History of Fairfield County, Connecticut : with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 145

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) comp. cn
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & co.
Number of Pages: 1572

USA > Connecticut > Fairfield County > History of Fairfield County, Connecticut : with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 145

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

591

REDDING.

expedition, while his two advisers attended to its military details. The troops disembarked at Compo at four in the afternoon, and the same day marched to Weston, about eight miles distant, where they en- eamped for the night. To oppose these troops there was only a militia corps of old men and boys, not equal in number to one-half the invading force.

"Col. Cook was in command at Danbury with a company of unarmed militia. Gen. Silliman at Fair- field, Gen. Wooster at Stratford, and Gen. Arnold at Norwalk, eould not muster, all told, more than eight hundred raw, undisciplined men. Under these cir- eumstanees Tryon's expedition ean only be viewed as a pienie-excursion into the country ; and as such, no doubt, he regarded it.

"On the morning of the 26th his army was early astir, and reached Redding Ridge, where the first halt was made, about the time that the inhabitants had coneluded their morning meal. What transpired here is thus narrated by Mr. Hollister in his admi- rable 'History of Connecticut,' vol. ii. elap. 12:

"' On the morning of the 26th, at a very season- able hour, Tryon arrived at Redding Ridge, where was a small hamlet of peaceful inhabitants, almost every one of them patriots and most of them farmers, who had erowned the high hill where they had ehosen to build their Zion with a tall, gannt ehureh, which drew to its aisles one day in seven the people that dwelt upon the sides of the hills and in the bosom of the valleys within the range of the sum- mons that sounded from its belfry. By way of satis- fying his hunger with a morning lunch until he eould provide a more substantial meal, he drew up his artil- lery in front of the weatherbeaten edifice that had before defied everything save the grace of God and the supplieations of his worshipers, and gave it a good round of grape and canister that piereed its sides through and shattered its small-paned windows into fragments. The only speetators to this heroie demon- stration were a few women and little children, some of whom ran away at the sight of the red-eoats, and others faeed the invaders with a menaeing stare.'

"Mr. Hollister is in the main a careful and aeen- rate historian, but a due regard for the truth of his- tory eompels us to say that he was misinformed in regard to the above facts. The following aeeount is believed to be correct, our principal informant being an aged inhabitant of Redding, and a competent au- thority :

"During the halt the main body of the troops re- mained under arms on the green in front of the church. Tryon, Agnew, and Erskine were invited into Esquire Heron's, who lived in the first house south of the ehureh, and which is still standing, though in a ruinous condition. Here they were hos- pitably entertained with eake and wine, and with many hopeful prognostieations of the speedy collapse of the 'rebellion.' Across the street from the church, in a house a few yards south of the one now oeenpied

by Thomas Ryan, lived Lieut. Stephen Betts, a prom- inent patriot, and at whose house, it will be remein- bered, the County Convention was held in 1779. A file of soldiers entered the house, seized him, and he was taken with them on their march. James Rogers, another prominent patriot, and Jeremiah Sanford, a lad of ten years, son of Mr. Daniel Sanford, mnet a like fate. The lad, we may remark, was carried to New York and died in the prison-ships, June 28, 1777. Shortly before the army resumed its march a horseman was observed spurring rapidly down the Couch's Hill road towards them, and approached within musket-shot before discovering their presence ; he then turned to fly, but was shot and severely wounded in the attempt. He proved to be a messen- ger from Col. Cook, in Danbury, bearing dispatches to Gen. Silliman, by name Lambert Lockwood. Tryon had formerly known him in Norwalk, where Loekwood had rendered him a service, and seems to have acted on this oeeasion with some approach to magnanimity, as he released him on parole and al- lowed him to be taken into a house that his wounds might be dressed.

"The statement coneerning the firing into the ehureh is a mistake, and I am assured that the re- verse is true. It is said that the church was not mo- lested at all (exeept that a soldier with a well-directed ball brought down the gilded weathereoek from the spire) ; and the faet that the pastor, the Rev. John Beach, as well as several of its most prominent mem- bers, among them the 'Squire Heron above referred to, was a most pronounced loyalist, strengtheus the assertion.

" The British army, after halting an hour or two in the village, resumed its march to Danbury, with the eapture and burning of which the reader is, no doubt, aequainted.

" Meanwhile, the patriots in Redding anxiously waited the approach of the Continental army in pur- suit. At length it eame in view, marching wearily with dusty and disordered ranks,-a little army of five hundred men and boys, led by Brig .- Gen. Silli- man in person. They had marehed from Fairfield that day, and were fully twenty-eight hours behind the foe, who was then lying drunken and disorganized at Danbury. A muster-roll of the little band would have shown a most pathetie exhibition of weakness. There were parts of the companies of Col. Lamb's battalion of artillery, with three rusty eannon, a field- picee, and part of the artillery company of Fairfield and sixty Continentals; the rest were raw levies, chiefly old men and boys. It was eight o'clock in the evening when the troops arrived at Redding Ridge,- an evening as disagreeable as a northeast rain-storm with its attendant darkness eould make it. Here the troops halted an hour for rest and refreshment. At the expiration of that time a bugle sounded far down the street; then the tramp of horsemen was heard, and presently Maj .- Gen. Wooster aud Brig .- Geu. Ar-

592

HISTORY OF FAIRFIELD COUNTY, CONNECTICUT.

nold, at the head of a squadron of cavalry, dashed into the village.

"On hearing that the British were so far ahead, it is said that Arnold became so enraged that he could scarcely keep his scat, and his terrible oaths fell ou his auditors' ears like thunderclaps. Wooster at once assumed command, aud the column moved forward through the mud as far as Bethel, where it halted for the night. At Danbury, but three miles distant, Tryon's force was sleeping in drunken security, and might have been annihilated by a determined effort, but the command was too much exhausted for the attempt.

"Tryon the next morning was early astir, being aware that the militia were closing in on him on all sides, and commenced a retreat to his ships, taking the circuitous route through Ridgefield. On learning this move, Gen. Wooster, at Bethel, divided his com- mand, one detachment, under Gens. Arnold and Silli- man, marching rapidly across the country and taking post at Ridgefield, while the other, commanded by himself, pressed closely on Tryon's rear. The suc- ceeding fortunes of the patriots-how they met the foe at Ridgefield, how Wooster fell gallantly leading on his men, how Arnold performed prodigies of valor, and how the enemy were pursued and harassed until they gained the cover of their ships-have become a part of our national history, and need no recounting.

" News that the British had landed at Compo, that they were encamped at Weston and would march through Redding the next day, was conveycd to this town at an early hour, and occasioned the greatest consternation and excitement.

"Money and valuables were hastily secreted in wells and other places of concealment; horses and cattle werc driven into tlic forests, and the inhabi- tants along the enemy's probable route held them- selves in readiness for instant flight. Herod's emis- saries could not have excited livelier emotions of terror in the hearts of Judean mothers than did Tryon's invasion in the breasts of the mothers of Redding. He seems to have warred pre-eminently on women and boys. The latter especially he made prisoners of and consigned to the horrible prison ships, holding them either as hostages or on the plea that they 'would very soon grow into rebels.' The women of Redding had heard of this propensity, and at his approach gathered all the boys of thirteen and under-the older ones were away under arms-and conveyed them to a secluded place near the Forge, where they were left under the charge of one Gershom Barlow; here they remained until the invader had regained his ships, provisions being cooked and sent in to them daily.

"Many other incidents of the invasion are current in the town.

"On receiving intelligence of the landing at Compo, Capt. Read mustered his company of militia and forthwith marched to intercept the invaders. At a

place called Couch's Rock, in Weston, they came suddenly upon the entire force of the enemy and were taken prisoners. Timothy Parsons, one of the militia- men, had a fine musket, which he particularly valued ; this a grenadier took and dashed to pieces on the stones, saying it should waste no more rebel bullets.

"Mrs. Thankful Bradley, living in Weston, near the Redding line, was milking by the roadside when the troops surprised her. An officer told her to remain quiet and they would not molest her. She followed his advice, and continued milking while the entire army filed by. With the exception of kidnapping the lad Sanford, the British behaved with praise- worthy moderation during their march through Red- ding. No buildings were burned, and no such enor- mities committed as marked their descent on Fairfield and New Haven, two years later.

" After their departure nothing further of a warlike nature occurred in the town until the encampment in Redding, in the winter of 1778-79, of Gen. Putnam's division of the Continental army. This division comprised Geu. Poor's brigade of New Hampshire troops, the two brigades of Connecticut troops, the corps of infantry commanded by Hazen, and that of cavalry by Sheldon. This division had been oper- ating along the Hudson during the fall, and as winter approached it was decided that it should go into win- ter-quarters at Redding, as from this position it could support the important fortress of West Point in case of attack, overawe the Cow-Boys and Skinners of Westchester County, and cover the country adjacent to the Sound. Accordingly, early in November, Gen. Putnam arrived with several of his general officers to select sites for the proposed camps. Three were marked out,-the first in the northeastern part of Lonetown, near the Bctliel line, on land now owned by Aaron Treadwell; the second also in Lonetown, about a mile and a half west, on the farm of the late Sherlock Todd, a short distance southwest of his dwelling-house; the third in West Redding, on the ridge lying east of Uriah Griffin's, on land now owned by him, and about a quarter of a mile north of Red- ding Station. The sites of all three camps may be easily distinguished by the ruins of the stone chim- neys which formed one side of the log huts in which the troops were sheltered. The ruins of the first camp are most distinct, and form perhaps one of the best preserved, as well as most interesting, relics of the Revolution within the reach of the antiquary. This camp was laid out with admirable judgment at the foot of the rocky bluffs which feuce in on the west the valley of the Little River. The barracks were so disposed as to form an avenue nearly a quar- ter of a mile in length and several yards in width. At the west end of the camp was a mountain-brook, which furnished a plentiful supply of water ; near the brook is a heap of cinders, which probably marks the spot where a forge was erected. The camp was until recently covered with heavy forests, which explains,

593

REDDING.

perhaps, the secret of its preservation. The present owner is clearing up the underbrush which has over- grown the ruins, rendering it easy of access to visitors, and it will in time, no doubt, become a favorite place of resort. Only a few heaps of stone mark the site of the second camp, which was also laid out on the southerly slope of a hill, with a stream of running water at its base. The same may be said of the camp at Long Ridge.

" As to the exact location of Putnam's headquarters at this time authorities differ, but all agree in placing it on Umpawaug Hill. Mr. Barber, in his 'His- torical Collections,' says it was the old house that stood until recently on the corner of the road leading down to Sanford's Station, a short distance north of Andrew Perry's present residence. Mr. Lossing, in his 'Field-Book of the Revolution,' makes the same statement; but I am informed by an aged resident whose father was an officer in the Revolutionary army, and visited Gen. Putnam at his headquarters, that they were in an old house that then stood between the resi- dence of the late Burr Meeker and that now occupied by Mr. Brady, and that the first-named was his guard- house. The question is one of little importance, per- haps, except to those who demand the utmost possible accuracy in the statement of fact.

"Some of the officers were quartered in the house now occupied by Seth Todd, then owned by Samuel Gould; others in a house that stood on the site of the one recently occupied by Sherlock Todd. Gen. Par- son's headquarters were on Redding Ridge.

" While the army lay at Redding several events of importance occurred which are worthy of narrating with some degree of particularity. The troops went into winter-quarters this year in no pleasant humor, and almost in the spirit of insubordination. This was peculiarly the case with the Connecticut troops. They had endured privations that many men would have sunk under,-the horrors of battle, the weari- ness of the march, cold, hunger, and nakedness. What was worse, they had been paid in the depre- ciated currency of the times, which had scarcely any purchasing power, and their devoted families at home were reduced to the lowest extremity of want and wretchedness.

" The forced inactivity of the camp gave them time to brood over their wrongs, until at length they formed the bold resolve of marching to Hartford and presenting their grievances in person to the Legislature then sitting. The two brigades were under arms for this purpose before news of the re- volt was brought to Putnam. He, with his usual

intrepidity and decision of character, threw himself upon his horse and dashed down the road leading to his camps, never slacking rein until he drew up in the presence of the disaffected troops. 'My brave lads,' eried he, 'whither are you going? Do you intend to desert your officers, and to invite the enemy to follow you into the country ? Whose

canse have you been fighting and suffering so long in ? Is it not your own ? Have you no property, no parents, wives, or children? You have behaved like men so far; all the world is full of your praises and posterity will stand astonished at your deeds, but not if you spoil all at last. Don't you consider how much the country is distressed by the war, and that your officers have not been any better paid than yourselves? But we all expect better times, and that the country will do us ample justice. Let us all stand by one another, then, and fight it out like brave soldiers. Think what a shame it would be for Connecticut men to run away from their officers !' When he had finished this stirring speech, he directed the acting major of brigades to give the word for them to shoulder, march to their regimental parades, and lodge arms, which was done. One soldier only, a ringleader in the affair, was confined in the guard- house, from which he attempted to escape, but was shot dead by the sentinel on duty, himself one of the mutineers. Thus ended the affair, and no further trouble was experienced with the Connecticut troops.

"Nothing had so much annoyed Putnam and his officers during the campaign of the preceding sum- mer on the Hudson than the desertions which had thinned his ranks and the Tory spies who fre- quented his camps under every variety of pretext, and forthwith conveyed the information thus gath- ered to the enemy. To put a stop to this it had been determined that the next offender of either sort cap- tured should suffer death as an example, and accord- ing to the usages of war. The time for putting this determination into execution soon arrived. One day some scouts from Putnam's outposts in Westchester County captured a man lurking within their lines, and, as he could give no satisfactory account of him- self, he was at once haled over the borders and into the presence of the commander-in-chief. In answer to his queries, the prisoner said that his name was Jones, that he was a Welshman by birth, and had set- tled in Ridgefield a few years before the war had com- menced ; that he had never faltered in his allegiance to the king, and that at the outbreak of hostilities he had fled to the British army and had been made a buteher in the camp; a few weeks before, he had been sent into Westchester County to buy beeves for the army, and had been captured as above narrated. He was remanded to the guard-house and a court-martial at once ordered for his trial. The result is to be found in the following document, found among the papers of the late Lieut. Samuel Richards, paymaster in Col. Wylly's regiment :

"' Feb. 4, 1779. Was tried at a General Court-Mar- tial Edward Jones for Going to and serving the enemy, and coming out as a spy ; found guilty of each and every charge Exhibited against him, and according to Law and the Usages of Nations was sen- tenced to suffer Deatlı.

"'The General approves the sentence and orders it

594

HISTORY OF FAIRFIELD COUNTY, CONNECTICUT.

to be put in Execution between the hours of ten and eleven A.M. by hanging him by the neck till he be Dead.'

"Two days after, another court-martial was held for a similar offense, as the following proves :

"'Feb. 6, 1779. At a Gen'l Court-Martial was tried John Smith of the 1st Connecticut Regiment for de- sertion and attempting to go to the Enemy ; found guilty ; and further persisting in saying that he will go to the Enemy if ever he has an opportunity, Sen- tenced to be shot to death, and orders that it be put in Execution between the hours of ten and twelve A.M.'

"General Putnam, having two prisoners under sentence of death, determined to execute them both at once, or, as he expressed it, 'make a double job of it,' and at the same time make the spectacle as terri- ble and impressive as the circumstances demanded. The lofty hill dominating the valley and the camps (known to this day as Gallows Hill) was chosen as the scene of the execution, the instrument of death being erected on its highest pinnacle. The details of the execution, for reasons which will appear, I prefer to give in the words of the three different historians who have chronicled it. Mr. Barber, in his 'Histori- cal Collections of Connecticut,' p. 399, says,-

"' The scene which took place at the execution of these men is described as shocking and bloody. The man on whom the duty of hangman devolved left the camp, and on the day of execution could not be found. A couple of boys about the age of twelve years were ordered by Gen. Putnam to perform the duties of the absconding hangman. The gallows was about twenty feet from the ground. Jones was com- pelled to ascend the ladder, and the rope around his neck was attached to the cross-beam. Gen. Putnam then ordered Jones to jump from the ladder. "No, General Putnam," said Jones, "I am innocent of the crime laid to my charge ; I shall not do it." Putnam then ordered the boys before mentioned to turn the ladder over. These boys were deeply affected by the trying scene; they cried and sobbed loudly, and ear- nestly entrcated to be excused from doing anything on this distressing occasion. Putnam, drawing his sword, ordered them forward, and compelled them at the sword's point to obey his orders. The soldier that was shot for desertion was but a youth of sixteen or seventeen years of age. Threc balls were shot through his breast : he fell on his face, but immedi- ately turned over on his back; a soldier then ad- vanced, and, putting the muzzle of his gun near the convulsive body of the youth, discharged its contents into his forehead. The body was then taken up and put into a coffin ; the soldiers had fired their pieces so near that they set the boy's clothes on fire, which continued burning. An officer with a drawn sword stood by, while every soldier of the three brigades who were out on the occasion was ordered to march by and look at the mangled remains.'

"Mr. Barber says in a foot-note that the above par- ticulars were derived from an aged inhabitant of Redding who was present on the occasion and stood but a few feet from Jones when he was executed.

"Mr. Hollister, in his 'History of Connecticut,' takes exception to the above account. In vol. ii. page 375 of his work he has the following note :

"'The Rev. Nathaniel Bartlett, who was pastor of the Congregational Church in Redding for a period of fifty years, officiated as chaplain to the encamp- ment during the winter, and was present at the exe- cution. He interceded with Gen. Putnam to defer the execution of Smith until Washington could be consulted, the offender being a youth of seventeen years, but the commander assured him that a reprieve could not be granted. Mr. Bartlett was an earnest and fearless Whig, and openly talked and preached "rebellion,"-so much so that the Tories, who were numerous in the eastern part of the town, threatened to hang him if they could catch him. In consequence of these threats he often carried a loaded musket with him when on his parochial visits. His son and suc- cessor in the ministry at Redding-the Rev. Jonathan Bartlett, now (1855) in his ninety-first year-well re- members the Revolutionary encampment at Redding, and frequently visited it. He is sure that the story in Barber's " Historical Collections" about Putnam's in- humanity at the execution of Smith and Jones is incorrect. Though not present himself, he has often heard his father relate the incidents of the occasion ; and furthermore, he once called the attention of Col. Asahel Salmon (who died in 1848, aged ninety-one), who was a sergeant in attendance upon the execution, to the statement, and he declared that nothing of the kind took place.' 41

" Another historian, Rev. Thomas F. Davies, in an historical sermon delivered at Green's Farms in 1839, also takes exception to Mr. Barber's statement. He says,-

"'Mr. Barber must have been misinformed. Red- ding is my native town, and from my boyhood I have heard the history of the proceedings on the occasion referred to, and was much surprised at the statements in the "Historical Collections." The Rev. Mr. Bart- lett, whose father was chaplain on that occasion, in- forms me that Gen. Putnam could not have been guilty of the acts there charged.

"'That Mr. Barber may have something to substi- tute for the narrative to which I object, I give the following :

"'When General Putnam occupied the house of which Mr. Barber has given an engraving, a scene occurred which presents the general in a very amia- ble light. A poor man with a family needing sup- port, and who lived in the neighboring town of Ridge- field, was told by one acquainted with his wants that if he would visit General Putnam and hold a conver- sation with him, he would on his return, and on proof of the fact, give him a bushel of wheat. The tempta-

595

REDDING.

tion in that time of scarcity and taxes was great, and so also was the fear of intruding upon so distinguished an individual; but the stern necessities of his condi- tion at length induced the poor man to venture. He accordingly presented himself at headquarters, and requested the servant to solicit for him an interview with the general. Putnam promptly summoned the man to his presence, directed him to be seated, and listened with interest while the man with great trepi- dation gave the statement which accounted for the liberty he had taken. The general directed the ser- vant to bring some wine, conversed for a time very pleasantly with his needy visitor, and then, calling for pen and ink, wrote a certificate, in which he gave the name of the individual and stated that he had visited and conversed with Gen. Putnam, who signed it in his official character. Thus furnished with the means of giving bread to his family, the distressed individual returned to his humble roof; and this anecdote, which I have on the very best authority, is proof that Putnam was not destitute of those kind and gentle affections which are so desirable an orna- ment of the most heroic character.'

"This diversity of statements has led the writer to investigate the matter more thoroughly than he would otherwise have done, and the weight of proof seems to be in favor of the correctness of Mr. Barber's state- ment. His version of the affair is the one generally prevalent in the town, with the exception of Putnam's forcing the boys to become executioners. Nor is there anything in the story inconsistent with Putnam's known character and temperament. He had been a man of war from his youth, in perils often from wild beasts, the elements, the wilderness, and the Indians. Long service in the bloody French and Indian wars had scarcely taught him amiability. Boldness, firm- ness, promptness, decision,-these were the chief ele- ments of his character; and at this particular crisis all were needed. There was disaffection and insubordi- nation in the army, as has been seen. Desertions were frequent, and spying by the Tories was almost openly practiced. To put a stop to these practices was vitally necessary to the safety of the army; and, as the pris- oners had been tried and sentenced to death by a com- petent tribunal, it was Putnam's duty to see that the sentence was carried into effect. If the execution was bunglingly done, the fault was with the execu- tioners, and not with the general.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of Fairfield County, Connecticut : with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 145

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) comp. cn Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & co. Number of Pages: 1572

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) comp. cn
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & co.
Number of Pages: 1572