To George Washington from Brigadier General James Clinton, 19 June 1779
From Brigadier General James Clinton
Camp Canajoharie Creek [N.Y.] June 19, 1779
This day I was honoured with your Favour of the 13th Instant. I wrote you some time since which I find you have not yet received—I would beg leave to inform your Excellency, that I arrived in this place last Wednesday1 and immediately commenced transporting the Batteaux and Stores to the landing of Lake Otsego—since which time I have sent off near 300 waggons, fifty-nine of which are loaded with Batteaux the remainder with provisions—I have posted detachments of the Troops along the Road, to repair the damages done by the waggons and escort them from Fort to Fort until they arrive at the landing. Col’l. Dubary, with his regiment2 are bringing up a Fleet of Boats from Schenectady which are not yet arrived.3
Col’l. V’Schaick waited on me just now on his way from Fort Schuyler to Albany to take the Command in my absence.4 He informs me that a party of Onondaga Indians has returned from Buck Island5 with two Prisoners who assert that the enemy had received no reinforcement from Canada this year, that their whole force in Canada consisted only of two thousand eight hundred so that no reinforcements were expected—that Butler was in Niagara and Brant in the Seneca Country.
Partial transcription, C. F. Libbie & Co., Boston, Mass., “Sale of William S. Appleton, May 15–18, 1906,” item no. 116; copy, C. F. Libbie & Co., Boston, Mass., “Sale of William S. Appleton, May 15–18, 1906,” item no. 117; copy (extract), enclosed in GW to John Jay, 15 Aug. 1779, DNA:PCC, item 166; copy (extract), DNA:PCC, item 169. Both extracts generally follow the second paragraph of the partial transcription. The extract in item 166 reads: “Col. V. Schaick waited on me this morning on his way from the fort to take the command in Albany during my absence—he informs me that a party of Ononadaga Indians had returned from Buck Island, with two prisoners, one of them is an artillery man and very intelligent, who informs that no troops are arrived there from Canada, neither do they expect any, so the whole force of that place amounts only to two thousand eight hundred men—that Butler was gone to Niagara & Brant to the Seneca country. At the same time an Oneida scout arrived from Aswigatchie with one prisoner.”
1. The previous Wednesday was 16 June.
2. Clinton undoubtedly is referring to Col. Lewis Duboys of the 5th New York Regiment. There is a high probability that the dealer catalog transcription is inaccurate.
3. The dealer catalog transcription indicates omitted text following this paragraph.
4. See Clinton to GW, 14 June.
5. Buck Island refers to a 2¼-mile-long island, which is never more than 1¼ miles wide, near the mouth of the St. Lawrence River. Originally named, Isle aux Chevreuil, or Island of Roebucks, it was part of Canada at the time of the Revolutionary War and renamed Carleton Island by the British, who erected Fort Haldimand on the island in 1778 to safeguard trader shipments (see Frederick Haldimand to George Germain, 12 Oct. 1778, in 15:215–16). Carleton Island became part of Jefferson County, N.Y., after the War of 1812.