Watt - Fire and desolation: the Revolutionary Wars 1778 campaign as waged from Quebec and Niagara against the American frontiers

Cover

Copyright Gavin K. Watt, 2017

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise (except for brief passages for purpose of review) without the prior permission of Dundurn Press. Permission to photocopy should be requested from Access Copyright.

Cover image: Chris Armstrong

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Watt, Gavin K., author

Fire and desolation : the Revolutionary Wars 1778 campaign as waged from Quebec and Niagara against the American frontiers / Gavin K. Watt.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Issued in print and electronic formats.

ISBN 978-1-4597-3858-4 (softcover).--ISBN 978-1-4597-3859-1

(PDF).--ISBN 978-1-4597-3860-7 (EPUB)

1. United States--History--Revolution, 1775-1783--Participation,

Canadian. 2. United States--History--Revolution, 1775-1783--Campaigns.

3. United States--History--Revolution, 1775-1783--Indians. 4. Canada-

History--1775-1783. 5. Northern boundary of the United States--History-

18th century. 6. Iroquois Indians--Wars--History--18th century. 7. Indians

of North America--Wars--1750-1815. I. Title.

FC420.W3825 2017 971.024 C2017-900756-4

C2017-900757-2

We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council for our publishing program. We also acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Ontario Book Publishing Tax Credit and the Ontario Media Development Corporation, and the Government of Canada.

Care has been taken to trace the ownership of copyright material used in this book. The author and the publisher welcome any information enabling them to rectify any references or credits in subsequent editions.

J. Kirk Howard, President

The publisher is not responsible for websites or their content unless they are owned by the publisher.

Contents

Acknowledgements

Comparative Timetable of the 1778 Campaign

List of Abbreviations

Chapter One

Lake Champlain, Upper Hudson River, and Lower Quebec

Lakes full of the Enemys boats

Chapter Two

Mohawk Region

Victims to the Rage of their savage Neighbours

Chapter Three

The Wyoming and Wyalusing Campaigns

Stand firm and the day is ours!

Chapter Four

New Yorks Midwestern Frontier

Hostile Designs of the Indians and Tories

Chapter Five

Back in the Mohawk Region

A shocking sight of savage and brutal barbarity

Notes

Bibliography

Image Credits

Locations of major Indian Castles and primary Native assembly points.

Acknowledgements

Once again, I must give thanks to the noted northern New York historian Jim Morrison of Gloversville, who over the decades has shared a wealth of meticulously gathered historical information.

I am greatly indebted to Bill Smy, who provided me with his gigantic collection of personally prepared transcripts relating to Butlers Rangers history.

My thanks to Michael Barbieri, a historian and re-enactor, for his strong support and preparation of a detailed map of Major Carletons expedition against the Otter Creek settlements.

My great thanks to my friend Professor Carl Benn of Ryerson University, who specializes in the history of the Six Nations. His guidance on several complex issues has been most appreciated.

The late Paul L. Stevenss superb study of the Natives relationship to both the British and the Congressional administrations has added substantially to this work.

My thanks to historian/re-enactor Nathan Hoffmann, who saved me from the gaffe of incorrectly designating Aldens Massachusetts Regiment.

My thanks also to Don Glickstein, author of After Yorktown , who offered help with some difficult issues, and to my online correspondent, Picky Parnell, who has supplied useful references.

I also wish to acknowledge contributions from Dr. John A. Houlding, Kim Stacy, and Ken D. Johnson.

Lastly, to my friend and fellow Royal Yorker re-enactor Christopher Armstrong, my great thanks for his extensive assistance with preparing images for this book, and for the cover design.

Other than in quotations from primary sources, my use of the term Canadien refers exclusively to Franco Canadians. When I employ Canadian, I am referring to both Anglo and Franco Canadians.

Timetables

List of Abbreviations

1Lieutenant First Lieutenant

2Lieutenant Second Lieutenant

1Major First Major

2-I-C Second-in-Command

6NID Six Nations Indian Department

ACM Albany County Militia

2ACM 2nd Albany County Militia Regt; 1ACM, 3ACM, et cetera

Capt Captain

C-in-C Commander-in-Chief

CO commanding officer

Col Colonel

LCol Lieutenant-Colonel

ContLine Continental Line

2MA 2nd Massachusetts ContLine; 6MA, et cetera

1NH 1st New Hampshire ContLine

1NY 1st New York ContLine; 2NY, 3NY, et cetera

4PA 4th Pennsylvania ContLine; 8PA, et cetera

DQMG Deputy Quartermaster General

HQ Headquarters

IT Indian Territory

KRR Kings Royal Regiment of New York/Kings Royal Yorkers

Lt/Lieut Lieutenant

MA Massachusetts

NH New Hampshire

NY New York

OC officer commanding

OCM Orange County Militia

4OCM 4th Orange County Militia Regt; 3OCM, et cetera

Pdr pounder, the designation for the weight of solid shot fired by an artillery piece

QID Quebec Indian Department

QM Quartermaster

QMG Quartermaster General

QLR Queens Loyal Rangers

RHE Royal Highland Emigrants

RO Regimental Orders

TCM Tryon County Militia

1TCM 1st Tryon County Militia Regt; 2TCM, 3TCM, et cetera

UCM Ulster County Militia

1UCM 1st Ulster County Militia Regt; 2UCM, 3UCM, et cetera

VMR Vermont Militia Regiment

1VMR 1st Vermont Militia Regt; 2VMR, 3VMR, et cetera

VT Vermont

Chapter One

Lake Champlain, Upper Hudson River, and Lower Quebec