USA > Connecticut > Hartford County > The memorial history of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1884, Vol. I > Part 25
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S.M.Adams
NOTE 1 (p. 176). - Though these probably were not more effective or of larger calibre than the "two drakes lent to the plantations at Conecticott, to fortifie themselves withall," by order of the General Court of Massachusetts, September, 1635, - with six barrels of powder and " 200 shot, with other implements belonging to the peeces," etc. (Mass. Records, i. 148, 160). - J. H. T.
NOTE 2 (p). 176). - Capt. John Chester, of Wethersfield, who commanded a company at Bunker Hill, in a letter giving an account of the battle, wrote (July, 1775) that when ordered by Gen. Putnam to march to the hill to oppose the enemy : "I waited not. .. . We soon marched with our frocks and trowsers on over our other clothes (for our Company is in uniform wholly Blue turned up with Red), for we were loath to expose ourselves by our dress," etc. - J. H. T.
189
THE MILITIA.
HARTFORD'S INDEPENDENT MILITARY COMPANIES.
BY VARIOUS CONTRIBUTORS.
THE GOVERNOR'S FOOT GUARD. - After the French and Indian War the peaceful condition of the Colony made military duty, not enforced by proper discipline, largely a farce. There were numerous companies without uniformity of dress or arms. It was the duty of a selected company to attend upon the opening of the General Assembly and to escort the governor on " Election Day," as inauguration day was always styled. The demoralization had gone so far that in 1768 the Hartford company designated for the purpose appeared in fantastic dress and turned the parade into one of the " antique and horrible" sort. The proceedings were so disgraceful that the General Assembly appointed a committee " to take notice of and resent the disrespect and indignity shewn them by the military company ordered to serve and while serving as a guard to his Honour the Governor, etc., on the day of the last general election." As a result of the investigation which followed, the officers and sergeants were mildly exonerated from blame, and the other members of the company signed an humble apology, confessing their " great misconduct and aggravated offense, and imploring the forgiveness of the Assembly," which was granted upon their payment of the costs of the prosecution. For the next two years an East Hart- ford company was called out for escort duty on Election Day.
Meantime the leading young men of Hartford, desirous of retrieving the good name of the city, decided to organize a select company for the purpose of doing the honors to the governor and the General As- sembly in a proper manner. On Oct. 2, 1771, Samuel Wyllys and forty-three others petitioned the Assembly, setting forth that : -
" It is with Considerable Expense and Trouble that the Standing Military Companies in Hartford Equip themselves to wait on the General Assembly, and that their Turns come but Once in many years, and that it is with Difficulty they are able to perform said duty so as to do Honour to the Ceremony, and that your memorialists Conceive it would be for the Honour of the Government that a com- pany be Constituted to perform said Service and Ceremony Constantly," etc.
The prayer of the memorialists was granted, and a military com- pany organized named the " Governor's Guard." The company adopted for its original uniform one copied from that of the famous British Grenadiers, now known as the "First Regiment of Foot Guards," of England, and this uniform has been maintained and worn on State occasions to the present day. The original incorporators were : -
Samuel Wyllys, James Tiley, Daniel Cotton, Eliakim Fish, Hezekiah Wyllys, Daniel Goodwin, Jr., Nathaniel Goodwin, Timothy Ledlie, James Jepson, Caleb Bull, Jr., Joseph Church, Jr., William Lawrence, John Caldwell, Elihu Eggleston, John Nevins, Israel Seymour, Ebenezer Austin, Stephen Austin, Charles Hopkins, Elisha Burnham, John Lawrence, Jr., Edward Bodge, Elisha Lord, Hezekiah Merrells, Samuel Burr, John Calder, Nathaniel Skinner, James Bull, Austin Ledyard, Frederick Bull, William Knox, Ebenezer Watson, Joseph Reed, Epaphras Bull, Consider Burt, Cotton Murray, Benjamin Morrison, James Adams,
190
MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.
William Bull, Jonathan Butler, Jonathan Bull, Bevil Waters, Aaron Seymour, James Humphrey, Isaac Vaughan, Lemuel Steel, John Dodd, Timothy Steel, Elisha Dodd, Richard Skinner, Jonathan Steel, Thomas Sloan, Robert Sloan, James Bunce, Jr., Samuel Kilbourn, Noah Washburn, Thomas Steel, Moses Kellogg, Thomas Converse, Abel Stone, Daniel Skinner, Jr., Edward Dodd, Jr., Theodore Skinner, Ozias Goodwin, Jr., and John Cook.1
That the company was regarded as a regular part of the military force of the colony is shown by the colonial records, by which it appears that the officers were appointed or " established " in precisely the same form as all other military officers of the colony.2 The company is thus proven to have been the pioneer of uniformed companies in this colony, and its organization marks a distinct advance toward the orderly and efficient military system of to-day.
Samuel Wyllys was the first captain. The company's first parade was as escort for Governor Jonathan Trumbull and the General Assem- bly, on the second Thursday of May, 1772. Six months before, it had at its own expense secured a handsome uniform, " scarlet coat, faced with black with silver braid, buff knee-breeches, black velvet leggings, and bear-skin hat." The Assembly was so well pleased with this first ap- pearance of the new command that it placed on record a complimen- tary resolution to that effect. A committee was also appointed to procure " from Bristol, or such other place in Great Britain where they be had on the best terms," " sixty-four plain, decent, and sizable stands of arms to equip said company." 3
In 1775 a similar company was organized in New Haven, and the Hartford company was styled "First Company Governor's Guard." In 1788 the name of the original company was amended to the form which it has ever since retained, "First Company Governor's Foot Guard."
In May, 1802, upon the petition of Captain Nathaniel Terry, it was ordered that " in future the company shall consist of captain, two lieu- tenants, an ensign, eight sargeants, eight corporals, a band of music of fourteen musicians, six fifers, four drummers, and ninety-six privates."
In 1809 the rank of the commanding officer was made major, a deserved compliment to Captain Nathaniel Terry, the grandfather of Major-General Alfred H. Terry, of the regular army.
In addition to its other duties the Guard has performed escort duty upon many memorable and historic occasions "for the Honour of the State," and in honor of the most celebrated characters in American history. During the war for Independence, and in obedience to the order of the Commander-in-Chief, Governor Jonathan Trumbull, the Guard twice performed escort duty for Washington, Knox, Lafayette, Admiral Tiernay, Rochambeau, and their aides, upon the occasion of their visits to Hartford and Wethersfield. A little later the Guard escorted the governor (Trumbull) to Danbury, to meet the Council of Safety ; and upon his final retirement from public life, it accompanied him on his way to Lebanon.
1 Captain Wyllys, John Caldwell, and other members afterward gained distinction in the Revolutionary War. Seventeen years later a number of the same men, having gained in age and fleslı and being tired of marching on foot, became incorporators of the First Company of Horse Guards.
2 See page 111 of the Manuscript Public Records of Connecticut, May, 1772; also Colonial Records, vol. xiii. p. 581.
3 Public Records Manuscript, p. 125.
191
INDEPENDENT MILITARY COMPANIES.
In October, 1777, the Guard, for the first and only time in its history, left the State on a hostile errand, being ordered to Saratoga to re- inforce the Continental army under General Gates. Of this event the " Connecticut Courant" (Aug. 2, 1831) contains an account.
This gives the company the distinction of being the only body of State troops (excepting volunteers for Federal service) that ever was ordered outside the limits of the State against an enemy. It is very rarely that any of the State troops are called out to aid in keeping the peace within the State, and no company has done more service in this way. In 1814, at the time of the "Hartford Convention," it was held in readiness for several days to quell an expected outbreak between Federal troops and citizens; 1 and in 1834 it was called out to suppress a riot in Hartford.
The company has done escort duty for every President who has visited Hartford, including Washington, John Adams, Monroe, Jackson, Polk, Johnson, and Grant. It escorted Lafayette twice during the Rev- olution, and again in 1824. It took part in the Peace celebration of 1815, in the dedication of the Groton Monument in 1826, at the Bunker Hill centennial in 1875, the centennial of the battle of Saratoga in 1877, the New York Evacuation Day centennial in 1883, the Bi-centennial of Worcester, Mass., in 1884, and the dedication of the Washington Monu- ment, in 1885. It was also a part of the grand military pageant in New York at the funeral of General Grant, Aug. 8, 1885.
It is the boast of the company that it is the only one in the United States that has had an unbroken existence for one hundred and fifteen years, and that has maintained its ancient uniform.
The following have been its commanders : -
Captain Samuel Wyllys, 1771-1777. Captain Jonathan Bull, 1777-1785. Captain Charles Hopkins, 1785-1795. Captain George Bull, 1795-1797. Captain Joseph Day, 1797-1798. Captain Jesse Root, 1798-1802. Captain Nathaniel Terry,2 1802-1813. Major Isaac D. Bull, 1813-1816. Major Richard E. Goodwin, 1816-1819. Major James M. Goodwin, 1819-1823. Major Lynde Olmsted, 1823-1826. Major Henry L. Miller, 1838-1838. Major Roland Mather, 1838-1840. Major William B. Ely, 1840-1841. Major Henry P. Averill, 1841-1843. Major Henry P. Sweetser, 1843-1844. Major Leonard H. Bacon, 1844-1847. Major William Conner, Jr., 1847-1850. Major Leverett Seymour, 1850-1861. Major Jonathan Goodwin, 1861-1862. Major Lucius E. Hunt, 1862-1865. Major Henry C. Ransom, 1865-1867. Major Charles Wells, 1826-1828. Major George Putnam, 1828-1830. Major Jonathan Goodwin, 1830-1832. Major Edmund B. Stedman, 1832-1833. Major Calvin Day, 1833-1835. Major James G. Bolles, 1835-1835. Major Henry Oakes, 1835-1836. Major Henry P. Barton, 1867-1871. Major William H. Dodd, 1871-1874. Major Charles Osborne, 1874-1875. Major John C. Parsons, 1875-1877. Major William H. Talcott, 1877-1879. Major George B. Fisher, 1879-1881. Major A. H. Embler, 1881-1882. Major Griffin A. Stedman, 1836-1838. | Major John C. Kinney, 1882-
The present line officers of the command (1886) are : Major, J. C. Kinney ; Captain and First Lieutenant, James C. Pratt; Second
1 " Peter Parley's Recollections of a Lifetime," vol. ii. p. 51. The company was ordered to be ready to respond to an instant call, and, to prevent their arms being seized in advance by rioters, the guns and ball cartridges were locked up in the Hartford Bank.
2 Ranked as Major from May, 1809.
192
MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.
Lieutenant, Theodore C. Nædele; Third Lieutenant and Adjutant, J. Robert Dwyer ; Fourth Lieutenant, Fayette C. Clark ; Ensign, Horace Lord; First Sergeant, G. J. A. Nædele.
GOVERNOR'S HORSE GUARD. - At the May session of the General Assembly in 1788 a memorial was presented by John Caldwell and others, praying that : -
" They may have a separate military establishment and be formed into a troop of Volunteer Horse or Light Dragoons, to be called by the name of the 'Gov- ernor's Independent Volunteer Troop of Horse Guards,' whose particular duty shall be to attend upon and escort the Governor of this State in times of peace and war, etc.
" Dated at Hartford the 1st day of May, A.D. 1788 :
JOHN CALDWELL, RICH'D HART,
CALEB BULL, Jr.,
CHARLES PHELPS,
TIM. BURR,
CHAUNCEY GOODRICH,
PETER COLT,
SAM'L MARSH, Jr.,
HEZ. MERRELL,
HEZ'H BULL,
JOHN CHENEVARD, Jr.,
HORATIO WALES,
ASA HOPKINS, THOS. Y. SEYMOUR,
JAS. HART,
RHOD. OLCOTT, JOHN MORGAN,
RICH'D GOODMAN,
WM. LAWRENCE, OLIVER WOLCOTT, Jr.,
DAN'L GOODMAN,
SAM'L LAWRENCE,
JAMES BULL,
SAM'L BURR,
WM. KNOX,
THOS. BULL,
ASHBELL WELLS, Jr.
BAR'S DEANE,
WILLIAM MOSELY,
EPHRAIM ROOT, and SAM'L POMEROY.
Several of these signers were seventeen years before charter mem- bers of the First Company Governor's Foot Guard. The General As- sembly granted the prayer, and passed a bill constituting the company, with the name of the "Governor's Independent Volunteer Troop of Horse Guards," to be "subject to the order of the Governor, and to attend upon and escort him in time of peace and war, ... and said Troop shall consist of one captain, two lieutenants, one cornet, one quartermaster sergeant, three drill sergeants and four corporals, and sixty privates." The bill provided for the election of officers on Mon- day, May 19, 1788. The records show that the election was presided over by " Hez'h Wyllys, Lieutenant-Colonel commanding 1st Regt," and the following were selected the first officers of the company : captain, John Caldwell; first lieutenant, Thomas Y. Seymour; second lieutenant, Charles Phelps; cornet, Timothy Burr; which officers were duly " estab- lished" by resolution of the General Assembly at the same session, the governor at the time being Samuel Huntington. The company seems to have been the first regularly uniformed cavalry company in the State.
The first notable parade in which the Horse Guard participated, as far as is known, was in 1798, when Washington, then ex-President, made a four days' visit to Hartford. The fact of the Horse Guard escort was mentioned by the Father of his Country in his diary. From that time they have taken part in most of the military pageants that Hartford has witnessed, including the receptions of the various presidents that have visited Hartford, the welcome to Lafayette in 1824, to General Jackson in 1833, etc. The presence of the two companies of Horse and Foot Guards has been a part of the inaugural ceremonies of every governor of the State, when held in Hartford, from the time of their organization to the present. The commanding officers have been as follows : -
193
INDEPENDENT MILITARY COMPANIES.
Major.
Date of service.
Major.
Date of service.
John Caldwell .
1788-1792.
James Goodwin
1829-1832.
Thomas Y. Seymour .
1792-1796.
Thomas H. Marshall
1832-1834.
Joseph Hart
1796-1800.
William J. Denslow
1834-1835.
George Bull
1800-1803.
Lester Sexton .
1835-1838.
Henry Seymour
1803-1807.
Levi T. Skinner
1838-1839.
Samuel Ledlie .
1807-1810.
Allen C. Boardman
1839-1843.
Michael Olcott
1810-1811.
Stephen H. Marcy .
1843-1844.
Joseph Burnham
1811-1816.
D. F. Raphael
1844-1846.
Joseph Kees 1
1816-
Henry Boardman
1846-1861.
Daniel Buck
1816-1819.
James Waters
1861-1871.
Barzillai D. Buck
1819-1823.
Chauncey B. Boardman
1871-1886.
John E. Hart .
1823-1826.
Frank Cowles
1886-
James T. Pratt
1826-1829.
Major John Caldwell, the first commander, was a prominent Hart- ford merchant engaged in the West India trade. He was the first president of the Hartford Bank, and one of the commissioners that built the State House in 1794-1796. Major Thomas Y. Seymour, who was really the originator of the company, was a gentleman by birth and education, a gallant soldier of the Revolutionary war. He had studied military science in France. He married for his first wife a daughter of Colonel Ledyard, the chief victim of the Groton massacre. He had command of a light horse company in the Continental army, and was an aide on the staff of General Arnold at the battle of Saratoga. He appears in Trumbull's painting of the battle. General Burgoyne pre- sented him his pistols and horse-equipments, which he afterward used while in command of the Horse Guard. He was an uncle of Governor Thomas H. Seymour.
Major Joseph Hart was a graduate of Harvard College, a successful merchant, and was at one time candidate for governor.
Major Henry Seymour was a brother of the second commander, and the father of Thomas H. Seymour. He was a well-to-do broker and a inan of liberal education.
Major James T. Pratt is still living at Wethersfield (1886). He was twenty-five years old when elected major, and subsequently became major- general commanding a division of the State militia. He has been can- didate for governor, has held many positions of honor and trust, has been a member of the General Assembly many times, Speaker of the House, representative to Congress, etc. He commanded the Horse Guard on the occasion of Lafayette's visit to Hartford in 1824.
Major James Goodwin was a scion of one of Hartford's oldest fam- ilies and one of the leading citizens of the place. Major Allen C. Boardman, an excellent officer, was the father of Major Chauncey B. Boardman, who, after commanding the company for fifteen years, re- signed January, 1886.
THE PUTNAM PHALANX. - In August, 1858, a number of the promi- nent citizens of Hartford and the State, for the purpose of reviving the old Continental uniform, and also to aid in welcoming home ex-Governor Thomas H. Seymour, when he should return from his mission as Min- ister to Russia, formed an organization to which they gave the name
1 Died in command.
VOL. I .- 13.
194
MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.
"Putnam Phalanx." They adopted the uniform of Washington's army and the drill of 1776. The organization was composed of two compa- nies, forming a battalion, having a major-commandant and the usual company officers. The first major was Horace Goodwin, and among the members were Colonel Samuel Colt, Isaac W. Stuart, and Henry C. Deming, three of the foremost citizens of Hartford, the last two noted orators.
The first parade was Dec. 22, 1858, in uniforms borrowed from the Amoskeag Veterans of Manchester, New Hampshire, to receive a stan- dard presented by descendants of General Israel Putnam.
On Aug. 30, 1859, occurred the reception to ex-Governor Thomas H. Seymour, in which the Phalanx held the post of honor, aided by the Seymour Light Artillery and the military and civic organizations of Hartford. The following October the Phalanx visited Bunker Hill, Boston, Charlestown, and Providence, being handsomely entertained and charming every place with their fine appearance and the magic eloquence of Stuart and Deming. The story of the excursion is pre- served in a volume of one hundred pages. Since that time many places of note have been visited, including Atlanta, Richmond, Newburgh, Washington, Mount Vernon, Niagara Falls, Montreal, Portland, New- buryport, Saratoga, Albany, Newport, and Block Island. The company participated in the centennial anniversaries of Concord, Bunker Hill, Philadelphia, Bennington, Stony Point, Portsmouth, and Greenwich, - the last-named occasion celebrating the famous ride of Putnam down the stone steps at Horse-neck. They have visited Putnam's grave, taken part in the dedication of the statue to his memory which stands in Bushnell Park, and are at present engaged in an effort to have a worthy monument erected to his memory.
In 1877 the General Assembly chartered the organization, but it is not a part of the State military force.
The commanding officers have been as follows, with the dates of their election : -
Horace Goodwin, Sept. 1, 1858. Henry Kennedy,
April 19, 1869.
Allyn S. Stillman,
April 19, 1862. H. L. Welch,
April 21, 1873.
James B. Shultas, June 11, 1863. Henry Kennedy,
April 20, 1874.
Timothy M. Allyn, April 19, 1864. F. M. Brown,
Oct. 21, 1875.
C. C. Burt, May 14, 1867. Alvin Squire, Feb. 7, 1883.
Seth E. Marsh, April 19, 1868.
Clayton H. Case,
Feb. 4, 1885.
CAMBRIDGE GUARD. - This is a company composed of colored citi- zens of Hartford. It was organized in 1869, and has maintained an independent existence since that time. The officers are : captain, I. L. Cambridge ; first lieutenant, Charles Seymour ; second lieutenant, Edward Sweirs ; orderly, F. H. Freeman.
CHAPTER X.
FREEMASONRY AND OTHER SECRET SOCIETIES IN THE COUNTY.
BY J. K. WHEELER, STEPHEN TERRY, AND OTHERS.
FREEMASONRY was introduced into the county in 1762, when a char- ter was issued by the Right Worshipful Jeremy Gridley, Esq., Provin- cial Grand Master of the Society of Free and Accepted Masons for North America. This document was dated March 21, 1762, and issued to the following members of the fraternity residing in Hartford : John Townley, William Jepson, Samuel Olcott, George Caldwell, Abraham Beach, Thomas Hopkins, Jonathan Wadsworth, John Ellery, James Church, Samuel Flagg, Eleazur Pomeroy, and Thomas Payson, who were afterward known as St. Jolin's Lodge No. 4. Mr. John Townley was nominated in the warrant as the first Worshipful Master, and dele- gated with authority to congregate the brethren together, and himself to select two wardens and other officers necessary for the transaction of business, to hold office for one year; after which the lodge was annu- ally to choose its officers agreeably to the custom of the craft.
The first meeting was convened at the house of Hezekiah Colyer, on the 19th of January, 1763, when the Worshipful Master appointed William Jepson for his senior warden ; Samuel Olcott, junior warden ; George Caldwell, treasurer; and Abraham Beach, secretary. By-laws were at this time adopted for the government of the lodge, which are noted for that peculiar quaintness which characterized all ancient masonic documents, as well as the high tone of morality that pervaded them ; profanity and intemperance being strictly forbidden, and any violation subjecting the offender to discipline. The members were cautioned in their behavior, and especially without the lodge, "that no unjust reflection be thrown on the royal art."
The meetings were continued for a short time at the house of Heze- kiah Colyer, then at the house of Mrs. Sarah Flagg, until a hall was prepared for permanent use. This was located at the "Black Horse Tavern," and is frequently alluded to in the early records as " the Black Horse," or "the sign of the black horse," a public-house situated on the corner of Main Street and Central Row, near where the Hartford Trust Company's building is located. The meetings were held at this place for upwards of six years, and the lodge continued in a very flourishing condition. The name of Israel Putnam frequently appears as a visiting brother, first recorded at the third meeting, and occasionally thereafter, for several years.1
It was the custom for many years, and stipulated in the charter,
1 This is said to be the first positive evidence found of General Putnam's membership in the order.
196
MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.
to observe the festival of St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evan- gelist, which has now fallen into disuse.
In 1789 this lodge was one of the number that assisted in forming the Grand Lodge of Connecticut, when its original warrant was given up and a new charter received from that body, dated May 20, 1795, under which it now holds its authority. At this time it took the name of St. John's No. 4, being the fourth in rank in the State, and has ever since been in a prosperous condition. Among its members are num- bered the Hons. Oliver Wolcott, Thomas H. Seymour, and Marshall Jewell, - ex-governors of the State ; Henry C. Deming, Gideon Wells, Julius L. Strong, John R. Buck, and William H. Bulkeley; also Samuel G. Goodrich, otherwise known as "Peter Parley," the noted author and publisher, and very many others prominent and more or less identified with the interests of Hartford and vicinity. Its present membership is five hundred and seven.
Frederick Lodge No. 14 was organized Sept. 18, 1787, by several members of the fraternity residing in Farmington, and received its charter from the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, and at its first meet- ing elected the following officers : William Judd, master; Timothy Hosmer, senior warden ; Reuben Humphrey, junior warden ; John Mix, treasurer ; Samuel Richards, Jr., secretary ; John Hart, senior deacon ; and George Humphrey, junior deacon. Among the early members of this lodge are the names of several who had been prominently identi- fied with American Union Lodge, a military lodge attached to the Con- necticut line of the Revolutionary army. Most prominent are the names of William Judd, Timothy Hosmer, Captain Reuben Humphrey, Lieutenant John Mix, and Dr. John Hart. William Judd was a dele- gate to the convention that organized the Grand Lodge in 1789, was appointed chairman of the convention and elected first Grand Master, which position he occupied for seven years, and was then succeeded by Chief Justice Stephen Titus Hosmer, of Middletown. John Mix was elected Grand Secretary in 1791, and held the position twenty-nine years. He was made a mason in American Union Lodge while it was stationed at Reading, Feb. 24, 1779. This army lodge was afterward located at Marietta, Ohio, and is still in existence there, being known as American Union Lodge No. 1. A few years since it came into pos- session of the original records of its early meetings while attached to the Revolutionary army.
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