USA > New York > Wayne County > Military history of Wayne County, N.Y. : the County in the Civil War > Part 11
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MILITARY HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY.
session of the posts on our borders, and within our bounds until an amicable settlement of these difficulties, and which settlement, I think, took place in 1796."
The conversation which passed between Mr. Williamson and Lieut. Sheaffe, as recorded by Mr. Williamson, is as follows :
Lieut. Sheaffe .- " I am commissioned by Governor Sim- coe to deliver the papers, and require an answer."
Mr. Williamson .- " I am a citizen of the United States and under their authority and protection, I possess these lands, I know no right that his Brittanic Majesty, or Gover- nor Simcoe, has to interfere, or molest me. The only alle- giance I owe to any power on earth, is to the United States ; and so far as being intimidated by threats from people I have no connection with, I shall proceed with my improve- ments, and nothing but superior force shall make me aban- don the place. Is the protest of Gov. Simcoe intended to apply to Sodus exclusively ?"
Lieut. Sheaffe .- "By no means! It is to embrace all the Indian lands purchased since the peace of 1783.'
Mr. Williamson .- " And what are Gov. Simcoe's inten- tions, supposing the protest is disregarded ?"
Lieut. Sheaffe .- " I am merely the official bearer of the papers ; but I have a further message to deliver from Gov. Simcoe ; which is that he reprobates your conduct exceed- ingly for endeavoring to obtain flour from Upper Canada ; and that should he permit it, it would be acknowledging the right of the United States to these Indian Lands."
" The news of this hostile demonstration on the part of one, seeming to act by authority from the British Govern- ment was soon spread through all the settlement of the Genesee country.
" At no period since the settlement commenced, had the conduct of the Indians so much favored the worst appre- hensions. Harmar and St. Clair had in turn been defeated and repulsed by the Western Indians, and the issue that Wayne had made with them was pending ; his defeat being not improbable, in view of the formidable enemy with which he had to contend. Evidences of British aid to the Western Indians, against General Wayne, was furnished by return- ing adventurers from the West, and every traveler that came through the wilderness from Niagara, confirmed the worst suspicions of all that was going on at that focus of British machinations, against the peace of the defenceless border settlers.
" It was, also, ominous of danger, that the Senecas, in their immediate neighborhood, had, it may almost be said,
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MILITARY HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY.
armed and moved off in considerable numbers, to become confederates against General Wayne, bearing upon their persons the blankets, broadcloths, calicos and war decora- tions served to them from the King's store-house at Niagara, by the hands of Colonel John Butler, whose very name was a terror, for it was mingled with the chiefest horrors and the darkest deeds of the border wars of the Revolution.
" If Wayne should be defeated, it was but natural to sup- pose that the Senecas who had gone West and made them- selves confederates against him, would bring back with them, upon their war-path, allies from the Western tribes to renew the bloody scenes that had been enacted upon the banks of the Mokawk and the Susquehannah.
" Such being the cotemporary state of things, it is not strange that the landing of even a boat-load of British troops upon the soil of the Genesee country, though their errand was but to bring a threatening protest, appeared to be a circumstance of no trifling magnitude. It must also be taken into account how feeble in numbers, how exposed, and how weak in all things necessary to a successful defence were the then new settlements of the Genesee country. All this, clear from a brief retrospect of the commencement and progress of settlement, and added to what this will show, should be the consideration that the settlers came into the wilderness unprepared for war. They came relying upon a treaty of peace. Wearied with war and all its harrassing effects, they had more than figuratively beaten their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks. They had come to subdue the wilderness, and not to subdue their fellow-men.
"The rumors of war came to the sparse settlements, and the solitary log-cabins, dotted down in the wilderness, like the decrees of fate, to be added to all the sufferings and endurances of pioneer life.
" But a few weeks previous to all this, there had been, as if by concert, a far more than usual emigration of New York Indians to Canada. They went from most of the Six Nations, in detached parties, and a very large proportion of the Onon- dagas had emigrated in a body. The demeanor of the Sen- ecas had undergone a marked change. By some unseen but suspected influence, they had become morose and quarrel- some. A far more than usual number of outrages were committed upon the new settlers; in fact, the principal ones that are now remembered happened about this period. These facts were not without their influence in converting the circumstances of the landing of an armed force at Sodus Bay into a preliminary measure, the sequel of which might 9
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MILITARY HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY.
prove the breaking out of a general war, having for its object the recovery of the soil of the Genesee country by the In- dians, and the bringing of it again under British dominion.
" It will surprise those who are not familiar with early events in the Genesee country, when they are told that as late as 1794, eight years after settlement had been com- menced, there was but little intercourse or communication with Albany and New York. Philadelphia and Baltimore, and especially the latter, had far more intimate relations with all this region. To the papers of those cities, the settlers in these backwoods looked for news, and in them events trans- piring here, were generally recorded.
" On the first of September, the affair at Sodus was announced in the Maryland Gazette, in a letter from Phila- delphia, accompanied by the intelligence that an express had arrived at the then seat of government, with despatches for the War Office. Immediately after the departure of Lieut. Sheaffe, Mr. Williamson, with the co-operation of other prominent citizens, adopted the most energetic measures, as well for the purpose of preparing for the contingency, which he had good reasons for supposing would occur, as to give assurances of safety and protection to the inhabitants. He not only sent an express rider to the seat of government, as indicated by the correspondent of the Maryland Gazette, but he also despatched one to Albany. He forwarded by the messengers, letters to Edmund Ran- dolph, Secretary of State, to Gen. Knox, Secretary of War, and to Gov. George Clinton.
" In these letters he detailed all that had transpired, sug- gested some measures of protection, and gave assurances that the mandate of Gov. Simcoe would be disregarded."
In the letter to General Knox, he says :
"It is pretty well ascertained that for some time past, quantities of military stores and ammunition have been for- warded to Oswego. This makes me think it not improba- ble that Lieut. Sheaffe will take a forcible possession of Sodus on his return. I shall, however, without relaxing, go on with my business there, until drove off by a superior force. It is needless for me to trouble you with any comments on this unparalleled piece of insolence, and gross insult to the government of the United States."
Mr. Williamson seems to have been prompt and active in meeting the emergency which appeared to have arisen. He not only notified the officials of the United States Govern- ment and of the State of New York, but also wrote a letter to Sir William Pulteney, in which he says:
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MILITARY HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY.
" I shall make no further comment on this business, than to observe, that though short of actual hostilities, it completes the unequaled insolent conduct of Mr. Simcoe towards this government. Mr. Simcoe's personal of myself and you, I treat with the scorn it deserves, but I beg leave to give you a sketch of his political conduct. On his first arrival in this country, by deep laid schemes he has prevented every possibility of an accommodation between this country and the hostile Indians, and this summer, by his intrigues, he has drawn several tribes of friendly Indians from the ter- ritory of the United States to the British side of the lines, and left nothing undone to induce the Six Nations, our neighbors, to take up the hatchet the moment he gives the word. You must be acquainted with his marching a body of armed troops, and erecting a Fort at the Rapids of the Miami, seventy miles within the territory of the United States, but this being an extensive wilderness, seemed of less importance.
" Not content with this, he has now interfered with our settlements, in a manner so unlike the dignity of a great nation that it must astonish you. If it is the intention of the British ministry, by low and underhanded schemes, to keep alive a harrassing war against helpless women and children, or by murders on this frontier, to add to the list of murders already committed by the influence of their servants here, and to treat this government with the most unwarrant- able insolence and contempt, I allow that Mr. Simcoe is the most industrious and faithful servant the British govern- ment ever had. But if it is the intention to cultivate a friendly intercourse with this country, it can never take place while such is the conduct of their Governor here. For my own part, I think it would be doing the government of Great Britain a most essential service, should their intentions towards the country be friendly, to . show their ministry the conduct of Gov. Simcoe; and I write this letter that you may show it to Mr. Dundas, or Mr. Pitt, if you think proper. Their knowledge of me, I am convinced, will give it sufficient weight. If these transactions are in consequence of orders from Great Britain, and their views are hostile, there is nothing further to be said."
"All this state of doubt, suspicion and fear was, however, to be ended and that promptly. While these things were progress- ing, and only four days after the affair at Sodus, in fact, before Gov. Simcoe would have had time to execute his threats, the great measure of deliverance for the Genesee country and the few scattered border settlers of the west, had been consummated. "Mad Anthony," had met the confederated
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MILITARY HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY.
bands of the hostile Indians of the west, and almost under the very walls of a fortress held by their British allies, achieved a signal victory. Those upon whom Gov. Simcoe was relying for aid, (for it is evident that he looked to a descent of the western Indians upon the Genesee country in case the war was renewed,) were humbled and suing for peace. This alone would have averted his worst intentions, and added to this, was the consideration that Mr. Jay had sailed for London on the 12th of May, clothed with ample powers from the government to arrange all matters of dispute. " As early as the 3d of July, preceding the visit of Lieutenant Sheaffe, to Sodus, a representation had been made to the War Department, of the exposed condition of the new set- tlers in the Genesee country, the danger of Indian disturb- ances promoted by British agents at Niagara, and the neces- sity of some means of defence. To which, Gen. Knox, the Secretary of War, had replied in substance, that some offi- cial use had been made of the communication, by the Secre- tary of War, in his correspondence with the British minister, that a conference was to be held with the Six Nations at Canandaigua, in September, for the purpose of conciliating, and establishing finally a peace with them if possible. In reply to an application for arms, the Secretary says, that an order had been issued in favor of the Governor of New York, for one thousand muskets, cartridge boxes, and bayo- nets.
The following copy of a letter from President Washing- ton to Mr. Jay, our then minister in London, possesses much of a general historical interest, and will aid the reader in a full understanding of the questions then at issue, so far as this local region was concerned :
" AUGUST 30, 1794.
" As you will receive letters from the Secretary of State's office, giving an official account of the public occurrences as they have arisen and advanced, it is unnecessary for me to retouch any of them ; and yet, I cannot restrain myself from making some observations on the most recent of them, the communication of which was received this morning only. I mean the protest of the Governor of Upper Canada, deliv- ered by Lieutenant Sheaffe, against our occupying lands far from any of the posts, which, long ago, they ought to have surrendered, and far within the known, and until now, the acknowledged limits of the United States.
"On this irregular and high-handed proceeding of Mr. Simcoe, which is no longer masked, I would rather hear what the ministry of Great Britain will say, than pronounce
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MILITARY HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY.
my own sentiments thereon. But can that government, or will it attempt, after this official act of one of their governors, to hold out ideas of friendly intentions towards the United States, and suffer such conduct to pass with impunity ?
" This may be considered as the most open and daring act of the British agents in America, though it is not the most hostile and cruel ; for there does not remain a doubt in the mind of any well-informed person in this country, not shut against conviction, that all the difficulties we encounter with the Indians, their hostilities, the murders of helpless women and children, along our frontiers, result from the conduct of agents of Great Britain in this country. In vain is it then for its administration in Britain, to disavow having given orders which will warrant such conduct, whilst their agents go unpunished ; while we have a thousand corroborating circumstances, and indeed as many evidences, some of which cannot be brought forward, to prove that they are seducing from our alliances, and endeavoring to remove over the line, tribes that have hitherto been kept in peace and friendship with us at a heavy expense, and who have no causes of com- plaint, except pretended ones of their creating ; whilst they keep in a state of irritation the tribes that are hostile to us, and are instigating those who know little of us, or we of them, to unite in the war against us; and whilst it is an undeniable fact, that they are furnishing the whole with arms, ammunition, clothing, and even provisions to carry on the war. I might go farther, and if they are not much belied, add, men also in disguise.
"Can it be expected, I ask, so long as these things are known in the United States, or at least firmly believed, and suffered with impunity bv Great Britain, that there ever will or can be any cordiality between the two countries ? I answer-No! And I will undertake, without the gift of prophecy to predict, that it will be impossible to keep this country in a state of amity with Great Britain long, if these posts are not surrendered. A knowledge of these being my sentiments, would have but little weight, I am persuaded, with the British administration, or perhaps with the Nation, in effecting the measures, but both may rest satisfied, that if they want to be at peace with this country, and to enjoy the benefits of its trade, to give up the posts is the only road to it. Withholding them, and the consequences we feel at present continuing, war will be inevitable."
This affair at Sodus Point must therefore be regarded as one of considerable historical importance. Indeed, as seen above, General Washington pronounced it "the most open
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MILITARY HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY.
and daring act of the British agents in America, though not the most hostile and cruel." It was a very strong point urged upon the American minister, Mr. Jay, in the instruc- tions given him with reference to the negotiating of a new treaty.
The affair at the Point occurred on the 16th of August, 1794. On the 20th, Mad Anthony Wayne won the great victory over the Indians at the battle of Miami, as noticed in the account already given. Whatever else may have led to the bestowal of his name upon this county at its organiza- tion twenty-eight years afterwards, it was at least a just tribute of respect to his memory for the distinguished services which at that critical time rendered nugatory Gov. Simcoe's protest and defeated the evident intentions of those who had perpetrated this " invasion of the Genesee Country" at Sodus Point.
It would be a matter of local interest to state the exact spot upon the beach where Thomas Morris received Lieut. Sheaffe, and the site of the log cabin, in which Capt. Williamson, seated with a brace of pistols before him, received the bearer of the hostile message. The published accounts of the event contain no information on these unimportant items. Before the erection of the piers the tract towards the Lake now filled in with sand was open water. Indeed residents of Sodus, still comparatively young, remember that it continued so for many years after the piers were built. The most natural landing place for a row boat coming from a vessel anchored without, with no piers in the way, would have been the northern side of " Sand Point," in the vicinity of Mr. Hopkins' present residence, or possibly nearer the main land, close up to the foot of the present main street of the village. Capt. Williamson had that year begun his improvements at Sodus Point. The "tavern house," built at a cost of $5,000, upon the site of David Rogers' present residence, must have been in process of erection. The "Old Sodus Road" from Palmyra to the Point had been cut through that spring. The mill up the creek in the edge of the woods south of the present Lake Shore Mills, at Maxwell, was also doubtless either built or
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MILITARY HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY.
work upon it commenced. The log cabin in which Capt. Williamson met Lieut. Sheaffe was doubtless one of the temporary buildings hastily erected that spring for the accommodation of laborers, agents and surveyors, and its site cannot now be pointed out.
CHAPTER VII.
MILITIA, 1790 TO 1845-PARADES - GENERAL TRAININGS-LIST OF COMMIS- SIONED OFFICERS, PREPARED FROM OFFICIAL SOURCES AT ALBANY.
W AYNE County having been formed in part from Ontario, and the latter dating back to January 27, 1789, it becomes necessary to notice military arrange- ments under the name of Ontario, in order to clearly trace the beginnings of those in Wayne. The earlier appoint- ments of officers do not include the names of any men from the section of county which afterwards constituted Wayne county ; yet the names of settlers upon this territory begin to appear at a very early date, as John Swift, in 1792 ; Joel Foster and David White, in 1793 ; Joseph Colt, Evert Van- Wickle and Azariah Willis, in 1798. The names found in several of the following pages may have all been beyond the boundaries of Wayne county ; yet many of them were so near its borders, and many others were so intimately known to the early citizens of this county, that no apology is needed for giving them so fully.
To understand the appointments given under various county names, it must be remembered that the present ter- ritory of Wayne county was all a part of Montgomery county prior to January 27, 1789 ; that after that date it was in Ontario and Montgomery until February 16, 1791 ; that after that date it was in Ontario and Herkimer, until March 5, 1794 ; then from that date it was in Ontario and Onondaga until March 8, 1799 ; that then it was in Ontario and Cayuga until March 29, 1804 ; that next it was included in Ontario and Seneca until April 11, 1823. To trace militia appoint- ments in the six eastern towns of Wayne county, we are obliged to examine under a variety of names for a period of thirty years or more.
The records of the Council of appointment preserved in the Secretary of State's office at Albany, furnish the author- ities for the following notes :
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MILITARY HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY.
Under date of April 7, 1790, the first military appointments seem to have been made for Ontario county, and are as follows :
Major-Isaiah Thompson.
Captains-John Wells, Ebenezer Lindley, Jr.
Lieutenants-Amos Hall, William Harris.
Ensigns-Alexander Ewing, Caleb Gardner.
It was the year before that the Stansells and Featherlys were making the first settlement at Lyons; the earliest in Wayne county.
March 8, 1791, it is recorded that "in Major Abraham Hardenburgh's Battalion, in General Volkert Veeder's Brig- ade, at Canadasega," the following appointments were made :
Captain -Elias Jackson.
Lieutenant-Peter Bortle, Jr.
Ensign-James Manning Reed; County of Ontario
March 12, 1792, at a meeting of the Council of appoint- ment, held at the Government House in the city of New York, on Thursday, the 22d day of March, 1792, His Excel- lency, the Governor, having signified that it was necessary for the convenience of the inhabitants and the protection of the frontier settlements to form the militia of Ontario county into one regiment and two battalions, it was resolved that the following persons be, and they are hereby appointed :
Othniel Taylor, Lieutenant-Colonel Commandant of a regi- ment of Militia in the County of Ontario :
First Major-Benjamin Wells.
Second Major-Amos Hall.
Captains-Robert Tofts, Nathaniel Norton, John Swift, Israel Chapin, Jr., Arnold Potter, John Ganson, William Wadsworth, Nathan Perry, James Austin.
Lieutenants - Asa Burchard, Ebenezer Norton, Joseph Smith, Horatius Jones, Aaron Beach, Joseph Morgan, William Pelts.
Ensigns-Jasper Peck, Jr., Jared Boughton, Orange Bragg, James D. Fish, Alexander Ewing, James Culbertson, Cheney Hyde, Peregrine Gardner.
Elias Jackson, Major of a Battalion in Ontario county. 66 Phineas Pierce, 2d Major,
Captains-Peter Bortle, Thomas Prentiss, Sanford Will- iams, Oliver Humphrey.
Lieutenants-Joram Lanamis, Joseph Annin, James M. Reed, William Burnet.
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MILITARY HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY.
Ensigns - Clark Jennings, Benajah Mallery, Solomon Warner, Charles Humphrey.
Samuel Lindley, Major of a Battalion in Ontario county. Ezekiel Milford, 2d Major, 66
Captains-John Seeley, Hezekiah Thurber, Solomon Ben- nett.
Lieutenants- John Wyman, Ichabod Patterson, John Stephens.
Ensigns-Eleazer Lindley, Jr., Frederick Cateing, Richard Crosby.
Thomas Morris, Captain of a Troop of Horse.
Nathaniel Gorham, Captain of a Company of Artillery.
It was noted that the above appointments were not to be construed so as to interfere in the appointment of a Brig- adier-General, when a Brigade is found necessary to be formed in said county.
April 12, 1792, Moses Atwater was appointed Surgeon of Lieutenant-Colonel Othniel Taylor's regiment.
Stephen Hopkins, Surgeon in the Battalion of Militia whereof Samuel Lindley is a Major.
October 3, 1793, there were appointed in the county of Ontario, the following officers in Lieutenant-Colonel Othniel Taylor's Regiment :
Adjutant-James D. Fish.
Paymaster-John Clark.
Quartermaster-Matthew Marvin.
Captain-William Gooding.
Ensign-Theophilus Allen.
A NEW COMPANY.
Captain-Jonathan Lee.,
Lieutenant-Rouse Perry. Ensign -Benjamin Clark.
A NEW COMPANY.
Captain-Asahel Burchard. Lieutenant-John Mynard.
Ensign-Asa Baker.
Lieutenants - Israel Stone, Jasper Peck Sears, Jared Boughton.
Ensign-Israel Beach.
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MILITARY HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY.
A NEW COMPANY.
Captain-David White.
Lieutenants-Joel Foster, Orange Brace.
Ensigns-Abiathar Powers, Ezra Platt.
Ezra Patterson, Captain of Artillery, vice Nathaniel Gorham, declined.
Abner Barlow, Ist Lieutenant of Artillery.
Samuel Colt, 2d Lieutenant of Artillery.
Samuel Gardner, Ist Lieutenant of the Troop of Horse. Frederick Hosmer, 2d Lieutenant of the Troop of Horse.
John Johnston, Cornet of the Troop of Horse.
Also in the Battalion of Major Elias Jackson.
A NEW COMPANY.
Captain-Joseph Annin.
Lieutenant-Truman Spencer.
Ensign-Martin Spencer.
Solomon Warner, Lieutenant, vice James M. Reed, declined.
Nathan Whitney, Ensign, vice Solomon Warner, promoted. Aikens, Lieutenant, vice Joseph Annin, promoted.
Adjutant-Jabez B. Dexter.
Surgeon-Deodatus Allen.
Quartermaster-Benjamin Barter.
Paymaster-Alexander Birnie.
October 7, 1793, in Major Elias Jackson's Battalion, Marseny Wheaton, Ensign.
April 8, 1795, His Excellency, the Governor, having sig- nified his intention to form the Militia of Ontario and Onon- daga into a Brigade, Othniel Taylor was appointed Brigadier- General in command of said Brigade.
April 2, 1796, on the report and recommendation of the Adjutant-General, His Excellency, the Commander-in-Chief, has thought proper to divide the Regiment commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Benjamin Wells, in the Brigade of Gen- eral Taylor, comprehending the counties of Ontario, Onon- daga and Steuben into two regiments; the first of the said regiments to be bounded by No. 8 to 13 in the second range of Phelps & Gorham's purchase, and from No. 7 to No. 13 in the third range, and from No. 7 to No. 13 in the fourth range of said purchase ; of this regiment Lieutenant-Colonel Wells together with all such of the officers as reside within the said bounds are to retain their respective commands.
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