Buckskin Pimpernel

Meanwhile, he and Dr. Smyth had been discussing a mission which Haldimand had been considering since the doctor's visit to Quebec City. Smyth had proposed some abductions of important rebel leaders in New York State. With the Yorkers in a mood to make peace, Hudibras had persuaded Haldimand the time was ripe for a small reign of terror to assist the work being done by Butler's Rangers and the King's Royal Regiment of New York. Haldimand agreed that eight small parties of raiders be sent into New York State to carry off some of these leaders.7 Their removal would have a devastating effect on rebel morale, as well as provide valuable prisoners to trade.

  By order of the governor, each party was to include from four to six loyalists and two British regulars in civilian dress, on the strength that they were better marchers. Justus suspected that His Excellency added the regulars because he did not trust loyalists on their own. Smyth was to choose some of the kidnappers, Justus others, and St. Leger the regulars. All were to be near their intended quarry by July 31. None were to strike earlier, to allow parties with farther to travel to be in position before any other party gave the game away. Where necessary, Indian guides would be provided. At Sherwood's insistence, all were to depart from the Loyal Blockhouse, to make certain everyone understood his orders and there would be no slip-ups.

  Of all the leaders, Justus had confidence in three who had proved themselves on previous occasions — John Walden Meyers, Joseph Bettys and Mathew Howard. Bettys was now an ensign in the King's Rangers, Mathew Howard a lieutenant in the King's Loyal Americans. In the others Justus had some misgivings, but Meyers' intended victim was the most important — General Philip Schuyler, the commander of the rebel military department in Albany. The Schuyler mansion, ‘The Pastures’, lay three kilometres south of Albany, overlooking the Hudson. Meyers knew the area well, and was the right man for the job, although Justus did not like him personally. Joe Bettys, who hailed from Ballstown, was to remove Samuel Stringer from that place. Howard's quarry was John Bleecker of Hoosic, close to his home village of Pittstown.

  At that stage, Dr. Smyth returned to Fort St. Johns to choose loyalists who would accompany the party leaders, and Justus awaited the arrival of all the parties for his final briefing. By July 26 all had left the Loyal Blockhouse, with orders to memorize their instructions and destroy them. Then Justus received a letter from Hudibras, who had given Captain Azariah Pritchard permission to abduct General Jacob Bailey, in eastern Vermont, and the scout would be stopping at the blockhouse en route. Justus reacted quickly. He wanted no trouble with the Vermonters, not when Joseph Fay would soon be coming with his flag to exchange prisoners. He sent a courier to Smyth, explaining why Pritchard must be stopped.

  The doctor set out hoping to overtake his man, but to Justus' dismay Pritchard reached the Loyal Blockhouse on August 1 with eight men. Justus restrained Azariah, by threatening to use force. Both men were captains on the temporary list, but Pritchard was the one who backed down. After suggesting the kidnap of Mr. Livermore, a New Hampshire delegate to the Continental Congress, which Justus rejected because the Vermonters were wooing that state, Pritchard agreed to go on a scout and to refrain from carrying off anyone of importance.

  The blockhouse was by now nearly complete, resembling others built to a standard design by the Royal Engineers. It measured six metres by nine at ground level, with a large fireplace and benches round all four walls. A ladder through a trap door led to the second storey, which overhung the lower by forty-five centimetres, with slits through which muskets could be poked that had hinged covers to keep out the cold. A partition of two walls separated the officers' quarters and the second storey fireplace. The men slept on palliasses on the second floor, which was pierced with holes to allow a defence with muskets should the enemy penetrate the ground floor. The loft under the pitch of the roof, reached by another ladder, Justus reserved for his own quarters, and Dr. Smyth's when he was at the blockhouse.

  Here he could talk in private, and be fairly certain no one would touch his correspondence. He asked Colonel St. Leger for an officer to be in command of the blockhouse when he had to be away, and received, with or without Colonel Peters' approval, Lieutenant John Dulmage, to command the garrison numbering sixteen men. The members of the 34th Regiment returned to Fort St. Johns once the building was nearly complete. Then, to Justus' satisfaction, St. Leger authorized a reinforcement of fourteen provincials, and he received more men from his company and some King's Rangers.8

  These thirty men were for duty at the blockhouse. His agents, mainly officers of provincials from the temporary list, were a separate group, although he sent men from the garrison on missions in support of his scouts.

  Early in August Dr. Smyth came in expectation of the next prisoner exchange. By this time five of the raiding parties sent to kidnap rebels in New York State had returned, after failing to capture their intended quarry. Worried though he was over the three parties that had not appeared, Justus was busy preparing for the flag from Vermont. On the 7th, Major Joseph Fay arrived, having left thirty-four prisoners on the Vermont shore, and he met Sherwood and Smyth aboard the Royal George. Justus had a like number of men under guard at the Loyal Blockhouse, and after each was searched the exchange took place. Fay complained that the men returned were in poor shape, but Justus replied in kind. He told Mathews that Major Zadock Wright was showing the ‘incipid enthusiasm of a Shuffling Quaker’.9

  Another stormy session followed aboard the Royal George. Over the question of reunion, Fay had nothing to offer but reassurances that the conspirators needed more time. In exasperation, Justus informed Mathews that the Vermonters were seeking ‘Two strings to their bow’. His scouts reported that the Vermont leaders wanted reunion, but the general public was opposed. Penning his letter, Justus was feeling wretched, head throbbing, arms and legs numb. Dr. Smyth, complaining of stomach pains, was no comfort either. Moreover, disturbing reports that a plague of caterpillers was destroying the hay crop along the St. Lawrence Valley worried him. He was acquiring some livestock at the Loyal Blockhouse, and he was afraid he would not be able to winter them. He wanted his post to be as self-sufficient as possible. Because of the difficulties involved in bringing up supplies, his men were ploughing in preparation for planting winter wheat.

  By the time Joseph Fay left, both of Haldimand's commissioners were exhausted and irritable, but they had to face more bad news. Joseph Bettys' men returned without their leader. Joe had left the kidnapping of Samuel Stringer at Ballstown in their hands, and went off to visit a girl named LeGrange, who lived at Norman's Kill, near Albany. The men had panicked without their leader and headed for the Loyal Blockhouse. Joe had persuaded the girl to run away with him, and on the heels of the men came a letter from St. Leger at Fort St. Johns.

  Bettys had turned up there, and Dr. Smyth left in a bateau to question him. Hudibras reported that St. Leger had confined Joe to the garrison ‘for refusing to deliver up his Desdemona’, and remaining silent when Smyth demanded to know where she was hidden. Eventually the girl was found, but Smyth was reluctant to send her home, for ‘I think he would not be long after her which would ruin many of his Majesty's loyal subjects’.10 Furthermore, Bettys' arrival with what Smyth called his ‘female recruit’ was scandalous. Joe had a wife and children in Ballstown.

  Justus wondered what had happened to Mathew Howard and John Walden Meyers, for neither had returned. Then a scout informed him that Howard had succeeded in capturing John Bleecker, but he in turn was captured with his entire party, enlarged to eighteen men because he thought the six he brought from the Loyal Blockhouse insufficient. Now all nineteen were in Bennington gaol, a rare moment of co-operation between Vermonter and Yorker.11 Contrary to Sherwood's orders, Howard had not destroyed his written instructions and the rebels found them.

  On August 17 an irate Meyers reached Fort St. Johns, and Smyth's report did nothing for Justus' headache. On July 31, Meyers had been ready, hiding in a friend's barn with a party of twelve men, for like Howard, he thought the six he had b
rought from the Loyal Blockhouse insufficient. He dared not strike on the day ordered because scouts he sent out told him of a manhunt for Joe Bettys, who was supposed to be forty kilometres away, kidnapping Samuel Stringer. By the evening of August 7, Meyers thought all was clear, but he did not know that Mathew Howard had been captured, nor that the rebels had Sherwood's instructions and knew other abductions were planned. Since General Schuyler was an important man he had been forewarned.

  When Meyers' party broke into The Pastures, they found armed men. After a short but bloody skirmish, in which both his British regulars were wounded, Meyers withdrew, his men carrying off two of Schuyler's as they fled into the forest. Thus Mathew Howard and Joseph Bettys had spoiled Meyers' attempt to kidnap General Schuyler. Haldimand was mortified because Meyers' men had broken the gentlemanly rules of war. In their retreat from Schuyler's house, some silver — spoons, plates and tankards — went with them. The fight took place in the wide centre hallway of the Georgian mansion, but someone made a side trip into the dining-room for the valuables. Haldimand wanted the silver returned, but Meyers was able to find only the spoons. The rest had been taken by local loyalists who had joined him, and had long since been sold.12

  At the Loyal Blockhouse Justus turned his attention to Vermont and sent David Crowfoot to Arlington with a message for resident agent Elnathan Merwin — code name Plain Truth. He wanted to know what the populace at large thought about the commissioners' negotiations, and how widespread was the knowledge that reunion with Britain was the ultimate goal of Governor Chittenden. In mid-August his cousin Thomas informed him that Seth Sherwood — Thomas' father — had been kidnapped by some of the King's Royal Regiment of New York from his home near Fort Edward and was in Montreal. Justus felt acutely embarrassed, as did Thomas. Both agreed that Seth deserved to be removed because he had entrapped many loyalists, but blood was thicker than water. Justus learned that on August 13, Sir John Johnson had allowed his uncle and several others captured at the same time to be free in Montreal, and was recommending that they be returned home on parole. To this Dr. Smyth objected:

  The Indulgence given Prisoners to return home on Parole had been detrimental to our Friends…Seth Sherwood Senr., Moses Harris and a certain Mr. Abel have not a little Contributed to the afflictions of many worthy inhabitants13

  Justus was still pondering the implications of his uncle's capture when some of Captain Azariah Pritchard's scouting party returned from the Connecticut Valley with a rebel corporal and three civilians. On August 19, Pritchard himself showed up and reported that General Jacob Bailey appeared to be coming over to Britain's side. After hearing this intelligence, Justus brought Mathews up to date. He was afraid that many of the Vermonters were motivated by self-interest. As far as he could tell, perhaps one-fifth of the people wanted reunion in order to trade with Canada. Another fifth were genuine loyalists, but the remainder were ‘mad rebels’ and almost out of control.14 Nevertheless, Justus hoped Haldimand would continue his support of the conspirators, because this was in the best interests of the loyalists. Some refugees might be turned over to authorities in other states without Chittenden's knowledge, but many would be allowed to pass on to Canada. For that reason alone the negotiations were beneficial.

  Towards the end of August, Justus went to Fort St. Johns to complete arrangements for the next prisoner exchange. He resolved to put Mathew Howard and the men of his party on the list of prisoners he wanted returned from Vermont. By September 1, his miseries were beyond endurance. Dr. Smyth had a letter ready for Quebec City, and hoping that a ride might make him feel better, Justus decided to carry it as far as Montreal. Smyth's letter showed how loyalists were being helped by Vermont. He mentioned that Mrs. Hannah Brown, from Kingsbury, near Fort Edward, ‘is just come in – She came through a Pass from Chittington’.15 While in Montreal Justus added a covering letter to Smyth's:

  I drove here yesterday as hard as my horse would carry me to try and shake off a disagreeable head ache and numbess that had plagued me for some days past. Return to St. John's today, and suppose I must push off tomorrow for Skenesborough – I wish I had better health16

  They did not leave as soon as Justus expected. Hudibras took charge to allow him a few days rest, and Thomas Smyth went ahead to inform Major Joseph Fay that there would be a delay. When Justus and the doctor were ready they left on the Royal George from Isle aux Noix with the prisoners and an escort of regulars. Off Crown Point, a messenger from Major Carleton, who was farther up the lake, informed Justus that the Vermont flag was approaching. Half way to Ticonderoga they sighted the Vermont party, and two officers representing Major Fay came aboard to conduct the formalities. Perusing the list, Justus found that the names of the loyalists captured with Mathew Howard were there, but not their young leader's nor those of the two British regulars in his party.

  He would have to think of someone special to exchange for Howard, and find some Continental soldiers to offer for the regulars. After some discussion, the Vermonters agreed that Sherwood and Smyth should escort their prisoners to Skenesborough, while the prisoners from Vermont and their escort would proceed to Pointe au Fer. The two commissioners and their party transferred to bateaux for the journey up the narrow arm of Lake Champlain.

  When they were passing the ruins of Mount Independence, scouts reported an alarming number of rebel patrols. Justus ordered everyone ashore to the east redoubt of Ty, regulars to surround the prisoners to prevent any escapes. Then he sent a scout forward to apprise Major Fay that his party was being menaced. It was raining, and Hudibras fell on the slippery boards as he was climbing from the bateau, injuring his leg. Hours passed before the scout returned with an escort and a flag from Major Fay. Back aboard the bateaux the men clambered, Smyth cantankerous because he was in severe pain.

  At Skenesborough they found an elated Thomas Smyth, whose news put an end to his father's complaints. Mrs. Smyth had come, but Thomas had sent her on. She carried a dispatch from Sir Henry Clinton, and he wanted her behind the British lines with all haste.17 His mother had left Albany accompanied by a black woman servant, and reached Bennington. The rebel faction demanded that she be searched and returned to New York, but Joseph Fay forbad either. To show his good faith he had Mrs. Smyth sent on without demanding anyone in exchange. Three members of the Smyth family were safe, but Terence still languished in Albany gaol. Before John Walden Meyers' attack on the Schuyler house, the rebels were ready to allow Terence out on parole, but after that outrage he was questioned. Young Hudibras refused to say where Meyers might be hiding, or what route he had used to leave the neighbourhood, and now all hope of parole was lost.

  Also waiting at Skenesborough were Joseph Fay, Ira Allen and Isaac Clarke, with horses to take the commissioners to Pawlet for a conference with other Vermont notables. Justus hesitated. He had no authority to proceed farther into Vermont, and little desire after the uncivil treatment accorded him the year before. He used Dr. Smyth's injured leg as the excuse for not accompanying the Vermonters, and to his astonishment Ira proposed holding a meeting then and there. At last he appeared willing to negotiate in earnest. A recent election in Vermont had confirmed Chittenden's leadership, and the republic had now extended her western boundary to the Hudson River, to the satisfaction of many local residents. That made Skenesborough neutral ground and safer for the prisoner exchanges. Ira told Justus that if Governor Haldimand would send a proclamation offering favourable terms, it would greatly expedite the work of the conspirators.18

  Justus was delighted. At last Ira had come up with something concrete. Prisoner exchange and discussions closed, Sherwood and Smyth and their escort returned to Ticonderoga where the Royal George awaited them for the journey back to Isle aux Noix. At Fort St. Johns, Smyth had a reunion with his wife, and on September 25 he wrote to Mathews ‘Fay has behav'd well.…thru’ his means I am possessed of my Rib again; but Alas! my poor boy; what will become of him?’

  In Justus' absence Colonel St. Leger had chosen John Walden Me
yers to go to New York City with the latest report on Vermont for Sir Henry Clinton. Justus had no objections, and he briefed Meyers before the hefty courier set out. Meyers had proved the most reliable of all the would be kidnappers sent into New York State that July. When his report that Ira Allen wanted a proclamation reached Haldimand, he ordered Justus to come to Quebec City immediately. The head of the secret service travelled by express again, riding almost non-stop.

  After some discussions, Haldimand ordered Justus to return to Fort St. Johns. His Excellency wanted to think about the proclamation, not certain the home government would countenance a charter province. Connecticut had been one of the most rebellious of the Thirteen Colonies, and Lord George Germain might be leery of setting up any more such provinces. Back home Justus learned that Meyers had been replaced, for on the way he had fallen ill with malaria and was recuperating at Pointe au Fer. Dr. Smyth dispatched Captain John Dafoe, King's Rangers, to carry Meyers' packet to New York City.19

  Hudibras had also written a droll account of the shortcomings of some of the secret agents. Three in particular ‘haunt me like Hamlet's ghost’ he claimed in a plea for instructions written September 29, 1781. ‘The first is a simpleton, the second proves himself a knave, & the last, I believe unfit for anything Except weaving Lindsey Woolsy’. Farther in the same letter he moaned about men at Fort St. Johns who were not pulling their weight:

  There is a Number of Active & Able Body'd Beef devoureres here, eating up the King's Royal Bounty without thanking saying, God bless him – I wish his Excellency would permit anyone he pleased to adopt such bodily Exercise for those Gulp and Swallow Gentry as may keep them from Scorbutic and Indolent habits &c20

  On October 10, Haldimand's proclamation arrived from Quebec City, and Justus sent a messenger to Ira Allen to arrange for its delivery in Vermont. Haldimand, too, had plans to assure its ready acceptance by the Green Mountain people. Colonel St. Leger left to occupy Crown Point with a force 1,000 strong. Major John Ross, in command at Carleton Island, was to lead an expedition from Oswego, to operate in the Mohawk Valley, avoiding the part of New York which Vermont had annexed. The same flurry of activity had been staged the year before prior to Justus' visit to Vermont, and for the same purpose. The Vermont Legislature was meeting, and Haldimand wanted to show the representatives how much better off were the people in the neutral zone than their neighbours in New York.