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onnecUcuL.
THE
HISTOEY
OF
CONNECTICUT,
FROM THE
PIRST SETTLEilEXT OF THE COLONY TO THE AEOrTIOX OP THE
PRESENT CONSTITCTION.
i
BY G. H. HOLLISTER. I
3n too bolunus:
VOL. II.
" Their force would be most disproportionately exerted against a brave, generous, and united peo- ple, with arms in their hands and courage in their heiuts ; three millions of people, the genuine descendants of a valiant and pious ancestry, driven to those deserts by the narrow maxims of a superstitious tyranny." — Earl of Chatham.
NEW HAVEN:
DURRIE AND PECK.
1855.
» J J I >
Cheoked
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1855,
BY G. H. IIOLLISTEPt, ill the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Connecticut.
R. H. IfOBBfl,
8tercotvj)cr, Hnrtford, Ct.
CASE, TIFFANY & CO.,
Printers. Hnrtford, Conn.
PREFACE.
When employed in writing the first volume of this work, it was a pleasure to dwell upon the traits of individual men who fell under my observation. But on reaching the period of the last French war, the population of the colony was found to have multiplied so rapidly that the task became more difficult, and when the attempt was made to give an account of men who lived, and events which transpired three quarters of a century later, it appeared almost impossible to embrace within a small volume even an outline of our history. Aware of the many imperfections of this work, it would be ungrateful in me not to acknowl- edge that it would have been much more open to criticism than it is, had not the contributions of friends, too numerous to be named here, been used without stint as they were given without reserve.
The names of some of these contributors have been already mentioned in notes. To them should be added those of the Rev. Tryon Edwards, D.D., the Rev. Chauncey A. Goodrich, D.D., the Hon. Roger S. Baldwin, LL. D., the Hon. O. S. Seymour, the Hon. Robert C. Winthrop, LL. D., the Hon. Joseph Trumbull, LL. D., the Hon. S. P. Beers, the Hon. Henry Barnard, LL. D., the Rev. Gurdou Robbins, and of Charles F. Sedgwick, Ralph D. Smith, George C. Woodruff, Gustavus F. Davis, Dvvight Morris, John C. Comstock,and Charles J, Hoadley, Esquires.
Most especially do I acknowleilge an indebtedness which I never can repay to my excellent friend, P. K. Kilbourn, A.M., of Litchfield, for more than two years of unintermitted toil by day and by night, in reading over, copying, collating, and indexing the records of the colony of New Haven, as well as those of Connecticut ; in gathering all the fragmentary evidence, so valueless in its crude state, of fifteen of our old towns, and placing it at my disposal ; in compiling and arranging the appendix to both volumes ; in preparing the major part of the notes to be found in this work ; in searching printed authorities and miscellaneous manuscripts, and writ- ing letters, scrutinizing the evidences which have been woven into the text, and in short, doing what I had neither the time nor ability to do in adding to the histori- cal value and to the completeness of the work. I should have been unable to do even the little that I have done, without him, and am not willing to let this occasion pass without attempting to do him justice. As a genealogist, I have never seen his superior.
I am also indebted to John Kilbourn, A. INI., for some valuable statistics, and for other assistance which I had little occasion to expect from one not born in Con- necticut, and who had spent most of his life in other states.
iv PREFACE.
As tills work was not eominenced under the promptings of any desire to obtain money or win popularity, but from the mere love of the subject of which it treats, I have no occasion to solicit the indulgence of the public. Still the kindness of the legislature of the state, whose history I have attempted to illustrate, in making an appropriation to aid me in embellishing my work with portraits of some of her noblest sons, I can no more forget, than I can be unmind- ful of the generosity and eloquence with which that appropriation was advocated by John Cotton Smith, Esquire, then a comparative stranger to me, and the assiduity with which he has aided the work in too many ways to be mentioned in a single paragraph.
In another part of this volume, I have made a brief allusion to the kind assist- ance afforded me by my personal friend Mr. George F. Wright. It is a source of much pleasure to me, when I reflect that the old town within whose limits we both were born, can count among her Masons, her Porters, her Days, her Whittle- seys, her Kirbys, her Mitchels, her Wheatons, her Bushnells,her Brinsmades, her Leavitts, and her other historical names, an artist whose fine genius and taste will be devoted to adorn the little republic whose name is but a synonym for Liberty. The two designs for the state coat of arms that appear in this work, as well as the elegant paintings from Vv^hich Governors Saltonstall, and John Cotton Smith, were engraved, were all done by his hand.
Doubtless the critical reader will discover in this volume errors which ought to be corrected, and will find that many events and many names have been either omitted entirely or briefly touched upon, which will seem to him deserving of a more minute notice.
Will the careful antiquar}^, more especially if he be a descendant of those men who have fought the battles of the colony, or aided in making its laws, be kind enough to forward to the author such facts as he has in his possession, and impart in a private and friendly way his views upon all points of our history which appear to him to have been neglected. All such suggestions will be thank- fully received, and will afford a basis of future estimate, as well of men as of causes and effects. Perhaps the reader who has formed his taste after such models as Dr. Robertson, will complain that this work does not follow in the old fashioned historical track. Tlie author pleads guilty to the accusation. The day has gone hj, when the mere dry details of wars, and civic intrigues, will ever be read with interest. The writer of the present day addresses himself not to the few who are versed in the dead languages, but to the many who read the English tongue.
Besides, this is a mere local histoiy. It pretends to do nothing more than to give an account of a small commonwealth. In order to do this effectually, it is necessary to present in a lively way, the incidents connected with our progress as a people, from the earliest existence of our government. Sketches of individual character, of domestic life, pictures of " the age of home-spun," of the privations and the struggles which could tame the wild lands, wild men, and wild beasts of a new country, and sow its fallow ground with the seeds of civil and religious liberty, can alone " hold the mirror up to nature" and show us the very body and soul of our past.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
Page
The last French War. — A turn in our path ; "Windham county in- corporated ; incorporation of AYiUington, East Haddam, Somers, Union, Harwinton, Canaan, Kent, Sharon, New Hartford, New Fairfield, Cornwall, Torrington, Salisbury, and Goshen ; jealousy of the French ; plan of fortifications ; the French reduce Nova Scotia ; hostilities continue ; the French and English commission- ers fail in the attempts to negotiate a peace; the "Ohio Com- pany;" encroachments of the French; Fort Du Quesne ; Colonel George Washington's victory ; Fort Necessity ; Washington sur- rendered to De Yillier ; meeting of commissioners at Albany ; consolidation opposed by Connecticut, and finally defeated ; opposi- tion to the scheme of the ministry ; Braddock embarks at Cork ; vigilance of the French ; the French and English fleets ; letter from Sir Thomas Robinson ; troops to be raised ; bills of credit ; ofiicers appointed ; expedition against Crown Point ; Baron Dies- kan ; Colonel Williams, Hendrick, and others, slain ; the provin- cials repulsed, but finally victorious ; more troops raised and ofii- cers appointed ; the objects accomplished ; General William John- son knighted ; Shirley's expedition ; close of the campaign of 1755 IT
CHAPTER II.
CamjKiigns of 1756 and 1759. — Declaration of war between France and England ; Shirley superceded by Abercrombie ; plan of the campaign ; Winslow appointed to command the expedition against Crown Point ; Abercrombie proceeds to Albany with his British troops ; j ealousy between the British and Colonial ofiicers ; Earl of Loudoun ; his arrogance ; gallant defense of Colonel Bradstreet ; inefficiency of General Webb ; Montcalm ; Fort Oswego besieged ; death of Colonel Mercer ; the garrison capitulates ; conduct
iv PREFACE.
As this work was not commenced under the promptings of any desire to obtain money or win popularity, but from the mere love of the subject of which it treats, I have no occasion to solicit the indulgence of the public. Still the kindness of the legislature of the state, whose history I have attempted to illustrate, in making an appropriation to aid me in embellishing my work with portraits of some of her noblest sons, I can no more forget, than I can be unmind- ful of the generosity and eloquence with which that appropriation was advocated by John Cotton Smith, Esquire, then a comparative stranger to me, and the assiduity with which he has aided the work in too many ways to be mentioned in a single paragraph.
In another part of this volume, I have made a brief allusion to the kind assist- ance afforded me by my personal friend Mr. George F. Wright. It is a source of much pleasure to me, when I reflect that the old town within whose limits we both vt^ere born, can count among her Masons, her Porters, her Days, her Whittle- seys, her Kirbys, her Mitchels, her Wheatons, her Bushnells,her Brinsmades, her Leavitts, and her other historical names, an artist whose fine genius and taste will be devoted to adorn the little republic whose name is but a synonym for Liberty. The two designs for the state coat of arms that appear in this work, as well as the elegant paintings from which Governors Saltonstall, and John Cotton Smith, were engraved, were all done by his hand.
Doubtless the critical reader will discover in this volume errors which ought to be corrected, and will find that many events and many names have been either omitted entirely or briefly touched upon, which will seem to him deserving of a more minute notice.
Will the careful antiquary, more especially if he be a descendant of those men who have fought the battles of the colony, or aided in making its laws, be kind enough to forward to the author such facts as he has in his possession, and impart in a private and friendly way his views upon all points of our history which appear to him to have been neglected. All such suggestions will be thank- fully received, and will afford a basis of future estimate, as well of men as of causes and effects. Perhaps the reader who has formed his taste after such models as Dr. Robertson, will complain that this work does not follow in the old fashioned historical track. The author pleads guilty to the accusation. The day has gone by, when the mere dry details of wars, and civic intrigues, will ever be read with interest. The writer of the present day addresses himself not to the few who are versed in the dead languages, but to the many who read the English tongue.
Besides, this is a mere local history. It pretends to do nothing more than to give an account of a small commonwealth. In order to do this effectually, it is necessary to present in a lively way, the incidents connected with our progress as a people, from the earliest existence of our government. Sketches of individual character, of domestic life, pictures of " the age of home-spun," of the privations and the struggles which could tame the wild lands, wild men, and wild beasts of a new country, and sow its fallow ground with the seeds of civil and religious liberty, can alone " hold the mirror up to nature" and show us the very body and soul of our past.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTEK I
Page
The last French War. — A turn in our path ; Windham county in- corporated ; incorporation of Willington, East Haddam, Somers, Union, Harwinton, Canaan, Kent, Sharon, New Hartford, New Fairfield, Cornwall, Torrington, Salisbury, and Goshen ; jealousy of the French ; plan of fortifications ; the French reduce Nova Scotia ; hostilities continue ; the French and English commission- ers fail in the attempts to negotiate a peace; the "Ohio Com- pany;" encroachments of the French ; Fort Du Quesne ; Colonel George "Washington's victory ; Fort Necessity ; AVashington sur- rendered to De Yillier ; meeting of commissioners at Albany ; consolidation opposed by Connecticut, and finally defeated ; opposi- tion to the scheme of the ministry ; Braddock embarks at Cork ; vigilance of the French ; the French and English fleets ; letter from Sir Thomas Robinson ; troops to be raised ; bills of credit ; officers appointed ; expedition against Crown Point ; Baron Dies- kan ; Colonel Williams, Hendrick, and others, slain ; the provin- cials repulsed, but finally victorious ; more troops raised and offi- cers appointed ; the objects accomplished ; General William John- son knighted ; Shirley's expedition ; close of the campaign of 1755 17
CHAPTER II.
Camimigns of 1756 and 1759. — Declaration of war between France and England ; Shirley superceded by Abercrombie ; plan of the campaign ; Winslow appointed to command the expedition against Crown Point ; Abercrombie proceeds to Albany with his British troops ; j ealousy between the British and Colonial officers ; Earl of Loudoun ; his arrogance ; gallant defense of Colonel Bradstrect ; inefficiency of General Webb ; Montcalm ; Fort Oswego besieged ; death of Colonel Mercer ; the garrison capitulates ; conduct
VI CONTENTS.
Paob
of Montcalm and his Indian allies ; retreat of General "Webb ; in- glorious close of the campaign of 1756 ; the contrast; chagrin of the people of New England ; preparations for a new campaign ; arrival of the fleet from England ; expedition against Crown Point abandoned ; Lord Loudoun's expedition against Louisbourg ; his return to New York ; General Webb visits Fort William Henry ; Israel Putnam ; Fort William Henry reinforced by Colonel Mon- roe ; Montcalm opens the siege ; Monroe implores assistance from General Webb ; the general advises him to surrender ; he capitu- lates ; Montcalm neglects to provide a suitable escort ; Indian bar- barities ; Putnam visits the scene of slaughter ; more troops called for ; response of Connecticut 45
CHAPTER III.
Cam'paign of 1758. — Convention of governors at Hartford; the con- ference proves unsatisfactory ; chagrin of Lord Loudoun ; he is superceded by General Abercrombie; the curse of bad rulers ; re- capitulation ; the new ministry ; popularity of Pitt ; special assem- bly convened ; plan of a new campaign ; apportionment of troops ; Connecticut votes to raise five thousand soldiers ; officers appoint- ed; bills of credit issued ; taxes laid; commissioners appointed; fleet and armament arrive from England ; movement against Louis- bourg ; capture of Louisbourg ; expedition against Ticonderoga and Crown Point; interview between Lord Howe and Major Put- nam ; death of Lord Howe ; his character ; humanity of Putnam ; Colonel Bradstreet ; Colonel Whiting; Ticonderoga; an ill-con- trived attack ; the assault abandoned ; indignation of the provin- cial and English troops; unpopularity of Abercrombie; Majors Rogers and Putnam ; Molang ; the ambush ; gallant conduct of Putnam ; his capture and torture ; the Indians attempt to burn him ; he is rescued by Molang ; review of the campaign 67
CHAPTER IV.
Campaigns o/*l759 and 1760. — Proposed plan of operations ; twenty thousand men wanted fi-om the colonies ; the Assembly convened ; letter from Mr. Pitt ; it is resolved to raise three thousand six hundred soldiers in Connecticut ; officers appointed ; bills of credit ; our quota is increased to five thousand men ; General Am- herst ; his march toward Lake Champlain ; he takes possession of
CONTENTS. Vll
Page
Ticonderoga and Crown Point ; capture of Fort Niagara ; expedi- tion of General AVolfe ; he encamps on the Isle of Orleans ; Que- bec ; Admirals Saunders and Holmes ; Wolfe makes an attack, but is repulsed ; a council of officers ; it is determined to renew the attack; Gray's Elegy; the Heights of Quebec are scaled; the army arranged on the Plains of Abraham ; surprise of Montcalm ; his plan of battle ; the battle ; the fall of Wolfe ; death of Mont- calm; the victory of the English and provincials; Monsieur Levi attempts to recover Quebec ; Murray attacks him, but is repulsed ; the enemy open the siege ; timely arrival of the English fleet ; the destruction of the French fleet ; flight of the French troops ; Con- necticut resolves to raise five thousand fresh troops ; plan of a new campaign ; Amherst marches against Oswego ; exploits of Put- nam on the Lake ; Montreal and the whole country claimed by the French, surrenders to Amherst ; a day of thanksgiving cele- brated throughout New England ; the war continues ; Connecti- cut raises three thousand two hundred troops for the service ; the campaign ; reduction of Martinique, and other French islands ; reduction of Havanna ; ravages of disease ; peace ; Connecticut officers 92
CHAPTER Y.
T\e Stamp Act. — National Debt of England; the colonies to be taxed ; a new administration ; stamp duties ; the sugar act ; the people of New England excited ; a committee appointed to op- pose the stamp act ; their report ; Richard Jackson, Esq. ; Jared Ingersoll, Esq. ; their opposition to the stamp act ; inquiries of Lord PLalifax ; Ingersoll's remonstrance ; Colonel Barre ; his de- fense of the colonies ; passage of the stamp act ; opposition of the clergy ; measures of the populace ; ^Mr. Ingersoll accepts the office of stamp-master ; the Sons of Liberty ; the people insist upon the resignation of the stamp-master ; the cavalcade ; his resignation ; John Durkee ; Colonel Putnam and Governor Fitch ; repeal of the stamp act . 120
CHAPTER YI.
Tlie Boston Port Bill— The new ministry ; Lord Greenville and Townshend ; new revenue bill ; alarm among the colonies ; mob in Boston ; ships of war and an armed force arrive in Boston ;
VUl CONTENTS.
Page
non-importation agreement ; mock-festival in Norwich ; a revenue- sloop stationed at New London ; convention of the mercantile and landed interests at New Haven ; New York merchants censured for violating the articles of agreement ; domestic manufactures ; committees of inspection ; the Duke of Richmond ; the Boston Port Bill ; a day of humiliation and prayer ; war-like preparations in Connecticut ; contributions to the people of Boston ; meeting in Glastenbury ; Stonington ; letter from Joseph Warren ; Putnam and Durkee ; the march toward Boston ; delegates to Congress ; recommendations of Congress 141
CHAPTER YII.
Battle of Lexington and Fall of Ticonderoga. — March of General Gage ; stores at Worcester and Concord ; Pitcairn ; the fight at Concord and Lexington ; the march against Ticonderoga ; Allen and Arnold ; Allen's address to his soldiers ; the garrison surren- ders ; Captain De La Place ; Warren captures Crown Point ; Lake Champlain in possession of the Americans ; the Green Mountain Boys 160
CHAPTER YIII.
Battle of BunTcer Hill. — Colonel Putnam starts for Concord; the Connecticut militia follow him ; Major Durkee ; action of the Gen- eral Assembly ; troops raised and officers appointed ; the standards of our regiments ; the military code ; Connecticut pays the bills contracted in the capture of Ticonderoga ; new recruits ; the British army; the American camp at Cambridge; Connecticut officers ; Chester's company ; Noddle's and Hog Islands ; Gage's Proclamation ; General Warren ; disposition of the army ; char- acter and condition of the provincials; ineflBciency of Con- gress ; opposition to a general engagement ; the matter debated ; the counsels of Putnam prevail ; fortifications erected ; Colonel Prescott; the intrenching party ; daj^-light; astonishment of the enemy ; the fight commences ; the chaplain and Colonel Prescott ; progress of the battle ; incidents ; General Ward's conduct ; activity of Putnam ; British officers ; Captain Chester's letter ; interview between Putnam and Warren ; Major Small ; Colonel Abercrombie ; death of General Warren ; close of the battle 173
CONTENTS. IX
I Page
CHAPTER IX.
Expedition against Canada. — Election of general officers by Con- gress ; speech of the chiefs and warriors of the Oneida Indians ; General Washington joins the army at Cambridge ; meeting of Washington and Putnam ; action of the Continental Congress ; the three vines ; invasion of our coast ; Governor Tryon ; Captain Isaac Sears ; destruction of Rivington's press ; the Indians ; Ar- nold's Expedition through the wilderness ; Generals Montgomery, Wooster, and Schuyler ; Colonel Allen and Major Brown ; Allen taken prisoner ; the provincials take possession of Montreal ; un- successful attempt upon Quebec ; Wooster in command of the northern army ; conduct of Schuyler ; AYooster appeals to Con- gress ; his character vindicated 227
CHAPTER X.
The British Evacuate Boston. — Congress and Washington ; difficul- ties encountered ; troubles in New York ; Captain Sears and Gen- eral Lee ; troops raised in Connecticut for New York city ; threat of Gen, Lee ; gallant exploit of Colonel Knowlton; a farce and tragedy ; condition of the British troops in Boston ; General Howe's mis- mangement ; debate in council ; Dorchester Heights ; Colonel Gridley ; Howe's astonishment ; preparations for battle ; Howe summons a council of war ; he determines to evacuate Boston ; measures of Washington ; embarkation of the British troops. . . . 242
CHAPTER XL
Battle on Long Island. — The enemy bound for New Y'ork ; General Sullivan marches toward that city ; Putnam commands in New York ; his measures ; the Assembly of Connecticut ; their acts and resolves ; melting of the statue of George III. ; distribution of the bullets ; the Wolcotts ; appointment of officers ; new recruits and officers ; the American camp ; Putnam ; the " American Tur- tle ;" Connecticut troops march for New York ; Long Island ; a battle ; Connecticut soldiers ; triumph of the enemy ; General Howe knighted ; the Americans evacuate Long Island ; situation of Washington ; Captain Nathan Hale ; his fate ; Governor Tryon entertained by Mrs. Murray; the " orchard fight ;" death of Major Chapman ; Colonel William Douglas ; death of Knowlton ; White Plains ; Fort Washington ; Captain Beebe's company ; the New
CONTENTS.
*
Page
York convention; Washington retreats through the Jerseys; Mor- ristown ; the northern army ; General Waterbury ; Sir Guy Carle- ton ; his humanity 259
CHAPTER XII.
Burning of Daribury. JDeatTi of Wooster. — Governor Tryon ; Gen- eral Howe ; Tryon's expedition ; incident at Hoyt's Hill ; Danbury burnt ; the retreat ; Silliman, Wooster, and Arnold ; Wooster mortally wounded; action at Ridgefield; Colonel Deming; Tryon re-embarks ; death and character of Wooster ; Colonel Meigs' ex- pedition to Long Island , 296
CHAPTER XIII.
Princeton and the HigMands. — Putnam and McPherson ; the old army and the new ; Peekskill and Westchester ; Colonel Meigs ; Nathan Palmer hung as a spy ; Sir Henry Clinton ; the enemy capture Fort Montgomery; Major Humphreys; burning of Gen- eral Delaney's mansion; West Point 309
CHAPTER XIV.
The northern Ikpartment. Gajptufe of Burgoyne. — General Schuy- ler ; designs of Burgoyne ; he approaches Ticonderoga ; retreat of St. Clair ; he withdraws to Fort Edward ; Americans defeated at Hubbardston ; Gates supercedes Schuyler as commander of the northern army ; battle at Bennington ; general engagement at Saratoga, September 19th; movements of the two armies; Bur- goyne surrenders ; terms of capitulation ; Captain Seymour ; in- dignity offered to Burgoyne 319
CHAPTER XV.
Wyoming. — The Susquehannah Company ; description of Wyoming ; the land purchased ; Congress at Albany ; emigrants from Con- necticut settle in the valley ; they are driven off by the Indians ; renewed attempts to settle there ; settlers under the Pennsylvania claim ; Captain Ogden ; Sheriff Jennings ; Connecticut settlers im-
CONTENTS. xi
Page
prisoned ; they are released on bail, and again imprisoned ; at- tempts to negotiate a settlement of the controversy ; Fort Durkee often captured and re-captured ; Zebulon Butler ; negotiations re- newed, but without success ; Wyoming is annexed to Litchfield county, and called the town of "VYestmoreland ; the contest between the settlers and the government of Pennsylvania continues ; Colo- nel Plunket; the Revolution ; patriotism of the settlers; scouting parties and spies ; the soldiers of Wyoming called off on duty ; invasion of the valley by Colonel John Butler; defense of Colonel Zebulon Butler; death of Captain Durkee ; the "massacre of Wy- oming ; shocking incidents ; list of the slain ; Captain John Frank- lin ; Indian murders and captivities ; the old contest revived ; com- missioners meet at Trenton ; their decision adverse to Connecticut; compromise proposed by the Pennsylvania land-holders ; the set- tlers driven off; their wrongs and sufferings ; charged with trea- son ; imprisonment of Colonel Franklin ; abduction of Colonel Pickering ; confirming laws 330
CHAPTER XVI.
BrandyiDine, Germantoicn, and Rorsenecl'. — Battle of the Brandy- wine ; Germantown ; Colonel Swift ; Lieutenant Morris ; Mud Island ; Lieutenant-Colonel Russell ; session of the General Assem- bly ; Generals Putnam and Wolcott ; Colonels Trumbull and Wadsworth ; Valley Forge ; the enemy evacuate Philadelphia ; battle of Monmouth ; Sullivan attempts to recover Rhode Island ; defense of the sea-coast ; troops raised ; the public debt ; General Putnam's quarters at Reading ; a revolt suppressed ; the enemy at Horseneck; Putnam's wonderful escape; Tryon's excursion to New Haven ; he burns Fairfield, Green's Farms, and Norwalk ; Governor Tryon and General Parsons ; storming of Stony Point ; Major Tallmadge's expedition to Long Island ; General Putnam disabled ; more troops to be raised ; convention called at Hartford ; dragoons and French troops quartered in Connecticut ; the south- ern campaign; Washington and Rochambcau in Hartford; the treason of Arnold ; fate of Major Andre ; Jonathan Trumbull ; Major Tallmadge ; Mr. Champion's prayer ; a revolt ; the French squadron ; mails intercepted ; French and American troops march toward New York ; they formed a junction near White Plains ; a reconnoisance ; plan of operations charged ; the coast- guard 363
xii CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XVII.
Fags
Arnold 'burns New London. Fall of Forts Trunibull and GHswold. Frequent disturbances on the Sound ; prizes taken ; Arnold sails for New London ; Colonel Ledyard ; Captains Shapley and Latham ; condition of the forts; conduct of Arnold; Lord Dalrymple; New London burnt ; the forts summoned to surrender ; Ledyard's re- ply ; his gallant defense ; murder of Ledyard, Shapley, and Chap- man; the massacre; Captain Beckwith ; torture of the wounded ; anecdotes of Arnold 896
CHAPTER XYIII.
YorTctoion. Trunibull and Putnam — Major Tallmadge; the French fleet ; Yorktown ; the allied armies ; the combined armies of America and France form a junction with Lafayette at Williams- burg, and from this point march against Lord Cornwallis ; rela- tive numbers of the two armies ; the British strongly fortified at Yorktown ; the storming of the outposts ; the forlorn hope ; Colo- nel Alexander Hamilton ; Captain James Morris, of Litchfield, commands the company at the head of the column that supports the forlorn hope ; the post carried ; the allied forces get possession of the grounds that overlook the town ; the British hemmed in on all sides ; the artillery begin to play upon the town ; Cornwallis attempts to cross over to Gloucester, and force his way through the troops on that side of the river ; a violent storm ; flag of truce sent out, requesting cessation of hostihties for the space of twenty- four hours ; General Washington sends back word that he will grant them two hours only ; surrender of Cornwallis ; the contest determined ; treaty of peace ; important statement of Dr. Strong ; Colonel Seth Warner ; sketch of Governor Trumbull ; the last days of Putnam ; his character 415
CHAPTER XIX.
The Constitution of tTie United States. — Meeting of the convention; the Connecticut delegation ; their participation in the debates ; the services rendered by them ; the Shermans ; the Ellsworths ; the Johnsons ; the debate continued ; each article of the constitution considered separately ; the influence of the Connecticut delegates; meeting of the state convention ; speech of Oliver Ellsworth ; rati- fication of the federal constitution 435
CONTENTS. xiii
Page
CHAPTER XX.
Hfew and Derivative Towns. — Organization of Litchfield, Middlesex, and Tolland counties; Lebanon, "Woodstock, Suffield, Enfield, Somers, Reading, Chatham, East Windsor, Southington, Washing- ton, Cheshire, Watertown, East Hartford, Hartland, Norfolk, Barkhamsted, Winchester, Colebrook, Bridgeport, and other modern tou'ns 463
CHAPTER XXI.
Miscellaneous Events. War of 1812. Hartford Convention. — Our first senators and representatives in Congress ; religious tolera- tion ; turnpike roads ; Massachusetts' boundary ; General Eaton's expedition ; Captain Isaac Hull ; the embargo ; declaration of war against Great Britain ; legislative action ; opposition to the war ; Governor Griswold ; the Constitution and Guerriere ; death of Gov- ernor Griswold ; Governor Smith ; Commodore Decatur's squadron blockaded in New London harbor ; a torpedo-ship ; General Bur- beck; "bluehghts;" spirited adventures; Captain John How- ard ; bombardment of Stonington ; Commodore Hardy ; Commo- dore McDonough ; the General Assembly ; controversy between the state and general governments ; Hartford convention ; roll of delegates ; doings of the convention ; sketches of the delegates fi:'om Connecticut ; the General Government supplicated ; news of peace arrives ; exchange of salutes 472
CHAPTER XXII.
TTie present Constitution of Connecticut. — Events which preceded and led to the constitutional convention; the convention called; the constitution formed ; sketch of his excellency, John Cotton Smith; sketch of his excellency, Oliver W^olcott 510
CHAPTER XXIII.
Early Jurisprudence of Connecticut. — Religious toleration ; " Quak- ers, Ranters, and Adamites ;" ecclesiastical dominion ; the proper mode of interpreting laws and ascertaining what is their true spirit ; our criminal code the simplest in the world, and practically
XIV CONTENTS.
Paob
the most bloodless ; fewer executions have taken place in Connec- ticut than elsewhere ; the impropriety of calling Connecticut a " blue law" state ; the authors of this nick-name were aliens, and either dishonest or ignorant of the history and character of the people who founded the colony; religious toleration of the in- habitants evinced in affording a place of refuge for Mrs. Hutchin- son, and in hiding the Regicides at the peril of their own lives ; also in the statute published in the code of 1672, which took the lead of all the other states of the world in tolerating other denom- inations ; they believed in witchcraft ; this was borrowed from the Hebrew code and from the laws of England ; this law was almost a dead letter ; it was not strange that our people believed in the existence of such a crime ; Cudworth, one of the best of men ; James I., James H., Queen Elizabeth, Lord Bacon, Lord Coke, Sir Walter Raleigh, Lord Mansfield, and Lord Hale, all held to the same doctrine ; sumptuary laws ; the people were obliged by law to go to meeting ; this was by no means exclusively a puritanical measure ; Act of 35th of Elizabeth ; the offender not conform- ing was obliged to abjure the realm — if he came back without license he was to be adjudged a felon and suffer death ; our ances- tors have been charged with bigotry, and of being afraid of the devil — fearing the devil is not the worst cowardice in the world ; ecclesiastical dominion 526
CHAPTER XXIY.
E]phco'pacy in Connecticut. — The Stratford Church ; resolve of the General Court ; the society for propagating the gospel in foreign parts ; first attempt to introduce episcopacy in Connecticut ; Mr. Muirson ; Mr. Pigot ; Dr. Cutler ; Dr. Samuel Johnson ; Rev. James "Wetmore ; Mr. Beach ; efforts to obtain a bishop ; Dr. Learn- ing ; consecration of Bishop Seabury; sketch of his character; Bishop Jarvis 539
CHAPTER XXV.
Ofher Religious Denominations. — Methodism ; its rise and progress in Connecticut ; Jesse Lee ; Rev. Dr. Fisk ; sketch of the progress of the Baptists ; the Wightmans ; other distinguished clergymen ; the "great awakening." 554
CONTENTS. XV
Paox
CHAPTER XXYI.
Schools, Colleges, Science, Art, and Literature. — Early legislation on the subject of Education ; the school fund; Honorable James Hill- house ; Yale College ; its presidents and benefactors ; its graduates ; Jonathan Edwards ; Dr. Bellamy ; Litchfield Law School, and Female Academy ; other institutions ; our poets, the Athens of America ; Trumbull, Barlow, General Humphreys, and Dr. Dwight, were the first American poets who made any impression upon the popular mind ; since their day we have had a new era in letters ; Hillhouse, the most stately and artistic of those who have passed from the stage of hfe; Brainerd, his "Falls of Niagara;" Lemuel Hopkins, Richard Alsop, Elihu Hubbard Smith, Mrs. Laura Thurs- ton, Miss Martha Day, James Otis Rockwell, Hugh Peters, E. P. Moxson, and others ; the propriety of mentioning our living poets in the text : Fitz Green Hallack, his " Marco Bazzaris," his works compared with those of Gray ; his poem upon Connecticut ; Per- cival, John Pierpont, Prentice, Mrs. Sigourney, Mrs. Ann Ste- vens, Mrs. Emma Willard, Goodrich, Nichols, Wetmore, Hill, Brown, Dow, Burleigh, Park, and AYilliam Thompson Bacon ; John Trumbull, the artist; Whitney, Fitch, Junius Smith, Morse, Mansfield, Kirby, Treadwell, Ballamy, the conclusion 644
APPENDIX.
Delegates to the convention that ratified the constitution of the United States ; delegates to the convention that formed the constitu- tion of 1818 ; Common Schools; Trinity college; biographical sketches ; Andrew Adams ; Ethan Allen ; L'a Allen ; John Allyn ; Richard Alsop ; Samuel Austin ; E. C. Bacon ; Azel Backus ; A. Bald- win ; S. Baldwin ; Joel Barlow ; Colonel Beebe ; Lyman Beecher ; E. Boardman ; J. Brace ; S. Bradley ; J. Buel ; Aaron Burr ; Charles Chauncey ; "\Y. Chipman ; Daniel Chipman ; Thomas Chittenden ; Samuel Church ; Leman Church ; John P. Cushman ; David Dag- gett ; Silas Deane ; Daniel S. Dickinson ; Timothy Dwight ; Eh- phalet Dyer ; William Edmond ; Jonathan Edwards ; Pierpont Edwards ; Henry W. Edwards ; Thomas Fitch ; John Fitch ; Samuel Foote ; Thomas Gallaudet ; Calvin Goddard; Nathan Gold ; Chauncey Goodrich ; Elizur Goodrich ; Gideon Granger ; Edward D. Griffin ; Alexander Griswold ; Matthew Griswold ; Stanley Griswold ; Lyman Hall; James Hillhouse; William Hillhouse; Benjamin Hinman ; Royal R. Hinman ; Peter Hitchcock ; Samuel
XVI CONTENTS.
j
Fags <
J. Hitchcock ; Horace Holley ; Abiel Holmes ; Samuel Hopkins ; Titus Hosmer ; Stephen T. Hosmer ; Samuel Huntington ; Joseph Huntington ; Jabez Huntington ; Jedediah Huntington ; Benjamin Huntington ; E. Huntington ; I. W. Huntington ; Jared Ingersoll ; I. Ingersoll ; "William Johnson ; S. S. Johnson ; James Kilbourne ; James S. Kingsley; Ephraim Kirby; James Lanman; Richard Law ; Jonathan Richard Law ; Jared Mansfield ; Charles Marsh ; Jeremiah Mason ; R. J. Meigs ; J. Meigs ; Samuel J. Mills ; S. W. Mitchell ; J. Morse ; Amasa J. Parker ; E. Phelps ; Samuel S. Phelps; Timothy Pitkin ; William Pitkin; D. Plumb; Peter B. Porter ; Samuel Prentiss ; James Riley ; E. Root ; J. Root ; Gurdon Saltonstall ; Theodore Sedgwick ; Horatio Seymour ; E. Silliman ; Gold Selleck Silliman ; Richard Skinner ; I. Smith ; Junius Smith ; Nathan Smith ; Perry Smith ; Ambrose Spencer ; Harriet Beech- er Stowe ; J. Strong ; M. Stuart ; J. Talcott ; Gideon Tomlinson ; Uriah Tracy ; Samuel AVales ; R. H. Walworth ; Noah Webster ; E. Wheelock ; John Wheelock ; E. Whittlesy ; Calvin "Willey ; E. WilHams ; "William Wilhams ; EHsha Yale ; E. Young ; sketch of Colonel Thomas Knowlton 611
HISTORY
OF
COMECTICUT.
CHAPTER I.
THE LAST FRENCH WAR.
It is needless to tell the reader that a turn in our path presents to the eye a landscape more extensive than any that we have before caught glimpses of as we journeyed together. I do not mean to say, that the character of the scenery is entirely unlike any that we have before paused to look upon ; but we seem now to be rather in the condition of travelers who, having started in company to explore some navigable stream, began with the slender rills that almost lost them- selves in the gorges of the mountains before they met ; as we advanced, committing our birchen canoes to the strength- ening current where it could be safely trusted, bearing them upon our shoulders where rocks, rapids, or cataracts were interposed — until the opening hills disclose at last a deep cur- rent rolling between banks well-defined, though irregular enough to fill the soul with beautiful forms, and bearing us so steadily upon its bosom as it flows towards the ocean, that we become almost unconscious that we are moving. Yet before yielding ourselves up to the will and rythm of the stream, we must pause once more and explore the fountains of some of its beautiful tributaries.
At the May session of the legislature, 1726, the county of Windham was incorporated, and the several county officers were appointed. It consisted of the townships of Windham, Lebanon, Canterbury, Mansfield, Plainfield, Coventry, Pom- fret, Killingly^ Ashford, Voluntown, and Mortlake (now Brooklyn.)
34
18 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
Willington was sold by the colony in May 1720, for five hundred and ten pounds, to the following gentlemen, viz., Roger Wolcott, Esq. of Windsor, John Burr of Fairfield, John Riggs of Derby, Samuel Gunn and George Clark of Milford, John Stone and Peter Pratt of Hartford, and Ebenezer Fitch. The population had so increased in 1728, that the Rev. Daniel Fuller was ordained to the pastoral office over the church and congregation.
East Haddam was vested with town privileges in 1734, having previously for many years been a parish of Haddam. The first minister of the place, the Rev. Stephen Hosmer, was ordained May 3, 1704. This town has produced its full share of eminent men, among whom I may name the Hon. Epaphroditus Champion, member of Congress, and Col. Henry Champion. The " Moodus Noises" in East Haddam formerly attracted much attention. They appear to have consisted of subterranean rumblings, resembling continuous shocks of earthquakes, some of which were so violent as visibly to shake the ground and buildings. Mr. Hosmer says — ^^" Oftentimes I have observed them coming down from the north, imitating slow thunder, until the sound came near or quite under, and then there seemed to be a breaking, like the noise of a cannon shot, or severe thunder, which shakes the houses and all that is in them." They sometimes occur- red several times in a day; and sometimes only at long intervals.*'
Somers constituted the south-east part of the ancient town of Springfield, granted by Massachusetts to Mr. Pyncheon and his company. In 1726, it was made a distinct ecclesi- astical society by the General Court of Massachusetts, and was named East Enfield. The first permanent settlement was made in 1713, when Edward Kibbee, James Pease, Timothy Root, and Richard Montgomery, with their fami- lies, moved on to the tract. The town was incorporated in 1734.
* See Trumbull, ii. 91, 93.
CANAAN, KEXT, SHARON. 19
The settlement of Union began in 1727, and the town was incorporated in October, 1734. Among the first settlers were William McNall, John Lawson, and James Sherrer, from Ireland.
Harwinton was incorporated in October, 1737, about six years after the settlement commenced. The early and most prominent settlers bore the names of Brace,* Messenger, Hopkins, Catlin,-f Webster, Phelps, and Wilson. The Nau- gatuck river forms the western boundary of Harwinton, separating it from Litchfield.
Canaan was sold at auction in New London, in January, 1738, and the settlement on the lands was commenced during the same year by John Franklin, Daniel and Isaac Lawrence and others. The town was incorporated in 1739 ; the Rev. Elisha Webster was ordained as pastor in October, 1740. This town is largely engaged in the manufacture of iron. The Housatonic at this point has a perpendicular fall of sixty feet, and the stream for several miles is quite rapid, affording one of the best water powers to be found in the state.
The tract embracing the present towns of Kent and War- ren, was sold at auction in Windham in March, 1738, and the settlement commenced the same year. It was incor- porated as a single town in October, 1739, and was named Kent. The first minister was the Rev. Cyrus Marsh. On the west side of the Housatonic, in the lower part of this town, was the seat of the Scatacook tribe of Indians. The legislature at an early date made a reservation of certain lands in that vicinity for the benefit of these Indians, and a few individuals of the tribe still occupy a portion of the reservation. The Moravians established a mission among the Scatacooks in 1743. They baptized one hundred and fifty of them, among whom was the chief sachem.
Sharon was surveyed by a legislative committee in 1732;
* Tlie late Hon. Jonathan Brace, an eminent citizen of Hartford, was a native of Harwinton.
+ This name has furnished many able and highly esteemed men, and has been a conspicuous name in the town from its organization to the present time.
20 HISTOKY OF COKNECTICUT.
was sold in October, 1738; and began to be settled in 1739, during which year it was incorporated. Sharon is a rich township of land, and has nurtured a goodly number of excellent and talented men, some of whom lived and died within her borders, while others became prominent in neigh- boring or distant states.*
The settlement of New Hartford began in 1733, and the town was incorporated soon after. The first settlers were Watson, Merrell, Gillett, Olcott, Kelsey, Andrus, Marsh, Shepard, Douglas, Goodwin, and others. As this was long a frontier town, fortifications were erected as a defense against the Indians. The township contains 23,940 acres.
In October, 1707, the legislature granted to Nathan Gold, Peter Burr, Jonathan Wakeman, Jonathan Sturgess, John Barlow, and others, of Fairfield, a township of land lying north of Danbury, and bounded west by the New York line and east by New Milford, which they called New Fairfield. It was originally fourteen miles long, and embraced the present town of Sherman. The fact that the Indians of that region were thought to be unfriendly, together with the additional circumstance that the New York boundary line was then unsettled, retarded the growth of the place for many years. On the 27th of April, 1730, the tract was laid out into fifty-two equal divisions, exclusive of four hundred acres which were to be reserved to each of the twelve original proprietors. At the May session of the legislature, 1740, ihe town was incorporated.
Cornwall was laid out in fifty-three rights, and sold by the
* The Hon. John Canfield was the first lawyer in Sharon in point of time. He was elected a member of the continental congress in 1786, but died in October of that year, aged 40. His nephew, the Hon. Judson Canfield, was much in pub- lic life. Col. Samuel Elmore, a brave revolutionary oflScer ; the Hon. Ansel Sterling, member of Congress and Judge of the County Court; and the Hon. John Cotton Smith, L.L. D., were residents of Sharon ; as is also General Charles F. Sedgwick, the historian of the town, a gentleman highly esteemed both in public and private life. The Hon. Messi's. G. H. Barstow, A. J. Parker and F. G. Jewett, members of Congress from the State of New York, are natives of Sharon.
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[1744.] TOREIXGTOX AXD SALISBURY. 21
colony at Fairfield in 1738. In 1740, the first permanent settlement was made in the town, thirteen families havinor moved in during that year. Their names were Jewett, Spaulding, Allen, Barret, Squires, Griffin, Roberts, and Fuller. In August 1741, the Rev. Solomon Palmer, of Branford, a graduate of Yale College, was ordained as their pastor. He declared himself an episcopalian in 1754, and soon after went to England for ordination. In the beautiful valley of South Cornwall, the Foreign Mission School was established in 1818 by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. At this school were educated many heathen youth, from among the, American Indians, and from the Islands of the Pacific — some of whom became missionaries to their own country. The town contains 23,654 acres.
Torrington was named at the May session of the legisla- ture 1732, and the survey of the town was completed in 1734. The first family who located there was that of Ebenezer Lyman, of Durham, in 1737. Soon after, Jona- than Coe, also of Durham, married and settled on the lands which he had purchased in Torrington. When the first minister, the Rev. Nathaniel Roberts, was ordained in the summer of 1741, there were but fourteen families in the township. The town was incorporated in 1744.
The township of Salisbury was surveyed into twenty-five rights in 1732, which were principally sold at Hartford by the governor and company in 1737. One of these rights w^as reserved for the first minister who might be settled, one for the ministry, and one for schools. The charter was granted in 1741. Besides being the locality of the most valuable bed of iron ore to be found in the state, it is famed for the richness of its soil, and for the independent circum- stances and general intelligence of its inhabitants.* It has
* The number of emigrants from this town who have become eminent abroad, is quite remarkable. Among them have been Governors T. Chittenden, J. Galusha, and M. Chittenden, of Vermont •, Chief Justice Cliipman, and the Hon. Daniel Chipman, of the same state; Chief Justice Spencer of New York; General Peter B. Porter, Secretary of War, Member of Congress, <fec. ; Hon. Josiah S. Johnston, U. S. Senator from Louisiana ; and ten members of Congress
22 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
various large manufacturing establishments, particularly of iron. The mountains and lakes with which it abounds, present some of the most beautiful and diversified scenery to be found in New England.
Goshen was sold at New Haven on the first Tuesday in December 1737; began to be settled in 1739 ; and was incor- porated in 1749. The Rev. Stephen Heaton, of North Haven, the first minister, was ordained in 1740. The land, though rough and hilly, is excellent for grazing; and large quantities of beef, butter and cheese are annually sent to market.
By the twelfth article of the treaty of Utrecht, that part of the old French dominion called Acadia, or Nova Scotia, had been ceded to Great Britain. Yet France evidently intended, from the first, to resume as soon as she could her old sway over the country thus torn from her hands. She now renewed her claim to a large part of the territory, by invading the new settlements, building fortifications and establishing garrisons in them.
The situation of the French and English colonies "was not such as to answer a long peace.'' The English, follow- ing the habitudes of the nation that still ruled them, were engaged in the pursuits of trade and agriculture. Although in their new retreat a boundless continent lay stretched out before them, inviting them to take possession, yet the voice of the waves, that had been the lullaby of their infancy, still echoed in their ears, and true to their earliest associations, they sought the friendly neighborhood of the sea. Hardly an English settlement had been formed one hundred and fifty miles from the coast, while they had already occupied the harbors and mouths of the rivers of the whole North Ameri- can sea-board. The English had emigrated for the main purpose of enjoying civil and religious liberty without
from different states. The Holley family has been eminently distinguished both at home and abroad, in various public stations. The late Hon, Samuel Church, L.L. D., Chief Judge of the State, and the late Leman Church, Esq., of Canaan, a celebrated lawyer, were also natives of Salisbury.
THE FRENCH AND ENGLISH SETTLERS. 23
restraint. The religion of the rival colonists was the very religion that they abhorred and dreaded as the worst of all national calamities and fatal to the moral and intellectual cultm'e of individuals.
On the other hand, the French, with little practical acquaintance with the principles of civil liberty, and wedded to a religion that did not recognize the rights of an individual conscience as the English understood the term, had no sea- ports to tempt them to engage in commerce, and they were little inclined to agriculture. They had possession of the head waters of the St. Lavvrence, a river that did not allow them to communicate with the ocean at all seasons of the year, and of the Mississippi, that was still less available for maritime communication, and were as much shut away from the coast, as if the vast prairies of the west — to which they laid claim, and over which they roamed in quest of the buffalo, or with the more eager passion to spread the religion that they loved so ardently and propagated with such zeal — were walled in by the high mountains. They saw with jealousy the steady growth of the English settlements, stretching along the sea and extending slowly like a fire rang- ing over a forest, still further into the interior of the con- tinent. The English population was constantly increasing ; while, from their roving habits and unsettled mode of life, the French were subject to sudden checks and liable at any time to be diverted into other channels. Their numbers could by no means compare with those of the English. Still, they were far from being an insignificant enemy. Their two colonies of Canada and Louisiana were peopled by bold and daring men, who were united by the common sentiments of national pride and religious enthusiasm.
The first emigrants from an old country to a new one, are always strong-willed and fearless men, and almost always above the common range of the peasantry. It is only after a new country is partly settled, that the lowest classes venture to seek their fortunes there. So it was with the French settlers of Canada and Louisiana. The very
*24: HISTOEY OF CONNECTICUT.
extent of the territory that they occupied was calculated to keep them on the alert, and to give them a celerity of motion, and a facility of execution that made them still the more to be dreaded when taken in connection with the fact, that they were not divided by local boundaries, as the English colonies were, and could concentrate their power without the inter- vention of those tedious negotiations that often crippled the enterprises of their neighbors. The old national hatred, that had existed since the third Edward of England had laid claim to the throne of France in the early part of the four- teenth century, was kept more glowingly alive in the breasts of the French emigrants, than in those of the English, who had so many other enemies to subdue, that their attention could not be confined to a single object of hatred or pursuit. The French had also succeeded much better than the Eng- lish, in availing themselves of the friendship and services of the Indians, and had, from becoming familiarized with the horrid modes of warfare practiced by their savage allies, and, from the rough nurture and hardships of the western wilds, had acquired, (if indeed it was not natural to them,) a ferocity of disposition that stains the pages of their colonial history with the most revolting scenes of butchery and murder that are known to the annals of the world.
Such being the relative condition of the parties, it is not strange that they should have been embroiled in wars for many years previous to the final struggle that put an end to the French power in the west. Regarding with well grounded fear the progress of the English emigration, and the steady advance in wealth and strength that attended it, the French resolved to check the commerce, the agriculture, and the trade, that they could not rival. They therefore conceived the plan of confining the English within their old limits by means of a line of fortifications stretching from Quebec to New Orleans, that would be in the nature of a breakwater to keep back the tide of British enterprise.* Nor did they confine this barrier to the two great rivers, the
* Holmes, i, 49.
ENCROACHMENTS OF THE FRENCH. 25
St. Lawrence and the Mississippi, and the lands that lay con- tiguous to them ; but they brought the fortresses so near the English settlements, that vast regions lay between the banks of those rivers and the arbitrary line thus established ; tracts of territory that they could hardly be justified in claiming by right of discovery, and that they appeared as little anxious to occupy as the remorseless savages whose aid they had invoked.
Long before this, a shrewd French officer had recom- mended that New York should be seized by his nation as a convenient harbor whence they might ship their furs and carry on their commerce ; and now, more than ever before, some maritime channel was felt to be necessary to the pros- perity of the French colonies.
As early as the year 1731, this jealousy of the French began to evince itself in the erection of a fort at Crown Point, on Lake Champlain, so many miles to the eastward of any other French settlement, as to excite very great alarm among the English — especially as the site of the fort was within the territory of the six nations, their faithful allies, who had never been led estray by the arts of France. This invasion alarmed the province of New York, who looked upon it as the entering wedge to the dismemberment of her territory, and was watched with eagerness by Massachusetts, whose authorities had not forgotten the revelation of Gallic faith in taking possession of the province of Nova Scotia.
The treaty of Aix la Chapelle left all questions of boundary to be settled by the negotiations of commissaries.* This gave the French an opportunity to prepare the way for new encroachments before the hearing was had. Very soon after the treaty was signed, and before the appointment of the commissaries on either side, they attempted to establish themselves at Tobago, and were only driven from the project by the decided steps taken to defeat it by the British mer- chants. Still, as the French had been restored by the treaty
* This treaty was signed on the 7th October, 1748. By it Cape Breton was given up to the French.
26 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
to the possession of Cape Breton, they saw with much dis- trust that Nova Scotia was being fast peopled with English emigrants who must ultimately interfere with this isolated domain. The attack made upon the colonists of Nova Scotia by the Indians, who were known to be in alliance with the French, soon after the arrival of Cornwallis* in that province with emigrants to people it, was supposed to point to a general invasion from Canada.
This storm, that had been gathering so long, at last burst upon the English. Early in the year 1750, a French army of two thousand five hundred men, and with a numerous body of Indians, were sent by the governor of Canada to reduce a large part of Nova Scotia. Such was the celerity of their movements, that they took possession with little difficulty of the vast region stretching from Chignecto along the north side of the bay of Funda to the Kennebeck river. This tract they declared was under the jurisdiction of their king, and they called upon all French neutrals to resort to it for shelter.!
This incursion was followed by skirmishes attended with various success, between the troops of Cornwallis and the French and Indians. Forts were built and destroyed, and settlements were made and abandoned, on both sides ; but the French, if they gained no decisive victory, found themselves able to keep their footing and strengthen their posts. Corn- wallis, alarmed at the growth of an enemy that was agile and keen, as well as too numerous for them to cope with, begged for aid from Massachusetts to subdue them. This prayer was denied on the ground, that all the forces of that colony would be needed at home to protect their own borders.
* The Hon. Edward Cornwallis, governor and commander-in-chief of Nova Scotia, accompanied three thousand seven hundred and sixty adventurers from Great Britain to that island, in 1749. They settled at the bay of Chebucto, which place was fixed upon as the seat of government, and was named Halifax, in honor of the Earl of Halifax, their first commissioner of trades and plantations.
t Holmes, i. 41 ; The " French neutrals" were the French inhabitants of Nova Scotia, who were permitted to remain there on their taking the oath of allegiance to the king of England.
[1751.] THE OHIO COMP^UST. 27
At last, the commissioners appointed by France and Eng- land, to settle the questions arising under the treaty of Aix la Chapelle, met at Paris ; but not until those hostile measures had been taken to widen still more the breach that separated the two nations. The countless documentary proofs, the voluminous maps, the claim of jurisdiction by discovery, by possession and by purchase ; the discordant parole testimony, the falsehoods that were dressed up in the guise of truth and presented by diplomatic lawyers, whose object it was to mis- lead and confound the commissaries — all helped to distract rather than enlighten the minds of the men who had been chosen for this delicate task. It is not surprising that they gave up all hope of ever coming to a friendly issue, and abandoned their undertaking in despair. The fault of this failure to avail themselves of this last opportunity of settling their old disputes by means of amicable negotiations, can be exclusively charged to neither party, but must be attributed in part to a necessity growing out of the complex nature of the claims, the remoteness of the territory, the uncertain sources of the evidence, and especially enhanced by the natural hatred and the tares which had been sown with the seeds of emigration upon the new continent.
Nor were the signs of French ambition visible only in the north and east. The arts of peace had already drawn the enterprising traders of Virginia deeper into the interior re- gions of the continent than even the adventures of Smith and Raleigh had at first tempted them.
A number of noblemen, merchants, and planters, of West- minster, London, and Virginia, had already procured a char- ter grant of six hundred thousand acres of land on and near the Ohio river, far in the interior, in a soft, sunny land that lay beyond the Alleghany mountains. By the superior advantages held out to them, in the prospects of a large and thriving trade with the Indians, as well as from the fertility of the soil, the hardy adventurers hoped to make up for the inconveniences arising from their distance from the sea. The navigable waters of the vast stream that had lent its
28 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
name to their company, helped to supply this deficiency in a good degree.
The intention of the French, to keep the English hemmed in by the Alleghanies, was now made apparent, by unmis- takable proofs. They claimed all the lands between the Mississippi and the mountains, by right of their first discovery of that river ; and to secure their claims and to keep open the communication between Canada and Louisiana, they had already built a fort on the south side of Lake Erie ; another about fifteen miles south of that, on a branch of the Ohio ; and a third, at the confluence of the Ohio and the Wabash. The governor of Canada, therefore, as soon as he became aware of the contemplated settlement, gave public notice that he would treat as public enemies all subjects of Great Britain who should venture to settle on or near the Ohio river, or should dare to trade with any of the Indians who dwelt there. No sooner did he find that the Ohio company had set his threat and pretended title at defiance, than he proved himself as good as his word by seizing a number of British traders, whom he caused to be taken to the French fort on Lake Erie.
The policy of restricting English emigration to the line of the seaboard, was fully disclosed, and they had no other course than to throw oflf the already threadbare cloak of dis- simulation, and show their intentions. They immediately built a fort at Niagara, and two others upon the banks of the Ohio. Their line of fortifications was now completed from the mouth of the Mississippi to the St. Lawrence.
The English colonies were by this time thoroughly aroused, and with the cooperation of the disappointed noblemen and merchants who formed the Ohio company, were able to gain the ear of the English government.* A memorial was pre- sented by Lord Albemarle, the British ambassador at Paris, calling in decided terms for reparation ; demanding that the fort at Niagara should be evacuated and razed to the ground, and that the French military chieftains in America should be
* Graham's History United States, vol. iii. p. 361.
[1754.] FOKT DU QUESNE EEECTED. 29
instructed to desist from all further encroachments upon the English colonies.
This remonstrance produced a qualified effect upon the French government. A polite though very equivocal answer vi^as given to it. A few English prisoners who had been sent to France, were set at liberty, and the English government were assured that such orders should be sent to the governor of Canada as would be satisfactory. «Thus was England again lulled into security. The governor of Canada heeded the public instructions given him from the court as little as it was intended he should do. Instead of deserting and dis- mantling the forts that inspired the English with such well- grounded fears, he continued to strengthen them ; and instead of putting an end to the depredations complained of by the British minister, he stirred up the Indians to join his own people in renewed attacks upon the English settlers in Nova Scotia and along the banks of the Ohio.*
The English colonies soon became aware that the frontier line stretching like a belt of fire for a thousand miles along the western horizon, bristling with the arms of a proud, im- placable enemy, must be removed still further toward the setting sun, were it to be done, as Louisbourg had been taken, without the aid of the mother country. On the other hand, the British government was willing to aid in the enterprise with more than its usual energy, as it was seen that the dominion of Nova Scotia and the central regions of the con- tinent drained by the Ohio, would be likely to go hand in hand with that of the gulf of Mexico, the southern Atlantic, and the West Indies On the very ground, where the mer- chants of Virginia had begun their fortifications upon the Ohio, the French had already erected a fort that they named Fort Du Quesne. This stronghold was the key to the Ohio and Mississippi rivers.
The British ministry now directed the Virginians to resist the French aggressions upon the Ohio by force of arms. Orders were also given, that several independent companies
* Graham's United States.
80 HISTOEY OF CONNECTICUT.
should be raised in other colonies to aid Virginia in the undertaking. Major George Washington, (then a modest retiring planter,) was elevated to the rank of colonel, and appointed to the command of the Virginia troops. As soon as the tidings reached South Carolina, that the attempt was to be made to drive the French from the Ohio, Captain James Mackay set out on his march with an independent company to join Colonel Washington. The companies from New York were also ordered to unite with them. Colonel Wash- ington, without waiting for further recruits, advanced with the Virginia and Carolina forces, consisting of about four hundred men, to meet the enemy. In May, 1754, he fell in with a party from Fort Du Quesne, under Jamonville, and totally defeated them.
De Villier, who was the chief officer in command at Fort Du Quesne, enraged at the discomfiture of the advance party, now marched against Washington with nine hundred French troops and several hundred Indians. The young Virginian, whose name is now known and honored where- ever throughout the world there beats a heart that loves liberty or does homage to valor, had hastily thrown up a frail protection for his handful of provincials, that he called Fort Necessity. Behind its slender embankments he hoped to be able to defend himself until the arrival of the two companies that were expected from New York. If Washington was ever known to commit a rash act, it was in setting out upon this dangerous march before he had been reinforced, and the early lesson that was taught him at Fort Necessity, may have tempered his then impetuous nature with that happy element of caution and foresight that could alone have sustained the leader of the colonies in the long struggle for which he was then unconsciously undergoing a preliminary discipline. Whether this is true or not, the brave and desperate defense that he made when assailed at Fort Necessity, induced De Villier to tender him honorable terms of capitulation, arid allow him to retreat to Virginia without further molestation.*
* TrumbuU, ii. 354.
[1754.] PEOPOSED UNION OF THE COLONIES. 31
Letters had already arrived from the lords of trade and plantations, advising a meeting of commissioners from the several colonies to devise a general plan of union and defense against the common enemy, and to make a league in the king's name with such of the Indian tribes as could be induced to join in it.
In accordance with this recommendation, in June 1754, a convention of the governors and principal gentlemen of the several colonies met at Albany. The commissioners from Connecticut, were William Pitkin, Roger Wolcott, and Elisha Williams.* After a short conference, the convention became satisfied that a union of the colonies was necessary to make a stand against the enemy. It was proposed that " a grand council should be formed of members chosen by the assemblies, and sent from all the colonies ; which council, with a governor general to be appointed by the crown, should be empowered to make general laws, and to raise money in all the colonies for the defense of the whole." This plan did not meet with the approbation of the Connecticut commis- sioners. Indeed, it might easily have been foreseen that it could not do so, by those who composed and advocated it, had they remembered with what determination the colony had resisted all attempts on the part of the crown and the gov- ernors of other provinces to merge the charter government in a larger one ; and at a later day, to get the control of the train-bands and to draw money from the pockets of the peo- ple without their consent. Consolidation w^as the one thing that had been dreaded by the colony for years, and her com- missioners now regarded it as a worse enemy even than the French. That provision in the proposed plan that authorized a governor general appointed by the crown, to exercise authority over the colony, to command her troops and handle her money at pleasure, was enough of itself to secure the dissent of Connecticut.
When the commissioners returned home and reported this scheme to the General Assembly, it was attacked in a most
* Colonial Records, MS.
32 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
merciless manner by the colonial orators and rejected with indignation. It was declared to be the opinion of the assem- bly that the limits of the proposed plan of union were of too large extent to be administered by a governor general and council. They added, too, with characteristic good sense, that "a defensive war managed by such a government, hav- ing so large a frontier, will prove ruinous to it ; that the same in course of time may be dangerous and hurtful to his majesty's interest, and tends to subvert the liberties and privileges, and to discourage and lessen the industry of his majesty's good subjects inhabiting these colonies."* The assembly further desired the governor to send a copy of their resolution to the agent of the colony in England, with in- structions to use his influence against the proposed formation of a general government, and if any attempt should be made there to enforce it, by act of parliament, to resist it to the last.
Nor did the assembly stop here. They begged the gov- ernor to have an eye upon the other colonies, and see that no measures were taken by them to circumvent Connecticut and bring her into an alliance that was so revolting to her.
But all these precautions proved unnecessary. The con- templated union was as unpopular in England as in Connec- ticut. Thus the mutual jealousies of the mother country, and of the most free-born of all her colonies, actuated by different motives, united to defeat a union that would have been premature and ineffective had it been formed.
The ministry had hit upon another scheme that would be likely to secure their own purposes much better. They pro- posed that the governors of the respective colonies, with one or more of their councils, should form a convention to devise measures for the general defense, build forts and levy troops at discretion, and draw upon the British treasury for such sums of money as they should need to pay the bills ; while on the other hand, the colonies were to be taxed by parlia- ment to supply the ultimate funds to meet this contingent
* Colonial Records, MS.
[1755.] DEFEAT OF COL. WASHINGTON. 83
demand. Had this measure met with the approval of the other colonies, whose inhabitants were habituated to the arro- gance of a provincial court holding at the pleasure of the crown, it is certain that Connecticut would have resisted it much more vehemently than she had opposed the one recom- mended at Albany. But the other colonies viewed as she did this shrewd contrivance to inveigle them into the net cunningly baited and spread by the hands of politicians and court favorites, who were eagerly awaiting the opportunity held out by it to provide for themselves and their needy rela- tives at the expense of honest men.
When the news of Colonel Washington's defeat reached England, the whole country was filled with indignation. Again the court remonstrated against the French in America, and in turn the French government made evasive answers, filled with hollow professions of friendship. The British ministry now ordered active measures to be taken to put an end to these disturbances by force. They bade the colonies arm themselves against the enemy. The plan of operations for the compaign was, to fit out four expeditions and march into the several districts invaded by the French, and compel them to retire within their old limits. One detachment, under command of General Braddock, was to repair to the Ohio settlement, another was to hasten to the province of Nova Scotia, a third was to make an attack on Crown Point ; and the last was to restore Niagara to its old dominion.
As the position of the French on the Ohio appeared to be the most threatening to the peace of the English colonies, and to the general interests of the British government, it was thought expedient that this point of attack should be reached as speedily as possible. About the middle of January 1755, therefore, General Braddock embarked at Cork with about fifteen hundred veteran troops for Virginia.*
The French were equally vigilant in their preparations. Early in the spring, a powerful armament set sail for Canada. It consisted of twenty ships of the line, with a corresponding
* Graham's History United States ; see also, Holmes' Annals, ii. 59.
35
S4 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
number of frigates and transports, and four thousand regular troops, with a large amount of military stores.* The army was under the command of Baron Dieskau.
Admirals Boscawen and Holborn, with seventeen ships of the line and seven frigates, were sent out by the English with a land force of six thousand men, to watch the motions of the French. Boscawen sailed for the coast of Newfoundland with all haste. Scarcely had he arrived there, when the French fleet touched at nearly the same point ; but owing to the thick fogs that settle over that coast like clouds during the spring months, these dangerous war-dogs did not discover each other. A part of the French fleet sailed up the St. Lawrence, and the other found an entrance into the river by the straits of Belisle. While the English squadron lay off" Cape Race, two French ships, the Alcide of sixty-four guns, with four hundred and eighty men on board, and the Lys also a sixty-four gun ship, though mounting only twenty-two guns, with eight companies of land troops, fell in with the Dunkirk under Captain Howe, and the Defiance under Captain Andrews ; and after a severe struggle, that lasted several hours, were compelled to strike their colors. f These ships were prizes, aside from the soldiers that they contained, as they had on board many brave officers and skillful engi- neers, and about £8,000 in money. The other French ships found a safe passage to Canada.
While these preparations were going on, the English colonies were far from being inactive.
In the spring of 1755, special assemblies were convened in all the northern provinces, and messengers were sent from one to another to encourage them in the work, to learn the measures adopted by each other, and to devise some general plan of operations.
During the winter. Sir Thomas Robinson, one of the king's principal secretaries, had addressed to Connecticut a letter
* Trumbull, ii. 358.
t Holmes, ii. 68. Eight companies of French troops were taken prisoners by the capture of the Alcide and Lys.
[1755.] PROPOSED EXPEDITION AGAINST CROWN POINT. 35
in his majesty's name, informing her that troops were about to be sent to America, and calling upon her to raise her share of the forces that the colonies would be expected to furnish for the war.* In obedience to this requisition, the General Assembly was convened on the 8th of January 1755. The legislature, after making a grateful acknowledgment to the king for the tender regard that he manifested for the welfare of his colonial subjects, declared their readiness to respond to the call, and to show their sincerity by unmistakable signs. f They authorized the governor to comply in every particular with the king's requisitions, at the expense of the colony. To meet any contingent expenses that might arise, bills of credit were again issued to the amount of £7,500. J
Soon after. Governor Shirlev and the General Court of Massachusetts sent to Connecticut a proposal that a provin- cial army should be raised, including Shirley's regiment, upon the following basis : Massachusetts was to furnish twelve hundred men, New Hampshire six hundred, Rhode Island four hundred, and Connecticut one thousand. It was proposed that this army, when raised, should proceed to Crown Point and erect a fort as near that of the enemy as should be found practicable, and prevent any further encroach- ments there, even should they fail in driving the French from their position. §
This large number of troops was allowed by the assembly with great unanimity. The governor was authorized to raise five hundred more troops, should they be called for, to rein- force the army. The assembly desired the governor to write letters to the other colonies, pressing upon them the necessity of making a like provision for a reinforcement. || Bills of
*This letter was dated at White Hall, Oct. 26, 1754, and was laid before the assembly at a session in January 1755.
+ Colonial Records, MS. X Colonial Records, MS.
§This proposition was laid before the assembly in March 1755, through the Massachusetts commissioners, Messrs. Samuel "Welles and John Choate.
I To meet the exigencies of the war, all outstanding bills were ordered to be paid, with interest. Taxes were levied amply sufficient to redeem all the notes called in, and for the reimbursement of the expenses of the war.
86 HISTOEY OF CONNECTICUT.
credit with interest at five per cent, were emitted to the amount of £12,500. At the same session, the officers of the army were appointed, and their wages, with those of the soldiers, fixed.* WilHam Johnson, Esq., of New York, was agreed upon as the commander-in-chief of the army ; Phineas Lyman, Esq., was appointed major-general. The first Con- necticut regiment was placed under the immediate command of General Lyman The second regiment was under the command of Elizur Goodrich, Esq. John Pitkin and Nathan Whiting were appointed lieutenant colonels, Robert Denni- son and Isaac Foot, majors. f
The expedition against Crown Point was prepared with such haste, that the troops arrived at Albany, their place of rendezvous, before the end of June. Johnson and Lyman, when they reached Albany, were at the head of an army of about six thousand men, together with a large body of Indians under Hendrick, sachem of the Mohawks, Major General Lyman soon marched with the main body of the army along the banks of Hudson's river, as far as the "carrying place," fourteen miles south of the southernmost waters of Lake George ; while General Johnson stayed at Albany to forward the artillery, batteaux, and military stores. J At this place, where the overland transportation between the river and the lake was to commence, it had been thought necessary to build a fort, to protect the military stores as well as to afford a safe retreat for the army to fall back upon, should it happen to prove unsuccessful. Six weeks were consumed in erect- ing the fort and in transporting the cannon, provisions, bat- teaux, and stores, before the army was in readiness to advance to Lake George. It was not until late in August, therefore, that General Johnson set out from Fort Edward for the southern point of Lake George. He was not long in reaching the lake ; but the bringing forward of the batteaux
* In addition to their regular pay, eaeh soldier was to receive a premium of thirty shillings on enlisting ; and each soldier who shall equip himself, should re- ceive an additional premium of sixteen shillings.
+ Colony Records, MS. $ Trumbull, ii. 363.
[1755.] FORT EDWARD. 37
and the other baggage, preparatory to crossing the lake, was a work that was certain to consume a good deal of time, and as the army would be exposed to a stealthy enemy, ac- quainted with the country, of which the English were them- selves ignorant — an enemy unscrupulous in the mode of war- fare as were the hordes of savages that followed in their train — he therefore pitched his camp upon a piece of upland, with the lake in the rear, and flanked by a dense wood and a swamp that appeared to be inaccessible, while the front was protected by a breastwork of trees. Hardly had the army become domiciled in the new camp, when the Indian runners, who were sent out daily to reconnoitre and guard against surprise, brought to General Johnson the unwelcome tidings, that a large body of the enemy was advancing from Ticon- deroga, by south bay, towards Fort Edward.* The garrison that had been left to keep this important post, consisted of only five hundred provincial troops from New York and New Hampshire, under the command of Colonel Blanchard. Should this garrison be overpowered, and the fort, with the military stores, fall into the hands of the French, the expedi- tion would be nipped in the bud, and the whole army perhaps would fall victims to Indian torture and the vengeance of their more civilized masters. f
Startled at this intelligence, the general sent out several expresses, one after another, to inform Colonel Blanchard of the danger that was impending, and strictly commanding him to call in all his detached parties, and to keep his whole force within the entrenchments of the fort.
In the dead of the night, one of these couriers returned to the camp with the news that the enemy had approached within four miles of Fort Edward. A council of war was immediately called, and early the next morning, pursuant to their advice, a party of one thousand men under the com- mand of Colonel Williams of Massachusetts, and Colonel Whiting of Connecticut, with the Mohawk sachem, and his warriors, were sent forward to intercept the enemy. {
* Holmes, ii. 63. t Trumbull, ii. 366. i Trumbull, Holmes, Graham.
38 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
Meanwhile, Baron Dieskau, who had received intelligence that Fort Edward was fortified with cannon, and that the camp upon Lake George was but ill prepared to withstand a sudden attack, abandoned his first design, and hastened to- wards the camp of the main army, where he was confident of an easy victory.
Scarcelv had Colonel Williams with his detachment left the borders of the lake, on his way to relieve Fort Edward, when the advanced parties sent out by Baron Dieskau, dis- covered them and made known the fact to their leader, who immediately ordered his whole force to lie in ambush and surround them. Wary as the Mohawks were, and practiced as they had long been in the tactics of the French, and their Indian allies, they allowed themselves to be caught off their guard, and fell with Williams and his men into the snare. Rising as one man from behind their leafy screen, the whole party of French and Indians poured into the lines of the un- suspecting English a deadly volley of musketry. Colonel Williams, Hendrick, the Mohawk sachem, and many other brave officers and men, fell dead upon the spot.* Had a thunderbolt fallen from a cloudless sky, it could not have been more sudden and blinding than this storm of bullets that swept over the ranks of the provincial soldiers. Panic- stricken as they were at the yells of the Indians, the sound of their guns, and the sight of their superior numbers as they bristled around them in such deadly array. Colonel Whiting, the next officer in command, found it no easy task to rally them and bring them into some manageable condition so that he could extricate them from the dangerous defile, and set their faces towards the camp. The best he could do, was to sound a retreat ; but he in vain sought to bring them oft' in good order. At first a few individual soldiers took to their heels and ran in defiance of all discipline, with- out waiting for their companions ; and then whole companies, following their example, broke their ranks and fled.
As the firing began at the distance of only about three
* Holmes, ii. 64.
[1755.] THE AMBUSCADE. 39
miles from the camp, it was plainly heard there, and as the pursuers and pursued drew nearer, each successive discharge was more fearfully distinct. Thus forewarned of the ap- proaching enemy, General Johnson addressed himself eagerly to the work of defense. A few pieces of ordnance had been brought on from Fort Edward, but they had been deposited on the lake shore at the south landing a good half mile from the camp. Parties of athletic men were sent out to bring in such of the lighter arms as could be moved. The most nimble footed of the retreating detachment soon came running into the camp, followed by the fragments of the broken companies, in a comparatively defenseless condition; and in the rear, appeared the ranks of Dieskau's veteran troops in good order pressing hard behind the fugitives, and making, with as much dispatch as was consistent with discipline, toward the centre of the camp. At the distance of thirty rods, they halted and began the attack, opening a brisk fire, by platoons.
The Canadians and Indians screened the flank of the regu- lar troops, and commenced a dropping and irregular fire that burst along their whole line, each marksman following his own impulse and loading and firing as he chose. This waver- ing fire from the flank, making a jarring contrast with the steady volleys of the regulars, the suddenness of the onset, the uncertain rumors that had floated through the camp as to the numbers who had fallen in the ambuscade ; the efl^ect wrought upon the imagination by the shadows of the woods, that might perhaps conceal as many of the enemy as it gave to view ; all added to the general consternation that perva- ded the camp to such a degree that the oflicers could hardly keep their soldiers in their places. But the French had com- menced their fire before they had come within fair musket range of the English. After receiving a few rounds of shot and finding that they had sustained little harm, the courage of the besieged provincials was restored. They returned the enemy's fire with spirit, and in a few mirlutes the two armies were engaged in a determined and bloody conflict.*
* Trumbull.
40 HISTORY OF CONN"ECTICUT.
A few cannon had been hastily mounted, and were now brought to bear upon the invaders. It was never a part of Indian discipline to withstand the fire of artillery, and their friends, the Canadians, scarcely less savage and unschooled, were little more disposed to encounter the heavy globes of metal that tore up the earth and rived the trunks of the forest trees that they relied upon as their only breastwork. They all fled into the woods, out of the reach of the engines that were so terrible to them, and of course too far from the camp to harm the English or lend any further aid to the French.*
Finding the flank of his army now exposed to a murder- ous and well-sustained fire, and perceiving that he could make no impression upon the centre of the camp, Baron Dieskau moved first to the left and then to the right, looking sharply for an assailable point where he could force an entrance. But the friendly shelter of the redoubt, where the ground was dry and the footing sure, enabled the English to keep up their fire that did fatal execution along his whole line, raking both front and flank of his exposed and defense- less troops — who had no embankments, not even the cover of a few fallen trees, to thwart the unerring aim of the pro- vincial marksmen. With a sad heart, he abandoned the attempt in despair.
No sooner did the English army see that the fire had abated, than they leapt over their breastworks and made such a determined attack upon them from every side, that they fled like wild deer when the circle of huntsmen is first seen to have surrounded them.
At the beginning of the action, the French army number- ed two thousand men. Of these, seven hundred now lav dead upon the field, and about thirty were taken prisoners. The brave Baron Dieskau was himself found entirelv alone a little way off' from the field, dangerously wounded, and trying to hold up his sinking frame by grasping the stump of a tree. J
* Holmes, ii. 64.
i In this position, and while feeling for his watch to surrender it, one of the
[1755.] THE PROVINCIALS VICTORIES. 41
The loss in the provincial army was only about two hun- dred; and most of these were of Colonel Williams' regiment, and were killed in the woods before they could reach the camp. About forty of them were Indians, at the head of whom, as I have already said, fell Hendrick, the bold and noble sachem of the Mohawks. Of the provincial officers who fell in the woods, besides the gallant Colonel Williams, were Major Ashley, six captains, and several subalterns. At the camp fell Colonel Tidcomb, who had distinguished him- self at the siege of Louisbourg. General Johnson also, and Major Nichols, were wounded.*
Thus was the provincial army victorious rather from the force of circumstances and the false moves of the enemy, than from any cause that was subject to its own control. Had Baron Dieskau marched directly to Fort Edward, as he would have done but for the messenger who told him of the defenseless state of the camp, the fate of the fort would have been sealed. Even the ambuscade that cost New England some of her best officers, contributed to the overthrow of the French, as the firing in the woods gave General Johnson the opportunity of dragging up from the landing the cannon that frightened from the field the Canadians and Indians, who w^ere the best marksmen in the invading army, and upon whom Dieskau relied for the protection of his flank.
This battle stimulated the colonies to fresh exertions. Connecticut, as usual, did more than could have been expected of her. Just before the battle. General Johnson had written to Governor Fitch, begging him to send on more troops. In answer to this request, a special assembly was called on the 27th of August, and it was voted to raise two regiments and send them forthwith into the field. The officers were appointed at the same session, as follows: colonels — Samuel Talcott, and Elihu Chauncey; lieutenant colonels — Eliphalet Dyer,
soldiers, supposing he was searching for his pistol, poured a charge through his hips. The baron was carried to England as a prisoner of war where he died of his wounds.
t Trumbull, ii. 368.
42 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
and Andrew Ward, Jr.; majors — Joseph Wooster, and Wil- liam Whiting; physicians and surgeons — doctors Timothy Collins of Litchfield, Jonathan Marsh of Norwich, and Samuel Ely of Durham ; chaplains— Rev. Benjamin Troop of Norwich, and Rev. John Norton of Middletown.*
These regiments, consisting of seven hundred and fifty men each, were mustered, equipped and on the march, within a little more than a week after the alarm was given. The colony now had in active service between two thousand and three thousand men.f
Although so complete a victory had been gained over the French at Lake George, yet the surprise of the party under Colonel Williams, and the danger to which the fort and the camp had both been exposed, awakened the most lively solicitude throughout the northern colonies. It was clear to every mind possessed of any military prescience, that nothing but the most strenuous efforts on the part of the army, rein- forced as it was, would avail against such enemies as they must meet in this protracted frontier war, without the benefit of strong fortresses that would furnish secure retreats where "stated garrisons might be kept, where provisions, guns and ammunition might be safely lodged, and where detachments might be sent as the emergencies of the campaign called for their assistance. It was resolved, therefore, that Fort Edward should be made thoroughly defensible, and that a fortification should be erected at the south landing near the spot where so many Frenchmen had fallen, before the army ventured to cross Lake George. In this way a communication could be kept open with Albany, and the rigors of war would be mitigated to the sick and wounded. It was quite obvious that these preliminary labors would consume the autumn, and that it would be impossible to advance to Crown Point until the opening of a new campaign. The utmost zeal was mani- fested in constructing the works. By the end of November a good fort had been built at the south landing and the old one was fairly completed. The soldiers who were not need-
* Colonial Records, MS. t Trumbull.
[1755.] CLOSE OF THE CAMPAIGN. 43
ed to garrison the two fortifications, returned home to spend the winter with their famihes.
Although the main object of the expedition had not been accomplished, yet much had been done. The colonial army had penetrated far into a pathless wilderness, had cut down the trees and made convenient roads, had constructed a large number of boats and batteaux, had built two forts, manned and furnished them with necessaries for the winter, and had gained over veteran enemies a complete victory with little loss to themselves. Hence, they were gratified with the approval of the colonies, and with the commendation of the king, who conferred upon their leader the title of baronet as the just reward of his valor.* The parliament also voted him five thousand pounds.
The expedition against Niagara did not thrive as well. Governor Shirley, who was at the head of it, did not march from Albany with his first division until about the middle of July, and did not arrive at Oswego until the 18th of August. On the news of Braddock's defeat, so many of his boatmen deserted him that he could not carry on provisions enough for his troops. He was on this account unable to cross the lake to Niagara. He therefore spent the rest of the season in erecting two new forts — one on the eastern bank of Onon- daga river, about four hundred and fifty yards from the old fort that had been built there in 1727, commanding the entrance of the harbor, and called Fort Ontario ; the other, about the same distance west of the old fort, and was named Fort Oswego.
Colonel Mercer, with seven hundred men, was left at Oswego to garrison these forts, and on the 24th of October, the rest of the army decamped and returned to Albany.f
* General "William Johnson now became Sir William Johnson. He was a native of Ireland, but came to America in 1734, and took up his residence upon the Mohawk, about thirty miles west of Albany. He learned the Indian language, and acquired a wonderful influence over the surrounding tribes. In 1759, he commanded the expedition against Niagara, and took six hundred men prisoners. He died in 1774, aged 60.
t Trumbull, ii. 371
44 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
Thus the campaign of 1755, proved to be only a prepara- tion for future struggles. Not a single fortress along the whole line to which the French had so ambitiously laid claim, had been taken from them, nor had they been compelled to yield possession of a foot of land along the northern or south- ern frontier. On the other hand, owing to a want of coopera- tion between the colonies of Virginia, Maryland, and Penn- sylvania, and on account of local disturbances and quarrels between the rulers and the people, a comparatively small number of French and Indians were allowed to burn, murder, and pillage the settlements of the south with atrocities that even now, after the expiration of one hundred years, take such a vital hold of the nerves of the reader that he shud- ders, as he reads their details.* As they are foreign to my subject, I will not attempt to depict them ; but hurry forward to the delineation of scenes less remote but not less revolting.
* TrumbuU, ii. 371, 372.
CHAPTER II.
CAMPAIGNS OF 1756 AND 1757.
Although England and France had been in a state of actual war so long, still there had as yet been no formal manifesto of the hostile intentions of the two nations. The British ministry still continued to indulge the hope so conso- nant with its own weak views and vascillating policy, that a firm basis of peace might be obtained by friendly negotia- tions. The French court, relying upon its old resources of intrigue and duplicity, had fed this hope with assiduous delicacy, to keep it alive as long as it could serve their purposes. But each successive inroad made by the French upon the English dominion, every attack made upon the southern and western settlements, every barbarity added to the long list of Canadian murders and Indian scalpings, did its part in goading the thick skin of the British ministry into a surface warmth that finally penetrated deep enough to quicken its pace.
On the 18th of May, 1756, Great Britain made a formal declaration of war against France,* who soon returned the compliment with the most hearty good will, as it would give her an opportunity of making a diversion in favor of her American subjects by attacking the German possessions of King George, where, as was generally believed, his affections were fixed much more strongly than upon any other portion of his almost boundless realms.
Two months before this, a reinforcement had sailed for America under General Abercrombie, who, in place of Shirley,
* Wade, 446. — In the royal declaration, the grounds of hostilities are alleged to be, the encroachments of the French on the Ohio and in J^ova Scotia ; the non- evacuation of the four neutral islands in the West Indies, agreeably with the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle j and the invasion of Minorica.
46 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
had succeeded to the command of the British forces.* An act of parliament was passed, giving the king power to grant the rank and pay of mihtary officers to foreign protestants residing in the colonies or naturalized there. f Another act, authorized the king's officers to recruit their regiments from the indented servants of the colonists, with the consent of their masters.
There had already been held in New York a council of colonial governors, who had mapped out the plan of the cam- paign for the year 1756. The attempt upon Crown Point was to be renewed with an army of ten thousand men ; six thousand of whom were to march to Niagara, and three thousand were to try what could be done toward wiping out the stains that had, in defiance of the advice of Colonel Washington, been allowed to fall upon the British banner at Fort Du Quesne.J
It was further determined that two thousand men should go up the Kennebeck river, destroy the French settlements upon the Chaudiere, and, following that river to a point where it loses itself in the St. Lawrence, within three miles of Que- bec, do what they could to distract the attention and divide the forces of the enemy. To render Crown Point the more assailable, it was also decided that Ticonderoga should be seized in the winter, while the lakes were frozen over.§
General Winslow was appointed to the command of the expedition against Crown Point. || When he came to review his troops, he found that instead of ten thousand that had been allotted to him, he had but seven thousand, and from this small number it was necessary to take men enough from active service to supply the garrisons at the forts. The im- portance of this expedition, and the difficulty of bringing it
* General Abercrombie brought over with him from England the thirty-fifth regiment, and the forty-second, or Lord George Murray's regiment of Highland- ers. These two regiments, together with the forty-fourth and forty-eighth, four independent companies from New York, four from Carolina, and a considerable body of provincials, now composed the British troops in North America.
+ Twenty-ninth George II., chap. 5. J Holmes, ii. 69.
§ Holmes, ii. 69 ; Graham, iii. 409. | Colonial Records, MS.
[175G.J SITUATION OF CROWN POINT. 47
to a successful issue, rendered this deficiency of force very discouraging.*
Crown Point had been, as early as the year 1731, very skillfully selected by the French as the key to Lake Cham- plain — that gate through which all communication between Canada and the fort must necessarily pass. Over the waters of this long, stream-like lake, and under the beetling summit of Crown Point, had passed all those stealthy hordes of maraud- ing and scalping parties of French and Indians, that had then for many years stolen from Canada, and like vampires from the grave, made their nocturnal visits to the frontiers of New York and New England, where they sated themselves with blood and withdrew, ere the morning light dawned upon the settlements that they had desolated, beyond the vigilance of their pursuers. This fortress, from its position, standing midway between Canada and the English colonies, interposed a perpetual barrier to the reduction of Canada from that quarter, while it afforded to the French a stronghold to which they might retire — a magazine for their ammuni- tion and stores, a hospital where they might receive and recruit their sick and wounded, and an observatory whence they might look along the gray waters or shadowy shore for the first appearance of danger from the east. Could this post be reduced, the frontier of the northern Eng- lish colonies would be safe from surprise, and the enemy would be compelled to retire into those regions lying north of the lakes, so that the way would be open to the very heart of Canada.
On the 25th of June, General Abercrombie proceeded to Albany with the British regiments, for which he had been so long waiting. This new force swelled the numbers of the army to the original estimate of ten thousand. Of the seven thousand provincials, Connecticut had herself raised two thousand five hundred effective troopsf — more
* Holmes, ii. 69.
t The quotas of the other colonies were as follows : Massachusetts, three thou- sand five hundred; New York, two thousand; Rhode Island, one thousand; New Hampshire, one thousand.
48 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
than double the number that she had been called upon to furnish.
While the arrival of Abercrombie with the British regi- ments made up the complement of men that had been thought requisite for this expedition, it proved to be the fruitful theme of jealousy and dispute between the colonial and the British officers, growing out of the order made by the crown in relation to military rank. The act of parliament author- izing such a step, had awakened much ill-feeling in America, not only among officers, but among the common soldiers, who chose to be governed by their own countrymen. Even Winslow, when inquired of by Abercrombie, did not hesitate to express his sentiments on this delicate matter with all frankness. If the colonial soldiers were placed under British officers, he said, it must cause general dissatisfaction, and he had no doubt that a large number of them would desert their coloi's and quit the service.*
This difficulty was finally settled by an agreement that the provincials should march against the enemy, while the British regulars should man the garrisons.
Scarcely had the discordant elements that had so long kept the army in a state of fermentation, been composed, when it was again disturbed by the arrival of a new digni- tary, who delayed the expedition by another set of negotia- tions. The new party to this dispute was the Earl of Lou- doun, who had been appointed governor of Virginia, and a kind of viceroy to superintend the whole plan of military operations in America. He did not set sail until May, when he ought to have been in America and ready to commence the expedition, if he would have aided in its effective con- summation.f There never was a more untoward appoint- ment than this. His lordship was to have the supervision of every movement, and was to direct all the complex arrange- ments both north and south, that were to be made to deliver the English colonies from their embarrassing condition. He
* Holmes, ii. 69, 70 ; Graham, iii. 409, 410. jSee Graham, Trumbull, Holmes.
[1756.] THE EAEL OF LOUDOUX. 49
arrived at Albany on the 29th of July, ignorant of the coun- try and of the army, and brought with him all the captious- ness and tenacity that made British rule so odious to the Americans.
It was a sore affliction that brought Abercrombie to Albany to delay the provincial troops, who, had they been led on by Winslow, would probably have taken Crown Point without British aid ; but the functionary who now presented himself with his dogmatical persistency and almost unlimited commission, was quite too heavy a clog upon the activities of the campaign. No sooner had he arrived, than he demanded of the officers of the New England remments whether they or the men who were under them were willing to join w^ith the British regulars and obey the commander-in- chief whom the king had appointed ? To this interrogatory those gentlemen responded with one voice, that they would obey his lordship and act in conjunction with the king's troops ; but, inasmuch as the New England soldiers had enlisted for that campaign with the express understanding that they should be under the control of their own officers, they humbly begged that his lordship would permit them to act separately as far as w^as convenient with the interests of the public service. With a pompous condescension, the viceroy yielded to this request. It is quite certain that the troops from Connecticut would not have consented to any other arrangement without strenuous opposition, for this was one of the few points that the colony would never yield even for the common good.*
While this fine army was thus passing the summer in shameful inactivity, settling points of etiquette and w^aiting for leave from its officers to do what at an earlier day Major Treat, or at a later day, Putnam, would have done in six weeks with six thousand effective men, the enemy was gain-
* The Assembly of Connecticut, as if to guard against the annoyance of kingly officers, usually guaranteed to those who might enlist, that they should have the privilege of selecting their own company officers, and that the officers of a higher grade should be filled by the assembly.
36
50 HISTOEY OF CONNECTICUT.
ing every advantage by the delay. Not only had they time to provide against any attempt that the English could make upon them ; but they had even leisure to project and execute a complicated plan of offensive operations. They had already reduced a small fortress in the territory of the five nations, who were known allies of the English, and murdered in cold blood its little garrison of twenty-five soldiers. At the same time the woods were filled with their spies and scouting parties, who kept a sharp eye on all the motions of the English army.
Having learned that a large convoy of provisions was on the way from Schenectady to Oswego, a party of French and Indians secreted themselves in a thicket on the northern bank of the Onondaga river, to intercept them. Finding that the convoy had already passed this point, the French resolved to await the return of the detachment. This body was under the command of Colonel Bradstreet — an officer of keen sagacity, who was in hourly expectation of an attack, and was well prepared for it. As he was sailing along the current of the Onondaga with his company, in three divis- ions, with no sound to break the silence of the wooded shores save that of the waves that rippled against the banks and sank, after a momentary disturbance from the oar, into their old repose, the war-whoop of the Indians rang out from the covert with a distinctness that almost drowned the voice of musketry that accompanied it. The north shore was on a sudden alive with Indians, who immediately forded the river and attacked the English. Bradstreet, who, with a part of his men, had taken possession of a small island, made such a desperate defense that they v/ere compelled to with- draw. Learning that there was another body of French and Indians farther up the river, he landed on the south shore and advanced with about two hundred men to meet them. He attacked them so suddenly and with such energy that many fell dead upon the spot and the rest in their dismay leapt into the river, where many of them were
[1756.] MOXTCALM. 51
drowned. He then marched still further up the river and routed a third party.*
In these several actions, extending over a period of three hours, about seventy of his men were killed and wounded. '?wice that number of the enemy were killed, and about seventy of them were taken prisoners. From these prisoners he learned that a large body of the enemy had stationed themselves on the west side of Lake Ontario, with artillery and all the other equipments for the siege of Oswego. Brad- street hastened to Albany with the news. Before this. Gen- era] Webb, with one regiment, had received orders to hold himself in readiness to march to the relief of that post ; but when Lord Loudoun arrived in Albany, he had not begun his march. f
General Winslow, with seven thousand New England and New York troops, had already advanced to the south land- ing of Lake George. In perfect health, high spirits, and well provisioned, they were impatient to be led against the enemy. This army left to itself, with such a leader as Winslow was, would have taken possession of Crown Point before that time, if they had been allowed to move forward. But large numbers of batteaux-men still lay at Albany, Schenectady and other places, and three thousand soldiers were kept loitering behind to guard the lazy generals who lingered at Albany until about the middle of 7Vu2;ust. Even General Webb did not begin his march until the 12th of August. If he had been sick of a camp fever during the whole summer, he would have been quite as useful, and would have had a much better reputation in his own and in after time. J
But the reader is not to infer that the operations of the enemy were confined to casual ambuscades and irregular skirmishing. On the other hand, the Marquis de Montcalm, §
* Graham. fTrumbuU. i Trumbull.
§ Montcalm, Louis Joseph de St. Veran, marquis de, was a native of Candiae, and descended from a noble fam.ily. Having been bred to arms, he was particularly distinguished at the battle of Placenza in 174G. He rose to the rank of field marshall and was made governor of Canada in 175G. After having successfully
52 HISTOKY OF CONNECTICUT.
one of the ablest military chieftains of that age, with about three thousand men, proceeded to invest the forts at Oswego.^' He blockaded the harbor with two armed vessels, and stationed a strong party on the roads between Albany and the forts, as if he was in league with Webb and the other officers, who were lagging behind, and was striving to save their sensitive nerves from any shock that might be occasioned by some piece of ill-timed intelligence relating to the remote and dangerous region bordering upon lake Ontario.
On the 12th of August, Montcalm opened his trenches before Fort Ontario at midnight with thirty-two pieces of cannon and a number of brass mortars and howitzers. This fortress was situated upon a high hill and commanded Fort Oswego so completely as to protect it and render it secure as long as the English garrison could man their guns and bring them to bear upon an enemy from this more elevated site. But strange as it doubtless seemed to the marquis, the garrison, after throwing away their shells and ammunition with little injury to the French, the next day spiked their cannon and retired to Fort Oswego, where they could be more easily reached by the shot of the besiegers. t The French lost no time in seizing the eminence that had been so unnecessarily given up to them, and pointing the deserted guns toward the lower fort, opened such a brisk fire upon it, and sustained it with such unabated vigor, that the garrison suffered severely from the attack. Colonel Mercer, who commanded, was killed by a cannon ball on the 13th, and after his death the officers were so divided in opinion as to the proper course to be pursued, and the soldiers were in such a state of conster- nation, that the enemy were not long in gaining possession of the fortress. On the 14th, the garrison, consisting of fourteen hundred men, capitulated, and surrendered into the hands of their conquerors one hundred and twenty-one pieces of cannon, fourteen mortars, a well-stored magazine,
opposed Lord Loudoun and Abercrombie, he was killed at the siege of Quebec in 1759.
* Holmes, ii. 70. . t Holmes, ii. 70.
[1756.J WOOD CREEK FILLED UP. 53
two sloops of war that had been built to cover the troops in the Niagara expedition, two hundred boats and batteaux, and provisions enough to have held out until relief could have been looked for from any quarter except Albany.**
The garrison consisted of the regiments of Shirley and Pepperell, and surrendered upon the express terms that they should not be plundered by the Indians, should be treated with humanity, and conducted safely to Montreal. All these conditions were shamefully violated. Instead of sending them to Montreal under a force sufficient to protect them, Montcalm instantly delivered up twenty of his prisoners to his Indian allies as victims to atone for the death of an equal number of savages who had fallen by the common fortune of war during the siege. The rest of the garrison, so far from being pro- tected, were exposed to the bitterest taunts of savage exulta- tion. Most of them were plundered, many were scalped, and some were assassinated. The forts were at once dis- mantled and all those precious munitions that had been transported through the wilderness at such cost and at so great an expenditure of labor, were carried off to strengthen the French fortifications against that evil day that had been protracted so long by the inefficiency of the English generals.
By this untoward capitulation, the French gained the exclusive dominion of the two great lakes, Erie and Ontario, with the whole country of the five nations. The territory bordering on Wood Creek and the Mohawk was also laid open to their ravages.
General Webb had advanced as far as the carrying place between the Mohawk river and Wood Creek, when tidings reached him of the fall of Oswego. Dreading an attack from the enemy, he began to cut down trees and cast them into the river. In this way he soon rendered it impassible even for canoes. The French, who were as ignorant of his numbers and resources as he was of theirs, adopted the same
* See Holmes, Trumbull, Bancroft, etc.
54 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
measure to prevent his advancing. He was therefore obliged to retrace his steps, which he did in a very stately and orderly manner. Indeed his march in either direction was more like the movement of a funeral proces- sion, than like the hurried steps of an invading or retreating army.
The Earl of Loudoun, who appears to have thought that the fall of Oswego was quite a suitable close of this painfully protracted drama, although he had yet left him three good months for operation before w^inter would set in, and although the army, now at the southern landing of Lake George, could have made an attack upon Ticonderoga and Crown Point in ten days, declared that the season was already too far spent to render it safe to make any attempt upon either of those places during that year. He therefore passed the autumn in preparations for an early campaign the next spring. He strengthened the two forts, Edward and William Henry, and overwhelmed them with garrisons. The pro- vincials returned home to spend the winter, and the regulars who were not employed at the forts, went into winter quar- ters at Albany.*
The reader cannot fail to be impressed with the difference between this campaign and that of the preceding year. In 1755, a small army of colonial troops, officered by men of their own choice, had cut through the woods, constructed roads and bridges, erected two forts at well chosen points, built ships in addition to a vast number of boats and batteaux, and to crown all this work, in itself glorious enough without such a consummation, this ill-equipped and comparatively undisciplined army had gained a brilliant victory and taken captive the leader of the French army. They had also taken all the preliminary steps of a vigorous campaign in 1756, and had rallied to the rendezvous as early as the season would allow them to take the field in the spring — burning with a noble ardor to meet the enemy and complete what they had before so well begun.
* Trumbull, ii. 377.
[1756.] IXDIGXATIOX OF THE COLONIES. 55
On the other hand, the campaign of 1756 — with the finest army that had ever set foot upon the continent, with the patronage of the British government, with regular troops, with arms and ammunition in abundance, with roads, boats, forts, and the precious experience of the preceding year — lost two forts, and sustained a disreputable defeat, without driving the enemy from a single position, or taking possession of a single foot of unoccupied land, and went into winter quar- ters almost before the frost had shaken down the leaves from the forest trees.
The mortification and chagrin that pervaded New Eng- land, when the result of British generalship was made known, contrasted strangely enough with the flattering demonstra- tions of joy that had welcomed Abercrombie and Loudoun to America.*
Thus all the plans of operation, that had been concerted with such wisdom by the provincial governors, w^ere paralyzed.
Even General Winslow% who, I have no doubt, would have taken Ticonderoga and Crown Point with the provincial troops, had the British officers allow^ed him to do so, was not permitted to advance against these fortresses, but was obliged by Lord Loudoun to remain in his camp and fortify it against the incursions of the French — that had no existence except in the imaginations of the British officers. To repel this anticipated invasion. General Webb, with fourteen hun- dred British regulars, and Sir William Johnson, with one thousand militia, w^ere kept idle during the whole summer.f Never, surely, were so many able-bodied men so busily em- ployed in doing nothing. Throughout Connecticut the indig- nation of the people flashed out from the lively features of the freemen, who discussed the bad policy of the viceroy
* The people of New England had formed high expectations of Loudoun and Abercrombie. Loudoun, in particular, was everywhere greeted with enthusiasm, "In New Haven," says Dr. Trumbull, " the Rev. President Clap, and the prin- cipal gentlemen of the town, waited on him in the most respectful manner. The president presented his lordship with their joint congratulations on the safe arrival of a peer of the realm in North America."
t Holmes, ii. 71.
56 HISTOEY OF CONNECTICUT.
with a freedom that would have shocked his sense of pro- priety had he been able to listen to it.
In the face of all these calamities, the British parliament made great preparations to prosecute the war with vigor as soon as the spring of 1757 should open.
In May, Admiral Holborn and Commodore Holmes sailed from Cork for America, with eleven ships of the line, a fire- ship, a bomb-ketch, and fifty transports, with six thousand regular troops on board. The fleet and armament arrived at Halifax in good order on the 9th of July. General Hopson had charge of the land force.*
The colonies, supposing that the expedition against Ticonderoga and Crown Point was to be renewed, again levied their requisite quotas of men. Connecticut, Avho had the year before raised double the number that had been required of her, once more brought her full complement of soldiers into the field. It is not difticult, therefore, to imagine their disappointment, when they learned that their darling enterprise was to be abandoned, after all this expense of time and money, and that the colonial troops were to be employed in an idle attempt upon Louisbourg. To say nothing of the childish and whimsical policy of the British government, the colonies felt ill at ease under the prospect of having their forces called to act at such a distance from home, while all the vast regions that lay to the west and north were open to the incursions of an enemy whom twelve thousand troops had been found inadequate to keep at bay, and who, flushed w^ith recent victories, might be expected to prove more dan- gerous now than ever before. Even if the French should confine themselves to the limits of the country that they then held, they would at least have another year to strengthen their posts and fortify themselves in their position.
In January, Lord Loudoun had met at Boston a council of the governors of New England and Nova Scotia, and with the most unfeeling insolence, and a shocking disregard of truth, had charged upon the colonial army and provincial
* Trumbull, ii. 379 ; Holmes, ii. 74.
[1757.] EXPEDITION AGAIXST LOUISBOURG. 57
governments all the disasters of the campaign of 1756. He must have seen a flat negative to this arrogant declaration in the faces of the gentlemen composing the council, for he hastened to soothe their insulted feelings by informing them that he should require only four thousand provincial troops,*' who were to be sent to New York and there placed under his command for some important and secret service that his duty and fidelity to his sovereign forbade him to disclose. As the numbers demanded were so much less than the colonies had reason to expect, the requisition was complied with, and in the spring more than six thousand provincial troops were placed at his disposal and embarked at New York for Halifax.
It was not known that the expedition against Crown Point was given up, until the troops had reached New York f Perhaps the colonies were partly reconciled to this foolish departure from the original plan, by the reflection that Lou- doun, by absenting himself, would fit least be prevented from doing any further mischief. If he could not restore the forts that he had lost, he could lose no more ; and if he could not drag out of Wood Creek the logs and tree-tops with which he had obstructed its navigation, he would not again encum- ber the waters of that great highway to the west.
But his lordship's naval operations were as disastrous as those that he conducted by land. He was as ignorant of the strength of Louisbourg as he had been of that of Crown Point. He found to his astonishment, on arriving in the neighborhood of Cape Breton, that it was not only a fortified place, but that it was a stronghold of a very formidable character, containing a garrison of six thousand veteran
* Holmes, ii, 74. The apportionment made by Lord Loudoun for New Eng land, was as follows : Massachusetts, eighteen hundred men ; Connecticut, four- teen hundred ; Rhode Island, four hundred and fifty ; New Hampshire, three hundred and fifty. The Connecticut troops were placed under the command of the following officers, viz. Phineas Lyman, colonel ; Nathan Whiting, lieut. colo- nel ; and Nathan Payson, major. Israel Putnam was captain of one of the four- teen companies.
+ Graham, iv. 5.
58 HISTOKY OF CONNECTICUT.
troops, and a large body of militia. To add to the obstacles that were in the way of his achieving a military reputation as boundless as his desires and as solid as his inactivity, while the army was lingering at Halifax, gleaning informa- tion of the fortress, it was made still more inaccessible by the arrival of seventeen line-of-battle ships, that quietly moored themselves in the harbor and showed what the good earl thought to be such evident signs of participating in the quarrel, that he prudently gave up the enterprise and returned to New York.*
While this farce was being enacted, the Marquis de Mont- calm, elated with the successes of the previous year, and exulting at the news that the British and provincial troops were taking a pleasure trip to Halifax, summoned all his powers of mind, and rallied all his forces, to strike a blow at ihe vitals of the English power in the north. General Webb commanded in that quarter, and Montcalm, astute and keen in his knowledge of men, had by this time learned what sort of opposition he was likely to meet at such hands. He resolved to avail himself of the absence of so large a share of the British and provincial troops, and sieze upon Fort Wil- liam Henry. I have already described the position of this fortress, and have spoken of its relative importance. In ad- dition to this, as it stood near the spot where his predecessor, the Baron Dieskau, had been taken captive, it would add not a little to the reputation of Montcalm could he blot out the stains of the inglorious defeat that had fallen upon the French arms within sight of the fort. Summoning his forces from Ticonderoga, Crown Point, and the adjacent stations, and rallying to his standard a larger number of Indians than his nation had ever employed before on any one occasion, he set out with an army of about eight thousand men.
A few days before he crossed the lake, General Webb, whose head-quarters were at Fort Edward, ordered Major Israel Putnam, f of Connecticut, vrith two hundred men, to
* Holmes, ii. 74.
tin May 1756, the assembly granted " to Captain Israel Putnam, the number of
[1757.] PUTNAIM RECOXXOITRES THE EXEMY. 59
escort him to Fort William Henry. His object in visiting this fort was to inspect it, and find out by actual observation the strength of the place. What could have stimulated the general to such a pitch of temerity, is to this day a mystery. His conduct on the occasion was at variance with his whole previous and subsequent life. Had he suspected the possi- ble approach of the enemy, no character in all history would have been less likely to have visited Fort William Henry. Yet not only did he allow Putnam to conduct him to that fortress, but he permitted him to go down the lake in broad day light, and, having landed at North-west bay, to stay on shore there until he could learn what was the condition of the enemy at Ticonderoga, and the other posts in that quarter.
Putnam proceeded with eighteen volunteers, in three whale boats, and before he had reached North-west bay, he dis- covered a party of men on an island. As he had not approached near enough to the island to alarm the enemy, he left two of his boats to fish at a safe distance, and hastened back to the fort with the tidings. The general, when he saw the leader of the scouting party rowing back his boat alone, and with such velocity that it almost flew through the water, took it for granted that the rest of the company had been taken captives, and sent a skiff with strict orders that Put- nam alone should come ashore. Putnam, who was able to see no good reason why the lives of seventeen brave men should be wantonly sacrificed, explained to General Webb their situation and begged earnestly that he might be permit- ted to return, complete his mission, and bring back his companions. With much reluctance General Webb finally yielded to his solicitations.
With a glad heart Putnam returned, and passing by the spot where the occupants of the whale boats were still engaged in fishing, as if sport only had tempted them to explore the
fifty Spanish milled dollars, and thirty such dollars to Captain Xoah Grant, as a gratuity, for their extraordinary services and good conduct in ranging and scout- ing the winter past for the annoyance of the enemy near Crown Point."
60 HISTORY OF co:n'necticut.
windings of the most beautiful of American lakes, he rowed his boat still nearer to the North-west bay until, pausing upon the crystal waters, he could see by the aid of a good glass a large army in motion and advancing towards him. Had they been a flock of wild fowl gliding over the bosom of the lake, Putnam could not have regarded them with emotions less akin to fear. Long and earnesth^ he gazed upon them, scanning their equipments and trying to esti- mate their numbers, in order that he might come to some conclusion as to their probable destination. So lost was he in the contemplation of this exciting spectacle, that several of the canoes filled with wild graceful forest-men, like the light clouds that fly with vapory wings in the van of the black thunder-storm, had come up with him and almost surrounded him, before he thought of flight. But the bows ot these swarthy voyagers, rent from the sasafrass-tree, were not more elastic than his muscles, nor were the sinews of the deer that bent them into the shape of the crescent moon, more tough and wiry than his own. He dashed through the midst of them, and leading back his little party, reported to General Webb the approach of a hostile army. At the same time he expressed his conviction that the expedition was designed for the capture of Fort William Henry. Gen. Webb enjoined upon him the strictest silence in regard to so delicate a subject, and bade him put his men under an oath of secrecy while he made ready without loss of time to return to Fort Edward.
" I hope your excellency does not intend to neglect so fair an opportunity of giving battle, should the enemy presume to land," interposed Major Putnam, who saw at a glance how easy it would be, with such an army as could be mustered from the two forts, to cut off the whole expedition. '
" What do you think i(;e sJiould do here V asked General Webb, whose blood must have curdled at the suggestion of the provincial major.
The next day he returned to his head-quarters, and the day after he dispatched Colonel Monroe with his regiment to re-
[1757.] JOHNSOX ATTEMPTS TO RELIEVE THE FORT. 61
inforce the garrison. Monroe took with him all his rich baggage and camp-equipage, in spite of Putnam's advice to the contrary. On the day after Colonel Monroe arrived at Fort William Henry, the Marquis de Montcalm landed his army and opened the siege. I have said that the army of the French general amounted to about eight thousand men. As the garrison did not number more than about twenty-five hundred, it was easy to prophecy what would be its fate. Still, with the walls of a strong fortress to protect him, Monroe was not without hope that General Webb, who was only fourteen miles off with four thousand troops, would march to his assistance. He therefore, made a resolute stand, and discharged his shot with considerable effect into the camp of the besieging army. For, many tedious days and nights this gallant officer continued to wage the un- equal conflict, awaiting with sleepless anxiety the return of messenger after messenger whom he had sent to implore General Webb to save the brave little garrison from impend- ing destruction.
Meanwhile the arrival of Sir William Johnson with his troops had very much augmented the army under General Webb, which was now of sufficient force to have annihilated the French army, could Montcalm have been fool-hardy enough to await their coming. Sir V/illiam Johnson now joined his solicitations to the supplicating messengers from the besieged fort, and Putnam in his bold manly way begged that he might be permitted to lead his handful of rangers to the scene of action. Trembling and irresolute day after day the general resisted these appeals, though they were seconded by the eloquent roar of the guns that still answered the over- whelming artillery of the beleaguering army.
At last, on the 8th or 9th dav after the landing of the French, Sir William Johnson prevailed on General Webb to allow him to march w-ith the provincials, militia, and Putnam's rangers, to the relief of the garrison. But scarcely had this scanty force advanced three miles from Fort Edward when the order was countermanded, and the reinforcement returned.
62 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
One of Montcalm's Indian videttes, seeing the provincial army marching toward Fort William Henry, as he scoured the woods in the neighborhood of Fort Edward, fled to the French camp with the startling intelligence. The French general questioned him as to the numbers of the approaching enemy.
"If you can count the leaves on the trees you can count them," replied the courier, in the vague, metaphorical language of his people.
Immediately the guns of the besiegers were silenced, and the army was ordered to make preparations to re-embark and abandon the attempt upon the fort, when the arrival of an- other runner who had seen the reinforcement on its return- inarch to Fort Edward, induced the marquis to begin the siege anew. With an admirable train of artillery, plenty of ammunition, and inspired with new hope, now that he had learn- ed how little he had to fear interruption from abroad, he made such a fierce attack upon the fort that Colonel Monroe, whose ammunition had begun to fail, now saw that he could not hold out much longer. Still he fought on at desperate odds, and would have continued to do so for many hours had it not been for the receipt of a letter from General Webb, addressed to himself, advising him to surrender without delay.* This letter had been intercepted by the enemy and was adroitly sent into the garrison at the most favorable time to make an impression. f
Thus counseled by the dastard who could have saved him without so much as lifting a finger, had he but permitted others to do what his cowardly soul rendered him incapable of attempting, the deserted and heart-broken commander of Fort William Henry was compelled to capitulate.
The terms of the surrender were very favorable. It was stipulated that the English should not serve against the French for eighteen months, unless they were exchanged for an equal number of French prisoners. The garrison was to march out with arms, baggage, and one piece of cannon, in
* Rider's Hist. xlii. 9, 12 ; Wright's Hist. i. 14. t Trumbull, ii. 381, 382.
[1757.] MASSACRE AT FOllT WILLIAM IIEXBY. G3
honor of Colonel Monroe for the brave defense that he had made. They were also to be furnished with an escort to Fort Edward by French troops to protect them against the ferocity of the Indians.*
The terms of the treaty, however, were not kept by Mont- calm, who neglected to provide the suitable escort that he had promised ; and the Indians who fought under him, amazed at the leniency shown by the French commander to soldiers of the garrison, resolved not to be deprived of the spoils that they regarded as justly belonging to them by the rules of war. Falling upon the English, they stripped them of the few articles of clothing and other personal property that had survived the destructive effects of the siege, and then com- menced that memorable scene of assassination that has given a kind of fabulous interest to the capture of Fort Wil- liam Henry, like that with which fiction invests the more common-place details of history.
The Indians who had aided the garrison, and who had been included in the capitulation, were the first victims. They were dragged from the ranks where they were marching, and tomahawked and scalped. Nor were the English themselves spared. Men and women had their throats cut, their bodies ripped open, and hacked in pieces. Children, even little infants, were taken by the heels and dashed against stones and trees. For about seven miles did those infuriated devils hang like a horde of hungry wolves upon the skirts of the English army, who no longer could be said to march, but rather to flee before them, until by the joint exertions of the insulted soldiers and the tardy though perhaps honest efforts of Montcalm, they were beaten off* and sent yelling into the wilderness. Those who escaped by flight or by the protection of the French arrived at Fort Edward in the most deplorable condition. f
* Trumbull, ii. 382.
t Minot, ii. 11—22 •, Marshall, i. 411— 41G ; Mante, b. 2 ; Trumbull's Hist. U. S., ch. xi : Smith's New York, ii. ch, vi. ; Dr. Belknap (Ilist. New Hampshire, ii. 299,) intimates that a principal oauso of the conduct of the Indians may be found in the fact that they had joined the expedition of Montcalm on a promise
64 HISTORY OF COIn"NECTICUT.
The next day after the massacre, Major Putnam, who had been sent with his rangers to keep an eye on the movements of the enemy, came to the shore of the lake whose peaceful waters had been desecrated as we may hope they will never be again, while yet the rear of the French army was scarcely beyond the range of his muskets. Language can indeed render to the mind's eye an outline of the horrors that he saw there ; but nothing save the imagination can fill up the details of such a picture. The fort was a total ruin. The barracks, the out-houses, the booths that had been occupied by the sutlers, lay in heaps of promiscuous desolation ; and the smoke that rose in volumes from the still consuming rub- bish, could but ill conceal with its black drapery, the count- less fragments of human bones and bodies half consumed, that bore such ghastly witness to the nature of the sacrifice. In other places, dead bodies deformed with frightful wounds and streaked with the blood-currents that had deposited their dark pools here and there upon the ground, were scattered at random, evincing every shade of mutilation that savage ingenuity could contrive, from the battered skull and the head reft of its scalp, to the gashed trunk and the severed limbs. More than one hundred women were lying there, many of them entirely naked, and some with their throats cut and their faces marked with grotesque wounds — some of them probing deep as the fountains of life, others slight and whimsical as if they had resulted from the innocent sportive- ness of a child. Putnam turned away his eyes from the sickening spectacle, little thinking that it was but a vision that foreshadowed the tortures that he himself was so soon to endure.*'
of plunder^ and were hence particularly enraged at the terms granted to the gar- rison. " The New Hampshire regiment, happening to be in the rear, felt the chief fury of the enemy. Out of two hundred, eighty were killed and taken." Carver, in his Travels (pp. 132, 136,) says that fifteen hundred persons were either killed or made prisoners by the Indians, after the surrender.
* Most of the adventures of Putnam that are alluded to in this chapter, are taken from Gen. Humphreys' Ufe of that hero, and can be relied upon in every particular. I have also had access to other sources of information equally authentic.
[1757.] CONDUCT OF MONTCALM. 65
Such was the massacre at Fort William Henry. It has in it those elements of vitality that would themselves preserve the name of Montcalm from oblivion. How much blame that truly gallant chieftain deserves to bear for not carrying out the terms of the capitulation, that he had himself stipulated to perform, I am unable to say. He has been charged with instigating the Indians to this atrocious butchery. Others have asserted that he furnished no escort at all to protect the English garrison.* But jMontcalm himself repelled these accusations with scorn, and to the last asserted his innocence in the most positive terms. Had not a similar act of bar- barity been just before perpetrated, for which he may be fairly held responsible, I should implicitly credit his own testimony upon a question so vitally affecting his honor as a soldier. Even now, shrouded in mystery as this horrible affair still remains, when I contrast it with the noble emulation and chivalry that crowned his military career, I would gladly believe him to have been too confident of his own moral power over the passions of his savage allies, too negligent, too trusting, but never treacherous ; and that his nature revolted, as does the common sentiment of the world, from the com- mission of such a crime.
When it was too late to avail anything by adopting the most active measures, General Webb suddenly roused him- self and made great exertions to protect the northern fron- tier. He made large demands on the colonies for troops, which were responded to with a promptness that would have been incredible had not fear lent wings to every movement. The sudden capture of the fort, the massacre that followed it, and the possibility that Montcalm would summon his savage hordes and descend like a whirlwind upon Albany, filled the minds of the colonists with a well-grounded alarm that showed its depth and power in the efforts that were made to avert such a calamity.
* Tliis is the statement made by Carver and others. Certain it is, that if there
was a guard, it was either insufficient, or it was furnished too late to be of any
avail.
37
66 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
In answer to this call from General Webb, Connecticut in a few days raised and sent into the field, in addition to the forces she had already furnished, five thousand men. New York and the other colonies sent on large reinforcements to Albany, until the English army numbered about twenty thousand regular troops, besides a larger body of provincials than had ever been brought together on any one occasion during the war. The regulars were stationed at Albany and Fort Edward. With this noble army, large enough to have driven before it all the French troops on the continent, Webb accomplished nothing, but passed the rest of the campaign in a " masterly inactivity" that is believed to be without a parallel in history. Thus ended the campaign of 1757. The con- trast between the two campaigns described in this chapter, and that of 1755, which was under the direction of colonial officers, and the burden of which rested solely upon colonial troops, needs no commentary to make it more conspicuous, than a plain recital of the facts has already done.
CHAPTER III.
CAilPAIGN OF 1758.
Early in 1758, the Earl of Loudoun called a convention of the governors of New England and New York to meet him at Hartford. The meeting proved to be a very unsatis- factory one. The governors did not respond with any cordiality to the propositions made by his lordship that they should send fresh troops into the field to further the ends of a new campaign. With much frigid politeness, their several excellencies informed him that before they could promise any forces or supplies, it would be necessary for them first to convoke their respective legislatures and procure the assent of the people. Angry at this apparent subterfuge, the earl dismissed them in a fit of ill-temper, and repaired to Boston, where he repeated his demand for provincial troops. Here, too, he met with a decided rebufT. Neither Governor Pow- nall nor the Assembly would consent to furnish him with a single soldier until he would inform them of the minutest details of the proposed campaign. Chagrined at a refusal that bespoke so plainly how little confidence they had in him, he retired to his lodgings to deliberate in what way he could best answer and punish this provincial insolence. He was aroused from these meditations by the unwelcome tidings that he was no longer able to use the king's authority as his own, either in punishing his enemies or rewarding his friends. He had been superceded, and the command of the army had been given to General Abercrombie.
I do not suppose that there was ever a government in the world that was capable, in the hands of bad or weak minded men, of so misrepresenting the true spirit and character of the nation under its control, as that of Great Britain. Hence we find throughout British history, the most startling contrast of strength and weakness characterizing the public enter-
68 HISTOEY OF CONNECTICUT.
prises of the nation. In earlier times, England was great or insignificant according to the individual traits of the monarch who governed her. In later days the ministry will be found to have taken the place of the king, and the public acts of the empire will be marked by the most puerile imbecility, and by the want of moral as well as executive power; or on the other hand, by the most exalted patriotism and self-sacri- fice exhibiting themselves in results so grandly wrought out by means at once the most practical and daring, as to com- mand the admiration of the world.
The period of history now under consideration admirably illustrates this remark. In the course of two years, we have seen, by the dismantling of an English fort on the southern border of Lake George, the dominion of that lake and of Lake Champlain passing in an instant from the hands of the English ; we have seen Oswego fall a needless prey to a small force, and thus those vast inland seas that connect the waters of the St. Lawrence with those of the Mississippi, subjected to the dominion of the French ; going still further south, we have seen the whole continent lying west of the Alleghanies, claimed and held in defiance of right, and with a sacrifice of British and colonial lives truly revolting ;* and this series of calamities is known to be attributable, not to the soldiers who were in the field, but to the officers who misdirected their energies or imprisoned them at points where they could in no possible way exert their strength.
We are now to see the workings of a new ministry under the ordering of William Pitt, who united the eloquence of Pericles with the executive force of Julius Caesar: a man borne into power upon the shoulders of the indignant people, and by new men and measures directed towards American affairs, changing at once the relations of the two powers that con- tended for the mastery upon the ocean.
The new minister was unable to receive regular communi- cations from the Earl of Loudoun. This of itself was a cause of removal in the mind of a man constituted as Pitt
* Holmes, ii. 79, 80.
[1758.] TROOPS TO BE RAISED. 69
was, with the most rigid and exact business habits. He was bold to say that he made the removal because " he could never ascertain what Lord Loudoun was doin<T."*
o
The same ship that brought the news of this happy chanfre, also brought over letters from Mr. Pitt to the colonies, of a very flattering and persuasive tone, and eloquent with the great soul that spoke from the correspondence, as it beamed from the eye, of that unrivalled man.
On the 8th of March, 1758, a special assembly was con- vened at New Haven in honor of the letter addressed to the colony. This letter was listened to by the members of the two houses with intense interest. It spoke directly to the heart of the people. After alluding to the disappointments and losses of the campaign that had just closed, and assert- ing how much the king desired to wipe out the disgrace of such defeats as his arms had sustained in America, it declared in bold terms the resolve of the king's government, by the blessing of God, to take the most vigorous measures to avert the impending danger. It stated the intention of his majesty to send out a fleet and armament to defend the rights of his subjects in North America, and expressed the hope that his faithful and brave subjects in the colonies would cheerfully lend their aid to an enterprise, where they were to be the principal recipients of favor. Without making an arbitrary demand for troops, the minister adroitly hinted that twenty thousand men would be the fair proportion to be raised by the colonies of Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, New York, and New Jersey, and called upon Connecticut to raise as large a part of them as her population would permit her to spare, and have them ready for the field as soon as possible. That no motive might be wanting to stimulate the people to exertion, the minister added, that par- liament would be solicited to make appropriations to defray the expenses of the provinces according to the promptitude and zeal that they should respectively manifest in answer to the call of the government. f
* Graham, iv. 18. f Colonial Records, IMS.
70 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
A keen vision, that laid bare before him, wherever he glanced, the governing motives of men, was a marked trait of Pitt's character. He had struck, as he seldom failed to do, the right nerve, and the representatives of the people were touched with a lively emotion and heartfelt, pervading enthu- siasm. This out-spoken minister, so unlike the mysterious Earl of Loudoun, who kept all his plans locked up in his own breast, as if they had been solemn state secrets, was the one man of all the world with whom they could co-operate and whom they could love. Haughty to his king, despotic to the nobility, this great commoner seemed to the people of Connecticut to understand their wants, and to entertain for them the sympathies of a brother and the confiding regard of a friend. This was no Dudley, striving to get possession of the chartered liberties of the people ; no Fletcher, to demand the control of the militia ; no Cornbury, pluming himself upon an alliance with royalty ; no Loudoun, to spend the precious months of a campaign in settling the question of official precedence ; but a man, appealing to their common sensibilities to strike home for the honor of a common coun- try. They felt that they would have died for such a cham- pion.
So emulous were they, and so jealous lest the other provin- ces should share too largely in the laurels that were to be won, that, forgetting how much more than her proportion of troops Connecticut had sent into the field in the tv\^o former campaigns, they voted to raise five thousand good and efiective men from the thin population of her few towns, already bowed down with service and oppressed with the weight of accumulating taxes.
Having thus resolved to furnish one quarter of the number of troops that were to be provided by the northern colonies, the Assembly proceeded to form them into four regiments, and to appoint the requisite officers. It w^as resolved that each regiment should be divided into twelve companies, and should be officered by a colonel, lieutenant-colonel, major, and other subordinate officers. Chaplains and surgeons were
[1758.] BILLS OF CREDIT. 71
also appointed to accompany each regiment. The Hon. Phineas Lyman, (who had held a general's commission in 1755,) Nathan Whiting, Eliphalet Dyer, and John Read, were appointed colonels.* To encourage speedy enlistments, a bounty of four pounds was offered to each volunteer who would equip himself for the field, in addition to his wages. The most thorough measures were taken to get the troops in readiness as soon as they should be needed. Provision was made at the same time for the support of this large army, by ordering that thirty thousand pounds lawful money should be issued in Bills of Credit, at five per cent interest ; and that for a fund for sinking of the same, a tax of eight-pence on the pound should be levied upon the grand list of the colony to be brought in for the year 1760.t
That the soldiers might be kept in good heart and spirits, a tax of nine-pence on the pound, on the list of October 1757, was ordered to be levied to pay the troops on their return home from the service at the close of the season. This tax was to be collected by the last of December 1758. A committee was further appointed to borrow the sum of twenty-five thousand pounds, to be paid before the 20th of May 1761 ; and for a fund to repay this large sum, a tax was ordered of five-pence on the pound on the list of 1759, to be paid into the treasury by the last of December 1760.$
At the October session, commissioners had been appointed to meet those from the other colonies to consult for the gen-
* The lieutenant-colonels — Nathan Payson, Benjamin Hinman, James Smedley, and Samuel Coit ; the majors — William Pitkin, Joseph Spencer, Israel Putnam, and John Slapp ; the chaplains — Rev. Messrs, George Beckwith, Joseph Fisk, Benjamin Pomeroy, and Jonathan Ingersoll ; the surgeons — Elisha Lord, Joseph Clark, John Bartlett, and Gideon Wells.
t Colony Records, MS.
$ As considerable sums of money were expected from England to reimburse the colony for provisions furnished to Lord Loudoun, in 1756, it was ordered that said money, when received, should be applied to discharge the notes given for the bor- rowed money ; and that if sufficient should be received in season to discharge all the notes so given, then the tax last laid should not be collected.
72 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
eral safety.* These gentlemen were now authorized to meet the other commissioners at Hartford on the 19th of April, to take into consideration the impending crisis, and to devise measures for the union and harmony of the colonies in the contest before them. At the same time, the governor was desired to give to General Abercrombie the earliest advices of the measures to be adopted by the colonies, and of their preparations for an early and successful campaign.
The new ministry did something more than incite the provinces to action. In February, the armament designed for the reduction of Louisbourg sailed for America. The fleet was under the command of Admiral Boscawen, and the land army was committed to General Amherst, under whom was Brigadier General Wolfe. The fleet and armament arrived safely in America, and on the 28th of May left Hali- fax for Louisbourg. On the 2d of June, they dropped into the harbor in fine condition. It was a formidable armv for that wild coast, and made an era in the history of the fortress as it spread its broad canvass on the line of the horizon in entering Chapeaurouge Bay. It consisted of one hundred and fifty-seven sail, with fourteen thousand British troops on board. t For six days and nights the surf rolled so high that no landing could be effected, nor indeed could any boat live a moment near the shore. During all this time, the British officers had the mortification to see the enemy fortifying themselves with great industry and skill, erecting, at every point along the shore where a landing was deemed practica- ble, batteries mounted with cannon, that, without any inter- ference from the waves, would be likely to prove formidable barriers to the British troops. J
General Amherst, with a number of his officers, as he approached to reconnoitre the shore, saw the French lines bristling with infantry.
On the 8th of June, the surf began to subside, although
* The Connecticut commissioners were, Ebenczer Silliman, Jonathan Trumbull, and William Wolcott, esquires,
t Graham, vi. 27 ; Trumbull, ii. 387 ; Holmes, ii. 80. + Trumbull, ii. 387.
[1758.] GENERAL WOLFE. 73
there was still a heavy swell of the sea. General Amherst resolved to make trial, and before day-break the troops were embarked in boats in three divisions. The one on the rif^ht and the one in the centre were designed to divert the atten- tion of the enemy from the left division, that was commanded by General Wolfe, and was to make a sudden and fierce attack at a moment when they were least prepared to receive it. Before the boats had reached the shore, five frigates and some other ships of war opened a fire not only on the cen- tral, but on the right and left divisions, raking them in front and flank with such effect that it soon became apparent that no feint could avail anything in such a crisis ; and that the only course to be pursued was to press toward the land. Still, the order of the attack was pursued as it had been first planned, and Wolfe, after having received the shot from the ships for about fifteen minutes, brought the left division, with little loss, near the shore. The French reserved their shot until the boats had almost touched the land, and then opened upon them a general discharge of musketry and cannon, that did fearful execution. Many of the boats were upset, — and others were dashed in pieces. While some of the troops were hurled overboard by the crushing stroke of the cannon- shot, or shattered to atoms, others in dismay leapt blindly into the sea and perished. General Wolfe, whose spirit always rose triumphant above the most stormy and dangerous crisis, imparting something of the fire of his own fearless soul to his men, pushed impetuously to the shore. As fast as they dis- embarked, they were formed in columns, and, marching in the face of the enemy's artillery and infantry, drove them from their entrenchments. The central division, moving to the left, dropped in behind that of Wolfe, and this was fol- lowed by the one upon the right ; so that, had they been marching upon firm ground the English could not have moved in more admirable order.*
The garrison of Louisbourg consisted of two thousand five hundred regulars, and six hundred militia, and was under
* Trumbull, ii. 388.
74 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
the command of the Chevalier de Drucourt, a brave and veteran officer.* Aside from the strength of the fortress, its harbor was guarded by five ships of the fine, a fifty gun ship, and five frigates — three of which were sunk across the mouth of the basin. f On account of these gruff" neighbors, the Enghsh had been compelled to land at a distance from the town, and even as it was, they proved very annoying and did much mischief to the boats that were employed in getting ashore the tents, stores, and artillery. Even after the army, with the necessary equipments, was landed, it was no easy matter to bring their guns to bear upon the fort. The ground, in some places rough, in others was wet and miry ; and the French fought with great courage, resisting the advances of the besiegers at every step. But, calm as the fortress that frowned upon him, Amherst kept his steady purpose, and Wolfe, with fiery haste, overleaping such obstacles as he could not sweep away, never faltered in his aim or flagged in his efforts. By the 12th of June he had taken possession of the light-house battery and was master of all the posts in that quarter. On the 25th, he had silenced the island-bat- tery ; but still the enemy kept up a constant fire upon him from the ships until the 21st of July. At last, the explosion of a shell set fire to a large ship, that soon blew up and involved two others in the same fate. Admiral Boscawen, to avail himself to the full extent of this lucky accident, sent six hundred men in boats to get possession of two ships of the line that still secured the harbor to the enemy. In the face of a murderous fire both of artillery and musketry, this daring feat was accomplished. One of the French ships was burned up and the other was towed off" in triumph. J This gallant exploit was conducted by two young captains, Laforey and Balfour, § and is worthy of a more minute description than seems to belong to this narrative. It v/as decisive of the victory. The English had now the undis- puted possession of the harbor, the town was in many places
* Holmes, ii. 80. t Graham, iv. 27 ; Holmes, ii. 80.
i Graham, iv. 28 ; Holmes, ii. 81 5 Trumbull, ii. 389. § Trumbull.
[1758.] TICOXDEROGA AXD CROWN POINT. 75
consumed, and the walls were sadly shattered at several points of attack.
The next morning, the governor proposed terms of capitula- tion. The garrison, consisting of five thousand six hundred and thirty- seven men, was delivered into the hands of the English, with two hundred and twenty-one cannon, eighteen mortars, and an ample supply of stores and ammunition. St. John's was surrendered with Louisbourg, and thus were the English again masters of the coast from the mouth of the St. Lawrence to Nova Scotia.*
I have thought it necessary to describe this second siege of Louisbourg that the reader might better see all the relations of this campaign, in which Connecticut acted so conspicuous a part.
While yet the fate of Louisbourg hung in doubtful scales, the expedition against Ticonderoga and Crown Point, under General Abercrombie, was begun with as much zeal as it had been the preceding year. On the 5th of July the general embarked his army at the southern landing of Lake George. It was a formidable array, consisting of sixteen thousand men — of whom the provinces, in addition to the troops that they had raised and sent forward for the siege of Louisbourg, had furnished more than nine thousand able-bodied soldiers. One hundred and twenty-five whale boats and nine hundred batteaux were employed to transport this army and the large train of artillery and baggage that had been provided by the munificence of the British government and the generous
* Holmes, ii. 81. In effecting this conquest, upwards of four hundred of the assailants were either killed or wounded. " The garrison lost upwards of fifteen hundred men ; and the town was left almost an heap of ruins." The colors captured at Louisbourg were carried to England, and were conveyed with great pomp from Kensington to St. Paul's Cathedral, London, and a form of thanks- giving was ordered to be used in all the churches in England. In New England also the joy was great, and was celebrated by a public thanksgiving.
The inhabitants of Cape Breton were carried to France in English ships ; but the garrison, sea-officers, sailors, and marines, amounting as stated in the text to five thousand six hundred and thirty-seven, were carried as prisoners to England. Rider's Hist, xliii. 127, 135 j Wright's Hist. i. 95, 103 ; Graham, iv. 29.
76 HISTOKY OF CONNECTICUT.
sacrifice of the colonies.* There were several rafts, also, on which cannon were mounted to ensure a safe landing.
Early the next morning they landed in good order and without any show of resistance on the part of the enemy, and, having formed in four columns, began their march for Ticonderoga. They placed themselves under the direction of guides who were but ill-qualified to conduct them through the dense woods, and, before they had proceeded far on their way, the troops were so lost and so encumbered by bushes that they fell into disorder and mingled their columns together as helplessly as a herd of wild deer when surrounded by a circle of huntsmen. The advanced guard of the French, who had been stationed near the lake shore and had fled on the approach of the English army, had also mistaken the way, and fallen into a like confusion ; and thus by mere accident these hostile troops fell in with each other. This guard con- sisted of about five hundred French regulars and a few Indians, and soon opened a random fire upon the left of the English army.f
Lord Howe, who was marching in front of the centre when he heard the discharge of muskets, turned suddenly to Major Putnam, who was near him, and said abruptly, "Putnam, what means that firing?"
"I know not' — but with your lordship's leave I will see," answered the Connecticut ranger.
"I will accompany you," returned the nobleman.
"My lord," said Putnam earnestly, "if /am killed, the loss of my life will be of little consequence ; but the preservation of yours is of infinite importance to the army."
This appeal, so affectionate and so evincive of the idolatry with which the whole army worshipped him, touched the chords of sympathy in the nobleman's chivalrous soul, without shaking his purpose.
"Putnam," he added with emotion, "your life is as dear to you as mine is to me. I am determined to go."J
* Graham, iv. 29. t Holmes, ii. 82 ; Graham, iv. 30.
X Humphreys' Life of Putnam, 49, 50.
[1758.] DEATH OF LOllD HOWE. 77
His voice and look were not to be misinterpreted. Put- nam ordered one hundred of his men to file oti' with Lord Howe in the direction of the enemy. They soon met the left flank of the French advanced guard, by whose first fire his lordship fell dead.
The British regulars, confused by the darkness of the woods from whose labyrinths they could find no way of escape, and unused to contend with an enemy that they could not see, were thrown into utter consternation. Put- nam and the other provincial officers, who knew the modes of Indian warfare too well to be frightened at the terrible yells that now made the woods and the welkin ring, rallied the colonial troops who covered the flank of the regulars, and soon put the enemy to flight. Cutting his way through the ranks of the French, Putnam, with his little party, and several other small companies, attacked them in the rear with such impetuosity that they soon scattered. They left three hun- dred men dead upon the field, and one hundred and forty- eight w'ere taken captive.*
The fall of Lord Howe was a heavy blow to the army, especially to the colonial soldiers. From his first arrival in America he had conformed to all the usages of the countrv, and had submitted to all the deprivations incident to the lot of the provincial troops. He cut his own hair short, and fitted his clothing with reference to usefulness and activity, rather than to display ; and divested himself of every super- fluous article of camp equipage. f Of course, his regiment, who almost adored him, imitated his example, and were proud to appear no better clad than the provincials, as long as their commander was as plainly attired as Putnam. Lord Howe's manners were suited to all these outward appearances. He was affable and courteous as well'to the American as to the British officers and soldiers, not from a desire to win popu- larity, but rather from the spontaneous flow of a nature that can afford, from the prodigality of its endowments and from a happy modulation of their harmonies, to depart from the
* Humphreys' Life of Putnam, 51. f Humphreys.
78 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
common track of rank and station and regulate its course by loftier influences peculiar to itself, that are at once instinctive and infallible "^
Putnam, whose humanity and almost womanly tenderness were as conspicuous a part of his moral nature as his honesty and courage, lingered on the field until nightfall to see after the wants of such of the enemy as had been left there wounded and suffering. He gathered these wretches into one place, covered them with blankets, gave them liquor and such little delicacies as he had provided for his own men, and attended them with as much tearful anxiety as a mother watches over the sick bed of her children. As he was ministering to the w^ants of a French officer in this way, placing him in an easy position against the trunk of a tree, the wounded man, who could no longer repress some demonstration of his gratitude, unable as he was to speak, grasped his protector silently by the hand.
"Depend upon it, my brave soldier," said Putnam, "you shall be brought to the camp as soon as possible, and the same care shall be taken of you as if you were my brother."
If the poor fellow lived until the next morning, he probably shared the fate of the other wounded, all of whom Major Rog- ers, who had been sent to reconnoitre the field and take the disabled to the camp as Putnam had desired, killed in cold blood, rather than have the trouble of removing them.f This truly murderous deed is not to be mitigated from any consideration of policy, and must be regarded by us as it was by Putnam and the other provincial officers, as an indelible stain upon the character of a brave man. J
After the death of Lord Howe, the army returned to the landing-place, where they arrived about eight o'clock in the morning. §
* Lord Howe was a brother of Sir William Howe who commanded the British army in America during the Revolution. His lordship was but thirty-four years old when killed. The General Court of Massachusetts caused a monument to be erected to his memory in Westminster Abbey, at a cost of £250.
t Humphreys, 51, 52. t Holmes ; Trumbull.
§ It is difficult to ascertain precisely how many Connecticut troops were engaged
[1758.] COL. bradstreet's makceuvre. 79
On the 7th of July, Colonel Bradstreet was sent with a detachment to take possession of a saw-mill that stood about two miles from Ticonderoga. As this place had been abandoned by the enemy, the feat was easily accomplished. General Abercrombie had been informed that the actual force at the fort was about six thousand men, and that a reinforce- ment of three thousand was soon expected. He judged it expedient, therefore, to make the attack as speedily as possi- ble. With this view he sent his engineer to inspect the forti-
with Abercrombie on and near Lake George. From the " orderly book" of Col. Whiting, of the 2d regiment, I ascertain that he, Colonels Lyman, Fitch, and Wooster, were in that vicinity with their troops, during the unfortunate campaign against Ticonderoga. And as Major Putnam who figured conspicuously there, belonged to the 3d regiment, we are led to infer that there were three or four Connecticut regiments under Abercrombie.
This " orderly book" of Colonel Whiting, which is still in possession of his descendant, Major Jason Whiting, of Litchfield, contains many interesting en- tries— the first being dated at Green Bush, June 12, 1758, and the last at Lake George, October 9, 1758. On the 21st of June, is an order from General Aber- crombie that the regiments of Colonels Pribbels, Ruggles, and Bagley, are to re- main at Fort Edward : those of Colonels Nichols, Wm. Williams, and Doughty, are to remain at Fort Miller ; those of Colonels Whiting and Fitch, are to garri- son at Saratoga ; and those of Colonels Wooster and Lyman, are to garrison at Still- water; one company of each of the nine regiments " will march with all expedi- tion to the lake."
On the 25th of June, Abercrombie declares the capitulation of Fort William Henry null and void, because the enemy had broken its terms "by murdering, pillaging, and captivating" many of his majesty's subjects; and the officers and soldiers embraced in said capitulation are commanded to serve in the same man- ner as if it had never been made. If any of said officers or soldiers, falling into the enemy's hands, are treated with violence, he threatens to retaliate upon such prisoners as are or may be in his hands.
Early in July, preparations are making for embarking on the lake 5 the boats, batteaux, provisions, medicine chests, are ordered to be in readiness ; the precise manner and order of proceeding, after embarkation, is agreed upon, and also, the order of forming and marching, and the mode of forming the line of battle.
On the 10th, (after the disastrous attempt upon Ticonderoga, Col. Whiting orders all commanders of companies to call over the roll, and make return of " the killed^ wounded^ and missing,''^ distinguishing between the officers and privates. The " present strength of each regiment" is to be speedily ascertained ; orders are issued concerning the wounded ; the number of arms, blankets, and knapsacks lost, is to be ascertained, &c.
Col. Whiting was an efficient and popular officer, an excellent disciplinarian, and a good man.
80 HISTOEY OF CONNECTICUT.
fication and report to him its condition and probable strength. That officer, probably without going within cannon shot of the works, reported that the walls were weak and could easily be carried without the aid of artillery.* The general fell in with this suggestion at once. A glance at the locality will suffice to show how fool-hardy was this advice. Ticonderoga, surrounded on three sides by the waters of the lake, was still more thoroughly protected on the fourth by a deep morass that stretched far back from the shore, while the remainder of the land side, and indeed the only part of it that could be easily assailed, was guarded with an embankment eight feet high, well mounted with artillery. For a space of about twenty rods in front of this line, the marshy plain was covered with vast forest trees, that had been cut and rolled together with their tops interwoven and projecting outward and sharpened to a point, so that, had the guns of the French been silenced, it would have been impossible for the best disciplined troops in the world to have marched over the ground thus obstructed without breaking their ranks and climbing over the tree tops. The attempt to take such a place with muskets, therefore, when a fine train of artillery could have been brought to the spot in a few hours, bespeaks the incapacity of Abercrombie to control the destinies of a large army, even more than it indicated his inactivity in the preceding campaign.
Where the attack was made, even field-pieces could have availed little without first removing the outworks. Never did troops rush upon their destruction with more desperate resolution. For four long hours were the British regulars exposed to the murderous fire of the French, that mowed down their ranks in platoons, while they stood helpless and without the power of harming the enemy. f The French marksmen could range at will behind their regular works or under the screen of the fallen trees, and select their men with as much security as they could have shot squirrels from the tops of the same trees had they been standing. Every
"*Graliam, iv. 31 ; Holmes, ii. 82. f Trumbull.
[1758.] THE REPULSE. 81
part of this ill-contrived attack seemed to vie with every other in clumsiness and folly. Had the provincials been placed in front, where every man might to a degree have exercised his discretion and fought under a leader of his own choice, in the irregular way that suited the nature of the ground and their habits of woodland warfare, they might have scaled the outworks, and, attacking the garrison in the rear, driven them from their retreat. Instead of this, the British troops, ignorant of any other discipline than the old one of standing still and shooting the enemy or being shot by them, w^ere placed between the French and the provincials, who, having been stationed in the rear, soon became maddened with the shock of a battle in which they were not allowed to mingle, and in the hurry and fury of their excite- ment, turned their guns upon the British troops and did some execution before their officers could make them aware of the fatal mistake.
Major Putnam, who acted as aid, evinced great skill and judgment in this crisis, checking the impetuosity of the colonial troops, and bringing the regiments one after another into a condition where their marksmen might harm the enemy without injuring their friends. The Connecticut soldiers behaved with great valor, and left the marks of their forest discipline in the skulls of many of the French, whose heads were alone visible above the breastworks. .
But it was impossible for the invading army to withstand this dreadful shock any longer. Already four hundred and sixty-four British regulars and eighty-seven provincials lay dead upon the field ; while eleven hundred and seventeen regulars and two hundred and eighty-nine provincials were wounded.* The loss sustained by Connecticut was very severe.
* General Abercrombie's return estimates the number of killed, wounded, and missing, at nineteen hundred and forty-one. Almost half of the Highland regi- ment, commanded by Lord John Murray, with twenty-five of its officers, were either killed or dangerously wounded. The loss of the enemy was inconsiderable. Holmes, ii. 83.
38
82 HISTORY OF CONKECTICUT.
It was necessary to abandon the attack and withdraw the army. Still, the condition of General Abercrombie, had he known how to avail himself of the advantages that it held out to him, was far from discouraging. He had at the land- ing, only a little way from the fort, an admirable train of artillery that could have been brought to bear upon the for- tress, in spite of the roughness of the road, in a short time, had he manifested half the resolution shown bv the officers
a/
and soldiers of Connecticut at the first siege of Louisbourg. His large army, numbering nearly fourteen thousand effec- tive men, could of course easily be removed to a safe locality, where the handful of French and Indians who had been so powerful behind their entrenchments, would not dare to attack them. He had plenty of provisions, and could therefore choose his time for the second attempt upon Ticonderoga with all the precautions and guards necessary to ensure suc- cess. Putnam and the other provincial officers earnestly desired him to make this attack, and had he done so, there can be no doubt that within the space of a week the defenses of the enemy would have been swept away, and the garrison with all its munitions would have fallen an easy prey into his hands,
#
Putnam saw at a glance, before the commencement of this engagement, what would be its probable termination. He saw that there were along the extended line of the enemy several weak points that might be easily approached under cover of the woods, and that the number of the British army was so great that it would be easy to distract the French by making the attack from more than one point at the same time. He saw, too, that the place where the assailing army was ordered to advance, was the best defended part of the works, and afforded the best protection to the enem}^ Hav- ing seen his worst anticipations realized in the unhappy repulse that followed, and observing the high eminences com- manding the fort that might easily be scaled, as well as the fastnesses of the woods that would enable the army to sur-
*Trumbun 5 ITumphreys ; Graham.
[1758.] ABERCROMBIE RETREATS. 83
round the garrison should they venture from behind their entrenchments, he heard with ill-suppressed indignation the orders to sound a hasty retreat, more inconsiderate and ill- timed if possible, than the attack itself had been. This feel- ing of indignation was shared by all the colonial troops. They considered themselves more than adequate to conquer the enemy, even should the reinforcements that were so con- fidently expected by General Abercrombie to arrive at the fort, be added to the three thousand men already there. This feeling was unanimous both among the officers and soldiers of the provincial troops.* Yet, without consulting Putnam or any other colonial officer, the general, who had not been within sight of the battle-field since the commence- ment of the action, and who had remained snugly quartered at the mill two miles from the place where the slaughter of his men had made the whole ground red wnth blood, or without so much as venturing forth after the battle to see whether something might not yet be done to retrieve his sinking fortunes, lost no time in drawing off his army ; and so anx- ious was he to "add wings" to the speed of this precipitate movement, that he did not even stop at the shore or pause to look behind him, until the waters of the lake were fairly in- terposed between his large army and the garrison of three thousand men at Ticonderoga !f
General Abercrombie by this shameful defeat, and the re- treat that followed it, sunk so low in public estimation that he was seldom spoken of by the provincial soldiers in any
* Trumbull, ii. 392.
tThe repulse of the English at Ticonderoga took place July 8, 1758, and the retreat, July 9. On the 10th, the following entries occur in Col. AVbiting's orderly book (in addition to those already quoted :) " The general thanks the officers and soldiers for their gallant behavior at the French lines, of which the commanding officers of corps are to take care that their men are informed."
" A return to be given in at tattoo this night of the number of officers and men sent to Fort Edward, and of those remaining to be sent to-morrow. As a part of the provisions in the batteaux are in bad condition, the whole is to be unloaded," &c.
The captains are to see that their men have provisions and are refreshed ; but they are cautioned not to " take advantage of the general confusion''^ and obtain more than a supply for a single day.
84 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
other terms than those of contempt. They no longer called him General Abercrombie, but substituted for his title the very provoking one of "Mrs. Nabbycrombie." This allusion to petticoats was not of course openly made, but it was none the less efficacious for being secret, and had the keen edge that ridicule always has when directed toward men in high places whose character and conduct are assailable. Even that noble enterprise resulting in the capture of Fort Fron- tenac, a fortress situated on the northern bank of the St. Lawrence and commanding the entrance of that river from Lake Ontario, as it had been projected by Colonel Bradstreet,* a provincial officer, and carried into effect almost exclusively by provincial troops — took away nothing from the distrust with which the British general was regarded, and the scorn that attended him wherever he went. The splendid victory of General Forbes, at Fort Du Quesne, that followed the de- feat at Ticonderoga, and the brilliant exploits of Amherst and Wolfe, that preceded it, only made his incompetency for the trust that had been reposed in him still more glaringly apparent to the world.
In the month of August, Major Rogers,! and Major Put-
* This efficient officer, a native of Massachusetts, was appointed Lieut-Governor of St. John's, Newfoundland, in 1746 ; served with success through all the French and Indian wars in this country; and was made a major general in 1772. He died in New York, Oct. 21, 1774.
By the capture of Fort Frontenac, sixty cannon, sixteen small mortars, and an immense quantity of provisions and goods, fell into the hands of the English, to- gether with nine armed vessels. It gave to the captors once more the communi- cation between Albany and Oswego, and the command of Lake Ontario. " This fort," says Rogers, " was square faced, had four bastions built with stone, and was nearly three quarters of a mile in circumference." Besides commanding the entrance to the lake, it was the grand magazine for supplying Niagara, Du Quesne, and all the enemy's southern and western garrisons.
t Major Robert Rogers, whose name is so intimately connected with the history of the French and Indian wars in America, was the son of James Rogers, an Irishman, who was an early settler of Dunbarton, N. H. Having served as com- mander of "Rangers" for many years, he was appointed governor of Michilli- mackinac in 1766 •, but being accused of a plot for plundering the fort and join- ing the French, he was carried in irons to Montreal, and was there tried by court martial. He joined the enemy in the Revolution. He visited London two or
[1758.] FIKING AT A MARK. 85
nam, were sent with six hundred men to watch the motions of the French near Ticonderoga. When they arrived at South Bay they separated, Rogers taking his position on Wood Creek, with one half of the men, and Putnam, remov- ing twelve miles distant from him with the other half Soon after this they were discovered by the enemy and re-united their forces with an intention of returning to Fort Edward. They marched through the woods in three divisions, the right commanded by Rogers, the left by Putnam, and the centre by Capt. D'Ell. The first night they pitched their camp on the bank of the Clear river near the ruins of Fort Ann. The next morning. Major Rogers and a British officer whose name was Irwin fell into some debate about their rela- tive merits as marksmen, and, to settle the question of superiority, indulged in the imprudence of firing at a mark. Putnam was much opposed to this dangerous amusement, and expressed his disapprobation of it, as likely to attract the attention of the enemy who were lurking in the neigh- borhood.*
A copious dew had fallen during the night, and this delayed the army from beginning their march at as early an hour as they would otherwise have done. As soon as they were able to move forward they formed themselves in one body with Putnam in the front, D'Ell in the centre, and Rogers in the rear. Putnam had anticipated an ambuscade, and urged the adoption of this order in their march, as the dense growth of shrubs and bushes that had sprung up out of the ashes of the old trees that had been cleared away some years before, impeded their movements and afforded a cover for the French should they be anxious to improve this favorable opportunity of lying in wait for them.
While they were forming in marching order, Molang, a French partizan of great celebrity, who had been sent out with five hundred men to intercept the party under Rogers
three times, and there pubhshed " A Concise History of North America," and a " Journal of the French War," 1765.
* Humphreys.
86 HISTOEY OF CONNECTICUT.
and Putnam, and who had been attracted by the report of the guns in the woods, was lying in ambuscade for them in a well selected covert not more than a mile and a half from their camp. Marching cautiously in front of his men, Put- nam was just emerging from the bushes and passing under the shadows of the primitive forest-trees whose great trunks stood up tall and gray in the dim light of the wilderness whence not even the meridian sun could quite banish the gloom, when the crack of musketry upon the right of his division, mingled with the yells and whoops of Indians, told him that he was not mistaken in his anticipations of mischief. He instantly sounded a halt and returned the fire of the enemy, and then ordered the other divisions to advance and support him. Captain D'Ell came at his call. The firing, at first straggling and irregular between man and man, soon grew to be of a more extended and general character. It was one of those savage conflicts that mark that era of wild strife, in which Putnam was as well fitted to mingle as in the open and hard fought fields of the revolution.
He proved himself worthy of the occasion. Finding that he could not cross the Creek, he resolved to stand his ground and die, or drive the French from their position. There was a galvanizing power in the look, voice, and action of Putnam, that always acted upon everybody who came within the sphere of his influence. His officers and soldiers felt it alike, and fought around him in squads or single combat as the nature of the ground would permit, with a determination that could be equalled only by the ferocity of their adversaries. Sometimes they took deliberate aim from behind the trees ; at others, sallying out into little open spaces they aimed at each other's skulls with the tomahawk, the club, and the scarcely less ponderous stock or barrel of the musket. Within a few feet of each other, might be seen a solitary Indian strip- ping the scalp-lock from his enemy as a trophy, and a des- perate brace of combatants rolling among the dry leaves in the agonies of the death-struggle.*
* Humphreys. The subjoined pithy extract from Colonel Whiting's orderly
[1758.] ROGERS DESERTS PUTNAM. 87
The Connecticut soldiers who were present at the battle, fought with the most determined valor, as appears by memo- rials now on file in the department of state, memoranda made by the officers present, entries upon the fly leaves of old books still uneflaced, and by the testimony of those who participated in the fight, many of whom were living from thirty to forty years ago.*
The officers as well as the privates were obliged to mingle in this promiscuous conflict and fight with their hands to guard their own throats. Putnam soon found himself in a position that would have appalled a man of less courage. He looked in vain for Rogers, who had been the author of the mischief, to come to his relief. Rogers had no intention of interfering in behalf of his friends, and contented himself with falling between Putnam's men and Wood Creek to pro- tect their rear, as he afterw^ards said, in answer to some im- putations that were cast upon his extraordinary conduct.
Finding himself thus deserted, Putnam made up his mind to sell his life at as dear a rate as he could. Several times, with the same deliberate aim that silenced the howling of the
book is well worthy of preservation : " The general thanks the officers and men who went out with majors Rogers and Putnam, captains Deal [D'EU,] and Deleel, for their good behavior in the action, and hopes that they are fully satisfied that the Indians are a despicable enemy to those that will do their duty.''''
*The late Colonel Bezaleel Beebe, of Litchfield, (who died in 1824,) was a member of INIajor Rogei's' corps of " Rangers" in this campaign. During one of the " forest-fights," when the rangers were dispersed by order of their commander, and each man was fighting, in true Indian fashion, from behind a tree, Beebe chanced to be stationed near Lieutenant Gaylord, also from Litch- field county. He had just spoken to Gaylord, and at the moment was looking him in the face for a reply, when he observed a sudden break of the skin in his forehead, and the lieutenant instantly fell dead — a ball from the enemy having passed through his head.
Peter Wooster, of Derby, in a memorial to the legislature, states that he, " be- ing an ensign in Colonel Whiting's regiment at Wood Creek, on the 8th of Au- gust, [1758,] had six musket halls shot through him ; his left elbow, wrist, and hand broken to pieces by the blows of a hatchet, and had nine blows oil the head with a hatchet, till he was killed, as the enemy supposed — on which they scalped and stripped him^ and left him on the ground ; that being taken up by his friends, he has recovered a considerable degree of health, but that his arms are so dis- abled as to prevent his working." [The Assembly granted him £40.j
88 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
wolf in the cave, he discharged his carbine with fatal effect. While the French and Indians were thus indiscriminately falling before him, a tall athletic warrior approached him in a menacing attitude. Putnam thrust the muzzle of his piece sternly against the breast of the savage, and snapped it. It missed fire. Springing upon him with the yell of a demon, the Indian, with his tomahawk uplifted, forced him to yield. He secured his prisoner fast to a tree, and then hastened back to spread the tidings and mingle again in scenes so congenial to his nature, and so well suited to his mode of life.*
Captains D'Ell and Harman now commanded. They soon fell back a little to gain a better footing. The French and Indians, elated with their success and thinking that the rangers were retreating, now charged upon them with redoubled cries, that filled the woods with unearthly echoes ; but D'Ell and Harman soon rallied their yet remaining handful of desperate men, and turning upon them, drove them beyond the spot where the battle had commenced. Here the enemy again made a stand. This shifting of the ground brought Putnam directly between the fire of both parties. The balls flew like hailstones from either hand, as if the tree to which the prisoner was bound had been the common target for his friends and his foes. Some passed through the sleeves, and others through the skirts of his coat, whistling in his ears and rat- tling among the limbs over his head and on either side of him.
In this horrible condition, while the battle still hung in trembling scales, for nearly an hour did he remain in the momentary expectation of death, — yet without the power to move his body or his limbs. Still the monotony of his situa- tion was relieved by episodes of a very exciting character. At a moment when fortune appeared to favor the French, a young Indian warrior discovered Putnam in this helpless attitude. With a refinement of cruelty often practiced in those wars, instead of killing the wretched man at a blow, he
* Holmes, ii. 85.
[1758.] SUFFEKINGS OF PUTNAM. 89
prepared to test the strength of his nerves by hurling a toma- kawk as near his head as possible without hitting it. Again and again did the weapon pass almost within a hair's breadth of the prisoner's head and lodge quivering in the bark of the tree to which he was bound.
Soon after this amusement was over, a French officer came up to Putnam, and pointing a fuzee within a foot of his heart, snapped it, but it missed fire. Putnam explained to him that he was a captive, and claimed the rights due to him as such by the rules of war. He might as well have asserted them in the ear of the savage who had just left him. Several times the Frenchman pushed the muzzle of his piece with violence against the ribs of the prisoner, and, after giving him a brutal blow upon the jaw with the heavy end of it, left him.
At last the victory that would, with the aid of Rogers, have been so easy, was won without him by the bravery of the other rangers, and the enemy retreated from the field with their prisoner. lie was stripped of his clothing, loaded with packs, and with his wrists tied as closely together with a cord as they could be strained, was forced to march many miles over rough and tedious paths, before he was allowed to stop even to get breath. His hands were now so swollen with the tightness of the ligature as to be scarcely recogniz- able as parts of the human frame, and the blood dropped fast from his naked feet where the briers and brambles had pierced them. Agonized with pain, he entreated an Irish in- terpreter to beg of his tormentors that they should knock him on the head at once or cut the thongs from his hands.
After a brief interval of rest he was ordered to renew his march. The Indians inflicted upon him every outrage that they could devise. He carried to the day of his death the marks of a blow that one of them wantonly gave him upon his left cheek with a tomahawk.*
One day while plodding on at a tired and weary rate, he was led into a dark forest. Here the Indians made a halt. It was soon quite obvious to Putnam what was their design.
* Holmes, ii. 85.
90' HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
They stripped him even of the few articles of Indian clothing that had been substituted for his own, lashed him fast to a tree, and piled up dry branches in a circle around him, keep- ing up all the while a discordant and horrible funeral dirge, such as might be only fitted for the obsequies of a demon, did evil spirits need the last rites that are accorded to mortals. They then set fire to the fuel. A sudden fall of rain extin- guished it. With looks of murder glaring in their eyes they stooped down to rekindle it. At last it triumphed over its adverse element, and, coiling itself like a serpent, ran hissing around the circle. Finally, it streamed up in a broad blaze, and sent into the vitals of the victim its forked tongues of flame. Bound fast as he was, he could only writhe his body from side to side as the heat grew more intense. This sign of suffering was greeted by the Indians with yells of delight. As it now appeared certain that this was his last hour, he resolved to die like a man and a christian. He summoned all his resolution, and such was his power of will that in full view of the awful solemnities of another world, and in the recollection of domestic endearments never to be renewed, he w^as able to forget the presence of the fire that was con- suming his body, and of those who kindled it. Even the bitterness of death was over, and nature had now little else to do than yield to a change that was merely mechanical. As if by a voice that was meant to pierce the depths of the grave, the hero was suddenly called back to the realities of this world. Its tones were those of salvation. It was the voice of that gallant Frenchman and partizan, Molang. He brushed aside the inquisitors, leapt over the circle of flame, unbound the captive, and restored him to his old master.*
This was one of the many hardships that beset Putnam during his captivity. He was taken to Ticonderoga and put under the care of a French guard. Here he had an inter-
* I have in another work, for purposes of fiction, described a scene borrowed from this awful reality. This story of Putnam needs no confirmation. Those who would know more of the details of his sufferings on this march, can find them in Gen. Humphreys' life of him, p. 63. Holmes, ii. 85.
[1758.] SCHUYLER AXD PUTNAM. 91
view with the Marquis de Montcalm, who placed him in the custody of an officer and ordered him to be conducted to Canada. When he arrived at Montreal, Colonel Peter Schuy- ler, then a prisoner there, called upon the interpreter to learn if he had a provincial major in his keeping. In what condi- tion he found him, without a coat, waistcoat, or stockings, his face gashed and bruised, his body and limbs torn with thorns and blistered with heat, I will forbear to tell. The memorial alluded to in the following note, copied from the colonial records, has reference to this captivity.*
I have dwelt more fully than usual upon the details of this campaign that the reader may see how much our ances- tors suffered before the American revolution was thought of, in battles that have almost faded from the recollection of most men, who, in the cares of the office or of the counting- house, have forgotten to be grateful for the liberties that their fathers won for them and consummated by the shedding of blood.
Although the expedition against Ticonderoga had failed, yet when the campaign of 1758 was brought to a close, it was found that much had been done towards breaking down the French power in the west. Not only had Louisbourg been taken, but Fort Du Quesne had finally fallen into the hands of the English, and, under the new name of Fort Pitt, a flag with a new devise waved from its embankments, giving the waters of the Ohio a new master and preparing the way for the capture of Quebec.
* '' Memorial of Israel Putnam^ of Pomfiet, showing that some time in the month of August last, he being then in the service of this colony, had the mis- fortune to be taken prisoner and carried to Canada, where he continued for the space of three months and suffered much hardship, and was obliged to expend about sixty guineas for his necessary support ; praying that this assembly would order said sum to be refunded to him as per petition on file.
"The assembly ordered that seventy pounds lawful money be paid said Putnam."
The capture of Fort Frontenac, affording occasion for an exchange of prisoners, Major Putnam was set at liberty.
CHAPTER IV.
CAMPAIGNS 02 1759 AND 1760.
The sea-coast and the southern frontier were now won, and the way was open to the vitals of Canada. The British minister resolved at one shock to stop the flow of her blood / in all its avenues. As soon as the St. Lawrence should be free of ice in the spring, General Wolfe was ordered to advance with an army of about eight thousand men, accom- panied by a squadron of ships, and lay siege to Quebec, while General Amherst, with twelve thousand regulars and provin- cials, was to renew the project that had so often been foiled through the cowardice or imbecility of the British command- ers, of driving the enemy from Ticonderoga and Crown Point. After accomplishing this long desired object, he was expected to pass down the Sorel river to the St. Lawrence, and form a union with Wolfe at Quebec. Another branch of this great enterprise was committed to the hands of Brigadier General Prideaux, who, with the New York pro- vincials under Sir William Johnson, and the warriors of the five nations, was to reduce Niagara. He was then instruc- ted to embark on Lake Ontario, drop down the St. Lawrence, and take possession of Montreal. It was hoped that these several strongholds of the French would all be subdued so early in the season that there would yet be time for all the troops to unite themselves under General Amherst, and bring into subjection the little that would then remain of Canada.*
To carry out this magnificent plan of operations, requisi- tions were again made upon the colonies to furnish respec- tively the same number of troops that they had done the year before. On the 9th of December, 1758, Mr. Pitt had written a letter to Governor Fitch calling for twenty thou-
* Holmes, ii. 88,
[1759.] FRESH TROOPS RAISED. 93
sand men from the colonies and as many more as they would furnish. Governor Fitch, in obedience to this requisition, on the 8th of March, 1759, convened the General Assembly of Connecticut, at Hartford. This letter, like all other com- munications from that great man, was frank in its avowal of the designs of the approaching campaign. It alluded to the successes of the last campaign, and expressed a fixed resolve to repair the loss that had been sustained by General Aber- crombie at Ticonderoga. It breathed a lofty spirit of confi- dence in the justice and ultimate triumph of the British cause.
The Assembly was disposed to respond liberally to this call ; yet, oppressed with debt as the people were, wasted in resources and thinned in numbers by the campaigns of the last four years, it was thought impracticable for the colony to raise and equip five thousand troops.* After a long debate, the following resolution was adopted :
" Resolved, That last year, animated by great zeal in his majesty's cause, this colony agreed to raise a larger body of men than it was able fully to complete, upon a diligent trial and exertion ; that many of our men have died or became unfit for the service ; that many of our inhabitants have lately enlisted as recruits to the king's regiments here ; and others are engaged in the batteaux and carrying service ; by all of which means our numbers are diminished and our strength and treasures exhausted ; yet that the great and salutary designs of his majesty may be promoted to the utmost of our ability, it is
" Resolved, That there be raised in this colony three thou- sand six hundred effective men, as soon as may be, for the service. "t
* Massachusetts also at first was unwilling to raise the same quota that she had furnished in 1758. She finally yielded to the exigencies of the campaign, and did all that was required of her.
fThe oflicers appointed were the following, viz : — Phineas Lyman, Esq., major general and colonel of the first regiment ; Nathan Payson, lieut. -colonel ; John Slapp, major. Second regiment — Nathan Whiting, colonel ; Joseph Spencer, lieut.-colonel j David Baldwin, major. Third regiment — David Wooster, colonel •,
94 HISTOKY OF CONNECTICUT.
It was also resolved that Bills of Credit should be issued to the amount of forty thousand pounds, at five per cent in- terest, payable on or before the 1st of March, 1764, to fill up the exhausted treasury ; while as a sinking fund for these bills, a tax was levied on the grand list of the colony of ten-pence on the pound, to be brought in, in October 1762, and collec- ted by the last day of December, 1763.*
The number of troops furnished by the Assembly, although it was more than the fair proportion that should have been expected from Connecticut, did not satisfy the zeal of Gov- ernor Fitch, and of many of the principal men in the colony, who, in consideration of putting an end to the war by a last decisive blow, were of the opinion that more soldiers should be sent into the field. Out of respect to these gentlemen, the Assembly finally added four hundred men to those already voted — making the aggregate four thousand. I
When the Assembly met at Hartford in the following May, the wishes of General Amherst were made known, that Con- necticut should furnish as large a force as she had done in the previous campaign. Governor Fitch seconded this request of the commander-in-chief with many earnest rea- sons, set forth with such warmth and clearness, that the representatives of the people, after reciting the details of the part that the colony had taken in this protracted struggle, generously resolved, that although " this Assembly is of opin- ion that the three thousand six hundred men voted and order- ed last March to be levied and raised for said service, with the encouragement then given for four hundred men more to enlist, is as many as the number of the inhabitants will
James Smedley, lieut. -colon el ; David Waterbury, major. Fourth regiment — Eleazer Fiteli, colonel ; Israel Putnam, lieut. -colonel ; John Durkee, major.
Commissaries — Thomas Chandler, Anthony Carpenter, David Seymour, and John Williams.
* Trumbull.
t Colony Records, MS. Allusion is made in the records to " seven chests of money" which " came per IVIr. Taggert, from Mr, Agent Partridge, for the account of the colony." Jared Ingersoll, esq., had, previous to this date, gone to England as the agent of the colony — Mr. Partridge being deceased.
[1759.] AMHERST PASSES LAKE GEORGE. 95
allow ; yet considering the very great importance of exert- ing ourselves in the present critical and decisive moment, for the security of our country, and from a deep sense of our duty to our king, and from the gratitude we owe to the king- dom of Great Britain for the great expense and succors sup- plied for the immediate defense and future safety of our rights and possessions in America, and humbly relying on the gracious assurances which the king was pleased to allow his secretary of state to give, that recommendations should be made to parliament to grant a reasonable compensation, as his colonies should appear to merit ; and that the zeal and ardor of the people may be enlivened and quickened to go forth in the defense and for the future safety of our country : and that all proper encouragements may be given and motives used to promote the raising of as many more men as can any way be induced to enlist themselves and engage in said ser- vice : It is resolved and enacted, that one thousand able bodied men, in addition to the four thousand afore-mentioned, be allowed to enlist into the service."*
The energy of the colony was also evinced in the speedy preparations that were made for carrying these resolves into execution. The colonies all vied with each other in this respect and joined General Amherst with great despatch. By the end of May, they had reached the head quarters at Albany. t The army of Amherst was first to open the cam- paign. In July, he passed Lake George without opposition. The Marquis de Montcalm, who was aware of the difference between the tactics and character of Amherst and those of Abercrombie, and who by this time was acquainted with the colossal plan of the British government for the campaign, had instructed the leader of the garrison not to run too great a risk of losing men whom he could ill afford to spare, but to retire, if necessary, and retreat towards Quebec, the centre
* Trumbull, ii. 399, 400. A bounty of seven pounds was offered to each man who would enlist ; and those who had been in the service the preceding year, and would enlist for this campaign, were to be allowed pay from December last.
t Holmes, ii. 88.
96 HISTOEY OF CONNECTICUT.
and heart of the French power, where, should it be neces- sary, a union might be effected and a last stand taken against the invaders. The commander, therefore, when he saw the English army advancing in good order, readily abandoned those lines that had proved so fatal to the troops of General Abercrombie, and withdrew into the interior of the fortifica- tion. It was on the 22d of July, when the English army arrived at the place, and although some resistance was made and the guns of the garrison were brought to bear upon the besiegers, yet little injury was done them beyond the loss of the gallant Colonel Townsend, who was killed by a cannon ball. On the 27th of July, they blew up their magazine and fled during the night to Crown Point. But their new retreat offered very few attractions to them, and on the 1st of August they again retired from the steady approach of the English general, and took refuge in a fort at Isle Aux Noix, on the northern extremity of Lake Champlain.
General Amherst sent forward his light rangers to take possession of Crown Point, and on the 4th of August he arrived there himself with the main body of the army.
Thus these two fortresses, that had cost the British and provincial governments an expenditure of so much blood and so much treasure, fell into the hands of this cautious yet brave military chieftain, almost without striking a blow.*
Still, the French, though driven from their old haunts, were formidable on Lake Champlain, and w^ere capable of working much harm to the British arms in that quarter. The garri- son, at Isle Aux Noix, under the command of Monsieur de Bourlemaque, numbered three thousand five hundred veteran men, was in a good position, well entrenched for defense, and was provided with an excellent train of artillery. Floating upon this long slender lake, where they could not be easily eluded, there were also four large French ships of war, well
* Mante, vi. 5, says, " In the acquisition of Ticonderoga, fifteen soldiers were killed, and about fifty wounded ; and Colonel Roger Townsend was killed by a cannon ball. His spirit and military knowledge entitled him to the esteem of every soldier ; and the loss of him, was universally lamented."
[1759.] AMHERST IS BLAMED. 97
mounted with cannon and manned with the piquets of several regiments. These ships were also admirably officered, and were commanded bv Monsieur La Bras, an old French naval officer of courage and experience.*
General Amherst did not deem it safe to advance toward Quebec until he had entirely driven the enemy from Lake Champlain. He therefore ordered Captain Loring, who had already built several vessels upon Lake George, to construct as speedily as he could, a sloop of sixteen guns, and a radeau eighty-four feet in length, that could carry six twenty-four pounders. t As it would be necessary to leave garrisons at Ticonderoga and Crown Point, and as the works at the former w^ere partially demolished, and at the latter were almost in ruins, he employed the army meanwhile in placing both these fortresses in a condition to defy all invasions from their old masters. Thus, instead of being dens for the shelter of those terrible scalping and marauding parties that had so long kept the English frontier in a state of alarm, they would prove sleepless guardians to watch over the settle- ments that were stretched along the whole northern border.
The amount of fatigue endured by the Connecticut troops during this summer, is almost incredible. They labored with the better heart, as they saw that a change had come over the fortunes of the two nations. Nor was the valor of her officers less commendable. After the sloop and the radeau had been completed, two of the enemy's vessels were destroyed. One of the principal and most daring actors in this enterprise was Colonel Putnam. J
It was a topic of some impatient remark at the time, that General Amherst was over-cautious in his operations upon Lake Champlain, and that he might have advanced upon Quebec in season to have shared in the glory of Wolfe's vic- tory, if not to have saved the life of that hero, had he not attributed too much importance to the movements of the enemy upon Lake Champlain. But when we consider the
* Trumbull, ii. 401. t Trumbull ; Graham.
J Humphreys. 39
98 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
long struggle that had preceded the flight of the French from Ticonderoga and Crown Point, the importance of those forti- fications, the necessity of obtaining the entire dominion of the waters of the lake that they in a good degree commanded, and the strength of the garrison still ready, as there was good reason to believe, to make a desperate stand at Isle Aux Noix, especially when we consider how fierce and sudden were the storms that convulsed the lake very early in the autumn months — we shall hardly blame the policy of the English general in doing thoroughly w^hat he had undertaken, although he was delayed so long that winter overtook him at Grown Point. He had succeeded in accomplishing a great and almost bloodless victory by means steady and certain as the wit of man could devise.
The army sent to besiege Niagara had been equally suc- cessful. General Prideaux had reached the fortress about the middle of July, and surrounded it with great skill. A few days after his arrival there, he was killed by the bursting of a cohorn ; and was succeeded in the command by that brave provincial chieftain, Sir William Johnson.* As soon as General Amherst learned of this accident, he sent General Gage from Ticonderoga, to take command of the beleaguering army. The French in the meantime, hoping to save this important post, sent detachments of men from forts Detroit, Yenango, and Presque Isle, amounting in all to about tw^elve hundred men, together v/ith a large body of Indians, to rein- force the garrison at Niagara. Aware of their approach. Sir William Johnson sent out his light infantry, with a body of grenadiers and other regulars, to occupy the road leading from Niagara Falls to the fort, and intercept the enemy as they should arrive. He also stationed parties of Indians along his flanks ; and to prevent an attack from the garrison at this critical time, ^he posted a large body of troops to guard his trenches. | Before the battle the Indians of the five nations who fought under Sir William Johnson, went out and proposed a conference with the Indians who marched
* Holmes, ii. 89. f Trumbull, ii. 402 ; Holmes, ii. 89, 90.
[1759.] ' FORT NIAGARA TAKEN. 99
in the train of the French army that was now close at hand. This proposition was rejected.
About nine o'clock in the morning, the Indians attached to the French reinforcement raised the war-cry, that most fearful of all notes that ever stirred contending armies to mingle in mortal conflict. Fearfully it rang above the roar of the mightiest of earth's cataracts, and echoed among the precipices and rifts of rock that keep in its shattered chan- nel the river that drains a succession of inland seas. But this terrible w^ar-crv, that had so often been the herald of defeat to British troops, was now a familiar sound to them, and fell upon the ear of the provincials and the brave war- riors of the five nations, as unheeded as the voice of deep calling unto deep from the chasm of the flood, that has been represented by a poet of Connecticut, as a " chronicler of the ages."* So well were the enemy met in front, and so galled on either flank by the warriors of the five nations, that in less than an hour their little army was totally ruined. f D'Aubry, its commander, and sixteen other officers, were taken prisoners, and the remnants of his broken companies were pursued through the woods for a distance of five miles,J with such slaughter that their way could literally have been tracked by the blood that stained it.
After the battle. General Johnson informed the leader of the garrison of his victory, and begged him to surrender while yet the fierce Indians who served under him and who had already tasted blood, were under his control. The pro- position was accepted, and thus the fort of Niagara, the con- necting link between Canada and Louisbourg, fell into the hands of the English.
While Amherst, with Putnam and other brave provincial officers, were driving the enemy from Ticonderoga and Crown Point, and destroying their vessels upon Lake Cham-
* See Brainard's "Falls of Niagara," one of the most sublime poems of its length in the English language. It has in it a sweep, majesty, and condensed power, worthy of the subject that inspired it.
+ Graham; Holmes. jGen, Johnson's Letter to Amherst. ,
100 HISTOEY OF CONNECTICUT.
plain ; and while Prideaux and Johnson, were engaged in reducing Niagara, thus cutting off the extremities of French colonial power upon the continent ; General Wolfe, with an army of eight thousand men, under convoy of an English fleet commanded by Admirals Saunders, Holmes, and Durel, proceeded up the St. Lawrence, and on the 2d of June, landed his army on the Isle of Orleans, a fine large island in the river a little below Quebec, teeming with inhabitants, abounding in grain and all the conveniences required for the support of his troops.
The attempt upon Quebec was considered the capital enter- prise of the campaign, and was committed to Wolfe, as the man most likely to accomplish whatever is within the range of human achievements. He had also under him some of the most daring officers whose names are recorded on the rolls of British fame. Among them were Brigadiers Monck- ton, Townsend, and Murray, all men of true genius, and fitted like their leader for the most delicate and dangerous crisis. Wolfe was himself a man of transcendant genius and lofty chivalry, of a temperament highly practical, possessing all the enthusiasm of the best Irish blood that flowed so largely in his veins, and all the enduring fidelity to a cause once espoused, that distinguishes the nation to whose historic pages he looked to perpetuate his fame.
The island where he was encamped, lying within full view of the fortress and of the precipitous river bank for miles, gave the English general a fair opportunity to calculate the chances of success.* A man differently moulded would have quailed before the prospect. Situated upon a peninsula formed by the meeting of the St. Lawrence and the St. Charles rivers, upon the brow of a rock that beetled over these streams and the country that lay spread like a map beneath ; well garrisoned and provisioned, Quebec seemed well fitted to keep watch and ward over the noblest of all navigable rivers, that was here so compressed that a cannon ball from the top of Cape Diamond could be
* Holmes, ii. 90.
[1759.] SITUATION OF QUEBEC. 101
made to do fatal execution bevond the brink of the southern shore.
Across the mouth of the St. Charles had been stretched a boom that was supposed to be a complete barrier, and the rocky channel of that stream was filled with armed vessels and floating batteries, while on its eastern bank, a large body of French troops with safe entrenchments were stationed aloncr the shore of the river to the Falls of Montmorenci.* The black skirts of a forest filled with all the savage tribes and more savage provincials that had enlisted under the banners of the French king, were in their rear, affording a covert as impervious as their lines seemed insur- mountable.
Above the town, the high rock, on which the city and for- tress were built, rose sheer and high along the St. Lawrence for a great distance, and formed what were called the Heights of Abraham. These heights also were guarded with troops. There was therefore no way of approach to the town except by crossing the St. Charles, or by passing up the river and scaling the rocky wall above described. f The English com- mander in addition to all these natural obstacles, had taken the field against Montcalm, the French nobleman, already re- ferred to, who had been trained to chivalry and the practice of arms, and had repeatedly met the British armies only to see them fly before him. He had also under his command a well trained army of ten thousand men, so that he might well have felt himself to be, in an open field without the aid of rock, river, or wood, more than a match for the invader whose forces he far outnumbered. Lookins^ out from his bold cliff like an eagle from his eyrie, the haughty marquis regarded with scorn the few tents that dotted, like so many white- fleeced lambs destined for his destruction, a little patch of the island that lay at his feet.
General Wolfe saw at a glance all the disadvantages that surrounded him. But obstacles to such a mind as his, often act as quickening influences to stimulate to daring deeds.
* Holmes j Trumbull ; Charlevoix. t Trumbull, ii. 405.
102 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
Nor were a natural desire to overcome difficulties and to discharge his duty as a soldier and a patriot, the only motives for exertion. Pride had her part to perform. The delays of the Earl of Loudoun, the cowardice of Webb, and the inefficiency of Abercrombie, incited him to exhibit to the world a brilliant and glorious contrast. The life-giving energy of Pitt, the great controlling spirit of the age, also acted upon his sensitive frame hke a powerful magnet, keep- ing his eye turned toward the pole-star of victory. No time was lost. He caused batteries to be erected on the west point of the Isle of Orleans and on Point Levi, upon the south- ern side of the river, whence he poured a continual and deadly fire upon the lower town.
Admiral Saunders seconded the operations of the army, having taken his station below the north channel of the Isle of Orleans opposite Montmorenci ; while Admiral Holmes passed up the river and took a position above the town, where he could distract the movements of the enemy and divert their attention from the batteries.
Wolfe nov/ resolved to cross the Montmorenci and bring Montcalm to an engagement. He landed thirteen companies of English grenadiers, and a part of the second battalion of royal Americans, at the mouth of that river. At the same time two divisions under Townsend and Murray, were ordered to cross it farther up the stream, where it was thought that its current could be forded. His object was to get pos- session of a redoubt near the shore, and thus bring on a for- mal engagement. The French resisted this bold mancevre with such success, that Wolfe was obliged to withdraw his troops to his encampment, after having lost five hundred of his bravest men.*
He now adopted other measures. He detached Murray with twelve hundred men in transports to join Admiral Holmes above the town in doing such damage as could be done to the French shipping, and to divide the attention of the enemy, by making attacks upon certain exposed points on
* Holmes, ii. 91.
[1759.] TLAN OF THE ATTACK. 103
the banks of the river. Murray finally succeeded in destroy- ing a valuable magazine at Chambaud, but neither he or the admiral could do any harm to the ships in their secure posi- tion. He returned, therefore, to the camp, bringing the in- telligence received from his prisoners, that Fort Niagara was reduced, and that General Amherst had driven the French from Ticonderoga and Crown Point, and was advancing to attack the army at Isle Aux Noix. Wolfe now saw that he could not be joined by General Amherst during that cam- paign, and that he must either abandon the siege before the winter, that was now fast pressing on, should make both fleet and army an easy prey to the enemy, or he must strike at once a decisive blow.*
A council of officers was held, in which it was proposed to remove the whole army up the river, and renew the attack above the town. The camp was deserted, and the army embarked on board the fleet and was landed in part at Point Levi, and the residue at a place further up the stream. For several days. Admiral Holmes played his ships along the northern shore in such a manner as to draw the enemy as far as possible from the fortress. To watch the fleet and pre- vent the landing of the troops, Montcalm sent fifteen hun- dred men from the camp under Bourgainville, to guard the northern shore. f Still he had little fear that so impractica- ble a thing would be attempted. Meanwhile, Wolfe was suffering from the most excruciating bodily infirmities. In his agony he ordered his three brigadiers to hit upon some plan of attack. These daring young noblemen, after con- sulting together, proposed to him that the river bank should be scaled in the night, and that the enemy should be drawn into a general engagement upon the plains of Abraham. J Even to those who now pass down the river and look up towards the frowning rocks, the project seems rather a crazed and giddy dream than a sober reality. The swiftness and power of the current, the ledgy shore, the narrowness of the landing, the appalling height of the cliff' bristling with senti-
* Holmes, ii. 91, 92. f Holmes. t Holmes, ii. 91.
104: HISTOEY OF CONNECTICUT.
nels ready at the sound of a rolling pebble, or the flitting of a bird's wing, to give the alarm, the army of veteran troops v^^ith a train of artillery that might be expected to meet them and sweep them back, should they ever reach the plain — all conspired with the darkness of the night to throw shades of doubt and discouragement upon this wild proposition. Am- herst, brave as he was, would have shrunk from it with hor- ror; and doubtless Scipio would have felt it to be a tempting of the gods. Wolfe, on the other hand, sleepless from watch- ing and racked with pain, accepted it with joy. His power- ful mind was now bent with undivided force to carry it into execution. He no longer felt the pangs of physical pain. His clear mind saw all the details of this fearful undertaking, and with a calmness and stern business capacity, equal to the magnificence of the conception, he attended to the minutest preparations.
On the 12th of September, the whole fleet sailed up the river several leagues above the place where the landing was to be attempted, and at suitable intervals, as if testing the strength of the river bank, without any definite plan, made a feint of attempting to land his troops. Thus the day was spent. The early watches of the night were consumed in a diflferent way. About one o'clock in the morning, the troops who had all been embarked in flat-bottomed boats, with the ebb of the tide and the strength of the stream began to drift down the river toward the landing place. Lest they should miss this point, they were obliged to keep close under the northern shore on account of the darkness. Once or twice they were overheard by the keen sentinels stationed upon the heights, and challenged. A Scotch oflicer answered in French, that they were a part of Bourgainville's forces exploring the river to watch the doings of the English. This answer deluded the sentinels and they were permitted to pass.*
As they dropped down the river, silence was commanded, on pain of death, in all the boats except the one that bore the general and his officers. Wolfe had a few days before
* Graham.
[1759.] ON THE PLAINS OF ABRAHAM. 105
received from England a copy of Gray's Elegy, that had then just been given to the world ; and in that one boat, his im- passioned voice blending with the rippling of the waves, he recited to his officers in a low subdued tone, that most per- fect and plaintive strain of the British muse. When he had completed it, he exclaimed with animation,
"Gentlemen, I would rather be the author of that poem than to take Quebec."*
An hour before day-break they touched the landing. Wolfe was the first to set foot upon the dangerous shore, and, looking up the ragged sides of the ledge, observed quietly to an officer w^ho stood near him, " 1 doubt if you will get up ; but you must do what you can."
Following a detachment of Scotch Highlanders and light- infantry under Colonel Howe, grasping and pulling them- selves up by vines and shrubs, the gallant army scaled the cliff; and when day broke over the brow of Cape Diamond, it revealed to the garrison the whole British army arranged in battle order upon the plains of Abraham. f
Montcalm would not credit the intelligence when it was made known to him. He could believe that a handful of desperate men had been forced up this almost perpendicular wall for the purpose of throwing him off his guard and draw- ing him from his position, as a preliminary step to a general engagement, which he knew had been desired from the first by the English general. But that an army of eight thousand men could have scaled a wall so rough, and at the same time so sheer and high, in a single night, and in the face of his own argus-eyed sentinels, he conceived to be incredible. But there was no resisting the evidence of his senses. Fired with the recollection of his former success, and roused by the promptings of a noble emulation, he resolved no longer to spare the trial of strength that he had up to that time so cautiously avoided ; but to fling the old French banner against the fresh September breeze, and put upon a single die the dominion of his king to the western world.
* Graham. t Wright's History, i. 210 ; Ilohiies, ii. 92, 93.
106 HISTOEY OF CONNECTICUT.
He planned his order of battle in the most masterly man- ner. His right and left wings were composed each of Euro- pean and colonial troops in about equal proportions. The centre was formed of two battalions of the best French regu- lars that he had under his command ; and there hovered in front of his main army, lurking among the thickets that skirted the table-land over which they moved like a pesti- lence, fifteen hundred French and Indian sharp-shooters, whose business it was to advance and begin the battle with a selection of the most shining marks that glittered along the lines of the English army.*
As soon as Wolfe saw that his cherished wish was about to be realized, and that the enemy was advancing to meet him, he began to form his line consisting of six battalions and the Louisbourg grenadiers. His right wing was com- mitted to Monckton ; his left, to Murray. Howe's light in- fantry protected the rear and the left; and the right was covered by the Louisbourg grenadiers. It was obvious from the form in which they advanced that their design was to out- flank his army on the left. To counteract this movement, Wolfe detached General Townsend, with the regiment of Amherst, and two battalions of royal Americans formed with a double front. A single regiment drawn up in eight divis- ions, with large intervals, constituted his body of reserves. When the French commander had advanced near enough to make it practicable, the concealed marksmen, that skulked in the thicket in advance of his army, opened from their hiding-places a well directed fire, that proved fatal to some of the best British officers. f
This was the signal for the opening of the battle. Wolfe had selected his station on the right of his army, and Mont- calm a corresponding one upon the French left. About nine o'clock in the morning, the French army advanced rapidly to the attack, and the battle became fierce and general. Per- haps never in so small an army as that of the English, was there to be found so many officers of high courage and
* Holmes, ii. 93 ; Trumbull, ii. 410. f Holmes ; Trumbull 5 Graham.
[1759.] Wolfe's victory. 107
determined purpose, who looked upon death with such com- posure ; nor a soldiery who were wilHng to sell their lives at a rate more ruinous to their enemies. With a discipline that seemed like the movements of a piece of mechanism, they advanced in the face of the fire that was directed against them with such deadly effect, until they had come within forty yards of the French line. Then they began that fear- ful and long-sustained discharge of musketry, that was kept up with unremitting regularity, until the advancing tide of the battle was checked and began to roll backwards along the whole line of the French armv. Montcalm made the most desperate exertions to sustain his position. Early in the action fortune seemed to favor him. Wolfe, while he stood in the front line, a fair mark for the Canadians, was sin- gled out and wounded in the wrist. Without showing a sign of pain, he wrapped a handkerchief around the wound, and continued to issue his orders with the same coolness as before. A second bullet, better aimed, soon pierced his groin ; but still unruffled and persevering, he concealed this probably fatal injury, and was leading on his grenadiers, with the same chivalrous bearing, when a third musket ball entered his breast, and he fell.
The fall of their leader, often so fatal on the battle-field, so far from being the signal for defeat to the English army, fired them with the spirit of revenge ; and they fought first under Monckton, and, after he was disabled, under Townsend, with new zeal. About the time that Wolfe received the last shot, his gallant rival, Montcalm, fell of a mortal wound. The command of the French now devolved upon General Senezergues, who shortly fell, and with him fell the courage and hopes of the army. The British right wing, where Wolfe had fought, with fixed bayonets charged home upon them. At this critical time the impetuous Murray, coming up, broke their centre ; and the Scotch Highlanders — an enemy of whom they had a superstitious horror — drawing their claymores and rushing wildly upon them, swept them from the field. The victory was complete. One thousand
108 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
of the enemy fell in the battle, and in the flight that followed it ; and about the same number were made prisoners. In killed and wounded, the loss of the English was less than six hundred men.*
After Wolfe had received the wound in his breast, he was placed under the charge of a lieutenant, who, with such ten- derness as mothers feel for their expiring offspring, placed the head of the general upon his shoulder and supported him in the position that seemed most easy for him. As the officer saw the French lines break and give back, he exclaimed aloud, " They run ! they run !" " Who runs ?" cried the dying hero, a momentary beam of intelligence again lighting up his pale cheek and flashing in his glazed eye. " The French/' replied the lieutenant. " Then I die happy," exclaimed Wolfe, in a cheerful tone, and instantly expired. f
Thus the truism so beautifully expressed by the poet had proved to him a prophecy :
" The paths of glory lead but to the grave 1"^
The provincial troops who were engaged in this action, fought with as much steadiness and bravery as the British regulars, and America as well as England exulted alike in the capture of Quebec, and mourned as well over the fall of one of the most brilliant military chieftains that have shed light upon the history that belongs in common to all the nations that inherit the blood and speak the language of the Saxon.
The campaign of 1759, brilliant and glorious as it had been, had still left much to be done. The remnants of Montcalm's
* Holmes, ii. 94 •, Mante, iv. 4, 6 ; Rogers' Journal.
t Gen. James Wolfe was only thirty-three years of age at the time of his death. An incident similar to the above, occurred in the last hours of Montcalm. On being told that he could live but a few hours, he replied, " So much the bet- ter ; I shall not then live to see the surrender of Quebec."
*For the anecdote of the "Elegy," the reader is referred to Graham, iv. 51. This careful and learned author has given a better account of this battle than any other that I have seen. He has placed all writers who will succeed him under obligations that for one, I am proud to owe to a Briton who has the manliness to do justice to America.
[1759.] EFFORTS OP MURRAY. 109
army, still formidable, had retired to Trois Rivieres and Mon- treal, and besides, there was still a large force at Isle Aux Noix. Cut off as these troops were from all chance of recruits or supplies either from the ocean or the continent, they had no other alternative now left to themselves, than to surrender at the discretion of their conquerors, or to make a last and desperate effort to redeem their lost fortunes. The defeated army of Montcalm, now under the command of the brave Monsieur Levi, still outnumbered the land army of Wolfe, that had taken Quebec from the French. The Eng- lish fleet had already left the St. Lawrence, and could not be expected to return until after the breaking up of the ice in the spring.*
Immediately after the sailing of the English fleet. Monsieur Levi had begun to make preparations to recover Quebec. He took possession of Point Levi, and prepared snow shoes and scaling ladders for the enterprise. But Murray, who commanded at the fort, as soon as the river was frozen over, sent a party across upon the ice and drove the enemy from this position. Levi finally determined to postpone the attempt until the next spring. The amount of labor performed by the garrison at Quebec during the winter was astonishing. They repaired more than five hundred houses, built eight redoubts, raised foot banks along the ramparts, opened em- brasures and mounted cannon. f They also protected the suburbs with a stockade, and removed into the highest parts of the city provisions enough to last eleven months. Under the keen vigilance of such a leader as Murray, they seemed able to achieve everything but impossibilities. But even Murray could not overcome the rigors of the climate. The winter proved to be unusually severe. The vegetables on which the troops depended in a good degree for subsistence were destroyed, and before the end of April one thousand of the soldiers had died from the excessive use of salt food. J
As soon as the rigors of the season had sufficiently abated,
* Trumbull ; Rogers ; Graham. f Trumbull, ii. 417.
$ Rider's History ; Gov. Murray to Secretary Pitt.
110 HISTOEY OF CONNECTICUT.
Monsieur Levi under convoy of six armed frigates, that gave him the entire command of the St. Lav^rence, dropped down the river with his army. The British detachments stationed along the shores, abandoned their posts and fled towards Quebec at his approach. On the night of the 26th of April, he landed his main army at Point au Tremble. It consisted of five thousand regular troops, six thousand Canadians, and about five hundred Indians.* After this landing was effected, his army was augmented to fifteen thousand effective men. This was a formidable army for a little garrison of three thousand men to oppose, even with the advantages afforded by the walls of such a fortress as Quebec. But Murray was not a man to be daunted by dangers, nor was he satisfied with merely acting on the defensive. He had been one of that immortal council of officers who had conceived the plan of scaling the Heights of Abraham ; he had himself acted a chief part in carrying out that daring scheme, and he now resolved, in the face of the lesson taught him by the defeat of Montcalm, to go forth upon the heights already consecra- ted by British valor, and give battle to this large army, by making an assault upon the position of Levi at Sillery. It was a bold, rash stroke that has never been justified by mili- tary men. Still, the attack was fierce, and sustained with a steadiness that seemed for some time likely to result in victory. When he saw that the enemy was in the act of taking pos- session of an eminence in his front, and that the main army was marching in single column, he began the battle before the French lines could be formed. He charged their van so furi- ously that it was compelled to give way and fall back upon the main army. The light infantry were now ordered to regain the enemy's flank, but, after a severe charge, they were obliged to retire, so sadly cut in pieces as to be entirely disabled.
Otway's regiment was now ordered up to sustain the right wing, which was done so effectually that the enemy tried in vain to pierce it. The left brigade of the English drove the
* Wright's History, ii. 256 ; Rider, xlvi. 168, 169.
[1760.] DEFEAT OF MURRAY. Ill
enemy from two redoubts, and with a resolution almost mirac- ulous, withstood the whole shock of the French right until relieved by the third battalion of royal Americans from the reserve, and Kennedy's from the centre. But it was vain for this handful of Englishmen and Americans to conquer such an army as now poured a steady and fatal fire into their centre, and were extending around their flanks in the form of a semi- circle. Retreat alone saved them. After an action of an hour and three-quarters, they had sustained a loss of one thousand men and gained nothing.* Murray regained the fortress with his remnant of two thousand men, and without being disheartened at the defeat, set himself about the defense of the place with all his energies. f
The next night the enemy opened the siege. Murray was just able by the superiority of his guns, to check the violence of their first assault, but still the success of the siege was, he plainly saw, a problem depending in part upon his own exer- tions, but no less upon the early or late arrival of ships to relieve the garrison. Long and anxiously did he look off upon the river in hope to spy the first approach of the fleet that could alone save him from the overwhelmina; numbers of the besiegers. The suspense was made still more fearful by the possibility that the French might first get possession of the river. At last, on the 9th of May, a single English sail was seen making up the stream. She anchored in the basin, and proved to be the Lowestoffe, and gave the joyful intelligence that Commodore Swanton, with a small reinforce- ment, and the English fleet under Lord Colville, were approaching. J
On the 15th, Commodore Swanton anchored above Point Levi. Murray immediately begged him to take early measures to remove the French squadron that was anchored above the town. Commodore Swanton therefore ordered two frigates early the next morning to slip their cables and attack the squad- ron. The French ships fled, at their approach, in confusion.
* See Holmes, ii. 99. t Trumbull, ii. 419, 420, 421.
i Holmes ; Trumbull.
112 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
One of their frigates was driven upon the rocks above Cape Diamond ; another ran aground at Point au Tremble, and was burned. Without making any show of defense, the whole French fleet was either destroyed or taken.*
This was a terrible blow to the besieging army. Panic- stricken at the sight of their burning ships and at the tidings that a large English fleet was approaching, they broke up the siege in the night and fled in precipitation, leaving their tents standing in their camp, and their artillery and magazines to fall into the hands of the English. On the 19th of May, Lord Colville arrived with his fleet and again placed Quebec in a condition to defy the armies of France. Thus early did the campaign of 1760 open with the auguries of success.
As in former years, Connecticut responded to the call of the ministry. On the 13th of March, the General Assembly convened at New Haven. Mr. Pitt's letter, asking for fresh troops and holding out promises of completing the conquest of Canada, in such glowing colors, as clothed all the images of his' sublime imagination, was received with a warm wel- come. With one consent the legislature voted to raise four regiments, each consisting of twelve companies, making an aggregate of five thousand effective men. They were to be levied at the expense of the colony with all haste, and were to be clothed and paid from the treasury of the colony. f
The plan of this campaign was a fit sequel to that of the preceding year. General Amherst took the field with a fine army very early in the season. He designed to advance upon Montreal from three different points, and, after a union had been formed, to give the enemy battle and decide the fate of Canada at a blow. With one branch of the armv, General Haviland was ordered to proceed by the way of
* Trumbull.
t Colony Records, MS. Pliineas Lyman, Esq., was appointed major general, and colonel of the first regiment; the other officers were — colonels — N'athan Whiting, David Wooster, and Eleazer Fitch ; lieut. colonels — Nathan Payson, Joseph Spencer, James Smedley, and Israel Putnam ; majors — John Slapp, David Baldwin, David Waterbury, and John Durkee. Thomas Knowlton, was an ensign in the first regiment.
[1760.] Putnam's enterprise. 113
Lake George, and Lake Champlain. Murray was directed to go up the St. Lawrence with as many men as could be spared from Quebec, while the commander-in-chief passed into Canada, by the way of Lake Ontario, and the St. Lawrence.*
In June, General Amherst began his march from Schenec- tady to Oswego with the main army, consisting of ten thou- sand regular and provincial troops, and one thousand Indians. f In about three weeks he reached the lake shore in safety. This was a march of great fatigue, and when we consider the roughness of the roads, the distance traveled, the amount of stores, munitions, and camp equipage thus transported, we cannot but form a favorable opinion of the skill of the com- mander and the discipline of his troops. But the labors and dangers of his march had but just commenced. Lake Ontario was a wide expanse yet to be traversed, and its short, sharp waves were more perilous than the long deep swell of the Atlantic ocean. To make this voyage he had only open boats and rude galleys, such as a hasty emergency had been adequate to supply. Should he reach the outlet of the lake he must afterwards expose his army to the tossings of the rapids that convulse the navigation of the St. Lawrence. He succeeded in passing the lake without any misfortune.
General Amherst determined to pass dow^n the river imme- diately, and attack Oswegatchie and Isle Royal. Two armed vessels obstructed the passage, and prevented the atternpt upon Oswegatchie. As the channel was narrow, and the English army in the open boats was sadly exposed to these ships, Putnam with one thousand men in fifty batteaux, under- took the dangerous task of boarding them. General Amherst fell in with the proposition. Putnam proceeded with charac- teristic determination to carry out the plan. He commanded all the men on board his little fleet to strip themselves to their waistcoats, and advance, when he should give the signal. "I will join you," said he, "if I Hve, and show you the way
* Holmes, ii. 99, 100.
t Holmes. These Indians were under the command of Sir William Johnson.
40
114 HISTOKY OF CON-NECTICUT.
up the sides of the ships." He now placed himself with a chosen crew of his old comrades into the van, and began to advance. A beetle and some wedges lying in the bottom of the boat, were the unheard of weapons that he designed first to employ in wedging the rudders of the French ships so that they would be but lifeless hulks upon the water and un- able to turn their broadsides upon his batteaux as they drew near. Silently and swiftly the other batteaux followed. Putnam's shot over the water, impelled by the sinewy strength of such men as dared venture themselves in the same bottom with him, upon an errand that no British officer in the whole army would have dared to attempt. Dazzled and amazed at this sudden and novel mode of attack, and seeing the calm celerity with which these brave provincials advanced in their half naked state, the French in dismay ran one of their vessels aground. The other struck her colors without firing a gun ; and the victory was now complete.*
But the fortress, firmly planted upon an island in the river, was still safe, and presented a formidable obstacle to the progress of the English army. Aside from the natural strength of the place and the ordinary embankments and trenches of a fort, the enemy had surrounded the entire island with an abattis of black ash tree-tops with sharp points stretching outwards, that projected over the water's edge on every side and seemed to defy all approach. Gen. Amherst was again at a loss how to proceed, and all the operations of the army were brought to a stand. Again Putnam suggested a way of overcoming this difficult obstruc- tion, and offered his own personal services to conduct the enterprise. He proposed to surround a sufficient number of boats with fascines so closely fitted as to be musket-proof, and of course, a perfect scree q for the men, to be employed in scaling the abattis. A wide plank, twenty feet in length was then to be provided for each boat and fastened by ropes on both sides of the bow, so that it might be raised and lowered with ease. This plank was to be held erect while
* Humphreys^.
[1761.] PUTNAM S DRAW-BBIDGE. 115
the oar's-men should bring the bow of the boats violently against the abattis, and then suddenly dropped upon the sharpened points of the tree-tops, was to serve as a kind of draw-bridge over which the escalading party was to pass. This singular contrivance met with the warm approbation of the general. Putnam lost no time in getting the boats ready to commence the attack, and advanced upon the enemy with such admirable address that they did not dare to withstand the shock, and capitulated without firing a gun.*
Thus through the wisdom and daring of a provincial offi- cer, was a bloodless entrance forced into Canada.
Early in September, General Amherst arrived at Montreal. A union was soon effected between the three divisions of his army, and two days afterwards, that town with all the other posts in the hands of the French, and the whole country claimed by them, were surrendered to the British crown. f
At the close of this campaign, days of public thanksgiving were appointed and celebrated throughout the New England colonies. At their October session, the General Assembly of Connecticut, resolved to present to his majesty their written congratulations on the triumph of the British forces in vari- ous parts of the world, and especially in North America, in the entire conquest of Canada, and in the submission of that vast country to his majesty's government. J
Notwithstanding the conquest of Canada, the war still raged between the two nations with unabated vigor. In the spring of 1761, another requisition was made upon the colo- nies for troops. Mr. Pitt asked for two-thirds the number of men from Connecticut that she had furnished during the pre- vious campaign. On the 26th of March, the Assembly was convened, and it was resolved that two thousand three hun- dred men should be immediately raised for the service.
* Humphreys.
t Holmes, ii. 100 ; Marshall, i. c. 13 ; Universal History, xl. 244, 246. After the capitulation, Gen. Gage was appointed governor of Montreal, with a garrison of two thousand men ; and Gen. Murray returned to Quebec,' where his garrison was augmented to four thousand.
^ Colony Records, MS.
116 HISTOKY OF CONNECTICUT.
Provision was also made to clothe and supply them with all the necessary food and equipments.*
The object of the campaign was to repair and place in a state of perfect defense, all the forts and military posts that had fallen into the hands of the English, or had been con- structed by them at so much cost and labor ; to build new ones wherever it should be thought necessary to guard the avenues to the English settlements should Canada, by some unhappy turn of fortune, again fall into the hands of its old masters ; to repair old roads and construct new ones from fort to fort, and from settlement to settlement, leading through desolate swamps and vast forests ; to erect houses and bar- racks for the garrisons at the several stations along the northern frontier lines ; and to bring out of the chaos of war a state of order and completeness that would promise security for the future against the troubles that had so long dis- turbed the continent. The labor performed by the Connec- ticut troops during that year, affords as a good commentary upon the courage and endurance of our people as any thing that they had done in the wars of the preceding campaign.
At the close of the campaign of 1761, upon this continent, a large part of the regulars with a body of provincial troops embarked for the West Indies, where they were joined by an armament from Great Britain. The reduction of Martinique, was the object of the expedition. On the 14th of February, 1762, that island capitulated, and one after the other, Grenada, St. Lucia, and St. Vincents, followed in its train, until the French force was broken in the Carribean sea, and the beautiful chain of islands that stretches from the eastern point of Hispaniola, almost to the continent of South America, was in possession of the English. f
* These troops were divided into two regiments, and were placed under the command of Phineas Lyman and Nathan Whiting, Esqrs.
t Universal History, xli. 195, 200, 231 ; Smollet, iv. 364, 370. The entire re- duction of Martinique was effected with the loss of but seven British officers, and about one hundred privates killed ; about one hundred and fifty only were wounded. The French lost above one thousand of their best men, killed, wounded, and taken
[1762.] A NEW PARTY TO THE WAR. 117
Meanwhile, a new party was added to the scene of the conflict that was occupying the whole world for an arena. This party was Spain, and as the English army was already victorious over the French in the West Indies, it was resolved to strike a capital blow at the Spanish posses- sions in that quarter. The land army under Lord Albemarle, was one of the finest that had ever been sent from England ; and the fleet was commanded by Admiral Pocock, who had just returned from a brilliant career of success in the East Indies. On arriving at Cape Nichols he was joined by Sir James Douglass, with a fine squadron. The whole fleet now numbered thirty-seven ships of war, with about one hundred and fifty transports ; and the land army under Albemarle, were to be joined by a body of provincials made up of five hundred men from New Jersey, eight hundred from New York, and one thousand from Connecticut — all under com- mand of Major-General Lyman. The immediate command of Genera] Lyman's regiment devolved on Lieutenant-Colonel Putnam.
Havana was the first and principal object of attack. The fleet that carried the provincials sailed from New York and arrived safely off* the coast of Cuba. A terrible storm now arose, and the transport that bore Lieutenant- Colonel Putnam, with five hundred men, making one half of the Connecticut regiment, was driven on a rift of craggy rocks and wrecked. Thus separated from the rest of the fleet, so that he could hope for no aid from any external source, the serf rolling mountain high and dashing against the sides of the ship with such force that she threatened to part her timbers at every stroke of the sea, this brave offi- cer, looking calmly in the face of death, maintained above the noise of the waves, a discipline that enabled him to issue all his orders without interruption, and secured an obedience to them as perfect as if the bold-hearted men whom he com- manded had stood upon the ridges of their own corn-fields.
prisoners. There were on the island, at the time of its reduction, ten thousand white men capable of bearing arms ; and above forty thousand negroes.
118 HISTOKY OF CONNECTICUT.
In this appalling situation, every man who could wield a saw or a hammer was employed in making rafts from spars, planks, and the scanty and scattered materials that came to hand. In this way a part of the men were landed at the great risk of being drifted far out into the sea. After a few of the men had been safely disembarked, ropes were lashed to the rafts and those who had thus gained the shore aided in pulling their companions to the beach. Such was the address and caution exercised by Putnam in this most criti- cal of all conditions that not a man was lost. Colonel Put- nam now pitched his camp and remained several days within twenty-four miles of the enemy at Carthagena. At last the storm abated, and the convoy soon after took them aboard and carried them to Havana.*
The climate proved fatal to a large proportion of our soldiers who went upon this expedition. Of the thousand brave men who sailed for Havana, and who aided in reduc- ing it, with all its shipping and militar}'" stores, to the domin- ion of the British crown, but a mere handful ever returned to lay their bones in their native soil.f A few officers, and here and there a straggling soldier, wasted to a skeleton, were the sole survivors of that fatal campaign, in which victory and death went hand in hand. The peace of 1763 followed soon after, and gave the people of Connecticut time to breathe and prepare for another struggle.
Thus ended the memorable French war, ranging over a period of eight years of suffering and privation for our peo- ple that no pen can ever record. During these toilsome years the sons of the colony had found their graves in every part of the continent, and had been laid to rest beneath the waters of the West Indian seas. No colony in proportion to her population had furnished an equal number of men. Again and again she had sent into the field a duplicate sup- ply of troops beyond those demanded of her, to make up for the deficiency that she had but too good reason to think would exist in some of those provinces less imbued with the
* Humphreys. f Trumbull, ii. 449.
[1764.] CONNECTICUT OFFICERS. 119
spirit of liberty and less devoted to the cause of humanity. She had also paid out of her own treasury, after deducting the pittance that she had received from parliament, more than four hundred thousand pounds — far surpassing, accord- ing to her wealth, the amount paid by any other of the colo- nies; and the exploits of her gallant officers — her Lymans, her Whitings, her Parsons, her Dyers, her Spencers, her Hinmans, her Coits, her Fitches, her Durkees, her Woosters, her Putnams, and her Wolcotts, — were as glorious as their fame will be immortal.
CHAPTER V.
THE STAMP ACT.
For nearly three-quarters of a century England had been almost constantly engaged in war. I have minutely delineated some of the conflicts that had so long occupied her attention, as they were as much a part of the History of Connecticut as of England. These wars, waged with some of the most pow- erful nations of the globe, in the Orient, in Europe, among the islands of the western seas, and upon the continent of North America, had proved a constant drain upon the re- sources of the empire. An old national debt, by gradual accre- tions, had grown at last to the appalling sum. of seven hun- dred millions of dollars. Even at the beginning of the last French war, the alarm of the government had been excited and the Board of Trade had proposed a plan of taxing the American colonies. But in the whirl of those exciting cam- paigns that followed one another like a succession of autumn gales upon an exposed ocean-shore, the scheme had been allowed to slumber for about eight years.
No sooner had the peace of 1763 given the nation an opportunity to look at its internal condition, than the British ministry again turned its eye toward the American colonies, as the proper field for financial experiment. The precedents existing in relation to the inter-colonial trade, the regulation of postage, laws of naturalization, the administration of oaths, the restrictions upon trade and manufactures, and some other encroachments, gradually made, at first bitterly complained of, and then submitted to without violence — had encouraged the British government to further acts of injustice. Already custom-houses had been erected in the colonies along the coast, and already the enlarged jurisdiction of courts of admiralty had in part supplanted the right of trial by jury.
[17G3.] I^'EW MINISTRY. 121
But the avowed object of these acts of parliament was to regulate trade and navigation, and as the revenue arising out of these several acts was incidental and comparatively trifling, the colonies had not ventured openly to resist them.
A new administration had now succeeded that of Pitt. It was headed by Lord Bute, the most obstinate of Scotchmen, who had called to his aid Lord Grenville, a cold, self- reliant man, ignorant of the character of the Ameri- can people and solicitous to acquire, as chancellor of the exchequer, a high reputation for financial ability. Grenville now proposed a stamp tax for revenue. On the 22d of September, 1763, he held an interview with two other lords of the treasury, in a dingy chamber in Downing-street, to consult in relation to this most delicate and critical scheme. What doubts may have interposed themselves to darken the visions of ambition and political intrigue ; what stings of con- science premonitory of those of remorse and disappointment of a later day, haunted these grim men as they sketched the outline of the plot that was to rob the British empire of half its glory, and deluge a continent in blood ; or whether, indeed, they allowed their thoughts to range beyond the circle of their own party aggrandizement, cannot now be known to the world. We only learn the result of the meeting from this brief record of his instructions to Jenkinson.
" Write to the commissioners of the stamp duties to pre- pare the draft of a bill to be presented to the parliament, for extending the stamp duties in the colonies." The mandate was executed ; not with the hot haste that follows the con- ceptions of giddy youth, inflamed with passion and bubbling with wine, but deliberately, with a steady force and a leisurely cool resolution, that seemed to say to the English people and to the colonies, bring forth your strong reasons, kindle the fires of faction at home, petition the king, remonstrate with the hereditary aristocracy, appeal to the sympathies and sense of justice of the Commons, we are not to be shaken from our purposes by supplication, by argument or by threat. We give you timely notice to do your w^orst.
122 HISTOEY OF CONNECTICUT.
The measure was slowly reduced to form and laid before parliament, not to be acted upon hastily, but to be debated, revised, and perfected. The proposed impost was to be laid upon "every skin, or piece of vellum, or parchment, or sheet or piece of paper," on which should be engraved or written any pleadings in courts, any deed, lease, bond, or policy of insurance, and was to be so framed, with specifications em- bodied in the bill, as to embrace nearly all the transactions of a business nature between man and man. The material used to perpetuate contracts, records, nay, the very elements of learning and the vital thoughts of genius, was to be taxed and paid for according to a fixed rate throughout all the American colonies.
Strange to say, this proposition did not at first attract much attention in America. A terrible war had again broken out on the western frontier, and diverted the thoughts of the people from this threatened calamity. A part of the colonial agents resident at London, wrote to their constituents, informing them of the proposition, and asking for instruc- tions; but their correspondence excited little alarm.
Thus passed away the winter of 1763. In March 1764, Grenville, who had now become prime minister, presented to the House of Commons his matured plan of taxing the colo- nies. The house advised the minister that he had a right to do what he had so much at heart, and advised the passage of a Stamp Act, after giving the colonies notice to hit upon some other method, if they should choose, of raising the sum of money demanded by the British government. The " Sugar Act," however, was passed without delay, taking off a part of the duty formerly imposed on foreign sugar and molasses, and laying a duty on coffee, French and India goods, wines from Madeira and the Azores, and prohibiting the exporta- tion of iron from the colonies to any other country except England.* This act added something to the already over- grown stature of the colonial courts of admiralty, while its
* Hildreth, i. 2d series, 520 and ante.
[1764.] CONNECTICUT OPPOSES IT. 123
preamble stated in plain terms that its primary object was revenue.
The American colonies were inhabited by an earnest yet philanthropic people. They had sprung from the blood of the better order of England, and their culture, as we have before seen, had eminently fitted them to think before they ventured to act. When the news of the passage of the sugar bill, and of the still more odious proposition for a stamp act, reached Boston, there were visible everywhere tokens of astonishment and apprehension. Men were seen standing in groups at the corners of the streets, and enforcing, with animated gestures, words that could hardly have been called respectful or conciliatory ; yet there was at first no violent demonstration. The waters trembled, but it was long before they began to roll their angry waves and toss their white foam against the foundations of a throne sanctified in its supremacy by so many hallowed associations. At length, Samuel Adams, under instructions from Boston, entered a written protest against the doings of the ministry.
The news soon reached Hartford. The General Assem- bly of Connecticut, at its May session, before the protest of Adams was framed, and before any decided action was taken by the Legislature of Massachusetts, selected Ebenezer Silliman, George Wyllys, and Jared Ingersoll, a committee to assist Governor Fitch in preparing a state paper that should set forth at length the reasons against the bill. This committee met from time to time during the summer of that year to confer with each other, and to suggest all the argu- ments that occurred to their minds against the odious mea- sure that was pending. The document, setting forth their views, was drawn up by Governor Fitch, and was presented to the General Assembly at their October session.* It is a paper of great clearness, and shows a perfect knowledge of the history of the colony, the immunities conferred by its charter freely granted by the king, and acquiesced in by all the departments of the national government for more than a
* Colonial Records, MS.
124 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
hundred years ; it shows too an intimate acquaintance with the principles of the British constitution, and the rights of the subject under it, that is unsurpassed, it is beheved, by any paper originating in any other colony during that exciting period. The deformities of the proposed measure, its injus- tice, its defiance of the liberties immemorially vested in the people ; the blind force with which it tramples upon the rights of trial by jury and of the people to represent and to tax themselves, are animadverted upon with great force.
The Assembly adopted these reasons as their own, and resolved that a copy of them with an address to parliament, that was also to be drawn up by the governor, should be sent to Richard Jackson, Esquire, the agent of the colony in London. Mr. Jackson was directed "firmlv to insist on the exclusive right of the colonies to tax themselves and on the privilege of trial by jury."* These cardinal doctrines of their poHtical faith they declared that they "never could recede from."
Mr. Ingersoll, who soon after sailed for England, took out with him about one hundred printed copies of a pamphlet containing the reasons set forth by the colony against the stamp act. He presented one to Lord Grenville, who praised the mild temper with which it was written, and said that he had seen no better arguments than those exhibited by Con- necticut. He regarded the reasoning as fallacious, however, as it premised what he said was not true, that the colonies were not represented in parliament. Soon after Mr. Inger- soll arrived in London, he was made acquainted with the re- solve of the Assembly, associating him with Mr. Jackson to represent the colony as its agent in England.
Meanwhile the preparations for perpetrating this fraud upon the colonial treasuries went forv/ard with cold pre- cision. In vain did Franklin, Jackson, Ingersoll, and other gentlemen, remonstrate in behalf of their constituents ; and to no purpose did the London merchants, interested in
* Colonial Records, MS.
[1764.] LOKD HALIFAX AND CONNECTICUT. 125
the American trade, forward statements of their grievances that were doomed to be cast aside without being read. The passage of the bill in some form was obviously decreed in the councils of the government. Still the lords of the treasury- were willing if they could to smooth the path to obedience by any modifications that were not hkely to interfere with the prospect of raising the desired revenue. Information was therefore sought from the colonies that mis^ht show the min- istry where to strike the surest blow, and at the same time mitigate the pain.
Lord Halifax addressed inquiries to the governor and com- pany of Connecticut, asking for statistics and data that might serve as the basis of the proposed law. He desired to know the modes of doing business in the colony, the kinds of business carried on there, and the amount of revenue that they would yield ; and called for an inventory of all the in- struments in use for public records, pleadings in courts of justice, and the various relations of private life, as well as an appraisal of their respective values. This seeming leniency was only a refined mode of cruelty, like that of an executioner who should compel the victim upon the platform to tie the fatal knot about his own neck. Still the requisition was loyally obeyed, and the schedule made out and dispatched to England as soon as practicable. Yet, lest the colony should appear by this act of compliance to have acquiesced in the doings of the ministry. Governor Fitch accompanied the list with a letter, pleading in the most manly and earnest tones for the forbearance of the government. "It will appear by this list," writes his excellencv to Lord Halifax, " that the public can be charged with no burden but what must lie im- mediately upon the colony treasury, which is already exhaus- ted by the war to that degree as not to be capable of such a recruit as is requisite to answer the necessities of the gov- ernment for some time to come. The people in general are also so involved, that new burdens will not only be distress- ing but greatly discouraging in their struggles to extricate themselves from their debts incurred during the late war.
126 HISTOEY OF CONNECTICUT.
Suffer me, my lord, to entreat on their behalf that they may be excused from this new duty, which appears to them so grievous."
Mr. Ingersoll was also interrogated in a similar way by Thomas Whately, one of the joint Secretaries of the Trea- sury, and was answered in language that seems now almost prophetic, as we read it by the light of those events that have made the year 1765, nearly as renowned as the one that gave birth to our national Independence. In this noble letter words of warning are added to those of remonstrance. "The people think if the precedent of a stamp act is once established, you will have it in your power to keep us as poor as you please. The people's minds, not only here, but in the neighboring provinces, are filled with the most dreadful apprehensions from such a step's taking place ; from whence I leave you to guess how easily a tax of that kind would be collected." In the same letter he says, "don't think me im- pertinent, since you desire information, when I tell you that I have heard gentlemen of the greatest property in neigh- boring governments say, seemingly very cooly, that should such a step take place, they would immediately remove themselves with their families and fortunes, into some foreign kingdom. You see I am quite prevented from suggesting to you which of the several methods of taxation that you men- tion would be the best or least exceptionable, because I plainly perceive that every one of them, or any supposable one, other than such as shall be laid by the legislative bodies here, to say no more of them, loould go down luith the people like chopt hay." It did indeed prove to be dry food in the throats of the parties who from choice or compulsion attempted to swallow it. But listen still further to this keen-sighted poli- tician. "As for your allied plan of enforcing the acts of trade and navigation, and preventing smuggling, let me tell you that enough would not be collected here in the course of ten years to defray the expense of fitting out one, the least, frigate for an American voyage ; and that the whole labor would be like hwning a ham to roast an egg /" So wrote
[1764.] COL. BARRE's SPEECH. 127
Jared Ingersoll of New Haven, throwing against the darhng project of Grenville, and his financial compeers, great masses of soHd sense and homely scorn, hard to be withstood, and dangerous to the ribs as if they had been square blocks of the native trap rock of his own town.
Nor were there wanting those in parliament who, born and bred in England and having her cause most fondly at heart, had the sagacity to foresee the danger, and the courage to forewarn its authors in good time. Among these was the gallant Colonel Barre, who had served in America during the late war, and knew well the courage and spirit of the people. Townshend, one of the ministers, had indulged in rash declarations against the colonies, and among other things had spoken of the Americans as "children planted by our care, nourished by our indulgence, and protected by our arms." The reply of Colonel Barre, is one of the most spontaneous and soul-stirring in all the repositories of eloquence, ancient or modern. It is to Jared Ingersoll, who was in the House of Commons and heard it, that we owe its preservation. It was reported by him at the time, and soon after sent to Con- necticut, and was first given to the world in the columns of a New London newspaper. " The sentiments of Colonel Barre," says Mr. Ingersoll in a letter to Governor Fitch, "were thrown out so entirely without premeditation, so forcibly and so firmly, and the breaking off was so beauti- fully abrupt, that the whole house sat awhile as if amazed, intently looking, and without answering a word. I, even I, felt emotions that I never felt before, and went the next morning and thanked Colonel Barre, in helialf of my country."
As a part of the language of this speech was soon after- wards the watchword of organized opposition throughout the American colonies, and as it was preserved for the admiration of the future ages by a son of Connecticut, it seems naturally to belong to her history. It is as follows :
" They planted by your care ! No, your oppressions plan- ted them in America. They fled from your tyranny to a then uncultivated and inhospitable country; where they
128 HISTOEY OF CONNECTICUT.
exposed themselves to almost all the hardships to which human nature is liable ; and among others, to the cruelties of a savage foe, the most subtle, and I take it upon me to say, the most formidable of any people upon the face of God's earth; and yet, actuated by principles of true English liberty, they met all these hardships with pleasure, compared with those they suffered in their own country, from the hands of those who should have been their friends.
" They nourished by your indulgence ! They grew by your neglect of them. As soon as you began to care about them, that care was exercised in sending persons to rule over them, in one department and another, who were, perhaps, the deputies of deputies to some member of this house, sent to spy out their liberties, to misrepresent their actions, and to prey upon them ; men, whose behavior on many occasions, has caused the blood of those sons of hberty to recoil within them ; men promoted to the highest seats of justice, some, who to my knowledge, were glad by going to a foreign country, to escape being brought to the bar of a court of justice in their own.
" They protected by your arms ! They have nobly taken up arms in your defense ; have exerted a valor amidst their constant and laborious industry, for the defense of a country whose frontier, while drenched in blood, its interior parts have yielded all its little savings to your emolument. And, believe me, remember I this day told you so, that same spirit of freedom which actuated that people at first, will accom- pany them still ; but prudence forbids that I should explain myself further. God knows I do not at this time speak from motives of party heat ; what I deliver are the genuine sentiments of my heart. However superior to me in general knowledge and experience, the re- spectable body of this House may be, yet I claim to know more of America than most of you, having seen and been conversant in that country. The people, I believe, are as truly loyal as any subjects the king has ; but a people jealous of their liberties, and who will vindicate them, if they should
[1765.] INGERSOLL AND THE STAMP ACT. 129
be violated; but the subject is too delicate, and I will say no more. *
In spite of those manly and eloquent voices raised against the consummation of this great wrong, the blind and stiff- necked ministry persisted in their course. Yet, although Con- necticut was not able to avert the impending blow, she was still able, through the agency of Mr. Ingersoll, to lighten its grevious weight by interposing such arguments as induced the ministry to modify the bill in some of its more oppressive provisions.! When Mr. Ingersoll arrived in England in the winter of 1764, he found the stamp act already drawn, but still remaining in the hands of his friend, Mr. Whateley, as Secretary of the Treasury, for revision and amendment before it should be put upon its passage. Mr. Ingersoll availed himself of his personal influence with that gentleman to soften as much as he could the rigors of the bill. Thus the duty on marriage licenses that might, among the poor, prevent many honest and worthy people from sharing the blessings of connubial life ; on registers of vessels ; and on the salaries of judges and magistrates who could ill-aflbrd to pay for the honors that scarcely served to feed and clothe them, were crossed from the bill. Connecti- cut had also the honor, through the solicitations of Ingersoll, to render the whole country a still more important service, by getting the day of its going into operation postponed until the 1st of November, 1765. This postponement, as will appear in the sequel, was of the utmost consequence.
* Colonel Isaac Barre, the noble defender of the colonies, had been in early life an officer in the army, and as such, had spent much time in America. In parlia- ment he obtained a high reputation as a debater. For several years previous to his death, (which took place in 1802, at the age of seventy -five,) he vi^as afflicted with blindness.
1 1 am indebted to Hon. I. William Stuart, for the extracts quoted from Fitch's and IngersoU's letters, and for much of the information relating to Ingersoll, Jack- son, and others. As Mr. Stuart was kind enough to offer me his noble lectures upon the Stamp Act, in MS., with the liberty to use whatever I could find in them, Ihave availed myself of his generosity. When those lectures are published, the public will have a more lively picture of the scenes of that day than I can hope to sketch
41
130 HISTORY OF CONKECTICUT.
Thus modified, the stamp act passed the House of Com- mons on the 22d of March, 1765. As a part of this financial scheme, a clause was inserted in the mutiny act giving to the ministers the power of sending as many troops to America as they should see fit. Another odious enactment, called the quartering act, obliged the colonies to find quarters, fire- wood, bedding, drink, soap, and candles for all the soldiers that might from time to time be sent into their borders and stationed there.
It has been already stated that the administration had no fears that they should be unable to enforce the stamp act. Even Dr. Franklin was of the same opinion. He therefore advised Mr. Ingersoll, as he had done all that he could to oppose the passage of the bill, to avail himself now of the appointment of stamp agent for the colony of Connecticut.* If the law was to be enforced, it was difficult to see why Mr. Ingersoll should not have the collateral benefit flowing from it that could hardly fall into hands more deserving. He therefore did not hesitate to accept the trust — an act for which he was blamed in moments of party heat, but with motives as honor- able as those of Franklin who sanctioned it.
But Grenville and Franklin were both mistaken. Although Connecticut had shown such an early opposition to the pas- sage of the stamp act, there was afterwards manifested in the colony a disposition to submit to it in silence. Some of the principal civil functionaries were of the number. Of the cultivated classes, the clergymen were for awhile almost alone in their opposition to the measure. The successors of Hooker, Davenport, Wareham, Smith, Prudden, Fitch, Pierpont, Stoddard, and Stone, still retained the patrician rank that had fallen upon their shoulders with the mantles of those bold pioneers, and, though less learned in the dead languages, had inherited all the jealousy of oppression that had character- ized their fathers, and all their sharpness of intellect, firm- ness, courage, and strong nervous eloquence. One of these.
* These facts are asserted in one of Ingersoll 's letters to Governor Fitch, and in a note to one of his letters to Whately. Stuart's MS.
[1765.] REV. STEPHEN JOHXSOjS-. 131
the Rev. Stephen Johnson, of Lyme, seeing with pain the dangerous lethargy that had lulled the judges to sleep and had taken strong hold of the council, began to write essays for the Connecticut Gazette, which he sent secretly to the printer by the hands of an Irish gentleman who was friendly to the cause of liberty.* With a bony grasp, this fearless soldier of the cross seized the noisome dragon of ministerial tyranny by the throat, and clung around its neck with such strangling force, that it was compelled to disclose its deformi- ties to the people by the writhings of its pain. Other clergy- men took up the warfare. They impugned the stamp act in their sermons, they classed its loathed name in their prayers with those of sin, satan, and the mammon of unrighteousness. f The people were soon roused to a sense of danger. The flames of opposition, so long suppressed, now began to break forth. The name of "sons of liberty," given by Colonel Barre to the Americans, was adopted by the press, and sent to every part of the country. Societies, originating, as is believed in Connecticut, and made up of men the most bold, if not the most responsible in the land, were suddenly formed for the express though secret purpose of resisting the stamp act by violent means should it become necessary. The members of these associations were called " Sons of Liberty.'' The principal business reserved for them was that of com- pelling stamp-masters and other officials to resign their places. They were also to see that no stamps were sold in the colony, and that all stamped paper should be taken wherever it could be found. This powerful institution soon extended itself into New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey.
Public meetings were also held in every part of the colony, for the avowed purpose of protesting against the execution of the odious law. Town meetings, too, were convened, and
* Gordon, i. 117.
t " The congregational ministers," says Gordon, " saw farther into the designs of the British administration than the bulk of the colony ; and by their publications and conversation, increased and strengthened the opposition." Hist. Revolution, i. 119.
132 HISTOKY OF CONNECTICUT.
town clerks authorized to receive and record deeds and other instruments passing the title to property, without regard to the stamp act.*
Short, pithy sentences, ridiculing the ministry and setting forth the stamp act in vivid, though not always refined lan- guage, circulated from sheet to sheet of the colonial news- papers, or passed from neighbor to neighbor in familiar dis- course ; quaint proverbs, scornful satires, jests with biting edge, pamphlets, their pages all glowing with indignant remonstrance or wailing with the cry of expiring freedom ; handbills, with single sentences of dark warning, posted upon the doors of public offices or hawked about the streets by daylight, moon-light, and torch-light ; anonymous letters ad- dressed to gentlemen in high judicial or executive places — all flew hither and thither upon their several errands. The passions and the understanding were also addressed through the eye. Copies of the stamp act were carried in proces- sions and buried with funeral honors as equivocal as could well be conceived. Sometimes it was burned with the effi- gies of the officers who had been appointed to execute it. Grotesque caricatures of the ministry and their functiona- ries were circulated on the most public occasions and placed in situations the most provokingly conspicuous= Still, Gov. Fitch, and a part of his council, fearful lest they should expose the charter of the colony to a new attack, remained firm in their determination to sustain the law, much as thev loathed
*In Norwich, April 7, 1765, a public meeting was convened by tlie town clerk, and the question was submitted by liim to the freemen whether he should proceed in the duties of his office as heretofore, without using the stamps. It was unanimously voted " in full town meeting, that the clerk shall proceed in his office as usual, and the town will save him harmless from all damage that he may sustain thereby." In many other towns, the stamp act was the occasion of pu.blic meet- ings, some of which were informal gatherings of the people, and had not the dignity of "town meetings." Some of them were riotous in their character. In New Haven, at the regular town meeting in September for the choice of repre- sentatives, the gentlemen elected were unanimously desired " to use their utmost endeavors to secure the repeal of the stamp act," It was also resolved — Mr. stamp-master Ingersoll, being present — that Mr. IngersoU is desired to resign his stamp-office immediately."
[1765.] INQERSOLL REFUSES TO RESIGN". 133
it. Colonel Trumbull had been one of the first to decide upon a different course of action. Governor Fitch at last made the proposition in open council, that they should all take the oath in conformity with the stamp act. Trumbull's eye flashed, and his cheek darkened with anger at the proposal. He refused to witness the hollow-hearted ceremony, and rising indignantly, turned his back upon the governor, and walked out of the chamber, followed by a majority of the assistants. Only four members of the council remained.*
The time had now arrived for action. Mr. Ingersoll, having accepted the place of stamp-master, was determined to discharge its duties. Still he sought to conciliate his fel- low-townsmen at New Haven, who for the most part were opposed to the law. " The act is so contrived," he argued, " as to make it for your interest to buy the stamps. When I undertook the office I meant a service to you." " Stop ad- vertising your wares till they arrive safe at market," said one. " The two first letters of his name are those of a traitor of old," shouted a second ; and added bitterly, " It was decreed that our Saviour should suffer ; but was it better for Judas Iscariot to betray him so that the price of his blood might be saved by his friends ?"t At last the citizens gathered around his house in great numbers. '' Will you resign ?" was the pointed inquiry that they put to him. " I know not if I have the power to resign," answered the resolute man. On the 17th of September, a town meeting was held there, and Ingersoll was called upon by a public vote, to resign his office without delay. " I shall await to see how the General Assembly is inclined," said the stamp-master, evasively.
Affairs began now to assume a very threatening attitude. The Sons of Liberty from Norwich, New London, Windham, Lebanon, and other towns, had already taken the field, and with eight days' provisions, were riding up and down the country on horseback to search him out and force him to resign. He could no longer stay in New Haven with safety.
* Gordon, i. 118. t See Connecticut Gazette, vol. i.
134 HISTOKY OF CONNECTICUT.
He therefore set off for Hartford, where the Assembly was about to meet. He intended to take the advice of the representatives of the people, hoping it might be more to his mind than the will of the constituency. Governor Fitch accompanied him to protect him from insult. On their way they were met by two men on horseback, with peeled clubs in their hands, who did not conceal the fact that they were couriers of a much larger company. His excellency bade them go back and tell their associates to disperse. To his astonishment they refused to obey him. "We look upon this," said they, " as the cause of the people ; we will not take directions about it from any one !" Mr. Ingersoll sent a message by them to the effect, that he would meet the multi- tude at Hartford. They then withdrew.
On Thursday evening, the very day on which the session was to begin, Ingersoll resumed his journey for Hartford alone. He rode through the woods many miles, and passed up the valley of the Connecticut for a good long way, with- out molestation. What thoughts served to while away the time of this solitary traveler, history does not tell us, and we are left at liberty to conjecture each for himself. He had arrived within two or three miles of Wethersfield, when he saw four or five men advancing to meet him. He probably needed little explanation as to the object of their errand. About half a mile further up the river, he met a second escort of thirty men. Still no violence was offered to him. The stamp-master and his guard rode on with the solemnity and decorum of a funeral procession. But still more con- spicuous honors awaited him. He soon saw a cavalcade of about five hundred freeholders and farmers, all well mounted and armed, not with carbines and steel blades, but with long and ponderous clubs. They were ghastly white too, for the bark had been stripped from every one, in rude imitation of the ominous baton carried at that day by officers of the peace. This formidable company, under the command of Durkee, rode slowly forward behind two militia officers dressed in full uniform, and inspired by the presence of three
[1765.] IXGERSOLL REMONSTRATES. 135
trumpeters who made the woods echo with martial music. They rode two abreast, and opened their hne to receive Mr. IngersoU with the profoundest courtesy. They then rode forward along the western bank of the Connecticut, over those fair acres that were then cultivated farms, and have since been converted into gardens, until they came to Weth- ersfield. In the wide main street of this oldest of all the towns in the colony, the grandsons and great-grandsons of the pioneer planters, who had left the straightened settlements of Massachusetts to enjoy pure liberty and "brave meadow- lands" — halted between the two rows of houses whose fronts kept their gentlemanly distance of twenty full rods from each other ; and looking up at the blue vault, as if the open heavens were best fitted to witness the triumph of principles that had descended as legacies to them, they exclaimed signi- ficantly, "we cannot all see and hear so well in a house; we had as good have the business done here."
Then they commanded him to resign. " Is it fair," inter- posed IngersoU, "that the counties of New London and Windham should dictate to all the rest of the colony ?" " It don't signify to parley," was the answer, "here are a great many people waiting, and you must resign." Then ensued in substance the following dialogue between the people and the stamp-master.
IngersoU. " I wait to know the sense of the government. Besides, were I to resign, the governor has power to put in another."
People. " Here is the sense of the government ; and no man shall exercise your office."
IngersoU. " What will follow if I won't resign ?"
People. "Your fate."
IngersoU (calmly.) "I can die, and perhaps as well now as at any time. I can die but once."
Durkee (impatiently.) " Don't irritate the people !"
IngersoU. " I ask for leave to proceed to Hartford."
Durkee. " You shall not go two rods till you have resigned."
136 HISTOEY OF CONNECTICUT.
Ingersoll now bethought him of a new expedient to gain time. Under the pretense of reflecting upon the propriety of complying with the demand of the people, he retired into an upper-room of a house that was standing near by the spot where this parley had taken place. A committee of the people attended him. Here he contrived to put off the multi- tude with promises and excuses for three tedious hours, dur- ing which he sent a messenger to Hartford to inform the governor and the legislature of his situation. At last the crowd began to lose all patience. "Get the matter over before the Assembly has time to do anything about it," said some ; while others, probing his motives to their depths, exclaimed in their blunt strong English, " this delay is his artifice, to wheedle the matter along till the Assembly shall get ensnared in it." The passions of the multitude were now at fever heat. Striding to the door of the house where Ingersoll had retreated, and stalking up the stairs, Durkee again confronted the stamp-master. "I can keep the people off" no longer," said he, in a tone of warning. These words were like a death-knell to Ingersoll. He saw the stalwart farmers filling the hall with their dark forms, their white staves gleaming as they pressed upon each other, and their great bright eyes flashing with indignation. The heavy tramp of others was heard ascending the stairs. He saw that he must surrender at discretion or be torn in pieces.
" The cause is not worth dying for," said he, with the cool irony that marked his character, as he set his hand to the formal resignation that had been prepared for him, and of which the following is a copy.
" Wethersfield, September 19th, 1765. " I do hereby promise, that I never will receive any stamped papers which may arrive from Europe, in consequence of an act lately passed in the Parliament of Great Britain ; nor officiate as Stamp-Master or Distributor of Stamps, within the colony of Connecticut, either directly or indirectly. And I do hereby notify to all the inhabitants of his Majesty's colony of Connecticut (notwithstanding the said office or
[1765.] INGERSOLL'S RESIGNATION. 137
trust has been committed to me,) not to apply to me, ever after, for any stamped paper ; hereby declaring that I do resign the said office, and execute these Presents of my own free WILL AND ACCORD, without any equivocation or mental reser- vation.
" In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand,
"J. Ingersoll."
"Swear to it," cried the people when he had written his name. He begged that they would excuse him from taking an oath. " Then shout Liberty and Property three times," said the sovereign crowd. Against this spontaneous form of abjuration he could raise no valid objection. He swung his hat about his head and uttered the charmed words three several times, with such well-feigned earnestness that the people set the seal to his repentance by giving three huzzas, that must have echoed to the eastern bank of the Con- necticut.
The party now dined in perfect good humor. By this time the company had doubled its numbers, and after dinner one thousand horsemen were ready to attend his triumphant entry into Hartford.* The highway was thronged with freeholders, standing in front of their houses, to get a fair view of the stamp-master and his retinue. The windows were crowded all the way, with the faces of grave matrons, and sparkled with the glances of ruddy-cheeked girls who could as ill conceal their curiosity as their mischievous merri- ment at such a spectacle.
At last they reached the capitol. Here Durkee drew up his dragoons four abreast, and, while the trumpeters redoubled their exertions to enliven the scene, led the main body over
* As an indication of the good humor that prevailed on the part of Ingersoll and the populace, General Humphreys mentions a jest that passed between them while the cavalcade was escorting the ex-stamp-master to Hartford — which was given and received with entire good nature. ]VIr. Ingersoll, who chanced to ride a white horse, being asked what he thought to find himself attended by such a retinue, replied, " that he had now a clearer idea than ever he had before conceived of that passage in the Revelations which describes death on a pale horse^ and hell following him.^^ Life of Putnam, p. 32.
138 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
the familiar haunts where the train-bands had defied the tyranny of Fletcher, and where the charter had eluded the grasp of Andross. He then ordered them to form around the court-house in a semi-circle. The stamp-master was set in a conspicuous place, and commanded to read his recanta- tion aloud in the hearing of the Assembly and in the presence of the people. He went through the ceremony to the univer- sal satisfaction of his audience, and after the shout of Liberty and Property had been again followed by a round of hearty cheers, these lords of the soil whose ancestors had helped to frame the constitution of 1639, returned to their farms to pray for the king and supplicate Heaven that the eyes of the ministry might be opened to repeal the unhallowed and execrable stamp act."^
* Hutchinson's Letter to Governor Pownall ; Ingersoll's account ; Connecticut Courant, No. 44, under date Sept. 23, 1765 5 Bancroft's account of the transaction in his fifth vol. p. 318, 319, 320.
Notwithstanding the publicity of Ingersoll's resignation and recantation, it would seem that the Sons of Liberty were fearful that he might still exercise the duties of the hated office. This suspicion induced him to make a still further public announcement, as follows : —
" Whereas, I have lately received two anonymous letters, calling on me (among other things,) to give the public some further assurance with regard to my inten- tions about exercising the office of distributor of stamps for this colony, as some others have done since receiving our commissions or deputations of office for that purpose ; and that I confirm the same by oath. And although I don't think it best ordinarily to take notice of such letters, nor yet to take oaths upon such kind of occasions ; yet, (as I have good reason to think those letters came fi'om a large number of people belonging to this colony, and do respect a subject of a very inte- resting nature, and the present times being peculiarly difficult and critical, and I myself at no loss or difficulty about making known my resolutions and intentions respecting the matters aforesaid,) I have concluded to make the following declara- tion and to confirm the same by an oath — that is to say —
" 1 . I never was nor am now desirous, or even willing, to hold or exercise the aforesaid office, contrary to the mind and inchnation of the general body of people in this colony.
" 2. I have for some time been and still am persuaded, that it is the general opinion and sentiment of the people of this colony (after mature deliberation,) that the stamp act is an infringement of their rights and dangerous to their liberties, and therefore I am not willing, nor will I, for that and other good and sufficient reasons, as I suppose, (and which I hope and trust will excuse me to those who appointed me,) exercise the said office against such general opinion and sentiment
[1765.J PUTXAM AlsD FITCH. 139
Colonel Putnam, who had been one of the principal instiga- tors of this movement, was prevented by unavoidable circumstances from being present. Soon after this event he was deputed to wait on Governor Fitch, and express to him the sentiments of the people on this delicate matter. The interview exhibits, in the following dialogue, the spirit of the times and the moral courage of this deputy of the Sons of Libertv :
Governor. " What shall I do if the stamped paper should be sent to me by the king's authority ?"
Putnam. " Lock it up until ive* shall visit you again." Govei'nor. "And what w^ill you do then?" Putnam. " We shall expect you to give us the key of the room in which it is deposited : and if you think fit, in order to screen yourself from blame, you may forewarn us upon our peril not to enter the room."
Governor. "And what will you do afterwards?" Putnam. " Send it safelv back ao;ain." Governor. "But if I should refuse admission?" Putnam. " Your house will be leveled with the dust in five minutes !"t
Thus ended the colloquy. It was soon repeated in New York, and alarmed those agents who had charge of this con- traband property to such a degree that they did not dare to send their freight into Connecticut. J
of the people ; and, generally and in a word, will never at all, by myself or other- wise, officiate under my said deputation. And as I have, so I will, in the most effectual manner I am able, apply to the proper board in England, for a dismis- sion from my said office.
"J. Ingersoll. "New Haven, ss., Jan. 8, 1766."
" Then personally appeared Jared Ingersoll, Esq., and made oath to the truth of the foregoing declaration, by him subscribed, before me,
" David Lyman, Just. Peace."
* " VTe," probably means Sons of Liberty.
t Humphreys' Life of Putnam, pp. 33, 34.
tit appears from an article in the " Connecticut Courant," of INIarch 24, 1766, that during that month several vessels arrived at New London from Barbadoes and Antigua, which had lodged " certain stamped papers with the emblems of slavery," at the custom-house in that place. The collector was immediately waited
140 HISTOEY OF CONNECTICUT.
Thus ended the exhibition of popular feeling in the colony against the stamp act. The law was repealed in March, 1766, but with such a bad grace on the part of the British ministry that it failed to conciliate the exasperated colonies. In vain did they insist on the inseparable existence of taxation and representation, in vain did Pitt sound the alarm, and in vain did Lord Camden reiterate the words " it is itself an eternal law of nature ;" the sullen ministry insisted still upon the right to continue the law, while from prudential motives they repealed it. Such blind instruments did they prove them- selves to be, in preparing the way for a separation.
upon by a committee of the Sons of Liberty, who demanded an instant surrender of any stamped paper lodged in his office. They were forthwith given up with the utmost politeness. A mock court was instituted, which, after due delibera- tion, brought in a verdict of guilty^ against the offending papers, and passed sen- tence that they should " receive thirty stripes at the public whipping-post, and be committed to the flames." "Whereupon, (says the account,) the sentence was duly executed in the presence of the court, amidst the acclamations of a numerous assembly, whose hearts were filled with the most ardent wishes for the honor, health, and welfare of George the Third, the best of kings, and illustrious family — success of the mother country — ^freedom and unanimity in the British Parliament.'*
CHAPTER VI.
THE BOSTON PORT BILL.
The repeal of the Stamp Act was followed by other oppressive statutes of a kindred sort. The Rockingham administration was at an end, and the idol of the colonies, William Pitt, now created Earl of Chatham, was authorized to form a new ministry. The Duke of Grafton was placed at the head of the treasury ; Lord Shelburne was joined with General Conway, as one of the Secretaries of State ; the Earl of Camden, was made Lord Chancellor, Lord North and George Cooke, joint-paymasters ; and to crown all these incongruities, the passionate, eccentric, unprincipled Charles Townshend, the old friend of Grenville, and the plotter against the peace of America, was nominated Chancellor of the Ex- chequer. But the strange elements that the Earl of Chatham had gathered around him, could only have been kept together by the controling will of that great man. His health soon failed, and the government nominally under his direction, fell into hands that were hostile to the interests of the American colonies. Townshend was Chancellor of the Exchequer, and of course had mainly in his charge the financial relations of the government. Although he had originally aided in the passage of the Stamp Act, he had afterwards used all his influence to effect its repeal, and now possessed the confi- dence of the colonies to such a degree that they regarded him rather with favor than suspicion. Massachusetts had even gone so far as to give him a vote of thanks for his zeal in the service of the colonies.*
Never was confidence more sadly misplaced. It soon became obvious that if the friendship formerly subsisting
* Gordon's Hist. i. 143.
142 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
between Lord Grenviile and Townshend had grown cold, the ex-minister was not without his influence. Chagrined at his ill-fated attempts to oppress the Americans, Grenviile took every occasion in the House of Commons to taunt the new ministry with weakness in allowing the colonies to remain unburdened with the weight of taxation.
"You are cowards," he exclaimed one evening, turning his eye towards the seats occupied by the ministers ; " you are afraid of the Americans ; you dare not tax America."
Townshend was in a rage at this sudden attack. Should he, the gallant, the chivalrous man of genius, be branded with cowardice in the discharge of an official duty? His proud spirit spurned the imputation. Rising in his place he threw back the barbed arrow that had fastened itself in his flesh. "Fear — fear," repeated he scornfully: ^'cowards; — dare not tax America ! / dare tax America."
Grenviile saw his advantage ; he paused a moment, and then added with a sneering look, "Dare you tax America? 1 wish to God I could see it ?"
" I will — I will," responded the Chancellor of the Exchequer.*
Accordingly, at the very first session of parliament, he presented a plan for drawing money from the American provinces that was thought to be unexceptionable. He pro- posed to keep up a standing army in the colonies, and to give executive and judicial officers such salaries as would make them independent of the provincial legislatures.
The new revenue bill was to be so framed as to pass for an act regulating trade, and not for a direct tax levied upon the colonies. The act provided that tea, paints, paper, glass, and lead, (all of them articles of British production,) should pay a duty at the colonial custom-houses. As a condition of this bill, another was brought forward to encourage the exporta- tion of tea to the colonies allowing a drawback for five years of the whole duty, payable on the importation of that
* MS. of Wm. Samuel Johnson, LL D., then in England as Agent for Connecti- cut. Pitkin's United States, i. 217.
[1768.] RIOT AT BOSTON. 143
article. These insidious measures were so cunningly devised, and called by such innocent names, that they passed, in the absence of Lord Chatham, with little opposition. The new acts of parliament excited much alarm throughout the colonies, as soon as their provisions were made known in America. A deep-seated opposition was soon manifested in Massachusetts, who, from her commercial importance, felt the first blow, and thence spread throughout the colonies.* An act, passed about the same time, suspending the legisla- tive functions of the Assembly of New York, served to rouse the spirit of the continent. t The petition, letters, and other state documents, prepared by Massachusetts and forwarded to England, were of a high, manly tone, and breathed such bold sentiments as seemed easily convertible into the most terrible opposition.
Meanwhile the new board of commissioners of the customs entered upon the discharge of their duties at Boston. Their first act was to sieze the sloop Liberty, belonging to John Hancock, for a violation of the revenue laws. J This vessel was removed from the wharves by armed boats and placed under the charge of the Romney, a British ship-of-war, then lying at anchor in the harbor. This unusual spectacle inflamed the popular indignation to a very high degree. The citizens of the town who had assembled to witness it, having tried in vain to prevent this outrage upon the pro- perty of one of their favorites, now began to retaliate by acts of violence offered to some of the custom-house officers. The people attacked the houses of the collector and comp- troller, broke their windows, and those of Mr. Williams, the inspector-general ; they then siezed the collector's boat, drag- ged it through the town and burned it on the Common. This was on Friday the 10th of June. On Monday morning, at an early hour, the commissioners took refuge on board the Romney, and soon after fled to the castle for protection. §
* Gordon ; Bancroft. f Hildrcth ; Graham ; &e. + Hildreth, ii. 544 ; Pitkin's United States, ii. 228. § Pitkin, ii. 228 ; Hildreth, i. 544.
144 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
It had before been determined to quarter standing troops in Boston.
Two days, therefore, before this disturbance, Lord Hills- borough directed General Gage forthwith to order one regi- ment or more, if he should deem it necessary, to Boston, to be' quartered there.
The arrival of an armed force and the presence of British ships in the harbor only increased the excitement at Boston. The people resolved to prevent the landing of the troops, and made preparations on so large a scale that all the British ves- sels were put in requisition. Fourteen ships of war, with their broadsides toward the town, springs on their cables, and their guns ready to open upon it, could scarcely serve to keep the people at bay while a single regiment was landing. About noon of the first of October, under the cover of the fleet, seven hundred men vrere sent ashore, and with loaded muskets and fixed bayonets marched into the Common to the music of drum and fife. In the evening, the selectmen w^ere required to quarter two regiments in town, but per- emptorily refused to do it. But as one of these regiments was destitute of camp equipage, and as the weather was cold, the soldiers were allowed as a matter of favor to pass the night in Faneuil Hall, and its chambers. The next day was Sunday, and Governor Bernard, ordered the State House to be opened for the reception of the troops. They took posses- sion of all the rooms except the one belonging to the council. Even the hall of the representatives of the people bristled wdth British bayonets. This rash step w^as felt to be a bitter insult both to the town and to the whole province. Acts of retaliation soon followed, and deeds of violence on either side, that hastened the crisis. But it is quite beyond the scope of this work to dwell upon these interesting details, that w^ould of themselves fill a volume. It is needless to say that blood- shed and all the horrors of civil war followed in the train of such evils.*
About the beginning of April, some gentlemen of Boston
* Gordon, i. 166, 167.
[176S.] NON-IMPORTATION AGREEMENTS. 145
and New York, wrote letters to some of their friends in Philadelphia, asking if they would unite with them in stop- ping the importation of goods from Great Britain until the oppressive acts, so subversive of their rights as British sub- jects, should be repealed. A well-attended and dignified meeting of merchants followed this correspondence. An address was read on the occasion, that recited in fearless terms the unjust doings of the ministry, and closed with the significant words, ^^ united lue conquer, divided we die."
The Pennsylvania merchants, however, refused to sign at that time any agreement for the non-importation of British goods. The Boston merchants, many of them, on the 1st of August, signed articles of this sort.*
The merchants of Connecticut and New York, during the same month, entered into a like agreement, pledging them- selves in the most solemn manner not to import either on their own account, or on commission, or to purchase of anybody who should import, any tea, paper, glass, or painters' colors, until the act imposing duties on those articles should be repealed.
In September, a festival was held by the people of Nor- wich, in mockery of the list of holidays appointed by the commissioners of customs for persons under their employ. One of these gala days was the " 8th of September," the day on which their commissions bore date. This very day was singled out by the people for festivities of a quite difTerent sort. Toasts of a very patriotic character were drank on the occa- sion, every one closing with the words "and the 8th of Sep- tember." On the 4th of October a town meeting was called to consider the "critical and alarming conjuncture of affairs."
* Among the pledges numerously signed, were the following : — " We will not send for or import from Great Britain, this fall, any other goods than what are already ordered for the fall supply." "We will not purchase of any factor or others, any kinds of goods imported from Great Britain, from January 1769, ta January, 1770." "We will not import, on our owti account, or on commission, or purchase of any, who shall import from any other colony in America, from January, 1769 to January, 1770, any tea, glass, paper, or other goods, commonly imported from Great Britain, &c." See Gordon's Hist. Am. Rev., i. 163-4.
42
146 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
The citizens were almost all present, and the greatest unanimity of feeling prevailed. The page of the record book on which the doings of the meeting are preserved, is inscribed with the word "Liberty, liberty, liberty," thrice written as if the repetition added to the charm. At this meeting a vote was passed approving of the course that had been pursued by people of Boston, and pledging themselves to " unite both heart and hand in support thereof against all enemies whatsover." The people at the same time instruc- ted their representatives to use their influence at the next session of the General Assembly to bring about an adjust- ment of the treasury accounts of the colony, to see " that the colonels have a special muster and review of their respective regiments," that manufacturers be encouraged, that union with the neighboring colonies be promoted, and lastly, that the debates he open.* Many other towns manifested the same spirit.
Thus in hurry and alarm passed the year 1768. Early in 1769, the British revenue sloop Liberty, was stationed by the commissioner of customs near New London, to keep a close watch upon all the vessels that left that port, or entered it, and see that the revenue laws were not violated. She was for a long time kept cruising between that point and New- port, overhauling every craft that she could find of a suffi- cient size to carry merchandize between one sea-port and another. She was known by the disrespectful name of the "Pirate," and came to such an untimely end before the close of the summer, as befits piracy.f It need hardly be said, that this abominable system of espionage led to smuggling in Connecticut as well as in the other colonies. Sugars and indigo were often shipped at New London as flax-seed, or landed in the dead of the night to avoid the odious duty. J
*Caulkins' Hist, of Norwich, 211, 212.
t Caulkins' New London, 483. She was destroyed near Newport, " by a burst of popular frenzy."
X As many of the articles imported would not bear to pay the heavy duties demanded, the importers seemed to regard it as no breach of honor to defraud the government of its unjust exactions.
[1770.] TOWN MEETI]S"GS. 147
The year 1770, was one of peculiar interest in Connecticut. The merchants of the colony had kept the articles of agree- ment entered into with those of New York, in relation to the non-importation of British goods, with singular fidelity. In New York on the other hand, those articles had been in many instances violated with a shamelessness that elicited such universal indignation in Connecticut, that it was resolved that a general convention of delegates from all the towns in the colony should meet at New Haven on the 13th of Sep- tember, to take into consideration the perilous condition of the country, to provide for the growth and spread of home- manufactures, and to devise more thorough means for carry- ing out to the letter, the non-importation agreement. " We will frown," say the freemen of Norwich, at a town meeting held on the 29th of January, " upon all who endeavor to frus- trate these good designs, and avoid all correspondence and dealings with those merchants who shall dare to violate these obligations."*
The preparations for this general convention of the mer- cantile and landholdino* interests were verv marked and decisive in almost all the old towns, and were in their general character so nearly alike that the action of one may serve to illustrate that of the others. f Frequent town meetings were held, speeches were made, and resolutions were passed, many of which found their way to England and caused the ears of the British ministry to tingle and their cheeks to redden with anger. Indeed, the towns of the colony on this occasion evinced, as they have always done in difficult emergencies, their individuality and distinct municipal organization, acting
* Caulkins' Hist, of Norwich, p. 212.
t At a spirited meeting holden at Litchfield, on the 30th of August, 1770, Mr. Abraham Kilbourn was chosen moderator, and Messrs. John Osborne and Jede- diah Strong were appointed delegates to the convention in question. The dele- gates from Norwich, were Captain Jedediah Huntington, and Elijah Backus, Esq. The citizens of Norwalk held a preliminary meeting on the 20th of August — Col. Thomas Fitch, moderator— at which Capt. John Cannon, Col. Tliomas Fitch, and Capt, Benjamin Isaacs, were appointed delegates. The convention was composed of some of the ablest and most patriotic men in the colony.
148 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
with as much apparent independence as if they were sovereignties. The town-meeting was a forum where the humblest man in the colony might rise up and speak his sen- timents freely, though in simple and unpolished phrase, in behalf of the oppressed people. In these primitive senate- chambers the minds of those profound statesmen whose wis- dom afterwards enlightened the deliberations of Congress, and whose eloquence electrified the nation, were ripened for the high stations of the senate, the cabinet and the bench.
On the 27th of August, a meeting of this sort was held at Glastenbury for the purpose of choosing delegates to attend the convention at New Haven.* They speak of this conven- tion as about to meet to "resolve upon such measures as are proper to be taken for the support of the non-importation agreement, so important at this critical conjuncture to the plantations in America, belonging to the British crown : also to consider the alarming conduct of a neighboring colony — New York, [in] shamefully violating said agreement." They then proceeded to appoint two of their principal citi- zens to represent the town in that convention and instructed them what to do, and how to vote as members of it. They are directed to support to the utmost of their ability the non- importation agreement; for, say they, "you cannot but be sensible that the reasons for coming into said agreement at first will continue to operate in their full force so long as the duty on a single article remains as a test of parliamentary power to tax America without her consent or representation.'^ They proceed to animadvert in severe terms upon the viola- tion of that agreement in New York. " A large number," say they, " of merchants and traders in the colony of New York, have of late, in direct opposition to the general sense of the Americans, been guilty of a very criminal and perfidi- ous breach of said agreement, and thereby have shamefully
* The delegates from Glastenbury, were JNIessrs. Jonathan Welles, and Ebenezer Plummer. The citizens of New London, appointed four delegates, viz: — Gurdou Saltonstall, William Hillhouse, Nathaniel Shaw, Jr., William Manwaring.
[1770.] DOMESTIC MANUFACTURES. 149
betrayed their country's cause. We further offer it as our opinion, that, for the future, no commercial intercourse, by any in this colony be held with the inhabitants of that gov- ernment, either directly or indirectly, until the revenue acts are repealed, our grievances redressed, or until they make public satisfaction." The importers were next placed under the ban of excommunication ; and that nothing might be left undone to make their condition completely wretched, it is reconmiended that " all connections be withdrawn from those in this colony who shall presume hereafter to carry on anv traffic or trade with those betravers of their countrv, until they shall give proper satisfaction for their offensive conduct."*
The popular feeling in favor of domestic manufactures soon grew to be a passion. The women of the colony, with- out reference to rank, encouraged their husbands, sons, and lovers, and vied with them in bringing back the " age of home-spun." The sliding of the shuttle, the buzz of the spin- ning-wheel, the bleaching of cloth upon the lawn that sloped downward from the kitchen door of the family mansion to the rivulet that threaded the bottom of the glade, found employ- ment for the proudest as well as the humblest female in the land.f Committees of Inspection were appointed by the towns to see that no man or woman should infringe upon the sanctity of the non-importation agreement. These com- mittees were by no means idle. The gentleman who wished to drink a glass of brandy, or other imported liquor, and the dame who felt that her patriotism needed the gentler stimu- lus of tea, were obliged to keep the tempting beverage out of sight and watch a secret moment to nourish the cherished appetite. Woe betide the wretch who should be caught in the act of transgression. If a male, publication in the Gazette, the cry of the populace at his heels, and the insults of every boy v/ho was large enough to shout the word Liberty — was the least that he could expect, even should he
* Dr. Chapin's Hist, of Glastenbury, 52, 53. fCothren, i. 173.
150 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
be fortunate enough to escape the tenacious affinities of tar and feathers. If a woman, it were better for her that she had never been born. No sighs were in reserve to be breathed in her ears by the young or the brave, though her face were fair as an angel's ; and those of her own sex were sure to turn from her as if her eye had in it an evil charm.* In this trying crisis too, much capital was diverted from the old channels of agriculture and merchandise into the new enterprise of establishing factories and mills.
The years 1771 and 1772, passed with few^ changes in the affairs of the colony worthy of note. The popular sentiment in favor of resistance to British oppression, gained ground every day, and with this love of freedom there slowly grew up a manliness and boldness of character that prepared the people for a protracted struggle. This long preparation stood in the stead of discipline. Or in the words of the Duke of Richmond, they thus acquired " the substance of what discipline h only the shadow." " Discipline," said that nobleman, in a tone of warning to the House of Lords, "is only the substitute for a common cause to attach through fear and keep to their ranks and standard, those who would otherwise desert them.'^f The " quarrel," as Chatham scorn- fully called it, between the ministry and the colonies in rela- tion to taxation, was now approaching its crisis. The tea-tax had been kept upon the statute-book for the sake of main- taining the theoretical authority of parliament, rather than for any practical uses that it might serve. But though un- repealed, it was virtually disregarded, and partly by the force
* The following is a list of articles whieli the citizens of Norwich bound them- selves " not to import, purchase, or use, if produced or manufactured out of America," viz. : loaf sugar, snuff, mustard, starch, malt liquors, linseed oil, cheese, tea, wine, wrought plates, gloves, shoes, bonnets, men's hats, (except felts,) muffs, tippets, etc., wires, lawns, gauze, sewing silk, stays, spirituous liquors, cordage, an- chors, sole leather, clocks, jewellers' ware, gold and silver, lace and buttons, thread lace, velvets, silk handkerchiefs, caps, ribbons, flowers, feathers, &c. Also the finer kinds of broadcloths, cambrics, and silks.
+ Memoirs of Josiah Quincy, Jr., 334.
[1774.] THE BOSTON PORT BILL. 151
of the non-importation agreements and partly by a systematic course of smuggling, it was now almost a dead letter.
Mortified at their defeat, and taunted with it both in and out of parliament, the impatient ministers resolved to send over at once a great quantity of the prohibited article and thrust it upon the people of the colonies by force of arms. In July, the restraints that had been laid upon the East India com- pany to export teas on their own account, were repealed, and steps were taken for the consignment of several cargoes to the principal ports in America. The opposition that this movement encountered in the colonies, and the defeat that it sustained at Boston, are too well known to need a repetition here.
When the news reached England that the people of Bos- ton had thrown into the harbor the teas that had been sent over for their use, the wrath of the ministers knew no bounds. 'Nov were the ministers alone in resenting this marked insult to the majesty of British dominion. All departments of the government felt it, and the very men who had before advocated the cause of the Americans with such eloquence, now yielded up the Bostonians to the mercy of their enemies. In the midst of this excitement was brought forward the bill called the "Boston Port Bill,"* that had for its object the punishment of the town of Boston, by shutting up its harbor and removing the seat of government to Salem. Even Barre and Conway approved of the measure, and the members of the house who rose to speak against it, were coughed down ; and although on its last reading, Burke and Johnstone spoke against it, as impolitic and unjust, it passed
* One of the boldest as well as one of the ablest " reviews" of this celebrated bill was published, in 1774, in a pamphlet form, by Josiah Quiney, Jr., and is re- published entire in his " Memoirs" by his son, 1825. It is entitled, " Observa- tions on the Act of Parliament commonly called the Boston Port Bill ; with Thoughts on Civil Society and Standing Armies." The impolicy as well as the glaring injustice of the enactment is fully set forth. It condemns a whole town not only unheard, but uncited 5 it " involves thousands in ruin and misery without suggestion of any crime by them committed ;" and is so constructed, that enor- mous pains and penalties must inevitably ensue, notwithstanding the most perfect obedience to its injunctions." See also, Gordon, i. 231.
152 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
by a very large vote.* Four other acts, aiming giant blows not only at the offending town, but at the whole common- wealth, and one of them at all the other colonies, followed in quick succession. t
Now that the vengeance of Great Britain was arming her swift winged ships and fitting out her well-trained troops in thousands to crush the principal sea-port town of the eastern colonies, the inhabitants of that town began to make inquiry whether the people of the colonies would stand by them in the unequal conflict ? It was a question of fearful import.
When the tidings of these oppressive acts of legislation reached Connecticut in May, the General Assembly was in session. A day of humiliation and prayer was ordered on account of the threatening aspects of Divine Providence, on the liberties of the people, that they might call upon " the God of all mercies to avert his judgments." J At the same ses- sion, other steps were taken that indicate something besides humiliation, as will appear by the following extracts from our Colonial Records.
At the May session, 1774, "Capt. Titus Hurlburt, is author- ized and directed to take an inventory of all the cannon, small arms, ammunition, and other military stores belonging to this colony, at the battery at New London, or in the town of New London, and to certify the same to this Assembly.''
" Charles Burrall, Oliver Wolcott, and Jonathan Pettibone, are appointed colonels ; Joshua Porter, Ebenezer Norton, and
* Hildreth, iii. 32. t Colonial Records, MS.
fThe substance of these bills may be thus briefly stated, viz, : 1. "A bill for better regulating the government of Massachusetts Bay" — which virtually annulled the charter : providing for the appointment of counselors and judges of the Supe- rior Court by the crown ; all other officers, military, executive, and judicial, to be appointed by the governor independently of the approval by the council ; jurors to be selected by the sheriffs ; all town meetings, except for elections, prohibited. 2. A bill to protect the servants of the crown ag(iinst the verdicts of colonial jurors — providing that all persons charged with murders committed in support of govern- ment should be tried in England. 3. A revival of a former act providing for quartering troops in America. 4. An act, known as the Quebec Act, had particu- lar reference to the government and boundaries of Canada.
[1774.] COMMITTEES OF CORRESPONDEXCE. 153
Jonathan Humphrey, lieutenant-colonels ; Ebenezer Gay, Epaphras Sheldon, and Abel Merrell, majors."
An artillery company is formed in Middletown ; and a company oi grenadiers is formed from the towns of Killingly, Pomfret, and Woodstock.
A series of pungent resolutions was also passed, condem- ning the course of the British government. All the towns in the colony called town meetings in consequence of the news, and most of them passed resolutions in imitation of the example of the General Assembly. Committees of cor- respondence were appointed by tliem to communicate as well with each other as with the colonies at large. Almost every town in the colony also sent donations to Boston for the relief of the poor of that place, and letters were addressed to the committee there breathing the loftiest spirit of liberty and the deepest sympathy with their sufferings. Not only cash, but produce from the farm, and whatever could be made available for food ol* clothins;, were forwarded with a liberal hand from the thinly settled parts of the colony, as well as from the larger and wealthier towns.*
But better than all these gifts made by the people of Connecticut to those of Boston, the most priceless and lovely were those spontaneous and inspiring sympathies that welled up from the great hearts of the freeholders of the colony, and found utterance, as far as their subtle spirit could speak through the medium of words, in those glorious letters written by the committee of correspondence of such little towns as Woodbury, Stratford, Stonington, Glastenbury, Norwich, and many others that were shut out from the world by the trees that still shaded the log-huts of the first settlers.
* The town of Windham sent two hundred and fifty fat sheep ; the contribu- tion from jSTorwich consisted of money, wheat, corn, and a flock of three hundred and ninety sheep ; Wethersfield sent a large quantity of wheat ; many other towns were equally liberal and patriotic. A like spirit was manifested by the friends of freedom abroad. The committee at Schoharie, N. T., sent to Boston, five hundred and fifty-five bushels of wheat ; certain citizens of Georgia sent on sixty-thi-ee barrels of rice, and £122 in specie ; and in the city of London, £30,- 000 sterling were subscribed for the same object.
154 HISTOEY OF CONNECTICUT.
On the 23d of June, 1774, the citizens of Glastenbury met in town meeting to express their sense of the insult and out- rage that had been offered to their friends at Boston. They proceeded to appoint a committee of correspondence "to receive and answer all letters,'' say they, " and to promote and forward such contributions as shall be made in this town for the relief of our distressed friends in Boston/' The com- mittee prepared and forwarded with a copy of the resolu- tions of the meeting, the eloquent address that is here sub- joined in a note, and will be read with interest by every scholar for its classical diction, and by every lover of liberty for its burning sentiments and lofty thoughts.*
* The names of tlie committee who were appointed to draw up this town-paper
were CoL Ehzur Talcott, JNIr. William Welles, Capt. Elislia Hollister, INli'. Ebenezer
Plummer, Mr, Isaac Moseley, Mr. Thomas Ivimberley, and Mr. Josiah Hale. The
letter is as follows : —
" Glastenbury, in Connecticut,
" Gentlemen :— " 23d June, 1774
" We cannot but deeply sympathize with you under the gloomy prospects which at present are before yoa on account of those oppressive acts of parliament vvhich have lately been passed respecting Boston in particular, and the province of Massachusetts Bay in general. Especially when we consider that our liberties and privileges are so nearly and indissolubly connected with yours, that an encroachment upon one at least, destroys all the security of the other. It seems the Parliament of Great Britain are determined to reduce America to a state of vassalage, and unless we all unite in the common cause, they will undoubtedly accomplish their design. We are surprised to find so many of the merchants in Bos- ton courting favor of the tools of the ministry, and heaping encomiums on that enemy to liberty, that traitor to his countrj'', and abettor, if not author of all these evils to America. However, we hope the spirit of liberty is not yet entirely fled from Boston, but that you will yet hold out, and to the last resist and oppose those who are striving to enslave America. Tou may depend on us, and we believe all Connecticut almost to a man, to stand by you and assist you in the defense of our invaluable rights and privileges, even to the sacrificing of our lives and fortunes, in so good a cause. You will see the determinations and resolves of this town, which we have inclosed. A subscription is set on foot for the relief of the poor in Boston, and what money or provisions shall be collected, we shall forv/ard as soon as possible. We are informed that your house of representatives have appointed a time, for the meeting of the general congress, in which we hope all the colonies will concur, and that a non-importation and non-exportation agreement, will be immediately come into, which we doubt not will procure the desired effect ; and notwithstanding the gloomy aspect of things at present, we cannot but look forward, with fond hopes and pleasing expectations, to that glorious era, when America in
[1774.] ■ MEETING AT STONINGTON". 155
On the 11th of July, a similar meeting was held by the inhabitants of Stonington. The doings of this municipal assembly breathe the same spirit. These people had lived too long by the sands washed by the tides of the open Atlantic, to be afraid to strike out at once into deep water. Mark the first sentence of their record. ''Deeply impressed with the alarming and critical situation of our public affairs, by the many repeated attacks upon the liberties of the English American colonies by sundry acts of parliament, both for the purpose of raising a revenue in America as well as the late extraordinary act for blocking up the port of Boston — [we] think it our indispensible duty to manifest our sentiments." They then go on to denounce the Port Bill " as repugnant to the spirit of Freedom and fundamentals of the British con- stitution, and in direct violation of magna charta." The remainder is at once so bold, so loyal, so reasonable, and so calmly philosophical, that it seems worthy to have come from the pen of Richmond or Camden. I have made some extracts from it that may also be found in a note.'" The committee
spite of all the efforts of her enemies t(^ the contrary, shall rise superior to all opposition, overcome oppression, be a refuge for the oppressed, a nurse of liberty, a scourge to tyranny, and the envy of the world — then (if you stand firm and unshaken amidst the storm of ministerial vengeance) shall it be told to your ever- lasting honor, that Boston stood foremost in the cause of liberty, when the greatest power on earth was striving to divest them of it, and by their noble efforts, joined with the united virtue of her sister colonies, they overcame, and thereby trans- mitted to posterity, those invaluable rights and privileges, which their forefathers purchased with their blood. And now gentlemen relying on your steadiness and firmness in the common cause, &c."
R. R. riiuman, Esq., in his " War of the Revolution," gives the doings of the town meetings and conventions in many of the towns and counties, in relation to the Boston Port Bill, the appointment of committees of inspection and correspond- ence, as follows, viz., in New Haven, Lebanon, Norwich, Preston, Groton, Lyme, New London, Windham, Farmington, Wethersfield, Hartford, Woodstock county 5 the counties of New London, Windham, Hartford, Litchfield, &c. See pp. 35 — 78. Meetings of a similar nature were also held in Plainfield, Enfield, East Haddam, Bolton, Stonington, Colchester, Haddam, Ashford, Tolland county, Litchfield, Sharon, Windsor, Middletown, Stratford, Woodbury, and indeed in nearly all the old towns in the colony.
* " These surprising exertions of power which so remarkably distinguish the pre- sent inauspicious times, must necessarily alienate the affections of the Americans
156 HISTOEY OF CONNECTICUT.
of correspondence, soon sent a communication to the Boston
committee and in due time received the following answer,
copied from the manuscript files of the Stonington Committee
of Safety.
"Boston, August 24, 1774. " Gentlemen : —
"Your elegant and benevolent favor of the 1st instant, yielded us that support and consolation amid our distresses, which the generous sympathy of assured friends can never fail to inspire. 'Tis the part of this people to frown on dan- ger face to face, to stand the focus of rage and malevolence of the inexorable enemies of American freedom. Permit us to glory in the dangerous distinction, and be assured that, while actuated by the spirit and confident of the aid of such noble auxiliaries, we are compelled to support the conflict. When liberty is the prize, who would shun the warfare ? Who would stoop to waste a coward thought on life ? We esteem no sacrifice too great, no conflict too severe, to redeem our inestimable rights and privileges. ^Tis for you, brethren, for ourselves, for our united posterity, we hazard all ; and, permit us humbly to hope, that such a measure of vigilence, fortitude, and perseverance, will still be afforded us, that by
irom their mother country, and the British merchants ;" and after advising a gen- eral congress of all the colonies to meet with all possible dispatch, they add,
" We therefore recommend a suspension of all commerce with Great Britain, immediately to take place.
" We are bound in justice to ourselves to declare, that we have ever manifested, (and are still ready on all occasions) the most affectionate loyalty to the illustrious House of Hanover, which we are truly sensible, consists in a well regulated zeal for Liberty and the Constitution ; a sense of real honor grounded upon principles of religion ; and experience will warrant us to affirm that these endowments of loyalty, public spirit, of honor, and religion, are nowhere found in higher perfec- tion than in the British colonies. jSTotwithstanding what is passed, we are still desirous to remain upon our former good understanding with the mother country, and to continue to them their gainful commerce, provided a repeal of those grievous acts take place.
" We heartily sympathise with our distressed brethren, the Bostonians, whom we view as victims sacrificed to the shrines of arbitrary power, and more imme- diately suffering in the general cause. We rejoice to see so many of the neigh- boring colonies and even towns vieing with each other in the liberal benefactions to the distressed and injured town of Boston."
[1774.] waeren's letter. 157
patiently suffering and nobly daring, we may eventually secure that more precious than Hesperian fruit, the golden apples of freedom. We eye the hand of Heaven in the rapid and wonderful union of the colonies ; and that gener- ous and universal emulation to prevent the sufferings of the people of this place, gives a prelibation of the cup of deliver- ance. Mav unerring^ wisdom dictate the measures to be recommended by the Congress — may a smiling God conduct this people through the thorny paths of difficulty, and finally gladden our hearts with success.
" We are, gentlemen, " Your friends in the cause of Liberty,
"Joseph Warren, Chairman.
" To the Committee of ^ "correspondence at Stonington." J
This letter, that rises like a heavenly vision into the regions where such poets as Milton hymn their prophetic songs, is still in the keeping of the town clerk of Stonington. It does indeed "stir the heart like the sound of a trumpet," and is worthy to be carved for an epitaph upon a monument of granite, that should rest forever upon the ashes of Warren.*
All this while the most careful provisions were made for military defense. On Saturday, the 3d of Sept., at 4 o'clock in the afternoon, an express from Col. Putnam rode into Norwich, with the news that Boston had been attacked on the night of the 2d, and several citizens killed. The citizens rallied around the Liberty Tree in great excitement. An ex- press was dispatched to Providence, to learn the truth of the rumor ; and such was the zeal of the people that on Tuesday morning four hundred and sixty-four men, all well armed, and most of them well mounted, started for Boston under the command of Major John Durkee. Before noon, they were met by the courier who had returned from Providence, with the information that no such attack had taken place. This rumor was not so soon contradicted in the interior towns. It
* As the letters to and from the Revolutionary committees of correspondence were not usually entered upon the town records, it is to be lamented that they are generally lost.
158 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
spread like a fire upon a prairie. In a few hours the country for nearly two hundred miles was thoroughly rallied ; many soldiers marched from Woodbury, and joined companies from the other towns.* The whole colony was in commo- tion, and it is believed that more than twenty thousand men were on their march for Boston, before they were made aware that the story was without foundation.!
They had snatched up their muskets and knapsacks, and with the blessing of the good clergyman who was still an oracle to his flock, they started in their white rifle frocks and trousers decorated with dark-colored fringes, their only uniform, to relieve " their brethren at the Bay,'' as their fathers had done before them during Philip's war. From the towns on the coast and the river, where danger might soon be expected to visit their own dwellings, and from the settle- ments perched upon the hill-tops of Litchfield county, secure from every tyranny save that of piping winds, ice-storms, and drifted snows, they hastened to the scene of the conflict. In October, the General Assembly again met. The follow- ing entry upon our records, indicates the bent of the public mind.
"Each military company in the colony shall be called out twelve half days and exercised in the use of their arms, between this time and the first of May. If any non-commis- sioned officer or private shall neglect to attend such exercises, he shall forfeit and pay for each half day, two shillings law- ful money, to be divided equally among those on duty ; and a premium of six shillings shall be allowed such soldier who shall attend on said tw^elve half days. "J
Little else of importance was done during that year. The delegates from Connecticut in attendance upon the Continen- tal Congress during this eventful period, were Messrs. Elipha- let Dyer, Roger Sherman, and Silas Deane. They united heartily with their colleagues from other colonies in recom- mending the "non-importation, non-consumption, and non-
* Cothren, i. 175.
tHinman's Am. Rev., p. 19, 20. ^Caulkins, Norwich, 223.
[1774.] CONDITION OF THE COLONY. 159
exportation agreement," as means of redress for the " griev- ances which threatened the destruction of the Hves, Hberty, and property of his majesty's subjects in North America." This agreement was passed by the Congress on the 5th day of September ; and immediately upon the reception of the report of the delegates from this colony, their action was accepted and approved by the General Assembly, and the articles were recommended to be faithfully observed. The Assembly also called upon the several towns to appoint com- mittees ao;reeable to the eleventh article of that ao-reement.* Thus Connecticut, "with no royal governor to eject," no provincial court to overawe the representatives of her people, bidding them to cringe and bow the supple knee, was at liberty to carry out the philosophical teachings of that jurisprudence promulgated by Roger Ludlow, ratified by Winthrop, and founded upon the principles of equality that were now about to be blazoned to the world by the pen of Jefferson, and the sword of Washington.
* Nearly all the towns in the colony, in their official capacity, ratified the doings of Congress and of the Assembly. The unanimity of feeling and action on this subject, is truly remarkable, when it is remembered that the subject of colonial independence had hardly as yet begun to be breathed even in whispers.
CHAPTER YII.
BATTLE OF LEXINGTON AND FALL OF TICONDEEOGA.
Boston was now filled with British troops, and armed ships in hostile array swarmed in the waters that washed the slen- der peninsula on which she stood. Every day added to the breach that already yawned fearfully wide between the inhab- itants of the province and the unfeeling soldiers, who had ceased to remember that those whom they now called rebels, were sprung of the same lineage with themselves.
On the 30th of March, 1775, General Gage marched about eleven hundred men into the country, who amused themselves by throwing down the farmers' fences and doing other wanton acts of mischief Only a spark was now needed to light these combustible materials into a flame. Upon the plea of learning a new exercise, the grenadier and light infantry companies were soon after taken off duty. Some supposed that the object was to seize the persons of Mr. Samuel Adams and Mr. Hancock, who were then at Lexing- ington ; but those sagacious gentlemen could not be induced to believe that such an attempt would be made in so public a manner.
Some provisional stores had been deposited at Worcester, and others at Concord. These stores were the object of General Gage's attention. It is not likely that he would have taken this step at that time, had he not been urged to do it by the solicitations of the tories, who lived in the neighborhood of Concord, and who had filled his ears with false reports of the cowardice of the "rebels." On the 18th of April, a number of officers were stationed along the road leading to Concord to prevent the arrival of expresses from Boston to give the alarm. But Dr. Warren accidentally discovered the movement and sent messengers across the
[1775.] THE FIRST BLOW. 161
neck, some of whom were so well mounted that they out- stripped the vigilance of the British patrol, and gave the warning that was soon sounded far and wide through that religious neighborhood, by the silvery bells that sent it from steeple to steeple toward Concord. Signal-guns and volleys too confirmed the intelligence. By eleven o'clock at night, eight hundred grenadiers and light infantry, the finest troops in the army, embarked at the common, and landing at Phipp's farm, took up their line of march for Concord. They were commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Smith. Major Pitcairn led the advanced corps. About two o'clock on the morning of the 19th, the Lexington company of militia, to the number of one hundred and thirty, were stationed on the green near the meeting house. The air was so chilly and the prospect of the enemy's approach was so very uncertain, that the men were dismissed after the roll-call, with orders to appear again at beat of drum. Some of them went home and others to the inns that were not far off. Word was not brought them in season to prepare for the coming up of the British troops, so that only about seventy men were on the ground when the enemy arrived, and but a few of these were drawn up in battle order. There were about forty spec- tators who had no arms in their hands. Of course this hand- ful of militia would not have thought of beginning the attack. Seeing this confused crowd of citizens standing in the line of his march. Major Pitcairn rode around the meeting house, and as he drew near, called out to them in no very gentle tone, "Disperse, you rebels; throw down your arms and dis- perse." Enraged at seeing that not a single man dropped his musket, or made a movement to retire from the spot, he rode a few yards farther, discharged his pistol, brandished his sword, and bade the advanced corps to fire upon the crowd. They obeyed and the people all fled, but the firing still continued. A handful of the militia now stopped and returned the fire. Three or four Americans were killed upon the green, and the rest, eight in all, were shot on the other
side of the walls and fences where they had secreted them-
43
162 HISTOEY OF COKXECTICUT.
selves. The detachment continued its march toward Con- cord. Startled at this wanton murder, the people of the town sallied for defense. But the British troops were too numer- ous and too well disciplined to be successfully met by them. The Americans now retired over the north bridge and waited for reinforcements from the neighboring towns. The British light infantry followed and took possession of the bridge, while the main body entered the town and hastened to seize upon the stores. They rendered unfit for service the cannon that they found there, threw five hundred pounds of ball into the river, wells, and other places of concealment, and broke in pieces about sixty barrels filled with flour.
These were the vaunted military stores that had disturbed the slumbers of the tories of that district, and tempted the British general to plunge the nation into a civil war !
While this wanton destruction of property was going on, the provincials were pouring into Concord in great numbers. Major John Butterick took command, and ignorant of the murder at Lexington, ordered the militia not to fire on the aggressors, but to defend themselves. As he advanced with his men, the infantry retired to the Concord side of the river, and began to destroy the bridge. As he drew nearer, they fired upon him and killed Captain Davis, of Acton, who was marching in front. The fire was returned and a skirmish followed, in which the British troops were soon forced to retreat. They were pursued with much loss, and had good cause for expedition, for the militia poured in like a whirl- wind, and hung upon their rear, shooting them from behind the stone walls and bushes. The retreating detachment was restored to its equanimity by the timely arrival of Lord Percy.* The details of the battle of Lexington are set
*Tlie brigade marched out, playing, by way of contempt, Yankee Doodle — a tune composed in derision of the New Englanders. As the troops passed through Roxbury, a boy made himself extremely merry with the circumstance, jumping and laughing, so as to attract the notice of his lordship, — who, it is said, asked him at what he was laughing so heartily ; and was answered, " To think how you will dance by and by to Chevy ChaseP It is added that the repartee stuck by his lordship the whole day. Gordon, i. 312.
[1775.] CONNECTICUT MAKES REPRISAL. 163
down here with some degree of minuteness, not only because it was the beginning of actual hostilities between Encrland and the colonies, but because, growing out of an attempt to seize military stores, it led to a movement, originating in Connecticut, and paid for out of the treasury of that colony, that resulted in the capture of Ticonderoga, and in the seizure of all its guns and munitions for the use of the colo- nies. The General Assembly was in session when the news of the battle of Lexington reached Hartford, and the plan was entered into of surprising Ticonderoga, without any ostensible action of the Assembly, but with their tacit assent. Several gentlemen borrowed money to defray the expenses of the expedition, from the colonial treasury, and gave their individual obligations, with secu- rity.* A committee was appointed by the leaders of this daring project to complete all the arrangements. This com- mittee selected sixteen Connecticut men and then proceeded to Berkshire, where they elicited the sympathy and coopera- tion of some of the principal gentlemen of the place, and a reinforcement of about forty men. They then advanced to Bennington, where they were joined by Colonel Ethan Allen, Seth Warner, and about one hundred volunteers. After stopping there long enough to bake bread and provide them- selves with such other necessaries as they needed, this little company of one hundred and fifty picked men, followed Colonel Allen to Castleton, whither he had preceded them with a view of raising more troops. While on their way to
* The persons who signed the notes were, Samuel Holden Parsons, Silas Deane, Samuel Wyllys, Samuel Bishop, Jr., William Williams, Thomas Mumford, Adam Babcock, Joshua Porter, Jesse Root, Ezekiel Williams, and Charles Wells. Two years after the capture, (in May 1777,) Mr. Parsons addressed a memorial to the General Assembly of Connecticut, stating the fact that he and his associates, above named, had taken money from the treasury as a means of surprising and captur- ing Ticonderoga, and had given their notes and receipts therefor, all of which had been expended in said service ; and praying the Assembly to cancel their notes and receipts so given to the treasurer, which amounted to £810. Their memorial was granted. Hinman's " War of the Revolution," 29 — 31. Colonel David Wooster was one of the principal projectors of this daring enterprise," although his name is not signed to the notes.
164 HISTOEY OF CONNECTICUT.
Castleton, they fell in with a countryman, who seemed to be an honest traveler. " Whence came you ?" asked the eager soldiers. " From Ty," answered the man, clownishly, making use of the familiar abbreviation, by which the fortress was known in that neighborhood, "I left it yesterday," Ques- tion.— " Has the garrison received any reinforcement ?" Answer. — " Yes ; I saw them. There were a number of artillery-men and other soldiers." Question. — " What are they doing ? Are they making fascines ?" Answer. — " I don't know what fascines are. They are tying up sticks and brush in bundles, and putting them where the walls are down." Not satisfied with the responses of this traveling oracle, Mr. Blagden interrogated him still further in rela- tion to the dress and equipments of the men. The keen- witted tory foiled him at every turn with such rational answers, that the whole company was staggered with doubt. A council was held, in which the proposition was made to return, and after a strenuous debate, it was defeated by a majority of a single vote. At Castleton they met Colonel Allen with fresh reinforcements. Their numbers now amounted to two hundred and seventy men, most of them Green Mountain Boys, who, born in Connecticut, Massachu- setts, and New Hampshire, and inured to the rough warfare of border life, in contending with the executive officers and defying the authority of the provincial legislature of New York, had become wild and free in ^11 their actions and opin- ions as the green ridges whence they took their name.* Sen- tries were now posted on all the roads leading to Ticonderoga, to prevent the news of the enterprise being carried to the
*The celebrated controversy between the " Green Mountain Boys " and the New York Government, forms an important feature in the history of the era immediately preceding the Revolution. The settlers on the " New Hampshire Grants" claimed to be beyond the jurisdiction of the provincial governments, and consequently had a right to govern themselves. The governor and council of New York, however, regarding the territory as within their jurisdiction, fre- quently sent their constables, sheriffs, and sometimes their militia, to dispossess the settlers, collect taxes, &c. The pioneers organized and armed themselves for mutual self- protection. Through a long series of years, collisions between the two parties were frequent.
[1775.] ARNOLD CLAIMS THE COMMAND. 165
garrison by the tories. After the troops had all formed a junc- tion at Castleton, Colonel Benedict Arnold arrived from Cam- bridge, whither he had betaken himself with a company of volunteers, on receiving intelligence of the battle of Lexing- ton.* The next day after his arrival at Cambridge, he had waited upon the Massachusetts Committee of Safety, inform- ed them of the defenseless condition of Ticonderoga, and given them such a glowing account of the value of the guns and military stores there, that they, upon a full hearing, appointed him a colonel, with power to enlist four hundred volunteers, and march against the fort without delay. He arrived at Castleton with a single servant, expecting to take command of the forces who were now readv to move forward. Arnold was personally known to Mr. Blagden, but not another individual composing the company, had ever seen him before. He instantly informed them who he was, and what was the nature of his errand, and insisted that the command of the whole force should be committed to his charge. With a measure of haughtiness that would have overawed most men, he found that he could not bully Ethan Allen, nor take the control of the Green Mountain Boys, contrary to their free choice. However, his commission was examined and he was allowed to join with the other volunteers, and share in the honor of the contemplated exploit. More than this, he was com- missioned anew by the party, and authorized to serve as the assistant of Colonel Allen. Chafed as he was at this unexpect- ed rebuff, Arnold submitted to the terms so generously proffer- ed him. It had been decided that Colonel Allen and the prin- cipal officers should march with the main body of the troops,
* On hearing the news of the battle of Lexington, Arnold, who was Captain of the Governor's Guards, in New Haven, called his company together and paraded before the tavern where a committee were in session. He applied for powder and ball ; which the committee declined furnishing. Arnold threatened to take the needful supply by force, if necessary. Colonel Wooster went out and endeav- ored to persuade him to wait for proper orders, before starting for the scene of conflict. Arnold answered, " None but Almighty God shall prevent my march- ing?^ The committee, perceiving his fixed resolution, supplied him ; and he marched off instantly, and, with his company, reached the American quarters by the 29th of April. Gordon, i. 328.
166 HISTOKY OF CONNECTICUT.
numbering about one hundred and forty effective men, directly to Shoreham, on the lake shore, opposite Ticonde- roga,^ while Captain Herrick, with thirty men, should pass on to Skenesborough, at the head of lake Champlain, seize the effects of Major Skene, and return with the boats and stores that they might capture there, to join Colonel Allen at Shore- ham. Captain Drylas meanwhile, was to advance to Panton and get possession of every boat and batteau that might fall in his way. The day before this arrangement was determin- ed upon. Captain Noah Phelps had disguised himself, and entered the fort in the character of a countryman wanting to be shaved. In searching for a barber he observed every- thing critically, asked a number of rustic questions, affected great ignorance, and passed unsuspected. Before night he withdrew and joined his party.
On the night of the 9th of May, Colonel Allen reached Shoreham. His first care was to look about him for a trusty and skillful guide to lead him into the fort. There lived on the lake-shore a Mr. Beman, a true-hearted and highly respectable farmer, of whom he solicited information. Mr. Beman replied that he had not been in the habit of crossing the lake, and could not himself direct him ; but that his son Nathan, who was a mere lad and had passed a good deal of time at the fortress in playing with the boys of the garrison, could conduct him through all its passages. Nathan Beman was accordingly sent for and subjected to a strict examina- tion. He proved to be a very intelligent child and gave such ready answers to the inquiries that were put to him, and had such a frank and honest face, that Colonel Allen was willing to put himself under his guidance. A new obstacle now presented itself No boats had yet arrived from Panton, and there were so few at Shoreham that the whole night was consumed in getting the officers and eighty-three of the men across the lake. Colonel Allen had sent the boats back to bring over the rear guard, under the command of Colonel Warner, when he perceived signs of the approaching dawn. Contrary to the advice of some of the officers, he resolved
[1775.] COLONEL ALLEN's SPEECH. 167
not to wait for the rear guard, but to begin the attack at once. Drawing up his forces in three ranks beneath the very walls of the fort, he addressed them in the following characteristic language :
" Friends and Fellow Soldiers : — You have for a number of years past been a scourge and terror to arbitrary power. Your valor has been famed abroad, and acknowledged, as appears by the advice and orders to me from the General Assembly of Connecticut, to surprise and take the garrison now before us. I now propose to advance before you, and in person conduct you through the wicket-gate ; for we must this morning either quit our pretensions to valor, or possess ourselves of this fortress in a few minutes ; and, inasmuch as it is a desperate attempt, which none but the bravest of men dare undertake, I do not urge it on any contrary to his will. You that will undertake voluntarily, poise your fire-locks."
As he concluded, every soldier poised his fire-lock, without uttering a word. Colonel Allen then ordered them to face to the right, and himself marching at the head of the centre- file, advanced to the wicket-gate. Here he found a sentry posted, who instantly snapped his fusee at the invader. Colo- nel Allen rushed towards him, and, flying along a covered passage and into the parade ground, within the fort, the frightened man uttered a single cry of alarm, and hid himself under a bomb-proof.
The two barracks fronted each other, and as the volun- teers entered the parade, following the long strides of their leader, he commanded them to form in such a manner as to face both these dormitories, whence the soldiers of the garrison were momentarily expected to swarm. The whole garrison was locked in such a dead sleep, that the shouts of the inside sentries, who gave three loud huzzas, could scarcely awaken them. One of these sentries made a pass at one of Colonel Allen's officers, and slightly wounded him. Allen raised his sword to kill the assailant at a blow ; but chang- ing his purpose and reflecting that the man's life might be
168 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
turned to some good account, he commuted the punishment to a slight cut upon the side of the head. The sentinel instantly threw down his gun and begged for life. Colonel Allen granted his petition, and demanded of him where his commanding officer slept.
The prisoner pointed to a pair of stairs in front of one of the barracks, leading up into the second story. Allen strode up the stairs, and shouted from the entrance, "Come forth instantly, or I will sacrifice the whole garrison." Roused from sleep by a summons that must have been heard by every man within the walls of the fortress, Captain De La Place came immediately to the door, w^ith his breeches in his hand. His astonishment on beholding such a giant appari- tion standing so near him with a drawn sword in its hand, seems at first to have deprived the poor soldier of the power of utterance. Allen was the first to break the silence of this awkward interview. " Deliver me the fort instantly," said he. " By whose authority," inquired the British officer. " In the name of the Great Jehovah and the Continental Congress," shouted the volunteer colonel in explanation. Captain De La Place appears to have been at a loss to understand how the former of the authorities named, could be disposed to frown on a gallant officer in the discharge of his duty, and equally at a loss to define the jurisdiction of the latter, over the servants of the house of Hanover.
He began to speak interrogatively, by way of satisfying these scruples, when Allen interrupted him, and flourishing his sword over his head, again, in a voice of thunder, demanded the surrender of the fort. By the sincerity of his adversary's manner, and by the flashing of his eye, that gleamed like a tiger's in the gray light of the early morning. Captain De La Place saw that compliance alone could save his life, and yielded in time to stay the descending blade.
He issued orders immediately that his men should be par- aded without arms, as he had given up the garrison.
Meanwhile the other invading officers were busy in exe- cuting that part 'of the enterprise assigned to them, and had
^1775.] WARNER TAKES CROWN POINT. 169
soon beaten down several of the barrack doors, and impris- oned about one-third of the garrison, which consisted of Captain De La Place, Lieut. Feltham, a conductor of artil- lery, a gunner, two sergeants and forty-four privates. This daring scheme was carried into effect in the morning twilight of the 10th of May, 1775. " The sun," says Colonel Allen, who like Mason, has left no vulgar record of his own exploit, " the sun seemed to rise that morning with a superior lustre, and Ticonderoga and its dependencies smiled to its conquer- ors, who tossed about the glowing bowl and wished success to Congress, and the liberty and freedom of America."
Well might its long level beams smile upon the waters of the lake, that had after so many years of conflict only passed from the hands of one tyrant into those of another, and had now for the first time begun to tremble in the light that was to emancipate the world. That same sun, before its setting, shone upon the Continental Congress, whose authority Allen had invoked six good hours before it began to exist !
The reader is not to suppose that Colonel Warner was idle while his old friend, who had shared in common with him the wrestling-matches and boyhood pastimes that in those days made the sons of Litchfield County tough-sinewed and double-jointed as well as brave, was consummating one of the most daring exploits in the history of the revolution. Early in the morning this gallant officer crossed the lake with the rear guard, eager to share in the excitement of a scene in which accident alone had prevented his participa- ting. He was indeed too late; but his nature was incapa- ble of envying the laurels that had been won by his superior officer, and he set off cheerfully and without delay with about one hundred men, to take possession of Crown Point. The small garrison of this fortress consisting only of a ser- geant and twelve men, was on the same day delivered up to him without a struggle.
Previous to this affair, Allen had dispatched a messenger to Captain Remember Baker, who was at Winooski river, requesting him to join the army at Ticonderoga, with as
170 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
large a number of men as he could muster. He obeyed the summons ; and when he was coming up the lake with his party, he met two small boats, which had been sent from Crown Point, to carry intelligence of the reduction of Ticon- deroga to St. John's and Montreal, and solicit reinforce- ments. The boats were captured by Baker, and he arrived at Crown Point just in time to participate in the reduction of that post.*
Still the lake was not entirely free, for a single English sloop was lying at St. John's. As Colonel Arnold had already proved himself willing to do his duty, an amicable arrange- ment was entered into between him and Allen in regard to the capture of this sloop. It was agreed to arm and fit out a schooner that was lying at South Bay, which was to sail for St. John's under Arnold, while Colonel Allen followed with another party in batteaux. Arnold made all sail for the prize, without waiting for Allen who, of course, soon fell behind him. The sloop was much larger and carried more metal than the schooner, but Arnold found no difficulty in surprising and taking her captive, together with the garri- sion at St. John's,! before the batteaux could arrive. The wind that had favored his advance, now suddenly shifted, and blew fresh from the north, as if to facilitate his return. In about an hour, Arnold again reached Ticonderoga. On his way he met Colonel Allen, within a few miles of St. John's, and saluted him with a discharge of cannon. Allen returned it with a volley of small arms. This was repeated three times, after which the colonel went on board the sloop with his party, where they all drank several jolly rounds for the edification of their prisoners, and in token of their loyalty to the American Congress.
Lake Champlain was now in the hands of the Americans, without the loss of a single life. The fall of Ticonderoga alone gave to the Congress, aside from the importance of the place, about one hundred and twenty iron cannon,
* Captain Baker was a native of Woodbury, Connecticut.
t This garrison consisted, like that at Crown Point, of a sergeant and twelve men.
[1775.] CONNECTICUT PAYS THE BILLS. 171
fifty swivels, two mortars, one howitzer, one cohorn, ten tons of musket ball, three cart loads of flints, thirty new car- riages, a large quantity of shells, one hundred stands of arms, ten barrels of powder, two brass cannon, to say nothing of materials for ship building, pork, flour, beans, peas, and other valuables.* Warner took upwards of one hundred pieces of cannon at Crown Point. Such was the result of this retaliatory act that followed the murders at Lexington, and the ill-timed seizure under the name of mili- tary stores, of a few barrels of flour at Concord. It was as we have seen, from the beginning, a Connecticut measure, conceived by gentlemen from that colony, approved by her General Assembly, carried out by officers who were born in her towns of Litchfield, Woodbury, and Norwich ; and pai(i for, as our state papers still show, from her treasury. f
Thus Connecticut had the honor, of which neither envy nor falsehood have ever been quite able to rob her, of strik- ing the first aggressive blow at the British power in America.J The news of these achievements soon spread
* Allen's " Narrative." See De Puy's Life of Colonel Allen, p. 218.
T The surprise and capture of Skenesborough was effected without bloodshed. Major Skene was taken while out on a shooting excursion, and his strong home possessed and the pass completely gained, almost without opposition. Had the Major received the least intimation of the intended assault, the attempt must have failed ; for he had about sixteen tenants near at hand, besides eight negroes and twelve workmen. See Gordon, i. 335.
X As some historians have claimed for Massachusetts the honor of originating and carrying out the design upon Ticonderoga, the subject may deserve a passing remark. The facts in the case, as I have given them in the text, have been so fully and repeatedly proved, that many of the Massachusetts writers have cheer- fully conceded the claims of Connecticut on this point. That the importance of Ticonderoga to the cause of the colonies, had been a topic of conversation among the patriots of Massachusetts, as well as of Connecticut, is not improbable ; but it does not appear that any person in that colony had conceived the practicability of attempting its capture, until Arnold suggested it to the committee of safety ; or until the committee from Connecticut revealed the plan to Colonel Easton, and others, at Pittsfield, when on their way to Bennington. Colonel Easton, of Pitts- field, was appointed second in command 5 and a few volunteers for the expedition were picked up in Massachusetts. This, I believe, constitutes the extent of her participation in the affair, and these were only hired men.
172 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
tnroughout the continent. The Congress hailed her sons, who led the expedition, with the liveliest enthusiasm, and even threw open their doors, and received them upon their floor. Reluctantly, and after a long debate, in which the tories were voted down. New York did the same,^ and everywhere from north to south, was mingled with the honor awarded to the officers, a tribute of gratitude to the Green Mountain Boys.
* In the New Tork Assembly, the motion was made by Captain Sears, a distin- guished " Son of Liberty," was seconded by Melancthon Smith, and was carried bv a vote of more than two to one.
CHAPTER YIII.
BATTLE OF BUNKEU HILL.
As soon as intelligence of the battle of Lexington reached the ears of the ever watchful governor of Connecticut, he dispatched a messenger to Colonel Putnam, directing him to repair forthwith to Lebanon.
It was early in the morning, and Putnam was plowing in the field, when this special post arrived. He left the plow in the unfinished furrow, and after giving some hasty direc- tions to his servants, hurried home, mounted his horse, and rode off at full gallop. He found the "rebel governor" ready to receive him. The interview was brief. "Hasten forward to Concord, said his excellency, don't stay for troops. I will take care of that — hurry forward, and I will send the troops after you !"* Upon the back of the same horse that had brought him from home, Putnam instantly set out upon his journey. He pushed forward like a courier who bears dispatches on which is to hinge the fate of empires. He traveled all night without so much as halting to give breath to the tired beast who found it was no sinecure to serve such a master. As the sun rose the next morning, the veteran hero, then almost sixty years old, rode into Concord, having kept his saddle for eighteen hours, and made, over roads that would now be
* A very respectable authority states, that Putnam was digging stones for the purpose of making a wall upon his farm, when the messenger arrived, and that he started off into the neighboring towns to rally the militia without orders from any one. This is believed to be a mistake. Governor Trumbull was not only the nominal, but the real head of the military forces of tlie colony — was tlie authority from which such a movement would be expected to emanate. Besides, there are still in the Trumbull family the evidences that the governor was the first to take this step. Putnam was too good a citizen — too much a soldier to act without being properly authorized.
174 TTISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
thought impassable, the distance of more than one hundred miles. The Connecticut militia who followed him, marched with a quick step until they reached their place of destina- tion. No sooner was it known that Putnam was in the field, than other patriots from all parts of the colony imitated his example. Sometimes in parties of ten or twelve, with a captain, a lieutenant, a sergeant, or a corporal ; sometimes in little squads of two or three officers, or privates, as the case might be ; they would come dropping into Cambridge, where his regiment was stationed, soon after his arrival ; gentlemen and yeomen, most of them clad in the same undistinguishable home-spun that had been made a common badge of all the true-hearted by the late oppressive acts of parliament ; all animated with the same spirit of resistance. As April waned and May slowly crept toward its zenith, these little hunting-parties began to be succeeded by larger companies, better armed, and presenting a more warlike array. At last a band of one hundred men marched from Norwich, under the command of Lieutenant Huntington. This company had been brought together and partly disci- plined by Major John Durkee.* It was made up of excel- lent marksmen, who proved themselves worthy to be com- manded by John Durkee, when at the battle of Bunker Hill the ranks of General Howe's regulars fell column after column before their fatal aim.
But let us not lose sight of the doings of the General Assembly. In March a short term had been held and a list of military officers appointed, embracing some of the bright- est names of the revolution. f In April was held the great session of that eventful year. News-carriers were selected,
* This company was in the battle of Bunker Hill, in camp during the succeed- ing winter on Prospect and Cobb's Hill, accompanied the army to New York in March, endured all the hardships of the retreat through the Jerseys, and fought at Germantown. Caulkins' Hist. Norwich, 226, 227.
t The following are the names of the regimental officers appointed at that ses- sion, viz : Colonels — Jedediah Elderkin, Andrew Ward, Jr., Isaac Lee, Jr. Lieutenant-Colonels — Experience Storrs, Increase Moseley, Jr., Matthew Taleott, Fisher Gay, William Worthington, and David Waterbury, Jr. Majors— Thomas Brown, Samuel Canfield, Thomas Belden, Simeon Strong, and Sylvanus Graves.
[1775.] MILITIA ORGANIZED. 175
to carry tidings from town to town, and a committee appoint- ed to superintend them.* They next proceed, without nam- ing the word " Lexington'' (for their own act against trea- son still kept its place upon the statute book,) to appoint a committee " to procure provisions for the families of those who had gone to the relief of the people at the Bay." Soon after, in language of a bolder import, it was ordered that one-fourth part of the militia of the colony, should "be forth- with enlisted, equipped, accoutred, and assembled for the safety and defense of the colony." These citizen-soldiers were to be distributed into companies of one hundred men each ; and formed into six regiments under the command of a major-general, assisted by two brigadier-generals, with sub- ordinate officers, whose rank and duties were particularly defined. Rates of pay were at the same time established, and provision made to procure fire-arms, and the other munitions of war.f To incite those to enlist who were fit to bear arms in defense of their country, a premium of fifty-two shillings and a month's pay in advance, was offered to the soldiers at the time of enlistment, f To give more
* Thaddeus Burr, of Fairfield, and Charles Church Chandler, of Woodstock, were appointed to employ, at the expense of the colony, two news-carriers, to perform regular stages from Fairfield to Woodstock, and back, so as to arrive in Hartford on Saturday of each week, and carry all proper intelligence through the colony, along the route, " with all convenient speed." Gurdon Saltonstall, of New London, was directed to engage two news-carriers, at the expense of the colony, to perform regular trips between Woodstock and New Haven, on the Fairfield stage, in such manner that they should severally arrive at New London on each Saturday, and forward all their intelligence on every Monday morning to W^oodstock and New Haven.
tThe salary of the major-general was fixed at £20 per month ; each brigadier- general was to receive £17 per month ; colonel, £15 ; lieutenant-colonel, £12 ; major, £10; captain, £6 ; lieutenant, £4 ; ensign, £3; adjutant, £5.10 ; quar- ter-master, £3 ; chaplain, £6 ; surgeon, £7.10 ; surgeon's mate, £4 ; sergeant, £2.8 5 corporal, £2.4 ; fifer and drummer, £2.4 ; and each private, £2.
The soldiers were to be furnished with good arms, belonging to the colony, if unable to furnish themselves ; or if they found their own arms, they were to be allowed ten shillings for the use of such arms. In case more arms should be required than could otherwise be obtained, they were to be impressed from house- holders not enrolled.
176 HISTOKY OF CONNECTICUT.
solemnity and more of the appearance of authority to this important act, forms of enhstment were adopted for the officers, and the governor was empowered and requested to gire written orders to the officers whose duty it was to bring men into the service. Having provided all these prehmina- ries, they appointed the officers for the six regiments thus to be raised. The three general officers were, David Wooster, Joseph Spencer, and Israel Putnam, Esqrs.* The list of officers, whose names will be found below in a note, will doubtless interest the antiquarian and the reader of general history, who loves to read over the catalogue of illustrious men whose memories can never fade from the annals of the state or nation.
To provide these six regiments with whatever was neces- sary for the contemplated resistance, commissaries were appointed, at the head of whom stands the venerable name of Oliver Wolcott. Nor was the old expedient of issuing bills of credit, foreshadowing as it did a long and heavy train of all the evils attending taxation, forgotten on this occasion. As the people had burdened themselves in times past to aid in the extension of British power, much more now did they voluntarily tax themselves to raise money that they might resist unconstitutional laws that would have forced such a burden upon their shoulders. The first issue of these bills amounted to fifty thousand pounds.
Although the enemy's ships were hovering on our coast, which was sadly exposed to their depredations on account of our numerous harbors, still the Assembly nobly gave up for the defense of Massachusetts, four of the six regiments thus to be raised from her citizens, and to be maintained at her own cost.
On the 11th of May, with a vacation of less than twenty
* Colonels — Benjamin Hinman, David Waterbury, Jr., Samuel Holden Par- sons. Lieutenant-Colonels — Andrew Ward, Jr., Samuel Wyllys, Experience Storrs, George Pitkin, Samuel Whiting, and John Tyler. Majors — Jabez Thompson, 1st, David Welch, 2d, Roger Enos, John Durkee, Samuel Elmore, Thomas Hobby, Samuel Prentice.
[1775.] MILITARY CODE. 177
days, the Assembly again met. Their very first act was to issue bills of credit of the same amount as the issue in April, thus making in a few days the enormous sum of one hundred thousand pounds. Guns, tents for officers and soldiers, camp equipage and furniture, medicine chests, and standards, were ordered to be procured.^ For each regiment the new stand- ard was to be of a particular color. That of Wooster's was to be yellow, Spencer's blue, Putnam's scarlet, Hinman's crimson, Waterbury's white, and Parsons' azure. Then they proceeded to digest and enact a military code for the government of the army thus to be made up of their sons and brothers, that is still extant to bear witness to their wis- dom and self-sacrificing patriotism. f In the preamble to these military rules are to be found passages of a high order of eloquence. The causes that led to the settlement of the colony are touched upon with great delicacy, and the virtues of those emigrants are commemorated, who, in the language of the Assembly, "bravely encountered the dangers of untried seas, and coasts of a howling wilderness ; barbarous men and savage beasts, at the expense of their ease and safety, of their blood, their treasure, and their lives ; transplanted and raised the English constitution in these wilds, upon the strong pillars of civil and religious liberty.''' In this paper too an enumeration of the causes of complaint that the colo- nies had so much reason to urge, was set forth in the fol- lowing stately and graphic language : "All our loyal peti- tions to the throne for redress of grievances have been treated with contempt, or passed by in silence, by his majes- ty's ministers of state, and the refusal to surrender our just rights, liberties, and immunities, hath been styled rebellion ; and fleets and armies have been sent into a neighboring colony to force them to submit to slavery and awe the other colonies into submission, by the example of vengeance inflicted on her."
*Hinman, 172, 173. ~
+ For an exact copy of this code, see Hon. R. R. Hinman's " American Revo- lution," from pp. 174 to 181.
44
178 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
. At this session also the first committee of safety was appointed to advise with the governor during vacation.* On the records of the same session we find a resolution to the effect that the committee of the pay-table should give orders on the treasurer for the payment of all the money actually expended, or for obligations given therefor, in obtain- ing the possession of Ticonderoga and Crown Point. The committee is directed to liquidate the accounts of the costs and expenses for men and provisions, in taking and securing said fortress, hy any of the inhabitants of this or any other colony acting in the einjiloy of Connecticut. '\ They also took measures to keep the forts, the capture of which she had conceived and executed, as appears by the following para- graph from the records of that session :
"Resolved, That five hundred pounds of powder shall be forthwith borrowed by the committee of pay-table, from the town stocks of the adjacent towns, and be transported by Colonel James Easton, with the utmost expedition, to Crown Point and Ticonderoga, and to be there used for the immedi- ate defense of those posts, until the resolves of the Continen- tal Congress should be carried into execution ; directing the committee of pay-table to draw on the colony treasurer in favor of Colonel Easton for the sum of £200, to be expended in defraying the expenses of transporting said powder, and other necessary purposes, for the immediate support of said fortresses." J
How any honest man in his senses, can presume, in the face of this record, and the other evidences adduced, to deny that Connecticut was the originator of the capture of those forts, is inexplicable.
On the 1st of July, Governor Trumbull called the Assem- bly together again, by a special order. The first act of importance provided for the raising and equiping an addi-
*This committee consisted of the Hon. Matthew Griswold, Hon. Eliplialet Dyer, J. Huntington, Samuel Huntington, William "Williams, R. Wales, Jr., J. Elderkin, Joshua West, and Benjamin Huntington, Esqrs.
+ Hinman,182. :^ Hinman, 183.
[1775.] CONNECTICUT PROTECTS NEW YORK. 179
tional body of fourteen hundred men, exclusive of commis- sioned officers, " to serve during the pleasure of the Assem- bly, not exceeding five months, to be led and conducted as the Assembly should order." The new recruits were direct- ed to be formed into two regiments of ten companies each ; and each company was to consist of seventy non-commis- sioned officers and privates, with the usual number of com- missioned and staff officers. Charles Webb and Jedediah Huntington were appointed colonels of these regiments ; Street Hall and John Douglas, lieutenant-colonels ; Jona- than Latimer, Jr., and Joel Clark, majors.
Nor did the General Assembly, in protecting the forts and in extending a fostering care over Massachusetts, forget to provide, as she had long been in the habit of doing, for New York. The governor was requested to draw from the treas- ury and forthwith deliver to Walter Livingston, Esq., at the request of General Philip Schuyler, fifteen thousand pounds, in bills of credit, together with as much ammunition as they should judge necessary.* How this generous act was requited by General Schuyler, not long after, in his treat- ment of General Wooster, will be dwelt upon as it deserves.
Let us now pass from the legislative chamber to the camp. At the time of the battle of Lexington, the British army amounted only to about four thousand. But through the month of May, one ship after another brought additional troops to reinforce General Gage. Before the first of June, the enemy numbered ten thousand veteran troops, under the direction of Generals Gage, Howe, Clinton, Burgoyne, Pigot, Grant, and Robinson, and Lords Percy and Rawden, the most experienced and choice officers that England's chivalry could furnish from her fields of discipline, whether in the east or west.f Ships with gay streamers filled the harbor, freighted with men in uniform, and with the implements of death. Boston had been appropriated for the quartering ground of the king's forces, and was swarming with them.
* Colonial Records of July, 1775. Ilinman, 187.
tCol. Swett's "History of the Battle of Bunker Hill," p. 13. Graham iv.
378.
180 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
On the other hand, the American camp at Cambridge pre- sented a spectacle of a quite different character. General Artemas Ward, who had served in the French war, was its commander-in-chief. He was a gentleman of high character and of much experience. Day after day fresh troops came pouring in. Rhode Island sent in a regiment under General Greene ; New Hampshire sent a regiment of her sturdy hunters and woodsmen, whose whole life had been a long warfare with nature and with the wild sons of the woods, and who, true to their sentiments of equality, had placed them- selves by their own vote, under such leaders as Colonel Stark, Lieutenant-Colonel Wyman, and Major M'Clary.
I have already named some of the measures taken by Con- necticut to reinforce this army. Besides General Putnam and Major Durkee, she was represented by Brigadier-Gene- ral Spencer, Lieutenant-Colonel Wyllys, Major Maj^o, Colo- nel Waterbury, Colonel Parsons, Captain Coit of New Lon- don a Cyclopean man with but one eye and a giant frame ; and gallant Captain Chester from Wethersfield, graceful and chivalric, with his independent company of one hundred high spirited men,* who had not forgotten who their grandfathers were, nor what battles they had fought, and who w^ere worthy, almost every one, to bear a colonel's commission, and lead a regiment in the face of any army that did not more than three times out-number them.
Chester's company was by far the most accomplished body of men in the whole American army. On this account it was selected to escort General Putnam and Dr. (afterwards general) Warren, the President of the Massachusetts Con- gress, to Charlestown, on the exchange of prisoners with the British. Putnam and Warren rode in the same carriage ; Major Dunbar and Lieutenant Hamilton of the sixty-fourth, on horseback ; Lieutenant Porter, of the marines, in a chaise ; John Hilton, of the forty-seventh, Alexander Camp- bell, of the fourth,-]- and some wounded men belonging to the
* Swett's History, p. 7.
tSome of these prisoners of war were doubtless taken on the 19th of April.
[1775.] THE PROVINCIAL ARMY. 181
marines, in carts, all escorted by the Wethersfield company, under the command of Captain Chester, entered Charles- town, and moving slowly through it, made a halt at the ferry. At a given signal, Major Moncrief landed from the Lively to receive the prisoners and greet General Putnam, his old comrade in the tedious campaign of 1756. A flag of truce waved over them, consecrating the hour to happy recollec- tions and genial intercourse. Putnam and JMoncrief, as soon as the boat touched the landing, rushed into each other's arms. The scene was truly affecting and was never forgot- ten by any w^ho witnessed it.*
The Connecticut officers, all men of culture and daring courage, had under their command three thousand soldiers, their neighbors, their friends, men of intelligence, all of w^hom could read and write their native language well ; most of whom could preside at a town meeting at home, frame resolutions condemning the stamp act, the Boston port bill, and the quartering laws, and advocate them, too, by a speech at once forcible and pungent ; men of substance, whose notes of hand were worth their face in silver or in good corn, its authorized equivalent ; men who were not without disci- pline, for some of them had been present at the capture of Louisbourg, some at the death of the Baron Dieskau, some at the surrender of Ticonderoga and Crown Point, some when Putnam was taken captive by the Indians and a few were of the little remnant who had escaped the arrows of the death- angel at Havana. With these reinforcements the American army numbered about fifteen thousand men, but many of them were so poorly armed and equipped, wore such humble clothing, and a large share of them were so raw, that they were made the theme of many keen jests by the British officers, who had no doubt that a regiment of regulars would drive them from one end of Boston Neck to the other.
*See Frothingham's Siege of Boston, 111 and 112. Gen. Humphreys speaks of Chester's company as " the elite corps of the army," and " as such, was selected to escort General Putnam and Joseph Warren, the President of the Congress, to Charlestown, on the exchange of prisoners with the British."
182 HISTOKY OF CONNECTICUT.
They soon had an opportunity to test the accuracy of their conclusions. The small islands that help to make up the details of the beautiful bay that adorns that bold coast, were covered with cattle ; a very tempting prize, when so many thousands of human beings were assembled within a few miles of each other, and provisions were so scarce that among the poor especially, the horrors of famine were already added to those of war. Several exciting skirmishes grew out of attempts, on both sides, to get possession of this live stock. In most instances the Americans were the successful party. These little victories were of great impor- tance to them in habituating them to the use of arms, and in supplanting the fear that was at first inspired by the sight of soldiers in full uniform.
On the 21st of May, two sloops and an armed schooner with soldiers, sailed to Grape Island to bring off some hay. As soon as the tide would admit of it, the provincials followed, drove them off, burned up all the hay amounting to about eighty tons, and carried away in triumph all the cattle upon the island."^ Three davs after, the Cerberus arrived at Boston, having on board Generals Howe, Clinton, and Burgoyne. They had brought with them a good supply of fishing-tackle, hoping to have some choice sport, and not doubting but their very presence would intimidate the " rebels. "f They found other pastimes prepared to their hand.
On the 27th of May, about five hundred of the Massachu- setts and New Hampshire forces were detached to Hog Island and Noddle's Island for live stock. These islands are separated by a little thread of water so shallow at low tide, as to be fordable. A party of Americans landed on Noddle's Island, and proceeded to set fire to the hay and corn that had been deposited there. To prevent this, a large body of British marines crossed over from Boston. The provincials retreated to Hog Island. This rnovement tempted the marines down to the water's edge, where they were met by the provincials, under the command of General Putnam. A
* Gordon, i. 340. f Gordon, i. 340, 341. See also Botta, 201.
[1775.] gage's PEOCLAMATION". 183
sharp action followed, that did not stop with the day. The marines were supported by a schooner of four six-pounders and twelve swivels, a sloop of war, and some barges mounted with swivels. Putnam was, soon after the beginning of the engagement, joined by General Warren, who came as a vol- unteer. Putnam had two small pieces of ordnance, and as he was himself a capital gunner, and had with him men who were well skilled in the management of artillery, he was able to do the enemy a good deal of mischief. Although the night was unusually dark, the firing was kept up until nearly morning. Toward day -break, the schooner ran aground, and her crew was obliged to abandon her. She was imme- diately boarded, rifled, and burned, by order of Putnam. So skilfully did he manage this affair, that he did not lose a single man, while the enemy lost, in killed and wounded, more than one hundred. Their loss was reported, and currently believed to be, more than twice that number.*
It was too late for reconciliation or retraction on either side now that so much blood had been shed.
On the 12th of June, General Gage issued a proclamation, proffering the king's pardon to all except Samuel Adams and John Hancock, who would lay down their arms and go peaceably about their ordinary business. f All were to be treated as traitors, who failed to accept these terms, or who dared to conceal or abet any such delinquent. The laws of the land were at the same time declared to be sus- pended, and the town placed under martial rule. A fearful looking for of fiery indignation, was the sole effect of this announcement. Two days later, the Congress of Massachu-
* Gordon, i. 341. On the 30th the provincials again visited Noddle's Island, burnt the Mansion-house, and carried off all the stock, consisting of five hundred sheep and lambs, twenty head of cattle, and several horses. On the following day, a party under Colonel Robinson, removed five hundred sheep and thirty head of cattle from Pettick's Island. On the night of June 2d, eight hundred sheep, together with a number of cattle, were removed from Deer Island, by a party of provincials under ^lajor Greaton.
t Graham, iv. 378. The offences of these gentlemen were regarded by Gov- ernor Gage as of '' too flagitious a nature to admit of any other consideration than that of condign punishment."
184 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
setts chose Dr. Warren to be their President, and appointed him the second major-general of their own troops. He had been already chosen chairman of the Massachusetts Com- mittee of Safety. He does not appear to have had any experience as a military chief, and, as will be seen in the sequel, probably accepted the post, not with a view of direct- ing the movements of the army, but rather, to keep up the courage of the people, who had boundless confidence in his abilities, and who would be more inspired by his presence on the battle-field, were it to carry along with it the prestige of official rank. The many civic duties that he had to discharge, and that kept him from indulging even in the ordinary comforts of food and sleep, would, from their multifarious and distracting details, of themselves, have prevented his giving that undivided attention to the operations of the army, that could alone insure success. It was enough, even for his vast powers and wonderful mental activity, to see after the plans of the Committee of Safety, and preside over the deliberations of the provincial Congress. On the other hand, his noble nature drank in, at every pore, the excitement of the scenes around him. With a soul as sublime as lit up the eye of any one of all the leaders of Christian armies, who, in the days of the crusades, exchanged their baronial estates for proud steeds and shining blades, that they might haste to reclaim the holy sepulchre from the hands of the infidel, or lay down their bones to bleach upon the hot sands of the desert ; with a heart beating time to the same notes of free- dom, that nerved the arm and sped the steel of the poet ^schylus on the eve of the battle of Marathon, how could he refrain from mingling in the strife, if strife there were to be ? But it was not that he might take the place of others, better fitted, from long expe- rience in the camp, to control the stormy elements of war, but rather that he might mingle in them, and constitute a part of their essence. Liberty was a word that signified, when it fell from his lips, all the domestic and social relations, all the revolving circles of life, all the silent memo-
[1775.] DISPOSITION OF THE AEMY. 185
ries that lie scattered along the road of the past, all hopes that invite man to the future. In him, liberty was a holy altar-flame, never to be extinguished until it exhaled to heaven. Animated by such sentiments, and knowing, as all men of genius do from intuition, what they can, and what they cannot do, he consented to be a general ; but, declining to take the command, acted in the drama that was so soon to follow, the part of a volunteer.*
I have already said that General Ward was at Cambridge, with the main army, made up of about eight thousand Massachusetts troops. With these were joined one thousand from Connecticut, who, with Sargeant's and Patterson's regiments, were stationed near Inman's farm, under the immediate command of General Putnam. Already some slender breast works had been thrown up by his order ; and not far from the Charlestown road, a good mile and a half from General Ward's camp, a redoubt was erected and occupied by Patterson's regiment. There were also five artillery companies at the main camp, four of which were well provided with guns.
The right wing was composed of two thousand troops from Massachusetts, two thousand from Connecticut, and one thousand from Rhode Island ; and was posted at Rox- bury, under command of Lieutenant-General Thomas, who had three or four companies of artillery tolerably supplied with field-pieces. Colonels Reed and Stark had charge of the left wing that was stationed at Medford, and consisted of one thousand New Hampshire troops and a detachment of the same forces, together with three companies of Gerrish's regiment, at Chelsea. On the evening of the 16th of June, a large guard, culled from Little's and several other regiments, was also posted at Lechmere Point. f
Notwithstanding the numbers and bravery of the Ameri- can forces, officered as they were by such men as I have
* See Frothingham's History of Charlestown ; Allen's and Blake's Biog. Dic- tionaries, &c.
tSwett, p. 9 and 10.
186 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
described, a very large proportion of them were men who had never seen service, who had flocked in from the neigh- boring towns, with Httle to recommend them beyond the unbounded enthusiasm that impelled them to the field, and the sympathy that they felt for their persecuted neighbors. Many of the Massachusetts soldiers were minute-men, who did not compare at all with the more select forces sent from the other colonies. The officers in several of the regiments were without commissions, and held the position only by virtue of the superiority that nature gives in the endowment of a few of her favorite children. Hence, the relationship existing between such officers and their men, was of a char- acter not very clearly defined, and liable to be disturbed and weakened by a thousand incidental causes. Worse than all, more than three-fifths of the army were without suitable weapons. Many of their guns were only common muskets, destitute of bayonets, of such a variety of calibre, that it was difficult to make cartridges and mould bullets to fit them, and in such a general state of disrepair, that they could not be relied upon with sufficient certainty to inspire the steady confidence that a soldier ought to feel in his weapons.* A want of method and concentrated action was apparent in the doings of the Congress, growing out of the giddy whirl of events that had convulsed the town and the neighborhood. No quarter-master's department had yet been organized,t as there should have been long before that time, and as Connecticut had taken care to provide at a very, early day. As a necessary consequence of this oversight, the army was without tents, and destitute of supplies, except as
* Colonel Swett remarks that while each of these soldiers " would rival a Tell as a marksman, and aim his weapon at an oppressor with as keen a relish," they were deficient in " almost every other important requisite of an army." Besides the wretched condition of their arms, he remarks, " they were strangers to discipline, and almost to subordination." They were summarily drawn together, from the plow, the workshop and the counting-room, — men of every shade of opinion and employment, — yet all animated by a hatred of oppression, and a love of liberty. Many of their names were not even recorded on the mihtia-roll ; but they volun- teered their services with the " rank and file."
t History of the Battle of Bunker Hill, p. 11.
[1775.] POSITION" OF THE BRITISH ARMY. 187
they were irregularly sent in by the voluntary contributions of the adjacent towns.* In vain did Warren, Hancock, Adams, Prescott, and other patriots, remonstrate against these delays. The Congress, over-awed and confused, as many of the members could not fail to be, by the regiments and the threatening ships, the uniform and the discipline of the invading enemy ; and still haunted, many of them, by shadows of loyalty, that had so long flitted around a pro- vincial court not chosen by the people — was, as it well might be, divided in its counsels, and wanting in executive force.
Colonel Gridley, a venerable officer, who had served at Louisbourg and Quebec, was appointed chief-engineer, and William Burbeck nominally held the place of second engin- eer ; but as his services were demanded to superintend the ordnance department, Gridley was left to perform labors that should have been divided between several men that were much younger than he. As it was, he did all that any man could have done with such limited means. The British army had possession of Boston. The light infantry were encamped on the heights of West Boston ; a strong battery for cannon and mortars had been erected on Copp's Hill, facing Charlestown, and so near the village, that shot or shells could easily be thrown into it from that point ; there were strong lines and batteries on the Roxbury side of the neck, one at the northern limit of the town, one on Fort Hill, one upon Fox Hill, on the common, occupied by the marines, artillery, and sixth regiment, three on the western border of the common, facing Cambridge, occupied by the royal Irish regiment, then of world-wide fame ; besides a body of troops stationed at Barton's Point. f
Although 'General Gage was so strongly fortified in the provincial metropolis, where he had administered the gov- ernment not without many friends and ardent admirers while yet he favored the cause of the people, and although he had now such absolute command of the town that he could with * Swett, p. 11. t Hist. Battle of Bunker Hill, p. 13.
188 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
impunity, give the citizens a practical illustration of the , mildness of the quartering laws, by converting the old south church, the most venerable of all the religious edifices of the town, into barracks for a squadron of cavalry ;* yet the narrow boundaries of his possession, hemmed in as he was by fifteen thousand Americans, made his situation irksome. "We want elbow room, and we will have it," said Burgoyne. The other British officers shared, too, in a common sentiment of wounded pride, that the Americans "affected," in the words of General Gage, " to hold the British army besieged." Besides some uneasy apprehensions acted as goads to the sensitiveness of those officers, as they saw, day after day, the stream of provincials pouring into the camp at Cambridge. With a view of adding to their " elbow room," it was decided in council to leave the town, and take possession of Charlestown and Dorchester heights. They began on the 18th of June to make preparations for the latter enterprise.!
For some time before this, the American troops had besought their officers to lead them against the enemy. This desire had grown more earnest after the victory at Noddle's Island. They w^ere not able to understand the necessity of discipline, but abundantly able to appreciate the hardships and exposure of such a long delay. Many of the officers who resided in Massachusetts, and General Ward most strenuously of all, were opposed to bringing on a general engagement until the men should be better prepared for ser- vice. But General Putnam, Colonel Prescott, and some of the other officers, aware that much depended upon the spontaneous feelings of the soldiers, were of the opinion that it would be best to yield to their solicitations, far enough to keep their enthusiasm alive, without risking the chances of ultimate success. Putnam was the first to hit upon a plan, that proved to be the only one practicable at that crisis. He did not dare to hazard a general action, as he knew that our raw troops could not meet the enemy in the open field.
* Hist. Battle of Bunker Hill, p. 13. f Burgoyne's account of the battle.
[1775.] PUTNAM AND THE COMMITTEE OF SAFETY. 189
On the other hand, he was equally well aware that the Americans were good marksmen, and were more than a match for the enemy in the use of the musket. His object was, therefore, to engage only a part of the British army at once, and to do it, if possible, with the advantage of the ground, and under cover of intrenchments. " The Ameri- cans," said he, to the council of war, in his admirably plain English, " The Americans are not at all afraid of their heads, though very much afraid of their legs ; if you cover these, they W\\\ fight forever."*
The same considerations were urged upon the Committee of Safety, and debated there with much ability. Still the minds of those composing that body, were so divided that they were for a long time able to come to no conclusion. At last the intentions of the enemy to leave the town and take possession of the heights of Dorchester, were discov- ered by the emissaries sent out by the Committee of Safety. The tidings caused much alarm in the committee room, and in the council of war. Putnam insisted upon the necessity of anticipating the British general in a movement, that would, if it were to succeed, in all probabil- ity, result in the most fatal consequences to the American army. He begged the council and urged upon the mem- bers of the committee that they would send forward a party in the night to intrench themselves upon the high grounds that commanded the British camp, destroy their shipping, and if possible drive them from the town. This advice seemed to many whose opinions were consulted, to be rash and impracticable. It was urged that the only thing that they could hope to do was, to maintain a defensive position until the troops were in a condition to make a more thorough trial of their strength ; that even if their discipline and weapons were equal to those of the enemy, they were still deficient in ammunition, having only eleven barrels of gun- powder at the public depots, and only sixty-seven barrels in the whole colony ; that the British ships in the harbor
$ Swett's History, p. 14 ; Frothinghara's Siege of Boston, p. 116.
190 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
and the batteries could be brought to bear upon them, should they succeed in getting a temporary possession of. the heights, and so well provided were these ships and batteries with ammunition, that they would be able to keep up a long and fatal fire that could not be returned, and thus the enter- prise must terminate at best in a discouraging retreat.*
There was in the council, a veteran Massachusetts officer, General Pomeroy,j- whose sentiments fully corresponded with those of Putnam. He had served in the French wars, and knew the superiority of the American marksmen over the British troops, from long experience of their respective modes of warfare. He said he " would fight the enemy with but five cartridges apiece. He was practiced in hunting,'' he said, " and always brought home two and some- times three deer, with but three charges of powder. The men had generally supplied themselves with powder as mili- tia, and the public could easily make good their deficiency/'J Such was the language of the old sharp-shooter from the border of the Connecticut river, who looked upon the hand- some coats and waving plumes of the British officers with as eager an eye as if they had been the branching antlers of buck or moose glancing through the thickets and glades that skirted the home of his adventurous boyhood. General Ward, an officer of sound judgment, but whose blood appears to have grown cold with the touch of advancing age, and the gallant Warren, who, with all a soldier's instincts, was, of course, from his very mode of life, better qualified to give council in civil than in military affairs, both opposed the measure with all their influence. It would lead, they said, to "a general engagement." But General Putnam who united in himself, as genius often does, all the fire of youth
* History of the Battle of Bunker Hill, p. 14.
t Pomeroy, on account of his age, declined the appointment of Brigadier-General in the United States army ; yet, when the great struggle for independence had actually commenced, he spurned the inactivity of peace, and joined the army as a colonel. In this capacity, he marched to join our troops in the Jerseys. His exposures produced a pleurisy, which proved fatal at Peekskill, N. Y.
X Swett's Hist. 14.
[1775.] PUTNAM PREVAILS. 191
with the soundest practical sense, and the keenest fore- thought, rephed, " We will risk only two thousand men ; we will go on with these and defend ourselves as long as possi- ble ; and if driven to retreat, we are more active than the enemy, and every stone-wall shall be lined with their dead. At the worst," he continued, while his soul spoke in his fiery eyes, " at the worst, suppose us surrounded, and no retreat, we will set our country an example of which it shall not be ashamed, and teach merxenaries what men can do, determined to live or die free " !*
This unexpected burst of patriotic fervor, coming from the lips of a man of three score, brought Warren to his feet. With a flushed cheek and excited air, he walked the room for a few moments, and then paused, leaned upon his chair, and looking the old hero thoughtfully in the face, with those deep, full eyes, that ladies thought so handsome,! expressive at once of doubt and fond admiration of one whose spirit could out-dare all others, exclaimed, in the language of Agrippa to Paul, " Almost thou persuadest 7ne, General Putnam ; but I must still think the project rash. If you execute it, how- ever, you will not be surprised to find me by your side." As the reader is already aware, Putnam's sensibilities were quick and overflowing as a child's. " I hope not," replied he, with affectionate earnestness. " I hope not. You are young, and your country has much to hope from you in the council and in the field. Let us who are old, and can be spared, begin the f ray. There will be time enough for you hereafter. It will not be soon over."J
It need hardly be said that the counsels of General Putnam finally prevailed. The Committee of Safety and the Council of War were both overwhelmed by the genius and will, rather than by the reasoning of this irresistible man.
Having thus finally carried his point. General Putnam addressed himself to the faithful execution of his daring scheme. Still further to familiarize his men with the sight of the enemy, and with the sound of their cannon, and to
* Swett, 15. t Gordon. i Svvett, 15.
192 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
awaken a spirit of emulation among both officers and soldiers, Putnam, about the 10th of June, marched all the troops from Cambridge to Charlestown, in the face of the British batteries and ships of war. About the same time, he reconnoitered the country in the neighborhood of Charles- town, with other officers, to select a place suited for an intrenchment and redoubt. Long before this time, in the month of May, General Ward had sent out Colonel Gridley, Colonel Henshaw, and another gentleman, to examine and select a place for a redoubt. Their report had been, first, in favor of Prospect Hill, next to that Bunker Hill, and lastly Breed's Hill.
All those hills, together with Charlestown, now sacred to the memory of the dead, and immortal with the story of those martyrs to freedom, helped to make up the surface of a beautiful peninsula formed by the Mystic river on the north, and the river Charles on the south, that flow around its base and mingle their waters on the east. This little strip of land diversified with clustering hills and sloping fields, is eleven hundred yards in width from north to south, and is one mile and forty-three rods long from east to west. At its western extremity, the two rivers gracefully incline toward each other, and form a neck that is only one hund- red and thirty yards wide. This tongue of land ter- minating in a hill or bluflf, about one hundred and ten feet high, and known as Bunker Hill, was very steep on its southern and eastern slopes, and commanded both rivers, and the whole surrounding country.* South-easterl}^ from this eminence, and nearer to Boston and to the place where the British ships were riding at anchor, stretched a long, arm-like strip of land sixty-two feet high at its summit, with an abrupt eastern slope, but declining gently toward the west. It bore the name of Breed's Hill. Its south side was very steep, and there at its foot nestled the populous and thriving village of Charlestown. The north side of this hill was also quite precipitate, and at the bottom on that
* Fro tL Ingham's Siege of Boston, p. 119.
[1775.] THE IXTRENCHIKG PARTY. 193
side, there was a small slough, several rods wide, that was impassable. Bounding this slough on the north, was a narrow tongue of upland, twenty feet above Mystic river, and forming the southern bank of that river. East of this tongue and north-east of Breed's Hill, stands Morton's Hill, thirty-five feet in height. Still farther east, and jutting out into the water, is Morton's Point. Leading from Cam- bridge, the head-quarters of the American army, a slender road ran from the neck over the southern declivity of Bunker Hill, and passing entirely round Breed's Hill, touch- ed nearly at its summit on the south.*
It was now the 16th of June, a sultry day, that sent its fierce heat upon the heads of the soldiers who occu- pied the American camp. During the day, orders were given to Colonel William Prescott and the acting officer in command of Colonel Frye's regiment, to be ready for marching, with all their men who were fit for service, and to provide a single day's provisions. This order was also issued for one hundred and twenty men of General Put- nam's regiment, and Captain Gridley's company of artillery, with two field pieces.
Colonel Prescott was ordered to advance with this detach- ment to Charlestown in the evening, take possession of Bunker Hill, and fortify it. He was commanded not to dis- close the object of his errand to any one, and was assured that supplies should be sent him the next morning, with such reinforcements as he should need, to enable him to defend the place. As three of Colonel Bridge's companies failed to join the party, it only amounted to about one thousand men.f At an early hour in the evening, the detachment assembled for prayer upon Cambridge common, where the Rev. Mr. Langdon, President of Harvard College, in words
* Swett, Frothingham, and other local authorities.
t This is the number given by Col. Prescott, and in Swett's History. Major Brooks, Frothingham, and others, say "fourteen hundred." The two hundred Connecticut troops constituted a " fatigue party," and were placed under the command of the brave Thomas Knowlton, then a captain in Putnam's regiment.
45
194: HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
and with a spirit that were worthy of the crisis, commended them to the God of battles.*
The choice of Colonel Prescott for this delicate mission has been justly commended. He was a gentleman of high character, an experienced officer, and from his generosity and old-fashioned hospitality, had acquired an influence over his neighbors, whom he commanded, that insured their fidelity under the most trying circumstances. His personal appearance, too, was eminently fitted to inspire confidence. His tall figure, his bold, fine countenance, and his manly bearing, could not be concealed, even by the plain calico frock that he wore as he marched from the common, and led the way, about six paces in front of his troops. Two sergeants, with dark lanterns, open only to the rear, threw a faint gleam upon the narrow road, and showed the men which way to advance. As Putnam had conceived this dar- ing enterprise, so was the execution of it intrusted to his hands, as best suited to bring it to a safe issue. Attended by Colonel Gridley, the chief engineer, he accompanied the party and directed its movements.
Putnam had brought from home two of his sons, the eldest, Israel Putnam, Jr., who served as a captain under him, and the youngest, named Daniel, a youth only sixteen years old, who had entered the army as a volunteer. This young man, who was an especial favorite with his father, and the child of his old age, lodged at the house of a lady in Cambridge. At about sunset, Putnam said to Daniel, with an air of great unconcern, " You will go to Mrs. Inman's to-night, as usual ;
* Frothingham, 122, The patriotism of the clergy of the revolutionary era I Lave before had occasion to notice. The pastors of the " established churches," throughout New England, and indeed in all parts of our country, were, almost without an exception, Whigs ; and they had a wonderful influence in rousing the people to resistance. The chaplains were not only praying men, but, when occa- sion called for their services, they could prove themselves fighting men, also. The chaplains of the four Connecticut regiments which were sent to Boston and Ticinity, and all of whom, it is presumed, were present at the Battle of Bunker Hill, were Rev. Messrs. Benjamin Boardman, Abiel Leonard, Cotton jNIather Smith, and Stephen Johnson. Two other chaplains, appointed at the same time, were, Benjamin Trumbull and Samuel Wood.
[1775.] THEY REACH THE NECK. 195
stay there to-morrow, and if they find it necessary to leave town, you must go with them." The young man saw from his father's manner, and from the preparations that were going forward, that some mihtary demonstration was about to be made, in which he was to be an actor. Alarmed at this mysterious separation, that might perhaps prove a final one, Daniel said earnestly, " You, dear father, may need my assistance much more than Mrs. Inman ; pray let me go where you are going."
" No, no, Daniel, do as I bid you," said the general with an ill-dissembled sternness. His voice faltered, and his eyes filled and ran over with drops of parental sympathy, as he continued in a softened tone, " You can do little, my son, where I am going, and there will be enough to take care of me." The refusal was peremptory, and the son, who had courage to do everything but disobey, yielded without utter- ing another word.*
Following the glimmer of the dark lanterns, the party now moved forward in the profoundest silence. Not one of them, save the officers, who had been made acquainted with the secret, had the slightest intimation as to the nature of the business that they had been deputed to perform. Like a company of ghosts they passed along until the murmurs of the Charles and the Mystic on either hand, stole audibly through the hushed night air, and informed them that they were approaching the neck of the peninsula. When they had crossed the neck, they found wagons loaded with empty hogsheads, fascines, gabions, and intrenching tools. A glance at these familiar objects explained everything. A question of very serious debate now began to be agitated among the officers. Which hill should they fortify ? Bunker Hill was the one explicitly named in the order, and no other hill upon the whole peninsula was at that time known by any name. Putnam, Prescott, and Gridley, must have all been familiar with the ground, as they had, only a few days before, criti- cally explored it for the very purpose of choosing a point for
* Swett's History, 19,20.
196 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
an intrenchment. But it was now urged that this hill, though much the highest of all the eminences, was quite too remote from the British batteries and ships to do them as much harm as would be desirable, and that the hill next in height ought to be selected. In reply to this, the superior eleva- tion of Bunker Hill, rendering it more difficult of access, and the order of Major-General Ward and the Committee of Safety, were claimed to be decisive in favor of the original design. So much time was consumed in this debate, that Colonel Gridley, who was anxious to enter upon the dis- charge of his duties as engineer, began at last to be impa- tient, and warned them that they had not a moment to lose. They finally decided upon fortifying Breed's Hill.*
Colonel Gridley now laid out the ground for the works upon the very summit with masterly skill and dispatch. The redoubt was about eight rods square. Its strongest side or point, was the one toward Charlestown, and was built in the front of a redan. f The eastern side swept a wide field and commanded a portion of the harbor. A breastwork ran in a line with it northerly, for some distance, but terminated about seven rods southerly of the slough before described. Between the breastwork and the redoubt was a narrow sally-port, guarded in front by a blind. There was also a passage-way without a blind in the north wall of
* Siege of Boston, 123, 124. Some historians have had the hardihood to deny- that Putnam was present, either at Breed's Hill or at Bunker Hill, during this memorable night. The evidence on this point, however, is too clear and positive to admit of a doubt. Even Mr, Frothingham, who appears to have been particu- larly ambitious to rob Connecticut of all participation in the battle of Bunker Hill, is constrained to admit Putnam's presence, while he argues that Colonel Prescott, (Putnam's inferior^ in rank,) had the chief command. Indeed, it would seem that it was through Putnam's " importunity," if not by his order, that the detach- ment proceeded to fortify Breed's Hill, instead of Bunker Hill, in the face of General "Ward's direction. The Committee of Safety intimate that this was done, through " some mistake " ; but Colonel Swett remarks that there was no mistake about it — and tlaat the committee only '" meant to say delicately that the order to fortify Bunker Hill was not complied with." See Gordon i. 351 ; Swett.
t " A kind of rampart in the form of an inverted V., having its angle toward the enemy." Webster.
[1775.] putna:^! superintends the works. 197
the redoubt, whence the party might escape, should they find themselves too hotly beset.
As a place of ultimate retreat, should their necessities compel them to it, it was thought advisable to mark out a work upon Bunker Hill. Meanwhile, Captain Maxwell with his company, together with some Connecticut and other troops, were sent down to the shore at Charlestown, to keep a close watch of the movements of the enemy. So much time had been spent in deliberating in regard to the place that would be most desirable for their purpose, and so long did it take to mark out the lines of the fortifications, that it was past midnight when the first spade-full of earth was thrown up."^ But Putnam had a way of getting more hard service out of a company of men, and could remove more cubic feet of stones and earth in a given number of hours, than any other officer who participated in the exciting scenes of the Ameri- can revolution. The reader will bear in mind the fact that he was occupied in a similar business when he first received tidings of the battle of Lexington. On this occasion, so much did he feel the weight of responsibility pressing upon him, as the chief adviser in the step that had been taken against the calm judgment of men in whose wisdom he had great confidence, that he exerted himself to the utmost stretch of his capacity. Stimulated by his presence, the hardy men who had just entered upon the duties of a sol- dier's life, labored with unremitting exertions, and with a success that astonished the officers. While Putnam remain- ed at the redoubt to superintend the works, Colonel Prescott and the gallant Major Brooks, stole quietly down to the shore, to reconnoitre the enemy who were in the ships, and learn if they were aware of the movements of the American detachment. f The night was clear, and the stars let fall their purest beams upon the glancing waves and the glim- mering shrouds of the British ships. They lingered until they heard the voice of the deluded sentry shouting in the
* Bancroft, Graham, Frothingham, &e. t Swett's History.
198 HISTOEY OF CONNECTICUT.
ears of the dreaming crew, " All's well !'' and as the hollow echo repeated the words upon the shore, they returned to the redoubt.
When General Putnam saw that the men were well and systematically at work, and that everything was going for- ward as he desired, he hastened back to the camp to bring on the reinforcements that had been promised, and to procure a fresh horse, for few military leaders have ever needed so many horses in a single campaign as did Putnam.
While he was absent. Colonel Prescott, who had charge of the redoubt as the next in command, and who could hardly persuade himself that the enemy had failed to be alarmed by the noise that was necessarily made in throwing up the works, again sought the shore. Everything was quiet. The enemy were as ignorant of his approach as they were regardless of the sound of the waves that broke at his feet. He now ordered the guard that had been posted at Charles- town, to return to Breed's Hill.*
At last the dawn began to streak the east, and then flecks of rosy light playing upon the waters of the bay, quenching the gray mist and restoring the familiar features of hill and town and curved beach. When at last the Brit- ish officers looked toward Breed's Hill and saw the sharp outlines of the newly broken sod standing out in well defined walls against the sky, they could hardly believe that it was not an illusory dream, that would vanish with the coming of the open sunshine. But they soon found that the forms before them, clad in such rude attire, were brawny- armed, sun-burned men, and that the redoubt and the breast-
* Frothingham, p. 124, 125. Martin says, " about a thousand were at work ; the men dug in the trenches an hour, and then mounted guard and were rehev- ed." Colonel Prescott remarks — " Never were men in a worse condition for ac- tion— exhausted by watching, fatigue and hunger — and never did old soldiers behave better." Prescott was fearful that the enemy would commence the attack before the works were in a condition to protect his men ; but the cry, "tIZZ's well^^^ heard at intervals, drowsily repeated by the sentinels, gave assur- ance to the patriots that their labors were undiscovered and unsuspected on board the ships.
[1775.] CHAPLAIN MARTIN'S FUNERAL SERVICE. 199
work were anything but the " baseless fabric of a vision." Though they had sprung up in a night they did not vanish with approach of morning.
The cannon of the Lively, the nearest of the enemy's ships, now opened upon them a stern morning salute, that startled the inhabitants of the country for miles around.^
General Gage, awakened from his secure slumbers at Bos- ton, whence for some days he had been meditating a remov- al into the country, bewildered at what he saw and heard, instantly summoned a council of war at the old state house.
Some other frigates and floating batteries, the Somerset line-of-battle ship, together with the battery from Copp's Hill, soon opened a terrific fire upon the American lines. f But though their shot tore up the ground in ridges, yet the works were so nearly completed as to afford a safe protec- tion. At length some of the men having ventured in front of the works, one of them was killed by a cannon shot. J A subaltern hastened to inform Colonel Prescott of what had happened, and asked him what should be done.
"Bury him," was the laconic reply. "What, without prayers ?" asked the astonished informant. There was a chaplain present, the Rev. John Martin, who insisted upon performing a funeral ceremonial over this first sacrifice. He gathered a crowd around him and began the service. Colo- nel Prescott ordered them to disperse. They did so, but soon the ill-suppressed religious sentiment swelling beyond the barriers of military authority, the chaplain again collect- ed the mourners and resumed the rite. Prescott now order- ed the dead body to be taken out of their custody and buried in the ditch. Angry and grieved at this interference, a num- ber of the soldiers left the works and never returned. This death, happening as it did and made thus conspicuous, inspir- ed much terror in the minds of the soldiers who had never
*Swett. t Gordon, i. 351.
$The person killed was Asa Pollard, ofBillerica, of Stickney's company, Bridge's regiment. Frothingham, 12G.
200 HISTORY OF CONKECTICUT.
before seen a battle. The valiant Martin was not one of the deserters. Finding that his services would be more acceptable at that critical time in a less spiritual sense than he had at first supposed, he seized a musket, and falling into the ranks as a private soldier, fought with desperation.* Colonel Prescott, in order to quiet the fears of the raw troops, now mounted the works and stood exposed to the enemy's shot while he issued his orders. While he stood in full view of the enemy, his bald head entirely unprotected from the sun and his sword waving in the air, General Gage scanned him minutely with his telescope, and then handing it to Willard, a mandamus counselor who stood near him, inquired who he was. Willard replied " that it w^as his brother-in-law, Colonel Prescott." "Will he fight?" asked the General. " Yes, sir, depend upon it, to the last drop of his blood/' said Willard, " but I cannot answer for his men."f
The sun had now risen so high and shone with such scorching heat, that the Americans at the redoubt whose heads were not protected from it, and who had worked the whole night without so much as a draught of cold water to slake their thirst, began to beg for something to drink and that they might also be relieved by fresh forces. Some of the officers, whose sympathies were excited in behalf of their men, were free to make this proposal to Prescott. He called a council of war at once. He was well aware of the evil consequences that would follow should he allow any antici- pations to be awakened in their minds that might fail to be realized. He therefore spoke in scornful terms of the neces- sity of having recruits or relief " The enemy," he said, " would not dare to attack them, and if they did, would be defeated. The men who had raised the works were the best
* Soon after the battle, ]\Ir, Martin preached a discourse from this text, (Neh. iv. 14,) " And I said unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, Be ye not afraid of them ; remember the Lord which is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your houses." He was subsequently chaplain of a Rhode Island regiment.
t Swett, p. 22, 23 ; Frothingham 126.
[1775.] GAGE CALLS A COUNCIL. 201
qualified to defend them. They had akeady learned to des- pise the fire of the enemy. They had the merit of the labor and should enjoy the honor of the victory." Thus doubtless with xnany an anxious glance toward the Cambridge road, did the old warrior inspire his men with new confidence. The task that General Putnam had taken upon himself to perform was the most difficult of all. The American camp at Cambridge was without any fixed locality. Some of the troops were lodged at the colleges, others in the church, and others still in public and private houses. The officers were distributed wherever they could be best accommoda- ted. It was a work requiring much time to get the rein- forcements for which he had repaired to Cambridge. At break of day he ordered Lieutenant Clark to send to Gene- ral Ward for a fresh horse. Clark hastened himself to do the errand. On his return he found the old hero already mounted and just starting off for Breed's Hill.* The guns of the Lively were echoing over sea and land, and without waiting for those reinforcements that ought to have been drawn up in order ready to march as soon as he arrived in Cambridge, he paused only to remind General Ward that the fortune of the day would depend upon the immediate fulfill- ment of the pledge that had been so solemnly given on the preceding evening, of sending new troops, refreshments, and a larger stock of ammunition, and then rode as if for life, toward the peninsula, where his panting soldiers looked in vain for food, f
It is not to be supposed that General Gage spent the morning in idleness. It has been stated that he held a coun- cil of war at a very early hour at the state house. All the
* Humphreys, p. 217.
fSuch was the delay in the arrival of reinforcements and provisions, that many of the soldiers began to suspect treachery on the part of certain officers. Thus, Peter Brown, a private, under date of June 25, 1775, in a letter to his mother, wrote — " I must and will venture to say, that there was treachery, oversight or presumption, in the conduct of our officers."
Gordon says, (i. 351,) " By some unaccountable error, the detachment which had been working for hours, was neither relieved nor supplied with refreshments, but was left to engage under these disadvantages."
202 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
officers agreed that the Americans ought to be driven from the redoubt, but they could not hit upon any plan of attack that met the approval of all. General Clinton and General Grant thought it would be best to embark at the foot of the common in boats, land at Charlestown neck under a heavy fire from the ships and floating batteries, and attack the American detachment in the rear. This advice proved to be ver)^ popular with some of the officers, who saw in it the promise of exciting adventures that accorded well with the impetuosity of Percy and Pigot. But General Gage strenuously opposed the proposition. He said it would be placing themselves between two armies, the one their superior in position, and the other in numbers ; thus they might be met at the same time in front and rear and com- pletely surrounded, so as to be cut off at once from all hope of retreat. He advised to land and attack the Americans in front, so that the way would be open for them to retire to their boats if necessary. The other members of the council fell in with these views, and they were adopted.'^ British troops soon appeared marching through the streets of Bos- ton. The parade ground was in full view of the American redoubt, and a corps of British dragoons who had been maneuvering there, were suddenly seen to gallop away, while the rattling of artillery carriages, and the rumbling of wagons were heard distinctly in the still morning air. The meaning of this unusual stir could not be misinterpreted.' Putnam's last visit at the redoubt had been brief. Seeing that Colonel Prescott had done in his absence everything that skill and valor could do, and aware of the almost immediate prospect of an engagement, he had taken time only to utter a word of encouragement, and had again set off for Cambridge to stimulate the leisurely movements of General Ward, and bring into the field the expected reinforcements. But delays and excuses met him at every step. General Ward was not able to believe that the British troops could be landed anywhere
* Swett.
[1775.] ME. DEVEKS PLEADS FOR CHARLESTOWN. 203
save at Cambridge. Begging, remonstrating, explaining, doing everything but threaten his superior officer, Putnam labored with him in vain.
Colonel Prescott, seeing the approach of the enemy, and witnessing with pain the fatigue of his men, about 9 o'clock called another council of war, that finally resulted in his send- ing Major Brooks to head quarters to add his solicitations to those of Putnam. Failing to procure a horse, Brooks pro- ceeded on foot to Cambridge. He reached the camp about 10 o'clock, and informed General Ward that he had come for provisions and reinforcements. The commander-in- chief interposed a variety of objections. He doubted if the enemy meant to land at Charlestown ; the movement was probably a mere feint, and Cambridge would after all be their real point of destination. He had but too scanty a force at best, and as for ammunition, it was necessary to use it very sparingly, as nobody could see from what quarter they could get any more when they had expended their little store. ''^ Such in substance were the grounds of objection urged by the good old man. But lest he might seem to repose too much confidence upon his own judgment, he laid the proposition before the Committee of Safety, then in ses- sion in the same house where he was quartered. Mr. Richard Devens, of Charlestown, was a member of the com- mittee, and pleaded with such eloquence in behalf of his native town as to make a deep impression upon the minds of the others. The committee advised a reinforcement, and Ward, much against his w^ill, thereupon issued orders to Colonels Reed and Stark, then stationed at Medford, to join Prescott with the New Hampshire forces without delay. f General Warren was present with the other members of the committee. He had acted as president of the Congress the day before, and had spent the night also (doubtless a sleep- less one,) at Watertown. Mr. Elbridge Gerry, who had from the first regarded the attempt to fortify Bunker Hill as an impracticable one, had earnestly besought him not to go
* Humphreys, 218, 219. + Swett, Humphreys, and others.
204 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
upon the ground, as he said his death, that would be useless as his life was invaluable, would be the probable conse- quence." "I know it," was the reply, "but I live within the sound of the cannon, and should die were I to remain at home while my fellow-citizens are shedding their blood for me." " As sure as you go you will be slain," reiterated Gerry, prophetically. " Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori,""^ was the classical and glorious answer of the patriot- scholar. Warren reached Cambridge at day-light, worn out with excitement and almost crazed with a nervous headache, and threw himself upon a bed. When the news came that the British were in motion, General Ward sent him word. He left the bed instantly, and remarking that "his headache was gone," repaired to the room occupied by the Committee of Safety, of which he was chairman. After the meeting was over he armed himself with a fusil and sword, mounted his horse and rode toward the spot where the squadrons of war were mustering.f
It was 11 o'clock before the orders issued by General Ward to the New Hampshire troops reached Medford. Even then, as no provision had been made for any such emergency, they were totally unprepared for service, as they were without ammunition. Many of them had not even flints to their guns. Every soldier was now furnished with two flints and a gill of powder, with fifteen bullets to make up into cartridges. Almost every one of them was obliged to make use of a powder-horn as a cartridge-box was a lux- ury, the enjoyment of which was yet in reserve for them. Their guns also differed as much in calibre as the features of their respective owners did in appearance, and they were compelled to hammer their balls into slugs before they could load their pieces. J The troops stationed at Chelsea were now recalled.
At noon, twenty-eight barges filled with the greater part of the first detachment of British troops embarked at the
* " It is sweet and lovely to die for one's country," I Swett. X Humphreys.
[1775.]
THE BRITISH TROOPS LAND. 205
long wharf in Boston. They were among the best forces of the army, being the fifth, thirty-eighth, forty-third, and fifty- second battalions of infantry, ten companies of grenadiers, and ten of light infantry.^ A part of these troops were taken from the transports and had not yet set foot upon the American shore. They fell into two parallel lines and dis- played themselves with admirable effect as they flew grace- fully through the water. In a conspicuous position in the bows of the foremost boats were six shining pieces of can- non and howitzers, while the elegant uniform and polished arms of the officers and soldiers flashed brightly in the beams of the noon-day sun. At one o'clock they touched at Mor- ton's Point and landed in perfect order. So imposing was the spectacle, and so perfect were their movements, that the American officers found it difficult to keep their panic- stricken men in their places at the redoubt. As soon as General Howe had effected a landing of his troops, he dis- covered that the spare cannon balls which he had brought along with him were too large for his guns.t He therefore sent them back and ordered a new supply, and at the same time he dispatched a messenger to General Gage requesting that he would forward more troops, as the strength of the American lines was much greater than he had at first sup- posed, and as fresh recruits now began to pour in from the neck. While waiting for the other troops, the companies that had already landed dined from their full knapsacks, with as much unconcern as if they had been occupied about the most ordinary employment. J It was two o'clock before the remainder of the detachment were ready. They embarked at Winnisimit ferry and soon joined the first party at Morton's Point. Not long afterward the reinforce- ments, consisting of a few companies of grenadiers and light infantry, the forty-seventh battalion, and almost an entire battalion of marines, were landed under the eastern end of
*Swett. t Gordon, i. 351, 352 ; see also Graham, iv. 380. jSwett, Frothingham. The latter author truly remarks, " It proved to many a brave man his last meal." Hist. Siege of Boston, p. 132.
206 HISTOEY OF CONNECTICUT.
Breed's Hill, on the very ground now occupied by the navy yard.*
Meanwhile General Putnam was busy here and there superintending and directing all the movements of the American army. He ordered Captain Knowlton, with the little handful of Connecticut men, whom he had been per- mitted to bring from the field where General Ward was waiting for the approach of an enemy who never paid him the anticipated visit, to take his position behind a rail fence about two hundred and fifty yards in length, that stretched across the tongue of land before described, from Mystic river to the road.f A little part of this fence had a stone foundation about two feet high. Some apple trees were standing in front of it and a few in the rear. There were other fences near by, which the troops removed and made with the rails thus obtained a new one parallel with the first mentioned one. Between these two frail barriers they threw new mown grass. Such a breastwork could hardly be expected to protect them from the enemy's artil- lery, but proved to be of much avail against musket balls. It was eighty yards in the rear of the slough, and one hund- red and ninety yards in the rear of the American breast- work that formed a continuation of the redoubt. Hence there was a wide opening between this breastwork and the fence, where the left flank of the Americans would be expos- ed to a raking fire, and another space of one hundred yards between the slough and the fence that would have given the British infantry ample room to advance.
Colonel Prescott also called in the companies that had
*Swett.
t Swett's History, page 27 ; see also Captain Chester's letter in the " Siege of Boston," p. 390, " Our officers in command, soon perceiving their in- tention, ordered a large party of men, (chiefly Connecticut,) to leave the fort, and march down and oppose the enemy's right wing." If positive testimony on the point of the chief command is desired, the reader is referred to Colonel Swett's History. Botta, (i. 204,) says, " General Putnam directed in chief, and held himself ready to repair to any point, where his presence should be most wanted."
[1775.]
THE POST OF HONOR. 207
been posted at Charlestown and ordered them to take their stand at a cart-way that ran from the road to the south- eastern angle of the redoubt. In imitation of what had been done by Knowlton, they made for themselves a tempo- rary screen by means of parallel fences and freshly cut grass. "^
The Americans, roused by the cannonade from the British ships and floating batteries that sounded such a fearful note of preparation, now came thronging to the field.
The Connecticut troops, impatient to mingle in the battle, were all in marching order, and sent an urgent request to General Ward that he would allow them to hasten to the standard of Putnam, their idol. But as they were the best trained and best equipped forces in the whole army, they were the very last that General Ward would suffer to leave him. They might as well have supplicated the winds. General Ward sent them the consoling information that they had already the post of honor, as the enemy loere expected to land near Inman's farm where they were stationed. f Whoever might have expected them, it is quite certain that neither Putnam, Prescott, Knowlton, Brooks, nor any other officers whose services were worth anything on that day, were of the number. The gallant Colonel Sargeant of New Hampshire made a like request, and was answered in the same way.
Captain Callender, who commanded a company of artil- lery, and whose services, as the event proved, were just such as would have been best fitted to help General Ward
* This impromptu mode of fortification proved even more formidable to the enemy than either Prescott or Knowlton had anticipated. A British letter, dated July 5, 1775, says : " Our light-infantry were served up in companies against the grass fence, without being able to penetrate — indeed, how could we penetrate it ? Most of our grenadiers and light-infantry, the moment of presenting themselves, lost three-fourths, and many nine-tenths of their men. Some companies had only eight or nine men left ; some only three, four, and five." Another British letter says : " It was found to be the strongest post that was ever occupied by any set of men." Frothingham, 142.
t Swett's History.
208 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
and the main body of the army to do nothing, was ordered to repair to the hill. To make sure that nothing might in any event happen to him, the General also ordered Colonel Gardner's regiment to march to Patterson's station, and there await further orders. A little in advance of this regi- ment was Colonel Doolittle's on the Charlestown road.
One quarter of the forces who thus begged to be led into the field, with a tenth part of the ammunition that was hoarded up to be burned in honor of the arrival of the enemy at Inman's farm, would have cut in pieces the five thousand British troops landed at Morton's Point and Modlin's ship- yard, and changed the whole fortune of the day.
As yet Putnam had been unable, notwithstanding all his exertions, to find men enough to throw up the works that he had been so anxious to erect upon Bunker Hill. Upon this highest point of the peninsula, the last place of retreat, should retreat be necessary, unless he was to retire again across the neck, not a spade had yet been struck into the ground. Half the number of men that had so faithfully thrown up the redoubt upon Breed's Hill, could easily have made this other hill defensible on account of its superior ele- vation and the steepness of its sides. It seemed hard, after all the fatigue and hunger that the detachment at the redoubt had undergone, that they should be compelled to perform this new task, and that too in the face of the hot June sun whose beams now pierced the poor fellows like arrows. Yet there appeared now to be no help for it. He therefore ordered a large detachment to leave the redoubt and repair to Bunker Hill with the intrenching tools. Colonel Prescott remonstrated. His men, he said, were weary, and had already done more than human nature ought to be called upon to endure. But on this vital point Putnam was inex- orable, and Prescott was compelled to yield.*
Having seen the works upon Bunker Hill fairly begun, Putnam again rode off* toward Cambridge to see after the tardy reinforcements. Those who are aware what his tem-
* Swett's History.
[1775.] BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 209
perament was, will readily imagine that by this time he was in no very gentle frame of mind, and that he rode at some- thing more than even his ordinary rate of speed. To his inexpressible joy, he learned from General Ward that the New Hampshire troops had been ordered to march from Medford, and instantly turned his horse's head toward Bunker Hill. As Colonel Stark marched his men very slowly, acting upon his favorite maxim, that one fresh man in battle is better than ten fatigued ones, Putnam was already on the ground when he arrived there. Detaching a part of this new force to aid the intrenching party on Bunker Hill, he ordered Colonel Stark to hurry forward with the rest as fast as he could, and join Captain Knowlton at the fence. Stark now made one of his pithy, characteristic speeches to his men, bade them give three hearty cheers to inspire themselves with the true spirit of liberty, and then move^ forward to the line.
It now became apparent to General Ward, from the fact that the British were landing at Charlestown, that his extreme prudence had deceived him as to their real designs. To repair the mischief that had been done by this mistake, he now began to bestir himself. Reserving the choicest troops of his army, consisting of his own regiment, Putnam's, Sargeant's, Patterson's, Gardner's, and a part of Bridge's, he sent off the rest as a reinforcement to Charlestown. But it was too late now to do anything methodically, as will appear by the following extract from Captain Chester's letter :
" Just after dinner, on Saturday, 17th ult., I was walking
out from my lodgings, quite calm and composed, and all at
once the drums beat to arms, the bells rang, and a great
noise in Cambridge. Captain Putnam came by on full
gallop. ' What is the matter ?' says I. * Have you not
heard?' -'No.' 'Why, the regulars are landing at
Charlestown,' says he ; ' and father says you must all meet
and march immediately to Bunker Hill to oppose the
enemy.' I waited not, but ran and got my arms and ammu-
46
210 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
nition, and hasted to my company, (who were in the church for barracks,) and found them nearly ready to march. We soon marched, with our frocks and trowsers on over our other clothes, (for our company is in uniform wholly blue, turned up with red,) for we were loth to expose ourselves by our dress, and down we marched."*
General Howe, a brother of that gallant Lord Howe whose last words were addressed to Putnam, had the immediate command of the British forces, and under him were General Pigot, Colonels Nesbit, Abercrombie, and Clarke ; Majors Butler, Williams, Bruce, Spendlove, Smelt, Mitchell, Pitcairn, Short, Small, and Lords Rawdon and Percy,t whose names were even then known with honor wherever the British flag waved on land or sea.
The action was commenced by the British artillery, who now opened a tremendous fire upon the American works on Breed's Hill. Prescott ordered the men to keep close behind the works and not expose themselves. Lieutenant Spalding, who disobeyed this order, had his head shattered to atoms by a cannon ball. Captain Gridley's pieces were now ordered out of the redoubt, and with Callender's were stationed where they were most needed, in the space between the breastwork and the rail fence. Here they attempted to return the fire of the enemy, but without effect. These companies had just enlisted from the infantry and were unqualified for this service. The officers complained that their cartridges were unskilfully made up, and soon with- drew. As Callender was retreating to the farther side of Bunker Hill, where he might safely prepare his cartridges, he was suddenly, arrested by General Putnam, who rode up and with a face flaming with indignation, commanded him to resume his post. Callender begged that he might be allowed to retire. This so enraged Putnam that he threat-
* Letter from Captain John Chester, of Wethersfield, to Rev. Joseph Fish, of Stonington, the original of which is preserved by the Hon. Gurdon Trumbull, of Hartford. See Frothingham, 389.
t Hist, of the Battle of Bunker Hill.
[1775.] BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 211
ened to kill him instantly if he did not go back. Rather than die, Callender yielded, but his men soon ran away and left him. *
The genius of Putnam now exhibited itself in all its splendor. On the right and left breastworks, at the redoubt, at the rail fence, on the summit of Bunker Hill, where the new works were going rapidly forward, at the neck, at the unguarded space between the breast work and the fence, mounted on his white horse, he seemed to be in all parts of the field at once, commanding, encouraging or threatening, as the exigencies of the moment seemed to demand. As the reinforcements arrived in parties of two or three hundred, he was ready to receive them and assign them places.
Colonel Little soon came across the neck with his troops. Putnam ordered Captain Norris's company to the rail fence on the right of the redoubt. Captain Perkins's company to the open space deserted by Gridley and Callender, and the rest of them to fall into the main line behind the rail fence where Stark and Knowlton were posted. f
Colonel Brewer, Colonel Nixon, who had been rangers in the French war. Colonel Woodbridge and Major Moore, soon after brought each about three hundred men into the field, who were ordered to their appropriate places as soon as they came. J
The British columns were now formed with their field train in the centre, ready to march up the hill. Just then Captain Ford, a veteran officer who had distinguished him- self in the battle of Lexington, made his appearance with his company. He was marching down from the summit of Bunker Hill, when Putnam met him joyfully, for he knew what sturdy material he was made of, and pointing to Cal- lender's deserted cannon, ordered him with his men to draw them to the line. Ford asked to be excused on the ground that his soldiers did not know how to manage field-pieces. Regardless of the remonstrance, Putnam repeated the
* Siege of Boston, p. 138 ; Callander's account in the Boston Sentinel, 1818. tSwett's History. ^ Frothingham.
212 HISTOEY OF CONNECTICUT.
order, and the gallant Captain submitted. Putnam accom- panied them, and saw the guns placed in the line, at the rail fence, before he lost sight of them.
He was now joined by General Warren. The following dialogue not only shows the noble disinterestedness of both, but the estimate that each had of the other.*
Putnam. " I'm sorry to see you here, General Wai'ren ; 1 wish you had left the day to us, as I advised you. From appearances we shall have a sharp time of it ; but since you are here, I'll receive your orders with pleasure."
Warren. " I came only as a volunteer. I know nothing of your dispositions and will not interfere with them. Tell me where I can be most useful."
Putnam. (Pointing toward the redoubt,) "You will be covered there.'"
Warren. "Don't think I come here to seek a place of safety ; but tell me where the onset will be most furious !"
Putnam. (Again pointing to the redoubt,) " That is the enemy s object ; Prescott is there, and will do his duty, and if it can be defended the day is ours ; but from long experi- ence of the character of the enemy, I think they will ultimately succeed and drive us from the works ; though from the mode of attack they have chosen, we shall be able to do them infinite injury, and we must be prepared for a brave and orderly retreat when we can maintain our ground no longer."
Here the conference ended. Warren fell in with Putnam's suggestion and repaired to the redoubt. When we remem- ber how similar was this piece of advice to that which Put- nam had seventeen years before given to the graceful and accomplished Lord Howe, the brother of the British chief who was now in the field against him, and when we look in either case at the melancholy sequel, we see in him, in middle life, as well as in old age, the same manly courage and the
* Tliis interview also appears to throw mucli light on the question, " Who commanded at Bunker Hill?" As Warren was a major-general, and Putnam only a brigadier-general, the latter would naturally offer to give up the command to an officer of higher rank.
[1775.] BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 213
same magnanimous desire to save others at the expense of his own Ufe.
The British field-pieces now opened furiously on the redoubt, and their columns advanced slowly and steadily, making a halt at regular intervals to await the heavy movements of the artillery. Tall, elegant, and dressed as became his rank, General Howe advanced two hundred yards in front of the columns, to reconnoitre the American lines.
At that time, Putnam was on Bunker Hill, superintending the works. He instantly left this position, ordered the drums to beat to arms, and hastened to the line. It was the first time that the tune of Yankee Doodle ever led Americans to battle.
Lord Howe led the British right wing, consisting of the fifth regiment, one of grenadiers, and one of light infantry, toward the rail fence, while at the same time, a few compa- nies of light infantry moved along the shore of the Mystic, designing to turn the American left.*
General Pigot led the left wing directly against the redoubt and breastwork. It was composed of the fifty-second regi- ment, the thirty-eighth, the thirty-fifth, the forty-seventh, three companies of grenadiers, three of light infantry, and the marines. As they moved forward, the sound of the cannon suddenly ceased. General Howe sent to inquire the cause, and was told that the cannon balls sent over were too large for the pieces ; but that they had plenty of grape-shot. He commanded them to keep up the firing with grape.
The British lines soon appeared in full view, and some of the American marksmen now began to get ready to fire upon them. Putnam rode through the American line and gave strict injunctions that not a gun should be fired until the enemy had arrived within eight rods of the fence, nor even then, until the order was distinctly given. He then addressed the troops nearly in the following words :
" Powder is scarce and must not be wasted. Don't fire at the enemy until you can see the luhites of their eyes : — and
* Swett's Hist., p. 33.
214 HISTOEY OF CONNECTICUT.
then fire low. Take aim at their vjaistbands. You are all !
marksmen, and can kill a squirrel at a hundred yards. Reserve your fire and the enemy are all destroyed. Aim at the handsome coats — pick off the commanders."* I
The orders of the general were repeated along the whole ]
line by Pomeroy, Stark, and the other veteran officers, and by |
Prescott and the officers who were with him in the redoubt.* I
As there was no experienced gunner in the line, Putnam now j
dismounted and assisted in managing the field-pieces. The |
two companies of artillery had only twelve cartridges each, !
and it was necessary to see that every one took effect. Put- :
nam aimed the cannon himself, and had the satisfaction to ;
see that they did fatal execution. A single case of canister |
shot cut a line entirely through the British ranks. With i
admirable discipline they closed up their columns and coolly marched on.
When the British right wing had arrived within about one hundred yards of the line, and were engaged in throwing down a fence that impeded their advance, a few sharp-shooters, unable to resist the temptation, fired upon them. Putnam instantly rode to the spot where the firing took place, and and with his sword drawn, threatened to cut down the first man who should dare to fire again without orders. This pre- mature discharge of muskets had the good effect to draw out the enemy's fire, who kept moving on and firing until they had arrived within about eight rods of the American line. The order, so impatiently waited for, was now given, and was obeyed with a faithfulness and precision that bore testimony never to be forgotten, of the skill and coolness of the provin- cial marksmen. Nearly the entire front rank was swept away at the first volley, and there has seldom been in the annals of war such destruction among officers. The same orders were executed with the same fatal effect at the redoubt. As the clouds of smoke rolled away from the hill- side, the ground occupied by either wing of the British army presented a frightful spectacle. The dead lay in heaps,
* " Siege of Boston 5" Botta •, Graham.
[1775.] BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 215
and the wounded were seen instinctively crawling upon their hands and knees to get out of the broken lines and save themselves from the heavy tread of the columns that they could hear forming behind them, and whose weight as they advanced might easily crush out the spark of life that still remained. The British ranks closed up sternly as if they had been walls of iron. They returned the American fire, but as they took no aim, and as the Americans were under cover along their whole line, they fought at fearful odds. General Pigot, on the left, soon ordered a retreat.* But General Howe, who came of a family that had an old military renown, and who knew as little what fear was as did Putnam himself, was determined not to give back. Exposing his person to the deadly fire of an enemy, who, as he could now see by the fallen plumes around him, were singling out the most shining marks upon the field with as much deliberation as if they had been firing at a target, and advancing nearer to the rail fence than any of his columns could be made to approach, waving his sword and animating his men, he stood his ground, while volley after volley was discharged with a regularity that showed the perfection of British discipline, and the cool courage of the Saxon blood. But as fast as his ranks were closed, they were opened by the murderous and now irregular fire of the provincials. He was at last forced to retreat, leav- ing hundreds of his men dead and dying upon the hill-side. In some instances whole columns almost to a man were shot dead.f The cry of victory, wild as the havoc of the battle, now echoed along the whole American line. J So total was
* The British account in the Conduct of the War, says : — " On the left Pigot was staggered, and actually retreated by orders : great pains have been taken to huddle up this matter."
t Frothingham.
X Many were marksmen, intent on cutting down British officers, and when one was in sight, they exclaimed — " There ! see that officer !" " Let us have a shot at him I" when two or three would fire at the same moment. They used the fence as a resting-place for their guns, and the bullets were true to their message. "When the enemy retreated, many of the Americans were in favor of pursuing them ; and some, with exulting huzzas, leapt over the fence for this purpose, but were re-called by their officers. Frothingham, 142.
216 mSTOEY OF CONNECTICUT.
the defeat of the enemy, that many of them sought the friendly shelter of the boats.* The reinforcements sent by General Ward now came thronging from Cambridge. But when they arrived at the neck, the cannon balls and chain- shot from the enemy's ships and batteries swept across it and plowed up the ground so frightfully that they did not dare to go over. While the enemy at the foot of the hill, were mus- tering their columns for a second attack, Putnam took advantage of this breathing-spell in the conflict, and rode to the neck to induce the reinforcements to cross it.f He appealed to their love of liberty, he taunted them with cowardice, he threatened them with punishment ; still they cowered behind trees or fled shuddering from the fatal mis- sives that flew like hail-stones around them. Striking his jaded horse with the blade of his sword, again and again he rode across the fatal spot in the vain attempt to convince the soldiers that there was no danger. J But they could not believe that the clouds of dust which rolled up from the earth and half hid his form from view, could be a safe screen for them, although they were ready to admit that he was invulnerable. A portion of them, however, were shamed out of their fears and followed Putnam across the neck.§
General Putnam now hastened to Bunker Hill to procure reinforcements for a second reception of the enemy. He found Colonel Gerrish snugly quartered there, with a part of his regiment and some other troops who had there taken refuge. Gerrish, who was very corpulent, lay flat on the ground, and declared that he was entirely overcome with the heat, while his men were scattered about on the west side of the hill and
* Gordon, i. 353. t Chester's letter. $ Swett, 35.
§ The cowardice or inefficiency of Major Gridley on this occasion was con- epicuous. He was a son of the brave Colonel Gridley ; but being young and inexperienced, he proved himself quite unequal to so important a command. Col. Swett remarks : " His aversion to entering into the engagement was invincible, and he ordered them [his troops] on to Cobble Hill, to fire at the Glasgow and floating batteries. This order was so palpably absurd, with their three pounders, that Captain Trevett absolutely refused obedience, ordered liis men to follow him, and marched for the lines." Frothingham, p. 146.
ri -r
1775.] BATTLE OF BU:N'KER HILL. 217
entirely screened by its summit from the reach of cannon or musket shot. Putnam ordered them to resume their places. They refused to obey. He threatened them, and some of them he knocked down with the hilt of his sword. But all his attempts were idle, and he again repaired to the fence to await the second advance of the enemy.*
General Howe had now re-organized his troops, and was ready to march. The British advanced through the tall grass with the same calm bravery that had marked their previous movements, carrying their heavy knapsacks, arms, and accoutrements, weighing one hundred and twenty-five pounds, and in the face of the burning sun. They were obliged this time, in addition to other obstacles, to step over the corpses of their fallen comrades. When they had arrived within a suitable distance to commence the attack, some of the soldiers piled up these bodies into a grim and bleeding breastwork, and under cover of such a defense, fired at the provincial
1-4. •
Imes.j
The Americans had already begun to look upon the con- flict as an exciting sport. They were ordered to reserve their fire until the British columns had approached within six rods.
By this time, Boston and its environs presented to the eye of the thousands who were assembled to witness it, a spectacle of the most sublimely interesting character.
Those bold hills rising from the bay, and impartially enclos- ing the two armies in their walls of summer verdure, were crowned with the fathers, wives, daughters, and mothers, of the combatants who had so nobly begun to resist the blind fury of arbitrary power.
The eminences, roofs, and steeples of Boston, were occu- pied by the distressed inhabitants of the town, by the soldiers who had not been called into active service, and in some instances, by the wives of the British officers who had seen with heart-rending agony, the gay plumes that they had watched floating in the breeze of the bay as the barges bore
*Swett's Hist., p. 37 ; Froth ingh am, 143.
t This singular fact is attested by an eye witness. See Hist, of the battle, p. 37,
218 HISTOEY OF CONNECTICUT.
their husbands to the fatal scene, droop and sink beneath the waves of battle. The cannonade and bombardment too, that had been opened on the American camp at Roxbury, to pre- vent the troops who were posted there from mingling in the action, the roar of artillery from the floating batteries, from the ships, and from the cannon that had now approached within three hundred yards of the rail fence, and were begin- ning to sound again the note of onset, sent the tidings in long echoes from hill to hill.*
A new feature was now added to the horrors of war. General Howe on his first advance had sent word to General Burgoyne and General Clinton, that his left flank was exposed to attack from some troops stationed at Charlestown, and begged them to set the place on fire. A carcass was thrown into the town but failed. A second fell into the street and commenced the work that was more thoroughly completed by some troops who landed from the Somerset, and applied the torch with an unsparing hand. The town consisted of about three hun- dred dwelling houses and two hundred other buildings, and was constructed chiefly of wood, which, from the summer drought, was inflammable as tinder. The whole village was soon in a blaze. The flames darted to the tall church-spire that towered above the town, and flashed up into the heavens, a signal of distress and menace that could be seen for miles along the coast. f Doubtless it was hoped that the flames would have intimidated the provincials, or that the smoke would have cast a dark cloud over the hill-side and blinded their eyes so that the British columns could advance without being again exposed to their deadly aim. But the elements seldom favor the designs of incendiaries.
The battle-field was unobstructed by the smoke, and the British troops marched in sight of the flames that they had kindled, and that threw into their own faces a sickly gleam, like that of a funeral pyre. They opened their fire with the same show of discipline as before, but with the same want of judgment in overshooting the heads of the provincials. {
* See Gordon, i. 353. f Gordon, i. 353. ij Swett j Frothingham ; Graham.
[1775.] BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 219
The orders of Putnam were this time strictly obeyed. Not a gun was discharged until the enemy had come within one hundred feet of the American lines. Then the word was given, and instantly whole ranks of the British troops fell dead as if blasted by lightning. They rallied and shot volley after volley, as before ; but neither discipline nor valor could resist death coming in such a shape. In a few minutes one thousand men had fallen, with a proportion of veteran officers truly alarming. The ranks now began to reel and fall back. Almost every member of General Howe's staff was either slain or disabled. Balfour, his aid-de-camp, had been shot through the body and was carried bleeding from the field ; Gordon, his volunteer aid, and the gallant Captain Addison, a descendant of the author of the Spectator, were both dead. He seemed left alone between the American lines and his retreating columns.* Stung to madness at the sickening sight of death and blood, and anxious to share rather than to shun the fate of so many brave men, he made almost superhuman exertions to save himself from a second defeat. But the attempt to stop a mountain torrent would not have been more fruitless than his efforts to bring his shattered columns again into line. Retreating slowly over fallen forms and pools of blood, him- self unwounded, he followed them toward the barges with a sorrowful heart. f
Still there lingered upon the hill-side, where the musket balls ranged thickest, one solitary veteran who seemed bent on finding the home that he had sought in so many battles, a soldier's grave. Putnam, whose eye swept the whole field at once, saw him and recognized him at a glance as his old friend. Major Small, who had fought side by side with him in the French wars. His heart swelled within him. He
* Stedman, i. 127. A British officer writes, (June 25th,) " General Howe was three times in the field left by himself, so numerous were the killed and woimded about him." Howe was a brave and successful officer. He defeated the Ameri- cans at Germantown, Oct. 4, 1777 , and with his brother, Admiral Howe, he was a commissioner for peace. He published a narrative of his command in North America, second edition, 1780 : and died in 1814,
t Swett's Hist., p. 39.
220 . HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
rushed to the spot where the keen marksmen were leveling their muskets to cut him down, and threw up their tubes into the air in time to save him. "Spare him," shouted the old hero, as fervently as if he had indeed been begging for the life of his father's son, " Spare that officer, for he is dear to me as a brother." An exclamation of affectionate sympathy and chivalric enthusiasm rang along the American lines, mingling not discordantly with the shouts of victory. The sacredness of friendship was respected and the British officer, gracefully acknowledging the interference, slowly retired from the field.*
The joy of the Americans was followed by the sad con- sciousness that their ammunition was spent.
General Clinton, who had been able to see, from his elevated position upon Copp's Hill, where was the weak point in the American defenses, and who had felt his blood boiling in his veins when he saw his favorite battalions, the marines, and the forty-seventh, breaking and giving way, without staying for orders, leapt into a boat and crossed over to the foot of the hill where the British troops were now trying to make a last rally. His arrival inspired the British army with new confidence. A new plan of attack was now adopted. General Howe ordered the right wing toward the lines with fixed bayonets. t Courting as before the post of danger, he now assumed the command of the left wing, to march against the redoubt. Clinton joined General Pigot with the marines on the left, with the intention of turning the right flank of the Americans. General Howe ordered the artillery to advance beyond their former position, and turn the left of the breast- work. This point has justly been called the key of the American defenses.
General Putnam, who saw that it was idle to think of defend- ing the lines without a large reinforcement, took this last opportunity to bring on fresh troops and to supply the soldiers with ammunition. He again rode to the rear. He ordered
* Swett's Hist, 39 ; Graham, iv. 381 ; Botta, i. 205, 206. t Frothinghara, 148.
[1775.] MAJOR DURKEE AND CAPTAIN CHESTER. 221
the brave Col. Gardner to leave the intrenchments on Bun- ker Hill, and descend to the rail fence. As the colonel was in the act of descending the hill, a musket ball entered his groin, and he fell mortally wounded.*
The confusion that now prevailed along the entire road from Cambridge to the neck, surpasses description.
Just at this critical time, three companies from Connec- ticut under Captains Chester, Clark, and Coit, came up, and crossing the neck in unbroken order, advanced toward Bun- ker Hill. The brave Major Durkee, of stamp act celebrity, also came up to share in the engagement, f When Capt. Chester started from Cambridge, three regiments of raw troops set out in advance of his company ; but when he overtook them at the hill, they were in a state of disorder that is best described by the following strokes of his own, so sharp and well-defined that one would almost think he had cut them upon the brown sheet of paper that still preserves them, with the point of his own sword :
"The musketry began before we passed the neck ; and when we were on the top of the hill and during our descent to the foot of it on the south, the small as well as cannon shot were incessantly whistling by us. We joined our army on the right of the centre just by a poor stone fence two or three feet high and very thin, so that the bullets came through. * * ^ ^ When we first set out [from Cam- bridge,] perhaps three regiments were by our side and near us ; but here they were scattered, some behind rocks and haycocks, and thirty men perhaps behind an apple tree, and frequently twenty men round a wounded man, retreating, when not more than three or four could touch him to advan- tage. Others were retreating seemingly without any excuse, and some said they had left the fort, because they had been all night and day on fatigue, without sleep, victuals, or drink; and some said they had no officers to head them, which indeed seemed to be the case. At last I met with a consider- able company who were going off rank and file. I called to
^ u
Siege of Boston," 151. f Frothingham, 147.
222 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
the officer that led them and asked why he retreated? He made me no answer. I halted my men and told him if he went on it should be at his peril. He still seemed regardless of me. I then ordered my men to make ready. They •immediately cocked, and declared if I ordered they would fire. Upon that they stopped short and tried to excuse themselves. But I could not tarrij to hear him, hut ordered him forward and he complied."^
The British generals had already found out that even Americans could teach them something. They ordered their men as they advanced, to throw off their cumbrous knapsacks and other useless incumbrances. Some of the soldiers even threw aside their coats. But the advance of their columns was not one of uninterrupted progress. The soldiers had such a dread of the reception that they expected to meet, that some of them fired off their muskets into the air and doggedly refused to move forward. Such was their obstinacy that the officers were obliged to prick them on with their swords. t However, the mass of them advanced with their wonted coolness, and order was soon restored.
The Americans at the redoubt had now left only a few charges of powder. These they soon expended, and then picked up the stones that had been thrown upon the parapet, and madly hurled them against the enemy as they pressed against the walls of the redoubt.
Richardson, of the royal Irish, was the first who mounted the works. J He was shot dead where he stood. The veteran Major Pitcairn was among the first who followed, shouting to his men, " The day is ours.'' In an instant he was pierced
* Frothingham's " Siege of Boston," 390, 391.
t Judge Prescott's account.
X Swett's History. In Clarke's narrative, however, it is stated that the remains of a company of the sixty-third regiment of grenadiers were the first that succeeded in entering the redoubt. After Captain Hosford had been wounded and Lieutenant Dah'ymple had been killed, a sergeant took the command, made a speech to the few men left, saying, " We must either conquer or die," and entered the works. General Gage recommended the brave sergeant for promotion. See Frothingham, p. 150.
[1775.] DEATH OF GENERAL WARREN. 223
with bullets and fell into the arms of his son, a gallant young officer, who bore him to the boats.*
General Howe, as he advanced, was wounded in one of his feet. Colonel Abercrombie, who commanded the grenadiers, fell soon after, of a fatal wound. In his last agonies he bethought himself of his old friend Putnam, who had served with him in the long campaigns of the French war, and with his dying breath shouted to his friends who were pressing on, "If you take General Putnam alive, dont hang him, for he's a brave fellow /"
General Pigot, small in stature but great in soul, pulled himself up the south-eastern corner of the redoubt by the aid of a tree that stood there, and led his men over the parapet. The British troops now followed in great numbers. Prescott ordered his men to beat them off with the butts of their muskets. But what could such weapons avail against British bayonets ? Almost heart-broken at the necessity that impelled it, Prescott finally sounded a retreat.f
Warren, the high-souled and impassioned devotee of liberty, who seems to have gone into the battle with the design of offering upon her altar a sacrifice without blemish or stain, still lingered on the fatal spot, discharging his musket and encouraging the men to stand their ground. He was the last man who left the redoubt. As he was turning to follow his comrades. Major Small, who stood near by, saw him and knew him. As Putnam had saved his life a little while before, he resolved now to requite the debt. He called aloud to him, " For God's sake, .Warren, stop and save your life !" The patriot-soldier turned and appeared to recognize him, but kept retreating. Small bade his men not to fire at him, and threw up their muskets with his sword. The effort was too late. Eighty yards from the redoubt a bullet passed
* Swett.
+ See Frothingham, 150 ; Graham, iv. 382. Col. William Prescott, was born at Groton, Mass., in 1725. He was a man of wealth, and belonged to a very hifluential family. He served with success through the Revolution, and died Oct. 13, 1795.
224 HISTOKY OF CONNECTICUT.
through his head and he fell lifeless.* Thus, at the very dawning of his country's existence, passed this noble spirit to a land where no tyrant rivets the chain, and where the inhabitants, to use his own beautiful metaphor, are feasted in the highest and most spiritual sense upon " the golden apples of Freedom."!
Almost breathless from their efforts in ascending the redoubt, and panting from heat, the weary British troops could not use their bayonets, and were unable to overtake the retreating Americans. Nor could they fire their muskets at them w^ith much safety, as their own right and left wings stood facing each other, with a body of provincials between.
With masterly skill Putnam now conducted the retreat. Putting spurs to his horse, he threw himself in the rear of his troops, and only twelve rods from the British lines. He called loudly on the Americans to rally, repair to Bun- ker Hill, and there make a last stand against the enemy. If they would do so, he pledged his honor that he would place them in a way of winning an easy victory. Covering the retreat with a few companies of Lieutenant-Colonel Ward's troops, Captain Lunt's company of Little's regiment, and the companies of Captains Chester, Coit, and Clark, from Connecticut, who had just come upon the ground and had plenty of ammunition, Putnam was able to save the army from confusion, and to keep the enemy at bay. This noble rear guard fought with as much coolness and discipline as British regulars, and fired their volleys with a fatal aim. But exposed as they w^ere, they were ?adly cut in pieces.
They had thus retreated full twenty rods, before the enemy had been able to rally and pursue them. Such a destructive fire was now poured in upon the American right wing that they were finally routed.
The left wing still remained firm. Their flank was finally opened by the retreat of the right wing, and the enemy pres- sing hard upon them, they were forced to retire.
* See Graham, iv. 382, 383 ; also, Svvett ; Frothingham ; Bradford ; Gordon, t See Warren's letter to Stoniugton Committee, ante.
[1775.] THE EETREAT FKOM BUNKER HILL. 225
Thus covering their retreat with the brave troops from Con- necticut, and himself riding in the rear of this gallant band, regardless of the balls that flew in hundreds around him, Putnam seemed to defy the British battalions to do their worst. As we have seen, he used all his tact and address to induce the army to make a stand and intrench themselves upon Bunker Hill, where the works had already been commenced. He took his posi- tion near a cannon and appeared about to make a stand alone against the enemy.* His men, however, fled and left him. One brave sergeant stood by him till he was shot dead. The British bayonets were almost within reach of him when he retired. All his efforts, though seconded by Prescott, Pomeroy, Stark, Durkee, and other brave officers, only served to check and fortify a retreat that was inevitable at last. Just as the American army retired, Ward's, Putnam's, and Patterson's, regiments, the flower and pride of the army, arrived upon the ground, whither they had so long vainly besought General Ward to dispatch them. They came in season to witness the defeat of the American arms, and to hear the huzzas of the British battalions as they took possession of the summit of Bunker Hill. One quarter of these fresh troops, had they been on the field when the British were making their third advance against the American works, would, in the language of Captain Chester, " have sent the enemy [to the fence] from whence they come, or to their long ]iomes."'\
Thus ended this unparalleled conflict, in which thirty-five hundred American citizens with a few companies of well- trained soldiers, but without suitable arms, without even the
* " Make a stand here," exclaimed PutDam, " we can stop tliem yet !" " In God's name, form, and give them one shot more !"
t Captain Chester's Letter. It will be observed that, in my description of this important battle, I have generally followed the narrative of Colonel Samuel Swett's history of the engagement. As he appears to have bestowed much research upon the subject, and to be thorough and candid in his investigations, I can but look upon him as a reliable authority. I also take much pleasure in acknowledging my indebtedness to the " Siege of Boston," by the Hon. Richard Frothingham, Jr.
The number of the killed and wounded, belonging to Putnam's regiment, (including Colt's and Chester's companies,) was fifteen killed, and thirty wounded.
47
226 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
most ordinary comforts of food and water, proved themselves able to drive back thrice their number of the best troops of the British army, and with a loss on their part comparatively insignificant, to leave one quarter of the enemy dead or wounded upon the field. Is it strange if Connecticut, whose sons played so conspicuous a part in this struggle, should wake up at last, and, without seeking to pluck any laurels from the brows of the other great men who fought there, should attempt to restore the immortal leaves of oak that have been so rudely torn from the forehead of Putnam, the author and the commander of the battle of Bunker Hill ? Had he also been commander at Cambridge on that day, the British flag would not have floated in triumph from the top of Bunker Hill in the beams of the setting sun.
CHAPTER IX.
EXPEDITION AGAINST CANADA.
On the very day that the people of the eastern colonies were engaged in fighting the battle of Bunker Hill, the General Congress, then in session at Philadelphia, gave to Colonel Washington a commission to be commander-in-chief of the American forces, and pledged themselves in the most solemn manner that they would assist him and adhere to him with their lives and fortunes, in the maintenance and prosecu- tion of American liberties. On the same day, they chose, by ballot, Artemas Ward, first major-general ; Horatio Gates, adjutant-general ; and Charles Lee, second major-general. Two days afterwards, when the cheering news of the battle had reached them, they elected Philip Schuyler, third major- general, and Israel Putnam, fourth major-general, without a dissenting vote.*
That very day was also distinguished by another event that at once evinces some of the peculiar traits of the North American Indians, and the speed with which the news of the battle had spread over the continent. I refer to the speech sent by the chiefs and warriors of the Oneidas, addressed to Governor Trumbull of Connecticut, and through him to the four New England provinces. It is a fair specimen of aboriginal eloquence, and is as follows if
"As my younger brothers of the New England Indians, who have settled in the vicinity, are now going down to visit their friends, and to move up parts of their families that were left behind — with this belt by them, I open the road wide,
• Botta, i. 217 ; Gordon, i. 350.
t This speech I have transcribed from Gordon's Hist., i. 360, 361.
228 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
clearing it of all obstacles, that they may visit their friends, and return to their settlements here in peace.
" We Oneidas are induced to this measure on account of the disagreeable situation of affairs that way ; and we hope by the help of God, they may return in peace. We earnestly recommend them to your charity through their long journey.
" Now we more immediately address you our brother, the governor, and the chiefs of New England.
" Brothers ! — We have heard of the unhappy differences and great contention between you and Old England. We wonder greatly, and are troubled in our minds.
" Brothers ! — Possess your minds in peace respecting us Indians. We cannot intermeddle in this dispute between two brothers. The quarrel seems to be unnatural. You are two brothers of one blood. We are unwilling to join on either side in such a contest, for we bear an equal affection to both you old and New England. Should the great king of Eng- land apply to us for aid, we shall deny him. If the colonies apply, we will refuse. The present situation of you two brothers is new and strange to us. We Indians cannot find, nor recollect in the traditions of our ancestors, the like case, or a similar instance.
" Brothers — For these reasons possess your minds in peace, and take no umbrage, that we Indians refuse joining in the contest. We are for peace.
" Brothers ! — Was it an alien, or a foreign nation, who had struck you, we should look into the matter. We hope, through the wise government and good pleasure of God, your distresses may be soon removed, and the dark clouds be dispersed.
" Brothers ! — We have declared for peace ; we desire you will not apply to our Indian brethren in New England for assistance. Let us Indians be all of one mind, and live with one another ; and you white people settle your own disputes betwixt yourselves.
" Brothers ! — We have now declared our minds. Please to write us, that we may know yours. We, the sachems and warriors, and female governesses, of Oneida, send our
[1775.] WASHINGTON AKRIVES IN CAMBRIDGE. 229
love to you, brother, governor, and all the other chiefs in New England."*
General Washington, accompanied by General Lee and other gentlemen, immediately set out upon his journey toward the North, to place himself at the head of the American army. Everywhere on his way he was greeted with the most hearty congratulations, and at different points where he stopped, he was waited on by deputations of gentlemen, and escorted by them from place to place, with manifestations of the profoundest regard. A committee was appointed by the Provincial Congress of Massachusetts to meet him at Spring- field, more than one hundred miles from Boston, and to pro- vide suitable escorts to conduct him and his party to Cam- bridge in a style befitting his rank. On his arrival at the head-quarters of the army, he was received with hearty tokens of enthusiasm. His first care was to bring the army into a state of discipline. With this view, he soon formed the troops into three grand divisions, consisting of about twelve regiments each. He placed the right wing under the command of Major-General Ward, the left under that of Major-General Lee, and to Major-General Putnam he com- mitted the command of the reserve. f
This was the first time that Washington and Putnam, the two most remarkable military chieftains of that day, had ever met, though each had been preceded by such a military reputation as must have long before elicited the admiration of the other. The manly bearing of Putnam, his frankness, his fearlessness, his simplicity of character, his energy and tact, his industry and activity, all associated with one who
* At the special session of the General Assembly of Connecticut, which con- vened on the first day of July, 1775, It was resolved that the governor should make a kind and friendly answer to the speech sent to this colony by the Oneida Indians, and procure a belt of wampum to be sent them ; and that the sum of £12 for the expense of transmitting the same should be paid out of the treasury, and that the governor should direct Colonel Hinman to assure the Indians of the peaceable dis- position of the people of the colony towards them."
t See Humphreys, Gordon, Pitkin, Botta, &c.
230 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
had already reached that period of Hfe when men usually seek retirement and exemption from care, made an impres- sion upon the mind of Washington that subsequent events and a more intimate acquaintance only served to confirm. Washington was forcibly struck with his skill and alertness in hurrying forward the plan of military defenses that he had marked out for the army. Hence it was with unfeigned admiration, that he could not repress, that he remarked, " You seem to have the faculty. General Putnam, of infusing your own industrious spirit into all the workmen you employ."* In an incredibly short period of time, the continental lines were so strengthened, and so many redoubts mounted with cannon were thrown up, that the American army could defy any attempt that the enemy might venture to make upon them at Cambridge. Soon after Washington's arrival, every- thing was reduced to order and system. Method soon became a habit with the soldiers, who vied with each other in their efforts to gain the approval of their officers.
About the 20th of July, the declaration of the Continental Congress, setting forth their reasons for taking up arms, was proclaimed at the head of the several divisions. The tem- perance and coolness of that body of statesmen is well exem- plified in the concluding sentences of that document :
" In our own native land, in defense of the freedom that is our birthright, and which we ever enjoyed until the late violation of it ; for the protection of our property, acquired solely by the honest industry of our forefathers and ourselves ; against violence actually offered, we have taken up arms. We shall lay them down when hostilities shall cease on the part of the aggressors, and all danger of their being renewed shall be removed, and not before.
" With an humble confidence in the mercies of the Supreme and impartial Judge and Ruler of the Universe, we most devoutly implore his divine goodness to conduct us happily through this great conflict, to dispose our adversaries to
* Humphreys, p. 99 — note.
[1775.] OUK COAST IISrVADED. 231
reconciliation on reasonable terms, and thereby to relieve the empire from the calamities of civil w^ar."*
Putnam had ordered his division to be paraded on Prospect Hill, to listen to the reading of the declaration. As soon as the last words were pronounced, the troops all shouted three times, as with one voice, the word, " Amen !" Scarcely had the echoes of this unwonted huzza died upon the ear, when a signal-gun was fired from the fort, and suddenly the new standard that had just arrived from Connecticut, rose and unfurled itself in the fresh summer breeze, exhibiting on one side, in large golden letters, the words, " An appeal to Heaven !" and on the other, the armorial bearings of Connecticut, with its simple shield unsupported and without a crest, marked with the three vines that have from the first symbolized the knowledge, liberty and religion of the emigrants who founded the state, and with the scroll that assures us that they will flourish forever in the new soil where the divine Husband- man has planted them.f
The news of the battle of Bunker Hill was received in Connecticut with the most lively enthusiasm. In some places, the event was celebrated with bonfires, processions, and the illumination of public and private buildings. It became a general theme of conversation at the fire-side, in the work-shop, on the farm, and in the streets ; the pulpit and the forum echoed its history in words of burning eloquence.
Not long after, the coast of the colony was invaded. On the 30th of September, Captain Wallace of the Rose man-of- war, with two tenders, gave chase to a small American vessel, and would doubtless have taken possession of her had she not fled for refuge into Stonington harbor. This so enraged Captain Wallace, that he immediately opened his guns upon the town and kept up a constant discharge of artillery nearly the whole day, with considerable effect. He wounded one of the inhabitants, shattered their houses and
* Humphreys, p, 100.
t " Qui Transtulit Sustinet." He who transplanted doth sustain them. See Humphreys' Life of Putnam, p. 100, 101.
232 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
stores with cannon balls, and carried off with him at night a schooner loaded with molasses, and two small sloops. The marks of this cowardly act are visible in the old structures that are still preserved there as relics of the protecting care of the British government.*
The perfidious behavior of Governor Tryon, of New York, and the very cordial support that he received at the hands of the principal men of that province, awakened many well founded suspicions in the minds of all those in the other colonies who were friendly to the cause of American liberty. New York at this time, was swarming with tories, who, from interested motives or from a real love of British rule, were disposed, as far as they could with safety to themselves, to thwart the measures of the Continental Congress. f Such was the importance of securing the North river, that Con- gress ordered that a fortification should be erected in the highlands, and a garrison established there. They also, on the 27th, ordered Lord Sterling to marshal the New Jersey forces for the defense of that colony. He was directed to erect barracks for them at some point in the eastern division of New Jersey, as near New York as practicable, and keep them there upon drill, and to await further orders.
For a long time the opposition to the popular movements of the country had been checked by the powerful influence of a newspaper press in New York city, belonging to Mr. Kivington, a man of much ability and of unbounded activity, who was a staunch supporter of Governor Tryon. The seeds of a loyal submission to the will of the new ministry, and the
* Miss Caulkins (Hist. New London, p. 516,) mentions " Captain Benjamin Pendleton, and other brave and true men," wlio, when the tender of the Rose pursued one of its victims to the village wharf, rallied and drove the invader from its prey. The person wounded was Jonathan Weaver, Jr., a musician in Capt. Oliver Smith's company. (Hinman, p. 192.) The village of Stonington Long Point — the place attacked — was again cannonaded by the British, August 9, 1814, with a very similar result, buildings being damaged, one man severely wounded, and no one killed. Long Point formed a part of the farm of that intre- pid pioneer of Stonington, Mr. William Chesebrough.
+ Gordon, i. 402. This writer states that owing to the inti^igues of Gov. Tiyon, " the troops of New Tork are not to be depended upon" in emergencies.
[1775.] DESTRUCTION OF RIVIXGTOX'S PRESS. 233
unjust doings of the British government, were disseminated through the columns of his lively sheet so broadcast and in such a quick soil, that they were sure to take root and spring up in all parts of the town and neighborhood. It was finally determined to abate this press as a nuisance. Captain Isaac Sears, a bold officer, of a temperament not likely to leave a good work half done, undertook to execute the enterprise. Four days before the orders above alluded to were issued to Lord Sterling, Sears gathered together a troop of one hun- dred horsemen from Connecticut, armed to the teeth with swords, carbines, and muskets, and riding furiously to Riving- ton's place of business, seized and carried off his printing- press, types, paper, and all his other materials for the manu- facture of public opinion. Some of this property was totally destroyed. While this summary proceeding was going on, the tories gathered in crowds and pressed hard upon the little company, with menacing looks and gestures. Sears called out to them, in a voice of thunder, and told them if thev dared to offer the least resistance he would order his men to fire upon them. That they might be sure of the sincerity of his declarations, he at the same time ordered his men to make ready to execute his threat. This hostile demon- stration instantly cleared the street, and the work proceeded as calmly as if it had been the execution of a solemn judicial sentence. This was the first time that Connecticut had ever had occasion to interfere with the liberty of the press.
General Washington having obtained favorable accounts from Canada, and being persuaded that neither the Indians or Canadians could be prevailed upon to take up arms against the Americans, conceived the design of detaching a body of troops from head-quarters, to cross the wilderness through the province of Maine to Quebec. On consulting with Gen. Schuyler, that gentleman fully approved of the proposed plan ; and in a short time all the preliminaries of the expedi- tion were in readiness. This detachment was designed to cooperate with the troops, under command of General Mont-
234 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
gomery, that were to proceed to Canada by way of Lake Champlain.*
On the evening of the 13th of September, 1775, the corps marched from Cambridge for Newburyport, where six days after, they embarked on board ten transports bound to Ken- nebec, fifty leagues distant. The expedition consisted of eleven hundred men, commanded by Colonel Arnold, aided by Colonels Christopher Green and Roger Enos, and Majors Meigs and Bigelow. On the 20th of September, they entered Kennebec river, and proceeded up to Gardner's town. The enterprise had thus far been conducted with such dispatch, that only fourteen days had elapsed since the orders were first given for building two hundred batteaux, for collecting provisions, and for drafting eleven hundred men.*}*
The troops embarked on board the batteaux on the 22d, and proceeded to Fort Western on the east side of the river. From this point, they proceeded up the Kennebec in three divisions. The navigation was so obstructed by water-falls, rapids, rock, fallen trees, and other incumbrances, that they were frequently compelled to carry their batteaux, baggage, and other articles, until they came to apart of the river that was navigable. One of these carrying-places was twelve miles and a half across. By the 15th of October, their pro- visions were so reduced that the men were put upon short allowance. About this time, Colonel Enos was ordered to send back the sick, and those that could not be furnished with provisions ; but, contrary to Colonel Arnold's expectation, he returned to Cambridge with his whole division.J The heavy rains produced a flood, and such was the rapidity of the stream that on the 23d, five or six of the batteaux were upset, and several barrels of provisions, a number of guns, a consider- able amount of clothing and other articles, were lost. Some- times the company could proceed only from three to seven
* Gordon, i. 406 ; Graham, iv. 400, 401. f Gordon, i. 406.
i Colonel Enos was from Connecticut. He was tried by a court-martial for his retreat, but was honorably acquitted. It was shown that he had but three days provisions on hand, and was one hundred miles from the English settlements. A council of war had advised his retreat. Gordon, i. 409. *
[1775.]
AENOLD ARRIVES AT POINT LEVI. 235
miles in a day. On leaving the river, they encountered almost interminable forests, mountains, and swamps, besides cold, storms, and famine. The half famished soldiers devoured their dogs, cartouch-boxes, and shoes.*
On the 4th day of November, after a march of thirty-one days through an uninhabited wilderness, Major Meigs and his men reached a French house, where they were hospitably treated. Arnold and his entire remaining force reached Point Levi on the 9th of November. Before gaining that point, however, it was manifest to his mind that the people had been advised of his approach ; and he soon ascertained that an Indian, to whom he had imprudently intrusted important dispatches for General Montgomery, had treacher- ously given them into the hands of the enemy. f
Generals Montgomery and Wooster in the meantime had been joined by General Schuyler, at Isle la Motte, whence they moved on together to Isle aux Noix. Here Montgomery drew up a declaration, which he sent among the Canadians by Colonel Allen and Major Brown, assuring them that the army was designed only against the English garrisons, and was not intended to interfere with the rights, liberties, or religion of the people.
The army, numbering about one thousand men, proceeded, without any obstruction to St. John's. Upon landing, and reconnoitering the fortresses, it was ascertained that they were complete, and well furnished with cannon. After receiving and firing a few shots, it was thought advisable to return to Isle aux Noix, which was accordingly done. Schuyler now left Montgomery and Wooster in command,
* Gordon.
t Botta, i. 283. " It is easy to imagine the stupor of surprise which seized the inhabitants of Quebec, at the apparition of these troops. They could not com- prehend by what way or in what mode, they had transported themselves into this region. This enterprise appeared to them not merely marvellous, but miraculous, and if Arnold, in this first moment, had been able to cross the river and fall upon Quebec, he would have taken it without difficulty." In consequence of receiving the letter alluded to, Colonel Maclean had withdrawn all the batteaux from the right bank to the other side of the river.
236 HISTOEY OF COIs^NECTICUT.
who, being reinforced, commenced the siege of St. John's, September 17th. After several days of almost incessant firing, and after various attempts to negotiate a surrender, St. John's was given up to the Americans, November 3d. The garrison consisted of about five hundred regulars and one hundred Canadians, together with twenty-two iron cannon, two howitzers, seven mortars, seventeen brass can- non, and eight hundred stand of arms, besides a considerable quantity of shot, shells, ammunition, &c.*
On returning from their mission into the interior of Canada, Colonel Allen and Major Brown, with an aggregate of only two hundred and eighty men, rashly conceived the design of capturing Montreal. In attempting to carry out this plan, Allen had fifteen of his men killed, and he and the remainder of his corps were taken prisoners. f From some cause. Major Brown did not arrive at the place designated in season to participate in the attack and repulse ; but fortunately he was still at liberty to fight in the cause of his country. On the 18th of October, Chamblee surrendered to Majors Brown and Livingston — with six tons of powder, eighty bar- rels of flour, one hundred and thirty-four barrels of pork, eleven barrels of rice, over six thousand five hundred musket- cartridges, and other valuable military stores. J
On the 11th of November, Generals Montgomery and Wooster arrived at Montreal ; and on the following day, they entered the city without opposition. Sir Guy Carleton, the governor, retreated hastily from the place, and reached Que-
* Gordon, i. 428 5 Botta, i. 278.
t Botta, i. 277. Colonel Allen, was put .in irons and carried to England as a traitor. He published a narrative of his imprisonment and treatment while a prisoner, which contains much of thrilling incident and romantic adventure.
i Gordon, i. 426. Sedgwick, in his Hist, of Sharon, (p. 45, 46,) states that a cumpany from that town marched under Montgomery to Canada ; and that four members of that company were with Allen in his attempt on Montreal, viz. : Adonijah Maxam, David GofF, William Gray, and Samuel Lewis. They, together with Roger Moore, of Salisbury, were among those who were carried to England with Col. Allen. Alexander Spencer, of Sharon, joined Arnold's expedition through the wilderness, but died on the march.
[1775.] STORMING OF QUEBEC. 237
bee in safety.* After taking effectual measures to retain the advantage he had thus gained over the enemy, Montgomery marched on toward the capital, expecting to be joined by Colonel Arnold and his detachment in its neighborhood, and hoping to complete the conquest of Canada before the arrival of British reinforcements. A union with Arnold was soon effected ; and Montgomery learned to his chagrin that his entire force amounted to but little more than eight hundred men. This diminution in the numbers that he had anticipated, was occasioned by various unforeseen events. He had been compelled to leave a considerable part of his troops under General Wooster, for the protection and defense of Montreal ; many of his own as well as of Arnold's soldiers, in consequence of fatigue, exposure, and want of suitable food, had become disabled ; and the return of Enos' division, — each and all had contributed to this result.
The garrison of Quebec consisted, at this time, of one hundred and seventy regulars under Colonel Maclean, a com- pany of fifty soldiers from the 7th regiment, forty marines, and about eight hundred militia. f
On the 6th of December, 1775, the little army of Mont- gomery appeared before Quebec, and sent forward a flag of truce, which was fired upon by order of Sir Guy Carleton. The Americans now commenced in earnest the work of fortifying their position. Their batteries were built of snow and water, which soon became solid ice. On them Mont- gomery planted his ordnance and howitzers; but the artillery proved inadequate, and it was soon resolved by a council of war to storm the city. J
The assault commenced during a furious snow storm, on the evening of December 31st, at two different points — one party being conducted by General Montgomery in person ; while the other was led on by Colonel Arnold. A third division under Colonel Livingston and Major Brown, had been directed to make a feint upon the walls to the south- ward of St. John's Gate, and to set fire to the gate. The * Graham, iv. 400. f Gordon, ii. 19. i Gordon, ii. 20.
238 . HISTOEY OF CONNECTICUT.
commanding general entered the city at the head of his division, and attacked the guard-house ; but he was soon killed, the officer who took command ordered a retreat, and the wounded were carried off to the camp. Meanwhile, Arnold advanced rapidly under the fire of the besieged who manned the walls ; but, being wounded in the leg, he was carried to the hospital. Captain Morgan, a bold and resolute officer, now took command ; but after a desperate struggle, continued until day-light, the invasion was abandoned and the retreat sounded. The Americans had lost, during the night, in killed and wounded, about one hundred men, includ- ing several officers of merit. The fall of Montgomery, was especially deplored, not only by the army, but by the w^hole country.*
The immediate command of the northern army now devolved upon General Wooster. The reader has seen what sufferings this gallant little band had undergone, and what almost miraculous difficulties they had surmounted. But worse than all the obstacles that nature had thrown in his way — worse than the ravages of loathsome disease and the barbarities practised by a savage foe — were the wounds inflic- ted upon his delicate sensibilities by the insulting behavior of his superior in rank and his most uncompromising enemy. Snugly quartered at Albany, where Abercrombie had made himself so comfortable during a most interesting period of the last French war, with plenty of good cheer and little to do, Schuyler had leisure to fan into new activity the embers of his hatred to Wooster, that had never gone out in his bosom. Had he been half as efficient in forwarding clothing to cover the nakedness of the gallant troops under Wooster's charge, to protect them against the sharp frosts and piercing winds of Canada, or half as sedulous in sending provisions to keep them from starving while they were vainly attempting to starve the garrison at Quebec, as he was in torturing the feelings and attempting to humble the pride of their leader,
* See Botta, Gordon, Graham.
[1775.] WOOSTER AND SCHUYLER. 239
the result of that untoward expedition might have been different.
With two thousand men under his command at that unfortunate season of the year, without the ordinary neces- saries of Hfe, discouraged at the defeat that they had just sustained, and heart-broken at the loss of Montgomery, Wooster was called upon not only to keep possession of Montreal and the other parts of Canada, that had been traversed by the Americans, but also to spare men enough to lay siege to Quebec, " the strongest fortified city on the globe," and hold it against an enemy several times outnum- bering his whole army. All this was to be done, too, without a single artillery company, a battering train, a mortar, or an engineer.* Eight hundred men was more than he ought to have spared in an attempt upon Quebec. It was of course impossible to storm this fortress with such a force, even had they been provided with food, clothing, tents, artillery, and all the other munitions that should have been at their command. It was equally idle to think of besieging the place with scarcely men enough to act as sentries. The best and only thing he could do, was to blockade the garrison, and this he did with a fortitude and faithfulness worthy of a cause which had to contend against difficulties that nature and art had contributed to render insurmountable. t The worst of these obstacles, as I have already said, was the conduct of General Schuyler. It was not only insulting, but it was vascillating and whimsical even to childishness. His orders contained intimations and indirect charges of disobedience of former orders, and abounded in the most insolently despotic com- mands that could well be put upon paper. There was in them a meddling and interfering spirit that was excessively galling to the feelings of a high-toned man like Wooster. He was not allowed to regulate even the most ordinary move- ments of his army, nor to prescribe municipal regulations for the temporary government of the towns that were in his keeping, and for which he was to be held responsible. J
* Deming, p. 40. t Deming's Oration, p. 41. X Deming ; Gordon, &c.
240 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
With all these embarrassments, Wooster maintained his position as faithfully as his superior officer persisted in his abuses, until he was recalled. The opening of the spring filled the St. Lawrence with ships and veteran troops, more in number than those who had occupied Boston under Gen. Gage, previous to the battle of Bunker Hill. In precipita- tion and defeat, the army withdrew from a country that could not have been reduced by Washington and his whole army. Nor did the persecuting spirit of his accuser content itself with private wrongs inflicted through the medium of secret letters. He took every occasion of traducing Woos- ter in the presence of the officers of the army, and associa- ted himself with Benedict Arnold, in representing him as a coward. He even brought the matter home to the notice of Congress, and charged Wooster with writing insolent letters to him. Never did a more wanton and outrageous falsehood pass for truth merely because it came from a respectable source. Wooster's letters have since been given to the world, and exhibit a spirit of kindness and forgiveness worthy of more praise than they would otherwise deserve, were they not contrasted with those that elicited them.*
Wooster now hastened to Philadelphia and insisted that his conduct as leader of the army in Canada should be made the subject of a critical examination by Congress. Then for the first time throwing aside the reserve that had before marked his demeanor, he addressed the President of Congress in the following terms :
" The unjust severity and unmerited abuse with which I have been assailed in the colonies by those who would remove every obstacle to their own advancement, and the harsh treatment I have received from some members of the body over which you preside, renders it necessary that I should vindicate my administration of the army in Canada. The honor of a soldier being the first thing he should defend, and his lionesty the last he should give up, his character is always entitled to the protection of the virtuous and the good."
* See Wooster's and Schuyler's letters in Am. Arehieves, vol. iv. fourth series.
CHARACTER OF WOOSTER VINDICATED. 24:1
At his solicitation, a committee was appointed by Congress to investigate the charges that had been made against him by his enemies, who found them to be, as the voice of history has long since declared them, groundless and unjust.*'
* See Deming's Oration in which there is a very able examination of the conduct of this officer.
Note. — Mr. Deming, has also kindly furnished me with a piece of testimony in relation to the
destruction of Rivington's press, of the most interesting character. This evidence comes from the
pen of Captain Sears himself, in a letter addressed to Roger Sherman, Eliphalet Dyer, and Silas
Deane, Esquires, and is as follows :
" Nevvhaven, 28 November, 1775.
"Gentlemen, — I have to inform you of an Expedition which I, with about 100 Volunteers from this and tiie other Towns Westward in this Government, set out upon for New York &c., which was to disarm Tories, and to deprive that Traitor to his Country James Rivington of the means of circulating pison in print, the latter of which we happily effected by taking away his Tvpes, and which may be a great means of puting an end to the Tory Faction there, for his press hath been as it were the very life and Soul of it — and I believe it wou'd not otherwise have been done, as there are not Spirited and Leading men enough in N. York to undertake such a Business, or it wou'd have been done long ago : and as there are many Enemies to the cause of Freedom, in that place, it is most likely I shall meet with many Censures for undertaking such an Enterprise. 1 shall es- teem it a particukir favor to have your opinion upon the matter, and likewise to be inform'd how it is relished by the Members of the Congress in general, and if it meets with their approbation I shall not regard what others may say : I can assure you it is highly approved of by the People of this Colony a few Tories excepted, and they are almost all Disiirm'd by this time, and what of them remains we expect in a few days to make a finish of; for which purpose I intend to set out with a party one Day in this Week, for some of the Neighbouring Towns, when I expect we shall make a finish of that in this Colony. And I could wish that a Sistem might be fallen upon tocompleat the same in N. York and its Province. The people of Connectt. have gone a great way in Disarming the Tories of N. York Government, but, what has been done was Voluntary and at their own pri- vate expence, which has been considerable, and it will in a measure Stop if a body of Men is not raised for that purpose — the Number of 500 wou'd be sutficent for the undertaking, and should the C. Congress give an Order to this Government to raise that Number, under the Command of a Gen- eral Officer, puting them under pay while in Actual Service, it is my opinion the Regiment might be made up in two days after the commencement of Inlisting, and that of the principal Burgers of the different Towns. I think a due attention to this by the Congress will be of no small Import- ance, for if the matter should not be carried into execution this Winter, it is my opinion that one Half of the People of the City and Province of N. York will be ready to take up Arms against the Country next Spring, and we have little else to do this Winter but to purge the Land of such Vil- lains, which I think almost as necessary as the keeping up Standing Armies.
" In Case the Congress should order a Regimt. raised for the purpose aforesaid, I wou'd recom- mend it to be General throughout the Continent, but the Regiment of .500 Men for N. York, &c., and when we go up on Long Island, it will be necessary to go with 1000 Men as the Tories there are a considerable Majority, and well equipt — not less than 500 Sons of Liberty in N. York wou'd joia us were we to go on Long Island — and wou'd it not be expedient to take up and confine a few of the principal Leading Men in the different Towns, who are notoriously Inimical to the Rights of this Country? for were that to be done it is reasonable to suppose many of the midling and lower Class of People, now under the influence of such persons, wou'd become espousers of their Coun- try's cause. For the particulars of our Expedition to N. York &.c., I refer you to the N. Haven Gazettee.
" I am sorry to tell you that the Teaholders in N. York have in general began to make Sale of their Tea. I have not as yet sold one pound of mine, nor shall I do it till the Congress grants Liberty for the Sale of it — but shall think hard of it, especially as I have spent so much money in the com- mon Cause, if the Interest of j£3000 in that Article should be sunk to me and my Son in Law» which will be the Case, if I can't obtain leave from the Congress to dispose of it, therefore beg vou'll favor me with laying my Case before the Congress, and with your Influence in backing the same.
" I have heard that the Command of the Ships filing out at Phila. is to be given to Captain Hop- kins, which I am nmch surprised at, for I judged that, that department was for me, which I had rea- son to expect from the hints given me by many of the Members of the Congress, but it is too often the case, when a Man has done the most he gets the least reward. It is not for the Lucre of gain that 1 want the Command of a Squadron in the American Navy, but it is because I know myself capable of the Station, and because I think I can do my Country more Service in that department than in any other — the Congress's not thinking proper to fix that Honor upon me, will by no means make me inactive in the Cause we are all engaged in, but cou'd wish nothing had been said about my being appointed to the Command, for it has spread thro' the Country, that whenever a Navy were fited out by the Congress, [should have the Chief Command, but that not being the Case may tend to reflect dishonor on me.
" I am with Esteem, Gentlemen, Your most Hble Servt.,
" Isaac Sears " Roger Sherman, Esqr., Eliphl. Dyer, Esqr., Silas Deane, Esqr."
48
CHAPTER IV.
THE ERITISH EYACUATE EOSTON.
The difficulties that surrounded General Washington dur- ing the fall of 1775 and in the winter of 1775-6, can hardly be imagined. More was demanded of him by the Congress than he could possibly perform with the humble resources that he had at his command. Ignorant of the art of war, the members composing that body were totally unfitted to designate what course ought to be pursued, and unable to set a proper estimate upon the obstacles that were to be sur- mounted. Without being aware of the difference between raw militia and British regulars, they urged home upon him in the most pressing terms, the necessity of making an early attempt to drive the British army from Boston. Out of respect to this suggestion, rather than because he supposed it would be practicable to carry it out, he called a council of war on the 18th of October, and laid the matter before the officers of the army. With one voice they pronounced the proposition, in the state of affairs then existing, totally impracticable. The Congress was no less ignorant in regard to the amount of money that would be needed to maintain an army in the field, to say nothing of the necessary outfit and equipments that might in some instances be expected to be supplied by the colonies to the quota of troops that they respectively furnished. Gradually, however, they learned to reason more correctly, and near the close of September they appointed a committee, consisting of three of their own body, to confer with Washington, Governor Trumbull of Connecticut, and with the authorities of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and other colonies, to hit upon some well-digested plan of continuing, supporting, and regulating a continental army.
[1776.] DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED. 243
Under the critical supervision of such men as Washington, Trumbull, and Franklin, who was a member of the congres- sional committee, the aspect of affairs soon changed. Still there was such a want of ammunition, that on the first of January, 1776, Washington wrote, "It is not perhaps in the power of history to furnish a case like ours. To maintain a post within musket-shot of the enemy for six months together without [powder,]* and at the same time to disband one army and recruit another within that distance of twenty odd British regiments, is more than probably was ever attempted."!
The winter set in with severity, but it proved, after a few days of extremely cold weather, to be quite mild, so much so that during this month, Colonel Moylan wrote from the camp at Cambridge, " The bay is open. Everything thaws here except ' Old Put.' He is still as hard as ever, crying out for powder — powder — ye gods, give us powder !"J
The troubles in New York did not end with the destruc- tion of Rivingston's press. The city and neighborhood were not at all congenial to the taste of Captain Sears, who thought it prudent to seek a residence among his friends in Connecticut. § He had not remained long in his new abode when he began to entertain fears lest General Clinton, who was evidently making preparations to go upon some expedi- tion, might attempt to take possession of New York. He hastened to Cambridge and sought an interview with Wash- ington. He described the exposed situation of the place, the disposition of many of its principal citizens, and entreat- ed that measures might be taken to secure it without delay. Washington felt as keenly as any one could do the impor-
* This word was prudently left out lest the letter might happen to fall into the hands of the enemy.
+ Sparks' Life of "Washington. $ Frothingham, 295.
§ Captain Sears had now become a resident of New Haven. At the Decem- ber session of the General Assembly of Connecticut, 1775, Colonel David Wa- terbury and Captain Isaac Sears were appointed a committee to inquire after a suitable vessel, to be armed and improved in defense of the colony, and to report as to the cost of purchasing or chartering the same.
244 HISTOKY OF COKNECTICUT.
tance of such a step, but was obliged to answer that he had no troops to spare.
S^rs then proposed that General Washington should write a letter to Governor Trumbull of Connecticut, desir- ing him to raise two regiments for this service.*
About the same time there arrived a letter from General Lee, urging upon General Washington the necessity of this enterprise. "New York," wrote Lee, in his positive manner, " New York must be secured ; but it will never, I am afraid, be secured by direct order of Congress, for obvious reasons. I propose that you should detach me into Connecticut, and lend your name for collecting a body of volunteers. I am assured that I shall find no difficulty in assembling a sufficient number for the purpose wanted. This measure I think abso- lutely necessary to our salvation ; and if it meets with your approbation, the sooner it is entered upon the better. Indeed the delay of a single day may be fatal." The advice of John Adams also was to the same effect. It appeared that a large body of tories upon Long Island were intrench- ing themselves for the avowed object of opposing the move- ments of the American army, and that there was a large number of them in the city w^ho only waited to be rein- forced. The Jersey troops had been already ordered to muster there. f
General Washington readily fell in with this measure. As soon as the dispatches were made ready, Captain Sears started with them for Connecticut. Governor Trumbull received him very courteously, and without delay called together the Committee of Safety, and laid the proposition before them. They were all in favor of it, and such was the speed with which the governor hurried forward the expedition, that by the time General Lee had arrived at Stamford, the two regiments, Colonel Waterbury's and Colo- nel Ward's, were ready to march. Lee hastened on to New Haven, and while there wrote another letter to the
* Gordon ii. 14, 15. f Gordon.
[1776.] GENERAL LEE PROCEEDS TO NEW YORK. 245
commander-in-chief, bearing date the 16th of January. An extract from this letter will serve to show what was the political complexion of New York at that time :
"I shall send immediately an express to Congress inform- ing them of my situation, and at the same time conjuring them not to suffer the accursed Provincial Congress of New York to defeat measures so absolutely necessary to our salva- tion
*
By the 22d of the same month, Lee had collected at Stamford twelve hundred Connecticut troops. Even then the New York Committee of Safety was totally opposed to their being led into the city, and wrote him an urgent letter to that effect.
As Lee was kept at Stamford for awhile by an attack of the gout, and as Colonel Waterbury was already in New York, Lee ordered Captain Sears to conduct Waterbury's regiment to the city without delay. At Kingsbridge Sears was met by a deputation of citizens, v/ho begged him not to advance any further, as the enemy had threatened to burn the city should he enter it with his troops. Sears replied by informing them what orders he had received, and con- tinued his march. As he drew nearer New York, a second company of commissioners met him, and used all the argu- ments that they could command to induce him to keep aloof from the city ; but he kept on as rapidly as he could. When he arrived there he found the citizens in great confusion and alarm.
On the 4th of February, General Lee followed, and reached New York within two hours after General Clinton, in the Mercury, with a single transport brig, arrived at the Hook.
The coming of these two vessels threw the town into such consternation, that, although it was Sunday, the inhabi- tants spent the whole day and the following night in remov- ing their effects to a place of safety. Clinton had touched at the Hook without the least intention of landing at New
* Gordon, ii. 15.
246 HISTOKY OF CONNECTICUT.
York. His only object in stopping there at all, was doubt- less to have an interview with Governor Try on, and see whether anything could be suggested by that worthy that would be likely to strengthen the British interest in New York. Indeed, he had only a handful of grenadiers and light infantry with him ; not enough to make even a respect- able show against the two regiments from Connecticut, who would have given the coats off their backs, inclement as the season was, to have come within musket range of them, or within boarding distance of their ships. To lull the fears of the people, rather than because he apprehended any danger of such an event taking place, General Lee gave the following public notice to whomsoever it might concern : " If the men of war set one house on fire in consequence of my coming, I will chain one hundred of their friends together by the neck and make the house thQir funeral pile."* Not knowing which of their number would be selected by Gene- ral Lee to swell the roll of martyrdom, and most of them not being stimulated by the desire of becoming historical, the tories were for a long time kept quiet by this manifesto. While Clinton remained at the Hook, several important works were erected for the defense of the city.
Meanwhile the great chief of the American army, labor- ing under every disadvantage, with the fortitude of Fabias and the elevated courage of Hampden, strengthened his position and kept the enemy in Boston, in a state of actual blockade. Without allowing himself to be led into any rash measures, he yet omitted no opportunity to annoy the enemy and cut off their supplies.
It had been observed that there were in Charlestown a number of dwellings used by the British as store-houses. On the 8th of February, Washington ordered Major Knowlton, of Ashford, who had so signally distinguished himself at the Battle of Bunker Hill, to take with him one hundred men from Connecticut, cross over to Charlestown, and destroy those buildings. Knowlton, with one hundred picked men,
* Gordon, ii. 15, 16.
[1776.] A FARCE AND TRAGEDY. 247
crossed over upon the ice between Cobble Hill and Bunker Hill, stole silently down the street on the westerly side of the hill that must forever be associated with his fame, destroyed the houses and brought off the guns that had been deposited there. The whole enterprise was accomplished in in less than one hour, and the buildings were destroyed in the face of a heavy fire of musketry from the garrison at Bunker Hill, without the loss of a man. Major Knowlton little dreamed what alarm this nocturnal bonfire was to occa- sion in Boston.
Notwithstanding the sickness that prevailed among the British troops, General Howe and his officers resorted to every expedient to while away the sluggish months of winter, and especially to persuade themselves that Washington was mistaken in supposing that he kept them in a state of block- ade. To kill time, and continue this agreeable delusion, they resorted to balls and the attractions of the theatre. On the night of the 8th of February they had witnessed the exhibition of a popular drama called " the Busy Body," and had already shifted the scenes for the introduction of a farce entitled, " The blockade of Boston," said to have been com- posed by General Burgoyne, who added to his accomplish- ments as a soldier and a gentleman, the graceful finish of polite literature. To the infinite delight of the audience, the figure designed to represent General Washington had just appeared upon the boards, adorned with a great wig, armed with a long rusty sword, and attended by way of body guard by a single orderly sergeant with a corroded gun on his shoulder about seven feet in length. Suddenly a new party appeared upon the stage. It was one of the regular British sergeants in uniform. Throwing down his bayonet by way of arresting attention, he called out in a voice that had quite too much of tragedy in its tone to be introduced into a farce, " The Yankees are attacking Bunker Hill /"*
With those who were unacquainted with the piece, this readily passed for a part of the performance. Not so with
* Gordon, ii. 19.
248 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
General Howe. He instantly sprang to his feet and exclaim- ed, "Officers, to your alarm posts." This order, followed by the shrieks and fainting-fits of those fair ladies present, w^ho had still a vivid recollection of the horrors of the 17th of June, dispelled the fascinations even of such a muse as Burgoyne's. Rushing into the streets, they saw the flames of the burning houses, and heard the report of muskets. It was not until morning that harmony was restored to the town. Nor were the British officers unanimous in the opin- ion that Boston was not after all in a state of " blockade/'
The incident just related is only one among many that might be named in which the American commander gave General Howe good cause to wish that he had left Boston before winter had set in, as the British admiral had advised him to do. He now found himself in a condition far from comfortable. He could hardly get vegetables and fresh pro- visions enough for the table of the officers, in spite of all the efforts made by the British ministry to forward them from England. Many of the ships laden with those articles, as well as with live stock, porter, and other necessaries and luxuries, never reached their destination. Some were taken by the Americans and others were blown off from the New England coast by the violence of the north-west winds. Of forty transports only eight had arrived. As a natural consequence the common soldiers suffered for want of food, and fell sick and died in great numbers.*
The radical defects in General Howe's management of the army, grew out of the false estimate that he put upon the character of his adversaries. Like many other men of true merit, he was unable to distinguish between the appearances and the realities that surrounded him. He could not be persuaded that men could fight well and keep the field through the tedious months of a New England winter, unless they were dressed in handsome uniform and provided with all the munitions of war. He could call men who fought in home-spun coats and checked shirts nothing but peasants,
* Gordon.
[1776.] PKOPOSED ATTACK ON BOSTON". 249
and he had been bred up to believe that a company of British marines could drive a regiment of peasants from one end of the continent to the other.
Actuated by this belief, at 4 o'clock on the morning of the 14th of February, he sent about five hundred men under command of Colonel Leslie, with orders to cross on the ice to Dorchester neck and burn some houses that were stand- ing there, in the expectation that the American officers would be thrown into a state of confusion at sight of the flames, and that large reinforcements would be sent over from Roxbury to give a check to this nocturnal movement. So confident was he that such would be the result, that he spent the whole night in getting a large body of troops in readiness to make a sudden attack upon the American lines, as soon as they should be thus partially deserted. But at day-break he saw the men as usual at their alarm posts, and did not think it prudent to make the attempt.
General Washington had long been desirous of bringing on an engagement with the enemy, as soon as the ice should be firm enough to admit of his crossing over from Cambridge to Boston with his army. On the 16th of February, he laid before the council of war a written proposition and question couched in these terms : " A stroke well aimed at this critical juncture may put a final period to the war, and restore peace and tranquility so much to be wished for ; and therefore whether, part of Cambridge and Roxbury bays being frozen over, a general assault should not be made on Boston?"*
This important question was debated by the officers in council wnth entire freedom and great ability. It appeared, from the form in which the question was put, as well as from his remarks in council, that Washington was in favor of making the attempt. He was strongly seconded by Putnam, who was of the opinion that some bold step ought to be taken, that the enemy would be found off* their guard, and might be easily driven from the town. Indeed, this had
* Gordon, ii. 24.
250 HISTOEY OF CONNECTICUT.
long been the sentiment that pervaded the ranks of the Con- necticut troops, who knew that the inhabitants of the colony which they represented, were anxious that something should be done that would bring the war to a speedy close.
But General Ward, who always preferred to err on the side of prudence, and General Gates, who usually made a virtue of dissenting from any opinion that was advanced by Washington, were decidedly opposed to the measure, and it was voted down. When we remember how little General Howe expected of the American army, and how the British officers were in the habit of spending their nights, we are disposed to think that the plan proposed by Washington and advocated by Putnam would have resulted in driving the enemy from Boston, and would have put a speedy termina- tion to the war.
The next best plan that seemed at all practicable, was the one advanced by General Ward, of getting possession of Dorchester Heights, and driving the enemy into an engage- ment. This proposition was agreed upon, and the manage- ment of the affair was committed to General Ward, General Thomas of Massachusetts, and General Spencer of Connec- ticut, who had the command in that quarter. The militia now began to pour in from Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the other New England colonies, and the preparations for this important military movement went forward so rapidly and so openly, that fears began to be entertained that the British generals would suspect the object of their coming and anticipate it.*
General Spencer, and the officers and soldiers from Con- necticut who were under him, made very vigorous exertions in laboring night and day when the weather would permit. By the 26th of February, they had got in readiness forty- five batteaux large enough to carry eighty men each, and two floating batteries, stationed at the mouth of Cambridge river, so that they might throw a large body of troops into the west of Boston should the enemy dispatch a correspond-
* See Gordon.
[1776.] WASHINGTON CANNONADES BOSTON. 251
ing number of men for Dorchester Heights. A council of war was now called to hit upon the time for the attempt.
It was finally suggested that the sally should be made on the night of the 4th of March, as it was believed that the action would in that event take place on the 5th, a day most inspiring to the New England soldiers, as it was the anniver- sary of the Boston Massacre.* Colonel Mifflin, the Quarter- Master-General, not only proposed that time, but advocated it against the powerful influence of General Gates. After a long debate, that night was selected by a majority of only one vote.t
Among other provisions for this nocturnal exploit, the sur- geons prepared two thousand bandages for broken limbs and other dangerous wounds. The sight of these suggestive preparations did not in the least dampen the ardor of the troops, who looked forward to the coming engagement with- out a shadow of apprehension as to its success. J
To divert the attention of General Howe from his real design, Washington opened a heavy cannonade upon the town on the night of the 2d of March, from batteries that had been erected upon Cobble Hill, Lechmere Point, and Roxbury. This firing was kept up all that night and the two succeeding ones. The cannon, mortars and howit- zers had many of them been taken by the enterprise of Connecticut at Ticonderoga and Crowai Point, and brought over while the lakes were frozen, to speak their first notes in behalf of American liberty. Shells, too, and shot, had been furnished from his majesty's store and ordnance brig at New York, in such quantities that the British were aston- ished at the din that seemed to indicate that the rebels were provided with inexhaustible supplies of ammunition. On the night of the 4th of March, the cannon and mortars opened furiously upon the town, and were answered by the shot and shells from the British batteries. §
* Gordon, ii. 25. fBotta, i. 315. $ Gordon. §See Botta, i. 315 ;
Gordon, ii. 26.
252 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
A covering party of eight hundred men now moved for- ward ; next followed ox-carts loaded with intrenching tools, and then the main body of working men to the number of twelve hundred, under the immediate command of General Thomas ; next in order came a second train of carts to the number of three hundred, piled high with fascines and bundles of pressed hay, each weighing about eight hundred pounds. These last were placed on the low ground of Dor- chester neck, on the side next to the enemy, as a protection for the troops in passing over it. As the plan had been matured under the calm eye of Washington, and had received all the impetus that could be imparted to it by such men as Putnam, Thomas, and Spencer, its execution exhibited the combined elements of regularity and force in equal perfection.*
The silent celerity of the party affords a striking contrast to the booming guns that are now discharged with redoubled violence, and the shells that seem, at irregular intervals, to set the very heavens on fire as they burst and drop their harsh fragments upon the gray ice or hollow ground. As soon as the covering party came upon the ground, it divi- ded— half of the men advancing to that point nearest to Boston, and the other half to that next to the castle. The roads were well crusted over by the continued action of the frost, and the teamsters with their long whips and urgent whispers plied their oxen with such success, that many of them made three trips, and some four, during the night. The wind favored the intrenching party so much, that whatever noise was made in driving the stakes, and breaking through the crusts of the ground, was blown into the harbor, between the castle and the town. The old engineer, Gridley, who had laid out the redoubt on Breed's Hill, superintended the works, and it is needless to say, that they were placed in the right spot to annoy both town and castle. By 10 o'clock at night the two parties had erected
* Gordon, ii. 26 ; Botta, i. 316.
[1776.] ASTONISHMENT OF GENERAL HOWE. 253
each a fort, that afforded a perfect screen against musket balls and grape shot.*
The night was warm and mild, and they kept on working merrily till three in the morning, when they were relieved. Throughout the whole of that night a soft moonlight shone mildly in the faces of the intrenching party, while a thick haze clinging around the shoulders of the heights and inter- posing its dun masses between them and the town, hid their summits from the sight of the British sentinels and officers looking out from their posts of observation, in confused bewilderment, at the sound of so many guns and the burst- ing of the shells.
It was not until after day-break that General Howe was made aware of the change that had been effected during the night. As he looked up at the forts through the skirts of the fog that w^as now fast melting into thin air, they seemed to be much larger than they really were. It is not surprising that those castles in the air filled him with astonishment, and that he exclaimed in his perplexity, " I know not what I shall do ; the rebels have done more in one night than my whole army w^ould have done in months ;"f nor that in his cooler moments he wrote to Lord Dartmouth, — " It must have been the employment of at least twelve thousand men." His officers saw the work through the same misty medium, as one of them expressed himself in a letter to a friend, — " They were raised with an expedition equal to that of the Genii belonging to Aladdin's wonderful Lamp. "J But after all, whether seen in the haze of morning, or in the light of noon, it was obvious that they were likely to prove trouble- some to the town ; and what was worse. Admiral Shuldham was not backward in expressing a decided opinion that the fleet must quit the harbor, or the Americans must be driven from the heights.
Such a military leader as General Howe could not hesitate a moment what course to pursue. He knew what was expect-
* Gordon, ii. 26, 27. t Gordon, ii. 27. t Frotbingham, 295.
254 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
ed of him by the British Government, and resolved not to dis- appoint the hopes of the ministry. Besides, he had much of personal honor and character at stake, and he vv^as one of those heroic natures that prefer death to disgrace. With such an army as he had under his command, v^^ith such a train of artillery, and after all his written assurances of the v^^eakness of the enemy, to be driven by them from his winter-quarters, would be mortifying beyond endurance. He determined, therefore, to attack the new forts with a force adequate to drive the Americans from them. He ordered two thousand four hundred men to embark in transports, repair to castle William, and at night make an attack upon the works. These were the best men in the army, and were committed to the charge of Earl Percy, the very pattern and mirror of chivalry."^
Washington had made his arrangements with the precis- ion that marked all his movements. Boston is so placed at the foot of high hills and commanding ridges, that he could see every step taken by the British in the camp, in the batteries, and upon the wharves. He had also established between Cambridge and Roxbury, signals upon the eminen- ces, by means of which he could instantly convey intelli- gence from Dorchester Heights to Roxbury, and from Rox- bury to Cambridge. It had been arranged that in case a detachment of the enemy should leave Boston for the intrenchments and be defeated, as they inevitably must have been, the tidings should be instantly sent to Cambridge, where General Putnam, with four thousand choice troops, arranged in two divisions under Sullivan and Greene, was to be in readiness to embark in boats near the mouth of Charles river, and under cover of three floating batteries, make an attack upon Boston. The first of these divisions was to land at the powder-house and get possession of Beacon Hill, while Greene was to land near Barton's Point, secure that post, and then joining Sullivan, break down the gates and let
*Frothingham, 299 ; Botta, i. 317.
1776.] PREPARATIONS FOR AN ATTACK. 255
in the troops from Roxbury.* The inhabitants of the neighborhood now began to assemble on the tops of the hills, as they had done on the morning of the 17th of June.f
Washington was in high spirits at the admirable work- ing of his plan, and, elated with the prospect of an imme- diate engagement, went himself to Dorchester Heights, and inspected the works. He found them already in a state of formidable completeness. The sides of the hills were very steep, making the ascent difficult, and rows of barrels filled with earth were placed in front of the works, secured by small stones and ready to be rolled down upon the advancing columns of the enemy.J
Meanwhile, Earl Percy' s detachment advanced to the landing place, where the transports awaited them. They are observed to look pale and dejected, and a man in front of whose door they are drawn up, hears them muttering to each other, as they look up towards the heights, " It will be another Bunker Hill affair, or worse." As they get into the boats, the Americans, not doubting but they intend to make an immediate attack, clap their hands with eager joy, while Washington, with a face suddenly transformed from the expression of grave earnestness that had before marked his demeanor, to that of a fierce and terrible avenger, cried out in a voice that rang like a silver bugle along the American lines, " Remember — it is the fifth of March — and avenge the death of your brethren!" The effect of this speech was tremendous, as those transitions always were by which this wonderful man passed on such occasions in an instant from one mood to another so totally different. §
Putnam had already drawn up his men in battle order, and with the small stock of patience that he could command, awaited the signal from Cambridge that was to bring him
* General Heath was offered the command of one of these divisions, but de- clined it ; "and remained," says Gordon, " in perfect safety with the troops left in Cambridge,"
t Gordon. $Botta, i. 317. § See Gordon, Botta, Frothingham.
256 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
with his four thousand men to a point where he could exhibit to British regulars the efficiency of American marksmen, when provided with that gift of the gods that he had so ear- nestly prayed for during the early part of the winter — -an abundance of "powder/' But he, as well as his superior officers, was doomed to disappointment. In the afternoon, the wind blew so violently that the transports could not be brought near the shore, and the boats could not have lived a moment in the surf that rolled against the rocks where they proposed to land. Three of the transports were driven ashore. A storm succeeded that night, such as had not been known to rage on the coast for years ; and towards the morning it began to rain with great violence.*
On the 6th, General Howe called a council of war, and it was soon agreed that there was now left to the army no other course than to evacuate the town as speedily as possi- ble. General Howe advised to the measure, and made a speech to the council in favor of it, as the only means now left to them of saving the fleet and army.
The morning of the 7th opened with hurry and prepara- tion. This bustle was not confined to the troops. The tories shared in it, and were as little anxious to quit the warm nest where they had spent the winter, as the troops them- selves. They had a great deal of baggage to carry with them, and there were so many in the town that General Howe found he had not vessels enough to accommodate all his passengers. f
On the 8th a flag was sent out from the selectmen to General Washington, informing him that General Howe was about to depart, and that he was disposed to leave the town standing, if he could be assured that the American army would not interrupt him while he was making ready to embark. Washington received the deputation with kindness, but refused to make any pledges, though he expressed friend- ly feelings towards the inhabitants of Boston. The news
* " Siege of Boston," p. 300. t Gordon, ii. 29.
[1776.] HOWE PREPAEES TO EVACUATE BOSTON. 257
that Howe had determined to evacuate Boston, fell heavily upon the hearts of the tories. " Not the last trump," wrote Washington, in his nervous, strong style, " could have struck them with greater consternation."*
The British ships now gathered around the town in hostile array, threatening to destroy it should any demonstration be made from the American forts. Washington, on the 9th, went forward to Bird's Hill, and erected a new battery that was in fearful proximity to the British ships. On the night of the 9th, a detachment was sent to throw up works on Nook's Hill. This so alarmed General Howe that he opened a heavy cannonade upon it, which was kept up all night.f In the morning, he began to hasten his preparations for de- parture. Then followed for several days, in defiance of his orders, a series of robberies and plunderings under the super- intendence of a New York tory,J that did more than any thing before had done toward informing the citizens which party were their real friends. All this time, Washington was in doubt whether the British General really intended to quit the town. On the night of the 13th, he called a coun- cil of war at Roxbury, where he met Ward, Putnam, Thomas, Sullivan, Heath, Greene, and Gates. It was resolved that if Boston was not evacuated the next day, to fortify Nook's Hill on the following night. It w^as also determined that the rifle battalion and five regiments should march the next day for New York. These regiments were under command of Stark, Webb, Patterson, Greaton, and Bond.§
On the night of the 16th, Washington sent an intrenching party to Nook's Hill, that began in good earnest to fortify it. The British ships opened upon them and kept up a continued fire all night. The Americans did not return it, but kept on
* Frothingham, 301, 302. The British general seemed to have a special regard for the royalists, whose hospitality he had so often shared, and now he sought to reciprocate their favors in various ways.
t Frothingham, 305. " More than eight hundred shot were fired during the night. Five Americans were killed, and the works at Nook's Hill were sus- pended."
+ Crean Brush, Esq. § " Siege of Boston," p. 309.
49
258 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
with their work. This resolute step brought matters to a crisis. Early on the morning of the 17th General Howe began to embark his army. At 9 o'clock the garrison left Bunker Hill, and the British and tories began to swarm upon the wharves. The troops stationed at Cambridge and Rox- bury now paraded. General Putnam at the head of several regiments soon after embarked in boats on Charles river, and joyfully took possession of Bunker Hill. He ordered another detachment into Boston, while the rest of the troops marched back to Cambridge.*
Meanwhile, General Ward, with five hundred men under the immediate command of Colonel Learned, entered the tov/n from the Roxbury side. The command of the whole was assigned to General Putnam, who proceeded to take possession of all the posts and strongholds in the neighbor- hood, in the name of " The Thirteen United Colonies of North America."t More than one thousand tories, includ- ing members of the council, custom-house officers, commis- sioners, and all the other parasites that climb around the columns of provincial dominion, together with the British commander-in-chief and his baffled army of eleven thousand veteran troops, witnessed from the decks of their ships this spectacle, so mortifying to them, but so glorious to the thou- sands who looked down from the neighboring hills, and rent the sky with the charmed word, " Liberty."
* FrotMngham. t Frothingham, 310.
CHAPTER XI.
BATTLE ON LONG ISLAND.
As a part of the hostile fleet Ungered for some ten days in Nantasket Roads, about nine miles below Boston, Wash- ington still remained there with the main body of his army. It was not until the last vestige of the enemy had disappear- ed, that he deemed it safe to spare Putnam from the camp, where he still proposed to remain for awhile, until he could perfect a plan of operations for the opening campaign. It was now obvious that the enemy were bound for New York, where General Heath, who had been dispatched by the way of Norwich, with the whole body of riflemen and five bat- talions of the continental army, had already arrived. It was of course necessary, after leaving a suitable garrison at Boston to complete the works that had been begun there and to protect the place, that the main body of the army should be sent forward to New York as speedily as it could be done without confusion, in order that the works which had been abandoned by General Lee might be finish- ed, and preparations made upon a scale adequate to repel the invasion of the enemy. On the 29th of March, there- fore, Washington ordered General Sullivan with six battal- ions to begin their march for this new field of operations. Provisions were also made that the rest of the army should follow in divisions, at such intervals as would be found most convenient to provide accommodations for them on their march. On the same day, he gave General Putnam written instructions to hasten to New York, take the com- mand of the army there, and superintend the completion of the works. He was ordered to fortify the city, and secure •"the passes of the East and North rivers."* The confi-
* Humphreys, p. 102, 103.
260 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
dence reposed in the bravery and skill of Putnam by the commander-in-chief, and the deep affectionate interest that he felt in him, is beautifully exhibited in the following con- cise yet delicate paragraphs :
" Your long service and experience will, better than my particular directions at this distance, point out to you the works most proper to be first raised ; and your perseverance, activity and zeal will lead you, without my recom- mending it, to exert every nerve to disappoint the enemy's designs.
"Devoutly praying that the Power which has hitherto sustained the American arms, may continue to bless them with the divine protection, I bid you Farewell."^
Thus invested with the most important charge in the con- tinental army, Putnam, by those long forced stages of his, in which he surpassed all other military leaders of that day, hastened to his destination. He found everything in New York in a state of disorder. Although the war had already raged for nearly a year, yet the British ships found no difficulty in supplying themselves from the town with an abundance of fresh water and provisions.
Scarcely had Putnam arrived there, when he resolved to put an end to this intercourse. With this view he published the following prohibition :
" Head Quarters, New York, April 8, 1776 " The General informs the inhabitants, that it is become absolutely necessary that all communication between the ministerial fleet and the shore should be immediately stop- ped ; for that purpose he has given positive orders, that the ships should no longer be furnished with provisions. Any inhabitants, or others, who shall be taken, that have been on board, after the publishing this order, or near any of the ships, or going on board, will be considered as enemies, and treated accordingly.
"All boats are to sail from Beekman slip. Captain James
* Humphreys' Life of Putnam, p. 104.
[1776.] PUTNA:^! and SPENCER IN NEW YORK. 261
Alner is appointed inspector, and will give permits to oyster- men. It is ordered and expected that none attempt going
without a pass.
"Israel Putnam,
" Major-General in the Continental Army,
and Commander-in-chief of the forces in New York."*
It was soon evident that a living soul had at last been breathed into the army at New York. Almost at the same instant, Putnam forwarded a detachment of one thousand continental troops to occupy Governor's Island, a regiment to fortify Red Hook, and several companies of riflemen to protect the Jersey shore. The enemy soon found that it was impossible for them to go ashore for food and water. Of two boats that made the attempt to get fresh water, one was driven off the shore by the riflemen, with two or three men killed, and the other was captured with its whole crew.
Within a very few days Captain Vanderput, the senior officer of the ships stationed there, and who had immediate command of the Asia, (whose cabin was for a long time, the state saloon of His Excellency, Governor Tryon,) finding it impossible to submit to the scanty accommodations allowed him by Putnam, weighed anchor and sailed off* with the whole fleet in disgust, so that when Washington arrived, about the middle of April, not a British sail was to be seen in the waters that surrounded New York. In the most hearty terms Washington thanked him for his promptness and fidelity. He was ordered to take the chief agency as before of the fortifications, and with the assistance of Briga- dier-General Spencer, of Connecticut, and Lord Sterling, of New Jersey, to assign to the different corps of the main army all the alarm posts.'[
While Connecticut is thus represented in a neighboring province by Putnam, Spencer, and others of her brave sons, who are seen to play a chief part that still hallows the envi-
* Humphreys, 105. tFrothingham.
262 HISTORY OF CO]S"KECTICUT.
rons of New York with so many associations, let us cast a glance at the deliberations of her statesmen and councilors in the executive chamber and legislative halls.
On the 14th of June, Governor Trumbull convoked by his special order, "a General Assembly of the Governor and company of the English Colony of Connecticut, in New Eng- land, in America." The records of the session open with a preamble that is so characteristic of our people, and such a fine specimen of the composition of the greatest of all the colonial governors of that era, that I cannot forbear making an extract from it in this place. After reciting the fact that we have an existence and rights that are beyond the reach of any earthly power, and alluding to the attempt of the British government to deprive us of them, the record pro- ceeds in the following terms :
" After a series of accumulated wrong and injury, [they] have proceeded to invade said colonies with fleets and armies, to destroy our towns, shed the blood of our country- men, and involve us in the calamities incident to war ; and are endeavoring to reduce us to an abject surrender of our natural and stipulated rights, and subject our property to the most precarious dependence on their arbitrary will and pleasure, and our persons to slavery ; and at length have declared us out of the king's protection, have engaged for- eign mercenaries against us, and are evidently and strenu- ously seeking our ruin and destruction. These and many other transactions, too well known to need enumeration, the painful experience and effects of which we have suffered and feel, make it evident, beyond the possibility of a doubt, that we have nothing to hope from the justice, humanity, or temperate council of the British King or his Parliament, and that all hopes of a reconciliation upon just and equal terms are delusory and vain."^
The reader will observe that in all former records, the popular indignation has been expended upon the other branches of the government, while the king has been spoken
* Hinman's Revolution, 94.
[1776.] DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 263
of in the most loyal and kindly terms. But now no exception is made in favor of royalty.
The following invocation found in the same connection, will show what power they intended should be forever after the only object of their homage and adoration :
"Appealing to that God who knows the secrets of all hearts, for the sincerity of former declarations of our desire to preserve our ancient and constitutional relation to that nation, and protesting solemnly against their oppression and injustice, which have driven us from them and compelled us to use such means as God in his providence hath put in our power for our necessary defense and preservation :
"Resolved, unanimously, by this Assembly, that the dele- gates of this colony in General Congress, be and they are hereby instructed to propose to that respectable body to declare the United American Colonies Free and Independ- ent States, absolved from all allegiance to the King of Great Britain, and to give the assent of this colony to such declarations."*
Thus did the colony for the first time discard the maxim of the British constitution, that the king can do no wrong ; and while the members of the Assembly were, without a dissenting vote, promulgating these sentiments to the world, the Committee of Congress, composed of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston, were engaged in preparing the form of the Declaration of Independence, to which, on the 4th of July, were set the signatures of Roger Sherman, Samuel Hunt- ington, William WiUiams, and Oliver Wolcott — names that will be household words in every family in the state, as long as the principles of 1776 shall survive in the hearts of the people.
There is an incident connected with Litchfield, that is worthy of notice here, as it illustrates the character of our people, and the part that the mothers and daughters of that generation, played in the drama of the Revolution.
*Hinman, 94,95.
264 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
General Wolcott, who was a member of the Continental Congress, and a signer of the Declaration of Independence, was a resident of Litchfield, and spent his congressional vacations at home in answering the demands made for troops upon the north-western part of the state, by Washington, Putnam, and Gates.
On the 21st of August, 1770, the birth-day of Prince Frederick, the father of George the third, an equestrian statue of his majesty was erected in New York, on the Bowling-Green, near Fort George. The statue was made principally of lead, but was the work of Wilton, a celebrated statuary of London, and was very elegant and richly gilded, so that it had the appearance of being solid gold. The cere- mony of its erection was the occasion of much festivity in New York. The king's council, the city corporation, the chamber of commerce, and the marine society, as well as the gentlemen of the city and army, paid their respects to Lieutenant-Governor Colden at the fort, by special invita- tion, and drank the ''hinges health" under the inspiring influ- ences of music, and the discharge of thirty-two pieces of cannon from the Battery. No doubt, after the fifth bumper, these gentlemen were loyal enough to have drank immortality to the statue, as well as to the king. But sad as the reflection may be, it is none the less true, that, although by the theory of the British constitution the king never dies, yet the works of men's hands are perishable, and the features of royalty fade even from brass and iron, to say nothing of the more impressible metals that may sometimes, with more propriety, represent sceptred sovereignty. The eighteenth century w^as remarkable for its desire to look beneath the surfaces of things, and appears, not long after the statue was placed, to have begun, even in New York, to make a very irreverent application of the maxim, " all is not gold that glitters." It is quite likely that one of the very first experiments was made upon this statue, and that the qualities of the metal were tested, in the year 1773, with that corosive acid first discovered in Connecticut, and afterwards constantly carried
[1776.] HIS majesty's STATUE OVERTHROWN. 265
in the pockets of those peripatetic philosophers, called " Sons OF Liberty." Had it not been so, it is not likely that we should find, under date of the 6th of February, of that year, an act entitled an act " to prevent the defacing of statues, which are erected in the city of New York."
Under the protection of this statute, the equestrian king, with the exception of the ordinary wear of time, seems to have continued to bestride his charger, and to have met the morning sun with a countenance equally golden, until the year 1776.
On the night of the eleventh of July, seven days after the Declaration of Independence had been given to the world, the " Sons of Liberty" paid his majesty a visit in good earnest. They treated him with a shocking familiarity. A gentleman who stood near enough to witness the interview, after the party in attendance had assisted the king to alight, could not forbear exclaiming in the words of the Angel to Lucifer :
" If tlaou be'st he — but ah ! how fallen, how changed !"
What they did with the king, where they carried him, and what was the fate of one, who, by the laws of the country that he governed, could not be allowed to die, was for a long time a mystery. The next morning the pedestal was in its old place, but the horse and his rider were gone. In vain might the loyal British governor search for them, and in vain might the tories of the city shed tears, as they looked the town and country over to restore to its place the presiding genius of the Battery. That benignant face never beamed upon them again.
Meanwhile, not like Cardinal Wolsey, by easy stages, but rather like General Putnam, by forced marches, and doubtless under cover of darkness, the monarch was led away into Connecticut. He was taken far inland over a rough country, and made to climb high hills. They finally committed him to the care of General Wolcott, who was probably at home, and ready to receive his kingly guest with his usual courtly hospitality, not long after the eleventh of July.
266 HISTOEY OF CONNECTICUT.
The fate of the statue is briefly told. General Wolcott treated its ponderous masses as military stores. He caused a shed to be built for the broken statue in the apple orchard near his house, and chopped it up with an axe into pieces of a convenient size to be melted into bullets, that the king's troops, in the words of Mr. Hazard, might "have melted majesty fired at them." The account current, that will be found in the subjoined note,* is full of meaning, and will
* This account is in the handwriting of Governoi* Wolcott, and is as follows :
" Mrs. Marvin, 3456 cartridges.
" " on former account, 2G02
6058
Ruth Marvin on former account, , 6204
Not sent to court house, 449 packs, 5388
11,592
Laura, on former account, 4250
Not sent to court house, 344 packs, 4128
8378
Mary Ann, on former account, 5762
Not sent to the court house 119 packs, out of which
I let Colonel Parley Howe have 3 packs, 5028
10,790
Frederick, on former account, 708
Not sent to court house, 19 packs, 228
936
37,754
Mrs. Beach's two accounts, 2002
Made by sundry persons, 2182
Gave Litchfield militia, on alarm, 50
Let the regiment of Col. Wigglesworth have 300
Cartridges, No 42,288
Overcharged in Mrs. Beach's account, 200
42,088
On the back of this account is written in the same handwriting, this brief explanation. " An account of the number of cartridges made."
The following additional memorandum, is in the handwriting of his son, the last Governor Wolcott.
" N. B. An equestrian statue of George the Third of Great Britain, was erected in the city of New York on the Bowling Green, at the lower end of Broadway; most of the materials were lead, but richly gilded to resemble gold.
[1776.] MELTING THE STATUE. 267
possess, for those who know the characteristics of the families represented in it, the Kvely features of a picture. It illustrates what has been said in the first volume of this work, that our Wolcotts, both male and female, were always ready to labor with their hands whenever the situation of the country and the public good seemed to call for their services. With the aid of this little account, we are able to take a peep into the family mansion of the first Oliver Wolcott, during one of those social gatherings, in the winter of 1776-'7. By the inspiring warmth of a hickory fire, we can see the sly looks of the fair young ladies, and the approving smile of the elder ones, as that handsome iconoclast, Frederick, places the ladle upon the live coals, piled high with fragments of ihe statue. Mrs. Marvin, Mrs. Beach, Miss Laura Wolcott, Miss Mary Ann Wolcott, and Miss Ruth Marvin, must have made some unloyal witticisms at the expense of the late king, as they saw a dissolving view^ of an eye, an ear, or a nose, that was about to assume a globular form and be put at last in the way of being useful. Forty-two thousand and eighty-eight bullets, in times when lead was dear, and not easily to be had at any price, made no insignificant accession to the resources of the continental army. They were carefully distributed and faithfully expended. Some of them were committed to the keeping of Colonel Wigglesworth ; others must have aided Putnam in defending the Highlands ; a part of them may have gone with Major Seymour, to Saratoga ; and it is cer- tain, that fifty of them were used to welcome the king's pro- vincial governor, when he paid his first and last visit to Danbury.
This incident was one of many that might be related, as illustrating the general fact, that the ladies throughout the state were willing to perform any manual labor that w^ould
At the beginning of the revolution this statue was overthrown. Lead being then scarce and dear, the statue was broken in pieces, and the metal transported to Litchfield as a place of safety. The ladies of this village converted the lead into cartridges, of which the preceding is an account. O. W."
For a careful examination of all the evidence, and a minute list of the authorities relating to this incident, see WoodrufPs Hist, of Litchfield.
268 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
serve the cause, for which they were ready to give up their own lives, as well as those of their sons, their husbands, and fathers. It was indeed madness to attempt to subdue a people that had been nurtured and trained by women, who would not only deprive themselves of the most ordinary household comforts, and raise with their own hands the grain that they afterwards made into bread, but who would, also, mould the bullets and shape the cartridges that were needed to emanci- pate their country.*
* In another part of this work, I have brought down the genealogy of the Wol- eott family, from a period of remote antiquity, to Henry Wolcott, Esq., the Pioneer. From him it is continued as follows :
1. Simon Wolcott, (son of Henrj'^,) was born in 1625 ; married Martha Pitkin, sister of William Pitkin, the ancestor of the Pitkin family of Connecticut. He was admitted a freeman of Connecticut colony in INIay, 1654; and died in 1687. Martha, his widow, died in 1719.
2. Roger Wolcott, (son of Simon,) was born in Windsor, Jan. 4, 1679. In the expedition against Canada, in 1711, he was a commissary of the Connecticut forces; and at the capture of Louisbourg, in 1745, he bore the commission of major-general. He was successively a member of the assembly and of the council, judge of the county court, deputy governor, chief judge of the superior court, and from 1751 to 1754, governor. His wife was Sarah Drake, who died in 1747. He departed this life, May 17, 1767, aged eighty-eight years.
3. Oliver Wolcott, LL.D., (son of Roger,) was born in 1726 ; graduated at Tale College, in 1747 ; married Laura Collins, who died in 1794.' He studied medicine, and settled in Goshen, in the practice of his profession. On the organization of the county of Litchfield, in 1751, he was appointed high sheriff, and soon after removed to Litchfield. He was a brigadier-general in the revolu- tion, member of the Continental Congress, signer of the Declaration of Inde- pendence, heutenant-governor, and governor. He died December 1, 1797, aged seventy-one. His brother, Erastus Wolcott, was a brigadier-general in the revo- lution, a member of Congress, and judge of the superior court. He died Sept. 14, 1793.
4. Oliver Wolcott, LL. D., (son of the preceding Oliver,) was a native of Litchfield. He was comptroller of the state of Connecticut, Secretary of the Treasury of the United States under President Washington, and governor of Connecticut for ten years. He died in New York in 1833, leaving two sons, viz. Col. Oliver S., and Dr. John S. Dr. Oliver Wolcott, now of San Francisco, California, is a son of the former.
5. Frederick Wolcott, (also a son of the first Oliver, and brother of the second,) was in public life for more than forty years. He was a gentleman of stately manners, courteous, benevolent, and hospitable. He died in 1837. His
[1776.] DOmGS OF THE ASSEMBLY. 269
During this year, there were five sessions of the General Assembly, three of which were specially called. At the regular session in May, the governor was, by a special act, made the chief naval officer of the colony, and was authorized to appoint subordinate officers at each of the ports of New Haven, New London, Middletown, and Norwich. A maritime jurisdiction was also given to the county courts. By another act, all the troops of horse in the colony were formed into five regiments of light-horse. Large detachments of militia were ordered to hold themselves in readiness to march at the shortest notice, for the defense of the colony. One regiment was directed to be raised for the continental service,- and another to be stationed about New London. Sixty thousand pounds in Bills of Credit were issued, and a tax of eight-pence on a pound was laid.
Andrew Ward was appointed colonel, Obadiah Johnson, lieutenant-colonel, and William Douglas, major, of the regi- ment to be raised to serve in the continental army.* Of the regiment to be stationed at or near New London, David Waterbury, Jr., was appointed colonel ; Comfort Sage, lieut.- colonel ; and Oliver Smith, major. Benjamin Hinman, Philip Burr Bradley, and David Dimon, were appointed to the cor- responding offices in the regiment to be raised for the defense of the colony. f
At the special session in June, an act was passed to raise two regiments by enlistment to reinforce the continental army in the northern department. David Waterbury, Jr., was appointed brigadier-general, and Samuel Mott and Heman Swift were appointed colonels of this detachment. Seven regiments, including the one raised in May, w^ere ordered to march immediately and join the continental
first wife was Betsey Huntington ; his second, Sally W. Goodrich, of the old Goodrich family of Wethersfield.
" Some of the family have been members of the assembly, judges of the Superior Court, or magistrates, from the first settlement of the colony to this time, during the term of more than a century and a half." Trumbull, i. 227.
* Dr. Benjamin Trumbull, was appointed chaplain of this regiment.
t Hinman, 97, 100.
270 HISTOEY OF CONNECTICUT.
army in New York. James Wadsworth, Jr., was appointed brigadier- general ; Gold S. Silliman, Charles Webb, Philip B. Bradley, Jedediah Huntington, Fisher Gay, Comfort Sage, John Douglas, Samuel Selden, William Douglas, John Chester, and Erastus Wolcott, were appointed colonels.
The sessions in October, November, and December, were mainly occupied in providing for the raising and equipping of new troops, appointing officers, levying taxes, issuing Bills of Credit, and in other ways contributing their full proportion to the advancement and success of the great struggle in which the state was engaged. It will suffice here to add, that Connecticut sustained five heavy drafts for actual service during the year. The first, a large one from the western section, marched for the defense of New York ; the second, for the defense of New London and Long Island ; the third, from the eastern section of the state, for Westchester county, N. Y. ; the fourth, for the defense of Rhode Island ; the fifth, was a draft for the defense and protection of the western frontier.*
At the December session, all the militia in the state was formed into six brigades : David Wooster and Jabez Hun- tington, were appointed major-generals ; and Eliphalet Dyer, Gurdon Saltonstall, Oliver Wolcott, Erastus Wolcott, James Wadsworth, and Gold S. Silliman, brigadier-generals.
Let us now return to the American camp. It had for some time been the desire of Congress that General Wash- ington should repair to Philadelphia, and have an interview with them. As the British army was now absent, and the American works were in a state of great completeness, Washington, on the 21st of May, set out for Philadelphia, leaving the whole army in charge of General Putnam, who from that time until the 6th of June, was to all intents the acting commander-in-chief of the American army, and was authorized to open all letters addressed to General Washing- ton on matters pertaining to the public service. During this period of about fifteen days, Putnam found abundant scope
*Hiiiman, 110, 111.
[1TT6.] BUSHXELL's "AMERICAN TURTLE." 271
for the employment of his powers. To finish the works already begun, to lay the foundations of new ones, to estab- lish suitable signals, to add to the quantity of powder of which the supply was as yet too scanty, and to secure it in a safe place of deposit to provide for the defense of the High- lands— and many other matters of a public and general nature — kept him so constantly occupied, that he had scarcely time to eat or sleep. f But he had a certain task assigned him of a more private and delicate nature, that could not have been committed to better or more experi- enced hands. This commission was no other than that of affording aid to the Provincial Congress of New York, in apprehending their own citizens who were tories, and keep- ing them out of the way of doing mischief
It was towards the close of June before General Howe, who had at last been sufficiently reinforced to make it safe for him again to set himself in hostile array against Wash- ington, appeared off New York with the British fleet and army. To obstruct the passage of the ships, Putnam, who had command of the whale-boats, fire-rafts, flat-bottomed boats and armed vessels, lent his personal attention to a project, that had well nigh proved successful, of blowing the whole fleet out of the harbor by means of a machine that had been invented by Mr. David Bushnell, of Saybrook, by which the art of submarine navigation was brought to a greater state of perfection than it had ever been before. This sea-monster was called the American Turtle, and was so constructed that it could be propelled under the water in a horizontal line, at any given depth, and could be raised or lowered at the will of the operator. There was attached to the turtle a magazine of powder, that was to be fastened under the bottom of the doomed ship by a screw. The same stroke that severed the turtle from the magazine, was made to set in motion a piece of internal clock-work that was so contrived as to set the powder on fire at the end of a given period of time.
+ Humphreys.
272 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
Unfortunately for the success of the first trial, that was to be made upon the Eagle, a sixty-four gun ship, having on board Lord Howe, the British admiral, and some of the choicest officers of the army, Bushnell's brother, who was the principal engineer, was sick, and the turtle was com- mitted to an unskillful hand. The screw that had been made to pierce the copper-plates, struck by accident an iron one, and of course did not penetrate it. The magazine consequently drifted away from the ship, and when it exploded, did no other harm to the British admiral than to give him a sad fright, as, with the noise of an earthquake, it threw its column of water high into the air.*
This same David Bushnell afterwards invented other machines, which destroyed a ship off the Long Island shore, and subsequently gave the British fleet at Philadelphia that fright in the winter of 1777 which was celebrated by the witty Mr. Hopkinson in his poem, called " The Battle of the Kegs."f The repetition of the experiment was prevented by the great events that soon followed. The British ships, day after day, brought additional troops to swell the ranks of the invading army. In spite of all the efforts that had been made to prevent the fleet from getting possession of the North river, the Phoenix, the Rose, and two tenders, in the face of a heavy cannonade, accomplished this dangerous feat on the night of the 15th of July, and, sailing up as far as Tarrytown, took their station in front of that place. f
By the 21st of July, only five thousand of the new troops that had been ordered, had arrived in the American camp, and they were many of them so ill-equipped as to be almost unfit for service. Many of the colonies failed to send their
* Humphreys.
t About Christmas, 1777, Mr. Bushnell committed to the Delaware river a number of his "infernal machines," in the form of kegs, which he designed should float down and destroy the British fleet at Philadelphia ; but the strange squadron, having been separated and retarded by the ice, demolished but a single boat. This catastrophe, however, produced an alarm unprecedented in its nature and degree, which is most happily described in the poem referred to.
i Gordon.
[1776.] THE NUMBER OF OUR TROOPS. 273
quota, while others made exertions quite beyond their means. Early in August, the aspect of affairs in and about New York was so threatening, that, at the earnest solicitation of General Washington, the governor and council of Connec- ticut directed the whole of the standing militia west of Connecticut river, together with two regiments on the east side, to march forthwith to New York city. Though a busy and important season for farmers, this order was promptly carried into effect. This body of troops comprised fourteen regiments, and, at a moderate computation, must have amounted to at least ten thousand men. About the same time, a large proportion of the remainder of the militia on the east side of the river was called to the defense of New London, and to aid the inhabitants of Suffolk county, L. I. There w^ere, therefore, at this time not less than twenty thousand of the inhabitants of Connecticut in actual service, most of whom had been marched out of the state for the defense of New York.*
Washington's whole force, including the sick w^ho were present and absent, amounted to only seventeen thousand two hundred and twenty-five. Most of these were raw troops, and could hardly be estimated at eight thousand effective men. Besides, they were scattered over a wide surface of country. Some of the corps were fifteen miles apart. This army was so destitute of lead that the citizens of New York were compelled to strip their windows and the roofs of their houses to supply the demand. One house fur- nished twelve hundred pounds. f In other necessary articles whole companies were equally deficient.
Thus it appears that Connecticut had furnished and kept in the field full one half of the American army commanded by Washington.
*Hinman, 106, 107.
+ At a session of the Governor and Council of Connecticut, July 2, 1776, it was " Voted, That a quantity of lead owned by Jonathan Kilbourn, Esq., of Col- chester, and used by him on the water-wheel of his saw-mill, shall not be taken from him for public use until actually wanted ; and then only by the selectmen of Colchester, without further orders."
50
274 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
On the other hand, the British army was much superior in numbers, and all the furnishings of a campaign. On the 12th of August, General Howe was reinforced by two fleets of transports under convoy of Commodore Hotham.*'
On the 14th, the troops that had been stationed in South Carolina arrived in good order ; and about the same time a few regiments reached his camp from Florida and the West Indies. His army now numbered at least twenty-two thou- sand effective men. On the 22d, he effected a landing at a point between Utrecht and Gravesend, near Staten Island, under cover of the fleet.
The American works erected by General Greene extended across a small peninsula, with the East river on the left, a marsh running down to the water side on the right, and the bay and Governor's Island in the rear. Within these works General Sullivan lay encamped with a strong force, a few miles from Utrecht. From the point of land that forms the east side of the Narrows, a thickly- wooded hill stretches to the north-east for a distance of some five or six miles, terminating near Jamaica. This hill was crossed by two roads which had been made through deep and narrow ravines ; a third road followed the shore round the western base of these hills ; and a fourth penetrated inland.f In each of these passes the Americans had taken the precau- tion to place a guard of eight hundred men. J General Put- nam now took command in consequence of the sudden illness of General Greene. He was entirely unacquainted with the situation of the works, as well as of the different passes and roads in the vicinity ; and the confusion and want of discipline among the troops was at this time noto- rious. Under these circumstances, his experience availed him little, as he was unable to exercise it.
Lord Cornwallis, with the reserve and some other troops, attempted to cross the hill through one of these passes, but finding it in possession of the Americans he quietly with- drew.
* Gordon, ii. 96. t Hildreth, iii. 148. t Sparks' Life of Washington, 177
[1776.] BATTLE ON LONG ISLAND. 275
On the 25th, General Heister, with two brigades of Hes- sians from Staten Island, joined the British forces. He was at once stationed at Flatbush.
The British army now occupied the plain on the opposite side of the hill, extending in a line from the Narrows to Flat- bush. General Grant commanded the left wing near the coast ; Heister, the centre, composed of Hessians ; and Clin- ton, with Earl Percy and Cornwallis, the right.
About three o'clock on the morning of the 27th of August, a report was brought into the American camp that the British were in motion on the road leading along the coast from the Narrows. A detachment under Lord Sterling was immedi- ately ordered out to meet them ; while SulHvan was sent to the heights above Flatbush, on the middle road. In the meantime. General Clinton led his division by a circuit into the Jamaica road, which was not guarded, and gained the rear of Sullivan. Before this was accomplished, reinforce- ments had been sent from the camp to support both Sullivan and Sterling.* General Grant, in order to divert the atten- tion of the Americans from the main point of attack, had advanced along the west road. The guard, consisting exclusively of Pennsylvanians and New Yorkers, without waiting to fire a gun, fled to General Parsons with the intelli- gence that the enemy were advancing in great numbers. As it was now day-light. Parsons saw the position of the British, and immediately rallied as many of the fugitives as he could, and posted them on the height about half a mile from the enemy. Though the number of the guard thus summarily gathered did not exceed twenty, they caused the advancing columns to halt until Lord Sterling came up with fifteen hundred troops and took possession of the hill about two miles from the camp.f A fierce action now com- menced between Grant and Sterling. The force of the latter consisted of the two battalions of Colonel Miles, and the regiments of Colonels Atlee, Smallwood, and Hatch. They behaved with great bravery, charging the enem}^ and
* Sparks' Life of Washington. t Gordon, ii. 90.
276 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
maintaining their position from about eight o'clock in the morning until two in the afternoon. They were finally compelled to give way. In their retreat they were met by some British troops, and many of them were taken prison- ers, including their commander. Some, however, succeeded in breaking through the lines and escaping, among whom was General Parsons."^
General Sullivan, with the regiments on the heights above Flatbush, being attacked by Heister on one side and Clinton on the other, after making an obstinate resistance for three hours, was obhged to surrender. As the grounds were broken and covered with wood, many of the troops escaped and returned to Brooklyn ; but by far the greater part of the survivors were taken prisoners. After the battle was over. General Howe encamped his army in front of the American lines, intending to carry them with the cooperation of the fleet.t
About five thousand Americans were engaged in this bat- tie, who were opposed by about fifteen thousand of the ene- my, well provided with artillery. New Jersey, Pennsylva- nia, Delaware, and Maryland, doubtless furnished a majority of the troops under Sullivan and Sterling, who were in actual service during the battle, though Connecticut was honorably represented on that disastrous field. General Parsons w^as there, as we have seen, and fought with his usual courage ; Huntington's regiment sustained a high character in the action, and suffered a heavy loss there. J Colonel Douglass also, with his regiment, was in the thickest of the fight.
* Gordon, ii. 100. t Sparks, 178.
^Hinman, 89, 110. The following is a list of the names of tlie officers in Colonel Huntington's regiment, who were prisoners with the enemy, who sent a flag of truce for their baggage and money, viz : Captains Brewster and Bissell ; Lieutenants Gillett, Gay, Olcott, and Makepeace ; Ensigns Bradford, Chapman, Lyman, Hinman, and Higgins; Doctor Holmes 5 Adjutant Hopkins, and Colonel Clark. These, however, were not all. There were missing from this regiment after the action, six captains, six lieutenants, twenty-one sergeants, two drummers, and one hundred and twenty-six rank and file.
[1776.] DEFEAT OF THE AMERICANS. 277
Besides several hundred killed and missing, one thousand Americans were taken prisoners — among whom were Gene- ral Sullivan, Lord Sterling, three colonels, four lieutenant- colonels, three majors, eighteen captains, forty-three lieuten- ants, eleven ensigns, three surgeons, and an adjutant. The British had only sixty-one killed, and about two hundred and fifty wounded ; the Hessians had two killed and twenty-six wounded.
This victory was hailed with enthusiasm by the British king and ministry, who appear to have imagined that the Americans were effectually conquered. General Howe was at once created a knight of the bath, and several other officers were promoted for their gallantry on the occa- sion.
Apprehending that it was the design of General Howe to transport a part of his army across the sound, form an encampment at Kingsbridge, and thus put New York in jeopardy, a council of war was called. Matters of grave import were long and earnestly debated ; and it was at last unanimously resolved to withdraw the troops from Long Island. Boats were collected and other preparations were made without delay. On the morning of the 30th, the whole army, amounting to nine thousand men, the military stores, cattle, horses, carts, nearly all the provisions, and the artil- lery, except a few heavy cannon, were safely landed in New York. This retreat had been conducted in such a masterly manner under the personal supervision of Washington, that the last boat was crossing the river before they were discov- ered by the enemy.*
In about an hour after the American works had been
* Sparks' Life of Washington, p. 178, 179 ; Gordon, ii. 101, 102, 103. Colo- nel Glover, of Marblehead, Massachusetts, many of whose men had been bred to the fishing business, took command of the vessels and flat-bottomed boats, while the embarkation of the troops was committed to the superintendence of General McDougal. So intense was the anxiety of Washington, that for forty-eight hours he did not close his eyes, and rarely dismounted from his horse, A provi- dential fog favored the retreat. " The enemy were so near that they were heard at work with their pick-axes and shovels."
278 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
abandoned, the fog cleared off, and the enemy were seen to take possession of them.
The situation of General Washington after the evacuation of Long Island, was truly distressing. In consequence of their recent repulse, the troops were disheartened, and their minds filled with apprehensions and despair. Many of them were intractable, and impatient to return. Great numbers went off — by companies at a time, by half regiments, and in some instances almost whole ones. Within nine days after the evacuation, the number of the sick, by the returns, formed one quarter of the whole army.* Whole battalions ran away from Fowls' Hook and Bergen Heights at the firing of a broadside from a ship that was not near enough to do them any harm. To add to the threaten- ing ills that wait upon fear and disorder, the greatest distrust prevailed between the troops representing the different colo- nies. Mutual accusations, taunts, and boastings, found abundant employment in the camp. It was evident that some new steps must be taken to divert the attention of the men from these bickerings, or else all hope of an organized resistance must be abandoned.
Washington accordingly divided the army, and assorted the troops from different sections of the country in such a way that he could look for a more harmonious state of feeling between those who were thus associated, than had before prevailed in the whole army. Forty-five hundred were left in New York, sixty-five hundred were posted at Harlem, and twelve thousand at Kingsbridge.f
On the hills contiguous to these places, forts had been erected which were now garrisoned. The strongest of these was Fort Washington, at Harlem, occupying a high hill that overlooked the North river. Opposite to it on the Jersey shore, was Fort Lee. It soon became evident to Washing- ton, that General Howe intended to interpose his army between the American detachment at New York, and the
* Gordon. f Gordon, ii. 109, 110.
[1776.] CAPTAIN NATHAN" HALE. 279
main body posted at Kingsbridge. He therefore moved his head-quarters to Morrisania, near Fort Washington.
The numbers and position of the British forces at Brook- 1}^ was now an object of intense interest to Washington. A council of war was held, and it was determined to send an American officer of ability and approved courage, to Long Island, who should make his way into the British camp, and obtain the information that was so much needed. As soon as this course was resolved on, Washington made it known to the young officers of the army. Captain Nathan Hale, of South Coventry, Connecticut, was the only appli- cant for this dangerous commission. At the earnest request of Colonel Knowlton, in whose judgment Washington repos- ed the highest confidence, the generous offer was accepted, and the young hero hastened to prepare himself for the exe- cution of the trust. Washington had an interview with him before his departure, instructed him how to proceed, and with a fatherly solicitude gave him his parting blessing, and commended him to the protection of Heaven. Hale secret- ly hastened to the British camp, noted minutely the number of the enemy, their condition, and w^hat locality they occupied. He was about to set out on his return, when he was unfortunately met by his cousin, Samuel Hale, from New Hampshire, who had deserted the American army and was then in the British service. Samuel, w^ho had before the breaking out of the war paid a visit to Captain Hale's father in Connecticut, recognized his cousin at a glance. Forgetful alike of the ties of blood, and the no less sacred rites of hospitality, the tory-deserter, doubtless through the hope of reward, betrayed his cousin to the British com- mander, who at once caused Captain Hale to be advertised with a minute description of his personal appearance. Finding that he could not pass by the way of Long Island with- out falling into the hands of those who were now on the alert for him, the patriot scholar sought to escape by the way of Kingsbridge, and with such masterly tact did he advance that he was allowed to pass sentry after sentry
280 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
<
without detection. He had arrived at the station of the outer guard, when he was suspected, arrested, and brought before General Howe, where it would seem, from the best evidence that can now be gathered, that an informal exam- ination was held that would have resulted in his immediate discharge, had not his false-hearted cousin presented himself, and made oath that he was a captain in the continental army and a spy. This piece of voluntary testimony changed the doom of the young hero, and he was immedi- ately condemned to the gibbet without the sanction of a court-martial. The execution, or rather assassination, was appointed to take place on the following morning. Throughout the night, he was treated with every indignity that the malevolence of his enemies could invent. The ordinary signs by which we recognize in a fellow-mortal the existence of a common humanity, were denied him by the wretches who had him in charge, and by the tory to whom the privi- lege was accorded of murdering him. He earnestly begged that in his last hour the attendance of a clergyman might be allowed to administer to him the consolations of religion. Even this common privilege allotted to felons and accorded to men about to suffer for the crime of high treason, was refused him. He had during the night written some letters to his mother and a few of his more intimate friends. Even these were taken from him and brutally torn in pieces before his eyes. "The rebels," said the perpetrators of this barbar- ous act, "shall not know that they have a man in their army who can die with such firmness." But though in the midst of scornful foes, betrayed by the mercenary coward who should have protected him, and without the poor privilege of wafting home to his heart-broken mother the fragrance of a farewell sigh, his noble spirit did not faint at the sight of the poison that flashed so angrily in his cup. As he ascended the scaffold, his eye beamed with a lofty patriotism, and his face, serenely beautiful, shone with a light that caused his murderers to quail before him, as he exclaimed in tones of warning, " You are shedding the blood of the innocent ; if
[1776.] HALE AND ANDRE. 281
I had ten thousand lives, I would lay them down in defense of my injured, bleeding country."*
The fate of Hale has been likened to that of Andre, and in some particulars they are certainly analagous. Both were young and accomplished, both were scholars of a high order, both were humane and gentle, both were imbued with that lofty chivalry and scorn of danger that is as much an innate gift of the soul as those of eloquence and song. But here the comparison ends. There was a moral elevation, a reli- gious enthusiasm, in the character of the American patriot, that the British man of honor never recognized as the gov- erning motive of his life. The one followed the retreating rainbow that flits in the horizon of a soldier's heaven ; the other, added to the graces of intellectual and social culture, the self-sacrificing spirit of a martyr. The one saw his ideal of glory in the glitter that flashes from the jewels of a diadem representing the pride of feudal ages ; the other saw his, only in the calm light of that liberty that lives in the presence of the King of kings, and is kindled for immortality. The manner of their death, too, affords the same striking points of resemblance, and the same startling contrasts. Both suffered upon the gallows-tree, and both died among strangers. But the one received the benefit of a soldier's trial, in accordance with the rules of a code under which he had been educated — a trial over which the best men of the age presided, and at the result of which the humane Wash- ington shed tears of pity — while the last messages that he sent to his absent friends and the little keepsakes that he left for them, were faithfully kept and religiously transmitted to them ; the other, without the form of a militarv trial and without a sign of sympathy, was derided as a rebel, the tokens of regard that would have mitigated the blow that was to fall upon his friends, torn in pieces, and his last moments embittered by the insulting offices of a hangman who was a refugee.
How much blame is to be attributed to General Howe for
* Hinman, 82.
282 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
this act of inhumanity, it is impossible to say. Officially, he must certainly be held responsible for it in all its revolting details ; but from what we know of his generous character as exhibited on many other occasions, we would choose to beheve that his w^orst offense was a too romantic loyalty to his sovereign, and a culpable carelessness in giving over into bloody hands one of the most spotless and precious lives that have ever been sacrificed upon the altar of freedom.*
In person, Captain Hale was handsome, and in manners frank and engaging. He was bold and soldierly in his bear- ing, and fond of the society of refined ladies, and a general favorite with them.f His death caused universal sorrow in Connecticut, and among his large circle of friends through- out the nation, his name still ranks with the few that are described by the most artistic as well as natural of all Ameri- can poets, as " not born to die." J
To give the details of what followed in the American camp between the 1st and the 15th of September, is not w^ithin the range of such a w^ork as this. Washington was every day made more painfully conscious of the inferiority of his own
* In July, 1775, at the time when young Hale was commissioned as a lieuten- ant, he was Preceptor of the Union Grammar School, in New London. He immediately wrote to the proprietors of the school, asking to be released from his engagement. He was released. The parting scene with his pupils made a strong impression upon their minds. He addressed them in a style almost parental, gave them earnest council, prayed with them, and shaking each by the hand, he bade them individually farewell. Caulkins' New London, 515.
t Miss Caulkins adds — " Many a fair cheek was wet with bitter tears, and gentle voices uttered deep execrations on his barbarous foes, when tidings of his untimely fate were received."
\ President D^xnght thus alludes to his untimely fate :
" Thus while fond virtue wish'd in vain to save, Hale, bright and generous, found a hopeless grave. With Genius' living flame his bosom glow'd, And Science charm'd him to her sweet abode. In Worth's fair path his feet had ventur'd far, The pride of peace, the rising grace of war ; In duty firm, in danger calm as even, To friends unchanging, and sincere to heaven. How short his course '. — the prize, how early won ! While weeping Friendship mourns her favorite gone."
[1776.] MRS. MURRAY EXTERTAIXIXG TRYON. 283
raw troops to the well trained regiments that were now mak- ing ready to advance upon him.
On the 15th, General Howe landed three miles above the city, near Kipp's Bay. The brigades that had been posted to guard this important position were raw troops, who fled with- out making any opposition, leaving Washington unprotected and almost alone, within a few yards of the enemy. Orders were immediately sent to Putnam, who had been left in charge of that part of the army that remiained to keep posses- sion of New York, to evacuate the city at once. With as much order as it was possible to observe under such circum- stances, Putnam left behind him the heavy artillery and the more cumbrous of the military stores, and, avoiding the direct thoroughfares to the city, he retreated along the Greenwich road, and thus escaped the enemy.*
Meanwhile, the British generals had repaired to the house of Mr. Robert Murray, a quaker whig, where they spent two good hours over the cake and wine that Mrs. Murray took care to set before them. Governor Tryon, who was blessed with an excellent appetite and loved a pleasant joke, as his gamesome demonstration upon Danbury a few months after sufficiently evinced, had already taken the field, and had a very agreeable conversation with the lady of the house, rallying her about her democratic friends and whigish ten- dencies. She kept these honorable guests so long at her house, that Putnam had time, by using the utmost dispatch, to escape. t Had they taken possession of the heights near which he passed, with a few field-pieces, and marched a fourth part of their regiments to intercept him, they could have easily cut oflf his retreat.
When near Bloomingdale, a skirmish took place, in which fifteen Americans were killed, and more than three hundred were taken prisoners. Among the slain was Major James Chapman, of New London, " a man of strength and stature beyond the common standard, and a soldier steady and
* Sparks. + Gordon.
284 HISTOET OF CONNECTICUT.
brave."* In this skirmish, also, as well as in the fight on the following day, Colonel William Douglas, of Northford, was particularly distinguished. In the action on the 16th, scores of his men fell, both from the shots of the enemy and from the intense heat of the day. Worn with fatigue and parched with thirst, many of them lay down at the first stream to drink, and never rose again — some being overtaken by the enemy and killed, while others died from the excess of water which they drank. f
«
* Caulkins' New London, 532. Lieut. Richard Chapman, who was slain at Groton fort ; Lieut. Edward Chapman, who was killed in the French war ; Capt. John Chapman, first heutenant of the ship Oliver Cromwell, and after that was taken, of the Putnam 5 and Joseph Chapman, also a meritorious officer in the army, were all brothers of the gallant and lamented Major Chapman.
t Col. Douglas was born in Plainfield, Conn., January 17, 1742. At the early age of sixteen years, he enlisted as a soldier in the old French war ; and previous to the peace of 1759, he was chosen to the post of sergeant. Soon after, he engaged in the sea-faring business, as commander of a merchant ship sailing between New Haven and the West Indies, and was thus engaged when hostilities commenced between the united colonies and Great Britain. He was commissioned as a captain on the 17th of May, 1775, and immediately proceeded to the north with his company, in charge of the provisions and stores for the troops under Montgomery. As he was a good seaman, he was placed in command of the little fleet on Lake Champlain, and. did good service in the capture of St. John's and Chamblee. He received a colonel's commission, bearing date June 20, 1776 ; and as soon as his regiment was raised and equipped, he marched to New York and there joined the continental army. He participated in the disastrous cam- paign on Long Island, and fought with distinguished bravery in the several actions near New York, particularly at Harlem Heights, White Plains, and Phillip's Manor. In the battle of the 1 5th of September, his clothes were perforated with bvdlets, and his horse was shot from under him. In this engagement he became so exhausted, that, in connection with subsequent exposures, he lost his voice, and was never afterward able to speak a loud word. From the date of this battle until toward the middle of December, he was so constantly on duty that he rarely slept beneath a roof. He died at his residence in Northford, New Haven County, May 28, 1777, aged 35 years.
Colonel Douglas was not only a brave and useful officer, but a true patriot and christian. The letters written by him to his family and other friends during his several campaigns, evince at once the warmth of his affections and friendships, his self-denying patriotism, and his firm reliance on God. I am indebted to his grandson, the Hon. Benjamin Douglas, of Middletown, for permission to copy the following letter resigning his commission, written about four weeks previous to his decease :
[1776.] COLOIs^EL KNOWLTOK. 285
On the morning of the 16th, Colonel Knowlton, of Ash- ford, Connecticut, went out with a party of volunteer rangers, a large part of whom were from Connecticut, and advanced through the woods to reconnoitre the enemy's lines. As soon as he was discovered, General Howe sent forward two battalions of light-infantry, and a regiment of highlanders, to meet him. A battalion of Hessian grenadiers, and a com- pany of Chasseurs, with two field-pieces, soon followed. When these troops were seen advancing into the open ground, Washington rode forward to the lines that he might learn the object of the movement, and be in a situation to lend his advice should the action of the enemy turn out to be serious. He soon heard a discharge of musketry, and in a few minutes some rangers came up and informed him that a party was engaged in a skirmish with Colonel Knowlton, and that there appeared to be about three hundred of the enemy. Washington forthwith detached three companies of Weedon's Virginia regiment, under Major Leitch, to reinforce Knowl- ton, and attack the enemy in the rear, while their attention was diverted by a movement in front. The feint succeeded admirably. There was a fence at the foot of the hill occu-
" State of Connecticut, )
" Branford, May 1st, 1777. 5 " To his excellency George "Wasliington, commander-in-cliief of the American army :
" May it please your Excellency — A lingering distemper, of which I have long felt the severe effects, has now so far prevailed over my constitution that I have no hopes of recovery, which lays me under the disagreeable necessity of begging your excellency's leave to resign the commission to which I had the honor of being appointed in this state. I would beg leave to observe to your excellency, that nothing but a consideration of my being so far reduced, that my longest space of living can be but short, and the improbability of my being of any farther service to my country, could induce me to quit a service which has ever been my delight, and in which, though laboring under a heavy load of infirmities, I have always been able to perform my duty whenever called upon. But as nothing is impossible with God, whom if it should please of his infinite mercy to restore me to health again, I shall think myself bound in duty to my country, again to enter its service. " I am with great respect,
" Tour excellency's most obedient humble servant,
" Wm. Douglas."
286 HISTOEY OF CONNECTICUT.
pied by the enemy, and when they saw a party advancing to meet them in front, they ran down the declivity, and, secreting themselves behind this breastwork, opened a brisk fire upon the Americans, but at such a distance as to do no harm. Colonel Knowlton, finding the British flank more exposed than the rear, soon advanced within musket range of them, and brought the guns of his rangers and Virginians, who were every one of them marksmen, to bear upon them with their deadly aim. The British returned their fire, and at such close distance that the officers who were in advance of their men were sadly exposed. In a few minutes Major Leitch was carried off mortally wounded. He was shot through the body with three balls. Knowlton pressed on with the same intrepidity that had impelled him to seek the post of danger at Bunker Hill, rushing into the thickest of the shower of random bullets that swept the field, until his body was pierced through and through, and he fell dead in front of his men. His death seemed to inspire the surviving members of his party with a courage quickened by revenge, that animated them almost to madness. They all knew the gallant soul who had thus fallen a victim, and fought around the pale and bleeding form like votaries defending a shrine that is threatened with desecration. The remaining officers and men all fought indiscriminately, and desperately main- tained their position till other detachments were sent forward to support them, when they advanced upon the enemy, and drove them from the wood into the plain. The action lasted four hours, and the loss on the American side was small in point of numbers, but heavy and never to be forgotten was the sorrow that bewailed the fate of the brave and gallant Knowlton of Ashford. Though Washington, and all the other officers of the army, lamented his untimely fate, yet the loss fell most heavily upon his native state, and every member of his regiment was a mourner. Yet his death, like that of every good man, was not without its sanctifying influence upon the cause for which he fell. It taught the Americans to forget their recent defeats and to look forward
[1776.] WHITE PLAINS. 287
to the day of ultimate victory. It taught them, too, another important lesson, that American soldiers would not desert their lines and run from an enemy without cause, when under the command of officers who preferred rather to fall dead at their posts than to desert them.
About a month after this, Washington retreated from New York island, and marched to White Plains, where he encamped on a high elevation protected in front by two lines of intrenchments nearly parallel, and about five hundred yards from each other. Curving around the foot of this eminence, the river Brunx effectually guarded the right wing, the flank, and a part of the rear, while the left wing rested on the border of a pond that rendered it inaccessible to the approach of an enemy. Sir William Howe obviously meant to force Washington into a general engagement, for he fol- lowed him up as rapidly as he could, marching his troops in solid columns. On the 28th of October, his army appeared in its proudest array, spreading itself over the hill-sides that faced the American camp, and distant from it about two miles. The same day a detachment was sent forward to dis- lodge a party of Americans, mostly Delaware and Mary- land troops, from Chatterton Hill, and after a short action suc- ceeded in taking possession of the post. Sir William advanced toward the American left, and formed his encamp- ments in a semi-circle, keeping his troops lying on their arms all night. He evidently intended to make the attack in the rear ; but in the morning, after a careful examination of the American position and intrenchments, he came to the con- clusion that it would be unsafe to attempt to carry the works without more force. He therefore waited for two days, until Earl Percy should come up with his detachment that was at Harlem. The 31st of October was fixed upon for the attack, but there came on a heavy rain, that induced him to change his plan. It was then too late. General Washing- ton, who knew that his position was inferior to others that might be selected, did not deem it best to hazard everything by an engagement in such a place, and in the night removed
288 HISTOEY OF CONNECTICUT.
the main body of his army in safety to a more elevated site, and early on the morning of the 1st of November, entirely deserted his camp.*
Sir William saw that he could never force Washington from his new position, and retired toward Kingsbridge. The retreat of Washington to the Jersey shore, and the fall of the fort that had been named after him, seemed to the com- mon soldiers to quench in darkness the few surviving sparks of hope. The fall of Fort Washington proved to be the source of many bitter sorrows to the people of Connecticut.
Washington had written a letter to General Greene, expressing an opinion that this fortress ought to be abandoned, but still left it discretionary with him to decide whether to quit it or defend it. That brave officer was of the opinion that the fort was in no danger. On the 15th of November, Sir William Howe summoned Colonel Magaw, who com- manded the garrison, to surrender. He replied, that he would defend himself to the last extremity. W^ashington hastened to Fort Lee, as soon as he heard of the summons, procured a boat, and was crossing over to Fort Washington, when he met Putnam and Greene, who were returning from the gar- rison. They told him that the troops were in high spirits, and would make a good defense. It was late at night, and he was persuaded to return. There can be no doubt but General Greene attributed too much importance to this post, and that Washington was right in his first view, that the place ought to be abandoned. The argument of Greene was, that the evacuation of the fort would give the enemy free access to the navigation of the Hudson — an event that Con- gress and the New York Convention seem to have particu- larly depricated.f
At this critical time. Fort Washington and the works on
* In the action at White Plains, on the 28th, the Americans lost three or four hundred, killed and prisoners. Hildreth, iii. 154. In this, and tlie preceding skirmishes at or near White Plains, the Connecticut regiments under Colonels Chester, Douglas, and Silliman, were actively engaged. See Hinman, p. 91.
t Gordon, ii. 124.
[1776.] FORT WASHINGTON. 289
Harlem Heights were held by Magaw's and Shea's Penn- sylvania regiments, Ravvlin's Maryland riflemen, some of the militia of the flying camp, and a few companies of picked men, who had been detailed from the Connecticut regiments for purposes of defense. Among the latter was a company of thirty-six soldiers from Litchfield county, who were placed under the command of Captain Bezaleel Beebe, of Litchfield.*
On the 16th, the assault on the fort commenced at four diflTerent points at nearly the same time. The first division, under General Knyphausen, consisting of Hessians and the troops of Waldeck, attacked the north side ; the second, on the east side, composed of English light-infantry, and two bat- talions of guards, was conducted by General Matthews, sup- ported by Lord Cornwallis, with a body of grenadiers, and the thirty-third regiment ; the third attack on the south, intended chiefly as a feint, was directed by Colonel Sterling, with the forty-second regiment ; the fourth, under Lord Percy, a very strong corps, was ordered to aim its assault against the western flank of the fortress. These several assailing parties were provided with excellent trains of artil- lery. The fighting commenced along the lines outside the walls of the fort. The Hessians under General Knyphausen, who were first to commence the assault, suffered most severely,
* Of these thirty-six men, four — Corporal Samuel Coe, Jeremiah Weed, Joseph Spencer, and John Whiting, were killed during the assault. The remain- der were taken prisoners and confined on board the prison-ships, in Livingston's sugar-house, and in the North Church, where twenty of their number died, viz., Sergeant David Hall, Elijah Loomis, Gershom Gibbs, Timothy Stanley, Samuel Vaill, Nathaniel Allen, Enos Austin, Gideon Wilcoxson, Alexander McNiel, Daniel Smith, Isaac Gibbs, Solomon Parmelee, (supposed to have been drowned,) David Olmsted, Jared Stuart, John Lyman, Aaron Stoddard, John Parmelee, Joel Taylor, Amos Johnson, and Phineas Goodwin. On the 27th of December, an exchange of prisoners took place ; but only twelve of the survivors were able to sail for Connecticut, viz.. Sergeant Cotton Mather, Timothy ]Marsh, Berius Beach, Thom.as Mason, Noah Beach, Daniel Benedict, Oliver Marshall, Elisha Bronson, Zebulon Bissell, Remembrance Loomis, James Little, and Oliver Wood- rufF; six of these, (viz. Marsh, Marshall, Loomis, Bissell, Bronson, and B. Beach,) died on their way home. Six only out of the thirty-six lived to reach home.
51
290 HISTOKY OF CONNECTICUT.
and lost in killed and wounded about eight hundred men. One after another, the American corps were driven within the fort, where they defended themselves with great bravery, until resistance became fruitless. The besiegers then sum- moned Magaw to surrender. After consulting with other officers, he at length agreed to capitulate. The garrison, amounting to two thousand six hundred men, surrendered as prisoners of war.* The Americans had about four hundred killed and wounded ; the loss of the enemy was not less than twelve hundred.f
The reduction of Fort Washington thus gave the royal army entire possession of the island of New York. Wash- ington's army had become so enfeebled that it now scarcely amounted to three thousand effective men, who, in conse- quence of their recent defeats, had lost their usual courage and energy.
The American prisoners were treated with the greatest inhumanity. Some were sent on board the prison-ships, while others were confined in churches, and in the sugar- house. They were crowded together in dense masses, deprived of food, drink, and fresh air, and made to suffer the horrors of disease, famine, and suffocation, besides the brutal insults of the petty officers who had them in charge. Their treatment is without a parallel in the history of the wars of any civilized nation. J
* Botta, i. 289.
t Gordon, ii. 224 — 226. While the enemy were advancing to the attack, Generals Washington, Putnam, and Greene, and Colonel Knox, with their aids, crossed the river and approached towards the fort. They were warned of their danger, and after much persuasion were induced to return. The garrison was, however, watched with intense interest by Washington, who, from Fort Lee, could view several parts of the attack ; and when he saw his men bayonetted, and in that way killed while begging for quarter, he cried with the tenderness of a child, denouncing the barbarity that was practiced.
X A letter from a Connecticut gentleman, dated 26tli Dec, 1776, says — " The distress of the prisoners cannot be communicated in words. Twenty or thirty die every day — they lie in heaps unburied ! What numbers of my countrymen have died by cold and hunger, perished for the want of the necessaries of life ! I have seen it,"
[1776.] NEW YORK CONVENTION-. 291
During these operations, the New York Convention was thrown into serious alarm, lest the tories of that state should rise in arms and openly join the British forces. That bodv was obliged to remove from place to place, in order to avoid the enemy ; and sat successively at Harlem, Kingsbridge, Phillip's Manor, Croton, and Fishkill. A committee was appointed, with John Jay for its chairman, "for inquiring into, detecting, and defeating conspiracies/' This committee was well provided with funds, had an armed force at its dis- posal, and was invested with unlimited powers. Many tories were seized by its order, and sent into Connecticut for safe keeping.*
On the 3d of May, 1777, Lieut. Thomas Cathn, of Litchfield, made a deposition before Andrew Adams, Esq., J. P., as follows :
" That he was taken a prisoner by the British troops on New York island, Sept. 15, 1776, and confined with a great number in a close jail, eleven days 5 that he had no sustenance for forty-eight hours after he was taken, and that for eleven whole days they had only about two days' allowance, and their pork was offensive to the smell. That forty-two were confined in one house, till Fort Wash- ington was taken, when the house was crowded with other prisoners. After vrhich they were informed they should have two-thirds allowance, which consisted of very poor Irish pork, bread hard, mouldy and wormy, made of canail and dregs of flax-seed. The British troops had good bread. Brackish water was given to the prisoners, and he had seen $1,50 given for a common pail of water. Only between three and four pounds of pork was given three men for three days. That for three months, the private soldiers were confined in the churches, and in one were eight hundred and fifty. That about the 25th of December, 1776, he and about two hundred and twenty-five others, were put on board the Glasgow at New York, to be carried to Connecticut for exchange. They were on board eleven days, and kept on black, coarse broken bread, and less pork than before. Twenty-eight died during the eleven days. They were treated with great cruelty, and had no fire for sick or well. They were crowded between decks, and many died through hardship, ill-usage, hunger and cold." See "Woodruff's Hist, of Litchfield, 38, 39.
* Hildreth, iii. 156. It was the wise policy both of committees and of the gov- ernment to send their prisoners as far inland as possible, in order to prevent their forced liberation. Hence, the jails and many of the private dwellings in Litch- field, Hartford, Norwich, &c., were frequently used for the safe keeping of tories and of prisoners taken in battle. Dr. Church, who was detected in a treasonable correspondence with the enemy, was long confined in the Norwich jail ; and prisoners of war, occasionally in large bands, were carried thither for confinement. Mr. Matthews, the mayor of New York, Governor Franklin, and others, were
292 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
Washington was at this time encamped on a level plain between Hackensack and the Passaic river. The army had no intrenching tools, and Cornwallis was rapidly approach- ing. Exclusive of Heath's division in the Highlands, and the corps under Lee on the east side of the Hudson, the Ameri- can army did not exceed four thousand men. On the 22d of November, Washington retreated to Newark, with the entire force under his immediate command ; from thence he again retired, first across the Raritan to Brunswick, and then to Princeton, where a corps was left under Sterling, to check the enemy's advance, while Washington continued his retreat to Trenton — at which point he transported the remainder of his stores and baggage across the Delaware.*
The news of Washington's retreat produced the greatest excitement in Philadelphia, where Putnam had been placed in command. Some fifteen hundred of the city militia were sent forward and joined Washington at Trenton, and he advanced again upon Princeton. As the rear guard of his army left the Jersey shore, Cornwallis with a superior force was in sight. Indeed, during the whole course of the retreat, the American rear guard, who were employed in pulling up bridges, were almost constantly within sight of the advance corps of the British army. Boats having been removed from the Delaware, the enemy found no way of crossing, and accordingly encamped near Trenton. f
Inasmuch as the movements of the enemy had made Phila- delphia the seat of war, Generals Putnam and Mifflin strenuously advised that Congress should retire from the city; and that body finally resolved to adjourn to Baltimore, in Maryland, to meet on the 20th of December. Until further orders, Washington was invested with full power to direct all things relative to the operations of the war. J
On the evening of Christmas, with two thousand five hun- dred of his best men and six pieces of artillery, including
confined in Litchfield. See Woodrufli''s Hist, of Litchfield ; Caulkins' New London.
* Gordon ; Hildreth. f Hildreth. i Gordon, ii. 142.
[1776.] MORRISTOWN. 293
the New York company under Alexander Hamilton, Wash- ington commenced crossing the Delaware about nine miles above Trenton — at which place he had resolved to strike a decisive blow by attacking the fifteen hundred Hessians stationed there. It was eight o'clock before he reached the town ; but the Hessians were overcome by the night's debauch and were completely surprised. About a thousand of their number were taken prisoners, who were immediately sent to Philadelphia, and paraded through the streets in triumph. The victory at Princeton soon followed, by which three hundred prisoners fell into the hands of the Americans, besides a severe loss to the enemy in killed and wounded. The American loss was about one hundred, including several valuable officers.!
Huts were erected at Morristown, and there the main body of the American army remained during the winter. The right wing was at Princeton, under Putnam ; the left in the Highlands, under Heath ; and cantonments were established at various places along this, extended line. Occasional skirmishes took place between advance parties, but for six months no important movement took place on either side.
In the mean time, the enemy under Sir Guy Carleton were making desperate efforts to recover their supremacy on Lake Champlain. A fleet of above thirty armed vessels of differ- ent sizes and varieties had been set afloat by them, some of which had been framed in England and brought over in detached parts. Besides these, a gondola weighing thirty tons, with above four hundred batteaux, had been dragged up from the rapids near Chamblee. The whole were manned by seven hundred seamen. The Americans had also exerted themselves to their utmost in building and fitting out a little fleet on the lake, which, when completed, mounted fifty-five cannon and seventy swivels, and carried three hundred and seventy-five men. These had been placed under the com- mand of General Arnold, who was soon reinforced with three galleys, three gondolas, and a cutter. On the 11th of October,
* Gordon ; Hildreth ; Botta.
294: HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
a warm action ensued, which was continued for some hours. The Americans behaved with great gallantry, as their enemies were free to admit. General TVaterbury fought with great intrepidity, walking the quarter-deck during the entire engagement. All his officers were either killed or wounded, excepting a lieutenant and the captain of marines. The action resulted in sinking a gondola belonging to the British, and in the blowing up of another with sixty men. The Americans had a schooner burnt, and a gondola sunk. The latter now retreated in the night, hoping to find a shelter under the guns of the fort at Ticonderoga ; but they were overtaken, and again brought into action near Crown Point. The vessel in the rear was taken by the enemy ; and to save the rest, from a similar fate, Arnold ran them ashore and set them on fire. The Americans lost eleven vessels and ninety men. The British lost three vessels and fifty men.*
Carleton having thus obtained command of the lake, took possession of Crown Point, and soon retired to winter quar- ters. Ticonderoga was still held by General Gates, though his army had been greatly reduced by the departure of the militia, and the expiration of the terms of service of the regulars. The humane conduct of Carleton was highly commended by the American officers. As his predeces- sors had done, and as the Americans were then doing, he for a time employed the savages as his allies ; and while he allowed them to take prisoners, he strictly forbade them either to kill or scalp them. When he found he could not deter them from scalping, he dismissed every one of them, saying he would sooner forego all the advantages of their assistance than to make war in so cruel a manner.
Before he commenced his operations on the lake, General Carleton had prudently shipped off the American officers
* Hildreth, iii. 145 ; Gordon, ii. 146. " The Washington galley, commanded by General Waterbury, had been so shattered, and had so many killed and wounded, that she struck after receiving a few broadsides." Arnold kept his flag flying, and did not quit his galley till she was in flames, lest the enemy should board her and strike it.
[1776.] BRITISH HUMANITY. 295
who had been made prisoners in Canada for New England,* supplying them at the same time with everything requisite to make their voyage comfortable. The other prisoners, amounting to about eight hundred, were returned by a flag, after being obliged to take an oath not to serve against the king unless regularly exchanged. Many of these being almost naked, he supplied them with clothing. Thus, by his tenderness and humanity, he gained the affection of those Americans who fell into his hands. His conduct in this respect affords a striking and happy contrast to that of nearly all the British officers who served in this country during the revolution.
* Four transports arrived at Elizabetlitown, from Quebec, October 5th, 1776, with four hundred and twenty Americans who had been prisoners in Canada. The officers from Connecticut were, Major Return J. Meigs, Captains Samuel Lock-wood, E. Oswald, O. Hanchett, A. Savage, and B. Chatten.
" On the 16th of September, 1776, the following persons from Connecticut, were confined with others, in one room at Halifax, among felons, thieves, and negroes, viz., Sergeants Levi Munson, of Wallingford, Zachariah Brinsmade, of Woodbury ; Corporal Charles Steward, of Stamford, Roger Moore, of Salisbury, Samuel Lewis, William Gray, David Goss, and Adonijah JNIaxum, of Sharon, Ebenezer Mack, and Levi Barnum, of Norfolk, and Flowers, of New Hartford. In the hospital — Amos Green, of Norwich, J. Matthews, of Goshen, and Wm. Drinkwater, of New Milford," Hinman, 89, 90. These men were taken prisoners with Colonel Ethan Allen, in his attempt upon Montreal.
CHAPTER XII.
BrUNING OE DANBimi. DEATH OF WOOSTEE.
Sir William Howe had been informed that the Ameri- cans had large depositories of military stores in Danbury and its neighborhood. He determined to destroy them without delay ; and in casting about him for a faithful operator, in this most invidious of all employments — who would be remorseless in the use of the torch — he hit very readily upon his excellency, Governor Tryon, of New York, who, since about the time of his gallant exploits at Mrs. Murray's side-board, had added to his administrative title of governor of New York, the fanciful addition of major-general. Sir William Howe could hardly have made a more admirable selection. He was a shrewd judge of character, and knew well that nothing so effectually calls out the latent energies of a man of genius, as a sudden appeal to old and cherished recollections. Now there was no part of the world, that could awaken in the mind of William Tryon, so many lively and searching associations as Connecticut. The name of the little republic made his excellency's hair bristle with certain sensations, that a soldier ought not to entertain. From the time Avhen that irreverent company of Connecticut dragoons had scattered the type belonging to the administration organ, through the streets of New York, and driven off his pet, Rivington, with hundreds of tories — that were worthy of being elevated to the dignity of gov- ernor's horse-guards — he had felt the liveliest emotions at the very sound of the word Connecticut. In some way, it was inseparably connected in his mind with that charming society called the " Sons of Liberty."
General Howe showed his shrewdness, not only in select- ing his agent for this work, but also in sending along with
[1777.] TKYOX GOES ASHOEE. 297
him, to see that he did not lose himself in his explorations into a land that was so dear to him, those excellent advisers, General Agnew and Sir William Erskine.* Those gentle- men furnished intellectual resources for the tory major-gen- eral, and he added the warmth of his nature, to give soul to the enterprise. Accordingly, a detachment of two thousand men were selected from the choice spirits of the British army, and nominally placed under Tryon's command. They embarked at New York, and under the convoy of a fine naval armament of twenty-five vessels, passed over the waters of Long Island Sound, in such high spirits, as the warmth of an April sun and the pleasing anticipations of the business that was to employ them, were calculated to inspire. They had chosen a time when Connecticut was almost entirely deserted by her male population, who had gone out to defend the soil of other states, and stay up the trailing banner of the noble Washington. They had left their homes to be guarded, with the exception of a few gallant troops, by the crutches of the grandfathers, and the distaffs of the grandmothers, who had two generations of descendants in the field hundreds of miles away. On this account his excellency, who was the very antipode of gunpowder Percy, had nothing to dampen his mood or cloud his brow. As the ships skimmed past the coast towns of western Connecticut, the people gazed at them with mingled curiosity and anxiety. Perhaps some of them called to mind the doings of Wallace, master of the Rose, at Stonington ; but no particular alarm appears to have been excited until the heads of the ships began to point toward the islands that stand out from the Norwalk shore. At about four o'clock, they cast anchor in Saugatuck harbor, and with such haste as is consistent with a pic-nic excursion into the country, two thousand men, consisting of infantry, cavalry and artillery, went ashore in boats, and under the superintendence of Tryon, with two tory guides to show them the way, moved forward toward Danbury. They
* Gordon, ii. 195.
298 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
marched about eight miles that night, and encamped in the township of Weston.*
On the morning of the 26th, at a verj seasonable hour, Tryon arrived at Reading Ridge, where was a small hamlet of peaceful inhabitants, almost every one of them patriots and most of them farmers, who had crowned the high hill where they had chosen to build their Zion with a tall, gaunt church, which drew to its aisles one day in seven, the people that dwelt upon the sides of the hills, and in the bosom of the valleys, within the range of the summons that sounded from its belfry.
By way of satisfying his hunger with a morning lunch until he could provide a more substantial meal, he drew up his artillery in front of this weather-beaten edifice, that had before defied everything save the grace of God and the sup- plications of his worshipers, and gave it a good round of can- nister and grape, that pierced its sides through and through, and shattered its small-paned windows into fragments. The only spectators to this heioic demonstration were a few women and little children, some of whom ran away at the sight of the red coats, and others faced the invaders with a menacing stare.
The British commander now resumed his march for some distance without meeting with the least opposition, until he began to ascend Hoyt's Hill, when the figure of a single mounted horseman appeared upon the summit of the eminence with his face turned backward, and his gestures and whole action indicating that he was issuing orders to a large army that was climbing the side of the hill. " Halt !" shouted the leader of the opposition in a voice of thunder, while he flour- ished his sword in the air, " Halt, the whole universe — wheel into kingdoms."
Now there was nothing that General Tryon had such a dread of, as dying. He prudently commanded his men to halt, in imitation of the order given by the leader of the sup- posed army that was advancing, and sent out detachments on the right and left, to reconnoitre, and got his two field-
* Deming.
[1777.] GENERAL TRYOX's FRIGHT. 299
pieces, that were consecrated by the mutilation of the old church, in readiness to give such feeble battle as he could to this more than Persian array. The reader can judge how much his excellency was relieved, when the videttes returned, and informed him that the wretch who had thus disturbed his valor was the only mortal in sight ; and that no part of him was visible except his back, as he rode toward Danbury, with the speed of a shooting-star.* Little else occurred of an alarming character during the march. They arrived in Dan- bury about two o'clock. f There were a few continental soldiers in the place, but they could not make a stand against this large invading party, and were obliged to withdraw. General Tryon selected the house of one Dibble, a faithful tory, for his head- quarters, who lived at the south end of the main street, close by the spot where the military stores had been deposited.
As Generals Erskine and Agnew were advancing under the protection of a corps of light-infantry, to take up their quarters at the other end of the same street, the party was fired upon by four young men from the house of Major Starr. This brave but rash act cost the young patriots their lives. They were instantly pursued and shot. A poor negro who was caught near them without weapons in his hands, was also murdered, and the five bodies were thrown into the house, which was instantly set on fire. J
* Barber's Hist. Coll. ; Deming's Oration.
t " A man named Hamilton had on deposit at a clothier's in the lower part of the village, a piece of cloth, which he was determined at all hazards to rescue from sequestration. He accordingly rode to the shop, and having secured one end of the cloth to the pummel of his saddle, galloped rapidly away. He was seen by the enemy's light-horsemen, who followed hard upon him, exclaiming, " We'll have you, old daddy ; we'll have you." " Not yet," said Hamilton, as he redoubled his speed. The troops gain upon their intended victim ; the nearest one raises his sabre to strike, when fortunately the cloth unrolls, and fluttering like a streamer, far behind, so frightens the pursuing horses that they cannot be brought within striking distance of the pursued. The chase continues through the whole extent of the village, to the bridge, where finally the old gentleman and his cloth make good their escape." Deming, Hinman.
t Gordon, ii. 195.
800 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
A large quantity of the public stores had been deposited in the episcopal church, and the first work of the soldiers, was to remove them into the street and burn them. Some of the provisions were also stored in a barn belonging to Dibble. This building was treated with the same respect, as its pro- prietor had the honor to entertain General Tryon as a guest. Another barn belonging to a friend of American liberty, which had been appropriated to the same use, was set on fire and consumed with its contents. In a few hours eighteen hundred barrels of pork and beef, seven hundred barrels of flour, two thousand bushels of wheat, rye, oats and Indian corn, clothing for a regiment of troops, and seventeen hundred and ninety tents, were burned. The smoke arising from the destruction of this property was strangulating and filled the whole air, while the streets ran with the melted pork and beef There was also a large quantity of liquors in some of the buildings. These the soldiers were most reluctant to destroy, and did not do so, until after they had drank so fi'eely of them, that when the labors of the day were ended only a few hundred were fit for duty. While the imbruted soldiers piled the fuel around the flour and beef, and stirred up the laggard flames to a fiercer glare, the women and little children could see by the fitful light the mark of the white cross that had been distinctly drawn upon the tory dwellings, to signify that the destroying angel about to go through the town, would stay his hand at their door-posts and pass them by unharmed. The same dingy light now disclosed a scene of loathsome drunkenness that surpasses description. Hundreds lay scattered at random, wherever the palsying demon had overtaken them ; some in the streets, with their faces blackened with smoke and soiled with earth ; others sprawling in the door-yards, and others still, wild with excitement, holding themselves up by fences and trees, or grasping fast hold of each other, called loudly with oaths and curses to be led against the rebels.*
* This description was given to me by a revolutionary soldier, who was present throughout the whole aflfair.
[1777.] APPREHENSIONS OF TRYON. 801
In this horrible condition the revolutionary patriots of Danbury saw the shades of night gather around their dwell- ings, and in sleepless apprehension did they count the hours as tlxey dragged slowly on.
Nor did the brigand who led this band of incendiaries pass the night in sleep. The faithful few who had resisted the temptations of the cup, were on the alert, and brought him from time to time the unwelcome intelligence that groups of patriot farmers were fast dropping in from the neighboring villages and towns, and were beginning to form into organized companies. What if Wooster, or Parsons, or Huntington, or Arnold, should prove to be at the head of them, and should steal upon him while his troops were in that defenseless condition ? The thought was horrible !
Thus heavily passed the watches of that gloomy Saturday night. At last the day began to approach, and reason, unsettled for awhile in the dull brains of the British soldiers, returned to them again. The marks of the late dissipation still appeared in their swollen faces and blood-shot eyes ; but they were now able to stand upright, to grasp a musket, and defend themselves against the farmers who were gathering, ill-weaponed and undisciplined as they were, to oppose them. Then the British general began to breathe more easily, and to exhibit in a more striking manner the remarkable traits of his genius. He drew up his forces in order of defense ; he attended to all the arrangements, and presided over every detail of the preparations that he was making to usher in, with ceremonials worthy of the occasion, another Sabbath day. On a sudden, as if by the pulling of a wire upon the stage, the curtains of darkness were withdrawn from the village, and, like a will-o'-the-wisp, wandering and zig-zag from street to street, from house to house, passed the flaming torch of the incendiary. The congregational meeting-house, the largest and most expensive building in the place, is soon discovered to be on fire, and, one after another, the dwell- ings, stores, and barns of that peaceful community add their tributary lamps to that great centre-beacon of the town,
802 HISTOEY OF CONNECTICUT.
until every house, save those that have the mystic sign upon them, are in a broad blaze. Meanwhile, by the light of their own homes, mothers, screening their babes from the bleak air with the scanty clothing that they had snatched up in haste and denied to themselves, crippled old men and palsied women, and little boys and girls clinging to their feeble protectors, made such haste as they could to save their lives from the fire ; taking care to avoid the jeers of their com- fortable tory neighbors, who looked out from the doors and windows where the white cross glared in mockery alike of God and of humanity, and to shun at the same time the unhallowed contact of the soldiers, they ran, crawled, or were carried upon their beds, into lonely lanes, damp pastures, and leafless woods.
Having witnessed the destruction of the meeting-house, nineteen dwelling-houses, twenty-two stores, and barns, and great quantities of hay and grain that belonged to the inhabitants of the place, and having feasted his eyes with the fear and anguish of the women against whom he waged this glorious war, Major-General Tryon, taking a last fond look of the scene of his exploits, and noting doubtless the artistic effect of the faint blue smoke- wreaths as they curled upward to stain the blushing fore- head of the morning, withdrew his troops and resumed his march toward the sea-shore.*
When the invader was fairly out of sight, the poor fugi- tives from their several hiding-places, returned, and cowering over the charred timbers of the homes that they had fled from, warmed their shivering frames and trembling hands over the ruins of Danbury.
In the mean time the news of Tryon's arrival flew along the whole coast. Early on the morning of the 26th, Gene- ral Silliman, with about five hundred militia, such as he had been able to gather upon a sudden call, pursued the enemy ; and not long after, the venerable Wooster, who had started off at a moment's warning to defend the soil of his native
* See Gordon, Hinman.
[1777.] FALL OF GENERAL WOOSTER. 803
State from insult, joined him, with Arnold, and another handful of militia. A heavy rain retarded their movements so much, that they did not reach Bethel till late at night. It was therefore decided to attack the enemy on their return. On the morning of the 27th, the American troops were astir at a very early hour. General Wooster detached Generals Silliman and Arnold, with about five hundred men, to advance and intercept the enemy in front, while he under- took with the remainder — amounting only to two hundred half-armed militia — to attack them in the rear. About nine o'clock, he came up with them as they were marching upon the Norwalk road, and, taking advantage of the uneven ground, fell upon a whole regiment with such impetuosity as to throw them into confusion, and break their ranks. Before they could be restored to order, he had succeeded in taking forty prisoners ; a number equal to one fifth part of his whole force. He continued to hang upon their skirts and harass them for some time, waiting for another favorable opportunity to make an attack. A few miles from Ridge- field, where the hills appeared to offer a chance of breaking their ranks a second time, he again charged furiously upon them. The rear guard, chagrined at the result of the for- mer encounter, now faced about and met him with a dis- charge of artillery and small arms. His men returned their shot resolutely at first, but as they were unused to battle, they soon began to fall back. Wooster, uniting all the fire of youth with the experience of an old soldier, who had seen hard service in more than one field, sought .to inspire them with his own courage. Turning his horse's head and waving his sword, he called out to them in a brisk tone, "Come on, my boys ; never mind such random shots." Before he had time to turn his face again toward the enemy, a musket ball, aimed by a tory marksman, penetrated his back, breaking the spinal column, and lodging in the fleshy parts of his body. He instantly fell from his horse. His faithful friends stripped his sash from his person and bore him upon it from the field.
804 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
Arnold and Silliman made a forced march to Ridgefield, and arrived there about eleven o'clock. They threw up a temporary barricade across the road on the rising ground, and stationed their little party in such a manner as to cover their right flank by a house and barn, and their left by a ledge of rocks. Here they quietly awaited the enemy.
As soon as Agnew and Erskine saw what position the Americans had taken, they advanced and received their fire, and though they sustained considerable loss, they returned it with spirit. The action lasted about ten minutes, when the British gained the ledge of rocks, and the Ameri- cans were obliged to retreat. The American officers behav- ed with great spirit. Arnold was shot at by a whole platoon of soldiers standing not more than thirty yards from him. His horse was killed under him, but no other ball took effect. Snatching his pistols, he shot dead a soldier who was making up to him to run him through with his bayonet, and thus made his escape. The Americans kept up a scattering fire till nearly night, when General Tryon encamped at Ridgefield. In the morning he set fire to the church, but he probably did not superintend this piece of work himself, as it was so inartistically done that it proved to be a failure. He was more fortunate with four dwelling-houses which he soon had the satisfaction to see wrapped in flames. He now resumed his march, but Arnold followed him up so closely that he soon crossed the Saugatuck river, and marched on the east side of it, while the Americans kept pace with him on the left. Thus they advanced, cannonading each other whenever they could find a convenient opportunity.
About three o'clock in the afternoon, the gallant Colonel Deming, with a little party of continental troops, forded the river where it was about four feet deep, and, unperceived by the enemy, attacked them with desperate violence upon the rear and upon the left flank, pursuing them and keeping up a galling fire that did them very serious harm. Arnold pushed forward toward the mouth of the river, and drawing his men up in good order upon a hill, opened a heavy fire
[1777.] A DEATH-BED SCENE. 805
upon the right flank of the enemy's rear. The Americans could follow them no further on account of the dangerous proximity of the ships. The British troops who were marching in the van, immediately embarked, while the cen- tre and rear formed on a hill. While Arnold was discharg- ing his cannon at the boats, and while Deming was plying the major-general in the rear, Colonel Lamb, who was from New York, and of course one of his excellency's own subjects, crept with about two hundred men behind a stone- wall, and gave him a parting salute at the distance of about one hundred yards.
Glad enough was Tryon to get aboard his good ship once more, and it is believed that he cherished to his dying day the recollection of his first visit to Connecticut.
But let us turn our thoughts, for a moment, to other scenes.
Dr. Turner, the surgeon in attendance, probed the wound of the venerable Wooster, and informed him that it was mortal. He heard the intelligence with unruffled calmness. A messenger was immediately dispatched to New Haven for Mrs. Wooster, and the wounded man was speedil}^ removed to Danbury. Inflammation soon extended to the brain, and when Mrs. Wooster arrived, he was too delirious to recog- nize her. For three days and nights he suffered the most excruciating agony. On the morning of the 1st of May, the pain suddenly ceased. During that whole day, and the next, his wife, who remained constantly at his bed-side, noticed with the quick eye of a woman's affection, that his mind was laboring with the broken images of scenes that had long ago faded from his recollection, and were now passing in wild review before him. Still, she called vainly upon him for a token of recognition. The paleness of death, the short breathing, the fluttering pulse, at length indicated that the last moment was at hand. She was stooping over him to wipe the death-dew from his forehead, when suddenly he opened his eyes, and fixed them full upon her with a look of consciousness and deep love. His lips trembled. He sought
52
806 HISTORY OF CONKECTICUT.
to speak, but his voice was stifled in the embrace of death.* The character of Wooster needs no eulogy to recommend it to the people of the state, to defend whose soil against the polluting foot-prints of her first invader, he so nobly sacrificed his life. In personal appearance, as may be infer- red from the poor portrait that we have of him, few men have surpassed him ; in generous hospitality, in the most unwavering integrity, in the forbearance with which he sub- mitted to private insults and public slights, in the length of his military career, and in its glorious consummation, he will forever keep his rank among the first of American patriots, — while the tongue that traduced and the pen that libelled him, will be remembered chiefly because they are seen in contrast with his virtues. f
* Madam Wooster was a daughter of the Reverend Thomas Clapp, Presi- dent of Yale College. She was highly esteemed in her day for her dignity, hos- pitality, and benevolence.
t General David Wooster was born in Stratford, Connecticut, in 1711, and graduated at Yale College in 1738, He served with distinction in the French and Indian wars ; and in April 1775, he was appomted a major-general in the Connecticut militia. During the following June, Congress commissioned him as one of the two brigadier-generals allotted to Connecticut — his colleague being General Spencer.
General Wooster was a patriot and christian, and deserves to be particularly remembered for the purity of his hfe, his distinguished public services — his zeal and bravery, united with energy and prudence.
The late Deacon Nathan Beers, of New Haven, himself an officer of the revo- lution, not long before his decease, communicated to the American Historical Magazine, the following statement :
" The last time I saw General Wooster was in June 1775, He was at the head of his regiment, which was then embodied on the Green, in front of where the centre church now stands. They were ready for a march, with their arms glittering, and their knapsacks on their backs. Colonel Wooster had already dis- patched a messenger for his minister, the Rev, Jonathan Edwards, v/ith a request that he would meet the regiment and pray with them before their departure. He then conducted his men in military order into the meeting-house, and seated himself in his own pew, awaiting the return of the messenger. He was speedily informed that the clergyman was absent from home. Colonel Wooster immedi- ately stepped into the deacon's seat in front of the pulpit, and calling his men to attend to prayers, offered up a humble petition for his beloved country, for him- self, the men under his immediate command, and for the success of the cause in which they were engaged. His prayers were offered with the fervent zeal of an
[1777.] THE RETALIATION. 807
As the battle of Lexington was followed by a retaliatory act on the part of Connecticut, so the predatory incursions of Tryon produced a like result.
General Parsons, one of the most heroic soldiers as well as one of the best lawyers and most scholarly writers of the revolutionary period, had already discovered that there was a large deposit of military stores laid up for the use of the British army at Sag Harbor, and now determined to avenge the insult offered to Connecticut, by siezing and destroying them. He employed Colonel Meigs to execute this mission. Accordingly, Meigs, on the 21st of May, left New Haven for Guilford, with what men he could muster, in thirteen whale- boats. At Guilford he obtained some reinforcements, and on the 23d, crossed the sound with one hundred and seventy men, under convoy of two armed sloops. He took along with his company another sloop, that was unarmed, to bring off the prisoners that he had counted upon as a part of his booty. He reached the north branch of the island, near Southold, at six o'clock in the evening, and there took his whale-boats, with most of his men, overland to the bay, where they again embarked. About mid- night they found themselves on the other side of the bay, only four miles from Sag Harbor. They landed under the cover of a thick wood, where Colonel Meigs left the boats in care of a guard, and advanced with the main body, amounting to about one hundred and twenty men, in excel- lent order. He arrived at Sag Harbor about two o'clock, and dividing the company into several parties, made an attack upon all the guards at once, with fixed bayonets. The alarm was soon given, and a schooner that had been station- ed there with seventy men, and twelve guns, opened a heavy fire upon them.
Colonel Meigs attacked them with great spirit, killed
apostle, and in such pathetic language, that it drew tears from many an eye, and affected many a heart. When he had closed, he left the house with his men in the same order they had entered it, and the regiment took up its line of march for New York. With such a prayer on his lips he entered the Revolution."
808 . HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
some of them, and took nearly all the rest prisoners. Only- six escaped by flight. He also set fire to the vessels and for- age. He destroyed twelve brigs and sloops, one hundred tons of pressed hay, a large quantity of grain, ten hogsheads of rum, and a great amount of merchandise. By two o'clock in the afternoon he returned to Guilford with ninety pris- oners. In a little more than twenty -four hours, he had trav- eled by land and water a distance of ninety miles, without the loss of a man. Congress voted him an elegant sword as a reward of his address and valor. He accomplished as much by this expedition as Tryon had done at Danbury, except that he burned no dwelling-houses, mutilated no churches, and drove from their homes no women and chil- dren.* It had always been the policy of our state to wage war only with men.
* Colonel R, J. Meigs, of Middletown, Connecticut, was one of the most suc- cessful partizan officers of the Revolution. Soon after the close of the war, he became one of the first settlers of the wilderness of Ohio. He was the agent for Indian affairs as early as 1816 ; and died at the Cherokee agency, June 28, 1823, at an advanced age. He pubhshed a journal of the Expedition to Quebec from Sept. 9, 1775, to Jan. 1, 1776. His son of the same name was governor of Ohio, and Postmaster General of the United States.
CHAPTER XIII.
PRINCETON AND THE HIGHLANDS.
The efforts of Putnam in fortifying Philadelphia were so great, that his health was for a long time very much impair- ed. On the very day that Washington re-crossed the Dela- ware to surprise the Hessians, he found time to write a letter to Putnam, congratulating him on his restoration to health, and informing him of the contents of an intercepted letter, revealing the designs which the enemy had upon Philadel- phia. On the 5th of January, 1777, the commander-in-chief communicated to Putnam his second masterly victory at Princeton, and ordered him forward with all his troops to Croswicks', to assist in recovering the ground that had been so hastily overrun by the enemy, who were now panic- stricken and appalled at the brilliant successes that had attended the American chief
Soon after this, he was directed to take post at Princeton. Here he remained until spring, within fifteen miles of the large British garrison stationed at Brunswick, with only a few hundred men, and a long and difficult frontier that numbered, at one time, more miles than he had soldiers. He was obliged to keep up appearances comporting with the presence of a large army.
When Putnam arrived at Princeton, he found there Cap- tain McPherson, of the seventeenth British regiment, who had been shot through the lungs, and was in a very danger- ous condition. He was suffering extreme pain, and had not even been examined by a surgeon. No one supposed that he could live more than a few hours when Putnam first discov- ered him. Putnam procured surgical attendance, and bestow- ed the most delicate attentions upon the wounded officer, who, to the astonishment of every body, soon began to show
310 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
signs of recovery. McPherson, with all the prejudices of a Scotchman, was as generous as he was brave. He knew that he owed his life to Putnam, and acknowledged the debt with deep gratitude. The warmest friendship soon grew up between them, that was ripened by familiar intercourse. One day, the conversation turning upon the favorite theme, the following good-natured dialogue passed between them :
McPherson. " Pray, sir, what countryman are you ?"
Putnam. " An American."
McPherson. " Not a Yankee ?"
Putnam. " A full-blooded one."
McPherson. "By God! I am sorry for it. I did not think there could be so much goodness and generosity in an Amer- ican— or indeed in anybody, but a Scotchman."
After McPherson was able to give his attention to busi- ness, and while his situation was yet critical, he begged General Putnam to allow him to send for a friend, who was in the British army at Brunswick, to come and assist him in making his will. At this time, Putnam's whole army amounted to only fifty men, and the arrival of a keen British officer, who would be able to spy out his resources at a glance, was a thing of all others to be deprecated. On the other hand, he felt anxious to gratify the prisoner in the indulgence of a request so reasonable, and making such a ready appeal to his sympathies. He resorted to an expedient that proved him to be what he had proclaimed himself, " a full-blooded Yankee." He sent a flag of truce to Brunswick with Captain McPherson's request, but with directions not to return until after dark. In the evening, he placed a light in every room in the college and in all the apartments of the vacant houses in the town. He kept his fifty men marching the whole night, sometimes all together, and sometimes in detachments, passing and meeting near the house where the wounded captain and his testamentary adviser were lodged. When the British officer returned, he reported that General Putnam's army could not amount to less than four thousand
[1777.] PUTNAM'S LETTER. 311
men.* During the winter, with his very limited means, Put- nam took about one thousand prisoners, most of them tories and members of foraging parties. The following letter from Putnam to the Pennsylvania Council of Safety, under date of February 18th, 1777, will show the success of one of Lord Cornwallis' foraging expeditions :
" Yesterday evening Colonel Nelson, with a hundred and fifty men, at Lawrence's Neck, attacked sixty men of Cort- landt Skinner's Brigade, commanded by the enemy's RENOWNED LAND PILOT, Mttjov Riclicird Stocktoii, routcd them, and took the whole prisoners — among them the Major, a Captain and three subalterns, with seventy stands of arms. Fifty of the Bedford Pennsylvania Riflemen behaved like veterans.''^
The old continental army expired with the year 1776. After Putnam's return from New Jersey, the new army was divided into three main branches. One division, consisting of troops belonging south of the Hudson river, under Wash- ington ; the northern department, under General Schuyler, composed of two brigades from Massachusetts, the New York brigade, and some irregular corps ; and the third, under General Putnam, was stationed in the Highlands. This last detachment was made up of the two remaining brigades from Massachusetts, two brigades from Connecticut, one from Rhode Island, and a single regiment from New York. On hearing of the loss of Ticonderoga, General Washington ordered the two Massachusetts brigades to join the northern department, and when he had learned the strength of Sir William Howe's army, he ordered from the Highlands into Pennsylvania one of the Connecticut brig- ades, and one from Rhode Island ; so that Putnam's whole force now amounted only to a single Connecticut brigade and the New York regiment. He established his head quar- ters at Peekskill. There was in New York a large force made up of British troops, and several corps of New York tories who had flocked to the British standard. J
* Humphreys, 134, 135. f Humphreys, 141. ^ Humphreys, 143, 144.
812 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
Between the two armies was a large tract of country, that afforded abundant booty and good hiding-places for a com- pany of nondescript tories, half brigand and half soldier, who did nothing but rob and plunder the country on both sides of the river, and who made their head-quarters, or rather their principal den, at Westchester. Neither the rights of property, nor of personal security, were safe within the range of their pillaging explorations. They not only stole the horses and cattle of the more peaceable inhabitants, but took possession of their persons and those of their wives and daughters and subjected them to the most barbarous violence and outrageous insults. The patriots retaliated, and deeds were perpetrated along the banks of the Hudson that would have disgraced the tenth century.
General Putnam resolved to put an end to these enormi- ties. He sent Colonel Meigs with his regiment down the river to effect this object. Meigs performed during the campaign some daring feats, that taught that rabble of depredators to respect the moral principle and discipline that thev did not choose to cultivate themselves.,
General Putnam was thought to be the author of this movement, and all the malevolent feelings of the party who felt their liberties to be restrained, were directed against him. They finally began to concert measures to surprise the general and make him a prisoner. Governor Tryon proba- bly had the honor of being consulted in this enterprise, as will appear in the sequel. To make Putnam a captive after all the trouble that he had given them, would be an achievement worth accomplishing. Spies were sent into his neighbor- hood, who lurked in large numbei^s around his camp. British ' gold was lavished so plentifully, and such rewards were offered in case of success, that the tories exerted themselves to the utmost, and were more bold than they ever had been in any good cause. The intention to seize Putnam at his head-quarters was so generally understood, that Washington was well aware of it, and sent him information in relation to it, accompanied with a caution to him to be on his guard.
[1777.] PUTNAM HANGS PALMER. 813
In spite of all Putnam's vigilance, one Nathan Palmer, a lieutenant in the ranks of the tory recruits, found his way into the camp, but he was fortunately detected, tried, and found guilty of being a spy. Governor Tryon, who com- manded the tory levies, used all his efforts to save the prisoner. He wrote a letter to Putnam, in which he painted in glowing colors the crime of taking the life of one of the king's commissioned officers. He threatened the American general with his sharpest vengeance, if he dared to do the least harm to Palmer. Putnam had a very concise way of expressing his thoughts in writing. He answered the menac- ing epistle in these pertinent words :
" Sir — Nathan Palmer, a lieutenant in your king's service,
was taken in my camp as a spy. He was tried as a spy ; he
was condemned as a spy, and you may rest assured, sir, he
shall be hanged as a spy.
" I have the honor to be, &c.
"Israel Putnam. " His Excellency, Governor Tryon.
" P. S. Afternoon. He is hanged."*
The letter, as well as the postscript, is a model of pith and brevity.
Soon after the departure of the two brigades for Penn- sylvania, the British army at New York was largely rein- forced by the arrival of troops from England. Putnam's single brigade in the field, and his solitary regiment at Fort Montgomery, under command of General Clinton, could hardly be expected to withstand the large army that might at any hour he marched against him. He wrote to General Washington informing him of his situation and asking him for some troops to defend the important posts that had been intrusted to his keeping. Washington's condition was equally perilous, and he could only authorize him to call upon the militia.
Putnam was not wrong in his apprehensions of evil. On
* Ilinman, 113 ; Humphreys, 147.
814 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
the 5th of October, Sir Henry Clinton sailed up the Hudson with three thousand men, and after making many feints to deceive the Americans, and, passing the night on board his vessels, landed the next morning at Stony Point, and moved rapidly forward toward Fort Montgomery. As soon as the commander of the garrison became aware of the approach of Sir Henry, he sent by express a letter to General Putnam, asking for a reinforcement. The courier proved to be a tory in disguise, and did not deliver the letter. Hearing nothing of the enemy, General Putnam began to be alarmed, and at last rode forth with General Parsons and Colonel Root, to reconnoitre them at King's Ferry.
By five o'clock in the afternoon. Sir Henry Clinton had climbed the mountains that were interposed between the landing and the rear of the fort, and hastily descending a high hill through thickets that none but light troops could have passed, made a vigorous assault upon the redoubt.
Major David Humphreys, then a major of the first Con- necticut brigade, was at head-quarters when the firing began and was the first to hear it. He flew to the camp, and beg- ged Colonel Wyllys, the officer in command, to send all the ,men who were not on duty, to the relief of the garrison at Fort Montgomery. Colonel Meigs was instantly dispatched with five hundred men, while Major Humphreys, then young and of an ardent temperament, rode at full speed, accom- panied by Dr. Beardsley, along a bye-path, to inform Gov- ernor Clinton that a reinforcement was advancing. When Major Humphreys had crossed the river, he found the fort so completely invested that he could not approach it. He therefore went on board a frigate that lay at anchor in the river, and waited for the American detachment to come up. Here he witnessed the whole action. The fort had been thrown up to defend the river, and had not been constructed with any reference to an attack from the rear. However, Governor Clinton, his brother. General James Clinton, Colo- nel Dubois, and the other officers, were men of true courage,
[1777.] MAJOR HUMPHREYS. 815
and were all seconded by the garrison, who fought with great spirit. But it was idle to attempt to oppose, with a single regiment, the solid columns of three thousand British troops advancing against the frail works at places where they could be hardly said to offer an obstruction. At dusk, the enemy entered the fort with fixed bayonets. The loss on either side was not very great. Almost all the officers and men of the garrison escaped under cover of the smoke and darkness, that was now fast settling over the abrupt moun- tains whose shadows offered them a safe retreat.
It is not hkely that the little band of men under Colonel Meigs, had they arrived in season, could have prevented the loss of the fort against such fearful odds.
The young major of brigade, who saw the battle, the retreat, and the sublime picture that followed it, has left us a lively sketch of the closing scene.
"The frigate," writes this young scholar and poet, ''after receiving several platoons, slipped her cable, and proceeded a little way up the river ; but the wind and tide becoming adverse, the crew set her on fire, to prevent her falling into the hands of the enemy, whose ships were approaching. The louring darkness of the night, the profound stillness that reigned, the interrupted flashes of the flames that illuminated the waters, the long shadows of the cliffs that now and then were seen, the explosion of the cannon which were left loaded in the ship, and the reverberating echo which resounded at intervals between the stupendous mountains on both sides of the river, composed an awful night-piece for persons pre- pared by the preceding scene, to contemplate subjects of horrid cruelty."*
* General David Humphreys, was a son of the Rev. Daniel Humphreys, of Derby, Conn., where he was born in 1753. He graduated at Yale College, in 1771, and soon went to reside in the family of Colonel Phillips, of Phillips' INIanor, New York. He early entered the revolutionary army as a captain ; in 1778, he was a major and aid to General Putnam ; in 1780, he was selected as Washing- ton's aid with the rank of colonel — his competitors for the place being Tallmadge, Hull, and Alden. For his valor at the siege of York, Congress honored him with a sword. In 1784, he accompanied Jefferson to France, as Secretary of Lega-
816 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
The capture of Fort Montgomery, and the removal of the booms and chains that had been placed in the river, gave to Sir Henry Clinton, a free passage to Albany, and opened a communication between him and Burgoyne. But before any union of their forces could be effected, the capitulation of Bur- goyne changed the whole plan of operations.
The loss of Fort Montgomery led to a trial of General Clinton by a court-martial. He was acquitted with honor. Sir Henry soon fell back to New York. Putnam followed him a part of the way by land. Colonel Meigs was sent forward with a detachment of men who had been selected from General Parsons' brigade to fall upon a band of robbers in Westchester. He succeeded in breaking up the company for a time. He made fifty prisoners, and carried off a large number of horses and cattle that they had stolen.
Among the other outrages committed by these free-booters under the sanction of the British government, was that of
tion. He represented Derby in the Legislature of Connecticut in 1786, but soon after became a resident of Hartford. In 1788, he went to reside in Washington's family, and continued with him until he was appointed minister to Portugal, in 1790. Four years afterwards, he was sent as minister plenipotentiary to Spain. He concluded treaties with Tripoli and Algiers. In 1812 he was appointed major-general of the Connecticut militia. General Humphreys died in New Haven, Feb. 21, 1818, aged sixty-five.
In the midst of his public duties he found time for the indulgence of his tastes as a writer, both in prose and verse, A collection of his miscellaneous works was published in New York, in 1790, and 1804. See Am. Spec, i. 259—272. Had he devoted his attention exclusively to polite literature, he would doubtless have excelled any American writer of that day. His writings bear evident marks of haste, but evince abundant proofs of genius. He was remarkable for his wit, his pathos, the facility with which he wrote, and his powerful and condensed narra- tive. He presents more images to the mind of a reader upon a single page, than any other writer who has treated of the incidents and characters of the revolution. His principal work, is a life of Major-General Putnam.
There is at Yale College, a likeness of General Humphreys, by Stuart, that is one of the best works of that great artist. It ought to be engraved and published as a beau ideal of the American military gentleman of that period. It is as I once heard a good artist say, " one of the few portraits that may be said to speak and glow with life."
[1777.] CONNECTICUT AND WEST POINT. 817
burning the houses of the principal patriots. General Put- nam resolved to put an end to this wanton mode of warfare. Having learned that Governor Tryon had sent out a party to burn Wright's mills, he detached three parties of one hundred men each to prevent it ; one detachment captured thirty-five of these incendiary tories, and another forty. Foiled in their attempt upon the mills, a number of the new levies went to the house of Mr. Van Tassel, a whig committee-man of high character, and took him prisoner. They dragged him along with them a great distance, naked and barefoot, over the ice and frozen ground, in a bleak cold night. Putnam deter- mined to retaliate, and to make his selection in a quarter that would command the attention of the authors of this mischief He chose a victim best suited to effect his object. He ordered Captain Buchanan, in a whale boat, with a few trusty men, to repair to York Island, and burn the splendid mansion-house of General Oliver Delancy. The mission was accomplished with remorseless fidelity, and the dwelling burned to ashes. This incense, rising in the very nostrils of Governor Tryon, was not an acceptable sacrifice. But it stayed the plague in the infected district for a long time.*
Late in the year 1777, General Washington commissioned Putnam to select a new site for a fort, that would supply the place of Fort Montgomery. Putnam examined the banks of the river with great caution, and finally hit upon that bold rock, impregnable in the rear by the high ridges that rise one after another behind it in regular walls, and overlooking wdth its frowning buttresses the pent up waters of the Hudson. Not long after, the gallant and accomplished General Parsons, with the first Connecticut brigade, went to the spot thus designated by Putnam, and in the cold month of January, while the snow lay upon the ground to the depth of two feet, without tents to shield his men, and without suitable intrenching tools to prosecute the work, struck the first mattock into the soil and threw up the first embankment
* Humphreys, 151.
818 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
at West Point. From that day to this, neither the valor of foreign troops, nor the vile machinations of treason, have been able to pluck or steal the key of the North River from our hands, nor can a keel pass up and down its channel w^ithout doing homage to our flag.*
* Humphreys.
CHAPTER XIV.
THE NOETHERX DEPARTMENT. CAPTURE OF BURGOYNE.
General Schuyler, who had offended the Continental Con- gress by writing one of his "subacid letters,"* did not find the displeasure of that body quite as desirable as he might have anticipated. He finally condescended to offer an apology in the shape of a memorial presented to Congress, that was designed as a glossary to the offensive letter, and explained away the text so well, that on the 8th of May, the Congress resolved to receive him again into favor. About a fortnight after this act of oblivion was passed, it was resolved that Albany, Ticonderoga, Fort Stanwix, and their dependencies, be henceforth considered as forming the north- ern department, and that Major-General Schuyler be direc- ted to take the command there. Whether the general hum- bled himself with any view of a subsequent exaltation, the reader can judge. It is quite certain that one event followed the other very much in the relation of cause and effect. The New England delegates voted against the appointment, as they said it superceded General Gates, and had their representation been full at that time, the result would have been different.
It belonged to the states of New Hampshire, Massachu- setts and Connecticut, to furnish the troops for the northern posts. Massachusetts did not furnish the quota of men that had been designated for her, under an impression that Ticon- deroga would not be attacked.
* General Schuyler, in one of his complaints to Congress against General "Wooster, accuses him of writing "subacid letters." A reference to the corres- pondence of those officers in the fourth volume of the fourth series of the Ameri- can Archives, will readily detect the injustice of the charge. The courtesy and forbearance of Wooster are in striking contrast to the insolence of Schuyler.
820 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
The British force in that quarter was under the command of Burgoyne, the successor of Sir Guy Carleton, who had been superceded on account of his conscientious scruples.* This army was provided with everything that could be called munitions and accoutrements in the greatest abund- ance, and had the best train of artillery that had ever followed the movements of a subordinate army in America.f
The designs of Bursovne were entirelv unknown to the Americans, and hence Washington, as well as his subordin- ates in command at the north, was greatly perplexed with doubt as to what course to pursue. At least ten thousand men were necessary for the defense of Ticonderoga alone ; but St. Clair, who commanded there, had only three thou- sand, and these were insufficiently armed and equipped. It was in fact a part of Burgoyne's plan, not merely to take Ticonderoga, but to advance thence upon Albany, and, with the cooperation of the troops at New York, to get possession of the posts in the Highlands. He started on this expedition with an army of eight thousand men, composed of British and German soldiers, besides a large number of tories, Indians, Canadian boatmen, laborers, and skirmishers. J
On the 1st of July, Burgoyne gained a steep hill over- looking Ticonderoga, which the Americans had neglected to fortify because they regarded it as inaccessible to artillery. St. Clair at once saw that there was no chance for his troops except in a hasty retreat. He accordingly placed his bag- gage and stores in two hundred batteaux, and, under convoy of five armed galleys, sent them to Skenesborough, now Whitehall, towards which point the troops retired by land, in a south-easterly direction, through the New Hampshire grants. § By three in the afternoon, the van of the British squadron, composed of gun-boats, came up with and attacked the American galleys ; and in a short time, the British frigates
* It will be remembered that Sir Guy refused the services of the Indians because they persisted in killing and scalping the American prisoners and the wounded. His scruples could not be tolerated by the British government.
t Gordon, ii. 203, 204. $ Hildreth, in. 196, 197. § Hildreth.
[1777.] DEFEAT OF THE AMERICANS. 321
having joined the van, the galleys were completely over- powered. Two of them surrendered, and three were blown up.*
The American garrison at Skenesborough, on being informed of Burgoyne's approach, set fire to the works, and retreated up Wood Creek to Fort Ann, a post half way to the Hudson river. Colonel Long, who commanded at this post, hearing that the British were approaching, sallied out to meet them ; but after a contest which lasted for more than two hours, he retired with his troops to Fort Ann, set fire to the buildings, and withdrew to Fort Edward, on the Hudson, where General Schuyler had previously arrived. t
The vanguard, conducted by St. Clair in person, reached Castleton on the 6th ; the rear, consisting of three regiments, amounting in all to twelve hundred men, commanded by Colonels Francis, Warner, and Hale, rested through the night at Hubbardston, six miles below Castleton. At this place they were overtaken the next morning by General Frazer, and attacked. Hale's regiment ingloriously fled from the field. Francis and Warner, with the two remaining regiments, behaved with great spirit and firmness, and the English fought with equal obstinacy. Several times the lat- ter gave way, but were rallied again by their gallant officers. The Americans seemed destined to triumph, until the arrival of General Reidesel, with his German brigade, when they were compelled to give way before the superior force of the enemy. Francis was killed, together with two hundred of his brave soldiers. The number of the wounded was estimated at about six hundred, many of whom, deprived of all succor, perished miserably in the woods. Two hundred prisoners fell into the hands of the enemy. The loss of the royal troops was about one hundred and eighty. J
So completely were the Americans dispersed, that when Warner joined St. Clair, on the 9th, he had with him less than ninety men.§ By the 15th, the entire northern army, consisting of about five thousand men, were congregated at
* Botta, i. 457. + Botta, iii. 458, 459. J Botta. § Hildreth, iii. 198.
53
822 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
Fort Edward. Many of the soldiers were without arms, and there was a great deficiency in ammunition and provisions.
The intelligence of these disasters was received with sur- prise and chagrin by Congress, as well as by General Wash- ington. The New England officers charged them upon the mismanagement of General Schuyler — and probably not without some cause. Suspicions of treachery against cer- tain officers, were whispered in the ears of men high in authority. Congress immediately directed the recall of all the northern generals, and an inquiry was ordered into their conduct. This order, however, was suspended by request of Washington, who represented that the army of the north could not be left without officers at that critical moment. Tw^o brigades from the Highlands, Morgan with his rifle corps, Arnold and Lincoln, were detached to reinforce the army at Fort Edward ; and Gates was appointed commander in the place of Schuyler.*
During this brief interval, Burgoyne was making desperate effiDrts to open a passage from Fort Ann to Fort Edward. The intervening country was for the most part a dense wilderness. Besides removing the trees with which Schuy- ler had caused the road to be obstructed, he had to re-build no less than forty bridges. At length, on the 30th of July, he reached Fort Edward, which bv this time had been evacu- ated by the Americans, they having taken up their quarters at Stillwater, lower down on the Hudson. f
A corps of New Hampshire militia, under command of Colonel Stark, had recently arrived at Bennington. Being informed of the approach of Colonel Baum, with two pieces of artillery and eight hundred men. Stark sent off expresses for the militia, and Colonel Warner, who was encamped at Manchester, six miles from Bennington. Baum began to intrench himself on the 14th of August, and sent back to Burgoyne for reinforcements. Lieutenant-Colonel Breyman, with his regiment of Brunswick grenadiers and light-infantry, was sent to his assistance, but he was delayed by rains and by
* Hildreth, iii. 199, 200. t Gordon, ii. 210, 211
[1777.] GALLANTRY OF WARNER AND STARK. 323
the badness of the road. Similar causes prevented Colonel Warner from reaching Bennington at the time anticipated. About noon on the 16th, having been joined by some Berk- shire militia under Colonel Simmons, Stark approached the enemy. After a hotly contested action of two hours, the Americans began to pour into the intrenchments on every side. The Indians, Canadians, and British, fled into the w^oods. The German dragoons still continued to fight, and after their ammunition was exhausted, they were led to the charge with their swords. The survivors and their wounded colonel were made prisoners. About four o'clock, the regi- ments of Breyman and Warner, came up from different directions, and the battle was renewed. A fierce conflict ensued, which continued until the dusk of the evening, when Breyman abandoned his baggage and artillery, and retreated. By this victory, a thousand stand of arms, a thousand swords, and four pieces of artillery, fell into the hands of Warner and Stark, besides nearly six hundred prisoners. About two hundred of the enemy were killed ; the Americans had four- teen killed, and forty-two wounded.*
These successes, together with the gallant and resolute defense of Fort Schuyler, had a wonderful eflfect in reviv- ing the spirits of the American soldiers, and inspiring them with hope and energy.
A strong corps of Connecticut and New Hampshire mili- tia, under General Lincoln, was detached with the hope of recovering the fortresses of Ticonderoga and Mount Inde- pendence, and consequently, the command of Lake George. He parted his troops into three divisions, viz : the first, com- manded by Colonel Brown, of Berkshire county, who sur- prised all the posts upon Lake George, including Mount Hope, Mount Defiance, and the old French lines ; he took possession of two hundred batteaux, an armed brig, several gun-boats, and a very considerable number of prisoners. The second, led by Colonel Johnson, arrived at Ticonderoga and Fort Independence, and summoned the garrison to sur-
* Hildreth ; Botta.
824 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
render. General Powell expressed his determination to defend himself; and the fortresses were besieged for four days, without success. The third, commanded by Colonel Wood- bury, was designed for the reduction of Skenesborough, Fort Ann, and Fort Edward.*
Burgoyne, having by great efforts obtained about thirty days' provisions, determined to force a passage to Albany. Toward the middle of September, he crossed the river on a bridge of boats, and encamped with his army on the plains of Saratoga. General Gates was encamped in the neighbor- hood, about three miles below. The two armies being thus brought into the immediate neighborhood of each other, a battle was anticipated.
On the morning of the 19th of September, the movements of the belligerent forces indicated that a crisis in their des- tiny was approaching. The English formed themselves in order of battle, their right wing resting upon the high grounds which rise gradually from the river ; it was flanked by the grenadiers and light infantry, who occupied the hills. The Indians, Canadians, and loyalists, were ranged some distance in front, and upon the side. The left wing and artillery commanded by Generals Phillips and Reidesel, kept along the great road and meadows by the river side.
The American army drew up in the same order from the river to the hills — Gates commanding the right in person, and Arnold the left.f After several skirmishes, the battle became general, and continued until the shadows of evening fell upon the contending parties. In the language of Gordon, " There was one continual blaze of fire for three hours without intermission. The report of the muskets resembled an inces- sant roll-beating on a number of drums. The Americans and British alternately drive and are driven by each other."J The enemy lost over five hundred men in killed, wounded, and prisoners ; yet they claimed the victory, and encamped upon the field. The Americans retired to their camp, with a loss of about three hundred. They, also, claimed to have
* Botta, ii. 8. t Botta. t Hist. Am. Rev. ii. 249.
[1777.] FALL OF FRAZER. 325
triumphed, in maintaining their position against such fearful odds.
Among the American troops engaged in this memorable conflict, were Cilley's, Scammell's and Hale's New Hamp- shire regiments, two regiments of Connecticut militia, Van Courtland's and Livingston's New York regiments. Wesson's, Marshall's, and Brooks's Massachusetts regiments, and others.*
From the 20th of September to the 7th of October, both armies were engaged in efforts to replenish their stocks of provisions and ammunition, recruiting their respective forces or throwing up intrenchments. During these few days, the American army was constantly increasing, while Burgoyne's condition was becoming more and more hopeless. His com- munications were entirely cut off, and he could neither advance nor retreat ; his troops at the same time were suffering severely on a short allowance of food, and he had long waited in vain for the expected aid of General Clinton. In his desperation, he resolved to hazard another engage- ment. With this view, he marched forward with fifteen hundred picked men, to make a reconnoisance of the Ameri- can lines, and to cover a forage of his army. He had with him Generals Phillips, Reidesel, and Frazer, together with ten pieces of artillery. A fierce action soon ensued — the attack having been commenced by Poor's New Hampshire brigade, followed up by Morgan's riflemen. The gallant Frazer was mortally wounded ;t and the British troops, after a desperate effort, succeeded in regaining their camp, leaving behind them six pieces of artillery. The retreating enemy were followed up with great spirit by Arnold, and, after an obstinate defense, succeeded in gaining their works, where the fight was continued until the darkness of night again put an end to the strife. In this assault, Arnold was wounded
* Gordon ; Hildreth.
+ Besides the loss of General Frazer, Sir James Clark, aid-de-camp to General Burgoyne, was mortally wounded and taken prisoner ; Lieutenant-Colonel Brey- man was killed, and Majors Oakland and Williams were taken prisoners.
826 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
and compelled to retire. Colonel Brooks, of Massachusetts, was still more successful in his attack upon a German brig- ade, having driven them from their intrenchments at the point of the bayonet, and captured their camp equipage, artillery, and ammunition.
That night, the Americans slept on their arms, intending to renew the engagement in the morning. But the British, under cover of the darkness, silently withdrew to the high grounds in the vicinity.*
On the 8th, several skirmishes ensued, in one of which General Lincoln was so severely wounded as to be deterred from further service. During the following day, Bur- goyne, fearing he should be surrounded, abandoned his new quarters, and fell back upon Saratoga, a distance of six miles.
By this time, Burgoyne's force was reduced to four thou- sand effective men, and he was surrounded by three times that number of Americans, who were now flushed with suc- cess and eager for another trial at arms. He was reduced to three days' supply of provisions, and he could gain no intelligence from Howe or Clinton. He called a council of war, on the 13th, who advised that a treaty of capitulation should be opened.
General Gates at first insisted upon an unconditional sur^
* The late Colonel Moses Lyman, of Goshen, then a lieutenant, commanded a company of militia during this northern campaign. He was well known to many of the officers in the camp, as he had been in the service during much of the two preceding years ; and during the memorable night of the 7th of October, he was put in command of a company of observation, to watch the movements of Bur- go}Tie to see whether he would advance or recede from the position which he held at the close of the action. The sentinels of the two armies were stationed so near together that they might have hailed each other. No movement, how- ever, was discovered in the British camp during the night. Soon after dawn, on the morning of the 8th, Lyman marched out with his men toward the hostile camp, expecting that his appearance would provoke a movement of some kind, on the part of the enemy. He advanced still nearer, but found only the slain and wounded 5 he continued his march until he reached their deserted tents. He was the first to inform General Gates that the enemy had abandoned their camp and sought a more secure position. Rev. Grant Powers' Centennial Ad- dress, 1839.
[1777.] BUKGOY^'E CAPITULATES. 827
render, which was refused. But as he had learned that all the American posts in the Highlands had fallen into the enemy's hands, and fearing that Burgoyne might soon be reinforced, he was particularly anxious to hasten the capitulation. He accordingly proposed that the British troops should march out of their camp with the honors of war, lay down their arms, and be conducted to Boston, and there embark for England, under a pledge not to serve against the United States until exchanged. These terms were accepted.
The number of prisoners who surrendered was five thou- sand six hundred and forty-two, with their arms, artillery, baggage and camp equipage. Among these articles were thirty-two brass cannons, seven howitzers, and three royal mortars, besides four thousand six hundred and forty-seven muskets, six thousand dozen of cartridges, shot, carcasses, cases and shells.*
The intelligence of the capture of Burgoyne was hailed
* Hildretli, iii. 214. Among the most accomplished Connecticut officers who participated in the battle and witnessed the surrender of Burgoyne, was Captain Moses Seymour, of Litchfield, who at that time commanded a company of cavalry. A day or two after the terms of capitulation were signed, the American officers invited Burgoyne and his fellow-officers to dine with them. At this interesting festival Captain Seymour was present. His account of the conversations that took place on the occasion, between the conquerors and the conquered, and particularly his minute relation of the toasts given on both sides, are still remembered with interest. The utmost courtesy and good feeling prevailed on the part of the principal officers, and the responses to the sentiments given were hearty and enthusiastic. At length, General Burgoyne was called upon for a toast. Every voice was for the moment hushed into the deepest attention, as he rose and gave — " America and Great Britain against the world." The response which followed may be imagined.
During the night that succeeded the last battle between Gage and Burgoyne, Captain Seymour watched with a British officer vi'ho had been wounded and carried off the field in the midst of the engagement. Soon after he had entered the apartment, the wounded officer, who had not before learned the fate of the day, eagerly asked Captain S. as to the result. On hearing that the British had been defeated, he remarked — " Then the contest is no longer doubtful ; America will be independent. I have fought earnestly for my king and country, but the con- test is ended!" The kindness of Captain S. to him, an enemy, deeply affected the officer 5 he thanked him again and again ; and finally offered him his watch
328 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
throughout the country witn thanksgiving and rejoicings. It became a general theme of congratulation in private circles, and in public assemblies — and the pulpit and press joined in celebrating the praises of Gates and his heroic band of officers and soldiers.*
Captain Thomas Y. Seymour, of Hartford, a captain of cavalry in Gates' army, vv^as, for a part of the route, at least, commander of the escort sent with General Burgoyne to Boston. The people in that part of New England through which they passed had been greatly exasperated at the proclamation of the British commander, threatening the extremities of war against all who should oppose his march, and particularly at the barbarous offer of a reward to his
and other rewards, which were of course refused. The gallant American did all in his power to relieve the distresses and sooth the mind of his charge — but his wounds proved fatal.
* On one of the Sabbaths in October, the Rev. Cotton Mather Smith, of Sharon, Connecticut, preached a sermon from Isaiah xxi. 11 — " Watchman, what of the night ? the Watchman saith, The morning cometh." " The discourse," says Sedgwick, (Hist. Sharon, p. 54,) " was entirely adapted to the condition of public affairs. He dwelt much upon the indications, which the dealings of Providence afforded, that a bright and glorious morning was about to dawn upon a long night of defeat and disaster. He told the congregation that he believed they would soon hear of a signal victory crowning the arms of America, exhorted them to trust with an unshaken and fearless confidence in that God who, he doubted not, would soon appear for the deliverance of his people, and crown with success the efforts of the friends of liberty in this country. Before the congregation was dismissed a messenger arrived, bringing the intelligence of the surrender of Burgoyne's army. Parson Smith read the letter from the pulpit, and a flood of joy burst from the assembly."
" During the next year," continues the same author, " a large part of Bur- goyne's army marched through this town, on their way to the south. They were met here by a regiment of continental troops, under the command of Lieutenant- Colonel Jameson, who was afterwards conspicuous in the affairs connected with the capture of Andre, and who here took charge of the prisoners." It appears that a large part of this detachment were Hessians. They encamped in Sharon over night ; and when they started in the morning, the whole body sang devo- tional songs as they marched. The late Governor Smith, then a lad, followed them two or three miles, to hear their singing.
Colonel Gay, of Sharon, with a large number of men under his command from that town and vicinity, shared in all the conflicts which preceded the surrender of Burgoyne. Sedgwick's Hist. p. 53.
[1777.] THE PRICE OF YANKEE SCALPS. 829
Indian allies for American scalps. In every town where the escort stopped, multitudes of people flocked to its quarters to see him, and in some instances. Captain Seymour found it difficult to preserve his prisoner from actual violence.
One day, the company had halted at a village inn in Mas- sachusetts for purposes of refreshment and rest. General Burgoyne was sitting in the principal room in the house, and a crowd of curious spectators were gathered about the door, eager to catch a glimpse of him. Among others, a large, masculine-looking old woman elbowed her way through the crowd, and actually gained admittance. When first observed by the captain of the escort, she stood directly in front of Burgoyne, with her arms akimbo, scrutinizing him from head to foot, with a look in which were blended curiosity, boldness, and exultation. The general became restless under her gaze, and uneasily shifted his position so as to avoid it ; but to no purpose. Before Captain Seymour could interfere to protect his prisoner from the annoyance, the virago, looking steadily at Burgoyne and shaking her finger in his face, exclaimed in a high shrill voice : " Neow what' II ye give for Yankee scalps .?"
So saying, she suddenly withdrew, leaving the irritated prisoner to digest the insult as he best might ; while the Captain, mortified though he was at the occurrence, could hardly maintain his gravity at the ludicrous spectacle.
It is proper to add, that on reaching Boston, General Bur- goyne presented Captain Seymour with a magnificent saddle and a pair of silver-mounted cavalry pistols, as tokens of his appreciation of the manner in which that officer had per- formed his delicate duty.
This Captain Seymour, mounted on his charger, forms a conspicuous figure in Trumbull's painting of The Surrender of Burgoyne.
CHAPTER XV.
WYOMING.
In July 1753, the Connecticut Susquehannah Company, formed at Windham, sent out a committee to explore "a cer- tain tract of land lying on the Susquehannah river, at a place called Chiwaumuck, an island in said river.* This committee went forward to view the territory, admitted by the best lawyers of the nation to belong to Connecticut by virtue of her charter, f and to perfect in the hands of the cor- poration which they represented, the Indian title to it, in accordance with the old custom of the colony. This territo- ry, embracing that part of Pennsylvania lying within the forty-second degree of north latitude, was one of the most beautiful and attractive regions that the eye of the western pioneer ever rested upon. J Hill, valley, mountain, and stream, diversified the landscape, while the magnificent forests and luxuriant vegetation indicated the richness of the soil and gave promise of golden harvests and pleasant homes, as
* Supposed to be llie Minocasy.
t The Warwick Patent, dated March 19, 1631, describes the bounds of Con- necticut as extending "throughout the main lands," '■'•from the western ocean to the south sea,^^ So also the charter of Charles II., dated April 20, 1662, describes the bounds " as running from east to west, that is to say, from the said Narragansett Bay on the east, to the south sea on the west part.''"' As, however, the territory of New York had previously been claimed and settled upon by the Dutch, Connecticut did not attempt to establish any right to or jurisdiction over that country, but contented herself with her claim to the lands lying west of New York and south of the fort}''-second degree of north latitude. The claim of Pennsylvania to the same territory, was founded upon the patent granted by Charles II. to William Penn, bearing date March 4, 1681 — nineteen years after the date of the charter of Connecticut.
X\n its more limited signification, the "Valley of Wyoming " is a name given to a valley on the Susquehannah river, about twenty miles in length, from north- east to south-west, and from three to four in breadth.
[1755.] THE SUSQUEHANNAH COMPANY. 831
the rewards of industry and enterprise. The abundance of wild game with which the woods and air were teeming — the varieties of fish that sported in the streams — the rich clusters of grapes and other tempting fruits that grew spon- taneously in those quiet valleys and along those sloping hill- sides— all seemed to add their cordial invitation to the hardy adventurer from the east.
Such, briefly, was the country which the agents of the Susquehannah company were commissioned to explore and purchase of its aboriginal proprietors. This company con- sisted, at first, of eight hundred and forty persons, including a large number of the leadino; men of Connecticut. The num- ber of proprietors was subseqently increased to twelve hund- red. The purchase was fairly and honorably made, and was ratified by the congress of delegates which convened at Albany in July, 1754, in which Pennsylvania was represent- ed by John Penn, Isaac Norris, Benjamin Franklin, and Richard Peters. In the treaty with the Six Nations, which was executed by the Congress in question, the territory pur- chased by the Susquehannah Company is described as "lying within the limits of the roval charter to Connecticut " ; and it does not appear that any objection was made to the claim thus set forth and virtually recognized by the delegates in their official capacity.*
In May, 1755, Phineas Lyman and others, as a committee of the Susquehannah Company, petitioned the Assembly of Connecticut, praying the acquiescence of the Legislature in the purchase, and desiring their consent for an application to his majesty to erect them into a new colony or plantation. In response to this petition, the Assembly " manifested their ready acquiescence therein." During the same year, sur- veyors were sent by the company to lay out the lands ; but
*The Hon. Charles Miner, in his admirable "History of Wyoming," gives a minute history of the conflicting claims of Pennsylvania and Connecticut — and proves conclusively that Connecticut held the country, first, by a grant or charter from the king ; second, by the purchase of the soil from the In- dians 5 and third, by the right of possession.
832 HISTOEY OF CONN-ECTICUT.
the war with the French prevented any actual settle- ments.
In 1762, several emigrants from Connecticut visited the valley, cleared up some lands, sowed their grain, and return- ed home. During the following spring, they went back to Wyoming with their families, with the determination of making a permanent settlement — taking with them their stock, farming utensils, and household furniture. Their town was built on the flats near the river below Wilkesbarre. Their crops had proved abundant, they were delighted with their new homes, and they began to anticipate a life of peace and plenty. On the 15th of October, however, they were suddenly startled at the sound of the war-whoop, which was followed by a fierce attack from a large party of savages. The settlers were entirely unprepared for such an assault, and about twenty men were killed and scalped. The residue of the men, women and children fled to the mountains, and ultimately found their way back to Connecticut.
In 1768, the Susquehannah Company determined to renew the attempt to settle the lands at Wyoming. A meeting of the proprietors was held at Hartford, at which it was resolv- ed that five townships, each five miles square, should be sur- veyed and granted, each to forty settlers, being proprietors, on condition that those settlers should remain upon the ground, " man their rights," and defend themselves and each other from the incursions of all rival claimants. Forty per- sons were to set out forthwith ; the others, to the number of two hundred in all, were to follow during the succeeding spring. As an additional encouragement to the settlers, the sum of two hundred pounds, Connecticut currency, (8667,00) was appropriated to provide implements of husbandry, pro- visions, arms and ammunition, for those who might require assistance. The five townships allotted to these adventurers were situated in the heart of the valley. They were Wilkes- barre, Hanover, Kingston, Plymouth, and Pittston. At a subsequent date, three other townships, to be laid out on the west branch of the Susquehannah, were appropriated to forty
[1769.] THE SECOND SETTLEMENT. 833
settlers each.* On the 8th of February, 1769, the first forty settlers — comprising the advance corps of pioneers from Connecticut — arrived in the valley. On reaching their place of destination, however, they were surprised to find that the block-house and huts from which their friends had been driven a few years before, were in possession of their ene- mies. During the preceding month, three Pennsylvania officerSjf with several men, had taken up their abode there — a lease of one hundred acres having been granted to them for seven years, on condition that the}^ should establish an Indian trading-house thereon, and defend the valley from encroachment. The Yankees forthwith invested the block- house of Captain Ogden, cutting off all communication with the surrounding country, so that the besieged could neither obtain fuel nor venison ; and demanded in the name of Connecticut, the surrender of the garrison.
Captain Ogden, who appears to have been an adept in the arts of diplomacy, as well as a gallant military oflicer, sent a very polite and conciliatory note to the commander of the forty, respectfully soliciting a friendly conference on the sub- ject of their respective claims. This was readily acceded to, and Messrs. Isaac Tripp, Benjamin Follett, and Vine Elderkin were selected as the representatives of the Con- necticut party. No sooner, however, had they entered the block-house, than SheriflT Jennings clapped a writ on their shoulders, saying — " Gentlemen, in the name of the common- wealth of Pennsylvania, you are my prisoners." The pris-
* Subsequent to the pui'chase of the Susquehannah Company, a second associa- tion was formed in Connecticut, called the " Delaware Company," who purchased of certain Indian chiefs, " all the lands bounded east by the Delaware river, with- in the forty-second degree of north latitude, west to the line of the Susquehannah purchase, to wit, ten miles east of that river." This company commenced a set- tlement at Coshatunk, on the Delaware river, which flourished for several years — having, in 17G0, thirty dwelling houses, a block-house for defense, a grist mill and saw mill.
t These officers were Captain Amos Ogden, the military leader of the company, Charles Stewart, surveyor, afterwards aid-de-camp to General Washington, and John Jennings, Esq., High Sheriff of Northampton county.
834 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
oners were immediately conducted to Easton jail. They were closely followed by their friends, and no sooner was the key turned than bail was entered for their appearance, and they were set at liberty. On their return to Wyoming, they found themselves in the peaceable possession of the valley. This was the beginning of a contest between the settlers under the Connecticut claim and the government of Penn- sylvania, which continued for many years.
Sheriff Jennings appears to have been not a little chagrin- ed at the result of this attempt at negotiation with the set- tlers. He forthwith raised a posse in Northampton county, and, accompanied by several magistrates, repaired to Wyo- ming, stormed the fortification of the settlers, and captured nearly the whole of them. About thirty of their number were forthwith marched off to Easton jail — a distance of sixty miles, through a dreary wilderness, and in the depth of winter. They were all committed to jail, but were almost immediately admitted to bail, as their predecessors had been, and they once more returned to their homes on the Susque- hannah. Thus, in less than sixty days after their arrival in the valley, some of their number had been twice arrested and nearly all of them, in going and returning from jail, had traveled at least two hundred and forty miles.
By the 10th of April, the little colony had been so rein- forced by emigrants from Connecticut, that two hundred and seventy able-bodied men assembled on the bank of the river where Wilkesbarre now stands. A new fortification was erected at that point, and called Fort Durkee, after the com- mander, and twenty or thirty huts were built in its immedi- ate vicinity. Having now a brief interim of peace, the set- tlers entered upon their agricultural labors with energy, and succeeded in breaking up the ground for the reception of the seed.
By the 20th of May, Captain Ogden and Sheriff Jennings again appeared upon the plains, with their forces recruited, and assumed a hostile attitude. After reconnoitering the position of the enemy, they withdrew to Easton. In his
[1769.] FORT DURKEE SURRENDERED. 335
report to the governor, Jennings states that the intruders mustered three hundred effective men, and that he could not collect a sufficient force in the county to dislodge them. About a month later, Colonel Turbot Francis, at the head of a splendid corps from the city, visited the plains and made a similar examination of the fortifications of the settlers ; but retired to wait for reinforcements.
In June, 1769, Colonel Eliphalet Dyer and Major Jedediah Elderkin arrived in Philadelphia as agents of the Susquehan- nah Company, vested with full power to negotiate for the settlement of the controversy respecting the Wyoming lands. The Hon. Benjamin Chew was appointed agent on the part of Pennsylvania to confer with the gentlemen named. No terms for the adjustment of their difficulties could be agreed upon.
In the beginning of the autumn, a well-armed and well- equipped corps of two hundred men, under command of Cap- tain Ogden and Sheriff Jennings, began their march for the disputed territory. An artillery company, with an iron four- pound cannon, and a supply of ball and cartridges, constitu- ted a part of this force. Ogden soon siezed Captain Durkee, sent him in irons to Philadelphia, and there closely incar- cerated him. Fort Durkee shortly after surrendered. By the articles of capitulation, three or four of the leading men were to be detained as prisoners of war ; seventeen of the Connecticut people were to remain to gather the har- vests ; and all the others, without exception, were to leave the valley immediately.
These terms were strictly complied with on the part of the settlers ; but no sooner had the people left, than Ogden, in direct violation of his pledges, began to plunder the property that had been left behind. Cattle, horses, and sheep were driven off to market. The seventeen men who were to remain on the ground, being left without any means of subsistence, were compelled to follow their friends to Connecticut. Thus the close of the year 1769 found Wyoming in full possession of the Pennsylva-
336 HISTOEY OF CONNECTICUT.
nians — the Yankees* having been driven from the country for the third time, their homes made desolate, their property destroyed, themselves defeated and disheartened. So at least thought their enemies, w^ho imagined that the people of Con- necticut would now desist from all further attempts to found a colony in the valley of the Susquehannah. Fully impressed with this belief, Ogden and Jennings, leaving a guard of ten men to take charge of the public property in the fort, repair- ed to Philadelphia, to while away the winter.
Early in February, a company of men from the adjacent town of Hanover united with a few Connecticut people, under Captain Stewart, entered the valley, drove oif the guard stationed at Fort Durkee, took possession of the fort, provisions, and cannon, and quietly awaited the result. The news soon reached Ogden, who hastily mustered about fifty friends, and, marching to Wyoming, took possession of his old quarters at mill creek. Major Durkee, who had by this time escaped from prison, again took the command of the settlers. A collision soon occurred, in which one of the Connecticut party was killed. Durkee now determined to drive Ogden from his position. With his single cannon he commenced the siege, and carried it forward with such suc- cess, that on the 29th of April Ogden surrendered. By the terms agreed upon, all the Pennsylvanians were to leave the valley within three days, except six men who were to remain in possession of one of the houses.
Soon after the departure of Ogden, the commander of the settlers resolved to retaliate upon the previous conduct of that officer. He forthwith expelled the six unwelcome neigh- bors as spies, seized upon the property left in their posses- sion, and burnt the fort that had been vacated by Ogden.
Governor Penn at once issued his proclamation denounc- ing the " outrageous conduct " of the intruders, and offering large rewards for their arrest. Having in vain applied for assistance to General Gage, commander-in-chief of his
*" Yankees'''' and ^^ PennymiteSj^^ were the names by which the two parties were long known in Wyoming.
[1773.] COMMISSIONERS APPOINTED. 337
majesty's forces, whose head-quarters were then in New York, the governor directed Captain Ogden to raise as many soldiers as he could, and dispossess the Yankees of the valley. The business of recruiting proceeded so slow, that it was late in September before he reached Wyoming. His force amounted to about one hundred and fifty men. His move- ments were conducted with such secrecy, that he surprised the fort and garrison, and took a large number of prisoners, almost without opposition. A few of the officers were sent to Philadelphia, while the others were taken to the jail at Easton. The valley was again deserted by the settlers.
The triumph of the Pennsylvanians was of short duration. On the 18th of December, the sleeping garrison was startled with a " Hurrah for King George !" and Captain Stewart with thirty men took possession of the fort in behalf of Con- necticut. Six of its inmates escaped half naked to the mountains, while the remainder were expelled from the valley without ceremony.
In January, the fort again fell into the hands of Ogden ; and on the 14th of August, after a vigorous siege, it was sur- rendered to Captain Zebulon Butler.
What is known as " the first Pennymite and Yankee war," was now ended, and the Connecticut settlers on the Susque- hannah began to enjoy the blessings of peace. During the autumn, many of them went to Connecticut and brought their families into the valley. Prosperity smiled upon the labors of the husbandman, and domestic and social happiness at last crowned the struggles and privations of the war-worn combatants. A church was formed, a minister settled, schools established, and a local civil government organized.
Connecticut now determined to extend a formal and positive jurisdiction over the Susquehannah Company's purchase. To this end, in October 1773, her Legislature appointed Eliphalet Dyer, William Samuel Johnson, and Jedediah Strong, commissioners to proceed to Philadelphia, to nego- tiate an amicable settlement of the controversy. In Decem- ber they presented their credentials to Governor Penn, and
54
338 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
commenced the business assigned to them. All their propo- sitions were objected to and declined by Governor Penn — as they doubtless anticipated would be the case — and the com- missioners returned to Connecticut. On receiving their report, the General Assembly, in January, passed an act "erecting all the territory within her charter limits, from the river Delaware to a line fifteen miles west of the Susque- hannah, into a town, with all the corporate powers of other towns in the colony, to be called Westmoreland, attaching it to the county of Litchfield." Zebulon Butler and Nathan Denison were commissioned justices of the peace for the new town. Governor Trumbull issued a proclamation forbidding any settlement within the hmits of Westmoreland, except under the authority of Connecticut.*
Captain Butler and Mr. Joseph Sluman were chosen the first representatives from Westmoreland to the Legislature of Connecticut.
As may well be supposed, the spirit that had roused the people of the colonies to resist the oppressive acts of the mother country, met with a cordial response from the settlers of Wyoming. Long accustomed, as they had been, to resist oppression at home, they were among the first to protest against the encroachments of a foreign despotism. As early as August 1775, in town meeting, they passed a vote express ing their acquiescence in the action of the Continental Con- gi'ess, and declaring that they would " unanimously join their brethren in America in the common cause of defending their libertv."
In the fall of 1775, the governor of Pennsylvania resolved to renew the war against the people of Wyoming, who had now enjoyed a period of four years of uninterrupted peace. Colonel Plunket, with seven hundred men in his train, returning from an expedition against the settlements at Judea and Charlestown, arrived at the mouth of Nescopeck creek,
* The governor of Pennsylvania also issued a proclamation about the same time, prohibiting any settlement on contested claims, " under pretended grants from Connecticut," or any other than the authority of Pennsylvania.
[1776-'7.] INDIAN'S AND TORIES. 839
on the 20th of December. Congress having been informed that an attack upon Wyoming was contemplated, interposed in behalf of the settlers — recommending " that the con- tending parties immediately cease all hostilities, and avoid every appearance of force, until the dispute can be legally settled."
This advice came too late to be of any avail. Plunket arriv- ed upon the borders of the valley on the 28d. As his force was nearly double that of all the settlements in the valley, his appearance was the occasion of much alarm. Colonel Z. Butler, with the most strenuous exertions, succeeded in collecting together about three hundred men and boys ; but as there were not guns enough to supply them all, some of them appeared on the ground with scythes fastened upon handles. He selected his position and fortified it as well as circumstances would permit. On the 23d and 24th, Butler's fortification was attacked, two or three skirmishes took place, and several persons were killed. The expedition ended in the inglorious retreat of Plunket and his army.^
During the years of 1776 and 1777, few events occurred in the valley that need to be repeated here. As among the patriotic citizens in other parts of the country, strenuous efforts were made to raise and equip their quota of soldiers, to supply the families of the absent,^ and to provide means for their own safety and defense. Occasionally the Indians and tories would make an incursion into their vicinity, and kill or take captive such objects of their hatred as might
* Mr. Miner, (Hist, of Wyoming, p. 180,) introduces evidence to show that Colonel P. was identical with the Dr. Plunket, an apothecary, who was concerned with James Maclean in several highway robberies committed on Hounslow Heath, England, in 1750, an account of which may be found in the London Gentleman's Magazine for September of that year. Among the persons assaulted by Maclean and Plunket, was Lord Eglington. It is stated that Colonel Plunket acknowl- edged, that he was associated with Maclean in the robberies alluded to ; and that he was recognized in this country by persons who had known him in England.
+ Town Meeting, Westmoreland, Dec. 30th, 1777, "Voted by this town, that the committee of inspection be empowered to supply the soldiers' wives and the soldiers' widows, and their families, with the necessaries of life."
840 HISTOEY OF CONNECTICUT.
fall in their way ;* but though war raged around them, the people of Wyoming dwelt in comparative quiet.
At the October session of the Connecticut Legislature, 1776, Westmoreland had been erected into a county. Jona- than Fitch, Esq., was commissioned as the first high sheriff of the new organization, and other county officers were soon after appointed.
It appears that sweet Wyoming was after all a part of Connecticut. Her sons were there with their good English names, shrewd sense, unostentatious home-bred tastes, habits of economy, schools, religion, laws, industry, and valor. Let us suppose that we too are there, and that it is early January of the eventful year 1778. Hill and glade smile as the morning sun glances over the mountain, to woo and melt at last the cold unsullied snow. The hale cattle, and the dainty sheep, nipping the hay that lies in heaps around the stack in the open meadow, while the farmer, who has just fed them, stands with his hands in his pockets regarding their growth with a complacent smile that is the outward sign of the promise that his heart has made to itself of thrift for his sons and marriage portions for his daughters, are additional features in the picture. Should he ask you to accompany him home and breakfast with him, you need not excuse yourself or hesitate lest his busy wife and pretty daughters whose com- plexions show that they once belonged to Litchfield county, should blush at the scantiness of the repast. They will set before you buckwheat cakes and venison, or it may be salt fish and the nice fragments of the wild turkey that flanked the loin of beef for yesterday's dinner.f
The whole family circle will have the questioning curiosity that belongs to their origin, and why should they not be
* In 1777, an old man, named Fitzgerald, was taken prisoner by the tories, who placed him on a flax-brake, and told him he must either renounce his " rebel principles," or die. " Well," said he, " I am old, and have little time to live any- how ; and I had rather die now a friend to my country, than to live ever so long, and die a tory !" They thought him incorrigible and let him go.
+ See Miner's Hist. 208-'9.
[1778.] A STORM GATHERING. 341
indulged? These are revolutionary times. "What is Wash- ington doing since the last Indian runner brought the news from the north ? What is Putnam doing at Reading since the last arrival of the post-rider from Hartford ? Well may they ask questions, for what new wonder is to follow the battle of Germantown and the capture of Burgoyne ?
It was in every sense a Connecticut settlement. Its electors had all taken the new oath of allegiance to her as a sove- reign state. On the 13th of April, one hundred and twenty- nine more were added to the number of self-taxing citizen electors — making in all two hundred and sixty-nine. They chose John Dorrance collector of the state tax, and Nathan Denison and Anderson Dana representatives to the General Assembly that was to meet at Hartford in May. On the 21st of the same month, the voters of Westmoreland held another meeting, and in obedience to the advice of his excellency, Governor Trumbull, and the recommendation of the Assem- bly, fixed the rates of labor and the prices of all produce and manufactured articles.*
Early in the year, it began to be whispered abroad that the Indians were gathering to make an attack upon Westmoreland. But the mothers and daughters of Wyoming, if they grew pale at the news, did not shrink from the hard duties that are impos- ed upon women in new settlements in times of war or threat- ened public calamity. They were already inured to dangers. While their husbands and lovers had been absent from home fighting the battles of their country against the British, Indians, and tories, they had made the hay, hoed the corn, husked it and gathered it home. At last, a little cannon had been brought
* Among these items were the following, viz : " Good yarn stockings, a pair 10«. ; laboring women, at spinning, a week, 6s. ; winter-fed beef, a pound, 7s. 5 taverners, for dinner, of the best, per meal, 2s. ; metheglin, per gallon 7s. ; beaver skins, per lb. 18s. ; shad, apiece, Qd. ; beaver hats, of the best, Al. ; for two oxen, per day, and tackling, 3s. ; good hemp-seed, a bushel, 15s. ; men's labor, at farming, the three summer months, per day, 5s. 3d. ; good check flannel, yard wide, 8s. 5 good tow and linen, yard wide, 6s. ; good white flannel, yard wide, 5s. ; tobacco, in bank or leaf, per lb., 9d. ; taverners, for mug of flip, with two gills of rum in it, 4s. 5 good barley, per bushel, 8s ; shoeing horse all round, 6«. ; eggs, per doxen, 8d. ; strong beer, by the barrel, 2i."
842 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
up the river to defend the settlement ; and so far were these good wives and daughters from running away and stopping their ears to keep out the sound of its sharp, spiteful voice, that they took up the floors of their humble houses, and dug up the earth from beneath them, leached it in casks, and then mixed the thin fluid with the ley of wood-ashes, and after having boiled them together, set the decoction away to cool, until the salt-petre rose to the top. Then they pulverized the charcoal and ground the sulphur, and mingling the home- made ingredients in due proportion, they made gun-powder to fill the horns of their husbands, and to gorge the black throat of this fierce bull-dog that had come to keep guard over Wyoming.
From Niagara and the Indian country that skirted the town, it was rumored that the British and Indians were making ready to invade the valley. Not only did the patriot- ism of the inhabitants tempt such an invasion, but the very situation of this settlement — the only one of any importance above the Blue Ridge, and forming as it did a troublesome barrier between the savage tribes of the mountains and the Gei'man towns of the low country — pointed it out for destruction. After all the Indians in the valley and all the tories from that neighborhood, had begun to flock to the stand- ard of the enemy. Congress, on the 16th of March, passed the following resolution :
"Resolved, That one full company of foot be raised in the town of Westmoreland, on the east bank of the Susquehan- nah, for the defense of the said town, and the settlement on the frontiers and in the neighborhood thereof, against the Indians and the enemies of these states ; the said company to be enlisted to serve one year from the time of their enlist- ing, unless sooner discharged by Congress."
As if to mock that brave people, a clause was added to the resolution, " that the company find their own arms, accoutre- ments and blankets."
A large proportion of the effective men of the settlement, under the command of Durkee and Ransom, were already
[1778.] SCOUTING PARTIES AND SPIES. 343
absent with the army — scarcely a sufficient number being left at home to save the women and children from starvation, and to keep guard around their dwellings. The people had been taxed to their utmost capacity to arm and equip the soldiers who were already in the field ; and the additional burden now imposed upon them by Congress, was felt to be unnecessary and unjust. True, the company ordered to be raised, was in part designed for their own protection ; and so, as they had supposed, were the companies previously raised in the valley. What guarantee had they that the new recruits might not be wanted elsewhere, and that thus the settlement would be left without any other means of defense than such as the old men, women and children might be able to afford ?
In May, little scouting parties of the inhabitants of West- moreland began to meet those sent out by the enemy. The latter appeared to be keeping watch of the former, and though they did no acts of violence, yet they probably made it a principal part of their business to learn where the settlement was most assailable, and at the same time to cut off all com- munication between them and the upper country, so that the}^ might remain in ignorance of the preparations that were going on there. A single man was shot by the Indians.
A few days afterwards, a scouting party of six persons was fired upon about four miles from Tunkhannock. Two men were wounded — one of them mortally — but they fled to their canoes, and dropped down the river.
Soon after this occurrence, two Indians, who had once lived at Wyoming, came down with their squaws, under pre- tence of paying a friendly visit. They were soon suspected to be spies, and were closely watched. At last, an old com- panion of one of them, who knew his weak points, invited him to drink, and repeated this agreeable act of hospitality so many times, that his guest was finally in a favorable mood to reveal secrets. He frankly confessed that his people were meditating an attack upon the place, and that he had visited it as a spy. This frightful intelligence drove the inhabitants
844 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
to the verge of despair. The people in the border districts took refuge in the forts, and the wives of the soldiers sent message after message to their absent husbands, begging them as they loved them and their tender babes, to come home. Still, the Congress refused to let them go. This last piece of intelligence was so peculiarly startling, that every com- missioned officer from Wyoming, except two, resigned, and hastened homeward. Some of the privates also deserted. At this point, Congress w^as compelled to interfere. On the 23d of June they resolved, "that the two independent com- panies lately commanded by Captains Durkee and Ransom, which were raised in the town of Westmoreland, be united, and form one company." From the preamble of this resolve, it appears that the number of non-commissioned officers and privates remaining was eighty-six. The new company was ordered to march to Lancaster, and, soon after, when too late, to Wyoming.
By this time the enemy had concentrated themselves at Newtown and Tioga, (the latter being a part of the town of Westmoreland ;) and every man capable of bearing arms was called into service and drilled. The assistance, in this depart- ment, of two deserters from the British army, named Boyd* and Pike, was called into requisition, and proved very accepta- ble. The women and children were gathered into the forts. The only cannon in the valley was in Wilkesbarre fort, and, having no ball, it could only be used as an alarm-gun. All was bustle and anxiety. It was soon ascertained that the force of the enemy consisted of Colonel John Butler's rang- ers, a detachment of Sir John Johnson's royal greens, a few tories from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York — in all about four hundred ; together with six or seven hundred Indians. Descending the river, they landed about twenty miles above the valley, and marched across the peninsula — arriving on the western mountain on the evening of the 29th or morning of the 30th of June.
* Boyd was subsequently taken prisoner by Colonel John Butler, and was soon after shot as a deserter.
[1778.] COLOXEL BUTLER SUMM0:N'S FORTY FORT. 345"
The families of many of the pioneers were gathered at Fort Jenkins, the uppermost in the valley. From this point, on the mornincr of the 30th, seven men and a lad took their arms and went to their usual labors, in Exeter, some three miles distant. Toward evenino; thev were attacked, four of their number killed, three taken prisoners, and one escaped.^'
On the following day, the Connecticut people rallied under the command of Colonel Zebulon Butler, and marched to Exeter, where the murders had been committed. They found the remains of their comrades — scalped and otherwise mutilated. They w^ere removed and decently buried near Fort Jenkins, where a stone has since been erected to their memory. Not far from the spot where these dead bodies were found, Colonel Butler discovered two Indians, who were quietly watching for more victims among those whom they presumed would come to ascertain the fate of their murdered friends. They were instantly shot.
During the same day, Colonel John Butler, the commander of the British and Indians, took possession of Wintermoot's Fort — the Wintermoots having erected it on purpose for him, though they had studiously kept their design from their neighbors. That evening, Fort Jenkins surrendered to the enemy, four of the little garrison being slain, and three made prisoners. i
On Thursday, the 2d, Colonel John Butler sent a summons to Forty Fort, demanding its surrender. On the 3d, a demand was made for the surrender of all the forts, militia, and public property in the valley. The Connecticut people called a council of war, which, after an excited session, resolved not to comply with the summons. The only hope of saving the settlement from destruction, now lay in attacking and defeating the enemy. Accordingly, about noon. Col. Zebu-
* The names of the slain were James Hadsell, James Hadsell, Jr., Benjamin and Stukely Harding. Daniel Weller, John Gardiner, and Daniel Carr, were taken prisoners. The lad, John Harding, threw himself into the river and lay hid under the willows, while the Indians searched in vain for him.
346 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
Ion Butler, began to muster his little army for decisive action. It consisted of two hundred enrolled soldiers, and about seventy old men, boys, civil magistrates, and other volunteers. Among the latter were several exempt officers, judges, and professional men, who took their places in the ranks by the side of their neighbors. Between two and three o'clock, they took up the line of march toward Wintermoot's Fort, which, however, had been set on fire and abandoned by the enemy before the arrival of the Connecticut troops.
Arriving near the enemy's quarters, Colonel Z. Butler, drew up his men in the order of battle. On the right was Captain Bedlack's company, commanded by Colonel Butler, who was supported by Major John Garrett. On the extreme left, was Captain Whittlesey's company, commanded by Colonel Denison and Lieutenant-Colonel Dorrance. Colonel Butler made a brief and pertinent address to the soldiers, reminding them of the wrongs they had suffered in the past, and of the calamities which threatened the future ; he told them that they had not only to fight for liberty, but for life — and what was dearer still, "to preserve their homes from con- flagration, and their women and children from the tomahawk." In conclusion, he urged upon them the importance of with- standing the first shock.
The enemy's left was commanded by Colonel John Butler, who appeared on the ground with a handkerchief tied round his head. A flanking-party of Indians were concealed among some logs and bushes under the bank. The main body of the Indians, under Brandt, formed the right wing. Johnson's royal greens and marksmen, formed the centre.
The battle commenced at about four o'clock, when Colo- nel Z. Butler commanded his men to fire, and at every volley advance one step. The discharges were quick and steady along the whole line. It soon became apparent that in the open ground the shot of the Yankees told with the most fatal effect. Our men now moved briskly forward, firing by platoons at short intervals, yet with sure aim. This fire proved so deadly that the British soon broke and gave way
[1778.] FALL OF DURKEE. 847
along the whole line. Still, the Indian flanking-party kept up a galling fire from their safe covert, upon the right wing of the Connecticut troops. Lieutenant Gore soon received a ball through the left arm, and instantly called out in a tone of alarm, "Captain Durkee, look sharp for the Indians in those bushes." The caution was too late. As the hero stood coolly looking into the thicket, designing to attack and dislodge them, he was struck by a fatal shot and fell to the ground. His death was a severe blow to Wyoming, and to Connecticut. He was a brother of Colonel John Durkee, one of the prime agents in preparing the way for the revolu- tion, and one of the most active partizans who participated in it. The name will never be forgotten while the word "stamp master" has a meaning in it.
On the enemy's right, meanwhile, the Indian warriors that covered his flank, though hotly opposed by our troops, fought like so many demons. They were divided into six parties, and as one of them uttered the horrible war-cry. five other yells were heard, like vollies of musketry, though a thousand times more appalling, passing from one end to the other of his line. As the battle grew more intense, the yell became louder and more piercing. It served the purpose of a trum- pet to sound the onset, and as a signal by which they com- municated with each other. Near the spot where Colonel Dorrance stood, one of the soldiers, seeing several of his companions drop dead by his side, began to fall back. " Stand up to your work, sir," said the colonel, in a tone of calm authority. The man instantly returned to his place.
The battle had lasted thirty minutes before it was apparent to the Connecticut officers how overwhelming was the force of the enemy. A large number of Indians had been thrown" into a swamp, and had now passed around so as to outflank the American left wing and throw it into disorder. To remedy this difficulty, Captain Whittlesey, with his company, was commanded to wheel backward, form an angle with the main line, and present his front instead of his flank to the
848 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
enemy. As soon as the attempt was made to carry this order into effect, the Indians rushed upon them with frightful yells. This sudden sally, and a real or pretended misunderstanding as to Colonel Denison's orders, threw the whole left wing into dismay. The word "retreat !" was passed from rank to rank. The brave old Colonel Butler exerted himself to the utmost to bring the troops again into line. Riding up and down the space between the two armies, he called out in a tone of earnest expostulation :
"Don't leave me, my children, and the victory is ours." But the appeal came too late. On the left wing, however, the Americans still stood their ground. One captain after an- other led up his men, and in every instance the commander was killed on or near the line. As was said of Bidlack, so of Hewitt, Whittlesey, and others, " they fell at the head of their men." All fought bravely ; but they were overcome by a force of three times their number.
The battle being over, the massacre, so awful in its details, commenced. The Indian flanking-party having cut off the retreat to Forty Fort, the fugitives rushed toward the river in the direction of Monockasy Island — that being the only point that offered them any hope of crossing the stream. A few who leapt in, succeeded in reaching the opposite bank, and escaped ; many others were killed while struggling in the river. Sergeant Jeremiah Bigford, a very active man, was pursued by an Indian into the stream, with a spear. The former turned upon his pursuer, struck the spear from his hand, and dashed him under his feet. At this instant, another savage rushed forward, and ran his spear through Bigford's body, who fell dead and floated down the stream. A soldier named Pensil hid in a cluster of willow^s on the island. Seeing his tory brother come up, he threw himself at his feet, begging for protection and offering to serve him for life, if he would but save him. "Mighty well!" was the taunting reply ; " you d — d rebel !" and instantly shot him dead. Lieutenant Shoemaker, a w^ealthy and hospitable citizen, fled to the river, when Windecker, who had often fed
[1778.]
ESTHER THE EXECUTIONER. 849
at his board, came to the brink. "Come out, come out," said he ; "you know I will protect you." Windecker reached out his left hand as if to lead him ashore, while with his right hand he buried his tomahawk into the head of his benefactor.
Many of the retreating troops were tempted to the shore, on a promise of quarter, and were there murdered. The keen Indian marksmen singled out the officers, taking aim with such accuracy as to break the thigh bone, and thus leave their victims alive for torture. One of the wounded prisoners, the brave Captain Bidlack, was thrown upon the burning logs of the fort, and held down with pitchforks, and there tormented till death came to his relief. A large group were ranged in the form of a circle around a huge stone, and hemmed in by a party of savages. Esther, an Indian queen — a woman of remarkable strength — acted the part of executioner. Pass- ine: around the ring with a death-maul or tomahawk in her hand, and keeping time with her discordant voice to the deadly strokes of the weapon that she wielded, she selected her victims and dashed out their brains, or buried the edge of the tomahawk deep in the heads of others, as best suited the whim of the moment. Three of the stoutest prisoners dashed through the outer circle and escaped unhurt into the woods. The shattered remnants of fourteen or fifteen dead bodies, scalped and bleeding around the stone, told the fate of the rest. Nine more were found in a similar circle some distance above.
Young Searle, aged sixteen, and William Buck, aged four- teen, fled and were pursued. Searle, almost exhausted, heard some one of his pursuers cry out, " Stop — you shall have quarter — we won't hurt you." He paused, and for an instant was determined to surrender, but on looking back, he saw Buck struck dead by a blow from a tomahawk. Fear once more impelled his flight, and he escaped.
Although night put an end to the pursuit, yet it did not arrest the hand of the destroyer. Three of the settlers, attracted by fires in the woods on the opposite side of the
850 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT
river, at Pittston, paused for a while in the distance, and witnessed the process of torture. Several naked men, in the midst of the flames, were driven around a stake by the savages, who stood ready with their spears to thrust their victims back if they attempted to escape from the fierce element. Their groans and screams were most piteous, while the shouts and yells of the Indians as they danced around the funeral pyre, were too horrible to be endured. Heart-sick, the spectators withdrew, glad that they knew not who the sufferers were.
In the morning, the battle-field presented a fearful sight. Limbs and bodies torn in fragments were scattered over the ground, mangled and half consumed. About one hundred and sixty of the Connecticut people had been slain — or more than half of all the able-bodied men in the valley. The loss of the enemy was never known.*
* The following list of persons killed at the " Wyoming massacre," is copied from Mr. Miner's " History of Wyoming," pp. 242, 244. There were probably some thirty or forty others whose names are not remembered.
Lieutenant-Colonel George Dorranee ; Major John Garrett.
Captains — Robert Durkee, Dethick Hewitt, Aholiab Buck, Wm. McKarrican, Samuel Ransom, James Bidlack, Jr., Asaph Whittlesey, Rezin Geer, Lazarus Stewart.
Lieutenants — James Welles, Timothy Pierce, Flavins Waterman, Aaron Gay- lord, Lazarus Stewart, Jr., Perrin Ross, Asa Stephens, Elijah Shoemaker, Stod- dard Bowen, A. Atherton.
Ensigns — Asa Gore, William White, Silas Gore, Jeremiah Bigford, Titus Hinman.
Privates — Christopher Avery, Jabez Atherton, Acke, A. Benedict, Jabez
Beers, Elisha Bigsbee, Thomas Brown, Amos Bullock, Asa Bullock, John Brown, David Bigsbree, John Boyd, Joseph Budd, William Buck, Samuel Bigford, Henry Bush, Samuel Carey, Samuel Cole, Joseph Crocker, John Cortright, John Caldwell, Josiah Cameron, Robert Comstock, Kingsley Comstock, Samuel Crooker, William Coffrin, Joel Church, Joseph Corey, Isaac Campbell, James CofFrin, Christopher Cortright, Jenks Corey, Rufus Corey, Anson Corey, Ander- son Dana, Dutcher, Jabez Darling, William Dunn, D. Denton, Levi Dunn,
James Divine, George Downing, Conrad Davenport, Thomas Fuller, Stephen Fuller, Elisha Fish, Eliphalet Folet, Benjamin Finch, Daniel Finch, John Finch, Cornelius Fitchet, Thomas Foxen, John Franklin, George Gore, Silas Gore, Samuel Hutchinson, James Hopkins, Silas Harvey, William Hammer, Levi Hicks, John Hutchins, Cyprian Hibbard, Nathaniel Howard, Benjamin Hatch,
[1778.] SUFFERINGS OF THE FUGITIVES. 851
On the evening of the 3d of July, Captain John Franklin arrived at Forty Fort, with a company of recruits from Hun- tingdon and Salem, numbering about thirty-five men. After a long consultation, it was determined to gather all the sur- viving settlers and their families into Forty Fort, to send to VVilkesbarre for the cannon, and to make the best defense they could. Upon the return of a messenger on the morning of the 4th, who brought intelligence that the people had fled in every direction, and that all was con- sternation and horror in that quarter, these measures were deemed impracticable. All now resolved to seek for safety in flight.
I need not stop to give the details of the sufferings, priva- tions, and sorrows that followed the fugitives in their journey through the wilderness. The dense forests and swamps that surrounded the valley of Wyoming, were teeming with the widowed women and fatherless children of the pioneers, who were wending their way back toward Connecticut, with blighted hopes and broken hearts. Very few of their num- ber were provided with the food and clothing requisite for so long a journey through an uninhabited country. In the "old war path," in one company, there were about one hundred women and children, with but a single man, Jonathan Fitch, Esq., high sheriff', to advise or aid them. Children were born,
Elijah Inman, Israel Inman, Robert Melntire, Samuel Jackson, Robert Jameson, Joseph Jennings, Henry Johnson, Francis Lepard, Daniel Lawrence, Joshua Landon, Conrad Lowe, Jacob Lowe, James Locke, William Lawrence, A, Meele- man, C. McCartee, Job Marshall, Nicholas Manvill, John Murphy, Nero Mat- thewson, Andrew Millard, Thomas Niel, Joseph Ogden, J. Otis Abel Palmer, William Parker, Noah Pettibone, Jr., John Pierce, Silas Parke, Henry Pensil, Elias Roberts, Elisha Richards, Timothy Rose, Christopher Reynolds, Enos Rock- way, Jeremiah Ross, Joseph Staples, Reuben Staples, Aaron Stark, Daniel Stark, Darius SpafFord, Joseph Shaw, Abram Shaw, Rufus Stevens, Constant Searles, Nailer Swede, James Stevenson, James Spencer, Levi Spencer, Eleazer Sprague, Josiah Spencer, Able Seeley, Ichabod Tuttle, John Vanwee, Abram Vangorder, James Wigton, Peter W^heeler, Jonathan Weeks, Philip Weeks, Bartholomew Weeks, Rufus Williams, Elihu AVilliams, Jr., Parker W^ilson, Azibah Williams, John Wilson, John Ward, Esen Wilcox, Stephen Whiton, Elihu Waters, John \Villiams, William Wootlward, Ozias Yale.
352 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
and many died in a swamp which is still known by the appro- priate name of the "Shades of Death."* Many of them ultimately reached the favored land of their destination, and lived to tell the sad tale of Wyoming to their children and their children's children.
On the morning of the 4th, Fort Brown and Forty Fort were surrendered by their commanders to Colonel John But- ler, on terms of fair capitulation. After the articles were signed, Butler observed, "that as Wyoming was a frontier, it was wrong for any part of the inhabitants to leave their own settlements, and enter into the continental army abroad; that such a number having done so, was the cause of the invasion, and that it never would have been attempted, if the men had remained at home." Colonel Franklin, who heard this declaration, expressed the same opinion.
Soon after the surrender, the savages began to plunder the prisoners — breaking open boxes and trunks, scattering and destroying valuable papers and records, brandishing their tom- ahawks, and threatening the owners with death, if they did not give up the money or other valuables that they might have about their persons. Growing bolder and more insolent, they finally seized Colonel Denison, and taking the hat from his head, demanded the linen frock that he wore. In the pocket were a few dollars of public money, which he was desirous
* Mr. Miner, in his " History of Wyoming," gives many painful instances of suf- fering and death experienced by the fugitives, " Jabez Fish, who was in the battle, escaped ; but, not being able to join his family ,was supposed to have fallen. Mrs. Fish hastened with her children through the wilderness. Overcome with fatigue and want, her infant died. Sitting down a moment, on a stone, to see it breathe its last, she gazed in its face with unutterable anguish. There was no way to dig a grave — and to leave it to be devoured by wolves, seemed worse than death ; so she took the dead babe in her arms and carried it twenty miles, when she came to a German settlement. Though poor, they gave her food ; made a box for the child, attended her to the graveyard, and decently buried it."
" Mrs. Rogers, from Plymouth, an aged woman, flying with her family, over- come by fatigue and sorrow, fainted in the wilderness, twenty miles from human habitation. She could take no nourishment, and soon died. They made a grave in the best manner they could, and the next day nearly exhausted, came to a settlement of Germans, who treated them with great kindness."
[1778.] THE INDIANS MUKDER THE CAPTIVES. 853
of preserving from the hands of the Indians ; he accordingly stepped backward, pretending to have some difficulty in slip- ping the garment over his head. A young woman sitting near, comprehended the maneuvre, and adroitly took out the purse without being noticed by the savage spectators. Again and again. Colonel Denison and others remonstrated with Butler, telling him that the prisoners had capitulated relying upon the honor of a British officer. He commanded the In- dians to stop their depredations, and gave peremptory orders to the chief; "These are your Indians — you must restrain them." His directions and threats were of no avail ; and he finally declared that he could do nothing with them. He seemed to be, and doubtless was, offended and hurt that such outrages should be committed, in violation of his plighted faith and positive orders.*
Without going farther into the details of the massacre, it is sufficient to add that in many instances, women, children and infants were murdered. The valley was deserted, and nearly every house and barn was burnt. The entire region presented a scene of devastation and ruin. The bodies of the slain lay unburied until the 22d of October, when a mili-
* Miner's Hist, of Wyoming, 231 — 237. Nearly all the historians of the revo- lution have agreed in branding the name of Colonel John Butler with infamy ; but according to Miner's accovmt of him, his great fault was in heading such an infamous expedition. The terms of the capitulation were regarded by Colonel Denison, as in a high degree honorable and favorable to him. According to the testimony of Colonel Franklin, Butler exerted himself to his utmost to restrain the savages ; and when he found himself unable to do so, he offered to make good the property lost. Among the stores at Forty Fort was a quantity of whiskey which he at once ordered to be destroyed, giving as a reason that if the Indians became intoxicated he feared he could not control them. Finding that his authority was set at naught, he mustered all his force whom discipline could control, and on Wednesday, the 8th, withdrew from the plains. Mr. Miner expresses the belief that he was sickened by the tortures already committed, dreaded the further cruelties of the Indians, and desired by his absence to escape the responsibility of their future conduct.
In 1795, the American commissioners appointed to treat with the six nations, accepted an invitation from Colonel Butler, crossed over to Canada, and dined with him. He was then Indian agent in Canada, with a salary of about £500 per nnnum. He received for himself and family, ten thousand acres of land.
55
354 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
tary guard of twenty-five men, under the direction of a lieu- tenant, two sergeants, and two corporals, collected their remains, dug a large hole, and buried them — constant alarm from the enemy preventing any further ceremony.
The Connecticut people soon re-established a fort in the valley, and a few families returned to the scene of their troubles, rebuilt their log-houses, and proceeded to cultivate the fields. The Indians, however, looking down upon the plains from the sides of the adjacent mountains, watched eagerly for their prey. Individuals and sometimes whole families became their victims. The distant sound of the warwhoop often blended with the voice that recited some story of murder and carnage around the blazing hearth of the pioneer. Some were shot and scalped while at work in the fields or in the woods ; at other times, the dwelling of the settler was assaulted in the night, the cattle killed, the house burnt, and the family carried into captivity.* It might reasonably be inferred that the events of 1778 would
* On the 2d of November, 1778, the house of Jonathan Slocum, a member of tiie Society of Friends, and who had alwaj^s treated the Indians with kindness, was assaulted by a party of savages. Nathan Slocum, his son, aged fifteen years, was killed and scalped ; Frances Slocum, a lad named Kingsley, and a black girl, were carried into captivity. On the 16th of December following, Mr. Slocum was shot and scalped.
The loss of little Frances, who was a favorite in the family, was especially mourned by her mother and surviving brothers and sisters. Through a long series of years, every possible effort was made to find her. Her brothers, at different times, hearing of a white child among the ludians, took long and tedious journeys, hoping to restore her to the bereaved family circle. At length, in August, 1837 — > fifty-nine years after the capture — G. W. Ewing, of Logansport, Indiana, wrote to the editor of the Lancaster (Pa.) Intelligencer, that there was a white woman residing among the Miami Indians, near that place, who had been taken away from her father's house near the Susquehannah, when she was very young, &c. The statement induced Joseph and Isaac Slocum, (brothers of Frances,) to make a visit t^ Logansport. Accompanied by Mr. Ewing, they went to see the woman in question, and soon ascertained that she was indeed their long lost sister! She had married a chief, and lived in the enjoyment of the rude wealth of her tribe. She was cautious, reserved, and haughty ; but at last, as she talked of her father and mother (whom she well remembered,) her heart melted, and she wept. The brothers spent several days at Logansport, and received several visits from her. She refused to leave her Indian home.
[1782.] THE COMMISSIONERS. 355
have effectually put an end to the settlement of Wyoming — at least until the war of the revolution should be over. But the New England spirit of enterprise and love of adventure seemed to defy danger and death in all their forms. Espe- cially after the victorious expedition of General Sullivan against the Indians on the Susquehannah, the tide of emigra- tion to that country was renewed. Under the leadership of Colonel Zebulon Butler, Colonel John Franklin, and other brave and experienced officers, they banded together for mutual self-protection, and not only performed wonders in defending themselves, but did good service to their country elsewhere. Until the peace between England and America, the valley was frequently visited by savage hordes, who amused themselves by plundering or destroying the property of the settlers, and some times by resorting to their favorite pastime of scalping, murdering, or torturing their victims.
The revolution being ended, the old feud between the set- tlers from Connecticut and the government of Pennsylvania, was revived. On the 3d of November, 1781 — only fifteen days after the surrender of Cornwallis — the subject was brought before Congress. During the winter both parties were busily employed in the preliminary measures relating to the contest ; and it was finally agreed that the subject of jurisdiction should be left to a board of commissioners, to be selected by the delegates from the two states.* A majority of the board opened their court at Trenton, New Jersey, November 12, 1782. Messrs. Eliphalet Dyer, William Samuel Johnson, and Jesse Root, appeared as counsel for Connecticut; and Messrs. William Bradford, Joseph Reed, James Wilson, and Jonathan D. Sergeant, were the agents of Pennsylvania.
On Monday, December 30, 1782, after a session of forty-
* The commissioners finally agreed upon were, lion. William Whipple, of New Hampshire, Hon. AVelcome Arnold, of Rhode Island, Hon. David Erearly, and Wm. Churchill Houston, esqrs., of New Jersey, Hon. Cyrus Griffin, Joseph Jones, esqrs., and Thomas Nelson, of Virginia.
856 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
one judicial days, the court gave their decision in these words :
"We are unanimously of opinion that Connecticut has no right to the lands in controversy.
" We are unanimously of opinion, that the jurisdiction and pre-emption of all the territory lying within the charter of Pennsylvania, and now claimed by the state of Connecticut, do of right belong to the state of Pennsylvania."*
This decision, so explicitly and clearly expressed, put an end to the jurisdiction of Connecticut over the disputed terri- tory on the Susquehannah. The controversy between the settlers and the Pennsylvania government, however, was not to be quieted by the summary decree of Trenton. They felt that there was no reason or justice in thus surrender- ing them to the jurisdiction of their sworn and bitter enemies, not only without their consent, but without even being consulted. As the right of property in the lands which they had fairly purchased, and which their valor had so long defended, had not been decided by the commissioners, they knew that they were liable to be ejected from their homes whenever it might suit the interests or caprice of Pennsylvania. Notwithstanding a very humble and loyal petition to the legislature of Pennsylvania, had been drawn up and signed by some of the citizens of Wyoming, soon after the decision of the commissioners had been pro- mulgated, it would seem that a little time for reflection induced a large majority to resolve upon defending their rights, if need be, as they had long been in the habit of doing. The plausible proposals of the state commissioners, guardedly expressed as they were, they looked upon with suspicion and distrust. They knew their farms were claimed by others, and they reasonably enough presumed that the state com- missioners, as well as the legislature, who had long regarded them as outlaws, would be slow in meting out justice to them. Unaccustomed to conceal their true sentiments either through fear or favor, their -Verbal and written com-
* Miner's Hist., p. 308.
[1783.] TERMS OF COMPROMISE. 357
munications with the emissaries of Pennsylvania were plain and honest.
On the 22d of April, 1783, the committee of the Penn- sylvania landholders sent an address to the state commis- sioners, "with their proposals of compromise." They say — "We are sorry to observe so much of the old leaven remain- ing in the people of Connecticut, and expressed in their last conference before your honors. Their humanity would, it seems, permit us and our associates to go anywhere over the wide world, no matter where, provided they may enjoy our lands ; they cannot conveniently spare us one foot for the support of our families. We think this an ungrateful return to the good people of the state, and far short of the expecta- tions of the legislature, whose humanity and pity alone pro- posed to consign to oblivion all past offences, by a law for that purpose." They then proceed to give their " terms of compromise," which are summed up as follows :
1st. Pledges to be given by the settlers, such as could not admit of denial or evasion, for their obedience.
2d. A disclaimer in writing, publicly, plainly, and unequivo- cally given, of all claims to the lands held under title from Con- necticut.
3d. The settler to take a lease of half his farm, for about eleven months, giving up possession at once of the other half. On the 1st of April following, he is to abandon his claims, home, and possession, to his adversary.
4th. The widows of those who had fallen by the savages, to be indulged in half their possessions a year longer.
5th. The Rev. Mr. Johnson, (the pastor,) to be allowed to occupy his grounds (under disclaimer and lease,) for two years.*
The committee of settlers, after suggesting that they do not think " the lawful defense of what they esteemed to be their own, can with any justice be termed a disaffection to government," added :
"As we conceive that the proposals of the committee,
* Hist, of Wyoming, p. 324, 325.
858 HISTOEY OF CONNECTICUT.
which they offer as a compromise, will not tend to peace, as they are so far from what we deem reasonable, we cannot comply with them without doing the greatest injustice to ourselves and associates, to widows and fatherless children. And although we mean to pay due obedience to the constitu- tional laws of Pennsylvania, we do not mean to become abject slaves, as the committee of landholders suggest in their address to your honors/'
The commissioners forthwith divided Wyoming into three towns, naming the two new ones Stoke and Shawnese. They appointed eight justices of the peace — only one of whom, (Colonel Denison,) had for years been an inhabitant of Westmoreland. Having been nine days in the valley, they withdrew on the 24th of April, and made their report to the Assembly, which convened early in August. They recommended that a reasonable compensation of lands, in the western part of the state, should be made to the families of those who had fallen in arms against the common enemy; and the same to such other settlers under the Connecticut title as "did actually reside on the lands at the time of the decree at Trenton, provided they immediately relinquish all claim to the soil where they now inhabit, and enter into con- tracts to deliver up full and quiet possession of their present tenures, to the rightful owners under Pennsylvania, by the first of April next."
The assembly of Pennsylvania confirmed the doings of the commissioners, and applauded the terms proposed to the Con- necticut people as "generous offers." Captain Patterson, a bitter enemy of the settlers, having been appointed the special agent of the state, took up his abode in the valley, and with two companies of Pennsylvania militia to enforce his orders, he commenced his arbitrary rule. These soldiers were quar- tered upon the settlers ; and in some cases where special oppression was designed, eight or ten were quartered upon a single family. As Colonel Butler had been conspicuous in his opposition to Pennsylvania, twenty were thrust upon him, notwithstanding his wife was ill, and his accommodations
[1783.]
NEW PROCESS OF EJECTMENT. 359
very limited. The soldiers were extremely insolent, and they were protect-ed in their flagrant outrages by the agent. Colonel Butler and Captain Franklin were arrested and sent to jail — the latter, for trespass, in attempting to cultivate his lands.*
The settlers petitioned the assemblies of Pennsylvania and Connecticut, as well as Congress, for redress, without any effectual remedy.f To add to their distresses, an unprece- dented flood occurred in March, which, in the vicinity of the village of Wilkesbarre, swept off many houses, barns, stacks of hay and grain, and in some instances cattle and horses.
With the opening of spring followed scenes that defy description. The soldiers were set to work in April, to remove the fences of the settlers, and lay out the lands accord- ing to the surveys of Pennsylvania. The old highways were fenced up, and new ones opened far away from the houses of the settlers. The inhabitants were not allowed to obtain water from their wells, draw their nets for fish, cut a stick of timber, or provide shelters for their families. On the 13th and 14th of May, the soldiery went forth, and at the point of the bayonet dispossessed one hundred and fifty families, in many instances setting fire to their dwellings. Unable to resist such a force, they appealed to the law for protection; but the magistracy shielded the oflTenders. The scenes that followed the massacre were re-enacted in the vicinity of Wyoming. Five hundred men, women and children — infants in their mothers' arms, and old men on crutches — were
* Colonel Zebulon was born in Lyme, Conn., in 1731 ; lie served as a captain in the old French war •, and emigrated to Wyoming in 1769. His subsequent career as the military leader of the settlement is well known. He died, July 28, 1795, aged sixty-four.
+ As the claim of Connecticut to the jurisdiction of Wyoming had been officially declared void, of course her assembly could afford no relief in the premises. In Congress, on motion of Mr. Jefferson, chairman of the committee, it was resolved, Jan. 23, 1784, " That a court, under the ninth article of the confederation, should be raised, to try and determine the private right of soil, as derived from Pennsyl- vania and Connecticut." A spirited remonstrance from the Pennsylvania assem- bly, adopted in February, arrested further proceedings.
360 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
driven from the valley. As the paths they were compelled to take v^^ere impassable for w^agons, most of the crowd traveled on foot — wading streams and sleeping on the naked earth. Several died in the forests, and others were taken sick, and only lived to reach the settlements. After a journey of seven days, they arrived at a town on the Delaware, from which point they diverged.
The treatment of the settlers produced an intense feeling wherever the facts became known. An appeal was made in their behalf to the Pennsylvania legislature, and that body ordered the instant dismissal of the troops that had been stationed in the valley. Sheriff Antis hastened to Wyoming, and dispatched messengers after the exiles, promising them his protection if they would return. A large part of them did return, but it was only to suffer a repetition of their former troubles. The sheriff found his authority powerless ; the houses and lands of the returning fugitives were in possession of Pennsylvanians, who refused to yield them up ; and the iron rule of Patterson was still unbroken. The Connecticut men once more rallied under the leadership of Captain John Franklin, their old and tried favorite. Civil war again crimsoned those fair fields with blood. As, however, the valley had ere this ceased to be a part of Connecticut, I cannot follow its history in detail any further.
The contest continued to rage for several years, and fre- quent collisions took place between the contending parties. In spite of the persecuting spirit manifested by Pennsylvania, emigrants from New England occasionally found their way into the valley. The Connecticut settlers and their associates increased in number and influence ; and their cause found manv earnest advocates in distant states. In 1787, General Ethan Allen, of Vermont, ever a firm friend of the oppressed, visited Wyoming ; and, though his purposes were not divulged, "it was not doubted that his object was to reconnoitre, and concert measures for early and decisive action."* By this time, the great design of the party in Wyoming and their
* Miner's Hist, of "Wyoming, p. 412.
COLONEL PICKERING IN RETIREMENT. 861
friends abroad, was declared to be, Xo form a neiv state in the valley of the Susquehannah. After suffering and enduring so much from the government of Pennsylvania, it is not impossi- ble that the settlers had at last conceived the idea of severing their connection with it, and asserting their claim to be a free and independent state.* Upon this charge, at all events, Colonel Franklin was forcibly seized in September, and car- ried to Philadelphia, where, after a long imprisonment on a charge of treason, he was released on bail, and the prosecu- tion was finally abandoned. f
Colonel Pickering, one of the Pennsylvania commissioners, was known to have participated in the arrest of Franklin, and it was suspected that it was through his influence that he was so long kept in prison. By way of retaliation, on the night of June, 1783, a party of settlers proceeded to the house of Colonel Pickering, seized him and carried him off as a hostage for Colonel Franklin. They retained him for nine- teen days, during which time, four companies of militia, a troop of horse, and the sheriff and posse, were almost con- stantly engaged in searching for him. His keepers eluded the vigilance of the officers, by carrying their prisoner with them from place to place, as circumstances dictated. They finally released him voluntarily. Rewards were offered for the arrest of fne persons who were engaged in the abduction of Colonel Pickering. Some of them were arrested, tried, and convicted ; four were fined twenty shillings, and sentenced to be imprisoned for six months, nine were fined one hundred dollars each, and one was fined fifty dollars. Nearly all who were imprisoned were allowed to escape immediately after court adjourned. J
* According to the testimony introduced into the "History of Wyoming," a constitution for the new state had been actually drawn up by Oliver "VYolcott, and it was understood that Major William Judd, of Farmington, Conn., was to be the first governor, and Colonel John Franklin, lieutenant-governor.
t Colonel Franklin w^as born in Canaan, Conn,, in 1749. He was a represen- tative in the legislatures of Pennsylvania and Connecticut 5 high sheriff of the county of Luzerne 5 judge of the county court, &c. He died March 1st, 1831, aged eighty-two years.
X Colonel Timothy Pickering, was one of the most remarkable men of his day.
362 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
Compromising and confirming laws were at length passed by the legislature of Pennsylvania, under which the Con- necticut settlers were allowed to retain their farms, and peace and harmony were restored.
I have thus recited a few only of the sickening details that have given the loveliest of all the towns of Connecticut the strange fascination that belongs to human sorrow. The massacre that has given the valley such a fearful interest to the reader of American history, was the most signal of all the butcheries that have been perpetrated upon the citizens of Connecticut under the sanction of the British flag, not only on account of the agents used in consummating it, but because women, children, and helpless infancy, were sacrificed upon a common field.
But the fate of Wyoming has not remained unhonored and unsung. Wherever the language that proclaims the con- quering power of the blood that flows in our veins, is spoken or read, the same page that records the cruelty of British rule and the sharpness of the British sword, tells the world of the sorrowing pity of the British muse, in the tale of " Gertrude OF Wyoming."
He was successively postmaster-general, secretary of war, secretary of state, mem- ber of Congress, and United States Senator from Massachusetts. He died in Salem, Mass., Jan. 29, 1829, in the eighty-fourth year of his age.
CHAPTER XVI.
BRMDITVINE, GERMANTOWN, AND HORSE-NECK
In tracing the history of the Connecticut settlements on the Susquehannah, it was found necessary, in order to a proper understanding and final disposal of the subject, to anticipate somewhat the chronological data previously observed in my general narrative of events. The reader will now go back with me to the autumn and winter of 1777.
While the northern army under Schuyler and Gates were pursuing those measures which, as we have seen, resulted in the capture of Burgoyne, the army under Washington had not been idle. On the 11th of September, the battle of the Brandy wine was fought between the Americans under Wash- ington, Greene, Sullivan, Wayne, Lincoln, Lafayette, and Pulaski, and the British commanded by Howe, Cornwallis, Grey, Knyphausen, Mathew, and Agnew. The action proved disastrous to the Americans — their loss in killed, wounded and prisoners, being estimated at twelve or thirteen hundred.* The loss of the British was from six to seven hundred. Among the wounded was the Marquis de Lafayette, who had recently arrived in this country with several other French officers. t
The American army retired to Chester, and the next day to Philadelphia. After the removal of the magazines, public stores, and much private property. Congress adjourned to Lancaster, and the city was evacuated by the Americans. Howe soon entered the city, but the bulk of the British army
* Gordon, ii. 226.
+ The services of Lafayette had been secured by Mr. Silas Deane, of Connec- ticut, who had been sent to France as the secret agent of Congress. Though Mr. Deane was censured for going beyond the strict line of his instructions, it cannot be denied that his agency in that country resulted in great good to our cause.
BQ4: HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
still remained at Germantown, about ten miles distant. Washington had encamped near the Schuylkill, some fourteen miles from Germantown, where he was reinforced by the Maryland and New Jersey militia. Learning that two or three detachments of the British were absent from camp, Washington determined to improve the opportunity by attacking the main body of the army who still remained at their quarters near Germantown. Accordingly he set out with his troops, and, after marching nearly all night, arrived at the place of his destination about sunrise, on the morning of the 4th of October. The enemy were taken entirely by surprise, and at the commencement of the engagement the Americans anticipated an easy victory. The morning was so dark and foggy, however, that the officers were not able to know their own position or that of the British. They were also entirely ignorant of the quarters of several divisions of the enemy, and consequently knew not where to make an attack, except upon the troops that con- fronted them in the street. For awhile the Americans were successful; but by the arrival on the ground of reinforce- ments from the British quarters, the tide of victory was soon turned. Our forces were now compelled to retreat, and were closely pursued by the British, for a distance of five miles, and a few continued the chase for twice that distance. Most of our army found their way back to their encampment on the Schuylkill. The British loss in this battle was about six hundred ; that of the Americans was not less than one thousand, including four hundred who were taken prisoners. In both of these battles, Connecticut bore an active and hon- orable part. Colonel Heman Swift was present with his regi- ment, and did good service.* Other Connecticut officers and men participated in those unfortunate actions. Lieut. James Morris, of Litchfield, a highly meritorious officer, commanded
* The regiments of Colonels Swift and Bradley were raised in the western part of Connecticut. Of one company David Strong, of Sharon, was appointed lieutenant, and he enlisted several recruits — one of whom, David Goodrich, of that town, was killed at the battle of Brandywme. Sedgwick's Hist, of Sharon.
[1777.] LIEUTENANT JAMES MORRIS. 865
the company that led one of the columns in the first attack at Germantown, and consequently was in the rear in the retreat. He was pursued ten miles, before he was taken prisoner.* Major Benjamin Tallmadge was a field officer at Brandy wine and at Germantown.
While the British remained in full possession of Phila- delphia, Washington sent off Lieutenant-Colonel Smith, of the Maryland line, with two hundred men, to take possession of the fort on Mud Island, a little below the city, at the junction of the Delaware and Schuylkill,
*The following petition from Lieutenant (afterwards Captain) Moi'ris, and a brother officer, is well worthy of preservation :
" To His Excellency Sir "William Howe, K. B., general and commander-in- chief of his majesty's foi'ces in America.
" The memorial of James Morris, lieutenant in the fourth Connecticut regiment, and Samuel Mills, quarter-master to the said troops, in the second regiment of American cavalry — humbly sheweth —
" That your excellency's memorialists being now prisoners of war confined in the new jail— the first captivated at Germantown, on the 4th of October last, and ever since that time has been in confinement, the latter captivated on the loth of . December ult., at which time he received several wounds and had the privilege of his parole in this city, but is now and has been for some time past in confinement. Your excellency's memorialists entreat that their present situation and circum- stances might be taken into consideration, when, after so long a confinement, and if continued, especially at this season of the year, will probably impair their health if not put an end to their lives. Also, they being at a great distance from their homes, both belonging to the state of Connecticut, from which cause they cannot receive such supplies as are necessary.
" Your excellency's memorialists request that he would in his clemency grant them their parole (which they will sacredly keep,) to retire into the country to their respective homes, until such time as they shall be regularly exchanged, or remain in the country for any period of time your excellency shall be pleased to appoint. If this cannot be granted, they crave an indulgence of a parole to this city ; and if any further security be wanting than their parole of honor, they stand ready to produce it.
" Your excellency's indulgence will ever be acknowledged with gratitude. " By your Memorialists,
" James Morris, " Samuel Mills."
On the 1 6th of May, after being confined more than seven months, Lieutenant Morris was admitted on parole to board in a private family in the city.
Colonel Ephraim Kirby, of Litchfield, was wounded at GermantoviTi, and left for dead upon the field — but being taken care of by a friend, he recovered.
SQ6 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
which he effected. The second in command of this expedi- tion was Lieutenant-Colonel Russell, of the Connecticut line, who, when Colonel Smith was wounded, on the 11th of November, took the chief command of the garrison, and made a gallant defense. But as he had become worn out with fatigue and illness, he soon requested to be re-called, and Major Thayer, of the Rhode Island line, after being rein- forced, was appointed to the command. By the combined efforts of the British fleet, and of the artillery on shore, on the 15th of November the defenses were levelled with the ground after more than two hundred and fifty of the garri- son had been killed and wounded.*
At the October session of the General Assembly of Con- necticut, Messrs. Roger Sherman, Eliphalet Dyer, Oliver Wolcott, Samuel Huntington, Titus Hosmer, Oliver Ells- worth, and Andrew Adams, were appointed delegates to the General Congress. It was ordered that all the tents in the state should be immediately sent to the militia that had marched, or were about to march, to reinforce General Put- nam at Peekskill; also, that a sufficient number of canteens, kettles and pots, for fifteen hundred men, should be imme- diately sent to Peekskill, for the use of our soldiers there. f Provision was made for the payment of the wages and bounty of the officers and soldiers, and to supply them with the necessary food and clothing.
General Oliver Wolcott stated to the Assembly, that, upon the requisition of General Gates, he had, during the preced-
* Captain Nathan Stoddard, of Woodbury, was killed by a cannon ball during the siege, Nov. 15th, 1777. He had stepped upon the walls of the intrench- ment to see how the battle progressed, when the ball struck his head, cutting it entirely from his body. The late Lieutenant John Strong, of Woodbury, who was standing near him at the time, was wont to relate that, for a moment after the occurrence, the headless body of Captain Stoddard stood erect, as in life, before falling. Cothren's Hist.
t Jonathan Wells, in the first brigade, Elnathan Camp, in the second, Jonathan Deming, in the third, Wm. Hawley, in the fourth, Samuel Gray, in the fifth, and Lynde Lord, in the sixth brigade, were appointed a committee to provide the tents, pots, kettles and other utensils, for the use of General Putnam, and to forward them to him forthwith.
[1777.] VALLEY FORGE. 367
ing month, marched to the north with from three to four hundred of the miHtia of his brigade, together with a com- pany of light-horse, and a few of the thirteenth regiment of volunteers ; that with these troops he joined the continental army under General Gates, and continued in service until the capture of Burgoyne. He desired that the legislature would cancel certain obligations incurred during the cam- paign— which request was readily granted.*
Washington, previous to these battles, had sent to the High- lands for twelve hundred men ; and he soon learned that the posts, thus weakened, had fallen into the hands of the enemy. Early in December, he established his winter-quarters at Valley Forge, " a piece of high and strong ground on the south side of the Schuylkill, about twenty miles from Phila- delphia."t At this point, eleven thousand soldiers spent the winter, in log huts, which were arranged in rows like the streets of a city. The Connecticut troops shared, with their brothers from the other states, the destitution and rigors of that memorable winter. Half naked and bare-foot, beside being destitute of wholesome food, nearly three thousand soldiers were at one time reported as unfit for duty. For some time after the army retired to its winter-quarters. Major Tallmadge was stationed with a corps of dragoons between the two armies — a position which brought him into several conflicts with the enemy.
Previous to this date, Mr. Joseph Trumbull, the commis- sary-general of purchases, resigned his office, and was suc- ceeded by Colonel Jeremiah Wadsworth, also of Connecticut. General Mifflin soon after resigned the post of quarter-mas- ter-general. A new board of war was appointed, consisting of General Gates, Timothy Pickering, Joseph Trumbull, General Mifflin, and Richard Peters.
The difficulties experienced by Washington, while at Valley Forge, in procuring subsistence for his soldiers, was a just subject of complaint on his part, and on the part of the suf- ferers. The quarter-master's department was without a head,
* Ilinman, 296. f Ilildreth.
368 HISTOEY OF CONNECTICUT.
and was totally inefficient to supply the demands made upon it. The commander-in-chief was compelled to send out parties to seize corn and cattle wherever they could find them. Certificates were given of these seizures ; but their payment was often long delayed, and at last they were nom- inally cancelled by being paid for in depreciated continental bills — contrasting very unfavorably with the gold tendered by the British for all their purchases.*
Washington remonstrated not only to Congress, but to the states individually, and not altogether without effect. In accord- ance with the recommendation of Congress, a convention was held at New Haven, in January 1778, composed of delegates from the eight northern states, which agreed upon the scale of prices, in accordance to which provisions and clothing were to be paid for by the commissaries of the army.f Some of the state legislatures attempted to enforce the scale of prices thus agreed upon, but all efforts to that end proved fruitless. With the same object in view, recourse was had to internal embargoes, which resulted disastrously to commerce. J
The American army did not leave their winter-quarters until about the middle of May. On the 18th of June, the British evacuated Philadelphia, and having crossed the Dela- ware, took up their line of march through the Jerseys. Washington pursued and overtook them at Monmouth Court House, where on the 29th of June, the battle of Monmouth was fought. The disobedience of General Lee to the orders of the commander-in-chief, prevented the action from being a deci- sive one. The American loss in killed, wounded and otherwise disabled, was about two hundred ; that of the British, about three hundred, besides more than fifteen hundred desertions.
The occupation of Newport by the British had long been
* Hildreth, iii. 231,232.
t The commissioners or delegates from Connecticut to this convention, were Roger Sherman, Wm. Hillhouse, and Benjamin Huntington.
X Hildreth. Congress in June following, recommended to the several legisla- tures, the repeal of all laws regulating prices.
[1778.] THE SEA COAST. 369
a source of chagrin to many of the American officers. There were at this time six thousand men stationed there, com- manded by General Pigot; and a project was formed to capture them. An attempt upon Newport had been made the year before, by General Spencer, of Connecticut, but for various reasons the expedition had proved a failure.*
Sullivan had been appointed to the command of this second attempt to recover Rhode Island from the hands of the enemy. His call upon Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, for five thousand militia, to aid him in this enterprise, was promptly responded to ; and two brigades of continentals were sent on from the main army. The French fleet under D'Estaing, designed to cooperate with Sullivan, sailed from Sandy Hook early in August, bound for Newport.
On the 10th of August, the American army, ten thousand strong, landed near the north end of the island, in two divis- ions, one commanded by Greene, and the other by Lafayette. The four thousand French troops who, according to the plan agreed upon, were t^ have joined them, had been carried off to sea by D'Estaing, in a vain search for the British fleet. In spite of this disappointment, the Americans marched down the island, established themselves within two miles of the enemy's works, and opened a cannonade upon them. Having long waited in vain for the return of D'Estaing, Sullivan abandoned his lines, and retired at night. The enemy pur- sued him, and a sharp action ensued, in which he lost about two hundred men, and the British a still larger number. The Americans continued their retreat, and in a few days the British army was largely reinforced.
During this period, the legislature of the state and the council of war had been almost constantly in session. At the January session, 1778, several companies were directed to be raised for the defense of the sea coast. Of these, one
* Congress having manifested some ill feeling on account of this failure, Spen- cer resigned his commission. The people and government of Connecticut vindi- cated his course, by appointing him a member of the Council of Safety and a delegate to the General Congress.
56
870 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
hundred men were raised and stationed at New London. They consisted of a company of artillery commanded by Captain Nathaniel Saltonstall, and a company of musketry of which Adam Shapley was captain. The two corresponding companies stationed atGroton were commanded by William Ledyard and Oliver Coit. A company of musketry under the command of Captain Nathan Palmer, was ordered for the defense of Stonington. As these troops were entirely inadequte to the object contemplated, a regiment was raised expressly for the defense of the coast of New London county. Before they enlisted, however, Colonels Ely, Latimer, and Throop, and Majors Buel and Gallop, performed tours of duty with their respective regiments, at New London and Groton.* Twenty-four men, with a lieutenant, sergeant and corporal, were detailed for the defense of each of the towns of New Haven, Fairfield, Norwalk, Stamford, and Greenwich ; a company of twenty men, with the same officers, were ordered to Milford, and another to Saybrook.
In March, William Ledyard was appointed to the command of the posts at New London, Groton, and Stonington, with the rank and pay of major. Under his direction the works were repaired and enlarged.
Two brigades were ordered to be raised in the state— to consist of six battalions, each battalion to contain eight com- panies, and each company to contain ninety men. These troops were to hold themselves in constant readiness to march wherever they might be directed, at the shortest possible notice. Of these six battalions, Roger Enos, Thaddeus Cook, Samuel Mott, John Mead, Noadiah Hooker, and Sam- uel McLellan, were appointed colonels; Howell Woodbridge, James Arnold, Nathan Gallop, Ely Mygatt, Seth Smith, and Thomas Brown, lieutenant-colonels ; Abel Pease, Abraham Tyler, Joshua Huntington, Eleazer Curtis, Bezaleel Beebe, and Levi Welles, majors.
In May, an act was passed providing for the settlement of the estates of such persons as had voluntarily placed them-
* Caulkins' New London, p. 526 ; Hinman, p. 300.
[1779.] CONFISCATION ACTS. 371
selves under the protection of the British, or had voluntarily- joined with or assisted the enemy — authorizing the confisca- tion of their property to the use of the state in certain con- tingencies. Two regiments of seven hundred and twenty- eight men each, including officers, together with three com- panies of light dragoons, were ordered to be forthwith raised, to be subject to the direction of the governor and council of war. To meet these and other extraordinary expenses, the governor was authorized to borrow £100,000, on an annual interest of six per cent. A corps of thirty men, exclusive of officers, was directed to be enlisted to act as a guard to the continental stores and public offices in Hartford.
In October, Colonel Enos' regiment of state troops was sent to guard the sea coast in the south-western part of the state. Provision was also made for the defense of the whole line of the coast from Stratford to Stonington.
At the session in January, 1779, an order was laid before the Assembly from Congress, notifying the state that her pro- portion of the public debt and expenses of the general gov- ernment to the close of the year 1779, had been fixed at one million seven hundred thousand dollars ; with an intimation that her quota of the six millions of dollars annually for eighteen successive years would be soon determined according to the articles of confederation. Although the assembly adjudged the amount named to be more than her just proportion, mea- sures were taken to raise the money. A tax was levied of three shillings on a pound on the list of 1778, to be paid into the treasury before the 20th day of the following May ; and a further tax on the same list, of two shillings on the pound, was laid. Notwithstanding these exorbitant demands of the new government, Connecticut was determined to do ample justice to her sons then in the continental service. She therefore,
" Resolved, That in consequence of the sufferings of the troops of this state in the army, occasioned by the enhanced prices of the necessaries of life, the sum of forty-five thou- sand pounds lawful money be paid out of the treasury of the
872 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
state, by the 1st day of April next, to the officers and soldiers belonging to this state, and now serving in the infantry and artillery in the continental army, in just proportion to their respective wages. And that the further sum of sixty thou- sand pounds lawful money, be paid to them out of the state treasury, by the 1st day of December next, to be distributed justly and equitably among them."*
During this and former sessions, acts were passed provid- ing for fitting out and manning armed vessels, designed not only for the protection of our coast, but for the annoyance of the British naval ships on the sound, as well as for priva- teering. Insignificant as was our little fleet compared with that of the enemy, it nevertheless served the objects for which it was designed.
General Putnam, late in the autumn of 1778, had removed his army from White Plains and Peekskill, to Reading, in Connecticut, where he established his quarters for the winter. His position at this place enabled him to cover the country adjoining the sound and the south-western frontier, and at the same time to support the garrison at West Point, in case of an attack. He had under his orders, General Poor's New Hampshire brigade, two brigades of Connecticut troops, the corps of infantry commanded by Colonel Hazen, and the corps of cavalry under Colonel Sheldon.
While at Reading, the soldiers appear to have sufl^ered much for the want of proper food and clothing ; and, as their time was passed in comparative idleness, they found abun- dant leisure to brood over their privations and their prospects, and to contrast their condition with the enjoyments of home. They were not soldiers by profession ; but having known and appreciated the endearments of domestic life, and the comparative freedom of thinking and acting for themselves, they could ill brook the iron discipline of the camp, or the
* State Records, MS. At the same time it was voted that as the £45,000 necessary to be raised for the Connecticut battalions in the continental army, could not be procured in season, the governor was desired to write to our delegates in Congress to use their influence with that body to procure assistance.
[1779.] putmam's speech. 873
reckless disregard of the principles of humanity as well as of morality that too often follow in the footsteps of war. As if to add insult to injury, they had thus far been paid off in the depreciated currency of the times, which had proved almost useless to themselves and their families. Under these circum- stances, the Connecticut brigades formed the design of marching to Hartford, where the legislature was then sitting, and of demanding redress, if need be, at the point of the bayonet. Putnam having been informed that one of the brigades was actually under arms for this purpose, he galloped to the cantonment, and thus addressed them :
" My brave lads, whither are you going ? Do you intend to desert your officers, and to invite the enemy to follow you into the country ? Whose cause have you been fighting and suffering so long in? Is it not your own? Have you no property, no parents, wives or children ? You have behaved like men so far ; all the world is full of your praises ; and posterity will stand astonished at your deeds — but not if you spoil all at last. Don't you consider how much the country is distressed by the war, and that your officers have not been any better paid than yourselves ? But we all expect better times, and that the country will do us ample justice. Let us stand by one another, then, and fight it out like brave soldiers. Think what a shame it would be for Connecticut men to run away from their officers !"*
Each regiment received the general with the usual saluta- tions as he rode along the lines. When he had concluded his address, he directed the acting major of brigade to give the word for them to shoulder arms, to march to their regi- mental parades, and there to lodge their guns. They obeyed with promptness and apparent good humor. A single soldier, only, who had been most active in the affair, was confined in the quarter-guard, and was shot dead by the sentinel while attempting to escape during the succeeding night. f
On the night of the 25th of February, a detachment of
* Humphreys, p. 157, 158. f Humphreys, 158.
874 HISTOKY OF CONNECTICUT.
the enemy under Governor Tryon, consisting of the seven- teenth, forty-fourth and fifty-seventh regiments, one of Hes- sians, and two of new levies, marched from their quarters at Kingsbridge, for Horse Neck, with the intention of surpris- ing the troops at that place and destroying the Salt Works. Horse Neck was one of Putnam's out-posts, and at the date of this incursion of the British, he chanced to be there on a visit. Captain Titus Watson, with thirty men, was sent out by Putnam as an advance corps, who discovered the enemy at New Rochelle, and retired undiscovered, before them, as far as Rye Neck. At this point, as it was now day-light, they were observed and attacked. Captain Watson gallantly defended himself, and continued his retreat to Horse Neck, Putnam immediately planted his cannon and formed his troops on the high ground, near the meeting-house, and for some time held the enemy in check by firing the field-pieces. Ascertaining the superior force opposed to him, and perceiv- ing by their movements that the horse, supported by the infantry, were about to charge, he directed his men to retire through the swamp, and form on a hill which he designated ; while he provided for his own safety by plunging down the precipice in his front, upon a full trot. The declivity was so steep that more than a hundred artificial stone steps had been provided for the accommodation of foot passen- gers. The British dragoons stopped short upon the brink, not daring to follow ; but manifested their chagrin at his escape by firing several shots at him, one of which passed through his hat. Putnam continued on to Stamford, where he rallied a body of militia and a few continentals, and immediately returned to Horse Neck. Finding that the enemy, after committing some depredations, had commenced their return towards New York, he started in pursuit ; and soon succeeded in taking about fifty prisoners, and in cap- turing one ammunition wagon and one baggage wagon. The latter was filled with plunder, which Putnam had the satisfaction of restoring to its rightful owners.
During Putnam's stay at Reading, two persons were exe-
[1779.] ATTACK ON WEST HAVEN". 375
cuted — one having been shot for desertion, and the other hung as a spy.^
The British having undisputed possession of New York, during the summer of 1779, amused themselves by frequent incursions upon the Connecticut coast. On the morning of the 5th of July, the day on which the people of New Haven had made arrangements to celebrate the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, the British fleet, under the com- mand of Commodore Sir George Collier, anchored off West Haven, having on board Governor Tryon, with some three thousand land forces. About fifteen hundred of these troops, commanded by Brigadier-General Garth, landed on West Haven Point at sun-rise, and commenced their march toward New Haven. The town having been alarmed, great excitement prevailed, and while a few of the militia and other citizens mustered for purposes of defense, the mass of the people seemed intent on providing for the safety of their families and their property. At West Bridge, on the Milford
* The Rev. Nathaniel Bartlett, who was pastor of the Congregational church in Reading for a period of fifty years, ofHciated as chaplain to the encampment during the winter, and was present at the execution. lie interceded with General Putnam to defer the execution of Smith until Washington could be consulted — the offender being a youth of seventeen years ; but the commander assured him that a reprieve could not be granted.
Mr. Bartlett was an earnest and fearless whig, and openly talked and preached " rebellion ;" so much so, that the tories, who were numerous in the eastern part of the town, threatened to hang him if they could catch him. In consequence of these threats, he often carried a loaded musket with him when on his parochial visits. His son, and successor in the ministry at Reading — the Rev, Jonathan Bartlett, now in his 91st year — well remembers the revolutionary encampment at Reading, and frequently visited it. He is sure that the story in Barber's " His- torical Collections," about Putnam's inhumanity at the execution of Smith and Jones, is incorrect. Though not present himself, he has often heard his father relate the incidents of the occasion ; and, furthermore, he once called the atten- tion of Colonel Ashbel Salmon, (who died in 1848, aged 91,) who was a sergeant in attendance upon the execution, to the statement, and he declared that nothing of the kind took place.
Mr. Bartlett (the son,) recollects that on one occasion during the revolution, he discovered some kegs of powder in the garret, wliich he afterwards ascertained his father had privately stored there for the use of his parishioners, in cases of emergency !
876 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
road, several field-pieces were stationed, and some slight works of defense were hastily thrown up. Here the enemy- were met in so determined a manner, that General Garth withdrew his troops and made a circuit of nine miles in order to enter the town by the Derby road. In this march, a small party who had gathered on Milford hill, had a skirmish with the enemy's left flank, in which Adjutant Campbell was killed. The little company of patriots, though dispersed, soon rallied, and kept up a continual fire upon the British troops during their march to the Derby road. At Thompson's bridge, on this road, the militia, under Captain Phineas Bradley, met the invaders with a sharp fire of musketry and two field-pieces, which was kept up with little intermission until they entered the town. In the meantime, the other division of the British troops commanded by Governor Tryon in person, landed on the east side of New Haven harbor, and proceeded by land to attack the fort at Black Rock. The shipping in the harbor at the same time commenced cannonading the fort, which, as it contained only nineteen men and three pieces of artillery, was finally abandoned to the enemy.
Notwithstanding the proclamation of Commodore Collier to the contrary, the town was given up to promiscuous plunder. In many instances, property which could not be conveniently carried off, was wantonly destroyed. On Tuesday morning, much to the surprise of the inhabitants, the commanding officers called in their guards, and silently withdrew to their boats, carrying with them thirty or forty prisoners — having, however, first burnt the stores on the wharf and seven or eight houses in East Haven. The Americans had twenty-seven killed and nineteen wounded.^
* Killed. — Captain John Gilbert, Michael Gilbert, John Hotchkiss, Caleb Hotchkiss, Jr., Ezekiel Hotchkiss, John Kennedy, Joseph Dorman, Asa Todd, Samuel Woodln, Silas Woodin, Benjamin English, Isaac Pardee, Jeduthan Thompson, Aaron Burrell, a lad, Jacob Thorp, and Pomp, a negro, all of New
Haven ; Eldad Parker, of Wallingford ; Bradley, of Derby ; Timothy
Ludington, of Guilford 5 John Baldwin and Gideon Goodrich, of Branford ; and one person unknown.
[1779.] PRESIDENT DAGGETT IS STABBED. 877
Among those carried off was John Whiting, Esq., judge of probate, and clerk of the courts. The Reverend Doctor Daggett, President of Yale College, was captured near Milford hill, cruelly beaten, stabbed, and robbed, and then driven in a hasty march on foot for more than five miles.
The hostile fleet soon sailed for Fairfield, and anchored opposite that town on the morning of the 8th of July, where they disembarked. A few militia assembled to oppose them, but the invasion being sudden and unexpected, no systematic plan of defense was attempted. After plundering the town, the torch of the incendiary was lighted, and eighty-five dwelling-houses, two churches, an elegant court-house, jail, fifteen stores, fifteen shops, and fifty-five barns, were burnt to the ground. Colonel Tallmadge arrived in Fairfield from White Plains on the following day.
Sailing thence, the next morning, the village of Green's Farms soon shared the vengeance of Tryon. The church, fifteen houses, eleven barns, and several stores, were con- sumed.*
Governor Tryon and General Garth, perhaps for the pur- pose of gathering fresh courage for the renewal of their expedition, crossed the Sound, and remained in Huntington Bay until the 11th of July. They then sailed for Norvvalk, and landed at that place between eight and nine o'clock in the evening. With the exception of six houses, said to
Wounded. — Rev. Dr. Daggett, Nathan Beers, (mortally,) David Austin, Jr., Elizur Goodrich, Jr., Joseph Bassett, Captain Caleb Mix, Thomas Mix, Israel Vfoodin, (and taken,) John Austin, Abraham Pinto, Nathan Dummer, Jeremiah Austin, Edmund Smith, and Elisha Tuttle, (since dead, whose tongue was cut out by the enemy,) all of New Haven ; Benjamin Hurd, of Branford, and Mr. Atwa- ter, and a negro, of Wallingford.
Many of the dead had the appearance of having been wounded by bullets, and afterwards to have been killed with bayonets. Mr. Beers, (whose name appears in the above list as mortally wounded,) was assaulted in his own house while he was unarmed.
The British lost about eighty — among whom were several meritorious officers.
The amount of property destroyed by the British in New Haven was subse- quently estimated by a committee to amount to j£24,893, 7s. Gd.
* Barber's Historical Collections.
878 HISTOEY OF CONNECTICUT.
belong to the royalists, the entire village was destroyed, including the public stores and magazines, the vessels in the harbor, and other combustible property.*
General Washington, having learned that Tryon had com- menced his threatened invasion of Connecticut, directed General Parsons, (then in command near the Highlands,) to hasten to the scene of action. Mustering for the service one hundred and fifty continental troops, and a considerable body of Connecticut militia under General Erastus Wolcott, by forced marches he was able to reach Norwalk on the morn- ing of the 12th of July, immediately after the British had
* Upon a memorial in 1791, of the inhabitants of the towns of Fairfield and N^orwalk, in Fairfield county, the great losses occasioned by the devastations of the British during the war, were shown to the General Assembly ; on which they prayed for remuneration from the State. A committee was appointed by the Legislature, in May, 1791, to ascertain from documents in the public offices, the losses, not only of the memorialists, but of others who had been sufferers under similar circumstances, that had been estimated in conformity to previous acts of the Assembly, such as had been occasioned by incursions of the enemy during the war. The Assembly, therefore, in May, 1792, by a resolution, released and quit-claimed, to the sufferers, named on the State record, or to their legal representatives, if deceased, and to their heirs and assigns forever, 500,000 acres of land owned by Connecticut, situated west of Pennsylvania, bounded north on lake Erie, beginning at the west line of said lands, and extend- ing eastward to a line running northerly and southerly parallel to the east line of said tract of land owned by this State, and extending the whole width of said lands, and easterly so far as to comprise said quantity of 500,000 acres, (exclusive of former grants to sufferers, if any,) to be divided among said suffer- ers and their legal representatives, in proportion to the several sums annexed to their names on record, (which land is located in Huron county, in the State of Ohio.)
The following sums were allowed to the sufferers in the several towns hereafter named, viz. : — Sufferers in Greenwich, £12,291 : 14 : Oy ; sufferers in Norwalk, £26,066 : 0 : 1 ; sufferers in Fairfield, £23,893 : 12 : 8.
Additional losses sustained by several inhabitants of Fairfield, in the enemy's expedition to Danbury, viz. :— £1,436 : 10 : 11 ; in Danbury, £8,303 : 17 : 10|-; in New Haven and East Haven, £16,912 : 16 : 6 ; in New London, £42,062 :- 13 : 7 ; in Ridgefield, £1,730 : 1 : 10.
The sums advanced to Ridgefield by grants of the Assembly, were deducted, and the net balances allowed.
To sufferers in Groton, £7,719 : 12 : 2.
Whole amount of losses allowed to the sufferers by the grant of said lands, being £251,606 : 8 : 8|.
[1779.] A SHARP CORRESPONDENCE. 379
effected a landing there. Although too weak to prevent the destruction of the town, Parsons took every opportunity to harass and annoy the enemy — so that they re-embarked and returned to Huntington Bay, ostensibly for fresh supplies of artillery and reinforcements of men. Tryon, however, was too prudent a man to renew his depredations after he had ascertained that the people of Connecticut were waiting to give him a warm reception. He accordingly abandoned his undertaking, and in a short time anchored his fleet off New York.*
The following correspondence between Governor Tryon and General Parsons, is here introduced into the text, as an indication of the spirit of one of the bravest and most accomplished officers of the revolutionary era. It will be observed that the letter of Tryon was written previous to his incendiary expedition ; while the response was penned subsequently :
"New York, June 18, 1779. "Sir : By his Majesty's ships of war, which arrived here last night from Georgia, we have intelligence that the British forces were in possession of Fort Johnston, near Charlestown, the first of June. Surely it is time for rational Americans to wish for a reunion with the parent State, and to adopt such measures as will most speedily effect it. " I am, sir, your very humble,
"obedient servant,
" William Tryon, M. G. "To Gen. Putnam, or in his absence, to Gen. Parsons."
[Answer.]
"Camp, Highlands, Sept. 7, 1779.
" Sir : I should have paid an earlier attention to your
polite letter of the 18th of June, had I not entertained some
hope of a personal interview with you, in your descents upon
the defenseless towns of Connecticut, to execute your mas-
* The British loss at Norwalk in killed, wounded and missing, was one hundred and forty-eight.
880 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
ter's vengeance upon the rebellious women and formidable host of boys and girls, who were induced, by your insidious proclamations, to remain in those hapless places ; and who, if they had been suffered to continue in the enjoyment of that peace which their age and sex entitled them to expect from civilized nations, you undoubtedly supposed would prove the scourge of Britain's veteran troops, and pluck from you those laurels, with which ikvdX fiery expedition so plentifully crown- ed you. But your sudden departure from Norvmlk, and the particular attention that you paid to your pci'sonal safety, when at that place, and the prudent resolution you took, to suffer the town of Stamford to escape the conflagration, to which you had devoted Fairfield and Norwalk, prevented my wishes on this head ; this I hope will sufficiently apologize for my delay in answering your last letter.
By letters from France, we have intelligence that his Catholic Majesty declared war against Great Britain in June last ; that the combined fleets of France and Spain, amount- ing to more than sixty sail of the line, have formed a junc- tion, and with twenty-five thousand land forces, are meditat- ing an important blow on the British dominions in Europe ; and that the grand fleet of Old England find it very incon- venient to venture far from their harbors. In the West Indies, Admiral Byron, having greatly suffered in a naval engagement, escaped with his ships in a very shattered condi- tion to St. Christopher's ; and covered his fleet under the batteries on the shores, and has suffered himself to be insult- ed in the road of that island by the French Admiral ; and Count D'Estaing, after reducing the Islands of St. Vincent and Grenada to the obedience of France, defeating and dis- abling the British fleet, had sailed for Hispaniola ; where it is expected he will be joined by the Spanish fleet in those seas, and attack Jamaica. The storming of your strong works at Stony Point, and capturing the garrison by our brave troops ; the brilliant successes of General Sullivan against your faithful friends and allies, the savages ; the surprise of Paulus Hook, by Major Lee ; the flight of General Provost
[1779.] STORMING OF STONY POINT. 881
from Carolina ; and your shamefully shutting yourselves up in New York and the neighboring islands, are so fully within your knowledge as scarcely to need repetition.
Surely, it is time for Britons to rouse from tlieir delusive dreams of conquest, and pursue such systems of future con- duct as will save their tottering empire from total destruc- tion.
I am, sir, your obedient servant,
Samuel H. Parsons. Major-General Tryon."
On the 15th of July, General Wayne commenced his march with the intention of storming Stony Point. The van of the right, consisting of one hundred and fifty volun- teers, was commanded bv Lieutenant-Colonel Henrv, while the van of the left, numbering one hundred volunteers, was commanded by Major Stuart — all with unloaded muskets and fixed bayonets — preceded by a company of twenty picked. men, whose duty it was to remove the abbatis and other obstructions. Colonel Meigs was one of the officers engaged in this expedition.
On the morning of the 16th, about one o'clock, Wayne, at the head of his men, entered the works in the face of an incessant fire of musketry and artillery. The capture was soon effected. About fifty of the garrison were killed, and the remainder, to the number of four hundred and fifty, were taken prisoners. Wayne's loss in killed and wounded was about one hundred. The surprise and capture of Paulus Hook (now Jersey city,) by Major Lee, soon followed.
Between Huntington Harbor and Oyster Bay, on Long Island, on a high promontory, known as Lloyd's Neck, the enemy had erected a fort and manned it with about five hundred soldiers. Encamped under the protection of this fortress, was an organized band of marauders, who, having armed boats in command, had long plundered the inhabitants along the Connecticut shore, besides robbing the small vessels on the Sound. Major Tallmadge determined, if pos- sible, to break up this horde of banditti. On the 5th of Sep-
882 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
tember he embarked with one hundred and thirty men of his detachment, from Shipand Point, near Stamford, at eight o'clock in the evening, and about ten o'clock landed on Lloyd's Neck. He attacked the enemy so suddenl}^, and * with such spirit, that nearly the whole party was captured, and landed in Connecticut before morning. Though Tall- madge's corps were fired upon by the freebooters while they were engaged in destroying the huts and boats, not a man was lost during the expedition.*
On the 28th of September, Samuel Huntington, delegate from Connecticut, was elected President of Congress, in the place of Mr. Jay, who had accepted the appointment of minister to Spain.
In October, the Connecticut quota of twelve thousand militia, called out by Washington to strengthen him in his contemplated attack upon New York, were disbanded, and the army under the immediate direction of the commander- in-chief, went into winter-quarters near Morristown, New Jersey. Strong detachments, however, were stationed at the posts on the Hudson for their defense and to prevent the enemy from ascending the river. The cavalry were sent into Connecticut to pass the winter.f
General Putnam availed himself of the brief season of quiet which followed, and in company with his son. Major Daniel Putnam, and his secretary, Major Humphreys, visited his home in Pomfret. In December, he began his journey to Morristown ; but while on the road between Pomfret and Hartford, he began to feel an unusual numbness and torpor in his right hand and foot, which increased so perceptibly and rapidly that before he reached the house of his friend. Colonel Wadsworth, his limbs on that side were partially
* See sketch of Colonel Tallmadge, in the " ISTational Portrait Gallery."
f Hildreth, iii. 395. The depreciation of the currency still occasioned intense feeling, not only among the soldiers, but with the people generally. In some places it was the occasion of mobs and bloodshed. With the hope of remedying the evil, a convention of the five eastern states was held at Hartford, on the 20th of October. A new regulation of prices was recommended.
[1780.] DEFENSE OF SEA COAST. 883
disabled. His naturally energetic mind and robust frame for awhile induced him, as well as his friends, to believe that the effect was but temporary ; but it proved to be a paralytic affection, from which he never recovered.'^
In January, 1780, two regiments were ordered to be forth- with raised for the defense of the sea-coast, each regiment to
* The remainder of General Putnam's life was necessarily passed in retirement. His mental faculties remained miimpaired, and he continued to enjoy the society of his friends until the period of his death, in 1790. The late Rev, Dr. D wight, President of Yale College, who knew General Putnam intimately, has portrayed his character faithfully in the following inscription, which is engraven on his tomb :
Sacred be this Monument
to the memory
of
Israel Putnam, Esquire,
senior Mojor-Gcneral in the armies
of
the United States of America ;
who
was born at Salem,
in the province of Massachusetts,
on the 7th day of January,
A. D. 1718,
and died
on the 19th day of May,
A. D. 1790.
Passenger,
if thou art a Soldier,
drop a tear over the dust of a Hero
who,
ever attentive
to the lives and happiness of his men,
dared to lead
where any dared to follow ;
if a Patriot,
remember the distinguished and gallant services
rendered thy country
by the Patriot who sleeps beneath this marble ;
if thou art honest, generous and worthy,
render a cheerful tribute of respect
to a man,
whose generosity was singular,
whose honesty was proverbial ;
who
raised himself to universal esteenn
and offices of eminent distinction,
by personal worth
and a
useful life.
384 HISTOEY OF CONNECTICUT.
consist of eight companies, and each company to contain fifty-five privates, with a captain, Heutenant, ensign, four sergeants, four corporals, a drummer and fifer. Levi Wells and Bezaleel Beebe were appointed lieutenant-colonels and commanders of these regiments, and Edward Shipman and EHas Buel were appointed majors of the same.
At the same time it was officially announced to the Assem- bly that an exchange of prisoners had been effected between General Washington and the British commissary general of prisoners in New York,*
Among the acts passed at this session, was one designed to establish the value of the bills of credit issued by the legisla- ture, forbidding any person from offering or receiving them at a less rate than that which they purport to be, and making them, as well as the bills issued by Congress, a legal tender for all payments within this state, according to their current value. t
In compliance with a call from Congress, the Assembly, in April, appointed James Watson to be a commissary to pur- chase rum and hay for the army, and to deposit them at such place within the state as the commander-in-chief shall direct. J
A requisition was made upon the Assembly by General Washington, for two thousand five hundred and twenty effective men, rank and file, "to cooperate with the army of the United States for the term of three months from and after the 15th of July next." Measures were immediately taken to comply with the call thus made. The number of men designated were directed to be raised, and to march and rendezvous at Danbury by the 15th of July, there to await the order of the commander-in-chief. It was also voted, that fifteen hundred men should forthwith be enlisted for the Con-
* Brigadier-General Silliman was exchanged for Judge Jones ; Brigade-Major William Silliman was exchanged for Mr. Willett and John Pickett.
t This act was repealed a few months afterwards.
X Mr. Commissary Watson, after the war, became a United States Senator from New York. He was a native of Woodbury, Connecticut.
[1780.] THE SIX NORTHERN" STATES. 885
necticut battalions in the continental army, to continue in the service until the last day of December.
if, during the campaign, it should be deemed advisable to make an attempt to recover New York from the hands of the enemy, the two state regiments commanded by Lieuten- ant-Colonels Beebe and Wells, were directed to join the main army, to serve on this side of the Hudson river. The gov- ernor was desired to inform General Washington of this arrangement, and to assure him that the state would furnish the full number of men that he had requested.*
When the legislature had assembled in October, immediate steps were taken for raising and equipping four thousand two hundred and forty-eight effective men to serve in the con- tinental army during the war. Each town was required to furnish its proportion of beef, pork, and wheat flour, for the use of the troops. Congress having proposed a convention of the six northern states, to assemble at Hartford, on the second Wednesday of November, to consult on some uniform measures for filling up and completing their several quotas for the continental service, and to agree upon other means
* State Records, MS. Colonel Henry Champion, superintendent of purchases, is directed to repair to New London and seize and secure for the use of the state one half of the mess beef and salted pork which has been lately captured and brought into that port by privateer ships.
Messrs. John Chevenard, Ebenezer Wales, Samuel Lyman, Fenn Wadsworth, and James Church, were appointed committee of pay table.
The bounty heretofore offered to soldiers to enlist, was extended to the dragoons under Colonel Sheldon and Major Tallmadge.
" Upon the memorial of Benedict Arnold^ Esq., major-general in the army of the United States, in behalf of himself, and Israel Putnam, Esq., major-general of said army, praying that they may be admitted to the benefits and advantages granted to the officers and soldiers of the Connecticut line of the continental army, by acts of the General Assembly passed in April and October, A. D., 1779" — their petition was granted, and a committee was appointed to adjust their accounts. It is worthy of remark, that, though Arnold enjoyed the honor of being born in Connecticut, his native state did little or nothing toward honoring him. It is believed that the only commission ever granted him by the government of Con- necticut, was that of captain of the governor's guards. He procured the appoint- ment of colonel from the Massachusetts committee of safety, and his subsequent commissions were received from Congress. Indeed, his name seldom occurs upon
our colonial and state records.
57
386 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
of defense, Messrs. Eliphalet Dyer, William Williams, and Andrew Adams, were appointed commissioners to represent this state in that body.*
In response to the application of Count Rochambeau, the cavalry corps of the Duke of Lauzun was allowed to be quartered during the approaching winter, in the towns of Windham, Lebanon, and Colchester. Colonel Jeremiah Wadsworth, David Trumbull, Esq., and Mr, Joshua Elder- kin, were directed to provide suitable accommodations for the officers and to erect barracks for the men of the Legion. At the same time, the second regiment of dragoons, consist- ing of two hundred and forty men, with one hundred and forty horses, were directed to be quartered, at the expense of the state, in the towns of Cornwall, Salisbury, Sharon, Goshen, Canaan, and Torrington.f
The southern campaign, under Lincoln and Gates, had proved particularly disastrous to the Americans. Almost our entire army in that quarter had been swept away. Some had died of disease, some had been killed, some taken prisoners, and others scattered and lost. Washington was alarmed, and declared that the army under him could not be kept together during another campaign, unless the aspect of affairs was changed. Anxious to strike a decisive blow, he proposed to Rochambeau, then commanding the French troops at Newport, that New York should be attacked. This measure was not thought feasible without an addition to our naval force. Letters were sent to the French admiral in the
* These gentlemen, together with Jeremiah Wadsworth, were appointed com- missioners to meet with those from other states, at such time and place as should be agreed upon, " to agree upon some terms for supplying the French army and navy now in this country with necessary provisions."
Captain Roswell Grant, Captain James Hillhouse, Mr. Zephaniah Huntington, Colonel Eli Mygatt, Major John Ripley, and Major Aaron Austin, ^vere at the same time appointed commissaries of brigade.
t Benjamin Tallraadge, David Smith, and Richard Sill, officers of the Connec- ticut line in the continental army, in behalf of the officers and soldiers of said line, complain that they have been paid off in depreciated currency — and ask for redress. The committees appointed for that purpose are directed to adjust their claims and pay them from the monies received from the sales of the confiscated estates.
[1780.] WASHINGTON GOES TO HARTFORD. 387
West Indies, begging for assistance. Washington, on the 19th of September, set out for Hartford, for the purpose of consulting with Rochambeau and others in regard to some definite plan of operation.*
On Thursday, the 21st, the principal chiefs of the allied armies met according to agreement, and a long conference ensued. The commander-in-chief assured his friends that he had in camp but fifteen thousand troops for a new campaign. The plan of another campaign was agreed upon, and trans- mitted to the Court of France. f
On Friday, the French commanders started on their return to Newport ; and on the following day, the American officers set off' toward the camp. Passing through Farmington, Litchfield, and the new town of Washington, the commander- in-chief and his suite reached West Point, by way of Fishkill, on Monday, where his arrival was announced by the firing of thirteen cannon, about eleven o'clock, of that day. J On his way, however, he had learned of the infamous attempt of Benedict Arnold, who commanded at that post, to surren- der it into the hands of the enemy. §
A short time before this discovery, Washington had granted
* From the Connecticut Courant, of September, 26tk, 1780.
" Last week, their excellencies Governor Trumbull, General Washington, Count Rochambeau, and Admiral Ternay, arrived in this town, with the Marquis de Lafayette, General Knox, and several other officers of distinction from the allied armies. The greatest satisfaction was expressed by all parties at their meeting, and the highest marks of polite respect and attention were mutual. The corps of guards and artillery were on duty, and saluted with thirteen cannon on the arrival and departure of these gentlemen."
t Gordon, iii. 128. This author states that General "Washington and his suite, on leaving for Connecticut, had procured all the money they could for the trip, but found it was more than half gone before they left New York. " They put on a good countenance when in Connecticut, called for what they wanted, and were well supplied 5 but the thought of reckoning with their host, damped their plea- sure. However, to their great joy, when the bills were called for, they were informed that the governor of Connecticut had given orders that they should pay nothing in that state, but should be at free cost."
J Connecticut Courant.
§ While Arnold was in command in Philadelphia, he had lived in great extrav- agance 5 his debts accumulated, his creditors tormented him, and he was charged
888 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
to Major Tallmadge a separate command, consisting of the dismounted dragoons of the regiment, and a body of horse, with directions to break up a system of ilhcit traffic which had been for some time carried on between the British on Long Island, and the tories on the opposite side of the Sound. With this body of troops, Major Tallmadge took a position on the coast near the line between the states of New York and Connecticut, where he had the best facilities for obtain- ing intelligence and watching the operations of the offenders. Spending some time at this point, without an opportunity of effecting his purpose, he turned back towards the Hudson and encamped near North Castle. On the very day of his arrival there, he was informed that a prisoner had been taken, by the name of John Anderson. On inquiry, he ascertained, that three militia-men, named John Paulding, David Williams, and Isaac Yan Wert, who had passed below our ordinary military patrols, on the road from Tarrytown to Kingsbridge, had fallen in with the prisoner, while he was riding towards New York. Upon searching him, they had found sundry unintelligible papers in his boots, and had brought him in as a prisoner to Colonel Jameson.
The next morning, Anderson was given in charge to Major Tallmadge, who was the first to suspect that he was an
with having appropriated public property to his own use. His bills against the government were enormous, and were not allowed. A court-martial sentenced him to be reprimanded by Washing-ton. Arnold vowed vengeance, and he appears from that time to have meditated treason. He had been so far restored to public favor as to be placed in command of the important post at West Point. In carrying out his plan of revenge, he commenced negotiating with General Clinton for the surrender of the fortress ; and Major Andre, of the British army, was soon sent to West Point to perfect the arrangement. Having agreed with Arnold upon the terms and time of the surrender, Andre started on his return to New York. He had safely passed all the guards and posts on the road, and began to congratulate himself on his safety, when his horse was suddenly seized by three militia-men who had been out with a scouting party. Scorning his proffered bribes, they conducted him to the quarters of Colonel Jameson. Andre showed the colonel his pass from Arnold, and begged permission to write a line to him, (Arnold,) informing him of the capture ; which Jameson, through an ill-judged delicacy, granted him. Arnold was thus warned in time to effect his own escape.
[1780.] FATE OF ANDRE. 889
important British officer, under an assumed name. Thiis opinion was formed from his mihtary step, as well as from his general manners, intelligence, and refinement. The prisoner (Major Andre,) was tried by fourteen general officers, includ- ing the Marquis de Lafayette and Baron Steuben, to examine into his case ; who, upon his own confessions, adjudged him to be a spy, and sentenced him to hanged. Major Tallmadge retained charge of him up to the time of his execution, and walked with him to the gallows. To him Major Andre delivered the open letter to General Washington, disclosing his real character.'^ Andre was hanged October 2d, 1780.
Early in October, a committee appointed for that purpose reported a plan for a re-organization of the army, to which Congress gave its assent. All new enlistments were to be made for the war. Fifty regiments of foot, four regiments of artillery, two corps of rangers under Armand and Lee, one regiment of artificers, and four legionary corps to con- sist of two-thirds horse, and one-third foot, in all thirty- six thousand men were to constitute the sum total of the new army. Of these troops, Massachusetts and Virginia were to furnish eleven regiments each, Pennsylvanianine, Connecticut six, Maryland five, North Carolina four. New York three, South Carolina, New Hampshire, and New Jersey, two each, Rhode Island, Delaware, and Georgia, one each. The corps of Armand, Lee, and Hazen, were to be recruited at large. f
About the same time, Robert H. Harrison, secretary to the commander-in-chief, having accepted the post of chief justice of Maryland, resigned, and was succeeded by Jonathan
* " Nat. Portrait Gallery." Major Tallmadge thus wrote concerning Andre : " For the few days of intimate intercourse I had with him, which was from the time of his being remanded to the period of his execution, I became so deeply attached to Major Andre, that I could remember of no instance when my affec- tions were so fully absorbed by any man. When I saw him swing under the jibbet, it seemed for a time utterly insupportable ; all were overwhelmed with the affecting spectacle, and the eyes of many were suffused with tears. There did not appear to be one hardened or indifferent spectator in all the multitude assembled on that solemn occasion."
t Hildreth, iii. 324.
890 HISTOEY OF CONNECTICUT.
Trumbull, son of the governor of Connecticut, and previously paymaster of the northern department.*
In November of the same year, Major Tallmadge resumed his scheme of annoying the British on Long Island. He crossed the Sound, made a personal examination of Fort St. George, and found it a depository of stores, provisions, and arms. The works looked quite formidable. After much importimity, Washington authorized him to attempt its cap- ture. On the night of the 21st of November, he embarked from Fairfield with about one hundred dismounted dragoons, and effected a landing on Long Island, several miles distant from the fort, about nine o'clock. In consequence of a heavy rain, they deferred the attack until the following night. Reaching the fortress about day-break, the attack com- menced. Cutting down the stockade, the little army forced their way through the grand parade, and in ten minutes, the main fort was carried at the point of the bayonet. The works, shipping, and stores were secured ; an immense maga- zine of forage, at Cazum, ten miles distant, was burnt ; and the captors returned to Fairfield without the loss of a man. Major Tallmadge was tendered the thanks of Congress and of the commander-in-chief, for this heroic and successful exploit.
There is an interesting incident connected with the history of Major Tallmadge, that exhibits in a remarkable degree the patriotism and force of the old clergy of Connecticut, of which I have before, more than once, made mention. When the whole country was in a state of alarm at the intelligence that Lord Cornwallis, with a large fleet and armament, was approaching the American coast, Tallmadge happened to pass through Litchfield with a regiment of cavalry. While there, he attended public worship with his troops on Sunday, at the old meeting house, that stood upon the village-green. The occasion was deeply interesting and exciting. The Rev. Judah Champion, then the settled minister of the place, a man of great eloquence and a high order of intellectual
* Hildreth.
[1781.] MR. champion's PRAYER 391
K
endowments, in view of the alarming crisis, thus invoked the sanction of Heaven :
"Oh Lord! we view with terror and dismay the enemies of thy holy religion ; wilt thou send storm and tempest, to toss them upon the sea, and to overwhelm them in the mighty deep, or scatter them to the uttermost parts of the earth. But peradventure, should any escape thy vengeance, collect them together again, O Lord ! as in the hollow of thy hand, and let thy lightnings play upon them. We beseech thee, moreover, that thou do gird up the loins of these thy servants, who are going forth to fight thy battles. Make them strong men, that " one shall chase a thousand, and two shall put ten thousand to flight." Hold before them the shield, with which thou wast wont in the old time to protect thy chosen people. Give them swift feet that they may pursue their enemies, and swords terrible as that of thy destroying Angel, that they may cleave them down when they have overtaken them. Preserve these servants of thine. Almighty God! and bring them once more to their homes and friends, if thou canst do it consistently with thine high purposes. If, on the other hand, thou hast decreed that they shall die in battle, let thy spirit be present with them and breathe upon them, that they may go up as a sweet sacrifice into the courts of thy temple, where are habitations prepared for them from the foundations of the world."*
In January, 1781, an alarming revolt broke out among the Pennsylvania regiments encamped at Morristown. The sol- diers claimed that they had enlisted " for three years or the war," and as their three years had expired, they insisted upon being paid off and discharged. The officers maintained that their term of enlistment was for " three years and the war," and refused to give them a discharge. They accordingly, to the number of thirteen hundred, broke out in open revolt, killed
* This remarkable prayer is copied in part from the remarks made by the Hon. F. A, Tallmadge, at the Litchfield " Centennial Celebration," and in part from the recollection of others.
892 HISTOEY OF CONNECTICUT.
an officer who attempted to restrain them, and under the direction of a board of sergeants, marched off toward Prince- ton. Finding it impossible to control such a body of men, goaded to desperation as they were by hunger and cold, the committees of Congress, and of the Pennsylvania legislature, deemed it expedient to bend to the necessity of the case, and accordingly compromised the matter with the revolters. It was agreed that the soldiers should receive an immediate supply of clothing, and certificates for the arrearages of their pay, and be forthwith discharged.
Alarmed at this outbreak, and fearing that still further trouble might arise in consequence of his inability to provide for and pay off the soldiers, Washington wrote urgent letters to Gov- ernor Trumbull, and the other New England governors, stating the exigency of the case, and calling earnestly for money. Congress had previously made a demand for nine hundred thousand dollars in specie, or its equivalent, upon the northern states, which had not as yet been met in full, and the commander-in-chief saw the necessity of looking elsewhere for the desired means. Accordingly, Colonel John Laurens, aid-de-camp to Washington, was dispatched to France to represent the pressing wants of the American army, and to negotiate a loan.*
By the 20th of January, a part of the New Jersey line, having witnessed the success of the Pennsylvania troops in procuring a redress of their grievances, proceeded to imitate their example. Washington, knowing by past experience that he could rely upon the fidelity of the eastern troops in all cases of emergency, immediately ordered a detachment to march from West Point, under General Robert Howe, to the scene of the revolt. This had the desired effect. The camp of the disaffected soldiers was surrounded, they were made to parade without arms, and complete order was soon restored. Two of the principal leaders were shot.
On the 6th of May, Monsieur de Barras, who had been appointed to the command of the French squadron at
* Gordon, Hildreth.
[1781.] MOODY INTERCEPTS WASHINGTON'S MAIL. 393
Newport, in the place of Admiral Ternay, deceased,* arrived at Boston, bringing with them dispatches, for Count de Rochambeau. By a previous agreement, General Washington, in company with Generals Knox and Du Por- tal, repaired to Wethersfield, in Connecticut, where, on the 21st of that month, they met the Count de Rochambeau and the Chevalier Chastellux. The subject of attacking New York was once more debated in council, and was fully resolved upon. It was agreed that the French army should march toward the Hudson river as soon as circumstances would permit, after leaving a sufficient force in Rhode Island to guard their heavy stores and baggage, and to secure the works there. In furtherance of this project, letters were written, on the 24th, to the governors of New Hampshire, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Jersey, requiring among other things, militia to the number of six thousand two hundred.
Washington returned to his head-quarters on the 26th of May. The enemy learning that a conference had taken place between the American and French officers, spies and secret agents were sent out to intercept the mails ; and one Lieutenant Moody, of the British army, succeeded in seizing and conveying to New York the very mail-bag that contained some of the most important letters relating to the enterprise in contemplation.
The preparations in the American army had been going on for several weeks; until, on the 21st of June, the troops rendezvoused at Peekskill, on the Hudson. At three o'clock on the morning of July 2d, the army commenced its march toward New York, encumbered with only four days provis- ions, a blanket and an extra shirt for each soldier. Gen- eral Lincoln, who had taken post near Fort Independence, was attacked on the 3d, by about fifteen hundred royal troops. The object of Lincoln was, to draw the enemy as far as possi-
* Charles Louis de Ternay, Knight of St. John of Jerusalem, and late governor of the islands of France and Bourbon, died at Newport, Rhode Island, December 18th.
894 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
ble from their post at Kingsbridge, in order that they might be attacked in the open field by Sheldon's dragoons and the Duke de Lauzun's French legion. The British commander, however, evidently comprehending the maneuvre, declined sending out reinforcements, and soon concentrated his entire force within the works at Kingsbridge.
The American and French troops, (the latter having been largely reinforced,) formed a junction near White Plains on the 8th. In a few days, it was ascertained that the British had commenced their march toward Tarrytown, with the design of capturing and carrying off the stores and ordnance deposited at that place. General Robert Howe was forth- with dispatched with a sufficient force, who succeeded in saving the stores and other property, and in repulsing the enemy's shipping. General Washington, in his dispatch, dated on the 14th, speaks of the "gallant behavior, and spirited exertions of Colonel Sheldon, Captain Hurlbut, of the second regiment of dragoons. Captain Miles, of the artil- lery, and Lieutenant Shaylor, of the fourth Connecticut regi- ment," in " rescuing the whole of the ordnance and stores from destruction."
On the evening of the 21st, a portion of the French and American troops, accompanied by the general officers and several engineers, marched to the vicinity of New York, where the officers made a careful reconnoisance of the enemy's posts. On the following afternoon, they all returned to their quarters. The expedition had already been too long delayed in consequence of the non-arrival of the reinforce- ments that had been ordered and anticipated by Washington. On the 2d of August, Washington wrote — " I am not stronger at this advanced period of the campaign, than when the army first moved from winter quarters. Not a single man has joined me, except one hundred and seventy-six militia from Connecticut, who arrived at West Point yesterday, and eighty of the New York levies and about two hundred state troops of Connecticut, both of which corps were upon the lines previous to leaving winter cantonments." The move-
[1781.] GENERAL GREENE. 895
ments of the Americans and French in the neighborhood of New York, had in the mean time convinced Sir Henry CUn- ton that the intercepted letters which had fallen into his hands were genuine, and he had accordingly strengthened his garri- sons by calling to his aid a considerable part of the force under the command of Cornwallis, at the south. A knowledge of this fact, induced Washington to change his entire plan of operations. While he kept up the appearance of a design upon New York, he ordered the fleets and armies of the allied powers to concentrate upon the Chesapeake, to coope- rate with the naval force under the Count de Grasse, which had just arrived there from France. For the present, let us leave them on their several routes thither.
Early this year, an efficient guard was established, extend- ing along the entire range of our sea-board, which was placed under the chief command of Colonel Beebe, of Litchfield — who was regarded as one of the bravest and most excellent officers in Connecticut line of the continental army.
The campaign of General Greene, at the south during the winter and summer of 1781, had resulted in various successes and defeats, but no decisive action had taken place.
Clinton having at last discovered the real object of Wash- ington, determined to interrupt it by a diversion at the north. The Highlands being too strongly fortified and manned to justify him in hazarding an attack in that direction, he dispatched Arnold, who had a short time before been recalled from the south, on an expedition to Connecticut — the particu- lars of which may be found in the succeeding chapter.
CHAPTER XIII.
AENOLD BURNS NEW LONDON. FALL OF FOETS TRUMBULL AND GRISWOLD.
For several years the whole surface of Long Island Sound had been vexed with every species of conflict known to unrestrained human passions in times of civil war. Pirating, privateering, foraging, with all the gradations of crime and brutality that attend them, swept the waters with the free- dom of the winds and the storms. The coast of Long Island had before fallen into the hands of the British and tories, and the patriots had abandoned their arms and passed over to the Connecticut side, where they found an asylum among friends who entertained the same political sentiments. Fisher's Island had already been robbed of its cattle and sheep, and stripped of everything that could afford nutriment to man. British fleets, sometimes numbering a hundred vessels, sometimes twenty, had almost from the beginning of the war been seen sweeping around Montauk Point, riding at anchor at Gardiner's Bay, loitering around the mouth of the Thames, or standing in toward Stonington, in such a threat- ening attitude that the citizens of New London had no as- surance when they retired at night, that they should not be awakened before morning by the light of their own dwellings. Again and again the alarm-gun from Stonington, answered from Fort Trumbull and Fort Griswold, had summoned in from the upper country the devoted militia to defend the coast, and often had the inhabitants looked out from the roofs of the houses, and from the tops of the rocky hills, with eyes strained and anxious, to watch the streamers of St. George, and returned with joy to tell their loved ones that Newport on the east or New York on the west, was their probable destination. This long indemnity tended to lull the minds of the people, and to make the signals of distress from
[1781.] CAPTAIN DUDLEY SALTONSTALL. 897
the exposed points, less terrible to the militia of the inland towns. Even the officers shared in this feeling of security.
At length a large quantity of merchandize from Europe and the West Indies was accumulated in storehouses at New London. The place was wealthy and many sail of ships, built and owned by its citizens, were lying idle there, as well as the vessels that privateers had captured and taken into port as prizes.
All this property offered a strong temptation to the British commander-in-chief, who had found himself so often baffled in his undertakings by Colonel Meigs, Captain Hinman, and other officers, who did nothing but cut off his foraging par- ties, and intercept his transports laden with cattle and grain for the army. Of these prizes, the capture of the rich mer- chant ship Hannah by Captain Dudley Saltonstall, while on her passage from London to New York, was the most deeply resented, and was thought to have hastened the stroke of ven- geance. It is not likely that Sir Henry Clinton would have attempted to destroy New London at the time he did, had not General Arnold, who had just returned from a like expedition against the Virginian coast, advised him of the defenseless condition of the place, and offered to conduct the enterprise.
Arnold was a native of Norwich, and was of course ac- quainted with the whole neighborhood of New London and Groton, and knew the very steps to take to ensure success. His plan was, to enter the harbor in the night, and set fire to the stores, merchandise, shipping, and public offices, and de- molish the forts on both sides of the Thames before the militia could have time to rally from the country to oppose him. It is not likely that either he or Sir Henry Clinton contemplated the burning of the dwelling-houses and churches, or the murders that were able to blacken even the treason of Arnold.
On the evening of the 5th of September tidings were re- ceived in New London that a British fleet had been seen under the Long Island shore, at a point nearly opposite the town, but
898 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
this was so common an occurrence that it did not excite much alarm. The citizens sought their beds at about the same hour as usual, and probably most of them slept as soundly as they were in the habit of doing. When it was dark, Arnold advanced toward the Connecticut coast, which he reached about ten o'clock. The wind now shifted sud- denly, and blew so strongly from the north, that the large ships were forced to stand out to sea and the smaller ones to seek the protection of the shore. The morning twilight re- vealed to the garrison at Fort Griswold the spreading sails of thirty-two British ships standing in toward the doomed town.
At ten o'clock seventeen hundred troops were landed from twenty-four transports, at a distance of about three miles from New London. They were sent ashore in two divisions — eight hundred on the Groton side of the Thames, and nine hundred on the western or New London side. The eastern division consisted of the fortieth and fifty-fourth regiments, the third battalion of New Jersey volunteers, and a detach- ment of Yagers and artillery, all under the command of Lieut-Col. Eyre. The western division was made up of the thirty-eighth regiment, the loyal Americans, the American Legion, some refugees, and sixty Yagers, all under the com- mand of Arnold. The troops immediately began to move forward.
From the earliest morning twilight, Colonel William Led- yard, to whom the guardianship of the two forts and the towns in which they were situated, had been committed, had exerted himself to the utmost to alarm the neighboring towns, and to put the coast in a state of defense. Captain Adam Shapley commanded at Fort Trumbull and the Town Hill Battery, and Captain William Latham at Fort Griswold. The established signals that had long been used at Stonington and at the two forts, were three guns for good news and two for an alarm, fired at stated intervals. These signals were as well known to the tories as to the patriots, and were probably familiar to Arnold before he sailed from New York.
[1781.] WOMEN AND CHILDREN FLEE. 899
As soon as the usual warning sounded from Fort Griswold, a third gun from one of the British ships was discharged, thus changing the signal of distress into one of jubilee. From the difference in the size of the guns, or in the eleva- tion of them, this false addition did not probably deceive the most wary of the militia officers; but it served to confuse and keep back those who were less critically observant of the sound. Other alarms followed : the inhabitants were panic-stricken at the sudden gathering of the storm, that was evidently about to burst upon their heads. Starting from their beds, and groping about with trembling hands to find their garments, they gathered together their families and moveable effects, and sent them into the woods and fields on the remote and difficult hill-sides where the enemy would find it impracticable to follow them.
An effort was made to secure the shipping, by sending it far up the Thames ; but the wind and tide were both ad- verse. At noon, however, there sprung up a lively breeze from the south that favored the attempt, and a number of valuable vessels were saved.
After Colonel Ledyard had made such arrangements as his scanty means could allow, at Fort Trumbull, and had dispatched messengers to Lebanon to inform the governor of his condition, he hastened to repair to Fort Griswold, where he determined to make his last stand against the enemy. When he went down to cross the ferry, his friends gathered around him to wish him success and give him a farewell pressure of the hand. His noble features wore an expression of resolve which those who saw him remembered long after. His step was elastic as he leapt into the boat, and his voice had the triumphant tone of prophecy, as he said to them : " If I must lose to-day honor or life, you loho knoLV me, can tell which it vjill be f"
Meanwhile Arnold, who had landed his forces near the light-house, marched rapidly forward, as nearly in a right line as the nature of the ground would allow, and soon came into the Town Hill road. He arrived at the cross road that
400 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
leads to the fort at about eleven o'clock. Here he detached, Captain Millett of the thirty-eighth regiment with four com- panies, to go down to the shore and attack the garrison. At the foot of this road, Millett was joined by a company of re- fugees under Captain Frink, who had followed the shore more closely in marching from the landing-place than the main body of the army had done.
Fort Trumbull was not then what it is now, a well- appointed fortification, with solid masonry on all sides, secure magazines, and all the furnishings of a fortress designed to resist aggressive attempts as well by land as by water; but an area, with three sides inclosed, and mounted with a few guns that were designed to protect the harbor from the ap- proach of ships. The rear of the fort was open, not having even the advantage of a temporary breastwork to cover the garrison, which numbered at the time of the invasion only twenty-three men. Colonel Ledyard was of course aware how idle it would be to resist the advance of the enemy with a mere nominal garrison, and had instructed Captain Shapley to retreat, should he be attacked, to Fort Griswold. In obedience to this order Shapley fired a single well-aimed volley at the approaching detachment, spiked the guns upon his batteries, and withdrawing his men in good order, em- barked them in whale-boats almost under the very shrouds of the British ships that were so near that the men from the decks could reach them with musket shot. Thus exposed seven of his men were wounded, and one of the boats was captured. It need hardly be said that Captain Millett im- mediately took possession of the deserted fort.
Arnold, goaded to madness as he always was when he found himself in the atmosphere of human strife, rushed for- ward toward the devoted town, to execute upon it the fierce- ness of his wrath. It is difficult to imagine a situation more likely to quicken the long stifled admonitions of a guilty con- science, than that of this bold bad man. He was now within a few miles of his birth-place. As he ascended the hill upon his nefarious errand, that most beautiful of our coast scenery
[1781.] ARNOLD CONTEMPLATES THE SCENE. 401
lay spread out like a map in all its bewildering charms of pleasant inlets, seamed rocks fretted by the ebbing and flow- ing of the tides, strips of sandy beach sparkling with their shining decorations of shells, hills covered with cedars, and in the distance, islands crowned with groves, lying like sisters side by side in the feathery foam of the waves. At his feet the fairest harbor of the Atlantic, with its never failing river coming down from the sharp ledges, where in his childhood its waters, young and restless as he, had typified the future career, as they mirrored the features of the fickle, ambitious boy ; a fine old town, associated with the early settlement of the continent, and inhabited bv his old schoolmates and acquaintances ; ships with the names of their owners upon them, huddling together like a flock of frightened sea-fowl in their attempt to escape the torch that he himself had brought to apply to them ; all these objects spread out before him, and, smiling in the light of a September sun, must have touched, one would think, even the heart of a traitor. But they do not appear to have made any impression upon Arnold. When he had reached the top of the hill, and had driven from the slight battery that had been hastily thrown up there, the few brave men who had dared to point its six small guns at an invading foe, he saw the owners of the ships trying to avail themselves of the breeze that had sprung up from the south, to get this most perishable of all property out of harm's way, and immediately sent a messenger to Lieutenant- Colonel Eyre with orders to press forward and attack Fort Griswold as speedily as possible, so that he might pos- sess himself of the guns and turn them against the fugitive vessels.
In addition to the cannon at this fort, (if it could be called a fort,) there was on the common upon Manwaring's hill still another gun, a four or six pounder, that had been kept there for use upon muster days, and to give the customary signals of distress or good tidings to town and country. As the enemy were descending Town Hill, three or four men
levelled this little piece and fired it at them several times.
58
402 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
Arnold sent a detachment of British troops up Blackhull Hill to silence this turbdant neighbor. At their approach the gunners abandoned it and fled. While the British were securing the gun they were exposed to the muskets of some marksmen who had secreted themselves behind the rocks and fences, and who kept up a severe though irregular fire upon them. Mr. Manwaring's house, the only mansion in that part of the town, was the next object of their attention. They broke it open, ransacked it, broke a part of the furni- ture in pieces, and set it on fire. One of the neighbors en- tered it soon after the soldiers had left it, and quenched the flames with a barrel of soap. Arnold now proceeded to the more populous parts of the town. As the hills abounded in loose stones, walls had been thrown up at intervals of a few rods, and from behind these breastworks the resolute citizens lurked in little groups, or in solitary security, and aimed their desperate shots at the invaders. When they had reached the southerly part of the town, Arnold ordered Lieutenant- Colonel Upham, who commanded the New Jersey tories, to advance and get possession of the hill north of the meeting- house, where, says this loyal hero, in his military dispatch to Governor Franklin, (who had now returned from his rural quarters at the Litchfield jail,) " the rebels had collected and which they resolved to hold." He advanced with his own troops, and with the Yagers, and drove the patriots from it. He kept it until the surrender of Fort Griswold, and accord- ing to his own account of the matter, " was exposed to a constant fire from the rebels " on the neighboring hills, and from the fort on the Groton side, until the work of destruc- tion was over on either bank of the river. On his way to this outpost of danger. Colonel Upham passed through Cape Ann-street, and Lewis-lane, while a flanking guard amused themselves by setting the house of Mr. Latimer on fire, that stood in what is now Vauxhall-street. This house had been filled with the goods of the citizens, who thought it was too remote from the populous parts of the town to be exposed. It was the very first house that was burned.
[1781.] AKNOLD AND LOKD DALRYMPLE. 403
Arnold with the main body now advanced at a rapid rate through Vauxhall -street toward the place where the stores, shipping and public offices were crowded into a very small area. A number of citizens with muskets had stationed themselves on the hill above the old burial-ground, and gave him a few shots as he came within range. They retired on his nearer approach, to retreats more safe and remote. Under cover of Colonel Upham's party, which had gained possession of the outpost, Arnold, accompanied, as is sup- posed, by Lord Dalrymple, who acted as his aid, now rode to the top of another hill, that stood in the rear of the town. He could see from this point the few vessels that were flying before the shots of the little field-piece that Upham had brought from Town Hill, and here too, he had a fair view of Fort Griswold. He sat upon his horse with a perspective glass in his hand, and surveyed for a few moments the field where he was to reap such a harvest of infamy. After glancing his eye over it, and pointing out to his lordship the principal land-marks that were to guide them, they both fol- lowed the main body of the army down Richards-street. The most fastidious critic could hardly cavil at Arnold's methodical and comprehensive plan of destruction. He sent a detachment to the south part of the town, while he began the work himself at the northern extremity, by setting fire to the printing office and town mill. He also sent a company to Winthrop's Neck to burn the ships that had not escaped, as well as the houses and the battery. This was a very impor- tant part of the town, and so thoroughly was the torch applied, that of all the shipping, warehouses, dwellings, and other com- bustible property there, only a solitary house escaped. On Main-street, near the point reserved by Arnold for his own personal operations, stood a goodly number of old family mansions. The most expensive and imposing of these was the dwelhng of General Gurdon Salstonstall. They were soon wrapt in flames. The custom-house, collector's house, shops, wharves, boats and lumber, all shared the same fate. When the party reached Hallam's corner they turned down
404 HISTOKY OF CONNECTICUT.
toward Water-street. As they came within fair view of the rich warehouses and the vessels that lay moored there, Arnold pointed with his sword to the tempting prize, as he cried with the energy of an officer giving orders upon the battle-field, " Soldiers, do your duty !"
A scene of conflagration followed that closed only with the failure of the fuel that fed it. They also destroyed every thing on the parade. The magazine and battery, the market, the court-house, and jail, the episcopal church, the wharf, and the dwellings, as well as the stores, were laid in ashes. Not even the houses of the tories were spared. The very roof under which Arnold dined that day, though it was the property of one of his old acquaintances, was treated with no more indulgence than the others in that vicinity, and before his repast w^as completed, the flames had been kindled over his head, as if to crown the festive board with an illu- mination.
A similar destruction followed the footsteps of the party that had been sent to the southern district of the town. The boats, shops, and stores, were consumed, but the dwellings were treated with more indulgence. The most valuable mansions on either side of Bank-street were burned, and the other buildings were indiscriminately consumed. It seems idle to linger over the sickening details of this conflagration. Even Arnold was ashamed to acknowledge that he was instrumental in destroying the town, and attributed it, as did Sir Henry Clinton, to the unexpected explosion of gun- powder. The candid reader will decide from the few facts that are given here, as well as from the conduct of the enemy at Fort Griswold, how far this excuse is to go in extenuation of the crime that has been charged at the door of the perpetrators.
The eastern bank of the Thames afforded, meanwhile, a very different spectacle. The order sent by Arnold to Lieutenant-Colonel Eyre, to attack Fort Griswold, had been based on the supposition that the Fort was much more feebly garrisoned, and that its walls were weaker than proved to be
[1761.] FOET GRISWOLD. 405
the case. He had supposed that the place would be carried in a few minutes, and that its ffuns would be turned upon
^ <—> J.
the shipping. But when he saw that the vessels were escap- ing, and that the fort was manned by a garrison of con- siderable size, he sent an officer in a boat to countermand the order. This second messenger did not arrive until after the attack had commenced. The situation of the fort was very well chosen, and in the hands of a garrison of sufficient size to man it, would have been very formidable. The fol- lowing is Hempstead's description of the fortification :
" The fort was an oblong square wn'th bastions at opposite angles, its longest sides fronting the river in a north-west and south-east direction. Its walls were of stone, and were ten or twelve feet high on the lower side, and surrounded by a ditch. On the walls were pickets, projecting over twelve feet, above this was a parapet with embrasures, and within a platform for cannon, and a step to mount upon, to shoot over the parapet with small arms. In the south-west bastion was a flag-staff, and in the side near the opposite angle was the gate, in front of which was a triangular breastwork to protect the gate ; and to the right of this was a redoubt, with a three pounder in it, which was about one hundred and twenty yards from the gate. Between the fort and the river was another battery with a covered way, but which could not be used in this attack, as the enemy appeared in a different quarter."
There were in this fort one hundred and fifty men, and of these two-thirds were farmers and mechanics who were totally unacquainted with the usages of war. They were poorly armed too, many of them, having snatched up their weapons and rode at a moment's warning to defend the fort. About noon the British troops were seen coming out of the woods about half a mile from the fort. They ran with broken ranks until they were protected from the guns of the garrison by the hills and rocks that occupy the middle ground between the fortification and the forest. Under the friendly shelter of a ledge one hundred and thirty yards south-east from the
406 HISTOEY OF CONNECTICUT.
fort, Colonel Eyre brought his men again into line, while Major Montgomery at the head of the fortieth regiment, sought the cover of a hill near at hand.
Colonel Eyre soon sent a flag and a summons for the instant surrender of the fort. Colonel Ledyard called a council of war to decide what answer should be given. The officers composing it were all in favor of resistance. The council was not very formal and did not waste much time in deliberation. Its decision was made known by three volun- teers who left the fort and advanced to meet the British officer who had delivered the summons.
Shortly after, the flag was again seen emerging from behind the ledge of rocks. The demand was the same as the first, with the addition of a threat, that if it should become necessary to storm the works, "Martial law should be put in force !" The officers were still unanimous in their resolu- tion. Captain Shapley, who had commanded at Fort Trum- bull, was sent to deliver their answer : " We shall not sur- render, let the consequences be what they may."
Of course all parley was now at an end ; and both divis- ions of the enemy immediately moved forward with a quick step, and formed in solid columns.
The arrangements made by Colonel Ledyard, when it is borne in mind what scanty materials that he had at his com- mand, were truly admirable. He had placed a small party of his little band in the eastern battery, to open their fire upon the enemy. They fired a single round, and then with- drew into the fort. He strictly enjoined upon the garrison not to fire a gun, until the columns of the detachment that led the attack, should have advanced within a range where every shot would tell upon them Colonel Eyre's division was the first to approach ; Captain Halsey, an old naval officer, stood by an eighteen pounder loaded with bags of grape shot, and brought it to bear upon them with a deliber- ate aim. When the order was given to fire, twenty men dropped dead or wounded. This shot broke their columns and threw them into disorder. It was the signal for a resist-
[1781.] FALL OF COLOXEL EYRE. 407
ance as obstinate as can well be imagined. Volley after volley was poured upon the enemy with murderous effect. It was with the greatest difficulty that Colonel Eyre, and the officers under him, could keep their men from running away in utter confusion ; but, by exposing their own persons, and remaining in front of their shattered columns, they were able to prevent a retreat. The soldiers advanced without much regard to discipline, running with their bodies bent half way to the ground, for a few paces, then falling upon the ground, and then again rushing forward. This division made their attack upon the south-west bastion of the fort, and upon its south and west sides. Eyre was soon shot through the body, and carried from the field mortally wounded, and three other officers of his regiment fell dead before they reached the fort. Montgomery pressed forward with his detachment, and found no difficulty in throwing him- self into the redoubt on the east side of the fortification. He was not long in getting possession of the ditch, and from thence, with headlong impetuosity, he vaulted to the base of the rampart, and attempted to ascend it. This was no easy task. The rampart was very high and was strongly guarded by projecting pickets. The soldiers were obliged to get up by climbing upon each others shoulders, and from this uncertain footing, wrench away the pickets, or struggle up between them. Of course this effort required their whole strength, and consumed a good deal of time. The Americans shot them dead, one after another, with musket balls, as they thrust their heads above the rampart — coolly taking aim and making sure of their men — at almost every fire. Many a poor fellow clung quivering to the pickets, as if in the last agonies of impalement. Joseph Woodmancy counted eighteen times that he loaded and fired his piece. As fast as the dead bodies were taken down, living men supplied their places. The Americans resisted the assailants by the application of every weapon and missile that came to hand. They threw down cold shot and nine pounders on their heads. But Montgomery's attack was like
408 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
a whirlwind, and he finally succeeded in effecting a lodge- ment upon the rampart. The few soldiers who first scaled it were obliged to silence a nine pounder that swept the place. After this was done, a larger force was hoisted up, and the enemy now attempted to enter the works through the embra- sures with fixed bayonets. Here they w^ere met by the main body of the garrison under Ledyard, who w^ere armed with long sharp spears, which they w^ielded with fatal effect. The British soldiers staggered before this strange weapon that kept the point of their bayonets at such a safe distance. Major Montgomery urged them on, and to encourage them by his own example threw himself into the front ranks, as Colonel Eyre had done outside of the walls, and exposing his breast to the points of the spears, was pierced through and fell dead at the threshold of the embrasure. Ensign Whit- lock of the fortieth regiment, was also killed, and three other officers of the same regiment were wounded.
Major Montgomery was a universal favorite both with his officers and soldiers, and the instant that he fell they rushed through the deadly gaps uttering fierce cries of vengeance.
It was no longer possible for Ledyard and his band of self- sacrificing patriots to resist their overpow^ering numbers. They swept through the embrasures like tide streams, and carried every thing before them until they came to the gate. This they tried to force open. The first assailant was instantly killed, but the frail barriers soon yielded, and the British soldiers with fixed bayonets crowded into the fort by hundreds. They swung their caps over their heads and uttered a yell of exultation as the signal of their entrance.
As soon as the enemy had forced the gate. Colonel Led- yard, who had until that moment fought with determined resolution, seeing that the garrison could maintain the une- qual struggle no longer, ordered his men to throw down their arms. They instantly obeyed, but the British troops who had now full possession of the fort kept firing upon them from the parapets, and stabbing them with their bayonets as they crossed the area to open the south gate. Captain Shap-
[1781.] THE MURDER OF LED YARD. 409
ley and his little company, ignorant of what was going on within the walls, still kept their dangerous post at the south- west bastion. The British now turned the cannon of the north bastion upon them and cut them literally in pieces. Captain Shapley and Lieutenant Richard Chapman were both killed. The few survivors fled to the inside of the fort and threw down their arms. The south gate was now opened and the troops of the other division marched in, in solid columns, and fired by platoons upon the unresisting gar- rison who retreated before them, some to the magazine, and others to the barracks, to secure themselves, as weapons were now denied them, against this wholesale butchery. Major Bromfield, who was now the officer in command, marching at the head of the southern division, called out as he entered :
" Who commands this fort ?"
The gallant Ledyard, who had made a resistance unsur- passed, perhaps, in the whole history of freedom's battles, replied :
" I did, sir, but you do now."
As he spoke, he raised and lowered his sword and advanc- ing respectfully, presented it to the conqueror. The brutal wretch took the proffered weapon and instantly plunged it to the hilt into the breast of the unsuspecting patriot.* When this barbarous murder took place, Captain Richards, who had been wounded, was standing by holding himself up by his spontoon in company with Captain Ledyard, the nephew of the colonel, and a few other fearless spirits, who had scorned to take refuge in the magazine or barracks. They now saw that they were contending with savages, and that it was vain to look for quarter at the hands of such a foe. They rallied around the corpse of their commander, and fought till they fell pierced, some of them with more than twenty wounds. The whole parade was open, and as the platoons marched in, they shot or stabbed every American who was standing on it. They then fired by platoons into the maga-
* Gordon iii. 249.
410 HISTOEY OF CONNECTICUT.
zine where a large part of the garrison were crowded together in masses, so that one bullet would perhaps pass through two or three bodies before its force was spent. The dead bodies and the wounded men that lay bleeding upon the grounds, were also made the target for this devilish past- time.
Major Bromfield, whose hands were still stained by the blood that had trickled down upon the hilt of Ledyard's sword, and to whom humanity could make no successful appeal, commanded them to stop their firing, as he feared it might blow up the magazine, and thus involve the victors and the victims in one promiscuous ruin. It was thought that such an event might have taken place at the firing of the first volley, had not the powder that lay scattered under the feet and bodies of those who had taken refuge there, been floating in pools of blood.
But this prudential order did not put an end to the slaugh- ter. A number of American soldiers had crowded under the platforms to escape the massacre, but the bayonets found them and pierced them through and through until their bodies w^ere perforated some of them with a dozen deep stabs, any one of which would have been mortal. As this did not endanger the safety of his own party. Major Bromfield did not interfere with it. The barrack-rooms were carefully searched, and those who were found in them were shot or bayoneted, and their remains treated with the same indigni- ties. The hands of some of the dead soldiers were horribly gashed and mutilated as they encountered the points and edges of the bayonets in their vain strugglings to keep that dreaded weapon from their faces, breasts, and throats. Mr. William Seymour, of Hartford, a brave volunteer, and a nephew of Colonel Ledyard, after his knee had been shat- tered by a musket ball, was stabbed thirteen times with the bayonet. Ensign Woodmancy, who had counted the number of times that he loaded and fired at the enemy while they were scaling the fortress, had his hands and arms almost cut into splinters with a cutlass as he lay wounded and helpless,
[1781.] CAPTAIN BECKWITH. 411
and Lieutenant Parke Avery, whose skull had been entered by a bullet that rent away a part of the brain, and who had lost one of his eyes, was still further tortured by a cut in his side.
One of the British officers, Captain Beckwith,* perhaps, sickened by the details of this awfully protracted butchery, commanded the soldiers to desist. It was with the greatest difficulty that he could call off these hell-hounds already drunk with blood ! With his drawn sword in his hand he ran from room to room of the barracks crying out :
"Stop ! stop! — in the name of Heaven, I say, stop! — my soul can't bear it !"
After awhile the carnage was checked ; but not until eighty-five men lay dead in the fort, and sixty wounded, only a few of whom survived that day of horrors.
But murder and mutilation were not the only features of this grim victory. The soldiers were allowed to strip the scanty summer clothing, valueless as it was, from the dead and wounded, until some of them were nearly or quite naked ; and although there was a well of cold spring-like water within the inclosure, that quenched the thirst of the British soldiers, the poor wretches that lay panting and gasp- ing in the hot sun looked upward imploringly toward the precious drops that dripped from the pump, but looked in vain.
The English now gathered their dead and buried them, and removed their wounded to a place of safety as a step preliminary to blowing up the fort. Then, too, whether in mockery of the common sentiment of humanity, or impelled by an inconsiderate haste scarcely less blame-worthy, they counted off thirty-five of those who were least likely to
* Captain Beck with acted as aid to Lieutenant-Colonel Eyre, and after the death of the latter, led on his men to a bold charge upon the fort, being one of the first officers that entered the works. He was afterwards promoted in the king's ser- vice, and was at one time appointed governor of Barbadoes. Caulkins, p. 563. Some have charged him with the murder of Ledyard ; he, however, indignantly denied the accusation, and the evidence of history as well as the testimony of those who participated in the Groton fight, both go to establish his innocence of the crime.
412 HISTOEY OF CONNECTICUT.
recover, and raising them fainting and bleeding as they were in every stage of approaching dissolution, carried them upon boards to an ammunition wagon that stood near the fort, and notwithstanding the heat of the day, and the groans of the sufferers, packed them in layers one above another, and employed about twenty men to draw them down to the shore. The declivity was so steep and the load so heavy that the momentum of the vehicle could not long be resisted, and the soldiers who had charge of it soon stepped aside and committed it with its precious freight to the guid- ance of chance and the force of gravitation. The ground was covered with earth-fast rocks, stumps and other obsta- cles, but such was the strength of the wagon, that it rolled down the rough hill-side for a distance of nearly one hundred rods, until it was arrested in its career by the trunk of an apple-tree that stood near the water's edge. The shock was so sudden that the wagon rebounded and swayed half round. Some of the wounded men were instantly killed by the jar, others fainted away, and a few were thrown violently upon the ground. The survivors were carried into a house near by and left there on their parole. There was, indeed, little danger that they would violate it.
The other wounded men to the number of thirty had been already removed and put under guard to be carried away as prisoners.
At sun-set, when the enemy embarked, the flames of the village of Groton, flaring on the river's brink, lit up the waters with a sickly glare that deepened into an awful red as night drew on, making a fit beacon to light a TRAITOR from the shore that he had stained with the slime of his foot-prints for the last time. Doubtless he looked out eagerly from the deck of his ship to witness the explosion of the magazine at Fort Griswold, that was to have been the epilogue of this tragedy. In this he was disappointed. The train had been perfectly laid, although Arnold attempted to throw blame upon the officer charged with this task. The flames were extinguished by the brave Major Peters, who
[1781.] THE DEPARTUEE OF THE TRAITOR. 413
rushed into the fort and at the risk of his life quenched them with water from the friendly well. He then looked among the dead bodies for the corpse of Colonel Ledyard. He had no difficulty in finding it. The pale forehead, the high placid features, made visible by the blaze of the burning village and the gleam of the evening twilight, could not be mistaken. They bore witness that the pledge which he had given at the ferry but a few hours before was redeemed : " If I must lose to-day honor or life, you who know me, can tell which it will be !"*
Thus Benedict Arnold,! who from the day that he insulted
* In addition to the facts gathered and presented by Miss Caulkins in such per- fect method, and those set forth by Captain Avei-y's ISIarrative, I have been greatly assisted by the account given me in 1840 by that excellent old gentleman, who spent nearly two days in walking over the ruins of the fort where the massacre took place, and detailing to me the events of the day with the minute- ness and feeling of one who was not only an eye-witness, but a participator in the scenes that were so indelibly stamped upon his memory.
t Benedict Arnold was born in Norwich, January 3rd, 1741. I am indebted to Miss Caulkins' History of that town, for the particulars of his life which are here given.
He descended from an honorable Rhode Island family, where one of his ances- tors bearing the same name, for fifteen years held the office of governor. Two brothers of this femily, Benedict and Oliver, removed from Newport to Nor- wich about the year 1730. The elder Benedict, (the father of the traitor,) soon became engaged in trade and public aiFairs. He served his fellow- townsmen as collector, lister, selectman, constable, and militia captain. He married Mrs. Hannah King, whose maiden name was Lathrop, November 8, 1733. The following letter from her to her wayward son, who was then at school in Canterbury, will be read with interest — indicating as it does her charac- teristics as an affectionate mother and devoted christian :
" To Mr. Benedict Arnold, at Canterbury.
"Norwich, April 12, 1754.
"Dear Child — I received yours of the 1st instant, and was glad to hear that you was well. Pray, my dear, let your first concern be to make your peace with God, as it is, of all concerns, of the greatest importance.
" Keep a steady watch over your thoughts, words, and actions. Be dutiful to
superiors, obliging to equals, and affable to inferiors, if any such there be. Always
choose that your companions be your betters, that by their good examples you
may learn.
" From your afFectionate mother,
" Hannah Arnold.
" P. S. I have sent you 50s. Use it prudently, as you are accountable to God
414 HISTOEY OF CONNECTICUT.
the venerable Wooster, at New Haven, had never been honored by a single office by the state where he was born, and the people who knew him best, paid the long score of revenge with conflagration and blood.
and your father. Tour father and aunt join with me in love and service to Mr. Cogsvi^ell and lady, and yourself. Tour sister is from home."
" It is lamentable," adds Miss Caulkins, " that the son of such a mother, and the recipient of such wholesome advice, should have become a proud, obstinate, and unprincipled man."
Among the anecdotes related of Arnold while a lad, are the following : On a day of public rejoicing for some success over the French, Arnold, then a mere stripling, took a field-piece, and in a frolic placed it on end, so that the mouth should point upright, poured into it a large quantity of powder, and actually dropped into the muzzle, from his hand, a blazing fire-brand. His activity saved him from a scorching, for though the flash streamed up within an inch of his face, he darted back, and shouted hurrah ! as loud as the best of the company.
On another occasion he was concerned with other boys in rolling away some valuable casks from a shop-yard to aid in making the usual thanksgiving bonfire, when the casks were arrested by an officer who had seen sent by the owner to recover them. Toung Arnold was so enraged that he stripped off" his coat upon the spot and dared the constable, a stout and grave man, to fight !
Miss Hannah Arnold, the only sister of Benedict, was an affable, witty and accomplished lady. Among those who paid her particular attentions was a young foreigner, who resided temporarily in the place. Benedict disliked the man and had tried in vain to break oflf their intimacy. He finally vowed vengeance upon the young man, if he ever caught him in the house again. On returning from New Haven one evening, he ascertained that the French- man was in the parlor with his sister. He instantly planted himself in front of the house, with a loaded pistol, while he ordered a servant to make a violent assault upon the parlor door. As Arnold anticipated, the young man leapt out of the window ; Arnold fired the pistol at him, but it being dark, he escaped, and the next day, left the place. Arnold afterwards met him at the Bay of Honduras, where a challenge was given and accepted, which resulted in severely wounding the Frenchman.
Miss Arnold never married. After the death of her father, she resided principally with her brother. She died at Montague, in Upper Canada, in 1803, aged 60 years.
The house in which the Arnold family lived is still standing in a good state of preservation.
CHAPTER XYIII.
YORKTOWN. TRUMBULL, AND PUTNAM.
In the autumn of 1781, Major Tallmadge, who had been stationed with the troops in the Highlands under General Heath, renewed his plan of annoying the enemy on Long Island. Having marched his troops to Norwalk, he embarked with them on the 9th of October with the design of attack- ing Fort Slongo, on Treadwell's Neck. Early on the follow- ing morning the assault was commenced and the fortress was soon subdued The combustible part was burnt, and the party returned in safety with their prisoners. The gallant major again established his quarters at White Plains, where he found abundant employment in protecting the inhabitants from the plundering and marauding parties that infested the neighborhood.*
The French fleet under De Grasse and Du Barras having reached the Chesapeake, four ships of the line and several frigates were sent to block up James and York rivers, so as to cut off Cornwallis' retreat. During the maneuvering of the ships of De Grasse with those of Admiral Graves of the
* Major Tallmadge continued to be actively and successfully employed in the service of his country until the establishment of peace, when he retired from the army with the rank of colonel. He was subsequently president of the Cincinnati Society of Connecticut, In March, 1784, Colonel Tallmadge married Mary Floyd, daughter of General William Floyd, of Mastic, Long Island, and shortly after settled in Litchfield, Connecticut, where he became extensively engaged in mercantile pursuits, and where he spent the remainder of his days. From 1800 to 1816, he was a representative in Congress. He was distinguished for his unostentatious piety and active benevolence,
Mrs. Mary Tallmadge died June 3d, 1805, leaving several children. Colonel Tallmadge was again married, on the 3d of INIay 1808, to Maria, daughter of Joseph Hallett, Esq., who survived her husband a few years.
Colonel Tallmadge died in Litchfield, March 7, 1835. He had four sons and two or three daughters.
416 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
British service, Du Barras entered the bay along with several transports loaded with heavy artillery, for the siege of York- town. The combined armies of America and France soon formed a junction with Lafayette at Williamsburg, from which point, the plan of operations having been previously arranged, they commenced their march against Cornwallis. The French troops now amounted to seven thousand ; the continentals numbered five thousand five hundred ; and about three thousand five hundred Virginia militia, under General Nelson, had assembled in Lafayette's camp. The besieging army thus amounted to about sixteen thousand men. The British force at Yorktown, consisting of about eight thousand troops, had strongly fortified themselves, and works had been thrown up in the vicinity to impede the approach of the Americans. The most interesting event of the siege was the simultaneous storming of two of these out-posts. One of these forts, situated near the banks of York river, was assaulted about day-break on the morning of the 15th of October, by a detachment of American light infantry. The forlorn hope was commanded by Colonel Alexander Hamilton. The first company at the head of the column that supported the forlorn hope, was led by Captain James Morris, of Litchfield.* A brisk fire was soon opened
* James Morris, Esq., was born in Litchfield, South Farms parish, January 19, 1752 ; graduated at Tale College in 1775 ; and soon after commenced the study of divinity with the Rev. Dr. Bellamy, of Bethlem, in company with his college friends, Messrs. Seth Swift, David Tuller, and Adoniram Judson — all of whom subsequently became distinguished in the ministry. In May, 1776, while precep- tor of the grammar school in Litchfield, he received from Governor Trumbull an ensign's commission in the troops enlisted for a six months' campaign in New York, which he accepted, after obtaining the advice of Dr. Bellamy in its favor. He was in the retreat from Long Island, and in the battles of York Island and White Plains. During the autumn he received from Congress a commission of second lieutenant 5 in January, 1777, he was promoted to a first lieutenancy, and during that winter was stationed at Litchfield in the recruiting service, and as superintendent of the small-pox hospital. In May, he joined the army at Peeks- kill, with the men he had enlisted, and from thence in September marched with the army under the immediate command of General Washington, for Philadel- phia. Captured at the battle of Germantown, he was detained as a prisoner for the period of three years and three months, having been liberated January 3d,
[1781.] YOKKTOWN". 417
upon the Americans, but the van of the party under Hamil- ton and Morris, were so near the fort before they were dis- covered, that the British overshot them. Not a man of their party was killed, though the main body of the detachment lost about sixty in killed and wounded. At the same time, the French army made an attack on the second of these forts, which proved to be a much more disastrous conflict. They finally succeeded, but with the loss of about two hundred men.*
The allied forces now had possession of the grounds that overlooked Yorktown. The British were hemmed in on all sides, the elbow of the river being occupied by our ships. Our artillery began to play upon the town ; the condition of the enemy grew more and more hopeless ; and as a last resort Cornwallis thought of passing his army across to Gloucester and forcing his way through the troops on that
1781. During this period he had been appointed Captain. He passed the spring and most of the summer succeeding his exchange, with the army on the Hudson, and was in several skirmishes in that quarter. Near the close of August, Colo- nel Scammel's regiment, to which Captain Morris belonged, was ordered to march to Virginia, and he accompanied the army under Washington to Yorktown.
At the close of the war. Captain Morris returned to Litchfield, and there spent the remainder of his days. For many years he was a justice of the peace, select- man, and deacon in the church, and was often elected to represent the town in the Legislature of Connecticut.
In 1790, Mr. Morris commenced a school in South Farms, which gradually extended its reputation and influence, until " Morris' Academy" became favorably known throughout the country. "While under his care, more than sixty of its pupils entered college, and nearly fifteen hundred children and youth had been members of it — from twelve different states of the union, and from the Islands of St. Thomas and Bermuda.
Mr. Morris was the author of a valuable pamphlet of 124 pages, entitled " A Sta- tistical account of several towns in Litchfield County," which was published in 1815, by the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences. He also wrote a very inter- esting narrative of his own life and public services during the revolution and sub- sequently, which throws much light upon the history of the particular corps of the Connecticut line with which he was connected. 1 take great pleasure in acknowledging my indebtedness to his only surviving son, Dwight Morris, Esq., of Bridgeport, for the use of this manuscript volume — a work which does honor to the head and heart of its author.
* See INIorris' Narrative ; also, Gordon's Hist.
59
418 HISTOEY OF CONNECTICUT.
side of the river. A violent storm, however, prevented the accompHshment of this purpose ; and in the afternoon of the 17th a flag was sent out, requesting the cessation of hostiU- ties for the space of twenty-four hours. General Washing- ton sent back word that he would grant them two hours only. The moment the time designated had expired, all the artillery of the American and French armies was discharged at once upon Yorktown. Before another volley could be flred, the British beat a parley, and sent a second flag, with the request that commissioners might be appointed to agree upon articles of capitulation. This was done, and the terms were soon agreed upon.
On the 19th of October, 1781, the allied armies were drawn up in parallel lines, about six rods apart, each extend- ing more than a mile in length along the plain. The van- quished army then marched between these lines, playing their own tunes, but with their colors muffled.* General Lincoln was appointed to receive the submission of the royal army in precisely the same way that his own surrender had been conducted by the enemy eighteen months before. They piled up their arms on the field, and marched back to Yorktown unarmed.*
More than seven thousand British troops surrendered as prisoners of war, exclusive of fifteen hundred seamen ; more than two thousand of whom were either wounded or sick. The Guadaloupe frigate and twenty-four transports, together with one hundred and sixty pieces of cannon, and eight mor- tars, fell into the hands of the conquerors. The loss of the besiegers was about four hundred and fifty in killed and wounded ; the besieged had about five hundred and fifty slain, among whom was Major Cochrane. Twenty trans- ports belonging to the enemy had been sunk or burnt during the siege.
On the 20th, General Washington issued his orders for a general pardon of all culprits of the army that were in con- finement for crimes as well as those under sentence of a
* Morris, f Gordon, ]\Iorris, Hildreth.
[1782.] TREATY OF PEACE. 419
court-martial. His orders closed with the following para- graph :
" Divine service shall be performed to-morrow in the differ- ent brigades and divisions. The commander-in-chief recom- mends that all the troops that are not upon duty, do assist in it with a serious deportment, and that sensibility of heart which the recollection of the surprising and particular inter- position of Providence in our favor, claims."
On the 24th of October, a British fleet, consisting of twenty-five sail of the line, with two of fifty guns and several frigates, arrived off the Chesapeake, having on board seven thousand men desin;ned for the reinforcement of Corn- wallis. On receiving the intelligence of the catastrophe at Yorktown, the British commander returned to New York, with this formidable naval force.
The capture of Cornwallis determined the great contest in favor of the Americans. Although more than a year elapsed before a treaty of peace was actually made and ratified, and although during this period the armies of the two nations continued to maintain a hostile attitude, verv few skirmishes and no general engagement took place. On the 3d day of September, 1782, definitive treaties between Great Britain, France, and Spain, were signed at Versailles by the Duke of Manchester, and the plenipotentiaries of the said courts. On the same day, a definitive treaty with Great Britain and the United States of America was also signed at Paris, by David Hartley, Esq., the British plenipotentiary, and the plenipotentiaries of the United States.* It was not until the 30th of November that the articles for concludins; a general peace between the United States and Great Britain, were formally signed, at Paris, by Richard Oswold, Esq., the commissioner of his Britannic majesty on the one part, and by John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, John Jay, and Henry Laurens, commissioners of the United States of America, on the other part.
On the 19th of April, 1783, at noon, General Washing-
^ Gordon, iii. 356.
420 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
ton proclaimed to the American army the cessation of hostihties between the two governments. In November following, Washington issued his farewell address to the officers and soldiers, and the army was disbanded.*
It is particularly worthy of remark, that, notwithstanding
* Before a final separation, the officers of the army formed themselves into an association called the " Order of the Cincinnati " — after the illustrious Roman Cin- cinnatus^ who, having repelled the invaders of his country, returned to the hum- ble employments of agricultural life. As this society vi^as long the subject of bitter animadversion on account of its supposed aristocratic objects and tenden- cies, I will briefly state some of its provisions.
Its principles, as officially stated by the association itself, were as follows : An incessant attention to preserve inviolate the exalted rights and liberties of human nature, for which its members have fought and bled — and an unalterable deter- mination to promote and cherish between the respective states union and national honor ; to render permanent, cordial affection, and the spirit of brotherly kindness among the officers ; and to extend acts of beneficence toward those officers and their families who may unfortunately be under the necessity of receiving it. The general society, for the sake of frequent communications, shall be divided into state societies, and those again into such districts as the state societies shall direct. " The society shall have an order by which its members shall be known and dis- tinguished, which shall be a medal of gold of proper size to receive the proposed emblems, and to be suspended by a deep blue ribbon two inches wide, edged with white, descriptive of the union of America and France." This order was to be perpetuated in the line of the eldest male descendents of the original mem- bers, or, failing such descendants, by the admission of such collateral relations as might be deemed worthy. There was also a provision for admitting as honorary members persons who had not belonged to the army.*
A great outcry was raised against the society, especially by the soldiers, and by many prominent civilians in America and in France, among whom were Franklin, John and Samuel Adams, Gerry and others. A pamphlet was published in Charleston, S. C, in October 1783, entitled,"*' Considerations on the Society of the order of Cincin- nati," which was attributed to Chief Justice Burke, in which the author attempts to prove that " the Cincinnati creates two distinct orders among the Americans — 1st, a race of hereditary nobles, founded on the military, together with the power- ful families and first-rate leading men in the state, whose view it will ever be, to rule ; and 2d, the people, or plebeians, whose only view is, not to be oppres- sed ; but whose certain fate it will be to suffer oppression under the institution."
The prejudice and alarm became so universal that at the first general meeting of the order, in May 1784, through the efforts of Washington and other leading members, the constitution was so modified as to exclude the hereditary principle. Even this did not satisfy the people, and the association long continued to be an object of jealously.
* Gordon, Hildreth.
THE DEBATING CLUB. 421
the limited extent of her territory, and the comparatively small number of her population, Connecticut furnished for the continental ranks and kept in actual service more men than any other colony or state in the confederacv.* It should be borne in- mind, also, that the thirty-two thousand of her able-bodied sons who formed a part of the continental army, constituted but a small portion of her force in actual service. Besides the detachments employed in defending her own frontiers, and her sea-coast, her militia shared in the privations of the camp and the perils of the field in every part of the country. It was estimated that more than five thousand of her citizens perished during the war, in their country's service, exclusive of those in the continental
line.f
The part that Connecticut took in the revolution, grew not only out of the causes named in the preceding chapters, but from that peculiar deliberation with which the people of the colony were in the habit of making up their minds upon all matters of public importance. The following interesting extract from a letter of the Rev. Chauncev A. Goodrich, D.D., of Yale College, will set forth this characteristic in a much clearer light than any language of mine :
" There is one fact respecting the revolutionary history of our State which ought to be recorded, as exhibiting the wis- dom and deliberation with which our leading men entered into the war. Dr. Nathan Strong, of Hartford, told my father that about the time the contest drew on, our governor called a secret session of the Legislature. Dr. Strong was chaplain, and was sworn to secrecy. The Legislature then appointed six of the ablest jurists in the State — three to argue the cause in favor of the right of parliament to tax
* The number nominally furnished by each state was as follows : Massachu- setts 67,907 ; Connecticut, 31,939 ; Virginia, 26,678 ; Pennsylvania, 25,678 ; New York, 17,781 5 Maryland, 13,9<12 ; New Hampshire, 12,497 : New Jersey, 10,726 : North Carolina, 7,263 ; South Carolina, 6,417 ; Rhode Island, 5,908 ; Georgia, 2,679 ; Delaware, 2,386. Total, 231,791. Hildreth.
fRev. Benjamin Trumbull's Thanksgiving Sermon at North Haven, December 11th, 1783.
422 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
the colonies, and three against it. These arguments were continued for two or three days, when the conviction became universal among the members, that parliament had not the right, and that the colonies might lawfully resist. With this conviction, and the arguments on which it was founded, the representatives returned each to his own place of residence. This, Dr. Strong stated, was the origin of the entire unanimity with which our state entered into the con- test. The whole people had the argument from their repre- sentatives ; but no one knew, at that time, by what means it had been so maturely formed. Dr. Strong mentioned these things to my father toward the close of his life, stating that he had never spoken of them before ; but considered him- self as released, by the lapse of time and course of events, from all further obligation to his oath of secrecy."
I mentioned these facts a few vears ago to Charles Chaun- cey, Esq., of Philadelphia. He remarked, " It is one of the most curious and interesting pieces of secret history con- nected with our revolution. It is strikingly characteristic of the habits of Connecticut ; especially that so much pains should be taken to understand the argument fully on both sides."*
Before leaving this interesting era in the history of our. state, let us revert to some of the traits of two or three of the principal actors in the events commemorated in these pages.
Colonel Seth Warner was born in Woodbury, Connecticut, in 1742. About the year 1763, his father purchased a tract of land in the township of Bennington, on the New Hamp- shire Grants, and young Warner removed thither with his parents. He soon became enured to the hardships of pioneer-life, and no hunter on the Green Mountains was more indefatigable and successful than he. Long before the breaking out of the revolution, the controversy between the
* It seems eminently proper that this important state secret should have fallen into the hands of a family so historical, and that it should have been given to the world by so accurate a pen.
[1784.] COLONEL WARNER. 423
settlers on the grants and the government of New York gave scope to his energies and developed his manliness of charac- ter and his hatred of oppression. Associated with Ethan Allen as a recognized leader of the Green Mountain Boys, through a series of years Seth Warner's name was the watch-word of the settlers and a sound of dread in the ears of their enemies. His feats of noble daring and self-denying effort, are worthy of an honorable place on the page that tells the story of the heroic age of our country's history. Nor have his deeds been without a chronicler, A few years since the Hon. Daniel Chipman gave to the world a faithful record of his life and public services in a handsome volume, to which the reader is referred. Colonel Warner's services in the revolution have long formed a part of the history of that great struggle, but a perusal of Mr. Chipman's volume will show that previous biographers and historians had failed to do him justice.
He did not long survive to participate in the blessings of the peace and freedom which he had assisted to achieve. Worn down with toil and disease, he returned to his native town, where he died, December 26, 1784, in the 42d year of his age.
Colonel Warner was a man of iron frame and of remark- able strength and agility. He was six feet and four inches in height, and his figure was well proportioned and manly. He was mild and courteous in his bearing, cool and deliber- ate in his judgment, firm and energetic in his purposes, while his unwavering integrity and strict sense of honor inspired his friends and the community generally with the most implicit confidence.
The Rev. Thomas Canfield, of Roxbury, preached his funeral sermon, from 2 Samuel, ii. 27 : " How are the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war perished ?"*
Pre-eminent in the roll of our patriots and statesmen,
* See Chipman's Life of Warner ; Houghton's Address on the life and pubhc services of Colonel Warner.
424 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
stands the name of Jonathan Trumbull. His position as governor of the state during the war, united with that rare combination of powers which made him second only to Washington in executive abihties, not second even to him in the maturity of his wisdom and the depth of his moral nature, and greatly his superior in intellectual culture, con- stituted him the principal character in our colony and state during the period occupied by his administration. It is true of Trumbull, as of Washington, that the perfect symmetry of his character has induced many to lose sight of the vast scale on which it was constructed, and the elevation with which it towers above the level of other public men of that day.
At the head of the little republic on the breaking out of the war, Trumbull was the only governor in all the colo- nies who had the courage and the firmness to make a stand against the tyranny of the British government. As before stated, he had indignantly refused to take an oath to execute the stamp-act, or even to witness the degrading ceremony. During the period that transpired between that day and the 19th of April, 1775, his convictions had been strengthened and his mind confirmed in the justice of the American cause. He was the presiding genius of Connecticut during the whole conflict. Marshalling troops, providing munitions, superintending the financial department and the building of ships of war, perfecting the defenses of the colony, purchas- ing cannon, muskets, clothing, and provisions for the army, sitting in council, advising with the General Assembly, writ- ing letters to committees of safety, keeping up a constant correspondence with Washington, composing state papers, mustering the militia, listening to the complaints of the soldiers as if they had been his children, and soothing them with soft words — in all departments, we find him the great central executive force to which Washington was drawn in the dark hours of that eight years' struggle. Did he need troops to swell the army at Cambridge, he called upon Trum- bull ; and reluctantly, and in spite of the solicitations of the
I
GOVERNOR TRUMBULL. 425
people whom he governed, rather than disobey the com- mander-in-chief, he ordered the coast of Connecticut to be left unguarded, and the citizen-soldiers to leave their homes to the mercy of the British invaders, and march into another colony.* Did a British fleet threaten to invade New York, and tories boast that they would lay the city in ruins Washington had only to write a letter to Trumbull, and the troops were sent into the infected district, and the British ships were soon seen to spread their wings like scared birds of prey, and fly toward the south. Did thousands of British regulars, at a later day, press around him, and seem about to overwhelm him ? A requisition upon Trumbull brought to his aid fourteen regiments of farmers, who obeyed the command of the chief magistrate whom they had themselves helped to elect, without a murmur, and returned, if they happened to survive, to vote for him again. In still darker hours, when the genius of the American people drooped, and the hearts of the other colonies sank beneath the accumula- ted burden of severe campaigns, heavy taxes, and debts that had been piled on them like mountains ; when even Wash- ington doubted from what source another dollar could be raised to keep the army in the field, he called upon Trum- bull, and the sinews of war, strained till they were ready to crack, again recovered their elasticity. Industrious, quiet, unselfish, trust-worthy — with a head never giddy, however steep the precipice upon which he stood, and a heart that kept all secrets confided to it as the deep wave holds the plummet that is dropped into its bosom — no wonder that Trumbull should have been selected by the first man of the
* In the early part of the war when the British ships of war were threatening to land on our coast, Governor Trumbull requested that a part of the troops about to be raised in the colony, might remain to defend our own soil. For some cause not readily divined, Washington persisted in ordering them all to Boston. The governor wrote him a pungent letter, expressive of his surprise and regret, but, in the true spirit of patriotism, added — "It is plain that such jealousies indulged, however just, will destroy the cause " ; and, in spite of the manifest injustice of the demand, he expressed his determination to comply.
426 HISTOEY OF CONNECTICUT.
world as his counselor and companion, and no wonder that he called him "brother.""
We are natm'ally led to inquire, what were the secret fountains that fed this pure life ? They may be easily known by the bright verdure that springs up along their course as they wind through the quiet fields of unambitious boyhood. Long before he had ever turned his eye toward the high places of the world, before a war with England was dreamed of as a possible event, and while at Harvard, he was looking out upon life through that pleasant perspective glass, a young scholar's imagination, he was mature above his years in all that gives promise of future usefulness ; and at the tender age when other boys are properly called children, and are occupied with sports that demand the exercise of little else than the blood that courses through their frame ; the future statesman, in company with a few kindred spirits, was fram- ing a series of rules by which his moral nature and intellec- tual character might shape themselves into a mould of com- pleteness that few men have ever attained, and a durability that is destined to defy the flight of years, as it resisted during his life time the temptations of the world.f
*The term, "Brother Jonathan," was frequently apphed by Washington to Governor Trumbull. " When he wanted honest counsel and wise, he would say, ' let us consult Brother Jonathan.' " See Bushnell's " Historical Estimate," p. 34.
t On entering college, in 1724, young Trumbull joined a religious society con- nected with the institution. Its character can be judged from the articles of agree- ment entered into by the members, which were substantially as follows :
1 . That we will meet together twice a week for the worship of God.
2. That, being met together, we will, as God enables us, perform the several injunctions of the meeting.
3. That all manner of disagreeing, strifes or quarrelling, with one another shall be suppressed, and that we will live in love, peace, and unity, with one another.
4. That if we see or hear any one of our number speak or do anything unbe- coming a member of this society, we will reprove him as far as we shall think the reproof worthy, with all meekness, love, and tenderness toward him.
5. That we will bear with one another's infirmities, and divulge nothing of what nature soever, that is done at our meetings.
6. That when absent from our meetings, we will endeavor to behave ourselves so that '' none may have occasion to speak evil of us." For the rules of this society, I am indebted to Hon. 1. W. Stuart, of Hartford,
CHAKACTER OF TRUMBULL. 427
At that early day was laid the foundation of that gentle- ness and christian humility, that sweetness of temper, that serene confidence and cheerfulness in critical emergencies, and the unshaken purpose of soul, which marked him out as the fit man, and the only one, for the place of honor that was assigned him by his native state.
Trumbull's private character was no less a model than his public life. His manners had none of the stiffness of official rank belonging to that day, but were sprightly, amiable, and unostentatious. He knew how to adapt himself to all classes of people, and always when at leisure had a lively, pleasant word to say to everybody who happened to be in his presence. He was remarkable for his quiet way of expressing his senti- ments either in the council or in the drawing-room, and always spoke in a low tone.
In the midst of all his watchful cares, he never lost his love of letters, and retained his knowledge of the dead languages with an unimpaired memory till he died. He habitually read the Bible in the original Hebrew and Greek, and never left off the studies of history and chronology, in which he particularly excelled. He was very regular and temperate in his habits, devoted to his family, and testified how much better he loved his home than he did any public station, by resigning his office as soon as the termination of the war allowed him to think of repose. He had another motive, too, for seeking retirement, which is touchingly expressed in his address to the General Assembly, when he tendered to the people the office that he had held so long :
"Contemplating," he says, "with pleasing wonder and satisfaction, at the close of an arduous contest, the noble and enlarged scenes which now present themselves to my coun- try's view ; and reflecting at the same time on my advanced stage of life — a life w^orn out, almost, in the constant cares of office — I think it my duty to retire from the busy concern of public affairs; that at the evening of my days, I may sweeten their decline, by devoting myself with less avoca- tion, and more attention to the duties of religion, the service
428 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
of my God, and preparation for a future and happier state of existence ; in which pleasing employment I shall not cease to remember my country, and to make it my ardent prayer, that heaven will not fail to bless her with its choicest favors."*
* The first ancestor in this country of the Trumbull family of Connecticut, was John Trumbull^ who is stated by Hinman and others, to have emigrated from Cumberland county, England, and settled in Rowley, Massachusetts. His son of the same name, was an early settler of Suffield, Connecticut, and from him have descended all of the Trumbulls of the state, many of whom have been eminent as statesmen, soldiers, scholars, and divines.
Jonathan Trumbull, the elder, was a son of Joseph Trumbull, of Lebanon, where he was born June 12, 1710. He graduated at Harvard college, in 1727, pursued the study of theology with the Rev. Mr. "Williams, of his native town, and was licensed to preach. On the death of an elder brother, who was lost at sea, he was called home to close up the mercantile affairs of his father ; and, feel- ing it to be his duty to remain with his aged parents, he relinquished his chosen profession and became a merchant. In 1733, at the age of twenty-three years, he was elected a representative from Lebanon, and was often re-elected. In 1739, he was chosen Speaker of the House ; and at the May session of the following year, he was elected an assistant, or member of the Upper House, where he con- tinued for many years. From 1766 to 1770, he was lieutenant-governor of the state, and chief judge of the superior court; and from 1770 to 1784, he was annually elected governor. He died August 17, 1785.
Jonathan Trumbull, (son of the preceding,) w^as born at Lebanon, March 26, 1740, graduated at Harvard college in 1759, and settled in his native town. From the commencement of the revolution to the close of the campaign of 1778, he was paymaster in the northern department of the army; and in 1780, he was appointed secretary and first aid to General Washington, in whose family he remained till the close of the war. In 1789, he was chosen a member of Con- gress, and in 1791, he was elected Speaker of the United States House of Repre- sentatives. He was subsequently a senator in Congress, and from 1798, until his death, he was governor of Connecticut. He died at Lebanon, August 7, 1809, aged sixty-nine.
Colonel Joseph Trumbull, (also a son of the elder Governor Trumbull,) was the first commissary general of the United States army — an office which he resigned in August, 1777. In October following, he was appointed by Congress one of the five commissioners of the board of war, his colleagues being Major-General Gates, Major-General Mifflin, Richard Peters, Esq., and Colonel Timothy Pickering. Colonel Trumbull died, universally lamented, in July, 1779, aged forty-two.
Rev. Benjamin Trumbull, D.D., was a native of Hebron, and a graduate of Yale College, in the class of 1759. He was ordained and settled as pastor of the congregational church in North Haven, December 25, 1760 ; and died February 2, 1820, aged eighty-five. Though a learned and faithful preacher, his fame rests
DEATH OF TRUMBULL. 429
The remainder of Trumbull's life was spent in exact accordance with the sentiments expressed in this passage. In the calm retreat where he had entertained princes and noble- men— where Washington sought him out to take counsel of him — in the circle of his family, and near the spot that he had selected for his grave, he awaited the flight of the friendly arrow that was to set him free. Though he watched it carefully, yet it came in secret, and at an unexpected hour. He was of such an equal temperament and had such an excellent physical constitution, that his friends anticipated for him a long life ending in a slow and calm decline. But he was suddenly attacked by a fever, which might be said to be his first sickness and proved to be his last. He died after an illness of about twelve days, during which he suffered much pain with a sweetness that made even death seem to be a protecting rather than a destroying angel. His reason was unclouded, and his mind composed to the last. In the words of Mr. Ely, who preached his funeral sermon, "he had nothing to do but to die."*
chiefly upon his historical works, which are remarkable for the evidence they afTord of successful research and laborious investigation. His publications are — History of Connecticut, vol. 1, 8vo., 1797 ; in 2 vols. 1818 ; History of the United States to 1765, vol. i., 1819 ; Essays in favor of the claim of Connecticut to the Susquehannah county, 1774, also — Thanksgiving Sermon, 1783; A Treatise on Divorces, 1788 ; Ordination Sermon, 1789 ; Century Sermon, 1801 ; Address on Prayer and Family Religion, 1804; twelve Discourses on the Divine Origin of the Scriptures.
John Trumbull, LL.D., (son of the Rev. John Trumbull, of Watertown, Conn.,) was born in AYatertown, in 1750, and graduated at Yale College, in 1767. From 1771 to 1773, he was a tutor at Yale, and during that time published his poem, " The Progress of Dullness.''^ He subsequently studied law with John Adams, at Boston, and settled in Hartford in the practice of his profession. In 1784, his celebrated poetical satire, " McFingal^^'' was published — and has since gone through several editions both in this country and in England. From 1801 to 1819, he was a judge of the sUperior court of Connecticut. His poetical works were collected and published in two volumes in 1820. Judge Trumbull, died at the residence of his son-in-law, Governor Woodbridge, in Detroit, Michigan, May 10, 1831, aged eighty-one.
A sketch of Colonel John Trumbull, the artist, will be given in another place.
* The following is an extract from the Rev. Mr. Ely's funeral sermon, alluded to :
" Me think I see our late renowned glorious chief in war, America's boast and
430 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
One after another, the great nnen of the revolution were now fast dropping away. Putnam, the second military chief- tain of that era, was destined soon to follow. We have seen how, at the close of the campaign of 1779, he was siezed
the world's wonder, solitary and pensive, with, the big tear starting from the eye of keenest sensibility, the melancholy tidings having reached his ears, that his highly prized friend in the cabinet, his brother and companion in the late struggles and bloody conflict, is no morei,, In similar sorrow methink I view many more, greatly admired, much beloved, whose names I dare not mention lest others be jealous through the tenderness of their friendship. Let this consideration, dear afflicted mourners, have some weight with you."
Immediately on receiving intelligence of Trumbull's death, General Washing- ton thus wrote to Jonathan Trumbull, Jr., a son of the governor :
" Mount Vernon, Oct. 1st, 1785.
" My Dear Sir — ^It has so happened that your letter of the first of last month, did not reach me until Saturday's post.
" Tou know too well the sincere respect and regard I entertained for your ven- erable father's public and private character, to require assurance of the concern I felt for his death ; or of that sympathy in your feelings, for the loss of him, which is prompted by friendship. Under this loss, however, great as j^our pangs may have been at the first shock, you have everything to console you.
" A long and well spent life in the service of his country, places Governor Trumbull among the first of patriots. In the social duties he yielded to no one ; and his lamp from the common course of nature being nearly extinguished, worn down with age and cares, but retaining his mental faculties in perfection, are bless- ings which rarely attend advanced life. All these combined, have secured to his memory unusual respect and love here, and no doubt, unmeasurable happiness hereafter.
" I am sensible that none of these observations can have escaped you, that I can offer nothing which your own reason has not already suggested upon the occasion, and being of Sterne's opinion, that " before an affliction is digested, consolation comes too soon, and after it is digested it comes too late, there is but a mark be- tween these two, almost as fine as a hair, for a comforter to take aim at." I rarely attempt it ; nor should I add more on this subject to you, as it will be a renewal of sorrow, by calling afresh to your rememberance things that had better be forgot- ten.
" My principal pursuits are of a rural nature, in which I have great delight, especially as I am blessed with the enjoyment of good health. Mrs. Washington, on the contrary, is hardly ever well ; but, thankful of your kind remembrance of her, joins me in every good wish for you, Mrs. Trumbull, and your family.
" Be assured, that with sentiments of the purest esteem, I am, dear sir,
" Tour affectionate friend
" and obedient servant,
" Geo. Washington."
LAST DAYS OF PUTN"AM. 431
with paralytic numbness while on the road between Pomfret and Hartford. It was difficult for a man of his ardent tem- perament to persuade himself that he had done with the camp and the tented-field, at a time when he had looked forward to the successful termination of a war which he had been the first to advocate and to put to the terrible arbitra- ment of the sword. That he, the man of action, whose whole life had been passed in the open air, whether in tilling the fields and digging up the rocks of Pomfret, following into her lair the wolf that had preyed upon his flock, threading the crooked trails that led along the borders of the lakes and rivers of the west, in chase of French partizans and their Indian allies, or, in captivity worse than death, wandering naked and hungry through the wild woods that echoed to the shouts of joy with which his tormentors saluted the fire that scorched his flesh ; that he, of all other men, should be con- demned to shut himself away from the busy scenes that had made up his existence, and count the hours by the sunbeams that peeped in through his bed- curtains, or stole on him through the windows that fronted his easy chair, seemed insupportable. At first his heart sank within him, and a shadow of sadness clouded his features. But Putnam was not a man to give himself up to settled melancholy. He returned home, and soon summoned to his aid the consola- tions of religion, and the smiles of the domestic cir- cle. Here he spent the remainder of his days, the patriarch of his household, and the centre and oracle of those old neighbors who had been out with him into so many rough battle-fields, and had brought home each for himself a garland of honor and traditionary renown. How eagerly must those venerable soldiers, who had served with him under Aber- crombie and Amherst, forgetful of age and wounds, have hobbled upon their crutches to talk over with him the arrival of fresh intelligence from the army ; how Arnold had sought to sell American liberty for gold ; how he had laid New London and Groton in ruins ; and how Ledyard and his fellow patriots had been murdered and mutilated ; or how
432 HISTOEY OF CONNECTICUT.
Washington had thrown the meshes of his net over Corn- wallis at Yorktown, and was victorious at last over secret and open foes.
Nor was Putnam constantly confined to his house. The paralytic stroke was kindly mitigated, and in the soft warm days, when summer smiled upon his white locks, and when cheerful autumn sported with them, he was able to ride forth to view his farm, his flocks and herds, and to visit his neigh- bors at their houses. Occasionally, too, after the war was over, some gentleman of the army would pay his respects to the old hero. Colonel Humphreys, General Parsons, Colonel Trumbull, the artist, or Colonel Wadsworth, would ride over from Hartford, dismount at the farm-house gate, and drop a tear upon his palsied hand as they grasped it in tender recognition.
He had much to be grateful for in other respects. His intellect remained as fresh and strong as it was on the morn- ing of the battle of Bunker Hill. The strength of his memory, the sharp sallies of his wit, his broad exuberant humor, his happy way of relating anecdotes of adventures that had happened to himself or had fallen under his observation, his keen relish of a joke, even though it were at his own expense, all continued to throw around the old man the fascinations that had made him from childhood the favorite of every circle. Nor did Washington lose sight of the best of all his officers, but found time, even in the midst of his most arduous duties, to write to him as follows :
" The name of a Putnam is not forgotten ; nor will be, but with that stroke of time which shall obliterate from my mind the remembrance of all those toils and fatigues through which we have struggled for the preservation and establishment of the rights, liberties, and independence of our country."*
With a delicacy as marked as the friendship that dictated it, in the same letter the writer attempted to soothe the invalid and make him satisfied in his retirement :
* Humphreys.
DEATH OF PUTNAM. 433
" I anticipate with pleasure the day, and that I trust not far off, when I shall quit the scenes of a military employ- ment and retire to the more tranquil walks of domestic life. In that or whatever other situation Providence may dispose of my future days, the remembrance of the many friendships and connections I have had the happiness to contract with the gentlemen of the army, will be one of my most grateful reflections."
As nearly as can now be known, such was the old age of Putnam. On the 17th of May, 1790, he was violently attacked with an inflammatory disease. He had met death too often on the battle-field to fear him, and seems to have felt from the first that his recovery was neither to be looked for nor desired. After an illness of only two days, he expired. On the 21st of May, in the midst of a vast con- course of people, and under the escort of the grenadiers of the eleventh regiment, the independent corps of artillery, and the militia of the neighborhood, the ashes of Putnam were borne to their last resting place. ^^
* John Putnam emigrated from Buckinghamshire, England, and settled in Salem, Massachusetts, in the year 1634 — bringing with him three sons, viz., Thomas, Nathaniel, and John. Edward Putnam, the son of Thomas, in 1733, made the following record :
" From those three proceeded twelve males ; and from these twelve, forty males ; and from the forty, eighty-two males." All of the name in New England are believed to be descended from John.
Captain Joseph Putnam, (father of the general,) was the son of John, who was the youngest son of the pioneer. He continued to reside, in Salem — in which place Israel Putnam was born, January 7th, 1718.
At the age of twenty-one years, Putnam purchased a tract of land in Pomfret, Conn., and took up his abode in that town — he having, about that time married a daughter of Mr. John Pope, of Salem. By dint of industry and frugality, he became one of the most successful agriculturalists in the town. He remained on his farm until the breaking out of the war between England and France, in 1755, when, at the age of thirty-seven years, he accepted a captain's eomnnssion in Lyman's regiment, and shortly afterwards marched with the troops to the north. From that date, until he was disabled, he was almost constantly in the service of his country.
The Putnams of Buckinghamshire, (from whom, as we have seen, our hero derives his descent,) were a good old English family previous to the emigration. In Burke's " Complete Armory," the coat of arms is thus described :
60
434 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
The character of Putnam was the result of our peculiar structure of society and the growth of our soil. A hero from his cradle, he needed not the tactics of the schools to give him discipline, nor the maxims of philosophy to make him brave. Like the ghost of Fingal rising in the mist of its hill, and unveiling its features to the moon, the fame of our chief- tian is just beginning to unfold itself in its colossal propor- tions. Already the eyes of the world are turned toward him. A monument is soon to stand above his grave that will be worthy of the spot. Let it be made of material solid as his integrity, and planted deep and immovable as the love that he bore to his country was seated in his heart, yet let it be costly and rare as the lavish gifts that the creating hand poured so plentifully upon him. Let it be simple and bold like his character ; above all, let it transmit the epitaph that has so long told the pilgrims who visit the tomb, that Putnam *^ dared to lead where any dared, to follow /"
"Puttenham, or Putnam, (Bedfordshire, and Penn, eo. Buckingham,) Sa. cruslly fitehee ar. a stork of the last. Crest — A wolf's head."
It is a very significant symbol it must be admitted, for a Putnam. One would almost think that the original grantee must have been an astrologer and cast the horoscope of his Yankee descendant. Of course, then, it was useless for the old she wolf to gnash her teeth and growl as her unwelcome guest entered her cave. Her fate had been recorded in the herald's college ages before her invader was born.
Our American Putnams are unquestionably descended from the noble family of Puttenhams, of Hants, of which mention is made by Burke in the paragraph which follows. It will be noticed that the description of the coat of arms is similar, the crest excepted.
"Puttenham, (Sherfield, Co. Hants, Visitation of 1634; Richard Puttenham, of Sherfield, Esq., grandson of Sir George Puttenham, of Sherfield, left an only daughter and heir, Anne, wife of Francis Morris, of Copwell.) Ar. crusily fitehee sa. a stork of the last. Crest, as the last."
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It was by ihh- time quite apparent that the articles of con- federation would not serve the purposes of a government that was expected to be anything more than provisional. The depreciation of its paper money, the boldness with which \u ■:■:< '' ■ity was set at naught, a? •• ^'^ ^ ' the colonies as by ii evinced ciearlv enou a, without rej]:ard tc
ii)i vs that might threaten tne country from -a foreign
h MI. the government had no control over the inhabitants
of the colonies who claimed its protection. o theme of independence had lost its powei ovm
tiie ) .'derate' 'vas found to be but a ror-e
of sand.
In order, therefore, .• - .,tit..;^,..iv,.i c,.r :»onds of union between the states, and with the view of forming a ceiitr.ji government of greater strength and efficiency, the Congress of the United States recommended to the several govern- ments that delegates should be appointed to form a special ronvention, to meet at Philadelphia, and deliberate upon the VTost of the states cheerfully and proujptiy responded mendation, and elected the requisite nvimber of '^' all of whom werg men remarkable for their and public services. i; set at the State House in Philadelplua,
Mii • 'the suggestion of Dr. Franklin, his
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the 1 1th of May ; but a quorum 'y>md
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CHAPTER m.
THE CONSniUTION OF THE UNITED STATES.
It was by this time quite apparent that the articles of con- federation would not serve the purposes of a government that was expected to be anything more than provisional. The depreciation of its paper money, the boldness with which its authority was set at naught, as well by the colonies as by individuals, evinced clearly enough that, without regard to the dangers that might threaten the country from a foreign invasion, the government had no control over the inhabitants of the colonies who claimed its protection. Now that the one inspiring theme of independence had lost its power over the imagination, the confederacy was found to be but a rope of sand.
In order, therefore, to strengthen the bonds of union between the states, and with the view of forming a central government of greater strength and efficiency, the Congress of the United States recommended to the several govern- ments that delegates should be appointed to form a special convention, to meet at Philadelphia, and deliberate upon the matter. Most of the states cheerfully and promptly responded to the recommendation, and elected the requisite number of delegates — nearly all of whom were men remarkable for their talents, patriotism, and public services.
The convention met at the State House in Philadelphia, in May, 1787.* At the suggestion of Dr. Franklin, his excellency George Washington, was unanimously chosen President.! William Jackson was appointed secretary; and
* The convention was called to meet on the 14th of May ; but a quorum could not be procured until the 25th of that month.
t Gordon, iii. 401.
436 HISTOEY OF CONNECTICUT.
a committee was appointed to take into consideration the manner of proceeding.
The committee reported, and the convention agreed, that each state represented should be entitled to one vote ; and that seven states should constitute a quorum ; all committees were to be chosen by ballot ; the doors were to be closed ; and an injunction of secresy was placed on the debates. The members were even prohibited from taking copies of entries on the journals.*
In a few days, about fifty delegates had presented their credentials and were sworn. They represented eleven of the thirteen states. Before the convention broke up, the dele- gates from another state arrived.
The character of our legislature, and indeed of our people, at this time, could not have been better represented, than by the choice of delegates to attend this convention. They are to this day called to mind, and their familiar faces appear whenever the state, which was honored in doing them honor, is mentioned at home or abroad. Their names were William Samuel Johnson, Oliver Ellsworth, and Roger Sherman.
Dickinson of Delaware, Johnson of Connecticut, and Rutledge of South Carolina, all of whom had acted so con- spicuous a part in the Congress of 1765, again had the oppor- tunity of renewing the reminiscences of a day antecedent to the Revolution. Franklin had been a member of the con- vention at Albany in 1754 — thirty-three years before. Wil- liam Livingston, George Read, Elbridge Gerry, Robert Mor- ris, Alexander Hamilton, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, Edmund Randolph, and others of a similar cast — old men and young — the civilians, lawyers, and military leaders, who had counseled or fought in the Revolution, and others who had grown up to the estate of manhood under its auspices, were there, alike to testify to the frailty of the confederacy, and to devise a substitute for it. But what should that sub- stitute be ? This was a question not easily to be settled. Those gentlemen representing the large states of Virginia,
* Hildreth, iii. 482.
[1787.] THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION. 437
Massachusetts with the Carolinas and Georgia,* were in favor of a national government based upon proportionate representation ; while, on the other hand, the smaller states of Connecticut, New Jersey, and Delaware, with most of the delegates from Maryland and New York, were in favor of giving to the states, by virtue of their individual sovereignty, a power under the Constitution not depending upon numbers.
The reader has seen that state sovereignty had been a favorite political maxim of Connecticut from the earliest times. Small as she was, she had been obliged to contend for her individuality with her whole strength in order to keep it.
Governor Randolph was the first to speak upon the inade- quacy of the articles of confederation. He spoke with his usual earnestness and ability. At the close of his speech he offered a series of resolutions, fifteen in number, proposing important changes in the federal system. The main features of these resolutions were, a general legislature or congress having two branches — one to be chosen by the people accord- ing to the free population, or taxes ; while the other was to be selected by the first from candidates nominated by the state legislatures. It was also suggested that there should be a national executive, judiciary, and council of revision, to be elected by the proposed Congress. Randolph's resolutions, with another series from the pen of Charles Pinckney, were referred to the committee of the whole. The principal debaters in the committee were Randolph, Madison, and Mason, of Virginia ; Gerry, Gorham, and King, of Massa- chusetts; Wilson, Morris, and Franklin, of Pennsylvania; Johnson, Sherman, and Ellsworth^ of Connecticut; Hamilton and Lansing, of New York ; the two Pinckneys, of South Carolina; Patterson, of New Jersey ; Martin, of Maryland; Dickinson, of Delaware ; and Williamson, of North Carolina.
* The Carolinas and Georgia, which at that time embraced the present states of Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama, anticipated that they should at no distant day contain a greater population than all the rest of the Union together. See HUdreth, iii. 486.
488 HISTOEY OF COKNECTICUT.
It is with pleasure that we contemplate the position of our little state in the long debates that followed. Three men could hardly have been selected from the whole body of the people, who were so different in their mental characteristics, and yet so well fitted to give weight and influence to each other. It will not be disputed, as no one thought of disputing it then, that they were all men belonging to the first rank of American statesmen, Sherman was of a grave and massive understanding, a man who looked at the most difficult ques- tions, and untied their tangled knots, without having his vision dimmed or his head made dizzy. He appears to have known the science of government and the relations of society from his childhood, and to have needed no teaching because he saw moral, ethical, and political truths in all their relations, better than they could be imparted to him by others. He took for granted as self-evident the maxims that had made Plato prematurely old, and had consumed the best hours of Bacon and Sir Thomas More, in attempting to elaborate and reconcile the anomalies and inconsistencies of the British constitution. With more well-digested thoughts to communi- cate than any other member of the convention, he used fewer words to express his sentiments than any of his compeers. Indeed, his thoughts could hardly be said to be expressed but were rather incorporated with his language. His views, uttered in a plain though didactic form, seemed to be presented not so much in a course of reasoning as to be an embodiment of pure reason itself
With a broad-based consciousness, extended as the line of the horizon where calm philosophy and wild theory meet and seem to run into each other, he saw at a glance the most abstruse subjects presented to his consideration, and fused them down as if by the heat of a furnace, into globes of solid maxims and demonstrable propositions. Nor did he look merely at the present hour, but with a sympathy as lively as his ken was far-reaching, he penetrated the curtains that hid future generations from the sight of common men, and made as careful provision for the unborn millions of his country-
[1787.] TH:E SHERMANS. 439
men, as for the generation that was then upon the stage of life. With no false pride to sustain at the expense of virtue, or schemes of grasping ambition to gratify, with no favorites to flutter around him and claim the first fruits of his confi- dence and labors ; fearless to announce an opinion, as he was modest and delicate in his mode of doing it, he was able at a moment's warning, to bring his best intellectual resources into the field of debate.
These traits of character belonged to Sherman by the double tenure of inheritance and the endowments of nature. He was descended from the Shermans of Yaxley, in the county of Suffolk, England, as well as from the Wallers, the Yaxleys, and other families in the maternal line belonging to the solid landed gentry w^ho had helped to frame the British constitution. Three members of the Sherman family emi- grated to America in 1634. Two of them, Samuel Sherman, who soon removed to the valley of the Connecticut and was one of the strongest pillars of the colony, and the Rev. John Sherman, who was famous throughout New Eng- land as the best mathematician and astronomer of the colo- nies, and one of the most eloquent preachers of that day, were brothers, and are not unknown to fame. The other emigrant, designated in our old books as Captain John Sherman, was their first cousin, and not inferior to them in moral worth if indeed he could be said to be in intellectual ability. He was a soldier of high courage, and that his education had not been neglected, his beautifully legible and clerkly hand which still perpetuates the records of Watertown, in Massachusetts, as well as the phraseology of the records themselves, bear ample testimony. Roger Sherman was a grandson of this gentleman, and inherited the best traits of the family. But good lineage and intellectual powers of a high order, were not adequate of themselves to form such a character as Sher- man's. It was to be tried in the school of poverty, and to buffet the waves of adversity, before it could gain nerve and strength enough to baffle the sophistries of the British min- istry, defy the sword of a tyrant, or successfully oppose itself
440 HISTOKY OF CONNECTICUT.
to the headlong flood of popular passions. His personal his- tory, of which so much has been written and so little under- stood, is given in the subjoined note, and will show with what success he addressed himself to support his numerous brothers and sisters, and to overcome the obstacles of evil fortune.*
* The name of Sherman is by no means a common one in England, though it has been highly respected and honored. Sir Henry Sherman was one of the exe- cutors of the will of Lord Stanley, Earl of Derby, county of Lancaster, dated 23 May, 152L William Sherman, Esq., purchased Knightston, in the time of Henry Vin. A monument to Wm. Sherman, is in Ottery, St. Mary, 1542. John Sher- man, and his son both died in the same place, in 1617. John (above named,) married Dorothy, sister of John Drake, Esq., of Arke. William Sherman, of Ottery St. Mary (county of Devon,) had a daughter Catharine, married to Gilbert Drake, of Spratsays, Devon.
" Pedigree of Sherman, of Yaxley — ^From Davy's manuscript collections relat- ing to the county of Suffolk, (England,) deposited in the British Museum.
1. Thomas Sherman, (1st,) of Yaxley, county Suffolk, mai'ried Jane, daughter of John Waller, Gent., and had nine children, viz., Thomas, Richard, John, Henry, Richard, Francis, James, Anthony, and a daughter who married Lock- wood.
2. Thomas Sherman, (2d,) also of Yaxley, married Elizabeth, daughter of An- thony Yaxley, Esq., of Mellis. He was living in 1561. His children were — Thomas, Elizabeth, Anne, John, Rev. Richard, Owen, William, Margaret, and Faith.
(3.) Thomas Sherman, (3d,) Gent., of Yaxley, and Stuston, (afterwards of
Ipswich,) married a daughter of Thwaytes, of Hardingham, in Norfolk. His
will is dated March 9, 1618, and was proved in 1619. To his wife Margaret, he gave a life-lease of his dwelling-house, after which it should go to his son John. To his son Thomas, he gave a house and lands in Swilland. His son Samuel, his " daughter Mary Tomlinson," his " daughter Carpenter," his " brother Alexander Sherman, late of Tyhenham, in Norfolk, deceased," and his two daughters, Margaret and Barbara, are also mentioned in his will. I have good reason to believe that the John and Samuel of this family were none other than the Rev. John Sherman, of Watertown, Mass., and the Hon. Samuel Sherman, of Weth- ersfield, Conn.
3. John Sherman, second son of Thomas Sherman, (2d,) and brother of Thomas Sherman, (3d,) married Anne, daughter of William Cane, and had eight children, viz.. Faith, William, Thomas, Eleanor, Jane, Milicant, Elizabeth, and Anne. He resided in Newark, Leicestershire.
4. William Sherman, eldest son of the preceding, married Maiy Lascelles of Nottinghamshire. He was aged thirty-one years in 1619, His son John, came to America, in 1634, and settled in Watertown, Mass., near his cousin of the same name, from whom he is distinguished in history as Captain John Sherman.
OLIYEE ELLSWOETH. 441
Ellsworth was logical and argumentative in his mode of illustration, and possessed a peculiar style of condensed statement, through which there ran, like a magnetic current, the most delicate train of analytical reasoning.
His eloquence was wonderfully persuasive, too, and his man- ner solemn and impressive. His style was decidedly of the patrician school, and yet so simple that a child could follow
5. Captain John Sherman, married Martha Palmer, and had five children, viz., Martha, Sarah, Joseph^ Grace, and John, He died January 25, 1690. Martha, his widow, died February 7, 1700.
6. Joseph Sherman, (eldest son of Captain John,) married Elizabeth Winship, Nov. 18, 1673. They had ten children, viz., John, Edward, Joseph, Samuel, Jonathan, Ephraim, Elizabeth, William^ Sarah, and Nathaniel. He died January 20, 1730-'31.
7. William Sherman, married (1.) Rebecca Cutler, of Charlestown, Mass., and had one son who died in infancy. He married (2d,) Mehetable, daughter of Benjamin Wellington, of Watertown, Mass., Sept. 13, 1715. Their children were, William, of New Milford, Mary, Roger, Elizabeth, Rev. Nathaniel, of Bedford, Mass., Rev. Josiah, of Woborn, (Mass.,) Goshen, and Woodbridge, (Conn.,) and Rebecca.
8. Hon. Roger Sherman, (son of William and Mehetable,) was born at New- ton, Mass., April 19, 1721. At the age of twenty years his father died, and the care of a large family thus early devolved upon him and his elder brother. In 1743, he removed to New Milford, and became a partner of that brother in the mercantile business. Two years after, Roger was appointed county surveyor ; and in 1754, he was admitted to the bar of Litchfield county. TVTiile a resident of New Milford, he also became a justice of the peace, deacon of the church, repre- sentative, and justice of the quorum. Removing to New Haven, in 1761, he was soon chosen an assistant, and appointed a judge of the superior court, which ofliice he held for twenty-three years. He was a member of Congress for nineteen years, and was a signer of the declaration of independence. He was a member of the council of safety, member of the convention which formed the Constitution of the United States, and United States Senator. He died July 23, 1793, aged seventy- two. Mr. Sherman's first wife was a daughter of Dea. Joseph Hartwell, of Stoughton ; his second wife was a daughter of Benjamin Prescott, Jr.
Hon. Roger Minott Sherman, LL. D., was a son of the Rev. Josiah Sherman, (above named,) and was a nephew of the Hon. Roger Sherman. He was born in Woborn, Mass., in 1773, and graduated at Yale College in 1792, in which institution he was for three years a tutor. In 1796 he was admitted to the bar, and soon commenced the practice of the law in Fairfield, where he resided until his death, Dec. 30, 1844. He was frequently a member of both branches of the legislature, and was subsequently a judge of the superior court. Judge Sherman was one of the most accomplished and eminent men in the state.
442 HISTORY OF CONN'ECTICUT.
without difficulty the steps by which he arrived at his con- clusions. That he also had the best judicial powers that were known in that elder age of our republic, will not be disputed. Add to these qualities, an eye that seemed to look an adver- sary through, a forehead and features so bold and marked as to promise all that his rich deep voice, expressive gestures and moral fearlessness, mdidiQ good, add above all, that reserved force of scornful satire, so seldom employed, but so like the destructive movements of a corps of flying artillery, and the reader has an outline of the strength and majesty of Ells- worth.^
Johnson, added to the gifts of nature that had been so un- sparingly lavished upon him, the ripest perfections of the scholar and the most astute discipline that the study of the civil code and the common law of England can impart to their self-sacrificing devotees.
He had represented Connecticut in the Congress at New York in the year 1765, where he had met the first men of the continent. The address of that body to the king, remonstrating against the course pursued by the ministry and the parliament toward the American colonies, flowed mainly
* Josiah Ellsworth, of Windsor, was admitted a freeman in May, 1657, and was married to Mary Holcomb, Nov. 16, 1654. Their son Thomas Ellsworth, was born Sept. 2, 1665. William Ellsworth (son of Thomas,) was born April 15, 1702, was married to Mary Oliver, of Boston, June 16, 1737.
Oliver Ellsworth, LL. D., son of William and Mary Ellsworth, was born at Windsor, Conn., March 24, 1746-'7, (as appears by the Windsor records,) and graduated at the College of New Jersey, in 1766. He soon became one of the most eminent legal practitioners in the colony. He was successively a member of the council of his native state, delegate in the Continental Congress, judge of the superior court, member of the national constitutional convention, and of the state convention which ratified the Constitution of the United States. He was also chosen one of the first United States Senators from Connecticut, and was appoint- ed chief justice of the supreme court of the United States, as the successor of Jay. In 1799, President Adams appointed him Envoy Extraordinary to France — a post which he accepted. Having accomplished the business of his embassy, he spent some time in England where he sought to avail himself of the benefit of its miner- al waters. Returning, he again became a citizen of his native state ,and was once more elected to the council, and in May 1807, he was chosen chief justice of the state. He died at Windsor, November 26, 1807, aged sixty-five years.
WILLIAM SAMUEL JOHNSON. 443
from his fervent soul and was most of it penned by liim. It is still preserved among the British archives, and evinces a lofty spirit of patriotism that might have breathed life into the dry bones of any administration based upon other principles than the spoils of office and the obstinacy of dis- appointed ambition. The very next year, the University of Oxford made him a doctor of laws, notwithstanding his efforts in behalf of American liberty. His fame as a law- yer was also pre-eminent. In 1782, he had appeared as counsel for Connecticut in the celebrated Wyoming con- troversy, where he met the ablest advocates that Pennsyl- vania could bring into the field against him, and was acknowl- edged to have exhibited on that occasion unrivalled powers both of reasoning and eloquence.""
These were formidable opponents when met single-handed; and united, they were irresistible.
The resolution proposing to elect the first branch of Con- gress by the people, was met on the threshold by Sherman. He was in favor of a system of checks and balances that would guard the great mass of the voters from the intrigues of politicians. In this he was seconded by the delegates from Massachusetts and South Carolina. But Ellsworth and Johnson were in favor of the plan of electing one branch of the national legislature by the people. After an earnest debate, that called out an exhibition of talent and learning that could at that time have been surpassed in no assembly
* William Samuel Johnson, LL. D., eldest son of the Rev. Samuel Johnson, J). D., first President of King's (now Columbia) College, was born at Stratford, Conn., October 7, 1727, and graduated at Yale College in 1744. He was often a member of both branches of the Connecticut legislature, besides being a mem- ber of the old Congress of 1765, and of the Continental Congress during the revolution. In 1766, he visited England as the agent of the colony, where he remained until 1771 ; and during the following year, he was elected a judge of the superior court. He was also, as we have seen, a member of the convention 'which formed the Federal Constitution, and of the convention which subsequently ratified it. In 1787, he was elected a United States Senator, and during the same year was chosen President of Columbia College, in New York, a post which he held until 1800, when he returned to Stratford, where he died Nov. 14, 1819, aged ninety-three.
444 HISTOEY OF CONNECTICUT.
of men in the world, the proposition was carried. Having determined to elect one branch of Congress by the popular vote, the question then came before the committee for what term the members of that bodv should be chosen. Sherman, who had before taken what he thought to be more conservative ground than the Virginia delegates, proposed the term of one year. He was in favor of short terms. It made the mem- bers amenable to the power that elected them, and put them upon their good behavior. He did not desire that the new government should call into being and foster a class of poli- ticians such as had grown up under the shadow of the British parliament, and had, for a century and a half, in the shape of emissaries, colonial governors, and commissioners to settle boundary lines, preyed upon the people of this country. He was seconded in this view by Elbridge Gerry, his warm friend and ardent admirer, and by the other delegates from Connecticut, as well as by those of Massachusetts and South Carolina. Madison and his colleagues proposed three years for the same reason that Sherman had opposed the election by the people. This longer term was finally agreed upon.
Sherman made the same objection to the length of time named by Mr. Randolph and advocated by Madison as the term of the senatorial office. Seven years seemed by the gentlemen from Virginia short enough. Randolph urged that "the democratic licentiousness of the state legislatures proved the necessity of a firm senate." Sherman argued differently. He had lived in a part of the world where the licentiousness of state legislatures was at that time a thing unknown, and where the voters — such was their stability — were in the habit of annually going through with the form of electing the same state officers and the same judges year after year, with the regularity of the sun and the tides, until the functionaries thus submitted so often to their scrutiny, and brought within their reach, either withdrew their names as candidates or died. With habitudes of mind formed under the operations of a free government instituted and kept alive by such a people, Sherman, who had more confidence in
[1787.] DEBATE IN COXVEXTIOX. 445
the masses than he had in those who might impose upon their credulity, found no difficulty in believing that seven years was too long a term of office. He used the same arguments that he had employed when advocating the annual choice of the members of the first branch of the legislature.
The question was then agitated, how the second branch of the legislature should be chosen. Wilson proposed that the people should do it ; but this did not meet the approval of any state represented in the convention except Pennsylvania. Dickinson and Sherman spoke strongly in behalf of confid- ing this election to the legislatures of the respective states. This was hotly contested, but at last prevailed.
The smaller states, of which Sherman was a principal champion, were afraid of being overwhelmed by the larger ones, and insisted that the upper or second branch of the legislature should be made up of an equal number of mem- bers from each state, without regard to population. Sher- man entered into this debate with his whole soul, and was ably seconded by his colleagues. Five states voted in favor, and six against the side that he so warmly espoused.
It shows the prescience of this great man, that he advoca- ted before the committee, against such opponents as Rutledge and Butler of South Carolina, the same basis of representa- tion that now prevails in Connecticut, strenuously claiming that the number of free inhabitants without regard to the property of the citizens, should form the basis of representa- tion. This recognition of the rights of citizenship, discon- nected with any consideration of land or money, shows how much he was in advance of the other members of the con- vention, and of the age in which he lived, in all that related to the elective franchise.
After this, followed the debates in relation to the executive and the judiciary. The question as to whether the execu- tive should consist of one person or of several, was, after an animated debate, decided in favor of a single person — New York, Delaware, and Maryland voting in the negative. Wil- son then proposed that the national executive be chosen
446 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
directly by the people. Sherman proposed that Congress should elect the President, and that he should be dependent upon that body. Other suggestions and propositions were made, but as no other plan could be agreed upon, that of Sherman was concurred in. As to the length of his term of service, the same difference of opinion existed. Sherman, Wilson, and others, advocated three years, with re-eligibility. Mason was in favor of seven years, and ineligibility ; and this was finally cai'ried — Connecticut, the Carolinas, and Georgia, voting against it ; and Massachusetts being divided.
The judiciary was long a subject of earnest consideration on the part of the convention. Numerous propositions and suggestions were made, the mass of which were voted down. It was at last determined that the judges should be chosen by the second branch of the national legislature ; and a veto upon all laws inconsistent with the articles of union or to treaties with foreign powers, was conceded to the executive.
Such were some of the main features of the bill, which, on the 13th of June, was presented to the convention by the committee of the whole. Scarcely had the formularies, so long debated, been submitted to the convention, when the opposition, that was supposed by many of the friends of a consolidated government to have vanished before the eloquence and reasoning of the delegates representing the larger states, burst forth into a flame. Patterson, of New Jersey, and some others, appearing in behalf of the smaller states, had been brooding in secret over some propositions that had been adopted by the committee of the whole, that must, as they believed, should they receive the ultimate sanc- tion of the convention, prove fatal to the already feeble influ- ence of the smaller states in the general government.
The vote of the committee, placing both branches of the legislature upon the same basis, of numerical representation, was especially offensive to the minority. Patterson, of New Jersey, Lansing, of New York, and others, representing the smaller states, had therefore performed the double duty of
[1787.] DEBATE COXTIXUED. 447
attending the debates, and preparing, as they found time, a system that embodied the sentiments of a portion of the minority which had been voted down.
As soon as the Virginia scheme, as amended by the com- mittee, had been brought before the convention, this new one, then and since known as the "New Jersey Plan," was exhibited by Patterson. This scheme was as unhke the one akeady reported as could well be conceived. It proposed to retain the old Continental Congress, giving to it power to levy duties on imported goods, impose taxes, and regulate trade with other nations. By its provisions, the executive w^as to consist of more than one person ; a federal judiciary w^as to be instituted, and acts of Congress and treaties made with foreign powers were to be the supreme law.*
It is not at all probable that either Patterson, or any of the other gentlemen who advocated the "New Jersey Plan," expected that it could ever receive, in the shape in which it was presented, the approbation of the convention. However, it served as a protest against the Virginia Plan, and certainly contained some provisions and embodied some principles of a highly important character, which in a modified form still survive in the Constitution of the United States, and give to it much of that solidity and at the same time expansive elas- ticity, which are so well adapted to the wants of our grow- ing millions and constantly increasing territory.
As must have been anticipated, the two plans of govern- ment were referred to a new committee of the whole, and subjected to the ordeal of debate. While this discussion was going on, and waxing more and more warm, a new party appeared in the field, and with a fearlessness that amazed the contending factions, offered battle to them both. This knight, bearing a "banner with a strange device," was Alex- ander Hamilton. Not only did he dissent from the Virginia and the New Jersey systems, but he differed from the other New York delegates. He did not dare to trust the govern- ment in the hands of the people. He was afraid of repubhcs,
* Ilildreth, iii. 492.
448 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
and dreaded the shifting and changeable Proteus, called demo- cracy. He therefore proposed, that as the people had grown up under the firm rule of the British constitution, the new form of government should approach as nearly to that model as would be consistent with the character of our inhabitants and the multiform interests of the «tate governments. He desired that the executive and the second branch of the national legislature should be appointed during good behavior. He proposed that the executive should be called governor; that the senate should be chosen by electors whom the peo- ple should select ; that the first branch of the national legis- lature should be chosen by the people, wdth a three years' term of office ; that the governors should be appointed by the national legislature, and have the power of vetoing all the laws enacted by the state legislatures. Hamilton advo- cated this impracticable system, with an ability worthy of a better cause. Fortunately it was that there were in the convention so many delegates who had no theories either to adopt or to approximate, but who saw in the preservation of the state legislatures the principal safe-guard of the national government. To the smaller states, this one feature in the Hamilton plan would have been total destruction, and to the general government, a certain instrument of suicide.
After making a speech in favor of his plan, and submitting a sketch of it in writing; he left the convention for a period of six weeks. The new system found few friends. The New Jersey plan fared little better; and after a short discus- sion, the vote in favor of the Virginia scheme, as amended, obtained a very decided majority. Connecticut voted unani- mously for reporting, as before, the Virginia plan to the con- vention.
The debate was now resumed before the convention with fresh vigor, and every detail of the proposed constitution was subjected to the closest examination and severest criticism. The old wound that had been partially healed — the danger that the small states would be overwhelmed and lose their individual sovereignty — was soon made to bleed afresh. To
[1787.] A NEW NAME. 449
allay the excitement, Ellsworth made a motion that the words, "government of the United States," should be sub- stituted for the offensive term, "national government," which sounded like a harsh synonym for consolidation, in the ears of the delegates from the smaller states. This motion pre- vailed ; but as the evil still existed though called by a softer name, the cause of complaint was by no means removed. How many votes the states were respectively to have in the legislature of the general government, was of more import- ance than the name by which that government was to be called. The discussion on this vital question grew more and more exciting as it advanced, and at last became bitter and vehement. Dr. Franklin moved that a chaplain should be chosen, and that prayers should be read, to bring the minds of the delegates to a right frame. Mr. Madison opposed the motion, fearing lest the measure, should it be adopted at that late hour, might startle the public with the anticipation of some desperate issue close at hand. A motion of adjourn- ment was substituted for the proposition of Franklin, which was carried, and the excited minds of the debaters had time to cool.
The ratio of representation that had been adopted by the committee of the whole, for the first branch of the legisla- ture, finally prevailed in the convention. Then came the crisis of the debate. What should be the ratio in the second branch ? Ellsworth made a motion that the states should be equally represented in that body, and pressed home upon the committee all the arguments that such a mind as his could urge upon a question that seemed to involve the very existence of the state that he had been appointed to defend. His vast learning and clear powers of analysis were brought to bear upon this interesting question, and elicited the admira- tion even of the bitterest opponents of the motion. Breath- less as had been the silence that prevailed while the debate was going on, and while its result was yet doubtful, no sooner was it made known, than the pent up flames, that had been
so long smothered in the breasts of the delegates from the
61
450 HISTOEY OF CONNECTICUT.
smaller states, burst forth like the fires of a volcano. Dis- cord reigned for a while in the chamber, and the convention seemed about to be shattered in pieces by its own explosive elements.
Deeply as he felt the poison of the sting inflicted by this vote upon the bosom of the state for which he would gladly have died, Sherman was calm and self-possessed as if he had been placed there to represent the motions of the planets in their orbits or the unrelaxing grasp of the law of gravitation. Determined not to resort to extremes until the resources of reason and argument, and all the ordinary appliances by which men are wrought upon, had been exhausted, deter- mined most of all to govern himself that he might the better control others, he rose and moved that a committee of con- ference should be appointed of one delegate from each of the states represented there. This motion at once prevailed, and the convention adjourned for three days. The 4th of July was celebrated during the period of the adjournment, and lent the warm light of liberty to the temperate counsels of the more moderate members of the convention.
Dr. Franklin proposed to the committee of conference, that the states should be equally represented in the second or upper branch of the legislature, and that all bills of appro- priation should originate with the first orpopular branch, which was to be chosen in accordance with the three-fifths ratio, and upon a basis of one representative to every forty thou- sand inhabitants. The delegates from the larger states were deeply chagrined that they should have fallen into the net spread for them by Sherman, before their eyes, while the members of the old minority were delighted at the result of the experiment.
Side issues now arose, that diverted the current of discus- sion from the main question, how the states should be repre- sented in the upper branch. The national party then brought forward the consideration of the question, on what basis the members of the popular branch of the legislature should be chosen, and how many there should be. This inquiry
[1787.] THE APPORTIONMENT. 451
branched off into a variety of issues more or less complex, that tended to distract the attention of the delegates and divide their minds. The mode of apportioning the members of the lower house, was referred to a select committee of five, who reported in favor of fifty-six members, to represent the states according to the two most important elements, of wealth and population. The number- recommended was thought to be too small, and the distribution wrong. A second select committee was chosen, to review this part of the report of the former one. This investigation was more fortunate, and resulted in the presentation of a plan of appor- tionment that was satisfactory, and finally became a part of the constitution. It gave to the several states a representa- tion as follows : — Virginia, ten ; Pennsylvania and Massachu- setts, each, eight ; Maryland and New York, each, six ; Con- necticut and the Carolinas, each, five ; New Jersey, four ; New Hampshire and Georgia, each, three ; and Delaware and Rhode Island, each, a single representative.
This progress, so highly encouraging, was suddenly arrested by the inquiry, how the future apportionment should be made. This brought up the most delicate and still vexed question of negro slavery. Patterson was opposed to any scheme by which slaves, not counted in the representation of the state governments in which they were respectively owned, should form any part of the basis that was to support the first branch of the national legislature. If they were treated as property where they belonged, he expressed him- self unable to see why they should stand on a different foot- ing in relation to the general government.
Madison replied that if this was to be the rule, the claims of the smaller states to an equal representation in either branch of the legislature, to preserve their sovereignty and guard their property, were equally without foundation.
Governor Morris proposed to leave this matter of future proportionment to the legislature. Rutledge expressed him- self in favor of this proposition. Randolph, Mason, and Wilson, were opposed to it on the ground that it would place
452 HISTOKY OF CONNECTICUT.
the majority in the power of the minority. They thought the matter should be settled then, once for all. Randolph suggested that a periodical census should be taken, and that it should govern the apportionment. Williamson moved, by way of amendment, that in taking the proposed census, the whole number of freemen and three-fifths of all others, should be the rule of apportionment. Butler and Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, were in favor of having the slaves and freemen alike taken into account in the representative estimate. Morris was opposed even to the three-fifths basis, because he thought it favored the slave-trade, and that the slave-trade was a curse. Butler's proposition to count blacks equal with the whites, was readily vote^ down, as it was supported only by the three states of South Carolina, Georgia, and Delaware. Then came up the motion of Williamson, that slaves should count three to five in the census. This motion was also defeated. Randolph's proposition in relation to a periodical census, shared the same fate. The report of the committee, recommending that future apportionments should be made by the legislature according to wealth and numbers, was the next topic of consideration. Morris made a motion that taxation should be in proportion to representation — which was adopted. This called out Davie, of North Carolina. "He was sure," he said, "that North Carolina would never confederate on any terms that did not rate them at least as three-fifths. If the eastern states meant, therefore, to exclude them altogether, the business was at an end." Here was the old fire-brand again thrown into the convention. It was obvious that Davie had hit upon the most sensitive nerve of the south, and that the delegates from the slave-states would not yield the point. It was then that the gentlemen repre- senting Connecticut came forward as mediators.* Johnson expressed it as his opinion that population was the surest
* A highly respectable authority from Massachusetts, who has laid the whole world under great obligations to him, has represented the delegates from Connec- ticut as " aspiring to act as mediators." Had he said that they were emphati- cally the gentlemen in the convention from the eastern states to mediate successfully, the remark would have been more accurate. Such men as Roger
[1787.] BASIS OF REPRESENTATION. 453
measure of wealth. He said he was willing that blacks as well as whites should be counted. This was a greater con- cession than Ellsworth thought it necessary to make. He therefore called up the motion made by Williamson, that all the whites and three-fifths of the blacks should constitute the basis of taxation, and that taxation should be the basis of representation. This proposition thus amended and simplified, finally prevailed, after a protracted debate. The delegates from Connecticut all voted for it ; New Jersey, and Dela- ware, against it ; while Massachusetts, and South Carolina, were divided.
The proposition reported by the committee of one from each state, that the states should be equally represented in the second branch of the national legislature, seemed after this discussion more likely to meet with favor than it had before done, now that the three-fifths compromise had been thrown into the scale. It was therefore renewed. Still an- other attempt was made to qualify it in a very essential degree by Charles Pinckney, who moved that the proposed legislative body should consist of thirty-six members — five from Virginia, four from each of the states of Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts, three from each of the states of Connec- ticut, New York, Maryland, and the Carolinas, while New Hampshire and Georgia, were each to send two, and Dela- ware and Rhode Island, one each. Of course the Virginia delegation advocated the proposition with all their eloquence. This debate brought out Sherman and Ellsworth, who both opposed the amendment, and contended for an equal repre- sentation in the senate, without regard to the size of the states. As the Connecticut delegates had been the mediators in relation to a point regarded so vital by the slave-holding states, they were able, aside from their intrinsic weight of character, to wield a mighty influence in this discussion. Gerry, as he usually had done during the debate, fell in with the views of Sherman, and Strong also voted in the same
Sherman, Oliver Ellsworth, and "William Samuel Johnson, seldom aspire to any- thing beyond what nature has fitted them to do.
4:64: HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
way. Pinckney's motion was lost, and the report of the committee was then adopted — Connecticut, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and North Carolina, voting in the affirmative, and Virginia, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Georgia, with a part of the Massachusetts delegates, in the negative. New York had long before retired from the con- vention in disgust.
It was now the turn of the consolidating party to be alarmed. Rising with the dignified solemnity that sat so gracefully upon him, Randolph moved that the convention should adjourn. He wished to give the large states time to " con- sider the steps proper to he taken in the present solemn crisis, and that the small states might also deliberate on the means of reconciliation." This piece of dramatic acting, admirably played off* as it was, was met by another equally adroit. Pat- terson, treating the motion for adjournment as a proposition to bring the convention to an end, turned the guns of his opponent upon him with great effect. "He thought it was indeed high time to adjourn ; that the rule of secrecy ought to be rescinded, and their constituents consulted. No con- ciliation could be admissable on the part of the smaller states on any other ground than equality of votes in the second branch. If Mr. Randolph would reduce to form his motion to adjourn sine die, he would second it with all his heart."
Randolph rose to explain. He declared that he only pro- posed to adjourn until the next day, to give time to devise some plan of agreement.
The motion prevailed. A consultation was held by the delegates from the larger states. Some advised a separate union among themselves ; others were averse to it. The next day a motion was made to reconsider. It was lost.
Thus, inch by inch, was the legislative branch of the con- stitution debated in the convention, with an unwearied per- sistency and courage that did honor to both parties.
Then came the consideration of the executive office, which was finally adjusted with much equanimity of temper on the part of all concerned. The great questions for consideration,
[1787.] PRESIDENTIAL TERM. 455
were the mode of electing the President, his term of office, and his re-ehgibility. Once it was voted that the choice should be made by electors appointed for that purpose by the state legislatures, and the number of such electors to which each state should be entitled was agreed upon. This was recon- sidered, and the choice was given to the national legislature. In relation to the length of the presidential term, great diver- sity of opinion existed. Six years, was once agreed upon, and then reconsidered. "During good behavior," was voted for by the states of New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Virginia — but was not carried. The term of four years was retained.
The report of the committee of the whole, as amended, was adopted by the convention, and referred to a special commit- tee of detail, consisting of Rutledge, Randolph, Gorham, Ellsworth, and Wilson. To this committee also were refer- red Patterson's New Jersey plan, and the draft made by Charles Pinckney. Motions were made, instructing this committee to report property qualifications for the executive, the judiciary, and the members of the legislature — a proposi- tion which was advocated by Madison and Gerry, and opposed by Dickinson, one of the wealthiest men in the con- vention, who thought the object aimed at might better be obtained by limiting the right to vote for President to free- holders. It was, however, carried — Connecticut, Pennsyl- vania, and Delaware, voting in the negative.
The committee of detail, after deliberating for ten days, brought in a rough sketch of the constitution, as it now stands. The name of Congress, was given to the national legislature ; the first branch was designated as the House of Representatives, and the second branch as the Senate. The chief executive officer of the government was called a President. Several important items in the constitution were again discussed and amendments were proposed, but no material alterations were made. Thus amended and finally adopted by the conven- tion, the constitution was sent into the several states for ratification.
4:56 HISTOFvY OF CONNECTICUT.
In Connecticut, a convention to ratify the constitution met at Hartford, on the 3d of January, 1788. Over this con- vention, the Hon. Matthew Griswold, of Lyme, presided, and Jedediah Strong, Esq., of Litchfield, was its secretary. On the 4th, the debates w^ere opened by Oliver Ellsworth in a speech of which the following is believed to be a substan- tially accurate report. It is copied from the " Connecticut Courant."
" Mr. President, — It is observable, that there is no preface to the proposed Constitution ; but it evidently pre-supposes two things ; one is, the necessity of a federal government, the other is the inefficiency of the old articles of confedera- tion, A union is necessary for the purposes of national defense. United, we are strong ; divided, we are weak. It is easy for hostile nations to sweep off a number of separate states one after another. Witness the states in the neighbor- hood of ancient Rome. They were successively subdued by that ambitious city, which they might have conquered with the utmost ease if they had been united. Witness the Canaanitish nations, whose divided situation rendered them an easy prey. Witness England, which, when divided into a number of separate states, was twice conquered by an inferior force. Thus it always happens to small states, and to great ones, if divided. Or if to avoid this, they connect themselves with some powerful state, their situation is not much better. This shows us the necessity of our combining our whole force ; and as to national purposes, becoming one state.
A union, sir, is likewise necessary, considered with rela- tion to economy. Small states have enemies as well as great ones. They must provide for their defense. The expense of it, which would be moderate for a large kingdom, would be intolerable to a petty state. The Dutch are wealthy, but they are one of the smallest of the European nations, and their taxes are higher than in any other country of Europe. Their taxes amount to forty shillings per pound, while those of England do not exceed half that sum.
[1788.] SPEECH OF ELLSWORTH. 457
We must unite in order to preserve peace among ourselves. If we are divided, what is to hinder wars from breaking out among the states ? States, as well as individuals, are subject to ambition, to avarice, to those jarring passions which disturb the peace of society. What is to check these ? If there is a parental hand over the whole, this, and nothing else, can restrain the unruly conduct of the members.
Union is necessary to preserve commutative justice between the states. If divided, what is to hinder the large states from oppressing the small ? What is to defend us from the ambition and rapacity of New York, when she has spread over that vast territory which she claims and holds ? Do we not already see in her the seeds of an overbearing ambition ? On the other side there is a large and powerful state. Have we not already begun to be tributaries ? If we do not im- prove the present critical time, if we do not unite, shall we not be like Issachar of old, a strong ass crouching down between two burdens ? New Jersey and Delaware have seen this, and have adopted the constitution unanimously.
A more energetic system is necessary. The present is merely advisory. It has no coercive power. Without this, government is ineffectual, or rather, is no government at all. But it is said such a power is not necessary. States will not do wrong. They need only to be told their duty, and they will do it. I ask, sir, what warrant is there for this assertion ? Do not states do wrong ? Whence come wars ? One of two hostile nations must be in the wrong. But it is said, among sister states this can never be presumed. But do not we know, that when friends become enemies, their enmity is the most virulent ? The seventeen provinces of the Nether- lands were once confederated ; they fought under the same banner. Antwerp, hard pressed by Phillip, applied to the other states for relief. Holland, a rival in trade, opposed, and prevented the needful succors. Antwerp was made a sacrifice. I wish I could say, there were no seeds of similar injustice springing up among us. Is there not in one of our states injustice too barefaced for eastern despotism? That
458 HISTOKY OF CONNECTICUT.
state is small ; it does little hurt to any but itself. But it has a spirit, which would make a Tophet of the universe. But some will say, we formerly did well without any union. I answer, our situation is materially changed. While Great Britain held her authority, she awed us. She appointed gov- ernors and councils for the American provinces. She had a negative upon our laws. But now, our circumstances are so altered, that there is no arguing what we shall be from what we have been.
It is said that other confederacies have not had the princi- ple of coercion. Is this so ? Let us attend to those con- federacies which have resembled our own. Some time before Alexander, the Grecian states confederated together. The Amphyctionic council, consisting of deputies from those states, met at Delphos, and had authority to regulate the gen- eral interests of Greece. This council did enforce its decrees by coercion. The Beotians once infringed upon a decree of the Amphyctions. A heavy mulct was laid upon them. They refused to pay it. Upon that, their whole territory was confiscated. They were then glad to compound the mat- ter. After the death of Alexander, the Achaian League was formed. The decrees of this confederacy were enforced by arms. The iEtolian League was formed by some other Grecian cities in opposition to the Achean, and there was no peace between them till they were conquered, and reduced to a Roman province. They were then all obliged to sit down in peace under the same yoke of despotism.
How is it with respect to the principle of coercion in the Germanic body ? In Germany there are about three hun- dred principalities and republics ; deputies from there meet annually in the general Diet to make regulations for the empire. But the execution of these is not left voluntarily with the members. The empire is divided into ten circles — over each of which a superintendent is appointed with the rank of major-general. It is his duty to execute the decrees of the empire with a military force."
[1788.] SPEECH OF ELLSWORTH. 459
[The Swiss Cantons and the Dutch republic are next re- ferred to and briefly considered.]
"But to come nearer home, Mr. President, have we not seen and felt the necessity of such a coercive power ? What was the consequence of the want of it during the late war, particularly towards the close ? A few states bore the burden of the war. While we, and one or two more of the states, were paying eighty or one hundred dollars per man to recruit the continental army, the regiments of some states had scarcely men enough to wait on their officers. Since the close of the war, some of the states have done nothing towards complying with the requisitions of Congress ; others, who did something at first, seeing that they were left to bear the whole burden, have become equally remiss. What is the consequence ? To what shifts have we been driven ? We have been driven to the wretched expedient of negociating new loans in Europe to pay the interest of the foreign debt. And what is still worse, we have been obliged to apply these new loans to the support of our own civil government at home.
Another ill consequence of this want of energy is that treaties are not performed. The treaty of peace with Great Britain was a very favorable one for us. But it did not hap- pen perfectly to please some of the states, and they would not comply with it. The consequence is, Britain charges us with the breach, and refuses to deliver up the forts on our northern quarter.
Our being tributaries to our sister states is a consequence of the want of a federal system. The state of New York raises sixty or eighty thousand pounds a year by impost. Connecticut consumes about one third of the goods upon which this impost is laid ; and consequently pays about one third of this sum to New York. If we import by the medium of Massachu- setts, she has an impost, and to her we pay a tribute. If this is done, when we have the shadow of a national government, what shall we not suffer when even that shadow is gone ?
If we go on as we have done, what is to become of the
460 HISTOEY OF CONNECTICUT.
foreign debts ? Will foreign nations forgive us this debt, because we neglect to pay ? or will they levy it by reprisals as the laws of nations authorize them ? Will our w^eakness induce Spain to reUnquish the exclusive navigation of the Mississippi, or the territory which she claims on the east side of that river ? Will our weakness induce the British to give up the northern posts ? If a war breaks out, and our situa- tion invites our enemies to make war, how are we to defend ourselves ? Has government the means to enlist a man, or buy an ox? or shall we rally the remainder of an old army? The European nations I believe to be not friendly to us. They were pleased to see us disconnected from Great Britain ; they are pleased to see us disunited among ourselves. If we continue so, how easy it is for them to canton us out among them, as they did the kingdom of Poland. But supposing this is not done, if we suffer the union to expire, the least that can be expected is that the European powers will form alli- ances, some with one state, and some with another, and that we shall be involved in all the labyrinths of European politics. But I do not wish to continue the painful recital. Enough has been said to show, that a power in the General Govern- ment to enforce the decrees of the union, is absolutely necessarv.
The constitution before us is a complete system of legisla- tive, judicial, and executive power. It was designed to supply the defects of the former system ; and I believe, upon a full discussion, it will be found calculated to answer the purposes for which it was designed."
Dr. Johnson followed on the same side of the question.
The paragraph which relates to taxes, imposts, and excises, was largely debated by several gentlemen.
" Monday, Jan. 7. — General Wadsworth objected against it, because it gave the power of the purse to the general legislature ; another paragraph gave the power of the sword ; and that authority which has the power of the purse and sword, is despotic. He objected against imposts, and excises, because their operation would be partial and in favor of the
RATIFICATION OF THE CONSTITUTION. 461
southern states. He was replied to by Mr. Ellsworth, at considerable length.
The convention finished debating on the constitution by sections. It was compared critically and fully. Suffice it to say, that all the objections to the constitution vanished, before ihe learning and eloquence of Johnson, the genuine good sense and discernment of a Sherman, and the didactic stren'gth of Ellsworth, who like the Earl of Chatham, spoke on this occasion with the authority of an oracle.
The grand question was moved by General Parsons, and was seconded by General Huntington. Upon the general discussion of the subject, His Excellency Governor Hunting- ton, and Governor Wolcott, both addressed the convention in favor of ratifying the Constitution. Mr. Law and other gentlemen followed.
The question being put, the vote stood :
Yeas, 128 Nays, 40
Majority, 88
RATIFICATION. " In the name of the people of the State of Connecticut : " We the delegates of the people of said state in General Convention assembled, pursuant to an act of the legislature in October last, have assented to and ratified, and by these presents do assent to, ratify and adopt the Constitution reported by the convention of delegates in Philadelphia, on the 17th day of September, A. D., 1787, for the United States of America.
"Done in Connecticut, this 9th day of January, A.D., 1788. In witness whereof, we have hereunto set our hands."
After having presented to the reader the foregoing facts, and the appeal of Ellsworth to the delegates, it cannot be thought immodest in us to claim for Connecticut, what Cal- houn, the great southern statesman, admitted in the Senate of the United States in 1847, "that it is owing mainly to the
462 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
states of Connecticut, and New Jersey, that we have a federal instead of a national government — the best govern- ment instead of the most intolerable on earth. Who are the men of those states, to whom we are indebted for this admira- ble government ? I will name them — their names ought to be engraven on brass and live forever. They were Chief Justice Ellsworth, and Roger Sherman, of Connecticut, and Judge Patterson, of New Jersey. The other states farther south were blind ; they did not see the future. But to the coolness and sagacity of these three men, aided by a few others not so prominent, we owe the present Constitution."* However we are to decide the question of state sovereignty growing out of the construction of the Constitution, the facts stated in the paragraph just quoted, are not to be disputed. Without the delegates from Connecticut, the Constitution could not have been adopted, and we may repeat the prayer of Sir William Blackstone, in relation to the basis of the British government, as better applicable to our own — "Esto Perpetua." Let the fate of this noble structure, under which we have grown up to be the first republic of the earth be what it may, the influence of Ellsworth, Sherman, and Johnson, cannot be lost upon the world.
* The application of this extract from Calhoun's speech was first made by Dr. Bushnell, in his " Historical Estimate," one of the best specimens of the " multum inparvo^''^ to be found in American letters.
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HISTOEY OF CONNECTICUT.
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CHAPTER XX.
NEW AND DERIYATIVE TOWNa '
Litchfield county was organized in 1751 ; Middlesex county in 1785 ; and Tolland county in 1786.
Lebanon is composed of several tracts of land, which were united by agreement among the planters about the year 1700. The first clergyman of the town, the Rev. Joseph Parsons, was settled in November, 1700. Here were born and lived the two governors Trumbull, as well as other distinguished members of that and other families. Lebanon was an impor- tant place in the revolution. Washington, Franklin, Jeffer- son, Lafayette, Rochambeau, and other patriots of that day, came here to consult with the elder Trumbull. De Lauzun's legion of cavalry wintered here ; and at this place Washing- ton reviewed the French regiment.
On running the boundary line between Connecticut and Massachusetts, in 1713, the towns of Woodstock, Suffield, Enfield, and Somers, (embracing the entire northern frontier of Connecticut then inhabited,) had been somewhat infor- mally surrendered to the jurisdiction of Massachusetts. The people of those towns repeatedly remonstrated against it, and seemed determined to throw off their allegiance to a government to which they had thus been annexed without their consent. In May, 1747, the General Assembly of this colony, in response to an application made by these towns, appointed commissioners to meet such as might be appointed by Massachusetts, and consult and report on the matter in question. At the end of two years, finding that no amicable adjustment could be made between the two governments, the General Assembly of Connecticut resolved, that inasmuch as the said agreement had never received the royal con- firmation, and the respective governments having no authority
4:64: HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
or power to give up, exchange or alter their jurisdiction, the agreement was declared void, and the towns were received under the jurisdiction of Connecticut. Massachusetts appeal- ed to the crown, but, after a fair hearing, the claim of Con- necticut was fully established.
Woodstock was settled by inhabitants of Roxbury, Massa- chusetts, as early as 1687, and was called New Roxbury ; but received its present name in 1690. It is situated near the north-east corner of the State, and is eight miles long and seven miles broad. General William Eaton, American Consul to Tunis, was a native of Woodstock.
Suffield was the residence of General Phineas Lyman, whose name often appears in this volume ; and was also the birth-place of Gideon Granger, Post Master General of the United States. Suffield is the seat of the " Connecticut Literary Institution," an academy in high repute throughout the Union.
Enfield lies on the east side of the Connecticut river, with the Massachusetts line for its northern boundary. It was settled as early as 1681, by emigrants from Salem, Massa- chusetts, being at that time a part of Springfield. The town has produced many persons of distinction, and contains a thriving agricultural population. The "Shaker Settlement" in Enfield has attracted much attention.
Reading, in Fairfield county, was incorporated in 1761. The township is said to have derived its name from Colonel John Read,* an early and principal settler. In the winter of 1779, as I have elsewhere stated, Major-General Putnam had his winter-quarters in Reading. Reading was the birth- place of Joel Barlow, the poet and diplomatist. f
Chatham was a part of Middletown until October, 1767. James Stanclifi'and John Gill were the first settlers in 1690; William Cornwell became a resident in 1703. In 1710, there
* Colonel Read had a park of ten or fifteen acres, in which he kept deer. He died in 1786, aged 85 years.
t In Reading also was born the Hon. Samuel G. Goodrich, of Boston, late American Consul to Paris ; and well known as the popular author of " Peter Parley's " works.
EAST WINDSOR AND SOUTHINGTON. 465
were but nine or ten families within the limits. The town embraces Chatham parish, East Hampton parish, a greater part of the parish of Middle Haddam, and a portion of the parish of West Chester.
East Windsor was a part of the old town of Windsor until 1768, when it was organized as a distinct town. The settlement began there in 1680 ; and in 1695, an ecclesiasti- cal society was formed, and the Rev. Timothy Edwards was ordained as the first minister of the place. The " Theological Institute of Connecticut" was established here in 1834. Among the distinguished men who were born in East Wind- sor, were Roger Wolcott, major-general in the expedition against Louisbourg in 1745, and afterwards governor; Oliver Wolcott, signer of the Declaration of Independence, and governor of Connecticut ; John Fitch, inventor of the first steamboat ; and Jonathan Edwards, the greatest of Ameri- can divines.
Southington, previously a part of Farmington, w^as incor- porated as a town in 1779. The first settlers bore the names of Woodruff, Langdon, Lewis, Newell, Root, Andrews, Gridley, Hart, Barnes, Clark, &c. It is a thriving manufac- turing and agricultural town.
Washington, in the county of Litchfield, was set off from Woodbury and incorporated as a town in 1779. The first sermon preached there was by Mr. Isaac Baldwin, of Litch- field, who subsequently relinquished the ministry, and became the first clerk of the court of common pleas in Litchfield. The first minister settled here was the Rev. Reuben Judd, who was ordained Sept. 1st, 1742. The fol- lowing eminent men were born in Washington, viz : Daniel N. Brinsmade, judge of the county court for sixteen years, representative at forty-three sessions, and clerk of the House of Representatives ; Captain Nathan Hickox, a gentleman distinguished both in public and private life for his talents, integrity, and influence ; Frederick Whittlesey, member of Congress from the State of New York, and Vice Chancellor ;
Ebenezer Porter Mason, one of the most eminent astrono-
62
4:6Q HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
mers of his age — of whom Sir John Herschel speaks " as a young and ardent astronomer, a native of the United States, whose premature death is the more to be regretted, as he was, so far as I am aware, the only other recent observer who has given himself, with the assiduity that the subject requires, to the exact delineation of nebulae, and whose figures I find at all satisfactory."*
Cheshire, originally a parish of Wallingford, was incorpo- rated in 1780. The first minister, the Rev. Samuel Hall, was ordained as a pastor in December, 1724. The Rev. John Foot was settled as Mr. Hall's colleague in March, 1767. The Episcopal Academy in this town was incorpora- ted in 1801, and has the reputation of being one of the best academic institutions in Connecticut. Cheshire was the birth-place and residence of the late Hon. Samuel A. Foote, LL.D., governor, and United States senator.
The parish of Westbury, in Waterbury, was incorporated as a town by the name of Watertown, in 1780. It contains some of the finest farms and most enterprising agriculturists in Litchfield county. The Rev. John Trumbull was the first pastor of the church in this place. His son of the same name became famous as a judge, and as the author of '•' McFingal."* The late learned Professor Matthew Rice Button, of Yale College, was a native of Watertown.
East Hartford, in Hartford county, and Woodbridge, in New Haven county, were incorporated as towns in 1784.
Hartland contains 17,654 acres, and is bounded north on the Massachusetts line, south on Barkhamsted,east on Granby and west on Colebrook. The proprietors held their first meeting in Hartford, on the 10th of July, 1733, and immedi- ately attempted to sell the lands ; but more than twenty years elapsed before any permanent settlement was made within the limits of the township. In the spring of 1753,
*The Rev. Jeremiali Day, D.D., LL.D., of New Haven, Hon. Thomas Day, LL.D., of Hartford, Hon. Elisha Whittlesey, of Ohio, Prof. Elisha Mitchell, D.D., of the University of North Carolina, and Rev. Nathaniel S. Wheaton, D.D., ex- President of "Washington College, (now Trinity College,) are also natives of Washington.
NORFOLK. 467
John Kendall, with his family, moved on to the lands, but, through fear of the Indians, he left during the following year. In 1754, Deacon Thomas Giddings, from Lyme, became a permanent resident of the townsh'p ; and the next year two other families joined him. In 1757, the settlement consisted of eight families. The location of Hartland being quite on the Indian frontier, and the lands being rough, wild, and altogether uninviting to the eye of the pioneer, it was long before a sufficient number of inhabitants had settled there to form either a civil or ecclesiastical organization. The town was incorporated in 1761 ; and in 1768, the Rev. Sterling Graves was ordained and settled as the first pastor of the church. Uriel Holmes, senior and junior, were among the most prominent men in the town. The latter removed to Litch- field where he was chosen a judge, and member of Con- gress.
Norfolk is an elevated township, bordering upon Massa- chusetts, and was laid out nine miles in length and four and a half miles in breadth. It was offered for sale at Middle- town in 1742, at which time but a small part of the lands were disposed of; and the first settlements were made upon the tract in 1744, or soon after, by Titus and Cornelius Brown, from Windsor, and John Turner and Jedediah Rich- ards, from Hartford. The sale of the lands in Norfolk was not completed until 1758. The town was incorporated in the year last named, at which date there were but twenty- seven families within its limits. Among the early settlers were Ezra, Ebenezer, and Samuel Knapp, and James Bene- dict, all of Danbury ; Jacob Spaulding, and Isaac Holt; Jacob and Samuel Mills, Asahel Case and Samuel Cowles, all of Simsbury ; Samuel Manross, from Farmington ; and Joshua Whitney, from Canaan. The Rev. Ammi Ruhamah Robbins, a native of Branford and a graduate of Yale Col- lege, was ordained as the first pastor of the church in Nor- folk, October 28, 1761.* Though the lands of this township
* Among the citizens of Norfolk particularly deserving of notice, I may name the late Joseph Battell, Esq., a gentleman distinguished for his wealth, enterprize,
4:68 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
are rough and broken, they sustain an intelhgent, patriotic, and thriving population ; while an abundance of water-power is turned to good account in driving the machinery of various manufacturing estabhshments.f
Barkhamsted was granted to the people of Windsor in 1732, and contains, by estimation, 20,530 acres. The first person who made a permanent settlement within the limits of the town, was Pelatiah AUyn, from Windsor, about the year 1748. He remained the sole inhabitant for a period of more than ten years. The next person who located on the tract was Israel Jones, from Enfield, in 1759. Among the other principal settlers were William Austin, Joseph Shepard, John Ives, Joseph Wilder, Asa Case, and Jonathan King. There were but twenty families in the town in 1771, and the act of incorporation was not passed until 1779. The Rev. Ozias Eells, the first pastor of the church, was ordained January, 1787.
Winchester constituted a part of the tract that was partitioned out among the Hartford patentees at a proprie- tors' meeting, holden on the 5th of April, 1732, and continued by adjournment to the 27th of September following. The township contained 20,380 acres, and was named at the May session, 1733. It was incorporated in May, 1771 ; and the first pastor was settled in the town, November 11, 1772. The village of Winsted, which is situated in this town, is the present terminus of the Naugatuck railroad, and is one of the most thriving and enterprising localities in the State.
The first settler of Colebrook was Benjamin Horton, who located himself about three-fourths of a mile south of the centre, on the Norfolk road, in December, 1765. Joseph Rockwell came into the town a few weeks later. Joseph Seymour, Nathan Bass, and Samuel Rockwell, soon followed,
and benevolence ; and the late Hon. Augustus Pettibone. General George B. Holt, a prominent citizen of Dayton, Ohio ; Rufus Pettibone, Judge Supreme Court of Louisiana ; Rev. Thomas Robbins, D.D., of Hartford ; Lewis Riggs, member of Congress from the State of New York. &c., were born in Norfolk.
tSee Hist. Norfolk, by Anson Roys— 1847.
TOWNS ORGANIZED. 469
and commenced clearing their lands and erecting their dwellings. The town was organized in 1786 ; and the Rev. Jonathan Edwards, D.D., was settled as the first pastor in 1795. He was elected President of Union College in 1799, and was succeeded in the pastoral office in Colebrook by the Rev. Chauncey Lee, D.D.*
These townships, comprising the northern and north- eastern portions of Litchfield county, were the last of the original towns in the colony both in point of settlement and organization. The tract was only known previous to the revolution by the name of the "Green Woods." Its hills, mountains, and morasses, were covered by a dense growth of evergreens, which, in the winter, moaned in sad concert with the howl of the wolf and the war-whoop of the red man, where now smiling villages, quiet, rural homesteads, fruitful fields, and the cheerful hum of industry, bear indisputable witness to the transforming hand of civilization and Chris- tianity.
The towns of Franklin, Bristol, Berlin, East Haven, and Thompson, were organized in 1785.
The year 1786 was more prolific in the institution of new towns than any of its predecessors or successors. Elling- ton, Montville,t Preston, Brooklyn, Hampton, Lisbon, Boz- rah, Warren, Granby, Hamden, North Haven, and South- bury, all came into the confederacy during that year, and were vested with all the rights and privileges of their elder associates. Each has contributed its quota to the prosperity and glory of our little commonwealth ; each has a history of its own, that is waiting for the labors of the local histo- rian and chronicler for its full and perfect development. To him we earnestly commend the praise-worthy task.
* Rev. Rufus Babcoek, D.D., late President of Waterville College, Maine, Hon. Julius Rockwell, Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, member of Congress and United States senator, are natives of Colebrook.
+ The first pastor of the church in Montville, was the Rev. James Hillhouse, who was settled in 1722, and died in 1740, aged 53. He was the founder of a family distinguished for their talents and public services.
470 HISTOKY OF CONNECTICUT.
Weston in Fairfield county, and Bethlem in Litchfield county, were made towns in 1787. The latter is particular- ly distinguished as the scene of the pastoral labors of the Rev. Joseph Bellamy, D.D., one of the most learned and renowned preachers and authors of his day, who spent his entire ministerial life in this retired rural parish. He died in 1790, in the seventy-second year of his age, and in the fiftieth of his ministry ; and was succeeded in the pastoral office by the Rev. Azel Backus, D.D., afterwards President of Hamilton College, New York.*
Brookfield, in Fairfield county, was incorporated in 1788, having been formed from parts of New Milford, Danbury, and Newtown.
Between the last mentioned date and the year 1800, inclu- sive, Huntington, Sterling, Plymouth, Wolcott, Oxford, Columbia, and Trumbull, were incorporated as distinct towns. From the commencement of the present century down to the period of the adoption of the Constitution, the following towns were organized, viz : New Canaan, Roxbury, Sherman, Burlington, Canton, Marlborough, Middlebury, North Stonington, Vernon, Griswold, and Waterford.
Roxbury was originally a part of Woodbury, and was incorporated in 1801. Colonel Seth Warner, of the revolu- tionary army, Hon. Nathaniel Smith, member of Congress, Hon. Nathan Smith, United States Senator, Hon. Truman Smith, United States Senator, and John Sanford, member of Congress from New York, were born in Roxbury. General Ephraim Hinman, and the Hon. Royal R. Hinman, were long residents of the town.
Southbury was a part of Woodbury until 1786, when it was incorporated as a town, and remained a part of the
* In Bethlem were born the Hon. Samuel J. Hitchcock, LL. D., Professor of Law in Yale College ; David Prentice, LL. D., Professor, of Mathematics in Geneva College, N. Y.5 Harvey P. Peet, LL. D., President of the New York Insti- tution for the deaf and dumb 5 Laurens Hull, M. D., of Alleghany county, N. Y., President of the State Medical Society, representative and senator in the N. Y. Legislature.
BKIDGEPORT. 471
county of Litchfield for about twenty years thereafter, when it was annexed to New Haven county.
I cannot close this chapter without so far overstepping the chronological bounds I had marked out for myself, as to notice the flourishing town and city of Bridgeport. Though it has sprung into existence since the adoption of the Consti- tution, a history of the state would be imperfect without at least a reference to its rise and progress. Previous to the date of its incorporation as a town in 1821, Bridgeport form- ed a part of the parish of Stratfield, in Stratford. In 1836, the city of Bridgeport was incorporated ; in 1837, its popu- lation was 3,416 ; in 1850, the number of its inhabitants had increased to seven thousand five hundred and thirty- eight.
The stable character of its population, their business habits, the central position of the city, its neatness, the style of its buildings, the beautiful hills that crown it, and which are already covered with splendid mansions and elegant villas, all prophecy the brilliant future of Bridgeport and bespeak the vitality of the principles and blood of the old coast towns the descendants of whose pioneers are gathered there.
CHAPTER XXI
MISCELLANEOUS EYENTS. WAE OE 1812. HAETFOED CONTENTION.
The state and federal governments having been establish- ed, the people of Connecticut, cheered with the prospect of continued peace, gradually recovered from their pecuniary- embarrassments, and from the physical and social evils that inevitably follow in the train of war. Soldiers and officers, the council of war, committees of safety and inspection — royalists and republicans — all swore allegiance to the new constitution and government, laid aside their badges of dis- tinction, and were content and proud to be known by the honorable title of American citizens.
Measures were at once adopted and the requisite steps taken by our legislature, to adapt the laws and local govern- ment to the new order of things. William Samuel Johnson, and Oliver Ellsworth, were elected senators to the General Congress ; and Messrs. Jonathan Sturges, Roger Sherman, Benjamin Huntington, Jonathan Trumbull, and Jeremiah Wadsworth, were chosen representatives in that body. Acts were passed regulating the subsequent election of members of both houses of Congress. Oliver Wolcott, Jr., Samuel Holden Parsons, and James Davenport, were appointed com- missioners on the part of this state, to negotiate a treaty with " the Indians who occupy the territory reserved by Connecticut in their cession to the United States."*
For a period of more than twenty years from the date of the ratification of the Federal Constitution, few events occur- red within the limits of our state worthy to be noted by the pen of the historian. The usual elections occurred, the legislature held its regular semi-annual sessions, laws were passed, amended and repealed, various alterations in the
* State Records, MS.
EQUAL RIGHTS. 473
national constitution were proposed and considered, and the ordinary current of public affairs flowed smoothly on.
In October, 1791, an act was passed which professedly secured "equal rights and privileges to christians of all denominations in this state," About the same time, statutes were passed for the encouragement of manufactures, for reorganizing the militia of the state, and for procuring the sale of the western lands. At the October session, 1793, the legislature passed the following resolve. It indicates a spirit of liberality which was far from being common at that period.
" Be it enacted. That the monies arising from the sale of the territory belonging to this state, lying west of the state of Pennsylvania, be, and the same is hereby established as a perpetual fund, the interest whereof is granted and shall be appropriated to the use and benefit of the several ecclesi- astical societies, churches or congregations, of all denorimia- tions, in this state, to be by them applied for the support of their respective ministers or preachers of the gospel, and schools of education, under such rules and regulations as shall be hereafter adopted by this Assembly. "f
The Assembly of the state having, in 1792, granted to those citizens of Connecticut whose property had been destroyed by the British, a tract of half a million acres of Ohio lands, it was, in May 1795, ordered that all deeds con- veying those lands to others should be recorded in the clerk's office in the town or towns where the damage of the original grantee was sustained. The ''Connecticut Land Company " soon after purchased other western lands of the state ; and in October, 1797, in compliance with the petition of the company referred to, Connecticut surrendered to the United States her jurisdiction over the territory.
Previous to the commencement of the present century, the public roads of the state appear to have b^en much neg- lected, and the difficulties of intercommunication between the several towns were correspondingly great. About the year 1795, the subject of turnpike roads began to attract much
* State Pwecords, MS.
474 HISTOKY OF CONNECTICUT.
attention. For several years thereafter, the number of char- tered companies continued to be multiplied, until nearly all the important towns of the state were reached by the net- work of turnpikes. These lines were extended, from time to time, and new lines were constantly added. The system did much to improve the facilities of travel, and answered a good purpose, until superceded by the greater works of inter- nal improvement which have since changed the face of the world.
Soon after the close of the Revolution, the boundary line between Connecticut and Massachusetts became a subject of contention. In May, 1791, the legislature was officially notified by the governor of Massachusetts, that in conse- quence of disputes that had arisen, commissioners had been appointed on the part of that state to unite with those of Connecticut in adjusting the matter. Our legislature at that time declined taking any action upon the subject. In Octo- ber, 1793, however, the Hon. Oliver Ellsworth, Roger New- bury, and Gideon Granger, Jr., were appointed commission- ers to ascertain and establish the line between the two states from Connecticut river westward to the state of New York. In May, 1801, it was resolved, that inasmuch as the former commissioners had not, for various reasons, attended to the object of their appointment, Aaron Austin, Zephaniah Swift, and Eliphalet Terry, should be appointed in their stead. They were vested " with the same powers in every respect, as were given to said former commissioners." Two years subsequently, the work not having been completed on account of the disagreement of the commissioners, Aaron Austin, Nathaniel Terry, and Thaddeus Leavitt, were appointed to perfect the line.
In the mean time, the gallant sons of Connecticut were adding to the 'fame of the young republic by their heroic con- duct in a distant land. In May 1801, Jussuf Caramalli, Bashaw of Tripoli, (who had deposed his brother Hamet,) cut down the flag-staff of the American consulate. This act was a virtual declaration of war. Commodore Preble
[1804.] GENERAL EATON'S EXPEDITION. 475
having failed in his efforts to humble the usurper, General William Eaton, a native of Connecticut, who had for some years been the American consul at Tunis, conceived the idea of restoring the exiled Hamet, and through him, of effecting a permanent peace. With this project in view, General Eaton visited the United States ; and having obtained the sanction of his government, he re-embarked in July, 1804, on board the Argus sloop of war, with the squadron of Com- modore Barron, who was directed to cooperate with Eaton in the enterprise.
A few days after the commodore took the command before Tripoli, he sent the Argus under command of Captain Isaac Hull, (also a native of Connecticut,) to Alexandria, with General Eaton, where they arrived on the 26th of Novem- ber. From this place, accompanied by some of the officers of the squadron, Eaton proceeded to Cairo. The viceroy of Egypt received them with favor, and readily granted permis- sion to Hamet to leave his dominions unmolested, notwith- standing he had been fighting against the government with the discontented Mamelukes.* The deposed prince gladly accepted the proposals of Eaton, and they soon raised about five hundred men — of twelve different nations — including eleven Americans and seventy or eighty Greeks and French- men. If he had possessed means of subsistence for so many, the commander could have enlisted thirty thousand men for the expedition. On the 6th of March, the little army entered the desert of Lybia, and after a fatiguing march of fifty days, during which time they had traversed more than six hundred miles of desert-sands and surmounted innumerable obstacles, they encamped in the rear of the city of Derne, on the 26th of April.*
Captain Hull, during this time, had made his way back to Malta for orders and stores, and by the middle of April, with the ships Argus, Nautilus, and Hornet, was cruising along the coast in the vicinity of Derne, awaiting the arri-
* Cooper, t Allen, Cooper, Blake.
476 HISTOEY OF CONNECTICUT,
val of the overland army. Ascertaining soon after, that Eaton had encamped about a league from the shore, Captain Hull landed a field-piece with some stores and muskets, in charge of a few marines of the corps. The order of attack having been agreed upon, at two o'clock P. M., April 27th, a furious assault upon the town was commenced at the same instant from the land and from the ships. The enemy made a spirited defense, but the town and fortress were com- pelled to surrender before night-fall. Only fourteen of the assailants had been killed and wounded, General Eaton being among the latter. The number of men engaged in the attack, including the marines and sailors, was about twelve hundred ; while the place was defended by three or four thousand.
Jussuf, the reigning Bashaw, soon collected a formidable army, and attempted to regain the town, but was defeated in a battle fought on the 13th of May, and met with a complete repulse on the 10th of June. Eaton was preparing to push his conquests still farther, but was arrested by a treaty of peace.*
Though the people and authorities of Connecticut have always yielded suitable obedience to the "higher powers,'' they have not so uniformly submitted to what they have regarded as unjust or unwise acts, without expressing their dissent. The act of Congress of December 22, 1807, declar- ing an unlimited embargo, for all the purposes of foreign commerce, on every port in the Union, was considered by the great mass of our citizens, as unnecessary and oppressive in its operations. The legislature, at the October session, after expressing an apprehension that silence on their part " might be construed to imply the want of a disposition to
* See Cooper's Naval Hist. ; Pease and Niles' Gaz. ; Allen's Biog. Die. Gen- eral Eaton was born in Woodstock, Feb. 23, 1764. At the age of sixteen, he ran away from home and joined the army, but subsequently graduated at Dartmouth college. In 1797, he was appointed consul to Tunis, and continued in that office for about nine years. On his return to this country, he settled in Brimfield, Mass., and in 1807, represented that town in the legislature. He died June 1, 1811, aged forty-seven.
[1811.] THE EMBARGO. 477
protect, or an intention to betray, the dearest rights of their constituents," proceeded to pass a series of stringent resolu- tions, indicative of their feelings and sentiments in relation to that "unprecedented crisis." "We maintain," say they, "that the right freely to navigate the ocean, w^as, like our soil, transmitted to us as an inheritance from our forefathers, and the enjoyment of this right is secured to us, as a free and sovereign state, by the plighted faith of the United States." After detailing, however, the oppressive burdens and grievances brought upon the people of this state by the operations of the act referred to, they add, in the true spirit of patriotic obedience, "we rely, nevertheless, on the further patient and faithful regard to public order, in the hope that the Congress will, at their approaching session, on a knowl- edge of these distresses, speedily decide that a removal of them is compatible with the peace, honor, and happiness of the United States."
Congress having on the 9th of January, 1809, passed an act "to enforce and make more effectual" the embargo, an extra session of the legislature was called in the succeeding February, on account of the "great national emergency." A series of resolutions, and an address to the people of Con- necticut, were adopted, and two thousand copies were ordered to be printed and circulated ; and a like number of copies of the offensive act was directed to be distributed with the resolves and address.
In May, 1811, the subject was again brought before the legislature, and a series of resolutions, similar in their purport to those already adverted to, was adopted. The commercial interests of the state were prostrated ; the ordinary business of the inhabitants along the line of our sea-coast was neces- sarily suspended ; and the consequent distress which prevailed in many places so exasperated the people that some were ready for open rebellion against the General Government. The Assembly, alarmed at the extent of this feeling, while it recognized the right and duty of the people to defend "the liberties and independence of the state, as well as of the
478 HISTOEY OF CONNECTICUT.
United States, against every aggression," exhorted the citi- zens to " continue to cherish an attachment to social order, the principles of our republican institutions and the Constitution of the United States, as essentially con- nected with the liberty they so highly prize ; and to enter- tain the hope that the General Government will abandon a course of measures so distressing to individuals, so debasing to the national spirit and character, and so inefficacious for the protection of the rights and honor of the United States ; and that they remain assured that the General Assembly of this state, participating in the sentiments and sufferings of the people by whom they are chosen, will never lose sight of their commercial rights and interests."*
The train of events finally led to a result that had long been anticipated. On the 18th of June, 1812, the govern- ment of the United States declared war against Great Britain. It is needless to go into the causes which led to such a decla- ration. A long series of insults and aggressive acts on the part of our old enemy, including the impressment of our seamen and indignities offered to our flag, were the alleged occasions of an appeal to arms for a redress of grievances. The views of the people of Connecticut in relation to this important step are expressed in the following paper. It is copied from the manuscript records of the doings of the Assembly, at their special session in August of that year :
"The Legislature of the State of Connecticut, specially convened to consult the welfare and provide for the defense of the state at this interesting and eventful period, avail themselves of the opportunity thus afforded to declare and resolve —
" That while some of their sister states offer assurance of their unqualified approbation of the measures of the General Government, in respect to our foreign relations, we confi- dently trust that the motives which influence us to declare what we believe to be the deliberate and solemn sense of
* State Records, MS.
[1812.] MANIFESTO OF CONNECTICUT. 479
the people of this state, on the question of the war, will be justly appreciated.
"The people of this state view the war as unnecessary.
" Without pretending to an exclusive or superior love of country to what is common to their fellow-citizens, or arro- gating a preeminence in those virtues which adorn our his- tory, they yield to none in attachment to the Union, or vene- ration for the Constitution. The Union, cemented by the blood of the American people, is endeared to our best affec- tions, and prized as an invaluable legacy bequeathed to us and our posterity by the founders of our empire.
"The people of this state were among the first to adopt the Constitution. Having shared largely in its blessings, and confidently trusting that under the guardianship of the peo- ple, and of the states, it will be found competent to the objects of its institution, in aU the various vicissitudes of our aflfairs, they will be the last to abandon the high hopes it aflfords of the future prosperity and glory of our country.
" These sentiments of attachment to the Union and to the Constitution, are believed to be common to the American people, and those who express and disseminate distrust of their fidelity to both or either, we cannot regard as the most discreet of their friends.
"Unfortunately our country is now involved in that awful conflict which has desolated the fairest portions of Europe. Between the belligerents. Great Britain is selected for our enemy. We are not the apologists of the wrongs of foreign nations — we inquire not as to the comparative demerits of their respective decrees or orders. We will never deliberate on the choice of a foreign master. The aggressions of both nations ought to have been met at the onset, by a system of defensive protection commensurate to our means, and adapted to the crisis. Other counsels prevailed, and that system of commercial restrictions, which before had dis- tressed the people of Europe, was extended to our country. We became parties to the continental system of the French emperor. Whatever its pressure may have been elsewhere,
480 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
on our citizens it has operated with intolerable severity and hardship.
" In the midst of these sufferings, war is declared, and that nation of the two is selected as a foe, which is capable of in- flicting the greatest injury. In this selection we view, with the greatest solicitude, a tendency to entangle us in an alli- ance with a nation which has subverted every republic in Europe, and whose connections, wherever formed, have been fatal to civil liberty.
" Of the operation of her decrees on the American com- merce, it is not necessary here to remark. The repeal of them, promulgated in this country since the declaration of war, virtually declares that the American government was not to be trusted. Insult is thus added to injury.
" Should a continuance of this war exclude our sea-faring and mercantile citizens from the use of the ocean, and our invaluable institutions be sacrificed by an alliance with France, the measure of our degradation and wretchedness would be full.
"War, always calamitous, in this case portentous of great evils, enacted against a nation powerful in her armies, and without a rival on the ocean, cannot be viewed by us but with the deepest regret. A nation without fleets, without armies, with an impoverished treasury, with a frontier by sea and land extending many hundred miles, feebly defended, waging a war, hath not first "counted the cost."
" By the Constitution of the United States, the power of declaring war is vested in Congress. They have declared war against Great Britain. However much this measure is regretted, the General Assembly, ever regardful of their duty to the General Government, will perform all those obligations resulting from this act. With this view, they have at this session provided for the more effectual organization of the military force of this state, and a supply of the munitions of war. These will be employed, should the public exigencies require it, in defense of this state, and of our sister states, in compliance with the Constitution — and it is not to be
[1812.] THE WAR. 481
doubted, but that the citizens of this state will be found, at the constitutional call of their country, among the foremost in its defense.
"To the United States is delegated the power, to call forth the militia to execute the laws, to suppress insurrection, and to repel invasions. To the states respectively is reserved the entire control of the militia, except in the cases specified. In this view of that important provision of the Constitution, the legislature fully accord with the decision of his excellency the governor, in refusing to comply with the requisition of the General Government for a portion of the militia. While it is to be regretted that any difference of opinion on that sub- ject should have arisen, the conduct of the chief magistrate of this state, in maintaining its immunities and privileges, meets our cordial approbation. The legislature also enter- tain no doubt that the militia of the state will, under the direction of the captain-general, be ever ready to perform their duty to the state and nation, in peace or war. They are aware that in a protracted war, the burden upon the militia may become almost insupportable, as a spirit of ac- quisition and extension of territory appears to influence the councils of the nation, which may require the employment of the whole regular forces of the United States in foreign con- quest, and leave our maritime frontier defenseless, or to be protected solely by the militia of the states.
"At this period of anxiety among all classes of citizens, we learn with pleasure, that a prominent cause of the war is removed by a late measure of the British cabinet. The re- vocation of the orders in council, it is hoped, will be met by a sincere spirit of conciliation on the part of our administra- tion, and speedily restore to our nation the blessings of a solid and honorable peace.
"In the event of the continuance of the war, the legisla- ture rely on the people of Connecticut, looking to Him who holds the destinies of empires in His hands, to maintain those institutions which their venerable ancestors estab- lished, to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges
63
482 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
which then' fathers acquired and which are consecrated by their blood."
Although our people had steadily opposed the principles and measures that had led to the declaration of war, yet when they saw the country actually involved in the contest, they had too much patriotism to remain inactive. At the same session of the legislature that originated and sent forth this document, the quarter- master-general was authorized and directed to purchase for the state, in addition to the arms and artillery that had already been contracted for, "three thousand muskets, three thousand cartouch boxes, eight pieces of brass artillery of six pound calibre, and the neces- sary apparatus, six thousand pounds of powder, seventy thousand flints, and five tons of musket balls." A military force was also ordered to be forthwith raised in the state, to consist of two regiments of infantry, four companies of artil- lery, and four companies of cavalry, "to hold themselves in readiness for the defense of the state, to enforce the laws of the Union, to suppress insurrections and repel invasions, dur- ing the present war, — subject only, to the order of the com- mander-in-chief of this state."
This resolve of the legislature, together with the previous action of Governor Griswold, which was in strict accordance with the wishes and intentions of the Assembly as above ex- pressed, was the occasion of much remark at the time, and attempts have since been made to cast reproach upon the state for the stand she took on that occasion. Whether the measures pursued by our state were worthy of praise or l)lame, it is proper to remark, that our harbors and shipping were in a most exposed condition ; the fortifications along the coast had been neglected, and v/ere decaying ; and most of the regular troops had been withdrawn from the sea- board.* It should be remembered, also, that even when under a kingly government, the Connecticut troops v/ere usually enlisted with the express proviso that they should be
*
Andrews' Eulogy, p. 32.
[1812.] STATE RIGHTS. 483
under the command of their own officers, and their wishes in this particular had been generally acceded to. A similar feeling seems to have still existed not only among the soldiers but on the part of the state authorities. The governor, there- fore, had refused to comply with a requisition from General Dearborn, for troops to be under the command of officers of the regular army, on the two-fold ground that the constitu- tional exigencies authorizing such a call did not exist, and that the militia "could not be compelled to serve under any other than their own officers, with the exception of the presi- dent himself when personally in the field." He argued, that by the Constitution of the United States, the entire con- trol of the militia is given to the state governments, except in certain specified contingencies, viz., "to execute the laws of the Union, suppress insurrections, and repel invasions ;" and as he contended that neither of these exigences actually existed, he could not constitutionallv answer the call made upon him. In this decision he was fully sustained by the council, which consisted of the lieutenant-governor and twelve assistants."'^ That Governor Griswold and the council of Connecticut carried the doctrine of "state rights" farther than a true regard to the interests and powers of the confederacy will justify, is now pretty generally conceded, at least at the north. But if they erred in one direction, it is equally true that the course of the national government was not altogether in accordance with the dictates of justice. As if to revenge upon New England for her opposition to the war and the measures that had led to it, her six hundred
* Tlie question whether the governor of a state had a right to decide in regard to the existence of the exigences contemplated by the Constitution of the United States, was referred by the authorities of Ma!?sachusetts to the supreme court of that state. The court gave its decision in the affirmative.
At the session of the General Assembly in August, the following resolution was passed.
"Resolved, That the conduct of his excellency the governor, in refusing to order the militia of this state into the service of the United States, on the requisi- tion of the Secretary of War, and Major-General Dearborn, meets with the entire approbation of this Assembly."
484 ' HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
miles of sea-coast had been left almost entirely defenseless. Not only had the ships of war been withdrawn from our waters, but the United States' troops that had, in times of peace, been stationed at the forts along the coast, had been ordered away — at a moment, too, when, in the words of the secretary of war, "there was imminent danger of the invasion of the country.''*
I have deemed it incumbent upon me to say thus much on a subject that once elicited much attention throughout the Union, and concerning which many misrepresentations have gone abroad. The militia of the state, in large numbers, were frequently called out, not only for purposes of self- defense, but for the defense of the property of the United States. At New London, they were long employed in pro- tecting the government squadron. The only ground of con- tention was, whether the militia of the state should be under the command and control of the state or of the United States.
At the same time, the gallantry of Captain Hull, on the ocean, was a theme of general admiration throughout the country. His noble frigate, the Constitution, rode the waves "hke a thing of life," outstripping the fleetest sails of the enemy in the chase,+ while her heroic commander seemed to defy the thunders of the boasted mistress of the seas. During the month of August, Captain Hull had captured several prizes, and on the 15th of that month, he achieved his celebrated victory in the capture of the Guerriere, com- manded by Captain Dacres, one of the ships that had so lately chased the Constitution off the New York coast. Taking on board the remnant of the officers and crew, as prisoners of war, together with the sick and wounded, Captain Hull set fire to the wreck of the Guerriere, and returned to Bos-
* Letter from secretary Eustis, to Lieutenant-Governor Smith, of Connecticut, dated July 14th, 1812.
t On one occasion, the Constitution was chased for three days and three nights by some eight or ten British ships of war. They were all at last compelled to abandon the pursuit.
[1812.] GOVERNOR GRISWOLD. 485
ton, where he arrived on the 30th. "It is not easy," says Cooper,''^ " at this distant day, to convey to the reader the full force of the moral impression created in America by this vic- tory of one frigate over another. So deep had been the effect produced on the public mind by the constant account of the successes of the English over their enemies at sea, that the opinion of their invincij^ility on that element gener- ally prevailed ; and it had been publicly predicted that, before the contest had continued six months, British sloops of war would lie along side of American frigates with comparative impunity. But the termination of the combat just related, far exceeded the expectations of the most sanguine." The loss of the Constitution was only seven killed, and seven wounded. On the other hand, the Guerriere was completely dismasted, had seventy-nine men killed and wounded, and, according to the statement of her commander, when on trial before a court-martial for the loss of his ship, *'she had received no less than thirty shots as low as five sheets of copper beneath the bands. "f
During the sitting of the October session, his excellency, Governor Griswold, died at his residence in Norwich. He was a gentleman of high character and commanding talents ; a true patriot, wise in council, and efficient in action. His decease, particularly at that interesting period of our history, was felt to be a public calamity. J The Lieutenant-Governor,
* " Naval History," vol. ii. p. 56, 57.
t In October, 1817, the legislature of this state " Resolved, That they enter- tain a high and respectful sense of the virtues, gallantry, and naval skill of their fellow-citizen, Commodore Isaac Hull, that an elegant sword, and pair of pistols, both mounted with gold, with suitable inscriptions, and manufactured in this state, be procured ; and that his excellency the governor, be respectfully requested to present the same to the commodore, with a copy of this resolve, as honorary tokens of the high esteem in which he is held by the people of this state, for his personal worth and public services : and that his excellency be requested to do this in a manner which he shall deem most expressive of the sincerity of that esteem."
$ The Hon. Roger Griswold, LL. D., was a son of the Hon. Matthew Griswold^ formerly governor of the state, and was born in Lyme, May 21, 1762. Having graduated at Yale College, and completed his professional studies, he commenced the practice of law in Norwich, in 1783, and soon became an eminent advocate.
486 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
John Cotton Smith, became the acting governor, and in May following, he was duly elected to that office.
On the 4th of December, Commodore Decatur, wdth the frigate United States, attended by his prize, the Macedonia, came into New London harbor. In April following, a formidable British fleet passed through the Sound. The British flag was raised on Block Island, while Sir Thomas Hardy, in the flag-ship Ramillies, with other vessels, cruised along the coast. On the 1st of June, Decatur's squadron, consisting of the frigates United States and Macedonia, and the sloop-of-war Hornet, having sailed from New York, attempted to pass out to sea by way of Montauk, but were arrested in their progress near the entrance to the Souixl by Commodore Hardy, and driven into New London harbor. The enemy's ships anchored off" Gull Island, so as to com- mand the mouth of the river, and completely blockaded the port. The British fleet having been soon after augmented by the arrival of two ships of the line, two frigates, and several smaller vessels, it was anticipated that the enemy would either bombard the city, or sail up the river and attack the American squadron. The militia from the neighborhood were summoned to the coast, the specie of the banks was conveyed to Norwich, and the women and children, together with such valuables as could readily be removed, were car- ried back into the country. Great anxiety and confusion prevailed for several days in New London, nor could quiet be restored until it was ascertained that the enemy had
In 1792, when but thirty-two years of age, he was elected to Congress, and re- mained a member of that body for a period of ten years. In 1801, he was nomin- ated for the post of Secretary of War, but he declined to accept it. In 1807, he was appointed a judge of the superior court ; in 1809, he was chosen lieutenant-gov- ernor ; and in 1811, he became governor of the state. He died at Norwich, Oct. 25, 1812, aged fifty years.
The legislature appointed Calvin Goddard, Theodore Dwight, and Frederick Wolcott, of the Council, and Messrs. D. Humphrey, Putnam, Sherwood, and N. Terry, of the House, a committee to attend the funeral. Elizur Goodrich, A. Smith, Hubbard, and Caldwell, were appointed a committee to make arrangements for suitable public services in Hartford ; and the Hon. David Daggett, was chosen to pronounce a funeral eulogy.
[1813.] THE TOEPEDO. 487
selected their anchorage ground about five miles from the city. Even then, as the blockade was kept up, a reinforce- ment or any unusual movement among the ships, was sufficient to arouse the suspicions of the people, and not unfrequently occasioned great alarm. The American ships having been taken as far up the river as possible, Decatur threw up intrenchments on Allyn's mountain, from which point he had a fine view of the harbor.*
Toward the latter part of June, an American schooner called the Eagle, had been fitted out as a kind of torpedo vessel, and sent into the Sound. As she had a show of naval stores on board, she was captured by the British a short dis- tance west of New London — the crew having- eflfected their escape to the shore in the small boats. The captors attempted to tow their prize up to the Ramillies, but not succeeding in this, they anchored her about three-fourths of a mile from that vessel. In three hours after her seizure, the Eagle blew up with a tremendous explosion, throwing a shower of pitch and tar upon the Ramillies, and filling the air with timbers and stones. A second lieutenant, and ten men, who were on board, were instantly killed, and several men in the small boats were badly wounded. The hold of the Eagle, under the appearance of ballast, contained four hundred pounds of powder, with a quantity of ponderous stones, and destructive implements, together with a secret piece of mechanism, which when set in motion, would explode in a given length of time.f
In consequence of this event, the blockade was extended to vessels and boats of every description, and was kept up with more rigor than ever.
About the same time. General Burbeck, in obedience to the orders of the General Government, arrived from New- port, and assumed the military command of the district. As the governor and legislature claimed the control of the militia
* Caulkins' New London.
+ Caulkins' Hist, of New London. This was one of Buslinell's " American Turtles."
488 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
of the state, the troops stationed at New London, numbering about one thousand, were dismissed on the 12th of July, by order of the secretary of war, and the town was left without a single soldier on duty. Simultaneously with this event, it was ascertained that the fleet of the enemy had been rein-- forced, and as the firing of cannon had commenced on board, the ships, the greatest panic was excited among the people on shore. They charged the General Government with hav- ing betrayed them, and purposely left them to destruction. General Burbeck himself appears to have participated in the alarm, and at once applied to the governor for a temporary force, who authorized General Williams to call to his aid as many of the militia as the circumstances of the case might seem to demand.
Commodore Decatur, tired of the inglorious idleness forced upon him by the blockade, had long meditated a plan of escape. During the months of October and November, his ships had been quietly dropping down the river toward New London, and by the 1st of December, they were anchored in the harbor, opposite market wharf, where everything was put in the best trim for sailing. His designs were, so far as pos- sible, kept a profound secret, both from friend and foe. The night of the 12th of December, which had been fixed upon for the attempt, proved to be dark and the wind favorable, and as soon as the tide turned they were to set sail. While thus waiting, word was brought to Decatur, that at different times between eight and ten o'clock, blue lights had been seen on both sides of the river, near its mouth. It was imagined by the timid, that they were designed as signals to the enemy to be on their guard. The Commodore gave heed to the stories, instantly relinquished his plan of escape, and never again attempted it.
The story of the "blue lights" was eagerly circulated throughout the country, and an attempt was made to cast I'e- proach upon Connecticut, by stigmatizing her citizens as traitors. It is to be lamented that in some instances the partizan press of a later day, within our own borders, for the
BLUE LIGHTS. 489
accomplishment of party ends, have not scrupled to reiterate the statement, and attempt to fasten the stigma of treachery upon the state. It may be difficult, at this distance of time, to decide upon the facts in the case. That the story was confidently denied and disbelieved by many of the most intelligent persons in New London, at a time when all the facts and circumstances that could be elicited on the subject, were fresh in the minds of the public, of itself affords sufficient grounds for a reasonable doubt in the case. It was averred that "accidental lights kindled by fishermen, or the gleams from country windows, or reflec- tions from the heavens upon water, might have been mista- ken for treasonable signs."* But even if the lights were designed as a warning to the enemy, it does not follow that they w^ere kindled by the torch of the traitor. The officers and soldiers of the British fleet had free access to the city, and to the adjacent coast. "It was rum.ored," says Miss Caulkins, "that spies vvere often in town, under various dis- guises, and that suspicious persons appeared and disappeared strangely." It is not unreasonable to infer that officers from the fleet might have mingled with the crowds of anxious citi- zens who daily gathered at the corners of the streets, in the hotels, or other public places — that they secretly watched the movements of Decatur and his men — that they ascer- tained their intentions of attempting to escape during that very night. If "traitors" could contrive to possess them- selves of the secret, why might not an accomplished spy do it? Certain it is, that no attempt was ever made to fasten the treasonable act upon any citizen of Connecticut, nor does it appear that any person was ever suspected of being con- cerned in it.
All the vessels of the American squadron withdrew up the Thames early in the spring, except the Hornet, which re- mained at New London, and in November, 1814, managed to pass the blockading fleet, and reached New York in safety.
* History of New London.
490 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
Several spirited adventures took place on our coast during the war. Frequently a sloop or schooner would be pursued by the enemy's ships into some one of our many harbors or inlets, and the people on shore would rally to defend it. The sloop Victory, having been chased into Mystic, in June, 1813, a party of fifteen men, under the command of Jeremiah Haley, drove off the enemy after an action of fifteen minutes. The sloop Roxana, in November, was thus driven ashore near the light-house, by three British barges ; and in half an hour a crowd of people had assembled to rescue her. The enemy, after setting fire to their prize, escaped. The Ameri- cans attempted to extinguish the flames, but were prevented by a heavy cannonade from the ships.
The historian of New London mentions the singular fact, that Captain John Howard, of the packet sloop Juno, continued to pass back and forth between New London and New York, during the whole war, in spite of the vigilance of the blockading squadron. He usually chose a dark or stormy night for leaving or entering the harbor, and was al- ways successful in passing the blockade, notwithstanding he was narrowly watched by the enemy. Four cannon were kept constantly loaded on his deck, and he carried with him an ample supply of ammunition, and shot. He was often way- laid and pursued, but a spirited discharge of his guns had the desired effect in keeping the assailants at a respectful dis- tance, though he was once driven into Saybrook, and had his mast shot away.
Meanwhile the citizens of Stonington were kept in a state of constant alarm, growing out of the fact that the British employed in the blockade of New London, were in full view from the village, and their boats almost daily reconnoitered along the coast. They transmitted an earnest appeal to Congress for assistance and protection, but without avail. Governor Smith sent them a small guard of militia, to aid them in keeping a nightly watch ; and the citizens threw up temporary breastworks in different positions, on one of which a flag-staff was planted and a platform erected for the recep-
[1814.] BOMBARDMENT OF STONINGTON. 491
tion of their two eighteen-pounders. On the 9th of August, 1814, the ships of the enemy were seen entering Stonington harbor. They were the RamiUies, the frigate Pactolus, the bomb-ship Terror, and the brig-of-war Despatch. Casting anchor, a barge put off from the nearest ship for the shore, bearing a white flag. Several gentlemen immediately entered a boat and proceeded to receive the flag. The offi- cer of the barge presented them with the following commu- nication, and immediately returned to his ship.
"His Britannic Majesty's ship Pactolus,
"9th of August, 1814, half-past 5, P. M. "Not wishing to destroy the unoffending inhabitants resid- ing in the town of Stonington, one hour is granted them from the receipt of this, to remove out of town.
"T. M. Hardy, "Captain of his Majesty's ship Ramillies.'*
The consternation which followed this message, especially among the women, and children, can hardly be imagined. The fearful import of the communication, the overwhelming force of the enemy, the defenseless condition of the town, and the brief space of time allowed for the removal of their families, and to prepare for the conflict, were considerations which forced themselves upon all, and for a moment seemed to appal the stoutest heart. Soon, however, the citizens began to recover their self-possession, and before the hour had elapsed, a goodly number of bold volunteers had taken possession of the breastworks, and were watching the move- ments of the enemy, while others were employed in collect- ing whatever ammunition could be found in the possession of individuals.
About eight o'clock in the evening, the Terror began the bombardment, and continued all night to throw fire-bombs and carcasses into the town. At daylight on the following morning, the barges drew up on the east side of the village, and commenced firing rockets at the buildings. The Ston- ington volunteers dragged one of their guns across the point,
492 HISTOEY OF CONNECTICUT.
opened a fire upon the barges, sunk one of them, compelled the others to retire, and then returned to their intrenchments in safety. The brig of war and the Terror, about sunrise, commenced firing upon the town, and discharging rockets, shells, and carcasses. While some of the citizens were man- ning the guns, others were following the rockets and car- casses wherever they might strike, for the purpose of extin- guishing the fires that they kindled. At last their ammuni- tion failed the artillerists, and they were compelled to sus- pend their firing until the express which they had sent to New London should return. At eleven o'clock, A. M., to their great joy, the messenger arrived. Nailing their colors to the staff, they renewed their fire with such effect that the brig, to avoid being sunk, cut her cables and retired.*
The bombardment continued until the third day, when Commodore Hardy sent a flag on shore, with a message, demanding that Mrs. Stewart, the British consul's wife, should be sent on board his ship, and that the inhabitants should give a pledge that they would set afloat no more tor- pedoes to annoy his vessels ! He promised, if these terms were complied with, that the bombardment should cease. In reply, he was told that his requisitions could not be regarded, and that they asked no favors of him beyond what the rules of honorable warfare required. The ships renewed their fire, and kept it up until noon on Friday, the fourth day of the siege, when the enemy retired to their old quarters off New London, with little cause to boast of the success of their expedition.
When we consider all the circumstances of the attack, the gallant defense, and the length of time employed in the bom- bardment, it is a matter of surprise that not a single individual in the town was killed. One young man received a wound in the knee and died six months afterward. Though the vigilance of the citizens prevented conflagration, several
* The anchor and cable, which were left behind are still preserved.
[1814.] LAKE CHAMPLAIN. 493
buildings were badly shattered, and some were wholly destroyed.*
During the year 1814, General Burbeck was removed to another station, and General Thomas H. Gushing was ap- pointed to the command of this military district. f
In the spring of 1813, Captain McDonough had taken command of the American fleet on Lake Champlain, and from his well known spirit, energy, and bravery, much was expected of him. No decisive action, however, occurred on the lake until in the month of September, 1814. Early in that month. Sir George Provost, the English commander-in- chief, advanced against Plattsburg, then held by Brigadier- General Macomb. The English army, consisting of about twelve thousand men, was divided into four brigades, led by Lieutenant-General de Rottenburg, and Majors General Brisbane, Power, and Robinson. The British fleet on the lake was commanded by Captain Downie, and numbered six- teen vessels of various kinds, mounting ninety-five or ninety- six guns, and carrying one thousand men. The total force of the Americans on the lake, consisted of fourteen vessels, mounting eighty-six guns, and coutaining eight hundred and fifty men. Captain McDonough had the personal command of the Saratoga, while Captain Downie's own ship was the Confi- ance, the largest craft in his fleet. On the 11th of Septem- ber, a fierce conflict ensued between the two fleets, which resulted in the capture, by McDonough, of one frigate, one brig, and two sloops of war. The loss of the Americans, in killed, and wounded, was one hundred and twelve ; that of the enemy something over two hundred.
Sir George Provost, on hearing the fate of the British squadron, made a precipitate retreat, leaving behind him
* Hist, of Xew London.
t General Henry Burbeck, became a resident of New London soon after the war, and died there Oct. 2, 1848, aged ninety-four. General Gushing, a native of Massachusetts, entered the army in 1776, and continued in the service until 1815, vi^hen he was appointed collector of the port of New London. He died Oct. 19, 1822, aged sixty-seven.
494 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
much of his heavy artillery, stores, and supplies. From that moment to the end of the war, our northern frontier remained unmolested.*
Besides the usual medal from Congress, and various com- pliments and gifts from different towns and states, Captain McDonough was promoted for his services, and the legisla- ture of New York presented him with a small estate on the lake shore overlooking the scene of his triumph. * *
Commodore McDonough was a son of a physician in New Castle county, Delaware. When quite young, he obtained a midshipman's warrant, and sailed for the Mediterranean. During the whole of the war of 1812, he proved himself an efficient officer. He resided at Middletown, Conn., where he died, Nov. 10, 1825, aged thirty-nine. In May, 1819, the legislature of Connecticut voted, that "a pair of pistols, with suitable devices, and manufactured in this state, which now claims the hero as her son, be procured, and that his excel- lency the governor, be respectfully requested to present them to Commodore McDonough, with a copy of this resolution, in such manner as he shall judge most expressive of their gratitude and esteem."
At the October session of the Connecticut legislature, the governor was desired to purchase for the use of the state, six tons of powder, three tons of cannon shot, two thousand stand of arms, and twenty-six cannon, with other suitable implements, and materials for the use of the troops when on duty. The Assembly also took into consideration a plan that had been submitted to Congress by the secretary of war, for filling up the regular army, which placed the militia and the troops raised for the defense of the state, at the disposal of the General Government. By the principles of the proposed plan, the Assembly say, " our sons, brothers, and friends, are made liable to be delivered, against their will, and by force, to the marshalls and recruiting officers of the United States, to be employed, not for our own defense, but for the conquest of Canada, or upon any foreign service which the adminis-
*
Cooper, ii. 224.
[1815.] PROPERTY ON OUR COAST. 495
tration might choose to send them." They further declare the plan to be, " not only intolerably burdensome and op- pressive, but utterly subversive of the rights and liberties of this state, and the freedom, sovereignty, and independence of the same, and inconsistent with the principles of the consti- tution of the United States." In case the offensive measure should become a law of Congress, the governor was directed forthwith to convene the legislature to consult on the mea- sures to be adopted.
It is quite evident that the controversy between the admin- istration and the New England states, be the blame where it might, was now assuming an alarming character, and that the eastern sea-coast, where were the oldest settlements, and where was accumulated more property than lay on the whole ocean-line from the Jersey shore to the gulf of Mexico, was sadly exposed to the ships of a powerful nation that were pirating along our borders, and, in defiance of the rules of civilized warfare, were laying waste some of the finest towns in the Union. What was the honest feeling that pervaded the state at that time, may be gleaned from the following extract from Governor Smith's speech to the General Assem- bly, at the May session, 1814 :
" I am not informed that any effectual arrangements are made by the national government to put our sea-coast into a more respectable state of defense. Should the plan of the last campaign be renewed, and especially should the war retain the desolating character it has been made to assume, the states On the Atlantic border cannot be insensible to the dangers which await them. 'To provide for the common defense' was an avowed, and it may with truth be said the chief purpose for which the present constitution was formed. How far this object is promoted by aiming at foreign con- quest, and resigning our most wealthy and populous frontier to pillage and devastation, becomes a momentous inquiry. Whatever measures, gentlemen, you may. think proper to adopt on the occasion, I feel assured they will flow from an equal regard to your own rights and to the interests of the
496 HISTOEY OF CONNECTICUT.
Union. In any event, I am persuaded that we shall place no reliance on the forbearance of a declared enemy, and that if the aid to which we are entitled is withheld, the means which God has given us will be faithfully employed for our safety."*
Massachusetts was no less alarmed than Connecticut, at the situation of the eastern coast. In the summer of 1814, the English took possession of Castine, a town on the Penobscot, and of all that part of Maine which lies to the eastward of that river. News soon arrived in Boston, that the enemy were preparing to invade Massachusetts. This, among other causes of alarm, induced that state, through her constituted authorities, to address a letter to the states of Connecticut and Rhode Island, calling upon them " to appoint delegates" to meet with those from other states to deliberate upon the dangers then impending, and "to devise, if practicable, means of security and defense which may be consistent with the preservation of their resources from total ruin, and adapted to their local situation, mutual relations and habits, and not repugnayit to their obliga- tions as members of the Union." Such were the avowed motives that led to the call for the far-famed "Hartford Convention."
The General Assembly was in session when this communi- cation was received from Massachusetts, and immediately appointed a committee to investigate the matters named in it. Henry Champion was chairman of the committee, a man of an original type of intellect and character, and capable of expressing his thoughts in a strong nervous style, of which the following extracts afford a good illustration:
"The condition of this state demands the most serious attention of the legislature. We lately enjoyed, in common with the other members of the national confederacy, the blessings of peaqe. The industry of our citizens, in every
* See Appendix to the Eulogy of Governor Smith, by the Rev. WiUiam W. Andrews, of Kent.
[1814.] HENRY CHAMPION". 497
department of active life, was abundantly rewarded ; our cities and villages exhibited indications of increasing wealth; and the foreign relations of the Union secured our safety and nourished our prosperity.
"The scene is now reversed. We are summoned to the field of war, and to surrender our treasures for our defense. The fleets of a powerful enemy hover on our coasts, block- ade our harbors, and threaten our towns and cities with fire and desolation.
"When a commonwealth falls from a state of high pros- perity, it behoves the guardians of its interests to inquire into the cause of its decline, and, with deep solicitude, to seek a remedy."
tP "ff* Tf tP tF
"Occupying a comparatively small territory, and naturally associating, during the revolutionary war, with states whose views were identified with ours, our interests and inclina- tions led us to unite in the great national compact, since defined and consolidated by the Constitution of the United States.
*****
"Thus driven from every object of our best hopes, and
bound to an inglorious struggle in defense of our dwellings
from a public enemy, we had no apprehension, much as we
had suffered from the national government, that it would
refuse to yield us such protection as its treasures might
afford. Much less could we doubt, that those disbursements,
which might be demanded of this state, would be passed to
our credit on the books of the treasury. Such, however, has
not been the course adopted by the national agents. All
supplies have been withdrawn from the militia of this state,
in the service of the United States. The groundless pretext
for this unwarrantable measure, was, their submission to an
officer assigned them by the commander-in-chief, in perfect
conformity with military usage and the principles of a re-
64
498 HISTOKY OF CONNECTICUT.
quest from the President himself, under which a party of them were detached." * * ^
"The people of this state have no disloyalty to the inte- rests of the Union. For their fidelity and patriotism, they may appeal with confidence to the national archives from the commencement of the revolutionary war.
"In achieving the independence of the nation, they bore an honorable part. Their contingent in men and money has ever been promptly furnished, when constitutionally required. Much as they lament the present unnatural hostilities with Great Britain, thev have, with characteristic obedience to lawful authority, punctually paid the late taxes imposed by the General Government. On everv lawful demand of the national executive their well-disciplined militia have resorted to the field. The public enemy, when invading their shores, has been met at the water's edge and valiantly repulsed. They duly appreciate the great advantages which would result from the federal compact, were the government ad- ministered according to the sacred principles of the constitu- tion. They have not forgotten the ties of confidence and affection, which bound these states to each other during their toils for independence ; nor the national honor and commer- cial prosperity which they mutually shared, during the happy years of a good administration. They are, at the same time, conscious of their rights and determined to defend them. Those sacred liberties — those inestimable institutions, civil, and religious, which their venerable fathers have bequeathed to them — are, with the blessing of Heaven, to be maintained at every hazard, and never to be surrendered by tenants of the soil which the ashes of their ancestors have consecrated.
"In what manner the multiplied evils, which we feel and fear, are to be remedied, is a question of the highest moment, and deserves the greatest consideration. The documents transmitted by his excellency the governor of Massachusetts, present, in the opinion of the committee, an eligible method of combining the wisdom of New England* in devising, on
[1814.] DELEGATES TO THE CONVENTION. 499
full consultation, a proper course to be adopted, consistent with our obligations to the United States."*
These brief extracts will show something of the feelings of the people of the state, and leave little doubt of the sincerity at least of a writer who has had few equals in New England.
A resolution accompanied the report, appointing seven delegates to represent the state at a convention to be held at Hartford, on the 15th of December, 1814, there to confer with delegates from Massachusetts, and such other New Eng- land states as shall join in the enterprise, "for the purpose" to use the words of the committee, "of devising and recom- mending such measures for the safety and welfare of those states as may he consistent with our obligations as members of the national Union.'''
The names of the men who were appointed delegates to the convention, were Chauncey Goodrich, John Treadwell, James Hillhouse, Zephaniah Swift, Nathaniel Smith, Calvin Goddard, and Roger Minott Sherman.
On the 15th of December, 1814, the convention met at Hartford, and was composed of the following named gentle- men, in addition to those from Connecticut.
Rhode Island. — Messrs. Daniel Lyman, Samuel Ward, Benjamin Hazard, and Edward Manton.
Massachusetts. — Messrs. George Cabot, William Prescott, Harrison Gray Otis, Timothy Bigelow, Nathan Dana, George Bliss, Joshua Thomas, Hodijah Baylies, Daniel Waldo, Joseph Lyman, Samuel S. Wilde, and Stephen Long- fellow, Jr.
New Hampshire. — Messrs. Benjamin West, and Mills Olcott.
Vermont. — William Hall, Jr.
Having chosen the Hon. George Cabot, president, and Theodore Dwight, secretary, the convention proceeded to business, and after a session of about three weeks, they put into the form of a report, the result of their proceedings. After setting forth what they claimed to be the causes of
* Dwight's Hist, of " Hartford Couvention."
500 HISTOKY OF CONNECTICUT.
their grievances, they passed a series of resolutions which were as follows :
"Resolved, That it be and hereby is recommended to the legislatures of the several states represented in this conven- tion, to adopt all such measures as may be necessary effectu- ally to protect the citizens of said states from the operation and effects of all acts which have been or may be passed by the Congress of the United States, which shall contain pro- visions, subjecting the militia or other citizens to forcible drafts, conscriptions, or impressments, not authorized by the Constitution of the United States.
"Resolved, That it be and hereby is recommended to the said legislatures, to authorize an immediate and earnest appli- cation to be made to the government of the United States, requesting their consent to some arrangement, whereby the said states may, separately or in concert, be empowered to assume upon themselves the defense of their territory against the enemy; and a reasonable portion of the taxes, collected within said states, may be paid into the respective treasuries thereof, and appropriated to the payment of the balance due said states, and to the future defense of the same. The amount so paid into the said treasuries to be credited, and the disbursements made as aforesaid to be charged to the United States.
" Resolved, That it be, and hereby is recommended to the legislatures of the aforesaid states, to pass laws (where it has not already been done,) authorizing the governors or com- manders-in-chief of their militia to make detachments from the same, or to form voluntary corps, as shall be most con- venient and conformable to their constitutions, and to cause the same to be well armed, equipped, and disciplined, and held in readiness for service ; and upon the request of the governor of either of the other states, to employ the whole of such detachment or corps, as well as the regular forces of the state, or such part thereof as may be required and can be spared consistently with the safety of the state, in assisting the state making such request, to repel any
[1814.] KESOLUTIONS. 501
invasion thereof which shall be made or attempted by the public enemy.
" Resolved, That the following amendments of the Consti- tution of the United States be recommended to the states represented as aforesaid, to be proposed by them for adoption by the state legislatures, and in such cases as may be deemed expedient, by a convention chosen by the people of each state.
"And it is further recommended, that the said states shall persevere in their efforts to obtain such amendments, until the same shall be effected.
''First, Representatives and direct taxes shall be appor- tioned among the several states which mav be included within this Union, according to their respective numbers of free persons, including those bound to serve for a term of years, and excluding Indians not taxed, and all other persons.
" Second. No new state shall be admitted into the Union by Congress, in virtue of the power granted by the constitution, without the concurrence of two-thirds of both houses.
" Third, Congress shall not have power to lay any embargo on the ships or vessels of the citizens of the United States, in the ports or harbors thereof, for more than sixty days.
''Fourth, Congress shall not have power, without the con- currence of two-thirds of both houses, to interdict the com- mercial intercourse between the United States and any foreign nation or the dependencies thereof.
"Fifth, Congress shall not make or declare war, or author- ize acts of hostility against any foreign nation, without the concurrence of two-thirds of both houses, except such acts of hostility be in defense of the territories of the United States when actually invaded.
" Sixth, No person who shall hereafter be naturalized, shall be eligible as a member of the senate or house of represen- tatives of the United States, nor capable of holding any civil office under the authority of the United States.
" Seventh, The same person shall not be elected president
502 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
of the United States a second time; nor shall the president be elected from the same state two terms in succession.
''Resolved, That if the application of these states to the government of the United States, recommended in a fore- going resolution, should be unsuccessful, and peace should not be concluded, and the defense of these states should be neg- lected, as it has been since the commencement of the war, it will, in the opinion of this convention, be expedient for the legislatures of the several states to appoint delegates to an- other convention, to meet at Boston, in the state of Massa- chusetts, on the third Thursday of June next, with such pow- ers and instructions as the exigency of a crisis so moment- ous may require.
''Resolved, That the Hon. George Cabot, the Hon. Chaun-- cey Goodrich, and the Hon. Daniel Lyman, or any two of them, be authorized to call another meeting of this conven- tion, to be holden in Boston, at any time before new delegates shall be chosen, as recommended in the above resolution, if in their judgment the situation of the country shall urgently require it."*
This report, with the resolutions as above quoted, was immediately published to the world, and, as was naturally to be expected, filled the whole country with excitement. Some hailed it with demonstrations of lively joy, and others with hisses of derision ; some called it patriotic, others averred that it was treasonable ; some made it their banner-cry, others were ready under other banners to go out and give battle to the men who dared to march under it. But the prevailing voice of the country, it must be admitted, was against the Hartford Convention. It had sat with closed doors, and although in doubtful times the General Assembly of Connec- ticut had always done so, although the very convention that adopted the Constitution of the United States had done the same, yet the delegates to the Hartford Convention were not allowed to plead these precedents in answer to the charge that secrecy was a badge of fraud.
* Vide Dwight's Hist.
THE CHARACTER OF THE WITNESSES. 503
Now without attempting to vindicate that convention, the fruitful mother of 50 many others that were possessed of few of the attributes which it embodied, it is a duty devolving upon the author of such a work as this, to inquire into the motives of the delegates who composed it, and see if they were criminal. It has been already asserted that the states which they represented felt themselves aggrieved. The alleged motives of the state legislatures themselves, was to provide for the safety of the eastern coast, acting under the Constitution of the United States, and without doing any- thing that should contravene the letter or the spirit of that instrument. Again, the delegates themselves in their public manifesto, declared that they were governed by the same influences. But testimony is to be weighed by the triers not only in accordance with the probabilities of the case, but the character of the witnesses for veracity, good or bad, is to be taken into the account. The witnesses to the honest motives of the authors of the Hartford Convention, were no vulgar men.
At the head of the Connecticut delegation stood his honor Chauncey Goodrich, whose blanched locks and noble features had long been conspicuous in the halls of national legislation ; a gentleman whose character is identified with truth and honor in all parts of the Union ; a gentleman of w^hom Albert Gallatin was wont to say, that when he endeavored to meet the arguments of his opponents, he was accustomed to select that of Mr. Goodrich, as containing the entire strength of all that could be said upon that side — feel- ing that if he could answer him, he could maintain his cause; a man of whom Jefferson, no mean judge of intellectual strength, used playfully to say, "that white-headed senator from Connecticut is by far the most powerful opponent I have to my administration."
Next to him was James Hillhouse, the great financier of the state, who found our School Fund in darkness, and left it in light ; the scholar and the father who superintended the early cul- ture of that poet-boy, and laid the foundations of that, bright and
504 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
glorious intellect, which in the bowers of " Sachem's Wood," saw as in a vision the magnificent scenes of Hadad, and re- ceived as guests in western groves, the spirits of oriental oracle and song ; Hillhouse, the man of taste, who planted the New Haven elms ; the native American, with Irish blood in his veins — a man who like Washington never told a lie.
John Treadwell, was the third delegate, whose life was filled with honors and usefulness.
The fourth was Swift, the first commentator upon the laws of our little repubhc, of whom no lawyer in the United States would dare to feign ignorance, lest he should put at risk his professional reputation.
The Hon. Nathaniel Smith, was the fifth, whom the God of Nature chartered to be great by the divine prerogative of genius ; a jurist wiser than the books, whose words were so loaded with convincing reasons that they struck an adversary to the earth like blows dealt by a hand guantletted in steel ; to listen to whom, when he spoke in the convention, Harri- son Gray Otis turned back as he was leaving the chamber, and stood gazing in silent admiration, unconscious of the flight of time.
The sixth was Calvin Goddard, who long enjoyed the reputation of being the most learned and successful lawyer east of the Connecticut river ; an upright judge, a wise counselor, an honest man.
Last, but not least of the Connecticut delegation, was Roger Minott Sherman, a profound metaphysician, a scholar equal to the younger Adams, one of the principal oracles of the New York city bar for the last twenty years of his Hfe, who seemed more fitly than any other man to represent the lawgiver, Roger Ludlow, and to inhabit the town which he had planted, whose level acres he had sown with the quick seeds of civil liberty and then left the up-springing crop to be harvested by the sickle of his successor.
Such were the men from Connecticut, who took part with men as nearly their equals as could be gathered from the other eastern states, in the debates and deliberations of the
[1814.] CHARACTER OF THE WITNESSES. 505
Hartford Convention. The grave has closed over them all. In their lifetime they were kept from the councils of the nation, because they had been unfortunate enough to be designated by the General Assembly for the place that they filled with such abihty and integrity. Like a priesthood hon- ored in their monastic retirement, but excluded from the field where they were eminently fitted to shine, they passed the rest of their days under a cloud. Let their conquerors be generous. Let them not trample rudely upon the ashes nor trifle with the fame of the strong men who were singled out by the state as hostages to remain in exile for the policy, demeanor, and future good faith, of those whom they represented.*
* The Hon. Chauncey Goodrich was a son of the Rev. Elizur Goodrich, pastor of the congregational church in Durham, Conn. A gentleman of thorough education and high legal attainments, he was for many years an eminent advocate at the Hartford bar, until called to serve his constituents in other fields of honor- able distinction. He was frequently a member of both branches of the Connec- ticut legislature, besides being a representative in Congress, United States Sena- tor, and lieutenant-governor. He died August 18, 1815.
The Hon. John Treadwell, of Farmington, was successively a representative, councilor, judge of the court of common pleas, lieutenant-governor, and governor. Distinguished for the simplicity of his manners, the uprightness and purity of his life and character, his sound judgment, and unquestioned integrity, he enjoyed in a remarkable degree the confidence of his fellow citizens. He died August 19, 1823, aged seventy-seven.
The Hon. James Hillhouse, of New Haven, was a representative and senator in Congress for nearly twenty years. In the war of the revolution he had bravely fought for his country, and through life he was esteemed for his integrity, patriot- ism, and talents. He died in New Haven.
The Hon. Zephaniah Swift, of Windham, was long in public life, as a member and Speaker of the House of Representatives, representative in Congress, judge, and chief judge of the supreme court of the state. He died Sept. 27, 1823, aged sixty-four.
The following letter from the Hon. David S. Boardman, of New Milford, rela- tive to Judge Smith, will be read with interest. There is no other person now living who could have furnished such a sketch,
"New Milford, Jan. 7, 1855. " Dear Sir, — Yesterday afternoon, I received a line from my friend. General Sedgwick, stating that it was your desire that he would ask of me, in your behalf, to furnish you with some facts in relation to the late Nathaniel Smith, and my
506 HISTORY or CONNECTICUT.
In January, 1815, a special session was convened by the governor, when it was resolved, that his excellency should appoint two commissioners to proceed immediately to Wash- views of his character, which might be of use to you in the preparation of the work you have in hand.
" I am of course aware that this application is owing to the accidental circum- stance that I am the oldest if not the only member of the profession now living, who had much personal acquaintance with that truly able and excellent man, or saw much of him in the exercise of his forensic or judicial talents. Judge Smith was indeed one of nature's nobles, and considering the limited range of his early education, he had few equals and perhaps no superior in the profession which he chose, and which he eminently adorned. You are doubtless aware that Judge Smith had only such an education in childhood and youth, as the common schools of the country afforded at the time. It was such, however, as a boy of unusual capacity and industrious habits would acquire from such a source, and such as, under the guidance of uncommon discretion through life, rarely permitted its defects to be disclosed.
" When I first went to the Law School in Litchfield, which was in the fall of 1793, Mr. Smith, though not over thirty years old, was in full practice, and engaged in almost every cause of any importance. Indeed, he was said to have established a high reputation for talents in the first cause he argued in the higher courts. It was upon a trial for manslaughter, which arose in his native town, and in which he appeared as junior counsel, and astonished the court, the bar, and all who heard him. Not long afterwards, in the celebrated case of Jedediah Strong and wife, before the General Assembly, (she having applied for a divorce,) he greatly distinguished himself again, and thus became known throughout the state as a young lawyer of the first promise ; and the reputation thus early acquired was never suffered to falter, but on the other hand, steadily increased in strength imtil his elevation to the bench.
" During my stay in Litchfi^eld, and after my admission to the bar, I of course saw Mr. Smith, and heard him in almost all the important cases there ; and as I was located in the south-west corner town in the county, adjoining Fairfield, I almost immediately obtained some business which, though small, was such as dur- ing nearly all my professional life caused me to attend the courts in that county, where I found Mr. Smith as fully engaged and as highly esteemed as in his own county. In New Haven I also know he had a very considerable practice.
"It is worthy also to be observed, in forming an estimate of Mr. Smith's pro- fessional talents and character, that there never at any period was an abler bar in Connecticut, than during his practice. In Litchfield county, were Judge Reeve, Judge Adams, General Tracy, John Allen, Judge Gould, N. B. Benedict, and others ; at the Fairfield county bar, were Pierpont Edwards, Judge Ingersoll, and Judge Daggett, constantly from New Haven, Judge Edmonds, S. B. Sherwood, R. M. Sherman, Judge Chapman, and Governor Bissell -, and in New Haven, besides the three above named, were James Hillhouse, Judge Baldwin, and others.
" As I suppose it not probable that you ever saw Judge Smith, as he ceased to
[1815.] GENERAL GOVERNMENT SUPPLICATED. 507
ington, under such instructions as the governor might think proper to give them ; and earnestly supphcate the General Government that Connecticut might be empowered to pro- vide for the defense of her own territory, and that a reason- attend courts in 1819, and died when you was very young, I will observe, what you have doubtless heard, that he was a large and fine appearing man, much of the same complexion of the Hon, Truman Smith, his nephew, with whom you are so well acquainted ; less tall than he, but of rather fuller habit. His face was not only the index of high capacity, and solid judgment, but uncommonly handsome ; his hair was dark and thin, though not to baldness, except on the fore part of his head, and was very slightly sprinkled with gray. His fine, dark eyes, were re- markably pleasing and gentle in ordinary intercourse, but very variable, always kindling when he began to speak in public, and, when highly excited in debate, they became almost oppressive. His voice was excellent, being both powerful and harmonious, and never broke under any exertion of its capacity. His manner was very ardent and the seeming dictate of a strong conviction of the justice of his cause ; and his gestures were the natural expression of such a con- viction. Mr. Smith's style was pure and genuine Saxon, with no attempt at classic ornament or allusion. His train of reasoning was lucid and direct, and evincive of the fact that the whole of it was like a map spread out in his mind's eye from the beginning. His ingenuity v.as always felt and dreaded by his opponent. He spoke with much fluency, but with no undue rapidity ; he never hesitated for or haggled at a word, nor did he ever tire his audience with undue prolixity, or omit to do full justice to his case for fear of tiring them ; and indeed there was little danger of it. Though certainly a very fine speaker, he never achieved or aspired to those strains of almost superhuman eloquence with which his old master Reeve, sometimes electrified and astonished his audience, and yet, in ordinary cases, he was the most correct speaker of the two — though Judge Reeve was, and he was not, a scholar. Mr. Smith, though quite unassuming, and often receding in com- mon intercourse and conversation, was, when heated in argument, it must be con- fessed, often overbearing to the adverse party, and, not only to them, but to their counsel. Upon all other occasions, he appeared to be, and I believe was, a very kind hearted, agreeable and pleasant man. To me, he always so appeared, and I have been much in his company.
" Mr. Smith came early into public life, and was frequently elected to the Gen- eral Assembly from Woodbury. In 1795, he was elected a member of the fourth Congress ; and in 1797, he was chosen to the fifth Congress ; but declined further election. In May, 1799, he was made an assistant, and was re-elected for the five following years, when he resigned his seat at that board in consequence of the passage of the act in 1803, prohibiting the members of the then supreme court of errors from practicing before that court. He remained in full practice at the bar until October, 1806, when he was elected a judge of the supei-ior court, and con- tinued to fill that office until May, 1819, when the judiciary establishment of that year went into operation •, from which time he remained in private life until his death.
508 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
able portion of the taxes might be appropriated for that pur- pose. Our senators and representatives in Congress, were requested to cooperate with the commissioners in effecting the object.*
In May, Nathaniel Terry, Seth P. Staples, and David Deming, Esquires, were appointed a committee to revise all the militia laws of the state.
From this time until the close of the war, few events of general interest transpired, in which Connecticut partici- pated. When the news of peace arrived in February, 1815, Admiral Hotham commanded the blockading squadron off New London. He immediately came on shore, and was received with great courtesy by the civil authority and citi- zens. On the 21st, the city was illuminated, and a festival was held to which all the British officers on the coast were invited. Those present, were Captains Aylmer, of the Pac- tolus. Garland of the Superb, Gordon of the Narcissus, Jayne, of the Arab, the commanders of the brigs Tenedos, and Despatch, and ten or twelve officers of inferior rank. Commodores Decatur and Shaw assisted in receiving the
" In every public station in whicli Mr. Smith was placed, lie distiuguislied him- self. He did so in Congress, at a time when our representation was as able, per- haps, as it ever has been, and when the character of the house to which he belonged was far higher than it now is. In the superior court he was certainly very greatly respected and admired, as an able and perfectly upright judge.
" In private life his name was free from all reproach. A strictly honest and pure life, free from any of those little blemishes which often mar the fame of dis- tinguished men, may, I think, be fairly claimed by his biographer to be his due. As a husband, a parent, a friend, a neighbor, a moralist, and a christian, I believe few have left a more faultless name.
" If, sir, the foregoing facts and suggestions will be of any use to you, I shall feel gratified in having furnished them. In the success of the undertaking in which you are engaged, I feel an interest. It is one which has been quite too long neglected.
" I am sir, very respectfully yours,
" D. S. BOARDMAN."
G. H. HoLLisTER, Esq.
* State Records, MS. Probably the tidings of peace^ which reached this country soon after, rendered it unnecessary for the commissioners to act under this appointment.
EXCHANGE OF SALUTES. 509
guests. On the 11th of March, the British ships left the Sound, exchanging salutes with Fort Trumbull, and put out to sea.*
The war having ended, the jarring interests of the State and General Government were harmonized, and the bitter partizan feelings which it engendered gradually gave place to those of a more charitable and pacific nature.
* Caulkins' Hist. New London, pp. 636, 637.
CHAPTER XXII.
THE PRESENT CONSTITUTION OF CONNECTICUT.
The narrative of this work, already extended beyond the limits first assigned to it, is now drawing to a close. An account of the constitution of 1639, the first written constitu- tion of the world, has been given in a former chapter. The varied fortunes of the republic under the charter of 1662, have also been critically detailed. Upon the declaration of independence, all the old political charters were severed from the crown, the original fountain-head of executive power, and lost at once their administrative force, except so far as the people should suffer them to remain, and either for- mally or tacitly adopt them as their own. Hence it was, that with two exceptions, all the colonies which had been concerned in that protracted but ultimately successful strug- gle for liberty, cast off their charters, and falling back upon the democratic basis elaborated by Roger Ludlow and adopted by Connecticut in 1639, constructed for themselves, with various modifications, paper constitutions, originating with the people and recognizing their sovereignty. Connec- ticut was one of those exceptions-. It may at first seem strange to the reader that she, who, in the infancy of her ex- istence, had tasted the sweets of liberty, should allow others to profit by her original example, while she clung to the forms of the charter that had been granted by one king, with as much tenacity as she had cut herself adrift from the domination of another. She adopted the charter, too, by a mere legislative vote, without even resorting to the authority of the people in a primary assembly.
In order to understand why Connecticut did not follow the course pursued by other states, we must examine the struc- ture of her society, which differed so materially from that of
NEW POLITICAL ELEMENTS. 511
her confederate sisters. In the first place, her charter was better than theirs. Hers had a vitaHty in it that had kept the popular mind in a continual glow ; theirs were cold and dead. Hers had proved a shield, extending the circumfer- ence of its orb, to save the lines and defend the enlarging borders of three generations of men ; theirs had proved totally inadequate to the growing wants of their respective communities. Connecticut had an additional motive to love her charter. While one after another, those of the neigh- boring colonies were dropping like ripe fruit into the hands of provisional governors, and other rapacious functiona- ries of the crown, she had hidden hers in an oak, and the recollection of peril from which her idol had escaped, caused her to love it the more. Still another motive, stronger perhaps than all these, induced her to cling to it. A major- ity of the inhabitants were still puritans, and under this charter, fortified by statutes having close aflinities with it, had grown up an established religion, which they regarded as of the highest importance to their well being in this world and the next.
But gradually there grew up new elements that threatened, if left to themselves, to overthrow the supremacy of the old order of things. Statutes were passer!, to check the advanc- ing tide of what was believed by the majority, to be radical- ism of the most destructive character. Some of these acts were regarded by the minority as arbitrary and oppressive. Those bearing upon the elective franchise were looked upon as especially tyrannical. The " stand-up law," as it was de- nominated, which required the voters to stand up at elections and expose themselves and their political sentiments to the scrutiny of the public, was complained of as subjecting the voter to the cruel ordeal of being gazed at by his creditors. It was said further, that all offices of emolument, honor, and trust, were withheld from the minority.
The courts of law, too, were made the subject of severe animadversion. It was said that the judges were partizans in their legal opinions, and that the republicans, as they were
512 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
called, could not meet the federals in the tribunals of the state upon an equal footing. The minority also alleged that they were disparaged in all their business relations ; that they " were treated as a degraded party, and that this treatment was extended to all the individuals of the party, however worthy and respectable in fact ; as the Saxons were treated by the Normans, and as the Irish were treated by the Eng- lish government."*
Such were the sentiments of the respective parties. As early as the year 1800, petitions began to be circulated through the state, asking for the choice of members of the council and representatives to Congress by districts. It was now more boldly than ever asserted that the charter, excellent as it had been in its day, was behind the spirit of the age, and though a very good instrument for the majority, was not adequate to protect the minority from oppression. Still, no decisive steps were taken to bring about the adoption of a new constitution, until the 29th of August, 1804, when a convention, numbering among its members many of the most respectable of the minority leaders, and understood to repre- sent the sentiments of the republican party of the state, convened at New Haven, and passed a series of resolutions in favor of the change which they had so much at heart. It is sufficiently evincive of the fever-heat of the political pulse of that day, that every justice of the peace belonging to the minority, who had attended the convention, was tried and impeachedf before the next General Assembly. This attempt to stifle the expression of the public sentiment, only gave the minority the sympathy of many of their fellow citi- zens, who were now ready to assent to the claim that the republicans were persecuted.
In August, 1806, a second convention or meeting of re- monstrance, was held by the same party at Litchfield, which was even more bold and decided in its tone than the one at New Haven had been.
To recite the details of the party strifes of that day, would
* See Judge Clim-ch's MS. t Idem.
eelictIous sects. 513
be to dig up from the graves that ought forever to hide them, some of the most bitter and malignant pamphlets and news- paper articles that ever disgraced the politics of the northern states. The whole ground seemed to be covered with pamphleteers, libellers, scurrilous poets, and all the other driftwood that the swollen currents of popular prejudice and bad passions can dislodge from the ooze, where they lie half hidden or remote from view, in quiet times. The malaria con- sequent upon this flood was confined to neither party, and was so contaminating that it seems to poison the lungs even now, as it rises in vapor and is inhaled by the reader who adven- turously seeks to investigate the history of those times.
The war of 1812, and the Hartford Convention, did not of course tend to allay the excitement.
The war closed with a much better reputation than the federalists had anticipated. In many parts of the country it was very popular, and in Connecticut it had obviously gained friends as it advanced, and many of them of a high order of respectability and talents.
As in the Revolution, so in the war of 1812, and in the po- litical disputes that preceded and followed it, the old congre- gational clergy constituted the nucleus of the dominant party. This influence, as was claimed by the minority, more than any other single element, controlled the elections, and their annual meetings at Hartford were declared to be not altogether of a spiritual tone. It was also affirmed that nomi- nations for office were often made through the procurement of some influential clergyman, and some of the republican ora- tors and writers went so far as to say that the whole ticket of state officers was often the result of a conference between the leaders of a dominant party and this oldest and most un- mixed of all the conservative classes of the state. As has been stated in a former chapter of this work, religious sects had been from a very early day tolerated in Connecticut to a degree unknown in Massachusetts, and many other colonies. But although they were allowed the undisturbed enjoyment of their peculiar tenets, yet, as it was then, and still is in
65
514 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
England, the establishment was considered as entitled to the patronage of the government. All other denominations were treated as subordinates, and were understood, from the very theory and spirit of the government, to hold their posi- tion hy sufferance rather than of right. But it was now argued with great earnestness, that the sects as familiarly called " dissenters" as the puritans had been in England, were now several of them large, and had already acquired a respectable footing in the state ; that they were generally sprung from the blood of the old emigrants, had been born upon the soil, and had as good a right to be consulted in the deliberations of the government as the congregationalists. They said that they v/ere willing to admit that the old order of things was well fitted to the condition of the people a cen- tury and a half before, but they denied that any such distinctions ought longer to exist. Appeals were made to the people on both sides, displaying great ability and learning.
It finally began to be v/hispered that some one of the de- nominations called dissenters must be conciliated, or the federal party would be overborne at last by the concerted action of those who were opposed to the congregational form of religion. When the charter of the Phoenix Bank was asked for, it was therefore suggested that the 850,000 bonus which was to be sequestered from its large capital, for public uses, should be divided between Yale College and the Bishop's Fund, and petitions were circulated to that effect among the people.* Some of the federalists thought it desirable to con- ciliate the episcopalians, who now numbered some of the first men in the state. f
The bank was chartered, and $20,000 of the bonus was bestowed upon Yale College, but from some cause the Bishop's Fund did not get the portion anticipated by its friends. This was a severe disappointment to the denomination in- terested in that fund. The episcopalians now arrayed them-
* Vide Columbian Register, June 17, 1820.
t Among them were the Ingersolls, Nathan Smith, Johnson, Chapman, Peters, Morgan.
THE TOLERATIONISTS. 515
selves against the party in power, with all the appliances that they could bring to bear upon an opponent.*
In 1816, the party in power passed an act to appropriate the monies received from the treasury of the United States, for disbursements made during the war, to religious uses, and divide them anions^ the several denominations of the state. This measure was complained of, and proved to be very un- popular. The methodists and baptists indignantly refused to receive the share allotted to them in the division, and now more than ever before, took part with the minority and advo- cated with the episcopalians the cause of the new constitu- tion. Nor were the difficulties that beset the federalists merely external. Thev had become divided in their coun- sels. Some of them supported Treadwell as their candidate for the office of governor, and another, and, as they termed themselves, a more liberal portion of the same party, as ear- nestly advocated the claims of Rosrer Griswold for the same place. This attempt to elect Griswold proved on the first trial to be a failure. The next year, however, by a union of the democrats with the federalists who had voted for him, he was elected governor.
A new party now arose under the name of " toleration- ists," which came into power in 1817, and took as speedy measures as possible to bring about the change that had so long been desired by the various elements that composed it.
At the May session of the General Assembly, 1818, it was " Resolved, that it be and is hereby recommended to the people of this state, who are qualified to vote in town or freeman's meetings, to assemble in their respective towns on the 4th day of July next, at nine o'clock in the morning, at the usual place of holding town or freeman's meetings, and after having chosen their presiding officer, there and then to elect by ballot as many delegates as said towns now choose repre- sentatives to the General Assembly, who shall meet in con- vention at the state house in Hartford, on the fourth Wednes- day of August next ; and when so convened, shall, if it be
* Church's, IMS.
516 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
by them deemed expedient, proceed to the formation of a constitution of civil government for the people of this state."
It was fm'ther provided, that a copy of the constitution, when so formed, should be transmitted to each town clerk in the state, who was directed to lay it before the people of the town to which he belonged in legal town meeting, for their approbation and ratification. The constitution, when thus ratified by a majority of the qualified voters of the state, it was ordered, should " be and remain the supreme law of this state."
All these causes so briefly enumerated, were instrumental in bringing about the adoption of the constitution. It has been my object in this chapter, to avoid expressing any party predilections. The participators in that severe contest are many of them still living, and vividly remember and keenly feel the part that they played in it. Those who are dead have transmitted their sentiments to their children. As a matter of course, therefore, this is a delicate and difficult part of our history to treat upon, and one that calls for the indulgence of every candid I'eader. The bitter strifes, the abusive pamphlets, the scornful speeches, the appeals from the pulpits of all denominations, the prosecutions for libel, the in- terruption of social intercourse in families and neighborhoods, no longer disturb the peace or darken the moral atmosphere of our state. Indeed, it now seems to be the better opinion, that there w^as much to praise and much to blame in the or- ganization of all parties, and that all were ashamed, after the heat of the battle was over, for many things that they had allowed themselves to say, to write, and to do, and were glad to shake hands and pass mutual acts of oblivion, which should cover their own conduct as well as that of their opponents. Gradually, too, most of them learned to reverence the old charter /or the good it had done during a hundred and fifty years of hard and honest service, while at the same time they spoke, some loudly, and others in a more subdued tone, in praise of the constitution which gave equal rights, ecclesias- tical as well as civil, to all the inhabitants of the state.
[1787.] HOjS". JOHN COTTOX SMITH. 517
It seems proper to add to this chapter a brief delineation of the character of His Excellency John Cotton Smith, the last of that class of our governors who were actuated by the principles, and who exhibited in their manners more stri- kingly than their successors have done, the traits designated by the now indefinite term "gentlemen of the old school." He was the last of our governors under the charter who loved it and would have been ready to die for it. In order that we may understand why this w^as so, and see at a nearer view the delicate yet firm fibres of his character, it will be necessary to give a brief outline of his life. It has been pre- viously stated that the clergymen of Connecticut, under the old regime, constituted the most select and thorough-bred class of our colonial aristocracy. Now when it is recollected that the subject of this sketch was a descendant of the Rev. Henry Smith, of Wethersfield, w^ho, as he tells us in his will, had " well proved the terrors of this wilderness ;" that he also inherited the blood of John Cotton, Richard Mather, and Cotton Mather ; that the beautiful daughter of the Rev. Wil- liam Worthington, of Saybrook, was his mother, and that his father was also a clergyman of uncommon powers of mind, great force of character and scholarly attainments of a high order — we are ready to expect from him an exhibition of some of their strongest points of character and especially a firm attachment to the colonial party. When we are told that to all these hereditaments, he added rare gifts bestowed by a discriminating Providence only upon a favored few ; a handsome person, features classically beautiful, a natural gracefulness, a ready wit, and culture, laborious enough to shape all these materials and give them due development and proportion ; we are prepared to see in this only son, so care- fully brought up in the way that his fathers had walked, and so critically educated, an exhibition not only of the strong characteristics of the historical men from whom he was de- scended, but a model of the Christian gentlemen worthy to form the study of millions now growing up in our country, who appear to worship no God so much as that golden one
518 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
which is molded by their own hands ; who regard principles as the artist does the colors that he spreads upon the can- vas— valuable only to form a surface ; and who look upon the social and domestic relations, as so many wares and com- modities that have their price in the great world's fair of business.
As a statesmen, Governor Smith was also of the old school. He was in favor of the established order of things under which the state to which he belonged, and whose institutions his ancestors had adorned, had grown up and had been able to resist so successfully the misrule of British par- liaments and the measures of ministerial oppression. He was of course, by nature and education, as much opposed as Burke was, to the recklessness that led to the bloody scenes of the French revolution, and was distrustful, as many good men then were, of the advancing waves of popular power that were fast fretting away the long- settled foundations, which then supported the fabric of European and American society. In the struggle that followed that event, he sym- pathized with England for the same reason. Though not blind to her faults and spurning her tyranny, he loved her sobriety of character, her good sense, her warm adherence to the Christian faith, while he shrank from the blood-stained maxims and hollow pretensions of French philosophers and propagandists, with loathing and horror.
In 1800, he was elected a member of Congress. He had not anticipated the possibility of such an event, and was only persuaded to accept the place by the solicitations of Gover- nor Trumbull and his other friends. When he took his seat in Congress, the federal party still held the ascendency, but its sun was destined soon to set never to rise again. He re- mained a member of the House of Representatives for a period of six years, and during that time, with the exception of a single session, was in the minority. It may be safely affirmed that no gentleman of that body was more widely known, or more highly respected by both parties. Most of this time he was chairman of the committee on claims, and
nOX. JOHN COTTOX SMITH. 519
discharged the duties of this important position with great energy and impartiality. He was often called to the chair, and presided over the deliberations of the committee of the whole with more facility and dignity in those stormy times, than any other member of the House. To the lofty bearing and firmness of a Roman senator in the last days of the Repub- lic, he added a gentleness so conciliating and persuasive, that the spirit of discord fled abashed from his presence. Whenever any question came up for discussion that threat- ened to excite party jealousies, he was sure to be called to the chair. In pleasant allusion to this circumstance, a mem- ber of Congress of very high character, representing a sister state, thus interrogated Governor Smith, in a letter in 180G, after he had retired from public life, that he might the better administer to the comfort of an aged father. " But first and chiefest, instruct me concerning him who used so often, when presiding in the committee of the whole, to beckon us to be solemn, while Randolph, executing on his party a holy jus- tice with his whip of scorpions, made
" Strange horror seize them, and pangs uufult before."
Thus, without mingling much in debate, he presided over it, and ruled it, at a time when John Randolph, Otis, Gris- wold, Lee, and Pinckney, were participators in it, and were willing to submit to the justice of his decisions and free to acknowledge his superiority over all his compeers in the sagacity and address, that enabled him to avoid the gathering storm, and the lightness and elegant ease, with which he rose upon its crested waves.
In 1809, he was chosen a judge of the superior court. He discharged the duties of the new place thus assigned him with great ability. As a member of the supreme court of errors, his written opinions are among the best to be found in our reports, and are distinguished for their clearness of thought and finish of diction.
But Judge Smith was not long suffered to remain a mem- ber of the court. He was soon elected lieutenant-governor of the state. The sickness of Governor Griswold, as has
520 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
been stated in the preceding chapter, threw upon him for a time the onerous burdens of the executive, at a time the most critical of any that had transpired since the Revolution. In October, 1812, Governor Griswold died, and for the four fol- lowing years, Mr. Smith w^as elected governor of the state. It is impossible, in the limited space allotted to this sketch, to trace the details of Governor Smith's administration, and recount the difficulties that beset him on every side. His prudence and wisdom doubtless protracted for several years the dominion of the party with which his political life was identified. In the firm belief that he was right in the construction that he put upon the constitution of the United States, anxious to defend our exposed coast-towns that had once suffered from the fires of British vengeance, and at the same time to hold fast to the old charter privilege of the state government, to officer its own militia ; anxious, too, in his own words to fulfill his " obligations to the letter and spirit of the constitution," he turned himself in every way that seemed honorable to him, to meet the exigencies of the times. His administration closed with the election of the late Governor Wolcott, in 1817. With the fall of his party Governor Smith retired from the political arena. Whether the principles that had governed his public life were right or wrong, he felt that he could not change them or mix in the deliberations of those who were so earnest in breaking down the old order of the government. From birth, from association, from early culture, from the teachings of scripture, and the examples of history, as he understood them, his character had taken its guage, and could be neither shortened nor length- ened to adapt itself to the new order of things. Indeed, there seemed no very pressing need that he should any lon- ger keep the field. He was now fifty-two years old. He was the proprietor of a princely domain of nearly one thou- sand acres of land, most of it lying in the bosom of his native valley, every rod of which might be converted into a garden. Upon this estate, surrounded by the ancient forest-trees, ash, oak, and elm, that had shaded his boyhood, had been erected
THE GENTLEMAN OF THE OLD SCHOOL. 521
during the latter half of the preceding century, a large ele- gant mansion-house of stone, that could defy the extremes of the New England year, and was within a few yards of the one where his venerable father had lived and died, and not a mile from the spot where he helped to lay the good old man in the earth, and where his grandfather and grandmother also reposed. The endearments of domestic life, in all their varied relations of husband and father, beckoned him to this delightful retreat, and a large circle of friends and neighbors were ready, without distinction of party, to welcome him home. And well they might be expected to welcome him. His father had administered the sacraments to their fathers for half a century, had preached to them, had baptized them in the name of the three persons of the blessed Trinity, had prayed for them, been present at their bridals and burials ; and in hours of public calamity, during the revolutionary period had stirred their courage with his deep manly voice, and the better to infuse into them the spirit of the Christian soldier, had consented to become their spiritual guide and accompany them as chaplain to the field of blood. Well might they welcome the son of such a father, who, so far from squandering the reputation of his ancestors, or suffering it to lie hid in a napkin, had put it out to use until the one talent had gained five others.
From his retirement in 1817, until his death, a period of nearly thirty years. Governor Smith remained at home. Di- viding his time between the scholastic studies that had occu- pied so large a portion of his youth, and the pursuits of agriculture, he lived the life, then almost obsolete, of the Con- necticut planter of the seventeenth century. His hospitable mansion was always thronged with the most refined and cul- tivated guests, who, on whatever points they might differ, all agreed that their entertainer was an unrivalled gentleman in the highest and best sense of the word.
The following extract from a letter addressed to Governor Smith, from General George P. Morris, bears delightful testi- mony to this fact.
522 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
" I shall never forget my visit to your hospitable mansion. I have one association about it, that has ever been present to my mind. Will you forgive me if I record it here? It taught me a lesson that has been of service to me always. You may remember, I was quite a boy then. I was very poor, but very proud. I knew nothing of the world, and had never seen a governor in the whole course of my life. When I delivered you my letter of introduction, I trembled from head to foot, although you did not perceive it. You read it in the gravel-walk, in the shade of a fine tree, just by the wicket-gate. I w^atched your features as you folded up the note, and forgot my uneasiness when you took me by the arm and introduced me to your family. I slept that night w^ell, and w^as awakened by the birds at early dawn. Sleep and the perfume of the flowers which stole in at my window had completely refreshed me. I felt like one who rests his foot upon the air, and longs for wings to mount to paradise. I had literally a light heart, and a light bundle ; for I had brought with me but the apology of a w^ardrobe, and I was wondering how I should make my toilet, when a knock at the door called my attention another way, ' come in,' said I. The door did not open. I went to it, astonished that any one should be ' stirring with the lark.' I opened it, and there stood Governor Smith, with my boots hanging to one of his little fingers, a napkin thrown over his arm, and shaving uten- sils in the palm of his hand. I wish you could see that noble- hearted gentleman now, as I saw him then, with his afiable smile, his cheerful ' good morning,' and the true spirit of hos- pitality sparkling in his eyes and irradiating his whole coun- tenance ; you would not think me extravagant if I recom- mended him as a study for an artist. I shall not attempt to describe my astonishment, nor the impression you made upon my unfettered and inexperienced mind ; but allow me to say, you taught me a lesson of humility which I have not forgotten, and never can forget. I thanked you for it then, and though a lifetime has since been numbered with the past, I thank you for it now."
^
DEATH OF GOVERNOR SMITH. 623
This beautiful picture is rivaled by another drawn by the hand of Governor Smith's biographer, a scholar and a man of rare genius :
" I see him in that ripe old age which the hand of time had lightly touched, with his elastic step, his upright form, his manly and beaming countenance ; I hear the words of warm and courteous welcome, with which he received all that en- tered his hospitable mansion, and the rich and various dis- course with which he charmed them, as the conversation ran through the wide fields of history, philology, politics, and christian doctrine ; and admire that he should have carried into the evening of life, not only the fruits of large experi- ence, but so much of the freshness and sparkle of the dew of youth."
Governor Smith was the first president of the Connecticut Bible Society. In 1826, he was made president of the Amer- ican Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, and in 1831, president of the American Bible Society. In 1814, the degree of doctor of laws was conferred on him by Yale College, and in 1836, he was elected a member of the Royal College of Northern Antiquarians, in Copenhagen, Den- mark. He died on the 7th of December, 1845, at the ad- vanced age of eighty years. His name and fame are still and must ever be associated with the great public religious enterprises of the world, which, in imitation of his Divine Master, he sought to bring under the mild influences of the Christian faith. His character can be likened to nothing that better illustrates it, than the warm smiling Sharon valley on a summer's morning, when the grass sparkles with dew-drops and the bright lakes gleam in the sun-shine ; stretching around the border of the vale, the large forms of the moun- tains seem to represent the immovable principles that de- fended his life, and bending above them are the heavens that suggest, while they seem to await, the flight of a pure soul to mansions of unclouded felicity.^
* The Rev. Henry Smith, (the emigrant ancestor of Governor Smith,) was graduated at Cambridge, and came to New England in 1636, His paternal es-
524 HISTOKY OF CONNECTICUT.
The successor of Governor Smith, was Oliver Wolcott, the second of that name, and the third of the Wolcott family, v^^ho have filled the executive chair. He was elected under the charter, but with the expectation that he would be instrument- al in substituting for it the proposed constitution, which was then a foregone conclusion. He was now the acknowledged leader of the new party, and from his social position and family influence proved a very important pillar of the edifice that was to be built upon the ruins of the old one. While holding the office of governor, he was elected a member of the constitutional convention from Litchfield, and was chosen president of the convention.
His mind was thoroughly imbued with the spirit of equality that was then beginning to swallow up the older institutions of the country, and which is fast extending over the surface of the globe. As Governor Smith's administration was the last which represented the commonwealth, in the days of Haynes, Wyllys, Winthrop, Treat, and Saltonstall, so on the other hand. Governor Wolcott's was the first that embodied the principles of republicanism or democracy, as all political parties now understand the term. It is not necessary to say that these two orders were very different. The former up- held a particular ecclesiastical system, in the belief that it was better than any other in the world, and sustained a high- toned aristocratical sentiment with distinctions in society marked sometimes by the hereditary influence of half a dozen generations; the latter, made up of several religious
tate was situated in Wymondham, county of Norfolk, England, and in leaving his native country he sacrificed a handsome fortune and a high social position for the sake of " freedom to woi'ship God." He was the first settled minister in Wethers- field, Connecticut, where he died in 1648.
Samuel Smith, a great grandson of the Rev. Henry Smith, was among the first settlers of Suffield. He married Jerusha Mather, daughter of the Rev. Cotton Mather, D.D.
llie Rev. Cotton Mather Smith, was a son of Samuel and Jerusha Smith, and was born in Suffield, October 16, 1731 ; graduated in Yale College, in 1751 ; or- dained as pastor of the congregational church in Sharon, August, 1755, where he remained until his death, in 1806. He was the father of Governor Smith. See Rev. Dr. Chapin's History of Glastenbury ; Andrews' Eulogy.
THE OLD AXD THE NEW. 525
sects, declared that the church and state should have no po- litical affinities, that all denominations were alike entitled to the fostering care of the government, and that no social dis- tinctions should be tolerated by the constitution, or counte- nanced by the people.
Which of these two orders was the more to be desired, the reader must determine for himself. Doubtless there were good elements in both, and doubtless those elements still exist in the great poHtical parties of the state, counteracting each other and bringing good out of evil. The man who was born in Connecticut, and yet can see nothing to admire in both these systems of administration, is so well grounded in his convictions that it would be useless to debate with him.*
* The MS quoted in this narrative was prepared by the Hon. Samuel Church, late chief judge of the state, expressly for this work. It was intended to repre- sent the claims of the party which was instrumental in bringing about the adop- tion of the constitution. It cost the venerable author much labor, and is at the service of all who choose to consult it. Scarcely was the ink dry upon its sheets when the hand that penned it was cold in death.
CHAPTEE XXIII.
EAELT JTJEISPRIJDENCE OF CONNECTICUT.
It is not easy to tell why such sedulous attempts have been made to fasten upon Connecticut the odium of having grown up under an illiberal municipal code. Without reca- pitulating what has been said in former chapters of this work, on the subject of civil liberty, it may be proper to say here, that of all the early American colonies, Connecticut was the least exclusive, and that she is only to be blamed that she was not still more in advance of that bigoted age. It would not be a hard task to draw a contrast between her and the mother country, which would show in a most favorable light the mild and equitable policy of the emigrants. The number of capital offenses was far less than in England, in the reign of Elizabeth, or either Stuart. Indeed, except for the offenses of murder, treason, and rape, whatever may have been the letter of the law, the death-penalty w^as hardly ever inflicted. The offenses of blasphemy, witchcraft, and one or two others of a kindred sort, were borrowed from the Jewish code, and inserted in the statute-book, out of respect for the Hebrew ora- cles ; but remained for the most part inoperative, except as they might tend to keep the wayward from the paths of trans- gression. There have been, it is believed, within the last two hundred and twenty years, fewer executions in Connecticut for crime, than in any other state of equal size in the world. The records of our courts have scarcely the stain of blood upon them, except in those rare instances, happening less fre- quently formerly than now, when some hapless murderer has paid the forfeit of his guilt.* This one fact speaks volumes in
* Tliere have been but three executions in the county of Litchfield, since its organization ; viz., 1. John Jacob, an Indian, for the murder of another Indian, in 1768; 2. Barnet Davenport, for murder and arson, in Washington, hung May 8, 1780 ; 3. A man named. Goss, for murdering his wife, in the northern part of the County. See "Woodruff's History of Litchfield pp. 30, 31.
BLUE LAWS. 527
favor of the mildness of the criminal code, as it was adminis- tered by the founders of the republic.
The proper way of determining the spirit of a code, is to see it through the medium of the records of the courts which govern themselves by it. What construction did they put upon it, who instituted it ? What was its practical opera- tion ? Did it protect the people from tyranny, or did it press heavily upon them ? Did it heal the wounds of bleeding humanity, or did it tear them open afresh ? When these questions are answered, a child can tell whether the laws were good or bad. It is idle for a stranger to attempt, from the cursory examination of the laws of a generation long passed away, to determine what was their character. He may regard them in one way, and those who administered them may regard them in another. Let the searcher after truth ex- amine the records, and then, after taking into account the pe- culiarities of the age to which they belong, he may form some- thing like a correct estimate of the jurisprudence of a people.
It has been said that Connecticut is the " Blue Law State." It is difficult for a scholar to understand the precise signifi- cance of this cant phrase, which bears upon its features such marks of its low origin, that it is marvelous how it ever could have gained admittance into good society. The vul- garity of this nickname, takes away from it the poison which micdit otherwise have flowed throusfh its hollow fansjs, and leaves it nothing save its impotent hiss and a malevolence that is to be avoided only because it unsettles the equilibrium of a nervous system too refined to be indifferent to jarring sounds. It is thought to be the child of political prejudice, and to have had its birth out of the limits of the state. But there are other objections to be raised against it, aside from the fact that it is an alien. It has a shockingly bad moral charac- ter. It is a demagogue, making all its appeals to the worst passions of the people, and, (why should not the whole por- traiture be given,) it is either woefully ignorant or sadly given to lying. It represents this oldest of all republics, erected upon the representative basis ; the place where free republi-
528 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
canism was born, cradled in its infancy, and grew up to as- sume the port and stature of mature years ; the place where all extremes of religious opinion were more freely tolerated than in any other part of the Christian world ; the soil where the fugitive Anne Hutchinson could find a place of refuge, and Whalley and Goffe could find a cave, while their pursu- ers were courteously entertained ; where, by the very first code ever published by her people, all denominations were allowed to w^orship God in their own way, provided they did not commit a breach of the peace ; it represents such a re- public as intolerant, cruel, bigoted, and persecuting.
Let us see if this representation is not false. Long before 1672, when the first municipal code of Connecticut was published, the General Court or Legislature of the repubhc adopted the following preamble, and enacted the following statute :
" This court, having seriously considered the great divis- ions that arise amongst us about matters of Church Govern- ment, for the Honour of God, welfare of the Churches and pre- servation of the publick peace so greatly hazarded :
" Do Declare, That whereas the Congregational Churches in these parts, for the general of their profession and practice have hitherto been approved, we can do no less than approve and countenance the same to be without disturbance until better light in an orderly way doth appear. But yet, foras- much as sundry persons of worth for prudence and piety amongst us, are otherwise persuaded, (whose welfare and peaceable satisfaction we desire to accommodate.) This Court doth Declare, That all such persons, being so approved according to law, as orthodox and sound in the fundamentals of the Christian Religion, may have allowance in the persua- sion and Profession in Church ways or Assemblies without disturbance."
This statute was passed at a period, let it be remembered, when civil and religious toleration was almost unknown in the rest of the world, and was enacted on purpose to give a wider latitude to the forms that were supposed to embody the
QUAKERS, RANTERS, AND ADAMITES. 529
essentials of the Christian faith, than had been tolerated in the mother country. All that this statute required of those who dissented from the congregational or established religion of the republic, was, that they should conduct themselves peaceably, and should be Christians. But who was to be the judge of the doctrines maintained by dissenters from the es- tablished order ? The people themselves, through their con- stituted authorities. They might err in judgment, in making the application, and doubtless did in many instances. It is demanding too much of them that they should not only be more than a century in advance of any European nation in the spirit of their tenets, but that they should travel out of the conditions which prescribe imperfection to human nature, and infallibly apply those laws to individual cases. They abhorred infidelity. They were willing to tolerate peaceable Chris- tians, and passed an act intending to embrace them all. They did not agree to give them the patronage of the government ; that measure of liberty was reserved for a later day. But they agreed to tolerate them. And yet they are accused of intolerance, because they reserved to their authorities the construction of their laws. What other nation does not do the same ? Treason, murder, forgery, burglary, all the crimes known to the code of any nation on earth, are con- strued by the authorities of the nation which makes them penal. The only danger is, that the oracles of the law being uttered by the lips of men, may sometimes speak equivocally, sometimes falsely. That is an incident to our common nature. But it is said that the practical administration of the laws was faulty, and that some sects of Christians, especially the quakers, were roughly treated and excluded from the commonwealth. It is true, that in the early period of the colony there was a law passed against *' hereticks, whether Quakers, Ranters, Adamites, or such like !" Was there any thing startling in the features of such a law at that day ? Had not a similar one existed in England, under various modifications, from a time ante-dating the conquest of Wil- liam, the Norman, and was it not harshness and cruelty itself
66
530 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
compared with this statute ? But let us see what sort of citi- zens those persons were, who were denominated " Quakers, Ranters, Adamites, and such like'' The first dissenters in the colony against whom the arm of the civil law was raised were known as Ranters or Ranting Quakers. For their vio- lent and unlawful behavior, they were ordered to be forcibly transported out of the colony. Subsequently about the year 1674, John and James Rogers, of New London, having been engaged in trade with the Rhode Islanders, gradually imbibed the peculiar doctrines and sentiments of the seventh-day bap- tists of that colony. Their father, James Rogers, sen., was a man of w^ealth and high position, who had frequently repre- sented the town in the General Court of the colony.* The new sect never became numerous, but for a long series of years they gave the people and the authorities much trouble. In their tenets and discipline, they soon became obnoxious to the sect in Rhode Island from which they originally received their principles of dissent, and established a denomination or sect of their own, and were called Rogerine Quakers, and some- times Rogerine Baptists. They regarded all days alike, and took especial delight in treating the Sabbath and public wor- ship w^ith contempt. They courted persecution, imprison- ment, and martyrdom, and bade defiance to the law, its offi- cers, and its penalties. They would enter the church on the Sabbath, in a tumultuous manner, and loudly declaim against the doctrines preached. The men and women would carry their work into the church during public worship ; and at other times would enter the assembly half naked during Sun- day service, and loudly boast of having desecrated the day. They regarded churches as an abomination, and all audible prayers either in the family or in public as hypocritical. The taking of an oath, even in a court of justice, they held to be taking the name of God in vain.f
* Miss Caulkins regards him as the James Roger ^ who came to this country in the Increase, in April, 1635, in company with the Chittendens, Bucks, Kilbourns, Warners, Stones, and Marvins.
t The records of the New London County Court, under date of April 14, 1685, contain the following entry : " John Rogers, James Rogers, Jr., Samuel Beebee,
THE ROGEKENES. 531
The offenders were fined, imprisoned, set in the stocks, and whipped, but all without avail. It was calculated that John Rogers, after his professed conversion, passed one-third of his life in prison. It is particularly noticeable, however, that this strange sect were not punished for their religious senti- ments or opinions, but for flagrant outrages against the laws of the colony.
Such were the victims of this so-called persecution, which has been thrown in our teeth with such an annihilatins; air of triumph by the traducers of those who founded our state, and built up its history. That errors were committed under this and kindred statutes, and that in individual cases, bad passions and wicked motives may have carried on a syste- matic plan of persecution under the sanction of legal forms, will not be disputed. We all know that this is done even in our day, and will be until the coming of Him whose right it is himself to reign without committing the government of men to a delegated authority.
Jr., and Joana Way, are complained of for profaning God's holy day by servile work, and are grown to tliat height of impunity as to come at several times into the town to re-baptise several persons ; and when God's people were met together on the Lord's day to worship God, several of them came, and made great distm-b- ance, behaving themselves in such a frantic manner, as if possessed with a dia- bolical spirit, so affrighting and amazing that several women swooned and fainted away. John Rogers to be whipped fifteen lashes, and for unlawfully re-baptizing to pay £5. The others to be whipped."
Samuel Fox, prosecuted for catching eels of Sunday, said that he made no dif- ference of days ; his wife Bathshua Fox, went openly to the meeting-house to proclaim that she had been doing servile work on their Sabbath ; John Rogers accompained her, interrupting the minister, and proclaiming a similar offence.
At one time, Rogers trundled a wheel-barrow into the porch of the meeting- house during the time of service ; for which, after being set in the stocks, he was put into prison and kept for a considerable time. While thus in durance, he hung out of the window a board containing the following proclamation :
" I, John Rogers, a servant of Jesus Christ, doth here make an open declara- tion of war against the great red dragon, and against the beast to which he gives power ; and against the f\ilse church that rides upon the beast ; and against the false prophets who are established by the dragon and the beast 5 and also a proc- lamation of derision against the sword of the devil's spirit, which is prisons, stocks, whips, fines, and revilings, all which is to defend the elevation of devils." See Caulkins' Hist, of New London, 211, 212.
532 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
When in 1665, the commissioners of Charles II., visited Connecticut, they reported that the colony would " not hin- der any from enjoying the sacraments and using the common prayer book, provided that they hinder not the maintenance of the public minister."* There was, however, as we have seen, no organized episcopal church in Connecticut, until about the year 1723, though divine service had been per- formed in Stratford, according to the forms of that church, for some years anterior to the date designated. In 1727, within four years of the first organization of the first episcopal church in the colony, and probably in response to their first application for relief, it was enacted by the legislature, that "if it so happen, that there be a society of the church of England, where there is a person in orders according to the canons of the church of England, settled and abiding among them, and performing divine service, so near to any person that hath declared himself of the church of England, that he can conveniently, and doth, attend the public worship there, whatever tax he shall pay for the support of religion, shall be delivered unto the minister of the church of England." Those who conformed to the church of England, were at the same time authorized to tax themselves for the support of their clergy, and were " excused from paying any taxes for building meeting-houses." In 1729, the quakers and baptists were exempted, on certain conditions, from paying taxes for the support of the congregational ministry, and for building meeting-houses. t
The law of 1727, was modified by several successive acts, each being designed for the benefit or relief of dissenters.
It is further urged that the fathers of the state believed in the crime of loitchcraft. This accusation is true. They did enact a statute prohibiting that crime, borrowed from the Hebrew code, and from the laws of England. This is its concise form :
* Hutchinson, 412.
t See early statutes ; also Prof. Kingsley's Historical Discourse, at New Haven,
1838.
GOODWIFE KNAPP. 533
" If any man or woman be a witch, that is, hath or con- sulteth with a familiar spirit, they shall be put to death."
But what was the practical operation of the law ? From a careful examination of the records of New Haven colony, it does not appear that there ever was even a conviction for that crime, within that jurisdiction ; much less was there ever an execution. So far from this being the case, those records contain strong presumptive evidence that the courts in that colony and the public sentiment there, were not fa- vorable to such accusations. The New Haven archives give us the only evidence which now exists that there ever was an execution for witchcraft in the Connecticut colony. The fact is mentioned incidentally, in the trial of Roger Ludlow, Esq., for having slandered the wife of Thomas Staples in charging her with being a witch. In the testimony elicited during the trial, reference is made to the execution of Good- wife Knapp.* There mai/haYe been other instances, but our records do not furnish them ; and no parole or traditionary proof that can now be relied upon, leads the mind to any cer- tain conclusion, that human life was sacrificed in the colony under the sanction of this law, on any other occasion. Ann Cole was convicted, but was she executed ? Let the anti- quary and the tradition-hunter decide. Mather tells us she was. How did he know it, and why was the fact so public in Boston, and yet so obscure in Hartford, that not even a tradition of it remains ?
But suppose there were in the course of a hundred and fifty years, two executions, or even ten, would that prove that our institutions were illiberal ? The wise and philoso-
* Thus, Ludlow charged Mrs. Staples with havhig caused the body of Good- wife Knapp, to be examined " after she was hanged;''^ Susan Lockwood said she was ^^ present at the execution of Goodwife Knapp ;" Elizabeth Brewster testified that " after Goodwife Knapp was executed^ as soon as she was cut down, she the said Knapp, being carried to the grave-side, Goodwife Staples with some other women went to search the said Knapp," for witch marks ; and that Goodwife Sta- ples declared that the deceased was no witch.
Allusion was also made at the same trial to the conviction of " Goodwife Bas- sett 5" and our colonial records refer to the conviction of Mercy Disborough ; but I find no reason to believe that either of them was executed.
534 HISTOEY OF CONNECTICUT.
phical Cudworth, one of the brightest gems of the English church, and almost as free from bigotry as Paul, said in 1678, .that those who did not believe in the existence of witchcraft, "could hardly escape the suspicion of having some hankering towards atheism." James I., James IL, Queen Elizabeth, Lord Bacon, Lord Coke, Sir Walter Raleigh, Lord Mans- field, and Lord Hale, all believed implicitly in it. Hale sen- tenced more than one poor wretch to death for familiarity with the devil, long after our fathers had abandoned the su- perstition ; and Sir William Blackstone, as late as the period of the American revolution, embodied the remark in his ex- cellent Commentaries upon the laws of England, that " in general there has been such a thing as witchcraft." Indeed, the English statute punishing that crime, remained unre- pealed until the ninth year of the reign of George IL, after the ashes of Goodwife Knapp, and Ann Cole, if she too was a victim, had been mingled with the elements for the period of a hundred years. While our fathers were hesitating and doubting if such a crime existed, England, Scotland, Ger- many, and Massachusetts, were sending hundreds of withered women and enthusiastic men to the ducking-stool and the gallows.
It is said that laws were enacted both in New Haven and Connecticut, compelling people to attend upon public worship on the Sabbath. Before our ancestors are charged with blame, it would be well to inquire whether this was exclu- sively a puritanical measure. If the objector will turn to the act of the 35th of EHzabeth, entitled an act " to retain the queen's majesty's subjects in their due obedience," he will find that " any person or persons, above the age of sixteen years, which shall obstinately refuse to repair to some church, chapel, or usual place of common prayer, to hear divine ser- vice, established by her majesty's laws and statutes, in that behalf made" — or shall " advisedly or maliciously move or persuade any other person" from attending — " or be present at any unlawful assemblies, conventicles, or meetings, under color or pretence of any exercise of religion contrary to her
SUMPTUARY LAWS. 635
majesty's said laws and statutes" — and shall be convicted thereof, they "shall be committed to prison, there to remain without bail or mainprize, until they shall conform and yield themselves, to come to some church, chapel, or usual place of common prayer, and hear divine service according to her majesty's laws and statutes aforesaid." The offender not conforming, he was obliged to " abjure the realm," and " if he return without her majesty's special license," he " shall be adjudged a felon, and shall suffer, as in the case of felons, without benefit of clergy."
Can the caviler find a more stringent law on this subject, in the statute-book of Connecticut?
But we are told that the laws afTord evidences of bigotry and ascetecism, and that sumptuary statutes were passed of a narrow and bigoted sort ; that the people feared the devil, and that the inhabitants were compelled to attend public wor- ship. It is indeed true, that they were a stern self-denying people, and that they fasted often and prayed much ; but fast- tings and austerities of life, were not confined to them or to their religious tenets. In many things they were bigoted and abstinent, but these extremes are believed to be better than a laxness of moral principle, and a too great indulgence in those extravagancies which sap the foundations of the hu- man constitution, and make men prematurely old. If these things were faults, they were what our ancestors used to call "good faults." With regard to sumptuary laws, they passed some strict ones, but they were all on the side of virtue and morals, all conducive to the greatest good of the greatest number; not fences for the deer-parks of a lazy aristocracy, to keep the people shut out from the best lands of the coun- try, and punish them by death or banishment if they hap- pened, in attempting to satisfy the cravings of hunger, to bend a cross-bow beneath the branching oaks of some lord of the manor, or unstop the rabbit warrens of some beer-bloated country squire. As regards the devil, it is possible to fear him too much, but it is believed that if the present generation were more afraid of that dignitary, and regarded him more
536 HISTOKY OF CONNECTICUT.
as a reality, and less as a myth, it would be quite as well with them in the end.
The following statute contrasts well with the English " Game Laws" at that era :
" Whereas great loss and damage hath befel this colony by reason of wolves, which destroy great numbers of our cattle, therefore for the encouragement of such as shall labor to destroy them,
" It is ordered by this court, that any person that shall kill any wolf or wolves, within six miles of any plantation in this colony, shall have for every wolf by him or them so killed, eight shillings out of the public treasury of the colony. And every Englishman shall have eight shillings more paid him out of the town treasury, within whose bounds the wolf was killed ; provided that due proof be made thereof, and also that they bring a certificate under some magistrate's hand, or constable of that place, unto the treasurer; provided, also, that this order intend only such plantations as do contribute with us to public charges, in which case they shall make pay- ment upon their own charge."
"It is also ordered by the authority of this court, that what person soever, English or Indian, shall take any wolf out of any pit made by any other man to catch wolves in, whereby they would defraud the right owner of their due from the colony or town, every such offender shall pay to the owner of the pit twenty shillings, or be whipped on the naked body not exceeding six stripes."
But it is objected that the old fathers of the colony passed a statute prohibiting lying. That this statute has been much complained of by modern critics, is not surprising. Indeed, if it were to be re-enacted and again put in force, it would be of such sweeping application as to be intolerably oppressive. But even in this respect, Connecticut was in no way singular. Moses had done the same in his day ; and Alfred, when he was laying the foundations of the greatest empire of modern times, made it punishable, not by whipping, or the stocks, but by a still more thorough penalty — cutting out the liar's tongue.
CIVIL AUTHORITY PARAMOUNT. 537
To come nearer home, the quaker colony of Pennsylvania, the Roman catholic colony of Maryland, and the episcopal one of Virginia, all passed a law similar to that of Connecticut, and equally rigid. There are some old fashioned people left in the world yet, who honor them for it.
It would be easy for any lawyer of ordinary capacity to examine the civil and criminal code of Connecticut, and con- trast it for liberality, simplicity, and moral tone, with most of the other modern codes of the world. Whoever attempts to cast reproach upon the laws of such a people, will be met with startling analogies, let us rather say, painful contrasts, pungent repartees. He will find that he is handling tools with sharp edges and barbs, that readily enter his flesh, but are plucked out with difficulty and pain.
The laws of Connecticut, like her first constitution, were made to pass through Roger Ludlow's mint.* They received his stamp and of course bore the image of the bird of free- dom, as well as the clusters of the three vines. The great object of these laws, as might have been expected, was, to take care of the people ; to do justice and to execute judg- ment between man and man. One of the very first statutes which was parsed, and which was embodied in the first edi- tion of our public acts, shows a wisdom and a kind of second sight, prophetic of the general equality and religious tolera- tion of the constitution of 1818. It is as follows :
" Forasmuch as the peace and prosperity of the churches, and the members thereof, as well as civil rights and liberties, are carefully to be maintained —
*' It is ordered by this court, That the civil authority here established, hath power and liberty to see the peace, ordi- nances, and rules of Christ, to be observed in every church according to his word ; as also to deal with any church-
* As early as April, 1646, INIr. Ludlow was desired by the General Court, " to take some paynes in drawing forth a body of lawes for the government of this commonwealth." In May, 1647, the court ordered that Mr. Ludlow "should, besides the paying the hyer of a man, be futher considered for his paynes." The code appears to have been "concluded and established" in May, 1651. See J. H. Trumbull's Records, i. pp. 138, 154, 509.
538 HISTOEY OF CONNECTICUT.
member in a way of civil justice, notwithstanding any church- relation, office, or interest, so it be done in a civil and not in an ecclesiastical way, nor shall any church censure, degrade or depose any man from any civil dignity, office, or authority, he shall have in the colony.'''
Here we see the axe laid at the root of ecclesiastical do- minion, as such. The civil authority is not only to be sepa- rated from the ecclesiastical, but it is declared even in church matters to be paramount to it. It took a long time to bring the people to recognize a practical equality of all religious sects, but the seeds were sown and could not perish in the ground.
The laws of Connecticut have always been distinguished for their simplicity, their certainty, their mildness, their adap- tation to the conditions of the humblest classes, and the cheapness with which they have meted out justice to the aggrieved. The tribunals of the state have been famed for the learning and impartiality of the judges, and, thanks to our common schools, for the intelligence and manliness of our jurors. To dwell at length upon this topic, would require a separate treatise. Our whole statute laws are yet printed in a single octavo volume.
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i
CHAPTER XXIV.
EPISCOPACY IX COXNECTICUT.
It would be interesting to trace the history of the episco- pal church throughout the American colonies, from the earli- est settlement of Jamestown down to the time when the re- ligious estabhshment of Connecticut gave place to the Consti- tution of 1818. But it is impossible to depart from the limits of the State, though by doing so we might the better estimate its influence upon the rest of the continent.
In the town of Stratford still stands a small church with its high arched windows, in the style of architecture that marks that denomination ofChristians, with its square tower standing out from the main body of the building, surmounted by its small belfry and shapely spire rising above the trees, that shade the sunny slopes and swelling mounds which relieve the vil- lage of Stratford from the dreary level that often marks the conflict of the ocean with the shore. This church was erect- ed in 1746, and is now more than a century old. The aged men who helped to build it, and who were present at its con- secration, could distinctly remember the first establishment of episcopacy in Connecticut, and some of them had partici- pated in the exciting warfare consequent upon it. It has been before said, that from almost the first settlement of the colony, there had existed in it an established religion which belonged to the government, and was as firmly upheld by it as any branch of the civil machinery. One of the provisions in behalf of this establishment, was embodied in the statute of which the following is an extract :
*' It is ordered by the Authority of this Court, That every inhabitant shall henceforth contribute to all charges both in church and colony whereof he doth or may receive benefit, and every such inhabitant, who shall not voluntarily contri-
540 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
bute proportionably to his ability, with the rest of the same town, to all charges both civil and ecclesiastical, shall be compelled thereunto by assessment and distress, to be levied by the constable or other officer of the town, as in other cases, and that the lands and estates of all men, wherever they dwell, shall be rated for all town charges, both civil and ecclesiastical, as aforesaid, the lands and estates where they shall lie, and their persons where they dwell."
This provision remained substantially the same until 1727. With the exception of the opposition of the persons called " Quakers, Ranters, and Adamites," the established religion was supported in the colony with almost entire unanimity for many years. But it is impossible that the opinions of any one generation should be locked up in a vault strong enough to keep them from age to age in their primitive con- dition. Dampness will gather around them and steal away their vitality, violence will break open the doors that imprison them, and set them free, or their deliverance will be left to the more slow but equally sure action of the rains and frosts, which will soften and crack asunder the mortar and the stones, until, if the key does not drop from the arch, there will be found many seams and crevices in the walls for the entrance of the winds. So it had been in the old world, and so was it in the new.
There were, very early in the eighteenth century, a few men in the colony, who were descendants of the first emigrants, and who sympathised with the causes that had in- duced their fathers to remove to this continent, who yet adhered to the forms of the English church, and believed that their favorite institution, when severed from political connec- tions and left to her own sphere of religious action, had little sympathy with the cruelties and oppressions that had been charged upon her. They began to find the payment of rates to support a form of religion that they did not approve, to be very irksome, and although it was in accordance with the order of things established in England, yet they felt that as our in- stitutions were new, they ought to be more flexible. They
[170G.] MR. MUIRSON. 541
pleaded, too, the precedent of the emigrants themselves, who had left England for the enjoyment of liberty of conscience, and claimed that all the descendants of those men, more especially those who were born upon the soil, •had a right to pay their money for the support of such a religious organization as they deemed fitted for their own consciences. But they could not fail to be aware, that in bringing about this charge, they must struggle with the spirit of the age, and that the contest, if not ultimately doubtful, would be at least a protracted one. About seventy years had passed away since the settlement of the colony began, when the " Society for propagating the Gospel in Foreign Parts," an episcopal organization, established at Rye, in the colony of New York, the Rev. Mr. Muirson as a missionary. A few individuals at Stratford, some of whom were highly respectable, had for some time been dissatisfied with the prevailing mode of worship in Connecticut, and were glad that they could have for a near neighbor, a clergy- man who administered the sacraments and adhered to the ceremonials of the church as they recognized it to exist.
Not long after Mr. Muirson had been stationed at Rye, an earnest application was made to him in behalf of these per- sons, begging him to visit Stratford, and preach there, and baptize such as might desire to receive that rite at his hands. Some time during the year 1706, Mr. Muirson yielded to these solicitations, and in company with Colonel Heathcote, a gentleman who, with himself, had the cause of the English church much at heart, repaired to Stratford on this errand. Of course they could not expect that their coming would be regarded with very much indulgence by the puritan ministers and elders of the town and neighborhood, who used such ar- guments as they could to prevent their families and friends from attending upon religious services so different from their own. Perhaps this very effort excited the curiosity of the people to a still higher pitch, to witness the new ceremonies, and it is almost certain that it stimulated those whose minds were already made up, to a still more ardent and firm resolve.
542 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
The whole affair was managed so prudently by Mr. Muirson, and such zealous exertions were made by those who had in- vited him, that a large number of persons, probably as many as seventy or eighty, were induced to assemble, and see and hear for themselves. The result was, that seventy-five per- sons, most of them adults, were baptized.
This was the first time that any attempt had been made to introduce episcopacy into Connecticut.
In April, 1707, Mr. Muirson, with his friend, Mr. Heath- cote, again visited Stratford. He preached there, and also at Stratfield, and performed the baptismal rite in both places. The congregational ministers and magistrates did not interfere with him in any other way, than by attempting to persuade the people not to attend upon his ministrations. This opposition had the same effect that it had done before, in stimulating the efforts of the zealous, and in quickening the activity of those who were charmed with the novelty of the forms of the church. After this, Mr. Muirson made several visits to Connecticut, and labored earnestly with those who were willing to listen to him.
In the year 1722, the Society heretofore alluded to, estab- lished the Rev. Mr. Pigot as a missionary at Stratford. He soon had twenty communicants and about one hundred and fifty hearers.
While the early clergy of the episcopal church were thus struggling to establish the foundations of the church in the colony, and laboring to overcome those prejudices with which they were compelled to contend, the alarming intelli- gence burst upon the public ear, that the Rev. Timothy Cutler, the rector of Yale College, which was then the strong-hold of Congregationalism in New England, had de- clared for episcopacy. The news flew as if it had been borne by carrier-pigeons, into every hamlet, and to every farm-house in the northern colonies. It was of course an event which could not escape the notice of the trustees of a seminary, which had been founded for the avowed object of supporting the religion of the colony, and of educating minis-
JOHNSON, CUTLER, AND PIGOT. 543
ters to perpetuate the institutions of puritanism. Mr. Cutler was not surprised, therefore, when he was informed, by a vote of the board of trustees, that he was " excused from all further service as Rector of Yale College." It was a vote ap- parently characterized by little of the bitterness that usually attends ecclesiastical controversies, and his retirement from the official station was the occasion of keen regret on both sides. During the following November, Mr. Cutler, in com- pany with Mr. Johnson, of West Haven, and Mr. Brown, one of the tutors of the college, sailed for England, and in March of the year 1723, those gentlemen were all ordained by the Bishop of Norwich. Soon after, Mr. Cutler received, both from Oxford and Cambridge, the degree of doctor of divinity.
Few men of that day, enjoyed a higher reputation for scholarship and intellectual gifts than Dr. Cutler. His per- sonal popularity at Yale, while at the head of the institution, was almost unbounded. He was also fortunate in being eulogized even by his successors, who were opposed to him in his ecclesiastical views. One president of Yale College* has left his written testimonial, that "Dr. Cutler w^as a gentle- man of superior natural powers and learning," while another, the Rev. Dr. Stiles, no insignificant authority in such matters, and a person not lavish of compliments, wrote of him as fol- lows : "In the philosophy, metaphysics, and ethics of his day, he was great. He spoke Latin with fluency, and with great propriety of pronunciation. He was a man of extensive reading in the academic sciences, divinity, and ecclesiastical history, and of a commanding presence and dignity in govern- ment. He was of a lofty and despotic mien, and made a grand figure at the head of a college."
In 1723, Christ Church, the oldest episcopal church in the colony, was founded by the Rev. Mr. Samuel Johnson, who was appointed to succeed Mr. Pigot. Mr. Johnson is desig- nated by Dr. Dvvight as " the father of Episcopacy in Con- necticut, and perhaps as the most distinguished clergyman of that description who has been settled within its limits."
* Dr. Chp^
544 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
He was born in Guilford, October 14, 1696,* and graduated at Yale College in 1714. From 1716 to 1719 he remained in the college as a tutor, and during the year 1720 he was ordained minister of the Presbyterian church in West Haven. Having embraced episcopacy, he sailed from Boston for England, and was there ordained. Mr. Johnson, on his re- turn to this country, was settled as above stated, at Stratford, where he remained until his appointment to the presidency of King's College, in New York, in 1754. He received the degree of doctor of divinity from the university of Oxford. He published A System of Morals, in 1746 ; A Treatise on Morals, and A Treatise on Logic, which were republished to- gether in 1772 ; and A Hebrew Grammar, in 1767, which was reprinted in 1771, with additions and improvements.
Dr. Johnson was regarded as a learned, diligent, and faith- ful preacher of the gospel. He possessed a remarkably placid temper, and a benevolent and charitable disposition, which together with his unfeigned piety, manifested them- selves in unwearied efforts to do good. Even in his contro- versial writings, these delightful traits of the Christain charac- ter are strikingly observable. He died January 6, 1772.
The Rev. James Wetmore, the congregational minister of North Haven, became an episcopalian about the same time with Mr. Johnson and Mr. Cutler, and he also went to Eng- land for the purpose of being re-ordained. The Rev. John Beach, who had been for seven years the approved pastor of the congregational church in Newtown, seceded from the^ established church, and proceeded to England, where he was
* Dr. Johnson was a son of Samuel Jolinson who was born in 1670 and died in 1727 ; his father, William Johnson, settled in Guilford where he died in 1702, aged 73 5 his father, Robert Johnson, was one of the founders of New Haven.
Dr. Samuel Johnson was married to Charity Floyd, Sept. 26, 1725. She died in New York, June 1, 1758, and was buried under the chancel of the old English church. Their only sons were William Samuel Johnson, LL. D., who was born Oct. 7, 1727, and the Rev. William Johnson, a promising young clergy- man of the church of England, who died of small-pox in London, Sunday, June 20, 1756, " and was buried under the church of St. Mildred, in the Poultry, in Mr. Manley's vault."
EFFOKTS TO PROCURE A BISHOP. 545
episcopally ordained, in September, 1732. He became a missionary in Newtown and Reading, where a church was erected in 1734, and two years after he reported one hun- dred and five communicants. In 1751, the ordinary congre- gation in each place was between two and three hundred, and the communicants between ninety and one hundred. In 1762, Mr. Beach was able to report that the churchmen in Newtown had become more numerous than all others combined — a fact which remains good to this day.
Besides the parishes under the immediate care of Mr. Beach, those of Roxbury and New Milford* were organized by him. Those of Lanesborough, in Massachusetts, and Arlington, in Vermont, also owed their existence mainly to emigration from the parishes under his care.f
From 1707, when the first prayer was read on the bank of James river, invoking the divine blessing upon the emi- grants, who were to level the forests of the old dominion, down to the day when the British sceptre was cut in twain by the edge of Washington's sword — a period of one hundred and seventy years — flie scattered flock belonging to the American branch of the English church was left to wander in the wilds of the west without an episcopal shepherd. Again and again did the pious missionaries who had been sent to this continent by the Society for Propagating the Gos- pel in Foreign Parts, address letters to the Bishop of London, and others in authority at home, begging that the episcopalians in America might have a bishop of their own, who should
* It is stated that certain churchmen in New Milford were fined for refusing to attend the meetings of the established church. These fines were, by recommen- dation of Mr. Beach, paid, and copies of the proceedings taken to be forwarded to the king and council. The fact becoming known, the authorities refunded the money and granted permission to build a church, which before had been refused. Church Review, vol. ii. p. 317.
t Mr. Beach was born in Stratford in 1700; graduated at Tale College in 1721, and was settled over the congregational church in 1725, He died March 19, 1782. He published several sermons and pamphlets, mostly of a controversial character, which evince a candid spirit and much more than ordinary talents. He was an indefatigable laborer in the vineyard of his Master. The name of Beach had always been a good one in Connecticut. The Beaches of Litchfield, New- Haven, and Hartford counties, are from the same family.
67
546 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
have power to add to the number of the clergy, and to estab- lish that church upon a basis that would enable her to enter the field of labor on an equal footing with the other denomi- nations of New England ; but these solicitations fell upon the ears of the establishment with as little practical effect as if they had been made to the General Court of Massachu- setts or the General Assembly of Connecticut. The House of Stuart was followed by the Protectorate, and that again gave place to the House of Stuart ; Lord Clarendon gave the authority of his name to the prayer of the missionaries, and even the king approved the design so far as to order a patent to be made out ; Queen Anne favored the applica- tion ; eminent doctors and learned clergymen pleaded for it upon their knees ; but all in vain. State policy, that fruit- ful nurse of so many persecutions and proscriptions, turned a deaf ear to the prayer of the suppliants, and " refused to let the people go." The House of Hanover succeeded, with no better promise for this result. Meanwhile, as dynasty after d^masty passed away, the patient missionary, stationed at a remote point on the border of some colony whose in- habitants sympathized little with his teachings, or opposed them either by argument, as in Connecticut, or by legislative enactments, as in Massachusetts, kept on the even tenor of his way, sprinkling with water and signing with the sign of the cross, such as w^ould receive the rite at his hands.*
* The first effort to procure the consecration of a bishop for New England, was made in 1638, but the scheme was thwarted by the outbreak of troubles in Scot- land (" JNIissions of the Church of England," p. 376.) In the revolution whicli soon followed, the matter was apparently forgotten. Soon after the Restoration, however, in 1660 the subject of an American bishop was revived, and a patent was actually made out, constituting Dr. Alexander JNIurray, bishop of Virginia, with a general charge over the other provinces and colonies. The project was defeated by the accession to power of the " Cabal Ministry," (Hawkins, p. 376.) Seeker states that the failure was owing to the endowment being made payable out of the customs. Boucher, however, says on this subject, " By some fatality or other, (such as seems forever to have pursued all the good measures of that unfortunate family,) the patent M^as not signed when the king died." Soon after the establishment of the venerable Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, in 1701, the American missionaries began to urge upon that society the importance of having a bishop in the colonies. In 1705 a me-
[1753.] SPECIAL PLEADIXG. 5-17
Objections were started, metaphysical obstacles were pleaded, old precedents were set up, and delay followed delay, until the heart-sick laborer was ready to faint in the field.
At last, in the little town of Groton, on the eastern bank of the Thames, there grew up, nourished by the invigorating air of the sea and of the hills, a dark-eyed, thoughtful boy, who was destined to break the chain of this political bond- age. He was the son of a congregational clergyman, and like Johnson, Cutler, Beach, Wetmore, and Brown, was of the good old colonial stock. The name of that boy was Saf?iuel Sea- hury. When the boy was a year old, his father, the Rev. Samuel Seabury, gave up his charge at Groton, and declared for Episcopacy ; soon after which he sailed for England for orders. Master Seabury, like his father, was entered a student at Yale College, and graduated there with distinc- tion in the year 1748. Three years after, he went to Scot- land for the purpose of qualifying himself for the practice of medicine. He was soon induced to turn his attention to the study of theology, and was ordained by the Bishop of Lon- don, in 1753. Not long after he returned to America and filled the post of missionary at New Brunswick, in New
memorial lo the archbishops and bishops of England, was signed by fourteen clergymen assembled at Burlington, New Jersey, praying for the " presence and assistance of a suffragan bishop, to ordain such persons as are fit to be called to serve in the sacred ministry of the church." It was urged that many persons were deterred from entering the ministry, in consequence of the dangers and expense of a hazardous journey of 3,000 miles. A writer in the London Gentleman's Magazine of that day stated, that " out of fifty-two or fifty-three who have come hither for holy orders, forty-two only have returned safe. There never was a persecution upon earth," he adds, "that destroyed a fifth part of the clergy." The venerable society joined in the appeal to Queen Anne in 1709. The subject was finally brought before a meeting of the bishops, on the 20th of January, 1711 ; " but as the Bishop of London, who had a right to be con- sulted, was not there, the thing was dropped." (" Life of Archbishop Sharpe," i. 352.) Several other petitions and memorials were presented, and the prayer of the applicants seemed about to be granted, when the death of the queen and the accession of a new sovereign gave an entirely different aspect to affairs. From this time, appeals and petitions, not only from missionaries, but from men high in authority, were frequently made upon the crown, for a resident bishop in America, but without avail, until the consecration of Dr. Seabury.
648 HISTOEY OF CONNECTICUT.
Jersey, until 1757. His next pastoral charge was at Jamai- ca, on Long Island, where he remained until 1766, when he went to Westchester, and had the care of St. Peter's church for ten years. In December, 1776, he removed to New York, on account of political disturbances in Connecticut, and continued to reside there until the peace of 1783.*
As soon as peace was restored, the clergy of Connecticut and those of New York held a private meeting in that city, and chose the Rev. Dr. Leaming bishop of the diocese of Connecticut. Dr. Leaming did not accept the place as- signed him, and on the 21st of April, 1783, a second vote resulted in the unanimous choice of Dr. Seabury. A letter was immediately addressed to the Archbishop of York, reiterating the old request that an American bishop might be consecrated. " The person," say they, " whom we have prevailed upon to offer himself to your grace, is the Rev. Dr. Samuel Seabury, who has been the society's worthy mis- sionary for many years. He was horn and educated in Con- necticut, he is every way qualified for the episcopal office, and for the discharge of those duties peculiar to it in the present trying and dangerous times."
The bishop elect sailed for England shortly after he was chosen. The Archbishop of York was not in London at the time of his arrival there, but the Bishop of London gave his ready assent to the proposition, and said he would cheer- fully cooperate with the Archbishops of York and Canterbury m bringing about the results so long desired.
New difficulties now presented themselves. It was neces- sary that the candidate for episcopal consecration should take oaths of allegiance to the king, and of obedience to the Archbishop of Canterbury. Prudential considerations as well as acts of parliament were also interposed. If the bishops of England should consecrate an applicant from Connecticut, what warrant had they to believe that the state where he was to exercise his functions, would give her con-
* For a copy of Mr. Seabury's memorial to the General Assembly of Con- neclicut, see Hinman, 548 — 551.
SHIFTING THE RESPONSIBILITY. 549
sent, and how could they know that the functionary thus created would be obeyed ? More than all, how vjas he to he supported! Besides, it was urged, had they not good cause to anticipate a renewal of that opposition which had kept Dr. Seabury from his native state during the whole period of the revolutionary war ? Thus, with one objection after another, did those cautious dignitaries lead this fearless knight of the cross from cavern to cavern and grove to grove, as if for a more perfect trial of his virtue and his faith. But firm as the rocky bank that rises above his native river, with a soul unruffled and deep as the waters that glide under its shadow, this son of the west, unabashed in the pre- sence of mitres and pontifical robes, with one great purpose swelling in his bosom and beating at his heart, was not to be thwarted from doing his Master's work. He wrote to the clergy of Connecticut, who were now on tiptoe with expecta- tion, stating the fear entertained in England, that the General Assembly of the state would prevent a bishop, should he be consecrated, from entering on the discharge of his episcopal labors.
A convention of the clergy was forthwith called at Walling- ford, to determine what was to be done. As the assembly was then in session at New Haven, a committee was appointed to confer with the principal members of the legislature, and solicit the passage of an act authorizing a bishop to re- side in Connecticut, and to exercise the episcopal func- tions there. The gentlemen to whom this request was made, replied, as they well might, that it was not necessary to pass such an act, as the law of Connecticut was already in conformity with their wishes.* Certified copies of the statutes of the colony in relation to this matter, were made out and forwarded to England without delay.
This evidence was, of course, conclusive on the point in question. Other objections were then started, and new pleadings were filed, that were likely to keep the matter
* See page 21 of " The General Laws and Liberties of Connecticut Colony," edition of 1672 ; also statute of 1727, ante.
550 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
pending until half a dozen generations of men should be mouldering in their graves. A legislative act might have been passed in a month, removing all objections that could be raised on account of any informality in relation to the required oaths, but the parliament refused to interfere in behalf of the appUcants. It was idle to attempt any longer to shift the responsibility from the shoulders of the English authorities and lay it at the door of the General Assembly of Connecticut.
If there ever was an instance where " hope deferred " made a sick heart, the matter now presented to the conside- ration of the episcopal clergy of Connecticut, and of their bishop elect, affords an illustration of it.
With the advice of the clergy, Dr. Seabury finally aban- doned these fruitless negotiations, and hastened to Scotland to seek the consecration that had been denied him in Eng- land. Here the doors were at once thrown open to him. On the 14th of November, 1784, the ceremonial took place at Aberdeen, under the direction of Robert Kilgour, bishop of Aberdeen, Primus, with the assistance of Arthur Petrie, of Ross and Moray, and John Skinner, coadjutor of Bishop Kilgour. It was an occasion of the deepest interest, and called forth many warm congratulations and fervent prayers.*
Thus by the kindly aid of Scotland, after a struggle of so many years, the victory over English exclusiveness was won, and Connecticut, let us rather say the western world, had at last a bishop.
Hastening homeward with a heart buoyant as the wave that floated and the wind that wafted him. Bishop Seabury repaired immediately to New London, and on the 3d of August, 1785, entered upon the discharge of his high and responsible duties. f Nobly did this great and good man lay
* Dr. Chapin's sketch of Bishop Seabury, in the " Evergreen," of Jan. 1844.
t On the day referred to, a special convention was held at Middletown, Con- necticut, on which occasion the following candidates were admitted to the holy order of deacons ; viz., Messrs. Colin, Ferguson, Henry Van Dyke, Ashbel Baldwin, and Philo Shelton.
BISHOP SEABURY. 551
wide and deep the walls that were to stand around the diocese of Connecticut and Rhode Island.* Brave without any ostentatious show of moral courage, modest without the least abatement of self-possession or firmness, with all the lofty zeal of a martyr tempered with the forbearance that is the fruit only of Christain charity ; discreet in counsel, with a hand that never trembled in executing his ripe purposes ; never advancing faster than he could fortify his progress, Bishop Seabury had no superior, probably no equal, among the episcopal dignitaries of his generation.
His personal appearance was calculated to inspire univer- sal' respect. His features were not regular, nor indeed could they be called handsome ; but there was an intellectual strength, a force of character and of will, written in every line of his open countenance, that could not be misinter- preted. Added to this, was that indescribable air of refine- ment which belongs to the well-bred gentleman, and consti- tutes a part of his presence. Bishop Seabury was about the middle height, portly and well-proportioned. His eye was dark and piercing, and his motions as well as his utterance were slow and dignified. His voice was not a sweetly modulated one, but deep-toned and powerful, and expressed as did his whole manner, decision of character and boldness of thought. He had besides, a strong good sense that never forsook him, a very lively wit, and conversational powers at once natural and graceful. In the words of a congregational minister, contemporary with him, " Bishop Seabury looked as a bishop ought to look''
As a writer, his distinguishing attribute was comprehen- siveness and strength, and his style was limpid as a crystal well. His thoughts were all marshalled like a well-trained
+ " The inllueiice of Bishop Seabury, in the revision of the Liturgy,'''' says Dr. Chapin, "' was very considerable, in some important points. The invocation and tlie prayer of oblation in the communion service, and which are not in the present English service, and even the words of oblation omitted in king Edward's time were restored at the urgent desire of Bishop Seabury. The descent of Christ into hell, mentioned in the apostle's creed, seems to have been retained at his instance." " Evergreen," January, 1844.
552 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
troop of cavalry, performing their evolutions without fatigue, and with that certainty of result which belongs only to discipline. He avoided all metaphysical skirmishings and whimsical niceties, and cared little for the husks and shells of disputation, while the grain and the liernel were within his grasp. His intuitions w^ere also delicate, and prescient of good to be sought or danger to be shunned. Sophistry, and all the little arts of little men, to plume themselves with the feathers of rhetoric, or hide their heads in the clouds of mysticism or the drapery of inflated declamation, his noble nature had no need to employ, and would have scorned to practice.
Such, as seen by the light of history, were some of the principal attributes of Bishop Seabury. His name is still re- vered throughout the whole continent for his unaffected piety, his uncompromising principles, and his spotless life ; and wherever that name is spoken, it seems to be echoed by the hills of his native state, and repeated by the voice of the ocean waves that bore him from her free shores to the old world, and brought him safely back to lay himself down to die in the maturity of his fame and the ripeness of his faith on the bank of the Thames. His death took place in New London, February 25, 1796. He was succeeded in the episcopal office by the Rev. Abraham Jarvis, D.D.*
Bishop Jarvis was born in Norwalk, May 5, 1739, and graduated at Yale College in 1761. In JVovember, 1763, he went to England, where he was ordained deacon by the Bishop of Exeter, and priest by the Bishop of Carlisle. On his return he entered upon the duties of the ministry in Middletown on a salary of ninety pounds per year. In 1797, he was consecrated Bishop of Connecticut, and at the annual commencement of Yale College of the same year, he received the degree of doctor of divinity. In 1799, he removed to Cheshire, and subsequently to New Haven, where he died.
* Dr. Seabury was succeeded in the office of rector of James' Church, New London, by his son, the Rev. Charles Seabury, who continued in the rectorship for seventeen years.
BISHOP JARVIS.
553
May Sd, 1813, aged 75 years. He was much esteemed by his contemporaries, for his learning and piety. His only son, the Rev. Samuel Farmer Jarvis, D.D., was born in Middle- to v/n, and graduated at Yale College in 1805. He became the rector of the episcopal church in his native town, April 11, 1837, having previously been rector of the church in Bloomingdale, N.Y., and of St. Paul's, in Boston. He was also a professor in Trinity College. Dr. Jarvis died in Middletown, March 29, 1851, aged 64.
OLD CHURCH AT STRATFORD,
CHAPTER XXV,
OTHER RELIGIOIIS DENOMINATIONS.
The rise and progress of Methodism in America, from the humblest beginnings to its present condition as one of the largest and most influential denominations in the country, would of itself afford ample materials for a much larger work than mine. Were proofs of this assertion needed, I might refer to the handsome volumes of Bangs, Stevens, and other historians of the sect, which do honor to themselves, and to the cause in which they are so zealously engaged.
The pioneer preachers of Methodism in the new world, were Philip Embury, Richard Boardman, Joseph Pilmoor, and Capt. ThoQias Webb, a devout officer of the British army. In 1768, the first chapel of that denomination on this side of the ocean, was consecrated in the city of New York. The first conference was held on the 4th of July, 1778, at which date, the number of members reported was eleven hundred and sixty, scattered over five states of the Union. It was not, however, until 1789,^ that the seeds of the new sect were sown in Connecticut. In June, of that year, the Rev. Jesse Lee, preached at Norwalk, Fairfield, New Haven, Reading, Stratford, Canaan, and other places, spending about three months in the state, passing from town to town, wherever circumstances of the voice of providence seemed to call him. The first Methodist society which was formed in Con- necticut, was at Stratford on the 26th of September, of the year last named, and consisted of only three females. The next was in Reading, and embraced but tiao persons, one of
* This is the date given by the Rev. Dr. Bangs, in his History, (i, 290.) It is proper to remark, however, that according to the testimony of the Rev. Abel Stevens, in his " Memorials of Methodism," the Rev. Messrs. Cook and Black, had preached in Connecticut a year or two previous.
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>v..i;- .v.iiiod in Con-
^ September, of the
36 females. The.
i twit two persons, one of
.......;, in his History, (i, 290.) It is
■..iig to the teslin^ony of the Rev. x\bel ;sni," the Rev. Messrs. Cook and r>U«ck, ' ' vo previous.
■ ';••-
i
i I
J)olD)o
MI'Wil.'IU'';'!r'i:
1
lee's chapel. 555
whom* subsequently became a local preacher. The first church edifice of the denomination ever built in New Eno-- land, was in the town of Weston, in Fairfield county, and was called ''Lee's Chapel," in honor of its founder. It stood until the year 1813, when it was torn down, and a new one built in its place.
In 1790, the circuits of New Haven, Hartford, and Litch- field, w^ere established. The only methodist ministers in New England at that date w^ere Jesse Lee, Jacob Brush, George Roberts, and Daniel Smith. f There w'ere more preachers than classes, and scarcely more than two members to each preacher.
During the year 1790, Mr. Lee made an itinerating tour through New England, spending much time in Connecticut. His journal presents an interesting narrative of his trials, dis- couragements, adventures, and successes. J Though not a learned man, he possessed much shrewdness and talent, in- domitable energy, and a pervading sense of the infinite im- portance of the great work in which he was engaged.
One district, six circuits — four in Connecticut, and two in Massachusetts — with eleven circuit preachers and one pre- siding elder, constituted the field and ministerial corps in New England, for the year 1791.
In 1793-4, Mr. Roberts had charge of the Connecticut
* Rev. Aaron Sanford.
+ Jesse Lee was appointed Elder, by the New England Conference; Fairfield, John Bloodgood ; New Haven, John Lee ; Hartford, Nathaniel B. Mills ; Bos- ton, Jesse Lee, and Daniel Smith. Besides these circuits, under the nominal supervision of Mr. Lee, there was the Litchfield circuit, traveled by Samuel Wigton and Henry Christie, which lay mostly within the state of New York, and was under the presiding eldership of the devoted Freeborn Garretson.
X He entered the north-western angle of Connecticut, at Sharon, on the 20th of June, and preached under the trees to about one thousand people, " O my dove, thou art in the cleft of the rock," &:c. 22d, " Rode about fifteen miles and preached in a Presbyterian meeting-house to some hundreds." 23d, " Rode about twenty miles to Litchfield, and was surprised to find the doors of the Episcopal church open, and a large congregation waiting for me."
In some places, however, he was treated very uncivilly both by pastors and people.
556 APPENDIX.
district. In 1794-'5, his district comprised nearly the whole of Connecticut, and extended into Rhode Island on the east, and to Vermont on the north. During the two following years, his district lay principally in New York, but extended into Connecticut, and included the Reading circuit.
Under the faithful preaching and labors of such men as Bishop Asbury, Aaron Hunt, James Covel, Matthias Swaim, Jeremiah Cosden, James Coleman, and other earnest pioneers of Methodism in Connecticut, (in addition to those previously named,) the doctrines and discipline inculcated by Wesley gradually extended over the state. The seed sown almost at random by the way-side, took deep root in many hearts and bore abundant fruits. At the close of the ecclesiastical year 1802, the number of members of the several methodist churches in the state was reported at sixteen hundred and fifty-eight ; and from that time to the present, the denomina- tion has been steadily progressing, not only in Connecticut, but throughout New England, and indeed in almost every part of the Christian world.* In the number, intelligence, and piety of its members, as well as in its churches, schools, and colleges, it will compare favorably with any other reli- gious sect.
As early as 1798, a methodist chapel had been erected in New London. In 1819, the church there numbered three hundred and twenty-one members; in 1838, the number had increased to three hundred and seventy-seven. In 1840, , however, the society became divided, one party, including the trustees, withdrew from the conference, disclaimed its authority, and called themselves "Independent Methodists." This party kept possession of the chapel, while the others, under the pastoral care of the Rev. Ralph W. Allen, erected a church in Washington-street, which was dedicated Decem- ber 8, 1842. A decision of the civil court in 1849, gave the old chapel to the latter branch of the society. The number
* In 1838, the total number of communicants in the methodist episcopal church in the United States was 749,216.
[1796.] DANIEL OSTRANDER. 557
of members reported in 1851, was two hundred and nineteen.*
In Middletown, the society was formed in December, 1791 ; the Middletown circuit was instituted, and continued until 1816, when the city and township became a station or sepa- rate charge. It has been attached to several districts, as New York, New London, Rhinebeck, New Haven, and Hart- ford, and in consequence, the change of presiding elders has been greater in proportion to the time allowed for services, than the circuit and stationed preachers. In 18 IG, the num- ber of communicants was one hundred and twelve; in 1846, after the Wesleyan University had for several years been in successful operation at that place, the number was five hun- dred and fifteen. Since 1840, about sixty of the students have, on an average, been among the communicants of that church.
In New Haven, the first class was formed bv the Rev. D. Ostrander, in 1795. In 1800, a building that had previously been occupied by the Sandemanians was purchased by a mem- ber of the society, and was used as a place of worship until 1807, when a chapel was erected in Temple-street, though it was not actually finished until seven years afterwards. In 1822, a brick church was built on the north-west corner of the green, which was removed three or four years since, and a new and beautiful edifice was about the same time erected near by, on the opposite side of Elm-street. Other metho- dist churches have recently gone up in different parts of the city. In 1850, the denomination numbered in New Haven, five hundred and thirty-three.
In Norwich, Mr. Lee preached as early as 1796, and not long after, classes were formed both at Chelsea and Bean Hill. The society at Chelsea flourished for awhile under the foster- ing care of Mr. Beatty, of that place, but after his removal to Ohio, with several of his friends, in 1804, it became nearly extinct — only two or three members remaining. The first house of worship erected by the methodists within the limits
* Miss Caulkins' Hist, of New London, p. 597.
658 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
of Norwich, was in the vear 1811, which was located on the wharf-bridge in Chelsea. It was swept off by a flood in the spring of 1823. There are now four flourishing churches in the town.
Thus, one after another, churches were organized in all the principal towns in the state. The denomination numbers among its preachers some of the most eloquent, learned and excellent men to be found in the commonwealth.*
Among those most worthy of particular mention, it is pro- per to name the learned and much lamented Wilbur Fisk, D.D., the first president of the Wesleyan University at Middle- town, and at the time of his death bishop elect of the metho- dist episcopal church. He was born in Brattleboro, Ver- mont, August 31, 1792, and at an early age entered the col- lege at Burlington, in that state ; but as that institution was closed for a season during the war with Great Britain, he was sent to Brown University, in Rhode Island, where he gradu- ated with high honors. Commencing the study of the law with an eminent attorney, he promised to excel in that pro- fession ; but, while vigorously prosecuting his studies in Baltimore, he was prostrated by a violent attack of a pulmo- nary disease. When he had sufficiently recovered to under- take so long a journey, he returned to Burlington, Vermont, where he soon had a relapse of his former disease, which for a while threatened his life. At this time, the religious im- pressions of an earlier day were revived, which, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, ultimately led to a radical change in his views and purposes of life. Uniting himself with the methodist church, he commenced the studv of theology, and in 1818, he was admitted on trial in the New England conference. He began his itinerant labors among his native hills, inhaling the invigorating atmosphere, and enjoying that mental and bodily exercise so conducive to health. His first ministerial station was at Charlestown, Massachusetts, where the nature of his duties was so con-
* Bishops Janes and Hamline, of the methodist church, were Connecticut men.
REV. DR. FISK. 559
fining that he was seized with his former disease, and in 1820, he was compelled to seek retirement and rest. In 1823, however, he had so far recovered that he was able to resume his itinerant career as presiding elder of the Vermont district.
On the establishment of the Wilbraham Academy, in Massachusetts, Mr. Fisk was elected its principal. Under his supervision, it became one of the most successful and popular institutions of its class in New England. While engaged in this congenial employment, he attended the gen- eral conference, as a delegate, in 1824 and 1828. In 1831, he was appointed to and accepted the Presidency of the Wesleyan University, in Middletown, Connecticut. In 1835 and 1836, he made the tour of Europe, an account of which he afterwards published in a large octavo volume. While in Europe he was appointed by the general conference of 1836, its delegate to the Wesleyan methodist conference in England, and at the same conference, he was also elected bishop of the methodist episcopal church of the United States.*
Soon after his return to this countrv. Dr. Fisk suffered a relapse of his pulmonary complaint, and in the winter of 1838, he was compelled to relinquish the active duties of his office. From this attack he never recovered.
Dr. Fisk possessed a clear, vigorous, and w^ell-balanced mind, regular and handsome features, an expressive coun- tenance, a stately figure, and a pleasing address. " His man- ner in the pulpit," says Dr. Bangs, " was solemn, graceful, and dignified ; his enunciation clear and impressive ; and all his gesticulations corresponded with the purity and importance of the cause in which he was engaged. Perhaps, when un- embarrassed, he came as near to the perfection of a christian pulpit orator, as any that can be found among the ministers of the sanctuary." " Though never boisterous in his man- ner," adds the same writer, " but calm and collected, he w^as energetic, plain, and pointed, and evinced that he spoke from
* Bangs' Hist., iv. 313—317.
560 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
the fulness of his heart — a heart thoroughly imbued with the spirit of his Divine Master."*
The commencement of the Baptist denomination of chris- tians in this state, was made by a small colony from Rhode Island, in the beginning of the eighteenth century, in the county of New London. The first church was organized in the town of Groton, in 1705, by Rev. Valentine Wightman, who had removed to that town from North Kingston, Rhode Island. This remained the only baptist church in the colony of Connecticut for about twenty years. In 1726, another church was organized in fellowship in the town of New Lon- don, and in 1743, the first church in North Stonington was organized. Rev. Valentine Wightman was born 1681. He remained pastor of the church in Groton forty-two years, and died at the age of sixty-six. He was a descend- ant of the Rev. Edward Wightman, the christian martyr who was burned at the stake in England, in 1612, being the last man who suffered death for conscience sake, by direct course of law, in the mother country. The Rev. Valen- tine Vv ightman was followed in the pastoral office of the church in Groton, by his son, Timothy Wightman, who filled the office forty years, till his death in 1796, and was succeeded by his son, John G, Wightman, from 1800 to 1841, when he died. Thus it appears that the three Wightmans, father, son, and grandson, sustained the pastoral office in this church one hundred and twenty-three years. Of the descendants of the Rev. Valentine Wightman, nineteen have filled the pastoral office in the'baptist church with usefulness and honor. Thus the blood of their martyred ancestor has been the seed of the church. From these early beginnings, small at the first, and slow in progress, have arisen amid much opposition and very many discouragements, the eight associations of baptist churches in this state, numbering now sixteen thousand six hundred and seventeen communicants, one hundred and thirteen churches, and one hundred and twenty-one ministers, beside the Free-will, and Seventh-day Baptist churches, who
* Hist, of the M. E. Church, iv. 321. 322.
REV. ASAHEL MORSE. 561
are respectable bodies of sober minded christians, but their statistics are not at hand.
The doctrinal views of the associated baptist churches are like those of the early puritans of New England, and their church organization is strictly congregational, holding that none are proper subjects of christian ordinances, but pro- fessed believers, and thus of course excluding unconscious babes from the ordinance of baptism. Their church govern- ment is essentially democratic. As a denomination, it is believed they have ever in all countries, and at all times, been opposed to the interference of the civil authority in matters of conscience, believing as Roger Williams expresses, that great cardinal principle in the full enjoyment of — " Soul Liberty." All they desire of the civil government is, that it should protect every man in the state equally, in the free exer- cise of his religious privileges and belief and action, provided he does not interfere with the equal rights of his neighbor.
It is worthy of special note, that the Rev. Asahel Morse, then pastor of the first baptist church in Suffield, was one of the delegates to the constitutional convention in 1818, and that the article in the constitution, on religious liberty, is from his pen.
The Christian Secretary, a religious newpaper, was estab- lished at Hartford, in 1824, by the Connecticut Baptist Con- vention.- The Rev. Gurdon Robins was its first editor.
The names of some of the most prominent ministers of the baptist denomination in this state, from the date of its intro- duction among us, are Wightman, Brown, Rathburn, Morse, Palmer, Darrow, Burrows, Miner, Wildman, Rogers, West, Higbee, Robins, Cushman, Davis,"^ and Hastings.
* One of the most eminent baptist preachers in this state, was the late Rev. Gustavus F. Davis, D.D., pastor of the first baptist church in Hartford. He was born in Boston, March 17, 1797 ; commenced preaching at th« early age of seventeen years ; and was ordained and settled as pastor of a church in Preston, Connecticut, when but nineteen years of age. He received the honorary degree of Master of Arts at Waterville College, and subsequently at Yale College, and the Wesleyan University conferred upon him the degree of Doctor of Divinity. He was a Trustee of Brown University, and of Washington College, and was elected chap-
68
562 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
During or soon after the "great awakening," under the preaching of Jonathan Edwards, James Davenport, Gilbert Tennant, George Whitefield, Nathan Howard, and John Owen, considerable parties seceded from some of the regu- lar churches of the colony, and formed themselves into dis- tinct ecclesiastical organizations. They were generally known as "new lights,'' or "separatists." In some places, they continued to flourish for many years — though it is be- lieved that the societies have now nearly all ceased to exist, at least with their distinctive characteristics. Their extrava- gances formed a striking feature of the age in which they took their rise. From the dead formality that had previously reign- ed in the church, they rushed to the opposite extreme. Their zeal knew no bounds, so long as their physical and mental energies could be kept in play. The most extravagant ges- tures, and boisterous language, fastings of extraordinary length, the destruction of what they called their idols, and their denunciations of the church members and clergy who stood aloof from the new measures, all evinced an over- heated brain, and a "zeal not according to knowledge."*
lain to both houses of the Connecticut legislature. Dr. Davis, was a man of earnest and consistent piety, a faithful pastor, an eloquent preacher, and a public- spirited citizen. He died September 11, 1836.
* It is stated on good authority that a company of " new lights" fasted and prayed for three days in succession. At Groton, Mr. Davenport kept up his meetings for four or five successive days, in a tent or in the open air, sometimes not breaking up until two o'clock in the morning, some of his hearers remaining all night under the tree where he had preached.
In New London, on more than one occasion, fires were kindled in the streets, into which, in obedience to the declamations of Davenport, the infatuated people threw whatever they had regarded with idolatrous veneration. Certain religious books which the preacher declared to be " heretical,^' were among the first articles sacrificed. Says Miss Caulkins — " Women came with their ornamental attire, their hoops, calashes, and satin cardinals ; men with their silk stockings, embroidered vests, and buckles. Whatever they had esteemed and cherished as valuable, must now be sacrificed. Most of the articles were of a nature to be quickly consumed, but the heavy books lay long upon the smoldering heap, and some of them were even adroitly rescued by lookers on, though in a charred condition. A copy of Russell's Seven Sermons, which was extracted from the embers with one corner burnt oflf, was long preserved as a memorial of this erratic proceeding."
[1850.] CLERGYMEN OF OTHER SECTS. 568
In 1850, the number of clergymen in the state of other denominations, was as follows : Wesleyan, Protestant and. Reformed Methodists, eight ; Roman Catholics, seven ; Uni- tarians, three ; Christians, five ; Presbyterians, three ; Uni- versalists, thirteen ; Second Adventists, three ; Free-will Baptists, one ; Seven Day Baptists, one ; Shakers, one ; Jews, one ; Africans, four.
CHAPTEE XXVI.
SCHOOLS, COLLEGES, SCIENCE, AET, AND LITERATUEE.
Arriving, as we now do, near the goal whither we have been tending, and by ways necessarily so devious that we seemed some times hardly to advance, let us stop a moment, and, as the tired huntsman, standing upon some breezy hill- side, winds his horn at sun-set to call together the stragglers of his party, let us, before descending into the valley, gather in a few neglected companions who have fallen behind in the hurry of the chase.
Among the earliest of our fellow-travelers was the school- master of the colony. Hardly had the log cabin of the emi- grants in the valley of the Connecticut, begun to send upward from the mouth of its stone chimney, the wreaths of smoke that rose to the heavens, like the morning and evening oblation breathed by the fathers and mothers of Hartford ; scarcely had the voice of Hooker thrilled the green leaves that canopied the first worshiping assembly of the town ; when the inhabitants began to turn their attention toward the school, where their children were to be taught the rudiments of knowledge. The earliest records of our old towns are either partially lost, or were originally kept in such a careless manner, that we are unable to trace the beginnings of that peculiar system of universal culture, so cheap, so wholesome, so democratic, and at the same time so conservative, which has so long dis- tinguished the New England states from the rest of the world, and which shows in the best possible light, the wisdom, the social and political sagacity, which characterized the founders of our old commonwealth. As early as 1642, we find the voters of Hartford appropriating " thirty pounds a year to the town school." This record takes for granted the fact that
SCHOOL HOUSES AND SCHOOL-BOYS. 565
a school was already existing and well established there. Similar records also exist in most of the other old towns.
The school was one main pillar of the civil fabric. The school-house stood next to the church. It was a humble edifice with few modern conveniences ; its forms were hard, with long legs, and without supporters for the spine ; but the sons and daughters of the emigrants had no leisure to contract curvatures of that delicate part of the human frame. Ven- tilation, that important element, entering so largely into phy- sical economy, and so loudly called for, yet so seldom found in our day, their school-houses certainly did not lack, for the chinks in the chimney that stood up against the outer wall, and the crevices between the ill-fitting joints of the logs, from which the urchins had in summer picked out the clay with their mischievous fingers, would in the winter days let in many a lusty current of the north-west blast that howled at the door.
The school-boy's situation at that day, was no sinecure. He was compelled to make many a deep indentation in his brain with the sharp points of sums in arithmetic not easy to do, and with sentences not readily subjected to the rules of grammar, and long words difficult to spell. Tough points in theology, seasoned with texts of scripture, and coupled with knotty questions of election, of faith, of works, and saving grace, formed a wholesome sauce to the more secular learn- ing. Bits of practical philosophy, maxims that had been tested and found to be solid old English proverbs, scraps of experience pickled down in good attic salt ; something of civil polity and political economy, reverence of gray hairs, and respectful treatment to woman, were among the things that he was obliged to learn. Rough he might be and often was, but stupid he could not be, for knowledge, and that of a kind not easily digested, was beaten into his skull as if by blows upon an anvil. Gentle or simple, he must submit to the same dry rules of application.
The estimation in which schools were held may be better understood by finding out by what class of men they were
5QQ HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
taught, and how the community regarded them. The school- master was indeed no vulgar man. He was a scholar well skilled in all the rudiments of knowledge ; his mind was stored with classical lore ; often a graduate of some one of the English universities, he could speak Latin and write Greek and read Hebrew. He was also, in most instances, a gentleman. Next to the minister, teacher, ruling elder, magis- trates, and more genteel planters, he was regarded with the pro- foundest respect ; and when he walked through the village, or rambled in the fields, with his head bowed down in medi- tation upon some grave moral question, or solving some ponderous sum, the boys dared never pass him without pull- ing off their hats.
Nor was the education of the young long left to the volun- tary action of the towns. As earl}^ as 1644, the General Court took the matter in hand and enacted the following law :
" It being one chief project of that old deluder Satan, to keep men from the knowledge of the Scriptures, as in former times keeping them in an unknown tongue, so in these latter times by persuading them from the use of tongues, so that at least the true sense and meaning of the original might be clouded with false glosses of saint-seeming deceivers ; and that learning may not be buried in the grave of our fore- fathers, in church and commonwealth, the Lord assisting our endeavors — It is therefore ordered by this court and the authority thereof, that every township within this jurisdic- tion, after the Lord hath increased them to the number of fifty householders, shall then forthwith appoint one within their town to teach all such children as shall resort to him, to write and read, whose wages shall be paid either by the parents or masters of such children, or by the inhabitants in general by way of supply, as the major part of those who order the prudentials of the town shall appoint; Provided, that those who send their children be not oppressed by more than they can have them taught for in other towns. And it is further ordered, that where any town shall increase to the
[1644.] THE CATECHISM. 567
number of one hundred families or householders, they shall set up a grammar school, the masters thereof being able to instruct youth so far as they may be fitted for the university. And if any town neglect the performance hereof above one year, then every such town shall pay five pounds per annum to the next such school, till they shall perform such order.
" The propositions concerning the maintenance of scholars at Cambridge, made by the commissioners, is confirmed. And it is ordered, that two men shall be appointed in every town within this jurisdiction, who shall demand what every family will give, and the same to be gathered and brought into some room, in March, and this to continue yearly as it shall be considered by the commissioners."
It was also enacted that the selectmen of each town should keep a " vigilant eye over their brethren and neighbors," and see to it that parents and masters did not neglect the education of the children under their care ; and that all heads of fami- lies should, at least once a week "catechise their children and servants in the grounds and principles of religion ;" and parents and guardians were to learn such children and ap- prentices " some short orthodox catechism" so that they shall be able to answer the questions that may be propounded to them by their parents, masters, or the selectmen.
In the revised edition of the statutes published in 1672, these laws were substantially retained, with the omission of the last clause respecting the college at Cambridge.
In New Haven, it was ordered, in 1641, that " a free school should be set up" in that town ; and Mr. Davenport, together with the magistrates were authorized to determine what allowance should be given to it out of the common stock of the town. During the same year, a public grammar school was established there, and placed under the superintendence of Mr. Ezekiel Cheever. In 1644, in response to the pro- position of the commissioners, heretofore referred to, a yearly contribution was directed to be taken up to aid in the educa- tion of indigent students, of requisite talents at the college in Cambridge. In less than ten years after the erection of the
668 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
first log house in Quinnipiack, the people of New Haven colony began to consider the importance of founding a college within their own borders. Thus, in 1647, in a vote relative to the distribution of home lots, the committee were directed to "consider and reserve what lot they shall see neat and most commodious for a college, which they desire may be set up as soon as their ability will reach thereunto." At a meet- ing of the General Court, June 28, 1652, it was "thought to be too great a charge for us of this jurisdiction to undergo alone," but, they add, " if Connecticut do join, the planters are generally willing to bear their just proportion for erect- ing and maintaining a college there."
In a code of laws for New Haven colony, drawn up by Governor Eaton, and published in London in 1656, it was made the duty of the deputies, or constables of the several towns, to see to it that all children and apprentices of a suit- able age are taught to "read the Scriptures and other good and profitable printed books in the English tongue." In cases where the parent or guardian refused or neglected this duty, fines were imposed ; and if he persisted in his neglect, the court was authorized to " take such children or apprentices from such parents or masters," and place them in the care of others "who shall better educate and govern them."
After the union of the colonies of New Haven and Con- necticut, in 1665, the laws of New Haven colony were super- ceded by those of Connecticut. In the code of 1672, it was provided that a grammar school should be established in every county, to be under the superintendence of a teacher who should be capable of fitting young men for college. To further this object, six hundred acres of land were appropri- ated by the General Court to each of the four county towns — Hartford, New Haven, New London, and Fairfield, — " to be improved in the best manner that may be for the benefit of a grammar school in said county towns, and to no other use or end whatever." As this order seems not to have been in all cases complied with, it was directed, at the May session, 1677, that where any county town should "neglect to keep a Latin
[1658.] GOVERNOR HOPKINS' WILL. 569
School according to order," a fine of ten pounds annually should be levied and paid to the next town in that county that would comply with the terms. A fine of five pounds was imposed upon any town in the colony which should neglect to provide a school for a period of more than three months in each year.
In 1G90, the county schools in Hartford and New Haven were made free schools and constituted of a higher grade. In them, children were to be taught reading, writing, arith- metic, the Latin and English languages. At the same time, it was made the duty of the grand jurors, each year, to visit every family suspected of neglecting the education of the chil- dren and servants, and report all such neglects to the county court, which court shall impose a fine of 20^. for each child or servant whose education is thus neglected.
On the 2d of June, 1658, Governor Hopkins, died in Lon- don, leaving by will certain property in New England, for the "encouragement in those foreign plantations for the breeding up of hopeful youth both at the grammar school and college, for the public service of the country in future times." This bequest was left in trust to Theophilus Eaton, Esq., and Rev. John Davenport, of New Haven, and to Mr. William Goodwin, and Mr. John Cullick, of Hartford. After much contention and doubt as to the precise intentions of Governor Hopkins, the legatees finally allotted £400 to Hartford, and £412 to New Haven. These sums laid the foundations of the " Hopkins Grammar Schools," which are still flourishing in each of those towns.
The Hopkins fund, in New Haven, now consists of a valu- able lot on which the school-house stands, a building lot in Grove-street, 82,000, and bank stock valued at 82,500. The fund sustained a loss of $5,000 by the failure of the Eagle Bank in 1823. The Hopkins fund, at Hartford, amounted in 1852, to 820,000, and yielded in that year an income of 81,500.*
* Annual Report for 1853, of the Hon. Henry Barnard, Superintendent of the
570 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
In the revised edition of the laws, pubhshed in 1702, the same general acts for the support of schools were retained, and, in addition, a tax was ordered to be collected each year, of forty shillings on every thousand pounds in the grand list, which was to be paid proportionably to those towns only which should keep their schools according to law. Shght alterations and amendments w^ere made to this provision, but it remained substantially the same for many years. In 1712, it was extended to parishes, instead of towns — and from the year 1717, to the present time, parishes or ecclesiastical societies have been authorized in some cases to conduct business connected with common schools.
In May, 1733, the committee that had previously been appointed to view the seven townships'^ belonging to the colony, recommended that an act should be passed granting all the monies that might be realized from the sale of those towns, " to be improved and secured forever to the use of the schools" of the several towns in the colony that had already been set- tled ; and that one of the fifty-three shares in each of the seven townships " should be sequestered for the use of the school or schools in such town forever." The funds received from the sale of the townships named, now constitutes a portion, of the local school fund of the different towns and societies. t
Another edition of the statutes, newly revised, was pub- lished in 1750, under the supervision of a committee appointed in 1742. No important change was effected in the school laws. Every town where there was but one ecclesiastical society, and having seventy householders and upwards, and every ecclesiastical society having that number of house- holders, was compelled to maintain at least one good school for eleven months in each year ; and every town and society v/ith less than seventy families was obliged to sustain a good
Common Schools of Connecticut. A portion of the Hopkins property was allotted to Harvard College, which now amounts to more than $30,000.
* Norfolk, Goshe'n, Canaan, Cornwall, Kent, Salisbury, and Sharon.
t Annual Report of the Hon. Henry Barnard.
THE EESERVATION. 571
school for at least half of each year. The majority of legal voters in each town and society, were clothed with full power to lay taxes and make all the necessary arrangements in relation to the establishment and support of schools. The selectmen of each town containing but one ecclesiastical society, and a committee of each society when there was more than one, were empowered to manage all lands and funds belonging to the town or society, for the benefit of schools.
In May, 1766, and in October, 1774, provisions were made for appropriating certain excise money for the use of schools. From 1754 to 1766, the annual amount ordered to be delivered by the colonial treasurer to each town and school society was ten shillings on every thousand pounds in the grand list; from 1766 to 1767, this rate was twenty shillings ; and from 1767 to 1800, it was forty shillings.
In 1786, Connecticut ceded to the United States all her right and title in the public lands — with the reservation, however, of a tract of about three and a half millions of acres, lying within her ancient charter limits, and which is still known as the "Connecticut Reserve," in Ohio.*' At the
* The present counties of Ashtabula, Trumbull, Lake, Geauga, Portage, Cuy- ahoga, Medina, Lorain, Huron, Erie, and the north part of Mahoning and Sum- mit, are embraced within the limits of the territory thus reserved. The right of jurisdiction over the Reserve was ceded by Connecticut to the United States in April, 1800.
In 1792, the legislature of Connecticut granted five hundred thousand acres of the western portion of this tract, to citizens of Danbury, Fairfield, Norwalk, Nevir London, and Groton, to indemnify them for the loss of property occasioned by the burning of those towns by the British during the revolution. The territory em- braced in this grant was afterwards known as the " Fire Lands."
Our state has sometimes been reproached for having made any reservation at all. On this point, we cannot better vindicate the fame of Connecticut, than by quoting the following extracts from a debate in the Senate of the United States (Sept. 2G, 1850,) between Mr. Mason, of Virginia, and our own patriotic senator, the Hon. Roger S. Baldwin :
"Mr. Mason. After the close of the war, in order to heal dissensions and provide a fund for the federal government, all the states were called upon to make cessions of these unappropriated lands. In response to that call the state of Vir- ginia gave up the whole at once. Like the poor old Lear, in whose character the
572 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
May session of the General Assembly, 1795, a committee of eight persons, of which the Honorable John Treadwell, was
poet has beautifully depicted principles that belong to the whole human family, she gave up the whole. She reserved only a given quantity to satisfy her military bounties, and to make indemnity for the expenses of the war. And what did the state which is represented by the honorable gentleman over the way [Mr. Bald- win] do, when she made a cession of land in response to the same call ? Sir, in that cession she reserved all the territory lying between the 41st and 42d degrees of north latitude, and west of the western line of Pennsylvania, to the amount of 3,666,000 acres ; and that, too, for private purposes. She withheld it from the general fund, in order that she might be enriched ; and from that territory the state of Connecticut has derived in money upwards of $2,000,000. Yet, after all this the state of Virginia is to be rebuked by the representative of that state for having made large appropriations of military bounty land to her officers ! Sir, 1 feel strongly when a rebuke come from any quarter respecting the conduct of Vir- ginia in regard to the revolutionary war 5 but I feel something like indignation when it comes from that quarter."
" Mr. Baldwin. Sir, the senator from Virginia has thought proper to refer disparagingly, to the conduct of the state of Connecticut in reserving from her cession a portion of her public domain. I can inform that senator, sir, that Con necticut, small as she is in territory, small as she was in population when compared with the state of Virginia, had more troops in the field during the revolutionary war than the great state of Virginia.*
* The following tnble, derived from the report of General Knox, to Congress, in 1790, in obedi- ence to a call on the War Department by the House of Representatives, shows the number of regu- lar soldiers furnished by each state to the war of the Revolution. See National Intelligencer, Oct.
7, 1850.
Soldiers. Population in 1790.
New Hampshire, 12,497 141,891
Massachusetts, including Maine, 67,097 475,257
Rhode Island, 5,908 69,110
Connecticut 31,959 238,141
New York 17,781 340,120
New Jersey, 10,726 181,139
Pennsylvania, 25,678 434,373
Delaware, 2,386 59,098
Maryland, 13,912 319,728
Virginia 26,678 748,308
North Carolina, 7,263 393,751
South Carolina, 6,417 249,073
Georgia, 2,509 82,548
Total, 231,971 2,820,959
" This was stated by Chief Justice Ellsworth, one of the delegates from Con- necticut in the convention which formed the constitution of the United States ; and no delegate from Virginia — though Mr. Madison was present and participated in the debate — ventured to deny it. And yet the senator from Virginia says he looks almost with indignation upon the state of Connecticut, because one of her
SALE OF RESERVE LANDS. 573
chairman, was appointed to make sale of the lands of this reservation, and appropriate the avails to a permanent fund,
senators, in the performance of a duty imposed upon him as a member of one of the committees of this body, has thought proper to rebuke the frauds which have been committed by individuals in the state which that senator has the honor to represent. Sir, Virginia is a noble state ; I impute nothing dishonorable to her. But, inasmuch as I have deemed it my duty to rebuke those frauds, the senator alludes in terms of disparagement to the state which gave me birth, and which I have the honor to represent, because with all her revolutionary claims she thought proper, in ceding her western domain, to reserve a comparatively small portion of it for the purposes of popular education. Sir, this reservation was not made for any mere pi'ivate objects; it was not made to aid her in the discharge of her revolutionary responsibilities, or the payment of her civil-list expenditures, but for the noble purpose of providing for the education of every child within her limits, and of peopling as well the magnificent territory which she ceded, as that which she reserved, with an educated, enlightened, and enterprising population.
"It was by this reservation that she laid the foundation of that munificent School-Fund which enables those who took the census in 1840, to return that they found in the whole state of Connecticut but five hundred and twenty-six persons of adult age who were not able to read and write, and these are believed to have been chiefly foreigners. Can the senator from Virginia say as much for his state, and appeal to the returns of the census to confirm him ?
" But, sir, it seems that the state of Virginia, in order to induce her citizens to share in the perils and the glories of the revolution, was obliged to offer the enor- mous bounties which I have already stated to the Senate. Sir, the citizens of Connecticut rushed at once to the combat. They were at Ticondaroga, sir. Yes, sir ; they were there with Ethan Allen, and his Green mountain boys — himself a native of Connecticut, at their head — on an expedition planned in Connecticut, and supplied from its public treasury, before the Continental Congress of 1775 had assembled — capturing that important fortress, almost before the blood had grown cold that was shed at Concord and at Lexington. They were at Bunker's Hill with Putnam, and Knowlton, and Grosvenor, and their brave compatriots, who needed no bounty to induce them to engage in the service of their country. I need not dwell on the revolutionary history of my state. It is known to all who hear me. Was it too much, then, I ask, when the state of Virginia, with fewer troops in the field than Connecticut, thought proper to reserve 9,000,000 acres of land in what is now the state of Kentucky, and 3,700,000 more in Ohio, in the cession of her claims to the north-western territory, that the state of Connecticut should reserve 3,000,000 acres of her territory for the free education of her children ? — the descendants of her sons who had bravely fought and many of whom had fallen on the battle-fields of the revolution, in the service of their country — a ser- vice in which they had engaged without any such inducements to stimulate their patriotism as were offered by Virginia to her sons ? Was it too much for them to ask ; and is it for Virginia to east reproach for this? no, sir ; no, sir.
" Sir, I do not propose at this time to go into the question of the title of Virginia
574 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
the interest of which should be annually distributed among the several school societies of the state, according to the list of polls and ratable estate in each.*
Since the year 1798, the towns, as such, have ceased to have the controlling power in the direction and management of schools, that authority having been vested in school socie- ties especially constituted for the purpose. This arrange- ment still continues throughout the states and certainly pos- sesses some advantages over the systems that have been adopted in other states.
The committee appointed to dispose of the lands of the Connecticut Reserve, immediately entered upon their duties, and at the October session, 1795, submitted their report, by which it appeared that they had disposed of the tract for the sum of twelve hundred thousand dollars, payable in five years, with annual interest after the expiration of two years. f
to this nortli-western territory, whicH she professes to have ceded to the govern- ment of the United States. If time permitted, sir, I could show that, while the state of Connecticut had a title to the lands which she reserved, the title of Vir- ginia to the territory she ceded was at least a doubtful one. And for all the ser- vices which are claimed to have been rendered by her sons in conquering that ter- ritory from the enemy, they have received a liberal reward from the government and been quartered on the public treasury. How can it be claimed that Virginia was entitled to the fruits of the conquest, when her soldiers have been so liberally provided for out of the common treasury, and are now claiming that the govern- ment of the United States should assume and pay a large additional amount for the yet out-standing bounties offered by that state ? Sir, no such claim has been made by the state of Connecticut."
* The other members of this committee were — James Wadsworth, Marvin "Wait, William Edmund, T. Grosvenor, Aaron Austin, Elijah Hubbard, and Syl- vester Gilbert.
t Among the offers which the committee did not think proper to accept, were the following : James Sullivan, Esq., of Boston, offered $1,000,000 ; Zephaniah Swift, Esq., of Windham, $1,000,000 ; Oliver Phelps, Esq., $1,000,000; Colonel Silas Pepoon, of Stockbridge, $1,130,000 ; John Livingston, Esq., of the state of New York, $1,255,000. The last offer was finally withdrawn. The following is a complete list of the gentlemen composing the company who, through their agent, Oliver Phelps, Esq., effected the purchase, with the sums subscribed by each : ], Robert Charles Johnson, $60,000 ; 2, and 3, Moses Cleveland, $32,600 ; 4, Wil- liam Judd, $16,250 ; 5, James Johnson, $30,000 ; 6, William Law, $10,500 ; 7, Daniel Holbrook, $8,750 ; 8, Pierpont Edwards, $60,000 ; 9, James Bull, Aaron Olmsted, and John Wyllys, $30,000 ; 10, Elisha Hyde, and Uriah Tracy, $57,-
[1810.] JAMES HILLHOUSE. 575
Down to 1800, the school fund was managed by the com- mittee that negotiated the sale. In that year, Messrs. John Treadwell, Thomas T. Seymour, Shubael Abbe, and the state treasurer for the time being, were appointed "Managers of the funds arising in the sales of the Western Reserve." For the next thirteen years, the fund was administered by the committee and this board of managers, and the interest paid out to the several school societies, amounted to 835,13518 per annum. As it appeared from the annual report of the managers in 1809, that a large amount of the interest was unpaid, and that the collateral securities of the original debt were not safe, it was deemed advisable to appoint some one individual who should devote his whole time to a superin- tendence of the fund. Accordingly, at the May session of the legislature, 1810, the Hon. James Hillhouse, then a mem- ber of the United States Senate, was appointed sole " Com- missioner of the School Fund." He at once resigned his seat in the senate, and entered on the duties of his appoint- ment. By his thorough management he soon brought order out of confusion, and reduced the complicated affairs of the office to a system. During the fifteen years of his adminis- tration, the annual dividend of the fund averaged 852,061 35, and the capital was augmented to 81,719,434 24.
The State Constitution, adopted in 1818, provides that "no law shall ever be made, authorizing said fund to be diverted
400 5 11, Luther Loomis, and Ebenezer King, $44,318; 12, Roger Newberry, Enoch Perkins, and Jonathan Brace, $38,000; 13, Ephraim Root, $42,000; 14, Ephraim Kirby, Uriel Holmes, Jr., and Elijah Boardman, $60,000 ; 15, Oliver Phelps, and Gideon Granger, Jr., $80,000 ; 16, Oliver Phelps, $168,185 ; 17, John Caldwell, and Peleg Sanford, $15,000; 18, Solomon Cowles, $10,000; 19, Solomon Griswold, $10,000 ; 20, Henry Champion, 2d, $85,675; 21, Sam- uel P. Lord, $14,092; 22, Jabez Stocking and Joshua Stow, $11,423; 23, Timothy Burr, $15,231 ; 24, Caleb Atwater, $22,846 ; 25, Titus Street, $22,846 ; 26, Elias Morgan, and Daniel L. Coit, $51,402 ; 27, Daniel L. Coit, and Joseph Howland, $30,461 ; 28, Ashur Miller, $34,000 ; 29, Ephraim Starr, $17,415; 30, Joseph Williams, $15,231 ; 31, William Lyman, John Stoddard, and David King, $24,730 ; 32, Nehemiah Hubbard, Jr., $19,039; 33, Asahel Hatheway, $12,000; 34, William Hart, $30,462; 35, Samuel Mather, Jr., $18,461; 36, Sylvanus Griswold, $1 ,683. Total, $1 ,200,000.
576 HISTOEY OF CONNECTICUT. '
to any other use than the encouragement and support of com- mon schools among the several school societies, as justice and equity shall require."
In 1823, the office of Assistant Commissioner of the School Fund was created, and the Hon. Seth P. Beers, of Litch- field, was appointed, with a salary of $1,000 and his expenses. Two years after, Mr. Hillhouse resigned, and Mr. Beers was appointed commissioner.*
It has been found necessary to give a very brief, and there- fore a very imperfect account of the enactments made by our fathers, relative to our system of common schools, and to note the origin and progress of the present magni- ficent provision for the education of the youth of the state, not for a single generation only, but for all future ages. It was characteristic of the forethought and expansive benevo- lence of our state, and has proved to be a measure as benignant in the influences which it has shed upon other parts of our great nation, as upon the citizens of Connecticut. The noble domain thus devoted bv our state for educational purposes, was nearly equal in extent to the territory now embraced within her jurisdiction. At the time of the sale, it was a wilderness, shaded perhaps since the dawn of crea- tion with vast forest-trees watered by rivers and washed by the waves of Lake Erie. The panther, the bear, the wolf, the wild-cat, and the fox, shared its acres as tenants in common, and the red Indian roamed over it and left here and there on the dry leaves that were matted above its surface, the blood-stain of his vengeance. Fifty years have rolled away. Let us look again. Where is the forest, and where are the wild beasts, and savage men, its old inhabitants ? They are gone, to return no more. Who are their successors ? Look at the animated features, the strong eye, the stalwart frame of him who tills the field ; note the lively motions of the mechanic,
* Mr. Beers continued to hold the office until May, 1849. During his admin- istration the principal of the fund was augmented to $2,049,482 32, and the average annual income was $97,815 15. The aggregate amount distributed to the several societies during the twenty-four years of Mr. Beers' superintendence of the fund, was $2,347,563 80.
[1S12.] THE WESTERN EESERVE. 577
examine the daring schemes of the merchant, and the manu- facturer, and you will answer unhesitatingly that these are emigrants, or the sons of emigrants, from Connecticut. The villages, rising "like an exhalation," as if in a single night, the marts of business, sparkling with life, the readiness with which old things are cast aside in the struggle for a more perfect state of society ; more than all other objects, the church-spire, the frequent school-house, and the towered college where science keeps her select abode ; as you pause to listen to the merry laugh of children on their way to the place where learning can be had without price, or the tones of the bell that calls the worshiper to prayer, or the undergraduate to the recitation room — all seem to echo the word "Connecticut,"
Long before the expiration of the seventeenth century, the inhabitants began to agitate the question of establishing a college within their borders. The Rev. John Davenport, seems first to have suggested the necessity of such an institu- tion. As Harvard was already in existence, and needed all the patronage of the New England colonies, the project was allowed to slumber until after that learned divine removed to Boston.
In 1698, the attempt was again made to institute a college by a general synod of the churches of the colony. It was proposed to call it " The School of the Church," and that it should be kept in operation by money annually contributed by the several churches. But this frail and uncertain tenure of existence did not promise a long life, and the plan was abandoned. The very next year, how^ever, ten of the prin- cipal ministers of the colony were named as trustees, and were authorized to found a college, and to govern it.* These
* The following were the trustees named, viz., Rev. James iSToyes, of Stoning- ton ; Rev. Israel Chauncey, of Stratford ; Rev. Thomas Buckingham, of Say- brook ; Rev. Abraham Pierson, of Killingworth ; Rev. Samuel Mather, of Wind- sor 5 Rev. Samuel Andrew, of Milford •, Rev. Timothy Woodbridge, of Hartford ; Rev. James Pierpont, of New Haven ; Rev. Noadiah Russell, of Middletown ; and Rev. Joseph Webb, of Fairfield. For sources of information in relation to
common schools, see Appendix.
69
578 HISTOEY OF CONNECTICUT.
gentlemen were, with one exception, graduates of Harvard, and were well qualified for the trust confided to them. At what precise time they held their first meeting is not known, but it was certainly in the course of the year 1700. They convened at New Haven, and proceeded to form an associa- tion composed of eleven ministers and a rector, and resolved to found a college in Connecticut, but did not at that time decide at what place. They met again soon after at Bran- ford. Each one of the trustees brought with him a few folios, and presented them to the association, making use of this simple formulary as he laid them on the table, "I give these books for foundino; a college in Connecticut." These volumes were committed to the charge of the Rev. Mr, Russell, the minister at Branford, who kept them for a while at his house. In order to give the new college the undisputed right to hold lands, it was incorporated on the 19th of October, 1701. Among the most efficient agents in this delicate, and at that time difficult work, were Mr. Pierpont, of New Haven, Mr. Andrew, of Milford, and Mr. Russell, the first librarian.
On receiving their charter, the trustees met at Saybrook, November 11, 1701, and made choice of the Rev. Israel Chauncey, of Stratford, as rector ; he, however, declined the place, and the Rev. Abraham Pierson, of Killingworth, was elected in his stead. The first student in the college was Jacob Hemingway, who entered in March, 1702, and grad- uated at Savbrook, in 1704. For the first six months after entering, he continued alone under the instruction of Mr. Pierson ; but before the close of the year, the number of students had increased to eight. One of these, John Hart, who had been three years at Cambridge, graduated alone in 1703. He was afterwards minister at East Guilford.
Though from the first the college was nominally established at Saybrook, yet, as no building had been erected for the ac- commodation of the rector, Mr. Pierson never removed from Killingworth, but the students were kept with him until his death in 1707. From that date, Mr. Andrew, of Milford, another of the trustees, discharged the duties of rector,
[171G.] YALE COLLEGE. 579
without changing his residence. The senior class conse- quently was stationed at Milford, while the other classes resided at Saybrook under the instruction of tutors. It was not until 1714, that measures were taken to remove the col- lege from Saybrook. About that time, two of the trustees preferred a petition to the legislature, desiring that the institu- tion might be fixed at Hartford. They urged that Hartford was more in the center of the colony ; that the people of that town, in connection with others, had subscribed such a sum of money as would place the school in a flourishing con- dition; that Hartford was surrounded with many consider- able towns, which, it might be presumed, would furnish more students for the college if it were removed as they proposed. Several other towns now put in their claim. In October, 1716, a meeting of the trustees was held at New Haven during the session of the legislature. At this meeting, it was resolved by a vote of six to two, that the college should be removed from Savbrook. A vote to establish it at New Haven was then passed — five out of the eight trustees present concurring in the proposition.*
It was now determined to erect a college building in New Haven, and the trustees applied to Governor Saltonstall for a plan of it. Two new tutors were appointed, only one of whom repaired to New Haven. The senior class was placed under the care of Mr. Noyes, the minister of the town, but nearly half of the students persisted in remaining under the tuition of Mr. Elisha Williams, at Wethersfield. Great dis- satisfaction was manifested in different parts of the colony, at the action of the trustees. A plurality of the members of the lower house of the legislature voted in favor of establish- ing the college at Middletown ; while the upper house deci- ded that the trustees had full power to determine the question, and, as they had given their decision, all objections to the validity of their proceedings were frivolous. The trustees were summoned to appear before the Assembly ; and, after a renewal of the debate, during which the contending parties
* Pres. Woolsey's Discourse.
580 HISTOEY OF CONNECTICUT.
were fully heard, both houses of the legislature approved of the action of the trustees in establishing the college in New Haven.
The people of Saybrook manifested their disapprobation, by attempting to prevent the removal of the college library to New Haven. To such an extent was their opposition car- ried, that the wagons in which the books were being trans- ported were assailed at night, several of the volumes carried off, and some of the bridges along the route destroyed. On placing the books in the new college building, it was ascer- tained that about two hundred and sixty volumes were missing
At the commencement, September 12, 1718, the institu- tion was formally named "Yale College," in honor of Elihu Yale, Esq., of London, who had a short time before sent over a donation to the college consisting of books and goods to the amount of eight hundred pounds. At this commence- ment, ten young gentlemen were graduated. The Rev. Mr. Pierpont, of New Haven, delivered a salutatory oration on the occasion ; the Rev. Mr. Davenport, of Stamford, one of the trustees, pronounced a Latin oration ; and Governor Saltonstall, in a Latin address, congratulated the trustees on their success, and the prospects of the school.
In 1719, the Rev. Timothy Cutler, minister at Stratford, was chosen rector. In a little more than three years, he, together with Mr. Daniel Brown, the only tutor, as has been stated elsewhere, became episcopalians. For some time after this event, the college remained without a head. At length, in 1726, the Rev. Elisha Williams, minister at Newington, was appointed to the office of rector, and continued to occupy the place until 1739. During his administration, the cele- brated Bishop Berkeley gave to the college about one thou- sand books, and a farm in Newport.
The Rev. Thomas Clap, minister at Windham, was chosen to succeed Mr. Williams in the rectorship. He held the office until 1766, a period of twenty-seven years. During this time, in 1745, in the amended charter, the words " President
[1772.]
PRESIDENT STILES. 581
and Fellows," were substituted for " Rector and Trustees," in desisnating the officers of the colleoje. The number of students at the close of Mr. Clap's administration, was one hundred and seventy. Some of the college buildings which still stand, had been erected, and the professorship of didactic theology had been established.
The corporation now invited the Rev. James Lockwood to the presidency ; but he having declined, the Rev. Dr. Daggett, the professor of divinity, was invested with the authority of president. He discharged the duties of the office until 1777, when he resigned, but continued his pro- fessorship until his death in 1780.
In 1777, the Rev. Ezra Stiles, D.D., a native of North Haven, and formerly a tutor in the college, was chosen pre- sident of the institution, and remained in office until his death, May 12, 1795. He was one of the most learned and patriotic men of the age. He appears to have been one of the first persons in the country who anticipated and predic- ted the independence of the American colonies. In 1772, he wrote to a friend — " When Heaven shall have doubled our millions a few times more, it will not be in the power of our enemies to chastise us with scorpions." In 1774, he addressed one of his English correspondents as follows — " If oppression proceeds, despotism may force an annual congress ; and a public spirit of enterprise may originate an American Magna Charta, and Bill of Rights, supported with such intrepid and persevering importunity, as even sovereignty may hereafter judge it not wise to withstand. There will be a Runnymede in America." The Rev. Dr. Richmond Price, in allusion to a letter received by him from Dr. Stiles, just at the beginning of the revolution, assures us that he " predicted in it the very event in which the war has issued ; particularly the conver- sion of the colonies into so many distinct and independent states, united under Congress." He published several ordina- tion, funeral, and other occasional sermons, and the "History of the three Judges of King Charles I., Whalley, Goffe, and Dixwell." He left an unfinished ecclesiastical history of New
582 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
England, and more than forty volumes of manuscripts. During much of the early part of his official term, the inte- rests of the college were sadly deranged by the revolutionary struggle. In 1792, a change in the charter was effected, by which the governor, lieutenant-governor, and the six senior members of the council for the time being were constituted members of the corporation. This provision has remained substantially the same until the present time.
In September, 1795, the Rev. Timothy Dwight, D.D., was inaugurated as the successor of Dr, Stiles. He died, January 11, 1817, aged sixty-four, after a presidency of twenty-one years. Of him, and of those who succeeded him in office, mention will be made in another place.
These were the humble beginnings and such has been the progess of Yale College. In this severe school, where men were taught to think and forbidden to rant, have been educa- ted the best thinkers of the continent. Here were developed the minds of such men as Hopkins, Smalley, Humphreys, Dwight, Barlow, Trumbull, Kent, Calhoun, and Walworth. The subjoined note will give the reader some statistics which will show what has been the influence of this institution upon the country and the world.*
* Yale College has educated 105 Professors of Colleges ; 2 Professors of theUnited States Military Academy at West Point ; 40 Presidents of Colleges, viz, 5 of Yale, and 1 of Trinity, Connecticut ; 2 of Middlebury, and 2 of Vermont University, Vermont ; 2 of Dartmouth, New Hampshire ; 1 of Amherst, and 2 of Williams, Massachusetts ; 2 of Columbia, and 4 of Hamilton, New York ; 1 of Rutgers, and 3 of Princeton, New Jersey ; 1 of Pennsylvania University, and 1 of Dickin- son, Pennsylvania ; 2 of Illinois College ; 1 of Missouri University ; 1 of Wiscon- sin University ; 1 of Western Reserve ; 1 of Kenyon, Ohio ; 2 of Transylvania University, Kentucky ; 1 of East Tennessee ; 1 of St. Johns, Maryland ; 1 of Hampden Sydney, Virginia ; and 2 of University of Georgia, Georgia ; also, 8 Secretaries of States; 18 Lieutenant-Governors, and 21 Governors of States ; 80 Judges of Superior Courts of States ; 2 Chancellors of New York ; 4 Signers of the Declaration of Independence ; 3 Members of the Convention for framing the Constitution of the United States 5 12 members of the Continental Congress ; also, 120 members of United States House of Representatives, viz., 45 for Con- necticut; 19 for Massachusetts ; 35 for New York ; 3 for Georgia ; 4 for South Carolina ; 2 for Ohio ; 2 for Pennsylvania ; and 2 for Marj^land ; 1 for Delaware ; 1 for Kentucky 5 1 for Missouri ; 1 for Wisconsin 5 1 for Virginia ; and 3 for
[1691.] GOVERNOR SALTONSTALL. 583
The patronage bestowed upon this institution by Governor Saltonstall, has associated his name inseparably with its his- tory. In a former chapter it has been stated that in 1722,
Vermont ; also, 40 United States Senators, viz., 15 for Connecticut , 4 for Massa- chusetts ; 5 for Vermont 5 3 for Rhode Island ; 2 for New York ; 2 for Dela- ware 5 2 for Georgia ; 2 for Ohio ; 2 for New Hampshire ; 1 for North Carolina ; 1 for South Carolina ; and 1 fur Illinois ; also, 10 Members of the Cabinet ; 3 District Judges ; and 1 Judge of Supreme Court of the United States ; 5 Foreign Ministers 5 and 1 Vice President of United States
PRESIDENTS OF COLLEGES EDUCATED AT YALE.
Trinity. — Nathaniel S. Wheaton, D.D.
Yale.— Naphtali Daggett, D.D., Ezra Stiles, D.D. LL.D., Timothy Dwight, D.D. LL.D., Jeremiah Day, D.D. LL.D., Theodore D. Woolsey, D.D. LL.D.
MiDDLEBURY. — Jeremiah Atwaier, D.D., Henry Davis, D.D., Vermont.
Vermont University. — Samuel Austin, D.D., Daniel Haskell.
Dartmouth. — Eleazer Wheelock, D.D., Benuet Tyler, D.D., New Hamp- shire.
Amherst. — Heman Humphrey, D.D.
Williams. — Ebenezer Fitch^ D.D., Edward D. Griffin, D.D. , Massachusetts.
Columbia. — Samuel Johnson, D.D., Wm. S. Johnson, LL.D.
Hamilton, New York. — Azel Backus, D.D., Henry Davis, DD., Serene E. Dwight, D.D. , and Simeon North, D.D.
Rutgers. — Abraham B. Hasbrouck, LL.D.
New Jersey. — Aaron Burr, D.D., Jonathan Edwards, D.D., and Jonathan Dickinson, D.D.
Georgia University. — Josiah Meigs, Abraham Baldwin.
Dickinson, Pennsylvania. — Jeremiah Atwater, D.D.
Pennsylvania University. — William H. DeLancey.
East Tennessee. — David A. Sherman.
Western Reserve. — George E. Pierce, D.D.
Kenyon, Ohio. — David B. Douglass, LL.D.,
Transylvania University, Kentucky. — Horace Holley, LL.D., Thomas W. Coit, D.D.,
Missouri University. — A. B. Longstreet, D.D.
Wisconsin University. — John II. Lathrop, LL.D.
Missouri University. — John H. Lathrop, LL.D.
St. Johns, Maryland. — Hector Humphreys, D.D.
Illinois. — Edward Beeeher, D.D., J. M. Sturtevant, D.D.
Hampden Sidney, Va. — William Maxwell.
SENATORS EDUCATED AT YALE.
Connecticut. — T. Betts, Wm. S. Johnson, Stephen M. Mitchell, James Hill- house, Samuel W. Dana, Chauncey Goodrich, Samuel A. Foote, J. W. Hunting- ton, Uriah Tracy, David Daggett, James Lanman, Gideon Tomlinson, R. S. Baldwin, Truman Smith, Francis Gillette.
584 HISTOEY OF CONNECTICUT.
Dr. Cutler, the rector of the college, followed by several other gentlemen, declared for episcopacy at a time when there was not an episcopal chmxh in the colony. This excited much alarm. It was thought best that the questions of difference should be debated between the trustees and the ministers who had so suddenly departed from their allegiance to the religion of the colony. In October of that year, a special meeting of the trustees to discuss the merits of episcopacy, was held in the college library. Governor Saltonstall presided over the meeting. Rector Cutler espoused the affirmative of the issue, and the governor advocated the negative. Both parties claimed to be triumphant.
The action of Governor Saltonstall, in causing the library to be removed from Saybrook to New Haven, was much blam.ed at the time, by those wiio desired to prevent its re- moval. It is mainly owing to his firmness, that it was estab- lished at New Haven, where it has since attained to such a healthful stature. He contributed liberallv from time to time, to endow the institution. His wife also, made hand- some donations to it.
This appears to be the proper place to give some account of a man who wielded for many years, an influence in the colony equalled only by that of our first Winthrop. Gurdon Saltonstall w^as born at Haverhill, Massachusetts, in 1666, and graduated at Harvard, in 1684. He was ordained at New London, on the 25th of November, 1691.* His reputa- tion soon spread through the colony, and his influence over the clergy finally become almost absolute. They appeared to regard him with sentiments akin to idolatry. The structure of his
* This ordination ceremonial was a great event in its day. In full town meet- ing it was voted " that the Honorable Major-General John Winthrop, is to appear as the mouth of the town at Mr. Saltonstall's ordination, to declare the town's acceptance of him to the ministry." '' A large brass bell" which cost " twenty-five pounds in current money," was also procured on the occasion. An appropriation was also made by the town to aid him in purchasing a building-lot, and erecting a house suitable to his dignity. This house was placed on the Town Hill, and com- manded a view of the town and adjacent country. An old highway which had been shut up was also re-opened for his private accommodation, and led from the
/
584
Dr. Cutler, the gentlemerij not an epi
HISTOKT OF CONNECTICUT.
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[1724.] GOVERNOR SALTONSTALL. 585
mind and character was such as led him inevitably to cling to strict ecclesiastical discipline, and, feeling few of the in- firmities of our nature, he had little patience with the faults of others. His personal appearance^ as has been before remarked, was so striking and imposing that the Earl of Bellamont, regarded him as better representing the English nobleman than any other gentleman whom he had seen in America. He was more inclined to synods and formularies, than any other minister of that day in the New England colonies. The Saybrook platform was stamped with his seal, and was for the most part an embodiment of his views. In an episcopal country he would have made a bishop in whose presence the lesser lights would scarcely have been seen to twinkle.
On the death of Governor Fitz John Winthrop, in 1707, he was chosen governor of the colony, and continued in office until his death, which took place on the 20th of Septem- ber, 1724. His elevation to office was charged by his ene- mies to the secret influence and combined action of the clergy, but seems to have grown rather out of his acknowl- edged fitness for the place, than from any other cause. His administration was peculiarly happy and prosperous. His death was deeply deplored, and his funeral obsequies were celebrated with military honors. " The horse and foot marched in four files, the drums, colors, trumpets, halberts, and hilts of swords, covered with black, and twenty cannon firing at half minute's distance." When the mournful train had reached the family vault, the people gathered around the spot, and in respectful silence waited for the body to be
rear of his house to the meeting-house. This highway was twenty-five feet wide. His way to the meeting-house led through the orchard gate. At a later period, when I\Ir. Saltonstall had become governor of the colony, it is retained by tradition that he might be seen on a Sunday morning, issuing from this orchard gate, and moving with a slow majestic step to the meeting-house, accompanied by his wife, and followed by his children, four sons and four daughters, marshaled in order, and the servants of the family in the rear. The same usage was maintained by his son General Gurdon Saltonstall, whose family furnished a procession of fourteen sons and daughters." Caulkins' New London.
^SQ HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
lowered into the chamber where it still rests. Then two volleys were fired from the fort, and after their echoes had died upon the ear of the multitude, the military companies, first the horse, and then the foot, in single file advanced and discharged their " farewell shot" over his ashes.*
The character and personal appearance of Governor Salton- stall, may be gathered from the following passages in the ser- mon of the Rev. Mr. Adams, which was preached at the funeral. " Who that was acquainted with him did not ad- mire his consummate wisdom, profound learning, his dexterity in business, and indefatigable application, his intimate acquaintance with men and things and his superior genius. * * * His aspect was noble and amiable, commanding respect and reverence, and attaching esteem and love at the first appearance ; and there was such an air of greatness and goodness in his whole mien and deportment, as showed him to be peculiarly formed for government and dominion." He was eminently fitted for his station, and throughout his long administration of nineteen years, exemplified his own favorite maxim: "Justice is to be given, not sold — and that with an equal and steady hand."t
Jonathan Edwards was a graduate of Yale College. A brief sketch of this most gifted of all the men of the eighteenth century, perhaps the most profound thinker of the
* For a more full description of this eminent man, see Caulkins' 'New Lon(k)n 5 also, Trumbull. The life of Saltonstall would itself afford material for a volume larger than this. His tomb is still in a perfect state of preservation. A tablet rests on it with the Saltonstall arms, and this simple inscription. " Here lyeth the body of the Honorable Gurdon Saltonstall, Esquire, Governor of Connecticut, who died the 20th of Sept., in the 59th year of his age, 1724."
t Sir Richard Saltonstall, knight, who was descended from an ancient family in Yorkshire, came to America with Governor Winthrop, in 1630. He soon became weary of the hardships of colonial life, and returned to England. But he always felt a deep interest in the welfare of the colony. His two oldest sons resolved to try their fortunes in America. Of these, Richard settled in Ipswich, where he was chosen an assistant in 1637. After the revolution, he went back to England, but returned to Massachusetts, in 1680. He soon after visited England, and died at Hulme, in 1694. His son Nathaniel was a graduate of Harvard. He lived and died at Haverhill. Gurdon Saltonstall, Governor of Connecticut, was his oldest son.
JONATHAN EDWARDS. 587
world, may not be out of place in the history of a state which had the honor of giving birth to him. He was born in 1703, in the old town of Windsor, on the margin of the Connec- ticut, and in the midst of scenery beautiful as the forms of his thought. He was the son of the Rev. Timothy Edwards, for sixty years minister of the church in that town. His mother was a daughter of the Rev. Solomon Stoddard, of Northampton. This lady, remarkable for her intellectual powers and humble piety, was the mother of ten daughters and one son, who was her fifth child. Having four sisters who were older, and six who were younger than himself, and being from his infancy a delicate child, he enjoyed the rare advantage, never understood and felt except by those who have been fortunate enough to experience it, of all the soften- ing and hallowed influences which refined female society sheds like an atmosphere of light around the mind and the soul of boyhood. Had that fond mother and those loving sisters been fully aware of the glorious gifts that were even then beginning to glow in the eyes of their darling — had they been able to see in its full blaze the immortal beauty borrowed from the regions of spiritualized thought and hallowed affections, that was one day to encircle that forehead as with a wreath from the bowers of Paradise ; they could hardlv have unfolded his moral and intellectual nature with more discreet care. His home exhibited in their most attrac- tive forms all the graces that adorn the life of the christian.
Massachusetts. — Theodore Sedgwick, John Davis, I. C. Bates, Juhus Rock- well.
Vermont, — Israel Smith, Horatio Seymour, Stephen R. Bradley, Samuel S. Phelps, Nathaniel Chipman.
New Hampshire. — Jeremiah Mason, Simeon Olcott.
New York. — James Watson, John S. Hobart.
South Carolina. — John C. Calhoun.
Georgia. — Abraham Baldwin, John Ellrath.
Ohio. — Stanley Griswold, R. J. Meigs.
Illinois. — Elias K. Kane.
Delaware. — John M. Clayton, John Wales.
North Carolina. — George E. Badger.
Rhode Island. — Christopher EUery, Asher Bobbins, Ray Green.
588 HISTOEY OF CONNECTICUT.
Deeply as they loved him, they had too much of the old emigrant spirit, which looks at the future of a child through the medium of the present, to make him a toy with which to amuse themselves. They regarded him rather as a holy jewel, left in their charge to be kept pure and bright for the use of the Prince who had entrusted it to them. Yet we are not to suppose that this family entertained no thoughts of his future promotion in the world. They were soon made aware that he w^as no common child. The germ of great thoughts, sown so freely and with such a broad cast by the creating hand, began early to spring up and to grow in this young mind, and were gracefully directed, though they seemed scarcely to need it, by their fair fingers. New forms of expression, combinations rare and strange, puzzling inquiries, a remarkable gift of language, a fervent manner, and an imagination that soared upward with a steady flight, like the eagle, into the mid heaven — these were some of the attributes that were observed in Edwards at a very tender age. He hardly seemed to be a child, but rather a select and gifted traveler who had come from some other land to look upon the objects that surrounded him ; the rolling river, the starry heavens, the birds fluttering among the branches of the trees, the bursting flower, the falling leaf, the blinding snows — and to read in them all a language weighty with the philosophy that teaches the destinies of men and the attributes and providence of God. Still, upon a near view to those w^ho watched him, he was but a child. It was observable that he was all the while advancing in knowledge, and in the attitudes and phases of his thoughts. His friends also observed that his moral nature was becoming, as he grew older, more exquisitely toned, more perfectly moulded, and illuminated as if by a light burning steadily in his soul. The elements of his character grew more harmonious, and gradually fell into a sweet accord, like the parts in a highly wrought piece of music. When only seven years old, he was in the habit of retiring into the woods alone, to meditate upon the great mysteries of human accountability and probation.
JONATHAN EDWARDS. 589
Dark misgivings some times clouded his mind, as he looked out upon nature through the leafy labyrinths of his retreat. But after a few years, the whole plan of redemption, without any sudden or startling revelation, was opened to him, and, embraced by him. In his own inimitable words he has described this change :
" There seemed to be as it were a calm sweet cast or ap- pearance of divine glory in almost every thing. God's ex- cellency, his wisdom, his purity and love, were visible in every thing ; in the sun, moon, and stars ; in the clouds and blue sky ; in the grass, flowers and trees ; in the water and in all nature, which used greatly to fix my mind. I used often to sit and view the moon for a long time ; and in the day, spent much time in viewing the clouds and sky, to behold the sweet glory of God in these things ; in the mean time, singing forth with a low voice my contemplations of the Creator and Redeemer. And scarce any thing among all the works of nature was so sweet to me as thunder and light- ning. * * * I felt God, if I may so speak, at the first appearance of a thunder-storm, and used to take the opportu- nity at such times, to fix myself in order to view the clouds, and see the lightnings play, and hear the majestic and awful voice of God."
What a perfect healthfulness of nature do these few sim- ple words express ! With what even scales does this youth, probably not more than fifteen years old, poise the relations of the world and the conditions of humanity, which seem to other minds so belligerant and wild. How precious to all coming time will be those forest shades and secret nooks by the banks of the Connecticut, and how tame in the eye of the christian scholar, will one dav seem the classic haunts where Numa roved in dalliance with that shy nymph, Egeria; how tame will be the mountain haunted bv the muses, or the palm groves that shaded the Socratic school ; how cold and dead, when compared with the oaks, the elms, and " the rushy-fringed bank," where this greatest of philosophers lin- gered in his youth, solving for himself the problems, and un-
590 HISTOEY OF CONNECTICUT.
folding those hidden truths that were older than the sun that met him on the lawn, or the moon that shed her trembling beams upon the river !
The progress made by Edwards in the studies which are usually pursued by boys preparatory to entering college was astonishing. When only six years old, his attention became absorbed in acquiring the Latin language ; and when his venerable father was too much occupied with the duties of his calling, to assist him, his sisters who were older than him- self would assume the place of teachers. The thorough ac- quaintance with that language which he is known to have had, as well as with Greek and Hebrew, and his high stand- ing at Yale, evince that he was a scholar, as well as a thinker. He entered college at the age of twelve years. His temper- ance in diet, and the habitudes of his mind, while at Yale, may be best known by reading his diary kept at that time.*
While at college, he was a frequent visitor at the house of the Rev. James Pierpont, and there made the acquaintance of Miss Sarah Pierpont, a young lady of uncommon powers of mind, excellent education, and, as appears by the portrait still preserved of her, one of the most beautiful women of her time. To this lady, then in her eighteenth year, he was married on the 28th of July, 1727. The following brief extract, taken from a sketch of her character written by her husband on the blank leaf of a book, in 1723, when he was only twenty years old, and she but little more than thirteen, is lover-like, yet perfectly truthful, and shows us what traits in the female character he most admired. " If you present all the world before her, with the richest of its treasures, she
* " Tuesday, July 7, 1724. — When I am giving the relation of a thing, re- member to abstain from altering, either in the matter or manner of speaking, so much, as that if every one, afterwards, should alter as much, it would at last come to be properly false.
" Tuesday^ Sept. 2. — By a sparingness of diet, and eating as much as may be what is light and easy of digestion, I shall doubtless be able to think more clearly, and shall gain time ; 1. By lengthening out my hfe •, 2. Shall need less time for digestion after meals; 3. Shall be able to study more closely, without injury to my health 5 4. Shall need less time for sleep ; 5. Shall more seldom be troubled with the headache."
[1727.] SARAH PIERPONT. 591
disregards it and cares not for it, and is unmindful of any pain or affliction. She has a strange sweetness in her mind, and singular purity in her affections ; is most just and con- scientious in all her conduct, and you could not persuade her to do any thing wrong or sinful, if you would give her all the world, lest she should offend this Great Being. =* * * She will sometimes go about from place to place, singing sweetly, and seems to be always full of joy and pleasure, and no one knows for what. She loves to be alone, walking in the fields and groves, and seems to have some one invisible always conversing with her."
If ever the author of this exquisite passage saw any part of God's creation throuG;h an exasjGjeratinsi; medium, it must have been when he cast his partial regards upon Sarah Pier- pont. Yet this description of her, as all who knew her could have borne testimony, approached more nearly to a handsome portrait, than it did to an ideal picture. She was indeed worth}^ to be the wife of Edwards, the companion of his solitudes, the soother of his toils, the superintendent of his household, the mother and teacher of his children, the hostess of those honorable guests, who thronged from the old world and the new, to pay court to the great man beneath his lowly roof, with deeper reverence than if he had been a titled monarch. She was the one person on earth who like him was always conversing " with some one invisible," and who, with the greatness of the soul and the understanding of the heart was his equal. A lady of graceful manners, a thorough scholar, a prudent wife, the presiding genius of his table, the provider of the most ordinary articles required in the domestic economy,^ she seemed made for a ministering
* "WTiile he resided at Northampton, Mrs. Edwards, who took charge of all his affairs, as well in the garden as in the house, on one occasion begged her hus- band, when he took his accustomed walk, to call at the blacksmith's shop and leave directions with the smith to make two garden hoes for the use of the family. The great man stopped as requested, and did the errand, " I will make one of them to-morrow, may it please your reverence," v^'as the prompt answer. " But Mrs. Edwards wants iwo," reiterated the philosopher. It was not till after some ex- planation, that the author of the " Treatise on the Will," could be so far brought
592 HISTOEY OF CONNECTICUT.
angel, to keep him as much as mortal can be kept from the chilling contact of the world.
But we must not linger over the details of the life even of such a man as Edwards. His faithfulness as a pastor, his labors as a missionarj^, his humility, his mildness of temper, his industry as a writer, the patience with which he investi- gated the great subjects that occupied his mind, without ade- quate libraries or suitable books of reference, belong rather to his biographer than to the author of such a work as this.
Whether Edwards was accurate in all his views of the divine economy, let theologians and metaphysicians decide. There is a deep significance in the unabated contest that has been going on now for nearly a century and a quarter, between the philosophers of four generations and this great normal New England mind. When we see Chalmers, with reverent face approach and look upward, as the traveler who gazes upon the sun-illumined brow of Mount Blanc, until with dimmed eye, he turns away awestruck and confounded — the spectacle is sublime. Nor are we less amazed, when we see Mackintosh, Stuart, and a whole sw^arm of English, Scotch, German, and American phi- losophers, like so many geologists, attempting to knock off as with hammers the sharp angles and corners of " those propositions which have remained as if they were mountains of solid crystal in the center of the world." Even those who are least able to assent to those propositions, seem equally with his followers to admire his transcendent genius. They are unable to classify such vast powers, and to give an orbit to this independent self-acting mind. The}^ have exhausted their whole vocabulary of technics in attempting to define and illustrate what kind of man their adversary is. The terms philosophy, theology, ethics, metaphysics, in their or- dinary acceptation, can not bind his faculties with their iron links, or fetter his swift limbs. If they build up around him
back to the consideration of common-place matters of existence, as to compre- hend the fact that a blacksmith could not make upon the same anvil two hoes at the same time.
JONATHAN EDWARDS. 593
a wall of words and definitions, he vaults over it and escapes ; if they oppose doors of iron and bars of brass to his entrance, with one blow of his ponderous battle-axe, like the knight in black armor, he batters them down. Clear-sighted as the eagle, untiring as the light that travels from the fixed stars regarding the wide field of human thought with a glance more delicate and comprehensive than that of Plato, an im- agination no less sublime, and a soul how much more serenely pure than that of Bacon, he stands foremost among all phi- losophical thinkers, ancient or modern.
As he excels all other philosophers in the vastness of his conceptions and in the sharpness of their outlines, so of all men who have lived since the days of the apostles, he ap- proached nearest in the spotless purity of his life and in the holiness of his affections, to Him who knew no sin. His last days were his best. The farewell sermon that he preached to his people from the text. "We have no continuing city, therefore let us seek one to come ;" the sublimity with which, when he had said farewell to his children on leaving his old home to go among strangers, he turned himself about, and looking toward the door where they were clustered to watch through their tears the receding form of the patriarch, and exclaimed, "/ commit you to God" — are unequalled save in the closing scenes that proved him victorious over death and the grave.*
* Mr, Edwards was born in Windsor, October 5, 1703 5 graduated at Yale College in 1720 ; became a tutor in that institution in 1724 ; and was settled in Northampton, as colleague pastor with his grandfather, the Rev. Solomon Stoddard, in 1727. Having been dismissed at his own request in 1750, he succeeded Mr. Sargeant as a missionary to the Ilousatonie Indians, at Stockbridge, Massachu- setts, where he remained until January, 1758, when he accepted the presidency of the college of New Jersey. The prevalence of the small-pox induced him to be innoculated, an event which occasioned his death on the 22d of the following March, at the age of 54 years.
The principal works of President Edwards, are, an Essay on the Freedom of the Will ; the great Scripture Doctrine of Original Sin ; a Treatise concerning Reli- gious Affections •, Dissertation on the Nature of True Virtue ; and a Dissertation on the End for which God created the World. In 1809, a splendid edition of his works were published in England, in eight volumes, edited by Dr. Austin. In
70
594 HISTOKY OF CONNECTICUT.
Associated with the name of Edwards, is that of his friend and fellow-laborer, Doctor Bellamy. This distinguished pub- lic orator and divine, was born at Cheshire in 1719. He was educated at Yale College, and was graduated in the year 1735, when only sixteen years old. Two years after, he commenced that brilliant career as a preacher, which only terminated with the coming on of those infirmities that unfit the great as well as those of more humble abilities for the active duties of life. His reputation as an eloquent preacher soon spread throughout the American colonies, and long before he was settled over the people with whom he spent the best portion of his life, the announcement that Mr. Bel- lamy was to preach in any pulpit in Boston, Salem, Hartford, or New Haven, would call together hundreds who were in the habit of attending other places of worship.
While wandering through the thinly peopled parts of Mas- sachusetts, the young licentiate one Saturday afternoon rode
1830, an edition in ten volumes was published, edited by his descendant, Sereno Edwards Dwight, D.D.
A recent number of " The Westminster Review^'''' speaks of Edwards as fol- lows : " Before the commencement of this century, America had but one great man in philosophy, but that one was illustrious. From the days of Plato, there has been no life of more simple and imposing grandeur, than that of Jonathan Edwards." Says Sir James Mackintosh — " This remarkable man, the metaphy- sician of America, was formed among the calvanists of New England, when their stern doctrine retained its rigorous authority. His power of subtile argument, perhaps unmatched^ certainly unsurpassed among men, was joined, as in some of the ancient mystics, with a character which raised his piety to fervor."
" The London Quarterly Review,''^ remarks, "The most elaborate treatise on original sin is confessedly that of President Edwards of America. It is not only the most elaborate but the most complete. There w^as every thing in the intellec- tual character, the devout habits and the long practice of this great reasoner, to bring his gigantic specimens of theological arguments as near to perfection as we may expect any human composition to approach. * * * \Ye are not aware that any other human composition exhibits, in the same degree as his, the love of fruth, mental independence, grasp of intellect, power of concentrating all his strength on a difficult inquiry, reverence for God, calm self-possession, superiority to all polemical unfairness, benevolent regard for the highest interest of man, keen analysis of arguments, and the irresistible force of ratiocination. He reminds us of the scene described by Sir Walter Scott, between Richard and Saladin, uniting in himself the sharpness of the cimiter, with the strength of the battle-axe."
[1719.] REV. DOCTOR BELLAMY. 595
up to the door of Mr. Edwards, at Northampton. He was invited to stay and preach a part of the next day. Mr. Bel- lamy consented to do so, and selected his sermon upon the half-way covenant. Scarcely had the preacher announced his text and began in his clear strong manner to set forth his views upon a subject so familiar to the great metaphysician, when the latter began to manifest unusual interest in the discourse. His eyes became riveted upon the speaker, and he bent forward and gazed at him with admiration. As soon as the service was over, and while " the congrega- tion were retiring, the two ministers were seen in the midst of them, engaged and lost in earnest conversation. Indeed, they had gone some distance from the door, before either dis- covered that Mr. Edwards had forgotten to take his hat."
At the age of twenty-two years, he was ordained as pastor of the congregational church in Bethlem. In this quiet village, in the midst of scenery that could not fail to inspire his mind with healthful thoughts, he soon developed powers which could not be confined to the shades of retirement.
When only thirty years old, he published his great work entitled, " True Religion Delineated,'' which soon found its way to England and Scotland, and elicited the attention of the whole religious world. The Rev. Dr. John Erskine, of Edinburgh, and the Earl of Buchan, were his ardent admirers and correspondents.*
Bellamy was the most powerful pulpit orator in New Eng- land at that time. His personal appearance was eminently calculated to command the attention of an audience. He was large and tall, and of a commanding presence. His manner was earnest and bold, and his voice deep and of great compass. He was a close reasoner, and had not only a happy facility in the use of language, but a practical mode of illustrating and enforcing his positions that rendered them
* Cothren's Woodbury, 251. The Earl of Buchan sent to Dr. Bellamy an engraving of himself, which is still in the possession of the Bellamy family. Within the past year, a gentleman from Scotland has paid a visit to Bethlem to look for materials for a more complete life of Dr. Bellamy, than has yet been given to the public.
596 HISTOEY OF CONNECTICUT.
obvious to the plainest capacity. The grave of this remark- able man has not buried his fame. The spot where he died is still a place of interest to the theological student of his own country, and sometimes there wanders from the schools of Aberdeen or Edinburgh, a young enthusiast who stops at Bethlem to gather up some traditionary shreds of the per- sonal history of Bellamy, and to shed a tear upon his tomb.
" He became early in his ministerial life," says the Rev. Dr. McEwen,* " a teacher of theology ; and at Bethlem, for years, he kept the principal school in the United States to prepare young men for the ministry. The great body of the living fathers in this profession, who adorned the closing part of the eighteenth century, were his pupils."
It is difficult to name a portion of the whole continent that might with more propriety be called a wilderness, than most of the present county of Litchfield was, when those honored patriarchs, John Marsh and John Buel,t with their neighbors and friends, first began to clear the ground and build their log houses on the unpromising alder-swamp where the village of Litchfield now stands. This was nearly one hundred years after the valley of the Connecticut was settled. It needed an emigrant's faith to foresee the changes that human industry, under the guidance of good principles, could bring about in the face of wintry skies and in defiance of steep hills.
In a few years, frame houses began to take the places of
* Discourse at the Centennial Anniversary of the North and South Consocia- tions, at Litchfield, 1852.
The origin of " Sabbath Schools," and the name of their supposed founder, have long been the fruitful theme of christian writers. The Rev. E. W. Hooker, D.D., however, assures us that Dr. Bellamy had such a school in his church from the beginning of his ministry in Bethlem. It was divided into two classes, the eldest being instructed by Dr. Bellamy himself, while the second class was placed under the instruction of a deacon, or some other prominent member of the church.
f The name of Bewelle has a coat of arms in England, which is thus described in Burke's Complete Armory : — " Or, a cheveron between three torteaux,"
" BewelWs Cross^^^ in Bristol, England, is a place where criminals recite their prayers previous to their execution.
LITCHFIELD HILL. 597
the first rude attempts at architecture, and the court-house • and the jail, standing on the connmon by the side of the meet- ing-house, had begun to form a center of attraction for the few towns that were gathering around it, most of them perched upon their favorite hill-tops. There gradually sprang up under the culture of a virtuous industry, a class of men of uncommon mental endowments and of refined man- ners. Clergymen, lawyers, physicians, taught partly at Yale, and partly at home, were observed to thrive well there, and it was noticed that althouc^h the climate was forbidding: at certain periods of the year, yet the seeds of learning germi- nated in that ground with great certainty, and that the young plants grew thriftily and took root with a firm fibre in the strong mountain air.
At last, a second company of emigrants began to visit this then remote region. They brought with them all their little stock of wealth. The names of Allen, BIrge, Beebe, Collins, Garrett, Griswold, Kilbourn, Phelps, Stoddard, Sanford, Webster, Woodruff, and others, are enrolled among the early settlers at "Bantam."
The revolutionary war was hardly over, when the Hon. Tapping Reeve, one of the judges of the superior court, opened a law school in this village. Its fame soon spread over the whole union. Judge Reeve was the sole teacher of this school from the time when he instituted it in 1784, down to 1798, when he associated with him as joint instructor, James Gould, Esquire. These two gentlemen continued together in this capacity until the year 1820, when Judge Gould took the superintendence of it, and delivered lectures to the students, being aided in the recitation-room by the Hon. J. W. Huntington. Judge Gould discontinued his lec- tures in 1833, at which time there had been educated at the Litchfield law school one thousand and twenty-four lawyers, from all parts of the United States.*
* A catalogue embracing the names of 805 of these students has been pub- lished, of whom 19 were from New Hampshire, 25 from Vermont, 98 from Mas- sachusetts, 208 from Connecticut, 124 from New York, 14 from Delaware, 12
698 HISTOEY OF CONNECTICUT.
It seems proper in this place to give a brief portraiture of the two men who exerted such an influence upon the juris- prudence of the western world, and upon the mind of that generation.
from New Jersey, 37 from Maryland, 16 from Virginia, 16 from North Carolina, 45 from South Carolina, 60 from Georgia, 9 from Kentucky, 25 from Pennsylva- nia, 22 from Rhode Island, every state then in the Union having been represented in the school. Fifteen of the number have been United States Senators, viz., Benjamin Swift, William Woodbridge, Henry W. Edwards, John C. Calhoun, Alfred Cuthbert, Horatio Seymour, Samuel S. Phelps, Jabez W. Huntington, Levi "Woodbury, Perry Smith, Roger S. Baldwin, Peleg Sprague, Chester Ashley, Truman Smith, William C, Dawson, and John JM. Clayton. Five have been members of the Cabinet ; viz., John C. Calhoun, Levi Woodbury, John Y. Ma- son, John M. Clayton, Samuel D. Hubbard. Ten have been Governors of states ; viz., H. W. Edwards, Marcus IMorton, William Woodbridge, Levi Wood- bury, George B. Porter, Richard Skinner, Roger S. Baldwin, John Y. Mason, William W. Ellsworth, William C. Gibbs. Two have been Judges of the Su- preme Court of the United States ; viz., Henry Baldwin and Levi Woodbury. Fifty have been members of Congress ; forty have been Judges of the highest state courts •, and several have been Foreign Ministers.
A literary friend, in whose accuracy I have entire confidence, has furnished me with the following curious statistics relative to Litchfield county :
" Litchfield County contains less than one-five-hundredth of the population of the United States, and about one-seventieth of that of the state of New York. Yet it has been the birth-place of thirteen United States Senators, which is about one- fortieth of all that have ever been in Congress, from all the states ; viz., Elijah Boardman, Nathan Smith, Perry Smith, and Truman Smith, from Connecticut ; Julius Rockwellj from Massachusetts ^ James Watson and Daniel S. Dickinson, from New York ; Stanley Griswold, from Ohio ; Josiah S. Johnston, from Louis- iana ; Augustus Porter, from Michigan ; Nathaniel Chipman, Horatio Seymour, and Samuel S. Phelps, from Vermont. Litchfield County has also been the birth- place of twenty-two representatives in Congress from the state of New York, being about one-twenty-eighth of all that have ever been sent from that State ; viz., Daniel B. St. John, Victory Birdsey, Edward Rogers, Freeborn G. Jewett, Lewis Riggs, Amasa .J. Parker, Samuel M. Hopkins, Thomas R. Gold, Frederick A. Tallmadge, Charles Johnston, Theron R. Strong, Frederick Whittlesey, John M. Holley, Henry Mitchell, Nathaniel Pitcher, John Sanford, Ambrose Spencer, Peter B. Porter, John Bird, Gameliel F. Barstow, John A. Collier, and Graham H. Cha- pin ; of fifteen judges of the supreme court in other states; of nine presidents of colleges 5 viz., Jeremiah Day, D.D. LL. D., of Yale ; Nathaniel S. Wheaton, D.D., of Washington (now Trinity ;) Rufus Babcock, D.D., Waterville ; Horace Holley, LL. D., Transylvania ; Charles G. Finney, A.M., Oberlin ; J. M. Stur- tevant, D.D., Blinois 5 Bennet Tyler, D.D., Dartmouth •, Joseph I. Foote, Wash- ington, (Tennessee;) Ebenezer Porter, D.D., Andover Theological Seminary; of eighteen professors of colleges, (not included in the above list of presidents, most of
[1744.] JUDGE EEEVE. 699
Tapping Reeve was a son of the Rev. Mr. Reeve, minis- ter at Brookhaven, Long Island, and was born at that place in October, 1744. He was graduated at Princeton in 1763. Nine years after, he removed to Litchfield, where he com- menced the practice of the law under the most promising auspices. Before he opened his office for the instruction of students in the elements of his favorite science, he had ac- quired a high reputation for learning and intellect. He was a man of genius, and in early and middle life, w^hen his feel-
whom have been professors ;) viz., Nathaniel W. Taylor, D.D., Matthew R. Button, A.M., Samuel J. Ilitcheoek, LL. D., Henry Button, LL. B., Tale ; Eli- sha Mitchell, B.B., North Carolina; Bavid Prentice, LL. B., Geneva, N. Y. ; Henry M. Bay, A.INL, "Western Reserve ; Thomas Goodsell, JNLB., Hamilton ; Frederick Whittlesey, A.JNI., Genessee, N. Y. ; Joseph Emerson, A.M., Beloit, "Wis. ; Charles Bavies, LL. B., Albert E. Church, LL. B., and Wilham G. Peck, A.M., (Assis't Prof.) West Point, N. Y. ; Amasa J. Parker, LL. B., Albany University ; Chester Averill, A.M., Union, N. Y. ; Nathaniel Chipman, LL. B., Richard Skinner, LL. B., and Baniel Chipman, LL. B., Middlebury College.
In 1831, the Vice President of the United States and one-eighth of the United States Senators, were either natives of, or had been educated in Litchfield County. In 1850, one-seventh of the whole number of United States Senators were found to have been educated in the county.
The county has also been the birth-place of thirteen United States Senators, and of eighteen judges of the supreme courts of states. Senators. — Elijah Board- man, Nathan Smith, Truman Smith, and Perry Smith, from Connecticut; Hora- tio Seymour, Nathaniel Chipman, and Samuel S. Phelps, from Vermont ; James "Watson and Baniel S. Bickinson, from New York ; Julius Rockwell, from Mas- sachusetts ; Josiah S. Johnston, from Louisiana ; Stanley Griswold, from Ohio ; and (probably) Augustus A. Porter, from Michigan. Judges. — Ambrose Spencer, Freeborn G. Jewett, (chief judges,) Amasa J. Parker, Frederick "Whittlesey, Samuel A. Foote, Theron R. Strong, of New York ; Clarke Wood- ruff, of Louisiana ; Rufus Pettibone, Missouri ; Samuel Lyman, of Massachusetts ; Nathaniel Chipman, Richard Skinner, (chief judges;) Robert Pierpont, Milo S. Bennett, and Samuel S. Phelps, of Vermont, Roger Skinner, United States Judge of the Northern Bistrict of New York ; and N. Smith, J. C. Smith, S, Church, and J. Hinman, of Connecticut."
The Litchfield County Foreign Mission Society was the first auxiliary of the American Board of Commissions for Foreign Missions.
The following eminent clergymen have officiated as pastors in the county ; viz., Joseph Bellamy, Azel Backus, Jonathan Edwards, Lyman Beecher, Edward Borr Griffin, George E. Pierce, Baniel Linn Carroll, Ebenezer Porter, Ralph Emerson, Laurens P. Hickok, Nathaniel S. Wheaton, and Samuel Fuller, all of whom have been presidents of colleges or theological seminaries.
600 HISTOEY OF CONNECTICUT.
ings were enlisted in the trial of a cause, he often displayed powers of eloquence which, from the suddenness with which they flashed upon the minds of his audience, and from his impassioned manner, produced an overwhelming effect, and contrasted strongly with the carelessness of his more common- place public efforts. He was very unequal in the exhibition of his powers. He was a man of ardent temperament, ten- der sensibilities, and of a nature deeply religious. His sym- pathies naturally led him to espouse the cause of the op- pressed and helpless. He was the first eminent lawyer in this country who dared to arraign the common law of Eng- land, for its severity and refined cruelty, in cutting ofl" the natural rights of married women, and placing their property as well as their persons at the mercy of their husbands, who might squander it or hoard it up at pleasure. His sentiments did not at first meet with much favor, but he lived long enough to see them gain ground in this and other states. His principles did not die with him. All the mitigating changes in our jurisprudence, which have been made to re- deem helpless woman from the barbarities of her legalized tyrant, may fairly be traced to the author of the first Ameri- can treatise on " The Domestic Relations." His conduct afforded a living example of his views on this important sub- ject. His first wife, who was a daughter of President Burr, was an invalid for twenty years. He bestowed upon her the most unwearied attention, and watched her symptoms with the liveliest solicitude. While writing his celebrated work, he would often sit up with her whole nights, and administer her medicines with the most delicate assiduity. He would often shut up his office and lecture-room to attend upon her. Judge Reeve was an ardent revolutionary patriot, and, after the war was over, was distinguished as a political writer of the Hamiltonian or Federal school. His features were classically handsome, and his eye bright and expressive of the tenderest and warmest emotions. His fervent piety and well-timed charities, his noble impulses, his truthfulness, his simplicity of character, his disinterestedness, all served to
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render him a general favorite in a widely extended circle of friends and acquaintances. He died in 1823, at the advanced age of 79 years.
James Gould, one of the most elegant scholars who have adorned American letters, was born in Branford, on the 5th of December, 1770. His family were originally from Devon- shire, England, where they had a valuable estate. Richard Gould, his great grandfather, was the first of the family who came to this country. He settled in Branford, and died there, April 28, 1740, in the 84th year of his age. William Gould, eldest son of Richard, was born in North Fanton, Devonshire, in February, 1692-'3. He came to Branford about the time of his father's death, and died there in January, 1757. He was a respectable physician. His eldest son, William Gould, was born, November 17, 1727, where he died, July 29, 1805. He followed the profession of his father, and was a man of high respectability and great influence in his native town.
Judge Gould was the third son of the last named Dr. Wil- liam Gould, by his third wife, daughter of Richard Guy, of Branford. He was graduated at Yale College in 1791, on which occasion he delivered the Latin Salutatorv, then the highest honor for the graduating class. Among his class- mates were Stephen Elliott, of South Carolina ; Samuel M. Hopkins, of New York, and Peter B. Porter, afterwards sec- retary of war. In 1793, he was appointed tutor of Yale College, and for nearly two years had the entire charge of the class which was graduated in 1797. Among his pupils were the late Henry Baldwin, judge of the supreme court of the United States, the Rev. Lyman Beecher, D.D., and sev- eral other gentlemen of high distinction. In 1795, Mr. Gould entered the law school at Litchfield, and after his ad- mission to the bar, he became associated with Judge Reeve in conducting that institution.
In May, 1816, Mr. Gould was appointed a judge of the superior court and supreme court of errors of Connecticut. In 1820, Judge Gould received from Yale College the
602 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
honorary degree of doctor of laws, at the same time with his classmate Mr. Elliott.*
Judge Gould was one of the most finished and competent writers who have ever treated upon any branch of the Eng- Hsh jurisprudence. His great work upon pleading is a model of its kind. It is at once one of the most condensed and critical pieces of composition to be found in the language, and is altogether of a new and original order. He had at first contemplated writing a much more extended treatise, but while he was preparing the materials for it, the appear- ance of Chitty's work on the same title induced him to change his plan. As it was presented to the public, Gould's Pleading is, therefore, only an epitome of the original design, but for clearness, logical precision, and terseness of style, it does not suffer in comparison with the Commentaries upon the laws of England.
As a lawyer. Judge Gould was one of the most profoundly philosophical of that age. He carried into the forum the same classical finish which appears upon every page of his writings. It would have been as impossible for him to speak an ungrammatical sentence, use an inelegant expression, or make an awkward gesture, in addressing an argument to a jury, as it would have been for him to attempt to expound the law when he was himself ignorant of it, to speak disrespect- fully to the judge upon the bench, or to exhibit any want of courtesy to the humblest member of the profession who might happen to appear as his opponent. His arguments also, like his writings, were expressed in the m.ost brief forms in which a speaker can convey his thoughts to his hearers. He sel- dom spoke longer than half an hour, and in the most complex and important cases never exceeded an hour. He had the rare faculty of seizing upon the strong points of a case and
* Judge Gould was married in October, 1798, to Sally McCurdy Tracy, eldest daughter of the Hon. Uriah Tracy, of Litchfield, by whom he had eight sons and one daughter, all of whom survived him except his third son, James Reeve Gould, a young man of the highest promise, who died in Georgia, in October, 1830. A younger son, John W. Gould, has since died.
MISS SAEAH PIERCE. 603
presenting them with such force as to rivet the attention of the jury and carry conviction to their minds. Like a skillful archer, he could shoot a whole quiver of shafts within the circle of the target with such certainty and force that they could all be found and counted when the contest was over.
As a judge, his opinions are unsurpassed by any which ap- pear in our reports, for clearness and that happy moulding of thought so peculiar to him at the bar and in social conversa- tion. The position of this eminent jurist and of his venera- ble associate was truly enviable. To them, flocked from every part of the union, the youth who were to shape the jurisprudence of their respective states. They looked upon these renowned teachers with almost as much reverence as the youth of Athens regarded the features of the philosophers who prepared their minds for the strifes of the Agora, the debates of the council, or the shades of contemplative retire- ment. To this pleasant little village among the hills came the very flower and nobility of American genius. Here might be seen Calhoun, Clayton, Mason, Loring, Woodbury, Hall, Ashley, Phelps, and a host of others, who were prepar- ing themselves for the high places of the cabinet, the senate and the bench.
The influence of these sages upon the laws of the country was almost rivaled by the efforts of Miss Sarah Pierce, in another department of learning. This lady opened a school for the instruction of females, in the year 1792, while the law school was in successful operation, and continued it under her own superintendence for nearly forty years. During this time she educated between fifteen hundred and two thousand young ladies. This school was for a long period the most celebrated in the United States, and brought together a large number of the most gifted and beautiful women of the con- tinent. They were certain to be methodically taught and tenderly cared for, and under her mild rule they could hardly fail to learn whatever was most necessary to fit them for the quiet but elevated spheres which so many of them have since adorned. Miss Pierce lived to the advanced age of 83.
604 HISTOEY OF CONNECTICUT.
She was small in person, of a cheerful, lively temperament, a bright eye, and a face expressive of the most active benev- olence. She was in the habit of practicing herself all the theories that she taught to her pupils, and, until phj^sical in- firmities confined her to her room, would take her accus- tomed walk in the face of the roughest March wind that ever blew across our hills. The intelli2;ence of her death cast a shade of sadness over many a domestic circle, and caused many a silent tear to fall.
While these two schools were in full and active life, Litch- field was famed for an intellectual and social position, which is believed to have been at that time unrivaled in any other village or town of equal size in the United States.*
* Several excellent and flourishing literary institutions have been established in our state since the date of the adoption of the constitution.
Trinity (formerly Washington) College^ an episcopal institution, was founded at Hartford, 1824, and in 1850, had nine professors, sixty-six students, and a library of nine thousand volumes. At the latter date, its alumni numbered two hundred and fifty-seven, of whom one hundred and seventeen had taken orders in the church.
This institution has already taken a high rank among the colleges of the United States, and is believed to be inferior to none of them in the order of its discipline and the faithfulness of its officers. It has already sent forth from its halls many able clergymen and accomplished scholars. Its buildings are handsome and look off upon a landscape as lovely as can be found in the valley of the Connecticut. A more minute account of it will be given in the appendix — Title, " Trinity College:^
The Wesley an University 2ii Middletown was founded in 1831. The build- ings and land connected with them, estimated at from thirty to forty thousand dol- lars, were presented to the New York and New London conferences by the Lite- rary and Scientific Society of Middletown, on condition that forty thousand dollars more should be raised, for the purpose of establishing a university, to be under the control of the two conferences named, and any others that might unite with them in the enterprise. These conditions were complied with, and a board of trustees were elected by the New York and New England conferences. The state legis- lature soon after gave a very liberal charter to the institution. The buildings, which are of stone, are delightfully situated on an eminence in the western part of the city, having a commanding view of the Connecticut river and of the adjacent country. As I have elsewhere stated, the Rev. Wilbur Fisk, D.D., was elected the first president of the university, and with the assistance of a corps of learned and able professors, the institution went into operation under the most favorable auspices. In 1850, the number of its alumni was 402, and of its students 116. The hbrary contains over 12,000 volumes.
THE POETS. 605
But Connecticut has not been less distinguished for genius . than for scholarship. In poetry she may well claim to be the Athens of America. Trumbull, Barlow, Humphreys, and D wight, were in their day the first poets of the western world. But since their time, there have sprung up a class of writers whose genius and artistic finish place them among the first ornaments of our literature. Of those who have passed from the stage of life, Hillhouse is by far the most clas- sical and stately. He wrought^ his poetical compositions to a degree of polish which until his day had never been attained by the western muse. His conceptions are of that large order, belonging only to men of high genius, and his imagination has a breadth and sweep of wing that remind the reader of " Paradise Lost."
Brainerd, with less magnificence of drapery, was perhaps not inferior to Hillhouse in vio;or of imasiination. His lines on '•' the Falls of Niagara," inartificial as they are in con- struction, are probably not surpassed by any poem in the world of equal length, for the vastness of the thoughts and the boldness of the grouping. The mighty flow of the cataract, its voice sounding on like a perpetual anthem, the bow that hangs upon its " awful front," the sublime scrip- ture imagery that clothes it, and the marks of centuries " notched in the eternal rocks," as if by the finger of God, all present a picture of condensed power and terrible sublimity. The names of Lemuel Hopkins, Richard Alsop, Elihu Hubbard Smith, Mrs. Laura Thurston, Miss Martha Day, James Otis Rockwell, Hugh Peters, Mason, and others, are familiar to all readers of American poetry, and are embalmed in the affections of the people.
Upon all former pages of this work, the acts and characters of living men have been left out of view or treated of only in notes, as was sometimes necessary to explain the text. But in relation to literature, which may be said to be " an immor- tality rather than a life," and which is not liable to the con- ditions of ordinary decay, the adoption of adiflferent rule will hardly offend the taste of any one.
606 HISTOEY OF CONNECTICUT.
Not inferior to the works of any other living poet, are the productions of the author of " Marco Bozzaris." Since the death of him who wrote the " Elegy in a country church- yard," no other writer has appeared who dared commit his fame to the keeping of so few lines, and no poet has seemed to be so well aware that to write little and well, is to write much. His poem upon Connecticut, the one which recalls with the breath of a faded rose plucked from " Alloway's witch-haunted w^all," the fragrant memories and suffering poverty of Scotland's bes! poet, and the precious tribute, half epitaph and half sigh, that tells the gentle fate of Rodman Drake, — "like flower-seeds by the far winds sown," will bloom in all lands to the end of time.
Percival, who sports with the boughs of ocean-groves the foliage of which was never " wet with falling dew ;" Pierpont who has identified his name with that of Warren, and con- secrated his song to hymn the first arrival of the emigrant to the New England coast, and who has recorded the tenderest and holiest emotions that can thrill a parent's heart for the loss of sainted infancy ; and Prentice, smoothing from his forehead the distracting wrinkles of business, and at intervals withdrawing to some sequestered spot,
" Where billows mid the silent rocks, Are brooding o'er the waters mild," —
these poets can no longer be circumscribed by the limits of our state, for they " are Freedom's now, and Fame's."
Nor let us be unmindful of that daughter of song whose pages have recorded the privations of "the Western Emigrant" by the hoarse waters of the Illinois ; w^hose name is blistered upon the title-page by the fast-falling tears of the poor girl who muses with the book in her hand over the warbled notes of the robin that she petted, and the " fresh violets " that she tended, by the bank of the Connecticut ; nor of her whose woman's ear listened not unwillingly to the whispers of fame, and whose eye saw its hues of promise as she looked upward through the branches of " The old Apple-tree ;" nor yet of her whose playful pen has made us almost wish
JOHX TRUMBULL 607
that the days of "Bride Stealing" might return.* Other names, like those of Goodrich, Nichols, Wetmore, Hill, Brown, Dow, Burleigh, Park, and William Thompson Bacon, who may well be called our Wordsworth, gather around this bright constellation, and make a galaxy which is to be still further extended, as one orb of song after another is evolved from the chaos of darkness, and takes its place in the firmament of letters.
But poetry is not the only field of art that has been suc- cessfully trodden by our citizens.
When Master John Trumbull, the youngest son of our first Governor Trumbull, was secretly learning how to use the brush and to mix colors, and while he was still in the hands of his sisters, who on account of his feeble frame and delicate constitution regarded him as little more than a plaything, his father, so wise and discriminating in all other matters of public concern, and in most matters of private interest, used his best endeavors to dissuade the boy from such pursuits. At a later period, when the youth had broken away from the domestic circle, and was at Harvard, in the early part of his academical career, the governor wrote to Mr. Kneeland, who had charge of his son : " I am sensible of his natural genius and inclination for limning, an art w^hich I have frequently told him will be of no use to him." Little did the statesman know that the art, the in- fluence of which he so much deprecated, would, in the hands of that son, transfer to canvas the features of all the signers of the Declaration of Independence, and sketch as if with the beams of the sun, the very likeness and action of the great battles of the Revolution. Yet John Trumbull, scarcely less important than his father, was born to paint his country's history. Nothing could divert his attention from this great purpose. New as the subject was, devoid of all the romantic associations which a long lapse of time is sup- posed to throw over events, he looked at the history of his
* Mrs. Sigourney, Mrs. Ann S. Stephens, and JNIrs. Emma AYillard are among the most gifted and eminent writers in our country.
608 HISTOEY OF CONNECTICUT.
country through the medium of great principles, political and social, developed and illustrated by great characters, and saw in them, what none but genius can see, new combinations of greatness and new forms of beauty. As the result has proved, the choice was wise as it was brave.*
While engaged in fighting the battles of American liberty and unfolding the germs of literature, learning, and art, Con- necticut has not lost sight of the great demands of the age for a practical application of the physical sciences to the com- mon place uses of life, and for that moral machinery which has at last been made to turn all the wheels of our complex society. Eli Whitney, ours by education and choice, in- vented the cotton-gin, and although the money which the two Carolinas had the justice to pay him for the labors of his brain, was expended in litigating his claims in some other states, yet the world which denied to his heirs the property of which they had been robbed, has done justice to his memory. John Fitch was the first to apply steam, now the common drudge of man, to the uses of navigation. Junius Smith was the originator of the grand project of navigating the ocean by the same motive power. Morse, of a Con- necticut parentage and culture, invented the magnetic telegraph, and thus gave to the world a courier swifter than the light, and more certain than the carrier-dove. Jared Mansfield originated the present mode of surveying
* Colonel John Trumbull was born in Lebanon, June 6, 1756, graduated at Cambridge in 1773, and was appointed adjutant of tlie first Connecticut regi- ment under General Spencer previous to the Battle of Bunker Hill. At the age of nineteen years he was aid-de-carap to General Washington and major of brigade ; and at twenty, he was appointed adjutant general with the rank of colonel. Soon after he commenced painting, he took up his abode in London as a pupil of Mr. West, in 1780, where he was arrested and imprisoned on a charge of high treason. After being confined for eight months he was hberated. He re- ceived various diplomatic appointments abroad, and resided in England and France for several years. He became one of the most eminent artists of his day. Many of his historical paintings and other works of art are preserved in the " Trumbull Gallery," New Haven. He died in New York in 1843 aged 87.
For my estimate of Trumbull and for facts in relation to him, I am indebted to friend Mr. George F. Wright.
[1787.] THE EEBEL GOVERNOR. 609
lands. Ephraim Kirby published the first volume of law reports ever issued in the United States. John Treadvvell was the first president of the American Board of Com- missioners for Foreign Missions. Samuel Seabury was the first episcopal bishop in the new world, and the first epis- copal ordinations on this side of the Atlantic took place In Connecticut. Joseph Bellamy, as we have shown, founded the first Sabbath school in the world. The first temperance society in Christendom was formed in this state. The first asylum for the deaf and dumb ever instituted on this continent was established by the enterprize of our citi- zens, and upon our soil ; and the seeds of almost all the colleges in the Union, have been carried from our fields and planted by our citizens. The first British flag that fell into the hands of the American patriots during the revolutionary war, and the first upon the land as well as upon the sea that did homao;e to our valor in the war of 1812, were all struck to sons of Connecticut ; and her Trumbull was the only governor of all the old thirteen colonies who merited the now honored title o{ "reheV*
Here ends the task so long ago undertaken, and followed with so many interruptions, but with a fondness which has clung more lovingly to the subject as the author has pur- sued it from year to year. If these pages shall stimulate to one generous effort, or arouse one heroic sentiment in the hearts of the young generation who are now rising up, to fill the places of their fathers, they will not have been written in vain.
The enemies of our ancestors were cold, famine, priva-
* Connecticut has educated principally tlii'ough Yale College and the Litch- field Law School, one-eighth of all the senators that have ever been in Congress, from all the states of the Union, and more than one-ninth of all the cabinet officers, besides being the birth-place of more than one-twelfth of the entire list of United States senators, and one-third of all the postmasters general of the United States. She has also been the birth-place of one Secretary of the Nav}"-, one Secretary of the Treasury, two Secretaries of "War, two Speakers of the United States House of Representatives, one Judge and one Chief Judge of the Supreme Court of the United States.
71
610 HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
tions, decimating wars and taxes that pressed heavily upon them ; ours, on the other hand, are luxury, extravagance, sloth, and the natural result of all these, moral and phy- sical weakness. Let us study their history with sentiments of filial regard, and not forget to thank the God whom they trusted, that we are able to say, as they did, when they planted those three vines in the wilderness, which have since afforded fruit and shelter to millions, — " Qui Transtulit Sustinet*
APPENDIX.
ROLL OF DELEGATES
TO THE CONVENTION WHICH RATIFIED THE CONSTITUTION OF THE
UNITED STATES,
HOLDEN AT HARTFORD, ON THE FIRST THURSDAY OF JANUARY, 1788.
Hon, Matthew Griswold, President. Jedediah Strong, Esq., Secretary.
HARTFORD COUNTY.
ii
HARTFORD COUNTY.
Hartford. —
Jeremiah Wadsworth, . . . . Y.
Jesse Root,* Y,
Berlin. —
" Isaac Lee, , Y.
" SelahHart, Y.
Bristol. —
" Zebulon Peck, Jr., Y.
East Hartford. —
" William Pitkin, .... nil dicif.
" Elisha Pitkin, Y.
East Windsor. —
*' Erastus Wolcott, Y.
" John Watson, Y.
Enfield. —
" Daniel Perkins, N.
" Joseph Kingsbury, , nil dicit. Farmington. —
" John Treadwell,* Y.
" William Judd, Y.
Glastenbury. —
Josiah Moseley, Y.
Wait Goodricli, Y.
Granhy. —
" Hezekiah Ilolcomb, N.
Southington. —
John Curtis, Y.
Asa Barnes, Y.
Suffield. —
" Alexander King, N.
" David Todd, N.
Simsbury. —
Noah Phelps, N.
Daniel Humphrey, N.
u
u a
Wethersfield. —
" Stephen M. Mitchell,* . . . Y.
" John Chester, Y.
Windsor. —
" Oliver Ellsworth, T.
Roger Newberry, Y.
a
u
NEW HAVEN COUNTY.
New Haven. —
Roger Sherman, Y.
Pierpont Edwards,* Y.
Branford. —
William Gould, N.
Timothy Hoadley, N.
Cheshire. —
" David Brooks, N.
" Samuel Beach, Y.
Derby. —
" Daniel Holbrook, Y.
" John Holbrook, Y.
Durham. —
" James Wadsworth, N.
" Daniel Hall, N.
East Haven. —
" Samuel Davenport, N.
Guilford. —
Andrew Ward, N.
John Eliot, N.
Harnden. —
" Theoph. Goodyear, nil dicit. Milford. —
Gideon Buckingham,. . . .T. Lewis Mallet, Y.
4(
612
APPENDIX.
NEW HAVEN COUNTY.
North Haven. —
" Daniel Bassett, N.
Wallingford. —
" Street Hall, N.
" Samuel Whiting, N.
Waterhury. —
" Joseph Hopkins, T.
" John Walton, Y.
Woodbridge. —
" Samuel Osborn, N".
" Samuel Newton, N.
MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
Middletown. —
" Ashur Miller, T.
" Samuel H. Parsons, Y.
Chatham. —
" Ebenezer White, Y.
a
Hezekiah Goodrich Y.
East Had dam. —
" Dyar Throop, Y.
" Jabez Chapman, Y.
Haddam. —
" Cornelius Higgins, . . . . . .Y.
" Hezekiah Brainard, Y.
Killingworth. —
" Theophilus Morgan, Y.
" Hezekiah Law, Y.
Saybrook. —
" William Hart, Y.
" Samuel Shipman, Y.
TOLLAND COUNTY.
Tolland. —
" Jeremiah West, Y.
" Samuel Chapman, Y.
Bolton. —
" Ichabod Warner, Y.
" Samuel Carver, Y.
Coventry. —
" Jeremiah Ripley, Y.
" Ephraim Root, Y.
Ellington. —
" Ebenezer Nash, N.
Hebron. —
" Daniel Ingham, ....N.
" Elihu Marvin, N.
Somers. —
" Joshua Pomeroy, N.
" Abiel Pease, N.
Stafford. —
" JohnPhelps, Y.
" Isaac Foot, Y.
Union. —
" Abijah Sessions, Y.
TOLLAND COUNTY.
Willington. —
" Caleb Holt, T.
" Seth Crocker, Y.
WINDHAM COUNTY.
Windham. —
" Eliphalet Dyer, Y.
" Jedediah Elderkin, Y.
Ashford. —
" Simeon Smith, Y.
" Hendrick Dow, Y.
Brooklyn. —
" Seth Paine, Y.
Canterbury. —
" Asa Witter, Y.
" Moses Cleveland, Y.
Hampton. —
" (Unrepresented.)
Killingly. —
'•' Simeon Howe, Y.
" William Danielson, Y.
Lebanon. —
" William Williams,* Y.
" Ephraim Carpenter, N.
Mansfield. —
" Constant South worth,. ...N.
" Nathaniel Atwood, N.
Plainfield. —
'• James Bradford, Y.
" Joshua Dunlap, Y.
Pomfret. —
" Jonathan Randall, N.
" . Simeon Colton, N.
Thompson. —
" Daniel Learned Y.
Voluntown. —
" Moses Campbell, Y.
" Benjamin Dow, Y.
Woodstock. —
" Stephen Paine, N.
" Timothy Perrin, N.
LITCHFIELD COUNTY.
Litchfield. —
' ' Oliver Wolcott, Y.
" Jedediah Strong, Y.
Barkhamsted. —
" Joseph Wilder, N.
Bethlem. —
" Moses Hawley, .T.
Colebrook. —
" (Unrepresented.)
Canaan. —
" Charles Burrall, Y.
« Nathan Hale, Y.
APPENDIX.
613
a
LITCHFIELD COUNTY.
Cornwall. —
" Edward Rogers, ... .^fesent
" Matthew PattersoD, N.
Goshen. —
" Daniel Miles, T.
" Asaph Hall, Y.
Hartland. —
" Isaac Burnham, T.
" John Wilder, T.
Harwinton. —
" Abner Wilson, N.
" MarkPrindle, Y.
Kent.—
" Jedediah Hubbell, Y.
Neio Hartford. —
Aaron Austin,* Y.
Thomas Goodman, N.
New Milford.—
" Samuel Canfield, Y.
" Daniel Everett, Y.
Norfolk. —
Asahel Humphrey, N.
Hosea Humphrey, N.
Salisbury. —
Hezekiah Fitch, Y.
Joshua Porter, Y.
Sharon. —
" Josiah Coleman, N.
" Jonathan Gillett, N.
Southbury. —
" Benjamin Hinman, Y.
Torrington. —
" Epaphras Sheldon, Y.
" Eliphalet Enos, N.
Warren. —
" Eleazer Curtis Y.
Washington. —
John Whittlesey, Y.
Daniel N. Brinsmade, . . . Y.
u ii
u
Watertown. —
" Thomas Fen n, .Y.
u
David Smith
Winchester. —
'' Robert McCune, Y.
Woodbury. —
Daniel Sherman, Y.
Samuel Orton, Y.
u
NEW LONBON COUNTV.
New London. —
'' Richard Law, Y.
Amaza Learned,* Y.
u
NEW LONDON COUNTY.
Norwich. —
" Samuel Huntington, Y.
" Jedediah Huntington Y.
Bozrah. —
" Isaac Huntington, Y.
Colchester. —
" Robert Robbins Y.
" Daniel Foot,... Y.
Franklin. —
" Eli Hyde, Y.
Groton. —
" Joseph. Woodbridge, . . . .Y.
" Stephen Billings, Y.
Lisbon. —
" Andrew Lee, Y.
Lyme. —
" Matthew Griswold, Y.
" William Noyes, Y.
Montville. —
" Joshua Raymond, Jr.,. . .Y. Preston. —
" Jeremiah Halsey, Y.
" Wheeler Coit, Y.
Stonington. —
" Charles Phelps, Y.
" Nathaniel Miner, Y.
FAIRFIELD COUNTY.
Fairfield. —
" Jonathan Sturges, Y.
" Tliaddeus Burr, Y.
Danbury. —
'' Elisha Whittlesey, Y.
" Joseph M. White, Y.
Greenwich. —
" Amos Mead, Y.
" Jabez Fitch, Y.
New Fairfield. —
" Nehemiah Beardsley, . . . . Y.
" James Potter, Y.
Newtown. —
" John Chandler, Y.
" John Beach, Y.
Norwalk. —
" Samuel C. Si]liman,.^6sen<.
" Hezekiah Rogers, Y.
Reading. —
'• Lemuel Sanford,* Y.
" William Heron, Y.
Ridgefield.-^-
Philip B. Bradley, Y.
Nathan Dauchy, Y.
a
* Though a period of thirty years elapsed between this convention and the convention which formed the state ronstitiition, it is a remarkable fact, that at least eight persons were delegates to both, viz., Jesse Root, John Treadwell, Stephen M. ^Mitchell, Pierpont Edwards, Aaron Austin, Amasa Learned, Lemuel Sanford, and William Williams.
614
APPENDIX.
FAIRFIELD COUNTY.
Stamford. —
" James Davenport, . . . . " John Davenport, Jr.,.
FAIRFIELD COUNTY.
.T. ,.Y.
Stratford.
u
William S. Johnson, Y
Elisha Mills, T.
ROLL OF DELEGATES
TO THE CONVENTION WHICH POMED THE STATE CONSTITUTION,
HOLDEN AT HARTFORD, IN AUGUST, 1818.
His Excellency Oliver Wolcott, President.
James Lanman, Esq., ) _,, ,
^ -^ -r^ I Clerks.
Robert JBairchild, Esq,.,
|
Hartford. — |
Southington. — |
|
" Sylvester Wells, |
" Roger Whittlesey, |
|
" Nathaniel Terry. |
" Chester Grannis. |
|
Berlin. — |
Suffield.— |
|
" Samuel Hart, |
" Christopher Jones, |
|
" Samuel Norton. |
" Asahel Morse. |
|
Bristol. — |
Weihersfield. — |
|
" Bryan Hooker. |
" Stephen M. Mitchell, |
|
Burlington. — |
" Levi Lusk. |
|
Bliss Hart. |
Windsor. — |
|
Canton. — |
" Eliakim Marshall, |
|
" Solomon Everest. |
" Josiah Phelps. |
|
East Hartford. — |
|
|
" Richard Pitkin, |
New Haven. — |
|
" Samuel Pitkin. |
" William Bristol, |
|
East Windsor. — |
" Nathan Smith. |
|
" Charles Jencks, |
Branford. — |
|
" Abner Reed. |
" Eli Fowler, |
|
Enfield.— |
" Jonathan Rose. |
|
" Henry Terry, |
Cheshire. — |
|
" William Dixon. |
" Andrew Hull, |
|
Farmington. — |
" Charles Shelton. |
|
" Timothy Pitkin, |
Derby. — |
|
" John Treadwell. |
" John Riggs. |
|
Glastenbury. — |
East Haven. — |
|
" Samuel Welles, |
" Bela Farnham. |
|
, " David E. Hubbard. |
Guilford. — |
|
Granhy. — |
" Nathaniel Griffin, |
|
" S. Wilcox, |
" William Todd. |
|
" Reuben Barker. |
Hamden. — |
|
Hartland. — |
'' Russell Pierpont. |
|
" Aaron Church, |
Meriden. — |
|
" John Treat. |
" Patrick Clark. |
|
Marlborough. — |
Middlebury. — |
|
" Elisha Buel. |
" Aaron Benedict. |
|
Simsbury. — |
Milford. |
|
" Elisha Phelps, |
" Benjamin Hull, |
|
" Jonathan Pettibone, Jr. |
" Samuel B. Gunn. |
APPENDIX.
615
North Haven. —
" Daniel Plerpont. Oxford. —
" David Tomlinson. Southbury. —
" Sliadrach Osborn. Wallingford. —
" John Andrews,
" William Marks. Waterbury. —
" Timon jNIiles,
" Andrew Adams. Wolcoit.—
" Ambrose Ives. Woodbridge. —
" Justus Thomas,
" Chauncey Tolles.
New London. —
" Christopher Manwaring,
" Amaza Learned. Norwich. —
" John Tm-ner,
" James Lanman. Bozrah. —
" Roswell Fox, Colchester. —
" David Deming,
" John Isham, Jr. Franklin. —
" Joshua Hyde. Griswold. —
" Elisha J. Abel. Grot on. —
" John Daboll,
" William WiUiams. Lisbon. —
" Daniel Braman. Lyme. —
" Moses Warren,
" Ebenezer Brockway. Montville. —
" Oliver Comstoek. North Stonington. —
" Chester Smith,
" William Randall, Jr. Preston. —
" Nathaniel Kimball,
" Denison Palmer. Stonington. —
" William Randall,
" Amos Gallup. Waterford. —
" Charles Avery.
Fairfield. —
" David Hill,
" Gideon Tomlinson.
Danbury. —
" Friend Starr, " William Cook.
BrooJcfield. —
'' Noah A. Lacy.
Greenwich. —
'^ Clark Sanford, " Enos Loekwood.
Huntington. —
" Timothy J. Welles, " William Shelton.
New Canaan. —
" Nathan Seeley.
Neiv Fairfield. —
" Samuel T. Barnum.
Newtown. —
" Gideon Botsford, " James B. Fairman.
Norwalk. —
"• Moses Gregory, " Jolin Eversley.
Reading. —
*' Samuel Whiting, " Lemuel Sanford.
Ridgefield. —
'' Joshua King, " Abner Gilbert.
Sherman. —
" Jedediah Graves.
Stamford. —
" James Stevens, " John Weed, Jr.
Stratford. —
" Pierpont Edwards, " Robert Fairchild.
Trumbull. —
"• Lewis Burton.
Weston. —
" Abel Gregory, " Isaac Bennett.
Wilton. —
" Erastus Sturges.
Windham. —
" Peter Webb, " Zaccheus Waldo.
Ashford. —
" Josias Byles, " William Perkins.
Brooklyn. —
" Roger W. Williams.
Canterbury. —
" Luther Paine, *' Daniel Frost.
Columbia. —
" Silas Fuller.
Hampton. —
" Ebenezer Griffin.
616
APPENDIX.
Killingly. —
" Luther Warren, " Ezi-a Hutchins.
Lehanon.
" Thomas Babcock, " Stephen D. Tilden.
Mansfield. —
" Edmund Freeman, " Artemas Gurley.
Plainfield. —
" Elias Woodward, " John Dunlap.
Pomfret. —
" Darius Matthewson, " Lemuel Ingalls.
Sterling. —
" Dixon Hall.
Thompson. —
" George Lamed,
" Jonathan Nichols, Jr.
Voluntown. —
" Daniel Keigwin.
Woodstock. —
" John McLellan, " Elias Childs, 2d.
Litchfield. —
" Oliver Wolcott, " John Welch.
Barkhamsted. —
" Samuel Hayden, " Oliver Mills.
Bethlem. —
" Nehemiah Lambert.
Canaan. —
" William M. Burrall, " William Douglas.
Colebrook. —
" Arah Phelps, " George Pinney.
Cornwall. —
" Philo Swift,
" Oliver Burnham.
Goshen. —
" Adino Hale,
" Theodore North.
Harwinton. —
" James Brace, " Uriah Hopkins.
Kent. —
" Lewis St. John.
New Hartford. —
" Aaron Austin, " Jonathan Marsh.
New Milford. —
" Orange Merwin, " Jehiel Williains.
Norfolk. —
" Augustus Pettibone, " Joseph Battell.
Plymouth. —
" Calvin Butler.
Poxhury. —
" John Trowbridge.
Salisbury. —
" Daniel Johnson, " Samuel Church.
Sharon. —
" Cyrus Swan,
" Samuel E. Everett.
Torrington. —
" Abel Hinsdale, " William Battel!.
Warren. —
" John Tallmadge.
Washington. —
" Hermanus Marshall, " Ensign Bushnell.
Watertown. —
" Amos Baldwin.
Winchester. —
" Levi Piatt, " Joseph Miller.
Woodbury. —
Nathaniel Perry, Daniel Bacon.
u
MiDDLETOWN.
" Alexander Wolcott, " Joshua Stow.
Haddam. —
" Ezra Brainard,
" Jonathan Huntington.
Chatham. —
" Enoch Sage, " Benjamin Hurd.
Durham. —
" Thomas Lyman, " Lemuel Guernsey
East Haddam. —
'" Solomon Blakeslee, " William Hungerford.
Killingworth. —
George Elliott, Dan Lane.
Saybrook. —
" Charles Nott, " Elisha Sill.
Tolland. —
" Ashbel Chapman, •' Eliphalet Young.
Bolton. —
" Saul Alvord, Jr.
ii
APPENDIX.
617
Coventry. —
" Jesse Root,
" Elisha Edgerton.
Ellington. —
Asa Willey.
Hebron. —
" Daniel Burrows, " John S. Peters.
Somers. —
" Benjamin Phelps, " Giles Pease.
Stafford.-
u
u Union. —
u
Ephraim Hyde, Kathan Johnson.
Tngoldsby W. Crawford,
Robert Paul. Vernon. —
" Phineas Talcott. Willington. —
Jonathan Sibley, Jr.
SpafFord Brigham.
a
u
a
COMMON SCHOOLS.
For a minute and comprehensive survey of the " Legislation of Connecticut respecting Common Schools, and other means of Popular Education," including academic aud collegiate institutions from 1638 to 1838, the reader is referred to the annual report of Henry Barnard, superintendent of the common schools, made to the General Assembly, May session 1853. The state may well be proud of her early legislation, in behalf of universal education. " If there is any thing," re- marks Prof. Kingsley, in his historical discourse on the anniversary of the first settlement of New Haven, " If there is any thing in the institutions of a free state, which shows the character of its founders, it is the regard paid to the education of youth. Religion, morals, enterprise, whatever benefits or adorns society, rest here on their surest foundation ; and where effectual provision is made in the in- fancy of a community, for general instruction, other salutary regulations may be expected to accompany them. Take from our commonwealth the universal edu- cation of our citizens, and our social system is at an end. The form might con- tinue for a time, but its spirit would have fled. To suppose that pure religion, pure morals, an upright administration of government, and a peaceable, orderly, and agreeable intercourse in the domestic and social relations of life, can exist, where the people as a body are ignorant of letters, is an egregious solecism. I do not say that education is all that is needed, but without knowledge generally diffused, other means of improving human society are comparatively weak and unavailing."
The establishment of the common school for the elementary instruction of all the children of a neighborhood, as the broad and firm basis of a system of public edu- cation, embracing the grammar school, and the college or university, by the founders of the colonies of Connecticut and New Haven, and the vigorous and pa- tient efforts of many good and wise men for one hundred and fifty years afterward, to bring the school near to every man's door, and to induce towns, parents, and guardians, by these facilities, and by penalties for neglecting them, to look after their " proper nurture and schooling," as well as their " training to some honest occupation, of all children, apprentices, and servants," until it could with truth be said that not only the high places in church and commonwealth were fillod with a learned ministry and an intelligent magistracy, but that the " barbarism " of
618 APPENDIX.
having a " single person unable to read the Holy Word of God, and the good laws of the colony," was not to be found in any household however poor, entitles Connecticut to a prominent place on the roll of civilized states, and her early legis- lators to rank among the benefactors of the human race. " Did I know," Judge Swift remarks in his digest of the laws of Connecticut, " the name of the legisla- tor, who first conceived and suggested the idea of common schools, I should pay to his memory the highest ti-ibute of reverence and regard. I should feel for him a much higher veneration and respect, than I do for Lycurgus and Solon, the celebrated lawgivers of Sparta and Athens. I should revere him as the greatest benefactor of the human race ; because he has been the author of a provision ^ which, if it should be adopted in every country, would produce a happier and more important influence on the human character, than any institution which the wisdom of man has devised." It may be difficult to assign to any one individual the merit of having originated the common school system of Connecticut, or New England. Mr. Barnard, in his history already referred to, remarks, " The outline, and most of the features of our present system of common or public schools, will be found in the practice of the first settlers of the several towns which composed the original colonies of Connecticut and New Haven, before any express provision was made by general law for the regulation and support of schools, or the bring- ing up of children. The first law on the subject did but little more than declare the motive, and make obligatory the practice which had grown up out of the characters of the founders of these colonies and the circumstances in which they were placed. They did not come here as isolated individuals, drawn together from widely separated homes, entertaining broad differences of opinion on all matters of civil and religious concernment, and kept together by the necessity of self defence in the eager prosecution of some temporary but profitable adventure. They came after God had set them in families, and they brought with them the best pledges of good behavior, in the relations which father and mother, husband and wife, parents and children, neighbors and friends, establish. They came with a foregone conclusion of permanence, and with all the elements of the social state combined in vigorous activity — every man, expecting to find or make occupation in the way in which he had been trained. They came with earnest religious convictions, made more earnest by the trials of persecution 5 and the enjoyment of these convictions was a leading motive in their emigration hither. The fundamental articles of their religious creed, that the bible was the only authoritative expression of the Divine will, and that every man was able to judge for himself in its interpretation, made schools necessary to bring all persons " to a knowledge of the scriptures," and an understanding " of the main grounds and principles of the christian religion neces- sary to salvation." The constitution of civil government, which they adopted from the outset, which declares all civil officers elective, and gave to every inhabi- tant who would take the oath of allegiance, the right to vote, and to be voted for, and which practically converted political society into a partnership, in which each member had a right to bind the whole firm, made universal education identical with self preservation. But aside from these considerations, the natural and ac- knowledged leaders in this enterprise — the men who, by their religious character,
APPEXDIX. 619
wealth, social position, and previous experience in conducting large business operations, commanded public confidence in church and commonwealth, were educated men — as highly and thoroughly educated as the best endowed grammar schools in England could educate them at that period, and not a few of them had enjoyed the advantages of her great universities. These men would naturally seek for their own children the best opportunities of education which could be provided ; and it is the crowning glory of these men, that, instead of sending their own children back to England to be educated in grammar schools and universities, they labored to establish free grammar schools and a college here, amid the stumps of the primeval forests ; that instead of setting up " family schools," and " select schools " for the ministers' sons and the magistrates' sons, the ministers and magistrates were found — not only in town meeting, pleading for an allowance out of the common treasury for the support of a public or common school, and in some instances for a " free school " — but among the families, en- treating parents of all classes to send their children to the same school with their own. All this was done in advance of any legislation on the subject, and was more easily made the habit of each new township by legislation framed in this spirit."*
In the practice above referred to, for near a century and a half, lay the peculiar excellence of the common school system — the universality of the habit, and the equality of the education given to all classes of the same community. The " children of the rich and the poor, of the capitalist and the laborer, of the laborer with his hands and the laborer with his head, were found side by side in the same school, and in the same playground, without knowing or caring for any other distinction than such as industry, capacity, or virtue may make. The teacher of the common school held a recognized office of distinction in the neighborhood, not overshadowed by the better educated and better paid teacher of private schools ; one family bor- rowed its practice of school attendance from another, and any new family fell into the general habit of the district ; and a firm, intelligent and public opinion in favor of the school, coerced those who might otherwise have proved forgetful or delin- quent as to the education of their children. By degrees the supervision of the com- mon school was transferred from the town where other public interests were looked after, to an independent corporation, whose annual meeting was thinly attended because nothing was to be done except the election of officers ; the support of the schools was thrown mainly on the avails of public funds, which was followed by a diminution of public interest in the affairs of the district •, the means of the rich, no longer taxed for the support of the common school, were freely expended on academic and private schools, for the exclusive benefit of a few families — and thus this noble institution came to occupy a secondary place in the regards of a large and influential portion of every district and town."
From 1820 to 1838, strenuous efforts were made by individuals, through the press, and in conventions of teachers and friends of educational improvement, to arrest the attention of the people, and the legislation, to the want of progress in the common schools, and to causes which were operating to diminish their useful- ness. But it was not till 1838 that any effectual measure was adopted. At the May session of the General Assembly in that year, Henry Barnard, whose reports
* Barnard's Legislation of Connecticut respecting Common Schools from 1636 to 1838.
620 ' APPENDIX.
have been referred to, then a member of the House of Representatives from Hartford, succeeded in carrying through both branches, by au almost unanimous vote, an '' Act to provide for the better supervision of common schools," which commenced a new era in the history of our school system. This act, while it left every member of the community in his unabridged rights, as regards the educa- tion of his own children, and school societies and districts to maintain and manage its schools, correct abuses, and carry out desirable reforms according to their own judgment, aimed to secure the more particular attention of local committees to their supervision, and to enlist the counsel and experience of a board (consisting of one member for each county), and the entire time, strength, and talents of one person, to collect and disseminate information as to the condition of the common schools, and to awaken, enlighten, and elevate public sentiment in relation to the whole subject of popular education. Mr. Barnard was made a member of the board for Hartford county, and finally, and at the earnest solicitation of the other members of the board, and many influential citizens, he accepted the office of secretary, and his whole time and strength devoted to the service of the common schools of the state.
There have been few reformers, whether of the religious, moral, or civil condi- tion of mankind, who have been popular in their day. They have to encounter old prejudices, which have taken deep root and long drawn from the earth the nourishment that should have been absorbed by the smaller fibres of the grains that nourish, or the flowers that adorn our fallen humanity. They have to contend against vanity, jealousy, envy, and ignorance. The world does not love to be told of its faults, and for this reason has almost always regarded its reformers and teachers as its enemies. Besides there is some thing connected with the educa- tion of the young, which the flippant materialist, the frigid fashionist and the callous man of the world, looks upon with a kind of contempt as unworthy of his notice. Hence many a fop who spends hours before his looking-glass in adjusting his hair and beard, many a wily politician whose life has been spent in the practice of low cunning and intrigue, turns his eye askance and curls his lip in scorn at the sight of a Howard or a Gallaudet, as w^orthy only to be a nurse or a schoolmaster. They cannot associate the idea of great powers with occupations that seem to be so humble. It will be noticed that such men almost always speak lightly of the intellectual powers of woman, too, and skeptically of Him, who, in His divine com- passion and infinite wisdom, beholding the ripe fruit in the opening bud, stretched forth hi^ arms exclaiming " suffer little children to come unto me." To such men the wanderings of Hooker through the wilderness, the patient labors of Muirson, the episcopal missionary on the western border of Connecticut, are in- vested with no poetry, and look forward to no glorious results of empire or tri- umphant faith. To sport with the bubbles so constantly bursting and forming a new on the changing surface of life is a pastime, business, hope, and eternity to them.
With Henry Barnard, whose name is so intimately associated with one of the great reforms of the world, life is valuable only that it may be spent in improv- ing the condition of mankind not only in the present generation, but in all ages. To this noble work he has consecrated talents and acquirements of the highest
APPENDIX. 621
order. Descending from one of the emigrants who settled the colony, with strong local attachments to Hartford, his native city, and to the old mansion where he was born, — with academical acquirements among the best that Yale College can bestow u{3on her sons, — with intellectual endowments and a gift of elo(^uenee which might have done honor to the senate, — with a mind trained by the best models of Greek and Latin letters and enriched by the poetry, the philosophy and science of England's best minds, a thorough lawyer with a lucrative and honorable practice opening before him, at the age of 27 years he abandoned all the attrac- tions of political and professional life and the pleasures of literary and social relations ; and went forth like a crusader of the middle ages, to wage war with the bigotry, the parsimony and the old habits of thinking which encrusted the minds of a large proportion of the parents of Connecticut, in relation to that most vital subject, the education of their children. They frowned upon him as an inter- meddler ; and intimated, if they did not tell him in so many words that he had better mind his own affairs, and they would take care of theirs. He expostulated with them. They told him that their school-books and school-houses had been good enough for themselves, and that their children were no better than they. He reasoned with them, stated facts to show them that the common school system had degenerated from its old estate, and begged them to remember that the times were changing, and that especially in such a government as this, every gene- ration ought to improve upon its predecessors. They told him that he de- manded of them to open their purses and contribute to him ; he replied, that he only wished them to make an investment for themselves which should add to their wealth and happiness an hundred fold. Gradually their views began to relax, and after years of obstinate resistance, they have yielded and com- menced in earnest the reformation so ardently desired and advocated by him.
We cannot here review his labors. After encountering the honest prejudices of many, and the active opposition of not a few, who seem to have misunderstood his motives and his aims — he has succeeded in collecting and disseminating a vast amount of information as to the actual condition of the schools ; in making provision through a state normal school, county teachers' institutes, a state teachers' association, and a monthly educational periodical, for the professional training and improvement of teachers ; in establishing a gradation of schools in the large villages and cities ; in working not a change, but a revolution in the construction and furniture of school-houses 5 in restoring the old Connecti- cut principle of property taxation for the support, in part at least, of the com- mon school ; in securing the more permanent employment and better compen- sation of well qualified teachers ; in drawing back again to the improved common schools the children of the educated and the wealthy ; in subjecting the district schools to some general society regulations as to attendance, studies, books, and vacations ; and as the source and pledge of still greater improvements, in interest- ing the public mind in the discussion of questions touching the organization, ad- ministration, instruction, and discipline of common schools.
The history of our system of schools would be manifestly incomplete, without a special reference to the invaluable services of the Hon. Seth P. Beers, of Litch- field. His successful management of the School Fund through a period of a
622 • APPENDIX.
quarter of a century, has been referred to elsewhere. In his hands we have seen the principal of that fund gradually increasing in extent and importance, until the interest annually distributed among the different school societies of the state, is of itself munificent. To his office of commissioner of the fund, was for some time added that of superintendent of common schools, in which capacity he exerted an important influence in perfecting the system of general education which now forms so interesting a feature in the history of our little commonwealth.
TEINITY COLLEGE.
A CONVOCATION of the diocese, held at East Haddam, in February, 1792, under Seabury, first bishop of Connecticut, took the primary steps toward establishing the Episcopal Academy at Cheshire. This, though incorporated in 1801, with limited privileges, was intended as the foundation of a higher institution so soon as a charter containing full collegiate powers could be obtained from the state. It was often styled familiarly "The Seabury College."
Efforts were made to enlarge the powers of the Academy in 1804, and again in 1810 and 1811, which in one instance only were so far successful, that an act granting a college charter was passed by a full vote in the House of Representa- tives, but rejected in the Council.
Vacancy in the episcopate, and afterward the establishment of the General Theological Seminary, among other causes, occasioned the episcopalians of the state to defer their projected college to happier times, which seemed to have dawned in 1818, when the state constitution was adopted. Bishop Brownell, who was consecrated in 1819, was enabled shortly to carry the design into execution. A petition to the legislature numerously signed, was presented on the 13th of May, 1823. The bill in form passed the lower House by a large majority on the sixteenth, and received the governor's signature. The news of the final passage of the bill was received with great joy by the citizens of Hartford. Cannon were fired, and bonfires lighted. Measures were immediately taken to raise the requisite funds, the charter having provided that the trustees should not proceed to organize the institution, until funds to the amount of $30,000, should be secured. Over $50,000 were immediately realized, about three-fourths of which sum, was sub- scribed in Hartford, and its immediate vicinity. A most eligible site was procured, comprising about fifteen acres. The buildings were begun in June, 1824, and the college commenced operations in September of the same year.
It was considered one of the peculiar advantages of Washington College, that, in addition to the regular system of collegiate education, a particular course of instruction^ designed for those destined to pursuits for which a knowledge of the ancient languages constitutes no essential preparation, was provided for ; a need, if we mistake not, then unsupplied in nearly all the other colleges, but which is now filled by the various scientific schools of our country.
The Rev. Dr. Wheaton, being desirous of visiting England for the benefit of
APPENDIX. 623
his health, was in 1824, requested by the corporation to act as their agent to re- ceive donations for the supply of a library and philosophical apparatus.
The first commencement was held in the Centre Church, in August, 1827, when ten young gentlemen received the degree of B. A.
Bishop Brownell, finding the cares of the diocese pressing heavily upon him, re- signed the presidency in 1831, and was succeeded by the Rev. N. S. "VVheaton, D.D. During his incumbency, which was terminated in 1837, and chiefly by his exertions, the Hobart Professorship was endowed with the sum of $20,000. The Seabury Professorship of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy, with $14,000, and large additions made to the general fund. The Rev. Silas Totten, D.D., was chosen president in 1837, and resigned in 1848. During his presidency Brownell Hall was erected in 1845, and the same year, by permission of the legislature, the name of the college was changed from Washington to Trinity ^'-^io attest forever the faith of its founders and their zeal for the perpetual glory and honor of one Holy and undivided Trinity."
The Trustees also at this time enacted certain statutes, committing the course of study and discipline to a Board of Fellows, and empowering the Alumni of the college to assemble together in accordance with their own rules, under the name of the House of Convocation, and to consult and advise for the interests of their Alma Mater. This House of Convocation took the place of the old " Association of the Alumni," which was dissolved in 1846. The good effects of this change are just beginning to appear, but time enough has not yet elapsed to reap their full advantage.
Upon the resignation of Dr. Totten in 1848, it was a source of congratulation among the Alumni that the choice of a successor fell upon one of their own num- ber, the Rev. John Williams, D.D. Under his presidency the Library was con- siderably augmented, and the number of students steadily increased ; a new pro- fessorship was established, that of Public Economy, and the Rev. Calvin Colton, LL. D., appointed to it ; a Theological department was also organized. In 1849, the fourth section of the original charter was altered by the legislature, and it was provided that the Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Connecticut, should always be ex-officio^ a member and president of the Board of Trustees. In 1851, Dr. Williams was elected Assistant Bishop of this Diocese, and finding that its duties demanded his whole time, he resigned the presidency in 1853, when the present incumbent, the Rev. Daniel R. Goodwin, D.D., late of Bowdoin College, was elected.
The grounds comprise about sixteen acres, laid out with walks and adorned with trees and shrubbery ; the site is elevated, and overlooks on one side the city of Hartford, and on the other a fine expanse of country. The Little River forms their western boundary. The proposed new Park is to be connected with the college ground, and the whole will comprise an area of about forty-six acres. There are three buildings, of Portland stone, in the Ionic order. Jarvis Hall, erected in 1824, and Brownell Hall, erected in 1845, are each 150 feet long by 45 in breadth, and four stories high — and a wing of each is the residence of a professor and his family, Seabury Hall, erected in 1824, 90 by 55 feet, contains the chapel, 50 by 35 feet, which is furnished with a fine organ, the library and cabinet, each
624 APPENDIX.
of the same dimensions, the laboratory, philosophical chamber, and other public rooms.
There are, including that of the professor of ecclesiastical history, about 12,000 volumes in the library. The college library is rich in the Latin classics, the works of the fathers of the church, and works on the controversy between the Protestant and Romish churches. It is somewhat deficient in English hterature and in scientific works. There are also two libraries, belonging to societies of undergraduates, to- gether numbering upwards of six thousand volumes, principally English literature.
The cabinet contains an extensive collection of minerals and geological speci- mens to which has recently been added one of the finest collections of shells in New England. The philosophical and chemical apparatus is extensive. There are two endowed professorships, the Hobart, endowed with $20,000, and the Sea- bury with $14,000, and between thirty and forty endowed exhibitions which yield their incumbents from $30 to $100, per annum. A few years since the college received ^1 1 ,800 from the state. Its endowment with this exception, being entirely from private liberality.
In addition to the exhibitions mentioned above, the " Church Scholarship So- ciety," established in 1827, gives assistance to such necessitous students as design to enter the ministry, and to such also the tuition is remitted.
The present course of instruction is arranged as follows : 1st term, &:c.
Examinations are held at the close of each term, in the presence of examiners appointed by the Board of Fellows, from their own number or otherwise. Com- mencement day is the last Thursday in July. The necessary expenses are,
Tuition, ill per term, $33,00
Room rent, from $3 to $4,50 per term, 12,00
Use of library, attendance, printing, &c., per term,9,00
Assessments for public damages, &c., 4,50
Board from $2 to $3 per week, 75,00 to $95,00
$133,50 to $153,50 per ann.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Adams, Andrew^, LL.D., was born in Stratford in 1736, graduated at Tale in 1760, and settled in Litchfield in 1774, where he spent the remainder of his life. He was successively king's attorney, judge of probate, representative at ten sessions, speaker of the House in 1779 and 1780, member of the Continen- tal Congress, judge and chief judge of the superior court. He received the degree of doctor of laws from Tale College in 1796, and died November 26, 1797, aged 61.
Allen, Ethan, General, was born in Litchfield, January 10, 1737 — and died
APPENDIX. 625
on his estate in Colchester, Vermont, February 13, 1789, aged 52. His history has been so fully detailed in the course of those volumes, that no farther sketch of him is necessary.
Allen, Ira, a yovmger brother of the preceding, was born in Cornwall in 1752, and in early hfe emigrated to Vermont, where he became distinguished as a civil and military leader. He was a member of the convention which formed the State Constitution, in 1778 •, and was one of the commissioners to negotiate for the admission of the state into the Federal Union. He was the first secretary of state, and was subsequently a member of the council, state treasurer, and surveyor gen- eral. Having risen to the rank of senior major-general of mihtia, he proceeded to Europe to purchase arms for the use of the state. In France, he purchased twenty thousand muskets, and twenty-four brass cannon, \\ath a part of which he was captured, November 9, 1796, and carried into England. He was charged with attempting to furnish the Irish rebels with arms, and a litigation of eight years in the court of admiralty followed, which was finally decided in his favor. He returned to this country in 1801, and spent the residue of his life mainly at his home in Colchester, Vermont. He published a work entitled " Tlie Natural and Civil History of Vermont." He died in Philadelphia, January 7, 1814, aged 62 years.
Allyn, John, is mentioned for the first time on the colonial records of Connec- ticut, in 1657, in connection with the first " troop of horse" formed in the colony, of which he was chosen cornet. In 1661, he was a lieutenant, and a deputy to the General Court. From 1662 to 1696 — a period of thirty-four years — he was one of the magistrates of the colonj^ ; in 1664, he was chosen secretary of the colony, an office which he held for twenty-eight years. He was also a commissioner of the united colonies, a member of the committee to negotiate the union between the colonies of Connecticut and New Haven, and a member of the committee on the New York boundary line. He died in 1696. He may have been a son of Mr. Mathew Allyn, of Hartford and Windsor, who was for many years a magis- trate, and was chosen moderator of the General Court in 1660.
Alsop, Richard, was born in Widdletown in January, 1761, and was for some time a student in Yale College, but left without graduating. He became a pro- ficient in the ancient and modern languages, and devoted his life mainly to literary pursuits. He was associated with Theodore Dwight, IMason F. Cogswell, Elihu Hubbard Smith, and Lemuel Hopkins, in the authorship of " The Political Green House," and " The Echo." He published " The Fairy of the Enchanted Lake," and a " Poem on the Death of General Washington," which contained about five hundred lines. He was liighly esteemed in his day for his learning, talents, and gentlemanly manners, and the literary public, as if by common consent, have awarded him an honorable place among the poets of America. He died suddenly, of a disease of the heart, at Flatbush, Long Island, in August, 1815.
AusTLN, Samuel, D.D., was born in New Haven, Oct. 7, 1760, and graduated at Yale in 1783. He was for many years pastor of congregational churches in Fair Haven, Conn., and Worcester, Mass., and was a very eloquent and popular preacher. For a few years, he was president of the University of Vermont. He published several sermons and dissertations, and other religious works. Dr.
72
626 APPENDIX.
Austin, became partially deranged a few years previous to his death, which took place December 4, 1830.
Bacon, Epaphroditus C, (son of Asa Bacon, Esq., an eminent lawyer of Litchfield,) was born in Litchfield in 1810, graduated at Yale in 1833, and settled in his native town in the practice of the law. In 1836, he Vv^as a dele- gate to, and secretary of, the whig national convention; and in 1840 and 1841, he was elected a representative from Litchfield, to the state legislature. He was distinguished for his historical and antiquarian investigations, and was highly esteemed for his learning and courtesy. While traveling on the continent of Europe, he died at Seville, in Spain, January 11, 1845, aged 34.
Backus, Azel, D.D., was born in Norwich, and graduated at Tale in 1787. He became the successor of the Rev. Dr. Bellamy, as pastor of the church in Bethlem, in 1791 ; and was inaugurated as the first president of Hamilton Col- lege, ISTew Tork, in 1815. He received the degree of doctor of divinity at Princeton, in 1810. Dr. Backus died December 28, 1816, aged 51 years. He was a man of original cast of thought, and was distinguished for his earnest
piety.
Baldwin, Abraham, a native of Connecticut, and a graduate of Tale in 1772. From 1775 to 1779, he was a tutor in that institution. Having studied law, he settled in Savannah, Georgia, and in about three months after his arrival there he was chosen a member of the legislature. He originated the plan of the University of Georgia, drew up the charter by which it was endowed with 40,000 acres of land, and finally persuaded the Assembly to adopt the project. He was a member of the Continental Congress from 1785 to 1788 ; and was a member of the con- vention which formed the Constitution of the United States. From 1789 to 1799, he was a representative in Congress ; and from the last date until his death, he was a member of the United States Senate. He died on the 4th of March, 1807, aged 53 years. He was for some time President of the University of Georgia.
Baldwin, Simeon, was born in Norwich, December 14, 1761, graduated at Tale in 1781, and was a tutor in that institution from 1783 to 1786. He read law with Charles Chauncey, Esq., and settled in New Haven. He was clerk of the United States district and circuit courts for fourteen years, a member of Congress for two years, and a judge of the supreme court for twelve years. He was also president of the Board of Canal Commissioners, and mayor of the city of New Haven. Judge Baldwin died in Nev/ Haven, May 26, 1851. His son, the Hon. Roger S. Baldwin, LL. D., has been governor and United States senator.
Barlow, Joel, LL. D., was born in Reading, in 1755, and graduated at Tale in 1778, on which occasion he delivered a poem " On the Prospect of Peace," which is preserved in the volume of " American Poems," edited by Elihu Hub- bard Smith, and printed at Litchfield, in 1793. He studied divinity, and was for sometime a chaplain in the army. In 1781, on the occasion of receiving the degree of master of arts. Barlow pronounced a poem which he subsequently em.- bodied in his " Vision of Columbus." At the close of the Revolution, he studied law and was admitted to the bar. For some years, he was associated with the late Major Babcoek, in editing a weekly gazette at Hartford, called " The Ameri-
APPENDIX. 627
can INfercury." In 1785, by request of the General Association of the Congrega- tional Churches in Connecticut, he prepared a revised edition of Dr. Watts' psalms ; to which he appended a collection of hymns, several of which were written by himself. The version of 137th, which is still much admired, was also from his pen. The work was published in the year last named, and was long the authorized version of psalms and hymns in use among the congregational churches. His "Vision of Columbus," was published in 1787, and was republished in Lon- don and Paris. In 1788, he visited Europe as the agent of a laud company, and passed several years in England and France, during which time he was engaged in various political and literary employments.
In 1795, Mr. Barlow was appointed American Consul to Algiers, and dis- charged the duties of that post for two years. He then revisited Paris, where he engaged in commercial speculations, and amassed a fortune. In 1805, after an absence from this country of seventeen years, he returned and fixed his residence in Washing-ton City, where he erected a splendid mansion. In 1808, his great national poem, " The Columbiad," was published in a magnificent quarto volume, with plates. In 1811, President JNIadison appointed him minister plenipotentiary to the Court of France, and he immediately proceeded to Paris. While on his way to Wilna, to meet the Emperor Xapoleon, he was overcome by fatigue and exposure, and died at an obscure village inn, near Cracow, in Poland, on the 22d of December, 1812.
Beebe, Bezaleel, was born in Litchfield, April 28, 1741. He served first as a soldier and subsequently as an officer in the French and Indian wars ; and in the Revolution, he rose to the rank of colonel in the continental army. He was a brave and skillful officer, and served with distinction in several campaigns. He was often a representative in the legislature, and held other civil offices. Colonel Beebe died in Litchfield, May 29, 1824, aged 83 years.
Beecher, Lyman, D.D., is a native of Xew Haven, and was pastor of the con- gregational church in Litchfield, from 1810 to 1826. He has been for many years president of Lane Seminary, near Cincinnati, Ohio. His complete works are now being published in Boston. Six of his sons have been or are distinguished as clergymen, viz., Williarn, of Ohio; Edward^ D.D., of Boston, (formerly Presi- dent of Illinois College, and author of " The Conflict of Ages ;") George^ who died at Chillicothe, Ohio, in 1843 ; Henry Ward^ of Brooklyn, N. Y. ; Charles, of Newark, N. J.; and Thoinas K., of Williamsburgh, L.I, His daughters, Miss Catharine E. Beecher^ and Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe, are well known authors.
BoARDMAN, Elijah, was born in New Milford, March 7, 1760, and became a successful merchant in that town. He was a representative, member of the council, state senator, and senator in Congress. He was a man of enterprise, intelligence, and great activity of mind. While on a visit to his children in the town of Board- man, Ohio, he died August 18, 1823. His brother, the Hon. David S. Board- man, of New Milford, formerly a senator and chief judge of the court of common pleas, is still living. The Hon. William W. Boardman, of New Haven, is a son of the subject of this paragraph.
Brace, Jonathan, was born in Harwinton, November 12, 1754, graduated at
628 APPENDIX.
Tale College in 1779, and studied law with Oliver Ellsworth. He commenced the practice of his profession in Manchester, Vermont, and while there he held the offices of justice of the peace, state's attorney, and member of the council of censors. He subsequently settled in Glastenbury, Connecticut, and represented that town in the General Assembly several times, uutil August, 1794, when he removed to Hartford, where he continued to reside until his decease. He was state's attorney for the county of Hartford, judge of the county court, judge of probate, assistant, and member of Congress. After the adoption of the constitu- tion of the state, he was twice elected a member of the state senate. He was also frequently elected a member of the common council and board of aldermen of the city of Hartford, and held the office of mayor for nine years. He died in Hart- ford, August 26, 1837.
Bradley, Stephen R., LL. D., was born in Cheshire, October 20, 1754, and graduated at Tale in 1775. He was the aid of General Wooster, when that officer was slain. He settled in Vermont, and became one of the most popular men in that state. In 1791, he was elected to the Senate of the United States, and continued a member of that body for sixteen years. He died at Walpole, New Hampshire, December 16, 1830, aged 76.
BuEL, Jesse,, was born in Coventry, January 4, 1778, and having learned the trade of a printer, he commenced the publication of the " Troy Budget," at Troy, New Tork, in 1797. He subsequently, for ten years, published a paper called " The Plebeian," at Kingston, Ulster county. In 1813, he removed to Albany, and commenced " The Albany Argus," and during the following year was appointed state printer^ a lucrative office, which he continued to hold until 1820, when he sold out the Argus and abandoned the printing business. He now turned his attention to other matters. Having purchased a farm of eighty-five acres in the vicinity of Albany, he soon converted it from "sandy barrens" into what has long been favorably known as " The Albany Nursery." In 1834, he commenced the publication of " The Albany Cultivator," a valuable agricultural periodical, which under his management soon had a list of twenty-three thousand subscribers. While residing on his farm, Mr. Buel was several times elected a representative from Albany county to the legislature ; was a judge of the court of common pleas, and a regent of the state university. In 1836, he was the regular whig candidate for the office of governor of New Tork. He died at Danbury, Connecticut, while on his way to Norwich and New Haven, October 6, 1839. Besides, the periodi- cals already named, Judge Buel was the author of a volume on agriculture, pub- lished by the Harpers, New Tork, and "The Farmers' Companion," published tinder the auspices of the jNIassachusetts' Board of Education, and constituting one of the members of their District School Library.
Burr, Aaron, was born in Fairfield in 1714, and graduated at Tale in 1735. In 1 742, he was settled as the pastor of the presbyterian church in Newark, N. J. From 1748, until his death, (which took place September 24, 1757,) he was pre- sident of New Jersey college, at Princeton. He was an accomplished scholar and an able divine. He married a daughter of the great Jonathan Edwards, and had two children — a daughter who married Chief Justice Reeve, of Litchfield, and Aaron Burr, who became Vice President of the United States.
APPENDIX. 629
Chauncey, Charles, LL. D., was born in Durham, .June 11, 1747, and studied law with James A. Hillhouse, Esq., of New Haven, where he continued to reside until his decease. He was not only a sound and able lawyer, but was learned in various departments of literature, history, civil policy, and theology. lu 1789, he was appointed a judge of the superior court. -Judge Chauncey died in New Haven, April 18, 1823. His son of the same name, graduated at Yale in 1792, and became an eminent lawyer in Philadelphia. He died in Burlington, New Jersey, August 30, 1849, aged 73. Both received the degree of doctor of lavi^s.
Chipman, Nathaniel, LL. D., was born in Salisbury, November 15, 1752, graduated at Yale in 1777, and settled as a lawyer in Tinniouth, then the capital of Rutland county, Vermont. In 1786, he was elected a judge of the supreme court; in 1789 he was chosen chief justice ; and two years after, he received the appointment of judge of the United States district court. He was subsequently again elected chief justice, and in 1797, he was chosen L^nited States senator. For twenty-eight years he was professor of law in Middlebury College. He re- ceived the degree of doctor of laws from Dartmouth College, in 1797.
In 1793, Judge Chipman published a volume entitled " Sketches of the Princi- ples of Government," and another entitled, " Reports and Dissertations." The first of these works, with additions, was revised and republished in an octavo volumes, of 333 pages, in 1833. He died at Tinmouth, February 15, 1843, in the 91st year of his age.
Chipman, Daniel, LL. D., brother of the preceding, was born in Salisbury, Octo- ber 22, 1765, graduated at Dartmouth College in 1788, and having studied law, he was admitted to the bar in 1790. He commenced practice at Rutland, Vermont, and in 1793, he represented that town in the convention held at Windsor for amending the constitution. During the following year he removed to Middlebury. He was frequently elected a member of both branches of the legislature, and in 1813 and 1814, he was chosen speaker of the House. In 1815, he was elected to Congress; was subsequently reporter of the supreme court ; and in 1836, was chosen a member of the constitutional convention. He was also professor of law in Middlebury College, and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
In 1822, Mr. Chipman published an "Essay on the Law of Contracts for the Payment of Specific Articles ;" and has since published a volume of " Law Reports ;" " The Life of Nathaniel Chipman, LL. D., with selections from his miscellaneous Papers ;" "The Life of Colonel Seth Warner;" and " The Life of Governor Thomas Chittenden." In 1848, he received the degree of doctor of laws from Dartmouth College.
Chittenden, Thomas, was born in East Guilford, in 1730. At the age of twenty years he married a sister of the Rev. Samuel Johnson, D.D., of Stratford, and soon after settled in Salisbury, in the north-west corner of the colony. While a resident of that town, he was commissioned as a colonel of militia, and was elected a representative at thirteen sessions, between the years 1764 and 1772, inclusive. In 1774, he removed to Williston, on Onion river, in the " New Hamp- shire Grants," so called. He was a member of the convention which, January
630 APPENDIX.
16, 1777, declared Vermont an independent state, and was appointed one of the commissioners to negotiate for her admission into the Union. From 1778 to 1797, with the exception of a single year, he was annually elected governor of Vermont. He died August 24, 1797. His son, Martin Chittenden, was a member of Con- gress from 1803 to 1813, and governor of Vermont in 1813 and 1814.
Church, Samuel, LL. D., was born in Salisbury, February 4, 1785, and graduated at Yale in 1803. He studied law with the Hon. Judson Canfield, of Sharon, and at the Litchfield Law School, and was admitted to the bar in Septem- ber, 1806. In the spring of 1808, he commenced the practice of law in his native town; was appointed postmaster in 1810, a justice of the peace in 1818, and during the later year he was chosen a delegate to the convention which formed the present constitution of this state. He was subsequently a member of the house of representatives six sessions, judge of the probate court eleven years, state's attorney ten years, and in 1832 was chosen a judge of the superior court, and of the supreme court of errors. In May 1847, he was appointed chief judge of the supreme court, and at the following commencement of Trinity College he received the degree of doctor of laws. He died in 1854.
Church, Leman, brother of the preceding, was born in Salisbury, and pursued his professional studies at the Litchfield Law School in 1815 and 1816. Soon after his admission to the bar, he took up his residence in Canaan, where he con- tinued to reside until his death. He became one of the best criminal lawyers in the state, and had a very extensive practice. He was occasionally a representa- tive from Canaan ; for several years he held the office of state's attorney ; and in 1835, he was appointed by the legislature, in connection with the Hon. Royal R. Hinman and the Hon. Elisha Phelps, a commissioner to revise the public statutes of Connecticut. He died in Canaan, in 1849.
CusHMAN, John Paine, was born in Pomfret, graduated at Tale in 1807, mar- ried a daughter of the Hon. Benjamin Tallmadge of Litchfield, and settled in Troy, N. T., in the practice of the law. He was elected to Congress, was recorder of Troy, a judge of the circuit court, and a regent of the university. He was a man of eminence in his profession, and discharged the duties of these various oflaces with fidelity and ability. He died, September 16, 1848, aged 64.
Daggett, David, LL. D., was born in Attleborough, Mass., December 31, 1764, graduated at Tale in 1783, read law with Charles Chauncey, Esq., and settled in New Haven. He was frequently a representative and speaker of the House, and member of the council. From 1813 to 1819, he was a senator in Congress ; from 1826 to 1832 he was a judge of the supreme court, and was chief judge from the latter date until he reached the age of 70 years — December 31, 1834. He was also state's attorney, mayor of New Haven, and professor of law in Tale College. He died April 12, 1851.
Deane, Silas, was born in Groton, graduated at Tale in 1758, and became a resident of TVethersfield. In 1774, he was chosen a member of the Continental Congress, and continued in that body until he was appointed as a political and commercial agent from the government of the United States to the court of France, to endeavor to obtain her assistance. He arrived in Paris, in June, 1776. Through his efforts, Lafayette, Rochambeau, and others, were induced to
APPENDIX. 631
engage witli us in the cause of independence. "With. Dr. Franklin and Arthur Lee, he was a commissioner for negotiating treaties with foreign powers. lie died at Deal, in England, August 23, 1789.
Dickinson, Daniel S., was born in Goshen, September 11, 1800, and at the age of twenty-five years commenced the study of the law in the office of Messrs. Clark and Clapp, Norwich, New York. In 1829, he was admitted to the bar, and after practicing his new profession for a short time in Guilford, in that state, he removed to Binghamton, Broome county, his present residence. Here his busi- ness increased, and he soon became a favorite with his political party. In 1834, he was elected president of the village of Binghamton, and in 1836 he was elected a member of the senate of New York for the term of four years. In 1840, he was nominated for the office of lieutenant-governor, but was defeated at the general election ; in 1842, however, he was elected to that honorable post by a majority of about twenty-five thousand. In 1844, he was elected one of the two presiden- tial electors for the state at large, and cast his vote for Mr. Polk. About the same time, he received from Governor Bouck the appointment of United States Sena- tor, to fill the vacancy occasioned by the resignation of Mr. Tallmadge. On the assembling of the legislature, he was duly elected for the unexpired term ; and was subsequently reelected for the full term of six years — which expired on the 4th of March, 1851.
DwiGHT, Timothy, DD., LL, D., was born at Northampton, Massachusetts, May 14, 1752. His father was Colonel Timothy Dwight, who graduated at Yale College in 1744, and became a merchant in Northampton, where he married Mary, daughter of the celebrated Jonathan Edwards. The subject of this sketch gradu- ated at Yale in 1769 5 and was a tutor in that institution from 1771 to 1777. In the last year, he served as chaplain to Parsons' brigade at West Point ; and dur- ing that period he wrote several patriotic songs, the most celebrated of which was entitled " Columbia." On the death of his father, he took up his residence in his native town, in 1778, where he spent about five years ; and was chosen a repre- sentative in 1781 and 1782. On the 5th of November, 1783, he was ordained as pastor of the church in Greenfield, Connecticut, where he remained for twelve years. In 1785, he published his celebrated poem, "The Conquest of Canaan," which was written eleven years before; and in 1795, he published another poem entitled " Greenfield Hill." On the death of President Stiles, he was chosen Pre- sident of Yale College, and was inaugurated in September, 1795. In this office he remained until his death, which took place at New Haven, January 11, 1817. In March, 1777, he had married a daughter of Benjamin Woolsey, of Long Island, by whom he had eight sons, six of whom survived him. One of these was the Rev. Sereno E. Dwight, D.D., President of Hamilton College, who died in 1850. The principal prose works of President Dwight, are his Travels, in 4 octavo volumes; and "Theology Explained and Defended," in 4 volumes.
He was succeeded in the Presidency of Yale College, by the Rev. Jeremiah Day, D.D., LL. D., who had been proftssor of mathematics and natural philoso- phy for the fourteen years next preceding; in 1851, President Day resigned, and Professor Theodore D. Woolsey, D.D., LL. D., was elected his successor, and still remains at the head of that venerable institution.
632 ' APPEN-DIX.
Dyer, Eliphalet, LL. D., of Windham, graduated at Tale in 1740. In August, 1755, he was commissioned as a lieutenant-colonel of one of the Connec- ticut regiments designed for the reinforcement of our army in the vicinity of Crown Point ; and in March, 1758, he was appointed colonel of a regiment raised for the service against the French in Canada. In 1762, he was chosen a mem- ber of the council ; in 1765, he was chosen a delegate to the General Congress in New York; from 1766 to 1789, he was a judge of the superior court ; and from 1789 to 1793, he was chief judge of that court. In 1774, he was elected a mem- ber of the Continental Congress, and continued in that body, with the exception of one year, until 1783. Judge Dyer received the degree of doctor of laws from Yale College in 1787. He died May 13, 1807, aged 86 years.
Edmond, William, was born of Irish parents, in South Britain (then a parish of Woodbury,) September 28, 1755, and graduated at Yale in 1773. He was a vol- unteer soldier at the burning of Danbury, and received a wound in his leg which made him lame for life. He studied law and settled in I^ewtown, where he mar- ried a daughter of General Chandler. She having died, he married a daughter of Benjamin Payne, Esq., of Hartford. He was chosen a representative and speaker of the House, member of the council, representative in Congress, and judge of the supreme court. He died in Newton, August 1, 1838, aged 82 years. He was a man of powerful frame and of superior intellectual endowments.
Edwards, Jonathan, D.D., son of the great divine of the same name, was born in Northampton, Mass., June 6, 1745, and graduated at the college of New Jer- sey in 1765. Having studied divinity with Dr. Bellamy at Bethlem, he was ordained pastor of the church at White Haven, in the town of New Haven, January 5, 1769, and remained there until May, 1795. He was soon after set- tled over the church in Colebrook, Litchfield county, and in June, 1799, he was elected president of Union College, and immediately entered upon the duties of this appointment. He died August 1, 1801, aged 56. Dr. Edwards was a man of uncommon powers of mind. He published a large number of sermons and dissertations, and edited several volumes of his father's works.
Edwards, Pierpont, of New Haven, was one of the most successful lawyers of his time. He was speaker of the Connecticut house of representatives, member of the Continental Congress, judge of the United States district court, and mem- ber of the convention which formed the state constitution.
Edwards, Henry W., LL. D., son of the preceding, graduated at the college of New Jersey in 1797, studied his profession at the Litchfield Law School, and settled in New Haven. He was a representative in Congress from 1819 to 1823 ; United States senator from 1823 to 1827; member of the state senate in 1828 and 1829 ; speaker of the Connecticut house of representatives in 1830 ; and governor in 1833, and from 1835 to 1838. He died in New Haven in 1847.
Fitch, Thomas, born in Norwalk, graduated at Yale in 1721, and settled in his native town. He was chosen an assistant the first time in 1734, and held the office for twelve years. From 1750 to 1754, he was lieutenant-governor of the colony, and from 1754 to 1766, he held the office of governor. He was also chief judge of the colony for four years. In October, 1742, Mr. Fitch was appointed by the legislature, in connection with Roger Wolcott, Jonathan Trumbull, and
APPENDIX. 633
John Bulkley, to make a revision of all the laws of the colony. He died in Nor- walk, July 18, 1774, aged 77 years.
Fitch, John, was born in East \yindsor, and became one of the most ingen- ious and celebrated mechanics of the age in which he lived. In the Revolution, he was principally employed in repairing arms tor the continental army, residing during the war in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. In 1785, he conceived the idea of propelling water-craft by steam. At that time, he did not know that there was such a thing in existence as a steam-engine. In 1788, he obtained a patent for the application of steam to navigation. During the year previous, he had con- structed a boat which made an experimental trip on the river at Philadelphia, the governor and council of Pennsylvania being present, who were so much gratified with the result that they presented Fitch with an elegant silk flag. The boat at that time went at the rate of eight miles an hour. Mr. Fitch subsequently visited France, for the purpose of introducing the invention into that country ; but as the French were then in the midst of revolutions, he failed in the accomplishment of his plans. Mr. Vaill, our Consul at L'Orient, afterwards subjected to the examina- tion of Mr. Fulton^ the papers and designs of Fitch. Mr. Fitch, in 1790, made still farther improvements in his steamboat, but was unable to obtain the means sutl;icient to perfect his great invention. He was, however, sanguine of the ulti- mate triumph of his plan of navigation ; and in .June, 1792, in a letter to Mr. Rittenhouse on his favorite theme, he wrote — '' This, sir, will he the mode of crossing the Atlantic in time^ whether I bring it to perfection or not." It is now generally conceded that the honor of inventing and building the first steamboat in the world, belongs to John Fitch,
FooTE, Samuel A., LL. D., was born in Cheshire, Nov. 8, 1780, graduated at Tale in 1797, and commenced the practice of law in his native town. He was chosen a member of Congress in 1819, 1823, and 1833 ; was speaker of the Con- necticut house of representatives in 1825 and 1826; and was a senator in Con- gress from 1827 to 1833. In 1834, he was elected governor of the state, and during the same year he received the degree of doctor of laws from Yale Col- lege, Governor Foote died September 16, 1846.
Gallaudet, Thomas H., LL. D., was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, December 10, 1787. When he was thirteen years of age the family removed to Hartford, and in 1805 he graduated at Yale College. He engaged in the study of law at Hartford until he was chosen tutor in Yale College, in which situation he remained for two years. After a short experience in the mercantile business, he studied theology, and was licensed to preach in 1814, He now turned his thoughts to the instruction of deaf mutes, and became a pioneer in that work of benevolence. In 1815, he went to Europe in order to leani the best method of instruction. Soon after his return to this country, and mainly through his influ- ence. The American Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb was opened in Hartford, and he was appointed principal. This was the first institution of the kind in the United States. He subsequently published several works on the subject. Fiom 1838, until his last sickness, he was chaplain of the " Insane Retreat" at Hartford. He died September 9, 1851. A discourse on his life, character and services, was
634 APPENDIX.
delivered by the Hon. Henry Barnard, LL. D., at Hartford, in January, 1852, which, was published.
GoDDARD, Calvin, was born in Shrewsbury, Mass., July 17, 1768, and graduated at Dartmouth in 1786. He was admitted to the bar in Norwich, in November, 1790, and settled in Plainfield, from which place he was elected a representative at nine sessions, three of which he was speaker of the House. He removed to Norwich in 1807. From 1801 to 1805 he was a member of Congress •, and from 1808 to 1815, he was a member of the council. He was also state's attorney for the county of New London for five years, and mayor of Norwich for seventeen years.
Gold, Nathan, of Fairfield, v^-as chosen a member of the council for the first time in 1657, and held the ofiice for forty-eight years. He was also chief judge of the superior court for ten years, and deputy governor of Connecticut, from 1708 to 1724, Unless there were two persons bearing the same name and residing in the same place, holding office continuously, the period of his official life extended over a period of sixty-seven years,
Goodrich, Chauncey, was the eldest son of the Rev. Elizur Goodrich, D.D., of Durham, Connecticut, and was born on the 20th of October, 1759, After a career of great distinction at Yale College, where he spent nine years as a student, a Berkeley scholar, and a tutor, he was admitted to the bar at Hartford in the autumn of 1781. It was the leading trait in his character as an advocate, that he studied and applied the law chiefly in its principles. He regarded it as one of the noblest of human sciences, in which no truth stands insulated, but each new case, as it arises, is only part of a great and harmonious system of thought. He was, therefore, a " black letter lawyer ;" thoroughly versed in the writings of the early masters of the profession, whose principles he was continually revolving in his mind, or contemplating under new aspects as presented in later elementary trea- tises dovni to the day of his death. In studying a subject, he was remarkable for the tenacity with which he clung to it in its minutest details, until all were ex- hausted ; so that an able lawyer once observed, after consulting him for some hours on a point of great importance, " He has given us every thing that can possibly belong to the case ; he has said all that can truly be said by any man, on both sides of the question." One who saw him only while weighing a subject with this extreme nicety, might almost have thought him vacillating in his opinions ; but when the balance turned and his judgment was finally made up, it was immu- table as the law of gravity. In arguing a case, he laid no stress on the minor points. He usually waived them with a frankness which gained him the favor of all ; and taking his stand upon a few great principles, he urged them with a dignity of manner, a candor towards his opponents, a copiousness and force of argument, an evident and most perfect conviction of the truth of what he said, and a calm but deep earnestness of feeling, which gave him extraordinary power over a court and j ury .
After serving in the state legislature for a single session, he was elected to Con- gress as a member of the house of representatives, in the year 1794, For this station he was peculiarly qualified not only by the original bent of his mind and his habits of study, but also by the fact that an early marriage into the family of
APPENDIX. 635
the second Governor AVolcott, had brought liini into the closest relations with public men and measures, and made him investigate all the great questions of the day with profound interest and attention. His brother-in-law (afterward the third Governor Wolcott,) held one of the highest offices under the General Govern- ment. This led him, from the moment he took his scat in Congress, to become intimately acquainted with the plans and policy of the administration •, and he gave them his warmest support, under the impulse alike of political principle and of personal feeling. A party, in opposition to General Washington was now organ- ized for the first time in Congress, as the result of INIr. Jay's treaty with Great Britain. Mr. Goodrich took a large share in the debates which followed ; and gained the respect of all parties by his characteristic dignity, candor, and force of judgment; and especially by his habit of contemplating a subject on every side, and discussing it in its remotest relations and dependencies. Mr. Albert Gallatin, then the most active leader of the opposition, remarked to a friend near the close of his life, that in these debates he usually selected the speech of Chauncey Good- rich as the object of reply ; feeling that if he could answer him^ he would have met every thing truly relevant to the subject which had been urged on the part of the government.
In 1801, he resigned his seat in Congress, and returned to the practice of the iaw at Hartford. The next year he was chosen to the office of councilor (after- ward senator) in the state legislature, which he continued to fill down to 1807, when he was elected to the Senate of the United States. During the violent con- flicts of the next six years, he took an active part in most of the discussions which arose out of the embargo, the non-intercourse laws, and the other measures which led to the war with Great Britain. The same qualities which marked his early efforts, were now more fully exhibited in the maturity of his powers ; while the whole cast of his character made him peculiarly fitted for the calmer deliberations of the senate. He had nothing of what Burke calls " the smartness of debate." He never indulged in sarcasm or personal attack. In the most stormy discus- sions, he maintained a courtesy which disarmed rudeness. No one ever suspected him of wishing to misrepresent an antagonist, or evade the force of an argument; and the manner in which he was treated on the floor of the Senate, shows how much can be done to conciliate one's political opponents, even in the worst times, by a uniform exhibition of high principle, if connected with a penetrating judg- ment and great reasoning powers. Mr. Jcflferson playfully remarked to a friend during this period, " That white-headed Yankee from Connecticut, is the most difficult man to deal with in the Senate of the United States."
In 1813, he was chosen lieutenant-governor of the state, and continued to hold this office until his death. At the meeting of the legislature in 1814, he was ap- pointed a delegate to the celebrated Hartford Convention. Though in feeble health, he took a large share in the deliberations of that body, and especially in those healing measures which were finally adopted. During its session, he re- ceived communications from distinguished men in other states, touching the vari- ous questions at issue ; and particularly from Mr. Daniel Webster, who had pre- viously sent him an extended argument to show that the provisions of the embargo law, " so far as it interdicts commerce between parts of the United States," were
636 APPENDIX.
unconstitutional and oppressive in the highest degree. Mr. John Randolph, also, addressed him under date of December 16, 1814, forwarding a pamphlet which he had just published against the administration, in the hope of promoting " the wel- fare of the country in these disastrous times." At an earlier period, Mr. Randolph had been one of the strongest political opponents of Mr. Goodrich ; but he now says, " Unfeigned respect for your character and that of your native state, which like my own is not to be blown about by every idle breath — now hot, now cold — is the cause of your being troubled with this letter ; a liberty for which I beg your excuse." In reference to the convention, he remai^ks, " I make every allowance for your provocations ; but I trust that the ' steady habits' of Connecticut will prevail in the Congress at Hartford, and that she will be the preserver of the Union from the dangers by which it is threatened from the administration of the General Government, whose wickedness is only surpassed by its imbecility." The anticipations of Mr. Randolph were correct, JS'othing could be farther from the design of that meeting, or the wishes of Connecticut, than to foster disunion. The object of the convention was not to foment but to restrain violence. When the report of its doings arrived at the city of Washington, Mr. David Daggett, than a member of the Senate, wrote to Mv. Goodrich as follows, under date of Jan. 11, 1815. " The proceedings of the convention reached us by yesterday's mail. The pamphlet was announced with almost as great sensibility, as would have been a treaty of peace. The Senate had adjourned a few minutes before the mail was opened ; and many of the members being present, Mr. Galliard read it audibly. The minds of our friends are relieved. To those of us who know the authors of these proceedings, they are not more discreet, dignified, and wise, than our strong partialities had led us to hope. Of others it may be truly said, they exceed their most sanguine expectations." He adds in reference to the friends of the administration, "they are left without ground either of complaint or triumph — I am perfectly satisfied." Such, the writer believes, will be the decision of history ; notwithstanding the odium which has been heaped upon this conven- tion, by those who had no personal knowledge of the men who composed it, or the motives by which they were actuated.
Early in 1815, it was found that a hidden disease under which Mr, Goodrich had for some time labored, was an affection of the heart. His death was probably near — it would unquestionably be sudden — it might occur at any moment ! He received the intelligence with calmness, but with deep emotion. He expressed his feelings without reserve to his pastor, the Rev. Dr. Strong, and at a later period to the writer of this sketch. From his youth, he had been a firm believer in the divine authority of the Scriptures. He read them habitually even in the busiest scenes of his life. So highly did he prize public worship, that he once remarked, he would attend on preaching of a very low intellectual order, which was even repulsive to his taste — and that he always did so (if he could find no better) when away from home — rather than be absent from the house of God. As the result of all his studies and reflections, he had become more and more fixed in his belief of those great doctrines of grace, which had been taught him by his father, and which are generally received in the churches of Connecticut. His life had, indeed, been spotless, and devoted to the service of his country. But in speaking of our ground
APPEXDIX. 637
of acceptance before God, he said in substance, " A moral life is of itself nothing for the salvation of the soul. I have lived a moral life in the estimation of the world ; but no language can express my sense of its deficiency in the sight of a holy God. If there were not an atonement, I must be condemned and miserable forever. Here my hope is stayed. A sense of imperfection often sinks my spirits ; but generally I have a hope that supports me ; and at times I have rejoiced in God without fear, and have wished only to be in his hands and employed in his service." In this state of mind his summons found him. On the 18th of August, 1815, in the midst of the family circle, while walking the room and engaged in cheerful conversation, he faltered for a moment, sank into a chair, and instantly expired in the fifty-sixth year of his age. His death was a shock to the whole community. Party distinctions were forgotten under a sense of the general loss •, and in the simple but expressive language which was used at his funeral, all united in " a tribute of respect to the memory of the man who has so long been dear to us and done us so much goody
In his person, Mr. Goodrich was a little above the medium height, of a full habit, slightly inclining to corpulency. He had finely turned features, with prominent and rounded cheeks, and a remarkable purity of complexion which retained throughout life the flush of early youth. His countenance was singularly expres- sive, showing all the varied emotions of his mind when excited by conversation or by public speaking. His eye was blue, and deep-sunk under an ample forehead. He had the habit of fixing it intently upon those to whom he spoke in earnest con- versation ; and no one who has felt that look, will ever forget its searching and subduing power. His portrait by Colonel Trumbull is one of the best productions of that celebrated artist.
In domestic and social life, he was distinguished for his gentleness and urbanity. He had a delicacy of feeling which was almost feminine. A friend who had con- versed with him intimately for many years, remarked that he had one peculiarity which was strikingly characteristic : " Xot a sentiment or expression ever fell from his lips in the most unguarded moment, which might not have been uttered in the most refined circles of female society." He had, at times, a vein of humor, which shows itself in his familiar letters to Oliver Wolcott, and others, as published by INIr. Gibbs, in his " Memoirs of the Administrations of Washington and John Adams." But, in general, his mind was occupied with weighty thoughts, and it was perhaps this, as much as any thing, that gave him a dignity of manner which was wholly unassumed, and which without at all lessening the freedom of social intercourse, made every one feel that he was not a man with whom liberties could be taken. He could play with a subject, when he chose, in a desultory manner; but he preferred, like Johnson, to " converse rather than fflZA*." He loved of all things to unite with others in following out trains of thought. The late Judge Hopkinson, of Philadelphia, in a letter to ]Mr. Gibbs, classes him in this respect with Oliver Ellsworth, Fisher Ames, Uriah Tracy, Oliver Woleott, and Roger Griswold ; of whom he says, " You may well imagine what a rich and intellectual society it vv'as. I will not say that we have no such men now, but I don't know where to find them."
His crowning characteristic, that of integrity and honor, was thus referred to a
688 APPENDIX.
few days after his death, by a writer in one of the leading journals of Hartford. " His judgment was so guided by rectitude, that of all men living he was, perhaps, the only one to whom his worst enemy (if enemy he had) would have confided the decision of a controversy^ sooner than to his hest friend.''''
Goodrich, Elizur, LL. D., was born at Durham, on the 24th of March, 1761. He was the second son of the Rev. Elizur Goodrich, D.D., who was for many years one of the most active members of the corporation of Yale College, and largely engaged in preparing young men for that institution. Hence, his son was trained from childhood to an intimate acquaintance with the classics ; and retained throughout life so great a familiarity with the Latin language especially, that he could read it at all times with entire ease, and continued occasionally to write it with accuracy and elegance. In the year 1775, he entered Tale College at the age of fourteen. During his senior year, his life was brought into extreme dan- ger at the time when New Haven was attacked by the British. On the landing of the troops, July 5th, 1779, he joined a company of about a hundred in num- ber, who went out, under the command of James Hillhouse, to annoy and retard the march of the enemy towards evening, when the town was taken and given up to ravage and plunder, he was stabbed near the heai't by a British soldier, as he lay on his bed in a state of extreme exhaustion, and barely escaped with his life.
Having graduated in the autumn of the same year with the highest honors of his class, he received the appointment of Berkley scholar, and continued at college on this foundation for two years, when he was elected tutor, September, 1781, as successor to his brother, Chauncey Goodrich. He now commenced the study of law in connection with his college duties, under the tuition of his uncle, Charles Chauncey, one of the most learned lawyers of the state ; and resigning his tutor- ship at the end of two years, he commenced the practice of the law at New Ha- ven, in the autumn of 1783. He was soon after married to a step-daughter of David Austin, Esq., collector of the port of New Haven, and gradually rose into a valuable and extensive business.
In 1795, he v/as elected a representative of the town in the state legislature, an office which he continued to hold for many years, during which he was repeatedly chosen clerk and speaker of the House of Representatives. In 1799, he was elected a member of Congress, and was present at the last session of that body in Philadelphia, and its first session in Washington, when the seat of government was removed to the District of Columbia. He soon made himself known in the House, as a man of sound judgment and strong reasoning powers, but was invited, during his second session, to an office of much responsibility at home. On the death of his father-in-law, Mr. Austin, there was a general desire among the merchants of New Haven, that Mr. Goodrich should accept the office of the collector of tlie port; and recommendations to this effect having been forv^^arded to Washington, the president sent for him and proposed to make the appointment. As there was a probability, however, that Mr. Jefferson might be elected president in room of Mr. Adams, it was thought proper by Mr. Goodrich and his friends, to learn, if possible, whether a change would be made in offices of this kind, if a change of administration took place. The question was, therefore, put to Mr. Jefferson by a friend of the two parties, and he said at once, that in his view no such change
APPENDIX. 639
ought to be made, on the mere ground of political differences. ]\Ir. Goodrich, therefore, accepted the appointment early in 1801 ; but in this case, as in many others, the opinions of the president were over-ruled, by party influences, and Mr. Goodrich was removed at the end of about six months. He was immediately elected, to the state legislature, first as a member of the house of representatives, and soon after as a member of the council (afterwards senate) of the state ; which last office he continued to hold by successive annual elections, until 1818, when he and his associates were succeeded by those who opposed them in politics. He was thus, without intermission, a member of the state legislature, or of Congress, for the period of twenty-three years. His habits of mind fitted him peculiarly for the duties of a legislative body. He had great industry, clearness of judgment, and accuracy of knowledge in the details of business. He was much relied on in drafting new laws, as one who had been long conversant with the subject, and had gained a perfect command of those precise and definite forms of expression which are especially important in such a case. He was, also, chief judge of the county court for the county of New Haven thirteen years ; and judge of probate for the same county seventeen years, down to the change of politics in 1818. In the lat- ter oftiee, he endeared himself greatly to numerous families throughout the county, by his judgment and kindness in promoting the settlement of estates without hti- gation, and by his care in providing for the interests of widows and orphans. He was also mayor of the city of New Haven, from September 1803 to June 1822, being a period of nineteen yeai*s, when he declined any longer continuance in this ofiice. For nine years, he was professor of law at Yale College, and repeatedly delivered courses of lectures on the laws of nature and nations, but resigned the office in 1810, as interfering too much with his other public duties. His interest in the college, however, remained unabated. For many years he was a leading mem- ber of the corporation, and was particularly charged with its interests as a mem- ber of the prudential committee ; and was secretary of the board for the period of twenty-eight years, until he tendered his resignation in 1846. It is a striking cir- cumstance, that from the time of his entering college in 1775, he was uninter- ruptedly connected with the institution, either as a student, Berkley scholar, tutor, assistant to the treasurer, professor, member of the corporation, or secretary of the board, for the space of seventy-one years ! He received from the college the honorary degree of LL. D., in the year 1830.
The same year, 1818, in which he retired from public office, Mr. Goodrich had the misfortune to lose his wife ; and from this period he divided his time in part between his children, residing not only at New Haven, but at Hartford, and Utica, with his oldest son, and at Washington City, in the family of his daughter, who was married to the Hon. Henry L. Ellsworth, for many years commissioner of patents for the United States. Wherever he resided, his society was highly ac- ceptable in private life. His cordial manners, extensive information, and genial humor, rendered him an object of interest to every circle he entered ; and with- out any attempt at brilliancy, he made an impression upon the minds of strangers by his powers of conversation, such as few men have ever surpassed. As he ad- vanced in years, he resided chiefly at New Haven, retaining the full possession of his mental powers to within a few months of his death, whicli took place w thout
640 APPENDIX.
pain or any apparent disease, from tlie mere decay of nature, on the first day of November, 1849, in the eighty-ninth year of his age. He had been for some years " the senior member of the Connecticut bar ;" and at a meeting of the pro- fession the next day, it was " Voted, unanimously, that in token of our respect for the memory of the deceased, and our appreciation of his long and honorable pub- he service, we will attend his funeral in a body."
After what has been said, it is unnecessary to give any labored delineation of Mr. Goodrich's character. He was distinguished for the clearness and strength of his judgment, the ease and accuracy with which he transacted business, and the kindness and affability which he uniformly manifested in all the relations of hfe. His reading was extensive and minute 5 and what is not very common in public men, he kept up (as already stated) his acquaintance with the ancient clas- sics to the last, being accustomed to read the writings of Cicero, Livy, Sallust, Vii'gil, and Horace, down to the eighty-ninth year of his age, with all the ease and interest of his early days. He professed the religion of Christ soon after leaving college ; adorned his profession by a consistent life ; and experienced the consola- tions and hopes which it affords, in the hour of dissolution.
Granger, Gideon, was born in Suffield, July 19, 1767, and graduated at Tale in 1787. He became celebrated as a lawyer and politician ; and in 1801, Presi- dent Jefferson appointed him postmaster-general of the United States — an office which he held for thirteen years. In 1814, he removed to Canandaigua, N. Y., and in 1819, was elected a member of the senate of that state. He gave one thousand acres of land in aid of the Erie Canal. He died December 31, 1822. His son Francis Granger, of Canandaigua, was postmaster-general under Presi- dent Harrison.
Griffin, Edward, Dorr D.D., was born in East Haddam, January 6, 1770, and gi-aduated at Yale in 1790. In 1795, he was ordained pastor of the congrega- tional church in New Hartford ; and in 1801, he became the colleague-pastor with the Rev. Dr. McWhorter, in Newark, New Jersey. He was subsequently pastor of the Park-street church, Boston, professor of sacred rhetoric in the theo- logical seminary at Andover, and president of Williams College. He returned to Newark in 1836, where he died, November 8, 1837, aged 67. Dr. Griffin was one of the most eloquent preachers of his time. His memoirs were written by the Rev. Dr. Sprague, of Albany, N. Y.
Griswold, Alexander, V., D.D., was born in Simsbury, became a learned and eloquent divine of the episcopal church, and bishop of the eastern diocese of Massachusetts. He received the degree of doctor of divinity from Harvard Col- lege, Brown University, and from the college of New Jersey. Bishop Griswold, died in Boston, February 15, 1843, aged 76 years. His biography, by the Rev. John S. Stone, D.D., has been published.
Griswold, Matthew, was born in Lyme, March 25, 1714 5 in 1751, he was chosen a representative, and in 1759, he was elected a member of the council. He was ako a judge and chief judge of the superior court, lieutenant-governor, and from 1784 to 1786, he was governor of the state. In 1788, he was chosen presi- dent of the convention which adopted the constitution of the United States. He died April 28, 1799, aged 85. He was father of Governor Roger Griswold.
APPENDIX. 641
Griswold, Stanley, was born in Torringford, November 176S, and graduated at Yale in 1786. In 1 790, he was installed at New JMillbrd, as colleague-pastor of the church in that place with the Rev. Mr. Taylor, and continued in the pastoral office in New JNlilford until 1802, when he resigned. In politics he was a Jeffer- sonian democrat —an unusual circumstance among the congregational clergy of Connecticut at that time. It was claimed that in consequence of his pohtical opin- ions, he was persecuted by his clerical brethren. At all events, he was excluded from the South Consociation of Litchfield county — but the people of his charge warmly espoused his course. In 1804, Mr. Griswold became the editor of a democratic paper in Walpole, N. H., but soon after was appointed by President Jefferson to the post of secretary of the territory of Michigan. He was subse- quently a United States senator from Ohio, and United States judge for the north- western territory. He died at Shawneetown, Illinois, August 21, 1814, aged 46 years.
Hall, Lyman, was a native of Wallingford, and graduated at Yale College in 1747. He studied medicine and established himself at Midway, Georgia. Hav- ing early and zealously espoused the cause of his country, his efforts contributed much to induce the Georgians to join the American confederacy. He was chosen a member of the Continental Congress in May 1775, signed the declaration of independence, and continued in that body till the close of 1780. In 1783, he was elected governor. He died in February, 1791, aged 66.
HiLLHousE, James, LL. D., was born at New London, October 21, 1754, and graduated at Yale in 1773. He was an officer in the revolution ; and in 1791, was elected a member of the House of Representatives in Congress. From 1796 to 1810, he was a member of the United States Senate ; from 1810 to 1825, he was commissioner of the school fund of this state, and from 1782 to 1832, was treasurer of Yale College. He died at New Haven, December 29, 1832, in the 79th year of his age.
HiLLHousE, WiLLL\M, was a son of the Rev. James Ilillhouse, of New London, where the subject of this paragraph was born August 25th, 1728. As a represen- tative and member of the council, he attended the legislature at one hundred and six semi-annual sessions ! — probably a much longer period than any other person who ever lived in Connecticut. He was also a major of cavalry in the rev- olution, judge of the county court, and a member of the Continental Congress from 1783 to 1786. His brother, James Abraham Hillhouse, (born May 20, 1730, graduated at Yale College, 1749,) a distinguished lawyer and member of the council, died in 1775.
Hlnman, Benjamin, Colonel, was born in "Woodbury in 1720. He served against the French in Canada as early as 1751, under a commission as quarter- master of the troop of horse in the 13th regiment. On the 19th of April, 1775, he was commissioned as a captain in the regiment of Colonel Elizur Goodrich, raised for the defense of his majesty's territories against the French at Crown Point and vicinity. Before the close of the French and Indian wars, he had risen to the rank of lieutenant- colonel ; and on the 1st of November, 1771, he was ap- pointed colonel of the thirteenth regiment of horse. At the commencement of the revolution, May 1st, 1775, he received from Governor Trumbull a commission
73
642 APPENDIX.
as colonel of the fourth regiment of troops enlisted for the defense of the colony. He continued in active service until January, 1777, when he returned home in ill health. He represented the town of Woodbury in the legislature at about twenty sessions ; and after Southbury was incorporated, he represented that town at eight sessions. He was also a member of the convention which ratified the constitution of the United States. Colonel Hinman died in Southbury, March 22, 1810, at the age of 90 years.
HiN.MAN, Royal R., (now a resident of Harlem, N. Y.,) was born in Southbury, and graduated at Yale in 1820. He pui-sued his professional studies at the Litch- field Law School, settled in his native town, and was chosen a representative at four sessions of the General Assembly. In 1835, he was elected to the office of secretary of state, and continued to be re-elected every year until 1 842. In 1836, he published a volume entitled, " Antiquities of Connecticut ;" and in 1842, he compiled and published a work of 643 large octavo pages, entitled, " A Historical Collection of the part sustained by Connecticut during the war of the revolution" — a valuable book. He has latterly given to the public several excel- lent genealogical works. In 1835, he was appointed chairman of a committee to revise the public statutes of the states ; and in 1838, he was appointed on a simi- lar committee. Several volumes of statutes and public and private acts were compiled and published under his supervision. In September 1844, IMr. Hinman was appointed collector of customs for the port of New Haven ; and he also, for a short time, held the office of postmaster at Hartford.
Hitchcock, Peter, was born in Cheshire, October 19, 1781, and graduated at Yale in 1801. Having pursued the study of law in the county of Litchfield, in his native state, he was admitted to the bar in March, 1804. He immediately opened an office in his native to%vn, and remained there for about two years, dur- ing which time he married Miss Abigail Cook. In the spring of 1806, he re- moved to Geauga County, Ohio, and settled upon a farm. His location was in a wilderness, and far away from the county-seat. Law business was of course dull, and for several years his time was divided between his profession, teaching school, and " clearing up" and cultivating his land. In 1810, he was elected a repre- sentative to the General Assembly of the state ; and from 1812 to 1816, he was a member of the state senate, and was elected president of that body at one ses- sion. In 1817, he was chosen a member of Congi'ess, and during the following year, before the expiration of his congressional term, he was chosen by the legis- lature a judge of the supreme court of the state for the term of seven years. He was re-elected to the same office in February, 1826, in March, 1835, and in Jan- uary 1845 ; and retired from the bench in February 1852, after a judicial service of twenty-eight years. A part of this time he had filled the place of chief justice. From 1833 to 1835, he was again a member of the senate, and once more was elected speaker or president. In 1850, Judge Hitchcock was elected a delegate to the convention which formed the new constitution of the state. He died at the residence of his son, the Hon. Reuben Hitchcock, in Painesville, Ohio, March 4, 1854.
Hitchcock, Samuel J., LL. D., was born in Bethlem, and graduated at Yale in 1809. He was a tutor from 1811 to 1815, and was subsequently until his
APPENDIX. 643
death instructor of law in that college, lie received the degree of doctor of laws in 1842, and died in 1845. He was mayor of the city of New Haven, judge of the court of common pleas, and commissioner of bankruptcy during the continu- ance of the national bankrupt law,
IIoLLEY, Horace, LL. D., was born in Salisbury, February 13, 1781, and graduated at Yale in 1803. Having studied theology in New Haven, in 1805 he was ordained pastor of the church at Greenfield Hill, Fairfield, over which Presi- dent Dwight had formerly been settled. In 1809, he became pastor of the Ilollis- street church, Boston, where he remained until 1818, when he accepted the presi- dency of Transylvania University, in Kentucky. Under his auspices the univer- sity so increased in popularity that in 1825 it numbered four hundred students. He resigned in the spring of 1827 ; and in July of that year he embarked at New Orleans for the north, but on the fifth day out he died on ship-board, July 31, 1827, aged 46 years. He was a man of great learning, and was one of the most eloquent and distinguished pulpit orators of the age. Professor Caldwell, of Tran- sylvania University, pronounced an eulogy upon him, which was published in a handsome volume in connection with his memoirs by his widow.
Holmes, Abiel, D.D., LL. D., was born in Woodstock in 1763, and graduated at Yale in 1783. For six years he was pastor of a church in Midway, Georgia ; and in 1792, he became pastor of the first church in Cambridge, Mass., where he spent the remainder of his days. He was highly respected for his talents, learn- ing, and industry. In 1805, he published his " Annals of America," one of the most valuable historical publications of the age. The work has since been repub- lished in this country and in Europe. His life of President Stiles was published in 1798. His other publications, consisting of sermons and historical disquisitions, are about thirty in number. He received the degree of doctor of divinity at the Edinburgh LTniversity, and in 1822, the degree of doctor of laws was conferred upon him by Allegany College. He died June 4, 1837, aged 74.
Hopkins, Samuel, D.D., was born at Waterbury, September 17, 1721, and graduated at Yale College in 1741. For many years he was settled in the min- istry in Great Barrington, Mass., and in Newport, R. I. He was an eminent theo- logian, from whom the Christians called " Hopkinsians" derive their name. He was the author of " A System of Doctrines, contained in Divine Revelation, to which is added a Treatise on the Millenium," 2 volumes 8vo., published in 1793 5 and also of several smaller works. He died December 20, 1803, aged eighty-two.
Hosmer, Titus, of Middletown, graduated at Yale in 1757. Having been for many years a representative of the Connecticut Legislature, he was chosen a mem- ber of the council in 1778, and was also three times elected a member of the Con- tinental Congress. He was speaker of the house in 1777. In January 1780, he was appointed by Congress, a j udge of the court of appeals, for the revision of maritime and admiralty cases. He was regarded as one of the greatest men in the state during his mature years. He died, August 4, 1780, aged 44,
Hosmer, Stephen T., LL, D., son of the preceding, was a native of Middletown, and graduated at Yale in 1782. He was a member of the council for ten years, a judge of the superior court for four years, and chief judge for fourteen years.
644 APPENDIX.
He received the degree of doctor of laws from Tale College. He died in Mid- dletown, August 6, 1834.
Huntington, Samuel, LL. D., was born in Windham in 1732, and settled in Norwich as a lawyer in 1760, where he soon became distinguished in his profes- sion. Previous to the revolution he had held the office of representative, assistant, king's attorney, and judge of the superior court. In 1775, he was chosen a dele- gate to the Continental Congress ; and on the 4th of July, 1776, he appended his name to the declaration of independence. In 1779, he was chosen president of Congress, and was re-elected to that honorable office in 1780. In 1781, he was again appointed a judge and member of the council. In 1783, he was re-elected to Congress, and during the following year he was appointed chief judge of the supe- rior court and lieutenant-governor. In May 1786, Judge Huntington was elected to the office of chief magistrate of the state, to succeed Governor Griswold, and was annually re-elected until his death, which took place at Norwich, January 5, 1796, at the age of 63 years. He was also a member of the convention which adopted the federal constitution in 1 788. Plis wife, Martha, the daughter of Ebe- nezer Devotion, pastor of the church in Windham, died June 4, 1794. Governor Huntington was not a graduate, but received honorary degrees from Dartmouth and Yale.
Huntington, Joseph, D.D., brother of the preceding graduated at Yale in 1762, and became pastor of the congregational church in Coventry. He published sev- eral sermons and addresses, and was the author of a work, which was published after his death, entitled, " Calvinism Improved, or the Gospel illustrated in a sj^stem of real grace, issuing in the salvation of all men." He received the de- gree of doctor of divinity at Dartmouth. He died in 1795, leaving two children ; viz., a daughter who married Edward Dorr Griffin, D.D., President of Williams College, and a son, Samuel, who graduated at Yale College in 1785, and became chief justice and governor of Ohio, and died at Painesville, (Ohio,) July 7, 1817, aged 49.
Huntington, Jabez, General, was born in Norwich in 1719, graduated at Yale in 1741, and settled in his native town as a merchant and importer. He was chosen a member of the colonial assembly in 1750, was speaker of the House for several years, and subsequently a member of the council. In the war of the revolution was a member of the council of safety, and major-general of militia. He died in 1786.
Huntington, .Jedediah, General, (a son of the preceding,) was born in Nor- wich in 1743, and graduated at Cambridge in 1763, on which occasion he pro- nounced the first English oration delivered in that college at commencement. He was colonel of a continental regiment in 1775 ; and two years after, Congress gave him a commission of brigadier-general, which office he held during the war with high honor and usefulness. In 1788, he was appointed state treasurer, and was a member of the convention which ratified the constitution of the United States. He removed to New London in 1789, on receiving from President Washington the appointment of collector of the customs for that port, an office which he continued to hold for twenty-six yeai's. He died September 25, 1818. His first wife, Faith, daughter of Governor Trumbull, died at Dedham, Massachu-
APPENDIX. 645
setts, in 1775, while on her way with her husband to join the continental camp at Cambridge. His second wife, a sister of Bishop Moore of Virginia, died in 1831. Genei-al Huntington was an officer of the church, and one of the original mem- bers of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign INIissions.
Huntington, Benjamin, LL. B., of Norwich, graduated at Yale in 1761, and having settled in his native town in the practice of the law, he soon rose to emi- nence in his profession. He was a judge of the superior court from 1793 to 1798, and was a member of the Continental Congress from 1780 to 1784, and from 1787 to 1788. After the reorganization of the government, he was elected a Representative in Congress from 1789 to 1791. He was mayor of the city of Norwich for twelve years. He died in 1800.
Huntington, Ebenezer, General, of Norwich, graduated at Yale in 1775, and during the same year he joined the army near Boston, as a volunteer. In 1776, he was commissioned as a captain and appointed deputy adjutant-general. In 1777, he received a major's commission, and during the following year he was made lieutenant-colonel. In 1799, he was, at the recommendation of Washing- ton, appointed a brigadier-general in the army raised by Congress in anticipation of a war with France. He subsequently held the office of major-general of the militia of Connecticut. General Huntington was elected a representative in Con- gress in 1810 and again in 1817. He died in Norwich, in June 1834, at an ad- vanced age.
Huntington, Jabez "W.,was born in Norwich, November 8, 1788, and gradu- ated at Yale in 1806. He pursued his professional studies at the Litchfield Law School, and commenced the practice of his profession in Litchfield, where he re- mained for about thirty years. In 1828, he was elected to the state legislature, and in 1829, he was chosen a representative in Congress, in which office he re- mained until his election as a judge of the superior court, in 1834. In 1840, he was elected to the senate of the United States, and continued to hold that office until his death, November 1, 1847. He took up his residence in his native town a few years previous to his decease.
Tngersoll, Jared, LL. D., (son of the Hon. Jared Ingersoll, stamp master and judge of the admiralty court,) was a native of New Haven and a graduate of Yale in 1766. He settled in Philadelphia, where he attained a high rank as a lawyer. He was elected a member of the Continental Congress in 1780, and was a member from Pennsylvania of the convention which framed the constitution of the United States, He was also a judge of the district court and attorney general of the state. In 1812, he was the candidate of the federal party for the office of vice president of the United States. He died October 31, 1822, aged 73. His sons, Joseph R. and Charles J., have both been members of Congress from Philadelphia.
Ingersoll, Jonathan, LL. D., a son of the Rev. Jonathan Ingersoll, was born in Ridgefield, and graduated at Yale in 1766. He settled in New Haven and became a lawyer of distinction. Besides holding many other offices of importance, he was a judge of the supreme court and lieutenant-governor of the state. He died in the latter office, January 12, 1723, aged 76.
Johnson, William, LL. D., was born in Middletown, graduated at Yale in
646 APPENDIX.
1788, and settled in New York city in the practice of law. In 1806, he published a translation of Azuni's " Maritime Law," accompanied by a commentary. He was the reporter of the supreme court of New York from 1806 to 1823, and of the com-t of chancery from 1814 to 1823. In 1838, he published a digest of cases decided in these courts from 1799 to 1836. He received the degree of doctor of laws from Hamilton College in 1819, and fi'om the college of New Jersey in 1820, He died in the city of New York in July, 1848.
Johnston, Josiah S., was born in Salisbury, and emigrated to Kentucky in
1789, with his parents. He settled in or near New Orleans, as a lawyer. In 1821, he was chosen a representative to Congress, and in 1825, he was elected a United States senator. On his return homeward from Washington City, in the spring of 1833, he was instantly killed by the bursting of a steamboat boiler on the Ohio river. May 19.
KiLBOURNK, James, was born in New Britain (then a parish of Farmington,) October 19, 1770. He studied divinity, and became a clergyman of the episcopal church. In l803-'4, he was instrumental in forming an emigrating colony to Central Ohio, then a wilderness. His company nearly all united with the episco- pal society, and for some time he officiated as their minister ; but as many secular duties devolved upon him, he finally abandoned his chosen profession and de- voted his time to the civil affairs of the settlement. A town was soon organized and named Worthington. In 1805, he was appointed, by act of Congress, to the office of United States surveyor of public lands ; and during the following year, the legislature of Ohio, in joint ballot, chose him a member of the first board of trustees of Ohio College, at Athens. In 1812, the president of the United States ap- pointed him a commissioner to settle the boundary between the public lands and the great Virginia reservation. About this time, he was commissioned as colonel of the frontier regiment ; and during the year 1812, he was elected a representa- tive to Congress. In the fall of 1814, he was re-elected to Congress. He was also a member of the Ohio legislature, and discharged the duties of many other public trusts with remarkable fidelity and ability. He was a man of wonderful energy and perseverance, and an earnest friend of education, good order, and reli- gion. Colonel Kilbourne died in Worthington, in April, 1850, in the 80th year of his age.
KiNGSLEY, James L., LL. D., was born in Windham, August 28, 1778, and graduated at Yale in 1799. In 1801, he was appointed tutor in that institution, and in 1805, he was chosen professor of languages and ecclesiastical history. In 1831, on the appointment of Professor Woolsey, he ceased to give instruction in Greek ; in 1836, the duties of his office were again divided, and from that date until 1851, he filled the chair of professor of the Latin language and literature. From 1805 to 1824, he was also the librarian of the college. Professor Kingsley was a gentleman of extensive, accurate, and varied learning, and his w^ritings are distinguished for perspicuity, terseness, and force. In the history of this country, and especially of New England, he was well versed, and his contributions on these subjects possess great value. He died in New Haven, August 31, 1852.
KiRBY, Ephraim, was born in Litchfield, February 23, 1757. He was an offi- cer in the revolution, and rose to the rank of colonel in the militia. He studied
APPENDIX. 647
law, and commenced tlie practice of his profession in his native town. In 1787, he received the honorary degree of master of arts from Yale College. Colonel Kirby was chosen a representative in the legislature at fourteen sessions, and in 1801, he was appointed by President Jefferson, to the office of supervisor of the national revenue for the state of Connecticut. About the same time he was the democratic candidate for governor. Upon the acquisition of Louisiana, the presi- dent appointed him a judge of the newl}'^ organized territory of Orleans. While on his way to New Orleans to enter upon the duties of this appointment, he died at Fort Stoddart, in the Mississippi Territory, October 2, 1804, aged 47 years. In 1789, Colonel Kirby published a volume of " Reports of the decisions of the superior court and supreme court of errors" in this state — the first wox'k of the kind published in the United States. The wife of Colonel Kirby, was Ruth Mar- vin, the only daughter of Reynold Marvin, Esq., of Litchfield, who had been king's attorney for the county, previous to the revolution. Major Reynold M. Kirby, U. S. A., who died October 7, 1842, and Colonel Edmund Kirby, U. S. A., who died August 20, 1849, were his sons.
Lanman, James, was born in Norwich, June 14, 1769, graduated at Yale Col- lege in 1788, and settled as a lawyer in his native town. lie was state's attorney five years, representative two years, state senator one year, senator in Congress six years, judge of the supreme court three years, mayor of the city of Norwich three years, and a member of the convention which formed the state constitution. He died in Norwich, Angust 7, 1841.
Law, Richard, an early settler of Wethersfield, and afterwards of Stamford, was for many years one of the most prominent men in New Haven colony, under the jurisdiction of which he was for many years a representative, commissioner and magistrate. At the first session of the general court of Connecticut, after the union of the two colonies. May, 1665, Mr. Law was appointed a commissioner, and was '" invested with magistratical powers in the towns of Stamford, Green- wich, and Rye, and also to assist in the execution of justice in the courts at Fair- field and Stratford." At a special session in July following, he was appointed on the committee " to order and appoint" the means of defense against the antici- pated invasion of our coast by De Ruyter, the Dutch Admiral. He continued to serve occasionally as a deputy, and nearly every year as a commissioner of the united colonies, until his death. His wife was Margaret, daughter of Thomas Kilbourn, of Wethersfield.
Law, Jonathan, a son of Mr. Jonathan Law of Milford, and grandson of the preceding, was born in Milford, August 6th, 1674 ; graduated at Harvard College in 1695 ; from 1715 to 1725, except one year, he was a judge of the superior court ; and in 1725, he was elected chief justice and lieutenant-governor, which offices he held until he was elected governor in 1741, He died while holding the office of governor, November 6, 1750. He was frequently a representative, and was speaker of the House.
Law, Richard, LL. D., son of the preceding, was born in Milford, March 17, 1733, graduated at Yale in 1751, and settled in New London, where he died Jan- uary 26, 1806. He successively held the offices of representative, member of the council, judge and chief judge of the superior court, member of the Continental
648 APPENDIX.
Congress, ju(3ge of tlie United States district court, and mayor of New London for twenty-two years. Richard Law, Esq., collector of the port of New London, and Hon. Lyman Law, speaker of the House and member of Congress, were his sons.
Mansfield, Jared, LL. D., was born in New Haven in May 1759, and graduated at Tale College in 1777. In 1802 he published at New Haven a work entitled " Essays Mathematical and Physical," which was the first volume of original mathematical research issued in this country. Li 1803, he was ap- pointed surveyor general of the United States for the north west territories, and while employed in that duty he devised the system of surveying and dividing the public lands which is still in use. From 1812 to 1828, he was professor of natural and experimental philosophy in the national military academy at West Point, with the army rank of lieut.-colonel in the corps of engineers. He died in New Haven, Feb. 3, 1830, aged 71.
Marsh, Charles, LL. D., was born in Lebanon, July 10, 1765, graduated at Dartmouth in 1786, studied law at the Litchfield Law School, and commenced practice at Woodstock, Vermont, in 1788. For a long series of years he stood at the head of the bar in that state. In 1815, he was chosen a representative in Congress, and while a member of that body, he was associated with Judge Mar- shall, Henry Clay, and others, in forming the American Colonization Society. He was a trustee of Dartmouth College for forty years. He died at Woodstock, Vt., January 11, 1849. *
Mason, .Jeremiah, LL. D., was born in Lebanon, April 27, 1768, and graduated at Yale College in 1788. Having studied law, he commenced the practice of his profession at Westmoreland, near Walpole, N. H , and in 1797 removed to Ports- mouth. He was appointed attorney general in 1802 ; and in 1813, he was elected a senator in Congress, a post which he resigned in 1817. In 1832, he removed to Boston, where he died Nov. 14, 1848. He was regarded as one of the greatest lawyers in New England. Judge Woodbury of the supreme court of the United States, said of him, " In a profound knowledge of several branches of jurisprudence, and in some of the most choice qualities of a forensee speaker, he had, in his palmy days, not merely in this state or New England, but in this whole country, few equals^ and probably no superior^ Daniel Webster, in reference to Mr. Mason, wrote, " The characteristics of his mind, as I think, were real greatness^ strength, and sagacity. He was great through strong sense and sound judgment, great by comprehensive views of things, great by high and ele- vated purposes. His discrimination arose from a force of intellect, and quick- seeing, far reaching sagacity, everywhere discerning his object, and pursuing it steadily." He received the degree of doctor of laws from Bowdoin, Dartmouth, and Harvard colleges.
Meigs, Return J., a son of Col. R. J. Meigs of the revolutionary army, was a native of Middletown, and graduated at Tale in 1785. He settled in Ohio, and became a judge of the supreme court of that state, a senator in Congress and governor of the state. He was appointed postmaster general of the United States in 1814, and held the office for nine years. He died at Marietta in March, 1825.
Meigs, Josiah, was born in Middletown, graduated at Tale in 1778, and was
APPENDIX. 649
professor of mathematics and natural philosophy in that institution from 1794 to 1801. He subsequently became the first president of the university of Georgia, and surveyor general of the United States. He died in 1822, aged 65.
Mills, Samuel, Jr., was born in Torrington, April 21, 1783, and graduated at Williams college in 1810. He originated the foreign mission school at Cornwall, and exerted an important influence in the establishment of the American board of commissioners for foreign missions, the American bible society, and the Ameri. can colonization society. Ho visited the city of Washington, and urged the scheme of colonization upon the attention of the eminent men gathered there, and attended the meeting at which the national sociej^ was organized. In his mis- sionary tours at the west and south, he found thousands of families destitute of the bible 5 and in his report he urged the importance of a national bible society. The Rev. Dr. Spring, (who published his memoirs,) says " The formation of this great national institution Mr. Mills thought of, suggested, and pressed the suggestion, long before it probably entered into the mind or heart of any other individual." In 1817, he was commissioned by the American colonization society as its agent to explore the western coast of Africa, and select a suitable place for the estab- lishment of a colony. He was authorized to choose his colleague for this import- ant mission. He accordingly selected the Rev. Ebenezer Burgess, professor of mathematics and national philosophy in the university of Vermont. These two young men set sail for England on the 6th of November, and reached Liverpool late in December. Sailing thence in February, 1818, they reached the African coast on the 12th of March. After spending more than two months in exploring the coast, they selected the site of Liberia, and started on their return on the 22d of May. On their voyage homeward, Mr. Mills died on the 16th of June, aged 35 years.
Mitchell, Stephen Mix, LL. D., was born in Wethersfield, Dec. 20, 1743, graduated at Yale in 1763, and was a tutor in that institution from 1706 to 1769, Having settled in his native town as a lawyer, he was elected a member of the Continental Congress in 1783, and was re-elected in 1785 and in 1787. In 1790, he was appointed chief judge of the county court-, in 1793, he was chosen a senator in Congress, which station he held until he was chosen a judge of the superior court in 1795, and from 1807 to 1814 he was chief judge. Judge IVIitchell also held the office of assistant, or member of the council, for nine years. He died September 30, 1835, aged 92.
Morse, Jedediah, D.D., was born in Woodstock, in 1761, graduated at Tale in 1783, and was installed pastor of a church in Charlestown, Mass., April 30, 1789, In the year 1821, he was dismissed; and died in New Haven, June 9, 1826, aged 65. His wife was Miss Breese, a granddaughter of President Finley. Dr. Morse is particularly distinguished for his geographical and statistical works. In 1789, his " American Geography" was published ; in 1793, it was greatly en- larged and published in two volumes, and has since gone through many editions. He published an " American Gazetteer," in 1797, and 1804 ; and subsequently, his great and valuable work, " Morse's Universal Gazetteer," made its appear- ance. In connection with Mr. Parish, in 1804, he published a history of New England. His other publications are numerous. He received the degree of doc-
650 APPENDIX,
tor of divinity at the University of Edinburgh. His son, Samuel F. B. Morse, LL. T>., (the inventor of the magnetic telegraph,) though a native of Massachu- setts, received his education here, and has been a resident in this state.
Parker, Amasa J., LL. D., is a native of Sharon, and a graduate of Union College. He studied law with Judge Edmonds, at Hudson, N.Y., and Colonel Amasa Parker, his uncle, at Delhi, Delaware County, and was admitted to the bar in October 1828. In 1833, at the age of twenty-six years, he was elected a representative in the state legislature ; and two years afterwards, he was elected by the legislature, a regent of the university. At the age of twenty-nine years he was elected a member of Congress from the counties of Delaware and Broome ; and in 1844 he was appointed a circuit judge and vice chancellor of the court of equity. He was thrown out of office by the adoption of a new state constitution, and soon after was chosen a judge of the supreme court of the state of New York. He now resides in Albany.
Phelps, Elisha, a native and resident of Simsbury, graduated at Yale in 1800, and pursued his legal studies at the Lichfield Law School. He was speaker of the house of representatives in 1821, and again in 1829 ; was elected to Congress in 1819, 1825, and 1827 ; and was comptroller of the state from 1830 to 1834. In 1835, he was appointed, with Leman Church, Esq., and the Hon. Royal R. Hin- man, a commissioner to revise the statutes of Connecticut. He died in 1847.
Phelps, Samuel S., was born in Litchfield, May 13, 1793, graduated at Yale in 1811, and studied his profession at the law school in his native town. He settled in Middlebury, Vermont. In 1827 he was chosen one of the council of censors ; in 1831 he was elected a member of the legislative council, and a judge of the supreme court. In 1838, he was elected a senator in Congress, and was re-elected in 1844. He retired to private life in 1850, after a service of twelve years in that body, having acquired a distinguished rank among the ablest states- men in the Union. He has since been appointed to the same office, by the governor of Vermont, to fill a vacancy.
PiTKLN, Timothy, LL. D., was born in Farmington in 1765 ; and graduated at Yale in 1785. After representing his native town for several years in the legis- lature, and having discharged the duties of speaker of the House for five sessions, he was chosen a member of Congress in 1805, and continued to be re-elected until 1819. In 1816 he published an octavo volume, entitled " A Statistical View of the Commerce of the United States ;" in 1835, an enlarged edition of this work, continued down to that time, was published. In 1828 he published his " Political and Civil History of the United States from 1763 to the close of Washington's Administration," in two volumes octavo. These works are highly esteemed for their candour and accuracy. Mr. Pitkin died in New Haven, December 18, 1847, aged 82 years. The degree of doctor of laws was conferred upon him by Yale College, in 1829.
Pitkin, William, of Hartford, was a member of the council from 1734 to 1754, when he was elected lieutenant-governor of the colony. He remained in the latter office until 1766, when he succeeded Mr. Fitch as governor. He died while holding the office of governor, Oct. 1st, 1769. Governor Pitkin was also a judge of the superior court for thirteen years, and chief judge for twelve years.
APPENDIX. 651
Plant, David, a native of Stratford, where he conthiued to reside until his death. He graduated at Yale in 1804. In 1819 and again in 1820, he was speaker of the house of representatives ; in 1821 he was chosen a member of the state senate, and was twice re-elected ; from 1823 to 1827 he was lieutenant- governor of the state ; and from 1827 to 1829 he was a member of Congress. lie died October 18, 1851.
Porter, Peter Buel, (son of Colonel Joshua Porter,) was a native of Salis- bury, and a graduate of Yale College, where he took his first degree in 1791. He was for some time a student at the Litchfield Law School, and subsequently, in company with his brother, the late Hon. Augustus Porter, en:iigrated to western New York. In 1809 he was elected a representative in Congress from that state, and was re-elected in 1811. As chairman of the committee on foreign relations, he reported the resolutions authorizing immediate and active preparations for war. In 1813, he was appointed major-general and chief in command of the state troops, and in 1815 he received from President Madison the appointment of com- mander-in-chief of the United States army — a post which he respectfully de- clined. Soon after the war he was chosen secretary of the state of New York, and was again elected to Congress. In 1828 he was appointed secretary of war by President Adams. He died at Niagara Falls, ]Mareh 20, 1844, aged 71. His wife, a daughter of the Plon. John Breckenridge, of Kentucky, died in August, 1831.
Prentiss, Samuel, was born in Stonington, March 31, 1782. Having com- pleted his legal studies under the instruction of Samuel Voce, Esq., of Northfield, Mass., and John W. Blake, Esq., of Brattleboro', Vermont, he was admitted to the bar in December, 1802, at Montpelier, where he commenced practice. Hav- ing served as a representative in the state legislature in 1824 and 1825, he was during the latter year, elected a judge of the supreme court. In 1829, he was chosen chief justice, and in 1831 he was transferred to the senate of the United States, in which distinguished body he served for eleven years. He drew up and presented to the senate the existing act against duelling in the district of Colum- bia. In May 1842, Mr. Prentiss, took his seat upon the bench as judge of the United States district court.
Riley, James, Captain, was born in Middletown on the 27th of October, 1777. At the age of fifteen years he commenced his seafaring life as a sailor on board a sloop bound to the West Indies. He was soon appointed to the command of a vessel 5 and in 1808, being at that time captain of the Two Mary's of New York, his ship was seized by the French while in the Bay of Biscay, and confiscated under the Milan Decree of December 17, 1807. He returned to this country in 1809. In April, 1815, he was master and supercargo of the brig Commerce, of Hartford, and sailed for New Orleans, where he exchanged his cargo, and set sail for Gibraltar. At that port he loaded his brig with brandies and wines, and de- parted for the Cape de Verd Islands, where he intended to complete the lading of his. vessel with salt. In this voyage he was shipwrecked and thrown upon the coast of Africa. For about eighteen months he was detained as a slave by the Arabs, and suffered almost incredible hardships, so that his weight was reduced from 240 to 60 pounds. He was finally ransomed by Mr. Wiltshire, of Magadore,
652 APPENDIX.
and the ransom money for himself and his companions was refunded by the United States government during President Monroe's administration. On his re- turn to this country, Captain Riley published in a volume a narrative of his adven- tures and sufferings, which has been widely circulated. Such were its extrordinaiy details, that the account was for a long time regarded as a mere romance. The subsequent testimony of his surviving companions, however, abundantly confirmed its truthfulness. For some years after his return, he resided in Ohio, and was there elected a representative. He, however, finally returned to his old employ- ment, trading almost wholly at the port of Magadore, He died on board his brig William Tell, bound to Morocco, March 15, 1840, aged 63 years.
Root, Erastus, was born in Hebron, March 16, 1773, graduated at Dartmouth in 1793, studied law with the Hon. Sylvester Gilbert, of his native town, and in 1796 settled in Delaware county, New Tork. During the following year, when but twenty-four years old, he was elected a representative, and from that time, until he declined holding office, he was almost constantly in public life. Among the honors bestowed upon him, were the following, viz., representative in the Assembly, eleven years ; speaker of the House, three years ; state senator, eight years 5 member of Congress, eleven years ; president of the Senate, and lieu- tenant-governor of the state of New York, two years. He was also a member of the constitutional convention in 1821, and was subsequently appointed by the legislature one of the committee to revise the laws of the state. It is a singular fact that during his first two legislative terms, he was the youngest member of the legislature ; and during the last two years, he was the oldest member. He also rose to the rank of major-general of militia. He died in New Tork city at the residence of his nephew, George St. John, Esq., on the 24th of December 1846, aged seventy-three years and nine months. He was a man of powerful frame, and though of uncouth manners, he had a highly cultivated intellect and a correct literary taste. He married Miss Elizabeth Stockton, of Delaware county, and had five children, viz., Charles, who died at Rio Janeiro, while a midshipman in the navy ; William, who now resides in Wisconsin ; Julianne, who married the late Hon. S. R. Hobble, the well-known first assistant postmaster-general ; Elizabeth, who married Henry L. Robinson, Esq. ; and Augusta, who married William Fuller, Esq., and died in Alabama in 1838.
Root, Jesse, LL. D., was born in Northampton, Mass., in January, 1737. graduated at New Jersey college in 1756, and preached for about three years. He then studied law and in 1763 was admitted to the bar, and settled in Coventry, He was a lieutenant-colonel in the revolution ; member of the Continental Con- gress for five years ; a judge of the superior court for nine years; and chief judge for nine years. He died March 29, 1822, aged 85 years.
Sai.tonstall, Gurdon, was a great grandson of Sir Richard Saltonstall, one of the original patentees of Massachusetts Bay. He was born at Haverhill, Mass., March 27, 1666, graduated at Harvard College in 1684, and was ordained pastor of the church in New London, Conn., in 1691. While in the clerical office he was often employed in civil affairs, and on the death of Governor Winthrop in 1707, he was elected to the office of governor of Connecticut, and continued to discharge the duties of that important trust until his decease September 24, 1724. He was
APPENDIX. 65
Q
not only an able and eloquent divine, but he proved himself a consummate states- man. To a noble and dignified person, he added the graces of a polished manner and the powers of an accomplished oratory.
Sedgwick, Theodore, LL. D., was born in West Ilartfurd in May 1746. When the subject of this sketch was about three years old,]iis parents removed to Cornwall Hollow, in the western part of Connecticut, where he continued to reside until he entered college. He graduated at Yale in 1765, and settled as a lawyer in Sheffield, Massachusetts, and fi"om thence removed to Stockbridge, in the same state in 1785. He was a member of the Continental Congress from 1785 to 1787, and after the adoption of the federal constitution, he was chosen a representative in Congress. From the 11th of INIarch 17t)G to March 3d, 1799, he was a United States senator, and was chosen president pro. tern, of that borly in 1798. Immediately upon the expiration of his senatorial term in 1799, he was again elected a representative in Congress, and was chosen speaker of the House. From 1802 until his death, he was a judge of the supreme court of Massacliusetts. He died in Boston, January 24, 1813, aged 66. He received the degree of doctor of laws both at Princeton and Cambridge.
Seyjiour, Horatio, LL. D., was born in Litchfield, May 31, 1778, graduated at Yale in 1797, and pursued his professional studies at the Litchfield Law School. He settled in Middlebury, Vermont, his present residence. Besides being a judge of probate and member of the council, he was a senator in Congress from that state from 1820 to 1832. He received the degree of doctor of laws from Yale College in 1847.
SiixiMAN, Ebenezer, of Fairfield, was born in the year 1708, graduated at Yale in 1727, and was called to take a conspicuous part in the public affairs of the colony. Soon after he was admitted to the bar he was elected a representative from Fairfield, and at the October session 1736, he was chosen speaker of the House, a post to which he was re-elected at the three succeeding sessions. In 1739 he was chosen a member of the council, or upper house of the legislature, and was annually re-eleoted for twenty-seven years. At the end of that period, he was again chosen a representative, and at the sessions in May and October, 1773, and in May 1774, he was elevated to the speaker's chair. Mr. Silli- man was also annually elected a judge of the superior court for twenty-three years, besides being a judge of the probate court, judge of the county court, colonial auditor, and a member of various important committees. For a period of over forty-five years, he was almost constantly in public life. He was, says his epitaph, " distinguished by a clear understanding, a sedate mind, and dignity of deportment," and was "well versed in jurisprudence, learned in the law, and religiously upright." He died at his residence on " Holland Hill," two miles north of the village of Fairfield, on the 18th of January, 1775, aged 68 years.
SiLLiMAN, Gold Selleck, son of the preceding, was born in Fairfield in 1732, and graduated at Yale in 1752. Having fitted himself for the bar, he settled in his native town in the practice of the law, and soon became distin- guished in his profession. In May, 1775, in anticipation of serious events, the Assembly voted to raise troops for the defense of the colony, and Mr. Silli-
654 APPENDIX.
man was commissioned as a colonel, and on the 14th of June, 1776, he was appointed to the command of a regiment of horse raised to reinforce the con- tinental army in New York. In December of the year last named, he v<'as ap- pointed by the General Assembly brigadier-general of the fourth brigade of militia, in which office he served with success until the close of the war. While superintendent of the coast guard in the Spring of 1779, his vigilance and energy proved a serious annoyance to the enemy, and in May Sir Henry Clinton despatched a company of refugees from Lloyd's ISTeck, with directions, if possible, to take him prisoner. Crossing the Sound in a whale boat, the com- pany proceeded to the general's residence about midnight, under the guidance of one Glover, who was well acquainted with the premises. Seizing General Silliman, and his son William, who was major of brigade, the refugees conveyed their prisoners to Colonel Simcoe, the officer in command at Lloyd's Neck, and in a short time they were taken to New York under an escort of dragoons. There being at that time no prisoner in the hands of the Americans whom the British would accept in exchange for General Silliman, a friend of his. Captain Daniel Hawley, of Newfield, (now Bridgeport,) determined to procure one. Selecting a trusty crew, he crossed to Long Island in a boat, and seized the person of Judge Jones, of the supreme court of New York, a wealthy and influ- ential loyalist, whom they soon brouglit in safety to Newfield. Mrs. Silliman, hearing of the judge's arrival, sent for him and entertained him at her house for several days. It was not, however, until May 1780, that an exchange was effected. General Silliman was a brave, prudent, and efficient officer ; and was highly esteemed in private life as a neighbor, gentleman, and christian. He served his fellow citizens as a magistrate, representative, and state's attorney, and vras long a deacon in the church in Fairfield. He died July 21st, 1790, aged fifty-eight. He was the father of Benjamin Silliman, LL.D., the distin- guished professor of chemistry and minerology in Yale College.
SKI^'NER, Richard, LL. D., was born in Litchfield, May 30, 1778, and re- ceived his legal education at the Litchfield Law School. He settled in Manches- ter, Vermont, where he soon distinguished himself at the bar, and in public life. He held the offices of state's attorney, judge of probate, member of Congress, judge and chief judge of the supreme court, speaker of the house of representa- tives, and governor of the state from 1820 to 1823. He received the degree of doctor of laws from Middlebury College. Governor Skinner died in Manchester, May 23, 1833, aged 55 years.
Smith, Israel, a native of this state, was born April 4, 1759, and graduated at Yale in 1781. He studied law, and settled at Rupert, Vermont. He was chosen a representative in Congress in 1791, and held the office for seven years ; in 1802 he was elected a senator in Congress, but resigned in 1807, and Jonathan Robin- son was chosen to fill the vacancy. He was also chief justice and governor of the state. He died December 2, 1810, aged 51.
Smith, Junius, LL.D., a son of Major-general David Smith, was born in Plymouth, October 2, 1780, graduated at Yale in 1802, and read law in the Lichfield Law School. In 1805, he went to London on business connected with his profession, and he finally became a resident merchant of that city, and remained
APPENDIX. 655
there until 1832. In the year last named, he commenced the great project of navigating the Atlantic by steam. After pressing the matter upon the attention of the leading capitalists and merchants of London and New York, and crossing the ocean several times in the prosecution of his plans, he at length succeeded in forming "The British and American Steam Navigation Company," with a capital of £1,000,000. In July 1836, this company (of which Mr. Smith was a chief director,) gave notice that they would receive plans and proposals, and in Sep- tember a contract was made with some ship-builders in London to construct a steam ship of 2016 tons burthen. The keel of the " British Queen," the first ocean steam ship ever built, was accordingly laid on the 1st of April, 1837. Not long after, the company contracted for a steam ship of 700 tons, the " Sirius," which was actually completed before the " British Queen," and was the first to cross the Atlantic. On the 12th of July, 1839, the " British Queen " left Liver- pool for New York, for the first time, having on board 150 passengers, among whom were jNIr. Smith and his family •, and arrived in New York on the morning of the 28th of July — after a voyage of fourteen and a half days. Mr. Smith subse- quently turned his attention to the cultivation of the Tea Plant, and for that purpose purchased a plantation in Greenville, South Carolina, and was pi'osecuting the business with much success at the date of his decease, in 1853. In 1840 Yale College conferred upon him the degree of doctor of laws.
Smith, Nathan, was born in Roxbury in 1770, studied law with his brother, the Hon. Nathaniel Smith, and commenced his legal practice in New Haven, where he continued to reside until his death. He became one of the most cele- brated lawyers in the state, and had a very extensive business. In 1808 he re- ceived the honorary degree of master of arts at Yale College. He was a repre- sentative from New Haven, state senator, member of the convention which formed the state constitution, state's attorney for the county of New Haven, United States attorney for the district of Connecticut, and a senator in Congress. He died in the city of Washington, December 6, 1835, aged 65 years.
Smith, Perry, was born in Washington, pursued his professional studies at the Litchfield Law School, and settled in New Milford in 1807. He was a representa- tive four years, judge of probate two years, and United States senator six years. He died in New Milford in 1852.
Spencer, Ambrose, LL. D., was born in Salisbury, December 13, 1765, and graduated at Harvard College in 1783. Having studied law with John Canfield, Esq., of Sharon, and others, he established himself at Hudson, N.Y. He succes- sively held the offices of member of the House of Assembly, state senator, assistant attorney general and attorney general of the state, member of the council of ap- pointment, judge and chief judge of the supreme court, member of Congress, mayor of Albany, &c. In 1844, Judge Spencer was president of the whig national convention held at Baltimore, which nominated Henry Clay and Theodore Frelinghuysen for president and vice president of the United States. Before he had completed his professional studies. Judge Spencer married Laura Canfield, a daughter of his preceptor above named. Their son, John Canfield Spencer, was formerly a member of Congress from the state of New York, and has since been secretary of the treasury and secretary of war. '
6dQ appendix.
Stowe, jNIrs. Harriet B., a daughter of the Rev. Lyman Beecher, DD,, and wife of Professor Stowe, of Bowdoin College, was born in Litchfield. She is the author of several works of merit, the principal of which is " Uncle Tom's Cabin," in two volumes, which was published at Boston in 1852. It has, doubt- less, had a more extensive and rapid circulation in this country and in Europe, than any work ever issued from the press.
Strong, Jedediah, was born in Litchfield, November 7, 1738, and graduated at Tale in 1761. He then studied theology, but finally became a lawyer. lie was a representative at thirty sessions, member of the council, justice of the quorum, member of the Continental Congress, member and secretary of the con- vention which adopted the constitution of the United States, and commissary of supplies in the revolution. He married a daughter of the Hon. George Wyllys, secretary of state, in 1788; and in about a year afterwards, she procured a divorce from him on account of intemperance, personal abuse, &c. He died in poverty and obscurity in 1802.
Stuart, Moses, D.D., was born in Wilton, Fairfield county, March 26, 1780, graduated at Yale in 1799, and was admitted to the bar in Danbury in jSTovember, 1802. About the same time he was appointed tutor in Yale College, and held the office for some two years. Having resolved to leave the profession of law, he devoted much of his time while a tutor, to the study of theology. In March, 1806, he was ordained pastor of the first congregational church in JSTew Haven. In February, 1810, he was inaugurated professor of sacred literature in the theolo- gical seminary at Andover, Mass., in which office he spent the remainder of his life, He published numerous commentaries and theological treatises which have had an extensive circulation both in this country and in Europe. He died in Andover, Mass., January 4, 1852.
Talcott, Joseph, of Hartford, w^as for several years a representative and speaker of the House, and in 1711 was elected a member of the council, in which body he continued until he was elected lieutenant-governor, in May, 1724. In September of that year. Governor Saltonstall died, and lieutenat-governor Talcott was elected to fill the vacancy. He continued to hold the office of gov- ernor until his death in 1741.
ToMLiNsoN, Gideon, LL. D., a native and resident of Fairfield, was successively clerk and speaker of the house, a representative in Congress for eight years. United States senator six years, and governor of the state for four years. He received the degree of doctor of laws at Washington College, in 1827. Governor Tomlin- son died in 1854.
Tracy, Uriah, born in Franklin, near Norwich, February 2, 1755, graduated at Yale in 1778, read law with Judge Reeve, in Litchfield, and settled in that town. He was often chosen a representative, and in 1793 was speaker of the House. From 1793 to 1796, he was a representative in Congress, and from 1796 to 1807, he was a United States senator. In 1800, he was president pro tern, of the senate. He rose to the rank of major-general of militia. General Tracy was a leader of the old federal party, and an intimate friend of Hamilton, Ames, Morris, and their associates. He was a man of powerful intellect, and was par-
APPENDIX. 657
ticularly famed for his wit. lie died at Washington city, July 19, 1807, and was the first person buried in the congressional burying ground.
"Wales, Samuel, D.D., son of John Wales, minister at Ra}'nham, Mass., was one of the most eminent divines of his day. lie graduated at Yale in 1767, and was settled in Milford from 1770 to 1782. In June of the latter year, he was in- augurated as professor of divinity in Yale College, and continued to discharge the duties of that office with great ability and fidelity, until his death, which took place in 1794. His son, the Hon. John Wales, graduated at Yale in 1801, and was recently a senator in Congress from the state of Delaware.
Walworth, Reuben Hyde, LL. D., was born in Bozrah, a part of the old town of Norwich, on the 26th of October, 1789, and removed with his parents to Renselaer County, N. Y., in 1793. Having studied law with John Russell, Esq., of Troy, he was admitted to the bar in that place, and commenced the practice of law in Plattsburg, Clinton County, in 1810. He was soon appointed a justice of the peace and master in chancery. In 1813, during the war with Great Britain, he was appointed aid to INIajor General IMooers, and at the time of the siege of Plattsburg, he was assigned the duty of acting adjutant general. In 1818, he was appointed supreme court commissioner, and in the spring of 1821, he was elected a representative in Congress. Having declined a re-election, he was ap- pointed judge of the circuit court for the fourth circuit, in 1825. In the fall of this year, he removed to Saratoga springs, his present residence. In 1828, Judge Walworth was appointed to the office of chancellor of the state of New York, a post of distinguished honor, which he continued to adorn until the office was abol- ished by the new constitution. During the administration of President Tyler, a majority of the New York delegation in Congress, together with every member of the New York legislature of both political parties, united in recommending Chancellor Walworth, for the seat on the bench of the supreme court of the Uni- ted States, rendered vacant by the death of Judge Thompson. The president accordingly sent his name to the senate for confirmation, but that body having neglected for so long a time to act upon the nomination, the executive became convinced that it was determined to postpone the matter until a new administra- tion should come into power. The chancellor's name was therefore reluctantly withdrawn, and that of chief justice Nelson substituted. In 1835, Chancellor Walworth received the degree of doctor of laws from New Jersey College, at Princeton, and in 1839, Yale College conferred upon him the same degree.
Webster, Noah, LL. D,, was born in West Hartford, October 16, 1758, and graduated at Yale in 1778. During his junior year, he enlisted into the army, and served for several months in a company commanded by his father. After graduating, he studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1781. For some years he gave his attention to the subject of education, and published several elemen- tary works, which were used as manuals for a long period throughout the country. " Webster's Spelling Book," " Webster's School Dictionary," " Webster's His- tory of the United States," and " Webster's Grammar," have had a greater circu- lation than any works of the kind that have emanated from the American press more than 24,000,000 of the former having been issued from the press previous to 1847. His " Sketches of American Policy," published in 1784, and his other po-
74
658 APPENDIX.
litieal writings, had great influence in forming public opinioij, at an important period in our history. In 1793, he commenced the publication of a daily paper in 'New York, which is still continued under the title of The Commercial Advertiser. In 1798, Air. Webster settled in New Haven, where he continued to reside, except a few years spent in Amherst, Massachusetts, until his decease. In 1807, he en- tered upon the great business of his life, the compilation of a complete dictionary of the English language. He informs us in his preface that he " spent ten years in the comparison of radical words, and in forming a synopsis of the principal words in twenty languages^ arranged in classes under their primary elements or letters." The first edition of this great work, which was published in 1828, con- tained twelve thousand words and between thirty and forty thousand definitions, which are not to be found in any preceding work. In subsequent editions the number of new words had been swelled to thirty thousand. The work has since gone through many editions both in this country and in Europe. In 1823, Mr. "Webster received the degree of doctor of laws from Yale College. In 1843, he published " A Collection of.Papers on Political, Literary, and Moral Subjects," in one octavo volume.
Mr. Webster was for a number of years an alderman of the city of New Haven, and a judge of one of the state courts. He frequently represented the town in the legislature ; and while a resident of Amherst, he was chosen to represent that town in the legislature of Massachusetts. He died in New Haven, May 28, 1843.
Wheelock, Eleazer, D.D., was born in Windham, in April, 1711, and grad- uated at Yale in 1733. He was settled as pastor of the second society in Leba- non, (now Columbia,) and while in that place he opened a school for the purpose of fitting young men for college, to which he admitted several Indian youths. In 1764, he had imder his instruction about thirty pupils, one half of whom were Indian lads. His institution he named " Moor's Indian Charity School," in honor of ]Mr. Joshua Moor, of Mansfield, one of its most liberal benefactors. Large sums were contributed to aid this school, in England and Scotland, which were placed in the hands of a board of trustees, at the head of whom was the Earl of Dartmouth. The institution was at last so well endowed that it was removed to Hanover, New Hampshire, and in 1769, it was incorporated by the name of Dart- mouth College. In the act of incorporation, Eleazer Wheelock was declared to be its founder and president, with the right of appointing his successor. He died in 1779, and was succeeded in the presidency of the college by his son. He published several sermons and narratives. In 1811, his memoirs were published by Drs. McClure and Parish, in an octavo volume, with extracts from his corres- pondence. He received the degree of doctor of divinity from the University of Edinburgh, in 1767.
Wheelock, John, LL. D., son of the preceding, was born in Lebanon, Jan- uary 28. 1754, graduated with the first class at Dartmouth in 1771, and was ap- pointed tutor in 1772. In 1775, he was elected a representative in the legislature of New Plampshire ; in the spi'ing of 1777, he was appointed a major in the ser- vice of New York, and in November, he was commissioned as a lieutenant-colo- nel in the continental army. He remained in the army until the death of his
APPENDIX. 659
father in 1779, when he succeeded him In the presidency of Dartmouth College, at the age of 25 years. He visited France, Holland, and England, in 1783, bear- ing with him letters from General Washington, Governor Trumbull, and others, and succeeded in procuring valuable donations for the college, in money and books. He published an eulogy on Dr. Smith, in 1809 ; and a history of Dartmouth Col- lege, in 1816; and left in manuscript a large historical work. He died April 4, 1817, aged 63 years, bequeathing about half of his estate to the Princeton Theo- logical Seminary.
Whittlesey, Elisha, Is a native of Washington, in the western part of the state. In early manhood, he settled in the " AVestern Reserve," Ohio, as a law- yer ; and in 1823, was elected to Congress — an ofRce which he continued to hold for 18 years. Upon the election of President Harrison, Mr. Whittlesey was ap- pointed auditor of the post office department ; and in 1849, he received the ap- pointment of first comptroller of the United States treasury. He continues to reside in the city of Washington as general agent and director of the Washington National Monument Society.
WiLLEV, Calvin, born in East Haddam, September 15, 1776, read law with Judge Peters, of Hebron, and was admitted to the bar of Tolland county in Feb- ruary, 1798. He practiced for several years in Chatham and Stafford, but settled in Tolland in 1808. He was successively a representative, judge of probate, presi- dential elector, state senator, and senator in Congress.
Williams, Elisha, son of the Rev. W^illiam Williams, of Hatfield, Mass., graduated at Harvard College in 1711. Having been for several years pastor of the congregational church in Newington parish, in Wethersfield, he was inaugu- rated president of Yale College in 1726, as the successor of Dr. Cutler. He re- signed in 1739, and was soon after appointed a judge of the superior court. In 1745, he was a chaplain in the expedition against Cape Breton ; and in the follow- ing year he was a colonel in the n(>rthern army. He afterwards visited England, where he married a lady of superior accomplishments. He died in Wethersfield, July 24, 1755, aged 60. Dr. Doddridge, who knew him intimately, represents him as uniting in his character " an ardent sense of religion, solid learning, con- summate prudence, great candor and sweetness of temper, and a certain nobleness of soul, capable of contriving and acting the greatest things, without seeming to be conscious of his having done them."
Williams, William, son of the Rev. Solomon Williams, D.D., of Lebanon, was born in that town, April 8, 1731, and graduated at Harvard College in 1751. In 1776 and 1777, he was a member of the Continental Congress from Connecti- cut, and signed the declaration of independance. He married a daughter of Gov- ernor Trumbull. He made great efforts and sacrifices in the cause of his country. Mr. Williams died August 2, 1811, aged 80.
Yale, Elihu, was a son of Thomas Yale, who came to New Haven in 1637, with Governor Eaton and the Rev. John Davenport. The family came from the vicinity of the city of Wrexham, in North Wales, where, for many generations, they had i)ossessed an estate of the yearly value of £500. Elihu Yale was born in New Haven, April 5, 1648. At the age of ten years, he was carried to Eng- land, where he received his education. About the year 1678, he went to the Ejist
660 ' APPENDIX.
Indies, where he acquired a great estate, was made governor of Fort St. George, (Madras,) and married a lady of fortune, the widow of Governor Hinmers, his pre- decessor. On his. return to England in 1692, he was chosen governor of the East India Company. Some years after, hearing that a college had been estab- lished in his native town, he sent over at different times large donations of goods, books, and money, for its encouragement. On the 10th of September, 1718, the trustees gave to the institution the name of " Yale College," in commemoration of his generosity. He died, July 8, 1721, and was buried at Wrexham, the home of his ancestors.
Young, Ebenezer, was born in Killingly in 1784, and graduated at Yale in 1806. In 1823, he was elected a member of the state senate and was twice re- elected ; in 1827 and 1828, he was speaker of the house of representatives ; and from 1829 to 1835, he was a member of Congress. He died at West Killingly, August 18, 1851.
IsToTE. — In the foregoing biographical notes, it jvill be observed that only those persons are sketched who are deceased or who are residing out of the state. While the rule thus adopted must necessarily exclude from these pages many gen- tlemen of eminence and worth, it has seemed the only practicable course to be pursued. Indeed, but a few of the many distinguished sons and daughters of Connecticut, who have finished their course, or who have left their native state for other fields of usefulness or fame, could possibly be named in a work hke this. The good deeds and public services of the living, will not be forgotten. With a full heart, I commend them to the historian and chronicler of the future.
APPENDIX. 061
SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF COLONEL THOMAS KNOWLTON*
The subject of this brief memoir, Colonel Thomas Knowlton, was the third son of William, who emigrated from Ipswich, Massachusetts, to Ashford, Connecticut, at which place the former was born, about the year 1740. The father died early in life, leaving besides a widow, three sons, and four daughters.
When the war broke out between England and France, in 1755, Thomas com- menced his military career by joining himself to Captain Putnam's rangers, which composed a part of Lyman's regiment of provincials which were raised in Con- necticut. During the six campaigns in which he served in the vicinity of Crown Point, and on the Canadian frontier, he held successively the offices of sergeant, ensign, and lieutenant. He was promoted to the last rank in the campaign of 1760, which ended in the conquest of Canada by the English and provincials.
He was with Putnam at Wood Creek, in the campaign of 1758, when the latter was made a prisoner. On the morning of the 8th of August, some officers were incautiously engaged in firing at a target for a dinner. The enemy taking advan- tage of the firing lay in ambush and nearly succeeded in surrounding Putnam's division, which had just commenced its march, before they were discovered. Knowlton having become separated from his party found himself surrounded by eight or ten Indians who rose up on every side. Each being anxious to make him a prisoner made signs to that effect. He immediately shot down one of the num- ber and having fled over his body succeeded in reaching his company which at the lime were engaged with the enemy at some considerable distance from this scene of peril. He often, on other occasions encountered dangers and endured hardships common in Indian warfare 5 but his courage and daring were equal to any emergency.
When the war occurred between Great Britain and Spain, in 1762, Lieutenant Knowlton joined the expedition against Cuba, and was present at the reduction of Havana.
A campaign in 1764, under General Bradstreet, into the Indian country ended his military course till the commencement of hostilities with England in 1775.
He married April 5, 1759, Miss Anne, daughter of Samson Keyes, of Ashford.
Having served his country faithfully for a long period in the field, he now re- tired to private life, and to the quiet and peaceful pursuits of agriculture, in the bosom of a happy and rising family.
In the beginning of the year 1775, he held no military command. Yet he was often honored by his townsmen with civil offices, and was at the time of which we speak one of their selectmen.
* This interesting sketch from the pen of Mr. Ashbel Woodward, of Franklin, was received too late to be inserted in the te.xt, or even in its alphabetical place in the appendi.x. Rather than fail to present it to the public I have placed it here. It is due to Mr. Woodward, to say, that every sylla- ble of it is the production of his pen. He has been indefatigable in collecting the few fragments that remain of the personal history of a hero of whom Washington said that " any country in the world might well be proud."
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When the news of the battle of Lexington reached Connecticut, the miht'a company of Ashford, was without a captain. The members of this company spontaneously assembled on the eastern border of the town, and unanimously selected Lieutenant Knowlton for their commander. He immediately proceeded with one hundred brave men to Cambridge. This was the first body of armed men that entered Massachusetts fi'om a sister colony,
"While at Cambridge, Putnam and luiowlton, held frequent consultations. The latter ever enjoyed the confidence of the former.
The provincial officers having been apprised of the design of the British com- mander-in-chief to occupy the heights on the peninsula of Charlestown, detached a large body of men on the night of the 16th of June, 1775, to proceed there and throw up entrenchments. About one hundred and fifty of the one thousand who were engaged in constructing these foi'tifications, were taken from the Connecticut regiments. These men with Captain Knowlton at their head, were the first that commenced throwing up the redoubt on Bunker Hill.
When the fighting commenced. Captain Knowlton left the redoubt, and took a position behind the rail-fence which extended from thence to Mystic river. His division having been reinforced, numbered now about four hundred men, all frofn his own state. This constituted the left wing of the provincial army, the imme- diate command of which was entrusted to him.
The troops from behind this temporary breastwoi'k fought with such terrible effect as to almost annihilate the force directly opposed to them. On the third attack when the enemy carried the Hill, the commander of this division so forped his men, as to use their arms with eflTect while on the retreat. In this way they kept the enemy at bay till the main body of the American army had left the heights, being himself the last officer that retired from the field.
Soon after the battle of Bunker Hill, he was promoted by the commander-in- chief, to the rank of major, with the privilege of selecting his battalion from the New England troops.
After distinguishing himself in several acts of great personal daring and bravery in the vicinity of Boston, at the end of seven months he returned to Connecticut, and paid off his men in scrip.
In the campaign of 1776, he was raised to the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and given the command of a regiment of rangers. His military operations were now in the vicinity of the city of New York, under the immediate observation of the commander-in-chief, whose friendship and confidence Colonel Knowlton fully enjoyed.
Being anxious to wipe oflT the stain which rested on the Connecticut militia in the affair at Kip's Bay, and to revive the flagging hopes of Washington, he made a daring attempt to gain the rear of an advanced detachment of Highlanders and Hessians under General Leslie, at Harlem Heights, where he fell mortally wounded at the head of his regiment on the 16th of September, 1776.
Thus fell this war-worn soldier full of honors, after faithfully fighting the battles and defending the rights of his country, during ten successive campaigns, at the early age of thirty-six.
APPENDIX. 663
Of his family it only remains tliati should add, that he left eight children, born as follows :
1, Frederic, born December 4, 1760. 2, Sally, born November 23, 1763. Thomas, born July 13, 1765. 4, Polly, born January 11, 1767. Abigail born June 20, 1768. 6, Samson, February 8, 1770, died September 10, 1777. 7, Anne, born June 8, 1771, died June 4, 1772. 8, Anne, 2d, born March 19. 1773. 9, Lueinda, born (after the death of the father,) November 10, 1776. Ilis widow Anne, died May 22, 1808.
His eldest son Frederic, was with his father on the fatal battle field at Harlem Heights. He soon after received a discharge from Washington, and returned to the care of his father's family.
Lieutenant Daniel Knowlton, was an elder brother of Colonel Thomas, and served with the latter through the old French war. Of him it was said by Gen- eral Putnam, " that such was his courage and want of fear, that he could order hira into the mouth of a loaded cannon." Captain Miner Knowlton, of the army, is a grandson of Lieutenant Daniel Knowlton.
Yours, AsHBEL Woodward,
G. H. HoLLisTER, Esquire.
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