History of Jefferson County, New York, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 137

Author: Durant, Samuel W; Peirce, H. B. (Henry B.)
Publication date: 1878
Publisher: Philadelphia : L.H. Everts & Co.
Number of Pages: 862

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The conduct of Lieutenants McIntosh, Calhoun, McFarland, Arm- strong, and Smith, and of Ensign Austin, who were under Major Appling, was especially commended in his official reports of the en- gagement. The dead were buried, the prisoners marched to Sacket's HIarbor; measures were taken to erect shears for unloading the heavy freight, and, at 5 P.M., Woolsey was relieved by Capt. Ridge- ley, whom Chauncey had sent for the purpose. The official report of Licut. Woolsey acknowledges the unremitted exertions of Lieut. Pierce, Sailmaster Vaughan, and Midshipmen IIart, Mackey, and Canton, in the affair. The roads were then new, and almost impass- able, and tho labor of removing the guns, cables, and rigging was one of no ordinary magnitude. There were, when the flotilla left Oswego, twenty-one long 32-pounders, ten 24-pounders, three 42- pounder carronades, ten cables, and a quantity of shot and other articles. A cable and two guns had been lost in the boat that fell in with the enemy, and the prizes taken in the creek were one 24- pounder, a 68-pound carronade, with several smaller cannon, and a considerable amount of small arms and ammunition. Such was the industry displayed in this labor, that on Thursday there remained nothing but one large eable, which it was found extremely difficult to load on any vehicle, as it could not be divided, and a sufficient num- ber of teams could not be advantageously attached to it. In this di- lemma the idea was suggested of bearing it upon the shoulders of men, and the proposal was cheerfully adopted by the citizens, who had assembled to assist in these operations. They were accordingly arranged in the order of their stature, and at the word of command shouldered the ponderous cable, and took up their line of march for Sacket's IIarbor, about 20 miles distant, being as near together as they could conveniently walk. This novel procession passed by way of Ellis village and Smithville, and on the second day reached the Harbor. As they approached the town, the sailors came out to meet them, and, with loud cheers, relieved them of their burden, and marched triumphantly into the village.#

On the day after the action, Sir James L. Yeo was informed by a flag that his expedition had been cut off, but he continued to blockade the passago for some time. In about ten days, the coast being clear, the boats and prizes were taken around by water to Sacket's HIarbor. During no time in the war was a moro complete victory gained at loss expense of blood than this.

During the season the "Saint Lawrence," a ship of the line of 120 guns, made her appearance on the lake.

About the middle of May reinforcements began to arrive at Sacket's HIarbor from tho scaboard. The " Macedonian" was laid up in the Thames, and Mr. Rogers, her first lieutenant, with the crew, ar- rived from the 11th to the 21st, and Capt. Elliott on the 12th of May. Capt. Trenchard reached tho station on the 15th. The enemy raised the blockade Juno 5, and on the 11th the " Mohawk," a frigate of 44 guns, was launched at Sacket's Ilarbor, having been but 34 days in building.t

The crew of the " Congress," 38, repairing at Portsmouth, began to

arrive in the middle of June, an l the British fleet received large ae- cessions to its naval force. The care that they evinced in the selee- tion of officers for this lake indicates the importance they attached to its control, and the industry that both nations displayed in the fitting out of large vessels seemed to portend a mighty struggle for its su- premacy. There occurred, meanwhile, some operations on a minor scale that demand our notice. With the view of cutting off some of the detachments of boats that were ascending the St. Lawrence with supplies, Chauncey, about the middle of June, directed Lieut. Fran- cis 1I. Gregory to take three gigs, with their crews, and seerete him- self among the Thousand Islands, to watch for some opportunity to surprise and bring off or destroy some of these brigades of loaded boats.

This expedition consisted of Lieut. Gregory, William Vaughan,} and Samuel Dixon, sailing-masters, and 18 men, armed with rifles, pistols, and cutlasses. Gun-boats were found stationed about once in six iniles, and a system of telegraphs erected on the heights, so that in- telligence could be conveyed with great dispatch. On the 19th of June, 1814, the party were lying elose under the Canada shore, four iniles below Alexandria Bay, and nearer Bald Island, when a gun- boat was coming down under casy sail, but nearer the middle of the channel. Upon seeing the boats, an officer, with one or two men, was sent in a skiff that was in tow to make inquiries of them, supposing them to be Canadians. Upon approaching, Gregory hailed the strangers, demanding their surrender, which, from necessity, was obeyed ; but those on board secing the movement opened fire, which was returned. The vessel was soon taken, and found to be the " Black Snake," or No. 9, Capt. Landon, with one 18-pounder, and 18 men, chiefly royal marines. The prize was taken in tow, and when a mile and a half below French Creek was met by a British gun-boat. Finding escape impossible, the prisoners and the small- arms were taken out and their prize scuttled. The euemy arrived soon after, but not being able to save it from sinking, pursued Greg- ory's party several miles. Night coming on, he escaped, reached Grenadier Island late in the evening, and the next day arrived safe at Sacket's Harbor with his prisoners. The commodore, in his official report, warmly recommended Gregory, Vaughan, and Dixon to the notice of the department, for their activity, zeal, and success in tho cruise. Congress, by an act passed May 4, 1824, awarded Gregory and his men $3000 for this service.

On the 26th of June, Chauncey, finding that the capture of the " Black Snake" had created a considerable uneasiness with the enemy, resolved upon disturbing them in another quarter, and seut Lieut. Gregory, with Vaughan and Dixon, in the two largest gigs, to Nich- olas Island, to lie in wait for some transports, expected to be sent past that place, for York and Fort George. If they did not pass within three or four days, they were ordered to land at Presque Isle, and burn a large schooner, then on the stocks. Gregory failed to ac- complish the former, but landed at Presque Isle and set tire to the vessel, which was well built, fitted for 14 guns, and nearly ready to launch. IIe then re-embarked, crossed to Oswego, and arrived at Sacket's IIarbor on the 6th of July.

On the 9th of Aug., Abram Shoemaker, with his brother and a Mr. Sergeant, in a boat bound from Oswego to Saeket's llarbor, was at- tacked off Stony Poiut by a British barge, under a lieutenant of ma- rines, and after a valiant resistance was captured. After securing the prize, the lieutenant sent all his men to join another boat's crew, ex- cept four, which uumber he deemed sufficient to secure her. Seizing a proper moment, and without waiting for a concerted signal, Shoe- maker pushed the lieutenant overboard, knocked down a sailor, and, calling upon his comrades to help, soon found himself the master of the boat, but severely wounded by a cutlass. The movement being seen by the other boat, they were obliged to abandon their prize, and succeeded in reaching Sacket's Harbor in a small boat .?

* This cable is said to have weighed 9600 pounds, 250 men acted as bearers. Other accounts say it was partly carried in a wagon.

f Henry Eckford, the energetic ship builder, who directed this department, acquired a large fortune in the war, but was subsequently redneed by some nu- fortunate stock operations, He died at Constantinople, Nov. 12, 1832, where, for several years, he had been chief director of the dock-yards in the Turkish Empire.

# William Vaughan was born Ang. 15, 1776, at Wilkesbarre, Pa., and in 1794 first visited Canada while Oswego, Fort Carlton, and Oswegatchie were held by the British, and in crossing the lake was required to take ont a British passport between American ports. In 1797 he again returned, und soon after engaged in lake navigation. In 1812 he was employed as sailing-master, and was promi- nent und active in that capacity through the war. He subsequently resumed the mariner's life, nud was successively master of the steamers " Sophia," "On- tario," " Brownville," " William Avery," " Telegraph," and " Martha Ogden," on lake Ontario. He has for many years resided at Sacket's Harbor, as sailing- master, under pay of government.

¿ The English brought material for their war vessels from England, an.l in Angust, 1814, the frames of two frigates arrived at Kingston.

548

HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, NEW YORK.

While these minor operations were occurring at this end of the lake, the American army, on the Niagara frontier, was actively engaged in those aggressive movements which gave celebrity to the names of Brown, Porter, Scott, Miller, Ripley, and otbers, and conferred honor upon our national character for valor.

Gen. Gaines remained at Sacket's Harbor, from whom Major-Gen. Brown received word, July 23, that the fleet was in that port, and that the commodore was sick. The riflemen and a battering train of artillery were much needed on the Niagara frontier, but the American squad- ron did not get under way before the close of the month. On the 31st of July, the "Superior," 62 (Com. Chauncey), Lieut. Elton ; " Mo- hawk," 42, Capt. Jones; "Pike," 28, Capt. Crane; " Madison," 24, Capt. Trenchard; "Jefferson," 22, Capt. Ridgely; "Jones," 22, Lieut. Woolsey ; "Sylph," 14, Capt. Elliot ; "Oneida," 16, Lieut .- Com. Brown ; and " Lady of the Lake," a cruiser, sailed. and arrived off Niagara Aug. 5. On the 7th, his majesty's brig " Melville," 14 guns, was chased ashore about four miles from Niagara, when she was fired by the enemy, and in a little time blew up.

Gen. Izard arrived Sept. 16, with 4000 men, at Sacket's Harbor, from Lake Champlain, by the circuitous route of the Mobawk and Black River valleys, and on the 19th 3000 mnen embarked, but a gale prevented their sailing until the 21st. On the next day they landed at the Geucsec river, and reached Batavia on the 26th. By an order of Sept. 27, from the secretary of war, he was directed to take the command of the Niagara frontier. A body of artillery, under Lieut .- Col. Mitchell, and two battalions of infantry (the 13th, under Major Malcolm, and the 45th, under Major Brevoot) were left to defend the harbor.

The command was soon after assumed by Gen. Brown. Sept. 30, a gig belonging to the " Superior," with an officer and four men, captured several boats at the head of the St. Lawrence, laden with a valuable cargo of goods bound for Kingston, and brought them into Sacket's Harbor.

Great apprehensions were felt in the fall of this year for the safety of the harbor, which led to an application to the executive for aid. Col. Washington Irving, aid-de-camp to the governor, arrived at this station Oct. 5, 1814, with orders to the commanding officer to make such requisitions on the militia as he might deem necessary. After consultation with Col. Mitchell, Gen. Collins called the militia en masse from the counties of Herkimer, Oneida, Lewis, and Jefferson. The two former produced about 2500 men, the latter not more than 400, which made the force at the harbor between 5000 and 6000 men. Great difficulty was experienced from the want of suitable quarters for so great a body. Many were quartered in dwellings and barns, and from twenty to thirty were often assigned to a single room. The discomforts attending these accommodations very naturally excited uneasiness, and at the expiration of the draft it was apprehended that the militia would be with difficulty prevented from going home, and that it would become necessary to supply their places by regu- lars. Tbe apprehensions were not justified by the events that fol- lowed, and the militia were allowed to return home. Two ships-of- the-line of the largest class were begun,-one on Navy Point, in Sacket's Harbor, to be called the "New Orleans," and another of the same class at Storr's Harbor, farther up the bay, to be called the "Chippewa,"-and their bulls partly completed, when the news of peace put a stop to the work.

An agreement was entered into at Washington, in April, 1817, be- tween Richard Rush, at that time secretary of state, and Charles Bagot, bis Britannic majesty's envoy, to the effect that but one ves- sel, of not more than 100 tons burden, and armed with one 18-pound cannon, should be maintained on Lakes Ontario and Champlain ; and this having been approved between the two governments, was noti- fied by a proclamation by James Monroe, President, dated April 28, 1818. The " Lady of the Lake," with 3 pivot guns on deck, and the brig " Jones," with 18 guns on deck, were kept up till this treaty, the " Pike," "Jefferson," "Mohawk," "Madison," "Superior," and " Sylph" having been dismantled soon after the peace. The "Jones" and fifteen barges were in 1816 reported in good order. Most of these vessels were covered with a roof, but in the annual returns of the department were successively marked " much decayed," " sunk," " useless," etc., until March 3, 1824, when an act was passed direct- ing all the public vessels on Lakes Erie and Ontario (except tbe ships-of-the-line " New Orleans" and " Chippewa, " then on the stocks under cover) to be sold, and the avails to be applied to the repair and building of sloops-of-war. Until this act, the "Lady of the

Lake," with one pivot gun, had been kept up. Of all this formidable fleet, the unfinished hull of the "New Orleans" now alone remains, having been preserved in the same condition as in 1815, by a house built over it.

A history of Madison barracks is given in the account of Sacket's Harbor. (See ante.)

The condition of the fortifications at this place at the close of tbe war is thus described by an English writer :#

" A low point of land runs out from the northwest, upon which is tbe dock-yard, with large store-bouses, and all the requisite buildings belonging to such an establishment. Upon this point is a very pow- erful work, called Fort Tompkins, having within it a strong block- house, two stories high; on the land side it is covered by a strong pieketing, in which there are embrasures : twenty guns are mounted, besides two or three mortars, with a furnace for heating shot. At the bottom of the harbor is the village, that contains from sixty to seventy houses, and, to the southward of it, a barrack capable of ac- commodating two thousand men, and generally used for the marines belonging to the fleet. On a point eastward of the harbor stands Fort Pike, a regular work, surrounded by a ditch, in advance of which there is a strong line of picketing ; in the centre of the princi- pal work there is a block-house two stories high; this fort is armed with twenty guns. Ahout one hundred yards from the village, and a little to the westward of Fort Tompkins, is Smith's cantonment or barrack, strongly built of logs, forming a square, with a block-house at each corner; it is loopholed on every side, and capable of making a powerful resistance ; twenty-five hundred men have been accommo- dated iu it. A little further westward another fort presents itself, built of cartb, and strongly palisaded, having in the centre of it a block-house one story high ; it mounts twenty-eight guns. Midway between these two works is a powder magazine, inclosed within a very strong picketing.

" By the side of the road that leads to Henderson Harbor stands Fort Virginia, a square work, with bastions at the angles, covered with a strong line of palisades, but no ditch; it is armed with sixteen guns, and bas a block-house in the middle of it. Fort Chauncey is a small circular tower, covered with plank, and loopholed for the use of musketry, intended for small-arm defense only. It is situated a small distance from the village, aud commands the road that leads to Sandy creek. In addition to those works of strength, there are several block- houses in different situations, that altogether render the place very secure, and capable of resisting a powerful attack ; indeed, from recent events, the Americans have attached much importance to it, and with their accustomed celerity have spared no exertions to render it for- midable."

The revenue cutter " Jefferson" was built by government at Oswego, for public service on Lake Ontario, in the summer of 1844. She was 152 feet long, 24 feet beam, pierced for 16 guns, with one long sixty- eight on a pivot on deck. She was built of iron, by Messrs. Knap & Co., of Pittsburgh, after the model of the " Princeton," and to be propelled by steam on the same principle .¿ She was to be commanded by Lieut. Charles W. Bennet, of the revenue service. After service on the lake one or two seasons, this vessel passed down the St. Law- rence, and has since been upon the high seas.

At the present time the American and British Governments main- tain a single war vessel in the revenue service on the entire range of lakes. The steamer " Michigan," carrying one heavy gun, is em- ployed by the U. S. Government.

BIOGRAPHY OF OFFICERS OF 1812-15.

The following military biographies and notices of eminent officers of the last war with Great Britain are from Dr. Hough's History, published in 1854, with corrections and additions by the doctor.

MAJOR-GENERAL JACOB BROWN

was born in Falls township, Bucks Co., Pa., and within sigbt of the city of Trenton, N. J., on the 9tb of May, 1775, and was the fourth descendant of George Brown, an English imuigraut, who bad settled in the province two years before the arrival of Penn. The descent was by Samuel, John, and Samuel Brown, all of them Qnakers, and by profession farmers. His father had married a daughter of Joseph Wright, a celebrated Quaker preacher, and she possessed a degree of intelligence and strength of mind seldom equaled; qualities which were developed in her son at an early period, and shone conspicuously through life. She died Feb. 3, 1830.

* Bouchette's Canada, p. 620, 1815.

The block-house at Fort Tompkins was built by Samuel F. Hooker, npon the assurance of the military officers of the station that their influence should be used iu getting the work' sanctioned by the government, which was subse- quently fulfilled. Major Darby Moore visited the place the saine month, and provided for the speedy erection of barracks on the plain toward the lake. # Screw propeller.

T M 'arıJ

Mac: Brown

549

HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, NEW YORK.

The family consisted of John (afterwards Judgo Brown, of Brown- ville), Jacob, Joseph, Mary (Mrs. Newland, of Fishkill, deceased), Benjamin, Samuol (Major Brown, formerly of Brownvillo), Hannah (Mrs. B. Skinner, still living), William, Abi (Mrs. M. Evans), and Joseph .* Samuel Brown, his father, possessed a considerablo estate, and gave his family the benefit of such instructions as the vicinity afforded, and for ono or two seasons Jacob, with his brother John, attended an academy at Trenton, and his education was completed at tho winter's fire, at home, where he kept a small school for in- structing fho younger members of tho family.

An unfortunato speculation had deprived his father of the means of affording him a finished education, and at the ago of sixteon he found himself reduced to the necessity of looking out for himself, and he even conceived tho idea of retrieving the fortunes of his family, and from that moment set himself assiduously to the work .; From eighteen to twenty-one, ho was employed to teach a large school in Crosswicks, N. J., and having qualified himself for the duties of a land surveyor, he spent one year in the Miami country, in Ohio, to which section his father had conceived the idea of removing, but he re- turnod in 1798, and was again induced to take charge of a Quaker school in New York. It being a period of political excitement, he frequently took a part in these discussions, and in one of them he formed an acquaintance with Gouverneur Morris, which subsequently ripened into a warm friendship.

He about the same timo became acquainted with Rodolph Tillier, the agent of the Chassanis company, who made with him a journey to his father's house, and concluded a bargain with S. Brown for the purchaso of a large tract at two dollars per acre. In February, 1799, having given up his school, he started for his futuro home, the loca- tion of which had not been definitely fixed, and arrived at the French settlement, at the high falls on Black river, between which placo and Utica he made several journeys during the wintor, and brought in a quantity of provisions preparatory to his final removal to a location he had decided upon forming, at the head of navigation of Black river. In March, as soon as the river was clear of ice, he launched a boat upon its swollen and angry waters, and floated down to tho Long Falls. From thonce, in company with Chambers, Thomas Ward, and a few hired men, he took tho routo of the French Road, then nearly opened, and when he supposed they had gone far enough, struck off* towards the river, which ho happened to reach at the present village of Brownville. He was here so struck with the un- expected advantages offered by the fall at the mouth of the Philomel creek, then swollen by spring floods, that he resolved to mako his stand here, where the water-power appeared sufficient for every pur- pose required, and tbo river, with some improvements below, could be navigated by boats.

On the 27th of May he was joined by his father's family, who came by the tedious navigation of the Mohawk, Oneida lake, Oswego, and Lake Ontario. He commenced at onco clearing lands, and tho next year erecting mills, etc., the details of which are given in our history of Brownville. In September and October, 1799, he, with his brother Samuel, surveyed the townships of Hague and Cambray, in St. Lawrence Co., and until the opening of a land office at Le Raysville, in 1807, he acted as the agent of Mr. Le Ray in the settle- ment of his lands in Brownville and adjacent towns. He was mainly instrumental in proenring the construction of the State roads, one in 1801, from Redfield by way of Adams, and one from Utica by the Black River valley. Of bath of these he was appointed a commis- sioner for locating and opening, and he succeeded in getting them both to terminate at his location in Brownville, where himself, his father and brothers, had opened a store, built mills, commeneed the manufacture of potash, which found a ready market in Kingston and Montreal, and made extensive clearings for raising grain. In 1804, the question of forming one or more new counties from Oncida became the absorbing theme, and a convontion was held at Denmark, Nov. 20, 1804, to decide upon the application, at which most of the delegates are said to have gone prepared to vote for one county, but from the influence of Mr. Brown and Gen. Martin, of Martinsburgh, were induced to apply for the erection of two new counties. In locating the county-seat, the most active efforts were made in cach

county, Martinsburgh and Lowville being the rivals in Lewis, and Watertown and Brownville in Jefferson. Mr. Brown was the princi- pal advocate of tho latter, but tho mass of settlement was then in the southern towns, and the portion north of Black River was known to be low, level, and (in a stato of nature) much of it swampy. Tho settlements that had been begun at that early day at Perch River, Chaumont, and on the St. Lawrence, were visited by severe sickness, and the idea was entertained, or at least held forth to the commis- sioners who located the site, that it could never be inhabited. Mr. Brown next endeavored to procure the location on the north bank of tho river, near Watertown, and made liberal offers of land for the public use, but tho perseverance and intrigues of Mr. Coffee and others succeeded in fixing the site at its present locution.

After the opening of the land-offico at Le Raysville, Mr. Brown continued for two or three years devoted to his private affairs, and meanwhile received, unsolicited, commissions of captain, and of col- onel of the 108th regiment of militia. His promotion in the line of military life is said to havo arisen from his avowed aversion to fre- quent and expensive military parades in time of peace, calling off' tho inhabitants from their Inbors in the fields, und encouraging habits of intemperance, which in those days were too frequently the accompa- niment of such gatherings. Ifis views on the subject of militia or- ganizations approached more nearly to our present system, and in se- locting him for office the people were convinced that while ho omit- ted nothing conducivo to the public safety ho would canse them no needless expense of time and money for parades. In his public and privato conduct and daily life, they saw him in possession of sagacity and intelligence that led them to place confidence in his resources, should emergencies call for their exercise, and the integrity of his private life convinced them that the public trusts with which ho might bo honored would be faithfully preserved. Our foreign rela- tions at that time foreboded collision, and the cloud of war that dark- ened the political horizon, and filled tho timid with alarms, gave a well-grounded expectation that a crisis was approaching, although it was uncertain which of the two great powers of Europe would de- clare against us, and the parties that divided our people were far from being harmonious in opinions of the relative expediency of hos- tilities with either. The opinion of Mr. Brown on this subject may be gatherod from the following letter to the governor, written upon the receipt of his commission as brigadier-general of militia :

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History of Jefferson County, New York, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 137

Author: Durant, Samuel W; Peirce, H. B. (Henry B.) Publication date: 1878 Publisher: Philadelphia : L.H. Everts & Co. Number of Pages: 862

Author: Durant, Samuel W; Peirce, H. B. (Henry B.)
Publication date: 1878
Publisher: Philadelphia : L.H. Everts & Co.
Number of Pages: 862