USA > New Jersey > The history of New Jersey from its earliest settlement to the present time > Part 7
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16
Great rejoicings greeted the accession of Morris, and he entered upon his duties under the most flattering auspices. In replying to his address, the assembly expressed the most san- guine expectations of his administration. Ap- propriating five hundred pounds as a compen- sation for his services in procuring the late separation, they cheerfully voted him an an- nual salary of one thousand pounds for three years.
But this clear prospect was soon clouded. Estimating his own abilities highly, ambitious, and tenacious of power, Morris, with the testi- ness of advanced age, became entangled in re- peated quarrels with his assemblies, and finally found himself as odious as he had once been popular. Declaring that the desire common to all the colonies, of rendering the executive
115
DISPUTES WITH MORRIS.
1744.]
dependent on the people, "was nowhere pur- sued with more steadiness or less decency than in New Jersey," he in turn displayed an ob- stinate zeal in upholding the prerogative of the crown, entirely unexpected from one who had formerly been the popular champion against it. He proposed no arbitrary or unjust enactment, but caused the defeat of many that would have benefitted the province. Worrying the assembly with frequent prorogations, adjournments, and dissolutions, he rendered himself the most ob- noxious of the royal governors, Cornbury only excepted.
In 1744, the peace between England and France was again ruptured. The contest that ensued soon extended to the colonies. Having planned the capture of Louisburg, Shirley, of Massachusetts, invited the other provinces to co-operate. The assembly of New Jersey, then engaged in a sharp controversy with Morris, had refused to organize the militia, or to vote sup- plies, unless the governor would first consent to sanction some of their cherished measures. The chief of these were an act ordering a new issue of paper money ; an act to compel sheriffs to give security for the faithful discharge of their duties ; and a bill to prevent actions for small sums in the supreme court. Though loudly called for by the people, these laws were calculated to lessen the power and influence of the executive.
116
HISTORY OF NEW JERSEY. [1746.
Morris would not yield, while the assembly prepared to starve him into acquiescence, by refusing to grant his salary. They furnished, however, two thousand pounds toward the Louis- burg expedition, which was abundantly success- ful ; but they would not order a levy.
Morris stubbornly held out against the as- sembly, and the vexatious dispute was main- tained with much bitterness, until cut short by the death of the governor, on the 21st of May, 1746. His name, borne by one of the counties. of the state, still testifies to the early popularity of one whose widow applied vainly to the assembly for the arrears due on her hus- band's salary.
After the death of Morris, the government devolved upon Hamilton, as president of the council.
Encouraged by the reduction of Louisburg, the colonies were led to entertain their old pro- .ject of conquering Canada. For this purpose, the New Jersey assembly readily sanctioned a levy of five hundred troops. In less than two months, over six hundred zealous colonists were ready for the field. Formed into five companies, under the command of Colonel Peter Schuyler, they presently marched to the ren- dezvous at Albany. But the energy of the provinces was weakly seconded by the home go- vernment. Neither general, troops, nor orders,
117
BELCHER APPOINTED GOVERNOR.
1747.]
came from England, and the enterprise was finally abandoned.
By both parties hostilities were feebly main- tained, until brought to a close by the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, in 1748. To the intense morti- fication of the colonists, Cape Breton, and Louisburg its capital, so dearly bought by pro- vincial blood and treasure, were restored to the French almost without an equivalent.
CHAPTER X.
Belcher governor-Revival of quit-rent disputes-A commis- sion of inquiry ordered by the crown-Claims of France to the Ohio valley-Mission of George Washington to Fort Le Bœuf-The works commenced at the forks of the Ohio seized by the French-Washington ordered to protect the Virginia frontier-Skirmish and death of Jumonville -- Formal declaration of war-A plan of colonial confedera- tion proposed-Rejected by the provinces and the Board of Trade-Campaign of 1755-Defeat of Braddock-Victory of Lake George-Alarm of the colonies-Indian incursions -Campaign of 1756-Loudoun appointed commander-in- chief-Descent of Montcalm on the forts at Oswego- · Treaty with the Delawares. 1
SHORTLY after the death of Hamilton, in 1747, Jonathan Belcher, previously of Massa- chusetts, received the royal appointment as go- vernor of New Jersey. Adopting a conciliatory policy with regard to the paper-currency bill,
118
HISTORY OF NEW JERSEY. [1748.
and other popular measures, he was enabled to maintain a tolerably fair understanding with the assembly, though at the expense of a rebuke from the Lords of Trade.
But the ten years of his administration was not undisturbed. In the time of Morris, the old quit-rent dispute, one of the most vexatious that could agitate the province, had been revived with unusual asperity.
Large tracts of the proprietary lands had fallen into the possession of influential persons, fully disposed to urge their titles against those contended for by the Elizabethtown claimants, under the sanction of Indian conveyances. By the former, writs of ejectment were issued, and suits for the recovery of quit-rents commenced against their opponents. The latter resisted violently, and, in 1748, associating themselves for mutual protection, they broke open the jail of Essex county, and liberated a person im- prisoned at the suit of the proprietors. 'Long after the death of Morris, their combination en- abled them to defy the civil authorities, and the sympathies of the popular branch of the as- sembly prevented a military interference.
When Belcher took charge of the province, this trouble was at its height. An assembly being summoned, efforts were made to heal the disorders. The task was one of difficulty. Applying to the king, the governor, and the
119
QUIT-RENT DIFFICULTY.
1751.]
council, each party sought to criminate the other. The proprietors petitioned that it should be made felony for twelve or more persons to remain assembled, after having been commanded to disperse by the civil authorities. But the popular branch of the assembly refused to le- gislate against the resistants. A subsequent act, promising pardon and oblivion of offences upon certain conditions, met with no hearty re- sponse from them, while the proprietors com- plained that it was calculated rather to encourage than to intimidate the rioters. ·
In 1751 a commission of inquiry was order- ed from England. In the mean time the Eliza- bethtown claimants clung to their possessions, thus obtaining what they deemed equal to a vic- tory. But for many years the province was dis- turbed by dissensions springing from this fruit- ful source. During the whole period of Belcher's administration, it was seldom that the house and the council could be brought to agree, even upon matters disconnected with it; while, up to the time of the Revolution, a chancery suit, now begun by the proprietors against the Elizabeth- town claimants, remained pending without any decision.
Hostilities between France and England soon involved again the colonies. At the best but a hollow truce, the Treaty of Aix-la-chapelle was early disregarded. Only two years after its
120
HISTORY OF NEW JERSEY. [1754
conclusion, both nations, taking advantage of the undetermined condition of their territorial limits, began to adopt active and systematic measures for increasing their possessions as much as possible.
To uphold their claims to the country on the Ohio, the French, far more energetic than their English rivals, erected forts Le Bœuf and Venango, the one on French Creek, and the other on the main stream of the Alleghany. Claiming this territory for Great Britain, Din- widdie of Virginia despatched George Wash- ington, then a young militia officer and a sur- veyor by profession, to inquire into the designs of the French. Washington was treated with studied courtesy by the commandant at Le Bœuf, but obtained no official satisfaction with regard to the object of his mission. Heated with wine, the French officers, however, made no secret of the intention of France to secure possession of the entire region on the Ohio and the lakes.
Authorized to repel such aggression by force, Dinwiddie presently sent a captain's command to build a fort at the confluence of the Alle- ghany and Monongahela. Some time in April, 1754, this party was driven off by the French, who took possession of the unfinished works, completed them, and named the fortification Duquesne.
121
1754.] CONFEDERATION REJECTED.
Washington was immediately despatched to protect the frontier thus invaded. Temporarily successful over the enemy under Jumonville, he was subsequently compelled to surrender, after a brief but spirited resistance, and on favour- able conditions, to a greatly superior force of French and Indians.
These occurrences gave the signal for hostili- ties, though war was not formally proclaimed until 1756. Under the circumstances, a union of the colonies was deemed desirable. A plan for such a union, drawn up by Franklin, was adopted by a convention of committees from several colonial assemblies, which met at Albany, in June, 1754. By this plan, a grand council of representatives from the colonial assemblies, presided over by a governor-general appointed by the crown, were to enact general laws, and provide for the common defence of the colonies. Containing germs of the present federal com- pact, it can scarcely be claimed as original with Franklin. So early as 1722, Coxe, the expelled speaker of the New Jersey house, had proposed a plan resembling it closely.
Submitted to the Lords of Trade, and to the provincial assemblies, Franklin's scheme was re- jected by the former, as being too favourable to colonial independence, and by the latter as giving undue power to the crown. The New Jersey assembly, which had declined sending
11
122
HISTORY OF NEW JERSEY. [1755.
commissioners to the convention, voted against the proposition, because "it might be preju- dicial to the prerogative, and to the liberties of the people."
Probably the most powerful motive for the re- jection of this plan, by the Board of Trade, originated in their desire to secure the adoption of one of their own. In the scheme they had already suggested, taxation of the provinces by parliamentary enactment was advocated. No- thing could have been more hateful to the colo- nists. The ministerial project was dropped without the formality of a distinct rejection.
Finding war inevitable, the English govern- ment appointed General Braddock commander- in-chief of the army in North America. Early in 1755 he was despatched with two regiments to the colonies. Anticipating his arrival, the several provincial assemblies were called upon for troops. The summons was willingly respond- ed to. New Jersey ordered the levy of a regi- ment five hundred strong, the command of which was given to the veteran Schuyler. Seventy thousand pounds of new paper were issued to pay the expenses of these troops.
Arriving early in March, Braddock met a council of colonial governors at Alexandria, on the Potomac, to concert measures for a cam- paign. Separate but simultaneous expeditions
·
123
TROOPS SENT TO ALBANY.
1755.]
were planned against Niagara, Crown Point, and Fort Duquesne.
Apprehending most an invasion through New York from Canada, the two northern expeditions were especially favoured by New Jersey. Having been provided with arms from Virginia, at the expense of the assembly, Schuyler's regiment proceeded to the rendezvous at Albany, while Braddock was pursuing his slow and toilsome march to the forks of the Ohio. At Albany, the regiment appears to have been divided ; part being joined to the Crown Point expedition, under Colonel Johnson, of New York, while Schuyler, with the remainder, accompanied Shirley, the governor of Massachusetts, in his march to attack Niagara.
Leading the advance against Crown Point, Lyman, of Connecticut, by the 8th of August, had completed Fort Edward, at the portage be- tween the Hudson and Lake George. Johnson presently came up, and marched the main army to the southern shore of the lake, where a strong camp was formed.
Meanwhile the Baron Dieskau, with four thousand French troops, had arrived in Canada. Hearing that Johnson contemplated an attack on Crown Point, Dieskau sought to divert his at- tention, by advancing upon Fort Edward, at the head of a mixed force of regulars, Canadians · and savages.
124
HISTORY OF NEW JERSEY. [1755.
Tidings of the French general's movement having reached the English camp, Johnson sent forward a detachment of one thousand provin- cials to relieve the fort. Dieskau, however, had changed his mind, and was advancing upon Johnson himself. Ignorant of this, the detach- inent marched without caution, unapprehensive of meeting the enemy. Suddenly, when about three miles from the camp, they encountered the whole force of the French. A fierce and san- guinary conflict ensued. Fighting gallantly against superior numbers, the provincials fell back slowly toward the camp, with the loss of their commander, Colonel Williams.
Pressing the fugitives, Dieskau hoped to pene- trate the camp, in the midst of the confusion it was expected that their appearance would create. But Johnson was prepared. A few pieces of cannon, hastily brought from the lake shore, opened upon the French as they came in sight. The Indians and Canadians took to the woods, leaving Dieskau, with his regulars alone, to break the English lines. Struggling obstinately for victory, the gallant regulars, during five hours, rushed again and again, only to be' repulsed, upon the slight breastwork of the Americans. At length they faltered. Springing from be- hind their entrenchments, the provincials drove them back in disorder. Thrice wounded, the brave but unfortunate Dieskau, was unable to '
125
DEFEAT OF BRADDOCK.
1755.]
follow his vanquished army. Seated upon the stump of a tree, with his military trappings by his side, he was found by a renegade Frenchman, fired at, and wounded fatally.
The battle of Lake George was celebrated as a triumph; but Johnson neglected, or was un- able to improve his success. Crown Point was left untried, and the French were permitted to fortify themselves at Ticonderoga. During the fall, however, the provincials were employed in building Fort William Henry. Garrisoning the new fortress with six hundred men, Johnson dis- missed the remainder to their homes.
Meanwhile, Shirley had performed a slow and toilsome march to Oswego, reaching that place during the month of August. In the midst of extensive preparations for embarking to the siege of Niagara, most discouraging news arrived from Braddock, with whom the expedition was to co-operate. That brave, but vain-glorious and self-opinionated commander, disregarding the wholesome advice of his provincial officers, had met disastrous defeat and death while on his way to besiege Fort Duquesne. Dishearten- ed by this intelligence, and delayed by heavy rains, Shirley finally abandoned his design against Niagara. In the mean time, two sub- stantial forts had been built upon the right and left banks of the Oswego River, a short distance from the lake. Leaving in these strong gar-
11*
126
HISTORY OF NEW JERSEY. [1755.
risons, including the New Jersey troops under Schuyler, Shirley returned to Albany.
Braddock's defeat filled the colonies with
alarm. The whole western frontier was left ex posed to the horrors of savage warfare. Bel- cher immediately summoned an assembly, but nearly six months elapsed before they awoke to the full necessity of answering the call. Mean- while the hitherto faithful Delawares were swept away in the general Indian defection. Inflicting the most terrible cruelties, numerous bands of savages roamed without molestation along the western lines of Virginia and Penn- sylvania, and finally crossed the Delaware into New Jersey.
In this emergency, the zeal of the inhabitants of Sussex county was displayed. To the num- ber of four hundred, they marched promptly to Easton, under the command of Colonel John Anderson. Their presence was of great service in overawing the Indian bands. Aged and in- firm, Belcher was yet active in calling out the resources of the province. When the assembly met in December, Schuyler and his half regi- ment were recalled from Oswego. Stationed on the frontier, they remained there until the opening of spring, when they again marched to the north, their place being supplied by vo- lunteers.
During the winter, however, outlying parties
127
CAMPAIGN OF 1756.
1756.]
of the savages hung around the settlements, rendering it necessary to erect numerous forts and blockhouses, among the mountains and along the Delaware. But the actual hurt they wrought was far less than the intense apprehension their vicinity excited.
Neglected success, failure, and deplorable de- feat, had distinguished the campaign of 1755. That of 1756 was altogether disastrous. Ele- vated by the death of Braddock to the chief command, Shirley, on the opening of spring, began extensive preparations for important ex- peditions to the north. His exertions had as- sembled a considerable force at Albany, when he was notified to return to England.
A procrastinater by habit, Lord Loudoun, the successor of Shirley, did not arrive until the summer was well-nigh spent. While General Webb, with a regiment of regulars, was to re- inforce Oswego, Loudoun determined to proceed with the main army against Crown Point and Ticonderoga. Great expense had been incurred by the northern colonies, and it was still hoped that the campaign would result in a success pro- portioned to the outlay. But this expectation was doomed to disappointment.
Having succeeded Dieskau as commander of the French forces in Canada, the Marquis of Montcalm, at the head of five thousand regulars, militia, and Indians, suddenly appeared before
128
HISTORY OF NEW JERSEY.
- [1756.
the forts at Oswego, on the evening of the twelfth of August. Against Fort Ontario, crowning an eminence opposite to, and com- manding the main works, Montcalm opened a heavy cannonade early in the following morn- ing. Gallantly sustaining this during the day, the besieged, finding their ammunition expended, at nightfall spiked their cannon and silently crossed to Oswego. The deserted post was im- mediately occupied by Montcalm. On the four- teenth, Mercer the English commander was slain. After a brief bombardment, the dis- heartened garrison surrendered as prisoners of war. Few perished on either side, but the French were overjoyed with the amount of their booty. Six ships of war, three hundred boats, immense stores of ammunition and provisions, one hundred and twenty cannon and sixteen hundred troops fell thus easily into their hands. To allay the jealousy of his savage allies, the poli- tic Montcalm destroyed both forts and left Os- wego a solitude.
Tardily advancing, Webb met the disastrous tidings at the Oneida portage. He fell back with precipitation to Albany. Disconcerted by these events, Loudoun recalled the troops march- ing against Ticonderoga, dismissed the provin- cials, and abandoned all offensive operations for the campaign.
Among the prisoners at Oswego, were Schuy-
129
TREATY WITH THE DELAWARES.
1756.]
-
ler and his half regiment. Carried to Canada, a new enlistment presently supplied their loss. Schuyler, however, was soon released on parole, with the promise that he would return if no suitable exchange should be offered for him. Welcomed home with illuminations and other tokens of joy, the veteran colonel remained there until the spring of 1758. It was then that the French commandant in Canada " sent to demand the brave old Peter Schuyler of New Jersey, as no person had been exchanged for him." Thrusting aside the friends who en- treated him to stay, the gallant old officer, true to his plighted word, went back again into captivity.
Meanwhile, Sir William Johnson had succeed- ed in procuring at Easton a treaty of peace with the Delawares. A partial relief was thus afforded to the western frontiers. But during the spring and summer of 1757, a continual alarm was kept up by scalping parties of savages from Canada and the Ohio. Committing depre- dations within thirty miles of Philadelphia, these bands did not neglect to visit the north-western settlements of New Jersey, for the protection of which it was found necessary to maintain a company of Rangers.
130
HISTORY OF NEW JERSEY. [1756.
CHAPTER XI.
Increase of British power in the colonies-Subordination of colonial officers-Indignation in Pennsylvania and New Jersey-Campaign of 1757-Co-operation of New Jersey- Expedition against Louisburg-Inactivity of Loudoun at Halifax-Energetic movements of Montcalm-Siege of Fort William Henry-Surrender of Munro- Attempted massacre of the prisoners-Heroic conduct of Montcalm- Alarm of General Webb-Death of Governor Belcher- Campaign of 1758-Masterly arrangements of Pitt-Hearty response of the colonies-Capture of Louisburg-Repulse of Abercrombie before Ticonderoga-Fort Frontenac taken by Bradstreet-Evacuation of Fort Duquesne-Indian council at the forks of the Delaware-Campaign of 1759- Invasion of Canada projected-Ticonderoga and Crown Point abandoned by the French-Surrender of Fort Niagara -Capture of Quebec-Peace of Fontainebleau-Change of governors in New Jersey-Indian outrages.
DURING the year 1756 Parliament had effect- ed a signal extension of its authority over the colonies. Military rule, enforced with imperious arrogance by Loudoun, had been established, in- dependent of the provincial governments. By its power, troops had been quartered upon the inhabitants against their indignant and earnest remonstrances, and the colonial officers had been degraded to a position inferior to that of those commissioned by the crown. The people of Pennsylvania and New Jersey had been irritated
1
131
1757.]
INACTIVITY OF LOUDOUN.
by the authority given to recruiting officers, to enlist their indentured servants. Militia com- panies, assembled for mutual defence against a barbarous foe, had been arbitrarily dismissed; while the intercession of the Quakers with the Delawares, to obtain security for their hearths and cradles in the more peaceful way of inter- changing faith and presents, was condemned as a most daring violation of the royal pre- rogative.
The indignation excited by these measures was intensely aggravated by Loudoun's attribut- ing the disastrous result of the past year's ope- rations, properly due to his own incapacity, to the colonial troops. Still, in preparing for the campaign of 1757, he was well seconded by the colonial assemblies, though not to the ex- tent of his demands. New Jersey would not authorize a conscription to raise her regiment of five hundred to a thousand.
The capture of Louisburg was to be the prin- cipal object of the campaign. Leaving the newly-raised levies from New England, New York, and New Jersey, to garrison Forts Ed- ward and William Henry, Loudoun sailed with six thousand regulars for Halifax. Arriving there, he found himself at the head of an excel- lent army ten thousand strong, supported by a large and effective fleet. August came, and the indecisive chief was still at Halifax, amusing
132
HISTORY OF NEW JERSEY. [1757.
himself with planting cabbages. At length the troops were embarked; but news arrived that the harbour of Louisburg was defended by seventeen ships of the line. Loudoun then sailed for New York. His great preparations had ended in nothing.
Meantime, his energetic and wily opponent, Montcalm, was not idle. Availing himself of Loudoun's unskilfulness in withdrawing so large a portion of the British force from the frontiers of New York, he ascended Lake George with eight thousand men, and laid siege to Fort Wil- liam Henry. In the fort itself, less than five hundred British regulars were posted under Lieutenant-Colonel Munro. On an eminence to the south-east, the provincials, including the un- fortunate New Jersey regiment, were entrenched to the number of seventeen hundred men. On the morning of the fourth of August, the artil- lery of the French opened. For six days the attack was maintained with daring ardour. But not until the expiration of that period would the gallant Munro capitulate, and then only because half his guns were burst and his ammunition wellnigh expended. The conditions of surren- der were, that the English should be suffered to depart with the honours of war, on a pledge not to serve against the French for eighteen months. An escort sufficient to protect them from Mont-
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.