USA > Massachusetts > Berkshire County > Great Barrington > History of Great Barrington, (Berkshire County,) Massachusetts > Part 21
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HISTORY OF GREAT BARRINGTON.
works. The design probably is to gain ground by degrees and in the end get possession of Roxbury. Our works go on with great rapidity. The men work with great alacrity. The popular clamor against the General has subsided. By the conduct of the regulars "'tis evident they feel intimidated."
In another letter-March 4th, 1776-Captain King complains that two of his men-John Campbell and John Spoor-who had been furnished with guns by Captain Wheeler-Town Treasurer-had "lost or sold or swap'd or fooled them away."
One. and not the least interesting of the few epi- sodes of the war which have been handed down to us, was the passage through the town-in January, 1776 -of a long train of sleighs bearing the cannon, mortars, cohorns, and other military stores, captured by Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys, from Fort Ticon- deroga to Dorchester to supply the sadly felt want of artillery for General Washigton's army beleaguering Boston-then in possession of the British. This ex- pedition was under the charge of General Henry Knox, who with extraordinary labor removed the artillery from Ticonderoga to Fort George, and thence with the aid of "near 124 pairs" of horses with sleighs brought it to Albany. The route from Albany was by way of Kinderhook. Claverack, Great Barrington, Monterey, and Westfield. General Knox passed through Great Barrington on the 9th of January, and arrived at Monterey, having as he writes. "climbed mountains from which we might almost have seen all the king- doms of the earth." The anxiety to obtain intelligence from the front was equal to that witnessed by the present generation in the late war, and in the absence of the telegraph, railroads, and postal communication, an arrangement for supylying the news, was entered into-May 3d, 1775-by twenty-two citizens of the town, by which they agreed to take turns, daily, in riding to Tyringham or Sheffield, for the purpose of obtaining intelligence from the army at Boston, the same to be reported at the tavern of Josiah Smith ; and in case no regular plan was adopted by which the news might be brought to those towns, then each was to pay
239
WAR MEETING.
his proportional part of the expense of procuring the same from Springfield.
It is well authenticated that at about the time of the commencement of hostilities, a war meeting was held on Mount Peter in the south part of the village, where a calf was roasted for the occasion, and the meeting was both jolly and patriotic. A flag pole was erected on the eminence, and here the first Union flag (of which we have knowledge) in this town, was run up. The flag flaunting bravely to the breeze excited the ire of the Tories, who stealthily and by night cut down the pole. The patriots then lashed their pole, with the flag attached to a tree top, filled the body of the tree with iron spikes, and with prudent watchful- . ness kept their colors flying despite the Tories.
Incredible as it may seem, the tradition is well authenticated that the sound of the cannonade at the battle of Bunker Hill was distinctly heard in Berkshire. Mrs. Mary Pynchon-the widow of Captain Walter Pynchon-now deceased-who was then a child of seven years-informed the writer that she well re- membered, on the day of that battle, seeing the men of the village apply their ears to the ground in front of the jail, and was told that they heard the noise of the artillery ; the sounds proved to proceed from the can- non directed against the works of the Americans at Bunker Hill. At that time the country was to a great extent a forest ; the clang of machinery and water- wheels, the busy hum of manufacturing, the railroads with the rushing of engines and trains-all of which to- day tend to impede, and render impossible the trans- mission of sounds over such a distance -- had no existence.
At the sessions of the first Provincial Congress of Massachusetts Bay-1774- Sheffield, Great Barring- ton, Egremont and Alford were jointly represented by Colonel John Fellows of Sheffield and Doctor William Whiting of Great Barrington; in the second Congress -1775-Sheffield and Great Barrington were repre- sented by Colonel Fellows and Egremont and Alford by Doctor Whiting ; and in the third Congress Doctor . Whiting was the representative of these four towns.
240
HISTORY OF GREAT BARRINGTON.
For the year 1775, Doctor William Whiting, Josiah. Smith and John Van Deusen were the selectmen of the town ; in the spring of 1776, Colonel Mark Hopkins, John Van Deusen and Captain Truman Wheeler were- chosen. The death of Colonel Hopkins, at White Plains. October 26th of that year, cast a gloom over the town and was severely felt by its inhabitants ; it. was an irreparable loss, for he was its representative man, and was universally beloved and respected by the people. On the 29th of November Israel Root was chosen to fill the vacancy in the board of selectmen caused by the death of Colonel Hopkins.
The first recorded election of a committee of Cor- respondence Inspection and Safety was on the 18th of March, 1776, when Doctor William Whiting, Jacob Van Deusen, Colonel Mark Hopkins, Josiah Smith and Captain Truman Wheeler were chosen. It is probable- that a similar committee had been chosen the previous year, but as the records of that and three preceding years are unwritten-we have not the names of the in- dividuals composing it. The office was an important one, and the powers delegated to or assumed by this committee were as extended as the exigencies of the times demanded. It sometimes-in the absence of the courts which had been suppressed and not yet reor- ganized-usurped the powers of a judicial tribunal, in which it was sustained by the people. This committee in other years was composed as follows :
1777. David Humphrey, Ensign John Burghardt, Benedict Dewey, Captain William King, Deacon Daniel Nash, Ehud Hop- kins, Captain Silas Goodrich.
1778. Doct. William Whiting, Lieut. Gamaliel Whiting, Lieut. Thomas Ingersoll, Lient. Charles Parsons, Moses Hop- kins.
1779. Josiah Nash, David Willard, Ichabod Hopkins, Jacob Pratt, Thomas Pier.
Tories.
The attention of the Committee of Safety was early directed to all who did not co-operate in resisting the demands of Great Britain, who refused to sign the "Test Bill"-as the agreement for non-consumption of British goods was termed-and especially to those who openly opposed the measures adopted by the Provin-
241
TORIES-DAVID INGERSOLL.
cial, and Continental Congresses; such were classed as Tories.
The Tories of Berkshire were in league with those of the same kin who abounded on the New York border -then known as the King's District-and are reputed to have been in regular correspondence with their brethren in New York City. In Great Barrington were a considerable number, including a well-to-do and re- spectable class of men, who were slow to adopt revo- lutionary measures, some influenced by religious pro- clivities, others perhaps by mercenary motives, and all determined not to see and follow the right course. Many of these by word and deed rendered themselves obnoxious to their more patriotic townsmen. Their headquarters and place of rendezvous was at the tavern of Timothy Younglove, the building the same-though since remodeled-in which William H. Day now lives, at the fork of the roads just west of Green River; and tradition asserts that this house was the receptacle of plunder and contraband goods. Prominent amongst the Tories, before the war, was David Ingersoll, Esq,, a lawyer and magistrate. He had represented the towns of Great Barrington, Sheffield, and Egremont in the General Court in 1770, and by virtue of his official position and ability exercised an extended and danger- ous influence. He too was one of the " Addressors," who presented Governor Hutchinson with a highly complimentary and laudatory address on the eve of his departure for England in the Spring of 1774, and by this and other acts had incurred the displeasure of the people. The rude treatment which he received at the time of the suppression of the court in August, 1774 -which has been mentioned-is evidence of the feeling which existed against him, and doubtless had its due weight in the causes which induced him to leave the country. Be this as it may, he visited Boston in the following September, mortgaged his house and land (the same lately owned by Miss Nancy Kellogg de- ceased) to John Troutbeck of Boston-in consideration of £85-and sailed for England. He was amongst the number proscribed and banished by the General Court in 1778. Sabine, in his American Loyalists, says of 16
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HISTORY OF GREAT BARRINGTON.
Mr. Ingersoll : "During the troubles which preceded the shedding of blood, he was seized by a mob, carried to Connecticut and imprisoned, while on a second out- break of the popular displeasure against him, his house was assailed, he was driven from it, and his enclosures were laid waste."
What the occasion of this "second outbreak" may have been we are uninformed. Mr. Ingersoll then owned and occupied the Misses Kellogg house, the old front door of which -- taken out a few years since-bore the marks of hatchet or sword, made, as tradition as- serts, at the time of a popular attack uponits occupants. He died in England in 1796.
The house and lands of Mr. Ingersoll, as well as those of Nathan Purdy, an absconded Tory of Muddy Brook, were taken into possession by the Committee of Safety in 1777-8 and leased, under authority of an act of the General Court; and after the war Ingersoll's real estate was taken upon several executions to satisfy the claims of his creditors. Nathan Purdy above alluded to, resided near where Hiram Comstock, de- ceased, lately lived, in Muddy Brook. He seems to have left town in the Spring of 1775, with his family, and to have gone to the vicinity of Newburgh, N. Y., where he afterwards died. He writes to Jacob Van Deusen, June 10th, 1775, asking him to harvest and take care of his grain, and says further: "I don't ex- pect to move eny of my things as yet, for if there comes peacable times, as I hoap there will, I expect to come to my place again." Again January 14th, 1776, he writes to Mr. Van Deusen : "I am desirous to know what has become of my crop and other efects that I left in your care, and if my crop is not seased, I desire that you would stoar it for me ; and I desire that you would send me word whether it would be safe to come and settle my afares myself."
Asa Brown, a man of no particular note, but blatant and noisy on the political questions of the day, had by his conduct incurred the displeasure of the people; and, probably in fear of being "handled," made the follow- ing written confession and renunciation, the original of which is preserved in the town files :
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TORIES DISARMED.
" Whereas I, Asa Brown of Great Barrington, have in time past, given just reason to people of my acquaintance, by my im- prudent talk, to think that I was not friendly to the measures taken by the Sons of Liberty in opposing the British ministry, I now being sensible of the evil tendency of such conduct, I now heartily condemn it, and will for the future endeavor not to offend.
Witness my hand, this 29th day of December, A. D. 1775. ASA BROWN."
In 1776, quite a large number of the inhabitants had refused to sign the "Test Bill," on which account, as well as by their general behavior, the indignation of the people was excited against them. Threats of dis- arming them, and perhaps of more severe treatment were openly made; and in order to prevent disturbance. preserve the peace, and quiet the inhabitants, the Com- mittee of Safety issued the following warning, ad- dressed to them, which was served upon them indi- vidually by Sergeant Joshua Root.
"To Coonrod Van Deusen, Abraham Van Deusen, Isaac Van Deusen. Jun'r, John Van Deusen, Jacob Van Deusen, Samuel Fowler. Barnabas Scott, Martin Remelee, John Hickok, Asa Brown, Lambert Burghardt, Peter Sharp, Coonrod Sharp, Caleb Hill, Hendrick Perry, Peter Burghardt ye second, Abraham Burghardt, Coonrod Burghardt, Jun'r, Nathan Scribner, John Church, Jonathan Younglove, Timothy Younglove, Oliver Wat- son, Nathaniel Lee, Elijah Dwight, Esq., Abraham Scutt, Jacob Burghardt, Frederick Johnson, Midian Olds, John Burghardt, Coonrod Burghardt, Benjamin Noble and Gideon Bostwick, all of Great Barrington; whereas the committee of Correspondence for said Town have presented the association, by and agreeable to a late act of the General Assembly, and you have refused to subscribe the same ; The People of this Town are very uneasy that you have not yet Resigned your arms, and we find they are determined to take your arms in their own way unless you resign them of your own accord. In order to prevent further confu- sion and mischief we advise you to resign your arms immediate- ly to Sergeant Joshua Root who the committee have desired to receive & take the charge of the same, and we have desired him to give you Notice of this our advice.
Great Barrington, July 9th, 1776. M. HOPKINS, WM. WHITING, TRUMAN WHEELER, JOSIAH SMITH,
Committee.
Sergt. Root performed the service, and a receipt signed by William Whiting-one of the committee- dated the 20th of October following, shows that he took
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HISTORY OF GREAT BARRINGTON.
one gun each from Coonrod Van Deusen, Abraham Van Deusen, Isaac Van Deusen, Jun'r, John Van Deu- sen, Jacob Van Deusen, Gerrard Burghardt, Peter Burghardt, Peter Sharp, Hendrick Parre, Caleb Hill, Isaac Van Deusen, Nathaniel Lee, Timothy Younglove and John Burghardt ; also "a cutlash without a scab- bard" from Asa Brown, who had renounced toryism a few months previous, but found the articles of Associa- tion too stringent for his compulsory patriotism. Four of these guns had at that time already gone into the service, as appears from the receipt.
The original order disarming the Tories bears upon its back the names of seven of the parties from whom guns were taken-followed by the initial letters of each name-thus "Caleb Hill his mark C. H," indicating that the initials were cut or branded upon the butts of the muskets taken.
The next year, when the successes of the American arms, culminating in the surrender of Burgoyne's army at Saratoga, had cheered the spirits of the patriots, the exasperation against those who still adhered to the British cause was at its height. On the 24th of No- vember, 1777, the selectmen, Ensign John Burghardt, Captain William King, and Daniel Nash-who were also members of the Committee of Safety-at a town meeting, under an article of the warrant "to consider of a list, exhibited by the selectmen, of persons sup- posed to be enemies to this and the United States, and vote thereon" --- presented a list of such inimical persons to which, on motion, other names were added, and it was voted that Timothy Younglove, John Hecox, John Van Deusen, Jacob Van Deusen, John Burghardt, ye 3d, James Tiler, Frederick Johnson, Mr. Gideon Bost- wick, Peter Sharp, Coonrod Sharp, Coonrod Van Deusen, Jacob Burghardt, David Wainwright, Peter Burghardt, ye 2d, Lambert Burghardt, David Arnold, Garret Burghardt, and Joseph Davis, "have been en- deavoring since the 19th of April Anno Domini 1775, to counteract the united struggles of this and the United States for the preservation of their liberties and privileges, and that the said several persons and every one of them are now so enimically disposed
245
OATH OF ALLEGIANCE TAKEN.
towards this and the other United States of America that their further residence in this State is dangerous to the public peace and safety." Ehud Hopkins was appointed agent to obtain evidence and prosecute them.
What further was done in the premises does not appear from the records; but the next year-August 24th, 1778-ten of those named in the foregoing list, together with "Abraham Burghardt, Hendrick Burg- hardt, Oliver Watson, Coonrot Burghardt, Abraham Van Duzer, Isaac Van Duzer, Jr., Peter Burghardt 1st, Martin Remelee and Stephen Olmsted" not included in that list came before Doctor William Whiting, Justice of the Peace, and " took the oath of Fidelity and Alle- giance prescribed by one Law of this State."
By this time the Tories of Great Barrington were so reduced in numbers as to no longer constitute a dangerous element. Tories from other towns of the county were frequently brought here and confined in the jail-at the instance of the Committees of Safety- where they were obliged to pay their own board and other expenses. One case will serve as a sample of these proceedings : April 28th, 1777, Timothy and Asa Lyon-father and son-of Lanesboro, were committed to the jail as "dangerous persons" by the committee of that town, they having declared before the com- mittee "that they did approve of the measures that Brittain had taken against America"-that "they thought the war on the side of America was unjust," and that "they would not take up arms against George the Third." Similar commitments were made from other towns, until finally stopped by an order of the Justices of the Court-December 12, 1777-requiring the release of five men from Hancock, and directing the keeper of the jail "to receive no more prisoners into said jail unless committed by Legal authority."
In 1776-7 commitments to the jail were common of persons, who having been "appointed" soldiers in detachments from the militia, for reinforcing the army, refused either to serve themselves, employ a substitute or pay the fine of £10, provided in such cases. The sufferers in these instances were for the most part Tories, and it may seem that the militia officers and
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HISTORY OF GREAT BARRINGTON.
Committees of Safety were not indisposed to appoint men of that stripe to a service which was distasteful to them. A general feeling of distrust existed towards transient persons, peddlers, and all strangers not ap- parently engaged in legitimate employments. În December 1780, it was decreed in town meeting, that no transient persons should be permitted to remain in town, or to traffic or trade, for more than ten days, with- out the consent of a committee, consisting of Lieu- tenant Gamaliel Whiting, Ichabod Hopkins, and Daniel Nash, "appointed for the purpose of inspecting into the political character of such persons."
At about the same time, the Rev. Gideon Bostwick having occasion to visit New York City on business, found it expedient to ask the consent of the town, which was granted, provided his Excellency the Gov- ernor would grant him a passport.
The following scrap of somewhat mechanical poetry is from a mass of local Revolutionary papers, and though destitute of literary merit, we present it as a fitting finale to our reminiscences of the Tories of Great Barrington. The original, on a very small piece of paper, is in a fine handwriting which we are unable to identify, but is supposed to have been the work of a law student in the office of General Thomas Ives :
"THE PENETENTIAL TORY'S LAMENTATION."
"Alas brother Tory now what shall we do? A peace is declared I find certain true,
The Rebels will hang us if we tarry here, Abroad there's no shelter for us I do fear. Was ever poor mortal deceiv'd so before ? Our lands and our houses we shall see no more ; We thought of preferment, o'er Rebels to reign, But now we find nothing but slight and disdain Our King hath deceived us and left us forlorn, O! curs'd be the hour wherein we were born ; O! could we but tarry in our native land And lovingly take our old friends by the hand, The meanest employment which mortals ere had We'd cheerfully enter; 'twould make us feel glad.
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MILITIA ORGANIZATION.
But this is deny'd us; all hope now does fail, We're doom'd to destruction, our sins to bewail Unto Nova Scotia, a cold barren land, To live upon shell fish and dig in the sand. Then fare ye well pleasure, come children and wives To fighting Muscettoes the rest of our lives."
In 1776, the Militia of the south part of the county constituted the Regiment of Colonel Mark Hopkins of Great Barrington, and after his decease, in October of that year, it was commanded by Colonel John Ashley of Sheffield. The Militia of Great Barrington was at that time comprised of two companies. Hewit Root was Captain, William Pixley First Lieutenant, and Charles Parsons Second Lieutenant of the first com- pany ; the other had for its officers Captain, Peter In- gersoll ; First Lieutenant, Timothy Younglove ; Sec- ond Lieutenant, Warham Lee.
A list of the company of Captain Peter Ingersoll- July 1, 1776-shows that it contained seventy-eight men,-not all loyal,-that its equipments consisted of twenty-four guns, two bayonets, six cartridge boxes, five pounds powder, four pounds balls, and six spare flints. This disparity of accoutrements as proportioned to the men, is evidence of the scarcity of warlike stores, when every gun and every pound of powder which could be spared from home and border defence, was pressed into the service, and when, as we have seen, the arms taken from those of doubtful loyalty, were sent to do execution in the army. These two compa- nies were, by a Resolve of the General Court,-Octo- ber 14th, 1777,-reduced into one, and by request of Colonel John Ashley, the following named were com- missioned as its officers : Silas Goodrich, Captain ; Charles Parsons, First Lieutenant ; Thomas Ingersoll, Second Lieutenant ; John Powell, Third Lieutenant, with rank of Second Lieutenant. Thomas Ingersoll was afterwards-1781-Captain of the Great Barrington Militia, and later a Major.
The Militia of Berkshire performed important ser- vice throughout the Revolution, and was frequently called out for border service and to reinforce the army
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HISTORY OF GREAT BARRINGTON.
in different quarters, whilst detachments from its regi- ments were in some years almost constantly in the field. The summer of 1777 was an eventful period in the Revolutionary struggle, and a season of intense excitement, anxiety and alarm to the inhabitants of Berkshire. The fall of Ticonderoga and Fort Inde- pendence, the disastrous battle of Hubbardton. and the advance of Burgoyne's army towards Albany, em- boldened the Tories whilst it aroused the patriots to the necessity of renewed exertion. When the news of these reverses, and the pursuit of the fleeing Amer- icans to Fort Anne and Fort Edward reached Berk- shire, many of the towns sent forward men to the succor of Generals Schuyler and St. Clair.
On this occasion-July, 1777-at the so-called "Fort Edward Alarm," seventy-nine men from this town marched to Fort Edward and performed service varying from sixteen to forty-nine days. Nearly all of the able-bodied, loyal men of the town went in this ex- pedition. A warrant for a town meeting had been is- sued a short time before; this meeting had assembled and adjourned and again, the second time adjourned. The following curious endorsement, made by the Town Clerk on the back of the warrant, shows how thorough- ly the voting population of the town was. for the time, depleted; "at the day this meeting was adjourned to, the people met and adjourned to another day, and at the time of the second adjournment the people were gone in the Larrum to Fourt Edward, and so the meet- ing Died; therefore shall not record it." Scarcely had the Great Barrington men returned from the Fort Ed- ward expedition, when news arrived of the incursion of General Baum towards Bennington, and fifty-five men marched at once to the assistance of General Stark, and served from two to seven days each. Whether or not any of these arrived at Bennington in time to par- ticipate in the battle of the 16th of August, we have not ascertained. Those who served two and three days did not, of course, march so far as Bennington; but, twelve of the number did seven days service, and one of them-Levi Crittenton-afterwards a resident of Richmond, is known to have been present in the
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MILITIA AT SARATOGA
battle, and to have heard the prayer made by the Rev. Thomas Allen at the head of the Berkshire troops be- fore they went into the fight; hence it may be inferred that the remaining eleven were also participants in the fray.
A little later-September, 1777-at the call of Gen- erals Gates and Lincoln for men to resist Burgoyne- and eventually to participate in the capture of his army-acting, apparently, upon the impulse of the mo- ment, Capt. William King, chairman of the selectmen, issued his warrant on the 8th of September, calling a town meeting to be held in the afternoon of the same day to consider the exigencies of the situation and to offer encouragement to such as would volunteer to re- inforce the northern army. The town voted to pay four shillings per day-afterwards increased to four shillings and sixpence-in addition to their Continental pay, to each non-commissioned officer and soldier who should turn out in response to this call. Capt. Silas Goodrich with thirty-six men volunteered and marched to Saratoga in the Regiment of Col. John Ashley, whilst three others, from the west part of the town, went in the company of Capt. Sylvanus Wilcox of Alford.
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