History of Cheshire and Sullivan counties, New Hampshire, Part 4

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton)
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Philadelphia : J. W. Lewis
Number of Pages: 1200

USA > New Hampshire > Sullivan County > History of Cheshire and Sullivan counties, New Hampshire > Part 4
USA > New Hampshire > Cheshire County > History of Cheshire and Sullivan counties, New Hampshire > Part 4

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The defenseless condition of the frontier in consequence of the removal of all regular sol- diers and movable armament, and the departure of the five regiments of volunteers, exposed the State to the horrors of Indian warfare. A con- spiracy of Indian tribes, led by the war-chief of the Dakotahs, Little Crow, inaugurated the " Minnesota Massacre." Prompt and de- cided action was required to suppress it. The new recruits, inexperienced and poorly equipped, were called upon to protect the State. August 26th, Captain Burt was ordered tò march with Companies C and I to Fort Ripley. From there his company was ordered to Chippewa Agency to guard the government stores and show the Chippewas the futility of any at- tempt at rebellion. A " council of peace " with this tribe was soon held at Fort Ripley, Cap- tain Burt being chosen one of the members by the Governor, and by its action peaceful rela- tions were continued with the tribe. In this Captain Burt rendered good service. A special session of the Legislature was called to consider the condition of affairs, and Captain Burt was particularly requested by the Governor to attend as a member, and by special order he was 2

placed on detached service for that purpose and to secure the needed clothing for the poorly- clad members of his company, who had hur- riedly left their homes in summer dress, ex- pecting, after receiving a good military outfit, to enjoy a short furlough. The Legislature closed its session, the military clothing was promised ; two days were taken for his person- al matters, in which time his books, papers and business were transferred to agents, his office vacated, and he was on his way to rejoin his company. His life hereafter was to be given to his country in hard and exhausting service, which finally sapped the strong vigor of his stalwart manhood and caused his untime- ly death.

The Seventh Minnesota was assigned to duty as guard of the Sioux prisoners at Man- kato, where Captain's Burt's detachment joined them, and, November, 24, 1862, his company was mustered into the United States service. The military commission convened sentenced three hundred of the captives to close confinement and thirty-nine to death. Thirty-eight of these brutal murderers were simultaneously ex- ecuted by hanging, December 26, 1862. Cap- tain Burt, as officer of the day, received great credit for his services in carrying out this im- portant order. After guarding the three hun- dred prisoners until spring, Captain Burt, with his company, was detailed as military escort to convey the Sioux to Rock Island, which was successfully done. He also took part in the campaign of the summer of 1863 against the hostile Indians and captured Wo-wi-nap-a, the son of Little Crow. This expedition drove the scattered hostiles beyond the Missouri, and the troops reported at Fort Snelling September 16, 1863.

The Seventh was now ordered to St. Louis, whereit served until April 20, 1864, Captain Burt being commissioned major November 6, 1863. He was detailed as a member of a general court- martial to be convened April 14, 1864; but as his regiment was ordered South, he pre- ferred to go with it. The first station was Paducah, Ky., which place they guarded till June 19th, when they were ordered to Mem- phis, and assigned to the Third Brigade, First

HISTORY OF CHESHIRE COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

Division, Sixteenth Army Corps, under Gene- ral A. J. Smith. From this time the service was hard, exhausting marching, coupled with deprivations and splendid fighting. In the desperate three days' battle of Tupelo, Miss., July 12th, 13th and 14th, the regiment won high honors ; at the Tallahatchie, August 7th and 8th, again gained praise. In September the First Division made one of the hardest marches of the war, in pursuit of General Price, through Arkansas and Missouri,-three hundred and twenty miles in nineteen days on ten days' rations. Another march ensued across the entire State of Missouri, the troops wading through mud and snow, and fording icy rivers. The corps participated in the great battle at Nashville, December 15th and 16th, and after- wards joined in the pursuit of Hood through Tennessee. They then went to Clifton, Tenn., next to Eastport, Miss., then to New Orleans, and in March, 1865, to Dauphin Island, where the army was reorganized for the siege of Mo- bile.

March 20, 1865, the corps was landed on the east side of Mobile Bay, and on the 25th marched to invest Spanish Fort, the principal eastern defense of Mobile. This fort was in- vested March 27th, and reduced April 8th. The Seventh was constantly under fire, and bore the greater part of the labor and exposure of the siege. After the surrender of Fort Blakely, April 9th, Mobile was occupied by the Union army. The Sixteenth Corps broke camp for a march to Montgomery, April 13th. From there the Third Brigade went to Selma, Ala., where the Seventh did garrison duty until it was ordered North to be mustered out of service, and left Selma July 20th, and marched to Vicksburg. From there Major Burt was sent in advance of the regiment, first to St. Louis, then to Fort Snelling, Minn., to prepare muster-out rolls, and thus expedite the discharge of the men. The troops were discharged August 16, 1865, at Fort Snelling.

Originally possessed of a strong constitution, the exposure of army life exhausted Major Burt's vitality, and although the surgeons rec- ommended a " sick leave " as absolutely essen- tial to recuperate his strength, it was not

granted by the corps commander, as such an efficient officer could not be spared. To him the muster ont came too late. He returned to Keene ; but health never returned, and while on a visit to his only surviving sister (Mrs. Shar- lot A. West), at Worcester, Mass., he died, March 15, 1866. He was commissioned brevet lieutenant-colonel United States volun- teers by President Johnson, March 20, 1866, the rank to date from April 8, 1865, " for gal- lant and meritorious services at the siege of Spanish Fort, Mobile Harbor, Alabama."

Colonel Burt was a superior man. His ideal of life and its duties was high. He felt a sense of obligation to make the best use of all his faculties, and amid all discouraging circum- stances he preserved unweakened his integrity and independence. The structure of his char- acter was systematic, solid and substantial, and his manhood was firmly and compactly put to- gether. He had a tenacity of purpose that, with his positive nature, carried him to suc- cess where weaker men would have failed. His religious nature developed as a principle of right and duty, making him conscientiously honest and honorable in all the relations of life. Irreproachable in character, he scorned everything low and groveling, stood on the highest plane of temperance and purity, and won the enduring esteem of his associates. He was a devoted son, a strong friend and a valu- able member of society.

The following estimates, from those well qualified to judge, will show his proper stand- ing as a man, soldier and lawyer.

Governor Marshall, who served as lieutenant- colonel and colonel of the Seventh, and general of his brigade, wrote to Colonel Burt from the executive chair of Minnesota, December 29, 1865,-" I am glad this long-delayed commis- sion (lieutenant-colonel) has been issued. You well earned such recognition of faithful ser- vice."

From an article in the St. Paul Press, writ- ten by a prominent gentleman of Minnesota, we make this extract,-" He loved the profession of his choice and applied himself to its study with a zeal and intensity rarely excelled. His ability and industry soon secured for him an

BENCH AND BAR.

extensive practice and a position at the head of the bar at which he practiced, and he was retained on one side or other of almost all causes of importance. Owing to the character of the business of the St. Croix Valley and the financial crisis of 1857-58, the litigation was extensive and of a most important character. This brought him in contact with the best legal minds of the State, and as well at nisi prius as at the bar of the Supreme Court he was re- garded as among the best lawyers of the State. He was true to his client, and identified him- self, even to a fault, perhaps, with the cause he advocated. He was a man of exemplary habits and strict integrity. He was very reticent and his manners were somewhat abrupt, but a little familiarity with him discovered behind this ex- terior a heart alive to the kindliest sympathies of our nature. Lieutenant-Colonel Burt served three years as an officer of the Seventh Min- nesota Volunteers,-first as captain of Com- pany C, and during the last two years as major of the regiment. His record as an officer was a most honorable one. Indeed, his life was sacrificed to his determination to remain on duty with his regiment until it should be mus- tered out. He never asked for a leave of ab- sence. He was at the post of duty always. At the battle of Tupelo, Miss., July, 1864 ; at the Tallahatchie, in August ; in the campaign in Arkansas and Missouri after Price's army, in the fall of 1864; at the battles of Nashville, in December, where he conducted with distin- guished gallantry the skirmish line of his brigade ; at the siege of Spanish, Fort, in the Mobile campaign, in March and April, 1865, he performed the whole duty of a soldier and an officer. For these services he was recommended by General Marshall and honorably promoted by commission from the President as brevet Lieutenant-colonel United States Volunteers."

The eminent jurist, Judge S. J. R. MeMil- lan, writes, March 26, 1866, in a letter to Mrs. Burt,-"The relations of your husband and myself during a period of seven or eight years brought us much in contact, and afforded me ample opportunity of estimating his character. During all my acquaintance with him I have ever had for him the highest regard and re-

spect. He was a man of strict integrity and uprightness in his private and professional rela- tions, and as a lawyer I regard him as one of the ablest in the State. His professional ability secured him a retainer in almost all the impor- tant causes in the court at the bar of which he practiced, and brought him in contact with the leading lawyers of the State, and placed him in circumstances calculated to try every ele- ment of his character, and through all he bore himself manfully, and acquitted himself with great credit. Fraud, dishonesty and chicanery he abhorred, and when presented in the course of his professional duty, he pursued it unre- mittingly. He was prompt and punctual in everything he had to do, and I do not remember an instance where a cause in which he was en- gaged, was called for trial, that he was unpre- pared through any laches of his own. You may well cherish his memory with pride."

CHARLES W. BURT, oldest son of Willard and Martha (Wood) Burt, and only brother of Lieutenant-Colonel William H. Burt, was born in Westmoreland, N. H., November 6, 1820. He attended, supplementary to his course at district schools, Mount Cæsar and Lebanon Academies, and two years at Norwich (Vt.) University. He was a thorough student, stood high in his classes, and was a popular teacher of district schools for some years. He studied law with Hon. Levi Chamberlain, was admitted to the bar at Keene, and prac- tised his profession at Colebrook, N. H., from 1848 to 1854, when he removed to Detroit, Mich., and engaged in practice. In 1855 he formed a partnership with A. B. Maynard, Esq., of that city, which continued until the untimely death of Mr. Burt, April 11, 1859. Mr. Maynard says of him,-"During our en- tire partnership our relations were of the pleas- antest character. He was a gentleman of decided ability, and no young lawyer in the city had a better reputation, both for legal learning and ability and for the purity and uprightness of his character. In his habits he was simple and unassuming, and remarkable for his industry. Had his life been spared, he would, in my judgment, have stood at the very head of the bar of Michigan as a learned,

HISTORY OF CHESHIRE COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

able and conscientious lawyer." From the re- port of a meeting of the Detroit bar we ex- tract,-" Leading lawyers paid brief, but feel- ing and earnest, tributes of respect to the personal worth of Mr. Burt, and of regard for his high personal character. They spoke of him as they knew him,-as the modest, retiring, yet self-reliant man ; as an earnest seeker after truth and justice at all times; as the determined hater of what was vicious and wrong ; as the warm-hearted, sympathetic man and friend, making sacrifices (when he hoped to accom- plish good) which few would have done, and that few knew of; as the untiring, indefatigable student, the lawyer of sound judgment, exten- sive research and of growing, solid reputation. These tributes paid to one who had not reached life's mid-space were as sincere, hearty and flattering expressions of opinion as have ever been paid, within our knowledge, to a young member of the Detroit bar, and, coming from the senior members of the profession, attest the professional worth and great promise of Mr. Burt."

Among other members of the bar are men- tioned J. Henry Elliot, George A. Wheelock, C. C. Webster, Edward Farrar (clerk of courts, police justice and ex-mayor), F. S. Fiske, Har- vey Carleton, Don H. Woodward, Horatio Col- ony (ex-mayor), Silas Hardy (ex-judge of Pro- bate), C. F. Webster, George Ticknor, Hiram Blake, L. W. Holmes, E. P. Dole, Francis C. Faulkner, Daniel K. Healey, Alfred T. Batch- elder (mayor), C. H. Hersey and J. P. Abbott. (For additional notices, see town histories).

The present members of the Cheshire bar are as follows :

Edward Farrar (clerk of court), of Keene; John T. Abbott (Hersey & Abbott), of Keene; Alfred T. Batch- elder (Batchelder & Faulkner), of Keene; Hiram Blake. of Keene; Edmund P. Dole (Lane & Dole, also county solicitor), of Keene; William Henry El- liot, of Keene; Francis C. Faulkner (Batchelder & Faulkner), of Keene; Silas Hardy, of Keene ; Daniel K. Healey, of Keene; Farnum F. Lane (Lane & Dole), of Keene; C. Fred. Webster, of Keene; Leon- ard Wellington, of Keene; Don H. Woodward, of Keene; Hosea W. Brigham, of Winchester ; Edmund M. Forbes, of Winchester ; E. J. Temple, of Hinsdale; Josiah G. Bellows (also judge of Probate), of Walpole; Bolivar Lovell, of Walpole; E. M. Smith, of Alstead;

Amos J. Blake, of Fitzwilliam; Jesse B. Twiss, o Jaffrey.

Retired Members of the Cheshire County Bar.

George A. Wheelock, of Keene; John Henry El- liot, of Keene; Horatio Colony, of Keene; Harvey Carlton, of Winchester ; John H. Fox, of Jaffrey.

CHAPTER III.

INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS.

BY HIRAM BLAKE.

CHESHIRE RAILROAD .- No event in the history of Cheshire County has resulted in such substantial benefit to its inhabitants as the construction of the Cheshire Railroad.

From 1830 to 1840 the manufacturing in- terests of the county had largely increased. Woolen and cotton-mills had been erected on many of the numerous streams within the county, affording excellent water-power.

Considerable forests of excellent timber yet remained ready to be converted into lumber. Various kinds of wooden-ware were manu- factured, and ready markets for these commod- ities were found in Boston and other towns on the New England seaboard.

The difficulty of transporting heavy freight by the slow process of horse-power was a serions drawback to these enterprises, and the want of railroad communication within the county began to be seriously felt.

As early as 1840 the subject of a railroad through the country began to be earnestly dis- cussed.

A charter for the Cheshire Railroad, extend- ing from the State line between Massachusetts and New Hampshire to Bellows Falls, Vt., was obtained December 27, 1844. On July 1, 1845, it was consolidated with the Winehendon Railroad Company, chartered in Massachusetts, March 13, 1845, and extending from South Ashburnham, Mass., to the New Hampshire line. This consolidated line forms the Cheshire corporation as it exists at the present time.

The opening of the road was the occasion of great rejoicing to the citizens of Keene and

INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS.

Cheshire County. The event was celebrated in Keene with great splendor May 16, 1848.

The day was unusually fine, and about five thousand people, from different parts of the county and vicinity, attended the celebration.

A train from Boston, consisting of fifteen cars well filled with people, drawn by two pow- erful engines, gaily decorated with flags, ever- greens and flowers, arrived at half-past one P.M.

Its approach was announced, when four miles from town, by the discharge of a gun two miles distant. This was followed by others stationed along the line, and as it entered the town it was welcomed by the ringing of bells, the cheers of thousands and the rapid discharge of cannon.

The Suffolk Brass Band, of Boston, accompa- nied the train and furnished excellent music for the occasion.

A large procession proceeded to the town hall, where a meeting of the stockholders was held ; after which the procession was reformed and marched back to the depot, where fifteen hun- dred people partook of a sumptuous banquet prepared by the citizens of Keene.

After dinner Hon. Levi Chamberlain, in an appropriate speech, welcomed the assemblage to Keene. Hon. Thomas M. Edwards, president of the corporation, followed ; after which speeches were made and sentiments offered by many eminent citizens of Boston and other parts of New England. At the hour of de- parture the train moved off on its way to Bos- ton amid the cheers of the assembled multitude.

The remaining portion of the road, from Keene to Bellows Falls, Vt., was completed January 1, 1849.

The Cheshire Railroad is the connecting-link between Boston (via Rutland) and Burlington. It extends through the county from Winehen- don, Mass., through the southwest corner of Rindge, through Fitzwilliam, Troy, Marlbor- ough, Keene, southwest corner of Surry, West- moreland and Walpole, where it crosses the Connecticut River at Bellows Falls, in Vermont.

The entire length of the road is fifty-three and one-half miles. Within the county it is forty-two and three-fourths miles. It is one of the most thoroughly-constructed roads in the country. Its bridges, culverts and abut-

ments, built of cut granite, are models of civil engineering. The general management, from the beginning, has been excellent, and its opera- tion unusually free from accidents.

The cost of the road and equipments amounted to $2,717,535.26. The annual receipts for 1884 were $586,685.02; the expenditures for the same year, $463,575.79.

Four gentlemen have acted as presidents of the road during its existence of thirty-seven years, namely, Hon. T. M. Edwards, Thomas Thatcher, E. Murdock, Jr., and Hon. William A. Russell.

Superintendents, B. F. Adams, L. Tilton, E. A. Chapin and Reuben Stewart ; Treasurers, C. J. Everett, F. W. Everett and F. H. Kings- bury ; Master Mechanics, David Upton, George W. Perry and F. A. Perry.

Mr. Stewart, the present superintendent, is a veteran in the service of the company. He commeneed his service for the road in 1845, and was employed three years in its construc- tion. He subsequently served as ticket agent, general freight agent, cashier and auditor. He was assistant superintendent for two years un- der Mr. E. A. Chapin, and has held the office of superintendent for the past twenty years.

ASHUELOT RAILROAD .- Before the comple- tion of the Cheshire Railroad measures for build- ing a railroad through the fertile and populous valley of the Ashuelot River were already taken. The Ashuelot Railroad was incorporated July 10, 1846, and the first meeting for organization under the charter was called at Winchester May 27, 1848.

John H. Fuller, Esq., of Keene, was chosen president ; Francis Boyden, of Hinsdale, clerk.

In November, 1849, the company contracted with Messrs. Boody, Ross & Co., of Spring- field, Mass., for building the road, and the work was speedily pushed to completion.

On the 9th of December, 1850, the road was opened for public travel.

This road extends from Keene to South Ver- non, Vt., a distance of twenty-three and three- fourths miles. Its length in Cheshire County is twenty-three miles.

As it leaves Keene it passes through Swan- zey, Winchester and the southern part of Hins-

HISTORY OF CHESHIRE COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

dale ; thence crossing the Connecticut River at South Vernon, Vt. It follows the beautiful valley of the Ashuelot River, which affords abundant water-power, a considerable portion of which is improved and a great variety of manufactures is carried on. The road is of a very light grade and one of the best-constructed roads in New England.

In 1850 the company leased the road to the Connecticut River Railroad for a term of ten years, from January 1, 1851, at a rent of thirty thousand dollars per year.

At the expiration of this lease it was leased to the Cheshire Railroad until January, 1865, at twelve thousand dollars per annum.

The road continued to be operated by the Cheshire Company until April 21, 1877, when it was again leased to the Connecticut River Road at a rental of thirty per cent. of its gross earnings, under which management it now re- mains.

The cost of the road, with equipments, to 1875, amounted to five hundred thousand dollars.

The receipts and expenditures are included in the accounts of the Connecticut River road.

SULLIVAN COUNTY RAILROAD .- The Sulli- van County Railroad, extending from Bellows Falls, Vt., to Windsor, in the same State, a distance of twenty-six miles, was incorporated July 10, 1846, and completed February 5, 1849.

This road crosses the Connecticut River at Bellows Falls, and, running mainly through Sullivan County, N. H., recrosses the river at Windsor.

Nearly two miles of this road run through the northwest portion of Walpole, in Cheshire County, where the growing village of North Walpole is situated.

This road is operated by the Connecticut River Railroad, and with the latter forms a part of the Central Vermont system.

CONCORD AND CLAREMONT RAILROAD .- The original charter for this road, extending from Concord to the Sullivan Railroad, in or near the town of Claremont, was obtained June 24, 1848.

The corporation, as it now exists, is a con- solidation of the Contoocook Valley, Merri-

mack and Connecticut Rivers and Sugar River Railroads.

The first-named branch extends from Hop- kinton, through Henniker, to Hillsborough Bridge, a distance of fifteen miles. This road was also chartered June 24, 1848, and com- pleted in December, 1849.

The Merrimack and Connecticut Rivers por- tion, constructed under the original charter, extends from Concord, through Hopkinton, Warner, the southern portion of Sutton, to Bradford, a distance of twenty-seven miles. It was completed July 10, 1850.

The Sugar River portion extends from Brad- ford, through Newbury, in the county of Mer- rimack, and through Sunapee and Newport, to Claremont Junction, on the Sullivan Railroad, a distance of twenty-nine miles. It was incor- porated July 2, 1866, and completed for travel in September, 1872.

The consolidation of the three branches above mentioned was effected October 31, 1873, and the entire length of the road is seventy-one miles. Its length in Sulivan County is about eighteen miles. It is now under the same man- agement as the Northern Railroad.

MONADNOCK RAILROAD .- The Monadnock Railroad was incorporated December 13, 1848; the charter was revived July 6, 1866. It was completed for travel June 10, 1871, and ex- tends from Winchendon, Mass., through Rindge and Jaffrey, to Peterborough, a distance of fif- teen and four-fifths miles. Its length in Che- shire County is about ten miles.

Leaving Winchendon, it passes through a low valley between the hills in Rindge until it reaches the head-waters of the Contoocook River, near the village of West Rindge. It then follows down the valley of Contoocook to East Jaffrey, and thence to Peterborough.

The Upper Contoocook furnishes consider- able water-power. Cotton and wooden-ware mills are located along its course in Rindge and Jaffrey, and this road has been of great benefit to these towns.

The cost of this road amounted to the sum of $366,829.47. The annual receipts for 1884 were $27,342.39 ; the expenditures for 1884, $22,009.01.

INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS.

J. Livingston, of Peterborough, was its first president, and C. A. Parks, of Jaffrey, treas- urer. After its completion it was operated by the company until October 1, 1874, when it was leascd to the Boston, Barre and Gardiner road for ninety-nine years.

The lease was transferred to the Cheshire Railroad January 1, 1880, for six years, at a rental of twelve thousand dollars per annum, with the option of extending the same for fif- teen years thereafter.

The road is still operated by the Cheshire Company.

MANCHESTER AND KEENE RAILROAD .- This road was incorporated July 16, 1864; its charter was extended June 24, 1870, and June 26, 1874.

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History of Cheshire and Sullivan counties, New Hampshire, Part 4

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) Publication date: 1886 Publisher: Philadelphia : J. W. Lewis Number of Pages: 1200

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton)
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Philadelphia : J. W. Lewis
Number of Pages: 1200