USA > Connecticut > Fairfield County > Bridgeport > Reports and papers. Fairfield County Historical Society, Bridgeport, Conn. 1882-1896-97 > Part 41
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CHAPTER II.
Here beginneth the record of "the first Penny-mite War." From this time forth the whole population of Connecticut on the one side and of Pennsylvania on the other stood for 18 years on the tiptoe of excitement watching the vicissitudes of the contest which now commenced in the valley of Wyoming between the Penn proprietaries on the one side and the Yankee immigrants on the other for the possession of the territory. Few stories are more interesting than that of the battles, the sieges, the personal adventures and the alternations of fortune which maiked its progress; yet, owing partly t> the fact that its events occurred on the soil of Pennsylvania, partly to the circumstance that the only histories which fully narrate them are rare and now out of print, they have hardly been heard of by the present generation in Connecticut. In the following account I have drawn my materials from several sources, local and general, but chiefly from Miner's excellent history of Wyoming published in 1845. I shall follow the order and sometimes adopt the language of his narrative.
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Behold then on the 8th of February 1769 the little garrison of Pennymites at Wilkesbarre glaring stealthily through the chinks of the old block house as the first company of forty doughty Yankees are seen to emerge from the snow clad forest. Imagine the chagrin of the forty after their long and weary tramp at finding their expected shelter in the hands of an enemy. Recovering however from their first surprise they soon surrounded the fortress and demanded its surrender in the name of the Colony of Connecticut. The garrison consid- ering that a dozen men were hardly a match for forty had re- course to strategy. A very polite and conciliatory note was addressed by Capt. Ogden to the commander of the besiegers respectfully soliciting an interview and a friendly conference on the subject of their respective titles. What could be fairer or more attractive to the Yankee miud, always ready for an argument ? The proposition was immediately accepted and the three smartest talkers of the investing force were deputed to enter the edifice and present the points of the Connecticut case. No sooner were they fairly inside than Sheriff Jennings clapped a writ on the shoulders of each before he could com- mence his oration, arrested them all for trespass by authority of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and informed them that they must accompany him to Easton Jail. The old Roman who declared that laws are silent in the presence of arms had evidently never been brought up in Connecticut. When Sheriff Jennings emerged from the Block house con- ducting his three prisoners in the name of the law, the invad- ing army was paralysed. They had bound themselves to the Company not to conduct themselves disorderly, and though numbering forty to ten, the thought of rescue or resistance never entered their heads: the majesty of the law overpowered all thought of opposition, and by common consent the three prisoners were escorted to Easton Jail sixty miles distant, the whole Yankee army following humbly in the rear.
At Easton and in fact throughout Pennsylvania the Penn Government was extremely odious. The custom of the Pro- prietaries to sell no land but to grant leases only, rendered the settlers practically serfs under a feudal aristocracy. The
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Yankees on the contrary had come to establish democratic institutions on the basis of private ownership of the soil, and were viewed with general favor. Consequently it occurred that when the Sheriff and his troop arrived at Easton, bail was quickly found for the prisoners, and the reunited forty speedily took the back trail to Wyoming, this time without the companionship of the Sheriff, entered the empty block house and thus found themselves in bloodless possession of the field. But brief was their state of self-complacency. Sheriff Jennings having laid in a new supply of writs and summoned to his aid a more powerful posse of deputies soon appeared at the block house, stormed the doors and captured the whole party. Back to Easton Jail they marched, (the second expul- sion of the Yankees,) again found bail, and then tramped back once more to their stronghold. Thus twice captured and sent to Easton, a distance of sixty miles within a month, they must have travelled going and coming in that period at least 240 miles in the depth of winter through a rugged and frozen wilderness. All legal resources against the invaders . had now been exhausted without effect. and the dispossessed Ogden and Jennings left them for a few months undisturbed.
Spring slowly opened, and as the ice disappeared from the streams a new and priceless treasure was discovered in this earthly paradise, which caused the hearts of those men of Windham and Hartford to leap for joy. Shad began to swarm in the river and on beholding this clear proof that the region was within the rightful limits of Connecticut, the settlers were more firmly resolved than ever to hold it to the last extremity. Reports of the shad were sent back to Connecticut, and soon other settlers came pouring into the valley until 270 in all were on the ground, including women and children. A strong fort was built, half an acre in extent, which was named after its commander, Fort Durkee: huts were erected, ground cleared and crops planted. Meantime however the enemy had not been idle. Ogden and Jennings recruited their forces and in May appeared before Fort Durkee. Wisely concluding however on reflection that it would be madness to attack the Yankees in the height of the shad season, they retired and re-
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ported to Governor Penn that the invaders had possession of the county, and were too strong to be dislodged by any force at the sheriff's command Great was the indignation of the Quaker functionary at the news. Regardless of non-resistance principles, a military company fully armed and equipped with weapons of war was despatched from Philadelphia to make short work of the audacious intruders. The martial band in brave array with banners and music picked their way gallantly through the woods to Fort Durkee. They then took a care- ful look at the structure and promptly returned in excellent order by the same road they had come on.
And now the summer months passed rapidly by. New bands of settlers came on from Connecticut; homes were built, crops ripened and the harvest was ready for the gather- ing. Suddenly in September, the indefatigable Ogden and Jennings again appeared on the scene with an armed and organized military force of over two hundred men, inelud- ing an artillery company with an iron four-pounder canuon-the first piece of ordnance ever seen in the valley and destined to become famous in the future history of Wyoming. By a lucky stroke the Pennymites surprised and captured Capt. Durkee while harvesting outside the fort and packed him off at onee to Philadelphia prison. Then having invested the fort with his army and planted the grim four-pounder in a suggestive position, Capt. Ogden sum- moved the garrison to instant surrender. It did not take the Yankees long to decide. Their commander was captured ; there were no supplies in the fort; their farms and families were ontside at the mercy of the enemy. And as they contem- plated the powerful array of besic gers, and gazed reflectively into the muzzle of that portentous four-pounder, they mutually confessed "their thoughts were turned ou peace."
Articles of capitulation were agreed upon at onee; three of the Yankees were held as prisoners, seventeen were allowed to remain to gather the growing crops. All the rest with the women and children were ordered forthwith out of the valley ; a pledge being given however that their private property should be respected. "Taking up their melancholy march"
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says Miner, sad as the exiles from Paradise, the men, their wives, and little ones with such of their flocks and herds as could be collected, with aching hearts took leave of the fair plains of Wyoming. No sooner had the mass of settlers been expelled than Ogden in violation of the articles of capitula_ tion made pillage of all the property remaining ; cattle, horses and sheep were driven to markets on the Delaware and the seventeen who remained. left without means to sustain them- selves, were compelled to follow their exiled friends on their journey to Connecticut. Thus ended the Campaign of 1769 with the Yankees for the third time completely expelled, their crops, and live stock, and household goods confiscated, and their fort and houses in the possession of the Pennymites. The long procession of hopeless fugitives toiled painfully east- ward toward Connecticut, while Ogden with his cohorts re- mained to gather up the plunder and to hold the valley."
. In November when winter was at hand and all fear of a re- turn of the Yankees had vanished, he disbanded his forces and leaving a garrison of twelve men to hold the fort, depart- ed to Philadelphia to air his laurels. Great was the ovation which awaited him. The city of brotherly love was stirred to its foundations; bells rang, wine flowed, broad brimmed hats were tossed in the air and shad belly coats were embraced with exultation. Capt. Ogden flushed with triumph assured his cheering admirers that the victory was final and that no in- truding Yankee would ever again confront that terrible four pounder on the banks of the Susquehanna.
In the midst of these festivities there came a disagreeable announcement. Capt. Durkee who had somehow escaped from prison, together with Capt. Stewart and another Connecticut forty had suddenly dropped on Fort Durkee, ousted its gar- rison of ten, and were in full possession : not only the fortress but the redonbtable four pounder itself with all its balls and ammunition, was in the hands of the Yankees.
The valiant Capt. Ogden though astonished was not dis- mayed. Hastily collecting fifty men he started for the seat of war and on his arrival took possession of the old block honso near the fort which had been his former quarters. Durkee
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marched out of the fort under the Connecticut flag to recon- noiter his position and Ogden with a deputy sheriff and posse attempted his old game of arresting the whole party. But the magic influence of the writ had been exhausted; the Yankees resisted ; a fight ensued; one Connecticut man was killed and several wounded. Durkee withdrew to the fort and brought out the four pounder, and it was now the Penny- mites' turn to recognise the persuasive influence of their old associate. Without standing on the order of their going, they got into their block house as quickly as possible and anxiously watched the besiegers operations. In the course of a day or two a log redoubt had been constructed about sixty rods from the block house. On this the "dread artillery" was mounted and opened fire; day after day it blazed away shaking the forest with its roar, knocking off limbs in every direction and hitting every object in sight except the block house. It was then moved nearer the building and the siege more closely pressed ; the principal storehouse of the Pennymites was stormed and destroyed, but Ogden held out for a month hop- ing for reinforcements. Gov. Penn unable to raise them ap- pealed in despair to the British commander at New York for troops but that official flatly refused to interfere. On the 29th of April Ogden capitulated, the Yankees took possession of their enemy's arms and supplies and immediately burned the block house to the ground. Ogden collected his dis- comfited followers, marched gloomily back to Philadelphia where he reported progress to the Governor, and the air was immediately blue with execrations and proclamations.
Thus in May 1770 peace once more reigned in Wyoming. The joy-bringing shad came up the river in myriads and through the spring and summer, band after band of new settlers from Connecticut came pouring into the valley. Again the growing crops adorned the fields and autumn arrived at last greeted by a cheerful people and bounteous harvests. Gov. Penn meantime had been nursing bis wrath and planning for new visitations of vengeance. Having finally succeeded by desperate efforts in raising about 140 men, he despatched them in September under command of the untir-
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ing Ogden with the old accompaniment of deputy sheriffs and plenty of writs to make another attempt to break up the pestiferous Yankee settlement. Ogden marched so secretly that he surprised the hard working settlers in the fields and captured and arrested many of them separately. A few got into the fort and sent out messengers for aid but these were intercepted by the enemy. Ogden then made a sudden rush with his force, beat down the sentinels and captured the fort after a sharp struggle in which several lives were lost. All the principal settlers were forthwith sent to Philadelphia prison; the rank and file of the men were lodged in Easton Jail; the women and children were as before expelled from the valley; and as before the entire possessions of the unfortunate Yankees became the plunder of their Pennymite foes. The property thus lost was by no means inconsiderable and the soldiers of the successful party were richly rewarded by the spoil. This was late in October, 1770 and was the fourth expulsion of the Yankees.
Ogden remained through the Indian summer gathering and disposing of his pillage, till the last wretched Connecticut straggler had reached his home, then as snow settled down on the deserted valley he left twenty men to hold the fort, and returned to the re-jubilant Quaker city to spend the winter in feasting and revelry over the final termination of the war.
Alas for human expectations! On the 18th of December in the darkness of a winter night the slumbering garrison of Fort Durkee were aroused by a sudden shout of " Hurrah for King George!" and started from their sleep to find the fort again in the hands of the Yankees. Six escaped nearly naked to the mountains. the rest were unceremoniously expelled, and the fugitives making their melancholy way through the woods as best they could carried the painful news to Phila- delphia. Dismay and gloom settled down on the city and quenched the festive Christmas jubilations. The shad belly coats were turned into garments of mourning and the flowing bowl was filled with the spirit of heaviness. Thus ended the second year of the war and the campaigns of 1770.
As the year 1771 opened on the grief stricken Quakers it
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soon beheld their melancholy harden into a spirit less consis- tent with their amable principles. To turn their cheek to the smiter was forgotten as they reflected on the smiter's cheek. Proclamations and offers of reward for Yankee prisoners flew thick as hail, and one hundred men were levied as quickly as possible and despatched to the seat of war with Capt. Ogden at their head. When this force arrived before Fort Durkee they found it shut up tight and fast in the keeping of about fifty defenders under the command of Capt. Stewart, a former citizen of Pennsylvania who sharing in the popular hatred of the Penn Goverment had transfered his allegiance to Connecticut.
Ogden having erected a counter fortress in the immediate vicinity first resorted to the old but now played out method of sending a sheriff with a summons to surrender in the name of the law. Captain Stewart replied that he held the fort for the Colony of Connecticut and disrespectfully advised the dep- uty sheriff and the whole Colony of Pennsylvania to seek a warmer climate. A few days later Ogden made an assault with his whole force but was beaten off with the loss of his brother killed and three more wounded. But though success- ful in this encounter the garrison concluded that the odds against them were too great and being in no condition to stand a siege they decided not to prolong the contest. Capt. Stewart who as a renegade Pennsylvanian was specially obnoxious to the Penn government escaped with thirty followers by night leaving about twenty in the fort, which the next day surren- dered to Ogden without resistance. and the twenty who were taken were sent at once to Easton Jail, charged with murder and other crimes.
It is worth mentioning here as an indication how strongly the general public of Pennsylvania sympathised with the Connecticut settlers, that on their trials the prisoners were all acquitted by the jury, and so far as it appears not a single con- viction was ever had upon any of the complaints on which so many of the settlers had been arrested and imprisoned at Easton and Philadelphia.
Thus for the fifth time the Connecticut settlers had been
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expelled from Wyoming, and now the persistent Ogden ren- dered wary by experience took up his abode in the valley, and set himself to strengthen Fort Wyoming so that it should be proof against either Yankee assault or strategy. But in vain did he search for its most precious treasure the mighty four pounder; it was gone, and when or how the Yankees had got it away was a mystery. Two months passed by in peaceful repose from the toils of war, when lo! early in April simul- taneously with the first appearance of shad in the river, 150 doughty Yankees were seen emerging from the forest and making straight for the fortress They were headed by the escaped Stewart, and with them also was a hero of a far higher order, the gallant Zebulon Butler of whom we shall hear more hereafter. More familiar and more awe inspiring to the cooped up Pennymites was the sight of the lost four pounder with a full supply of balls and ammunition; but most astonishing and portentous of all was a stupendous engine of destruction in the form of an enormous piece of artillery far larger than any known to exist in the world. It was mount- ed on a pair of wagon wheels and was dragged along with diffi- culty by the besiegers, It was in fact an immense pepperage log which had been bored and fabricated into the semblance of a cannon by an ingenious Yankee blacksmith. Painted a diabolical black, with a red murderous mouth, and bound about with iron bands the mysterious monster presented an appearance truly infernal and appalling. The garrison looked on with consternation while a redoubt was being constructed and the portentous 'what is it,' was mounted upon it. Then they beheld it carefully trained to bear on the fort, and then a slow match was applied and lighted. An awful moment fol- lowed: the besieged cowered nuder their ramparts: even the besiegers scattered behind trees.
"There was silence deep as death
And the boldest held his breath For a time."
Then a thousand thunders in one shook the hills and split the heavens. When the smoke had cleared away the fort to the astonishment of all was found to be standing unharmed;
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but the cannon had totally disappeared. Not a vestige of it could be discovered until several months afterwards when one of its iron hoops was found hanging in the top of a tree half a mile away, across the river.
After this imposing demonstration the siege was conducted with implements of a less titanic order. The more humble four pounder was now brought into service, but with little better result, as the Yankee gunners proved far more skilful in mak- ing a noise than in hitting the fort. More effective work was done by investing the fortress so closely that Ogden was un- able to send word of his situation to Philadelphia.
Three months passed away during which time the garrison remained thus bottled up while the besiegers had been quietly combining business with pleasure by erecting shelters, plant- ing crops and showing a clear intention to fight it out on that line if it took all summer. Meantime provisions in the fort were reduced to the lowest point, and it was evident that starvation would soon compel a surrender unless a message could be sent to Gov. Penn.
In this emergency Ogden determined to carry the message himself, and achieved his purpose by a feat of remarkable coolness, skill and daring. Miner thus relates it: "A little past midnight on the 12th of July when all was quiet one of the Yankee sentinels saw something floating on the river which had a very suspicious appearance. A shot awakened attention and drew the eyes of every other sentinel to the spot ; a volley was poured in but produced no apparent effect : the thing still floating gently with the current, the firing was suspended while still the wonder grew what the object could be. Capt. Ogden had tied his clothes in a bundle and fas- tened his hat on top; to this was connected a string of several rods in length which he attached to his arm. Letting him- self noiselessly into the water, swimming on his back so deeply as only to allow his lips to breathe, the whole move- ment demanding extraordinary skill and self-possession, he floated down drawing the bundle after him. As he had calcu- lated, this being the only object apparent, it drew the fire of his foes. He escaped unhurt and when out of danger dressed
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himself with his drenched clothing and hat perforated with bullets, and with the speed of a roebuck was in the city on the third day, having accomplished 120 miles through a rough and inhospitable wilderness."
Instantly Philadelphia was in commotion, bells rang, drums beat and shad belly coats flew frantically to and fro. Three hundred pounds was quickly voted, and Capt. Dick was hurried off to the aid of the garrison with provisions and an escort. Capt. Morris with a full uniformed company with banners and music was sent immediately following Capt. Dick. Col. Clayton as commander in chief with another force came just behind, and Capt. Leslie was ordered to raise a fourth detach- ment and follow as soon as possible.
It was now August, 1771, the fifth month of the siege. Capt. Butler and his men prudent and indomitable intermit- ted neither their besieging nor their farming, and were getting ready to gather in both the coin and the Pennymites. Ogden's escape being known, they were on the outlook for reinforcements, and it was not long before the scouts announ- ced the approach of Capt. Dick with his supply of food for the garrison. The train cautiously approached undisturbed and apparently undiscovered until it was quite near the fort ; Then there was a sudden volley from an ambush, a whoop and a rush by the Yankees cutting the tram in two, and quickly the pack-horses which were in the rear were flying toward Philadelphia, while the escort was hustling into the fort. The retreating provisions were soon in the hands of the Yankees while the garrison already starving found themselves with twenty more mouths to feed.
The news of Capt. Dick's discomtiture reached Philadelphia and aroused a feeling the reverse of hilarious. Three hundred pounds more were drawn with groans from the impoverished treasury ; new recruits were called for, and Leslie was hurried on to overtake Clayton and Morris. Meanwhile Butler antici- pating these results was pushing forward the siege by a series of vigorous attacks in which several of the garrison had been killed and wounded. By the time Clayton and Morris arrived the fort had capitulated, and those officers had the pleasure
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of assenting to the terms of surrender. These were that the fort and the valley should be abandoned by the Pennymite forces and the Yankees left in full possession. Thus after three years of battle and siege during which the Susquehanna Company had waged war unassisted against the whole power of Pennsylvania, hostilities closed with the Company the acknowledged victors.
The tired Pennsylvania authorities desiring to know why this was thus, addressed a letter to Gov. Trumbull, inquiring whether these perverse proceedings were under his counten- ance or authority, or that of the Connecticut Assembly. The courteous Governor replied by letter dated New Haven, Oct. 14, 1771, which was more diplomatic than satisfactory. He assured Gov. Penn that " those persons had had no order or direction from him or from the General Assembly, and that the Assembly would never countenance violent or hostile measures by the Susquehanna Company in vindicating the rights which it supposed itself to have to lands within the limits of the Connecticut Charter. But "he understood that each of the contending parties charged the commencement of violence on the other, of which he was no proper judge." And with this reply, whereby Gov. Penn learned very little except that Connecticut regarded Wyoming as within its Char- ter limits, that functionary felt the spirit move him to drop the subject.
Here endeth the record of the first Pennymite War.
CHAPTER III.
While the stirring events of these three years had been taking place in the Wyoming valley it will be ensily under- stood that old Windham and its suburbs had not been indifferent or inactive spectators. The entire people of Con- necticut had in fact been as fully arous d as the Quakers themselves. The tighting farmers who had poured into the valley had been drawn from all parts of the colony though chiefly from the northern and eastern counties. The Susque- hanna Company had organized and forwarded them, and had
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