History of Cumberland and Adams counties, Pennsylvania. Containing history of the counties, their townships, towns, villages, schools, churches, industries, etc.; portraits of early settlers and prominent men; biographies; history of Pennsylvania, statistical and miscellaneous matter, etc., etc, Part 4

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Publisher: W. Taylor
Number of Pages: 1280

USA > Pennsylvania > Adams County > History of Cumberland and Adams counties, Pennsylvania. Containing history of the counties, their townships, towns, villages, schools, churches, industries, etc.; portraits of early settlers and prominent men; biographies; history of Pennsylvania, statistical and miscellaneous matter, etc., etc > Part 4
USA > Pennsylvania > Cumberland County > History of Cumberland and Adams counties, Pennsylvania. Containing history of the counties, their townships, towns, villages, schools, churches, industries, etc.; portraits of early settlers and prominent men; biographies; history of Pennsylvania, statistical and miscellaneous matter, etc., etc > Part 4

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It will be noted from the repetition of the high sounding epithets applied to the Queen, that Printz had a very exalted idea of his own position as the Vicegerent of the Swedish monarch. Hudde responded, saying in reply: " The place we possess we hold in just deed, perhaps before the name of Sonth River was heard of in Sweden." This paper, upon its presentation, Printz flung to the ground in contempt, and when the messenger, who bore it, demanded an answer, Printz unceremoniously threw him out doors, and seizing a gun would have dispatched the Dutchman had he not been arrested; and whenever any of Hudde's men visited Tinicum they were sure to be abused, and frequently came back " bloody and bruised." Hudde urged rights acquired by prior posses- sion, but Printz answered: " The devil was the oldest possessor in hell, yet he, notwithstanding, would sometimes admit a younger one." A vessel which had come to the Delaware from Manhattan with goods to barter to the Indians, was brought to, and ordered away. In vain did Hudde plead the rights acquired by previous possession, and finally treaty obligations existing between the two nations. Printz was inexorable, and peremptorily ordered the skipper away, and as his ship was not provided with the means of fighting its way np past the frowuing battlements of Fort Elsinborg, his only alternative was to return to Manhattan and report the result to his employers.

Peter Stuyvesant, a man of a good share of native talent and force of char- acter, succeeded to the chief authority over New Netherland in May, 1647. The affairs of his colony were not in an encouraging condition. The New England colonies were crowding upon him from the north and east, and the

HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.

Swedes upon the South River were occupying the territory which the Dutch for many years previous to the coming of Christina's colony had elaimed. Amid the thickening complications, Stuyvesant had need of all his power of argument and executive skill. He entered into negotiations with the New En- gland colonies for a peaceful settlement of their difficulties, getting the very best terms he could, without resorting to force; for, said his superiors, the officers of the company in Holland. who had an eye to dividends, " War can- not be for our advantage; the New England people are too powerful for us." A pacific policy was also preserved toward the Swedes. Hudde was retained at the head of Dutch affairs upon the Delaware, and he was required to make full reports of everything that was transpiring there in order that a clear in- sight might be gained of the policy likely to be pursued. Stuyvesant was en- tirely too shrewd a politician for the choleric Printz. He recommended to the company to plant a Dutch colony on the site of Zwanendal at the mouth of the river, another on the opposite bank, which, if effectually done, would com- mand its navigation; and a third on tho upper waters at Beversreede, which would intercept the intercourse of the native population. By this course of active colonizing. Stuyvesant rightly calculated that the Swedish power would be circumscribed, and finally, upon a favorable occasion, be crushed out.

Stuyvesant, that he might ascertain the nature and extent of the Swedish claims to the country, and examine into the complaints that were pouring in upon him of wrongs and indignities suffered by the Dutch at the hands of the Swedish power, in 1651 determined to visit the Delaware in his official capac- ity. He evidently went in some state, and Printz, who was doubtless impressed with the condecension of the Governor of all New Netherland in thus coming, was put upon his good behavior. Stuyvesant, by his address, got completely on the blind side of the Swedish chief, maintaining the garb of friendship and brotherly good-will, and insisting that the discussion of rights should be carried on in a peaceful and friendly manner, for we are informed that they mutually promised " not to commit any hostile or vexations acts against one another, but to maintain together all neighborly friendship and correspond- ence, as good friends and allies aro bound to do." Printz was thus, by this agreement, entirely disarmed and placed at a disadvantage; for the Dutch Governor took advantage of the armistice to acquire lands below Fort Chris- tina, where he proceeded to erect a fort only five miles away, which he named Fort Casimir. This gave the Dutch a foothold upon the south bank, and in nearer proximity to the ocean than Fort Christina. Fort Nassau was dis. mantled and destroyed, as being no longer of use. In a conference with the Swedish Governor, Stuyvesant demanded to see documental proof of his right to exercise authority upon he Delaware, and the compass of the lands to which the Swedish Government laid claim. Printz prepared a statement in which he set out the "Swedish limits wide enough." But Stuyvesant de- manded the documents, under the seal of the company, and characterized this writing as a " subterfuge," maintaining by documentary evidence, on his part, the Dutch West India Company's right to the soil.

Printz was great as a blusterer, and preserver of authority when personal abus and kicks and cuffs could be resorted to without the fear of retaliation; but no match in statecraft for the wily Stuyvesant. To the plea of pre-occu- pancy he had nothing to answer more than he had already done to Hudde's messenger respecting the government of Hades, and herein was the cause of the Swedes inherently weak. In numbers, too, the Swedes were feeble com- pared with the Dutch, who had ten times the population. But in diplomacy he had been entirely overreached. Fort Casimir, by its location, rendered

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the rival Fort Elsinborg powerless, and under plea that the mosquitoes had be- come troublesome there, it was abandoned. Discovering, doubtless, that a cloud of complications was thickening over him, which he would be unable with the forces at his commaud to successfully withstand, he asked to be relieved, and, without awaiting an answer to his application, departed for Sweden, leaving his son-in-law, John Pappegoya, who had previously received marks of the royal favor, and been invested with the dignity of Lieutenant Governor, in supreme authority.

The Swedish company had by this time, no doubt, discovered that forcible opposition to Swedish occupancy of the soil upon Delaware was destined soon to come, and accordingly, as a precautionary measure, in November, 1653, the College of Commerce sent John Amundson Besch, with the commission of Captain in the Navy, to superintend the construction of vessels. Upon his arrival, he acquired lands suitable for the purpose of ship-building, and set about laying his keels. He was to have supreme authority over the naval force, and was to act in conjunction with the Governor in protecting the interests of the colony, but in such a manner that neither should decide anything without consulting the other.

On receiving the application of Printz to be relieved, the company ap- pointed John Claude Rysingh, then Secretary of the Chamber of Commerce, as Vice Director of New Sweden. He was instructed to fortify and extend the Swedish possessions, but without interrupting the friendship existing with the English or Dutch. He was to use his power of persuasion in induc- ing the latter to give up Fort Casimir, which was regarded as an intrusion upon Swedish possessions, but without resorting to hostilities, as it was better to allow the Dutch to occupy it than to have it fall into the hands of the En- glish, "who are the more powerful, and, of course, the most dangerous in that

country." Thus early was the prowess of England foreshadowed. Gov. Rysingh arrived in the Delaware, on the last day of May, 1654, and immediately demanded the surrender of Fort Casimir. Adriaen Van Tienhoven, an aide- de-camp on the staff of the Dutch commandant of the fort, was sent on board the vessel to demand of Gov. Rysingh by what right he claimed to dis- possess the rightful occupants; but the Governor was not disposed to discuss the matter, and immediately landed a party and took possession without more opposition than wordy protests, the Dutch Governor saying, when called on to make defense, "What can I do? there is no powder." Rysingh, however, in justification of his course, stated to Teinhoven, after he had gained possession of the fort, that he was acting under orders from the crown of Sweden, whose embassador at the Dutch Court, when remonstrating against the action of Gov. Stuyvesant in erecting and manning Fort Casimir had been assured, by the State's General and the offices of the West India Company, that they had not authorized the erection of this fort on Swedish soil, saying, " if our people are in your Excellency's way, drive them off." "Thereupon the Swedish Governor slapped Van Teinhoven on the breast, and said, 'Go! tell your Gov- ernor that.'"' As the capture was made on Trinity Sunday, the name was changed from Fort Casimir to Fort Trinity.

Thus were the instructions of the new Governor, not to resort to force, but to secure possession of the fort by negotiation, complied with, but by a forced interpretation. For, although he had not actually come to battle, for the very good reason that the Dutch had no powder, and were not disposed to use their fists against fire arms, which the Swedes brandished freely, yet, in mak- ing his demand for the fort, he had put on the stern aspect of war.

Stuyvesant, on learning of the loss of Fort Casimir, sent a messenger to the

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Delaware toinvite Gov. Rysingh to come to Manhattan to hold friendly confer. ence upon the subject of their difficulties. This Rysingh refused to do, and the Dutch Governor, probably desiring instructions from the home Government be- foro proceeding to extremities, made a voyage to the West Indies for the purpose of arranging favorable regulations of trade with the colonies, though without the instructions, or even the knowledge of the States General. Cromwell, who was now ut the head of the English nation, by the policy of his agents, rendered this embassy of Stuyvesant abortive.

As soon as information of the conduct of Rysingh at Zwanendal wns known in Holland, the company lost no time in disclaiming the representa- tions which he had made of its willingness to have the fort turned over to the Swedes, and immediately took mensures for restoring it and wholly dispossess- ing the Swedes of lands upon the Delaware. On the 16th of November, 1655, the company ordered Stuyvesant "to exert every nerve to avenge the insult, by not only replacing matters on the Delaware in their former position, but by driving the Swedes from every side of the river," though they subsequent. ly modified this order in such manner as to allow the Swedes, after Fort Casi- mir had been taken, "to hold the land on which Fort Christina is built," with a garden to cultivate tobacco, because it appears that they had made the pur. chase with the previous knowledge of the company, thus manifesting a disin- clination to involve Holland in a war with Sweden. "Two armed ships were forthwith commissioned; 'the drum was beaten daily for volunteers' in the streets of Amsterdam; authority was sent out to arm and equip, and if neces- sary to press into the company's service a sufficient number of ships for the expedition." In the meantime, Gov. Rysingh, who had inaugurated his reign by so bold a stroke of policy. determined to ingratiato himself into the favor of the Indians, who had been soured in disposition by the arbi- trary conduct of the passionate Printz. Ho accordingly sent out on all sides an invitation to the native tribes to assemble on a certain day, by their chiefs and principal men, at the seat of government on Tinicum Island, to brighten the chain of friendship and renew their pledges of faith and good neighbor. hood.

On the morning of the appointed day, ten grand sachems with their at. tendants eame, and with the formality characteristic of these native tribos, the council opened. Many and bitter were the complaints made against the Swedes for wrongs suffered at their hands, "chief among which was that many of their number had died, plainly pointing, though not explicitly saying it, to the giving of spirituous liquors as the cause." The new Governor had no answer to make to these complaints, being convinced, probably, that they were but too true. Without attempting to exeuse or extennate the past, Rysingh brought forward the numerous presents which he had taken with him from Sweden for the purpose. The sight of the piled up goods produced a profound impression upon the minds of the native chieftains. They sat apart for conference before making any expression of their feelings. Naaman, the fast friend of the whito man, and the most consequential of the warriors, according to Campanius, spoke: " Look," said he, "and see what they have brought to us." So say- ing, he stroked himself three times down the arm, which, among the Indians, was a token of friendship; afterward he thanked the Swedes on behalf of his people for the presents they had received, and said that friendship should be observed more strictly between them than ever before; that the Swedes and the Indians in Gov. Printz's time were as one body and one heart, striking his breast as he spoke, and that thencoforward they should be as oue head; in token of which he took hold of his head with both hands, and made a motion

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as if he were tying a knot, and then he made this comparison: " That, as the calabash was round, without any crack, so they should be a compact body with- out any fissure; and that if any should attempt to do any harm to the Indians, the Swedes should immediately inform them of it; and, on the other hand, the Indians would give immediate notice to the Christians, even if it were in the middle of the night." On this they were answered that that would be indeed a true and lasting friendship, if every one would agree to it; on which they gave a general shout in token of consent. Immediately on this the great guns were fired, which pleased them extremely, and they said, "Poo, hoo, hoo; mokerick picon," that is to say "Hear and believe; the great guns are fired." Rysingh then produced all the treaties which had ever been concluded between them and the Swedes, which were again solemnly confirmed. "When those who had signed the deeds heard their names, they appeared to rejoice, but, when the names were read of those who were dead, they hung their heads in sorrow."

After the first ebulition of feeling had subsided on the part of the Dutch Company at Amsterdam, the winter passed without anything further being done than issuing the order to Stuyvesant to proceed against the Swedes. In the spring, however, a thirty-six-gun brig was obtained from the burgomasters of Amsterdam, which, with four other crafts of varying sizes, was prepared for duty, and the little fleet set sail for New Netherland. Orders were given for immediate action, though Director General Stuyvesant had not returned from the West Indies. Upon the arrival of the vessels at Manhattan, it was an nounced that " if any lovers of the prosperity and security of the province of New Netherland were inclined to volunteer, or to serve for reasonable wages, they should come forward," and whoever should lose a limb, or be maimed, was assured of a decent compensation. The merchantmen were ordered to furnish two of their crews, and the river boatmen were to be impressed. At this junct- ure a grave question arose: "Shall the Jews be enlisted?" It was decided in the negative; but in lieu of service, adult male Jews were taxed sixty five stivers a head per month, to be levied by execution in case of refusal.

Stuyvesant had now arrived from his commercial trip, and made ready for opening the campaign in earnest. A day of prayer and thanksgiving was held to beseech the favor of Heaven upon the enterprise, and on the 5th of Septem- ber, 1655, with a fleet of seven vessels and some 600 men, Stuyvesant hoisted sail and steered for the Delaware. Arrived before Fort Trinity (Casimir), the Director sent Capt. Smith and a drummer to summon the fort. and ordered a flank movement by a party of fifty picked men to cut off communication with Fort Christina and the headquarters of Gov. Rysingh. Swen Schute, the com- mandant of the garrison, asked permission to communicate with Rysingh, which was denied, and he was called on to prevent bloodshed. An interview in the valley midway between the fort and the Dutch batteries was held, when Schute asked to send an open letter to Rysingh. This was denied, and for a third time the fort was summoned. Impatient of delay, and in no temper for parley. the great guns were landed and the Dutch force ordered to advance. Schute again asked for a delay until morning, which was granted, as the day was now well spent and the Dutch would be unable to make the necessary preparations to open before morning. Early on the following day, Schute went on board the Dutch flagship, the Balance, and agreed to terms of surrender very honorable to his flag. He was permitted to send to Sweden, by the first opportunity, the cannon, nine in number, belonging to the crown of Sweden, to march out of the fort with twelve men, as his body guard, fully accontered, and colors flying; the common soldiers to wear their side arms. The com-

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mandant and other officers were to retain their private property, the muskets belonging to the crown were to be held until sent for, and finally the fort was to be surrendered, with all the cannon, ammunition, materials and other goods belonging to the West India Company. The Dutch entered the fort at noon with all the formality and glorious circumstance of war, and Dominio Megap- olensis, Chaplain of the expedition, preached a sermon of thanksgiving on the following Sunday in honor of the great triumph.

While these signal events were transpiring at Casimir, Gov. Rysing, at his royal residence on Tinicum, was in utter ignorance that ho was being despoiled of his power. A detachment of nine men had been sent by the Governor to Casimir to re-enforce the garrison, which came unawares upon the Dutch lines, and after a brief skirmish all but two were captured. Upon learning that the fort was invested, Factor Ellswyck was sont with a flag to inquire of the in- vaders the purpose of their coming. The answer was returned " To recover and retain our property." Rysingh then communicated the hope that they would therewith rest content, and not encroach further upon Swedish territory, having, doubtless, ascertained by this time that the Dutch were too strong for him to make any effectual resistance. Stuyvesant returned an evasive answer, but made ready to march upon Fort Christina. It will be remembered that by the terms of the modified orders given for the reduction of the Swedes, Fort Christina was not to be disturbed. But the Dutch Governor's blood was now up, and he determined to make clean work while the means were in his hands. Discovering that the Dutch were advancing, Rysingh spent the whole night in strengthening the defenses and putting the garrison in position to make a stout resistance. Early on the following day the invaders made their appearance on the opposite bank of Christina Creek, where they threw up de fenses and planted their cannon. Forces were landed above the fort. and the place was soon invested on all sides, the vessels, in the meantime, having been brought into the mouth of the creek, their cannon planted west of the fort and on Timber Island. Having thus securely shut up the Governor and his garri- son, Stuyvesant summmoned him to surrender. Rysingh could not in honor tamely submit, and at a council of war it was resolved to make a defense and " leave the consequence to be redressed by our gracions superiors." But their supply of powder barely sufficed for one round, and his force consisted of only thirty men. In the meantime, the Dutch soldiery mado free with the property of the Swedes without the fort, killing their cattle and invading their homes. "At length the Swedish garrison itself showed symptoms of mutiny. The men were harassed with constant watching, provisions began to fail, many were sick, several had deserted, and Stuyvesant threatened, that, if they held out much longer, to give no quarter." A conference was held which ended by the return of Rysingh to the fort more resolute than ever for defense. Finally Stuyvesant sent in his ultimatum and gavo twenty-four hours for a final answer, the generous extent of time for consideration evineing the humane disposition of the commander of the invading army, or what is perhaps more probable his own lack of stomach for carnage. Before the expiration of the time allowed, the garrison capitulated, "after a siege of fourteen days, dur- ing which, very fortunately, there was a great deal more talking than cannon- ading, and no blood shed, except those of the goats, poultry and swine, which the Dutch troops laid their hands on. Tho twenty or thirty Swedes then marched out with their arms: colors flying, matches lighted, drums beating, and fifes playing, and the Dutchi took possession of the fort, hanled down the Swedish flag and hoisted their own."

By the terms of capitulation, the Swedes, who wished to remain in the

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country, were permitted to do so, on taking the oath of allegiance, and rights of property were to be respected under the sway of Dutch law. Gov. Ry- singh, and all others who desired to return to Europe, were furnished passage, and by a secret provision, a loan of £300 Flemish was made to Rysingh, to be refunded on his arrival in Sweden, the cannon and other property belonging to the crown remaining in the hands of the Dutch until the loan was paid. Before withdrawing Stuyvesant offered to deliver over Fort Christina and the lands immediately about it to Rysingh, but this offer was declined with dig- nity, as the matter had now passed for arbitrament to the courts of the two na- tions.

The terms of the capitulation were honorable and liberal enough, but the Dutch authorities seem to have exercised little care in carrying out its provis- ions, or else the discipline in the service must have been very lax. For Ry- singh had no sooner arrived at Manhattan, than he entered most vigorous pro- tests against the violations of the provisions of the capitulation to Gov. Stuy- vesant. He asserted that the property belonging to the Swedish crown had been left without guard or protection from pillage, and that he himself had not been assigned quarters suited to his dignity. He accused the Dutch with having broken open the church, and taken away all the cordage and sails of a new vessel, with having plundered the villages, Tinnakong, Uplandt. Fin- land, Printzdorp and other places. "In Christina, the women were violently torn from their houses; whole buildings were destroyed; yea, oxen, cows, hogs and other creatures were butchered day after day; even the horses were not spared, but wantonly shot; the plantations destroyed, and the whole country so desolated that scarce any means were left for the subsistence of the inhab- itants." " Your men carried off even my own property," said Rysingh, " with that of my family, and we were left like sheep doomed to the knife, without means of defense against the wild barbarians."

Thus the colony of Swedes and Fins on the South River, which had been planned by and had been the object of solicitude to the great monarch himself, and had received the fostering care of the Swedish Government, came to an end after an existence of a little more than seventeen years-1638-1655, But though it no longer existed as a colony under the government of the crown of Sweden. many of the colonists remained and became the most intelligent and law-abiding citizens, and constituted a vigorous element in the future growth of the State. Some of the best blood of Europe at this period flowed in the veins of the Swedes. "A love for Sweden," says Bancroft, "their dear mother country, the abiding sentiment of loyalty toward its sovereign, con- tinued to distinguish the little band. At Stockholm, they remained for a century the objects of disinterested and generous regard; affection united them in the New World; and a part of their descendants still preserve their altar and their dwellings around the graves of their fathers."

This campaign of Stuyvesant, for the dispossessing of the Swedes of terri- tory upon the Delaware, furnishes Washington Irving subject for some of the most inimitable chapters of broad humor, in his Knickerbocker's New York, to be found in the English language. And yet, in the midst of his side-splitting paragraphs, he indulges in a reflection which is worthy of remembrance. "He who reads attentively will discover the threads of gold which run throughout the web of history, and are invisible to the dull eye of ignorance. * By the treacherous surprisal of Fort Casimir, then, did the crafty Swedes enjoy a transient triumph, but drew upon their heads the vengeance of Peier Stuyvesant, who wrested all New Sweden from their hands. By the conquest of New Sweden, Peter Stuyvesant aroused the claims of Lord Balti-

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Author: Publication date: Publisher: W. Taylor Number of Pages: 1280

Author:
Publication date:
Publisher: W. Taylor
Number of Pages: 1280