USA > Connecticut > The history of Connecticut, from the first settlement of the colony to the adoption of the present constitution, vol. I > Part 32
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* See Hutchinson, ii. 180; also, Bancroft and Trumbull.
+ Smith's New York, ii. 128, 130; Belknap's New Hampshire, i. 335; Trum- bull, i. 441, 442 ; Hutchinson, ii. 190, 198; Holmes, i, 505.
380
HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
in five weeks had raised and provisioned two armies of their own, besides providing supplies for the English fleet. Al- though the loss of life had fallen chiefly upon the English soldiers, the colonies still reflected with chagrin that the French flag yet floated from the heights of Quebec.
During the period covered by this chapter, several new townships were settled and organized, in addition to those already noted.
At the May session of the General Assembly, 1707, Hebron was incorporated. The settlement of this place was begun about three years previous to the above date. The first settlers of the town were William Shipman, Timothy Phelps, Caleb Jones, Samuel Filer, Stephen Post, Jacob Root, Samuel Curtis, Edward Sawyer, Joseph Youngs, and Benoni Trumbull. They were from Windsor, Saybrook, Long Island, and Northampton .*
In May of the following year, it was ordered that a town- ship should be laid out south-east of Woodstock, eight miles in length and six in breadth. The inhabitants on this tract were vested with town privileges, and the town was named Killingly. Among the early settlers whose descendants still inhabit the vicinity, were Messrs. Joseph Cady, James Dan- ielson, Sampson Howe, and Ephraim Warren.
Newtown, in the present county of Fairfield, was incor- porated at the October session, 1711.
A tract of country formerly granted by Joshua, sachem of the Mohegans, lying north of Lebanon and west of Mans- field, was laid out about this time, and the town was incorpora- ted by the name of Coventry at the October session, 1711.
A settlement was commenced in 1707, at a place called Weatinoge, on the Housatonick river. The Boardmans, Bostwicks, Gaylords, Nobles, Canfields, Camps, Hines, Bucks, Warners, &c., were among the early families who still retain
* Hebron is noted as the birth-place of many eminent men, among whom I may name, Dr. Benjamin Trumbull, the venerable Historian of Connecticut, Governor Peters, of this State, Governor Palmer, of Vermont, and Lieut. Gov- ernor Root, of New York.
381
POMFRET INCORPORATED.
[1713.]
an honorable position in the place. The town was incor- porated and named New Milford, in October 1712. The famous Moravian missionary, Count Zinzendorf, established a mission among the Indians at this point.
Pomfret, was incorporated in 1713. Some of the lands here had been settled upon as early as 1686. Among the early proprietors were Major James Fitch, Lieutenant Wil- liam Ruggles, Messrs. John Gore, John Pierpont, Benjamin Sabin, John Grosvenor, Nathan Wilson, Samuel Craft, Samuel and John Ruggles, and Joseph Griffin. Major General Israel Putnam, of the revolutionary army was a re- sident of this town .*
* For a more particular account of the above towns -- and indeed of all the towns in the State, I take pleasure in referring the reader to Barber's " Historical Collections of Connecticut."
CHAPTER XVIII.
WAR WITH THE EASTERN INDIANS.
ALTHOUGH the Treaty of Utrecht, bearing date April 1st, 1713,* had restored peace to the European powers, yet it did not entirely put an end to the troubles existing in America. The French Jesuits, who had extended their influence into the region lying to the eastward of New England, lost no opportunity to intensify the prejudices and hatred of the In- dian tribes who were under their control. On the other hand, the encroaching spirit of the English colonies, impel- ling their people to make new acquisitions of territory by means that could not always be justified, helped to quicken the embers of discontent into a flame.
Sebastian Ralle, the spiritual father of the Indians at Nor- ridgewock, and who had established a large Indian church there, was accused by the English who lived on the frontiers with fermenting disturbances among the natives, and es- pecially in relation to that most delicate matter, the tenure of their lands. Soon after Governor Shute entered upon his duties as governor of Massachusetts, he was induced, from the complaints that he heard from the eastern border settle- ments, to try what could be effected with the Indians there by treaty. With this view, he met the chiefs by appointment at Arrowsick Island, and after some delays succeeded in re- newing the treaty of 1713.t
This settlement of their hostilities does not seem to have been acceptable to Father Ralle, who was supposed to have done what he could to render it inoperative, and to incite the
* By this treaty between Great Britain and France, the latter surrendered to the British government, the Bay and Straits of Hudson, the island of St. Chris- topher, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland.
t A printed copy of this treaty is in the Library of the Massachusetts Historical Society. It bears date (as renewed) " George Town, in Arrowsick Island, Aug. 9,1717."
Eng. by D.C. Hinman from a crayon sketch by Rembrandt Peale in the possession of Geo. Gibbs, Esq.
OLIVER WOLCOTT.
eliv. Notion.
383
SHUTE AND THE PEOPLE.
[1720.]
Indians to acts of violence. Whether this is true or false, it is certain that the Indians were constantly depredating upon the English settlements, and it appears to be equally so, that they acted not without provocation.
In the year 1720, a party of Indians made a sudden attack upon Canso, a settlement in Nova Scotia, killed several of the inhabitants and plundered the place. A number of Frenchmen from Cape Breton, acted in concert and carried off the booty in their vessels. A reprisal followed, and this was succeeded by other depredations. The English were said to have sustained a loss of about £20,000, which the government at Louisbourg refused to make good, on the ground that the plunderers were not French subjects .*
The troubles at Canso, alarmed the people of eastern Massachusetts, and Colonel Walton, with a party of soldiers, was sent out to defend that part of the country. But as the disturbances still continued, Governor Shute, who had been in favor of an amicable settlement of these difficulties that had grown doubtless out of a disturbance of land titles dur- ing the war ending in the capture of Port Royal, now ordered Walton to inform the Indians that commissioners should be sent to determine all differences. The popular sentiment in Massachusetts was, however, opposed to a nego- tiation, and before the terms could be agreed on, the General Court was called and the house resolved that one hundred and fifty men should march forthwith to Norridgewock, and, sword in hand, compel the Indians there to make full restitu- tion for all the mischief that they had done. It was also re- solved that the sheriff of York county should have a war- rant to arrest Father Ralle and bring him to Boston; and that if that officer could not find him, the Indians should take him and deliver him up. It was also, radically enough, determined that if the Indians should refuse to betray their friend in this way, they should themselves be apprehended and brought as prisoners to Boston for punishment.t The
* Hutchinson, ii. 217, 218; Trumbull, ii. 60.
+ Hutchinson, ii. 218.
384
HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
governor and council, foreseeing that this summary proceed- ing would end in a vexatious war, refused to concur with the house .*
Thus the matter remained unsettled, until the next year, when about two hundred Indians with two French Jesuits, came down to Georgetown, on Arrowsick Island, and left a letter for the governor, filled with bitter complaints against the English. The old subject matter of complaint, the title to their lands, was the burden of the letter. Father Ralle was understood to be the author of the charges contained in it, and was said to have filled the hearts of the Indians with resentment.
While affairs remained in this uncertain condition, the sachem of the Norridgewocks died, and a new chief suc- ceeded him of a more pacific character. Through his influ- ence and the advice of the old counselors, hostages were soon after sent to Boston as pledges for the future good be- havior of the tribe, and as a guarranty for the liquidation of the old demands for damages. Still Ralle was thought to be active in fermenting disturbances and instigating the Indians to war. Mutual accusations followed, until at last the Eng- lish were so inflamed that at a meeting of the General Court of Massachusetts, on the 27th of August, it was resolved that three hundred men should be sent to the Indian head-quar- ters, to demand that the Jesuits should be surrendered up to the English. This demand was to be enforced by severe penalties. The council concurred and the governor reluc- tantly consented. Still, as he had the Indian hostages in keeping at the castle, he issued no order for the raising of the troops. Not long after this, however, the hostages es- caped, and the governor gave orders for levying the soldiers. These orders were countermanded as soon as the hostages were taken and sent back to Boston.t
In November, the General Court again met, when the house complained loudly of the governor for these delays.
* Trumbull ; Hutchinson ; Bancroft.
+ Trumbull.
385
UNION OF THE EASTERN TRIBES.
[1722.]
Reluctantly the council again consented that a party of sol- diers should be sent to Norridgewock to enforce the demands of the court.
When this party arrived at the principal village occupied by the tribe, not an Indian was to be found. They had been apprised of the coming of the English, and had fled into the woods, with Father Ralle, the chief object of pursuit, under their protection. Although disappointed in not obtaining possession of his person, the invading party succeeded in finding his books and papers, which they seized and carried off with them.
The Indians did not forget this act of violence, and in June of the next year a party of sixty warriors with twenty canoes, dropped suddenly into Merry Meeting Bay, and took nine families prisoners. Several incursions of a like charac- ter, though wanting the horrors usually attending a savage invasion, followed at brief intervals, and still showed how restless was the spirit of revenge that prompted them. Other Englishmen were taken captive from time to time. Finally, emboldened by success, the Indians burned the village of Brunswick, near Casco Bay. This led to a formal declara- tion of war on the part of Massachusetts.
The Penobscots, the Cape Sable Indians, and those at St. John's, and St. Francois, now joined with the Norridge- wocks, and mustered their braves for a bloody war. United as they were, they seemed likely to prove a terrible enemy. In July, they made a descent upon the coast, surprised Can- so and other harbors, and seized seventeen English fishing vessels. The Indians had learned to manage a sail with skill, and could use fire-arms. They now began to kill and scalp their prisoners in cold blood. They gathered in larger num- bers, too, as the war advanced. In September about five hundred of them made an attempt upon the village and fort at Arrowsick Island. The inhabitants flew from the village to the fort only to see their houses laid in ashes. It was not an easy task to defend the fort itself .*
* Holmes ; Hutchinson ; Trumbull.
25
386
HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
Now that war was declared, and its terrible signals began to beacon up along the coast and river settlements, shedding a baleful light upon the fortifications that even French valor had not been able to keep from the English, the people of the eastern border forgot their hatred of Father Ralle for awhile to reflect upon their own dangers. New York, too, began to be alarmed. Governor Shute, anxious to avert the calamity that he had used his best efforts to prevent, now addressed a letter to Governor Saltonstall, asking for men and supplies to carry on the war. He was imprudent enough to suggest, that if Connecticut declined to act in the matter, a portion of her militia should be put under his command. Nothing could have been more impolitic than such an allu- sion. It brought the images of Joseph Dudley and Lord Cornbury in a moment before the General Assembly. Un- luckily, too, Governor Burnet of New York had sent a let- ter seconding the request of Shute.
With great unanimity, both Houses resolved that the mis- chief done by a few eastern Indians, was not worthy to be dignified with the name of an invasion, and did not call for a general rally of the colonies from New Hampshire to Vir- ginia, to defend it. With much stateliness the legislature therefore declined to render any assistance beyond that of sending a detachment of fifty men into the new county of Hampshire, and putting the border towns of Connecticut in a posture of defense .* The Assembly was by no means satis- fied that the existing state of affairs was at all necessary, or that the part that Massachusetts had taken in it was law- ful.
In November, the General Court of Massachusetts con- vened, and appointed commissioners to treat with the six nations. They were instructed to offer these Indians a pre- mium for the scalps of the eastern Indians. The court resum- ed at this session the old quarrel with the governor, and finally succeeded in making him so unhappy that he embarked for England. He does not appear to have been a very astute
* Colonial Records, MS.
387
CONNECTICUT REFUSES TO FIGHT.
[1725.]
politician, but was certainly insulted and abused for doing what in all probability was right, in regard to a war that would not have broken out had his pacific and equitable counsels been followed .*
I pass by the details of Colonel Westbrook's expedition, the destruction of the church, castle, and village upon the Penobscot river, too like an Indian depredation to have owed its origin to a christian people, and the equally painful recital of the destruction of the village of Norridgewock, by Moul- ton, where only fifty of the inhabitants escaped the general massacre that resulted in the wanton murder of Father Ralle, the fruit of bigotry and revenge, and in the cruel butchery of the wife and helpless children of an Indian chief whose worst crime was, that he had killed a Mohawk while invad- ing his dwelling; nor need I speak of the shameful maraud of John Lovell, desecrating the banks of the Penobscot, and the shores of Winnepesiaukee in quest of scalps, for every one of which, the General Court of Massachusetts had offered the the stimulating reward of one hundred pounds. I will only say, Connecticut regarded the war itself as unnecessary, and shrunk with horror from the barbarities that their too ex- cited and deluded neighbors permitted to be perpetrated.
That she did nothing in this unhappy war beyond the de- fense of her own frontiers, and those of the county of Hampshire, solicited, as she was, again and again, affords an excellent illustration of the temperance of her statesmen, and the christian spirit that dictated her counsels.
The war cost her several thousand pounds, but as she acted solely on the defensive, not a single life was sacrificed in the colony.
Notwithstanding the continual excitement and alarm, and the exorbitant taxation, consequent upon these expeditions, the older towns in the colony continued to send out fresh re-
* Gov. Samuel Shute had served as lieut. colonel under the duke of Marlbo- rough. He arrived in Boston with his commission as governor of Massachusetts, Oct. 4, 1716 ; and sailed for England, Jan. 1, 1723. He died in 1742, aged 88 years.
388
HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
cruits to subdue the forests and form new settlements in the more remote wilderness.
In 1706, a few pioneers had established themselves upon certain lands in Ashford; and the number of settlers had so increased, that the town was incorporated in 1714. The brave Colonel Thomas Knowlton, of revolutionary renown, was a native of Ashford.
Tolland was incorporated in 1715. It was laid out six. miles square. The township was rough, and a large part of it was claimed by persons who were legatees of Uncas, the Mohegan sachem. These circumstances retarded the growth of the settlement, so that there were but twenty-eight fami- lies in the town in 1720. The names of some of the early settlers were, Stearns, Chapman, Grant, West, Carpenter, Dimock, and Aborne.
The township of Stafford, was surveyed in 1718, and the settlement began during the next spring. At the May ses- sion of the Assembly, 1719, the unsold lands in that town were ordered to be disposed of, "and the proceeds to be paid into the treasury of Yale College." The principal settlers were, Mr. Robert White and Mr. Matthew Thompson, from Europe ; the Warners, from Hadley ; the Blodgets, from Woborn ; Cornelius Davis, from Haverhill; Daniel Colburn, from Dedham ; John Pasco, from Enfield ; Josiah Standish, from Preston; Benjamin Rockwell, from Windsor; and Joseph Orcutt, from Weymouth.
The settlement at Bolton, commenced in 1716, but the first town meeting was not held until 1720. In October of the last mentioned year, the town was incorporated. The first settlers were of the names of Pitkin, Talcott, Loomis, Bissell, Strong, Olcott, and Bishop.
In 1720, a few settlers took up their abode upon the " west- ern lands," at a place called " Bantam." During the follow- ing year, several purchasers moved on to the tract from Hartford and Windsor. The town was surveyed, and laid out into sixty equal divisions or rights, three of which were reserved for public uses. The act of incorporation was
389
LITCHFIELD.
[1724.]
passed by the General Assembly at the May session, 1724. Among the first settlers whose descendants still remain in the town, were those bearing the names of Marsh, Buel, Baldwin, Birge, Beebe, Culver, Catlin, Goodwin, Gibbs, Garrett, Gris- wold, Kilbourn, Mason, Phelps, Peck, Stoddard, Sanford, Smedley, Webster, and Woodruff. This town at the time, of its incorporation, took the name of Litchfield, and has since 1751, been the shire town of a large county. It has also a history of its own that will unfold itself during the progress of this work. Its future reputation could hardly have been prophecied from its humble infancy in the midst of a wilderness hardly yet subdued.
CHAPTER XIX
WAR WITH FRANCE AND SPAIN. CAPTURE OF LOUISBOURG.
THE reign of George I. was now over, and his son, one of the most able monarchs of modern times, was just begin- ning to evince the strong intelligence and keen love of war that was in a few years to add so much to the territory and renown of the British empire.
In the fall of 1739, it appeared obvious to the General Assembly of Connecticut, that certain differences then dis- turbing the amicable relations of England and Spain, must soon lead to a war between the two powers. The Assembly, therefore, took speedy measures to place the colony in an attitude of defense. It was ordered that ten cannon, with suitable ammunition, should be provided, to increase the strength of the battery at New London, and that a well armed sloop of war should be employed to guard the coast. An order was further made to supply the feeble and remote towns with the means of protecting themselves, and the militia were formed into thirteen regiments-each regiment being officered by a colonel, a lieutenant-colonel, and a major .*
War meanwhile was declared against Spain, and the min- istry, glad to be rid of a clamorous and by no means insig- nificant opponent, and to assail the enemy in a weak point, resolved on sending Admiral Vernon upon an expedition where he would have an opportunity of making good some of his stately declarations as to the exploits that he could per- form if he were but invested with the command of a few ships. The Spanish West Indies, Porto Bello, Carthagena
* At the same session (Oct., 1739,) the governor was made captain general, and the deputy governor was made lieutenant-general of the militia of Con- necticut.
D. C. Hint iman Sc
MAJ. GEN. DAVID WOOSTER.
Dai, Woopen
Hollister's History of Comechent
391
PREPARATIONS AGAINST SPAIN.
[1740.]
and Cuba, were to be the principal objects aimed at by the government, and requisitions were made upon the colonies to furnish troops for this exciting theatre of naval opera- tions. The design was to raise four provincial regiments to be transported to Jamaica, where they were to be united with the main body of the British forces. The colonies were to provide all necessaries for the men thus raised by them, until they should reach this rendezvous. They were further expected to pay all the expenses of the transporta- tion. As the House of Brunswick owed its accession to the throne, and its perpetuity, to the fact that it was understood, to be the champion of protestantism, it is quite probable that the zeal manifested by England as well as by Connecticut in this war, was in part owing to the fact that Spain was a catholic power.
In July, 1740, a special assembly was called, and measures were very readily taken to answer to his majesty's demands to help forward the "expedition against the territories of the catholic king, in the West Indies."*
As soon as the requisition reached the governor of Con- necticut, he issued his proclamation making known the will of the crown, and calling upon those who were willing to volunteer for the service, to hold themselves in readiness. Committees were now appointed to superintend the military preparations, and to take the names of such as had decided to enlist. That every inducement might be offered to the citizens to join the expedition, the Assembly resolved that the governor and council should speedily appoint the officers for the troops, and that volunteer soldiers should have the privilege of selecting those under whom they would serve. His excellency was requested by the Assembly to issue a second proclamation, making known to the people with more particularity the will of the king, and again inviting those who were able-bodied to hand in their names to the committee in each county. That there might be no delay, the governor and committee of war were authorized
* Colonial Records, MS.
392
HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
to draw on the public treasury for such sums as they should deem necessary for the outfit. A sloop of war of six hun- dred tons burthen was ordered to be procured for the fur- ther protection of the coast.
At the preceding session, bills of credit had been issued to the amount of £30,000; and at the July session, the issue was increased £15,000 more-making in all £45,000 ;* an enormous sum, when we consider the object of the war, and the limited resources of the colony.
The preparations in England were pushed forward with singular dispatch. Money was appropriated without stint to fit out a fleet and armament that should at the same time satisfy the national pride and silence the clamors of the opposition.
In October, the armament sailed from England under the command of Lord Cathcart, whose talents and great popu- larity added something to the good auguries that seemed to attend the enterprise. His lordship was conveyed by twenty- five ships of the line, with a corresponding number of fri- gates, fire-ships, bomb-ketchers, tenders, hospital ships, and all the other enginery of mischief that even then attended the British flag, wherever it floated in hostile array over the ocean.
After the union of this large force, with that of Vice Admi- ral Vernon at Jamaica, the whole fleet amounted to twenty- nine ships of the line, and as many frigates.
There were fifteen thousand seamen. The land army, including the provincial troops, amounted to twelve thou- sand effective men. No fleet that could compare with it in size or perfect equipment had ever visited the West Indian seas. It is not surprising that Vernon, who had, with his few ships, as early as November, made good a part of his prophecy by taking and plundering Porto Bello and demol- ishing its fortifications, t should have felt his heart beat with pride when he saw himself at last at the head of such an armament. But he was doomed to bitter disappointment.
* Colonial Records, MS. + Univ. Hist. xii. 412, 416 ; Holmes, ii. 12.
1
[1741.]
THE FLEET DRIVEN FROM CARTHAGENA.
393
Lord Cathcart suddenly died before the union of the fleets was fully effected. His death threw the command of the army upon General Wentworth, who proved to be little more than an instrument in the hands of Vernon.
Intoxicated with his success at Porto Bello, and inflamed with the true English hatred of France, Vernon, instead of embracing the favorable moment to take possession of Car- thagena while it was in no condition to withstand his attacks, obtained a vote of the council of war to beat up against the wind to Hispaniola, with the hope of meeting with a French squadron that had been sent from Europe under the Mar- quis d'Autin to reinforce the Spaniards. This search ended in nothing but chagrin and disaster. The squadron that the British admiral was in quest of, was already far on its way to France, and before the fleet could again be in readiness to attack Carthagena, the garrison there had been so rein- forced by the French that it amounted to four thousand men .*
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