Proceedings of the New York Historical Association [1906]New York State Historical Association. Meeting
History
Proceedings of the New York Historical Association [1906]
New York State Historical Association. Meeting
New York (State) -- History -- Periodicals; New York State Historical Association -- Periodicals
This account thus corroborates in detail the French official dispatches
and Pouchet's description of the attack.
Under date of Friday, July 28th, Lieut. Thompson, who that day had been
down towards the Narrows, "to peal bark for to make camp," returned to
Lake George and says: "In the evening there came news that the Indians
had killed a number of teams and their guard below ye Halfway Brook, and
there was a scout fitting to go after them."
As this massacre to which the Thompson Diary so briefly refers, is
probably the most important event which took place at the "Half-Way
Brook," we quote fully from Holden's History of Queensbury, concerning
it:
"On Thursday the twenty-seventh of July, a detachment of four hundred
men, consisting of Canadians and Indians, under the command of M. St.
de Luc la Corne, a French-Colonial officer, attacked an English force
of one hundred and fifty men consisting of teamsters and an escort of
soldiers, while on their way from the station at the Half-Way Brook,
to the Camp at the head of the lake. The account here given is as
nearly as can be remembered in the language of a Mr. Jones of
Connecticut, who was a member of Putnam's company which arrived on the
ground soon after the affray took place. In the year 1822 he related
the circumstances as here recorded, to the late Herman Peck of Glens
Falls, while on a visit to Connecticut. It is from Mr. Peck that I
obtained the narrative, which corresponds so completely with the French
version of the affair that there can be no question whatever as to its
general accuracy and reliability.
"A baggage train of sixty carts, loaded with flour, pork, wine, rum,
etc., each cart drawn by two to three yoke of oxen, accompanied by an
unusually large escort of troops, was despatched from Fort Edward to
the head of Lake George to supply the troops of General Abercrombie,
who lay encamped at that point. This party halted for the night at the
stockade post at the Half-Way Brook. As they resumed their march in the
morning, and before the escort had fairly cleared the picketed
enclosure, they were suddenly attacked by a large party of French and
Indians which laid concealed in the thick bushes and reeds that
bordered the stream, and lined the road on both sides, along the low
lands between the block house and the Blind rock.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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