USA > New York > Yates County > The military history of Yates County, N.Y. : comprising a record of the services rendered by citizens of this county in the army and navy, from the foundation of the government to the present time > Part 2
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14
* Turner's History of the Phelps and Gorham Purchase.
11
THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY.
small settlements at Geneva and the Friends' settlement, there were two or three Indian traders upon the Genesee River, a few white families who were squatters upon the flats, one or two white families at Lewiston, one at Schlosser, a negro, with a squaw wife, at Tonawanda, an Indian inter- preter and two or three traders at the mouth of Buffalo Creek, and a negro and an Indian trader at the mouth of Cattaraugus Creek. Fort Niagara was a British garrison. All else was Seneca Indian occupancy .*
England, since the successful termination of the revolt of her colonies, had persistently maintained a hostile attitude, and under a pretended right of search (which was no more than a right of the strongest), had forcibly taken many Amer- ican sailors from ships belonging to our own country, and compelled them to serve on British ships of war. Against these high-handed outrages Washington, Adams, and Jeffer- son had remonstrated in vain. The more than outrageous attack on the Chesapeake, during the administration of the latter President, aroused the public indignation to an exces- sive degree, and after the accession of Madison to the Presi- dency, a greater part of the people began to see that only by an appeal to arms was the National honor to be pre- served. There was, it is true, a strong anti-administration party, principally in the Eastern States, who, even after the commencement of hostilities, acted in a manner most unfav- orable to the American Government, and refused to believe otherwise than that the differences between the two coun- tries might have been amicably adjusted. Patience, how- ever, at least so far as the more patriotic Americans were concerned, had ceased to be a virtue, and war was declared.
The declaration of war by America in June, 1812, seemed an act of sheer madness. The American navy consisted of a few frigates and sloops; her army was a mass of half- drilled and half-armed recruits; the States themselves were divided on the question of war; and Connecticut, with Massachusetts, refused to send either money or men.t Under such disadvantages did America contend for nearly
* Turner's History of the Phelps and Gorham Purchase.
t Green's Short History of the English People.
12
THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY.
three years against a great and powerful nation, winning many victories, and effectually humbling Britain's boasted superiority on the seas. With only a handful of ships to offer against superior force, our commanders, nevertheless, stood boldly out to sea and flung their flags of defiance to the breeze. The war on land was prosecuted with equal success.
The engagements at Fort George, Fort Erie, Chippewa, and Lundy's Lane, may not have added territory to the posses- sions of the United States, but they were, next to Bunker Hill or Monmouth, some of the most important battles this country ever had. Old England also learned from these battles what kind of men she was fighting over here.
The residents of Ontario County (then including Yates) were not backward in offering their services to their country at that time. A testimony to that effect is thus given by a late distinguished jurist: "During the late war with Great Britain, the territory now embraced in our county furnished a larger portion of officers and soldiers, who were in actual service, than any other portion of the State, except those immediately upon the frontiers."* Hardly any record, however, has been preserved from which can be learned the services they performed or of the battles in which they par- ticipated. The names, so far as known, are here given of those soldiers of the War of 1812 who resided in what is now Yates County: Samuel J. Ackley, Jeremiah B. An- drews (assistant surgeon), Daniel Baldwin, Jeremiah Bar- ber, Jr., Captain Thomas Barden, Dr. Enos Barnes (entered as a substitute, t and was promoted to regimental surgeon), Daniel Barton, Peter Bellis, William Bennett, James Blair, Cyrenius Blodgett, Cornelius Bogart, Robert McDowell Boyd, William Clark, Asa Cole, Gamaliel D. Conklin (a reg- ular), Dr. William Cornwell (surgeon's mate), Caleb Cowing, Niram Crane, Philip Culp, John Deeker, Pierpont Dyer, Adolphus Eaton, Azariah Finch, Alanson Foster, Samuel
* Address delivered by the Hon. John L. Lewis before the Yates County Historical Society, February 4, 1860.
t The United States Government in IS14 deemed it necessary to draft 100,000 men to end the war. As in the war of 1861-'65, several persons who were drafted furnished substitutes.
13
THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY.
Furman, Edward Genung, Isaac Gulley, Amasa Holden (brigade fife major), Amasa Holden, Jr., Abel M. Hammond, Jedediah Haskell (served in the Fifteenth Horse Artillery), James Hazard, Elijah Higley, David Hill, Eliphalet Hull, Jr., Captain (afterwards General) Timothy Hurd, William John- son, Dr. Joshua Lee (surgeon in Colonel Avery Smith's reg- iment, and in that capacity was present at the battle of Queenston,* and was one of the first to eross the Niagara River in the discharge of his duties), Thomas Lee, Jr., Sher- man Lee, Peter Lamereaux, Isaac Lanning, Anthony H. Lewis, Robert Lyon, Cornelius Masten, John Moore, John Norcott, Jamna Osgood, Zeldon Parrish, John Patterson, William L. Priest, John Pruner, Isaac S. Purdy, Abijah Purdy, Red Jacket, Aaron Remer, William Reynolds, Henry Rogers, Asahel Russell, Nathan Sayre, Cornelius Sawyer, Robert Shearman, Morris F. Sheppard, Jonathan Sisson, Colonel Avery Smith, Ashler C. Thompson, Amos Tubbs, Henry Vrooman, Nathan Walton, George Wells, John W. Williams (who was for several months a prisoner in the hands of the enemy), William Wilson, Luther Winants, Dr. Walter Wolcottt (surgeon's mate), Captain (afterwards Gen- eral) Abner Woodworth.
Yates County was organized February 5, 1823, and was named in honor of Joseph C. Yates, then Governor of the State of New York. The towns of Barrington and Starkey were added to the county in 1826, and the town of Torrey was organized in 1851. Twenty-three years after the organ- ization of our county, war was declared by the United States against Mexico. The principal military operations in that war were the invasion of Northern Mexico by the American forces under General Taylor, and the landing at Vera Cruz
*The Battle of Queenston was fought October 13, 1812. In this en- gagement Lieutenant-Colonel Winfield Scott and Captain John E. Wool (afterwards famous generals), first distinguished themselves. General Brock, the commander of the British forces, was killed in this battle by a shot fired by an American soldier uamed Robert Wolcott, who died only a few years ago at a very advanced age.
¿ Roger Wolcott (an elder brother of Dr. Wolcott) was born in Connecti- cut, and settled in Canada previous to the War of 1812. During that war he commanded a company of Canadian militia. He afterwards removed to St. Charles, Ill., where he died at the age of 90 in 1863.
14
THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY.
and the march to, and capture of, the city of Mexico by an army of ten thousand men commanded by General Scott.
Among the volunteers who served in the Mexican War were the following from Yates County: John V. Masten, James Miller, John Moore, and Henry B. Cornwell .* The last-named soldier was a son of Dr. William Cornwell, and was . wounded at the taking of the castle of Chapultepec, September 13, 1847, and died at Puebla of his wounds.
The castle of Chapultepec stood on a high and precipitous hill, very steep and rocky on the south side, towards the Americans. On the west the slope was more gradual, but covered with dense woods and rough with rocks. Here, shielded by these, was a large force of Mexicans.
At the earliest dawn the whole force of the American can- non was concentrated upon the walls of the castle, and at the west side storming parties were waiting anxiously for a breach to be made, by which they might carry it by assault. They groped their way from tree to tree and rock to rock, driving the Mexicans before them, when suddenly, on the crest of the hill, the whole force came out on the open space in the presence of ramparts frowning with cannon and mus- ketry. They continued to advance, returning only a few shots, but still drawing nearer and nearer. Presently an ensign, bearing the standard of his regiment, rushed forward to the rampart, a shout arose, and a few followed with lad- ders, placed them against the wall, and, with a cheer, bounded over. The Mexicans, taken by surprise, stood but a few minutes, then scrambled over the sides and down the precipitous rocks out of danger.
The castle was a mass of ruins; so effectual had been the shots and shells that it was battered to pieces. The follow- ing morning General Scott entered the city of Mexico, drew up his army on the Grand Plaza, and hoisted the Stars and Stripes over the National Palace.
The war between the United States and Mexico forms an
* Williamı A. Cornwell, a brother of Henry B. Cornwell, also enlisted in 1849, with the rank of Lieutenant, in a regiment raised in New York and designed as part of the army of occupation in California. Lieutenant Cornwell sailed with his regiment around Cape Horn to California, and afterwards became a permanent resident of that State.
15
THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY.
interesting epoch in American history, resulting, as it did, in the former country being largely increased in territorial ex- tent and in the establishment of our supremacy on the Pa- eific coast. In this conflict, also, several subalterns, who were destined to afterward win enduring fame, took their first lessons in the art of war, lessons that were probably put to practical use in the greater conflict which was to follow.
THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY.
PART SECOND.
The War Between the States.
CHAPTER I.
Sentiment in Yates County before and during the War for the Union.
TT seems proper, before entering upon a detailed account of the military operations participated in by those regi- ments in which Yates County was represented, to make some reference to certain events bearing on the anti-slavery sentiment, which sentiment prevailed to a greater or less ex- tent in this county from the time of its organization till the elose of the Civil War in 1865. At the period, however, in which Yates was set off from Ontario County, slavery existed North as well as South, although gradual emancipation in the Northern States had already begun. Some few persons in Benton and vicinity then kept slaves in their families, but the slaves there owned were few in number. The town book of Benton contains the following record of the birth of a slave : " This will certify that Harriet, an infant slave, belonging to me at this time, was born the 20th of Sept., one thousand eight hundred and twenty-two. Certified by Matthew Cole. Benton, 18th March, 1823."
The inhabitants of this part of the State at that time, as a rule, regarded slavery, if not with favor, at least with a passive indifference, but there were some among them whose idea in this respect was that slavery was a great evil, which should be abolished. The number holding this extreme view were small, but they were very outspoken and active in expressing their opinion. Among these, Henry Bradley, of Penn Yan, a merchant in high standing in the commun- ity, was the most prominent. He was a thorough opponent
17
THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY.
of that " peculiar institution," and many a fugitive slave by his aid reached safety and freedom. He lived to see human slavery legally abolished throughout the land.
An exciting circumstance, which occurred in this county in 1830, is here related as a reminiscence of the first encounter between our citizens and the slave power. In the summer of that year, the little village of Eddytown" was thrown into a state of wild excitement by an occurrence that happened in this wise: Several men were seen on horseback passing through the place on a full gallop. The people who saw them wondered and began to institute an inquiry as to their business. At length the astounding truth was reached. They were a couple of slaveholders from Virginia, with their aids, in pursuit of some seven runaway slaves. The men who were in company with the owners of those slaves, and who had escorted them to find their where- abouts, were certain residents of this neighborhood, who cared more for their pecuniary benefit than for the claims of humanity. It was very common for people who had little reverence for the Golden Rule in those days to think they were doing God service to restore a colored man to bondage, especially if they were well paid for doing so. The slave- holders and their assistants had been informed that three of the fugitives had been employed by Zenas P. Kelsey to work in the harvest field a short distance south of the village, and a fourth was employed up near the Red Mill, known as the Carmichael Mill. Thither they hastened. Isaac Lanning, Patrick Quinn, and Elder Abner Chase, all strong anti- slavery men, saw them pass and hastened to the spot, hoping to foil their attempts at seizure. But they were too late. . The slaveholders had the fugitives caught and hand-cuffed. Though the poor fellows looked with appealing eyes, they were powerless to aid. Yet if there was a loop hole any- where they were bound to find it. Lanning stepped up to the Virginians and demanded in a tone of authority what they were going to do with those colored men. "We are going to take them back where they belong, sir," they re- plied, to which Lanning said : "You won't take them back."
* In the town of Starkey.
18
THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY.
These words, so defiantly spoken, put a new spirit in Mr. Kelsey, the employer of the slaves, and he pulled off his coat instantly. At this one of the slaveholders, with sword and pistol by his side, drew his sword from the sheath as if ready for a combat, but Lanning, not at all intimidated, said : " You had better put up your sword, for they are not going to be taken back till you show your authority. There has been kidnapping enough in the State of New York already." After talking awhile over the matter on all sides, the Virgin- ians consented to come back to the village and spend the night, and the next morning have the matter investigated. They dispatched two of their assistants to catch the one np by the mill, while the remainder, with their human property, returned to the hotel. Lanning, Quinn, and Chase returned also. The latter men knew that the remaining three fugitives were at work in Milo at the place of Silas Spink. The own- ers did not know where they were. Lanning immediately took his horse (a mare well known as "Old Black," noted for swiftness ), and directed John Royce, son of his neighbor, Matthew Royce, to ride her to Milo and tell the slaves to flee if they valued their liberty. John led the horse to Dr. Walter Wolcott's barn, where he saddled the animal, then mounted, and, to avert suspicion, leisurely passed directly by the hotel where the slaveholders, with their booty, were just stopping. But no sooner was he out of sight, than he sped like the wind for Spink's farm. He reached the place and found the colored men mowing by the roadside. Hardly had they heard the ill-fated tidings than one of them leaped the fence at a bound. He told them to flee to Penn Yan, inquire for Mr. Bradley, and he would tell them what to do. Having accomplished his errand, he re- turned. In the meantime the matter of the capture of the fugitive slaves had been noised around, and when night, with its murky folds, had fallen over the village, nearly two hundred people were assembled about the tavern. Many sympathized with the poor creatures, who had been cap- tured, and would have saved them had they dared. But the fine was heavy and the law* severe. Others took part
* The old Fugitive Slave Act, passed in 1793.
19
THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY.
with the property-owners, and said: "Good enough for the niggers." "They ought to be taken back." "It was the place for them." What did they know about Freedom ?" "They could not take care of themselves," etc.
The four slaves ( the one at the Red Mill having been brought back ) were locked in a private room at the hotel and securely guarded. Lawyer Taylor,* then a resident of the village, was sent for. He came, and as he saw the multi- tude standing about, he inquired in a loud tone, "What is this mob doing here ?" Reuben Royce immediately an- swered, in a similar tone, " What is that you say, sir ? Call your neighbors a mob ? You will take that back or there will be trouble." Mr. Taylor at once modified his speech so as to make it satisfactory to Mr. Royce. The people, hear- ing that the matter was to be examined legally the next day, returned to their homes, many of them with feelings of in- dignation and shame that such laws had ever been enacted -laws that made it possible to buy and sell humanity-laws that were in exact contradiction to the law of God, which says, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself."
The morning came, and although it was in the busy har- vest time, a large number gathered to see that no foul play was used. The matter being legally investigated before Isaac P. Seymour, a Justice of the Peace, it was shown by papers in their possession that the Southerners were the rightful owners of these unfortunate persons, and had a right, according to law, to take them back and treat them like dogs, if they wished. The slaveholders then made a diligent search for the remaining three who were on their way to freedom and safety. The slaveholders and their aids were guided, some in one direction, and some in another on pur- pose to mislead and confuse them. Two of their assistants were sent to Rochester on receiving a report, which proved to be false, that these three fugitives were at that place. The Virginians also commenced a suit against Mr. Spink, laying
* James Taylor, a prominent lawyer, was born in Connecticut and re- sided for a number of years in Starkey, and also in Peun Yan. He moved in 1857 to Leaveuworth, Kansas, where he died iu 1869, aged eighty years.
20
THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY.
heavy damages, and after waiting nearly a week, they left for the South. But one of the masters and one of the cap- tured slaves siekened and died in Elmira. So one slave- holder, with three slaves, returned to Virginia. The suit against Mr. Spink was never tried, and was finally dropped. Thus ends the account of an event out of hundreds that might be chronieled that transpired during the terrible reign of slavery.
Besides the anti-slavery men mentioned in connection with the above incident, there were then in this part of the State several others* who held to the same idea, and as years passed on the opponents of slavery gradually grew in number. In 1841+ the difference of opinion in regard to slavery had risen to sneh a height in Penn Yan as to effect a division in the Presbyterian and in the Methodist congrega- tions. A majority of the members of the Presbyterian Church withdrew and organized themselves into a society called the Congregationalists, under the counsel and direc- tion of their pastor, the Rev. Ovid Miner, who was an Abol- itionist of the most pronounced type. A portion of the Methodists likewise seceded, and formed themselves into what was known as the Wesleyan Society. These two dis- senting societies each remained a number of years in organ- ization.
The bitter political contests, arising from the encroach- ments of the slave power, and which continued for so many years, were regarded by the people of Yates County with a certain degree of interest, and at length a feeling hostile to slavery became quite general among them. This feeling was intensified, when, in 1854, the passage of the Kansas- Nebraska act cansed great excitement throughout the North. The residents of this county joined heartily in denouncing the measure. On the 5th of August of that year, in response to a call signed by over two hundred persons, a mass meet-
*Prominent among the anti-slavery men at this period were Morris F. Sheppard, his son, Charles C. Sheppard, Myron Hamlin, Samuel F. Cur- tis, and Joseph Elmendorf.
tJohn Thomas, a well-known colored man, escaped from slavery, and came that year to Penn Yan, where he has since resided.
21
THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY.
ing* was held in Penn Yan, at which resolutions in opposi- tion to the enactment were adopted. The adherents of the new party, styled the Republican, had by this time become so strong in number in this vicinity as to elect their county ticket in the fall of the year following.t The brutal and wanton attack made in May, 1856, by Preston S. Brooks upon Charles Sumner, in his seat in the Senate, caused a high feeling of anger and resentment throughout the county. An indignation meeting was held June 6th at the Court House in Penn Yan, at which resolutions were adopted con- demning the outrage, and several well-timed speeches were made.# At the Presidential election held that fall the vote cast in Yates County for Fremont was 2,990. When John Brown in 1859 made his raid into Virginia, which resulted in his capture, trial, and execution, words of sympathy were expressed in all parts of the county for the unfortunate old hero. James M. Westcott, a local preacher residing in the town of Barrington, contributed to the Yates County Chron- icle an ode of sixteen verses commemorating the event.§
The Presidential election of 1860 | is well remembered as having been one of the most exciting in our country's his-
* The meeting was addressed by Hon. Henry W. Taylor, of Canandai- gua. Letters were read from Hon. B. F. Butler and Hon. Andrew Oliver, who were unable to attend, and the following delegates were appointed to attend the Saratoga Convention, held August 1Stlı: Richard H. Wil- liams, General A. F. Whitaker, D. J. McMaster, Charles C. Sheppard, and Oliver Stark.
+William S. Briggs, County Judge; Lewis B. Graham, County Clerk ; Daniel Lanning, Sheriff; Henry H. Gage, Member of Assembly ; Wy- nans Bush, Coroner ; John J. Johnson, Justice of Sessions.
Edward J. Fowle was chairman of this meeting, and the speakers were Samuel H. Welles, Hon. Andrew Oliver, David W. Adams, and Henry M. Stewart.
¿ In his ode, Elder Westcott, referring to the overwhelming force that come out against Jolin Brown, wrote as follows :
Now Maryland sends forth her troops- "Old Buck " sends the marines ; Virginia, too, from ont their coops Called forth some queer machines. "Old Buck " was the nickname of President Buchanan.
|| Charles C. Sheppard, of Yates County, was one of the delegates to the Republican National Convention that had that fall nominated Lincoln for the Presidency.
22
THE MILITARY HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY.
tory. The people of Yates County shared to a considerable extent in the general animation. Wide-Awake Clubs were organized all over the county, and grand mass meetings were held. In this county 3,015 votes were cast that fall for Abraham Lincoln. The secession of South Carolina and of six other States came about soon after his election; a South- ern Confederacy was established in the following February, and hostilities were commenced by the Secessionists by the attack on Fort Sumter in April, 1861. This act of war against the Nation electrified the loyal North, and the de- termination there expressed to uphold the government was promptly evinced by a movement, in which Yates County took no small part, known as the Great Northern Uprising.
Immediately after the news of the President's proclama- tion, dated April 15th and calling for 75,000 men, reached Penn Yan, a war meeting was called in Washington Hall. General Alexander F. Whitaker presided, and George R. Cornwell was secretary. Several addresses were made, and the session continued till a late hour. A roll was presented and thirty-four names were obtained. A much larger gath- ering was held on the evening of April 25th, with bands of music parading the streets and playing National airs. Resolutions were adopted to raise a company of volunteers, and recruits came forward freely. The Republican and Democratic Central Committees combined in a call for a county mass meeting and union assembly, which took place in the Court House Park on Saturday, April 27th. A proces- sion was formed, under the direction of General A. F. Whit- aker, aided by General George Wagener, and led by martial and brass bands .* In this parade, preceded by veterans of
*The names are here given of the musicians whose soul-inspiring music was heard in Penn Yan and vicinity in war time. During this period the membership of the Brass Band was more than once changed by some musicians enlisting and others removing. Those who played in this band were as follows: George Fletcher Hopkins, leader, first E flat cornet; Edwin Amsbury, second E flat cornet; Albert Brigden, B flat cornet ; George Norris, B flat cornet; A. Oliver Lewis, alto; Elisha Dnr- fee, alto; Edward G. Hopkins, tenor; George Baxter, tenor; George Ketchum, tuba; Damon Morse, baritone; John Knapp, piccolo; Rufus F. Scofield, base drum and cymbals, afterward tuba; William H. Glad- ding, snare drum, also tuba; Alonzo T. Lyon, snare drum; Thomas
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.