Thomas Desjardin - Through a Howling Wilderness: Benedict Arnolds March to Quebec, 1775

THROUGH A
HOWLING WILDERNESS

ALSO BY THOMAS A. DESJARDIN

Stand Firm, Ye Boys from Maine: The 20th Maine and the
Gettysburg Campaign

These Honored Dead: How the Story of Gettysburg Shaped
American Memory

Benedict Arnolds March to Quebec, 1775

Thomas A. Desjardin

St. Martins Press New York

THROUGH A HOWLING WILDERNESS . Copyright 2006 by Thomas A. Desjardin. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. For information, address St. Martins Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.

www.stmartins.com

The maps are by the author, except for map 5 (), which are details from A Map of the Sources of the Chaudire, Penobscot, and Kennebec Rivers (1761?) by John Montressor (17361799), in the Peter Force map collection, no. 37; call number: G3730 1761 .M6 vault; Library of Congress Geography and Map Division, Washington, D.C.

Book design by Jane Adele Regina

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Desjardin, Thomas A., 1964
Through a howling wilderness : Benedict Arnolds march to Quebec,
1775 / Thomas Desjardin. 1st U.S. ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-312-33904-6
EAN 978-0-312-33904-3
1. Canadian Invasion. 1775-1776. 2. Qubec (Qubec)HistorySiege, 1775-1776. 3. Arnold, Benedict, 1741-1801. I. Title.

E231.D37 2006
973.3'31dc22 2005044607

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3

For Fern Marie Tardif Desjardin,
the one we all call Mimi

Napoleon Bonaparte, a soldier who saw a large ration of marching and combat himself, and who took historians along on his campaigns so as to record the events in the way he most desired, is credited famously with repeating an old saying, What is history but a fable agreed upon? The great emperor understood that the concept of a factual retelling of warfare was an impossible achievement and that what passed down through the ages as the history of any event was simply the version of the story that most people widely agreed was the truth. Such is the case with the story of Arnolds expedition against Quebec. All that can be said of the story assembled here is that it is what the participants on either side described about the events that most now know simply as Arnolds march. As often as possible, I have attempted to weed out misstatements, using physical evidence, genealogy, local traditions, and other sources not connected to the expedition, but for the most part, this narrative relies very heavily on the often faulty memories of those who took part in these events and wrote about it. In short, this is the story the soldiers told.

Many of the primary sources used in this work are reprinted in othersometimes many otherworks, often with slight variations in words and usage. For clarity, I have cited these sources in their most easily obtained location, so that future researchers may find them more easily.

Translating the words of Native Americans, who had no written language of their own, through the phonetic soundings of English-speaking soldierswho were often nearly illiterate themselvesalways poses a sizable challenge. As a result, there are any number of variations on the spelling of native words, with place-names holding a particular charm. The soldiers of Arnolds expedition, for example, spelled the name of the most northerly falls that they encountered on the Kennebec River Caratuncah, Carratunkas, Carratunker, Carritunkus, and Carrytuck, among others. The modern-day name for the falls is Caratunk, so I have used this version here. The soldiers of the eighteenth century were not the only people who disagreed on how to spell a Native American word, however. Even modern scholars seem to struggle with challenges such as the name of the overarching tribe that dominated the region of Maine through which Arnold marched. The name Abenaki was once the most common label, before clever writers tried Abnaki, Abanaki, Abenaqui, Benakj, Oubenaki, and finallyas the latest fashion dictatesWabanaki. For the purposes of this work, however, the simple form Abenaki will suffice. Though Abenaki is used to describe the wider tribe, various communities within the tribe were usually described according to geography. Thus, the Abenakis who made their home along the Kennebec River were known as Kennebecs (or Canabis, Kennebis, Kinnibiki, etc.). By the same rule, those Abenakis who dwelt at the village and falls of Norridgewock were known as Norridgewocks (or Norridgewogs, Narantsouacks, etc.).

In addition to spelling, the grammar, punctuation, and capitalization methods employed by journal writers on the expedition were nearly as varied as the writers themselves. In many cases, their clumsy usage is printed here in the text as it appeared in their writing, so the reader can get a sense of how Revolutionary-era folks wrote and spelled.

My thanks go out to a handful of people who gave great aid and comfort to the author in his search for the nearest truthful story possible. Kenneth Roberts not only reinvigorated interest in the expedition back in 1930 with his bestselling novel Arundel, he also published all of the firsthand accounts that he had discovered at that time in one volume for use by future historians. His March to Quebec saved the author not only endless correspondence and travel to collect these accounts, but also many long hours of eyestrain trying to translate the handwriting and slang of eighteenth-century soldiers. In more recent times, James Kirby Martins Benedict Arnold, Revolutionary Hero: An American Warrior Reconsidered has reintroduced a heroic Arnold to the current generation, who otherwise know his name only as a synonym for traitor. Closer to home, I am truly indebted to Frank Getchell of Vassalboro, Maine, a direct descendant of the Getchell brothers who guided the expedition and profited handsomely from its lost coinage. Frank willingly shared with me his genealogical work, helping me better understand the early logistics of the march.

Finally, my wife, Lori-Ann, has provided no end of support and encouragement, buoying my spirits whenever needed and being always willing to help pull me through the traps that often befuddle a writer. Her own boundless interest in history and eagerness to see my description of parts of it have always been a great source of inspiration, and help to explain my boundless love and affection for her.

THROUGH A
HOWLING WILDERNESS

H e came within view of his fathers house a little past noon on a pleasant late-September day. Eighteen months had passed since he had left this home in Bridgewater of the Colony of Massachusetts to join the army of George Washington, and in that time he had taken part in adventures and hardships that people in his hometown only read about in novelsthose that could read and had time for novels. During his service he had fought at Bunker Hill, then sailed to the Province of Maine with an army under Colonel Benedict Arnold, walked, waded, and swam hundreds of miles through the Maine wilderness to the city of Quebec.