History of Monroe County, Michigan, Part 36

Author: Wing, Talcott Enoch, 1819-1890, ed
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: New York, Munsell & company
Number of Pages: 882

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And here occurred an incident well worthy of being placed on record. The Erie landed at the foot of Woodward avenue, where the General and the guards went ashore. At onee they were surrounded by thousands of the curious, eager to obtain all the information possible of what had occurred. Among them were many of the " Patriots" and friends of the "Patriots." It was well known that General Brady would do his duty and preserve the peace and neutrality of the frontier if pos- sible. He had been prompt and firm and faithful when and where duty called him. He was looked upon somewhat in the way of the Revolutionary adventurers. At the time al- Inded to the crowd were about him, and when the news was learned some of the boldest be- gan to throw out hints against the conduct of the General. He stood calm and collected, about seventy years old, over six feet in height, as straight as a poplar, and fearless and brave as the god of war. The excited crowd pressed closer and closer about him, as he seemed not to regard them, and grew louder and more bold in their insults, but still he noticed them not. Finally they got so near as to jostle him, when the faithful old hanger which had re- mained quietly at his side, leaped from its scabbard and flashed above their heads, while the keen eye of the brave old soldier flashed fire. He proclaimed the supremacy of the law, and in an instant he had plenty of elbow room within the range of his sword. No more in- sults were offered to him, and the impression left on the minds of all, even stout-hearted " Patriots," was that " one might chase a thou- sand, and two put ten thousand to flight." The

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old General died years after from injuries re- ceived from being thrown from his carriage against a post at the intersection of Monroe and Miami avenues in Detroit. He went down to the tomb followed by a host of friends and acquaintances, covered with honors and with- out a stain upon his character.

I have remarked that the officers of the Thirty-Fourth British regiment, stationed at Malden, were well and favorably known in Detroit. On one occasion they were invited to attend a military ball given by the Brady Guards at the National, since the Russel Ilonse. It was noised about that the invita- tion had been extended, and so great was the feeling of curiosity, mingled with hostile feel- ing against all who assisted to obstruct the movements of the "Patriots," that a large crowd assembled at the ferry, then at the foot of Griswold street, to see them land. Violence even was apprehended, and precautions were taken against it, but none occurred. The guests were well received, well entertained and returned safely.

The times and affairs of which I have written contain many interesting incidents and per- sonal adventures. The case of Mr. Sheldon, of Lapeer, may be remembered by many. This man was a respectable farmer of good circum- stances, and perhaps of forty-five years of age. As the story went at the time, he came in with a load of wheat and hitched his horses near the foot of Woodward avenue. Falling in with some of the " Patriots" he took a drop, and perhaps several, in consequence of which his zeal in the cause of Canada was somewhat im- proved. This zeal would not be likely to flag in company with such men as Putnam and J. H. Harmon and Solomon Wesly and other kindred spirits then engaged in the revolu- tionary enterprise. This was the evening before the "Patriots went over," and as Sheldon was a man of courage and real pluck, he joined the company and " went over" with them. When the party was dispersed he fell into the hands of the authorities, was taken to London, Canada West, was tried, convicted and sen- tenced, and sent to Botany Bay. There, dur- ing six or seven years. he suffered every hard- ship and privation, and saw many of his com- panions end their miseriesin the tomb. Finally he escaped or was pardoned and found his way back. He took a boat at Buffalo for Detroit, as

the story goes, and as the boat came to her dock at the foot of Woodward avenue, he naively inquired what had become of the team which he left hitched there.

Some of the prisoners taken at Windsor were taken to the village of Sandwich, where, after a short consultation by a few officers, among whom was Colonel Prince, several of them were shot without trial and without mercy. The modus operandi was said to be as follows: A file of soldiers was drawn up, and the prisoner to be shot, standing a few paces distant, was told that he could run for his life, whereupon, taking to his heels, he was fired upon. Some were killed, some only wounded, and some escaped unhurt. Mr. Sherman is said to have been among these prisoners, and when his turn came to run his chance, he, in view of the officers who directed the execution, gave a Masonic sign. Immediately the pro- ceedings were suspended, a short consultation was held, and Sherman was ordered into close custody to be taken to London for trial, the result of which is unknown.

These summary executions at Sandwich, where the unfortunate men were overpowered and disarmed, were universally censured, and Colonel Prince and his associates in the matter were blamed by high authority in the British Parliament. A special court of inquiry was ordered to ascertain and report the facts to the Government. The commission sat several days at Sandwich, and probably made a report, but the matter seems to have been dropped. After the excitement of the moment was past and the time for cool reflection had arrived, many acts which a strict criticism could not approve were passed over as belonging to the troubles of the times. Colonel Prince had a difficult part to act. His life had been repeatedly threatened, and his residence at the " Park Farm " had to be guarded nightly to protect it from the in- cendiary and his life against the knife of the assassin. He was an officer of the peace and of the militia, and was compelled to act upon the spur of the moment, with a large and perhaps loose authority, without direction from the colonial authorities. He felt that murderers and brigands had invaded his country, and in a moment of excitement he did what he him- self probably regretted afterwards. Public sen- timent in Michigan ran high against him, and for some time he thought it prudent not to

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visit our side of the river. But time wore away, and with it the prejudices and recollec- tions of the past. The Colonel has since filled high publie stations at home, and has been and is highly respected at home and abroad. There are few who know him who are not glad to meet him anywhere and take him by the hand.

It is well known that the Canadian and British authorities soon crushed out rebellion at home, and repelled all assaults from abroad. Prescott and Nany Island, and Schlosser, and Windsor, and Hickory Island, and also Fight- ing Island, in the river about three miles below Detroit, where there was a small skirmish, or an attempt to skirmish, between the Canadian militia and a few hundred "Patriots," the latter having among other arms of all sorts, a four-pound piece without a carriage and mounted on rails, are all distinctly remem- bered. Papino and Mckenzie, and the gallant and unfortunate von Schoultz, and Lount and Mathews are well remembered. But the British Government took measures to reform abuses and to improve the constitution and the Cana- dian people. Upper and Lower Canada were brought under one colonial government, and in short the wishes of the people were, in the main, gratified. The disaffection, which with better management might have resulted in complete revolution, passed away entirely. It may well be doubted if a political revolution could now be brought about at all in Canada. Nor can the subject of annexation to the United States be seriously entertained, nor probably any disturbance of the imperial relation with the mother country. The people of the neigh- boring provinces seem, in short, to be satisfied. They may not subscribe to the doctrine of " popular sovereignty," but they are in a condition to make their wishes known and respected.

I add an extract from a letter of Caleb F. Davis, one of the old Brady Guard, written a number of years after the Patriot War :

" Need I say how the recollection of those days aroused the almost forgotten glories of the old Brady Guards in their first service in the army of Uncle Sam, under the command of that old veteran of the War of 1812, Brigadier- General Hugh Brady. Well do I recollect the night of which you speak, when the Patriots, refugees from Canada, left their encampment, marched to the steamer and crossed to the

dominions of her Majesty. But you are mis- taken in saying that I was with them. As the article reads one would infer that I was one of the Patriot expedition. I was only one of a number of the Brady Guards who were pres- sent when the expedition sailed ; we were then in the service of the United States and were merely lookers on and sympathizers, wishing God speed and success to the movement. ] have an indistinct recollection of being with you on that night, meeting the Patriot force, I think, somewhere on Jefferson avenne, and marching with them to the boat on which they sailed to Lake St. Clair and landed on the Canada side. On the wharf I first saw John H. Harmon. He was an aid to General Bierce, from Ohio. I knew the movement was to take place that night, as did many of the Guards. A strict sense of duty on our part called for information to be given our commander, but the truth is, we were, as were many of the reg- ulars, full of sympathy with the Canadian struggle for independence, and could not be- tray them.

" I was out all that night, waiting the sum- mons to the armory, which was sure to be sounded sooner or later ; witnessed the attack of the Patriots on Windsor, the capture of that place, burning of the public store-houses, the government steamer at the wharf, and the bar- racks. Soon after daylight the bugle call of the Guards was sounded in various parts of the city, which was the summons to repair to the armory. We were soon in marching order and embarked on a large steamer and patroled the river for most of the day.

" The result of that expedition was disastrous. Troops soon arrived from Malden with a bat- tery, recaptured Windsor and drove the Pa- triots in all directions. We picked up a large number, but I do not recollect seeing John II. Harmon among them, but he was captured, - among others, by our forces, while escaping from the British.

" Do you recollect the second year of that war? Your remembrance of those old times brings vividly to mind the service of our old company that year. The battle of Fighting Island came off in February, 1838. The Patriots in large force had taken possession of that island, and were promised a supply of arms, etc. Two companies of the Fifth Infantry and the Brady Guards were on duty to intercept and

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HISTORY OF MONROE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

capture all arms and war material attempting to be supplied the Patriot army. This was effectual, and the poor Patriots with few arms and little ammunition were soon driven from the island.

" At one time after the firing began our com- pany was deployed on the ice, our lines ex- tended to near the foot of the island, while the British were firing from the heights on the main land. A nine-pounder solid shot struck the root of a large tree some ten yards from where I was posted, bounded off and rolled on the ice. I ran for it and after something of a chase captured and brought it off. I was always proud of this present from her Majesty's troops, and as our relations with the British lion were at that period considered precarious, and a rupture probable, I was expecting an op- portunity to return the nine-pounder with compliments. I therefore gave it a coat of black paint and placed upon it the following inscription :

" Presented to C. F. Davis by the subjects of her Britannic Majesty, at the battle of Fight- ing Island, on the 28th day of February, 1838.' But I was disappointed in this. The Patriots were subdued, peace reigned on the frontiers, and the wished-for opportunity to send the ball with our compliments to the hands from whence it came was lost forever.

" Those were exciting times indeed, and the recollection of the scenes and incidents of those years(1837-8), the marches in the depth of win- ter amid ice and snow to capture arms and break up encampments, can never be forgotten by those who participated in the service of Uncle Sam on the frontier of Michigan.

" But where are the actors now? Most of

them have passed on to the other shore, where war and its attendant horrors are unknown. I can not think of those days without the faces of my old comrades rising before me: Captain Rowland, Lieutenant Ashley and Lieutenant Armstrong, Sergeant Mullett, C. M. and George Bull, B. B. Moore, my brother, George P. Davis, and John Winder. Most of the company mus- tered into into service at that time have de- parted this life. I think there are few surviv- ors."

In closing the history of the Patriot War, I mention with pleasure the eminent services of Colonel Henry Smith, of Monroe, a retired officer of the United States Army, who had be- come distinguished in the Black Hawk Warand as one of General Scott's staff. He is highly es- teemed in this community as a gallant officer and exemplary member of the Protestant Episcopal church of Monroe, and an accomp- lished gentleman. Upon the call of Governor Mason he organized from the city and county of Monroe between 500 and 600 volunteers, and with great promptness marched to Gibral- ter, the headquarters of the " Patriots," and at the close of the war at a public meeting presided over by Lucius Knapp, and with Walton W. Murphy as secretary, the following resolution was passed :

"Resolved, That the thanks of the Monroe volunteers called out by General Henry Smith upon the requisition of Governor Stevens T. Mason to preserve the neutrality of the Gov- ernment between the United States and Great Britain, be presented to General Henry Smith for his generous treatment of the volunteers while on duty at Gibralter."

CHAPTER XIX.

RAILROADS.

W ITH no means of communication with the outer world the lot of the pioneer would simply mean a hand-to-hand struggle with un- subdued nature, and defeat and death as the final scene. Whether in his original journey he travel on foot, guiding his course by blaz- ing the trees or following the trail of the primeval inhabitant, the Indian, or whether with creaking wagon he threads the primitive road, his means of communication with those left behind constitutes his greatest safety. For by that path can re-enforcements come to aid him in his warfare against nature, by it can the products of his toil go to swell the tide of the world's commerce, by it can he retreat when pressed by savage foe.

But to the pioneers of Monroe county com- munication with the outside world did not mean what it does now, but something so rad- ically different that the young man of the present day can have, at best, but a faint con- ception of it. In 1831 a young man who had but recently arrived in the village of Adrian from " York State," wanted to obtain a small stock of goods from Detroit. Monroe was the nearest port, and bright and early one morning

he started for Monroe on foot. The road was a primitive one, and settlers few and far be- tween. It had rained, and the walking was heavy. The first night found him at a tavern near the present site of Dundee; the second day brought him to Monroe. After he had procured his goods and made arrangements for them to be hauled by wagon to Adrian he started on the return journey, still on foot. Arrived at a tavern near the site of the present village of Ida, he found a teamster there who was going a part of the way toward Adrian the next day. The road was so heavy that riding upon the load was impossible; but for the sake of company along the lonely way, he concluded to remain at the tavern over night and accompany the freighter's wagon

on foot the next morning. The literary re- sources of the hotel were not extensive; they consisted of a copy of the Bible and a much worn almanac of the year 1830; so after a hearty supper of biscuits, butter, milk, fried pork and venison, at a little after eight o'clock he retired to rest. Before the first gray streaks of dawn appeared in the eastern sky he was called to a breakfast much like the supper of the night before, except that the biscuits were re- placed by corn meal griddle cakes. After breakfast he indulged in a glass of cider and called for his bill, and these were the items : Supper, 6 cents ; lodging, 6 cents ; breakfast, 6 cents ; cider, 3 cents ; total, 21 cents. Having liquidated his indebtedness to " mine host" he started on foot alongside the freighter, and late that evening walked into the village of Adrian, whither a week or two afterward his goods followed him. That footsore pedestrian who knew by experience the means of communica- tion used by the pioneers of Michigan was destined to have a wide influence over the means of communication in the years to come, though at the date of his journey the post- chaise and the stage-coach were the best facili- ties for travel the world afforded. That young man was J. H. Cleveland, destined nine years afterward to be the first superintendent of the Michigan Southern Railroad.

In the " Pennsylvania Railroad -Historical and Descriptive," a work devoted to an intelli- gent and faithful chronicle of the rise of one of the greatest transportation companies America has yet seen, the artist, Darley, in a frontis- piece entitled " The Old Ways," has perpetu- ated by his pencil a most graphie delineation of the methods of travel and transportation in the times of the pioneers. In the foreground and half way up a hillside stands the country tavern, its sign suspended between two posts on the side of the road which passes its door. On its porch in various attitudes is a group

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HISTORY OF MONROE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

awaiting the arrival of the stage-coach, which, with a head at every window, its roof covered with luggage and its driver's whip curling in the air, is just drawing nigh. In the fore- ground, creeping along, is a large " Conestoga " wagon, with bent hoops supporting a canvas covering to protect its load from the rain ; two buckets, one for tar and one for water, swing- ing to its hind axle ; while in the valley to the right is seen a canal boat being slowly drawn toward a bridge in the far perspective. If we omit the canal boat and put the wayside tavern upon a plain instead of perched upon a hill- side, the picture would be as true of Monroe county in 1830 as of Pennsylvania. The stage- coach, however, has long since disappeared from the highway. For many years one, and probably the last one, of the old-fashioned stage- coaches of the pioneer days to be found in Michigan, was kept in one of the warehouses at the dock, the property of J. M. Sterling ; but this was destroyed in the fire of 1884. The country inns, too, have seen their glory depart, though at various places in the county the old buildings may still be seen. On the road from Toledo to Adrian, on the road from Toledo to Monroe, and along the old " Chicago turnpike," at Erie, at Laselle, at Brest and in Raisinville samples of the old buildings still exist, either remodeled into dwellings or standing forlorn by the roadside, mute, deserted and crumbling monuments of " a day that is past."

When in 1831 Mr. Cleveland made his jour- ney from Adrian to Monroe and return, using that conveyance which nature alone provides, in Great Britain were sprouting the seeds of an industry destined to revolutionize the com- merce of the world. The Stockton and Dar- lington Railway had been completed and was in operation some years previously, but had only been used for the transportation of freight ; only two years before (1829) Stephenson had made his famous trial trip with the " Rocket " upon the Liverpool and Manchester Railway (afterwards a portion of the magnificent Lon- don and Northwestern system). The first ex- perimental train load of passengers was drawn across Chatmoss, January 1, 1830, and the line was opened for public travel September 15, 1830. The Leicester and Swannington Railway (the precursor of the Midland system) was opened the 17th of July, 1832. We are accus- tomed to boast of the rapidity with which this

generation takes up and adopts the inventions of science, but a comparison with those days will convince us that " progress " was as much the watchword in 1830 and later as at present. In less than a year after the Leicester and Swan- nington line was opened, and less than two years after the opening of the first railway carrying passengers, the territorial legislature of Michigan was asked for a charter for a rail- way. It was promptly granted April 22, 1833,* and empowered the corporators to construct a railroad from Port Lawrence (now Toledo, and then within the boundaries of the State of Michigant) to the village of Adrian and thence to some point upon the waters of the Kalama- zoo river, and to use as means of locomotion animals, steam engines, locomotives, or any other force. This was be known as the " Erie and Kalamazoo Railroad." With this charter begins the history of railroads in Michigan, and some few miles of the original road (from a mile northwest of Sylvania, Ohio, to a short distance west of the village of Ottawa Lake) now a portion of the Michigan Division of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway, is within the borders of Monroe county.

Though chartered in 1833 the project slum- bered, and it was not till three years afterward that any real work was done; the first section of the road, Port Lawrence to Sylvania, ten miles, being opened in 1836. The roadbed was composed of wooden stringers laid on ties, with strap iron spiked upon the stringers. The cars were a modified form of stage-coach ; the mo- tive power, horses. But new life was infused into the undertaking the succeeding year. A locomotive (the " Adrian, No. 1") was con- tracted for to arrive as early in 1837 as the steamers on Lake Erie could bring it, and the remaining twenty-three miles, Sylvania to Adrian via Palmyra, was built and opened for travel in 1837. The locomotive arrived June 20, 1837, but the road was operated by horse- power till August, when the locomotive began to wake the echoes in the woods by the way- side. The passenger car run on the Erie and Kalamazoo was a cumbersome affair, prone to leave the track on slight provocation, and having arrangements for two " decks" of pas- sengers. The freight cars were small, carry- ing thirty barrels of flour for a load. In 1836

* Territorial Laws of Michigan, Vol. III.

t See chapter on the " Toledo War."

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RAILROADS.

the board of directors issued a " tariff," passen- ger and freight combined, which is a marvel of simplicity and conciseness. The fare in the "pleasure car," Toledo to Adrian, was "twelve shillings," each passenger being al- lowed to carry fifty pounds of baggage free. Freight between Toledo and Adrian was fonr shillings per hundred pounds ; salt, $1.00 per · barrel.

The Toledo Blade duly chronicled the arrival of the locomotive with a few words of editorial comment, and (in its issue of June 20, 1837) inserted the following advertisement of the company :

It affords us pleasure to announce the arrival of the long expected locomotive (Adrian Baldwin No. 80) for the Erie and Kalamazoo Railroad. The busi- ness of our place has been embarrassed for want of it; goods have accumulated at our wharves faster than we could transport them into the interior on cars drawn by horses, and as a natural consequence several of our warehouses are now crowded to their utmost capacity. It is expected that the engine will be in operation in a few days, and then, we trust, goods and merchandise will be forwarded as fast as they arrive. A little allowance, however, must be made for the time necessary to disencumber our warehouses of the large stock already on hand.

ADVERTISEMENT.

TO EMIGRANTS AND TRAVELERS. The Erie and Kalamazoo Railroad is now in full operation between

TOLEDO AND ADRIAN.

During the ensuing season trains of cars will run daily to Adrian, there connecting with a line of Stages for the West, Michigan City, Chicago and Wisconsin Territory.

Emigrants and others destined for Indiana, Illi- nois and the Western part of Michigan

- Will Save Two Days.20

and the corresponding expense, by taking this route in preference to the more lengthened, tedious and expensive route heretofore traveled.

All baggage at the risk of the owners.

EDWARD BISSELL, ) Commissioners W. P. DANIELS, E. & K. R. R. GEORGE CRANE, ) Co.

A. IIUGHES, Superintendent

Western Stage Company,

The captions traveler of to-day might be puzzled toknow how long the "ensuing season" lasted, and at what hours the trains arrived and departed.

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History of Monroe County, Michigan, Part 36

Author: Wing, Talcott Enoch, 1819-1890, ed Publication date: 1890 Publisher: New York, Munsell & company Number of Pages: 882

Author: Wing, Talcott Enoch, 1819-1890, ed
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: New York, Munsell & company
Number of Pages: 882