USA > New York > Rockland County > The history of Rockland County > Part 34
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On September 5th, 1863, Provost Marshall Leonard reported to Colonel Robert Nugent, Acting Assistant Provost Marshall General, that he was ready to begin the drawing, and suggested to him the advisability of having a military force at Tarrytown during the days of the draft. The draft began Wednesday, September 23d, 1863. On Tuesday, September 22d, three companies of the 26th Michigan Volunteers and one battalion of the 2d Connecticut Flying Artillery with two guns, arrived at Tarry- town and went into camp. On the following morning a detachment of 60 men of the Metropolitan Police, under Inspector Dilks, reported to Marshall Leonard for duty. The drawing proceeded in the most peaceful manner. Rockland County was drawn during the third day.
The number of men from this County held for service by this draft was 204. Of the conscripts, an even half dozen served in person, namely : Odell Gardner, of Haverstraw; Richard Williams, Isaac Osborne, John Van Zile, Lewis Matthews, of Ramapo, and Wm. Brown, å Negro, of Clarkstown.
On October 17th, 1863, the President called for 300,000 volunteers, and ordered a draft to fill all deficiencies which might exist, Jan. 5th, 1864. Under this call the quota for Rockland County was 221 men divided among the towns thus :
Haverstraw - - 91 Clarkstown - - - 38
Orangetown - - - 55 Ramapo - - 37
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In order to facilitate recruiting, a recruiting agent was appointed for each town in the 10th District, by the Board of Enrolment, by Dec. Ist, 1863. Those appointed in our County were: Lieut. James H. Christie, for Orangetown ; Capt. William D. Furman, for Ramapo; William Snyder, for Clarkstown, and Frederick Tomkins, for Haverstraw.
A special town meeting was held at the Town House, in Orangetown, on Dec. 21st, 1863, at which it was resolved that every person liable to the draft should pay $25 before Jan. 4th, 1864; that the town should offer a bounty of $350 cash for volunteers to the number of 72; that $28,000 or as much of it as was needed, should be raised for those boun- ties by the issue of town bonds of the value of $100 or upward ; that a committee of seven should be appointed by Town Clerk, Henry Blauvelt, to obtain volunteers. The following were appointed :
I. P. Smith, David I. Tallman, Richard De Cantillon.
John H. Westervelt, Lawrence Mann, Tunis J. Blauvelt.
C. Van Antwerp,
On Dec. 28th. a special town meeting in Clarkstown resulted in a resolve to give a bounty of $380 for volunteers, and that the sum of $19,000 be raised by tax to meet this appropriation. On Dec. 31st, the people of Ramapo decided, at a special town meeting, to pay $375 bounty for volunteers, and to raise $18,000 by tax for this purpose.
On Jan. 1Ith, 1864, a special town meeting was held at Benson's Corners. It was then decided, by a vote of 186 to 108, that the town of Haverstraw should raise 75 men, or as many of that number as possible, by a bounty of $350 each ; that the Supervisor should raise $27,000 on the town's credit, this latter to be met by a general town tax, for the purpose of paying these bounties; that each person liable to be drawn should pay $25, the money from this fund to be used, first to pay boun- ties and then to pay exemptions for such as join the fund; that John I. Cole, Prince W. Nickerson, James Eckerson, Denton Fowler and Richard Washburn should be the committee to receive the $25 payments, and that the committee should have the power to reduce or remit this sum in the cases of people too poor to pay, they to have the same benefit as the payers.
On January 18th, 1864, another special town meeting was held in Haverstraw, in pursuance of a call issued January 13th, to reconsider the resolutions passed January 1Ith. At this meeting those resolutions were rescinded by a majority of 137, and the following carried by a vote of 134 :
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That volunteers and substitutes be furnished for all persons who pay $25 and are drawn. That the Supervisor of the town should borrow on its credit a sufficient sum to pay each volunteer or substitute not more than $400. If a sufficient number of volunteers or substitutes could not be obtained, then the exemption fee of each man, who had joined the fund, should be paid. By February 18th, the Supervisor reported that 312 people had paid $25. Of these, 144 at a later period withdrew their money.
By March 10th, 1864, volunteering to fill the quotas had been carried on in the district to the following extent: Veteran re-enlistments, 358; volunteers, 613 ; Invalid Corps, 4. The number above or under the quota for each township in our County then stood as follows :
Orangetown, over quota, 44 14 Ramapo, over quota, 40
Clarkstown,
Haverstraw, under quota, 133
A special town meeting was again held at Benson's Corners on March 30th, 1864, at which the Supervisor of the town of Haverstraw was em- powered to raise $36,000 for bounty purposes on the town's credit, no single bounty to exceed $300, and further, " to raise 120 men to fill the quota of said town, or so many thereof as in the opinion of the Town Board of said town it may be just right for the said town to furnish as her proper quota, under the late calls of the President for men." All former resolutions passed at any special town meeting since the beginning of the year, were rescinded. On April 21st, 1864, the Rockland County Mes- senger contained the following editorial :
"OUR QUOTA."
" Our four towns present quite a contrast with reference to the draft, or rather, we should say, Haverstraw is quite in contrast with the other three towns. Including all calls for troops, Ramapo has not only filled her quota, but has ten surplus. Orangelown will have a deficiency of one; Clarkstown of seventeen, and Haverstraw of two hundred and twelve."
Previous to the second draft, on March Ist, 1864, Hon. Moses G. Leonard resigned from the position of Provost Marshall and W. W. Pier- son, of Westchester County, was appointed in his stead. The second draft began on May 9th, 1864. Three hundred and eleven were drawn from Haverstraw and sixteen from Clarkstown. The other townships had filled their quotas. On the same day that the draft occurred, "the Super- visor of Clarkstown presented sixteen volunteer enlistments, effected pre- vious to the draft and the notices (to drafted men in that township) were not served."
In the second draft the names were taken from the same enrolment as
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that used at first, and, for reasons of which I have spoken, Haverstraw had I26 names drawn of persons who did not report. In this draft her people determined, if possible, to put in men, instead of paying exemptions, and for this purpose offered the sum of $300 to each drafted man, who would furnish a substitute, he to furnish the difference between this amount and the bounty paid. By June 9th, 1864, only 17 volunteers had been ob- tained by the payment of bounties ranging from $500 to $600. Under these circumstances a further draft became necessary to meet the defici- ency, and the drawing of 213 names was held on June 15th. This drew a protest from the people of Haverstraw. For various reasons a new en- rollment had been ordered for Rockland County, and Silas G. Mackey appointed enrolling officer for Haverstraw.
On June 23d, at a special town meeting held at Benson's Corners, resolutions were passed that the Board of Town Auditors should raise a sum, not exceeding $75,000, or so much thereof as might be necessary, for the purpose of paying bounties to volunteers for the army or navy during the continuance of the war. It was then voted that all previous resolutions made since January Ist, 1864, should be rescinded.
The third call for men, made by the President, was issued July 18th, 1864, and gave 500,000 as the number needed. Quotas for this call were based on the revised enrolment.
To meet this demand, the people of Orangetown, at a special meeting held during the first week in December, voted to raise the bounty to $800 per volunteer. The draft to fill the quotas took place at Tarrytown, Sep- tember 23d, 1864. Orange and Clarkstown, having filled their quotas, were not drawn upon ; but 194 names were called from Haverstraw, and 112 from Ramapo.
The annual meeting of the Board of Supervisors in our County was held October 4th, 1864. At this the following resolution, introduced by William Dickey, Supervisor for Orangetown, was unanimously adopted : " That the resolutions passed by this Board at their special meetings, held June 14th, June 23d and September 2d, 1864, empowering the several towns to raise the sums therein named severally, are hereby reaffirmed ; and that, in addition, and for the same purpose, and in the same manner, the town of Orangetown be empowered to raise a further sum of $25,000 ; the town of Clarkstown, $8,000; the town of Haverstraw, $75,000, and the town of Ramapo, $25,000." Early in December, 1864, the President called for 300,000 more men, and gave till February 15th, 1865 to raise this number, fixing that date for a draft to fill all deficiencies. The quotas for Rockland were :
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Haverstraw,
I36 Ramapo,
81
Orangetown,
107
Clarkstown,
82
Before the close of the year, the people, at special town meetings in Orangetown, Ramapo and Clarkstown, had determined on raising volun- teers by the payment of bounties, the funds for which should be obtained by a tax on taxable property. In Haverstraw a special meeting was held January 5th, 1865. At this it was determined, that each person in the town liable to be drawn should pay $25 into a fund to be used, either for the purpose of paying exemptions or bounties, on or before January 20th. Any drafted person who had not paid this sum would have to pay $100 to obtain the benefits of the fund. It was further decided, that sufficient money be raised by a tax on taxable property, to meet any deficiency. This Special meeting was followed by another at Benson's Corners on February 3d, at which it was resolved to test the legality of the resolutions held on January 5th, because, among other things, it fixed no sum for bounties. At this meeting it was further resolved to pay $300 for each substitute.
A drawing took place in Tarrytown on February 21st, 1865, at which 1 12 names were taken from Haverstraw. The other townships in our County having filled their quotas were not called upon.
Still another special meeting was held at Benson's Corners on Feb- ruary 27th, at which the resolutions passed at the meeting of January 5th were re-affirmed as according to an act of the Legislature, passed February 10th, 1865. It was then resolved that a further sum of $10,000 be raised if necessary, and that the bounties offered should be: $300 for one year men ; $400 for two year men ; $600 for three year men, and $100 hand money in addition thereto. Before any further calls were made, General R. E. Lee had surrendered, closely followed by Gen'l Johnson, and the long war was over.
In summing up the results of the draft, the Rockland County Journal for August 4th, 1865, makes the following statement: " Each of our towns has met in full all the calls upon it with the single exception of Haver- straw, which is indeed the only town in the entire district which had not a surplus at the time of the order to stop recruiting.
The vast expenses of the war, the appreciation in values, the tremen- dous issue of promises to pay, called greenbacks ; led to recklessness in the handling of money, led to dishonest practices. One very common method in connection with the draft was for the Supervisors of the towns to pocket the difference between what the towns offered for bounties and the bounty paid. Thus if the bounty offered was $300, and the Supervisor
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obtained a substitute for $200, in too many cases the $100 difference was not turned back to the town's credit. It is with pleasure that I here record the action of John E. Hogencamp, Supervisor for Clarkstown from 1862 to 1867. With every temptation which beset others, and with too common usage as an example, this public officer remained true to his con- stituents and his manhood, and every dollar that he could save for his electors was turned into the town funds. The amount expended by Clarks- town, in filling the different calls made for men, was $115,891.25.
In regard to the debt incurred for war purposes, known as the War Debt, Rockland County was one of the first in the State to pay it in full and her financial record on this momentous matter stands among the highest in the State.
It is necessary now to review the political actions of our citizens dur- ing the period of Civil War. I have already said that the Democratic Party was abruptly split into two wings by the opening of hostilities, a schism which constantly widened, until by the autumn of 1861, each fac- tion had adopted principles which prevented any possible re-union. The Peace or disunion, I would here state that I use the name disunion in its correct sense and not as a title of reproach, party named its adversary " Black Republican," a name intended to express obloquy and given because of the abolition principles held by its members. The Republicans retaliated by calling their opponents "Copper-heads," a term of oppro- brium taken from a venomous and sluggish snake common to the North- ern States, which bites without the warning given by the rattlesnake. Each side gloried in its appellation, members of one wearing pins made from the Indian heads cut from the copper coin then in circulation.
Shortly after President Lincoln's inauguration he called an extra ses- sion of Congress to meet July 4th, 1861. To this the Peace Democrats sent a petition from our County, addressed to " The Honorable, the Senate and House of Representatives in Congress assembled," which was signed by the names that follow it, most of the signatures being in the original handwriting of the signers.
"The undersigned citizens of the State of New York beg leave to present to your honorable body most respectfully the following petition, to wit :
While they hold themselves ready to maintain and uphold their government in the constitu- tional exercise of all its powers, yet they would respectfully pray, for the purpose of preventing the horrors of civil war, and for securing the perpetuity of our Union, that you will adopt the policy of an immediate General Convention of all the States as suggested in the Inaugural of the President, or any other compromise by which these ends may be obtained. Earnestly deploring civil war as the greatest calamity that can befall a nation, WE PRAY YOU MAY ADOPT ANY COURSE that may bring peace to our distracted country.
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John M. Baker, David 1. Tallman.
D. Van Houten,
Jacob H. Derondi,
M. M. Dickinson,
Spencer Youmans,
J. F. Ilogencamp, A. A. Demarest, Wm. D. Youmans,
Henry Palmer, P. A. Harring,
Henry House,
Isaac Vervalen,
John Wm. Voris,
William Palmer.
T. A. Demarest, Peter Van Houten.
Martin Knapp,
Joseph Wool,
Wm. Coates,
John Stephens,
I. F. Hawpton,
Wm. Knapp,
John Storms,
Abr. F. Laloe,
J. C. Haring, Peter A. Smith,
George Stephens,
Nelson Gurnee,
Samson Marks, Jr.
Jacob Mackie,
Joseph Baker,
John Garrabrant,
H. L. Sherwood,
Spencer Gurnee,
Wm. Garrabrant,
A. T. Seaman,
A. J. Smith,
H. Hoffman, John Morphed,
Isaac I .. Sherwood,
Wm. R. Knapp,
C. H. Demarest,
John H. Ryder,
John Blauvelt,
R. H. Cooke,
William L. Richards,
Chauncey Brady,
G. A. Demarest.
Peter Stephens, James C. Wool,
Aaron Ryder,
Chas. E. Smith,
A. B. Cornelison,
Joseph Blauvelt,
Edwin P. Palmer,
John C. P'olhemus,
Isaac Blanch,
A. Van Tassel,
James F. Mckenzie,
Christine Huber,
M. Green,
Thos. Van Orden,
Jacob Blanch,
G. W. Chamberlain,
George Derondi,
Christian Popp,
J. W. Bates,
D. D. Ackerman,
Isaac Tallman,
Thos. Burd,
H. T. Blauvelt,
Nelson Stephens,
Ed. McGowan,
H. B. Fenton,
P. Wm. Nickerson,
Rich. Grandwell,
Jacob Horn,
Garret Stockum,
John W. Felter,
John W. Stephens,
John J. Post,
A. Blakeslee,
John Tallman, Jr.,
Wm. Bleecker,
John Palmer,
Samuel Helms,
Tunis Blauvelt,
Peter Conklin,
Abr. Iserman,
Jeremiah Knapp,
James Allen,
John Iserman,
P. D. W. Smith,
Peter De Pew,
A. G. Polhemus,
S. D. Demarest,
David O. Storms,
James P. Woertendy,
Leonard A. Gurnee,
Peter T. Stephens,
John A. Bogert,
Daniel M. Clark,
William Dickey,
John T. Blanch,
C. C. Burr,
Richard Gilhuly,
A. H. Tyson,
Shortly after this petition had been forwarded the following call was issued :
"PEACE ! COMPROMISE !! UNION !!
" All persons that are in favor of preserving the Union of States, by a peaceful settlement of our present difficulties, and opposed to the SHEDDING OF BLOOD UNNECESSARILY, all who are in favor of freedom of Speech, and the Press, and the right of Petition, all who are opposed to an ENORMOUS NATIONAL DEBT, and DIRECT TAXATION, are invited to attend a public meeting to be held at the York House, in the village of Nyack, on Monday evening, July 15th (1861), at 71/2 o'clock, for the purpose of giving a calm and decided public expression of their views and senti- ments."
John S. House,
Cornelius Seaman,
John Vanhouten,
Claus Meyer,
J. A. Vanderbilt,
George Knapp,
Aaron T. Remsen.
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Peter De Pew, Thomas Lawrence,
John G. Perry,
Henry E. Storms,
Garret Sarvent, Henry Palmer,
Daniel M. Clark, Wm. Palmer,
Wm. Dickey,
James C. Wool,
George W. Towner,
R. De Cantillon,
Peter Stephens,
The meeting was called to order by Peter De Pew, who nominated John Nafie as Chairman. William Dickey then nominated the following Vice-Presidents :
William R. Knapp,
A. A. Demarest,
J. J. Ackerson, J. D. Swartwout,
P. W. Nickerson, Thomas Ackerson,
John B. Gurnee,
John Storms, Sr.,
Marcus Hoffman,
John A. Johnson,
Jabez Wood,
Azariah Ross,
Joseph Wool,
P. D. W. Smith,
Henry House.
M. M. Dickinson and George P. Stephens were made Secretaries of the meeting. Among the resolutions adopted were the following, intro- duced by Thomas Lawrence :
Resolved : That while we yield to none in love for the Union of our States, in respect and at- tachment to our glorious flag, and in fealty and willing obedience to the Constitution and laws of the United States, we nevertheless protest against the attempt to subjugate the people of any State, to bayonet them into a love for our Union, or sabre them into brotherhood.
Resolved : That every Government having a written Constitution for its guide, should strictly adhere to its very letter, and no emergency can justify its violation. That the frequent violation of the Constitution of the United States by the present Executive, and by those under his authority, deserves, and should receive the unqualified condemnation of every American citizen.
Resolved : That we earnestly entreat our fellow citizens throughout the length and breadth of our land without distinction of party, to meet together and place the seal of popular condemnation upon the acts of violence and aggression which are dividing our beloved Union ; inviting foreign interference ; subverting Constitutional and State rights ; educating a republican people to favor a dictatorship destructive to the dearest rights of freemen, and tending to the wildest anarchy and despotism."
The next call for a Peace Meeting was as follows :
PEACE! PEACE ! ! PEACE ! ! !
PATRIOTS AROUSE !
" All persons in favor of Peace, and the preservation of the Union, all who are opposed to the destruction of our glorious country by the PRESENT FRATRICIDAL WAR, all who are opposed to an ENORMOUS NATIONAL AND STATE TAX, and in favor of FREEDOM OF SPEECH, and the RIGHT OF PETITION, are invited to attend a mass meeting, to be held at the Court House, at New City, on Saturday, the 20th day of July, inst., at 12 o'clock, noon, for the purpose of adopting such measures as will tend to a peaceful settlement of our present National difficulties, and permanently restoring our beloved country to its once happy and prosperous condition."
Wm. R. Knapp, John Nafie, J. T. Ackerson, Thos. Howell,
Peter Stevens, J. G. Perry,
J. B. Gurnee, Joseph Wool, T. Ackerson, Jabez Wood, J. J. Ackerson.
J. M. Baker,
Richard Gilhnley,
R. H. Cook,
R. De Cantillon, Garret Sarvent,
W. Palmer, Isaac Hart,
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M. Hoffman,
A. Haring,
James Wool,
D. I). Demarest,
A. J. Storms,
Joe. Blauvelt,
H. House,
E. P. Rose,
George Dickey, Sr.
M. M. Dickinson,
I. A. Lydecker,
G. A. Demarest,
Peter De Pew,
Thos. Lawrence,
John L. De Noyelles,
Henry Palmer,
P. W. Nickerson,
F. Van Orden,
H. E. Storms,
J. A. Johnson,
A. Smith,
D. M. Clark,
A. A. Demarest,
I. W. Canfield,
Wm. Dickey,
John Storms, Sr.
Levi Gurnee,
W. Willett,
M. D. Bogert,
G. A. Harring,
J. L. Conklin,
J. D. Swartwout,
Jim Coates,
W. Perry,
J. S. Haring,
Wm. Skelly,
G. C. Stephens,
1). 1. Tallman,
J. T. Blanch,
David Munn,
A. Ross,
Sylvester Gesner.
The meeting was organized with John A. Johnson, as Chairman.
Secretaries.
Abr. D. Blauvelt,
Abr. A. Demarest,
M. M. Dickinson,
Jacob Horn,
John A. Bogert,
Thos. Howell,
Garret A. Blauvelt,
John H. Stephens,
Among the resolutions passed at this meeting was the following :
" Resolved, That we witness with dismay the Constitution violated in many of its plainest provisions ; the military power over riding the civil ; the liberty of speech and of the press, the writ of habeas corpus, that venerable and almost sacred safeguard of the citizen-all, all swept away, or ruthlessly trampled upon by those in power, under the specious plea of a military neces- sity."
The " War Democrats" through James Smith Haring, Chairman, and Wm. Govan, M. D., Secretary of the Democratic Central Committee for Rockland County ; called a meeting at New City, for October 5th, 1861. At this meeting Hon. Wm. F. Fraser, was chosen to the chair, and Nicholas C. Blauvelt, J. S. Haring, Joseph Cosgrove and Austin L. Fitch, were elected Vice Presidents, while M. M. Dickinson, J. L. De Noyelles and William W. Gurnee, were chosen Secretaries. Speeches favoring the Union over party and expressing a determination to sustain the Govern- ment, were made by Hons. A. E. Suffern, Moses G. Leonard, A. B. Con- ger and others .*
The following resolutions were then passed unanimously :
" Resolved, That we acknowledge our allegiance to the general government, and recognize in the present unhappy crisis of the public affairs, our duty as loyal and patriotic citizens to sustain the government in restoring its authority throughout the Republic.
" Resolved, That the rebellion which has been inaugurated and is being carried on in certain of these States against the authority of the United States, and the enforcement of the laws therein,
*See note at end of chapter.
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has for its unholy object the disseverance of these States, the overthrow of the Constitution. the subversion of the laws, and the dissolution of the Federal Union.
" Resolved, That we believe the rebellion against the government by the so-called Confederate States is without just cause, palliation or excuse, and that it deserves, as it received, the abhorrence and detestation of every good citizen and loyal subject, and that it may be effectually and forever suppressed and destroyed, we hereby tender to the government our undivided support in its loyal and praiseworthy efforts to meet it force by force.
" Resolved, That the government should, by all the power of its arms, and every requisite expenditure of its treasure, prosecute this war for the maintenance of its jurisdiction, the supremacy of its authority, obedience to its laws, and for the protection and vindication of every guaranteed right-National, State and individual-until the Constitution be acknowledged and re-established, the Union restored, the flag of the Republic, the symbol of nationality and union, with not a star obscured, not a stripe erased, float proudly from every eminence throughout the land, and our common country march on her future course in all the majesty of peace, justice and freedom."
From this time till the close of the war, many of the "War Democrats" acted and voted with the Republicans under the name of the Union Party, and received from the other wing all the hatred and vituperation with which they treated the Republicans. Political feeling was carried into the churches, and dissolved the ties of Christian brotherhood, and between pas- tors and peoples; it entered the family circle and estranged blood rela- tions.
Such was the political animosity which existed at the opening of the campaign of 1864. For that contest the Republican party had renom- inated Abraham Lincoln, while the Democrats had selected George B. McClellan. As weapons of offence the latter party openly denounced the prolongation of the war, while privately they condemned the Emancipa- tion Proclamation, the draft and the suspension of habeas corpus. Once again, and for the last time, a Peace meeting was held at New City, on August 5th, 1864. It was organized by the selection of the following:
Marcus Hoffman, Chairman,
Vice-Presidents.
John Nafie, Luke Van Orden, Jacob Horn, Daniel Lake.
Secretaries.
M. M. Dickinson, H. Fenton, Henry Palmer.
A series of peace resolutions were read by Thomas Lawrence and adopted. A letter was read from Hon. Gideon J. Tucker, expressing sin- cere sympathy with the meeting, and regret that he could not be present, as he was in 1861 ; and a speech was made by C. Chauncey Burr, of Bergen County, N. J., from which I quote an opening extract ; " About three years since, I had the honor to address the people of Rockland County, and I then denounced the present war as a crime against humanity and the
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