USA > Pennsylvania > Lives of the governors of Pennsylvania : with the incidental history of the state, from 1609 to 1873 > Part 25
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body of the executrix, and ordering her to remain in cus- tody of the Marshal, the Executive directed the guard to be withdrawn and the money to be paid."
The period during which Snyder was Governor was an important and exciting one in the national life. Napoleon was on the throne of France. On the thrones of Spain, Hol- land, and Italy he had, by his sword, seated his three brothers. All Europe, amazed at his giant strides, took up arms against him. The United States, preserving a perfectly neutral atti- tude, was allowed by her commercial marine to visit freely the ports of the belligerents, and was greatly prospered. In violation of the neutral rights of the United States, Great Britain, in 1806, issued an order in council declaring the whole coast of the continent from the Elbe to Brest in a state of blockade. Napoleon retaliated by issuing his decree at Berlin declaring the entire coast of the British Islands also in blockade. As a consequence, American vessels were seized by both French and English cruisers, and her commerce, though preserving a strict neutrality, was suddenly swept from the ocean. The baneful effect of the "orders " and " decrees " was aggravated by the haughty assumption of the right, by Great Britain, to search unceremoniously American vessels for suspected deserters from the British navy, under cover of which the grossest outrages were committed, Amer- ican seamen being dragged from the decks of their vessels and impressed into the royal service. In retaliation, Presi- dent Jefferson, in July, 1807, issued a proclamation ordering all British armed vessels to leave the waters of the United States, and forbidding any to enter until satisfaction for the past, and security for the future, should be assured; and upon the meeting of Congress in December, an embargo was laid, detaining all vessels, American and foreign, then in the ports of the United States, and ordering all American vessels home that were abroad, that the seamen might be trained for hos- tilities. Negotiations were conducted with varying success, but without any pacifying results. In the meantime the causes of irritation increased, until finally the state of feeling
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became so much embittered, that in 1811 President Madison, by authority of Congress, declared war against Great Britain. The war, which lasted for a period of nearly four years, is known as the WAR OF 1812, and resulted in the establishment of a really national character to the United States. Dr. Franklin once heard a person in conversation speak of the Revolution as the War of Independence and reproved him, saying : "Sir, you mean the Revolution ; the war of indepen- dence is yet to come. It was a war for independence, but not of independence."
One of the first manœuvres of the British in the contest was to incite the Indians to hostilities, and succeeded but too well. On the night of the 6th of November, a bloody battle was fought near the confluence of the Tippecanoe and Wabash rivers, with a powerful body of the savages led by Tecumseh, a chief who rivalled Pontiac in bravery, in which General Harrison gained a complete victory, though at great sacrifice. The operations along the Canada frontier against the British army were less fortunate. On the 16th of Au- gust, 1812, General Hull, Governor of Michigan, after having crossed into Canada and attempted to reduce the opposing force, and been obliged to return, was himself compelled to surrender the" post at Detroit, where he had taken shelter, whereby fort, stores, garrison, and territory passed into the enemy's hands. Two months later, General Van Rensselaer was defeated with considerable loss at Queenstown Heights, though the British commander-in-chief, Brock, was killed in the action. At Frenchtown, on the River Raisin, twenty-five miles south of Detroit, at dawn on the morning of the 22d of January, 1813, General Winchester, after a brave resistance, was forced to surrender to the British and Indians, and though the sick and wounded were by the terms of the sur- render solemnly guaranteed safety, they were inhumanly murdered. The brave and successful defence of Fort Ste- phenson by the youthful Major Croghan, with only one hun- dred and fifty soldiers, when attacked by five hundred regu- lars and eight hundred Indians, formed some relief to the
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otherwise dark picture. The enemy was repulsed with a loss of one hundred and fifty killed and wounded, while the de- fenders lost but one killed and seven wounded. Croghan was but twenty-two years old. The tide of victory now be- gan to turn in favor of the Americans. On the 5th of Octo- ber, General Harrison came up with the British and Indians at the Moravian village on the Thames, and defeated them with great slaughter, the famous Tecumseh being among the killed. By this victory all that Hull had lost was regained, the power of the Indians was broken, and the English were driven from Michigan.
Meanwhile, upon the ocean and upon the lakes engage- ments occurred which rank with the best exhibitions of naval valor that the world has seen - Commodores Decatur, Hull, Jones, Perry, Lawrence, Porter, and McDonough combat- ing the enemy with a valor which has made that flag under which they fought respected on every water, even to the remotest seas.
The campaign of 1814 was conducted by the enemy with vigor. Early in that year the power of Napoleon was broken, and fourteen thousand of Wellington's veterans were sent to Canada. The battles of Oswego, Chippewa, Lundy's Lane, Fort Erie, and Plattsburg, which followed, were never- theless favorable to the American arms - Generals Scott, Ripley, and Brown winning substantial victories, and success- fully turning back the enemy from his march of invasion. In August, Ross, one of the most trusted of Wellington's generals, with six thousand men, in a flotilla of sixty vessels, arrived in the Chesapeake, for the conquest of the capital. He found little to oppose him. A feeble fleet under Commo- dore Barney was abandoned and burned. A small force of militia under General Winder met Ross at Bladensburg and made a sharp resistance; but the affair was soon decided in favor of the latter. On the same day, August 24th, Ross captured Washington, burned the Capitol, President's house, and other public and private buildings, and hastily withdrew to the fleet. A few days later he appeared before Baltimore,
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and, debarking, advanced to the attack. He was met by a division of the force brought together for the defence, com- manded by General Smith, a revolutionary veteran, and in a brief skirmish which ensued, Ross was killed. A fierce en- gagement followed, in which the enemy lost severely. In the meantime the fleet approached, and opened fire upon Fort McHenry, which was continued almost incessantly for a day and a night, throwing not less than fifteen hundred bomb- shells. The inhabitants were in great consternation; but before light on the morning of the 14th of September, despair- ing of success, the enemy secretly embarked and moved away.
The song of the Star-Spangled Banner was inspired by the terrors of this bombardment. A gentleman had left Balti- more in a flag-of-truce boat to secure the release of a friend, who had been captured, and was a prisoner on board the fleet. He was not permitted to return, lest he should disclose the intention to bombard the city. The flag-boat was kept under the guns of a frigate, and he was compelled to witness this terrific fire, which the British admiral boasted would soon reduce the city. Through the whole day he watched the flag at the fort with indescribable anxiety. At night he followed with eager eye the bursting shells, and in the early dawn of the morning, to his great joy, he distinguished that banner still floating. Under these circumstances the national song was written.
Finally, General Jackson, who had been engaged in pun- ishing the Indians in the south, finding that the enemy in great numbers were making their appearance in the Gulf of Mexico, promptly responded to a call from New Orleans for help, and marching thither made preparations for defence. In hastily constructed breastworks upon the river, four miles below the city, on the morning of the 8th of January, 1815, Jackson, with six thousand militia, met General Packenham, with twelve thousand men, many of them Wellington's veterans, and after a brief but sharp engagement, gained a complete victory. General Packenham fell, and his army
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withdrew, leaving seven hundred dead, and more than a thou- sand wounded upon the field. The Americans lost but seven killed and six wounded. Two weeks before this, a treaty of . peace had been concluded between the two nations at Ghent, Belgium ; but the news of it had not reached America when the battle of New Orleans was fought.
In all this contest the Government of Pennsylvania was administered faithfully in the interest of the national author- ity. Governor Snyder believed the war to be justly under- taken, and his supporters were emphatically of the war party. All his energies were devoted to bringing out the forces of the State required for prosecuting the war with vigor. Vol- unteers received but eight dollars a month from the General Government. Every inducement in addition to this, which he could consistently use, to facilitate volunteering and to aid in equipment and support of the troops, he was vigilant and studious in extending. It is related that Mrs. Snyder even cut up her crimson cloak to make trimmings for the soldiers' uniforms. The closing paragraph of his first inaugural ad- dress to the Legislature proves the warmth of feeling with which he regarded the support of the nation in the hour of its tribulation. "In a national crisis like the present," he says, " where all that is dear and precious to the United States is threatened by the violence and aggressions of foreign powers, it is peculiarly and eminently the duty of all the constituted authorities to act in support of the just and hon- orable measures adopted by the Federal Government, as if animated by one heart, one spirit, and one determination. The happy influence of such an accordance of opinion and action is not bounded by our country, but beneficially ex- tends itself wherever American politics can interest, or American interests be affected."
To the time of the accession of Governor Snyder, the Ex- ecutives had been in the habit of delivering their annual messages to the Legislature in person. He abolished that custom and inaugurated that of communicating them in writing, which has since continued to prevail. The reason
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for this change he thus states in the opening of his first mes- sage: "I have been induced to depart from this custom from a conviction that communications by message are more in accordance with our republican principles and institutions, simplicity of manners, sound economy, and equally respect- ful to the members composing the Legislature."
The interests of the nation were equally dear to the heart of Governor Snyder with those of the Commonwealth over which he presided, and in his annual messages he alluded to them with as much devotion as though they were the objects of his immediate care. In his message of the 5th of Decem- ber, 1811, he thus utters his convictions upon the subject of slavery, the first of the governors to enter his protest against it: " Elevated as is her character for humanity, there is yet permitted to remain one other stain on the otherwise fair and benign features of her polity. The galling yoke of slavery is still felt by some of our fellow-creatures, in differ- ent parts of this commonwealth, and its pressure is made the more severe, by witnessing the happiness and freedom of surrounding multitudes. A recent act of cruelty which came under my notice, and which awakened feelings of a painful and distressing nature, will, I trust, excuse the intro- duction to your notice of a subject so interesting to the whole human family, and embracing facts and practices pal- pably inconsistent with the terms and spirit of that funda- mental and immutable law of reason, 'That all men are born free and equal.'" The allusion above to the act of cruelty shows that the Governor's heart was open to generous emo- tions, and that it was touched with pity by every pang, the result of wrong and injustice, inflicted upon even the lowliest of the human species.
The following incident, given by John Binns, a friend of the Governor, who was present when the facts related trans- pired, also illustrates the goodness of the Governor's heart, and his readiness to vindicate the rights of the weak when unjustly assailed. "Soon after the inauguration of Governor Snyder," says Mr. Binns, " in 1808, I was sitting with him
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in a room at his lodgings at Bausman's tavern in Lancaster. The room was upon the second floor, and it was evening. A waiter entered and said, 'There are some gentlemen below who desire to speak with the Governor.' 'Tell them to walk up,' said the Governor. In a few minutes seven well-dressed persons entered. The foremost of them said, ' We wish to speak with the Governor on a matter of business.' The Gov- ernor answered, 'I have no objection that my friend Mr. Binns should hear anything you may wish to say to me, or anything I may have to say in answer.' The speaker for the party then said, ' We are all applicants for the public offices in Chester County. We have waited upon your Excellency to say that we shall be quite satisfied, and shall zealously sup- port your administration, whoever you may appoint, with the exception of Charles Kenny. IIe is an Irishman. We know that his appointment would be very unpopular.' The Governor bowed and made answer, 'I shall consider, gentle- men, what you have said.' The gentlemen applicants bowed respectfully and retired. The Governor turned promptly towards me, and said, ' That's a selfish combination against an absent individual. I shall appoint Kenny.' He did ap- point him Clerk of the Orphans' Court of Chester County, and he was as good an officer and as popular an appointment as any that he made."
Governor Snyder was not the man to be intimidated by threats, or driven from any policy which he thought to be right, in the hope of thereby gaining a temporary popularity. Few men have been bolder, or more independent in their public acts, or have been less swayed by considerations of selfish ex- pediency than he. In the session of the Legislature of 1813- 1814, a bill was passed by a large majority chartering forty banks. It was upon the eve of making the nomination for governor for the succeeding term. At that time the nomina- tions were made by the members of the Legislature. After assembling in caucus, it was remarked that the Act chartering the banks was still in the hands of the Governor, and that a nomination should not be made until it was seen whether he
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approved the bill. But no considerations like this could sway Governor Snyder, and promptly within three days from the time of its passage, he returned the bill with a statement of his objections. It did not pass at that session. The Gov- ernor's independence was the theme of universal encomium ; and he was re-elected by a majority of over twenty thousand votes.
During the administration of Governor Snyder a notorious woman, Ann Smith, alias Carson, formed a bold scheme for abducting the Governor's youngest son, then a lad at school, and for holding him until the pardon of her paramour, who was under sentence of death, should be secured. For this purpose she started from Philadelphia with two hired ruffians, armed to the teeth, and was making her way to Selinsgrove, on the Susquehanna, where the Governor's family resided. The Governor was secretly informed of their coming, and was prepared to receive them. They were allowed to pass Harrisburg undisturbed; but at Hunter's Falls, ten miles above, where they stopped for the night, and where they were drawn into conversation disclosing their purposes and exhibiting their arms, they were all appre- hended, and after a trial and conviction were given a home in the penitentiary.
Upon retiring from the office of Governor, in 1817, he returned to his residence near Selinsgrove, and at the next general election was chosen to the State Senate, but only served during one session. He died of typhoid fever, on the 9th of November, 1819. The last half year of his life was rendered unhappy by domestic afflictions, and the weight of grievous cares. ITis long residence at the seat of government had prevented him from giving that attention to the manage- ment of his extensive estates which they required, and he in consequence found himself much embarrassed. The death of his son Frederick, which occurred at this time of business anxiety, broke his spirit, and prepared his system for the dis- ease of which he died.
He was three times married : in 1790, to Elizabeth Michael,
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who died on the 10th of November, 1794, leaving two children; on the 12th of June, 1796, to Catharine Antes, who died on the 15th of March, 1810, leaving five children ; and on the 16th of October, 1814, to Mary Slough Scott, a widow, who died October 8, 1823.
The feelings which actuated Governor Snyder in the dis- charge of the duties of a long public service are forcibly expressed in the closing paragraphs of his last annual message to the Legislature: "Having discharged as well the Constitutional injunction as those duties assigned by law, and recommended what in my judgment would promote the public weal, it remains for me to add, that it has ever given me the purest pleasure to co-operate with the General As- sembly in such measures as were calculated to perpetuate the happiness of our constituents; that in the discharge of exec- utive functions I was ever solicitous to collect my duty from a just appreciation of every circumstance by which it might be affected. I heard with attention, and endeavored to de- cide with integrity. I had a wish, it is true, to regard the public voice, and I confess myself to have been ambitious to conciliate and enjoy the public confidence. But I could never abandon the superior claims of self-approbation and conscious rectitude. Satisfied on these points, (and ever aware that in the performance of executive duties by a merely practical man it is difficult, if not impossible, to avoid error,) I have ever acted without in the least regarding what the world might say about it; and those who know me best can bear witness that I have borne with patience the con- sequences which, to me, have casually resulted from them. For the errors I may have committed, I am consoled with the reflection that perhaps no important good was ever alto- gether free from alloy, and that my fellow-citizens will, I trust, charitably find a palliation in the motive which at any time may have misled me. The confidence and support which I have experienced from my fellow-citizens for the greater portion of an active life, have impressed my mind with deep and lasting gratitude. A consciousness of having
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with diligence and fidelity endeavored to discharge the duties which a partial public has on various occasions assigned me, and of the liberality which has been evinced towards me by a succession of legislatures during an arduous administra- tion, heightens the satisfaction I have in surrendering it to an able successor. And whilst I bid you, and my fellow- citizens generally, an affectionate farewell, I implore for my country the blessings of an all-wise superintending Provi- dence."
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WILLIAM FINDLAY,
GOVERNOR UNDER THE CONSTITUTION OF 1790, December 16, 1817, to December 19, 1820.
W ILLIAM FINDLAY, the fourth Governor of Pennsyl- vania under the Constitution of 1790, was born at Mer- cersburg, Franklin County, on the 20th of June, 1768. The progenitor beyond whom he never traced his lineage was Adjutant Brown, as he was called, who took part in the de- fence of Derry, Ireland, during its famous siege in 1566, and afterwards emigrated to this country with his daughter Eliza- beth. The daughter married Samuel Findlay, of Philadel- phia. A son by this marriage, Samuel, settled, some years before the opening of the Revolutionary War, at Mercers- burg, a place which was then of more trade and importance relatively than now. It was an entrepot, where goods to be sent west of the mountains were brought in wagons and transferred to pack-horses. It is situated at the base of the Blue Ridge, in that great valley - the Shenandoah in Virginia and Cumberland in Pennsylvania- which stretches from the borders of Tennessee to the Hudson. In the year 1765, he was married to Jane Smith, a daughter of William Smith. She died in the thirty-fifth year of her age, the mother of eight boys, six of whom survived her. These lived to be men, and all of them attained respectable, and some of them distin- guished positions in the communities where they lived. Had that young mother been spared to look on them in their man- hood, she might have regarded them with the complacency of Cornelia herself. Her fine understanding, her piety, her maternal tenderness and affection, were themes on which
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those of her children who were old enough when she died to know and appreciate her virtues, fondly loved to dwell.
William, the subject of this sketch, was the second of this family of sons. The Scotch-Irish, the name by which emi- grants from the north of Ireland were known, at an early day settled in great numbers in the Cumberland Valley, and at Mercersburg they formed almost the exclusive population. Like the Scotch, from whom they were descended, they ap- preciated the importance of a good education. A knowledge of the common English branches they deemed indispensable for all their children; while one son in a family, at least, if it could be accomplished by any reasonable sacrifice, received a classical education. William, in his boyhood, displayed that activity of mind and thirst for knowledge which were the characteristics of his manhood. ITis leisure hours were devoted to reading such books as were accessible. They were few, but they contained solid and useful information, very different from many of those which a prolific and un- scrupulous press supplies the youth of the present day. They were read with care, and their contents made the subject of reflection. It was the intention of his parents to have given him a collegiate education, in preparation for one of the learned professions, which, had he been allowed his choice, would have been that of the law. A fire, which consumed his father's store and dwelling, caused so severe a pecuniary loss that this cherished purpose had to be abandoned. His instruction was therefore only such as could be obtained in the schools of the neighborhood. The meagre advantages afforded him were studiously improved, and the natural ac- tivity of his mind and his ambition to excel enabled him to make substantial acquirements. He wrote with correctness and perspicuity, had a general knowledge of American and English history and literature, and although not a technical lawyer, he acquired that " competent knowledge of the laws" of his country which Blackstone pronounces to be " the pro- per accomplishment of every gentleman."
On the 7th of December, 1791, he was married to Nancy
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Irwin, daughter of Archibald Irwin of Franklin County, and commenced life as a farmer on a portion of his father's estate, which, at the death of his father, in 1799, he inherited.
He was a political disciple and a great admirer of Mr. Jefferson, and at an early age took an active part in politics. The first office which he ever held was a military one, that of Brigade Inspector of Militia, requiring more of business capacity than knowledge of tactics. The Brigade Inspector ranked as Major, and to be Major of Militia in those days was considered no small honor. To the veterans of the Revolutionary War it was given to become Generals and Colonels. Musters and reviews of brigades and divisions were held annually, when the whole country-side turned out to view and enjoy the spectacle. Military promotion led to political preferment. The election of a Colonel or Major was as fiercely contested as that of a Governor, and the candidates were often if not generally of opposite parties.
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