There is no calamity within the Compass of my foresight which is more to be dreaded than a necessity of coercion on the part of Congress and consequently every endeavour should be used to prevent the execution of so disagreeable a measure. It must involve the Ruin of that State against which the resentment of the others is pointed.
He ostensibly accepted Chittenden’s assertion that the negotiations with the British “were so far innocent, that there never was any serious intention of joining Great Britain”; however, he stressed that the talks gave the enemy great advantages and, by creating “internal disputes and feuds,” encouraged all enemies of the United States, at home and abroad, and sowed “seeds of distrust and jealousy … among ourselves.”
One Vermont historian later claimed this letter precipitated a grave political crisis, as some citizens who discovered the contents proposed to act immediately on Washington’s advice, but “[t]he Allens, who were no longer sincerely attached to the American cause, were opposed to dissolving the unions.”2
Sometime in January, the double agent, Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Johnson, was visited at his home in Cöos, in eastern Vermont, by Levi Sylvester, one of his Tory captors from the previous March. Levi brought a letter from Captain Azariah Pritchard, KR, pressing for information about the movements of Johnson’s friend, General Jacob Bayley, and other prominent rebels. Such visits and requests became a regular feature of the tortured Johnson’s existence and, when he later revealed his secret life to Washington, he noted that several other persons in the vicinity were similarly “favoured.”3
The January return of the two New Hampshire Continental regiments on duty in the Albany area listed eight staff, sixteen commissioned, and eighty-one non-commissioned officers and 459 rank and file, 175 of which were “Sick Present,” sixty-two were “Sick Absent,” 236 were on command or extra service, and thirty-two on furlough for a total of 561 all ranks.4
On January 2,Secretary Germain wrote to Governor Haldimand predicting that “Cornwallis’s misfortune will deter Vermont from declaring for His Majesty but I trust you will find means to encourage them.” It was as if the surrender at Yorktown was a mere hiccup in a very long, tiring, and indigestible meal. He encouraged Haldimand to employ his troops in the spring to recover that wayward republic. Of course, it would be weeks and weeks before this “encouraging” note reached the governor.5
At Niagara, a court reviewed the case of Captain Peter Ten Broeck. Two years after Ten Broeck had chosen not to escape with Walter Butler and William Ryer Bowen, Lieutenant Joseph Ferris had been sent to help him “come off” and again he had declined. The court heard Peter’s account of his confinement and concluded that “his conduct … appears irreproachable and that he took the earliest opportunity of joining the Corps.” His rank was restored and he was ordered to resume duty with his regiment.6
On January 2, Major Jessup wrote to Captain Mathews to request green clothing for the Loyal Rangers. As his officers preferred the pattern of Captain Sherwood’s green jacket with its green facings, he requested additional green cloth from stores, perhaps “Rat eaten or Damaged Coats,” so that the red facings supplied with the kits in QMG stores could be replaced.7
During the French regime, a great many prisoners had been taken in New England by the Canada Indians. Many had been adopted and thoroughly acculturated and, as a result, large numbers of the Catholic Indians were of mixed blood. Many of them rose to prominent positions, which gave their villages a pronounced leaning toward the rebels and caused the governor’s office much anxiety throughout the war. One of the most accomplished rebel spies of the period was an Oneida named Oratoskon, who skulked about Kahnawake and, according to Lieutenant-Colonel Campbell, “circulated all the poison he was charged with, and debauched … [the] young men.” Claus sent the Fort Hunter’s senior war captain, John Desertonyon, to visit an acquaintance at Kahnawake and investigate the rumours of Oratoskon. Although Assharegown, a village headman, assured Deserontyon that, if the rebel was discovered, he would be secured, nothing happened.8
If the troops in the Mohawk Valley thought they were in the grip of winter, they would have been astounded to see the conditions in Quebec. Surgeon Wasmus wrote in his diary on January 6 that he was again snowed into his barracks at Sorel by terrible storms and no one had been able to go in or out for twelve hours. Finally, the men dug a tunnel to gain access. If the snow was deep at Sorel, one might be assured that it would be equally deep at Montreal, and worse at Quebec City. Wasmus wrote, “The Canadians cannot remember such a hard winter or one in which so much snow has fallen.”
At mid-month, the day after the garrison celebrated Queen Charlotte’s birthday, Surgeon Wasmus wrote in his journal that Serjeant-Major Reinemund, Colonel Baum’s brother-in-law, had drowned in the hole in the St. Lawrence where the garrison drew its water. A day or two later, he dryly noted, “One does not receive any news here. In winter time, Canada has no communication with the rest of the world; it is as if this was the end of the world.” This was a common complaint of German diarists, who seemed to feel the isolation worse than their British allies.9
Correspondence between Brigadier Johann August von Loos and his superior and close friend, Major-General Riedesel, reveals details of the relations between the governor and the German officers and much about winter garrison life in Quebec City. Von Loos, who, it would seem, was one of the German brigadiers that Haldimand had little faith in, habitually employed nicknames when referring to the governor such as “the premier” or “the growler” and, considering he was quite senior himself, “the old fellow.” Of the baroness, von Loos wrote, “Your wife, whom every one loves, will be a thousand times welcome here. I would strew her road with flowers, if there were any.” There was to be a ball on Wednesday and the next evening, a concert and on the Saturday, a “conversation,” one supposes to play cards, which were followed by “cold, fried meat, ham and cake.” He added, “The people here kill themselves with eating.” The venues for such entertainments were the homes of wealthy members of both Franco and Anglo society. Loos expected a ball to be held at “the premier’s” in time for Riedesel’s visit and mentioned that Major-General Alured Clarke intended to visit Riedesel in February. Rather cryptically, he added, “Whether he will travel as one who knows the country, and return a learned man, time must show.”10
Baroness Friederike von Riedesel (née von Massow), aged sixteen, 1746– 1808. A very courageous and enchanting lady, beloved by all who knew her.
On January 7, Lieutenant Walter Sutherland’s scouting party was at Mill Bay on Lake Champlain, having dragged a small boat from Dutchman’s Point to the upper end of Tory Island and from there across open water to the bay. The next day, the party was joined by Ensign Roger Stevens and his men and Jonathon Miller with a third group. Stevens had seen tracks in the snow at Crown Point, so at midnight, the three leaders and their men set off across