Sir William Johnson and the Six NationsGriffis, William Elliot
History
Sir William Johnson and the Six Nations
Griffis, William Elliot
Johnson, William, 1715-1774; United States -- History -- French and Indian War, 1754-1763
The next day the marshy pool, in places reddened with the blood of the
slain, thrown into it to save burial, was given the name—which it ever
afterward kept—of “Bloody Pond.” When the writer saw it, in 1877, the
sunbeams danced merrily on its dimpled face, as the snow-white and
golden pond-lilies were swayed by the morning’s breeze, rippling the
water’s surface, while yet held at anchor beneath. In this threefold
battle the Americans lost most heavily in the “bloody morning scout” at
the ambuscade,—their total being two hundred and twenty killed, and
ninety wounded. The well-plied tomahawks, after the surprise in the
woods, and the poisoned bullets of the French Canadians accounted for
the disproportionate number of the dead over the wounded. Among the
officers were Colonel Williams, Major Ashley, Captains Keys, Porter,
Ingersoll, and twelve others. Captain McGinnis died in the camp two days
afterward. Of the Indians, beside Hendrick, thirty-eight were slain. On
the French side the loss must have been fully four hundred, or probably
one third of those actually engaged.
In this battle farmers and traders prevailed over European troops,
trained woodcraftsmen, and fierce savages. The honours of the command
belong equally to three men. The credit of the defences, and the
excellent disposition of marksmen, artillery, and reserves, belongs to
Johnson, who, unfortunately, was wounded in the hips in the first part
of the battle, and had to leave the field for shelter. The command then
devolved upon Gen. Phineas Lyman, who deserves equal honour with
Johnson. The Connecticut general, cool and alert, displayed the greatest
courage, and was largely influential in securing the final result. To
McGinnis belongs the credit of winning a victory,—the second of the
day, in what may be called the third battle of this eventful 8th of
September. Nevertheless, such are the peculiarities of the military
mind, that Johnson never mentioned Lyman’s name in his official
despatch. For this reason, and because they unjustly suspected cowardice
in Johnson during the battle, and because they saw comparatively little
of him before and after it, withal being sectional and clannish in their
opinions, Johnson was extremely unpopular with the New England soldiers.
Their judgments have mightily influenced the accounts of the threefold
battle of Lake George as found in the writings of New England annalists
and historians.
Johnson was at once rewarded by being made a baronet, with the gift of
five thousand pounds, while Lyman received the ordinary stipend of his
rank,—another ingredient in Johnson’s unpopularity in the Eastern
colonies.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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