 On
September 13, 1759, at Crown Point, Robert Rogers received orders
from Gen. Jeffrey Amherst to take 200 northward to St. Francis, the
home of the Abenaki Indians and there to destroy the town. Rogers arrived
there on the 22nd with only 142 men, the rest having had to turn back due
to various accidents and illnesses. Just before sunrise, his men attacked
the village so quickly that the warriors did not have time to arm and defend
themselves. The Rangers set fire to the village. Many Indians ran and were
pursued, many burned in their homes. Although he had had orders not to harm
the women and children, many were killed and wounded. The attack was over
by 11am. The Rangers rounded up several surviving women and children but
let most of them go, retaining two Indian boys and three girls. He also
rescued 5 English who had been prisoners of the Indians.
Rogers had left some boats on Lake Champlain for their escape,
but these were found by the Indians, and thus Rogers' planned escape route
was ruined. Based on information from his prisoners, Rogers decided to go
back south down the Connecticut River toward the Fort
at No. 4. He made his way southward, and when provisions grew scarce
he separated his men into smaller groups, so they were better able to find
food. He then sent an officer back to Crown Point to have provisions sent
upriver to them from the fort. General Amherst sent a Lieut. Stephens with
supplies to an appointed location several days' trek north of the fort,
but the lieutenant got scared and didn't wait long enough for them, and
when he left, just two hours before they arrived, he took the rescue provisions
back with him!
Rogers' men were unable to continue from the meeting point,
and so he and a handful of others made their way down the river on rafts.
He told his men to wait and said he would return in 10 days. They had
a difficult time making it to the fort but they did make it, and were
able to send provisions northward to arrive on the 10th day, as promised.
Many of his men had died of starvation by that time, but many were saved.
So, on August 3, 2000, some of us Rangers piled into canoes
to trace their route down the Connecticut River to the Fort at No. 4.
|