Fraser posted the Queen's Loyal Rangers forward as his advance party and Justus found the countryside nearly deserted. General Schuyler, in command of the rebels' northern military department, had removed known loyalist families and lodged them in a barracks in Albany to prevent them giving aid to the British army, while rebel families had fled. The fields were bare of crops, and the cattle and other livestock had vanished. Clearly Schuyler intended Burgoyne to be dependent on his lengthening lines of supply stretching back to Fort St. Johns. When they neared Thomas Sherwood's farm, Justus gave his cousin permission to seek out his family, and he returned to report that his house, like the rest was deserted, his fields naked. Thomas was perturbed, but Justus was certain Seth Sherwood had taken Anna and the children somewhere for safety, and he probably had Thomas' livestock, too.
On July 30 the Queen's Loyal Rangers reached Fort Edward, and were soon joined by the rest of Fraser's vanguard. The village was deserted, and Justus realized that the Army of the North intended making a stand much closer to Albany, the base of supply. He wondered where Patrick Smyth, his loyal informer, had gone, and scouts informed him that his friend had been taken to gaol in Albany as Burgoyne's army marched south.11 When the main body of the army arrived, Burgoyne settled himself in the Smyth house, the best one in the village.
Then Justus was appalled that there would be a further delay. Belatedly, Burgoyne admitted the folly of trying to bring all the heavy baggage and artillery by road, and he sent some of it back to Ticonderoga to be brought along Lake George. Two weeks might pass before the army could advance again — time Justus feared Burgoyne did not have. Autumn would soon be upon them and the troops had no winter clothing.
His company was now close to full strength, and Justus longed for the opportunity to strike back at the rebels who had wronged him so shamefully. Then a party of Indians came into the village and the whole camp was thunderstruck with horror. One of them displayed a scalp of long blond hair. Lieutenant David Jones, of the King's Loyal Americans, recognized those tresses as belonging to his betrothed, Jane McRae. After questioning the Indians, his fears were realized. In due course Jane's body was found. Burgoyne's Indians were out of control, marauding in the woods, caring not whether families they attacked were rebel or loyalist.
Heartsick, Justus wished Burgoyne would send all his native allies back to Canada. They were doing more harm than good, driving into the ranks of the rebels many who were wavering over which side to choose. He was certain the rebels would be quick to use the murder of Jane McRae to their advantage, ignoring the fact that she was engaged to a hated Tory officer. Thank heaven Sarah and his children, and the rest of her family, were safe in New Haven.
While he was trying to recover his balance after this tragedy, Colonel Peters told him that the Queen's Loyal Rangers would be going on an expedition in the course of which, Burgoyne hoped, the regiment would be brought to full strength.
Chapter 4
Bennington Bloodbath
Because of the supply situation, General Burgoyne decided to send a detachment of his troops across the Green Mountains to the Connecticut Valley. This expedition would be commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Friedrich Baum, who would lead 500 German troops, including those clumsy Brunswick Dragoons, 300 of Peters' Queen's Loyal Rangers, all of Pfister's Loyal Volunteers, and one company of British riflemen led by Captain Alexander Fraser, the brigadier's nephew. Baum's purpose was threefold: to requisition horses for the dragoons, to forage for provisions, and to obtain recruits to complete Peters' corps.1
That foraging might be incompatible with inducing recruits to come forward did not enter the commander-in-chiefs head. Philip Skene, who would be going on this foray, had assured Burgoyne that the land was occupied by loyal colonials. Such would welcome an invasion by foreign troops, helping themselves to precious horses and the food they were storing against the coming winter. Peters suggested that not less than 3,000 men should be sent, but Burgoyne informed him that when he wanted advice he would ask for it.
Justus grimaced at the prospect of serving again with the Germans, and Peters was no more enthusiastic. Both men would have preferred to see the task assigned to Brigadier Fraser, but Burgoyne's decision was a matter of etiquette. Since the Germans were encamped to the east of the British, Burgoyne could not offend the Baron von Riedesel by sending his redcoats across the German position so that they could reach the New Hampshire Grants. Loyalists were another matter, especially the Queen's Loyal Rangers and the Loyal Volunteers; both corps had been recruited mainly among New Englanders in Charlotte and Gloucester Counties. They knew the country, and von Riedesel had requested that provincials be Baum's vanguard, together with some Indian scouts.
In preparation, Colonel Peters ordered Justus to lead a party to obtain intelligence on the strength of the rebels at various posts, and to bring back as many recruits as possible. Peters was convinced that Baum would not have nearly enough men in his detachment, and he was sending most of his agents in search of volunteers, praying they would return in time to join him on the march. On August 1, Justus left with six men, all in their civilian dress. In his absence, Garret Miller, a quartermaster sergeant for the regiment, reported that of Captain Sherwood's company, 11 were absent on missions, 5 were sick in quarters, and 4 were prisoners of the rebels.2 Edward Carscallan was out after recruits and he brought back 20 men, some for Sherwood, the rest for Pfister, news Justus heard at a safe house near Arlington.
His host told him that Seth Warner, with his Green Mountain Boys, was at Manchester, and Justus' onetime band of roughnecks was now part of General Washington's Continental Army. Justus went on to the vicinity of Bennington, where he found that the rebels had a huge stock-pile of supplies, guarded by only 400 militiamen. He sent a courier to suggest that Burgoyne stage a quick raid on Bennington without delay.3
Meanwhile, Colonels Baum, Peters and Pfister, were about to leave Fort Edward, but when Sherwood's message reached him, Burgoyne, whose orders were for Baum to march towards Manchester, changed his instructions. Baum was to raid Bennington, and he should march as far as Arlington, and, ‘take post there until the detachment of Provincials under the Command of Captain Sherwood shall join you from the southward’.
After sending his message to Burgoyne, Justus continued keeping his ear to the ground while gathering recruits. He went north to the Bothum farm to get provisions from his father-in-law's slaves. There, to his surprise, he found Elijah Bothum Sr., who had come from New Haven to reassure himself that his property was safe. He chided Justus mildly for his indiscretion last April. Sarah was carrying their third child, and Justus was overcome with remorse. He could only murmur that he was sorry, but after a winter without his wife he was desperate, and he loved her very much. Asking Elijah to forgive him Justus resumed his scout. For reasons he could not fathom, hundreds of rebel reinforcements were pouring into Bennington.
On August 12 his party met Peters and his Queen's Loyal Rangers leading Baum's column, on the road a few miles north of Cambridge. A look of relief swept over Peters' countenance at the sight of his senior captain. He introduced Justus to Major Zadock Wright, who had finally taken up his appointment, but his face darkened when he described the way the Germans were behaving. Baum's men marched at the rate of “one mile an hour”, ranks meticulously dressed, a band playing most of the time, dragging two brass 3-pounder cannon, followed by a tumbrel full of powder and a train of supply wagons. Baum thought he was travelling light, for he had not brought tents.
Uneasily Justus enquired whether the expedition's destination was Bennington. Upon Peters' assurance that Burgoyne had changed his orders, Justus' heart fluttered. He admitted that he had suggested a quick raid, but now it was too late. Baum's leisurely and noisy march had warned the rebels, and they were reinforcing Bennington. Reporting this to Colonel Baum, with John Dulmage as his interpreter, Justus received orders to go immediately with 80 men in quest of supplies. He set out with his party, and when he had acquired sev
eral carts, wagons, horses to pull them, plus a fair number of cattle, he turned back to meet the expedition.
This time, opposition marshalled, and his party was fired upon. In the scuffling, Justus' men took five prisoners, but none of his side was scratched. Late the following day, he found Baum still at Cambridge, having marched only a short distance in the twenty-four hours Justus had been absent. From the prisoners he discovered that General John Stark, of New Hampshire, had marched into Bennington with 1,800 rebel militiamen. Seth Warner was marching from Manchester with a small detachment of his regiment, and the main body of his Green Mountain Boys was to follow as soon as possible. Colonel Baum dispatched a rider to inform Burgoyne that he would need reinforcements before taking on the rebels at Bennington.
On August 14 several small parties of loyalists joined the expedition along the road. Before long the Queen's Loyal Rangers and Loyal Volunteers far out stripped the German column. Peters asked Justus to go back and see if he could persuade the Germans to hurry, as he had done many times, praying that Sherwood, who knew what was happening, might have more effect. Taking Sergeant John Dulmage as his interpreter, Justus obeyed. They found Baum a mile behind, and while Dulmage was relaying Peters' message a party of men in frontier dress, with white paper in their hats, suddenly appeared. Philip Skene shouted to the men to hold their fire. These men, too, were loyalists. Unable to restrain himself Justus called Skene a blockhead, but his words were drowned when the newcomers opened fire, and one casualty was Skene's horse.5 When the smoke cleared, the rebels had vanished.
An unnerved Colonel Baum promised Dulmage that he would speed up the pace, and the two loyalists returned to the Queen's Loyal Rangers. Upon enquiring of Peters, Justus learned that the provincials had not received any unwelcome visitors. The rebels had let the spread-out loyalists pass by in order to concentrate on the closely packed German column. The rangers reached White Creek, where the rebels had destroyed a bridge. Waiting for the arrival of the Germans, Peters, joined by Pfister, had their men repair the damage. The entire expedition marched as far as the Walloomsac River, seven kilometres from Bennington, and they found the bridge there intact.
Here Baum, who had arrived soon after his provincials, decided to dig in and await his reinforcements, but he made the fatal mistake of scattering his force, which Justus viewed with alarm. Baum selected a hill around which the Walloomsac River wound for his Germans, with an outpost of Brunswick grenadiers and Captain Fraser's marksmen halfway down the slope, and more regulars at the bridge. He divided his provincials in half. Peters, with Wright and most of the Queen's Loyal Rangers, were placed in the rear on the road from Cambridge. Pfister's men were sent forward across the Walloomsac with orders to build a redoubt, but the Loyal Volunteers only had 200 men. To placate those in Sherwood's company who wanted to serve under Pfister, Peters assigned his third company, now at full strength, to serve with the Loyal Volunteers at the redoubt.6
Justus noticed an old cabin near the bridge, and after eyeing the storm clouds creeping across the sky, he decided to station some of his company within it. He would remain at the redoubt, regardless of the elements. He arranged for a few of his men to be with him in shifts, while all had orders to quit the cabin and join him at the first sign of an enemy approach.
During the night of August 14, heavy rain fell, and the downpour continued all the following day. The Germans and loyalists tried to pile earth on their barricades, but it slithered away. Justus and the men on duty at the redoubt huddled together in misery, rivulets of water pouring from the bicornes of the men in uniform. Like Justus, some were in civilian clothes, because they had been scouting, or were recruits acquired after the expedition left Fort Edward. Meanwhile, the Indians who had come as scouts vanished, which pleased Justus. Loyalists were capable of being the eyes and ears of Baum's force.
August 16 dawned sunny but damp, and Justus discovered that the cartridges in his men's pouches were wet. Fortunately the powder in Baum's tumbrel was dry, as was a supply of cartridge paper from the wagons. The troops were busy in the early hours making fresh ammunition, ever on the alert for signs of a rebel approach. The men had breakfast, and at nine o'clock the rebels attacked from three sides. New Hampshire militia came towards the German position on the hill from the northwest. General Stark, with the main body of New Hampshiremen, moved in from the east towards Pfister's redoubt. Meanwhile, a larger force of Bennington militia had crossed the Walloomsac River on a ford farther downstream, and had circled round to attack Baum's Germans on the hill, out of sight of Eraser's riflemen and the Brunswick grenadiers.
Battle of Bennington August 16 1777
Justus could not tell what was happening; smoke from firelocks and Baum's cannon obscured everything. The men fired and reloaded, missing most of Sherwood's and Pfister's orders as the cannon boomed. Then Robert Leake, Pfister's senior captain, shouted that his colonel was mortally wounded. Justus moaned. This was no way to be fighting when there was plenty of cover only a few yards off in the woods. He ordered everyone to abandon the redoubt and shelter behind trees. Captain Leake agreed to let Sherwood command, and all took cover, firing hour after hour of that fateful day.
Suddenly he heard a thunderous explosion, and Elijah Bothum, hands as powder-blackened as Justus' own, came running to report that the rebels had blown up Baum's tumbrel of powder. Like Pfister, Baum was mortally wounded, and but for what each man carried in his cartridge case, the Germans and provincials were out of ammunition.
Around four o'clock, with Leake in agreement, Justus ordered a retreat. He led the way because Leake, a former British regular, was a New Yorker who did not know the country. With the help of Lieutenant Carscallan, Ensign Wilson and Sergeant Dulmage, Justus collected his company, while Leake marshalled Pfister's survivors. Justus avoided the main battlefield and led all the loyalists through the woods, joining the road “a mile away”, from the carnage. “One more mile on”, they found out what had happened to the reinforcements. The road was littered with dead men in blue, and some abandoned field guns. In spite of the grisly scenes of the dead and dying, both at the Walloomsac River and now, Justus had to think of the living. His belly was numb with hunger, and he looked in vain for supply wagons, but found none. Stoically the survivors marched up the road, many of them walking wounded.
At Cambridge Justus met Colonel Peters and a detachment of his men, waiting to remove the bridge when he thought those lucky enough to be alive had joined him. Peters was limping from a ball that had grazed his foot, and he had a bayonet wound in his chest, bestowed by an old schoolfellow, a cousin of his wife. Justus ordered his men to rest, and taking a long drink from a stream, he sat down to hear how Peters and the rest of the regiment had fared on their part of the battlefield.
Peters had retreated earlier than Sherwood, after horrendous losses. More than 200 Queen's Loyal Rangers were dead, wounded or now prisoners of the rebels, receiving God knew what harsh treatment. Only a handful of men left the scene of the disaster with him, and while Major Wright and John Jr. were safe, his other three captains were missing. Assessing the situation, Sherwood's company had fared much better than the others because he had taken his men into the woods. From the sixty men that he had at the start of the day, forty-six were left.7
All told, four lieutenants and three ensigns were safe, and some seventy rank and file. As the shadows lengthened, Captain Fraser arrived with the survivors of his company, and a few blue-coated Germans joined them. Then, fairly certain no more would follow, Peters ordered some of the able-bodied men to dismantle the bridge. The night was clear as the provincials and regulars continued their march up the road, until they were too exhausted to go on.
With Peters, Wright and Sherwood walked Captains Fraser and Leake, deploring Baum's tactics that had led to the slaughter. Fraser felt that the force should have been deployed closer together, where fire power might have saved the troops until the reinforcements arrived. Peters and Sherwood disagreed. Had the men been deployed in
the woods, more would have survived. Peters, who had withdrawn early enough to meet the reinforcements as they were being attacked by the rebels, was convinced that Colonel Heinrich von Breymann, in command of them, had been in no hurry to reach Baum. In any case, the road had been a quagmire during the heavy rain, and the reinforcements had not been able to make good time. In the attack on von Breymann, Peters had recognized Seth Warner, and it was his regiment, the rebel Green Mountain Boys, that had dispersed the German column.
When the first light streaked the sky, the survivors struggled on, unable to find any food because the country had been stripped bare during Baum's march southward. Mercifully they did not have to walk all the way to Fort Edward. Before Peters had set out with Baum, Burgoyne had ordered his army to march to Fort Miller, thirteen kilometres closer, where he would be encamped when the incursion into the Green Mountains was over. The fifty-eight kilometre trek to Burgoyne's new encampment seemed the longest walk of Sherwood's life. The reasons for the disaster preoccupied all the men as they dragged themselves along. The defeat at Bennington, they decided, was because of Baum's ignorance of local conditions, the ponderous performance of the Germans, who had no idea of how to conduct a hit and run operation, and the cunning of John Stark, a ranger officer in the Seven Years' War.
Justus voiced his agreement, and even Captain Fraser was in accord. The provincials and his riflemen would have fared better on their own. Light troops — and no brass band — might have reached Bennington before the rebels were alerted. Sadly, as he arrived at Fort Miller, what Justus remembered best about Baum's column was the lumbering Brunswick Dragoons, each carrying a halter in case he found a horse. Now most of those comrades in arms, unsuitable as they were, lay dead on the hill above the Walloomsac River. Worse still, so were many of Sherwood's own kind, red-coated provincials whose mangled bodies were sprawled in Pfister's redoubt.
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