LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN IN MEMORY OF STEWART S. HOWE JOURNALISM CLASS OF 1928 STEWART S. HOWE FOUNDATION 973. 3S D34r I.H.S #-***. 2 (£—« IS. AS * ^^*4 u^ X-JL /A^j &~^~ , =. ^^t a^-A- >v^A <^r— Z*^ ^f^ C^i^ecJ ^*^^t~* ^^c^^f /c^L-^A /6-~~<z_ 2o /f3f. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2012 with funding from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign http://www.archive.org/details/revolutionarywarOOdear Revolutionary War Journals of Henry Dearborn Revolutionary War Journals of HENRY DEARBORN 1775-1783 Edited from the Original Manuscripts by Lloyd A. Brown and Howard H. Peckham With a Biographical Essay by Hermon Dunlap Smith The Caxton Club, Chicago 1939 Copyright 1939, by The Caxton Club, Chicago ^ 973. '-** > 7 Foreword SHORTLY after attending the meeting of The Caxton Club at which Mr. Hermon D. Smith read his paper on Gen- eral Dearborn, Mr. John T. McCutcheon published a cartoon in the Chicago Tribune, which, to a considerable extent, was illustrative of his own experience. It depicted several Chi- cago businessmen as pupils in a school room replying to a ques- ' tion put to them by the teacher: ' Gentlemen, you have all heard of father Dearborn. What is your conception of himV ' One pupil replies: "An old cartoon character with chin whiskers and a cigar, standing for Chicago." Another says: "He was one of our early settlers. He was named after Fort Dearborn, or the ' ' • other way around. ' And another: He ran a big department store near Fort Dearborn in the first ward. These replies express with little exaggeration the opinions held by many substantial and even history conscious Chicagoans ' ' in regard to their ' patron saint. ' A few, like Mr. McCutcheon, discovered the real General Dearborn through hearing Mr. Smith's paper, which includes quotations from Dearborn s journals of the Revolutionary War, as well as his important and appar- ently hitherto unpublished letter giving orders for the erection of the Fort. Because of its long association with Chicago, The Caxton Club feels that it is especially appropriate that it should present General Dearborn and his writings to the city with which his name is so closely identified. It is accordingly publishing this vi Foreword book which contains, in addition to Mr. Smith 's paper, the com- plete Revolutionary War journals, including the journal of the Yorktown campaign, which has never been published. In order to provide the historical setting necessary for the fullest under- standing and appreciation of the journals, The Caxton Club se- cured as editors of the journals two distinguished Revolutionary scholars, Lloyd A. Brown and Howard H. Peckham of the William L. Clements Library. The Club believes the book to be an important contribution to American historical scholarship . Publication of the present volume is in keeping with the tra- ditions of the Club, for its earliest publications were in the field of American history—translations of three accounts ofLaSalWs voyages and discoveries. These were followed by Mrs. John H. Kin&e's Wau-Bun; Wake'fie Id's History of the Black Hawk War; The Development of Chicago, 1674-1914, Shown in a Series of Contemporary Original Narratives; Charle- 1 voix s Journal of a Voyage to North America; John Steele s Across the Plains in 1850; Jesse Applegate s A Day with the Cow Column; Jesse A. Applegate's Recollections of My Boyhood; and The Journal of Paul Du Ru, [February 1 to May 8, 1700], Missionary Priest of Louisiana. Theodore W. Koch President, The Caxton Club *^HD <&* Contents PAGE Foreword V Introduction xi Biographical Essay 3 Journal I. The Quebec Expedition 35 Journal II. The Burgoyne Campaign 97 Journal III. Operations in the Middle Colonies 115 Journal IV. Sullivan's Indian Expedition 155 Journal V. The Yorktown Campaign 195 Journal VI. Peace Negotiations 2-zy Works Consulted 139 Index 149 Vll *^HD J&* List of Plates Portrait, Henry Dearborn Frontispiece The Portsmouth Letter 32. Map of Quebec 66 Battle of Monmouth 12.6 Dearborns Journal 7.0^ Map of the Entrance of Chesapeake Bay 2.18 IX . ^BPS^ Introduction DEARBORN served as an in the HENRY officer American Revolution from April, 177j, until the reduction of the New Hampshire line on March 1, 1783 . He fought at Bunker Hill and marched on the expedition to Quebec. He was active in the Burgoyne campaign, and fol- lowing the surrender joined Washington at Valley Forge. He attacked with the advance division at Monmouth and after- ward did garrison duty in Connecticut . In 1779 he marched on the expedition under Sullivan against the Indians, then rejoined Washington and later took part in the Yorktown cam- paign. Dearborn kept a journal during the entire war, with the exception of a six months' period in 1782 when he was engaged in a special mission that took him away from the army The six parts published in this volume constitute one of the very few complete, eye-witness accounts now extant of the Ameri- can side of the Revolution. Their value to historians is enhanced by the advantages for observation enjoyed by an officer of Dearborn s rank. First as a captain, then as a major, and finally as a lieutenant-colonel in the Continental forces, he was in a position to learn the movements and objectives of the army , of which a private or noncommissioned officer would not be informed. He was able therefore to view the tactics of his own company or regiment in their relation to the general strategy. Moreover, Dearborn did not attain a rank which would have kept him off the field and xi xii Introduction out of direct contact with his men. Even after he was appointed deputy quartermaster general in July, 1781, he continued to move with the main army. The entries in Dearborn s journal vary widely in length and importance, but in nearly every instance they are impersonal and objective. He rarely philosophizes, and he wastes little space in damning the enemy. Never does he even imply any wavering of loyalty to the cause of the patriots, nor does he show any slackening of faith in the principles for which he was fighting. Commenting on the death of several popular officers after the first battle of Freeman s Farm, Dearborn observed: ' ' the Loss of those Brave men are very greatly Lamented in the Army, But as it was a Debt that they & Every one owe their Country I Behave they Paid it with Ch erefullness." His re- spect for his commander-in-chief is apparent to the most casual reader, and it seems to have been reciprocated by Washington. Likewise, he never criticises his immediate superiors. The only hint of his dissatisfaction with a campaign is revealed in an entry made in August, 1777: "Gates takes Command of the Northern army this Day which I think ivill But a New Face upon our affairs." This opinion would pass unnoticed among the loud complaints raised against Schuyler at that time. Personally brave, Dearborn was evidently an able leader of men. Frequent assignments to command special corps of picked riflemen attest his ability, although he apparently remained oblivious to the honor implied by these special duties. More than once he was sent out to reconnoiter the enemy, to assault a position or turn the opposing flank during battle. In the attack on Quebec, while his company was caught between the barriers in the driving snow and semi-darkness, he coolly exchanged abusive remarks with the defenders, and while facing a brisk fire urged his men to reprime their wet muskets and attempt a volley. Again, at Monmouth, Colonel Cilley and Dearborn were ordered to attack the British right wing, which was then Introduction xiii passing through an orchard. Casually Dearborn relates the ad- vance of his men, their taking down two rail fences under heavy fire, and their approaching within four rods of the British be- fore "we then gave them a very heavy fire." In consequence of this temperament and style of writing, one feels that his com- ments on what he experienced may be relied upon as sincere and usually accurate. Five of Dearborn s journals have been published before, though not annotated nor within one cover. The remaining jour- nal, covering the important period from October, iyyp, to December, 1781, has never before been printed. In this volume the complete series of journals is published for the first time, with annotations and a biographical sketch of the author. The division into parts, although based on the six notebooks used by Dearborn, is to some extent topical. The first journal covers forty folio pages in manuscript, and dates from September 10, 177j to July 16, 1776. It is the only one not in Dearborn s handwriting, although corrected in a score of places by the author. Dearborn s original manuscript has not been located. This copy was made in a fine flowing hand, sprinkled with excess punctuation. It was purchased by the Boston Public Library at the sale in 1878 of the library of John W. Thornton, executor of the will of Henry A. S. Dearborn, the son of Henry Dearborn. It was first published in the Pro- ceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society, second series, volume II Qi88j-86^). The editor, Judge Mellen Chamberlain, added no historical footnotes, but did indicate the corrections made in Dearborn s hand. The journal was reprinted from the above Proceedings in the Magazine of History, volume XXXIV Qig28), number 3, extra number 13j . Kenneth Roberts published it again in his March to Quebec (New York, 1938), with a few notes.