19th century portrait of Robert Rogers
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19th century portrait of Robert Rogers |
| "The first record we have of a visit of the whites to the territory is that of a portion of Roger's regiment on their return from the reduction of St. Francis village, in 1759. Roger's rangers consisted of a regiment of 300 men sent out by General Amherst from Crown Point. After destroying the Indian village and starting on their return journey, they learned that they were being pursued by a large body of Indians, so their main object became to get back to New England in safety. Accordingly, they divided, a part of them attempting to return by Missisquoi bay, and were overtaken and destroyed. |
| The remainder followed up the St. Francis river and Lake Memphremagog, then up Barton river, and thus on to the Connecticut river. When they arrived here, the provisions of the rangers having already been exhausted and some of their number become so faint from hunger that they had stopped to die, they gladly rested and replenished their stores with the fish that they found in abundance in the stream. Marks made on the trees by these soldiers, it is believed, have been discovered in several towns. A son of one of the rangers, Joel Priest, of Brownington, was a resident of the county after a lapse of more than a century" (1). |
 From the 1777 Pownall Map (2) |
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References: 1. Gazetteer of Lamoille and Orleans Counties, VT.; 1883-1884, Compiled and Published by Hamilton Child; May 1887, Syracuse, N.Y., The Syracuse journal company, printers, 1887 2. Library of Congress Geography and Map Division Washington, D.C. 20540-4650 USA |