: : : to vieit Europe, I desire to state that his great accjuaintancc witti military matters, his long and faithful research into the military histories of modern nations, his correct comprehension of our own late war, and his intimacy with man.v of our leading Generals and Statesmen durinjr the period of its con- tinuance, with his tried and devoted loyalty and patriotism, recommend him as an eminently suitable person to visit foreign countries, to impart as weU as receive proper views upon all such subjects as are connected with his position as a military writer. Such high qualifications, apart from his being a gentleman of family, of fortune, and of refined cultivation, are entitled to the most favorable consideration from all thosH who esteem and admire them. With great respect, A. PLEA8ANTON, Bvt. Major- Gen'l, U.S.A. ExEcunvK Manbioh, I; Wati., D. C, July 13, 1869. f I heartily concur with Gen'l Pleasanton in his high appreciation of the services rendered by Gen'l de Peysteb, upon whom the State of New York has conferred the rank of Brevet Major-General. I commend him to the favorable consideration of those whom he may meet in his present visit to Europe. U. S. GRANT. ExEcunri Mansion, 1 W<ukingtm, D. a, July I3th, 1869. Dear Sir • ) I take pleasure in forwarding to you the enclosed endorsement of the President. Yours Very Truly, Gen. J. Watts db Pktsteb. HORACE PORTER.* •Major of Ordnance, V. 8. A. ; Brtvtt Brigadier-General V. S. A.; A.-de-C. to tke General-in-Chief ; and Private Secretary to the Pretident of the U.S. 178 Broadway, Law Offios of Siwkll & Piirck, ; (P. O. Addreic, Box 413.) jWu> York, June 9th, 1869. ) General J. J. Babtlbtt, U. S. Minister Resident at Stockholm. Dear Gen. General J. Watts dk Petsteu, of New York, goes to Europe this season, and may call on you. Ue is a gentleman highly connected in our State, and is in ever^ respect worthy of your confidence and esteem. He is (as you will discover) thoroughly conversant with all the military operations of both armies during the late war. He has written considerably on this subject, and his writing have attracted much attention. Any kindness you may be able to do him will be esteemed by me as a per- sonal favor. Yrs. Truly,' H. W. SLOCUM.* *Maj. G»n. U. S. V., Comm'd'g Right Wing (ith, Wth, and \ith Army-Corpt) of Union Army at Gettytburg ; Comm^d*g (1864) Army of Georgia ; Jtc. Ac. Jec. My Dear Gen. Enclosed please find note to mjr old friend Gen. Bartlett, now at Stockholm. You will not see him, but this letter is what you want, and of course it will be good with any one as with B. Gen. SuERKAN will endorse it I think. Yrs. in haste, H. W. S. H«AD-QUARTKRS THI AkMY, ) [Endorsed:]rJll„Jn~.^J .1 OF W'«.A.n.,7«>n, June 21, 1869. f I cordially endorse the within letter of General Slocum, and ask the Repre- sentatives of the U. S. abroad to extend to Gen'l de Pbtster the courtesy due a gentleman of his character and high position at home. W. T. SHERMAN, General. Washington, May 30, 1878. My Dear General I fully appreciate your labors, which I am conscious have brought into clear relief what was before obscure and ill-defined. Let me for a moment suppose that I am writing to a friend, not yourself, for you are one of the few pert^ons to whom one may write, as it were, impersonally, and that implies a very high tribute to your sense of the just. Your industry in collecting facts upon any subject you treat of, is literally untiring. In a long experience among_ the working men of the country, I have rarely found your equal, never, I think, your superior ; and I may pay the same tribute to your conscientious labor, in the task of evolving the truth from the mass of matter collected, much of it contradictory and apparently irrecon- cilable with any known truths. Possessing a clear appreciation of the great fundamental principles which should govern military operations and battles, you are quick to perceive adherence to, or departure from them, and as the extended study of the great military writers and historians has imbued your mind with just military views, so has it richly stored your memory with a redundant supply of apt illustrative examples for every important event or incident of our war. To all these qualifications as a military critic, you have added a ready, rapid, courageous pen, and a power of application, that physical ailments g^rowing out of a delicate physique, have not impaired, though they have sorely tried it. * * * Sincerely Yours, To Maj.-Gen. J. Watts db Pkystbr. (Signed) A. A. HUMPHREYS. Wathingtnn, Sunday, Sept. 29, 1872. My Dear General (dk Pbtster) : I returned to Washington, * * found a letter for me from General Badeau, * intending to send you extracts from Badead's letter, in which he speaks so highly (and justly) of your labors and papers. * * He says, " you have accumulated a wonderful amount of original matter, some of which is absolutely invaluable, and I expect to avail myself of it, &c. &c." You would not think I had lost interest in the subject of your labors, had you heard me talk to some Philadelphians about the pursuit of Lee. I learnt only this summer, of the effect of Stanton's telegram of the 6th or 7th of April, giving the whole credit of overtaking and attacking Lee, on the 6th April, to Sheridan. " There," they said in Philadelphia. (I am told,) " the generals of the Army of the Potomac are laggards ; it required Sheridan and Grant to overtake and beat Lee." What an outrage on Wright and myself, that telegram was ! We laggards I The impression thus made on the public in this movement of success, has never been effaced ; it remains Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2007 with funding from IVIicrosoft Corporation http://www.archive.org/details/balladspoemsrelaOOstonuoft Iftpr* »>«- ^- THE OLD CATAMONT TAVERN, BENNINGTON. From Harper'* Ma^zine. Copyright, 1817, by Harper & Brothers, BALLADS AND POEMS RELATING TO THE BURGOYNE CAMPAIGN ANNOTATED BY WILLIAM Lf^STONE. AUTHOR OF THE " LIFE AND TIMES OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON, BART.;" " BUR- GOYNE's CAMPAIGN AND ST. LEGER'S EXPEDITION;" "MEMOIRS OF GENERAL AND MADAME RIEDESEL ;" " HISTORY OF NEW YORK CITY;" "LIFE AND WRITINGS OF COLONEL WILLIAM L. STONE;" " REMINISCENCES OF SARATOGA AND BALLS- TON ;" "the STONE GENEALOGY;" "THE STARIN GENEALOGY," ETC., ETC., ETC. ' !' " " Land of Song said the warrior bard, '*\ i C' /\ StO A • " Though all the world betray thee, ( O O One sword at least thy rights shall guard, !" One faithful harp shall praise thee ' ' ^ (s ^ '2. ^ Moore. ALBANY, N. Y. JOEL MUNSELL'S SONS 1893 S 7^ |oh» Wattis At ^tpUt, ff. §. 1S87. Master of Arts, Columbia College of New York, 1872. —Hon. Mem. Clarendon Hist. See, Edinburgh, Scotland ; of the New Brunswick Hist. Soc, St. John, Canada; of the Hist. Soc. of Minnesota, Montana, New Jersey ; of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the U. S.. &c.; of the N. Y. Burns' Club, &c.; Cor. Mem. of the Quebec Lit. and Hist. Soc, Canada, lic. ; Life Mem. Royal Hist. Soc. of Great Britain, London, ling.; Mem. Maatschappij Nederlandsche Letterkunde, Leyden, Holland. — First Hon. Mem. Third Army Corps (A. of the P.) Union ; Hon. Mem. Third Army Corps Gettys- burg Battlefield Reunion and Mem. of the Honorary Committee; Mem. Amer. Hist. Association, U. S. A. ; of the Holland Society, N. Y. ; Associate Mem. Military In- stitution of the U. S., &c., &c. ; Member, Life, Honorary and Corresponding Member of over forty State and Local Historical, Scientific and Literary Societies and Associa- tions, iSrc, at home and abroad. —Colonel N. Y. S. L, 1846, assigned for "meritorious conduct" to command of 22d Regimental District, M. F. S. N. Y., 1849 ; Brig.-General for "important service" [first appointment in N. Y. State to that rank, hitherto elective], 1851, M. F. S. N. Y. ; Military Agent S. N. Y., in Europe. 1851-53, author- ized and endorsed by U. S. A., 1851-3 ; assisted in organization of present Police, N. Y., and first reported in favor of Paid Fire Department with Fire Escapes and Steam En- gines, 1852-3 ; Adjutant-General S. N. Y., 1855 ; Brevet Major-General S. N. Y. for "meritorious services," by " Special Act " or " Concurrent Resolution," N. Y. State Legislature. April, 1866, [first and only General officer receiving such an honor (the highest) from S. N. V.,and the only officer tA us brevetted. (Major-Gcneral) in the United States]. ptuttSjeIX'5 '^istoxicnX Mi^xits, Mo, 20. f^^' TO (Beneral ? Matta be ipe^eter, OF DUTCHESS CO., S. N. Y., WHOSE WRITINGS, BOTH ON REVOLUTIONARY AND EUROPEAN HIS- TORIES AND OUR LATE CIVIL WAR, ENTITLE HIM TO THE FIRST RANK AS A MILITARY CRITIC, AND WHOSE PATRIOTISM AND EFFORTS IN EVERYTHING WHICH TENDS TO THE ADVANCEMENT OF THE PUBLIC WEAL DEMAND THE GRATITUDE OF EVERY TRUE CITIZEN OF THE UNITED STATES, THIS WORK IS DEDICATED BY HIS FRIEND TABLE OF CONTENTS. PAGE Ballads Relating Especially to General Burgoyne i Ballads on the Death of General Eraser iii Ballads on the Death of Jane McCrea 128 Poems on the Battle of Oriskany 208 Poems on the Battle of Bennington 215 Poems on the Battles of Bemus Heights and Saratoga 234 APPENDICES. CHAPTER PAGE I. The Forces under Burgoyne and Gates 275 II. Sketch of General Gates 279 III.