USA > New York > Rensselaer County > Landmarks of Rensselaer county, New York, pt 1 > Part 8
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Among the trophies of the two battles were four brass field cannon, twelve brass drums, 250 sabres, four ammunition wagons, several hun-
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dred stand of arms and 658 prisoners. Two hundred and seven British were left dead on the field. Of the prisoners taken by the Americans, thirty were officers, thirty-six were British soldiers, 398 were Hessians, thirty-eight were Canadians and 155 were Tories, many of whom were personally known to their eaptors. The loss of the Americans in both engagements was about thirty killed and forty wounded. Colonel Baun and Colonel Pfister were both so badly wounded that they died within a couple of days.
According to a map made by Lieutenant Durnford, Colonel Baum's engineer, and published in Burgoyne's State of the Expedition, the land in front of Baum, east of the river, also southward over the Cam- bridge (Saneoik) road and in other places, was extensively cleared. The breastworks on the hill had woods immediately in front and down the river and on the right down the road, "with the exception of a cleared lot and an unbroken wilderness on Baum's left to the north- ward, and on his rear to the westward." The hill occupied by the main body of troops was abrupt and of some height, between 300 and 400 feet. At its base lay the Walloomsaek river, which ran nearly south. Within the main fortifications on the top of this hill were most of Riedesel's dragoons and a body of Canadians, while in front of them, further down the hill, were the balance of this corps. Chasseurs held the foot of the hill in front. To the right of these, near the river, were Canadians and grenadiers, while on the opposite side of the river, about a thousand feet ahead, Peters's corps of provincials had been posted behind fortifications in command of Col. Pfister, a retired British lieu tenant of the French war. Canadians were also posted across the bridge and grenadiers held a point a quarter of a mile west of the bridge.
The whole country was electrified by the news of the victory at Walloomscoik, as it was then commonly ealled, for the battle was fought entirely in the town of Hoosick and not at Bennington at all. Consid- ering the numerical strength of the opposing forces, the raw and un- trained troops of the Americans, who were poorly armed, and the experience and high training of most of the enemy, whose equipment was very much superior to that of the Colonial forces, the vietory was indeed a great and cheering one. The undisciplined farmers with their hunting guns and without bayonets stormed, without the slightest hesitancy, entrenchments manned with regular troops and defended by heavy cannon. Bancroft, in his review of the
GENERAL STARK HONORED BY CONGRESS. 63
battle, refers to it as "one of the most brilliant and eventful of the war." The enemy felt the loss of men and material severely. On the other hand confidence in the American army had been inspired and patriots began flocking from all quarters to the recruiting stations. The spirits of the British were correspondingly depressed. Historians now agree that the fate of Burgoyne was sealed at Walloomsack. The British general had become disheartened and undoubtedly realized that his plan of campaign could not possibly succeed with such a widespread feeling of patriotism.
General Stark had been censured by Congress for his refusal to move his forces to the west side of the Hudson, as he had been ordered to do by General Schuyler; but after the battle at Walloomsack the national legislature, determined to make amends for what they now considered an injudicious act, on October 4, 1176, unanimously passed the follow- ing resolution :
Resolved, That the thanks of Congress be presented to General Stark of the New Hampshire Militia, and the officers and troops under his command, for their brave and successful attack upon and signal victory over the enemy in their lines at Ben- nington; and that Brigadier Stark be appointed Brigadier-General in the army of the United States.
Two weeks after the adoption of this resolution, October 17, 1777, Burgoyne and his army surrendered at Saratoga, an event which was made practically certain by the great victory at Walloomsack, or Hoosick, and the inspiring effect it had upon the patriots in all sections of the country.
The two desperate engagements in the town of Hoosick, recorded in history as the battle of Bennington, terminated the active operations of the War of the Revolution within the limits of what is now known as Rensselaer county. As soon as the inhabitants of the northeastern part of the county had recovered from the effects of the short, sharp and decisive campaign of Colonel Baum, preparations were renewed on all sides in anticipation of the threatened invasion of the main army of General Burgoyne. The British general, however, was unable to con- tinue his march to the southward. He had been compelled to halt at Saratoga until he could obtain provisions and stores, and he stood in great need of additional supplies of horses, vehicles and cattle for beef. The expedition of Baum, which he had firmly believed would result in bringing him several hundred horses and large quantities of provisions, had failed miserably and he had lost, in killed, wounded and prisoners
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of war, over one-ninth of his army. Many of his Indian allies had also deserted him. He had been obliged to reduce the rations of his sol- diers and many other circumstances had combined to render his condi- tion a critical and disheartening one. To advance would have been extremely hazardous under the existing conditions, yet he hardly dared to risk the loss of another thousand men by sending out another forag- ing expedition. The patriot troops under General Gates, who had suc- ceeded General Sehuyler immediately after the battle of Hoosick, were gradually advancing toward his position and spreading out preparatory to surrounding his army. Day by day his position grew critical. He could not turn back, for his army could hardly have found means of subsistence on the march to Canada.
A few days after the battle of Hoosick General Burgoyne received intelligence of a still greater reverse. In the early days of his invasion a large force of Canadians, Tories and Indians under General St. Leger had been sent by way of Oswego against Fort Schuyler, at the head of navigation on the Mohawk river, which was occupied by a small garri- son under Colonel Gansevoort. The fort was invested by St. Leger August 3, 1947, but the gallant General Nicholas Herkimer, at the head of militia rallied from the surrounding country, marched to the relief of the garrison. While approaching the fort the patriots fell into an Indian an- buscade and a desperate hand to hand fight ensued in the woods. Herki- mer was defeated, losing 160 men in killed, wounded and prisoners. The Indian loss was but slightly smaller. Hardly had the tumult of the conflict died away when the garrison made a sally from the fort and carried every thing before them, returning with many prisoners, The fearless General Benedict Arnold was on his way from Albany with a detachment for the relief of the fort, and as soon as it was learned that he was near; the treacherous Indians plundered the British camp and fled precipitately. In dismay St. Leger abandoned the siege and re- treated and Fort Schuyler was safe in the hands of the patriots.
Burgoyne naturally was dismayed. As the Americans advanced from the south he crossed the Hudson, September 14, and encamped at Saratoga. On the 19th he attacked the patriot army, but the result was a victory for neither side. The patriots were besieging him. Iu desperation, October ? he hazarded another battle, in which he lost about 700 men, including several officers on which he placed the greatest reliance. Arnold's wild charge, at the head of the command he had resigned, and made without authority, brought a complete
in
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THE END OF THE WAR.
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victory for the American forees. Burgoyne now found himself hemmed in on all sides, with but three days' short rations for the soldiers. He had been entrapped, and the battle of Hoosick was the first great step toward his defeat. On October 17 he agreed to terms of capitulation, and his entire army, numbering 5, 791 men, became captives of the ex- ulting American forces. Among the further fruits of the victory were forty-two pieces of splendid brass artillery, nearly 5, 000 muskets and an immense quantity of ammunition and stores. It was one of the most decisive battles in the history of any war.
Upon learning of the result of the battles of Saratoga the colonists of Rensselaerwyck were overjoyed. Knowing that there was nothing more to fear from the British, at least for some time to come, prepara- tions to abandon their homes and farms ceased as if by magic. The timid were emboldened, those who had been secretly dissatisfied were overawed, and great numbers of the colonists, many of whom, it must be related with sorrow, had belonged to that class known as Tories, and others who had been lukewarm in their support of the cause for which the patriots were fighting, now openly committed their fortunes to the cause of freedom. The proprietor of the manor of Rensselaer- wyck, who had been considered by some as inclined to be tyrannical and selfish, showed his devotion and true friendship by extending every possible assistance to the distressed families who had been fleeing from the path of the invaders.
CHAPTER VI.
Division of New York into Counties and Organization of Rensselaer County-Work of Developing the Resources of the County Renewed-Act Erecting Rensselaer County-The First Judges and other Civil Officers- Description of the County -- Its Geography and Geological Formation.
Rensselaer county is in the eastern tier of the counties of New York State. It is bounded on the north by Washington county, on the east by Vermont and Massachusetts, on the south by Columbia county and on the west by Albany and Saratoga counties, being separated from the land of the two latter counties by the Hudson river. It is situated between latitude 42 degrees 25 minutes and 42 degrees 55 minutes
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north, and longitude 73 degrees 15 minutes and 73 degrees 45 minutes west from Greenwich, or 3 degrees 15 minutes and 3 degrees 45 minutes east from Washington, approximately. Its length from north to south is about thirty-two miles and its width from east to west is about twenty-two miles. Its area is 690 square miles, and its popula- tion, according to the census of 1890, was 124,511. Its estimated population in 1896 was 138,000. The county formerly constituted the eastern half of the manor of Rensselaerwyck, a patent to which was granted the heirs of the first Patroon, Killiaen Van Rensselaer, by Governor Andros in 1678. The warrant given by the Duke of York to Governor Andros authorizing the latter to make the grant is as follows : 1
Whereas I have perused ye peticon of ye heires of Killian Van Renselaer setting forth their right to certaine lands called Renselaers-Wicke (heretofore called William- stadt and now Albany) and have heard the opinions of yourselfe and of my Councell at Law thereupon : these are to will and require you to cause Letters Patents under the Seale of your governm' to be granted to ye said Pet's to graunt and confirme unto ym ye Renselaers-Wieke Colony wth such privileges and imunities as formerly they had (excepting ye fort called Oranges Fort and its outworkes, if any be, and ye lands they stand upon) and whereas dureing ye time they have beene out of posses- sion, vizt since ye yeare 1652. divers persons have built severall houses upon some part of the p'misses, you are to take care yt such prsons and all deriveing undr ym shall remaine in quiet possession of ye same yeilding and paying dureing the terme 31 yeares to Commence from ye date of ye Lres Patents abovemenconed, unto y" said peticôners or their assignes such yearely rent as you wth the advice of yor Councell shall thinke reasonable, not exceeding ye value of two Beaver skins for yr great houses and of one Beaver skin for ye middle sort of houses, and of halfe a Beaver skin for the lesser sort of houses, and from and after ye expiracon of ye said 31 yeares the rent for yr future to be agreed on betweene ye said partyes themselves, or as you of your success for go time being, wiege advice of your Councell shall judge reason- able. All web ye so let's do assent unto. And further you are to take care y' }" Pet" and all yt claime undr ym shall from time to time well and truly pay and prform all publique dutyes and impositions as formerly have beene by ym or their p'decess's and all such as shalbe imposed by my selfe or by you or other my L' Govern" for ye time being upon ye other persons yl hold and enjoy any part of yr lands or Colonyes w'hin the territories of New Yorke or Albany or their Depend- eneyes in America. For all weh ys shalbe your Warr !. Given under my hand & Seale at St. James's y8 7th day of June 1678.
To S' Edm' Andros Ku' and Govern' of )
New Yorke and its Dependencyes in America.
Just sixty years after the Walloons landed at Fort Orange, Nov. 1, 1683, during the reign of Charles II of England, the colony of New
1 Doc. Colonial History of the State of New York, Vol. 3, p. 269.
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DIVISION OF NEW YORK INTO COUNTIES.
York was divided into counties for the first time. For a period of 108 years thereafter all the territory lying northerly and westerly of the division known at that time as Ulster county and adjacent thereto formed Albany county. It was a vast expanse of territory, and for a long time its northern and western boundaries were vague and indefi- nite. The county was again divided by an act of the provincial legis- lature March 24, 1772, and from it two new counties in addition to Albany were erected. They were the counties of Tryon and Charlotte.
Tryon county took its name from William Tryon, the last of the colonial governors of New York. Within its borders lay all that see- tion of the colony west of a line running from the Mohawk river north to the Canada line, at a point near the old village of St. Regis and passing south to the Mohawk between Schenectady and Albany. From north to south its eastern border covered a distance of nearly 200 miles, while its western limit was Lake Erie. Its seat, or shire town, was Johnstown, now the seat of Fulton county and for many years the residence of Sir William Johnson. Tryon and Charlotte counties en- braced practically the entire northern half of what is now New York State.
Charlotte county, named after Princess Charlotte, daughter of George III, was nearly as great in extent as its neighbor on the west. Its western boundary was identical with the eastern boundary of Tryon county. Its southern boundary was the territory now embraced in Saratoga country on the west side of the Hudson, and the Battenkill, in the present Rensselaer county. Most of the present State of Ver- mont which formed a part of the New Hampshire grants, was then claimed by New York, and the western part of this territory also formed a part of the county of Charlotte. Its county seat was at Fort Edward. The southern and eastern boundaries of the county of Albany, which was the original county, were unchanged at this time.
The division of Albany county, briefly stated, was as follows: Tryon and Charlotte counties were taken off in 1772, Columbia in 1786, Rensselaer and Saratoga in 1791, a part of Schoharie in 1795, a part of Greene in 1800 and Schenectady in 1809. The manor of Rensselaer- wyck was erected into a district March 24, 1772. The whole of the present county, except the towns of Schaghticoke, Pittstown, Iloosick, the north part of Lansingburgh and a part of Troy, was comprised in the Rensselaerwyck patent. At the time of the division of Albany county referred to, the section was formally divided into four distriets-
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Rensselaerwyck, Hoosick, Pittstown and Sehaghticoke. Pittstown had previously been organized as a township of Albany county July 23, 1761. Sixteen years after the formation of these four districts the other three were organized as townships of Albany county, and three years later, Feb. 7, 1791, the county of Rensselaer was set apart from Albany county by act of the legislature of the State of New York and named after the old patroon, Killiaen Van Rensselaer.
As soon as peace had supplanted the excitement caused by the local troubles incident to the campaign of General Burgoyne, the farmers of the manor of Rensselaerwyck renewed with greater vigor than ever the work of developing the resources of their possessions. The exist- ing official records of Albany county, in which Rensselaer was in- elnded, show many transactions in real estate during that period. The war continued for six years more in various parts of the united colonies, but its bloody hand was felt no more in the valley of the Upper Hud- son. The threatening clouds of war had passed southward from Northern New York when Burgoyne had handed over his sword to the victorious General Gates, to reappear no more. Long before peace was finally proclaimed prosperity began to be seen on all sides in the inhabited portions of the county. The superior advantages of the ter- ritory adjacent to the Hudson on both sides rapidly became known. Immigrants from Vermont and the valley of the Connecticut, hearing of the opportunities of trade which presented themselves to the settlers in the vicinity of Troy and Albany, and appreciating the ad- vantages of a location near such a market as Albany and within a few days' sail down the Hudson to New York, began flocking to Rensselaer county and purchasing land. New taris were laid out by the dozen, substantial new houses were erected and the trade which had been languishing under the weak colonial government gradually but surely revived. With the advent of farmers came merchants, and these were speedily followed by professional men, mechanies and manufacturers.
The signing of the treaty of peace in 1783 was the signal for great rejoicing. It gave a great impetus to trade, and nowhere was its effect more felt than in this county. The reorganization of the government in all departments was followed by many changes in the county bound- ary lines in New York State. Albany county was divided and re- divided, as has been described in a previous chapter. So rapid had been the growth of that portion on the east side of the Hudson that it was deemed advisable to erect a new county, and on February 7, 1791,
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ACT ERECTING RENSSELAER COUNTY.
the county of Rensselaer was set off, receiving its name from the Patroon, who established the first lasting colony therein-Killiaen Van Rensselaer. The act erecting Rensselaer county is contained in Chap- ter 4 of the laws of 1791 and is entitled: " An act for apportioning the representation in the Legislature according to the rule prescribed by the Constitution ; and for dividing the county of Albany." Omitting the unessential parts of the law it reads:
That the towns of Cambridge and Easton in the county of Albany, shall be and hereby are annexed to, and shall hereafter be considered as part of the county of of Washington. All that part of the residue of the said county of Albany, which is on the east side of a line drawn through the middle of the main stream of Hudsons river with such variations as to include the islands lying nearest to the east bank thereof shall be one separate and distinet county and be called and known by the name of Rensselaer. . And the bounds of the several towns in the said respective counties adjacent to and limited by the Hudsons river and Mohawk river, are hereby extended to and hmited by the bounds of the said respective counties herein described, provided nevertheless that the rights and privileges heretofore granted to the corporation of the city of Albany by charter shall not be in any wise affected or abridged. And the freeholders and inhabitants of the said several counties, shall have and enjoy within the same respectively, all and every the same rights, powers and privileges as the freeholders and inhabitants of any other county in this State and by law entitled to have and enjoy.
And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That there shall be held in and for each of the said counties of Rensselaer and Saratoga respectively, a court of common pleas and a court of general sessions of the peace, at such suitable and convenient place within each of the same counties respectively, as such judges of the court of common pleas and such justices of the peace as shall be appointed for each of the same counties respectively, or a majority of them, shall respectively ap- point : And that there shall be two terms of the same courts in each of the same counties respectively, in every year, to commence and end on the following days, that is to say, the first term of the courts of common pleas and general sessions of the peace in and for the said county of Rensselaer, shall begin on the first Tuesday of May, and may continue to be held until the Saturday following inclusive ; and the second term of the same courts in the the same county of Rensselaer shall begin on the second Tuesday of November, and may continne to be held until the Saturday following inelusive. . . And the said courts of common pleas and general sessions of the peace, shall have the same jurisdiction, powers and authorities in the same counties respectively, as the courts of common pleas and general sessions in the the other counties of this State have in their respective counties.
And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That it shall and may be lawful to and for all courts and officers in the said counties of Rensselaer and Sara- toga respectively, in all cases civil and criminal, to confine their prisoners in the gaol of the county of Albany, until gaols shall be provided in the same counties respeet- ively. Provided nevertheless that nothing in this act contained shall be construed to affect any suit or action already commenced or that shall be commenced before
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the third Tuesday of May next, so as to work a wrong or prejudice to any of the parties therein, or to affeet any criminal or other proceedings, on the part of the people of this State, but all such civil and criminal proceedings shall and may be proceeded to tryal judgment and execution as if this act had never been passed.
And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that this State shall be, and is hereby divided into four great districts. The southern district to comprehend the eity and county of New York, and the counties of Suffolk, Queens, Kings, Rich mond and Westchester; the middle district to comprehend the counties of Dutchess, Ulster and Orange; the western district to comprehend the city and county of Al- bany, and the counties of Saratoga, Montgomery and Ontario; and the eastern dis- triet to comprehend the counties of Columbia, Rensselaer, Washington and Clinton. And that the number of senators to be chosen in the said districts shall be as follows: In the southern district eight; in the middle distriet six; in the western district five, and in the eastern district five. And that John Williams, Alexander Webster, Ed- ward Savage and Peter Van Ness shall be considered as senators from the said eastern district, and as they respectively go out of office, senators shall be chosen in the said eastern district in their places respectively, and at the next annual election, another senator shall be chosen in the said eastern district in the room of Sanmel Townsend, deceased. And Stephen Van Rensselaer, Peter Schuyler, Volkert P. Douw, Leonard Gansevoort and Jellis Fonda, shall be considered as senators from the said western district, and as they respectively go out of office, senators shall be chosen in the said western district in their places respectively; and that no person shall be chosen in the southern district in the room of the said Samuel Townsend deceased; and the clerk of the Senate is hereby directed to give give notices of the elections accordingly.
Provision was also made for the election of five members of the Assembly from the county of Rensselaer.
The first judges of the new county were Anthony Ten Eyck, who had the title of First Judge; John Van Rensselaer, Israel Thompson, Robert Woodworth and Jonathan Brown, who were designated simply as Judges; John Knickerbocker, jr., John W. Schermerhorn, Jonathan Niles, Benjamin Hicks, Nicholas Staats, Robert Montgomery, Moss Kent and John E. Van Allen, known as Assistant Justices. The First Judge was the presiding judge. The Assistant Justices were appointed by the Governor from among the Justices of the Peace. The first Justices of the Peaee who held office in 1791 were: Anthony Ten Eyck, John Van Rensselaer, Israel Thompson, Robert Woodworth, Jonathan Brown, John Knickerbocker, jr., John W. Schermerhorn, Jonathan Niles, Benjamin Hicks, Nicholas Staats, Robert Montgomery, Moss Kent, John E. Van Allen, Levinus Lansing, Jonah Martin, Ilosea Moffit, Daniel B. Bradt, Joseph Spencer, David Brown, Moses Vail, James MeKown, Abner Newton, Stephen Gorham, Jacob Van Alstyne, Ephraim Morgan, Josiah Masters, Gerrit Winne, Jacob.A. Lansing,
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