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ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY
3 1833 03585 6209
Go 974.6 V28t Van Dusen, Albert E. 1916- The trade of Revolutionary Connecticut
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1.
UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
*
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3
THE TRADE
Profaça
OF
REVOLUTICHARY CONNECTICUT
A DISSERTATION
IN HISTORY
PRESENTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL IN
PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR
THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
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1.
ALBERT EDWARD VAN DUSEN
PHILADELPHIA
1948
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1.
A: TABLE OF CONTENTS
XY:11.
Pago
Illustrations
111
Abbreviations
Profaco
PART I -- CONNECTICUT. DURING THE LATE COLONIAL PERIOD
I.
Geographio Features of Connecticut
1
· II.
Population
12
III. Transportation and Commmication
43
IV. The Agricultural Basis of Connecticut's Economy
65
V. Manufacturing, Mining, and Fishing
76
VI. The Political Organization
99
VII. British Regulation of Trade Prior to 1763
110
VIII. Local Trade
112
IX. Trade with the American Mainland Colonies
127
x.
The West Indian Trade
145
XI. Direct Trade with Europe
157
PART II -- THE REVOLUTIONARY TRADE STORY, 1775-1783, AND ITS IMPLICATIONS
XII. The Coming of the War 165 VID. The Beginnings of Government Regulation 179
XIV. Manufacturing and Mining in Wartime
187
XV. Connecticut Privateering
236
XVI. Local Trade
246
XVII. Supplies for the State and Continental Forces
264
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x2, Il. 49 Sev. S. Clai
11.
TABLE OF CONTENTS (Cont.)
Fago
XVIII. Currency and Financial Problems
305-
. XIX. Interstate Economic Cooperation
316
i XX." Interstate' Trade .
.327
:'XXI. Economic Regulatory Legislation and Its Enforcement,
339
1776-1781
Cire's
2.02
XXII. Revolutionary Foreign Trade
369
XXIII. The Coming of Peace 382
XXIV. Conclusions
388
Bibliography
394
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THERE!
111.
ILLUSTRATIONS
Bernard. Romans' Kap of Connecticut, 1777 .
opposite page 1 Sketch Map of New York and Boston Post Roads
. page 50 .
Plan of Main Street, Middletown, 1770-1775 page
118 Flan . of Main Street, Hartford, during Revolution pago 251
Esra Stiles' Map of New Haven, 1775 opposite page 262
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Abbreviations Employed in Footnotes
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A. R. W. Archives, Revolutionary War, series 1 .* ot' ?;
A. T. P. - Archives, Trumbull Papers .. 1
c. C. The Connecticut Courant.
c ... .C., S. Comecticut as a Colony and a State, k'chard Der .'1
A Publio Records of the Colony of Connectiout.
C. H. S. C. Collections of the Connecticut Historical Society.
Garotte the Connecticut Carotte.
Journal The , Connecticut Journal.
V. H. S. .. Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society.
Packet The Norwich Packet.
Publio Recorda of the State of Connecticut.
T. G. N. - The Writings of George Washington.
- 0.,1.6.1⑈
"?
1.
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Profaco
or awired of in broad toets
: "". The history of Connecticut during the Revolution has offered a virtually untapped field for exploration and treatment. Both earlier and later periods have been the subject of intensive investigation by such highly competent scholars as Charles H. Andrews, Richard Parooll and Jarvis X. Morse. Aside from a handful of specialized works on "". very narrow phases of Connecticut's revolutionary story,"such as ... "Middlebrook's useful History of Maritime Connecticut during the Ameri- can Revolution, essentially a naval not a commercial history, no in- portant studies have appeared yet on the larger phases of the subject. The manuscript and printed sources available for study aro impres- sively rich, especially the collections at the Connecticut State Library and the Comestiout Historical Society; and for the most part these' collections are readily accessible and useable."> .A, -Y ... ₺
A complete and definitive history of Revolutionary Connecticut would entail many years of preparation and probably four'er five vol- tes of careful writing to do the subject justice. Even a complete econcede history of the period would necessitate a much longer work than this study. .. I ...
The author has attempted to present with a moderate mount of il- lustrativo data most of the essential elements in the story of Connosti- eut's trade from the 1780's through 1783. In Part I attention has been centered upon two features: in first place, the broad background of physical setting, population, transportation and communication, agri- culture, manufacturing and political organisation; against this back- ground, in second place, the chars cristies of Conasoticut's trade.
Ti.
in the late colonial poried. Both in Part I and Part II trade has boon conspired of in bread teras as something involving importantly far 1 more people than those in the small group called "merchants." To an important extent practically every Connootiout farmer, and this meant .. most adult males, was a "trader" who had surplus produce to sell for cash, or to exchange for all sorts of other goods .. """" "" .. :: . In fart II a more detailed treatment has been given to trade dur- ing the war period, Much descriptive material has been prepared, and an attempt made to evaluate the impact of the war upon various groups, individuals, and sections. Considerable attention has been devoted ..: to the role of Connecticut as the "Supply" or "Provision" State. The amount of source material available upon this topic is so rast, includ- ing huge unindexed collections such as the Wadeworth Papers, that the chapter dealing with this whole problem should be considered caly as a summary of findings based upon an exploratory expedition rather than as an exhaustive one. For most other topics in Part II. it has been possible to examine most of the available source material, and for more definite conclusions .... .. +,.
The problems of regulatory legislation, its enforcement, and its effects has been carefully studied. Unfortunately it is virtually in- possible to measure with any degree of mathematical precision much things. Much suggestive data has been presented, but in most cases it has seemed wiser to avoid drawing any sweeping conclusions from this data, ". 1
: . The author has carried his investigations far enough to fool con- + vinced that Connectiout's economic history in the revolutionary. ora. comprises a very significant chapter in the larger American picture ..
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The author is under deep obligation to many persons and institu- tiens for help in this project. The possibility of journeying into :.. this virgin territory of history was first suggestod to him by ! ! Professor Georgo M. Datoher of Wesleyan University during the author's undergraduate days. Since that time Professor Dutcher's interest in . the project has never flagged, and he has given freely of his time and morgies. Ho read almost all of the menuscript and suggested many ;. . improvements .. :
Official direction of the work at the University of Pennsylvania was assumed first by Dr. Richard H. Shryock. He has been most helpful throughout the period of preparation which was greatly broken up by the events of the war period. In September, 1846 Dr. Roy F. Nichols " took over the general supervision, and under his wise guidance it was at last completed. . The author's debt to these three man is so great as to be difficult of expression, for their friendly ocansel and mootiragement played a vital role in ensuring the completion of the project. During the author's five years at Dako University, Dr. Willies T. Laprade, Chairman of the History Department, gavo assistance in several ways to the furtherance of research efforts.
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The courteous cooperation received at many libraries greatly
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facilitated the pleasureable experience of digging into manuscripts and printed collections. At the Connecticut State Library, the rich- est manuscript storehouse for Comnostiout history, Mr. James Drestor, Librarian, and Miss Marjorie Case of the staff, repeatedly went out 4. of their way to assist in every possible mamer; and the author's dobt to then is particularly large. Mr. Thompson R. Harlawr, librarian of tory A 1 1 the Cormeotient Historical Society, and his assistant, Miss Frances A.
Hoxie, willingly and graciously gave much time and effort in steering the author to the most useful collections for this study. At Sterling ? Library Ers. Zera Powers of the Connecticut Room courteously extended! : " every assistmos possible in making available pertinent manuscript collections. The Library Committee of Sterling Library at Yale kind- ly gave permission to use and quote from the portions of the Shi- Papers and from all account books and other manuscripts listed in the bibliography as being from Yale Library. Miss Allons Rasage and Miss Helen Oyler of the staff of Daks Library gave very real help to the author.
The author is, in addition, indebted to members of the staffs of 1 the following institutions and libraries for valuable assistances the Massachusetts Historical Society, Baker and Houghton Libraries of Harvard University, the American Antiquarian Society, the New York Public Library, the Business Library of Columbia University, the Mam- . soript Division of the Library of Congress, the National Archives, the Library of the University of North Carolina, the Department of Histori- osl Records and Archives of the State of North Carolina, the Litchfield Historical Society, the Eww Haven Historical Society, the United States Costoms at New Haven, the New London Historical Society, and the Clerk's Office of the City of Middletom. -
The author bas received from his colleague, Dr. Sam Hugh Brookunier, various kinds of help which expedited research and writing. The Faculty Research Committee and the Trustees of Wesleyan University havo aided the project greatly by two substantial research grants during the school years 1946-47-end 1947-48. Miss Marilyn Erayauskas, secretary of the History Department, performed the important task of typing the
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preliminary and final drafts. Dr. Leonard Labaree of Yale University made several useful suggestions regarding research. Dr. Arthur C. Bining read a preliminary draft of the work and contributed a number of excellent suggestions for improvement.
Last, but not least, the author owes to his wife the contribution of untold hours of cheerful assistance in many phases of the work. Without her practical help and loyal encouragement the project could not have been pushed to completion at this time.
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PART I
CONNECTICUT DURING THE LATE COLONIAL PERIOD
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CHAPTER I:
Geographic Features of Comecticut
The natural features of Commeotiout looked very much the samo in the eighteenth century as they do today. Then as now Comootiout was mall, hilly, heavily-forested, and picturesque.
Of the thirteen colonies soon to be organized as the United States only two, Rhode Island and Delaware, were smaller. Connecticut, exolud- ing its western land olaims, was approximtely 5000 square miles in area, extending from 41° 10' to 42° 2' north latitude, and from 71º 48' to 72º 41' east longitude. The eastern boundary with Rhode Island . extends about fifty miles; the western with New York, about ninety: the northern with Massachusetts, about eighty-soven; and the Sound boundary, about one-hundred. 1
In terrain, Commecticut is very varied. Three main zones may be listed: the coastal plain, rather narrow and flat; the river valleys- particularly the Connecticut, Housatoni; (Kaugatek), and Thames-all low in altitude; and the interior highland regions, hilly to mountainous, ranging up to an average altitude of about que thousand feet along the northern line, and punctuated by high ridges and cocasional mall peaks. 1 The best soil is found in the central valley, drained by the Con- . neotiout River, as far south as Middletown. Below Middletown the River leaves the Valley which contimes southwesterly to New Haven. The deep, rich, alluvial soil of the valley, ranging from a fine leam to a stiff
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1 The boundary on the Sound is measured by air line.
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olay" affords excellent crops after three hundred years of constant be . use by white men. Little wonder that eighteenth-century travelers generally commented upon the prosperous and attractive appearance of: the central valley! In hi In his Journal the French Army Commissary, Claude Blanchard, noted: "The environs [of Hertford] are fertile, especially 4 the banks of the river, where good pasturage is found." . The width - of the valley runs from ten to sixteen miles, and it is far from being level, as well hills dot its surface .. .
For the colony as a whole, the soil cannot be classified as good. The uplands generally are rocky with thin soil. The many streams - emptying into the major valleys have carried down much humus and have caused a continuous loss of fertility from the higher lands.
The terrain of Connecticut is gently undulating for the most part. It occupies about one half of the southern part of the New England peneplain. From the Sound the land rises slowly at the rate of about fasenty foot to the mile to 1000 feet altitude at the Massachusetts line. The coastal lowland ranging up to 100 feet altitude is narrow-fifteen miles at the Rhode Island line, and only five miles at New Haven. Within : the lowland areas, both coastal and river valley, mmall but striking elevations stand out, such as East and West Rock at New Haven; and the Hanging Hills of Meriden, dominated by West. Peak.
Albert L. Olson, Agricultural Economy and the Population in Bighteenth Century Comootiout (Publications of the Tercentenary Commission of Commeotiout, No. 40), p. l.
Good meadow land in Hartford county, for example, was assessed in 1778 at 16 shillings per aore s compared with 7 shillings 6 pence "." elsewhere. 8. R. II, 14.'
P. 110. "Thomas Baloh, The Journal of Claude Blanchard (Albany, 1876), .
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3.
These are volcanic trap peaks whose bedrock resisted erosion .. The ... summits ranging up to 892 feet on Mt. Higby and 1007 feet on West Peak, 1 Mariden, roughly equal in elevation the upland levels east and west of ť the central lowland region. The two distinct series of hills in Con- nectiout are often called the eastern and western highlands." .11
The most striking mountainous areas lie in . the northwest. Humor- ous peaks there rise above 1500 feet, including Mohawk Kt. (1680) in Corrall, Haystock Mt. (1680) and Ball Mt. (1760) in Norfolk, and Bradford Mt. (1927) in Canaan. Salisbury takes the altitude honors with impressive Bear Mt., which reaches 2355 feet, towering some 1600 feet 1 above. Twin Lakes in the valley to the East. By contrast, the highest point cast of the Connecticut River, Bald Hill in Imion, attains an altitude of only 1286 feet.
Connecticut has been favored with ample water resources. Besides the three great river systems, about 1000 lakes, mostly glacial in. origin, and covering 44,000 acres, dot its surface. The principal
lekes aro Bantam, Gardner, Pocotopaug, Twin and Warsmang. 6 Among the rivers which flow a total of 7600 miles in Connecticut, three deserve chief attention. By far the most important is the Con- necticut, navigable over 60 miles from the Sound to Hartford. Its . chief tributarios are the Farmington River and the Salmon River. Besides being the most important river, it is also the largest-in width ranging from about 550 foet near South Wethersfield to about three miles just
5 William North Rice and Wilbur Garland Foye, Guide to the Goology Middletown, Comsatiout, and Vicinity, (Hartford, 1027), pp. 12 -. 0
Prosent-day Candlewood and Zoar are artificial.
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above the mouth. 7 Since the Connecticut has a tremendous watershed in New Hampshire and Vermont, an area of heavy rain and snowfall, it periodically goes upon rampages, flooding large areas each spring, co- casionally with heavy damage. At the same time it fertilizes well the lowland flooded areas. Actually the Connecticut drains only a small part of the Colony (State), the northern part of the lowlands, while most of the remainder is drained by the Housatonic-Naugatuck system - for the western highlands and the Thames system (Yantic, Shetucket and Quinebaug Rivers) for the eastern highlands. The Thames is navigable to Norwich; the Housatonic, to Derby.
Floods must have been frequent in all of the larger rivers of
."r: Connecticut, for the Colonial Records contain frequent references to petitions for aid in robuilding bridges washed away by spring freshets and floods. 8 .
Despite the flood losses and the inconveniences experienced in crossing the rivers, by and large they constituted an important economie asset to the people. The fishing was excellent, especially for salmon, .. in the Commecticut River. In an age when land transportation was primi- tive, the rivers and lakes served as principal arteries of commerce and communication. 9 Every important stream in Connecticut has its fall line within the State which means an abundance of available waterpower. To a small extent this power was harnessed for grist mills and the like,
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The Barrows below Middletown are only about 600 feet wide.
8 See C. R. XIII, 343 (Farmington River), XIII, 631, (Shetuotet River); XIII, 605 (Farmington River), as ezamples.
Seg pp. 54-56. .
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even in colonial times. The Housatonic offered an unusually large ram- # ber of fine mill sites at its mmerous waterfalls.
Like other colonies east of the Mississippi, Connecticut was originally covered with dense forests. As elsewhere the colonists waged relentless war against the forest cover. Despite this, the stand of timber remaining in Connecticut at the end of the colonial period was still very large." 10
The common natural woods were maple, oak, ash, hickory, birch, ola, sassafrass, whitewood, poplar, pepperidge, sycamore, bosch, walnut, wild cherry, butternut, chestnut, basswood, pine, hemlock, cedar, balsam, spruce.11 of these trees the oak, pine, and whitewood ranked particularly high in economic value.12
The rugged woodlanda overspread much of Litchfield County, southern Hartford and western Bew London (now Middlesex) counties, and northern Wincham County (now partly in Tolland County). Heavily forest-covered towns included Norfolk, Barkhamsted, Colebrook, Torrington, Granby. Hartland, Bethany, Prospect, Killingworth, Essex, Madison, Saybrook, Haddem, East Enddam, Chatham (East Hampton), Marlboro, Tolland, Willing- ton, Union, Ashford, Sterling, Eastford, and Voluntown, where today over sixty per ment of the land area is wooded, 13
The fauna of Connecticut in the eighteenth century was quite
10 In 1937 about fifty six percent of the state was forested ao- cording to Federal Writers Project, Guide to Comecticut, p. 10.
11 Benjamin Trumbull, History of Connecticut (New London, 1898) 1, 19.
12 Ibid., p. 19; Theodore Dwight, History of Connecticut (How York, 1841), I, 36, 39. 4
13 Olson, pp., 5-8 ..
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diverse. Dowy, bear, moose, fox, mink, raccoon, muskrat, otter, wolf, .
and wild-cat all throve. Turkey, heron, partridge, pigeon and quail provided a hunter's paradise. Some of the animals, especially the wolf, bear, fox, and wild cat, caused damage to livestock. A persistent campaign against wolves largely wiped them out, and the others were -
brought under control.
In the realm of bird life, Connecticut was unique among the New England States for its representation in three faunal life sones- the upper austral, transition, and Canadian. . In addition, the Colony lay on the edge of the great flyway from Canada to points scuthard and back again. Game birda were very numerous, including duok and ruffed grouse. Only the predatory hawks clouded the bright picture. 14
From a minerological viewpoint Connecticut was varied but inim- portant.16 There were, in fact, few colonies where minerals lay so : freely exposed, and were so valueless. Mining of cobalt, copper, iron and lead, and quarrying of stone for building purposes were all carried on . 16 .:
Connecticut has a drowned coast so that good harbors are the rule. - By all odds, Now London possesses the finest harbor. New Haven ranks next in size and importance: In 1773 the Board of Trade asked for a description of the principal harbours. They received this answer:17
14 Trumbull, I, 20-21.
15 See John Frank Schairer, The Minerals of Connecticut (Hartford, 1931), for an excellent account of the mineral resources of Conneotiout.
16 See pp. 93-96 for additional details.
17c. R. XIV. 497.
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"The principal Harbours are, New London, and How-Havens The former opens to the South; fram the Light-House at the Mouth of the Harbour, to the Town, is about three Miles, the Breadth three-quarters of a Mile, and in some Places more; - from five to six Fathoms Water, -- a clear Bottom-tough Coze-and as far up as one l'ile above the Town entirely secure and commodious for large Ships? The latter (New Haven] is situated North and South; half & Kfile wide at the Entrance,-frome thence to the Town four Miles -having two Fathom and one Half at low Water, and three Fathom and four Feet at common Tides, and very good Anchorage."
The magnificent harbor at New London was indeed more than adequate for all needs. Other ports of importance on the Sound (from West to East) were Grestrich, Stamford, Morwalk, Westport, Fairfield, Startford, Milford, Branford, Guilford, Clinton, Saybrook, South and East Lyme, Mystio, and Stonington. 1
Connecticut's climate, then as now, was changeable and of moderate severity. Although Connecticut lies on the sea coast, its climate is of the continental type because the prevailing winds come from the great land masses to the north, nortimest and southwest.' 18 The worst storms of eastern North America usually pass either to the north south of Connecticut. Occasionally, however, storms from the northwest and southwest coaleses over Connectiout and deluge it with a violent and heavy rain or snow storm. As a rule, two mild storms strike Con- , neoticut weekly, but a good two-thirds of the days are either clear or.
4 partly clear. 19.
,
For a State so mall, Comecticut displays remarkable differences
18 Joseph Milton Kirk, The Weather and Climate of Connecticut, (Hartford, 1931), p. 14. An exception to the rule is the prevalence of cooling ocean winds fran the south over southern Connecticut during long periods of the summer.
19 Ibid., pp. 14-15.
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locally in weather, due mostly to surface variations. The moan anmal temperature ranges from 50º F. along the Coast to 46º F. in the highlands of . Litchfield County.
Excessively hot temperatures occur occasionally in the summer,
chiefly in the towns and cities located at low altitudes.
20
Commeotiout winters are mild compared to those of her northern neighbors, though at times, severs. Freezing weather usually prevails from about mid-November to early April. Rarely does the thermometer go below zero P., and very rarely, below -15º F.21
The length of the growing season is a faster of great significance to the farmer. It ranges from 190 days on the coast dom to 140 days or loss at some inland points. The length at selected towns in different . snotions is as follows: New Haven, Guilford, Saybrook and Stonington -190; Milford, Essex, New London, Hartford and Wethersfield -- 180; Middletown, Glastonbury, Somors, Fairfield, East Haddam, Farmington and Graaby -170; Kent, Woodbury, Southington, Barkhamsted, Lebanon, Mansfield, Ashford and Union-160; Cornwall, Litohfield, Colebrook, Preston, Plainfield and Killingly-150; and Norfolk, Canaan, Salisbury, and Volutoun-140, or less.28 The markedly longer growing season of the Coast and of the Connecticut River Valley is conspicuous and helps explain prosperous, colonial, agricultural developments there.
22 Waterbury experienced the highest on record, 105°, in 1926. Qa the average Hartford has eight days of 900 plus temperature yearly, and How Haven, four. Kirk, p. 16.
Kirk, pp. 16-17. The record is -29º F. at Voluntown in 1904.
Ta., p. 19, Great variations coour from year to year. In" 1947 the growing season at Middletom totalled only 180 days (May 10- September 26), far below average.
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Connecticut apparently nearly always bas enjoyed ample precipitation. Rainfall averages approximately forty-five inches armually, with the, western highlands slightly greater, and the Connecticut and Thames Valleys slightly below the average. Snowfall ranges from about thirty-five inches yearly on the coast to seventy five inches in Litchfield County.25 1 moderate snowfall with cold weather actually was a boon, in part, in colonial days, for it made possible transportation of persons and goods by sleds and sledges. When the roads thawed, they often became impassable for weeks on end.
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