USA > Connecticut > The history of Connecticut, from the first settlement to the present time > Part 23
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337
HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
1775.]
General David Wooster, of New-Haven, and sta- tioned along the coast of the Sound. A regiment was also ordered to be enlisted for the Continental service, under General Jedediah Huntington, of Norwich.
For that period of the war, many of the troops were commanded by the men who had raised them ; so that many of the officers who first ap. peared at the camp held their authority and rank on no other ground of merit but that of having had success in drawing out soldiers. This was not generally the case with those of Connecticut, because the General Assembly so early took the appointments into their own hands. The people came readily into the field, impelled by a high sense of duty to their brethren of Massachusetts, as well as to the cause of mankind, which they be- lieved to be in some degree intrusted to them. With the preparation they had had, by the patri- otic sentiments so assiduously circulated by the leading and sagacious statesmen of the day, per- sons of all ages were warmly interested in the common cause. Resistance to the oppressors of America was the general cry ; and while the aged approved the sentiments of the governor and the measures of the Assembly, they prayed for suc. cess to the God of battles, and encouraged the young to buckle on their armour .*
* The following extracts are from a pamphlet published by the Reverend Daniel Barber, of Connecticut, in 1831, entitled " the History of my Own Times." They give a lively picture of the state of things at the period at which we have arrived. " Immediately after the battle of Bunker's Hill, in 1775, or- ders were issued for raising a regiment of Connecticut troops, for the term of five months, under Colonel Jedediah Huntington, FF
338
AID SENT TO NEW-YORK.
[1775.
A portion of the forces of that colony soon found opportunity to operate in favour of the common
of Norwich. I enlisted under Captain Elisha Humphrey, of Simsbury. ** * Our company, being suddenly enlisted, to the number of about seventy-five, rank and file, orders were given for all to meet on a certain day at the house of the captain, well equipped, and ready to begin the march.
"The Reverend Mr. Pitkin, of Farmington, was requested that day to preach the farewell sermon to the soldiers. At the appointed hour we marched to the meeting-house, where the officers appeared in military style, with their appropriate badges of distinction, and the soldiers in proper order, with their arms and accoutrements, as inen prepared for battle. It was a full and overflowing audience, all in high expectation of something new and charming from so gifted a preacher. After his warm and fervent prayer to Heaven for the success and prosperity of American armies, and the liberties and freedom of our country, ne introduced his address, if I remember right, from these words : ' Play the man for your country, and for the cities of your God; and the Lord do that which seemeth him good.' His sermon was tender and pathetic, lively and animating. It was like martial music ; while it touched the finer feelings, it roused and animated for the dreadful onset-the shout of war and the cry of victory. During the time of its delivery, abun- dance of tears was seen to flow, both from old and young, male as well as female.
" The sermon being ended, the drums soon beat to arms. Being arranged in military order, we were again conducted to the captain's house, and dismissed for a short time. In going to and from the meeting, we were followed and accompanied by a mixed multitude-fathers and mothers, wives and children, sisters, friends, and strangers. * * * In the midst of this min- gling scene of sorrow, the drum beat to arms. Soldiers, take your places, is the word ; the line of march is formed ; we add one more wishful, lingering look, while many a silent tear be- speaks the real feelings of the heart. The word is given. We begin our march with silence, downcast looks, and pensive feel- ings and reflections. We were now leaving our homes, our friends, and all our pleasant places behind, which our eyes might never behold again.
"'The most of us had not, at that time, I believe, been twenty miles from home. After marching a while, we began to give way to more cheerful and hvely feelings. We marched about eight miles that afternoon ; at night put up at Mr. James Marsh's inn. Here, for the first time, I slept as a soldier on the
339
HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
1775.]
cause in another quarter. General Wooster, who had commanded a regiment through the French
floor, with a cartridge-box for my pillow. At that period, horse- wagons being very little in use, an ox-team was provided to car- ry our provision by the way and a barrel of rum. Our pro- vision was salt pork and pease. Wherever we stopped, a large kettle was hung over the fire, in which the salt meat was put without freshening, and the dry pease without soaking. Cooks and stewards were appointed, who took charge of the table de- partment. When all was ready, a stroke on the drum was the signal to eat ; and we were generally hungry enough to stand in need of no great urging.
" While passing through Connecticut, the females were very polite in lending us knives and forks ; but after entering Mas- sachusetts we were not allowed the like favour, without pledg- ing money or some other kind of property, the people saying they had lost many of their spoons by the soldiers who had gone , before us. * * * Our bread was hard biscuit, in which there was a small quantity of lime, just sufficient to make the mouth sore. They were so hard that the soldiers called them candlestick bottoms.
" Now, for the first time, we travelled on the Lord's day, un- der arms, and passed meeting-houses in the time of worship, with drums and fifes playing martial music ; all which was cal- culated to afford to a New-England man some doubts and reflec- tions, whether God would be as well pleased with parade and military performance as if we had stayed at home to read our Bibles, or went to meeting to hear the minister. But military discipline and the habits of a soldier soon effected a degree of relaxation in most of us. In process of time, many, once pious, at least in form and appearance, came into the practice of treat- ing all days nearly alike ; yet there were some who kept the practice of reading Watts' Psalms and Hymns as a book of de- votion.
" It is natural to expect that soldiers under arms are not gen erally inclined to the same degree of civility as others, or as they ought to be ; though this is not always the case. Yet; at the period at which I am speaking, and during our march, it was not uncommon, if a soldier thought himself not well treated by an innkeeper, to show his resentment by shooting a ball through his sign.
" In our march through Connecticut, the inhabitants seemed to view us with tokens of joy and gladness, and by them we were treated with common civility, and a respect due us as sol- diers; but when we came into Massachusetts, and advanced
340
THE THIRD CONGRESS.
[1775.
war, while exercising the command of all the troops of the colony, and stationed along the Sound to re- sist the enemy if they should make an expected attempt upon the coast, was requested by the Pro- vincial Congress of New-York to be ready to op- pose a British regiment which was looked for from Ireland. The government of Connecticut cheer- fully granting him permission, on the 28th of June he went, with 1800 men, and awaited the ene- my at the distance of five miles from the city. The following extract of a letter to the general from the New-York Congress bears gratifying testimony to the colony, as well as to himself. "The honest zeal which inspirits the bosoms of our countrymen in Connecticut commands our highest praise."
The third general Congress, in May, agreed to
nearer to Boston, the inhabitants, wherever we stopped, seemed to have no better opinion of us than (except the officers) if we had been a banditti of rogues and thieves. This served to mor- tify our feelings, and sometimes drew from us expressions of angry resentment.
" After about nine or ten days' marching, in company with our ox-team, loaded with our salt pork, pease, and candlestick bot- toms for bread, and the barrel of rum to cheer our spirits and wash our feet, which began to be sore by travelling, we came to Roxbury, the place of our destination. Here the place of our encampment was already marked out, and a part of our regi- ment on the spot. For every six soldiers there was a tent pro- vided. The ground it covered was about six or seven feet square. This served for kitchen, parlour, and hall. The green turf, covered with a blanket, was our bed and bedstead. When we turned in for the night, we had to lie perfectly straight, like candles in a box : this was not pleasant to our hip bones and knee joints, which often, in the night, would wake us, and beg us to turn over. Our household utensils, all together, were an iron pot, a canteen or wooden bottle holding two quarts, a pail, and wooden bowl. Each had to do his own washing, and take his turn at the cookery."
341
1775.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
petition the king for opening a negotiation to ac- commodate the dispute, and to send an address to the people of Great Britain and Quebec. They then, on the 22d, appointed George Washington commander-in-chief, and promised to maintain, as- sist, and adhere to him with their lives and for- tunes, while they enjoined upon him special care "that the liberties of America receive no detri- ment." On the 6th of July they declared the causes which led them to take up arms. Wash- ington was already at the head of the troops as- sembled about Boston, and committees of safety, according to the recommendation of Congress, were in active operation in the colonies. Paper money, to the amount of three millions, was soon issued by the United Colonies, each colony being bound to redeem its settled proportion. In July, Georgia, the last of the thirteen colonies, joined the Union. The people had now possession of the arms, ammunition, and, generally, of the public mon- ey, before under the control of the royal governors ; and associations were formed to secure the public peace.
Still independence was not yet the object of the colonies, as is proved by many documents published in all parts of the country. Only the county of Mecklenburgh, North Carolina, had declared their allegiance to the king to be absolved and broken.
Connecticut was very differently situated at the commencement of the war from some of the other states. While the governors of Virginia, New- Jersey, and New- York, as well as Massachusetts, were among the decided loyalists, Jonathan Trum- bull, the governor of Connecticut, was wholly de. FF 2
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342
PATRIOTISM OF GOV. TRUMBULL.
[1775.
voted to the cause of the country, while the vast majority of the people were his warm and unwaver- ing supporters.
On General Washington's approach to the city of New- York, the city authorities debated whether they should receive him with public honours, or reserve them for a British officer of distinction who was hourly expected from England; and it has been thought that the former would have passed unnoticed by them had the latter first arrived. There was no such vacillation or coolness in Con- necticut. The commander-in-chief was welcomed with open arms and by all classes. He reached New-Haven carly in July, accompanied by Gen- eral Lee and Major Mifflin ; and the next day was escorted for some miles by two military companies, a body of citizens, and a number of the students of Yale College. Of the sentiments of the state, as well as of those entertained by the distinguished pa- triot, statesman, and Christian who then held the highest office in the colony, some opinion may be formed by the following
Extracts from a letter from Governor Trumbull to General Washington, dated July 13th, 1775.
"Suffer me to join in congratulating you on your appointment to be general and commander-in-chief of the troops raised or to be raised for the defence of American liberty. Men who have tasted of freedom, and who have felt their personal rights, are not easily taught to bear with encroachments on either, or brought to submit to oppression. Vir- tue ought always to be made the object of govern- ment ; justice is firm and permanent.
1
343
1775.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
" His majesty's ministers have artfully induced Parliament to join in their measures, to prosecute the dangerous and increasing difference between Great Britain and these colonies with rigour and military force ; whereby the latter are driven by an absolute necessity to defend their rights and properties, by raising forces for their security. The honourable Congress have, with one united voice, appointed you to the high station you possess. The Supreme Director of all events has caused a wonderful union of hearts and counsels to subsist among us. Now, therefore, be strong and very courageous. May the God of the armies of Israel shower down the blessings of his divine Providence upon you, give you wisdom and fortitude, cover your head in the day of battle and danger, add success, convince our enemies of their mistaken measures, and that all their attempts to deprive these colonies of their constitutional rights and liberties are injuri- ous and vain."
On the 3d of June Washington reached the army, assumed the command, and established his head- quarters at Cambridge. There the reserve, con- sisting of the Massachusetts troops, was quartered in the college buildings and neighbouring dwelling- houses. He immediately visited the several posts occupied by the Americans, the number of whom was only 11,500, when, at least, 22,000 were con- sidered necessary to act against the supposed force of the enemy.
The Connecticut troops must have received Gen- eral Washington with an enthusiasm no way infe- rior to that which pervaded the ranks of the army in general, when he climbed to their camp and for-
1
344
POSITION OF THE ARMIES." [1775,
tifications on Prospect Hill, attended by their fa- vourite leader Putnam, to whom, and to whom alone, he had already given one of the commissions of ma- jor-general intrusted to him by Congress. From that commanding position they could look down upon the main body of the British troops, then actively engaged in strongly intrenching them- selves on Bunker's Hill, a fine eminence on Charles- town Neck, scarcely more than a mile distant. At the base of it were seen the ruins of the village lately destroyed by fire. The Connecticut soldiers, most of whom had never before been in the field, could see from their commanding height the town of Boston, with the strong intrenchments formed on Copp's Hill, then occupied by a small force : there being only the British light-horse and a few cavalry in the town. Roxbury Neck, the narrow isthmus connecting it with the main land, was guarded by strong intrenchments, well supplied with cannon, and manned by all the remaining British forces. Near at hand were three floating batteries in Mystic River, while a twenty-gun ship lay below the ferry between Boston and Charles- town. The first council of war, held on the 19th, estimated the enemy's force at 11,500 men.
Such was the position of the enemy : while the American extreme left was formed by about 2000 New-Hampshiremen and some Rhode Islanders on Winter Hill, which rose near at hand from the shore of Mystic River. The Connecticut post lay next ; and the line swept round in a noble semicir. cle of twelve miles, taking in Sewal's Farm, with the Rhode Island main body behind its fresh em. bankments, and a large number of Massachusetts troops at Cambridge, the centre.
a
345
1775.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
Extending their view towards the south, there were to be seen many little redoubts scattered along the shore of Charles River or Bay, where small parties of Massachusetts men stood ready to prevent every boat from landing ; and, finally, the right, which was at Roxbury. There a high bank, and a broad and deep trench, showed where a por- tion of the Connecticut troops had joined nine Mas- sachusetts regiments, with equal resolution to watch the neighbouring line of the enemy across the isthmus, and to resist any attempt to pass it. From the height of Prospect Hill, many Connecti- cut men caught the first view of military scenes ; and there began their laborious and dangerous ca- reer, which many of them pursued to the end of the war, borne up by that ardent and unconquerable patriotism, without which it could not have met a prosperous termination. Their vigorous arms as- sisted in digging many of those deep intrenchments which we still see near Boston.
Here began also the labours and trials of the commander-in-chief, which were more severe and not less prolonged : for, although it is evident, from his modest, manly, and patriotic address to Con- gress on receiving his appointment, that he antici- pated great difficulties, his letters from Cambridge show that they were more numerous and formida- ble than he was prepared for. He had only given out the first commission, viz., that to General Put- nam, when he learned that great dissatisfaction al- ready prevailed among the troops, especially the of- ficers, some of whom had been superseded by their juniors, and others had other grounds of complaint. General Pomeroy, of Massachusetts, who had great-
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346
WASHINGTON'S TRIALS.
[1775.
ly distinguished himself at Bunker Hill, was so much disaffected that he refused to join the Continental army, and returned home.
Washington therefore declined conferring the other commissions, and requested Congress to make the appointments ; and accordingly, on the 22d of June, they appointed the following brigadier gen- erals : Seth Pomeroy, of Massachusetts, Richard Montgomery, of New-York, David Wooster, of Connecticut, William Heath, of Massachusetts, Joseph Spencer, of Connecticut, John Thomas, of Massachusetts, John Sullivan, of New-Hampshire, and Nathaniel Greene. of Rhode Island. General Spencer at first declined his commission, but after- ward determined to serve under Putnam, though he had commanded him ; and, by Washington's great exertions and prudence, jealousies were over- come. The want of powder and money caused great uneasiness, as well as the bad state of the commissary department. Washington, in his first letter to Congress, proposed that a commissary- general should be appointed, after the plan adopted in Connecticut, " whose troops," said he, "are ex- tremely well provided under the direction of Mr. Trumbull ; and he has, at different times, assisted others with various articles." He proposed Mr. Trumbull (a son of the governor) for that office ; and he received the appointment. The regiments from different colonies were of different sizes : those of Massachusetts containing about 800 men, while those of Connecticut, which were the largest, consisted of 1100.
Besides all these difficulties, other very serious ones were threatened by the short periods of en.
347
1775.]
HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT. .
listments. The Connecticut troops had engaged to serve only until the 1st of December ; and, by the close of the year, there was apprehension that the entire army would be disbanded about that time ; and that the enemy were awaiting that period to come out from their defences and lay waste the country. To remedy the various evils or to avoid their ill consequences, Washington was anxiously devoting much of his time; and Governor Trum. bull sympathized deeply with him, and was one of his most active and efficient co-operators. Wash- ington, however, found leisure to carry on an ex- tensive correspondence, and to plan and despatch an expedition into Canada, to capture Quebec and co-operate with General Schuyler, who went down Lake Champlain, and, after some weeks, took Mon- treal. General Arnold was placed in the com- mand of 1500 men, and conducted them (except a party who returned) through every hardship, by the way of Kennebeck River, through the wilder- ness of Maine to the St. Lawrence, calculating on being joined by the people and Indians. In these expectations he was disappointed, as well as in his hopes of capturing the city. It had been proposed to leave General Wooster at Ticonderoga, fearing he would not serve under Montgomery : but the Connecticut troops who had garrisoned the forts on the lake, having been raised by the colony, chose to act under its authority, and were unwill- ing to go to Canada unless led by General Woos. ter. He also, with a patriotic disinterestedness, declared that he would serve under Montgomery, though his junior, out of love for the country ; and
348
DEPREDATIONS ON THE COAST.
[1775,
the Connecticut troops went with him against St. John's and Montreal.
The results of Arnold's expedition are well known. After scaling the steep rocks to the Plains of Abraham with his troops, and suffering long and greatly while besieging Quebec, at length, being joined by Montgomery in a night attack on the city, in a snowstorm, the latter was killed, a considerable number were made prisoners, and the remainder were forced to retire, though large re- enforcements were sent.
In September, 1775, some English vessels from Boston, which had committed depredations on dif- ferent parts of the coast of New England, appeared near Connecticut. They had burned Falmouth, now Portland, and afterward bombarded Stoning- ton and New-London, and robbed some of the small islands in the Sound of considerable property. Governor Trumbull ordered several companies or troops, which had been enlisted for the Continental army, to remain near the coast, giving General Washington notice, in a letter on the 5th of Sep- tember. Washington, however, without making any reply, on the 8th sent orders for the troops to march immediately to Boston. Governor Trum- bull expressed regret and surprise ; and the com- mander-in-chief justified himself by saying that Congress had directed that such local service must be committed to the militia, and that he had no dis- cretionary power in the case, greatly regretting that he could not extend protection to every place exposed to the enemy. This appears to have been the only instance in which even the slightest dissat- isfaction existed in Connecticut with the measures
349
1775.] HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
of the commander-in-chief; and it was but mo- mentary, and arose chiefly from his neglect to an- swer the governor's first letter. The new levies from Connecticut had marched into camp before the 12th of October, when Washington remarked in one of his letters, " they are a body of as good troops as any we have."
Persons favourable to the British interest, about this time, it appears, caused much disquietude in Connecticut : as Governor Trumbull wrote to Wash- ington in November, inquiring whether they ought not to be seized, and prevented from counteracting the spirit of the people. Dr. Church, who was taken on suspicion of treason, was sent to Connec- ticut, to be kept by Governor Trumbull in close con- finement. An English prisoner, a Major French, who had been sent to Hartford from Philadelphia for safe keeping, made repeated complaints, because he was not permitted to wear his sword : but Wash- ington replied that for any inconvenience to which he might be put, he must consider his countrymen in Boston to blame, as they had treated American prisoners with unnecessary severity.
Congress were very desirous of preventing the Indians from engaging in the war; and, on the 12th of July, 1775, formed an Indian Department to treat with them, "to preserve peace and friend. ship, and to prevent their taking any part in the present commotions." It was divided into three sub-departments, northern, middle, and southern ; and Mr. Oliver Wolcott was appointed one of the five commissioners of the first. A plan of the ad- dresses to be made by them to the different tribes was drawn up by Congress, in the figurative lan- GG
350 NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE INDIANS. [1775.
guage usually employed on such occasions, which was to be varied in points of minor importance to suit circumstances. The following extracts plainly show that the honest intention was to secure the neutrality of the Indians.
" This is a family quarrel between us and Old England. You Indians are not concerned in it. We do not wish you to take up the hatchet against the king's troops. We desire you to remain at home, and not join on either side, but keep the hatchet buried deep. In the name and behalf of all our beloved people, we ask you to love peace and maintain it, and to love and sympathize with us in our troubles."
It is so inhuman to induce Indians to attack de- fenceless people, and destroy peaceful and harmless families, that every American must feel gratified to read the following declaration, which was made in the British parliament by Mr. Burke, on the 6th of February, 1778. "No proof whatever," he said, " had been given of the Americans having attempt- ed offensive alliances with any one tribe of savages ; whereas the imperfect papers now before that house demonstrated that the king's ministers had negotiated and obtained such alliances from one end of the Continent of America to the other ; that the Americans had actually made a treaty on the footing of neutrality with the famous Five Nations, which the king's ministers had bribed them to violate, and to act offensively against the colonies ; that no at- tempt had been made in a single instance to pro- cure a neutrality ; that if the fact had been that the Americans had actually employed those sava- ges, yet the difference of employing them against
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