USA > Connecticut > The history of Connecticut, from the first settlement to the present time > Part 18
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The Simsbury mine having passed into the hands of Andrew Fresman and Charles Cornelia, of New- York, in 1721 the Assembly appointed commis- sioners to divide it among several lessees, with au- thority to settle disputes, &c. ; but the vein was ex- hausted after it had been followed to a considera- ble depth, and never yielded much profit. The excavations were afterward used as a prison for many years, and called Newgate, in which, ac- cording to the erroneous system so universal in Europe as well as America until the recent ref- orration in prison discipline, convicts were plun- ged in gloom and darkness, and cut off from al- most all the means of improvement, while they were exposed to the worst sort of contamination-the society of each other.
The first attempts to counterfeit the money of the colony are mentioned about the year 1735, when, to avoid its ill effects, a new emission was made of paper bills, of £5, 10s., and 20s., to the amount of £20,000. The care taken to guard against a surplus of paper money prevented it from depreciating before the Spanish war in 1740.
261
1715.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
1
CHAPTER XXXII. 1715.
The Repeal of the Charter apprehended. - The Danger re- moved .- Rallé's War between the Eastern Indians and the Colonies .- Previous Exertions of Governor Shute to concili- ate and instruct them .- Intrigues of Rallé .- Dissensions in the Massachusetts Legislature .- Attempt to seize him .- The second Expedition rout the Indians, and Rallé is killed .- -Peace sought by the Indians, and amicable Relations estab- lished .- Dissensions and Mob in Connecticut about Land- claims .- Settled by a Division .- Manufactures and Products.
NEw dangers to the charter appeared in 1715, when a bill was brought into the Parliament of England to repeal the charters of all the colonies. Mr. Dummer, the agent in London, was instructed how to proceed ; and he made so powerful a plea, and sustained it with such facts, that the king in council gave a favourable decision, and the colony was relieved from the apprehension of arbitrary in- terference. There was room for fear, however, on another side ; for seven of the lords proprietors of the Carolinas had agreed to resign their titles and to give up the jurisdiction to his majesty, and an act of Parliament had passed authorizing the king to purchase the land. Massachusetts also had refused a permanent salary to Governors Shute and Burnet, and otherwise so treated them that the king had censured the colony, and there was reason to think her charter might be revoked as the former one had been. Besides, John Winthrop, son of the late governor, had gone to England to appeal against the courts of the colony, for settling
262
THE PENOBSCOT INDIANS.
[1729.
his father's estate in favour of his sister, Mrs. Lynchmere. On an ex.parte hearing in England, the law of the colony respecting intestate estates was repealed, because it did not secure the prop- erty to male heirs. This threw the colony into great alarm ; and Jonathan Belcher was appointed an assistant agent to act with Mr. Dummer in England, and to petition in favour of the law.
In 1719 the House of Commons declared " that the erecting manufactories in the colonies tended to lessen their dependance upon Great Britain."
In 1729 the Assembly addressed their agents a most anxious letter, in which they expressed great fears about the charter : but it appears that all these dangers soon passed away; the abrogated law was restored, and the charter was left un- touched ; for the God in whom the colony pecu- liarly trusted again interposed in their favour. The agents were the same year dismissed ; and, in 1730, Francis Wilkes, of London, was appointed in their place. Mr. Belcher, who had been made governor of Massachusetts, arrived at Boston in August, and assumed the duties of that office.
The Penobscot Indians, inhabiting Maine, who had long been the enemies of the colonies, in con- sequence of the influence exercised over them, by which they had been brought into superstitious subjection, soon broke out again into hostility, and caused great injury and loss, especially to the col- onies in their immediate neighbourhood. It was well known that the French, as well as the Span- iards, in their operations among heathen of differ- ent countries, pursued one general plan, by which they gained an ascendancy over those who sub-
263
1717.]
HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
mitted to them, like that which is exerted over the ignorant populace of Spain and Italy, and by similar means, viz., by making them superstitious, and by keeping them in ignorance, especially of the Scriptures. It was a fundamental doctrine with the descendants of the Pilgrims, as it had been of the Pilgrims themselves, that the Word of God was the only proper source of intellectual and moral light, and that true civilization must neces- sarily follow wherever it went before. This doc- trine had been supported by their own experience : for, so far as the Indians in the colonies had em- braced the Bible, they had derived from it the hap- piest benefits.
Knowing that the eastern Indians, the Penob- scots especially, would be their implacable enemies so long as they should remain under the influence of the French priests, and wishing, on account of the savages, as well as their own, to avoid the war which now threatened, Massachusetts made great exertions, in the year 1717, to acquire their con. fidence, and to teach them some of the truths so doubly important to them at that conjuncture. General Shute proceeded to Arowsick Fort, ac- companied by several members of the councils of Massachusetts and New Hampshire and other gen- tlemen, and had a conference with the Penobscots. He presented them with one of Eliot's Bibles, in English and Indian, and recommended to them a minister who was in his company: but, as might have been expected, they declined the offer, giv- ing the preference to their own teacher (though he never taught them even to read), and did not re- ceive the Bible, which, indeed, could have done them no good until they could read it.
264
ATTEMPT TO CAPTURE RALLE. [1721.
The governor then proceeded to hear the com. plaints of the Indians ; and many of them, acting at first at the direction of the Jesuit Ralle, disa- vowed the treaty of 1713, by which they had sold land east of the Kennebeck, and were near pro- ceeding to hostilities : but the old men interposed, the treaty was acknowledged, and they parted as friends. The hostile Indians, however, threatened the frontier villages so much for several years, that they were deserted for a considerable time. Gov- ernor Shute in vain proposed to the House of Rep- resentatives many pacific measures to conciliate the Indians : there was a party blindly opposed to him; and the intrigues of the French, and the ill conduct of some of the Indian traders, irritated them so much that they finally broke out again in hostility. Some of them took Canso, in Nova Scotia, in 1720 ; and the French assisted in carry- ing away the plunder. It had just been settled by people from Massachusetts ; and the loss was about £20,000: yet the governor of Louisburg refused to make any redress.
The Massachusetts House of Representatives were eager for energetic measures against the leaders of the hostile Indians, especially against Rallé, whom they considered their chief instiga- tor, and who treated the English with contempt and hatred : but the governor and council still op- posed them ; and it was not till November, 1721, that a party was sent to capture him. They found Norridgewock deserted, and got nothing but some of Ralle's papers. The governor of Canada now exerted himself against the colonies, and engaged the Indians in his neighbourhood to make a gen-
.
265
1723.]
HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
eral war. Brunswick in Maine was burned, and several other places were attacked. War was de- clared by the governor of Massachusetts on the 25th of July, 1722 ; and 300 men were sent against the Indians.
Connecticut was called upon to furnish men and ammunition, by letters from the governors of Mas- sachusetts and New-York, who proposed, as an al- ternative, that the militia should be placed under their command. The Assembly, however, refused, on the ground that there was no such invasion as could require the aid of all the colonies, expressing · their readiness to afford assistance in any such case of necessity. 'They, however, sent fifty men to gar- rison and scout in Hampshire county, and others to their own frontiers. Governor Shute having left Massachusetts in disgust early in 1723, Lieutenant. Governor Dummer prosecuted the war, and attempt- ed, though in vain, to enlist the Five Nations against the enemy, who continued their murders and depredations, and kept in alarm the extensive line from the eastern part of Maine to the western part of Massachusetts. Fifty Connecticut soldiers were withdrawn from the fort in Northfield, Massachu- setts, at an ill time, in October : for it was attack. ed the next day by seventy Indians, who killed and wounded several of those who remained. In the winter more papers of Ralle fell into the hands of Captain Moulton, who marched to Norridgewock with a party of men, hoping to surprise the place. From these it clearly appeared that he was indeed the chief mover of the Indians to war. Captain Moulton left the village and church without injury. This act of humanity and moderation was the more Z
266
DEATH OF RALLÉ.
[1724.
commendable, because the war was unprovoked, and carried on at a time when the two mother countries were at peace.
Before this time, viz., in October, the Connecti- cut Assembly had directed that inquiries should be made of the government of Massachusetts con- cerning the origin and prospects of the contest; and that, in case of danger, a committee of war should be formed, authorized to send out sixty white troops and sixty Indians. The enemy continued their attacks, killed a number of people in different places, and at length undertook a cruise along the coast of Maine in a captured schooner, armed with two swivels ; and, although a small force was sent against them, they were not reduced, but took many more vessels and prisoners.
On the 23d of August, however, a band of 208 men, under the command of Captains Harman, Moulton, and Bourne, struck a fatal blow, by cap- turing Norridgewock by surprise, and destroying most of the warriors there. Ralle was numbered among the slain after the engagement. He had brought a most harassing and cruel war upon the eastern colonies, through antipathy to the friends of truth and liberty, as the people believed. He was shot, however, in disobedience to the express or- ders of the commander, who greatly deplored his destruction in that manner, although he had mer- ited his reward. Besides his other atrocious con- duct, an English boy of fourteen was found in his wigwam, whom he had kept a prisoner six months, and had shot through the thigh and stabbed, but who afterward recovered. The excuse given for killing Ralle contrary to orders was, that he was
267
1724.]
HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
loading his gun, and refused to give or receive quarter. The English killed several women and children in this battle; being maddened, like wild beasts, by the inhuman business of war.
The Massachusetts troops now traversed Maine in different directions, but found no Indians. Sev- eral parts of that colony, however, were harassed so much, that Colonel Stoddard came to Hartford to urge the Assembly to assist in prosecuting the war : but he was told that Connecticut was not fully satisfied of the justice of it, although Governor Sal- tonstall, at the request of Massachusetts, had been in Boston to make inquiries. The request was therefore refused ; and this probably had some in- fluence in leading to the propositions for peace which were soon afterward made.
While the war had occupied most of the attention . of the people of Massachusetts and New-Hamp- shire, much had been done in making new settle- ments in Connecticut. Litchfield, Tolland, and several of their neighbouring towns, had been be- gun or incorporated. Some Hartford and Wind. sor people, however, who claimed the territory be- tween Woodbury, west of Farmington and Sims- bury, and east of the Housatonic up to the Mas- sachusetts line, under a grant made for the sake of precaution in the time of Sir Edmund Andross, at- tempted to hold the land in opposition to the gov- ernment ; and some of them were imprisoned at Hartford. A mob, however, assembled, forced open the jail, and released them ; and the unlawful acts were repeated. The rioters were so strong that they were with difficulty brought to trial by Colonel Whiting, Major Talcott, and others, and
268
MANUFACTURES AND PRODUCTS. [1731.
fined about £20 each. Even after this, other per- sons laid out a town at Goshen, and were selling the land ; when a committee was appointed to con- fer with them, which effected an amicable settle- ment after two years, by giving to Hartford and Windsor the eastern half of the territory in dis- pute, which was subsequently divided equally be- tween them.
Some of the manufacturers and merchants of England had become so much alarmed by the in- dustry of some of the colonies, and their success in different kinds of manufacture, that in 1731 they petitioned Parliament to restrict them ; and the Board of Trade were ordered by the House of Commons to inquire and report "with respect to laws made, manufactures set up, or trade carried on, detrimental to the trade, navigation, or manu- factures of Great Britain." Among other things, that report states, that in Connecticut, as well as the rest of New-England, Pennsylvania, and Som- erset county, Maryland, they had " fallen into the manufacture of woollen cloth and linen cloth, for the use of their own families only," in consequence of the case with which flax and hemp ware raised, and the abundance of wool. which would otherwise be "entirely lost." The Board remarked : " It were to be wished that some expedient might be fallen upon to direct their thoughts from underta- kings of this nature ; so much the rather, because these manufactures, in process of time, may be carried on in greater degree, unless an early stop be put to their progress, by employing them in naval stores." It proved, however, a difficult thing whoi- ly to divert the attention of the people from these
1
269
HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
1731.]
necessary labours ; and, although the British gov- ernment pursued a course of severe policy to- wards them for many years, they did not wholly succeed, but rather fostered that spirit of dissatis- faction which alienated the colonies from the moth- er-country.
There were, at that time, six iron furnaces and nineteen forges in New.England ; great numbers of hats were made, and exported to Spain, Portu- gal, and the West Indies; and many ships were built " for the French and Spaniards, in return for rum, molasses, wines, and silks, which they truck there by connivance." No answers were received from the governor of Connecticut, but it is said to have had but inconsiderable manufactures, the people being generally " employed in tillage ;" and the Board said, " We find, by some accounts, that the produce of this colony is timber, boards, all sorts of English grain, hemp, flax, sheep, black cat- tle, swine, horses, goats, and tobacco ; that they export horses and lumber to the West Indies, and receive in return sugar, salt, molasses, and rum." Z 2
270
THE SPANISH WAR.
[1739.
CHAPTER XXXIII. 1739.
The Spanish War, 1745 .- " The Old French War." ___ War ex- pected between England and Spain. - Preparations. - De- clared in 1739 .- Forces required against the Spanish Islands. -- Havana taken, but abandoned in consequence of a great Mortality in the Army .- Declaration of War by France .- Canso taken by the French .- The Northern Colonies deter- mine alone to send an Expedition against Louisburg .- As- sisted by Admiral Warren, they capture it after a Siege,- Important Consequences. - Campaign of 1746. - Powerful English and French Armaments prepared for America .- The Pretender's Insurrection in Scotland .- The English Fleet not sent .- The French Fleet dispersed .- Campaign of 1747 .- Peace of Aix-la-chapelle .- American Conquests restored to the French.
A WAR between England and Spain was appre- hended in 1739, in consequence of the unfriendly aspect of affairs in those two countries ; and Con- necticut would of course have reason to expect to suffer from hostile fleets, as her coast was exposed to invasion, and her shipping to capture. The As- sembly, in October, ordered ten cannon and a sup- ply of ammunition to be placed at New-London, and an armed sloop-of-war to be prepared for de- fence. Provision was also made for the protection of the frontiers : the militia were formed into thir- teen regiments, with a colonel, licutenant-colonel, and major for cach.
War was actually declared on the 13th of Octo. ber, and requisition was soon made on the colonies for four regiments, to meet a British force at Jamai- ca, destined against the Spanish West Indies. The
271
1744.]
HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
Assembly provided for the enlistment of volunteers and the appointment of officers, and the providing of transports and food till they should join the army at Jamaica. On the 9th of January, 1740, Lord . Cathcart reached that island from England, with twenty-five ships of the line, and a number of frigates and smaller vessels, where, after his death, it was joined by Vice-admiral Vernon, with four ships of the line, &c. There were, in all, 15,000 seamen, and full 12,000 soldiers, including 4000 from the colonies. General Wentworth now suc- ceeded to the command; and, after wasting time in endeavours to intercept a French fleet, attacked Carthagena, on the Spanish Main, after it had been re-enforced, and failed in the attempt with loss, al- though some valuable Spanish vessels were cap- tured.
The next object was Cuba; and Havana was taken: but the mortality was such that it was abandoned, after the loss of a thousand men daily for some time. The misfortunes of this expedition fell heavily upon New-England. Nearly a thou- sand men had been furnished by those colonies, of whom not a hundred returned. Massachusetts lost 450 out of 500.
In 1741, about 2000 men from the southern col- onies attacked Florida, but effected nothing im- portant ; and in 1742, a Spanish force of about 3000 men landed on the Altamaha, but were driv- en back by a stratagem of General Oglethorpe.
France declared war against England on the 4th of March, 1744. The news reached Louisburg before it was received in the English colonies ; and Canso was surprised and taken by Duvivoir, from
272
EXPEDITION AGAINST LOUISBURG. [1744.
that place. French cruisers soon appeared on the coast, in such numbers that fishing and commerce were stopped; and it was generally determined that Louisburg should be taken, if possible.
Governor Shirley, of Massachusetts, proposed that a large provincial army should be raised, and ships sent to cruise against that place : but the plan was long debated before it was adopted. New- England unanimously agreed to engage in the un- dertaking : but the southern colonies refused ; and, an embargo having been laid, the Assembly of Connecticut voted to raise 500 men, which was its proposed quota, while Massachusetts raised 3250, and Rhode Island and New-Hampshire 300 each. In Connecticut, a bounty of £10 was given to every soldier coming furnished, and £3 to cach of those who came unprovided ; and the monthly pay was £8, while they were to be under their own officers as far as might be consistent with the good of the service. Roger Wolcott, the deputy-governor, was appointed commander-in-chief of the Connecticut troops, which sailed from New-London under con- voy of the colony sloop, the Defence. The whole expedition was put under the command of Colonel Pepperell, and Governor Wolcott was made second in command.
Twelve ships and vessels were collected, and some of them sent to cruise off Louisburg, to inter- cept aid from France. These were all the mari- time force of New-England ; and it was necessary to procure ten eighteen pounders from New-York. On the 23d of April, the expedition was joined at Canso by Admiral Warren from the West India station, in the Superb of sixty guns. and two other
273
1744.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
vessels of forty guns. They proceeded to Louis- burg, and soon commenced a regular siege, during which several French ships were captured, one of them with 560 men. English ships arrived from time to time, until there were eleven men-of-war assembled. On the 17th of June that strong and commanding fortress capitulated, and the island of Cape Breton was delivered up. The troops were sent to Rochefort, in France, in eleven ships. The besiegers had lost in all only 101 men. A re-en. forcement of 700 or 800 men arrived from the col. onies after the surrender, of whom 200 were from Connecticut. The weather had been favourable until the captors had possession of the place ; and then severe rains began, which might have inter- rupted the siege, or caused many deaths, if the ca- pitulation had been delayed.
The news of this success was very well received in the colonies; and contributions of money and provisions were made for the support of the troops by some of the southern ones : by New-York, £3000; by New-Jersey, £2000; and by Pennsyl- vania, £4000. Louisburg was the principal for. tress of France in this part of America; and its loss was a most severe blow to the power, pros- pects, and hopes of that kingdom, then so inimical and often so injurious to the colonies. The ditch round the town was 80 feet in breadth, the ram- parts 30 feet high, and defended by 65 guns, while the two water-batteries had 30 twenty-eight and 30 forty-two pounders. There were, besides, 6 nine-inch and 10 thirteen-inch mortars ; 600 reg- ular troops, and 1300 militia ; with provisions and ammunition for five or six months. The French
-
274
CAPTURE OF LOUISBURG.
[1745.
flag was kept flying as a decoy, after the surren- der; and several ships were thus taken, worth about a million of pounds sterling.
The capture of Louisburg proved important in another respect : for the king had sent seven ships of war to aid the Canadians and Indians against the colonies. The commander heard of the capit- ulation from Lieutenant-governor Smith, of New- York, whom he captured, and therefore returned. Monsieur Marin, who went against Annapolis with 900 Indians and Frenchmen, after awaiting the fleet in vain, gave over his designs against that place. Three hundred and fifty men from Connec- ticut garrisoned Louisburg the following winter.
It is remarkable that the colonies received no part of the immense spoil taken by this expedition, although they had planned and undertaken it, with- out aid or even encouragement from England, at an expense to themselves almost ruinous ; and the assistance which had been afforded them at a late hour had not slackened their efforts, but rather in- creased them. The English sea and land officers had divided the rich prizes among themselves ; and, with so selfish a spirit had they acted, that nothing had been given to any of the provincials, except a small sum allowed to Captain Fletcher for leading in the South Sea ship. The Connecti- cut Assembly, in August, 1745, addressed a letter of congratulation to the king, with a petition that he would show some favour to such of their offi- cers whose names they sent ; at the October ses- sion, a letter was ordered to be addressed to Sir Peter Warren, requesting him to use his influence in their behalf; and Mr. Thomas Fitch was ap-
275
HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
1746.]
pointed agent in London, which he declined. The result was, that the application was unsuccessful. Such injustice, together with the many evils and inconveniences arising from their state of depend- ance on the mother country, may have tended grad- ually to wean the colonies from England.
The success of the expedition against Louisburg, it appears, caused great surprise among many of the most cool and judicious people : for, when we consider the weakness of the whole colonial force, and the strength of the fortress, it must be con- fessed that they had very little rational prospect of capturing it without aid; and assistance had been refused them by Admiral Warren the very day before their departure from Boston. Even after the arrival of his majesty's ships, such storms or unfavourable winds as had defeated several pre- vious enterprises, might have been fatal to this. The pious people, therefore, very generally re- garded the event as affording a striking display of the favourable interference of Divine Provi- dence. The annual convention of New-England ministers spoke of it in their address to the king as " the wonderful success God has given your American forces."
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