| Notes |
- HISTORY OF SARATOGA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
by NATHANIEL BARTLETT SYLVESTER - 1878
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HISTORY OF THE VILLAGES AND TOWNS OF SARATOGA COUNTY. TOWN OF BALLSTON.
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The Northern Invasion of 1780, in which the British forces, under Major Carleton, invaded the settlements in Ballston, has been described somewhat at length in the general history of the county. In addition to what is there set forth, the following historical notes, furnished by Judge Scott, are given here as possessing much local interest. And in this connection it is desired to acknowledge the personal assistance rendered by Judge Scott in the preparation of this work. His printed addresses, manuscripts, books, and maps have generously been offered for consultation, and his personal reminiscences have furnished valuable material that could not easily have been obtained from other sources.
The following account of an alarm in Ballston, earlier than the raids of the Tories, is taken from Judge Scott's address, delivered July 4, 1876
"Colonel Robert Van Rensselaer, in a letter to the Provincial Congress, dated April 18, 1777, writes that he has received a letter, requesting the assistance of the militia to quiet an insurrection of the Tories in Ballston.
"Hezekiah Middlebrook, chairman of the Ballston committee of safety, writes a letter to the committee of Saratoga, dated May 2, 1777, stating, in detail, the suspicious movements of a party of men who had encamped between Charles Merrick's and Ebenezer Sprague's (now on the road between Factory Village and James Thompson's), and adds that the morning previous thirty or forty men were discovered marching up the Kayadrossera, and returned the same way in the evening, and further adds, 'There is reason to think there is a large body of them, more than we are able to cope with; and a good many from this settlement have absconded, and it is thought have joined them. We look upon ourselves at their mercy, if they choose to attack us, which we hope will incite you to be as expeditious as you can to assist us.'
"The explanation of this alarm would seem to be this: Several of the Tories in this vicinity, having received the offer of bounty lands in Canada, marched off in an armed body at about the date of Middlebrook's letter to join the British forces at Crown Point. They struck the well-known Indian trail leading over the Kayadrossera mountain, across the Sacandaga river near Daly's creek, and west of Lake George to Crown Point, which I shall hereafter refer to. They encamped the first night on the bank of a lake on the summit of the mountain, to which (either from its surroundings or their own situation, or perhaps both) they gave the name of 'Lake Desolation,' which it still retains. Colonel James Gordon, with a detach-merit of militia (among whom were Edmund Jennings and David How), followed in pursuit, and on the 6th of May overtook them, thirty-one in number, in the present town of Luzerne, and brought them back. They were tried by a court-martial and fined fifteen dollars each.
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