Lyr Add: Burning of Schenectady

Subject: Lyr Add: Burning of Schenectady
From: cetmst
Date: 01 Dec 04 - 10:44 AM

In the thread Songs with the names of cities and towns in the title the paucity of songs about Schenectady is noted. I came across this gory tale in "Body, Boots and Britches, Folklore, Ballads and Speech from Country New York" by Harold W. Thompson, 1939, Dover Reprint, 1962:

A Ballad - In which is set forth the horrid cruelties practiced by the French and Indians on the 8th of last February. The which I did compose last night, in the space of one hour, and am now writing, the morning of Friday, June 12th, 1690 - W.W.

God prosper long our King and Queen,
Our lives and safeties all,
A sad misfortune once there did
Schenectady befall.

From forth the woods of Canada
The Frenchmen tooke their way
The people of Schenectady
To captivate and slay.

They marched for two and twenty daies,
All thro' the deepest snow;
And on a dismal winter night
They strucke the cruel blow.

The lightsome sun that rules the day,
Had gone down in the west;
And eke the drowsie villagers
Had sought and found their reste.

They thought they were in safetie all,
And dreampt not of the foe;
But att midnight they all awoke,
In wonderment and woe.

For they were in their pleasant Beddes,
And soundelie sleeping, when
Each door was sudden open broke
By six or seven Men.

The Men and Women, younge & old,
And eke the Girls and Boys,
All started uo in great Affright,
Att the alarming Noise.

They then were murthered in their Beddes.
Without shame or remorse;
And soon the Floores and Streets were strew'd
With many a bleeding corse.

The Village soon began to Blaze,
Which show'd the horrid sight -
But, O, I scarce can Beare to Tell
The Mis'ries of that night.

They threw the Infants in the Fire,
The Men they did not spare;
But killed All which they could find
Tho' Aged or tho' Fair.

O Christe ! In the still Midnight Air,
It sounded dismally,
The Women's Prayers and the loud screams'
Of their great Agony.

Methinks as if I hear them now
All ringing in my ear;
The shrieks & Groans & Woeful Sighs,
They utter'd in their Fear.

But some ran off to Albany,
And told the doleful Tale:
Yett, tho' We gave our chearful Aid
It did not much avail.

And We were horribly afraid,
And shook with Terror, when
They told us that the Frenchmen were
More than a Thousand Men.

The News came on the Sabbath Morn
Just att the Break of Day,
And with a company of Horse
I galloped away.

But soone We found the French were gone
With all their great Bootye;
And then their Trail We did pursue,
As was our true Dutye.

The Mohaques joined our brave Partye,
And followed in the chase
Till we came upp with the Frenchmen,
Att a most likelye place.

Our soldiers fell upon their Reare,
And killed twenty-five,
Our Young Men were so much enrag'd
They took scarce One alive.

D'Aillebout them did commande,
Which were but Thievish Rogues,
Else why did they consent and Goe
With bloody Indian Dogges?

And Here I End the long Ballad
The Which you have just redde;
And wish that it may stay on earth,
Long after I am Dead.
                      Walter Wilie
Albany, 12th of June 1690

---

Click to play

(tune from George Ward)

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Burning of Schenectady
From: GUEST
Date: 01 Dec 04 - 01:15 PM

I've sung this thing for years, usually in spite of myself because it is so damn depressing. But I live about a half-mile from the village of Alplaus (the "eel place" on what is now called Alplaus Creek), NY, the locale where the war party is said to have last camped before the massacre, only a couple of miles from the site of the old Schenectady stockade.

The song is on my 'Pea Soup and Port' album (songs of the pre-Erie Canal batteau era on the Mohawk River), currently-but-not-forever-out-of-print.
The tune I use is an appropriately somber - and probably 18th century - one. Can't think what it is just now, but I will.

My off-the-cuff recollection is that Dr. Thompson's source, publication date 1846, is as far back in time as I could find a firm date for the ballad's existence. I've always felt, however, that it is the real thing, contemporaneous with the event (and perhaps intentional propaganda, as so many like ballads were), and that an original broadside might yet exist in some archive or other...or in some old family scrapbook or shoebox.

- George

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Burning of Schenectady
From: Joe Offer
Date: 01 Dec 04 - 07:34 PM

George, I take it that you're George Ward. Please let us know about the tune - if you can e-mail a scan or MIDI to me, I can post it.
-Joe Offer-
[e-mail]

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Burning of Schenectady
From: Jeri
Date: 01 Dec 04 - 08:48 PM

I grew up in Alplaus, in a house along the creek. Never saw any eels though. I've also never heard the song - maybe because it was so depressing.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Burning of Schenectady
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 01 Dec 04 - 09:14 PM

There is a long and detailed historical sketch of the burning of Schenectady at this website, with the ballad appearing near the end.
(click here)

Pp. 244-270 of "A History of the Schenectady Patent in the Dutch and English Times."
This comment is made: "The following ballad, though without much literary merit, has some value for the facts set forth therein. It was evidently writter by a person belonging to the English garrison stationed in Albany."

The version posted by cetmst corrects some of the mis-spellings in the 'original,' as given in "A History..."

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Burning of Schenectady
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 01 Dec 04 - 09:18 PM

Wow! but it works. It is www.schenectadyhistory.org/resources/patent/09.html
Burning of Schenectady

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Burning of Schenectady
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 01 Dec 04 - 10:20 PM

Perhaps this answers the question of authorship, but it could be a different poem. Al I could find is that it is a 'narrative' poem.

Alfred Billings Street, 1842, "The Burning of Schenectady, and Other Poems," Albany, W. C. Little, and New York, D. Appleton and Co.
Street

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Burning of Schenectady
From: georgeward
Date: 02 Dec 04 - 01:28 AM

Joe, it was indeed me - a victim of the Cookie Monster. Just sent you a midi.

My album notes say I adapted my tune from the second tune given for "Job" in the Oxford Book of Carols. As good a guess as any. I changed the meter and a fair bunch of notes. "Creative forgetting," I calls it.

There's a bit of local lore that has the hapless Schenectadians not only leaving open the Stockade gate, but setting two snowmen up as guards as well. It is in at least one childrens' book...maybe a local effort to match Parson Weems, George Washington and the paternal cherry tree.

Q, great link ! About some aspects of local history, the folks at the Historical Society are really, really good. Note the archaic spellings in that text of the ballad. There's got to be at least a direct copy from the original somewhere. Maybe I can find some time to snoop in the archives.

I doubt that A B Street's poem is the same. His style is much more literary and 19th century. Check out the links on that site to a couple of his poems.

Jeri, of course there are no eels left. The Canadians ate 'em all !
'S why we have a border up there ;-)

- G

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Burning of Schenectady
From: Joe Offer
Date: 02 Dec 04 - 03:01 AM

Thanks, George. The MIDI works fine.
So, how do you pronounce "Schenectadians"? Is it SkenecTODDYans???
-Joe Offer-

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Click to play

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Burning of Schenectady
From: Jeri
Date: 02 Dec 04 - 08:31 AM

More like 'TAY-dee-anne's', Joe.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Burning of Schenectady
From: georgeward
Date: 02 Dec 04 - 11:07 AM

Hey, it worked! Thanks Joe.   - George