USA > Vermont > Early history of Vermont, Vol. I > Part 4
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Vermont now was literally struggling for exist-
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ence. Had she not had men of extraordinary wis- dom and firmness, she would have gone down. Gov. Chittenden, July 25, 1780, addressed the President of Congress, setting forth their rights and determination in a bold and firm manner. He told him, that "the people of this State viewed the resolutions of Congress in their nature subver- sive of the natural rights which the people have to liberty and independence," and had a "direct tend- ency to endanger the libertics of America ; and de- nied the power of Congress to decide that Ver- mont, a free and independent State, belonged to any other jurisdiction; and being an independent State, Congress had no business to legislate over Vermont." He told him, "there may, in future, be a trial at Congress, as to which of the United States shall possess this territory, or how it shall be divided between them; but this does not con- cern Vermont." He told him, "that the cloud that has hovered over Vermont since the ungener- ous claims of New Hampshire and Massachusetts Bay were made, has been seen, and its motions carefully observed by this government, who ex- pected that Congress would have averted the storm; but disappointed in this, and unjustly treated, as the people over whom I preside con- cieve themselves to be, in this affair, vet blessed by heaven with constancy of mind, and connections · abroad, as an honest, valiant and brave people, are necessitated to declare to your Excellency, to Congress, and to the world, that as life, liberty, and rights of the people, intrusted them by God, are responsible, so they do not expect to be justi-
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fied in the sight of heaven, or that posterity would call them blessed, if they should, tamely, surrender any part." And he closed his letter to him by saying, that "they were induced once more, to offer union with the United States of America,-should that be denied, this State will propose the same to the legislatures of the United States, separately, and take such other measures as selt preservation may justify.
On the 10th of Dec., 1779, Vermont issued an appeal (written by Stephen R. Bradley) to the candid and impartial world, stating the claims of New York, and New Hampshire, and Massachu- setts, and the right of Vermont to her independ- ence, and an address to Congress. It was grand, bold, logical, and convincing. I only have time to refer to one or two passages in it: "Again," he said, "the State of Vermont has merited an indis- putable right to independence, in the esteem of ev- ery true Whig, by her brave and noble conduct, in the gloomy struggle of America with Great Brit- ain. First in America were the Green Mountain Boys (to their immortal honor be it written) that commenced an aggressive war against British tyr- anny. Under every disadvantage in being a fron- tier, they nevertheless, with their lives in their hands, took Ticonderoga and other important garrisons in the north, so early that New York as a government, was called as a dead weight in the continental scale. The Green Mountain Boys, like men, determined to obtain liberty or death, pur- sued the war into Canada, and many fell fighting in the glorious cause of American liberty and free-
٨٠,٩١
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EARLY HISTORY
dom. Let the brave, immortal Gates, and the deathless Stark, tell posterity that they, in the year 1777, assisted by the militia of the State of Ver- mont, humbled the long boasted pride of Great Britain, and brought the towering Gen. Burgoyne, with his chosen legions, to ask mercy at their feet. In a word, Vermont, by her blood and treasure, at the point of the sword, has fairly merited lib- erty; and by the eternal rule of reason has a right of independence from every consideration; she has received it from God, as being created with equal liberties in the scale of human beings; in na- ture, from the formation of territories and from her victorious struggles with Great Britain." And in short, they had promised protection to all the loyal citizens, and, therefore, were under the neces- sity of supporting their independence.
The letter of Gov. Chittenden and the appeal referred to, had a great impression on the small States, who were found favoring Vermont, and Congress hesitated; but the subject of admitting her into the Union was postponed. Gov. Chit- tenden addressed a letter to John Hancock, Governor of Massachusetts, the 15th of Dec., 1780, and made a powerful appeal to him, setting torth among other things, that, "Vermont la- bored under many great evils-Congress claiming jurisdiction over them, three of the States claim- ing their territory, in whole or in part, and ex- posed to British invasion from Canada; and in one event they might be under the disagreeable ne- cessity of making the best terms with the British that may be in their power; and that it was out
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of the power of Vermont to be further serviceable to the United States unless they were admitted in- to the Union. And that it was high time that Vermont had better assurances from the several States now in the Union, whether at the conclu- sion of the present war, she may without molesta- tion enjoy her independence, or whether she is only struggling in a bloody war to establish neighbor- ing States in their independence, to overthrow or swallow up her own, and deprive her citizens of her landed estates."
This letter had the desired effect on Massachu- setts. On the 8th of March 1781, the Governor of Massachusetts replied "that when Vermont should be recognized as an independent State, that they would relinquish all claim to her juris- diction."
Vermont did not cheerfully yield to the policy that resulted in the indefinite postponement of the decision that they hoped would make Vermont one of the States of the Union. Nor did it produce the best of feelings toward the three States that had been putting forth their best efforts to rob Ver- monters of their lands and deprive them of their independence.
At this time a new effort was made to unite the towns in New Hampshire west of the Mason line, with the towns west of Connecticut River. And at a convention held at Walpole, N. H., on the 15th of November, 1780, in which several of the towns in the County of Cheshire were repre- sented, action was taken favoring the union, and it took measures to call a convention of the
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Grants, from both sides of the river, to be held at Charleston on the third Tuesday of January, 1781, at which convention 43 towns were repre- sented ; and on the 10th of February, 1781, an ap- plication was made by the Charleston convention to the Legislature of Vermont for the union of the grants on both sides of Connecticut River.
The Legislature of Vermont, on receiving that application, adopted a report that set forth, in substance, that the State of New Hampshire had receded from her former position acknowledging the independence of Vermont, and had made at- tempts to unite the whole of the grants to New Hampshire, and that some people from New Hampshire had endeavored to support internal broils in the eastern part of Vermont; and on the 10th day of February, 1781, recommended that the Legislature of Vermont lay jurisdictional claim to all lands cast of Connecticut River, north of Massachusetts, and south of latitude of 45 de- grees. Then the Legislature set forth a declara- tion that New York for many years had under- taken to usurp the rights and the property of the people of Vermont, and, therefore, the committee recommended the Legislature to lay jurisdictional claim to all lands north of the north line of Mas- sachusetts, and extending the same to Hudson River, "but not to exercise jurisdiction, for the time being." The Legislature adopted the recom- mendations; and in April, 1781, the union of the towns east of Connecticut River, west of the Ma- son line, was consumated, and 35 representatives from the Grants east of Connecticut River took
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OF VERMONT.
their seats in the General Assembly of. Vermont. This union being accomplished, the General As- sembly turned their attention to taking in a part of the State of New York east of Hudson River. And on the 11th of April, 1781, the Legislature ap- pointed a committee to meet with a convention to be held at Cambridge, N. Y., in May, 1781, to take into consideration the subject of the defense of the frontier, and the union of the towns east of the Hudson. This report was adopted by a vote of 48 yeas to 39 nays. Representatives from 12 towns met at Cambridge and adopted the recom- mendations of the Legislature of Vermont, and de- clared that the territory as far west as the Hud- son, pursuant to the recommendations, be con- · sidered as a part of the State of Vermont.
And they further declared that the whole mili- tary force of Vermont shall be exerted in their de- fence; and that the independence of the State of Vermont shall be held sacred. These recommenda- tions were approved by the Vermont Assembly, June 16th, 1781, by a vote of 53 yeas to 24 nays. Ten members were chosen from the New York towns, and eight of them took their seats in the Vermont Assembly.
Vermont was now placed in an interesting and a critical position. By the bold and decisive policy that she had followed, she had augmented her resources, compelled the respect of her enemies, gained upon the confidence of her friends, quieted disaffection in her own borders, invited immigra- tion and laid the foundation of a large and power- ful State. Up to this time no people were more
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EARLY HISTORY
firmly attached to the cause of American independ- ence than the people of Vermont, and none had more successfully contributed to sustain it; and this, too, in face of difficulties and discourage- ments with which the people of other States of the confederacy did not have to contend.
After all their efforts to maintain the common cause, they were denied by Congress a just partici- pation in the blessings they had done so much to secure. Their claim to independence had been treated with indifference, they were threatened a dismemberment of her territory, and annihilation of her sovereignty ; and were left to contend single handed against the common enemy. Their lands bordered on that of the enemy on the north, and if the British invaded the American States from the north, the Vermonters must first stand the shock of battle, and not till they should be overpowered could the other States be harmed.
It seemed to the Green Mountain Boys that they had got to take this terrible burden or enter into some arrangement with the British enemy, whereby they might delay the conflict and better their condition. Their right to independence had been denied by Congress, and as much as they loved the cause of their country, attested by their deeds, they saw every step taken to support it, ren- dered their condition more hopeless. It was of no importance to them that the American arms should be successful, while they were threatened with subjugation by the States, and her existence as a State blotted out. She could make better
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OF VERMONT.
terms than that with the enemy; and entered into negotiations with the British.
These negotiations were carried on with great secrecy by the leading men of Vermont. The Brit- ish were aware that a warm contest had been car- ried on between New York and Vermont, and that Congress had denied Vermont an independent ex- istence, and that the people of Vermont were dis- satisfied with the course that Congress had taken in refusing Vermont admission into the confeder- acy of the States; and, therefore, took advantage of this state of things and made an attempt to in- duce Vermont to remain loyal to Great Britain. This correspondence was conducted mainly on the part of the British by Frederick Haldimand, a British General in Canada, and is called the Haldi- mand correspondence. On March 3d, 1779, Lord Geo. Germaine, the British Secretary for colonial affairs, wrote to Gen. Haldimand, that the British Minister could see no objection to giving the peo- ple of Vermont reason to expect that the King will erect their country into a separate province.
On the 30th of March, 1780, Beverly Robinson, an adherent of the British at New York, (the same man who made the successful attempt to corrupt Benedict Arnold) addressed a letter to Ethan Al- len. This letter was delivered to Allen in the streets of Arlington by a British soldier in the habit of an American farmer. The letter was quite artfully drawn, setting forth that he had been in- formed that he, Allen, and most of the inhabitants of Vermont, were opposed to the wild and chimer- ical scheme in attempting to separate the conti-
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EARLY HISTORY
nent from Great Britain; that he would willingly assist in restoring America again to Great Brit- ain ; and if those were his sentiments, begged him to communicate what proposals he had to make to him, said Robinson, or to Sir Henry Clinton, the British Commander-in-Chief at New York City; and assured Allen that upon his taking an active part in restoring the people of Vermont in favor of the Crown of England, Vermont might obtain a separate government under the King and the con- stitution of England. Robinson claimed he was an American himself, and felt much for the dis- tressed situation his poor country was in, and was anxious to restore peace and the mild and good government they had lost; and said if Allen disapproved his hinting the things he had referred to, and did not choose to make any proposals to the government, he hoped he would not suffer any insult to be offered to the bearer of the letter. And if he should see fit to send proposals, and they should not be accepted or complied with, the mat- ter should be buried in oblivion between them. And if he saw fit to send a friend with proposals he should be protected and well treated. This let- ter was not received by Allen till sometime in July, 1780. He immediately communicated it to Gov. Chittenden and to some other principal men of Vermont, who thought it best not to make any reply.
At this time some Vermonters had friends that were prisoners in the hands of the British in Can- ada, and negotiations were entered into by the Vermont authorities with Gen. Haldimand to set- .
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tle a cartel for the exchange of prisoners. . During the negotiations, Maj. Carleton, a British officer, promised not to commit any hostile acts on Ver- mont during the negotiations, and the Vermont authorities also agreed to cease hostilities during the same time, providing the truce should embrace the northern frontier of New York. This was agreed to. This truce was used by Gen. Haldi- mand as the opportunity for attempting to detach Vermont from the American cause. After this truce was agreed upon, Gen. Carleton ceased his hostile demonstrations both in New York and Ver- mont and returned to Canada.
The British had great hopes at this time of de- taching Vermont from the American cause. Gen. Haldimand wrote to Gen. Lord Germaine Dec. 16, 1780, that he "had some reason to believe the of- fers he made to the chief of that district (Vermont) some time since have been or may be accepted." Commissioners had been appointed to carry out the matter of the exchange of prisoners, and the Vermont commissioners had entertained Gen. Hal- dimand's agents, with much political conversa- tion, and exhibits of papers took place, from which the British concluded they were in a fair way to effect their purposes. The agents or com- missioners appointed by Gen. Haldimand had full power to negotiate for the return of Vermont to their British allegiance. Gen. Haldimand, Dec. 20, 1780, in his instructions to his commissioners, said, "I authorize you to give these people the most positive assurance that their country will be erected into a separate province, independent and
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EARLY HISTORY
unconnected with every government in America, and will be entitled to every prerogative and im- munity which is promised to other provinces in your proclamation of the King's commissioners."
On the 9th day of March, 1781, Ethan Allen addressed a letter to the President of Congress, and sent him the letter that he received from Bev- erly Robinson, and also informed him that Ver- mont had opened a truce with Gen. Haldimand in order to settle a cartel for the exchange of pris- oners. Allen justified the course that Vermont had taken in negotiating with the enemy, and said "I am fully grounded in opinion that Ver- mont has an indubitable right to agree on terms of cessation of hostilities with Great Britain, pro- vided the United States persist in rejecting her ap- plication for a union with them; for Vermont of all people would be the most miserable, were she obliged to defend the independence of the United States and they at the same time at full liberty to overturn and ruin the independence of Ver- mont," and closed the letter by saying, "I am as resolutely determined to defend the independence of Vermont as Congress is, that of the United States; and rather than fail, will retire with the hardy Green Mountain Boys into the desolate cav- erns of the mountains, and wage war with human nature at large."
Colonel Allen met the British commissioners, to agree on a cartel for the exchange of prisoners, and told the British commissioners that his au- thority did not extend to treat for a union with Great Britain; but from a history of the confer-
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ence it is evident it was the main topic under con- sideration. Ira Allen told them, "that matters in Vermont were not yet ripe for any permanent pro- posals"-referring to the subject of the renewal of their allegiance with Great Britain,-and told them that, "some of the Council were anxious to bring about a neutrality, being convinced that Congress never intended to admit them as a State;" but for the time being desired to settle a cartel for the exchange of prisoners, and thereby keep open a door for negotiations."
From a memoranda of the conference held in May, 1781, it was evident that the British com- missioners were willing to comply with all the de- mands of Allen, except allowing Vermont to choose her own Governor, if Vermont would re- turn to her allegiance; but Allen plead for delay, and said it would be impossible to effect a union with Great Britain until the union with a part of New Hampshire and a part of New York, that had in a formal way taken part, had become more firmly united, and until they had better prepared their people for the change. Allen told them that when the western union was complete, Vermont could raise ten thousand fighting men. He said he, and Vermont in general, were inclined for the success of America, but interest and self-preserva -. tion (if Congress continued to oppress them) more strongly inclined them to wish for the success of Great Britain, and fight like devils against their oppressors, be they who they might.
Before Allen left them, he agreed with the Brit- ish commissioners how they might in future keep 7
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EARLY HISTORY
each other informed of the progress of affairs. Sig- nals were agreed upon for the messages that Al- len might send; that if the British should send messengers they were to be men of trust; that the contents of the message should be a secret, to the messenger, written on a small piece of paper, which he should be directed to swallow, or other- wise destroy, it in danger of being taken by a scout from New York. These negotiations contin- ued 17 days, during which time a cartel for the exchange of prisoners was completed; hostilities were to cease between the British and the Ver- monters until after the then next session of the Legislature of Vermont, and in the meantime Vermont was to consolidate her unions to weaken Congress, permit letters to pass through Vermont . to and from Canada, and take prudent measures to prepare the people for a change of government ..
The course of Vermont was mysterious. Bev- erly Robinson wrote Gen. Haldimand, in May, 1781, that Vermont deserves our diligent atten- tion, and that he had much to say respecting her mysterious conduct." In one letter, dated at Quebec, May 21, 1781, to Vermont authorities, it urged Vermont to take immediate and decisive steps to unite with Great Britain; it stated that, "there is from accounts from Europe great reason to think that a general negotiation for peace has commenced under the mediation of the Emperor at Vienna." Whatever the terms of peace may.he. the people of Vermont must be left in the same un- favorable situation they were in before the present trouble, unless they accept the terms offered them
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by Great Britain, and "save themselves a separate government independent of the other States." Gen. Washington disapproved of the cartel for the exchange of prisoners made by Vermont with the British in Canada.
I think it very clear that Vermont had a double purpose in these negotiations. If the people of Vermont should become perfectly satisfied that they should not be recognized as an independent State by Congress, but that her territory should be divided between the States claiming her terri- tory, many of the leading men had come to a de- termination to unite their fortunes with Great Britain, if they should be granted a separate ex- istence. So, for the time.being, it was with them "Good Lord, good devil," for they did not know whose hands they might fall into."
If the war should continue, it was evident that Vermont must become the battle ground between the British in Canada and the American forces, and, therefore, Vermont attempted to take the neu- tral position. It was a stroke of policy on the part of Vermont to make the British believe that they had no hope of being recognized as a separate State, and that, therefore, as soon as the Vermont authorities could get the Vermont people ripe for a union with. Great Britain, it should be done. By this means they avoided the calamities of active war within their own borders. Without doubt the people of Vermont had rather unite their fortunes with the United States, and conse- quently made frequent endeavors to be admitted as the fourteenth State; but Congress dallied
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along without any decisive action for the fear of offending New York and New Hampshire, and dur- ing this state of affairs, the Vermont authorities gave the British to understand that they were preparing to cast in their fortunes with them.
As late as the 10th of July, 1781, Col. Ira Allen wrote to Gen. Haldimand, that "It is expected that Vermont's agents to Congress will make of- fers to Congress that will not be accepted, by which means those in favor of government will be able to evince to the people of this State that Con- gress means nothing more than to keep this State in suspense to the end of the war, and then divide the territory among the claiming States." " It is exceeding difficult and somewhat dangerous at- tempting to change the opinion of large and popu- lar bodies. Therefore, carrying these matters somewhat under the rose until the next election, when in all probability a large majority of the then officers of the government will be well dis- posed, and then by the advantage of another de- nial from Congress, with the reins of government in their hands for one year, they will make a rev- olution so long wished for by many."
Sir Henry Clinton wrote to Gen. Haldimand from New York 23d July, 1781, that "if a reunion of Vermont with the mother country can be ef- fected, it must be productive of happy conse- quences, but I confess I have my suspicions of those people." Lord George Germaine wrote from London to Gen. Haldimand the 26th of July, 1781, "I am sorry you have cause to doubt their sincerity, but I flatter myself that when they see a
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body of troops sufficient to protect them near at hand, they will readily yield to the force of the weighty arguments you will have it in your power to urge." And he urged him to appear in considera- ble force on the frontier, which he said would be the surest means to give efficacy to the negotia- tions with the Vermont people. And nothing should be omitted to attach them to His Majes- ty's government."
Gov. Chittenden on the 14th of November, 1781, addressed a letter to Gen. Washington, jus- tifying their course in attempting to effect a union with a part of New Hampshire and a part of New · York, and the agreement Vermont made with the British for a cartel for the exchange of prisoners and cessation of hostilities, thereby saving the shedding of blood and the State from invasion, by a stroke of policy that they could not have pre- vented by any military force they had at their command. And closed his letter on that subject by saying, "And in the month of October last, the enemy appeared in force at Crown Point, and Ti- conderoga; but were maneuvered out of their ex- pedition, and they returned into winter quarters in Canada, with great safety, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, 'I will put my hook in their nose and turn them back by the way which they came, and they shall not come into this city (alias Vermont,) saith the Lord.' "
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