USA > Pennsylvania > Dauphin County > History of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania > Part 15
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"The commander of the Jersey militia detachment feels him- self bound to acknowledge the politeness of the citizens of Harris- burg to his company, and requests that their gratitude and his own joined with the highest respect, may be signified in a proper manner. "RICHARD HOWELL,
"Commandant Jersey Detachment." "Harrisburg, Pa., Sept 25, 1794."
Another quotation from the "Oracle" says: "Harrisburg, Dec. 1, 1794 :- On Tuesday last, arrived in town from the West- ward, Capt. McPherson's company of Blues, belonging to Philadel-
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phia, and the next morning proceeded homeward. Saturday last, Brigadier General Proctor's brigade also arrived, and this morning early marched for their respective homes. Colonel Chamber's bri- gade, we hear, will also arrive to-day or to-morrow, with one hun- dred prisoners."
The companies composing the Second Pennsylvania Regiment, ordered into service by President Washington, during this insur- rection, and chiefly from the vicinity of Harrisburg, were as follows :
Regimental Officers :- Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Forster, Major Frederick Hummel, Paymaster John Brown, Sergeant-Major Philip Stoher.
Infantry-Captain Wallace's company, composed of one cap- tain, one lieutenant, one ensign, four sergeants, two corporals and thirty-two privates; served one month and twenty days.
Riflemen-Captain Ainsworth's company, composed of one captain, one lieutenant, one ensign, two sergeants, one corporal and nineteen privates; served one month and twenty days.
Captain Devins' company, composed of one captain, one lieutenant, one ensign, four sergeants, four corporals and thirty privates; served one month and twenty days.
The above list of companies is taken from an advertisement of the paymaster of the troops published in the "Oracle of Dauphin," January, 1795. It is believed that the companies named were only mustered into the service of the United States, but did not march to the scene of the rebellion.
A company of volunteers from Harrisburg, commanded by Captain George Fisher, father of J. Adams Fisher, Esq., actually marched as far as Carlisle on their way to the seat of war. At Carlisle Captain Fisher was selected major of the battalion of troops from Dauphin and adjoining counties.
(For muster rolls of companies, see appendix. )
THE WAR OF 1812-14.
The cause which led to the second war with Great Britain- that of 1812-14-grew out of the mother country, who, even after having been vanquished in the long war of the Revolution, still usurped her would-be authority over this country by insisting upon searching American vessels, and against which the United States had at various times bitterly protested.
On June 18, 1812, Congress declared war against England, voted five million dollars for war purposes, and authorized a roll
r
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of one hundred thousand troops. Governor Snyder, of Pennsyl- vania, called for volunteers "to rally 'round the constituted authori- ties of the Union." Such was the enthusiasm that, in response to the Governor's call for troops, three times more men offered their services as were required. Being thus disappointed in not being accorded a place in the ranks, many men offered money freely to be permitted to enlist instead of those who had been accepted by the state.
Dauphin, among the other counties of Pennsylvania, fell quickly into line. In 1812 and 1813 none of the companies were called, but certain ones were held in readiness for emergency.
After the battle of Bladensburg and the capture of Washington City, the old-time patriotism was rekindled, and in response to the call certain companies were mustered into active service and hastened to the front to render support and speedy relief at the city of Baltimore, Maryland. However, some of these commands never marched further than York. ( For muster roll see appendix. ).
December 24, 1814, a treaty of peace was signed between this country and England. The news did not reach this country until February 11, 1815. (This was prior to fast steamships and nearly a half century before the ocean cable was in existence.) February 15, 1815, the treaty was approved by the Senate of the United States and thus ended the second war with England.
As to the uniform worn by the soldiery of 1812-14, the follow- ing in General Orders is here given :
"General Officers .- Their coats to be blue, faced and lined with buff. They may embroider the button-holes on the collar. Their epaulettes, sword mounting, buttons, spurs, buckles, and trimmings to be gold or gilt. Buff vests, breeches, or pantaloons.
"The General Staff and Field Officers .- To wear chapeaux of the following form: The fan not less than six and a half, nor more than nine inches high in the rear, nor less than fifteen, nor more than seventeen inches from point to point, bound round the edge with black binding half an inch wide. The wearing of feathers is dispensed with. The company officers may, with the consent of the field officers of the regiment to which they belong, wear any other uniform hat than the chapeau.
"The coat of the infantry and artillery shall be blue, edged with red. It shall be single breasted, and have ten buttons, the length to reach to the bend of the knee. The standing collar to rise to the tip of the ear. The cuffs shall be plain, of the same color of the coat, and not less than three nor more than three and a half inches wide; the bottom of the breast and two hip buttons to range. Vests,
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breeches and pantaloons white. Blue pantaloons may be worn in the winter. Vest, single breasted, with pocket flaps.
"Epaulettes, sword mounting, buttons, spurs, buckles and trimmings of the Artillery, gold or gilt; those of the Infantry, silver, or plated. The sword to be of the sabre form."
THE "BUCKSHOT WAR."
The first proceedings of the Pensylvania Legislature which. convened at Harrisburg, December 4, 1838, were marked with unusual scenes of confusion and disorder and resulted in what is. commonly termed the "Buckshot War."
The causes which led to this strife were the result of the general election held in October, 1838, when David R. Porter, of Huntingdon county, the Democratic candidate, was chosen Gover- nor, after a hotly contested political canvass, over Governor Joseph Ritner, who was the standard bearer for the Whigs and Anti- Masons, the majority for Porter being five thousand five hundred and four votes. Upon the result of the election being made known, on the 15th of October, Thomas H. Burrowes, Secretary of the Commonwealth and chairman of the Anti-Masonic State Committee, issued a private circular "To the Friends of Governor Ritner," calling upon them to demand an investigation of the alleged frauds committed at the polls, and also advising them to "treat the election held on the 9th of October as if it had not taken place." This circular had the desired effect, and the defeated Anti-Masonic and Whig candidates for the Legislature in different parts of the state contested the seats of their successful Democratic competitors upon the slightest pretext.
It should be remembered that the election took place October 9, 1838 ; the Legislature met December 4, and the new Governor was not to be inaugurated until January 15, 1839, that being the first in- auguration under the new Constitution. As trouble was looked for upon the assembling of the Legislature, there were large numbers of excited people, especially from districts where contests were pending, who flocked to Harrisburg to witness the result of the struggle. Then the House of Representatives consisted of an even one hundred members. Of these eight were from the city of Philadelphia, whose seats were contested; and of the remaining members forty-eight were Democrats and forty-four Whigs and Anti-Masons. The majority of the Senate belonged to the latter party and consequently promptly organized by the election of Charles B. Penrose as speaker. The House met with all the contesting delegates present. The clerk read the names of those members
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which had been handed to him by the Secretary of the Common- wealth. Upon reaching the returns of Philadelphia county, it was discovered that the legal returns had been withheld and fraudulent ones signed by only six of the seventeen return judges substituted. This had been anticipated and provided against by the Democrats, who produced and had read the true returns, duly certified by the Prothonotary of Philadelphia. The reading of these returns and the seating of the two sets of delegates from Philadelphia county caused the greatest excitement in the House, during which Thaddeus Stevens, then a member of the Legislature from Adams county, moved that the body proceed to the election of a Speaker. The Clerk then called the roll of Whig and Anti-Masonic members and declared Thomas S. Cunningham, of Beaver county, elected Speaker. He was conducted to the Speaker's chair and took his seat. The Democrats paid very little attention to the movements of the opposition and elected William Hopkins, of Washington county, as Speaker. Two members escorted Mr. Hopkins to the Speaker's platform, where Cunningham had been already seated. It is related that Thomas B. McElwee, of Bedford county, one of Hopkins' escorts, ordered Cunningham, in a peremptory manner, to surrender the Speaker's chair to Hopkins, and he obeyed, taking another that stood near by on the platform. Thus the Pennsylvania House of Representatives enjoyed ( ?) a double-headed organization. The members of the House of each party were then sworn in by their respective officers. After qualifying all their members and electing officers, and appointing a committee to wait upon the Governor, and one to wait upon the Senate to inform them that the House was ready to proceed to business, both parties adjourned their respective bodies to meet next day at ten o'clock. The Cunningham party, however, did not wait until the appointed time. In the afternoon they again met in the hall, and after their Speaker had called them to order, he requested Mr. Speckman, of Philadelphia, to act as Speaker pro tem. Some Philadelphians being in the lobby of the hall as mere spectators, and feeling very indignant at the proceedings of the Cunningham faction, they went up to the platform and carried pro tem Speaker Speckman off and set him down in the aisle. This interference from outsiders the Cunningham House had not the power to resent, and it immediately adjourned in great confusion. It afterward met in Matthew Wilson's hotel, (now the Lochiel House ) .
During these exciting scenes inside the State House, large crowds of people gathered outside the capitol, more or less boisterous.
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Both determined and desperate men were there from both sides. Threats were made, defiance hurled back and forth, and to the timid the aspect of affairs appeared alarming. On the night of the first day of the session a large public meeting was held in the court house, over which Thomas Craig Miller, of Adams county, presided, with a number of vice-presidents. The meeting was addressed by Colonel J. J. McCahan, E. A. Penniman, of Philadelphia, and George W. Barton, of Lancaster. A committee on resolutions was appointed, who reported the following, which were adopted :
"Resolved, That we recommend to the citizens generally to pursue a prudent and a calm course, awaiting the events of the day with that firmness which freemen in a free country have resolved upon.
"Resolved, That neither those in power, who endeavor to per- petuate their reign through unlawful and fraudulent returns, or citizen soldiers, who have the same feelings and interest with us, will intimidate people resolved upon having their rights."
A committee was also appointed by the meeting to wait on Thomas H. Burrowes, Secretary of the Commonwealth, and request him forthwith to furnish the clerks of the Senate and House the full legal returns of the election. A committee of safety consisting of fifteen persons was also appointed. About the time of the assembl- ing of the meeting, Governor Ritner, acting under the advice of his political advisers, Messrs. Stevens, Burrows and Penrose, issued the following proclamation :
"Pennsylvania, ss.
"In the name and by the authority of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, by Joseph Ritner, Governor of the said Common- wealth :
"A PROCLAMATION.
"WHEREAS, A lawless, infuriated, armed mob from the counties ·of Philadelphia, Lancaster, Adams and other places have assembled at the seat of government, with the avowed object of disturbing, interrupting, and overawing the Legislature of this Commonwealth, and of preventing its proper organization, and the peaceable and free discharge of its duties ;
"And whereas, The said mob have already, on this day, entered the Senate Chamber, and in an outrageous and violent manner, by clamoring, shouting, and threatening violence and death to some of the members of that body and other officers of the government, and, finally, by rushing within the bar of the Senate Chamber, in defiance
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of every effort to restrain them, compelled the Senate to suspend business ;
"And whereas, They still remain here in force, encouraged by a person who is an officer of the General Government from Philadel- phia, and are setting the law at open defiance, and rendering it un- safe for the Legislative bodies to assemble in the Capitol;
"THEREFORE, This is to call upon the civil authorities to exert themselves to restore order to the utmost of their power, and upon the militia force of the Commonwealth to hold themselves in instant readiness to repair to the seat of government, and upon all good citizens to aid in curbing this lawless mob, and in reinstating the supremacy of the law.
"Given under my hand and the Great Seal of the State, at Harrisburg, this fourth day of December, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty-eight, and of the Common- wealth the sixty-third.
"By the Governor : "THOMAS H. BURROWES, "Secretary of the Commonwealth." (L. S.)
The state arsenal was taken possession of by a force in the interest of Governor Ritner, and large quantities of powder, cartridges, and other ammunition taken there. Ritner's proclamation and call for troops and the seizure of the arsenal, filled the citizens of Harrisburg and the people who had assembled here with intense alarm. There had been no actual outbreak, but the situation now begun to assume a grave aspect, and a large number of people flocked to the city, attracted by curiosity, to participate in the im- pending struggle. As an offset to the Governor's proclamation, the sheriff of Dauphin county deemed it his duty to issue a counter proclamation, in which he stated that at no time had there been any riotous proceedings upon the part of the people, nor any disturb- ance which rendered necessary his interposition as a civil officer to preserve the peace.
The excitement increased and a large body of people flocked to the old arsenal, determined to prevent the arms and ammunition there stored from being seized by the Governor and his party, for the purpose of subduing them. These excited people would probably have captured the arsenal if Major George Ford, of Lancaster, and Joseph Henderson, a committee appointed by the state authority, had not appeared before the committee of safety and made the fol- lowing pledge for themselves and those who sent them: "That, as men of honor, no ordnance, arms or ammunition should, by any order of the Governor, or any other authority whatever, be taken from the arsenal for the purpose of arming any forces that might
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collect in obedience to the proclamation of the Governor; and if any use of them should so be made, they would hold themselves personally responsible for the consequences."
This pledge was satisfactory to the committee of safety, who believed that the only object of the people in making a demonstra- tion upon the arsenal was, not to employ the public arms themselves, but, if possible, to prevent their adversaries from making use of them.
By this time a great multitude had assembled about the arsenal, having been attracted thither by the word that a quantity of ammu- nition had been taken there, and that their adversaries had stationed in the building a body of armed men as a rendezvous to subdue the people. By this time the excitement had become tremendous, and for the purpose of acting in good faith on the part of the committee, on motion of L. Kidder, it was "Resolved, That a committee of three be appointed to go and address the people, making known the pledge of Messrs. Ford and Henderson, and urge them to quietly disperse."
Whereupon L. Kidder, General Adam Diller and Lewis S. Coryell were appointed the said committee, who immediately retired to discharge their duty, which they did manfully, and that the people did disperse, is shown by the report these gentlemen made.
On the 5th of December the Governor made a special requisi- tion on Major-General Robert Patterson, commanding the First Division Pennsylvania Militia, for a force of troops sufficient to quell the "insurrection," and march them immediately to the seat of government. Upon receiving orders, and before leaving Phila- delphia, General Patterson obtained from the United States Arsenal at Frankford a supply of ammunition, of which the following is an official inventory :
"Twelve thousand four hundred and eighty musket-ball and buckshot cartridges, 600 pistol cartridges, 400 priming tubes, 68 6-pounder strapped shot, fixed; 132 6-pounder cannon balls, 200 musket-flints, 100 pistol flints, 20 pounds slow-match.
"GEORGE D. RAMSEY, "Capt. of Ord. "Frankford Arsenal, Dec. 7, 1838."
The regulation ammunition for the infantry then was buckshot cartridges, which consisted of twelve buckshot, each as good as a bullet. The headquarters of the Whig party during these troubles was the Shakespeare Hotel, on Locust street. A report was circu- lated upon the streets that a number of men at this hotel were
11
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engaged in making buckshot cartridges to be used on the "mob." A watch was set to prevent these cartridges from being taken to the arsenal and this watch intercepted a negro who had been employed to deliver them. He was compelled to surrender the cartridges, which were distributed among those present, and some are yet preserved as mementoes of the "Buckshot War." From these incidents the name "Buckshot War" is derived.
About one hundred of the troops arrived on Saturday night (December 8th) following, and obtained quarters in the court house ; and at four o'clock p. m. the next day the main body, number- ing about eight hundred, under command of Maior-General Patter- son and staff, arrived below town, and halted until communication could be had with the state authorities, which was effected in about an hour, when the troops entered the town, and, after marching through several of the streets, proceeded to the public ground in front of the state arsenal, where they were divided off into detach- ments, who severally obtained quarters in the arsenal, the Exchange, the court house, the Lancasterian school house on Walnut street, and the Presbyterian church, on Second, below Chestnut street.
The Governor did not stop with the ordering of General Patterson's command to the seat of government, but on the 5th of December addressed a letter to Captain E. V. Sumner, U. S. A., then in command of Carlisle Barracks, with a small body of United States dragoons, requesting him to march his troops to Harrisburg for the protection of the state authorities. To this appeal, and one made to him by Charles B. Penrose, Captain Sumner replied that he did not deem it proper to interfere in the troubles then existing at Harrisburg, which appeared to him to proceed from political dif- ferences alone. On Friday, December 7th, Governor Ritner wrote to President Van Buren, laying before him a full account of the affair, and requested the President to take such measures as would protect the state against violence. In this communication the Gov- ernor stated that he had the day before made a formal application to Captain E. V. Sumner for aid, inclosing a copy of his formal request, together with a copy of Sumner's reply. He also inclosed a copy of the proclamation he had issued, and a published statement of the facts connected with the riot in the Senate chamber, signed by a majority of the Senators, and sworn to by the Speaker and other members of the Senate. He also deemed it proper to state to the President that the most active leaders of the "mob" were J. J. Mc- Cahan of the Philadelphia postoffice; Charles F. Muench, a deputy marshal of the Middle district of Pennsylvania, and E. A. Penniman, said to be an officer of the custom house of Philadelphia. The
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President replied to this communication through Joel R. Poinsett, Secretary of War, declining to interpose until it appeared certain that convening the Legislature was impracticable.
The Governor's party, finding that General Patterson refused to install them in power, and would obey only such orders as he regarded proper after the orders had been given him by the Gov- ernor, made a requisition on Samuel Alexander, major-general of the Eleventh Division of the State militia, a citizen of Carlisle, and an ultra Whig in politics. There were at this time three volunteer companies at Carlisle, mustering in all about ninety men, but only sixty-seven participated in the Buckshot war.
The Carlisle infantry was officered as follows: William S. Ramsey, captain; Robert McCartney, first lieutenant; George L. Murray, second lieutenant; Alexander S. Lyne, orderly sergeant. Carlisle Light Artillery : captain, E. M. Biddle; first lieutenant, William Porter; second lieutenant, Robert A. Noble. Washington Artillery : captain, William Cross; first lieutenant, Alfred Creigh; orderly sergeant, Thomas B. Thompson. The battalion was in command of Colonel Willis Foulk, an ardent Democrat, who was ignored by General Alexander. The troops received orders Decem- ber 15, to march to Harrisburg, and on the following day embarked for the seat of war. On reaching the western side of the Susque- hanna river, they disembarked and marched across the wagon bridge, breaking step to keep from jarring the structure.
General Patterson and his command had already left Phila- delphia when the troops from Carlisle reached Harrisburg. They marched into the city market and thence to the arsenal, where they were quartered for a week. There was no actual need of any troops at any time during the dead-lock in the Legislature. The appear- ance of armed troops, however, upon the streets and close to the halls of legislation, only added to the excitement. It was estimated that there were in the borough of Harrisburg at that date "between thirty and fifty thousand strangers." When the Carlisle troops arrived the contest was approaching an end and the soldiers regarded their trip a frolic and enjoyed themselves.
December 17, Messrs. Butler and Sturdevant, of Luzerne . county, and Montelius, of Union, three legally Whig members, abandoned their associates and were sworn in as members of the Hopkins house, which gave it a legal quorum over and above the eight Democrat members from Philadelphia, whose right to seats the "Rump House," as it was contemptuously called, disputed. Finally, on December 25, a majority of the Senate, finding that it was impossible to accomplish the design of the revolutionists, by a
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vote of seventeen to sixteen agreed that a committee should be ap- pointed to inform the Hopkins house that the Senate was organized and ready to co-operate with it, which ended the difficulty.
In the Senate the trouble was not yet ended. There were contests for seats from several districts. Upon the floor were members of the House, including Thaddeus Stevens, of Adams, the leader of the Stevens "Rump House," and the Secretary of the Commonwealth, Thomas H. Burrowes, of Lancaster, who had gone there with the minority returns. In the lobbies at the rear of the Senate chamber was a dense crowd of spectators, composed of excited and enraged citizens, some of whom were there out of idle curiosity and others with determination of preventing the seating of Hanna and Wagner, the illegally returned senators from Philadel- phia, either by the form prescribed by law or by intimidation. The spectators were noisy at the very sight of Stevens, Penrose, of Cum- berland county, and Burrowes exerting themselves to exclude sen- ators legally entitled to their seats, and aroused the lookers-on to such an extent that threats of violence, personal in character, were indulg- ed in. At last Speaker Penrose, unable to stem the current any longer, abandoned his post, and with Stevens and Burrowes escaped from a window in the rear of the Senate chamber, and under shelter of the night from the State House enclosure. A Harrisburg paper of that day stated that "Mr. Penrose, the Federal Speaker of the Senate, in effecting his retreat from the Senate chamber on the first day of the session, jumped out of a window twelve feet high, through three thorn bushes and over a seven-foot picket fence."
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