The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1877-08-12
ECHOES OF '96.
THE BATTLE THAT "HOTTLED UP
BURGOYNE.
With a Few Reflections on the Art Of
writing History.

EDltGg3 tlFH DeFVlce lteIUFIn, hHl buH LapuI
Question; lot us then turn back the hands a
hundred years, TO the day when Nicholas
Hertimer with five hundred and fifty prison.
ers at his back, gave battle on this tield-or In
these woods-to Brandt and johnson leading
full thousand oil Tories Canadians and In
dams. This was
THE HATTIE on oHfsKANY,
the centennial anniversary OF which Central
New York Is to-day met TO celebrate with
pride and pornp. The little band that fought
the battle numbered, as | have said, five hun
dred and fifty; and there must be flftyiiye
thousand met to do honor to them an hn-
dred fold in an hundred years.
This battle Of Oriskany has for some reason
been slighted by all our historians. But II you
will take the trouble to consult tho pages Of
the two English ehronielers who have written
most exhaustiyely Of the Revolution, you will
find that they give it primary Importance and
asefibe to 1t the beginning of that British dis
aste1 which ended in the eapitrlation Of Bur-
goyne The misfortune Of this country Is that
its
HISTORY is ALWAYS WRITTEN FHoM A NEW
ENGLAND STANDPOINT,
and the impression which the reader derives
Is that our Independence was won by New
England with occasional spasms Of assist
ance from the other colonies Thus the stu
dent Of American history is taught that Bur
goyne received his first strategic check at
Bennington, and it is rare chance II he
learns that there was q skirnish ut Oriskany
at all. Let us then survey the strategy Of
Burgoynes invasion In order that we may
fully develop the significance Of the event
which IL here locally celebrated to-day; and,
though the affair occurred long before Louisi-
ana was born, her people will read OF its de-
tails with us keen % zest and with as bound
ing a patriotism as distinguished them thirty
eight years later, when they met the same
foe on Chalmette.
GEN. BURGoYNE's PLAN OF INVASION
embraced u main movement by way Of Lakes
Champlain and George and % flank movement
by way of Oswego and the Mohawk Valley,
with grand junction Of forces on the Hudson
ut the present site Of Troy. II is with the
flank movement thnt we have to deal Con-
formally with the plans of Burgoyne, Colonel
Barry st. Leger led an expedition from Mon
treal to Oswego, thence up the Oswego river
10 its headwaters, and across the swamps in
which both the Oswego and the Mohawk take
their rise St Leger had with him about $50
to 400 Canadian militia $50 Tory refugees
from the Mohawk and Hudson settlements
under Sir John Johnson and thousand Indi-
ans commanded by the elder Brandt in per-
son; q MOST formidable force when we con-
slider the weakness Of the scattered settle
ments against which 1t was directed and
which had already been harried with torch
and tomahawk from the Wyoming TO Cherry
Valley.
Gen. Schuyler, commanding the colonial
forces which were massing above Albany to
meet Burgoyne's main army as it came out Of
| the woods, kept an anxious eye on this flank
| ing column Of st. Leger, and frankly adj
mitted in conference with Gems. Arnold and
Winslow that its repulse was vital to the sue
cess of his general operations. SO deeply i'm
pressed was Cen Schuyler with the formda-
| bleness of this movement upon his flank that
| he ut first determined TO detach Arholds dvi-
sion OF his main army to meet it. But Arnold
protested. He said that he could rout st. Le-
| ger easily enough wherever he might find
| him, and drive him into Lake Ontario, but
| that in the meantime Burgoyne would get out
of the woods and Schuylers army would not
| be able to meet him, depleted as it would be
| by the detachment Of its best troops.
AHNoLD's VIEWS
prevailed in this case, and his suggestion
| that the settlers of the threatened valleys be
left to take care Of st. Segers force was
adopted. Accordingly orders were dispatch
ed to Col. Gansevoort, commanding the gar
rison of old Fort Schuyler, at the headwa-
ters of the Mohawk, to hold that post until
the last extremity, and Col. Herkmer was
ordered to return to the Mohawk Valley with
the regiment of militia he had recently
brought down from there to swell the main
army. He was ordered to levy the settlers
| en- nnsse at all points west of the Great Falls
OF the Mohawk, and couriers were dispatched
to the Schahorie and Susguehanna settle
ments, asking them to send every man they
could rake and scrape to join Herkimer at
Little Falls This was in the fore part of
July, 1777, when Burgoyne was toilng
through the woods TO Grown Point, and while
St. Leger was meandering along down the
timbered shores of Lake Ontario
HERuMER's FORCE
collected at Little Falls but slowly, and the
1st of August found him still waiting for that
" levy en- masse." His original force of $50
men had been increased by only five compa-
MES, of which two were from the Mohawk,
two from Schoharie and one from the Susgue-
| hanna; but these only raised his numbers to
600, when he had fully expected 1000. How
ever, his recruits were men who could be de-
pended on; men and well-grown boys accus-
toned to bring down buck ON the dead run
at eighteen rods through heavy timber, and
they brought to this new service their old
rifles.
August I'd a courier arrived from Col Ganse-
WORT, at Fort Schuyler, announcing that ST.
Leger had appeared before that place and
asking Herkimer to move to its relief. The
brave old Mohawk Dutchman sent back word
that he would "pe dar in dree days, yoost 50
certain ash der sum- and began his march at
once. On the night of August 5th he reached
the confluence of Oriskany Creek with tho