noon
I called the lads together without loss of time , repeating to them what Cox had said , and again was I made glad when they agreed without hesitation to take him among us . John Sammons was sent to bring up the new member of the company , and Sergeant Corney said , grimly , as he tried without avail to pucker his wrinkled face into a frown : `` At this rate you 'll soon lose the right to call yourselves Minute _ Boys _ , because this ` ere company is fast becomin ' a refuge for the aged and outcast . '' There was to be mourning as well as gladness among us on this the last day we were to spend in Fort Schuyler . Toward noon a messenger from the general commanding came in , bringing with him the sad news that General Herkimer was dead of his wounds , or , perhaps I should say , because of his wounds . As we were told , the general was safely taken to his home after the battle , being carried on a litter the entire distance . The weather was very warm , and soon the wound became gangrenous . Nine days after his arrival , a young French surgeon who had been with General Arnold 's force visited the house , and claimed that the injured limb should be cut off without delay , as the only means of saving the sufferer 's life .