USA > Massachusetts > Berkshire County > Pittsfield > The history of Pittsfield (Berkshire County), Massachusetts, from the year 1734 to the year 1800 > Part 32
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The contributions of material, as well as those of men, made by Pittsfield to the war of the Revolution, were large. Rev. Mr. Allen speaks of the demands made upon the county of Berkshire as being extraordinary, in proportion to those upon the rest of the State ; which is explained by her proximity to the theatre of war. In several exigencies, portions of the county were stripped of almost all means of transportation. In others, as in the alarm of 1777, every article of lead or pewter which could be laid hands upon was seized : cattle and grain were demanded in large but not in so exhaustive quantities. There were resolutions of advice from the Provincial Congress, and orders from the General Court, - of equal . authority in Berkshire, -that the town should furnish certain articles of clothing, and equipments for its soldiers, and they were always forthcoming; there were special voluntary contributions for the comfort of the sons of the town in the army, and they were liberally made.
The taxes, as in most towns, were sometimes in arrears. The political disorders of the times created the utmost financial confu- sion; 2 and, when the imposts came to be enormously increased, some
1 Mr. Merrill was in after-life a fine specimen of the Revolutionary soldier returned to private life, - a calm, even-tempered, collected, and thoughtful man ; kind and affectionate ; speaking ill of none; quiet, industrious, and economical ; spending a long life without reproach, and fearing no man.
2 Some idea of the depreciation of the currency, even in the earlier years of the
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irregularity in their collection was to be expected, especially among a people largely dependent upon their daily labor, while a majority of its able-bodied middle-aged and young men were in the mili- tary service. Still the efforts of the town to collect the dues of the State were unremitting and fairly successful. There were, how- ever, some difficulties in the matter which called for the aid of legislation. The exemption from local taxation of the unim- proved or " dormant" lands of non-resident proprietors in the town had long been a source of complaint, and, the State tax upon them being now refused payment, produced troubles which are explained in the following preamble and resolutions, intro- duced, and probably passed, in the General Court of 1781 :-
" Whereas it appears that Joel Dickinson and Joseph Wright, constables and collectors in the town of Pittsfield, labor under difficulty, and are likely to suffer damage in their estates, on account of the dormant lands of the non-resident proprietors, as the law now stands, as no purchasers appear to biel off said lands when they are offered for sale; therefore -
" Resolved, That the sheriff of the county of Berkshire is authorized and directed to levy the execution or executions which he may have against said collectors upon said proprietors' lands in the several rate-bills, in the hands of said collectors and constables, and cause so much of the lands so taken to be apprized, by three indifferent men, under oath, as will pay the sum or sums set upon their lands, and the costs, and the lands so apprized to become the property of this Commonwealth; which shall discharge such part of the aforesaid executions as shall be levied upon such dormant lands."
Another difficulty, which it must have puzzled the legislative wisdom to resolve, will appear from the following draft of a peti- tion to which we can find no other allusion nor any response : 1-
STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS BAY.
TO THE HONORABLE THE COUNCIL AND THE HONORABLE HOUSE OF REPRESENTA- TIVES IN GENERAL COURT ASSEMBLED.
The petition of the assessors of the town of Pittsfield humbly sheweth, That your petitioners have received an act from your Honors requiring them to inquire into the ratable property of the State, and that they have possessed themselves of the same as to the town of Pittsfield ; but that they are so unhappy as not to agree what is the real value thereof, - varying equal to their numbers.
war, may be found by consulting the comparative table of prices left by Rev. Mr. Allen, and given in the Appendix to this volume.
1 T. C. C., p. 250.
21
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Such being our situation, we most humbly entreat your Honors would be pleased to give us the value of our currency ; or else we must be subjected to the fine you have enjoined, or lie at your mercy to be doomed.
We are, with all deference,
Your Honors' most obedient servants.
PITTSFIELD, Sept. 1, 1778.
Peace and acknowledged independence came to the Colonies in 1783, and the event was celebrated in Pittsfield with great rejoi- cings. The militia paraded, and fired volleys of musketry. There is a dim tradition of a salute said to have been fired from a cannon cast at Lenox furnace ; but that is doubtful.
Rev. Mr. Allen preached a Thanksgiving discourse, glowing with fervent gratitude to the God of nations, and not failing to incul- cate the great principles by which he believed the republic ought to be governed. The glorious future which he predicted for his country long dwelt in the minds of those who heard him. A rare opportunity was afforded for the unchecked display of his hopeful and enthusiastic nature.
The quaint old gambrel-roofed house, afterwards known as the Chandler-Williams place, and now standing a little east of its original location, had been commenced, a few years previous to that date, by Col. Easton, who intended it for the residence of his son. It was not quite finished : but in it a great feast, known to tradition as the Peace Party, was held; among the viands for which, half a roasted ox figured conspicuously between platoons of geese and turkeys. Punch stood in huge tubs; wine and cider flowed in sparkling abundance.
Young and old flocked from every direction to the gathering. The joyous merriment of the occasion, the gayety of the dance, and the rustic splendors of the preparations, impressed themselves upon the memory of children who witnessed the scene with a vividness which did not fade until their dying day.1
Among the incidents told in connection with the occasion was one which very strikingly illustrates the customs of that period. The ladies came from far and near, mounted on their pillions, and dressed in fabrics suitable for the ride. But they brought with them the more costly robes in which they were to be arrayed
1 The late venerable Madam James D. Colt, who related the story to the writer in 1863 with an enviable vigor of description, was a child of ten years when she looked on with admiring eyes at the great Peace Party of 1783.
.
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for the party ; trusting to the house of some hospitable villager, or the neighboring tavern of Capt. Strong, to furnish room for making their toilet. Now, few in those days totally abstained from intoxicating beverages; and one good lady was so profuse in her patriotic libations, that, before the close of the festivities, her sense of the proper use of things was so confused, that she unconsciously wrapped a huge piece of roast beef, reeking with gravy, in her rich brocade, - with what consequence to its lustre need not be told.
CHAPTER XVIII. THE BERKSHIRE CONSTITUTIONALISTS.
[1775-1780.]
Politieal Status of the County. - Its Origin in the Organization of the Provisional Provincial Government. - The Provincial Congress. - Plan devised by the Continental Congress for the Government of Massachusetts. The Western Counties oppose it, but yield. - Reasons for reviving their Opposition. - Feel- ing against the Provincial Charter accounted for. - Rev. Mr. Allen's Position. - The Judicial System of the Province oppressive. - The Civil Administration excluded from Berkshire. - The Memorial of Pittsfield. - Delay of other Counties in re-organizing their Courts.
W E must now retrace our steps, in order to review the polit- ical history of the town, and in some sort that of the county, during the vexed years which transformed the people of Massachusetts from colonial subjects of a distant prince to citizens of an independent, constitutional State, - a review which, owing to the peculiar relations borne for the greater part of this period by the county to the Commonwealth, requires a very exact statement of facts and the nicest discrimination of motives.
From the summer of 1775 until the adoption of the State Con- stitution in 1780, a party composed of the vast majority of the people of Berkshire, under the acknowledged leadership of the first minister of Pittsfield, ruled the county in open resistance, so far as civil government was concerned, to the authority set up at Boston.
The political status of Berkshire during all that time was entirely anomalous. The nearest parallel which history affords is found in the position of those feudal barons who acknowledged an obligation to support their sovereign in his foreign wars, while maintaining against him their own assumed rights of internal gov- ernment. In like manner, the people of Berkshire, while for more
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than five years refusing to admit the civil administration of the State within their limits, granted it military aid by a more prompt and liberal contribution of men than any other county, paid their taxes as readily as the circumstances of a community upon an im- poverished and disturbed frontier permitted, and sent their repre- sentatives to the General Court, in which, however, they recognized powers much more limited and temporary than that body claimed. Unsurpassed in their devotion to the cause of national independ- ence, they responded with ardor to every call made upon them in that behalf ; but, not less earnest in their desire for constitutional liberty at home, they believed it insecure if any State government capable of perpetuating itself should be erected, except upon the basis of a constitution and bill of rights established by the express consent of a majority of the people.
So thorough were their convictions on this point; so essential did they deem these guaranties of civil and personal liberty, - that, in order to obtain them, they resorted to measures justifiable only in the last resort, and " utterly refused the admission of the course of law among them" until their demands were complied with.
This course subjected them to the disapprobation of the greater portion of their brethren at the east, and to the displeasure of the General Court. It will be for the reader to judge whether the course of the county was too hasty or too violent; but candid criticism will concede to the men who adopted it the meed of pure motives, a sincere love of popular liberty, and a riper trust in the people than had then been generally attained.
That we may better comprehend their motives, as well as their measures, let us endeavor to place ourselves where they stood, and attempt to realize as they did the evils which experience had revealed in that form of government whose re-establishment they resisted.
The part taken by the town and the county in the suppression of the king's courts in 1774 has already been related. That exam- ple, followed throughout the Colony, was approved by its results. Coupled with the enforced resignation of the councillors created by royal mandamus, it had effectually thwarted the parliamentary scheme for establishing in Massachusetts a government in contra- vention of her charter.
On the other hand, the refusal of Gov. Gage to exercise his
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functions in conformity to the charter, or to perform those duties incumbent upon him in order to give the General Court a legal organization, as effectually prevented the operation of government under the ancient forms.
In this lapse of all authority recognized by either party, Gov. Gage, on his part, resorted to absolute military rule. The natural recourse of the people was to those powers assumed by the repre- sentatives elect, under the name of "The Provincial Congress ; " and, in the first fervor of the Revolution, the ready assent yielded to Congressional recommendations gave them practically, while that assent continued, the validity of law. It was not, however, even then forgotten by considerate men, that authority of this kind was liable to be interrupted at any moment - it might be the most critical - by one of those sudden and often unaccounta- ble impulses to which masses of men are subject.
In addition to the defects of the improvised government, inci- dent to its unstable foundation, even for the purposes of war, in which alone it exercised its functions, much difficulty was encoun- tered, especially in the commercial and maritime districts, on account of the suspension of the courts of law; for, while less trouble than was to have been expected was found in restraining crime and maintaining public order, - a task which had been taken in hand by the town authorities and Revolutionary committees, - the sacredness of property and the obligations of contracts were seriously impaired in the absence of the courts designed for their protection. The attention of the statesmen in the Provincial Con- gress was, however, first drawn to the insufficiency of the existing government, by the danger arising from the presence of a large army in the Province, with no civil power to provide for and con- trol it.
With reference to this solely, the Provincial Congress,1 on the 16th of May, 1775, applied to the Continental Congress for direc- tions. The terms in which the application was made are to be noted for our present purpose : -
" We are happy in having an opportunity of laying our distressed state before the representative body of the Continent, and humbly hope you will
1 In the remainder of this chapter, to avoid confusion with the Continental Con- gress, we shall denominate this body the Massachusetts Convention, as it was fre- quently called in 1775.
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favor us with your most explicit advice respecting the taking up and exer- eising the powers of civil government, which we think absolutely necessary for the salvation of our country : and we shall readily submit to such a general plan as you may direct for all the Colonies ; or make it our great study to estab- lish such a form of government here as shall not only promote our advantage, but the union and interest of all America."
John Adams was in Congress when this petition was presented ; and the subject which it brought to the attention of that body had, before he left home, lain with great weight upon his mind as the most difficult and dangerous business which there was to do.
When it was introduced on the floor of Congress, however, he approached it in no coward spirit, but seized the occasion for one of those bold but logical harangues by which he was paving the way to independence. He entreated the serions attention of all the members, and of all the Continent, to the measures which the times demanded. He declared that there was great wisdom in the adage, " When the sword is drawn, throw away the scabbard; " " but," he added, with startling emphasis, " whether thrown away or not, it is useless now, and will be useless forever."
He earnestly advocated, therefore, the prompt formation of State governments in every Colony ; since the case of Massachu- setts, although now the most urgent, must soon become that of all. This, he considered, could only be accomplished through conven- tions of delegates chosen by the people for this express purpose ; and he urged Congress at once to recommend to the several Pro- vincial assemblies the immediate calling of such conventions, so that each Colony might set up government under its own au- thority.
But these were new, strange, and terrible words to most of the members; and rejecting this sound and statesmanlike counsel, whose adoption would have saved infinite trouble in the future, Congress, inharmonious in its views of the relations in which the revolt of the Colonies had placed them to the mother country, postponed the subject to the 3d of June, when it was referred to a committee, whose report was adopted on the 9th. The committee had frequent interviews with the Massachusetts members of Con- gress, and doubtless received promptings from other citizens of the Province : but, from whatever source it received its inspiration, the result was unfortunate; for, instead of the general plan for all the Colonies which the convention had prayed for, as the alterna-
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tive of being themselves allowed to form a constitution, Congress recommended to Massachusetts an awkward device, based upon a legal fiction, which found its sole precedent among the proceedings of the Long Parliament. This advice, which was frequently re- ferred to by both parties in the troubles which ensued in Berkshire, was as follows : -
IN CONGRESS, Friday, June 9, 1775.
" Resolved, That no obedience being due to the act of parliament for altering the charter of the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, nor to a governor and lieutenant-governor who will not observe the directions of, but endeavor to subvert, the charter, the governor and lieutenant-governor are to be con- sidered as absent, and their offices vacant.
" And as there is no Council there, and the inconveniences arising from the suspension of the powers of government are intolerable, especially at a time when Gen. Gage hath actually levied war, and is carrying on hostilities against his Majesty's peaceful and loyal subjects in that Colony; that in order to conform, as near as may be, to the spirit and substance of the char- ter, it is recommended to the Provincial Congress to write letters to the inhabitants of the several places which are entitled to representation in Assembly, requesting them to choose such representatives; and that the Assembly, when chosen, should elect conncillors ; which Assembly and Coun- cil should exercise the powers of government until a governor of his Ma- jesty's appointment will consent to govern the Colony according to its charter."
It will be seen, that, so far from being explicit, this advice limited the duration of the temporary government to be set up under it by an event destined never to happen ; and showed so little appre- ciation of the real condition of the country, that it did not contem- plate the possibility of independence, which was declared within little more than a year.
Two days after the passage of this resolution, the Massachusetts Convention, not having yet received information of it, adopted a second address to Congress; meeting on Sunday for that purpose, and feeling the difficulties of their situation to be so grievous, that they sent a special messenger to Philadelphia, with an carnest en- treaty that he should be despatched on his return as soon as pos- sible with the advice which "the pressing nature of their distresses " rendered it necessary should be "immediate."
There is a marked difference between the tone of this address and that of its predecessor in May ; the first being based upon the presence of a single great public danger, the second dwelling
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chiefly upon the insecurity of internal order, and the disturbance of business relations.
The Convention now forcibly represented, that, in many parts of the Province, alarming symptoms had appeared of a diminishing regard for the sacred rights of property; and that, although fewer enormities and breaches of the peace had occurred than it was natural to anticipate, yet there was extreme difficulty found in maintaining public order.
" The situation of no people or colony," it goes on to assert, "ever rendered it more necessary that the full powers of civil government should be exercised, than does the present state and situation of the Colony of Massachusetts Bay." Bitter complaint is made, that, "chiefly from the want of a settled civil polity, every undertaking necessary for the preservation of life, and still more of property, is subject to innumerable delays, embarrassments, disappointments, and obstructions ; while whatever is accomplished in this direction is effected in the most expensive manner : so that, in times which require the most rigid economy, it is impossible to exercise it."
This piteous appeal was perhaps colored by the hypochondria with which Major Hawley, the chairman of the committee report- ing it, was afflicted, and which soon after increased to such a degree as to compel the retirement of that ablest of the patriotic leaders from the public councils. The melancholy of so influential a member could hardly have failed to infect the whole convention. Nevertheless, something very like the condition of affairs depicted did exist.
Little, therefore, as the scheme of government proposed by Con- gress comported with the desire of Massachusetts as expressed in her first application, the temper of the Convention, when the re- sponse arrived, was in its favor.
Accordingly, on the 19th of June, circular letters were addressed to the several towns, requesting them to elect representatives to a Great and General Court, or assembly, to be held at Watertown on the 19th of July. With regard to the two measures, - the adop- tion of a new form of government, as proposed by the convention in May, and the travesty of the charter recommended by Congress in June, - the people of the eastern and western counties, says Sam Adams, who himself favored the charter, appeared to differ ; 1
1 Frothingham's Warren, p. 377.
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meaning, of course, that the predominant sentiment of those sec- tions differed, for there was a considerable majority in each section which agreed upon this point with the minority in the other. There was much reluctance, almost everywhere, to accept the Con- gressional scheme; but the people of Berkshire and Hampshire had become reconciled in a far less degree than their eastern fellow- citizens to the losses which Massachusetts liberties sustained in the passage from a colonial to a provincial charter. That William of " glorious memory " had taken advantage of the wrong done by his predecessor of infamous story to rob the most devoted of Whig Colonies of her ancient privileges, was bitterly remembered and brooded over by men like the Rev. Mr. Allen, until it lacked little to render them eager to forswear all kings forever. They fretted under the evils which they justly ascribed to the innovations of the Provincial charter; hated cordially the aristocratic system which had sprung up under it; and, while they clung to what privileges it left them, they considered these always endangered until the choice of their own governor should be restored to the people, and a way thus prepared for further reforms. From the first uprising against the Regulating Acts, the most thoughtful of the Berkshire patriots looked to the restoration of the old and not of the new charter, as the ultimatum to be demanded of Great Britain ; and that feeling strengthened and accommodated itself to the changing shapes of political affairs as the struggle went on, and day by day the deformities of King William's charter were demonstrated and denounced.
But, in June, Mr. Adams, writing from Philadelphia, represented to Dr. Warren that there was jealousy in the minds of some mem- bers of Congress, that Massachusetts aimed at total independency, not only of the mother country, but of the other Colonies also ; and that, as her people were hardy and brave, they would in time over- run them all. These representatives privately assured Mr. Adams, that "their constituents would openly support Massachusetts, if her people were driven by necessity to defend their lives or liberties ; but doubted whether they would ever be persuaded to think it necessary for them to set up another form of government." Mr. Adams, therefore, advised the adoption of the scheme devised in Congress, in order to avoid as much as possible the appearance of innovation, and thus preserve the unity among the Colonies which was so essential.1
1 Frothingham's Warren, p. 378.
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The people of Western Massachusetts were neither self-willed nor opinionated; and this reasoning, which commended itself to their good sense, prevailed while the condition of affairs which gave it cogency continued. If, as is probable, acceptance of the proposed plan was urged with the weight of Mr. Adams's personal influence, its effect was greatly increased; for, of all the Boston patriots, Sam Adams, in spite of differing opinions on the pres- ent point, was the leader most nearly after the heart of the mountain-men.
There was little, therefore, if any, opposition to the choice of representatives to the General Court, in response to the circular letter of June. Pittsfield elected two, - Capts. Charles Goodrich and Israel Dickinson, - one of whom only was to serve at a time.
The conditions which induced this submission were but of brief duration. During the summer of 1775, the minority, larger, - and growing with more rapidity than it dared believe, - longing for independence, advanced towards it by gradual and concealed ap- proaches.
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