USA > Connecticut > Fairfield County > Fairfield > The history of Fairfield, Fairfield County, Connecticut, from the settlement of the town in 1639 to 1818, Vol. II > Part 44
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Captain Jarvis's Guard at Black Rock Fort.
Captain Isaac Jarvis, Colonel Elijah Hill, Captain David Jarvis, Chauncey Downs, Ezra Wheeler, David Sherwood, John Lyon, Daniel Wilson, Silas Hawley, Joseph Gold, Samuel Patchen, Nehemiah Burr, John Meeker, Nathan Jennings, John Wilson, Huldah Mason, James McNay, Nehemiah Rose, William Sturges, William Hawley, Abraham Par- ritt, Daniel Burr, Benjamin Meeker, Robert Walch, Nathaniel Wilson, Jesse Burr, Fair- weather Brothwell. +
" This guard not only guarded the fort but Penfield Mills, the fort overlooking the mills which were near the mouth of the Unquowa River. These all important mills were well looked after, as James Penfield baked several barrels of flour daily for the army. Besides the guards at the fort a home guard was stationed around them night & day."#
The following " Letter from the Rev. Andrew Eliot to the Rev. John Eliot of Boston, concerning the burning of Fairfield in July, 1779," is to be found in the Massachusetts Historical Collection :
" FAIRFIELD, July 15, 1779.
" Dear Brother:
" I sit down to write to you some account of the sad and awful scene which has been exhibited in this once pleasant & delightful town, now, alas! a heap of ruins, a sad spec- tacle of desolation & woe !
" It was in the beginning of wheat harvest, a season of extraordinary labor & fes- * Appendix, Vol. I-Nash, Genealogical. + Connecticut War Records.
# Diary of William Wheeler of Black Rock.
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tivity ; a season which promised the greatest plenty that had been known for many years, if within the memory of man. Never did our fields bear so ponderons a load; never were our prospects, with regard to sustenance, so bright.
" The British fleet & army, with the American refugees that had possessed and plundered New Haven, set sail for that distressed place on the 6th instant.
"About four o'clock the next morning, the approach of the fleet was announced by the firing of a gun from a small fort we have on Grover's Hill, contiguous to the Sound. They seemed, however, to be passing by. And about seven o'clock we with pleasure beheld them all to the westward of us steering, as we thought, to New York. A thick fog came on, which entirely deprived us of the sight of them, till between the hours of nine & ten, when the mist clearing away, we beheld the whole fleet under our western shore, & some of them close to Kensie's Point. They presently came to anchor ; & lay till about four in the afternoon, when they began to land their troops a little to the east of Kensie's Point, at a place called the pines. From thence the troops marched along the beach until they came to a lane opposite the centre of the town, through which they proceeded; & in about an hour paraded in their division on the green, between the meeting-house and court-house. From thence they detached their guards, & divided into small parties, proceeded to their infernal business. Their commanding officer was Sir George Collier by sea, & Generals Tryon & Garth by land. The approach of the fleet was so sudden, that but few men could be collected, though the alarm gun was fired immediately on the dissipation of the fog. There was no thought of opposing their land- ing, as our force was nothing to theirs. Our little party, however, posted themselves so as to annoy them to the best advantage, expecting they would land at the point. When our people found them landing on the left, & marching in the rear to take possession of the town, they immediately retreated to the courthouse ; & as the enemy advanced from the Beach lane, they gave them such a warm reception with a field piece which threw both round & grape shot, & with their musketry, as quite disconcerted them for some time. The column, however, quickly recovered its solidity, & advancing rapidly, forced our small body to retreat to the heights, back of the town, where they were joined by numbers coming in from the country. The enemy were also galled very much as they turned from the beach to the lane, by the cannon which played from Grover's Hill.
"The town was almost cleared of inhabitants. A few women, some of whom were of the most respectable families & characters, tarried with a view of saving their property. They imagined their sex & character would avail to such a purpose. They put some confidence in the generosity of an enemy who were once famed for generosity & polite- ness ; & thought that kind treatment & submissive behaviour would secure them against harsh treatment and rough usage. Alas! they were miserably mistaken & bitterly regretted their confidence & presumption.
"The Hessians were first let loose to rapine & plunder. They entered houses, at tacked the persons of Whig & Tory indiscriminately : breaking open desks, trunks, closets, & taking away everything of value. They robbed women of their buckles, rings, bonnets, aprons & handkerchiefs. They abused them with the foulest and most profane language, threatened their lives without the least regard to the most carnest cries & entreaties. Looking glasses, china and all kinds of furniture, were dashed to pieces.
"Another party that came on were American refugees, who, in revenge for their confiscated estates, carried on the same direful business. They were not, however, so abusive to the women as the former, but appeared very furious against the town & county. The Britons, by what I could learn, were the least inveterate : some of the officers seemed to pity the misfortunes of the country, but in excuse said that they had no other
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way to gain their authority over us. Individuals among the British troops were, how- ever, exceedingly abusive, especially to women. Some were forced to submit to the most indelicate & rough treatment, in defence of their virtue, & now bear the bruises of horrid conflict.
"About an hour before sunset the conflagration began at the house of Mr. Isaac Jennings, which was consumed, with the neighboring buildings. In the evening the house of Elijah Abel, Esq., was consumed with a few others. In the night several buildings in the main street. General Tryon was in various parts of the town plot, with the good women begging & entreating him to spare their houses. Mr. Sayre, the Church of Eng- land missionary, a gentleman firmly & zealously engaged in the British interest, & who had suffered considerably in their cause, joined with them in their entreaties; he begged the General to spare the town, but was denied. He then begged that some few houses might be spared, as a shelter for those who could provide habitations no where else. This was denied also. At length Mr. Tryon consented to save the buildings of Mr. Burr and the writer of this epistle. Both had been plundered ere this. He said likewise that the houses of public worship should be spared. He was far from being in a good temper during the whole affair. General Garth at the other end of the town, treated the inhabitants with as much humanity as his errand would admit.
" At sunrise some considerable part of the town was standing; but in about two hours the flames became general. The burning parties carried on their business with horrid alacrity, headed by one or two persons who were born & bred in the neighboring towns. All the town from the bridge by Colonel Gold's to the Mill River, a few houses excepted escaped, was a heap of ruins.
" About eight o'clock the enemy sounded a retreat. We had some satisfaction, amidst our sorrow & distress, to see that the meeting-house and a few other buildings remained. But the rear guard, consisting of a banditti, the vilest that was ever let loose among men, set fire to everything which General Tryon had left; the large & elegant meeting-house, the minister's houses, Mr. Burr's and several other houses, which had received protection. They tore the protection to pieces, damned Tryon, abused the women most shamefully, & then ran off in a most disgraceful manner. Happily our people came in & extinguished the flames of several houses; so that we are not entirely destitute.
" The rear guard which behaved in so scandalous a manner were chiefly German troops, called Yagers. They carry a small rifle gun, & fire in a skulking manner, like our Indians. They may be properly called sons of plunder & devastation.
"Our people on the height back of the town were joined by numbers, but not equal to the numbers of the enemy. They were skirmishing all the evening, part of the night, & the next morning. The enemy were several times disconcerted & driven from their out- posts. Had they continued longer in the town it must have been fatal to them, for the militia were collecting from all parts.
"Our fort yet stands. The enemy sent a row-galley to silence it, & there was con- stant firing between them all night. One or two attempts were made to take it by parties of troops, but it was most bravely & obstinately defended by Lieutenant Isaac Jarvis of the town, who had but twenty-three men besides himself.
" The militia followed these bloody incendiaries to the place of embarkation, & galled them considerably. The embarkation took place about twelve o'clock, & they set sail for Long Island about two or three in the afternoon.
"Many were killed on both sides. The number cannot be ascertained. They car- ried off some prisoners, but no person of distinction.
"One particular I would mention. After Tryon had begun to burn, he sent out the
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proclamation which you have in the Hartford paper. In the midst of hostilities, while the flames were raging & bullets flying, who should come out with the flag but Mr. Sayre. A spirited answer was sent in; & the people were so enraged that hostilities should be going on in the time of negotiation, & that Mr. Sayre should be the bearer of such an insulting proclamation, & at such a time, that the said gentleman was obliged to quit the town when the enemy left it. His whole family were obliged to go with him, leaving the greatest part of their substance behind, which became fuel for the flames, indiscriminately scattered by the rear guards. The reply which General Tryon made 10 Mr. Sayre when he asked to go with him was, 'You may go on board the ship, sir, but I cannot promise you any help or assistance.'
" The Church of England building was consumed, but by whom, or at what time, I am unable to say.
" Unconnected with them, unsolicited on my part, through the intercession of Mr. Sayre, my house & property, received a protection in General Tryon's own handwriting. A sentinel was placed there some part of the time. But sad experience convinced me to how little purpose all this was. My property was plundered, my house and furniture all consumed, though a lady was so kind as to show them the protection, which, like others, was torn in pieces by the Yagers.
"Our friend Joseph Bartram was shot through the breast ; old Mr. Solomon Sturgis, an Irish servant of Mr. Penfield, & a negro man belonging to Mr. Lewis, were put to death by the bayonet.
"The distress of the poor was inexpressible. A most pleasant and delightful town in flames! What a scene did the 8th of July present !
"But I must forbear. Everything I have written you may depend upon as a fact ; my pen has not been guided by prejudice whatever my feelings are; & should you publish this letter, every reader may be assured that there was not the least diversion from what actually took place upon this melancholy occasion.
" Yours, &c.,
" ANDREW ELLIOTT."
The fleet of General Tryon had been piloted into its position before Fairfield by a Mr. George Hoyt, a brother of Mrs. Jonathan Bulkley, whose husband owned the tavern in the rear of the court-house. Mr. Hoyt had received a promise from General Tryon that his sister's house should be saved, which promise was kept, and through Mrs. Bulkley's in- tercession the three houses on the east side of the Green were spared. The Sun tavern, owned by Captain Samuel Penfield, which stood on the southwest side of the Bulkley house, was burned. No less than eighty- five dwelling-houses, fifty-five barns, fifteen stores, fifteen shops, the school-houses. county jail and jailor's house, and the two churches were consumed. Mrs. Forgue succeeded in putting out the fire of Mr. Isaac Burr's house before it had gained full headway, as the Hessians were leav- ing the town.
"On the evening of the 7th, while the town was in flames, a thunderstorm over- spread the heavens just as night came on. The conflagration of near two hundred houses
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illumined the earth, the skirts of the clouds, & the waves of the Sound with a union of gloom & grandeur, at once inexpressibly awful & magnificent. The sky speedily was hung with the deepest darkness wherever the clouds were not tinged by the melancholy lustre of the flames. At intervals the lightning blazed with a livid & terrible splendor. The thunder rolled above. Beneatlı, the roaring of the fires filled up the intervals with a deep & hollow sound, which seemed to be the protracted murmur of the thunder, rever- berated from one end of heaven to the other. Add to this convulsion of the elements, the dreadful effect of vindictive & wanton devastation, the trembling of the earth, the sharp sound of muskets occasionally discharged, the groans here & there of the wounded & dying, & the shouts of triumph, then place before your eyes crowds of miserable suf- ferers, mingled with bodies of the militia, and from the neighboring hills, taking a fare- well prospect of their property & their dwellings, their happiness & their hopes, & you will form a just but imperfect picture of the burning of Fairfield. It needed no great effort of imagination to believe that the final day had arrived, & that amid the funeral darkness the morning would speedily dawn, to which no night would ever succeed; the graves yield up their inhabitants; & the trial commence, at which is to be settled the destiny of man."*
The morning of the 9th of July witnessed another scene in Fairfield of a very different character from that of the 7th and 8th. The army of Major Talmage from White Plains, made its appearance, to the great joy of Fairfielders, and encamped upon the green, where the smouldering embers of the court-house fired them with indignation and revenge. When they had taken leave Captain Sturges, who commanded a com- pany of militia at Fairfield, planted a field piece in front of the Jonathan Bulkley house, " & informed Mrs. Bulkley that he would allow her a short time to clear the house, & unless she left it would blow her to atoms." Word was immediately sent to Colonel Whiting at Holland Hill by Mrs. Bulkley for protection. When Colonel Whiting arrived upon the green he found no less than about one hundred and fifty men by the cannon, whom he ordered to disperse, threatening the penalty of placing them under guard unless they obeyed him, which they reluct- antly did, only at the command of their superior officer. How much Mrs. Bulkley was to be blamed for the part she took through the treach- ery of her brother, George Hoyt, who piloted the British to Fairfield, history does not state.
The heroic women who remained in the town to defend their homes and firesides as best they could will always hold an honored place in the history of Fairfield. Among these heroines was the wife of Lieutenant Isaac Jarvis, who commanded the Fort Black Rock. Her maiden name was Ellen Gold. She was descended from Major Nathan Gold, and on her mother's side from Ellen Burr, a descendant of the Burr family, so
* Rev. Dr. Timothy Dwight's Travels.
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that she inherited the patriotic characteristics of her distinguished an- cestors. She was but twelve years of age when the spirit of independence stirred the hearts of the colonists to throw off the despotism of Great Britain. "Such was her zeal after the war broke out, that she would rise in the night to prepare & bake bread & food for the soldiers at the fort; or to dispense it among the troops passing through the town." On the night of the burning of Fairfield a British officer was wounded near where she resided, and she was asked to allow him to be brought into her house. She refused to do anything unless a promise was given that her family and all their belongings should be protected from harm. In her womanly and dignified Christian character, she showed mercy to a wounded soldier, although an enemy; and one who that night had al- lowed his soldiers to pillage and burn the homes of her friends and rela- tives. This young heroine was born August 2, 1761. It was her fate to marry three officers, Captain Isaac Jarvis, Captain Samuel Squire and Lieutenant Aaron Turney. Three times she was left a widow. and after the close of the Revolution was awarded three pensions for the services of her three husbands, which caused her to be regarded by her neighbors a wonderfully fortunate woman .*
The testimony of other heroines who remained in the town on that night of agony and desolation has been preserved in the State Records. +
In the Congregational parish records the following entries were made by the Rev. Andrew Elliott :
" 1779, July 7th. Our holy & our beautiful house, where our fathers praised thee, is burnt up with fire, & all our pleasant things are laid waste. The Lord gave & the Lord hath taken away, Blessed be the name of the Lord.
"All things work together for good to them that love God-to them who are called according to his purpose.
" Alleluia!
"The Lord God omnipotent reigneth. " AMEN."
The members of the Church of England, after the great exertion they had made to erect one of the handsomest churches in the State, not only
* She had but one child, a little daughter who died at an early age, and her heart was so over- whelmed with grief that she could not be comforted. She would sit before the picture of her child and weep and mourn until her family became solicitous for her health ; and according to their ideas of idol worship, the picture was hidden away, and the poor mother never saw it again. After her death the house was torn down, and in a closet over the parlor mantelpiece a portrait of a lovely young child was found. The house of Mrs. Turney stood opposite the present Episcopal rectory.
+ Rec. State Conn., 2, 553-561. Appendix No. 1.
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had their church destroyed, but the sacred silver service and parish records were also lost. It is said that on the Sunday after the burning of the town, services were held in the house of Mr. Abraham Bulkley, one of the three houses on the east side of the Meeting-house Green, which had been saved from fire. The Rev. Mr. John Sayre, having suffered imprisonment and afterwards confined within the county limits, on ac- count of his attachment to the British government, having appeared be- fore his house with a flag of truce, hoping as a royalist to receive pro- tection from the English, again risked the indignation of the townsmen. With a wife and eight children, he threw himself on the mercy and protection of General Tryon, and was permitted to sail on one of the enemy's ships to New York.
Mr. Sayre thus wrote from Flushing, L. I., November 8, 1779, to the Secretary of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel :
"On the 7th day of July last Major-General Tryon landed at Fairfield with a body of his Majesty's troops, and took possession of the town and its environs, the greater part of the inhabitants having tackled their teams and removed what they could on his ap- proach. This cut off all hopes from the few Loyalists of saving any part of their effects if the town should be burnt, every carriage being taken away. The General was so kind, however, as to order me a guard to protect my house and some others in its vicinity, when he had resolved to commit the rest of the town to flames; for, as I had already hinted, I had determined to remain at home. But the ungovernable flames soon extended to them all, and in a few minutes left me with a family consisting of my wife and eight children, destitute of food, house and raiment. Thus reduced, I could not think of re- maining in a place where it would have been impossible to have clothed and refurnished my family. Therefore, availing myself of the protection afforded by the present oppor- tunity (from the want of carriages) to save anything out of the house, the valuable little library given me by the Society, was burnt, together with my own; and the Plate belong- ing to Trinity Church at Fairfield was lost, as well as that of my family; and that hand- some Church itself was entirely consumed.
" The people of that Mission met with a heavy stroke in the loss of their Church, Parsonage-house, plate, books, etc., not to mention myself, their unworthy minister. My own loss includes my little all; but what I most regret is my absence from my flock, to which my heart was and still is most tenderly attached. I trust, however, that the Great Shepherd of the Sheep will keep them in His own tuition and care. I bless the Lord for that, through all my trials, I have endeavored to keep a conscience void of offence to- wards God and towards man, continually striving to discharge my duties to my Master, my King and my people; and am bound to thank the Lord daily, for that divine protec- tion, that tranquility of mind, and that peace of conscience, which, through His grace, I have all along enjoyed."
Mr. Sayre also related in his letter that while a prisoner on bounds, he ceased to use all parts of the liturgy which referred to the King, royal family and the mother country, confining himself "to reading from the
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Old & New Testaments & the Psalms, & expounding either parts of the catechism, or some passages of holy Scripture."*
The unhappy residents of Fairfield bravely endured the loss of their homes, and temporarily improved out-buildings, raised simple structures or built upon old sites. Many of those who lost their homes and were subject at all times to be plundered by the enemy, removed to Greenfield, Redding, Norfield or Weston and Easton, or settled upon the long-lots which they had inherited from their forefathers. Their spirits had not been crushed, as the British expected ; on the contrary, a keen bitterness and resentment filled their hearts, and they preferred death to surrender- ing to so cruel a foc. Men who stand ready to fight a foe are willing to await the result in battle encountered face to face, man against man, but when the sacredness of their homes are invaded, their wives and children abused, insulted and left homeless by wanton destruction, the tender spirit of love for them is roused to a death struggle with such a foe, in which no compromise is to be expected.
On the 20th of July the citizens of Fairfield met in town meeting, when it was
"Voted that Jonathan Lewis, Thaddeus Burr, George Burr, Samuel Wakeman, Jon- athan Sturges, Esq., Messrs. Joseph Wakeman, Richard Hubbell, Jr., Daniel Duncan & David Silliman be a committee to put about subscriptions to raise a sum of money, as a reward for any person or persons that shall captivate or take prisoner General William Tryon, who commanded the British troops when they burnt this town on the seventh and eighth days of this July instant. And the said committee issue a proclamation offering such reward as shall be subscribed for that purpose." A committee was also appointed "to wait upon Col. Jonathan Dimon & desire 25 men to keep guard at Green's Farms, & 15 men to keep guard at Stratfield; also to request him to appoint such men as are friendly to the interests of the United States of America."
On August 5th Governor Trumbull, with the advice of the Council of Safety, issued a Brief for calling contributions for the relief of the sufferers at New Haven, Norwalk and Fairfield. t
The patriotic ladies of Fairfield redoubled their efforts to assist the Sons of Liberty to crush the British cause. No homespun was ever woven with greater skill or cheerfulness; no spinning-wheel ever spun
* Hist. Prot. Episcopal Church, by Bishops Perry and Hawkes, Vol. 2, pp. 204-209.
The mistake has often been made of confusing the Rev. John Sayre with his brother, Rev. James Sayre. The latter was stationed over the churches of Newport, R. I., Woodbury and Strat- ford, Conn., but he had never had charge of the Fairfield parish .- Hist. Discourse of Trinity Church, Fairfield, Conn., by Rev. N. E. Cornwall, 1851.
+ Rec. State Conn., 2, 447.
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out more yarn for the soldiers' clothing, and no flax ever raised with greater industry for their comfortable garments. Morning, noon and night saw them busy carding and spinning wool and weaving linen from flax. The spirit of liberty was woven into each turn of the wheel and each stitch of sewing and knitting-needle.
The men of Fairfield were fired to greater deeds of courage.
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