USA > New York > Warren County > History of Warren County [N.Y.] with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 22
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On the 29th of August, the day Izard left his camp at Champlain, General Brisbane crossed the line with a considerable body of British troops and occu- pied the village, and on the 3d of September full fourteen thousand more as- sembled in the vicinity, Prevost being in command, assisted by General De Rottenburgh. The governor-general issued a proclamation announcing that he intended to take possession of the country, and inviting the inhabitants to throw off their allegiance to the Union, and furnish him with supplies. On the fol- lowing day they moved to Chazy, and on the 5th they were encamped at Sampson's, eight miles north of Plattsburg. The British squadron at the same time moved up the lake and anchored off Isle la Motte, and on the west side
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of that island erected a battery to cover the landing of supplies for Prevost's army.
Meantime Macomb, by working his men day and night, succeeded in erect- ing three redoubts. Remains of these works are still visible. Also two block- houses were built on the Saranac; and at the mouth of the river stood a heavy stone mill. Macomb divided his forces into detachments, holding each re- sponsible for the work assigned to it.
When the British advanced to Chazy Macomb sent out troops to meet them. On the morning of the 5th the initiatory skirmish of the battle of Plattsburg occurred between Major John E. Wool, at the head of two hundred and fifty regulars, and the advance of the British. The fight was short but sharp. Wool could not withstand the onslaught of the heavy column, and fell back to within a mile and a half of Plattsburg. There he was joined by Captain Leonard, with two pieces of artillery, with which fearful execution was done upon the advanc- ing columns of the enemy, the balls cutting open lanes through the moving mass. Finally a charge of the enemy compelled Leonard and Wool to retreat across the Saranac, taking their guns with them. Other outlying detachments had been driven, though in each case with greater loss to the enemy than to the retreating bodies. When all had crossed the Saranac, the planks from the bridges were removed.
When the British reached Plattsburg and found the bridges destroyed, they made preparations to encamp in order that measures might be undertaken to force a passage at the fords. Several sharp skirmishes took place, with no advantage to the enemy ; and he was even forced to withdraw from a number of buildings he had occupied along the river, driven out by fire communicated by hot shot thrown by the Americans. Thus, on the evening of the 6th of September, Prevost was aware that the task before him was not a light one, though he had at his command an overwhelming force with ample munitions of war.
During the time from the 7th to the 11th Prevost brought up his batteries and stores, and threw up several works, commanding the river, town and bay. Meantime the Americans were not idle. They strengthened such fortifications as they had, and concentrated their forces at those points where they would probably be most needed.
While these operations were being carried on on the land, the opposing forces were making preparations for a battle on the water. As before stated, Captain Pring, with the larger part of the British flotilla, had advanced to Isle la Motte, where the remainder of the squadron joined him, and Captain George Downie, of the royal navy, took the chief command. Macdonough still lay at anchor in Plattsburg bay. For the five days during which Prevost was making his preparations for the attack, the seamen were awaiting his signal to also be- gin. During this time several affairs of minor importance occurred between
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the land troops; one in particular, in which fifty men under Captain McGlassin crossed the river and captured one of Prevost's redoubts, occupied by three hundred men, who fled to the main body, leaving the Americans to spike the guns, destroy the carriages, and return to their quarters, to the discomfiture of General Prevost.
Early in the morning of the I Ith the British land and naval forces were un- der motion for the attack. The Americans were on the alert, and though threatened with overwhelming numbers, prepared to meet the onslaught pluckily.
We cannot go into the delails of the engagement for want of space, though their interest would warrant us in doing so. The engagement was opened on the lake. When Macdonough saw the British vessels approaching in line of battle, he cleared his ship for action, and calling his officers and men around him, knelt upon the deck and in a few simple words prayed the Almighty God for aid, and left the issue in His hands.
The naval action was severe and continuous; for two hours and twenty minutes the battle raged, while the thunder of cannon, the hiss of rockets, the scream of bombs and the rattle of musketry were heard on the shore. The fight was characterized by a vigor and destructiveness not excelled by any dur- ing the war. The force of the American squadron was eighty-six guns and eight hundred and eighty-two men ; while that of the British was ninety-five guns and a little more than one thousand men. But even with this difference in his favor, the enemy was forced to lower his flag to the young lieutenant who publicly asked the Almighty's assistance before opening fire. Immedi- ately after receiving the surrender of the British vessels, Macdonough sent the following dispatch to the Secretary of the Navy : -
"Sir - The Almighty has been pleased to grant us a signal victory on Lake Champlain, in the capture of one frigate, one brig and two sloops of war of the enemy."
The entire loss of the Americans was one hundred and ten, fifty-two of whom were killed. The British loss was was more than two hundred, includ- ing Captain Downie.
According to an arrangement with Captain Downie, Prevost was to put his troops in motion when the topmasts of the fleet came into his view around Cumberland Head. When the first gun was fired on the lake, the British land batteries opened ; and under cover of the shot and shell therefrom, Prevost advanced to attack the Americans in three columns. At the lower bridge the attack was sharply repulsed. At the upper bridge the enemy met an obsti- nate resistance, and failed in forcing a passage. At the upper ford the column was more successful ; there, under Generals Mooers and Wright, was stationed the militia of Essex and Clinton ; after two or three repulses a few companies of the British succeeded in crossing and forcing the militia from their position.
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HISTORY OF WARREN COUNTY.
Supports, including a piece of artillery, coming up at this time, stimulated the fleeing militia to the rallying-point, when they turned and vigorously assaulted the pursuing enemy. At this moment Mooer's adjutant-general, Walworth (late chancellor of New York), dashed up, his horse flecked with foam, and an- nounced that the British fleet had surrendered. The enemy must have ob- tained this information at the same time, for they turned their backs to the cheers of their opponents, and dashed back across the Saranac.
Thus ended the battle of Plattsburg. Sir George Prevost, a coward in danger, according to English historians, became terribly alarmed, and experi- enced, as he said, " extreme mortification to hear the shout of victory from the American works," when the fleet surrendered, and decided him that " further prosecution of the service was become impracticable."
Before morning the British commander and his army were ten miles on the way to Canada, having left his sick and wounded and a vast quantity of mu- nitions of war behind him. Troops were sent in pursuit, but the flight of the enemy was too rapid, and he reached Montreal without further chastisement. His losses were not far from two thousand men, while that of the Americans was less than one hundred and fifty.
This victory called forth acclamations of joy throughout the country, and generous honors were awarded the leaders therein. Congress voted the thanks of the nation, and to Macdonough, Macomb and others gold medals were presented. Honorable burial was accorded Captain Downie and other British officers. They were buried in a beautiful cemetery near Plattsburg.
Almost simultaneous with this victory came the repulse of the British at Fort Erie, their expulsion from Baltimore, and the closing scenes of their op- erations on the New England coast.
There are no available records of the part taken by the inhabitants of Warren county in this late struggle with Great Britain ; only a few scattered items can to-day be gathered. In the Warren Republican, of December 13, 1813, says Dr. Holden, appears the following notice :
" TO YOUNG MEN OF ZEAL AND HONOR,
" To those who feel for the abused rights of their beloved country :
" Every able-bodied man between the age of 18 and 45 years, who is willing to serve his country during the present war, or five years (as he may choose), shall receive TWENTY DOLLARS IN CASH DOWN, and TWENTY DOL- LARS more when he shall be mustered, or join his regiment. He shall also receive neat and handsome clothing of all kinds immediately : Eight dollars per month and his rations. He shall furthermore receive and have guaranteed to him 160 acres of excellent land, to be laid out and located at the public ex- pense-or if he should die in the service, his heirs or representatives shall be entitled to the same ; and three months additional pay, beyond his term of
ยท
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FROM THE REVOLUTION TO 1815.
service. For further particulars, please call at the Rendezvous now opened at A. Emmons' Inn, at Glens Falls.
" CHARLES HARRISON, Lieut. " 13th Regiment U. S. Infantry."
This is certainly evidence that volunteers were called for, if not that they were forthcoming, which latter is more than probable, if the following state- ment in Palmer's History of Lake Champlain is a criterion of the patriotism of the people of the young country :-
" When Major-General Mooer's orders were received for the militia of Warren and Washington counties to assemble en masse, and march to the frontier, there appeared, under arms, two hundred and fifty men more than had ever mustered at an inspection or review."
Dr. Holden says that " of the male citizens of Warren and Washington counties, but few were left behind. The towns of Athol, Luzerne, Warrens- burg and Chester were almost depopulated." A company from Luzerne, under Captain Gideon Orton, was attached to the Saratoga regiment. Queensbury sent its quota of two companies ; the one from Glens Falls being commanded by Lieutenant Royal Leavens. Caldwell and Bolton sent a rifle company under the command of Halsey Rogers. There was also a squadron of cavalry raised chiefly in the towns of Kingsbury and Qucensbury, of which Daniel W. Wing was lieutenant commanding; but it was not ordered out in time to take part in the battle of Plattsburg.
During the latter part of December, 1814, General Andrew Jackson was completing preparations for the defense of New Orleans, and at the same time was frequently engaged with the enemy, who was making strenuous efforts to gain a foothold on the coast, thereby enabling him to more effectually block- ade the port of New Orleans. Repeated engagements occurred, some of them very severe, resulting on the whole in favor of the Americans.
On the 8th of January, 1815, the contest culminated in the battle histori- cally known as that of New Orleans, in which Jackson signally defeated Pack- enham, the latter losing two thousand six hundred men, killed and wounded, including the commander, while the former's force suffered by the loss of only eight men killed and one hundred wounded. This brilliant action, as a finish- ing stroke of repeated successes of the American arms, brought joy and re- joicing to the country.
The treaty of Ghent was completed December 24, 1814, and was ratified by the Prince Regent on December 28th, and by the United States Congress on February 17th, 1815. While it secured many advantages to the Ameri- cans, the principle for which they went to war, namely, immunity from search and impressment, was not secured them. The Americans had fought their last battle with a foreign foe.
A general conviction prevailed after the declaration of peace that the
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HISTORY OF WARREN COUNTY.
United States would not again become involved in war. It had twice defeat- ed one of the strongest nations of the earth, and the feeling grew in strength that foreign powers would hesitate long before provoking the republic to hostil- ity. This condition of the public mind exerted a widespread and beneficial influence upon the progress of settlement in all new localities, which had been seriously impeded by the war. The people of Warren county, many of whom did valiant service in the struggle just ended, returned to their homes and engaged, with confidence and renewed energy, in the arts of peace and progress.
CHAPTER XVI.
TO THE PRESENT TIME.
Joifi Early Settlement - Subdivision of Albany County - Formation of Charlotte Connty - Change of Name - Formation of Towns within Present Limits of Warren County - Pioneer Experiences - Warren County Organized - Boundaries -County Seat, Buildings, etc. - The " Cold Summer " - Schools and Churches - Internal Improvements - Financial Crisis 1837-38-State Legislation Re- ferring to Warren County - Political Campaign - The Leather Industry - Civil List.
W E have in Chapter X described the circumstances surrounding the grant- ing of the Queensbury Patent in 1762 and the first attempts made to- wards the permanent settlement of the territory within the present limits of Warren county. While many of the early proprietors of the original Queens- bury Patent retained their ownership and a few spent the greater part of their time on their possessions until the close of the Revolutionary War, by far the larger number were driven away to the more peaceful localities where they had previously dwelt, by the excitement and danger of conflict along the northern frontier. With all the details of the early settlements in what is now the town of Queensbury, as well as in the other towns of the county, the reader will be made familiar in the subsequent town histories.
With the dawn of peace following the Revolution the pioneers of the county again turned their faces towards the wilderness and were rapidly fol- lowed by many others, who resolutely began the task of making for them- selves and their posterity attractive and valuable homes where had recently stood the primeval forest. We have seen in the preceding chapter how the inhabitants of Warren county sprang to arms for the last time in nearly half a century, in the War of 1812, to aid in convincing the mother country that the reign of liberty was to be permanent in the land.
Previous to this event occurred the subdivision of Albany county, by which
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TO THE PRESENT TIME.
all that portion which included the colonial settlements to the west and south- west of Schenectady was set off and named Tryon county, in honor of William Tryon, then governor of the province. Charlotte county was formed on the 12th of March, 1772, and embraced the territory now comprised in Washing- ton, Warren, Essex and Clinton counties in New York, and part of Benning- ton, Rutland, Addison, Chittenden and Franklin counties in Vermont. This county was named in honor of the Princess Charlotte of Mecklenburgh-Stre- litz. After considerable strife the county seat of Charlotte county was located at Skenesborough (now Whitehall), provided Major Skene should furnish for public use a tract of land. On the 18th day March, 1772, the legislative council passed an act, "to enable the inhabitants of the county of Charlotte to raise and defray the public and necessary charges of the said county, and to choose county officers." In September, 1773, an ordinance was issued by the governor with the advice of the Council, "establishing a Court of Common Pleas and a Court of General Sessions of the Peace to be held annually in the county of Charlotte." The name of this county was changed in 1784 to Wash- ington, and on the 10th of April, 1792, the town of Luzerne was set off from Queensbury under the name of "Fairfield," which name was changed April 6th, 1808; a strip one mile wide was taken from this town March 30th, 1802, and given to Queensbury. On the same date with the formation of Luzerne, the original town of Thurman was formed. On the 25th of March, 1799, the towns of Bolton and Chester were formed from Thurman and the town of Hague was set off from Bolton February 28th, 1807, under the name of "Rochester," which name was changed April 6th, 1808. Johnsburgh was formed from Thurman April 6th, 1805, and Caldwell from Queensbury, Bol- ton and Thurman March 2d, 1810. February 12th, 1813, just previous to the county organization, Warrensburgh was formed from Thurman. Settlements in all of these towns was begun long before their formation as civil divisions of the county, as detailed in the subsequent town histories. These settlements contributed a class of pioneers of exceptionally energetic, persevering and moral character; men who came into the wilderness thoroughly imbued with a determination to leave not only good homes to their children, but names un- tarnished by evil report. Log houses sprang up in the forests, to be followed at a date much earlier than was the case in many localities by neater frame cottages, the building of which was rendered possible by the early establish- ment of the numerous saw-mills.
The building of a log house in pioneeer days was often a scene of neigh- borly gathering and festivity, intermingled with. the most energetic and rapid work, to which the old inhabitants have always loved to turn their thoughts. It was the first earnest work of the pioneer. If he found a few neighbors within a circle of as many miles, he was generously and willingly aided in the task ; if not, he must do the best he could with the aid of his brave-hearted
13
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HISTORY OF WARREN COUNTY.
wife and his boy, if he had one. In such cases the dwelling often scarcely rose to the dignity of a house ; it was more frequently a mere cabin. Where a few settlers formed what might, by a broad rendering of the term, be called a neighborhood, the incoming pioneer always received a warm welcome. His arrival meant the clearing of another farm; another social neighbor near at hand; another strong and willing pair of hands for all good work and another friend in case of adversity. Then the building of the log house became, not a tedious and toilsome task, but a mere occasion for a day's social gathering of neighbors, a scene of festivity, mingled with a little labor. For such an event the summons went out for a house-raising on a specified day, and when a dozen or more willing men had congregated, every one of them unsurpassed in dex- terity with the axe, down fell the tall, straight trees, the logs were cut and drawn together by the oxen ; four of the most active and expert of the men, schooled by many a similar experience, were placed at the corners of the foundation to cut and shape the ends of the logs, and long before night the walls were raised to a height of six or eight feet, the rafters were put in place, and the dwelling was soon ready for its pioneer occupants. On these occa- sions the hard-working men were usually cheered in their labor by a passing whisky jug, for within a short time after the first settlement it was a cold day when a jug of whisky could not be found in almost any neighborhood. The finishing work was put on the house by the owner at his leisure; but there was no delay in beginning "to live " in those days; the house which was em- bodied in standing trees in the morning, sheltered the happy pioneer and his wife at the supper table in the evening on the same day.
In these dwellings, although " house-keeping " was begun under many ad- verse circumstances, who shall say that there were not as warm hearts, as true domestic devotion and sympathy and as pure contentment and peace as ever existed in the palaces of the world. Here the pioneer and his family began life with faith in their Creator and faith in themselves - a life that was to carry them from their present condition of trials and privations onward to the com- forts of civilization. His house once built, the early settler found ample work for his hands in felling the forest trees, in the "logging bees " by which fields were cleared in a day by the union of many hands, in planting a little corn or wheat, in sugar-making in the spring, in caring for his limited stock and in supplying his household with venison and other game from the forest.
The forests in the region of which this work treats abounded, not only with game that was a heaven-sent boon to early settlers, but with wild beasts which ravenously preyed upon the scanty flocks and sometimes imperiled the lives of the people. Long after they ceased to cause any apprehensions to the set- tlers themselves, these wild beasts, especially the wolves, were a constant source of annoyance, and every man's hand was raised against them for their extermination. This work was encouraged by the offer of generous public
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TO THE PRESENT TIME.
bounties. Under such efforts, and the gradually increasing population, the forests were cleared of these foes to man and his civilizing work.
One of the brightest features of pioneer life and one to which the writer may always turn with gratification, was the general spirit of fraternity and sociability and mutual helpfulness which pervaded the young communities. Most of the early settlers stood upon the same plane of life, held the same hopes and aspirations, born of poverty and nurtured in privation, which were common to all. Each felt an impulse, dictated by the humanity that was sure to develop amid such surroundings, to assist his neighbor whenever and wherever assistance was needed, realizing that he might any day become the grateful recipient of similar service. That social ostracism engendered by caste, a relic alike of ignorance and barbarism, which it is the mission of the genius of American institutions to eradicate, and which inexorably separates the individual members of a community at the present day, was then unknown. They mingled freely with each other, and shared each other's joys and sorrows.
On the 12th of March, 1813, Warren county was set off from Washington county, receiving its name in honor of General Joseph Warren, of the Revolu- tionary army. The boundaries of the new county were thus defined : -
" All that part of the State bounded northerly by a line running a due west course from the northwest corner of the county of Washington so as to strike the most northerly point of the rock commonly called Rogers's Rock, on the west side of Lake George, and continued west until intersecting a line drawn from the Mohawk River, where the northeast corner of the tract of land granted by letters patent to George Ingoldsby and others touches the Mohawk, north one degree and twenty-five minutes west ; westerly by the line just mentioned intersecting a west line drawn from Fort George, near Lake George; by that line until it strikes the north branch of the Hudson River, and by the middle of said branch and of the main stream to the southeast corner of Queensbury ; north along the east line of that town to Lake George; thence north along the west line of the towns of Fort Ann and Putnam to the north bounds of the county." .
William Robards was elected the first judge of the new county and held the office until 1820. Robert Wilkinson was the first surrogate; Henry Spen- cer, sheriff ; John Beebe, county clerk; and Michael Harris, treasurer. The county seat was established at Caldwell, where it has ever since remained, in spite of numerous energetic attempts to secure its removal to Glens Falls, as narrated in a later chapter. An act passed March 12th, 1813, established a Court of Common Pleas and General Sessions of the Peace to meet three times a year. The courts, meetings of the supervisors and other public gath- erings were, for a few years, held in the old Lake George Coffee-House, on the site of the present Lake House in the village of Caldwell. On the first of March, 1816, an act was passed providing that the county clerk's office was to
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HISTORY OF WARREN COUNTY.
be kept within one-half mile of the Lake George Coffee-House, and the mile- age to be computed from there. The new county buildings were erected and ready for occupation by the county officials in 1817, in which year the super- visors' meeting was held in the court-house. The details of the construction of these and other county buildings are given in later pages.
It was the month of June, 1813, that saw the issue of the initial number of the first newspaper published in Warren county - an event always of much significance in any locality. The young pioneer journal bore the name of the Warren Republican, and was published at Glens Falls. Of course it was a small affair, but its birth marked an era in the growth of the county. (See chapter on the county press).
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