December, 1842. 



THE FARMER'S MONTHLY VISITOR. 



183 



on to tlie t'liil of til ' rlja|)ter. Mtiiiyof our peo- 

 ple are ali-uady supplied with some kind of Agri- 

 cultural papers. 



1 herewiili semi you the names of a dozen suh- 

 serihers or luori', with funds to match. They are 

 principally youui,' uicn ; some farmers, some uie- 

 clianics, some whijis and some locos ; all good 

 and true; some of them have already found out 

 that science has something to do with agriciillme; 

 and that e\en a superficial acfpiaintance with (;>■- 

 ology and Chemistry, may he made profitable to 

 the fiirmer. They helicve'moreover that with llie 

 aid of such men'as Silliman, Hitchcock, Jacksuu 

 and Dana, the day is approaching wlien no man, 

 however distinguished tor talents or acquirements 

 will feel ashanieil to he numbered with the agri- 

 culturalists of our country. 



Respcclllillv, Yours, 



Z. HOWE. 



(t/"0!d friends and old acquaintance — theas- 

 sociates of that period of life when the inspira- 

 tions of Hope disperse all the black clouds of 

 Despair — are more cheering than the new ac- 

 quaintance of yesterday. Although more than 

 one-fourth of a century has gone by sitice the 

 i>achelor physician left "the neighborhood where 

 he was [mpidar to a charm not oidy with maids 

 and matrons, but with fithers, brothers and lins- 

 bauds — yet does the reception of the following 

 letter revive old and pleasant scenes, amidst sliar;) 

 ]iolitical and sectarian contentions, where the 

 doctor was found the pleasant and acce|)table 

 visitor in whatever company he ha[)pened to fall. 

 By the bye, does the Doctor retnember Maj. W. 

 of the revolutionary war? The Major used to 

 chew tobacco and always brought himself in 

 near contact whenever he met and engaged 

 in conversation with iiis friends, whether male or 

 female : he scarcely ever failed to make an im- 

 j)reRsion in the face and front,lf not upon the heart 

 of the person with whom he was talking. Dr. 

 Howe was a f ivorir(.- of the Major, because he al- 

 ways seemed to listen [lalieutly to his revolution- 

 ary tales and adventures. On one occasion the 

 Major called at the Doctor's quarters when he was 

 in a great hm-ry to visit patients abroad. Seeing 

 him approach the Doctor retreated up stairs with 

 tiie instructions to say to the Major he was not at 

 home. Mrs. C. the lady of the bourse, did the 

 errand. " O I will wait for him," said the Major, 

 'i'he Doctor was cornered where he could not 

 get away, and was obliged to keep very still in 

 his position two long hours before the Major left 

 so that he could come down stairs and " breathe 

 free-er and easier." The veteran filajor still lives 

 but jirobably would now enjoy thi.^ joke as much 

 as any body else if his mind shall retain its ac- 

 tivity. 



Sweet is the metnory of the glorious events of 

 the war of American Independence in which 

 our friends and acquaintance took part. The 

 glory of om- heroes exfiands as the wide wave of 

 the ocean when not u breatli of air disturbs its 

 still surface — it shoots across the firmament of 

 the heavens like the Aurora Borealis when the 

 stars are most nuiui;riius and a clear atmosphere 

 presents the sky in that beauty which is inimita- 

 ble. A frieu(] of the late Col. Cilley sent ns, 

 with a notice of his death, the New Hampshire 

 Patriot of Septeinher 3, 1827, with a request that 

 we woidd copy a letter written by the Editor 

 (,f the Visitor, while upon the battle ground 

 where Cilley, Poor and Scammel dislinguislied 

 thetnselves in the decisive battles of Sept. 19th 

 and Oct. 7th, 1777. The accour.t of these events, 

 taken from the inontli of an actor of those scenes 

 upon the spot fifteen years ago, is better than we 

 could now indite either from memory or from 

 any written hisloi'y. We are gratified that it has 

 heen preserved by some of the descendants of 

 the gallant Col. Cdley, and is now by them pre- 

 sented for republication. 



From the N. II. Patriot, Sept. 3, 1827. 

 Saratoga, .Yew Yorlt, Aus^usl 20, 1827. 

 This is the consecrat.'d ground on which was 

 acted fitly years ago the most interesting scene of 

 tiie American revolution : fifty year.s ago at this 

 precise time the miglity prep.ip-ations were 

 making through all the then settled parts of New 

 England, which termiuuted in that glorious result, 

 occurring on the 17tli October, 1777, the surren- 

 der of Burgoyiie. Turning back half a century, 



the fancy is led not less to what was going on in 

 every inhabited corner and recess of New Eng- 

 land, than to what acinally took place on this 

 spot sacred to the best ieehugsof the patriot and 

 the philanthropist. Numbers yet live in New 

 Hampshiie who recollect the intense interest ex- 

 cited by the memorable events of the summer 

 and tall of J777. It was then that our hardy yeo- 

 mam y, who were not engagi'd in tlie regular 

 niililary >ei vice, left their iiirrns ir: many jnstan- 

 i-es to the care and protection of females, lliem- 

 silv.s needing the protection of their fathers, 

 liUobands or brothers, and marched for this thea- 

 tre to stem the threatened torrent of invasion 

 which was about to be poured on them from 

 Canada. Fort Ticonderoga, about sixty miles 

 north on Lake Champlain, had been abandoned 

 on the .5th of July previous; Burgoyiie having 

 taken possession of Mount Defiance, a command- 

 ing eminence only one thousand lour hundred 

 yards distant, and perched his cannon at a point 

 which had hitherto been disregarded by all pre- 

 vious military men, because deemed inaccessible. 

 In their retreat from this fort, which was consid- 

 ered the last obstacle to the progress of the ene- 

 my, the American army had encountered on the 

 sixth of the same month, the disastrous, but ob- 

 stinate and sanguinary conflicts at Hubbertou, in 

 which hundreds of the hardy soi.is of New Eng- 

 land bit the dust — among them the amiable and 

 brave Col. Francis of Beverly in Massachusetts. 



Although for more than two months subsequent 

 to that time, while the silent but dreadful note of 

 preparation passed from dwelling to dwelling, no 

 event occurred which could inspire the hope of 

 a favorable termination of this campaign to the 

 Americans, yet in proportion as the impending 

 danger increased, so increased the alacrity of the 

 brave men of New-England to volunteer their 

 services and march to the tented field. 



A portion of the men of New Hampshire com- 

 manded by Gen. Stark passed from Charlestown 

 through the intermediate wilds of Vermont, 

 whose mountain region is now changed to fruit- 

 ful fields, and in conjunction with other men col- 

 lected from Massachusetts and Connecticut, on 

 the sixteenth day of September achieved the 

 important victory at Bennington in two rencon- 

 tres on the same day, meeting and beating first 

 the Hessian Col. Banm, and afterwards Col Brey- 

 man who advanced with his troops to Baum's as- 

 sistance. This, although only an "affiiir of out- 

 posts," was an event of the utmo.st magnitude in 

 its consequences — it not only deprived the Brit- 

 ish commander of the great northern invading 

 army of the one-sixth part of his strength, but it 

 revealed the secret that British and Hessian reg- 

 ulars, the veterans of European wars hitherto 

 deemed invincible, might be conquered by Yan- 

 kee militia as yet untutored in the arts of war. 

 Until this occurrence, Burgoyne and his follow- 

 ers had not dreamed of failure: his fancied 

 strength had inspired a spirit of bravado, which 

 has ever since heen the subject for mirth and 

 laughter to the Yankee boys, but which was an 

 object of terror to the men, women and children 

 of New England during that memorable year, 

 from tlie time his first advance was announced 

 tip to the period of this hist reverse. Nor vvas 

 the genei-al anxiety lessened by the partial victo- 

 ry at Bennington — it was increased, because from 

 tiiat event uncertain and trembling hope suc- 

 ceeded to almost absolute despair. 



The battles near Stilwaterand the surrenderor 

 Burgoyne. have become hacknied by a frequent 

 descri|Jtion: many historians and travellers have 

 described them. I shall nut— and I might fail 

 had I the inclination— attempt an elaborate or 

 a minute descri|itiou. The ground has been trav- 

 elled over by Gen. Wilkinson, who was an active 

 staff officer of Gen. Gatgs at the time, and by 

 Professor Silliman, who more than twenty years 

 ago and several times since has visited the spot: 

 I "can add little of general interest to their de- 

 scriptions. But it is still grateful to our better 

 feelings— peculiarly gratefid at this time, precise- 

 ly half a ircnlury after the occurrence of these 

 events, will it be to the few surviving heroes that 

 remain, and the descendants of the heroes num- 

 bered with the dead, wiio participated with the 

 sanguinary conflicts of September I9th, and Oc- 

 tober 7th, 1777, again to recur to them. 



L;ist year while in this region, I made a hasty 

 visit to "the spot of Bnrgoyne's surrender. Be- 

 inus' heights, the scene of prior conflicts, is eight 



miles below the place of the surrender, in a di- 

 rection towards Albany, being the southernmost 

 point at which Bnrgoyne's army advanced. The 

 place of surrender was a fort immediately on the 

 bank of the Hudson, and was partially protected 

 by works on the heights somewhat more than 

 half a mile distant. Beinus' heights are situated 

 one to two miles west from the river: the house 

 « here Gen. Frazier expired was near the river, 

 as was the high mound on the lop of which and 

 ill a fort cominanding the pass up and down the 

 river his remains were interred. Last Saturday 

 in an excursion of thirty to forty miles ft-om Sar- 

 atoga Springs, accompanied by three gentlemen, 

 1 travelled over the wliole ground. We were so 

 fortunate as to find on the spot of the battle of 

 the 19lh, a mati (Maj. Buel) who acted as one of 

 the guides to the American army, and who was 

 in both battles. It gave me great pleasure to hear 

 from his own mouth, unasked, the praises of the 

 "brave Col. Cilley" and of the "undaunted 

 Scammel," the prowess and gallant bearing of 

 both of whom he mentioned as coming within 

 his personal view on both days. Besides these 

 it will be remembered that "Light Infantry Poor" 

 at this time was at the head of a New Hampshire 

 brigade among the most distinguished for intre- 

 pidity ; and under Poor was the unfortunate Col. 

 Colburn, killed in the battle of the 7th, Maj. Dear- 

 born and other gallant .sons of New Hampshire. 

 Our present Governor [Pierce] was in these bat- 

 tles, but was then of the Massachusetts line. 

 The proportion of New Hampshire troops at this 

 point was probably greater than that of any other 

 State ; and we have evidence from the mouth of 

 a disinterested witness that her men were among 

 the first and foremost in both battles on Bemua' 

 heights. 



Ezra Buel, now eighty-three years of age, a 

 native of Connecticut, was settled here about the 

 time of Burgoyne's invasion, described to us the 

 ground of both battles, and the particular loca- 

 tion of the several corps. 



The battle of the 19th of September was com- 

 menced by an accidental skirmish between ad- 

 vancing parties of both aririies. Until this time 

 the two armies had laid for several days near by, 

 without either knowing the peculiar strength and 

 location of the other. The exact spot of the 

 Gommencement was shown to us by the old man : 

 the first onset was by Morgan, who was then in 

 the rear of his riflemen, and whose advance was 

 too forward, so that in making the onset his troop 

 were scattered, and retreated towards the Amer- 

 ican line. Their place was soon supplied by 

 parties under Col. Colburn and Col. Scammel. 

 Maj. Buel pointed out to us the ground where 

 Scammel advancing under his guidance encoun- 

 tered a part of the British line within pistol shot, 

 the first intimation of who.«e near location was 

 discovered by the fire of the British upon him. 

 "On this fire," remarked the aged veteran, 

 "Scammel straightened up like one of the trees 

 "of the wood, and ordered his men to return it 

 "and charge. .^ He was a tall and a handsome 

 "young man, and his appearance on that occa- 

 "sion I have ever since recollected." Cilley's 

 regiment too (he said pointing at another spot) 

 was in advance of the orders of Gen. Gates: 

 "I told him so — but Cilley answered that he had 

 "not gone too far to do good if he had advanced 

 " beyond his orders, and he continued to urge his 

 " men towards the enemy." The first skirmish 

 was about twelve o'clock in the day ; but the 

 battle did not become general until about three, 

 from which time it raged with unabated fury un- 

 til night. The theatre of this action was an open 

 space or an oblong field, being a part of Free- 

 man's farm. In the course of the action the 

 combatants changed ground several times, but 

 the contest terminated where }t begun. The 

 British line was formed on an eminence in a thin 

 pine wood in front of the open space : on the 

 opjiositeside of tlie space in a thicker wood tho 

 Americans were posted, the fire of whose marks- 

 men was too deadly to be withstood by the ene- 

 my in line in the open field. . When the latter 

 gave way and broke, the former rushing from 

 their covert pursued them to their line, where 

 having their flanks protected they rallied in their 

 turn, drove the Americans back to the wood, 

 whence the same scene would be repeated ; and 

 in this manner did the battle fluctuate, with al- 

 ternate advantages, for four hours. The British 

 nrtillory fell into the hands ot the| Americans at 



