USA > New York > Oneida County > Utica > Historical fallacies regarding colonial New York : an address delivered before the Oneida Historical Society, Utica, N.Y., at its second annual meeting, January 14, 1879 > Part 9
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The first white settler of Oneida was Samuel Kirkland, her apostle-a missionary of the cross. Many of the sons of Oneida have followed his example by giving their lives as christian missionaries to heathen lands all over the globe. I should love to rehearse to you all their names, but most of them are graven on your memories and will be known
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and remembered wherever the records of christian missions shall be preserved. Of the sons of her early settlers, two have been Senators in Congress and three or four members of the House of Representatives, and among them an Admi- ral and two Commodores in the Navy, and several Generals in the Army.
Gentlemen of the Historical Society :
I thank you for the compliment you have conferred upon me, a son of Oneida, to address you at this anniversary. I see among you many of the friends of my youth and early manhood, and your presence warms the blood that still sympathizes with these surviving companions of many years. I regret that I have been unable to tell you more of the history which has brought the settlements of our fathers down to near the close of its first century. May her future be as bright as the past has been successful and may her future sons and daughters follow in the footsteps of those who have gone before, leaving examples of which we are all justly proud.
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O
Peter Pluyle
ORATION
AT THE
DEDICATION OF THE SITE
OF THE
Fort Schuyler Monument,
(UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE ONEIDA HISTORICAL SOCIETY,)
JULY 4th, 1883.
BY
ISAAC S. HARTLEY, D. D.
UTICA, N. Y. ELLIS H. ROBERTS & CO., PRINTERS, 60 GENESEE STREET. 1853.
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FORT SCHUYLER IN HISTORY.
BY REV. DR. ISAAC S. HARTLEY.
Mr. President, Friends and Fellow- Citizens:
Beneath these genial skies and amid an atmosphere fairly laden with the music of freedom and joy, and on a day when as a people we took our place among the distinct nationalities of the world, we have here assembled to mark a spot pre-eminently historic to us, the citizens of this emerald city.
There have been periods in our history when, laying aside our usual avocations, we have been called together to consider ques- tions bearing upon our national polity and life. And there have been seasons when, awakened by the din of war and the clash of arms, we have convened to arouse, enlist and equip brave hearts and strong arms for the conflict. But at this hour, though drums beat, bugles sound, flags wave and the measured tread of soldiers in martial array is heard in our midst, we have come to rescue from threatened oblivion the humble site, around which more than a century ago our fathers gathered, and from whence they sallied forth to glorious victory.
America, rich in fertile valleys and noble streams, has none, however, more historic than those which these wooded hills garrison, and where flow yon rapid rippling waters. The great Roman orator tells us that, when he was at Athens, he could scarcely move without meeting some record commemorative of illustrious deeds or of illustrious men. The thundering eloquence of Demosthenes and the divine ethies of Plato were floating in the air. So here; every field, every forest, every acre and yon waters suggest mem- ories dear to every freeman's heart, and such as all true Americans should delight ever to recall.
From the time in which it was known that this beautiful valley led to the great lakes and the extensive prairies of the west, it has been the avenue along which the most valiant forces have moved, as well as the scene for struggles bitter, persistent and sanguinary. Trus, those of the whites who were the first to thread it from the east were our own Dutch forefathers, and like their fathers were in quest of the trade which made them the most successful mer-
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chants in the world; while those who passed in from the west were the missionaries of the cross, who, as they followed its grassy level, held high in air the symbol of their faith. But though the cross and commerce so early entered its verdant gates, only a few years passed ere it witnessed scenes, than which the pages of his- tory nowhere record any more terrible or severe. Here it was where the Five Nations made their home, whose Tekawhogea, or war captain, was always of the Mohawks. First, these confeder- ate tribes were in league for the preservation of their own cabins and hunting grounds. Later, when strengthened by the addition of the Tuscaroras, they formed an alliance with the Dutch. Still later, they became wedded to the English; later still, they were friends of the white man of every nationality.
For more than a century the grand problem that was ever pre- senting itself to the more aggressive nations of Europe was, shall the vast area of the Iroquois become a dependence; or shall the red man retain his native fields and remain the sole monarch of the western world? The attempts to solve this far-reaching problem have made this valley most historic, and gave to its early people the name of "The Romans of America," while it led the Spartans of classic Greece to be called "The Mohawks of the Old World."
It does not comport with the exercises of the hour that I should sketch, even rudely, the events of which the acreage about us is so suggestive, and which these hills once looked down upon in silent awe. Yet, who in this assembly that knows where he stands can fail to recall the associations so surely connected with the spot, aside from the fact that works were here erected for safety and defense. Over the very area whereon we are now gathered lay the only frequented road through this part of the valley. Some two centuries ago could we have looked down upon this very locality, as did the eagle from his secluded nest, we might have seen Father Toques with his associate brethren in quest of the wig- wams of the Mohawks, to acquaint their dusky tenants with the story of the cross; and a little later, missionaries from our own Dutch church at Albany desiring an acquaintance with the western tribes contemplating their mental and spiritual improvement. Tu- deed, anterior to this, an Indian delegation went eastward asking from their Albanian friends to be taught anew the Christian truths, that by dying in the Christian faith, they might obtain the Christian reward. We might have seen likewise the brave chiefs of the Iroquois as they journeyel-now for a national council ---
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now to carry to their captors new tokens of their fidelity and allegiance. In truth, no warrior, no soldier, in war or in peace, no itinerant, no discoverer, nor army of any nationality could move to the right or left without passing the field about us, and thus the site we would this day perpetuate. It was the natural and traditional path. The original trail from the brambles and bushes of the Mohawk here terminated, and also the trail which led from the higher grounds and the thicker forests at the west.
Referring to the topographical features of our immediate neigh- borhood, in early days, two trails or paths lay on either side of the river; one leading to Fort William at the west, the other to a route by the wooded banks of the Black River and thence to Canada. Along this latter trail the French traveled in their over- land incursions aimed at the expulsion of the settlers on our northwestern frontiers. As it branched off' some ten miles or so to the northwest towards Fort William, it made a more circuitous route to this part of our State than the trail on the south side of the river; of which our own Genesee street, with its numerous stores and palatial houses is merely the development. A few rods to the east of us a little rivulet flowed, and it still flows bearing the present name of Ballou creek; or, as it was called by our Dutch fathers, Schwein Fresser Kill, making its outlet in yonder curve in the broader current of the Mohawk ; while a hundred or more feet to the west, on the north bank of the river, Reels creek emptied its babbling waters. Insignificant tributaries to the Mohawk! True, but in their day though secondary streams they had a historic import quite equivalent to the early Tiber, or to the more pellucid current of the Tagus. If the waters of the Adonis were esteemed sacred by the Asiaties, and the Phrygians rendered honors to the Marsyas and the Meander, and the conquering Greek, previous to his raffling the surface of the Sinde, poured libations into it from golden gob- lets, every lover of freedom should hold most dear yon streams for the services they have rendered to American growth and to Amer- ican glory. The meeting of these two humble rivulets, coming down from the cooling springs born in yonder hills, laden with sand and gravel, and entering the river nearly opposite each other, made the Mohawk fordable; and I need hardly say it was the fordableness of the river that constituted the place where we are now assembled the highway of this valley. On the angle of land formed by the south bank of the river, and the west shore of Schwein Fresser Kill the Fort was located, whose site we this day would mark. Consequently it guarded not merely the river itself,
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which when in repose reflects the evening star and the blush of morn, but the tortuous travel cast and west that led to it. Its site then was most wisely chosen. Its position made it one of the gates of this valley, nor could a friend or enemy pass seeking the cast by the Mohawk, or the west by the double trail without pay- ing to it, if demanded, proper tribute.
Remembering, then, where we now stand, how numerous must have been the scenes to which this site has been witness! But when I speak of the scenes with which this place is so surely con- nected, I have not in mind so much those in which loving peace is so often eloquent, and upon which orators and poets always delight to lavish, and appropriately, their loftiest praises, when
Buried was the bloody hatchet -- Buried was the dreadful war club- Buried were all war-like weapons, And the war cry was forgotten --
rather am I thinking of what Avon's bard so truthfully described as
" That son of hell
Whom angry heavens do make their minister,"
of war, savagery, slaughter, rapine, and all that kindred terms so naturally suggest. It is said that a single mound remains, with here and there a ditch, to mark the ancient site of the old city of Verulam. But connect these debris of her former greatness with her history, and the mind instantly becomes moved, and deeply. Once she enjoyed all the rights of Roman citizenship. Here the brave Queen Boadicea defended the Roman army. Here St. Alban received his martyrdom. Here, also Britain knew British, Roman, Saxon, Danish, Saxon and Norman dynasties. So when I pause to recall where we are now met, scene after scene passes before me just as great and changing. Indeed, in imagination, I can see the moving to and fro of Indian scout, fired with revenge, learning when and where his inflamed passions shall next be given their sway. I can see the fleeing.of bleeding, decimatel and homeless families hurrying hither and thither, crimsoning their way with blood, seeking that protection which civilization and only civiliza- tion can give and perpetuate. I can see cruel hordes advancing from yonder marshes to scalp, to wound, to kill; and the marching of Saxon forces to check, to conquer and to tame. Nor is it diffi- cult to recall the alternate moving and retreating of Indians, French, Dutch, English, flushed with the hope of speedy victory,
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or disheartened and crushed by sudden defeat. For the Caucasian knew this spot, as did the lowly and cruel red man. No doubt it has been the passive observer of many a skirmish, and, it may be, bitter struggle. And as at yonder ford the weaker rested to bathe, so the stronger availed themselves of the pebbled path and hurrying over, sought victory beyond.
Omitting the earlier scenes with which this part of our lovely valley is fairly burdened, let me ask; was it not through the very fields whereon we stand that the sachems so often passed for their peculiar talks to the ancient place of treaties-Albany; that the adventurous Bradstreet crossed with his armament for Oswego; and when its Fort was completed that the motely brigades of Mer- cer, Schuyler and others marched to occupy and defend it; and that the relief corps of Webb so sluggishly journeyed ? Indeed scarce had the rude posts of the stockade settled in their holes ere Prideaux and Johnson reached yon ford with the confederate troops of New England and New Jersey on their way to Niagara; breaking camp at Canajoharie on the 19th, and journeying by this site on the 20th of June. The same was true of other commanders, and other forces bent on kindred missions. As the tides rise and fall, or flood and ebb, so have valorous hosts moved to and fro before this place-now to defeat-now to victory-now to vic- tory-now to defeat. In yonder meadow the gallant Herkimer bivouacked after his glorious victory at Oriskany-that royal struggle which turned the current of the Revolution and ended in our national birth. Beyond a doubt the first water that cooled and cleansed his mortal wound was dipped up from yonder daisied bank. The wily St. Leger also would have rested here had not the brave German assured him, by bullet messages, that the longest way round was the shortest way home. Here Arnold halted in seeking the relief of Fort Stanwix.
Numerous, very numerous, are the associations of this place; nor is there an area in all central New York abounding in memories of men more noble, in events more decisive, or in scenes more thrilling and important.
Referring, as I now am, to some of the events that have made this section of our valley so historie, may I add; few have ever estimated the strategie importance of central New York, and the bearing its topography has exerted upon our national destiny. In the line of hills a little to the south of us, no less than three streams have their rise, which with our own gently flowing Mohawk and the Hudson command nearly one-half the eastern area
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of these United States; and by following the course of our streams and valleys we can invade no less than twenty States and two- thirds of the territories of the union. Streams form a nation's natural defense and are her proper highways; so have believed the mighty conquerors of the past, and much later the confederates in our recent war. In no mean sense then, New York State com- mands the union. Nor can there be but one government on this continent so long as our rivers, valleys and mountains remain as now. The honored President of this society, Horatio Seymour, the sage of Deerfield
Qui decori decus addit acito,
assures us that, in company with General Winfield Scott, from an elevated point near the confinence of the Mohawk and the Hudson rivers, he overlooked the range of highlands which marked their courses; and that the hero of so many battles, stretching out his arm, remarked: "Remember this has been the strategic point in all the wars waged for the control of this continent." And this is simply one of the highlands of our State. Add to it those of which I have just spoken, those wooded summits which the sun first doth gild, and from them we can pass down not merely to our seaboard cities, but to the vast, vast aeres which make our reunited and prosperous country.
The Fort that formerly occupied this site was built in 1759; more than forty years after the erection of Forts Ticonderoga and Onondaga, and some forty-seven years after Fort Hunter, the lat- ter being the first Fort erected among the Five Nations. It was merely one in a long chain of similar structures that united the waters of the Hudson with the deeper and bluer waters of our western lakes. On the west, the nearer were Forts Bull and William, with Forts Herkimer and Hendricks at the east. It had its origin in the colonies desiring to strengthen themselves in this valley, and the necessity of supplies and ammunition being con- veniently located, as well as shelter for the settlers when threatened or pursued by thirsty and bloody foes.
Under date of July 16, 1755, the lords of trade wrote to Gov- ernor Hardy for an opinion as to the best system to be laid down for the defense of the frontiers; for the management of the Indians; what Forts should be built, where located, and the num- ber of troops required to give efficiency to the colonies. Hardy, in replying to this communication, suggested that three Forts should be erected on the northern frontiers; one on the Hudson
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river; another at Lake George; a third at or about where Wood creek and South Bay mix their waters; another in the Onondaga country where the general councils of the Six Nations were held; and still another some eighty miles to the west of Oswego. They were not, however, to be equal in extent, nor of the same magni- tude. On the contrary, he expressly mentions that some, as Fort Onondaga, need not be very strong, as a picketed one with a num- ber of block-houses would be sufficient. The recommendations of the governor were adopted. So soon, therefore, as authority arrived for their erection they were begun. As General Shirley at this time was in command of the north and western frontier, he undertook the construction of the more needed ones, leaving the less important to be built after the completion of those demanded for strategic purposes. To his honor and magnanimity be it said, not one was located arbitrarily. On the other hand, he not only sought the permission of the Indians, but solicited also their active co-operation. Notably was this true of the Fort built at Oneida. Ere, however, the plans of the government could be carried out, Shirley was superseded by the Earl of Loudon; it was, therefore, under his administration that this particular Fort was built, and from whom also it received, so to say, its charge. Before the Indians yielded their assent to the multiplication of defenses among them, inasmuch as they were desired for the present emerg- ency, and their erection somewhat interfered with their fishing and hunting places, and they who garrisoned them too frequently abused their privilege, it was expressly stipulated that all minor posts should be destroyed, so soon as the war ended.
The size and shape of Fort Schuyler I have yet to learn, as well as the special character of its construction. As Fort Stanwix at Rome was erected the year previous, and at an expense of nearly three hundred thousand dollars, and upon the most true and approved scientifie principles of military engineering, it is not probable that the Fort on whose site we are now met was either as costly or extensive. Rather, since the completion of Fort Stanwix gave abundant accommodations for a large garrison, and afforded complete shelter for supplies and fugitives, it is more than probable that it was a simple block-house, with openings for can- non and musket, and palisaded so as to furnish proper protection to all needing it for safety or aggressive warfare. I thus speak, for such was the character of the Forts to the east which occupied similar subordinate positions. In Barber's collection of New York, we are told that the "first building erected within the limits of
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Utica was a mud fort, during the old French war. It was situated between Main street and the bank of the river a little eastward of Second street." When Fort Schuyler had accomplished its mis- sion, or the war over, the authorities kept the promise made to the allies, and with other constructions of like character, it was given over to decay.
Following the custom of the day the Fort was named for an officer, at this very period in the active service of his country, Colonel Peter Schuyler, of New Jersey. Already had the noble deeds of Peter Schuyler, of Albany, become household words; but as the dash, bravery, heroism and philanthropy of his namesake were daily coming more and more into view, and were command- ing the astonishment and admiration of his countrymen, it received his name, simply as a feeble acknowledgment of the services he had already rendered the government, as well as a reminder for further faithfulness, devotion and sacrifice.
That the Fort was called for the Jersey and not for the Albanian Schuyler, we need bnt recall the custom that prevailed at this day in naming every stockade or defense for an officer then in active service. Unhappily when its foundations were laid Peter Schuyler, of Albany, had been in his grave twenty-five years, while his name- sake of New Jersey was in command of the Jersey Blues then garrisoning Oswego. Nor among all the officers in the army was there one more popular, self-sacrificing, or the recipient of higher honors. When others were timid and doubtful, he was bold; wheu they parleyed and delayed, he was nervous and anxious for action; when the State was unable to pay its troops, he advanced moneys for the same from his private resources; and more especially, when the general government could not and did not ransom her soldiers from captivity, Peter Schuyler, of New Jersey, became their deliverer by personally purchasing their redemption, and with no hope of return. Indeed his bravery, patriotism and philanthropy endeared him to the whole country. It is likewise the testimony and tradition of his descendants still living in New Jersey, that it was their ancestor for whom this Fort was called ; and at this very hour their choicest heirloomn consists of the sword ouce worn by their noble sire during his campaigns in our valley, when the old block-house first came into being. While Peter Schuyler, of Albany, had frequently given his services to his country, and enjoyed a most enviable reputation among the Indians, he was, however, more a man of peace; in fact, he was offered the honor of knighthood for his civic services. Peter Schuyler, of
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New Jersey, was a man of war, and for his military dash and sagacity received the commendation of the English parliament, through William Pitt; while the colonies manifested their gratitude for his great philanthropy by frequently rendering him unwonted honors.
As in studying the early history of this section of our State, we frequently meet with the names Fort Schuyler and Old Fort Schuyler, may I observe in passing, that during the Revolutionary war an attempt was made to give the name of Schuyler to the Fort erected on or near the site of Fort Stanwix, at Rome; while the Fort which we this day would commemorate was alluded to as Old Fort Schuyler. But as these two Forts derived their names from two different indivduals of the same distinguished family, so did they occupy different cites. To repeat, our Fort Schuyler derived its name from Colonel Peter Schuyler, of New Jersey, and of Indian renown; while the Fort which supplanted Fort Stanwix was called after General Philip Schuyler, of New York, and of Revolutionary memory.
Here an imperfect sketch of the Schuyler family will not be out of place.
The family of Schuyler has always played a most important part in the history of our commonwealth. The first who appears on the historical page was Philip Pietersen Schuyler, a pure Hollander, who came to these western shores in 1650. His an- cestral acres lay about the famous old city of Dordrecht. After an honored career, he died on the 9th of May, 1683, O. S. and was buried in the old Dutch church at Albany. His fourth child bore his father's name, nor was he any the less distinguished. He was born at the city of Albany, and after its incorporation became its first mayor, occupying this position from 1686 to 1694, In 1688 he received the commission of major of the militia, and before the close of the year was given command of the Fort in his native city. He was also made a member and, at a later period, became the president of his majesty's council for the province of New York; and for a while acting governor of the colony. Ile was chief commissioner for Indian affairs, and held that arduous and responsible posi- tion many years. To impress the government of Queen Anne with the character of its allies, in 1710 he visited England, taking with him several Iroquois chiefs with whose constituency he was on terms of intimacy. As a token of her respect for the services he had rendered the government, Queen Anne presented him on his return with a silver vase. This was the Schuyler whom the Indians loved to call "Brother Queder." He died in 1724.
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The ninth child of Philip Pietersen Schuyler was John, whose son John was the honored father of General Philip Schuyler, the trusted and tried friend of America, and who fought so bravely for her independence. He was baptized, as was his friend Benjamin Franklin, on the day of his birth.
The sixth child of Philip Pietersen was Arent Schuyler, who was born in the city of Albany in 1662. He was given the name of his maternal grandfather. He married Jenneke Teller, November 26th, 1684, and commenced house-keeping on North Pearl street, Albany, as the records read, "in the house where the eagle hangs out." The notarial papers inform ns that as his name Arent meant eagle, he hung out in a cage a live eagle, to mark his residence, instead of a door plate. About the year 1693, he removed to New York city. In an Indian deed dated July 13th, 1696, he is styled, " Merchant of the city of New York." Having purchased, however, an extensive tract of land in New Jersey, near Pompton, he removed there perhaps in 1706, and ever afterwards regarded this State as his home. In April, 1710, he purchased an additional farm on New Barbadoes Neck, the present site of Belleville, to which he removed the same year.
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