The reflector. (Milledgeville, Ga.) 1817-1819, January 27, 1818, Image 1
THE REFLECTOR.
MILL
■H*
rv iv
VILLE, G. ’fUESBAY* JANUARY 37, 1818.
■ ■ -i’ . ::=ga±M)|b;
N 1 '*. 12.
NARRATIVE.
IHO» WlUaXubs', MIM0IH9.
( shall conclude this chapter, says Gen.
Wilkinson, with the following extract from u
narrative published in the German language
at Berlin, in 1800. It is from tlio pm of tin
amiable, the accomplished and dignified Ba
roness Reidesel, whose charming blue eyes
I have more than once seen bedewed with
tears at the recital of her sufferings. This
lady, with two infant children, necompaniee
Ik-c husband Major-General tlie Baron Reid
esel from Germany to England, from Eng
land to Canada, and from the last place to
the termination of General Burgoyne’s cam-
I iaign, in which she suftfewd more than the
lorrors of the grave In their most frightful
aspect; an imperfect translation does not
render justice to the style of Madame ltcide-
sel, but the artless-interesting tale ftirnishcs
strong proof of its authenticity. I trust 1
shall be pardoned for presenting it to my fair
readers, and while it serves to explain and
wind up some of the distressing scenes which
Were passing in the enemy’s camp, at and af-
ter the actions I have been describing, it fur
nishes a glimpse bf the horrors of war. 1
trust it may w arn my charming country wo
men against the miseries to which the high
ly accomplished authoress, and her interest
ing friend and fellow sulfefer, lady Harriet
Acklaod, were aft imminently exposed.—
Would to heaven lt.migftt produce another
effect, which I consider vitally essential to
the permanent tranquility of these states:
were my honored countrywomen to consult
patriot duty and personal happiness, they
would avert their eyes from, and shut their
caN to
“The neighing steed and the loud trump,
The spirit stirring drum, and the shrill fife,
The roy&l banner, and all quality,
^Prole, pomp, and circumstance of glorious war,”
And then no more would exterior trappings
and a flippant.air seduce the heart from the
contemplation of the social virtues, of im
proved understanding and refined sensibility
a-robbed of their praise and their patronage,
the overwhelming thirst for military glorj
Would be allayed, and excellence in the mor
■olid and useful pursuits of civil life wool
excite the rivalry of the rising generation
and the great cause of morality and religion
would be promoted to support the constitu
tioa of our country ; and to the honor of the
American fair it might be said, that they
tamed
m ————— the spirit of wild war,
That like a lion fostered up at hand,
It may lie gently at the foot of peace.**
tfltOM TflF. DAWftONESS REIDf.SEL*S If AIIII \TIT?J.
« As we had to march still further, I or
dered a large calash to be built capablo of
holding my three children, myself, and two
female servants; in this manner we moved
with the army in the midst of the soldiery,
who were very merry, singing songs and
panting for artion. We had to travel thro’
almost impassible woods and a most pictu
resque and beautiful country, which was a-
baiidoned by its inhabitants who had repair
ed to the standard of General Gates ; they
added much to his strength, as they were all
good marksmen, and fitted by habit for the
species of warfare the contending parties
Were then engaged in—.and the love of their
country inspired them with more than ordi
nary courage. The army had shortly to en
camp : 1 generally remained about an hour’s
march in the rear, wlicro I received daily
visits from my husband ; the army was fre
quently engaged in small affairs, but nothing
of importance took place; and as the sea
son was getting cold, Major Williams
the artillery proposed to have a house built
for me with a chimney, observing that it
would not cost more than five or six guineas
find that tho frequent change of quarters was
very inconvenient to me: it was accordingly
built, and was called the block house, from
its square fornj, and the resemblance it bore
to those buildings.
Onthe 19th of September, an affair hap
pened, which, although it turned out to om
advantage, yet obliged us to halt at a place
called Freeman’s farm ; l was an eye witness
' i the whole affair, and as my husband was
engaged in it, 1 was full of anxiety, and
trembled at every shot I heard ; 1 saw a
rcat number of the wounded, and what
added to the distress of the scene, three of
them were brought into the house in which j
took shelter ; one ws;s a Major Harnage of
the 69(1 British regiment, the husband of a
ady ofroy acquaintance, another was alieul.
arriedto a lady with whom I had the Im-
or to be on terms of intimacy, and the
bird was an officer of the name of Young.
“ In a short time afterwards I heard groans
roceeding from a room near mine, and
new they must have been occasioned by the
offerings of the last mentioned ollii or, who
}f writliingin his wounds.
“ His iihmrpful situation Interested in
eh, and tho more so, because the recol
Bon of Qiafiy polite attentions; received
from a family of that na no during my visit
England, was still forcibly impressed on
my mind. 1 sent to him and begged him to
accept my best services, and afterwards fur
nished him with tuna and refreshments ; tie
xpressed great desire* to sre me, jmlttcly
ailing me lqs heneftktress. 1 accordingly
isiled him, and found him lying on a tittle
straw, us he had h/st his equipage. He' .mis
a young man 18 or 19 years of age, and
really the beloved ttophew of the Mr. Young,
ilie head of thedamtfy I have* vt ramrmod,
ad the only »»"< of lus pamit*. tins lust
•ircumstanee was what lie lamented most,
as to his pain he thought lightly of it. lie
had lost much blood, and it was thought pe
ssary to amputate the leg, but this lie would
not consent to, and of course a mortification
took place. I bent him cushions aqd cover
ings, and my female friends sent him a mat-
ress. I redoubled my attention to him, and
isited him every day, for which 1 received
a thousand wishes for my happiness. At last
Ids limb was amputated, but it was too late,
aid he died the following day. As lie lay
in the next room to me, and tho partition was
very thin, I distinctly heard his last sigh,
when his immortal part quitted its frail tene
ment, and 1 trust, winged its way to the
mansions of. eternal bliss.
“ But severer trials awaited us, and on the
7th October our misfortunes began ; 1 was at
breakfast with my husband, and heard that
something was intended. On the same day
l exported Generals Burgoyne, Phillips and
Fraser te dine with us. 1 saw a great move
ment among the troops; my husband tolii
me it was merely a reconuoisanrc, which
avc me no concern, as it often happened.
1 walked out of the house and met several
Indians in their war dresses, with guns in
their hands. When l asked them where they
were going, they cried out War! War !
(meaning that they were going to battle.)
This filled me witfi apprehensions, and I had
scarcely got home before l heard reports of
minion and musketry, which grew louder by
degrees, till at last the noise became exces
sive. About 4 o’clock in the afternoon, in
stead of the guests whom l expected, Gene
ral Fraser was brought on a litter mortally
wounded. The table, which was already
set, was instantly removed, and a bed
placed in its stead for the wounded general
1 sat trembling in a corner ; the noise grew
louder, and tlm alarm increased ; the thought
uiat my husband might perhaps he brought
in, wounded in the same manner, was terri
hie to me, and distressed me exceedingly
General Fraser said to the surgeon, “ tell me
if jny wound is mortal, do not Hatter me.
The ball had passed through Ids body, and
unhappily for the General, he had eaten
very hearty breakfast, by which the stomach
was distended, and tho ball as the surgeon
said, had passed through it. I heard him
often exclaim with a sigh, “ Oh fatal ambi
tion ! Poor General Burgoyne ! Oil my poor
wife !” lie u as asked if lie had any request
to make, to which lie replied, that « If gen
eral Burgoyne would permit it, lie should
like to be buried at 6 o’clock in the evening,
m tne top of a mountain, in a redoubt which
had been built there.” I did not know
which way to turn, all the rooms were full
of sick. Towards evening I saw my hits-
band coming, ilien I forgot all my sorrows,
and thanked God that lie was spared to me.
tie ate in great haste with me, and his aid-
.lc-camp behind the house. We had been
told that we had the advantage of the enemy,
but tho sorrowful laces I beheld told a dii
ferent tale, and before my husband went a-
way he took me on one side, and said ever
thing was going very bad, that I must keep
myself in readiness to leave tho place, but
not to mention it to any one. I made the
pretence that I would move the next morn
ing into my now house, and had every thing
packed up ready.
“ Lady H. Ackland had a tent not far from
our house, in this she slept, and the rest ol
the day she was in the camp. All of a sud
den a man came to tell her that her husband
was mortally wounded and taken prisoner
on hearing this she became very miserable,
,ve comforted her by telling her that the
wound was only slight, and at the same time
gdvised her to go over to her husband, to do
which she would certainly obtain permission,
and then she could attend him herself; she
was a charming woman, and very fond of
him. 1 spent much of the night in comfort
ing her, and then went again to my children
whom 1 had put to Inal. I could not go to sleep
.is I had General Fraser and all the other
wounded gentlemen in my room, and I was
sadly afraid my children would awake, and by
their crying disturb the dying man in his last
moments, who often addressed me and apo
logised »• for the trouble he gave me.” About
3 o’clock in the morning 1 was told lie could
not h-dd out much longer ; I had desired to
lie informed of the near approach of this sad
crisis, and 1 then wrapped up my children .in
•lisir clothes, and went with them into the
-room below. About 8 o’clock in the morn
mg lie died. After ho was laid out and his
corpse trapped up in a sheet we came again
into tin room, and had this sorrowful sight
before t» the whole day, and to add tb the
nwlahc'tjy scene, almost every moment
some ol rer of iny acquaintance was Im. ight
in worn »>d. The cannonade commenced a-
guin : :jretreat was spoken of, but not the
sainJV'" notion was made towards it. About
4 oVIor.V i* the afternoon I saw the house
which hid just been built for mein flames,
and the enemy was now not far off. We
kn?"- I denari'l ISurgoyno would not re
fuse tho last request of General Fraser,
though by his acceding to it, an unnecessary
delay was occasioned, by which the incon
venience of 1be army Was much increased.
At 6 o’clock the Corpse was brought out, and
we saw all the Generals attehd it to the moun
tain ; the chaplain, Mr. Brudenell, perform
ed the funeral service, rendered unusually
solemn and awful from its feeing accoinpany-
od by constant peals from the enemy’s artil
lery. Many cannon balls flew close by me,
but I had my eyes directed towards the moun
tain,* where my husband was standing
midst the fire of the enemy, and of course I
could not think of my own danger.
“ General Gates afterwards said, that if
he had known-it had been a funeral he would
not have permitted it to be fired on,
“ As soon as thefuncral service was finish
ed, and the grave of General Fraser was clos
ed, an order was issued that the army should
retreat. My calash was prepared, but I
would not consent to go before the troops.
Major Homage, although Suffering from his
wounds, crept from his bed, as lie did not
wish to remain in the hospital, which was
Tt with a flag of truce. When Gen. Reid
esel saw me in the midst of danger, he or
dered n,y women and children to be brought
into the calash, and intimated to inc to depart
without delay. I still prayed to remain, but
tny husband knowing my weak side, said,
“ well then your children must go, that at
least they may bo safe from danger. I then
agreed to enter the calash W ith them, and wc
set off at 8 o’clock.
“ The retreat was ordered to be conducted
with the greatest silence, many fires were
lighted, and several tents left standing; we
travelled continually during tho night. At
six o’clock in the morning we halted, which
excited the surprise of all; General Burgoyne
had the cannon ranged and' counted ; this
delay accused to displease every body, for if
wc could only have made another good march
we should have been in safety. My husband,
quite exhausted with fatigue, came into my
calash and slept for three hours ; during that
time Captain Willoe brought me a hag full
of bauk notes, and Captain Goismar his ele
gant watch, a ring, and a purse full of mo
ney, which they requested me to take care
of, and which 1 promised to do to the utmost
of my power. We again marched, but had
scarcely proceeded an hour before wc halted,
as the enemy was ill sight; it proved to be
nly a reconnoitering party of twa hundred
men, w ho might easily have been made pri
soners, if Gen. Burgoyne had given proper
orders on the occasion.
The Indians had now lost their courage,
and were departing for their homes ; these
people appeared to droop much under adver
sity* and especially when they had no pros
pectof plunder. One of my waiting women
was in a state of despair which approached
to madness ; she cursed and tore her hair
and w hen 1 attempted to reason with her and
to pacify her, she asked me if I was not griev
ed at our situation, and upon my saying «
was,” she tore her cap off her head and let
her hair drop over her face, saying to me.
“ it is very easy for you to he composed and
talk, you have your husband with you,
have none, and what remains to me hut tho
prospect of perishing or losing all I have ;”
1 again bade her to take comfort, and assur
ed her t would make good whatever she might
happen to lose, and 1 made the same pro
mise to Ellen, my other waiting woman, who
though filled with apprehensions, made no
complaints. *
« About evening we arrived at Saratoga;
my dress was wet through and through with
rain, and in that state I had to remain the
whole night, having no place to change it;
I however got close to a large fire, and at last
lay down oh some straw. At this moment
Gen. Phillips came up to me, and I asked
him why we had not continued our retreat,
as my husband had promised to cover it and
bring the army through ? “ Poor dear wo
man,” said lie, “ I wonder how, drenched as
you are, you have the courage still to perse
vere and venture further in this kind of wea
ther ; I wish,” continued lie, “ you was our
commanding general, Gen. Burgoyne is
tired, and means to halt here to-night and
give us our supper.”
On the morning of the 7th, at ten o’clock,
Gen. Burgoyne ordered the retreat to be
continued, and caused the handsome houses
and mills of Gonreal Schuyler to be burnt;
w« marched however but a short distance,
and then Uaulted. The gruatest misery at this
time prevailed hi the army, and muro than
thirty officers came to me, for whom tea and
coffee was prepared, and with whom I shared
all my provisions, with which my calash was
in general well supplied ; for l had a t ook
who was an excellent caterer, and who often
in the night crossed small rivers and foraged
on tho-inhdhilants, bringing in with him
sheep, small pigs, afti* poultry, €>pwfeh'VV»
very often forgot to pay, though he received
good pay from me as long as I had any, and
was ultimately handsomely rewarded. Our
provisions now failed us for want of proper
conduct in f! ; commissary’s department, and
1 began to desp -lr. About 2 o’clock in tho
afternoon wc again heard a firing of cannon
anil small arms; instantly all wax alarm*
anil every thing ife motion. My husband told
me to go to a house not far;iff; I immediate*
ly seated myself in my calash with my chil
dren, and drove off; but scarcely had wo
reached it before I discovered five or six
armed men on the other side of the Hud
son ; instinctively I threw my children down
in the calash, and theft concealed myself with
them ; at that moment the fellows fired and
wounded an already wounded English sol
dier, who was behind me ; poor fellow, I pi
tied him exceedingly, but at tiiat moment had
no means or power to relievo him. A terri
ble g.nnonade was commenced by the ene
my, which was directed against the house in
which 1 sought to obtain shelter for myself
and children, under the mistaken idea that
all the generals were in it. Alas! it contain
ed none but wounded and women ; we were
at last obliged to resort to the cellar Tor re
fuge, and in one corner of this I remained
the whole day, my children sleeping on tha
earth with tli7ir heads in my lap ; and in tho
same situation I passed a Sleepless night.-—
Elev on cannon balls passed through the houftfi
and wc could distinctly hear them roll away.
One poor soldier who was lying on a tabic,
for the purpose of having his leg amputated,
was struck by a shot which carried away his
other : his comrades had left him, and when
we went to his assistance we found him in a
corner of the room, into which he had crept
more dead than alive, scarcely breathing.
My reflections on the danger to which my
husband was exposed now agonized me ex
ceedingly, and the thoughts of- i»y children
and the necessity of struggling for their pre
servation alone sustained me.
“ The ladies of the army who were with
ine were, Mrs. Harnagp, a Mrs. Kennels, tho
widow of a lieutenant who was killed, and
the lady of the commissary. Major Har
nage, his wife, and Mrs. Kennels, made a
little room in a corner with curtains to it,
and wished to do the same for me, but I pre
ferred being noar the door in case of fire.
Not far off my women Slept, and opposite to
three English officers, who, though wound
ed, were determined not to be left behind ;
one of them was Captain Green, an aid-de
cam to Major-General Phillips, a very valu
able officer and most agreeable man. They
each made me a most sacred promise not to
leave me behind, and in case of a sudden re
treat, that they would each of tlie«n take
one of my children on his horse, and for my
self, one of my husband’s was in constant
readiness.
“ Our cock, whom I have before mention
ed, procured us our ineals, hut we were in
want of water, and I was often obliged to
drink wine and to give it to my children. It
was the only thing my husbaud took, which
made our faithful hunter (Rocklo) express
one day his apprehensions, that “ the Gene
ral was weary of his life, or fearful of being
taken, as lie drank so much wine.” The con
stant danger which my husband was in kept
me in a state of wretchedness, and l asked
myself if it was possible 1 should be the only
happy one, and have my husband spared to
me unhurt, exposed as ho was to so many pe
rils. lie never entered his tent, but laid down
whole nights by tho watch fires ; this alone
was enough to have killed him, the cold was
so intense.
“The want of water distressed usmueh: at
length wo found a soldier’s wife who had cou
rage enough to fetch us some from the river,
an office no body else would undertake, as the
Americans shot at every person who ap
proached it, but out of respect for her sex
they never molested her.
“ 1 now occupied myself through the day
in attending the wounded ; I made them tea
and coffee, and often shared my dinner with
them, for which they offered me a thousand
expressions of gratitude. One day a Cana
dian officer came to our cellar, who had
scarcely the power of holding himself up
right, and we Concluded he was dying for
want of nourishment; I was happy in differ
ing him my dinner, which strengthened him,
and procured me his friendship. I now un
dertook the cure of Major Bloomfield,* yno-
• The height occupied by liurgoyneon tlie 18th, which
ran parallel with the river until it approached General
Gatos’ camp.
•Now member of Parliament for Plymouth, major-g*n,
eral in the army, lieutenant-colonel of tlie royal an tjlety.
chief equerry and cicrjc-mart-d to the Wng.