USA > Connecticut > The history of Connecticut, from the first settlement of the colony to the adoption of the present constitution, vol. II > Part 31
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 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59
On Monday, December 30, 1782, after a session of forty-
* The commissioners finally agreed upon were, Hon. William Whipple, of New Hampshire, Hon. Welcome Arnold, of Rhode Island, Hon. David Brearly, and Wm. Churchill Houston, esqrs., of New Jersey, Hon. Cyrus Griffin, Joseph Jones, esqrs., and Thomas Nelson, of Virginia.
356
HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
one judicial days, the court gave their decision in these words :
"We are unanimously of opinion that Connecticut has no right to the lands in controversy.
" We are unanimously of opinion, that the jurisdiction and pre-emption of all the territory lying within the charter of Pennsylvania, and now claimed by the state of Connecticut, do of right belong to the state of Pennsylvania."*
This decision, so explicitly and clearly expressed, put an end to the jurisdiction of Connecticut over the disputed terri- tory on the Susquehannah. The controversy between the settlers and the Pennsylvania government, however, was not to be quieted by the summary decree of Trenton. They felt that there was no reason or justice in thus surrender- ing them to the jurisdiction of their sworn and bitter enemies, not only without their consent, but without even being consulted. As the right of property in the lands which they had fairly purchased, and which their valor had so long defended, had not been decided by the commissioners, they knew that they were liable to be ejected from their homes whenever it might suit the interests or caprice of Pennsylvania. Notwithstanding a very humble and loyal petition to the legislature of Pennsylvania, had been drawn up and signed by some of the citizens of Wyoming, soon after the decision of the commissioners had been pro- mulgated, it would seem that a little time for reflection induced a large majority to resolve upon defending their rights, if need be, as they had long been in the habit of doing. The plausible proposals of the state commissioners, guardedly expressed as they were, they looked upon with suspicion and distrust. They knew their farms were claimed by others, and they reasonably enough presumed that the state com- missioners, as well as the legislature, who had long regarded them as outlaws, would be slow in meting out justice to them. Unaccustomed to conceal their true sentiments either through fear or favor, their verbal and written com-
* Miner's Hist., p. 308.
357
TERMS OF COMPROMISE.
[1783.]
munications with the emissaries of Pennsylvania were plain and honest.
On the 22d of April, 1783, the committee of the Penn- sylvania landholders sent an address to the state commis- sioners, "with their proposals of compromise." They say- "We are sorry to observe so much of the old leaven remain- ing in the people of Connecticut, and expressed in their last conference before your honors. Their humanity would, it seems, permit us and our associates to go anywhere over the wide world, no matter where, provided they may enjoy our lands ; they cannot conveniently spare us one foot for the support of our families. We think this an ungrateful return to the good people of the state, and far short of the expecta- tions of the legislature, whose humanity and pity alone pro- posed to consign to oblivion all past offences, by a law for that purpose." They then proceed to give their "terms of compromise," which are summed up as follows :
1st. Pledges to be given by the settlers, such as could not admit of denial or evasion, for their obedience.
2d. A disclaimer in writing, publicly, plainly, and unequivo- cally given, of all claims to the lands held under title from Con- necticut.
3d. The settler to take a lease of half his farm, for about eleven months, giving up possession at once of the other half. On the 1st of April following, he is to abandon his claims, home, and possession, to his adversary.
4th. The widows of those who had fallen by the savages, to be indulged in half their possessions a year longer.
5th. The Rev. Mr. Johnson, (the pastor,) to be allowed to occupy his grounds (under disclaimer and lease,) for two years .*
The committee of settlers, after suggesting that they do not think " the lawful defense of what they esteemed to be their own, can with any justice be termed a disaffection to government," added :
"As we conceive that the proposals of the committee,
* Hist. of Wyoming, p. 324, 325.
358
HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
which they offer as a compromise, will not tend to peace, as they are so far from what we deem reasonable, we cannot comply with them without doing the greatest injustice to ourselves and associates, to widows and fatherless children. And although we mean to pay due obedience to the constitu- tional laws of Pennsylvania, we do not mean to become abject slaves, as the committee of landholders suggest in their address to your honors."
The commissioners forthwith divided Wyoming into three towns, naming the two new ones Stoke and Shawnese. They appointed eight justices of the peace-only one of whom, (Colonel Denison,) had for years been an inhabitant of Westmoreland. Having been nine days in the valley, they withdrew on the 24th of April, and made their report to the Assembly, which convened early in August. They recommended that a reasonable compensation of lands, in the western part of the state, should be made to the families of those who had fallen in arms against the common enemy; and the same to such other settlers under the Connecticut title as "did actually reside on the lands at the time of the decree at Trenton, provided they immediately relinquish all claim to the soil where they now inhabit, and enter into con- tracts to deliver up full and quiet possession of their present tenures, to the rightful owners under Pennsylvania, by the first of April next."
The assembly of Pennsylvania confirmed the doings of the commissioners, and applauded the terms proposed to the Con- necticut people as "generous offers." Captain Patterson, a bitter enemy of the settlers, having been appointed the special agent of the state, took up his abode in the valley, and with two companies of Pennsylvania militia to enforce his orders, he commenced his arbitrary rule. These soldiers were quar- tered upon the settlers ; and in some cases where special oppression was designed, eight or ten were quartered upon a single family. As Colonel Butler had been conspicuous in his opposition to Pennsylvania, twenty were thrust upon him, · notwithstanding his wife was ill, and his accommodations
359
NEW PROCESS OF EJECTMENT.
[1783.]
very limited. The soldiers were extremely insolent, and they were protected in their flagrant outrages by the agent. Colonel Butler and Captain Franklin were arrested and sent to jail-the latter, for trespass, in attempting to cultivate his lands .*
The settlers petitioned the assemblies of Pennsylvania and Connecticut, as well as Congress, for redress, without any effectual remedy.t To add to their distresses, an unprece- dented flood occurred in March, which, in the vicinity of the village of Wilkesbarre, swept off many houses, barns, stacks of hay and grain, and in some instances cattle and horses.
With the opening of spring followed scenes that defy description. The soldiers were set to work in April, to remove the fences of the settlers, and lay out the lands accord- ing to the surveys of Pennsylvania. The old highways were fenced up, and new ones opened far away from the houses of the settlers. The inhabitants were not allowed to obtain water from their wells, draw their nets for fish, cut a stick of timber, or provide shelters for their families. On the 13th and 14th of May, the soldiery went forth, and at the point of the bayonet dispossessed one hundred and fifty families, in many instances setting fire to their dwellings. Unable to resist such a force, they appealed to the law for protection; but the magistracy shielded the offenders. The scenes that followed the massacre were re-enacted in the vicinity of Wyoming. Five hundred men, women and children-infants in their mothers' arms, and old men on crutches-were
* Colonel Zebulon was born in Lyme, Conn., in 1731; he served as a captain in the old French war; and emigrated to Wyoming in 1769. His subsequent career as the military leader of the settlement is well known. He died, July 28, 1795, aged sixty-four.
t As the claim of Connecticut to the jurisdiction of Wyoming had been officially declared void, of course her assembly could afford no relief in the premises. In Congress, on motion of Mr. Jefferson, chairman of the committee, it was resolved, Jan. 23, 1784, "That a court, under the ninth article of the confederation, should be raised, to try and determine the private right of soil, as derived from Pennsyl- vania and Connecticut." A spirited remonstrance from the Pennsylvania assem- bly, adopted in February, arrested further proceedings.
360
HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
driven from the valley. As the paths they were compelled to take were impassable for wagons, most of the crowd traveled on foot-wading streams and sleeping on the naked earth. Several died in the forests, and others were taken sick, and only lived to reach the settlements. After a journey of seven days, they arrived at a town on the Delaware, from which point they diverged.
The treatment of the settlers produced an intense feeling wherever the facts became known. An appeal was made in their behalf to the Pennsylvania legislature, and that body ordered the instant dismissal of the troops that had been stationed in the valley. Sheriff Antis hastened to Wyoming, and dispatched messengers after the exiles, promising them his protection if they would return. A large part of them did return, but it was only to suffer a repetition of their former troubles. The sheriff found his authority powerless ; the houses and lands of the returning fugitives were in possession of Pennsylvanians, who refused to yield them up ; and the iron rule of Patterson was still unbroken. The Connecticut men once more rallied under the leadership of Captain John Franklin, their old and tried favorite. Civil war again crimsoned those fair fields with blood. As, however, the valley had ere this ceased to be a part of Connecticut, I cannot follow its history in detail any further.
The contest continued to rage for several years, and fre- quent collisions took place between the contending parties. In spite of the persecuting spirit manifested by Pennsylvania, emigrants from New England occasionally found their way into the valley. The Connecticut settlers and their associates increased in number and influence; and their cause found many earnest advocates in distant states. In 1787, General Ethan Allen, of Vermont, ever a firm friend of the oppressed, visited Wyoming ; and, though his purposes were not divulged, "it was not doubted that his object was to reconnoitre, and concert measures for early and decisive action."* By this time, the great design of the party in Wyoming and their
* Miner's Hist. of Wyoming, p. 412.
361
COLONEL PICKERING IN RETIREMENT.
friends abroad, was declared to be, to form a new state in the valley of the Susquehannah. After suffering and enduring so much from the government of Pennsylvania, it is not impossi- ble that the settlers had at last conceived the idea of severing their connection with it, and asserting their claim to be a free and independent state .* Upon this charge, at all events, Colonel Franklin was forcibly seized in September, and car- ried to Philadelphia, where, after a long imprisonment on a charge of treason, he was released on bail, and the prosecu- tion was finally abandoned.+
Colonel Pickering, one of the Pennsylvania commissioners, was known to have participated in the arrest of Franklin, and it was suspected that it was through his influence that he was so long kept in prison. By way of retaliation, on the night of June, 1783, a party of settlers proceeded to the house of Colonel Pickering, seized him and carried him off as a hostage for Colonel Franklin. They retained him for nine- teen days, during which time, four companies of militia, a troop of horse, and the sheriff and posse, were almost con- stantly engaged in searching for him. His keepers eluded the vigilance of the officers, by carrying their prisoner with them from place to place, as circumstances dictated. They finally released him voluntarily. Rewards were offered for the arrest of the persons who were engaged in the abduction of Colonel Pickering. Some of them were arrested, tried, and convicted ; four were fined twenty shillings, and sentenced to be imprisoned for six months, nine were fined one hundred dollars each, and one was fined fifty dollars. Nearly all who were imprisoned were allowed to escape immediately after court adjourned.į
* According to the testimony introduced into the "History of Wyoming," a constitution for the new state had been actually drawn up by Oliver Wolcott, and it was understood that Major William Judd, of Farmington, Conn., was to be the first governor, and Colonel John Franklin, lieutenant-governor.
t Colonel Franklin was born in Canaan, Conn., in 1749. He was a represen- tative in the legislatures of Pennsylvania and Connecticut; high sheriff of the county of Luzerne ; judge of the county court, &c. He died March Ist, 1831, aged eighty-two years.
# Colonel Timothy Pickering, was one of the most remarkable men of his day.
362
HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
Compromising and confirming laws were at length passed by the legislature of Pennsylvania, under which the Con- necticut settlers were allowed to retain their farms, and peace and harmony were restored.
I have thus recited a few only of the sickening details that have given the loveliest of all the towns of Connecticut the strange fascination that belongs to human sorrow. The massacre that has given the valley such a fearful interest to the reader of American history, was the most signal of all the butcheries that have been perpetrated upon the citizens of Connecticut under the sanction of the British flag, not only on account of the agents used in consummating it, but because women, children, and helpless infancy, were sacrificed upon a common field.
But the fate of Wyoming has not remained unhonored and unsung. Wherever the language that proclaims the con- quering power of the blood that flows in our veins, is spoken or read, the same page that records the cruelty of British rule and the sharpness of the British sword, tells the world of the sorrowing pity of the British muse, in the tale of "GERTRUDE OF WYOMING."
He was successively postmaster-general, secretary of war, secretary of state, mem- ber of Congress, and United States Senator from Massachusetts. He died in Salem, Mass., Jan. 29, 1829, in the eighty-fourth year of his age.
CHAPTER XVI.
BRANDYWINE, GERMANTOWN, AND HORSE-NECK.
IN tracing the history of the Connecticut settlements on the Susquehannah, it was found necessary, in order to a proper understanding and final disposal of the subject, to anticipate somewhat the chronological data previously observed in my general narrative of events. The reader will now go back with me to the autumn and winter of 1777.
While the northern army under Schuyler and Gates were pursuing those measures which, as we have seen, resulted in the capture of Burgoyne, the army under Washington had not been idle. On the 11th of September, the battle of the Brandywine was fought between the Americans under Wash- ington, Greene, Sullivan, Wayne, Lincoln, Lafayette, and Pulaski, and the British commanded by Howe, Cornwallis, Grey, Knyphausen, Mathew, and Agnew. The action proved disastrous to the Americans-their loss in killed, wounded and prisoners, being estimated at twelve or thirteen hundred .* The loss of the British was from six to seven hundred. Among the wounded was the Marquis de Lafayette, who had recently arrived in this country with several other French officers.t
The American army retired to Chester, and the next day to Philadelphia. After the removal of the magazines, public stores, and much private property, Congress adjourned to Lancaster, and the city was evacuated by the Americans. Howe soon entered the city, but the bulk of the British army
* Gordon, ii. 226.
t The services of Lafayette had been secured by Mr. Silas Deane, of Connec- ticut, who had been sent to France as the secret agent of Congress. Though Mr. Deane was censured for going beyond the strict line of his instructions, it cannot be denied that his agency in that country resulted in great good to our cause.
364
HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
still remained at Germantown, about ten miles distant. Washington had encamped near the Schuylkill, some fourteen miles from Germantown, where he was reinforced by the Maryland and New Jersey militia. Learning that two or three detachments of the British were absent from camp, Washington determined to improve the opportunity by attacking the main body of the army who still remained at their quarters near Germantown. Accordingly he set out with his troops, and, after marching nearly all night, arrived at the place of his destination about sunrise, on the morning of the 4th of October. The enemy were taken entirely by surprise, and at the commencement of the engagement the Americans anticipated an easy victory. The morning was so dark and foggy, however, that the officers were not able to know their own position or that of the British. They were also entirely ignorant of the quarters of several divisions of the enemy, and consequently knew not where to make an attack, except upon the troops that con- fronted them in the street. For awhile the Americans were successful; but by the arrival on the ground of reinforce- ments from the British quarters, the tide of victory was soon turned. Our forces were now compelled to retreat, and were closely pursued by the British, for a distance of five miles, and a few continued the chase for twice that distance. Most of our army found their way back to their encampment on the Schuylkill. The British loss in this battle was about six hundred ; that of the Americans was not less than one thousand, including four hundred who were taken prisoners.
In both of these battles, Connecticut bore an active and hon- orable part. Colonel Heman Swift was present with his regi- ment, and did good service .* Other Connecticut officers and men participated in those unfortunate actions. Lieut. James Morris, of Litchfield, a highly meritorious officer, commanded
* The regiments of Colonels Swift and Bradley were raised in the western part of Connecticut. Of one company David Strong, of Sharon, was appointed lieutenant, and he enlisted several recruits-one of whom, David Goodrich, of that town, was killed at the battle of Brandywine. Sedgwick's Hist. of Sharon.
365
LIEUTENANT JAMES MORRIS.
[1777.]
the company that led one of the columns in the first attack at Germantown, and consequently was in the rear in the retreat. He was pursued ten miles, before he was taken prisoner .* Major Benjamin Tallmadge was a field officer at Brandy wine and at Germantown.
While the British remained in full possession of Phila- delphia, Washington sent off Lieutenant-Colonel Smith, of the Maryland line, with two hundred men, to take possession of the fort on Mud Island, a little below the city, at the junction of the Delaware and Schuylkill,
* The following petition from Lieutenant (afterwards Captain) Morris, and a brother officer, is well worthy of preservation :
" To His Excellency Sir William Howe, K. B., general and commander-in- chief of his majesty's forces in America.
" The memorial of James Morris, lieutenant in the fourth Connecticut regiment, and Samuel Mills, quarter-master to the said troops, in the second regiment of American cavalry-humbly sheweth-
" That your excellency's memorialists being now prisoners of war confined in the new jail -the first captivated at Germantown, on the 4th of October last, and ever since that time has been in confinement, the latter captivated on the 15th of December ult., at which time he received several wounds and had the privilege of his parole in this city, but is now and has been for some time past in confinement. Your excellency's memorialists entreat that their present situation and circum- stances might be taken into consideration, when, after so long a confinement, and if continued, especially at this season of the year, will probably impair their health if not put an end to their lives. Also, they being at a great distance from their homes, both belonging to the state of Connecticut, from which cause they cannot receive such supplies as are necessary.
" Your excellency's memorialists request that he would in his clemency grant them their parole (which they will sacredly keep,) to retire into the country to their respective homes, until such time as they shall be regularly exchanged, or remain in the country for any period of time your excellency shall be pleased to appoint. If this cannot be granted, they crave an indulgence of a parole to this city ; and if any further security be wanting than their parole of honor, they stand ready to produce it.
" Your excellency's indulgence will ever be acknowledged with gratitude.
" By your Memorialists,
" JAMES MORRIS, " SAMUEL MILLS."
On the 16th of May, after being confined more than seven months, Lieutenant Morris was admitted on parole to board in a private family in the city.
Colonel Ephraim Kirby, of Litchfield, was wounded at Germantown, and left for dead upon the field-but being taken care of by a friend, he recovered.
366
HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
which he effected. The second in command of this expedi- tion was Lieutenant-Colonel Russell, of the Connecticut line, who, when Colonel Smith was wounded, on the 11th of November, took the chief command of the garrison, and made a gallant defense. But as he had become worn out with fatigue and illness, he soon requested to be re-called, and Major Thayer, of the Rhode Island line, after being rein- forced, was appointed to the command. By the combined efforts of the British fleet, and of the artillery on shore, on the 15th of November the defenses were levelled with the ground after more than two hundred and fifty of the garri- son had been killed and wounded .*
At the October session of the General Assembly of Con- necticut, Messrs. Roger Sherman, Eliphalet Dyer, Oliver Wolcott, Samuel Huntington, Titus Hosmer, Oliver Ells- worth, and Andrew Adams, were appointed delegates to the General Congress. It was ordered that all the tents in the state should be immediately sent to the militia that had marched, or were about to march, to reinforce General Put- nam at Peekskill; also, that a sufficient number of canteens, kettles and pots, for fifteen hundred men, should be imme- diately sent to Peekskill, for the use of our soldiers there.t Provision was made for the payment of the wages and bounty of the officers and soldiers, and to supply them with the necessary food and clothing.
General Oliver Wolcott stated to the Assembly, that, upon the requisition of General Gates, he had, during the preced-
* Captain Nathan Stoddard, of Woodbury, was killed by a cannon ball during the siege, Nov. 15th, 1777. He had stepped upon the walls of the intrench- ment to see how the battle progressed, when the ball struck his head, cutting it entirely from his body. The late Lieutenant John Strong, of Woodbury, who was standing near him at the time, was wont to relate that, for a moment after the occurrence, the headless body of Captain Stoddard stood erect, as in life, before falling. Cothren's Hist.
+ Jonathan Wells, in the first brigade, Elnathan Camp, in the second, Jonathan Deming, in the third, Wm. Hawley, in the fourth, Samuel Gray, in the fifth, and Lynde Lord, in the sixth brigade, were appointed a committee to provide the tents, pots, kettles and other utensils, for the use of General Putnam, and to forward them to him forthwith.
367
VALLEY FORGE.
[1777.]
ing month, marched to the north with from three to four hundred of the militia of his brigade, together with a com- pany of light-horse, and a few of the thirteenth regiment of volunteers ; that with these troops he joined the continental army under General Gates, and continued in service until the capture of Burgoyne. He desired that the legislature would cancel certain obligations incurred during the cam- paign-which request was readily granted .*
Washington, previous to these battles, had sent to the High- lands for twelve hundred men ; and he soon learned that the posts, thus weakened, had fallen into the hands of the enemy. Early in December, he established his winter-quarters at Valley Forge, "a piece of high and strong ground on the south side of the Schuylkill, about twenty miles from Phila- delphia."+ At this point, eleven thousand soldiers spent the winter, in log huts, which were arranged in rows like the streets of a city. The Connecticut troops shared, with their brothers from the other states, the destitution and rigors of that memorable winter. Half naked and bare-foot, beside being destitute of wholesome food, nearly three thousand soldiers were at one time reported as unfit for duty. For some time after the army retired to its winter-quarters, Major Tallmadge was stationed with a corps of dragoons between the two armies-a position which brought him into several conflicts with the enemy.
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.