recalling a tragedy of the revolution – frankford gazette

1
THE FRANKFORD GAZETTE, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 1929 Continental soldiers. They were in the field for nearly six months and they effectually broke the power of the strongest league of American Indi- ans ever formed, a league which had been an important ally of the British, and they won for the nation a veritable empire of unsurpassed fer- tility. But New York and Pennsylvania, where these Stirring events took place, are commemorating them in a fashion worthy of their importance. New York has appropriated $70,000 for the prin- cipal observances which are being held at the battlefield of Newtown, near Elmira, at Geneva and at the old Genesee casth, which marks the western terminus of the expedition. Pennsylvania Is joining New York in exercises held at Athens. Pa., and at Salamanca, N. Y., and historic mark- ers are being placed along the whole route of the campaign, including the march of Gen. James Clinton through the Mohawk and Susquehanna valleys to join the column led by Gen. John Sul- livan. National recognition of the campaign, how- ever, has come In the form of a commemorative two-cent stamp, bearing the portrait of General Sullivan which was put Into circulation earlier in the summer. The expedition set out on foot early in 1779 not Only to avenge the Cherry Valley and Wyoming massacres by the Indians and Tories but also to strike a decisive blow at the Iroquois. Their presence on the frontier was a constant threat of a stab In the back of the Colonies, intent upon the campaigns by the British forces on the Atlan- tic seaboard. The Iroquois, or Six Nations, had also been an important source of food supply for the British and the Tories, since the region they held was one of the richest agricultural sections east of the Alleghenies. However, Washington's determination to strike a blow at the Indians was based upon a bigger and more Important objective than punishment for the massacres or cutting off this food supply. Peace talk was already in the air in 1779 and the great commander saw that If peace came at that time the United States would be a small fringe of territory on the Atlantic coast. And the Interior must be taken by force of arms if it were to be Included in the new country. So It was for the stake of a great empire that Washington was playing when he launched the Sullivan-Clinton expedition. The command of the expedition was at first offered to Gen. Horatio Gates, the undeserving victor at Saratoga. But Gates declined on the plea that he was unable to undertake a campaign Involving such hardships. So Washington next turned to another general who had repeatedly proved his mettle on the battlefield. He was John Sullivan, a young lawyer and commander of the militia at Durham, N. H., who In 1774 had com- mitted the first overt act of the Revolution by the capture of Fort William and Mary, in New Hamp- shire, and all the British stores In It. Appointed a brigadier general in 1775, Sullivan had made a good record even though it was not particularly brilliant. Characterized as a "plodder," Sullivan was just the kind of dependable commander whom Washington knew he could trust for such a cam- paign. The first success of the campaign was scored by Clinton who sent a force of 500 men under Colonel Van Schaick, who made a rapid march of 900 miles up the Mohawk valley, scattered the Onondagas, destroyed their villages, laid their fields waste and returned to Fort Schuyler with his force intact. He then nseended the Mohawk to Canaioharie and opened a road to Otsego lake, over which be transported 240 boats with supplies and Tories numbering about 1,100 had laid an ambush for the Americans. Their plan was to draw Sullivan Into a defile between river and ridge and after hie army was well strung out, to enfilade both flanks with their fire. If they had suc- ceeded, "the bloody business of Braddock" might easily have been repeated there and Sullivan's expedition failed disastrously at the start. But, fortunately for him, among his forces were three companies of Morgan's riflemen, those stalwarts in buckskin who had played such a prominent part in the defeat of "Gentleman Johnny iur- goyne," and who could out-lulpaj th T4 -J L his own game. Among them ws the famoii Tim- othy Murphy, serving in the company of Cajt James Parr and Lieut. Thomas Boyd—the same Tim Murphy who had fired another "shot heard round the world" when he killed General Fraser at Saratoga and whose fame as the scout of the Schoharie was to go ringing along the whole frontier. It was these riflemen who detected the btast- works, masked by bushes, which the Indiana and Tories had thrown up, in time to save SUlkvan from marching into the trap. He immedhtely deployed his army for attack, sent General oor with his New England regiments to outflank the enemy on his right, and brought his artillery, to play upon the breastworks. The movement *as an instantaneous success. Terrified by the roar f the big guns, the Indians fled and Sullivan scod a decisive victory. The news of this vlct4y spread over the Indian country and brought gr discouragement to the enemy. Meanwhile Sullivan was pushing on, destroyiL every village which he reached, cutting down tb corn In the fields, girdling the fruit trees and I general sweeping like a wave of destructio through the rich country where the Indians ha lived In peace and plenty. By September 12 Su livan had reached the head of Conesus lake an found the deserted village of Chief Big Tree. H knew that be was in the neighborhood of th Genesee river, the heart of the Seneca country, where lived the most numerous and most warlike of the five tribes. But he did not know where the principal village was located, and In order to find out he sent Lieutenant Boyd on a scouting expe- dition. Boyd was instructed to select four or five men to accompany him but made the mistake of taking twenty-six instead, a party much too large to escape detection by the Indians and at the same time too small to put up an effective fight in case he came into contact with the enemy. Today there stands near the town of Cuyler- rule, N. Y., a granite boulder bearing a bronze tablet on which appear these words: "This way- side shrine marks the place where on September 14, 1779, Lieut. Thomas Boyd and Sergt. Michael Parker met death undaunted In the line of duty after lingering torture. They marked with their blood the western limit in the state of New York of the great struggle for American freedom." Not far away stands a great elm tree, known as "the torture tree." For this is the spot where took place a tragedy of the Revolution which is but lit- tle known to most Americans but which stands as one of the most thrilling stories of dauntless heroism in the whole history of that conflict. On the evening of September 12, Boyd and his party found themselves at a deserted Indian vil- lage near Canascraga creek. The young lieutenant sent two of his men back to Sullivan to report his situation and these two reached their destination safely. In the meantime a force of five or six hundred Indians under the command of Col. John Butler, the notorious Tory leader, took up their position on Groveland hill to resist Sullivan's advance into the Genesee valley. They had no Idea that the Boyd party was behind them and Boyd had no Idea that he was cut off from Sulli- van's army by such a force. Early in the morning of September 13, Boyd started to return to the main army. One of his men, seeing some Indians prowling about the village, made the fatal mis- take of firing upon them, thus revealing the posi- tion of Boyd's party to the savages. For a short time the scouting party was unmolested, although as Boyd traveled back along the trail through the forelt e saw several Indians trotting along ahead Of his column. He did not realize that they were enticing him Into an ambush. Finally they closed In and the next few moments witnessed one of the most desperate combats In the history of the frontier. Boyd and his men fought with their rifles until their ammunition ran out and then it vas a struggle at close quarters, clubbed musket and fists against tomahawk and scalping knife. Fourteen of Boyd's party were killed on the spot but several—among them the redoubtable Tim Murphy—managed to break through the cordon of death and by their fleetness of foot escaped to Sul- livan's army. Boyd and Sergeant Parker were taken prisoners. The next morning the hot September sun looked down upon a terrible scene in the Seneca village. Tied to the torture tree was young Tom Boyd, bravely facing the howling mob of savages which surrounded him. Mary Jamison, the famous white captive of the Senecas, has told about the scene of that morning as follows: "Poor Boyd was stripped of his clothing and then tied to a sapling, where the Indians menaced his life by throwing their tomahawks at the tree directly over his head, brandishing their scalping knives at him in the most frightful manner and accompanying their ceremonies with the most terrific shouts of joy." She also described further details of his lingering death but they were too ghastly to be recorded. "He was then beheaded, his head was stuck upon• a pole and his body left on the ground unburied." Later in the day Sullivan captured the village and found the bodies of Boyd and Parker. The ser- geant apparently, however, had been killed with comparatively little torture. The story has often been told that Colonel Butler questioned Boyd and tried to get informa- tion about Sullivan's army from him, but that Boyd refused to reveal his commander's plans, whereupon the Tory leader shouted: "Take him, Senecas!" Bad as was Butler's record as a leader of bloody raids against the colonists, historians have generally absolved him from responsibility for Boyd's horrible fate. Terrible as had been their fate, their sacrifice had not been In vain. For the Indians, hearing'the uproer behind them, caused by the fight put up Boyd's party before It was overcome, aban- 'nprl their position and hurriedly retreated west- Ward. So when Sullivan advanced up that hilt he met with no resistance, and It is probable that! Boyd's party saved Sullivan's army from a severe engagement in which a large number of men prob- tbly would have lost their LiveS. Qi September 14 of this year the granite boul- ie1 nh which is Inscribed the deathless heroism of oyd and Parker will be formally unveiled as a rt of the celebration of the Sullivan-Clinton jW,quicentennial. Although it was a minor mci- uo In that campaign, no tribute that will be paid t The participants In that campaign will be more erving than the tribute there honoring the ,iemories of the two young soldiers who "marked Wth their blood the western limit in the state of I''w York of the great struggle for American fiedom."

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THE FRANKFORD GAZETTE, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 1929Article published during the Sesqui-Centennial celebrations

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Page 1: Recalling a Tragedy of the Revolution – Frankford Gazette

THE FRANKFORD GAZETTE, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 1929

Continental soldiers. They were in the field for nearly six months and they effectually broke the power of the strongest league of American Indi-ans ever formed, a league which had been an important ally of the British, and they won for the nation a veritable empire of unsurpassed fer-tility.

But New York and Pennsylvania, where these Stirring events took place, are commemorating them in a fashion worthy of their importance. New York has appropriated $70,000 for the prin-cipal observances which are being held at the battlefield of Newtown, near Elmira, at Geneva and at the old Genesee casth, which marks the western terminus of the expedition. Pennsylvania Is joining New York in exercises held at Athens. Pa., and at Salamanca, N. Y., and historic mark-ers are being placed along the whole route of the campaign, including the march of Gen. James Clinton through the Mohawk and Susquehanna valleys to join the column led by Gen. John Sul- livan. National recognition of the campaign, how-ever, has come In the form of a commemorative two-cent stamp, bearing the portrait of General Sullivan which was put Into circulation earlier in the summer.

The expedition set out on foot early in 1779 not Only to avenge the Cherry Valley and Wyoming massacres by the Indians and Tories but also to strike a decisive blow at the Iroquois. Their presence on the frontier was a constant threat of a stab In the back of the Colonies, intent upon the campaigns by the British forces on the Atlan-tic seaboard. The Iroquois, or Six Nations, had also been an important source of food supply for the British and the Tories, since the region they held was one of the richest agricultural sections east of the Alleghenies.

However, Washington's determination to strike a blow at the Indians was based upon a bigger and more Important objective than punishment for the massacres or cutting off this food supply. Peace talk was already in the air in 1779 and the great commander saw that If peace came at that time the United States would be a small fringe of territory on the Atlantic coast. And the Interior must be taken by force of arms if it were to be Included in the new country. So It was for the stake of a great empire that Washington was playing when he launched the Sullivan-Clinton expedition.

The command of the expedition was at first offered to Gen. Horatio Gates, the undeserving victor at Saratoga. But Gates declined on the plea that he was unable to undertake a campaign Involving such hardships. So Washington next turned to another general who had repeatedly proved his mettle on the battlefield. He was John Sullivan, a young lawyer and commander of the militia at Durham, N. H., who In 1774 had com- mitted the first overt act of the Revolution by the capture of Fort William and Mary, in New Hamp- shire, and all the British stores In It. Appointed a brigadier general in 1775, Sullivan had made a good record even though it was not particularly brilliant. Characterized as a "plodder," Sullivan was just the kind of dependable commander whom Washington knew he could trust for such a cam-paign.

The first success of the campaign was scored by Clinton who sent a force of 500 men under Colonel Van Schaick, who made a rapid march of 900 miles up the Mohawk valley, scattered the Onondagas, destroyed their villages, laid their fields waste and returned to Fort Schuyler with his force intact. He then nseended the Mohawk to Canaioharie and opened a road to Otsego lake, over which be transported 240 boats with supplies

and Tories numbering about 1,100 had laid an ambush for the Americans. Their plan was to draw Sullivan Into a defile between river and ridge and after hie army was well strung out, to enfilade both flanks with their fire. If they had suc-ceeded, "the bloody business of Braddock" might easily have been repeated there and Sullivan's expedition failed disastrously at the start. But, fortunately for him, among his forces were three companies of Morgan's riflemen, those stalwarts in buckskin who had played such a prominent part in the defeat of "Gentleman Johnny iur-goyne," and who could out-lulpaj th T4 -J L his own game. Among them ws the famoii Tim-othy Murphy, serving in the company of Cajt James Parr and Lieut. Thomas Boyd—the same Tim Murphy who had fired another "shot heard round the world" when he killed General Fraser at Saratoga and whose fame as the scout of the Schoharie was to go ringing along the whole frontier.

It was these riflemen who detected the btast-works, masked by bushes, which the Indiana and Tories had thrown up, in time to save SUlkvan from marching into the trap. He immedhtely deployed his army for attack, sent General oor with his New England regiments to outflank the enemy on his right, and brought his artillery, to play upon the breastworks. The movement *as an instantaneous success. Terrified by the roar f the big guns, the Indians fled and Sullivan scod a decisive victory. The news of this vlct4y spread over the Indian country and brought gr discouragement to the enemy.

Meanwhile Sullivan was pushing on, destroyiL every village which he reached, cutting down tb corn In the fields, girdling the fruit trees and I general sweeping like a wave of destructio through the rich country where the Indians ha lived In peace and plenty. By September 12 Su livan had reached the head of Conesus lake an found the deserted village of Chief Big Tree. H knew that be was in the neighborhood of th Genesee river, the heart of the Seneca country, where lived the most numerous and most warlike of the five tribes. But he did not know where the principal village was located, and In order to find out he sent Lieutenant Boyd on a scouting expe-dition. Boyd was instructed to select four or five men to accompany him but made the mistake of taking twenty-six instead, a party much too large to escape detection by the Indians and at the same time too small to put up an effective fight in case he came into contact with the enemy.

Today there stands near the town of Cuyler-rule, N. Y., a granite boulder bearing a bronze tablet on which appear these words: "This way-side shrine marks the place where on September 14, 1779, Lieut. Thomas Boyd and Sergt. Michael Parker met death undaunted In the line of duty after lingering torture. They marked with their blood the western limit in the state of New York of the great struggle for American freedom." Not far away stands a great elm tree, known as "the torture tree." For this is the spot where took place a tragedy of the Revolution which is but lit-tle known to most Americans but which stands as one of the most thrilling stories of dauntless heroism in the whole history of that conflict.

On the evening of September 12, Boyd and his party found themselves at a deserted Indian vil- lage near Canascraga creek. The young lieutenant sent two of his men back to Sullivan to report his situation and these two reached their destination safely. In the meantime a force of five or six hundred Indians under the command of Col. John Butler, the notorious Tory leader, took up their position on Groveland hill to resist Sullivan's

advance into the Genesee valley. They had no Idea that the Boyd party was behind them and Boyd had no Idea that he was cut off from Sulli-van's army by such a force. Early in the morning of September 13, Boyd started to return to the main army. One of his men, seeing some Indians prowling about the village, made the fatal mis-take of firing upon them, thus revealing the posi-tion of Boyd's party to the savages. For a short time the scouting party was unmolested, although as Boyd traveled back along the trail through the forelt e saw several Indians trotting along ahead Of his column. He did not realize that they were enticing him Into an ambush. Finally they closed In and the next few moments witnessed one of the most desperate combats In the history of the frontier. Boyd and his men fought with their rifles until their ammunition ran out and then it vas a struggle at close quarters, clubbed musket and fists against tomahawk and scalping knife. Fourteen of Boyd's party were killed on the spot but several—among them the redoubtable Tim Murphy—managed to break through the cordon of death and by their fleetness of foot escaped to Sul-livan's army. Boyd and Sergeant Parker were taken prisoners.

The next morning the hot September sun looked down upon a terrible scene in the Seneca village. Tied to the torture tree was young Tom Boyd, bravely facing the howling mob of savages which surrounded him. Mary Jamison, the famous white captive of the Senecas, has told about the scene of that morning as follows: "Poor Boyd was stripped of his clothing and then tied to a sapling, where the Indians menaced his life by throwing their tomahawks at the tree directly over his head, brandishing their scalping knives at him in the most frightful manner and accompanying their ceremonies with the most terrific shouts of joy." She also described further details of his lingering death but they were too ghastly to be recorded. "He was then beheaded, his head was stuck upon• a pole and his body left on the ground unburied." Later in the day Sullivan captured the village and found the bodies of Boyd and Parker. The ser-geant apparently, however, had been killed with comparatively little torture.

The story has often been told that Colonel Butler questioned Boyd and tried to get informa-tion about Sullivan's army from him, but that Boyd refused to reveal his commander's plans, whereupon the Tory leader shouted: "Take him, Senecas!" Bad as was Butler's record as a leader of bloody raids against the colonists, historians have generally absolved him from responsibility for Boyd's horrible fate.

Terrible as had been their fate, their sacrifice had not been In vain. For the Indians, hearing'the uproer behind them, caused by the fight put up

Boyd's party before It was overcome, aban-'nprl their position and hurriedly retreated west-

Ward. So when Sullivan advanced up that hilt he met with no resistance, and It is probable that! Boyd's party saved Sullivan's army from a severe engagement in which a large number of men prob-tbly would have lost their LiveS.

Qi September 14 of this year the granite boul-ie1 nh which is Inscribed the deathless heroism of oyd and Parker will be formally unveiled as a rt of the celebration of the Sullivan-Clinton

jW,quicentennial. Although it was a minor mci-uo In that campaign, no tribute that will be paid

tThe participants In that campaign will be more erving than the tribute there honoring the

,iemories of the two young soldiers who "marked Wth their blood the western limit in the state of I''w York of the great struggle for American fiedom."