Our County and It's People

Chapter 3

1756 - 1758 - Oswego - Herkimer

The destruction of Fort Bull did not dampen the efforts of the English to strengthen the forts at Oswego, which they had occupied since 1727. General Shirley was at Albany, and his favorite plan was to strengthen Oswego and from that point later on to attack Niagara. He continued in the spring and summer of 1756, even after Fort Bull was destroyed, to supply Fort Williams and send supplies, munitions of war, and troops by this route to Oswego. Having no troops to escort and guard his provisions along the route, he invented the novel plan of taking into his pay 2,000 boatmen gathered from all parts of the country, dividing them into companies of fifty, eached armed with a gun and a hatchet, and placing them under command of Lieut. Col. John Bradstreet. Not unlikely Robert Eastburn and his associates helped to make up this escort in March, 1756, when he was captured and Fort Bull destroyed, as narrated in the previous chapter. In May, 1,100 French troops prowled around Oswego to cut its communications with Albany; nevertheless, Bradstreet safely conducted into Oswego a convoy of provisions and military stores, and July 3 set out on his return with his empty boats. He fell in with the French about nine miles from Oswego and several engagements took place, in which Bradstreet had the final advantage and returned to Albany with his empty boats. The French returned towards Frontenac and encamped at or near what is now Sackett's harbor, or in the vicinity of Black River Bay. General Shirley continued his efforts to reinforce Oswego, when the astounding news came to him that he was superseded in command. It was announced that Col. Daniel Webb would be sent to America, followed by General Abercrombie, who inturn was to be followed by the Earl of Loudon; Shirley to resign to Webb, the latter to Abercrombie, and the latter to Loudon. Notwithstanding this news, Shirley continued his efforts in the direction of Oswego. Webb and Abercrombie arrived in June, Loudon in July, 1756. It was the general understanding among the English that the French were preparing to attack Oswego from the direction of Frontenac, and the attack in May on Bradstreet was confirmatory of this understanding. In July a French commander with 700 men had gone from Frontenac and joined the French troops near Sackett's Harbor, as before stated. On the 21st of July Montcalm and the French governor of Canada left Montreal and by eight days of hard rowing up the St. Lawrence, reached Fort Fronteac. A French engineer had secretly reconnoitered the forts at Oswego and returned with the report that success was certain. On the 4th of August, 1756, all ... .....; 3,000 men were destined for the enterprise. Montcalm embarked at night from Frontenac and crossed over to Wolf Island with a portion of the troops and on that island were hidden all day, embarking again in the evening. They joined the other troops at Sackett's Harbor, the next morning at 7 (August 7). On the 8th all were united at the bay. On the 9th, covered by the universal forest, a

portion of the force marched in advance to protect the landing of the troops. Montcalm followed, coasting the shore in bateaux and at midnight of August 10th landed within a mile and a half of Oswego. The English knew nothing of the coming army until in the morning, when a reconnoitering canoe discovered the invaders. There were three forts at Oswego, and after three or four days hard fighting, all were captured and 1,600 troops surrendered to the French. The latter destroyed the forts, burned the vessels on the stock, destroyed such provisions as they could not carry away, and made the place a desert. Then the army decamped loaded with prisoners and spoil, crossed over to Fort Frontenac, descended the St. Lawrence to Montreal, hung the captured flags in the churches and sang Te Deum in honor of their triumph.

This detailed account of that capture is give, as it had much to do with the subsequent history of this part of the country and in shaping its destiny. In the mean time, the plans of Shirley to reinforce Oswego with a regiment of troops up the Mohawk, thence to go to Oswego, via the Oneida Carrying Place. He had scarcely reached the Carrying Place when the stunning news came to him of the disaster at Oswego, accompanied by the alarming rumor that Montcalm with a force of 6,000 was en route for Oneida Lake and Wood Creek. Webb took fright, felled trees in Wood Creek so as to impede the coming of the French, burned Fort Williams on the Carrying Place and beat a hasty retreat down the valley of the Mohawk. His conduct on this occasion, as well as his action at Lake George, has caused his name to come down in history as either a coward or a very inefficient officer. The dest-ruction of Fort Williams and the conduct of Webb left this part of the country defenseless, and exposed the Valley of the Mohawk and the territory of the Six Nations to the attacks of the French, and tended strongly to win over to the latter the friendship of the Iroquois Confederacy.

The war between the French and English continued around Lake Champlain and at other points, but not in this vicinity or in what is now Oneida county. The French did not, however, cease their efforts to learn the condition of the Oneida Carry-ing Place, and of the route between Oswego and Albany. In 1757 a French spy was

sent over this route to obtain information for his government. His report, with other valuable documents, are published in the Colonial History of New York. He started from Oswego and went up Oswego River to Oneida River, the outlet of Oneida Lake, and then to Wood Creek. The lake is about twenty-one miles long and several miles wide; the distance from the mouth of Wood Creek to Fort Bull, following that crooked stream, is about twenty-seven miles and about one half that distance in a straight line. The distance from Oswego to Fort Bull is 108 miles, and it took a loaded boat five days, and about three and a half to go the other way. In low water a loaded boat could not go from Oneida Lake within a mile and a half of Fort Bull; it must be partly unloaded and the boat return for the remainder of the cargo. The narrative of the French spy, goes on to say:

Wood Creek is full of sinuosities, narrow and sometimes embarrassed with fallen trees. Its navigation is difficult when the water is low. Fort Bull was burned in 1756, and was situate on the right bank of Wood Creek. From Fort Bull to Fort Williams is one league and a half. This is the carrying place across the height of land. The English had constructed a road there, over which all carriages passed, and the English were obliged to build a portion of the way from Fort Bull because of the marshy ground; near a small stream (Stoney Creek) a fort had been begun (Fort Newport, site of late US Arsenal, now bath tub factory) but not finished. It was to be intermediate between Forts Bull and Williams on the summit level. Fort Williams was on the right bank of Mohawk River, at the east end of the carrying place; it was abandoned and destroyed by the English in 1756 (De Lery 's expedition). Leaving Oswego is a road over which the English drove cattle, on the border of Oswego River, to Oneida Lake, and around to Oneida village, and they can go to Forts Bull and Williams. (This is probably the route over which General Shirley drove his beef cattle to Oswego in 1755). From Fort Williams to Herkimer is thirty-six miles. The road follows on the right bank (south) of the Mohawk; leaving Fort Williams there is a road north of the river but it can be traveled only on foot or horseback; there is another road which joins that (at Stanwix village, probably) by which horses and cattle pass from Herkimer to Oswego. This road is bad for about four leagues (Whitesboro). The country is marshy, and carriages travel it in winter and during summer, and it can be easily passed on horseback at all times, though in some places there is a great deal of mud. After these four leagues, carts can easily go to Fort Herkimer. Five leagues this side of Fort Herkimer, are the forks of two roads, one of which to the left leads, by fording the river, to the Palatines village (village of Herkimer).

The forts on the carrying place being destroyed in 1756, the French had easier access from Canada to the English settlements down the Mohawk valley. In the fall

of 1757 A French expedition under Belletre left Kingston and on the 12th of November, 1757, made an attack about three in the morning on the forts and Palatine settlements (now the village of Herkimer, formerly Fort Dayton), murdering the settlers and destroying the property. The question is, which route did that expedition follow? The histories of Herkimer county say that it went via Black River; if this be correct, it must have followed the valley of the stream and struck West Canada Creek above Herkimer village not far from "Hess Rifts", where some authorities say, Walter Butler crossed at the time he was killed, on his way back to Canada in 1780, after his Johnstown invasion, when pursued by Colonel Willettt. The French spy who gave the account of the itinerary from Oswego to Albany, above quoted, writes as follows of Belletre's expedition:

He went from the mouth of La Famine river 30 miles below Oswego, ascended that river four leagues (12 miles) and leaving it on the left, and followed the path leading to Oneida Lake, which he left on his right, and came to the level summit to Fort Williams. He forded three rivers, the water being very high, during the four days he was going from La Famine to Fort Williams, from 24 to 30 leagues (77 to 90 miles). The soil is soft only in the latter part of the season, the country is fine and but few mountains.

It has always been an unanswered point in history as to the location of river La Famine. Some maps and authors locate it as Chaumont Bay; others at the mouth of the Salmon River; some at Henderson Bay; some in Ellensburgh. The French spy places it thirty miles from Oswego, which would locate it near the mouth of Sandy Creek in the town of Henderson, Jefferson County; following up that stream twelve miles would reach Adams, and the distance from the starting point to Fort Williams (now Rome) is about 75 miles, as stated by the French spy. Again, the description of the route would closely resemble the route from Henderson to Rome, and the three rivers crossed might have been, and quite likely were, Salmon River, Mad River and Fish Creek, all large and turbulent streams at times in those days; that route might have led through Adams, Lorraine, Boylston, Redfield and Florence. It will be observed that the Itinerary of the spy makes no mention of a single fort standing in 1757 at the carrying place, and only those of Forts Bull and Williams which had been erected and were destroyed the year before. Not this is said of Fort Craven, although the latter, on the site of it, is shown on the topographical map in the next chapter. That partisan and bloody attack of Belletre closed the campaign of 1757.

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