USA > Connecticut > A history of Connecticut > Part 19
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248
HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
years of age or over, and is chosen biennially. His veto may be overcome by a majority in each House. The Legis- lature consists of a Senate of twenty-four members, and a House of Representatives according to towns. Every town incorporated before 1785, and since 1874 if of five thou- sand inhabitants, has two members, and every other town one. All elections are by ballot, and every voter must be able to read any article of the United-States Constitution. The judicial power is vested in the following courts : a supreme court of errors, consisting of a chief and four asso- ciates ; a superior court, consisting of six judges, together with the five of the court of errors. These are all chosen by the Assembly for eight years, and become disqualified after the age of seventy. There are inferior courts in certain cities and boroughs, with judges chosen biennially by the Assembly.1 In 1873 Hartford was made the sole capital.
The early records of Connecticut bear testimony to the spirit of Christian philanthropy that dwelt in the hearts of the people. Unceasing efforts were put forth to Christian- ize and educate the Indians.2 The worthy poor were never allowed to suffer, and every possible provision was made for those disabled in body and mind. It is not strange, there- fore, that, in the humanitarian and missionary movements that sprung up in the early part of this century, some of the mnost fruitful philanthropic and Christian enterprises of modern times should have first been organized on Connecticut soil.3
The American Asylum at Hartford, for the education and instruction of the deaf and dumb, was the first institution of the kind opened in the United States. The story of its founding begins in the home of Dr. Cogswell, an eminent physician of Hartford. A deaf-mute little girl in his family, by her sad disability, joined as it was with a lovable dispo- sition and interesting character, called forth the tender solici- tude and sympathy of a large circle of friends.
249
GROWTH OF PHILANTHROPIC ENTERPRISES.
Among them was the Rev. T. H. Gallaudet. He found that there were others suffering in the same way, and his heart and mind became deeply interested in their welfare. Already general interest had been aroused to such an extent that it was decided to establish a school, and send some one abroad to acquire the art of teaching deaf-mutes. Dr. Gallaudet was selected for this work. In May, 1816, the in- stitution was incorporated by the Legislature with an appro-
y
AMERICAN ASYLUM FOR THE DEAF AND DUMB.
priation of five thousand dollars. Dr. Gallaudet returned to America in August of the same year, accompanied by Laurent Clerc, a deaf-mute pupil of the Abbé Sicard. Both individuals and churches responded liberally to the appeal for funds to carry on the school. Within a few years all of the New-Eng- land States made arrangements for the instruction of their in- digent deaf-mutes at Hartford ; and in 1819 Congress voted a grant to the institution of lands, the sale of which formed a fund of over three hundred thousand dollars. The record
250
HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
of the institution under Dr. Gallaudet and his successors has been one of eminent usefulness and success. The school now has a corps of fifteen trained and experienced teachers, who are qualified to employ the best methods in use in teaching deaf-mutes. Two devote their time to instruction in articulation and lip-reading. The basis of instruction, however, is the sign-language, which long experience has proved to be the most rapid and sure means of impart- ing instruction to all deaf-mutes, and the only means by which a large part of them can be reached. Articulation and lip-reading are taught to such pupils as show aptness in acquiring them. The income of the institution, in con- nection with the provisions made by the State, enables the children of the poorest parents to avail themselves of its blessings.
During recent years the State has opened the doors of the noble Asylum for the Insane at Middletown, and the Reform School for Boys at Meriden, and the Industrial School for Girls at Middletown, giving evidence of the care which the people of Connecticut are ready to give those in distress and need of help.
The sale and use of intoxicating drink was the source of trouble from the founding of the colony. Drunkenness was a crime punished at the discretion of the court by stocking, fining, or, more generally, whipping. Laws were passed for- bidding sales to incapable or irresponsible persons, as Indi- ans, minors, and drunkards. Such a resort as the modern liquor-saloon was unknown. Tavern-keepers were allowed to sell to their guests, and the inhabitants of the town might buy liquor of them for use elsewhere ; but they were forbidden to " sit drinking and tippling " in these public-houses. The number of taverns was limited to the needs of travel, and there was seldom more than one or two in a village.
At the time of the Revolution, and for many years after-
251
TEMPERANCE.
wards, the usages of society permitted the general use of ardent spirits in the homes of the people and on festive occa- sions. Cider and New-England rum, distilled from molasses, were the favorite beverages. Early in this century the dis- astrous effects of this custom began to attract attention, and well it might. The appetite kindled by the use of in- toxicating drink had already brought poverty and misery into multitudes of homes. In many cases the sons of hon- ored sires had become miserable drunkards, and their ances- tral acres had fallen into the hands of strangers.
Even at the ordination and in- stallation of ministers, the enter- tainment of guests was thought incomplete if a supply of various kinds of liquor was lacking. Soon after Lyman Beecher was settled as pastor in Litchfield (1810), he attended an installation of a neigh- boring minister, where the prep- arations for the comfort of those in attendance, " besides food, was a broad side-board covered LYMAN BEECHER. (From Autobiography by permission of Harper Brothers.) with decanters and bottles, and sugar, and pitchers of water." "There," says Dr. Beecher, "we found all the various kinds of liquors then in vogue. The drinking was apparently uni- versal. There was a decanter of spirits also on the dinner- table to help digestion, and gentlemen partook of it through the afternoon and evening as they felt the need; and the side-board, with the spillings of water and sugar and liquor, looked and smelled like the bar of a very active grog-shop."
The tide of public sentiment in religious circles soon began to turn strongly against the custom that made such scenes possible. Attention was called to the evils of intemperance
252
HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
in ministerial and other conventions, and in a few years a wonderful change was wrought. Dr. Beecher preached a series of six sermons on intemperance, that were widely read, and did much to carry forward a movement that swept with great power through the State and the nation.
A full history of the cause of temperance in Connecticut would recall the names of some of the noblest men and women that have ever labored for the welfare and rescue of those in danger from the accursed traffic that is still the most terrible and insidious enemy that assails the life of the com- monwealth.
Connecticut was one of the first colonies to pass a law against the slave-trade. This was done in 1769. The main cause of the final abolition of slavery in the State, was the fact that it became unprofitable. In 1784 the Legislature passed an Act declaring that all persons born of slaves, after the 1st of March in that year, should be free at the age of twenty-five. Most of those born before this time were grad- ually emancipated by their masters, and the institution of slavery had almost died out before 1806.
In the revival of philanthropic sentiment and effort that marked the early years of the century now drawing to a close, a strong feeling was aroused against allowing the sys- tem of slavery to be introduced into the new States and Terri- tories. In 1819, at the time the slave-power was seeking to gain both Missouri and Florida, there was an intense anti- slavery agitation in many parts of Connecticut. New Haven recorded its verdict in resolutions that declared that the ex- istence of slavery was an evil of great magnitude, and that it was the solemn duty of the Government to prevent, by all constitutional means, its extension. This was the beginning of discussions that formed the staple of political arguments, and expressed different views of public policy that contended for victory, within party lines, until the shot on Sumter
253
THE ANTI-SLAVERY AGITATION.
united the people in the determination to sustain the Union at whatever cost of blood and treasure.
About 1830 the subject was broached of founding a college in New Haven for the education of colored persons. This aroused bitter opposition ; and the feeling of race-prejudice ran so high, that in 1833 the Legislature passed an Act by which it was made penal to establish schools in the common- wealth for the instruction of negroes from other States.4 It is difficult for the present generation to conceive how intense was the agitation of the public mind in the great anti-slavery controversies that preceded the civil war.5
1 THE victory of the party opposed to the Federalists, and its result, as affect- ing the relation of the Congregational churches to the State, was a source of great sorrow and anxiety to those who were attached to the old order of things. Dr. Lyman Beecher, pastor at the time of the Congregational church in Litch- field, in his autobiography says, " It was as dark a day as ever I saw. The injury done to the cause of Christ, as we then supposed, was irreparable. For several days I suffered what no tongue can tell, for the best thing that ever happened to the State of Connecticut. It cut the churches loose from dependence on State support. It threw them wholly on their own resources and on God."
2 THE REV. ELEAZAR WHEELOCK, pastor of the Congregational church in that part of Lebanon now known as Columbia, in 1743 received, into a school taught by him, a Mohegan Indian named Samson Occum. This lad afterwards be- came a famous preacher. Mr. Wheelock devoted his attention to the education of Indian youth, and founded a school that received generous support, both at home and abroad.
3 THE AMERICAN BOARD OF COM- MISSIONERS FOR FOREIGN MISSIONS was first organized at Farmington, Sept. 5, 1810.
4 THIS law was passed to break up a
school in Canterbury. Miss Prudence Crandall was at the head of a prosperous school for young ladies in that place, when a respectable colored girl, in 1832, asked for admission. After some hesi- tation she was admitted as a member of the school. The other pupils at once left, and there was great excitement in the community when it became known that Miss Crandall purposed to open a school for the education of colored girls. About six weeks after the passage of this law, which was celebrated in Canterbury by the ringing of the church-bell, and firing of cannon, Miss Crandall was confined in the county jail for a day, when bonds were given for her appear. ance before the Court. The decision was adverse to her claims, and the school was given up. In 1886 the attention of the State was called to this case, in the granting by the Legislature of a small pension to this teacher, still living, at an advanced age, in Kansas.
5 LEONARD BACON, D.D., who died in New Haven, Dec. 24, 1881, took an active part in the anti-slavery reform. During his long and honored pastorate in connection with the First Church in New Haven, he was recognized as a leader in his denomination; and his voice and pen were potent instruments in creating and guiding public opinion.
254
HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
[1860.
CHAPTER XL. 1860.
CONNECTICUT IN THE CIVIL WAR.
"THE " irrepressible conflict" of opinion that had long agitated the country over the institution of slavery reached a crisis in 1860. In the Presidential election of that year, four parties contended for the victory. John C. Breckinridge was the candidate of the Southern Democrats, who declared that Congress ought to protect slavery in the Territories, if a slave-owner took his slaves there. The ma- jority of Northern Democrats were unwilling to accept this view ; and they nominated Stephen A. Douglas on a plat- form which declared, that, while they believed that the people of each Territory ought to control the institution of slavery in that Territory, they were willing to abide the decision of the Supreme Court. The American party represented many excellent citizens from both sections of the country, who de- plored the possibility of war, and urged measures of peace. The Republican party, whose candidate was Abraham Lin- coln of Illinois, declared that it was the right and duty of Congress to forbid slavery in the Territories.
As soon as the election of Lincoln was made certain, prominent Southern leaders prepared to carry out their threats of secession from the Union. At a State convention held in Charleston, Dec. 20, 1860, South Carolina was de- clared independent of the United States ; and before the close of January, 1861, five other States had taken the same action.
255
CONNECTICUT IN THE CIVIL WAR.
1861.]
After-events were to prove how critical was the condition of affairs. Even while the Southern States were passing ordi- nances of secession, and their public men were doing all in their power to break up the Union, it was difficult for the North to realize that this action would culminate in a conflict of arms. It still seemed as if the stormful passions of those who were plotting the destruction of the nation might ex- haust itself in words and action that would be recalled before there was an open collision with the National Government.
In the spring of 1860, William A. Buckingham, the Re- publican candidate, had been elected governor of Connecticut. A man of keen vision, well-balanced mind, and mature judgment, he early recognized the true condition of affairs. On the 17th of January, 1861, while Congress was still spending the time in talking over proposals for compro- mise, he issued a proclamation, in which he declared that " when reason gives way to passion, and order yields to anarchy, the civil power must fall back upon the GOVERNOR BUCKINGHAM. military for support, and rest upon that arm of national defence." On his own responsibility he ordered the purchase of equipments for five thousand men, and urged the militia companies to fill their ranks, and " be ready to render such service as any exigency might require."
The opinion of the majority of the voters of Connecticut, on the great question which now agitated the minds of the people, was shown, a little later, by the re-election of Gov- ernor Buckingham. By this action they declared for the maintenance, by force, of " the supreme and perpetual au- thority of the National Government." Seven of the Southern States had renounced their allegiance to the Union, and seized upon the national property within their domain. Saddest of all, many of the ablest men of the South, who were opposed
256
HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
[1861.
to the principle of secession, felt that it was their duty to go with their States, when the majority favored this action.
Under these distressing circumstances Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated President, at Washington, on the 4th of March. His inaugural address was a profound and tender plea for the preservation of the Union, addressed to those who were plotting its destruction. He was still hopeful that the dark clouds that brooded over the nation might pass. In words of touching eloquence he closed by saying, " We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break, our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battle-field and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature." Not then, but to the children of another generation, and the veterans of the most terrible conflict ever waged between men of the same blood, were these words to prove a message of prophecy. Let us rejoice that the story of those dark and eventful times can be told in the light of these days of peace and united strength.
" The rebels are firing on Sumter." Only those who were then living in the North, and old enough to realize the situa- tion, can understand the excitement and feeling that stirred the hearts of the people that April morning. The time for discussion was past, and in an hour men who had held the most diverse opinions were united in the white-heat of a flame of patriotism. The sons of Connecticut knew now how their fathers felt when tidings came of the battle of Lexington. The life of the Nation had been assailed. The hour had come when men must do their duty, and in that hour the tide of loyal feeling and determination rose with a strength that swept every thing before it. Doubt and fear gave way to the rallying cry, " The Union, it must and shall be preserved ! "
257
CONNECTICUT IN THE CIVIL WAR.
1861.]
This was on Saturday. The next day was a battle-Sunday all over the State. News had already reached the larger towns of the surrender of Sumter. Prayers, sermons, con- versation, all dwelt upon the one theme that pressed upon every heart. The call of President Lincoln for seventy-five thousand volunteers met with an eager response. War-meet- ings were held in almost every city and town throughout the State, and hundreds of earnest men expressed their willing- ness to enlist. The old flag was greeted everywhere with tumultuous enthusiasm, and every allusion to the principles and history it symbolized touched a chord of sympathy that vibrated with intense feeling. The attempt on the part of a few persons to defend the action of the seceding States met with indignant and threatening remonstrance. The lot of a Tory in the war of the Revolution was more comfortable than that of a Connecticut secessionist.
Work and action gave relief to the intense feeling of the hour. From farm, workshop, office, and school, there came a response to the call of the Nation that soon more than filled the quota of the State. Men who had never been recognized for their liberality now vied with those of the most generous disposition in their gifts. Women laid aside every other task to prepare clothing for the volunteers. With tearful eyes but brave hearts they encouraged their husbands, sons, and brothers to enlist, and bade them God-speed as they went forth to the service of their country. The sons and daughters of Connecticut, in the war for the Union, proved worthy descendants of the fathers and mothers of 1637 and 1776.
Within a month from the first call for volunteers, three regiments had been sent forward to Washington ; and it is estimated that within this time "not less than two thousand men from Connecticut enlisted in other States, or the regular army or navy." More men offered their services for the campaign of three months than were desired, and a large
258
HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
[1861.
number of companies that had been formed in different parts of the State were disbanded. At the request of the War Department, Governor Buckingham now made good his promise to raise two regiments to be enlisted for three years. The first of these regiments, known as the Fourth, left Hart- ford for the front on Monday, June 10. One of the com- panies was called the Wesleyan Guard, and was composed almost entirely of students from the Wesleyan University at Middletown. The Fifth Connecticut, in command of Orris S. Ferry,1 was soon recruited, and ready for service.
Let us now follow the fortunes of the regiments that had already left the State. The First sailed from New Haven, and reached Washington by way of the Chesapeake and Potomac. It was the first thoroughly equipped regiment that entered Washington, and received a cordial welcome and many compliments from President Lincoln and General Scott. Within a few days GENERAL O. S. FERRY. the Second and Third Regiments arrived at the Capitol, and pitched their tents near the First, at Glen- wood, about two miles north of the city. Early in June they left their pleasant camping-ground, and crossed the Potomac to join the half-dozen regiments that formed a picket-line beyond Alexandria, in Virginia. They were lo- cated at the extreme front, and were constantly on the alert from fear of a sudden attack.
Daniel Tyler, the colonel of the First Connecticut, an able professional soldier, was placed in command of the first and largest division of the troops now gathered at the front. On the 16th of July, General Tyler led his division, with the Connecticut brigade in advance, towards Centreville. This was on the direct overland road to Richmond, and about
259
CONNECTICUT IN THE CIVIL WAR.
1861.]
thirty miles from Washington. A short distance farther on, the road was crossed by a little stream called Bull Run. It was in this neighborhood that the brigade sent forward by General Tyler encountered a division of Con- federate troops, in command of General Longstreet. After a short skirmish, the Union soldiers held the ford.
General Tyler was anxious to push the battle the follow- ing day, but his advice was not heeded. This delay proved of great advantage to the Confederates. On the morning of July 21, McDowell ordered the advance of the Union army, and in the early part of the day the troops under Beauregard were driven from their position. In the after- noon the Confederate army was re-enforced with a fresh division that arrived from the Shenandoah Valley in com- mand of General Joseph E. Johnston. Before the renewed and vigorous advance of the enemy, the Union army be- came panic-stricken, and fled in confusion towards Wash- ington.
The rout of the army was a surprise to the Connecticut troops ; and until they were caught in its tumultuous power, they stood in their places, ready to obey orders. They fired the first shot in the morning ; and when defeat came in the evening, they were the last to leave the field. In the retreat they covered the rear of the army, and again and again faced about, and fired well-directed volleys into the ranks of the enemy, as they pressed upon them. The day after the battle they occupied their old camping- grounds, and from there were ordered to Fort Corcoran. The time for which they had enlisted soon expired, and they returned home to be mustered out. Nearly all of the men re-enlisted ; and five hundred or more of their number, at one time and another, held commissions in the army. Three became major-generals, four brigadier-gen- erals, and over eighty were appointed field and staff officers. Among the brave men who had already laid
260
HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
[1861.
down their lives for the country, Ellsworth,2 Winthrop,8 and Ward4 were by birth and heritage linked with the life and his- tory of Connecticut.
1 ORRIS S. FERRY was a brave and efficient officer, and rose to the position of brigadier-general. He was elected United-States senator in 1867, and served in that capacity until his death, in 1875. General Ferry was an able lawyer; and, even after the disabilities of disease fastened upon him, he discharged the duties of his high office with eminent faithfulness. A true Christian gentle- man, his comparatively early death was mourned as a public loss.
2 THE grandfather of Colonel Elmer E. Ellsworth, killed at Alexandria, May 24, 1861, was sexton of the Center Church, in Hartford, for a quarter of a century.
3 THEODORE WINTHROP, killed at the battle of Big Bethel, June 9, 1861,
was born in New Haven, in 1828. After graduating at Yale College, he travelled extensively. He was admitted to the bar in 1855; but he preferred literary pur- suits, and gave promise of great ability as a writer. He was a direct descendant from John Winthrop, the early governor of Connecticut.
4 JAMES HARMON WARD was born in Hartford, in 1806. He had gained dis- tinction in the navy, and early in the spring of 1861 was put in command of the Potomac flotilla. In an attack upon a rebel battery at Matthias Point, June 27, 1861, he was mortally wounded. Captain Ward was buried with military honors in Hartford.
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CONNECTICUT IN THE CIVIL WAR.
1861.]
CHAPTER XLI.
1861.
SPIRIT OF THE PEOPLE.
MTHE defeat at Bull Run taught the people of the North a needed lesson. They had failed to appreciate the strength and resources of the South. They did not realize how firm was their resolve to break away from the Union, and found an independent government, with slavery as its chief corner-stone. Whatever opinion might be held regarding this action, there was no denying the fact that the seceding States were determined to resist to the last extremity the further authority of the United States. The Union could alone be preserved by conquering the South.
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