An Historical Account of the Settlements of Scotch Highlanders in America Part 29

The encampment at Yorktown was formed on an elevated platform, nearly level, on the bank of the river, and of a sandy soil. On the right of the position, extended from the river, a ravine of about forty feet in depth, and more than one hundred yards in breadth; the center was formed by a horn-work of entrenchments; and an extensive redoubt beyond the ravine on the right, and two smaller redoubts on the left, also advanced beyond the entrenchments, const.i.tuted the princ.i.p.al defences of the camp.

On the morning of September 28, 1781, the combined French and American armies, twelve thousand strong, left Williamsburg by different roads, and marched towards Yorktown, and on the 30th the allied armies had completely invested the British works. Batteries were erected, and approaches made in the usual manner. During the first four days the fire was directed against the redoubt on the right, which was reduced to a heap of sand. On the left the redoubts were taken by storm and the guns turned on the other parts of the entrenchments. One of these redoubts had been manned by some soldiers of the 71st. Although the defence of this redoubt was as good and well contested as that of the others, the regiment thought its honor so much implicated, that a pet.i.tion was drawn up by the men, and carried by the commanding officer to lord Cornwallis, to be permitted to retake it. The proposition was not acceded to, for the siege had reached such a stage that it was not deemed necessary.

Among the incidents related of the Highlanders during the siege, is that of a soliloquy, overheard by two captains, of an old Highland gentleman, a lieutenant, who, drawing his sword, said to himself, "Come, on, Maister Was.h.i.+ngton, I'm unco glad to see you; I've been offered money for my commission, but I could na think of gangin' hame without a sight of you. Come on."[173]

The situation of the besieged daily grew more critical, the whole encampment was open to a.s.sault, and exposed to a constant and enfilading fire. In this dilemma lord Cornwallis resolved to decamp with the elite of his army, by crossing the river and leaving a small force to capitulate. The first division embarked and some had reached the opposite sh.o.r.e at Gloucester Point, when a violent storm of wind rendered the pa.s.sage dangerous, and the attempt was consequently abandoned. The British army then surrendered to Was.h.i.+ngton, and the troops marched out of their works on October 20th.

The loss of the garrison was six officers, thirteen sergeants, four drummers and one hundred and thirty-three rank and file killed; six officers, twenty-four sergeants, eleven drummers, and two hundred and eighty-four wounded. Of these the 71st lost Lieutenant Thomas Fraser and nine soldiers killed; three drummers and nineteen soldiers wounded. The whole number surrendered by capitulation was a little more than seven thousand making a total loss of about seven thousand eight hundred. Of the arms and stores there were seventy-five bra.s.s, and one hundred and sixty iron cannon; seven thousand seven hundred and ninety-four muskets; twenty-eight regimental standards; a large quant.i.ty of cannon and musket-b.a.l.l.s, bombs, carriages, &c., &c. The military chest contained nearly eleven thousand dollars in specie.

Thus ended the military service of an army, proud and haughty, that had, within a year marched and counter-marched nearly two thousand miles, had forded streams, some of them in the face of an enemy, had fought two pitched battles and engaged in numerous skirmishes. With all their labors and achievements, they accomplished nothing of real value to the cause they represented.

Fraser's Highlanders remained prisoners until the conclusion of hostilities. During their service their character was equal to their courage. Among them disgraceful punishments were unknown. When prisoners and solicited by the Americans to join their standard and settle among them, not one of them broke the oath he had taken, a virtue not generally observed on that occasion, for many soldiers joined the Americans. On the conclusion of hostilities the 71st was released, ordered to Scotland, and discharged at Perth in 1783.

SEVENTY-FOURTH OR ARGYLE HIGHLANDERS.

The particulars of the 74th or Argyle Highlanders, and the 76th, or Macdonald's Highlanders, are but slightly touched upon by Colonel David Stewart of Garth, in his "Sketches of the Highlanders," by Dr. James Browne, in his "History of the Highlands," and by John S. Keltie, in his "History of the Scottish Highlands." Even Lieutenant-General Samuel Graham, who was a captain in the 76th, in his "Memoirs," gives but a slight account of his regiment. So a very imperfect view can only be expected in this narration.

The 74th or Argyle Highlanders was raised by Colonel John Campbell of Barbreck, who had served as captain and major of Fraser's Highlanders in the Seven Years' War. In the month of December 1777 letters of service were granted to him, and the regiment was completed in May 1778. In this regiment were more Lowlanders, than in any other of the same description raised during that period. All the officers, except four, were Highlanders, while of the soldiers only five hundred and ninety were of the same country, the others being from Glasgow, and the western districts of Scotland. The name of Campbell mustered strong; the three field-officers, six captains, and fourteen subalterns, being of that name. Among the officers was the chief of the Macquarries, being sixty-two years of age when he entered the army in 1778.

The regiment mustering nine hundred and sixty, rank and file, embarked at Greenock in August, and landed at Halifax in Nova Scotia, where it remained garrisoned with the 80th and the 82d regiments; the whole being under the command of Brigadier-General Francis Maclean. In the spring of 1779, the grenadier company, commanded by Captain Ludovick Colquhoun of Luss, and the light company by Captain Campbell of Bulnabie, were sent to New York, and joined the army immediately before the siege of Charleston.

In June of the same year, the battalion companies, with a detachment of the 82d regiment, under the command of Brigadier-General Maclean, embarked from Halifax, and took possession of Pen.o.bscot, with the intention of establis.h.i.+ng a post there. Before the defences were completed, a hostile fleet from Boston, with two thousand troops on board, under Brigadier-General Solomon Lovell, appeared in the bay, and on July 28th effected a landing on a peninsula, where the British were erecting a fort, and immediately began to construct batteries for a regular siege. These operations were frequently interrupted by sallies of parties from the fort. General Maclean exerted himself to the utmost to strengthen his position, and not only kept the Americans in check, but preserved communication with the s.h.i.+pping, which they endeavored to cut off. Both parties kept skirmis.h.i.+ng till August 13th, when Sir George Collier appeared in the bay, with a fleet intended for relief of the post. This accession of strength disconcerted the Americans, and completely destroyed their hopes, so that they quickly decamped and retired to their boats. Being unable to re-embark all the troops, those who remained, along with the sailors of several vessels which had run aground in the hurry of escaping, formed themselves into a body, and endeavored to penetrate through the woods. In the course of this attempt they ran short of provisions, quarrelled among themselves, and, coming to blows, fired on each other till their ammunition was expended.

Upwards of sixty men were killed and wounded; the rest dispersed through the woods, numbers peris.h.i.+ng before they could reach an inhabited country.

The conduct of General Maclean and his troops met with approbation. In his dispatch, giving an account of the attack and defeat of his foes, he particularly noticed the exertions and zeal of Lieutenant-Colonel Alexander Campbell of the 74th. The loss of this regiment was two sergeants, and fourteen privates killed, and seventeen rank and file wounded.

General Maclean returned to Halifax with the detachment of the 82d, leaving Lieutenant-Colonel Alexander Campbell of Monzie with the 74th at Pen.o.bscot, where they remained till the termination of hostilities, when they embarked for England. They landed at Portsmouth whence they marched for Stirling, and, after being joined by the flank companies, were reduced in the autumn of 1783.

SEVENTY-SIXTH OR MACDONALD'S HIGHLANDERS.

In the month of December 1777, letters of service were granted to lord Macdonald to raise a regiment in the Highlands and Isles. On his recommendation Major John Macdonell of Lochgarry was appointed lieutenant-colonel commandant of the regiment. The regiment was numbered the 76th, but called Macdonald's Highlanders. Lord Macdonald exerted himself in the formation of the regiment, and selected the officers from the families of the Macdonalds of Glencoe, Morar, Boisdale, and others of his own clan, and likewise from those of others, as Mackinnon, Fraser of Culduthel, Cameron of Callart, &c. A body of seven hundred and fifty Highlanders was raised. The company of Captain Bruce was princ.i.p.ally raised in Ireland; and Captains Cunningham of Craigend, and Montgomery Cunningham, as well as Lieutenant Samuel Graham, raised their men in the low country. These amounted to nearly two hundred men, and were kept together in two companies; while Bruce's company formed a third. In this manner each race was kept distinct. The whole number, including non-commissioned officers and men, amounted to one thousand and eighty-six. The recruits a.s.sembled at Inverness, and in March 1778 the regiment was reported complete. The men on their arrival were attested by a justice of the peace, and received the king's bounty of five guineas. As Major John Macdonell, who had been serving in America in the 71st or Fraser's Highlanders, was taken prisoner, on his pa.s.sage home from that country, the command devolved on Captain Donaldson, of the 42d or Royal Highland Regiment. Under this officer the regiment was formed, and a code of regulations established for the conduct of both officers and men.

Soon after its formation the 76th was sent to Fort George where it remained a year. It so happened that few of the non-commissioned officers who understood the drill were acquainted with the Gaelic language, and as all words of command were given in English, the commander directed that neither officers nor non-commissioned officers ignorant of the former language should endeavor to learn it. The consequence was that the Highlanders were behind-hand in being drilled, as they had, besides other duties, to acquire a new language. But the Highlanders took uncommon pains to learn their duties, and so exact were they in the discharge of them that upon one occasion, Colonel Campbell, the lieutenant-governor, was seized and made prisoner by the sentry posted at his own door, because the man conceived a trespa.s.s had been committed on his post, nor would the sentinel release the colonel until the arrival of the corporal of the guard.

In March 1779 the regiment was removed to Perth, and from there marched to Burnt Island, where they embarked on the 17th. Major Donaldson's health not permitting him to go abroad, the command devolved on lord Berridale, second major, who accompanied them to New York, where they landed in August. The fleet sailed from the Firth of Forth for Portsmouth, and in a short time anch.o.r.ed at Spithead. While waiting there for the a.s.sembling of a fleet with reinforcements of men and stores for the army in America, an order was received to set sail for the island of Jersey, as the French had made an attempt there. But the French having been repulsed before the 70th reached Jersey, the regiment returned to Portsmouth, and proceeded on the voyage to America, and arrived in New York on August 27th.

On the arrival of the regiment in New York the flank companies were attached to the battalion of that description. The battalion companies remained between New York and Staten Island till February 1781, when they embarked with a detachment of the army, commanded by General Phillips, for Virginia. The light company, being in the 2d battalion of light infantry, also formed a part of the expedition. The grenadiers remained at New York.

This year, lord Berridale, on the death of his father, became earl of Caithness, and being severely wounded at the siege of Charleston, soon after returned to Scotland. The command of the 70th regiment devolved on Major Needham, who had purchased Major Donaldson's commission.

General Phillips landed at Portsmouth, in Virginia, in March. A number of boats had been constructed under the superintendence of General Benedict Arnold, for the navigation of the rivers, most of them calculated to hold one hundred men. Each boat was manned by a few sailors, and was fitted with a sail as well as oars. Some of them carried a piece of ordnance in their bows. In these boats the light infantry, and detachments of the 76th and 80th regiments, with the Queen's Rangers, embarked, leaving the remainder of the 76th, with other troops, to garrison Portsmouth. The detachment of the 76th which embarked consisted of one major, three captains, twelve subalterns, and three hundred men, under Major Needham. The troops proceeded up the James river destroying warlike stores, s.h.i.+pping, barracks, foundaries and private property. After making many excursions the troops marched to Bermuda Hundreds, opposite City Point, where they embarked, on May 2d; but receiving orders from lord Cornwallis, returned and entered Petersburg on May 10th.

When the 76th regiment found themselves with an army which had been engaged in the most incessant and fatiguing marches through difficult and hostile countries, they considered themselves as inferiors and as having done nothing which could enable them to return to their own country. They were often heard murmuring among themselves, lamenting their lot, and expressing the strongest desire to signalize themselves.

This was greatly heightened when visited by men of Fraser's Highlanders.

The opportunity presented itself, and their behavior proved they were good soldiers. On the evening of July 6th, the Marquis de Lafayette pushed forward a strong corps, forced the pickets, and drew up in front of the British lines. The pickets in front of the army that morning consisted of twenty men of the 70th and ten of the 80th. When the attack on the pickets commenced, they were reinforced by fifteen Highlanders.

The pickets defended the post till every man was either killed or wounded.

A severe engagement took place between the contending armies, the weight of which was sustained on the part of the British by the left of Colonel Dundas's brigade, consisting of the 76th and 80th, and it so happened that while the right of the line was covered with woods they were drawn up in an open field, and exposed to the attack of the Americans with a chosen body of troops. The 76th being on the left, and lord Cornwallis, coming up in rear of the regiment, gave the word to charge, which was immediately repeated by the Highlanders, who rushed forward with impetuosity, and instantly decided the contest. The Americans retired, leaving their cannon and three hundred men killed and wounded behind them.

Soon after this affair lord Cornwallis ordered a detachment of four hundred chosen men of the 76th to be mounted on such horses as could be procured and act with the cavalry. Although four-fifths of the men had never before been on horseback, they were mounted and marched with Tarleton's Legion. After several forced marches, far more fatiguing to the men than they had ever performed on foot, they returned heartily tired of their new mode of travelling. No other service was performed by the 76th until the siege and surrender of Yorktown. During the siege, while the officers of this regiment were sitting at dinner, the Americans opened a new battery, the first shot from which entered the mess-room, killed Lieutenant Robertson on the spot, and wounded Lieutenant Shaw and Quartermaster Barclay. It also struck a.s.sistant Commissary General Perkins, who happened to dine there that day.

The day following the surrender of lord Cornwallis, at Yorktown (October 20th), the British prisoners moved out in two divisions, escorted by regiments of militia; one to the direction of Maryland, the other, to which the 76th belonged, moved to the westward in Virginia for Winchester. On arriving at their cantonment, the officers were lodged in the town on parole, and the soldiers were marched several miles off to a cleared spot in the woods, on which stood a few log huts, some of them occupied by prisoners taken at the Cowpens. From Winchester the regiment was removed to Lancaster in Pennsylvania. After peace was declared they embarked for New York, sailed thence for Scotland, and were disbanded in March 1784 at Stirling Castle.

This regiment maintained a very high standard for their behavior. Thefts and other crimes, implying moral turpitude, were totally unknown. There were only four instances of corporal punishment inflicted on the Highlanders of the regiment, and these were for military offences. Moral suasion and such coercion as a father might use towards his children were deemed sufficient to keep them in discipline or self-restraint.

In the year 1775, George III. resolved to humble the thirteen colonies.

In the effort put forth he created a debt of 121,267,993, with an annual charge of 5,088,336, besides sacrificing thousands of human lives, and causing untold misery; and, at last, weary of the war, on July 25, 1782, he issued a warrant to Richard Oswald, commissioning him to negotiate a peace. The definite articles of peace were signed at Paris, September 3, 1783. Then the United States of America took her position among the nations of the earth. George III. and his ministers had exerted themselves to the utmost to subjugate America. Besides the troops raised in the British Isles there were of the German mercenaries twenty-nine thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven. The mercenaries and British troops were well armed, clothed and fed. But the task undertaken was a gigantic one. It would have required a greater force than that sent to America to hold and garrison the cities alone. The fault was not with the army, the navy, or the commanding officers. The impartial student of that war will admit that the army fought well, likewise the navy, and the generals and admirals were skilled and able in the art of war. The British foreign office was weak. Nor was this all. The Americans had counted the cost. They were singularly fortunate in their leader. Thirty-nine years after his death, lord Brougham wrote of Was.h.i.+ngton that he was "the greatest man of our own or of any age. * * *

This eminent person is presented to our observation clothed in attributes as modest, as unpretending, as little calculated to strike or to astonish, as if he had pa.s.sed unknown through some secluded region of private life. But he had a judgment sure and sound; a steadiness of mind which never suffered any pa.s.sion or even any feeling to ruffle its calm; a strength of understanding which worked rather than forced its way through all obstacles,--removing or avoiding rather than over-leaping them. His courage, whether in battle or in council, was as perfect as might be expected from this pure and steady temper of soul. A perfectly just man, with a thoroughly firm resolution never to be misled by others any more than by others over-awed; never to be seduced or betrayed, or hurried away by his own weaknesses or self-delusions, and more than by other men's arts, nor ever to be disheartened by the most complicated difficulties any more than to be spoilt on the giddy heights of fortune--such was this great man,--whether we regard him sustaining alone the whole weight of campaigns, all but desperate, or gloriously terminating a just warfare by his resources and his courage."[174]

The British generals proved themselves unable to cope with this great and good man. More than six thousand five hundred Highlanders left their homes amidst the beautiful scenery of their native land, crossed a barrier of water three thousand miles in width, that they might fight against such a man and the cause he represented. Their toils, sacrifices and sufferings were in vain. Towards them Was.h.i.+ngton bore good will.

Forgetting the wrongs they had done, he could write of them:

"Your idea of bringing over Highlanders appears to be a good one.

They are a hardy, industrious people, well calculated to form new settlements, and will, in time, become valuable citizens."[175]

War is necessarily cruel and barbarous; and yet there were innumerable instances of wanton cruelty during the American Revolution. No instances of this kind have been recorded against the soldiers belonging to the Highland regiments. There were cruelties perpetrated by those born in the Highlands of Scotland, but they were among those settled by Sir William Johnson on the Mohawk and afterwards joined either Butler's Rangers or else Sir John Johnson's regiment. Even this cla.s.s was few in numbers.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 150: Governor Golden to Earl of Dartmouth. New York Docs.

Relating to Colonial History, Vol. VIII, p. 588.]

[Footnote 151: Letter Book, p. 221.]

[Footnote 152: _Ibid_, p. 223.]

[Footnote 153: Henry's Campaign Against Quebec, 1775, p. 136.]

[Footnote 154: Invasion of Canada 1775, p. 14.]

[Footnote 155: State of the Expedition, p. VI.]

[Footnote 156: Stewart's Sketches of the Highlanders, Vol. II, p. 186.]

[Footnote 157: Letter-Book, p. 856.]

[Footnote 158: _Ibid_, p. 303.]

[Footnote 159: _Ibid_, p. 472.]

[Footnote 160: _ibid_, p. 350.]

[Footnote 161: _Ibid_, p. 330.]

[Footnote 162: Am. Archives, Fourth Series, Vol. VI, p. 1055.]

[Footnote 163: _Ibid_, Series V. Vol. II, p. 159.]