USA > New York > Delaware County > History of Delaware County, and border wars of New York, containing a sketch of the early settlements in the county > Part 24
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The second company elected John R. Baldwin, of Stamford, captain, Thomas E. Marvine, of Walton, lieutenant, and Pal- mer L. Burrows, of Tompkins, ensign.
Thomas Marvine, of Walton, was unanimously elected major of the battalion, whose experience and judgment rendered him peculiarly fitted for the station. A correspondent writes as follows :
"The company of light infantry under the command of Cap- tain Bolles, of the one hundred and fifty-first regiment, has been ordered to active service and report themselves to Major Marvine at this place.
"Col. Horton, of the sixty-ninth regiment, 'and Col. North, of the one hundred and fifty-first regiment, have been ordered to hold their respective commands in readiness to answer any call that may be made for additional force, should it be deemed necessary."
The next evening, the light infantry company, from Unadilla, under the command of Capt. Bolles, arrived and reported them- selves to Major Marvine. The company was composed mostly of young men, who with a little drilling made excellent soldiers
A correspondent of this date writes as follows :
"Major Marvine has now three hundred efficient and well- armed men ; one hundred of whom are well mounted, ready to assist the sheriff in the execution of any process required, and to guard the jail and prisoners. This force, it is believed, will prove sufficient to answer the purpose intended, and we hope the necessity will not exist a great while for this or any other force. If those who have heretofore favored the anti-rent associations, will read the proclamation of Gov. Wright, with calmness and candor, they must be convinced of the utter im- possibility-and the injustice-of standing out against the power of the State.
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"After completing the organization, Adjt. Gen. Farrington left on Monday afternoon, on his return to Oswego."
Small companies were constantly kept out scouring the in- fected districts, in search of those who had either abetted or assisted in any of the outrages connected with the history of the disturbance for the past year. Almost every day additions were made to the number of prisoners, and in the course of a few weeks the county jail was completely filled, and it was found necessary and expedient to erect two temporary log buildings, to accommodate the increasing demand.
The following extract is from a letter dated September 2nd :
"A large number of troops have been out to-day, getting out logs to make two log-prisons. They are to be about twenty- five feet square, and very roughly constructed. Their erection becomes necessary, as the Common Pleas and General Session sits here next week, and the court-room is now occupied by some twenty-five prisoners, and the jury-rooms by some eight or ten more. The jail is full to overflowing."
The September term of the Court of Common Pleas and General Sessions of Delaware county, commenced on the 8th instant. The Court of General Sessions did not close until the 20th instant, up to which time the whole number indicted for violation of law, for being disguised, armed, &c., was two hundred and forty-two.
The Circuit Court and Court of Oyer and Terminer, com- menced its session on the 22nd instant, his Honor, Judge Parker, presiding.
The following individuals were sworn, and composed the Grand Jury, to wit : Orrin Griffin, foreman ; Fitch Ford, Gor- sham H. Bradley, Platt Townsend, John Sextell, David M. Smith, James W. Knapp, Daniel S. Smith, Samuel S. Scudder, Warren Dimmick, Amasa Birch, John Hammond, Abraham Shell, Reuben S. Smith, Milton Bostwick, Edwin J. Smith,
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Aristarchus Blish, Gabriel S. Mead, Edmund Crooker, Novatus Blish.
After an able and lucid charge from Judge Parker, in which he dwelt at length upon the history and origin of the anti-rent troubles in the county-concluding by impressing upon them the imperative duty of prompt and fearless action as the only method of restoring peace and quiet, they retired to their room.
In the course of his charge he thus depicts the demoralizing effect upon the society and best interests of the county :
"I regret to say that in all the disorder and violence ex- hibited in this State, this county has occupied a prominence lamentable in the extreme ; and I should suppose that the de- plorable effects that are cvident upon the state of things here amongst you, would restrain all from engaging hereafter in such transactions. But one year since I saw your county in a most flourishing condition-your green hills and beautiful valley bore upon their face evidence of prosperity hardly to be found elsewhere. It was a flourishing county, even under the lease- hold system, and no county had gone forward more rapidly than this in the acquisition of wealth and enjoyment of social happiness. The contrast that is now presented is most deeply to be regretted. In portions of your county I am told that the crops have not been harvested. Although heaven has continued its blessings upon the labor of the husbandman, yet the husbandman-having in an evil hour been led to the com- mission of crime, having listened perhaps to foreign lectures, and having been thus induced to place himself in an attitude of hostility to the law-has fled, and left his crops to perish.
"And here the contrast is equally striking. In a commu- nity where but little crime was manifested, hundreds are now crowding your jail, awaiting trial-many of them, I regret to say, for a capital offence. It is surprising that in a govern- ment like ours, things of this kind should exist ; that a portion
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of the people should be warring against their own govern- ment-for it is here a government strictly of the people. If errors in legislation have been committed, you have the power to correct them. You can give government a right direction. And yet, strange as it seems, you find a portion of the people placing themselves in open rebellion against that government, refusing to enjoy the rich blessings purchased by the blood of their fathers, and placing themselves in a position to destroy all the institutions that have thus far blessed them. This is indeed greatly to be regretted. There never can be in a free government, a government of the people, either necessity or excuse for trea- son. If there be anything wrong, the ballot-box is the place where redress is certain. The power is the peoples' own. But it must always be peacefully exerted-never by force."
Our space will hardly permit us to dwell in detail upon the trial of the different prisoners-suffice it to say that they resulted in two convictions for murder, four were sentenced to the State Prison for life, and thirteen for a term of years. The following prefatory remarks and sentences of the two pri- soners convicted of murder is from the Albany Argus :
" Long before the hour to which the court stood adjourned, persons began to flock in. Many little groups were collected around the court room, speculating upon the nature of the various sentences that were soon to be passed; and many with eager countenances were inquiring, whether those found guilty of murder would be hung. Sometime before the bell rang for the court to convene, the room was filled to overflowing; and many an anxious face and palpitating heart were there.
" At 10 o'clock Judge Parker took his seat on the bench and ordered the sheriff to bring up John Van Steenburgh. The prisoner being brought up, Judge Parker addressed the pri- soner in substance as follows :-
" John Van Steenburgh-You have been convicted of the
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murder of Osman N. Steele. Have you anything to say why sentence of death should not be passed upon you ?'
" The prisoner, with some emotion, replied : "all that I can say is I am not guilty.'
" Judge Parker .- ' The court entertain no doubt of your legal guilt. You were one of more than two hundred men present, disguised and armed, when Steele was murdered. There is suspicion that you fired your gun. It is a painful duty that devolves upon us, but we discharge it without hesitation or fear. You have had a fair trial. You have for- feited your life. You have but a short time more to live-to prepare yourself for eternity. During that time your friends will be permitted to see you ; they will see that you have religious instruction. Your fate is an awful one. The sentence of the law is, that on the twenty-ninth day of November next, you be taken from your confinement to the place of execution, and there hung by the neck until you are dead.'
" The prisoner said : 'will you allow me to say a few words ?'
Judge Parker : 'It will be as well for you to confer with your counsel.'
" The prisoner was then remanded, and the sheriff brought up Edward O'Connor.
"Judge Parker then addressed the prisoner as follows :-
"'Edward O'Conner. You have been found guilty of the murder of Osman N. Steele-have you anything to say why sentence of death should not be passed upon you?'
" Prisoner .- ' I am innocent.'
"Judge Parker .- ' Upon that subject there is no doubt : you have had a fair and impartial trial. You were one of two hundred disguised and armed men present when Steele was murdered. You are clearly guilty of murder in law, if you did not fire. A most painful duty devolves upon the court. I have known you and your family for years. You are intelligent-you have had advantages-you should have
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better appreciated them. You were just entering upon the duties of life. We have a most painful duty to discharge ; nevertheless we are ready to do it. You have but a few days to live. You should prepare for eternity. You will have time to reflect. It is not the murder of Steele only that you are guilty of, but the laws themselves have been violated. An awful fate awaits you. You will have an opportunity to see your friends, and will also have religious counsel if you desire it. The sentence of the law is, that on Saturday, the twenty-ninth day of November next, you be taken from your confinement to the place of execution, and there be hung by the neck until you are dead.'
"The prisoner remarked, as he turned to be conducted back to jail-' I die innocent; remember that, my friends.'"
The court finally adjourned, after a prolonged session of about three weeks, having accomplished a great amount of business. All agreed in awarding great credit to Judge Parker, for the uniform calmness and decision preserved throughout the trials of the prisoners. Indeed, his integrity and honor were so highly appreciated by all parties, that even the prisoners, many of them, preferred throwing themselves upon his mercy to risking the verdict of a jury.
During the trials, the court-house and jail were strictly guarded by an efficient force. A rumor was circulated during the trials, that a numerous body of disguised Indians, many of whom were from adjoining counties, were collecting in the vi- cinity of the village of Bloomville, preparing to make a de- scent upon the village and rescue the prisoners, as soon as their strength became sufficient. And these rumors were not altogether groundless, as facts afterward elicited went to show. A plan of attack had been concerted, but owing to the guarded condition of the village, it was not deemed expedient to risk an engagement. The following attempt upon the life of one of the picket guard, was published at the time : "Between
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eight and nine o'clock, on Tuesday evening of last week, con- siderable excitement was created in the village, by the report that one of the picket guard (Mr. Claghorn, of Masonville,) had been fired upon, a short distance this side of Mr. Wright's, on the opposite side of the river. The night was very dark and rainy, and hearing a slight noise, he stopped his horse, while his companion advanced a short distance, both listening to ascertain the cause; and while Mr. C. was in the act of pulling the skirts of his overcoat to cover his holsters, for the purpose of keeping them dry, he was fired upon ; the ball passed through the skirts of his coat, so near to his hand as to cause a numbness, and the hand to swell.
"Mr. Claghorn remained on the ground to keep a look-out, while his companions made all haste and reported the case to Major Marvine, who promptly dispatched a posse of thirty or forty men, in hopes of being able to obtain some clue to the perpetrator of the foul deed; but the darkness of the night effectually prevented the detection of the assassin. The next morning Major Marvine himself went with others to examine ; tracks were plainly seen, and followed through a ploughed field; the track was carefully measured and a pattern_taken. It is ardently hoped that some clue may yet be obtained that will lead to the detection of the person guilty of so cowardly and base an attempt at murder.
"At the opening of the court, on Wednesday morning, Judge Parker requested the Grand Jury to come into court. The Judge stated that he had sent for them for the purpose of lay- ing before them the transaction of the night previous, which he did in strong and decided language of condemnation, and exhorting the jury to be vigilant, and use every possible means within their power to ferret out the offender."
Having thus briefly reviewed the causes which led to the late anti-rent disturbance, and glanced at their immediate history, it now becomes our province to draw it to a close. It is but
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proper, however, to say, that the Governor commuted the sentences of O'Connor and Van Steenburgh to imprisonment for life. A leading journal thus comments :
"It is rare that the public sentiment of all parties is so unanimous in sustaining an executive in one of the most try- ing and important exercises of constitutional power, as in this instance. The opinion seems almost universal, that the com- mutation was not only wise, but right.
"We believe that this opinion is not confined to our State alone, but extends elsewhere. We have now before us a letter from a sound and able democratic member of Congress from the east, who writes from Washington : 'I rejoice to hear that your Governor has commuted the sentences of Van Steenburgh and O'Connor. It is both wise and right, and must receive the cordial approbation of the people.'"
In the month of December, the Governor was officially in- formed of the suppression of the insurrection, and the declara- tion "declaring the county in a state of insurrection," was re- voked. The worst stages of anti-rentism had now passed, and those who had shrunk with fear before the dark clouds of po- litical discord, and faltered in their confidence in the stability of a peoples' government, now saw in the dim distance of the future, the sure triumph of those principles.
So far as the principle of anti-rentism existed in its purity, as a question of right and wrong, so far as the validity of the manorial titles was brought in question, so far as legal and persuasive means would prove effectual, we have ever deemed it a privilege and a duty to raise our voice uniformly on the side of the oppressed against the oppressor. But when we behold an infatuated and infuriated mob, disguised as Indians, regardless of law, determined, by force, to make all things subservient to the consummation of their own ends, without truth, reason or justice on their side, shaming, by conscious guilt, to bare their features-the impress stamp of heaven, to
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the light of day-concealing them beneath the well-known covering of another species, to render them impregnable against the shafts of recognition ; here our co-operation terminates, and we must henceforth regard them with pity for their errors, as the lamentable victims of the machinations of a diseased and erroneous imagination. We should review with careful candor their mistaken policy and notions, and learn from their practi- cal example that, although error may flourish for a time, and even seem to overshadow the principles of justice, yet without any stable foundation, it falls at last by the weight of its own superstructure, and its retainers and supporters become the wanton victims of their own cupidity. The result which, in this instance, placed the finishing touch upon that sad picture, the final triumph of truth over error, can but strengthen our faith in the tenacity with which Americans still adhere to the principles of our free institutions-a fixed and nerving principle, graven deep in the heart, a stream deep and pure, which, although its surface may become ruffled by the breath of discord-although for a time its noble destiny may seem perverted and forgotten-yet it possesses a principle which, in the end, will work its signal triumph.
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CHAPTER XIV.
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The following sketch of the services of the late Timothy Murphy in the border warfare of the Revolution, were kindly furnished the author, and although in some respects they deviate from what he conceives to be truth, in the main he has ascertained them to be correct.
LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF TIMOTHY MURPHY. -
TIMOTHY MURPHY, the hero of this narrative, was born in the town of Minisink, in the county of Sussex and State of New Jersey, in the year 1751. His parents emigrated to this country from Ireland, and settled in New Jersey some years previous to the commencement of the French and Indian war; where they remained until the year 1757; they then removed to the State of Pennsylvania. Of his history previous to the commencement of the Revolution, we know but little, and have not been able to collect any thing that will in the least interest the reader. He had very little or no education, except such as was obtained from the pure study of nature.
In the year 1776, when at the age of twenty-four, he en- listed in the United States service under Col. Morgan, the well known ' old waggoner,' as the British used to term him. In the year 1778, he was engaged in the battle of Monmouth in New Jersey, and escaped unhurt. After the battle of Mon- mouth, two companies, detachments from Morgan's riflemen, were sent to the northward under the command of Captain Long, to which Murphy was attached. After the battle of Saratoga and capture of Burgoyne, they were ordered to old Schoharie, where the Indians and tories were murdering and carrying off in concert captives to Canada.
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The first service on which Murphy was sent, was in con- nection with a small body of riflemen under command of Capt. Long, to take dead or alive a person strongly suspected of toryism, living on the Charlotte river, by the name of Service, who was not only torified in principle, but was an active agent of the British in aiding, victualling and secreting the enemies of the Revolution. When they arrived at his dwelling, they silently surrounded it, gathering closer and closer, till at length two or three made bold to enter the room in which he was, before they were discovered : Service instantly stepped out of the door with them, when he was informed that they had orders to take him to the forts at Schoharie. He appeared at first somewhat alarmed, and strenuously objected to the propo- sal, pleading innocence and rendering many other excuses, but in the meanwhile was evidently working his way along from the door to a heap of chips lying between Murphy and one Ellison, a companion of his. The reason of his approaching the chips so cautiously, now appeared obvious, for on coming to the spot, he seized instantly a broad-axe and made a most desperate stroke at Murphy, which, however, by his keen vigi- lance was eluded, and the fruitless attempt rolled back in ven- geance upon its author :- Murphy stepped back, drew his faithful rifle to his face-a flash, a groan, and he lay weltering in his own blood, with the axe in his hand, a victim of that retributive justice which watched over the fortunes of the Revolution. They returned, not a little elated, with the scalp of the notorious Service, to the forts at Schoharie, where Murphy and his company remained during the winter, engaged at times in small parties of scouts, and at others stationed at the forts.
Murphy's skill in the desultory war which the Indians carried on, gave him so high a reputation, that though not nominally the commander, he usually directed all the move- ments of the scouts that were sent out, and on many important occasions, as the reader in the course of this work will per-
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ceive, the commanding officers found it dangerous to neglect his advice. His double barrelled rifle ; his skill as a marks- man, and his fleetness either in retreat or pursuit, made him an object both of dread and vengeance to the Indians. He fought them in their own way and with their own weapons. Sometimes habited in the dress of the Indian, with his face painted, he would pass among them, making important disco- veries as to their strength and designs, without detection. He early learned to speak the Indian language, which of course was of great service to him.
During the succeeding winter, the Indians were continually on the alert. They generally formed themselves into small parties, and a particular portion of country was assigned to a party of Indians for their direct destruction. At that time the German flats, or that portion of country lying on either side of the Mohawk between Utica and Schenectady, was their more immediate sphere of action. Murphy, together with a small party of riflemen, were ordered to that part of the country to watch, and to prevent if possible, the destruction of human life, and devastation of property, then so rapidly being made by the inhuman savages.
It was on this occasion that Murphy and two other indi- viduals had strayed from the main party to which they were attached, and were rambling about among the woods and brush, studying the plans and watching the movements of the Indians. They had not been long separated from the main party, when they discovered a number of Indians skulking about among the weeds and brush, apparently watching the movements of Murphy and his companions. They had proceeded but a short distance farther when they saw two Indians sitting upon the trunk of a masterly looking oak, with their backs toward them ; they immediately fired, each brought his man, and then ran back to join the main party. The report of the guns, and the death of their fellows, roused the revengeful blood of the savages,
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and they were almost instantly surrounded by a large body of them. They fought like heroes, but were overpowered in numbers by the bloodthirsty demons, who as it seemed had at that moment risen from the very bowels of the earth. At length Murphy saw his associates fall one after another till there were but a few left; at this period Murphy made a rush to pass the Indians, and himself and six others succeeded. Murphy ran with all possible speed, but the weeds and brush through which he had to pass, prevented in a measure his pro- gress ; however, by jumping up and over the weeds, and being very expert in running, he easily outstripped all the Indians, except one, whom he turned to shoot several times, but be- lieving his gun unloaded, he determined to reserve his fire for the last exigency. Murphy succeeded in eluding the vigilance of the Indian, and secreted himself in a very dense collection of weeds, and there lay until the Indians came up and stood some distance from him. The Indian that first pursued him, now bent forward, and pointing in the direction in which he lay, exclaimed to his companions "kong gwa," which in Eng- lish, means, " that way." , Murphy jumped up and ran as fast as his limbs would carry him : the Indians fired several times at him, but with no effect : he finally succeeded in getting en- tirely out of their view, and being, from fatigue, unable to pro- ceed farther, he secreted himself behind a large log. The In- dians came up to very near him, but supposing him to have passed on, they turned and went back. There was one cir- cumstance that happened during the heat of the affray, at which, though surrounded by the dead and the dying, and with not much hope of a better fate, Murphy, as himself states, could not refrain from laughing. It appears that there were among the Indians a negro, and an Irishman on the other side :- the paddy was chasing the poor negro with a long butcher knife, and every now and then making a desperate thrust at the most sensitive part of the poor fellow's seat of honor. Murphy
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afterward inquired of the paddy, why he wished to kill the unarmed black ; " because," he said, " the davlish naggar had no business to run afore me."
The next spring, Long's riflemen, to which Murphy was still attached, had orders to move under Colonel Butler, in connec- tion with other troops, in all amounting to seven hundred, to Springfield, at the head of Otsego lake, where they were to await the arrival of Gen. George Clinton, and the troops ex- pected with him, all of whom when there concentrated, were to pass down the Susquehanna, and form a junction with Gene- ral Sullivan at Tioga Point. The object of this arrangement was the destruction of the Indian tribes on the Chemung and Genesee rivers; who had so often been employed in small parties by the policy of the British Government, to distress in a predatory manner the inhabitants of the frontiers ; the leader of whom was Brant, so renowned for his warlike achievements in this part of our country, and who was alike notorious for his humane treatment to many of his prisoners, as well as his bar- barity and savage discipline, in inflicting the most cruel tor- tures on them, in their expiring agonies. While encamped at some place unknown near the Chemung river, and previous to their joining the main army, Murphy obtained leave for himself and three, others, by name Follok, Tufts, and Joe Evans, to go out on a scout to the Chemung. They started in the morning of a fine July day ; they travelled until four in the afternoon, at which time they arrived upon the lofty banks that overlooked the Chemung river. Making no discoveries, and finding nothing to interest them during their travel, and being somewhat fatigued, they determined to encamp for the night, and accordingly preparations were made. The scene was passing fair. A little in advance and directly in front of them, rolled the Chemung river in all the pride and loveliness of nature ; a little to the left and still beyond the river, was a vacant field, on which were scattered a number of cattle feeding
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