USA > Massachusetts > Berkshire County > Pittsfield > The history of Pittsfield (Berkshire County), Massachusetts, from the year 1800 to the year 1876 > Part 26
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The preparations for the general muster were not made with- out the aid of stimulating beverages ; and the arduous duties and labors of that great day of all the year, were sustained by copious dranghts from well-filled, and frequently replenished, canteens ; a portion of the militiaman's accouterments which was never missed by the inspecting officer, whatever else, from fire-lock to priming-rod, might be lacking. Indeed, it was well if that officer, after duly examining these tin prime-requisites of the military service through a single company, was able to distin- guish whether the others carried " Queen's arms " which had seen service at Ticonderoga, in the French and Indian wars, or Lemuel Pomeroy's latest style of flint-lock musket.
This description of the militia of Massachusetts will answer, in its essential particulars, for any period from the close of the revolution until the active militia was reduced to a few small and controllable corps. Whatever good it accomplished was accom- panied by an overwhelming flood of evil. It was demoralizing, as well as burdensome, to the community. Instead of making good soldiers, well trained and submissive to discipline, it taught an incontrollable body of armed men to handle dangerous weapons
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awkwardly. The office of regimental-surgeon was far from a sinecure in time of peace ; and the provision made by the state- law for those wounded, and for the families of those killed, at parades or musters, was not unnecessary. It is startling to read in the papers of that day, the frequent serious and fatal accidents caused by ramrods fired from the guns where the fuddled militia- men had left them; by the bursting of muskets in which the owners had unconsciously accumulated several charges of ammunition before they could persuade the obdurate flints to take effect ; and by numerous accidents of a similar character. Even when some capable and zealous officer succeeded in forming a somewhat cred- itable corps, there were inevitable circumstances which gave it the appearance of the mere affectation of military pomp and pride ; and, as the village-wags had inflicted a fatal nickname upon the Flood-wood of the militia, so such satirists as Irving and Paulding made the whole system the victim of their irresistible raillery ; and it fell into contempt with the more intelligent classes.
The approach of the war of 1812, however, and still more its actual existence, served to rescue the militia, for a time, from the obloquy into which it had fallen. The democratic leaders, in their opposition to a standing-army, had always affected to place great reliance, in the event of war, upon the efficiency of the mili- tia-the bone and sinew of the country. Experiment showed it to be a very fragile reed ; but, before it was put to the proof, as war became more and more imminent, patriotic officers entered enthu- siastically into the work of rendering the militia efficient defenders of the country. Nor were these efforts confined to the democrats. In Massachusetts, where the governor refused to surrender the command to the officer assigned to the district by the President, the federalists cherished the citizen-soldiery as, in contrast with the regulars, peculiarly their own ; and the legislature made lib- eral grants-at one time $100,000-to arm, equip and fit them for service, in defense of the state. In Pittsfield there were two companies of ordinary militia-one at the West Part, and one in the East and Center. There was also an independent company of light-infantry; and, in connection with other towns, one each of cavalry and artillery.
In May, 1810, anticipating the war, the town instructed its assessors to abate all the poll-taxes-except those for the support of the minister-of every militiaman who produced a certificate
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from the commander of his company, that he had, for the year preceding, or from the date of his enrollment, attended all the trainings and reviews, completely armed and equipped according to law, and dressed in the uniform prescribed by the proper authority. In the following year, an article was inserted in a warrant for town-meeting, "to see if the town will explain the above vote." The town would not; and the democratic selectmen and treasurer, left to their own discretion, if they acted like them- selves, construed it liberally in favor of faithful militiamen. The spirited action of the town in September, 1814, regarding its militia, has just been narrated.
Under the fostering influence of the vote of 1810, and by the efforts of competent and zealous officers, the ordinary militia were brought into a very creditable state of efficiency; and the inde- pendent corps were greatly improved. When the Cantonment was formed, the militia had the advantage of the example, instruction and encouragement of the officers stationed there, especially when employed as a guard for the prisoners. So that at last when, in the fall of 1814, they were called to more active service, their condition was much in advance of that of peaceful times ; and, to some extent, superior to that of the state-militia.
In the work of preparation, the Berkshire Blues, a light-infantry company, under the command of Captain Richard S. Chapell, was distinguished. As soon as news of the declaration of war reached Pittsfield, Captain Chapell ordered his men to provide themselves with arms, equipments and uniforms, within seven weeks ; and the order was promptly obeyed. During the entire war the company was kept in a rare state of discipline. Its uni- form consisted of dark blue coats turned up with red; panta- loons of the same style ; and the tall grenadier cap of leather, -intended for protection against saber-cuts-surmounted by the inevitable plume of black and red.
In the militia-system of that day, positions on the flanks of each regiment, were assigned to independent companies. And, under the order of September 16th, calling out ten thousand of the Massachusetts militia, two flank 1 companies and a regiment of ordinary militia were called from Berkshire. The flank com-
1 The word flank is used in the order as a synonym for independent. Col- onel Ward's regiment, to which the Blues were attached, was made up entirely of such companies.
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panies selected, were the Berkshire Blues from Pittsfield, and Captain Hunt's company of light-infantry from Stockbridge. The Blues marched on the 11th, and were escorted several miles on their way by " Captain Elisha Allen's company of infantry, and a large concourse of citizens, who cheered them lustily as they separated ; the company returning the salute and marching off in high spirits."
The full regiment of seven hundred men, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Solomon H. Chamberlin, of Dalton, marched from Lenox, for Boston, September 15th.
Rev. Billy Hibbard was chaplain of this regiment, and we quote from his autobiography some quaint paragraphs which graphically illustrate some of the feelings and beliefs of the day ; and give the only account we have of the Pittsfield militia's " campaign at Boston."
At our annual conference, in 1814, I intimated that I felt it my duty to volunteer my services to supply the army with preaching in all cases where I could; and if the militia should be called out where I traveled, and wanted a chaplain, I should offer to go with them. This matter was talked over ; and it was thought right to aid the government, and especially to do all we could to prevent wickedness increasing on account of the war. * * *
These were times which tried men's souls. It was im ortant that every man friendly to the general government should show himself and avow his principles. I did not hesitate a moment. Therefore, when the militia was called out to go to Boston, I volunteered my services; and Colonel Chamberlin appointed me chaplain. All was hurry. Orders were given to march forthwith.
Governor Strong had been requested by the President, to call out the number of troops assigned by congress as the quota of Massachu- setts, in order to defend Boston from an attack which was threatened by a fleet, and an army of twenty thousand men under the command of Lord Hill.
But Governor Strong, knowing that if he called out these troops by the order from congress, the chief command of them would devolve upon General Dearborn, who commanded the regular troops in Boston; therefore, he called them out by his own order, that he might keep the command in his own hands. I saw by this disobedience that there might be a secret design against the general government. I believed that if Lord Hill should come, Governor Strong might join him and so separate New England from the other states and make himself a king in the land of steady habits. As soon as I had an opportunity, I
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opened my mind to the officers of the regiment, and some of them were of my opinion. The colonel declared that the moment he dis- covered that the governor did not defend the place in case we should be attacked, he would command his regiment to turn their arms upon him.
Our men were in high spirits. I had been ordered to join the regi- ment on the third day's march. * * The day I started I heard of the defeat of the British at Plattsburg and Baltimore. So, when I over- took the regiment in Ware, and informed them of the news, they gave six cheers, which rent the air.
When we arrived at Boston, we were ordered to encamp at Cam- bridgeport. This was a wet, sunken place, calculated to give our men remittent fevers. However, our good surgeon, Dr. (Asa) Burbank, succeeded in curing all that were attacked. Our regiment was called ont every morning to attend prayers, and we had some solemn sea- sons. I generally prayed six or eight minutes; and would sometimes exhort them about ten minutes. Sometimes many were in tears, while I was pressing home the duty of the soldier to fear God and serve his country in the midst of war. * * *
* Let there be no profane swearing; no passions indulged that would violate the decorum of Christian soldiers; but show to all that we fear God and honor our government. After some such short discourse I would close with prayer.
Some of them expressed an opinion that it was needless to have chaplains in an army ; but from what I have witnessed, I think, if min- isters can do good anywhere, they can in the army, if they are men fearing God, themselves. * I believe I was instrumental of some good to the officers and soldiers. * * * .Not long after I returned home I had the satisfaction to hear of forty-three, who were in our regiment, who had experienced religion, and joined our society. I met with no abuse either from soldiers or sailors, while with them. But, such was the habit of speaking evil of the president and congress, that I met with several insults from gentlemen of those habits. One instance of insult happened on parade. A gentleman, who often attended prayers outside the hollow square, came to me while I was waiting for the regiment to form ; and the invalids were also standing near me. He came to make some acquaintance ; he asked my name, and whether I was educated at Cambridge college, etc. Ile remarked that " our country was once flourishing, but now it is wretched, and all by our damned rulers." I said, " Sir, our rulers are not damned." " Yes," said he, " they are damned rulers." I said, "Sir, you insult me. No man that is acquainted with me, will treat me with vulgarity, nor curse the rulers of our land in my presence; it is written, thou shalt not curse the rulers of thy people." He said: " If I have hurt
Our government is of God. *
.
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your feelings, I am sorry for it. I meant Madison." I said, " I feel myself insulted by you, and I owe you no conversation." He steered off without another word. At a proper time I made my complaint to the officers of the staff. I told them I could not hear the rulers of our land cursed, without resenting it. There was such an interest taken in my behalf by the officers and soldiers, that soon it was noised about that the chaplain had been insulted; and it became the subject of much conversation. Some concluded, by way of apology, that the gentleman would not have made so free in my presence if he had not supposed that I was a chaplain of the same political sentiments of the clergy in general, of New England. If so, what an account will those clergy- men have to give who have encouraged the people in cursing the rulers of our land. Verily, this has been the cause of this war, and of all the blood which has been shed. O Tempora ! O Mores ! * *
Colonel Chamberlin sent word to the governor, that his regiment was ready for service ; or to march down to Castine, to drive off the British.1
I was requested also to inform those members of the assembly then sitting in Boston, who came from that part of Maine in which the British troops lay, that our regiment was waiting for orders to march down and drive them off. And they petitioned Governor Strong for a suitable force of volunteers for that purpose. But our pious gov- ernor loved our enemies so well, that he would not have them hurt or disturbed. So he advised neutrality, and preached peace with all but republicanism : I did not hear of his preaching any peace with that.
It will be observed that these opinions were recorded by Mr. Hibbard, as though still held by him, nearly forty years after the close of the war. If a man so shrewd and well-informed as he, could entertain for such a period suspicions such as he expresses, it is difficult to conceive of any charge against the federal leaders which would not have found credence among the less intelligent masses of the democratic party.
The militia remained at Boston three months, no doubt learn- ing something of the art of war; and certainly seeing as much of metropolitan life as was good for them. If they did not see any active service it was clearly from no lack of inclination. And if they had met the enemy in fight, there is every reason to believe that they would have maintained the reputation which Berkshire soldiers have kept unsullied in all the wars in which they have taken part.
1 There was the old impatient Berkshire spirit of revolutionary times.
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The war had hardly commenced before there were rumors of negotiations for peace or of mediation proffered by neutral powers. But, while both the belligerents constantly declared their desire for peace, no terms were ever suggested by the one which the other would even consider. Finally, however, in the winter of 1813- 14, the United States appointed commissioners to treat concern- ing peace, who met the commissioners of Great Britain in August, 1814, at Ghent. The first news from this commission came in October. Great Britain, rendered arrogant by the splendid suc- cess of her arms in all parts of the world, presented terms, which hardly the most devoted of her partisans in America would have consented to accept. Almost the whole body of the people applauded the course of their commissioners in rejecting them ; and resolved to fight out the war at any cost rather than to submit to such insolent demands. They were simply these :
Great Britain insisted on retaining that portion of Maine already in her possession ; upon excluding Americans from the fisheries to which they had been admitted by the treaty of 1783; and that the United States should agree never to construct or maintain any armed vessels on the lakes, nor hold or erect any forts on their American shores, or on the rivers that ran into them. She demanded, moreover, not only that her Indian allies should be included in the treaty of peace, to which the United States was willing to consent; but that there should be ceded, and secured, to them forever, all the territory now included in the states of Michigan, Indiana and Illinois, with a part of Ohio.
This news, of course, put the expectation of peace far from the thoughts of both government and people ; and, although the com- mission at Ghent was known to be still continuing its labors, they nerved themselves at once for a desperate struggle with that vast power which Great Britain, having crushed with it the greatest soldier in Europe, was now able to concentrate upon them.
There were many reasons why both political parties should seriously regret this necessity. The federalists, of course, as an original peace party ; the democrats from the embarrassments which they experienced in conducting the government ; and both, from the alarming dangers to which every one perceived that the country was exposed. And the state of the war was not such as to relieve this depression ; although we now see that it had just developed officers capable of command, and although the brilliant
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victories on the Niagara frontier somewhat cheered the gloom. There were great fears as to the result of the invasion of Louis- iana. A large portion of Maine was still held by a British army ready to extend its conquests in the spring. Canada, still intact, was the rallying ground of a constantly increasing force. The brilliant series of American naval victories, which distin- guished the opening of the war, had ended, and the ships whose names had become a synonym for victory were either lost or hopelessly shut up in port, by fleets which effectually blockaded the whole coast of the Union. The slave-holding states were agitated by perpetual alarms ; for the enemy-although his own position as a slave-holding power, by virtue of his West Indian possessions, restrained him from openly encouraging insurrec- tions and arming the blacks-made frequent landings, incited escapes from servitude, and committed other acts which were deemed suggestive of a servile outbreak. The northern com- mercial states were threatened with the plunder and destruction of their maritime towns and villages, while the almost-impervious squadrons of the blockade completed the ruin of their commerce.
The desperate struggle which seemed inevitable was, doubtless, even under these depressing circumstances, to be accepted, without hesitation, as the alternative of a dishonorable peace ; and, in the light of after events, we can confidently believe, that, with much suffering and sacrifice, it would have been brought, by a united nation, to a successful issue. But even with this assurance, it was not a contest to be courted ; and in the autumn of 1814, vic- tory at New Orleans was uncertain; the course of the federal party was not well assured, and the Hundred Days of Napoleon could not have been even remotely anticipated.
The intelligence which came in February, that the protocol for a treaty of peace upon honorable terms-although no definite mention was made of some important matters in dispute-had been agreed upon by the commissioners at Ghent, ratified by the prince regent at London, and forwarded to Washington for rati- fication there, was well fitted to excite the universal and exuber- ant joy with which it was received.
The news reached Pittsfield on the afternoon of February 13th, in the form of a small handbill of twenty newspaper-lines ; which had been issued at five o'clock the preceding afternoon, from the office of the Albany Argus, and which was immediately reprinted
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by the Sun, and distributed broadcast. It merely stated the general facts, and that the news had been received in Albany, at the moment of the date of the Argus handbill, by Governor Tompkins, to whom it had been dispatched by J. Barker, Esq., from New York. But there was no doubt of the essential facts, and the public joy was unbounded. The Sun, of the same week, says : "On Tuesday, the artillery at the Cantonment, and in this village, repeatedly fired salutes ; a large number of citizens, and a fine body of regulars, paraded on the green, and fired continued volleys of musketry through the day. It was a scene of rejoicing in which the loud music of the bells, and the roar of artillery and musketry, were but outward demonstrations of the joy which animated every patriot breast."
In its issue of March 2d, the Sun again says : "The nation is alive with the welcome news of peace. This town, and almost all the cities, towns and villages throughout the Union, so far as heard from, have given testimony of their joyous feelings by dis- charges of.cannon, ringing of bells, illuminations, etc."
In Pittsfield, there were illuminations, bonfires, public din- ners, and-most notable among them -- a ball at the assembly- room in the second story of the old yellow Female Academy on Bank row; on which joyous occasion the belles were indeed happy who could appear in a robe of blue calico, covered with innumerable scrolls inscribed with the word PEACE; a style of dress-pattern of which Josiah Bissell & Son could procure but a limited supply for the Pittsfield market; although cargoes had been sent out from Liverpool, almost simultaneously with the ship which brought the treaty of peace-so close upon the with- drawal of the British armies, followed the invasion of British manufactures.
The Sun, in announcing the ratification of the treaty by the American government, warned its readers that the peace had been forced upon Great Britain, "who still rankled with com- mercial jealousy," and that the United States " must be pre- pared for a second Punic war;" and, with other newspapers of the same political faith it for years cultivated a hostile feeling towards England, and affected to consider the assent to peace as wrung from her. But, although the softening of the terms offered by her between October and December was doubtless in some measure due to a growing perception that her preponder-
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ance in Europe was not fixed on so impregnable a basis as in the first flush of victory she imagined, yet it cannot be fairly claimed that she consented to peace from dread of the American arms. Peace was a blessed boon to both countries, neither of which could, by any possibility, have gained from the prolonga- tion of hostilities, anything at all commensurate with the cost ; and it was the glory of the American commissioners at Ghent, that they succeeded in convincing the representatives of Great Britain that this was true as to her interests.
Still, although the people of Pittsfield, like those of the whole country, were relieved of many burdens and anxieties by the advent of peace, and although the joyous greeting with which they met it, was not without wise reasons, yet the cessation of hostilities was far from favorable to their immediate material interests. The stoppage of the national expenditure, to a great extent, diminished both the mercantile and manufacturing busi- ness of the town: and the abundance and cheapness of the British fabrics with which the whole country was flooded, threat- ened to complete their ruin.
This, the town soon began to feel bitterly ; and it was the opin- ion of the veteran Britain haters-and, like most of their opinions, not altogether unsupported by at least presumptive proof-that the English manufacturers, unable to protect their monopoly either by preventing the extension of their improve- ments in machinery, or to crush their rivals by force of arms, had determined to effect their destruction by a free use of their unlimited capital ; even a wasteful temporary use of which could be wisely made, if it succeeded in driving their American rivals from their own market. In what manner they acted, on the basis of this opinion, will appear in another chapter.
CHAPTER XII.
THE DIVIDED PARISH-PASTORATES OF REV. WILLIAM ALLEN AND REV. THOMAS PUNDERSON-REUNION.
[1810-1817.]
Divorce of town and parish affairs-Temporary change in the mode of sup- porting public worship-Ordination of Rev. William Allen-The town appropriates moneys for a school-fund-Misapplication of the same to the purposes of the First Parish, and controversy concerning the same-The First Church continnes the discipline of its seceding members-Measures looking towards reunion, and obstacles to them-Death and benevolent will of Woodbridge Little-The fathers of the church characterized by Rev. Dr. Ilumphrey-Rev. Messrs. Allen and Punderson propose reunion, and resign to facilitate it-Their dismission-The churches agree upon a basis of reunion-It is consummated under the auspices of an ecclesiastical council.
W E resume the history of the Congregational parishes of the town, at the point where it was interrupted on the death of Rev. Thomas Allen, in 1811, and shortly after the establishment of the Union Parish. For seven years after the death of Mr. Allen, religious worship in Pittsfield was supported in a manner then almost, if not entirely, anomalous in the coun- try-towns of Massachusetts ; there being no appropriations of money by the town for that purpose.
Practically, perhaps, this change may be said to have been effected in October, 1809, when the town voted "that the sum of four hundred dollars shall be raised for the support of the ministry; which, together with the expense of assessing the same, shall be assessed exclusively on the polls and estates of those per- sons who are members of the First Parish in Pittsfield, and be paid over to such uses as they shall appoint." While, to comply with the statute, the town thus voted that the sum which would fall to the members of the First Parish, to be paid for religious
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