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Learning About New York Part XVI |
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Clinton is a village of about
2,000 inhabitants, 9 miles S. W.
of Utica, on the line of the
Chenango Canal. It contains 5
churches, the Liberal Institute,
and several other literary
institutions, male and female. The
buildings of Hamilton College are
a mile distant, standing on a most
commanding eminence westward of
the Oriskany valley. About the
year 1791, Mr. Kirkland, a devoted
missionary among the Oneida
Indians, conceived the project of
establishing a seminary which
should be accessible to the Indian
youth as well as the whites.
Through his exertions, a charter
of incorporation was obtained for
the Institution in 1793, under the
name of "Hamilton Oneida Academy."
This was afterward raised to the
rank of a college, with the style
of "Hamilton College."
The following inscription is
copied from a monument standing in
the college graveyard:
Skenandoa. This monument is
erected by the Northern Missionary
Society, in testimony of their
respect for the memory of
Skenandoa, who died in the peace
and hope of the gospel, on the
11th of March, 1816. Wise,
eloquent and brave, he long swayed
the councils of his tribe, whose
confidence and affection he
eminently enjoyed. In the war
which placed the Canadas under the
crown of Great Britain he was
actively engaged against the
French; in that of the revolution,
he espoused that of the colonies,
and ever afterward remained a firm
friend to the United States. Under
the ministry of the Rev. Mr.
Kirkland, he embraced the
doctrines of the gospel, and
having exhibited their power in a
long life adorned by every
Christian virtue, he fell asleep
in Jesus at the advanced age of
one hundred years."
"Skenandoa"s person was tall, well
made and robust. His countenance
was intelligent, and displayed all
the peculiar dignity of an Indian
chief. In his youth he was a brave
and intrepid warrior, and in his
riper years one of the noblest
counselors among the North
American tribes; he possessed a
vigorous mind, and was alike
sagacious, active and persevering.
As an enemy, he was terrible. As a
friend and ally, he was mild and
gentle in his disposition, and
faithful to his engagements. His
vigilance once preserved from
massacre the inhabitants of the
little settlement at German Flats.
In the revolutionary war, his
influence induced the Oneidas to
take up arms in favor of the
Americans. Among the Indians he
was distinguished by the
appellation of the 'white man's
friend.'
Although he could speak but little
English, and in his extreme old
age was blind, yet his company was
sought. In conversation he was
highly decorous, evincing that he
had profited by seeing civilized
and polished society, and by
mingling with good company in his
better days.
To a friend who called on him a
short time since, he thus
expressed himself by an
interpreter: 'I am an aged
hemlock. The winds of an hundred
winters have whistled through my
branches; I am dead at the top.
The generation to which I belonged
have run away and left me; why I
live the Great Good Spirit only
knows. Pray to my Jesus that I may
have patience to wait for my
appointed time to die.'
Honored Chief! His prayer was
answered; he was cheerful and
resigned to the last. For several
years he kept his dress for the
grave prepared. Once and again,
and again, he came to Clinton to
die, longing that his soul might
be with Christ, and his body in
the narrow house near his beloved
Christian teacher. While the
ambitious but vulgar great look
principally to sculptured
monuments and to riches in the
temple of earthly fame, Skenandoa,
in the spirit of the only real
nobility, stood with his loins
girded waiting the coming of the
Lord."
Rome, the semi-capital of Oneida
county, is twelve miles
north-westward of Utica and 112
from Albany, on the summit level
between the ocean and Lake
Ontario, 435 feet above the tide
of Albany. It is situated on the
Mohawk River, Erie Canal, and
Central Railroad, at the southern
terminus of the Watertown and Rome
Railroad, and the Black River
Canal. The borough contains a
court-house, 12 churches,
manufactories of cotton, iron, and
other articles. Population about
8,000.
Rome is the site of Ft. Stanwix,
originally built in 1758, during
the French war, and named after
Gen. Stanwix. It occupied a
position commanding the carrying
place between the navigable waters
of the Mohawk and Wood creek,
about a mile apart, and was
regarded as the key to the
communication between Canada and
the settlements on the Mohawk. It
was originally a square fort,
having four bastions, etc. The
principal fortress was erected at
an expense of $226,400, an
enormous sum at that period, but
at the commencement of the
revolutionary war it was mostly in
ruins. On the incursion of
Burgoyne toward Albany, Col. St.
Leger, with a considerable body of
loyalists and Indians under Brant,
intended to pass down the Mohawk
valley and join him near that
point. St. Leger with his motley
force proceeded down from Oswego,
and arrived before Ft. Stanwix,
August 3, 1777. This fort had been
repaired, its name changed to Ft.
Schuyler, and garrisoned by 750
men under Gen. Gansevoort. St.
Leger sent a flag into the fort
with a manifesto advising
submission to the mercy of the
king, and denouncing severe
vengeance against those who should
continue their rebellion. The
garrison, however, determined to
defend the fort to the last
extremity. After the battle of
Oriskany, the siege of the fort
still continued, and the situation
of the garrison becoming somewhat
critical, Gen. Arnold was
dispatched with a body of troops
to their relief. The following is
the account of the stratagem used
by Arnold for the dispersion of
the enemy who were besieging the
fort:
"As he was advancing up the
Mohawk, he captured a tory by the
name of Hon-yost Schuyler, who
being a spy was condemned to
death. Hon-yost 'was one of the
coarsest and most ignorant men in
the valley, appearing scarce half
removed from idiocy, and yet there
was no small share of shrewdness
in his character.' He was promised
his life if he would go to the
enemy, particularly the Indians,
and alarm them by announcing that
a large army of the Americans was
in full march to destroy them,
etc. Hon-yost being acquainted
with many of the Indians, gladly
accepted the offer; one of his
brothers was detained as a hostage
for his fidelity, and was to be
hung if he proved treacherous. A
friendly Oneida Indian was let
into the secret, and cheerfully
embarked in the design. Upon Hon-yost's
arrival, he told a lamentable
story of his being taken by
Arnold, and of his escape from
being hanged. He showed them also
several shot holes in his coat,
which he said were made by bullets
fired at him when making his
escape. Knowing the character of
the Indians, he communicated his
intelligence to them in a
mysterious and imposing manner.
When asked the number of men which
Arnold had, he shook his head
mysteriously and pointed upward to
the leaves of the trees. These
reports spread rapidly through the
camps. Meantime the friendly
Oneida arrived with a belt and
confirmed what Hon-yost had said,
hinting that a bird had brought
him intelligence of great moment.
On his way to the camp of the
besiegers, he had fallen in with
two or three Indians of his
acquaintance, who readily engaged
in furthering his design. These
sagacious fellows dropped into the
camp as if by accident; they spoke
of warriors in great numbers
rapidly advancing against them.
The Americans, it was stated, did
not wish to injure the Indians,
but if they continued with the
British they must all share one
common fate. The Indians were
thoroughly alarmed, and determined
on an immediate flight, being
already disgusted with the British
service. Col. St. Leger exhorted,
argued, and made enticing offers
to the Indians to remain, but all
in vain. He attempted to get them
drunk, but they refused to drink.
When he found them determined to
go, he urged them to move in the
rear of his army, but they charged
him with a design to sacrifice
them to his safety. In a mixture
of rage and despair, he broke up
his encampment with such haste
that he left his tents, cannon and
stores to the besieged. The
friendly Oneida accompanied the
flying army, and being naturally a
wag, he engaged his companions,
who were in the secret, to repeat
at proper, intervals the cry,
"They are coming! they are
coming!" This appalling cry
quickened the flight of the
fugitives wherever it was heard.
The soldiers threw away their
packs, and the commanders took
care not to be in the rear. After
much fatigue and mortification,
they finally reached Oneida Lake,
and there probably, for the first
time, felt secure from the pursuit
of their enemies. From this place
St. Leger hastened with his
scattered forces back to Oswego,
and thence to Montreal."
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Website: |
The
History Box.com |
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Article Name: |
Learning About New York
State Part XVI |
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Researcher/Transcriber |
Miriam Medina |
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Source: |
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Our whole
country; or, The past and
present of the United
States, historical and
descriptive. In two volumes
By John Warner Barber ...
and Henry Howe
...Cincinnati, H. Howe,
1861. |
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