Growth of a Century : as illustrated in the history of Jefferson County, New York, from 1793 to 1894, Part 74

Author: Haddock, John A. 1823-
Publication date: 1894
Publisher: Philadelphia, Pa. : Sherman
Number of Pages: 1094

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THE GROWTH OF A CENTURY.

the jury brought in a verdict of "not guilty." After a time the others were released on their own recognizance, and were never subjected to a trial.

William Johnston was born in Lower Canada and became a confidential friend of William Lyon Mckenzie. He became a leader in the Reform party and afterwards removed to French Creek. He was a man of great energy, and bore a fair reputation Johnston was now considered the patriotic commander, and a band under his command fortified themselves on one of the islands within the Jefferson county line. His entre- pid, daughter, Kate Johnston, held communi- cation with them and furnished them with provisions and supplies. It was at this time that Johnston published the following curi- ous manifesto-which is, so far as the writer knows, the only instance in which an outlaw had the " cheek" to declare war from his place of hiding, against a friendly nation :

"I. William Johnston, a natural born citizen of Upper Canada, do hereby declare that I hold a com- mission in the Patriot service as commander-in-chief of the naval forces and flotilla. I commanded the expedition that captured and destroyed the Sir Robert Peel. The men under my command in that expedition were nearly all natural born English sub- jects. The exceptions were volunteers. My head- quarters are on an island in the St. Lawrence without the line of the jurisdiction of the United States, at a place named by me Fort Wallace, I am well acquainted with the boundary line and know which of the islands do, and which do not belong to the United States. Before I located my headquarters I referred to the decisions of the commissioner made at Utica, under the sixth article of the treaty of Ghent, I know the number of the island and know that by the division of the commissions it is British territory. I yet hold possession of the station and act under orders. The object of my movement is the independence of the Canadas. I am not at war with the commerce or property of the United States.

" Signed this 10th day of June in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty-eight." WILLIAM JOHNSTON.

The effect of this manifesto was quite im- portant, as it was distributed through all the provinces and in all parts of the frontier States. The excitement along the frontiers grew more intense. Sir Allan McNab, the governor-general, fearing for the safety of his life, had resigned, and in returning to Eng- land passed through Watertown disguised as a laborer. He was recognized by Jasan Fair- banks while sitting on a wheelbarrow in front of Gilson's tavern, waiting for the stage for Utica. Being advised by some of the leading men that he need have no fear of danger while travelling through the States, he changed his disguise and assumed his for- mer dignity. Lord Durham succeeded him as governor-general. The secret lodges were now making large additions to their member- ship. It had now become evident that a stand was to be made somewhere for the threatened invasion.

On the 10th of November, two schooners, the " Charlotte," of Oswego, and the "Isa- belle," of Toronto, left Oswsgo with arms and ammunition and about 300 men for some Canadian point on the St. Lawrence. The steamer " United States " left Oswego on the following morning for the same destina-

tion, touching at Sackets Harbor and taking on board about 100 men, besides arms and ammunition. The schooners had proceeded as far as Millen's Bay, below Cape Vincent, and the steamer "United States" coming up took them in tow, one on each side. There were now about 500 men on board the boat, all young destined for some point known to but very few, if any, except the officers. They were fully officered, Gen. J. Ward Birge holding the appointment of command- er-in-chief. He was very sanguine, but his subsequent acts made him conspicuous as a coward. These vessels being well supplied with field pieces, small arms, ammunition and provisions, started on the morning of the 17th of November, down the river. When passing Alexandria Bay, Charles Crossmon, one of these " patriots," then a young man of 20 years' full of patriotic impulses, little thought that one day at this point a beautiful tourist home should bear his name. [See small picture of the wind-mill in article re- lating to Charles Crossmon].

The boats swept down the river until abreast of Prescott. At that point the schooners were detached, and dropped down to Windmill Point, about a mile below the city, where stood an abandoned wind-mill.

In trying to land, the schooners ran aground, one near the point, and the other farther down the river. About 250 men landed from the schooners, and the greater part of the guns and ammunition, together with one twelve pounder and two brass seven pounders were brought down. They then took possession of the windmill, which they held with three other stone buildings. The schooners, after getting afloat with the balance of the men and ammunition, sailed for Ogdensburg. This looked rather dis- couraging to the men in the windmill, to see these schooners leave them with many of their men and nearly all of their provision and ammunition. Colonel Worth and the United States Marshall, Garron, afterwards seized the vessels and all of their cargoes. Prospects began to darken for the Patriots They were deserted by nearly all of their officers. General Birge wilted at the first chance of facing British bullets. It happened that among the Patriot band was a Polish exile, Niles Sobelitcki VanSchoultz, who came from Salina. He was of noble birth, his father being an officer of high rank, and he himself had been an officer in the Polish ser- vice. He had been deluded into the project of freeing Canada from "tyranny and oppres- sion." In the emergency he was now placed in command. It had all along been understood that as soon as a stand was made by any Patriot force, the Canadians would flock to their standard. In this they now found them- selves grossly deceived; not a single man came to their relief. They were looked upon as brigands and robbers. On the morning of the 18th, three Canadian steamboats, the "Coburg," the "Experiment" and the "Traveler," with about 400 regular troops from Kingston, were seen coming down the

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THE PATRIOT WAR.

river. They landed at Prescott. It was now evident that some fighting was to be done. VonSchoultz gave great encouragement to his men, advising them to brave the British bullets and stand by each other to the last man. They agreed to follow wherever he should lead.

The British steamers were now patrolling the river, and occasionally firing shots at the wind-mill. One shot was fired at the steamer "United States " while in American waters, passing through her wheel house, killing the man at the wheel. The British troops, under Colonel Dundas. came marching from Pres- cott to annihilate the Patriots. Von Schoultz marched his men out of the building into the field. They formed in line behind a stone fence, which they used as a breast-work. The British commenced firing when about 150 yards away, and continued their firing as they advanced, without doing any injury. The "Patriots " held their fire until the enemy had advanced to within 15 rods, and then they got the order to fire. This broad- side resulted in killing 36 British soldiers, and wounding many others. The British fell back, but the firing continued on both sides. This was followed by the withdrawal of the " Patriots"-some into the wind-mill, and others occupying the outhouses, but continu- ing their fire at long range. The cannon shots aimed at the mill glanced off and pro- duced no effect upon the walls. The battle raged 3 hours and 20 minutes, during which time 6 of the Patriots had been killed, and 21 wounded It was estimated that 75 of the British lay dead upon the field, and 150 were wounded. Colonel Dundas now sent a flag of truce, asking a cessation of hostilities for an hour, that he might remove his dead and wounded, which was cheerfully granted by VonSchoultz.

The strife was watched with intense inter- est by a large crowd of people at Ogdensburg, directly opposite. The river now being clear, Hon. Preston King, with a few volunteers, chartered the "Paul Pry" to go over and get the Patriots away from the wind mill. This was done probably by consent of the British forces. The boat went over, but only a few of the men chose to leave. Jonah Woodruff, the artist, afterwards the sleeping- car inventor and proprietor, was one of those who came away on the "Paul Pry." As time was precious, the night dark and the limit of the truce uncertain, the men in the mill irresolute and under poor military subjection, Mr. King and his party were forced to leave with but few, when all could have been saved.

About 10 o'clock on the third day the British regulars, reinforced with about 1,000 militia, came bearing down upon this almost defenseless band in the old mill. They had but little ammunition left, but they resolved to sell their lives as dearly as possible. The troops continued firing their cannon and vol- leys of musket balls, however, without peril- ous effect. At length Von Schoultz ordered a cannon loaded with musket balls, spikes and

pieces of iron placed in the door of the mill, and at an opportune moment it was dis- charged, killing 25 of the British and wound- ing as many more. This threw them into confusion, and they retreated.

At length VonSchoultz saw that his men could not stand another charge, and, with much reluctance, sent out a flag of truce, the bearers of which were immediately taken prisoners. They then displayed a white flag from the top of the mill, but no notice was taken of it. Towards night Colonel Dundas sent out a flag demanding a surrender of the men at his discretion. Von Schoultz offered to surrender as prisoners of war, but Colonel Dundas would grant no conditions. Finally the little band, finding opposition hopeless, gave themselves up without terms into the hands of the British commander.

Thus ended one of the most foolish and ill- conceived expeditions that was ever under- taken. Ninteen of the patriots were killed, 35 were wounded and about 190 were taken prisoners. The latter were placed on board the steamers and taken to Kingston, where they were confined in Fort Henry. It was estimated that about 125 of the British were killed and 200 wounded.

The following volunteers were from Jeffer- son county, although Onondaga, Cayuga, Oswego and Lewis connties furnished a large number of "Patriot " prisoners: Timothy P. Rawson, George T. Brown, Aaron Dresser, of Theresa; William Reynolds, Orin W. Smith, Andrew Smith, Peter Cranker, Hugh Calhoun, Hiram Wall, of Orleans; Edgar Rogers, Martin Van Slyke, John Bradley, Charles Crossmon, Leonard Delmore, Lorenzo E. Finney, Edward Foster, Daniel D. Heustis, of Watertown; Orison Rogers, Charles Rogers, Hiram Shaw, Abner B. Townsend, Orton Blodgett, John Brewster, Harvey Shaw, Nelson Butterfield. Hiram Coulton, of Phila- delphia; Leonard Root, Hunter V. Vaughn, of Sackets Harbor; Charles Smith, Joseph Thompson, Chauncey Bailey, William Gates, Andrew Leiper, Charles Dory, David Liscom, Sylvester Lawton, Lawrence O. Bailey, Ira Polly, Levi Putman, Jacob Paddock, Ethel Penney, Russel Phelps, of Lyme; John G. Swansburg, William D. Sweet, Silvinius Sweet, George VanAmber; Samuel Austin, John Cronkhite, David Gould, David House, Garrett Hicks, William O'Neil, of Alex- andria: William Stebbins, Duncan Anderson, Jeremiah Vinagar, Charles E Brown, Moses A. Dutcher, Edward Garrison, John Gilman, Justice Merriam, Gains Powers, Lawton S. Peck. Johnson Vancurler, of Brownville; Andrew Morris, of Smithville; Ferris Miller, Sebastian Carpenter, William Denio, Riley Whitney, John Elmore, Selah Evans, P. Car- penter, of LeRay; Oliver A. Hooker, Joel Peeley, of Rutland; Nelson Truax, Foster Martin, of Antwerp; Charles Van Wormer, of. Ellisburgh; John Bromley, of Depauville: Elon Fellows, of Dexter; Charles Wilson, of Cape Vincent ; Dorephus Abbey, David Heus- tis, Luther Darby, James Wheelock, Sam Wiley, Thomas Stockton, Martin Woodruff,

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THE GROWTH OF A CENTURY.

and George Kimball, of Watertown. The prisoners were confined in squads of 15 to 20 in small rooms in the fort, and placed under a strong guard. Their food was of poor quality. Sir George Arthur had decided that they were brigands and must be tried by a court martial, to be composed of seven field officers and seven captains of the line.

The serious condition of these prisoners excited the deepest sympathy of the people of Jefferson county as well as of their friends ; and meetings were held in all the towns under great excitement, petitions being circulated far and wide and extensively signed. These were presented to Sir George Arthur, the governor-general, asking clemency for these poor deluded victims. The best legal talent in the State volunteered their aid in defence of the prisoners, and in mitigation of their condition. William H. Seward, Philo Grid- ley, Hiram Denio, Joshua A. Spencer, Bernard Bagley and Geoge C. Sherman, all united and used their best efforts in appealing to the governor-general for clemency.

The court convened on the 28th of Novem- ber; Daniel George being the first prisoner to be tried, pleaded not guilty. When he was taken from the steamer, papers were found in his pockets commissioning him as pay- master of the eastern division of the Patriot army. Von Schoultz was then brought be- fore the court for trial. He employed the barrister, Sir John McDonald, to aid him in his defense. He pleaded guilty. He sent a written appeal to the governor-general, in which he stated that he was deluded into joining in the invasion of Canada by the gross misrepresentations of such men as J. Ward Birge and William Lyon Mckenzie, who claimed to know the sentiment and wishes of the people of Canada, and that they would be received with open arms. Also that the militia, when called out, would flock to their standard. All of which proved to be a base delusion. He asked for mercy at his hands. Every means of influence which could be brought to bear upon the governor-general by such men as Judge Fine, Silas Wright and a host of others, could not change his determina- tion of executing all the officers and leaders. Hon. Preston King, of Ogdensburg, Norris M. Woodruff, Hon. Orville Hungerford and other leading citizens of Watertown, joined in appeals for mercy for the officers, but in vain.

Dorephus Abbey, a former newspaper editor of Watertown, was the next to be tried. He was captured while carrying a flag of truce, and was next in rank to Von Schoultz. Next was Martin Woodruff. All of these, after trial, namely: Daniel George, Nicholas Von Schoultz, Dorephus Abbey and Martin Wood- ruff were sentenced by Sir George Arthur to be hanged, and this sentence was carried out December 8th. Von Schoultz made his will, giving, among his many bequests, $10,000 for the benefit of the families of the British soldiers who were killed at the battle of the Windmill. He also wrote the following pathetic and farewell letter to his friend, War- ren Green, of Syracuse :

DEAR FRIEND-When you get this letter, I shall be no more. I have been informed that my execution will take place to-morrow. May God forgive them who brought me to this untimely death. Hard as my fate is, I have made up my mind to forgive them, and do. I have been promised a lawyer to write my will-intend to appoint you my executor. If the British government permit it, I wish my body de- livered to you and buried on your farm. I have no time to write more because I have great need of communicating with my Creator to prepare myself for His presence. The time allowed me for this is short. My last wish to the Americans is, that they will not think of avenging my death. Let no further blood be shed. And believe me, from what I have seen, all the stories which were told of the sufferings of the Canadian people were untrue. Give my love to your sister. and tell her that I think of her as I do of my own mother. May God reward her for her kindness. I further beg of you to take care of W. J. so that he may find honorable bread. Farewell, my dear friends. May God bless you and protect you. December 18. N. VON SCHOULTZ.

Joel Peeler and Sylvanus Sweet were executed, January 11, 1839. Sylvester Law- ton, Duncan Anderson, Christopher Buckley, Russell Phelps and Lyinan L. Lewis were sent to the scaffold, February 11. They were followed by Martin Van Slyke, William O'Neal and James Cummings. The officers now having all been dealt with, they made quick work trying the men under them. Graves, Chipman, and two others had turned queen's evidence. The prisoners were brought into court in squads of from 10 to 15, and asked a few questions, and were then re- turned to their quarters. They all expected that their doom was sealed, and were anxiously awaiting their death warrants. But a powerful influence was brought to bear upon Governor-General Arthur, and he finally decided that there would be no more execu- tions, and went so far as to say that a num- ber of them would be pardoned. The court had adjourned from January 4th to February 26th. The prisoners were allowed to receive visits from their friends, but under close guard. On the 8th of April the steamer "Commodore Barry " arrived at Sackets Harbor with 22 prisoners, pardoned by the governor-general. And, on the 27th of April, 37 more pardoned prisoners arrived at the same place. All released were under 21 years of age. The balance of the men re- mained in the fort all summer, uncertain as to their fate, whether they would be pardon- ed or banished. On the 17th of September, 1839, orders were given to prepare for departure, and 95 of them were heavily iron- ed, placed in canal barges and taken to Mont- real, and there with another lot of prisoners, making about 150 in all, were put on board the ship " Buffalo," bound for Van Dieman's Land.

This island, once a penal colony inhabited by convicts transported from British territory for various criminal acts, is now a productive and desirable country. The march of civili- zation has made it attractive to tourists, as well as rich in tropical fruits, and the pro- motion of many special industries has placed it high in rank as one of England's most favored colonies.

February 13, 1840, after an uneventful voy- age, they landed in the harbor of Hobart

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Town. After the inspector had taken a des- cription of them, the governor, Sir John Franklin, who afterwards died during a voy- age of exploration to the arctic region, came to see them, and after looking them over, read their sentence, which was banishment for life. He was happy to learn of the cap- tain of the " Buffalo " that they had behaved remarkably well during the voyage. He also informed them that they would be placed at hard labor on the public roads with other convicts, and that with good behavior, after three years, they would be granted tickets of leave, which would give them the liberty of the island.

After three years of this service, they were granted tickets of leave, but were confined within certain limits called districts, and obliged to report at the station every Saturday night. If they so desired they could be changed from one district to another. The deliverance from the heavy work they had hitherto endured, was a blessing, and gave them new life. A reward of a pardon and free passage to America having been offered by the governor to any of the convicts who would capture some bushrangers who were infesting the island, W. Gates, Stephen Wright, Aaron Dresser and George Brown succeeded in discovering the hiding-place and capturing two of the rangers. They were pardoned, and, after a long voyage, returned to America, having served five years of a convict's life.

In September, 1845, the governor com- menced to deal out pardons of 10 and 15 at a time. He thought it not quite safe to liberate too many at once. During the year 1846, all of the Canadian prisoners had received par- dons excepting some few whose behavior did not entitle them to such a reward.

Thus ended the Patriot war. It was not without some beneficient results to the Canadas, for the home government granted them a new charter, by which the provinces were united into a dominion with a parlia- ment. The Tories were defeated in the par- liament, and the Reform party, after driving them from power, assumed control of the state. Even the outlaw, William Lyon Mc- Kenzie, was restored to citizenship, and was for many years a member of parliament, and the premier of the government. A curious phase of the Patriot troubles was the effect on the political heads of National and State governments. President Van Buren and Governor Marcy were both soundly denounc- ed by many newspapers for performing their duty in enforcing the neutrality laws, and lost many votes in the frontier States. Marcy was succeeded by Seward, and on the day the election of Harrison was announc- ed in Washington, the boys shouted about the White House the refrain: "Van! Van! is a used-up man." And even General Scott attributed his failure to receive the Whig nomination at the Harrisburg national con- vention to the machinations of Col. Solomon VanRensselaer, a delegate from New York, who held a spite against General Scott for

having "squelched " his son, the general in command at Navy Island.

For a careful collection of the facts in this chapter, we are indebted to Mr. Joseph Fayel, of Theresa. His brother William, now a veteran newspaper man in St. Louis, Mo., was one of the "invaders" who rendezvoused at Clayton. Indeed, Theresa and Orleans furnished many of these incipient warriors whose ideas of conflict were certainly unique.

During the "Patriot " war Watertown and the adjoining towns were filled with ex- patriated "Patriots" who had fled from Canada to avoid arrest and imprisonment for alleged treason. Watertown being the head- quarters of the Canadian leaders, William Lyon Mckenzie, VanRensselaer and others were located at the old stone Mansion House, kept by Luther Gilson, on the site of the present Iron block. The old hostelry was crowded with the patriots. During the early winter of 1838 the then governor-general of Upper Canada, who had been recalled from his position by the British government, was ordered to return. This notable official was Sir Francis Bond-Head, an ex-officer of the British army, and thoroughly despised in Canada. Wishing to reach New York to sail for England, he undertook to make the jour- ney by stage to Utica via Watertown. Not desirous of meeting his ex-patrioted subjects for fear of recognition and possible insult, he determined to pass through incognito. Leav- ing Kingston during the night, accompanied by a prominent citizen of that city, to whom he acted the part of valet (or gentleman's gentleman) he arrived safely next morning by wagon and driver, hired as an " extra." The driver, not being informed as to the quality or rank of his passengers, drove straight to the Mansion House, and landed his man at the headquarters of his enemies. It was just after the breakfast hour, and the lobby was filled with the Patriot community, who recognized the Kingston citizen and greeted him cordially, but did not recognize the valet, who discreetly kept in the back ground. Prominent among the Patriot leaders at the hotel was Hugh Scanlon, an Irish-Canadian, a bright and shrewd fellow. After a short time Scanlon noticed that the valet was miss- ing, and his suspicions were aroused, so he began to hunt him up. After looking high and low and all around the public square without finding him, he continued to search elsewhere, and at last found the lost valet cosily sitting on a wheelbarrow near the stables. Walking np to the late governor- general he recognized him at once. Intro- ducing himself, Scanlon invited him to breakfast, and to meet his late subjects, assuring him that he would be welcome, and receive every courtesy due his rank. The governor accepted the invitation and came forward. He was met by all in a courteous and friendly way, and was assisted in his arrangements for departure. He left town in a coach and four with cheers, and without a single uncomplimentary remark. A. J. F.

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THE GROWTH OF A CENTURY.

MR. JOHN. A. HADDOCK'S GREAT BALLOON VOYAGE WITH PROFESSOR LAMOUNTAIN.

WHEN the writer was in school at the Sul- phur Springs in Houndsfield, under Professor Morsman, there were two kinds of English Readers then published by the firm of Knowl- ton & Rice, one containing Gaius Rich's story of his fight with the panther on Bluff Rock, below Theresa, the other edition failing to contain that narrative. The book with the panther story was eagerly sought and de- voured by all the children who could read, while the other edition was not by any means regarded with affection. The intense impres- sion made by that panther story upon my own mind and upon that of the other scholars, has been a matter of recollection through the 60 years which have elapsed. For that reason the author of this History has yielded to urgent solicitation, and presents below the story of his great ærial voyage in 1859 with John LaMountain, one of the longest voyages ever made in a balloon. The writer appears to be best remembered by that perilous episode, especially among those who are now the busi- ness men of Jefferson county, but who were then eager, pushing lads, nearly crazy over the balloon fever, which was at that time violent in Northern New York. Perhaps the most important result attained by that dismal balloon experience may be found in the article following this account, which relates to the "Awakening of Henry Backus."

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Growth of a Century : as illustrated in the history of Jefferson County, New York, from 1793 to 1894, Part 74

Author: Haddock, John A. 1823- Publication date: 1894 Publisher: Philadelphia, Pa. : Sherman Number of Pages: 1094

Author: Haddock, John A. 1823-
Publication date: 1894
Publisher: Philadelphia, Pa. : Sherman
Number of Pages: 1094