History of Wyoming County, N.Y., with Illustrations, Biographical Sketches and Portraits of Some Pioneers and Prominent Residents, Part 10

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Publication date: 1880
Publisher: F.W. Beers & Co.
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Meanwhile Commodore Perry was preparing to dispute the control of Lake Erie with the enemy. The Americans had no efficient force upon that lake, and Perry, by unre- mitting exertions, built and equipped a fleet of nine vessels. Of these the "Lawrence " and the " Niagara " each carried twenty guns, and the whole fleet but fifty-four. The British fleet, under Commodore Barclay, consisted of six vessels, car- rying sixty-three guns. On the roth of September the British commander approached the American fleet with his vessels arrayed in battle order, and Perry at once prepared for action. With his flag-ship, the " Lawrence," he advanced to meet the enemy, and maintained an unequal conflict until his ship was reduced to a complete wreck, and nearly all of her crew either killed or wounded. At this juncture, and when the enemy had a fair prospect of obtaining a brilliant vic- tory, Captain Elliot, commander of the "Niagara," who had perceived the crippled and unmanageable condition of the "Lawrence," moved forward to her aid, and Perry, although exposed to a continuous fire from the enemy, sprang into a boat and proceeded to the " Niagara," to which he transferred his flag. The action was then renewed with great vigor by. the remainder of the American squadron. They passed fearlessly among the enemy's ships, dealing such a destruct- ive fire upon them that the whole fleet soon surrendered.

This important and brilliant victory was followed by one under General Harrison, commander of the northwestern division, who on the 5th of October defeated General. Proctor at the battle of the Thames. By these victories the territory of Michigan, which had been so ingloriously surrendered by General Hull at the commencement of the war, was regained. Late in the autumn of this year an unsuccessful attempt was made to invade Canada, under the direction of General Wilkinson, who had succeeded Dear- born in the chief command of the northern army. The American Generals Izard and Hampton were repulsed near the border in Franklin county. General Wilkinson de- scended the St. Lawrence, and on the 19th of November, at

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MILITARY EVENTS OF 1814

Chrystler's Farm, near Williamsburg, an indecisive engage- ment took place, the Americans retreating to their boats and abandoning further opertions.

The forces on the Niagara frontier had been so much re- duced that they were inadequate for its defense after the British were reinforced by General Drummond. General McClure, finding he would be obliged to abandon Fort George, removed his military stores, and unnecessarily in- flicted great distress upon the citizens of the villages of Queenston and Newark, reducing the latter place to ashes. The British soon after retaliated by a series of cruel bar- barities along the Niagara frontier. On the 19th of Decem- ber a successful attack was made upon Fort Niagara, and a 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 In- dians, crossed the river, plundered and burned Lewiston, and inflicted barbarous cruelties upon the defenseless in- habitants. 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 removed from French Mills to Plattsburg. The British had collected a strong force at La Colle Mills, on the Sorel, and General Wilkin- son resolved to dislodge them. On the 30th of March he crossed the frontier and commenced the attack, but was re- pulsed and withdrew with his force to Plattsburg. In con- sequence of this failure he was removed from his command, General Izard succeeding him.

The military stores deposited at Oswego Falls attracted the attention of the British, and with the view of capturing them a British squadron appeared before Oswego. As soon as it was discovered information was sent to Captain Wool- sey 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 it prudent to return to their ships. The fleet ad- vanced, and the American force of only about three hun- dred 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 su- perior force, withdrew toward the Falls to defend the stores, destroying the bridges in their rear. The British disabled the ordnance of the fort, and on learning that the bridges had been destroyed returned to Kingston. It was deemed prudent, however, to remove the stores thus pre- served to Sackett's Harbor, and Captain Woolsey, aided by a body of riflemen and Indians, set out for the accomplish- ment 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 fol- lowed and landed a detachment to pursue them. The Brit- ish 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 pro- ceed 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 General 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 pur- sued as far as Queenston Heights, whence they returned to Chippewa.

On the 25th General Scott's brigade, while reconnoiter- ing in force, encountered the entire British army advantage- ously posted, and the battle of Lundy's Lane occurred. The brigade of General 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 re- tired to Fort Erie unmolested. Here they immediately proceeded to strengthen their defenses. On the 4th of August the enemy, having been reinforced, appeared and invested the fort, then commanded by General Gaines. On the 7th they opened fire upon the American lines, and be- fore dawn on the 15th a combined and furious assault was commenced. In their attack upon the left of the Ameri- can lines the enemy were repulsed four times with heavy loss, and on the right they met with no better success. In the center 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 defenses, and both armies were reinforced. General Brown, having recovered from his wounds, resumed command, and finding the enemy were intent on prosecuting the siege, determined to make a sortie to dislodge them and destroy their works. The Brit- ish force consisted of three brigades, each of which, in its turn, was stationed at the batteries, while the others re- mained at their encampment 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 Sep- tember the sortie was made, and resulted in the capture of the British batteries and the destruction of their fortifica- tions. A few days afterward 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 withdrawn to the New York 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 rein- forced during the summer; the city of Washington had been captured and the public buildings destroyed, and the en- tire coast was held in a state of blockade by their fleet. They contemplated a dismemberment of the Union by ob- taining possession of Lake Champlain and the Hudson from the north, and capturing the city of New York; believing

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OUTLINE HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.

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 measures were im- mediately taken for the defense of New York. Its fortifica- tions were strengthened and strongly garrisoned. The in- vasion 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 formida- ble armament General Macomb, at Plattsburg, had only fifteen hundred regular troops and about three thousand militia, hastily collected and undisciplined. Commodore McDonough, by almost incredible exertions, had in a short time constructed a fleet carrying sixty-six guns. General Izard had transferred 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, how- ever, soon retreated toward 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 engage- ment General Prevost opened his batteries on the American lines, and attempted to force a passage of the Saranac at three different points, but at each place his troops were re- pulsed 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, leav- ing behind his sick and wounded, together with a large quantity of military stores. This expedition was the last undertaken for the invasion 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 Or- leans.

CHAPTER XVI.

THE ERIE CANAL AND RAILROAD-THE STATE ADMINIS- TRATION-NEW YORK IN THE CIVIL WAR.

HE 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 act authorizing the cominissioners 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 to 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 which they plainly foresaw would be so insatiable in its demands upon the public treasury. They were therefore slow to encourage additional legislation 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 ar- dent and zealous advocate of the system of internal improve- ment, was elected to succeed him. On the 4th of July, 1817, the Erie Canal was commenced at Rome, and in October, 1817, that portion of it between Utica and Rome was opened to 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 officers elected were to enter upon their official duties on the Ist of January. Joseph C. 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. Intelligence of its departure was communicated to New York in one hour and twenty minutes by the discharge of cannon stationed at points within hearing distances of each other along the entire route. The occasion was celebrated 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 constructed, the advantages of this new mode of transportation were so ob- vious that railroads were soon after projected in various parts of the. State.

On the evening of February 11th, 1828, Governor Clinton suddenly expired. This unexpected and sad event was deeply lamented throughout the community. Amid dis- couragements 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 proved eminently beneficial to the best interests of the State. On the death of Clinton, Nathaniel Pitcher, then lieutenant governor, succeeded to the govern- orship 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 de- volved 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 convention of its friends in Albany, but received no support from the State until it was reorganized in 1841

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ANTI-RENT, MEXICAN AND CIVIL WARS-GOVERNORS OF NEW YORK.

and measures were adopted for raising funds and holding annual fairs. In April, 1832, an act was passed chartering a company to construct the New York and Erie Railway, and four years later the comptroller was directed to issue State bonds to the amount of $3,000,000 to aid the enter- prise. In November, 1832, William L. Marcy was elected to succeed Throop as governor of the State. In 1833 a legis- lative 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, con- suming property to the amount of eighteen millions of dollars.

In 1838 William H. Seward was elected governor of the State, and in 1842 was succeeded by William C. Bouck. After the death of the patroon Stephen Van Rensselaer, disturbances arose in Rensselaer, Albany, and other coun- ties from the tenants refusing to fulfill the obligation of their leases, which in 1844 assumed serious aspects. The tenants organized and arrayed themselves in opposition to the en- forcement 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 by the demands of their landlords under the provisions of ancient leases, which for a long time had been suspended and the revival 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 lawlet's acts were committed by members of an organization of anti- renters disguised as Indians. These occurred so frequently that it became necessary to order out the military to sup- press the insurrection. In 1846 the Legislature passed laws to abolish " distress for rents," and facilitate 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 procla- mation.

Through the energy and genius of Professor Morse the magnetic telegraph 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 Albany on the ist of June, 1846, and continued in session upward 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 Mexi- cans war existed between the two nations. The Americans were victorious in all important engagements with the Mex- ican army, 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 and of February, 1848. In November of the same year Hamilton Fish was. elected governor.

By the census of 1850 it was found that the population of the State amounted to upward 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. He was

a candidate for re-election in 1852, but was defeated by Horatio Seymour. In 1854 an amendment was made to the State constitution requiring 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 governor. 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.

A list of the governors of New York, in a single para- graph, with the dates of their election, will be found con- venient for reference. From the organization of the State government in 1777, governors have been elected as follows:

In 1777, 1792 and the four intervening elections, and in 1801, George Clinton; 1795 and 1798, John Jay; 1804, Morgan Lewis; 1807, 1810, 1813 and 1816, Daniel D. Tompkins; 1817 (Tompkins having been elected Vice- President), 1820, 1824 and 1826, De Witt Clinton; 1822, Joseph C. Yates; 1828, Martin Van Buren; 1830, Enos T. Throop; 1832, 1834, 1836, William L. Marcy; 1838, 1840, William H. Seward; 1842, William C. Bouck; 1844, Silas Wright; 1846, John Young; 1848, Hamilton Fish; 1850, Washington Hunt; 1852, 1862, Horatio Seymour; 1854, Myron H. Clark; 1856, John A. King; 1858, 1860, Edwin D. Morgan; 1864, 1866, Reuben E. Fenton; 1868, 1870, John T. Hoffman; 1872, John A. Dix; 1874, Samuel J. Tilden; 1876, Lucius Robinson.

The recognition of slavery in the Territories belonging to the United States having been earnestly combatted for several years, the difficulty finally terminated in a gigantic civil war. On the election of Abraham Lincoln to the Presidency in 1860, upon principles of avowed hostility to the extension of slavery, and the failure to effect a com- promise by which slavery should be recognized or tolerated in any portion of the Territories, the Southern States re- solved to secede from the Union and organize a separate government. The capture by the Confederates of Fort Sumter was the first overt act of the Rebellion, and upon its occurrence, in April, 1861, active hostilities were begun, and before the close of the year one hundred and fifteen regi- ments had been put into 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 overwhelmed 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 inhabitants. Within a period of two and a half centuries this immense population had accumulated, and from the almost pathless wilderness, in the beginning trodden only by wild beasts and savages, it has by industry and en- terprise removed the primeval forests, reared large and nu- merous cities, and constructed vast and magnificent public works, which conspicuously appear in all parts what is justly termed the "Empire State." With the full enjoy- ment of peace, it continues to advance with accelerated and rapid strides, in accord with its proud and becoming motto, "Excelsior."

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THE HISTORY

WYOMING COUNTY.

CHAPTER I.

RELICS AND THEORIES OF THE EARLIEST INHABITANTS OF WESTERN NEW YORK.

HE historian of the former inhabitants of any country or region is confronted at the outset by various difficulties. The question arises who and what were the progenitors of these inhabit- ants? and who were their ancestors? and so on.

There exist in this country, and to some extent in western New York, evidences of its former occu- pancy by a people whose customs were, in some respects, different from those of the Indians who were found here near the close of the fifteenth century. These evidences consist of the sepulchral and other mounds or tumuli in the West and South, and of the defensive works which are found in this region. Of the people who constructed these mounds and forts no tradition was preserved by the pre- Columbian Indians, and in and around them many relics have been found concerning the former use of which even the ingenuity of archaeologists has failed to form a conjec- ture.

The opinion has been held that these people were not the progenitors of the present race of Indians, but that they were expelled from the country or exterminated by those from whom these Indians descended. The correctness of this opinion is doubted by many modern ethnologists, who insist that gradual changes in the surroundings of a people, extending through indefinite periods of time, are sufficient to account for those things which have been regarded as evidences of a distinct race of people. They insist, too, that in the absence of recorded history it is not strange that in the lapse of time many of the customs, the significance of the monuments and works, and even the existence of a people should pass into oblivion among their descendants.

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History of Wyoming County, N.Y., with Illustrations, Biographical Sketches and Portraits of Some Pioneers and Prominent Residents, Part 10

Author: Publication date: 1880 Publisher: F.W. Beers & Co. Number of Pages:

Author:
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: F.W. Beers & Co.
Number of Pages: