The Minute Boys of the Mohawk Valley

The Minute Boys of the Mohawk
Valley, by

James Otis
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Title: The Minute Boys of the Mohawk Valley
Author: James Otis
Release Date: November 14, 2003 [eBook #10086]
Language: English
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THE MINUTE BOYS OF THE MOHAWK VALLEY
by JAMES OTIS

Author of "The Boys of Fort Schuyler," "The Boys of '98," "Teddy and
Carrots," "Captain Tom, the Privateersman," "The Boys of 1745," "The
Signal Boys of '75," "Under the Liberty Tree," "When Israel Putnam
Served the King," "The Minute Boys of the Green Mountains," Etc.,
Etc.
Illustrated by A. Burnham Shute [Illustration: "An Indian strode
gravely into the encampment"]
1911

Contents
I. Young Soldiers II. The Powwow III. Disappointment IV. On the
Oriskany V. Divided Duty VI. Between the Lines VII. Insubordination
VIII. The Ambush IX. The Indian Camp X. Prisoners XI. The Escape
XII. In the Fort XIII. The Assault XIV. Mutiny XV. The Torture XVI.
Short Allowance XVII. Perplexing Scenes XVIII. Close Quarters XIX.
The Pursuit XX. Enlisted Men

Foreword

It seems not only proper, but necessary, that I should explain how the
material for this story was obtained, and why it happens that I can thus
set down exactly what Noel Campbell thought and did, during certain
times while he was serving the patriot cause in the Mohawk Valley as
few other boys could have done.
At some time in Noel's life--most likely after he was grown to be a man
with children, and, perhaps, grandchildren of his own--he wrote many
letters to relatives of his in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, wherein he
told with considerable of detail that which he did during the War of the
Revolution, and more particularly while he and his friends were
fighting against that wily Indian sachem, Thayendanega. These letters,

together with many others concerning the struggles of our people for
independence, came into my keeping a long while ago, and from the
lines written by Noel Campbell I have put together the following story
after much the same fashion as he himself set it down.
When the work was begun I doubted if Thayendanega could have been
frightened by a party of boys who were playing at being soldiers, and
refused to make such statement until, quite by chance, I found the
following in Lossing's "Field-Book of the Revolution":
"It was a sunny morning toward the close of May, when Brant and his
warriors cautiously moved up to the brow of the lofty hill on the east
side of the town (Cherry Valley) to reconnoitre the settlement at their
feet. He was astonished and chagrined on seeing a fortification where
he supposed all was weak and defenceless, and greater was his
disappointment when quite a large and well-armed garrison appeared
upon the esplanade in front of Colonel Campbell's house.
"These soldiers were not as formidable as the sachem supposed, for
they were only half-grown boys, who, full of the martial spirit of the
times, had formed themselves into companies, and, armed with wooden
guns and swords, held regular drills each day.... He mistook the boys
for full-grown soldiers, and, considering an attack dangerous, moved
his party to a hiding-place in a deep ravine north of the village."
Then again I questioned if General Herkimer would have sent two boys
as messengers, even though an old and experienced soldier went with
them, when he must have had under his command many men grown
who were thoroughly familiar with Indian warfare. As if to combat this
doubt, I found the following statement by one who has written much
concerning the struggles of the colonists for freedom:
"As soon as St. Leger's approach up Oneida Lake was known to
General Herkimer, he summoned the militia of Tryon County to the
succor of the garrison at Fort Schuyler. They rendezvoused at Fort
Dayton, on the German Flats, and, on the day when the Indians
encircled the fort, Herkimer was near Oriskany with more than eight
hundred men, eager to face the enemy. He sent as messengers to

Gansevoort two boys and a man, informing him of his approach, and
requesting him to apprise him of the arrival of the couriers by
discharging three guns in rapid succession, which he knew would be
heard at Oriskany."
Having thus proven, at least to my own satisfaction, that so much of
Noel's story was true, I set about verifying the other portions, and in no
single instance