USA > Connecticut > Litchfield County > Litchfield > Sketches and chronicles of the town of Litchfield, Connecticut : historical, biographical, and statistical : together with a complete official register of the town > Part 10
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HISTORY OF LITCHFIELD.
rising in price, which proves a fatal discouragement to men's engag- ing in the service ; for if they go, their families (say they) must un- avoidably suffer and starve, as their bounty and pay will not procure them the necessary support.
Monday, 28th April .- Finding no opportunity of forwarding the foregoing, direct, it has lain by until this time, and now send it to the Post Office in Hartford with the following addition :
Intelligence was brought to town last Saturday afternoon, that twenty-four Transports were come to a place called Compo, between Fairfield and Norwalk, and that the troops were landing. About two o'clock next morning, an Express came from New Milford, who in- formed that the troops landed to the number of three thousand, with some light field-pieces, and proceeded direct to Danbury, where they arrived without the least opposition on Saturday at two o'clock in the afternoon, took possession of our stores and the town, which was said to be in flames when the Express came away. The people with great spirit turned out immediately from all our towns, but I fear to little purpose ; for if they fired the town Saturday afternoon, they will get on board their shipping before our people get down. Last night, advice was brought that the enemy was landing at New Haven on Saturday night, but I imagine it to be only a feint in order to prevent their retreat being cut off. We have heard nothing from Danbury since the departure of our people. The Tories are grown very inso- lent, but I believe they will not dare attempt anything openly with us.
Mrs. Wolcott and family are well. Oliver is gone to Danbury. My haste must apologize for abruptness, &c.
I am, Sir, Your Humble Servant, REUBEN SMITH.
Hon. Oliver Wolcott, Philadelphia."
The last Governor Wolcott (then a student at Yale College,) was in Litchfield at the time of the alarm. Awakened at midnight by the summons to repair to the rendezvous of the militia, he armed himself ; his mother, furnishing his knapsack with provisions and a blanket, hastened his departure, and dismissed him with the charge "to conduct like a good sol- dier." He, with the other volunteers from this town, partici- pated in the skirmish at Wilton, as well as in the subsequent attacks during the retreat of the British from the burning of Danbury.
From another letter written by Dr. Smith to General Wol- cott, (dated at Litchfield, May 12th, 1777,) we make the fol- lowing extracts. It was penned, as will be observed, after the return of the Litchfield soldiers from the Danbury Alarm :
"Sunday morning, 27th April, about one o'clock, we were alarmed Our people turned out spiritedly ; came up with the rear of the ene.
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THE DANBURY ALARM.
my about eleven the next day, a little below Wilton meeting-house, and pursued them aboard their ships. Paul Peck was killed in the last attack on the enemy. Levi Peck, (Thomas Peck's son,) was wounded in the shoulder about the same time. In Wilton, Ozias Goodwin was wounded in the arm, and Salmon Buel had one of his thighs broken, and the other shot through with the same ball .*
The infamous Daniel Griswold came into the western part of this town, the morning before the alarm, and was there concealed till Monday ; and took off to join the ministerial army, David Kilbourn, Benjamin Kilbourn's son Charles, Isaac Kilbourn's son Abraham, and Samuel Kilbourn son of Giles Kilbourn, Jonathan Smith, Jr., and his brother Elisha, (who was enlisted in the light horse,) David Joy, Ben- jamin Doolittle, Josiah Stone, and John Davies' son David, and one John Beach of Woodbury who lived at Josiah Stone's.
The Wednesday following they were taken, (except Benjamin Doo- little and Charles Kilbourn, who it is said were killed in attempting to escape,); and were carried to Derby, where they were tried by a Court Martial, and Griswold was sentenced to be hanged; which sentence was executed on the Monday following, at New Haven. The rest were pardoned, upon their enlisting into the continental army during the War.
Governor Franklin is confined in our Gaol, and a constant Guard is kept. We trust he will find it difficult to escape, should he attempt it. I understand he utterly denies the charge of dispensing Pardons and Protections."
Of Paul Peck, alluded to in the letter of Dr. Smith, it is said, " he was the most expert hunter of the time in which he lived. At the Danbury Alarm, he put his large gun in order, followed the enemy to Compo, on their retreat, and took a station behind a stone wall, where every shot told-until he was rushed upon by the enemy, who took his gun from him and dashed his brains out with it." He was killed, April 28, 1777, aged about seventy-five years .¿
* The Assembly allowed Mr. Buel-£60 for his relief. He never fully recovered from the effects of his wounds. He was the father of Capt. Salmon Buel, who is still living.
t These men both escaped. Doolittle remained in Litchfield until some thirty years ago, when he removed West. Kilbourn settled in Canada. (See Biog. Sketches.)
# It is stated that Father Mills, the eccentric clergyman of Torringford, wishing on one occasion to illustrate the certain and irrevocable doom of the wicked, told of a timid Berkshire fox that started on a trip to the Sound. At first he was wary of every step, and frightened at the rustling of a leaf. But having safely passed the snares, and hunters, and hounds, that beset his way, he becames careless, proud and self- conceited. " He enters Fat Swamp at a jolly trot, head and tail up, looking defiance at the enemies he has left so far hehind him. But Oh, the dreadful reverse :- In the midst of his haughty reverie, he is brought to a sudden and everlasting stop IN ONE OF PAUL PECK'S TRAPS."
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HISTORY OF LITCHFIELD.
Twenty or thirty prisoners of war, of various grades, were sometimes confined in the Litchfield Jail at once. The loca- tion being so far inland, and so distant from any navigable stream, it was thought they would be less liable to be discov- ered and rescued here, than at Hartford, New Haven or Boston. Among those confined here in 1776 and 1777, were Mr. Mat- thews, the English Mayor of New York, and Hon. William Franklin, the royal Governor of New Jersey. Franklin was a son of the famous Dr. Benjamin Franklin, and held the office of Governor from 1763 to 1776, when he was seized by the whigs and conveyed to Governor Trumbull, of Connecticut, by whose order he was for some time confined at Wallingford and Middletown. In April, 1777, the Council of Safety of this State received an order from Congress " to confine Governor Franklin without pen, ink or paper ; and directed him to be conveyed, under guard, by the Sheriff of Hartford county, to Litchfield Jail." In September, we find mention made in the records of the Council, of an order drawn in favor of Lynde Lord, Esq., of Litchfield, of £100 toward the expense of the guard placed over the Governor ; and on the 15th of January, 1778, another similar order was drawn in favor of Sheriff Lord.
Governor Franklin, after his release, went to England, and was pensioned for his sufferings and losses. He died in 1813, aged 86.
Under date of August 1, 1776, in the proceedings of the Council of War, occurs the following record as copied by Hin- man, (Hist. Rev. p. 377) : "Letters from the Convention of New York sent by Mr. De Peyster, respecting the pris- oners sent from New York to Litchfield Jail, were read ; and thereupon ordered, that the Mayor of New York should be brought to Hartford and there confined. Gilbert Forbes and William Forbes were directed to be confined in Litchfield jail, and the other ten to be taken to Norwich jail ; and warrants were ordered to be sent to the several jailers."
In the proceedings of the Council of Safety, under date of August 26, 1776, occurs the following memorandum, viz., " Last Monday, David Matthews, Mayor of the City of New
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PUBLIC MEN IN LITCHFIELD.
York, was brought from Litchfield, and on Friday was return- ed to Litchfield, to remain under the care of Captain Moses Seymour."
The first Pleasure Carriage ever brought into this town, was presented by Mayor Matthews to Mrs. Moses Seymour, whose husband, it will be seen, had the custody of the Mayor. The carriage was in use here as recently as 1818. The Mayor's traveling trunk is still in this town, in possession of one of Major Seymour's descendants.
Early in 1777, orders were issued for raising eight battalions in Connecticut for the continental service, " to serve for three years, or during the war." Ninety-two of the soldiers for these battalions were ordered to be raised in Litchfield. In April of this year, the town voted to pay out of the treasury to each soldier that should enlist for the full term specified, the sum of twelve pounds per annum, in addition to the pay they might receive from the State or General Governments. The Selectmen were at the same time directed to lay a tax for the purpose designated, and Messrs. Miles Bach, Leman Stone, Moses Barns and Stephen Bidwell, were appointed Collectors.
Before proceeding farther, it is proper to add, that at the period of which we are writing, Litchfield was the home of a remarkable number of educated and thinking men-some of whom were already distinguished, and others who were des- tined to act an important part in their country's history. In- deed, no town in the State could boast of a community more refined, intelligent and patrotic. Within our present borough limits resided, Oliver Wolcott, Andrew Adams, Reynold Mar- vin, Tapping Reeve, Isaac Baldwin, Samuel Lyman, Isaac Baldwin, Jr., Elisha Sheldon, John Pierce, Jr., Dr. Thomas Little, Lynde Lord, Rev. Timothy Collins, Rev. Judah Cham- pion, Dr. Lemuel Hopkins, Dr. Reuben Smith, Moses Seymour, Timothy Skinner, Abraham Bradley, William Stanton, Am- brose Collins, Elijah Wadsworth, and Ephraim Kirby-all of whom, and many more, were conspicuous as public men and patriots. To this " goodly companie" were soon added, Oli- ver Wolcott, Jr., Ashbel Baldwin, Ezekiel Woodruff, Julius Deming, Uriah Tracy and Doct. Daniel Sheldon-who all
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HISTORY OF LITCHFIELD.
became residents here before the close of the war. Sixteen of the gentlemen named, were graduated at Yale College, and one (Judge Reeve) at the College of New Jersey ; three were members of the State Council; four were members of the na- tional congress, or became such ; seven were captains in the revolutionary army, and four rose to the rank of general offi- cers; two became Chief Justices and two Governors of the State. Jedediah Strong, whose residence was just outside the limits stated, was a member of the State Council and of the continental Congress. Every section of the town, in fact, furnished its full proportion of able and faithful men both in public stations and in private life-some of whom have already been referred to. Among these were Dr. Seth Bird, Rev. George Beckwith, Colonel Beebe, Major Welch, Captains Morris, McNiel, Goodwin, Osborn, Stone, Waugh, Stoddard, Buel, &c.
The era was characterized by a rancor of party feeling which has rarely been equalled in the history of this or any other country. At times, the zeal of the patriots knew no bounds, and they naturally enough regarded all who differed from them relative to the kingly prerogative, as foes to liberty and inimical to the vital interests of the country. The gen- tlemen named above, belonged to the popular and triumphant party, and their memory is cherished by a grateful posterity. There were others in this town, as elsewhere throughout the land-honorable, influential and conscientious men-who, while they openly disapproved of many acts of the parliament, were yet warmly attached to the royal cause. They looked upon revolution as not only treason to their sovereign, but predestined to be ruinous to all who might engage in it ; and they chose to suffer what they regarded as only temporary evils, rather than rush into the vortex of war for redress. Nor is all this a matter of surprise, when we consider the force of ed- ucation. In the colonies, as in England, the people had been taught that, next to religion, loyalty was the cardinal virtue. " Fear God, and honor the King," was a precept which none but the infidel and traitor had ventured to gainsay. Some argued that any attempt at independence was rank ingratitude
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THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND.
on our part. "In our weakness," said they, " were not the armies of England again and again sent over to protect us from the French and Indians ?" The Episcopalians, or mem- bers of the Church of England, were drawn towards the moth- er country by still stronger and dearer ties. Their clergymen were ordained and set apart to the work of the ministry, by English Bishops ; and their Book of Common Prayer taught them to pray for the King and Royal Family. Besides, Litch- field was still a "missionary station," under the direction and patronage of the " Venerable Society in England for Propaga- ting the Gospel in Foreign Parts"-the Rector of St. Michael's Church receiving a portion of his annual salary directly from that Society. With them, independence not only involved a political separation from Great Britain, but a severance of an ecclesiastical bond of union which they had long regarded as indispensable to their prosperity, if not to their very existence as a church. Hence a large proportion of the Episcopalians in Litchfield were opposed to the Revolution. This fact, it is to be presumed, will hardly be called in question-and, for the reasons given, does not necessarily imply any lack of patriot- ism on their part. The late Rev. Isaac Jones, of this town, in his Centennial Discourse, in 1845, says-" In the War of the Revolution, churchmen were generally attached to the Gov erment of Great Britain, as were their ministers ; but not all of them, however. The ministers derived their support from the Venerable Society, etc. For their adherence to the royal cause, they were troubled, and suffered much. So were they in this town." The late Rev. Truman Marsh, for thirty years Rector of St. Michael's, in 1845, thus wrote : "The writer of this sketch can remember when, in this village, he has been ridiculed and insulted when going to or returning from church on the Lord's day ; when the windows of the church were bro- ken ; and in the place of broken panes of glass, wooden sliding windows were opened to let in the light of heaven to read the prayers of the Common Prayer Book. Thanks be to Heaven for the great change in public sentiment !"
In such a contest as that of which we are speaking, conten- tions, and strifes, and bitterness, are almost inevitably engen
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HISTORY OF LITCHFIELD.
dered. In this town, friends, neighbors, and even households, became divided and estranged. Not unfrequently, the father took one side, and the sons the other-and brothers sometimes took opposite sides. " Natural affection" seemed for awhile to be regarded as a sentiment which ought not to be tolerated between whig and tory. This feeling reached its culminating point in the death of Daniel Griswold, already mentioned in the letters of Dr. Smith. Griswold is said to have been a young man of good character and great energy, and was not unpopular with a large class of whigs. Perhaps, by the bloody code of war, he ought to have suffered death as a trai- tor for enlisting soldiers for the king's service ; though it is a fact beyond dispute, that there were among the king's troops, in that very contest, whole regiments of " Royal Americans," as they were styled. Many of the leading whigs of Litchfield were open in their condemnation of the action of the Court Martial in this instance, and the event probably did not advance the republican cause in this town.
CHAPTER VII.
THE REVOLUTIONARY ERA-CONTINUED.
From 1776 to 1780, Litchfield was a depot for military stores and provisions, which were guarded by a considerable military force. The depot for provisions stood on the premises now occupied in part by Dr. Buel's Private Lunatic Asylum, in North street, where a building was erected for that purpose sixty feetlong and two stories high. On the site of the present Court House, was erected a building of similar dimensions as a depot for other military stores. A work-shop for the army, (which was also sixty feet in length and two stories high,) stood on the north side of East street, just west of the Burying Ground. The prisoners of war were generally kept in the Old Jail, which stood in East street, on the spot now occupied by the dwelling-house of Mr. Charles L. Perkins. At each of the places here designated, a military guard was stationed night and day-the roll being called, the soldiers drilled, and the guard set, at stated intervals, with as much precision as would have been observed by an army encamped in the vicin- ity of the enemy. The stores and provisions deposited here, were for much of the time under the general superintendence of Commissary William Richards, of Elizabethtown, N. J. Ashbel Baldwin, a native of this town, graduated at Yale Col- lege in 1776, and soon received the appointment of Quarter- master and was stationed here. He remained at this post be- tween two and three years, when he received an honorable discharge, and was succeeded in office by Oliver Wolcott, Jr., who graduated in 1778.
On the 30th of June, 1777, Governor Trumbull wrote to General Wolcott, informing him that a team would be sent to Litchfield loaded with powder, lead and flints, and requesting
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HISTORY OF LITCHFIELD.
him to send a team to Salisbury for a load of cannon-shot to be forwarded to Hartford by the returning teams. By a sub- sequent record of the Council of Safety, it appears that on this occasion, there were sent to Litchfield seventeen hundred pounds of gun-powder, two thousand pounds of lead, one thou- sand flints, and three hundred pounds of cannon-powder.
On the 23d of July following, an order was drawn on David Trumbull for £25: 5: 10, in favor of John and Daniel Dew- ey, " for carting powder and lead from Lebanon to Litchfield." Late in the autumn of this year, a large proportion of the mil- itary stores taken at the capture of Burgoyne were deposited here.
In August, General Wolcott wrote to the Governor and Council, stating that he had ordered all the effective men of Sheldon's Horse and Humphreys' regiment, (who had not been called to do duty under the recent act and were liable to be called out of the State,) to march immediately to Peekskill, well provided with arms, and with forty days' provisions. The General's course was approved, and an order was directed to be drawn on the State Treasurer, in his favor, for the sum of £1,000. About the same time, Sheriff Lord was directed to procure from the merchants of Litchfield county, for the use of the army, four hogsheads of rum, six hogsheads of sugar, and two thousand pounds of coffee, at a stipulated price. If the merchants refused to furnish the goods at the price named, the Sheriff was ordered to take the articles wherever he could find them, at the appraisal of two or three judicious freeholders, and to make return of his doings to the Council.
In September, Litchfield was established by the Council as the place of rendezvous for the Sixth Brigade, and Major Beebe was stationed here as the recruiting officer of the brigade.
On the 7th of October, a special town meeting was held, of which Jacob Woodruff, Esq., was Moderator. At this meeting it was voted that Messrs. Lynde Lord, Thomas Catlin, Caleb Gibbs, David Welch and Alexander Catlin, be a committee to purchase and provide shirts, frocks, overalls, stockings and shoes, for the non-commissioned officers and soldiers in the continental army belonging to this town-agreeable to a re-
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COMMITTEES APPOINTED.
solve of His Excellency the Governor and Council of Safety passed Sept. 12, 1777."
The Committee of Safety, at a session held December 4th, appointed one person in each county to see that the Clothing for the Army, demanded of the several towns, was forthwith provided by the Selectmen ; and to furnish pack-horses, or other means of transportation, to convey the same to the Com- missary at Middletown. Alexander Catlin, of this town, was appointed the member of this Committee for the county of Litchfield.
On the 10th of December, the following votes were passed in town meeting, viz. :
"1. Voted, That Messrs. David Welch, Nathaniel Woodruff, Archibald McNiel, Jr., Ebenezer Benton and Thomas Waugh, are hereby appointed a Committee to provide for the families of soldiers according to law and to the votes of the town.
" 2. To pay the Committee a reasonable compensation for their time and trouble.
"3. That the Selectmen, together with Messrs. Tapping Reeve, Seth Bird, Andrew Adams, Samuel Lyman and Lynde Lord, be a Committee to prepare, state, and present for recove- ry, sundry matters and accounts for money supposed to be due the town.
" 4. That the Selectmen be empowered and desired to dis. tribute to the non-commissioned officers and soldiers in the continental army belonging to this town, and to the poor of the town, and to the families of such as have died in the ser- vice, whether continental or militia, or in captivity, and to such other families in this town as are not in circumstances to to supply themselves, forty-two bushels of SALT lately brought from Boston-in such proportion as they shall judge most suitable and right-at the rate of ten shillings per bushel ; and the residue, to such as are able to purchase the same, at prime cost."
" At a meeting of the inhabitants of Litchfield, legally warn- ed and convened on the sixth day of January, A. D. 1778, to take into consideration the Articles of Confederation and Per- petual Union between the States of New Hampshire, Massa-
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HISTORY OF LITCHFIELD.
chusetts Bay, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Con- necticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Geor- gia, exhibited by the Selectmen pursuant to a requisition from His Excellency, the Governor-the said articles being distinct- ly and repeatedly read and considered :
" Voted unanimously, That the said Articles of Confedera- tion be approved, and that the Representatives of this town be instructed to use their influence and votes in the General As- sembly to invest the Delegates of this State with competent powers, in the name and behalf of this State, in continental congress, to subscribe and confirm the said Articles of Confed- eration and Perpetual Union between the States."
Andrew Adams, Esq., was Moderator of the preceding meeting.
At different dates during the continuance of the war, the following persons (in addition to those already named,) were appointed to furnish clothing, &c., for the soldiers in the pub- lic service from this town, and to provide for their families, viz., Capt. Joseph Vaill, Arthur Emons, Phineas Baldwin, 2d, Capt. Solomon Marsh, Lieut. David Stoddard, Judson Guiteau, Jonathan Wright, Timothy Skinner, Gad Farnham, Benjamin Webster, John Smith, Ebenezer Plumb, and John Marsh.
In March, 1780, the following inhabitants of this town were appointed Inspectors of Provisions for the Army, to wit, Mr. Asahel Strong, Capt. Miles Beach, Capt. Reuben Stone, Lieut. Thomas Catlin, Capt. Archibald McNiel, Jr., Ensign Jonathan Wright, Mr. Abel Camp, Jr., Lieut. Lemuel Harrison, Capt. Zebulon Taylor, Capt. Alexander Waughı, Mr. Edward Lins- ley and Mr. Levi Stone.
In the spring of 1780, in consequence of the distressed situ- ation of the army that had wintered at Morristown, Washing- ton appealed to Governor Trumbull for assistance, and he never appealed to him in vain. The following was related by the late George Washington Parke Custis to Charles Hosmer, Esq., of Hartford : A special messenger was despatched from Washington's head-quarters to Governor Trumbull, to ascer- tain whether he could rely on any supplies from Connecticut.
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PROVISIONS FOR THE ARMY.
The messenger was detained but a short time, when Governor Trumbull placed a sealed letter in his hand directed to Gen- eral Washington. The contents of the letter were unknown to the bearer, but he arrived safely in camp and delivered it to Washington. After the commander-in-chief had looked it over in the presence of Mr. Custis, he remarked in the words of the unbelieving Lord of Samaris-" If the Lord would make windows in heaven, might this thing be." He then read the letter aloud in the presence of Mr. Custis. Its purport was, that on a certain day, and at a certain hour of the day, he would receive at Newburgh, by a wagon-train from Hartford, 200 barrels of Flour, 100 barrels of Beef, and 100 barrels of Pork. It also contained a request that a guard might be sent to a place specified, for the protection of the train. Notwith- standing Washington's unbelief, he sent a horse guard, as re- quested. At the hour appointed, they saw the wagon-boys of Connecticut approaching with their train of provisions. This train passed through Litchfield on their way, where they obtain- ed some additional supplies. When Washington received these provisions, he remarked to Mr. Custis-" No other man than Governor Trumbull could have procured them, and no other State than Connecticut would have furnished them." Accompanying the train, Colonel Henry Champion had a drove of cattle which were tolled across the Hudson by the side of small boats. Col. Champion (who held the office of Commissary-General,) was father of the Rev. Judah Cham- pion and Mrs. Julius Deming, and the grandfather of Mrs. Asa Bacon, all of this town.
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