Our County and It's People

Chapter 2

1754 - 1756 Fort Bull

In 1754 and 1755 war was in progress in America between the French and English, each struggling for the mastery of the country. In the last named year vigorous measures were planned by the English to drive the French from their strongholds on the borders of the English possessions. Among other planse three expeditions were that year set on foot by the English, one of which was for the capture of Fort Du Qensne (now Pittsburgh); another against Ticonderoga and Crown Point, commanded by

Sir William Johnson; the other to be commanded by General Shirley, to go from Albany up the Mohawk, over the portage (now Rome) to Wood Creek, thence via Oneida Lake to Oswego, there to rendezvous, and thence west by a journey of five or six days by boat across Lake Ontario and capture Niagara. The latter, with Fort Du Quesne, were the keys to the valley of the Mississippi. The expedition against Fort Du Quesne was a miserable failure, and resulted in the killing of Braddock, who commanded it. Sir William Johnson won a battle at Lake George, resulting in the death of Dieskau, the French commander; but that success was only temporary. Early in the summer of 1755 General Shirley made preparations to go to Oswego via Oneida Carrying Place. Seventeen hundred beeves, to feed the men and supply the troops at Oswego, were started on foot from Albany and driven by the land route up the valley of the Mohawk; the probabilities are, that on reaching Stanwix village in Rome, the route was followed past what is now the Custodial Asylum (old county house), thence to Oneida and around Oneida Lake to Oswego, or through Westmoreland, as such a body of cattle could not be taken in the batteaux of those days by the water route. Col. John Bradstreet, with six months provisions and sotres costing the government $3,000, started for Oswego, went by the same water route and crossed over the portage between Mohawk River and Wood Creek. Governor De Lancey, writing in Agustus of that year to the home government, highly complimented Colonel Bradstreeet for his energy, and says that in three hours time the latter crossed the protage with his men, provisions, baggage and whole supply train, and with as little time as was ususally consumed in getting one bateau and its cargo over that portage. Two regiments of raw provincials soon after left Albany by the same route, followed by General Shirely with 200 regular troops, the whole, about 1,500 or 2,000, to congregate at Oswego with a view to move on and capture Niagra. To the northward fifty miles away was Fort Frontenac (now Kingston), then garrisoned by 1,400 French troops, ready to swoop down upon Oswego, if General Shirley ventured to move towards Niagara. General Shirley took with him to Oswego six brass 12 pounders, one brass 18 pounder, and seven iron six pounders. His whole force reached Oswego the last of August, but not the needful

provisions and stores. His journey up the Mohawk, over the Oneida Carrying Place, thence to Oswego, is graphically and poetically described by that elegant histor-ian, Dr. Francis Parkman, in Vol. I of his history on Montcalm and Wolfe. He says:

They left Schenectady, passed Fort Johnson, the two villages of the Mohawks, the German Flats, and left behind the last trace of civilized man. They rowed 60 miles up the Mohawk through a wilderness, and reached the Great Carrying Place, which divided the waters that flow to Lake Ontario. Here now stands the city which the classic zeal of its founders has adorned with the name of Rome. Then all was swamp and forest, traversed by a track that led to Wood Creek, which is not to be confounded with the Wood Creek of Lake Champlain. Thither he bateaux were dragged on sledges and launched on the dark and tortuous stream, which, fed by a decoction of forest leaves that oozed from the marshy shores, crept in shadow through depth of foliage, with only a belt of illumined sky gleaming between the jagged tree tops. Tall and lean with straining towards the light, their rough gaunt stems trickling with perpetual damps, stood on either hand the silent hosts of the forest. The skeletons of their dead, barkless, blanched and shattered, strewed the mud banks and shallows; other lay submerged like bones of drowned mamoths thrusting lank white limbs above the sullen water; and great trees, entire as yet, were flung by age or storms athwart the current, a bristling barricade of matted boughs. Ther was work for the ax as well as for the oar, till at length Lake Oneida opened before them, and they rowed all day over its sunny breast, reached the outlet and drifted down the shallow eddies of the Onondaga, between walls of verdure, silent as death, yet haunted every where with ambushed danger. It was twenty days after leaving Schenectday when they reached the mouth of the Oswego river, and Lake Ontario greeted them stretched like a sea to the pale brink of the northern sky, while on bare hill on their left, stood the miserable Fort of Oswego.

The foregoing pen picture of the route will give but a faint idea of the Wood Creek and its surroundings of 140 years ago, and but dimly outlines the diffi-culties attending travel over this route in the early days of the colony. The heavy trees which lined the banks of W ood Creek and the massive ones which fell across the stream, rendering navigation slow and toilsome, indicate why it was thus named. General Shirley dare not stir from Oswego towards Niagara. The dishearting news of Braddock's death, the failure before Crown Point, his Indian allies deserting him, the winds and storms of autumn, and the fear of an approach of the French from Fort Frontenac, paralyzed Shirely and he remained helpless at Oswergo until the last of October, when he returned to Albany by the same route he traversed two months before, leaving 700 men at Oswego. The campaign of 1755 was now closed and nothing gained by the English. The country for many coming months

was wrapped in snow and little else could be done by the contending forces, except the guarding of forts or lonely blockhouses, or scouring the forest in small was parties. But preparations ere being made by both sides for a more vigorous campaign the next year. The English planned for the campaign of 1756 as for the year before, and in addition to clear the French vessels from Lake Ontario and obtain complete command of that lake. The French strengthened all of their fortifications and laid plans to capture Oswego. It does not clearly appear in history whether or not the French were fully advised of the condition of the Oneida Carrying Place, and the number or condition of the English forts upon it. Certainit is, however, that the French were determined to investigate and destroy whatever was there, to better enable them to capture Oswego. It was known by the French that Oswego was supplied by the English with troops, munitons of war, and provisons from Albany by the water route via Wood Creek and Oneida Lake, and if the Oneida Carrying Place could be captured or rendered useless, a great point would be gained. The best, and probably the only, way for the French to reach it in those days, was by the route they took. Canadian Indians, 362 strong of which 103 were Indians, went across the country through what are now St. Lawrence and Lewis counties, to strike this portage. They left Montreal, came up the St. Lawrence on the ice to La Presentation (called by the Indians, Oswegatchie, now Ogdensburgh) , waded through deep snows, forded or crossed on ice or logs Oswegatchie, Black, and Mohawk Rivers and other swollens treams and lost their way in the forest, led astray either by accident or design by their Indian guides. They were fifteen days on the journey, two days wholly without food, and most of them came near perishing from cold and fatigue. It is not easy at this late date to locate the route of that expedition across the country. The general course of Indian travel in the forest was to avoid hills and keep near streams and in valleys. Not unlikely that expedition struck Black River at or near what is now the vicinity of Boonville, and down the valley of the Lansingkill and the Mohawk to Rome. They reached this locality some hours before daylight, on the morning of March 27, 1756, and remained until four in the morning; at that hour they resumed

their march, much weakend by hunger and fatigue, and at half past five in the morning reached the head of the carrying place, towards the Mohawk. The scounts in advance brought to De Lery two Englishmen who were going from Fort Bull along the portage (supposed to be what is now Dominick street, Rome, or near it). They were threatened with death if they concealed the truth or told a falsehood. They seaid the fort nearest to Wood Creek was Fort Bull, named after the captain then in command, and had a garrison of 60 soldiers; that in this fort was a consid-erable quantity of provisions and munitions of war, and that the fort was constructed of heavy pickets, fifteen to eighteen feet above ground, doubled in-side to a man's height, and the fort was nearly in the shape of a star; that it had no cannon, but an umber of grenages which had been sent on by Sir William Johnson from down the Mohawk, who had recived news of this expedition through friendly Indian runners; that fifteen bateaux were to leave that evening for Oswego, loaded with supplies; that at the moment sleigh loads were going along the portage from the Mohawk to Wood Creek with nine bateau loads; that the fort on the Mohawk River side of the portage was of much larger pickets and wll planked, having four pieces of cannon and a garrison of 150 men, commanded by Captain Williams, whose name the fort bore (This was Capt. William Williams of Sir Wm. Pepperell's regiment; he was a native of Massachusetts. His regiment was disbanded in Dec., 1756; he died in 1787.) They said they had not been in that fort and hence did not know whether or not there were provisions in it. This account of the expedition, taken from the archives in Paris, and published in the Documentary History of N.Y. and in XII of Paris Documents, goes on to say:

At ten in the forenoon the svages captured 10 men, who were conducting sleighs loaded with provisions from the Mohawk side of the portage to Wood Creek at Fort Bull. They stated in addition that 100 men arrived the preceding evening from down the Mohawk, who, it is said, were followed by a large force sent on by Sir William Johnson. While De Lery was distributing the captured provsions among his troops he was told that a negro who accom-panied the seligh loads had escaped, taking the road to Fort Williams, on the Mohawk, and that it was apprehended that Captain Williams from that fort would sally out to attach the French forces. De Lery thereupon resolved to forthwith, and in great haste, attack Fort Bull, where he was assured the greater part of the provisions and stores were. The Indians

were reluctant to join in the attack, but favored an immediate return to Canada. Some 20 Indians, however, started with DeLery to attack Fort Bull, while the rest remained to guard the road and provisions and prevent an advance from Fort Williams. The orders were for the detachments to move rapidly, without firing a shot or making noise, and seize the guard on entering the fort. When near the fort and without being discovered, the Indians, in their eagerness and excitement, gave a whoop; then De Lery ordered an advance on double quick in order to carry the gate of the fort before it could be closed, but the garrison had bare time to close it. Only 6 Indians followeed the French on this attack; the others pursued some six of the prisoners who tried to escape. De Lery set some men to cut downthe gate, and called upon the commander of the fort to surrender, which he refused, and answered defiantly by throwing a hand grenade and a fire of musketry (a brave and loyal officer), and throwing a quantity of grenades; the French and Canadians ran at full speed to the fort, got possession of the port holes, and through these fired at those inside. In about an hour the gate was cut down, and the French rushed in with shouts of "Vive le Roi" and put every one to the sword they could lay hands on. One woman and a few soldiers were fortunate enough to escape. The powder and other stores were thown into the creek; one of the magazines caught fire, and as it could not be extinguished orders were given to retire as quickly as possible. There was hardly time to do this when the fire communicated to the powder, which blew up at three points. The explosion was so violent that portions of the debris was thrown at some distance, and wounded some, and in great danger of killing the whole force. News was brought that a sortie from Fort Williams was being made, whereupon De Lery rallied his forces anc caused bombs, grenades, bullets, and all the provision that could be found thrown into the stream, and which were stored in fifteen loaded bateaux, and then set out to meet the sortie; but he learned that the Indians had repulsed it, having killed seventeen men. De Lery then moved with his force and encamped in the woods three quarters of a league away. The Fort Bull prsoners ere then examined, and it was learned that Sir William Johnson had sent notice to all the posts of De Lery's rumored coming, but it was regarded impossible on account of the rigor of the season. Fort Bull is situate near a creek. Fort Williams on the Mohawk. The carrying place from one fort to the other is about four miles long, over a pretty level country, though swampy in some places.

No mention was made of Fort Craven, from which it may be rightfully inferred that this fort did not then exist, although it seems well authenticated that it once stood on the Mohawk near the bend of that stream and below where the railroad bridge of New York Central now crosses the river. The French commander estimated that over 40,000 pounds of powder were burned or thrown into the water, besides balls, bombs, grenades, clothing, provisions and other stores. It was a great loss for the English.

Fort Bull covered about an acre of ground, was in the shape of a star and inside were a well and a magazine, and the whole encloed by pickets, as above

stated, and surrounded by a ditch into which water could be easily turned from Wood Creek when necessary. Its shape is yet (1896) plainly discernable, although 140 years have elapsed since its destruction. For years past the curious and students of history have taken from the bed of Wood Creek close by the fort a large number of balls and other relics. In September, 1893, the location of Fort Bull and the events connected with its history were duly celebrated by proces-sions, speaches, etc. De Lery, after his victory, retreated by rapid marches to Canada, taking the route, as near as can now be ascertained, over the country towards Cape Vincent, reaching Lake Ontario in seven days, where he was met by a convoy of provisions in bateaux and proceeded down the St. Lawrence to Montreal.¹ The loss of the English is stated at ninety men, of whom thirty were prisoners.

In connection with the destruction of Fort Bull, an extract from the narrative of Robert Eastburn, published in 1758, is of interest. Mr. Eastburn was born in England in 1710, and when four years of age was brought to this country by his parents. Robert had six children, and was a blacksmith by trade. In 1756 he, with thirty other mechanics, came from Philadelphia to what is now Rome, probably under the call of General Shirley for men to escort provisions over the carrying place and down to Oswego, as will be hereafter detailed. They reached this point March 26, 1756, on their way to Oswego. Fort Williams being full, he says they took up quarters in the "Indian House". It is difficult to say where that was, but possibly on or near the site of Sink's opera house. He goes on to say:

About 10 o'clock the next day, March 27, a negro came running down the road and reported that the sleigh men who were transporting loads over the carrying place were all taken prisoners. Captain Williams thereupon sent a sergeant and twelve men to ascertain if the report was true. I, being at the Indian House, asked to go along,a nd I did, When we had advanced a quarter of a mile, a man was shot down. I got behind a large pine tree and shot two of the enemy. I then ran, got into a swamp, and by reason of the snow, the enemy tracked and captured me. They stripped me of my hat and clothing, so that I had nothing left but a flannel vest without sleeves. They put a rope around my neck, bound my arms fast behind me, put a long band around my body and a large pack on my back, struck me on the head a severe bolow and drove me beofe them through the woods. Seventeen or eighteen prisoners were soon added. In the meantime the enemy determined to destroy Fort Bull, which they soon effected,

1. See route of Belletree's expedition, 1757, in next chapter.

all being put to the sword, except five, the fort burned, the provisions and pwder destroyed, when they retire to the woods and joined their main body. As soon as they got together, having a priest with them, they fell on their knees and returned thanks for their victory. The enemy had several wounded men with them, which they carried on their backs; besides which about fifteen of their number were killed, and of us aboaut forty. It being near dark and some Indians drunk, they marched only about four miles and encamped; the Indidans untied my arms, cut hemlock boughs and strewed around the fire, tied my band to two trees with my back on the breen boughs by the fire, covered me with an old blanket and lay down across my band, on each side, to prevent my escape while they slept. Sunday, March 28, rose early and the commander ordered a hasty retreat towards Canada, for fear of Sir William Johnson. Aver seven days march we arrived at Lake Ontario, where I eat some horse flesh. I was almost naked, travelling through deep snow and wading through rivers as cold as ice.

The narrative goes on further to say they were taken down the St. Lawrence to Montreal and thence farther back into Canada; that he finally went to England and after an absence of a year and a half he returned to his family in Philadelphia, who had mourned him as dead. It willb e observed that the only forts mentioned in the foregoing are Forts William and Bull and that the former was the larger fort. It has been genereally supposed that Fort Bull was the larger and more formidable.

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