Camp Before St Johns October 6th 1775
Sir
Ever since the Seventeenth of Last month we have Laid Siege to this Place, tis a very Difficult Place to Come at, as it is almost Surrounded with Sunken Swamps & Marshy ground, Many Small Occurrences have Happen'd During the Siege which I Cannot recapitulate, the Enemy it is Thought have fired 600 Bomshels besides numbers of Cannon Shot & Showers of Grape shot, but we have Lost but about a Dozn men by them all ー They Played very severely on us when we were Erecting our Battery's I was for three Days Successively where the Shot & Shells Came & the grape Shot ratled round me Like hail, But a Good God has Preserv'd me ー I had Several times the Dirt Spatterd all over me by the Shells & shot but None have hitherto hit me, the Extreme rainy Season & our very wet and Muddy Camp makes it much unhealthy, some Days ago I was orderd to Go round & Reconnoitre on the Northwest part of the fort, where we are Going to Erect a Gun Battery in order to make a Breach & storm the place If it Can be Conquerd no other way (which I Look upon the Attempt Dangerous & The Event Dubious) In going to Reconnotre I Crawld upwithin Musket Shot of the Enemy's Batterys & observ'd their Movements; in Doing of which I was Oblig'd more than once to be knee Deep in water & it being rainy I Was wet from head to foot from Early in the Morning till ten o'Clock at Night by which I got a great Cold & have not been well Since, I have been Laid Up for Several Days from business only that I keep about, but find it too Hard for my Constitution, Colo [Ethan] Allen has been very Servicable in bringing In the Cannadians & Indians, But being Encouraged by some others, he Has rather Contrary to his own Judgment Cross'd the River about five Miles below Montreal with only about 30, New Englan'd men & 70 Cannadian Friends 100 in the whole & Intended to Augment his Number of Cannadians & if Possible get Possession of Montreal, But he was the Next Morning Met by St Luke Lucorn with about 400 Regulars & french Tories ー They Over Power'd Allen, & he is Either kill'd or Taken with About 20 of His men (which was a Severe stroke to us) he however made some havock he Stood his ground firing till they Surrounded him altho his men forsook him, The Town Major of Montreal with some other of the most potent Tories were kill'd in the Engagement. ー
On the 3rd Instant, There was a Severe Engagement Between the french whigs On one Side & the french Tories & Regulars on the Other side, at Chamble about 13 miles from this place, The Tory Party had the Advantage as they fired about Fifty Cannon shot on our Whigs when they had only small arms to Defend With They Lost Several men on Each side, The Whigs maintaind their ground; In Short tis a Melancholly Prospect to see; that all Cannada is in one Continued Scene of War & Bloodshed, if we Dont Carry our Point we have brought Cannada into the Most Deplorable Situation Possibie to Conceive, as those people Who have Taken arms in our favour with their Wifes & Children will be Left to Cruelty without Mercy; & any of our army will hardly Escape with Safety Tis amazing to me that the Colony's should have so Little Sense of the Importance of This Expedition as not to give us a good Large Army, well Furnish'd in Due Season, which Indeed would have nearly Setled the Controversy, but we have never yet been 2000 Strong Exclusive of our friends of Cannada, altho' we Assume to ourselves all the Airs of a potent Army. on the 4th Instant the Enemy hauld off an Armed Vessel to the East side, when with her and a Large Schooner & the Cannon Of The fort, They began a heavy Cannonading & Bombarding on our Camp And Batterys But principally Aim'd at a Party of about 200 or 250 of our Cannadian friends who are Intrenching themselves on the East Side on which Our Gundaloes & Battery's Returnd the fire & the Cannadians Pour'd in a fire Of Musquetry, on the Enemy, & a party from our Camp Commanded by Colo [Timothy] Bedel, Likewise Came up & fired upon them, which made the Enemy Retire To their Den, the firing of Cannon & Musquetry was warm for about half An hour, our Cannadian friends Maintain'd their ground & kill'd some of The Enemy with the Loss of only one man Slightly wounded with a grapeshot
I have been present with the General at a Congress & Treaty with the Indians where the Heads of all the Seven Nations of Cannada were present & matters Were Conducted with Great Solemnity & to the Mutual Satisfaction of all
Yesterday St Luke Lucorn (that Arch Devil Incarnate who has Butcher'd hundreds men women & Children of our Colony, in the Late war in the Most Inhuman Manner) who has Ever been a head & Leader of the Cannadians and All the Indians, now finding that Notwithstanding all his Wiles & falsehoods The Indians & More than half the Cannadians are become friendly to Us, He has now sent a Message to us Desiring a Conference with us, the General has agreed to a Conference to be held at LePraire tomorrow Major Brown & the Aide Camp on our Side, & that wretch St Luke with the Principal Leaders of the Tory faction of Montreal on the other side, Tis a very Delicate Embassy & the Consequences will better manifest the Event, than it Can Be Guess'd, ー The Indians of all the Tribes & the Cannadians who Joyn Us have all Learn'd English Enough to say Liberty, & Bostonian, and All Call themselves Yankee's, the Indians Boast much of it, & will smite On their Breasts Saying, 'me yankee,' ー
It is very Grievous to me that General Schuyler is not here I had a very Good understanding with Him & a Good agreement in all the Modes of Prosecuting the Expedition but to my Sorrow & the Embarrassment Of the Service there is not that good understanding as I Could wish now General Montgomrys Chief Confident is one Colo [Donald] Campbell a Scotchman who Has been an Officer in the Regulars & is now Depy Qr Mr Gen I & very profane I should be Very sorry to Inform your Honr that there is Scarcely a word heard from Head Quarters without some Oaths & Curses on Every Occation, but I Vallue Myself on the Righteousness of the Cause, & hope in God for Success.
I have no Great Opinion of Montgomry's Generalship altho I believe him To be a Man of Courage that is but a small (tho' Essensial) Qualification of a General, for all the Pretensions of New York there has not been One Head Colo of a Regiment, seen in the Army this year, & out of Their 3500 Men we have never had more than 600 Down here, until within this 4 Days there has Come between 2 & 300 more, I Recollect nothing more Material, The firing goes on now pretty Briskly the Enemy are very Strongly fortified, The Event of Each Day Can only be told or even Guess'd at the Close of it, I am Sir with all Defference & Respect [&c.]