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The work of death soon commenced. A number of settlers in the upper part of the valley were murdered while laboring in their fields, and two of the forts in that neigh- borhood were given up. The brave sons and daughters of Connecticut refused to surrender at the bidding of the British commander, and they determined to attack the enemy. On the 3d of July their little army, under Colonel Zebulon Butler, consisting of hardly more than three hundred per- sons, began their march up the river. The British rangers and their Indian allies at first pretended to retreat ; but as the villagers of Wyoming advanced, and opened fire, they were suddenly attacked by a party of savages in their rear, who sprang from their ambush, and threw them into con- fusion. A horrible massacre followed, and only about sixty of the brave band of Connecticut men escaped death. More
221
MASSACRE AT WYOMING.
1778.]
than one-half of all the able-bodied men in the valley had been killed. When the tidings of the terrible defeat reached their families, near at hand, many of the helpless women and children fled to the forests, and others sought refuge in Fort Wyoming. Pen cannot picture the sufferings and sorrows of the heart-broken band of widowed mothers and their fatherless children, who found their way back to Con- necticut through the wilderness. In a single company, there were about a hundred women and children, with only one man to guide or aid them. Those who fled to the forts, after their surrender, were in many cases murdered with fiend- ish cruelties. Among the saddest incidents of these terrible days was the unnatural hate that made the Tory sympathizers, among the settlers, guilty of the most inhuman actions to- wards their neighbors and nearest relatives.
It was not long before a fort was again built in the valley, and a few Connecticut families returned to their old homes. Again and again the Indian war-whoop startled them, as some fatal shot sped on its way. As the days went on, and life and property became more secure, the number of settlers increased. After the Revolution, the old controversy between Connecticut and Pennsylvania broke out anew, and continued until the final decision that made the beautiful valley of Wyoming a part of the latter Common- wealth. The song and story that recall the tragedies of its early settlement will always associate its hills and vales with the history of Connecticut.
Towards the close of 1778 the most active movements of the war were taking place in the South. Colonel Campbell, in command of two thousand British troops, landed in Geor- gia, and captured Savannah. The colony again came under English rule ; but her borders were the scene of terrible civil strifes between the strong Tory class, and the brave patriots whose hearts and lives were consecrated to the cause of freedom. With the exception of New York, there was no
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HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
[1779.
section where the Tory party was as powerful as in the South. They were to be found everywhere ; and some of the most bitter and violent lived within the bounds of Con- necticut, but the vigilant watch that was kept over them gave them little opportunity for mischief. The Connecticut Tories had a hard time in many ways, and the general feel- ing of the people against them was such that their lives and property were not always safe. In the South their number was so great that they often came into open conflict with their patriot neighbors.
While the centre of the war had shifted a long way from New England, Connecticut was not left in peace. The raid which Governor Tryon made in the latter part of February, 1779, as far as Horse Neck, was followed during the sum- mer by frequent incursions along the shores of the Sound. On the 5th of July the British fleet from New York cast anchor off West Haven, having on board some three thou- sand troops, in command of Tryon. About fifteen hundred of the force landed at sunrise, and marched towards New Haven. A little company of militia and citizens rallied, and stationed several field-pieces at the bridge leading to West Haven. They held their position with such determination that the British general decided to make a long circuit of several miles, and enter the town by the Derby road. They did not accomplish this without being harassed by a con- tinual fire from the militia.
Meanwhile the other division of the British troops, com- manded by Governor Tryon, had landed on the east side of New-Haven Harbor. The fort at Black Rock was soon taken, but the little garrison of nineteen men made good their retreat. After the enemy entered the town, the soldiers robbed the inhabitants of every thing they could lay their hands upon. Some families lost nearly all their houses contained, and suffered for the want of food and clothing. Early on the following morning the enemy unexpectedly and
223
TRYON'S RAID.
1779.]
quietly withdrew to their boats, taking with them a number of citizens as prisoners. Twenty-seven Americans had been killed, and nineteen wounded. Among the citizens who joined the militia in their attempt to defend the town was the venerable Dr. Daggett, ex-President of Yale College. He was captured near Milford Hill, and treated in a most das- tardly manner. Having beaten and robbed him, he was driven at the point of the bayonets of insulting soldiers for several miles, until his strength was exhausted.
From New Haven the British fleet sailed for Fairfield. They landed on the morning of the 8th of July, and, after plundering the village, kindled a conflagration before sun- down, that did not cease until most of the dwellings, churches, and other buildings, were burned to the ground. The crackling of the flames, mingled with the " cries of dis- tressed women and helpless children," made the night terri- ble. From Fairfield the British marched to Green's Farms, and destroyed a large amount of property. Crossing the Sound, the enemy remained in Huntington Bay until the 11th of July. They then sailed for Norwalk, and destroyed the entire village, with the exception of a few houses belong- ing to Tories. Before this time Washington had learned of the raid along the defenceless coast of Connecticut ; and he directed General Parsons, then in command at the High- lands of the Hudson, to hasten thither. In command of a small body of Continental troops, and a considerable force of Connecticut militia, he reached Norwalk a few hours after the British had landed there. He was unable to prevent the destruction of the town, but harassed the enemy in many ways, who soon after returned to Huntington Bay, and from there returned to New York.
On the 15th of July, General Anthony Wayne made a brilliant assault upon Stony Point, on the Hudson, and cap- tured the fort with five hundred men, besides cannon and supplies. The British had erected a fort at Lloyd's Neck,
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HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
[1779.
on Long Island, and garrisoned it with about five hundred soldiers. Again and again companies from this fort had crossed over to the Connecticut shore, and plundered de- fenceless homes. Major Tallmadge, honored with the special confidence of Washington, determined to destroy this stronghold of the enemy. On the night of the 5th of September he embarked near Stamford with a picked body of one hundred and thirty men. He reached Lloyd's Neck near midnight, and, quietly landing his men, made an attack upon the fort, that took the garrison completely by surprise. They at once surrendered, and before morning were landed in Connecticut as prisoners of war.
Washington planned an attack on New York, and called for twelve thousand militia from Connecticut. When this project was finally given up, the militia were disbanded, and the army, under the commander-in-chief, went into winter quarters at Morristown, N.J. During a brief interval of quiet, in the autumn, General Putnam visited his home at Pomfret. In December he started to join the army. He was overtaken by illness, and compelled to stop when he reached Hartford. The disability proved permanent ; and from this time until his death, on the 19th of May, 1790, he was compelled to retire from active service.
The personality of few men has filled as prominent a place in the history of Connecticut as that of Israel Putnam. Honest, brave, and generous in spirit, he was the embodi- ment of energy, and possessed a presence of mind fertile in expedients, that made him a grand leader in hazardous enterprises. His brilliant military services during the French wars prepared him to act the part he did in the battle of Bunker Hill. The exhausting labors of that day, no doubt, hastened disabilities, incident to advancing years, that made him less efficient in further active service. Honored and be- loved, the closing years of his life were spent in the quiet of his home, where he was often visited by old comrades in arıns.
225
WASHINGTON AT HARTFORD.
1780.]
CHAPTER XXXVI.
1780-1781.
WASHINGTON AT HARTFORD AND WETHERSFIELD.
INTHE year 1780 was one of great depression and anxiety to those who were at the head of American affairs. Sir Henry Clinton, with an army of eight thousand men, sailed from New York, and after a stormy passage reached Georgia in the latter part of January. Sending to New York for additional troops, he advanced towards Charleston, where Lin- coln was in command of the Continental army. The British fleet passed Fort Moultrie in safety, while Clinton attacked the city from the land side. On the 12th of May, Lincoln surrendered, and the town fell into the hands of the enemy. Clinton soon returned to New York, leaving the British army in command of Lord Cornwallis. At the North, there had been great suffering in the American camp during the winter, and the general outlook was dark and discouraging. The action of France brought new hope.1 Early in July, Ad- miral de Ternay, with a squadron of ten ships-of-war, con- voying a detachment of about six thousand men in command of Rochambeau, arrived in the harbor of Newport. On the 18th of September, Washington left his headquarters at Tappan on the Hudson for Hartford, attended by Lafayette and Hamilton. Here, in the presence of Governor Trum- bull and other officers, he held his first interview with the French general. The meeting was one of mutual satisfac- tion and pleasure. The progress of Washington through
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HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
[1781.
the towns of Connecticut called out throngs of people who expressed their regard in every possible way. The chil- dren even pressed about him, and called him their father. Turning to the French aid who had accompanied him a day's journey on his return, he said, " We may be beaten by the English in the field ; it is the lot of arms : but see there the army which they will never overcome."
On reaching the Hudson, Washington repaired to West Point, and there learned of the treachery of Benedict Ar- nold. The story of the treason of this wretched man, and the capture and hanging of André as a spy, is one of the most familiar and tragic of Revolutionary times. Physi- cally courageous, and intellectually gifted, Arnold was un- principled, and cowardly at heart. The honorable service rendered in behalf of his country in the early part of the war, is lost in the dark record of shame and blood that has made his name a synonyme for all that is base and contempt- ible in human conduct.
The capture of Charleston, the treason of Arnold, and a condition of affairs in the American camp that required all of the wisdom and skill of Washington to keep the troops from breaking into open revolt, proved to be the darkness brood- ing over the horizon just before the morning of victory and deliverance. On the 21st of May Washington again came to Connecticut, and met Rochambeau at Wethersfield, where they arranged the details of the campaign that ended in the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown. Before that victory was won, Connecticut suffered in a most distressing manner at the hands of the miserable traitor who had been born upon her soil.
Arnold had been sent by Sir Henry Clinton to Virginia with a small body of British soldiers. Among other das- tardly acts, he burned the city of Richmond. Washington had arranged a plan by which he hoped to capture the inso- lent traitor. The advance of Cornwallis broke up this de-
227
ARNOLD ATTACKS NEW LONDON.
1781.]
sign, as the English general sent Arnold back to New York. Clinton ordered him to make an attack on New London. There is reason to believe that the work was undertaken at the suggestion of Arnold. His boyhood had been spent in the neighborhood, and he knew that the place was compara- tively defenceless. It was his purpose to enter the harbor in the night, and destroy the stores, merchandise, and ship- ping gathered there, before the militia could have time to rally. Owing to contrary winds, the British fleet did not reach the mouth of the Thames as soon as they expected ; and it was ten o'clock on the morning of the 6th of Septem- ber, before Arnold was able to land his troops. They were sent ashore in two divisions. Eight hundred were landed on the Groton side of the river, under command of Lieutenant- Colonel Eyre ; and nine hundred, led by Arnold, landed on the western, or New London, side. By this time the alarm had been given, and every possible preparation made to defend the town. While panic-stricken families were seeking shelter in the woods near at hand, an effort was made to save the shipping by cutting the vessels loose, and sending them up the river. For a time the wind and tide were ad- verse, but later in the day some of the most valuable ships were saved.
Colonel Ledyard, in command of the forts, having done all in his power to call out the militia, and give the neighboring towns warning of the situation, decided to repair to Fort Griswold, and there make as strong a stand as he could against the enemy. As he started to cross the ferry at New London, he remarked to the friends who had gathered to wish him success, " If I must lose to-day honor or life, you, who know me, can tell which it will be."
Arnold, after landing his troops near the lighthouse, marched at once in the direction of Fort Trumbull. This fortification was then but a rude and imperfect breastwork mounted with a few cannon. Following the orders of
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HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
[1781.
Colonel Ledyard, the little garrison of twenty-three men, in command of Captain Shapley, did not attempt to defend the place against the detachment of soldiers that Arnold sent to dislodge them. Having fired a single volley, they spiked the guns ; and withdrawing in good order, they embarked in whale-boats, crossing the river so near the British ships that seven of their number were wounded by musket-shots from their decks.
Arnold's progress was contested at two or three points by some skirmishing parties, but they could do but little ; and the traitor soon found himself in the streets of the beautiful and prosperous seaport village with which he had long been familiar. Almost in sight of his birthplace, and amid the scenes of boyhood memories, he gave orders to kindle a conflagration that soon reduced to ashes the most valuable part of the town. Before this he had received information that led him to suppose that Fort Griswold could be easily taken ; and he had sent a messenger to Colonel Eyre, order- ing him to march forward, and begin an attack. After en- tering New London, Arnold found that the fort held so strong a position that he sent another officer to countermand his first order. The officer arrived a few minutes too late. For the second time Colonel Eyre had sent a flag and a summons for the surrender of the fort, with the added threat, that, if it became necessary to storm the works, " martial law should be put in force."
" We shall not surrender, let the consequences be what they may," was the answer of Colonel Ledyard. The enemy having formed in solid columns, under cover of the hills that protected them from the guns of the fort, moved forward with a quick step. A small party of the garrison from the outside fired a single round at the approaching columns, and then retired within the fort. Colonel Ledyard gave orders that not a gun should be fired until the enemy were at close range. The first shot did such execution, followed, as it was, by
229
FORT GRISWOLD.
1781.]
volley after volley, that the British officers, with great dif- ficulty, were able to rally their men. Colonel Eyre was seriously wounded, and carried from the field. Major Mont- gomery, at the head of his detachment, gained the redoubt on the east side of the fort, and, having taken possession of the ditch, attempted to ascend the rampart. This was quite high, and strongly guarded by projecting pickets. The only way the soldiers could get up, was by climbing upon each other's shoulders, and then wrench away the pickets, or
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PHOTOENG (ONLY.
GROTON MONUMENT.
struggle up between them. No sooner was a head thrust above the rampart, than it became a target for some musket within the fort. In spite of the deadly fire, the enemy finally succeeded in gaining the rampart, and silencing the gun that swept its heights. They now sought to enter the fort with fixed bayonets, but were met by the main body of the garri- son, some of whom were armed with long, sharp spears, with which they fought desperately. Unaccustomed to this sort of weapon, the British soldiers hesitated to advance, until Major Montgomery threw himself at the front, and urged them
230
HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
[1781.
on. At this moment he was mortally wounded by a spear- thrust ; and his enraged men, with hoarse cries of vengeance, rushed forward. The little band of patriots were unable to resist their overpowering numbers. They swept every thing before them, and, quickly forcing the gate, crowded within the fort, uttering yells of exultation.
As soon as the enemy had broken down the gate, Colonel Ledyard saw that further resistance was useless, and ordered his men to throw down their arms. They obeyed ; but the British still continued to fire upon them from the ramparts, while others were stabbed with bayonets. Captain Shapley and his little company, ignorant of the surrender, still held the south-west bastion. The British now turned the cannon of the north bastion upon them. Few escaped the murder- ous fire. The south gate was now open ; and, as the other division of the British force marched in, they fired by pla- toons upon the unresisting garrison. "' Who commands this fort? " called out the British officer now in command. "I did, sir ; but you do now," said the gallant Ledyard, as he advanced, and presented his sword. The brutal officer no sooner received it, than he plunged it into his breast. Colo- nel Ledyard fell on his face, and instantly expired. Those of the garrison who witnessed this horrible murder saw that they need not look for quarter. Rallying about the body of their dead commander, they fought until one of the British officers, sickened by the terrible carnage, cried out, " Stop ! stop ! my soul cannot bear such destruction."
Eighty-five men lay dead in the fort; and of the sixty wounded, only a few survived. Having hastily buried their dead, and removed their wounded to a place of safety, the British prepared to blow up the fort. Before firing the train, they carried some of the most severely wounded among the Americans upon boards, and placed them in an ammuni- tion wagon, and ordered a company of twenty men to draw them down to the shore. The hill was so steep that the
231
FORT GRISWOLD.
1781.]
loaded wagon soon gained a momentum beyond the control of the soldiers. Dashing down with increasing speed among the rocks and other obstructions, it finally struck the trunk of an apple-tree near the river's edge. Some of the wounded men were instantly killed by the shock, and all were more or less injured.
The village of Groton was set on fire before the enemy embarked at sunset, but they waited in vain for the explo- sion that was to demolish the fort. They had laid the train carefully ; but it was extinguished by Major Peters, who rushed into the fort as soon as the British left.
1 SILAS DEANE, a native of Connecti- cut and a graduate of Yale College, was associated with Benjamin Franklin on the committee which negotiated the Treaty of Peace with France. He was a man of brilliant qualities of mind, and did a service for his country in bringing to a conclusion difficult negotiations that for various reasons met with scant rec- ognition. Through the misconduct of
other parties with whom he was unfor- tunately connected, he was recalled from Europe, and held responsible for their acts. After a vain attempt to recover his position, and embittered at the wrongs he felt he had suffered, he returned to Europe, where he died in poverty. In the light of history, the name of Silas Deane is revealed as that of a gifted statesman, but unfortunate man.
232
HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
[1781-83.
CHAPTER XXXVII.
1781-1799.
CONNECTICUT AT THE CLOSE OF THE REVOLUTION.
CARCELY a month had passed, after the burning of New 2 London, and the massacre of the brave defenders of Fort Griswold, when events occurred that brought the war to a close, and secured the independence of the United States. The successes of Lord Cornwallis in the South were checked by the movements of the American army, under command of General Greene. Compelled to fall back on Virginia, Cornwallis intrenched his forces at Yorktown. Washington saw his opportunity, and hastened to strike the decisive blow. The French fleet appeared at the mouth of the Chiesa- peake Bay at the same time Washington, by rapid marches, arrived in front of Yorktown. Cornwallis found himself hemmed in on every side. Escape was impossible ; and; on the 18th of September, seven thousand British soldiers laid down their arms. This victory virtually ended the war. For a year or more, there was some fighting in the South ; and the cities of New York, Charleston, and Savannah remained in the hands of the enemy. On the 3d of September, 1783, a treaty was made at Paris, between the English and Amer- ican commissioners, by which the independence of the col- onies was acknowledged, and the United States of America became a nation.
Early in November the Revolutionary army was disbanded. In proportion to her population, Connecticut had furnished
233
JONATHAN TRUMBULL.
1783.]
more men in the great struggle for independence than any other colony. Massachusetts alone sent a larger number into the field. Among the noble men who stood at the head of military and civil affairs in Connecticut during the Revo- lution, the name of Jonathan Trumbull will always be fore- most. The intimate friend of Washington, he proved
TRUMBULL HOUSE AND OLD WAR-OFFICE, LEBANON.
eminently worthy of the honor that was placed upon him, as the governor of the State for a period of thirteen years. At the close of the war, he asked to be relieved of the burden and care of official duties, and retired to his ancestral home in Lebanon, where he died, August 17, 1785.
The character of Governor Trumbull was of the noblest type. Profoundly religious in sentiment and feeling, his moral convictions were strong and clear. Under the enlight-
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HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
[1783.
enment of Divine truth, he sought to have a conscience void of offence towards God and man. He cherished the prin- ciples of civil and religious liberty received from his fathers, and upheld them with unfaltering loyalty and courage. His vision was clear and far-reaching, and at the same time calm and steadfast. The words and opinions he expressed, before the breaking out of the war of the Revolution, proved pro- phetic ; and in the darkest hour of the struggle for freedom, he was undismayed and hopeful. Grave in manner, but gentle and courteous in all the relations of life, he won the love of his fellow-men, and held their respect and confidence by his moral courage and discriminating judgment. Blest with a vigorous constitution, he toiled unceasingly. There was no sacrifice too great for him to make in behalf of the cause of freedom. Every other purpose and ambition was subservient to the spirit of patriotism, that burned with a pure and holy flame in his bosom.
The relations of Governor Trumbull and Washington were those of close and intimate friendship. Washington leaned upon him as his right arm. "Let us consult Brother Jona- than," he would say, when any difficult matter was under consideration. The remark became so common, that, in a spirit of pleasant appreciation of the Connecticut governor, he would playfully say, when referring any matter to Con- gress, "Let us consult Brother Jonathan ; " and it was in this way the nation itself, in familiar phrase, was named " Brother Jonathan."
In the darkest period of the Revolution, Trumbull never lost hope for a moment. He believed that it was the will of God that the colonies should gain their independence ; and in that faith, he found strength in every hour of adversity. At a time when the war was drawing to a close, he writes, " In a series of marvellous occurrences during the present war, he must be blind who doth not see the divine ordering thereof."
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