, Mr. Deane, with the Indian warriors, would join him at the head of the lake. A sudden revolution, however, was wrought in their determination by an address to the Oneidas from General Haldimand, received at Fort Schuyler on the 22d. This document was transmitted to them in their own language; and its tenor was so alarming, as to induce them suddenly to change their purpose—judging, very correctly, from the threats of Haldimand, that their presence was necessary at home for the defence of their own castles. Still, Mr. Deane wrote that an arrangement was on foot, by which he hoped yet to obtain the co-operation of a considerable number of the Oneida warriors. The basis of this arrangement was, that in the event of an invasion of their country by the Indians, whom the Canadian commander had threatened to let loose upon them, the garrison at Fort Schuyler should not only assist them, but receive their women and children into the fort for protection.
General Haldimand's address was written in the Iroquois language, of which the following translation was made by Mr. Deane, and enclosed to General Clinton:—