Meanwhile, Governor Haldimand had begun to worry about Sherwood's safety. The news that Major John André of the Queen's Rangers, had been caught after leaving Benedict Arnold's headquarters at West Point was well known. Rumours that he had been hanged had reached Quebec City. Writing to Major Carleton on November 8, Haldimand said that the fate of Major André ‘shows the fatal consequences of being frustrated’. Mr. Sherwood being in the ‘Enemy's Power strengthens this Necessity’ and he recommended that Carleton withdraw Justus as soon as possible.6
The entry in Justus' journal for November 9 read: A Snow storm this day, arrived at Castleton. 9th. Col. Allen and Maj. Fay arrived as Commissioners to negotiate the Cartel – forbid by Maj. Allen to proceed till the 11th towards night, then set off and went to East Bay – found it frozen about two inches thick.
Momentarily Justus wondered why Ira Allen let Ebenezer push him around when he outranked him. Joseph Fay answered him. If Ira came down too hard on behalf of Haldimand's commissioner, Ebenezer might become even more suspicious. Besides, as he had demonstrated, Ebenezer commanded the loyalty of far too many men of the Castleton garrison, and could flex his military muscle.
At East Bay the cutter was entrapped, and Justus' only entry for November 12 was ‘Broke the Ice about three miles’. He wished he had left the boat on the shore of Lake Champlain and walked the few extra distance to Castleton.
While Justus and his escort worked feverishly to reach the open lake, Major Carleton and his expedition remained encamped at Miller's Bay, with an outpost at Crown Point. Rations were short, the men crouching round campfires, shivering in bitter cold. The sloop Lee patroled offshore looking for Sherwood and the cutter. By November 12, Carleton felt he could hold out no longer, convinced that the Vermonters had double crossed Haldimand. Justus must be a prisoner by now, if indeed he was still alive. Reluctantly the major ordered a withdrawal. His men took to the bateaux, while parties of refugees who had joined them went aboard the sloop for the journey to Isle aux Noix.7
The following day, the 13th, Justus and his men broke the ice another three miles. By that time Ira Allen and Joseph Fay had become restive. The journal continued:
14th. Allen and Fay turned back and said they would come to St. Johns by ice as soon as possible – I had the day before shown them the General's proposals, after perusing them and discoursing largely on the subject – we burned them.
On parting, Justus promised Allen and Fay that when they came to meet him at Isle aux Noix, he would show them Haldimand's orders empowering him to act as his commissioner. He agreed to use his influence to have Vermont officers in Canada freed on parole. The two conspirators handed over ten days supply of bread and beef for Sherwood's party, and took leave of him. The rest of the day passed breaking ice another ‘three miles, and on the 15th yet another three’. Justus’ journal resumed:
16th. Three miles to Fidler's Elbow. From the 17th to the 19th Break the Ice about eleven Miles, to the open Lake. This evening sent the Cutter forward with orders to proceed as fast as possible to Ty – and there wait for me.
He wanted to be away from the vicinity, lest Ebenezer Allen make more mischief. With the time consumed breaking ice, his party was again short of provisions, and accompanied by one man, Justus set out on foot for Skenesborough. There he bought ‘five bushels of Indian corn’ and other food. Out of cash, he borrowed ‘30 pounds of pork from Ensign McDonald’. The two carried these heavy loads on their backs ‘three miles to South Bay’, where they appropriated a skiff and left a message for the owner. Mr. Ephriam Jones of the Commissary Department would pay him, or Justus would send him as good a one in the spring.
Rejoining the cutter on the 21st, Justus sailed as far as Chimney Point, on the east side of Lake Champlain opposite Crown Point, where he waited for Captain McDonald's family. The captain was in Canada, and his wife and children wanted to join him. Towards dusk, near Miller's Bay, Justus took aboard two men, four women and four children who had been four days without food. Now his enlarged party was short of provisions, and his people had been on half rations before the newcomers joined him. With ten more mouths to feed, and a total of twenty-five persons, he had only ‘thirty pounds of bread and meat and half a pint of Indian corn per day to each person’.
On the 22nd they went ‘two miles’ against a strong headwind, snow swirling about the cutter, and had to lie up for most of the day. His entry for the 23rd read ‘A Favourable Wind – Run about sixty miles to Tea Kettle Island’. The tail wind was gratifying. The cutter sped down the lake, main and jib winged — a blessing for the starving soldiers and refugees aboard. By the 24th the ordeal was ending: ‘Arrived at Point au Fer and rowed this night to Isle aux Noix – 26th, about ten o'clock this morning arrived safe at St. Johns, waited on Maj. Carleton, delivered him my Dispatches’.
Christopher Carleton was vastly relieved when he saw Justus. The two officers held a conference with Colonel Barry St. Leger, the new commandant of Fort St. Johns. Brigadier Powell had been sent to Fort Niagara. On the 28th, Carleton and Sherwood set off in a sleigh for Quebec City to confer with Haldimand, a Canadian driver at the reins, stopping each night at an inn. The sleigh followed the snow-covered road northward and turned at Sorel to follow the St. Lawrence. On December 1 they reached the outskirts of Quebec City.8
Chapter 10
Justus Smells Success
Towards evening on December 1 the sleigh carried Justus and Major Carleton past the barricades and batteries that protected the Lower Town. The driver stopped at an inn for a fresh horse before attempting the stiff climb to the Upper Town, and the two officers had some food. Back in the sleigh Justus looked about him as the driver guided the horse across Notre Dame Street and up the winding hill to the Place D'Armes, at the corner of which stood the citadel. Passing a sentry at the gate the sleigh came to a halt before a vast, dreary looking edifice — The Château St. Louis, the governor's residence.
Inside they stood in a drafty, gloomy hallway awaiting Captain Robert Mathews, Haldimand's secretary. Justus shuddered, and was not surprised when Carleton observed that the governor hated the uncomfortable mansion. When Mathews arrived he gave them an appointment to see His Excellency early the following morning. Major Carleton left to join his wife at a house where she rented rooms, while Mathews escorted Justus to the officers' quarters in the barracks at the end of Baude Street.
Justus was awake early after a night of fitful sleep, and Major Carleton arrived in a sleigh to accompany him back to the Château St. Louis. The meeting was brief, for Haldimand had many commitments. He ordered Justus to remain at the barracks, and he would send for him when he had more time. He was hoping for dispatches by way of the Saint John Valley from Sir Henry Clinton, apprising him of information on Vermont that had reached New York City. Before dismissing the two officers, he warned them that they should expect to be in the city for at least three weeks. Carleton was delighted, but Justus fumed when he left the château. Damn Ebenezer Allen for the trickery that had held him up nine full days. Without that piece of duplicity, he might have got the cutter out of East Bay before it iced over and been home two weeks sooner. Now he would miss spending Christmas with Sarah and the children.1
Haldimand summoned him occasionally for discussions at which Captain Mathews was always present, and occasionally Major Carleton. In between times Carleton entertained him frequently, and Captain Mathews, who lived at the same barracks, did his best to cheer him up, taking him to social affairs when he was off duty. By December 20, Haldimand had digested Justus' report, and he wrote to Sir Henry Clinton to inform him that he was optimistic about Vermont.2 Whenever the governor had time, he and Justus speculated long on whether any of the Allens could be trusted. They might be using the threat of reunion only as a weapon to force the Congress to grant statehood.
Much as Ethan bragged of being a man of honour, Justus suspected him capable of double dealing, but as he had told Brigadier Powell, the Vermont leaders could be bought. There was also I
ra, with his secretive ways, his face a mask as he burned Justus' top secret letters from Haldimand back at East Bay. Tom Chittenden, too, feigned artlessness. He might pose as a half-wit farmer, but he was one of the shrewdest men in the Green Mountains. Ethan was easy to read, but he was only one of the conspirators, a man of action in a game that called for delicate manoeuvres.
Haldimand was prepared to suspend all discussions if he suspected duplicity, but Justus pointed out another reason for continuing. A truce and Vermont neutrality were useful ends in themselves, a help to loyalists, his own people and his first concern. Furthermore, Ethan had warned him that it would take time to persuade the people of Vermont to accept reunion as an alternative to statehood. A neutral Vermont was a guarantee that a rebel army could not sweep up the Connecticut Valley and attack Quebec. Then, too, the adjacent parts of New York were to be included in the neutral zone, and there was a possibility of extending the truce into New Hampshire. By stopping the war in the northern colonies, victory might be won through negotiation, without further bloodshed.
When not closeted with the governor, Justus found the social life dazzling. Each night there was a ball or a dinner party or the theatre to attend. Popular London plays and ambitious Shakespearian productions were staged by members of the garrison. As Christmas drew nearer the pace quickened, and he found the food almost more than he could endure, still recovering from his days on short rations.3
At the nightly festivities the red coats outnumbered the ladies' gowns by three to one. In that setting Justus felt he could identify with little Cinderella. Like her, he had been cold and hungry, and now he had been catapulted into the lap of luxury, amidst the most influential people in the province, waiting for a midnight that would thrust him back into reality. Before introducing Justus into the officers' mess, Captain Mathews had a word with some of the snobbish young regulars. The tall provincial in worn regimentals with the Yankee twang would not be visiting a tailor before mingling with them. Captain Sherwood was not a poorly educated younger son of the country gentry whose father had bought him a commission and was sending him an allowance to pay his gaming debts. To overcome the effects of gluttony and indulgence in wine and spirits, Justus needed long walks in the sub-zero cold that left his breath frozen on the hair close to his face.
At one of their last meetings Haldimand informed Justus that in addition to being a Commissioner of Prisoners and Refugees, and his role in the Vermont negotiations, he was to be in charge of sending out all scouting parties from Isle aux Noix. Haldimand would continue to rely on Sir John Johnson for information on the Mohawk Valley and Albany, otherwise Justus was to be responsible for the scouts around Lake Champlain. On matters that concerned Vermont, Justus was to talk only with Major Dundas, the commandant of Isle aux Noix. For greater security, Dundas would be the sole British regular officer involved in the discussions soon to take place with Ira Allen and Joseph Fay.4
On New Year's Day, Justus and Major Carleton set off up the ice of the St. Lawrence in a sleigh. They stopped at Sorel so that Justus could see the men of his company and confer with John Dulmage. From Dulmage Justus learned that his superior officer was now Major John Nairne, 84th Regiment, appointed to replace the late Daniel McAlpin.5 As the sleigh carried them along the Richelieu, Justus knew that this winter would be different from the two previous ones, and he would have less time to devote to his family. Yet he was not downhearted. The work he was doing might lead to Vermont's reunion, and his near and dear would one day return to New Haven. Haldimand was optimistic, Justus bursting with enthusiasm.
On January 6, 1781, replying to a letter from Mathews, Justus wrote that he could easily find three trusty guides to accompany Caleb Clossen and David Crowfoot whenever Colonel St. Leger gave the order. Justus also wanted to move his entire scouting operation to Isle aux Noix, because Haldimand wanted him to report only to Major Dundas. Since some of the information the scouts brought in concerned Vermont, Justus assumed that Dundas was his superior, and his reports should be forwarded to him. For some time he remained at Fort St. Johns, because a mild spell and unsafe ice made travelling nearly impossible.
On the 18th, Colonel St. Leger ordered him to take six scouts and accompany Lieutenant William Twiss, Royal Engineers, along Lake Champlain. Twiss had asked for Captain Sherwood, but Justus felt he must stay in case Ira Allen and Joseph Fay arrived. Nor could he produce the other scouts. He had only six men at Isle aux Noix, but all were about to depart for Albany and Vermont. All the other scouts were already in rebel territory.6
Colonel St. Leger was furious, and demanded to know why he had not been informed about all parties leaving Isle aux Noix. No scouts should go into enemy territory without his permission since he was senior to both Major Dundas at Isle aux Noix and Major Carleton at Pointe au Fer. Justus felt he had too many masters, and did not deserve St. Leger's wrath. A week later he received Mathews' reply. His Excellency was pleased with Justus' work, but Mathews did not say which of the post commanders was his superior.7
He was also disgruntled with the results of Haldimand's latest recruiting drive. His company was little more than half strength, and agents were no longer finding Vermont fertile ground. Other corps commanders were constantly bickering over the few recruits that had come, and the situation was enflamed by the efforts of Major James Rogers to fill the ranks of the King's Rangers. Because his home was in Londonderry, Vermont, Rogers had the same appeal as John Peters to loyalists in that area. However, Ebenezer Jessup had complaints about Rogers, and so did most of the other commanders of small units. Haldimand had established a Board of Officers which met periodically to deal with the complaints, and decide where each recruit would be assigned.8
As soon as the weather turned cold, Justus drove in a sleigh to Isle aux Noix, to see whether Major Dundas had news of Ira Allen and Joseph Fay. The major had not heard a word, and while Justus was there, hoping that a message would arrive, the Board of Officers held a meeting at Fort St. Johns. Justus' claim was neglected, for on the board was Lieutenant Edward Carscallan, who had led the exodus from Justus' company after the Battle of Bennington. On February 19, Justus returned to Fort St. Johns to discover that James Rogers had succeeded in claiming some of his men. Writing to Captain Mathews, Justus stressed that he would be on his guard when the Vermont Commissioners appeared, and ended his letter:
P.S. I understand that I have lost some men that I claimed to Rogers' Corps by not being there to support my claim, or rather to state it, as it seems Col. Peters has left them off his List9
Colonel Peters was jealous of his junior officer, and had deliberately overlooked the men. Now that Justus was occupied with prisoners and refugees, Vermont and the scouting missions, he was unable to do duty with the Queen's Loyal Rangers at Sorel. Then, one of the scouts, Captain Azariah Pritchard, King's Rangers, informed Justus that the majority of the people in Vermont favoured neutrality, while a minority was in ‘the utmost Confusion and undetermined what course to take’. Justus sent Pritchard on a scout towards the Connecticut Valley to see what else that officer could glean.
On the night of March 9, Pritchard returned with a prisoner named Thomas Johnson, a resident of the eastern part of Vermont, and a lieutenant-colonel in the rebel militia.10 Colonel St. Leger entertained him to dinner, and afterwards gave him the freedom of Fort St. Johns. He asked Justus to chat with the distinguished captive to see whether he was reliable. Johnson was offering to become a resident agent if he were allowed to return home. Justus was impressed, and admitted to St. Leger that he thought Johnson was trustworthy.
A few weeks before, Colonel Peters was ordered to move his Queen's Loyal Rangers to Verchères, and when he got wind that Thomas Johnson was at Fort St. Johns he warned Justus not to be hoodwinked by this turncoat:
Don't think I take too much on myself when I tell you that M. Thomas Johnson will, if possible, deceive you, he is very subtle, will not stick at 50 guineas or pounds to give intelligence to his rebel friend Bailey, the Deaco
n; at the same time will speak light of M. General Bailey to you. I am not prejudiced against M. Johnson as an Individual, but a Rebel he is
Justus enclosed a copy of Peters' letter, adding ‘N.B. M. Johnson Knows nothing of this letter, nor does M. Peters know anything that M. Johnson has said to me’.11
Deacon Jacob Bailey, whom Peters mentioned, was a general in the Vermont army and a member of the Grand Council of Safety. This same Bailey had evicted Peters' wife and eight children from their home in the Connecticut Valley in February, 1777. Justus did not want Peters' resentment to cloud his own judgement, but Haldimand should know about the colonel's reservations. If Johnson could be trusted, he would be useful.
The letters posted, Justus went to attend to the scouts at Isle aux Noix. David Crowfoot and Samuel Rose were in quest of information about Vermont. Crowfoot was around Arlington and barely eluded capture by the rebels.12 Rose, who had sold Justus his first piece of land in the New Hampshire Grants, had travelled to New York City to see Colonel Beverley Robinson. That officer, optimistic when he first contacted Ethan Allen, was now disillusioned and called the big mountain chieftain a ‘Damn'd Rascal’.13
Justus stayed at Isle aux Noix, dispatching scouts, and on April 9 he sent Mathews a letter he had received from Colonel Thomas Johnson, who asked that it be forwarded to His Excellency. Johnson pleaded again to be allowed to return home, and before sealing his own letter Justus added ‘I thought it my duty to forward it without any Comments or Remarks’.14 Now the matter of releasing Johnson rested with the governor.
Justus stayed at the outpost until May, sifting through the information his scouting parties brought in. Back at Fort St. Johns, Colonel St. Leger persisted in sending out couriers without informing him. One he dispatched was John Walden Meyers, now recruiting for the King's Rangers and hoping to qualify for a captaincy. Justus fumed. His scout, Richard Ferguson, was looking for recruits near Ballstown, and he prayed Meyers would not use that route. A manhunt for the hefty German might entrap Ferguson. Scouts should operate at safe distances from one another, and Justus feared that Meyers might go through Ballstown if the way along the Hudson River was heavily patrolled.15
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