NYPL RESEARCH LIBRARIES

3 3433 08254467 1

NARRATIVE

OF

COL. ETHAN ALLEN'S

APTIVITY

J. A. JL JL JL JL JL a

From the time of his being taken by the British, nea?

Montreal, on the 25th day of September, in the

year 1775, to the time of his exchange,

on the 6th day of May, 1778.

CONTAINING

HIS70YAGESAXD TRA7ELS,

With the most remarkable occurrences respecting himself, and nur, /•

other continental Prisoners, of different ranks and characters,

which fell under his observation in the course of the same ;

particularly the destruction of the prisoners at Ne\v-

York, by General Sir William Howe, in the years

1776 and 1777; interspersed with some

POLITICAL OBSERVATIONS.

Written by himself, and now published for the informa- tion of the curious in all Nations.

When God from chaos gave this world TO BE, Man then he form'd, and form d him TO BE FREE.

American Independence, a poem, by FRENEA::. jr*r^*f^^*r*r*r^r^r^*r*/**s**f+r^**r*r*s-*s-*/**r^r^/-^r*s-^j~^r*f*s*^/-^

To which are now added a considerable number of explanatory

and occasional notes, together ssrith an index of reference to

the most remarkable recurrences in the narrative.

W ALP OLE, N. H.

PUBLISHED BY THOMAS & THOMAS, FROM THE PRESS OF CHARTER & HALE.

— =>*!W»<s»--

1807.

To wit :

DISTRICT OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE.

t

™^* *^ vteuvmui'i'iii^ That on

twenty second day of January, in the thirty first

' year of the independence of the United States of

America — Isaiah Thomas and Alexander Thomas of said district, booksellers, have deposited in this office the title of a book, whereof they claim as Proprietors, in the following words, to wit : " A narrative of Col. Ethan Ai~ lerfs Captivity ; from the time of his being taken by the British, near Montreal, on the 25/7* day of September, in the year 1775, to the time of his exchange, on the 6th day of May, 1778 : containing his voyages and travels, with themost remarkable occurrences respecting himself, and many other Continental prisoners of different ranks, and characters, ivhich fell under his observation, in the same period: partic- ularly the destruction of the prisoners, at New-York, by Gen. Sir William Howe, in the years 1776 and 1777 : Interspers- ed with some political observations. Written by Himself. When God from chaos gave this world to be, Man then he formed, and form' 'd him to be free.— Freneau. To whiohare now added a considerable number of explanato- ry and occasional notes, together with an index of reference to the most remarkable occurrences in the narrative."

In conformity to. an act of Congress of the United States, entitled, " An act for the encouragement of learning by securing copies of Maps, Charts and other books to the authors and proprietors therein mentioned" — And also " An act for the encouragement of learning by securing copies of Maps, Charts and other books to the authors and proprietors of such copies therein mentioned, and ex- tending the benefit thereof to the arts of designing, engrav- ing and etching historical and other prints."

of Record,

R. CUTTS SHANNON, Clerk.

THE NEW YORK

Y TS SHANNON, Clerk of mid District.

CONTENTS,

TAG?,.

Introduction - .9

Orders from Connecticut to take Ticondc-roga, &c. - 15

Coi. A. arrives there with 239 Green Mountain Boys, May 9ih

1775 - - ' l6

His address to officers and soldiers ib*

Capt. Delaplace surrenders the garrison, May 10, 1775 20

Cci. Warner sent to take Crown Point, which wau dons, toge:h-

er with 10'J pieces of cannon - 21

Capt. Arnold takes possession of a British sloop of war at St.

Johns, a I the garrison, a serjeant and t-.velve m:a Speculative thou^lrs on the union of Canada with trie States 23 Generals Scinvyler and Montgomery ordered into Canada Mission into Canada to reconnoitre, &.c. Account of his success -

Major Brown's proposition to take M on '.real Preparations previous to actack on the city

Capture and detention of certain parsons supposed spies • J

The escape of one exposes Col. A'b plan - - ib.

Gen. C. niton's preparations to embark previous to knowing the

small number of Coi. A's party - - 31

Number and description of the enemy's troops, and those under

Col A. 32

John Dugan's and Mr. Young's flight, with their detachments 33 Retreat of Col. A. to avoid being surrounded - 34i

His narrow escape of being shot - - io.

Surrender or himself and party, consisting of 38 Account of a horrid attack on Col. A. b/ two- savages, and his

singular mode of escaping their fury .-- . - ib.

"\Valks into Montreal between a British off. cerand one of the

French noblesse - - - 37

General Prescott's treatment of him - 3^

H amane, but bold attempt to save the lives of thirteen of his

men, Canadians - -

His confinement on board the Gn.spee schooner of war 40

Conjecture respecting the number of his men lost and wounded ib. Treatment of prisoners - - - 41

Description of his irons - - 42

Generous conduct of Bradley, a British officer 43

The no less true than extraordinary feat of twisting a ten penny

nail from his irons with his teeth Challenges Dr. Dace for his abusg - - 45

CONTENTS.

Accompanies col. Sheldon to Washington's head quartet's 156 Is treated respectfully by Washington ib.

Leaves head quarters in company with Gen. Gates and suit

forFishkill - 157

Bids farewell to Gen. Gates and arrives at Bennington on the

lastdav of Ma/ ... . ft.

IT was at first intended to have published a *f the names of the subscribers to the work ; but as the pa pers are only partially returned, though ive hear the num ter is large, it was thought best to emit them altogether.

IN announcing the publication of this lit- tle, simple, true, and unvarnished NARRA- TIVE, the publishers have complied with the wishes of a number of persons, who had a desire to keep in remembrance the hero of Ticonderoga, and the exploits he performed. It is believed that there is not a copy for sale in any bookstore in the United States ; and the style of printing, at the time of its first appearance, which is now near thirty years since, was in so unimproved a condition, that it has never been seen but in the shabby dress of a large and ragged pamphlet. The events of those " troublous times, >: in which Col. ALLEN took a conspicuous part, are rendered doubly interesting from the lively, unadorned manner of his own narra- tion. The high compliments which he pays to the prowess, uniform perseverance and resolution, manifested by the " Green Mountain Boys" of his native State, wrill no doubt be an inducement to them, and to his countrymen generally, to read and preserve this monument of him, and as they con the pages of this " little book" which he has " left them,'1 to imitate the coolness and courage of the deceased veteran.

Vlll ADVERTISEMENT.

THE sufferings and cruelties borne by him and his fellow soldiers, frequently draw from him in the course of his NARRATIVE, a lan- guage the most severe, with respect to a country from whom we originated, with whom we are now at peace, and with whom it is our policy to continue on a friendly foot- ing ; but the candid and the feeling mind should make great allowance for the unpar- alleled situation of our affairs, for the suffer- ings of his handful of little " Spar tans S' for whom he felt a father's and a brother's affec- tion. These circumstances must have given a deep colouring to the pencil which was pourtrayinghis own and his country's wrongs. On the whole, we think this little tract may be re -perused, with advantage and pleasure, by the aged, and read with much edification and entertainment by the young. As it is deemed that the very words, in every res- pect, made use of by the Colonel, would be more acceptable to the reader, than any arti- ficial decoration of style, we shall almost in- variably adhere to the original.

THE work is rendered interesting also by a considerable number of original, explanato- ry and occasional notes.

INTRODUCTION.

INDUCED by a sense of duty to my country, and by the application of many of my worthy friends, some of whom ere of the first characters, I have concluded to publish the f Mowing narrative of the extraordinary scenes of my cap" tivitij, and the discoveries which I mad? in the course of the same, of the cruel and rele?itless disposition and behavior of the enemy, towards the prisoners in their power ; from •which the state politician, and evzry gradation of charac- ter among the people, to the worthy tiller of the soil, may deduce such inferences as they shall think proper to carry into practice. Some men are appointed into office, in these States, who read the history of the cruelties of this war, iclth the same careless indifference, as they do the pages e/ the Roman history ; nay, some are preferred to places of trust and profit by the tory influence. The instances are (I hope) but rare, and it stands all freemen in hand, to prevent their farther influence, which, of all other thingsy would be the most baneful to the liberties and happiness of this country ; and, so far as such influence takes place, rob us of the victory we have obtained at the expense of so much blood and treasure*

* The amor patriot, which no lover of his country per- haps possessed in a superior degree to the writer of this Narrative, carries the Colonel in f «.is instance, and in some others, which the reader will \ritness in the course of his perusal, a little too for. Th ^'e have, no doubt, been traitors among us to the American cause ; but the word tory is of so indefinite a signification that it would seem it might be laid aside with propriety, and one, of definite import, substituted. Were the colonel

3 INTRODUCTION.

I should have exhibited to the public a history of the facts herein contained, soon after my exchange, had not the ur- gency of my private affairs, together with more urgwit pub- lic business, demanded my attention, till a few weeks before the date hereof. The reader will readily discern, that a, narrative of this sort could not have been written when I was a prisoner : My trunk and writings were often search- ed under various pretences ; so that I never wrote a syl- lable, or made even a rough minute whereon I might predi- cate this narration, but trusted solely to my memory for the wAo/t'.* / have, however, taken the greatest care and pains to rzccU.ect th? facts and arrange them : but as they touch a varisfy of characters and o-ipozitc interests, I ain. sensible that all will not bj pleased with the relation of them : Be this as it will, I have made truth my invariable

now living, and moved by the same spirit of patriotism he once was, his ire would probably be directed generally against the enemies of America, unprincipled foreigners, and the desperate fugitives from justice, with -whom our large seaports are infested.

* This concession of the colonel ought not, however, to derogate from the accuracy of this account. 1 e regular journalist, it is allowed, can lay claim to con sick-T- able correctness in point of date and place, but the in- teresting occurrences of the moment are better fixed in the memory without the use of pen. The mind, which is accustomed to have its operations put on paper as they make their transit over it, soon loses their impression, under the consideration that it can always command them again, by a recurrence to their record on paper. It has been thought by some, though the remark may be ire •- -svant here, that the memory is gradually afu ct- ecl, slid perhaps injured by a too close attention to min- ute down small, uninteresting; facts.

INTRODUCTION. XI

guide, and stake my honor on the truth of the facts. I have been -very generous •with the British* in giving- them full and ample credit for all their good usage, of any consid- erable consequence, which I met with among- them, during my captivity ; which was easily done, as I met with but little, in comparison of the bad, which, by reason of the great plurality of it, could not be contained in so concise a narra- tive ; so that I am certain that I have more fully enume- rated the favours which I received, than the abuses I suf- fered. The critic will be pleased to excuse any hiaccura* cies in the performance itself, as the author has unfortun- ately missed of a liberal education.

ETHAN ALLEN. YON, March 25, 1779.

* The colonel, we presume, would wish to have ap- peared, and actually to have been the unprejudiced histo- rian of the times and facts of which he was treating, And, considering the ferment of the times, and warmth of his character, of the ardour of his friendships, and his enmities, we may wander that lie has not been more severe in his strictures on British treatment than he has. But justice to a nation with whom we are on friendly terms, and whose government generally, except where its edicts have been abused by executive officers, is conducted on the firmest basis of justice, and the rights of man, requires that the reader should soften, in his mind, the asperity cf seme of the veteran's observations.

NARRATIVE

Wot. Cstnan ^/Li/ten

CAPTIVITY,

'

VER since I arrived to a state of man- hood, and acquainted myself with the gener- al history of mankind, I have felt a sincere passion for liberty.* The history of nations,

* There is something peculiarly fascinating, to the mind of youth, in the word liberty. It is then

" When the fresh blood grows livelv, and returns Brisk as the April buds in primrose season,"

that the goddess appears decorated in her most enchant- ing-drapery. The horrors of tyranny then asRunie the most forbidding garb, and the ! -Mrt p^.nts eripcre &ccf>- trum tyrannic, and to give freedom to -; oppi^ss^d hu= inanity." It is then th-it tiles of <l knights HiciMi-o;is bold," the foes of oppression, cutch the notice ot youth,

B

r

14 COL. E. ALLENyS 0 B S2TR V A TIOXS,

doomed to* perpetual slavery, in consequence of yielding up to tyrants their natural-born liberties, I read with a sort of philosophical horror;* so that the first systematical and

and give it a correspondent ardour. As the juvenile heyday retreats, a more rational, but less enthusiastic view is taken of th£ subject. The same love of liberty remains, but it rests on a surer basis, on the pedestal of reason. This is the chaste dame that Goldsmith in his TRAVELLER alludes to, in the following extract,

"And thou, fair Freedom, taught alike to feel The rabble's rage, and tyrant's angry steel ; Thou transitory flower, alike undone By proud Contempt or Favour's fost'ring sun ; Still may thy blooms the changeful clime endure, I only would repress them to secure ; For just experience tells, in every soil, That those who think must govern those who toil ; And all that Freedom's highest aims can reach, Is but to lay proportion'd loads on each. Hence, should one order disproportion* d grow, Its double weight must ruin all below."

* It is in the recollection of most of us, how popular, at its commencement, was the revolution in France. A- mericans, who were then just be?:innir,g to enjoy the blessmo-s of" self-government," could feel for those who were deprived of them. They made the cause their own. We have seen in what their professions or liberty and equality have terminated; Setting aside the views of a few ambitious leaders, the love of liberty was as sin- cere among the great body of Frenchmen as it was, perhaps, among our own countrymen. But at Intel Lence and information, which are diffused m th country, were not to bejoimd in France, The soil, it IA

HIS CAPTIVITY, L>

bloody attempt, at Lexington, to enslave A- merica, thoroughly electrified my mind, and fully determined me to take part with my country : And, while I was wishing for an opportunity to signalise myself in its behalf, directions were privately sent to me from the then colony (now state) of Connecticut, to raise the Green Mountain Boys, and, if possi- ble, with them to surprise and take the for- tress, Ticonderoga.* This enterprise I

presumed, was therefore unfavorable to the cause of Freedom, and invited the empty claims, and usurpation of a despot. No doubt, Col. Allen would have viewed, •with more than "philosophical horror," the late assump- tion of the throne of the Bourbons, by Bonaparte, when comparing it with the professions of liberty with which it was accomplished.

* This fortress is thus described in the edition of the American Gazetteer, by Drs. Morse and Parish :

" Ticonderoga, in the state of N. York.wasbuiit by the French in the year 1755, on the north side of a peninsu- la, formed by the confluence of the waters issuing from Lake George into Lake Champlain. It is now a heap of ruins, and forms an appendage to a farm. Its name sig- nifies Noisy, in the Indian language, and was called by the French, Corillor. Mount Independence, in Aclclison co. Vetsnont, is about two miles S. E. of it, and separated from it by the narrow strait which conveys the waters of Lake George and South river into Lake Champlain. It, had ail the advantages that art or nature could give it? being defended on three sides by water surrounded by

16 COL. E. ALLEN'S OBSERVATIONS

cheerfully undertook ; and, after first guard- ing all the several passes that led thither, to cut off all intelligence between the garrison and the country, made a forced inarch from Bennington, and arrived at the lake opposite to Ticonderoga, on the evening of the ninth day of May, 1775, with two hundred and thirty valiant Green Mountain Boys ; and it was with the utmost difficulty that I procured boats to cross the lake. However, I landed eighty three men near the garrison, and sent the boats back'for the rear guard, command- ed by Col. Seth Warner ; but the day began to daivn, and I found myself under a necessi- ty to attack the fort, before the rear could cross the lake ; and, as it was viewed hazard- ous, I hairangued the officers and soldiers in the manner following : " Friends and fellow

rocks, and where that fails, the French erected a breast- work nine feet high. This was the first fortress attack- ed by the Americans during the revolutionary war, The troops under Gen. Abercrombie were defeated here in the year 1758, but it was taken the year following by- Gen. Amherst. It was surprised by Cols. Allen and Ar- nold, May 10, 1775, and was retaken by Gen. Bur^oyne, in July, J777,

DURING HIS CAPTIVITY. 17

soldiers, You have, for a number of years past, been a scourge and terror to arbitrary power. Your valor has been famed abroad, and acknowledged, as appears by the advice and orders to me, from the General Assemblv

V

of Connecticut, to surprise and take the gar- rison now before us. I now propose to ad- vance before you, and, in person, conduct you through the wicket -gate ; for we must this morning either quit our pretensions to valor, or possess ourselves of this fortress in a few minutes ; and, inasmuch as it is a des- perate attempt, which none but the bravest of men dare undertake, I do not urge it en any contrary to his will. You that will un- dertake voluntarily, poise your firelocks.*

* This address, in its simple and artless clothing, af- fects one as much, nay, more than the studied har- rangues of crowned conquerors. It finds its way imme- diately to the heart, and we anxiously look for the issue. Thus it was tint the hero of Thermopylae addressed his little band, though fur different the event of the two en- terprises ; and not unlike to it was the conclusion 01 Hannibal's address to the Carthaginians, on their march to the Roman capital ; " But for you, there is no mid- dle fortune between death and victory. Let this be but well fixed in your minds, and once again I say you are tonguerorz."

B 2

18 COL. £. ALLEN'S OBSERVATIONS

The men being, at this time, drawn up in three ranks, each poised his firelock. I or- dered them to face to the right ; and, at the head of the centre-file, marched them imme- diately to the wicket gate aforesaid, where J found a sentry posted, who instantly snap- ped his fusee at me : I ran immediately to- wards him, and he retreated through the cov- ered way into the parade within the garrison, gave a halloo, and ran under a bomb-proof. My party, who followed me into the fort, I formed on the parade in such manner as to face the two barracks which faced each oth- er. The garrison being asleep, except the sentries, we gave three huzzas which greatly surprised them. One of the sentries made a pass at one of my officers with a charged bay- onet, and slightly wounded him : My first thought was to kill him with my sword ; but, in an instant, I altered the design and fury of the blow to a slight cut on the side of the head ; upon which he dropped his gun, and asked quarter, which I readily granted him,*

* Here is a striking instance of the bravery of the

DURING HIS CAPTIVITY. 19

and demanded of him the place where the commanding officer kept ; he shewed me a pair of stairs in the front of a barrack, on the west part of the garrison, which led up to a second story in said barrack, to which I im- mediately repaired, and ordered the com- mander, Capt. Delaplace, to come forth in- stantly, or I would sacrifice the whole garri- son ; at which the Capt. came immediately to the door, with his breeches in his hand ; when I ordered him to deliver to me the fort instantly ; he asked me by what authori- ty I demanded it : I answered him, " In the name of the great Jehovah, and the Continen- tal Congress." The authority of the Con- gress being very little known at that time,* he began to speak again ; but I interrupted him, and, with my drawn sword over his

soldier, united with the humanity of the man ; in a situ- tion when the destruction of one individual of the ene- my might be deemed of signal consequence in ensuring success to the enterprize-

* If the colonel had expressed a little of his usual se- verity in this place, he might have remarked also, that neither of the authorities he had mentioned were much known in a British camp.

20 COL. E. ALLEN'S OBSERVATIONS,

head, again demanded an immediate surren- der of the garrison ; with which he then com- plied, and ordered his men to be forthwith paraded without arms, as he had given up the garrison : In the mean time some of my offi- cers Lad given orders, and, in consequence thereof, sundry of the barrack doors were beat down, and about one third of the garrison im- prisoned, which consisted of the said com- mander, a Lieut. Feltham, a conductor of ar- tillery, a gunner, two Serjeants, and forty four rank and file ; about one hundred pieces of cannon, one thirteen inch mortar, and a number of swivels. This surprise was car- ried into execution in the gray of the morn- ing of the tenth day of May, 177^. The sun seemed to rise that morning with a supe- rior lustre ; and Tlconderoga and its depen- tJencies smiled on its conquerors, who tossed about the flowing bowl, and wished success to Congress, and the liberty and freedom of America. Happy it was for me, at that time, that the then future pages of the book of fate, which afterwards unfolded a misera- ble scene of two years and eight months im-

DURING HIS CAPTIVITY. 21

prisonment, were hid from my view. But to return to my narration : Col. Warner, with the rear guard, crossed the lake, and joined me early in the morning, whom I sent off, without loss of time, with about one hun- dred men, to take possession of Crown Point, which was garrisoned with a serjeant and twelve men ; which he took possession of the same day, as also of upwards of one hundred pieces of cannon. But one thing now remain^ ed to be done, to make ourselves complete masters of lake Champlain ; this was to possess ourselves of a sloop of war, which was then lying at St. John's ; to effect wrhich, it was agreed in a council of war, to arm and man out a certain schooner, which lay at South Bay, and that Capt. (now general) Ar- nold* should command her, and that I should

* This name, which now calls to rnmd the idea of treason, at every mention of it, is " danin'd to everlast- ing fame." Arnold was once a brave officer, persever- ing, indefatigable and ready to undertake the most daring of enterprises. But his high style of living inducing .many unavoidable expenses, and the embarrassment thereby occasioned, prompting him to commit v,.- rious acts of extortion upon the citizens of Philadelphia, when he was appointed to the command in that piuctj in

22 COL. E. ALLEN'S OBSERVATIONS,

command the batteaux. The necessary prep- arations being made, we set sail from Ticon- deroga, in quest of the sloop, which was much larger, and carried more guns and heavier metal than the schooner. General Arnold, with the schooner sailing faster than the bat- teaux, arrived at St. John's ; and, by surprise, possessed himself of the sloop, before I could arrive with the batteaux : He also made pris- oners of a sergeant and twelve men, who were garrisoned at that place. It is worthy remark that, as soon as General Arnold had secured the prisoners on board, and had made preparation for sailing, the wind, which but a few hours before was fresh in the south, and well served to carry us to St. John's, now shifted, and came fresh from the north ; and, in about one hour's time, Gen. Arnold sailed

1778, obliged Congress, on the remonstrance of some of the inhabitants, and of the executive of Pennsylvania, to have him arrested and tried by court martial. It com- menced in June 1778, and ended in JLn. 1779, when he "was sentenced to be reprimanded. This was the cause of the traitor's conduct ; and, after having offered to him, afterwards, the command of the left wing of the ar- my, he preferred thut of a little, though important for- tress, to gratify his hate and resentment in giving it up io the enemy.

DURING HIS CAPTIVITY. 23

with the prize and schooner for Ticondero- ga.* When I met him with my party, with- in a few miles of St. John's, he saluted me with a discharge of cannon, which I returned with a volley of small arms : This being re- peated three times, I went on board the sloop with my party, where several loyal Congress healths were drank. We were now masters of lake Champlain, and the garrison de- pending thereon. This success I viewed of consequence in the scale of American poli- tics ; for, if a settlement, between the then colonies and Great-Britain, had soon taken place, it would have been easy to have res- toredr~~these acquisitions ; but viewing the then future consequences of a cruel war, as it has really proved to be, and the command of that lake, garrisons, artillery, 8cc. it must be viewed to be of signal importance to the A- merican cause, and it is marvellous to me, that we ever lost the command of it. Nothing

* This fortunate, or providential change of wind, would have been noticed, in ancient tim^s, as the inter- vention of favoring deities. A3 it was not one of the foibles of the colonel to be superstitious, he passes it over Yfith saying only, " it was worthy remark..''

24 COL. E. ALLEN'S OBSERVATIONS,

but taking a Burgoyne, with a whole Brit- ish army, could, in my opinion, atone for it ; and, notwithstanding such an extraordinary victory, we must be obliged to regain the command of that lake again, be the cost what it will: By doing this, Canada will easily be brought into union and confederacy with the United States of America. Such an event would put it out of the power of the western tribes of Indians to carry on a war with us, and be a solid and durable bar against any farther inhuman barbarities com- xnitted on our frontier inhabitants, by cruel and blood-thirsty savages ; for it is impossi- ble for them to carry on a war, except they are supported by the trade and commerce of some civilized nation ; which to them would be impracticable, did Canada compose a part of the American empire.*

Early in the fall of the year, the little army,

* However practicable such a union might be, its pol- cy may be doubted. Yet in the rage for purchasing em- fores, if the British would be satisfied with a reasonable sum for it, there are probably speculators^ who would appear to purchase it.

DURING HIS CAPTIVITY. 25

under the command of the Generals Schuyler and Montgomery, were ordered to advance into Canada. I was at Ticonderoga, when this order arrived ; and the Generals, with most of the field officers, requested me to at- tend them in the expedition ; and, though at that time I had no commission from Con- gress, yet they engaged me, that I should be considered as an officer, the same as though I had a commission^ and should, as occasion might require., command certain detachments of the armv — -This I considered as an honor-

•/

able offer, and did not hesitate to comply with it, and advanced with the army to the isle Aux Noix ;* from whence I was ordered, by the general, to go in company with Major Brown, and certain interpreters, through the woods into Canada, with letters to the Cana- dians, and to let them know, that the design of the army was only against the English gar-

* AOZ.T, isle au, or Nut isle, a small isle of 50 acres, near the N. end of lake Champlain, and within the province of Lower Canada. Here the British had a garrison of 100 men. It is about five miles N. N. E. of the mouth of La Cole River, twenty N. ot'Isie La Motte, and twelve or fifteen southward oi; St. John's.

COL. E. ALLEN'S OBSERVATIONS,

risons, and not the country, their liberties, or religion : and having, through much danger, negociated this business, I returned to the isle Aux Noix the fore part of September, when Gen. Schuyler returned to Albany ; and in consequence the command devolved upon general Montgomery, whom I assisted in lay- ing a line of circumvailation round the for- tress, St. John's.* After which I v.ras ordered, by the general, to make a second tour into Canada, upon nearly the same design as be- fore ; and withal to observe the disposition, designs and movements of the inhabitants of the country. This reconnoitre I undertook with reluctance, choosing rather to assist at the siege of St. John's, which was then close- ly invested ; but my esteem for the general's person, and opinion of him as a politician and brave officer, induced me to proceed.

* St. John's, a town and fort in Lower Canada, oi> the west bank of Sorrel river, at the north end of lake Champlain, twenty tight miles southward of Montreal. It has been established as the sole port of entry and clearance for all goods imported from the interior of the United States into Canada, by an ordinance published by the executive council of Lower Canada, the 7th of July, 1796. It was taken by General Montgomery, in Nov. 1775. Nortlilat. 45, 9". west loi^g. 72; 18.

DURING HIS CAPTIVITY. 2V

I passed through all the parishes on the river Sorrel,* to a parish at the mouth of the same, which is called by the same name, preaching politics ;f and went from thence across the Sorrel to the river St. Lawrence, and up the river through the parishes to Lcn- gueil, and so far met with good success as an itinerant. In this round, my guard were Canadians, my interpreter, and some few at- tendants excepted. On the morning of the 24th day of September^ I set out with my guard of about eighty men, from L on gueil, to go to La Prairie ;J from whence I deter-

* Sorrel River, the outlet of Lake Champlain, which, after a course of about 69 miles North, empties into the river St. Lawrence, in north lat. 46, 10, and long. 72, 25 west. Sorrel Fort, built by the French, is at the wes- tern point of the mouth of this river.

t By politics, it is presumed, the author means eulo- gising the government, under which he lived ; praising its institutions, the salutary and mild operation of its laws, and the degree of liberty enjoyed by the poorest of his fellow citizens. In this view the occupation was beneficial and harmless. Far different is the conduct of the preacher of politics of the present day. His aim is to * disorganize, and his efforts are exerted to sap the foundation of all regular government.

\ La Prairie, a populous little village, with narrow dirty streets, on the river St. Lawrence, in Canada, eigh-

\

28 COL. z. ALLEN'S OBSERVATIONS,

mined to go to Gen. Montgomery's camp ; but had not advanced two miles before I met with Major Brown, who has since been ad- vanced to the rank of a Colonel, who desired me to halt, saying that he had something . of importance to communicate to me and my confidants ; upon which I halted the party, and went into an house, and took a private room with him and several of my associates, where Col. Brown proposed that, " Provided I would return to Longueil, and procure some canoes, so as to cross the river St. Lawrence a little north of Montreal, he would cross it a little to the south of the town, with near two hundred men, as he had boats sufficient ; and that we would make ourselves masters of Montreal."— This plan was readily approved by me and those in council ; and in conse- quence of which I returned to Longueil, col- lected a few canoes, and added about thirty English Americans to my party, and crossed the river in the night of the 24th, agreeable

teen miles north of St, John's, and nine south west cf Montreal,

DURING HIS CAPTIVITY. 29

to the before proposed plan. My whole par- ty, at this time, consisted of about one hun- dred and ten men, near eighty of whom were Canadians. We were the most of the night crossing the river, as we had so few canoes that they had to pass and re-pass three times, to carry my party across. Soon after day-break, I set a guard between me and the town, with special orders to let no person whatever pass or re-pass them, and another guard on the other end of the road, with like directions ; in the mean time, I reconnoitered the best ground to make a defence, expecting Col. Brown's party was landed on the other side of the town, he having, the day before, agreed to give three huzzas with his men early in the morning, which signal I was to return, that we might each know that both parties were landed ; but the sun, by this time, being near two hours high, and the sign failing, I began to conclude myself to be in a premunire, and would have crossed the river back again, but I knew the enemy wouldhave discovered such an attempt ; and, as there could not more

C 2

30 COL. E. ALLEN'S OBSERVATIONS,

than one third part of my troops cross at one time, the other two thirds would of course fall into their hands. This I could not rec- oncile to my own feelings as a man, much less as an officer : I therefore concluded to maintain the ground, if possible, and all to fare alike. In consequence of this resolution, I dispatched two messengers, one to La Prai- rie, to Col. Brown, and the other to L'As- .somption, a French settlement, to Mr. Walk- er, who was in our interest, requesting their speedy assistance, giving them, at the same time, to understand my critical situation : In the mean time, sundry persons came to my guards, pretending to be friends, but were by

them taken prisoners and brought to me.

These I ordered to confinement,* 'till their friendship could be farther confirmed ; for I was jealous they were spies, as they proved to be afterwards : One of the principal of them making his escape, exposed the weak-

This precaution, it appears, was commendable and :essary ; and had it been carried more rigidly into ex- ecution would have prevented the escape of one of the spies, and the miscarriage of the colonel's intentions.

DURING HIS CAPTIVITY. 31

mess of my party, which was the final cause of my misfortune ; for I have been since in- formed that Mr. Walker, agreeable to my desire, exerted himself, and had raised a con- siderable number of men for my assistance, which brought him into difficulty afterwards; but, upon hearing of my misfortune, he dis- banded them again.

The town of Montreal was in a great tu- mult. Gen. Cariton and the royal party, made every preparation to go on board their vessels of force, as I was afterwards inform- ed, but the spy, escaping from my guard to the town, occasioned an alteration in their policy, and emboldened Gen. Caiiton to send the force, which he had there collected, out against me. Fhad previously chosen my ground, but when I saw the number of the enemy, as they sallied out of the town, I per- ceived it would be a day of trouble, if not of rebuke ; but I had no chance to flee, as Mon- treal was situated on an island, and the river St. Lawrence cut off my communication to Gen. Montgomery's camp. I encouraged my soldiery to bravely defend themselves,

32 COL. E. ALLEN'S OBSERVATIONS,

that we should soon have help, and that we should be able to keep the ground, if no more. This, and much more, I affirmed with the greatest seeming assurance, and which in reality I thought to be in some degree proba- ble.

The enemy consisted of not more than for- ty regular troops, together with a mixed mul- titude, chiefly Canadians, with a number of English who lived in the town, and some In- dians ; in all, to the number of near five hun- dred.

The reader will notice that most of my par- ty were Canadians ; indeed it was a motley parcel of soldiery which composed both par- ties. However, the enemy began the attack from wood-piles, ditches, buildings, and such like places, at a considerable distance, and I returned the fire from a situation more than .equally advantageous. The attack began be- tween two and three of the clock in the after- noon, just before which I ordered a volun- unteer, by the name of Richard Young, * with

* The names of these subordinate traitors should be

DURING HIS CAPTIVITY. 33

a detachment of nine men as a flank guard, which, under the cover of the bank 0f the riv- er, could not only annoy the enemy, but at the same time, serve as a flank guard to the left of the main bodv.

+/

The fire continued for some time on both sides ; and I was confident that such a remote method of attack could not carry the ground, provided it should be continued 'till night : But near half the body of the enemy began to flank round to my right ; upon which I order- ed a volunteer, by the name of John Dugan, who had lived many years in Canada, and un- derstood the French language, to detach about fifty of the Canadians, and post himself at an advantageous ditch, which was on my right, to prevent my being surrounded : He advanc- ed with the detachment, but, instead of occu- pying the post, made his escape, as did like- wise Mr. Young upon the left, with their de- tachments. I soon perceived that the enemy was in possession of the ground, which Du-

handed down to posterity, in company with that of Ar- r.old.

34 COL. E. ALLEN'S OBSERVATIONS,

gan should have occupied. At this time I had but about forty five men with me ; some of whom were wounded ; the enemy kept closing round me, nor was it in my power to prevent it ; by which means, my situation, which was advantageous in the first part of the attack, ceased to be so in the last ; and, being almost entirely surrounded with such vast unequal numbers, I ordered a retreat, but found that those of the enemy, who were of the country, and their Indians, could run as fast as my men, though the regulars could not. Thus I retreated near a mile, and some of the enemy, with the savages, kept flanking me, and others crowded hard in the rear. In fine, I expected, in a very short time, to try the world of spirits : for I was apprehensive that no quarter would be given to me, and therefore had determined to sell my life as dear as I could. One of the enemy- s officers, boldly pressing in the rear, discharged his fu- see at me ; the ball whistled near me, as did many others that day. I returned the salute, and missed him, as running had putusboth out of breath ; for I conclude we were not fright-

DURING HIS CAPTIVITY. 35

eel* : I then saluted him with my tongue in a harsh manner, and told him that, inasmuch as his numbers were so far superior to mine, I would surrender, provided I could be treated with honor, and be assured of good quarter

for myself and the men who were with me :

•

and he answered I should ; another officer, coming up directly after, confirmed the trea- ty ; upon which I agreed to surrender with my party, which then consisted of thirty -one effective men, and seven wTounded. I order- ed them to ground their arms, which they did.

The officer I capitulated with, then direct- ed me and my party to advance towards him, which was done ; I handed him my sword, and in half a minute after, a savage, part of whose head was shaved, being almost naked and painted, with feathers intermixed with the hair of the other side oi his head, came run- ning to me with an incredible swiftness ; he seemed to advance with more than mortal

* The colonel appears to be willing to give his con- queror the same credit for his courage which he take* for himself, This is the Indication of a noble spirit,

G6 COL, E. ALLEN'S OBSERVATIONS,

speed ; as he approached near me, his hellish visage was beyond all description ; snakes' eyes appear innocent in comparison of his ; his features extorted ;* malice, death, mur- der, and the wrath of devils and damned spir- its are the emblems of his countenance ; and, in less than twelve feet of me, presented his firelock ; at the instant of his present, I twitched the officer, to whom I gave my sword, between me and the savage ; but he flew round with great fury, trying to single me out to shoot me without killing the officer ; but by this time I was near as nimble as he, keeping the officer in such a position that fiis danger was my defence ; but, in. less than half a minute, I was attacked by just such another imp of hell : Then I made the officer fly around with incredible velocity, for a few seconds of time, when I perceived a Canadi- an, who had lost one eye, as appeared after- wards, taking my part against the savages ; and in an instant an Irishman came to my as-

* Probably meant to be distorted ; though, from the description it would appear that his visage nad been ex- torted from some « Gorgon or chimxrQ dire,"_

DURING HIS CAPTIVITY, 37

sistance with a fixed bayonet, and drove awav

• . , •>

the fiends, swearing ^by Jasus he would kill them. This tragic scene composed my mind. The escaping from so awful a death, made even imprisonment happy ; the more so us my conquerors on the field treated me with great civility and politeness.

The regular officers said that they were very happy to see CoL Allen : I answered them, that I should rather chose to have seen them at Gen. Montgomery's camp. The gentlemen replied, that they gave full credit to what I said, and, as I walked to the town, which was, as I should guess, more than two miles, a British officer walking at my right hand, and one of the French noblesse at my left ; the latter of which, in the action, had his eyebrow carried away by a glancing shot,

but was nevertheless very merrv and face-

* *

tious, and no abuse was offered me 'till I came to the barrack-yard, at Montreal, where I met general Prescott, who asked me my name, which I told him : He then asked me,

D

58 COL. E. ALLEN'S OBSERVATIONS,

whether I was that Col. Allen, who took Ti- conderoga. I told him I was the very man : Then he shook his cane over my head, call- ing many hard names, among which he fre- quently used the word rebel, and put himself in a great rage. I told him he would do well not to cane me, for I was not accustomed to it, and shook my fist at him, telling him that was the beetle of mortality for him, if he of- fered to strike ;* upon which Capt. M' Cloud of the British, pulled him by the skirt, and whispered to him, as he afterwards told me, to this import ; that it was inconsistent with his honor to strike a prisoner. He then or- dered a sergeant's command with fixed bay- onets to come forward, and kill thirteen Cana- dians, which were included in the treaty afore- said.

It cut me to the heart to see the Canadians in so hard a case, in consequence of their having been true to me ; they were wringing

* The intrepidity of Col. Allen, it seems, did not for- sake him even in captivity ; nor could he repress the daring-ness of his spirit, even |t the moment of danger.

DURING HIS CAPTIVITY. 30

their hands, saying their prayers, as I con- cluded, and expected immediate death. 1 therefore stepped between the executioners and the Canadians, opened my clothes, and told Gen. Prescott to thrust his bayonet into my breast, for I was the sole cause of the Car nadians taking up arms.

The guard, in the mean time, rolling their eye-balls from the General to me, as though impatiently waiting his dread commands to sheath their bayonets in my heart ; I could however plainly discern, that he was in a sus- pense and quandary about the matter : This gave rnc additional hopes of succeeding ; for my design was not to die, but save the Can- adians by a finesse. The general stood a minute, when he made me the following re- ply ; "I will not execute you new ; but you shall grace a halter at Tyburn, God damn you."*

* This harsh reply and resolve.it seems, had less of grace, than comfort to the hero. Language like this is said to be common in the field ; but from one otncer to another, v/hen one is prisoner to the oilier, is inck'L-nsi- ble. The real hero fights for victory, and not for the oj>

40 COL. E. ALLEN'S OBSERVATIONS,

I remember I disdained his mentioning

such a place ; I was, notwithstanding, a lit- tle pleased with the expression,* as it signifi- cantly conveyed to me the idea of postponing the present appearance of death ; besides his sentence was by no means final, as to " grac- ing a halter, although I had anxiety about it after I landed in England, as the reader will

•i

find in the course of this history. Gen. Pres- cott then ordered one of his officers to take me on board the Gaspee schooner of war, and confine me, hands and feet, in irons, which was done the same afternoon I was taken. The action continued an hour and three quarters, by the watch, and I know not to this day how many of my men were killed, though I am certain there were but few ! if I remember right, seven were wounded ; one cf them, William Stewart, by name, was

pT>rtunity of exercising a talent of Billingsgate, at which the meanest soldier in his army is his superior.

* This is giving the reader no very favorable idea of the eligibility of the hero's situation. If a halter at a distance could shed over his mind a ray of comfort, de- plorable, indeed, must have been his fortune at that time.

DURING HIS CAPTIVITY. 41

wounded by a savage with a tomahawk, after he was taken prisoner and disarmed, but was rescued by some of the generous enemy ; and so far recovered of his wounds, that he afterwards went with the other prisoners to England.

Of the enemy were killed, a major Garden., who had been wounded in eleven different battles, and an eminent merchant, Patterson,, of Montreal, and some others, but I never knew their whole loss, as their accounts were different. I am apprehensive that it is rare, that so much ammunition was expended, and so little execution done by it; though such of my party as stood the ground, behaved with great fortitude, much exceeding that of the enemy, but were not the best of marks- men, and, I am apprehensive, were all killed or taken ; the wounded were all put into the hospital at Montreal, and those that were not, were put on board of different vessels in the river, and shackled together by pairs, viz. two men fastened together by one hand-cuff,

o «/

being closely fixed to one wrist of each of

D o

j»> **t

42 COL. E. ALLEN'S OBSERVATIONS,

them, and treated with the greatest severity, nay as criminals.

I now come to the description of the irons, which were put on me : The hand-cuff was of a common size, and form, but my leg irons, I should imagine, would weigh thirty pounds ; the bar was eight feet long, and very sub- stantial ; the shackles, which encompassed my ancles, were very tight. I was told byvthe officer, who put them on, that it was the king's plate, and I heard other of their officers say, that it would weigh forty weight. The irons were so close upon my ancles, that I could not lie down in any other manner than on my back. I was put into the lowest and most wretched part of the vessel, where I got the favor of a chest to sit on ; the same answer- ed for my bed at night ; and having procur- ed some little blocks of the guard, who day and night, with fixed bayonets, watched over me, to lie under each end of the large bar of my leg irons, to preserve my ancles from gall- ing, while I sat on the chest, or lay back on the same, though most of the time, night and day, I sat on it ; but at length, having a de-

DURING HIS CAPTIVITY. 43

sire to lie down on my side, which the close- ness of the irons forbid, I desired the captain to loosen them for that purpose ; but was de- nied the favor :* The Captain's name was Royal, who did not seem to be an ill-natured rnan ; but oftentimes said, that his express orders were to treat me with such severity, which was disagreeable to his own feelings ; nor did he ever insult me, though many oth- ers, who came on board, did. One of the offi- cers, by the name of Bradley, was very gener- ous to me ; he would often send me victuals from his own table ; nor did a day fail, but that he sent me a good drink of grog.f

The reader is now invited back to the time I was put into irons. I requested the privi- lege to write to Gen. Prescott, which was

* The reader will call to mind the merciless manacles and cruel trapping s of Trenk. The colonel's sufferings however could not be compared, in point of severity, with those of the unhappy prisoner of Magdeburg.

f This little favour, though scarcely of more value than a " cup of w ater," has "met its reward" in the grateful mention which the hero makes of it in this NARRATIVE. All the return which the obliged could make for this simple benefaction is in conveying the name of the generous donor to those of posterity who may chance to peruse this effusion of his gratitude.

44 COL. E. ALLEN'S OBSERVATIONS,

granted. I reminded him of the kind and

generous manner of rny treatment of the pris-

;

oners I took at Ticonderoga ; the injustice and ungentleman-like usage, which I had met with from him, and demanded gentleman-like usage, but received no answer from him. I soon after wrote to Gen. Carlton, which met the same success. In the mean while many of those who were permitted to see me, were very insulting.

I was confined in the manner I have related, on board the Gaspee schooner, about six weeks ; during which time I was obliged to throw out plenty of extravagant language, which answered certain purposes, at that time, better than to grace a history.

To give an instance upon being insulted, in a fit of anger I twisted off a nail with my teeth, which I took to be a ten-penny nail ; it went through the mortise of the bar of my hand-cuff, and at the same time I swag- gered over those who abused me ; particu- larly a Doctor Dace, who told me that I was outlawed by New- York, and deserved death for several years past ; was at last fully ripen-

DURING HIS CAPTIVITY. 45

ed for the halter, and in a fair way to obtain it : When I challenged him, he excused him- self in consequence, as he said, of my being a criminal ; but I flung such a flood of lan- guage at him that it shocked him and the spectators, for my anger was very great. I heard one say, damn him, can he eat iron ? Af- ter that a small padlock was fixed to the hand- cuff, instead of the nail ; and as they were mean-spirited in their treatment to me, so it appeared to me, that they were equally tim- orous and cowardly.*

I was after sent writh the prisoners taken with me to an armed vessel in the river, which lay off against Quebec, under the com- mand of Capt. M'Cloud, of the British, who treated me in a very generous and obliging manner, and according to my rank ; in about twenty-four hours I bid him farewel with re-

* The reader may, perhaps, excuse the timidity of the spectators at witnessing this extraordinary feat of the colonel ; as it might reasonably be supposed to ex- cite astonishment and terror ; and we may pardon Dr. Dace for shewing any reluctance to engage with a pa- tient of so potent a digestion as he must have supposed him to be, if he could " eat iron."

46 COL. E. ALLEN'S OBSERVATIONS,

gret ; but my good fortune still continued ; The name of the Capt. of the vessel I was put on board, was Littlejohn ; who, with his offi- cers, behaved in a polite, generous, and friend- ly manner. I lived with them in the cabin, and fared on the best, my irons being taken off, contrary to the order he had received from the commanding officer ; but Capt. Little- John swore, that a brave man should not be used as a rascal, on board his ship.

Thus I found myself in possession of hap- piness once more, and the evils, I had lately suffered, gave me an uncommon relish for it.

Capt. Littlejohn used to go to Quebec al- most every day, in order to pay his respects to certain gentlemen and ladies ; being there on a certain day, he happened to meet with some disagreeable treatment, as he imagined, from a Lieut, of a man of war, and one word, brought on another, 'till the Lieut, challeng- ed him to a duel on the plains of Abraham. Capt. Littlejohn was a gentleman, who en- tertained a high sense of honor, and could do no less than accept the challenge.

At nine o'clock the next morning they were

DURING HIS "CAPTIVITY. 47

to fight. The Capt. returned in the evening, and acquainted his Lieut, and me with the affair : His Lieut, was a high blooded Scotch- man as well as himself, who replied to his Capt. that he should not want for a second. With this I interrupted him and gave the Capt. to understand that, since an opportuni- ty had presented, I would be glad to testify my gratitude to him, by acting the part of a faithful second, on which he gave me his hand, and said that he wanted no better man. Says he, I am a King's officer, and you a prisoner under my care ; you must therefore go with me to the place appointed in disguise, and added farther ; "You must engage me, upon the honor of a gentleman, that, whether I die or live, or whatever happens, provided you live, that you will return to my Lieut, on board this ship." All this I solemnly engag- ed him. The combatants were to discharge each a pocket pistol, and then to fall on with their iron-hilted muckle whangers ; and one of that sort was allotted for me ; but some British officers, who interposed early in the

48 COL. E. ALLEN'S OBSERVATIONS,

morning, settled the controversy without fighting.

Now having enjoyed eight or nine days' happiness, from the polite and generous treat- ment of Cap t. Littlejohn and his officers, I was obliged to bid them fare we!, parting with them in as friendly a manner as we had lived together, which, to the best of my memory, was the eleventh of November : When a de- tachment of Gen. Arnold's little army appear- ed on point Levy,* opposite Quebec, who had performed an extraordinary march through a wilderness country, with design to have surprized the capital of Canada ; I was then taken on board a vessel called the Adamant, together with the prisoners taken with me, and put under the power of an Eng- lish merchant from. London, whose name was Brook Watson : a man of malicious and cruel disposition, and who was probably excited, in the exercise of his malevolence, by a junto of tories, who sailed with him to England;

* Levl, a point of land in the river St, Lawrence, op-, to the city of Quebec.

DURING HIS CAPTIVITY.

among whom were Col. Guy Johnson, CoL Closs, and their attendants and associates, to the number of about thirty.

All the ship's crew, Col. Closs, in his per- sonal behavior excepted, behaved towards the prisoners with that spirit of bitterness, which is the peculiar characteristic of to- ries, when they have the friends of Amer- ica in their power, measuring their loy- alty to the English King by the barbarity, fraud, and deceit which they exercise towards the whigs.

A small place in the vessel, enclosed with white-oak plank, was assigned for the prison- ers, and for me among the rest. I should imagine that it was not more than twenty feet one way, and twenty two the other : In- to this place we were all, to the number of thirty four, thrust and hand-cuffed, two pris- oners more being added to our number, and were provided with two excrement tubs ; in this circumference we were obliged to eat and perform the offices of evacuation, during the voyage to England ; and were insulted by ev-

E

50 COL. E. ALLEN'S OBSERVATIONS,

ery black- guard sailor and tory on board, in the cruellest manner ; but what is the most surprizing is, that not one of us died in the passage. When I was first ordered to go into the filthy enclosure, through a small sort of door, I positively refused, and endeavour- ed to reason the before named Brook Watson out of a conduct so derogatory to every senti- ment of honor and humanity, but all to no purpose, my men being forced in the den al- ready ; and the rascal who had the charge of the prisoners commanded me to go immedi- ately in among the rest : He farther added that the place was good 'enough for a rebel ; that it was impertinent for a capital offender to talk of honor or humanity ; that any thing short of a halter, was too good for me ; and that that would be my portion soon after I landed in England ; for which purpose only T was sent thither. About the same time a Lieut, among the tories, insulted me in a grievous manner, saying that I ought to have been executed for my rebellion against New- York, and spit in my face ; upon which, though I was hand- cuffed, I sprang at him

DURING HIS CAPTIVITY. 51

with both hands, and knocked him partly down, but he scrambled along into the cabin, and I after him ; there he got under the .pro- tection of some men, with fixed bayonets, who were ordered to make ready to drive me in- to the place aforementioned. I challenged him to fight, notwithstanding the impedi- ments that were on my hands, and had the .exalted pleasure to see tb« rascal tremble for

ir~

fear ; his name I hv.ve -forgot, but Watson Bordered his guard to get me into the place with the other prisoners, dead or alive ; and I had almost as lieve die as do it, standing- it out till they environed me round with bay- Donets ; and brutish, prejudiced, abandoned wretches they were, from whom I could ex- pect nothing but death or wounds : Howev- er, I told them, that they were good honest fellows ; that I could not blame them ; that I was only in a dispute with a calicoe mer- chant, who knew not how to behave towards a gentleman of the military establishment. This was spoke rather to appease them for my own preservation, as well as to treat Wat- son with contempt ; but still I found that

52 COL, E. ALLEN'S OBSERVATIONS,

they were determined to force me into the wretched circumstances, which their preju- diefed, and depraved minds had prepared for me ; Therefore, rather than die, I submitted to their indignities, being drove with bayon- ets into the filthy dungeon, with the other prisoners, where we were denied fresh water, except a small allowance, which was very in- adequate to our wants ; and, in consequence of the stench of the place, each of us was soon followed with a diarrhoea and fever, which oc- casioned an intolerable thirst. When we asked for water, we wrere, most commonly, instead of obtaining it, insulted and derided ; and, to add to all the horrors of the place, it was so dark that we could not see each oth- er, and were overspread with body lice. We had, notwithstanding these severities, full al- lowance of salt provisions, and a gill of rum per day ; the latter of which was of the utmost service to us, and, probably, was the means of saving several of our lives. About forty days we existed in this manner, when the land's end of England was discovered from the mast head ; soon after which the prison*

DURING HIS CAPTIVITY. 53

rrs were taken from their gloomy abode, be- ing permitted to see the light of the sun, and breathe fresh air, which to us was very re- freshing. The day following we landed at Falmouth.*

A few days before I was taken prisoner, I shifted my clothes, by which I happened to be taken in a Canadian dress, viz. a short fawn skin jacket, double breasted, an under- vestand breeches of sa^atbv, worsted stock-

•> *

ings, a decent pair of shoes, two plain shirts, and a red worsted cap : This was all the clothing I had. in which I made my appear- ance in England.

When the prisoners were landed, multL tildes of the citizens of Falmouth, excited by

* This description of the sufferings of Col. Allen In- duces one to execrate the perpetrators. Such cruelties are nt only for the vilest of criminals. The brave should respect the brave. But, in all offices, there maybe found individuals who dishonor their stations. We are un- willing to believe that such treatment ought to stigma- tize a whole nation generally; the powtr of these offi- cers was abused ; and we see Man

«' Dress' d in a little brief authority, Commit such vile offs.ice against high Heav«^ As make the angels weep/'

E 2

54 COL. E. ALLEN'S OBSERVATIONS,

curiosity, crowded together to see us, which was equally gratifying to us. I saw numbers of people on the tops of houses, and the ris- ing adjacent grounds were covered with them of both sexes : The throng was so great, that the King's officers were obliged to draw their swords, and force a passage to Pendennis castle, which was near a mile from the town, where we were closely confined, in conse- quence of orders from Gen. Carlton, who then commanded in Canada.

The rascally Brook Watson then set out for London in great haste, expecting the re- ward of his zeal ; but the ministry received Mm, as I have been since informed, rather coolly ; for the minority in parliament took advantage, arguing that the opposition of A- merica to Great Britain, was not a rebellion : If it is, say they, why do you not execute Col. Allen, according to law ? but the major- ity argued, that I ought to be executed, and that the opposition was really a rebellion, but that policy obliged them not to do it, inas- much as the Congress had then most prison- ers in their power ; so that my being sent to

DURING HIS CAPTIVITY. 55

England, for the purpose of being executed,

0

and necessity restraining them, was rather afoil on their laws and authority, and they conse- quently disapproved of my being sent thith- er : But I never had heard the least hint of those debates, in parliament, or of the working of their policy, till some time after I left England.

Consequently the reader will readily con- ceive I was anxious about my preservation, knowing that I was in the power of a haughty and cruel nation, considered as such. There- fore, the first proposition which I determined in my own mind was, that humanity and moral suasion would not be consulted in the determining of my fate ; and those that dai- ly came in great numbers, out of curiosi- ty, to see me, both gentle and simple, united in this, that I would be hanged. A gentle- man from America, by the name of Temple,* and who was friendly to me, just whispered

* The colonel, we think, would have done well to have been a little more careful in preserving the Christian names of his occasional benefactors ; as the historian is better pleased in recording one act of such generosity than twenty instances of abuse.

56 COL. E. ALLEN'S OBSERVATIONS,

me in the ear, and told me, that bets were laid in London, that I would be executed ; he likewise privately g?,ve me a guinea, but durst say but little to me.

However, agreeable to my first negative proposition, that moral virtue would not in- fluence niy destiny, I had recourse to strata- gem, which I was in hopes would move in the circle of their policy. I requested of the commander of the castle the privilege of writ- ing to Congress, who, after consulting with an officer that lived in town, of a superior rank, permitted me to write. I wrote, in the fore part of the letter, a short narrative of my ill treatment ; but withal let them know that, though I was treated as a criminal in Eng- land, and continued in irons, together with those taken with me, yet it was in conse- quence of the orders which the commander of the castle received from General Carlton ; and therefore desired Congress to desist from matters of retaliation, till they should know the result of the government in England, res- pecting their treatment towards me, and the prisoners with me, and govern themselves

DURING HI 3 CAPTIVITY. 57

accordingly, with a particular request, that if retaliation should be found necessary, it might be exercised not according to the smallness of my character in America, but in proportion to the importance of the cause for which I suffered — This is, according to my present recollection, the substance of the letter, in- scribed, To the ilhi'striom Continental Congress. This letter was wrote with a view that it should be sent to the ministry at London, rather than to Congress, with a design to in- timidate the haughty English government, and screen my neck from the halter.

The next day the officer, from whom I ob- tained licence to write, came to see me, and frowned on me on account of the impudence of the letter, as he phrased it, and further add- ed, " Do you think that we are fools in Eng- land, and would send your letter to Congress, with instructions to retaliate on our own peo- ple ? I have sent your letter to Lord North. 5: This gave me inward satisfaction, though I carefully concealed it with a pretended resent- ment, for I found I had come Yankee over him, and that the letter had gone to the iden-

58 COL. E. ALLEN'S OBSERVATIONS,

tical person I designed it for. Nor do I know, to this day, but that it had the desired effect, though I have not heard any thing of the letter since.

My personal treatment bv Lieut. Hamilton,

•/ X «/

who commanded the castle, was very gener- ous. He sent me every day a fine breakfast and dinner from his own table, and a bottle of good wine. Another aged gentleman, whose name I cannot recollect, sent me a good sup- per : But there was no distinction in public ^upport between me and the privates ; we all lodged on a sort of Dutch bunks, in one common apartment, and were. allowed straw. The privates were well .supplied with fresh provision, and with me, took effectual meas- ures to rid ourselves of lice.

I could not but feel, inwardly, extremely anxious for my fate. This I however con- cealed from the prisoners, as well as from the enemy, who were perpetually shaking the halter at me. I nevertheless treated them with scorn and contempt : and, having sent my letter to the ministry, could conceive of nothing more in my power but to keep up

DURING HIS CAPTIVITY. 59

my spirits, behave in a daring, soldier-like manner, that I might exhibit a good sample of American fortitude.* Such a conduct, I judged, would have a more probable tenden- cy to my preservation than concession and timidity. This, therefore, was my deport- ment ; and I had lastly determined, in my own mind, that if a cruel death must inevita- bly be my portion, I would face it undaunt- ed ; and, though I greatly rejoice that I have returned to my country and friends, and to see the power and pride of Great Britain humbled ; yet I am confident I could then have died without the least appearance of dismay.

I now clearly recollect that my mind was so resolved, that I would not have trembled or shewn the least fear, as I was sensible it could not alter my fate, nor do more than re-

* The British must doubtless have had a high idea of the personal prowess of Col. Allen ; and however supe- rior their regular discipline might have appeared in their own eyes, yet they could not but respect the cour- age of an enemy. To this intrepid spirit, and to the es- teem it must have excited, the colonel probably owes his complimentary meals, and his daily bottle of wine.

60 COL. E. ALLEN'S OBSERVATIONS,

proach my memory, make my last act despi- cable to my enemies, and eclipse the other actions of my life. For I reasoned thus, that nothing was more common than for men to die with their friends around them, weeping and lamenting over them, but not able to help them, which was in reality not different in the consequence of it from such a death as I was apprehensive of ; and, as death was the natural consequence of animal life to which the laws of nature subject mankind, to be

»J ™

timorous and uneasy as to the event or man- ner of it, was inconsistent with the character of a philosopher or soldier. The cause I was engaged in, I ever viewed worthy hazarding my life for, nor was I, in the most critical mo- ments of trouble, sorry that I engaged in it ; and, as to the world of spirits, though I knew nothing of the mode or manner of it, I ex- pected nevertheless, when I should arrive at such a world, that I should be as well treated as other gentlemen of my merit.

Among the great numbers of people, who came to the castle to see the prisoners, some gentlemen told me? that they had come fifty

DURING HIS CAPTIVITY. 61

miles on purpose to see me, and desired to ask me a number of questions, and to make free with me in conversation. I gave for an- swer, that I chose freedom in every sense of the word : Then one of them asked me what my occupation in life had been ? I answered him, that in my younger days I had studied divinity, but was a conjurer by profession. He replied, that I conjured wrong at the ti. that I was taken ; and I was obliged to ovrii, that I mistook a figure at that time, but that I had conjured them out of Ticonderoga. This was a place of great notoriety in Eng- land, so that the joke seemed to go in my fa- vour.

It was a common thing for me to be taken out of close confinement, into a spacious green in the castle, or rather parade, where num- bers of gentlemen and ladies were ready to see and hear me. I often entertained such audiences with harrangues on the Impractica- bility of Great Britain's conquering the then colonies of America. At one cf these times I asked a gentleman for a bowl of punch, and

he ordered his servant to bring it, which he

F

62 COL. E. ALLEN'S OBSERVATIONS,

did, and offered it to me, but I refused to take it from the hand of his servant ; he then gave it to me with his own hand, refusing to drink with me in consequence of my being a state criminal : However, I took the punch and drank it all down at one draught, and handed the gentleman the bowl : This made the spectators as well as myself merry.*

I expatiated on American freedom : This gained the resentment of a young beardless gentleman of the company,! who gave him- self very great airs, and replied, that he " knew the Americans very well, and was certain that they could not bear the smell of powder. I replied, that I accepted it is a challenge, and was ready to convince hirn on the spot, that an American could bear the smell of powder ; at which he answered that he should not put himself on a par with me,

* Those, who are acquainted with the exhilarating ef- fect of this delicious beverage, can easily give credit to this assertion of our hero.

t Probably some London cockney. There are peo- •pic- of this description in all countries, ready to mock at misfortune, and insult the wretched.

DURING KIS CAPT I VI TV. 63

I then demanded of him to treat the charact- er of the Americans with due respect. He answered that I was an Irishman ; but I as- sured him, that I was a full blooded Yankee, and, in fine, bantered him so much, that he left me in possession of the ground, and the lau gh went against him. Two clergymen came to see me, and, inasmuch as they be- haved with civility, I returned them the same : We discoursed on several parts of moral philosophy and Christianity; and they seemed to be surprised, that I should be ac- quainted with such topics, or that I should understand a syllogism, or regular mode of argumentation. I am apprehensive my Ca- nadian dress contributed not a little to the surprise, and excitement of curiosity : to see a gentleman in England, regularly dressed and v/ell behaved, would be no sight at all ; but such a rebel, as they were pleased to call me, it is probable, was never before seen in England.

The prisoners were landed at Falmouth a few days before Christmas, and ordered on board of the Solebay frigate, Capt. Symonds,

64 COL. E. ALLEN'S OBSERVATIONS, the eighth day of January. 1776, when cur

O » v *

hand irons were taken off. This remove vv?.s in consequence, as I have been since in- formed, of a writ of habeas corpus, which had been procured by some gentlemen in England, in order to obtain me my liberty.

The Sole-bay, with sundry other men of -.-. -:ir, and about forty transports, rendezvous- ed at the cove of Cork in Ireland, to take in provision and water.

When we were first brought on board, Capt. Symonds ordered all the prisoners, and most of the hands on board, to go on the deck, and caused to be read, in their hearing, i certain code of laws, or rules for the regu- lation and ordering of their behavior ; and iicn, in a sovereign manner, ordered the pris- oners,, me in particular, off the deck, and never to come on it again ; for, said he, this Is a place for gentlemen to walk. So I

•nt off, an officer following me, who told

me, that he would shew me the place allotted

for me, and took me down to the cable

tire, saying to me, this is your place.

Prior to this I had taken cold, by which \

DURING HIS CAPTIVITY. 65

t-

was in an ill state of health, and did not say much to the officer ; but staved there that

V

night, consulted my policy, and found I was in an evil case ; that a Capt. of a man of wi..r was more arbitrary than a King, as he could view his territory with a look of his eye, and a movement of his finger commanded obedi- ence. I felt myself more desponding than I had done at any time before ; for I concluded it to be a governmental scheme, to do that clandestinely which policy forbid to bfe done under sanction of public justice and law.*

However, two days after I shaved and

* «

cleansed myself as well as I could, and went on deck. The Capt. spoke to me in a great rage, and said, " Did I not order you not to

••

come on deck ?" I answered him, that at the same time he said, " That it was the place for gentlemen to walk ; that I was Col. Al- len, but had not been properly introduced to him." He replied, " G-d damn you, Sir, be careful not to walk the same side of the deck

* The colonel, smarting under such treatment, may- be excused, iri some measure, for "wishing to confound the abuse of officers with that of the government.

F 2

66 COL. E. ALLEN'S OBSERVATIONS,

that I do. " This gave me encouragement, and ever after that I walked in the manner he had directed, except when he, at certain times afterwards, ordered me off in a passion, and I then would directly afterwards go on again, telling him to command his slaves ; that I was a gentleman, and had a right to walk the deck ; yet when he expressly ordered me off, I obeyed, not out of obedience to him, but to set an example to his ship's crew, who ought to obey him.

V

To walk to the windward side of the deck is, according to custom, the prerogative of the Capt. of the man of war, though he, often- times, nay commonly, walks with his lieuten- ants, when no strangers are by : When a Capt. from some other man of war, comes on board, the Capts. walk to the windward side, and the other gentlemen to the leeward.

It was but a few nights I lodged in the ca- ble tire, before I gained an acquaintance v/ith the master of arms ; his name was Gil- legan. an Irishman, who was a generous and well disposed man, and, in a friendly manner made me an offer of living with him, in a little

DURING HIS CAPTIVITY. 67

birth, which was allotted him between decks, and enclosed with canvas ; his preferment on board was about equal to that of a sergeant in a regiment. I was comparatively happy in the acceptance of his clemency, and lived with him in friendship, till the frigate an- chored in the harbor of cape Fear, North- Car- olina, in America.

Nothing of material consequence happened till the fieet rendezvoused at the cove of Cork, except a violent storm which brought old hardy sailors to their prayers, It was soon rumoured in Cork that I was on board the Solebay, with a number of prisoners from A- merioa ; upon which Messrs. Clark and Hays, merchants in company, and a number of oth- er benevolently disposed gentlemen, contrib- uted largely to the relief and support of the prisoners, who were thirty-four in number, and in very needy circumstances. A suit of clothes from head to foot, including an over coat, or surtout, and two shirts, were bestow- ed on each of them. My suit I received in superfine broadcloths, sufficient for two jack- ets, and two pair of breeches overplus of a

63 COL. E. ALLEN'S OBSERVATIONS,

suit throughout, eight fine Holland shirts and stocks ready made, with a number of pairs of silk and worsted hose, two pair of shoes, two beaver hats, one of which was sent me richly laced with gold, by Mr. James

m

Bonwell. The Irish gentlemen furthermore made a large gratuity of wines of the best sort, old spirits, Geneva, loaf and brown su- gar, coffee, tea and chocolate, with a large round of pickled beef, and a number of fat turkies, with many other articles, for my sea stores, too tedious to mention here. To the privates they bestowed on each man two pounds of tea, and six pounds of brown su- gar. These articles were received on board, at a time when the Capt. and first Lieut, were gone on shore, by permission of the second Lieut, a handsome young gentleman, who was then under twenty years of age ; his name was Douglass, the son of Admiral Douglass, as I was informed.

As this munificence was so unexpected and plentiful, I may add needful, it impressed on my mind the highest sense of gratitude to- wards my benefactors ; for I was not only

DURING HIS CAPTIVITY. 69

x

supplied with the necessaries an.d convenien- ces of life, but with the grandeurs and super- fluities of it. Mr. Hays, one of the dona- tors before mentioned, came on board, and behaved in the most obliging manner, telling me, that he hoped my troubles were past ; for that the gentlemen of Cork determined to make my sea-stores equal to those of the Capt. of the Solebay's ; he made an offer of live stock and wherewith to support them; but Iknewthis would be denied : And to crown all, did send to me by another person fifty guineas, but I could not reconcile receiving the whole to my own feelings, as it might have the appear- ance of avarice ; and therefore received but seven guineas only ; and am confident, not only from the exercise of the present well- timed generosity, but from a large acquaint- ance with gentlemen of this nation, that as a people they excel in liberality and bravery.*

. * This tribute to the generosity of the Irish charac- ter is well merited. Except among the lowest and most ignorant, hospitality and generosity are proverbial ; and though a degree of ridicule is cast over the national character, by applying to them the commission of rno>t of the bulls which are current among us, yet the well

70 COL. E. ALLEN'S OBSERVATIONS,

Two days after the receipt of the aforesaid donations, Capt. Symonds came onboard, fall of envy towards the prisoners, and swore by all that is good, that the damned American rebels should not be feasted at this rate, by the damned rebels- of Ireland ; he therefore took away all my liquors before-mentioned, except some of the wine which was secreted, and a two gallon jug of old spirits which was reserved for me, per favour of Lieut. Doug- lass. The taking of my liquors was abomin- able in his sight ; he therefore spoke in my behalf, till the Capt. was angry with him ; and, in consequence, proceeded and took away all the tea and sugar, which had been given to the prisoners, and confiscated it to the use of the ship's crew. Our clothing was not taken away, but the privates were forced to do duty on board. Soon after this there came a boat to the side of the ship, and Capt. Symonds asked a gentleman who was in it, in my hearing, what his business was ? who

informed of all countries do them justice by allowing that th.-y do not fall short of other nations, in literary, philosophical and other attainments.

DURING HIS CAPTIVITY. 71

answered that he was sent to deliver some sea-stores to Col. Allen, which, if I remem- ber right, he said were sent from Dublin ; but the Capt. damned him very heartily, ordered him away from the ship, and would not suffer him to deliver the stores. I was farthermore informed, that the gentlemen in Cork re- quested of Capt. Symonds, that I might be allowed to come into the city, and that they would be responsible I should return to the frigate at a given time, which was denied them.

We sailed from England the 8th day of January, and from the cove of Cork the 12th day of February. Just before we sailed, the prisoners with me were divided, and put on board three different ships of war. This gave me some uneasiness, for they were to a man zealous in the cause of liberty, and behaved with a becoming fortitude in the various scenes of their captivity ; but those, who were distributed on board other ships of war, were much better used than those who tarri- ed with me, as appeared afterwards* When the fleet, consisting of about forty five sail, in-

72 COL. E. ALLEN'S OBSERVATIONS,

eluding five men of war, sailed from the cove with a fresh breeze, the appearance was beau- tiful, abstracted from the unjust and bloody designs they had in view. We had not sail- ed many days, before a nrghty storm arose, which lasted near twenty-four hours without intermission : The wind blew with relentless fury, and no man could remain on deck, ex- cept he was lashed fast, for the waves roiled over the deck by turns, with a forcible rapid- ity and every soul on board was anxious for the preservation of the ship, alias their lives. In this storm the Thunder-bomb man of war sprang a leak, and was afterwards floated to some part of the coast of England, and the crew saved. We were then said to be in the bay of Biscay. After the storm abated, I could plainly discern that the prisoners were better used for some considerable time.*

The cause of the alteration is left to conjecture. Probably, however, it was from compunction for the Unwarrantable severity inflicted on the prisoners, and their alarm, during the storm, might have made them apprehensive that this war of the elements was occasion- ed by the displeasure of the Deity. Imminent danger would have a tendency to relax the iron hand of oppr-js-

DURING HIS CAPTIVITY. 73

Nothing of consequence happened after this, till we had sailed to the island of Ma- deira, except a certain favour which I receiv- ed of Capt. Symonds, in consequence of an application I made to him, for the privilege of his tailor to make me a suit of clothes of the cloth bestowed on me in Ireland, which he generously granted. I could then walk the deck with a seeming better grace. When we had reached Madeira, and anchored, sun- dry gentlemen with the Capt. went on shore, who I conclude gave the rumor that I was in the frigate ; upon which I soon after found Irish generosity was again excited ; for a gentleman of the nation sent his clerk on board, to know of me if I would accept a sea- store from him, particularly of wine. This matter I made known to the generous Lieut. Douglass, who readily granted me the favor, provided the articles could be brought on board, during the time of his command ; ad- ding that it would be a pleasure to him to serve

sion, when the breast is otherwise steeled against en* treaties, or a view of the excess of human suffering,

G

74 COL. E. ALLEN'S OBSERVATIONS?

me, notwithstanding the opposition he met with before : So I directed the gentleman's clerk to inform him, that I was greatly in need of so signal a charity, and desired the young gentleman to make the utmost dispatch, which he did ; but, in the mean time, Capt. Sy- monds and his officers came on board, and immediately made ready for sailing ; the wind at the same time being fair, set sail when the young gentleman was in fair sight with the aforesaid store.*

The reader will doubtless recollect the sev- en guineas I received at the cove of Cork : These enabled me to purchase of the purser what I wanted, had not the Capt. strictly for- bidden it, though I made sundry applications to him for that purpose ; but his answer to me, when I was sick, was, that it was no mat- ter how soon I was dead, and that he was no ways anxious to preserve the lives of reb- els, but wished them all dead ; and indeed

* This will remind the classical reader of the story of TANTALUS. The deprivation, however, must have been more severely felt by Col. Allen, in the same proportion that wine is more palatable than water.

DURING HIS CAPTIVITY,

that was the language of most of the ship's 'crew. I expostulated not only with the Capt. but with other gentlemen on board, on the unreasonableness of such usage ; infer- ring that, inasmuch as the government in England did not proceed against me as a capital offender, they should not ; for that they were by no means empowered by any authority, either civil or military, to do so ; for the English government had acquitted me by sending me back a 'prisoner of war to A- merica, and that they should treat me as such. I farther drew an inference of impolicy on them, provided they should, by hard usage, destroy my life ; inasmuch as I might, if liv- ing, redeem one of their officers ; but the Capt. replied, that he needed no directions of mine how to treat a rebel ; that the British would conquer the American rebels, hang the Congress, and such as promoted the rebel- lion, me in particular, and retake their own prisoners ; so that my life was of no conse- quence in the scale of their policy. I gave him for answer, that if they stayed till they conquered America, before they hanged me,

To COL. E. ALLEN'S OBSERVATIONS, I should die of old a?e« and desired that till

\J O '

such an event took place, he would at least allow me to purchase of the purser, for my own money, such articles as I greatly need- ed ; but he would not permit it, and wh,en I reminded him of the generous and civil us- age that their prisoners in captivity in Amer- ica met with, he said that it was not owing to their goodness, but to their timidity ; for,

O ' if *

said he, they expect to be conquered, and therefore dare not misuse our prisoners ; and in fact, this was the language of the British

' O O

officers, till Gen. Burgoyne was taken ;* hap-

* It was the plan of the British generals, to push a bccly of troops from New-York, to join general Bur- goyne at Albany, and by establishing a line of British posts on the Hudson, to intercept the intercourse be- tween the New-England and southern states. While general Burgoyne was attempting to advance towards Albany, General Clinton with a force of three thousand men took possession of fort Montgomery, after severe loss. General Vaughan, with a body of troops, on board of armed ships sailed, up the Hudson, as far as Livings- ton's manor, where he landed a party, burnt a large house belonging to one of the family ; then sent a party to the opposite shore and laid in ashes the town of Kings- ton. But general Burgoyne, despairing of the junction. between his army and the division from New-York, sur- rounded by a superior army, and unable to retreat, con- sented to capitulate, and on the 17th of October, sur-

DURING HIS CAPTIVITY. 77

py event ! and not only of the officers, but of the whole British army. I appeal to all my brother prisoners, who have been with the British in the southern department, for a confirmation of what I have advanced on this subject. The surgeon of the Solebay, whose name is North, was a very humane obliging man, and took the best care of the prisoners who were sick.

The third day of May we cast anchor in the harbor of Cape Fear,* in North-Caroli- na, as did Sir Peter Parker's ship, of fifty guns, a little back of the bar ; for there was no depth of water for him to come into th harbour : These two men of war, and four

rendered to the American general. The detachment under general Vaughan returned to New-York and the plan of the British commanders was totally frustrated,

. iV-

* Cape Fear, is the southern point of Smith's Island which divides the mouth of Cape Fear river into two channels, on the coast of North-Carolina ; S. W. of Cape Look Out, and remarkable for a dangerous shoal called the Frying Pan, from its form. A light house stands at the mouth of the river. It bears W.N. W. from the point of the Cape, four miles distant. Near this cape is Johnson's Fort, in Brunswick county, and district of Wilmington. North latitude 33, 32— -west longitude 73, 25. [Worse's Gazciicsr,

G 2

78 COL. E. ALLEN'S OBSERVATIONS,

teen sail of transports and others, came after, so chat most of the fleet rendesvoused at cape Fear, for three weeks. The soldiers on board the transports were sickly, in conse- quence of so long a passage ; add to this, the small pox carried off many of them : They landed on the main, and formed a camp; but the riflemen annoyed them, and caused them to move to an island in the harbour ; but such cursing of riflemen I never heard. A detachment of regulars was sent up Brunswick river ; as they landed, they were fired on by those marksmen, and they came back next day damning the rebels for their

• o

unmanly way of fighting, and swearing that they would give no quarter, for they took sight at them, and were behind timber, skulk- ing about. One cf the detachments said they lost one man ; but a negro man who

was with them, and heard what was said soon

*

after told me that he helped to bury thirty- one of them : This did me some good to find my countrymen giving them battle ; for I never heard such swaggering as among Gen. Clinton's little army, who commanded at that

DURING HIS CAPTIVITY. 79

time ; and I am apt to think there wrere four thousand men, though not two thirds of them fit for duty. I heard 'numbers of them say, that the trees in America should hang well with fruit that campaign for they would give no quarter : This was in the mouths of most who I heard speak on the subject, officer as well as soldier. I wished at that time my countrymen knew, as well as I did, what a murdering and cruel enemy they had to deal with ; but experience has since taught this country, what they are to expect at the hands of Britons when in their power.

The prisoners, who had been sent on board different men of war at the cove of Cork, were collected together, and the \vhole of them put on board the Mercury frigate, Capt. James Montague, except one of the Canadi- ans, who died on the passage from Ireland, and Peter Noble, who made his escape from the Sphynx man of war in this harbour, and, by extraordinary swimming, got safe home to New- England, and gave intelligence of the usage of his brother prisoners. The Mer- cury set sail from this port for Halifax, about

80 COL. E. ALLEN'S OBSERVATIONS,

the 20th of May, and Sir Peter Parker was about to sail with the land forces, under the command of Gen. Clinton, for the reduction of Charleston, the capital of South- Carolina, and when I heard of his defeat in Halifax, it gave me inexpressible satisfaction.

I now found myself under a worse Capt. than Symonds ; for Montague was loaded with prejudices against every body, and ev- ery thing that was not stamped with royalty ; and, being by nature under witted, his wrath was heavier than the others, or at least his mind was in no instance liable to be diverted by good sense, humour or bravery, of which Symonds was by turns susceptible. A Capt. Francis Proctor was added to our number of prisoners when we were first put on board this ship : This gentleman had formerly be- longed to the English service. The Capt. and, in fine, all the gentlemen of the ship, were very much incensed against him, and put him in irons without the least provoca- tion, and he was continued in this miserable situation about three months. In this pas- sage the prisoners were infected with the

DURING HIS CAPTIVITY. 81

scurvy, some more and some less, but mo.-,: of them severely. The ship's crew was to a great degree troubled with it, and I conclud- ed that it was catching : Several of the crew died \vith it on their passage. I was weak and feeble in consequence of so long and cruel a captivity, yet had but little of the scurvy.

The purser was again expressly forbid by the Capt. to let me have any thing out of his store ; upon which I went on deck, and, in the handsomest manner requested the favour of purchasing a few necessaries of the purser, which was denied me ; he farther told rne, that I should be hanged as soon as I arrived at Halifax. I tried to reason the matter with him, but found him proof against reason ; I also held up his honor to view, and his be- havior to me and the prisoners in general, as being derogatory to it, but found his honor impenetrable. I then endeavored to touch his humanity, but found he had none ; for his prepossession of bigotry to his own party, had confirmed him in an opinion, that no hu- manity was due to unroyalists, but seemed

82 COL. E. ALLEN'S OBSERVATIONS,

to think that heaven and earth were made merely to gratify the King and his creatures ; he uttered considerable unintelligible and grovelling ideas, a little tinctured with Mon- archy, but stood well to his text of hanging me. He afterwards forbade his surgeon to administer any help to the sick prisoners.* I was every night shut down in the cable tire, with the rest of the prisoners, and we all liv- ed miserably while under his power : But I received some generosity from several of the midshipmen, who in degree alleviated my misery ; one of their names was Putrass, the names of the others I do not recollect ; but they were obliged to be private in the bestow- ment of their favour, which was sometimes good wine bitters, and at others, a generous drink of grog.

Some time in the first week of June, we came to anchor at the Hook off New- York,

* This, if Col. Allen was not under a mistake, must have been the acme of inhumanity. For the honour of human nature, we trust it is. He must be a monster, , who could issue commands of so brutal a nature.

DURING HIS CAPTIVITY. 83

where we remained but three days ; in which time Gov. Tryon, Mr. Kemp, the old attor- ney Gen. of New- York, and several other perfidious and over- grown tories and land- jobbers, came on board. Tryon viewed me with a stern countenance, as I was walking on the leeward side of the deck, with the midshipmen ; and he and his companions were walking with the Capt. and Lieut, on the windward side of the same, but never spoke to me, though it is altogether probable that he thought of the old quarrel between him, the old government of New- York and the Green Mountain Boys : Then they went with the Capt. into the cabin, and the same afternoon returned on board a vessel which lay ijear the Hook, where at that time they took sanctuary from the resentment of their injured country. What passed between the officers of the ship and these visitors I know not ; but this I know, that my treatment from the principal officers was more severe afterwards.

We arrived at Halifax not far from the middle of June, where the ship's crew, which

84 COL. E. ALLEN'S OBSERVATIONS,

was infested with the scurvy, were taken on shore, and shallow trenches dug, into which they were put, and partly covered with earth. Indeed every proper measure was taken for their relief : The prisoners were not per- mitted any sort of medicine, but were put on board a sloop which lay in the harbour, near the town of Halifax, surrounded with several men of war and their tenders, and a guard constantly set over them, night and day. The sloop we had wholly to ourselves, except the guard, who occupied the forecastle ; here we were cruelly pinched with hunger ; it seemed to me that we had not more than one third of the common allowance : We were all seized with violent hunger and faintness ;

we divided our scantv allowance as exact as

t>

possible. I shared the same fate with the rest, and, though they offered me more than an even share , I refused to accept it, as it was a time of substantial distress, which in my opinion I ought to partake equally with the rest, and set an example of virtue and forti- tude to our little commonwealth.

DURING HIS CAPTIVITY. 85

I sent letter after letter to Capt. Montague, who still had the care of us, and also to his Lieutenant, whose name I cannot call to mind, but could obtain no answer, much less a redress of grievances ; and, to add to the calamity, near a dozen of the prisoners were dangerously ill of the scurvy. I wrote private letters to the doctors, to procure, if possible, some remedy for the sick, but in vain. The chief physician came by in a boat, so close that the oars touched the sloop we were in, and I uttered my complaint in the genteelest manner to him, but he never so much as turned his head, or made me any answer, though I continued speaking till he got out of hearing. Our cause then became very deplorable. Still I kept writing to the Captain, till he ordered the guards, as they told rne, not to bring any more letters from me to him. In the mean time an event hap- pened worth relating : One of the men, al- most dead of the scurvy, lay by the side of the sloop, and, a canoe of Indians corning by, he purchased two quarts of strawberries, and

H

cbL. E. ALLEN'S oBSERVAf IONS,

ate them at once, and it almost cured him. The money he gave for them, was all the money he had in the world. After that we tried every way to procure more of that fruit, reasoning from analogy that they might have the same effect on others infested with the same disease, but could obtain none.*

Meanwhile the Doctor's mate of the Mer- cury came privately on board the prison sloop, and presented me with a large vial of smart drops, which proved to be good for the scur- vy, though vegetables and some other ingre- dients wrere requisite for a cure ; but the drops gave at least a check to the disease : This was a well-timed exertion of humanity, but the doctor's name has slipped my mind, and, in my opinion, it was the means of sav- ing the lives of several men.

The guard, which was set over us, was by this time touched with the feelings of com- passion ; and I finally trusted one of them with a letter of complaint to Governor Ar-

The acid of any other vegetable, possessing it in r-n equal degree, and taken in the same quantity, wc-v perhaps have ha.d the same curative effect,

DURING HIS CAPTIVITY. 87

buthnot, of Halifax, which he found means to communicate, and which had the desired ef- fect ; for the Governor sent an officer and surgeon on board the prison sloop, to know the truth of the complaint. The officer's name was Russel, who held the rank of Lieut, and treated me in a friendly and polite man- ner, and was really angry at the cruel and unmanly usage the prisoners met with ; and, with the surgeon, made a true report of mat- ters to Gov. Arbuthnot, who, either by his order or influence, took us next day from the prison sloop to Halifax gaol, where I first be- came acquainted with the now Hon. James Lovel, Esq. one of the members of Congress for the State of Massachusetts-Bay. The sick were taken to the hospital, and the Cana- dians, who were effective, were employed in the King's works ; and when their country- men were recovered from the scurvy ar.cl

•r

joined them, they all deserted the King's em- ploy, and were not heard of at Halifax, as long as the remainder of the prisoners contin- ued there, which was till near the middle of October, We were on board the prison-

88 COL. z. ALLEN'S OBSERVATIONS,

sloop about six weeks, and were landed at Halifax near the middle of August. Several of our English American prisoners, who were cured of the scurvy at the hospital, made their escape from thence, and after a long time reached their old habitations.

I had now but thirteen with me, of those who were taken in Canada, and remained in gaol with me in Halifax, who, in addition to those that were imprisoned before, made our number about thirty four, who were all lock- ed up in one common large room, without re- gard to rank, education, or any other accom- plishment, where we continued from the set- ting to the rising sun ; and, as sundry of them were infected with the gaol and other distempers, the furniture of this spacious room consisted principally of excrement tubs. We petitioned for a removal of the sick into the hospitals, but were denied. We remon- strated against the ungenerous usage of be- ing confined with the privates, as being con- trary to the laws and customs of nations, and particularly ungrateful in them, in conse- quence of the gentleman-like usage which

DURING HIS CAPTIVITY. 80

the British imprisoned officers met with in. America ; and thus we wearied ourselves, pe- titioning and remonstrating, but to no pur- pose at all ; for Gen. Massey, who command- ed at Halifax, was as inflexible as the Devil himself, a fine preparative this for Mr. Love!. member of the Continental Congress.

Lieut. Russel, whom I have mentioned be. fore, came to visit me in prison, and assured rne that he had done his utmost to procure my parole for enlargement ; at which a Brit- ish Captain, who was then the town-major, expressed compassion for the gentlemen confined in the filthy place, and assured me that he had used his influence to procure their enlargement ; his name was near like Ramsay. Among the prisoners there were five in number, who had a legal claim to a pa- role, viz. James Lovel, Esq. Capt. Francis Proctor, a Mr. Rowland, master of a Conti- nental armed vessel, a Mr. Taylor, his mate and myself.

•>

As to the article of provision, we were well served, much better than in any part of my

H 2

COL. E. ALLEN'S OBSERVATIONS,

captivity ; and, since it was Mr. Level's mis- fortune and mine to be prisoners, and in so wretched circimistances, I was happy that we were together as a mutual support to each other, and to the unfortunate prisoners with us. Our first attention was the preservation of ourselves and injured little republic ; the rest of our time we devoted interchangeably to politics and philosophy, as patience was a needful exercise in so evil a situation, but contentment mean and impracticable.

I had not been in this gaol many days, be. fore a worthy and charitable woman, Mrs. Blacden, byname, supplied me with a good dinner of fresh meats every day, with garden fruit, and sometimes with a bottle of wine ; notwithstanding which I had not been more than three weeks in this place, before I lost all appetite to the most delicious food, by the gaol distemper, as also did sundry of the prisoners, particularly a sergeant Moore, a man of courage and fidelity : I have several times seen him hold the boatswain of the Solebay frigate, when he attempted to strike

DURING HIS CAPTIVITY. 91

J

him, and laughed him out of conceit of using him as a slave.

A doctor visited the sick, and did the best, as I suppose, he could for them, to no ap- parent purpose. I grew weaker and weaker, as did the rest. Several of them could not help themselves. At last I reasoned in my own mind, that raw onion would be good : I made use of it, and found immediate relief by it, as did the sick in general, particularly sergeant Moore, whom it recovered almost from the shades ; though I had met with a little revival, still I found the malignant hand of Britain had greatly reduced my con- stitution with stroke upon stroke. Esquire Lovel and myself used every argument and entreaty that could be well conceived of, in order to obtain gentlemanlike usage, to no purpose. I then wrote Gen. Massey as se- vere a letter as I possibly could, with my friend Level's assistance : The contents of it was to give the British, as a nation, and him as an individual, their true character. This roused the rascal, for he could not bear to see his and the nation's deformity in that

92 COL. E. ALLEN S OBSERVATIONS,

transparent letter,* which I sent him ; he therefore put himself in a great rage about it, and shewed the letter to a number of Brit- ish officers, particularly to Capt. Smith cf the Lark frigate, who, instead of joining with him in disapprobation, commended the spirit of it; upon which Gen. Massey said to him, do you take the part of a rebel against me ? Captv Smith answered, that he rather spoke his sentiments,, and there was a dissension in opinion between them. Some officers took the part of the General, and others of the Captain : This I was informed of by a gentle- man who had it from Capt. Smith.

In a few days after this, the prisoners were ordered to go on board of a man of war, which was bound for New- York ; but two of them were not able to go on board, and were left at Halifax ; one died, and the other recovered. This was about the 12th of Oc-

We can easily excuse, if excuse be necessary, this conduct of the oppressed prisoner. After having tried persuasion, entreaty and every mild mean to have his condition ameliorated, the last resource seemingly was to pourtray his sufferings, and the abuse and cruelty which he had experienced in the most lively colours pos- sible.

DURING HIS CAPTIVITY. 93

tober, and soon after we had got on board, the Captain sent for me in particular to come on the quarter deck : I went, not knowing that it was Capt. Smith, or his ship at that time, and expected to meet the same rigor- ous usage I had commonly met with, and prepared my mind accordingly ; but when I came on deck, the Captain met me with his hand, welcomed me to his ship, invited me to dine with him that day, and assured me that I should be treated as a gentleman, and that he had given orders, that I should be treated with respect by the ship's crew. This was so unexpected and sudden a transition, that it drew tears from rny eyes, which all the ill usage I had before met with, was not able to produce, nor could I at first hardly speak, but soon recovered myself and expressed my gratitude for so unexpected a favour ; and let him know that I felt anxiety of mind in reflecting that his situation and mine was such, that it was not probable that it would ever be in my power to return tlie favour. Capt. Smith replied, that he had no reward in view, but only treated me as a gentleman

94 COL. E. ALLEN'S OBSERVATIONS, oup'lit to be treated ; he said this is a muta-

o

ble world, and one gentleman never knows but that it may be in his power to help anoth- er. Soon after I found this to be the same Capt. Smith who took my part against Gen. Massey ; but he never mentioned any thing of it to me, and I thought it impolite in me to interrogate him, as to any disputes which might have arisen between him and the Gen- eral on my account, as I w*as a prisoner, and that it was at his option to make free writh me on that subject, if he pleased ; and, if he did not, I might take it for granted that it would be unpleasing for me to query about it, though I had a strong propensity to con- verse with him on that subject.

I dined with the Captain agreeable to his invitation, and oftentimes with the Lieuten- ant, in the gun room, but in general ate and drank with my friend Lovcl and the ether gentlemen, who were prisoners with me, where I /»lso slept.

u

We had a little birth enclosed with canvas, between decks, where we enjoyed ourselves

•

very well, in hopes of an exchange ; besides,

DURING HIS CAPTIVITY. 95

our friends at Halifax had a little notice of our departure, and supplied us with spirituous liquor, and many articles of provision for the cost. Cr.pt. Burk, having been taken pris- oner, was added to our company, (he had commanded an American armed vessel) and was generously treated by the Captain and all the officers of the ship, as well as myself. We now had in all near thirty prisoners on board, and as we were sailing along the coast, if I recollect right, off Rhode -Island, Capt. Burk, with an under officer of the ship, whose name I do not recollect, came to our little birth, pro- posed to kill Capt. Smith and the principal officers of the frigate and 'take it ; adding that there were thirty five thousand pounds sterling in the same. Capt. Burk likewise averred that a strong party out of the ship's crew was in the conspiracy, and. urged me, and the gentleman that was with me, to use our influence with the private prisoners, to execute the design, and take the ship with

O ' i

the cash into one of our own ports.

.*

Upon which I replied, that we had been too well used on board to murder the officers ;

96 COL. E. ALLEN'S OBSERVATIONS,

that I could by no means reconcile it to my conscience, and that in fact it should not be clone ; and, while I was yet speaking, my friend Lovel confirmed what I had said, and farther pointed out the ungratefulness of such an act ; that it did not fall short of mur- der, and in fine all the gentlemen in the birth opposed Capt. Burk and his colleague : But they strenuously urged that the conspiracy would be found out, and that it would cost them their lives, provided they did not exe- cute their design. I then interposed spirit- edly, and put an end to farther argument on the subject, and told them that they might de- pend upon it, upon my honor, that I would faithfully guard Capt. Smith's life : If they should attempt the assault, I would assist him, for they desired me to remain neuter, and that the same honor that guarded Capt. Smith's life, would also guard theirs ; and it

f

was agreed by those present not to reveal the conspiracy, to the intent that no man should be put to death, in consequence of what had been projected; and Civpt. Burk and his col- league went to stifle the matter among

DURING HIS CAPTIVITY*

their associates. I could not help calling to mind what Capt. Smith said to me, when I first came on board : " This is a mutable world, and one gentleman never knows but that it may be in his power to help another."* Captain Smith and his officers still behaved with their usual courtesy, and I never heard any more of the conspiracy.

We arrived before New- York, and cast an- chor the latter part of October where we re- mained several days, and where Capt. Smith informed me, that he had recommended me to Adm. Howe and Gen. Sir Wm* Howe, as a gentleman of honor and veracity, and desir* ed that I might be treated as such. Capt. Burk w7as then ordered on board a prison-ship in the harbor. I took my leave of Capt, Smith, and, with the other prisoners, was

* A memorable instance this of the value of a gener* ous action. Had the conduct of Capt. Smith equalled in atrocity and cruelty that of Capt. Simonds of the Sole- bay, it is not impossible that Col. Allenj goaded by his repeated abuse, might have consented to the killing of the ship's crew. In this instance the pious reader will discern the hand of an overruling providence, who, even in this life, frequently extends to the doer of a good ac* tion its appropriate reward.

i

98 COL. E. ALLEN'S OBSERVATIONS,

sent on board a Iran sport -ship, which lay in the harbour, commanded by Capt. Craige, who took me into the cabin with him and his Lieut. I fared as they did, and was in eve- ry respect well treated, in consequence of di- rections from Capt. Smith. In a few weeks after this I had the happiness to part with my friend Lovel, for his sake, whom the enemy af- fected to treat as a private ; he was a gentle- man of merit, and liberally educated, but had no commission ; they maligned him on ac- count of his unshaken attachment to the cause of his country. He was exchanged for a Gov. Phillip Skene of the British. I was continued in this ship till the latter part of November, where I contracted an acquaint- ance with the Capt. of the British ; his name has slipped my memory. He was what we may call a genteel hearty fellow. I remem- ber an expression of his over a bottle of wine, to this import : " That there is greatness of soul for personal friendship to subsist between you and me, as we are upon opposite sides, and may at another day be obliged to face each other in the field." I am confident that

DURING HIS CAPTIVITY. 99

he was as faithful as any officer in the Brit- ish army. At another sitting he offered to bet a dozen of wine, that fort Washington would be in the hands of the British in three days. I stood the bet, and would, had I known that that would have been the case, and the third day afterwards we heard a pro- digious heavy cannonade, and that day the fort was taken sure enough. Some months after, when I was on parole, he called upon me with his usual humour, and mentioned the bet. I acknow ledged I had lost it, but he said he did not m ean to take it then, as I was a prisoner ; t hat he would another day call on me, when their army came to Ben- nington. I replied, that he was quite too generous, as I had fairly lost it : besides, the Green Mountain Boys would not suffer them to come to Bennington. This was all in good humour. I should have been glad to have seen him after the defeat at Bennington, but did not. It was customary for a guard to attend the prisoners, which was often chang- ed. One was composed of tories from Con- necticut, in the vicinity of Fairfield and Green

100 COL, E. ALLEN'S OBSERVATIONS,

Farms. The sergeant's name was Hoit. They were very full of their invectives a- gainst the country, swaggered of their loyalty to their king, and exclaimed bitterly against the " cowardly yankies," as they were pleas- ed to term them, but finally contented them- selves with saying that, when the country was overcome, they should be well reward- ed for their loyalty, out of the estates of the whigs, which would be confiscated. This I found to be the general language of tories, after I arrived from England on the Ameri- can coast. I heard sundry of them relate, that the British Generals had engaged them an ample reward for all their losses, disap- pointments and expenditures, out of the for- feited rebels' estates. This language early taught me what to do with tories' estates, as far as my influence can go. For it is really a game of hazard between whig and tory : The whigs must inevitably have lost all, in consequence of the abilities of the tories, and their good friends, the British ; and it is no more than right the tories should run the same risk, in consequence of the abilities

DURING HIS CAPTIVITY. 101

of the whigs : But of this more will be ob- served in the sequel of this narrative.

Some of the last days of November, the

*- '

prisoners were landed at New- York, and I was admitted to parole with the other offi- cers, viz. Procter, Rowland and Taylor.— The privates were put into the filthy- church- es in New-York, with the distressed prison- ers that were taken at fort Washington ; and the second night, sergeant Roger Moore, who was bold and enterprizing, found means to make his escape with every of the remain- ing: prisoners that were taken with me, ex- cept three, who were soon after exchanged ; So that, out of thirty-one prisoners, who wen* with me the round exhibited in these sheets, two only died with the enemy, and three on- ly were exchanged ; one of whom died after- he came within our lines ; all the rest, at dif- ferent times, made their escape from the en- emy.*

* The sufferings of our hero, during his captivity, though perhaps the consequence of his ov.n rashness, were brought about by an ardent zeal in the cause of lib-

T v

A .**

102 COL. E. ALLEN'S OBSERVATIONS,

I now found myself on parole, and restrict- ed to the limits of the city of New- York, where I soon projected means to live in some measure agreeable to my rank, though I was destitute of cash. My constitution was al- most worn out by such a long and barbar- ous captivity. The enemy gave out that I was crazy, and wholly unmanned, but my vitals held sound, nor was I delirious any more than I have been from youth up ; but ray extreme circumstances, at certain times, rendered it political to act in some measure the madman ; and, in consequence of a regu- lar diet and exercise, my blood recruited, and my nerves in a great measure recovered their former tone, strength and usefulness, in the course of six months.

I next invite the reader to a retrospective sight and consideration of the doleful scene of inhumanity, exercised by Gen. Sir Will- iam Howe, and the army under his command,

erty, which made him willing to run hazards which cir- cumstances would hardly justify. Had this not been {he case, he would probably have never been carried a prisoner to England.

DURING HIS CAPTIVITY. 103

towards the prisoners taken on Long-Island, on the 27th day of August, 1776 ; sundry of whom were, in an inhuman and barbarous manner, murdered after they had surrender- ed their arms ; particularly a Gen. Odel, or Woodhul, of the militia, who was hacked to pieces with cutlasses, when alive, by the light horsemen, and a Capt. Fellows, of the Conti- nental army, who was thrust through with a bayonet, of which wound he died instantly.

Sundry others were hanged up by the neck till they were dead ; five on the limb of a white oak tree, and without any reason as- signed, except that they were fighting in de- fence of the only blessing worth preserving : And indeed those who had the misfortune to fall into their hands at fort Washington, in the month of Nov. following, met with but very little better usage, except that they were reserved from immediate death to fam- ish and die with hunger ; in fine, the word rebel, applied to any vanquished persons, without regard to rank, who were in the con- tinental service, on the 27th of August afore- said, was thought, by the enemy, sufficient

104 COL. E. ALLEN'S OBSERVATIONS,

to sanctify whatever cruelties they were pleas- ed to inflict, death itself not excepted ; but to pass over particulars which would swell my narrative far beyond my design.

The private soldiers, who were brought to New- York, were crowded into churches, and environed with slavish Hessian guards, a peo- ple of a strange language, who were sent to America for no other design but cruelty and desolation ; and at others, by merciless Brit- ons, whose mode of communicating ideas be- ing intelligible in this country served only to tantalize and insult the helpless and perishing ; but, above all, the hellish delight and triumph of the tories over them, as they were dying by hundreds : This was too much for me to bear as a spectator ; for I saw the tories ex- ulting over the dead bodies of their murder- ed countrymen. I have gone into the church- es, and seen sundry of the prisoners ki the agonies of death, in consequence of very hunger, and others speechless, and near death, biting pieces of chips ; others plead- ing for God's sake, for something to eat, and at the same time, shivering with the

DURING HIS CAPTIVITY. 105

cold, Hollow groans saluted my ears, and despair seemed to be imprinted on every of their countenances. The filth in these church- es, in consequence of the fluxes, was almost beyond description, The floors were cover- ed with excrements. I have carefully sought to direct my steps so as to avoid it, but could not. They would beg for God's sake for one copper, or morsel of bread. I have seen in one of these churches seven dead, at the same time, lying among the excrements of their bodies.

It was a common practice with the enemy, to convey the dead from these filthy places, in carts, to be slightly buried, and I have seen whole gangs of tories making derision, and exulting over the dead, saying, there goes another load of damned rebels. I have ob- served the British soldiers to be full of their black-guard jokes, and vaunting on those oc- casions, but they appeared to me less malig- nant than tories.*

* However the reader of these enormities may feel exasperated, as undoubtedly he does, at the conduct of the British and alienated Americans, it is wrong to ac-

106 COL. E. ALLEN'S OBSERVATIONS,

The provision dealt out to the prisoners was by no means sufficient for the support of life : It was deficient in quantity, and much more so in quality. The prisoners often presented me with a sample of their bread, which I certify was damaged to that degree, that it was loathsome and unfit to be eaten, and I am bold to aver it, as my opinion, that it had been condemned, and was of the very worst sort. I have seen and been fed upon damaged bread, in the course of my cap- tivity, and observed the quality of such bread as has been condemned by the enemy, among which was very little so effectually spoiled as what was dealt out to these prison- ers. Their allowance of meat (as they told me) was quite trifling, and of the basest sort. I never saw any of it, but was informed, bad as it was, it was swallowed almost as quick

cuse a body of men, indiscriminately, of the commission of crimes. Among the latter were no doubt many who were not sorry for, or might exult in the persecution ; but as probably there were many who acted from what they deemed principle. A whole sect of any descrip- tion do not merit denunciation in consequence of the perfidy of a part.

DURING HIS CAPTIVITY. 107

as they got hold of it. I saw some of them sucking bones after they were speechless ; others, who could yet speak, and had the use of their reason, urged me, in the strong- est and most pathetic manner, to use my in- terest in their behalf ; for you plainly see, said they, that we are devoted to death and destruction ; and, after I had examined more particularly into their truly deplorable con- dition, and had become more fully apprized of the essential facts, I was persuaded that it was a premeditated and systematical plan of the British council, to destroy the youths of our land, with a view thereby to deter the country, and make it submit to their despot- ism ; but that I could not do them any mate- rial service, and that, by any public attempt for that purpose, I might endanger myself by frequenting places the most nauseous and contagious that could be conceived of. I re- framed going into the churches, but frequent- ly conversed with such of the prisoners as were admitted to come out into the yard, and found that the systematical usage still contin- ued. The guard would often drive me

108 COL. E. ALLEN'S OBSERVATIONS,

away with their fixed bayonets. A Hessian one day followed me five or six rods, but by making use of my legs, I got rid of the lub- ber. Sometimes I could obtain a little con- versation, notwithstanding their severities.

I was in one of the church yards, and it was rumoured among those in the church, and sundry of the prisoners came with their usual complaints to me, and among the rest a large boned, tall young man, as he told me, from Pennsylvania, who was reduced to a mere skeleton ; he said he was glad to see me be- fore he died, which he had expected to have done last night, but was a little revived ; he farthermore informed me, that he and his brother had been urged to enlist into the Brit- ish, but had both resolved to die first ; that his brother had died last night, in conse* quenceof that resolution, and that he expect- ed shortly to follow him ; but I made the other prisoners stand a little off, and told him With a low voice to enlist $ he then asked, whether it was right in the sight of God ? I assured him that it was, and that duty to himself obliged him to deceive the British by

DURING HIS CAPTIVITY. 109

enlisting and deserting the first opportunity ; upon which he answered with transport, that he would enlist. I charged him not to men- tion my name as his adviser, lest it should get air, and I should be closely confined, in con- sequence of it. The integrity of these suf- fering prisoners is hardly credible. Many hundreds, I am confident, submitted to death, rather than enlist in the British service, which, I am informed, they most generally were pres- sed to do, I was astonished at the resolution of the two brothers particularly ; it seems that they could not be stimulated to such exer- tions of heroism from ambition, as they were b ut obscure soldiers ; strong indeed must the internal principle of virtue be, which sup- ported them to brave death, and one of them went through the operation, as did many hundred others. I readily grant that instan- ces of public virtue are no excitement to the sordid and vicious, nor, on the other hand, will all the barbarity of Britain and Hesh- land* awaken them to a sense of their duty

* Meant for Hesse, in Germany. These troops were

K

110 COL* E. ALLEN'S OBSERVATIONS,

to the public ; but these things will have their proper effect on the generous and brave. — The officers on parole were most of them zea- lous, if possible, to afford the miserable sol- diery relief, and often consulted with one another on the subject, but to no effect, being destitute of the means of subsistence, which they needed ; nor could the officers project any measure, which they thought would al- ter their fate, or so much as be a mean of get- ting them out of those filthy places to the privilege of fresh air. Some projected that all the officers should go in procession to Gen. Howe, and plead the cause of the per- ishing soldiers ; but this proposal was nega- tived for the following reasons, viz. because that Gen. Howe must needs be well acquaint- ed, and have a thorough knowledge of the state and condition of the prisoners in every of their wretched apartments, and that much more particular and exact than any officer on

what were called mercenaries ; being in the pay of a foreign power. To a free born American, the taking up of arms in any other cause than the defence or honor of his own country, appears indescribably degrading.

DURING HIS CAPTIVITY. Ill

parole could be supposed to have, as the Gen- eral had a return of the circumstances of the prisoners, by his own officers, every morn- ing, of the number v/hich were alive, as also the number which died every twenty four hours ; and consequently the bill of mortality, as collected from the daily returns, lay be- fore him with all the material situations and circumstances of the prisoners ; and provid- ed the officers should go in procession to Gen. Howe, according to the projection, it would give him the greatest affront, and that he would either retort upon them, that it was no part of their parole to instruct him. in his conduct to prisoners ; that they were mutinying against his authority, and, by af- fronting him, had forfeited their parole ; or that, more probably, instead of saying one word to them, would order them all into as wretched a confinement as the soldiers whom they sought to relieve ; for, at that time, the British, from the General to the private cen~ tine!,, were in full confidence, nor did they so much as hesitate, but that they should con- quer the country, Thus the consultation of

112 COL. E. ALLEN'S OBSERVATIONS,

the officers was confounded and broken to pieces, in consequence of the dread, which at that time lay on their minds, of offending Gen. Howe ; for they conceived so murder- ous a tyrant would not be too good to des- troy even the officers, on the least pretence of an affront, as they were equally in his power with the soldiers ; and, as Gen. Howe per- fectly understood the condition of the private soldiers, it was argued that it was exactly such as he and his council had devised, and as he meant to destroy them it would be to no purpose for them to try to dissuade him from it, as they were helpless and liable to the same fate, on giving the least affront ; in- deed anxious apprehensions disturbed them in their then circumstances.

Mean time mortality raged to such an in- tolerable degree among the prisoners, that the very school boys in the streets knew the men- tal design of it in some measure ; at least, they knew that they were starved to death, Some poor women contributed to their ne- cessity, till their children were almost starv- ed, and all persons of common understand-

DURING HIS CAPTIVITY. 113

ing knew that they were devoted to the cru- dest and worst of deaths. It was also pro- posed by some to make a written representa- tion of the condition of the soldiery, and the officers to sign it, and that it should be couch- ed in such terms, as though they were appre- hensive that the General was imposed upoa

bvr his officers, in their daily returns to him

«/ ' *

of the state and condition of the prisoners ; and that therefore the officers, moved with compassion, were constrained to communi- cate to him the facts relative to them, nothing doubting but that they would meet with a speedy redress ; but this proposal was most generally negatived also, and for much the same reason .offered in the other case ; for it was conjectured that Gen. Howe's indigna- tion would be moved against such officers as should attempt to whip him over his officers' backs ; that he .would discern that himself was really struck. at, and not the officers who made the daily returns ; and therefore self preservation deterred the officers from either petitioning or remonstrating to Gen, Howe,

K 2

114 COL. E. ALLEN'S OBSERVATIONS,

either verbally or in writing ; as also the con- sideration that no valuable purpose to the dis- tressed would be obtained.

I made several rough drafts on the subject? one of which I exhibited to the Cols. Ma- gaw, Miles, and Atlee, and they said that they would consider the matter ; soon after I called on them, and some of the gentlemen informed me, that they had written to the Gen. on the subject, and I concluded that the gentlemen thought it best that they should write without me, as there was such spirited aversion subsisting between the British and me.

In the mean time a Col. Hussecker, of the continental army, as he then reported, was taken prisoner, and brought to New-Yorkx who gave out that the country was almost uni- versally submitting to the English king's au- thority, and that there would be little or no more opposition to Great-Britain : This at first gave the officers a little shock, but in a few days they recovered themselves ; for this Col. Hussecker, being a German, was feast- ing with Gen. De Heister, his countryman^

DURING MIS CAPTIVITY. 115

and from his conduct they were apprehensive, that he was a knave ; at least he was esteem- ed so by most of the officers ; it was never- theless a day of trouble. The enemy blas- phemed. Our little army was retreating in New-Jersey, and our young men murder- eel by hundreds in New- York : The army of Britain and Heshland prevailed for a little season, as though it was ordered by Heaven to shew, to the latest posterity, what the Brit- ish would have done if they could, and what the general calamity must have been, in con- sequence of their conquering the country, and to excite every honest man to stand forth in the defence of liberty, and to estab- lish the independency of the United States of America forever : But this scene of adverse fortune did not discourage a Washington : The illustrious American hero remained im- moveable. In liberty's cause he took up his sword : This reflection was his support and consolation in the day of his humiliation, when he retreated before the enemy, through New- Jersey into Pennsylvania. Their tri- umphorJy roused his. indignation j and the

116 COL. E. ALLEN'S OBSERVATIONS,

important cause of his country, which lay near his heart, moved him to cross the Delaware again, and take ample satisfaction on his pur- suers. No sooner had he circumvallated his haughty foes, and appeared in terrible array, but the host of Heshland fell. This taught America the intrinsic worth of perseverance, and the generous sons of freedom flew to the standard of their common safeguard and de- fence ; from which time the arm of Ameri- can liberty hath prevailed.*

This surprize and capture of the Hessians enraged the enemy, who were still vastly

^f

* The American army being greatly reduced by the loss of men taken prisoners, and by the departure of men whose iniistments had expired, general Washing- ton was obliged to retreat towards Philadelphia ; gener- al Howe, exulting in his successes, pursued him, not- withstanding the weather was severely col:!. To add to the disasters of th e Americans, general Lee was surpris- ed and taken prisoner at B~skenridge. In this gloomy state of affairs, many persons joined the British cause and took protections. Bat a small band of heroes check- ed the tide of British success. A' division of Hessians had advanced to Trenton, where they reposed in secur- ity. General Washington was on the opposite side of the Delaware, with about three thousand men, many of whom were without shoes or convenient clothing ; and the river was co vji d with, floating ice. But the gener- al ku.2',7 the importance of striking sozae successful

DURING HIS CAPTIVITY. 117

Tnore numerous than the continental troops : They therefore collected, and marched from Princetown, to attack Gen. Washington, who was then at Trenton, having previously left a detachmept from their main body at Prince - town, for the support of that place. This was a trying time, for our worthy General, though in possession of a late most astonish- ing victory, was by no means able to with- stand the collective force of the enemy ; but his sagacity soon suggested a stratagem to ef- fect that which, by force, to him was at that time impracticable : He therefore amused the enemy with a number of fires, and in the night made a forced march, undiscovered by them, and next morning fell in with their rear guard at Princetown, and killed and took most of them prisoners. The main body too late perceived their rear was attacked, hurried back with all speed, but to their mortification,

b!o*r, to animate the expiring hopes of the country ; and on the night of December 25th, crossed the river, and fell on the enemy by surprize, and took the whole bod 7 consisting of about nine hundred raen. A few were kiUed, among whom was colonel Rani the commander.

118 C.OL. E. ALLEN'S OBSERVATIONS,

found they were out-generalled, and baffled - by Gen. Washington, who was retired with his little army towards Morristown, and was out of their power."* These repeated suc- cesses, one on the back of the "other, cha- grined the enemy prodigiously, and had an amazing operation in the scale of American politics, and undoubtedly was one of the corn- €r stones, on which their fair structure of In- dependency has been fabricated ; for the

* On the 2d of January 1777, lord Cornwallis appear- ed near Trenton, with a string body of troops. Skhv mishing took place, and impeded the march of the Brit- ish army, until the Americans had secured their artille- ry and baggage ; when they retired to the southward of tne creek5 and repulsed the enemy i-\ their attempt to pass the bridge. As general W£slungtonjs force was not sufficient to meet the enemy, and his situation was critical, he determined, with the advice of a council of wj.r, to attempt a stratagem. He gave orders for the troops to light fires in their camp, [•;yhich were intend- ed to deceive the enemy,] and be prepared to march. Accordingly at twelve o'clock at night the troops left the ground, and by a circuitous march, eluded the vigi- lance of the enemy, and early in the me:. v.ing appeared at Princetown. A smart aeUoii ensued, but the British troops gave way. A party took refuge in the college, a building with strong stone y-ruh, but were forced to .sur- render. The enemy lost i.i k'JIed, wounded and pris- oners, about five 1 :d rn The Americans lost but few men ; but among them «,vas a most valuable offi- cer, general M-rcer, [Webster s ELments.

DURING HIS CAPTIVITY. 119

country at no one time has ever been so much dispirited as just before the morning of this glorious success, which in part dispelled the gloomy clouds of oppression and slavery, which lay pending over America, big with the ruin of this and future generations, and enlightened and spirited her sons to redouble their blows on a merciless, and haughty, and, I may add, perfidious enemy.

Farthermore, this success had a mighty ef- fect on Gen. Howe and his council, and rous- ed them to a sense of their own weakness, and convinced them that they were neither omniscient nor omnipotent. Their obduracy and death-designing malevolence, in some measure, abated or was suspended. The prisoners, who were condemned to the most wretched and cruelest of deaths, and who survived to this period, though most of them died before, were immediately ordered to be sent within Gen. Washington's lines, for an exchange, and, in consequence of it, were taken out of their filthy and poisonous places of confinement, and sent out of New- York to their friends in haste ; several of them fell

120 COL. E. ALLEN'S OBSERVATIONS,

dead in the streets of New- York, as they at- tempted to walk to the vessels in the harbor, for their intended embarkation. What num- bers lived to reach the lines I cannot ascer- tain, but, from concurrent representations which I have since received from numbers of people who lived in and adjacent to such parts of the country, where they were re- ceived from the enemy, I apprehend that most of them died in consequence of the vile usage of the enemy. Some, who wer? eye-witnesses of that scene cf mortality, more especially in that part which continued after the exchange took place, are of opinion, that it was partly in consequence of a slow pois- on ;* but this I refer to the doctors that attended them, who are certainly jhe best judges.

Upon the best calculation I have been able to make from personal knowledge, and the

* This conjecture is not probable; and, however we may feel for the injuries of our oppressed fellow citi- zens, we need not recur to any thing but facts to prove their severity. If coarse fare, and unwholesome ali- ment were meant by the colonel, for « slow poison/' it was, no doubt, administered to thepn.

DURING HIS CAPTIVITY. 121

f

many evidences I have collected in support of the facts, I learn that, of the prisoners ta- ken on Long-Island, fort Washington, and some few others, at different times and places, about two thousand perished with hunger, cold and sickness, occasioned by the filth of their prisons, at New- York, and a number more on their passage to the continental lines ; most of the residue, who reached their friends, having received their death wound, could not be restored by the assist-

<!

ance of physicians and friends ; but, like their brother prisoners, fell a sacrifice to the relentless and scientific barbarity of Britain. I took as much pains as my circumstances would admit of, to inform myself not only of matters of fact, but likewise of the very de- sign and aims of Gen. Howe and his council : The latter of which I predicated on the for- mer, and submit it to the candid public.

And lastly, the aforesaid success of the American arms had a happy effect en the continental officers, who were on parole at New- Yofk : A number of us assembled, but

L

122 COL. E. ALLEN'S OBSERVATIONS,

not in a public manner, and, with full bowls and glasses, drank Gen. Washington's health, and were not unmindful of Congress and our worthy friends on the continent, and almost forgot that we were prisoners.

A few days after this recreation, a British officer of rank and importance in their army, whose name I shall not mention in this nar- rative, for certain reasons, though I have men- tioned it to some of my close friends and con- fidants, sent for me to his lodgings, and told me, " That faithfulness, though in a wrong cause, had nevertheless recommended me to Gen. Sir William Howe, who was minded to make me a Colonel of a regiment of new lev- ies, alias tories, in the British service ; and proposed that I should go with him, and some other officers, to England, who would embark lor that purpose in a few days, and there be introduced to Lord G. Germaine, and proba- bly to the King ; and, that previously I should be clothed equal to such an introduc- tion, and, instead of paper rags, be paid in hurd guineas ; after this should embark with Gen. Burgoyne, and assist in the reduction

DURING HIS CAPTIVITY. 12 J

of the country, which infallibly would be con- quered, and, when that should be done, I should have a large tract of land, either in the New-Hampshire grants, or in Connecticut, il

would make no odds, as the countrv would

«/

be forfeited to the crown." I then replied, " That, if by faithfulness I had recommend- ed myself to Gen, Howe, I should be loth, by unfaithfulness, to lose the General's good opinion ; besides, that 1 viewed the offer of land to be similar to that which the devil of- fered Jesus Christ, " To give him all the kingdoms of the world, if he would fall down and worship him ;': when at the same time, that the damned soul had not one foot of land upon earth." This closed the conversation, and the gentleman turned from me with an air of dislike, saying, that I was a bigot ; upon which I retired to my lodgings.*

Near the last of November I was admitted to parole in New- York, with many other

This conduct of colonel Allen, though spring- ing from duty,, ought not to be passed over without trib- utary praise. The refusal of such an oiler and in such circumstances, was highly meritorious. Though the

!C-£ COL. i. ALLEN'S OBSERVATIONS, '. .- . . t fiictrs, and on the 22ddav of Jan-

•r

1777, was with them directed by the British commissary of prisoners to be quarter- ed en the westerly part of Long-Island, and our parole continued. During my imprison- ment there, no occurrences worth observation •rpened. I obtained the means of living as well as I desired, which in a great measure repaired my constitution, which had been, great -y injured by the severities of an inhu- man captivity. I now began to feel myself composed, expecting either an exchange, or continuance in good and honorable treat- ment ; but alas ! my visionary expectations soon vanished. The news of the conquest of Ticonderoga by Gen, Burgoyne,* and the

man of strict honour, and rigid integrity, deems the plaudit of his own conscience an ample reward for his t actions, it is a pleasing employment, to those who v ttness such actions, to record them. It is an incentive to others to " go and do likewise."

In June, 1777, the British army, amounting to sev- en thousand men, besides Indians and Canadians, com- manded by general Burgoyne, crossed the lake and laid siege to Ticonderoga. In a short time, the enemy gained possession of Sugar Hill, which commanded the American lines, and general St. Clair, with the advice of a council of \vur, ordered the posts to be abandoned.

DURING HIS CAPTIVITY. 125

advance of his army into the country, made the haughty Britons again to feel their impor- tance, ancl with that their insatiable thirst for cruelty.

The private prisoners at New -York, and some of the officers on parole, felt the seven- ty of it. Burgoyne was their to a stand demi- god : To him they paid adoration : In him the tories placed their confidence, " and for- got the Lord, their God," and served Howe, Burgoyne, and Knyphausen,* " and became vile in their own imaginations, and their fool- ish hearts were darkened, professing'1 to be great politicians, and relying on foreign and merciless invaders, and with them seeking

' O

the ruin, bloodshed and destruction of their

The retreat of the Americans was conducted under ev- ery possible disadvantage — part of their force embarked in batteaux and landed at Skenesborough — a part march- ed by the way of Castletown ; but they were obliged to leave their heavy cannon, and, on their march, lost great part of their baggage and stores, while their rear was harrassed by the British troops. An action took place between colonel Warner, with a body of Americans and General Frazer, in which the Americans were de- feated, after a brave resistance, with the loss of a valua- ble officer, colonel Francis.

* Knyphausen, a Hessian General,

L 2

126 COL. E. ALLEN'S OBSERVATIONS,

country, " became fools, " expecting with them to share a dividend in the confiscated estates of their neighbours and countrymen who fought for the whole country, and the re- Im'ion and liberties thereof: — — " Therefore

o

God gave them over to strong delusions, to believe a lie, that they all might be damned." The 25th day of August I was apprehend- ed, and, under pretext of artful, mean and pitiful pretences, that I had infringed on my parole, taken from a tavern, where there were more than a dozen officers present and, in the very place where those officers and myself were directed to be quartered, put under a strong guard, and taken to New- York, where T expected to make my defence before the commanding officer ; but, contrary to my ex- pectations, and without the least solid pre- tciKc of justice or a trial, was again' encircled with a strong guard with fixed bayonets, and conducted to the provost-gaol in a lonely apartment, next above the dungeon, and was denied all manner of subsistence either by pur- chase or allowance. The second day I offer- ed a guinea for a meal of victuals, but was

1 DURING HIS CAPTIVITY. 127

nied it, and the third day I offered eight Spanish milled dollars for a like favor, but was denied, and all that I could get out of the Serjeant's mouth, was that, by God he would obey his orders. I now perceived myself to be again in substantial trouble. In this con- dition I formed an oblique acquaintance with a Capt. Travis, of Virginia, who was in the dungeon below me, through a little hole which was cut, with a pen-knife, through the floor of my apartment which communicated with the dungeon ; it was a small crevice, through which I could discern but a very small part of his face at once, when he applied it to the hole ; but from the discovery of him in the situation which we were both then in, I could not have known him, which I found to be true by an after acquaintance. I could nev- ertheless hold a conversation with him, and soon perceived him to be a gentleman of high spirits, who had a high sense of honor, and felt as big, as though he had been in a palace, and had treasures of wrath in store against the British. In fine I was charmed with the spirit of the man ; he had been near or quite

128 COL. E. ALLEN'S OBSERVATIONS,

four months in that dungeon, with murder- ers, thieves, and every species of criminals, and all for the sole crime of unshaken fidelity to his country ; but his spirits were above dejection, and his mind unconquerable. I en- gaged to do him every service in my power, and, in a few weeks afterwards, with the unit- ed petitions of the officers in the provost, pro- cured his dismission from the dark mansion of fiends to the apartments of his petitioners. And it came to pass on the 3d day, at the going down of the sun, that I was presented with a piece of boiled pork, and some biscuit, which the sergeant gave me to understand, was my allowance, and I fed sweetly on the same ; but I indulged my appetite by de- grees, and, in a few days more, was taken from that apartment, and conducted to the next loft or story, where there were above twenty continental, and some militia officers, who had been taken, and imprisoned there, besides some private gentlemen, who had been dragged from their own homes to that filthy place, by tories. Several of every de-

DURING HIS CAPTIVITY. 129

nomination mentioned died there, some be- fore, and others after I was put there.

The history of the proceedings relative to the provost only, were I particular, would swell a volume larger than this whole narra- tive : I shall therefore only notice such of the occurrences which are most extraordinary.

Capt. Vandyke bore, with an uncommon fortitude, near twenty months' confinement in this place, and in the mean time was very ser- viceable to others who were confined with him. The allegation against him, as the cause of his confinement, was very extraor- dinary : He was accused of setting fire to the city of New- York, at the time the west part of it was consumed, when it was a known fact, that he had been in the provost a week before the fire broke out ; and, in like man- ner, frivolous were the ostensible accusations against most of those -who were there confin- ed ; the case of two militia officers excepted, who were taken in their attempting to escape from their parole ; and probably there may be some other instances which might justify such a confinement.

130 COL. E. ALLEN'S OBSERVATIONS,

Mr. William Miller, a committee man, from West Chester county, and state of New- York, was taken from his bed in the dead of night, by his tory neighbours, and was starv- ed for three days and nights in an apartment of the same gaol ; add to this the denial of fire, and that in a cold season of the year, in iviiich time he walked day and night, to de- fend himself against the frost, and when he complained of such a reprehensible conduct, the word rebel or committee man was deem- ed by the enemy a sufficient atonement for any inhumanity that they could invent or in- He xvas a man of good natural under- standing, a close and sincere friend to the lib- erties of America, and endured fourteen months' cruel imprisonment with that magna- nimity of soul, which reflects honor on him- b. if and country.

*>

Major Levi Wells, and Capt. Ozias Bissel, were apprehended and taken under guard from their parole on Long- Island, to the pro- vost, on as fallacious pretences as the form- er, and were there continued till their ex- '.lunge took place, which \vas near five

DURING HIS CAPTIVITY. 131

»

months. Their fidelity and zealous attach- ment to their country's cause, which was

« *

more than commonly conspicuous was, un- doubtedly the real cause of their confinement.

Major Brinton Payne, Capt. Flahaven, and Capt. Randolph, who had at different times distinguished themselves by their bravery, especially at the several actions, in which they were taken, were all the provocation they gave, for which they suffered about a year's confinement, each in the same filthy gaol.*

A few weeks after my confinement, on the like fallacious and wicked pretences, was brought to the same place, from his parole on Long-Island, Major Otho Holland Williams now a full Col. in the continental army. In his character are united the gentleman, offi- cer, soldier, and friend ; he walked through the prison with an air of great disdain ; said he, " Is this the treatment which gentlemen

* The sufferings of the prisoners in New-York, who remained faithful to their country's cause, are stated, on other authorities, besides that of Col. Allen, to have been severe and excessive,

132 COL. E. ALLEN'S OBSERVATIONS,

of the continental army are to expect from the rascally British, when in their power ? Heavens forbid it I" lie was continued there about five months, and then exchanged for a British Major.

\j

John Fell, Esq. now a member of Con- gress for the state of New-Jersey, was taken from his own house by a gang of infamous to- ries, and by order of aBritish Gen. was sent to the provost, where he was continued near one year. The stench of the gaol, which was very loathsome and unhealthy, occasion- ed a hoarseness of the lungs, which proved fatal to many who were there confined, and reduced this gentleman near to the point of death ; he was indeed given over by his friends who were about him, and himself con- cluded he must die. I could not endure the thought that so worthy a friend to America should have his life stolen from him in such a mean, base, and scandalous manner, and that his family and friends should be bereav-

•

ed of so great and desirable a blessing, as his farther care, usefulness and example, might prove to them. ! therefore wrote a letter to

DURING HIS CAPTIVITY. 133

Gen. Robertson, who commanded in town, and being touched with the most sensible feelings of humanity, which dictated my pen to paint dying distress in such lively colours that it wrought conviction even on the obdu- racy of a British General, and produced his order to remove the now honorable John Fell, esq. out of a gaol, to private lodgings in town ; in consequence of which he slowly recovered his health. There is so extraor- dinary a circumstance which intervened con- cerning this letter, that it is worth noticing. Previous to sending it, I exhibited the same to the gentleman on whose behalf it was written, for his approbation, and he for- bid me to send it in the most positive and explicit terms ; his reason was, " That the enemy knew, by every morning's report, the condition of all the prisoners, mine in partic- ular, as I have been gradually coming to my end for a considerable time, and they very well knew it, and likewise determined it should be accomplished, as they had served many others ; that, to ask a favor, would give

the merciless enemy occasion to triumph

M

131 GOL. E. ALLEN'S OBSERVATIONS,

over me in my last moments, and therefore I will ask no favors from them, but resign my- self to my supposed fate." But the letter I sent without his knowledge, and I confess I had but little expectations from it, yet could not be easy till I had sent it. It may be worth a remark, that this gentleman was an Eng- lishman born, and, from the beginning of the revolution, has invariably asserted, and main- tained the cause of liberty.

The British have made so extensive an im- provement of the provost during the present involution till of late, that a very short defi- nition will be sufficient for the dullest appre- i nsions. It may be with propriety called the British inquisition, and calculated to sup- port their oppressive measures and designs, by suppressing the spirit of liberty ; as also a place to confine the criminals, and most in- famous wretches of their own army, where man}- gentlemen of the American army, and citizens thereof, were promiscuously confin- ed, with every species of criminals ; but they divided into different apartments, and kept at

great a remove as circumstances permit-

DURING HIS CAPTIVITY. 135

ted ; but it was nevertheless at the option of a villanous serjeant, who had the charge of the provost, to take any gentleman from their room, and put them into the dungeon, which was often the case : At two different times I was taken down stairs for that purpose, by a file of soldiers with fixed bayonets, and the serjeant brandishing his sword at the same time, and having been brought to the door of the dungeon, I there flattered the vanity of the serjeant, whose name was Keef, by which means I procured the surprizing favor to re- turn to my companions ; but some of the high mettled young gentlemen could not bear his insolence, and determined to keep at a distance, and neither please or displease the villain, but none could keep clear of his a- buse ; however, mild measures were the best ; he did not hesitate to call us damned rebels, and use us with the coarsest language. The Capts. Flahaven, Randolph and Mercer, were the objects of his most flagrant and re- peated abuses, who were many times taken to the dungeon, and there continued at his pleasure. Cant. Flahaven took cold in the

136 €OL. E. ALLEN'S OBSERVATIONS,

dungeon, and was in a declining state of health, but an exchange delivered him, and in all probability saved his life. It was very mortifying to bear with the insolence of such

* O

a vicious and ill bred, imperious rascal. Re- monstrances against him were preferred to the commander of the town, but no relief could be obtained, for his superiors were undoubt- edly well pleased with his abusive conduct to the gentlemen, under the severities of his power ; and remonstrating against his infer- ;1 conduct, only served to confirm him in Authority ; and for this reason I never made v remonstrances on the subject, but only

* »J «

I him, for I knew that he was but a

\ paw in the hands of the British officers,

that, if he should use us well, he would

.imcduitely be put out of that trust, and a

rse nv.in appointed to succeed him ; but

. , no need of making anv new apnoint-

O v I 1

for Cunningham, their provost mar* ;ul, and Kecf, his deputy, were as great ras- cals as their army could boast of, except one ma Loring, an infamous tory, who was Commissary of prisoners ; nor can any of

DURING Hlb CAPTIVITY. 137

those be supposed to be equally criminal with Gen. Sir William Howe and his c.ssociates, who prescribed and directed the murders and cruelties, which were by them perpetrated. This Loring is a monster ! — There is not his like in human shape. He exhibits a smiling countenance, seems to wear a phiz of human ity, but has been instrumentally capable of the most consummate acts of wickedness, which were first projected by an abandoned British Council, clothed with the authority of a Hov/e, murdering* premeditatedly, in cold blood, near or quite two thousand helpless prisoners, and that in the most clandestine, mean and shame- ful manner, at New- York. He is the most mean spirited, cowardly, deceitful, and des- tructive animal in God's creation below, and legions of infernal devils, with all their tre-

o

mendous horrors, are impatiently ready to receive Howe and him, with all their detest- able accomplices, into the most exquisite ag- onies of the hottest region of hell fire.*

* The publishers would suppress some of the language und expressions Col, Allen occasionally makes use of j

M 2

; •; COL, E. ALLEN'S OBSERVATIONS,

The 6th day of July, 1777, Gen. St. Clair, ,:nd the army under his command, evacuated Ticoiideroga, and retreated with the main body through Hubbardton into Castleton, v/hich was but six miles distance, when his rear-guard, commanded by Col. Seth War- ner, was attacked at Hubbardton by a body of the enemy of about two thousand, command- ed by General Fraser. Warner's command consisted of his own and two other regiments, viz. Francis's and Hale's, and some scatter- ing and enfeebled soldiers. His whole num-

r, according to information, was near or quite one thousand; part of which were Green Mountain Boys ; about seven hundred out of

e whole he brought into action. The ene- my advanced boldly, and the two bodies form- ed within about sixty yards of each other, Col. Warner having formed his own regi- iiu-nt, and that of Col. Francis's, did not wait f- r the enemy, but gave them a heavy fire

prawning the reader to make All reasonable allow- > forth* "tyle, and the matter, it was thought t eligible to i^ive the narrative in the very dress fur- ^ by the author.

DURING HIS CAPTIVITY, 159

from his whole line, and they returned it with great bravery. It was by this time danger- ous for those of both parties, who were not prepared for the world to come ; but Colonel Hale being apprised of the danger, never brought his regiment to the charge, but left Warner and Francis to stand the blowing of it, and fled, but luckily fell in with an incon- siderable number of the enemy, and to his eternal shame, surrendered himself a pris- oner.*

The conflict was very bloody. Col. Fran- cis fell in the same, but Col. Warner, and the officers under his command, as also the sol- diery, behaved with great resolution. The enemy broke, and gave way on the right and left, but formed again, and renewed the at- tack ; in the mean time the British grenadiers, in the centre of the enemy's line, maintained the ground, and finally carried it with the point of the bayonet, and Warner retreated with reluctance. Our loss was about thirty men killed, and that of the enemy amounting

* See note in pages 124 and 125,

140 COL. E. ALL-EN'S OBSERVATIONS,

to three hundred killed, including a Major Grant. The enemy's loss I learnt from the confession of their own officers, when a pris- oner with them. I heard them likewise com- plain, that the Green Mountain Boys took .sight. The next movement of the enemy, of any material consequence, was their invest- ing Bennington,* with a design to demolish it, and subject its Mountaineers, to which they had a great aversion, with one hundred and fifty chosen men, including lories, with the highest expectation of success, and having chosen an eminence of strong ground, fortify

The Americans had collected a quantity of stores at to destroy which as well as to animate the [intimidate the patriots, general Bur^oyne fcrnm, with five hundred men and one Indians. Colonel Brey man was sent to rein, »"n, but did not arrive in time. On th- 16th of .1 Stark, with about eight hundred brave ien, attacked coloael Banm/in his entrenched •bout six miles Ircm Beni:inSt,,Rj and killed or -ly the, hole detachment. Thenextdav *s attacked and defeated. In these icricans took ^bout seven hundred pri^-

^s served to revive the spirits of

success however was in part counter- V!l"- advantages gamed on the Mohawk by eger ; but this oirtcer, attackirsr fort Snn

BUHING HIS CAPTIVITY. 141

ed it with slight breast works, and two pieces of cannon ; but the government of the young state of Vermont, being previously jealous of such an attempt of the enemy, and in clue time had procured a number of brave militia from the government of the state of New- Hampshire, who, together with the militia of the north part of Berkshire county, and state of Massachusetts, and the Green Moun- tain Boys, constituted a body of despera- does,* under the command of the intrepid Gen. Stark, who in number were about equal to the enemy. Col. Herrick, who command- ed the Green Mountain Rangers, and who was -second in command, being thoroughly acquainted with the ground where the ene- my had fortified, proposed to attack them in their works upon all parts, at the same time. This plan being adopted by the General and his council of war, the little militia brigade of undisciplined heroe with their long brown firelocks, the best security of a free people, without either cannon or bayonets, was, on

* Nothing more i- meant by this expression than a brave and resolute bund,

142 COL. E. ALLEN'S OBSERVATIONS,

the IGili clay of August, led on to the attack by their bold commanders, in the face of the rr.cmy's dreadful fire, and to the astonishment of the world, and burlesque of discipline, car- ried every part of their lines in less than one quarter of an hour after the attack became general, took their cannon, killed and capti- vated more than two thirds of their number, which immortalized Gen. Stark, and made Bennington famous to posterity.

Among the enemy's slain was found Col. Baum, their commander, a Col. Pfester, who headed an infamous gang of tories, and a large part of his command ; and among the prisoners was Major Meibome, their sec- ond in command, a number of British and Hessian officers, surgeons, &cC and more than one hundred of the aforementioned Pfes- 's command. The prisoners being collect- ed together, were sent to the meeting house i-i the town, by a strong guard, and General Stark not imagining any present danger, the militia scattered from him to rest and refresh • ^selves; in this situation he was on a .'keel by a reinforcement of one

DURING HIS CAPTIVITY. 143

thousand and one hundred of the enemy, commanded by a Gov. Skene, with two field pieces : They advanced in regular x>rder, and kept up an incessant fire, especially from their field pieces, and the remaining militia retreating slowly before them, disputed the ground inch by inch. The enemy were heard to halloo to them, saying, stop Yan- kees. In the mean time, Col. Warner, with about one hundred and thirty men of his re- giment, who were not in the first action, ar- rived and attacked the enemy with great fury, being determined to have ample revenge on account of the quarrel at Hubbardton, which brought them to a stand, and soon after Gen. Stark and Col. Herrick, brought on more of the scattered militia, and the action became general ; in a few minutes the enemy were forced from their cannon, gave way on all parts and fled, and the shouts of victory were a second time proclaimed in favor of the rni- litia. The enemy's loss in killed and prison- ers, in these two actions, amounted to more than one thousand and two hundred men, and our loss did not exceed fifty men. This was

144 COL. E. ALLEN'S OBSERVATIONS,

a bitter stroke to the enemy, but their pride would not permit them to hesitate but that they could vanquish the country, and as a specimen of their arrogancy, I shall insert General Burgoyne's proclamation.

" By John Burgoyne, Esq. Lieutenant- General of his Majesty's armies in America, Colonel of the Queen's regiment of light dragoons, Governor of fort William in North- Britain, one of the Representatives of the Commons of Great Britain in Parliament, and commanding an army and fleet employ- ed on an expedition from Canada, &c. Sec. &c.

" The forces entrusted to my command arc designed to act in concert and upon a common principle, with the numerous armies and fleets which already display in every quarter of America, the power, the justice, and, when properly sought, the mercy of the King.

" The cause, in which the British arms arc thus exerted, applies to the most affecting in- tcrests of the human heart ; and the military servants of the crown, at first called forth for the sole purpose of restoring the rights of the

DURING HIS CAPTIVITY. 145

constitution, now combine with love of their country, and duty to their sovereign, the oth- er extensive incitements which spring from a due sense of the general privileges of man- kind. To the eyes and ears of the temper- ate part of the public, and to the breasts of suffering thousands in the provinces, be the melancholy appeal,whether the present unnat- ural rebellion has not been made a founda- tion for the completest system of tyranny that ever God, in his displeasure, suffered for a time to be exercised over a fro ward and stubborn generation.

" Arbitrary imprisonment, confiscation of property, persecution and torture, unprece- dented in the inquisitions of the Romish church, are among the palpable enormities that verify the affirmative. These are inflict- ed by assemblies and comniittes, who dare to profess themselves friends to liberty, upon the most quiet subjects, without distinction of age or sex, for the sole crime, often for the sole suspicion, of having adhered in prin- ciple to the government under which they were born, and to which, by every tie, divine

N

146 COL. £. ALLEN'S OBSERVATIONS,

and human, they owe allegiance. To con- summate these shocking proceedings, the profanation of religion is added to the most profligate prostitution of common reason ; the consciences of men are set at nought ; / ::nd multitudes are compelled not only to b-jar arms, but also to swear subjection to an usurpation they abhor.

" Animated by these considerations ; at the head of troops in the full powers of health, discipline, and valor ; determined to strike where necessary, and anxious to spare where possible, I by these presents invite and ex- hort all persons, in all places where the pro- gress of this army may point ; and by the blessing of God I will extend it far, to main- ' t;i in such a conduct as may justify me in pro- tecting their lands, habitations and families. The intention of this address is to hold forth security, not depredation to the country. To those whom spirit and principle may induce to partake of the glorious task of redeeming their countrymen from dungeons, and re-es- tablishing the blessings of legal government, I offer encouragement and employment ; and • upon the first intelligence of their associa-

DURING HIS CAPTIVITY. 147

lions, I will find means to assist their under- takings. The domestic, the industrious, the infix"'-, and even the timid inhabitants, I am desirous' to protect, provided they remain qui- etly at their houses ; that they do not suffer their cattle to be removed, nor their corn or forage to be secreted or destroyed ; that they do not break up their bridges or roads : nor by any other act, directly or indirectly, en- deavour to obstruct the operations of the king's troops, or supply or assist those of th* enemy. — Every species of provision brought to my camp, will be paid for at an equitablt rate, and in solid coin.

" In consciousness of Christianity, my royal master's clemency, and the honor of soldier- ship, I have dwelt upon this Invitation, and wished for more persuasive terms to give it impression : And let not people be led to disregard it, by considering their distance from the immediate situation of my camp. — I have but to give stretch to the Indian forces under my direction, and they amount to thous- ands, to overtake the hardened enemies of Great-Britain and America : I consider them the same wherever they may lurk.

143 COL. E. ALLEN'S OBSERVATIONS,

" If, notwithstanding these endeavours, and sincere inclinations to effect them, the phren- ,v of hostility should remain, I trust I shall

md acquitted in the eyes of God and men, in denouncing and executing the vengeance of the state against the wilful outcasts. — The messengers of justice and of wrath await them in the field ; and devastation, famine, ::"(! every concomitant horror that a reluc- tant but indispensible prosecution of military

ty must occasion, will bear the way to their return. J. BURGOYNE.

" By order of his excellency the Lieut. General, HOST. KINGSTON,

Secretary. " Camp near Ticondcroga, 4th July^ 1777.

Gen. Burgoyne was still the toast, and the severities towards the prisoners were in great measure increased or diminished, in propor- tion to the expectation of conquest. His very ostentatious Proclamation was in the

Innd and mouth of most of the soldiery, esne-

j ' i

eially the tories, and from it, their faith was (1 to assurance. — I wish my countrymen

in ^'.-iiu al could but have an idea of the as-

DURING HIS CAPTIVITY.

suming tyranny, and haughty, malevolent, and insolent behavior of the enemy at that time ; and from thence discern the intolerable calam- ities which this country have extricated them- selves from by their public spiritedness and bravery. — The. downfall of Gen. Burq-oyne ;^7

« O J

and surrender of his whole army, dashed the

» '

aspiring hopes and expectations of the enemy s and brought low the imperious spirit of an opulent, puissant and haughty nation, and made the tories bite the ground with an- guish, exalting the valor of the free -born sons

* General Burgoyne, nuer collect!:!?; lib forces and stores, crossed the Hudson rath a, view to penetrate t a Alb,-, 117. But the American iviYiiy bun 5? reinforced ckl- ly, held him in check at Saivr :,A. General Gr.tts now took the command, and was aided by the generals Lin- coln and Arnold: On the 19i.h of September, the Amer- icans attacked the ].: h .'my, and with such bravery, that the enemy could boast of no advantage, and ni?;hi put an end to the action. The loss of the enemy v about five hundred. General Burgoyne \vci3 conduce! ia a narrow pass — .having the Hudson on one :~ide iu:d im- passable woods on the other — a body of Americans wa.» in his rear — -his boats he had ordered to be burnt, and he coukl not retreat — •while an army of tm.-te?n thousand nxen opposed him In front. *Jn the 7th of October, the armies came to a second action, in which thr British lost general r ru/:er, with a great number of officers and men, and were driven within their lines. On the par; of the Americans the loss was not great, but ge'^ivJs Lin- coin and Arnold were wounded.

N 2

150 COL. E. ALLEN'S OBSERVATIONS,

of America, and raised their fame and that of their brave commanders to the clouds, and immortalized Gen. Gates with laurels of eternal duration. — No sooner had the knowl- edge of this interesting and mighty event reached His Most Christian Majesty,* who in Europe shines with a superior lustre in good- ness, policy and arms, but the illustrious pot- entate, auspiciously influenced -by Heaven to promote the reciprocal interest and happiness of the ancient kingdom of France, and the new and rising states of America, passed the great and decisive decree, that the United States of America, should be free and inde- pendent.— Vaunt no more, Old England ! consider you are but an island ! and that your power has been continued longer than the ex- t rcise of your humanity. Order your brok- i.Kind vanquished battalions to retire from America, the scene of your cruelties. Go home and repent in dust and sackcloth for

crimes. The cries of be-

The colonel, it seems, though professedly a staunch en good occasion oilers, speak well of

DURING HIS CAPTIVITY. 151

reared parents, widows, and orphans, reach the Heavens, and you are abominated by eve- ry friend to America. Take your friends

W

the tories with you, and be gone, and drink deep of the cup of humiliation. Make peace with the princes of the house of Bourbon,* for you are In no condition to wage war writh them. Your veteran soldiers are fallen in America, and your glory is departed. Be qui- et and pay your debts, especially for the hire of the Hessians. There is no other way for you to get into credit again, but by reforma- tion and plain honesty, which you have des- pised ; for your power is- by no means suffi- cient to support your vanity. I have had op- portunity to see a great deal of it, and felt its severe effects, and learned lessons of wisdom and policy, when I wore your heavy irons, and bore your bitter revilings and reproach -

* The author, when writing the above , would scarcely have credited the tale, ht-.d he been told it, that England

would be a flourishing and powerful nation after house of Bourbon should be humbled in. the clust. But such appears to be the fact ; and the new dynasty of Bo- naparte, after destroying every vestige of the rightful claimants to the throne is embracing in the extending,

f* • '"•*

circle of its supremacy, every power in Europe, it is fearedj except England.

152 COL. E. ALLEN'S OBSERVATIONS,

'.'.s. I have something of a smattering of phi- lo. : y, and understand human nature in all its stages tolerably well ; am thoroughly ac- quainted with your national crimes, and as- sure you that they not only cry aloud for Heaven's vengeance, but excite mankind to rise up against you. Virtue, wisdom and policy are, in a national sense, always connec- ted v/ith power, or in other words, power is their offspring, and such power as is not direc- ted by virtue, wisdom and policy, never fails '.ally to destroy itself as yours has done.' — It is so in the nature of things, and unfit that it should be otherwise ; for if it was not so, vanity, injustice, and oppression, might reign triumphant forever. I know you have individuals, who still retain their virtue, and consequently their honor and humanity. Those I really pity, as they must more or less sufler in the calamity, in which the nation is plunged headlong ; but as a nation I hate ' ;e you.

bctibns are Frenchified. — I glory in eenth, the generous and -ver- of these states ; ara fond cf a conr-ec- with so enterprizkig, learn vcl,

DURING HIS CAPTIVITY. 153

courteous, and commercial a nation, and am sure that I express the sentiments and feelings of all the friends to the present revolution. I begin to learn the French tongue, and rec- ommend it to my countrymen before He- brew, Greek or Latin, (provided but one of them only are to be attended to) for the trade and commerce of these states in future must inevitably shift its channel from England to France, Spain, and Portugal ; and therefore the statesman, politician and merchant, need be acquainted with their several languages, particularly the French, which is much in vogue in most parts of Europe. Nothing could have served so effectually to illuminate, polish, and enrich these states as the present revolution, as well as preserve their liberty. Mankind are naturally too national, even to a degree of bigotry, and commercial inter- course with foreign nations, has a great and necessary tendency to improve mankind, and erase the superstition of the mind by ac- quainting them that human nature, policy and interest, are the same in all nations, and at the same time they are bartering commodi- ties for the conveniences and happiness of

154 COL. E. ALLEN'S OBSERVATIONS,

each nation, they may reciprocally exchange su:h part of their customs and manners as nny be beneficial, and learn to extend chan- ty and good will to the whole world of man- kind. 1 was confined in the provost-gaol

at New- York the 26 La day of August, and continued there to the third day of May, 1778, when I was taken out under guard, and conducted to a sloop in the harbour at New- York, in which I was guarded to Staten-Isl- and, to -Gen. Campbell's quarters, where I v/as admitted to eat and drink with the Gen. and several ether of the British field officers, and treated for two days in a polite manner. As I was drinking wine with them one even- ing, I made an observation on my transition from the provost-criminals to the company of gentlemen, adding that I was the same man still, and should give the British credit by him (speaking to the Gen.) for two days good usage.

The next day Col. Archibald Campbell, who was exchanged for me, came to this place, conducted by Mr. Boudinot, the then American commissary of prisoners, and sa- luted me in a handsome manner, saying1 that

DURING HIS-CAPTIVITY. 155

he never was more glad to see any gentle- man in his life, and I gave him to under- stand that I was equally glad to see him, and was apprehensive that it was from the same motive. The gentlemen present laughed at the fancy, and conjectured that sweet liberty was the foundation of our gladness ; so we took a glass of wine together, andthenl was accompa- nied by gen. Campbell, col. Campbell Mr. Bou- dinot, and a number of British officers, to the boat, which was ready to sail to Elizabeth- town-point. Mean while I entertained them with a rehearsal of the cruelties exercised to- wards our prisoners ; and assured them that I should use my influence, that their prison- ers should be treated in future in the same manner, as they should in future treat ours ; that I thought it was right in such extreme cases, that their example should be applied to their own prisoners ; then exchanged the decent ceremonies of compliment, and part- ed. I sailed to the point aforesaid, and, in a transport of joy, landed on liberty ground,*

* To appreciate the real value of any of the pleasures ©f life, it is neccssaey, perhaps, to be for a while deprived

156 COL. E. ALLEN'S OBSERVATIONS,

and, as I advanced into the country, received the acclamations of a grateful people.

I soon fell into company with Col. Shelden, of the light horse, who in a polite and oblig- ing manner accompanied me to head-quarters, Valley Forge, where I was courteously re- ceived by Gen. Washington, with peculiar marks of his approbation and esteem, and was introduced to most of the generals, and many of the principal officers of the army, who treated me with respect, and after hav- ing offered Gen. Washington my farther ser- vice, in behalf of my country, as soon as my

of them. Hunger, though an unpleasant sensation, gives us a most excellent relish for a well furnished repast ; and the bird, who has recently escaped the confinement of the fowler, cleaves the scther with lighter pinions than his fellow, who has long hopped, languidly, from spray to spray, unconscious of the pains of captivity. After such a recital of woes as the reader has witnessed, he will tl ink that the feelings of Col. Allen on his arrival, must have nearly repaid him for the cruelty of his sufferings, and the length of his confinement.

" Swift as I move, where earth's blest blessings dwell, What glad presentiments my bosom swell! What recollections ! Mem j;y's power restores, Home of my childhood, thy beloved shores ! Fair, bursting through oblivion's mist, appear Thy deep-green vales, bold hills, and fountains clear."

HOME,

CURING HIS CAPTIVITY. 157

health, which was very much impaired, would admit, and obtain his licence to return home, I took my leave of his excellency, and set out from Valley Forge with Gen. Gates and his suit for Fish Kill, where we arrived the latter end of May. In this tour the Gen. was pleased to treat me with the familiarity of a companion, and generosity of a lord, and to him I made known some striking circum- stances which occurred in the course of my captivity. — I then bid farewell to my noble Gen. and the gentlemen of his retinue, and set out for Bennington, the capital of the Green Mountain Boys, where I arrived the evening of the last day of May to their great surprise ; for I was to them as one rose from the dead, and now both their joy and mine was complete. Three cannon were fired that evening, and next morning Col. Herrick gave orders, and fourteen more were discharged, welcoming me to Bennington, my usual place of abode ; thirteen for the United States, and one for young Vermont.

O

158 COL. JE. ALLEN'S OBSERVATIONS,

After this ceremony was ended we moved the flowing bowl, and rural felicity, sweeten- ed with friendship, glowed in each counte- nance, and with loyal healths to the rising States of America, concluded that evening, and, with the same loyal spirit,

-.

F,

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I NOW

CONCLUDE MY NARRATIVE.

SUBSCRIBERS5 NAMES.

Of the following list of subscribers the titles are omitted. Wt intended publishing a complete catalogue of the names of those who have subscribed for the work. But as many of the papers were not returned in season^ it was found to be impossible without a delay of its publication.

Jona. Atherton, Cavendish. J.R. Hammond, Mount Holly.

James D. Brown, Windsor. Jona. Hunt, Hanover.

M. R. Bartlett, Boston. H. Hitchcock, Windsor.

Clark Brown, Montpelier. F. Hunter, do.

S. Boynton, do. R. Hubbard, Sullivan.

J. Bellows, Jim. Walpole. G. H. Hall, Brattleborough,

J. Bellows, 2cl. do. P. C. Higgins, do.

Salmon Bellows, do. F. Holbrook, do.

J. G. Bond, Keene. L. Joy, 2d. do.

Ira Blake, Chester. E. Joslin, Keene.

Guy Bridgman, Guilford. B. Joyner, Montpelier.

A. Cady, Keene. E. Ives, Ludlow.

Watson Crosby, Brattleboro'. E. Kilburn, Walpole.

Silas W. Cobb, Montpelier. A. Knapp, Berlin.

S. Churchill, Woodstock. S. Osgood, Hanover.

S. Button, Jun. Cavendish. A. Parker, Cavendish.

S. Day, Montpelier. John Parker, do.

S. Dewey, do. J. Proctor, do.

James Dean, do. S. Prentiss, Walpole.

Parley Davis, do. S. Prouty, Langdon.

S. Dinsmoor, Keene. W. Ripley, Cornish.

J.Emerson, do. T. Shipley, Keene.

S. Elliot, Brattleboro'. T. Stone, Cavendish.

N. Estabrook, Andover. N.R. Smith, Walpole.

Silvester Forbes, Windsor. L. Tuttle, Bellows' Falls.

Jesse Fletcher, Ludlow. G. Taylor, Burke.

R.Fletcher, Cavendish. C. Webb, Rockingham,

Joel French, Montpelier. L. Weld, Guilford.

Isaac Freeman, do. J. Wells, Keene.

Geo. Griswold, Hanover. B. Willey, Walpole.

John Grout, Acworth. J. Wellman, jr. Cornish.

T. W. Hall, Cornish. J. Woodman, New grantham.

R. Healy, Acworth. J. White, Newport.

U. C. Hatch, Cavendish.

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