mida ap AM aw WE m gg 1 q 0 t t M t va 4 dav N M t Z N 11 4 all r by ELMO SCOTT WATSON 5 A I 1 ON G this years sesquicentennial observances of revolutionary war events none has more dramatic anter interest st than the series of celebrations brat ions commemorating thesul the sul cllnton clinton campaign against the iroquois Iro quola indians in 1770 con sideling tl the slap of df the army engaged and tile the results accomplished shed it seems that our school historians give so lit tie attention to this eipp expedition dialon 4 unit that thai it Is so little known to most americans yet it if evasn was n campaign which required the of between and continental Condri soldiers they were in the field for nearly six els months and they effectually 66 broke kethe the power of the strongest st leogue league of american indians ever formed a league which had been a an important ally of the british ond and they the nation a veritable empire of unsurpassed fei fer 1 tillay but new york and pennsylvania penns ivanca where these stirring ev events L rits took place are commemorating them in a fashion worthy of their importance new york has appropriated rioted for the principal observances which ahre are being held at the battlefield of newtown near at geneva and at the old genesee castle which marks the western terminus odthe of the expedition pennsylvania is JO joining ining new york in exercises held at athens baand pa and at salamanca N Y and hist historic prick markers are being placed along the wh whole ole route loute of the campaign camp alga including the march of gen james clinton through the mohawk and susquehanna valleys to join thle the column led by gen john sullivan national Nat lonal recognition of the campaign however line has come in tho the form of a commemorative two cent stamp bearing the portrait of general sullivan which was put into circulation earlier in the summer the expedition set out on art foot early in 1779 1770 not only to avenge the cherry valley and wyoming massacres by the indians and tories but also to strike it a decisive blow at the iroquois their presence on the frontier was a constant threat of a stab in the back of the colonies intent upon the campaigns by the british forces on the atlantic seaboard the iroquois or sla six nations had also been nn an important source of food supply tor for the british unit and the tories since the region they held was one of the richest agricultural sections east of the alleghenies wever determination to strike a blow at the indians was based upon a bigger and more important objective than punishment for the massacres or cutting oft off this food supply pence peace talk was already in the air in 1779 and the great commander saw that it if peace came at that time the united states would be a small fringe of territory oil on the atlantic coast and the interior must be taken by force of arms if it were to bo be included tn in the new country so tt it was tor for the stake of a great empire that washington gion wits was playing when he launched the sullivan clinton expedition the command of the expedition was at first offered to gen horatio gates the undeserving victor nt at saratoga but gates declined on the plea pica that he was unable to undertake a campaign I 1 involving ol 01 such hardships so washington next turn turned ed to another general who had repeatedly proved his mett mettle leon n the battlefield he was jolin sullivan n young lawyer and commander of the tha at durham N 11 who in 1774 had committed tile the first overt act of the revolution by the capture or of fort william and story mary in now ecamp shirland shire and nh all the british stores 16 n it appointed n brigadier general in 1776 1775 sullivan had made argood a good record even though it was waa not particularly brilliant characterize Character Izel as a ll plodder waa just the kind of dependable commander botn washington knew lie he could trust for such a campaign the first success of campaign ras scored by clinton cinton who sent sen a force of men wider under colonel van ich who made a rapid march of ON miles up the mohawk valley scattered the onondagas Onon dagas destroyed their villages laid their fields waste and returned to fort schuyler Sch with tits his force intact lie ile then ascended the mohawk to end and opened a road to otsego take lake over which be transported boats with supplies for his 1400 troops by the end of june clinton had reached the lake julie and was ready to float down the susquehanna to join sullivan sullivan sulliva n had established his fits headquarters at easton pa late into in way may and immediately found himself in cuttles because of the rivalries riva liles and jealousies among the officers and men from the different colonies but tie he succeeded in smoothing tout fout most of these troubles and on july 23 began his march with v ath between 3 and men at eloga lid he wa was a joined by general clinton and pushed boldly forward into the indian country after an occasional skirmish with it a few casual lie he readied the village of newtown sea near the the city of elmiral Eli ulra on august 20 29 here tho the indians indiana and tories numbering about 1100 had laid an ambush am asli for or the americans their plan was to draw sull sullivan ivan into anio a defile between river and ridge and after ills his aimy was yell well strung ou out t to enfil enfilade ade bihli both hanks flanks vv with tit t their heir in lie re if they had succeeded si the bloody business of braddock might easily have been repeated there and sullivans expedition failed disastrously at the start but fortunately for him among his forces were three compian companies les of morgans riflemen those stalwarts stal warts in buckskin who had played such a prominent part la in the defeat of gentleman johnny bur goyne and who could out indian the indian at hla his own game among them was the famous timothy murphy serving in the company of capt james parr and thomas boyd the same tim murphy who had fired it another iother shot heard round the world when he killed general fraser at saratoga and whose famias tame aa the scout of the Scho Scholl harlo arle was to go ringing along the whole frontier it was waa thee theae riflemen who detected the breast works masked by bushes which the indians indiana and tories had thrown up in time to saye save sullivan from marching into the trap ile he immediately deployed his army for attack attach sent general poor with his new england regiments to outflank tho the enemy on tits his right and brought his artillery to play piny upon the breastworks the movement was nn na instantaneous success terrified by the roar of the big guns the indians fled and sullivan scored a decisive victory the news of this victory spread over the indian country and brought great discouragement to the enemy meanwhile sullivan Sul llan was pushing on destroying des troyl ig e every ery village which he reached cutting down the corn in the fields girdling the fruit trees and la general sweeping like a wave of destruction through the rich country where the indians had lived in pence peace and plenty by september 12 sullivan had reached the head ot of conesus conerus lake and found the deserted village c chief ahle big tree he knew that he was in the neighborhood of the genesee Cic river riven the heart of the seneca senden country where lived the most numerous and most warlike or of the five tribes but he did not know where the principal village was located and in norderto order to find out he sent lieutenant boyd boid on a scouting expedition boyd was instructed to select tour four or five men to accompany him but made the mistake of taking twenty six alx instead a party much too large to escape detection by the indians and at the time too small to put up tip an effective fight in case he came into contact with the enemy today there stands near tile the town of cuyler valle N if V a granite boulder bearing a bronze tablet on which appear these thesa words this wayside shrine abrine marks the place v where here on september 14 1770 1779 thomas boyd and sergt michael met death undaunted in the line of duty after lingering torture they marked with their blood the western limit in the stute state of new york of the grent erent struggle for Ain american erlean freed freedom bm 1 not far away stands a great grea elm tree known as tile the torture uee tree for this la Is the spot where took i place a tragedy odthe of the revolution which Is but lit ailt tie known cnown to most americans but which stands as one of the most thrilling stories of dauntless heroism la in the whole history of that mat conflict on the evening of september 11 12 1 boyd and tits party found themselves at a deserted indian village near cannat ragn creek the young lieutenant sent two of at his roen men back to sullivan to report hla his situation and these two reached their destination safely in the meantime a force of five or six hundred indians under the command of col john Il butler lutler the notorious tory lory leader took up their the ir position on groveland hill to resist sullivans ki 4 ZA v A W afie a boyd rwjr AL advance into the genesee valley they had no idea that the boyd party was waa behind them and boyd had no idea that fie be was yut giat off from sul 11 y rans aran army besuch by such a foree force early in the morn morning gnp of september 13 boyd started to return to the main army one of his men seeing some indians prowling about the village made the fatal nils take of firing upon them thus revealing the position of boyds Boyd party sparty to the savages por for a short time the scouting party was unmolested although its aa boyd traveled back along the trail through the forest he saw several indians indiana trotting along ahead ot of his bis column lie ile did not realize that they were enticing him into an ambush finally they closed in and the next few moments witnessed one of the most desperate coffi combats bats in the history of bf the tha frontier boyd and his men fought with their rifles until their ammunition ran out aud and then it was vas a struggle at close quarters clubbed musk musket elit and fists against tomahawk and scalping knife fourteen of at boyds party barty were killed on the spot but several a inong among them the redoubtable tim murphy managed to break through the cordon ot of death and by thela fleetness of foot escaped to sul but ievans army doyd and sergeant parker were taken prisoners the next morning the hot september sun looked down upon a terrible scene in the seneca village tied to the torture tree was young tom boyd bravely facing the howling mob of savages which surrounded him mary jameson Jam lson tile the famous white captive of the Se has told about the scene of that morning as follows poor boyd was stripped of 0 his clothing and then tied to a sapling where the indians menaced ills fits life alfo by throwing their town tomahawks hawks at the ilia tree directly over bis bin head brandishing their scalping knives nt at him in the most frightful manner and accompanying their ceremonies with the most terrific shouts of joy she also described further details of hla his lingering death but they were too ghastly to be recorded lie ile was then be beh headed ended ills his head was stuck upon la pole and his body left on the ground unburied later in the day sullivan captured the village and found the bodies of boyd and parker tito the sergeant apparently however had been killed with comparatively little torture the story has fins often been told that colonel butler questioned boyd and tried to get information about sullivans army from him film but that boyd refused to reveal hla his commanders rom manders plans whereupon the tory leader shouted take him Se Sene casl pad as was butters record as a leader of bloody raids raid against the colonists historians have generally nat absolved solved him from responsibility for boyds horrible fate terrible as had find been their fate their sacrifice had find not been in an for the indians hearing the uproar behind them caused by the ight put up by boyds party before it was overcome abandoned their position and hurriedly retreated westward so when sullivan advance advancer I up that hill bill lie he met with no resistance and it Is probable that boyds party saved sullivans army from a severe engagement in which a large number of men probably would have lost their lives on september 14 of this year the granite boulder on which Is inscribed the deathless heroism of boyd and parker will bo be formally unveiled us as a part of the celebration of the sullivan clinton sesquicentennial although it was it minor incident in that campaign campaignio no tribute that will be paid to the participants in that campaign will be more deserving than the tribute there honoring the memories of the two young soldiers who marked with their blood the western limit in the state of new york dar 0 f the great str struggle urgle for or amerl car freedom