History of Montgomery and Fulton counties, N.Y. : with illustrations and portraits of old pioneers and prominent residents, Part 10

Author: Beers, F.W., & co., New York, pub
Publication date: 1878
Publisher: New York : F.W. Beers & co.
Number of Pages: 664

USA > New York > Fulton County > History of Montgomery and Fulton counties, N.Y. : with illustrations and portraits of old pioneers and prominent residents > Part 10
USA > New York > Montgomery County > History of Montgomery and Fulton counties, N.Y. : with illustrations and portraits of old pioneers and prominent residents > Part 10

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The forces on the Niagara frontier had been so much reduced, that they were inadequate for its defence after the arrival of the British reinforce- ments under General Drummond. General McClure, finding he would be obliged to abandon Fort George, removed his military stores, and unneces- sarily inflicted great distress upon the citizens of the villages of Queens- town and Newark, reducing the latter place to ashes. The British soon after retaliated by a series of cruel barbarities along the Niagara frontier. On the 19th of December a successful attack was made upon Fort Niagara, and a

OUTLINE HISTORY OF STATE OF NEW YORK.

large share of the garrison, together with the hospital patients, were put to death without mercy. General Rial, with a detachment of Royal Scots and a large body of Indians, crossed the river, plundered and burned Lewiston, and inflicted barbarous cruelties upon the defenceless inhabitants. Youngstown, Manchester, Schlosser, and the Indian village of Tuscarora, were devastated in the same manner: On the 30th of this month, an engagement took place near the village of Black Rock, between General Rial's force and the militia, resulting in the repulse of the latter under General Hall. The villages of Black Rock and Buffalo were abandoned by the Americans, and speedily destroyed by the invaders.

In February, 1814, General Wilkinson dispatched a part of his army to Sackett's Harbor, and moved from French Mills to Plattsburg. The British had collected a strong force at La Colle Mills, on the Sorel, and General Wilkinson resolved to dislodge them. On the 30th of March he crossed the frontier and commenced the attack, but was repulsed and with- drew with his force to Plattsburg. In consequence of this failure he was removed from his command, fieneral Izard succeeding him.

The military stores deposited at Oswego Falls attracted the attention of the British, and with a view of capturing them a British squadron appeared before Oswego. As soon as it was discovered, information was sent to Captain Woolsey of the navy, and the militia gathered under Colonel Mitchell and gave the enemy such a spirited reception from a battery prepared on the shore that boats approaching found n prudent to return to their ships. The fleet advanced, and the American force of only about three hundred, defended their positions for several hours A landing was finally effected, and the little band, having maintained their ground as long as it was possible against a vastly superior force, withdrew toward the Falls to defend the stores, destroying the bridges in their rear. The British disabled the ordinance of the fort, and on learning that the bridges had been destroyed returned to Kingston. It was deemed prudent however to re- move the stores thus preserved to Sackett's Harbor, and Captain Woolsey, aided by a body of riflemen and Indians, set out for the accomplishment of this object. The British admiral was apprised of the movement, and learning their destination, through the treachery of a boatman, dispatched a force to intercept them. On the approach of the enemy, Captain Woolsey's force put into Sandy Creek, and Major Appling was landed with his troops. which he concealed in ambush. The enemy followed and landed a detach- ment to pursue them. The British having ascended the bank of the creek to the place of concealment of Major Appling's men, the latter arose and opened such a destructive fire upon them that they fell back in confusion, and left Captain Woolsey's expedition to proceed to its destination without further molestation.

On the 3d of July, 1814, Fort Erie, on the west bank of the Niagara, where it leaves Lake Erie, was surrendered to an American force of 3,500 under Gen. Brown, who then moved on to Chippewa. Here they met and defeated the enemy in a general action, the latter retreating to Fort George, at the mouth of the river. The Americans pursued as far as Queenstown Heights, whence they returned to Chippewa.

On the 25th, Gen. Scott's brigade while reconnoitering in force, encoun- tered the entire British army advantageously posted, and the battle of Lundy's Lane occurred. The brigade of Gen. Ripley came to the relief of Scott's when the latter had maintained the engagement into the evening, and after the brilliant capture of a British battery, the enemy gave up the field. The losses were exceedingly severe on both sides.

The next day the Americans broke up their camp and retired to Fort Erie unmolested. Here they immediately proceeded to strengthen their defences. On the 4th of August the enemy, having been reinforced, ap- peared and invested the Fort, then commanded by General Gaines. On the 7th they opened fire upon the American lines, and before dawn on the r5th a combined and furious assault was commenced. In their attack on the left of the American lines, the enemy were repulsed four tunes with heavy loss, and on the right they met with no better success. In the centre the conflict was desperate in the extreme, and the enemy finally succeeded in gaining possession of the bastion, but their advance was suddenly checked by its explosion, and the combat shortly after ended in their defeat at every point. They retreated to their camp with broken columns, having sustained a loss of nearly a thousand men. The Americans continued to strengthen their defences, and both armies were reinforced. General Brown, having recovered from his wounds, re- sumed the command, and finding the enemy were intent on prosecuting the siege, determined to make a sorte to dislodge them and destroy their

works. The British force consisted of three brigades, each of which, in its turn, was stationed at the batteries, while the others remained at their en- rampment about two miles distant. The object in making the sortie was to defeat the brigade on duty before it could be reinforced. On the 17th of September the sortie was made and resulted in the capture of the British batteries and the destruction of their fortifications. A few days after- ward General Drummond left his encampment before the fort, and returned to Chippewa. No further offensive operations were carried on in this quarter, and a few weeks later the fort was demolished and the troops with- drawn to the American shore.

While this siege was in progress, hostile movements of greater magnitude were being made in other sections of the country. The British army had been strongly reinforced during the summer ; the City of Washington had been captured and the public buildings destroyed, and the entire coast was held in a state of blockade by their fleet. They contemplated a dismember- ment of the Union by obtaining possession of Lake Champlain and the Hudson, from the North, and capturing the City of New York ; believing that a division of the Republic would thus be accomplished and a separate peace concluded with the Eastern States, whose discontent and opposition to the war were manifest. The people were now fully aroused, and mea- sures were immediately taken for the defence of New York. Its fortifica- tions were strengthened and strongly garrisoned. The invasion of New York, by the way of Lake Champlain, was entrusted to General Prevost with about fourteen thousand veteran troops from Wellington's army, and the aid of a strong fleet carrying ninety guns. To oppose this formidable armament, General Macomb, at Plattsburg, had only fifteen hundred regular troops and about three thousand militia, hastily collected and undisciplined. Commodore MeDonough, by almost incredible exertions, had in a short time constructed a fleet carrying sixty-six guns. General Izard had trans- ferred a large portion of the troops from this quarter to the Niagara frontier. Knowing the weakness of the American force at Plattsburg, General Prevost hastily organized and put his army in motion before the fleet was ready for co-operation, and on the 6th of September his advance reached Beekmanstown, where their progress was disputed by a body of militia and a few regulars who, however, soon retreated towards Plattsburg, and tearing up the bridge over the Saranac, entered their entrenched camp. The British advanced, and having taken possession of some buildings near the river, attempted to cross, but they were met with a shower of hot shot which proved so annoying, that they contented themselves with preparing for an assault upon the fortifications, On the morning of the 11th the British fleet under Commodore Downie was seen advancing in line of battle, to engage the American ships at anchor in the bay off Plattsburg. A fierce and determined conflict followed, and in less than three hours the whole British fleet, excepting a part of the galleys which had made their escape, surrendered. Simultaneously with the naval engagement, General Prevost opened his batteries on the American lines, and attempted to force passages of the Saranac at three different points, but at each place his troops were repulsed with great loss. On the surrender of the fleet, in sight of both armies, further efforts to cross the river were abandoned. When night came on, General Prevost, in great alarm, made a precipitate retreat from the town, leaving behind his sick and wounded, together with a large quan- tity of military stores. This expedition was the last undertaken for the in- vasion of this frontier, and its signal defeat materially aided in bringing the war to a close. On the 24th of December a treaty of peace was concluded at Ghent, but before the welcome news had reached our shores, the British met with another disastrous defeat at New Orleans.

CHAPTER XV.

THE FRIE CANAL. AND CENTRAL RAIL ROAD-THE ANTI-MASONIC UPRISING- THE STATE ADMINISTRATION-NEW YORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.

The construction of the Erie and Champlain canals, which had been projected just at the breaking out of the war, had been virtually abandoned by the repeal of the aut authorizing the commissioners to borrow funds for the prosecution of the work. But on the termination of the war the policy was revived, and the attention of the people was again called in this great undertaking. The difficulties of the enterprise however, were formidable. The late war had drawn heavily upon the State treasury. The preliminary measures for the construction of the canals had already been attended with considerable expense, and the people were loth to engage in an enterprise

COMPLETION OF ERIE CANAL-ORIGIN OF ANTI-MASONRY -- INVASION OF CANADA.

which they plainly foresaw would be so insatiable in its demands upon the public treasury. They were therefore slow to encourage additional legis- lation for its prosecution, but through the untiring energy and perseverance of De Witt Clinton, an act prepared by him was passed in April, 1817, authorizing the construction of the work. Governor Tompkins having been elected Vice-President of the United States, resigned his office as governor; and in April De Witt Clinton, the ardent and zealous advocate of the system of internal improvements, was elected to succeed him. On the 4th of July, 1817, the Erie canal was commenced at Rome, and in Or- tober, 1817, that portion of it between U'tica and Rome was opened for navigation.

In 1821 an act was passed by the Legislature authorizing a convention to be called to revise the State Constitution. This convention met at Albany, and after a lengthy session, adopted a Constitution, which was subsequently ratified by the people, and under its provisions the State was governed for a quarter of a century. By the new Constitution the time of holding the State elections was changed from April to November, and the officer- elected were to enter upon their official duties on the ist of January. Joseph A. Yates was elected governor in 1822, and was succeeded, in 1824, by De Witt Clinton. The Erie canal having been completed, the first flotilla of canal boats left Buffalo for New York on the 26th of October, 1825. Intel- ligence of its departure was communicated to New York in one hour and twenty minutes by the discharge of cannon stationed at points within hear- ing distance of each other along the entire route. The occasion was cele- brated with great rejoicing throughout the State.

The first State charter for the construction of a railroad was granted in 1826. The points to be connected were Albany and Schenectady, and the road was completed in 1831. Although the road was but rudely con- structed, the advantages of this new mode of transportation were so obvious that railroads were soon after projected in various parts of the State.

During the year 1826, William Morgan, a printer in the village of Batavia. and a Royal Arch Mason. determined to publish a pamphlet purporting to contain a disclosure of the secrets of Masonry. His intention was dis- covered, and on the 11th of September MIr. Cheesebrough, Master of the Masonie Lodge at Canandaigua, procured a warrant for his arrest, on a charge of theft. Being discharged for want of proof, he was immedi- ately re-arrested for a small debt due another person, which Cheesebrough claimed had been assigned to him. Judgment was rendered against Mor- gan for the debt, an execution was issued, and he was committed to jail. At night he was clandestinely taken from the jail by supposed members of the fraternity, gagged, and conveyed to Canada, and from thence to Fort Niagara, where he remained confined until the 29th of September, at which time he mysteriously disappeared. It was the universal opinion that he was murdered by the masonic fraternity, and measures were taken to investigate the matter. No clew to his fate could be found, but it was be- lieved, from the facts obtained, that there was a conspiracy among the members of the masonic order for the commission of some great crime. Committees appointed for investigating the matter found their efforts con- tinually thwarted by persons supposed to be members of the fraternity. This aroused public sentiment against secret societies generally, and especially against Free Masons. A political party, styled "Anti-Mas- onie," was organized, whose avowed object was the exclusion of all sup- porters of Masonry from official trust. For several years it constituted a formidable political clement in the western part of New York.

On the evening of February 11th, 1828, Governor Clinton suddenly ex- pired. This unexpected and sad event was deeply lamented throughout the community. Amid discouragements of every kind, and of a magnitude that would have filled ordinary men with dismay, he had persevered with unflagging energy, and accomplished measures which in succeeding years have proved eminently beneficial to the best interests of the State. On the death of ('linton, Nathaniel l'itcher, then Lieutenant-Governor, succeeded to the governorship for the remainder of the term, and in November Martin Van Buren was elected to succeed him. In March following, Van Buren was appointed to an office in President Jackson's Cabinet, and resigned the governorship, which devolved upon Enos T. Throop, who was elected to the office at the succeeding election in 1830.

In February, 1832, the State Agricultural Society was formed at a con- vention of its friends in Albany, but received no support from the State until it was reorganized in 1841, and measures were adopted for raising funds and holding annual fairs. In April, 1832, an act was passed charter- ing a company to construct the New York and Erie Railway, and four

years later the Comptroller was directed to issue State stock to the amount of $3,000,000 to aid the enterprise. In November, 1832, William I .. Marcy was elected to succeed Throop as Governor of the State. In 1833 a legislative act was passed, authorizing the construction of the Chenango Canal, connecting the Erie Canal at Utica with the Susquehanna river at Binghamton. In April, 1835, the Legislature passed an act by which the schools in the State were to be provided with libraries. Near the close of this year, a great conflagration occurred in New York city, consuming pro- perty to the amount of eighteen millions of dollars.

In 1837, an insurrection originating in popular discontent occurred in that portion of Canada bordering on the State of New York, and received the sympathies of some .Americans, who unadvisedly became involved in an unauthorized invasion of the British possessions. In December, a party nf well armed and equipped Americans, under Van Rensselaer, and ac- companied by William loyd Mackenzie, the leader of the insurrectionary movement, took possession of Navy Island, in the Niagara river, within Canadian territory. The Caroline, a small steamboat, was brought from Buffalo, and used as a ferryboat between the island and the American shore. During the night of December 29th, Colonel McNabb, with an armed force from Canada, crossed over to the boat, and while its occupants were asleep, loosened it from its moorings, set it on fire, and let it float down the river and over the Falls, by which operation several lives were lost. Mackenzie fled to this State, and the Governor of Canada made a demand upon Governor Marcy for his surrender, which was refused. A proclamation was issued, however, by Marcy, and one also by the President of the United States, forbidding American citizens to take any part in the insurrection, and General Scott was ordered to the frontier to enforce our neutrality laws. The excitement continued for some time, but the insur- gents were finally subdued by the British and Canadian authorities.

In 1838 Wm. H. Seward was elected Governor of the State, and in 1842 was succeeded by William C. Bouck. After the death of the patrcon, Stephen Van Rensselaer, disturbances arose in Rensselear, Albany, and other counties, from the tenants refusing to fulfil the obligation of their leases, which in 1844 assumed serious aspects. The tenants organized and arrayed themselves in opposition to the enforcement of legal proceedings, and outrages were often committed upon executive officers in the discharge of their duties. Many of the tenants on the Van Rensselaer manor were seriously aggrieved hy the demands of their landlords under the provisions of ancient leases, which for a long time had been suspended, and the revi- val and enforcement of which threatened to ruin them. Silas Wright was elected Governor in November, 1844, and on assuming the duties of chief magistrate in January following, called the attention of the Legislature to these anti-rent outrages, which continued to increase. Stringent laws were passed for the punishment of offenders ; but the excitement still prevailed, and lawless acts were committed by members of an organization of Anti- Renters, disguised as Indians. These occurred so frequently that it be- came necessary to order out the military to suppress the insurrection. In 1846 the Legislature passed laws to abolish " distress for rent," and facili- tate legal remedies by extending the time for a "re-entry" on lands for its non-payment, and during the ensuing year those who had participated in these outrages were pardoned by a proclamation.

Through the energy and genius of Professor Morse the magnetic tele- graph was added to our list of public facilities for intercommunication, and as early as 1845 various lines were in process of construction through the country. A Constitutional convention having been called, met at Al- bany on the rst of June, 1846, and continued in sessions upwards of four months. The amendments to the State Constitution, adopted by that body, were ratified by the people in November, and John Young was elected Governor of the State.

The annexation of Texas to the Union led to hostilities between Mexico and the United States, and on the 11th of May, 1846, Congress declared that, by the acts of the Mexicans, war existed between the two nations. The Americans were victorious in all important engagements with that nation, and the part taken by the troops from the State of New York was conspicuous, and highly creditable to their valor. Peace was concluded on the zd of February, 1848. In November of the same year Hamilton Fish was elected Governor of New York.

By the census of 1850 it was found that the population of the State amounted to upwards of three millions, being an increase of two and a half millions in half a century. In November of this year Washington Hunt was elected to succeed Hamilton Fish as Governor of the State.

OUTLINE HISTORY OF STATE OF NEW YORK.

e was a candidate for re-election in 1852, but was defeated by Horatio eymour. In 1854 an amendment was made to the State Constitution re- quiring the appropriation of an annual sum during a term of four years for the enlargement of the Erie and the completion of other canals in the State. In November of the same year Myron H. Clark was elected Gover- Dor. In 1855 the State contained about three thousand miles of railroad, constructed at an aggregate cost of $125,000,000. In 1856 John A. King was elected Governor, and at the expiration of his term was succeeded in 1858 by Edwin D. Morgan.

The recognition of slavery in the Territories belonging to the United States having been earnestly combatted for several years, the difficulty fin- ally terminated in a gigantic civil war. On the election of Abraham Lin- coln to the Presidency, in 1860, upon principles of avowed hostility to the extension of slavery, and the failure to effect a compromise by which slavery should be recognized or tolerated in any portion of the Territories, the Southern States resolved to secede from the Union, and organize a separate government. The capture, by the Confederates, of Fort Sumter, has been considered the first open act of the rebellion, and upon its occur- rence, in April, 1861, active hostilities were begun, and before the close of

the year one hundred and fifteen regiments had been put in the field by the State of New York. In July, 1863, during the execution of the draft ordered by an act of Congress for recruiting the Union army, a terrible riot occurred in the city of New York. The police were unable to check its progress, and for several days the city was convulsed and over- whelmed with tumult, rapine, and murder. The outbreak was finally quelled by the interposition of the military, but not until a large amount of property had been destroyed, and a considerable number of lives lost. The war was prolonged until the spring of 1865, when it terminated with the complete success of the Union cause, and peace has since prevailed.

By the census of 1875 the State was found to contain 4,705,000 inhabit- ants. Within a period of two and a half centuries this immense popula- tion accumulated, and from the almost pathless wilderness, in the beginning trodden only by wild beasts and savages, it has, by industry and enterprise, removed the primeval forests, reared large and numerous cities, and con- structed vast and magnificent public works, which conspicuously appear in all parts of what is justly termed the "Empire State." With the full en- joyment of peace, it continues to advance with accelerated and rapid strides, in harmonious accord with its proud and becoming motto, "Excelsior."

THE HISTORY

MONTGOMERY COUNTY.

CHAPTER I.

THE FIVE MATIONS-THEIR TRADITIONS OF THEIR ORIGIN-IROQUOIS CUSTOMS-THEIR CONTACT WITH THE FRENCH.

The greater portion of what now constitutes the State of New York, when first visited by the Europeans, was found to be inhabited by five dis- tinct and powerful tribes of Indians who had united and formed a con- federacy. The tribes that composed this confederacy were the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas and Senecas, called by the English the Five Nations, and by the French, the Iroquois. They bore among them- selves the title AQUINOSHIONI Or KONOSHIONI, signifying Cabin-makers or People of the Long House, referring to their organization and territorial possessions, which extended from the banks of the Hudson to the shores of Lake Erie. Their government was, in many respects, republican, and the wisdom displayed in the management of their affairs distinguished them above all the other aborigines of the Continent. At what time the confederacy was formed is unknown, its origin being as much involved in the obscurities of tradition as any other remote event of Indian history. Some as the result of their investigations have fixed the period less than a century before the Europeans came into the country, while others have placed it more than two centuries earlier. The current tradition held by the Iroquois respecting their origin was that they sprang from the earth itself :

"In remote ages, they had been confined under a mountain near the Falls of the Osh-wa-kee or Oswego river, whence they were released by THARONHYJAGON, the Holder of the Heavens. Bidding them go forth to the east, he guided them to the valley of the Mohawk, and following its stream they reached the Hudson, which some of them descended to the sea. Retracimg their steps toward the west they originated in their order and position the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, Senecas and Tuscaroras, six nations, but the Tuscaroras wandered away to the south and settled on the Cantano, or Neuse river, in North Carolina, reducing the number to five nations.

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History of Montgomery and Fulton counties, N.Y. : with illustrations and portraits of old pioneers and prominent residents, Part 10

Author: Beers, F.W., & co., New York, pub Publication date: 1878 Publisher: New York : F.W. Beers & co. Number of Pages: 664

Author: Beers, F.W., & co., New York, pub
Publication date: 1878
Publisher: New York : F.W. Beers & co.
Number of Pages: 664