USA > Connecticut > Connecticut as a colony and as a state; or, One of the original thirteen, Volume II > Part 7
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The ship Oliver Cromwell, of twenty guns, was built at Saybrook in 1776; but owing to difficulties with the crew, her first cruise did not begin until May 1777, with Captain Seth Harding in command, and Timothy Parker as first lieu- tenant. In this cruise, the prizes were the brig Weymouth, sixteen guns, taken for State service under the name Han- cock, and the brig Honor, a prize which, with the cargo, sold for $53,000.
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In the following May, during a cruise of only twelve days, the Cromwell captured four prizes and sixty prisoners. On the 5th of the following June she encountered the British frigate Daphne. A sharp engagement of two hours ensued, in the course of which the mainmast of the Cromwell was shot away. At this juncture a British war vessel came to the asistance of the Daphne, and the Cromwell was forced to sur- render. Captain Parker and many of his men were confined in the prison ship Jersey, from which it is reported that Cap- tain Parker made his escape on the ice during the following severe winter.
Of the exploits of the privateers, it is perhaps enough to say that they were hardly inferior to the exploits of the Continental and State vessels. They were, however, as a rule, not as well manned or equipped as the other classes of vessels, and there is no doubt that the hope of securing rich prizes was a strong incentive to the daring and adventurous cruises which they undertook.
The most brilliant record of privateer service to be found is that of the sloop Beaver, carrying twelve three-pounders and sixty-five men. Under command of Captain Dodge, she had a narrow escape from being captured in May 1778, by a British frigate which chased her into the harbor of New London. We do not hear of her again until March 1779, when, under command of Captain William Havens, she cruised in company with the ship Hancock, Captain Elisha Hinman commander, and assisted in capturing the British privateer brig Bellona of sixteen guns, the sloop Lady Ers- kine of ten guns, "and several other vessels from a fleet from New York, convoyed by the Thames frigate of thirty-six guns." Later in the same month, while the Beaver lay in New London undergoing repairs, a British fleet was descried
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near the entrance to the harbor. Hastily bending sails and adjusting rigging, Captain Havens gathered some fifty vol- unteers, and set sail toward the British fleet, in the guise of a merchant vessel. The ruse succeeded in drawing an armed British vessel to pursue him; and when the pursuer had ap- proached within easy range, the twelve three-pounders of the Beaver were suddenly unmasked and brought to bear upon the British vessel, which soon struck her colors, and was brought into New London as the prize of the Beaver. Nine prizes were captured by this vessel, taken either in company with other vessels, or by the Beaver alone; and in the record of her service which Mr. Thomas S. Collier has traced, we find occasional mention of several unnamed prizes which should be placed to her credit.
It was not only in the prizes actually captured that the naval service of Connecticut was important. The coast of the State was continually infested with British vessels and fleets passing through Long Island Sound, at first with a feel- ing of security in the belief that such a thing as an American war vessel was either an impossibility or a farce; but later with far more caution, in view of the exploits of the American war vessels and their increasing number. We have seen, too, that the naval service of Connecticut extended to all parts of the world where a British fleet could be encountered, or successful cruises of any kind could be undertaken. It is safe to say that during the war no fewer than two hundred and fifty armed vessels of various classes were fitted out in this little State for naval service. Their fortunes, of course, were varied; but the moral effect which they produced as a factor in defensive and offensive warfare has never been fully appreciated.
This moral effect, too, was considerably enhanced by the
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ingenuity of David Bushnell of Saybrook, to whose mechan- ical skill is due the invention of one of the first marine torpe- does, if not the very first, known to naval warfare. It cannot be said that this invention, regarded as it probably was at the time, as the device of a "crank," was successful in destroying vessels of the enemy. It was successful in creating conster- nation among them, however, as in the case of the British frigate Cerberus, whose crew, seeing a line to which one of these torpedoes was attached floating in the water, cautiously pulled in the machine to which the line was attached, and found it to be one of Bushnell's "American turtles," weigh- ing some four hundred pounds, which exploded on the deck of the Cerberus, and it is reported to have killed several men. And in the case of Lord Howe's flagship, the Eagle, against which another of Bushnell's turtles was directed, the machine narrowly missed the ship, exploding nearby with a tremen- dous report, and sending "a vast column of water to an amazing height," so that the British fleet near the Battery at New York prudently withdrew to a safer anchorage.
This torpedo has also furnished inspiration to one of the poets of the Revolution, Francis Hopkinson, whose well- known ballad, "The Battle of the Kegs," continues to live, and will probably live long in the literature of the time.
The inventor, David Bushnell, was very favorably re- garded by Governor Trumbull, who recommended him to Washington, from whom he received a prominent appoint- ment in the corps of Sappers and Miners, doing good service at Yorktown.
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CHAPTER VIII WARFARE ON CONNECTICUT SOIL
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A LTHOUGH the military and naval service of Connecticut was, as we have seen, performed almost entirely on other soils and in other waters than her own, she had already suffered from and repulsed Tryon's raid on Danbury, and was soon to suffer from other marauding expeditions under the same leader. But the culmination of her suffering lay in the fact that two of the most horrible and cruel mas- sacres which the annals of the Revolution record were en- acted on Connecticut soil. These were the Wyoming massa- cre and the Groton massacre.
It is unnecessary to say more than has already been said in the earlier chapters of this history regarding the proprietor- ship of Connecticut in the Wyoming valley. In the days of the Revolution, Westmoreland, now in Pennsylvania, was by charter rights, by legislative enactment, and still more by ac- tual settlement, first a part of Litchfield County, and after- wards a separate county of this State, with due representa- tion in the General Assembly. It was Connecticut soil at this time, whatever it may be now. After the struggles for maintaining possession in the earlier days, we find that in 1776 troubles arose from Tory interlopers from New York, who were dealt with after the customary fashion of the State in such cases; and from prying Pennsylvanias who settled among the Connecticut people with a view to gaining a foot- hold and defeating the claims of the original settlers. At this time these settlers had sent from their twenty-five hundred inhabitants two full companies which joined the Continental army, thus drawing from the population of Wyoming, or Westmoreland, nearly all the most serviceable men, and leav- ing the valley an easy prey to the invader. Sharing in more than due proportion in the heavy taxation imposed by the
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State, the people were sadly impoverished, and the fortifica- tions so much needed in 1778 were built by volunteers who received no wages for their labor. In the spring of 1778, the situation was alarming. These Connecticut settlers were surrounded on all sides by enemies impelled by various mo- tives to wreak vengeance upon them. Their Pennsylvania neighbors were certainly hostile to them at all times; and in New York there were many Tories who had been expelled from the settlement, and who were, for that reason, only too ready and eager to aid in an attack on Wyoming. To the Indians, too, who had already met rebuffs in this section, Wyoming stood not only as a tempting prey, but as a barrier to the German settlements beyond the Blue Ridge, which were also a tempting field for Indian depredations. At this time, all these enemies-British, Tories, and Indians-had combined under command of Colonel John Butler, to the number of about twelve hundred; and the months of May and June 1778 witnessed much cautious scouting, with a view to a final attack.
The two companies from Wyoming, now consolidated in one company serving in New Jersey, were sadly needed for the defense of their homes. Appeals to Congress for their return from the field were disregarded, and as soon as tidings reached them that their homes were threatened with an at- tack, all the officers resigned and came home at once, ac- companied by about thirty of the men, who, if not fur- loughed, may be credited with honorable desertion. As if in derision of the people, Congress had gravely issued an order to this little community to raise, arm, and equip a company of men for their own defense-an unnecessary enactment for a Connecticut county, as the organization of militia was as well perfected here as in other parts of the State, and was
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only limited and hampered by the lack of men of military age. But now military age was disregarded, for every man and boy who could bear arms volunteered for the defense of their homes.
Home forces to the number of about three hundred were thus hastily mustered from the enrolled militia, and from old men, boys, and men of peace who volunteered. Colonel Zebulon Butler was placed in command. He was well fitted for the position, having had twenty years' experience in the military service of this State, and being at the time Lieuten- ant-Colonel of the Third Connecticut Regiment of the Con- tinental Line.
On the 30th of June the enemy had concentrated forces at the head of the Wyoming valley, and were given possession of Fort Wintermoot by its Tory occupant. On the same day a stockade called Fort Jenkins was easily taken from its gar- rison of ten old men. This garrison had consisted of seven- teen men, of whom four had been killed and three made pris- oners on their return from their work in the field on the same day. Meanwhile the news of the invasion had spread through- out the valley, and the settlers, including women and children, flocked to the nearest forts or stockades for protection. The largest of these was called Forty Fort, a name commemo- rating the number of the original settlers. On the morning of July 3d a demand was made to surrender this fort, and the entire valley, to Colonel John Butler and his motley array of British and Tory soldiers and Indians. After a council of war, it was decided not only to refuse to surrender, but to commence an aggressive movement at once; though in this latter decision Colonels Zebulon Butler, Nathan Deni- son, and George Dorrance did not concur, believing that de-
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lay might bring reinforcements to the handful of men under their command.
The council of war having decided upon the desperate expedient of an attack, Colonel Zebulon Butler lost no time in stationing his little force in the best possible position near Fort Wintermoot, and in opening fire upon the enemy, ad- vancing with each volley. This advance appeared to cause the enemy's forces to fall back, but this movement on their part was doubtless a ruse to lure the devoted Wyoming men to their own destruction; for in following up this supposed advantage they soon found themselves exposed to a galling fire from the Seneca Indians on their right flank, which was completely surrounded. Colonel Denison's order to wheel and front the enemy was misunderstood or disregarded, and a retreat and rout at once began. The Indians, adding to their deadly aim in the attack the weird, ominous yell of the war-whoop, now started in hot pursuit of the fugitives, giv- ing no quarter, and gathering a harvest of scalps for which they are said to have been rewarded at the rate of ten dol- lars each by the British. The American officers behaved with great bravery, every captain who led a company into the action having been killed at the head of his company. Two field officers, Colonel George Dorrance and Major John Gar- rett, were added to the roll of honor. This short and des- perate fight against overwhelming odds resulted in a loss of one hundred and eighty-two Americans, whose names are recorded on the Wyoming monument. The loss of the enemy has never been ascertained by historians, but was com- paratively slight.
The Indians to whose account stands the record of murders and tortures which followed the battle were mostly, if not en- tirely, of the Seneca tribe of the Six Nations, under the lead-
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ership of Sayenguaraghton, or Old Chief. The contem- porary accounts, followed by historians down to a very re- cent date, insist that Brant was the leader of the Indians in this affair; but his own denial, as well as documentary evi- dence published for the first time in 1889, bears out the state- ment that "Old Chief," whose name antiquarians have found spelled in twenty-seven different ways, commanded the In- dian forces at this time. His command appears to have been almost if not entirely independent of the leader, Colonel John Butler, upon whom, however, rests the responsibility of at- taching to his forces a band of Indians whose savage in- stincts could not be restrained. Of the scenes which fol- lowed the battle, it is unnecessary to speak. Those who were killed on the field were fortunate when compared with those who were taken alive and reserved for the fate devised by the old Indian hag, Queen Esther, who is said to have slain with her own hands sixteen of these hapless victims. It is enough to say that the prisoners of war who, to a large num- ber, fell into the hands of the Indians after the battle, were subjected to all the cruelties and tortures which Indian inge- nuity could devise, and that plunder and the destruction of the dwellings of the settlers followed.
Although it does not appear that any women or children were killed by the Indians at this time or during the week of terror and destruction which followed the surrender, the fate of many of the survivors was hardly less pitiful than that of their husbands and protectors who fell in battle or died in tor- ture. A panic seized the survivors, who were mostly widowed women and orphaned children, and a precipitate flight through the surrounding wilderness began. With their homes in ashes or in the hands of the Indians, these poor people fled without provisions for their long march, and in
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continual dread of the savage enemy, whose devilish instincts were aroused to the full by the sight of blood and slaughter, and the consciousness of victory. Captain John Franklin, who had arrived on the night of the third of July, just after the battle, with thirty-five men, despatched a messenger to Wilkesbarre on the morning of the fourth, who soon re- turned, reporting that the only safety was in flight, that every passage through the surrounding swamp was crowded with fugitives, and that there were in one company about one hundred women and children with but one man, Jonathan Fitch, to protect or advise them. Most of these unfortunates had come from within the present limits of Connecticut, and knew of no safe abiding place until they could reach their former homes. Their sufferings for lack of food and shelter can be but faintly imagined. Children were born, and chil- dren and aged women died, on the way. The kind aid and comfort which these refugees received from the few German families along their route should never be forgotten. Much suffering was alleviated, and doubtless many lives saved, through the instrumentality of these kindly people.
Many of the refugees reached their early homes once more, bereft of their all, excepting only the devastated farms they had left behind them in the beautiful Wyoming valley, three hundred miles away. And many a boy as he approached man's estate, with here and there a grown man who had survived the massacre, returned with true Connecticut grit and fixedness of purpose, to reclaim the desolated farms, and face the dangers which had grown thicker in his absence.
Late in this same year, 1778, General Putnam, who, since we left him at White Plains in 1776, had been in command at Philadelphia, and later in the Highlands of the Hudson River, was placed in command of three brigades, which under
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a new arrangement were stationed in Connecticut near Dan- bury, the principal encampment being at Redding. The ob- ject of this disposition of forces was "the protection of the country lying along the Sound, to cover our magazines lying on the Connecticut River, and to aid the Highlands on any serious movement of the enemy that way."
Winter had begun when the camp was completed and occu- pied. In the leisure and inactivity of their winter quarters, the soldiers had ample time to reflect on their deprivations and to long for the comforts of home. There is no doubt that they suffered from lack of blankets and clothing, and that they were no better fed than they should be. Their pay, too, was irregular, and the little Continental money they received was fast losing its purchasing power. On the 30th of December, the men of Huntington's brigade assembled under arms, and declared their intention of marching to Hart- ford to present their grievances to the General Assembly. Putnam's tact and personal magnetism were equal to the oc- casion, serious though it was. He addressed the men in a few pointed, spirited words, which General Humphreys has pre- served for us in substance if not verbatim, after which they cheerfully obeyed the order to shoulder arms and march back to their quarters; and thus the affair ended.
Late in the following February Governor Tryon attempted a border raid on Connecticut for the purpose of destroying the salt works in and about Greenwich, which formed an im- portant source of supply to the Continentals. On the morn- ing of the 26th, he appeared at New Rochelle, with a force of about fifteen hundred men. This force was discovered by Captain Titus Hosmer, who rode post-haste to Horseneck and gave the alarm to the small force of outposts at that place. Putnam happened to be in a house in the vicinity. Traditions
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vary, as usual in the case of Putnam, as to the house; but the weight of evidence appears to designate a tavern, kept at the time by Israel Knapp. Wherever the General may have been when the alarm reached him, he rushed Putnam-like to his men, and at once formed his little force of one hundred and fifty on the "hill by the meeting-house." The enemy, with a force outnumbering the Americans ten to one, advanced, and after discharging some old field pieces and giving them "a small fire of musketry," Putnam's men retreated to avoid capture. Here occurred a famous episode, spirited pictures of which still embellish our school histories. As Putnam spurred towards Stamford for reinforcements, he soon found himself pursued by several British dragoons who fast gained upon him. After a chase of a quarter of a mile, with one of the pursuers within two lengths of him, he sharply turned his horse from the road, and made for the brow of a steep decliv- ity near by, down which he forced his horse at full gallop. The dragoons reined in their horses as the old hero dashed down the precipice, not daring to follow, but discharging their pistols at the fugitive, who escaped unhurt, though the escape was narrow, as a bullet pierced his military cap. It is said that Tryon on his return made him a present of a new cap or chapeau, some historians going so far as to state that the present was an entire uniform. He pursued his way to Stamford, and returned as soon as possible with reinforce- ments; but the enemy, as usual in expeditions under Tryon's command, had disappeared, having destroyed the salt works, pillaged houses at Greenwich, and committed other depreda- tions.
It is quite probable that Tryon's activity in raiding Con- necticut during this year 1779 was due, in great measure, to a reply he had received from Governor Trumbull to the pro-
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posal of Lord North's conciliatory plan, which Tryon under- took to negotiate in Connecticut. Governor Trumbull's let- ter reads as follows :
"April 23d, 1778. Sir. Your letter of the 17th instant, from New York, is received with its enclosures, and the sev- eral similar packets of various addresses with which it was ac- companied.
"Propositions of peace are usually made from the supreme authority of one contending power to the similar authority of the other; and the present is the first instance within my recollection, where a vague, half blank, and very indefinite draft of a bill, once only read before one of three bodies of the Legislature of the Nation, has ever been addressed to the people at large of the opposite power, as an overture of reconciliation.
"There was a day when even this step, from our then ac- knowledged parent State, might have been accepted with joy and gratitude; but this day, Sir, is past irrevocably. The repeated, insolent rejection of our sincere and sufficiently humble petitions; the unbrooked commencement of hostili- ties; the barbarous inhumanity which has marked the prose- cution of the war on your part in its several stages; the inso- lence which displays itself on every petty advantage; the cruelties which have been exercised on those unhappy men whom the fortune of war has thrown into your hands; all these are insuperable bars to the very idea of concluding a peace with Great Britain on any other conditions than the most perfect and absolute independence. To the Congress of the United States of America, therefore, all proposals of this kind are to be addressed; and you will give me leave, Sir, to say, that the present mode bears too much the marks of an insidious design to disunite the people, and lull them into a
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state of quietude and negligence of the necessary preparations for the approaching campaign. If this be the real design, it is fruitless. If peace be really the object, let your proposals be addressed properly to the proper power, and your nego- tiations be honorably conducted; and we shall then have some prospect of (what is the most ardent wish of every honest American,) a lasting and honorable peace.
"The British nation may then, perhaps, find us affectionate and valuable friends, as we are now determined and fatal enemies; and will derive from that friendship more solid and real advantage than the most sanguine can expect from con- quest."
Tryon's border raid at Horseneck was the beginning of a series of wanton attacks on Connecticut, such as might be expected of a leader who in the brutal affair of the Regula- tors had acquired the name of "the wolf of North Carolina," and who seemed bent on sustaining the reputation which the name implied, and adapting it to more northern latitudes.
On the 5th of July, as the people of New Haven were preparing to celebrate the third anniversary of American in- dependence, he appeared off West Haven with a fleet of forty vessels with the purpose of invading their peaceful homes. The naval commander of this fleet was Sir George Collier, who appears to have been responsible for little if anything beyond the transportation of the troops. His name, however, is coupled with Tryon's in a proclamation in which they jointly declare indemnity to all who peacefully occupy their homes during the invasion, and to civil and military officers who "give proofs of their penitence and voluntary submis- sion."
In the early morning, the Division of General George Garth, who was second in command, landed at West Haven.
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The number of men in this division was, according to varying contemporary estimates, eight hundred to twelve hundred. The number under Tryon's command was probably about twelve hundred. This force landed later in the morning at East Haven. The people of New Haven were taken com- pletely by surprise, but hastily mustered volunteers and militia to the number of about one hundred and fifty men under Colonel Hezekiah Sabin, jr., who went forward at once to oppose and harass General Garth's advance from West Haven. Among the New Haven volunteers was a small company of young men, mostly college students, under Captain James Hillhouse, jr., who appear to have been first in engaging the enemy, firing upon them at Milford Hill. The disparity of numbers prevented anything like a general engagement, but the galling fire which was kept up harassed the enemy on their march, and caused them some losses. Among the killed was Adjutant Campbell, a very popular young British officer. On the side of the Americans the loss of Captain John Hotchkiss fully offset the loss of Adjutant Campbell. During General Garth's march to New Haven, the fast increasing number of defenders of their homes caused more and more trouble, compelling him to abandon his original line of march, and proceed by a more circuitous route along the Derby road. Near the Derby bridge a hot encounter occurred, in which a number of prisoners were taken from the enemy. Again, at the entrance to New Haven there was fierce fighting, with a number killed on both sides. At last Garth's division entered the town after a march of eight hours, during which he had been continually harassed by our hastily mustered forces. His men were now ripe for plunder, murder, and rapine, and at once began their fiendish work. From the affidavits of sufferers which appear
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