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1515259
GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY
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THE
pJjMitaytj m& (Sivil jjfetflnt
COUNTY OF ESSEX, NEW YORK ;
GENERAL SURVEY OF ITS PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY, ITS MINES
AND MINERALS, AND INDUSTRIAL PURSUITS,
EOTSRACrNG
gttt gtmwut <rt m §wmvn mifavnm ;
AND ALSO THE
MILITARY ANNAES OF THE FORTRESSES OF CROWN
POINT AND TICONDEROGA.
WINSLOW C. WATSON.
. ALBANY, N. Y. :
J. MUNSELL, STATE STREET.
1869.
Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1869,
By Winslow C. Watson,
In the Clerk's office of the District Court of the United States,
for the Northern District of New York.
1515259
HONORABLE AUGUSTUS C. HAND.
ON A FORMER OCCASION WHEN I
.Inscribe
TOUR NAME UPON A WORK, I WAS INFLUENCED
BY
CONSIDERATIONS OF RESPECT AND FRIENDSHIP.
IN ASKING
YOUR SANCTION TO THIS VOLUME,
I COMBINE WITH THESE SENTIMENTS A DESIRE TO EXPRESS MT
GRATEFUL ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
FOB THE COUNTENANCE AND AID BY WHICH MY LABORS HATE BEEN SO
EMINENTLY RELIEVED,
FOR SUGGESTIONS TO WHICH SEVERAL IMPORTANT FEATURES
OF THE WORK
ESSENTIALLY OWE THEIR EXISTENCE.
The Author.
PREFACE.
In the year 1852, I received from the State Agri-
cultural Society of New York, an appointment that
required a complete and careful exploration of the
county of Essex. In the discharge of that mission I
visited nearly every school district in the county;
made myself familiar with its natural history, its phy-
sical geography, and industrial pursuits, and collected
the materials and traditions which form or illustrate
its history. The result of these researches was pub-
lished in the volume of the Transactions of 1852, as
" The report on the survey of Essex county." That
work suggested the present. The predominance, which
the circumstances then required, of the agricultural as-
pect in the report, has been wholly abandoned in the
following pages, while the historical sketch has been
expanded into an elaborate and connected history of
the region. In discussing a subject so affluent and
interesting I have found it necessary to prescribe to
myself a specific plan. I have attempted to present a
minute and continuous account of events directly con-
nected with the fortresses of Lake Champlain and of
military operations more remote, of which they were
the base ; but in referring to movements, in which they
were only for the time or incidentally the scene, my
pen has been arrested, when the current of events
has passed beyond the locality.
The publication of the documents collected in
Europe by Mr. Brodhead, under the munificent aus-
vi PKEFACE.
pices of the state, has opened fresh and delightful
fields to the researches of the student of our colonial
history. These rich mines of historic wealth would
have remained almost inaccessible to the ordinary ex-
plorer, had not the amazing labor and persevering
industry of Dr. E. B. O'Callaghan furnished the key
that unlocks these hidden treasures, by his exact and
perfect index to the massive folios. This invaluable
work I have freely used.
I have experienced great and unexpected embarrass-
ments in procuring materials for the account of the
services by the troops of Essex county. Stimulated
by the conviction, that the progress of a few years
must obliterate much of the evidences of their heroic
devotion, their toils and triumphs, I have labored with
the utmost assiduity and zeal to collect memorials that
might form at least a humble initiation of a movement
commemorative of their patriotic services. In attempt-
ing to place an occasional wreath upon the graves of
the gallant dead and to add a few leaves to the chap-
lets of the living, I have indulged in a labor of love.
That some companies and regiments have been more
fully noticed than others, should not be ascribed to
any unjust or partial preference, but be imputed to the
simple fact, that Essex was more largely represented
in the former organization, or that my efforts to obtain
information have been more successful in some cases
than in others. I am conscious that the results of my
labors are inadequate, and will prove, I fear, unsatisfac-
tory to the gallant men, whose deeds and sufferings I
have endeavored to describe. I have opened a path,
which I trust will be pursued by more successful
explorers.
PREFACE. vii
In presenting, as far as my limited scope permits, a
sketch of the physical geography and natural history
of the county, I have not only noticed its native pro-
ductions and animated nature, but have attempted to
describe the remarkable topographical features and
imposing scenery, that renders Essex one of the most
attractive and interesting sections of the state.
To a notice of the ore beds and mineral wealth of
the county, I have devoted a large portion of my
volume. Many of the most important of these mines
I have personally visited and explored.
I trust, that every reader will give to this portion
of the work a careful consideration. The revelation
to their minds of a mineral wealth, so vast but still
in the infancy of its development, will excite astonish-
ment and warrant a worthy exultation. The account
of the industrial resources of the district will be read, I
think, with interest and surprise.
I have reproduced in this volume extensively from
my former works. Copious extracts from the latter
have been recently appropriated by several authors
without any acknowledgment. I advert to this fact
that I may be screened from the possible imputation
hereafter, of having pirated myself upon such authors.
I have cited with care, as they occur, the numerous
authorities I have used in the progress of the work. I
mention, in the same connection with grateful ac-
knowledgments, individuals to whom I am indebted for
many acts of courtesy and laborious services in sup-
plying me with valuable original matter which I have
largely incorporated in my work.
W. C. W.
Port Kent, June, 1869.
ERRATA.
Page 17, fourteenth line from top, ■plumage printed for plumes.
Page 50, seventh line from bottom, Honiton printed for Horicon.
Page 85, seventh line from top, hundred printed for thousand.
HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
PART I.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY.
CHAPTER I.
The Discovery.
The territory, now distinguished by the general designa-
tion of the valley of Lake Champlain was, for nearly a
century, a debatable ground between the powers of France
and England. Claimed by each under arbitrary charters
or imaginary titles, overrun and subverted in turn by both,
and permanently occupied by neither, it derived from the
presence of their armies, little amelioration of its primitive
savage aspect.
Earlier than this period, the same region seems to have
been the frontier between tribes, or confederacies of tribes
of aborigines, who waged a perpetual warfare of ferocious
extermination. These circumstances, it is probable, had
consigned it to desolation, and prevented the occupation of
the country by a race which would have been allured to
it by the strong attractions to the savage mind, created by
the profusion of its game and fish. The possessions of the
Indians were apparently most extended and permanent on
the eastern shores of the lake. Few vestiges of their
existence have been discovered upon its western borders.
They appear, however, to have congregated in numerous
2 HISTORY OP ESSEX COUNTY.
villages along the lakes and rivers of the interior. The
bold and lofty mountains which envelop that region,
formed to them a bulwark against the assaults of their
foes, while the forests and the streams yielded an abundant
supply of their humble wants.
At an epoch nearly contemporaneous with the discovery
of Canada by the French, the Roman energies and the
extraordinary military prowess of the Mohawks appear to
have borne their arms and established their dominion
almost to the southern shores of the St. Lawrence. A
tradition prevailed in this tribe, that the confederacy in
which they always maintained a military supremacy,
occupied at one period, the sites of both Montreal and
Quebec. Subjugated nations acknowledged their domina-
tion from the Connecticut to the wildernesses of the Ohio,
and the tribes bordering on the Gulf of Mexico trembled
before the terrors of their arms.1
In the extraordinary native eloquence which is imputed to
the aborigines, the Iroquois were preeminently conspicuous.
They possessed an advanced intelligence, which conceived
and formed wise and successful social institutions. Their
progress in the simple arts that belonged to savage life
was as distinguished as their martial science or political
supremacy. This people asserted a sovereignty over
northern New York, and to their persistent valor we are
indebted for the boundary that now separates, in a long
line, the domain of the state from \he British provinces.2
The long and narrow tract of water, known to us as
Lake Champlain, was doubtless the war path of the Huron
and Iroquois, in their mutual hostile and sanguinary in-
cursions. The mind may readily portray fleets of the
Indian war canoes, caparisoned in the gorgeous trappings
of barbaric pomp, bounding over the dark and still waters
1 The French " taking advantage of the Indians being abroad as far as
Cape Florida, at war, came down and burnt a castle of the Maquaes," etc. —
Governor Dongan's Report, 1687.
2 Bancroft.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 3
of the lake, while the paddles kept tune to the cadence of
their war songs; or gliding stealthily along the silent
shores, upon their mission of rapine and blood. The In-
dian in reference doubtless to the fact that it afforded an
avenue and facility to their reciprocal attacks, gave to the
lake the impressive and appropriate name of Caniadere
guarcmte, i. e. The lake that is the gate of the country.1 An
ally of the Hurons, Champlain, accompanied them in one
of these incursions, and revealed to the civilized world the
beautiful lake which has immortalized his own name.
France entered with ardor and enthusiasm into the
great struggle of the age, the field of exploration upon
the new continent. The zeal and enterprise of the fisher-
men of Normandy has already discovered and penetrated
the gulf of St. Lawrence. Cartier, a French adventurer,
entered in 1534, the mighty river of that name. The
succeeding year, he guided to his new discovery, under
the auspices of the royal government, a fleet, freighted
with many of the young nobility of France, and blessed
by the prayers and sanctions of the church. They de-
parted in high hopes and with brilliant auguries to colonize
this new France. Ascending the majestic stream, which
was called Hochelaga, by the natives, but named from
its mighty estuary, by Cartier, the St. Lawrence, they
moored at what is now known as the Isle of Orleans.
Cartier, from this point penetrated to the Indian town of
Hochelaga, and to this he gave the name of Mont-Royal,
the beautiful and opulent Montreal of modern times. In
his progress up the St. Lawrence, he was greeted by the
simple-minded and confiding natives with all the demon-
strations of joy and festivity known to savage homage.
Hochelaga was the chief town of a populous nation which
occupied both banks of the river, and extended their pos-
sessions far below Quebec. From their dialect and insti-
1 Documentary History. Petaonbough, signifying a double pond or lake
branching out into two, is another aboriginal appellation, probably referring
to its connection with Lake George. — H. W. Livingston, Esq.
4 HISTOKY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
tutions it has been inferred, that they were a branch of
the Iroquois. The arrival of Cartier was celebrated by a
multitude of the people, who poured forth from the pali-
sades of their capital to meet him on the shore of the
island, bearing the offerings of their joyousness and hospi-
tality. Large openings in the forest had been formed by
their rude toils, and here luxuriant crops of maize attested
their industry and the fertility of the earth.
At Hochelaga, Cartier listened to the Indians' vague and
shadowy tales of an unexplored region of lakes, of moun-
tains and delightful plains. He ascended an eminence
that arose from the centre of the island and from its sum-
mit, the first of civilized men, gazed upon the majestic
and beautiful scenery that enraptured his vision. The
broad stream, the islands that gemmed it, the cultivated
fields of the Indians were before him, and far to the south
beyond the glittering river, and the sea of forests that
spread on every side, his eye rested on the mountains of
Vermont and New York. The ensuing winter was passed
by the adventurers at the Isle of Orleans amid intense
sufferings from the rigors of the climate and the presence
of disease.
Having taken possession of the country, with all the
prescribed pomp and formulas of chivalry and religion,
the colonization was abandoned and the expedition re-
turned early in the season, to the mother country. On
the previous voyage, Cartier had kidnapped and carried
to France, two Indian youths, who now served him as
guides in the exploration of the unknown Hochelaga.
Emulating the infamy of the Spanish conquerors, when
returning from his last voyage, he inveigled into his vessel
Donnegana, the chieftain, who had proved a generous host
and firm friend, and bore him with several of his nobles,
into a hopeless captivity, in a strange land, and to death.
This exploration ended thus inauspiciously, and the climate
and country presenting to the children of sunny France,
so few allurements, all schemes of further colonization
seem to have slumbered, for several years. The Lord of
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 5
Roberval received in 1540 a commission from the French
king, conferring on him an immense and almost illimita-
ble territory, and which dignified him with the plenary
powers of vice-royalty.
This parchment title and these titular functions over-
shadowed a vast region, and extended in every direction
along the gulf and river St. Lawrence, comprehending in
its wide domain the present limits of New England and
Northern New York. The efforts, emanating from this
authority, appear to have terminated without accomplish-
ing any progress either in colonization or discovery.
During the half century succeeding the failure of
Roberval, the subject of New France was unheeded amid
the convulsions and conflicts of the religious wars by
which the kingdom in that period was torn and agitated.
In 1598, another abortive attempt, under governmental
patronage, was made by De La Roche, to colonize the
region of the St. Lawrence, by disgorging upon its shores
the convicts from the dungeons and jails of France.
Private enterprise, unfolding the only just and secure
"basis of colonization of that region, by associating it with
the fur trade, initiated the first successful effort. In 1600,
Chauvin had obtained a comprehensive patent, which
formed a monopoly of that trade. Repeated and prosper-
ous voyages had been made, and settlements were about
being formed, when the death of Chauvin dissolved the
organization.
The year 1603 was signalized by the enterprise of
Aymer De Chastes and a body of merchants of Rouen, who
animated by this success organized a new company with
similar purposes, which was rendered memorable by the
introduction into the field of his future labors and glory,
the founder of the new empire, and the leader who was
preeminently great in the long series of brilliant men,
that guided and moulded the destinities of new France.
Samuel De Champlain was one of those rare and excep-
tional men who seem to stamp an impress of their own
characters upon the age they illustrate and adorn. Cham-
6 HISTOEY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
plain was a native of France, and of noble lineage.
Peculiarly imbued with the impulsive and impetuous
spirit of his country, animated by a bold and reckless
courage, rejoicing in dangers and toils, his intuitive
sagacity enabled him to surmount those obstacles that his
intelligence and prescience could not anticipate and avoid.
Enthusiastic, persevering and indefatigable in his purposes,
he devoted all the powers of his active mind and the
energies of his nature to the achievement of the great
object of his life, the exploration of the wildernesses of the
new world, and the creation in their recesses of a new
empire to his counfry. De Soto discovered the Missis-
sippi, but while he found an appropriate mausoleum
beneath its dark waters, left no memorial of his name.
Champlain, more fortunate, made his discovery a mo-
nument, which has perpetuated alike his services and his
memory.
A rapid glance at the history of a man so remarkable
for his intellectual and moral greatness, for his chivalrous
exploits and the vastness of his services, and whose name
is imperishably associated with the lake, that is alike the
ornament and the commercial power of the district, the
annals of which we propose to discuss, is appropriate, and
should possess deep interest. His own abundant writings,
with the memorials of his cotemporaries and associates,
have rendered posterity familiar with events which impart
an enduring and brilliant lustre to his name. Champlain
was born at Brouage, a seaport situated on the Bay of
Biscay. Addicted to an intercourse with the sea by the
associations of his boyhood, near the most tempestuous
waters of western Europe, he gratified his instincts by a
connection at an early age with the royal marine of his
native country. Although a catholic by birth and senti-
ment, he followed in the civil wars of France, the " ban-
ner of Navarre." When that cause had triumphed, he
received a pension from the gratitude of his liberal but
impoverished leader. Too active and ardent to indulge
in the relaxations of peace, he conceived the design of a
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 7
personal exploration of the colonial possessions of Spain,
and to thus obtain a knowledge of their condition and
resources, which was studiously veiled from the world by
the jealous policy of that government. His scheme was
sanctioned by the wise and sagacious head of the French
administration. Through the influence of a relative in
that service, Champlain secured the command of a ship
in the Spanish West India fleet. This singular position,
not perhaps in perfect accordance with modern concep-
tions of professional honor, was occupied two years, and
when he returned to France his mind was stored with the
most valuable information, and his journal, laded with
the results of keen observation of the regions he had
visited, was strangely illustrated by his uncultivated pen-
cil. Champlain was unusually impressible by the spirit of
the times, which delighted in the marvelous, and his work
is singularly disfigured by representations of strange
beasts, and accounts of miraculous events, and yet it is
marked by his great ability, and by his eminently clear
and comprehensive perceptions. He landed at Vera Cruz,
penetrated to the city of Mexico, and visited Panama.
His journal reveals the bold conception of a ship canal
across the isthmus, by which, he says, " the voyage to the
South sea might be shortened by more than fifteen hun-
dred leagues." In this grasp of his investigating mind,
Champlain anticipated by more than two centuries, the
slowly moving projects of the present age.
Returning to the court of Henry, Champlain met De
Chartes, who had been a comrade in battling against the
league, and who, although crowned by years and honors,
had just obtained from the government a patent empower-
ing him to bear the cross, and to extend the power of
France into the unexplored wilds of the new continent.
Champlain, from his professional ability and great expe-
rience would be an invaluable associate, and invited by
De Chartes, he promptly and zealously embarked in an
enterprise, so peculiarly in conformity with his spirit, and
which was destined to attach to his name an immortality.
8 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
The intrepid adventurers, embarking in two small shallops
of twelve and fifteen tons burden, plunged into the North-
ern sea. Their voyage was prosperous, and after a sur-
prizingly short passage, they entered the St. Lawrence
and at once advanced to Hochelaga. There all was
changed. The palisaded city that Cartier sixty-eight
years before had visited, was gone, and in place of the
dense population he described, Champlain only met a few
wandering savages of another race and language. These
Indians aroused the deepest interest in his investigating
mind, as they delineated in a coarse diagram upon the
vessel's deck, the regions along which the immense river
flowed, and lakes from whence they traced its source. A
new creation was unfolded to the vision of the explorer,
and his fancy doubtless reveled in glowing anticipations
of future discoveries and conquests, alike of the cross and
the lilies of France. When Champlain returned to
France, De Chastes, his protector, and the earnest patron
of his enterprise, was dead ; but the Sieur De Monts, a
protestant gentleman of character and high position, was
already maintaining his privileges, and preparing to pur-
sue his colonial schemes. Under the broad shield of
government patronage, De Monts had obtained an ample
patent, conferring plenary commercial rights, with vice-
regal powers, over a vast territory stretching its nominal
dominion from near Philadelphia on the south, to the
forty-sixth degree parallel on the north, with an indefinite
expansion, both east and west. Here within its ample
border, there was to prevail perfect freedom in religious
immunities. The colony which De Monts undertook to
guide to New France, was singularly jarring and incoherent
in its elements. The gentleman and noble associated with
the sweepings of the prisons and convict ships of France,
while the disciple of Rome mingled with the followers of
Calvin. Such incongruities disclosed strange scenes.1
Champlain quaintly remarks in his journal : " I have seen our cure and
the minister fall to with their fists on questions of faith. I cannot say
MILITAET AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 9
De Monts, iii the assertion of his assumed sovereignty over
this immense territory, made an effort to colonize Acadia,
and occupied under this parchment title, a portion of
Maine. Port Royal was founded by a companion of De
Monts, and was the first European settlement permanently
established north of St. Augustine. Champlain was asso-
ciated with his accustomed prominence and efficiency, in
all these enterprises, from 1604 to 1607. In that period
he explored the shores of New England south to Cape
Cod, which, from the white sand, he named Cape Blanc.1
With an eye of science and observation, each of the har-
bors, streams, and estuaries of the coast was examined.
He projected from this survey an accurate map and
chart, " remaining," as he remarks, a second winter, " in
order, with the help of God, to finish the chart of the
coast which I had begun." This chart was subsequently
published with his works, and is remarkable among the
innumerable trophies of skill and industry exhibited by the
French in their explorations upon the western continent.
At length, amid the changes and vicissitudes which
marked the age, the prerogatives of De Monts were abro-
gated with the same readiness and ease with which they
had been created. Champlain and Pourtraincourt, upon
whom De Monts, in his decaying fortunes, had conferred
what remained of his franchises, and acting under them,
in 1606, made another voyage to New France in search
of further discoveries* and with the design of forming a
colony, based upon the novel idea of an agricultural settle-
ment. They explored the New England coast still more
widely, fought a battle with the natives, on the eastern
shore of Cape Cod, wintered in unwonted comfort and
luxuriance in their new settlement, and the next year
which had the more pluck, or which hit the harder ; but I know the minister
sometimes complained to the Sieur De Monts, that he had been beaten. I
leave you to j udge if it was a pleasant sight :
" And prove their doctrines orthodox,
By apostolic blows and knocks."
1 Thoreau.
10 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
abandoning their project, returned to France. The te-
dium of the route was beguiled in the excitable and gay-
spirit of their country. They instituted the festive order
of de bon temps, fraternized with their Indian neighbors, and
rejoiced in general hilarity and abundance.
In the year 1608, five years after his advent upon the
waters of St. Lawrence, Champlain embarked in a more
energetic and systematic effort to form a permanent
colony upon its banks. He embarked in a small vessel
freighted with the elements of an earnest colonization, and
bearing the germ of a new empire, accompanied by his
former associate, Portgrave, in another vessel, laden with
materials adapted to their projected fur trade. Advancing
up the St. Lawrence, and examining its shores with a saga-
cious scrutiny, his judgment discerned, and his military
science adopted a bold rocky promontory, at the confluence
of the St. Charles with the St. Lawrence, as the site of the
capital of that empire, which to his ardent and fertile im-
agination, was disclosed in the visions of the future, great,
glorious, and prosperous. At once, laborers and artizans
were actively employed in removing the forests, and prepar-
ing materials for the erection of dwellings and other struc-
tures. Soon the simple edifices arose, that asserted the
presence of civilized man, and established his perpetual do-
mination upon the mighty stream, whose fountains welled
up more than eighteen hundred miles in the remote soli-
tudes of the western wilds, and whose volume rolled to the
ocean the tribute of more than a million of square miles.1
Here Champlain erected fortifications formed of timber, for
the safety of his infant settlement. A garden sprang up
within its protecting walls, under the refined and graceful
tastes of the cultivated pioneer. He was not exempt, how-
ever, from the usual cares and trials that attend the birth of
remote and secluded colonies. A contemplated treachery
that compassed his own death, he avenged by a prompt
and stern retribution. In the succeeding September,
1 Guyot.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. ;Q
Portgrave sailed for France, leaving Champlain to occupy
Quebec with twenty-eight men, until his return in the
spring with supplies and additional colonists. "What were
the occupations of Champlain through the dark and
gloomy weeks of autumn, and in the winter rigors of an
almost arctic climate? "We can only surmise from our
own conjectures, and the faint glimmerings of light his
journal affords. He tells us, that he trapped foxes, and
was amused in watching the futile efforts of the martins
to seize the carcass of a dead dog he had suspended from
a tree beyond their reach. But in fancy, we may discern
him, with active zeal, employed in tracing and illustrating
his journals, and wrapt in profound reveries, pondering on
the hopes and projects of the future. The Indians gathered
about his wooden ramparts ; now, with a present supply,
yielding to their insatiate habits of gluttony ; and now, in
the wasting pangs of famine. He doubtless heard their
wild legends, and was amused and aroused by their stories
of savage warfare with the Irocmois, their hereditary foes,
whose far distant country, they described as a fair land,
and delineated in their simple art, the lakes and streams
which must be traversed to reach it.
Before the dissolving ice and bursting vegetation miti-
gated their sufferings and presaged the approach of spring,
the scurvy, the fell scourge of every northern colony, had
desolated the little band ; and when Pontgrave's vessel
appeared, only eight pale and emaciated survivors re-
mained to rejoice in the relief it afforded. A consultation
between the leaders decided, that Pontgrave should re-
main to guard the safety of Quebec, and that Champlain
should pursue the project, which was the dream and pur-
pose of every exploration of the age, and attempt the
discovery of an avenue to the eastern world. This hope
possibly inflamed the passions, which led him to accept the
invitation of the Indians, to unite with them in a contem-
plated war party, which was intended to penetrate deeply
into the regions, upon which his mind had expatiated
during the weeks and months of his gloomy seclusion.
12 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
In May, 1609, he joined the camp of his savage allies,
and while they looked in speechless wonder upon the
strange apparition of a steel clad warrior, armed with
weapons that discharged the lightning, he witnessed with
scarcely less interest the war dances of the Indians, mov-
ing by the wild tones of their music, chanting their war
songs and brandishing their stone-pointed tomahawks.
He engaged at their council tire, attended their war feast,
and mingled in all their barbaric rites. These mystic
ceremonies performed, they proceeded upon their advance
into a hostile and to him an unknown country. Cham-
plain embarked in a small boat with eleven European com-
panions and proceeded to the mouth of the modern Sorel,
where the party was augmented by large numbers of
savages from the upper lakes ; but here dissension arose,
and a great part of the Indian warriors returned to their
homes. Champlain dismissed to Quebec all but two of
his European followers. To these were added a force of
sixty Indians, with a fleet of twenty-four canoes. . A com-
mon or timid mind would have shrank from the appalling
view of the future, abandoned by feeble allies, and left
almost alone to the resources of his individual courage
and unyielding energies, but he saw before him the beam-
ings of glory and honor that awaited the revelation of a
new region ; he contemplated the rich country, the lakes,
the islands, the streams that had been portrayed to his
imagination, and he fearlessly and joyously entered upon
his dubious mission. Champlain, as he did in all his
explorations, gave to the world a minute and graphic
account of this expedition, and so exact is his accuracy
that the traveler may still trace his route and the scenes
he describes. These productions are not alone interest-
ing, as they portray the incidents of a singularly wild and
romantic career; but they are of infinite value, as they
illustrate savage life and exhibit their primitive habits
and tactics when on the war path.
On the 2d of July, the party effected the transit of
the Chambly rapids, und, having advanced some leagues up
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. J3
n
the river, prepared to encamp. A part of the savages,
actively engaged in cutting down timber and peeling it
to procure bark to cover their lodges, while others were
felling large trees to form a temporary barricade. This,
Champlain considered very formidable. The side of the
encampment next to the river was not fortified, in order to
facilitate retreat to the canoes, if necessary. The Indians
dispatched three canoes in advance to reconnoitre, and, if
nothing was discovered, to retire. Upon this exploration,
they wholly dependedfor safety duringthe night." Against
" this bad habit of theirs " Champlain expostulated, but with
little effect upon a coufirmed custom. They represented to
him, that in war they were accustomed to divide their forces
into three parts : one of which hunted to supply provi-
sions ; another always ready for battle marched in a compact
body ; and the other formed the vanguard and advanced in
front to scout, and to ascertain the trail of a foe or friends.
This they readily determined by certain marks, which the
chiefs of the different nations interchanged, and which upon
reciprocal notices were occasionally altered. The hunters
never advance before the main body, but pursue their
duties in the rear and in a direction where they do not
expect the presence of an enemy. In this manner they
proceed until they approach the enemy's country,
when they advance " stealthily by night, all in a body
except the scouts, and retire by day into picket forts
where they repose." They make no noise nor " build a
fire, except to smoke, and eat dried meal which they steep
in water."
The second day, the party entered " the mouth of the
lake," and saw " a number of beautiful islands filled with
fine woods and prairies." " Game and wild animals,
abounded on these islands. Passing onward, the lake in its
widest expanse burst upon their view, in the beauty and
grandeur of its verdant shores, and its emerald islands, em-
braced in its lofty and rugged mountain ramparts. Cham-
plain describes the larger islands, and the rivers that
" discharged into the lake surrounded by fine trees similar
14 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
to those we have in Franee, with a quantity of vines,1
" handsomer than I ever saw, and a great many chestnuts."
Referring to the exuberance of the fish in the lake,
Champlain related some wild tales of his savage allies.
" Continuing their route" on the west side of the lake,
he says, " and contemplating the country, I saw very high
mountains on the east side covered with snow," and he ob-
served " others to the south not less high but without snow."
The Indians informed him " that here were beautiful
valleys and fields, fertile in corn, with an infinitude of
other fruits, and that this country was inhabited by the
Iroquois." 2
They said, that the country they designed to attack was
thickly settled ; that to reach it they must pass by a water-
fall, thence into another lake ; from the head of which there
was a transit to a river, which flowed towards the coast.
The course of their projected campaign is thus intelligently
unfolded to us. "We discern a distinct description of their
route, by the falls at Ticonderoga ; the passage of Lake
George, and the Hudson with its intervening transit ; and
the populous country of the Mohawks. Some village pro-
bably upon the banks of the Hudson was the point of their
destination, and to become the scene of their ravages.
1 The wild grape vine ia yet a striking feature in the natural products of
the Champlain valley, where it grows in great profusion, and often attains
an immense magnitude, frequently embracing the loftiest trees in its treache-
rous and serpentine folds, and towering far above them, while its branches
spread in every direction along the forest. I conjecture, that Champlain
must have confounded the chestnut with the butternut tree, which occurs
in abundance and of vast size in those localities. In a careful survey in
1852 of Essex county, I did not find a single chestnut tree growing in a native
forest north of Ticonderoga.
2 The presence of snow upon the mountains of Vermont, none of which ex-
ceeds five thousand feet in height, in July is incredible, and Champlain was
probably deceived by an optical illusion produced by clouds or mist. I am
inclined, however, to conjecture that the words " west" and " east" have
been transposed. From the east side of the lake he might have seen the
bold and naked peak of Whiteface from which that mountain derives its
present name. It is situated in the town of Wilmington, Essex county, and
stands out isolated and prominent, with its white summit a conspicuous ob-
ject, which for many miles may be observed from the lake.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 15
Whatever might have been their purpose, it was abruptly
arrested by a hostile apparition, that suddenly crossed their
path. Champlain with exquisite power vividly paints the
scenes that followed : "At nightfall we embarked in our
canoes, and as we advanced very softly and noiselessly, we
encountered a war party of Iroquois, on the twenty-ninth
of the month, about ten o'clock at night, at the point of a
cape which juts into the lake on the west side.1 They and
we began to shout, seizing our arms. We withdrew to the
water, and the Iroquois repaired on shore, arranged their
canoes together and began to hew down trees with villain-
ous axes, which they sometimes got in war, and others of
stone, and fortified themselves very securely. Our party,
likewise, kept their canoes one alongside of the other,
tied to poles, so as not to run adrift, in order to fight alto-
gether should need be. When in order, they sent two
canoes to know if their enemies wished to fight, who
answered that they desired nothing else, but that just then,
there was not light to distinguish each other and that they
would fight at sunrise. This was agreed to. Meanwhile
on both sides the night was spent in dancing and singing,
mingled with an infinitude of insults and other taunts ; such
as how little courage they had, how powerless their arms,
and this they should experience to their ruin. Ours, like-
wise did not fail in repartee ; telling them they should wit-
ness the effects of arms they had never before seen. After
they hr.d sung, danced and parliamented enough, the day
broke. My companions and I were always concealed but
in separate canoes of the savage Montagners.2
1 1 compress this narrative as far as possible, and hope to preserve the
spirit of the text.
2 This name was applied to all the St. Lawrence Indians, and was derived
from a range of mountains extending north-westerly from near Quebec.
Dr. E. B. 0'Callagha?i's note on Champlain. The term Iroquois, equivalent
to the Five Nations, is used in the translations of Champlain's works to
avoid confusion, but was of course unknown at the period of these events.
The Mohawks were known as Maquaes by the Dutch, and Agnies by the
Canadian Indians. The Iroquois designated themselves Aquanu Schioni,
the United People.
16 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
" After being equipped with light armor, each took an
arquebus and went ashore. I saw the enemy leave their
barricade. They were about two hundred men, strong
and robust, who were coming towards us with a gravity
and assurance that greatly pleased me, led on by three
chiefs. Ours were marching in similar order, who told me
that those who bore the three lofty plumes were the chiefs,
and that I must do all I could to kill them. I promised
to do the best I could. The moment we landed, they
began to run towards the enemy, who stood firm, and had
not yet perceived my companion, who went into the bush
with some savages. Ours commenced calling on me with
a loud voice, opening way for and placing me at their head
about twenty paces in advance, until I was about thirty
paces from the enemy. The moment they saw me they
halted, gazing at me and I at them. When I saw them
preparing to shoot at us, I raised my arquebus and aiming
directly at one of the three chiefs, two of them fell to
the ground by this shot, and one of their companions
received a wound of which he died afterwards. I had put
four balls in my arquebus. Ours on witnessing a shot so
favorable to them, set up such tremendous shouts, that
thunder could not have been heard, and yet there was
no lack of arrows on one side or the other. The Iroquois
were greatly astonished at seeing two men killed so instant-
aneously, notwithstanding they were provided with arrow
proof armor woven of cotton thread and wood ; this fright-
ened them very much.1
"Whilst I was reloading, one of my companions fired a
shot, which so astonished them anew, seeing their
chiefs slain, that they lost courage, took to flight, and
^he allusion to this armor presents an interesting and suggestive in-
quiry. We know of the product of no indigenous plant, which Champlain
might have mistaken for cotton. He must have been familiar with that
plant. The fact he mentions implies either the existence of a commer-
cial intercourse between the natives of the north and south ; or perhaps
the Mohawks may have secured the cotton as a trophy in some of their
southern incursions.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 17
abandoned the field and their fort, hiding in the depth
of the forest, whither pursuing them I killed some others.
Our savages also killed several of them, and took ten or
twelve prisoners. The rest carried off the wounded. Fif-
teen or sixteen of ours were wounded ; these were promptly
cured." These events are portrayed in language, so simple,
clear and descriptive that we behold it almost as if the eye
rested on the spectacle. We seem to hear the cool and
chivalric postponement of the battle ; the war songs and
chants of triumph and defiance ; we witness the skill and
cunning of the Hurons, in disguising the presence of their
potent allies; we see the marshaling of the hostile bands;
the lofty forms of the Iroquois chiefs, decorated with their
waving plumage and distinguished by their armor; their
astonishment without blanching at the sudden appearance
of the Europeans; the intrepid Frenchman advancing in
front of the Hurons ; the awe and consternation with which
the Iroquois see the flash of the arquebus, hear the report and
behold their chieftains slain as b}- the thunderbolt. The
scene should demand the tribute of a more graceful art
than the uncouth pencil of Champlain. "After having
gained this victory they amused themselves plundering
Indian corn and meal from the enemy, and also their
arms, which they had thrown away the better to run.
And having feasted, danced and sung we returned three
hours afterwards with the prisoners."
Such was the first meeting of the Christian white man
and the pagan savage upon the soil of ISTew York, but its
atrocities may be referred rather to the temper of the age
than to any individual malignity of Champlain. This event
enkindled a hatred towards the Frenchman in the heart of
the Mohawks, that was unappeased by the streams of blood
that for a century and a half flowed beneath the tomahawk
and scalping knife. It is a singular coincidence, and may it
not be regarded as significant of the presence and retribu-
tion of an overruling providence, that the first aboriginal
blood shed by the Christian invader, and shed ruthlessly and
2
18 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
in wantonness, was on the soil which iu another age, was
destined to witness the sanguinary though fruitless conflicts
of the mightiest powers of Christendom for the possession
of the same territory; that both moistened with their
choicest blood, and which neither was permitted perma-
nently to enjoy?
Champlain places the site of this battle " in forty-three
degrees and some minutes." Great precision could not
have been secured under the circumstances, in his astro-
nomical observations. The place was evidently in the
vicinity of Ticonderoga.1
Champlain looking forth from the field of battle, upon the
placid water that laved the spot, and probably exulting in the
pride of even such a victory, thus baptized with innocent
blood, named the lake, Champlain. His countrymen in
succeeding years would have substituted the name of Mer
des Iroquois, but the Anglo-Saxon and posterity averted
the wrong — for the latter name was not known to the no-
menclature of the Indian — and the lake still perpetuates the
memory of its discoverer. On the retreat of this expedi-
tion, Champlain was constrained to witness one of those
appalling scenes incident to Indian warfare, the torture
of a prisoner. This terrific spectacle occurred, it is sup-
posed, within the present limits of Willsboro'. The suffer-
ings of the victim, inflicted in all the intensity and
refinement of savage barbarity, which he iu vain attempted
to avert, were, in mercy, closed by the arquebus of
Champlain.
A few weeks later, Hudson cautiously pursuing the tidal
waters of the stream to which posterity has attached his
name, penetrated to a point within less than one hundred
miles of the advance of Champlain, but more than eleven
1 1 confidently assume this position, although a somewhat controverted
point, from the distinct designation of the place upon Champlain's own map.
I feel assured on this subject by several other considerations, which I deem
conclusive. He probably saw the falls at Ticonderoga, in the pursuit which
succeeded the victory. They had no motive in accordance with the plan
of the campaign to have advanced south of that place by the lake.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 19
years elapsed before the May-Flower approached the shores
of New England.
The ensuing year, Charaplain was again moving amid
the voluptuous circles of Versailles, its animating spirit,
thrilling and agitating the gay throng by the recital of the
wonders of the new world and his own wild and strange
adventures. Early in the spring, still under the auspices
of De Mouts who, although shorn of his vast prerogatives,
persisted with unabated ardor in his colonial schemes,
Champlain once more crossed the Atlantic. He ascended
the St. Lawrence to an island near the mouth of the Riche-
lieu, and while engaged in the orgies of an Indian feast and
war dance connected with a solemn council, the approach
of a band of Iroquois was announced. All rushed to the
assault of the barricade of the foe. The contest was long
and bloody, but victory was necessarily with the allies. In
accordance with Indian custom this decisive success termi-
nated the campaign, and closed to Champlain all immediate
prospect of exploration and discovery. The opening season
of 1611 saw Champlain again entering the St. Lawrence.
He selected the position and marked out the foundations of
Montreal ; but fresh obstacles, interposed by the fickle and
versatile Hurons, arrested his contemplated advance into
the interior. While delayed by these impediments, Cham-
plain, always delighting in peril and adventure, among the
first of civilized men, descended the tremendous rapids of
St. Louis, in a frail birchen canoe guided by an Indian
pilot. Bnt anarchy and ruin were darkly impending over
the struggling colony ; Henry, his firm and powerful pro-
tector, had fallen beneath the knife of Ravillac. Champlain
hastened across the Atlantic, his enthusiasm enlisted the
sympathy and interest of the nobility, and secured the ap-
pointment first of the Count De Soissons, and upon his
death, that of the Prince De Conde as guardian and pro-
tector of New France, with all the prerogatives of vice-
royalty. In 1612 Champlain returned to Quebec, clothed
with, the power and insignia of sovereignty, delegated to
him by De Conde. Allured by wild tales of a vast north-
20 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
ern sea beyond the headwaters of the Ottawa, Champlain,
the next year, with infinite peril and toil, ascended that
gloomy and turbulent stream in a light Indian canoe;
and there in the deep recesses of the forest, which have
even now scarcely been approached by the arts of civil-
ized industry, he dwelt in their wigwams, feasted and
danced, harangued at the council fire, and erected the
cross. Deceived and disappointed, he reluctantly aban-
doned the pursuit of the fabulous sea.
Montreal, fostered by the protection and policy of
Champlain, was already a trading mart of importance and
activity, where the French traders, bearing the products
and gewgaws of other climes, assembled to meet the
fleets of Indian canoes which descended the Ottawa and
St. Lawrence, laded with the spoils of their widely ex-
panded hunting grounds. The interposition of Conde
had obtained the grant of a new concession from the
government, which conferred on the association of mer-
chants immense prerogatives, confirming the former pa-
tent and creating additional immunities, and, in 1615,
Champlain, inspired by new ardor, and with an ambition
stimulated afresh, embarked, once again, for the scene of
his toils and hopes. At this time, equally zealous for the
diffusion of the true faith, as he was energetic in promot-
ing the temporal interests of the colony, he induced seve-
ral Franciscan monks to accompany him. A formal
council was held with the tribes gathered at Montreal,
and while the Fathers were attempting to inculcate re-
ligious truths, Champlain was engaged in maturing
schemes more consonant with savage passions. By this
rude treaty he agreed to unite with the Indians resid-
ing upon the waters of the vast inland lakes, they dimly
described, who, invincible in his alliance proposed to
descend from their far distant land, like a destroying
tempest upon the western tribes of the dreaded Iroquois.
Champlain avers that he enlisted in this enterprise " to
satisfy the desire I had of learning something about that
country." Le Caron, one of the Franciscans, not less
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 21
determined and intrepid than Champlain, offered alone
to accompany the Hurons to their remote wigwams, and
the humble missionary was the first European who gazed
upon the wide waters of Lake Huron. Champlain, again
encountering the perilous navigation of the Ottawa, and
threading the long pathway of the Indians reached the
Lake Nepissing, and from thence was guided by the In-
dians to the shores of a majestic sea, whose expanse of
waters was alone bounded by the horizon. He contem-
plated it with wonder and delight, and named it the " Mer-
douce," to which posterity, with more aptness, has given
the name of Lake Huron. Champlain stood on the north-
ern shores of Huron, a thousand miles from the Atlantic,
five years before the foot of the puritan pilgrim rested on
the rock at Plymouth. The provident savage hosts had
constructed for his use a small cabin. Here Champlain
found Le Caron, who had built an altar and erected the
cross, and joined by the fourteen Frenchmen who had
accompanied them, the mass was said and the Te Deum
chanted in this humble temple, and we may conceive, with a
solemnity and fervor, that does not always mark the wor-
ship of a groined Cathedral.
Amid a national jubilee the Huron warriors gathered
from their scattered villages, and embarking their formida-
ble bauds in an immense flotilla of birch canoes, they
skirted the eastern coast of the lake, bore their canoes over
a transit into Lake Simcoe, descending the Trent river
entered into the great lake of the Autonorouons, the modern
Ontario. They traversed with singular temerity in vessels
so frail, its broad waters, and concealing their canoes upon
its southern shore, they advanced into the territory of the
Autonorouons or Senecas. After marching several days,
in which Champlain was revolted by exhibitions in varied
and horrid forms of savage barbarity and habits of warfare,
they arrived before the enemy's fort.1 The garrison was
1 Commentators on Champlain's journal are not harmonious in locating
this scene. Some assume it to have been near Lake Onondaga, while others
refer it to the vicinity of Canandaigua.
22 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
formed by the puissant Senecas, second only among the
Iroquois to the Mohawks in power and martial prowess.
The works were constructed with an intelligence and
science, far superior to any evidences of skill that Champlain
had witnessed among the aborigines. The village was
enclosed by strong palisades of timbers, thirty feet high,
interlocked with intervals of about six inches between,
with galleries forming a parapet, defended by timbers
" proof against the arquebuses." Gutters were led from a
pond of water on one side, which afforded ample facilities
for extinguishing fires that might be enkindled against the
barricades.
The appearance of the iron clad strangers and the terrific
discharge of their unknown weapons, astonished and
startled, but excited no craven or panic fears in the daunt-
less Iroquois. Fighting with admirable valor, they re-
treated within their fortifications. Under the direction of
Champlain, the Hurons constructed a tower higher than
the walls with a protection against the arrows and stones
of the Iroquois, which was "carried by two hundred of the
strongest men and placed within a pike's length in front."
On this " were posted four arquebusiers." An effort was
made by the Hurons to burn the palisades, but the fire was
promptly extinguished. "They went to the water and
discharged in it such abundance, that rivers, it maybe said,
spouted from their gutters." The Senecas, although suffer-
ing severely from the arquebuses, fought with an undaunted
courage, that extorted the admiration of Champlain, and
far surpassed their savage foes in conduct, taunting them
with cowardice in enlisting the white men in their quarrels.
The science and tactics of Champlain were totally defeated
by the perpetual improvidence and insubordination of his
Indian allies. " This moved him," he says, " to use some
pretty rude and angry words," but he generously remarks :
"they are excusable, for they are not soldiers."
The discomfited and intractable Hurons, after a siege of
several days, in spite of the expostulations of Champlain,
determined to abandon the enterprise and retpeat. He,
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 23
wounded by arrows in the knee and leg, was bound to the
back of a vigorous savage, " like an infant in its swaddling
clothes," and carried many leagues, until his impatience
aud suffering revolted.1
Although he denounces in bitterness and vexation the
absence of discipline, obedience and system with the
Indians, he warmly commends the skill they exhibited in
effecting their retreat, " placing the wounded and old
people in the centre, the warriors without breaking their
lines march in front, on the wings and in the rear."
The winter that was approaching, the bold and indomi-
table pioneer passed in the gloomy lodge of a Huron chief,
and in visiting the more remote tribes of the Algonquins ; in
the care of his wounds, in the reveries of his sleepless mind,
and in communing with the savages on the themes which
invigorated his energies and continually fired his imagina-
tion. But he who had braved death on so many battle-fields
and amid the storms of the ocean, nearly lost his life from
cold and exposure in the bleak forest of the Algonquins.
Hunting on a dark day at the close of autumn without a
compass, he lost his course, and wandered nearly three
days bewildered in the masses of a trackless wood. When
the frosts of winter had transformed the streams and
morasses into icy avenues, Champlain again sought the
villages of the Nipissings. He found the devout Le Caron
in the same solitary wigwam, occupied in his missionary
services, arranging a catechism and studying the Huron
dialect. With the anchorite, Champlain spent several
weeks, and then together, the soldier and the monk stimu-
lated by the same brave and lofty spirit, but wielding far
different weapons, visited in remote regions amid the wild
recesses of nature tribes of savages before unknown to the
Christian world.
Once more restored to active life and civilization, Cham-
plain erected, in defiance of the grovelling cupidity of
1 This is his language : " As soon as I could bear my weight I got out of
this prison ; or, to speak plainer, out of hell."
24 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
superiors, the castle of St. Louis. When the expense was
grudged, "It was not best," he said, "to yield to the
passions of men, they sway but for a season, it is duty to
respect the future." Returning from one of his period-
ical visits to France in 1616, Champlain bore with him
his wife, young and beautiful, whose charms seem to have
melted the stoicism of the children of the forest into
delighted admiration.
In 1628, he gloriously defended Quebec from an attack
of the English, almost without arms or provisions, by the
glory of his name and the energy of his courage, and only
capitulated his famishing garrison when the last hope of
relief had failed. But it was an abortive triumph to his
conqueror. Peace soon gave Champlain his liberty, and
restored Quebec to France.
Before and subsequent to these events, the checkered
career of the explorer had been impressed by perpetual
trials, perplexities and vicissitudes, with alternate depres-
sions, and a return to power and position. Vanquishing
by his inflexible perseverance and profound sagacity the
hostilities of rivals and the evasions of a despotic govern-
ment, he returned the last time in 1633, to the state his
wisdom* and zeal had created, invested by Richelieu with
all his former prerogatives. Having suppressed the Indian
excitement which had agitated his province, conciliated
the jarring jealousies and angry feuds of mercenary traders
and arbitrary officials, and amply ass erted and perfected the
dominion of his sovereign over a vast region, Champlain
died in 1635, and is commemorated in the annals of the
country he served so ably and with such fidelity as " the
father of New France."
Champlain has no peer, either in the brilliant lists of
French or Anglo-Saxon discoverers of the age, in the
magnitude of his services, the hardy daring of his exploits,
in the courage and ability by which he achieved them or
the capacious grasp of intellect that moulded the destinies
1 Bancroft.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 25
of half a continent. Twenty times he crossed the Atlantic1
in tiny shallops from twelve to twenty tons, scarcely equal
to an ordinary fishing boat, and with a celerity that is
rarely surpassed in the voyages of the present day ; he ex-
plored boundless forests, penetrated unknown lakes, over-
came the turbulence of wild and strange rivers, associated
with the savages in every form, encountered dangers and
toils in it all their aspects, and gave to his country a do-
main far more magnificent in its proportions than the
territories of the proudest kingdom of Europe. In an age
reeking with venality, he never descended from his lofty
pursuits to contend for sordid wealth or emolument.
Nurtured in a licentious court, even when removed from
the restraints of society, his piety and virtue attracted the
wonder and excited the reverence of his savage asso-
ciates. His justice and good faith created an unbounded
ascendancy throughout the wide-spread Algonquin tribes,
and in after years their love and veneration still lived
undiminished for " the man with the iron breast."2
CHAPTER II.
Indian and Colonial Wars.
I am not aware that any evidence exists, that the en-
virons of Lake Champlain witnessed the missionary labors
of the Jesuits ; but we can with difficulty believe, that a
region so near and accessible, would have been unexplored
by the deep devotion and ardent enthusiasm, which im-
pelled them to bear the cross and to find their neophytes
upon the remote shores of Lake Superior.
The policy inaugurated by Champlain and pursued as a
cardinal principle by the vice-regal government, in form-
1 Thoreau.
2 For the materials of this chapter, in addition to the journals of Cham-
plain and his cotemporaries, and the general historians, I am largely indebted
to the facts compiled by Mr Parkman, and the views expressed in the glow-
ing and nervous pages of Thoreau.
26 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
ing an intimate alliance with the Algonquins, although
successful in its immediate object, the cherishing of the
union and affections of the tribes of New France, in its
results, excited the unyielding feuds and hostility of the
formidable Mohawks, and entailed upon the French more
than a century of fierce and bloody savage warfare. The
western tribes of the Iroquois rarely yielded to the sub-
jects of France, but the stern and implacable Mohawks,
never. Between them and France occasional periods of
peace or rather armed truces intervened, but at no time
did there exist a cordial harmony, when " the hatchet
was buried too deeply to be uncovered."
The French government, while it maintained the sove-
reignty of New France, wielded a powerful influence over
all the aboriginal tribes, within its vast limits. The pre-
ponderance of England, even in the councils of the Iro-
quois, was often disputed by France, and rendered by her
machinations, precarious and inefficient. The ".chain of
friendship," between France and the confederacies of the
Hurons and Algonquins never was broken or became dim.
The gay and joyous manners of the French won the heart
of the savage. The solemn grandeur, and the imposing
formulas and pomp of the catholic rituals, attracted his
wonder and admiration and fascinated his senses, if they
did not subdue his feelings. His appetites were pampered,
and his wants supplied with a lavish prodigality, the re-
sult perhaps of governmental policy rather than that of
Christian charity. To the mind of the Indian, these traits
of the French were favorably contrasted with the cold,
severe, and repulsive habits of the Englishman, with the
uuimposing forms of his religious rites, and with the close
and parsimonious guard the British government held over
its treasury and store houses.
The annals of Lake Champlain is a blood-stained recital
of mutual atrocities. The feuds of the peoples of Europe
and the malignant passions of European sovereigns, armed
the colonies of England and the provinces of France, in
conflicts where the ordinary ferocity of border warfare,
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. £7
was aggravated by the relentless atrocities of savage bar-
barism. Each power emulated the other, in the consum-
mation of its schemes of blood and rapine. Hostile Indian
tribes, panting for slaughter, were let loose along the
whole frontier, upon feeble settlements, struggling amid
the dense forest, with a rigorous climate and reluctant
soil, for a precarious existence. Unprotected mothers,
helpless infancy and decrepit age, were equally the victims
of the torch, the tomahawk and scalping knife. Lake
Champlain was the great pathway, equally accessible and
useful to both parties, of these bloody and devastating
forays. In the season of navigation, they glided over the
placid waters of the lake, with ease and celerity, in the
bark canoes of the Indians. The ice of winter afforded
them a broad, crystal highway, with no obstruction of
forest or mountain, of ravine or river. If deep and
impassable snows rested upon its bosom, snow shoes were
readily constructed, and secured and facilitated their
march.
Although this system of reciprocal desolation impeded
the progress of civilization in the territories of each power,
and repelled from the frontier, bordering upon the lake,
all agricultural and industrial occupations, both England
and France asserted an exclusive right to the dominion
of the territory. France based her claims of sovereignty
upon the discovery of Acadia, and the gulf and river
St. Lawrence, and subsequently upon the discoveries of
Champlain. Before that event we have seen, she had
conveyed to De Monts a parchment title to the entire re-
gion extending to the meridian of Philadelphia. The
original charter of Virginia asserted the claim of England
to the 45th parallel of latitude, while the other grants
extended her sovereignty to the waters of the St. Law-
rence. The ultimate acquisition of the title of Holland,
by the cession of JsTew Netherlands, fortified these preten-
sions, which England alleged were matured by the re-
cognition in the treaty of Utrecht, of her paramount
sovereignty over the possessions of the Iroquois, or as the
28 HISTORY OP ESSEX COUNTY. ■
Iroquois assumed a broad and formal protectorate as a
trust for their benefit and safety. Blood and treasures
were profusely expended in the assertion of hostile claims,
founded on these ideal assumptions to a rude and
howling wilderness.1 A long series of ferocious but inde-
cisive wars prevailed between the French and the Iroquois,
signalized by mutual woes and cruelties, and by alterna-
tions of victory and defeat. To avenge former sufferings
as well as to arrest future incursions, the government of
New France, in 1665, determined to attempt the destruc-
tion of the fastnesses of the Mohawks. The annals of war
exhibit scarcely a parallel to the daring intrepidity, the
exposure and suffering of that expedition.
The point of contemplated attack was distant almost
three hundred miles, and to secure the more perfect
secrecy, and an assurance of surprise, the season selected
was the most rigorous of winter. " M. Courcelles, the
governor of Canada, on the 29th of December, 1665, began
his march with scarcely six hundred men, to seek out
their inveterate enemies, the Mohawks." The snow that
covered the ground, " although four feet deep, was hard
frozen." The French were enabled, by the aid of the
Indian snow shoes, to march rapidly along this surface.
The use of horses was impossible, and it was equally im-
practicable for the troops, who consisted of about equal
.proportions of Indians and whites, to carry on an expedi-
tion so long aud laborious, with their own supplies. " The
1 The clause in the treaty of Utrecht, which bears upon this question and
which excited for many years elaborate and angry diplomatic discussions is
this : " The subjects of France inhabiting Canada and others, shall in future
give no hindrance or molestation to the Five Nations or cantons of Indians,
subject to the dominion of Great Britain, nor to the other natives of Ame-
rica who are in friendly alliance with them. In bke manner, the subjects
of Q reat Britain shall behave themselves peaceably towards the Americans
who are the friends or subjects of France and they shall enjoy on both sides
full liberty of resort for purposes of trade." The treaty secures to the In-
dians, equal freedom, " to resort to the colonies of either power for trade," and
then continues, " but who are and who ought to be accounted subjects and
friends of Britain and France is a matter to be accurately and distinctly
settled by commissioners." — Doc. Col. Hist., ix, 964.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 29
governor caused slight sledges to be made in good num-
bers, laying provisions upon them, drew them over the
snow with mastiff dogs." 1 Thus traversing Lake Cham-
plain, they had at night, no covering but the clouds, the
freshly fallen snow, or the boughs of the forest. Sur-
mounting perils and toils like these, the French approached
the Mohawk territory; but bewildered amid pathless
snows, and exhausted and paralyzed by cold and hunger,
they were only preserved from destruction by the active
although ill-requited beneficence of a small Dutch settle-
ment, standing on the outer verge of civilization. The
potent influence and urgent intercessions of a prominent,
although private citizen of Schenectady, averted from the
suffering and defenseless Frenchmen, the vengeance of
the exasperated Mohawks. It is rare that an individual,
who, like Arent Van Corlear, moves quietly along in
life without any prominence by official station, or brilliant
deeds, secures the universal reverence of both friends and
foes, while living, and to his name an honored place in
history, by the pure force of probity and beneficence.
Deeply loved by the Indians for his integrity and virtues,
his influence over them was unbounded, and long after his
death, they were accustomed, in their speeches and treaties,
as the term of highest respect and reverence known to
their hearts, to call the governor of New York — Corlear.2
His benevolent zeal in the preservation of the forces of
De Courcelles, was gratefully acknowledged by the colonial
government, and De Tracy, the governor general, with
expressions of the warmest regard, urged on him a visit
to Quebec.3 In the year 1667, Corlear accepted a courtesy
so marked, and with the purpose of aiding in the negotia-
tion of a peace between the French and Mohawks, accom-
panied by embassadors of the Iroquois, who, at his request,
had received a safe conduct, commenced the long and
perilous journey. While making the passage of Lake
1 Relations of the march, etc., Doc. Col. Hist., in, 118.
2 Idem, in, 559, et passim. %Mem, in, 128, 152, et passim.
30 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
Champlain, " he was drowned by a sudden squall of wind,
in crossing a great bay." J I have no hesitation in refer-
ring to Pereu or Willsboro' bay, in Essex county, as the
scene of this catastrophe.2 The lake, for many years
afterwards, was known as Corlear's lake ; 3 and locali-
ties and the scenes of events are frequently established in
documents of the period, by references to the " place where
Corlear was drowned."4 It is an impressive and almost
painful commentary upon the practice of the age, as I
remarked upon an analogous instance in the life of Cham-
plain, that the purity of Corlear did not shrink, while
thus shielded by the mantle of an honored guest, from
the very equivocal " promise to perfect the chart of the
lake, with the French forts, and how it borders on the
Maquais river."5 "We will not resist the emotions of a
sad aud tender sensibility, when we reflect that this noble
and benignant man, on a mission of peace and concilia-
tion, found a grave beneath the waters of Champlain, and
within the borders of our own country.
A treaty of professed peace succeeded this event, but it
seems to have formed no restraint upon the predatory
spirit of either the Mohawks or the French. Two years
had not elapsed, when a second expedition, guided by the
venerable De Tracy himself, the governor general of New
France, assembled at the Isle la Mottein Lake Champlain.
Far more formidable than the preceding, it embraced one
thousand two huudred combatants, borne by a fleet of three
hundred bateaux and canoes, and strengthened by two
pieces of artillery, which they transported to the remotest
hamlets of the Iroquois.
1 Relations of the march, etc., Doc. Col. Hist., in, 156.
2 No body of water which he could, in a usual course, have traversed on
the lake, corresponds so strictly with this description. I am strongly forti-
fied in my conjecture, by the statement of Dr. O'Callaghan, that an ancient
map exists in the office of the surveyor general of the state, on which Pereu
bay is named Corlear's bay.
8 Idem, in, 554, 815. 4 Idem, 815, 817.
6 Nichols to Corlear, Jan. 9, 11366, idem, 145.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 31
Intimidated by the power of this armanent, the Mohawks
abandoned their fortified villages, and " these barbarians
were only seen on the mountains at a distance, uttering great
cries and firing some random shots." 1 Having planted the
cross, celebrated mass, and sung the Te Deum on the
spot, " all that remained was to fire the palisades and
cabins, and to destroy all the stores of Indian corn, beans,
and other products of the country found there." The re-
treat of the French, from this abortive attempt, was deeply
calamitous. Forts were erected at Sorel and Chambly to
protect the province from the incursions of the Iroquois by
the lake. The Mohawks, wily as powerful, were, by their
habits and position, intangible; no blow could reach them.
Suddenly bursting in 1689, with great force into Canada,
they besieged and captured Montreal, and menaced the
empire of New France with utter extinction. This move-
ment averted a contemplated attack upon JSTew York by
Frontenac through Lake Champlain, and of a fleet by sea.
In the ensuing winter an event occurred, preeminent
even in the atrocities of that warfare for its deliberate
and ferocious cruelty. The people of Schenectady, that vil-
lage whose Christian charity had saved the forces of De
Courcelles from an appalling fate, reposed in a profound
security. Although warned of impending danger, they
had relied for protection upon the intense severity of the
season, and an unprecedented depth of snow. A band of
French and Hurons, conducted by ruthless partisans, pre-
cipitating themselves in a march of twenty-two days along the
course of West Canada creek, fell2 in a winter's midnight
upon this doomed and undefended hamlet.3 A common
1 French report. 2 Col. Hist., v, 656.
3 This is opposed to the generally received idea that this road was along the
line of Lake Champlain. A route by West Canada creek implies an avenue
of communication between Canada and the Mohawk valley different from
that afforded by the usual line traversed by the French, either from
Oswego or by the way of Lake Champlain. The route mentioned pos-
sibly had a terminus on the St. Lawrence, near the mouth of the Black
river. Writers constantly advert to the use of such an intermediate channel ;
but their attention does not seem to have been directed to its locality or
32 HISTOKY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
ruin involved the entire population. The blood of many
mingled with the ashes of their dwellings. Some, half
clad, fled to Albany amid the cold and snow, while others
were borne into a hopeless captivity.
After perpetrating this massacre, the French made a
rapid and disastrous retreat, pursued by the rigors of a
destroying climate, and the vengeance of a fierce enemy.
Other sections of the English colonies were visited with
similar and simultaneous assaults, tending only to aggravate
national animosities, without attaining either military or
character. Sir John Johnson, it is stated, when he violated his parole and
fled with the mass of his tenantry to Canada, consumed nineteen days, with
great exposure and suffering, in traversing the wilderness by some interior
line, known to him and the Indians. But no further light is thrown upon
a question, which to my mind, is invested with much geographical and
historical interest. I will venture the presumption, that, at this period
more than one familiar route had been established through the vast prime-
val forests, which embrace the western confines of Essex county, which
still exist essentially in their original gloom and solitudes. No other route
would have been available, when both Oswego and Chaniplain, as often
occurred, were in the occupation of a hostile power. The valleys of the
streams which flow into the Mohawk and Hudson, and which almost
mingle their waters with the affluents of the St. Lawrence, might have
been ascended, and the lakes and rivers of the, wilderness may have been
used with great facility for a canoe navigation. A few trifling carrying
places would have interposed only Blight impediments, and when closed by
the frosts of winter, these waters could still afford a most favorable route of
communication. Other avenues through this wilderness were undoubtedly
accessible, but my own observation has suggested one which I will trace.
The upper valley of the Hudson may have been penetrated, until the line
is reached of a small branch, which starting from the lakes in the vicinity
of the Adirondac works, finds its way to the Hudson. Passing up the valley
along which this stream gradually descends, the inaccessible range of
mountains would be avoided. Thence traversing the Indian pass in nearly
an imperceptible ascent, the plains of North Elba would be reached and these
open upon the vast plateau of the wilderness, along which the Racket rolls
a gentle current, adapted to the Indian canoe, to the St. Lawrence. This
idea posssibly explains the origin of the modern name which has been
assigned to the wonderful structures known to the natives as Otneyarh,
the place of stony giants.
Gentlemen of great intelligence and careful observation have assured
me that they have noticed evidences in the wilderness of other ancient
pathways disclosed by still open tracks, the vestiges of rude bridges and
the mouldering remains of coarsely hewn vehicles calculated for manual
transportation.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 33
political results. These inflictions awakened the colonies to
the perception, that safety and protection depended on con-
certed action, and that they were strong alone in harmo-
nious union. From such convictions, which at a later
period were matured by the convention at Albany, ema-
nated the first idea of an American congress. That body,
constituted of delegates from Massachusetts, Connecticut
and New York, assembled in 1690 at the city of New York.
It was then resolved to combine their efforts for the sub-
jugation of Canada. Massachusetts redeemed her engage-
ment, to equip a fleet to assail the French possessions
by sea. New York and Connecticut assumed the respon-
sibility of effecting a descent, by a land force, upon Mont-
real and the forts upon the Sorel. An army was assembled
at Lake George, and a flotilla of canoes, constructed for
the purpose, wafted the army, powerful in numbers and
appointments, down that lake to Ticonderoga. Transport-
ing their armament to Champlain, they again embarked
with high aspirations and in confidence of success. Some
further progress was made, when suddenly a defective
commissariat, with dissensions and divisions, constrained a
retreat, and with it blasted every scheme of the projected
attacks. The immense disbursements of the colonies in
sustaining these extended efforts, exhausted their feeble
resources, and left them almost powerless for the defense
of their own frontier.
In this crisis, and during the year 1690, John Schuyler, a
name distinguished by a long line of patriots and soldiers,
organized a volunteer band of about one hundred and
twenty " Christians and Indians," on a predatory incursion,
into the French province. Traversing Lake Champlain
and the Sorel, in silence aud caution, he landed without
detection in the vicinity of Chambly. Secreting his canoes
and provisions, he penetrated, with a singular temerity and
no less singular success, to La Prairie, amid numerous
forces of the French, and far within the line of their fort-
resses. The merciless storm fell upon an unsuspecting
3
, V
34 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
rural population, engaged and rejoicing in their harvest.
In the fell spirit that characterized these scenes, none were
exempted from slaughter or captivity. The " scalps of
four women folks," were among their trophies. Dwellings,
barns, products of the field, " and everything else which
would take fire," were remorselessly consigned to the
flames.1 The next year, Peter Schuyler, a controlling
spirit in the colony, and who swayed an unlimited influence
over the rude affections of the Mohawks, collecting three
hundred whites and warriors of the tribe, daringly pursued
the track of his brother, and assailed the same region.
With great labor, Schuyler constructed bark canoes at
White Hal], and Ticonderoga ; some of which were of large
dimensions equal to the transportation of twelve men.
He traversed the lake slowly and with great caution, advanc-
ing, as he approached the object of his expedition, by night.
Scouts, formed of whites and savages, were thrown cau-
tiously in advance.2
" Resolving," he says, " to attack the fort at daybreak,
went to prayers and marched." The firing of alarm guns at
Chambly and La Prairie, announced that the French were
aware of his approach and prepared to resist. De Collieres,
the governor of Montreal, had assembled a force of eight
hundred men to oppose the advance of Schuyler. In the
presence of an enemy so well prepared and formidable in
numbers, he was compelled to retreat. This was achieved
with great courage and ability, through a series of severe
conflicts, continuing from La Prairie to their canoes, in
which the French were repulsed with heavy losses. Enve-
loped by the enemy, Schuyler says: "I encouraged my
men and told them, there was no other choice, fight or die
they must, the enemy being between us and our canoes."
Fight they gallantly did, and bursting through the hostile
ranks, that in heavy masses enclosed them, regained their
1 Schuyler's journals.
2 The exceeding clearness of vision and watchful observation of the Indians
illustrated by an entry in Schuyler's journal. " Our spies told us they saw
somewhat like the striking of fire with a flint and steel in a canoe."
1515259
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 35
flotilla, and having inflicted much injury upon the inhabit-
ants and crops, retraced their steps.1
Count Froutenac, impatient under the unyielding hostili-
ties and perpetual ravages of the Mohawks, that no treaties
could permanently suppress and no vigilance guard against,
determined by a sudden and more efficient effort to extin-
guish their power in the citadels of their strength. He
organized in the year 1689, a force of six hundred French
and Indians, and secretly passing Lake Champlain upon the
ice, and penetrating the forest burdened with deep snows,
assaulted by a complete surprise, a race whose vigilance
scarcely ever slumbered. Several of their villages were
taken and burnt, and three hundred of the natives captured.
But repulsed on a final attack by the unconquerable
Mohawks, De Callieres commenced a disastrous retreat,
followed by the Indians with a merciless vengeance. Peter
Schuyler, the ever firm and active friend of the Mohawks,
with the militia of Albany, hastily gathered, joined in the
pursuit. A violent snow storm and a narrow strip of ice
which afforded a precarious passage over the Hudson, and
was broken up as their rear crossed, saved the panic-
stricken refugees, from the terrible inflictions of savage pas-
sions fiercely enkindled. So unexpected was the attack and
sudden the pursuit, that the scanty supply of food was soon
exhausted, and the savages literally fed upon the dead
bodies of their enemies, while the fugitives to sustain life
were compelled before they found relief in the borders of
Canada, " to eat the leather of their shoes."
To the scope of more extended history belongs the
narrative of efforts for the " conquest of New France," pro-
tracted for a period of two years from 1709, and extending
in their field of operations along the entire frontier from
Detroit to the Bay of Fondy, and embracing armaments,
both by land and sea. Policy, as well as the exasperated
passions of the colonies, aroused all their enthusiasm, and
enlisted in support of the project, every energy and
1 Peter Schuyler's journal. Hist. Col., in, 800.
36 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
resource. This zeal was neutralized, or defeated by the
apathy, the imbecility, orthe negligence of the government
of England. One provincial army, organized by the colo-
nies for the attack of Montreal, was wasted by disease,
while awaiting assistance and supplies from the mother
country, which were never received. Another was dis-
banded when the inadequate naval expedition of England
against the French possessions had been unsuccessful.
CHAPTER III.
The French Occupation.
The valley of Lake Cham plain appears not to have been
occupied until about 1731, either by France or England,
with any permanent or tangible possession. France
asserted no other than an ideal and constructive title. The
claims of England, had, in the interval, been augmented by
the cession of New Netherlands, which conveyed a tenure
uniformly assumed by Holland, to reach the St. Lawrence,
and by the fealty of the Iroquois, who had submitted to the
sovereignty of the British monarch the entire environs of
Champlain and the recognition of that title by France in
the treaty of Utrecht.
The claims of the Iroquois, resting upon the rights of
conquest, were necessarily vague and fluctuating, and after
the ascendancy of the French interposed an arm of power
between the Mohawks and Algonquins, the scope of these
claims was repressed and in the early part of the eighteenth
century scarcely embraced their original boundaries. Such
boundaries, not only as they affected the foreign relations
of the confederacy but as between the individual tribes,
seem to have been accurately defined. Sir William John-
son, in a letter to the lords of trade, Nov. 13th, 1797,
clearly and specifically describes the limits claimed by the
1 Col. Hist., vii, 572.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 37
Iroquois as " original proprietors." Their limits on Lake
Champlain were established by a remarkable landmark.
" The hereditary domains of the Mohawks, he says, " ex-
tends from near Albany to the Little Falls (Oneija bound-
ary), and all the country from thence eastward, &c, north
to Rejiohne inLake Champlain." In another letter Johnson
refers to " Regiohne, a rock on the east side of said lake,"
as bounding the northward claim of the Iroquois.1
Few tourists traverse Lake Champlain, whose attention
is not attracted and inquiries elicited, by the appearance of
a dark and naked rock, ascending from the bosom of the
waters, almost in the track of the steamer, as she approaches
Burlington from the south. In almost the form of a perfect
cone, the rock stands thirty feet above the surface, in
solitary insulation. Its symmetry of contour is so perfectly
maintained below the water line, that vessels may moor
almost at its side. No vegetation softens or adorns its
aspect, but it stands, gloomy, solitary and impressive. An
aspect so remarkable was calculated to evoke the Indian
love of the imposing and picturesque, and would have been
a marked object in theirhunting voyages and hostile expe-
ditions. This is known as Rock Dunder, and I identify
it with entire reliance as the Rock Rejiohne or Reggio of
Indian annals. I arrive at this conclusion from various
proofs, in addition to the views above presented. John
Schuyler, in the journal of his expedition in 1691, writes,
" advanced from the Crown point towards Reggio, thirty
miles distant." Johnson twice refers to it. David Schuyler
in a letter to the Earl of Bellomont, August 17, 1700,
states " the French guards (sent out from Canada, &c), met
him in a canoe, within the bounds of this government, at the
Otter creek eighteen miles, on this side of Reggio, the great
rock, that is in Corlear lake." These distances were probably
mere estimates, but singularly approximate to accuracy.
I have consulted with intelligent mariners of the lake, who
concur in the statement that no other rock exists in that
1 Ool. Hist., in, 802.
38 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
section of the lake of a marked or peculiar character. The
most conclusive evidence, however, is furnished by a French
map of Lake Champlain " prepared about the year 1731,
from divers memoirs," and copied into the Documents
relating to the Colonial History, vol. ix, 1023. Between
" the river Ouinouski " (Onion) and " river Aux Loutree "
(Otter Creek), directly opposite the position of Rock Dun-
der there is inscribed on the map, and upon the eastern
shore of the lake, the word " Reggio."
I am aware that one fact apparent!}7 militates against my
theory. The Rock Reggio is described as the northern
boundary of the monstrous Dellius grant, and that Rock
Dunder does not conform to the seventy miles in length of
that patent. Everything connected with that stupendous
fraud it is conceded was undefined, inchoate and ambi-
guous, and I am not aware that the Dellius patent was ever
practicably located by its pretended bounds. Modern writ-
ers and maps assume Split rock to be the Reggio referred
to in that grant. In my judgment there exists insuperable
objections to that assumption. Split rock is not strictly
an isolated rock, but is a point of a promontory separated
by attrition from the main land ; is not on "the east side "
of the lake, and does not conform in its position to the
distances mentioned. John H. Lydius, the successor to
Dellius, avers in an affidavit made 5th April, 1750, "that
the land, as far as the Rock Rogeo belonged to the Mo-
hawks, and is situated about ten leagues north of Crown
point." This is very nearly the distance to Rock Dunder,
while Split rock is scarcely eighteen miles from Crown
point. Lydius continues, " neither hath he ever heard of
any other rock called by the Indians Rogeo ; Rogeo being
a Mohawk word and the name of a Mohawk Indian
who was drowned, as they say, in the lake near that rock
long before the Christians came among them, from whence
the Mohawks call both the rock and the lake, Rogeo."
This catastrophe, probably of a distinguished brave, shrouded
1 Col. Hist., xi, 569.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 39
the rock to the aboriginal superstition with an unusual awe
and veneration. The rock was a conspicuous object visible
in every direction far away upon the waters, and when it
was recognized as a prominent landmark in the bounda-
ries of powerful confederacies, it became a point of great
interest and importance. The passage of a hostile canoe
beyond its shadow might have constituted war. Fancy
readily depicts fleets of canoes gathering around its base
upon the placid bosom of the lake for conciliation and
peace, and the council or sacrificial fire shedding its radiance
widely over the waters.
The pretensions of France to the sovereignty of Lake
Champlain and its shores, were not alone founded upon
the discoveries of Carrier and Champlain, and the extent
and distinctness of assumption from title based on such
discoveries in subsequent grants, or concessions. France
asserted other foundations of claim which were not with-
out plausible pretenses of justice and right. The French
diplomatists assumed, that Holland had never, in the exer-
cise of its jurisdiction over the Iroquois, established claims
to their territory paramount to the nominal possession of
France; and justly asserted that England, in the conquest
and cession of the New Netherlands acquired no other or
higher title than had been enjoyed by Holland. The com-
missioners of France at London, in 1687, in a formal memo-
rial, affirmed that all the Iroquois nations concluded, in
1665 and 1666, a solemn treaty with M. de Tracy, whereby
they placed themselves under his majesty's (Louis XIV),
protection, and declared themselves his subjects.1 Formal
treaties warranting this construction were executed by the
western tribes of the confederacy, ratified and emblazoned
by their distinctive symbols, but no symbol of the inflexi-
ble Mohawk is attached to the compact, although the Oneida
embassadors appeared to have assumed to act for them.2
The language of these treaties was in the illusory and
ambiguous terms incident to all similar instruments, and
1 Hist. Doc, in, 507. ■ Idem, 122, 125.
40 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
subject to constant denial and evasion. These transactions
were followed by immediate and perpetual hostilities. An
insuperable obstacle to the language of such treaties
being available in diplomacy, is established by the clear
and obvious fact, that France exercised no powers or pro-
tectorate under their sanctions. Whatever may have been
the inherent force of these instruments in effecting the right
of the other tribes, no basis existed for the pretense, that
they authorized any intrusion by France into the hereditary
dominions of the Mohawks south of a boundary so distinct
and apparently so well authenticated as the land-mark I
have described.
The treaty of Ryswick, in 1698, declared that the belli-
gerents should return their possessions as each occupied
them at the commencement of hostilities. England forcibly
alleged, that at the period contemplated by the treaty, the
Iroquois, their allies, were in the occupation by conquest
of Montreal and the shores of the St. Lawrence, and there-
fore entitled to retain possession of that territory. The
French government seems to have recognized the theory,
that the Iroquois were embraced in the provisions of that
treaty.1 Such were the jarring and complicated assumptions
of European powers to the homes and dominion of the ab-
origines, where they had so recently exerted all the prero-
gatives of empire and of freedom. When France denied
the claims of England and appealed to " the council fire at
Onondaga," the stern savage orator replied : " We have
ceded our lands to no one, we hold them of Heaven alone." 2
The verdict of common history has established the conclu-
sion, that in the intrusion of France upon the domains of the
Mohawks on Lake Champlain, at the sacrifice of so much
blood and treasure, justice and the restraints and faith of
treaties were subordinated to the lust of power and
expediency.
Whilst neither power yielded its dominion to the other,
each felt the extreme importance of securing the ascend-
1 Louis XIV to Callieres, 27th April, 1699, Hist. Doc, ix, 598. a Bancroft.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 41
ancy upon Lake Champlain. The command of that
avenue shed over the colonies of the government which
held it, a broad and ample protection. As clearly as facts
can be adduced from the faint glimmerings of history or
tradition, it appears probable that, in the early period of
the eighteenth century, English occupation and improve-
ment were gradually advancing toward the valley of Cham-
plain ; Crown point, then distinguished by its present name,
was recognized in 1690, as a commanding and important
position. The common council of Albany, instructing
their scouting party in that year, directs them to proceed
" to Crown point, where you shall remain and keep good
watch by night and day." The fact appears also from
the language of the purchase, by Dellius, that this purchase
was ratified by a grant from Governor Fletcher in 1696.
of a tract from the Mohawks, extending " more than
twenty miles northward of Crown point." ' His patent was
so exorbitant in its claims, and comprehended so vast an
extent of territory, that the colonial legislature, without
hesitation, abrogated the grant, and thus exhibited an exer-
cise over the region of one of the highest prerogatives of
sovereignty.
The Crown point of history is a beautiful peninsula,
forming a section of the present township of that name,
which is distinguished for its agricultural fertility, and the
rare and exceeding loveliness of the landscapes its varied
scenery affords. The peninsula is formed by Bulwagga
bay, a broad estuary on the west, and the lake upon the
east, which at that point, abruptly changes its course nearly
at right angles, and is compressed from a wide expanse
into a narrow channel. A vast wilderness in 1731 extended
on both sides of Lake Champlain, from the settlements on
the Hudson to the Canadian hamlets, broken by rugged
and impracticable mountains and ravines, and traversed by
deep or rapid streams. No track penetrated it, except the
path of the Indian. The lake, in its navigation, or by its ice,
1 Point Le Caronne of the French.
42 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
afforded the only avenue of mutual invasion. The most
unpracticed eye at once perceives that Canada could be
the most efficiently shielded by the occupation of Crown
point, that position forming the portals of the lake. Im-
pressed, no doubt, by these considerations, the French
vice-regal government, violating the sanctions of treaties,
and the immunities of a profound peace, suddenly advanced
through the lake, and seized by a military force, a promon-
tory directly opposite Crown point, and immediately after,
that position itself.
The site first occupied by the French is now called
Chimney point, but they gave to it the more euphonious
name of Point a la Chevelure. The poetical allusion it
must have conveyed is lost to us.1
This action of France was the movement of no incon-
siderate impulse, but the suggestion of a deliberate and ma-
tured policy. The scheme was distinctly urged in 1688 and
never relinquished. Frontenac in 1693, was instructed to
" build light vessels for the defense of the narrow defiles
of the rivers and lakes on the route from Orange." 2 And
in 1737, Beauharnois was directed to effect a survey of
Lake Champlain with the purpose of introducing an armed
sloop upon its waters.3 The views of France, in reference
to the importance of securing the control of Lake Cham-
plain, were neither peculiar or unfounded. The secret
councils of the colonial governments of England were
constantly directed to the attainment of the same great
object.4 Lake Champlain was the most direct avenue of
communication between the Hudson and Quebec. A
military post, which commanded the lake, must necessarily
control the large and lucrative fur trade that sought
through its waters a transit between Chamblyand Albany.
It was the purpose of France to anticipate and defeat the
1 It is frequently, but I think incorrectly stated, that this name was
originally given to Crown point. All the old French maps corroborate my
opinion.
2 Louis XIV to Frontenac, Hist., Doc, ix, 449. 3 Idem., ix, 1059.
4 Gov. Dongan, Doc, in, 477 ; Bellomont, id., 504 ; Lords of Trade, id., 704.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 43
designs of England for the occupation of Crown point.1
The wise policy of the French government contemplated
the formation of agricultural colonies beneath the shields
of its military posts, and to thus secure the permanent de-
fense and possession of the country.2
The instructions to Beauharnois directed that a simple
stockaded fort should first be erected, " until a stronger one
can he constructed." 3 Thirty men only formed the garrison
of the incipient fortification. Beauharnois announces three
years later to the government, that he is " preparing to
complete " this feeble work. A position full of alarm and
terror, and a constant " sharp thorn in the sides of Massa-
chusetts and New York " 4 lingered thus for years iu its slow
and hesitating progress, continually exposed to be crushed
with the sanction of England, by the military grasp of any
single colony. In 1747, it appears to have attained only
a slight advance in strength or proportions ;5 but in 1750,
an emissary of Clinton thus describes its growth and com-
manding position and armament. " The fort is built of
stone, the walls of considerable height and thickness, and
has twenty pieces of cannon and swivels mounted on the
ramparts and bastions. I observed the walls cracked from
top to bottom in several places. At the entrance of the
fort is a dry ditch eighteen feet square, and a draw-bridge.
There is a subterranean passage to the lake. The citadel
is a stout building eight feet square, four stories high, each
turned with arches, mounts twenty pieces of cannon and
swivels, the largest six-pounders. The walls of the citadel
are about ten feet thick. At the entrance is a draw-bridge
and ditch."6 The writer of this report remarks a fact
obvious to the most unmilitary eye, that the formation of
the adjacent country rendered St. Frederick extremely
vulnerable to assault by batteries.
Gov. Dongan, Hist. Doc, in, 1023. 2 Idem.
3 Louis XIV to Beauharnois and Hocquart, May 1731, idem, 1025.
4 Delancy to Lords of Trade, Doc., vi, 816.
6 Johnson to Clinton, Doc, Yi, 389.
6 Stoddart to Clinton, Doc, vi, 582, abridged.
44 HISTORY OP ESSEX COUNTY.
The protection of Canada from the inroads of the Iro-
quois was the ostensible reason and excuse for the erec-
tion of St. Frederic, assigned by France. Its real purpose,
besides embracing the control of the lake, contemplated
a still deeper policy. Occupying a position at the threshold
of the English possessions, they could menace and im-
pede their progress, and at any moment direct against
their expanded and defenseless settlements, sudden and
destructive assaults. Crown point was within the recog-
nized possessions of the Iroquois, and by the treaty of
Utrecht, their territory was guarantied to remain " invio-
late by any occupation or encroachment of France." The
governor of New York was at length aroused from his
lethargy, by the indignant voice of Shirley of Massa-
chusetts, to contemplate the arms of France and a com-
manding fortress far within the limits of his asserted
jurisdiction. Massachusetts, always prompt and energetic
in sustaining the national glory, and in redressing the
wrongs of the colonies, oifered to New York to unite at
once with her, in an expostulation on the subject, with
the French functionaries, and in the ultimate necessity,
to unite their arms to repel the aggression.1 The occupa-
tion of Crown point was only a link in the system, by
which France was encircling the colonies of England by
a cordon of fortresses. The colonies invoked in vain the
attention of the home government, to these encroach-
ments. In vain were protestations and memorials laid at
the foot of the throne, urging that the safety and the
colonial existence of New England and New York were
endangered by the occupation of Crown point.
The earnest and imploring voice of the colonies fell on
cold and deafened ears. To the vision of the British minis-
try, America was a wilderness, destitute of present frui-
tion and promises of the future. Walpole, whose sagacity
seemed to endow him almost with prophetic prescience in
the aftairs of Europe, could detect no germ of future empire
1 Correspondence between Shirley and Clinton, Hist. Doc.,, VI, 419, 431, 423.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 45
in the wilds of America. So even and indifferent had
been the regard of the same government, to a subject of
such momentous interest, to the colonies, and which had
so deeply aroused their anxieties as the erection of the
French fortresses on Lake Champlain, that the lords of
trade, in December, 1738, confessed to Governor Clark
ignorance of their location, and he in the succeeding year
" pointed them out on a small map."1 Not until 1789 did
Waldegrave, the embassador to France, claim the attention
of that government to the violation of the treaty of Utrecht,
by the occupation of Crown point. The only response
conceded to this expostulation was the denial of "all
knowledge of the projected establishment," and the for-
mal diplomatic assurance of instructions inquiring on the
subject. Thus England slumbered, and the colonies toiled
and murmured, while the formidable fortress of St.
Frederick arose and secured to France the dominion of the
lake.
Leading minds in the colonies were at that day suspi-
cious that sinister and corrupt motives were influencing the
British ministry, " who having reasons for keeping well
with the court of France, the project" (of occupying the
Ohio) " was not only dropped, but the French were encou-
raged to build the fort of Crown point upon the territory
of New York." 2 Such was the denunciation of Spotswood
of Virginia. England, by the ignoble treaty of Aix La
Chapelle relinquished to France the fortress of Louis-
burg, subjugated by the treasures and blood of New
England; but left to that power without a protest, the
possession of Crown point. It was not until 1755, that
the British government, with emphasis and decision, de-
manded from France the demolition of the fortress of St.
Frederic. Diplomacy could not thus retrieve, after the
hostile occupation of a quarter of a century, territory lost
by imbecility or corruption.
1 Doc, VI, 139, 143. 2 Gov. Spotswood. — Bancroft.
46 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
Accumulated acts of neglect and injustice of the mother
country, such as these, prepared and matured the colonies
for independence. Had they been cherished by the guar-
dian care of England, they might have rested upon her arm
in effeminacy and dependence. Abandoned to the sugges-
tions of their own policy, they were taught by these exi-
gencies high and practical lessons of self-government.
Compelled by a common danger, to mutual consultation
and concerted action, they were admonished of the neces-
sity and strength of a confederated union. Compelled to
rely alone for protection and safety upon their own arms and
energies, they were taught to resist aggression and to avenge
injury. The deep fountains of their capacities were revealed
to themselves, by the parsimonious policy of England, that
constrained the colonies to resort to their domestic re-
sources in their own protection and defense. Had Canada
been a British province, New England and New York
might have been exempt from the appalling scenes of car-
nage and suffering which are now impressed on their his-
tory; but the very exposures and dangers of their position,
and the assaults and cruelties of a powerful and daring
enemy, endowed them with lofty moral and physical cou-
rage; with endurance in suffering; with boldness and wis-
dom in council, and promptitude aud decision in action.
These are the elements of freedom.
Men, who literally tilled the earth with the musket at
their sides, were ripening for any emergency and pre-
pared to defend a heritage, endeared by their blood and
sorrows, against every foe and auy wrong. The career of
the colonies, neglected, contemned and suffering, was to
them a baptism of blood and sorrow, that consecrated a free
and ennobled spirit, equal to any sacrifice or any conflict.
The wars into which the colonies were forced by this
policy of England, and the proximity of the French pro-
vinces, afforded the severe schools for their military educa-
tion. The shores of Lake Champlain formed the nursery
of future heroes of the revolution. The military spirit
was here enkindled, that in after years blazed at Bunker
MILITAEY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 47
bill, and Bennington, and Saratoga ; and bere, amid victory
and defeat, tbe science and tactics of Europe were incul-
cated and diffused tbrougbout tbe broad colonies. If
"Wasbington was taugbt on tbe banks of tbe Monongabela,
to lead armies and to acbieve independence for bis
country, Putnam and Stark, Pomeroy and Prescott, amid
tbe forests and morasses of Horicon and Champlain, and
beneatb tbe walls of Ticonderoga, were formed to guide
and conquer in tbe battles of freedom. Human wisdom,
in ber pbilosopby, may pause to contemplate sucb strik-
ing and singular coincidences, and to trace tbese causes
to their momentous results ; but the eye of faith will
reverence them as the hidden workings of an overruling
and beneficent Providence, who, in these events, was un-
folding the elements and forming the agents of a mighty
revolution, destined, not only to sever a kingdom, but to
change the course of human events.
An ordinance of the king of France had authorized, as
early as 1676, the issuing of grants of lands situated in
Canada. In accordance with this power, and assuming
the sovereignty of France over the valley of Lake Cham-
plain, the government of Canada had caused a survey to
be made of the lake and its contiguous territory, the year
succeeding tbe erection of tbe works at Crown point.
Many of the names of the headlands, islands and other
topographical features of the lake, which are still perpe-
tuated, are derived from that survey. In their descriptive
force and beauty, they almost rival the euphony and
appropriateness of the Indian nomenclature. A map and
chart based upon that survey, was published at. Montreal
in 1748, and has not been surpassed by any subse-
quently made, in its scientific aspect or minuteness and
accuracy. Extensive grants, under the ordinance of 1676,
upon both4 sides of the lake, are delineated upon that map.
A seigniory was granted to the Sieur Robart, tbe royal
storekeeper at Montreal, in June, 1737. This grant, which
seems to have been the only one issued for land within
tbe limits of the county of Essex, embraced "three leagues
48 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
in front by two leagues in depth, on the west side of Lake
Champlain, taking, in going down, one league below the
river Boquet, and in going up, two leagues and a half
above said river.1 These boundaries comprehend all of
the present town of Essex and a large proportion of Wills-
boro'. The tract was soon after formally laid out and
allotted by an official surveyor. "We have no evidence that
any permanent and actual occupation was formed under
these grants. Kalm, who visited the region at an early
period, asserts that few colonies, and these only in the
vicinity of the fortresses, were formed by the French dur-
ing their occupation.
The authority from whom I have already given extracts
states that in 1750, "fourteen farms were occupied in the
vicinity of Crown point, and great encouragement given
by the king for that purpose," and "that other colonists
were approaching."2 The journal of Rogers contains re-
peated references to villages adjacent to Fort St. Frederic
and situated upon both sides of the lake.
The devastation in 1745, of the settlement of Saratoga,
by an Indian and French force, armed and organized at
Crown point, and the deeper atrocities committed a few
years later at Hoosick, by the same bands, while they in-
creased the apprehensions of the colonies, excited to the
highest intensity the desire and purpose of vengeance.
This feeling could be best consummated in the destruction
of St. Frederic. Whilst that fortress was occupied by a
powerful and vigilant rival, the tenure of life and property
in the adjacent English colonies, was esteemed so preca-
rious and valueless, that the country north of the Mohawk,
until the conquest of Amherst, was nearly depopulated.
A convention of the colonial governors had been held at
Albany in 1747, but without yielding any fruits of prac-
tical utility. The increasing and more active aggressions of
France, both in the Ohio valley and upon Lake Champlain,
demanded a similar meeting in 1754, that was only mem-
1 Doc. History. 2 Doc. Hist., vi, 582.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 49
orable for the adoption of a Plan of Union between the
British colonies, inspired by Franklin, and which, although
at the time futile, formed the prolific germ from whence
in another generation sprung the American confederacy.
It was on this occasion, that the venerable Hendrik, the
great Mohawk chieftain, pronounced one of those thrilling
and eloquent speeches that marked the nobler times of the
Iroquois. It excited the wonder and admiration of those
who listened, and commanded the highest encomiums where-
ever it was read.1 In burning words he contrasted the
supiueuess and imbecility of England, with the energies of
French policy. His hoary head and. majestic bearing
attached dignity and force to his utterances. " "We," he
exclaimed, " would have gone and taken Crown point, but
you hindered us." He closed his philippic with this over-
whelming rebuke: "Look at the French, they are men.
They are fortifying everywhere. But you, and we are
ashamed to say it, you are like women, bare and open with-
out any fortifications." 2
The admonitions of the provincial governments, and the
cry of alarm and agitation that arose from every section of
the colonies, at length aroused the English ministry to the
duty of their protection, and the assertion of the honor of
Britain. Between France and England a peace, under the
solemnities of treaty, still existed. Four distinct expedi-
tious were, however, organized, professedly to guard the
colonial possessions of England ; but prepared, at the propi-
tious moment, to be hurled upon the strongholds of French
power. In this combination an army, designed for the
reduction of Crown point, was assembled at Albany, and
confided to the command of William Johnson. The zeal
and solicitude of ISTew England, for the conquest of the
fortresses upon Champlain, exasperated by the alarms and
calamities of a quarter of a century, excited all the en-
thusiasm of her bold and energetic yeomanry. Every
1 Dwiglit's Travels, Gentleman's Magazine, Shirley aud Gov. Livingstone.
2 Stone's Johnson.
4
50 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
requisition of the government was met amply and with
promptitude. Levies from New York and New England
constituted all the forces demanded.
France was not insensible to the gathering storm, which
began to lower around her American empire, and prepared
to meet and avert it.
CHAPTER IV.
Dieskau, 1755, 1757.
The bold and rocky cliffs which mark the confluence of
the waters of Lake St. Sacrament with Lake Champlain,
a position still more imposing than Crown point, and
deeper within the domains of the Iroquois, had attracted
the attention of the French engineers.1 In the summer
of 1755, De Quesne advised the construction of works at
that point. " St. Frederic was threatening to fall on all
sides." 2 The selection of the site and the construction of
the fort, was confided to Lotbiniere, an engineer of the
province. " A rock, which crowns all the environs, whose
guns could command both the outlet and that leading to
the Grand marais and Wood creek, " was selected as the
appropriate ground for the projected fortification.3 The
original work, which a year later was in an unfinished
1 Saint Sacrament, literally the Lake of the Blessed Sacrament, which
name it obtained in 1646, from Father Jogues, because he passed through it
on the festival of Corpus Christi. — E. B. O'CaUaghan, Doc., ix, 400. The
common impression that the name of this lake was suggested by the singu-
lar purity of its water, is erroneous. By the aborigines, it was in one
dialect called Canidere-Oit, or the tail of the lake, in reference to its rela-
tion to Lake Champlain. — Spafford's Gazetteer. By the Iroquois it was
named Andiatarocte, " there the lake shuts itself." — Relations. Honiton,
although redolent with beauty, seems to be a pure poetical fancy. The
various names attached, as well to tribes as to places, in the difficult Indian
language, often lead to confusion and error.
2 Du Quesne to Vaudreuil.
"Vaudreuil, Doe., x, 225. Modern engineers will ratify the complaint of
Lotbiniere, that his salary was no more than six hundred francs.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 51
state, " was a square fort with four bastions, and built of
earth and timber.1 Johnson, the same year, mentions
Ticonderoga as an important, but unoccupied position.2
Such was the inception of Fort Carillon, a fortress and a
locality destined to a terrific preeminence in the future
scenes of a sanguinary war.3 At what period the massive
stone battlements were constructed, which still reveal the
former magnitude and strength of the fortress, by its
grand and picturesque ruins, I cannot determine. At
the approach of Abercrombie, in 1758, the French were
energetically engaged in augmenting both the extent and
strength of the works. Crown point, by its unfavorable
position, and the decaying walls of St. Frederick, had fallen
into a subordinate attitude, " as a second line of defense." *
When the court of St. Cloud was made aware of the de-
parture of Braddock's formidable expedition, a powerful
fleet was promptly dispatched from the French posts bear-
ing six battalions of regular troops, designed to aid in the
defense of the colonies. It bore also Vaudreuil, the governor
general of new France, and with him came Baron de Dieskau
as commander in chief of the colonial armies. Dieskau was
a pupil of Saxe, trained from youth to age in the battle-fields
of Europe, and skilled in the handling of drilled and veteran
troops, ardent and aspiring, and stimulated by the desire of
action and fame. Dieskau prepared without delay to open
his American career by the capture of Oswego. Half of his
forces were already advancing in accordance with that plan,
and " the thing, " he exclaims in his characteristic but im-
aginary conversation with Saxe in the Elysian fields,5 " was
inevitable," when Vaudreuil, alarmed by intelligence from
St. Frederick, altered his design and hurried Dieskau, im-
patient and reluctant, to the defense of Lake Champlain.
He hastened to Crown point with three thousand men, and
lDoc, x, 414. 2 Idem, xi,997.
3 Carillon seems to bear the same signification as the Indian name, " the
Onderoga," the original of Ticonderoga, noise-chimes, in allusion, doubtless,
to the brawling waters.
4 Montcalm. 6 Doc, x, 340.
52 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
there learnt that Johnson was lying at Fort Edward and
Lake St. Sacrament, slowly collecting his forces and prepar-
ing to advance.
Immediately upon his arrival in Virginia, Braddock con-
vened a conference of the colonial governors at Alexandria
to determine and harmonize a concerted action of the
English colonies in a general attack on the French posses-
sions. In consonance with the plan then decided upon,
an army intended to move against the French works on
Lake Champlain, was entrusted to the command of William
Johnson, who had already achieved prominence in the
colonial affairs of New York, by his estates, his com-
manding abilities, and by his efficient and zealous measure
in organizing the militia of that . province. Johnson
was Irish by birth, and of ancient and respectable lineage.
He emigrated to America in boyhood, and at an early age
occupied a subordinate but highly responsible position as
agent for the large landed property of his uncle, Sir Peter
"Warren, lying in the vicinity of the Mohawk river. Living
in baronial magnificence among the Mohawks, his justice,.
magnanimity and generous habits imparted to him a potent
influence over his aboriginal neighbors. He had never
seen a field of battle, and had no knowledge of military
affairs, only as he had derived it from the theory of books,
or like his cotemporary Clive, he became a soldier from the
intuitive perceptions of his own genius.
Most of the army which Johnson was to lead, had, in
June, 1755, assembled in the vicinity of Albany. A large
proportion of the troops were from New England, but the
character of Johnson, and the influence of Shirley of
Massachusetts, secured his appointment, and in its pro-
priety there seems to have been a harmonious and loyal
acquiescence.
The embarrassments and delays always incident to the
organization of new levies, retarded the advance until the
last week in August. Leaving a part of his troops at
Fort Edward, and in an adjacent encampment for its
protection, Johnson advanced with a force, including
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 53
Indians, of about thirty-four hundred men, to the foot of
Lake St. Sacrament, of the French, and by him then iirst
called Lake George, " not only in honor of his majesty, but
to ascertain his undoubted dominion here."1 He "found
the country a mere wilderness, not one foot cleared."2
Here he prepared ground " in a protected position for the
camp of five thousand men," the number whose presence
he was warranted in expecting. His army, fresh from
the plough and the workshop, save a few who had been
engaged at the siege of Louisburg, were novices in the
arts and services of war. The provincials, clothed in the
home-spun garments woven by wives and mothers, armed
only with their own rifles and fowling pieces, without
bayonets, but animated by the noblest impulses of patriot-
ism and courage, and inspired by a fervid religious enthu-
siasm, which enkindled the faith that they were battling
in defense of the altars of protestantism and for the sub-
version of idolatry. While the preparations were in
active, but to their impatient ardor, slow progress, they
were restive and impatient for the advance. On the sab-
bath, in obedience to their puritan habits, they assembled
to unite in prayer and" to listen to the word," while their
swarthy allies gravely hear the interpretation of a long
sermon.3 The native groves, the primitive temples of
God, witness their worship.
Johnson, under the delusion of a singularly false secu-
rity, neglected to erect even the slightest works for the
protection of the army. His designs embraced the con-
struction of a fort near the ground he occupied, in the view
of ultimate security, and when the necessary bateaux
were built he " proposed to proceed clown the lake to an
important pass called Ticonderoga, and there endeavor to
take post until the rest of the forces join me, and thence
march to the attack of Crown point. All of which I hope
to be able to accomplish in three weeks." * But all these
1 Johnson to Lords of Trade, Doc, VI, 997. * Idem. 3 Bancroft.
* Doc., vi, 999.
54 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
purposes were suddenly arrested by the startling and un-
expected tidings, that a French army had landed at South
bay, and rapidly advancing in his rear, was threatening to
sever his communications with Fort Edward.
The written instructions of Vaudreuil to Dieskau were
clear and positive, that he should advance from Crown
point with his entire force, and that he should not attack
the English entrenchments without a cautious recognition.1
Each of these instructions was violated by Dieskau, but
under circumstances that warranted him conducting a re-
mote command, to exercise an individual judgment, which
justified apparent disobedience. "When disaster had clouded
the fortunes of Dieskau, a complaint of this action was car-
ried by Vaudreuil with extreme bitterness to the throne.2
With half his army, consisting of six hundred Canadians,
six hundred Indians and three hundred regulars, Dieskau
advanced, leaving the remainder to occupy Carillon, and to
maintain a position known as the " two rocks," to cover
his retreat in case of defeat.3
The motives which controlled the decision of Dieskau, he
explains in the dialogue with Saxe. He intended a mere
coup de main, and no regular investment or assault, and
for that object he deemed his force adequate.4 The close
supply of provisions, the necessity of a rapid march through
a wild and wooded country, and crossing deep streams,
sometimes along a single log, rendered the use of a larger
force impracticable. He had been informed by his spies, that
Johnson lay in an unfortified camp at Lake George
short of supplies, and that a body of nine hundred militia
troops, which in a common professional spirit he despised,5
1 Doc, x, 325. 2 Vandreuil to Machault, Doc, x, 318.
3 These rocks, called the Pulpit and Narrows, stand on the junction
of the towns of Dresden and Putnam. — Fitche's Washington County. Some
discrepancy exists in the accounts of the relative proportions of Dieskau's
forces, but none as to the aggregate.
4 Col. Doc, x, 341.
6 They are such miserable soldiers that a single Indian would put ten
of them to flight." — Idem.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 55
were encamped near Fort Edward, and that this work was
only protected by unfinished palisades. Upon this intelli-
gence he formed the plan of his campaign. It was con-
ceived with great ability, and in the instincts of bold enter-
prise, and its execution was attempted by the highest
vigor and intrepidity. A brilliant success would have
approved the scheme, had his army been composed of the
drilled veterans he was accustomed to lead. But a just
estimate of savage hordes and raw levies scarcely less intrac-
table, did not enter into the contemplations of Dieskau,
and in the anguish of wounds and defeat he bitterly ex-
claimed : " These then, are the troops which have been so
much crowed up to me." *
On the fourth of September, 1755, Dieskau, in confor-
mity with the designs he had adopted, proceeded up Wood
creek, and, traversing the shallow waters of South bay, left
one hundred and twenty men to guard his bateaux, and
had advanced through the woods by three days' march,
intending, on the morning of the fourth, to assail and de-
feat the militia before Fort Edward, and to capture the
works; this accomplished he proposed to march rapidly
against Johnson, cut off his communications, and to anni-
hilate his army by a sudden and impetuous attack. But
his guides, either bewildered in the mazes. of the forest, or
treacherous in their purpose, wandered from the proposed
course, and when light appeared they were several miles on
the road leading to the English camp. The Indians, who
had become alarmed by the rumors of artillery on the fort,
although not a single gun was mounted, refused to assail it
or to cover an assault by the French, arguing with a singu-
lar casuistry, that the laud it occupied belonged to England. 2
They professed a readiness to attack Johnson,3 and while
1Hist. Doc., x, 334. 2 Idem, 342.
3 Johnson establishes in his letter to Sir Charles Hardy the wisdom of
Dieskau's original plan : " Happily for us he complied [with the proposition of
the Indians] for he would have found our troops separately encamped out of
the works and no cannon there, and his victory would have probably been a
very cheap one, and made way for another here." — Hist. Doc., vi, 1014.
56 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
Dieskau was promptly changing his movements to gratify
this caprice, he received intelligence that a large detach-
ment was advancing from the lake on the road he occupied
to relieve the fort.
Johnson, immediately, when informed of the advance of
Dieskau, convened a council of his officers. The aged
Hendrik participated in the consultation, and seems to have
been its Nestor. When the march of a small body of troops
was proposed, he remarked, in the laconic and sententious
manner of his race : " If they are to fight they are too few,
if they are to be killed, they are too many." And when it
was suggested that the detachment should be divided into
three bodies, he gathered three sticks from the ground :
" Put these together, " he said, " and you can't break them ;
take them up one by one and you may break them readily."
Had the wise savage ever heard of the classic fable ?
Hendrik was the sage in council, the consummate orator,
and on the war-path the bold and sagacious leader; and in
the combination of those qualities, was the last of the noble
Mohawks. He had visited England twice; was received
with distinction at court, and was slightly educated.
Immediately, before Colonel Williams began his march,
Hendrik mounted a stage and harangued his people. His
strong masculine voice, it was supposed, might be heard at
the distance of half a mile. A spectator, who did not
understand a word of his language, afterwards said, " that
the animation of Hendrik, the fire of his eye, the force of
his gestures, his emphasis, the inflexions of his voice and
his whole manner affected him more deeply than any
speech he had ever heard." l
It was decided by the council that Colonel Ephraim Wil-
liams, with a thousand provincials, supported by Hendrik
and two hundred Mohawk warriors, should promptly march
to relieve the fort. Williams, who a few days before, by a
will executed at Albany, created the foundation of an institu-
tion, which a memorial of his love of science still preserves
1 DirighVs Travels.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 57
his name, was inspired by the earnest and heroic spirit of
his province, was a gallant soldier, but untutored, except
in trifling Indian warfare, by any military experience. He
advanced precipitately, but with little soldierly circumspec-
tion. Hendrik, on horseback, led the van.
Meanwhile, the skill of the French commander had
prepared for them a terrible reception. He placed his
forces on the road he occupied, in a defile about three
miles from Johnson's camp, arranging them in the. form
of a parallelogram, with front open, or as a cut de sac.1
The Canadians were posted on the right, the Indians
upon the left, and the regulars at the extremity, with
strict orders to the two former, " not to move or to discharge
a single gun, until the French had fired." The rock, the
bushes and forest disguised the presence of an army, and
Williams entered into this " valley of death " in the midst
of an invisible foe. At this moment, when, to the prac-
ticed eye of Dieskau, the destruction of the whole detach-
ment appeared inevitable, a part of the Iroquois arose
from their hiding place, and, perceiving their Mohawk
brethren in the English army, fired into the air, and thus
revealed the ambush. These were Senecas, the western
tribe of the confederacy, but domiciliated in Canada,
whose fidelity, Dieskau, in his correspondence with Vau-
dreuil, had uniformly distrusted. This treachery, probably
without premeditation, was stimulated by that strong
fraternal affection, which united the different tribes of the
confederacy in bonds firmer than their political union,
and was a remarkable feature in the character of the Iro-
quois. Each canton might independently accept a sub-
sidy from England or France, and would serve with fidelity
and fight with courage against the adverse nation or in
hostility to alien Indian tribes, but previous to the revolu-
tion were never — possibly some rare and brief exceptions
may have occurred — brought into conflict with any other
branch of the confederacy. In the war of independence,
1 Hist. Doc, X, 342, where he represents his formation by a diagram.
58 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
a part of the Oneidas received the war-belt from the Ame-
rican congress, and engaged in a sanguinary contest with
their kindred tribes.
The friendly or treacherous warning came too late, to
save the provincials and Mohawks from the fatal error of
their leader. -A crushing fire was poured upon them in
front and from the right. Williams, who gallantly took
position upon a rock — the same rock that is now the base
of his own monument — at the first alarm, better to observe
and direct the battle, early fell. Hendrik, nearly at the
same moment, was also killed.1 The provincials and In-
dians retreated in coufusion, "doubled up," Dieskau wrote,
" like a pack of cards, and fled pell-mell to their intrench-
ments." 2 They were soon rallied by Lt. Colonel "Whiting,
fought with great valor, and under cover of a party of three
hundred men commanded by Colonel Cole, which had
been opportunely detached by Johnson to their support,
effected a retreat in good order to the camp.
Dieskau, bursting through the red tape instructions of
Vaudreuil, and following the inspiration of the motto in-
scribed upon his crest : " Boldness wins," did not pause to
reconnoitre, but leading the French and Canadians, rapidly
pursued, hoping in the panic and confusion to enter with
the fugitives, an unfortified camp; but again the Indians
disappointed and deceived him. When they saw the sem-
blance of an intrenchmeut, and " heard the roar of cannon,
stopped short." He still advanced, but soon perceived the
Canadians also "scattering right and left."3
Johnson, when he heard the noise of the battle, and
knew by its approach that his troops were retreating, with
admirable promptitude and energy, sent forth the reen-
forcement of Cole, and prepared for the impending conflict.
The skilled woodsmen of New England rapidly felled
trees, which, with the wagous and baggage formed a hasty
1 A cotemporaneous account states that Hendrik fired the first shot in the
battle. — Pownall to Lords of Trade, Doc, vi, 1008.
2 Doc, x, 343. 'Idem-, 343.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 59
and partial breastwork, while two or three cannons were
hurried from the shore of the lake, where they had been
placed ready for embarkation. The defection of the
irregular troops compelled Dieskau to make a brief halt
in front of the works,1 which was a precious boon to the
intrenching provincials. Then ensued, protracted through
the horrors of more than four hours, the most severe and
bloodiest fight the wilds of the new world had ever wit-
nessed. Dieskau first assaulted with his regulars the
centre, but, "thrown into disorder by the warm and con-
stant fire of the artillery and colonial troops," was repulsed.2
Then he assailed the left flank, and, in a last and desperate
effort, hurled his wasted and bleeding veterans upon the
extreme right, with the impetuosity and heroic daring
that belonged to the troops of France. But this attack was
also crushed by the overwhelming fire from the intrench-
ments. In their excited ardor, many of the provincials
and Indians leaping over the frail breastworks, opposed
the butts of their reversed guns to the glittering bayonets
of the French, aud completed with a great slaughter,
their defeat.3 The Canadians and Indians inflicted con-
siderable loss upon the Americans from an adjacent
morass, but were dispersed by a few shots thrown into
their midst. And this was the extent of their services.
However inherently brave, as was attested by many a
bloody field, the habitans of Canada were reluctant and
murmuring levies, forced into a war of conquest by a
ruthless conscription, that swept, on the threshold of har-
vest, every able-bodied man from the district of Montreal,
leaving their crops to be gathered by coerced labor, from
other sections of the province.4
Dieskau appears not to have been adapted by tempera-
ment or manners, to conciliate the attachment or to com-
mand the confidence of his savage allies. Instead of
indulging in familiar intercourse and yielding to their
'Johnson's official report. 2 Johnson's report. s Johnson, idem.
4 Breard to Machault, Doc, x, 309.
60 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
habits and peculiarities, he maintained with them — and
equally with his subordinates and the Canadians — the
stately German style of seclusion and exclusiveness. ■
This course destroyed the influence and devotion, which
could only be exerted over their rude and capricious na-
ture, by controlling their impulses and affections. They
could not comprehend the motive of Dieskau in his rapid
attack on the entrenched camp, and asked delay, " that
they might rest and care for their wounded." When he
persisted, they exclaimed in amazement : " Father you have
lost your reason, listen to us." !
Dieskau, thrice wounded and disabled, refused to be
carried from the field by Montrueil, his subordinate, and
" ordered him in the king's name to assume the command
and make the best retreat he could." 2 Two Canadians
came to his relief, " hut one was killed outright," writes
Dieskau, "falling across my legs to my great embarrass-
ment." Bathed in blood and calmly supporting himself
against a tree, while the tempest of bullets hurtled about
him, he remained until the advance of the provincials,
when he was again deliberately fired at by a refugee
Frenchman.3 The shot penetratiug both hips, perforated
an internal organ, and caused a wound, which, after twelve
years of extreme suffering, terminated bis life. But his
mental anguish far exceeded any physical suffering. He
was allowed by his king to languish a prisoner until the
peace of 1763, neglected by his country and an object of
unjust calumny and aspersion.4
Dieskau, when his name was known, was tenderly borne
by the victors to the tent of Johnson, placed upon his bed
and received the prompt aid of Johnson's own surgeon.
1 Hough's Pouclwt, i, 35, 47. 2 Idem, 343.
3" Leaping on me. he said in very good French, " Surrender." I said to
him, " You rascal, why did you fire on me : you see a man lying on the
ground bathed in blood, and you fire on him, eh ? " He answered, " How
did I know but you had a pistol '? I prefer to kill the devil, than that the
devil kill me." — Doc., x, 343.
4 Dieskau to Belle Isle.— Doc, x, 806 ; Idem, 594.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 61
Several Indians forced themselves into the tent and in
passionate vehemence claimed the prisoner, that they might
burn him to expiate the death of their chieftain. The
determined attitude of Johnson and his great influence
with the Mohawks, alone preserved Dieskau from this
horrid doom.1 Romance and sympathy still linger in the
popular heart around the name of Dieskau. Able, valiant
and generous, he fell, almost at the moment of victory, by
the baseness and treachery of unworthy followers. He
reached the St. Lawrence with high hopes and ardent am-
bition, when June had scarcely decorated its shores in the
beauty and verdure of spring ; but before the autumnal
leaves had fallen, he was fatally stricken, defeated, and a
captive.2
St. Pierre, the leader of the French Indians, and the de-
fiant but chivalric negotiator with Washington on the
banks of the Ohio two years before, fell on this bloody
field. But the disasters of the French were not yet termi-
nated. The army had scattered into fragments ; and a
party of about three hundred, stopping for a brief rest, were
encountered by a body of provincials under McGinnis of
New Hampshire and Folsom of New York, were again
routed and flying in confusion, abandoned all their bag-
gage and ammunition to the conquerors. This triumph
cost the life of the gallant McGinnis.3 The French at
the moment of the assault had cast off the packs containing
their supplies, and in the confusion of their hurried retreat
did not recover them, aud wandered two days in the woods
and through morasses without food.4
The losses of the respective armies were nearly the same,
each including several valuable officers, amounting to about
four hundred and fifty of the French, and one hundred
less of the English and Mohawks, while both could claim
peculiar advantages from the results. The French had
arrested the advance of the British armies, and for the sea-
1 Dieskau, Doc, x, 343. 2 Bancroft. 3 Graham's Colonial History, n, 200.
4 Mortreuil to D'Argenson, Doc. x, 359.
62 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
son averted an attack upon the works on Lake Champlain.
For Britain, a victory had been achieved, which, succeeding
so soon the disasters of Braddock, thrilled the land with joy
and exultation. In the mind of the provincials the prestige
of invincibility, which had attached to science and disci-
pline was gone forever, and the issue of this battle had its
fruition by the influence it imparted in a future and a
nobler contest for national independence and freedom. The
narrative of this triumph will ever warm the heart of the
American historian with interest and pride, for this was the
first field on which the yeomanry of the colonies, led by
their own citizens, met and vanquished the trained vete-
rans of Europe.
Johnson, at an early stage of the conflict, was wounded,
and left the field and the battle to be guided by the con-
duct and intrepidity of Lyman of Massachusetts. These
and the fiery and persistent valor of the troops, won the
victory. The Mohawks and the colonists were alike cla-
morous for the pursuit of the flying enemy; the one burn-
ing to avenge the death of their beloved sachem, and the
other panting to crush a foe that so often had desolated
their own borders with fire and blood. But the prudence,
or timidity of Johnson who professed to fear a renewed
attack with artillery, restrained their ardor, and the French
secured an unmolested retreat to Carillon.1 The voice of
New England and the council of his officers urged the accom-
plishment of the original designs of the campaign, while the
French army was demoralized by defeat, the works at Ticon-
deroga scarcely commenced and the walls of St. Frederick
crumbling, but the Mohawks returned to their wigwams,
and Johnson, irresolute and hesitating, lost the occasion, and
wasted the season in the profitless labor of erecting Fort
William Henry. The campaign was closed, and the army
disbanded.2 On another field, Johnson vindicated claims
to high military talents ; but here he seems to shrink from
risking by the contingencies of war laurels already plucked,
1 Doc, x, 1013. 2 Bancroft and Graham.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTOEY. 63
and which he probably perceived in his visions, gilded with
future honors and fortune. Johnson was magnanimous to-
wards his fallen enemy, but unjust and ungenerous to his as-
sociates.1 Ascribing to himself the glory of the great event,
Lyman was not named in the official report, while a faint
and cold commendatory notice was extended .to a few of
the subordinate officers. The services of Lyman, and the
courage of the American citizens, who achieved the vic-
tory, received from England neither applause nor recogni-
tion, while Johnson was dignified by a baronetcy, made
royal superintendent of Indian affairs with a grant by
parliament of £5,000, wrung from the scanty pittance
allowed the suffering colonies for the burdens they had in a
generous patriotism self-imposed.
It was not until the summer succeeding these exciting
events, that open and mutual declarations of war were
proclaimed between France and England. The contest
lanquished during the year 1756 upon the borders of
Champlain. In that year, another force was organized for
the attack of Crown point. As on the former occasion
the colonies presented their required contingents, but
delays, dissensions, the incapacity and indecision of the
English commanders, again exhausted the season. Offen-
sive operations were limited to the bold and romantic
exploits of the American rangers and the partisan corps of
France. Eogers, the gallant ranger, was particularly
conspicuous in these wild and daring adventures. Some-
times stealing under the cover of night by the forts in
canoes, he lay in ambush far down the lake, surprised and
captured boats laded with supplies, which, unsuspicious
of danger, were proceeding to relieve the garrisons. Fre-
quently he approached the forts by land, and prowling
about them with Indian skill and patience, until he ascer-
tained the intelligence he was ordered to collect, he cap-
tured prisoners, shot down stragglers, burnt dwellings, and
1 Dieskau to D'Argenson, Doc, x, 318.
64 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
slaughtered cattle feeding around the works, and then de-
fying pursuit, retreated in safety.1
In one of these bold incursions, which signalized the
opening of the next year, Rogers and Stark had penetrated
with a force of less than eighty men, to a point between
the French fortresses, near the mouth of a stream, since
known as Putnam's creek, and there, in ambush, awaited
their victims. A party of French are passing in gay and
joyous security on the ice toward Ticonderoga. Part are
taken, the rest escape and alarm the garrison. The rangers
attempt to retreat, pressing rapidly along the snow path,
in Indian file, as was their custom, but on ascending
the crest of a hill they receive the fire of an overwhelming
force, posted with every advantage to receive them.2 A
fierce and bloody conflict ensued, protracted from near
meridian until evening. The rangers retreating to a hill,
are protected by the covert of the trees and there gallantly
sustain the unequal conflict. Rogers, twice wounded,
yields the command of the little band to Stark, who with
infinite skill and courage, guides the battle, repulses the
foe, with a loss far exceeding his entire force, and at night
conducts a successful retreat to Lake George. Leaving
there his wounded and exhausted companions, Stark,
accompanied by only two volunteers, traverses on snow
shoes, a distance of forty miles, and returns to them, with
aid and supplies the second morning. This courageous
band, reduced to forty-eight effective men, with their pri-
soners effected a retreat to Fort William Henry in safety.
This incident, brilliant as it appears, is rivaled, if not
1 Rogers's Journal, 16, 18, 20, 24. Rogers, on a later occasion, manifested
that humor was blended with his daring. He killed fifteen beeves almost
beneath the walls of Carillon, and to the horns of one attached a paper couched
in these words : " I am obliged for the repose you have allowed me to
take ; I thank you for the fresh meat you have sent me. I shall take care
of my prisoners ; I request you to present my compliments to the Marquis
De Montcalm. Rogers, Commandant of the Independent Companies." —
Doc, x, 839.
2 This battle is supposed to have occurred near the residence of M. B.
Townsend, in Crown point. — 0. Fenton.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 65
eclipsed by a chivalric and daring exploit of the French.
A detachment of fifteen hundred French and Canadians,
led by Vaudreuil in the ensuing February, who traversed the
ice aud snows of Champlain and Lake George, a distance
of more than one hundred miles, traveling upon snow shoes,
" their provisions on sledges drawn by dogs, a bear skin for
their coach," and " a simple veil " their only covering.
Their errand was the surprise and capture of William Henry.
But the garrison was wary and vigilant. The fort was
defended with success, although the vessels and bateaux,
with the store houses and huts of the rangers were con-
sumed.
On the return of the French from this expedition they
were exposed to an infliction, rare in the sufferings incident
to war. The reflection of the bright March sun from the
dazzling surface of the snow produced a partial although
temporary blindness, in one-third of the party. So severe
was this opthalmic attack, that those affected were obliged
to be led by their companions.1
A bold and secret attack byEuglish boats upon the out-
works and flotilla at Ticonderoga, was, some months after,
signally defeated with severe loss.
The northern colonies, still eager for the expulsion of
the French from their borders, acceded to the requisition
of Loudon, and assumed to raise four thousand troops for
the campaign of 1757. These contingents, they supposed,
were designed for the reduction of Crown point and
Ticonderoga. Loudon, either from caprice or instability,
suddenly announced the abandonment of that expedition,
and his purpose of uniting his forces for the conquest of
Louisburg. This futile and impracticable scheme left
the frontier of the colonies open and unprotected. The
vigilant and sagacious enemy, from their watch-towers, at
Carillon, saw the error and prepared promptly to seize the
advantage.
1 Gameau, in, 88 ; Pouchot.
5
QQ HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
CHAPTER V.
Montcalm, 1756, 1757.
The Marquis cle Montcalm was ordered to Canada as the
successor of Dieskau. A nobleman of high birth, nurtured
in camps from the age of fourteen, animated by spirit and
genius in his profession, and guided by an uncommon grasp
of views and perceptions in the political affairs of his coun-
try, he was calculated to act a distinguished role in the
bloody drama then enacting in the new world. Montcalm
had served with distinction in the wars of Italy, Germany,
and Bohemia, and numerous wounds attested the severity of
his services. He was a scholar deeply conversant with the
classics of Greece and Rome. Repeated instances in the
progress of events had illustrated how almost utterly value-
less were the experience and science gained in the wars of
Europe, in projecting or conducting a campaign in the
wilds of America. The acute sagacity of Montcalm at
once perceived this fact, and he promptly engaged in pro-
curing " information of a country and a war, in which
everything is different to what obtains in Europe."1 Along
the vast boundary line that divided the possessions of
France and England, extending from Acadia to the Missis-
sippi, an unbroken forest, often hundreds of miles in width,
separated the occupied districts of the alien provinces.
These forests had but slight assimilation to the poetical
green woods of the old world, but disclosed only dark, tan-
gled, dank and impervious tracts, penetrated alone by the
trail of the Indian. On either side the bold and hardy
pioneers were gradually, but constantly invading these
solitudes. Their vigorous arms were slowly carving out
spots, where the humble cabins were built upon the verge
of this boundless forest. A perpetual warfare was waged
between the savages, who regarded these wildernesses as
their homes and their hunting grounds, and this vanguard
1 Doc, x, 400.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 67
of civilization. The aborigines knew no other method of
attack than the secret ambuscade, and surprise, and in
actual fighting, the covert by each individual of a tree, a
rock or a bush. The practices of civilized war, the con-
certed manoeuvres of troops, or the mechanism that moved
drilled battalions, were found in many a conflict with
Indian warriors without efficiency, and powerless. The
instincts of self-preservation compelled the settlers to adopt
the method of savage arts, and they became expert pupils
in this horrid warfare. With almost equal skill as their
Indian teachers, they learned to form the ambush, to make
the sudden attack, to thread the intricacies of the forest, to
pursue the trail of a foe, and to disguise their own. The
tomahawk was wielded by the backwoodsman with
savage dexterity, and even the terrible offices of the scalp-
ing-kuife were often familiar to his habits.1 In these wars,
mercy was seldom recognized, and a mutual extermination
was their stimulating motive.
The exigencies of these circumstances and of the times,
called into existence a novel organization of troops, little
known to the military bureaux of Europe. The partisan
corps of New France, and the American rangers and
scouts, combined with most of the Indian characteristics
some infusion of the discipline and subordination belong-
ing to regular armies. These bodies, especially the
French corps, united with a large savage element, were
the most effective and active arm of forest warfare upon
the borders of New England, and New York. These
savages reached everywhere, overwhelming alike the hut
of the frontier and the dwellings and hamlets, whose re-
moteness seemed to secure immunity from danger ; flank-
ing armies and fortresses, and suddenly striking a blow,
far in the interior of the hostile territory, and retreating
by the light of burning villages or the flames of solitary
cabins with the scalps of childhood and age, of the soldier
and woman, they would steal back silently to their lurk-
1 Hough's Pouchot, 77.
68 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
ing places. Marin — the Molang of tradition and popular
tales — was the prominent leader of the French expeditions,
and by his brilliant qualities as a partisan, and by deeds
of valor, often sanguinary, but sometimes redeemed by
generous acts, he was a worthy, though formidable antago-
nist to Rogers and Putnam, the gallant chiefs of the
American rangers. Marin was originally attached to the
navy of France, but at an early age, allured by the romance
and daring character of the border warfare of New France,
he joined the irregular forces of the government, formed
of Indians and Canadians.
The French, far more than the English, were successful
in conducting military operations in association with their
savage auxiliaries. More flexible in their own feelings,
they were more yielding and tolerant towards the peculiar
habits and temperament of the Indians. Coercion and
reason were powerless with such allies. Capricious, and
intractable, superstitious and fluctuating, they could only
be moved by their affections and controlled by an apparent
yielding to their humors and impulses. The Indians, in
these border wars, were often the most valuable auxiliaries,
and achieved victory upon more than one important field ;
but always unreliable, no safe calculations could be placed
upon their services, their fidelity or constancy. Montcalm
pronounced them inestimable as scouts and spies. The
corps of Marin, so dreaded for its ubiquity, its bold exploits,
and the desolation it inflicted upon the American settle-
ments, was constituted chiefly of Indians. Scalps and
prisoners commanded their price in market, and their
comparative value was decided by the spirit of mercy or ven-
geance which happened to prevail in the council chamber.1
Montcalm arrived in May, 1756, at Quebec, and has-
tened without delay to the frontier, to acquire by personal
inspection a knowledge of its conditions and capabilities
1 Montcalm, in a postscript to D'Argenson, coolly adds : " Two canoes
arriving while I write. They raise the dead cry. That wail announces
that they have killed or captured eleven English." — Doc, x, 422.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 69
of defense. Fifteen busy days he occupied in their in-
vestigations. " Ambulances," he writes, " in a horrible
condition; bread bad; the works at Carillon but little
advanced; order to be introduced everywhere; recogni-
zances of the passes to be made." l Recalled by Vau-
dreuil to Montreal, he " traveled night and day," and
after one day given to consultation, repaired with the
same rapid speed to Frontenac. Such zeal animated
the ardor of Montcalm, and he desired to impart the same
spirit to all branches of the service and administration.
In August, he had organized an adequate force and
armament, and advancing with a celerity that disguised
his movements, he suddenly besieged Oswego, which,
after a brief defense, capitulated. Abandoning his con-
quest, he left on its site only ruins and solitude.2 In the
autumn and winter succeeding, he was present at Carillon,
and directed the events traced in the close of the last
chapter. Marin, in July, 1757, was dispatched from
Carillon, with a small body of Indians, to harass the Eng-
lish scouting parties. He surprised near Fort Edward,
and attacked with success, two detachments, and retreated
triumphantly in the face of a superior force, that pursued
him. " He was unwilling," wrote Montcalm to Vaudreuil,
" to amuse himself making prisoners ; he brought in one,
and thirty-two scalps." 3 Did this cold apathy presage
the fearful scenes soon to occur at William Henry ?
In the same summer, a party of three hundred and fifty
provincials, under the command of Colonel Parker, in
twenty-two bateaux, proceeding incautiously down Lake
George, were surprised by a body of Ottawa Indians under
Corbiere at Sabbath-day point. Only two boats and fifty
men escaped the fatal ambush.4 The next year when the
British army stopped at the same place, they " beheld the
melancholy remains of the command both in the water
and on the land."5
lDoc., x, 432. 2 Bancroft. 3 Doc, x. 591. 4 Idem, 594. 6 Idem, 734.
70 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
Montcalm had directed all the powers of his genius and
energies to the accomplishment of one great and desirable
triumph. The fort at the head of Lake George, erected
by Johnson, had been a perpetual object of alarm and
anxiety to the government of Canada, and its conquest was
a determined purpose, cherished in the colonial policy.
The partial success of Vaudreuil, instead of repressing
has prompted renewed effort. It was determined that the
attempt should be repeated, with a force and efficiency,
that must command success. In aid of this enterprise, all
the savage tribes, controlled by the influence of France,
were summoned. Their warriors gathered from the wilds
of Lake Superior to the shores of Acadia, assembled
around the fort at St. Johns. Montcalm, glowing with
the triumph at Oswego, was there. By his success, his
courage and endurance, he had conciliated their affection.
He justly wrote " I have seized their manners and genius.1
He mingled in their war dance, and chanted their war
songs, captivating their hearts by his largesses and kind-
ness, and exciting their savage passions by visions of plun-
der and revenge. The warriors embarked in two hundred
canoes, bearing the distinctive pennons of the various
nations : the priests accompanied their neophytes, and
while the war chants strangely blended with the hymn of
the missionary, passed up Lake Champlain, to unite at
Ticonderoga their rude forces with the legions of Montcalm.
These had been rapidly assembled at Crown point and
Carillon.
The transportation of two hundred and fifty bateaux
and two hundred canoes across the portage between Lake
Champlain and Lake George, a space of about three miles,
" without the aid of oxen or horses " was a gigantic labor,
achieved by " men's arms alone; entire brigades headed
by their officers, relieved each other in the work."2 The
next day, when all the preliminaries had been arranged,
Montcalm called together the chiefs of the tribes in coun-
1 Doc, x, 686. 3 Idem, 608.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. f X
oil. Upon the shore of the lake "they were placed in
ranks settled by themselves." The domiciliated Iroquois,
the most numerous of the bands, and " the former pro-
prietors of the soil," assumed the office of hosts, and
received the remote tribes with the rites due to strangers.
To the Iroquois, Montcalm presented the " great belt of
two thousand beads, to bind the Indians to each other
and all to himself." "When the tribes had been thus pro-
pitiated, he unfolded to them all the plans of the expedi-
tion.1 These were satisfactory, and were adopted by a
formal acquiescence. The insufficient supply of boats
made ijt necessary for a part of the army to proceed by
land. De Levis, with twenty-two hundred French and
Canadians, escorted by six hundred Indians, starting two
days in advance and leaving their baggage to be conveyed
by water, undertook to traverse the rugged mountain
track on the west side of the lake, which was scarcely
practicable to the solitary hunter. On the 1st of August,
the remainder of the forces embarked in bateaux. The
artillery was transported upon pontoons, constructed by
platforms resting on two boats, which were lashed together.
The Christian Indians had employed the preceding days
in the confessional, and devotion ; but the pagan tribes
from the upper lakes " were juggling, dreaming, and fancy-
ing that every delay portended misfortune." These tribes
suspended " a full equipment to render the Manitou pro-
pitious." Montcalm, in a severe austerity, to which he
cordially subjected himself, reduced the supplies of the
army to absolute necessities.2 He appropriated " a canvas
awning to every two officers, of whatever grade." "A
blanket and a bear skin," he said, " are the bed of a war-
rior in such an expedition."3
1 These independent people, whose assistance is purely voluntary, must
be consulted, and their opinions and caprices are often a law to us." — Doc,
x, 609.
2 Doc, X, 610. * Idem, 637, Montcalm's Circular.
72 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
The army was composed of about five thousand five
hundred effective men, with an auxiliary force of sixteen
hundred Indians.1 On the second day, early in the morning,
they saw three signal fires at Ganaouske bay, that an-
nounced the arrival of De Levis, and the assurance of
security in disembarkation. De Levis had encountered
toils and obstacles, which were only surmounted by the
perseverance of hardihood acquired from the habits and
example of their Indian allies. The same evening Mont-
calm advanced towards the fort. During the night two
English scout boats were discovered upon the lake, and
pursued by the swift war canoes of the Indians. One of
these boats was captured. Two only of the crew were saved,
and the others massacred.2 In the fight a distinguished
warrior of the Nipissings was slain, and the next day the
Indians consecrated to his funeral rites, in all the splendor
and display of barbarian ceremonies.3 The fort, garrisoned
by five hundred men, commanded by a gallant veteran,
Colonel Munroe, and supported by seventeen hundred
troops in an intrenched camp adjacent, Montcalm was
promptly and perfectly invested. De Levis occupied the
right, the most exposed and important position, and held
the road leading to Fort Edward ; Boulemarque took
position on the left resting upon the lake, and Montcalm
held the centre.4 Immediately before the investment,
Webb, who lay at Fort Edward, fourteen miles distant,
with four thousand men, had visited William Henry, es-
corted by Putnam and a body of rangers. Putnam de-
scending the lake in a reconnaissance, discovered the
approach of Montcalm, and at once returned, communicat-
ing the fact to Webb, and urging him to prepare to oppose
'Doc., x, 625.
"The French account magnifies the crews into a hundred and fifty men,
of whom " sixty or seventy were captured or drowned." The Indians at-
tacked in their birch canoes, and by swimming " with guns and hatchets." —
PoucJiot, i, 86.
3 Bancroft.
4 Doc, x, 601, 611. De Levis did not hold the left wing as stated by Bancroft.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 73
the landing. Webb, enjoining secresy upon Putnam,
hastily returned to Fort Edward. Johnson, on the day of
Montcalm's departure from Carillon, received intelligence
from Webb of the impending attack, and abandoning an
Indian council in which he was engaged, collected the
militia and Indians he was able to muster, and marched
rapidly to Fort Edward, which he reached on the second
day of the siege. The craven supineness of Webb was long
deaf to the entreaties and expostulations of his subordi-
nates to attempt the relief of the beleaguered fortress. He
at length conceded to Johnson a reluctant permission to
advance with the militia and rangers. But these generous
designs were arrested, when they had scarcely proceeded
three miles, by an imperative order from Webb to return.1
Montcalm was apprised of the movements of Johnson, and
with his accustomed promptness prepared to meet it.
The sole interest manifested by Webb for the heroic gar-
rison, struggling in their hopeless position, was a chilling
letter agitated by exaggerated fears, which he attempted
to communicate to Monroe. In this letter, which was
interrupted by Montcalm, but eagerly forwarded to Monroe,
Webb advised, if "from the delays of the militia he should
not have it in his power to give timely assistance," Monroe
should obtain the best terms left in his power.2 2For this
letter see appendix A.] On the same fortunate day of this
event, Montcalm received dispatches from France announc-
ing " royal favors to his army and conferring upon himself
" the red ribbon with the rank of commander in the order
of St. Louis." The army was animated with a more
ardent enthusiasm by this appreciation of the king, and
the Indians " hastened to compliment the general at the
distinction which the great Onontio3 had just decorated
1 Thompson's Vermont ; Stone. 2 Pouchot, 11, 263.
3 This term of respect was applied indiscriminately by the Indians to the
king of France, the governor-general or other high officials. Its literal
meaning is great mountain, an epithet originally applied to M. De Mont-
magny, governor of Canada, of whose name it is a translation. (O'Calla-
ghan's note, Doc, ix, 37).
74 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
him, as they knew how highly he esteemed it ; that, as for
themselves, they did not love or esteem him the more on
that account, it was his person they loved, and not what
he added to the exterior."1 On the sixth day of the
siege, Monroe, half his guns useless and his ammunition
nearly exhausted, hung out a flag of truce. Terms the
most liberal were extended to the garrison, either from a
magnanimous respect for its gallant defense or dictated by
an apprehension that Webb might arouse from his stupor
and imbecility and assail the French rear.
It was stipulated by the first article of the capitulation,
that the English troops should march out of the works
" with their arms and other honors of war," and be escorted
on the road to Fort Edward by a detachment of French
troops and interpreters attached to the Indians.2 In order
to secure their performance of this capitulation, the Indians
were made parties to it, and formally ratified its provisions.
The appalling event which followed the capitulation are
involved in impenetrable mystery. They have been so dis-
torted by passionate exaggerations and screened by such
earnest and varied apologies and evasions, that they must
ever remain among those problems in history, to which
neither research nor speculations can afford any solution.
This and many similar atrocities have been written upon
the page of history, by unwise and unchristian policy,
which added to the horrors of war by the introduction of
fierce and savage barbarism into the conflicts between civil-
ized nations. The distinct facts, which can be extracted
from the confusiou of conflicting statements and the angry
passions of the times are nearly these. The night suc-
ceeding the capitulation had been spent by the Indians, in
celebrating the victory with their customary orgies. Their
minds were inflamed by the recital by the eastern tribes of
real or imaginary wrongs recently inflicted by the English.3
As the garrison was marching from the entrenchments
early in the morning, the Indians in a menacing attitude
1 Doc, x, 613. 2 Idem, 617. 3 Idem, 616.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 75
gathered about them and commencing their outrages by
seizing the personal effects of the prisoners and brandish-
ing the tomahawk and amusing themselves with the terror
their savage pastimes excited among the English. Indivi-
dual resistance was probably made to these indignities, and
personal conflicts ensued. The Indians saw spoils, which
as victors they thought belonged to themselves, eluding
their grasp.1 This idea combined with their inherent love
of slaughter aroused their savage appetites. " The first
blood that flowed inflamed all the ferocity of their nature,
and for a while they recognized no regard to treaties or
any restraints of power or influence. The panic-stricken
Englishmen broke from their ranks, and, forgetting the
weapons in their hands, fled in wild dismay pursued by the
frenzied savages. At this moment Montcalm and other
French officers rushed upon the scene baring their own
breasts and interposing their arms for the protection of the
prisoners and " by threats, prayers, caresses and conflicts
with the chiefs, arrested the massacre."2 " Kill me," cried
Montcalm," but spare the English, who are under my pro-
tection." More than half the British troops, in fragmentary
detachments succeeded in reaching Fort Edward ; about
thirty were slain ; four hundred were rescued with their
property and restored under the capitulation by Montcalm,
and many others, at his solicitation, were ransomed from
the Indians by Vaudreuil.3 It is evident that the escort of
French troops stipulated by the capitulation were not sup-
plied until after the massacre.4
Montcalm and his apologists affirm in his vindication,
that the English troops, in uncontrollable alarm, left the
intrenchments at an earlier hour than had been agreed
upon ; that they had possessed, by the arms they carried,
the means of resistance, but instead of this, scattered in
ungovernable frenzy; that in disregard of the injunctions
of the French, they gave intoxicating liquor to the In-
dians, in the hope of conciliating them ; that Montcalm
'Pouchot. "Doc, x, 637. 3 Doc. 'Idem.
76 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
was powerless to control the hordes of peculiarly wild
and ferocious savages who perpetrated the massacre, but
had relied on the assurances of the chiefs, that they would
maintain the treaty and prevent all discord; and that
every effort was made by Montcalm and his subordinates,
to arrest the violence, and by these exertions, an indis-
criminate slaughter of the prisoners was averted.
These apologies are not fully sustained by the authen-
ticated facts. Bourgainville, the aide and adviser of
Montcalm, explicitly states in his official report, that he
'had destroyed "on the day of the surrender, all intoxicat-
ing liquors in the English works."1 Montcalm, in his
first summons to Monroe, avowed a distrust of an ability to
control his savage allies. With that knowledge, he should
have exerted the right and power of the victor, if the
English, in their infatuation and terror, were rushing
upon these appalling dangers, and arrested them by
force, until an adequate protection was prepared. ISTo
motive of policy ; no desire to propitiate the affections of
the Indians, should have received the consideration of a
moment, in restraining the exercise of his whole military
force, for the preservation of his own fame, the honor of
his country, and the sacred faith of a capitulation. One,
who himself participated in the horrors of the scene, and
stripped of his clothing, narrowly escaped the massacre,
insists in a minute account of the occurrences, " that the
French neglected, and even refused protection to the
English," imploring their mercy and interposition.2 Bri-
tish Indians, who were with the garrison, the French
savages seized upon, without interference, and they per-
ished in lingering and barbarous tortures.3
Calm history will always reject the impassioned tales,
evolved from the exasperation and excitement of the times,
of the complicity of Montcalm in a cold-blooded and pre-
meditated slaughter of capitulated prisoners, and the
wanton and barbarous cruelties imputed to him. Such
1 Doc, x, 615. * Carver's Travels, 204. a Graham, u, 268.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 77
atrocities were utterly incompatible with his high character
as a Christian noble, a gallant soldier and a refined scholar,
whose sensibilities had been purified and elevated by com-
munion with the poets and philosophers of autiquity. But
it can never exonerate his fame from the imputation of
criminal negligence and a reckless disregard to the safety
of those confided to his honor and protection by the most
solemn act known to warfare. A moral responsibility for
the consequences rests upon those, who set in motion a
power, which they know they have no ability to guide or
control. The Indians, in their eager pursuit of plunder
and scalps, violated many new made graves, and tore from
the decaying corpses the dread trophies that commanded
rewards. Several of these graves contained victims to the
small-pox. The plunderers contracted the infection, and
bore the fell scourge to their winter lodges in the far west.
Its fearful desolation among the savages who knew no
remedy, and in superstitious dread sought no relief, cannot
be conceived. The noble tribe of the Pottawattomies was
nearly extinguished by its ravages.1
The total demolition of William Henry, and the capture
of an immense quantity of munitions and public stores
were the rewards of this expedition. Montcalm's triumph
was mingled with deep satisfaction, when he reported that
this conquest had been achieved with the loss of only fifty-
three of his own army. On the 15th of August, he aban-
doned a smoking ruin and bloody strand to silence and
desolation. An ulterior object of the campaign contem-
plated the reduction of Fort Edward. Had Montcalm
comprehended the imbecility and paralysis that had fallen
upon the British councils, this result and possibly the de-
struction of Albany might have been accomplished. But
the existence of facts so degrading, could scarcely enter
into the calculations of his gallant spirit. The diminution
of his forces an advance would have demanded, the limited
extent of his supplies, and the urgent necessity imposed
1 Pouclwt, 1,91.
78 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
by an impending famine for the presence of the Canadians
in their harvest fields, constrained Montcalm to be satisfied
with the glory and success he had already achieved. Terror
and alarm pervaded the English colonies. Webb sent his
personal baggage to a place of security, and was preparing
to fall back upon the highlands of the Hudson. Loudon,
to defend the British possessions, had taken post upon
Long Island. The English were expelled from the Ohio.
Montcalm had established the domination of France
throughout the valley of the St. Lawrence. A deep con-
sternation and a cry of agony agitated New England.
Britain and the colonies were alike stricken and humiliated.1
CHAPTER VI.
TlCONDEROGA, 1758.
The opening of the year 1758, was marked by an aug-
mented activity and determination in the councils and
operations of each of the belligerents. France and Eng-
land, alike comprehended that the crisis was approaching
which must decide their protracted struggle for the sove-
reignity of the North American continent. In that field,
the vast disproportion in their material resources and
military strength, became constantly more obvious and
decisive. Much of the soil of Canada, for more than one
season, had been abandoned or only partially tilled, and
the scanty harvest insufficiently gathered, while a large
proportion of the peasantry, who should have cultivated
the earth and gathered the crops, had been drawn into the
field by the exigencies of the war. An unpropitious sea-
son in 1757, caused a failure of the harvest, and especially
that of wheat, which was the chief reliance of both the
people and the army. For more than six months in the
year, nature formed an impenetrable barrier to the naviga-
1 Bancroft.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 79
tion of the St. Lawrence. British ships thronged the track
of the ocean between France and her colonies, rendering the
transmission of supplies and troops precarious and nearly
impracticable. A scarcity that nearly reached destitution,
already prevailed in Canada.1 In February, 1758, Mont-
calm addressing the French minister writes : " the article
of provisions makes me tremble."2
The population of Canada was estimated by Montcalm
at only eighty-two thousand, and from these he computed
he might rely upon about seven thousand men in the field
at one time. This force was augmented by nearly four
thousand regular troops. With this strength and with
such resources, he was required to confront an army of
fifty thousand men, subject to the orders of Abercrombie,3
and sustained by a rich and prosperous population in the
British colonies of a million and a half, enjoying a constant
and commodious intercourse with England. These em-
barrassments were aggravated by other annoyances and
difficulties, that galled the high, incorruptible spirit of
Montcalm, and fettered his energies. An universal scheme
of venality arid peculation pervaded every branch of the
colonial government. The king was defrauded, and public
measures paralyzed ; the people were oppressed, and the
army, both officers and men, suffering and impoverished.
Huge fortunes awarded the corrupt and debauched officials.1
A bitter animosity, inflamed by perpetual charges and
'Vaudreuil states that in the late expeditions of the autumn of 1757, the
troops were chiefly dependent for support upon the uncertain toils of the
hunters. — Doc, x, 701. The citizens received a daily supply of one-fourth
of a pound of bread, and this scanty ration was reduced to two ounces. —
Montcalm, 448. Doreil writes : " many persons have died of hunger. Idem
898. a Idem, 686.
3Hildreth.
4 Doc, x, 960, 963. At the termination of the war, these frauds were
investigated in France judicially. Vandreuil was acquitted. Bigot, the
intendant, Varin, the commissary at Montreal, Breard, the comptroller of
the navy, were convicted and banished. Pean, the instrument of these
iniquities, by the influence of his wife, the mistress of Bigot (Pouchot), and
the Madame Pompadour of Canada, was mulct in the sum of 600,000
livres. — O'Callaghan, Doc, x, 1126.
80 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
mutual recriminations, disturbed the relations between
Vaudreuil and Montcalm. The one imputed to the governor-
general gross ignorance in military affairs, duplicity, and
disingenuousness in the exertion of power, and practices that
trammelled and embarrassed his operations.1 Vaudreuil
complained of the arrogance of Montcalm, his jealousies
and the assumption of authority not warranted by his
position.2
In every age and in all countries, commanders, operating
in a remote field of action, have often experienced the
paralyzing influence produced by the instructions and the
intrusive councils of men, who are necessarily ignorant of
concurring events and often without a competent know-
ledge of military affairs. Generals have felt this malign
influence, and history has recognized and recorded it as
the aulic council policy in war. Genius and spirit have
often commanded success in ascending beyond or bursting
through these restraints. Montcalm was not exempt from
this blind and arbitary intrusion into his measures. While
tracing the military character of Boulamarque, Montcalm
portrays with equal force both the nature and effect of
this system when he says : Boulamarque " follows too
literally orders issued eighty leagues distant, by a general
who knows not how to speak of war." 3
These favorable circumstances, which were calculated
to impart such preponderance to England in American
affairs, were to a certain extent counterbalanced by advan-
tages peculiar to France.
The British provinces were independent in their govern-
ment by their chartered organization, and widely separated
in geographical position. These incidents often produced
conflicts of interest, collision in sentiments, and acrimonious
jealousies. An absence of that harmony, so essential to
successful action, was not unfrequently apparent in their
councils. The population of Canada was concentrated and
accessible, and all the measures and resources of the colony
1 Doc, x, 786, 800, 778, 812. 2 Idem, 885, 781. s Idem, 491.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. gl
were, in theory, controlled by a single mind, which could
decide and act, while the English governments were con-
tending or advising. French policy and intrigues excited
a perpetual alarm or hostility against England among the
Indian tribes, that lay along the borders of her colonies
from Acadia to the Spanish possessions, and hung like a
dark and threatening cloud upon their horizon, which
might at any moment burst upon their settlement in tem-
pests of fire and blood. This sagacious policy of France,
which to such an extent fettered the strength of the Eng-
lish colonies, cannot be understood without a comprehension
of the dread inspired at that time by the horrors of an
Indian war. The people of Canada, although continually
revolted by the supercilious and arbitrary deportment of the
French, which was limited to no grade, sustained the conflict
with a zeal and devotion never surpassed by any race in any
age of the world.1 The great amount of Canadian levies which
joined the French armies, so totally in excess of the pro-
portion usually supplied by an equal population, may be
referred to a cause, which possibly exerted some influence
in stimulating the great apparent ardor. The feudal system,
as it existed in France in the seventeenth century, was
transplanted into Canada at its colonization. The seignio-
ries in the province were held under the feudal tenure,
which included military service. The sovereign preroga-
tive under this system was empowered to call out the
seigneurs, and the tenants holding under them were sub-
ject to their military orders in obedience to the call. This
fact partially explains the extraordinary aspects exhibited
by the virtual conscriptions of this epoch. Montcalm, in
one of his letters presenting an estimate of the Canadian
force he might calculate on, uses the feudal terms ban and
arriere-ban.
But we must ascribe to the immense superiority in cha-
racter and intellectual qualities of the men who guided the
civil and military affairs of the province, the prominent
1 Doc, x, 463, 585.
82 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
agency by which the preeminence of France was so long
sustained on the continent and by which the impending ruin
of its empire was so long averted. Britain sent to her
colonies effete generals, bankrupt nobles, and debauched
parasites of the court. France selected her function-
aries from the wisest, noblest and best of her people,
and therefore her colonial interests were usually directed
with wisdom and sagacity. England and America were
raised from their humiliation and despondency by the
potent genius and splendid combinations of Pitt. His
ardent appeals to the patriotism of the colonies, although
enforced by no coercion of power, aroused and enlisted
their whole energies in support of that gigantic scheme,
which contemplated a widely extended attack on all the
colonial dominions of France. The irregular warfare
between the rangers and partisans and the savage auxi-
liaries of both nations, crowded into the spring and early
summer deeds of brilliant courage achieved in scenes of
romance and excitement. In March, Rogers left Fort
Edward with one hundred and eighty men under orders to
make a reconnaissance in the vicinity of Ticonderoga. He
marched upon the ice, until he approached the French out-
posts, when to disguise their presence, the party plunged
into the dense forest, traversing the deep snow through
thickets and over broken ground upon snow shoes, Hav-
ing nearly reached the foot of the lake, they encountered
a body of about one hundred Indians and Canadians.
These they attacked and dispersed. Pursuing in the con-
fidence of victory, the rangers were suddenly confronted
by a largely superior force, which had used their advanced
guard to allure the English into an ambush. To retreat
was impossible, and a desperate conflict ensued. The
rangers scattered into small parties, fought independently
with their wonted ardor, but were defeated, and almost
the whole detachment slaughtered.1 Many submitted to
1 Near the scene of this battle is Rogers' slide. The marvelous escape,
imputed to him by tradition, must have occurred after this reverse, but I
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 33
capitulation, but were slain under circumstances of peculiar
atrocity. Rogers, with a small number escaped, but one
hundred and forty-four scalps, with two living letters, the
designation the Indians gave to prisoners whom they saved
for intelligence, were the horrid trophies they bore to Mont-
calm.1 This was one of the most novel and remarkable
conflicts that impressed their strange wildness upon these
forest campaigns. It was fought in a dense wood, amid
overhanging rocks, upon the declivities of mountains, and
on the surface of snow lying four feet deep.2 The reports
on neither side refer to a fact too common to require
remark, but the circumstances to my mind imply that both
parties were in the battle and fought upon snow shoes.3
Another strange episode is said to have imparted addi-
tional romance to the campaign of 1758. Putnam, em-
ployed in protecting the communications of the English
army from the movements of the French partisans,
occupied a commanding position with a body of rangers,
which, on the eventful night was reduced to thirty-five,
below Whitehall, at a point where the lake forms a sharp
angle, that is now known as Fiddler's elbow. High
ledges of rocks on each side compress the water into a
narrow passage. Upon the cliff on the east side, he
erected a stone breastwork, which was disguised by
arranging pine boughs in such a manner as to present the
appearance of a natural growth. Here, he lay four long
summer days with the patience and perseverance he had
learnt from his savage associates. On the evening of the
fourth, his vigilant scout announced the approach of a
flotilla. Soon it was discerned gliding stealthily along,
regard the whole story to be a myth. I notice no reference to the incident
in Rogers's journal, and he is known not to have been diffident in commemo-
rating his own exploits.
1 Doc, x, 703 ; Rogers, 82 ; Pouchot, 1, 199. 2 Rogers's Journal.
3 Locomotion in the depth of snow described woidd have been imprac-
ticable without some artificial aid. The two officers who escaped, and after
wandering several days found refuge at Carillon, state explicitly that they
fled from the battle on snow shoes. {Rogers, 92, 93).
84 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
but the effulgence of a full moon revealed every movement.
The leading boats had passed the parapet, when the gun
of a ranger grating upon the rock produced a slight sound,
but sufficient to reach the watchful ear of the foe. They
hesitated, and for a moment the boats clustered together,
and were about retreating, when the rangers poured upon
them a deadly fire. Volley succeeded to volley, in rapid
succession. The French returned the fire, but their bul-
lets flattened innoxiously upon the rocks. They attempted
to land and gain the rear of Putnam, but were repulsed
by the gallant Durkee, with twelve men. The day began
to dawn, and his ammunition all expended, Putnam
abandoned his fortress, and retreated, bearing with him
two wounded men, his only loss. This position is still
known as Put's rock. Afterwards, when a prisoner in
Canada, he learnt from Marin, that he, with five hundred
men, was the antagonist in that romantic encounter, and
that the French lost one-half of the force engaged. Per-
haps an allowance should be made for a degree of exagge-
ration, from the courtesy of the brave Frenchman or the
credulity of the hearer.
The capture of the fortress on Lake Cham plain, and
that achieved a descent upon Montreal, were the promi-
nent and most vital objects embraced in the schemes of
Pitt. In consonance with this design, an army was gra-
dually assembled in the early summer of 1758, at the
head of Lake George. This army, the most magnificent
by the number and character of his troops, and the extent
and perfection of its appointments, that had ever appeared
in the campaigns of the western continent, was intrusted
to the command of James Abercrombie. Neither the
antecedents of this commander, nor any native ability, jus-
tified his selection to a position which would exact the
highest efforts of skill and energy. Abercombie was a
creature of the court ; but Pitt, in the selection of Lord
Howe, sought to supply those qualities, in which his
superior was so fatally deficient. Howe, elevated to the
rank of brigadier-general, was the controlling spirit of
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 85
the enterprise. Before the arrival of Abercrombie at the
camp, the zeal and precaution of Howe had obtained, by
the agency of Rogers, a plan of the French works at
Carillon, with surveys of the vicinity, and recognizances of
the immediate districts .
At the dawn of the beautiful morning on the 5th of
July, the whole army, amounting to about sixteen hundred
men, including six thousand three hundred and thirty-
seven regulars, embarked in nine hundred bateaux, and
one hundred and thirty-five whale boats. The artillery
was mounted on rafts.1 The flotilla descended the lake
in imposing and splendid order. The rangers, and light
infantry were in front, the regulars occupying the centre,
and the provincials on either wiug.2 Modern times had
witnessed no parallel to this impressive and gorgeous
spectacle. We are even now impressed with a degree of
awe, as we contemplate the dark, gloomy frame-work
of mountain scenery that encloses Lake George in its
narrow bed, and by the silence and solitude that rests
upon its waters. When the fleet of Abercombie ruffled
the placid surface of the romantic lake, the primeval
stillness and seclusion of nature were undisturbed aloner
its rugged shores and all its territory, by the habitations
of civilized man. The brilliant spectacle moved amid
the scene, almost like the illusions of fancy. Amid the
clangor of martial music, the glittering of burnished arms,
the gleaming of bright scarlet, the fluttering of parti co-
lored plaids, mingled with the woodman's uniform, and the
humbler tints of the homespun garments of the provin-
cials, and their banners floating in the breeze, the flotilla
glides rapidly forward, exhilarated by the inspirations of
heroic daring, and the confidence of victory. We may
fancy the hearts of the gallant Highlanders turning back
to other days, as the strains of the bagpipes were returned
in a thousand echoes from the mountains, recalled the
scenes and the joys of their Scottish homes.
'Abercrombie to Pitt, Doc, x, 725. a Rogers's Journal, 111.
86 HISTORY OP ESSEX COUNTY.
Towards evening the expedition reached Sabbath-day
point, and landed there to rest and refresh. At ten
o'clock in the night it again cautiously advanced, Howe, in
a whale boat leading the van. Early in the morning of
the 6th, a landing was effected without opposition, on the
west side of the lake in a little cove still known as Howe's
lauding. The night before, Howe, reposing on the same
bear skin with Stark, discussed in an anxious and investi-
gating spirit, the nature of the defenses at Carillon, and the
future movements of the army.1 Equal in age, alike
daring and intrepid, the one a descendant of royalty, and
the other an humble pioneer of New Hampshire, they
were united by a kindred spirit and warm, mutual esteem.
De Boulamarque was stationed with three regiments at
the foot of the lake, to observe, and if possible resist the
landing of the English army. On its approach, in over-
whelming numbers, he burnt his camp with its materials,
and effecting a retreat, rejoined Montcalm, to aid in con-
structing the entrenchment. De Trepesee, who had been
detached with a body of three hundred and fifty men, was
constrained to pursue a circuitous route through a heavy
forest, was bewildered in its intricacies, and after an ex-
hausting march of twelve hours, while essaying to ford at a
rapid, intercepted an English column involved in a similar
confusion.2
Boulamarque, on his retreat, had very judiciously burnt
both the bridges that crossed the outlet of Lake George,
and thus obliged Abercombie to advance through a path-
less wood on the west side of the stream, who, leaving at
the burnt camp his artillery, baggage and supplies, imme-
diately marched towards the French works. The English
were arranged in four columns, the regulars in the centre,
and the provincials on the flanks; " but the woods being very
thick," and the ground uneven and " impassable for a large
body of men in any regularity,3 and the guides unskillful,"
1 Sparks's Life of Stark. *Doc, x, 726 ; Montcalm, 758 ; Pouchot, i, 111.
3 Abercrorubie to Pitt, Dog., x, 625.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. §7
the columns became intermingled and broken. Lord
Howe marched at the head of a centre column, which, dis-
ordered and obstructed by the tangled underwood and
intricate forest, was wandering in confusion when it en-
countered the fugitive detachment of Trepesee. An irre-
gular skirmish ensued. The French troops, inferior in
numbers, surprised, and worn, and exhausted by their
laborious march, fought with desperate valor. Lord Howe
fell at the first fire.1 The regulars, strangers to this mode
of forest warfare, appalled by the death of Howe, and
intimidated, as a British historian alleges, by the Indian
war whoop, faltered and broke, but were gallantly sustained
by the provincials.2 The brave Trepesee was mortally
wounded, and almost the entire detachment either slain or
captured, with an insignificaut loss to the English. If the
British army narrowly escaped by this panic a renewal of
the bloody scenes on the Mouongahela, it is equally proba-
ble, if Howe had lived, and a rapid and vigorous advance
been made after the annihilation of Trepesee's party, that
the imperfect entrenchments of the French might have
been entered and captured in the disorder and alarm of
the moment.3 But the bugle of Abercrombie sounded the
retreat, and the opportunity was lost.
The death of Howe paralyzed the army. With him ex-
pired its spirit, its confidence, and hope. All afterwards
was prompted by imbecility, indecision and folly. Gene-
rous and kind, gifted and accomplished, instinct with genius
and heroism, Howe died deeply lamented. The next day a
single barge retraced the track of the flotilla bearing the
body of the young hero, who but yesterday had led its
brilliant pageant. Philip Schuyler, then just entering upon
his distinguished career, escorted the remains with all the
tenderness and reverence due the illustrious dead. The
1 Doc, x, 738, 726.
2 Graham, n, 279. Doc, x, 726, 725. A few Indians were with Trepesee.
Doc, x, 735. (
'Doc, x, 735 ; Graham, n,279.
88 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
body was conveyed to Albany and buried in St. Peter's
Episcopal Church, which stood in the middle of State
street. His obsequies were performed with every pomp of
military display and all the solemnities of religious rituals.
An heraldic insignia marked the location of the grave.
Forty-four years had elapsed, and in the progress of im-
provement, that edifice was demolished and the grave of
Howe exposed. A double coffin was revealed. The outer
one, which was made of white pine, was nearly decayed ;
but the other, formed of heavy mahogany, was almost entire.
In a few spots it was wasted, and the pressure of the earth had
forced some soil into the interior. When the lid was un-
covered, the remains appeared clothed in a rich silk damask
cerement, in which they were enshrouded on his interment.
The teeth were bright and perfect, the hair stiffened by the
dressing of the period, the queue entire, the ribbon and
double brace apparently new and jet black. All, on expo-
sure, shrunk into dust, and the relics of the high bred and
gallant peer were conveyed by vulgar hands to the common
charnel house and mingled with the promiscuous dead.1
The character and services of Howe received the most
generous tribute of respect and eulogium from the French.
Massachusetts, in gratitude and reverence, erected a monu-
ment to his memory in Westminster Abbey.2
1 Montcalm's dispatch. — Pouchot.
2 1 am indebted, in part, to a published letter of Mrs. Cochrane for the fact
of the interment of Howe in St. Peter's, and to the manuscript of Elkanah
Watson for the circumstances of the exhumation. The tradition that Howe,
as an example to his troops, caused his hair to be cut short, has cast some
doubt on the accuracy of the statement in the text. Pouchot alludes to the
same fact, and says the hair was left " two fingers breadth long." {Pouchot,
i, 110). In my judgment, if the story is correct, it does not conflict with the
account in the manuscript. It was the fashion of the age to wear the hair
in long locks or ringlets. This habit had probably been introduced into
the army, and Howe desired to correct it. No motive of cleanliness, which
was doubtless the prominent object with Howe, made the excision of the
queue necessary. Short hair, rather than long, would have exacted careful
dressing for a funeral preparation. The manuscript states that the identity
of the grave was established not only by the coat of arms which surmounted
it, but also by the recollection Of Henry Cuyler, a half pay British officer,
who was at the time a highly respected resident of Greenbueh.
TICONDEROGA AND ITS DEPENDENCIES, AUGUST, 1770.
From a plan drawn by Col. John Trumbull.
~ 2
sg-
1 i
' IS" BRIGADE. .% - ' •» ."
itmm a
^eIbSo^
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 89
On the morning of the 7th, Abercrombie added to the
depression of the troops by withdrawing the whole army
to the protection of the works erected at the landing.
About noon of that day Bradstreet took possession of the
sawmills, at the falls, which were two miles distant from
the fort. He rebuilt the bridges, and in the evening the
army again advanced and occupied this position.1 These
vacillations and delays of Abercrombie afforded to his alert
and energetic adversary the precious hours he needed for
the perfection of his defenses.
The promontory held by Montcalm was a narrow and
elevated peninsula, washed on three sides by deep waters,
with its base on the western and only accessible side. On
the north of this base the access was obstructed by
a wet meadow, and on the southern extremity it was
rendered impracticable to the advance of an army by
a steep slope, extending from the hill to the outlet. The
summit between these points was rounded and sinuous
with ledges and elevations at intervals.2 Here and about
half a mile in advance of the fort, Montcalm traced the line
of his projected entrenchment. It followed the sinuosities
of the land, the sections of the works reciprocally flanking
each other.3 The entrenchment, which was about an eighth
of a league in length, was constructed by Dupont Le Roy
an accomplished engineer. " It was formed by falling
trunks of trees one upon the other and others felled in
front, their branches cut and sharpened produced the effect
of a chevaux de frize.4 All of the 7th the French army
toiled with unremitting vigor upon the lines, with flags
flying along the works, and exhilarated by the inspiration
of music, the officers participating in the labor. The
parapet arose to the height of eight to ten feet along its
whole course. The abatis was about one hundred yards
in width.
1 Abercrombie to Pitt, Doc, x, 726. 2 Pouehot, i, 114 ; Doc, x, 739, 743.
3 Idem. 4 Montcalm's report, Doc, x, 739.
90 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
De Levis, who had organized an expedition against the
Mohawk valley, was recalled by Vaudreuil to meet the perils
which were menacing Ticonderoga. Hurryiug onward
with all celerity that oars and sail could give, his four
hundred veterans reached the scene of danger on the night
of the 7th, diffusing joy and hope by the announcement of
the approach of De Levis, who arrived at five o'clock on
the morning of thememorable eighth, accompanied by the
brilliant De Senezergues, who, second in command on the
plains of Abraham, died there with Montcalm.1 Nearly at
the same hour of De Levis's arrival, Johnson with three or
four hundred Mohawks joined the English camp. That
the design of evacuating Ticonderoga, which was imputed
to Montcalm as a grave fault by Vaudreuil, was entertained
by him, may be assumed from other and less prejudiced
evidences.2
He compared his insignificant force with the overwhelm-
ing array of Abercrombie, and saw how easily Carillon
might be made untenable. At an earlier day Dupont Le
Roy, the chief engineer, had written to the government in
emphatic condemnation of the works, aud had declared that
to capture the fort " I would only require six mortars and
two cannon."3 It is asserted that Montcalm did not decide
to make an earnest defense until the morning of the attack.4
That purpose of retreating persisted in, would have
eclipsed his own great glory. Its consequences would not
only have embraced the loss of Ticonderoga and the capture
of St. Frederick, but the surrender or disorganization of the
French army. The means he possessed of escape by water
were totally inadequate to the transportation of his troops
and munitions. Pathless forests, lofty and dislocated
'Doc, x, 7M;Pouc7iot, i, 108.
2 Vaudreuil to De Massiac, Doc, x, 781 ; Dain to Belle Isle, Idem, 814 ;
Pouchot, i, 115.
3 Doc x, 720, Memoir in cipher. This language has been imputed by
Mr Bancroft and those who have followed him, to Montcalm, but I find
nothing of the kind in his correspondence with the government.
4 Pouchot, I, 110.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 91
mountain ranges, and deep rivers interposed an insuperable
barrier to the retreat of an organized army by land.
As far as the limited time permitted, all was prepared
along the French lines for the imminent crisis. Mont-
calm held at Ticonderoga on that day three thousand and
six hundred men, and of these, four hundred and fifty
were Canadians and troops of the marine.1 A few Indians
only were present. The number of fighting men actu-
ally behind the trenches amounted to two thousand nine
hundred and ninety-two.2 At daybreak, the troops were
summoned to the lines by the generale. To each was
assigned his post, and then the whole army returned to
labor upon the entrenchment and abatis.3 The meadow
on the extreme right, with a slight abatis in front, was
occupied by the Canadians and irregular troops. The
battery of four guns, which was designed to flank this
point, was not completed until the morning after the
assault. The guns of the fort commanded this opening,
as well as the slope on the extreme left. De Levis, on
the right, defended the line with three regiments ; Mont-
calm was in the centre with two battalions and pickets,
and De Boulamarque occupied with an equal force the left.
The precipitous declivity that extended to the outlet was
guarded by two companies. Behind each battalion was
stationed a company of grenadiers in reserve. The men,
still laboring on the works, were ordered to repair to their
respective stations, on the discharge of an alarm gun, and
at " the moment and signal prescribed, all the troops were
under arms and at their posts," just as the van of the
British columns appeared.4
Abercrombie had been impressed by the advices he re-
ceived, with the conviction that large reenforcements were
approaching Montcalm. Influenced by the report of Clarke,
his engineer, who had reconnoitered the French lines from
the opposite side of the river, he decided to order an im-
1 These were irregular troops. 2 Doc, x, 739 ; Pouchot, i, 114.
8 Idem. 4 Doc, x, 740, Montcalm's report.
92 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
mediate attack, without waiting for his powerful artillery.
The English engineer, familiar only with the formal and
scientific works of Europe, was doubtless deceived by the
peculiar construction of the intrenchment, but the practiced
eye of Stark, who kuew the strength of the rude parapet
of Johnson in 1755, detected formidable lines where Clarke
discovered only a frail defense.1 With a fatuity common
to the European leaders in America, Stark's opinion was
rejected.
The advance exhibited a grand and imposing military
spectacle. The army was formed in three lines. The
first was composed of the rangers, bateau men, and light
infantry ; next the provincials marched with wide spaces
between the regiments ; and behind these openings, the
regulars were formed in columns. The New Jersey and
Connecticut levies formed the rear guard. Johnson, with
his Indians, occupied Mount Defiance, then known as
Sugar-loaf hill, an elevation across the river, near and
south of the fort, but, with the exception of an occasional
shot, were mere spectators of the conflict. The regulars
advancing through the openings with a firm, quick, and
steady tread, their bayonets fixed, rushed upon the French
lines, along an open space in front of the felled trees.
But when they reached the abatis and became entangled
in it, all order and regularity were broken. The heroic
veterans, struggling individually to surmount these im-
pediments, fought with a valor never surpassed, but
against all hope. Two columns charged the right, another
assailed the centre, and a fourth was hurled upon the
left. They could not advance beyond the terrible abatis,
and would not retreat. Even the instincts of nature were
dominated by the force of discipline. The British soldier
knew no law but obedience. No command came to them
to retreat, while the destruction, by the deadly fire of the
French musketry, and the howitzers planted at inter-
vals along the line, was terrific. Some of the Highlanders
1 Pouchot, i, 116.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 93
fell almost on the entrenchment. The French, protected
by their works, were little exposed. " They were invisi-
ble," only " a small bit of their caps was to be seen,"
while they swept down the English by an unbroken storm
of fire.1 The fire of the provincials and marksmen, inter-
spersed between the columns of regulars, was more effec-
tive.2 The moment of greatest peril to the French occurred
late in the afternoon, when two of the British columns,
by a concerted movement, concentrated an attack upon
an angle on the left of the right defense of the French
line, and nearly wrested the victory from inexorable for-
tune. But De Levis, who was temporarily relieved by
the pressure upon his right, promptly supported the en-
dangered point, and Montcalm, whose eagle eye watched
every change of the battle, rushed to the rescue with a
body of the reserve, and this last cast for victory was lost.3
Early in the engagement, Abercrombie directed two rafts,
mounted with two guns each, to descend the outlet for the
purpose of enfilading the French lines, but they were with
ease repulsed by the guns of the fort, and the fire of the
two companies stationed to defend the extreme left. Fre-
quent, bold and successful sorties were made during the
assault by pickets and grenadiers, aided by the Canadians
and marine troops from the opening on the right, in which
the flank of the attacking column was assailed and prison-
ers captured.
While these sanguinary scenes were in progress, Aber-
crombie was reposing in inglorious security at the saw
mills; but Montcalm, casting off his coat in that sunny
afternoon,4 was everywhere present meeting every peril ;
animating his troops by voice and example, ministering to
all their wants, and imparting the fervor of his own heroic
spirit. On the first assault, the military eye detected the
'Doc, x, 736.
2 Montcalm speaks of their murderous fire, Doc, s, 740. " Their fire
greatly incommoded those in the entrenchments." — Pouchot, 1, 116.
3J)oc, x, 740, 743. 4 Bancroft.
94 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
utter hopelessness of the enterprise. The attack commenced
shortly after meridian, and five long hours had rolled
on amid this carnage and desperation, and still the British
troops maintained the conflict with determined but unavail-
ing constancy. No order came to stop the ruthless slaughter.
The hour of six had arrived, and the devoted columns
continued to assail first the right and then the left of the
impregnable entrenchment, but at seven the retreat was
accomplished.1 Some loss was intiicted upon the British
troops, caused by their firing on each other in the common
disorder and excitement. At length regiment after regi-
ment, without an}- general orders, or concert, retired to the
camp; the provincials covering the retreat.2
Then ensued that strange and inscrutable phenomenon,
which is sometimes exhibited among troops the bravest
and most reliable, when an electric influence pervades the
masses, communicating an universal and irresistible panic.
These veterans, whose steadiness and valor received the
generous homage of their victorious foes, and whose coun-
try, even amid her grief and humiliation, exulted in 'their
heroism and sacrifices, fled in wild terror and confusion,
rushing to the boats in a precipitancy that threatened a
general ruin. The firmness and efforts of Bradstreet alone
averted fresh and dishonorable catastrophies, which their
antecedents could not redeem.3
The exhaustion and paucity of the French army, the
darkness of the night, the impossibility of traversing the
woods without Indian guides, and the entrenchments
which the English had erected along their route, restrained
pursuit.4 "When De Levis, at break of day on the 10th,
followed the track of Abercrombie, he found only the ves-
tiges of a stricken and routed army; the wounded and sup-
plies abandoned, clothing scattered along the woods, with
'Montcalm, Doc, x, 740. * Pennsylvania Archives.
3 It was fortunate we were not pursued in our retreat, we should certainly
have lost 2,000 more men. — Idem.
4 Montcalm's report.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 95
the charred remains of boats and pontoons.1 Before that
hour arrived, Abercrombie had fled " in the extremest
terror and consternation " and secured a dishonored safety
by interposing the length of Lake George between his army
and its dreaded conqueror. ~No pen inscribed for the re-
search of posterity any account of the ignominious flight,
so singularly contrasting with the splendor of the advance.
The night that closed on a day, among the most glorious
that ever beamed upon the arms of France, was spent by
Montcalm in the deepest solicitude for the morrow. His
troops were under arms or laboriously perfecting their in-
complete works, preparing for the anticipated renewal of the
assault. Although the English still exceeded the French
forces fourfold, with their artillery ready for action, Aber-
crombie abandoned the campaign.2 Bradstreet soon after,
with a detachment of the same troops, measureably restored
their confidence, and vindicated the fame of England by
the siege and conquest of Frontenac. Abercrombie admit-
ted the loss of about two thousand men, but the French
assumed it to be far heavier, and stated their own to be less
than five hundred, but Boulamarque severely and Bougain-
ville slightly were included among the wounded.3
The arrival of the younger Vaudreuil on the 12th with
three thousand Cauadians, followed by six hundred Indians
on the 13th, furnished some apparent basis for the appre-
hension of Abercrombie that reenforcements to Montcalm
were approaching, by which he professed to justify his
1 We found in the mud on the road to the falls five hundred pairs of shoes
with buckles. — Pouchot, 1, 121. The soldiers returned loaded with plunder
and an immense quantity of shoes with buckles. — Doc, x, 725, 741.
2 The French asserted that he entrenched on the ruins of William Henry,
and removed the guns to Albany for security, retaining all his artillery. —
Doc, x. 819 ; Bancroft.
3 A singular incident occurred during the progress of this remarkable
battle. A captain of the Royal Roussillon in bravado, tied a red handker-
chief to a gun, and waved it in a sort of defiance towards the English. The
English column opposite, supposed it indicated a purpose on the part of
the French to surrender. Under this impression, holding their guns hori-
zontally above their heads, they ran toward the entrenchment, crying quar-
96 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
precipitate attack on the French works.1 Abercrombie
lingered in imbecile indecision at Fort George, while
Montcalm was felt at every point, where his ardor and
activity could deliver a blow. Eight days after the repulse
at Ticonderoga, a band of five hundred partisans, lurking
in the woods near the half way brook between Lake George
and Fort Edward, surprised an English detachment and
secured forty scalps.2 A few days after, another party at-
tacked a wagon train on the same ground, loaded with
provisions and merchandise. Forty carts, two hundred
oxen, the contents of the convoy, one hundred and sixteen
scalps and eighty-four prisoners were the fruits of the bold
enterprise.3 Rogers and Putnam with a detachment of
seven hundred troops pursued without success the active
partisans. Engaged in this pursuit, with the purpose of
suppressing similar movements, they descended Lake
Gedrge, traversed the rude mountainous district to Wood-
neck, and were returning to Fort Edward. Montcalm was
apprised of their march, and dispatched Marin with about
the same number of partisans, to follow and intercept the
English. Both parties were near Fort Ann, wandering in
a dense forest each ignorant of the vicinity of the enemy
they were vigilantly pursuing. Rogers, forgetting his
ter. The French, ignorant of the circumstances, on their part, believing
the English desired to surrender, mounted the works to receive them and
ceased firing. The English, under this mutual mistake, had nearly entered
the lines, when Pouchot, who witnessed the scene, and perceiving the con-
sequence which would result from their doing this, promptly gave the
word to Ids troops to fire. They did so, with most deadly effect upon the
exposed ranks of the English. This is Pouchot's own account of a some-
what ambiguous transaction. He adds, " they have since charged us with
using an unpardonable deceit. — Pouchot, I, 114.
1 This is the statement of Pouchot (vol. I, 122). Other accounts reduce the
number of the Canadians to three hundred — Doc, x, 745. This fact with
the assertion of Rogers that the assault was commenced " before the gene-
ral intended by an accidental fire from a New York regiment on the left
wing," (Journal, 115), is the only extenuation of Abercrombie that can ever
be adduced.
2 Pouchot, i, 123 ; Rogers, 117.
3 Rogers, 117 ; Doc, x, 818 ; Pouchot, i, 123.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 97
usual prudence, indulged in firing at a mark with a British
officer. Marin heard "the report of three shots" while
hesitating as to his course, but the shots revealed the posi-
tion of the rangers, and, selecting an appropriate spot, he
formed au effective ambush.1 The English, unsuspicious of
danger, were threading the woods in Indian file; Rogers in
advance, D'Ell in the centre, and Putnam in the rear. They
marched directly into the trap that had been so skillfully
prepared. Suddenly, the forest resounded with the fearful
war whoop, and a terrific fire was hailed upon them from
every side. The English, familiar with such scenes,
promptly rallied, and a sanguinary conflict followed. Then
occurred those thrilling incidents, whose story has agitated
for more than a century, thousands of young hearts.
Putnam and a few others, in the surprise and confusion,
were cut off" from the main body. The men were slain,
and Putnam captured and securely bound to a tree. As
the changes of the battle surged around him, he was placed
at times between the fire of the contending parties and his
garments torn by the shots, alike of friend and foe. While
in this helpless condition, a young Indian approached and
amused himself with the strange pastime of hurling his
tomahawk at the prisoner, practicing how near he could
approach, without striking the mark. A still more savage
Canadian presented his gun at Putnam's breast, but it
missed fire. He then indulged his fierce passions by in-
flicting upon the prisoner several severe wounds with the
butt of the weapon. When the French were repulsed and
commenced their retreat, his Indian captor released Putnam
and extended to him that mysterious tenderness and care
with which the Indians treat their victims destined to the
torture. The savages encamped at night, and then the
strange motive that actuated this kindness was revealed.
Putnam, stripped of his clothing, was again tied to a sap-
ling; dried faggots were piled about him; the torch
applied, and while the smoke and crackling flames began
1 Doc, x, 511.
98 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
to ascend, the thoughts of the brave ranger dwelt upon his
happy home and prattling children. When the agony of
death in this frightful form was almost passed, the
generous Marin, who had learnt of his peril, rushed to the
spot, and bursting through the circle of shouting savages,
scattered the firebrands and rescued the victim. In the
ensuing autumn Putnam was exchanged, and returned to
new fields of glory, but to none of such appalling horror.1
CHAPTER VII.
The Conquest, 1759.
The campaign of 1759 opened under gloomy and porten-
tous auguries for the future of New France. The dearth
of provision had become intensified into the startling
horrors of an absolute famine. The province was nearly
exhausted of all the domestic animals. Life in a great
degree was sustained, both in the army and among the
citizens, only by the consumption of horseflesh. In 1758,
these animals had been purchased by the government in
large numbers, and their flesh sold to the famishing poor
at a trifling cost, and distributed in rations to the troops.2
The habitans relinquished, either from coercion or cupid-
ity, their ordinary food to the use of the army, and for " two
months before the harvest " of 1759 depended for sustenance
upon the spontaneous products of the earth and forests.
At rare intervals, an adventurous ship, eluding the British
squadrons, might increase the scanty supplies of the pro-
vince by a small pittance, but all regular and reliable suc-
cor by this channel was interrupted. Every department
in the province revealed evidences, that could not be mis-
taken, of destitution and decay.
1 On the breaking out of the war of independence Rogers adhered to the
government, was subjected to confiscation and outlawry, went to England
and there published his journal.
3 Doc., x, 704, 837 ; Pouchot, i, 135.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 99
Almost every man, that the debilitated population of
Canada could yield, was wrested from the fields to replenish
the military ranks. " We want provisions ; we want
powder ; and France should send ten thousand men to pre-
serve the colony" Such was the portentous appeal to the
home government.1 But that government was unable to
transport a single regiment with a rational hope that it
would escape the British ships that thronged the ocean and
the gulf. For three years of fierce trials, but resplendent in
personal and national glory, Montcalm, by his own genius
and energy, had maintained the unequal and desperate con-
test. But Doreil exclaims, in a letter to Belle Isle, " Mira-
cles cannot always be expected, Canada is lost if peace is
not made this winter."2 In the spring of 1759, Montcalm,
in anguish of spirit, writes to the same minister : " If the
war continues, Canada will belong to England, perhaps this
campaign or the next."3
The general venality to which we have referred continu-
ally increased, and was a deep cancer that had eaten into
the vitals of colonial strength, and was an active cause of its
hopeless and irremedial decay. Jealous asperities, and
deepening alienations, prevailed between the native French
and the Canadians, that marred the harmony and concert
all essential to their successful cooperation. The French
disparaged the military character of the provincials, bur-
lesqued their pretensions, and scoffed at the pride of the
Canadian noblesse.4 The Canadians were revolted by the
hauteur aud insolence of the French officials, and indig-
nantly repelled their arrogant assumptions of superiority.5
1 Doc, x, 926. 2 Doreil to Belle Isle Doc. , x, 829.
3 Montcalm to Belle Isle, Doc, x, 960. In the same letter lie utters this
emphatic language : " If there be peace the colony is lost unless the entire
government is changed ; " and, with stinging inunendo, quotes Mirabeau,
" that those should be disgraced who return from colonies with wealth, and
those rewarded who return with the staff and scrip with which they went
forth."
4 Doc, x, 419, 460, 1043 ; Pouchot, i, 37. 6 Doc, x, 78, 419 ; Pouchot, i, 95.
100 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
Vaudreuil was of noble descent, but a Canadian by birth,
and however deficient he may have been in the attainments
of military science, his whole career develops the eminent
qualities of his mind, in a native vigor and resources.
He was unhappily surrounded by relatives and retainers,
and his enemies ascribed to him a nepotism and colonial
sympathy, to which were subordinated the higher claims
of individuals and paramount public interests.1 These
suspicions and animosities, if they did not originate it,
were fostered by the feuds that disturbed the intercourse
between Vaudreuil and Montcalm. The latter pretended
no disguise of the contemptuous view in which he held
the military capacity of Vaudreuil, and with extreme
bitterness denounced his incompetent interference, his
injustice and want of magnanimity. We cannot fail to
detect in the utterances and measures of Vaudreuil, jea-
lousy of the overshadowing martial fame of Montcalm,
and often an ungenerous purpose of escaping responsibili-
ties and attempting to grasp the glory that belonged to
the deeds of others.
The accusations which Vaudreuil industriously carried
to the throne, imputed to Montcalm, insubordination,
a haughty neglect of instructions, denunciations of officials,
an indiscriminate jealousy, a want of adaptation by tem-
peraments and habits to the command in Canada, and
an arbitrary and stern deportment that offended the pride
and repelled the services of the Indians and provin-
cials.2 Whether imaginary or just, the causes of these dis-
sensions, their existence exerted a baneful influence upon
the measures of the war. Perhaps the spirit that tends to
the disparagement of all irregular troops, common to the
professional soldiers, many have tinged the estimate by
Montcalm of the provincial levies. The Canadians possi-
bly were deficient in the formula of the parade, or the
efficiency of the drill, but in their native qualities, no
braver race ever stood upon the battle-field. These ani-
1 Doc, x, 859.* 2 Idem, 791, 782, 780, 444, 789.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 101
mosities formed a deep line of demarkatiou, which may
be traced in the colonial affairs between the friends and
advocates of Montcalm and the partisans of Vaudreuil.
The savage tribes, although their professed fealty was
undisturbed, no longer gathered about the French camps
in numbers that oppressed the commissariat. As an ele-
ment of strength to the armies of France, they were now
unreliable. Perhaps, with the native sagacity that some-
times marked the policy of the Indians, they detected the
ascending fortunes of England. Vaudreuil ascribed this
defection to the " petulance and impatience " of Montcalm.
The presence of a large body of warriors at Ticonderoga
had been assured to Montcalm, and he felt the profound
conviction, that with their aid as guides through the forest
on the night of the assault and the effect of their appear-
ance and fearful whooping in inflaming the panic of the
English, a defeat so overwhelming must have been inflicted
on Abercrombie, that he would have fled with the mere
fragments of an army, leaving to the French a more crown-
ing and decisive victory. Exasperated at these conse-
quences of their delays, when at length they did join him,
Montcalm rebuked them with a stern and injudicious,
however just, severity. The chiefs carried their complaints
to Vaudreuil, and he with an active assiduity communicated
them to Versailles.1 The proud and independent freemen
of the woods were doubtless revolted by this violence and
a large part returned to their lodges.
While these clouds were gathering about the falling
empire of New France, Britain was collecting all her
energies for the impending conflict, with a renewed vigor
and enthusiasm, inspired by the zeal and spirit of Pitt.
The fortress of Louisburg had scarcely fallen, when Am-
herst, learning of the fatal issue of Abercrombie's cam-
paign, with an unwonted ardor, not waiting for orders,
1 When the chiefs proposed " to go on the road to Fort Edward," Mont-
calm told them " to go to the d— 1." A young chief came back quite furi-
ous saying Montcalm had turned him out of doors. — Doc, x, 805.
102 HISTORY OP ESSEX COUNTY.
immediately embarked four or five regiments, and hastened
to Boston. He commenced at once a march through the
forest towards Lake George, which he, in person, reached
in October. In the preceding month, Abercrombie had
been recalled, and Amherst appointed the commander-in-
chief of the forces in North America.1 In November,
1758, he assumed the command, and Abercrombie returned
to England ; evaded censure ; was gladdened by promo-
tion, and lived to vote as a member of parliament for the
taxation of a country, which his imbecility might have
lost, and which was always the object of his malignant
aspersions.2
Amherst, without any claim to brilliancy or genius, was
calculated to command success by the excellence of his
judgment, his prudent circumspection, and persevering
firmness. His character and policy had secured to him
the respect and confidence of the colonies. His measures
were not stimulated by the arrogance of Braddock, nor
trammelled by the feebleness and indecision of Aber-
crombie, nor dishonored by the pusillanimity of "Webb.
When the exactions for the campaign of seventeen hun-
dred and fifty-nine were known to the colonies, they were
appalled by the magnitude of the burdens that were contem-
plated. Under the assurance that the campaign of the last
year should be the final effort, they had yielded their appro-
priations to it with unbounded fervor and enthusiasm. But
they had seen their blood and treasures lavished, without
securing any adequate results. The voluntary contribu-
tions and public taxation had consumed their resources,
while the population was almost exhausted of its avail-
able strength by the constantly recurring demands of the
protracted war.3 Although reeling under these debilities,
every colony north of Maryland, stimulated by the ardor
of Pitt and wielded by his influence, with an abiding reli-
ance on the integrity and skill of Amherst, freely yielded to
1Doc, vii, 345. 2 Bancroft ; O'Callaghau, Doc, vii, 345.
* Minot. Grahame.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 103
his fresh requisition, their wealth and their sons. On the
twentieth of June, Amherst took up a position near the ruins
of William Henry. Although his entire army, consisting of
about eleven thousand effective men, formed in about equal
proportions of regulars and provincials, did not assemble
until the twenty-first of July. On that day another gor-
geous and imposing procession in four columns moved
down the quiet lake. A landing was effected without
opposition on the eastern shore nearly opposite to Howe's
cove. In the combinations of this campaign the British
ministry designed to direct a blow at the heart of New
France by an attack upon Quebec from the gulf with a pow-
erful army led by Wolfe, while Amherst should cooperate
by advancing with a still more formidable force along the
Champlain frontier.
Montcalm, oppressed by the annoyances and impediments
we have noticed, and despondent from his wasting estate
and absence from a dependent family, had reiterated de-
mands for his recall. This request was endorsed and
pressed with extreme sincerity by Vandreuil.1 But France
felt that his great intellect alone sustained the tottering
fabric of her colonial power. Instead of an acquiescence,
the ominous despatch arrived from Versailles : " You must
not expect to receive any military reenforcemeuts ; we will
convey all the provisions and ammunition possible ; the rest
depends on your wisdom and courage and the bravery of
your troops."2 All the martial ardor of Montcalm was en-
flamed, and his patriotic devotion enlisted. He resolved to
fall beneath the ruins of the colony. To a kinsman in
France he wrote : " There are situations where nothing
remains for a general but to die with honor. *
* * My thoughts are wholly for France, and will be
even in the grave, if in the grave anything remains for us."3
'Doc, x, 758, 769,783.
2 Belle Isle to Montcalm, February 19th, 1759, Doc, X, 943.
s Private letter of Montcalm, see Appendix.
104 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
Montcalm, collecting his scattered battalions, and sum-
moning to his standard all the population of the province
able to bear arms, repaired to Quebec to oppose the opera-
tions of Wolfe. "With a feeble force of twenty -three hundred
men, Boulamarque remained in charge of the fortresses
upon the lake, to confront Amherst and to retard his pro-
gress, while resistance would not endanger the safety of
his troops. He proposed to assail the English in their
advance through the woods; but the Indians, most useful
under such circumstances, defeated the scheme by refusing
to cooperate. He left a garrison of four hundred men at
Ticonderoga, with orders to maintain the position, until
the investment was completed, then to blow up the fort
and fall back upon Crown point. Amherst effected the
investment of the fort on the 23d ; but on the evening of
the 26th, a heavy explosion announced the evacuation of
Ticonderoga, and that the domination of France had ceased.
Amherst immediately occupied the abandoned fortification.
This conquest, the desire and labor of so many years, was
at length achieved almost without the effusion of blood.
Townsend, the adjutant-general of Amherst, a young
officer of high promise and in many qualities the counter-
part of Howe, was killed, while reconnoitering the fort, by
a cannon ball. His death, and the loss of about eighty
men, were the sacrifices by which this important conquest
was secured. Exact, cautious and fettered by the prescribed
forms of military progress, Amherst consumed two weeks
in the guarded and anxious scrutiny by his spies and scouts,
before he ventured to advance upon Crown point. He
found it abandoned and desolate. Boulamarque had re-
treated with his army and munition, to fortify the Isle aux
Noix. Amherst, as soon as the occupation of Crown point
was safely accomplished, commenced the preparations for
erecting a new fortress near the site of St. Frederic, but on
a scale of increased magnitude and strength. Unnecessary
at that time, and rendered wholly useless by the conquesi
of Canada, he left the work unfinished after the expenditure
of more than ten millions of dollars. The most conspicuous
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 105
ruins at Crown point visited with such deep interest by
the tourist and antiquarian are the remains of this fort.1
Amherst, with great assiduity and vigor, prepared
means to secure a naval preponderance upon the lake.
"While he awaited the building of a flotilla at Ticonderoga,
two measures were accomplished by his orders, uncon-
nected with each other and infinitely dissimilar in their
character and results. The first was the construction of
a military road from Crown point to Charlestown, or
Number Four on the Connecticut river, which, traversing
the entire width of Vermont, rendered a large and
valuable territory accessible to civilization and improve-
ment. The remains of this work may still be traced.2
The other contemplated the destruction of the Indian
village of St. Francis, situated on the river of that name,
about midway between Montreal and Quebec. Their
frequent and active incursions and the relentless atrocities
that made this band of the Abenakis conspicuous in a
horrid warfare, had rendered them the terror of New
England, and objects of peculiar vengeance.
On the 13th of September, Rogers, with great secrecy,
and a careful concealment of his design, left Crown point
on this perilous service. His party consisted of one hun-
dred and forty-two effective men. Descending the lake
with the utmost caution and vigilance, in the hope of
escaping the observation of the French, on the tenth day
from his departure, he reached the foot of Missisqui
bay. Here the boats were concealed, with provisions to
supply the party on its return, and leaving two trusty In-
dians to secretly watch them, Rogers proceeded on his
expedition. The second day after, the Indians overtook
him, with the alarming intelligence, that the boats had
been discovered and removed by the French, and that a
detachment of about two hundred were in rapid pursuit.
Notwithstanding the disguise and caution of Rogers, Bou-
lamarque, perfectly advised of all his movements, had fol-
1 Doc, x, 670. 2 Goodhue's Shorehan.
106 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
lowed his track, seized the boats, and lay in ambush, expect-
ing the return of the English.1 But Rogers's shrewdness
could not thus be entrapped. Hesitating for a moment,
the decision of the bold ranger was formed. Dispatching
Lieutenant McMullin and eight men, who were to pene-
trate the pathless wilderness to Crown point, with a
request to Amherst, to send the necessary supplies to
meet the party at the Cohase intervales, a point sixty miles
north of Number Four, the extreme northern post of the
English on the Connecticut, Rogers determined to prose-
cute the original design.
Nine days his march continued, wading through un-
broken swamps and morasses ; sleeping upon hammocks
elevated above the water, by boughs cut from the trees, and
fording deep streams. On the evening of the twenty-
second day of his expedition, the party approached their
unsuspecting victims. Rogers and two of his officers
reconnoitcred the village, and found it abandoned to
revelry and dancing. Amherst, in his instructions to
Rogers, had given expression, rare in that age of savage
cruelty, to the voice of mercy and humanity. " Take
your revenge on the warriors ; but remember," he said,
" it is my orders that no women or children are killed or
hurt." Just as the day was dawning, the troops " on the
right, centre, and left," burst upon the slumbering vil-
lagers. The surprise was complete and few escaped.
" We killed," reports Rogers, "two hundred Iudians,"2
and took twenty of their women and children prisoners.
He dismissed all but five of the latter prisoners, whom he
retained, and released five English captives. The light
revealed the horrid spectacle of more than six hundred
scalps, of both sexes and of every age, chiefly English,
floating like dread pennons from the lodge poles and
cabins of the savages. "When the rangers looked upon
'Doc, x, 1042.
2 Tlie terra Indians was often used to designate warriors, and we may
hope it was so in this instance ; but Pouchot states that the warriors wera
absent.— Vol. I, -223.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 107
these symbols of Indian barbarity, they might, with truth,
have felt, that they were not only instruments of ven-
geance, but ministers of justice. The village was con-
sumed, and many of the Indians, who had sought a refuge
in the cellars and lofts, were burnt to death. Captain
Ogden, of the rangers, was severely wounded, six others
slightly, and one Indian of the party killed. Loading the
men with all the plunder and corn they were able to
carry, Rogers immediately commenced a retreat in the
direction of the Connecticut. He was pursued by a body
of Indians, and repeatedly attacked, with the loss of a few
prisoners. At length he turned upon his pursuers, and
dealt them a punishment so severe, as to arrest further
open assaults, but they hung upon his rear with a deadly
tenacity ; and when the detachment separated into small
bodies, which policy Rogers was constrained to adopt, on
the eighth day of the march, in order more readily to
procure subsistence, they attacked and killed or captured
many of the party.1
The different bodies toiling in intense labor and suffer-
ing, marching over steep rocky mountains, and traversing
rivers and deep morasses, were sustained, amid fatigue and
hunger, by the confident hope of finding relief and repose
at the place designated by Rogers. They reached it, and
found the brands, enkindled by the party which was to con-
vey them supplies, still smouldering; but no friends, no
food. McMullen, penetrating the vast forest a hundred
miles m extent, arrived at Crown point on the ninth day of
his march. Amherst, with no delay, had directed a lieute-
nant Stephens to convey the requisite supplies to the ap-
pointed rendezvous, and to remain while a hope existed of
the return of Rogers. He reached the place with ample
provisions, but fearing the approach of the Indians, conti-
nued only two days at his post and abandoned it, as after-
1 The Indians massacred some forty, and carried off ten prisoners to their
village, where some of them fell victims to the fury of the Indian women,
notwithstanding the efforts made by the Canadians to save them." Doc,
x, 1042
108 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
wards appeared, but two hours before the arrival of Rogers.
He heard the signal guns fired to recall him, but believing
them to indicate the presence of Indians, his flight was
precipitated.
Leaving his exhausted and famishing comrades with
the assurance that in ten days they should be relieved, to
procure " what wretched subsistence they could in a bar-
ren wilderness," Rogers, accompanied by Ogden, a ranger,
and an Indian youth, undertook to descend the river upon
a raft in pursuit of aid. Rogers does not intimate his
motive for carrying with him the Indian, but we may
form a fearful conjecture. The first raft was lost among
the rapids ; destitute of implements, they could only con-
struct another, with trees felled and reduced to the appro-
priate length by burning. The fort at Number Four was
reached by an inflexible determination, and a canoe with
supplies immediately despatched, which arrived at Cohase
on the day designated by Rogers. • He returned to Crown
point on the 1st December, and when the scattered parties
were reassembled, he reported the loss after the detach-
ment retreated from the ruins of the St. Francis village,
of three officers and forty-six privates.1
On the eleventh of October, Captain Loring of the navy,
to whom the work was confided, had succeeded by the
most energetic efforts in completing the construction of a
sloop carrying sixteen guns, a brigantine and radeau
mounted with six cannon of large calibre. Amherst em-
barked his army in a vast flotilla of bateaux, and, escorted
by these vessels, proceeded on his long procrastinated ex-
pedition. The next day he encountered one of those
severe autumnal gales, which often at that season sweep
over the lake.2 Twelve of the boats were foundered, and
the remainder sought shelter under the western shore of
the lake. Amherst probably advanced while struggling
with these adverse circumstances to the vicinity of Valcour
1 Rogers's Journal, 144, 159. 2 Pouclwt, i, 146 ; n, 66.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 109
island, and there on the mainland formed an encampment.1
Loring, with the sloop and brigantine, continued on his
course, and compelled the French to destroy two of their
vessels in a bay on the north-east angles of Valcour; a third
was sunk, and one only, the schooner, escaped, and sought
shelter under the guns of the Isle aux Noix.2
Experience or inquiry might have suggested to Amherst,
that these periodical gales on the lake are always limited
in their duration, and usually succeeded by a term of serene
and genial weather. But ever controlled by an extreme
of prudence and caution, he returned to Crown point after
an absence of ten days, relinquishing the combinations
his movements were intended to promote, and abandoning
Wolfe to work out the fortunes of his army by his own
unbounded energies and genius.
It is not my province to pursue the course of events on
the banks of the St. Lawrence, but a brief space devoted
to the last scenes in the life of one who has occupied so
wide a space in our narrative, can need no apology. On
the 24th of August, 1759, Montcalm, as if in the cool
tracings of history, instead of the speculations of prophetic
prescience, wrote : " The capture Of Quebec must be the
work of a coup de main. The English are masters of the
river. They have but to effect a descent on the bank on
which this city,3 without fortification and without defense,
1 1 adopt this conclusion from the language of an English writer of the
period, and from the popular traditions of the region. Those are still living
who recollect an opening on the Pine bluffs, south of the Au Sable river
and directly upon the boundary line between Clinton and Essex counties,
which, in the early part of the century, was known as Amherst's encamp-
ment. It exhibited vestiges of extensive field-works the habitual cau-
tion of Amherst would have led him to erect, and also remains of tar
manufactories, formed in the primitive method of the pioneers. It is a
singular coincidence, that the tar and pitch used in the equipment of Mc-
Donough's fleet, more than fifty years afterwards, were made on the same
ground and by a similar process. — Alvin Colvin, Esq.
2 Doc, vii, 405 ; s, 1042 ; Pouchot.
3 Montcalm must here speak comparatively and refer to the inadequacy
of the Works which surrounded Quebec. A reference to this remarkable
and deeply interesting document will be found in Appendix B.
110 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
is situated, and they are at once in condition to offer me
battle which I cannot refuse, and which I ought not to be
permitted to gain. In fine, Mr. Wolfe, if he understands
his business, has but to receive my first fire, to rush ra-
pidly upon my army, to discharge his volley at close quar-
ters, and my Canadians without discipline, deaf to the
call of the drum and the trumpet, and thrown into dis-
order by this assault, will be unable to recover their ranks.
They have no bayonets to meet those of their enemy ;
nothing remains for them but flight, and I am routed
irretrievably."
Three weeks later, Wolfe, pursuing the instincts of a
congenial spirit, had fulfilled the presages of Montcalm,
and stood with his army upon the plains of Abraham.
Prophecy became history, and Montcalm, routed as he
had predicted, was borne back to Quebec with a fatal
wound, rejoicing " that he should not live to witness its
fall." Confiding to his subordinate the honor of France,
and commending the companions of his misfortunes and
glory to the clemency of a generous foe, he exclaims : "As
for me, I shall spend the night with God."1 Montcalm
survived his illustrious rival only a few hours, and at his
own request was buried in a pit excavated by a shell in
exploding; "A meet tomb for a warrior, who died on the
field of honor."2
Rashness and precipitancy have been imputed to Mont-
calm in the campaign before Quebec, and with a degree
apparently of justice. Why did he hasten the attack before
the aid he had summoned could arrive? The motives that
1 Bancroft. Pouchot.
2 1 dissent with much hesitation from the suggested doubts of an eminent
authority, in reference to the grave of Montcalm. (O'Callaghan's note, Doc.
X, 400). I accept the statement not alone on the authority of the Biogvaphie
Universelle, but on the strength of the commemorative painting of his
death, dictated by his officers (Pouchot, I, 217), but more especially on the
language of the majestic epitaph of the French Academy of Inscription :
" Deposited his mortal remains in a grave which a falling bomb in exploding
had excavated." For this epitaph and the elegant and feeling correspond-
ence between Bougainville and Pitt on the subject, see Appendix B.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. HI
influenced his action are buried in his grave. Montreuil,
a veteran and experienced soldier, asserts that delay would
have enabled Wolfe to entrench upon a hill, and thus render
his position impregnable.1 Bishop De Ponfbriand, who
participated in these events, sustains the same views, and
says " that Montcalm deigned to avail himself of the first
impulses of his troops." He adds a fact, which if it existed,
manifests the highest wisdom and skill in the measures
adopted by Montcalm : " had he delayed an hour the enemy
would have been reenforced by three thousand men and
eight pieces of cannon.2 Bougainville, who had ascended
the river with two thousand select men, to watch the opera-
tions of Wolfe, was instantly, on the landing of the English
army, ordered to return. Did the rapid conception enter
into the sagacious mind of Montcalm, that Bougainville
should return while the battle raged, and falling upon the
the rear of Wolfe annihilate his forces ; and success, in bold
and consummate strategy, like this, would have emblazoned
with the brightest radiance the martial fame of Montcalm.
Obloquy and detraction did not pause at the glorious grave
of Montcalm. He was charged not merely with reckless-
ness and presumption, but the base offense was imputed
to him, of sacrificing his own life and the realm of New
France to a groveling jealousy of Vaudreuil.3 These
calumnies have never satisfactorily explained why Vau-
dreuil, lying within a mile and a half of the scene of action,
with fifteen hundred men, did not advance with greater
celerity, assume the command warranted by his rank, aud
direct the operations of the army. The advance of Wolfe
could not have been veiled from his knowledge.4
A want of enterprise has been singularly ascribed to
Montcalm, not only by his detractors of that age, but a
1 Doc, x, 1014. 2 An impartial opinion etc., Doc, x, 1061.
s Dog,, x, 1034, 1043 ; Garneau, n, 327.
4 Bancroft says that " messenger after messenger was dispatched to Vau-
drenil to come up ; " I know not on what authority. No official document
I think discloses the fact, and the Relations, etc., explicitly denies it. — Doc,
x, 1061.
112 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
modern Canadian writer indulges in the same strictures.1
The marvellous exploits, achieved with means so inade-
quate, should dispel all these imputations. And it should
be remembered that wise enterprise is always tempered
by prudence and discretion. Vaudreuil, after the capitu-
lation of 1760, went back to France, and he, in turn, was
marked by adverse fortune, and an object of injustice and
persecution. The friends of Montcalm, it is said, pur-
sued and oppressed him with a vindictive animosity ; but
he was in life able to secure the vindication of his honor
and integrity.
The repose that rested upon the shores of Champlain,
was interrupted by no event of public interest, until the
campaign of the next year. .The attention of Amherst
was devoted to the extension and improvement of the
works at Ticonderoga, and the erection, as we have
already noticed, of a magnificent fortress on Crown point.
The remains of these works, now crumbling ruins, still
attest their original splendor and strength. They are now
guarded and preserved by private taste and intelligence,
from the vandal outrages which were rapidly destroying
them. We may cherish the hope, that the most extensive
and imposing ruins in America, redolent with the bright-
est historical associations, and becoming shrouded in the
venerableuess of antiquity, will be perpetuated to excite
the admiration and to attract the pilgrimage of future
ages. These fields of glory are now tilled in the peaceful
pursuits of husbandry. In the vicinity of Ticonderoga,
balls, muskets, swords, and numerous other relics of war,
are constantly revealed. At one period, the line of the
fatal abatis might almost be traced by these dumb but
significant memorials of the spot where the harvest of
death had been the most exuberant.
The course of the circumvallatious and trenches, singu-
larly complex and interlaced, may readily be distinguished.
Part of the battlements rising above the rocky clift' are
1 Doc, x, 1043 ; Qarneau, xi, 327.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. H3
almost entire. The line of the ramparts is still traced;
the ruins of a portion of the barracks remain, although
private cupidity has removed much of the brick and stone
of the buildings. The bakery is in a state of good preserv-
ation. At Crown point the ruin is still better preserved,
although here the deep interest that entrances at Ticon-
deroga, is less profound and exciting. The mounds of
Fort St. Frederic are yet perceptible, although fallen and
dilapidated. The oven, the covered way, and magazine,
are easily distingished. The fort erected by Amherst,
might even now be restored. The form of the vast quad-
rangular barracks, which enclosed the esplanade, may still
be distinguished, although one side has been totally
demolished, and another partially removed. They formed,
until the desecration was arrested by the present pro-
prietors, quarries that supplied building material to a wide
region. Two of these barracks remain in partial preserv-
ation, one a hundred and ninety-two feet and the other
two hundred and sixteen feet in length. The walls yet
stand, and although roofless, without floors, and the beams
charred and blackened, they are in more perfect condition
than any other part of either ruin. The inner walls bear
the soldiers' idle scribblings of more than a century ago.
Each room contains a broad and lofty fireplace. The gar-
rison well, almost one hundred feet deep, remains. The
direction of the covered way, conducting to the lake,
although occasionally fallen in, may readily be discerned.
How changed the scene, since the chivalry of France
and England, and the savage warriors from Acadia
to the precincts of Hudson's bay, were marshaled on
these shores. Last autumn, standing on a lofty eminence
on the southern limits of Essex county, I gazed far along
the bold banks and tranquil bosom of Lake George. The
view was as lovely as in the age of Montcalm and Howe ;
but not a sound broke the deep stillness of nature, not a
form interrupted its solitude. When I stood amid the
ruins of Crown point, cattle were ruminating in its bas-
tion, and a solitary robin twittered among the branches of
114 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
a tree, whose roots were interlaced among the rocks of the
ramparts. I saw sheep feeding upon the walls of Fort
Carillon, and plucked wild grapes from a vine clustering
upon the ruins of its magazine.
CHAPTER VIII.
The Colonization, 1760 - 1775.
"While Amherst procrastinated his movements, the last
convulsive, but nearly successful struggle for a prolonged
dominion, was made by De Levis, in the attempted recap-
ture of Quebec. The battle of Sillery, contiguous to the
plains of Abraham, had been fought, where the brave but
presumptuous and incompetent Murray experienced a
defeat as severe in its losses and complete in the route, as
that which proved fatal to Montcalm. But circumstances
were not equally propitious to the French for the consumma-
tion of the victory.1 Amherst reserved to himself the
command of the largest column of the British armies, which
in accordance with the plan of the campaign of 1760, con-
sisted of ten thousand men and was designed to approach
Montreal by Oswego and the line of the St. Lawrence.
Proceeding with a slow caution, that the enfeebled condition
of the French forces did not exact, and incurring to his
army great and unnecessary toil, and sweeping away as
he advanced all the remains of hostile power along these
waters, he appeared early in September before the walls of
Montreal.
Haviland was in charge of the troops which remained
at the fortresses on Lake Champlain. While delaying for
the progress of Amherst's operations, several bold and
successful incursions were made from this point, against
the settlement of Canada, by Rogers, in connection with
1 The battle of Sillery was fought near the Cote d' Abraham ; this, with
the celebrated Plains of Abraham, was called after one Abraham Martin,
who owned a farm in the immediate vicinity. — O'Callaghan, Doc, X, 1801.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. H5
the naval force, which now- held the control of the lake.
On the 16th of August, 1760, the last brilliant martial
procession of the war departed from Crown point. Bear-
ing about three thousand regulars and provincials, under
the command of Colonel Haviland, it moved down the
lake in a long line of bateaux, under the convoy of four
armed vessels, with an equal number of radeaux, each of
which bore a heavy armament. Richard Montgomery,
who had already attracted the attention and won the
applause of Wolfe, at Louisburg, accompanied this expe-
dition, as adjutant of the Seventeenth regiment of foot.1
Haviland effected a descent near the Isle aux Noix,
without opposition, and at once erected batteries opposite
the fort upon the main land. Bougainville, who occupied
the works with sixteen hundred men, had strengthened
his position by anchoring a fleet of small vessels on his
flank. These were vigorously attacked and soon dispersed
or captured. The rangers swam ont to one, tomahawk in
hand, boarded and seized her.2 Weakened by this loss,
Bougainville, on the night of the 29th, abandoned his posi-
tion. The forts at St. John's and Chambly were evacuated
at the same time, the garrisons retreating slowly towards
Montreal. By a skillful execution of happily concerted
movements, Haviland appeared before Montreal on the
7th of September, the day after the arrival and junction of
Amherst and Murray. Murray had ascended the river
from Quebec, driving before him the remnants of the French
army, occupying the country and imposing the oath of
allegiance upon the people.3
In this last stronghold of 2Tew France, Yandreuil^-its last
governor-general, had gathered the gallant relics of his
wasted army, and with an intrepid front, made the most
prudent and skillful disposition for a final conflict.4 As
the blood in the process of dissolution recedes from the
extremities and collects about the heart, so all the Cana-
1 Rogers, 133 ; Armstrong's Life of Montgomery. - Rogers, 191.
3 GrraJiam. 4 Idem; De Levis, Doc, x, 1125.
116 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
dian power of France had gathered around the only re-
maining citadel of its strength. All the chivalry of France
that still survived on the soil of Canada, had assembled
here, animated by a zeal and ardor that almost defied des-
tiny. There was De Levis, second alone to Montcalm in
renown and services; there was Boulamarque, the target
of every battle-field; and Montrueil the successor of Dies-
kau at Lake George ; and Bougainville, the pupil and friend
of Montcalm, and to become illustrious as the first French
circumnavigator of the globe. " If we do not save the
country, " wrote De Levis to Belle Isle, " we will sustain
the honor of the king's arms."1 But the contest was hope-
lessly unequal, and on the 8th of September, Vandreuil
proposed terms of capitulation which were soon adjusted
by Amherst in a spirit of humane magnanimity, and the
sceptre of New France was yielded to England.
By the treaty of Paris the next year, the province of
Canada was formally ceded to Great Britain. England,
in wild exultation, rejoiced over this conquest, which added
the domain of almost half a continent to her realm, as
" the most important that ever the British army had
achieved."2 But the far-seeing and comprehensive mind
of Choiseul, discerned in it the germ of the dismember-
ment of the British empire.3 The keen forecast of Mont-
calm, three weeks before his fatal field, found consolation
in contemplating the same view. In the letter from which
I have quoted in another page, he writes : " I shall console
myself to some extent for my defeat and for the loss of
our colony by the profound conviction which I entertain,
that this defeat will one day become of greater value to
my country than a victory, and that the victor here will
find his grave, in his very victory." He then proceeds to
trace with a master's hand, the consequences which will
be entailed on England by the annexation of Canada,
from its influences upon the attitude of the British colonies.4
1 Doc, x, 1103. 2 Smottet. 3 Bancroft. 4 See Appendix B.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 1X7
The inference derived from the subsequent aspect of the
country, and the silence of documents and history on the
subject is strong, if not conclusive, that the actual occupa-
tion of the Champlain valley by the French, for practical
and agricultural purposes, although they maintained their
military ascendancy for more than a fourth of a century,
did not extend far beyond the protection of their fortresses.
The extent and character of these early settlements is a
question of strong interest, as well in the illustration it
affords of the history of the region, as in the antiquarian
researches it demands. Whatever may have been the
number or situation of the French occupants, they appear
to have receded before the approach of the victorious
arms of Amherst, and probably accompanied the retreat
of the French forces. The most decisive evidence remains
of the presence, at some former period, of a considerable
and civilized community in the vicinity of Crown point.
The vestiges of their occupation which still exist, indicate
a people who knew the comforts and amenities of life,
and possessed numbers and means to secure their enjoy-
ment. The allusions of ancient manuscripts corroborate
the traditions preserved in the reminiscences of aged
persons, that a population, ranging in the estimate from
fifteen hundred to three thousand persons, were gathered
around the fortress of St. Frederic. A very important
traffic, it is known, existed between the French and
English possessions, as early as 1700, and that Lake
Champlain was the medium of the intercourse. Several
years anterior to that period, Crown point, it will be re-
collected, was referred to, as a prominent landmark, in
the public instructions of the municipal authorities of
Albany. May it not have been, previous to the French
occupation, an important mart of this commerce ? We
think the conclusion is warranted, that Crown point was
probably, at an early period, a trading post, at which
the merchandise of the French and English colonies were
interchanged, and where the Indians congregated from
widely extended hunting grounds to traffic their peltries*
118 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
We have already briefly sketched the peninsular position
of Crown point — one side resting on Bulwagga bay, and
the other washed by the waters of the lake. "When we
last witnessed it the clearest evidences remained of the
ground, for many rods aloug the margin of the bay, having
been graded and formed into an artificial slope, inclining
to the water. Ruins of enclosures are still visible. The
fragments of a former wall, in one instance, distinctly
mark its course. Trees which have sprung up, along the
line of the wall, have supported and preserved spaces of it
almost entire. This enclosure, embracing an area of about
two acres, was evidently a fruit yard or garden. Fruit
trees were flourishing in it within the recollection of the
present owner.
An avenue seems to have swept in a wide curvature along
the margin of the lake in front of the enclosure, and
approached a landing place, adapted to the craft which at
that time navigated its waters. Still more distinct and
palpable indications are exhibited parallel to this avenue,
upon the crest of a slight eminence, of the former residence
of a dense and prosperous population. A street may be
traced, reaching a long distance towards the mainland,
raised and covered with broken stone not unlike the Mac-
adam roads of the present day. The ruins of cellars, many
of which are excavated from the solid rock, line this street
on each side. The compact arrangement of these cellars
and the narrowness of the avenue, present a striking
analogy to the antiquated villages in Canada, founded by
the French, and leave little doubt that their origiu was the
same. No vestige of this by-gone age so thrilled upon
my feelings and excited my imagination, as the remnant of
the sidewalk along this street. It is formed of flagging
similar to that now in use in our cities. The stones are
smooth and worn, and remain in the position they were
left by the generation who once thronged them in the busy
scenes of life. We were assured by the occupant of the
ground, that he has displaeed many continuous rods of this
pavement, in the course of his agricultural operations,
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. H9
which were in perfect preservation. These and equally
marked indications, extend over a wide space about the
fort along the shores of the lake. Two large cemeteries,
one near the garrison grounds and the other three miles
south, attest that the living, in numerous assemblies, once
animated these scenes. The worthy occupant of the
former, remarked, without seeming conscious that he was
yielding to the dictate of a refined sentiment, that he had
felt constrained in particular spots to arrest the plow, be-
cause it so fearfully exposed the relics of the dead.
Still another touching testimony remains that man, in an
advanced stage of society, has left his foot-prints on these
scenes, to indicate his former presence. Asparagus, other
hardy plants and shrubs, usually cherished by the hand of
human culture, still flourish, wild and uncared for, upon
these fields. The settlers, who occupied the territory after
the revolution, found, in an area of about four miles from
the fort, not a tree or a bush to obstruct the view over the
beautiful and wide champaign, that had been once highly
cultivated. Now, a heavy forest covers half the tract.
Rogers, in describing one of his predatory excursions,
speaks of luxuriant crops waving upon these fields, and on
another occasion, he alludes to his firing, in a sudden
foray, the village itself. He mentions also " settlements
on the east side of the lake, one of which was two miles
from the fort, and refers to the presence of "three hundred
men chiefly inhabitants of the adjacent villages." This
number, it maybe computed, would represent a population
from one thousand to twelve hundred. In a previous page
I have referred to the occupation of the adjacent country
by actual settlers. No reasonable doubt exists, that large
tracts of land lying between the works at Crown point and
Ticonderoga were cleared and cultivated long previous to
the permanent colonization of the English, and probably
at the epoch of the French occupation. The heavy forests
which now stand in various localities in this district exhibit
conclusive evidence that they are of second growth. Kalm,
the Swedish travel er^aw about the fort in 1749, "a con-
120 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
siderable settlement," and "pleasant cultivated gardens,"
and " a neat church within the ramparts." Persons re-
cently deceased, whose recollection extended to a period
beyond the revolution, recalled Crown point when its busi-
ness operations were conducted in several stores. A cir-
cumstance occurring at a later period, which we shall in-
troduce, with its evidences, in a subsequent part of this
narrative, that seems to have contemplated Crown point
as a capital of a projected province, is strongly suggestive
of its central position and political importance. A solitary
farm house now occupies the peninsula of Crown point.
Soon after the cession to England by the treaty of 1763,
of the French possessions, embracing the claims of France
to the environs of Lake Champlain, the attention of the
colonial government of New York was directed to the
importance of establishing a town at Crown point. Gov.
Moore in 1768 pressed the subject with great urgency
upon the ministry. He represented that the measure
would be attended "with great advantages to the province
and the service of his majesty," and advises that "the lots
in the town should be granted on the easiest terms," and
" that their presence would contribute to the rapid settle-
ment of the entire region." He also encloses "the plan
of the town made by Adolphus Benzel.1 A memorial
addressed to the New York legislature in 1775, contains
the names of thirty-eight males, described as residents of
the district of Ticonderoga and Crown point. We may
infer from this fact the presence, at that period, of a popu-
lation of some hundreds.
Although Canada continued in the military occupation
of the armies of England, the clouds and uncertainties,
1 Doc, vni, 140. Benzel was a Swede, emigrated to America and joined
the army in 1752. In 1770 he was appointed " inspector of the royal woods
and forests and unappropriated lands on the Champlain, with a large salary
for that period. Nathan Beaman, the youthful guide of Allen, informed
Mr. O. F. Sheldon, that about the year 1775, he rowed a party from Vermont,
of some festive occasion, to Crown point, and mentioned seeing on the table
of Benzel, silver-ware and other evidences of wealth and luxury. Benzel
obtained the grant of the military reserves at Crown point. — Doc, vui, 488.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 121
which shrouded her future policy in reference to the per-
manent acquisition of the country, retarded the settlement
of the environs of Lake Champlaiu by American emigrants.
The officers and soldiers, of both the regular and provin-
cial line, in their repeated campaigns, had become familiar
with the region, and appreciated its beauty and fertility.
The teeming west was still the domain of the savage. The
impediments to colonization referred to were dispelled,
when, by the treaty of 1763, Canada, Acadia and Cape
Breton, were ceded to England.
A proclamation made October 7, 1763, by the king of
Great Britain, authorized the colonial governors to issue
grants of land to be located in any colony as the grantee
preferred. The reduced officers and men, who had served
in the Canadian campaigns, were especially to be regarded
in the issuing of these grants. The holders were em-
powered, by the terms of their grants, to# make locations
upon any unappropriated lands. This revolution, in the
attitude of the country, communicated a new impulse to
its affairs, and opened its portals widely to immigration.
The decade succeeding the year 1765, exhibited vast pro-
gress in its improvement and cultivation. Numerous
patents were granted, and the locations made under them,
came frequently into collision with grants issued during
the French intrusion. Stimulated by the value of the
lands, immensely enhanced by these events, many grants,
utterly fictitious, were asserted, and others revived that
had been abrogated by the French government, or for-
feited by a failure in the performance of their conditions.
Others derived from France, were preserved by actual
tenure, and had been recognized by the government of
Great Britaiu. Many of these classes were also violated
by location of grants issued in pursuance of the ordinance
of 1763. No grants, in addition to those already men-
tioned, appear to have been issued by the French autho-
rities, to any portion of Essex county, except one of
November 15, 1758, which comprehended a large part
of the territory, which now constitutes the towns of Crown
122 HISTORY OP ESSEX COUNTY.
point and Ticonderoga. The adjustment of the conflict-
ing rights of the patentees, under these adverse grants of
the French and English authorities, was extremely diffi-
cult and embarrassing. A proper sense of justice induced
a suspension by the government, in 1768, in the issuing
of all patents of lands northward of Crown point, which
were claimed under any French grants.1
These collisions again threw a cloud over the progress
and prosperity of the country. Many of the French claims
were ultimately repudiated by England, on account of
forfeitures through the neglect of the conditions upon
which they were dependent ; others were compromised
by grants to the claimants of land in Canada of an equiva-
lent value.2 England exhibited towards the claimants of
these seigniories great tenderness and liberality, in not
assuming the obvious position, that the French held the
shores of Lake Champlain alone by an usurped occupation,
which could neither create nor convey any rights. These
questions agitated and disturbed the colonies for several
years, and led in the home government to anxious and
protracted discussions.
The multiplicity and extent of the grants, issued under
the ordinance of 1763, the existence of these conflicting
claims, and the repugnance of many of the patentees to the
occupation themselves of their laud, combined to depress
their value and throw them into market.
William Gilliland, a native of Ireland, was, at that pe-
riod, a merchant, residing in the city of New York. En-
dowed with great force of character and enterprise, and
possessing expanded and sagacious views, he became con-
spicuous in the early settlement of Clinton and Essex
counties, and held, for many years, a controlling ascend-
ancy in the affairs of that region. Patents of rich and
1Doc, viii, 115. In the year 1809, the validity of these ancient French
grants was adjudicated upon by the supreme court of New York, with a
result adverse to the claim of title under them. — Johnson's Reports, iv, 163.
2 Doc, viii, 577.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 123
extensive manors had been, anterior to this time, granted
in the southern sections of the province. Actuated by the
desire of forming to himself a similar estate, the mind of
Mr. Gilliland was attracted to the valley of Champlain,
then surrounded by the circumstances to which allusion
has been made. He employed, with this view, competent
agents to explore the west shores of the lake. The larger
proportion of the territory upou the eastern side, had al-
ready been granted and appropriated. He decided upon
the result of this survey, to locate his proposed domain
near the Boquet river, expanding southerly along the bor-
ders of the lake towards Split rock.
The remarkable beauty and fertility of the tract still
vindicate the wisdom and tact of his selection. His first
location was a section of two thousand acres, under a grant
to James Field. This was situated immediately south of
the Boquet,1 and is now designated as Field's patent.
Mr. Gilliland subsequently purchased seven additional
claims, which embraced in the aggregate more than fifteen
thousand acres of land. The territory he comprehended
and located under these grants, commencing a half mile
south of the river, extended to Judd's patent, which seems
to have been previously surveyed, near Split rock, present-
ing on the shore of the lake a line of about six miles, and
spreading three or four miles into the interior. The pur-
chase of these rights was effected in 1764, and the grants
issued and the land surveyed the ensuing year. Impressed
by the natural predilections of an European to manorial
institutions, his policy seems to have designed the creation
of an estate in fee in himself, with subordinate estates to a
tenantry held at annual leases. The consummation of a
1 The origin of the name of this river is uncertain. Tradition says it was
thus named by Mr. Gilliland, from the profusion of flowers on its banks.
It is also supposed to have been derived from Gen. Boquet, an English officer
of considerable distinction. An ingenious friend has suggested that it may
have been derived from the French word baquet, trough, a term pecu-
liarly descriptive of the form of the river, between the falls and its debouch
into the lake.
124 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
scheme of this character, applied to a wild and uncultivated
region, demanded an exercise of extreme skill and sagacity.
The inducements presented by Gilliland to immigration,
were conceived in the most liberal and enlarged spirit.
His arrangements for organizing the proposed colony
manifested every regard for its comfort and success. He
seems to have secured a body of intelligent and indus-
trious emigrants, formed principally of mechanics and
laborers, and adapted to endure the toil and privation of
a pioneer life. Amply provided with implements, tools,
provisions, and all other requisites, he left New York with
his colony on the 10th of May, 1765, and occupied ten
days in the voyage from that city to Albany. Deciding,
at this place, to convey a part of the immigrants and the
material by water, to Fort Edward, he was compelled to
purchase bateaux at Schenectady, and to transport them
overland to Albany. In the laborious toil of eight days,
contending with the strong current and dangerous rapids
of the Hudson, he reached Fort Edward in safety. A part
of the train had proceeded by laud, driving with them a
herd of forty-one head of neat cattle, destined for the
future use of the colony. The oxen were employed in the
transportation of the boats and effects to Lake George.
Three days were exhausted in this operation, when the
little fleet was again launched, and wafted by sails to
Ticonderoga. Two days more of transportation by land,
brought them to the waters of Lake Champlain. One
bateau was freighted with lumber at Ticonderoga, sup-
plied by saw mills which were erected during the French
occupation. Again embarking, they arrived on the shores
of the Boquet on the 8th day of June, having occupied in
their journey thirty days of arduous and incessant labor.
After the interval of two days, devoted to rest and pre-
liminary arrangement, they proceeded up the river to the
point of their ultimate destination, and formed their encamp-
ment upon an island at the base of the falls, which, from
that circumstance, still bears the name of Camp islaud.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 125
With promptness and energy operations were at once
commenced. A road was opened to the falls, and by the
15th of that month ground had been cleared, timber pre-
pared, and a house, forty-four feet by twenty-two, partly
erected. This edifice was probably the first dwelling built
by civilized man, on the western shore of Champlain, be-
tween Crown point and Canada. The cattle had been
driven to Crown point, and there made to swim the narrow
passage. Proceeding to a point opposite to Split rock, they
were ferried over, and from thence driven through the
woods to Gilliland's settlement. A part of them were
confined and fed upon the leaves of the trees, but the
largest portion were turned loose to the unlimited range
of the forest.
The first great necessity secured, by the erection of a
dwelling, the colonists prepared for general improvement.
The forest was opened, the vicinity explored, timber pre-
pared for a saw-mill, which was erected in the autumn, at
the lower part of the falls, and supplied with power by a
wing dam, which was projected into the current, turning
the water into a flume that conducted it to the mill.
Game was abundant in the woods ; the most delicious
salmon thronged the stream, that at most laved their
threshold, and the beaver meadows yielded them sufficient
hay for the approaching winter.1 The spontaneous pro-
ducts of a bounteous land were thus within the reach of
their industry and energies. Meanwhile, as these efforts
were in progress, Mr. Gilliland had visited Quebec, and
returned laded with all the other necessaries to secure
the comfort and safety of his people.
1 Another resort to procure a supply of fodder was of infinite value to the-
first settlers, and is still not unimportant to the inhabitants of the country.
This was the marshes, created by the spring overflowings of the low allu-
vials upon the shores of the lake. The hay cut upon these marshes is very
inferior to that cured from cultivated grasses, or even the product of the
beaver meadows. The growth upon the natural meadows is usually a
coarse and harsh grass, intermingled with rushes, brakes and ferns. On
more elevated ground, a better quality of hay is produced.
126 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
" During his absence he had examined the region with
a vigilant eye, upon both shores of the lake; had ascended
the navigable streams, sounded their depths, and explored
their banks. Twelve grants had now been located by Mr.
Grilliland. Eight of these were situated within the present
towns of Essex and Willsboro'; two at Westport, and two
at Salmon river, now in Clinton county. A tier of lots,
intended for farms, was surveyed and numbered in this
year (1765), ranging along the shore of the lake, from the
rfiouth of the Boquet to Judd's patent. Many of these lots
were immediately selected by the settlers, but on account of
the advanced season were not occupied until the succeed-
ing spring." The settlement upon the Boquet was named
Milltown. Mr. Gilliland, in November, left it, with his
other interests upon Lake Champlain, in charge of a kins-
man, whom he dignified with the European title of
steward. He passed the winter himself in New York,
engaged in preparations for the removal of his family to
his new estate. The cattle which had been turned out
upon their arrival, were recovered with great difficulty in
the autumn, and in a condition almost as wild as the na-
tive denizens of the forests. The first winter of these pio-
neers in the wilds of New York, was passed without
suffering or remarkable incident. Their time was occu-
pied in attending the cattle, cutting and drawing saw-
logs to the mill, and in the preparation of timber for
the construction of their buildings. In January, 1766,
their hay was drawn upon the ice, from a beaver meadow,
two miles south-west from Split rock (now Whallon's bay),
to Milltown.
At the approach of spring, all the efforts of the settlers
were enlisted in constructing their dwellings, and making
other improvements upon their newly acquired farms.
The first house upon these lots is supposed to have been
erected for Robert McAuley, April 14th, 1766, on the
north bank of Bachelor's creek. Others rapidly succeeded,
until the whole space between the Boquet and Split
rock was studded by the neat cabins of the settlers.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 127
During the spring, the provisions of the colony began to
fail, but their wants were promptly supplied from the
stores of the garrison at Crown point.
In June, Mr. Gilliland returned with his family, and bear-
ing supplies for another year. " His journey had been
difficult and disastrous. In passing the rapids of the Hud-
son, near Stillwater, one of the bateaux had capsized,
precipitating part of his family into the rushing torrent.
One of his daughters was lost. They resumed their voy-
age in fearful forebodings, sometimes drawing their boats
on land, and again launching them upon the water. Worn
with grief and toil, they arrived at length at Milltown, and
were soon settled in their wilderness home on the banks of
the Boquet." '
By a royal ordinance of October 7th, 1763, the parallel
of forty-five degrees north latitude had been established as
the boundary between New York and the province of
Quebec. This ideal line, was, however, indefinite and
controverted. In September, 1767, Governor Moore, of
New York, and Carlton, of Quebec, caused the line to be
fixed by careful astronomical observations. The same
observations established the latitude of Crown point at
forty-four degrees one minute twenty seconds. On this
occasion, the munificent hospitalities of Milltown were
extended to the royal commissioners and their suite.
The return of the proprietor had infused a fresh spirit,
and imparted a new and vigorous impulse to the little
commonwealth. The colony continued to advance in
improvement and prosperity. The saw-mill was in suc-
cessful operation, supplying all the demand for lumber.
A smithery had been erected. Various seeds had been
sown to supply culinary vegetables. The government,
political as well as moral, of the community, was in the
exclusive guidance and control of the proprietor. Its ad-
ministration seems to have been eminently patriarchal.
The appointment of justice of peace, which had been
1 0. F. Sheldon.
128 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
conferred on Mr. Gilliland, in his primitive jurisdiction,
endowed him with a plenitude of powers, that essentially
embraced all the functions of counsellor, judge, and chan-
cellor. The ample limits of Albany county, at that period,
embraced the whole region of northern New York.
During the winter of 1767, Gilliland made an accurate
and minute survey upon the ice of the lake shore, along
the entire front of his locations, and named the prominent
topographical features. In the same season the first horse
introduced into the settlement, was brought out upon the
ice, for Mr. Gilliland, from Canada.
William McAuley, a relative, and one of the prominent
and most efficient coadjutors of Gilliland, occupied as a
farm, the site of the present beautiful village of Essex.
James Gilliland, a brother of the proprietor, and in after
years a distinguished officer in the American army, settled
on a lot on the north bank of the Boquet. This stream,
at the time of Gilliland's colonization of its shores, and
for a subsequent period of several years, was a conspicu-
ous landmark in the country.
The site and the water-power of the village of Port
Henry was granted in 1766, to Benjamin Porter, a miller.
It is supposed a milling establishment was erected by him
and abandoned or destroyed before or during the revolu-
tion. When tranquillity was restored after that event, he
returned to the scene, and in connection with a Robert
Lewis, of Albany, rebuilt the mills. The ruins of these
structures existed until a recent date.
No prominent event distinguished the annals of these
settlements for several years. Their agricultural and
industrial improvement continued to advance, the colony
gradually increased in population, flourishing mills were
erected, and other conveniences and refinements of civil-
ized life were introduced. Schools were early established.
The position of the first school-house is still pointed out.
Occasional religious services were enjoyed. I cannot
ascertain the existence, in the early epoch of the settle-
ment, of the stated administration of religious ordinances,
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 129
although a clergyman, named George Henry, accompanied
Mr. Gilliland with the first body of emigrants.
Albany county was divided in 1772, aud the northern
section, embracing both sides of Lake Champlain, was
organized into a new county, which received the name of
Charlotte.
An event occurred in 1775, which forcibly illustrates
the tendency at that time of public sentiment to democra-
tic institutions, and exhibits its bias towards the doctrines
of self-government. This settlement, it has been stated,
was in the ideal limits of Charlotte county, but it possessed
no tangible aud practical political or social organization.
It was too remote to be reached by the protecting arm of
government, and too unimportant to receive any specific
legislative action. The presence and ascendancy of some
civil or political power were demanded, in the changed
condition aud increased population of the colony, by their
common interests, and for their mutual protection and
safety. Under these circumstances they convened on the
17th of March, 1775,1 by common approbation, an assem-
bly of the colonists, and constituted themselves in effect,
into a pure democracy. At this popular convention it was
determined to institute for many practical purposes a local
government. A system of police and social regulations
was matured, formally adopted, and ratified by the indivi-
dual signatures of the citizens. It was made imperative
upon all, and each was pledged to abide by its provisions
" by every tie of honor and honesty." 2 In contemplating
in its humble aspect this singular and most interesting
incident, the mind instinctively reverts to the cabin of the
1 They were chiefly Irish, and St. Patrick's festival was no doubt design-
edly adopted for the occasion.
2 But ten years had elapsed since the arrival of Gilliland with his colony,
and still only two signatures are attached to this document of all those
who accompanied him as original settiers. And thus it is almost uniformly
in the history of our country. The pioneer opens the wilderness, and levels
the highway for the advance of civilization ; but as its march approaches, he
recedes and passes onward to new scenes of toil and to incur fresh priva-
tions.— Pioneer History of Champlain Valley.
9
130 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
May-Flower, where a similar scene was enacted, under the
guidance of the same spirit and resting upon the same
eternal principles. The officers of the association, thus
constituted, comprised a moderator, two superintendents of
roads and bridges, three appraisers of damages, and a town
clerk. William Gilliland was elected the first moderator,
and Jotham Gardner the town clerk. The first act of this
primitive organization was an ordinance, authorizing the
construction of a bridge, by a tax to be levied and paid in
labor, assessed on the basis of property.
A project is believed to have been agitated at this period,
which, in its success, would have formed a prominent feature
in the annals of this colony, and been an event of grave
interest and importance in the political history of the
country. A scheme, in which Gilliland and the elder
Skeene, of a family which attained subsequent revolu-
tionary notoriety, were the prominent agitators, was dis-
cussed and essentially matured, which contemplated the
organization of a new province. Its imagined limits were
to extend from the St. Lawrence to the Connecticut,
resting at the north on the Canada boundary and with an
undefined line at the south. In this project Skeene was to
receive the appointment of governor of the contemplated
province, and Crown point was to be constituted the capital.
I have yielded my own convictions of the reality of this
scheme, not alone upon the traditions on the subject, and
the assurances of those who profess to have seen and pos-
sessed documents which elucidated the whole subject, but
upon other forcible considerations.1 Amherst, it was
1 Mr. Gilliland, the younger, who, at the commencement of the revolution,
was a schoolboy of fourteen, and died in Plattsburgh, in the year 1847, as-
sured Mr. Sheldon that this project was a frequent and familiar theme of
conversation by his father. That he had often himself read the correspond-
ence between his father and Skeene, on the subject, and that he had the
letters of Skeene still in his possession. Mr. G., who was a gentleman of
great intelligence, engaged to find and submit them to Mr. Sheldon, but
he died before the time fixed for the purpose arrived. With the permission
and aid of the Messrs. Gilliland, his sons, who reside at Salmon river, on a
part of the original estate, I have carefully examined the family papers, but
can discover no trace of this document.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 131
asserted by Colden, contemplated the erection of a sepa-
rate government at Crown point, immediately after its
reduction.1
The aspect at that epoch of the controversy, relative to
the New Hampshire grants, rendered such an occurrence
exceedingly probable. Cotemporary annals appear to
recognize the existence of some project of an analogous
character and purpose.2 Skeene, it is known, at this pe-
riod, visited England on some important political mission,
and was on his return to America on the verge of the
revolution, bearing, as he alleged, the appointment of
governor of Crown point and Ticonderoga.3 In this
designation of the limits and title of his government, is it
not probable that he merely referred to these fortresses as
prominent points embraced withiu his jurisdiction ? Crown
point, it is asserted, was the designed capital of the pro-
jected province. This idea strengthens at once the opinion
I have attempted to enforce, of the prominence and import-
ance of Crown point at that period, and attaches form and
coherence to the existence of this scheme. Skeene was
then possessed of a large landed estate, not only at
Skeenesboro', but elsewhere in the environs of Lake Cham-
plain. He held a tract in Essex county, still designated
Skeene's patent.
The theory, that the erection of a new province was
contemplated at this period, seems to receive a degree of
strength from the proceedings of a convention held at
Westminster, Vermont, in April, 1775, which resolved to
petition the royal government " that they might be taken
out of so oppressive a jurisdiction [that of New York],
and either annexed to some other government or erected
and incorporated into a new one." The commissioners
of Vermont, in their appeal to congress in 1779, refer to
the same measure, and affirm their probable ability to
prove the creation of this new province, and that Governor
1 Doc, vii, 558 ; Skeene to Pownall, Doc, vn, 515.
2 Williams's History of Vermont.' Haskins's do.
8 Skeene's Letter to Rawley, March 16, 1775.
132 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
Skeene had been appointed to preside over the same. " By
the accomplishment of this design might have involved
the most momentous and sinister political results, at that
peculiar epoch, when the vehement contest between New
York and Vermont had acquired its deepest rancor and
excitement. It is not probable, had that event occurred,
whatever may have been the political consequences, that
Northern New York would now exhibit a vast expanse
of uncultivated and primeval wilderness.
An occurrence of deep import suddenly dissolved all
these visions of political plans and speculations, and for
years arrested the progress of this miniature republic, and
dispersed widely its population. A blow was struck,
within the present limits of Essex county, which vibrated
not only through the wide colonies, but was felt within
the palace walls of St. James.
CHAPTER IX.
The Kevolution, 1775-1776.
Haldimand, the commandant of Crown point and Ti-
conderoga, announced to the British government, in 1773,
that the fort at Crown point was " entirely destroyed,"
and that at Ticonderoga, in a "ruinous condition," and
" that both could not cover fifty men in winter." The
appeal to arms, which had sounded from the plains of
Lexington, in April, 1775, seems to have suggested simul-
taneously to patriotic individuals in various sections of
the colonies the idea of seizing these important fortresses,
while in their dilapidated and exposed condition. Mem-
bers of the provincial legislature of Connecticut, embrac-
ing the names of David Wooster and Silas Deane, and
with its secret connivance, but without any public recog-
nition by that body, raised a fund to eflect this object,
and appointed a private committee to proceed to the
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 133
scene, and to pursue measures calculated to secure the
execution of the plan.
It was known that a large number of cannon, with an
immense amount of every military munition, had been
accumulated at these posts. The seizure of these mate-
rials would supply a deficiency severely felt in the Ameri-
can army, already assembled before Boston. This motive,
the obvious policy of occupying the stronghold which
commanded the communications of Lake Champlain and
the desire of achieving a decided success, which would
tend to strengthen and animate the popular enthusiasm,
stimulated this movement. Edward Mott and Noah
Phelps, who were embraced in this committee, and were
intrusted by the projectors of this daring scheme with the
arrangements for its execution, proceeded with a small
body of men, raised in Connecticut, to Berkshire county,
Massachusetts. At Pittsfield, Colonel Easton and John
Brown embarked with ardor in the enterprise. The
expedition numbered about forty volunteers when it
reached Bennington, and here the zealous spirit and
powerful influence of Ethan Allen was enlisted.
On the 7th of May, 1775, an intrepid band of two
hundred and seventy men, all of whom but forty-six were
Green mountain boys, had collected at Castleton, and were
devoted to this bold design. While they were organizing
for the advance, Benedict Arnold, bearing a commission
from the committee of safety in Massachusetts — but dated
the 3d of May, the day on which the expedition reached
Bennington — and clothed with plenary powers to accom-
plish the same purpose, appeared upon the scene, and
claiming precedence in the command of the expedition.
The contest which ensued, and which threatened to prove
fatal to the enterprise, was terminated by the troops
refusing to march unless under the guidance of Allen,
their tried and cherished leader. Arnold was constrained
to yield, and joined the force as aid to the commander.
Noah Phelps, a name that national gratitude should com-
memorate, assuming the garb and deportment of a settler,
134 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
boldly entered the fort at Ticonderoga, and with the pre-
tence of seeking a barber, wandered unsuspected about
the works, and thus obtained complete knowledge of their
condition and the strength of the garrison.
Captain Herrick had been ordered to proceed to Skeenes-
boro', and having captured the younger Skeene, with the
materials collected at that place to join Allen at Ticon-
deroga ; Douglas was sent to Panton, to secure all the boats
that could be discovered and return to Shoreham. Upon
his success chiefly depended the means of transporting
the troops. Instructions were communicated to Remember
Baker, always the active and unfaltering coadjutor of
Allen to cooperate from his position at Otter'creek. Major
Beach had been dispatched to Rutland and the adjacent
towns in order to gather volunteers, and accomplished on
foot, tradition asserts, a circuit of sixty miles in twenty-four
hours.1 "When the agents of Connecticut reached Sheffield,
they communicated witn the Albany committee on the
subject of their expedition, by messengers; but that body
refused to interfere, without instructions from the New
York committee, which although applied to, appear to have
given no response.2 The force under Allen advanced in
profound secrecy and silence to the eastern shore of the
lake, in the town of Shoreham.3
Sentinels and pickets were placed on every avenue by
which intelligence of the movement might be communi-
cated to Ticonderoga. The party lay in concealment
nearly a whole day and night, in what is now known as
Hand's cove, a short distance north of Larrabee's point.
They were disappointed in crossing immediately as was
1 Goodhue's Slioreham. a Mall's Vermont.
3 A number of the inhabitants of Shoreham engaged in the enterprise,
and from them and local tradition, the Rev. Josiah T. Goodhue, long
the pastor of the Congregational church in that town, has collected and
preserved many incidents connected with the capture of Ticonderoga of
great interest and value. In the frequent discrepancies which obscure the
history of this event, I have deferred to him as the most credible and authen-
tic authority. I am indebted to Hon. A. C. Hand, a native of Shoreham,
for a knowledge of Mr Goodhue's work, and for several important facts.
MILITARY AXD POLITICAL HISTORY. 135
intended, by the delay in the arrival of the necessary
boats. A large oared boat owned by Skeene, which was
lying at anchor in the lake near Crown point, was seized
by a stratagem ; Douglass brought a scow from Orwell,
and with these and a few small boats which they had
secured in the vicinity, Allen determined to attempt the
passage. Eighty-three men were embarked in the night
of the 10th, at Hand's point, and landed beneath the pro-
tection of a cluster of willows on Willow's point, about
one mile north of the fort. The cfawn began to appear,
and as immediate action could alone command success,
it was decided to advance to the assault without awaiting
the return of the boats with the remainder of the party.
A patriotic farmer of Shoreham had supplied Allen with
a guide in the person of his son, an active and intelligent
lad of fifteen, who had gained a perfect kuowledge of
the works, in his pastimes among the boys connected with
the garrison.
Allen, when the little band Were formed, addressed
them in a low and earnest voice, but in the rude and forci-
ble eloquence by which he was wont at all times to control
his associates. He spoke of their antecedents ; of their
widely extended reputation for valor which had led to
their selection to accomplish an important undertaking :
he represented the desperate attempt as only adapted to
the bravest of men ; that he purposed to conduct them
through the gate ; that they must that morning quit their
pretensions to heroism or in a few minutes capture the
fortress ; he would urge no one to follow him contrary to
his own will, but, he exclaimed, " you that will undertake
voluntarily, poise your firelock." Instantly every musket
was elevated. Again, the harmony of the expedition was
imperiled in the renewed assertion by Arnold, of a claim
to precedence in leading the assault. It was, at length,
arranged that the two leaders should advance together,
Allen on the right, guided by young Nathan Beaman, the
Shoreham boy ; with Allen and Arnold at the head, the
column marched rapidly and in silence to the sallyport.
136 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
The sentinel stationed there snapped his gun against the
breast of Allen, and retreated through the covered way,
closely followed by the Americans, who, uttering a terrific
shout, formed upon the parade in two lines, each facing
the barracks. The garrison were awakened from their
sleep by the wild clamor, and Captain De La Place, sud-
denly aroused, burst from his quarters in his night apparel,
to be confronted on the corridor by Allen ; and in reply to
the summons to surrender, asked by what authority it was
demanded. Allen thundered forth the immortal response,
in words then strange and ominous, but now engraven in
our national annals : "In the name of the Great Jehovah
and the Continental congress." The fortress, the garrison,
and the vast munitions were won without the effusion of
a single drop of blood. A part of these trophies was forty-
eight prisoners, one hundred and twenty-four pieces of
cannon, a number of mortars and howitzers, a large
amount of ammunition of every kind, and extensive and
invaluable materials fof ship building.
Warner, who had succeeded in crossing with the rear
detachment, arrived at the fort soon after the surrender.
He was, without delay, dispatched with a hundred men to
seize Crown point. A heavy wind prevented the immedi-
ate movement, but the next day he was able to advance ;
captured without resistance the fort aud its small garrison
of twelve men with its entire armament. Herrick had
been equally successful, aud soon after joined Allen, hav-
ing captured the works at the head of the lake, and Skeene
with all his forces, and made the yet more important acqui-
sition of several boats and a schooner, which had been used
as a regular trader between Skeenesboro' and St. Johns.
The triumphant success of this most skillfully concerted
measure was completed, when Baker arrived with two dis-
patch boats sent from Crown point with intelligence of the
capture of Ticonderoga, which he had intercepted and
taken on his passage from Otter creek. The military
material secured at Crown point largely enhanced the
spoils of Ticonderoga. Amos Callander was immediately
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 137
detached with a small party to the fort at the head of Lake
George. This design was effected by him without diffi-
culty, and he soon after conducted all the prisoners,
amounting to fifty-two, to Hartford, Connecticut.1
The intelligence of this great and extraordinary event
was received by the people in astonishment, and with trans-
ports of enthusiastic joy. The day after the capture of
Ticonderoga, John Brown bore to Albany a letter from
Allen, communicating the fact of its surrender and express-
ing an apprehension, that an attempt might be made for
its recovery, and asking for assistance by reenforcements
and supplies. Again the committee faltered and hesitated,
and wrote to New York. That committee then also re-
fused to act, and forwarded the dispatches to the congress
in Philadelphia. Meanwhile, Brown, untiring in his zeal,
had also reached that city, and was called before Congress
to give an account of the exciting transactions at Ticon-
deroga. That body received his intelligence with the
highest secret exultation, but in the reserve due to a deli-
berative assembly, and in the undefined posture of affairs,
hesitated to assume a distinct responsibility for the act, and
adopted a formal resolution, recommending the committees
of 'New York and Albany to "immediately cause the
cannon and stores to be removed from Ticonderos-a to
the south end of Lake George," and indirectly advised a
" strong post to be established at that place." It also re-
commended " that an exact inventory of them should be
taken, in order that they might be safely returned when
the restoration of the former harmony between Great Bri-
tain and the colonies, so ardently wished for by the latter,
should render it prudent and consistent with the overrul-
ing law of self-preservation." In tumultuary times, men
responsible for the exercise of power are seldom abreast
of popular sentiment. The post proposed to be strength-
ened on Lake George might afford partial protection to
Albany, but would leave the people on the grants, who
1 Goodhue's Shoreham.
138 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
had achieved the aggression, exposed, unshielded to the
royal vengeance. Allen, with earnest indignation, remon-
stated against the project. Connecticut and Massachusetts
gave utterance to equally emphatic protests, and the exe-
cution of the purpose was happily abandoned.1
The character of the men who led in the achievement of
an exploit, that exhibits more the similitude of romance
than the cooler form of reality, proves that the scheme was
wisely and carefully concerted, and that any design de-
liberately adopted by them, would have been accomplished,
if within the scope of human power or courage. Each, in
his own station, became eminent in the progress of the
revolution. Seth Warner, in the affections and confidence
of their fearless associates, was scarcely second to Allen,
and conspicuous in every field on which he moved, his
military science and capacity was superior. Herrick was
the efficient coadjutor of Stark at Bennington; Easton
was gallantly distinguished in the army of Montgomery;
Baker died before St. Johns in the same service ; and
Brown, after a glorious career of high distinction, fell at
Stone Arabia.
A few months later an extreme public necessity was
disclosed, that could only be relieved by the fruits of
this conquest, and destined to prove its infinite import-
ance. "Washington had closely beleaguered Boston, but
the progress of the siege i was retarded by the want of
appropriate cannon. Henry Knox, the youthful bookseller
of Boston, the future chief of artillery in the American
army, whose science was to excite the surprise and admi-
ration of engineers trained in the schools of Europe, had
chiefly constructed these works before Boston, by an
almost intuitive genius. With equal energy and skill, in
the depth of the winter of 1776, he traversed a wilderness
of two hundred miles ; collected numerous teams of oxen,
and with a long train of sleds, transported fifty heavy
guns from Ticonderoga to the camp of Washington.
. 2 Hall's Vermont.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 139
This unwonted procession was welcomed by an enthu-
siastic ovation, amid the joy and shouts of the patriot
army.1
Arnold renewed his pretension to the supreme command
after the reduction of the fortresses, with his accustomed
arrogance and dictatorial spirit. The troops rejected these
assumptions, and the Connecticut committee interposing,
conferred upon Allen, by a formal instrument, temporary
powers as commandant of the army and forts. Arnold
yielded to necessity, and acquiesced in a measure which was
ultimately approved by Massachusetts.
A small armed vessel was lying at this time in the
Sorel river, near St. Johns. Her possession would secure
to the Americans the entire naval force upon the lake,
and they determined to effect her seizure before an alarm
should be excited. Fifty men engaged by Arnold in
Massachusetts, and over whom he exercised undoubted
authority, arrived oppportunely at Ticonderoga. "With
these men, he manned the schooner captured at Skeens-
boro', and on the fifth day after the surrender of the fort,
sailed for St. Johns. Allen, with another party of one
hundred and fifty men, accompanied him in bateaux. The
wind was propitious to the zeal and ambition of Arnold,
and outsailing the flotilla of boats, he arrived within thirty
miles of his destination, when a calm prevented further
progress, but promptly embarking thirty-five men in two
boats, he pursued his design, surprised and captured the
fort at St. Johns, with a sergeant's guard of twelve men,
and seized the schooner, her crew, and two small brass
guns. Apprized of the near approach of a large detach-
ment of troops, he deemed it prudent to retreat, bearing
with him his prize and provisions, and four boats loaded
with stores. Five other bateaux he destroyed. On his
return he met Allen hastening onward to participate in
the perils and glory of the enterprise. Although Arnold
represented to him the cause of his own retreat, Allen
*John Adams's Diary.
140 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
*
persisted in advancing, but the presence of a superior
British force with artillery, which had anticipated his
arrival, compelled him to reembark.
History, in forming its judgment of the character and
the services of the men who achieved these perilous and
daring exploits, should regard the fact, that they acted
under the authority of no legitimate and recognized go-
vernment, but from the impulses of individual enterprise
and patriotism ; that their acts constituted rebellion, and
that a failure would have entailed upon them the retribu-
tions visited upon treason and outlawry. By a singular
coincidence, the congress that determined to raise an army
to assert the civil immunities of the colonies, assembled on
the very day that beamed upon the capture of these fort-
resses. The reduction of Ticonderoga and Crown point,
opened to the colonies the gates of Canada.
The prescience of Allen's mind, and his practical sagacity,
comprehended at a glance the magnitude of the conse-
quences which might result from the measure, and which
he saw within the grasp of congress. In urging with
the warmest importunity and with irresistible reasoning,
an immediate attack on Canada, he foreshadowed a policy,
which then rejected, was afterwards adopted, when the
auspicious moment had passed. In a communication to
congress on June 7th, he utters this vigorous and emphatic
language : " I would lay my life on it, that with fifteen hun-
dred men I could take Montreal."
Ethan Allen stands out in bold prominence and origin-
ality among the extraordinary men, whose high attributes
of mind and character were evolved from the crucible of
the times. His own age, under the prejudices of con-
troversy, was too prone to regard him as a rude and
ferocious adventurer, inflamed by the mere animal im-
pulse of courage, but without the intellectual qualities to
guide and elevate their purposes. The intellect that
could attain and preserve a mastery over the minds and
hearts of such a race as the " men of the Green moun-
tains," and wield that " fierce democracie " to his purpose,
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 141
possessed no ordinary powers. At Castleton, when Arnold
asserted the command, every man shouldered his musket,
and prepared to return to his home ; but with Allen, their
leader, they knew no doubt ; they had no fear. It was
no common mind that enabled him, with kindred spirits
on one hand, to repress what they considered the aggres-
sions of JSTew York ; and, on the other, by his keen diplo-
macy to arrest the progress of the British arms. What-
ever judgment posterity may form of the ambiguous
events in his subsequent career, no one will doubt the
energy of his character, or distrust his love of liberty and
loyalty to his own peculiar people. Why should not the
magnanimity and patriotism of Xew York erect a monu-
ment on the cliffs of Ticonderoga, that would consecrate
his name, and be a perpetual memorial of his great
exploits ?
In June, Allen relinquished the command of the posts
on Champlain, to Colonel Benjamin Hinman, who occu-
pied them with a thousand levies from Connecticut.
Arnold, still persisting in his assumptions, claimed the
command, but the controversy was terminated by Massa-
chusetts discharging him summarily from her service.1
Congress long deliberated on the policy of invading
Canada, hesitating between the adoption of a measure, the
immediate expediency of which was obvious, and an
apprehension of its effect upon the mind of the American
people ; and the influence an act, so marked and aggressive
in its character, might exert upon the sentiments of their
advocates in England. Circumstances were auspicious.
A large part of the royal troops had been withdrawn from
the province to strengthen the army in Boston ; a few
feeble garrisons alone occupied the forts and prominent
towns. Although the yoke that England had imposed
upon the Canadian people had been gentle in its pressure,
it was that of an hereditary enemy, and the friends of the
contemplated measures urged, that if sustained by an
1 Hall's Vermont. ■
142 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
adequate force the masses would throw off the hated
domination. In addition to this view, it was believed that
England was in no condition to supply immediate reen-
forcements in that direction, while the brevity of the sea-
son in these northern seas would early suspend navigation.
When at length the purpose had been decided upon, an
army of three thousand men was concentrating with all
possible celerity at Ticonderoga from the provinces of
New England and New York. General Schuyler held the
chief command, with Richard Montgomery and David
Wooster as subordinates, who were appointed brigadier-
generals. Sir Guy Carleton, the governor-general of Canada,
soon became apprised of these preparations, and with cha-
racteristic energy determined to arrest the advance of the
patriot army, by creating a naval force competent to main-
tain the control of the lake. Montgomery resolved to
advance with the small body of troops which had already
assembled, and by the vigor and activity of his measures to
defeat the designs of Carleton. With this purpose, he
rapidly descended the lake and seized the position at the
Isle aux Noix, which commanded the entrance of the
Sorel river. He was soon after joined by Schuyler, and
united with him in issuing an earnest and conciliatory
appeal to the Canadians, assuring them of the fraternal
sympathies of the American people, and exhorting them to
aid in the emancipation of Canada from British power.
The direct effect of this proclamation was favorable to the
American interest, as it confirmed the provincial popula-
tion in their neutral attitude. Carleton had been defeated
in his efforts to enlist the masses in any aggressive move-
ments. He had appealed to the bishop of Quebec, to issue
a fiat, to be read in the churches, exhorting the people to
take arms iu support of the government. This dignitary
revolted from the service, as unworthy his pastoral character,
and contrary to the canons of his church. A few subor-
dinate ecclesiastics, with consciences more ductile, and the
noblesse, whose interests had been essentially protected by
the Quebec act, exerted themselves with great zeal to over-
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 143
come this popular feeling, but with little definite success.
The indefatigable efforts of Carleton embraced other expe-
dients. By the influence of large bounties, and the assu-
rances of peculiar privileges and immunities in the affairs of
the colony, he succeeded in gathering a few recruits, who
were enrolled as the corps of the Royal Highland Emi-
grants.
The royal agents effected more favorable results by their
overtures to the savage tribes. In July, Guy Johnson, the
intendent of Indian affairs, arrived at Montreal, accompa-
nied by a large band of Iroquois chiefs and warriors, and
among them Brant, the Mohawk chieftain. A solemn
council was held, and these representatives of the powerful
confederacy swore in their barbarian forms fealty to Eng-
land, pledging its support to the cause of the king against
the insurgent colonies. Thus originated the employment
of the Indian in this contest, and to this action may be
traced the ruthless scenes of blood and rapine that marked
the progress of the war.1 The American commanders
conceived a demonstration against the fort at St. Johns
expedient, in order to secure an impressive effect to the
proclamation which had been issued. They advanced from
the island with only one thousand effective men, and re-
pulsed on their march a spirited attack by the Indians.
A slight breastwork was erected near the fort, but without
the power of assailing works, which were found to be
quite formidable. Schuyler determined to fall back with
the view of protecting his original position. By the erec-
tion of a cheveau de frize in the Sorel river, he effectually
obstructed all access to the lake, by the vessels which
Carleton was actively employed in constructing at St. Johns.
Schuyler was recalled to Albany by public affairs, and
while detained there was attacked by a severe and pro-
tracted sickness, that prevented his return to the army.
The command of the expedition devolved on General
1 Stone's Life of Brant.
144 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
Montgomery, and it could have been confided to no more
competent or illustrious leader.
Montgomery was a native of Ireland, and born to high
social position. His mind, endowed by emiuent native
qualities, was adorned by culture, refined by habits, and
elevated and expanded by military experience. He served
under "Wolfe at Louisburg with much distinction, was
promoted and attached to the army of Amherst, in which
he acted as adjutant of the 17th Regiment of foot. He
accompanied his regiment to the "West Indies, and retired
from the army with the rank of captain in 1772. Soon
after his resignation, he married a daughter of Robert
R. Livingstone, and, settling upon the banks of the
Hudson, devoted himself to the pursuits of peace. Here,
in 1775, he was dwelling in elegant repose, surrounded by
all the refined blandishments of society and the joys of
domestic felicity. His adopted country summoned him
from these happy scenes, demanding, in her impending
struggle, the influence of his character and the aid of his
genius and acquirements. He freely cousecrated all to
the cause of liberty and independence.
The early arrival of reeuforcements and artillery enabled
Montgomery to pursue aggressive measures, and he again
advanced and formed the regular investment of St. Johns.
That fortress, situated on the Sorel, was now considered
the key to Canada. It was occupied by a garrison of
seven hundred men commanded by Major Preston, and its
strong works were impregnable to the ordnance of Mont-
gomery, who was alike deficient in guns and ammunition.
Fortunately, the tort at Chambly, a short distance below,
upon the same river, was held by a small body of troops
and guarded without prudence or vigilance. Montgomery
promptly resolved to avail himself of these circumstances,
and a party led by majors Livingstone and Brown, de-
scended the river in silence and in the obscurity of a dark
night, attacked and captured the fort after a feeble defense.
This successful enterprise relieved the great embarrass-
ment of Montgomery, and furnished him with several heavy
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 145
pieces of cannon, a hundred and twenty-four barrels of
powder, and a large quantity of stores and provisions. The
colors captured at the fort were transmitted to congress,
with imposing forms, as the first testimonials of success.
A more favorable disposition towards the Americans
was disclosed among the Canadians, and large numbers
joined the army, bringing with them supplies and ammuni-
tion. With a view of fostering this spirit, by intercourse
with the people and an exhibition of strength, as well as
to procure supplies, Montgomery caused detachments of
his troops to traverse the country in various directions.
Allen and Brown, at the head of two of these parties,
having approached Montreal, hastily concerted an attack
on the island. The conception of crossing a wide and
turbulent river, in the presence of a superior and vigilant
enemy, was bold and extravagant ; but heroic daring was
the spirit of the times. Allen, securing boats at Longueil,
crossed the river at night with one hundred men, many
of whom were Canadians. Brown, who it was intended
should cross above the river, and cooperate by a diversion
with the other party, was unable to effect his part of the
plan. Allen was thus left to meet the united strength of
the garrison, and was assailed by an overwhelming force
of regulars, Canadians, and savages. He made a gallant
resistance, but was compelled to surrender with his entire
party. Carleton, departing from the generous clemency
that adorned his character, refused to recognize Allen as
a prisoner of war, but, .loaded with chains, he was trans-
ported to England, and subjected on the passage to every
barbarous indignity. In that country, he was transferred
with capricious tyranny from one jail to another, and
from prison castles to convict ships ; continually pursued
by the same unrelenting persecution, but powerless to
shake the stern devotion of his republican zeal. After
an imprisonment of almost three years, he was exchanged
and received by a grateful country, with every demon-
stration of respect and interest. Allen had been su-
perseded in the command of the Vermont troops by
10
146 HISTOET OF ESSEX COUNTY.
Warner, and in his connection with the army of Mont-
gomery, held no distinct or formal official position.
Carleton, elated by this success, determined, in conjunc-
tion with Colonel McLean, who was stationed with the
corps of Eoyal Emigrants at the mouth of the Sorel, to
effect the relief of the garrison at St. Johns. "With a force
of one thousand men, consisting principally of Canadians
and Indians, he undertook to effect the passage of the
river from Montreal to Longueil. Warner, however, in
anticipation of the movement, had occupied the eastern
bank, lying in concealment at Longueil with three hundred
of the Green mountain boys, and fortifying his position
by a few small pieces of artillery judiciously planted. As
Carleton approached the shore, he was received by a
sweeping shower of grape and musketry. His raw troops,
unaccustomed to an ordeal so unexpected and severe, were
at once repulsed and fled back precipitately to the island.
McLean retreated to his former position, and having learnt
by a letter, from Arnold to Schuyler, which had been
intrusted to an Indian runner, and fell into the hands of
McLean through treachery or accident, the astounding
intelligence that an American army was descending the
valley of the Chaudiere with the design of seizing Quebec,
hastened with all the force he was able to collect to occupy
that place. Montgomery immediately secured the pos-
session of the important post evacuated by McLean, and
by the erection of a commanding work at the junction of
the Sorel with the St. Lawrence, sustained by floating
batteries, obstructed the navigation of both streams. This
energetic proceeding totally isolated Montreal, and the
forts upon the upper waters of the river and lakes, from
all communication with Quebec and the ocean.
Preston, having been apprised by Montgomery of these
adverse circumstances, surrendered St. Johns, with its
garrison, its armament of fifty guns, eight hundred stands
of arms, and a large amount of munitions. This most
valuable conquest being accomplished, Montgomery, with-
out any delay, marched upon Montreal, and offering that city
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 147
the most liberal and humane terms ; it capitulated without
making any defense. Carleton, anticipating the arrival
of Montgomery, relinquished the command of Montreal
to Prescott, and repaired to the fleet, which he had as-
sembled below the city. Its descent was, however,
obstructed by the works that had been erected at the
mouth of the Sorel, and which had already inflicted
on the fleet a severe repulse. The capture of the go-
vernor-general, an event that would have been almost de-
cisive of the war in Canada, appeared inevitable, but he
effected an escape in disguise, floating by the American
batteries in a boat with muffled oars, and under the protec-
tion of a dark night. Prescott, who subsequently attained
such notoriety in his second capture on Rhode Island, on the
thirteenth of November, surrendered the fleet and a large
part of the garrison of Montreal which had sought refuge
on the vessels, with many persons of both civil and mili-
tary prominence.
Montgomery, throughout the campaign, had been tried
and oppressed by the character of the troops over whom,
he held a nominal command. Inspired by the loftiest
heroism and enthusiasm, the army was composed of re-
cruits without experience, hastily levied with only a brief
term of enlistment. At home they had been accustomed to
a social equality with their officers in the same pacific pur-
suits and the unlimited exercise of opinion and the freedom
of consultation. They carried these habits into camp, and
asserted there the same privileges. The restraints and
rules of obedience, usual to military service, were but
slightly recognized. The native eloquence of their leader,
his conciliatory spirit and wise deportment, strengthened
by the high respect felt for his character and attainments,
enabled Montgomery to mould this inchoate mass into the
appearance of an army; but the period was too limited to
impart the discipline and efficiency of which materials so
intelligent and brave were susceptible. In addition to these
embarrassments, the army imperfectly clothed already suf-
fered from the rigors of the climate and all the evil conse-
148 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
quences of the mistaken policy of short enlistments began
to be disclosed. A large part of the troops were even then
entitled to their discharges, and the expiration of the term
of many others was rapidly approaching.
Montgomery distributed to the soldiers warm clothing,
and by the most earnest importunities, and addresses to
their soldierly spirit and patriotism, endeavored to prevail
on them to remain until the close of a campaign which
had opened with such brilliant presages. All these
appeals were in the main unsuccessful. Montgomery
had been educated in a strict school of military subordi-
nation, and his spirit was galled and depressed by this
laxity of discipline, and of the bonds that held together
an army, upon the conduct of which depended his own
success and fame, but over which he saw that he could
exert little controlling power. An enthusiastic devotion
to the cause to which he had pledged his service^ alone
restrained an immediate abandonment of the command ;
but he announced to congress a fixed determination to
resign, whenever the pending operations were terminated.
While these events were transpiring on the St. Lawrence,
one of the most remarkable adventures of the age was in
progress in another quarter. Washington, in the camp
before Boston, had conceived the idea of a measure, so
daring and terrible, that its execution seemed scarcely
within the compass of human endurance. It was one of
those conceptions, that occasionally burst through the
Fabian policy, which circumstances imposed upon him,
and proved that inherent impulses would have prompted
him to measures of bold enterprise and vigorous action.
He resolved to dispatch a body of one thousand men under
the command of Arnold, who should proceed up the Ken-
nebec river, and, surmounting the hideous wilderness where
its fountains mingled with the waters of the St. Lawrence,
and which had never been traversed save by the Indians
and the mountaineer, should descend by the Chaudiere to
Quebec. With a supreme knowledge of Canadian affairs,
Washington wisely conceived, that wholly unsuspicious of
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 149
danger from this direction all the available troops would
be withdrawn by Carleton from the lower St. Law-
rence to oppose Montgomery, that Quebec would be
unguarded, and that the citizens, favorably disposed to the
American occupation, would, with joy, capitulate. This
plan would have been crowned by complete success, had
not untoward delays been created by the insuperable obsta-
cles that nature interposed. It is not within the range of
our narrative to trace the details of this marvelous exploit,
beyond its connection with the operations of Montgomery.
About the middle of September, Arnold commenced
his wild and adventurous march, and did not reach the
banks of the St. Lawrence until the 9th of November,
more than three weeks later than the day designated in
the original design. No band of heroes have ever sur-
mounted equal perils and suffering with firmer constancy
and resolution. Thirty-two days they were buried in this
desolation of forests and mountains, of rivers, morasses
and lakes. Their progress had been protracted by the
most formidable impediments, struggling amid gloomy
solitudes, cheered by no human countenance, and without
a single aspect of civilization. When thirty miles from
the first Canadian cabin, the last remnant of provision
was exhausted. The pet dogs of the officers, which had
lovingly followed their masters through these perils, h#d
been eaten, with food still more loathsome and repulsive.1
"When at length the expedition reached the settlements
far up on the Chaudiere, it was received with cordiality
and kindness, and the wants of the famishing troops
relieved to the utmost extent permitted by the limited
resources of the people. Here Arnold was constrained to
indulge his army in a brief repose, while he awaited the
gathering of the scattered detachments and dispersed the
forcible and conciliatory proclamation of Washington.
Colonel Enos, who conducted the rear division, consisting
of one-third of the army, after reaching the sources of the
1 Sparks's Life of Arnold.
150 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
Kennebec, was compelled to return by an utter destitution
of subsistence for his troops.
When this array of unknown men, burst into their
seclusion from the pathless wilderness, the simple minded
habitans looked upon them in wonder, mingled with awe.
It almost seemed to them
As if the yawning hills to heaven,
A subterranean host had given.
Rumor spread with wild exaggeration, the report of the
numbers of the invaders. They were represented as terri-
ble in their powers of body, invincible in courage and
cased in iron. These intrepid adventurers stood upon the
shore of the St. Lawrence. Quebec, the prize that was to
have rewarded all their toils and suffering, was in view,
but beyond their grasp.
The letter which had been intercepted by McLean, com-
municated to him the designs of Arnold. The alertness
that secured the presence of the former at Quebec, and the
vigor of his measures, saved the city from capitulation.
Vigilant and experienced, he adopted every expedient to
insure its safety. All the boats he could seize were re-
moved from the eastern shore of the river; sailors to man
the batteries were drawn from the ships in the harbor, and
the defenses of the city generally were reorganized and
strengthened. Had Arnold been able to effect the imme-
diate passage of the St. Lawrence when he reached its
shores, he would have found a universal consternation pre-
vailing, Quebec undefended, and the people disposed to
yield to him the possession of the city. The precautions of
McLean frustrated this measure, the original plan of the
campaign. The prevalence of an impetuous storm and the
delay incident to the collection of means of transportation
caused a detention of four days. Having succeeded in
procuring thirty or forty frail birch canoes, by the assist-
ance of the Canadians, Arnold crossed the river with five
hundred men on the night of the 13th, although the Lizard
frigate and a sloop were lying in front of the city, for the
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 151
purpose of intercepting them, and their guard boats were
continually patrolling the stream. The little flotilla had
made three passages, and as the last party landed, the disco-
very of the movement by one of these, made it unsafe to at-
tempt the crossing of the rear division amounting to one
hundred and fifty men, who remained in the occupation of
Point Levi. Arnold ascended the precipitous cliffs that
Wolfe had rendered memorable, and stopd when the day
dawned, with his little band on the plains of Abraham.
The hope of seizing the city by a surprise was disappointed.
The guard boat had communicated information of the
crossing by the Americans; the city was alarmed, and
McLean alert and prepared to meet an attack.
An assault of a fortified city, guarded by a garrison
of eighteen hundred men with his small party, almost with-
out ammunition, destitute of artillery and a large part of
their guns rendered useless by the exposure of their march,
Arnold saw would be a hopeless and a desperate sacrifice.
The next day, with his usual audacity, he sent a flag sum-
moning the city to surrender, but it was fired upon without
permitting an approach to the walls. He occupied, during
three days, lines in front of the place, and attempted by
various devices to excite a cooperative movement by par-
tisans within the works. These demonstrations secured
no favorable results, and learning that a sortie by the garri-
son was contemplated, while a body of two hundred troops,
which had escaped from Montreal was approaching his
rear, Arnold decided to fall back to Point au Tremble,
twenty miles above, and there to await a junction with
Montgomery.1
1 Much discrepancy will be discovered in the language of historians in
reference to these events. Marshall states that Arnold crossed on the 14th,
that McLean did not arrive at Quebec before Arnold reached the eastern
shore of the St. Lawrence ; that the guard boat neglected to impart intelli-
gence of the crossing, that no apprehension existed of an attack, and had
Arnold been aware of these facts he might have marched through St. John's
gate into the city, unopposed. Botta affirms that a council of naval officers
refused to allow the sailors to land in support of the garrison.
152 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
Arnold with deep chagrin, saw the vessel that conveyed
Carleton to Quebec safely descending the river and to learn
that on his arrival at Point au Tremble, that Carleton had
landed there only an hour or two before.
The troops, whose period of service had terminated,
resisted every appeal to their patriotism and duty urged by
Montgomery, to induce them to remain, and by their per-
sistent determination to assert their legal rights nearly
dissolved his army. After leaving feeble garrisons to main-
tain his different conquests, he joined Arnold on the 1st of
December with a detachment of three hundred men. But
he brought an ample supply of woolen apparel to clothe the
suffering army of Arnold.
On the 5th of December, the combined forces, forming
an aggregate of less than a thousand men, again appeared
before Quebec and renewed the siege. A battery of six
small guns was erected. The frozen ground resisted all
efforts to use it for that purpose, and Montgomery resorted
to the novel expedient of substituting snow for earth, in
the construction of the work, which, saturated with water
and hardened by frost, acquired almost the consistency and
firmness of marble. The guns, mounted on the battery,
proved too light for effective service. Montgomery renewed
the formal summons to surrender, but his flag was again
fired upon and repelled. This unusual action was intended
to interdict communication between the besiegers and
citizens. At first a strong favorable disposition existed
among the people towards the republican interests, but
this feeling had been much modified by the policy of
Carleton, and the alarm excited by an apprehension of the
probable consequence to the town of a hostile occupation.
Darkness aud gloom were gathering around the enter-
prise, but the inflexible spirit of the leaders, sustained by
the enthusiasm of the army, could be subdued by no com-
mon obstacles. The sufferings of the troops in their
exposed condition from the severity of the weather, and
the unremitting toil and fatigue to wliich they were sub-
jected, transcended all that had been imagined of distress*
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. I53
and hardship. These calamitous circumstances were in-
tensely aggravated by the appearance of the small-pox in
the camp. This fell pestilence, then the most dreaded
scourge to armies, raged with peculiar virulence and
fatality, and pursued the troops with an unmitigated
severity until their final return to Ticonderoga.
Montgomery knew that the loftiest expectations had
been inspired by the early successes of the campaign, and
the confidence in his genius and skill. A brilliant enter-
prise, which should shed around a failure a blaze of glory,
would prove less disastrous in its influence upon this
popular enthusiasm, than an inglorious retreat without
an effort. His own fame, and the reputation of the army
demanded a great effort, and he resolved to risk a general
assault upon the city. A council of war approved the
design, and the army, which it was necessary to consult,
after the disaffection of a part of Arnold's command, had
been surmounted by the influence of Morgan, embraced
it with extreme ardor. An assault, although in the high-
est degree perilous and doubtful, was far from desperate.
The very magnitude of the work, occupied by a feeble
garrison, was an element of weakness. The Canadian
levies were known to be disaffected, and the citizens with-
out zeal towards the government. Audacity often wins
where judgment hesitates and calculation fails.
The plan ultimately adopted by Montgomery, contem-
plated two demonstrations against the upper town, by de-
tachments chiefly composed of Canadian recruits and led
by Livingstone and Brown, while the real attack should be
made upon the lower town by Montgomery and Arnold,
assailing it at opposite points. The combined movements
commenced at four o'clock in the morning of the 31st day
of December, 1775. A driving snow storm, impelled by a
fierce north-east gale, enveloped the scene in profound
obscurity. Each commander at the head of the forlorn
hope, led his own column. The vigilance of Carleton was
unslumbering; the batteries were armed, the guns charged
with grape and canister ready to offer the assailants a fear-
154 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
ful reception. Yet, so skillfully had the measures of
Montgomery been conducted, that Carleton knew not
from what direction to expect the impending blow.1 The
Americans advanced with caution and in silence, slowly
groping their way, amid darkness and the tempest. Mont-
gomery assumed to himself the dangerous duty of leading
the column, which was intended to make the assault by a
narrow and obscure pathway that passed between the base
of Cape Diamond, a lofty and inaccessible precipice and the
river St. Lawrence. This defile was defended by a strong
block-house witb palisades extending from the cliffs to the
river. A picket had been constructed a short distance in
advance, which was occupied by a few Canadian soldiers.
At the approach of the assailing party, this guard fled in
alarm and disorder, firing a harmless volley, and communi-
cated their panic to the troops at the block-house, who
also precipitately abandoned their post.
The advance of the Americans was impeded by an
immense and nearly insurmountable barrier of ice, which
at this point had been formed by the surging tide and where
the drifting snow had accumulated. The troops, able
only to advance in single file or individually, were slowly
and with excessive difficulty surmounting these obstacles,
while Montgomery was aiding with his own hands in
removing the palisades. He halted sufficiently to be
joined by about two hundred of his followers, and boldly
advancing, shouted : " Men of New York, you will not
fear to follow where your general leads." At this moment
a single cannouier, tradition states a drunken sailor,2
returned to the battery, and, seizing an unextinguished
match, discharged one of the pieces. The storm of grape
swept along the narrow passage with frightful destruction.
Every man in the advance, except a Canadian guide and
Aaron Burr, a youth of nineteen who had joined Arnold
as a volunteer, was stricken down.3 Montgomery, pierced
by a ball through the head, and both legs lacerated by
1 Carleton's letter. ' SUUman's Journal. 3 Palmer's Champlain.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. J 55
another, fell dying into the arms of Burr. Cheeseman
and McPherson, the aids of Montgomery, both fell at the
side of their commander. That single explosion was fatal
to the enterprise. The fall of their leader crushed the
spirit of the troops. Colonel Campbell, who succeeded to
the command of the column on the fall of Montgomery,
hastily retired and abandoned the assault without further
effort.
The operations of Livingstone and Brown were defeated
by the furious tempest, and they necessarily failed in effect-
ing the diversion contemplated by the plan of attack.
Arnold, marching promptly at the concerted signal, ap-
proached in silence along the St. Charles, moviug through
St. Roques street toward the Saut au Matelots. At this
point a battery of two twelve-pounders had been con-
structed. This barrier could only be approached by a path
which, at that time, obstructed by an enormous mass of
snow and ice, afforded only a deep and narrow passage of
the breadth of a single track. The difficult defile might
be raked by the guns of the battery and swept by the mus-
ketry from the walls and pickets of the garrison ; but it fur-
nished the only avenue by which the Americans could
advance to the assault. Arnold rushed along this terrible
gorge at the head of Lamb's Artillery Company, with a sin-
gle field-piece mounted upon a sled. It became impossible
to move the gun through the pass, and it served only to ob-
struct the path and to impede the passage of the troops. The
main body closely followed the artillery, preceded by Mor-
gan's riflemen. An alarm was soon sounded, aud a severe
fire of grape and musketry opened upon the assailants.
As Arnold, leading with the most daring intrepidity, ap-
proached the battery, he was prostrated, by a ball that
shattered his leg, and borne from the field. Morgan, the
future victor at the Cowpens, succeeded to the command
and assailed the battery with irresistible impetuosity.
Receiving the fire of one gun almost at its mouth, and while
his riflemen fired upon the defenders through the embra-
sures, the barricade was scaled by ladders carried on the
156 HISTOBY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
shoulders of his men. The battery and the guns, with most
of the guards, were captured. Morgan was the second man
who crossed the barricade. His gallant sergeant, Charles
Porterfield of Virginia, afterwards a lieutenant-colonel
and slain at Camden, was the first.
Notwithstanding this success, the situation of Morgan
was in the highest degree critical. He was alone with his
own company, and a few bold individuals who had pressed
to the front; all the efforts of Lamb to advance his gun
were ineffectual. Morgan had no guides, was ignorant
of the formation of the city, and without intelligence of
the cooperative movements. The soldiers were oppressed
by the cold ; icicles covered their clothes ; they were be-
wildered by the intense darkness and the raging of the
storm. A temporary pause was necessary, and Morgan
returned to the barrier. Here he succeeded, with the
active aid of Colonel Green and Major Bigelow and Meigs,
in assembling a body of about two hundred men. When
the appearance of light revealed the aspect of affairs, the
spirit and confidence of the troops were reanimated, and
with a united voice, they called on Morgan to lead against
the second battery, which was near, but disguised by an
angle of the street. Morgan, placing himself at their head,
and animating them by his voice, pealing above the howl-
ing of the tempest and the din of battle, rapidly advanced.
Passing the angle, he was confronted by a body of troops,
commanded by Captain Anderson, who called on him to
surrender. Morgan instantly shot him dead, and the
Americans rushing onward planted their ladders against
the barricade, under a galling fire as well from the win-
dows of the adjacent houses, as from the works. A san-
guinary conflict ensued, and a few of the most resolute of
Morgan's little band mounted the ladders, but when they
reached the top of the parapet, an obstacle was revealed
calculated to appall the stoutest heart. Two lines of
British troops stood on the opposite side ; the butts of
their muskets resting upon the ground and the bayonets
pointed to the summit of the barricade, formed an impene-
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 157
trable abatis of steel. Part of the Americans retreated into
the stone houses which lined the narrow street, securing
shelter both from the elements and the furious tire to
which they had been exposed, while from the window
they were able to assail the enemy. One circumstance
which was peculiarly depressing, greatly impaired the
efficiency of the riflemen. Although the precaution had
been observed of binding a handkerchief about the lock
of each gun, not one in ten had been effectually protected
from the storm, and was fit for service.
The failure of the assault upon the other parts of the
town empowered Carleton to hurl the whole force of the
garrison against this single column. Dearborn, who held
with a company in reserve the entrance of the gorge at
the St. Roche gate, had been already surprised and com-
pelled to surrender, and that avenue of retreat was there-
fore in possession of the enemy. Morgan, with the
concurrence of the officers who survived, determined to
burst through every obstruction, and to effect an escape;
but when the attempt was made to collect the troops and
animate them to the effort, overwhelmed by the cold,
oppressed by a conviction of their desperate situation, and
intimidated by the deadly fire to which they had been
exposed in the street, they shrunk from the undertaking,
and the bold proposition was abandoned. Compelled to
relinquish this purpose, Morgan determined to maintain
his position in the faint hope of receiving succor from the
other detachments. Attacked, however, by a foe whose
strength was increasing every moment, in front and rear,
and by a still more destructive fire from the windows,
Morgan, after contending for several hours with the utmost
skill and gallantry against all these adverse circumstances,
was at length constrained to capitulate. Thus disastrously
terminated a daring and energetic enterprise, in which the
Americans lost, including sixty killed and wounded, about
four hundred men. The valor and ability of the defense
exhibited by Carleton were not more conspicuous than the
generous humanity of the conqueror. The prisoners were
158 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
treated with kindness; the wounded cared for in the hos-
pitals, and the dead interred.
The body of Montgomery, lying in a guard house with
thirteen corpses of his brave followers, which had been ex-
humed from the snowdrift that had formed to them a com-
mon sepulchre, was recognized by an American officer and
consigned to the care of an old companion in arms, and
was reverently buried near the ramparts of the city. The
loss of hisgreat military talent and acquirements, and the in-
fluence of his social and intellectual eminence was irreparable.
The death of Montgomery was deplored not only by his
own countrymen, but in every clime where the love of liberty
was cherished. Even in the British parliament, the loftiest
eloquence pronounced his eulogium, and Barre, and Burke,
and Fox, ascribed to his deeds and character the exalted
virtues which adorn the names of the noblest heroes and
patriots of antiquity. Lord North, while denouncing the
course of Montgomery, and reprehending these tributes to
his worth, pointed and enforced the panegyric, when he ex-
claimed in the language of the poet :
Curse his virtues, for they have undone his country.
It was a fit and beatiuful coincidence that this youthful hero,
for he had not attained his fortieth year, the pupil of Wolfe,
a disciple of the glory and spirit of Montcalm, should have
fallen on this consecrated ground.1
The body of Montgomery reposed for almost half a
century in the grave where it had been deposited by a
generous enemy; but in the year 1818, the executive of
New York claimed the sacred deposit for removal to the
state of Montgomery's adoption, and the governor-general
of Canada gracefully acceded to the request. The remains
of Montgomery were borne through the country, accom-
panied by every exhibition of love and reverence. A
single day they lay in state, in the rotunda of the Capitol
at Albany, and thousands of a grateful posterity visited
1 Botta's Graham.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 159
them, rendering the homage of gratitude and veneration.
His final obsequies were performed in New York in all
the imposing solemnities of civil and military rites. His
relics were buried in a grave near the monument erected
at an early period, by congress, to his memory, in St Paul's
church-yard.
He left no children to bear the heritage of his glorious
name, but his widow survived to an extreme old age,
an object of respect and interest as the relict of Mont-
gomery.
CHAPTER X.
The Retreat from Canada.
Arnold succeeded to the command upon the death of
Montgomery, and was compelled by the exigencies with
which he was surrounded to convert the siege into a block-
ade. In the judicious policy of Carleton he was left undis-
turbed, although inflicting severe suffering upon the town
and garrison. The troops had become insubordinate, the
Canadian people disappointed and harassed, and stimulated
by the potent influence of the rural priests, who refused the
last consolations of religion to those who adhered to the
Americans, had assumed a hostile attitude, while the
American army was oppressed by disease and exposure.
M. Beaujeu, an influential and intrepid Canadian, had
organized a hostile corps; but this, by a sudden and vigorous
attack of Arnold, were broken up and dispersed. At length,
baffled in various attempts to effect a surprise of the city,
Arnold erected batteries and assaulted the city and shipping
by shells and hot shot ; but all their efforts were defeated
by the skill and prudence of Carleton.
On the 1st of May, Arnold was superseded by the arri-
val of General Thomas, who assumed the command.
Arnold, always impracticable in a subordinate position, was
early involved in dissensions with his superior, and severe
1(30 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
injury affording the pretext, be was transferred from the
active duties of the field to the command at Montreal. Iu
that position so favorable to the exercise of his worst pas-
sions, he revealed the cupidity and rapaciousness, which in
after years, and on another stage deformed and debauched
his whole character.
My limits restrain me from tracing the narrative of the
republican army in its retreat. Its extreme necessities, its
endurance from the fell scourge that pursued it, the ineffi-
ciency that demoralized its strength and its inadequacy to
resist a more powerful enemy, have afforded thrilling pages
to general history.
On the fifth of May, the hesitating councils of the
American general were decided by the arrival of three
British ships, the precursors of a large fleet, which with
infinite peril and hardihood had braved the tempests of the
gulf, and, pressing up the river amid storms of snow and vast
ice fields, had effected the passage for earlier than usual.
The reenforcements and supplies they conveyed were
immediately landed. The retreat of the American army
was at once commenced, and with a precipitation that con-
strained the abandonment of most of its sick and wounded,
and all its military stores. At Sorell, Thomas died of the
prevailing epidemic, and was succeeded by General Sullivan,
who conducted the movements of the retreating army with
a consummate ability that evoked the highest encomium of
the country and the formal recognition of congress.
The treatment by Carleton, of the sick and wounded
Americans, who, wandering from the line of march, had
been concealed and cherished by the characteristic chari-
ties and kindness of the Canadian people was signalized
by an exalted clemency and generous benignity. Wise
policy may have suggested these beneficent acts, but it
were unjust to withhold the recognition of deeds of mercy
so habitual, and not to concede that they may have had
their inspiration in purer and more exalted emotions.
The calamities which marked this retreat were deeply
intensified by a repulse at Three Rivers, and the san-
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 161
guinarv catastrophe at the Cedars. After these reverses,
Sullivan pressed his retreat to the Isle aux Xoix, slowly
and defiantly receding before Burgoyne, while Arnold
was narrowly escaping by extreme energy and prompti-
tude, another column directed upon Montreal to intercept
his escape.
Sullivan dismantled the works he had occupied, and
burnt or destroyed every craft that he did not remove in
the conveyance of his own army and stores. The sick and
wounded were first transported to Crown point, and were
immediately followed by the troops. The suffering of the
former was scarcely paralleled by the endurance and dis-
tress of any scenes of that war, so replete with sacrifices and
hardships. They were necessarily placed in open and
leaky boats, drenched continually with water and exposed
to the burning rays of the summer's sun, with no food but
raw and rancid pork and hard biscuit.1
"While at St. Johns, Arnold caused the frame of a vessel
on the stocks at that place to be taken to pieces, carefully
numbered and marked, and transported to Crown point.
He superintended, with indefatigable vigor and activity,
the embarkation of the army on its retreat to Isle aux
Xoix. Colonel Warner, with the Vermont regiment,
formed the rear, and collecting most of the sick and
wounded, effected a safe retreat, rejoining the army some
days after the main body had arrived at Ticonderoga.
The operations of war are always in their result preemi-
nently influenced by fortune and accident. The American
campaigns in Canada singularly illustrate this maxim.
An elegant and philosophical historian with great force
remarks, that although the direct results contemplated
in the invasion of Canada were not achieved, the measure
exerted a powerful influence upon the issue of the war,
by compelling England to adopt the policy of dividing
her armies in isolated attacks, when their united strength
1 Palmer's Champlain.
11
162 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
would have been irresistible, and probably subversive of
the republican cause.1
The Canadians, whose overt adherence to the invaders
compromised their relations with the British government,
were pursued with a severe retribution. Large numbers
followed the American army in its retreat; those who
remained were hunted down with a stern severity ; many
were tried and convicted of rebellion, and several, imme-
diately after the repulse at Quebec, were executed.2 Soon
after the termination of the war of independence, the state
of New York devoted a large and valuable tract of land in
the county of Clinton, designated the Canadian and Nova
Scotia refugee tract, for the relief and indemnification of
these sufferers ; but a large proportion of the grant was
either not accepted or forfeited by the grantees, or lost by
obstacles interposed by corrupt and designing speculators.3
"When the retreating army reached Crown point, its muster
roll indicated a force of five thousand men, but more than
half of the number were prostrated by disease, and chiefly
by the terrible scourge, that desolated it like the sword of
the destroying angel. The troops remained at that post
ten days, and during that time, most of them were lying
in the agony of their suffering, with no protection from
the rain and storms, except open huts or frail coverings,
formed by pine bowers, and destitute of almost every
comfort and even the most common necessaries due to
the sick and dying. The dead and the dying were exposed
together, without any discrimination, in all these wretched
receptacles of woe and charnel houses of death. In this
brief period in the pause of its retreat, three hundred new-
made graves arose as sad memorials of the sacrifices of
this devoted army. Happily the judicious prescience of
Sullivau had spread an ample shield of protection between
its helpnessness and the assaults of the foe.
1Boat. a Tryon to Earl of Dartmouth, Doc, vrri, 663.
3 Land Papers, Secretary of State's Office, vol. xlvii, 126-172.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 163
"When the British commander arrived upon the waters
of Champlain, he found farther pursuit imperatively ar-
rested, until a new fleet and fresh means of transportation
could be organized. The important and decisive struggle
now arose to secure the naval supremacy upon the lake.
To attain this object Carleton directed all his energies
and resources. He caused six vessels of a large class,
which had been constructed in England, to be taken apart
below the Chambly rapids, conveyed in pieces to St.
Johns, and there rebuilt with the utmost celerity. Bateaux,
with incredible labor, were made to ascend the rapids, and
boats and transports of various dimensions were constructed
in the navigable waters of the Sorel. By such vigor-
ous measures, Carleton succeeded in creating a fleet of
thirty-one vessels, ranging in their armament from one to
eighteen guns, and on the 1st of October was prepared to
appear upon the lake. This formidable fleet was navigated
by seven hundred veteran seamen, and armed in addition
by an efficient corps of artillery.
Congress had been equally alert and energetic, but with
means totally inadequate to the magnitude of the issue.
The timber required for the construction of a fleet was yet
standing in the forest, and was to be cut, prepared, and con-
veyed by human labor to the shipyards at Ticonderoga and'
Crown point. The material for its equipment must be
transported a long distance over roads, nearly impractica-
ble. The ship carpenters, who must construct the vessels,
were occupied by urgent duties in the yards upon the sea
coast. Amid all these adverse circumstances, the indomi-
table energies of Arnold formed and equipped a squadron
of fifteen vessels, bearing an aggregate battery of fifty-five
guns, and armed by three hundred and fifty gallant and
determined men, who had, however, little or no experience
in naval affairs. The great exigency invoked courage and
sacrifices ; and, notwithstanding this vast disparity of
strength, Arnold decided boldly to throw himself across the
path of the advancing enemy.
164 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
"While the belligerents were thus sedulously laboring
at the opposite extremities of the lake to attain the
momentous design that prompted each, Arnold cruised
with a few small vessels in undisputed ascendancy upon its
waters. For a short space we will pause in the narrative
of public events and recur to the domestic history of the
colony on the Boquet. Amid the eventful scenes, which
surrounded it, the settlement had not escaped the tempests
which were raging along the lake. Mr. Gilliland early
espoused the patriotic cause, and in concert with men of
congenial sentiments, a military organization, embracing
both sides of the lake, had been formed immediately after
the capture of Ticonderoga. His zeal and activity marked
him as a victim to be pursued by the special vengeance of
the government. He enjoyed, with a few other patriots,
the high distinction of being by name proscribed and out-
lawed. A proclamation was issued by the governor of
Canada in June succeeding the surrender of the Champlain
fortresses, offering a reward of five hundred dollars for the
arrest and rendition of Gilliland to the government. The
allurements of this reward overcame the patriotism and
fidelity of some of his tenants, who engaged in unsuccessful
attempts to seize and convey him to Canada. Abortive
efforts were made to seduce his household slaves into
schemes for his betrayal. Various other attempts were
made to effect his capture, and the most formidable one
was nearly accomplished, by a sheriff of Try on county, who
penetrated into the settlement " with four tories and three
savages." With great adroitness, Gilliland not only
escaped the peril, but succeeded in effecting the surprise
" and capture of the whole party with all their arms, and
sent them prisoners to Crown point."
Gilliland, with his family, withdrew to the vicinity of
Crown point, but returned, with part of his tenants, to
secure their harvests, and to remove and secrete their
property. Ponderous articles were buried or sunk in the
lake. Many families, homeless and destitute, embracing
Caiieton's offers of amnesty, joined the British forces, and
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 165
iu a few cases, adopted the interests of England. Much
valuable property, thus secreted, was, by the agency of
these loyalists, exposed to the British officials, and seized
and confiscated. Earlier than these final disasters, strange
and unexpected trials gathered about the path of Gilli-
land, accumulating additional cares and anxieties. The
perils and exigencies of the times demanded the most
active vigilance, and often subjected the patriotic to unjust
suspicions and uu worthy surveillance. Although the pa-
triotism of Gilliland had been the most zealous, and mani-
fested by such efficient services, he was not exempt from
the consequences of these jealousies. The acts of the
tenants, whose defection we have noticed, and over
whom he was supposed to exercise an absolute control,
reflected upon him suspicion. Formal charges were pre-
ferred against him by Colonel Hartley, in July,1 but
these imputations seem to have been satisfactorily ex-
plained.2
This difficulty could scarcely have been composed, when
an incident transpired that involved far more serious and
enduriug consequences. While Arnold was cruising on
the lake, as we have already mentioned, the soldiers and
sailors, attached to the fleet, were permitted to land at the
plantations of Gilliland, and in the " most impudent and
licentious manner," committed destructive ravages upon his
own, and the crops and property of his tenants. These
acts, Gilliland evidently believed, were perpetrated with
Arnold's complicity, and yet on the 1st of September, he
addressed to Arnold a letter on the subject, clothed with
the most courteous and respectful language. He earnestly
complained of the depredations, and submitted a statement
of the crops and property that had been seized and conveyed
away.3 The amount was not only in itself considerable,
but at the time and under tbe circumstances, the losses
could not be retrieved. A month elapsed, and Arnold
had returned no response, while it seems the outrages were
1 American Archives, 5th series, i, 564. a Idem. 3 Idem, n, 102.
166 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
continued. Gilliland, always impetuous and resolute, and
revolting at injustice, appealed to General Gates. The let-
ter of Gilliland was then communicated to the commander-
in-chief, accompanied with charges by Arnold against
Gilliland, of disloyalty and fraud upon the government.
The frivolous and malignant character of these charges
are apparent from the documents themselves.1 Gilliland,
in his remarkable memorial to congress, alleges, " that
Arnold sent a party of soldiers to tear your memorialist
from his property, dignifying him with an officer for a com-
mander, whose rank was so high as a sergeant, with pri-
vate orders not to allow him to remove any of his property."
In this manner Gilliland was conducted a prisoner to head-
quarters, but no evidence exists that further proceedings
were prosecuted on these charges against him, and from
the letter from Gates to Arnold, it appears that he was
dismissed.2
In another part of the same memorial which was addressed
to Congress in 1777, Gilliland bursts into a magnificent
and scourging invective of Arnold, which, if it were the
only memorial we possess of the moral aud intellectual
qualities of Gilliland, would stamp him a man of extraordi-
nary character. Arnold, when this denunciation was utter-
ed, was in the zenith of his fame and influence, yet Gilliland
boldly proclaimed before the highest tribunal of the nation
his rapacity and perversion of power, and almost animated
by the spirit of prophecy delineates his character with a
fearless and unfaltering hand as striking as is the eloquence
and vehemence of his language. He exclaims after glancing
at his own services and losses and describing his arrest:
" Gen. Arnold is your servant; all the power and authority
he has is derived from you and that has enabled him to
commit the acts of tyranny and outrage upon your memorial-
1 American Archives, n, 592. All the documents bearing on this affair are
collected in The Pioneer History of the Champlain Valley, pages 56 to 68,
where the subject is fully examined and discussed.
9 Idem, ii, 847.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 167
ist and others, whose complaints have been laid before you.
It is not in mine, but it is in your power to bring him to
justice. Bursting with pride and intoxicated with power
to which he ought to have been a stranger, but which he has
had the art to obtain from you, he tyrannizes when he can. If
temerity, if rashness, imprudence, and error can recommend
him to you, he is allowed to be amply supplied with these
qualities, and many people think, they ought to recommend
him in a peculiar manner to Lord North, who, in gratitude
for his having done more injury to the American cause
than all the ministerial troops have the power of doing,
ought to reward him with agenerous pension."
Carleton had been employed during this short period of
repose, with extraordinary energy in constructing a fleet
and organizing a powerful laud force. The forts at St.
Johns and Isle aux Noix were repaired and strengthened,
and an army of seven thousand veteran troops, assembled
at those points, was ready to advance against the colonies,
the moment the ascendancy on the lake should be secured.
Towards the middle of October, Carleton left his station with
a fleet, which at that epoch, would have been esteemed re-
spectable and even formidable in European seas. It con-
sisted of the Inflexible, mounting eighteen guns ; the Maria
of fourteen guns ; Carleton of twelve guns; heavy radeau ;
several gondolas and twenty gun-boats and long-boats
armed in the efficient manner we have described. The
naval supervision was confided to Captain Pringle, an officer
attached to the royal navy and of great experience. Carle-
ton accompanied the fleet, and controlled and guided its
operations. Arnold, who had occupied with a part of his
fleet a position at the lower extremity of the lake, retired
on the approach of Carleton, and sought a"nd moored his
vessels in a secluded cove on the western shore of Valcour
island, situated between the mouths of the Saranac and
Au Sable rivers. The fleet collected at this place in-
cluded the sloop Enterprise, mounting ten guns ; the schoon-
ers Royal Savage, twelve guns, and Revenge, eight guns ;
three galleys, carrying each eight guns; and eight gondolas,
168 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
each mounting eight guns. The fleet consisted of fifteen
vessels bearing an armament of eighty-four guns. The
disparity between the two fleets in the number of guns and
weight of metal was very decided, but less unfavorable to
the Americans than the materials that formed the respect-
ive crews. While the British vessels were manned by ve-
teran seamen and gunners, the crews of Arnold were wholly
raw and unpracticed, man}* of them drafts from the regi-
ment at Ticonderoga, and " few of them had ever been wet
with saltwater."1 Butthe motley crews of Arnold had been
drilled during the short period of their naval service, at
the guns and in other duties, with the utmost care and as-
siduity, and were animated by the loftiest heroism.
The position selected by Arnold afforded almost a per-
fect concealment to his fleet, from the observation of
vessels passing up the lake by the usual track, which
was through the centre of the lake, and east of Yalcour.
We are left to mere conjecture, as to the motives of Arnold,
which prompted this manoeuvre. Possibly, he may have
designed, when the British vessels had passed up the lake
in an illusory pursuit of the American fleet, to strike some
audacious blow in their rear, suggested by his bold and
fertile mind. The cove in which the American vessels
were lying, was directly opposite the dwelling of a settler
named Hays, situated on the mainland. With this
family, Arnold had formed intimate relations, and ar-
ranged with them to present a signal when they dis-
cerned the approach of the enemy. Pringle, on the 11th
of October, had advanced beyond Valcour to the south,
before he became aware of the position of Arnold. His
course was immediately changed, in order to reach the
American flee't ; but the purpose was frustrated by the
direction of the wind. The British gun-boats, however,
soon after supported by the Carleton, were able to ap-
proach so near as to commence an attack. Arnold mean-
while had arranged his vessels in a line across the narrow
1 Arnold to Gates.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 169
strait between Valcour to the mainland. The Royal
Savage, with three galleys, advanced in front of the Ame-
rican lines, and was engaged for some time in a sharp
conflict with a part of the enemy's fleet. The schooner
was severely crippled, and in attempting to fall back,
grounded upon a point of land near the south end of
Valcour, was abandoned by her crew, and during the
night burnt by the British. The papers and wardrobe of
Arnold were lost on board of this vessel.1
The engagement immediately involved the whole Ame-
rican fleet, and commencing a little after meridian was
maintained more than four hours with unfaltering ardor
and resolution. Arnold was on board the galley Congress,
and fought with his characteristic impetuosity, pointing
almost every gun himself, and inspiring the conduct of the
crew by his example and voice. Waterbury, in the galley
"Washington, and Wigglesworth on board the Trumbull,
emulated the spirit of Arnold. Waterbury, at the close of
the action, was the only officer on the Washington capable
of duty, and most of the other vessels suffered with equal
severity. The gondola, Philadelphia, sank soon after the
engagement. A body of Indians was landed on the
island, and maintained a constant but ineffective fire upon
the American vessels. Another body of the savages lay in
ambush on the mainland prepared to seize any of the
crews of Arnold's fleet, who might attempt to escape.
The damages inflicted upon the British vessels engaged
were also extremely heavy. Two gondolas were sunk,
and another blown up in the engagement, with the loss,
1 This circumstance has proved the prolific source of popular speculation
in reference to the contents of the vessel. Forgetting the extreme poverty
of the Continental congress at that epoch, innumerable attempts have been
made to secure the treasures she was supposed to have been freighted with.
Efforts have been made to raise the wreck, and skillful divers have examined
her cabin and hold. She was scarcely submerged eight feet in low water,
and was distinctly visible. " During the prevalence of remarkably low
water in the summer of 1868, Captain George Conn anchored his vessel
above the wreck and with grappling irons succeeded in wrenching several
large pieces of oak plank from its sides. Tbe wood is as black as ebony
170 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
as Arnold reported, of sixty men.1 Pringle, having been
disappointed in his efforts to bring his larger vessels into
the action, at 5 o'clock p. m., withdrew those engaged, and
formed a close line beyond the range of the American
guns, stretching from Garden island towards the western
shore of the lake. It was his intention to renew the attack
in the morning.2
Although no body of men have ever exhibited in any
naval battle higher traits of zeal and resolution, it was
evident to the American officers that resistance to the
united strength of the British fleet would be hopeless and
unavailing. Arnold adopted the prompt and daring deter-
mination to attempt an escape, and to seek protection
beneath the guns of Crown point. As soon as the darkness
secured concealment to the movement, the American fleet
commenced its perilous operation. The Trumbull led,
followed by the other vessels in a single line. Each vessel
carried at her stern a light, to guide the one that followed
her. The fleet, silently and unmolested, passed around
the north end of Valcour and early in the morning reached
Schuyler's island, a distance of nine miles. -At this place,
the shattered condition of the vessels compelled Arnold
to lay to and repair. Two of the gondolas were here
abandoned and sunk. With the remnant of the fleet he
again sailed in the hope of reaching Crown point, but the
wind had veered into the south, and baffled his design.
and almost as heavy. — Plattsburgh Republican. It is represented, that
the bottom of the lake in the vicinity is strewn with balls and bullets, the
latter white and glistening by the attrition of the sand. Many interesting
relics, among them a bursted cannon, have been raised and preserved from
this wreck.
1 Arnold to Schuyler, Oct. 15th.
2 This picturesque island lies about one-fourth of a mile south of Valcour,
and in the legends of the lake is an object of considerable interest. It is
circular in form, with steep rocky shores, which, it is represented, renders
it inaccessible except at one point. It embraces half an acre of land, and
tradition asserts that its name is derived from the fact that it was cultivated
first by the French and afterwards by the English officers stationed upon
the lake, as a garden. Until recently, it is stated by those who have visited
the spot, that garden-beds and other artificial arrangement might readily
be traced on the surface.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 171
The first dawn of light revealed the escape of the Ame-
rican fleet to the vigilant foe, and an instant pursuit ensued.
A naked and solitary rock, standing in the midst of the lake,
immediately east of Valcour, and then shrouded in the mist
of an autumnal morning, it is the general received tradition,
was mistaken for an American vessel, and a cannonade
directed against it. The rocky islet is still known as
Carleton's prize. While the progress of Arnold was re-
tarded by a light and contrary wind, a breeze from the
north-east which was first felt by the British, aided in the
pursuit, by their fresh ships, of the disabled American fleet.
The Washington, more shattered than any other of the
fleet, was overtaken near Split rock, and, after receiving a
few broadsides, surrendered. Four vessels, including a
gondola, escaped in safety to Crown point. One galley was
blown up by her commander. A single gondola, beside
the Washington, was the only trophy secured by the
enemy. After the capture of the Washington by the
Maria and Inflexible, those ships aided the Carleton in a
combined attack upon Arnold's vessel, the galley Congress.
He maintained during a running fight of four hours a
spirited contest, enveloped by this irresistible superiority of
force, and when he could no longer hope for success or
escape, with sails and hull of the galley torn and shattered,
he ran her, accompanied by four gondolas, ashore on the
beach at Panton, Vermont. The crews he ordered to wade
or swim to the shore and armed with muskets arrest the
approach of the enemy's small boats, while he remained
upon the galley the last man, and until the conflagration
had advanced too far to be extinguished. The flags were
not lowered, but were consumed and the whole flotilla
wrapped in flames.1 Their charred and blackened wrecks
remained upon the beach at Panton,2 monuments of his
gallantry and patriotism, long after other deeds had con-
1 Sp arks' s Life of Arnold.
2 The remains of these wrecks are still visible, and within a few years
interesting relics have been recovered. I have in niy own possession, bullets
which were taken from them.
172 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
signed the name of Arnold to ignominy. Arnold, when
he had witnessed the successful destruction of the vessels,
led their crews rapidly through the wilderness to Crown
point, and by the activity of his movement escaped an
Indian force, which was pursuing him.
The killed and wounded of the Americans in both
engagements, were about ninety, and the loss of the
British, including those involved in the explosion, was
nearly the same. The conduct of Arnold and his sub-
ordinates, alike in fighting and manceuvering the fleet,
and the unsurpassed bravery of the crews, extorted the
highest admiration of their conquerors, and although their
heroism had been unavailing, aroused the warmest enthu-
siasm and exultation of their countrymen. Carleton, after
securing the victory, manifested his wonted clemency and
conciliation. The wounded Americans received the most
tender care of his own surgeons ; to the prisoners he
expressed the warmest encomiums upon their intrepidity,
with regrets that it was expended in an evil and desperate
cause; he relieved their wants and dismissed them on
parole. This humane and politic deportment impressed
and won the regard and gratitude of these men to an
extent that rendered their communications with the army
unsafe, and without being permittted to land at the forts,
they were at once sent into the interior.1
The British forces, immediately after the success of the
fleet, had opened the pathway of the lake, commenced
1 1 think the version I have given in the text, although not in accordance
with the common impression, is warranted by the facts as they appear in
documents, and which were corroborated by the information I have person-
ally derived from those who were familiar with the occurrences of that
era. Mr. Palmer, in his History of Lake Ghamplain, adopts the same view.
The circumstances connected with the Hays family were communicated
to me by Mrs. Elmore, a daughter of Mr. Hays, who has deceased within
a few years at a venerable age. She was an infant in her mother's arms at
the time of the engagement. The signal mentioned according to the tradi-
tion in her family, was a sheet displayed from a window. While the battle
raged, Mrs. Hays carrying her infant, went to a spring in a ravine near
the lake, which was then mantled by a dense thicket. To her unutterable
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 173
their advance. General Gates, who was in the immediate
command of the American troops in that department, had
augmented, by every expedient, the strength and efficiency
of the works at Ticonderoga. The army embraced from
eight to ten thousand men. On the approach of Carleton,
Crown point was evacuated by the small detachment by
which it had been occupied, and the British general, on
the 14th of October, took possession of that important
post without opposition. He remained in the occupation
of the fort, which he diligently fortified, as well as the
works at Chimney point, until the 3d of November. The
interval was employed in either feigned or real preparation
for the attack of Ticonderoga. Cautious and thorough
examination revealed so great strength in the lines and
fort, and such perfect arrangement to meet an assault, that
Carleton was constrained to abandon the design, and
retired into Canada for winter quarters. This decision
was eminently judicious. The precautions of "Washington
had caused all the cattle and horses, which might afford
food or means of transportation, to be removed from the
reach of the enemy ; Carleton felt that the vicinity of a
formidable American army, animated by extreme ardor,
would be eminently hazardous to his exposed and isolated
position, while the interrupted or suspended navigation
during the winter would virtually cut oft' all intercourse
with Canada. Upon such considerations he adopted the
policy of retreating, which subjected him to severe and
unjust strictures. When the approach of Carleton was
Surprise and terror, she found herself in the midst of a large body of Indians
hideous by their war paint and savage costume, and armed with guns and
tomahawks. The mother, agitated and alarmed at her helpless condition,
and frantically clasping the child to her breast, wept bitterly. An aged
chief, she judged from his appearance, approached, and unable to communi-
cate consolation or an assurance of safety by language, manifested his pur-
pose of protecting her by gently and in a soothing manner wiping away
her tears with the skirt of his shirt. Neither the mother nor child was mo-
lested. The motive of the ambush was doubtless that assigned in the text ;
but I infer from this account, that no attack on the fleet was made by the
Indians from the mainland.
174 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
apprehended, Gates had made an earnest appeal, through
Colonel Warner, to Vermont for support in both men and
provisions. This appeal was responded to with great
promptness and efficiency. Flour and grain were imme-
diately transmitted, while, with equal alacrity, two regi-
ments marched to reenforce Ticonderoga. When Carleton
retreated, these troops were discharged, with warm
acknowledgments for their " spirit and alertness " by
Gates, in an official document addressed to their com-
manders.
CHAPTER XL
The Invasion, 1777-1782.
The energies of England had been occupied more than
a year in the organization of a large and perfectly equipped
army in Canada, with the design of hurling an irresistible
force upon the insurgent colonies. Burgoyne, who had
attained a high European reputation, succeeded Carleton
in the command of this army. The wise and generous
qualities of the latter had suggested measures, not in ac-
cordance with the policy of the administration. The corps
destined to this service were assembled at St. Johns and
Isle aux Noix, and consisted of various British and German
regiments, aggregating more than seven thousand effective
troops, besides Canadian irregulars and the hordes of sa-
vages, that had been summoned and were expected to join
the British standard. A magnificent park of artillery and
an ample supply of munitions augmented its efficiency.
The officers who led this array under the commander-in-
chief, were skillful and experienced, and vast expectations
had been formed of the results of the expedition. The
Hessians, a general term applied to all the German merce-
naries, were at first objects of extreme terror aud solicitude
to the American people. Clothed in uncommon vestures,
speaking a harsh and strange language, with manners rude
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 175
and severe, rumor imputed to them a character the most
ferocious and cruel. But grown familiar with these new
enemies, the people overcame this dread, -and regarding
them as the hirelings of tyranny purchased of German
despots, to trample down American liberty, they animated
hatred and excited disgust, while their presence tended to
stimulate enthusiasm and to confirm every purpose of re-
sistance. Generals Phillips, Frazer, Powell and Hamilton
commanded the British troops, and Riedesel and Specht
the German auxiliaries. Early in June, 1777, this brilliant
army moved from St. Johns in boats, and arrived on the
banks of the Boquet and took position at the deserted
settlement of Gilliland, which had been designated by
Burgoyne as the place of junction with his Indian
allies. He paused here ten days, which were employed in
a reconnaissance of Ticonderoga in reorganizing his forces
and in drilling the boatmen on the estuary of the river in
the evolutions incident to their duties upon the waters of
the lake, and possibly in the visions of hope upon those of
the Hudson.1
On the 21st, Burgoyne held his celebrated treaty with
the Indian tribes. The summons of the Brilish com-
mander, was responded to in far greater numbers, than he
had either expected or desired. A redoubt which had been
erected on an eminence below the village and impending
over the river was signalized by this picturesque and im-
pressive spectacle. The operations of agriculture have
now obliterated all vestiges of this work, although until
recently its lines could be distinctly traced. These hordes
were addressed by B u rgoyne in a speech intended professedly
to restrain their ferocity, but calculated by its influence to
inflame their savage passions. A war chief of the Iroquois
replied with equal vehemence, pledging the tribes to a
zealous warfare against the foes of England. A feast was
held, a war dance celebrated, and the merciless savages
were let loose upon the colonies.
1 0. F. Sheldon's Manuscript.
176 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
The speech of Burgoyne at the Boquet and his subse-
quent proclamation from Putnam's creek, which was
regarded as an exposition of the actual purpose of this
Indian treaty, aroused a wide attention. The formal and
recognized employment of the savages, and the direction
of the tomahawk and scalping knife against a people, kin-
dred in language, in religion and civilization, revolted the
moral sentiment of the Christian world, and evoked the
severest denunciations in the British parliament. No
measure, not even the subsidizing of the Hessian, so fully
harmonized the popular heart of America and precipi-
tated with such perfect union, the infuriated yeomanry of
New England upon the British entrenchments at Saratoga
and Bennington. Burgoyne, as the instrument of this
ruthless warfare, was in America the object of universal
detestation.
Forgetting the character of his auditors, Burgoyne, in
well chosen and Sonorous periods, expatiated on mercy
and forbearance; explained the nice distinctions between
enemies in the field, and the unarmed and inoffensive
citizen ; and between political friends and armed foes ;
but at the same time stimulated the ardor and activity of
his savage allies, in the prosecution of a sanguinary war-
fare. He severely denouuced the practice of cruelty
against any class; offered rewards for prisoners, and
sternly forbade the taking of scalps from the living, or
even the dying, but by a strange infatuation, allowed them
to be torn from the dead on the field of battle. As if the
subtle Indians would hesitate to bring the prisoner, the
wounded and dying, within the scope of this provision.
Could these admonitions of mercy follow the fierce savage
raging amid an hostile people ; or would these metaphysi-
cal distinctions be regarded in the heat and tumult of the
battle ? Subsequent events revealed the fallacy of these
humane professions, and the proclamation of the 29th of
June, exhibits in its barbarous and bloody threats of In-
dian atrocities, the insincerity of the admonitions, and
the convictions of Burgoyne of the futility of the restraints
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 177
he professed to impose, and the hollowness of the Indian
assurances of obedience. While the arrogance and in-
flated grandiloquence of this manifesto amused the intelli-
gence and disgusted the taste of the colonists, it aroused
an unconquerable hostility to England, that was never
extinguished. Europe was everywhere shocked by its
monstrous spirit, and afterwards, when arraigned at the
tribunal of popular sentiment, in England, for the dishonor
it had attached to the British name, Burgoyne was able
to offer no other apology or extenuation, than that its
language was intended only for intimidation and effect.
The command of the northern department of the repub-
lican army was held by General Schuyler, while the direct
charge of Ticonderoga and the works of defense connected
with that fortress were confided to Arthur St. Clair, a major-
general in the service of congress, an officer of great ex-
perience and marked ability, but singularly unfortunate
in his military enterprises. These fortifications, while
they should be maintained by the Americans, formed an
insuperable barrier to the progress of Burgoyne. The
infinite importance of preserving them was felt by the
congress, but unhappily its resources were inadequate to
the exigency of the occasion. The extent and magnitude
of these works demanded a garrison of ten thousand effec-
tive men with sufficient armament and supplies for their
appropriate occupation, and yet when the British army
appeared at Crown point, Schuyler had succeeded with all
the energies and efforts he was able to exert, in collecting
a force in the whole department of only five thousand
troops, of which about three thousand were scattered through
ths defenses entrusted to St. Clair. One-third of this
feeble force was composed of militia imperfectly equipped
and armed, and nearly destitute of bayonets to their
insufficient muskets.
In another page we have already described the peninsula
at Ticonderoga; but twenty years had produced important
changes in the arrangement of the works, their capacity
and extent. The old French lines, which were so success-
12
178 HISTOKY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
fully defended by Montcalm, had been strengthened by
additional erections and by a block-house. The landing
at Lake George, and the saw-mills, where new works had
been constructed, were occupied by feeble detachments.
A small fort erected on Mt. Hope, a commanding emi-
nence in this vicinity, guarded the left of the American
lines. The new works, the most effective and upon which
the Americans placed the greatest reliance, were erected
on Mt. Independence, a high circular hill situated on the
eastern shore of the lake and directly opposite Fort Caril-
lon. On the summit of this elevation, a star fort had been
constructed, enclosing a large square barrack. This fort
was heavily fortified and well supplied with artillery.
The base of the hill and its precipitous sides, were care-
fully entrenched and lined with artillery. The distance
between Ticonderoga and Mt. Independence was about
fifteen hundred yards. These two positions were con-
nected by a floating bridge, which had been erected by
enormous labor and expenditure. The structure was
supported by twenty-two sunken piers of immense size, and
placed at intervals. These spaces were filled with separate
floats, each about fifty feet loug and twelve feet wide.
The whole was firmly united by heavy chains which were
closely rivetted. To protect this work, which was of the
last importance to the safety of the whole position, from
the attacks of the enemy's naval force, a boom, formed of
enormous timbers, connected by chains and bolts of im-
mense size, was constructed on the northern or lake side
of the bridge.1
Another point still, had engaged the attention of the
American engineers. This was Mt. Defiance, which rises
to an altitude of seven hundred and fifty feet, and forms
a bold, rocky promontory at the confluence of Lake
Champlain and the outlet of Lake George, and is laved
by both waters. This eminence is about one thousand
1 Thompson, in the History of Vermont, states, that this bridge, when Bur-
goyne approached, was in an unfinished condition.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 179
and four hundred yards distant from Ticonderoga and
separated from Mt. Independence by fifteen hundred yards,
and by its position and greater height commanded both
works. The imagined impregnability of these works
would at once fail, in the event of this eminence being
occupied by a hostile battery. St. Clair had been ap-
prized of this momentous fact by the examination of the
preceding year. Pont Le Roy, the engineer of Montcalm,
evidently referred to it in the epigrammatic utterance I
have quoted ; and we cannot doubt, that the possession of
Ticonderoga during more than eighteen years, had dis-
closed the military value of this position to the British
commanders. But St. Clair was destitute of the resources
necessary for holding and fortifying the place, and of
averting the impending danger. His feeble garrison was
insufficient for the occupation of the more prominent and
exposed lines. He was constrained to rely upon the hope
for the same impunity the fortress had formerly enjoyed
from an attack in that direction. Conscious of his weak-
ness he could alone in maintaining the fortresses have con-
templated creating a delay, which would secure an infinite
advantage to the republican cause, or of a successful re-
sistance to an active assault, that he might have antici-
pated from the impetuosity and presumption of Burgoyne.
A fatuity seems to have rested upon the American coun-
cils, in the affairs of the Champlain frontier. A singular
ignorance prevailed, in reference to the strength and move-
ments of Burgoyne, inconsistent with the most common
military skill aud prudence. The people, the government
and the commanders, were alike impressed by the convic-
tion, that the menaced invasion by the waters of Cham-
plain, was a mere pretext to disguise other operations, and
that no competent force for the purpose had been organized
in Canada. When its reality was demonstrated, by the
actual appearance of the British army, little preparation
had been made to oppose its advance. On the 25th of
June, St. Clair communicated to Schuyler the perilous
circumstances by which he was surrounded, and reiterates,
180 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
as he asserts, his views of the inadequacy of his resources
and the fatal consequences which would result from a regu-
lar siege or blockade of the works. This letter, three days
later, was transmitted to Washington by Schuyler, accom-
panied by the representations of his own utter inability
either to support St. Clair or resist a prompt advance by
Burgoyne. The obvious and transparent error, which
involved so many disastrous consequences, and for which
all, who exerted a controlling influence upou the measure,,
were in common, responsible, was the delay that occurred
in the evacuations of Ticonderoga and its dependencies. Had
that movement been executed when its necessity was first
apparent, it might have been conducted with a leisure and
circumspection, that would have secured the removal of
the munitions and artillery, and the safety of the armyr
without demoralization. St. Clair, in a letter to congress^
alleges, that his instructions gave him no discretion in
reference to the abandonment of the work, except from the
presence of a last and imperious necessity.1
While the American affairs were involved in these
strange delusions, and paralyzed by this inaction and hesi-
tancy, Burgoyne had occupied Crown point, and with extra-
ordinary promptitude and vigor marched upon Ticon-
deroga. On the 1st July he advanced in three columns.
The left wing under Riedesel proceeded along the eastern
shore of the lake, which here, deep and narrow, exhibits
the proportions and appearance of a river. He advanced
to East creek, a small stream, which, spreading out in the
form of an estuary as it enters the lake, washes the northern
base of Mt. Independence. Burgoyne himself embarked
with the centre column in bateaux, and convoyed by two-
ships slowly ascended the lake. Phillips, with the right
wing, moved upon the western side, and the next day ex-
tended his flank, threatening the outposts of St. Clair. The
parties which held the landing and Mt. Hope were ordered
after destroying the public property, and burning the mills,.
1 Marshall.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 181
to fall back into the American lines. The British general
immediately seized this important post, and by its occupa-
tion commanded a portion of the remaining works and
effectively severed St. Clair's communication with Lake
George.1 St. Clair resisted these operations by a heavy
cannonade directed against the several positions of the
enemy. While actively occupied in enveloping the Ame-
rican works by a cordon of posts, Burgoyne caused a
careful reconnaissance to be made of Mt. Defiance. The
result corroborated the opinion of the American Engineer,
submitted the last year, and announced that the ascent was
not only practicable, but that the brief space of a single
day was sufficient for the construction of an available road
for artillery to the summit. The fourth was devoted by
Burgoyne to the landing of his battering train, and the
concentration of his munitions and supplies. On the same
day, the proposed ascent of Mt. Defiance was effected
with a success only equaled by the ardor and toil exerted
in its execution, and on the morning of the 8th, a battery
had been erected, and eight pieces of heavy artillery
mounted, and ready to open a plunging and insupportable
fire upon the doomed garrison.
St. Clair witnessed these operations without any power
to arrest them or avert their consequences, and yielded to
the perfect conviction that neither Ticonderoga nor Mt.
Independence was longer tenable. The difficulties of his
perilous situation were enhanced by the fact, that only a
single link now remained to accomplish the investment of
the entire works, and to secure the control of the water
communication with Skeensboro'. Riedesel was about
closing that space, by stretching his forces from the posi-
tion he occupied on East creek, around Mt. Independence
to the waters of the narrow lake south of that post. Op-
1 Mount Hope is situated near the Lower Falls, on the outlet of Lake
George. It is a steep and rocky eminence, and tradition asserts, received its
name from Phillips, when he seized it in this campaign. Vestiges of mili-
tary works are still visible upon it, and also the ruins of a log bridge, built
on the occasion.
182 HISTOKY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
pressed by this gloomy aspect of his affairs, the American
commander convened a military council, which with per-
fect harmony and without hesitation, concurred in the
opinion, that the works could not be maintained, and that
an immediate evacuation was necessary. The same night
this resolution was executed. The sick, the hospital and
other stores, and all the guns, munitions and provisions,
which under the pressure of the circumstances could be
moved, were embarked in two hundred boats, which,
guardedly about six hundred men under Colonel Long,
and convoyed by five armed galleys, proceeded to Skeenes-
boro'. The lights in the camp were all extinguished, and
caution and profound silence enjoined. Prudence de-
manded that during the day no unusual movement in the
forts should reveal to the enemy, who watched their
proceedings from the summit of Mt. Defiance, the con-
templated design. The short time allowed for the execu-
tion of the measure and the obscurity of the night,
necessarily created some degree of haste and confusion ;
but the retreat was conducted with such skill and celerity
that, although the moon was shining brightly, it escaped
the observation of the British sentinels. St Clair, with
the leading column, crossed the bridge at 2 o'clock in the
morning, and was closely followed by Francis with the
rear of the army. No suspicion of the enemy had yet
been excited, and every circumstance indicated the most
favorable results. But at the moment, when these appear-
ances were thus auspicious, a house on Mt. Independence,
occupied by General de Fermoy, was discovered to be on
fire. The flames spread widely, and casting a bright illu-
mination over the scene, revealed all the movements of
the retreating army. The British camp was instantly
aroused, and the drum and trumpet sounded the alarm
through all its sections. The abandoned works were
immediately occupied, and a fire opened upon the rear of
the Americans. Frazer led a strong detachment at once
across the bridge which St. Clair had not had time to dis-
turb, and commenced a rapid and vigorous pursuit. He.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 183
was immediately followed by Riedesel with bis Germau
corps. With indefatigable activity and vigor, Burgoyne, by
the labor of a few hours, skillfully directed, removed the
boom and bridge — stupendous fabrics, that had exacted
a vast expenditure of money and material and the unre-
mitting toil of months. Early on the morning of the 6th,
these obstacles upon which the Americans had relied in
perfect confidence, were obliterated, or sufficiently dis-
placed to allow the passage of two ships and several gun-
boats, which with the utmost ardor and celerity pursued
the American flotilla. The latter had reached its destina-
tion in safety, and while the troops were indulging in rest
and in fancied security after the excessive labor aud fatigue
of the retreat, their repose was suddenly broken by the
guns of Burgoyne, in an attack at the wharves of the
galleys and boats. The overwhelming force of the Eng-
lish rendered resistance impossible, and haviug burnt or
destroyed the military works, the mills and the bateaux
with three of the galleys, two had been captured by Bur-
goyne, Long hastily retreated in the direction of Fort Ann.
By this prompt and rapid movement he eluded a British
force of three regiments, which, pursuing the track of
Dieskau, had landed at the foot of South bay, and ad-
vanced with great celerity to the Fort Edward road for
the purpose of intercepting the retreat. While Burgoyne
achieved these signal successes, St Clair was pursuing a
forced, aud to some extent disorderly, march, towards
Castleton, which he reached during the night after the
evacuation.
Three regiments, under ."Warner, Francis and Hale,
which constituted the rear division of the American army,
paused at Hubbardtou, in order to reorganize and to collect
the stragglers, who had fallen out of the line on the pre-
cipitate retreat. This force occupied a favorable position,
and it was decided to await an attack. The pursuit of
Frazer had been eager and unremitting. That night he
lay on his arms near the American position, and early on
the morning of the 7th, without hesitating for the arrival
184 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
of Riedesel, which was momentarily expected, advanced
with ardor to the attack of the American lines. The
command of Frazer embraced eight hundred and fifty
veteran regulars. The opposing force consisted of about
thirteen hundred men, btft a large proportion of these were
militia ; and the inequality in numbers was speedily removed
by the retreat of Colonel Hale's regiment. This command
was composed mainly of the siek and convalescent in-
capable of field service, and Hale, therefore, after a brief
though warm skirmish with the British advance, continued
his retreat towards Castleton, but he was intercepted by a
British column, and himself and nearly the entire regiment
were taken prisoners.1
A long and sanguinary engagement ensued, which was
conducted with skill, and fought with the highest spirit
and resolution. The battle of Hubbardton has not acquired
the prominence in American history or the consideration
from the country, due to the valor and sacrifices by which
it was signalized. At one period of its changing aspect,
when the British line recoiled in disorder before the impetu-
osity of the American charge, victory seemed assured to
the republican arms; but Frazer soon restored his ranks
1 Colonel Nathan Hale commanded one of the battalions raised in 1776 by
New Hampshire. Some modern writers, each adopting the statements
contained in the narrative of Ethan Allen, without apparently having
examined the subject, have imputed to Colonel Hale misconduct in this
battle, and asserted that his command was surrendered without resistance.
These charges, it is alleged, inflict unjust censure upon a brave soldier and
patriotic citizen. Gordon, Williams, and other subordinate writers reflect
the views of Allen, but Marshall, the most authentic, by the sources from
which he received his facts, of any historian of the period : Botta, Stead-
man and other authors, both American and English, are silent on the sub-
ject, and ascribe blame to no one. The charge that Hale "surrendered
without striking a blow " is discountenanced, at least, by the simple account,
bearing upon its face the impress of truth, of one who was present in the
engagement — was wounded and taken prisoner. The author, who was
attached to Carr's company in Hale's battalion, states that early in the
morning of the 7th, while the troops were preparing their breakfast, under
marching orders, the enemy suddenly appeared in line. The American
troops were ordered to "lay down their packs and be ready for action."
The firing immediately commenced, and a sharp skirmish occurred. The
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 185
and the appearance immediately after of the Germans upon
the field decided the contest, and the Americans dispersed
in every direction. Colonel Francis fell gallantly at the
head of his regiment. The aggregate American loss in
this warmly contested action was about three hundred,
and that of the British one hundred and eighty-three.
Warner, with his wonted decision and intrepidly, reassem-
bled his troops at Manchester, and led them to unite with
Schuyler at Fort Edward. Severe censure has been attached
to St. Clair, that lying only six miles from the field of battle
with his detachment, he had not returned to the support
of Warner and Francis. His apologists allege, that he
made the most earnest efforts to do so, but that the troops
who were principally composed of militia regiments, re-
fused to march to their aid.
The capture of Ticonderoga was a deep calamity to the
republican cause. The trophies announced by Burgoyne
to his government, embraced one hundred and twenty-
eight pieces of artillery ; all the boats and armed vessels
in the harbors, and the provision stores and munitions.
The great flag of the garrison was also abandoned in the
confusion of the retreat, and fell into the enemy's hands.
The intelligence of this event was received in England by
republicans sought the cover of trees, but " were a few in number in com-
parison with the enemy." While discharging his musket, in that position,
the author was wounded, and captured, when the battalion retreated. —
Narrative of Ebenezer Fletcher. Belknap, a contemporary, in his History
of New Hampshire, states, that " Colonel Hale's battalion was ordered to
cover the rear of the invalids," and the next morning was attacked by the
advance of the enemy. Barstow, in his history, says, in allusion to this
event, " a sharp skirmish ensued, in which Major Titcomb (of Hale's bat-
talion) was wounded. " These authorities seem to disprove one serious
point of the strictures. Colonel Hale claimed from Washington the right
of being exchanged, that he might vindicate his conduct before a military
tribunal, but he died, while still a prisoner, before this desire could be
gratified.
The memory of Colonel Hale is entitled to the consideration due to other
facts. At the commencement of the revolution, he was in easy pecuniary
circumstances. After the battle of Lexington, he raised a company of
minute men, at his own expense, and by patriotic sacrifices like this, when
he died in the vigor of manhood, he left his family in comparative poverty.
186 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
the partisans of the ministry with the most rapturous
exultation, and confidently accepted as a propitious augury
of the final issue of the contest. At no period of the revo-
lution did any other disaster press upon the popular
heart in America, with a more chilling and despondent
influence. Surprise and astonishment mingled with rage
and grief. The imputations of imbecility, negligence, and
incompetency, did not reach the expression of public
sentiment, but hostile and malignant tongues gave free
utterance to the terms, baseness and treachery. Even the
serene and just mind of "Washington was disturbed. St.
Clair was suspended, and Schuyler superseded in the
command of the northern army, at the moment when
success and glory were about becoming the fruition of
his wise, skillful, and patriotic measures. But time dis-
persed the clouds that for a period shadowed the fame of
these able and devoted patriots, and a mature investi-
gation of the facts, afforded them an ample and decisive
vindication.
Phillips, as soon as the means of transportation could be
organized on Lake George, advanced with his division to
Fort George and established at that post and also at the
foot of the lake, depots of supplies, and the proximate base
of the army. At Fort George, he found only dismantled
and naked walls. Schuyler, in the judicious but stern policy
by which he had rendered savage nature still more hideous,
and created in the front of the foe a waste and desolation,
had either destroyed or removed every material that might
impart comfort or facilities to the invader. This narrative
must relinquish to general history the recital of the future
progress and history of Burgoyne, and that great culminat-
ing victory, which was not only decisive of his career, but
decisive also of the great contest of Englaud with her re-
bellious colonies.
While Burgoyne was urging a slow progress as he gra-
dually surmounted the vast obstacles, which the sagacity
of Schuyler had interposed, Lincoln was engaged in collect-
ing and organizing a body of four thousand militia at
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 187
Manchester, Vermont. The flank of the British army by
this movement was seriously menaced. A portion of these
troops, it was decided, should be used in a bold and im-
portant operation, which was intended to sever the commu-
nications of Burgoyne, and if possible to seize his base at
Ticonderoga. Colonel Johnson, with a party of about five
hundred men, was detached by Lincoln against Skeenes-
boro' and Fort Edward, but with the special object of co-
vering the retreat of the two other detachments led by
Brown and Woodbury. Colonel Brown, with a party of
rangers of nearly the same strength, was instructed to
proceed to the landing on Lake George, to rescue Ameri-
can prisoners confined there, and having accomplished this
object to act on the suggestions of his own judgment. He
crossed Lake Champlain at the narrows above Ticonderoga,
and marching all night conducted alone by the signals
emitted at short intervals by his guides, hoots, in imitation
of the owl, he traversed the rugged mountain range that
separates the two lakes, and toiling in the darkness, amid
precipices and chasms, a distance of fourteen miles, just as
the day was breaking, burst upon the enemy at the foot of
the lake, by a complete surprise. He captured without
resistance nearly three hundred British troops, the works
at Mount Hope and at the landing, and seized two hundred
bateaux, an armed sloop and a number of gun-boats, which
had been transported from Lake Champlain with severe
toil, and were stationed here to protect the carrying place.
In addition to these successes he accomplished the primary
object of the expedition by liberating one hundred Ame-
rican prisoners. Captain Ebenezer Allen had been de-
tached with a small and resolute band by Brown to assail
the works on Mount Defiance. Scaling cautiously and in
silence the precipitous acclivities of the mountain, so steep
in one place that the assailants were able only to ascend by
climbing over the shoulders of each other, they reached the
summit and captured the battery without the discharge of
a single weapon. Colonel Johnson, with a detachment of
about au equal number, arrived early the next morning and
188 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
joined Brown before Ticonderoga.1 The united forces
immediately invested the fortress and summoned General
Powell, the commander of the garrison, to surrender. He
returned a defiant answer, and after an ineffectual cannon-
ade of four days with ordnance too feeble to make an im-
pression upon the works, the attack was abandoned.
At the landing Brown embarked forces in the captured
boats, and ascended Lake George with the design of seizing
Diamond island, where Burgoyue had deposited an im-
mense quantity of stores and munitions.
Upon the surrender of Burgoyne, the small garrison at
Ticonderoga dismantled and evacuated the works, and, em-
barking in a few open boats, sought refuge and securit}^
by a silent and stealthy flight down the lake. This inglo-
rious retreat of the relics of a great host presented an im-
pressive contrast to the ostentatious array, that a few weeks
before had traversed the same waters, bearing, as if iu a
triumphant procession, a vaunting leader and an army in-
flamed by the confidence of approaching victory. These
fugitives, however, did not wholly escape the vigilant eye
of the Americans. Near where the village of Essex now
stands they were intercepted by Ebenezer Allen. He cut
oft' and captured several of the rear boats, seized fifty pri-
soners and a large amouut of military stores, baggage,
horses and cattle. Among the spoils, he captured a negro
slave with an infant child. " Being conscientious in the
sight of God that it is not right to keep slaves," these he
declared " to be forever free," and caused a certificate of
their freedom to be recorded in the town clerk's office at
Bennington, where it still exists.2
Refugee tories and other irregulars, more ruthless than
their savage allies, fugitives from the fate that was impend-
ing over the British army, passed through in their flight
the deserted settlement on the Boquet. Carleton and
1 Several authorities assign the coniniand of the third detachment to Colo-
nel Warner. I follow the statement of Marshall.
a Butler'B discourse on Ebenezer Allen, Hall's Vermont.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 189
Burgoyne bad been merciful in tbeir visitations. The ra-
pacity of Arnold and tbe exactions ot the government bad
spared tbe dwellings and structures of tbe settlers ; but tbese
gleaners in devastation left only ashes and desolation in
their track. Tradition asserts, that they consigned to the
flames every edifice from Split rock to the Boquet in a
wanton and merciless destruction.1 In November, 1778, a
large British force, and several armed vessels advanced to
Ticonderoga, and inflicted a general devastation upon the
property on both sides of the lake, that had escaped
former ravages.
In the spring of 1780, Sir John Johnson organized at
Ticonderoga a band of about five hundred men, composed
of regulars, a party of his own corps of Royal Greens and
two hundred tories and Indians, and proceeded on an
errand, which, in its spirit and purposes, presented one of
the most revolting scenes of this fratricidal war. Penetrat-
ing the rude wilderness of mountains, forests and waters,
which spreads westward from Lake George, he reached
and ascended the valley of the Sacondaga. This route
compelled him to cross a site, which his father in happier
days was accustomed often to visit in pursuit of relaxation
and rural pastimes. Recollections of youthful joys must
have welled up in the memory of the invader, when he
recalled the incidents of former years, associated with the
Fish house. An outlawed fugitive, a dishonored soldier,
who had violated his parole, he broke the quiet and secluded
repose of the scene, in a mission of vengeance and blood.
These memories could not have softened his vindictive
passions, for he passed onward, unchanged in his fierce
designs to descend at midnight upon his native valley in a
whirlwind of rapine and flame. Near the baronial halls of
his father, the motley band was divided into two detach-
ments, that the work of destruction might be more tho-
rough and widespread. The inhabitants were slumbering
in perfect security, ignorant and unsuspicious of danger.
1 Sheldon's Manuscript.
190 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
A common and indiscriminate ruin involved all who
had adhered to the republican cause. Neither the former
friends nor aged associates of his father, nor the com-
panions of his own boyhood were exempt from the uni-
versal desolation. There was nothing left in a wide track
along the beautiful valley of the Mohawk, where yesterday
stood the abodes of plenty,
But a mass of ashes slaked with blood.
The professed object of this pitiless incursion was the
recovery of a mass of valuable plate, which a faithful slave
had assisted to bury in 1776. With silent and unwavering
fidelity he had watched over the deposit, although in the
confiscation of the Johnson estate he had been sold to
another master. The plate was recovered, and distributed
in the knapsacks of forty different soldiers. By this means
it was all safely conveyed into Canada. An alarm had
been immediately sounded, and the local militia, under
Coloner Harper, beginning to assemble, Sir John made a
rapid retreat. He bore with him what plunder he was able
to convey, and forty prisoners ; and reaching his bateaux
at Crown point returned to Canada in safety, successfully
evading the pursuit of Governor Clinton aided by detach-
ments from the New Hampshire grants.
Major Carleton,in the autumn of the same year, proceeded
from St. Johns with a formidable' fleet, conveying more
than one thousand men. He advanced secretly and undis-
covered, and on the 10th and 11th of October, with a
trifling loss, captured Fort Ann and Fort George. He
completely devastated the country along his line of march ;
but the marked exemption of the territory of Vermont
from these ravages were calculated to excite jealousy and
apprehension. This unimportant expedition terminated
these hostile incursions of the enemy beyond the fortresses
of Champlain.
At this epoch was initiated the enigmatical and extraor-
dinary relations, which subsisted for several years between
the British authorities in Canada and the government of
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 191
Vermont. The people of the New Hampshire grants had
formally declared their independence in 1777, and under
the name of Vermont had assumed the attitude and prero-
gatives of a sovereign state. Any discussion of the charac-
ter of these relations, a subject that has so nearly baffled all
distinct and satisfactory explanation, is foreign to our
purpose, except as the events were interwoven with the
military history of Ticonderoga. A glance at the peculiar
posture of Vermont in her domestic and public affairs is
necessary, in order to approach a just appreciation of the
ambiguous policy of her leaders at this juncture. A differ-
ence of opinion even yet exists in legal minds, in reference
to the legitimacy of the claims of New York upon the New
Hampshire grants. Whatever may have been the strength
or validity of these claims, it is certain that a deep and
bitter hostility towards New York was the all pervading
feeling of the heroic and independent people who occupied
the territory in dispute. This sentiment was stimulated by
the sincere conviction, that these claims were unjust, and
that Vermont had endured great wrong from the grasping
injustice and oppression of her more powerful neighbor.
To evade the real or imaginary evils which were impend-
ing from this source, and to escape the political absorption
which they believed was contemplated by New York, was
the inexorable determination of the remarkable body of
men, who at that period guarded the policy of Vermont.
With them, the purpose was paramount to every other consi-
deration. The devotion of these leaders, in common with
all the population of the grants, to the cause of American
independence, through all the early vicissitudes of the
contest, had been active and ardent. They now indig-
nantly cherished the belief, that their efforts and sacrifices
would not yield to them an equal participation in the com-
mon blessings which might be secured by the successful issue
of the conflict ; that congress had turned a deaf ear to their
importunate demands for a recognition of an independent
position and political immunities ; that they were threatened
with dismemberment by the pretensions of other states, and
192 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
standing alone between these states and an exasperated
enemy, they were abandoned, to meet single-handed, the
dangers and sufferings of a hostile invasion. The over-
ruling law of self-preservation, the astute statesmen of
Vermont alleged, justified and even demanded a resort to
extraordinary measures, and such as would be warranted by
no common emergencies. Their apologists now aver that
these men designed, by shrewd diplomacy, to shield the
state from the overwhelming assaults of the British army
lying upon its borders, and at the same time to secure an
ultimate protection from the aggressions of New York.
At this time in the light of later disclosures the position
will scarcely be controverted, that it was their fixed and
deliberate purpose if the exigency arose of deciding in the
choice of two great evils, to return to a colonial depend-
ence, fortified " by safe and honorable terms " rather than
submit to the power of New York.1 The same determina-
tion was avowed by Governor Chittenden in 1781, in his
official correspondence with Washington.2
At the opening of the year 1780, the political leaders of
Vermont were occupying this strange and anomalous posi-
tion. In March, Beverly Robinson of New York addressed
a letter to Ethan Allen, which was delivered to him at
Arlington in the following July by a British soldier dis-
guised in the garb of an American farmer. Allen re-
ceived and read the letter, and without causing the agent
to be arrested, returned an ambiguous verbal answer.
Robinson, in this communication, which was couched in the
most specious terms, appealed to the known prejudices of
Vermont, attempted to influence the popular passions, and
to prompt Allen to aid in the subversion of American
independence. This document Allen submitted to Go-
vernor Chittenden and a small circle of confidential friends.
They all concurred in the opinion that no answer should
be returned. Robinson not having received a reply in
1 Ira Allen's Political History of Vermont, London, 17S
a Ramsey's Washington.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 193
February, 1781, wrote Allen again, enclosing a copy of the
previous communication. The second letter was still more
bold and distinct in its language, and the seductive allure-
ments to Vermont and to Allen personally it presented.
After an interval of almost a year from the reception of
the first letter, Allen transmitted both instruments to con-
gress. He communicated at the same time to that body,
an elaborate vindication of the course of Vermont, urging
the acknowledgment of her political existence, and an-
nouncing: an unalterable and resolute determination to
assert her independence. He closed his communication in
characteristic energy, with these remarkable words : " and
rather than fail, I will retire with the hardy Green
Mountain boys, into the desolate caverns of the mountains
and wage war with human nature at large." Vermont, in
the hour of trial, was not without the influence in congress
of earnest and powerful friends. Roger '8Sherman gave
indirectly his countenance to the proceedings of which New
York complained, and afterwards with great zeal vindicated
the claims of Vermont to political recognition, and El-
bridge Gerry pronounced, that " Vermont had a perfect
right to her independence." '
During the summer of 1780, Sir Frederick Haldimand
with a large force, resumed the occupation of Ticonderoga.
This movement, at that time mysterious and without any
apparent motive, was afterwards known to have been dic-
tated by the desire of fostering the negotiations with
Vermont. He proposed to Ethan Allen, who then com-
manded the troops in Vermont, that hostilities should be
suspended pending an arrangement for the exchange of
certain prisoners. After some actual or pretended hesita-
tion, Allen finally decided to accept the proposition, and that
a temporary armistice, embracing that part of New York,
claimed by Vermont and extending westward to the Hudson,
should be established. Ira Allen, a subtle and sagacious
politician, and Joseph Fay, were appointed commissioners
1 Life of Gouverneur Morris.
13
194 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
for Vermont with the professed object of efTectiug the con-
templated exchange of prisoners. While this ostensible
negotiation was openly pursued, but with singular procrasti-
nation, the commissioners were actively engaged with secret
emissaries of England in consummating the preliminaries
of an arrangement of far higher import. Overtures were
submitted by the British agents for the independent organ-
ization of the Vermont government, under the royal pro-
tection.
These proposals were received by the representatives of
Vermont with attention, and, although with no committal
in reference to any ulterior action, in a manner that
cherished the expectations of the English officials.1 Under
the same pretext of exchanging prisoners, Ira Allen, in
the ensuing spring, proceeded to the Isle aux Noix, and
again the momentous negotiation was resumed. The
fact which has been already mentioned should not be
disregarded, that during all this period, and to the termi-
nation of the war, Vermont was left by congress without
protection or defense, and abandoned to oppose with her
single strength alone, a British army of ten thousand
troops, that continually menaced her frontier. In response
to the propositions of the British agents, that the armi-
stice should continue ; that the Vermont leaders should
gradually prepare the popular sentiment for a return to
their allegiance; that Vermont should be clothed with
high and peculiar privileges, and that those who might
aid in the consummation of this scheme should be approved
and rewarded by the most ample royal munificence.
Allen conceded the perilous position of Vermont, and
admitted that her people had been remiss in the prosecu-
tion of the war, from the fear that success might subject
them to the government of New York, a resuft far more
deplorable in their view, than the subjugation of the
United States by England. While conceding this, he
avowed that the hour for action had not arrived.2 These
1 Thompson's Vermont. 2 Stone, n, 199 ; Tlwmpson, 63.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 195
interviews were extended through a period of seventeen
days; and Allen, with an exquisite adroitness, without
committing himself or his government, succeeded in effect-
ing what was the chief object of this mission, an extension of
the armistice, although unable to procure its continuance
beyond the approaching session of the Vermont legisla-
ture, which was to convene in June following.
While Allen presented to the- council a full and public
report of his successful arrangement in securing the ex-
change of prisoners, all reference in that document to the
more important negotiations was studiously avoided. The
knowledge of these measures and a participation in them,
were limited to eight of the prominent citizens of the state
and veiled from the public eye with an art and success
only equaled by its duplicity. A surreptitious correspond-
ence was maintained through this and the succeeding year,
by the Aliens as the organs of the Vermont leaders, and the
British officials at Ticonderoga. By the agency of British
soldiers, secret missives were constantly interexchanged at
Sunderland, a distance of sixty miles within the American
territory from Ticonderoga, between the Aliens and the
agents of England. In the darkness and secrecy of one
night, letters were deposited at an appointed receptacle,
and by the same channel answers were returned the even-
ing succeeding. A trifling incident reveals with strong
significance the actual relation which existed between the
initiated in these measures, and the British government.
A baud of patriotic citizens proceeding from Manchester,
with the design of demolishing the house of a suspected
royalist in Arlington, were intercepted at Sunderland,
an intermediate town, by Ira Allen and two of his coad-
jutors, by whose influence and persuasion they were with
rek&tance induced to relinquish their purpose. That very
night and on the same ground, where this occurrence hap-
pened, Allen received a packet from Ticonderoga by the
English guard that had been the active medium of this
intercourse, and returned an answer.
196 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
In the autumn of 1781, St. Leger ascended the lake with
a strong force, and again occupied Ticonderoga. These ex-
traordinary and repeated oscillations of large bodies of
troops between St. Johns and the Champlain fortresses,
now known to have been connected with this negotiation,
and intended to facilitate and strenghten it, at that time
tended to excite the greatest alarm and agitation not only
in Vermont but throughout the whole northern frontier.
When they advanced, the militia were suddenly summoned
from their homes, forts were armed and replenished, and
great inconvenience and expense incurred by both indivi-
duals and the government. When they retired mysteri-
iously, the apprehensions arose that the movement was
designed to disguise other and more important operations.
While these events were transpiring on Lake Champlain,
an intercepted letter from Lord George Germaine to Sir
Henry Clinton, partially disclosed to congress the character
and designs of the secret intercourse between Vermont and
the English commanders. About the same time, a cir-
cumstance occurred in the vicinity of Ticonderoga, which
was calculated to confirm the growing jealousy of the people
of Vermont in reference to the practices of their leaders
and to augment the apprehensions which had long existed.
The agreement for the suspension of hostilities had
never been openly proclaimed, and from this cause ori-
ginated all the public aud private embarrassments to which
we have adverted. It was necessary, iu order to avert
suspicion from the bold game these parties were pursuing,
to maintain an apparently hostile attitude. Among these
subterfuges a pretended system of patrols between the
armies was sustained by each. Between the pickets oc-
curred an accidental collision. In the skirmish that fol-
lowed, the sergeant that commanded the Vermont party
was killed. The body was respectfully interred by the
English, and his clothing restored by St. Leger with an
open letter to General Enos, the American commander,
expressing regret for the occurrence of the untoward cir-
cumstance. The facts connected with the secret arrange-
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 197
raents had necessarily been imparted to Enos, and his
subordinates, Fletcher and Walbridge. The letter of St.
Leger, with private dispatches from these officers, was
immediately transmitted to the council of war of Vermont
by an agent ignorant of these designing machinations, who
promulgated widely the contents of St. Leger's mysterious
communication. The popular distrust, which already
existed, was aroused by this incident into a vehement sus-
picion. The council, who were all initiated in the secret
proceedings, on opening the dispatches, discovered that they
contained intelligence in reference to the negotiations,
which it was not safe to reveal to the public. While they
were engaged in examining the papers, a Major Runnals
entered the apartment, and demanded in the name of the
people, and with warm excitement, an explanation of these
events, and why St. Leger should regret the death of an
enemy. Ira Allen sought to escape the inquiries by artful
evasion ; but pressed by the stern determination of the
agitated people, he adopted, with his peculiar versatility,
the expedient of effecting a personal altercation with Run-
nals. Attention was thus for the moment diverted from
the council, and an important delay secured, which enabled
them to suppress the original documents and to substitute
others, simulated and relieved of all their dangerous con-
tents. In that form they were submitted to the people by
Governor Chittenden, and thus the impending danger of
disclosure of these negotiations was temporarily averted.
It is asserted that these modified dispatches were prepared
by Nathaniel Chipman, who afterwards attained great pro-
fessional and political eminence. The position of these
men had become eminently perplexing and critical. It
was evident that their devious practices could not longer
be sustained. These ambiguous relations must be termi-
nated, and the country exposed to the invasion of a
powerful enemy, or by the unveiling of the transactions,
those involved in them would be denounced by congress
and probably condemned and repudiated by those who had
been deceived by their intrigues. The salutary results they
198 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
professed to have contemplated, would in either dilemma be
defeated. At this moment of oppressive doubt and appre-
hension they unexpectedly derived relief from a most au-
spicious event.
The commissioners of Vermont in the interview of
September, 1781, could present no plausible evasion to
the final proposition of the British agents, which they
insisted upon as an ultimatum, if the armistice was to be
maintained. They proposed, that during the approaching
session of the Vermont legislature, in October, the British
commander should issue a proclamation from Ticonde-
roga, declaring Vermont a colony under the crown, and
confirming the form of government which had been agreed
upon by the negotiators, and that the legislature should
accept the overture and adopt the appropriate measures
to enforce it.1 The British agents now insisted that the
time had arrived for issuing the projected proclamation,
and manifested a determination to act. While the atfair
was in this attitude, a rumor reached Vermont of the
surrender of Cornwallis, and imparted such animation to
the popular feeling, that Fay, one of the Vermont com-
missioners, seized upon the circumstance and addressed a
letter to the British emissaries with St. Leger at Ticonde-
roga, urging them to suspend immediate action until the
truth of these rumors, which must exert so important an
influence on the negotiation, might be ascertained. The
gates of Ticonderoga had scarcely closed upon the mes-
senger bearing this appeal, when authentic intelligence
confirming the report, reached the British commander.
St. Leger hastened to lower, for the last time, the banner
of England on the ramparts of Ticonderoga, and before
the setting of the sun, embarked the garrison, and evacu-
ated the fortresses on Lake Champlain. Since that period
their mouldering walls have reposed in silence and solitude,
only disturbed at intervals by the mimicry of war on fes-
tal occasions.
1 Thompson's Vermont.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 199
During the early months of 1782, Haldimand, in repeated
efforts, attempted to establish a renewal of these negotia-
tions, but his advances were received by Vermont in great
reserve and coolness. Ira Allen, in July, proceeded to
Canada, still under the pretense of effecting a cartel for
the exchange of prisoners. He was received by the Bri-
tish agents with a renewal of the same conciliatory propo-
sitions, and while he was able to procrastinate a decisive
answer, he adroitly succeeded in securing a continuance
of the armistice, that conferred advantages so important
on Vermont. The intervention of peace terminated all
danger from British invasion ; but these secret negotiations
were pursued for several years, and were not terminated
until Vermont ceased to cherish apprehension from the
pretensious of New York.
The historians of Vermont, who are the apologists of
these transactions, allege that the men who conducted
them, never seriously contemplated a return to the alle-
giance of England, except as the only means of avoiding
a greater and more detestable tyranny than British domi-
nation, the more odious, that it was nearer, more direct,
and tangible ; that the insidious attempts of British emis-
saries to tamper with the patriotism of Vermont, was
turned against themselves, by artifices, that paralyzed the
movements of an army of ten thousand men. The diplo-
macy was most consummate and successful, which could
thus delude the English officials, and, at the same time,
allow just light enough and no more, to fall upon these
negotiations, than was calculated to alarm the fears of New
York, and to restrain the adverse actions of congress.
What would have been the judgment upon these practices
by the rigid code of military law, it is now perhaps inop-
portune to inquire. Political casuistry will fiud it difficult
to maintain the propriety of the representatives of a
patriotic and intelligent people, deceiving the masses on a
most vital question, by a deliberate system of artifices
and evasion ; or to vindicate either the moral or political
integrity of holding clandestine intercourse with a foreign
200 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
enemy ; maintaining negotiations and forming treaties
with a public foe, while in professed and solemn alle-
giance to a country struggling for liberty and existence.
The length to which these secret relations extended, or
how definitive the arrangements of the leaders became,
will never probably with clearness be revealed.1
The views of Ira Allen himself, justly solicitous for his
own fame and security, in regard to these proceedings, are
evinced by the fact that he extorted from Governor Chit-
tenden and other of his coadjutors, two explicit written de-
clarations, in June and July, 1781, recognizing and ratifying
his negotiations with the British emissaries.2 No just
mind will distrust the early patriotism of these men, and it
must always be conceded, that if so unhappy a design as
the conditional return to British fealty existed in their
minds, it was inspired by a hatred of wrong and oppression,
and the law, as they believed, " of self-preservation," the
preservation not merely of political rights, but of their
homes, and humble fortunes. They detested and opposed
foreign tyranny, and the same spirit which stimulated that
feeling, rendered them the more sensitive to the persecu-
tions of a kindred people, and more determiued in their
resistance to domestic aggression. Whatever may have
been the purposes or action of individual leaders, and these
should be generously judged, with regard to their services
and sacrifices in the common cause, and subsequent expo-
1 Governor Clinton submitted to the legislature of New York, in 1782,
a mass of facts and documentary evidence, in reference to these transactions,
which present the action of the Vermont leaders in a most unfavorable
light. These papers embraced affidavits from two individuals, detailing
circumstances alleged to have occurred at different times and distinct places,
tending to establish the existence of a matured arrangement by which Ver-
mont was to be formed into an independent colony under the protection of
England, and that Vermont was pledged to support, under certain contin-
gencies, the British government, with an armed force, under Ethan Allen,
consisting of fifteen hundred or two thousand men ; and that she should
remain neutral, unless the war should be carried into her own territory.
I am not aware that their affidavits, perhaps of doubtful character, were
fortified by any further corroboration.
2 The Stephens Papers.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 201
sitious, the people of Vermont, through all the trying scenes
of the revolution, by their patriotic zeal and inextinguisha-
ble ardor, vindicated the undesigned eulogiura of Bur-
goyne, when in bitterness and disappointment, he wrote :
" the New Hampshire grants abound in the most active race
on the continent, and hangs like a gathering storm on my
left."1
CHAPTER XII.
The Settlement, 1782-1849.
The fields which had been cleared and cultivated on
the Boquet with so much labor, were abandoned from
1776 to 1784, and after peace restored repose and security,
and the settlers returned to their former homes, they
found that nature had almost reestablished her empire
over the territory. Brambles and weeds infested the land,
the roads had become impassable, the fences and bridges
were prostrated and decayed. Much of the former toils
of the colony were to be renewed.
The personal history of Mr. Gilliland, so intimately
interwoven with the settlement and progress of the county,
demands attention. In common with an innumerable
class of patriots, who had freely lavished their fortunes
upon the country in the hour of trial and effort, the peace
'The student of history will obtain all the elucidation this subject will
ever probably receive, by consulting Slade's Vermont State Papers, Almon's
Remembrancer, vol. ix, Thompson's Vermont, Allen's Political History,
Stone's Life of Brandt, The Haldimand Papers, copies of which have been
procured from England and are i>reserved at Montpelier in two manuscript
volumes, the New York Historical Documents, and preeminently, the
able and learned Early History of Vermont by Hon. Hiland Hall. This
most valuable contribution to American annals has been published since the
preceding pages were prepared for the press. Governor Hall has given great
research to this obscure question. He seems to have extracted all the import-
ant elements of the Haldimand Documents, and presents a very forcible and
earnest vindication of both the proceedings and designs of the Vermont
statesman, who, with such vast ability, guided the early destiny of that state.
202 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
of 1783 found Mr. Gilliland deeply embarrassed in his
pecuniary affairs. The acquisition of an estate of thirty
thousand acres upon the borders of Champlain, with the
disbursements incident to its improvement, had involved
the expenditure of a large amount of his means. He had
lived in great comparative affluence and splendor, dis-
pensing munificent charities and a generous hospitality.
Driven from his home by a protracted war, his estates
were wasted, and for several years abandoned and unpro-
ductive.
In the progress of the contest he had been reduced almost
to indigence and destitution. Arnold, in his progress
through the lake, with characteristic rapacity and violeuce,
had ravaged the property of Mr. Gilliland. He appealed
to congress for remuneration of his advances, and indem-
nity for his various losses, but the exhausted treasury ot
the country could afford no relief. Returning to his wide
possessions, he saw them wasted and desolate. Abandon-
ing his long cherished purpose of erecting his property
into a manorial estate, he decided to sell his lands in fee.
The first purchasers were Joseph Sheldon and Abraham
Aiken, of Dutchess county, who went into the occupation
of their lots in March, 1784, and were the pioneer settlers
under the new arrangement, in the limits of the present
town of Willsboro'. During that spring, fourteen other
families purchased and occupied farms, and several other
individuals bought lots, and commenced improvements.
The lumber required for their buildings was procured
at Vergennes. The saw-mills at the Boquet, destroyed in
the course of the war, had not, at that time, been rebuilt.
Meanwhile, other embarrassments gathered around to
darken and accelerate the decaying fortunes of Mr. Gilli-
land. In several of the claims purchased by him in good
faith, and for valuable considerations, and regularly located,
he had filed the requisite applications in the appropriate
colonial offices. The confusion incident to the convulsed
period which ensued, impeded, and finally prevented the
consummation of these grants by patents. Others appropri-
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 203
ating, as he alleged, a transcript of the boundaries of the
premises, contained in his documents, had applied to the
new government, and obtained patents of the territory
embraced in his previous locations. Litigation ensued.
The antagonist titles were sustained. Costs and expenses
followed, which absorbed the remnant of his property, and
led to his imprisonment upon the jail limits of New York.
He returned at length to his former residence, despond-
ent, and cherishing a disgust at the cold ingratitude of
many, who in brighter days he has fostered and protected,
and partially alienated in mind, he wandered into the soli-
tudes of the forest, and there perished, stricken by some sud-
den attack, or overcome by exposure. His lacerated hands
and knees, worn deeply into the flesh, attested how long and
fearfully he had struggled with hunger, cold and exhaus-
tion. Thus died the pioneer of Essex county; the former
possessor of a baronial domain, and the dispenser of muni-
ficent hospitalities.
A strong current of emigration from N"ew England
rapidly diffused a hardy and valuable population along the
western shore of Lake Champlain, and gradually pene-
trated the interior. Ticonderoga and Crown point were
settled by American emigrants at the close of the revolu-
tion. George and Alexander Trimble were among the
earliest and most prominent of these settlers. Two lots
upon Whallon's bay were occupied the same year by
Amos and David Stafford. The name of Charlotte county
was in 1784 changed to "Washington, and the eventual
arrangement of the Vermont controversy limited its terri-
tory in the Champlain valiey to the western side of the lake.
On the division of Washington county, in 1788, a new
county was organized, embracing the territory which now
constitutes the counties of Essex, Clinton, and the eastern
section of Franklin. The new county was called Clinton,
and was divided into the four towns, Champlain, Pitts-
burgh, Crown point and Willsbor<>', which were incor-
porated at the same time with the organization of the
county. The town of Crown Point, in its original limits,
204 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
comprised the present town of that name, Ticonderoga, also
Moriah, Westport, Elizabethtown, Schroon, Minerva, New-
comb, North Hudson and a part of Keene. Willsboro'
embraced the residue of the present county of Essex, and
three towns now included in Clinton. Each of the towns
of Crown point and Willsboro', at the period of its organ-
ization, spread over a territory of about nine hundred
square miles.
At the first town meeting of Willsboro', Melchior
Hoffnagle was elected supervisor, and Daniel Sheldon town
clerk. The first town meeting of Crown Point was held
in December, 1788. At this epoch, the ordinary civil func-
tions of incorporated towns were little regarded or enforced.
A plan was adopted, and although not ratified by any legis-
lation, was conceded by common consent, by which the
town officers were apportioned to the various prominent
settlements. Each locality, designated in a primary meet-
ing the individuals who should receive the several appoint-
ments appropriated to them. A delegate bore the
respective nominations to the general town meeting, in
which they were almost uniformly confirmed. At the
general elections, the polls were held on the two first days,
one-half a day in a place, and on the third at some central
or populous point. These expedients facilitated and
secured as far as practicable, the exercise of their civil
rights to the settlers.
A claim instituted by the Caughnawaga and St. Regis
Indians in 1792, to a vast tract of land, embracing nearly the
entire territory between the St. Lawrence and Mohawk
rivers, was urged for many years with great pertinacity
and earnestness. It was resisted on various grounds, with-
out violating any principle of public justice and private
rights ; investigation amply established the facts, that these
tribes had no original title to the district, but that it was
held exclusively by the Iroquois, who had alienated it to
the whites by sales to individuals and by cessions through
public treaties.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 205
Charles Piatt was appointed the first judge of the newly
organized county, and "William McAuley, of Willsboro',
one of the side judges. Plattsburgh was made the shire-
town of the county. At this period no road had been con-
structed from Willsboro', north of the Boquet river. The
traveler was guided solely by blazed trees over the Wills-
boro' mountain. The route thus indicated, extended
through the forest to the Au Sable river, which was crossed
at the High bridge, about three miles below the site of
Keeseville. A wood road had been opened from that point
to Plattsburgh. A similar track, it is probable, was the
only avenue of intercourse between Crown Point and Split
rock. The settlement at Ticonderoga was about seventy
miles distant from Plattsburgh, at which place the in-
habitants were compelled to appear, to assert their rights
as litigants, or to discharge their duties as jurors and
witnesses. Jay was incorporated as a town in January,
and Elizabethtown in February, 1801. Chesterfield was
organized in 1802, and Essex and Lewis, April 4, 1805.
In 1790, Piatt Rogers established a ferry from Basin
Harbor, and constructed a road from the landing to a
point near Split rock, where it connected with, the road
made in an early period of the settlement. He erected,
in the same season, a bridge over the Boquet, at Wills-
boro' falls, and constructed a road from that place to
Peru, in Clinton county. These services were remune-
rated by the state, through an appropriation to Rogers and
his associates, of a large tract from the public lands.
The venerable Judge Hatch, who until recently, survived,
was one of the earliest settlers in the interior of the
country. He moved, in 1792, into that part of the town
of Essex now known as Brookfield, which was surveyed
and sold in 1788. " This district," he says, " was at that
time chiefly in a state of nature." In 1804, he " removed
to the village of Westport, then called North West Bay.
The distance was eight miles, and the removal of his
family occupied two days, and the labor of four men, to
open a passage for a wagon. At Westport, a small
206 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
improvement had previously been commenced, and one
frame house, three log houses, a saw-mill, and one barn
had been erected. Wo road extended south beyond the
limits of that town. A track had been opened to Pleasant
Valley, where an infant settlement had just been formed.
A road which was almost impassable, extended to the new
colonies, in Lewis, and Jay, aud Keene.1 The alarm and
excitement which agitated the whole country at the defeat
of St. Clair, in this year, and the apprehension of a gene-
ral combination of the Indian tribes of the west with the
Six Nations, extended to these humble hamlets.
A block-house was erected for the protection of the
inhabitants, near the village of Essex. The enterprise of
the pioneer of New England had penetrated the gorges of
the mountains, aud his keen eye had fastened upon rich
and alluring districts far in the forest paths I have men-
tioned. The table lands of Jay, the fertile valleys of
Schroon, and the ravines and slopes in Lewis, Elizabeth-
town and Keene, were all occupied previous to 1798. An
exploring party from the east had reached an eminence in
Elizabethtown, that looks down upon the beautiful vale
now occupied by the county seat of Essex county, embo-
somed among a lofty group of mountains, and adorned by
the branches of the Boquet, which glide through its ver-
dant plains, and gazing in delight upon the scene, they
pronounced it Pleasant Valley. It still preserves, by com-
mon sentiment, the name and the same preeminence.
Schroon was settled about the year 1797, by Samuel Scrib-
uer, Thomas Leland, Moses Patee, Benjamin Banker and
Simeon Rawson, who were all men of New England.
Thomas Hinckley made the first purchase in the town of
Lewis, in 1796. The most important measure designed to
open and develop the interior sectious of the country, was
the enactment of laws which authorized the construction,
by Piatt Rogers, and others, of public roads. I have already
referred to one. Another was authorized to be constructed
^ ~™
1 Letter Hon. Charles Hatch.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 207
from Sandy Hill to the Canada line, and passing along the
Schroou valley, through Elizabethtown and Lewis, and
crossed the Au Sable river at a fording place near Keese-
ville. This highway is still designated as the Old State
road. Numerous appropriations, at more recent periods,
have been made by the state, for the construction of public
roads, which traverse the county in various directions.
One of these, opened many years since, extending from
Westport to Hopkinton, traversing Elizabethtown, the
gorges of the Keene mountains, and the plains of North
Elba, penetrated what was then denominated, the fifty miles
woods. A road, constructed under acts of 1841 and 1844,
from Lake Champlain to Cartharge, in Jefferson county,
was gradually built by an application of specific road taxes.
It passes through the towns of Crown Point, Schroon and
Newcornb, penetrating the heart of the Adirondacs. These
avenues are of the deepest importance in promoting the
progress and improvement of the county. Rogers and his
associates received au enormous grant of unappropriated
lands, covering an area of about seventy- three thousand
acres. It costs, in the construction of these roads, according
to the estimates preserved by tradition, " one penny and two
farthings per acre."
Essex county was organized in 1799, in the division of
Clinton county, and is now bounded on the north by Clin-
ton and Franklin counties, on the west by Franklin and
Hamilton, on the south by Washington and Warren, and
on the east by Lake Champlain. The area of this county
embraces one thousand seven hundred and seventy-nine
square miles, or one million one hundred and thirty-eight
thousand five hundred acres. It is the second county in
territorial extent in the state, being only exceeded by St.
Lawrence. New towns, by repeated divisions, have been
occasionally formed, as circumstances and the convenience
of the population required. The county now comprises
eighteen incorporated townships, several of which com-
prehend more territory than some of the counties in the
state. Nearly all of them are too extended for the con-
208 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
venient exercise of their civil and poliiical functions. The
village of Essex was originally constituted the county shire,
and the old block-house, mentioned before, was appro-
priated for the public use, and was occupied for these pur-
poses, until the removal of the county seat to Pleasant
Valley. By the census of 1800, the combined population
of Clinton and Essex counties, was eight thousand five hun-
dred and seventy-two, including fifty-eight slaves. The
next decade exhibits a very decisive increase. Essex alone
contained, by the census of 1810, nine thousand five hun-
dred and twenty-five population, and Clinton eight thousand
and two. The tabular exhibit, Appendix D, will present
the progress of the county in population.
Essex county voted with Clinton, until after the census
of 1800. Thomas Stower was the first representative of
Essex, when voting independent of Clinton.1
The war of 1812, although it closed many of the ordi-
nary channels of business in this county, accelerated its
progress by the new demands created for all the products
of industry and agriculture, and by the general and abundant
diffusion of money it produced. The enemy appeared on
several occasions in the waters of Essex county, and in the
summer of 1813, entered the Boquet with two galleys and two
barges for the purpose of seizing a quantity of government
flour which had been deposited at Willsboro' falls. Landing
at different points, and committing many wanton ravages
on private property, they retired after a slight skirmish
with a body of militia under General Wadharns near the
former entrenchments of Burgoyne. The fire of the militia
killed or wounded nearly all that were in the rear galley.
She floated down the river a disabled wreck and was towed
into the lake, by boats sent to her assistance.1 Alter this
repulse the British flotilla returned to the Isle aux ISToix.
The citizens of the county exhibited promptitude and
zeal in responding to the calls of patriotism, during the
war, and particularly on the approach of the British forces,
1 For the complete civil list of Essex county, see Appendix C.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 209
in 1814, upou Plattsburgh. Many of the volunteers and
militia of Essex, creditably participated in the events of
that brief, although glorious campaign.
The masses of the settlers of Essex county were of New
England origin, aud in a congenial soil and climate,
familiar to their habits aud experiences, they implanted the
usages and characteristics of their puritan fatherland. No
county of the state embraces a population of higher intel-
ligence, of purer morality, or more industrious and frugal
habits. Its early history presents only a counterpart of
the aspect of every new colony, where among the virtuous
and worthy, there always drifts from more mature com-
munities, the loose and reckless.
The disorganizing and demoralizing effects of the war
of the revolution exerted a malignant influence upon the
character of the frontier population. Essex county was
not exempt from these consequences. The testimony
before me, of aged citizens, presents a striking portraiture
of the state of society, in some sections of the county,
where the restraints of government were scarcely recog-
nized and where laws seem to have administered only to
evil passions. I quote the language of a judicious observer,
in speaking of a town, now second to none in its high
moral aud social position : " When an individual wished to
secure a piece of land, he erected upon it a cabin, and
repelled others by physical force; if unsuccessful or absent,
his cabin was prostrated, and the last aggressor took pos-
session of the coveted premises, and claimed the title.
The parties, with their partisans and a supply of whiskey,
met on the soil, and ' tried their wager of battle.' The
victor maintained the possession. To correct these evils
an association was formed, and a system adopted, which
required a person desiring to occupy a lot, to perfect a sur-
vey of the premises, and to file a transcript with the secre-
tary of the society. The title thus established was held
sacred, for the purpose of that community." 1 The vene-
1 G. Fenton, Esq.
14
210 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
rable author, since deceased, of a communication, describ-
ing the primitive habits of the county states: "that
justices' courts, at that period, were usually held in taverns
the innkeeper himself being the justice. The most frivo-
lous difficulties were nursed into lawsuits ; these, attended
amid intemperance and revelings, led to assaults, and
trifling controversies which engendered further and debas-
ing litigation.1 Essex county presented in this rude and
demoralized class of its citizens, a stage of society exhibited
along every frontier of civilization. Wherever I have suc-
ceeded in tracing the history of the early settlement of
this county, I almost universally have found one promi-
nent feature developed, and which strongly marks the
character and descent of the people. The first impulse,
and almost instinct of the settlers, even when their cabins
were scattered over a wide area of several miles, seems to
have been to secure the erection of a school-house. For
many years in the early stages of the settlements, these
schools had no legal organization, and were sustained alone
by the voluntary contributions of the people, unaided by
the public bounty.2 The school-house supplied the place
of public worship. The missionary at an early day ap-
peared in the midst of these settlements, superseding in
the religious duties, the humbler offices of the private
Christian. Churches were soon organized in various sec-
tions of the county. Many colonies were accompanied in
their emigration by their own spiritual guides.
The cold season of 1816, which produced such universal
distress and suffering, inflicted a scarcity upon this new
country, that visited it almost with the horrors of famine.
So close and pressing was the destitution, that the indigent,
gathering from many miles about a mill, would crave the
privilege of collecting its sweepings, to preserve the lives
of their families. A few sufficiently provident to cut the
corn in the sap, saved it sound enough lor planting. In
the succeeding spring, many traveled fifty miles to procure
1 Levi Bigby, Esq. 2 John Hoffnagle.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 211
this seed. Partial failure of crops had before occurred, but
the season of 1816 will long be memorable, as the only
instance in the history of the county of extreme destitu-
tion and suffering.
Ticonderoga and Crown Point present, upon the margin
of Lake Champlain, a low and beautiful tract gently un-
dulating and gradually ascending as it recedes, and swell-
ing towards their western limits into bold and abrupt
eminences. Clay predominates in these towns in the vici-
nity of the lake, intercepted by occasional seams of sand,
and in the interior the soil is generally a gravel or sandy
loam. Several sections of these towns are distinguished
for the great excellence of their meadow lands. A view
of Westport, Essex, and Willsboro', from the lake, presents
ranges of highly cultivated and fertile farms, mingled with
a combination of hills and plains which beautifully adorn
and diversify the scenery. The two former spread into the
interior bosoms of choice laud, more elevated, and which
are environed by lofty hills and mountains. Willsboro'
point is a low, flat peninsula, projecting several miles into
Champlain, having the long estuary, formerly known as
Pereu bay, on its western side. This portion of Willsboro'
affords some of the best farms in the county. A ridge of
high, warm and rich land traverses the town of Essex dia-
gonally from near the lake to Whallonsburgh, embracing
a territory of great natural fertility and inferior to few
sections of the state in the advanced character and excel-
lence of its tillage. The soil of these towns is very diver-
sified, although a sandy loam is its prevailing character.
Moriah and Chesterfield, both bordering upon the lake,
are more broken and stony than the other lake towns and
contain less arable and cultivated land. The former
ascends abruptly, and in a series of terraces or high valleys,
until it attains an elevation of several hundred feet a short
distance from the lake. The soil of this tract is deep and
strong. Chesterfield contains many ranges of sand and
rocky districts, but embraces much territory of very supe-
rior land. Elizabethtowu and Lewis, lying among the
212 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
gorges of the mountains and intersected by various
branches of the Boquet, expose chiefly a light soil, with
some alluvial flats and valleys enriched by the debris of
the upland, which form tracts of the choicest land. Parts
of these towns are managed, in their agricultural affairs,
with great skill and sagacity. North Hudson and Keene,
while they include several fine farms, are, in the aggregate,
broken and mountainous. The Keene flats are unsur-
passed in beauty and fertility. The territorial limits of
Schroon equals the area of some counties, and is exceed-
ingly diversified in the face of the country and the nature
of the soil.1 The centre of the town forms a beautiful
rich valley of warm alluvial soil, through which flows,
along high and even banks, the waters of the upper Hud-
son. Successful cultivation has been extended into the
ravines and recesses of the mountains traversed by tributa-
ries of this stream. Fertile and cultivated tracts occur in
various other' sections of the town.
The town of Minerva was organized from a part of
Schroon, and incorporated in 1817, when it comprised a
few log cabins scattered over its wide surface. It is situ-
ated in the extreme south-western corner of the county.
A very large proportion of this town is still occupied by
the original forest. Separated by a high range of moun-
tains from other sections of the county, connected with
them by imperfect communication, and with little associa-
tions in their business affairs, this most valuable and inte-
resting town has been little known or appreciated. In
the general improvement of the town, in the appearance
of the farms, the erection of new buildings, and its indus-
1 This town derives its name from the lovely lake which it embraces.
The legend is, that the lake was visited by the French in their military ex-
peditions and in fishing and hunting excursions from Crown Point and Ticon-
deroga, and was named by them Scarron, in honor of the widow Scarron,
the celebrated Madam Maintenon, of the reign of Louis XIV. Rogers men-
tions Schoon creek which was crossed in marching between Fort Edward
and Lake George. The islands of this lake afford sites for elegant and re-
tired villas and country seats, unsurpassed by the waters of Cumberland
and Westmoreland, in picturesque beauty and romantic seclusion.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 213
trial pursuits, no part of the county exhibited, to my
observation, more decisive and gratifying evidences of
prosperity and advancement. The physical formation of
Minerva is peculiar and striking. The whole territory
of the town is elevated, rising in a gradual ascent of a
succession of lofty valleys, formed by deep, broad, and
sweeping undulations. This formation, viewed from an
eminence, communicates a rich rural aspect, and great
beauty to the landscape. In the language of one of its
inhabitants,1 " Minerva is a rugged and mountainous
town, containing about one-third mountain, one-third fea-
sible land, and the residue rough and stony."
The town of Newcomb is high, spreading over an ele-
vation— apart from the altitude of the mountains — ranging
from one thousand live hundred to one thousand eight
hundred feet, which presents a broken and rocky surface.
Yet its slopes and elevated valleys comprise tracts of much
natural vigor, with great depth of soil. These qualities
of the earth are exhibited by the dense and stately growth
of its primitive and magnificent hard-wood forests. Iso-
lated farms have been occupied in different parts of this
town, since an early period of the present century.
Jay was settled as early as 1798. Remote, and at that
time nearly inaccessible from Lake Champlain, its great
natural fertility and beauty attracted the emigrant, who,
passing by lands contiguous to that great artery of the
country, penetrated to this wilderness by a mere bridle
path, and transported thither, on horseback, his family
and effects. A large portion of this town is formed of
high and precipitous hills and mountains, and its whole
territory is elevated. In the valleys, the soil is light, but
usually vigorous. Upon several parallel ridges, which
traverse nearly its entire length, ranges of land occur,
distinguished by a warm, quick, and highly productive
soil. These tracts allured the early emigration to this
1 A. P. Morse.
214 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
region seventy years ago, and they still preserve their high
character for great and enduring fertility.
"Wilmington and St. Armands, recently separated from
it, occupy the north-western angle of Essex county. They
are generally, in their topographical aspect, elevated,
rough, and mountainous. The soil is sandy and gravelly,
with occasional alternations of loam. These towns com-
prise numerous bosoms and flats of excellent land. The
long slopes gradually descending from the mountains to
the valleys of the streams, present a highly picturesque
and beautiful scenery. Settlements commenced in Wil-
mington, in 1800, and in the district now forming St.
Armands, not until 1829, by any permanent occupancy.1
The town of North Elba is environed, upon all except its
western borders, by a lofty sierra, which separates it from
the other sections of the county, by an almost insuperable
barrier. It is now approached by a circuitous route
through Clinton and Franklin counties by the road which
penetrates the mountains at the Wilmington notch, or by
the state road, which passes through the deep gorges, and
along the high and broken slopes of theKeene mountains.
North Elba has little assimilation to the other towns of the
county, either in its topographical arrangement or in the
character of its soil. The gigantic amphitheatre of moun-
tains, which almost encircle the town, form in its outline
an arc of nearly sixty miles in extent, and embraces
within this area a territory of about one hundred square
miles. Upon the west, the plains of North Elba mingle
with that vast plateau, teeming with rivers and lakes and
forests, which spread to the shores of the St. Lawrence.
The grandeur and imposing beauty of these mountain bul-
warks, which singularly blending with a landscape of lakes
and rivulets, vales and hills, combine to form a scenery of
surpassing loveliness and magnificence. From one position,
the eye gazes on the lofty group of the Adirondac moun-
tains. Mt. Marcy stands out in his perfect contour and
1 Elias Goodspeed.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 215
vast dimensions. Mt. Mclntyre, Colden, McMartin, trace
their outlines upon the horizon, and far towards the south-
west, the group of Mt. Seward limit the view ; on the north,
the Whiteface envelops the plain, and on the east,
tower the dark and rugged cliffs of the Keene mountains.
The western branch of the Au Sable river flows through
the town, and nearly the whole distance along a wide allu-
vial valley, almost as broad, and apparently of fertility
equal to the flats of the Mohawk river. The soil of this
intervale is generally a deep alluvial. Ascending from
the valley to the table land, the earth becomes a dark and
rich loam free from stones and rock. The growth of hard
wood upon this territory is in no part of the state sur-
passed in its size, quality, and density. Its maple, birch,
cherry and beech, are as stately, and form as highly tim-
bered woodland as in the most favored sections of the
country. Slightly elevated above the table-laud, and re-
ceding from the river, commence the plains, which expand
far into the interior. This tract embraces, in its general
character, a warm, rich sandy loam. This land is scarcely
inferior to the other soils of the town in vigor, while it
exerts au early and more impulsive influence on vegetation,
and is more easily and cheaply tilled.
With a view of instituting a comparison between this
rich and beautiful region, and some of the most highly
cultivated and productive districts of Vermont, and thus
to test the adaptation of the former from altitude and cli-
mate to agricultural purposes, I applied to the late venerable
and distinguished professor of natural history, in the
Vermont University, Rev. Zadock Thompson, for inform-
ation on the subject. His reply is contained in a very
interesting note in which he states that many of the most
valuable and productive farms in Vermont are situated at
an altitude of five hundred to one thousand two hundred
feet. It will be understood that the elevations mentioned
by Professor Thompson, are from the basis of Lake Cham-
plain, which is itself ninety-three feet above tide water.
The plateau, which embraces the arable parts of North
216 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
Elba, is estimated in the report of Professor Benedict, as
ranging from one thousand four hundred, to one thousand
eight hundred feet above tide. This town contains nearly
eighty thousand acres of land, seven-tenths of which, it is
computed, are susceptible of cultivation.
The great beauty of this town, its agricultural capabili-
ties, and its peculiar history as well as the general absence
of information relative to its character and importance,
seem to require a somewhat extended view of its progress
and condition.1
A few pioneers, near the commencement of the century,
with their families, entered into this remote and deeply
secluded region. They seem to have encountered severer
hardships and trials than the ordinary privations incident
to a frontier life. Divided from civilized society by a
chain of almost impenetrable mountains, they probably
reached the place then known as the Plains of Abraham,
by the circuitous route, now traversed by a road, along
the course of the Saranac. While they waited in expecta-
tion of the scanty harvest yielded by their improvident
agriculture, they subsisted by fishing and hunting, and
from supplies transported by their own labor from the
nearest settlements. The numerous beaver meadows
furnished an abundant supply of fodder and grazing for
the cattle. Until 1810 little progress was made either in
the agricultural or social condition of this remote colony.
The construction about that period of the Elba Iron
Works, by Archibald Mclntyre and his associates, gave
1 The vestiges of Indian occupation in North Elba, and the territory
around the interior lakes which remain, leave no doubt that at some former
period they congregated there in great numbers. I found in the county a
obscure tradition that the partisan Rogers attacked and destroyed a village
in the absence of the warriors, situated on the Plains of Abraham ; that
he was pursued and overtaken, and a battle fought on the banks of the
Boquet, just below the village of Pleasant Valley. Relics of both Euro-
pean and savage weapons of war found on the scene of the supposed con-
flict, seem to corroborate the legend, or at least indicate the probability of
an engagement between Europeans and Indians having occurred at that
place.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 217
a new aspect to the affairs ot this region. The history of
that enterprise I shall narrate in another place. The re-
quirements of these works created occupation for all the
population in the vicinity, formed a domestic market, and
attracted numerous settlers. Schools were established,
religious ordinances observed, and an efficient and benign
influence exerted by the benevolent proprietors. Unhap-
pily for the progress and permanent prosperity of the
district, nearly all the land in the township at this period
was held by the state. The emigrant, when he arrived,
selected his lot without perfecting a title, or even securing
a preemption, relying upon his right and ability to do so
at his convenience. This delay eventually defeated their
occupation of the farms, and blasted all the anticipated
rewards of the toil and privations of the pioneers. In the
language of a citizen of the town, " a great landholder
heard of this territory of state lands, came and inspected
it, returned to Albany and made a purchase at the land
office of the entire tract." The settlers, soon apprised of
this event, so fraught with evil and calamity to themselves,
sought to' purchase of him their possessions. He an-
nounced to them that the lands were not, at that time, in
market. They too well understood the purport of this
intimation. They were not, however, disturbed in their
occupation, but unwilling to continue a course of improve-
ment, which might enure only to the benefit of a stranger,
little further progress was made in the cultivation of their
farms, and the land was gradually abandoned with the
exception of a few lots.
In 1840, only seven families remained on the eighty
thousand acres which now forms the town of North Elba.
At this time the lands were offered for sale, emigration
was again directed to the region, and the evidences of re-
turning prosperity were restored. The public highways
were again opened and improved. At this period a new
episode occurred in the checkered history of North Elba,
Mr. Gerrit Smith, who had become an extensive proprietor
of the town, made gratuitous conveyances of a large
218 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
number of quarter lots, embracing forty acres each, to
colored persons, with the professed design, it was under-
stood, of forming a colony, which should constitute an
asylum for a peculiar class of African population. I'found
no difference of opinion in that region, in reference to the
character aud results of this movement. "Whatever may
have been the motive of the benefaction, the issue of the
experiment has entailed only disappointment and suffering
upon the recipients of the gratuity, while the act has
exercised a depressing and sinister influence upon the
prosperity and reputation of the country. The negro, ill
adapted in his physical constitution to the rigorous climate,
with neither experience nor competency to the independent
management of business affairs, and adverse to them from
habits and propensities, soon felt the inappropriateness of
his position. He has abandoned his acquisition in disgust
and disappointment, or became, in many instances, an im-
poverished and destitute object of public or private charity.
A very considerable proportion of these freeholds have been
sold for taxes ; others have passed into the hands of specula-
tors, and when I visited the district only a few if any of
the large number of original grantees retained the occupa-
tion of the farms they received. A knowledge of these
facts has been widely diffused, and although the whole
scheme bore in its inception the inherent elements of fail-
ure, the result has been imputed not to these causes, but
public opinion has ascribed it to an inhospitable climate
and the sterility of the soil.
During the brief operations of the Adirondac works, the
affairs of North Elba received a fresh impulse. A road cut
through the forest, in the gorges of the mountains, gave
to the inhabitants a winter communication with that place,
where they enjoyed the advantages of a ready market, at
liberal prices, for all their agricultural commodities.
North Elba was separated from Keene, and incorporated
in 1849. The population of the town is steadily advancing,
and now amounts to nearly four hundred souls. Lands
may be purchased, which are adapted to farming purposes,
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 219
for from one dollar to six dollars per acre, the price being
governed by position, and the condition of the premises, in
reference to improvements and cultivation.
CHAPTER XIII.
The Rebellion, 1849-1861.
Essex county was agitated by the same admonitions
which in every part of the republic disturbed and moved
the popular heart and presaged the approaching conflict,
when the collision of opinion and sentiment should be
succeeded by the din of arms. Distant from the imme-
diate scenes of the terrible events, that shook the founda-
tions of the Union, her territory was exempt from much of
the woe and suffering that desolated other sections of the
country. But none met the responsibilities of the hour
with greater vigor and promptitude, or more freely offered
the libation of its wealth and blood, in the common cause.
It is a strange coincidence that in one of the most re-
mote and politically unimportant counties of New York,
and in one of its smallest and most secluded towns, sepa-
rated from the world by vast mountain barriers, an individual
should have resided, who impressed a momentous and
startling episode upon the history of the nation, and im-
pelled a vast stride in the procession of events, which cul-
minated in the rebellion.
I have elsewhere described the romantic town of North
Elba and its beautiful plateau, embosomed among the
Adiroudaeks and encircled by its stupendous amphitheatre
of rocks and mountains. Nature, in such a scene, would
cherish the reveries of religious fanaticism and stimulate
visions of a social or political enthusiast. We have referred
to the abortive scheme of Mr. Gerrit Smith for establishing
in Essex county a colony of emancipated negroes. Benign
and worthy in its designs it bore the inherent elements ot
failure. It was evident that the experiment was languish-
220 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
ing and must eventually fail. In the year 1849, a man
called upon Mr Smith and representing to him, in refer-
ence to the project which had been announced in the
public papers, that the negro, without experience in his
contemplated occupation and unaccustomed to the climate,
was not adapted to the intended colonization. He proposed
to take up a farm in North Elba, and by affording the
negroes instruction and partial employment to aid in the
enterprise. Mr. Smith acquiesced in his views and promptly
conveyed to him a lot. This person was John Brown.
At that time he was a resident of Massachuetts, but the
same or the next year, removed to North Elba with his
family and flocks and herds. He ereceted a humble dwell-
ing house on a slope of the Adirondacks, and almost
beneath the shadow of their pinnacles. This was his
nominal home during the eventful scenes of the succeed-
ing ten years; his family continued to reside there until
after his death and there in a picturesque spot which he
himself selected, repose his remains.
A brief notice of this remarkable person seems to be
imposed on me by his relations to Essex county. No one
can resist the conviction, that John Brown, by the texture
of his spirit, and the qualities of his mind, was no ordinary
character. He was a lineal descendant from a pilgrim of
the May-Flower, and appears to have been preeminently
imbued with the stern religious enthusiasm, the ardent
zeal, the self-reliance and the inflexible devotion to truth
and the peculiar convictions of right and justice he che-
rished, that marked the early Puritan principles. His reli-
gious fervor was inflamed by fanaticism. He believed
that he maintained direct communion with heavenly wis-
dom, and that he was guided by specific visions and
spiritual teachings. His biographers represent him to
have been a man of constant prayer, and that the Bible was
uniformly consulted as the guide and counsellor of his
course. Religious ordinances he not only observed in his
own practices, but they were maintained and inculcated in
his relations with others. In the wildest period of his
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 221
Kansas career, twice each day he observed public prayer,
and at every meal offered a grace of thanksgiving and
praise. He united in youth with the Congregational
church, and at an early age commenced studying with a
view to the ministry, but this purpose was arrested by a
severe affection of the eyes.
Before his settlement in North Elba, he had engaged in
varied business pursuits without any considerable success,
and usually with decided reverses. In 1848, he visited
Europe in the execution of a wool speculation, which re-
sulted in a disastrous failure. During his sojourn in
Europe, his native taste and love for fine stock prompted
him to the inspection of the choice herds of the various
countries he had visited. By this means he acquired a
knowledge of their respective qualities and value, which
rendered him subsequently a useful citizen and intelligent
breeder in Essex county. Brown embraced at an early
period the most vehement anti-slavery sentiments, and in
1839 imagined that by a divine consecration he had been
constituted the liberator of the African race. This idea
became the all absorbing passion of his life, and to its real-
ization he subordinated every other feeling.
We may not assert that John Brown was insane, and on
his final trial in Virginia he peremptorily refused to allow
that defense to be interposed, although he admitted that
in his maternal line a strong taint of insanity prevailed
which had been frequently developed. It is certain that
several members of that branch of his family were inmates
of lunatic asylums, and that the mind of a son who perished
in Kansas was disordered. On the subject of negro emanci-
pation, it can scarcely admit of doubt, he was a monomaniac.
This fervid enthusiasm had disturbed the balance of his
powerful and ardent mind. An inherent predilection for
military affairs, cultivated by historical reading, had appa-
rently suggested the idea that he was predestinated to
become the military leader of a slave insurrection. We
can .only conjecture of his proceedings before visiting
Europe ; but while in England, he sought intercourse with
222 HISTOET OF ESSEX COUNTY.
the prominent abolitionists of that country and exposed
to them his plans. It is evident that these men did not
approve or sanction his violent designs. In reference per-
haps to his visions of military duties, he constantly attended
reviews in England and upon the continent, and was a close
and intelligent observer of the organization and tactics of
the armies of the several countries. Stimulated by the same
feeling and avowedly to prepare himself for an impending
crisis, Brown visited many of the battle-fields of Napoleon,
and with the self-complacent reliance on his own powers, or
perhaps presumption, which was a striking trait of his
character, freely criticized the campaigns of the great
commander and often objected to his strategy. It is a
singular fact that Brown, in his Kansas warfare, brought
into practice on a diminutive scale the manoeuvres he had
theoretically preferred to those of the French emperor.
The first prominent appearance of Brown before the
people of Essex county was in connection with the agri-
cultural fair of 1850. The report of the society for that
year, thus refers to the subject : " The appearauce upon
the ground of a number of very choice and beautiful
Devons from the herd of Mr. John Brown residing in one
of our most remote and secluded towns, attracted great at-
tention, and added much to the interest of the fair. The
interest and admiration they excited have attracted public
attention to the subject, and have already resulted in the
introduction of several choice animals into the region.
We have no doubt that this influence upon the character
of the stock of our county will be permanent and decisive.1
While a resident of North Elba his earnest and energetic
character attracted jealous friends, and often aroused strong
hostility. A peculiarity of temperament, which moulded
his whole career, was a proneness to assert what he be-
lieved to be right and just, with no regard to any personal
interest. An iron will and the determination of a self-reli-
ant and decisive spirit sustained by great native intellectual
1 Transactions of New York State Agricultural Society, 1850.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 223
properties conferred those qualities by which he exercised
a magnetic power over the masses.
"When the disturbances arose in Kansas, four sons of
Brown were already there, and fee instantly hastened to the
participation in events; and he went as to a congenial field,
in which he recognized the first scenes of the opening drama
of conflict and blood. In the council of the Free State
party, he at once attained an ascendancy, and was promi-
nent among its active and controlling spirits. He was
everywhere present, in all the acts of lawlessness and
violence which debauched both parties and demoralized
society. He manifested no insignificant skill and science
in organizing the forces and constructing fortifications
appropriate to that warfare, and fought the battles of his
party with great conduct and intrepidity. A partial subsi-
dence of the turmoils in Kansas allowed Brown and his
sons to return to the east, with the ostensible object of
rejoining his family at North Elba. His traces were
exposed in various sections of the northern states, as
the active and efficient emissary of the free state agitation.
At Boston he appeared by request, before a committee of
the legislature, to whom had been submitted a proposition
to extend material aid to Kansas, and delivered an elaborate
and inflammatory address on the public affairs of that
territory.
In the ensuing summer we again discern him in Kansas,
and his advent was signalized by renewed agitation and
conflicts. Soon after his return, Brown entered the state
of Missouri with an armed band, and by violence liberated
twelve slaves. He led them into Kansas and by a slow
and scarcely disguised progress conducted them through
Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois and Michigan, and placed them
in security upon' the shores of Canada. This extraordi-
nary and lawless act astounded the country through its
whole borders, and was severely reprobated by many of.his
own sympathizers. The governor of Missouri offered a
reward of three thousand dollars for his arrest. ' The pre-
sident of the United States proclaimed an additional
224 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
reward of two hundred and fifty dollars, with the same
object. Brown subsequently avowed, that a prominent
motive which suggested this action, was the desire of de-
monstrating the practicability of a forcible liberation of
the American slaves.
By the sole authority of his own name and influence, he
assembled a secret convention at Chatham, Canada, com-
posed of all classes of his associates. Its proceedings were
private, and have never been clearly disclosed. A colored
minister presided, and we are authorized to assume that an
early invasion of the south was on that occasion discussed
and arranged. From this convention emanated the constitu-
tion that proposed to establish within the United States a pro-
visional government; Although this instrument professed
in one article to denounce all interference with the existing
state or federal political organizations, it was calculated to
subvert both. The negro preacher, who presided over this
assembly, was constituted president of the contemplated
government. This fantastic and extravagant chimera, was
accepted by Brown as an actuality. In his brief subse-
quent career, he professed to act under the obligations of
the oath it imposed, and holding the appointment by its
provision of a commauder-in-chief, he signed with that
designation the commissions of his subordinates. Large
numbers of printed copies of this document, designed to
be disseminated, were found in his possession at Harper's
ferry. The movements of Brown from this period, until
the final catastrophe closed his turbulent career, were more
disguised than they had been, but were not less active or
zealous. Occasional glimpses are detected, where he ap-
pears inflaming the abolition sentiment, haranguing public
meetings, and never slumbering in his assaults upon the
existence of slavery.
In the month of April, 1859, he was in Essex county,
enlisting associates. Like Mahomet, he found his first and
• firmest proselytes in his own household and among bis own
kindred. Five certainly of the youth of North Elba, three
sons, a son-in-law and a brother of the latter, embraced
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 225
his views, aud all but one son died amid the terrible scenes
at Harper's Ferry. Brown devoted, it is believed, most of the
eight months preceding the invasion of Virginia to the mili-
tary organization of the escaped slaves, that had gathered
in Canada. He caused several hundred spear heads, a
weapon peculiarly adapted to the hand of an undisciplined
negro, in the service he meditated, to be fabricated in New
England and transported to Harper's ferry. That posi-
tion had long before been designated in the plans of Brown
as the point at which to initiate his proposed occupation
of slave territory, and it was selected with unusual
skill and forecast. He had been for many years perfectly
familiar with the topography of that whole region. This
sierra he designed as the base of the guerrilla war he
proposed to maintain. Harper's Ferry was easily accessi-
ble from Canada aud in intimate communication with the
entire north. The seizure of the guns and munitions de-
posited at the arsenal would furnish, he conceived, all the
means necessary for arming the slave population.
A large unoccupied farm, embracing three dwelling
houses, and situated within a few miles of Harper's Ferry,
was hired by Brown, under the name of Smith, and
afforded a convenient rendezvous to the initiated, and a
safe receptacle for the arms and ammunition which were
actively but cautiously collected. The unusual deport-
ment of these men excited no small attention and com-
ment, but suspicion was eluded by the pretext, that they
were preparing to form an extensive wool-growing esta-
blishment. The presence, among other females, of a
daughter, and the wife of a son, attached plausibility to
these professions. With the prudence and care which so
singularly contrasted with his reckless and violent schemes,
the safety of these women was secured by their secret
return to North Elba, directly preceding the outbreak.
Brown had designated the 24th of October, as the day on
which to strike a blow, that he hoped would secure the
fruition of all his dreams and toils. Either alarmed by
15
226 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
a suspicion of treachery among bis followers, or from a
natural fear of detection, he was induced to anticipate the
movement a week. This change in his plans, his friends
allege, was fatal to their primary success. It deranged
a concerted movement of the slaves, and defeated a co-
operation from Canada, Kansas, and New England.
Brown, himself, did not sanction by his language at
Charlestown, this assertion.
The details of his designs are shrouded in profound and
impenetrable mystery. He was too shrewd and cautious
to leave anything to the revelations of paper, and main-
tained after his capture an inflexible silence, which he
earnestly enjoined on his associates in their final interview.
This course was the promptings of a determination not
to prejudice by any disclosures the cause he had so earn-
estly cherished, and to shield his secret coadjutors from
the consequences of a complicity in his acts. The dreams
and purposes that excited his feverish mind are buried in
his grave, and we now can only speculate upon the nature
of designs, which, to the calm judgment of history, seem
to have been suggested by a wild and insane fanaticism,
that inspired the attempt, with seventeen white and five
negro followers, to uproot a system the growth of centu-
ries, and to oppose and defy the forces not merely of the
southern states but all the powers of the federal govern-
ment. The facts which have been disclosed warrant the
inference, that the plans of Brown embraced the design
of the surprise of Harper's Ferry; the capture of the
arsenal ; the seizure of prominent citizens to be held as
hostages and ransomed by a supply of provisions or the
liberation of slaves, and an escape to the mountains with
the arms and ammunition he might secure. He hoped to
maintain himself among the fastnesses of the mountains
until he should be supported from the north and relieved
by the general servile insurrection, he believed his presence
would enkindle. He would possess ample means, with
his rifles and spears, to arm the slaves. His schemes were
admirably conceived, and the execution attempted with
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 227
equal courage and skill.1 All his designs were accom-
plished, as far as he advanced, except the last and most
essential step. He failed to retreat into the mountains.
For hours he held the ability to execute unopposed this
measure ; but his wonted vigor and promptness abandoned
him, and while he hesitated, lingering in doubt, his foes
enclosed him and the opportunity was lost. Brown asserts
that this hesitation was prompted by motives of humanity ;
others conjecture that he cherished the expectation of an
uprising of the slaves.
Enveloped by an overwhelming force of the militia of
Maryland and Virginia and federal marines, Brown sus-
tained his position with a mere handful of men in the
arsenal building, until the second night, and when the door
was at length burst open, he and three others alone survived.
One of these was instantly killed and Brown himself cut
down by frightful sabre wounds. A son and daughter's
husband were dead, and another son expiring under a
mortal wound lay before him. A small party, including a
third son of Brown, which had been left in charge of
the farm buildings, effected an escape. The remainder
of the band were either slain in the streets or captured.
Several citizens were also killed or wounded in the conflict.
When the arrest of Brown, and the few followers who
escaped immediate death had been effected, the popular
exasperation was controlled by the authorities ; no outrage
was committed against them. Brown was removed to the
jail at Charlestown, his wounds were nursed, his wants
relieved and to his friends a free access allowed to his
prison. Brown complained of the precipitancy of his trial ;
but under the circumstance it appears not to have been
urged with any ungenerous haste, and although the weight
of incontestible facts rendered it a mere form, it was con-
ducted with justice and fairness. He was legally convicted
1 " It is in vain to underrate either the man or the conspiracy * * *
Certainly it was one of the best planned and best executed conspiracies that
ever failed." — Mr. Vallandigliam.
228 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
and justly executed, but no indignity offended the solem-
nities of justice. His body was respectfully delivered to
the tender care of his wife and friends.
The ruling passion of the enthusiast was illustrated in
his progress from the prison cell to the scaffold, when he
paused to kiss and bless a negro infant. The transcend-
ant and eccentric tone of his sentiment was exhibited in
the desire expressed to his wife, that she should collect the
bodies of their two sons and his own, place them on a
funeral pyre, consume their flesh, transport the bones to
Essex county, and inter them on the farm at North Elba.
With just sensibility she removed the purpose from his
mind. Mr. Washington, one of the hostages held by
Brown, attested to his humane solicitude for their safety
during the assault. The high intelligence and elevated
sentiment disclosed in his conversations while in prison ;
his heroic resolution ; and the steady firmness and unfalter-
ing spirit with which he encountered his fate, extorted
the admiration even of the enemies, upon whom his
designs were calculated to inflict the direst woes.1
Romance rarely delineated a more impressive scene
than is described by Mr. Washington : " Brown was the
coolest and firmest man he ever saw in defying danger
and death. With one son dead by his side, and another
shot through, he felt the pulse of his dying son with one
hand, held his rifle with the other, and commanded his
men with the utmost composure."2
It is not my province to discuss the character or aspect of
these events. Glancing at them as they constituted by the
action of its citizens, a fragment of the history of Essex
county, I have discharged my duty and yield to others their
defense or denunciation. Deluded and stimulated by a
'"He is a man of clear head, of courage, fortitude, and simple ingenuous-
ness. He is cool, collected, and indomitable, and lie inspired me with
trust in his integrity as a man of truth." " He is a fanatic, vain and garru-
lous, but firm, truthful, and intelligent." — Governor Wise's speecJi at Rich-
mond.
"*ldem.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 229
frenzied zeal and blindly reckless as he was to the conse-
quences of his enthusiasm, Brown apparently fostered, in the
prosecution of his designs, no aspirations of personal ambi-
tion, nor was he impelled by any lust of wealth or by indi-
vidual hostility to those he assailed. He believed himself
to be a chosen instrument in the hands of God ; and to the
imaginary behests of duty he devoted his own life, and
sacrificed the blood of his sons and the happiness of his
family.1 With feelings not insensible to the domestic affec-
tions he witnessed without regret, the deaths of his disci-
ples : he felt no remorse for the blood of unoffending
citizens by his acts, shed before their own peaceful homes,
nor did he recoil from the certain horrors of a war of races,
that he hoped to arouse. His mind, under the dominion of
the wild visions and extravagant hallucinations that in-
flamed it, rejected all fealty to the federal constitution.
He did not accept its paramount obligation ; he did not
recognize its sanctions and guaranties. A regard to so-
cial order and the restraints that secure protection to life
and property were powerless to control or modify his course.
.All these emotions, sacred to most minds, were extin-
guished or subverted in the pursuit of his one great
dominant passion.
The invasion of Brown will hereafter be recognized as
an active cause in accelerating, if it did not produce, events
which subjected the institutions of the Union to that ordeal
they were predestinated at some period to encounter. The
inherent jealousies of the people of the south were inflamed ;
they naturally regarded this attempt as a manifestation of
a determined purpose in the north of armed aggression,
while the very hopelessness of its audacity was calculated
to intensify this alarm and excitement. They saw in this
movement the barriers of the constitution crumbling in the
progress of the abolition spirit. The death of Brown sup-
1 In one small school district, hidden among the mountains, where we
might hope that the strifes of the great world would never enter, and com-
posed of scarcely twice that number of families, five were made widows by
the tragedy at Harper's Ferry.
230 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
plied fuel to the enkindling fires of the anti-slavery senti-
ment in the free states. He was regarded by the disciples
of his faith, not as a felon, but as a martyr, whose blood
had consecrated a sacred principle. The hour of his exe-
cution was solemnized by a large class of the northern
people with religious exercises and the tolling bell, and as
his body was borne through many a village the solemn
knell proclaimed the deep sorrow of his sympathizers. An
immense concourse formed from every grade of society,
dignified his obsequies. Such exhibitions of adverse feel-
ing tended to deepen, the alienation between the sections;
to excite stronger antagonisms, and to hasten the appeal to
the terrible arbitrament of arms. The presages of Brown
were singularly accomplished when, before even the moss
had gathered upon his solitary mountain grave, the armed
tread of thousands was moved by an anthem inspired by
his blood, and which so often sounded above the clangor of
the conflict and the shoutings of the battle-field.
The tide of patriotic enthusiasm which rolled over the
northern states, when the national banner had been fired
upon at Fort Sumter, rose high among the mountains of,
Essex. No section of the state responded with superior
zeal and alacrity to the requisition by the government for
aid. When counties subsequently found it expedient to
claim credit on their military quotas, it was ascertained that
Essex county had been prejudiced by this promptitude, and
had in the early stages of the war supplied troops much in
excess of her just proportion. Neither was the county
surpassed in the fervor and decision by which the popular
sentiment sustained the military measures of the govern-
ment. Public meetings were immediately assembled in
most of the towns to promote enlistment by both influence
and contributions. Women of every class combined their
labors to furnish clothing and every requisite for the com-
fort and efficiency of the volunteers. Few families declined
to impart from their household goods, when called upon by
committees who visited every district, to relieve the wants
of the soldiers, which the government at that period could
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 231
not adequately supply. The national flag or patriotic sym-
bols floated from nearly every dwelling.
The proclamation of the president announcing the call
for the first seventy-five thousand volunteers had scarcely
reached the county when in various sections the enlist-
ment of five different companies was simultaneously com-
menced. These companies were in a large proportion, but
not exclusively, recruited from Essex county, while numbers
of her sons enlisted in different organizations both in New
York and other states.
A company was recruited in Keeseville, and composed
in about equal proportions of residents of Essex and
Clinton counties. Gorton T. Thomas was elected captain
of this company, and Oliver D. Peabody 1st lieutenant,
and Carlisle D Beaumont 2d lieutenant. Another com-
pany was raised in Schroon from the southern towns of
Essex and parts of Warren county. The officers elected
were Lyman Ormsby, captain, J. R. Seaman, 1st lieu-
tenant, and Daniel Burgey, 2d lieutenant. A third com-
pany was recruited in Moriah, and other eastern towns,
and elected Miles P. S. Cadwell captain, Edward F. Ed-
gerly and Clark W. Huntley, first and second lieutenants.
These companies were distinguished as Companies C, I,
and K, of the Twenty-second regiment New York Volun-
teers, in which they were incorporated on its organization
upon June 6th, 1861. On the promotion of Captain
Thomas, Lieutenants Peabody and Beaumont were re-
spectively advanced a grade, and Charles B. Pierson
appointed 2d lieutenant of Company C. A company
raised in Crown Point and the adjacent towns, embracing
one hundred and eight men, of which Leland L. Doolittle
was elected captain, Hiram Buck, Jr., 1st, and John B.
Wright 2d lieutenant, was mustered into service as Com-
pany H, of the Thirty-fourth regiment of New York
Volunteers. Before the departure of this company for
Albany, it was supplied with every equipment except
arms, at an expense of $2,000, by the characteristic
patriotism and munificence of the people of Crown Point.
232 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
The fifth company, recruited in Elizabethtown and the
central towns of the county, was incorporated as Company
K, into the Thirty-eighth regiment, and was the last
company accepted from New York by the government
under the first proclamation. Samuel C. Dwyer was
elected captain of this company, "William H. Smith 1st,
and Augustus . C. H. Livingstone 2d lieutenant. To
describe adequately the services of these troops, and the
other organizations which the county yielded to the exi-
gencies of the country, would demand a narrative of
the campaigns in which they participated. I can only
attempt to present very summarily a general view of the
endurance, the toils and achievements of the volunteers of
Essex.
CHAPTER XIV.
The Volunteers.
The Twenty-Second New York Volunteers.
On the 16th May, 1861, this regiment was accepted by
the government, and Walter Phelps, Jr., of Glen's Falls,
commissioned colonel, Gorton T. Thomas ofKeeseville lieu-
tenant-colonel, and John Mc Kee, Jr., of Cambridge,* major.
It left Albany for Washington on the 28th of June, and
while passing through Baltimore on the night of the 30th,
was assailed at the depot by an armed mob. A private 1
was killed, but the regiment was promptly formed, and
returned the fire, wounding several of the assailants.
Order was soon restored by the city police, and the troops
proceeded on their march without further molestation.
The 22d was employed until the April following, in garri-
son duty and occasional reconnaissances in the vicinity
of Washington. Through the several months following,
1 Edward Burge, Company I, of Pottersville, Warren county.
MILITAKY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 233
it was occupied in services, that most severely try the
spirit, the constancy and endurancy of the soldier. It
was constantly engaged in marches and changes of position
amid rain and darkness, or rushed from station to station,
upon open and comfortless cars, and upon tedious and
fruitless expeditions.
At length, the ardent aspirations of the regiment for
active service seemed about to be gratified, when as a
part of McDowell's corps it was ordered to advance in
support of the army of the Potomac, but arrested on the
threshold of this movement, McDowell was directed towards
the Shenandoah. After the battle of Cedar mountain, the
regiment participated in the continuous engagement, which
extended through several successive days in the vicinity of
that field. On the 27th of August, it marched with its
divisions from Warrenton in the direction of Gainesville
with the design of intercepting the retreat of Jackson, who
had attempted to penetrate to the rear of the Union lines,
and of breaking up his command. Ignorant of the posi-
tion of the enemy, the divisions advanced slowly and with
extreme cautiou. On the second clay of its march Jackson
was discovered near Gainesville in great force. The federal
troops consisted of King's division, and were commanded
by McDowell in person.
The line of battle was promptly formed and an action
immediately and about an hour before sunset, commenced.
McDowell's position was upon the Gainesville pike, while
the rebels occupied a wood about a half a mile in front,
with open fields between the two armies. The engagement
was opened by a furious cannonade on both sides. The
rebels had secured an accurate range of the road, and
swept it by a continual storm of shells, and with fearful
accuracy. A battery, supported by the Twenty-second regi-
ment, was silenced and almost instantly annihilated. A
ditch running parallel to the pike afforded a protection to
the regiment, while the shells and shot, passing just above
them, completely furrowed and tore up the road. For an
234 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
hoar this firing was maintained with unabated vigor, when
the enemy emerging from the woods in a magnificent line
a mile in length, charged, uttering the wildest yells as they
rushed upon the Union position. All the Federal batteries
directed by McDowell personally, which could be brought
to bear, opened upon them, with grape and cannister. At
every discharge, broad gaps were visible in their ranks.
The Wisconsin brigade attached to this division poured
upon them a terrible volley, and along both lines the fire
of musketry was incessant and severe. The rebels paused
in their advance, but stubbornly sustained their position
until dark, and then slowly and defiantly withdrew, leaving
the Union troops in possession of the field. They remained
on the ground until midnight, and then, in order to receive
rations, fell back to Manasses Junction. The Wisconsin
brigade lost nearly half its strength in killed and wounded;
but the Twenty-second regiment owing to its protected
position, escaped with only slight casualties.
While the Twenty-second with its brigade, was reposing
in this brief bivouac, Fitz John Porter's corps, early on the
29th, marched past them to the front, and was soon after
followed by the brigade. The fighting raged through the
day, Jackson gradually falling back, towards Thoroughfare
Gap. The Twenty-second was not engaged, until towards
evening; King's division was then ordered to charge the
retreating enemy, and to complete their fancied defeat.
With loud and exultant cheers, they were pursued the dis-
tance of half a mile, in apparent great disorder, when the
Union troops were suddenly arrested by a withering dis-
charge of small arms. The division, instead of being
deployed to meet this attack, was massed in solid order and
attempted to advance at double quick. In this form and
unable to fire except in the front, it received destructive
discharges, in front and from a wood upon the left flank.
The troops by their formation were rendered almost power-
less for offensive action. Darkness was approaching ; the
men began to give way, and the promise of victory was
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 235
soon converted into an utter rout. This engagement was
known as the battle of Groveton or Kittle run.
After this disaster, the division was attached to Porter's
corps. Cannonading and skirmishing continued along
the whole front, through the 30th, until about two p. m.,
when the entire line was ordered to advance in a simul-
taneous charge. The brigade, to which the Twenty-
second belonged, was in the van of this division. The
charging column of the division was two regiments deep ;
the Fourteenth New York, on the right, and the Thirtieth
New York on the left, and followed by the Twenty-second
and Twenty-fourth ISTew York, at a distance of about
twenty yards, Burden's sharp-shooters being deployed as
skirmishers. This force constituted the brigade. The
Union troops charged through a wood into an open field.
The rebels were entrenched about two hundred yards in
advance, behind a rail road embankment, and immedi-
ately opened a heavy fire with grape, cannister, solid shot
and shell, supported by a terrible discharge of musketry.
The roar of cannon was deafening, and the air was filled
with missiles, but the gallant brigade rushed forward.
The Twenty-second became intermingled with the Thir-
tieth, when within fifty yards of the enemy's line, and was
compelled to halt. At that moment the rebels were
abandoning their works, and scattering in every direction ;
many throwing down their arms, came into the federal
ranks. But the pause was fetal to the promised success.
The troops of the brigade hesitated to advance, and com-
' menced a rapid and disordered firing. The confidence of
the rebels was restored by this hesitancy, and they imme-
diately reoccupied their strong position. The fire of the
enemy, which had been partially suspended, was now
resumed with increased intensity. The Union troops were
rapidly falling, and it was next to impossible to remove
the wounded from the field, as both flanks were swept by
the enemy's guns. At this juncture, a brigade was ordered
to the support of the troops, in their perilous and terrible
position ; but it had scarcely emerged from the wood, be-
236 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
fore it broke and fell back. The firing on both sides con-
tinued rapid and unremitting.1
The remnant of the brigade able to fight continued to
fire until their ammunition was all expended, and then
slowly withdrew, closely pursued by the enemy. The
whole army soon after fell back upon Centreville. On the
retreat there was neither panic nor rout, but the troops
sternly retired, fighting as they retreated.
The casualties of the Twenty-second in the battles of these
bloody days were severe almost beyond a parallel. On
the 29th, its effective strength was six hundred and
twenty-six men. Its loss in killed, wounded and missing,
according to the record of the military bureau, was five
hundred and four. The regiment entered the field with
twenty-five officers, and on the night on which it fell back
to Centreville, it retained only one captain and four lieu-
tenants. Colonel Frisbie commanding the brigade on the
30th was killed, while urging the troops to advance.
Lieutenant Colonel Gorton T. Thomas was mortally
wounded, and soon after died in the hospital.2 Among
the other losses of the regiment, were, in company C. Lieu-
tenants C. D. Beaumont killed and Charles B. Pierson,
1 It was a bright and clear day, and the smoke disappeared rapidly. On
looking back upon the field, it appeared like the surface of a pond in a rain
st ( diii ; the dust being kept in continual agitation by the pattering of the
bullets. * * * The roar of cannon was so great that a man could not hear the
report of his own gun. Indeed, instances occurred of soldiers continuing
to load after their pieces had missed fire, until they were charged to the
muzzles and rendered useless. There was no difficulty in procuring others,
as the ground was strewn with them. Many changed their muskets, as
the barrels had become so heated by the rapid firing, that they could not be
held. — Captain Edgerly's letter.
'Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Avas shot in the body, but maintained his
seat, until, incapable of controlling his horse, he was borne into the ranks of
the sharpshooters, and there by a singular concidence, when falling from
the saddle, was received into the arms of two neighboring boys attached to
that regiment. He was carried by them to a house in the vicinity, and from
thence was removed to the hospital at Washington, where he died of internal
hemorrhage. No braver spirit or truer patriot moved on the battle-fields
of the rebellion. The name of Colonel Thomas was the first attached to
the enlisting roll in the valley of the Au Sable.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 237
mortally wounded, and Captain O. D. Peabody, wounded ;
in Company I, Captain Lyman Ormsby and Lieutenant
Daniel Burgey, wounded ; in Company K, Captain M, P.
S. Cadwell, killed, Lieutenants E. F. Edgerly and C. W.
Huntley, wounded, the former twice. These companies
averaged in these actions,.a loss of nearly thirty men each.1
On the 6th of November, the Twenty-second moved
from its encampment at Upton's hill to act in the Antietam
campaign. Its feeble relics of one hundred and twenty-six
combatants fought at South Mountain, were closely en-
gaged and suffered heavily. The entire brigade in this
action and at Antietam was under the command of Colonel
Phelps. At Antietam the regiment was constantly ex-
posed to a raking artillery fire, and out of sixty-seven, its
whole remaining strength, it lost twenty-seven men. It
was engaged, with its ranks restored to two hundred and
ten effective strength, at Fredericksburg and afterwards
at Chancellorville, and although conspicuous in its conduct
in those actions its casualties were inconsiderable. After
the disaster at Chancellorville, the brigade acted as rear
guard to the army and gallantly covered its retreat. On
the succeeding 19th of June, on the expiration of its term
of enlistment, the Twenty-second was mustered out of ser-
vice at Albany.
Subsequent to the desolation it sustained in the battles
of the 29th and 30th of August the regimental organiza-
tion was restored by the appointment of Major McKie,
lieutenant-colonel, and Thomas M. Strong, major. The
changes which occurred in the companies connected with
Essex county, from their excessive losses, were numerous.
In Company C, Beaumont and Piersou were succeeded by
Gorton T. Thomas, Jr., and James Valleau ; in Com-
pany C, Lieutenant Burgey was promoted on the resig-
nation of Seaman and B. F. "Wickham appointed second
1 1 have indulged in more minute details in reference to these events than
my space usually allows, but it was the first great sacrifice that the district
offered to the war, and its people will always cherish a deep and peculiar,
though sad interest in the gloomy narrative.
238
HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
lieutenant ; in Company K, Lieutenant B. F. Edgerly was
promoted to the captaincy. Sergeant John I. Baker was
appointed first lieutenant in place of Huntley, discharged
from disability on account of wounds, and Charles Bellamy,
sergeant, promoted to second lieutenant.1
Officers attached to the Twenty-second Regiment when mustered out
of service, June 19</i, 1863.
Walter Phelps, Jr., Col. brevet
Brig. Gen. U. S. V.
Thomas J. Strong, Lt. Col.
Lyman Ormsby, Major.
Malachi Weidman, Adjutant.
James W. Schenck, Q. M.
Elias L. Bissell, Surgeon.
Austin W. Holden, Assist. Surg.,
brevet Major N. Y. V.
Henry J. Bates, Chaplain.
Addison L. Easterbrooks, Capt.
Matthew L. Teller, "
James W. McCoy,
Oliver D. Peabody, Capt., brevet
Major and Lieut. Colonel.
Lucius E. Wilson, Captain.
Daniel Burgey, "
Fred. E. Ranger, "
Duncan Cameron, "
Benj. F. Wickham, Captain.
Edward F. Edgerly,
Amos T. Calkins, 1st Lieutenant.
A. Hallock Holbrook,
Wm. H. Hoystradt,
Gorton T.Thomas,
Henry Cook,
Warren Allen,
James H. Merrill,
John J. Baker,
Asa W. Berry,
Patrick McCall, 2d Lieutenant.
James Valleau,
Charles H. Aiken,
George C. Kiugsley,
Salmon D. Sherman,
George Wetmore,
Lester A. Bartlett,
Charles F. Bellamy,
Resignations and discharges of officers attached to Essex County
Companies.
Joseph R. Seaman, 1st lieutenant, resigned Feb. 26th, 1862.
Clark W. Huntley, 1st lieutenant, discharged Feb. 6th, 1863, on
account of disability.
The first regimental fiag of the Twenty-second was lost
at second Bull Run. Another which was borne through
its subsequent battles is deposited in the military bureau.
1 Besides official documents to which I had access, I am indebted to inform-
ation from the officers of the Twenty-second, and especially to Captain E.
F. Edgerly for the facts I have referred to in the text and incidents.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 239
Perforated by forty-six bullet holes, and its staff wounded
by a ball, it is an eloquent witness to the perils and
endurance of the regiment.
The Thirty-fourth Hegiment New York Volunteers.
This regiment, to which the company raised in Crown
Point, commanded by Captain Doolittle, was attached as
company H, was organized on the 24th of May, 1861, by
the elections of William La Due, colonel, James A. Suitor
lieut. colonel, and Byron Laffin, major. The original offi-
cers of Company H left the service at an early period.
Capt. Doolittle resigned October, 1861. Lt. Buck was not
mustered in, and Lt. Wright, having been promoted to fill
these vacancies, 1st lieutenant May 11th, and captain
November 11th, resigned on the 28th November, 1861.
James McCormick of Crown Point was appointed 2d
lieutenant, September 29th, 1862, and promoted 1st lieute-
nant May 8th, 1863. Simeon P. Mclntyre was appointed
2d lieutenant January, 1863, and George B. Coates Decem-
ber, 1862. Each of these officers was mustered out with
the regiment June 30th, 1863. The Thirty-fourth arrived at
Washington the 5th July, 1861. It was soon after assigned
to duty on the upper Potomac. It was attached to the
brigade then commanded by General Stone. The regiment
was ordered to Ball's Bluff, but only arrived in time to aid
in the removal of the wounded. Until the following spring
it was occupied in continual harassing marches, and par-
ticipated in all the hard services, which were at that period
encountered by most of the army. The regiment at this
time became attached to the first brigade commanded by
General Gorman and the second division of the second
corps, and remained in this organization during its subse-
quent services.
The Thirty-fourth landed at Hampton at the initiation of
the peninsula campaign on the first of April, 1862. It was
actively engaged in the siege of Yorktown, and was the
first regiment in the enemy's works at Winne's mills. At
Fair Oaks it was eminently distinguished, and was warmly
040 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
engaged for nearly three hours, with a loss of ninety-four
killed and wounded. The Thirty-fourth participated in
most of the operations of this campaign, and at Glendale
and Malvern Hill lost more than one hundred men, and
was compelled in the first action to abandon its killed and
wounded to the enemy. It was now subjected to a series
of the most vigorous picket and field duties, and on the
withdrawal of the army of the Potomac from the peninsula,
the regiment endured the terrible forced march from Harri-
son's Landing to Xewport New8. The Thirty-fourth was
transferred from that point by water to Alexandria, and
was at once advanced to the front, encamping without
tents or shelter, amid a furious storm of wind and rain.
On the eventful 30th of August it was efficiently engaged
in covering the retreat of Pope's army. At Antietam the
Thirty-fourth entered the field on a double quick, and was
moved directly to the front, where it was exposed to a
wasting fire from infantry, in front and on both flanks, and
by artillery on its left; but maintained its position, al-
though abandoned by a supporting regiment, until ordered
to fall back by General Sedgwick personally, who received
two wounds while giving the command. In another
period of the action, the regiment was again exposed to a
destructive cannonade. During this bloody day, the
Thirty-fourth sustained a loss of one hundred and fifty men,
amounting to one-half of the effective strength with which
it went into action. Through the remainder of the cam-
paign, the regiment was employed in constant and arduous
services, in severe marches, reconnaissances and picketing.
On the 11th December, it led the van of the brigade, at that
time commanded by General Sully in the passage of the
Rappahannock at Fredericksburg, when the enemy were
driven from the town. The regiment lost on this occasion
more than thirty men from the fire of the enemy's batte-
ries. After this action, the Thirty-fourth remained in
camp during the winter, its repose being frequently inter-
rupted by picket duty. At Chancellorville and Fredericks-
burg the ensuing spring it was present, but only slightly
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 241
engaged. On the expiration of its enlistment the regi-
ment was mustered out at Albany on the 30th June, 1863.
The Thirty-fourth had participated in seventeen battles
and numerous skirmishes. Iu all these scenes, Company
H had sustained a conspicuous and honorable attitude,
and worthily received, in common with the regiment, the
official encomium " that it never failed in duty to its
country, or devotion to its flag."
The Thirty-eighth New York Volunteers.
This regiment, under Col. J. W. Hobart "Ward, was
mustered into service at New York, in June, 1861. The
company enrolled in Essex county, of which Samuel B.
Dwyer was elected captain, William H. Smith first lieu-
tenant, and A. C. Hand Livingston second lieutenant, was
incorporated with the regiment as Company K. The
Thirty-eighth regiment left the state on the 19th, and reached
Washington on the 21st of June, and was soon after
attached to Wilcox's brigade, and Heintzelman's division.
It advanced with the Union army to Bull Run, on the
21st of Jnlv. and was engaged in that battle, suffering:
a loss in killed, wounded, and missing of one hundred and
twenty-eight men. It was distinguished by its heroic
bearing. During four hours it was in close action and
exposed for a long time to a deadly fire of artillery both in
front and on its flanks. Such an exposure affords the
severest test to the constancy and courage of fresh troops.
The regiment bore the heat and dust with all the suffering
of the early part of the engagement, with the highest sol-
dierly resolution, and when confronted with the enemy, it
firmly met and successfully repulsed the attacks of his in-
fantry. When compelled by the disasters of the day to
abandon the field, the Thirty-eighth retreated in compara-
tive order, and returned to the encamping ground from
which it had marched in the morning. Company K,
in this action, was in charge of Lieutenant Smith and
Lieutenant Livingston, owing to the absence from sickness
of Captain Dwyer. In this initial battle of the war, Com-
16
242 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
pany K was the only organization from Essex county
engaged, and although none were killed on the field, it
seems proper to record the names of the wounded and
captured. Orlando R. Whiting, captured and died in
prison ; James A. Coburn, Henry Van Oman, killed at
Chancellorville; Patrick Waters, Pitt A. Wadhams, killed
at Fredericksburg ; Loyal E. Wolcott, John M. Gladden,
George Boutwell, James McCormick, died in prison ; and
Wesley Sumner, killed at Fredericksburg. Lieutenant
Smith resigned August 2d, 1861, Lieutenant Livingston,
four days afterwards. The officers who subsequently served
in this company, were Fergus Walker, second lieutenant
August, 1861, promoted first lieutenant May 1862, promoted
captain August, 1862 ; and William Warren second lieu-
tenant May, 1862, promoted first lieutenant December, 1862.
Until the opening of the peninsula campaign the Thirty-
eighth was employed in picket duty and the construction
of field works for the defense of Washington. In August,
the regiment was assigned to Gen. Howard's brigade.
This brigade, known as the third brigade, was successively
commanded by Generals Sedgwick and Birney. Upon
the organization of the army of the Potomac, the division
to which this brigade was attached constituted the first
division of the third corps, and these various designations
were retained during the subsequent service of the regi-
ment.
The Thirty-eighth was at the siege of Yorktown and
sustained in the operations before the works some slight
casualties. Its bearing at the battle of Williamsburgh
was highly conspicuous, and it encountered there a loss of
eighty-six men. In this engagement, the gallant Captain
Dwyer, of Company K, fell mortally wounded, and died
a few days afterwards at St. Johns Hospital in Phila-
delphia. His body, claimed by the popular enthusiasm,
was borne to the village of Elizabethtown, in his native
county, of which he was a prominent citizen, and there
buried with the imposing and touching obsequies due to
his patriotic devotion.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 243
The resriment was engao-ed in all the battles that imrae-
diately followed on the peninsula. It also fought at second
Bull Run, Chantilly, Fredericksburg and Chancellorville.
On the 21st December, 1862, the remnants of the ten com-
panies of the Thirty-eighth regiment was consolidated into
six companies, and marked from A to F inclusive, while the
Fifty-fifth New York Volunteers was also consolidated into
four companies, enumerated from G to K, and aunexed to
the Thirty-eighth regiment. A large proportion of the regi-
ment reenlisted, embracing a considerable part of Company
K, and when it was mustered out on the expiration of the
term of service June 22d, 1863, these men were transferred
to the Fortieth New York Volunteers. This regiment, both
before and after the consolidation, was ranked among the
most distinguished regiments of the state volunteers. In
noticiug the departure from the field of the Thirty-eighth
regiment, the commander of the third corps in a special
order paid the highest tribute to its service and reputation.
The Forty-fourth Regiment New York Volunteers.
A happy inspiration suggested the idea of forming a
regiment to be composed of chosen men to be selected
from the various towns and wards of the state, and organ-
ized and known as The Ellsworth Avengers. The
design proposed at once to appropriately commemorate
the name of the young hero, who was the earliest martyr
to the Union cause, and to animate a just and patriotic mili-
tary spirit throughout the state. Essex county promptly
responded to the invitation, and most of the towns sent
their representatives to the regiment. It was mustered
into the service on the 24th September, 1861, as the Forty-
fourth New York Volunteers. The services of the Forty-
fourth were active and conspicuous in the varied operations
of the army of the Potomac, and it is believed that its
name and associations rendered it to the rebels an object
of .peculiar hostility and vindictive assault. The gallantry
of the Forty-fourth was eminently conspicuous at Hanover
C. H., where four times its flag was cut down by balls,
244 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
and as often triumphantly raised. When the color-bearer
fell, the standard was promptly raised by another hand.
In the midst of the fierce and terrible conflict, which the
Forty-fourth in connection with the Second Maine : " How
many men," was demanded of a captain of the former,
"will follow me to the charge." "Every man," was the
Spartan reply, " save the dead." Such was the character
and spirit of this regiment. The staff* of the torn and
faded flag, deposited in the military bureau, had about
eighteen inches with the eagle and top shot away at Spott-
sylvania. When the Forty-fourth was mustered out of
service, October 11th, 1864, the veterans and recruits were
transferred to the One Hundred and Fortieth and One Hun-
dred and Forty-sixth regiments, New York Volunteers.
The Seventy-seventh Regiment JSew York Volunteers.
This regiment was mustered into service November
23d, 1861, for three years at Bemis's Heights, Saratoga,
and by the suggestions of the spot appropriately num-
bered seventy-seventh. At this organization, James B. Mc-
Lean was elected colonel, Joseph A. Henderson, lieut. colo-
nel, and Selden Hetzel, major. Two companies attached
to the seventy -seventh, designated A and I, were principally
enrolled in Essex county. Company A was recruited in
the towns of Westport, Jay, and Keene. It was inspected
on the 15th of September, and two days later proceeded
to Saratoga. The company was organized by the electiou
of Renel W. Arnold captain, William Douglass first and
James H. Farnsworth second lieutenant. It originally
mustered ninety-five men and received fifty recruits, chiefly
nonresidents of Essex county, during its service. Lt.
Farnsworth resigned January 5th, 1862, and Charles E.
Stevens was promoted to second lieutenant. Captain
Arnold resigned April 3d, 1862, and was succeeded by
1st Lt. George S. Orr of Company G. In December fol-
lowing, Lt. Stephens was appointed first lieutenant and
Orderly Sergeant William Lyon was promoted to his post.
Captain Orr of Company G was wounded at Cedar creek
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 245
and mustered out with the regiment at the expiration of
its term. Lt. Stevens was promoted to the captaincy
of consolidated Company E, October 15th, 1864. Lt. Lyon
was killed at Spottsylvania May 10th, 1864. Charles
H. Davis was promoted second lieutenant October 16th,
1864, and appointed first lieutenant Company E, November
15th, 1864, and captain, April 25th, 1865. Company I was
recruited in the northern towns of Essex and the adjacent
towns in Clinton county. Mr. Wendell Lansing was
largely instrumental in the enrollment of this company, but
on its organization was transferred to the commissary
department, in which he served about one year. The com-
pany officers on its organization were Franklin Norton cap-
tain, Jacob F. Hay ward and Martin Lennon first and second
lieutenants. Capt. Norton was promoted August 18th,
1862, to lieut. colonel of the One Hundred and Twenty-third
New York Volunteers, and died on the 12th of May, 1863,
of wounds received in the battle of Chancellorville, on the
10th December, 1862. Lt. Lennon was appointed captain
of Company I, and January 3d, 1863, Lt. Hay ward was pro-
moted to quarter master and remained in that capacity
until the term of enlistment expired. John W. Belding
was made first lieutenant, March 17, 1863, was promoted
to the captaincy of Company K, but never mustered in as
such, and died October 27th, 1864, from wounds received in
action. On May 19th, 1863, Orderly Sergeant Carlos W.
Rowe was appointed second lieutenant. Lt. Rowe entered
the service as corporal in Company I. At the organization
of Co. I, William E. Merrill was corporal. He was made a
sergeant July following, and orderly sergeant February,
1863. He reenlisted in February, 1864, was severely
wounded at Spottsylvania, was made second lieutenant
September 19th, 1864, and promoted to first lieutenant
April 22d, 1865, and was mustered out with the regiment,
at the close of the war.
Immediately after being organized, the Seventy-seventh
started for the field of active service, and reaching Wash-
ington in December, 1861, went into camp on Meridian
246 HISTOEY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
hill. The regiment was incorporated with the army of
the Potomac on its first organization, and continued con-
nected with it until its disbandment; it participated in all
the fortunes of that army, from the commencement of
McClellan's campaign to the close of the war. Its earliest
experience of battle was in the charge upon the enemy's
works, at Mechanicsville, in which a youth from Keese-
ville, Clifford Weston, a private in Company I, was killed,
the first offering of the regiment to the country to be
succeeded by a long and heroic line of sacrifices. The
Seventy-seventh was conspicuous throughout these services,
and no part of it was more distinguished than the two
companies from Essex county. The regiment belonged
to the immortal sixth corps, and its torn and fragmentary
flags and guidons, and their shattered staffs deposited
among the archives of the state, prove its worthiness of
the association.
I do npt possess the materials from which to form a
narrative of the specific services of the Seventy-seventh,
nor indeed could its movements be properly separated
from the general operations of the army. That its services
were severe is attested by the records of thirty distinct
battles, and that they were gallantly performed is evident
from the bloody decimation of its ranks. One or two
instances will illustrate the character and endurance of
the regiment. In the battle of White Oak swamp, the
division to which the Seventy-seventh was attached, was
suddenly assailed by a superior force of the rebels. The
regiment was stationed some distance from its brigade, and
could not be approached owing to the severity of the
enemy's fire. Although not directly exposed to this fire,
it was in imminent danger, from its position, of being cut
off1. " Not proposing to move without orders," as one of
its gallant members writes, the regiment maintained its
post. A slight suspension of the action enabled an aid
to reach it, with orders to change its ground. This order
was promptly executed, but only in time to save the regi-
ment from capture.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 247
At the battle of Spottsyl vania, May 10th, 1864, the Seventy-
seven th was selected with several other regiments to form an
assaulting column, to charge the enemy's lines. The attack
continued scarcely more than fifteen minutes, but was of the
fiercest and bloodiest character. The position assailed was
extremely formidable, and the attacking column was not
sufficiently strong to maintain it. They were compelled to
fall back and abandon the position with their dead and
severely wounded to the mercy of the enemy. Twenty
members of the Seventy-seventh were left upon this field.
In the terrible conflict at Spottsylvania, the regiment lost
seventy-four men, about one-fourth of its strength engaged.
Lt. Lyon of Company A was killed in the charge, and Lt.
Rowe of Company I was taken prisoner.
The regiment participated in the eventful scenes on the
peninsula. At Mechanicsville it captured a guidon be-
longing to a Georgia regiment ; it was at Gaines's Mills,
Savage's Station, and in all the operations before Richmond,
which terminated at Malvern Hill. Transferred from
that field it was engaged at second Bull Run, Crompton
Pass and Autietam, closing the services of that year at
1 Lt. Rowe made his escape. The story in its detail is full of interest from
its romantic incidents and the adroitness and courage by which success was
secured. The fifth day after his capture, he began a march with about
twelve hundred prisoners, in the direction of southern prison houses. On
the second day of the march, they were compelled to ford a stream, which
was waist deep. In effecting the passage the line became scattered. The
guard was comparatively small, and in the confusion, Rowe was able soon
after crossing to plunge into a thicket and secrete himself behind a heavy
cluster of bushes. He was concealed in this covert until the whole detach-
ment had past. He had procured a map from a fellow prisoner, and aided
by this and a pocket compass, he deliberately marked out the route he should
pursue to regain the Union lines. Pursuing for a while nearly the course of
the party from which he had escaped, he at length diverged and crossing the
Richmond and Gordonsville rail road and then the Gordon ville and Lynch-
burg, proceeded by a long circuitous route. He traveled in seven days and
principally in the night, a distance of one hundred and fifty miles, and suc-
ceeded on the thirteenth day after his capture in joining the Union forces at
Fredericksburg. In his perilous journey he encountered innumerable hair-
breadth escapes, endured extreme suffering, and had no other subsistence
than he secured from his own efforts and the kindness and charity of the
negro people.
248 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
Fredericksburg on December 13th. In January, 1863, it
encountered the horrors of the "mud campaign." At
Marye's Height, on the 3d of May, it captured the flag of the
Eighteenth Mississippi: it fought atFrederickeburg, Gettys-
burg, Rappahannock station and Robinson's tavern. In
the campaign of 1864, it was at the Wilderness, Spottsyl-
vania, Coal Harbor and Fort Stevens. Transferred to the
Shenandoah valley, it was engaged in the battle of the
19th September in which Captain Lennon, of Company I,
and Lieutenant Belding were mortally wounded, and died,
the former on the succeeding 1st November, and the latter
the 29th October. It was at Fisher Hill September 22d,
and at Cedar Creek on the 19th of October, gallantly aiding
in the achievement of that crowning victory. In this en-
gagement Captain Orr of Company A was severely wounded.
In November, 1864, at the expiration of its term of enlist-
ment, the regiment was mustered out of service ; but it
left in the field a battalion composed of veterans who
reenlisted, formed from the original organization and new
recruits. This was designated the 77th Battalion New
York State Volunteers. The relics of Companies A and
I were consolidated into a new company designated C,
and attached to the battalion. This company embraced
eighty-five men and was formed of nearly equal proportions
of the original companies. The officers of Company C
consisted of Charles E. Stevens captain, appointed major
but not mustered in as such; 1st lieutenant Charles A.
Davis, and 2d lieutenant William E. Merrill. The battalion
was engaged in the final siege of Petersburg and in the
assault of the 2d April its flags and guidons were the first
colors on the enemy's works.1 It was mustered out, in
June 27th, 1865. The regiment had fourteen hundred
and sixty-three on its rolls, of whom seventy -three were
killed in battle, forty died of their wounds and one hun-
dred and forty-eight of disease.
The different banners of this regiment in their torn and
shattered condition, which are deposited in the Bureau of
1 Flag Presentations.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 249
Military Records at Albany, are invested with deep and
peculiar interest. In the charge up Marye's Height, one
of the color guards of the regimental flag was killed, and
the banner torn into shreds by a shell. A national flag
borne in many fields, is half gone, its ends ragged, its field
in ribbons. The top of its staff was shot off at the battle of
the Wilderness. In the battle of Chancellorville itsfield was
torn by an enemy's shell. Among its bearers in battle,
Corporal Joseph Murray was killed at Antietam, Michael
McWilliarns in the Wilderness. Corporal Horicon of the
color guard was killed at Cedar Creek, and Corporal
Myers shot through the hand in the Wilderness. Its in-
scription was placed upon the flag by the order of General
Sheridan.
Officers of Seventy-seventh mustered out on expiration of original
term of enlistment, Dec. loth, 1864.
Lt. Col. Winsor B. French. Joseph H. Loveland.
Major Nathan S. Babcock. 1st Lt. Alonzo Howland.
Q. M. Jacob F. Hayward. " Henry C. Rowland.
Surgeon George T. Stevens. " Lewis T. Vanderwarker.
Asst. Surg. Justin T. Thompson. " William W. Worden.
" " Wm. A. Belong. 2d Lt. Bavid Lyon.
Chaplain Norman Fox, Jr. " Carlos W. Rowe.
Captain George S. Orr. " George W. Gillis.
Officers mustered out on discharge of Battalion, Seventy-seventh
New York Volunteers.
Bavid J. Caw, brevet Col. U. S. V. Capt. George M. Ross.
Q M. Charles B. Thurber, brevet 1st Lt. William E. Merrill.
Capt. U. S. V. " Thomas S. Harris.
Surgeon John G. Thompson. " Adam Flansburgh.
Capt. Isaac B. Clapp, brevet '' Robert E. Nelson.
Major U. S. V. " James A. Monroe.
Capt. Bavid A. Thompson. 2d Lt. Sorrell Fountain.
" Charles E. Stevens, ap- " William Carr.
pointed major but not mustered " William H. Quackenbush.
in as such.1 " Thomas M. White.
1 1 am under peculiar obligations for the facts I have embodied in the
account of the Seventy-seventh to Major Stevens, Lt. Rowe, and Mr. W.
Lansing. My researches, not only in respect to this, but every other
250 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
Brevet Commission issued by Governor to Enlisted Men.
Hospital Steward Alexander P. Waldron, 2d Lieutenant.
The Ninety-sixth New York Volunteers.
This regiment was wholly enrolled in the northern section
of New York. Only a single company, as appears from the
documents which I have been able to collect, originally or-
ganized, belonging to the Ninety-sixth, was enrolled in Essex
county, although large portions of other companies were
recruited in the county, and towards the close of the war,
numerous drafts from the county joined this regiment.
Essex was therefore largely represented in the organiza-
tion. Captain Alfred Weed enlisted principally in Ticon-
cleroga, a company which he commanded, and of which
Thomas W. Newman was second lieutenant. This com-
pany wa3 attached to the Ninety-sixth as Compauy G,
George W. Hinds, of Au Sable, was captain, February 18,
1862, and promoted to major, March, 1865. Earl Pierce
of Jay, originally attached to Company K, of the Oue
Hundred and Eighteenth, was appointed first lieutenant of
the Ninety-sixth, January 27, 1864, and promoted to
captaincy, January 20, 1865. The regiment was organized
at Plattsburg, and departed for the field, March, 1862,
under the command of James Fairmau, Colonel Charles
O. Grey, lieutenant-colonel, and John E. Kelley, a veteran
of the regular army, major. Nathan Wardner of Jay was
appointed chaplain of the organization, John H. Sanborn,
(juarter-master, and Francis Joseph D'Avignon,of Au Sable
Forks, surgeon. The Ninety-sixth, in the early stages of
its services, was severely depressed, through the unfavor-
able auspices by which it was surrounded, but after the
brave and accomplished Grey was placed in command, the
regiment rapidly attained a very high reputation. It had
been precipitated by ill-advised councils into active ser-
niilitary organization of the state, have been enlightened by the invaluable
report of Adjutant General Marvin, 1868. For a copy of the work, I am
indebted to the courtesy of Hon. Smith M. Weed.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 251
vice, without the advantages of any adequate drilling, and
was hurried into the peninsula campaign before the habits
of the troops were adapted to field duty, and while they
were yet unacclimatecl. Company G marched from Fort-
ress Monroe, comprising more than seventy combatants,
and when it entered the conflict at Fair Oaks, it retained
only eighteen men fit for duty. The remainder had been
stricken down by diseases incident to hard service and a
malarious climate. This fact illustrates the general con-
dition of the regiment, the efficiency of which was also
deeply impaired for a season, by dissensions among its
officers. A number of the subordinates had resigned
from this and other causes. Captain Weed, immediately
previous to Fair Oaks, was compelled by severe sickness,
to relinquish his command, and Lieutenant Newman,
who was discharged in May, 1862, had already left the
regiment.1
The company for a time was in charge of Orderly Ser-
geant Patrick English, and was ultimately consolidated
with Compauy C of Clinton county.
Major Kelly was killed in a picket skirmish, immediately
before the battle of Fair Oaks. In that action the losses
of the Ninety-sixth regiment were extremely severe. The
services of the regiment, throughout the peninsula cam-
paign, were marked by great perils and hardships, and eli-
cited from General Peck, the commander of the division,
warm and unusual encomiums. It was afterwards ordered
to Suffolk, enduring all the trials and sufferings of that
field, and was subsequently engaged in the North Carolina
expedition, and gallantly participated in all the hard ser-
vices of that vigorous campaign. In the battle of Kingston,
December 14th, 1862, Colonel Grey, who had already,
although a youth of twenty-four, achieved a brilliant fame,
was killed while charging at the head of the regiment over
1 Lieutenant Newman afterwards joined a Maryland regiment, and re-
mained in the service during the war. Captain Weed, after his health was
restored, enlisted as a private in the Ninety-third New York Volunteers,
and did not return to civil life until the spring of 1865.
252 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
the bridge on the Neuse, and in the act of planting its
standard upon the enemy's works. Three weeks before,
in presenting a new flag to the Ninety-sixth, he had uttered
a glowing and eloquent tribute to its old flag, and now this
enveloped his coffin, as his remains were borne from his last
battle-field to its resting place among his familiar mountains.
That venerated flag is deposited in the military bureau.
After this event the Ninety-sixth regiment was for a short
term under the command of Colonel McKenzie.
Early in 1864, the regiment was transferred to the army
of the James before Petersburg, and attached to the same
brigade with which the One Hundred and Eighteenth was
counected. It was incorporated with the eighteenth and
afterwards with the twenty-fourth corps. The Ninety-sixth
was engaged in all the subsequent operations of the eigh-
teenth corps. At Coal Harbor, and the assault on Fort
Harrison its casualties were appalling. In the attack upon
Fort Harrison, the Ninety-sixth and the Eighth Connecti-
cut formed the assaultiug columns, with the One Hundred
and Eighteenth New York, and Tenth New Hampshire on
their flanks as skirmishers. The division approached the
works in close order, and in a distance of fourteen hundred
yards was exposed to a plunging and galling fire of artil-
lery and musketry.1
It steadily advanced to the base of the hill, which was
crowned by the enemy's work. Here the column,
exhausted b}' its rapid progress, paused. The enemy per-
ceiving the point of attack were meanwhile pouring reen-
forcements into the menaced works. The crisis was
imminent, and General Stanuard commanding the division
sent an earnest order for an instant assault.2 The head of
the column charged up the hill, and scaling the parapet,
1 Gen. Stannard's Report.
a General Stannard claims that this order was carried by Captain Kent
his aid. Other authorities state that it was communicated from General
Burnham by Lieutenant Campbell, of the One Hundred and Eighteenth,
who was on his staff. Perhaps the orders were coincident. — Butler's Ad-
dress to the Army of the James.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 253
drove the enemy from their guns. Sergeant Lester Archer
of the Ninety-sixth and the color bearer of the Eighth Con-
necticut, simultaneously planted their respective regimental
flags upon the ramparts. The Rev. Nathan Wardner,
chaplain of the Ninety-sixth, charged with his regiment in
the advancing columns, prepared to administer spiritual
consolation on the very field of carnage.1 The captured
guns of the fort were turned upon the retreating enemy
with terrible effect. The Ninety-sixth was conspicuous in
opposing the repeated, resolute and desperate attempts of
the rebels to recover this important position.2 The death
or wounds of four superiors, placed Colonel Cullen of the
Ninety-sixth, at the close of this sanguinary battle, in com-
mand of the division.
The Ninety-sixth continued near Fort Harrison in camp
with its brigade, after the capture of that work, until the
24th of October, when the entire division, marched against
Fort Richmond, at Fair Oaks. It bivouacked that night,
about three miles from the fort. While the skirmishing
party of the One Hundred and Eighteenth was engaged in
the perilous and hopeless assault of the enemy's line, the
next morning the Ninety-sixth, in common with the remain-
der of the division, stood idle spectators of the slaughter
of those troops, although little doubt now exists, that a
combined and energetic attack of the fort, when the One
Hundred and Eighteenth advanced and while it was occu-
pied by a force wholly inadequate to its defense, would
have secured a glorious success. A designed feint had
been converted into a real and sanguinary assault, and the
character of this bloody field, conspicuous for its profitless
and murderous losses, 'was only redeemed by the valor of
the troops.
For two long and trying hours, after the repulse of the
One Hundred and Eighteenth, the residue of the division
1 Butler's Address.
2 I more particularly describe these events in noticing the services of the
One Hundred and Eighteenth on the occasion.
254 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
stood under arms, in front of the enemy's lines, with no
orders, either to advance or retreat, while the rebels were
observed, eagerly rushing troops into the fort, on foot and
upon horseback. Horses were constantly perceived hurry-
ing up at their highest speed, bearing three riders, and as
they approached the works, two leaping from the horse
would enter the fort, while the third returned at the same
speed, to bear back another freight of defenders. At
length, when the lines by this delay had been rendered
impregnable to an attack, the divisiou was madly hurled
upon the works. It was bloodily repulsed. The casual-
ties of the Ninety-sixth were in the highest degree severe.
Its last colonel, Stephen Moffit, of Clinton county, who
continued in the command until the regiment was dis-
banded, lost a leg in this action, while gallantly leading
in the fruitless and disastrous assault. He was borne from
the field by Captain Earle Pierce of the Ninety-sixth, and
Capt. M. V. B. Stetson, of the One Hundred and Eigh-
teenth, the latter of whom was wounded in the generous act.
The ground upon which these unfortunate operations
occurred, had been signalized by the sanguinary battle of
Fair Oaks, during the peninsula campaign. The works
erected by McClellan were still discernible, and as the
federal troops moved to the assault, they disturbed and
trampled upon skulls and bones and other ghastly memo-
rials of the former conflict. The Ninety-sixth participated
in the brilliant closing scenes of the war around Richmond
and its final consummation.
I should not close this notice, which I regret is so inade-
quate, of this gallant regiment ' without referring to the
memory of one of its members, who was alike distin-
guished for the ability and zeal with which he performed
his official duties, and his warm hearted and generous
sensibilities. Francis Joseph D'Avignon was placed at
the head of the medical corps of the Ninety-sixth at its
1 1 have made every effort to obtain information, but generally with very
unsatisfactory results.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 255
organization. His skill and courage early attracted atten-
tion, and led to his promotion. He was made surgeon-in-
chief to a division, was captured at Drury's Bluff and
remained a prisoner for several months. He was confined
for a short term in Libby Prison and encountered its
rigors, but was soon released from confinement and al-
lowed with slight restraints to mingle freely with the
Union prisoners, and minister to them his professional
services. He was mustered out on the expiration of his
term of service, March 14th, 1865. Surgeon D'Avignon
had been a Canadian patriot, and was involved in the
perils of 1837. He fled into the states from the scaffold,
and yielding to his republican instincts became an Ame-
rican citizen. He married and permanently resided at
Au Sable Forks.1
Officers of the Ninety-sixth mustered out with the Regiment, Feb-
ruary Qth, 1866.
Col. Stephen Moffitt, brevet Brig. Thomas E. Allen.
Gen. U. S. V. Oscar B. Colvin.
Lt. Col. George W. Hinds, brevet 1st Lt. William B. Stafford.
Col. N. Y. V. " Thomas Burke.
Major Courtland C. Babcock, " Charles H. Hogan.
brevet Lt. Col. N. Y. V. " Orlando P Benson.
Q. M. Allen Babcock. " Lyman Bridges.
Surgeon Robert W. Brady. " George J. Cady.
Chaplain Nathan Wardner. " Lucien Wood.
Capt. Earl Peirce. " Alexander M. Stevens. *
Moses Gill. " Alonzo E. Howard.
Moses E. Orr. 2d Lt. Washington Harris.
Henry C. Buckham, brevet Maj. " Stanford H. Bugbee.
N. Y. V. " Alexander McMartin.
William B. Brokaw, brevet Ma- " Charles Sharron.
jor N. Y. V. " Amos S. Richardson.
Merlin C. Harris, brevet Major " Silas Finch.
N. Y. V. " Judson C Ware.
1 A brother officer in the regiment, himself as well as Surgeon D'Avignon,
since deceased, remarks of the latter : " He stood very high in the army, and
was beloved by both officers and privates."
256 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
Enlisted Men of the Regiment to whom Medals of Honor have been
Awarded by the Secretary of War.
Sergeant Lester Archer.
The archives of the state present the following brilliant
record of the services of the Ninety-sixth : Gainesville,
second Bull Run, South Mountain, Antietam, Mine Run,
Fredericksburg, Chancellorville, Gettysburg, "Wilder-
ness, North Anna, Mattapony, Spottsylvania, Bethesda
Church, Petersburg, Weldon Rail Road, Chapel House,
Hatcher's Run, Yorktown, Williamsburg, Fair Oaks,
Seven Days' Battle, Blackwater, Kingston, Whitehall,
Goldsboro', Siege of Newbern, Drury's Farm, Port
Walthall, Coal Harbor, Battery Harrison, Charles City
Road.
Fifth New York Cavalry.
At the opening of the war of the rebellion, the govern-
ment suffered severely from the absence of an efficient
cavalry arm. In this force, the rebels were far superior,
both in numbers and efficiency. A wide defection among
the cavalry officers of the army, in one instance, embracing
almost an entire regiment, and the peculiar equestrian
habits of the southern people, which rendered most men
expert riders from early youth, combined to furnish mate-
rials for an immediate and powerful organization of mounted
'troops. Directly after Bull Run, the government addressed
itself to the task of remedying this deficiency. Agents
appeared throughout the north, arousing the chivalric spirit
of the country, and urging everywhere the formation of
cavalry companies and regiments. This appeal reached
the town of Crown Point, which, as I have mentioned, had
but recently, by private munificence, equipped an infantry
company, and was responded to with an ardor and prompt-
ness that has few parallels in all the incidents of enthusiasm
that characterized the times. The fervid zeal that was
inspired could not be restrained to await the formal
preparation of enlisting papers, or for a regular mustering
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 257
in, by the usual machinery of the department. But a
written compact was at once prepared, by which each man
was pledged to serve the government for three years in the
mounted service, and in an incredibly short period it re-
ceived the signatures of one hundred and twenty-seven of
the youth of that town and its immediate vicinity.1 They
constituted the bone and muscle of the community. To
each name is attached the age and occupation of the signer.
Nearly all were between the ages of twenty and thirty years,
and most of them were either farmers or mechanics.
Almost every signature was an autograph; thus affording
evidence of an intelligence and education rarely found in a
body of soldiers hastily recruited. Of such materials,
Cromwell formed his memorable Ironsides, and these
young men of Essex carried with them into the service, the
resolute qualities and the exalted spirit that made the
troopers of the English enthusiast invincible on every field.
Under this compact, to which all implicitly adhered,
the company, without officers and without any other
restraint, proceeded to New York, and were there regu-
larly mustered into the service. The entire body of men
were accepted as privates, nor were their officers elected
until the company joined the regiment on Staten island.
John Hammond was commissioned captain, September
14, 1861; major, September, 1863; lieutenant-colonel,
March, 1864 ; colonel, July, 1864, and brevet brigadier-
general, May 22, 1866. Jonas A. Benedict was commis-
sioned first lieutenant, and James A. Penfield second
lieutenant of the company, the 22d of October, 1861.
Lieutenant Benedict died in the next December, and was
succeeded by Penfield, who was appointed captain in
July, 1863, and resigned in May, 1865. John G. Viall
1 This instrument, so novel and remarkable in its character and so illustra-
tive of the patriotic ardor that pervaded the country, is worthy of the choicest
preservation. This is its exact language : "We, the undersigned, hereby agree
to serve the government of the United States in the mounted service for
three years, unless sooner discharged, subjecting ourselves to all the rules
and regulations governing troops in that branch of the regular service."
17
258 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
was appointed second lieutenant, December, 1861 ; first
lieutenant, September, 1862, and captain, April, 1864.
Elmer J. Barker was appointed second lieutenant, Sep-
tember, 1862 ; first lieutenant, November, 1863 ; captain,
March, 1864 ; and major, November, 1864. Eugene B.
Hayward was appointed second lieutenant, November,
1863; first lieutenant, March, 1864; and captain, Novem-
ber, 1864. Lucius F. lienne, appointed first lieutenant,
November, 1864; and Clark M. Pease, second lieutenant,
November, 1864. This catalogue embraces all the changes
in the officers of the company during its service. The
company was collected mainly by the zeal and earnest exer-
tions of John Hammond, of Crown Point. The father of Mr.
Hammond, Charles P. Hammond, Esq., advanced the funds
for the purchase of all the original horses, amounting to
one hundred and eight, supplied the company. These
horses were selected with extreme care, in reference to
their adaptedness to the service, and were probably supe-
rior to those of any troop in the army.1
This body of men was organized as Company H of the
Fifth New York Cavalry, commanded by Colonel Othniel
De Forest of New York. The regiment employed the
winter of 1861 - 62, at camp Harris near Annapolis in con-
stant and thorough drilling, and acquired the discipline
and proficiency, that rendered its subsequent service so
efficient and so valuable to the country. This narrative pro-
poses to trace the movements of Company H distinctively
and the operations of the regiment, where that company
or the soldiers of Essex were prominently connected with
them. In April, this company was detached to Luray
Valley on special service. Here, in frequent skirmishes,
it gradually prepared for the toils and the scenes of peril
and hardships which were approaching. It rejoined the
regiment in May, and did not participate in some of its
1 These animals were delivered in New York by contract, at one hundred
and thirteen dollars each ; but such was the spirit of the men, that they
frequently paid from their own means, from five to twenty-five dollars in
addition, to secure to themselves a horse they particularly desired.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 259
earlier achievements, but was with it in the disastrous cam-
paign of General Banks, aud the terrible retreat through
the mountains, incident to it. A part of the regiment, includ-
ing Company H, acted as flankers to the army in this retreat,
aud was exposed perpetually to severe fighting.1 Through-
out the month of July, the regiment was engaged in
frequent skirmishes, and was in constant motion, often
suferiug severely from the want of rations and forage.
On the second of August a brigade composed of most of
the Fifth and the First Vermont approached Orange C. H.,
from the east under the command of General Crawford.
The streets were silent and apparently deserted, as the
troops entered ; but a sudden and heavy fire poured upon
them announced a concealed enemy, and while confused
by its effect they were repulsed and driven back from the
town. Captain Hammond had been detached in charge
of Companies G and H across the country to the Gor-
donsville road which penetrates the village from the south-
west. He reached the road, and was approaching with no
knowledge of the assault and repulse of the brigade. The
Confederates were equally ignorant of his presence. Or-
dering his command to draw sabres, he said to them : "This
is the first favorable opportunity you have had to try your
sword; use your hardware well and we will take the place
1 A single incident will illustrate the character of this service. Captain
Hammond, while in the advance with ten men, marching upon the flank,
noticed a superior body of rebels in front, and immediately pursued.
Leading his men he soon personally came up to their rearmost man, a
strong and completely armed soldier. They exchanged several shots,
which were without effect, owing to the great speed with which they were
riding. Captain Hammond's pistol had become foul and useless, while his
antagonist had two chambers undischarged. Hammond lost his in attempt-
ing to strike him with the butt, but determined to secure the rebel he
seized him by the collar with both hands and tore him from his horse. In
the struggle, Hammond's horse also went from under him, and they both
fell to the ground. Hammond above, one hand grappling the throat of the
rebel and the other hold of his pistol hand, while the rebel was attempting
to shoot Hammond. At this moment a private of Company F came up and
by Hammond's order fired at the rebel. The ball grazing his head, brought
him to surrender.
260 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
or die in the attempt." They rushed at full speed upon
the enemy in an impetuous charge and with a wild shout.
Although surprised, the Confederates met them by a wither-
ing discharge of musketry ; but the enthusiasm of the ca-
valry was irresistible. The enemy were driven back
to an open space, where they rallied for a moment and
then broke and fled in utter disorder. More prisoners
were taken than the feeble force were able to secure.
The charge was most gallantly executed and terrible in
its effect. The area, in which the rebels made their last
stand, was strewn with the killed and wounded, and with
unhorsed men bearing fearful evidence of the force of the
sabre's blow. When the cavalry, after these events, ad-
vanced along the street, they were first apprized by the
dead and dying, men and horses, of the preceding com-
bat. Lieutenant Peufield of Company H was peculiarly
conspicuous in this brief conflict, by his chivalric bear-
ing. The enemy's force was composed of the celebrated
Virginia horse, which had been organized by Ashley.1
Soon after this action, a part of the regiment was en-
gaged in the battle of Cedar Mountain. During the month
of August it was occupied with brief relaxations, in toil-
some marches, reconnaissances and various harassing and
exhaustive duties. It participated with great gallantry in
the warm engagements at Kelley's Ford and Waterloo, and
on the 27th of August was broken up iuto detachments to
perform escort services to different generals. Duties of
this character, patroling, observing roads and guarding
trains constitute an importaut part of the operations of
1 The ludicrous and comic sometimes relieves the grim visage of war.
As the command was advancing to the charge, Captain Hammond advised
the company's cook, Henry Spaulding, who was leading a pack horse,
loaded with frying pans, kettles, and all the paraphernalia of his office, to
remain in the rear ; but this, he was unwilling to do. Guiding his own and
leading the pack horse, with sabre in hand, he kept well up and boldly
rushed into the thickest of the affray. The gallant officer who furnished me
with the anecdote, remarked that he often doubts, whether the strange din
of the kettles combined with the shouting of the men, was not as effective
as their sabres.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 261
cavalry, acting in a campaign under the circumstances
which surrounded both armies in the war of the rebellion ;
but like the trench duties of the other arms of the service,
these operations were far the most irksome and onerous
imposed upon the mounted regiments, attended often with
greater hardships, toils, and perils than actual combats ;
they were not sustained by the excitement and glory of
battle. The movements of the Fifth, with a few brief in-
terludes of repose, were incessant and generally severe. Its
history from May, 1862, when it entered into active duty,
to April, 1865, presents a remarkable and scarcely parallel
series of severe services and hard fought battles. Besides
the toils and endurance of this special service, it was en-
gaged in a mass or by detachments in one hundred and
eighteen skirmishes and fifty-three battles, necessarily
varied in their importance and severity.1
The scope of my work will permit me only to glance at
some of the most prominent of these events. The Fifth
was on the bloody fields of second Bull Run, Chantilly and
Antietam. Major Hammond conducting an expedition in
October, came in collision with the Confederates at Lees-
burg, Upperville and Thoroughfare Gap, and engaged in
a running fight while pursuing their cavalry from Hay-
market to Warrenton. The opening weeks of 1863, were
devoted by the regiment to unremitting picket duty charged
to oppose and repel the incursions of the guerrillas, that
thronged the front of tbe Union lines. On the 26th Janu-
ary, a detachmeut was ordered in pursuit of a party which
had captured a picket of the Eighteenth Pennsylvania, and
at Middleburg, Major Hammond, who was in command,
executed a brilliant charge through the town, captured
twenty-five of Mosby's cavalry, and dispersed the party.
A fortnight later, Captain Penfield in command of
1 The interesting Historic Record of the Fifth New York, by the Rev.
Louis N. Boudrye, its chaplain, exhibits a tabular statement of the skir-
mishes and battles in Which the regiment was engaged, with the date and
locality of each.
262 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
Companies F and H, was engaged in warm skirmishing
with large detachments of the enemy at New Baltimore
and Warrenton. On the 9th of March, Mosby by a bold
movement surprised, at Fairfax C. H., nearly six miles
within the Federal lines, an Union detachment and captured
thirty prisoners, including General Stoughton and Captain
Augustus Barker, of Company L, and fifty choice horses,
belonging to the Fifth. These men had been detached
from the regiment, and were acting under the command
of the provost marshal. The brigade pursued the enemy
by different routes, but with no success. On the 23d,
the regiment experienced another severe and mortifying
reverse. The rebels making a feint attack on a picket
retreated rapidly, pursued by a part of the Fifth, in
charge of Majors Bacon and White. The pursuers were
arrested by a barricade across the road, and suddenly as-
sailed by a sharp fire in front and flank. At this moment
Mosby dashed upon them in an unexpected impetuous
charge. The cavalry broke and precipitately retreated,
with a loss of five killed and wounded, and thirty-six
prisoners, including one commissioned officer. It was at
length rallied by the efforts of the officers, and reenforced ;
it in turn repulsed and pursued the enemy a distance of
several miles. Yet the chagrin and mortification of the
defeat remained. Whatever lustre was lost to the fame
of the Fifth by this reverse was gloriously restored on the
3d of May. Early in the morning, the First Virginia
cavalry while dismounted, were surprised by Mosby with
a detachment of the Black Horse Cavalry and a guerrilla
force. Separated from their horses, the First retreated to
a house, and courageously defended themselves, refusing
to surrender. • Mosby then ordered the building to be
fired. At that critical juncture, the Fifth, which, without
the knowledge of the rebels, was bivouacking in a neigh-
boring grove, burst upon them, under the command of
Major Hammond. A furious fight ensued ; but the Con-
federates fled, broken and scattered, sustaining a heavy
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 263
loss in killed, wounded and prisoners. This gallant ex-
ploit was noticed in warm commendation by a special
order of the division commander.
On the 30th of May, the rebels, by an adroit expedient,
arrested a train advancing by the Orange and Alexandria
rail road to the Rapidan, heavily ladened with army
supplies, and opened upon it a fire from a twelve-pounder
mountain howitzer. The infantry guard upon the train,
unable to oppose the storm of cannister, dispersed, and the
whole train with its contents was consumed. The Fifth,
with the First Vermont and Seventh Michigan cavalry was
stationed on the road, and through their encampment the
train had just before passed. They were startled by the
report of the gun, and those not engaged on picket duty
directly mounted, and taking different routes marched
across the country with the hope of intercepting the rebel
retreat. The Fifth first came upon them and immediately
charged ; but was repulsed by a discharge of small arms
and the howitzer, at close quarters iii a narrow road which
the guns completely commanded. The officer in command
of the Fifth, Capt. Hasbroock, judiciously hesitated on
renewing the assault, but Lieutenant Barker of Company
H, unwilling to allow the enemy to escape in their triumph,
and calling on the men to follow in the charge upon the
gun, he dashed up a steep hill at the head of less than a
score of volunteers, and when they had nearly reached
the howitzer it poured forth a withering shower of
cannister, by which the young leader was stricken down
with two shot through his thigh, another severing the
sole from his boot ; his horse received three grape and two
pistol balls in his body. Three of the little baud were
killed and most of the others severely wounded; but before
the piece could be reloaded the survivors were sabreing
the gunners at their post. After a brief but fierce conflict
the howitzer was recaptured, for it had been taken at
Ball's bluff', and to the captors it was a proud and grateful
trophy. The rebels lost two officers and several men,
264 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
wounded and captured. In this movement Mosby first intro-
duced his use of artillery.1
Soon after this occurrence, the cavalry division to which
the Fifth was attached, joined the army of the Potomac in
the Gettysburg campaign. On the last day of June, the
cavalry division of Kilpatrick, with two batteries of
artillery, were defiling through Hanover, Penn. Each
regiment, in its passage, was regaled by the patriotic
citizens. "While the Fifth was in the act of participating
in this hospitality, a cannon sounded from an adjacent
height. For the moment it was supposed to be connected
with the demonstration, but it proved to be a signal gun,
and its echo had scarcely ceased, when Stuart, at the
head of a large party of cavalry, rushed in a furious assault
upon the Eighteenth Pennsylvania, which held the rear
of the brigade. Stuart was unexpectedly present with
three thousand horse, supported by artillery, and was in
occupation of the surrounding hills. "With consummate
coolness and judgment, Major Hammond, then in com-
mand of the Fifth, which in the street received the first
shock of the attack, instantly formed the regiment, faced
to the rear in column, and charged the enemy's front.
A fearful hand to hand conflict in the narrow street suc-
ceeded, when the rebels, broken and repulsed, with a
heavy loss, sought the protection of their artillery. The
casualities of the Fifth were forty killed and wounded, and
a few missing. Adjutant Gall was killed while charging
in the street, and Major White slightly wounded. The
trophies of the Fifth included the commander of a bri-
1 The age of nineteen was attached in the compact I have mentioned to
the signature of Elmer J. Barker. On the 9th of February, preceding this
action, he suffered a severe contusion by the fall of uis horse while charging
in the fight at New Baltimore. After receiving the wounds mentioned in
the text, he was first carried to the hospital at Fairfax C. H., and subsequently
in haste to Alexandria. From thence he was removed to New York,
nursed and tenderly cared for by two ladies* whose husbands were in the
regiment. From New York he was brought by the wife of a distinguished
officer to his native mountains, where he recovered from his wounds and re-
turned to the army.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 265
gade, and a battle flag, and a few prisoners. The division
was engaged in the afternoon of the 2d of July, with the
enemy's cavalry on the left of their line at Gettysburg.
Custer, with the second brigade, retaiued that position
through the 3d. The First brigade including the Fifth,
under Kilpatrick and Farnsworth, marched all the night
of the 2d, and reached the right flank of the rebels about
ten o'clock on he 3d, and maintained a vigorous contest
through the day. Repeated charges were made upon the
enemy's infantry line, in one of which General Farnsworth,
the commander of the brigade, gallantly fell. The Fifth,
during a part of these events, was left in support of Elder's
battery, and exposed to a tremendous cannonade.
On the night of the 4th, the cavalry division intercepted
upon the summit of South mountain the enemy with an
immense train transporting the spoils of Pennsylvania.
After a sharp contest the entire train was captured with
fifteen hundred prisoners and two hundred wagons burnt.
On the 6th, the division was engaged in the defense of
Hagerstown against the attacks of Stuart's cavalry, and in
the afternoon of that day retreated before Hood's infantry
towards Williamsport amid continuous and severe fighting.
In one of the charges in these conflicts the horse of Cap-
tain Penfield of Company H was killed under him, and
while attempting to extricate himself from the fallen ani-
mal he received a fearful sabre cut upon the head, and
was taken prisoner. He suffered in the southern prisons
until March, 1865, and resigned soon after his exchange.
The third division, united with Burford's, maintained on
the 8th upon the plains near Antietam creek a severe
engagement with Stuart supported by Hood. The conflict
was desperate and sanguinary, but in a final charge by the
Union cavalry towards the close of the day, the rebels were
swept from the field with a heavy loss. On the 14th the
division attacked the rear of the retreating enemy near
Falling Water, and captured a brigade of infantry under
General Pettigrew, who was mortally wounded, two flags
and two pieces of cannon. During the remainder of the
266 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
summer and far into autumn the regiment was iucessantly
engaged in the severest field duties, attended with frequent
bloody collisions with the enemy's horse. On the 10th and
11th of October, the division was involved in a most cri-
tical position from a formidable attack by infantry and
cavalry in the neighborhood of Culpepper, and near Brandy
Station. Surrounded by the enemy, it was only extricated
by one of the most daring charges led by Kilpatrick, Davies
and Custer that signalized the war. The enemy was
checked, and the division united with Burford's, and at night
fell back across the Rappahannock. During these operations,
Major Hammond, with half of the Fifth, was iu support of a
section of Elder's battery, while Major White was support-
ing the other section with the remainder of the regiment,
and by a bold and opportune charge they saved the battery
from capture. On the 10th of December, Major Ham-
mond and Captain Krom were ordered home on recruiting
service, and returned to the regiment before the middle of
March, having enlisted five hundred men by great efforts
and personal disbursements. A large part of the regiment
at this time reentered the service on a new enlistment.
At the approach of the new year of 1864, the Fifth were
permitted to construct near Germania Ford its winter
quarters ; but this promise of repose resulted in only slight
actual relaxation of their active patrol service. On the
28th February, the entire third division marched upon a
raid of more than usual importance towards Richmond.
A detachment of the Fifth was detailed to serve in the
subordinate and unfortunate expedition of Colonel Dahl-
gren, but it embraced no member of Company H. The
division encountered in its movement extreme suffering
and toil, at length reached the Union lines near Yorktown,
were transported to Alexandria, and from thence reached
its former camp at Steven sburg. Towards the close of
April, the regiment broke up its nominal winter quarters
and prepared for the impending campaign. On the 4th
of May, the Fifth leading the division forded the Rapidan ;
the first regiment in this campaign that crossed that
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 267
stream. Early the next morning a heavy column of infantry
appeared on its flank, and a furious conflict immediately
commenced. This action was the initiative of the memo-
rable battle of the Wilderness. Colonel Hammond after
holding his ground three hours, advised General Meade of
the evidently large force in his front, with the assurance
that he would "hold them in check as long as possible."
By voice and example he maintained the regiment reso-
lutely in hand. A portion of it was dismounted, and as-
sailed the enemy with the Spencer rifle with terrible effect.
Until relieved by a part of the sixth corps, the Fifth, with
unsurpassed firmness and devotion, confronted for five
hours the assailing column, and slowly and defiantly fall-
ing back. It performed most valuable service to the
army but at a fearful sacrifice to itself. After this bril-
liant achievement, the Fifth was ordered to bivouac near
the Wilderness Tavern, to be under the immediate orders
of General Meade.
On the 7th, the Fifth, in conjunction with two other
regiments, all under the command of Colonel Hammond,
was again in the advance, intrusted with the respon-
sible duty of guarding the fords and picketting the
roads. In the afternoon, the command was attacked by
cavalry and artillery, and a part giving way, Hammond
was compelled to make a rapid retreat down the river.
When Grant effected his first flank movement, the Fifth
was the last regiment that left the Wilderness. It was in
the rear of Burnside's corps, and the command of Ham-
mond, subsequently formed the rear of Hancock's corps.
Colonel Hammond was reen forced on the 17th, by the
First Massachusetts, twelve hundred strong, with direct
orders from General Meade, to destroy the Guineas station,
and make a reconnaissance on Lee's flank. He found
the enemy strongly fortified on the banks of the Potomac,
and a warmly contested action occurred, without dislodg-
ing their force. Four days later, the regiment had
another severe fight on the Mattapony. On the 23d, it
encountered the enemy in large force, near Mt. Carmel
2(38 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
church. A furious fight ensued, that brought on a general
engagement between the armies, which resulted in the
rebels being driven from their strong position on the
North Anna. The brigade, on the 1st of June, met the
rebels in a conflict of unusual severity, at Ashland station.
Although inflicting a heavy loss upon the enemy, it suf-
fered itself severely. Major White of the Fifth, was
dangerously wounded, and Colonel Hammond received
a ball just above the ankle, that had flattened upon his
scabbard. On a previous occasion he had been wounded
jn the hand. At Salem church the brigade was again en-
gaged, and on the 15th, near White Oaks Swamp, the
division suddenly encountered a heavy Confederate co-
lumn, and after a severely contested action, the division
was overwhelmed by superior numbers, suffered heavily,
and was compelled to fall back.
General Wilson, who had succeeded Kilpatrick in the
command of the Third division, aided by Kautz's brigade
of cavalry, and fourteen pieces of flying artillery on the
22d of June, commenced his remarkable raid which was
designed to sever the enemy's communications below Rich-
mond. Rushing with the utmost celerity along devious
roads and through unfrequented bypaths, it accomplished a
vast work of devastation. It first struck the Weldon rail
road ; it next reached the South Side road ; here and every-
where on its march destruction marked its track. Near
the close of the second day, it was met by a strong force
of the enemy ; a sharp engagement followed, protracted long
into the night. The Fifth was in the skirmish line, and
fought with its usual ardor and efficiency. On the 24th
the expedition reached and effectually broke up the Danville
road. The next da}7 Kautz was repulsed in an attempt to
burn the bridge over the Staunton river. Up to this point,
ten important and several smaller stations and depots had
been destroyed, and fifty miles of rail road track with their
bridges and culverts. The course of the expedition was
now describing a wide circle gradually tending towards the
Union line. The 28th, it reached the Weldon road, and
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 269
through the night with brief pauses was engaged in a fight
with an infantry force. On the eighth clay of its march it
again approached Ream's station. The Fifth was leading,
and a mile and a half in advance of the column. Here the
harassed troops had the assurance of meeting a support, but
instead of succor and friends, they were confronted by an
impassable barrier, supported by a force of overwhelming
strength. The decision was promptly made to attempt a
retreat to Rowanty creek and there fortify while scouts
should penetrate the rebel lines and apprise General Grant
of the critical position of the command. The execution of
the plan was attempted, but while the main body was
in bivouac it was irresistibly assailed by the rebels on its
flanks and rear and utterly routed. I am unable to trace
the incidents by which the command, broken up and scat-
tered, reached the Federal lines by detachments, in small
parties and individually, many after several days of severe
suffering. The artillery, wagons and trains were lost. Many
of the troops were slain and numerous prisoners and horses
left in the enemy's hands. Hundreds of slaves, who had
gathered in joyous exultation around the column, were
abandoned to their fate.
The shattered Fifth, after its fearful endurance in this
expedition, was allowed a brief period of repose, but on the
6th of August, the whole division was embarked on trans-
ports at City Point and transferred to a new field of action
with the army of the Shenandoah. A number of the regi-
ment, who were disabled or had lost their horses in the
raid, had been previously sent to camp Stoneman near Wash-
ington, participated in the series of battles fought the
month of July in upper Maryland. The Fifth was soon
after actively engaged in picket duty, in aiding to cover
Sheridan's retreat from Cedar creek, slowly falling back
amid incessant conflicts. On the 25th of August, the first
and third divisions of cavalry met a heavy force of the
enemy under Breckenridge, and after a protracted engage-
ment were forced to retreat. The regiment lost a number
in. killed and wounded, including Lieutenant Greenleaf
270 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
commanding Company A; mortally wounded. At night it
moved to the Potomac, and crossing at Maryland heights
on a pontoon bridge, it did not pause until it reached Antie-
tam creek. Two days afterwards the division recrossed
the Potomac and with the army again assumed an offensive
attitude.
The term of Colonel Hammond's service having expired
and private duties constraining his return to civil life, on
the 30th of August, he bade a formal farewell to the noble
regiment he had so long commanded and led through a
series of such brilliant services. An infinitude of toils and
privation, of perils and triumphs and a common fame, had
united the officers and men of the Fifth by no ordinary
ties of cordial affection, and fraternal sympathy. As no
man had entered the service of the country from loftier
impulses than Colonel Hammond, so no officer of his
grade left the army with a higher reputation. He was
succeeded in the command of the regiment by Lieutenant
Colonel Bacon.1
In the early part of September, the brigade was con-
stantly engaged with the enemy's forces, and on the
13th captured at Opequan the South Carolina Eighth with
its colonel and standard. On the 19th, it was engaged in
the terrible battle near Winchester, and during that day
executed five distinct charges, four of which were against
the close serried ranks of infantry. Its losses were heavy,
but its bearing was eminently conspicuous. Advancing
in the pursuit of the enemy, the regiment was exposed
near Ashbury church to a furious shelling, such as it had
never before experienced; but it maintained its position
1 The application of Colonel Hammond to be mustered out, was approved
by General Wilson, in an endorsement from which I make the following
extracts: "Colonel Hammond is a most valuable and worthy officer,
and has served with great credit to himself, and benefit to the service."
General Torbet in his approval writes : "lam pleased to mention from per-
sonal observation, that he is one of the most accomplished officers I have
known in the service, and the country can ill afford to lose the services of
such an officer at this time." — Boudrye.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 271
with unfaltering firmness and tenacity. Through the
month of September it had trifling relief from incessant
and harassing duty in patroling, forming escort, and in
actual conflict. During this period, one of the most sad
and revolting services was imposed on the Fifth, that the
harsh severity of warfare exacts from the soldier. A Lieu-
tenant Meigs of the Union army had been barbarously
assassinated by unknown persons residing near Dayton.
The government deemed a stern retaliatory example de-
manded, and ordered every edifice to be burnt in an area
of three miles. The regiment was detailed to execute
this fearful retribution. Numerous splendid mansions and
happy homes were consigned to the torch, without any
discrimination between the innocent and guilty ; but the im-
pulses of compassion at length prevailed and the order was
arrested before the devastation reached the pleasant village
of Dayton. During several successive days, the regiment
was employed in the burning of forage and grain and the
destruction of mills; a ruthless necessity of war, that
marked the course of Sheridan's army with ashes and ruin.
Determined to arrest the harassing assaults of the enemy
upon the Union pickets and rear, Custer, with the Third
division on the 9th of October turned back upon and at-
tacked them in one of the most spirited cavalry actions of
the war. Amid the animating clangor of the bugles
along the whole front, sounding the charge, the entire line
rushed forward ; Custer himself at the head of the Fifth
dashed upon the rebel's strong central position. The issue
formed a brilliant success to the federal troops. On the
19th, the division was lying at Cedar creek with the
Union army, and indulging in its fatal security. It en-
dured the common disasters incident to the surprise and
rout, and fully participated in the crowning victory
wrought by the marvellous inspirations of Sheridan. Near
the close of the day, the Confederates made a final and
desperate effort to redeem its fortunes, by a cavalry attack
upon the flank of the Union army. This movement, Cus-
ter was ordered to repel. Torn by the Union artillery,
272 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY. ,
and at sundown assailed by the whole line, the rebels
broke and fled in a disordered rout. At that moment,
the Third division burst upon them in a merciless pursuit.
There was no cheering; no sounding of trumpets, and
the flying enemy were admonished of impending slaughter
only by the trampling of pursuing horses. At length they
halt and pour a volley upon the Union cavalry. Then
the bugles sounded and Custer and his men were in their
midst, and a scene of carnage ensued that had scarcely a
parrallel in the war. A bloody track, weapons broken or
abandoned, the bodies of the dead and wounded, attested
the horrors of the flight. For five miles the pursuit con-
tinued, until darkness spread its compassionate mantle
over the frightful spectacle. Captain Barker of Company
H, by the personal command of Custer, had led the charge.
The Fifth, commanded in the field by Major A. H. Krom,
gleaned immense spoils from the common harvest of the
great victory.1
The Second and Third divisions of cavalry while engaged
in a reconnaissance on the 22d of November, near Mt.
Jackson, were involved in a hard fought battle, and
again the Fifth was peculiarly distinguished, in repelling
by a bold and vigorous movement a flank attack on the
column by the Confederate cavalry. On the 25th, the regi-
ment was ordered into camp near the headquarters of the
commanding general, and a few days after was allowed to
construct its winter quarters near Winchester. On the
27th of February, 1865, Sheridan moved with the cavalry
1 This is attested by the official receipt : " Received of the Fifth New York
Cavalry commanded by Major A. H. Krom, twenty-two pieces of artillery,
fourteen caissons, one battery wagon, seventeen army wagons, six spring
wagons and ambulances, eighty-three sets of artillery harness, seventy-five
sets of wagon harness, ninety-eight horses, sixty-seven mules, captured in
action in the battle of the 19th October, 1864, at Cedar Creek, Va. A. C. M.
Pennington, Jr., colonel commanding brigade." General Custer, in an enthu-
siastic address to the Tbird division, among other high panegyrics on its
achievement, exclaims : " Again, during the memorable engagement of the
19th, your conduct throughout was sublimely heroic and without a parallel
in the annals of warfare."
MILITARY AXD POLITICAL HISTORY. 273
of the Shenandoah towards Staunton, and on the 1st of
March at Waynesboro', nearly annihilated the relics of
Early's army. Fourteen hundred prisoners were among
the fruits of this victory. Sheridan decided to trausfer
most of these to the Union rear, and the Fifth, under Colo-
nel Boice, with broken parties of other regiments, amount-
ing in all to about one thousand men, was detached as
their escort. The distance was more than one hundred
miles, through a country infested by guerrilla bands, and
occupied by General Rosser, an alert and energetic rebel
leader. The service was difficult and perilous, but was
successfully executed. Rosser made a vehement effort to
rescue the prisoners, but was repulsed with a severe loss,
leaving a number of his troops to augment the aggregate
of prisoners. General Sheridan had detained about his
own person a small detachment of the Fifth, selected for
special duty. These accompanied him on his trying march
to the James ; participated with their wonted efficiency in
the closing battles of the war, and were present at the sur-
render of Lee.
The main body of the regiment performed on the 19th
of May its final service in an expedition to Lexington, Va.,
to effect the arrest of Governor Letcher, and on the 19th of
July it received its last general orders, directing its return
to Xew York, to be there mustered out of service and
discharged. By an auspicious fortune the Fifth had fought
at Hanover, Pa., the first battle on free soil ; it was the first
Union regiment that crossed the Rapidan in Grant's cam-
paign ; it received the first shock at the battle of the
Wilderness, and was the last to leave the field.1
The One Hundred and Eighteenth New York Volunteers.
This gallant regiment was recruited entirely. in the six-
teenth congressional district, and throughout its whole
1 Besides official documents, I am largely indebted to the Rev. Mr. Boudrye's
Historic Record of tlie Fifth for the facts I have embodied in the preceding
pages. I have also received valuable information from officers connected
with the regiment.
18
274 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
career, was an object of peculiar pride and solicitude to
the people of that district. Its organization embraced
three companies from Warren county, A, D, G; three
from Clinton county, B, H, I ; three from Essex county,
C, E, F ; and one, K, from Essex and Clinton. The latter
company was enrolled chiefly in the Au Sable valley ; a
part in Peru, and a small portion, including the captain,
were residents of Jay. The regiment, with great appro-
priateness designated the Adironclac, was mustered into
service the 29th August, 1862, with Samuel F. Richards
of Warrensburg, colonel, Oliver Keese, Jr., of Keese-
ville, lieutenant-colonel, and George F. Nichols, of Pitts-
burgh, major. By the successive resignations in both
cases from severe sickness, of Colonel Richards in the
summer of 1863, and Keese, in May, 1864, Major Nichols
was promoted to the command of the regiment, and led
it with distinguished skill and courage in many of the
severe conflicts it encountered. Colouel Keese, during
his command of the regiment, was usually in the perform-
ance of active duty in the field. At the mustering in, the
officers of Company C were James H. Pierce of St.
Armands, Captain Nathan L. Washburn of Wilmington,
first, and George M. Butrick of Jay, second lieutenant ;
the two latter resigned in 1863, and were succeeded by
George F. Campbell and Luther S. Bryant. Of Company
E, Jacob Parmerter of North Hudson was captain, Jo-
seph R. Seaman of Schroon, first lieutenant, who was
promoted to the captaiucy of Company A, and came home
in that command ; and John Brydon of Crown Point second
lieutenant, who succeeded Seaman, was promoted to the
command of Company K, was afterwards in the ordnance
department and general staff", and brevetted major. Ser-
geant Edgar A. Wing succeeded Brydon and Sergeant J.
Wesley Treadway, promoted to second lieutenant; in
November, 1864, first lieutenant Company A. Corporal
M. V. B. Knox was promoted second lieutenant Colored
Volunteers, and left the service with rank of captain. In
Company F, Robert W. Livingstone of Elizabethtown,
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 275
was captain, and received the brevet of major; John L.
Cunningham, of Essex, first lieutenant, was promoted in
1863, to captain of Company D, and to major in 1864, and
brevetted lieutenant-colonel ; and William H. Stevenson
of Moriah, second lieutenant, who succeeded Cunningham.
Henry J. Northrop was appointed second lieutenant in
1864; Daniel A. O'Connor was promoted to first lieu-
tenant in 1864, and came home in acting command of
company. Charles A. Grace was promoted to second lieu-
tenant. Henry J. Adams and Nelson J. Gibbs were pro-
moted from this company to lieutenancies in Companies
G, and I. Adams was afterwards advanced to captain
and commissioner of subsistence and brevet major, 1ST. Y.
Y. Rowland C. Kellogg, promoted to second, soon after
first lieutenant Company D, and in 1864 appointed captain
in commissary department. The officers of Company K
were John S. Stone of Jay, captain, John H. Boynton of
Peru, first lieutenant, resigned in spring of 1864 and suc-
ceeded by Sam Sherman of Company D. Henry M.
Mould, of Keeseville, second lieutenant resigned in 1863
and succeeded by Charles "W. Wells, who was promoted
to captaincy of Company C, and came home in command.
Philip Y. N. McLean was promoted from this company to
second lieutenant Company D. Charles E. Pruyn was
adjutant of the regiment on the organization. Patrick
H. Delany, quarter master; John K. Mooers, surgeon,
James G. Porteous, assistant, promoted to surgeon in Forty
sixth, and Charles L. Hagar, chaplain.
The One Hundred and Eighteenth regiment entered
the service with an aggregate of nine hundred and eighty-
three men ; it was reenforced at intervals, by three hun-
dred and fifty recruits, but returned from the field at
the expiration of its term with only three hundred and
twenty-three in its ranks, embracing both officers and pri-
vates. Immediately upon joining the army the regiment
commenced a series of active and incessant duties. It
formed a part of Peck's force, in the memorable defense of
Suffolk, and was employed in the arduous raids along the
276 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
Black river. It was warmly engaged through two days and
often under heavy fire, in a continued skirmish with the
rebel sharp-shooters near Suffolk, and participated in the
feint upon Richmond in June, 1863. The brigade to which
the One Hundred and Eighteenth regiment was attached
was in the advance, and the regiment was ordered to destroy
parts of the Richmond and Fredericksburg rail road.
While the regiment was engaged in executing this service,
two companies, A, Captain Norris, and F in the absence
from severe sickness of Captain Livingstone commanded
by Lieutenant Cunningham, were advanced as skirmishers
along the rail road, towards the South Anna river, and after
cautiously proceeding about one mile came in contact with
the rebel pickets. The command continued to advance in
line under a sharp and constant fire, the enemy slowly re-
tiring, and speedily in addition to small arms they opened a
fire on the Union troops from batteries in front commanding
the line of the rail road and on a flank. The companies under
this concentrated fire were compelled to retreat and fell back
in order, assuming a strong position in a wood, behind a
ditch with an open field in front. During this movement,
Lieutenant Cunningham received a painful wound from a
spent ball, but did not leave the field. Major Nichols
soon after appeared on the ground with two fresh compa-
nies, D, Captain Riggs, and a company of the Ninety-ninth
New York. These companies deploj^ed on either side,
and the line thus formed made a rapid advance. A warm
action ensued in which the command was subjected to a
heavy fire of mingled bullets, shot and shells. The enemy
were at length driven back along their whole front, except
at one point in their position, which was obstinately main-
tained and appeared to be fortified. This point, which
proved to be a breastwork of plank, Lieutenant W. H.
Stevenson of Company F proposed to capture; and calling
for volunteers for the service, selected five of the first who
offered. He rapidly advanced in the dark behind a screen
of bushes, which flanked the rebel's position on the right,
and with fixed bayonets and loaded guns rushed upon the
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 277
breastwork with a wild shout. Although surprised, the
enemy attempted a resistance, but the gallant Stevenson
killed one with his revolver, wounded a second and cap-
tured the remainder of the party consisting of thirteen
men, who were brought into the Federal lines. This dash-
ing exploit initiated the brief though brilliant career of the
stripling hero. The constancy and resolution of the regi-
ment was first tested on this occasion, and the conduct of
the officers engaged and the steadiness and discipline of
the troops received the highest encomiums.
The One Hundred and Eighteenth continued attached
to the column of the James until the spring of 1864, and
was engaged in operations near Norfolk and Bermuda Hun-
dred. It composed a portion of Wistar's command, when
it advanced to Bottom's Bridge from Williamsburg, in
an attempt upon Richmond.
It at this time constituted a part of the second brigade,
first division of the eighteenth corps. General W. F. Smith
commanded the corps, Brooks the division, and Burnham
the brigade. All these officers were eminently distinguished
by their fighting qualities and high reputation. Early
in May, the army marched upon the ill-omened expedition
against Fort Darling on the James, which was terminated
by the fatal results at Drury's Bluff. The march from the
commencement to its disastrous issue, was a constant scene
of fighting and skirmishes. On the tenth, Companies D,
F, and K, were advanced in a skirmishing line, the last held
in reserve, while the remainder of the regiment was de-
ployed. The coolness and bearing of Lieutenant Stevenson
of F, and Kellogg of Company D, were conspicuous, and the
steadiness of the whole line was eminently distinguished.1
The One Hundred and Eighteenth, four days after, cap-
tured with small loss a series of rifle pits, redoubts and
batteries, which formed a strong advance line of the enemy.
* ,
1 The firmness and constancy of the skirmishing line drew out from Burn -
ham's adjutant general, the emphatic tribute : " There is a line the rebels
can't break."
278 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
This work from the form of its construction afforded no
protection to the Federal troops. The enemy occupied a
short distance in front, far more formidable works mounted
with heavy guns, and during the whole day the second
brigade was exposed to a severe fire of shells from this
work. One of the missiles crushed the head of Sergeant
Place of Company K, a brave and intelligent soldier.
Throughout Sunday, the 15th, the brigade maintained this
exposed position, which was soon to acquire a dread and
bloody prominence in one of the darkest pages of the
war. Heckman's brigade, lying to the right of the Second,
formed the extreme right of the army line. Between
Heckman's brigade and the James, there was an interval
of a mile in length, which was left unoccupied, except by
a few feeble and scattering posts of colored cavalry. No
entrenchments had been constructed either in front of the
Union lines or on the flank ; excepting such as were
hastily thrown up, under the direction of commanders of
particular brigades or regiments. The ground had been
previously occupied by the Confederates, by whom scattered
and irregular redoubts, trenches and rifle pits were con-
structed ; but these were so arranged that they afforded no
protection to the Union troops in their present position.
The line held by the second brigade, stretched along a
deep excavation which had beeu made by the rebels, and
at this time was filled with water. A standing place was
formed for the brigade, by levelling a narrow space, between
this ditch and the embankment created by the earth thrown
up in its construction.1 Slight bridges were at short inter-
vals thrown across the Trench. These precautions proved
a few hours later of infinite importance. The embankment
was thus converted into an imperfect defense, which in the
subsequent action afforded great protection to the troops.
General Brooks conceived the novel and happy idea of
1 Contrary to the prevailing opinion I ani assured by an officer who par-
ticipated in the campaign that the One Hundred and Eighteenth, at least
was supplied with entrenching tools.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 279
extending a telegraph wire in front of the brigade ; but
unfortunately, Heckman's brigade was without even this
feeble protection, and lay totally exposed to the assault of
a vigilant foe.1
At three o'clock on the morning of the 16th, the One
Hundred and Eighteenth was aroused and at its post,
in conformity to special orders, or its established practice.
The air was loaded with a thick, dank fog, which the
opening dawn but slightly dissipated. As sun-rise ap-
proached, the advance or movement of troops was noticed
in front, but in the obscure light, the color of their uniform
could not be distinguished, nor their evolutions deter-
mined. A few shots from Belger's artillery, in front of
the brigade, were thrown into the ravine along which
these troops were advancing, and they were seen to halt
and lie down. A staff* officer, who at that moment ap-
peared on the field, pronouncing them to be federal
pickets retiring, and ordered the firing to cease. Small
white flags or signals were distinctly discerned, waving
in the mist, and voices shouted from the obscurity, " Don't
fire on your friends." The musketry had already become
sharp on the right, but the second brigade had received
no orders of any kind. There was a period of fearful
suspense and hesitation. Captain Ramson of Company I,
unable to restrain his impatience, leaped upon the em-
bankment, and firing his revolver, exclaimed : " This is
my reception of such friends." The last chamber was
scarcely exploded, when he fell, pierced by a ball that
passed through his body, and shattered an arm. Doubt
no longer existed of the character or purpose of these
troops, and the Ohe Hundred and Eighteenth instantly
poured a volley into the advancing line. The front rank
of the enemy now rushing impetuously forward, and in
the dimness of the light, stumbled over the wires, and those
in the rear pressing after them, all were hurled together
JThe inspiration I have imputed to General Brooks has been also ascribed
to other sources.
280 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
in a promiscuous mass ; their ranks broken and thrown
into inextricable disorder. Many of the enemy involved
in this confusion, threw down their arms and surrendered,
and were sent to the rear. Up to this point, the One
Hundred and Eighteenth had achieved a success. It was
vigilant, and the contemplated surprise had been defeated ;
but Heckman's brigade was surprised and nearly flanked,
from the undefended space on its right. It had fallen
back, and at one time the whole brigade were prisoners ;
but in the tumult, and amid the dense mist and smoke,
escaped. The Eighth Connecticut, next on the right of
the One Hundred and Eighteenth, was attacked in flank,
doubled up and disappeared from the field. The One
Hundred and Eighteenth was now exposed to a crushing
fire in front and upon the right flank. The extempora-
neous traverses which it had constructed at this crisis,
were most effective, affording a partial protection, and for
awhile the resistance of the regiment appeared to be suc-
cessful ; but it was enveloped by an overwhelming force,
and a terrific and sanguinary conflict ensued. In this
desperate aspect of the battle, each man was directed to
gain the rear without regard to discipline. A few em-
braced the opportunity to retreat; others still sustained
the fight, while the wounded implored their comrades not
to abandon them, and more than one noble life was sacri-
ficed to preserve these sufferers from the horrid calamities
of a hostile prison house. The regiment was soon after
rallied, and made a gallant stand ; but was compelled to
fall back : again advanced a short space, and ultimately
retreated in order. Captain Dominy, the senior officer,
succeeded to the temporary command of the regiment, on
the disability of Colonel Mchols.
The dire aceldama was ennobled by deeds of daring
heroism, and instances of exalted devotion. An intrepid
young lieutenant, Henry J. Adams, of Elizabethtown, at
the moment the regiment was breaking, seized a standard,
and shouting the words so familiar to scenes of home and
festive joy ousuess : " Rally round the flag, boys," attempted
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 281
to arrest the retreat, and essentially aided in rallying the
troops. Captain Robert W. Livingstone of Company F,
early in the action, moved from the cover of the embank-
ment in order to communicate with Colonel Nichols, and
while standing a moment exposed, was struck down by a
frightful wound in the shoulder. His gallant young lieu-
tenent, W. H. Stevenson, who was behind an embankment
and in a situation comparatively secure, saw him fall, and
calling on the men to bring in their captain, rushed out
to Livingstone's assistance, accompanied by four of the
company. Livingstone admonished them of the great ex-
posure they incurred, and urged that he might be left; but
Stevenson persisted in his generous purpose, and in a
moment after fell dead at his commander's side, a sacrifice
to duty and friendship. Two of the brave men1 were pro-
strated by wounds, were captured and died in southern
prisons. Livingstone, as he was borne from the field, was
struck by another shot, that terribly lacerated his foot
and leg. He languished in great suffering fourteen months
in a hospital, before his severe wounds permitted a return
to his home, a mutilated and disabled soldier.2
The regiment was not pursued by the severely puuished
enemy and was immediately rallied by its own officers. It
maintained a bold and defiant attitude until most of its
wounded were borne from the field. In that conflict,
scarcely extending over the space of half an hour, the
One Hundred and Eighteenth out of the three hundred
and fifty men engaged lost one hundred and ninety-eight
privates and thirteen officers in killed, wounded and
prisoners. Amid all these disasters and sacrifices, the
regiment had captured and secured two hundred prisoners,
1 George Miller and William Huff. Their names are worthy of commem-
moration.
2 Captain Livingstone gives utterance to this just and feeling tribute to
the memory of Stevenson : " No more gallant and generous spirit was
offered among the victims of the war." No praise of Lieutenant Stevenson —
his gallant ardor — his dash — his generous friendship, can be misplaced. —
Major Livingstone's Letter.
282 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
a greater number than it retained men fit for duty.
Among the killed on this fatal day was Captain John S.
Stone of Company K.1 Lieutenant Stevenson was killed
and Lieutenant Edgar A. Wing, Company E, a youth of
high promise who had joined the company only a few days
before, was mortally wounded, taken prisoner and died the
next day. Lieutenant Colonel Nichols was slightly wounded
in the side and hand, from which his sword was stricken by
a shot; and his clothing, as was that of several other officers,
was riddled by bullets. Adjutant John M. Carter lost an
arm and was captured ; Captain Livingstone and Ransom
were severely wounded ; Lieutenants Treadway and Sher-
man were wounded, and Captain Dennis Stone, Company
A, and James H. Pierce, Company C, taken prisoners. The
arm}- on the same day fell back to Bermuda Hundred and
fortified; but the stricken and fragmentary One Hundred and
Eighteenth were exempted from the toil of entrenching.
On the 29th of May the eighteenth corps, embracing the
One Hundred and Eighteenth, embarked in transports, and
passing down the James, ascended the Pamunky and
landed at the White House. Directly upon disembarking
it was rushed to the front, and on the 1st of June joined
the army of the Potomac. On that day near Coal Harbor
commenced a battle which continued until the 3d, and was
one of the most severely contested and sanguinary engage-
ments of the war; but its incidents and results have been
singularly veiled from the public eye. The Eighteenth
corps occupied a position in front of the Union army. The
One Hundred and Eighteenth was engaged in the bloody
scenes of these conflicts, but not unconnected with its corps.
Its casualties were extremely severe. At times exposed to
a heav}- fire in front and enfiladed by a battery and rifle
J Captain Stone, before entering the army, was pastor of the Presbyterian
church at Au Sable Forks. Although singularly modest and retiring in his
habits, he was disposed from the impulses of duty to engage in the conflict,
and when a large number of the intelligent and energetic youth of the
vicinity offered to enhst under his command, he freely and promptly offered
his services to the country.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 283
pits, to escape annihilation the troops were compelled to
lie prone upon the earth, while a tempest of miuie balls,
shot and shells, hurtled just above them. The dead could
neither be removed nor buried, and their corpses were thrown
upon the breastwork, with a slight covering of earth strewn
upon them, and thus their decaying bodies aided to form a
bulwark for the protection of their living comrades. The
taint from the decomposing mass became almost insuffera-
ble, before the corps was withdrawn from the trenches.1
The sufferings of the regiment through the trying ordeal of
those eight days were extreme. It lost at Coal Harbor
seventy men and officers. Among the casualties were
Lieutenant Michael Reynolds of Company A, killed, and
Captain Jacob Parmerter of Company E severely wounded
with the loss of a leg.
An impregnable line in front arrested all advance by the
Union army, but the enemy was held in an equally tenacious
and unyielding grasp. The eighteenth corps sustained its
exposed position, and in the end formed a curtain behind
which, on the 12th, General Grant accomplished his perilous
and memorable flank movement which effected the change
of his base. When this bold and remarkable operation had
been accomplished, the Eighteenth, also, hastily abandoned
its entrenchments and fell back unopposed to White House,
and returned to its previous field of duty. On the 15th of
June, the One Hundred and Eighteenth was engaged in the
attack on Petersburg. Here it suffered a heavy loss in the
death of Major Charles E. Pruyn, who was in temporary
command of the regiment. While standing in an exposed
position, and in the act of surveying the works he was pre-
paring to assault, he was struck and horribly mutilated by
a shell. He had acted as adjutant in the* organization of
the regiment, and its singular proficiency and high disci-
1 An intelligent and gallant officer who was present in some of the most
severe battles of the war, said to me that the terrible fighting at Coal Har-
bor " far exceeded anything he had witnessed ; that the field was literally
swept by the storm of bullets, and that a hat raised a short space from the
ground would instantly be riddled by balls."
284 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
pline were chiefly imputed to the skill and assiduity of his
services, sustained by the field oflicers preeminently by the
military attainments and persistent zeal of Colonel Keese.1
Lieutenant Rowland C. Kellogg was also wounded by the
explosion of a shell. Captain Levi S. Dominy of Company
B succeeded to the immediate command of the regiment.
The fierce and protracted siege of Petersburg exacted
from the One Hundred and Eighteenth the most arduous
and exhaustive duties. Night succeeded the day, days
rolled into weeks, and the weeks formed months, but their
toils had no mitigation, while their endurance and dangers
were perpetual. Now exposed to the burning sun and
breathing the arid sand, and now struggling in mud and
water ; often suffering for drink, seldom able to wash, and
never changing their clothing for rest. Constantly shelled
and frequently enfiladed by new batteries ; burrowing in
the earth to escape projectiles, against which ordinary
entrenchments afforded no protection, the troops were
yet joyous, patient, enduring and full of hope. Amid
all these exposures and suffering, after it had recovered
from an almost universal prostration by chills and fever at
Gloucester point, and although moving in a malarious
region, the One Hundred and Eighteenth was always
vigorous and healthy. The rigorous ordeal to which it
was now subjected, continued with brief relief until the
29th of July, when the regiment was withdrawn to aid in
the support of the storming column, which was designed
to assail the enemy's works, on the explosion of the long
projected mine. They witnessed in sadness and humilia-
tion the disastrous failure of that magnificent experiment.
On the 27th of August, after a term of two months, the
second brigade -was relieved from its arduous trench
duties. During the long period of one hundred and thir-
1 Major Pruyn had been first lieutenant in the Ninety-seventh, but resigned
and became attached to the One Hundred and Eighteenth. In the summer
of 1863 he was appointed major, on the recommendation of a large part of
the line officers of the regiment, a majority of whom held senior rank. —
Major Livingstone's letter.
■ r-SS
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 285
teen days, the One Hundred and Eighteenth had marched
and toiled, and endured, with no enjoyment of quiet repose,
and almost incessantly subjected to the fire of the enemy.
A single month, the One Hundred and Eighteenth was
permitted to repose, after its prolonged and severe service,
in a pleasant encampment near the southern banks of the
James. In that interval, the Ninety-sixth had been attached
to the second brigade. This brigade, by the proficiency of
its drill, its exact discipline, and general efficiency, had be-
come conspicuous and universally esteemed second to no
other in its distinguished corps. On the 27th September,
every indication presaged the renewal of active duty.
Rations for two days were ordered to be prepared. An
unusual earnestness and activity were manifested by the
generals and their staffs. The next night, the tattoo, sug-
gestive of repose, had scarcely sounded, when the brigade
was ordered to move promptly and in profound silence,
leaving their tents standing. Previous to breaking camp,
the One Hundred and Eighteenth and the Tenth New
Hampshire had by a special order exchanged their Enfield
guns for the Spencer repeating rifle, a tremendous weapon
in the hands of resolute and expert marksmen. This selec-
tion by the corps commander was a distinguished recogni-
tion of the efficiency of the preferred regiments. At three
o'clock on the morning of the 29th, the division led by the
second brigade, was passing over the James upon a pontoon
bridge, which had been completed the same hour. The
sound of the movement was suppressed by earth or other sub-
stances strewn upon the bridge. On reaching the north bank
of the river, the One Hundred and Eighteenth and Tenth
New Hampshire were thrown out as skirmishers and flank-
ers, while the remainder of the command was advanced
along the road in column. Soon after daybreak a brisk
fire was opened by the enemy's pickets which fell back on
their reserves, and the whole were forced rapidly back
through a dense wood, for the distance of more than two
miles, when the Union column entered upon open ground.
A strong earth work was now revealed in front, and
286 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
mounted with heavy guns. This formidable work, was
Fort or rather Battery Harrison, and General Stannard
instantly ordered Burnham to take it by assault. The
Ninety-sixth and Eighth Connecticut forming the storm-
ing column were supported by the First and Third bri-
gade of the division with the One Hundred and Eighteenth
New York, and Twelfth New Hampshire as skirmishers
on their flank. The column rushed impetuously forward,
along the open space, met by a furious plunging fire from
the enemy's lines. When it reached, after this rapid
advance along a distance of nearly three-fourths of a mile,
the base of the eminence upon which the works were
erected, the column breathless and exhausted, paused in a
position comparatively protected. As we have already
seen, the enemy was hastening reenforcements to the point
of attack, and the commander both of the division and
brigade, alarmed at the posture of affairs, sent a mem-
ber of his staff to order an instant assault. Lieutenant
George F. Campbell, Company C, One Hundred and
Eighteenth, aid to General Burnham, dashed across the
plains exposed to the whole range of the enemy's fire and
unhurt communicated the order. In the strong tribute of
the official address, this was pronounced a most gallant
act. The two regiments impetuously scaled the hill,
mounted the parapet, and their gallant color-bearers planted
simultaneously their flags upon the works. The enemy
precipitately abandoned the lines, falling back to other
works, while their own guns were turned upon them, with
deadly effect. In the act of training one of these guns
upon the fugitives, General Burnham was mortally
wounded and died in a few minutes after.
While these events were in progress in the centre, the
skirmishing support had approached the fort, and used
their terrible rifles in picking off the gunners in the works,
and demoralizing the defense. Lieutenant-colonel Ni-
chols, with the One Hundred and Eighteenth, after being
distinguished " for his cool conduct of the skirmish lines
in the general assault, captured two redoubts on the right
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 287
of the fort, during the main assault. Lieutenants N. J.
Gibbs and H. J. Adams, were the first men in the redoubts,
and promptly turned the captured guns upon the retreat-
ing enemy. Surgeon F. G. Porteous, of the One Hun-
dred and Eighteenth, was officially noticed with strong
recommendations for bravery and attention to duties,
being the only surgeon in the brigade, advancing with
his regiment in the charging column."1 The second
brigade now moved upon two entrenchments in front,
and captured them successfully, driving the enemy back
upon their third and last defense on this line of works.
Fort Harrison had thus been snatched from the jaws of
the Confederate army, which lay in great force immedi-
ately contiguous, and was too important a position to be
relinquished without a desperate struggle. The last line
captured by the Union troops was exposed to the fire of
the enemy's gun-boats and to assault, and it was deemed
expedient to fall back upon Fort Harrison. The enemy
vigorously pursued, and in this movement both Colonel
Donohoe and Lieutenant-colonel Nichols were severely
wounded. The night and the succeeding morning were
assiduously employed in extending and strengthening the
works, which now acquired the form and strength of an
enclosed fortification. A,second and third time the onset
was repeated, and met in the same courageous spirit, and
with similar results. On the last assault, those of the
assailants who survived the withering fire of the federal
troops, threw down their arms and surrendered. About
noon the next day, rebel troops had been massed in three
heavy columns, and covered by two batteries, rushed upon
the new federal lines with heroic impetuosity. The One
Hundred and Eighteenth and Tenth New Hampshire
were stationed at salient points in the works, and the
fatal power of their new weapons was frightfully demon-
1 These notices of the One Hundred and Eighteenth, I extract from the
address of General Butler to the army of the James. He also refers with
warm approbation to the conduct of Corporal Michael Finnigan, and Pri-
vate Frank Jandrew, of the regiment.
288 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
strated upon the Confederate ranks. Gun-boats were
constantly, but with trifling effect, shelling the Union
position. This formidable assault was repulsed by mus-
ketry alone, and the rebels falling back to cover, aban-
doned their numerous dead and wounded upon the field.
In the critical period between the two first assaults, a
gallant act occurred that reflected the highest credit upon
the bravery and zeal of Captain Brydon of the One Hun-
dred and Eighteenth.1 Twenty-two pieces of cannon,
several battle flags and numerous prisoners were among
the results of this enterprise which secured to the Union
army an important position that was never relinquished.
The confederate loss was known to be very large. Cling-
man's North Carolina brigade was almost annihilated. The
federal loss amounted to nearly one-fifth of their combat-
ants engaged. Besides Lieutenant Colonel Nichols, Cap-
tain Dobie and Lieutenant Treadway of the One Hundred
and Eighteenth were wounded.
The One Hundred and Eighteenth moved with its division
from the quarters near Fort Burnham where it had re-
mained since the capture of that work, on Ihe 26th of
October, to a position within about three miles of Fort
Richmond, erected on the former battle ground of Fair
Oaks. The regiment at that time was composed of two
hundred and five men for duty including supernumeraries.
At dawn the succeeding morning it advanced. That part
of the regiment embracing more than half which was
1 " Finding that my ammunition was getting low — I had a few minutes
before sent a staff officer with orders to bring up a wagon from my ord-
nance train : the wagon came just at the right time, during the second as-
sault, and was driven up to the sally-port of the fort by Captain John
Brydon, One Hundred and Eighteenth New York Volunteers. A. 0. O., of
the division, and kept there until the action was concluded. It was in full
view and but short musket range from the enemy, yet Captain Brydon gal-
lantly held his mules, three of which were killed and three wounded while
he was thus occupied, while Lieutenants Burbank and Cook of my staff dis-
tributed the ammunition to the command." — General Stannard's Report.
For this gallant feat Captain Brydon received from the governor, with words
of warm encomium, the brevet of major.
MILITAKY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 289
armed with Spencer rifles, was thrown in front as skir-
mishers, aud the remainder held in reserve. Passing a
covert of woods, the skirmishers entered upon a cleared
field, which extended to the fort a distance of about one-
fourth of a mile. Over this space, they made a rush upon
the work, in the face of a terrible fire, and succeeded in
approaching it within about one hundred yards. The
enemy's lines at this moment were only slightly manned,
but the entrenchment was heavy aud formidable, and wholly
unassailable by the feeble skirmishing force. Major
Dominy, an officer conspicuous for his fighting qualities,
commanded the regiment, and at this time passed an order
for the troops to lie down, seeking any cover that presented
itself, for protection against the irresistible tempest of shot
and balls that was hurled upon them. Soon after, they
were directed to fall back singly to an excavation on a road
in the rear. The regiment made no further advance, but
after the repulse of the assaulting column mentioned in the
notice of the Ninety-sixth regiment, retreated to its former
encampment.
The losses of the regiment were greater in proportion
to its strength than on any previous occasion. The skir-
mishing party entered into action with nine officers : three
of these, Major Dominy, Lieutenants McLean and Gibbs
returned in safety, but Captain J. R. Seaman, Company A,
was seriously wounded. Lieutenant M. J. Dickinson was
wounded and taken prisoner, with Lieutenants Saunders,
Potter, O'Connor, and Bryant. Captain M. V. B. Stetson
in the reserve was also wounded while aiding to remove
Colonel Moffitt of the Ninety-fifth from the field. When
the regiment reached its former quarters, scarcely forty men
had gathered to its standard, but others returned until the
aggregate was increased to nearly one-half the number who
had marched out the day preceding. The One Hundred and
Eighteenth remained in camp through the winter, and on the
march upon Richmond the ensuing spring, its relics were
engaged on picket duty and advanced as skirmishers, cover-
ing the third division of the twenty-fourth corps. It was
19
290 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
the first organized Federal regiment that entered Richmond.
The One Hundred and Eighteenth bore the noble inscription
upon its national flag: " Suffolk — South Anna — Coal
Harbor — Fort Harrison — Bermuda — Swift Creek — Peters-
burg — Fair Oaks — Drury 's Bluft' — Crater — Richmond."
This attests its military glory, but its high moral quali-
ties are still more illustrated by the remarkable fact, that
not a single member of the regiment was known to have
deserted to the enemy. In more authoritative language
than I can use, General Devens,in recapitulating its services,
pronounces this eulogium upon the One Hundred and Eigh-
teenth at Drury 's Bluff: " This regiment distinguished itself
for great valor and pertinacity, and won the reputation it has
since enjoyed, of being one of the most resolute regiments in
the service." He adds : "'With this weapon (the Spencer rifle)
they will return to your state armed, and it is a most appro-
priate testimonial of their efficiency." x I have been guided
essentially in the brief survey of the operations of the One
Hundred and Eighteenth by official documents. I owe my
acknowledgments, also, to a series of articles first published
in the Glen's Falls Bejmblican as to other authentic newspaper
correspondences, but particularly to officers of the regiment
from whom I have derived the most valuable information;
among these I may enumerate Colonel Nichols, Majors
Livingstone and Brydon, and Lieutenant McLean.
Officers of the One Hundred and Eighteenth Regiment, when mus-
tered out of the service, June VSth, 1865.
Col. George F. Nichols, brevet Q. M. Henry J. Northrup, brevet
General U. S. V. Captain N. Y. V.
Lt. Col. Levi S. Dominy, brevet Company A.
Col. N. Y. V. Capt. Joseph R. Seaman, brevet
Major John L. Cunningham, Major U. S. V.
brevet Lt. Col. U. S. Y. 1st Lt, J. W. Treadway, brevet
Surgeon William 0. Mansfield. Captain N. Y. Y., from Co. E.
Asst. Surg. J. C. Preston. Company B.
Chaplain Charles L. Hagar. Capt. George F. Campbell, brevet
Adjutant Clifford Hubbard. Major N. Y. Y., from Co. C
1 General Devens to Governor Fenton.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY.
291
1st Lt. Jas. A. Garrett, brevet
Captain N. Y. V., from Co. A.
2d Lt. Merril Perry, brevet Cap-
tain N. Y. V., from Co. A.
Company C.
Capt. C. W. Wells, brevet Major
N. Y. V., from Co. K.
1st Lt. L. S. Bryant.
2d Lt. N. H. Arnold, from Co. E.
Company D.
Capt. Jobn W. Angell, from Co.
E.
2d Lt. Philip V. N. McLean,
from Co. K.
Company E.
Capt. Henry S. Graves, from
Co. I.
1st Lt. George H. Potter, from
Co. A.
2d Lt. William T. Bidwell, late
Hospital Steward.
Company F.
Capt. Robert W. Livingstone,
brevet Major N. Y. V.
1st Lt. Daniel 0. Connor, Asst.
Hospital Steward.
2d Lt. Charles A. Grace, from
Co. A.
Company G.
1st Lt. James H. Pitt, from Co.
H.
Company M.
Capt. David F. Dobie, brevet
Major N. Y. V.
1st Lt. F. Saunders.
Company 1.
Capt. Martin V. B. Stetson,
Major N. Y. V.
1st Lt. Nelson J. Gibbs, brevet
Captain N. Y. V., from Co.
F.
Company K.
Capt. John Brydon, brevet Major
N. Y. V.
1st Lt. John W. Calkins, from
Co. K.
2d Lt. George Vaughan, from
Co. I.
Officers connected with Essex County Troops who resigned or were
discharged.
Samuel T. Richards, Col., July rick, discharged February 14,
8th, 1363.
Colonel, Oliver Keese, Jr.. re-
signed Sept. 14, 1864.
Captain James H. Peirce, dis-
charged Feb. 9, 1865.
1st Lieutenant Nathan S. Wash-
burn, discharged February 14,
1863.
2d Lieutenant George M. But-
1863.
Jacob Parmerter, discharged
Nov. 15, 1864.
1st Lieutenant John S. Boynton,
resigned March 12, 1864.
1st Lieutenant Sam Sherman,
discharged Oct. 19, 1864.
2d Lieutenant Henry M. Mould,
resigned Aug. 1, 1863.
Brevet Commissions issued by the Governor to Enlisted Men of this
Regiment.
Sergeant Cass C. La Point, 2d SergeantMajor Ashley S. Prime,
lieutenant. 2d lieutenant.
292 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
Sergeant Joseph A. Hastings, Sergeant Freeman D. Lindsay,
2d lieutenant. 2d lieutenant.
Enlisted Men of this Regiment to whom Medals of Honor have been
awarded by the Secretary of War.
Private Franklin Jandro.
The One Hundred and Fifty-third Regiment N. Y. Volunteers.
This regiment was recruited from various sections of
the state, and mustered into service October, 1862. Tho-
mas Armstrong of Clinton county received the appoint-
ment of lieutenant-colonel at its organization, and resigned
February, 1863. A large part of a company which was
attached to the One Hundred and Fifty-third as Company
I, was enrolled by John F. McGuire of Keeseville, from
Clinton and Essex counties, and in it he was appointed
second lieutenant. By the successive resignations of the
superior officers he was promoted in December, 1863, to
the command of the company. The regiment immediately
after its organization was ordered to Alexandria, and sub-
sequently at "Washington was employed in provost duty.
Company I was specially detached in that service. Early
in 1864 the One Hundred and Fifty-third was transferred
to Louisiana and incorporated with the nineteenth army
corps. It was engaged in the Red river expedition and .
participated in all the hardships and disasters of that cam-
paign. "When the Union forces, after the battle of Sabine
Cross Roads, fell back, Company I was the rear company
in the retreat of the army. The nineteenth corps sailed
from New Orleans on the 3d of July, with sealed orders ;
but its destination proved to be the Chesapeake. The
One Hundred and Fifty-third and four companies belong-
ing to other regiments, the advance of the corps, on their
arrival at Fortress Monroe, were instantly ordered, with-
out disembarking, to the defense of Washington, then
menaced by Early's incursion. These troops were has-
tened through the city amid the deep excitement and
alarm of the people, to a position at Fort Stevens, where
they went into immediate action. After the repulse of the
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 293
rebels, the One Hundred and Fifty-third joined in their
pursuit across the Potomac into the Shenandoah valley,
but was suddenly recalled to the vicinity of the capital to
oppose another apprehended advance of the enemy. The
regiment was soon after engaged in the battle of Winches-
ter, and Company I here sustained some slight casualties .
It participated in the engagement at Fisher Hill and in
the pursuit of the Confederates from that field.
The Nineteenth corps was at Cedar Creek and suffered
heavy losses incident to the surprise and early catastrophies
of that eventful day. The One Hundred and Fifty-
third formed part of the picket line that enveloped
"Washington after the assassination of Mr. Lincoln, and
discharged guard duty at the arsenal on the military trials
that succeeded. In June, 1865, the regiment was ordered
to Savannah, where it performed provost duty until its
discharge. Captain McQuire of Company I, brevet ma-
jor IS". Y. V., during that service acted as adjutant provost
marshal of the city. In the succeeding October, the One
Hundred and Fifty-third was disbanded at Albany.
Brevet commissions issued to enlisted men of this regiment.
Sergeant James C. Bullock, 2d lieutenant.
Private Melchior H. Hoffnagle, 2d lieutenant.
The Second New York Co.valry.
The last organized company in Essex county was en-
rolled in Ticonderoga in the summer of 1864, of which
William H. Sanger was appointed captain, James McCor-
mick first, and George B. Coates, second lieutenant, each
on the 8th of September, 1864. They had both belonged to
the Thirty-fourth New York Volunteers. It was attached
to the Second New York Cavalry as Company E,1 with the
army of Sheridan, and performed excellent services in the
Shenandoah valley, attended him in the perilous march to
1 When the original members were mustered out, and the veterans and
recruits were organized into four new companies.
294 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
the James, and was engaged with his command in the bat-
tles that preceded the surrender of Lee. This regiment
was ultimately associated with the Fifth in the achievements
of the Shenandoah campaign. Lieutenants McCormick
and Coates were both wounded, the former very seriously
at the battle of Cedar Creek. Lieutenant McCormick was
discharged May 1st, 1865. Coates was promoted to first
lieutenant but not mustered in as such, and remained with
the regiment until it was disbanded June 5th, 1865. Cap-
tain Sanger was made brevet-major New York State
Volunteers and discharged May 15th, 1865.
Medals of Honor were awarded to the following enlisted men :
Frank Miller. J. S. Calkins.
List of brevet commissions, second lieutenant issued to enlisted men.
Private John J. Morse. Private Burnet Galloway.
Sergeant Fred. A. M. Ball.
An approximation only can be reached of the number
of troops contributed by Essex county to the Union army.
The official military records and the census returns which
are known to be imperfect, are far below the reality, ex-
hibits a total of one thousand and three hundred and six.
These records do not embrace the large numbers who
were mingled in the various other organizations of the
state, and the census returns must most inadequately
exhibit the true amount. Many other residents of Essex
county, estimated at the time to amount to several hundred
in the aggregate, were enlisted by the active zeal of agents
from several of the New England states. The excess of
seven dollars per month pay, offered by Vermont, allured
large numbers of the youth of the county, who enlisted into
the line of that state. The archives of New York show
that from the recruits credited on the quota of Essex county,
three hundred and sixty-six deaths occurred on the field of
battle from wounds, accidents, and diseases incident to the
exposures of the service. The actual casualties among the
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY.
295
citzens of Essex were far heavier, and can never with any
degree of accuracy be computed.
An attempt to ascertain the expenses and disbursements
in their infinitely varied forms, is still more difficult and
unsatisfactory. The amounts actually authorized by the
board of supervisors to be raised by the county and the
several towns, at different sessions and without the accu-
mulation of interest reached a total of $553,871.47. This
great sum does not include the vast amounts realized by
the liberal contributions derived from personal and local
efforts, nor the money expended in recruiting and equip-
ping the early volunteers. Nor the supplies of provisions,
clothing, medicines and other subscriptions essential to the
health and comfort of the troops. Heavy sums were ag-
gregated by the individual payment of the $300, by an
early act authorized to avoid the draft, and by the pur-
chase of substitutes. Private liberality and patriotic zeal
expended in silence and secrecy vast amounts which were
unknown and incomputable. The magnitude of all these
contributions and expenditures can never be known, nor
will human pen ever record the extent and value of these
efforts.
The following tabular statements exhibit interesting
statistics illustrative of the devotedness and responsibilities
incurred by the towns of Essex county : 1
Table No. 1. Number enlisted by several towns.
Chesterfield, 92
Crown Point 192
Elizabethtown 105
Essex, 60
Jay, 93
Keene, 47
Lewis, 115
Minerva, 50
Moriah, 157
Newcomb, 8
North Elba, 27
North Hudson, 24
St. Armands , 19
Schroon , 94
Ticonderoga, 128
Westport, 58
Willsboro', 43
Wilmington, 64
Total,.
1306
1 1 have obtained these materials through the research and courtesy of
Major R. W. Livingstone.
296
HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
Table No. 2. Died, etc.
Chesterfield, 28
Crown Point, .. 44
Elizabethtown, 19
Essex, 16
Jay, 25
Keene, 9
Lewis, 35
Minerva, 12
Moriah, 34
Newcomb, 1
North Elba, 6
North Hudson,
St. Armauds, 7
Schroon, 28
Ticonderoga, 45
Westport,.". 24
Willsboro', 17
Wilmington, 16
Total,
366
Table No. 3. Toion Indebtedness.
Chesterfield, $16,192 33
Crown Point,
Elizabethtown, 3,777 91
Essex, 1,275 00
Jay, 12,300 00
Keene,
Lewis, 6,600 00
Minerva, 3,500 00
Moriah, 9,860 00
Newcomb, 600 00 Total, $64,763 74
The towns which appear blank in the above statement, made
separate provision for their local liabilities.
North Elba,
North Hudson, $1,100 00
St. Armands, 2,000 00
Schroon, 200 00
Ticonderoga,
Westport, 2,600 00
Wilmington, 900 00
Willsboro', 3,858 00
CHAPTER XV.
Grants and Patents.
I have reviewed in preceding pages, the circumstances
connected with the grants of territory contiguous to Lake
Champlain, in accordance with the ordinance of the king
of France, in the year 1676. The action of the colonial
government, under the British proclamation of October 7,
1763, authorizing grants of land to be made in such colonies
as they might prefer, to the reduced officers and soldiers
who had served in the regular army, in the Canadian
campaigns ; and transactions connected with such grants,
I have fully discussed. The purchasers of these rights
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. £97
usually located their lands in the names of the grantees,
but not apparently in all cases. William Gilliland em-
braced in one body, the entire tract from the Boquet to
Splitrock, under several distinct rights, and other pur-
chasers pursued the same course. All these locations,
many of which were established as early as 1765 and
1766, and authenticated by appropriate legal formalities,
have been perpetuated and still exist, under the names of
the original grantees. In many instances, the officers and
soldiers located and perfected the titles themselves to
these lands. .
The history of the grants and the change of policy con-
nected with them possess no inconsiderable value and de-
mands a brief attention. The quantity of these grants
contemplated by these proclamations was the concession of
five thousand acres to a field officer; to a captain three
thousand acres; to a subaltern staff officer two thousand
acres ; to a non-commissioned officer two hundred acres,
and to a private fifty acres. These grants were conferred
by parchment patents, under the great seal of the colony
and impressed with the royal arms. They reserved to the
king " all mines of gold and silver, and all pine trees fit
for masts of the growth of twenty -four inches diameter and
upwards of twelve inches from the earth." These grants
were held for ten years " in free and common socage ex-
empt from all quit rents, and after the expiration of that
term, rendering and paying in the custom house in New
York, at Lady Day, the yearly rent of two shillings and
sixpence sterling, for each and every hundred acres of the
granted land." The farther conditions imposed the settle-
ment " of as many families on the tract as shall amount to
one family on every thousand acres thereof," and " to cul-
tivate at least three acres for every fifty acres susceptible ot
cultivation." Both of these conditions were to be performed
within three years from the date of the grant. " No waste
was to be committed on the reserved timber; the grant to
be registered at the secretary's office and docketted at the
auditor's office in Xew York." A neglect to perform either
298 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
of these conditions worked a forfeiture of the grant. We
may trace in the land papers serious consequences result-
ing from these delinquencies. The council seems to have
possessed certain powers to control the nature and form of
these proceedings. In February, 1765, it adopted a rule,
that no soldier was entitled to a grant " unless disbanded on
the reduction of the regiment." By minutes in 1770, 1771,
it required grants to be taken out in three mouths after
the petition had been presented, and in the last date
ordered names of delinquents to be stricken from the list of
grants. Most of these grants were located in the vicinity
of Lake Champlain, and a large proportion upon the east-
ern side, upon what is now the territory of Vermont. In
the confusion of the agitated period that preceded the re-
volution, numerous cases of these petitions remained in an
inchoate condition : and in others, although the proceedings
had been regular and ample, were not consummated by
patents from the colonial government. In most of these
instances the succeeding state government refused to ratify
the proceedings of the claimants, and large estates, as we
have seen illustrated in the notice of Gilliland, were lost.
The state constitution of 1777, by a provision which has
been incorporated in the constitutions of 1821 and 1847,
abrogated all royal grants after October 14th, 1775.
Deep interest attaches to those ancient grants, the
rewards of military services, while strong romance has
gathered about a portion of them. "We recognize the
peculiar justice and appropriateness, that conferred on the
gallant men who participated in the terrible scenes, which
impressed on the region its gorgeous historic associations,
these acknowledgments of their services from the territory
won to their country by their blood and sufferings.
A small part only of the great area of Essex county was
occupied in the location of these grants. Since the revo-
lution, large tracts of unappropriated lands, belonging to
the state, have been patented to individuals. The re-
mainder, at an early period of the present government,
was run out into tracts and townships by the state, and
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 299
subdivided into lots, which have been sold in any amount
desired by the purchaser. These lands were devoted to
the accumulation of an educational fund, and the proceeds
of the sales have been appropriated to that beneficent pur-
pose. The state yet retains a large extent of this domain.
Much of it possesses considerable value from the wood and
timber forests it embraces, but other portions, constituting
as they do, the rocky upheavals and mountains of the
Adironclacs, are worthless, except for the mineral wealth
that may be hidden in their recesses.
I am indebted for most of the materials upon which I
have founded the following account of the grants and
patents of the county, to the zealous and careful investiga-
tions of a learned legal friend, whose professional studies
have constrained a thorough research into the land titles
of the district. With such aid I have made the notices I
now present, of the origin and history of these patents and
grants as accurate and complete as I believe so intricate a
subject admits, but I am aware that the execution is
necessarily imperfect. The long list of the patents I have
endeavored to make full and correct, but it may be found
defective.1 The magnitude of many of these grants will
attract attention. Land was at that period the most
abundant of all commodities, and the government felt that
it controlled a " whole boundless continent." In the
voluminous Land Papers, documents frequently occur,
referring to surveys of " that small piece of land," some-
times embracing five hundred and often two thousand
acres.2 The Southier Map, to which I shall make frequent
reference, was prepared under the direction of Governor
Tryou, and published in London, 1779.
Abeel. James Abeel, for himself and twelve others Feb-
ruary 3d, 1773, petitioned for a grant of thirteen thousand
acres of land lying on the west side of Schroon lake in
I I have received peculiar aid from the examinations of Mr. F. C. Hale, in
the archives of the office of secretary of state.
s The Calendar of Land Papers, and the Catalogue of Maps and Surveys,
shed a flood of light on the history of these grants and patents.
300 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
Totten and Crossfield's purchase.1 Southier's map has a
tract with this name and corresponding with the above
description, which would embrace the present Schroon
Lake village. From the frequent appearance of his name
in the Land Papers it may be iuferred that Abeel was
engaged in large and numerous land operations.
Benzel. Adolphus Benzel has been already mentioned
as a prominent official in the county and a weathy resident
of Crown Point. He seems to have acted largely as sur-
veyor in locating the ancient patents. He was conspicuous
in the New Hampshire grant controversies, and necessarily
highly obnoxious to the settlers there. The reply of the
Bennington committee to Governor Tryon, in reference to
Colonel Reid's action, speaks of " the vicious and haughty
aid of Mr Benzel, the famed engineer."2 He was among
the reduced officers embraced in the royal proclamation.
Southier lays down two patents in his name, one in Moriah
between Small's and Legg's; the other in Crown Point
adjoining south of the garrison grounds. The former is
known as Springer patent of three thousand acres, and the
latter as Benzel's of one thousand acres. We conjecture
that the former may have been applied for by Benzel, but
subsequently issued to Springer and others.
Benson. Richard Benson, and a number of other pri-
vates reduced from the Eightieth, Sixtieth, and Forty-
fourth regiments, received a patent for five hundred and
fifty acres Oct. 29th, 1765, which was located in the present
town of Willsboro' north of Wreisburg and west of the
Montressor patent. It appears that the Benson and also
the Montressor patent were occupied only by squatters
until 1819. In that year both were purchased by Seth
Hunt of Keeue, New Hampshire. The validity of the ori-
ginal patent and his title were soon after established and
his rights judicially enforced. Many individuals, who had
been innocent purchasers under the spurious titles to these
patents, were severe sufferers by this adjudication.
1 Land Papers, xxxiii, page 25. 2 Hall's Vermont.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 301
Bniyn. Two patents granted to Lewis Bruyn, are laid
down west of Schroon lake on Southier's map.
Campbell, Allen. A reduced field officer, is thus described :
"having served in 1ST. A., during the late war in Second
battalion of our Royal Highland regiment of Foot."
Campbell united in a petition with Lt. John Kennedy,
praying for a grant of seven thousand acres. Tbe bounda-
ries indicated " extending from the first mountain west of
the carrying place at the foot of Lake George " along said
mountain to where it touches Lake Champlain near Crown
Point, and thence to the mouth of the outlet from Lake
George. Kennedy's grant embraces a portion of this
highly desirable territory, but Campbell's was located else-
where. His patent for five thousand acres, dated July 11,
1764, was laid out in Crown Point, on the lake shore :
Benzel and Legg on the north, and Grant on the south.
Campbell, Donald. The petition of Donald Campbell,
December 17th, 1763, describes him as late lieutenant in
the Royal American regiment, and claims two thousand
acres. The land his petition indicated was nearly iden-
tical with the last. Another- petition, Feb. 18, 1773, of
Quarter Master Donald Campbell, asks for two thousand
acres on the south-west side of Lake George, near the gar-
rison grounds. On November 1st, 1784, Donald Camp-
bell filed a petition for a confirmatory grant of a tract of
land surveyed for him in 1764, pursuant to the Royal
proclamation. No action appears upon record on this peti-
tion, but on the 25th of May, 1786, the return was filed of
a survey of two thousand acres north of N. Sutherland's
tract to Donald Campbell, for which he paid on the follow-
ing 28th of June, one hundred pounds. A tract is laid
down on the map, under this designation between Grant's
on the north, and Southerland's on the south.
Connelly. John Connelly presented a petition for a grant
as surgeon'smate and belonging to a military hospital. A
patent was issued April 13th, 1765, for two thousand acres.
1 Land Papers, lii, 45.
302 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
It lies in Willsboro, and Essex, and is one of the grants
located by William Gilliland.
Deal. Samuel Deal, a merchant of wealth in the city
of New York, embarked in heavy land operations in the
present county of Essex in 1767, and purchased about that
time a tract of five thousand acres between Lakes George
and Champlain. His connection with the Kennedy patents,
I shall notice in its proper place. He received July 12th,
1769, a grant for one thousand acres, which was located by
him in Ticonderoga and west of the village of Lower Falls.
Another tract, adjoining the above, is called and designated
on the county map as Deal's patent.
Field. John Field was a surgeons mate and applied by
petition April 14th, 1764, for agraut of two thousand acres
in pursuance of proclamation. The patent was issued April
15th, 1765, and the land surveyed on the south side of the
Boquet by Gilliland as assignee of Field immediately after.
Franklin. Joseph Franklin, late sergeant in Twenty-
seventh regiment, united with Sergeant Benjamin Porter,
in a petition, July 9, 1764, praying a grant to each of two
hundred acres, described as " bearing west north-west
thirty-nine chains from the salient angle of the King's
bastion, fronting the lake half a mile, and then west
north-westerly, until it completes the said number of
acres." Mr. Beuzel, the engineer, made a note of the
survey. The patent to Franklin issued July, 1765, and
was laid out in conformity with the petition between the
Porter and McKensie's tracts, and embraced Cedar point
at Port Henry. On the 5th of March, 1792, Franklin
conveyed his title to James Graham, and April 15, 1792,
Graham devised it to his daughter, Ann Eliza. Graham
was a fur trader, and the mother of this child was a half
breed. The daughter, in 1802, executed a will in JS"ew
York, devising the property to St. Peter's (Catholic)
church of that city, in trust for the school of the church.
The church conveyed it to Mr. J. B. Spencer, under this
will, whose title was judicially sustained.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 303
Priswell. John Friswell applied as late lieutenant in the
navy, and having acted as midshipman on board the
Princess Amelia, at the siege of Louisburg and Quebec,
February 15, 1765, for a grant of three thousand acres of
land on the west side of Lake Champlain. On the May
following a return of a survey was filed of two tracts, con-
taining two thousand acres ; one in Plattsburg, and the
other of one thousand acres nearly west of " Splitten
Rock," and lying upon the lake. This is one of Gilliland's
locations.
Frelegh. A certificate of location of six hundred acres
of land to George Frelegh, on the west side of Lake
Champlain, appears in Long Island Papers, xlvi, 41, Feb-
ruary 3, 1789, and a patent in Willsboro' and Essex,
bears this name.1 It is not on Southier's map, and must
have been granted subsecpuent to the revolution.
Gilliland. A Gilliland patent is laid down on Southier,
west of Benson's grant in Willsboro'. James, a brother
of William Gilliland, about 1767, settled upon a lot on the
north bank of the Boquet.2
"William Gilliland $ Matthew Watson.'" Their tract
which appears on the large county map, contained two
hundred acres, and began according to the certificate of
location, seven chains north of the south-west corner of
James Judd's patent, June 22, 1789, and was surveyed
under a title from the state.3
Grant. Robert Grant is described in a patent for three
thousand acres issued August 7th, 1764, as late captain in
the Seventy-seventh regiment. He was promoted to major
and killed at the battle of Hubbardton July 7th, 1777. A
return of survey with map of the location in the town of
Crown Point was filed in the colonial office, August 3d,
1764, Land Papers, xviii, 8. About twenty years after the
death of Grant, a spurious agent appeared in the city of
1 Calendar, 777.
2 Champlain Valley, 41, etc. It is probable that this may have been his
location.
%Land Papers, xlvii, 33, 34.
30-i HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
New York, and pretending to hold authority from him,
deeded the patent, as such, with an agreement that the
grantee and agent should participate in the avails. The
sisters of Major Grant, more than half a century after his
decease, instituted proceedings as heirs at law for the re-
covery of the patent. Under a commission issued in the
suit and sent to Scotland in the year 1830 among other
witnesses examined, was Lieut. General Thomas Scott then
eighty-four years old, who swore, that he saw the dead
"body of Grant on the battle-field at Hubbardton and wit-
nessed its interment at that place with military honors, and
that he brought back to Scotland relics of Grant which he
delivered to the brother of Grant. The claimants necessa-
rily recovered the premises. This patent embraces a large
portion of the most valuable part of the town of Crown
Point.
Guise. "William Guise and three others non-commis-
sioned officers iu the Fifty-fifth regiment of foot, received a
grant of eight hundred acres, Jan. 5th, 1773. On the county
map, this grant is placed on the east side of Schroon lake
near the county line. It is not on Southier. By the sur-
vey and map for Guise and associates, the location of the
patent was on the north-east branch of the Hudson on the
boundary between Schroon and Warren county.1
Hasenclever. Peter Hasenclever and others petitioned
June 30th, 1766, for a grant of fifteen thousand acres, on the
east side (?) of Lake Champlain, and praying a resurvey of
Franklin, Porter and McKensie's patent (inMoriah) so as
to admit a passage to the lake and land for store house.
On Southier's map the patent is laid down north of Small,
but it does not appear on the county map, and the present
Iron Ore bed tract is bounded by Small's patent on the
south. This grant was probably confiscated if ever actually
consummated.
Micks. John Hicks is described as " gentleman, a reduced
staff officer," and " surgeon in one of our independent com-
1 Land Papers, xxxn, 91. ''Idem, xxi, 51.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 305
panies of Foot," Patent April 15th, 1765, for three thou-
sand acres. Lies in Essex and located by Gilliland.
Judd. James Judd, described as " gentleman, reduced
officer and surgeon's mate in our military hospital." Patent
issued April 15th, 1765, for two thousand acres, with bound-
aries " beginning at Cloven or Splitten Rock, etc." Lies in
the town of Essex.
Kellett. Roger Kellett " gentleman, a reduced subaltern
officer," late lieutenant in Forty-fourth regiment. The
grant was surveyed August 2d, and patent granted August
7th, 1764, for two thousand acres.1 This patent situated in
Ticonderoga with those of Stoughton and Kennedy, were
selected with great judgment by officers familiar with the
beauty and value of the territory.
Kelly. John Kelly appears to have been a large opera-
tor soon after the revolution, but I find no traces of him
anterior to it. A tract of land in Essex and Westport
known by this name, is probably the same described as
lying west of Split rock or Northwest bay, for which he
proposed to pay on April loth, 1793, two shillings per acre,
and contained about three thousand acres.
Kennedy. JohnKennedy, " gentleman, reduced subaltern
officer," lieutenant in the Sixtieth regiment. Patent granted
August 7th, 1764, for two thousand acres. It lies in Ticon-
deroga, and extends from the lower falls along the north
side of the stream to the fort ground, thence across to Lake
Champlain and down its shore, and sweeping into the
interior included a large part of the valuable plateau in the
north section of the town.2 At the death of the grantee,
the property passed to " his oldest brother, Henry Kennedy,
surgeon," who sold it September 26th, 1765, for one hun-
dred and fifty pounds sterling, to Abraham P. Lott and
Peter Theobaldus Curtenius, "merchants of the city of New
York," and they sold it December 16th, 1767, for one hun-
dred and eighty pounds, lawful currency to Samuel Deall
"merchant, etc."3
1 Catalogue, 155. 2 See Allen Campbell patent. * Cook' s Ticonderoga.
20
306 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
Legge. The singular incidents connected with the his-
tory of this patent have attached peculiar interest to it,
and no portion of Essex county has been the subject of
more bitter and protracted litigation. Francis Legge,
who I infer belonged to the family of the Earl of Dart-
mouth, was a captain in the Forty-sixth regiment. Under
the royal proclamation, he received a concession on June
26th, 1769, of five thousand acres which had been located
in the present towns of Moriah and Crown Point by a sur-
vey returned the 6th of April preceding. The early action
of Legge in reference to his grant, is enveloped in consider-
able obscurity. A mandamus was issued by the king in
council September 5th, 1765, for five thousand acres to be
surveyed to Francis Legge, captain of the Twenty-sixth, in
one continuous tract in the province of New York.1 On
the 3d of November, 1766, Captain Francis Legge pre-
sented "a petition for five thousand acres of land on the
west side of Connecticut river, with specific boundaries." 2
He made a similar application for a grant of five thousand
acres in the township of Norwich in a wholly different sec-
tion from the preceding. The identity of the name and the
quantity of land solicited, seem to warrant the conclusion,
that the several applications if made by one individual,
rested upon the same claim ; but it is difficult to determine,
why all should have been advanced. In 1809, a William
Legge, assuming to be the heir of Francis, conveyed or
pretended to convey this patent to one Winter, who after-
wards deeded it to Shaw. One of them caused the tract
to be subdivided into lots, and sold a portion of these to
settlers. Subsequently, Shaw brought ejectments against
occupants who refused to admit his title. Another claim,
known as the James Brown title, was founded upon a
deed dated in the year 1818, and purporting to have been
executed by John Legge in Ireland, who also claimed to
be heir of Francis, to two persons, mother and son, by the
name of Sinclair. They conveyed to James Brown, who
1 Calendar, 377. Udem, 204.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 307
also brought ejectments, and some suits under this title are
said to be still pending.
In 1831, suits were brought against some of the occu-
pants upoua claim some times called the " Cape Ann title."
It was asserted, that, in the year 1770, Francis Legge,
while at Ipswich, Mass., residing with a Dr. Manning,
executed a deed of the whole patent, to one Rowe, then a
child of four or five years. One of these suits was against
Brown and an occupant, was tried, with a verdict and judg-
ment for the plaintiff, but this was reversed in the court of
errors. On the trial of this suit, proof was introduced by
defendants, tending to show, that Legge died and was
buried in Troy, N". Y., in 1780. In 1860, a commission
issuing out of the United States circuit court, was executed
in London, by which the following series of facts were
established, from records in the war office and those of
the state paper office and the colonial office, the registry
of the court of probate, in doctor's commons, and by
exhibits and the examination of proper officials, that
Francis Legge, was appointed lieutenant, in Thirty-fifth
Foot in 1754, captain in Forty-sixth in 1756; that at this
time he was serving in America; that he was major in
1767 ; lieutenant in Fifty-fifth Foot in 1773, and appointed
governor of Nova Scotia in August, 1783 ; that he was
recalled, and his conduct as governor investigated in
1786 ; that he was buried in the parish of Primer, Mid-
dlesex, England, in 22d May, 1783; that his will dated
April 18th, 1769, was proved the May following by his
executors, the Earl of Dartmouth and William Baillie,
Esq., and that the Earl of Dartmouth, whom he styles in bis
will " his much esteemed friend," was his principal legatee
and devisee. Personal property was left by the will to
various relations. The record of his burial described him
as " Lieutenant Colonel Francis Legge, late governor of
Nova Scotia." It is not my province to discuss the singu-
lar features of this case.
Miller. Paul Miller, a corporal in Sixtieth regiment of
foot, located a patent dated April 16th, 1765 of two hun-
308 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
dred acres on the south side of the Boquet. It lies in
Willsboro'.
Mallory's Grant Nathaniel Mallory, on March 25th, 1799,
entered the return of a survey or tract of land on west
side of Lake Champlain containing nine thousand nine
hundred and seventy-three acres, situated in Jay, Keene
and Wilmington.1
Mathews. This patent was granted October 30th, 1765,
to James Mathews and seven others, privates, for four
hundred acres. It lies in Ticonderoga.
Maule's. This tract, comprising forty-two thousand nine
hundred and fifty-seven acres, was patented to Thomas
Maule, August 21st, 1800. Embracing large sections of
Chesterfield, Jay, and "Willsboro', it also occupies a por-
tion of Au Sable and Black Brook, in Clinton. In March,
1803, Maule and wife conveyed to five persons in trust
about twenty thousand acres of this patent in Chesterfield
and Jay. This trust was for the benefit of the Farmers'
Society, a benevolent organization, intended, as is now
understood, to supply mechanics and others in moderate
circumstances with freehold farms; but as the scheme
proved a failure, there is no object for tracing its history.
The trustees executed a mortgage for fifty thousand dol-
ars on the purchase. This mortgage came into the hands
of Edward Livingstone, who assigned it to his sister, the
widow of General Montgomery; and the surviving trustees,
conveyed, or released the property to her. She devised
it to Edward Livingstone, and on his death he devised it
to his wife. By these various owners, parcels were con-
veyed to numerous settlers.
Mcintosh. Alexander Mcintosh, late captain of Seventy-
seventh regiment August 3d, 1764, filed the return of a
survey of three thousand acres between Crown Point and
Ticonderoga. Patent issued August 7th.
McBride. Patent issued April 23, 1765, to James McBride,
late sergeant in Forty-seventh foot, for two hundred acres.
1 Calendar, 1010.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 309
Lies in Willsboro', aud is bounded south and west by the
Boquet, and east by the lake.
McDonald. Three tracts bearing this designation appear
on Southier's map, lying west of Schroon lake and river.
On December 1, 1773, Captain Lieutenant (he is thus
described more than once in the land papers) Alexander
McDonald and associates, presented a petition for three
tracts of land, containing in the aggregate thirty thousand
three hundred and sixty acres, and lying " within the
bounds of Totten and Crossfield's purchase."
McKensie. Alexander McKensie, sergeant in the Fortieth
regiment, received two patents, October 29, 1765, one of
a hundred acres adjoining the Franklin patent, and fifty
acres called the Grove. Both are situated in Moriah, in
which town a grandson and numerous descendants reside;
a descendant lives upon the original patent. I am aware
of no other instance, except that of William Gilliland, in
which the family of an original patentee of these ancient
grants have remained in the county.
Montressor. Patent issued June 6th, 1765, to John Mon-
tressor, Francis Mee and Egbert Wallace for three thou-
sand acres, " called Ligonier point, as also four small
islands called Les Isles des Quatre Vents, in the lake east-
ward of Ligonier point." l This is the beautiful tract now
known as Willsboro' point.2 The original petition also
asked for Schuyler's island. Some doubt exists in refer-
ence to the origin of the name Ligonier. I venture to
refer it to Sir John Ligonier, who, about the date in
which it must have been applied, was commander-in-chief
of the army in Great Britain.3
Old Military Tract. An act was passed May 5th, 1786, as
a memorial of public gratitude, to remunerate military
service in the revolution, devoting to the purpose, a large
territory known as the Old Military Tract, lying north of
Jessup's purchase and beginning thirty miles from the
north-east corner of lands granted to Philip Skene, 6th
1 Land Papers, xix, 31. ' See Benson. 'Doc. Hist., x, 705 note.
310 ' HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
July, 1771, and extending twenty miles in width and to
the north bound, of the state, a computed distance of sixty
miles. It was run out into large townships. Nos. 11 and
12 constitute St. Armands and North Elba. Nos. 1 and 2,
were also embraced within the present bounds of Essex
county. These townships were subdivided into lots, known
as the Thorne and Richard's surveys.
Ord. Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Ord, Royal regiment
of Artillery, was granted, December 23, 1774, a patent of
five thousand, acres part of lot 27, in Totten and Cross-
field's purchase. This patent lies in Newcomb.
Porter. Benjamin Porter, late sergeant in Twenty-seventh
regiment, obtained a patent July 5th, 1765, for two hundred
acres.1 Port Henry is situated on this tract.
Potts. This patent, issued in the name of William Potts,
April 26th, 1755, for two thousand acres, located by William
Gilliland. Essex village stands on the line of Potts and
Hicks patents.
Boss. Patent issued to James Ross, " late apothecary's
mate in our military hospital," for two thousand acres
April 16th, 1765. The patent is bounded on the Boquet.
It was occupied in 1766 by two persons, Wilson and Good-
rich, who established an agency at Flat Rock bay, which
they called Burton. The scheme was abandoned the
February ensuing, and no further occupation in Willsboro'
north of the, Boquet occurred until 1790, except one slight
improvement near the river.
Ryerse Grant. In 1791, the state granted to one Vreden-
burgh a tract of three hundred acres, the title of which be-
came vested in Gozen Ryerse. On the compromise with
Massachusetts, this territory was embraced in the new pre-
emption line of that state. In compensation to Ryerse
for this loss, New York in 1800 patented to him a tract of
eighteen hundred acres lying in the centre of Wilmington,
and now known as Ryerse grant.
1 See Franklin.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 3H
Stoughton. A patent was issued to John Stoughton,
late lieutenant in New York independent company, July 25,
1774, for two thousand acres lying on both sides of the out-
let of Lake George. Stoughton was drowned in Lake
George, leaving a widow and only child. This child
became the wife of Governor Wolcott of Connecticut, and
the valuable estate of Edward Elice in this patent was
derived from her by purchase.1 A question was agitated
for a period in reference to the legitimacy of this child, but
this has long since subsided, and the estate which had not
been previously sold is now held by an indisputable title
by Mr. Charles Wheeler of Ticonderoga.
Skene. I have adverted sufficiently to the history of
Skene. The patents were granted to Major Philip Skene
July 5th, 1771, one for two thousand four hundred acres,
situated in the present town of "Westport, and embracing
a part of the village of Westport, and the other for six hun-
dred acres, lying in Moriah and formerly referred to as
the Iron Ore tract. The property of Philip Skene was con-
fiscated under the attainder of Philip and Andrew Skene,
and the patent in Moriah was sold by the commissioners of
forfeitures under the act of 1786.
Small. John Small, late captain in the Twenty-first regi-
ment, on April 5th, 1774, received a patent for five thou-
sand acres. It lies in Moriah, and is occupied by Moriah
Centre and part of the village of Moriah. Grants were also
issued to Small by the New York colonial governor, which
were located in Vermont. His name appears as plaintiff in
a test suit brought in the New York court, to establish the
validity of these grants.2
Sutherland. Patent issued to Nicholas Sutherland, late
captain of Seventy-seventh Foot, August, 7th, 1764, for
three thousand acres. Lies in Ticonderoga.
Springer or Sharp. On the 10th November, 1766, John
Springer, Elizabeth Springer and Ann Chadarin Partin,
afterwards Sharp, filed a petition for three thousand acres,
1Oook's Ticonderoga. 2 Hall's Vermont.
312 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
in the county of Albany, or on Otter creek. The basis of
this claim appears to have rested upon rights vested in
Adolphus Benzel and his associates. Elizabeth Springer
was a sister-in-law of Adolphus Benzel. A return of the
survey of three thousand acres on the west side of Lake
Champlain, is on record April 6th, 1772. A warrant author-
izing this survey had been issued 1st May, 1771. In April,
1785, the parties presented a petition to the new govern-
ment, " for land already ordered to be surveyed for them
between the Legge and Small patents." On the 10th
November following, Zephaniah Piatt filed a certificate of
location of the same tract, praying for a grant of the same.
His claim seems to have been founded on the delinquency
of the original claimants, but after considerable controversy
it was withdrawn March 13th, 1786, and 1st May following
the patent was- granted to Elizabeth Springer and Ann
Catharine Sharp, for the consideration of £150 paid the
state. It is situated in Moriah.
Soldiers' Bights. On Southier's map," a tract is laid down,
commencing about a mile and a half from the flag-staff
at Ticonderoga, and extending along Lake Champlain,
from a mile and a half to two miles wide, upon which is
inscribed, " Soldiers." A map has been exhibited to me
by the distinguished professional gentleman already re-
ferred to, which seems to have been executed more than
sixty years ago, in which the seven tracts are laid down,
in conformity to Southier, beginning with "William Doug-
lass on the north, succeeded by four others, of one thou-
sand acres each ; one of seven hundred acres, and one of
four hundred acres, making an aggregate of six thousand
one hundred acres. It appears by the Land Papers, that
a return was filed February 8, 1772, of a survey for " Wil-
liam Douglass and others, noncommissioned officers and
private soldiers of sundry tracts of land containing together
six thousand one hundred acres on the west side of waters
running from Wood creek to Lake Champlain." On the
county map, six of these rights are laid down in Essex
county.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 313
Stevenson. James Stevenson, December 7, 1765, applied
for a patent in right of his father, James Stevenson, com-
missary of ordnance, etc., for three thousand acres; but
it was not granted until the 11th of July, 1776. This
patent lies in Ticonderoga, and is usually called, the
Kirby patent.
Stewart. A tract of fifty acres, granted May 2d, 1772,
to James Stewart, is situated on Lake George, in Ticon-
deroga, and south of Tomlin's patent.
Summervale. This tract of fifteen thousand one hundred
and twenty acres, was surveyed in 1771, but a patent to
Golclsboro' Banyar, and others, was not granted until
August 14, 1786. The tract lies in Crown Point and
Ticonderoga.
Toiten § Crossfield. Experience had proved, that transac-
tions for the acquisition by private individuals of Indian
lands were fraught with infinite mischief and injustice.
At an early period, the instructions to the colonial go-
vernors, and at length, soon after the cession of Canada, a
peremptory proclamation of the king, prohibited every
purchase of the kind, and declared that all purchases of
lands from the Indians should be made by the crown.1
The same wise and beneficent policy was engrafted in the
state constitution of 1777, and those which have succeeded.
On the 10th of April, 1771, Joseph Totten and Stephen
Crossfield, shipwrights, residing in the city of New York,
presented a petition to the council, asking for a license to
purchase from the Indians a tract of land lying on the
west side of the Hudson, and on the 7th June following
the license was granted. In accordance with this privi-
lege a treaty was held in July, 1772, at Johnson Hall,
with all the peculiar solemnities of such occasions and
under the auspices of Sir William Johnson, for the pur-
pose of perfecting the contemplated purchase, with the
Mohawk and Caughnawauga Indians. The purchase was
made for the consideration of about one thousand one
1Doc. Hist., vii, 571.
314 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
hundred and thirty-five pounds New York currency, and
a deed formally executed for the tract, embracing about
eight hundred thousand acres and with boundaries care-
fully designated by courses and land marks, but singularly
vague and obscure. This interesting document is still
preserved in the office of secretary of state, among the
Land Papers, vol. xxxn, 45. A written agreement of
association was entered into March 27th, 1772, between
" the intended proprietors of lands about to be purchased
by Ebenezer Jessup in behalf of Totten and Crossfield and
their associates," and on January 14th, following, a fur-
ther agreement was executed and a ballot made of twenty-
four of the townships in the purchase. A catalogue of
the lots drawn, with the proprietors' names annexed, is on
file in the secretary's office.1
Ebenezer Jessup, a large operator in lands at that period,
was the active agent in these arrangements, and purchased
the tract for Totten and Crossfield and their associates.
This Indian deed conveyed no legal title, the absolute fee
in the land existing in the crown. It undoubtedly pro-
tected them against intrusion and conferred rights proba-
bly analogous to the preemptive rights existing at the
present day. The government recognized these rights
and issued patents in subordination to them. Jessup ad-
vises Governor Coldeu, December 27th, 1774, that he had
agreed with certain individuals for Totten and Crossfield
to convey ten thousand acres to them in the purchase, and
requested that letters patent should be granted, in con-
formity with the agreement, which was soon after done.2
The territory comprised in the Totten and Crossfield
purchase lies in the counties of Essex, Warren, Hamilton
and Herkimer. The west and part of the north lines were
surveyed in 1772, with an outline of a portion of the town-
ship, each of which included about twenty thousand acres.
1 Land Papers, lix, 9, 10, 88. This volume is occupied exclusively with
papers referring to this tract.
2 Land Papers, xxxrx, 157.
MILITARY AND POLITICAL HISTORY. 315
Slight vestiges of these surveys may still be traced. The
colonial government issued patents for a few townships
previous to the revolution, some of which I have men-
tioned, but none of these extended to lands in Essex
county. Among these patents, the return of a survey of
twenty thousand acres for Sir Jeffrey Amherst appears
among the Land Papers under date of March 27th, 1774.
Sufficient evidence exists upon which to form an estimate
of the market value of these lands at that period. Jessup
executed December 3d, 1772, a receipt to Philip Livingstone
for two hundred and six pounds and eight shillings, the
purchase money of two townships; in July he gave another
receipt to Thomas Lewis for fifty-one pounds, in payment
of three thousand acres, and on 8th April the same year
another to Chris. Duyckinck for one hundred and three
pounds " in full of twenty-four thousand acres." These are
preserved among the Land Papers. The action of the pro-
prietors at a meeting, January 14th, 1773, in reference to
the construction of a road, indicates that their measures
for the improvement of the territory were active and judi-
cious.
On the 21st of April, 1775, and only a few months pre-
ceding the day established by the constitution of 1777,
from which all royal grants were abrogated, Dartmouth
wrote to Tryon, that the king would confirm by letters
patent to Totten and Crossfield and their associates, " their
lands, on humble application" and " a disavowal of all asso-
ciation" with the nonintercourse measures of the colonists.1
The two former, at least probably yielded their adhesion
to the government. Tradition asserts that these estates
were confiscated. It is certain that a large portion of the
purchase reverted to the state government. The imaginary
lines of all the townships were laid down on Southier's
map, although a part only had, at that time been practi-
cally surveyed. In the years 1785 and 1786, numerous
petitions were presented to the state for grants of large
1 His. Doc, vni, 570.
316 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
tracts in this territory, and many by the original proprie-
tors, who thus asked the confirmation of their former
claims. These applications were generally conceded, the
claimants usually paying the state a valuable consideration
for their grants.
Tomiin. Thomas Tomlin obtained a grant of two hun-
dred acres May 2d, 1772, located east side of Lake George
and adjoining Stoughton. On the old map referred to,1
this patent is thus located.
Wharton. A patent was granted to John Wharton, Esq.,
late captain in Sixtieth regiment, April 16th, 1765, for
three thousand acres, which was located by Gilliland in
Essex.
Wriesburg. On the same day a patent was granted to
Daniel Wriesburg, late captain Sixtieth Foot, and was
located by Gilliland, in Willsboro'.
1 See Soldier's Rights.
PART II.
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY.
The physical formation of Essex county combines pecu-
liar and striking characteristics. The beautiful and pic-
turesque are singularly blended with the magnificent and
imposing. Exhibitions of impressive grandeur, scarcely
transcended by the magnificence of Niagara, are combined
with scenes of incomparable sylvan beauty and romantic
seclusion. A very large proportion of the county is formed
by a general upheaval, which produced a common eleva-
tion of the whole region, except along the shores of Lake
Champlain, and some of its tributaries. It may be pro-
nounced in the aggregate, a broken and mountainous terri-
tory. Many districts, however, embracing large portions
of entire townships, exhibit a very high degree of native
fertility and adaptation to tillage. The surface of these
tracts is usually level, or presents gentle and agreeable un-
dulations. Extensive valleys, lying elevated among the
mountains, possess the richest soil, formed by the accumu-
lation of ages, from the debris of the higher steeps. Allu-
vial flats of great extent and natural fertility, spread along
the margin of numerous streams, and surround the hidden
lakes and ponds in the interior.
The hills and mountains, far up their slopes, often afford
a rich and generous soil, yielding the choicest pasture and
meadow lands. Although these advantages may mitigate
its general character, the country presents a vast surface,
rock bound and inaccessible in its cliff's and heights, and
impracticable to cultivation. A large portion of this
territory, stamped by nature with ruggedness and desola-
tion, and closed against the approaches of agriculture,
teems with immeasurable wealth in its forests and mines.
318 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
Several detached and broken ranges of mountains enter
the county from the south. These mountains appear to
lose their distinctive peculiarities as a system or general
range, and are thrown together in promiscuous, massive
groups. Two of these disturbed ranges reach the limits
of the county at Ticonderoga. They are not high, but
exceedingly abrupt and jagged. One suddenly terminates
at Mount Defiance, and the other subsides into slight
eminences, in the vicinity of Lake George. Two other
ranges, loftier and more important, exhibiting the same
dislocated character, traverse the county in nearly parallel
tracts. They both terminate in bold and majestic pro-
montories upon Lake Champlain, and spread their lateral
projections over the couuty. These lofty promontories, at
some points upon the lake, present a high and nearly
perpendicular wall, and at others, their huge and beetling
cliffs impend over the water. These impressive spectacles
of mountain scenery are exhibited at Moriah, Willsboro',
Westport and Chesterfield.
Peaks occur along the line of these sierras, which in
other regions would be regarded as conspicuous land-
marks, but here, associated with loftier and more impos-
ing summits, they have neither names nor notoriety.
Among the class of secondary mountains within the
county, are Pharaoh, in Schroon, Mount Dix, in North
Hudson, and the Bald mountain, in Moriah, which
attract attention, and are admired for their position and
formation. The Bald mountain rises to an altitude of
more than two thousand feet. By its proximity to the
lake, and its isolated position, one standing upon its bald
peak may trace the sinuosities of the lake, studded with
its islands and promontories, distinctly revealed in a course
of more than forty miles. The villages and mountain
scenery, with the intervening plains on both sides of the
lake, form a brilliant picture, while directly beneath,
the eye rests upon the elevated plateau in Moriah, " all
dressed in living green," and the busy scenes that sur-
round the numerous ore beds. This peak will soon be
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 319
reached by a convenient ascent, when the explorer may
enjoy, without any great effort or fatigue, one of the most
impressive and beautiful panoramic views afforded by
this region of forests, mountains and lakes. In the Adi-
rondac group, situated chiefly in the towns of Keene and
Newcomb, a cluster occurs of the loftiest and most re-
markable mountains east of the Mississippi. Less ele-
vated than individual summits of the White hills of New
Hampshire, or the Black mountain of North Carolina,
they far exceed any entire range in the gigantic magni-
tude of their proportions, and in the grandeur and beauty
of their structure. It is extraordinary, that the public
should, until so recent a period, have been in comparative
ignorance of this remarkable group of mountains, and of
the deeply interesting and romantic country they envelop
in their mighty folds. They are within forty miles of
Lake Champlain, the great avenue of northern commerce,
and so familiar to the fashionable tourist. Their highest
peaks are visible from Burlington, and the altitude of
Mount Marcy has actually been determined from that
point. The idea, however, is inaccurate, that this tract
had not been explored until a recent date, or that these
mountains were unknown until a late discovery. Most of
these scenes have been, for many years, familiar to innu-
merable hunters, pioneers and surveyors. Most of these
prominent summits are visible through a wide territory
(which has been occupied for more than half a century),
not in the obscurity of distance, but in the full exhibition
of their majesty and glory.
Mount Marcy, the monarch of these wilds, towers above
the surrounding pinnacles, in a beautiful cone, and in one
view nearly an acute apex. Ascending above every contigu-
ous object, and piercing with this striking formation far up-
ward no one can contemplate it without recognizing the force
and appropriateness of its name, in the energetic and beauti-
ful nomenclature of the Indians. They called the towering
mountain projecting its acute top toward the heavens,
Tahawus, The Cloud-splitter. The height of this mountain,
320 HISTORY OP ESSEX COUNTY.
above tide water, is 5,467 feet. Another eminence,
Mount Mclntyre, supposed to fall a little below Mount
Marcy in altitude, perhaps surpasses it in ponderous
magnificence, and presents a more uniform, massive and
compact structure. The Dial mountain, Mount Seward,
McMartin, Colden, and other peaks unmeasured, of appa-
rently equal if not greater dimensions, mingle in this
cluster, and impress a stamp of Alpine grandeur upon the
scenery.
A lofty range known as the Keene mountains, pre-
sents a peculiar aspect; dark, broken, and frowning. The
White-face mountain, in the majestic Indian dialect
"Waho-partenie, an eminence of 4,855 feet,1 stands re-
mote from the other groups, and occupies the northern
extremity of the huge mountain belt that encircles the
town of North Elba. This peak from its rare and admira-
ble proportions, its bald summit, solitary isolation, and the
vast preeminence of its height above surrounding objects,
is a beautiful and conspicuous landmark, over a wide
horizon. A few years since it presented a spectacle of un-
equaled sublimity. In the heat and drought of midsummer,
the combustible materials upon its summit were fired by
accident or design, and during one whole night the confla-
gration raged, exhibiting to the gaze of hundreds, almost
the splendor and awfulness of a volcanic eruption in its
wild vehemence. A convenient pathway has been con-
structed to the summit of the mountain from which a mag-
nificent view is commanded over a wide expanse of
territory.
Public sentiment will not ratify the acts of private men,
who would obliterate the aboriginal names of the great
physical features of this continent, and substitute those of
individuals, however eminent their political position, or
excellent and esteemed their private characters. The In-
dian nomenclature is singularly rich in its force and
JA recent observation gives to White-face about the same altitude as
Mount Marcy.
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 321
euphony, and in the beauty and illustrative appropriateness
of its designations. The names they have attached to
physical objects will soon be the only vestige of their ex-
istence. They will leave no other monuments of their
former presence upon the land they once possessed, and
fondly deemed their own peculiar heritage.
Lakes.
Lake Champlain. In an early part of this volume, I
glanced at the military aspect and commercial importance
of Lake Champlain. The rare and exceeding beauty of
its scenery arrests and delights the observer. On the east
it is bounded by an undulating plain, rich in a high and
luxuriant culture, whilst beyond this, the horizon is
limited by the bold and broken outline of the Green
mountains. On the western border, the dark and tower-
ing Adirondacs, spread far into the interior, here and there
projecting their rugged spurs into the bosom of the lake,
and often forming lofty and inaccessible headlands, covered
with forests, or exposing bleak and frowning masses of
naked rock. The lake ranges in width, from one mile to
fifteen miles. It is studded by innumerable islands ; some
of which are mere rocky projections; others clothed in
their native green woods, rest like gems upon the waters,
and others formed by alluvial deposits, are unsurpassed in
their native loveliness, or in their exuberant fertility.
The severity of a northern climate closes the navigation
of this lake no inconsiderable portion of the year. The
ice usually forms upon the broadest part about the 1st of
February, and remains, in an average of years, until near
the middle of April. The navigation is suspended for a
longer period by the ice forming earlier and remaining
later at each extremity.1 The lake occasionally remains
open the entire winter. The transition from navigation to
the transit of the lake upon the ice, is often amazingly sud-
den ; teams having crossed its broadest part, upon the ice
lIddo Osgood, Esq.
21
322 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
the fifth day after it had been passed by a steamer. The
ice often attains great thickness. The spectacle, frequently
afforded by this vast expanse of icy surface, is singularly
beautiful and exhilarating. It furnishes for several weeks
the great highway of business and pleasure. Roads di-
verging from every point, are animate with activity and
excitement. Long trains of teams, freighted with the
commodities of the country, glide easily over it, whilst the
pleasure sleigh bounds along its smooth and crystal field,
breaking the stillness by the music of its merry bells.
Little danger occurs in the transit of the ice, except in the
passage of the cracks or fissures, which starting from the
various points and headlands, rend the ice asunder with a
sound and concussion like the reverberation of thunder, or
the prolonged discharge of ordnance. These fissures en-
tirely separate the ice, and are designed by the wise pur-
poses of providence to strengthen it, by affording an
escape to the pent up air beneath.
The balmy atmosphere and warmer sun of approaching
spring, affect and gradually weaken the ice. Traveling on
it, then becomes hazardous, and is often attended with
great jeopardy and frequent loss of life and property. The
inhabitants, residing upon the shore of the lake, are habi-
tuated to these perils and familiar to the modes of assist-
ance. On the alarm of accidents, they rush to the point
of danger, with prompt and efficient zeal bearing ropes
and boards and other requisite articles, and rarely fail to
extricate the sufferer, when the scene can be reached.
The final breaking up of the ice in the spring often
affords a spectacle of intense interest. The evidences are
readily recognized, which portend the event. Its surface
exhibits several marked and peculiar phases, which indicate
the progress of decay. Its usual transparent and brilliant
clearness yields to a dark and clouded aspect. This is
succeeded by a soft and snowy color, as the moisture leaves
the surface and penetrates the mass. The next stage in its
dissolution is exhibited as the body of ice becomes porous
and losing its buoyancy, sinks to the level of the water.
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 323
Its appearance then is black and portentous,, and can
scarcely be contemplated without a feeling of awe and
dread. The fissures now open and expand. The ice sepa-
rates into larger bodies, and driven by the winds in immense
fields, is broken up, and often piled in huge masses upon
the shores where it remains late in the spring, a memorial
of the passed empire of winter. At other times, the ice
continues nearly entire, until saturated with water, it at
once, in a moment a3 it were, disappears, dissolving into its
original element. In the progress of dissolution of the ice,
a singular phenomenon is revealed. The mass at this time,
exhibits a combination of an infinitude of parallel crystals
or icicles, arranged in a perpendicular formation, and each
distinct and perfect, extending from the lower side to the
surface, or in other words, from the water to the atmosphere.
These particles separate from each other in the process of
disintegration.
A day of jubilee and rejoicing succeeds, when these icy
fetters are finally broken up, and intercourse is restored.
The advent of the first steamer of the season, always reju-
venated during the winter, and fresh from the hands of the
painter, is hailed at each landing by joyous shoutings and
often by the booming of artillery.
Interior Lakes and Rivers.
The numerous lakes and gem-like ponds, that stud the
surface of the country in such profusion, not only diversify
and adorn the scenery, but are the source of the vast water
power so essential to the industrial interest and prosperity
of the country. This water, chiefly arising from springs,
is usually cold, clear, and pure. Schroou lake, lying partly
in Warren country, is ten miles long and one and a half
broad, and is remarkable for its quiet and romantic beauty.
A high, precipitous shore encloses it on the east, and on
the west a cultivated and delightful tract spreads its fertile
fields down to the brink. This lake forms the reservoir
to the waters of the upper Hudson. It is already the chan-
nel of a valuable traffic, and will become highly important
324 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
to the rapidly increasing manufacturing business of the
district.
Paradox lake is situated in the 'same valley, and is
separated from Schroon lake by a drift or alluvial, of
apparently modern formation. Paradox lake occupies the
basin of hills that environ it in a gentle ascent, except the
narrow passage at its outlet, which is a confluent of the
Schroon river and nearly on a level with it. The river,
swollen by the mountain torrents, often rises higher than
this lake, and pours its waters into the basin, presenting
the paradoxical appearance of a stream rushing back upon
its fountain head. The lake derives, from this singular
fact, its unique but not inappropriate name. Directly east
of Schroon lake, and elevated above it several hundred
feet, lies Lake Pharaoh, an important body of water, sur-
rounded by a group of dark and gloomy mountains. In
this vicinity cluster numerous ponds, the fountain heads
of valuable streams.
The miniature lakes and ponds, which repose in almost
every valley among the Adirondacs, and form the head
springs of the Hudson, possess indescribable romance and
beauty. Now they are embraced and hidden by dense
and unbroken forests, and now encompassed by lofty
mountains, whose inaccessible precipices descend into
their waters by a nearly vertical wall, and now slumbering
in the bosom of some lovely and picturesque nook, their
mirrored surface, reflecting this varied scenery, is alone
broken by the leaping of a trout, the gambols of a deer,
or, at far intervals, by the oar of the solitary hunter.
These gentle and subduing beauties of nature, combined
with the awe-imposing and thrilling grandeur of their
mountain spectacles, with the pure, invigorating and
health-inspiring air which envelops them, must render
these solitudes among the most desirable and attractive
resorts, to the philosopher, the invalid and the tourist of
pleasure.
Lake Placid, situated principally in North Elba, just
touches that beautiful valley, in the incomparable land-
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 325
scape of which it forms a conspicuous and very essential
feature. Its great expanse, its deep and transparent
waters, its beautiful proportions, stretching its sinuosities
along bold headlands far into the recesses of the moun-
tains, uutil in the distant view, its waters seem to lave
the base of Whiteface, although in fact separated from it
by a rich valley of two miles in width, unite to render
Lake Placid one of the most delightful and attractive
objects in this land of loveliness and silence. A small
pond connects with the lake by a narrow channel ; this
pond has no other inlet or outlet, and is distinguished by
a singular circumstance. The water flows for a period of
two or three minutes from the lake into the pond; an
interval of a few seconds succeeds, with no apparent
motion of the water ; after this, for the same time, it flows
back again into the lake. This ebbing and flowing is, I
believe, perpetual.1 Lake Placid is one of the most
important heads of the An Sable river. The manufac-
turing interest on the line of that stream, has erected at
the outlet of the lake, an expensive and ponderous dam.
This work forms the lake into a capacious reservoir, and
secures a permanent supply of water, at all seasons, to the
immense works moved by the Au Sable.
The Au Sable ponds form the loftiest as well as most
important reservoir of the South branch of the Au Sable
river. Lying amid the acclivities of the Adirondacs, and
buried deeply in the solitudes of forests, which have yet
scarcely been disturbed by the movements of enterprise,
these waters are calculated, when more fully known, to
attract the attention of the tourist and sportsman, by their
solitariness, their beauty and sporting wealth. They are
four or five miles from civilized habitations. Small boats
have been placed upon them, to facilitate access to Mt.
Marcy, towards which they afford one of the most direct
routes. The Upper pond is classed among the most beau-
tiful lakes of the region. The state some years ago
1 T. L. Nash.
326 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
erected a dam on the outlet of these ponds, to aid the
manufacturing interests of the district, but it yielded to
the pressure of a sudden and extraordinary accumulation
of water, which contributed to produce a flood, that
poured upon the Au Sable valley, in wide and terrible
desolation.1
I may here appropriately refer to a fact of some philo-
sophical interest and great practical importance. In the
progress of my survey, I have observed, in repeated in-
stances, the ruins of mills and dams, which, in the early
occupation of the county, had ample water power, not a
vestige of which now remains but a deep and worn ravine
that once formed its channel. As the progress of agri-
cultural and manufacturing improvements — before which
forests are leveled, the country opened, and the earth
exposed to the influence of the sun and atmosphere —
advances, springs and streams will be dried up, and it will
become imperatively necessary to adopt artificial means
to control and preserve the water power of this county.
Rivers.
The elevated and extended highlands of Essex county,
naturally form the great water shed of an extended terri-
tory. In their recesses, the sources of the Hudson almost
mingle with the waters that flow into Champlain and the
tributaries of the St. Lawrence. A rivulet gurgling
towards the Hudson, discharges from one extremity of the
Indian pass, and a branch of the Au Sable from the oppo-
site. A pond lying amid the rocks, hundreds of feet above
the pass, pours its waters into a confluent of the St. Law-
rence. The streams of a district, like Essex county, broken
and mountainous, will be numerous, but turbulent and pre-
cipitous. These characteristics are eminently useful in the
aspect of a manufacturing interest. Wherever the demands
of business require water power in the county, it exists or
can be at once created.
1 Mr. George S. Potter.
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 327
The tributaries of the Hudson traverse every section of
the southwestern portion of the country, and afford illi-
mitable facilities to various mechanical and other industrial
occupations. Putnam's creek, formed by the lakes and
ponds in the mountains of the interior, courses a distance
of twenty miles, supplying the power to numerous works
and enters the lake at Crown point. The Boquet inter-
laces, by its numerous branches, the central portion of the
county, and affording, in a course of forty-five miles,
unnumbered water privileges, discharges into the lake
at Willsboro'. Several of the most extensive and valua-
ble manufacturing works in the county are established
upon this stream. The Boquet was formerly navigable
to the falls, a distance of three miles, by the largest ves-
sels upon the lake. Its channel, now changed and ob-
structed, only admits, at favorable periods of the year, the
lightest crafts.
Lake George penetrates Essex county several miles, and
discharges through an outlet of about three miles and a
half in length, into Lake Champlain, by a strong, deep,
and equable stream, which is navigable to the lower falls.
This stream, in its course from Lake George to the falls,
forms a most extraordinary water power, in some pecu-
liarities, without a parallel. It discharges per second a
volume of water, exceeding four hundred feet, along a
natural canal of one mile and a half in length, making
chiefly by a gradual descent, a fall of two hundred and
twenty feet. Through almost its whole course water
wheels, connected with machinery, may be dropped from
its elevated rocky banks, into the stream, and propelled
almost without any artificial arrangement. The sloping
banks of Lake George form au immense receptacle where
the excess of water is accumulated, and gradually dis-
charges. Hence, no freshets can endanger the works upon
its outlet, but a uniform and permanent supply of water is
secured at all seasons, and under all circumstances. This
stream rarely varies three feet from its ordinary level.
328 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
The warmth of the water, and the rapidity of the cur-
rent prevent every obstruction from ice to the wheel.
The water may be diffused laterally, and its power mul-
tiplied to any extent. The great and rare purity of
the water renders it particularly adapted to those manu-
factories which require dyeing, bleaching and print-
ing facilities. In combination with all these singular
advantages, this position commands the commercial tho-
roughfare formed by the lakes ; it may reach the immense
forests extending far into the interior, spreading on each
side of Lake George ; it has, within its own environs, a
rich and abundant mineral region, and has near and easy
access to the vast iron deposits of the Moriah district.
Such harmony in its arrangements, so great and re-
markable advantages in the bounties of providence, are
rarely combined. The utilitarian spirit of the age, the
interests of business and enterprise, would long since have
converted these neglected privileges into elements of pro-
sperity and wealth; but the blight of foreign ownership has
paralyzed those high bounties. The cupidity or grossly
mistaken and pernicious policy of these proprietors has
imposed terms so exacting, as to repel through a long term
of years almost every purpose of an adequate occupation of
these advantages.
The two main branches of the Au Sable river, nearly equal
in size and importance, rise principally in the western part
of Essex county, and by their numerous and wide spread
confluents drain a territory of about eight hundred square
miles. These branches unite at Au Sable Forks and roll
along the Au Sable valley a motive power that impels
varied and extensive industrial pursuits equal to any other
stream within the state of no greater extent and capacity.
The river Saranac penetrates Essex county from Franklin
near the line that divides the towns of North Elba and St.
Armands, and crossing the latter diagonally, enters Clinton
county. Gliding along high level banks, with scarcely a
perceptible current, it exhibits- almost the form and aspect
of an artificial canal. It is navigable in Essex county
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 329
about fifteen miles by small boats, and probably by slight
improvement might be adapted to the passage of the
smaller class of screw steamers.
Natural Curiosities.
Indian pass. The mighty convulsions which have up-
heaved the lofty mountains of this region, or rent asunder
the barriers that enclosed the seas, which washed their
cliffs, have left impressive vestiges of their power, in the
striking natural phenomena spread over the country.
None of them afford more wonderful exhibitions of those
terrific agencies, or more imposing beauty and magnifi-
cence, than a remarkable gorge, known as the Indian
pass, in the impressive aboriginal Otneyarh, the Stony
Giants. It occupies a narrow ravine, formed by a rapid
acclivity of Mount McMartin on one side, rising at an
angle of forty-five degrees, and on the opposite by the
dark naked wall of a vertical precipice, towering to an
altitude of eight hundred to one thousand two hundred
feet from its base, and extending more than a mile in
length. The base itself is elevated about two thousand
five hundred feet above tide water. The deep and ap-
palling gorge is strewn and probably occupied for several
hundred feet, with gigantic fragments hurled into it from
the impending cliffs, by some potent agency. The elements
still advance the process. So exact and wonderful is the
stupendous masonry of this bulwark, that it seems, could
human nerve allow the effort, a stone dropped from the
summit, might reach the base without striking an impedi-
ment. The pencil cannot portray, nor language describe,
the full grandeur and sublimity of this spectacle. The
deep seclusion, the wild solitude of the place, awe and
impress. Many miles from human habitation, nature here
reigns in her primitive silence and repose. The eagles
form their eyries amid these inaccessible cliffs, and seem
like some humble bird as they hover over the deep abyss.
The heavy forests that clothe the steeps of McMartin, and
shroud the broken and confused masses of rock in the
330 HISTORY OF ESSEX CODNTY.
gorge, add to the gloom and solemnity of these dark
recesses. A tiny rivulet just starting from its birthplace
amid these solitudes, chafes and frets along its rocky pas-
sage, in its course to the Hudson. A ravine lying among
the Adirondacs, near Keeseville and known as Poke-O-
Moonshine (the origin or meaning of this euphonious
name I have not been able to trace), presents a feeble copy
of the Indian pass in reduced proportions.
The Wilmington Notch. The western branch of the Au
Sable breaks through its mountain bulwarks, in a scene
almost as thrilling and impressive as the Indian Pass. The
river compressed within a narrow passage of a few feet, in
width, becomes here an impetuous torrent, foams and
dashes along the base of a precipitous wall, formed by
Whiteface mountain, which towers above it, in nearly a
perpendicular ascent of thousands of feet, whilst on the
other side it almost laves the abrupt, naked aud rugged
crags, of another lofty precipice. Bursting through this
obstacle, it leaps into an abyss of more than one hundred
feet in depth, so dark and impervious from mantling trees,
and impending rocks, that the eye cannot penetrate its
hidden cavern. A road which has been recently constructed
through the pass, renders this remarkable spot easily
accessible to the tourist ; and I can imagine few scenes
more attractive by its wild and romantic beauty, or its
stern and appalling grandeur. Nearly the whole course of
the Au Sable and its branches presents a series of falls,
cascades and rapids, which, whilst they adorn and animate
the scenery, afforded innumerable sites of water power,
rarely exceeded in capacity and position.
Walled Banks of the An Sable. The passage of the Au
Sable river, along its lofty and perpendicular banks aud
through the chasm at the High bridge is more familiar
to the public mind, than most of the striking and pictu-
resque features in the interesting scenery of that romantic
stream. The continued and gradual force of the current,
aided perhaps by some vast effort of nature, has formed a
passage of the river through the deep layers of sandstone
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 331
rock, which are boldly developed above the village of Keese-
ville, and form the embankment of the river, until it
reaches the quiet basin below the high bridge. In the
vicinity of Keeseville, the passage of the stream is between
a wall upon either side of fifty feet in height; leaving these
it glides gently along a low valley, until suddenly precipi-
tated over a precipice, that creates a fall of singular beauty.
Foaming and surging from this point, over a rocky bed
until it reaches the village of Birmingham, it then abruptly
bursts into a dark, deep chasm of sixty feet. A bridge
with one abutment setting upon a rock that divides the
stream, crosses the river at the head of this fall. This
bridge is perpetually enveloped in a thick cloud of spray
and mist. In winter, the frost work encrusts the rock and
trees, with the most gorgeous fabrics, myriads of columns
and arches, and icy diamonds and stalactites glitter iu the
sunbeams. In the sunshine a brilliant rainbow spreads
its radiant arc over this deep abyss. All these elements,
rare in their combination, shed upon this scene an effect
inexpressibly wild, picturesque and beautiful. The river
plunges from the latter precipice, amid the embrasures of
the vast gulf, in which for nearly a mile it is nearly hidden
to observation from above. It pours a wild torrent, uow
along a natural canal, formed in the rocks in almost per-
fect and exact courses, and now darts madly down a
precipice. The wall rises on a vertical face upon each side
from seventy-five to one hundred aud fifty feet, whilst the
width of the chasm rarely exceeds thirty feet, and at seve-
ral points the stupendous masonry of the opposite walls
approaches within eight or ten feet. Lateral fissures, deep
and narrow, project from the main ravine at nearly right
angles. The abyss is reached through one of these crevices
by a stairway descending to the water by two hundred and
twelve steps. The entire mass of these walls is formed
of lamina? of sandstone rock, laid in regular and precise
structure almost rivaling the most accurate artificial work.
The pines and cedars starting from the apertures of the
wall, spread a dark canopy over the gulf. The instrument-
332 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
ality, which has produced this wonderful work, is a pro-
blem that presents a wide scope for interesting, but unsatis-
factory speculation.
A report of the state geologist asserts, " that near the
bottom of the fissure at the High bridge, and through an
extent of seventy feet, numerous specimens of a small
bivalvular molusca, or lingulse," are discovered, and
" that ripple marks appear at the depth of seventy or
eighty feet."
Split rock. Travelers in paesing through Lake Cham-
plain, observe in the town of Essex, a remarkable point,
known to the French as Rocher fendu, and to the English,
as Split rock. It contains about half an acre of land, and
rising thirty feet above the water, in a bold, precipitous
front, is separated from the promontory by a fissure of ten
feet in width. Its slope and position have created the
belief, that it has been detached from the adjacent
headland by its own weight, and in sojne shock of nature,
although it has probably been separated in the gradual
attrition of the earth and disintegrating rocks, by the
action of the elements. It is a striking and interesting
formation. Guide books, and some works of high pre-
tensions, describe an abyss of five hundred feet in depth,
dividing the rock from the promontory. I visited it last
autumn, and walked through the fissure, two feet above
the level of the lake.
Near Port Kendall, in Chesterfield, another of these
remarkable phenomena occurs, to which frequent allu-
sion has been made. The outlets of several ponds upon
these highlands, unite in a stream which forms at this
place, a very superior water power, directly upon the
margin of Lake Champlain. The water rushes a distance
of forty or fifty rods above the falls, through a chasm,
which appears to have been opened by some mighty phy-
sical convulsion. It presents a gulf sixty or seventy feet
wide, with a depth of thirty or forty feet.1 At the extre-
lLem Hiyby, Esq.
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 333
mity of this passage, the stream plunges into the lake over
a precipice of about forty feet. A similar spectacle known
as Split rock, is exhibited near Pleasant valley, where the
whole volume of the Boquet rushes through a ravine of
this character.
The Bainbow Falls. This remarkable cascade is situated
in Keene within a mile of the romantic Au Sable ponds and
forms a striking feature of that wild picturesque region.
It is upon Rainbow brook, a small tributary of the South
branch of the Au Sable river. The fall is computed from
careful observation to be one hundred and twenty-five feet in
sheer vertical descent. The site is separated from the Keene
flats, the nearest human residence, by a dense forest three or
four miles in extent, and is hidden in the recesses of the
vast wilderness of the Adirondacs. It is embraced in
the extensive tract of timber land recently purchased by
Messrs. Thomas & Armstrong, and is now first revealed
to general knowledge. The falls are at present only accessi-
ble by a path through the forest; but they have already ex-
cited the attention of the artist and explorer, and it is in
contemplation to immediately open by convenient roads, a
district that will be regarded not among the least attrac-
tive or interesting in the Adirondac region, to the sports-
man and the worshiper of nature, in her secluded temples.1
The Hunter's pass. This gorge lies in the town of Worth
Hudson, and is formed by the deep, parallel precipices of
Dix's peak and Nipple top, which are among the highest
and most sequestered mountains of the Adirondacs. It is
similar to the Indian Pass, and second only to that amazing
exhibition in its sublime and imposing features. This pass
is rarely penetrated even by the hunter, and at a very late
period only has been visited for the specific purpose of
exploration. It is buried several miles deeper in the
mazes of these forests and mountains than the Au Sable
ponds or Rainbow falls, but is sufficiently near these points
to enhance the attraction of the district, when it shall have
1 Almon Thomas, George 8. Potter.
334 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
become a new object of interest and resort. The scene
can now only be reached by the severest toil of several
miles (but the feat has been achieved by brave and delicate
woman) and when this is accomplished, the dense forest,
the masses of rocks and their mosses, and their debris
gathered for ages, renders the gorge almost impenetrable.1
These successive revelations in the physical aspect of the
county, illustrate the profound seclusion and great extent
of the wilderness, and warrant the opinion, that other objects
of deep interest remain in its recesses yet to be unveiled.
It is believed that several of the most secluded peaks of
the Adirondacs have never been ascended. This circum-
stance becomes still more impressive, if upon a map
of the state, one point of the dividers graduated at one
hundred miles, is placed at the Capitol, and we find on
describing a circle, that it traces a line through the central
part of the Adirondac group. Mouut Marcy and other
prominent objects we have noticed, lie scarcely beyond
this circle.
Two very remarkable subterranean passages in the
town of Schroon near Paradox lake are worthy of examina-
tion. The first of these forms the channel of a small
rivulet, by a natural perforation of some hundred feet
through the massive rock, ten or fifteen feet below the sur-
face, over which passes the public road, as if by an artificial
bridge. The other, which I find referred to in early wrorks
on the topography of this region, is a highly curious and
interesting exhibition. The explorer enters a lofty arch,
several feet below the surface, carved out of the solid
rock. It presents, at some points, the appearance of
nearly an exact gothic structure, and at others, broken
and ragged sides and canopy. This dark and gloomy
cavern extends a number of rods, and is from four to
twelve feet in width, and ten to fifteen in height. It con-
stitutes the sluice way of a large stream, which propels a
1 The Elizabetlitown Post.
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 335
mill just above the entrance, and foams and dashes
through the rocky and precipitous descent.
Trout are often found in pools within this passage,
which are formed by the obstructions to the stream in its
course.
Inflammable Gas. A striking phenomenon is noticed in
Schroou lake. In parts of that picturesque and beautiful
sheet of water, inflammable gases are emitted from the
bottom, where the water is eighteen or twenty feet deep.
When the surface is frozen over, the gas collects in
various insulated bodies beneath the ice, where it can
be readily discovered. If a small aperture is cut in
the ice above one of these collections, the gas rushes
forth with violence, and when a match is applied to it,
the gas ignites and flames up in a brilliant fiery column
eight feet high, and continues to burn, usually, from five
to fifteen minutes or until the receptable is exhausted.
In the summer, the gas rises to the surface at intervals,
producing a strong ebullition of the water, which con-
tinues about five minutes, when it ceases and the lake
becomes as calm as usual. Sometimes burning shavings
have been thrust into the gas before it is dissipated,
when it instantly takes fire and bursts into a flame that
ascends several feet high and spreads along the surface of
the lake frequently two rods.1
The Wilderness of Northern New York.
This remarkable territory has not, until a comparative
recent period, attracted any considerable public attention.
The mind can scarcely comprehend the fact, that a dis-
trict equal in size to the superficial area of several of the
separate states of the Union, lies in the bosom of New
1 1 am indebted to Hon. Joel F. Potter for the above statements. In
bis note be mentions tbe following additional facts : " A neighbor of mine
cut a large opening in the ice, but was somewhat slow in lighting his
match. When he did apply it, the gas had accumulated and he was thrown
back by its sudden ignition about eight feet, with the lost of whiskers and
eye-brows." He relates another experiment in which the gas was collected
336 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
York, touching on one extremity the long occupied and
densely populated valley of the Mohawk, and encircled by
a highly cultivated and matured country, is still shrouded
by its primeval forest, and remains almost as it came from
the hands of its Creator. This territory embraces nearly
all Hamilton county, and parts of Herkimer, Oneida,
Lewis, St. Lawrence, Franklin, Essex, and Warren, and
extends over one hundred miles in length, and about
eighty miles in breadth.
Nature reigns in this wilderness, in her primeval seclu-
sion and solitude. The daring hunter alone formerly
penetrated its mazes in pursuit of its only denizens, the
moose, the bear, the panther, and deer. The fisherman,
whose ardor leads him to the deep recesses of the forest,
breaks the quiet repose of these lakes and rivers, but
within the boundaries of this sequestered region, man has
scarcely an abode, in his civilization and improvements.
A portion of this territory is mountainous and impracticable
to culture. Here, as I have already remarked, the highest
group of mountains east of the Mississippi, lift their pinna-
cles to the skies. The sheer and lofty precipice, the dash-
iug torrent, the sylvan lake and the boundless ocean of
forest, combine to form a scenery, which is unrivaled in
its magnificence and beauty. The votaries and admirers
of nature will learn to visit these scenes, and will gaze on
them with wonder and delight.
The existence of this range of mountains, imposing and
magnificent as it is, enveloping in its gigantic folds, the
rich and beautiful region beyond, and to the approach of
which it seemed to impose an impenetrable bar, has given
rise to the opinions and estimates of that entire territory,
which prevail. Eminent men, in supreme ignorance of
the character of this district, have sneered at it, as the
and retained in a rude receptacle. " We have cut a hole in the ice, and
placed a harrel over it, with the lower head on. Around this, snow was
piled, and a gas burner attached to the upper head of the barrel, protected
by a glass lantern. With this apparatus the gas from one of the collections
referred to has burnt nearly a whole night."
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 337
Siberia of New York, little aware of the illimitable
wealth which must be revealed, not only in its immense
forests, of the most valuable wood and timber, and its
boundless mineral riches, but in the adaptation of large
sections of it to agricultural purposes. Other men, im-
pelled by their example, have habitually indulged in sar-
casm and ridicule, upon the character and resources of
northern New York. These and similar views, have cre-
ated impressions relative to the soil, the capabilities and
climate of this territory, which have arrested emigration,
and induced the board of land commissioners of the state,
in an unwise and mistaken policy, to sacrifice by inade-
quate sales a large proportion of the public domain, which
had been consecrated by our fathers, to a noble and glori-
ous purpose — the education of our children.
I am anxious to correct those opinions, where I regard
them to be false, and briefly to describe the physical fea-
tures, the topographical arrangement, the agricultural and
industrial capacity of this wilderness district. It is known
that a part of this tract is situated within the limits of
Essex county, aud that it embraces the loftiest mountains
of the Adirondacs. This range, stretching into Hamilton
and the southern section of Franklin counties, partially
bounds the table land on the south.
The fertile aud beautiful plains of North Elba, on the
eastern side of this district, are encircled by a lofty amphi-
theatre of these mountains. This territory, I have suffi-
ciently described in another place, and have attempted to
show by an analogy with some sections of Vermont, of
nearly the same altitude, and which constitute a part of the
most valuable and productive districts of that state, the
great importance and adaptedness of these plains to culti-
vation. These mountains abound with ores, and are
mantled to their summits by forests of the heaviest timber
and choicest varieties of wood. Such is the present condi-
tion and aspect of this region, in the county of Essex, and
these are some of its natural resources. Beyond the con-
. 22
338 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
fines of this county, it reveals another appearance. The
broken and rocky range of mountains subsides into a high
plateau, with a fertile soil, adapted by its ingredients and
formation to tillage and more particularly to grazing.
The plains of North Elba extend to, and unite with this
territory, forming an expansion of the plateau, in the bosom
of the mountains over an area of about one hundred square
miles.
The systems of lakes, which extend over this territory
and yield to it so much beauty and animation, and almost
mingle their waters, form the sources of the Hudson, of
many atSuents of the Mohawk and the Black river. Here
also, are the fountain heads of the Oswegatchie, the Grass,
the Raquette and St. Regis rivers, large and important
streams, which discharge into the St. Lawrence, and the
Saranac, Au Sable and Boquet, which flow into Lake
Champlain.
The project of forming, in the connection of these
streams and lakes by slight artificial constructions, an
inland water communication, designed to open to enter-
prise and emigration the solitudes of this wilderness, I
shall notice elsewhere.
The Black River canal skirts this territory on the west.
The existing and proposed rail roads from Utica and Rome,
in a northern direction, traverse its western borders. The
Saratoga and Sackets Harbor rail road, now in progress,
and which has been fostered by a magnificent bounty of
five hundred thousand acres from the state lands, will, it is
estimated, penetrate for a distance of one hundred and
twenty miles through the heart of an unbroken wilderness.
It will thread the mazes of this sequestered tr^ct, along the
base of lofty mountains (towering above it thousands of
feet), through dense forests and amid the loveliest lakes
and rivers. The original contemplated route of this road
traverses the south-western section of Essex county,
through the rich and important town of Minerva, and
approaches within a few miles of the Adirondac works,
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 339
and will thus render accessible the boundless wealth of
that amazing district.
The most effective and decisive work, however, for the
development of the entire region, would be created by the
extraordinary reconnaissance referred to on another page.
This subject I propose to notice elsewhere.
On every side, the slow but constant progress of im-
provement and cultivation is invading the wilderness.
The pioneer of agriculture is each year occupying the
haunts of the hunter, and gradually supplanting him.
The valuable town of Greig, in Lewis county, now embrac-
ing a population of about nineteen hundred inhabitants,
has within comparatively a few years, been carved from the
silent forest.
This wilderness is distinguished for the healthiness of
its climate. There prevails in the atmosphere, which
envelops these mountains, a pureness, an elasticity and
vitality that imparts health, and affords an indescribable
physical enjoyment in the mechanical process of inspira-
tion ; the lungs are filled, and perform their functions
without effort or labor. In my explorations of the coun-
try, I have met with repeated instances of individuals,
who had reached their forest homes, in advanced stages
of pulmonary affection, in whom the disease had been
arrested, and the sufferer restored to comparative health.
They uniformly imputed the change to the influence of
the atmosphere, and to the soothing and invigorating
effect of the peculiar property referred to. No invalid
enters these solitudes without experiencing upon his sys-
tem this strengthening and renovating influence. The
atmosphere can be impregnated by no noxious miasmas,
but is poured down from the summits of these stately
mountains, fresh and pure, and life giving as it comes
from the laboratory of nature.
Parts of the southern section of this territory in Warren
and Hamilton counties, particularly where the lofty group
of Mt. Seward upheave and dislocate the surface, are high,
340 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
broken and mountainous. "With this exception, and the
portions of Essex county already described, the altitude
of the country is lower than the plains of North Elba, but
it still has an elevation which sensibly affects the climate ;
far less, however, than has been imputed by an erroneous
public opinion. That this severity is not extreme, or
such as to repel occupation, may be judged from the
fact, that for many years, while the visitors to this region
were limited, the hunters and guides were accustomed to
procure their supply of potatoes from the spontaneous
growth of the vegetable, gathered in the earth, and which
had sprung from the peelings left upon the surface the
preceding year.
Like every new country, in northern latitudes, which is
shrouded by a thick and heavy vegetation, this tract is
now far more liable to the effects of cold and frost, than
it will be, when the advance of improvement has removed
the massive forests, and exposed the earth to the influence
of heat and light. The face of this country is represented
by those who have thoroughly explored it, to be .formed
of a series of plains, or high valleys, distinct in their
arrangement, and slightly elevated one above the other.
The streams, particularly those which are affluents of
the St. Lawrence, flow in a strong, but neither rapid nor
violent current, generally between high banks, and through
a level and beautiful country. The land bordering upon
these streams is chiefly occupied by dense and stately
forests, comprehending the most magnificent and valuable
evergreen timber, aud the choicest varieties of hard wood.
These forests are not unfrequently interspersed with wide
and beautiful wet prairies, or natural meadows, spreading
along the margin of the rivers, and presenting in their
luxuriant herbage or native grasses, the appearance of
highly cultivated fields. Myriads of deer graze and fatten
upon these meadows.
The soil, whether sustaining its towering growth of
primitive wood, or revealing the natural meadows, is
y
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 341
represented as possessing native fertility and adaptation
to agriculture, seldom surpassed by any districts of equal
altitude, and in as high parallel of latitude. Such I know,
from personal inspection, to be the character of the lands
in North Elba. Specimens of soils, from the alluvial flats,
upon the Au Sable river, and the loam from the uplands
in that town, which were analyzed by Professor Salisbury,
indicate the highest degree of native fertility. In some
sections of this territory, a white silicious earth predomi-
nates, which is evidence of a light and rather sterile soil ;
other parts of it are, doubtless, rocky and broken ; but a
large portion of the land is susceptible of useful cultiva-
tion, and much more will be found congenial to grass and
grazing.
The general face of this region may be inferred from
the circumstance, that tourists speak in their description
of it, of seeing, while floating upon the remote lakes and
rivers, the summits of the Adirondacs, towering above
the surrounding plateau, at a distance of thirty, and even
fifty miles.
The nearness and facility of access to various markets,
which must soon exist, is a most important and obvious
advantage, which this country will at an early day possess.
When the different public improvements, existing or con-
templated, are accomplished, and that result is morally
certain, every section of this region will enjoy an easy
access to the Hudson, to the marts of the St. Lawrence
and to Champlain. But the emigrant to this territory
need not place any reliance upon remoter markets,
while an infinitude of forge fires illuminate the re-
cesses of the Adirondacs, the banks of the Saranac, and
the valley of the Au Sable, and the varied other manufacto-
ries exist, which are springing into importance along the
whole confines of this wilderness. These immense and
increasing consumers will always secure a certain and
prompt demand, at the highest prices, for all the charcoal
that can be made, for every animal that can be raised upon
342 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
these hills, and every production of agriculture that the
earth can yield. Already, as the pioneer reaches the out-
line of the wilderness, we see the manufacturer and the
lumberer press on his track, requiring the coal he produces
in clearing his land, the timber he falls and every article
of consumption he produces, at prices often exceeding
those of the Atlantic cities. This domestic market will
never be exhausted, but must constantly augment.
Large appropriations have been applied by the state, to
the improvement of the navigation of several of the streams,
which flow from this region, to facilitate the transporta-
tion of logs. Many of them are now navigable for this
purpose, from the lakes where they rise, to their mouths.
The incalculable amount of saw logs, embraced in the
wilderness, may by these channels be transported at an
insignificant expense, in their direct course to market, to
points where they are fabricated into lumber, for exporta-
tion. The same spirit has cherished and will continue to
foster the constructing of rail roads calculated to develop
the affluence of this region. This wise policy of public
munificence is calling into practical existence and utility an
immense aggregate of property, which has been hitherto
inaccessible and valueless. While it will administer to
the efforts of private enterprise, and supply new fountains
of individual wealth, it will return to the treasury of the
state, tenfold, the expenditures, by opening the vast public
domain to market and by the immense accession to the
business of the public works it must create. Hence, it is
manifest, that the labor of the settler, which removes the
forest and reveals the earth to cultivation, also prepares
the coal for the manufacturer and the timber for transport-
ation; and thus, while he is remunerated for his toil, he is
enabled to pay for his farm and adapt it to tillage. In
addition to the pine, spruce and hemlock timber, which
occupies this territory and which may be computed by
millions of saw logs, it comprehends a vast amount of
excellent cedar, and several varieties of oak, birch and
„ PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 343
cherry, that attain an immense size, and are in great re-
quest by the manufacturer, for choice fabrics, and coal
wood, that can be estimated by tens of millions of cords.
Iron ore is known to exist here in large deposits, suffi-
cient, probably, for all its requirements ; but if this opinion
should prove to be incorrect, aside from many other sources
of supply, its most remote sections will soon, by means
of the contemplated works, join hands with the exhaustless
masses of the Adirondac deposits.
The unrivaled fish, which throng these waters in the
utmost profusion, and now afford an article of such ex-
quisite luxury, may be made an important and valuable
commodity of exportation, when the means of a rapid
and certain transportation are established. An immense
quantity of venison is every season sent from the wilderness
to the southern and eastern cities.
The price of land, in this territory, ranges from one dollar
to six dollars the acre.
The wisdom of the development by the state of the
resources of this region, and the promoting of its settlement
by every liberal and fostering policy, is so apparent and
imperative, that its expediency can scarcely be enforced by
any argument. Let avenues be opened into it ; let the
navigation be perfected, and the rivers made more available
for the floating of saw logs, and it will soon be colonized
by sturdy and energetic emigrants, and the silent and
gloomy wilderness will resound with the din of labor and
industry. False and deceptive public sentiment has shed
a blighting influence over this territory, and created obsta-
cles to its occupation, more impracticable than its mountain
barriers, or all the impediments with which nature has
surrounded it.
Mineral Springs.
Numerous springs of mineral water occur in Essex
county, but a few only are known to possess any high or
peculiar medicinal properties. The Adirondac springs,
344 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY. *
consisting of a cluster of four fountains, lying within a
small circle, are situated upon premises formerly owned
by Mr. Stevenson of Westport. About two years since,
the property was purchased by Mr. George W. Spencer,
who gave the springs their present appropriate name.
They are beautifully situated upon a slope of the Adiron-
dacs, about half a mile from the lake, and command an
extended view of its course, with a magnificent mountain
scenery on both shores, and a landscape formed by a
highly cultivated and picturesque country. The site of
these springs is about four miles and a half from Port
Henry, and the same distance from the village of West-
port, and is approached in both directions by excellent
roads, through an interesting and beautiful district. Mr.
Spencer has erected, at large expense, convenient struc-
tures about the fountains. These waters have been known
and celebrated in the region during the last forty years,
for their singular efficacy in relieving various diseases and
affections.
In the year 1852, while acting under my appointment
by the State society, I procured a gallon of the water
from each of the springs mentioned below, and submitted
them to Professor Salisbury, at that time the chemist and
geologist of the society. After a careful examination, he
returned to me the subjoined result. I may properly
remark, that the appearance of the springs and the vici-
nity, disclose the presence of minerals in an extraordinary
degree. The deposit of a substance that appears to be
chiefly magnesia, through which the Cold spring ascends,
is about ten feet thick ; and the concretion formed by the
water of the Sulphur spring has been opened eighteen
feet in depth without reaching the base. These encrusta-
tions are very similar to the High Rock spring in Saratoga.
This residuum of the waters may be traced along their
course several feet, after the discharge from the fountain.
In its first stage, before induration, it is about the con-
sistence of putty, soft and unctuous, and without grit to the
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 345
touch. This substance, while soft, has been used con-
stantly, and with remarkable success, as an external
application in cutaneous affections. The Sulphur spring
is characterized by the constant, and often quite active
ebullition of a gaseous substance. The following are the
analyses of Professor Salisbury : •
1 gal. water from 1 gal. water from
Sulphur spring. Cold spriug.
Sulphuretted hydrogen, 16 cubic inches. ......
Organic matter, 8.64 grains. 8.16 grains.
Sulphur, 2.88 "
Lime, 10.32 " 12.88 "
Magnesia, 2.24 ". 3.12 "
Potassa, 1.36 " 1.20 "
Soda, 1.12 " 0.88 •<
Iron 1.04 " 1.44 "
Chlorine, trace 0.48 "
Sulphuric acid, 0.88 " 1.52 "
Phosphoric acid,.' 0.32 " 2.48 "
Carbonic acid, 1.36 " 1.44 "
Silicic acid, 0.40 " 0.48 "
Total solid matter in one gallon,... 30.64 " 34.08 "
" One distinguishing character of the Sulphur spring is
the large quantity of sulphuretted hydrogen its waters con-
tain. A portion of the alkaline basis is also combined with
sulphur, forming sulphides.
The water designated in the analysis, as No. 3, was taken
from a spring upon the premises of L. Pope in Chesterfield,
and No. 6 from a spring in Jay, situated almost within the
water line of the Au Sable river. In relation to these
waters, Prof. Salisbury remarks : " On removing the cork,
I found in No. 3 a mere trace of sulphuretted hydrogen ;
in No. 6 no trace of this gas, or carbonic acid gas could be
detected. They both contained a very small quantity of
a ferruginous sediment. No. 6 has a slightly bituminous
odor. No. 3 a slight fetid odor."
346 HISTORY OP ESSEX COUNTY.
A gallon of water from No. 3 contains 12.16 grains of
solid matter, and from No. 6, 6 grains of solid matter. Of
this solid matter 100 parts gave of
No. 3. No. 6. No. 5.
Organic matter, 31.98 41.32 19.73
Magnesia, 23.39 14.64 16.14
Sulphuric acid, 10.13 5.28 23.32
Lime, 11.03 17.34 4.75
Potassa, 6.01 7.98 20.33
Soda, 3.32 0.27 2.34
Carbonic acid, 6.40 4.01 3.59
Phosphoric acid,. 5.11 5.32 4.18
Chlorine, 1.82 2.31 3.79
Iron, 0.51 1.19 4.18
Silica, 9.23 0.14 0.11
Sulphuretted hydrogen, trace
99.93 99.80 99.86
The spring from which the water marked No. 5 was
taken, is situated almost within the shadow of the giant
wall of the Indian pass. A fountain of health, suffi-
cient to constitute a " watering place," within the pure
and invigorating atmosphere of the Adirondacs, and amid
scenes where nature reigns iu profound seclusion, and in
such imposing and terrific grandeur, would possess infi-
nite attractions and interest. One gallon of this water
gave of solid matter 12.64 grains, and 100 parts of this
solid matter gave the preceding analysis. " The analysis
shows No. 5 to be a magnesia potassa water. The magne-
sia and potassa are probably mostly in the form of sulphates.
No. 5 has a slight earthy odor."
The discovery of a spring near Schroon lake has re-
cently been announced. The locality is almost as impos-
ing and picturesque and even more beautiful than that in
Indian pass, and if the properties of the water prove as
valuable as is claimed, and the purpose of erecting a hotel
is accomplished, I can imagine no resort more delightful
or attractive.
PART 111.
NATURAL HISTORY.
Animals.
Charnplain, and the early explorers of the environs of
Lake Champlain, allude to the abundance and variety of
the game and wild animals found in that region. The
reminiscences of the living recall the prevalence in vast
numbers of these animals, at their first settlement of the
county. Fearful legends are still rife of exposures of the
original settlers, and their terrific encounters with the
panther, the bear, and wolf.
The moose within a late period has been discovered in
the recesses of the interior wilderness. The panther and
wolf still prowl in these wilds, but rarely, and by solitary
individuals. The small black bear exists in small num-
bers among the fastnesses of the Adirondacs, but are sel-
dom seen in the more inhabited sections of the county.
The bear, wolf and fox, in the early occupation of the
county, committed the most destructive depredations upon
the flocks of the pioneers. They literally occupied and
infested the forest, and by their great prevalence seriously
retarded and embarrassed the introduction of sheep. The
howling of wolves around the solitary cabins of the settlers,
is described as having been most appalling. In the lan-
guage of an aged pioneer,1 " the deer, sixty years ago, were
more abundant in our fields than sheep." Venison was
then the cheapest food of the settler, and at different
periods, their almost exclusive dependence. A bear cub
was esteemed as delicate and luscious as the fattest lamb.
1 Mr. Leavitt, Chesterfield.
348 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
Deer still abound in the interior solitudes, and are annually
destroyed in vast numbers, in the mere wanton and brutal
instincts of slaughter. Under the influence of public sen-
timent and a determined purpose of enforcing the stringent
statutes for the preservation of game, the cruel extinction
of both deer and fish, has been in some measure suppressed
in this wilderness. Sometimes expelled from their retreats
by the attacks of wolves, their ferocious foe, they appear
in the older settlements, and in their extreme terror, occa-
sionally dash into a village ; but only to find man as
merciless as the savage beast. Thus, torn and devoured
by wolves; chased by dogs, and overtakeu when their
sharp and tiny hoofs peuetrate the crust of snows, and
they helplessly flounder in their depths ; huuted by torch-
light, and pursued in the lakes and ponds of their native
wilds, this beautiful, timid and gentle creature, now afford-
ing so much beauty and animation to these forests, and
such luxury to the table of even our metropolitan epicures,
must soon be extirpated, or greatly diminished in their
numbers.
The beaver was found in great abundance throughout
the region, by the first occupants. They no longer exist,
it is believed, in the territory of Essex county. The skele-
ton of probably the last patriarch of the race is still
preserved. Numerous vestiges exist of their former
habitations. The evidences remain throughout the county
of their wonderful architectural works, and of the amaz-
ing sagacity that approached human intelligence. The
skill with which the beaver selected the position of his
dam, the untiring industry and great vigor exhibited in
prosecuting his work, the exactness of its capacity to the
required object, and the great beauty of its structure,
excite the deepest admiration and wonder. The water
obstructed by these dams flowed over extensive flats,
destroying the trees and vegetation which had flourished
upon them. These were carefully removed by the beaver,
as they decayed, leaving the surface as clear and unobstructed
as if the work had been accomplished by the nicest labor
NATURAL HISTORY. 349
of human industry. These clearings were ultimately
occupied by a spontaneous growth of natural grasses.
The beaver meadows of the county, formed by this pro-
cess, were of incalculable benefit to the early settlers,
preparing for many of them in advance, an abundant sup-
ply of excellent fodder.
The hunter who penetrated deeply into the solitudes,
beyond the western limits of this county, until recently
found the moose in considerable abundance.1 Individuals
occasionally appeared among the nearer Adirondack. A
solitary bull or a cow and calf, usually selects in autumn
a hill or spur of a mountain, where abounds the mountain
ash and striped maple, his choicest food. Here he hiber-
nates in what the hunter terms his yard. As the snows
deepen, he industriously keeps open the paths leading to
the various sections of his domain. He uniformly traverses
the same route, and thus preserves a beaten track in the
deepest snows of winter. In this seclusion he passes the
season, feeding upon the tender branches of his favorite
shrubs, until spring returns, and the voice of nature
invokes him to seek new companions. During the sum-
mer they frequent the vicinity of ponds and marshes, feed-
ing upon aquatic plants. The roots of the pond lily they
greedily devour.
The pursuit of the moose is among the most animating
and attractive sports of the huntsman. The senses of this
animal are supposed to be peculiarly acute. He discovers
afar off the approach of danger, and breaks from his covert
and flies with incredible celerity. His stately horns thrown
back upon his shoulders, his nose projecting, and with the
gait and action of a fast trotting horse, he dashes amid the
forest, over mountains and through morasses, with a speed
that defies pursuit, unless the crust of snow yields to his
enormous bulk, when he is readily overtaken. Although
naturally a timid animal, he then turns at bay, and with
immense power and indomitable courage faces his foes, and
1 A. Ralph.
350 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
woe betide the hunter or dog who falls within the reach of
his horns, or the trampling of his hoofs. He is then the
very symbol of savage ferocity. His aspect is terrific ; his
eyes glare, his mane erect, every hair, long and protruding,
seems to expand and become animate. His defiant roar
resounds among the mountains ; he defends himself to the
last throe with unyielding energy. The meat of the moose
is considered a choice and rare delicacy.
The fox and the muskrat are abundant, and, with the minx
and martin, are yet pursued for their pelages. The lynx
is occasionally found. The squirrel, in most of its varieties,
exist in great numbers. Small colonies of the flying
squirrel are found in some localities. Its singular construc-
tion and great beauty render it an object of much interest.
A peculiar incapacity alike for defense and escape, makes
it the victim of innumerable euemies. A remarkable fact
in natural history is observed in relation to these animals,
and particularly of the common red squirrel. A district
of country, which has been nearly exempt from their pre-
sence, is suddenly thronged by innumerable multitudes.
Every tree and bush and fence seems alive with them,
until they at once and as mysteriously disappear. This
circumstance affords undoubted evidence of the migration
of the squirrel, but to what extent the habit prevails is
unknown. Popular opinion assumes, that they traverse
Lake Champlain in these progresses. The autumn of 1851
afforded one of these periodical invasions of Essex county.
It is well authenticated, that the red squirrel was con-
stantly seen in the widest parts of the lake, far out from
laud, swimming towards the shore, as if familiar with the
service; their heads above water, and their bushy tails
erect and expanded, and apparently spread to the breeze.
Reaching land, they stopped for a moment, and relieving
their active and vigorous little bodies from the water, by
an energetic shake or two, they bounded into the woods,
as light and free as if they had made no extraordinary
effort.'
NATURAL HISTORY. 351
Fish.
Lake Champlaiu embraces most of the species of
fish, usually found in fresh water lakes. Several varieties,
formerly abundant in these waters, are now rarely found
or have totally disappeared. My work does not pretend
to the dignity of science, and I propose to glance only at
the subject of the fishes of the region in a few general ob-
servations and in familiar language. Champlain, whose
veracity, researches always vindicate, speaks of a remarka-
ble fish, which many have supposed to be fabulous. Al-
luding to other fish, he continues " among the rest, there is
one called by the Indians chaousarou, of divers length.
The largest, I was informed by the people, are of eight and
ten feet, I saw one of five feet, as thick as a thigh, with a
head as big as two fists, with jaws two feet and a half long,
and a double set of very long and dangerous teeth. The
form of the body resembles that of the pike and is armed
with scales, that the thrust of a poniard cannot pierce, and
is of a silver grey color. The point of the snout is like
that of a hog." Professor Thompson believes the original
of this description to have been the Bill-fish (Lepirostrus
oxyurus), a fish still existing in the lake, but rarely
taken. Prof. Agassiz appears to have found traces of the
same fish in the upper lakes. The muskalonge, to which
the fish of Champlain bears a slight analogy, and supposed
by some naturalists to be an enormous growth of the pick-
erel, frequents some sections of the lake and often attains
the weight of thirty or forty pounds.
The early settlers of the valley of Lake Champlain,
found the streams upon both sides filled with salmon.
They were very large, and among the most delicate and
luscious of all fish. At that period they were abundant,
and so fearless as to be taken with great ease and in im-
mense quantities. A record exists of five hundred having
been killed in the Boquet in one afternoon,1 and as late as
1 Levi Higby, Esq.
352 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
1823 about fifteen hundred pounds of salmon were taken by
a single haul of a seine, near Port Kendall. They have been
occasionally found within the last twenty years, in some
of the most rapid streams, buthave now totally disappeared.
The secluded haunts they loved, have been invaded ; dams
have impeded their wonted routes ; the filth of occupied
streams has disturbed their cleanly habits, or the clangor
of steam boats and machinery has alarmed their fears.
Each of these causes is assigned as a circumstance that
has deprived the country of an important article of food
aud a choice luxury. The subject is not unworthy the in-
quiry and investigation of the philosopher of nature.1
The Lake Shad (Coregonus Albas). In the absence of
the salmon the shad will be classed as the choicest and
most valuable fish belonging to the waters of Lake Cham-
plain. Owing to its shyness and the peculiarity of its
habits, its natural history is little understood. It appears
not to resort promiscuously to every section of the lake,
but only frequents or abides in chosen haunts. It delights
in clean, sandy or gravelly bottoms. In the early spring,
it is taken in considerable quantities, lying at night along
the shores. Practical fishermen state that as the water
grows warmer and recedes, the shad retires into the
deeper channels of the lake. This fish abounds chiefly in
the lower parts of the lake, and in particular localities is
taken by the seine in great abundance throughout the sea-
son, and in some years and at favorable sites sufficient for
barrelling. When its haunts and habits are better under-
stood its pursuit may become an important branch of indus-
try. It rarely takes the spoon or bait in trolling. The clam,
used as a bait, an amateur sportsman informs me, some-
times attracts it. It is occasionally caught by dropping
the hook in deep water, so that it lies on the bottom. It
is supposed that the fish is usually hooked while playing
with the bait in that position, rather than in attempting
to swallow it. The spawning season of the shad is be-
1 Documentary History.
NATURAL HISTORY. 353
Heved to be in autumn or winter. The ground it selects
is uncertain, but observers of its habits incline to the
opinion, that it seeks for the purpose, the deepest and
coolest pools. After the most careful inquiry, I can
obtain no information or facts in reference to the fry of
this fish. N"o person with whom I have conversed has
ever seen them. The appearance of young shad eight or
ten inches long is not uncommon. They are most difficult
to be obtained, and from the singular delicacy of their
organization would hardly bear transportation.
The Pickerel (JEsox reticularis). This fish is a favorite
object of pursuit in both trolling and spearing. In the
spring, directly after the dissolution of the ice, when the
rising water of the lake sets back upon the marshes and low
lands, it is taken in those places, at night, by the jack light,
in great numbers. During the day in pleasant weather it is
prone to lie near the surface, basking in the warm vernal
sun, and is then shot with great facility. The pickerel
does not rank among the best fish in the lake for the table.
To many it seems infected by an unpleasant odor, and its
taste is sometimes strong with a muddy taint, and yet its
great size and beauty, its extreme eagerness at the bait, and
its powerful and determined resistance in the taking, renders
it very desirable sport and attractive trophy. The pick-
erel is often and with uniform success transferred to other
waters. When introduced into the lakes and ponds of the
interior all its qualities are transformed. The cold and clear
waters of the mountain springs, and the novel and abund-
ant food it rejoices in, seem to remove its objectionable
properties; it becomes hard-fleshed, pleasant and high fla-
vored, and almost approaches the exquisite delicacy of the
trout. In these favorable situations it attains a great size,
and by its wonderful fecundity and rapid growth, in an
incredibly short period throngs the waters into which it
has been translated and every contiguous stream which
connects with them. By the myriads it soon produces,
and its remarkable voracity and pugnacious habits, the
pickerel very rapidly extirpates almost every other variety
23
354 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
of fish. For this reason its introduction into lakes and
streams, which have been the abode of the trout, is always
deprecated by sportsmen. This fish is distinguished by a
peculiarity, which possibly, although I am not aware of the
fact, may be common to some other species. It seeks in
the spring the shallow waters upon marshes and swamps
which at that season are overflowed, and deposits its spawn
not upon the bottom, but on the small bushes and rushes
then submerged, and to these plants the spawn is made to
adhere by the glutinous substance that enfolds it. If the
water, as frequently happens, subsides before the eggs are
hatched, they of course must perish. Fishermen recount
marvelous tales of the discovery of the spawn of the picke-
rel in this condition, and estimate the quantity by measure,
instead of any infinity of numbers. The incalculable pro-
lificness of the fish is evinced by the myriads of the fry,
which will be observed in the summer thronging the small
brooks, that are usually discharged from the places fre-
quented by it in the spawning season. Instinct, doubtless,
retains them in shallow water, which affords a protection
from indiscriminate destruction by their voracious parents.
The pickerel is an example of the changes which are con-
stantly observed among the fishes of the lake ; a frequent
increase of one species, and a diminution of another. A
few years since, the pickerel was the prevailing large fish,
and the pike was rare in the waters of Champlain. At this
time the former has perceptibly decreased, while the latter
has become abundant.
The Sturgeon. Two species are found in Lake Cham-
plain. One, the acipenser rubicandus, Mr. Thompson states,
is of a large size frequently reaching six feet in length and
a hundred pounds in weight. The other species is smaller.
The flesh, although not highly esteemed, is palatable. It
is not, however, pursued for its edible qualities and is only
captured incidentally in drawing the seine. In some
parts of the lake it is said to be very abundant. It runs in
schools and often in vast numbers. We hear sometimes
remarkable tales of the foremost files of those schools being
NATURAL HISTORY. 355
projected on a beach or shoal and stranded by the momen-
tum of the enormous masses pressing in their rear.
The Yellow Perch is the most abundant of the smaller
class of fish. It often reaches an unusual size, and is
highly valued as a pan fish. The exuberauce of the
perch is nearly incredible. In a serene sunny afternoon,
they often seem to collect in vast shoals near the surface,
animating and rippling the water in an area of acres,
either by their gambols, or in the pursuit of insects. At
such times the skill and industry of the angler have no
success.
The Bull Pout is also very common and abundant.
It is often taken a foot in length, and although repulsive
in its form and general appearance, is an excellent article
of food when manipulated by scientific hands.
Several varieties of Eels abound in the lake and its
tributaries, and are taken in large quantities, both, by the
book and in seines.
The Blue Lamprey is a small, odious parasite, often
captured in seines, and usually adhering, by its peculiar
construction, to the bodies of other fishes. It possesses
more of the qualities of the blood-sucker than of the fish.
It fastens, by the suction powers of its mouth, upon a
larger fish, and thus preys on its living flesh. ISTo effort
of the suffering creature can displace its tormentor, which
usually adheres to its victim until it dies from pain and
exhaustion.
The Lixg or Methy {Lota maculosa), occupies one of
the lowest positions iu the scale of animated nature. Its
form is loathsome, and its habits so sluggish and inert,
that it seems to crawl along the bottom, as it slowly moves
up the little brook it has selected for its migration.
Xotwithstanding this appearance, Mr. Thompson, in his
Natural History, states it to be remarkable for voracity,
and that he found its stomach gorged with small fish, to
the utmost capacity of its huge abdomen. These it must
have seized by art rather than dexterity. Its annual mi-
gration is performed in the winter, when the ling, in
356 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
greatest profusion ascends its favorite stream in long pro-
cession. Although tough, tasteless, and disagreeable, it
is taken in immense numbers, and salted by the poorer
classes, for winter food. Holes are cut in the ice, and as
the fish passes beneath it is pierced by a fork or any pointed
implement, and is even seized by the hand. Bushels of
lings are often thus thrown out in an incredible short
time. At night, which is the most favorable time, a
brilliant fire is enkindled on the ice at the opening, and
the fish is thus taken in great abundance, and with ease.
The Smelt, a small but very fine fish, of marine origin
and migratory habits, have recently appeared in the lake
and are taken through the ice in large quantities. Varie-
ties of the bass and pike are arnoug the most valuable
and delicious of the lake fish and are taken in great num-
bers. Mauy of the lake fish are highly esteemed, and
secured in ice, are exported by rail roads to the southern
cities and watering places, where they command exorbitant
prices.
In early spring, when the rising water has formed an
open space between the shore and the ice, the shad and
indeed most of the larger fish of the lake are pursued
with keen avidity, by the spear and with torch-light.
This very exciting and pleasant sport also occurs at the
season in which the fish seek the estuaries and the lower
grounds covered by the shallow water which have over-
flowed from the lake. In a calm night (and if dark more
certain the success), the boat impelled by a single paddle
glides silently through the water, bearing an iron jack at
the bow, loaded with light wood, which emits a bright
flame, shedding an illumination far in advance. The
spearsman, with poised weapon, stands behind the light,
with full opportunity of seeing the fish, that sleeping
quietly or attracted by the gleaming of the fire, lies uncon-
scious of danger, and is easily approached and killed.
Every part of the lake adapted to this sport, presents at
the season a brilliant and animated aspect and glowing
with hundreds of these fires.
NATURAL HISTORY. 357
Trolling ia a favorite and highly exciting sport of the
amateur fisherman upon these waters. This mode is
adapted to deep water, and is conducted by towing the line
some distance behind the boat, in a sea somewhat agitated.
Fish, of extraordinary dimensions, are thus frequently
taken in large numbers. Fishing by seines and nets is
much and successfully used in the lakes and more import-
ant streams. Several varieties of the most choice trout
occur in great profusion, in most of the innumerable
streams, ponds and lakes which are scattered among the
forests and mountains of the interior. The salmon trout
is peculiarly distinguished for the great size it attains, and
the superior delicacy and excellence of its qualities.
Two distinct species of the trout, in popular language
designated the lake and the brook trout, prevail in the
lakes and streams of the interior. These are supposed to
ramify into a number of varieties. They differ very per-
ceptibly in color and appearance, and the distinctions
which science detects, are very clear and marked. The
color of the flesh, which is either red or white in both
species, is not characteristic of either, but seems to be an
individual peculiarity. The lake trout, fierce and vora-
cious in its habits, is the tyrant of the waters. It attains
a very great size, and specimens have occasionally been
taken, which weighed fifty pounds. These are rare, and
fish of ten to twenty pounds are deemed choice sport.
The brook trout seldom exceeds three pounds. The
former spawn from the 15th to the 25th of October,
and the brook trout about ten days earlier. The two
species run in separate schools, and although found asso-
ciated, they appear not to amalgamate. The brook trout
frequents the streams, and near the entrances and outlets
of the lakes. The fry of both remain on the spawning
ground until the ensuing spring. Notwithstanding the
avidity with which these fish are pursued, their marvel-
ous fecundity preserves them from apparent diminution
in these lakes. The acquaintance with men, however,
renders them shy, and thus is enhanced the pleasure and
358 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
excitement of the sport, by exacting additional skill and
perseverance for their capture. The procreative habits of
these fish are peculiar and interesting. The female pre-
pares the bed, and entering upon it for a brief period each
day, gradually deposits the spawn, ejecting a part on
every visit, through the entire spawning season. In her
absence, the male daily occupies the bed, and for a short
time remains upon it in the performance of his functions.
It is believed that a large proportion of the spawn is not
fertilized.
My attention has been called by gentlemen peculiarly
familiar with the fish of these lake*, to another trout,
which, although I have no specimen to examine, I am
inclined to regard as a distinct species, or certainly a
different variety. This fish appears late in the fall, in
great abundance, but long after the other species have
left the fishing grounds. It is rounder in its form, longer
and more slim than either the lake or brook trout, in pro-
portion to its weight. It is distinguished by a brighter
and more silvery coloring; has brilliant spots on its sides,
indiscriminately red or yellow ; seldom reaches a pound
and a half in weight ; is taken by any kind of bait or fly,
and either by trolling or still line. Unlike the other
species it spawns in the spring. In its edible qualities, it
is equal to either of the others.
These waters are singularly deficient in other classes of
fish. Few are found in them except the perch and the
coarser kinds, as the bull pout or sun-fish, except one of
remarkable habits and appearance, and known to the
sportsman as the white or frost fish. This fish usually
appears about the 1st of November, near the outlets of
the lakes, or in shallows, in immense shoals, at times, and
in places, literally thronging the waters in myriads.
They are small, weighing about four to the pound, and
are light colored, with large scales that cleave from the
body at the slightest pressure. They persistently refuse
the hook, and every contrivance of bait, but are taken in
great quantities by the grapple and nets, and afford, in the
NATURAL HISTORY. 359
absence of the trout, excellent sport to the angler. They
supply a good article of food. These fish appear in num-
bers at no other season, and are supposed to resort to the
deep waters of the lakes, from whence they are expelled
by the periodical return of the trout.
No country offers to the sportsman more delightful and
diversified attractions, than this region of lakes and ponds.
It is deeply to be deplored, that the same barbarous and
ruthless improvidence that formerly depopulated with such
rapidity the forests of deer, has hastened in some districts
the extinction of the trout. They have been not only pur-
sued in utter wantonness, and in the passion of destruction
at the legitimate seasons, but they were mercilessly fol-
lowed by the net, the fly and the spear, to their spawning
bed, where, in the extinction of one life, the embryo of
thousands is annihilated. Laws are plenary in their strin-
gency and severity, but have not been adequately enforced.
Even now in many lakes the most exposed to such ravages,
these fish are nearly extirpated. Happily these remarks
are more applicable to the recent past than the present.
As I have before stated these practices are now becoming
generally restrained.
A striking and very curious difference occurs in the
character of the fish occupying lakes which lie in close
proximity. One body of water in its normal condition is
filled to exuberance with the choicest trout ; whilst another
situated in the same lofty valley, fed by the same mountain
springs, and mingling its waters in the same stream with
the former, is destitute of every variety of fish, except the
hardier and coarser kinds. At periods when these latter
lakes are extremely low, numbers of the dead bodies of the
fish which occupy them, are found floating upon the sur-
face of the water. These facts, well established, attracted
my attention as interesting in the physiology of these
creatures, and an important feature in natural history.
The result of my examinations of the subject was conclusive
to my mind, that this effect is produced by foreign and
noxious substauces impregnating the waters. On inspec-
360 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
tion I discovered in every instance, where the phenomenon
occurred, the presence of native copperas, other sulphates,
and incidentally arsenic largely developed in deposits
within the surging of the water, or in its immediate vicinity.
Reptiles.
The rattle-snake formerly infested several localities in
this county in horrid profusion. In the early settlement
of the region, they were seen in vast numbers basking in
the sun, near their dens. A mountain, in the vicinity of
Lake George, is pointed out, where the legend says eight
hundred were killed in a single season. These reptiles are
now almost exterminated. No other snake of a venomous
character is found in the county. The other reptiles,
birds, insects, and bugs, which prevail, are familiar to the
popular mind, to science, and the practical farmer and
gardener.
Wild Bees.
The hunting of wild bees has been, in parts of Essex
county, a pursuit of considerable importance, and as excit-
ing and amusing, as it often is profitable. It is still con-
tinued to a limited extent. The wild bee, although similar
in appearance and habits to the domestic bee, is undoubt-
edly a native of the forest, and indigenous to the country.
It appears to be adverse to the. vicinage of man, and
recedes into the deeper wilderness as cultivation approaches
its secluded and hidden haunts. The hives of the wild bee
are found far in the solitudes of unoccupied tracts, removed
from the habitations of men, and occupying the most seques-
tered retreats. It selects, for the location of its hive, an
elevated position, far up some retired and shady ravine, in
the midst of hills or mountains, and in the vicinity of a
body of water. If the country is flat, the bees establish their
domicile upon the margin of a lake or stream, in as much
seclusion as possible. They appropriate usually, for this
purpose, the hollow of a tree, generally selecting one of
great magnitude; but occasionally they construct their
hives in the crevices of rocks. They enter the opening in
NATURAL HISTORY. 361
the tree by a small orifice, which very essentially protects
them from observation and discovery. Here they remain
for years, in possession of the same abode, models of labo-
rious and untiring industry, accumulating hoards of their
luscious treasures, and annually casting off new colonies.
These retreats are found with difficulty, aud by the exer-
cise of much skill by the hunter; and when found, are often
very difficult of access. They are exposed, not only to the
merciless ravages of man, but insects and animals, particu-
larly the bears, commit great depredations upon them.
The professional bee hunter, when engaged in this pur-
suit, provides himself with a quantity of honey comb,
strained honey, and a small light box, about six or eight
inches long, and four inches deep and four wide. This
box has two slides, one at the top, and the other in the
centre. The slides move in grooves. In the upper lid he
arranges a piece of glass ; the lower compartment contains
comb filled with honey. Thus equipped, the hunter pro-
ceeds, late in autumn, to a district, which by previous
observation, he has ascertained is frequented by the bees,
in pursuing tbeir labors. Two modes are adopted by the
hunter for procuring the bees, which he uses to discover
the position of the hive. By the first, and this is the
most common, when he detects a bee upon a flower, which
is generally a wild plant, known to the hunter as the
frost blow, that blooms late in October, he places the box
beneath the insect with the upper lid drawn, and by a
quick and dexterous movement thrusts it into the first
compartment, and the lid being closed, the bee is seen
through the glass. The lower lid is then drawn and the
glass darkened, when the bee immediately settles upon
the honey and commences its feast. It is now left undis-
turbed, with both lids open. After having supplied itself,
the bee leaves the box, and, rising above it, seems to take
a particular note of its locality, flying around in circles,
which grow wider at every gyration ; the bee constantly
ascending, until at length it takes an air line for its hive.
This crisis tests the skill and vigilance of the hunter.
362 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
The course of the bee is carefully watched and the dis-
tance of the hive is computed by the length of its absence.
The hunter estimates this by allowing three miles to the
minute, for its flight and return. The bee is allowed to
make the journey several times, when it is again secured
and the hunter proceeds in the direction of the hive, as
indicated by the course of the bee's flight. It seems to
communicate its discovery to the hive ; as frequently on
its return it is accompanied by others. The hunter often
finds it necessary to catch and mark an individual bee, so
as to identify it in his operations.
After advancing as far as he deems it expedient, the
hunter opens the box, a second time, and allows the bee
to escape. It repeats the same reconnaissance as before,
and then takes its line for the hive. If this, as often
occurs, has been passed, the fact is indicated by the bee
returning on the hunter's track. It frequently becomes
necessary, when the position of the hive has been dis-
guised, with more than usual adroitness and success, for
the hunter to make several lines in this manner, when he
determines the locality of the hive, by ascertaining the
point where the different lines intercept. A number of
bees from the hive are often in the box together, and
occasionally those from different hives, as appears from
their making distinct lines, on rising from the box.
The other mode pursued by the hunter is this : Upon
a cleared spot in an elevated situation, he builds a fire
and heats some flat stones ; on these, some of the comb is
burned; the odor of the burning comb will attract the
bee ; fresh comb, containing honey, is then placed on the
stone, upon which the bee is allowed to feed. "When it
leaves, the comb is removed from the stone and the box
substituted in the same place ; the bee, on its return, alights
upon the honey in the box and is thus secured ; afterwards
the hunter proceeds by the same process as before. The
tree, which contains the hive, is then felled and the whole
family of bees are exterminated, usually by burning straw.
This ruthless work, the hunter considers necessary, as
NATURAL HISTORY. 363
well to protect himself from their assaults, while securing
the honey, as to prevent his being thrown on a false line,
by wandering bees from the same hive, who would bring
him back to the already ravaged tree. This -often happens.
Bee hunting, my informant1 remarks, in closing, "is a
most exciting sport, and when pursued by a skillful hunter,
is also very profitable. 1 have known of over a ton of
honey having been procured in a single month by three
persons, myself being one of the number, besides more
than four hundred pounds of wax. This honey was sold
in Boston for fifteen dollars the hundred weight, and the
wax for twenty cents the pound." " We discovered in
this excursion fifty-seven hives, which yielded from thirty-
five to one hundred and fifty pounds of honey each, de-
pending on their age and size." *
In the south-western section of the town of Chesterfield,
and amidst a rude and mountainous tract of country, I
am informed, an immense colony of bees existed, consist-
ing of numerous hives. Their abodes were in the crevices
and fissures of the rocks and inaccessible. The whole
atmosphere in the vicinity, it is represented, was filled with
the bees. Various attempts by excavation and blasting
have been made, to reach the deposits of honey, but with-
out success. Owing to these annoyances and many dis-
turbances, the bees became so exasperated and ferocious,
and they were so formidable from the infinitude of their
number, that it was hazardous to approach their retreat.
It is supposed, that this remarkable and most interesting
colony, has been destroyed by the conflagrations, which in
recent years have swept over that district.
A singular fact in the nature and habit of the bee is re-
marked by hunters. While they permit some persons to
approach their habitations with perfect impunity, they
evince towards others the most determined and inveterate
instinctive hostility.
1 Mr. James M. Weston, Chesterfield.
364 history of essex county.
Forests.
The woodlands of this region afforded to the early set-
tlers a ready and available resource, and still afford a most
important element in the business and prosperity of the
country. When the wilderness was penetrated and the
forest fell before the woodman's axe, in most parts of the
country, he collected the bodies of the trees into log heaps,
reduced them to ashes, and with the simple chemistry of
the woods, and in the rude laboratory that necessity had
invented, manufactured them into potashes. This com-
modity commanded a prompt and high price in the Cana-
dian markets, and was received by the local merchant in
exchange for merchandise and provisions required by the
settler.
The several species of the pine, the spruce and hemlock
constituted the great glory and magnificence of the ori-
ginal forests. We still see vestiges in their remaining
stumps and roots that indicate their immense size. These
giants of the forests were at an early day only incum-
brances upon the soil, and were destroyed by a careless
hand. The native of the county, to whom I have referred,
informs me that he has seen white pine trees girdled and
left to fall and rot upon the earth in the process of prepar-
ing ground for a potatoe field, which would now be worth
one hundred and fifty dollars upon the stump. Similar
enormous trees are still found in the interior wilderness.
A gentleman lately stated to me, that he had seen a pine
log, which in floating down the Raquette river, had become
stranded in a cove, which measured nearly six feet in dia-
meter.
The beauty and magnificence of the forests upon the
islands and shores of Lake Champlain, excited the admi-
ration of its discoverer. His description of the scenery in
this particular evinces the singular accuracy which charac-
terises his entire work. He speaks of "the quantity of
vines, handsomer than any I ever saw." The wild grape
is still found upon these islands, and upon the mainland,
NATURAL HISTORY. 3(35
in the greatest profusion, and in numerous varieties of
color and flavor. They spread their tendrils far and wide,
often overtopping the loftiest trees in their luxuriance and
beauty, and forming barriers in their tangled branches,
impervious to man or beast. In the month of July, when
Champlain first visited the lake, he could only see and
admire the splendor of the vegetable growth, without being
able to judge of the quality of the fruit.
The shag bark hickory, the hazel, the butternut, and the
chestnut, now rarely found, but formerly very common in
the southern sections of the county, are indigenous to the
county. The various species of the maple, birch, beech,
elms and oaks, are all natives of these woodlands, and often
attain in the primitive forest a magnificent growth. The
white cedar of great beauty and size abounds in the
swamps, and often appear in large numbers on the uplands.
I noticed them, far upon the acclivities of the Adirondacs,
of [immense proportions, but observed, and was assured
that the fact was uniform, that, although beautiful in their
exterior appearance, they were defective and hollow at the
core. The red cedar was discovered at the first occupa-
tion of the country, but is nearly extirpated. Several
varieties of the maple and birches, the black walnut, the
black cherry and butternut, often stately and splendid trees,
are highly valued in the arts and manufactures, and are
exported in considerable quantities for the purpose. The
oaks (particularly the white oak), were formerly of great
importance, and still continue to a considerable extent, as
articles of exportation, at one period, to Canada, but now
to the southern markets. The larch or hackmatack, is
abundant and highly valuable. This timber with the cedar
and oak, affords most excellent material in ship building.
The juniper flourishes in great abundance in many sections
of the county, indicating, however, by its presence a thin
and sterile soil. It spreads, a few inches elevated above the
earth, a thick and perfect umbel, often several feet in dia-
meter, mantled by a deep and rich green foliage. Stand-
366 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
ing in solitary plants or in clusters, it imparts an unique
and highly ornamental feature to the scenery.
The product of* wood, in the primitive- and vigorous
forests, is vast; upon exuberant soils, sometimes exceed-
ing one hundred cords to the acre, and among the rocks
and broken acclivities, seldom yielding less than twenty
cords. Within an area of several miles around manufac-
turing works, the value of the wood, standing, ranges from
twenty-five cents to one dollar and a half the cord, con-
trolled in its price by its quality and position. This
estimate refers to localities where the advantages of trans-
portation authorize the erection of manufactories, and not
to regions more remote and inaccessible. Such districts
are happily rare in the county, and are rapidly diminishing
before the progress of improving facilities of intercourse.
At one period, a large demand existed for wood to be used
as fuel in steam boats.
The quantity of wood iu Essex county, consumed for
manufacturing purposes, has been immense, and can only
be computed by a rough approximation. It probably
should be estimated by hundreds of thousands of cords.
A great change has in late years occurred in the substitu-
tion, in many manufactories and generally with steam boats,
of mineral coal for the charcoal and wood. This is due to
the increasing scarcity and enhanced price of wood, and to
other economic views. In extensive districts of the county
where the wood has been cut exclusively for coaling, and
the land is not required for agricultural pursuits, a second
spontaneous growth rapidly shoots up, soon mantling the
earth with a luxuriant product, which in the term of fifteen
or twenty years, yields a heavy burthen of wood and timber.
This growth rarely contains plants of the original forest,
but is usual!}7 composed of trees of a totally dissimilar
character. Pine is usually succeeded by hard wood, and
the site of a forest of the latter is occupied by evergreens.
Different sections of the county produce in this aspect,
irregular and various results. The aspen, yellow poplar,
white birch, and oaks, generally succeed the pines ; but in
NATURAL HISTORY. 367
the vicinity of the Adirondac works, the small red cherry
is almost the exclusive second growth succeeding the stately
hard wood forest. The dry and loamy plains contiguous to
the Elba works, of a past generation, which were cut over
to supply them with fuel, are now clothed with forests of
spruce. The latter fact is remarkable and worthy of reflec-
tion, as the habits and peculiarities of the spruce in its
natural position adapt it to a totally different soil. This
recuperation of the woodland, which nature thus bounti-
fully provides, may in connection with the waste and
broken territory, afford, by judicious economy and manage-
ment, a certain and permanent supply of fuel, to all the
arts for many ages.
I observed in my investigations relative to this second
growth, circumstances that excited my attention, and which
I deem entitled to consideration. In the fastnesses of the
Adirondacs I perceived entire groves of the young cherry
trees, loaded with a black excrescence, similar in appear-
ance to the disease which has been so destructive in our
plum orchards. In other sections of the county, I noticed
large tracts of the black cherry and birch, dead and dying,
and presenting in their blackened and blasted bark, the
aspect of the pear and apple trees which have been visited
by the destroying fire blight. If, as I conjecture, these
diseases are identical with those known to our gardens
(their results are certainly very analogous), does not the fact
open an interesting field for the researches of science, as to
their origin, causes, and operations?
The chestnut groves, which so beautifully adorn some of
• the northern towns of "Warren county, only enter the con-
fines of Essex. The sweet walnut is, however, widely
scattered over various, sections of the county, and flourishes
in great profusion and beauty, in the lovely tract that spreads
from the cliffs of Lake George to Champlain. When the
early frosts of autumn have opened the husks, and their
luscious treasures are poured upon the earth, the bright,
shouting, joyous groups of nutting children, which gather
368 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
beneath their boughs, communicate to the landscape a
most primitive and pastoral scene.
Spreading from the warm soil that borders Cham plain,
to the Alpine summits of the Adirondacs, where almost
the rigors of the frigid zone are stamped upon the climate,
the soil of Essex county, naturally imparts a great diver-
sity to its botanical productions. There is nothing, how-
ever, so distinct or novel, as necessarily to require notice
in a work of this character. The cryptogamic plants are
exceeding rich and exuberant.
Climate and Winds.
Grave senators who have pronounced northern New
York the Siberian district of America, exhibit more fancy
on the subject, than intelligence. No climate is more salu-
brious, or better calculated to secure enjoyment and comfort
to man. The atmosphere, clear, elastic and invigorating,
bears no miasmatic exhalations. The winters of this climate
are often severe but equable. The summers are warm,
and yield a rapid impulse to vegetation, that promotes an
early maturity. The heat of summer is modified by the
cool and exhilarating breezes of the lakes and mountains.
A signal ditference occurs in the climate and seasons of
the territory bordering upon the shores of Lake Champlain
and that of a few miles in the interior. The influence of
that large expanse- of fresh water mitigates equally the
rigors of the winters and the heats of summer. The terri-
tory bordering upon the lake has usually an exemption of
at least two weeks from the late frosts of the spring and
the early frosts of autumn, to which the interior is ex-
posed. The fact is well authenticated, although its philo-
sophy may not be so readily explained, that premature
frosts often occur in the meridian of Pennsylvania when
the valleys of Essex county are totally free from its effects.
The suows accumulate among the mountains and in the
higher valleys to the depth of several feet, although in
most parts of the county they are less abundant than in
the western or central sections of the state; they remain,
NATURAL HISTORY.
369
however, longer upon the earth. An excess of snow is a
rare event, although the want of it often embarrasses the
operations of business.
The absence of snow as well as rain is peculiar to the
valley of the Au Sable, and in many seasons, essentially
affects its agricultural and manufacturing prosperity. No
part of the country is visited more frequently by protracted
and blighting draughts than this district. The circum-
stance is universally remarked, and may satisfactorily be
imputed to the influence of the mountains and lake upon
the atmospheric currents. These aerial currents, governed
by much the same laws which control the course of all
fluids, are involved in eddies created by the gorges and ra-
vines of the mountains, are arrested by their airy summits,
and often receive a direction from these causes. Clouds,
not uufrequently, are perceived approaching the valleys,
bearing rain and portentous of thunder and lightning,
when in a moment their course is chang-ed, and skimminar
along the acclivities of the mountains, they pour upon
them their contents. Hence, in a dry season when nature
elsewhere is parched and seared, the slopes of these moun-
tains smile in verdant and luxuriant beauty. The move-
ments of these atmospheric streams, witnessed from the
valleys embosomed by lofty mountains, are often beautiful
and sublime exhibitions.
A valued correspondent * furnished me with several
highly interesting facts illustrative of this subject. The
amphitheatre of mountains that nearly surround North
Elba, is imperfect on the western side from whence the
plateau spreads far into the interior. Volumes of clouds
often advance from that direction, until entering within
the influence of these currents, they suddenly divide, the
dissevered masses passing to the north and south, along
the brows of the respective mountains. He describes a
scene of singular grandeur and sublimity, that occurred at
North Elba in 1847, and strikingly elucidates this remark -
1 T. L. Nash.
24
370 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
able influence. On a still and sultry evening of summer,
when not a breeze moved the leaf, a dark and heavy bank
of clouds suddenly appeared in the western horizon, and
gradually approaching, menaced an immediate and vio-
lent storm. Whilst gazing upon the advance of the
impending tempest, he beheld in a moment the masses
rent asunder. One column rushed along the crest of
Whiteface, and the other amid pealings of thunder and
torrents of rain, careered over the lofty summits of the
Adirondacs, whilst in the valley, an instant before threat-
ened by the tornado, all was serene, and calm, and the
moon and stars beamed softly upon it, through the riven
canopy of black and flashing clouds. I introduce these
impressive incidents to illustrate the powerful agency which
is exerted on the elements, by these lofty pinnacles.
The winds in the vicinity of Lake Champlain are mate-
rially modified in their direction by its influence.
The aurora borealis, displayed in the latitude of Essex
county in transcendent splendor and effulgence, exerts, it
is believed, at times a decisive effect upon the course and
character of the atmospheric current. The exhibition of
that phenomenon is generally, if not uniformly succeeded
by a prevalence of southerly winds. The duration and
severity of the one seems proportionate to the intensity and
expansion of the other.
The climate of northern New York, has, since its dis-
covery, gradually, but very decidedly ameliorated. The
improvements which have removed the forests, and ex-
posed the earth to the action of the sun and atmosphere
have eminently tended to promote amelioration. The
winters are pronounced by aged settlers to be at this time,
far less rigorous and protracted, than in their early recol-
lections of the country. The rains are now more equally
diffused through the mild seasons, and not falling as
formerly in periodical and severe tempests.1 The autumnal
season is the glory of this climate, often lingering late into
1 John Hoffnagle, Esq.
NATURAL HISTORY.
371
November,* and clothing the forests with its gorgeous
and brilliant robes. It is, to all animated nature, the most
delightful and joyous period of the year, fraught with bless-
ings and pleasure, and beariug the inspiration of health
and vigor.
Hardy stock is often turned off by the 1st of April,
although the 20th of that month mav be regarded as the
average period when grazing may be relied upon. The
commencement of foddering usually ranges with the
varieties of stock, from the loth of November to Christmas.
Plowing commences in a series of years, about the middle
of April, and usually terminates in November, although in
some seasons it is extended into the last days of the year.
The table which the following is a copy, has been formed
by the careful observation of Mr. Alvin Colvin at Port
Kent for a series of years, and exhibits very interesting facts
in illustration of the climate and seasons on Lake Cham-
plain.
Trips between Burlington and Port Kent, each year.
Last Trips.
Steamer Saranac, Jan. 1, 1845
Schooner LaFayette, Feb. 3, 1845
Steamer Saranac, Jan. 3, 1846
Sloop Cashier, Feb. 1, 1846
Steamer Saranac, Jan. 5, 1847
" John Gilpin, Feb. 8, 1848
Ethan Allen, Jan. 6, 1849
LaFayette, Jan. 11, 1849
" Saranac, Jan. 15, 1850
Sail boats ran all winter. 1850
Steamer Saranac, Jan. 25, 1851
Boston, Jan. 25, 1852
" Boston, Feb. 10, 1853
" Francis Saltus, Jan. 23, 1854
Sloop Danl. Webster, Jan. 24, 1855
Steamer Francis Saltus, Jan. 19, 1856
" Montreal, Jan. 9, 1857
Montreal, Feb. 1, 1858
" J. Clark, Feb. 7, 1858
" Montreal, Jan. 9, 1859
Sail boat ran to, Jan. 25, 1860
First Trips.
Steamer Winooski, April 1,"1845
" Winooski, April 7, 1846
Saranac, May 7, 1847
" Ethan Allen, March 30, 1848
" Saranac, April 16, 1849
" Saranac, March 26, 1850
Steamer Boston,
" Boston,
Sail boat ran to,
Steamer Boston,
Jan. 10, 1861
Jan. 1, 1862
Feb. 1, 1862
Jan. 21, 1863
" Saranac,
" Boston,
" Boston,
" Saranac,
" Boston,
" Boston,
" Montreal,
" Montreal,
" Montreal,
Schooner Excelsior,
Steamer Montreal,
" Boston,
" Boston,
April
April
April
April
April
April
April
April
1, 1851
25, 1852
15, 1853
19, 1854
20, 1855
21, 1856
10, 1857
7, 1858
April 2, 1859
March 28, 1860
April 4, 1860
April 15, 1861
April 28, 1862
Montreal, April 27, 1863
372
HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
Last Trips.
First Tn
'ps.
Sail boat ran to, Jan.
28,
1863
Boat J. G. Weather-
Steamer Boston, Feb.
13,
1864
bee,
March 30,
1864
Steamer Montreal,
April
8,
1864
Steamer Montreal, Jan.
14,
1865
" Montreal,
April
7,
1865
Lake closed, Jan.
18,
1865
Schooner Excelsior, Jan.
21,
1866
Boat Oregon,
April
11,
1866
Steamer Montreal,
April
12,
1866
Steamer Montreal, Jan.
11,
1867
" Montreal,
April
15,
1867
Sail boats run all winter.
Steamer Montreal, Jan.
4,
1868
" Montreal,
April
17,
1868
Lake froze to Burling-
ton, Jan,
11,
1868
MINERALOGY AND GEOLOGY.
The Adirondac District.-
The field of researches presented by Essex county in
these departments is so expanded and rich, that the labor
of years would be required for its competent examination.
The mineral wealth of Essex county is not limited to
iron ore, but comprehends numerous other minerals of
great interest and value. Iron, however, in immense
deposits, constitute its predominant resource. In many
sections of the county, it forms the basis of the entire
structure of the earth, and occurs not merely in veins, nor
even masses, but in strata which rise into mountains. The
surface is often strewn with boulders of iron ore, weighing
from a few pounds to many tons, as ordinary rocks are
scattered in other districts. The Adirondac district is
probably surpassed in no region in the extent of its deposits
of iron, and the higher qualities and varied properties of
its ores. The ores seem to concentrate in the vicinity of
the village of Adirondac, and here literally constitute the
formation. The cellars of their dwellings, in many in-
stances, are excavated in the massive beds.
The discovery of a mineral deposit, extensive and valua-
ble, as the Adirondac Iron District, is an event so rare and
important, that it seems appropriate in a work of this
character, to perpetuate its minute history. An Indian
NATURAL HISTORY. 373
approached. the late David Henderson, Esq., of Jersey city,
in the year 1826, whilst standing near the Elba iron works,
and taking from beneath his blanket a piece of iron ore,
he presented it to Mr. H. with the inquiry expressed in his
imperfect English, " You want to see 'um ore, me fine
plenty — all same." When asked where it came from, he
pointed towards the south-west and explained " me hunt
beaver all 'lone, and fine 'um, where water run over iron
dam." The Indian proved to be a brave of St. Francis
tribe, honest, quiet and intelligent, who spent the sum-
mers in hunting amid the wilds of the Adirondacs. An
exploring party, consisting of Mr. Henderson, Messrs.
Duncan and Malcolm McMartin, John McD. Mclntyre,
and Dyer Thompson, was promptly arranged, who submit-
ting themselves to the guidance of the Indian, plunged
into the pathless forest. The first night they made their
bivouac beueath the giant walls of the Indian pass. The
next day they reached the site of the present works, and
there saw the strange spectacle described by the brave;
the actual flow of a river over an iron dam, created by a
ledge of ore, which formed a barrier across the stream.
The reconnaissance revealed to their astonished view,
various and immense deposits of ore, equal almost to the
demands of the world for ages. A glance disclosed the
combination in that secluded spot of all the ingredients,
and every facility for the most extensive manufacture of
irou, in all its departments. In close proximity existed an
illimitable supply of ore, boundless forests of hard wood
and an abuudant water power. The remote position of
the locality formed the chief impediment to the scheme,
which was adopted at once by the explorers. Having ac-
complished a hasty but satisfactory examination of the
deposit, the party with no delay that might attract attention,
the same night and in intense darkness and a driving
storm, retraced their path through the forest, after having
carefully concealed the evidences of their work. Messrs.
Henderson and McMartin, taking with them the Indian, of
whom they did not deem it safe to lose sight, proceeded
374 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY
»
directly to Albany, and there effected the purchase from
the state of an extended tract embracing the scene of this
remarkable discovery.1 A road was soon constructed to
the site with slight aid from the state, at great expense,
through a dense uninterrupted forest of thirty miles in
length. The purpose was pursued with untiring energy
and strong enthusiasm, by the proprietors, Archibald Mc-
Intyre, Archibald Robertson and David Henderson, Esqs.
A settlement was soon commenced and an experimental
furnace constructed. Iron was produced of rare and
valuable qualities, rivaling almost in toughness and strength
the best products of the Swedish furnaces. A small blast
furnace was soon afterwards erected, together with several
forge fires and a puddling furnace. Bar iron was subse-
quently fabricated to a considerable extent. Iron produced
from this ore has proved admirably adapted to the manu-
facture of steel, and has been extensively used for that
purpose by the steel works of the Adirondac Company at
Jersey city.2 I need only refer in addition to the report
of Mr. Johnson which exhibits the triumphant display of
that steel at the World's Fair. A magnificent blast fur-
nace was completed about 1850 at the Adirdoudac works,
of the largest dimensions, perfect in its construction and
powers, and most judiciously adjusted in all its arrange-
ments. The first furnace had been erected in 1848.
Numerous ore beds exist within an area of three miles,
and nearly all are comprised within half that distance
from the works. They are singularly distinct in the
appearance, nature, and quality of the ores.3 The Mill-
pond ore bed is situated in so immediate proximity with
lMr. Henderson's Journal.
2 See J. Dellafield's address, page 142, State Agricultural Transactions,
1851.
3 1 derive much of my information relative to the history and minerals of
the Adirondacs, from the valuable manuscripts prepared at my request, by
Alexander Ralph and Robert Clark, Esq. I have before me a copy of the
original journal of"Mr. Henderson, furnished nic by Mr. Clark, now of
Cincinnati. I regret that rny space will not allow me to publish these
highly interesting documents.
NATURAL HISTORY. 375
the furnace erected by the company, that its foundation
rests upon a section of the vein. The length of this bed,
ascertained by the actual mensuration of Professor Em-
mons, is three thousand one hundred and sixty-eight feet,
and the width seven hundred feet. An opening of forty
feet in depth has been excavated, and at that point, the
ore is found more free from rock, and richer than at the
surface. Its hardness is not of „that character which con-
stitutes the hard iron of the mines, nor does it communi-
cate that quality to iron which it yields. Slight injections
of serpentine in irregular veins, crystals of green feldspar,
seams of carbonate of lime, and the common rock, are
mingled with this ore, and incidentally, small particles of
sulphuret of iron may be traced, although too minute to
injure the quality of the ore. This bed has afforded nearly
all the ore used in the furnace.
The Sanford Bed is situated about two miles from the
former, and occupies the slope of a hill, which terminates
upon Lake Sanford. The elevation of the bed' is six
hundred or eight hundred feet above the lake, but is
approached by a gradual and easy ascent. This ore is less
coarse than the preceding, and of a dark, black color.
It has, when exposed in the bed, almost the appearance
and form of a stratified rock. It possesses great and
unusual purity, and is almost entirely exempt from stone.
The ore may be projected from the bed to the lake, by an
inclined plane, or it may be transported by teams loaded
within the bed. The width of this vein is five hundred
and fourteen feet, and its length along the centre, one
thousand six hundred and sixty-seven. At each extre-
mity it does not terminate, but passes beneath the rock.
No correct or proximate calculation can be formed of the
probable contents of this vast deposit. The minimum
estimate exhibits the immense amount of 6,832,734 tons,
which may principally be raised without blasting. This
would yield 3,000,000 tons of the purest iron.1 Personal
^Emmons's report.
376 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
examination, corroborated by the opinions of highly prac-
tical and intelligent men, warrants the conjecture that
this estimate is below the real amount of ore. Ores, ex-
hibiting similar qualities, crop out at different points,
along an extension of the same course. One ofrthese
indications present a face of thirty-two rods in length, and
fifteen rods in width. Such facts suggest the conclusion,
that these veins are a prolongation of the Sanford deposit,
and that its true magnitude may embrace a distance of
two miles and a half in length, with a proportionate width.
Another important deposit, known as Mount Magnet,
apparently forms the mass of an eminence directly east
and fronting the village. This is distinguished as the
fine grained ore bed. This is very marked and peculiar
in its characteristics. Although it is generally firm, with
grains closely cemented together, it often becomes ex-
tremely friable when exposed to atmospheric influence.
The oxidation makes it appear as if mingled with rock.
On trie surface it has an aspect of leanness, although
singularly rich, free from impurities, and probably of
more practical value for the furnace, than either of the
preceding veins.1
This vein is remarkably uniform and regular, and
extends in length five thousand seven hundred and forty-
two feet, and in width about seventy feet.2 It exhibits a
strong appearance of stratification in the bed. The divi-
sional seams are very distinct at the surface, but like those
in the hyperstene rock, they are the result of a law of
nature analogous, if not identical, to the principle of crys-
talization. A small vein, or probably a branch of this
bed, occurs in the same hill, and is designated the crystal-
ized ore bed. This vein is lined on the sides by a wall a
few inches thick, formed of pure hornblende. A rare and
peculiar formation. On the eastern slope of the same
eminence, another vein of fine grained ore is developed,
and probably of equal extent with that already noticed.
1 R. Clark. a Professor Emmons.
NATURAL HISTORY. 377
The Cheney bed, situated about three miles west of Lake
Sanford, yields the finest grained ore of the district. It
occurs in gneiss, and differs from every other vein in that
peculiarity. Numerous other veins are known to exist
in proximity to these, but have only been superficially
explored. A supply of ores, that the consumption of
centuries cannot exhaust, immediately encompasses these
works. Little doubt can exist that the entire district con-
stitutes one vast formation of ore, concealed by a narrow
and slight encrustation of earth and rock. I found, in
the centre of the Indian pass, a specimen of ore, closely
analogous to the ore of the Sanford bed. These ores are
all varieties of the black oxide of iron, exhibiting a mecha-
nical mixture of the protoxide and peroxide of iron.
I propose to deviate from the formal arrangement of
my subject, in order to present in one group, the varied
and interesting topics embraced in this important district.
An exhibition in one view, of its striking features; of its
geology and mineralogy, the peculiar harmony and adap-
tation of its resources to sustain its great predominant
interest, will enable the reader more distinctly to appre-
hend the nature, the varied capacities, and singular
advantages of this extraordinary region. When appro-
priate avenues, equal to its resources, shall connect it
with the marts of commerce, the Adirondac iron district,
it is adjudged, is capable of being made, and will pro-
bably attain a position among the most extended and
wealthiest iron manufactories of the earth. This strong
declaration is predicated upon the facts, that these ores,
so singularly and distinctly varied in their properties,
that they are adapted to the manufacture of every iron
fabric ; that they are inexhaustible and of the easiest
access for working; that the stately forests which mantle
the mountains, encircling these works, are nearly as
boundless as the ores ; and that every material, almost
essential to the manufacture, are embraced within the
district. Clay prevails contiguous to the works, of a
quality, it is believed, adapted to the manufacture of the
378 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
required brick. Lime is abundant, and, although par-
tially affected by native impurities, may be converted to
the desired purposes. The hydraulic power will ever
remain, and be always adequate to every demand. The
resources of this region will ultimately compel the con-
struction of appropriate avenues to it.
The upper works, and the village of Adirondac, are
situated upon the river, midway between Lakes Hender-
son and Sanford, in a narrow ravine, embosomed amid
the lofty pinnacles that surround it. This neat little
village realizes to the mind our ideality of a Swiss ham-
let, its lake, its river, its mountains " crowned with their
coronal of snow." Lake Henderson, in exceeding loveli-
ness, slumbers in quiet and beauty at the foot of the
giant Santonine, and is almost enveloped in a mountain
screen. These works, by the existing circuitous road,
are about fifty miles removed from Lake Champlain.
A ponderous and costly dam erected by the Adirondac
Company, at the lower works, a distance of ten miles,
throws back the volume of water to the very base of a
dam erected at the upper works, in connection with the
furnace completed in 1861. This fact affords striking
evidence of the formation of the country. An excellent
water communication is created by this improvement
between the upper and lower works. At each extremity
of the navigation, wharves, cranes, and every other appli-
ance, are constructed to facilitate the transportation of
heavy commodities. A survey has established the exist-
ence of a practicable and cheap route for either a rail
road or a plank road, from the lower works to the Schroon
valley, a distance of only eighteen miles. The wants of
an industrious community, and the exigencies of general
business, must secure the construction of a rail road
through that valley to the Hudson. When this most
desirable project is accomplished, the furnaces and ore
beds of the Adirondac district will he separated by a
land transportation of only eighteen miles from New
York. The rail road at this moment approaching Essex
NATURAL HISTORY 379
county through "Warren, promises still more practical
result, by penetrating in its proposed route, within a few
miles of the Adironclac mines.
The lofty group of mountains which occupy this region
formed almost exclusively of the hyperstene rock, which
has been rendered somewhat familiar to the scientific
world by the reports of the state geologists. This rock,
in different proportions, is diffused through almost every
section of the county. The mineral hyperstene from
which it derives its name, is incorporated in it, in very
minute quantities, whilst the labradorite or opalescent
feldspar constitutes its most conspicuous element. Al-
though essentially granite, the hyperstene does not exhibit
the ordinary appearance of that rock. Its color, as revealed
in the quarry, is a smoky gray. In some quarries it is
lighter, and in others it presents a strong green tinge,
which forms a predominant shade. On the surface this
rock is seamy to so great a degree, as to present almost an
appearance of stratification ; deeper in the quarry it is
thrown out in large and firm blocks. Its beauty is greatly
enhanced when lines of lighter color occur, by which it is
traversed. Experiments have been successfully made in
sawing and polishing slabs from this rock. If it yields
blocks sufficiently firm and consolidated for this purpose,
it will prove a most valuable and desirable material for
the structure of the delicate and ornamental fabrics, to
which the choicest marble is only appropriated. No
Egyptian stone surpasses it in its beautiful and variegated
colors, or in the brilliancy of its lustre. The hyperstene
is equal to the granite as a building material. The
labradorite is an exquisitely beautiful mineral, rivaling
the plumage of the peacock in its brilliant iridescence
when wet or polished, and exposed to the action of the
light.1 Highly opalescent specimens are not common,
although that characteristic is partially exhibited in every
crystal. Blue is the predominant shade, at times mingled
1 B. Clark.
380 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
with green. The green seldom occurs alone, but is exceed-
ingly brilliant and beautiful. Gold aud bronze specimens
are occasionally discovered, and rarely, crystals are found
combining all these colors in a splendid iridescence. At
times the crystals are striated, each alternate stria showing
the opalescent reflection. Occasionally two colors alternate
in the same crystal; both are seldom seen in the same
direction of light. The bed of the Opalescent river, which
derives its name from the circumstance, abounds in this
mineral, and when the sun shines at the cascades through
the clear water, the whole rock seems to beam and glow
with the refulgence of the beautiful gems.1 Bright opal-
escent specimens, polished and in settings, are highly
valued in jewelry. This mineral was discovered by the
Moravian missionaries in Labrador, and when originally
introduced into England, commanded most exorbitant
prices. There are but few foreign minerals enclosed in
the hyperstene rock. Some of the feldspar taken from a
vein near the works are peculiarly beautiful; they exhibit
a remarkable glittering, spangled appearance. Crystals
of iron have been found in this vein, similar to the crys-
talized ore. Serpentine is also sparsely mingled in it.2
Graphite exists in this locality, but has not been dis-
covered either in sufficient extent or purity to give it value,
although often found in very beautiful radiated nodules.
It usually occurs in small quantities at the juncture of the
gneiss and primitive limestone rocks. Slight veins of trap
are numerous, aud, I may add, to avoid recurrence to the
subject, that this rock is prevalent in almost every section
of the county, sometimes exhibiting extensive walls, and
forming the dyke of most of the iron ore beds. At Jay,
lower village, it spans the river in a massive dam. Re-
markable developments of trap dykes occur both on Mt.
McMartin and Mt. Mclntyre, on the former its disintegra-
tion has formed a huge gorge, which, at its entrance, is
1 11. Clark. 2 Idem,
NATURAL HISTORY. 381
one hundred feet wide and one hundred and fifty feet
deep. This gorge beautifully discloses the entire stratifi-
cation of the rock. The debris from the gorge, in large
masses, was deposited in Avalanche lake. This lake is a
fountain head of the Hudson, situated two thousand five
hundred feet above its level, and is probably the most
elevated body of water in the state. Its cold element is
only inhabited by a small lizard.
The Adirondac Company was originally incorporated
with a capital of $1,000,000. Large sums have been dis-
bursed in the progress of these improvements, in opening
the wilderness, and in a series of experiments upon the
ores of this district. The tragic death of Mr. Henderson
in the midst of these scenes, which his great energy and
spirited enterprise had tended so much to animate and
reveal, impeded these efforts. Not a sound, not a pulsa-
tion of business indicates the heart of a region boundless
in the wealth of nature.
The lofty upheaval, that embraces the immense de-
posits of iron ore, which have been revealed in the Adiron-
dac district, extends northerly through Essex and into
Clinton county, and includes -the town of Minerva at
the south. The rocks and general geological formation
throughout this extended territory are closely assimilated.
In Clinton county, this range is the site of most of the
valuable ore beds belonging to that district.
The town of Minerva, lying directly south of Newcomb,
exhibits the evidence of great mineral wealth, although but
one bed of iron ore has been actually opened and partially
worked. In the language of a correspondent; "Minerva
may already be regarded as a mineral town, with wood
equal to the supply of charcoal, for fifty years." The bed
which has been opened, lies on lot 21, township 25,
Totten and Crossfield purchase. It is owned by a com-
pany, composed of Hon. E. H. Rosekrans, J. C. Durand,
and other prominent aud energetic men. On the surface,
the ore is somewhat impregnated with sulphur, but as the
excavation penetrates the deposit, the quality of the ore
382 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
obtained is pure, rich, and highly magnetic. It is easity
reduced, and is pronounced better adapted for making pig,
than bloom iron, but has produced in the forge, the best
quality of iron.1 The abundant presence of ore on the ad-
joining lot ~No. 28, and upon most of the contiguous ter-
ritory, is satisfactorily ascertained. In comparing the
results of my examinations of the ore beds fifteen years
ago, with their present condition, I observe many striking
changes in the characteristics of the ore. In the ores
from several of these mines, sulphates, phosphates and other
foreign substances were then incorporated; but in almost
every instance in which the mines have been worked to
any considerable extent, the ore is now wholly or nearly
so exempt from the impurities.
Schroon.
The Schnfield Bed is situated in the town of Schroon,
near the head of Paradox lake, and was opened in the year
1828, by Horace Hall. Bar iron was at that time made
in the Schroon forge from the ore of this mine, which
was worked by various proprietors, until 1845. In this
year, I infer, operations were suspended at the bed. An
average of two hundred tons of iron was made during the
above period, which established and maintained the highest
character in market. The bed has been again worked
during the last year by the present owner, Mr. John Roth,
and the ore has been used in both of his forges in Schroon,
with decided success. The ore yields fifty per cent of iron
of the first class. The vein is only from three to four
feet in thickness, and has been worked about two hundred
and fifty feet in length and from twenty to sixty feet in
depth. Horse power is used in hoisting the ore, but the
pit is pumped by steam.
The Skiff Bed lies about two miles from Paradox lake.
It was opened by A. P. Skiff in the year 1857, but is now
owned by Mr. Roth. This ore, like that from the Scho-
1 E. F. Williams.
NATURAL HISTORY. 383
field bed possesses the highest qualities, but the same
embarrassments impede at present its successful and re-
munerative development. The vein is small, where it has
been disclosed, and is compressed between walls of rock,
that immensely enhance the difficulties and expense of
working it. The energetic owner, under the conviction
that a wider vein exists and can be reached, has already
expended many thousands of dollars, in the construction
of a tunnel at the base of a mountain, in the hope of re-
vealing such a vein. If this enterprise, which is still to be
pressed, results in the discovery of a large deposit of ore
equal to that which has been worked, this bed will proba-
bly be made one of the most valuable in the region.
The ore furnished by both of these mines is generally
conceded to be equal to any in the country.
Crown Point.
Near'the boundary line between Schroon ana' Crown
Point two iron ore beds of great value are located, which
were included formerly by the state geologists in the Mo-
riah district. They are of the magnetic type, and appear
to possess inexhaustible deposits of the mineral. They
are known as the Hammond, and Penfield mines. These
mines are situated about ten miles from Lake Charnplain.
Hammond Bed. The existence of this mine was ascer-
tained as early as 1827, but it was not worked extensively
until 1845. It is situated on lot No. 278 in Paradox tract,
and is now owned by Gr. & T. Hammond and E. S.
Bogue. It has been constantly worked since 1845, and
produces an average of about four thousand tons of ore
annually, which is consumed in the blast furnace of the
proprietors, for making pig iron. It requires no sepa-
rating. It is a black magnetic ore, of a close, tine grain
or texture, with very pure white quartz in small particles
disseminated very evenly through it. The ore is hard to
drill and sledge. Worked in a blast furnace, it yields a
fluid glassy cinder, and makes a superior quality of pig
iron, The ore has no infusion of sulphates or phos-
384 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
pborus. There are two pits opening out of this mine;
one descends, at an angle of about forty-five degrees to
the depth of four hundred feet, and the other, recently
opened, has reached a descent of about fifty feet. The
ore is raised by horse power. In 1852, I saw teams loaded
alongside of the breast of ore. The Hammond ore pos-
sesses the highest qualities of peculiar strength and soft-
ness, and is eminently adapted to the purposes of the
foundery and the fabrication of machinery. The harder
parts of the pig metal are particularly calculated for the
manufacture of car axles and malleable articles. The ex-
treme fluidity of this iron, and the long time it remains
fluid, renders it highly valuable in the manufacture of
these fabrics.
Penjield Bed is about half a mile from the Hammond
bed. The ore is very similar, and the mines are probably
parts of the same deposit. The Penfield bed was first
opened many years since, but not worked to any extent
until 1824, when it was opened by Messrs. Penfield &
Taft. Since that period, it has been in constant operation.
It was subsequently carried on by Penfield & Son ; after-
wards by Penfield, Harwood & Co., and at present by
Penfield & Harwood. Although worked for so long a
term, this mine exhibits no appearance of exhaustion.
The ore excavated is used in the forges of the proprietors
in Crown Point. I regret that I have been unable to
procure more in detail statistics of this highly import-
ant mine. The description, however, of the characteristics
and qualities of the Hammond ore has a general applica-
tion to the ore of this bed. I shall refer to the properties
of the iron it produces, in my notice of the Irondale forge.
In the south part of Crown Point large deposits occur of
magnetic iron ores, but these are strongly impregnated
with sulphurets. In the central part of the town an ore
bed, known as the Saxe bed was worked about forty years
ago by Jacob Saxe, and used in a blast furnace, of which
he was the proprietor, that stood at the mouth of the Sal-
mon river in Plattsburgh. The furnace has long since been
NATURAL HISTORY. 3g5
abandoned and fallen into ruins. The bed has not re-
cently been worked, and is superseded by mines yielding
richer and more desirable ores. The Saxe bed and ore
are fully noticed in the Natural History of the state, part
4, Geology, page 232.
TlCONDEROGA.
The development of iron ore in the eastern part of the
town of Ticonderoga has not been favorable. Graphite
appears at present to be the prominent mineral of the dis-
trict. A bed known as the Vineyard possesses a large de-
posit of iron ore, but it is so impregnated by sulphur as to
be unavailable for practical purposes. A vein of red
oxide has been opened, from which about one thousand
five hundred tons of ore have been taken, but it is too
hard in drilling to be remunerative. A vein of magnetic
ore about two feet wide upon Mount Defiance is being
opened by Weed & Burleigh. A shaft is excavating, in the
hope of discovering a large expansion of the vein. Upon
the Tub-mill property five veins of iron ore have been
partially opened, and afford evidence of large deposits of
good ore. They are situated ten miles from the lake, and
have been only partially developed.
Moriah Iron District.
This tract, scarcely, if at all subordinate, to the Adiron-
dac district in the extent of its deposits, perhaps superior
in the quality of its ores and far more eligibly situated, is
calculated to excite the wonder and admiration of the
observer. The immense aggregate of iron ore which has
been dug from those rugged hills, instead of affording
any evidence of appreciable diminution, seems to prove the
boundless magnitude of this source of enterprise and
wealth. As these excavations widen and deepen, and the
quantity of the mineral appears to augment, its quality
almost universally improves. An air of life, of prosperity
and success animates the whole scene. Activity and effort
are everywhere impressed upon the character of the peo-
25
386 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
pie. Idleness in this stirring community has no tolerance.
Brain and muscle are put upon their highest tension. I
propose to present a brief outline of the progress, and pre-
sent condiiion of each of the ore beds in this district sepa-
rately, and although I have made every effort to obtain
ample information on the subject, the interests are so diver-
sified and my materials so incomplete, I fear the result of
my labor will appear inadequate and unsatisfactory.
The Cheever Ore Bed. A knowledge of the existeuce of
ore in this locality appears to have beeu almost cotempo-
raneous with the settlement. The first child born in the
township after the revolution, who is still living,1 states,
that his earliest recollections are associated with this ore.
It cropped out so prominently on the surface, as to attract
the notice of any casual observer. Local legends refer
the earliest working of the mines to squatters upon the
land without title. Ore is known to have been procured
from the bed in the year 1804, but the subject excited
slight interest, and no appreciation existed of the vast
magnitude and incalculable value of the deposit. In
1820, '21, it was leased to a Charles Fisher, at a rent of
two gross tons of bloom iron, worth at that time, one hun-
dred dollars per ton.2 I have found it difficult to trace the
varied ownership of the property, but ascertain that between
thirty and forty years ago the title was in a person named
John Coates, to whom Dr. Abijah Cheever as guardian of
minor children, had loaned certain funds. Dr. Cheever
was ultimately obliged with great reluctance to accept
this property, either in payment or as security for the
debt. It is a striking incident in the history of its pro-
gressive value, that this ore bed, now almost beyond price
in the hands of the present owners, should in a compara-
tively recent period, have been urged upou the market by
Cheever, and offered at scarcely above a nominal price with-
out a purchaser, and ultimately sold, it is said, at five thou-
sand dollars. This sale was made in the year 1838, to Horace
1 Alexander McKensie. a Hon. John A. Lee.
NATURAL HISTORY. 337
Grey of Boston. The statement of the amount of the price
paid for the property varies from two thousand five hun-
dred dollars to six thousand five hundred dollars. I have
adopted that which appears to be the most authentic. In
1840, Mr. Grey transferred his interest to the Port Henry
Iron Company, and leased from them iu 1846, the furnace
property and the Cheever ore bed. In the fall of 1852,
Mr. Benjamin T. Reed of Boston purchased all the property
of the Port Henry Iron Company, and in the following
year transferred the ore bed to the Cheever Ore Bed Com-
pany.1 Mr. John 0. Presbrey is the present resident agent
and manager of the mines. The bed has been owned and
worked since 1853, by that company, which is an incor-
porated organization composed of gentlemen of affluence
residiug in Massachusetts. It is situated on the J. Wil-
liams tract, formerly called the Rogers Ore Bed patent,
about three miles from Port Henry, and less than three
fourths of a mile from Lake Champlain. Since the occupa-
tion by the present proprietor, the mine has been worked
without intermission, and yields annually from fifty thousand
to sixty thousand tons of ore. A large per centage of this
ore is used by the furnaces of the Bay State Iron Company
at Port Henry. The remainder is exported to Massa-
chusetts, Pennsylvania, and to various points in New York
and other sections of the Union. The ore is found in a
regular vein and perfectly developed, from five to fifteen
feet in thickness. The vein is reached by five different
shafts or pits, one of which descends vertically to the depth
of three hundred and fifteen feet. The work of opening has
been pursued from the several pits and shafts, until abreast
work of nearly one thousand and five hundred feet of ore
has been formed and is now worked. From the foot of
the perpendicular shaft, four distinct rail tracks have been
constructed, which enable cars to transport the ore a dis-
tance of about two hundred feet. At the shaft, the ore is
tipped into iron buckets, capable of holding about a ton
1 Mr, W. T. Foote, and W. F. OooHn.
388 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
and a half of ore. These are hoisted to the surface, where
by the action of appropriate machinery, the buckets are
discharged into cars which carry it by a rail road along an
inclined plane to the company's wharf, at the lake, or by
the same machinery, the ore may be deposited on a plat-
form, ready to be conveyed away by teams. The ore is
conveyed on the rail trains in the pits by cars from the
breast, and discharge into boxes, which are hoisted up the
slide or inclined plane, to the platform above from which
it is transported. These slides require ropes seven hun-
dred feet Jong to connect with the drum in the engine
room. Steam is the motive power, created by three sta-
tionary engines, for all the movements and elevating of the
cars, buckets and boxes with ore about the mine. The
rail road, which conducts the cars to the lake, is about three-
fourths of a mile in length. From the wharf it is shipped
for exportation. This ore does not require separating.
No stone appears in it, except an occasional slight cleavage
from the wall rock. The following is the analysis of this
ore in 1856, by Prof. A. A. Hayes :
Proto and peroxide of iron, 90.54
Phosphate of lime, 3.80
Amphibole, 2.80
Silicic acid, 1.60
Pilanferous iron, 1.26
100.00
About two hundred men are constantly employed in
this mine. I descended the perpendicular shaft in an
iron bucket, accompanied by Mr. John O. Presbrey, the
courteous agent at the mine. The stopping of the bucket
at the foot was so gentle and noiseless that I was scarcely
aware the descent of more than three hundred feet was
ended. A strange, wierd and thrilling spectacle was
revealed. There was no noise but the ceaseless clink of
the hammer, and the jarring of the machinery. Along
the different chambers a series of twinkling lamps, shin-
NATURAL HISTORY. 389
ing more and more dimly, as the long lines receded in the
deep darkness, were sufficient to reveal the low, dark
arched roofs supported by massive and glittering doric
columns. These columns stand about one hundred feet
apart, and average sixteen feet square. They are chiefly
formed of solid ore, a most costly material, as each column
contains about one thousand tons of ore. At the remotest
extremity of one of the galleries I noticed a single light
moving, and inquired the cause. It was a lantern carried
by one in pursuit of powder, kept in that retired spot in
small quantities for immediate supply, and to guard against
accidents. With every precaution, frequent serious cata-
strophies occur in blasting, through the carelessness or
inadvertence of the workmen. Several years ago, the
pillars of ore left to support the enormous burthen of rock
and earth above a chamber previously worked yielded to
the weight, and the whole mass was crushed together.
The concussion is represented to have been not unlike an
earthquake, rending the earth and dislocating the massive
rocks for acres. I was struck by the singular freeness of
this mine, in its deepest recesses, from dampness, and by
noticing the pure and dry atmosphere which pervades it.
In summer the temperature is cool, but in winter the cold
is severe in the pits. A remarkable and unusual effect
was produced, when, in the progress of the work, the dif-
ferent passages were connected. A strong current of air,
precipitated down one pit and rushing in a powerful draft
through the mine, ascended at the opposite extremity of
the bed by another opening. The volume of air was so
great, that it became necessary to erect partitions in the
mine, to protect the workmen from the cold, and to pre-
vent the extinguishing of the lamps. The Cheever mine
was one of the first opened in the town of Moriah. It has
occupied and will probably maintain the highest rank in
respect to reputation and value, both by the quality of the
ore and the position and locality of the bed.
Goff Bed lies in the vicinity of the Cheever, and possesses
a great similarity of ore. It is situated near the margin of
390 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
the lake, and has connected with it a wharf and separator
This bed was opened in 1845, and was formerly owned by
Hon. George W. Goff, but three or four years since was
purchased by its present proprietors, known as the Champ-
lain Ore and Furnace Company. Besides its advantageous
location on the lake shore, this mine enjoys another great
and rare facility in being penetrated by nearly horizontal
openings. It has three of these openings, one of which
follows the vein almost eight hundred feet. A mule car is
employed in the transportation of the ore from the mine.
This bed is not at present worked, but when in operation
it yields about four thousand tons of ore annually. The
ore is magnetic, and about one-half taken from the mine
requires separating. It is exported to various markets.
"When both this bed and the furnace al Westport, owned
by the same company, are. in operation, they give employ-
ment to about one hundred men. This is esteemed a val-
uable ore.
Port Henry Ore Bed is situated in a ravine between two
hills, about one mile west of Cheever bed. This mine is
owned by George B. Pease, and has been but partially
developed. About one thousand tons have been raised.
Prof. Hayes has made the following analysis :
Metallic Iron, 64.15
Oxygen with it, 34.15
Silica, 4.10
Lime and Magnesia, 1.10
Phosphate of lime, 6.20
He remarks, " the ore is very much like the covering ore
of the Cheever bed, and will doubtless as it comes from a
deeper point, exclude much of the earthy minerals now
found with it. It is a soft ore, working easily."
Cleveland Mine, formerly known as the Sherman bed, is
located near the above, and is owned by a company in
Cleveland, Ohio. It has been worked the last three years
with an annual production of ore from eight to ten thou
sand tons, which is principally conveyed to Cleveland for
NATURAL HISTORY. 391
puddling purposes. A shaft has been sunk about two
hundred feet. Steam is used as the motive power, in
hoisting the ore and pumping the mine. From thirty to one
hundred men are employed about the mine and in connec-
tion with the business. Most of the ore requires separating.
About six miles west from Port Henry and upon an ele-
vation of nearly fifteen hundred feet above the lake is
situated a cluster of pits and shafts which open into seve-
ral different ore beds ; but occupying the corners of several
lots, they stand within a space embraced by an area of five
acres. These shafts descend into a deposit of ore, that
can be divided by no visible lines; but beneath the surfac e
there exists a uniform and unbroken mass of ore. The
operations in several of these pits have so nearly approached,
that the sound of the implements in one may be distinctly
heard in another. When this ore was first worked, it was
coujectured that it formed an enormous pocket ; a term
used by miners, to designate an isolated and limited body
of ore, without the formation of a vein and liable to sud-
den exhaustion ; but as the pits descend and expand, it is
asserted, that the evidence augments of the presence of an
inexhaustible deposit. The opinion seems to be warranted,
that all this extended eminence has been formed by a vast
upheaval of iron ore, and that the whole formation of these
hills is charged with the mineral. The terrific power of
the agency which wrought this work, is indicated by the
position of the disturbed and dislocated rocks of the vici-
nity. The whole district is barren, broken and distorted.
The worthlessness of the territory, as estimated by an
ordinary standard, appears from the fact, that most of this
land was originally sold at fifty cents the acre.
Indications of the presence of iron ore in Moriah were
revealed at an early period, in the occupation of the town.
When the Kellogg survey was made in 1810 of the
territory, appropriately designated the Iron Ore tract,
strong attractions disturbed the magnet, and particularly
along the common lines between lots N"os. 21, 23, 24 and
25. ISTo openings were made on any of these lots until
392 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
1824, although large specimens of ore had been found ten
years before on lot No. 25.
The Old Samford Bed is situated on lot No. 25, of the
above tract, and is about six miles from the wharves at the
lake. The subject of ore upon this lot excited some degree
of attention in the summer of 1824. Messrs. Harry Sher-
man and Elijah Bishop proposed at that time to Mr. D. E.
Sanford, the owner of No. 25, to become associated with
him in exploring the lot, and that each should pay him
one hundred dollars for an undivided one-fourth interest
in the property. The terms were accepted and operations
were immediately commenced by the parties, near the
north-east corner of the lot, and ore was discovered about
one foot below the surface. Other places within a few
rods were explored with the same result. A few rods
south of the first opening, a large boulder of iron, as it
was conjectured, was found embedded in the earth, with
many smaller pieces strewn upon the surface. On attempt-
ing to remove this supposed boulder, it was ascertained to
be the outcropping of a vein, or the index, as it proved,
to an enormous body of ore. It was followed down, the
excavation being enlarged about a rod square. The ex-
plorers still believed it to be a limited deposit of ore, but
their work was in fact the opening of the old Sanford
bed. Ore from this bed was tried in a blast furnace at
Port Henry, in the year 1834, but the experiment from
injudicious management was unsuccessful. Two years
later, Mr. G. W. Goff used at the same furnace some of
the lean ore, which had been thrown out, at the bed, and
was purchased by him at fifty cents per ton. Mixed with
the Cheever and other ore, it produced good iron. In the
spring of 1846, the property came into the possession of
John A. Lee, George Sherman and Eliphalet Hall. Mr.
Hall sold his interest the same year to Mr. A. J. Rosseau
of Troy, who transferred his title in 184 i, to Messrs. S. H.
& J. G. Weatherbee. When I first e cammed this bed
in 1852, teams were driven into it, down a slight depres-
sion of the ground, and loaded directly alongside of the
NATURAL HISTORY. 393
breast of ore. At that time, the length of one of the
openings was two hundred and fourteen feet, with an
average width of thirty feet. The breast of ore worked
was about eighty-two feet. The ore was then stratified,
easily drilled ; a single blast not unfrequently threw off
thirty tons of pure ore. A large infusion of phosphate of
lime was at that time disclosed in this ore. Another
breast was worked in the mine that exhibited a face of
ninety-nine feet ; sixty feet in length and an average depth
of twenty-five feet. This bed is now entered by three
distinct shafts. One of these requires a rope five hundred
and fifty feet long ; another a rope of two hundred feet,
and the third opening is one hundred and fifty feet deep.
The ore is raised by cars on an inclined plane of about
forty-five degrees. The cars are hoisted by a wire cable,
moved by the agency of a drum and steam power, to a
platform at the mouth of the shaft, where they are made
to discharge themselves by a- simple apparatus. The ore
falls upon a large sieve, which separates the coarse from
the finer particles. The lumps are destined for puddling (
furnaces, and the fine for other purposes. The average
yield of this bed during the last six years has been forty-
three thousand and three hundred tons of ore. It is used
in forges, furnaces, and rolling mills, and requires no sepa-
rating. The Sanford ore is inclined to be cold, short, and
is extensively used as a mixture with ores of an opposite
quality to render them neutral.1 We descended into this
mine by a box along the inclined plane escorted by the
agent, Mr. TifiPt. The depth is about two hundred and
thirty feet. The area worked in this bed, from the nature
of the ore, has acquired a different and more compact form
than the chamber of the Cheever bed. The distance from
1 Red or hot short iron, is ductile when cold, but extremely brittle when
heated, a defect caused by the presence of a small quantity of sulphur.
Cold short iron is ductile when hot, but brittle when cold ; caused by a
small quantity of phosphorus. Neutral iron is exempt from both of these
defects.
394 HISTOKY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
the point where the ore passes under the cap rock, to the
bottom of the present working, about thirty degrees, is
three hundred and fifty feet, and the length of the bottom
from east to west is two hundred and fifty feet. The
shaft is about one hundred and fifty-five feet deep to the
ore. Drifts have been run north and south from the bot-
tom of the shaft, making a breast of one hundred and
seventy-five feet. The base rock has not yet been reached,
and the thickness of the breast is therefore still to be de-
termined. The Miller pit is a few rods north of the old
bed, the vein dipping at forty-five degrees. The depth
from the light hole is about one hundred and fifty feet,
length of breast two hundred feet and height about forty
feet. The roof which has been left in excavating the old
bed is lofty, and supported by eleven corresponding pil-
lars, averaging fifty feet high and thirty feet square, and
computed to contain already one hundred thousand tons
of ore. Among numerous other explanations of their
processes, Mr. Tift't described the methods pursued in
working the mine. Commencing at one extremity, a pre-
scribed depth is excavated, which is preserved to the other
extremity and laterally throughout the opening. By this
Bystem a nearly level surface is maintained, and the size
and foundations of the pillars preserved. My attention
was directed in this mine to the working of a diamond
drill, and the implement with its operations was courte-
ously exhibited and explained to me. It may be pro-
nounced a vast improvement in economy, efficiency aud
safety to the usual drilling by manual labor. The instru-
ment is operated either by hand or steam power. In the
process I witnessed, two men turned the propelling wheel,
and the instrument bored into the hard ore with great
ease and incredible rapidity. From two hundred and
fifty to three hundred men, including teamsters, are em-
ployed in connection with this bed. Two large steam
pumps draw off the water from the two deepest pits. I
noticed in this mine the same singularly low temperature
NATURAL HISTORY. 395
I observed in the Cheever bed. The following is the
analysis of this ore :
Metallic iron, 72.09
Insoluble silicious matter, .34
Phosphorus, .01
Oxygen and moisture, 27.56
100.00
Bed on No. 21. In the year 1829, parties by digging a
shaft about twelve feet deep, discovered ore on this lot. It
was then owned by Jonas Reed and Elias Smith of Moriah,
and Allen Smith of Addison, Vt., who had purchased it of
the original proprietors for a merely nominal sum. The
latter sold his one-half interest about this time for the sum
of one hundred and twenty-five dollars, and Messrs. San-
ford, Bishop & Sherman, with a view of avoiding compe-
tition, acquired a title to a majority of the different
interests, and paid as the consideration for their purchase,
" five hundred tons of old bed ore in the ground." No
further operations occurred at this bed, until the year 1846,
when it came into possession of Messrs. Storrs & Rosseau.
The actual and practical opening of the mine is referred to
this epoch. The entire interest in the property had pre-
viously been divided into small fractional shares. Mr.
Storrs secured a preponderance of these shares. In 1846,
the parties resumed operations in the shaft, which had been
opened and abandoned more than twenty years before, and
after sinking it about thirty feet, reached the body of ore.
In 1852, a judicious observer wrote me, in reference to the
bed aud the indications of ore in the vicinity : "It would be
difficult to obtain an approximation to the quantity of ore,
in this single deposit, without estimating the contents of
the entire hill."1 The result has vindicated the accuracy
of this judgment. Messrs. Storrs & Rosseau succeeded
in raising about one thousand tons of ore, aud in 1853
conveyed their interest to the American Mineral Com-
lJ. P.Butler, Esq.
396 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
pany. This company erected extensive separating works
for the purpose of extracting the phosphates from the
ore, while separating the latter for market. They did not
succeed in procuring the phosphates in sufficient purity
for agricultural uses, and after an expenditure of sevei-al
thousand dollars in the experiment, the scheme was relin-
quished. The company was at the same time engaged in
mining the ore for market. This association passed
through various changes.
On the organization of the Port Henry Iron Company,
that company, under various agents, furnished a large
amount of ore for market, until 1864, when Weatherbees,
Sherman & Co., having purchased personally one-fourth of
the capital stock, became the managing and selling agents.
This position they still occupy. The shaft which we de-
scended, accompanied by Mr. Goff the superintendent, is
two hundred and thirty feet in depth. The track upon
which the ore boxes move, is supported by heavy timbers,
which traverse the chasm. Looking down from the box,
in which one is slowly gliding in the descent, into the
hideous cavern, where the lamps are flickering far below, a
spectacle is revealed, grand and imposing, but calculated to
disturb ordinary nerves. The magnitude of this deposit
will appear from the fact that the area of the opening is
"nearly two hundred and twenty-five feet from the base of
the slide on the north end, to the first pillar on the south
side, and about one hundred feet on the bottom from east
to west. The solid ore on the south side, is vertically
about one hundred feet high. Drifts have been driven on
the north side, at right angles under the rock one hun-
dred feet. Other drifts have been driven east and west
from the pillar. The length of the opening in that direc-
tion is two hundred and twenty-five feet. Above a part of
the opening, the superincumbent rock and earth have been
removed. The roof is high and apparently formed of the
cap rock, and supported chiefly by columns of the same
material. An average of thirty-six thousand tons of ore is
NATURAL HISTORY. 397
yielded annually by this bed. The annexed is au analysis
of the ore :
Protoxide of iron, ") . , ,. .... nn _ . 25.29
n .j y (yielding metallic iron, 69.82) n~ OCL
Peroxide, " " j VJ " ' J 71.65
Alumina, 40
Oxide of titaneum, Trace
Phosphate of lime, .39
Magnesia, .05
Silica and insoluble matter. 2.22
100.00
The pay roll, embracing this mine and those on Nos. 23,
and 24 comprises from two hundred and fifty to three
hundred names.
In this, as in every mine I have explored in Moriah, I
was impressed by the quiet, discipline and regularity, in
which its vast operations were conducted. This harmony
and subordination conveys a most favorable idea of the
judgment and efficiency of the system of management
that prevails. It is said that laborers prefer a situation in
these mines to toiling on a farm or in lumbering occupa-
tions.
Beds on Lots 23 and 24. These lots are contiguous to
Nos. 25 and 21 which embrace the ore beds above de-
scribed. In the year 1824, while the development of the
mine on No. 25 was in progress, Jeremiah Cook, the
owner of No. 23, began an exploration on his side of the
dividing line between the two lots. He associated with
him, Solomon and Hiram Everest, to whom he sold one-
half of his interest for two hundred dollars. This was the
earliest opening of lot No. 23. After effecting this opening,
the parties commenced disposing of interests in the mine, as
minute as Tlg and possibly J2 on a valuation of four thou-
sand dollars for the entire bed. Mr. Rosseau, the partner
of Mr. Storrs, secured a majority of these shares, as the
latter had obtained those of No. 21. Old pit on 23 was
opened in 1823 and Brinsmade shaft on the same lot in
1865. These are the only openings upon this lot. There
398 HISTORY OP ESSEX COUNTY.
is one shaft on No. 24 which was opened in 1845, but not
extensively worked until 1864. The annual yield of No.
23 for the last six years has been an average of nine thou-
sand four hundred tons of ore, and that of No. 24 since
1864 has been nine thousand seven hundred tons. The
ores from these beds are used in forges, furnaces and roll-
ing mills. I have seen no analysis of the ore, but under-
stand that the quality of No. 23 is similar to that from the
old bed on No. 25 as they lie in direct contact. Old pit
on 23 is three hundred aud fifty feet deep. Brinsmade
shaft is one hundred and fifty feet deep with a breadth
one hundred and seventy-five feet from north to south.
The shaft on No. 24 is two hundred and thirty feet. A
steam engine of twenty-four horse power is used at these
beds for raisiug ore and ruuuing a pump for draining the
pits. The vein on 23 grows thicker as it advances south,
and it is conjectured that it extends to No. 21, a distance
of six hundred feet.
New Bed. The deposit, which is now known by this
name was discovered by E. E. Sanford in the south-west
corner of lot No. 24, in the year 1844, and was opened by
him the following season. The sale already mentioned of
the Old Bed by Mr. Sandford to Sherman & Hall, em-
braced his title to the New Bed. Mr. Hall the same year
(1846), sold his interest to Mr. A. J. Rosseau, who in 1849
conveyed the same interest to Messrs. S. H. & J. G.
"Weatherbee. The bed was first practically worked in
1845, and has produced, during the last six years, an ave-
rage of six thousand seven hundred and twenty tons of
ore annually. The ore is in large demand for forges and
blast furnaces. The following is an analysis of this ore :
Pure metallic Iron, 71.19
Insoluble silicious matter, 1.12
Phosphorus, a trace
Oxygen and moisture, 27.69
About one-third of this ore requires separating. It is
inclined to be red short and when mixed with the ore of
NATURAL HISTORY. 399
the Old Bed, produces a neutral iron of exceeding tenacity.
It is stated that the demand for the New Bed ore is larger
than can be supplied. The pure ore from this bed is pro-
nounced by those interested, to be the richest ore known
to exist in this country. " Perfectly formed crystals weighing
more than an ounce, are often found, the plane surface of
which resembles burnished steel, rather than iron ore."
The bed contains the celebrated shot ore, and on my
former examination I found it difficult to obtain a large
specimen, from the feet that it disintegrated by the touch.
The depth of this bed, measuring along the slide from the
light hole to the base is seven hundred feet on a slope of
forty-five decrees, with a thickness at rio;ht angles with the
vein varying from fifteen to thirty -five feet. A seventy-five
horse power engine is required for hoisting the ore and
pumping the water from the bed. This mine is about six
and a half miles from the lake and possesses the same
facilities as the other bed, for the transportation of ore.
A separator and saw-mill are propelled by the steam
power, which hoists the ores. At the saw-mill all the lum-
ber and plank are produced, which are required for the
mines and plank road. From fifty to seventy men are
employed about the mine and separator.1
Barton Bed. This mine is situated on Lot No. 34, Iron
Ore tract, and is about seven miles from Port Henry.
It was opened previous to 1850, and was formerly owned
by Caleb D. Barton. This ore has been highly esteemed
by forge holders. In 1863 the mine was purchased by
the Port Henry Furnace Company, and is now owned by
the same individuals, under the corporate name of the
Bay State Iron Company. A large proportion of the ore
yielded by this bed, has been used in the manufacture of
pig iron. About eight thousand tons of ore is produced
per annum, and an average of thirty-five men, including
1 I am chiefly indebted to the zeal and public spirit of Mr. W. F. Gookin
for the statistics embraced in the above notices.
400 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
teamsters, are employed about the bed. The following is
the analysis of the Barton ore :
Magnetic oxide of iron, 51.418
Oxide magnesia, Trace
Titanic acid, 0.110
Aluminium, 0.329
Magnesia, 0.159
Lime. 0.498
Silicic acid (quartz, with a very little horn-
blende), 47.433
Phosphoric acid, 0.050
Sulphur, 0.003
10.000
Quantity of metallic iron, 37.24
Phosphoric, 22
The Barton ore is used by the Bay State Iron Company
furnace, at Port Henry, in combination with the Cheever
ore, and in about equal proportions. The ore from the
Barton bed is slightly mixed with silex.
Fisher Hill Bed. This mine was opened at an early
period in the history of Moriah, by Fisher, and was sold
by him to Eliphalet Hall. During a long term of years,
the title was involved in a remarkable and exciting litiga-
tion, which was ultimately settled by a compromise. The
mine is situated about seven miles' from the lake. It was
purchased by its present proprietors, an eastern company,
in the year 1863, at seventy-five thousand dollars. The
ore is lean and silicious, and requires separating, but is
classed among the best ores of the district, and is in great
requisition among the forges of the vicinity. It finds
market also with the iron manufacturers along the Hudson,
and in various other localities.
The mine has three shafts ; two of which are now worked.
Shatt designated number one, has a descent of five hun-
dred and fifty feet, and number three has a descent of five
hundred feet. The latter presents a breast of fifty feet and
NATURAL HISTORY. 401
twenty-five feet in height. The ore is said to become
of a purer quality as the mine is developed, and is
reputed to be well adapted to the fabrication of wire and
steel. Horse power is used in raising the ore. This bed
was sold to the present proprietors in 1863, for seventy-five
thousand dollars. It is now owned by eastern capitalists.
Mr. 0. Hall is the resident manager.
The Cook, or M. T. Smith Shaft. The revelation of this
valuable mine was a striking triumph of practical science
and determined perseverance, that has few parallels in
mining operations. The bed is situated on lot 37, Iron
Ore tract, and about six miles from Port Henry. The
site of this ultimate great success was an open range, and
the particular locality a sandy knoll in a pasture, where
not the slightest appearance was disclosed on the surface
of the presence of ore, although its existence at the place
had been long suspected, from an unusual magnetic attrac-
tion. The needle, when passed along an area of about
forty rods square, was drawn as much as possible to a
vertical position. During the term of fifteen years, before
the enterprise of Mr. M. T. Smith, several attempts to
reach ore on the lot had been made and abandoned. Mr.
Smith and an associate finally made an arrangement with
Patrick Cook, the owner of the lot, to open the mine.
In consideration of their services and disbursements, they
were to receive a conveyance of two-thirds of the property.
They commenced their labor, and, following the indications
of the magnet, excavated a shaft ten feet square, through
a hundred feet of earth, without finding any additional
evidences of ore. Here they struck hard pan, but unde-
terred by these adverse results, they persisted with una-
bated zeal. At length they reached and passed through
a very thin vein of ore, and this the croakers pronounced
the cause of the attraction. But Mr. Smith, wisely judg-
ing the deposit too small to have produced effects so
powerful, and with unyielding confidence in the assurances
of the needle, continued the excavation, and after pene-
trating through rock and hard pan eighty feet further, he
26
402 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
revealed a fourteen feet vein of ore, of the first quality.
The mine was opened in June, 1866. In the first year it
produced eight thousand tons, and in 1868 yielded fourteen
thousand five hundred tons. The breast now wrought is
two hundred feet in length, and averages fifteen feet in
width. The ore is exported to Troy, Hudson, Pittsburg,
and various other manufacturing localities. It is raised
by horse power, but the water is pumped out by steam.
No separating of the ore is necessary. The mine is worked
both night and day, and requires the labor of thirty or
forty persons. The future of this bed promises results
which must secure an ample remuneration to the skill and
energy of the enterprising explorers.
The impurities which affected most of the ores of Mori ah
were chiefly phosphates and white flint; but all these
ores have become purer and softer as descents have been
made in the mines. The first separator erected in the
town was built in 1842, by Eliphalet Hall. In the year
1853 Lee & Sherman consolidated their interests with
S. H. & J. G. Weatherbee. The firm of Lee, Sherman
& Weatherbees continued until 1862, when Mr. Lee re-
tired, selling his title to "Weatherbees, Sherman & Co., who
also purchased the remaining -small interest, and are now
the sole owners of the old and new beds. Mr. George R.
Sherman is a member of this firm. The Port Henry Iron
Ore Company, consisting of the above firm, and Messrs.
John A. Griswold and H. Burden & Son of Troy and
Bech, Tower & Brinsmade of Pokeepsie, now owns the
mines, designated Nos. 21, 23 and 24, with ore rights
on the west end of lot 25. The ores from these and the
adjacent mines have been transported for several years by
a plank road, extending to the wharves of these companies
at the lake. Immense loads, averaging about five tons, and
sometimes it is stated reaching nine tons, along nearly an
uninterrupted descent, are conveyed by this medium. The
Lake Champlain and Moriah Rail Road Company, formed
of the above companies, is now constructing a railway
along the same route, which will be completed in the sum-
NATURAL HISTORY. 403
ruer of 1869. It will supersede the plank for teaming,
and must effect a great economy in transportation of ore.
This railway overcomes an ascent of fourteen hundred feet
in about seven miles, on the extraordinary grade of two
hundred feet to the mile.
A cloud seems to have rested upon the miues of Moriah
for some period after their discovery. A distrust prevailed
in regard to the character of the ore, and it required the
struggle of several years before the confidence of the iron
manufacturers could be secured. The sales of ore from
these mines during the first three or four years amounted
to scarcely two hundred tons annually, and then decreased
to half that quantity. The aggregate of ore which had
been sold, when Lee, Sherman & Hall came into posses-
sion of their interest, was about six thousand tons, at prices
ranging from fifty cents to two dollars and a half, at the
beds, payable in barter or on such terms as the purchaser
proposed. The first specific trial of these ores was made
at Ticonderoga, with a load sent there for the purpose.
This issue was favorable, and about three hundred tons
were raised the same year, only a part of which was sold,
but" the next year an increased interest in the ore was
manifested by a more animated demand for it, by their iron
works in Vermont. From that period, the sales of ore
have been rapidly progressive. In 1847 Lee & Sherman
effected a sale of twenty thousand tons to F. H. Jackson
of the Sisco furnace at Westport. This was the first sale
made of ore to be used in furnaces. About the same time
their ores were introduced in furnaces at Troy and other
points on the Hudson. The mines owned by this firm
produced between the years 1846 and 1854, about fifty
thousand tons of ore. A competent authority estimates
the aggregate of ore raised from the mines of Moriah from
their development up to January 1st, 1869, at one million
and one huudred thousand tons, of which one-third has
been raised during the last six years. These ores are used
in all the manufacturing districts of New England and the
middle states, and largely at the west and south. A heavy
404 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
supply of the ore is constantly maintained at the depot in
Cleveland, Ohio, to meet the demand in that state and
Western Pennsylvania. The ores of Moriah are all mag-
netic and chiefly cold short, and are in request to combine
with the red short ores of other districts to form a neutral
iron. This trade is steadily increasing, while in Moriah
new mines are constantly developing. The product of the
several ore beds in the town in 1868 is as follows :
Tons.
The Cheever bed, 68,000
Mines of Port Henry Iron Co., 59,000
" Weatherbees, Sherman and Co., 59,500
" Lake Champlain Mining Co., 2,500
M.T.Smith, 14,500
Fisher bed, 6,500
230,000
Most of these companies have supplied their different
openings with improved hoisting power. The Port Henry
Iron Ore Company and Weatherbees, Sherman & Co.,
are now prepared, if the demand justifies the effort, to
raise one thousand tons daily from their various mines.1
In the summer of 1869, a fresh activity seems to animate
the business of Moriah. A fleet of vessels assembled about
the wharves at Cedar Point, loading or awaiting their
turns. Fifteen hundred tons, in part the accumulation of
the winter, are daily shipped, while five hundred tons are
delivered from the beds by teams. In the above aggregate
of two hundred and thirty thousand tons of ore, it is com-
puted that eighteen thousand tons are consumed by the
works in Moriah, leaving two hundred and twelve thousand
tons for exportation.
Spear and Butler Bed. In a former work, I used the fol-
lowing language in relation to this mine. This bed lies
about a mile and a half from the lake. The ore is a mag-
1 1 owe these statistics to a very intelligent paper, supplied by W. F.
Gookin, Esq.
NATURAL HISTORY. 405
netic oxide, impressed with a hermatite type. The vein
has been traced by a magnet nearly one-half a mile. It
has been opened about ten rods in length, and about
twenty feet in depth, presenting a tireast of nine feet,
widening as it descends. This ore is very peculiar and
of great value from its malleability and toughness. It is
mixed with silex and carbonate of lime ; requires separat-
ing, but works freely and reduces rapidly in a common
force fire. The bed was discovered in 1848. The first
analysis of the ore was made at my request by Professor
Salisbury, and presents the following results:
Butler's
Magnetic ore.
Peroxide of iron, 56.53
Protoxide of iron, 28.49
Silica, 13.81
Alumina, 1.62
Carbonate of lime,
99.85
Percentage of pure iron in the per an,d prot-
oxides,. 61.202
Percentage of oxygen in the per and protox-
ides, 23.318
I learn that this bed has never been worked, but remains
in the same condition as when I examined it.
The Elizabethtown and Westport District.
The territory included in this designation, is a continu-
ation of the same mountainous range, which embraces
most of the important iron mines in Moriah. Similar in its
general characteristics, it is identical in geological forma-
tion, and it seems to exhibit a prolongation of the same veins
and deposits. A large number of mines have been already
discovered, and the presence of iron ore in almost every
section of the district is disclosed by evidence existing
upon the surface, and the unerring indications of the mag-
net. Most of these mines have been but partially opened ;
406 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
neither Lave such indications in all instances been effici-
ently pursued. Although the magnitude of the deposits
has been confidently asserted, their full development has
been impeded by unfavorable circumstances. These beds
are generally remote from the facilities of commercial in-
tercourse, and the character of most of the ores for practical
purposes is yet to be determined. They necessarily have
been depressed in competition with mines enjoying every
convenience of access, and with ores, whose high qualities
have been established by long experience and the severest
tests. A cautious observer remarks in reference to the
ore beds of this district: "All that is wanting to render at
least nine out of ten of these beds profitable and valua-
ble, is means of transportation and a market." I have
been unable to collect the materials necessary to a just and
competent account of the mines of this district, and am
constrained to present scarcely more than a bare enumera-
tion of them. For'the limited statistics I have received, I
am indebted to the zeal of a gentleman who possesses no
pecuniary interest in the property.
Elizabethtown.
Castaline Bed was discovered and worked to some ex-
tent about the year 1800. Considerable quantities of ore
were transported from this mine to Hinesburg, Vermont,
and used in the iron works at that place at an early day.
The bed is situated on land owned by M. J. Post, but the
heirs of W. D. and H. H. Ross are proprietors of the ore.
The following is an analysis of the Castaline ore :
Black oxide of iron, 95.04
Silex alumina, 3.12
Lime and magnesia, 1.84
100.00
Boss Bed is located on lot No. 72, Roaring Branch tract,
and about one mile north-east of the above. It was dis-
covered about the same period, and is very similar in its
NATURAL HISTORY. 407
qualities to the Castaline. [The ore has been partially
worked and makes good iron. The declination of the
vein under or into a mountain, prevents at present an
extensive opening of the bed. The land belongs to Mr.
Thomas Doyle, and the ore to the heirs of the Messrs. Ross.
The following is an analysis of the ore :
Black oxide of iron, 87.64
Silex and alumina, 9.80
Lime and magnesia, 2.56
100.00
Nigger Hill Bed. This mine was discovered between the
years 1825 and 1830, and slightly opened by Frederick
Hoag-. It is about five miles south of the Court House in
Elizabethtown, and was long known as the Hoag bed.
The ore was used at the Kingdom forge, by Mr. H. R.
Noble, in a considerable amount for several years, and
was esteemed a good furnace ore. Mixed with the old
Sanford bed of Moriah, it worked successfully in a forge.
Portions of this ore work admirably alone. This ore bed
was sold in 1864, by the heirs of Mr. Noble, for $100,000,
to the present owners, the Lake Champlain Ore and Iron
Company. The property was assessed in 1868 on the
grand list at $12,000. This mine is described as an im-
mense mass of magnetic ore, so rich that it does not require
separating, but so hard that it has to be roasted.1 The
following is an analysis of this ore :
Black oxide of iron, 89.36
Silex and alumina, 6.96
Lime and magnesia, 3.68
100.00
Wakefield Bed was discovered about 1845, and opened by
Col. E. F. Williams. The title of the land is in Stephen
Pitkin. The ore is owned by the heirs of the Messrs. Ross.
1 W. G. Weilson's report.
408 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
Little Pond Bed. This remarkable deposit was found about
1840. It is situated on lot No. 199, Iron Ore tract, and a
half mile from the village of Elizabethtown. It was
opened by E. F. Williams. A correspondent remarks,
"this is a wonderful mass — a mountain of ore." The
title to this property has been repeatedly changed, and is
now held by W. J. Averill, of Ogdensburg. In a report
on the survey of Essex county in 1852, I advanced these
views in reference to this deposit : The Little Pond bed is
among the most remarkable formations of ore in this
county, and from the quality of the ore, the apparent
magnitude of the deposit, and its favorable position, may
be classed among the most valuable mines of the region.
This bed is situated about six miles from the lake, and
near a plank road. It apparently forms the mass of an
eminence, probably covering at the base an area of forty
acres, and elevated nearly two hundred feet. The exa-
minations already made, which are corroborated by the
general appearance and indications of the mound, seem to
authorize the opinion, that this entire eminence is a mass
of ore, covered only by an incrustation of rock and earth
of a few feet in depth.
If further developments shall establish this fact, the
quantity of the ore in this deposit may be pronounced
illimitable, and in value and importance almost beyond
computation. The subjoined is an analysis of this ore
made by Dr. Chilton :
Protoxide of iron with a little peroxide of iron, 40.27
Silica, -4.11
Alumina, '-2
Lime, -83
Magnesia, 3.43
Water, etc., 114
100.00
Judd Bed was discovered in 1845, and was opened to some
extent between that year and 1855, by David Judd. The
NATURAL HISTORY. 409
present proprietors are the Kingdom Company of Lake
Champlain.
Finney Bed was discovered in 1854 on lot 139, Iron Ore
tract, and was opened by 0. Abel, Jr., W. W. Root, J. E.
McVine and J. H. Sanders. Several hundred tons have
been raised and sold from this bed. It melts readily and
produces superior iron. In 1865, the bed was sold for five
thousand dollars- to the present owners, the Vulcan Furnace
Company.
Gates Bed was found about the same time as the Finney
bed, and upon an adjoining lot. It is supposed to be a con-
tinuation of the same vein, which may be distinctly traced
for the distance of more than half a mile. It has been
partly opened by Willis Gates, who has been offered and
refused ten thousand dollars for his interest.
Bart Bed was discovered in 1840. It is located in the
extreme south-east corner of Elizabethtown, and near the
Fisher Hill mine. The ore is very similar to that taken
from that mine, and was formerly pronounced by an expe-
rienced manufacturer to be the best forge ore in the county.
The vein of the Burt ore dips at an angle of forty-five
degrees, and is opened by a slope over three hundred feet
long. The area excavated at the bottom was in 1867 about
eighty-five feet, with a breast of ore of about fourteen feet.
The ore is hoisted, iu boxes, which slide on beams laid
along the slope, or by horse power. There are several
other openings on the same lot, which exhibit strong indi-
cations of the presence of valuable veins. The Burt ore
has been successfully used both at the Valley and Kingdom
forges. This property was purchased by the present owners,
the Essex and Lake Champlain Ore and Iron Company,
in 1864, at thirty-five thousand dollars. It is assessed on
the grand list at fifteen thousand dollars.
Steel Bed is situated about a half mile south-east of the
village of Elizabethtown on lot ISTo. 189, Iron Ore tract.
The bed was discovered in 1810, and the ore worked in
local forges in combination with other ore to some extent.
410 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
After the destruction of these forges by the freshet of 1830,
the bed was not worked for many years. The ore was
originally considered sulphurous, but Messrs. Whallon &
Judd in 1850, successfully consumed a considerable quan-
tity, which had been raised for some time and exposed to
the action of the elements. Mr. R. Remington in 1866,
sunk a shaft, and obtained ore of a superior quality, and
apparently free from the infusion of sulphur. The present
proprietors of this bed are the Kingdom Iron Ore Com-
pany and Mr. Remington. This property is assessed at
one thousand dollars.
Odell Bed. Two openings in the eastern part of Eliza-
bethtown have received this name. Neither have been
worked to any extent, but they are esteemed good deposits
of ore. Mitchell bed is on lot No. 116, Iron Ore tract, and
was discovered about 1830. It was partially opened by
Eliab Mitchell. The ore is very similar in its qualities to
the ore of the Burt bed. The property is owned by the
Essex and Lake Champlain Ore and Iron Company.
Buck and Noble Beds: These beds are situated upon lots
Nos. 109 and 110 Iron Ore tract, and near the boundary
Hue between Elizabethtowu and Moriah. Lot No. 109 is
owned by the heirs of Hiram Buck, and No. 110 by the
heirs of Henry R. Noble. The deposit was discovered in
1865. It has been sufficiently worked to disclose the
existence of a great body of ore, with the most promising
evidences of superior qualities. The ore does not require
separating, but pounding in the machine prepares it for the
forge. The bed on 109 is opened about forty feet in
length with an average depth of about twenty feet.
Thompson Shaft. On lot No. 48, Iron Ore tract, and about
eight rods from the M. T. Smith shaft on lot No. 47 in
Moriah. This mine has been recently opened. A shaft
has been sunk one hundred and thirty feet, and about twenty-
five tons of ore are raised daily by horse power. The
ore is similar to that of the adjoining Smith shaft. The
bed is owned by W. Thompson, M. T. Smith and others.
NATURAL HISTORY. 411
On lot No. 127, IJorth River Head tract, a vein was dis-
covered in 1854. Partially developed it presents a view
of about ten feet in thickness of ore suitable for the furnace.
"Westport.
The Campbell Bed, now more generally designated the
Norway Bed, was opened between the years 1845 and
1850, and lies on lots Nos. 166 and 168, Iron Ore tract.
It was worked by Mr. Henry J. Campbell and "Whallon &
Judd, in 1852 and 1853. Several hundred tons of the ore
during that period were manufactured by Whallon & Judd.
It has established a reputation as a first class forge ore,
very similar in its qualities to the Burt and Fisher hill
ores. The ore is lean. The strongest indications exist,
that this mine embraces a vast deposit of superior ore.
The proprietors of the property are Hon. A. C. Hand, R.
Remington and the Kingdom Iron Company of Lake
Champlain. A road is now in process of construction
to connect the Norway Bed with Lake Champlain at the
village of "Westport.
The Merriam Bed is situated on lot No. 165, in the Iron
Ore tract, about five miles from "Westport. It was opened
by Messrs. W. P. & P. D. Merriam in 1867. Two other
distinct veins are disclosed on the same lot, which have
not been developed to any extent. The opening which
has been partially worked, exhibits a vein of five feet of
very pure ore, from eighteen to twenty feet in width. One
shaft has been sunk to the depth of twenty-five feet. This
ore, it is claimed, yields more than sixty per cent of sepa-
rated ore. It is neutral in its qualities, and produces in a
forge good iron. It has been successfully used in the forge
of the owners, since the bed was opened. The train road
of the Norway Company, will, when completed, approach to
within forty rods of this bed.
Jackson's Bed. Some years since a bed was opened in
"Westport, by Mr. F. H. Jackson and slightly worked. He
used the ore to some extent in the Sisco furnace but re-
cently it has not been operated. ¥
412 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
Essex and "Willsboro'.
The evidences of iron ore existing in both of these towns
are copious, but no large beds have been distinctly revealed.
A deposit is now being opened by Messrs. Nichols, Lynde
& Ross, about four miles south of the village of Essex
and near Split rock, and another, about a mile distant from
this,' known as the Hill bed, by an Albany company.
Numerous veins of iron ore have been found in Chester-
field, Keene, Jay, St. Armands and Wilmington. The
appearance of most of these indicate, that when fully de-
veloped, they will prove extensive and valuable. I exa-
mined in North Elba, several large deposits, apparently of
a high grade of ore. These were strangely overlooked,
when the original beds owned by the Elba Company were
abandoned, and it was judged necessary to export the raw
material from the Arnold bed. Beds of hematite iron ore
are found in the various sections of the county. Deposits
of iron ore pervade almost every section of the county, and
to such a degree, as to often embarrass the operations of
the surveyor, in the use of ordinary instruments. I have
been able to exhibit a mere outline of the incomputable
wealth embraced iu the iron mines of the region. The
past history and progress of these mines sustain the con-
viction, that deposits of ore remain unrevealed of equal
magnitude and of as high properties as those already dis-
covered. Those known to exist can only be regarded as
the types and harbingers of the infinite treasures still hid-
den in the mountains, and beneath the soil of northern
New York. These vast storehouses of private and
national wealth will be unlocked when the demands of
business and facilities of intercourse shall stimulate the
application of enterprise and capital.
The Palmer Bed. This mine, remarkable even in this
region for its magnitude and the quality of the ore, lies
iu the town of Black Brook, Clinton county, on Lot No.
15, in the eighth division of Livingstone's patent, and
NATURAL HISTORY. 413
within a short distance of the Essex county line. It is
situated nearly equidistant between the works of Messrs.
J. & J. Rogers, at Black Brook, and those at Au Sable
Forks, and about three miles from the depot of the White-
hall and Plattsburgh rail road. Its site is upon a bleak
and rocky eminence, that reveals no evidence of the vast
wealth it embraces. This bed was discovered by Zepha-
niah Palmer, near the year 1820, both from indications on
the surface, and the attraction of the magnet, but was not
efficiently worked until 1833. For a period, the title was
disturbed by a severe legal controversy ; but these have
long since been adjusted, and the unquestioned ownership
of the property is now held by the Messrs. Rogers, and
the Peru Steel and Iron Company ; five-eighths belonging
to the former, and the balance to the latter. The average
yield of this mine, during the last six years, has exceeded
twenty thousand tons of raw ore to the Messrs. Rogers,
and from twelve thousand to fourteen thousand tons to
the other proprietors. Nearly the whole of this large
aggregate is consumed by the owners of the bed in their
own works, leaving at present none for exportation.
This ore has been used principally in forges. It is a lean
and magnetic ore, and almost uniformly requires sepa-
rating.
The long term of years in which the Palmer bed has
been worked, has produced excavations that form a large
area, but without exhibiting the slightest appearance of
exhaustion in the affluent material. The working breasts
of ore are reached by a number of distinct shafts or pits ;
the lowest of which has descended to a depth of eight hun-
dred feet. A map of the premises, which has been oblig-
ingly furnished me by Mr. Graves, exhibits the hill as
literally honeycombed by these various openings. The
ore is raised from these pits by steam power. About one
hundred and fifty laborers are employed on the Rogers
section of the bed alone. I refer in other places to this
interesting locality, its labor and system of operations.
414 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
Peat.
I may here appropriately notice a material which I
confidently believe will become intimately associated with
the mineral interest of the district. Amid all the exu-
berant bounties of nature with which providence has
endowed this region, one has been withheld, in the want
of coal, that causes a serious impediment to its industrial
progress and prosperity. It is believed that an article
which prevails in every section in great profusion may
measurably supply this deficiency, . and it is gratifying to
know that the attention of prominent manufacturers is
directed to the subject of using it for fuel, in their work-
shops as well as for domestic consumption. The supply
of peat is particularly copious in northern New York,
and is everywhere accessible. I have examined numerous
deposits in the county of Essex, and the amount may be
pronounced literally inexhaustible. I can only refer to
one bed in Elizabethtown, on the premises of Hon. A. C.
Hand, as a type of the whole. This deposit spreads over
several acres. A pole was thrust through the peat a length
of more than twenty feet below the surface, without reach-
ing the hard pan beneath. By an analysis I caused to be
made of peat from the county, it was found to contain
more than ninety-three per cent of organic matter, com-
posed of resinous substances, vegetable fibres and other
combustible material. If art and science can devise any
process, by which this substance, with the requisite eco-
nomy, may be prepared for practical use, an infinite boon
will be presented to the country. In Austria, and various
departments of Germany, and in Sweden, peat is used in the
manufacture of iron. Even in Great Britain, and in com-
petition with the rich coal mines of that country it is being
introduced for that purpose. It is used in Belgium, I am
informed by a most intelligent authority, in the manu-
facture of the more delicate iron fabrics.1 In some classes
1Hon. T. O.Alvord.
NATURAL HISTORY. 415
of puddling furnaces peat has been consumed for a fourth
of a century. On the Grand Trunk rail road in Canada,
which traverses vast forest tracts belonging to the company,
where wood may be procured at merely the cost of chop-
ping by cheap labor, peat for the last year has been
appropriated for fuel in their engines. It is asserted by an
authentic source, that it has been thus exclusively used and
by its utilization has effected a saving of ten thousand
pounds to the road.1
Graphites.
This mineral, more generally known as plumbago,
or black lead, seems to pervade Essex county by almost
as universal a presence as iron ore. I found pure and
choice specimens in Chesterfield, Jay, Newcomb and
other towns. A correspondent states, that " Plumbago
exists in large quantities in Minerva."2 I am also in-
formed, that a mine is about being opened on Willsboro'
mountain.3 I examined a deposit of graphite, in which
considerable excavation had recently been made, on the
furnace property at Port Henry. The mineral here occurs
in neither a mass nor vein, but is incorporated by minute
particles in the soil, and is easily detected by its glittering
appearance. The earth yields on separating about one-
seventh part of the mineral. I also noticed large leaves
of very pure asbestos cleaving to the fragments of rock,
thrown out in this excavation. Ticonderoga, however, is
the scene of an extraordinary development of the graphite.
Much romantic legend invests the discovery of this deposit.
"Whether the slipping of an animal on the wet moss re-
vealed the lustrous treasure ; or the uncertain sound,
returned from the blow of an axe , or accident, or careful
research, as is asserted by different traditions, is less im-
portant than the fact, that about the year 1815, this im-
mense mass of graphite became known. The circumstance
that an Indian arrow was found in an old opening in the vein,
1 T. B. Hyde's letter. 2 E. P. Williams. 3 John Boss.
416 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
which was several feet in length, renders the supposition pro-
bable, that it was known and worked by the aborigines, at
an early period. The graphite mine appears to constitute
the principal formation of an eminence, now known as
Lead mountain, in the north-west part of Ticonderoga.
It is disclosed in seams throughout the vicinity, and is
probably injected into the whole ridge that extends into
Schroon. I examined two openings, near the works of
Messrs. Treadway in that town, which afforded very de-
cided indications of the graphite in large deposits and of
an excellent quality. Immediately after the discovery,
the different veins which had been disclosed were worked
in a rude manner by several claimants, but were subser
quently opened with more system by "William A. G.
Arthur and C. P. Ives. The whole interest has been pur-
chased and is now worked with great energy and success,
by the American Graphite Company. Iu site, this mine-
ral, gleaming like an infinitude of diamonds, is exquisitely
beautiful. At Ticonderoga it is found in veins, usually
from eight inches to a foot in thickness. Some of the
chambers have been opened between one hundred and
two hundred feet in length, and from seventy to eighty
feet in depth. Three hundred pounds of pure ore have
been raised in one hour from a single vein. The Graph-
ite Company employ about forty laborers in their mines
and raise and manufacture five hundred tons of the mine-
ral annually. The walls of this mine are quartz or trap
rock. Enormous specimens of the graphite of great beauty
and purity are excavated. Nearly a total freeness from
lime, supposed to exist in a portion of the mineral in these
veins, render it of the greatest value in the construction
of crucibles.
Galena.
I have most assiduously searched for traces of galena,
with a strong impression of its existence within the
limits of the county. The coincidence of several circum-
stances has formed this conviction. It is found in light
NATURAL HISTORY. 417
veins in the fissures of the rocks of several localities. A
map procured in London in 1784, which exhibited an
exact aud minute designation of the headlands and islands,
of the soundings and the position of each rock aud reef of
Lake Champlain, derived from the accurate surveys of the
French and English engineers, strengthens this opinion.1
Upon this map thus maturely and carefully arranged, a
point is designated in the mountain range between Ches-
terfield aud Willsboro', as the Lead ore bed. A tradition of
this ore bed is known to exist among the savage tribes
north of the great lakes. A little flotilla of canoes, bear-
ing Indians from that region, as they represent, appear
yearly about the middle of autumn, lying on the beach in
the vicinity of those mountains. Lingering here for seve-
ral days, with no ostensible pursuit, they as suddenly disap-
pear. I cannot resist the popular opinion that these
periodical visits have some connection with the legend and
the existence of this ore bed. Other circumstances tend to
fortify this impression. Accounts which have been re-
tained in several families, descended from the early settlers
of the county, ancestors of which were carried prisoners
into Canada during the revolution, combine to corroborate
the following facts. The Indians, who usually were their
conductors, were in the habit of uniformly landing near
these mountains (which are the last northern spurs of the
Adirondacs, aud here fall precipitately into the lake), and
while a part remained to guard the prisoners, others
proceeded into the interior, and after an absence of
a few hours, returned to the canoes laded with lead ore
of the richest quality. These traditions are all harmonious
as to the incident, the locality, and the time employed by
the Indians procuring their lead. Several barrels of crude
1 This map was brought from England by Elkanah Watson, and was
loaned by him to a state department at Albany. All trace has since been lost
of it. It was a most important and interesting document, and believed to
contain the only minute chart of Lake Champlain extant. The steamer
Francis Saltus was wrecked in 1852, upon a slight needle rock laid down
on this chart, but unknown to many of the navigators of the lake.
27
418 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
lead ore, which had been collected in the same locality, we
dispatched from Willsboro' last autumn, for the purpose
of being examined and assayed.1
Copper.
This metal has been found many feet below the surface
in the Phosphate mine and at another locality in Crown
Point. Specimens which I have analyzed exhibit the fol-
lowing very favorable results. No. 86 was from the Phos-
phate mine and 68 from the other site.
No. 68. No. 86.
Copper 44.50 46.70
Iron, 31.30 10.45
Sulphur, 30.20
Carbonic Acid, 23.10
Silica, 3.70 19.85
99.70 99.85
No. 68 is copper pyrites containing iron as it usually
does. This is sufficiently rich in copper to make it valua-
ble if found in any considerable quantity. The greater
part of the copper of commerce comes from this kind of
ore. No. 86 is a carbonate of copper, and will be very
valuable if found in adequate quantities. In reference to
the deposit in Crown Point, one of the enterprising pro-
prietors wrote me some years since, "our company ex-
pended about three hundred dollars last season in sinking
a shaft upon the copper locality, and found more or less
all the way, as far as they descended, but no regular lode.
Some of the specimens we procured were very rich and
beautiful, and I have no doubt but a rich lode of copper
would be found by sinking deep. The iron business,
however, now pays too well to run much risk on copper."
The subject still slumbers in the same position.2
1A. D. Barber. a C. F. Hammond, Esq.
NATURAL HISTORY. 419
Silver.
Au intelligent resident of North Elba in communicat-
ing a valuable description of that town, refers to a sin-
gular and apparently well authenticated account of the
accidental discovery of a vein of silver ore among the
Adirondacs and the loss of its trace. He adduces strong
evidence of the fact, and that pure silver was produced
from the ore.
The geological formation along the shore of Lake Cham-
plain presents an unique and remarkable alternation of
the primitive with the higher structures. The former in a
general inclination recedes from the lake, but incidentally
dislocates the formation of the latter by projecting between
them, veins and ledges in lateral spurs. At Ticonderoga,
a range of sandstone and limestone rock supervenes.
Proceeding northward, we meet at Crown Point, a ledge
of regular granite and veins of gneiss succeeded by lime-
stone containing fossil remains and mingled with the
black marble. At Port Henry is exhibited a remarkable
and scarcely defined and promiscuous mingling of various
strata of rocks and minerals. Serpentine, mica in large
aud beautiful masses, gneissoid granite, primitive limestone,
are conspicuous. The pure white .of the granular lime-
stone, spotted by the sparkling black specks of plumbago,
form most beautiful cabinet specimens. In Keene, I
found specimens more rare and exquisitely beautiful of
this limestone, dotted by bright green crystals of sahlite.
Verd antique occurs in large veins at Port Henry, and is
au exceeding rich and brilliant material. An observant
gentleman of that place affirmed that a fossiliferous lime
stone rock, presenting a perfect stratification, might be
seen at low water on the margin of the lake, forming a
substratum to these primitive rocks.
The granular limestone which crops out at Port Henry,
appears in Ticonderoga, near Lake George, aud prevails
extensively in Schroon and Minerva. I found but one
manifestation of the rock in North Elba, upon the farm of
420 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
Mr. Hinckley, where it develops in a ledge, upon a side
hill. It appears usually combined with sulphates, phos-
phates, or other foreign substances. The hyperstene rock
projects from the mountains in Westport, and, incidentally
traversed by limestone, predominates. The primitive
rocks prevail in the southern section of the town of Essex.
Here occurs that very extraordinary exhibition of porphyry
so elaborately discussed in the report of Professor Emmons.
This rock, extending over the surface upon several acres,
is peculiarly beautiful in its color, structure, and singular
dentrit.ic formation. It affords perfect demonstration of an
igneous agency, most potent and terrific, that rent asunder
the earth, fused and ejected this vast rock. The extreme
hardness of the porphyry is a marked characteristic.
Struck with the steel hammer, it evolves a brilliant confis-
cation of light and sparks. My attention was directed to
another remarkable exhibition of porphyry, upon the pre-
mises of Mr. Clark, on Willsboro' point. This vein, about
a foot wide, is interjected in a seam of blue limestone, and
the rock has been evidently dismembered in the process.
Scarcely a fragment of the disrupted limestone remains,
near the porphyry vein. Various fossils occur in this rock,
and also in the slate or shale which lies contiguous. Many
of these remains are of great size, and in unusual preserv-
ation. A few years since, a single fossil of a reptile was
exhumed by Mr. Clark, measuring two feet in length, and
so perfect in its preservation, that the form of the minute
scales could be distinguished. At Mount Trembleau, as
in Willsboro', Westport and Moriah, the hyperstene rock
plunges into the lake in a bold, ragged, and perpendicular
wall. A very peculiar and large deposit of stalagmite
lies upon the north bank of the Boquet, near, but not sub-
jacent apparently, to a mass of limestone. Several veins
of kaolin develop at Mount Trembleau, upon the lake
shore, beneath the hyperstene. A large deposit exists near
Auger pond in Chesterfield. Similar masses occur in
other sections of the county. A specimen from Putnam's
pond, in Schroon, was subjected to analysis, many years
NATURAL HISTORY. 421
since, by Professor Eaton,1 and pronounced by him emi-
nently pure and exempt from injurious combinations.
Limestone, and very clear quartz rock, supposed to be
adapted to the glass manufacture, and beds of clay, of
great purity, occur iu St. Armands.2 A bed of feldspar is
also situated on lot No. 31, Pliny Moore patent, in Crown
Point, is owned by Messrs. S. S. & A. V. Spalding. I am
informed that it has been tested in pottery works at Ben-
nington and at Troy, and more recently in New York with
success, and that it produces a beautiful ware. The deposit
is represented to be inexhaustible.
A long and attractive list of rare and beautiful minerals
might be exhibited, which are incorporated with the rocks
of Essex county, or imbedded in its earth. Particular
localities are peculiarly rich in these deposits. The crest
of a hill upon the premises of Col. Calkins, near Lake
George, affords a choice field for the researches of the
scientific explorer. The avalanches, at Long pond, in
Keene, present a site still more lavishly supplied with
brilliant gems and minerals.3 Augite, garnet, zircon, sah-
lite, sphene, coccolite, adularia, rose colored quartz spar,
epidote, clorite, jasper, cornelian, are among the minerals,
yielded by these remarkable deposits. Veins of colopho-
nite occur in Lewis, Chesterfield and Willsboro'. This
exceedingly splendid and beautiful mineral is found in vast
conglomerates, refulgent in the colors and lustre of innu-
merable gems.
1 Mr. Treadway. 2 Elias Goodspeed, Esq.
3 1 have been favored by the Rev. Mr. Pattee with a more particular and
highly interesting description of the latter locality. It is situated near
Edinond's pond, at a precipice laid bare by an avalanche in 1830. In the
bed of a little brook, which leaps down the slide, innumerable minerals
sparkle, and are strewn about the vicinity in every direction. High up the
precipice, a series of caves occur, which are the peculiar deposits of the
gems and minerals, and almost rival in beauty and variety, the caverns of
east era story. " Here are found large boulders, and even ledges of calcareous
spar, blue, white, and sometimes beautifully variegated by crystals of epi-
dote, coccolite, and hornblende. They are occasionally found in stalactitic
and crystaline forms, but more generally in amorphous masses." The basalt
is chiefly found in veins and dykes."
422 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
Native Copperas.
A singular formation of natural copperas exists imme-
diately below the Wilmington Notch, on the bank of the
Au Sable river. The impregnated water, oozing from
the earth, forms a thick Concretion upon the rock, which
may be removed in large quantities. It is adapted, in its
crude state, to all the usual purposes of the artificial sul-
phate of iron.
The Beaches.
The naked and barren beaches along the shores of the
lake occasionally furnish elements of business, which
are profitably used. The detritus of iron formed by
the attrition of the water and fragments of rock from the
ore, which is known by the circumstance to exist on the
bottom of the lake, is thrown up in several localities, in
thick deposits. This substance is nearly pure iron, and
gathered with care formerh- supplied a large demand by
the stationers. Subsequently it has been employed in the
manufacture of malt and for other purposes. In some
seasons it has been a heavy article of exportation. A New
York company has recently secured extensive rights, with
the view of erecting works, designed to adapt this " iron
sand " for use in some mechanical arts.
Gravel thrown up by the waters of the lake and collected
on the beaches, is exported in large quantities to Montreal,
by the Sorel, the Chambly canal and St. Lawrence, and
is extensively consumed in that city, for both useful and
ornamental purposes.
Water Cement.
A vein of water cement in the town of Willsboro',
of a very superior quality, has been used for practical
purposes for many years, and is apparently of great
extent. Other deposits of this material occur in various
parts of the county. I noticed one of particular promise
on the farm of Harris Page in Chesterfield.
NATURAL HISTORY. 423
A large ledge of limestone believed to be a water
cement, occurs iu Crown Point.
Paints.
Paint exists in different sections of the county, in
numerous deposits and various colors. It is generally
disintegrated and pulverized, and is used in its crude state
for ordinary painting. When prepared by artificial re-
finement, it is believed these minerals will be made use-
ful for practical purposes. An ore occurs inTiconderoga,
of a rocky consistence, which presents a bright rich Ver-
million surface, aud is supposed will yield an important
paint.
Drift and Diluvial Formation.
Whilst strong and indubitable evidences prevail through-
out the county of Essex that an igneous power constituted
the stupendous agency that impressed upon this region its
peculiar features and characteristics, it is equally manifest
that an aqueous action exerted an influence in moulding
its existing formation. Without designing to vindicate
any opinion or to educe any theory, it seems appropriate
that I should present summarily a few prominent facts
which may possibly convey to other minds elucidations
and arguments on this subject.
Lake Champlain is only ninety-three feet above tide
water, and a plummet descending in it six hundred feet
has not reached bottom. These facts may be suggestive
of important considerations. Marine shells, forming large
deposits of marl, occur in the vicinity of the lake, in a
state of such preservation that the species may be readily
defined, and which induces the belief of their being a
comparatively recent deposit. The tenacious blue clay,
surmounted by the yellowish clay peculiar to marine form-
ations, may be traced widely disseminated iu the county.
ISTumerous deposits are disclosed along the sides of hills
and mountains, of large gravel, rounded by attrition and
decay, and presenting every assimilation in appearance to
424 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
the line of a beach, that has been washed by the surges.
The sand drifts are uniformly, or nearly so, exposed in
long and narrow expanses, occupying the tracts of valleys
or ravines. The recent formation is perfectly illustrated
near the village of Pleasant Valley, where a slide exposes
the stratification of the earth to a depth of some twenty
feet. The lower stratum revealed is the yellow clay, suc-
ceeded by a coarse and rough gravel ; this is surmounted
by a smaller gravel, clear and abraded; the latter is
covered by a stratum of sand, light and washed, and
beneath the entire mass projects logs and roots. The
lovely valley that borders the Schroon river, and spreads
over an area of several miles between Paradox and Schroon
lakes, presents equally decisive evidences of a recent
formation. This plain is fertile, and now generally under
high cultivation. In sinking pits for wells and other pur-
poses, logs nearly entire and prostrate trees are constantly
found from twelve to seventeen feet below the surface.1
I have before referred to the appearance of ripple marks
mar the base of the walled banks of the Au Sable, and in
another connection have mentioned the remarkable fos-
siliferous rock on Willsboro' point.
In Elizabethtown, on the brow of au eminence, many
feet above the valley, a formation in the solid rock, smooth
and rounded, may be seen, not unlike in size and general
appearance to a common caldron kettle. I examined two
others on the premises of Colonel Calkins, and similarly
situated upon the crest of a precipice. I also inspected
another formation of this kind on the lands of Messrs.
Treadway, in Schroon. The half circle of this remains
entire ; the residue has been apparently destroyed by frag-
ments of rocks, fallen from the cliffs above. The entire
circle was probably twenty feet in diameter. This also
stands upon the verge of a high and abrupt precipice of
probably two hundred feet in depth. The appearance,
the form, the position, the smooth and worn surface of
1 Clark Bawson, Esq.
NATURAL HISTORY. 425
these extraordinary structures, all indicate that they have
been formed by the abrasions of a rapid and powerful
current of water.
The existence of boulders formed of every rock, and dis-
seminated through the county, equally upon the hills and
mountains as in the valleys, presents a broad and attractive
field for scientific researches and philosophical speculations.
Boulder rock, dissimilar in character and belonging to
other formations, worn and rounded, are scattered over
the county in utter confusion and dislocation. Granite
intermingled with sand, sandstone resting upon hyperstene,
and gneiss upon limestone, perpetuall}T occur. A gentle-
man of intelligence assured me, that he had examined a
fragment of red sandstone near the summit of a hyperstene
mountain, in the centre of the county, and remote from
every rock of that description. I saw in Moriah, a
Potsdam sandstone block lying upon the surface of a rock
of gneiss, many miles from the former in site. Among
the Adirondacs, at an elevation of one thousand seven hun-
dred feet, and more than one thousand feet above any
known locality of Potsdam sandstone, pebbles of that rock
are found, bearing all the close crystaline appearance of
that stone at Keeseville.1 They are found in gravel pits,
sand beds, and along the banks of the river. The presence
of these boulders, varying in size from the mere pebbles
to masses of many tous, occurs in every section of the
county. These are among the facts and circumstances
existing in this region calculated to illustrate theories and
speculations on the subject of the drift formation of the
country. A highly corroborative fact has within a few
years been revealed to the scientific world by the zeal of
the eminent Professor Zadock Thompson, of the Vermont
University. It should be understood that a perfect geolo-
gical analogy exists between the opposite shores of Lake
Champlain, in the vicinity of the discovery referred to.
While laborers were engaged in the town of Charlotte,
>i?. Clark.
426 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
Vermont, in forming an excavation for the Rutland and
Burlington rail road. They exhumed a quantity of bones
embedded in the clay about eight feet below the natural
surface of the soil. They were partially broken before
their peculiar appearance attracted attention. A portion
of the bones was transmitted to Mr. Thompson, who
immediately repaired to the place, and after much labor
succeeded in collecting sufficient of the remains to enable
him to determine, after further inspection, that they were the
almost perfect skeleton of a member of the whale family.
Aided by the great science of Professor Agassiz, he suc-
ceeded in arranging and collecting the bones, and decided
the animal to be the beluga leucas or small northern
white whale of Cuvier. This remarkable fossil, so sig-
nificant of the theory to which I have adverted, is preserved
in the department of natural history at Montpelier.
Fertilizers.
Phosphate of Lime. The extraordinary deposit of this
rare and valuable mineral in Crown Point, has elicited
much interest and attention from both the scientific and
agricultural community of England.
The public owe the discovery of the mine in Crown
Point to the discriminating observation and sagacious
enterprise of C. F. Hammond, Esq. His attention was
originally attracted to the locality by an appearance of iron
ore, and the presence upon and near the surface of large
numbers of quartz crystals. These indications, and the
peculiar and unusual formation and texture of the rocks,
suggested a minute examination of the place, which re-
vealed a substance, the name and character of which Mr.
Hammond was ignorant. In the year 1838, he directed
the attention of a naturalist to it, who decided, upon a
casual inspection, that it was a new and rare mineral,
and designated its name, but pronounced it of no value
except for cabinet specimens.1 The zeal of Mr. Ham-
1 C. F. Hammond.
NATURAL HISTORY. 427
mond was unabated, and in a subsequent examina-
tion urged by him and made in 1850, the mineral was
ascertained to be a great desideratum in agriculture — a
natural phosphate of lime. In the autumn of the same
year ground was broken at the mine, and excavation com-
menced. The opening is directly upon a public highway,
and one mile and a half from the shore of Lake Champlain.
A shaft eight to ten feet wide has been sunk one hundred
and fifteen feet. Lateral galleries have been projected
north and west from the bottom of the shaft. The copper
ore already noticed, was discovered in one gallery, and the
phosphate was raised from the other. About one hundred
and seventy tons of the first quality of the phosphate was
exported to ISTew York several years ago, and a large ac-
cumulation of an inferior quality remained at the mouth
of the shaft. No recent progress has been made in the
development of this mine. Phosphates have been disclosed
incorporated with the ores of Moriah and other places,
taken from near the surface in inconvenient profusion.
Marl. Specimens of marl from the farm of Mr. Taflft, of
Crown Point, and the estate of the late Col. Watson, of
Port Kent, have been examined and analyzed by Professor
Salisbury, with the following results :
No. 3. No. 4.
Marl Marine Marl Fresh
Shells. Water Shells.
Silicic acid. 59.20 22.60
Phosphoric acid. 1.15 2.35
Carbonic acid. '.. 9.92 28.15
Sulphuric acid, 0.15 0.09
Lime, 12.78 36 26
Iron, 3.40 1.15
Magnesia, 0.55 0.35
Potassa, 0.45 0.36
Soda, 0.40 0.07
Chlorine, 0.11 0.12
Organic matter, 11.61 8.44
99.72 99.94
428 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
" The marine marl (No. 3, from Port Kent), is a deposit
of great value as a manure ; aside from its being rich in
phosphoric acid and lime, it contains most of the other
inorganic matter which enters into the food of plants.
No. 4 will also prove valuable to those in its vicinity."
Limestone. The limestones in every variety so extensively
diffused in the county, incorporated as they are almost
universally with other fertilizing elements, will prove, I
think, of the highest value in the agricultural economy of
the county. I procured a specimen of rock in Schroon
which has been practically tested as a fertilizer, with a
highly favorable result.1 A careful experiment, comparing
it with other agents, exhibits very satisfactory effects. The
Nova Scotia plaster proved the most efficacious. In the
effect of the Schroon rock and the western plaster, no
perceptible difference was manifest. The influence of each
was marked and decisive, indicated by the superiority of
the crop to which they were applied, over that part which
had received no application of either of these materials.
A similar stone is found in Klizabethtown.
Muck and Peat. These materials exist in boundless
quantities in every section of the county. I caused analy-
ses to be carefully made of specimens taken from different
localities, which were pronounced peculiarly rich and of
great value. The material prevails in sufficient quantities
to fertilize every acre of arable land in the district.
Quarries.
I have adverted elsewhere to the hyperstene rock of the
Adirondacs, as peculiarly adapted, by its durability and
exceeding beauty, for building purposes and ornamental
work. If art can succeed in subduing the hard and in-
tractable properties of this stone, and we have seen that
experiments have been highly successful in approaching
thai result, few materials exist more beautiful than por-
tions of the hyperstene, by its rich and glowing texture,
1 Letter of Abijah Smith, Esq.
NATURAL HISTORY. 429
and by the exquisite coloring, so deeply variegated and
singularly blended in its appearance and formation. The
hyperstene, after appearing in a wide range, through
various sections of the county, abruptly terminates on the
lower Au Sable, in contact with the Potsdam sandstone.
The latter, for several miles, formed the walled banks of
the Au Sable, and expands widely through the valley.
Keeseville Quarries. The Postdam sandstone is largely
quarried in the vicinity of Keeseville, and is exported to
a considerable amount. Lying in a perfect lamination, it
may be excavated in large slabs or blocks. Those sixty
feet square are easily obtained. The strata are so clearly
defined and separated, that the only power requisite in
raising the stone, is the wedge and lever. Mr. S. E.
Keeler, the occupant of one of the most extensive deposits,
informs me, that in the experience of many years, he has
never had occasion to use a blast, in excavations on his
quarry. The stone presents, on the horizontal side, a
smooth and plane surface. The stone at Keeseville has
usually a yellow-gray coloring, and is found admirably
adapted to flagging and building purposes. It may be pro-
cured in slabs or blocks, from an inch to nearly a foot in
thickness. It is asserted that this sandstone is impressed
in different sites by very dissimilar qualities, and I am as-
sured, that in some instances, where the Potsdam sandstone
has been procured in other localities, and has proved
defective, the deficiency has been supplied by stone taken
from the Keeseville quarries. In a recent official paper
addressed to the commissioners of the new Capitol, it is
stated that " the Potsdam sandstone, in many parts of
Clinton county, is too friable for any economical use,
beyond furnishing sand for glass making." I am not
prepared to dissent from these strictures in reference to
the stone taken from some quarries, but they are not just,
if intended to apply to the Keeseville stone. When first
raised, it is slightly soft, not friable, but after exposure to
the atmosphere becomes exceedingly hard. Edifices are
now standing, which furnish proof of the firmness and
430 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
durability of this stone, after an exposure of more than
half a century, to storms and the action of the elements.
The material which forms these buildings, does not exhibit
the most remote appearance of decay or disintegration.
In another passage of the same report, which may be con-
structed as a general application to the Potsdam sand-
stone, it is remarked : " Its commonly striped or variegated
color offers an objectionable feature for a general use in
building." A solitary specimen of the Keeseville stone
occasionally shows a stain from iron, but it is never
striped or variegated. It forms, when care and judgment
are exercised in a selection, a soft, warm and beautiful
building material in its coloring, that is at once orna-
mental and enduring.
A quarry of marble is situated upon the premises of
Mr. J. X. Macornber in Chesterfield, near Keeseville, and
apparently of large extent. Its coloring is light brown,
variegated by white, with a shelly combination, and re-
ceives a brilliant polish. The uncommon appearance and
coloring of this marble will probably render it a valuable
deposit.
Clark's Quarry, in Willsboro', is on the margin ofWills-
boro' bay and is worked by S. W. Clark & Co. The rock
is the Trenton limestone, and embraces two varieties, the
Black river and the Birdseye. The dip of the strata
is so slight, that the stone is raised with great facility.1
A commodious wharf has been erected on the premises,
which enables the stone to be shipped at the quarry. The
operations of this concern are very extensive, and usually
give employment to from forty to sixty laborers. The
stones frequently excavated at this quarry are of enormous
size. They are exported to various points for material
in the construction of public edifices, and for ornamental
works, including door steps, columns, sills and monuments.
In the spring of 1869, the proprietors of this quarry
effected a heavy contract with the commissioners for sup-
1 Rev. A. 1). Barber.
NATURAL HISTORY. 431
plying stone to the new Capitol. They now (autumn, 1869)
employ nearly three hundred laborers, and load a canal
boat daily from their wharf. A massive rock from this
quarry forms the first foundation stone of the new edifice.
Near the scene of these operations, another quarry of
similar stone is worked by the Messrs. Frisbie, for the
manufacture of lime. A large amount of this material is
annually burnt at these kilns and exported. In the town
of Essex, another primitive limestone kiln is owned and
worked by Messrs. William Hoskin & Co. Another large
and productive quarry of limestone has for many years
been worked in Westport. A quarry of black clouded
marble of rare beauty and softness occurs upon the old
garrison grounds at Crown Point. Although nearly a
century and a half ago the entrenchments of Fort St.
Frederic penetrated a section of this quarry, it has excited
no interest, until the attention of the Messrs. Hammond— \
a few years since, was directed to it. The texture of the
stone is firm and consolidated, but so soft and free from '
grit, that it may be easily carved by a pocket knife. It
opens in large slabs and blocks, receives a high polish,
and is adapted for the most delicate fabrics. This quarry
has not been worked. Another deposit of dark stone,
near the river, in Ticonderoga, is extensive and probably
valuable. Harder and less delicate than the marble at
Crown Point, it is darker, and appears to be susceptible
of a very high finish. Near the marble deposit in Crown
Point, an excellent quarry of limestone is successfully
worked.
Many quarries of various kinds of rock not embraced
in the above description are worked in the county for
local convenience, and the production of lime and others
are known to exist, but at present are undeveloped.
PART IV.
INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS AND RESOURCES.
The earliest business associations of northern New
York were connected with the markets of the St. Law-
rence. The illimitable forests of Essex county presented
the first field to the settler for the efforts of industry, and
has continued to their successors an inexhaustible source
of enterprise and wealth. The lumber trade with -Canada
commenced soon after the permanent occupation of the
country subsequent to the revolution. It enlisted for many
years almost the whole energies of the population.
The public lands yielded a rich aud free harvest to those
who entered upon them, while the rights of private owners
of wild lands were regarded with exceeding laxity. Nor-
way pine and oak were at that time principally esteemed
for the Canadian trade. White pine had little comparative
value. The oak sticks, prepared for the northern market,
were hewn. The pines were designed for the navy of
England, and were transported to Quebec, round, and of
any length exceeding twenty feet. Spars of vast dimen-
sions were exported from the shores of Lake Champlain,
and sold to the agents of the British government, probably
to form
The mast of some tall admiral.
The winter season was chiefly devoted to preparing and
collecting these materials, and the whole force of the teams
and labor of the country was put in requisition for the
object. The timber was gathered in coves or low marshes,
protected from the winds and floods of early spring, and
there formed into immense rafts. Deals or thick planks
of pine, and oak staves were ultimately manufactured, and
INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS AND RESOURCES. 433
exported to the same market. These articles were arranged
in cribs, and transported with the rafts or piled upon its
surface. The rafts were often of great size. They were
propelled through the lake by sails and oars, and were
borne by the current and tide down the Sorel and St. Law-
rence river. In passing the rapids of the former, the rafts
were partially taken asunder. The strong currents of the
St. Lawrence impelled them rapidly down that stream,
but the turbulent tides near Quebec often swept them
beyond the havens of that city, with great danger, and at
times a total loss. These catastrophes were not uufrequent.
Th£ average price at Quebec, of oak timber, was forty
cents per cubic foot, and that of pine, about twenty cents.
The timber cost, delivered upon the shores of Lake Cham-
plain, from six to eight cents, and the transportation from
thence to Quebec, was about two and a half cents in
addition, per cubic foot. The profit of this traffic seems
to have been exorbitant, yet singularly, it proved to most
who engaged in it, unfortunate and disastrous. The mag-
nitude and activity of this business rapidly exhausted the
masses of timber contiguous to the lake, and spars and
timber were eventually transported from forests fifteen
miles in the interior, to the place of rafting. Small rafts
of spars and dock stick, formed of the scattered relics of
the original forests, are still annually collected and carried
to the southern market.
No decked vessel, it is stated, navigated Lake Cham-
plain seventy years ago. The insignificant commerce which
at that period existed upon its waters, was conducted in
cutters, piraguas, and bateaux. Few wharves had then
been constructed.
The emigrants desiring to land their stock, were often
compelled to approach some favorable position, and throw-
ing the animals overboard, swim them to the shore. In
the more sparsely settled districts, vessels freighted with
salt would anchor in same adjacent cove, and announce its
presence to the inhabitants, who were often compelled to
434 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
haul their grain on sleds through the woods, to barter for
the salt. In this interchange, a bushel of wheat usually
purchased a bushel of salt.1 The merchant visiting the
southern market for goods, before the introduction of
steamers upon the lake, which occurred in 1809, consumed
generally a month on the journey. The return of the
merchandise was still more protracted. This journey was
often performed on horseback, and occasionally by a chance
vessel. The goods were transported in winter by sleighs,
and at other seasons by water, from "Whitehall. The vil-
lage of Essex, for a series of years, was the important busi-
ness mart of this entire region. *
The construction of the Champlain canal gave a different
direction, and imparted a new character to the lumbering
operations of northern New York. Norway pine became
subordinate in value to the white pine. The Quebec trade
yielded to the new avenues opened to our own marts.
Finer articles of lumber were prepared for the southern
markets. The lumber business in its changed aspect again
became the paramount occupation of the country. Innu-
merable saw-mills were erected, and the forests of white
pine were demolished with as much rapidity as the Nor-
way pine had been at an earlier day, to supply the Quebec
market.
The amount and value of the various fabrics, the pro-
duce of the forest, which have been transported by the
Champlain canal from Essex county, are almost inappre-
ciable.
The exhaustion of the forests accessible from Lake
Champlain, has constrained the lumber manufacturer to
seek his resources in the wilds of the interior. Logs are
now floated from the most remote districts of Franklin
county down the Saranac river and through a portion of
Essex county, to supply the mills on that stream. State
bounty has been extended with munificence to aid in
opening that wilderness to this policy, by important irn-
1 Norman Page, Esq.
INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS AND RESOURCES. 435
provements in the navigation of the Saranac, Raquette,
and other rivers, which penetrate that territory.
A large and valuable tract of timber land lying in the
confines of Wilmington and North Elba, spreads along the
acclivities and for many miles around the base of the White-
face mountain. This is the only district of extent or value
occupied by the primitive forest of pine, spruce, and hem-
lock, now remaining of Essex county and accessible.
Environed by lofty mountain barriers, it is impracticable
to export manufactured lumber from this region. It is
estimated that this tract may yield one million of saw logs.
The numerous and widely diffused branches of the
Hudson have annually appropriated for the transit of a very
large amount of logs. Insignificant mountain rivulets
swollen by the spring freshets, are cou verted into valuable
mediums for this purpose, by the adroit management of
the experienced lumberman.
Whiskey.
In the early part of the century numerous distilleries
existed in the county, but the business was the most active
in the town of Wilmington. The tillage of the town was
almost wholly devoted to the production of rye, to supply
these works. During the war of 1812, the manufacture
of whiskey was au extensive and highly lucrative occupa-
tion. I am not aware that a single distillery now exists
in the county of Essex.
Potashes.
While the county was passing through its transition
from a primitive state to cultivation, the forest yielded a
highly lucrative and available resource, in the manufacture
of potash. Prohibited exportation by the non-intercourse
policy of our own government, this traffic was illicit ; but,
stimulated by the exorbitant prices which the exigencies
of the British affairs attached to the article in the Canadian
market, an immense quantity found its way from northern
New York into Montreal. This manufacture occupied a
436 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
large portion of the population in its various connections,
while the excitement existed, which was alone terminated
by the final declaration of war in 1812. As a distinct
business it is now nearly abandoned.
A conflagration of the woods presents a scene in the
highest degree imposing and terrific, and often inflicts
destructive ravages upon the pursuits of the manufacturer,
as well as the products of agriculture. In certain periods
of the year, the dried leaves and other combustible mate-
rials of the forest form an inflammable mass, which spreads
a flame with inconceivable celerity. Impelled by the
wind, which constantly accumulates in vehemence, its pro-
gress is so rapid that neither man nor beast is secure of
safety in flight. It spreads widely its column of flame as
it advances. It seizes upon tops of the loftiest trees, and
leaping from object to object, it laps up every combustible
substance, far in advance of the body of the conflagration.
Sparks borne by the whirlwind for furlongs, start new
fires. Immense amounts of property, comprising timber,
lumber, wood, dwellings, fences, crops of grain and grass
are often in a few hours consumed by these inflictions.
The intense heat of these fires, by consuming all the
organic elements of the soil, frequently destroys for many
years the fertility of the earth.
Iron Manufactories.
The progress of the iron manufacturing interests of
Essex has not been commensurate with the resources indi-
cated by its immense mineral wealth. In the comparative
infancy of a country, this advance could not be expected.
Specific causes, however, have exerted an influence which
has largely tended to arrest the general manufacturing
prosperity of northern New York. The great absence
formerly of capital, which is the essential basis of extended
manufacturing operations, the remoteness of the district
from the centre of business, and the want of all artificial
channels of intercourse, were very obvious reasons for this
depression. Lake Champlain has furnished the only
INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS AND RESOURCES. 437
medium for transportation to markets, and the closing of
that navigation for nearly six months of the year suspended
all transit, and left the productions of the manufactories
for that long term upon the hands of the producers. In
all these aspects the changes are most auspicious. Capital
is more abundant, and the rail roads now in progress of
rapid construction will soon open this sequestered region
to a certain and ready intercourse with the world, and
animate its slumbering resources.
In pursuing my contemplated plan, I propose, in the
succeeding pages to present a brief outline of the origin,
progress and existing condition of the iron manufactories
of Essex county with an incidental view of all its industrial
interests. While the magnitude and promiuence of the
iron interest will demand particular consideration, I design
in noticing the more prominent localities, to embrace an
account of other important manufactories connected with
them, either in business or by territorial affinities. The
numerous affluents of the Au Sable, descending impetuously
from high and often mountainous sources, form in their
course an infinitude of water privileges. The river itself,
for a considerable extent, is the boundary line between
the counties of Clinton and Essex. In treating of the
valuable manufacturing works situated in the Au Sable
valley, I find it impracticable to separate those essentially
located on the north side of the river, from those standing
specifically on the soil of Essex county. The dams usu-
ally rest upon the territory of each county ; the interests
of these establishments directly affect, and are intimately
associated with both counties, and their immense business
movements extend their operations widely through all the
adjacent territory on either side of the stream. In de-
scribing, therefore, the manufacturing interests of Essex
county, I am compelled, in this view, to include all that
belongs to the Au Sable valley.
Early in the century, the fires of small forges illumi-
nated numerous sequestered spots in almost every section
of the county. These works exerted a beneficent local
438 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
influence. They stimulated the indpstry of remote dis-
tricts; they created a market for all the products of
husbandry ; by a demand for wood and coal, they imparted
a value to unprofitable forests, and thus enhanced the
price of lands, and promoted the cultivation of the earth.
Little hamlets clustered around thesy sites, and some
exhibited the impress of civilization by their varied arts,
their schools, and religious movements. While some of
these enterprises remain and are prosperous, many have
disappeared in the mutation of affairs. With some, the
supply of wood has tailed ; the proprietors of others did
not possess the requisite strength to resist the adverse
waves that so often roll across the manufacturing inter-
ests, and others have been overshadowed or absorbed by
more powerful institutions. When we view, amid the
ruins of these scenes, the water rushing over decaying
dams ; the earth strewn with the vestiges of former in-
dustry, and the humble dwellings shattered and falling,
the heart will be saddened, and we almost accept the
spectacle as an evidence of a fallen business and impove-
rished land. But in reality, new changes have generally
proved more favorable to the general interests and expan-
sion of a large district.
William Gilliland appears to have contemplated in 1783
the idea of erecting iron works upon the shores of Lake
Champlain, and engaged in an actual negotiation in refer-
ence to that design.1 The iron manufacturing business of
Essex county, destined to become an interest of national
consideration , was initiated in a feeble establishment at Wills-
boro' Falls. These works were erected in 1801, by Levi
Highbey and George Throop, sustained by the capital of
Charles Kane of Schenectady, and primarily designed for
the fabrication of anchors. The partners held an unlimited
contract for the sale of all that article they might make for a
term often years. The anchors varying from three hun-
dred to fifteen hundred pounds were to be delivered at
1 Champlain Valley, 190.
INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS AND RESOURCES. 439
Troy. They were transported by water to Whitehall,
thence carted to Fort Edward, and there shipped on bateaux.
One or two unfavorable experiments were made in export-
ing them to Quebec. It is a remarkable circumstance that
the ore used in these works for ten years, was principally
obtaiued in Vermont, with a few loads from Canada. " A
bed at Basin Harbor, owned by Piatt Rogers, was the only
deposit of iron ore, which at that period had been developed •
in the whole region. Soon after the close of the ten years
contract, the Arnold ore bed in Clinton county was dis-
covered.1 The foundery, at Willsboro', in addition to
anchors, cast mill cranks, grist mill machinery, and ulti-
mately steam boat irons. This property fell into other
hands, and was finally converted into a forge. The same
year in which this enterprise was commenced at "Willsboro',
Liberty Newman of Shoreham, Vermont, erected iron
works at the upper falls in Ticonderoga.2 I have not been
able to trace the history or results of this movement.
At an early period in the century, William D. Ross of
Essex, erected a rolling mill on the Boquet, for making
nail plates. These plates were manufactured in large
quantities, and sold at $8 per cwt., to the nail factory in
New Haven, Vermont.
Elba Iron Works. About the year 1809, Archibald Mc-
Intire and his associates erected iron works upon a small
stream ambng the head waters of the Au Sable river,
and in a remote section of the county, comprised within
the limits of the present town, of North Elba. It was a
forge of four to six fires, and designated the Elba Iron
works. The ore used at the commencement was found in
that region, but proving impracticable, was abandoned,
and the works were afterwards supplied by ore transported
from the Arnold bed in Clinton county, a distance of many
miles, over roads only passable on snow. The products of
the forge were exported both to the St. Lawrence and Lake
Champlain, but by routes laborious and expensive.
1 Letter of late Levi Higlihey. 2 Gvodhue's Shoreham.
440 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
The business for a series of years was eminently prosper-
ous. The works, however, proved too remote from market,
and ineligibly situated for enduring success, and in the
year 1815 were abandoned. A decayed dam, and frag-
ments of broken wheels and shafts, and similar vestiges,
are the only memorials of their former existence. In the
meanwhile other forges were gradually appearing in the
region, and when, in 1820, the Champlain canal had been
constructed, the iron interest rapidly expanded, and at once
exhibited in the increase of its varied works, an earnest of
its approaching prosperity and importance. The valley of
the Au Sable river was early distinguished as the promi-
nent seat of the iron manufactories, and it still maintains
that preeminence.
Au Sable Valley.
Wilmington. Some years after the Elba works had been
abandoned, the Hon. Reuben Sanford, who occupied several
political positions of prominence in the state, created an
extensive manufacturing establishment in Wilmington, on
the west branch of the Au Sable river and about twelve
miles from Au Sable Forks. Severe changes in the
fluctuations of business and serious calamities inflicted by
the elements impaired his affairs, and the property passed
into the proprietorship of others. It has since experienced
many vicissitudes. The site is now occupied by a grist
mill and starch factory ; a saw-mill with three gates and
running about forty saws, ajid a forge owned by Weston &
Nye, with two fires but adapted to four. In 1868, about
two hundred tons of iron were made at this forge. It con-
sumes charcoal and produces bloom iron. At present it
uses the Palmer Hill ore, drawn about thirteen miles, but
a bed is now in process of opening, it is represented, with
favorable indications in the extent and quantity of the ore.
At the village of Bloomingdale, in the adjacent town of
St. Armands, and upon a tributary of the Saranac there is
at present in operation, a starch factory, and a grist and
saw-mill.
INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS AND RESOURCES. 441
Lower Jay Village. Upon the south branch of the Au
Sable several mills and factories are in operating, but all
of subordinate importance except upon this site. At this
place extensive works were erected in 1809. While in the
possession of Messrs. G. A. Purmort & Co., they included
a grist and saw mill and forge with other minor workshops.
These gentlemen suffered severe reverses, and in 1864, the
property was purchased by Messrs. J. & J. Rogers. It
is at this time embraced within their vast manufacturing
domain. The establishment conspires a forge which has
recently been rebuilt with six fires, one hammer of five
tons, and four horizontal cylinders with various other
mechanical works. All are impelled by water power. A
brick yard is connected with the property that produced
the past year four hundred thousand bricks, which were
exclusively used in the business of the firm. The forge
consumes charcoal burnt in close kilns, and is supplied with
ore from the Palmer Hill mine. Since its construction,
the forge is considered a work of the first class.
Au Sable Forks. The West and South Branch unite at
this place and form distinctively, the Au Sable river.
Each stream presents at this point a valuable water power
of nearly equal volume. The premises which include
these sites were originally owned by Zephaniah Palmer.
Messrs. Burts & Vanderwarker became owners of the pro-
perty in 1825 and erected a saw-mill with two gates.
About the year 1828, this company in connection with
Keese, Lapham & Co., with which Caleb & Barton
was associated, built a forge of four fires. The forge
was chiefly supplied with ore from the Arnold bed, and
in part from Palmer hill. Nearly at this time, another
saw-mill was erected; and soon after, the association sold
out to a stock company, which was organized in 1834
under the name of the Sable Iron Company, and repre-
sented by Reuben Sanford, Arden Barker, James Rogers,
John Fitzgerald, Richard H. Peabody, Robert B. Hazard
and Calvin Cook, as trustees. The ensuing year, the
works were carried on for the company under the agency
442 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
of John Woodman. In 1836, operations were suspended,
and in 1837, the entire property was purchased by Messrs.
J. & J. Rogers. The corporate name, for many purposes,
is still retained, although the title and exclusive interest is
now owned by the Messrs. Rogers. Immediately after
these gentlemen had acquired the property, they pursued
the most efficient measures to enlarge and improve the
works. On the West Branch, a short distauce above the
confluence of the two streams, a heavy dam has been built,
which is thoroughly protected from freshets and ice by
strong bulwarks. A forge was erected on this dam in 1848
upon the site of one which had been consumed, and is the
only important structure at this place situated on the West
Branch. This forge contains four fires, one hammer of five
tons and three horizontal oscillating cylinders, thirty-one
inches diameter and forty inches stroke. On the south
bank of the South Branch and on a peninsula formed by it
and the main stream most of the prominent works are
located. The rolling mill was built in 1834. It has two
trains, three heating furnaces, two engines, and one water
wheel. The nail factory contains forty-eight machines,
with a capacity of producing eighty thousand kegs of nails
and spikes annually. The motive power of the rolling
mill is created by water taken from the forge pond on the
West Branch, aud conducted to the mill by a wooden tube
or aqueduct five and a half feet in diameter and ninety
rods in length. This aqueduct is carried over the South
Branch upon a bridge one hundred and fifty feet long, and
eleven feet above the water. A carpenter shop, aud stave
machinery, are driven by escape water from the forge
wheels. These works include all the necessary machinery
for preparing the material for making nail kegs. The
timber is sawed the appropriate length, the staves as per-
fectly formed and grooved ; the heading is cut out and ad-
justed in form, and nothing remains for the exercise of
manual labor, but to put the different parts together. A
wheelwright shop is also attached to this range of build-
ings. A circular saw forty-eight inches, with a carriage
INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS AND RESOURCES. 443
fifty feet long and capable of greater expansion is driven
by an overshot wheel. The boilers attached to the engines
are chiefly heated by breese (the screenings of the coal),
shavings and chips. In the connection maybe noticed, an
improved and most effective method of economizing fuel.
Between the fires and boilers, iron bars, not unlike a grid-
iron in form, are arranged, and upon these are placed nail
plates, and thus the same fires heat both the boilers and
the plates. The rolling mill is now in the most perfect
and efficient condition. The cupola furnace and foundery
which stands in immediate proximity to the rolliug mill
are mainly if not exclusively employed in fabricating cast-
ings, constantly required by the various departments of the
business of the concern. It consumes scrap iron and pigs
brought from distant furnaces, and possesses a capacity
equal to the casting of articles of five tons weight in a
single process.
Another division of this immense business is located on
Black brook, a tributary of the Au Sable, and is situated
in Clinton county about four miles from Au Sable Forks,
and a mile and a half north of the Essex county line.
Although separated in location from the works at the
Forks, by motives of expediency and convenience, those at
Lower Jay and Black Brook are in effect a part of the
same establishment, as much as if connected with it by
contiguous position. The interests are identical ; all their
operations are inspired by the same intelligent spirit and
guided by the same enlarged business capacities. Each
branch and all their varied departments, move in their re-
spective orbits in perfect system and undisturbed harmony.
Mr. James Rogers is the resident partner and manager at
Au Sable Forks, while Mr. John Rogers, residing at Black
Brook, exercises the immediate supervision of the division
located at that place. Messrs. Henry D. Graves and
Halsey Rogers are the efficient assistant managers at the
Forks, and E. Fairbank at Jay.
The works at Black Brook are situated on two sites,
about one-fourth mile apart, and designated, the Upper and
444 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
Lower village. At the former, the Hon. Halsey Rogers of
Saratoga, John Mclntire and William McDonald in 1830,
erected a saw mill and other structures. In 1832, Messrs. Mc-
lntire built a forge of two fires which they run until 1835.
Messrs. J. & J. Rogers, in company with the Hon. Halsey
Rogers and Mr. Thomas Rogers, now of Dubuque, Iowa,
as part owners, in 1832 commenced business at the Lower
village. In the year 1835, Messrs. J. & J. Rogers became
sole proprietors of both the forges at Black Brook, and soon
after one-third owners of the saw-mill and the lands
connected with it. Nearly at this time John McGregor
purchased the one-third interest of Mr. McDonald in the
saw-mill property, and resided on the premises about twenty
years. John Mclntire soon after sold his one-third of the
property to Caleb D. Barton, who after holding it a few
years conveyed his interest to Henry Martin. He, after
occupying it a short term, sold to Messrs J. & J. Rogers, who
subsequently bought the part owned by Mr. McGregor.
These transactions occurred between the years 1853 and
1846 and invested Messrs. Rogers with the title of the
whole property. In 1832, the six forge fires operating at
Black Brook produced six tons of blooms per week ; at
present ten fires at the same place yield seventy-five tons
in the same period. Such has been the amazing progress
of manufacturing skill and science. The Messrs. Rogers
estimate that one thousand bushels of good coal will now
make three tons of iron. Two saw mills are running at
Black Brook; one containing two gangs, and the other
a single gang, with a circular saw in each mill. These
mills cut from one hundred thousand to two hundred thou-
sand pieces of boards annually. These are partly consumed
in the various operations of the concern, and the residue,
formerly transperted by plank road to Port Kent for ex-
portation. A shingle mill is now completed at Black
Brook village.
The forge fires embraced in the different works of the
Messrs. Rogers amount in the aggregate to twenty-two
fires, and yield an average of one ton each per day. The
INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS AND RESOURCES. 445
concern owns forty-three covered kilns for making char-
coal, and burn in them every variety of wood. They use
charcoal exclusively in their works, except in the process
of heating blooms for rolling mills in which they employ
Pennsylvania coal. The iron business of the Messrs.
Rogers embraces such proportions, and is arranged with so
much system and efficiency, that they are prepared for
almost every exigency of the market. "When nails and
bars are the most desirable fabrics, a large proportion of
their blooms are rolled, but if blooms occupy a higher place
in market, nails and bars become with them a subordinate
production. The end chunks, cut from the blooms, are
rolled into bars and nail plates. Their nail factory when in
full operation presents a spectacle of the greatest animation
and interest.
The bloomeries of the Messrs. Rogers are known in
trade as Peru iron. Their blooms are chiefly sent to
Pittsburg, Penn., and there made into cast steel, which
it is asserted, is equal to any made on this continent or in .
Europe. It is confidently believed by its manufacturers,
that American cast steel may soon become an important
article of exportation. The ore used in the works of the
Messrs. Rogers is derived wholly from the Palmer mine,
and they calculate that four tons of this ore in a native
condition, or from two to two and a quarter tons of sepa-
rated ore, will produce a ton of iron. It is considered
that the Palmer ore possesses qualities which peculiarly
adapt it to the fabrication of steel. The company have
two separators on Palmer brook, and another building
near the ore bed, and one also at the Forks. The opera-
tions of this concern in their diversified forms and singular
ramifications transcend in magnitude most business trans-
actions in northern ISTew York, and in all their proportions
can scarcely be excelled by any private interest in the
state. The Messrs. Rogers possess a landed estate exceed-
ing fifty thousand acres, and this enormous territory is
maintained principally to secure an inexhaustible supply
of fuel for their works. This domain furnishes nearly
446 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
every raw material they require in their varied operations.
Their interest in the Palmer hill mine secures all the ore
they consume ; their boundless forests afford wood for the
kilns and timber for the saw mills. They own a limestone
quarry near the works at Black Brook, of the choicest
quality, at which for their own use they burn annually
about five thousand bushels of lime. They possess clay
beds, where all the brick they need is produced. The
immense amount of agricultural commodities they yearly
consume, alone exceeds their capacity for producing.
The moulding sand used in the foundery they procure from
the bed of Mr. Mace, on the bank of the river above
Keeseville, although they own a large deposit of the
material.
A single fact will illustrate the great and diversified
resources of this company. They have recently erected a
large and elegant edifice, appropriated to their own use,
for a store, warerooms and offices. They have also an
extensive store at Black Brook and another at Jay. The
building at the Forks is constructed chiefly of brick and
iron, and is one hundred and eight feet in height, and
fifty-eight feet wide, and stands three stories high — two
of thirteen feet and the other of fifteen feet in height,
above the basement. The latter is sufficiently high and
capacious to allow teams to drive in and unload. The
edifice is situated at the Au Sable Forks, and placed in a
locality so secluded, is an object that excites alike surprise
and admiration. But we are impressed by greater astonish-
ment, when we learn that nearly every article, which
entered into its construction, was produced from the pre-
mises of the proprietors. The glass, the paints and oil
and trimmings were purchased. The felt and cement for
the roof were not embraced in their resources, but the
gravel to cover it was procured within a mile of the build-
ing. The brick was burnt from clay found on their own
soil; the nails were made from ore taken from their own
mines, and the massive castings which adorn and strengthen
the building were fabricated in their workshops ; the lum-
INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS AND RESOURCES. 447
ber was felled in their forests and cut at their own mills.
In their ardor for the realization of the idea, that this
work should be accomplished from their own resources,
the Messrs. Rogers utilized the black ash, a denizen of the
of swamps, usually deemed of no consideration, and even
little value for fuel. This wood has been discovered to be
a beautiful building material, and it now decorates their
rooms in exquisite panel work and columns. Its dark
grain presents richly variegated shades in strong, deep
coloring, with a peculiarly soft and rich surface. Is there
any other business institution in the country capable of
achieving a triumph like this ?
That so much energy and enterprise has met with ade-
quate success, seems to be attested by the fact, that the
aggregate revenue returns of the different partners, has
amounted to more than $200,000 in a single year. The
gross sales at Au Sable Forks and Jay, in the year 1867,
amounted to $748,837.59. The company has paid internal
revenue tax from 1863 to Dec. 1, 1868, $82,541.97.
The course of these gentlemen have not been uniformly
prosperous, or exempt from the vicissitudes of human
affairs. In 1856 a freshet of unexampled severity occurred
in the South Branch, and in the ensuing year another with
almost equal violence devastated the "West Branch. By
each of these the Messrs. Rogers lost about $25,000. They
have also suffered severely from fires, particularly in 1864,
when their loss, including insurance, amounted to $90,000.
In noticing the affairs of Messrs. Rogers, it is necessary
to state that the ore used in their various works annually,
is estimated at 23,210 tons delivered at the separating
machine, and 9,716 tons drawn from it, and the charcoal
consumed at 1,440,000 bushels. Au Sable Forks and
Black Brook are connected with Lake Champlain at
Port Kent, by a plank road. The former is situated
seventeen miles, and the latter four miles farther from the
lake. Jay is six miles from the Forks by an earth road.
The Plattsburg and Whitehall rail road, which is now in
running order from Plattsburg to the Point of Rocks on
448 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
the Au Sable, a distance of twenty miles, has a depot
within three miles of Au Sable Forks.
Clintonville. The great water power formed by the Au
Sable river at Clintonville, and situated about six miles
above Keeseville, was occupied by forges early in the first
quarter of the century. The property passed into the
possession of a company of southern capitalists, incorpo-
rated under the name of the Peru Iron Company, with a
capital of two hundred thousand dollars. . Joshua Aiken was
the first agent of this company. They established, at an
early period, one of the most extended and successful iron
works in the state. Nearly fifty years ago their establish-
ment consisted of a forge of eighteen fires, which manu-
factured from two to three thousand tons of iron annually ;
a rolling mill, from which was produced yearly, eighteen
hundred tons of marked iron and nail plates. A nail
factory which fabricated twelve hundred tons of cut nails ;
si chain cable factory, a pocket furnace, machine shop,
and grist mill, all of which belong to the company. The
fabrics of these works established a high reputation, and
were quoted specifically in the prices current of that period.
Their peculiar and superior qualities were essentially
imparted by the remarkable properties of the ores from
which these fabrics were produced. The ore was derived
partially, and at an early day, from two small beds in the
vicinity, known as the Winter and Finch veins ; but sub-
sequently, the works used exclusively, ore taken from the
Palmer bed and Arnold Hill mine, but particularly from
the latter. This extraordinary deposit of ore was at that
time, esteemed superior to any known to exist in the
country, alike in its magnitude and the excellence of its
qualities. It is situated on lots !Nos. 199 and 200. Maule's
patent was discovered in the year 1805, and purchased
from Elisha Winter in 1806, for eight hundred dollars, by
Elisha Arnold and associates. The mine was occupied
by four main veins, from three to eight feet in width,
running parallel to each other, but varying decidedly in
the character and ingredients of the ore. The most ex-
INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS AND RESOURCES. 449
tensive aud valuable of these veins was designated the
Old blue vein, and has been worked to a depth of more
than three hundred feet. The, ore from this vein first
imparted to the Peru iron the high reputation it has
always maintained. The blue ore vein preserves an ave-
rage width of four to five feet, sometimes compressed to two
feet, and again expanding to eight. The properties of
these ores, the great abundance of the deposits, and the
unlimited demand for their consumption, have rendered
this mine a source of great affluence, and several fortunes
have been realized from it. It has been abandoned for
mauy years for practical operation. The shaft became
filled with water, and the machinery deranged and decay-
ing. These circumstauces may, to some extent, be attri-
buted to special causes, but directly to the vast expenditure
incident to excavating and raising the ore from the great
depth to which the operations had penetrated; the depres-
sion and fluctuations of the iron business, and the enhanced
cost aud difficulty of transporting the crude material to
market. The mine has now passed into the hands of iron
manufacturers of Pennsylvania, and is approached to the
base of the eminence it occupies, by a rail road. The rea-
sonable hope may be cherished that this immense fountain
of public and private wealth will be returned to its former
importance, where business shall resume its secure and
defined channel.
The property at Clintonville has been subjected to many
vicissitudes and numerous changes in interests. At one
period it was owned by Francis Saltus and subsequently
by his son, but the works are now in extensive and success-
ful operation, controlled by proprietors of wealth and
enterprise who in April, 1865, were chartered under the
name of the Peru Steel and Iron Company, with a capital
of eight hundred thousand dollars. Charles B liven, Esquire,
of New York, is president of the corporation, and John L.
M. Taylor, vice president, and the efficient and judicious
general manager of its affairs at Clintonville. The pro-
ducts manufactured have been modified under the present
29
450 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
name and management of the company, and are now essen-
tially restricted to one branch ; the fabrication of rolled
and billot iron calculated for making cast steel. The ore
used now is exclusively excavated from the Palmer hill
bed, in which property this company holds a title to three-
eighths interest. The elements of this ore, it is considered,
peculiarly adapt the iron made from it for the production
of steel. The motive power of these works, which occupy
more than a mile in length along the northern bank of the
river, is created by two dams. The works consisting of
forges were origin all}- situated on the opposite side of the
river. The upper of these dams rests upon a rocky found-
ation, and is a firm and ponderous structure nearly ver-
tical in form and crescent-shaped, and designed to resist all
freshets. The lower dam exhibits an unusual formation.
It is built upon a sandy bottom, and to render it secure
from the frequent floods which are peculiar to the stream
and from the pressure of the ice often borne down by the
current with immense force, a broad base is required.
The dam is therefore constructed with two faces, presenting
a front in each direction and at a small angle. By this
arrangement a broad and effective foundation is attained,
and a perpendicular pressure of the water secured which
combine to support and strengthen the structure. The
plan has proved eminently successful.
At the upper dam there is erected a saw mill, grist mill,
rolling mill and a forge of four fires ; also a nail factory
which formerly contained forty nail machines. The nail
manufacture was abandoned by the Peru Iron Company,
one of the former proprietors of these works in 1856-57,
from the fact, that the superior quality of their iron ren-
dered it more profitable to be sold in market as iron, than
when wrought into nails. The forge and rolling mill are
under the same roof. The four fires yield at the rate of
twenty-four tons of bloomery iron per week, and with the
escape heat from these fires, from fourteen to sixteen tons
of iron are heated for rolling every twenty-four hours.
The furnaces which are heated by the escape heat are
INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS AND RESOURCES. 451
called gas furnaces. Each one of these is attached to
two of the forge fires. There are also two coal furnaces,
for heating iron for rolling, in which bituminous coal is
used. Experience has proved that the gas furnaces are the
most economical, and for several years the coal furnaces
have been almost abandoned. The rolling mill has three
trains for rolling iron. The largest is a sixteen inch train,
capable of rolling iron 1 J X % to 4 X 1 inch iron. Rounpls
and squares from 1J to 3 inch, and also wide band iron.
The next in size is a ten-inch train, from which are rolled
H. S. Strapes. Rounds and squares from £ to If, small
bands and small tires. The smallest of those trains is
used exclusively for rolling rounds and squares from \ to
\\ of an inch.
In connection with the lower dam, an immense forge is
constructed, which is believed to be the most extensive
upon the continent, and pronounced equally superior in its
capacity ; and in the completeness of its arrangements and
power. This forge embraces sixteen fires, with the appro-
priate number of hammers. Its motive power is created
by water conveyed in a canal nearly half a mile in length,
twenty-five feet wide and ten feet high, to the summit of
the embankment formed by the material excavated. This
stupendous work, which as the creation of private enter-
prise has few parallels, was constructed in 1834 by the
Peru Iron Company. It is securely guarded by sluice
ways and waste gates, and presents along its course a scene
of great activity and prosperous industry. These works
produce per annum from three thousand to three thousand
five hundred tons of iron fabrics, and consume in their
production twelve to fourteen thousand tons of ore and
from one million to one million two hundred thousand
bushels of charcoal. This is the principal fuel used, and
doubtless influences the character and quality of the iron
produced. The charcoal is made in twenty-three kilns
owned by the company. Two hundred persons are usually
engaged about the works, and three hundred others re-
ceive employment in the varied external operations of the
452 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
company connected with the estahlishment, and used
mainly for its convenience there as a foundery ; an exten-
sive wheelwright and blacksmith shop. The company
own a wide domain of woodland territory.
Keeseville. The immense hydraulic power afforded by
the Au Sable river, at, Keeseville and in its immediate vi-
cinity has only been partially occupied. The use of its
full capacity would create one of the most extensive
manufacturing localities in the state. Commencing at the
Upper Falls in the village of Keeseville, and extending to
Birmingham, a distance by the stream of more than two
miles, four heavy dams are already constructed, creating a
vast power on both sides of the river, and in addition to
these, several other sites may be made available, and by ar-
tificial structures nearly the whole distance is susceptible
of conversion into a continuous power, where the water
from one wheel might almost literally be discharged upon
another.
The enormous amount of choice pines which half a cen-
tury ago abounded in the region, stimulated the early
erection of saw mills on this site. These forests have been
long exhausted and more extensive mills now exist. Mo-
dern enterprise, which has been developed with magni-
ficent success upon the Saranac, has determined that it is
far more easy and economical to transport logs by the
agency of streams from the wilderness to the mills and
towards market, than to convey the sawed lumber from
the interior, may restore to Keeseville its lumber manufac-
turing preeminence, with vastly enhanced importance and
profit. While the inland territory penetrated by the Sara-
nac has been to a large extent denuded of its forests, the
timber lands at the head waters of the Au Sable, which
spread over a great area, remain as I have remarked al-
ready, nearly in their primeval condition. By the creation
of artificial facilities, which may be constructed at a tri-
fling cost in comparison with the infinitely valuable results
which would be accomplished, this timber, principally
spruce and hemlock, but with an important proportion of
INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS AND RESOURCES. 453
pines, might be rendered accessible. We have seen, that
the aggregate waters of a wide mountain region, accumu-
late in the chanuel of the Au Sable and are discharged,
with rare intervals of slackened current, by a rapid and
often precipitous course. These peculiarities subject this
stream to frequent and severe freshets, which although
perilous to the structures along its banks, singularly adapt
it to the conveyance of logs by floating. No booms now
exist on the Main river which would interpose obstacles
to this transportation of the raw material to Keeseville,
where the construction of gang saw-mills ou an extended
scale is now in contemplation. No mill site occurs below
Birmingham upon the river, but the project exists of erect-
ing large mills at the' mouth of the Au Sable to be pro-
pelled by steam. What influence the operation of the
rail road in progress of construction, and which has already
reached the Au Sable, may exert upon these views and
calculations can alone be determined by the issue. It is
conceded, I think, that the weight and bulk of lumber
adapts it to transportation by water rather than rail road.
If the theory is just, the fact will to some extent effect the
division of this question. Whatever may be the course of
business, as it impresses the interests of localities, we may
safely calculate, that the incomputable wealth, which now
slumbers in the forests upon the upper waters of the Au
Sable, will at an early period reward the efforts of industry
and capital, and that the volume of the Au Sable will in
some form be instrumental in the realization of this desi-
rable result.
The enterprise of the pioneers of Keeseville was directed
to the occupation of its hydraulic powers by other manu -
facturing pursuits. Forges, a woolen factory, flouring
mills, a plaster mill, foundery and various other minor es-
tablishments were erected. The forges were soon suc-
ceeded by more extensive and important iron works.
Two rolling mills were built with works on a large scale
for the production of cut nails and other fabrics. Each of
these for a term of years were eminently prosperous ; but
454 HISTOEY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
in the changes of circumstances, and the revolutions incident
to all business pursuits, were ultimately suspended, and the
large property passed into different hands. A period of
severe depression in the progress and prosperity of Keese-
ville ensued, but new and more valuable interests, which
promise to be far more stimulating to the general success
of the region, have at length arisen from the ruins of the
former occupation.
A company was formed in the year 1863 with a capital
of forty thousand dollars, which was subsequently increased
to eighty thousand, for the manufacture of horse shoe nails
by a machine invented and patented by Mr. Daniel Dodge
of Keeseville. The success of the experiment has been
ample, and not more in a financial aspect, than by esta-
blishing the superior character of an engine, which exhibits
a remarkable triumph of mechanical ingenuity and science.
It transcends, it is asserted, any agency of the kind for
the execution of its peculiar process, by the magnitude
and uniformity of its work, and the perfect quality of the
article it produces. The immense and complicated power,
combined with extreme simplicity; the beauty and pre-
cision of the principle, and the exactness and rapidity of
its execution, impart to this machine its marked superiority.
Nails formed by other mechanism often present equal exter-
nal beauty of appearance, but it is assumed, that the force
which produces the compression of iron by the* Dodge
machine communicates to the nail it forms, solidity, a tena-
city and toughness that characterizes no other article of the
kind. The pressure to which these nails are subject in
their fabrication, so consolidates and amalgamates the
metallic fibres, that splitting or roughness in the article is
deemed almost impossible, while the extreme care and
caution exercised in preparing the nails for market are
calculated to prevent any poor or defective fabrics reaching
the consumer.
A walk through the workshops, and an examination of
the various processes connected with the manufacture,
sorting and preparing these nails, affords a highly interest-
INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS AND RESOURCES. 455
ing study. Fifty of the machines are in operation at Keese-
ville, and are increased as rapidly as the demands of the
business require. They are all constructed at that place
under the immediate supervision of the inventor, and at
an expense of $500 for each machine. One person, usually
a boy, attends and feeds every machine. At its side is
placed a small furnace, supplied by mineral coal, in which
eight or ten thin iron rods or strips are heating. A large
conductor, through which the air is forced from a reservoir
by mechanism, conveys it to each furnace by a small tube,
which the workmau controls by a valve. These rods, heated
to the proper degree, are successively applied to the machine,
•and when they become too cool, are returned to the fur-
nace and auother taken from it, with a celerity that scarcely
interrupts the revolutions of the machine. The nails are
discharged almost uniformly perfect on an average of forty-
five per minute. The article falls from the machine, im-
pressed with the precise form and appearance of the black-
smith's nail formed by the most expert hand. The nails
collected from the machine are carried to auother room,
where they are singly inspected and pass through a process
that determines their perfect finish. This duty employs a
large number of hands, chiefly boys. When this operation
is completed, the nails descend by a funnel into a lower
apartment, where they are carefully inspected and assorted,
and every nail in the slightest degree imperfect is rejected.
Thus, each fabric is handled twice separately, to secure and
ascertain its exact perfection. The assorted nails are then
placed in small square boxes, holding each twenty-five
pounds. The contents of each box is accurately weighed
and the top placed upon it, to avoid mistakes or depreda-
tions.
A very small fraction of the nails is discharged by the
machine in an imperfect form, either from a deficient
pointing or other cause. When a point requires adjust-
ing, the nail is transferred to another shop, where it is
perfected by hand. Such nails are never sent into
market, but are sold at the works for home consumption.
456 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
A blacksmith's shop is connected with the establishment,
in which the fragments of the rods are welded together
and again used in the machine. All the varied refuse is
carefully gathered up, cleansed by a separator, and, until
the introduction of a new process, returned to market.
Another and adjacent room is appropriated to the sharpen-
ing of tools and repairing and adjusting the machines.
The company own a saw-mill near the works, at which,
besides custom and other work, the lumber for construct-
ing the nail boxes is cut. From the mill the boards are
conveyed to a planing and cutting machine, where the
materials for the boxes are prepared. These materials
are conveyed to another apartment, in which the boxes
are put together and arranged for use. The conveyance
of the iron and nails, and the transportation of all the
materials used in the works are performed by the teams
and employees of the company. Thus by a wise and
efficient arrangement, every department of labor in the
concern is executed by the company itself. An extensive
coal house is connected with the works. The fuel annually
consumed amounts to about live hundred tons.
Each machine produces an average of one hundred and
fifty pounds of nails per diem, and runs only during day-
light. A boy examines and kegs from one hundred to
one hundred and fifty pounds daily. The works yield
about five hundred tons of nails per annum, worth not less
than $250,000. The best brands of Norway iron are
exclusively used in the manufacture of these nails. No
American iron has yet been produced adapted to the pur-
pose. Intelligent iron manufacturers do not accept the
theory, that this impediment is produced by the quality of
our ores, but ascribe it rather to the peculiar processes
observed in the production of the iron. The iron is im-
ported from Norway in bars, rolled into rods or slits in
New England, and in that shape is conveyed to the works.
The company has recently reorganized a rolling mill,
situated between Keeseville aud Birmingham, and propose
soon to prepare their own rods from the imported Norway
bars.
INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS AND RESOURCES. 457
The boys employed in these works earn from fifty cents
to a dollar and a half per diem, and receive with all the
workmen of the company payment in money on every Sat-
urday afternoon. It is pleasant on this occasion to observe
their cheerful and contented countenances, when they ap-
proach the table of the agent, and as their names are called
from the pay roll receive the reward of their industry and
steadiness. This scene is an infinite improvement upon
the system, which formerly existed in many of the manu-
facturing institutions of the country, by which the laborers
were paid in orders upon a store ; or when the merchant's
clerk stood ledger in hand at the pay desk to claim and re-
ceive his account from the wages of labor. Here the work-
man is independent and uncontrolled in using the fruits
of his toil.
This company is incorporated under the style of the Au
Sable Horse Nail Company, of which Silas Arnold, Esquire,
is the president, and Edmund Kingsland, Esquire, is the
active agent and manager. Mr. Dodge, the ingenious in-
ventor of this valuable machine, has favored me with the
following account of the labors and trials incurred in the
progress of the invention, which resulted in his signal
triumph. It will be read, I think, with great interest. " My
first experiments with the view of producing a machine for
makiug horse shoe nails were made in 1848, with a model
or miniature machine, on a very small scale. In 1849 I
built a complete machine of working proportions. It
proved but a partial success, producing nails with great
rapidity, but not of sufficient uniformity to satisfy con-
sumers. A series of machines were built on the principle
of the first, and each was au improvement on its predeces-
sor. Several of them were so far successful as to produce
nails of uniform and satisfactory quality and with great
rapidity ; but they were found unprofitable for use, as the
expense of the repairs consumed the profits. At length in
1854, 1 abandoned the leading principle on which they had
been constructed and adopted a new one, admitting
greater simplicity of construction and greater ease in the
movement of the parts. On this principle I also built a
458 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
series of machines, with successive improvements, result-
ing about the close of 1862, in the perfected machine now
used by the Au Sable Horse Nail Company."
A large economy has been attained in the preparation
of the refuse crops referred to for their reproduction into
bars by the introduction early in 1869 into the works of a
powerful hydraulic press.
The foundery at Keeseville formerly transacted a heavy
business. It frequently executed orders from California,
New Orleans, and various sections of the west. This ex-
tended demand for its fabrics was created by the superior
quality of the iron used in their manufacture, but especially
the unusual excellence of the work. The foundery for a
period, in common with the other iron establishments of
the place, experienced a great depression; but at present
under the energetic management of Nelson Kingland, Es-
quire, is again in a prosperous condition. Its production
the last year amounted to about two hundred and fifty tons
of castings. The foundery and machine shop connected
with it in the same period did a business of about thirty-
five thousand dollars, and possess a capacity for performing
work to the amount of seventy-five thousand dollars per
annum.
A company has been organized at Keeseville, and re-
cently commenced business for the manufacture from
cotton of twine, carpet warp and wicking, and has already,
in operation a number of machines competent to consume
twelve thousand pounds monthly of the raw material. It
is starting with the designation of Kingsland, Houghton &
Co., under the most favorable auspices, with means and
facilities, and the purpose of largely extending its opera-
tions if the measure is warranted by adequate success.
The Messrs. Boynton have also just erected several
machines for the fabrication of cotton hosiery. The move-
ment is experimental, but if attended with success, the
business will become an important feature in the industrial
pursuits of the place. Two flouring mills are located on
separated sites at Keeseville, a plaster mill, planing mill,
INDUSTRIAL PEOGRESS AND EESOURCES. 459
furniture arid tin factories, and various other subordinate
manufacturing establishments are also in prosperous ope-
ration. At the village of Birmingham a small part of its
vast water power is occupied by a paper mill, two starch
factories, and a grist mill.
Works are in progress of construction by Messrs. Pollard
& Pease in the vicinity of Keeseville, and near the vast
kaolin deposits noticed in a former page for the separating
and preparing that article for market.
Boquet Valley.
New Russia Forge. In the southern extremity of Eliza-
bethtown, and upon one of the highest branches of the
Boquet, where it almost mingles with the head waters of
the Hudson, stands the New Russia Forge. This is one of
the oldest iron works of the county, it having been erected
about the year 1802. It has been repeatedly rebuilt and
in 1860 received a thorough reconstruction. The existing
forge, owned by Messrs. E. H. & H. A. Putnam contains
four tires, and a wooden hammer of about one thousand
eight hundred pounds weight. It possesses both steam
and water power. The ore used, is principally taken from
the New Russia mine, owned by the company and situated
half a mile from the works. The forge is about six miles
from the Fisher hill ore bed, from which it has obtained
a part of the ore worked. Charcoal, chiefly made in closed
kilns, is exclusively consumed in the works. The company
own in the vicinity about ten thousand acres of woodland.
The products of the forge are slabs for boilerplates, and
blooms adapted to the fabrication of wire and steel.
These are transported by land carriage to West/port, a dis-
tance of twelve miles for shipping. A grist and saw-mill
are also in operation on the same site. In 1866, the forge
consumed 300,000 bushels of charcoal and 2,400 tons of
ore, producing six hundred and seventy-five tons of iron.1
1 For these returns I am indebted to the valuable work of Mr. Wm. G.
Neilson, to which I shall frequently refer, when I am unable to procure sta-
tistics of a later date.
460 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
Kingdom Forge is situated about six miles south-east from
the Court House, upon Black creek, a branch of the Bo-
quet. It was erected in 1825, and was formerly owned by
Mr. Henry R. Noble. It has been enlarged within a few
years by the present proprietors, the Essex and Lake
Champlain Ore and Iron Company, from two fires, its ori-
ginal capacity, to six fires. Its supply of ore is chiefly
derived from the Burt mine, a distance of five miles. It
consumes charcoal. This property was owned by the same
interest as the Valley Forge. The company are proprietors
of about eleven thousand acres of woodland. Two closed
kilns are appropriated toward the supply of the Kingdom
forge. These works consume 30,000 bushels of coal and
produced seven hundred and fifty tons of iron in 1866.
Valley Forge was erected in 1846, and was several years
conducted by Messrs. Whallon k Judd. It stands upon
the Boquet, a half mile from the village of Elizabethtown,
and has a land carriage eight miles and a half to West-
port. The premises have passed through various transi-
tions of proprietorship, and for the term the business has
been suspended, but has been recently resumed. It came
into the possession of the Essex and Lake Champlain Ore
and Iron Company in the year 1864. The forge contains
six fires and one hammer, weighing about eleven thousand
pounds. The blast is driven by a horizontal engine, with
a cylinder of about ten inches diameter and thirty inch
thick. There are two blowing cylinders. Steam is sup-
plied by two boilers, heated by escape heat from a part of
the forges. Its ore is obtained chiefly from the Burt
mine, a distance of about ten miles. This company are
the proprietors of numerous ore beds in the district. The
forge consumes charcoal burnt in six kilns and the re-
mainder in pits, principally belonging to the company and
from its own woodlands. The works annually consume
one hundred and twenty thousand bushels of coal and
yielded in 1866, ten hundred and fifty tons of iron. They
produce bloom iron, which is shipped at Westport to
INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS AND RESOURCES. 461
various points south and west. "William G. Neilson, Esq.,
is the resident agent and manager of this company.
Westport Forge stands upon the Boquet, four miles from
Westport, was built about 1845. It has been for many
years in the occupation of Messrs. W. P. & P. D. Merriam.
It contains three fires, one hammer and two wheels. It
formerly worked Moriah ore transported by land, from
"Westport. A mine has been opened on the premises of
the company from which the forge is largely supplied.
Charcoal is consumed, and is principally burnt in the kilns
of the company. In 1866 this forge used eighty thousand
bushels of charcoal, and six hundred and thirty tons of
ore, producing four hundred and fifty tons of iron. Its
products are carried to Westport for shipping.
The Slower Forge is situated in Lewis, upon a small
branch of the Boquet, and was erected about 1837. It was
owned and worked several years by General William E.
Merriam, and subsequently by his son, John L. Merriam,
and still later by W. H. Roberts. Mr. W. H. Stower
purchased the property in the year 1864. The forge stands
upon an excellent water power, and contains three fires,
three water wheels and a wooden helve hammer, weighing
about eighteen hundred pounds. The ore used is chiefly
procured from Moriah, which in summer is shipped to
Essex or Westport, and thence carried by teams a distance
of about eight miles. In winter it is transported directly
from the mines, a distance of about twenty miles. Ore
beds have been discovered in the town of Lewis, from
which a supply to a greater or less extent will be derived.
The forge consumes charcoal burnt both in kilns, and
several of which are open pits, and uses about eighty
thousand bushels with about eight hundred tons of ore.
It fabricates blooms and slabs, which are transported to
Essex for shipping. Its estimated production annually is
seven hundred tons.
WUhboro' Forge is located at Willsboro' falls upon the
Boquet, and very near the site occupied by William Gilli-
laud for a saw-mill in 1765, which was supplied for the
462 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
creation of its motive power by a wing dam. The same
site was occupied by Higby & Troop for the forge erected
in 1801. The property has been held by a succession of
owners. For a period it suspended operations. The
forge was rebuilt in 1862, and with other improvements
received an iron roof. It is owned by General Belden
Noble, and is in the charge of J. M. Ferris, as manager.
A large body of woodland owned by the proprietors is ap-
propriated for the supply of charcoal, which is usually
burnt in closed kilns. The forge consumes annually about
three hundred thousand bushels, and yields twelve hundred
tons of iron.1 These works enjoy peculiar and far greater
facilities thau any other upon the waters of the Boquet, in
the vast economy it effects in the transportation of ore and
the shipping of its fabrics. The Boquet is navigable within
a short distance of the forge, and canal boats laded with
ore from Moriah can in good water approach within a
fourth of a mile, and having discharged their cargoes are
loaded with iron, which without being reshipped is ex-
ported usually to Troy. The forge contains four fires,
one iron hammer of about five tons weight, and two wheels,
one each for the hammer and bellows. It manufactures
blooms and slabs.
A forge of two fires situated on a branch of the Boquet
in Lewis, and owned by A. H. Wilder, was built in 1844,
and abandoned in 1862. Another containing four fires,
standing on the Boquet at Whallonsburg, and owned by
Hon. J. S. Whallon, suspended operations in 1856. A
grist and saw-mill, clothier works and a plaster mill have
been also erected at this place.
Boquet Works. Extensive and important works embrac-
ing a rolling mill for the fabrication of bars and iron plates
from blooms, were erected about 1827 on the Boquet falls,
two miles and a half west of Essex village. Gould, Ross
& Low, for a period after they assumed the occupation,
carried on a large and prosperous business, but the works
1 Rev. A. D. Barber.
INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS AND RESOURCES. 463
were suspended in the year 1856. A grist mill and woolen
factory are in operation on this site.
JBrainard's Forges, containing two or three fires each,
were erected in 1830 and stood on Black river, a few miles
from the Court House. They have been long abandoned.
A saw mill now alone occupies this very line water power,
which may be used several times successively, on contigu-
ous wheels.1
Highland Forge was located on Howard's brook, near
Willsboro' bay, and seven miles from Keeseville. It was
owned and worked by A. G. Forbes ; built in 1837 and
suspended operations in 1857.
West Port Furnace stands upon the margin of North
"West bay and about one mile from Westport village. It
was erected about the year 1848 by Mr. Francis H. Jack-
son, and called by him Sisco furnace. The eost of its
original construction exceeded one hundred thousand
dollars. For a term of years it was in the possession of
Hon. G. W. Goff. The premises are now owned by the
Champlain Ore and Furnace Company, but the works
have been suspended for a long period. The motive power
of this furnace was steam, and its products pig iron. The
ore used was chiefly from the Cheever bed, and in part
from a bed two or three miles west of the village of West-
port, and owned by the proprietors of the furnace, who
are also owners of the Goff' ore bed in Moriah. Mr.
Lewis H. Roe is superintendent of this company.
Moriah.
The enterprise of Moriah bas been diverted from the
manufacturing pursuits, which its magnificent capabilities
were calculated to cherish, by the more tangible and certain
remuneration afforded by the raising and sale of its ores.
The works which do exist, however, are on a scale of great
magnitude and perfection.
1 B. W. Livingstone.
464 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
Port Henry Furnace. Major James Dalliba, formerly of
the army, in connection with Hon. John D. Dickenson of
Troy, erected the first furnace at this place, about the year
1822. A notice of the work produced by the earlier
furnaces will strikingly exhibit the vast progress which a
quarter of a century has accomplished in both the practical
and scientific operations of these works. The furnace of
Major Dalliba yielded a product of only fifteen to eighteen
tons of iron a week, about one-half of the yield of the
present furnace per day. The former run from three to
six months for a blast. The ore used was obtained from a
vein near the furnace, from another about three-fourths of
a mile distant and from Vermont. The iron made was
exported to Troy until 1827, when the production of pig
metal was abandoned and the works were appropriated to
the manufacture of stoves and hollow ware. On the
decease of Major Dalliba, the property passed into the
hands of Stephen S. Keyes, who sold in 1844 to Cole,
Olcott & Tarbell, and they transferred it the succeeding
year to Powell & Lansing. These proprietors erected a
second furnace on the lake shore. In 1838, the title be-
came vested in Horace Grey, Jr., of Bostou, and was trans-
ferred by him in 1840, to the Port Henry Iron Company.
Mr. Grey was the principal stock holder in this company.
He leased individually the furnace property and the Cheever
ore bed, in 1846, at a nominal rent. The original furnace
was demolished and a new one built, which commenced
operations in 1847. On the reverses which occurred to Mr.
Grey in the fall of this year, the works were temporarily
suspended. Improved intelligence and the application of
the hot blast has gradually augmented the yield of the
furnace, from two and three tons per day to ten and twelve
tons for the same period.
In 1852, Mr. Benjamin T. Reed, of Boston, purchased
all the property of the Port Henry Iron Compan}% and in
the following year, the Cheever ore bed was transferred to
the Cheever Ore Bed Company, and the furnaces to .the
Port Henry Furnaces. These were distinct corpora-
INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS AND RESOURCES. 465
tions organized under the laws of tins state. The Port
Henry Furnaces company conveyed its property in 1867
to the Bay State Iron Company, a corporation formed
under the laws of Massachusetts, and doing business at
South Boston. The stockholders of both incorporations
were the same individuals. Under the latter title the
business of the furnace property is at this time conducted.
The officers of the company are: Samuel Hooper, president;
John H. Reed, treasurer; and Wallace T. Foot, superin-
tendent of the works at Port Henry. In 1853, the old
charcoal furnaces were repaired and a blast anthracite coal
substituted, with water as fche motive power. The year
after a new furnace was erected on the margin of the lake
near the former structure of Powell & Lansing. " This
furnace was constructed on a new plan, having an outer
casing or shell of boiler iron rivetted together and standing
upon plates, supported by cast iron columns. This was
the first erection of the kind built in the country, and so
far as I am aware in the world ; although some have been
constructed in Europe, with a boiler iron shell supported
by brick arches.1 The furnace is forty-six feet high, six-
teen feet diameter at the top of the boshes, eight feet at
the top of the furnace, and is blown through five tuyeres,
by a vertical steam engine having a steam cylinder thirty
inches in diameter, six feet stroke, and a wind cylinder
eighty-four inches diameter, six feet stroke. In 1860
another furnace was commenced, but not completed until
1862. This furnace is propelled by machinery similar to
the other, but somewhat enlarged in its proportions and
power. The furnace built by Powell & Lansing was
taken down in 1855, and that erected by Gray was demo-
lished in 1865.
During the last five years, these furnaces have produced
58,100 tons of pig iron, consuming 107,700 tons of coal
'Mr. W. T. Foot, the accomplished manager of the works, to whose
courtesy I am indebted for most of the facts on this subject incorporated in
the text.
30
466 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
and 100,800 tons of ore. The ore used is chiefly from the
Cheever and Barton beds. The English method of work-
ing a high furnace with a closed top has been recently
adopted, and each of the furnaces has been raised twenty
feet, giving them an elevation of sixty-six feet. One of
them, after an operation of three months under this charge
shows a very satisfactory result by an increased production
of iron, with a less comsumption of coal per ton of iron
made. The company obtains lime from a quarry upon its
own property a short distance from the furnaces. The
anthracite coal is exclusively used, and is principally trans-
ported in return boats from Rondout. The fabrics of the
furnaces are chielly exports to the mill of the company
at South Boston. A foundery and repairing shop is
attached to the works for the convenience of the establish-
ment. The former is a large edifice one hundred and
sixty feet. The last year the foundery has made about two
hundred tons of castings. A carpenter's shop contiguous,
is worked by the same motive power as the cupola and in
it are formed all the patterns required in the works. About
one hundred and thirty-five men are usually employed at
the furnaces. The coal and cinders are transported in
hand carts upon a small rail road to and from the works.
The latter are used for filling in the wharf property of the
company.
Fletcherville Furnace. This furnace is situated seven and
a half miles north-west of Port Henry. It is owned by
Messrs. S. H. & J. G. Weatherbee & F. P. Fletcher; its
erection was commenced in 1864, and it was blown in, in
August, 1865. The stack is of stone, and the boiler house
of brick. The height of the furnace is forty-two feet, and
width of the boshes eleven feet. The construction and
mechanism of this furnace is somewhat peculiar and com-
plicated. As it is not my purpose to present any scientific
or technical views, I shall refrain from an attempt to
describe it. The ore used in the establishment is
obtained mainly from a number of beds owned by the
company, but not at present fully developed, which are
INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS AND RESOURCES. 467
contiguous to the furnace. Steam is the motive power of
the works, and charcoal the only fuel consumed. This is
burnt in ten large kilns, capable of containing sixty-five
cords of wood. Nearly fifty bushels of charcoal is yielded
in these kilns by every cord of seasoned wood The com-
pany own extensive range's of timber land, which supplies
the material for the kilns. The average product per week
of this furnace has been at some periods seventy-six and a
half tons per week.1 A large proportion of the iron pro-
duced here is manufactured in the Bessemer works at
Troy. Mr. Thomas F. Weatherbee is the resident agent
and manager at this furnace.
Grown Point Iron Company's Furnace. This work is
situated ten miles west of Crown Point landing, and is
owned by that company, consisting of J. & T. Hammond
& E. S. Bogue. A furnace was built on this site in 1845,
was burnt down in 1865, and immediately erected anew.
It is forty-two feet high, and nine feet across the boshes.
It is a charcoal blast furnace, the escape heat being used
for generating steam, for power for blast, stamping, saw-
ing coal brands and grinding feed. The furnace consumes
6,500 tons of ore and 650,000 bushels of charcoal, which
yield 3,500 tons of pig metal. In the last eight years the
furnace has not run more than three-fourths of the time,
owing to the insufficient supply of fuel. The charcoal is
chiefly burnt in kilns. The ore used is taken from the
bed owned by the company, situated about one mile from
the works, and the lime is procured from their own quarry
about the same distance. This furnace has been pecu-
liarly successful, both in the manner of its operation and
the quality of iron it produces. Since the establishment
of the Bessemer steel works at Troy, a large portion of the
iron from this furnace has been purchased by that institu-
tion. The harder and higher qualities of this iron secure
a constant market from the manufacturers of malleable
1 Mr. Neilson's report.
468 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
iron. For their use it is esteemed an eminently desirable
material.
In approaching this furnace, then owned by Hammond
& Co., in 1852, I observed the road formed for some dis-
tance by a very beautiful material, exhibiting a surface
soft and lustrous, and glowing* in every shade and tint.
This substance was the concretion of the slag or cinders
of the furnace. When gushing from the stack in fusion,
it will form and draw out, by a wire thrust into the boil-
ing mass, an attenuated glass thread the entire length of
the furnace, a distance of sixty feet. The glass presents
the most delicate and diversified coloring; although com-
bined in the eruption from the furnace with extraneous
properties. Thus beautiful in its crude and adulterated
condition, may not this substance, purified and refined by
science, be rendered subservient to the arts ?
Irondale Iron Works are situated six miles west of the
lake, and upon Putman's creek, which affords the motive
power. The forge which now contains four fires, one
wooden twelve hammer, weighing one thousand eight
hundred pounds, and two wheels, was erected in 1828.
It is at present owned by Penfield, Harwood & Co. The
forge consumes charcoal, which is principally burnt in
covered kilns, about four miles from the works in the
west part of Ticonderoga. Ore from the bed of the com-
pany located about five miles from the works, is used in
the forge. It manufactures blooms and bars. The iron
made in this forge has established the highest reputation.
This statement is sustained by the fact that in 1829, the
company received an order from the government for a
large quantity of their iron to be fabricated into chain
cables. It is extensively used for the fabrication of fine
ware, and at Pittsburg it is used for making cast steel.
The company have a separator near their works, in which
the ore is prepared for the forge. It is stated that two
tons of separated ore will yield a ton of iron. The annual
amount manufactured at this forge is about five hundred
tons. There are a saw mill and grist mill standing a
INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS AND RESOURCES. 469
few rods below the iron works, and owned by the pro-
prietors.1
The other minor industrial pursuits of Crown Point
embrace, at the centre village, three miles from the lake,
a tannery, woolen factory, grist mill, saw mill, tub and
barrel factory, and wheelwright shop; one mile below
are a sash and door factory, and a pail and tub factory ;
still nearer the lake are a grist and saw mill, and wheel-
wright shop. All these works stand upon Putnam's
creek, a small stream I have already described.
TlCONDEROGA.
Horicon Iron Company. This forge was erected by the Ti-
couderoga Iron Company, in 1864, under the direction of
Col. W. E. Calkins. It is a very superior forge, and is es-
teemed equal to any in northern New York. It is built of
wood and roofed with slate, and contains six fires with a
capability of working twelve. It has two wooden helve
hammers weighing about twenty-seven hundred pounds.
" The blowing is performed by water power. A forty-eight
inch Chapman wheel is used. There are two blast cylinders
of five feet in diameter with five feet stroke." This forge,
which is supplied by the water that forms its motive power,
by a tube four hundred feet long, and about six feet in dia-
meter stands at the Lower Falls about two miles from the
steam boat landing, and at the head of the navigation acces-
sible to canal boats from Lake Champlain. These boats
may moor directly alongside of the works for discharging
and loading. The company own large tracts of woodland
on the shores of Lake George. The wood is transported
on barges, which are towed by a small tug, to the foot of
the lake, where it is burnt into charcoal in five extensive
kilns, capable of burning sixty-five cords each. The char-
coal is carted a distance of about two miles to the forge.
The ore now used, although the company owns extensive
mineral property, is principally shipped from Port Henry
_ ' C. Feidoii.
470 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUKTT.
and landed at the works. A separator is erected near the
forge. The product of the works, which was bloom iron,
in 1865, was about four hundred and fifty tons; in 1866,
about three hundred ; but at present the forge is not in
operation.1
A cupola furnace was erected on the lower falls in 1832
by John Porter & Son, and continued until recently, in the
occupation of the same family. It is now owned by
Clark, Strain & Hooper. The furnace and machine shop
connected with it fabricates about eight thousand dollars
worth of agricultural implements, stoves, mill irons and
general work adapted to home consumption.
The census returns of 1865 report three woolen facto-
ries in the county. The most important of these is the
works of Messrs. Treadway, situated on the lower falls in
Ticonderoga. This factory embraces all the modern im-
provements, and produces work of the highest quality. It
is at this time performing an extensive and prosperous
business, but possessing an unemployed capacity of execut-
ing very large operations.
American Graphite Company. The business conducted by
this company is rare and of peculiar interest. The vast
deposits of plumbago or black lead, in this vicinity attracted
early attention to its manufactures. In 1832, William
Stuart and Xathan Delano commenced mining and pre-
paring the article for market. The former in connection
with his sous maintained the business to a late period.
Appollos Skinner engaged in it in 1833. He was suc-
ceeded by Messrs. Ives & Arthur. They soon after con-
structed separate works. The business in Ticonderoga is
now in the exclusive control of the American Graphite
Company. They have erected a large and expensive mill,
which is worked night and day, and produces about five
hundred tons of black lead annually. The native impu-
rities of the ore are separated by an ingenious process
possessed by the company. About sixty men are employed
1 W. G. Neilson. A. Weed, and 3. G. Burleigh & Bro.
INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS AND RESOURCES. 471
in the mines and works of this concern. The article pro-
duced is of very superior quality, and is largely used in the
manufacture of crucibles. Mr. William Hooper is superin-
tendent of the company at Ticonderoga.1 About the year
1818, Guy 0. Baldwin introduced the process of grinding
the plumbago in millstone with iron ore. Mr. Baldwin
subsequently invented a method of manufacturing crayons
and pencil points, from this material. He erected a factory
for the purpose of fabricating these articles, which was
worked many years. This manufacture at Ticonderoga is
now discontinued.2 The amount of lumber at present
cut in this town, is computed at about five hundred thou-
sand feet annually.
The Valley of the Hudson.
The head waters of the Hudson pervade every section
of the south-western towns of Essex county, and furnish an
immense water power. The mountains bear a limitless
supply of fuel, and throughout the territory the presence of
iron ore is manifested by the clearest indications which
research constantly corroborates. All these advantages
should tend to the creation of much more extended manu-
facturing occupations than now exist, but a remoteness
from market, and the absence of appropriate artificial
communication have impeded the development of the vast
natural resources of the district. A new era is dawning
upon this seclusion, and very soon enterprise and improve-
ment will awaken the dormant energies of these valleys and
mountains. The expense of transportation to Crown Point,
a distance from the nearest point of about nineteen miles,
over a difficult route, is highly onerous, but at present, the
fabrics of the Schroon have no shorter or more direct route
to market. The rail road already constructed to "Warrens-
burgh, will soon, it is claimed, reach the confines of Essex
county.
1 Alfred Weed. Messrs. Burleigh. 2 Cook, Weed and Burleigh,
472 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
Schroon River Forge stands upon a branch of the Hudson
twenty-four miles south-west from the village of Elizabeth-
town. It was built in 1857 by Mr. Jacob Parmerter, and was
operated by E. B. Walker & Co., with which firm he was
for a term associated. It became the property of Mr. John
Roth in 1861. It has two fires, a hammer of about eighteen
hundred pounds weight, and two wheels. One grist and
one saw mill occupy the same dam. A little village,
marked by the usual appliances of manufacturing hamlets,
has sprung up around these works. The ore used is ob-
tained from the Norway bed near Paradox lake, and some
portions from the Moriah beds. Three closed kilns are
situated near the forge and in the midst of an inexhaustible
supply of wood. The works produce blooms, billots and
slabs.
Head of Paradox Forge is located near Paradox lake ;
was built in 1864, and is owned by John Roth, the pro-
prietor of the above. This forge has contained only two
fires, but a third is now being introduced. It has one
hammer and one wheel, and is principally supplied with ore
from the Roth or Norway vein. The charcoal consumed
in these works is made in pits at the forge. Three hundred
bushels of this coal is required to produce one ton of iron.
The two forges of which Mr. Roth is the proprietor, are
embraced in the same general system of operations. He
esteems the iron produced in these works from the Norway
ore of unsurpassed excellence, possessing in its qualities an
assimilation to the fabrics of Russia and Norway. Its rare
properties, it is pronounced, are recognized in market and
control maximum prices. He now manufactures finished
billots, which are sent to Pittsburg for the fabrication of
steel and other purposes.- These forges, with their increased
facilities and power, it is anticipated, will possess a capacity
of yielding a thousand tons of iron annually, produced in
1866 five hundred and fiftv tons. Two forges, the Dead
Water Iron Works and the North Hudson Iron Works
situated in the town of North Hudson, were formerly owned
INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS AND RESOURCES. 473
by the Hon. James S. Whallon, but have long been
abandoned.
The Minerva Iron Company have commenced measures
for the establishment of a first class forge in that town,
and have already expended a large amount in the scheme.
The works are incomplete, being not more than half
finished. Castings and other materials for the construc-
tion of the forge, are already upon the ground. The forge
is designed to contain eight fires, with steam as a motive
power. It is located about two and a half miles from
Olmstead hill, and a little more than six miles from the
projected rail road track at Birds Pond Falls. These
measures are guided by a powerful and energetic company,
and must exert a most auspicious influence upon the
development and prosperity of that section of the county.
Tanneries.
A number of works devoted to the manufacturing of
the different descriptions of leather exist in various sec-
tions of Essex county. These are chiefly supplied with
the raw material by the hides of animals furnished from
the district. In the year 1864, two thousand one hundred
and forty-three neat cattle, and two thousand one hundred
and fifty-four sheep were slaughtered in the county,
besides the skins of other animals and those dying from
disease or accident. In the towns of Schroon, Minerva
and North Hudson, this business is now the predominant
and a highly important industrial pursuit. The vast hem-
lock forests, which spread over that region, afford an
abundant and accessible material for these works. It is
rare, in manufacturing economics, that a raw material so
valuable as the hemlock bark, can be procured not only
without detriment to another substance, with which it is
connected, but that the process essentially enhances the
value of the latter. Such, in these forests, is literally the
fact in reference to this bark. The logs, when cut for
market, are stripped of their bark and relieved of its heavy
weight, they are more easily transported, the floating is
474 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
facilitated, and the timber preserved from decay and the
depredations of insects. By a judicious management, the
hemlock of these forests will be adequate to the supply of
bark to all the tanneries of the district through a series of
years.
The Barhan.s Tannery is situated upon a small branch
of the Schroon river, and in the town of North Hudson.
The original works were erected by Erastus B. Potter, and
purchased about the year 1859 by the present proprietor,
Edgar W. Burhans, who has through large additions and
improvements, rendered it one of the most complete tan-
neries in northern New York. It has the capacity of tan-
ning from twenty-five to thirty thousand sides of sole
leather annually. It is chiefly propelled by a steam engine
of forty horse power for grinding bark, for pumping and
heating the liquor, and with steam for steeping the bark.
Spent tan supplies the fuel for running the engine. The
works yield a sufficient material for the purpose, and thus
secures great economy in the saving of wood. The rolling
machine is moved by water power. The hides manufac-
tured in the works are principally South American. They
are purchased iu New York, and from thence shipped to
Crown Point. . The leather produced is transported to
Crown Point, a distance of nineteen miles from the tan-
nery. The hides are conveyed from the landing to the
works by the same route. From twenty to thirty men are
occupied about the works and a large additional number
are employed both summer and winter, in lumbering, in
peeling and transporting bark, and drawing logs by sleigh-
ing to the Schroon river, an important tributary of the Hud-
son, by which they are floated to Glen's Falls and Sandy Hill
to be manufactured into lumber for the southern market.
All the tanneries pursue the same system. In the efficient
management of Mr. Burhans, the business of this establish-
ment is very extensive and equally prosperous.1 Schroon
Lake tannery, was erected in 1852, by Lorenzo Hall, and
1 John Roth.
INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS AND RESOURCES. 475
is now owued by Milton Sawyer of Glen's Falls. It is
situated on a small brook about one mile west of Scbroon
lake, and twenty-five miles west of Lake Champlain.
The capital employed in these works is about ten thousand
dollars. This tannery is capable of producing about six-
teen thousand sides per year, and consumes about one
thousand five hundred cords of bark.
Schroon Tannery stands on Schroon lake, at the mouth
of the stream just mentioned, and was erected in 1861
by William C. Potter and Daniel Wyman. After several
transfers the title of the property is now invested in Mr.
Gridley T. Thayer. This tannery manufactures about
one hundred tons of leather per annum.
Wickham Tannery is a small establishment occupying a
site at the mouth of the same stream, and opposite to the
Schroon tannery. It is owned by Mr. Benjamin Wick-
ham, and is used exclusively for the manufacture of upper
leather.
Hoffman Tannery was erected by Bracket & Boyle, in
1856, but is now owned by Mr. Milton Sawyer. It is
situated about six miles west of his Schroon lake tannery,
and about thirty miles from Lake Champlain. It pos-
sesses the capacity of tanning about one thousand sides, and
consumes nine hundred cords of bark yearly. Mr. Sawyer
is engaged in erecting a new and extensive tannery on
the branch in the north part of Schroon. Sawyer &
Mead are now building a first class tannery on the west
branch of the Schroon river, about three miles from the
state road. It is two hundred and sixty-three by forty
feet; will be capable of tanning from two hundred and
fifty to three hundred tons of leather per annum, and will
consume yearly about three thousand cords of bark.
I am only able to refer, among the industrial pursuits
of this district, to a large work situated on Mill creek,
east of Schroon lake, and owned by Messrs. Frazier,
Major & Co., of New York, which is reported to consume
fifteen hundred cords of bark yearly. Numerous and
very extensive tanneries are located in the northern sec-
476 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
tions of "Warren county, which are largely supplied with
bark from Essex county.
The Olmsteadville Tannery, in the town of Minerva, large
and valuable works, was destroyed by fire in the year
1867. A part of the structures are still standing, and
now owned by Messrs. Frazier, Major & Co. Its corre-
spondent estimates the bark formerly consumed by this
tannery, at five thousand cords per annum. The materials
intended for the Olmsteadville works, is now transported to
the works of the same proprietors at Pottersville, Warren
county. The same authority states that the various tan-
neries owned by this company, requires the bark afforded
by twenty thousand logs yearly.
A competent authority computes the bark used in other
tanneries at from ten thousand to fifteen thousand cords
annually, and that the process of peeling, prepares from one
hundred thousand to one hundred and fifty thousand logs
for the mills at Glen's Falls, Sandy Hill and Fort Edward.1
Shipyards. The large number of vessels of various descrip-
tions employed in the navigation of Lake Champlain,
requires the labors of numerous ship yards, for their con-
struction and repairing. Of these, Essex county has its
proportion. This business at one time was carried on at
Willsboro' to a considerable extent, the estuary of the
Boquet presenting a favorable location for the purpose.
In the village of Essex, Iioskins, Ross & Co., have esta-
blished a commodious yard for boat building and repairing,
with which is connected a steam saw mill, and shingle
planing mill, with a grinding attachment and carriage
factory.2 Since the first occupation by France, Ticon-
deroga has been a conspicuous point at which boats and
vessels navigating the lake have been built and equipped.
To provide materials for this purpose, was a prominent
motive, for the erection by the French, of the saw mills at
the falls. The numerous flotillas which traversed the lakes
at different periods, bearing hostile armies, were largely
' Air. John Both. ' Air. John. Ross.
INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS AND RESOURCES. 477
constructed at Ticonderoga. Amherst paused here, while
awaiting the building and preparation of a fleet for the
invasion of Canada. The fleet of Arnold, with which he
combated Carleton, was chiefly constructed at this point.
Since the opening of the Cham plain canal, boat building
has been the prominent business occupation of Ticonderoga.
Mr. Henry Cassey owns a ship yard at the Lower falls,
where a large number of first class canal boats are built
yearly. Two other yards in the town are carrying on a
regular business, in this industry. During the last ten
years an average often boats, of one hundred tons burthen
each, have been built in these yards annually.1 Another
large ship yard is in operation at Crown Point.
AGRICULTURE.
In describing the topographical features and arrange-
ment of this county, in the preceding pages, I have
sufficiently noticed its agricultural capabilities, and the
soil and climate of its various districts. The same transi-
tions in its agricultural progress have marked every section
of this county. The natural fertility of the soil, when first
opened to cultivation, yielded abundant harvests; injudi-
cious tillage gradually exhausted its productive elements;
the cause which tended to these results ceased; new
interests in the management of the land were excited, and
a general improvement in the farms was produced by an
ameliorated system of husbandry. The county still ex-
hibits these various phases of its agriculture. Some farms
are just emerging from the primeval wilderness ; some are
impoverished and exhausted ; others are commencing the
process of renovation ; while many others have attained a
degree of improved culture and fertility, scarcely exceeded
by any portion of the state.
1 Alfred Reed. H. G. Burleigh & Bro.
478 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
The lumber business in this as in every region, appro-
priate to its pursuit, captivated the mind of the pioneer, and
allures him from other occupations. The winter was de-
voted to this employment. Every product of the farm
calculated to return fertilizing elements to sustain and pro-
mote its productiveness, was borne into the forests and
there consumed. At the approach of spring, the settler
returned to his farm, himself and his team, prostrated by
the severe labors of the winter, and illy prepared to perform
the recurring duties which pressed upon him. He con-
ducts his farming operations imperfectly and without skill.
He has no deposits of manure to apply to his wasting soil.
The earth, by constant tillage, without renovation, becomes
impoverished. Each succeeding year witnesses a decrease
in the harvest. The land, exhausted by this improvident
management, is denounced worthless in its soil, and with-
out fertility, and abandoned to briers and desolation, or is
sacrificed to some shrewd purchaser, and its owner emi-
grates to new scenes, to pass through the same alterations.
In this stage of society, agriculture is the secondary and
subordinate occupation.
The lumbering business closed, the farmer resumes his
first duties, and yields to the land the labor .and care re-
quired for its successful cultivation. In a manufacturing
district, and such is preeminently Essex county, the team-
ing upon the road, which abstracts so much of the time of
the farmer, and the fertilizing riches of the farm, from this
land, exercises a similar, although far less disastrous effect,
upon its agricultural prosperity. Other causes of the slow
progress in the agricultural improvement of this county
are suggested by an intelligent correspondent,1 in reference
to a single town but applicable to all. " Conflicting titles
have cast a shade over some large tracts," and in others
" much of the land has been occupied under contracts, in
their terms liable to constant forfeiture." Tenures of pro-
1 G. Fenton, Esq.
INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS AND RESOURCES. 479
perty so frail and contingent in every region, paralyze the
efforts of industry and enterprise.
The early settlers relied chiefly for pasturage and winter
fodder upon the wild grasses and herbage, bountifully
supplied by the beaver meadows, the marshes and glades
of the forests. The indigenous grasses of this region are
very numerous, and many of them highly nutritious and
valuable. Several varieties of the ferns, brakes and rushes
afford excellent hay, particularly for sheep. The instincts of
the deer indicate to the pioneer the most useful of these
resources.
I hesitate to decide, whether I am authorized in classing
the white clover, trifolium repens, with the indigenous
plants of this region. It is certain that it soon appears, by
a spontaneous growth in every opening of the forest, and
upon soils of sand and gravel formation. Where gypsum
has been applied, or sheep have ranged, it is immediately
introduced, forming a massive sward, which constitutes a
most important basis for future tillage. The presence of a
white clover turf uniformly secures on sandy soils an excel-
lent corn crop with an application of plaster.
Wheat. For a series of years succeeding the first occupa-
tion of the county, wheat was the predominant crop,
particularly in that section of it which lies upon Lake
Champlain. The average yield on new land was about
twenty-five bushels to the acre. This culture gradually
declined, under the effects of a change of seasons, the
exhaustion of the quality of the soil adapted to the produc-
tion of wheat, and the ultimate infliction of the wevil and
rust. It was virtually abandoned, until the introduction
of the Black Sea wheat, which gave it a new and successful
impulse. The tea wheat and various other spring varieties
have been the successive favorites, while the general cul-
ture of wheat has been largely extended. Winter wheat is
now largely cultivated.
Rye, in several towns of Essex county, was formerly the
predominant crop. It is now very generally abandoned
as a prominent cereal except upon light and gravelly soils.
480 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
Rye is seldom used as an article of human aliment, and
in the absence of distilleries, is chiefly cultivated for ani-
mal food. The straw is esteemed valuable for that pur-
pose, and when cut is peculiarly esteemed for horse fodder
combined with heavy grain.
Oats. The aggregate produced in Essex county is very
large. It is cultivated in every description of soil and in
every section of the county. The heaviest crops I have
examined were raised in the new openings of the forests,
upon the slopes of the Adirondacs. The cultivation of
oats, in the elevated town of Newcomb has been singularly
successful.
Peas are cultivated to some extent, and are highly es-
teemed as a renovating and subduing crop, and are espe-
cially efficient and useful, in the extirpation of weeds and
bushes upon new lands. Peas are regarded as a valuable
substitute for corn in making pork.
Barley. The culture of this grain has largely increased
in the county and with favorable results.
Beans were formerly raised only in connection with
corn, but recently the great demand for the article, at en-
hanced prices, has largely stimulated its more extended
cultivation.
Buckwheat and Indian wheat, especially the former, are
largely cultivated in the county, although many f irmers
deprecate the husbandry as injudicious and improvident.
Both are used extensively for hog feeding, ground or
boiled. Buckwheat, floured at the local mills, is exported
in a large amount, to the eastern and southern markets.
Potato. This crop has attained great prominence in
the agriculture of the county. The prevalence of the dis-
ease, which impaired and often nearly suspended the culti-
vation of the potato, produced an entire change in the
tillage connected with it. Heavy, damp and highly
manured lands, which once were deemed indispensable to
the successful cultivation of the potato, have been aban-
doned, and light gravelly sandy soils have been substituted.
Green unfermented manures are considered unsafe, and
INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS AND RESOURCES. 481
charcoal, lime, ashes, plaster and special fertilizers, are now
generally in use. The potatoes produced in this district
are of the choicest quality. Of late they have been less
exported than some years ago, when from a single wharf
ten thousand bushels were shipped in a season. In the
interior of the county, the numerous starch factories create
a certain and generally remunerative market for all this
crop the industry of the farmer can produce.
Corn. This crop may be pronounced the agricultural
staple of Essex county and the basis of the rotation and
renovating system of its husbandry. The stalks of corn
are highly valued as a fodder for neat cattle, and when fed
to milch cows, from their succulent qualities if carefully
preserved, are considered by most farmers superior to hay.
Carrots , Beets and Turnips are largely cultivated and
extensively used in feeding horses, neat cattle and swine.
Flax is seldom cultivated in the county. Only four
acres are returned in the census of 1865, as appropriated to
the crop, and not a single acre of hemp.
Hay. This crop is of the first importance, and always
commands the highest prices. The production of hay, how-
ever, in the country, falls immensely below the consump-
tion. Large quantities of pressed hay is annually imported
from Washington county, Vermont and Canada.
Stock.
Numerous dairies exist in the county, and some of them
of a superior character, and embracing excellent cows ;
most of these possess an infusion of pure blood ; but few
animals are found in the district exclusively of thorough-
bred stock.
It is apparent, from the table of census returns, that
the wool growing interest of Essex county has attained
very considerable importance. The climate, the physical
formation, the soil and position of this region will combine
to render this territory one of the most eligible and pro-
sperous wool growing districts of the state.
31
482 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
In no department of its husbandry has this county
exhibited more decided progress, than in the quality and
character of its stock. I cannot ascertain that a thorough
bred animal was owned in the country, until about the year
1847. Grades of Teeswater and Durham had been intro-
dnced probably before that period. It now contains indi-
viduals of nearly every breed, that may almost maintain
an equal competition with the stock of any section of the
state. A. race of horses, almost indigenous to its soil, is dis-
seminated through the county, which combine properties
of rare excellence. The high reputation of the Black
Hawk horses has become widely diffused, and each year
adds to their consideration. In no district have they been
more extensively bred, or attained greater perfection than
in this region.
Fruit.
The Champlain valley is preeminently adapted, in soil
and climate, to the production of most varieties of the apple.
The list of apples cultivated in this district is very nume-
rous, and the quality generally of the highest excellence.
Many old orchards still exist, which were planted at
the first settlement of the country. The pioneer, usually,
brought with his household goods, the bag of apple seeds
from his New England home, and the young orchard was
among the earliest evidences of improvement and civiliza-
tion. The perversion of this rich bounty of providence,
for a period, created a prejudice, which led to the neglect
of its culture.
A few years ago, five thousand engrafted apple trees were
planted in a single season in the town of Crown Point. ^
^Other town shave been equally conspicuous in this enter-
prise. Large fields are devoted to the apple culture, and in
all the eastern towns, young trees not yet in bearing occupy
extensive areas and impart to the territory a pleasant aspect
of thrift and improvement. In Willsboro' and Essex, it
seems as if the whole region would soon be converted into
one vast orchard. The former town alone, it is estimated,
exported in the autumn of '68, between four and five thou-
INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS AND RESOURCES. 483
sand barrels of apples, of which fourteen or fifteen hundred
barrels were selected grafts.1 Engrafted trees are now
chiefly cultivated. The inferior apples not adapted to
market, are dried, or used for the feed of animals, and a
very small portion is manufactured into cider. A large
quantity of this kind of fruit are purchased and transported
by bateau loads into Canada.
Plums are cultivated in numerous varieties and of great
excellence, and are largely exported. The crop is fre-
quently impaired and often destroyed by the ravages of the
circulio. This pestilent insect infests, also, the cherry.
Many varieties of the pear are now cultivated successfully
and exported to considerable extent.
Much attention is given to the grape culture, and em-
bracing the more hardy variety, with favorable results.
The original vine of the Adirondac grape was disco-
vered beneath a cliff of the mountain, at Port Henry
upon the grounds of Mr. J. G. Weatherbee. Whether a
native growth or a seedling of the Isabella, is, I think, un-
determined, but propagated by the skill and enterprise of
Mr. J. W. Bailey of Plattsburg, it has attained celebrity
as a fruit and proved a source of large income to the pro-
prietors. Other varieties of the native grape might by
care and skill be successfully cultivated. The blue or
huckleberry appears in great profusion upon new clearings
on light soils, and particularly those which have been
burnt over. The product of fruit is often immense, and
its picking, boxing and transportation, furnish employ-
ment to crowds of laborers of every age and sex, through
a long term in the summer and autumn. This humble
occupation diffuses through the interior of the county, no
inconsiderable sums of money.
Public Improvements.
Several projects of public improvement which have been
contemplated or now in agitation, demand a brief notice.
1 Rev. A. D. Barber.
484 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
The Internal Navigation. Almost a quarter of a century
ago, the plan was agitated of uniting the lakes and rivers
of the interior wilderness, and by artificial agency, to
form an extended inland navigation. The progress of
rail roads, and their approach to that region — circum-
stances which did not enter into the imaginings of the
projectors of this improvement — may render it neither
expedient nor practicable, but the facts are of interest, and
worthy of historical commemoration.
The prominent idea in this scheme, originally contem-
plated an artificial communication between Port Kent, on
Lake Champlain, and Booneville, on the Black river canal.
The system of lakes in the interior, which are united by
a series of rivers, indicate the course, and were designed
to form the route of this improvement. It appears from
the report of Professor F. N. Benedict, that nature has
formed a practicable route for this improvement, in the
direct line from Purmort's rapids, a point on the Saranac
river, on the line between Essex and Clinton counties, to
the Moose river, twenty-one miles from Booneville, with
which the contemplated navigation must be connected. by
a canal or rail road. This route, starting from Purmort's
rapids, passes through the county of Essex, by the Sara-
nac; along the lower and upper Saranac lakes; the
Raquette river, Long, Forked and Kaquette lakes, and
the intervening streams, to the series of Moose river
lakes, and thence down that stream to the western termi-
nation. This track may readily be traced on the very
accurate maps of this region recently published.
The following impressive facts are established by these
investigations. There exists, Professor Benedict states,
in this direct course, a navigation competent to steamers,
of fifty-six miles, and by small boats of fifty-five miles
further. A distance only of seven and one-fourth miles
occurs along this route, partially or entirely interrupted
by obstructions which will require removing, to complete
the navigation the whole line of one hundred and eighteen
miles. The lateral navigation, branching from this main
INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS AND RESOURCES. 485
trunk, formed by the rivers and lakes, which are mingled
with those above enumerated, affords an additional com-
munication, navigable by steamers, of thirty-three miles,
and by small boats of ten tons burthen, of thirty-eight
miles more, with an intervening obstruction of only one-
half mile. The result shows the existence, in that seques-
tered wilderness, of a navigation adapted to steam boats
of eighty-nine miles, and to small boats, of ninety-three
miles, which is obstructed by natural impediments inter-
posing in different localities, and embracing in the aggre-
gate, the trifling distance of seven and three-quarters
miles. The total length of the proposed improvement is
one hundred and ninety miles. The obstacles which
exist chiefly occur in low and marshy ground, aud may
be readily surmounted. Mr. Benedict exhibits minute
calculations, in which he estimates the expense of improv-
ing the whole one hundred and ninety miles, which
embraces the lateral branches, at $312,950; with an aver-
age cost per mile of $1,611. The cost of opening the direct
route, $292,950; at an average expense per mile of $2,482.
This estimate contemplates merely an improvement
of the existing navigation, and surmounting the impedi-
ments which occur along the seven and three-quarters
miles.
The lateral branches of this navigation, included in the
survey of Prof. Benedict, would penetrate deeply towards
the west into the forest of St. Lawrence, Hamilton and
Franklin counties, and on the eastward along the western
limits of Essex, almost touching the vast iron masses of the
Adirondacs, and opening their resources to the wants and
enterprise of the coal mines of the west. In reference to
this navigation, he says : " Extensive lines of small boat
navigation, with very few and short interruptions, traverse
all considerable sections of the surface. The aggregate
extent of these lines is probably no less than three hundred
miles, all of which could be rendered navigable for boats of
fifty tons burthen at comparatively trifling expense.
486 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
Rail Roads.
I elsewhere speak of the infinite importance to the utiliz-
ing of the vast undeveloped wealth of Essex county that
rail roads should penetrate this secluded section of the
state. I have also adverted to the road now in progress,
which was intended to traverse the south-western part of
the county, and to local train ways in the towns of Moriah
and Westport. The former of these roads, which is now
believed to be in vigorous prosecution, or a branch has
been authorized by special statutes to pass up the valley
of the Schroon and to unite with some other road, by
which it may form a connection with the St. Lawrence.
Partial surveys, in accordance with this privilege, have been
already made.
Several organizations at different periods have been
formed, with the purpose of accomplishing the great pub-
lic and commercial necessity I have mentioned, but with
results wholly unsatisfactory. A more recent project,
conducted by the White Hall and Plattsburg Rail Road
Company, and aided to a small extent by a state donative,
promises a more certain and practical issue. A space of
twenty miles from Plattsburg to a locality on the Au
Sable known as the Point of Rocks, within three miles
of Au Sable Forks, has been completed upon which trains
are now running. Another section of this road south of
Port Henry and about nine miles in length is nearly
finished. In the intermediate distance it is understood
the route is surveyed and located. The Hon. John Ham-
mond is president of this company. Another company
has been organized under the name of Northern Air Line
Rail Road Company, with Silas Arnold, Esq., president,
which proposes to construct a line, that shall connect with
the former in Peru or Plattsburg at the north, and in
Westport or Moriah at the south.
INDUSTRIxlL PROGRESS AND RESOURCES. 487
Plank Roads.
A number of these works were constructed some years
ago in various parts of the county. Although they have
been immensely valuable and productive to the transport-
ing business of the region, these roads have not, from
their perishable nature, under the abrasion of heavy teams,
proved remunerative financial investments by the direct
returns of dividends. Many of the roads have been aban-
doned, and none, I think, yields more than sufficient to sus-
tain the necessary repairs.
Commerce.
The commerce of Lake Champlain is now large and
every year augments. The lumber, the ore, and iron fa-
brics of the north, combined with the grain and flour of
the west, and the coal and merchandise from the south
constitute a vast trade. To their domestic resources may
be added the productions of Canada, which seek a market
by this avenue, and the goods chiefly bonded that pass into
the dominion from American ports, and much of which is
returned under fresh entries, all swelling this immense
iuternal commerce. Numerous Canadian vessels, designed
for the navigation of the St. Lawrence, and readily distin-
guishable from American craft by their peculiar structure
and appearance, reach the waters of Champlain by the
Chamblee canal. Vessels from the upper lakes are occa-
sionally observed in our harbors. A large class of the
population contiguous to the lake is connected with its
navigation. This occupation forms an admirable school
for the acquisition of nautical skill and experience, and
creates a bold and expert body of mariners. If the public
exigencies shall again demand a national fleet upon Cham-
plain, her own marine would promptly supply daring and
efficient crews. The following tabular statement presents
a view of this commerce and the sailors engaged in it :
488 HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY.
Statement of the Number, Tonnage and Crews of Vessels navi-
gating Lake Champlain on the 20th of June, 1868.
Number. Tonnage. Crews.
Steamers, ships, and canal boats, Dis-
trict of Champlain, 672 43,512 1,800
Vermont, 34 4,847 300
Canadian vessels, 165 13,656 753
American vessels from other districts
(estimated), 150 12,350 450
Total, 1,021 73,865i
1 1 have received the above from the kindness of Hon. Jacob Parmerter,
collector of the Champlain district.
APPENDIXES.
APPENDIX A.
Letter prom General Webb to Colonel Munroe.
Fort Edward, August 4th, 12 at noon.
Sir : I am directed by General Webb to acknowledge the re-
ceipt of three of your letters bearing date nine o'clock yesterday
morning and one about six in the evening by the rangers which are
the only men that have got in here, except two yesterday morning
with your first, acquainting him that the enemy were in sight.
He has ordered me to acquaint you that he does not think it pru-
dent (as you know his strength at this place) to attempt a junction
or to assist you, till reinforced by the militia of the colonies, for
the immediate march, of which, repeated expresses have been sent.
One of our scouts brought in a Canadian prisoner last night from
the investing party, which is very large, and have possessed all the
grounds five miles on this side of Fort William Henry. The num-
ber of the enemy is very considerable the prisoners say, eleven
thousand, and have a large train of artillery with mortars, and
were to open their batteries this day.
The general thought proper to send you this intelligence, that in
case he should be so unfortunate, from the delays of the militia, not
to have it in his power to give you timely assistance, you might be
able to make the best terms left in your power.
The bearer is a sergeant of the Connecticut forces, and if he is
happy enough to get in, will bring advices from you. We keep con-
tinual scouts going to endeavor to bring intelligence from you. I
am, sir, with the heartiest and most anxious wishes for your welfare,
your most obedient, humble servant,
E. Bartram, Aid-de-oamp.
To Col. Monroe, or officer commanding at Fort William Henry.
490 APPENDIXES.
APPENDIX B.
Montcalm.
M. Jean Pierre de Bougainville addressed the subjoined letter to
William Pitt:
To the Right Hon. Wm. Pitt.
Sir: The honor paid during your ministry to the memory of
Mr. Wolfe gives me room to hope that you will not disapprove of
the grateful efforts made by the French troops to perpetuate the
memory of the Marquis de Montcalm. The corpse of that general
who was honored with the regret of your nation, is buried at Que-
bec. I have the honor to send you an epitaph, which the Academy
of Inscriptions and Belles-Lettres have wrote for him, and I would
beg the favor of you, sir, to read it over, and if there be nothing
improper in it, to procure me a permission to send it to Quebec, en-
graved in marble to be put over the Marquis Montcalm's tomb. If
the permission should be granted, may 1 presume, sir, to entreat
the honor of a line to acquaint me with it, and at the same time to
send me a passport that engraved marble may be received on board
an English vessel, and that .Mr. .Murray, governor of Quebec, may
give leave to have it put up in the Ursuline Church. I ask pardon,
sir, for taking off your attention, even for a moment, from your im-
portant concerns, but to endeavor to immortalize great men and
illustrious citizens, is to do honor to you. I am, etc.,
Bougainville.
Paris, March 26th, 1761.
Reply of Mr. Pitt.
Sir : It is a real satisfaction to me to send you the king's consent
on such an interesting Bubject, as the very handsome epitaph drawn
by the Academy of Inscriptions at Paris, for the Marquis de Mont-
calm, which is desired to be sent to Quebec, engraved on marble, to
be setup on the tomb of that illustrious warrior. The whole senti-
ments expressed in the desire to pay this tribute to the memory of
their general, by the French troops who served in Canada, and who
saw him fall at their head, in a manner worthy of him and worthy
of them, cannot be too much applauded.
I shall take pleasure, sir, in facilitating a design so full of respect
to the deceased, and as soon as I am informed of the measures taken
for embarking the marble, 1 shall immediately give the passport
you desire, and send orders to the governor of Canada for its recep-
tion. As to the rest, be assured, sir, that I have a just sense of the
obliging things said to me iu the letter with which you honored me,
and that I think it a singular happiness to have an opportunity to
APPENDIXES. 491
express those sentiments of distinguished esteem and consideration
with which 1 have the honor to be, etc., -ry pTTT
April 10th, 1761.
This correspondence, so graceful and dignified, and worthy the
exalted subject, resulted in the engraving of the magnificent epi-
taph annexed by the Academy of Inscriptions and Belles Lettres
of Paris :
General Montcalm's Epitaph.
E1C JAGET.
Utroque in orbe a?terniini Victurus
LtJDOVICUS JOSEPHUS DE MONTCALM GOZON,
Marchio Sancti Verani, Baro Gabriaci,
Ordinis Sancti Ludovici, Commendator,
Legatus Generalis Exercituurn Gallicorum.
Egregius et Cives et Miles,
Nullius Rei appetens, praeterquam verse laudis,
Ingenio felici et litteris exculto,
Omnes Militia3 gradus per continua decora emensus,
Omnium, belli Artium, ternporuni, discriminum
gnarus
In Italia, in Bohemia, in Germania,
Dux Industrie ;
Mandata sibi, ita semper gerens, ut majoribus
• par baberetur.
Jam claris periculis,
Ad tutandum Canadensem Provinciam missus
Parva Militu.ni manu, Hostium copias, non semel
repulit :
Propugnacula cepit viris armisque, instructissima.
Algoris, Inediae, vigilarum, laboris patiens,
Suis unice prospiciens, immemor sui,
Hostis acer, Victor Mansuetus.
Fortunam virtute, virium inopiam, peritia
Et celeritate, compensavit.
Imminens Coloniae Fatum et consilio et manu per
quadriennium sustinuit.
Tandem ingentem exercitum Duce strenuo et
audaci,
Classemque omni bellorum mole gravem,
Multiplici jirudentia, diu ludificatus,
Vi pertractus ad dimicandum,
In prima acie, in primo conflictu, vulneratus,
Religioni, quam semper coluerat, innitens,
Magno suorum desiderio, nee sine hostium
moerore extinctus est.
Die XIV Septem. A. D. M.DCC.LIX.
.Etat. XLVIII.
Mortales optimi Ducis exu^as, in excavata hiuno,
Quam Globus bellicus decidens, disibensque
defoderat,
Galli lugentes deposuerunt
Et generosae Hostium fidei commendarunt.1
1 Hough's Pouchot.
492
APPENDIXES.
The letter of Montcalm from which extracts are introduced in
the text is copied by Carlyle in his Frederick the Great (vol. v,
pages 149-51) from a work by Beatson entitled Plains of Abra-
ham which embraces a correspondence ranging from 1757 to 1759
between M. M. Berryer and De La Mole and Montcalm. The
genuineness of these letters has been questioned, but Carlyle uses
them without dissent, and in my view they are impressed by inhe-
rent evidences of authenticity. My limits only permit me to
reproduce in addition to the extracts in the text, the closing para-
graphs copied by Carlyle :
"So confident am I of what I write that I will allow but ten years
after the conquest of Canada to see its fulfillment.
"Thus as a Frenchman do I to-day console myself for the danger
so imminent and pressing of seeing this colony lost to my country."
The courtesy of an eminent scholar and jurist of Canada (the
Honorable Charles MondehSt of the court of appeals) has enabled
me to subjoin some valuable particulars connected with these events.
M. Jean Pierre dc Bougainville, the elegant correspondent of
Pitt, was brother to Colonel Bougainville, the protege and aide of
Montcalm, and the great circumnavigator. In accordance with the
wishes of the French troops, animated by their ardent sentiments,
in which the memory of Montcalm was cherished, Bougainville
caused the inscription to be prepared by the Academy and engraved
it is supposed upon a marble Blab designed for a mural monument to
be placed in the church of the Ursulines at Quebec. It is believed
that in pursuance of the assent of the British government, the
slab wus seut to Canada, but no traces or vestige of it now exist.
APPENDIX C.
Civil List of Essex County.
Supncme Court. — Fourth Dis-
trict.
Augustus C. Hand, 1847*
County Judges.
Daniel Ross, 1800
Dean Edson, 1823
Reuben Whallon, 1831
Wolcott Tyrill, 1838
Henry H. Ross, 1847
John E. McVine, 1848
Roberts. Hale 1856
Byron Pond, 1864
Representatives in Congress, resi-
dents nf Essex Count;/.
Benjamin Pond,. .1811 and 1813
Asa Adgate, 1815 and 1817
Ezra C Gross, ...1819 and 1821
Henry H. Ross, 1825
Isaac Finch, 1829
Reuben Whallon, 1833
Augustus C. Hand, 1839
Thomas A. Tomlinson, 1841
(1847
Orlando Kellogg, \ 1862
(1864
APPENDIXES.
493
George R. Andrews, 1849
Geo A. Simmons, 1853 and 1855
Robt. S. Hale to fill vacancy, 1865
State Senators.
Reuben Sanford 1828
Augustus C. Hand, 1844
James S. Whallon, 1847
Eli W. Rogers, 1852
Ralph A. Loveland, 1857
Palmer E. Havens, 1863
Matthew Hale, 1867
Members of Asembly.
Wm. Gilliland (Clinton and
Essex,)
William Bailey,
Thomas Stower (Essex,)
Theodoross Ross,.
Stephen Cuyler, ,
Benjamin Pond, .
Delavan DeLance, Jr., ... -j
Manoah Miller,
Levi Thompson,
Reuben Sanford,
John Hoffnagle,.
Ebenezer Douglass,
Isaac Finch, 1822 and
Asa Adgate,
William Smith,. ..1825 and
EzraC. Gross, 1828 and
William Kirby,
Joseph S. Reed,
Isaac Vanderwarker,
Almerin Smith,
Barnabus Myrick,
Thomas A. Tomlinson
1800
1802
1803
1804
1805
1806
1807
1808
1809
1810
1811
1812
1813
1814
1815
1816
1817
1818
1819
1820
1827
1821
1824
1823
1826
1829
1830
1831
1832
1833
1834
1835
Thomas A. Tomlinson, 1836
M837
Gideon Hammond, < -iooq
[l844
( 1840
George A. Simmons, < 1841
(1842
Samuel Shumway, 1843
John C. Hammond, 1845
Caleb J). Barton, 1846""
William H. Butrick, < 184.8
George W. Goff, 1849 and 1850
Abraham Weldon, -j -ioc?
Jonathan Burnett, < is^j.
Nathaniel C Boynton, 1855
John A. Lee, 1856
Ralph A. Loveland, 1857
Monroe Hall, 1 is^o
Martin Finch, -j -ior-i
(1862
Palmer E. Havens, \ 1863
(.1867
( 1864
William H. Richardson, ] 1865
(1866
q ib t (1868
Samuel Root, 1 isrQ
Sheriffs.
Thomas Stower, 1799
Jonathan Lynde, 1802
John Hoffnagle, Jr., 1806
( 1808
William Kirby, \ 1821
(1822
Delavan De Lance, 1812
George Throop, 1813
Luther Adgate 1819
Coughton Lobdell, 1815
Samuel Murdock, \ 1RJj
494
APPENDIXES,
Leander J. Lockwood, 1828
Solomon Everest, 1831
John Harris, 1837
Alanson Wilder, 1840
Chilion A. Tremble, 1843
Norman Page, 1846
Aaron B. March, 1849
Charles W. Ensign, 1852
Jacob Parmerter, 1855
Elisha A. Adams, 1858
William W. Tabor, 1861
Ransom L. Locke, 1864
Abijah Perry, 1867
County Clerks.
Stephen Cuyler, 1799
Simeon Frisbee, 1808
William Kirbey, 1813
Thomas Stower, 1815
Asbley Pond, 1821
Leonard Stow, 1827
EdwardS. Cuyler, 1833
Edmund F. Williams, 1839
George S. Nicholson, 1848
Elisha A. Adams, 1851
Robert W. Livingstone,... 1857
William E. Calkins, 1860
County Treasurers under consti-
tution of 1846.
Safford E. Hale, Nov. .. 1848
John L. Merriam, "... 1857
Charles N. Williams, " 1860
Surrogates.
William Gilliland, Mar. 24, 1800
James McCrea, Oct. 29, 1801
Thomas Treadwell, Mar. 14, 1807
Ezra C Gross, Feb. 13, 1815
Ashley Pond, Mar. 2, 1819
John Calkins, Mar. 3, 1821
Augustus C. Hand, Apr. 15, 1831
Orlando Kellogg, Jan. 24, 1840
Robert W. Livings-
tone, Jan. 24, 1844
In 1846 duties assigned to County
Judge. Special Judge and
Surrogate.
Martin F. Nichol-
son, Nov. 1857
Office abolished, Jan. 1860
District Attorney.
Ralph Hascall, Jun. 13, 1818
Dean Edson, Mar. 3, 1821
David B. McNeil, Oct. 2, 1828
Gardner Stone, Apr. 11, 1833
Moses T. Clough, Sept. 24, 1844
Edward S. Shum-
way, resigned, Nov. 1850
James P. Butler, Apr. 12, 1852
Hiram M. Chace, Nov. 1855
Byron Pond, Nov. 1858
Martin Finch, 1864
Arod K. Dudley, 1867
Delegates to Constitutional Con-
vention.
Thomas Treadwell
(Clinton and Es-
sex), convention of, 1801
Reuben Sanford, Es-
sex, convention of, 1821
George A. Simmons, 1846
Mathew Hale, 1867
Regent of University.
Robert S. Hale, Mar. 29, 1859
APPENDIXES. 495
APPENDIX D.
The census returns of Essex for 1865 embrace the following stat-
istics :
Acres.
Land improved, 246,824
Lands unimproved, 442,186
No.
Sheep shorn, 62,201
Milch cows, 9,219
Pounds.
Wool, 252,226
Butter, 654,174
Tons.
Tons of hay, 48,712
Bushels.
Spring wheat, 26,388
Oats, 913,912'
Winter rye, 63,68
Buckwheat, 38,110
Indian corn, 101,324
Potatoes, 400,574
Pounds.
Maple sugar, 92,940
Bushels.
Beans, 13,943
My limits will not permit the reproducing the elaborate statisti-
cal tables, which will be found by reference to census returns.
496
APPENDIXES.
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INDEX.
Abercrombie, bis antecedents, 84;
expedition against Ticonderoga,
85 ; conduct at Ticonderoga, 92 ;
retreats to Lake George, 95.
Abraham, Plains of, 114.
Adams, H. J., 275, 280, 287.
Aerial currents, 870.
Agassiz, Prof., 351, 426.
Agriculture, 477; how affected by
lumbering, 478; by teaming,
478; by conflicting titles, 11;
products of, 479 ; stock, 481 ;
statistics of, 495.
Aiken, C. H., 238.
Albany, convention at, 39.
Allen, Ebenezer, takes Mt. Defiance,
187 ; captures English near Es-
sex, 188.
Allen, Ethan, captures Ticonderoga,
134 ; at St. John, 139 ; notice of,
140; defeated and captured at
Montreal, 145; his treatment,
145.
Allen, W., 238.
American army, its condition, 147,
152 ; sickness of, 153 ; sufferings
at Crown Point, 162.
Amherst repairs to Lake George,
102 ; character, 102 ; delay, 104 ;
occupies Ticonderoga and
Crown Point, 104; constructs
road to Charlestown, 105;
expedition of returns to Crown
Point, 109 ; relics of, 109 ; works
of at Crown Point and Ticon-
deroga, 112; advances against
Montreal, 114, and captures it,
110.
Archer, Lester, 253, 256.
Armstrong, Thomas, 292.
Arnold, Benedict, holds commission
from Massachusetts, 133; at
Ticonderoga, 133 ; seizes vessels
at St. Johns, 139; constructs
fleet, 163 ; attacked at Valcour,
168 ; defeated and bums his ves-
sels, 171 ; expedition to Quebec,
32
Arnold, continued —
149; fails to surprise it, 151;
leads a column at Quebec,
wounded and repulsed, 155 ;
superseded by Thomas, 159 ;
governor of Montreal, 160 ; re-
treats from Montreal, 160.
Arnold, R. W., 244.
Arnold, Silas, 484.
Asbestos, 415.
Assembly, members of, 493.
Attorneys, district, 494.
Au Sable pond, 325; valley, 437;
walled banks of, 331 ; saw mills
at the mouth of, 453, horse
nail company, officers of, 457.
Aurora borealis, 370.
Bacon, Major, 262.
Baker, G. J., 238.
Baker, J. L., 238.
Baker, Remember, 134.
Barker, A., 262.
Barker, E. J., 258, 263, 264, 272.
Bartlett, L. A., 238.
Bates, H. J., 238.
Beaches, the, iron sand and gravel
on, 422.
Beaman, Nathan, 120.
Beaumont, C. D., 231, 236.
Beaver meadows, 125.
Beaver, the, 388.
Bees, wild, 360.
Belding, J. W., 245, 248.
Bellamy, C. F., 238.
Benedict, Joel, 257.
Benedict, Professor F. K, 484.
Benzel, Adolphus, 120.
Bissell, E. L., 238.
Boice, Colonel, 273.
Boquet valley, 459.
Boudrye, L. K, 261, 273.
Bougainville, 490, 492 ; at Quebec,
111.
Boulamarque in command at Ticon-
deroga, 104 ; burns bridges near
Lake George, and retreats, 86.
498
IXDKX.
Boynton, J. H., 275.
Bradstreet, at Ticoncleroga, 94; at
Frontenac, 95.
Brown, Colonel John, 133 ; at Que-
bec, 154 ; attacks Ticoncleroga,
187.
Brown, John, notice of, 220 ; his ca-
reer, 222 ; at Harper's Ferry, 224;
capture and execution, 227; re-
marks on, 227; Mr. Vallingdig-
liam's opinion of, 227 ; Governor
Wise's opinion of, 228.
Bryant, L. S., 274,289.
Br'vdou, J.,274, 288, 290.
Buck, Hiram, 231,233.
Burgey, Daniel, 231,237,238.
Burgoyne Bucceeds Carleton, 171; his
army,174; his subordinates, 175;
treaty at Boquet, 175; proclama-
tion, 176; attacks Ticonderoga,
180; erects battery on Mi. De-
fiance, 180; pursues Long to
Skeensboro', and defeats him,
183
Butrick] G. M., 274.
Cadwell.M. P. S., 231,237.
Calkins, A. P., 238.
Cameron, I)., 338.
Campbell, G. F..27I.2SI5.
Campbell, G. W.,288.
Canada, exhaustion of, 98; corrup-
tion in, 99 ; feelings towards the
French in, 99 ; suffering, 79 ;
population of, 79 ; corruption in,
79.
Canadians favorable to Americans,
142, 145; zeal of, si ; friendly
receive lands from New York,
1(52; their bravery, 100.
Carillon, 50, 51.
Carleton, escapes to Quebec, 1 1? ;
pursues, 163; builds a fleet at
Valcour, KiS; takes Crown
Point, 1?:! ; returns to Canada,
17:!; humanity of, 162.
Carleton, Major, takes Forts George
and Ann', 190.
Carter, J. M., 282.
Cartier, discovers the St. Lawrence.
3; sees mountains of New York
and Vermont, 3 ; kidnaps In-
dians, 4.
Caughnawaga Indians, claim of, 204.
Cedars, the, disaster at, 161.
Cement water, 422.
Champlain, 5 ; early life, 6 ; voyages
of, 9, 10; founds Quebec, 10;
discovers Lake Champlain, 12 ;
Champlain, continued —
battle with Iroquois, 15; re-
turns from France, 19 ; battle
at the Richelieu, 19 ; on the Ot-
tawa, 20, 21 ; at Nipissing, 21 ;
sees Lake Huron, 21 ; attacks In-
dian fort, 22 ; wounded, 23 ;
builds castle St. Louis, 24 ; de-
fends Quebec, 24; death and
character, 24.
Champlain canal, 434.
Champlain, Lake, 1 ; names of, 3;
opening and closing navigation,
371 ; former trade on, 434.
Charlotte county organized, 129.
Chasm at Port Kendall, 332; at
Split Rock, 333.
Chastes, Aymer de, 5.
Chauvin, 5.
Chesterfield, account of, 211.
Chipman, Nathaniel, 197.
( ihoiseuls, predicts injury to England
from cession to Canada, 110.
Civil list, 39, 482.
Clark, Robert, 374.
( llerks, county, 494.
Climate, 370; and winds, 368.
Clinton county organized, 203.
Coates, G. B., 239, 293, 294.
Cochrane, Mrs., letter on Lord Howe,
88.
Colonies dissatisfied and alarmed,
45, 48.
Colonies, English, conditions of, 80;
inferiority of British officials in,
82.
Colonies, French, 81 ; feudal system
in, si : character of French offi-
cials, 82.
Colvin, Alvin, 109,371.
Commerce, 487.
Compact, written, of 5th Cavalry ,257.
Congress, action of, on capture of
Ticonderoga, 137; decides to
attack Canada, 137; represen-
tatives in, 492.
Constitution formed at Chatham,
Canada, 224.
( !< inventions, delegates to, 494.
Cook, H., 238.
( !opper,418.
Copperas, 422.
Corlear, Arent, 29.
Corlear's lake, 37.
Courcelles attacks Mohawks, and
suffering of, 28.
Crown Point described, 41 ; army
for reduction of, 49; ruins at,
112; early importance of, 117 ;
INDEX.
499
Crown Point, continued —
description of, 118 ; attention of
English government to, 120 ;
siege of, 203 ; account of, 211 ;
supplies troops, 231, 265.
Cullen, Colonel, 253.
Cunningham, J. L., 275, 270.
D' Avignon, F. J., 250, 254.
Davis^C. H., 245.
Dean, Silas, 132.
Deer, 247.
DeForest, 0.,258.
Delanv, P. H., 275.
Dellius Grant, 38.
DeMonts, 8; colony of, 8; explores
New England, 9.
DePontbriand, Bishop, he defends
Montcalm, 111.
DeTraey, expedition against Mo-
hawks, 31.
DeTrepesee, fight at Ticonderoga
and death, 86.
Dickerson, M. J., 289.
Dieskau, 51 ; advances to attack
Johnson, 56 ; defeated and cap-
tured, 60; danger of assassina-
tion, 61; death and character,
61.
Dobie, D. F., 288.
Dodge, Daniel, horse nail machine,
454 ; account of, 455.
Dominy, L. S., 280, 284, 289.
Donohoe, Col., 287.
Doolittle, L. L., 231, 239.
Douglass, W., 244.
Drift and diluvial formation, 423.
Dunder Rock, 37.
Dwyer, S. C, 232, 241, 242.
Easterbrooks, A. L., 238.
Edgerlv, E. F., 231, 236, 237, 238.
Elizabethtown, 211, 334.
Elmore, Mrs., anecdote of, 172.
English boats repulsed at Ticon-
deroga, 65.
English colonies, exactions on, 102.
English policy, 36, 44.
Essex and Clinton, population of,
208; account of, 211.
Essex and Vermont, comparison of,
215.
Essex county organized, 207; ori-
ginal county shire', 208 ; in war
of 1812, 208; origin and habits
of the people, 209 ; in season of
1816, 210; volunteers, 294; dis-
bursements of, 295.
Fairman, J., 250.
Farnsworth, J. H., 244.
Feldspar bed, Spalding's, 421.
Fertilizers, 426 ; phosphate of lime,
426 ; marl, 427 ; muck and peat,
428.
Fifth New York Cavalry, history
of, 256.
Fire on Whiteface mountain, 320.
First settlers, George and William
Trimble, 203.
Fish of interior lakes, trout, 357;
small, 358 ; white or frost, 358.
Fish of Lake Champlain, 351 ; chaou-
sarou, 351 ; salmon, 351 ; shad,
352; pickerel, 353; sturgeon,
354 ; smaller, 355 ; ling, 355 ;
smelt, 356.
Fishing by torchlight, 356.
Folsom, Capt., at Lake George, 61.
Foot, W. T., 465.
Forest trees, 364; changes in growth,
366 ; diseases of, 367.
Forty-fourth Regiment, 243.
Francis, Col., killed, 185.
French claims, 39 ; names, their
beauty, 47; policy, 26, 42; set-
tlements on Lake Champlain,
117.
Frisbie, Col., 236.
Frontenac, Count, attacks Mohawks,
35.
Fruit, 482 ; apples, plums, 486 ; Adi-
rondac grapes, 486 ; pears, 486 ;
huckleberry, 486.
Galena, 416 ; Indian's visit to bed of,
417.
Gall, Adjutant, 264.
Game, 125.
Garden Island, account of, 170.
Gas, inflammable, 135.
Gates at Ticonderoga, 173.
Geology, notice of rocks at Port
Henrv, 419.
Gibbs, N. J., 275, 287, 289.
Gilliland, James, 128.
Gilliland the younger, 130.
Gilliland, William, locates lands,
122; colonized the Boquet, 124;
narrative of, 127; account of,
154; collision with Arnold, 165 ;
Hartley prefers charges against,
165 ; denunciation of Arnold,
166; misfortunes, 202; death,
203.
Glass, 468.
Glen's Falls Republican, 290.
500
INDEX.
Goodhue, Rev. J. T., 134.
Grace, C. A., 275.
Grants and patents, account of, 296 ;
Abeel, 299; Benzel, 300; Ben-
son, 300; Bruyn, 301; Camp-
bell, Allen, 301 ; Campbell, D.,
301 ; Connelly, 301 ; Deal, 302
Field, 302; Friswell, 303
Frelegh, 303; Gilliland, 303
Gillilaud & Watson, 303 ; Grant
303; Guise, 304; Hicks, 304
Judd, 305 ; Kellett, 305 ; Kelly
305 ; Kennedy, 305 ; Legge, 306
Miller, 307 ; Mallory's, 308 ; Ma-
thews, 308; Maule, 308; Mc-
intosh, 308; McBride,308; Mc-
Donald, 309; McKensie, 309;
Montressor, 309; Old Military
Tract, 309; Ord, 310; Porter,
310 ; Potts, 310 ; Ross, 310 ; Ry-
erse, 310; Stoughton, 311 ; Skene,
311; Small, 311; Sutherland,
311; Springer, 311; soldiers
rights, 312; Stevenson, 313;
Stewart, 313 ; Summervale, 313 ;
Totten & Crossheld, 313 ; Tom-
lin, 316; Wharton, 316; Wries-
burgh, 316.
Grants, French, 121.
Graphite, 380, 415, 416.
Graphite Company, American, 47Q.
Gray, C. O., 250,251.
Hagar, C. L., 275.
Haldimand documents, 201.
Hale, Colonel Nathan, notice of,
184
Hale, f'. C, 299.
Hall, Hiland, 201.
Hammond, C. F., 426 ; supplies
horses to cavalry, 258.
Hammonfl, John, 257, 258,259, 360,
261, 262, 264, 266,267, 268,484.
Hand, A. C, 134.
Hasbrook, Captain, 263.
Haviland advances from Crown
Point against Montreal, 115.
Hay ward, E. B.,258.
Hayward, J. F., 245, 249.
Henderson, J. A, 244.
Hendrik, 56; killed, 58.
Hendrik's speech at Albany, 49.
Herrick, Captain, seizes Skeeusboro',
135.
Hessians, the, 174.
Hctzil, S., 244.
Hinds, G. W., 250.
Hinman, Colonel Benjamin, takes
command at Ticonderoga, 141.
Hochelaga named Mont Royal, 3.
Holbrook, A. H., 238.
Holden, A. W.,238.
Horicon, 50.
Horicon, corporal, 249.
Howe, Lord, his zeal, 84 ; Howe &
Stark, 86 ; killed, 87 ; effect of
his death, 87 ; his burial, 89.
Hoystradt, W. H.,238.
Hubbardton, battle of, 183.
Hudson, 19.
Huff, William, 281.
Hunter's Pass, 333.
Euntley, C. W., 231, 237, 238.
Hyperstene, 379, 420.
Indian Pass, 329.
Indian wars. 27 ; fraternity, 57; bat-
tle at Elizabethtown, 216; land
purchasers prohibited, 313.
Indians at Boquet, 175; at Valcour,
169; valuable aid of, 08; at Lake
George, 72 ; contract small pox
from I lie dead, 77 ; unreliable to
the French, 101.
Industrial pursuits, 432.
Inland navigation, state aid, 434.
Iron manufactories, 436,437; Wills-
boro',438; Boquet, 439; Ticon-
deroga, 439; Elba works, 439;
Au8able Valley, 440; Wilming-
ton, 410; .1. &. J. Rogers, 441 ;
Lower Jay, 414; Clintonville,
it Keeseville, 453, 454, 158;
at Elizabethtown, 459, 463; in
Westport, 461, 463; in Wills-
boro', 461, 463; In Lewis, 461,
462: Essex, 162; Moriah, 463;
Port Henry Furnace, 464;
Fletcherville, 466; Hammond,
467; Irondale, 468; Ticonde-
roga, 469; Schroon, 472, Mi-
nerva, 473; rolling mills, 453,
m, 462.
Iron ore beds, 372; Adirondac dis-
trict, 372; remarks on, 377; in
Minerva, 3S0 ; Schroon, 382;
Crown Point, 383; Arnold. 1311,
441, 448; Finch A- Winter, 448;
New Russia, 459; in Lewis, 461.
Iroquois, their eloquence and pro-
gress, 2; armor, 16; engaged in
the royal cause, 143; confede-
Jay, 213.
Johnson, William, at*. Lake George,
53; at battle Lake George, 62;
want of magnanimity, 63; at
INDEX.
501
Johnson, continued —
Ticonderoga, 90; appointed to
command army, 44; desires to
relieve William Henry, 73.
Johnson, Col, joins Brown at Ti-
conderoga, 187.
Johnson, Sir John, expedition
against Mohawk valley, 189.
Judges, Supreme Court, 492 ; county
and Special, 494.
Kaolin, 420 ; factory, 459.
Keene, 212.
Keese, Oliver, Jr., 274, 284.
Keeseville, horse nail works, 452 ;
Twine factory at, 458 ; hosiery
factory, flouring mills, and mi-
nor works, 459.
Kellev, J. E., 250, 251.
Kellogg, R. C. 275, 284.
Kingsley, G C, 238.
Knox, Gen. Henry, moves cannon
to Boston, 138.
Knox, M. V. B., 274.
Krom, Capt., 266, 272.
Labradorite, 370.
La Caron, 20, 23.
La Due, W., 239.
Laffin, B., 239.
Lake Champlain, 321.
Lakes, interior. 323 ; Paradox, 324 ;
Placid, 324, George, 327 ; Ava-
lanche, 381.
Lansing, W., 245, 249.
Lennon, M., 245, 248.
Lewis, 211.
Limestone, 419,428.
Livingstone, A. C. H., 232, 241.
Livingstone and Brown 155 ; take
Chambly, 144.
Livingstone, R. W., 274, 281, 282,
290, 295.
Logs, stripped of bark, 473 ; floating,
434, 435, 452, 474 ; Warren co.,
476 ; Minerva, 476.
Long, Colonel, at battle of Lake
George, 58.
Longueil, Carleton defeated by War-
ner at. 146.
Loring, Captain, constructs fleet,
108 ; destrovs French vessels at
Valcour, 109.
Louisburg, fall of, 101.
Lumber trade, 433, 434.
Lyman, General, at battle of Lake
George, 62..
Lyon, W., 244, 240.
McCall, P., 238.
McCormick, J., 239, 293, 294.
McCoy, J. W., 258.
McGinnis, Captain, killed at Lake
George, 61.
McGuire, J. G., 292, 293.
Mclntire, S. P., 239.
McKenzie, Col., 252.
McKie, John, Jr., 232, 237.
McLean, Col., returns to Quebec,
149 ; and defends at, 151.
McLean, J. B., 244.
McLean, P. V. K, 275, 289, 290.
McMullen, Lt., sent back to Crown
Point by Rogers, 106.
Mc Williams, M., 249.
Manufacturing works at Birming-
ham, 459 ; at New Russia, 459 ;
Crown Point, 469; at Ticonde-
roga, 470 ; Keeseville, 452, 458 ;
at Clintonville, 450 ; in Schroon,
472 ; in Essex, 476 ; Wilmington,
440; Bloomingdale, 440; J. & J.
Rogers, 441, 442, 444.
Marin, 68 ; exploits, 69 ; at Fort Ann,
96.
Marsh hay, 125.
Merrill, W. E., 245, 249.
Miller, George, 281.
Mineral springs, 343.
Mineralogy and geology, 372.
Minerals and rock of the Adirondac
district, 379.
Minerals, list of, 421.
Minerva, 212.
Moffitt, S., 254, 289.
Mohawks on St. Lawrence, 2 ; con-
quest of, 2 ; their hatred of the
French, 2 ; defeat De Cour-
celles, 29 ; capture Montreal
31 ; hereditary boundaries, 37
at battle of Lake George, 58
wish to pursue French, 62 ; at
Ticonderoga, 90.
Molang, 68.
Mondelet, Charles, 492.
Montcalm, early history of, 66 ; ar-
rives at Quebec, 69 ; takes
Oswego, 69 ; holds Indian coun-
cil, 70; takes William Henry,
71 ; receives order St. Louis, 73 ;
connection with massacre at
William Henry, 75; his subse-
quent measures, 77; his opinion
of Vaudreuil, 80 ; interference
with, 80 ; thinks of evacuating
Ticonderoga, 90; victory of,
94; activity of, 96; quotes
502
INDEX.
Montcalm, continued —
Mirabeau, 99 ; despondency of,
103 ; his letter, 103, 109 ; death
of, 110; strictures on, 111 ; opi-
nion of Canadians, 100 ; disgusts
the Indians, 101 ; repairs to
Quebec, 104; letter on cession
of Canada, 116 ; Bougainville
and Pitt, correspondence on,
490 ; epitaph of, 491 ; letters of,
492.
Montgomery, Richard, 115 ; ap-
pointed brigadier-general under
Schuyler, 142; seizes Isle aux
Noix, 142; assumes the com-
mand, 144; his early life, 144;
attacks St. John's, 144; seizes
Sorel, and takes St. John's,
145 ; his trials, 147 ; his in-
fluence, 148; appears before
Quebec, 152; his policy, 153;
attacks the city, 154; killed,
155 ; burial of, 158.
Montreal, 20.
Montreuil at Lake George, 60.
Mooers, J. H.,275.
Moose, the, 349.
Morgan at the attack of Quebec,
155.
Moriah, account of, 211.
Mould, H. M., 275.
Moulding sand, 446.
Mount Defiance, 178.
Mount Hope, 180, 181; recaptured
by Brown, 187.
Mount Independence, 178.
Mountains, 318; Pharaoh, Dix,
Bald, 318; Marcy, 319; Mc-
Intire, Dial, Seward, McMar-
tin, Colden, Keene, Whiteface,
320.
Munroe, Colonel, capitulates at Wil-
liam Henry, 73.
Murray, J., 249.
Myers, Corporal, 249.
Nail works, 442, 444, 445, 448.
Nails, at Keeseville, 453.
Natural curiosities, 329.
Natural History, 346.
Nelson, W. G., 459.
Newcomb, 213.
Newman, T. W., 250, 251.
New Netherland, cession of, 27.
Nichols, G. F., 274, 276, 280, 281,
282, 287, 288, 290.
Ninety-sixth regiment, history of,
250 ; officers of, mustered out,
255.
Norris, Capt., 276.
North Elba, description of, 214 ; In-
dian remains in, 216; Iron works,
216; progress of, 216; negro
settlement in, 217.
North Hudson, 212.
Northern New York, account of, 336.
Northrup, H. J., 275.
Norton, F., 245.
O'Callaghan, E. B., 30, 110.
O'Connor, D. A., 275, 289.
One Hundred and Eighteenth Regi-
ment, history of, 273 ; officers of
mustered out, 290.
Onontio, 73.
Ormsby, L., 231. 237, 238.
Orr, G. S., 244, 24S.
Paints, 423.
Paris, treaty of, 116.
Parker, Col., defeated at Sabbath
Day Point, 80.
Parkman, 25.
Parmerter, Jacob, 274, 283.
Partisans, French, 67.
Patent, Field's, 123.
Patents, 296.
Pattee, Rev. Mr., 421.
Peabody, O. D., 231, 237, 238.
Pean, Madam, 79.
Pease, C. M.,258.
Penfield, J. A.., 357, 260, 266.
Peru Steel and Iron Company, 449.
I M.. Ips, Walter, Jr., 232, 238.
Phillips occupies Lake George, 186.
Physical geography, 317.
Pierce, E., 250, 254.
Pierce,.!. 11., 274,282.
Pierson, C. B., 256.
Pioneer population, changes of, 129.
Place, Sergeant, 278.
Piatt si .urg Republican, 169.
Plumbago, Bee Graphite.
Poke O' Moonshine, 330.
Pontgrave, 11.
Popular organization formed, 129.
Porphyry, 420.
Port Royal founded, 9.
Porteous, J. G., 275, 287.
Potashes, 435.
Potter, J. F., 335.
Potter, Lieut., 289.
Pouchot, 106.
Pourtraincourt, 9.
Prescott, General, capitulates Mon-
treal, 147.
Pringle, Capt., attacks Arnold, 168.
INDEX.
503
Proclamation, king of Great Britain,
Oct., 1763, 121.
Province, a new, contemplated, 130.
Pruyn, 0. E.,275, 383, 284
Public improvements, 484 ; inland
navigation, 484 ; Rail Roads, 484;
Plank Roads, 487.
Putnam, battle of, near "Whitehall,
83.
Putnam's capture and perils, 97.
Quarries, 428 ; Keeseville, 429 ;
McOinbers, 430 ; Clark's, 430 ;
Essex, 431 ; Frisbie, 431 ; West-
port, 431 ; Crown Point, 431 ;
Ticonderoga, 431.
Quebec, 10 ; battle of, 110 ; trade
with, 432.
Rail Roads, 486 ; Moriah and West-
port, 486 ; Whitehall and Pitts-
burgh, 486; Northern Air line,
486.
Rainbow Falls, 333.
Ralph, Alexander, 374.
Rangers, American, 67.
Ransom. Capt., 279/282.
Rebellion, the, 219.
Refugees burn Boquet settlement,
189.
Regent of University, 495.
Reggio, Great rock Regione or
Rogeo, 37.
Renner, L. F., 258.
Reptiles, 360.
Reynolds, M., 282.
Richards, S. F., 274.
Riggs, Capt., -270.
Rivers, 326; Hudson, 327 ; outlet Lake
George, 327 ; Putnam creek, 327;
Boquet, 327 ; Au Sable, 328.
Roads, public, 205.
Roberval, 5.
Roche, De La, 5.
Rogers, a royalist, 98 ; expedition
against St. Francis Indians,
105 ; incursions into Canada,
114.
Rogers & Putnam, battle with
Marin near Fort Ann, 96.
Rogers, exploits of, 63 ; note to Mont-
calm, 54; defeat of, 82 ; slide, 82.
Rogers, J. & J., their business, 445,
446.
Rogers, Piatt, ferrv and bridges,
205.
Rowe, C. W., 245, 247, 249.
Royal Savage raised, 169.
Ryswick, treaty of, 40.
Sabbath Day point, 69.
Sable Iron Company, 441.
St. Armands, 214.
St. Clair, Arthur, in charge of Ticon-
deroga, 177 ; evacuates it, 182 ;
suspended, 186.
St. Frederick built by French, 42.
St. Pierce, killed, 61.
St. Sacrament, Lake, 50.
Salisbury, Prof, 344.
Salt traffic, 433.
Sanborn, J. EL, 250.
Sanger, W. H., 293, 294.
Saunders, Lt., 289.
Scalps borne to Montcalm, 83.
Schenck, J. W., 238.
Schenectady, relieves French army,
29 ; burning of, 31.
Schroon, name of, 212.
Schuyler, Gen. P., 142 ; commands
northern department, 177; his
forces, 177; superseded, 186;
appointed to command Cana-
dian army, 142.
Schuyler, John, attacks La Prairie,33.
Schuyler, Peter, attacks La Prairie,
34, 35.
Seaman, J. R., 231, 238, 274, 289.
Second Cavalry, 293.
Senators, state, 493.
Seventy-seventh Regiment, 244 ; his-
tory of, 244; officers mustered
out, 249.
Sheldon, O. F., 130.
Sheriffs, 493.
Sherman, Sam, 275, 282.
Sherman, S. D., 238.
Ship yards, 475.
Sillery, Murray, defeated at, 114.
Silver, 419.
Smith, Gerrit, 217-219.
Smith, W. H., 232, 241.
Snowr shoes, battle on, 83.
Spalding, Henry, 260.
Split Rock, 332.
Squirrels, 350.
Stannard, Gen., 252 ; report, 288.
Stark, exploits of, 64.
Statistics, agriculture and political,
495, 496.
Stephens, Lt., abandons Rogers, 107
Stetson, M. V. B., 254, 289.
Stevens, C. E., 244, 245, 248, 249.
Stevenson, W. H., 275, 276,277, 281,
282.
Stone, Dennis, 282.
Stone, J. S., 275, 282.
Strong, T. M., 237, 238.
Subterranean passages, 334.
504
INDEX.
Sullivan, Gen., assumes command of
American army, 160; burns ves-
sels at St. Johns and retreats to
Crown Point, 161.
Surrogates, 494.
Suitor, J. A., 239.
Tanneries, 473 ; in North Hudson,
474; Minerva, 475.
Tar, made for Amherst & Mc-
Donough, 109.
Teller, M. L., 238.
Thirty-eighth regiment, 241; pri\ ates
in, killed and wounded at Bull
run, 242.
Thirty- fourth regiment, 329.
Thomas, Gen., takes command at
Quebec, 159; retreats and dies
at Sorel, 160.
Thomas, G. T., 231,232, 236, 238.
Thompson, Prof. Zadock, 215, 251,
425, 426.
Thompson's Vermont, 178.
Thoreau, 25.
Three Rivers, repulse at, 160.
Ticonderoga, account of French
works at, 89, 211 ; De Levis ar-
rives at, 90 ; battle of, 91 ; inci-
dent at, 95; notice of the captors
of, 138 ; taken, 104; ruins at, 112;
works at, 178 ; bridge at, 178 ;
effect of capture of, 185.
Town meetings, how conducted, 204.
Townsend,Adjt, General, killed, 104.
Treadway, W., 274, 282, 288.
Treasurers, county, 494.
Twenty-second regiment, 232.
Utrecht, treaty of, 28.
Valleau, J., 238.
Valley of the Hudson, 471.
Vaudrueil, attack on William Henry,
65; at Quebec, 111; persecuted
in France, 112; charges against
Montcalm, 80; his controversies
with Montcalm, 100 ; surrenders
Montreal, 116.
Vaudrueil the younger arrives at
Ticonderoga, 95.
Vermont, negotiations of leaders
with British, 190; remarks on
Vermont, continued —
negotiations, 199 ; supplies
Gates, 174.
Viall, J. G., 257.
Volunteers, call for, 210, 231.
Waldron, A. P., 250.
Walker, T., 242.
War declared between France and
England, 63.
Wardner, N., 250, 253.
Warner, Selh, covers retreat from
Canada, 161; takes Crown Point,
136.
Warren, W., 242.
Washburn, M. L., 274.
Washington county formed, 203.
Watson, Elkanah, 417 ; on the burial
ot 'Howe, 88.
Webb, General, letter to Monroe,
489; his pusillanimity, 72.
Weed, Alfred, 250, 251.
Weidman, M., 238.
Wells, C. W., 27.-).
Weston, Clifford, 246.
Westport, account of, 211.
Wetmore, G., 238.
Whale, skeleton of, 420.
Whiskey, 435.
White, Major, 262,264,266,268.
Whiting, Col., rallied fortunes at
Lake George, 58.
Wickham, 15. F., 237, 238.
Wild land near Whiletaee Mb, 435.
Wilderness, northern, 835 ; vestiges
of roads and bridges in, 32 ; navi-
gation in, 484.
William Henry, fort, attacked and
taken by Montcalm, 74; massa-
cre at 75
Williams, Ephraim, 56; killed, 58.
Willsboro', account ot, 211; size
of, 204; Melchior Hoffnagle first
supervisor, and Daniel Sheldon
first town clerk, 204.
Wilmington, 214.
Wilmington notch, 330.
Wilson, L. E., 238.
Win-, E. A., 282.
Wolfe at Quebec, 110.
Woods, conflagration of, 436.
Wooster, David, 132 ; brigadier-
general under Schuyler, 132
Wright, J. B.,231.
6349
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