Memoirs Of Aaron Burr, Volume 1, Matthew L. Davis [book club suggestions .txt] 📗

The French Catholics

Were Not Satisfied With Their Situation Under The Provincial

Government; But Especially The Priesthood. Feeling No Apprehension For

His Own Safety From Treachery, He Proceeded To A Learned And Reverend

Father Of The Church, To Whom He Communicated Frankly Who He Was, And

What Was His Object. Burr Was Master Of The Latin Language, And Had An

Imperfect Knowledge Of The French. The Priest Was An Educated Man, So

That A Conversation Was Held With But Little Difficulty. He

Endeavoured To Dissuade Burr From The Enterprise. Spoke Of It As

Impossible To Accomplish. He Represented The Distance As Great, And

Through An Enemy'S Country. The Boyish Appearance Of Burr Induced The

Reverend Divine To Consider Him A Mere Child. Discovering, However,

The Settled Purpose Of The Young Adventurer, The Priest Procured Him A

Confidential Guide And A Cabriolet (For The Ground Was Now Covered

With Snow), And, Thus Prepared, He Started On His Journey. Without

Interruption, He Was Conducted In Perfect Safety From One Religious

Family To Another, Until He Arrived At Three Rivers. Here The Guide

Became Alarmed In Consequence Of Some Rumours As To The Arrival Of

Arnold At The Chaudiere, And That He Had Despatched Messengers To

Montgomery To Announce To Him The Fact. Under Strong Apprehensions,

The Guide Refused To Proceed Any Farther, And Recommended To Burr To

Remain A Few Days Until These Rumours Subsided. To This He Was

Compelled To Accede; And, For Greater Security, He Was Secreted Three

Days In A Convent At That Place. At The Expiration Of This Period He

Again Set Off, And Reached Montgomery Without Further Detention Or

Accident.

 

 

On His Arrival At Headquarters, He Explained To The General The

Character Of The Re-Enforcement He Was About To Receive; The Probable

Number Of Effective Men, And The Time At Which Their Arrival Might Be

Anticipated. General Montgomery Was So Well Pleased With The Details

Which Had Been Given Him, And The Manner In Which Young Burr Had

Effected His Journey After Leaving Arnold, That He Invited Him (Burr)

To Reside At Headquarters, Assuring Him That He Should Receive An

Appointment As One Of His Aids. At This Time Montgomery Was A

Brigadier, And Not Entitled To Aids, Only In Virtue Of His Being

Commander-In-Chief Of The Army. Previous To His Death, However, He Was

Appointed A Major-General, But The Information Did Not Reach Him.

 

 

As Soon As Burr Had Joined The Family Of The General, He Entered Upon

The Duties Of An Aid; But No Formal Annunciation Was Made Until The

Army Arrived Before Quebec, When His Appointment Was Announced In

General Orders. Arnold Arrived At Point Levi, Opposite To Quebec, On

The 9Th Of November, 1775. He Paraded For Some Days On The Heights

Near The Town, And Sent Two Flags To Demand A Surrender, But Both Were

Fired Upon As Rebels With Whom No Communication Was To Be Held. The

True Reason, However, Was, That Colonel M'Clean, The British

Commandant, A Vigilant And Experienced Officer, Knowing The Weakness

Of His Own Garrison, Deemed It Impolitic, If Not Unsafe, To Receive A

Flag From Arnold.

Chapter V (General Montgomery'S Answer) Pg 49

The First Plan For The Attack Upon The British Works Was Essentially

Different From That Which Was Subsequently Carried Into Execution.

Various Reasons Have Been Assigned For This Change. Judge Marshall

Says, "That While The General (Montgomery) Was Making The Necessary

Preparations For The Assault, The Garrison Received Intelligence Of

His Intention From A Deserter. This Circumstance Induced Him To Change

The Plan Of His Attack, Which Had Been Originally To Attempt Both The

Upper And Lower Towns At The Same Time. The Plan Now Resolved On Was

To Divide The Army Into Four Parts; And While Two Of Them, Consisting

Of Canadians Under Major Livingston, And A Small Party Under Major

Brown, Were To Distract The Attention Of The Garrison By Making Two

Feints Against The Upper Town Of St. Johns And Cape Diamond, The Other

Two, Led, The One By Montgomery In Person, And The Other By Arnold,

Were To Make Real Attacks On Opposite Sides Of The Lower Town." [2]

 

 

Colonel Burr Says, That A Change Of The Plan Of Attack Was Produced,

In A Great Measure, Through The Advice And Influence Of Mr. Antill, A

Resident In Canada, Who Had Joined The Army; And Mr. Price, A Montreal

Merchant Of Property And Respectability, Who Had Also Come Out And

United His Destiny With The Cause Of The Colonies. Mr. Price, In

Particular, Was Strongly Impressed With The Opinion, That If The

American Troops Could Obtain Possession Of The Lower Town, The

Merchants And Other Wealthy Inhabitants Would Have Sufficient

Influence With The British Commander-In-Chief To Induce Him To

Surrender Rather Than Jeopard The Destruction Of All Their Property.

It Was, As Colonel Burr Thought, A Most Fatal Delusion. But It Is

Believed That The Opinion Was Honestly Entertained.

 

 

The First Plan Of The Attack Was Agreed Upon In A Council, At Which

Young Burr And His Friend, Matthias Ogden, Were Present. The

Arrangement Was To Pass Over The Highest Walls At Cape Diamond. Here

There Was A Bastion. This Was At A Distance Of About Half A Mile From

Any Succour; But Being Considered, In Some Measure, Impregnable, The

Least Resistance Might Be Anticipated In That Quarter. Subsequent

Events Tended To Prove The Soundness Of This Opinion. In Pursuance Of

The Second Plan, Major Livingston, With A Detachment Under His

Command, Made A Feint Upon Cape Diamond; But, For About Half An Hour,

With All The Noise And Alarm That He And His Men Could Create, He Was

Unable To Attract The Slightest Notice From The Enemy, So Completely

Unprepared Were They At This Point.

 

 

While The First Was The Favourite Plan Of Attack, Burr Requested

General Montgomery To Give Him The Command Of A Small Forlorn Hope,

Which Request Was Granted, And Forty Men Allotted To Him. Ladders Were

Prepared, And These Men Kept In Constant Drill, Until They Could

Ascend Them (Standing Almost Perpendicular), With Their Muskets And

Accoutrements, With Nearly The Same Facility That They Could Mount An

Ordinary Staircase. In The Success Of This Plan Of Attack Burr Had

Entire Confidence; But, When It Was Changed, He Entertained Strong

Apprehensions Of The Result.

Chapter V (General Montgomery'S Answer) Pg 50

He Was In The Habit, Every Night, Of

Visiting And Reconnoitring The Ground About Cape Diamond, Until He

Became Perfectly Familiarized With Every Inch Adjacent To, Or In The

Vicinity Of, The Intended Point Of Assault.

 

 

When The Attack Was About To Be Commenced, Captain Burr, And Other

Officers Near General Montgomery, Endeavoured To Dissuade Him From

Leading In The Advance; Remarking That, As Commander-In-Chief, It Was

Not His Place. But All Argument Was Ineffectual And Unavailing. The

Attack Was Made On The Morning Of The 31St Of December, 1775, Before

Daylight, In The Midst Of A Violent Snow-Storm. The New-York Troops

Were Commanded By General Montgomery, Who Advanced Along The St.

Lawrence, By The Way Of Aunce De Mere, Under Cape Diamond. The First

Barrier To Be Surmounted Was At The Pot Ash. In Front Of It Was A

Block-House And Picket, In Charge Of Some Canadians, Who, After Making

A Single Fire, Fled In Confusion. On Advancing To Force The Barrier,

An Accidental Discharge Of A Piece Of Artillery From The British

Battery, When The American Front Was Within Forty Paces Of It, Killed

General Montgomery, Captain Mcpherson, One Of His Aids, Captain

Cheeseman, And Every Other Person In Front, Except Captain Burr And A

French Guide. General Montgomery Was Within A Few Feet Of Captain

Burr; And Colonel Trumbull, In A Superb Painting Recently Executed By

Him, Descriptive Of The Assault Upon Quebec, Has Drawn The General

Falling In The Arms Of His Surviving Aid-De-Camp. Lieutenant Colonel

Campbell, Being The Senior Officer On The Ground, Assumed The Command,

And Ordered A Retreat.

Footnote Pg 51

 

 

 

1. Marshall'S Life Of Washington

Footnote Pg 52

 

 

 

2. Marshall'S Life Of Washington, Vol. I., P. 329.

Chapter VI Pg 52

 

 

 

To Evince The High Sense Entertained By His Country For The Services

Of General Montgomery, Congress Directed A Monument To Be Erected,

With An Inscription Sacred To His Memory.

Chapter VI Pg 53

They "_Resolved_, That, To

Express