USA > New York > Chautauqua County > Portland > Historical sketches of the town of Portland : comprising also the pioneer history of Chautauqua County, with biographical sketches of the early settlers > Part 18
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THE TOWN OF PORTLAND.
to detach from his regiment a full company to consist of one captain, one lieutenant, one ensign, four sergeants, four corporals, one drummer, one fifer and one hundred privates.' Col. McMahan immediately issued orders calling the officers of the regiment together at Dunn's tavern in the present town of Portland, on farm now owned by John Dudley, and after an address read the order he had received and expressed a hope that the whole number could be obtained without resorting to a draft. On calling for volunteers, Capt. Jehial Moore, of Forestville, Lieutenant David Eaton, of Portland, and Ensign Charles Burritt, of Canadaway, now Fredonia, offered themselves. Orders were then issued for one battalion to meet at Mayville and the other at Canadaway to 'beat up' for volunteers. Capt. Jehial Moore and Ensign Burritt were to attend the meeting at Canadaway and Lient. Eaton the meeting at Mayville. On the day of the meeting patriotic speeches were made by the colonel and others present, and on ' beating up' for volunteers the whole number assigned to each battalion turned out. The members of this company were to hold themselves in readiness to march at a moment's warning and to serve six months. Within a few days news was received that the 18th of that month congress had declared war against Great Britain. Scarcely had the minds of the settlers become familiar with this fact ere an order was received by Capt. Moore to collect his company and march to Lewiston and join the 13th regiment of New York detached militia, commanded by Col. Hugh W. Dobbin, of Geneva. Non commissioned officers were despatched to warn the men to assemble, those from the western part of the county at the cross roads, now Westfield, and those from the eastern part at Canadaway, on the 4th of July. Those from the west part assem bled as per orders and the same day marched to Canadaway and joined those assembled there, and on calling the roll it was found that every man was present,-113 in all,-able-bodied men. The next day the company commenced their march and arrived at Lewiston on the 9th and joined the regiment."-
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[Eaton.] Those from the present town of Portland who served in this company were David Eaton, John Ingersoll, Hiram Burch, Erastus and Jared Taylor.
Great delay was experienced in collecting, equipping and drilling the army of the center and it was not until the 13th of October that the commander decided to make a descent upon Canada. The time was perhaps somewhat anticipated by the fact that the troops after remaining idle for three months, became impatient of further delay and demanded to be led against the enemy : many of them threatened to return home unless their wishes were complied with. This enthusiasm was the result of the capture by the Americans, under Lieut. Elliott of the U. S. Navy, of two British brigs from Detroit, laden with furs and military stores that had arrived on the 8th of October and anchored under the protection of the guns of Fort Erie. After their capture they were run aground for want of sufficient wind to bear them against the entrent of the river and enable them to escape. One of them was burned; most of the lading, however, was secured. "But this was not the order of veterans well acquainted with the dangers to be encountered, and despising them; it was the inconsiderate rashness of inexperienced men ready to anticipate the proper moment but not possessing the firmness to persevere when surrounded by unaccustomed terrors. After a conference with generals Smyth and Hall, General VanRensselaer resolved to make an attack on the heights of Queenstown. From the information he could collect the enemy's force had been chiefly drawn off for the defense of Malden, as it was supposed, under the command of general Brock, who had left the territory of Michigan under the direction of general Proctor. until he could organize a force to return. Could this place be possessed by our troops they would be sheltered from the approaching inclemency of the season and the operations of the western army much facilitated. But of the sanguinary conflict upon the heights of Queenstown on the 13th of October. its successes and reverses. it is not proposed to speak. All these are
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familiar to the student of history. Had the whole American army conducted themselves as heroically as those who crossed the river the result might have been different : as it was, those engaged 'covered themselves with glory,' while 1,200 men under arms on the American side refused to cross and remained idle spectators of the scene. Their ardor had become suddenly cooled from witnessing the scenes on the other side. Every officer who crossed the river, it is said, distinguished himself, and all did their duty nobly. The Americans lost 60 killed and 700 prisoners. The greater part of the prisoners were taken to Montreal. except the militia who were paroled the next day. Previous to the attack the question of the power of the government to send state troops beyond the bounds of the state was largely discussed and the opinion seemed to prevail that such power did not exist, and a few planted themselves upon this as a constitutional privilege and intimated a refusal to cross the river if an attack should be decided upon. Recog- nizing this construction as correct, or at least acting upon it as such, in preparing for carrying out the attack upon Queens- town the officers relied solely on voluntary aid on the part of the militia. Volunteers were called for and the 18th New York detached militia. to which the Chautauqua company belonged, was paraded by Major Morrison (Col. Dobbin being absent), who proceeded to make a flaming, patriotic address, in which he sought to inspire them with enthusiasm and zeal and expressed the hope that the whole regiment would volunteer for the enterprise and show their devotion to their country and their willingness to defend its honor; that they would not falter in the hour of danger but be true to the principles of patriotism that should and did inspire every loyal heart. He did not ask them to jeopard their lives unnecessarily, but hoped they would be willing to go as far as he would go and he would ask them to go no further. "All those willing to volunteer in the enterprise against the enemy on the opposite side of the river were requested to advance eight paces, and with the exception of 50 to 60 the whole regiment advanced and formed a new
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line. Those who refused to advance were formed into a company under a lieutenant, one of their number, and called the " coward company." The Chautauqua company, as far as is now known, all volunteered and were among the first troops embarked and the first to land on the other side of the river. The five from Portland in that company, it is but just to say, did their duty nobly and acquitted themselves like men as they were. It is not believed the others did less. On landing upon the Canadian shore and while halting for a moment under the bank, the enquiry went quickly around, "Where is Major Morrison ?" " Who has seen Major Morrison ?" The redoubt- able major was not to be found and was not seen on the west side of the river that day. His patriotism very suddenly ran out at the moment of embarkation, and he kept at a safe distance. But the cowardly lieutenant who had been left in command of the " coward company," seeing the peril of his countrymen upon the other side, seized a musket, passed over and fought like a hero through the fight to its close." [Eaton] The company of Capt. Moore were noted for their bravery and daring and in common with all engaged did all that men could do under the circumstances, and only yielded to superior numbers. Lieut. Eaton was wounded by a ball through his wrist about ten in the forenoon and was ordered from the field by Capt. Moore; the wound proving severe, he was not able to return.
Erastus Taylor was wounded in the last effort of the Americans before the surrender, by a ball striking his leg below the knee, breaking and shattering the bone in a shocking manner. He was taken prisoner and placed in an old building for two or three days, after which, with other wounded prisoners, he was conveyed to the hospital at Lewiston. He remained here until some time the next winter when his father conveyed him to his home in Chenango county, a distance of two hundred miles, in an open sleigh. He was not able to walk upon the fractured limb for three years, but finally recovered and returned to Portland in 1816.
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Jared Taylor, brother of Erastus, and John Ingersoll were not wounded but taken prisoners and paroled the next day. Nothing is now known with reference to Hiram Burch, but the presumption is that he was taken prisoner and paroled
Soon after the declaration of war the people of the county were greatly exercised with reference to their exposed and defenseless condition and a want of arms by the militia for self defense. After a good deal of discussion and a full consid- eration of the matter in a public meeting held for the purpose, Robert Dixon of the now town of Ripley, was sent by the people to Albany to procure arms. Mr. Dixon was successful in his effort, and in September of that year two hundred stands of arms were forwarded from the state arsenal at Canandaigua to this county
Directly after the battle of Queenstown a second requisition was made for a company from this county, which was promptly met, but it does not appear that any from Portland were members of it. This was for the purpose of filling up the ranks of the army upon the Niagara frontier, preparatory to another attempt at an invasion of Canada under Brig. Gen. Smyth of the regular army, who had been placed in command after the resignation of Gen. VanRensselaer on account of his wounds. "Gen. Smyth had issued, on taking command, a flaming address to the . men of New York,' appealing to their patriotism, calling on them to retrieve the late disaster and at the same time by this step secure their wives and children from the predatory and murderous incursions of the savages. This address was backed by an animated proclamation from General Porter of the New York militia, and a force was collected at Buffalo, organized, armed and equipped and deemed sufficient for the enterprise." But after two or three ineffectual attempts (in November) to carry out the plan, Gen. Smyth ordered the abandonment of the effort for the season, and the troops made arrangements to go into winter quarters. There seemed no good reason why this last attempt, on the 30th of November, should not have succeeded. "The whole body of
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the troops, with the exception of two hundred men, were embarked at four o'clock, the men conducting themselves with great order and obedience and affording every hope of success. Nothing seemed wanting but the word to move when the order came for debarkation." "One universal expression of indig- nation burst forth : the greater part of the militia threw down ' their arms and returned to their homes, and those who remained continually threatened the life of the general. Some recrimination passed between General Smyth and General Porter, the latter charging the former with cowardice and unofficerlike conduct."
Nothing further was done toward the invasion of Canada during the fall and winter or until the latter portion of the next year, at least little in which the Chautauqua troops were interested. The contest seemed to be one for posts.
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CHAPTER XLIII.
War of 1812 continued-Operations on the Niagara Frontier from the taking of Ft. George to the burning of Buffalo.
On the 27th of May 1813, Ft. George on the Canadian side of the Niagara, one mile above its mouth, was taken by the Americans, but they were not allowed to remain in possession many months, the fortunes of war placing not only Ft. George but Ft. Niagara in the possession of the British. Gen. McClure had been placed in command of Ft. George, and in December following, for no good reason set fire to the village of Newark, situated at the entrance of Niagara river, and reduced it to ashes. Two days after, hearing of the approach of British troops, he abandoned the fort and retired to the American side of the river. The act of burning the village of Newark was promptly disavowed and regretted by the government, but not sat- isfied with this the enemy commenced a system of burning and destruction of property and life disgraceful in the extreme. On the 19th of the same month, December. Ft. Niagara was surprised and taken, and the garrison nearly three hundred, and mostly invalids. put to the sword. This was quickly followed by the burning of the villages of Youngstown, Lewiston, Manchester, and the Indian village of Tuscarora. Very many of the inhabitants of these places were inhumanly butchered The enemy continued the march up the river until they reached a point opposite Black Rock on the 30th. Their force consisted of one
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thousand five hundred regulars and four hundred Indians. In anticipation of some such movement on the part of the British a call had been made early in December for the militia to turn out to repel any attack that might be made. "The Chautauqua militia were called out en masse to rendezvous at the cross roads, now Westfield, and march to Buffalo under the command of Col. John McMahan."
The call was promptly obeyed even at that inelement season of the year, "without being provided with blankets, knapsacks, tents, rations. camp equipage or transportation to render them comfortable. The families of many of these soldiers were left at home without a male adult, or any one but females and children to cut the firewood or browse the cattle. It should be borne in mind that the county was then almost an entire wilderness, without any surphis of provisions, and very little forage for the cattle, except browse. The men on their march to Buffalo, and while there, suffered much from cold and hunger."
The Chautauqua regiment was the 162d, "and numbered about four hundred effective men, about two hundred of whom responded to the call of the commander-in-chief. There were four companies under the command of Col. John McMahan and Majors Wm. Prendergast and Isaac Barnes." On arriving at Buffalo "they were quartered in log huts a little to the eastward of the village. The militia force assembled at that point including those from this county, amounted to about two thousand men, under the command of Gen. Hall." Those in the regiment of Col. McMahan from the present town of Portland were David Eaton, Elisha Fay, Nathaniel Fay, Ezra Joy. Moses Joy, Calvin Barnes, Wm. Dunn, Andrew Kelsey, Hollis Fay, Sanford Haines, Huram Haines: the last as a substitute for Elijah Fay.
On the night of the 30th of December, between 11 and 12 o'clock the American camp was alarmed by the receipt of intelligence that the enemy were crossing Niagara river
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at Black Rock. A portion of the militia from the counties of Niagara, Genesee and Ontario, was immediately marched down to oppose their landing. The main body of the British had effected a landing at the mouth of Conjockity Creek, a mile or more below the ferry. Efforts were made to prevent their progress, though with but partial success. The militia who had proceeded to the ground, not in a body but in detached parties, were easily routed by the disciplined troops of the enemy and driven back as fast as they arrived at the scene of action.
The skirmishing between the hostile forces continued during the greater part of the night, the firing of which was distinctly heard at Buffalo where the Chautauqua regiment had remained under arms, paraded in front of Pomeroy's tavern, as a reserve. About four o'clock on the morning of the 31st, Col. McMahan's regiment was marched to Black Rock, posted opposite the ferry, in the rear of the battery that had been erected at that point." A good degree of enthusiasm existed amongst the Chau- tauqua troops, but a slight incident occurring while on the march from Buffalo to Black Rock seemed to very mate- rially dampen their ardor. Gen. Hall had been to the Rock through the early morning directing the movements of the troops as far as he was able, but was returning with his staff to Buffalo as the Chautauqua regiment was on its way to the scene of action. The regiment was halted and the General and Col. McMahan in an undertone held a hurried consultation, which of course was not understood by the men; but on leaving the General said, sufficiently loud to be heard by the whole regiment, "Colonel, do your duty, but if you must retreat, the rendezvous is at Miller's." This was said in a tone that evidenced to the men that the contest was hopeless. Their enthusiasm went out at once, and they moved on mechanically rather than with zeal and ardor.
"Soon after daylight, six or seven boats, containing each
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fifty or sixty men, were seen to put off from the Canadian shore with the evident intention of landing. A firing was kept up by the batteries at the ferry, and was returned from the opposite shore. One of the enemy's boats was struck by a cannon shot from the American side, and sunk with its hostile freight. About the break of day the Chau- tauqua regiment was ordered to advance in the direction of the enemy. They proceeded down the river, nearly half a mile, and met them in force, near the residence of Gen. Por- ter. A sharp, though unequal contest ensued, when the militia broke and fled, as those who had preceded them had done. During the engagement, a part of the British force had passed up under the bank of the river, and taken post in the road leading from Buffalo to the ferry, with a view of cutting off the militia in their retreat. Escape through the avenue by which they had arrived, being thus prevented, and pressed as they were by the advance of the enemy. they were compelled to take to the woods in the rear of the terry for safety, through which many of the American force, including a portion of the Chautauqua regiment, fled precipitately ; and such of them as escaped the rifle and tomahawk of the savages, who immediately filled the woods in pursuit, reached the main road at Buffalo, and at various points for several miles to the eastward in the direction of Batavia. The largest portion of the whole force returned to their homes, among whom were the principal part of the Chautauqua militia. The remainder who had survived, were afterwards quartered for several weeks at Miller's tavern, about two miles east of Buffalo. Toward noon of the 31st the British set fire to Buffalo and finally recrossed the river to Canada. the second or third day after that event."
"The loss to this county was severe in proportion to the numbers engaged. James Brackett, a lawyer from the village of Mayville, was killed and scalped by the Indians, during the retreat from Black Rock. Joseph Frank, from Busti.
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Wm. Smiley from Ellery, - Pease and Lewis from Pomfret, Nash Bover, and Hubbard shared the same fate. Maj. Prendergast had several balls shot through his hat and clothes, and narrowly escaped with his life. Capt. Silsby was severely wounded, and Lieut. Forbes had one killed and five wounded, of the twenty-one men under his command. Of the killed, the bodies of those which were found were buried in a common grave, near the road leading from Buffalo to Black Rock, into which eighty-nine were promiscuously thrown. They were afterward disin- terred and many of them claimed by their relatives and taken away to be buried near the homes they had laid down their lives to protect ; that their afflicted families might weep over their premature graves, and protect them from desecration."
"The bodies of several others, who had been killed on their retreat through the woods, and scalped by the Indians, were found during the winter and spring and committed to the earth.
The only buildings remaining in Buffalo, were the jail. which was built of stone, a small frame house, and an armorer's shop. All the houses and almost every building between Buffalo and Niagara Falls were destroyed, as were also many of those on the Batavia road. for several miles beyond Buffalo."
"At this period the frontier presented a scene of des- olation rarely witnessed. The inhabitants who had escaped the tomahawk, fled into the interior, in the depth of winter without shelter or means of support, and subsisted on the charity of friends. The panie was general, and per- vaded this county, though in,a degree somewhat less than in the section of country in the immediate vicinity of the point of attack."-[WARREN.] Portland was no exception to the general rule in this respect. The reports reaching the settlements were of course greatly exaggerated, and the imagination lent new terrors. until the whole town was one
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continued scene of excitement. The horror of Indian mas- sacre, so vividly painted to the mind and impressed by the events of the last two or three days, was the worst of all. Mr. O. W. Burch, then a youth, living with his father on the town line road between Portland and Westfield, thus writes of it, and this will serve as a sample of the distress in town : "I recollect an incident in January 1814, a day or two after Buffalo was burned. Our militia and some from our neigh- ยท borhood had gone to Black Rock to face the enemy, when we were very much frightened by the report of a messenger that Buffalo was burnt, and our militia were all shot or taken prisoners, and that the British and Indians were marching west and destroying people and property, all that came in their way. As may well be supposed, in our thinly settled country, there was a sensation. Old Mr. Haynes and his son Huram were in the war, and the remainder of the Haynes family left their home and joined our family, and there we all were, laying plans how to do in case of neces- sity. Some said .go to the mountains' as the hills were called, but where were the teams to go with? Reports were con- flicting, and there was but little sleep or rest for two days. On the third day about nine o'clock at night we were all up and wide awake as usual, old Mr. Haynes came to our door and called for admittance, and he was welcomed as he never had been before. After the salutations the inquiry was hur- riedly made for IIuram. The panic was quieted. The pres- ence of the old man was like oil upon the troubled waters. As it proved, but comparatively few of the Chautauqua men were hurt. There was a tremendous letting down of the feverish excitement of the last few days."
The volunteers from Portland were in the company of Capt. Ozias Hart. Calvin Barnes was wounded by a ball through the knee joint, the ball entering through the patella, or knee- pan, and emerging posteriorly, rendering him a cripple for life. The rest escaped unhurt.
In June, 1814, a company from this county volunteered under
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the command of Capt. John Silsby for one month's service and served in Canada. David B. Granger, as fifer, was the only member of the company from the present town of Portland. This company participated in the taking of fort Erie, nearly opposite Black Rock, by the Americans under generals Scott and Ripley, on the 3d of July ; the battle of Chippeway on the morning of the 5th of July, and the battle of Lundy's Lane on the evening of the 25th. After the battle of Lundy's Lane the Americans fell back to fort Erie, which, on the fourth of the next month, (August) was besieged by the British 5,000 strong under General Drummond. In July two full companies of the 164th, or Chautauqua regiment, had been called for to assist in defending the frontier, as it was feared that another descent would be made by the enemy from Canada. The call was promptly answered and the troops were marched to Black Rock under command of Col. John McMahan. Those from Portland who served in this campaign were David Eaton, regimental paymaster, and Wm. Ingersoll, ensign. These troops were in no engagement during the whole campaign, although cannonading from Black Rock and from the Canadian shore of the river was continually engaged in. Very little damage was done. Occasionally, however, between the 4th of August and the 17th of September a company was conveyed across to fort Erie to assist in the preparations for the defense of that point, but none of the Chautauqua troops were present at the attempt of the enemy to storm the fort on the 15th day of August, or at the sortie from the fort on the 17th of September. The 385 prisoners taken at this sortie by the Americans were placed under the care of Col. John McMahan of the Chautauqua regiment and marched to some point in the vicinity of Albany. There being no military necessity for further holding the fort, in November it was abandoned and destroyed and the American troops crossed the river and went into winter quarters at Black Rock, Buffalo and Batavia. During the whole season, from the arrival of the Chantanqua troops on the Niagara frontier to the November following,
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