USA > Connecticut > In olde Connecticut; being a record of quaint, curious and romantic happenings there in colonial times and later > Part 9
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12
166
In Olde Connecticut
the cavern, bruised and bloody, just as the day- break bell rang to call the prisoners to their daily labor. A few nights afterward, Wooster and several of his fellow captives who were able to remove their fetters passed through the drain and escaped to the forests.
But a much more desperate outbreak than this is recorded in the prison annals as occurring on the 17th of May, 1781. At that time there were thirty desperate men confined in the vaults. The guard in charge of them consisted of a lieutenant, sergeant, corporal and twenty-four privates, sev- eral of the latter mere boys, and all lax in their ideas of discipline. The officers were armed with swords and pistols, the privates with muskets and fixed bayonets. On the night of the day in ques- tion, after the prisoners had been fastened in the dungeons, the wife of a convict named Young appeared and desired to see him, and, as there was nothing suspicious in this, the request was readily granted. Two officers lifted the trap, the rest of the guard being asleep, but no sooner was the heavy door unfastened than it was thrust vio- lently up from beneath, and the whole body of prisoners rushed into the room. The two officers were at once struck down, the arms of the pri-
167
A Revolutionary Newgate
vates seized, and, after a sharp tussle, the insur- gents became masters of the prison. In the mêlée six of the guard were wounded,-one mortally,- and a like number of the assailants. After this exploit the victors proceeded to close the hatches on their former guards and fled to the forests, and, with one or two exceptions, succeeded in escaping. This wholesale delivery produced the wildest excitement, and expressions not very com- plimentary to the management of the prison or to the honesty of the guards were freely bandied about. The Legislature, then in session, ordered an investigation, and a committee was appointed to repair to Newgate and inquire into the facts. The report of this committee affords specimens of grim humor worth extracting:
"Jacob Southwell was awakened by the tumult, took a gun and ran out of the guardhouse, but durst not go back for fear they would hurt him. (N. B .- A young man more fit to carry fish to market than to keep guard at Newgate.) Nathan Phelps who was also asleep, waked, but could do nothing, the prisoners having possession of the guardhouse (a small lad, just fit to drive plough with a very gentle team). He went to Mr. Viets's and stayed till morning (poor boy!). Abigail, the
168
In Olde Connecticut
wife of John Young, alias Mattick, says that the first night she came to prison she gave her hus- band fifty-two silver dollars; her husband told her after he came out that he had given Sergeant Lilly fifty of them in order that he may suffer the pris- oners to escape; that he told her the sergeant pur- posely left the door of the south jail unlocked; that Sergeant Lilly was not hurt; that she bor- rowed the money of a peddler; that she heard Lilly say it was a great pity such likely men should live and die in that place."
A new commandant and guards for the prison were appointed, and after a time the excitement subsided.
In 1790, Connecticut, "free and independent," made Newgate the State prison of the Common- wealth; and as it was perhaps the first penal in- stitution of this character in the United States, and was withal somewhat peculiar in its construc- tion and management, the details of its internal economy from this time forward must be inter- esting and valuable. Fortunately, from the nar- ratives of travelers, the records of the State, and the researches of the local historian, these details have been preserved in a very satisfactory man- ner. The traveler Kendall, who visited the prison
169
A Revolutionary Newgate
in 1807, when it was at its best estate, in his "Travels in the Northern Parts of the United States, " gives a vivid sketch of the daily routine of the prison as then conducted. He says, "On being admitted into the yard, I found a sentry under arms within the gate and eight soldiers drawn up in line in front of the gaoler's house. A bell summoning the prisoners to work had al- ready rung, and in a few moments they began to make their appearance. They came in irreg- ular numbers, sometimes two or three together, and sometimes a single one alone; but whenever one or more were about to cross the yard to the smithery, the soldiers were ordered to present in readiness to fire. The prisoners were heavily ironed, and secured both by handcuffs and fetters, . and, being therefore unable to walk, could only make their way by a sort of jump or hop. On entering the smithery some went to the sides of the forges, where collars dependent by iron chains from the roofs were fastened round their necks, and others were chained in pairs to wheelbarrows. The number of prisoners was about forty; and when they were all disposed of in the manner de- scribed, sentries were placed within the buildings which contained them. This establishment, as I
-
170
In Olde Connecticut
have said, is designed to be, from all its arrange- ments, an object of terror, and everything is ac- cordingly contrived to make the life endured in it as burdensome and miserable as possible.
"The trapdoor being lifted up, I went down an iron ladder perpendicularly fixed to the depth of about fifty feet. From the foot of the ladder a rough, narrow, and low passage descends still deeper till it terminates at a well of clear water, over which is an air shaft seventy feet in height, · and guarded at its mouth, which is within the gaol yard, by a hatch of iron. The cells are near the well, but at different depths beneath the surface, none perhaps exceeding sixty feet. They are small, rugged, and accommodated with wooden berths and some straw. The straw was wet, and there was much humidity in every part of this obscure region; but I was assured I ought to attribute this only to the remarkable wetness of the season; that the cells were in general dry, and that they were not found unfavorable to the health of the prisoners.
"Into these cells the prisoners are dismissed at four o'clock in the afternoon of every day without exception, and at all seasons of the year. They descend to their fetters and handcuffs, and at
171
A Revolutionary Newgate
about four o'clocknga the morning they ascend the iron ladder, climbing it as well as they can by the aid of their fettered limbs. It is to be observed that no women are confined here, the law providing that female convicts, guilty of crimes for which men are confined in Newgate prison, are to be sent to the county gaols. . .
"Going again into the workshop or smithery, I found the attendants of the prison delivering pickled pork for the dinner of the prisoners. Pieces were given separately to the parties at each forge. They were thrown upon the floor, and left to be washed and boiled in the water used for cooling the iron wrought at the forges. Meat had been distributed in like manner for break- fast. The food of the prison is regulated for each day in the week, and consists in an alternation of pork, beef and peas, with which last no flesh- meat is allowed. Besides the caverns or excava- tions below, and the gaoler's house above, there are other apartments prepared for the prisoners, and particularly a hospital, of which the neatness and airiness afford a strong contrast to the other parts of the prison. It was also satisfactory to find that in this hospital there were no sick. "
172
In Olde Connecticut
Supplementary to Mr. ". .'"'s narrative, the following sketch of the daily routine at Newgate, written by a gentleman who was a frequent visitor at the prison in his boyhood and familiar with its management, will be read with interest: "The hatches were opened and the prisoners called out of their dungeons each morning at daylight, and three were ordered to 'heave up' at a time; a guard followed the three to their shop, placing them at their work, and chaining those to the block whose tempers were thought to require it. All were brought out likewise in squads of three, and each followed by a guard. To those who never saw the operation their appearance cannot be truly conceived as they vaulted forth from the dungeon in their blackness, their chains clanking at every step, and their eyes flashing fire upon the bystanders. It resembled, perhaps, more than anything, the belching from the bottomless pit. After a while their rations for the day were carried to them in their several shops. Each one divided his own rations to suit himself. Some cooked over their own mess in a small kettle at their leisure, while others, disregarding ceremonies, seized their allowance, and ate it on an anvil or a block. They were allowed to swap
173
A Revolutionary Newgate
rations, exchange commodities, barter, buy and sell at their pleasure. Some would swap their rations for cider, and often would get so tipsy that they could not work. During the day the guard was changed once in two hours at the sound of a horn, and in the night a guard entered the caverns every hour and a half and counted the prisoners. The punishments inflicted for offenses and neglect of duty were severe flogging, confinement in stocks in the dun- geon, being fed on bread and water during the time, double or treble sets of irons, hanging by the heels, etc.,-all tending to inflame their revenge and hatred; and seldom were appeals made to their reason or better feelings."
No books or reading matter of any description were furnished the prisoners, and there seems to have been no recognition of them as men for whom reformation was possible or desirable, ex- cept the provision made for their religious instruc- tion on Sunday. A few years after the prison was established by legislative act, the pastor of the society at East Granby became chaplain of the institution. One service on the Sabbath was deemed sufficient, and this was held at first in the nail shop, some of the more refractory of the au-
.
174
In Olde Connecticut
dience being chained to the nail blocks to insure peace and quietness in the assembly. Later, a chapel was built, in which the townspeople and prisoners worshipped together.
Some interesting details of the economy of the prison are given in a report of its overseers, made to the Legislature in 1810. We make room for a few extracts :
"The winter clothing of the prisoners consists of two check-flannel shirts, a short coat, one pair of pants of home-made cloth, two pairs of woolen stockings, and one pair of shoes. Their summer clothing consists of a change of towcloth frocks and trousers, with stockings and shoes. Their shirts, summer frocks, trousers, and stockings are shifted and washed once a week, and are boiled in strong lye made of ashes, which effectually de- stroys the vermin.
"The prisoners are lodged in huts or cabins made in the cavern. They are built on a floor elevated three feet above the ground, and are ranged on each side of a space which lies be- tween them. The roofs and outer sides of these cabins are made close and tight with boards. The berths in these cabins are plentifully supplied with blankets, and generally with straw when the
175
A Revolutionary Newgate
prisoners wish it. The straw is shifted as often as necessary.
"The prisoners are secured by iron fetters around their ankles. While at work, a chain fastened to a block is locked into these fetters or round the ankle. For the more daring and refractory, heavier chains are occasionally used.
"No allowance is made to those prisoners who do more than their daily task. Formerly an al- lowance of one penny on each pound of nails over . the daily task was allowed. But this practice for several years past has been discontinued. It was found this allowance induced them to slight their work and steal nails from each other at the forges."
The sanitary effect of the dungeons on the prisoners, briefly touched on by the overseers, is worthy of further remark. Other observers have noted the fact, recorded by them, that the con- finement was not detrimental to health; indeed, some of the prisoners reached extreme old age while incarcerated there. This circumstance was attributed by some to a medicinal quality in the mineral rock which forms the wall of the cavern; others supposed it to be due to the equable tem- perature. In 1811 experiments were made to
176
In Olde Connecticut
ascertain the mean temperature of the mines, when it was discovered that the mercury ranged eight degrees lower there in the hottest days of summer than in the coldest days of winter, and that the mean temperature was forty-eight de- grees.
The overseers in 1810 reported the number of convicts as being forty-six. Sixteen years later the number had increased to one hundred and twenty-seven, imposing an annual tax on the State for their maintenance of seven thousand dollars. The cost and impossibility of accommodating and securing so many in the cavern led the State au- thorities to provide for the erection of another prison at Wethersfield. This was finished, and the prisoners removed thither, in 1827, since which time the old Newgate has been left to the ravages of decay.
1
CHAPTER XIII
CONNECTICUT'S DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
M ANY students of American history never heard of-much less read-the Connecticut Declaration of Independence. This instrument, which has not become immortal, but deserves to be so, was in the form of a Proclamation issued by Governor Jonathan Trumbull, "with the advice of the Council and at the desire of the Representa- tives in General Court assembled," on June 18, 1776, sixteen days before the better known Dec- laration of Philadelphia was adopted. Governor Trumbull's paper so nearly covered the ground taken by the Philadelphia instrument, that when the latter arrived in Hartford, on July 12, the Governor and Council declined to publish it for the reason that it would be supererogatory, and the Declaration of Independence for this reason never was published in Connecticut. Dr. Charles J. Hoadley, State Librarian of Connecticut, in his fifteenth and last volume of the "Colonial Records
L
178
In Olde Connecticut
of Connecticut, " published the paper entire from a contemporary broadside. It is as follows:
" By the Honorable "JONATHAN TRUMBULL, Esq.,
"Governor and Commander-in-chief of the Eng- lish Colony of Connecticut in New England. "A PROCLAMATION
"The Race of Mankind was made in a State of Innocence and Freedom subjected only to the Laws of God the Creator, and through his rich Goodness, designed for virtuous liberty and Hap- piness, here and for ever; and when moral Evil was introduced into the World, and Man had corrupted his Ways before God, Vice and Iniquity came in like a Flood and Mankind became ex- posed, and a prey to the Violence, Injustice and Oppression of one another. God in great Mercy inclined his People to form themselves into So- ciety, and to set up and establish civil Government for the Protection and security of their Lives and Properties from the Invasion of wicked men. But through Pride and ambition the Kings and Princes of the World appointed by the People the Guardians of their Lives and Liberties, early and almost universally degenerated into Tyrants, and
Connecticut's Declaration of Independence 179
by Fraud or Force betrayed and wrested out of their hands the very Rights and Properties they were appointed to protect and defend. But a small part of the Human Race maintained and enjoyed any tolerable Degree of Freedom. Among those happy few, the nation of Great Britain was distinguished by a Constitution of Government wisely framed and modelled to support the Dig- nity and Power of the Prince, for the protection of the Rights of the People, and under which that Country in long succession enjoyed great Tran- quillity and Peace, though not unattended with repeated and powerful efforts, by many of its haughty Kings, to destroy the Constitutional Rights of the People, and establish arbitrary Power and Dominion. In one of those convul- sive struggles our Forefathers, having suffered in that their native Country great and variety of Injustice and Oppression, left their dear Connec- tions and Enjoyments, and fled to this then in- hospitable land to secure a lasting retreat from civil and religious Tyranny.
"The God of Heaven favored and prospered this Undertaking-made room for their settle- ment-increased and multiplied them to a very numerous People and inclined succeeding Kings
-
1
180
In Olde Connecticut
to indulge them and their children for many years the unmolested Enjoyment of the Freedom and Liberty they fled to inherit. But an unnatural - King has risen up-violated his sacred Obliga- tions and by the Advice of Evil Counsellors at- tempted to wrest from us, their children, the Sacred Rights we justly claim and which have been rati- fied and established by solemn Compact with, and recognized by his Predecessors and Fathers, Kings of Great Britain-laid upon us Burdens too heavy and grievous to be borne and issued many cruel and oppressive Edicts, depriving us of our natural, lawful and most important Rights, and subjecting us to the absolute Power and Controul of himself and the British Legislature; against which we have sought Relief, by humble, earnest and dutiful Complaints and. Petitions: But, in- stead of obtaining Redress our Petitions have been treated with Scorn and Contempt, and fresh In- juries heaped upon us while hostile armies and ships are sent to lay waste our Country. In this distressing Dilemma, having no Alternative but absolute Slavery or successful Resistance, this, and the United American Colonies have been con- strained by the overruling laws of Self Preserva- tion to take up Arms for the Defence of all that
Connecticut's Declaration of Independence 181
is sacred and dear to Freemen, and make this solemn Appeal to Heaven for the Justice of their Cause, and resist Force by Force.
"God Almighty has been pleased of his infinite Mercy to succeed our Attempts, and give us many Instances of signal Success and Deliverance. But the wrath of the King is still increasing, and not content with before employing all the Force which can be sent from his own Kingdom to execute his cruel Purposes, has procured, and is sending all the Mercenaries he can obtain from foreign coun- tries to assist in extirpating the Rights of America, and with theirs almost all the liberty remaining among Mankind.
"In this most critical and alarming situation, this and all the Colonies are called upon and ear- nestly pressed by the Honorable Congress of the American Colonies united for mutual defence, to raise a large additional number of their militia and able men to be furnished and equipped with all possible Expedition for defence against the soon expected attack and invasion of those who are our Enemies without a Cause. In cheerful compli- ance with which request and urged by Motives the most cogent and important that can affect the human Mind, the General Assembly of this Col-
182
In Olde Connecticut
ony have freely and unanimously agreed and re- solved, that upwards of Seven Thousand able and effective Men be immediately raised, furnished and equipped for the great and interesting Pur- poses aforesaid. And not desirous that any should go to a warfare at their own charges (though equally interested with others) for defence of the great and all-important Cause in which we are engaged, have granted large and liberal Pay and Encouragements to all who shall voluntarily un- dertake for the Defence of themselves and their country as by their acts may appear, I do therefore by and with the advice of the Counsel, and at the desire of the Representatives in General Court assembled, issue this PROCLAMATION, and make the solemn Appeal to the Virtue and public Spirit of the good People of this Colony. Affairs are hastening fast to a Crisis, and the approaching Campaign will in all Probability determine forever the fate of AMERICA. If this should be successful on our side, there is little to fear on account of any other. Be exhorted to rise therefore to su- perior exertions on this great Occasion, and let all that are able and necessary show themselves ready in Behalf of their injured and oppressed Country, and come forth to the help of the Lord
-
Connecticut's Declaration of Independence 183
against the Mighty, and convince the unrelenting Tyrant of Britain that they are resolved to be Free. Let them step forth to defend their Wives, their little Ones, their Liberty, and everything they hold sacred and dear, to defend the Cause of their Country, their Religion, and their God. Let every one to the utmost of their Power lend a helping Hand, to promote and forward a design on which the salvation of America now evidently depends. Nor need any be dismayed: the Cause is certainly a just and a glorious one: God is able to save us in such way and manner as he pleases and to humble our proud Oppressors. The Cause is that of Truth and Justice; he has already shown his Power in our behalf, and for the Destruction of many of our Enemies. Our Fathers trusted in him and were delivered. Let us all repent and thoroughly amend our Ways and turn to him, put all our Trust and Confidence in him-in his Name go forth, and in his Name set up our Banners, and he will save us with temporal and eternal sal- vation. And while our Armies are abroad jeop- arding their lives in the high Places of the Field,*
* The use of these words is very striking, seeing that in Governor Trumbull's own State the monument now standing, opposite New London, in honor of the victims of
-
184
In Olde Connecticut
let all who remain at home, cry mightily to God for the Protection of his Providence to shield and defend their lives from Death, and to crown them with victory and success. And in the Name of the said General Assembly I do hereby earnestly recommend it to all, both Ministers and People frequently to meet together for social prayer to Almighty God for the outpouring of his blessed . Spirit upon this guilty land-That he would awaken his People to Righteousness and Repent- ance, bless our Councils, prosper our Arms and succeed the Measures using for our necessary self- defence-disappoint the evil and cruel Devices of our Enemies-preserve our precious Rights and Liberties, lengthen out our Tranquillity, and make us a People of his Praise, and the blessed of the Lord, as long as the Sun and Moon shall en- dure.
"And all the Ministers of the Gospel in this Colony, are directed and desired, to publish this Proclamation in their several churches and con- gregations, and to enforce the Exhortations thereof
the massacre of Groton Heights, bears most appropriately the entire verse (Judges, v. 18). "Zebulun and Naphtali were a people that jeoparded their lives unto the death in the high places of the field."
Connecticut's Declaration of Independence 185
by their own pious Example and public instruc- tions.
"Given under my Hand at the Council Chamber in-Hartford, the 18th day of June Anno Domini 1776.
" JONATHAN TRUMBULL. "
CHAPTER XIV
ANCIENT LITCHFIELD
O NE of the most charming of New England villages is Litchfield, in northwestern Con- necticut-charming in a way very palpable to the senses, though difficult indeed to define, as one is forced to conclude after passing an hour under its elms in a vain effort to discover the source of his emotions. Perhaps this is to be found in its utter quiet and seclusion, or in its beauty of sit- uation; perhaps, again, in its historical impor- tance, in the traditions of past glory and greatness which throw over it a glamour of old romance and antiquarian splendor. It was formerly of the first social and political importance, and has been so fruitful of heroic men and women, and has so abounded in historic deeds, that it may be said to have a history and a literature of its own; in- deed, many of the names which the village gossips interweave with their tales would confer luster on any annals. The Wolcotts, father and son, Ethan
187
Ancient Litchfield
Allen, Colonel Tallmadge, Judges Reeves, Adams, Church and Gould, Dr. Bellamy, Dr. Bushnell, the three Beecher brothers, John Pierpont, poet and pastor, Aaron Burr, John C. Calhoun, Cath- arine Beecher, Mrs. Stowe, Hollister, the Dem- ings, the Huntingtons, the Seymours, the Wood- ruffs, are a few only of the famous names inti- mately connected with the village history. In addition is the wealth of tradition before men- tioned, to whose subtle charm even the bitterest iconoclast would submit both reason and imagi- nation; hence the curious stranger, as he loiters through its streets in a summer atmosphere of poesy and sentiment, will find on every side re- minders of "the days that are no more."
About the antiquated mansion of Governor Wolcott on South street, for instance, this "legend of good women " still lingers:
"At the beginning of the Revolution, as is well known, the patriots stood in imminent need of ammunition, especially of lead to run into bullets, and early in 1776 the leaden statue of George III. which stood on Bowling Green in New York, was overthrown and brought to Litchfield, where it was made into bullets by the ladies of the village, the men being absent on more actively martial duties.
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.