USA > Vermont > Windsor County > Gazetteer and business directory of Windsor County, Vt., for 1883-84 > Part 7
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WINDSOR COUNTY.
heathen and savage foe." After the reduction of Canada and the defeat of their " Popish enemies," they renewed their labors with greater energy and succeeded in establishing a " prosperous and attractive settlement." These settlers then made a futile effort to secure from Gov. Wentworth a patent of the lands which they had improved. Taking no notice of their petition, the Governor, on the 20th of August, 1761, gave a charter of the township to Gideon Lyman and sixty-one associates, the larger portion of whom were residents of Northampton, Mass., and its vicinity. Measures were taken to. secure the ejectment of the actual settlers, and judgments were secured against them. Thus began the settlement of Windsor county, a miniature example of the trials and wrongs sustained by the settlers of Vermont itself.
But the time had now come when the fears of hostile incursions ceased, and settlers began to pour in, gradually at first, then more rapidly, so that in 1771, Norwich had 206 inhabitants, Windsor 203, Hartford 190, Chester 152, Hartland 144, Springfield 141, Sharon sixty-eight, Woodstock forty-two, Pomfret thirty-nine and Weathersfield twenty, making a total population, in what is now Windsor county, of 1,205 souls.
Simpson Stevens, who was one of the early unfortuate colonists of Springfield, was a remarkable man. He was born December 5, 1736 ; was taken prisoner by the Indians, on Lake George, in 1758, and remained in captivity at Oswego and Onondaga, N. Y., more than a year. On settling in Springfield he was made a justice of the peace, an office he held for more than fifty years. He was chosen first selectman at the organization of the town, was town clerk sixteen years, and filled at different times nearly every local office within the gift of his townsmen. Twice, at least, he was a member of the committee of safety, was a deputy to the provincial congress of the State of New York, in 1776, was a member of the general assembly of Vermont in 1783, and again in 1794; was commissioned a captain by Sir Henry Moore, in 1766, was made brigade-major in the Revolutionary war, of the brigade of militia raised in Cumberland and Gloucester counties, and was lieutenant- colonel under the governor of the State. He died February 18, 1817.
LAND TITLE CONTROVERSY.
The settlements made in the State previous to the year 1741, were supposed to be within the jurisdiction of Massachusetts ; but during that year it was ascertained that they were north of its northern line and within the supposed jurisdiction of New Hampshire. This idea met with no opposition until 1763, when the population of the New Hampshire Grants had become quite large. But during that year New York laid claim to the territory, by virtue of a grant made by Charles II. to the Duke of York, in 1664, which included " all the land from the west side of Connecticut river to the east side of Delaware Bay." Upon application of the government of New York, it was decided by George III., in council of July 20, 1764, that the western bank of the Connecticut river should thereafter be regarded as the boundary line
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between that State and New Hampshire. The colonists were surprised and displeased at this decision, but peaceably submitted to it, supposing that it merely effected a change of the jurisdiction to which they were subject; and the government of New Hampshire, which at first remonstrated, soon ac- quiesced in the decision. But on the 10th of April, 1765, Lieutenant-Gov. Colden, of New York, issued a proclamation, giving a copy of the order of the king, changing the boundary of the territory, and notifying "his Majesty's subjects to govern themselves accordingly." He also at once proceeded to grant the lands to others than the New Hampshire claimants, and when the latter applied to the New York government for a confirmation of the grants they already held, such enormous patent fees were demanded as to make it impossible for them to comply.
It was well known in New York that these lands had long been granted by New Hampshire, that they were actually occupied under such grants, and that the new patents were procured in utter disregard of the rights and claims of the settlers. It was also well known by them that the king, in commis- sioning Benning Wentworth governor of New Hampshire, had described his province as reaching westward "until it met his other governments," thus bounding it westerly by New York ; and that the eastern boundary of New York was a line twenty miles easterly from the Hudson river, extending from Lake Champlain south to the western line of Massachusetts, was proved by the charter of the Duke of York, upon his accession to the throne of England, in 1685. But notwithstanding all this, New York insisted that not only was the jurisdiction changed thenceforward, but also that the grants made were vacated, and that the titles acquired under them were made void. The settlers were required to re-purchase their lands, which some of them did, though the great majority of them peremptorily refused. The lands of such were granted to others, who brought actions of ejectment in the New York courts, where they invariably obtained judgment against the original proprietors. It was found, however, that it was easier to obtain judgments than it was to enforce them. The officers also attempted to serve the writs of possession were forcibly resisted and sometimes very roughly handled.
This strife brought out peculiar talents on the part of the Green Mountain Boys, as they became known, bringing to the surface such champions as Ethan Allen, Seth Warner, Remember Baker, and others whose names now are as familiar as household words. And thus it happens that many of the towns of Windsor county have two charters, one from New York and one from New Hamphsire, while others can show only the charter from New York, with its great seal. The courts of justice that New York attempted to establish at Chester were ignored by most of the settlers of the county, who spirited away their officers, etc., all of which is spoken of in another place. The quarrel continued for full a quarter of a century. In 1769 the king prohibited the governor of New York from issuing any more grants "until his Majesty's further pleasure should be made known." Meanwhile civil dis-
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turbances and open defiance to the New York authorities continued to such an extent that, in 1774, a law was passed by that province ordering the sur- render of all offenders under the penalty of death. In reply, the people of the grants returned a public letter, threatening death to any who should aid in arresting any of her citizens. About this time a plan was made for the for- mation of a royal province, but the Revolutionary war soon joined the two provinces in a common cause, so that their personal quarrel gradually raged less furiously. In 1789 New York acknowledged the independence of Ver- mont, and endeavored to adjust all matters of dispute, having previously made grants to those who had suffered by adhering to her allegiance, while Vermont in turn paid into the treasury of New York thirty thousand dollars.
One complication arising from this land title question, was the annexation of several New Hamphsire towns to Vermont, as follows : On the 12th of March, 1778, a petition was presented to the Vermont legislature by a number of the towns in New Hampshire, praying that they might be allowed to become a part of the former State, and subject to its jurisdiction. The application having been entertained in the Assembly for several days, was finally submitted to the people. When the discussion of the subject was renewed, on the 11th of June, at the summer session of the legislature, thirty-five of the representatives, expressing the views of the towns to which they belonged, declared in favor of the union, and twelve against it. Sixteen towns were accordingly added to the territory of Vermont, - Cornish, Lebanon, Dresden, (a name given to the district belonging to Dartmouth College, but used only a short time,) Lyme, Orford, Piermont, Haver- hill, Bath, Lyman, Athrop (now divided into Littleton and Dalton), Enfield, Canaan, Cardigan (now Orange), Landoff, Gunthwait (now Lisbon), and Morristown (now Franconia). Although no act was passed to that effect, they were regarded as a part of Cumberland county, and were so referred to whenever it became necessary to legislate concerning them. Great dissatisfaction, however, prevailed on both sides of the Connecticut relative to this annexation. In vain were all the efforts of the legislature to restore peace. The experiment of annexation, hazardous in the beginning, soon began to assume an aspect threatening the very founda- tion of the new State. In this crisis, the general assembly, on the 23d of October, 1778, resolved to lay the subject before their constituents and request them to instruct their representatives how to proceed in relation to this unfortunate connection at the next session of the legislature. The im- policy, as well as the injustice "of aiding in the dismemberment of New Hampshire," was too apparent to the friends and supporters of Vermont, to admit of a doubt of the course proper to be pursued. On the 12th of Feb- ruary, 1779, the instructions of the representatives on this point were can- vassed at the winter session of the legislature, and in conformity with these instructions, the union was declared "totally void, null and extinct."
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WINDSOR COUNTY.
REVOLUTIONARY WAR.
With Vermont the Revolutionary contest possessed a double interest, for while she lent her aid to redress national grievances, she also maintained a contest on her own account, resolving to secure her independence from New York. The part taken by the famous Green Mountain Boys is almost too well known to need especial mention. Yet, while it is always conceded that they were brave and resolute, it is added that they were untrained, and surprise is often manifested that they showed such remarkable fighting qualities; a little reflection, however, will show that they were not without training in arms and particularly in the art of Indian fighting. The fertility of the Vermont soil, of which the most extravagant stories used to be told, was first made known in the older States by the soldiers who crossed the territory in the French and Indian war. Upon the conquest of Canada, these men, largely young and unmarried, would naturally be the first to go to the new country, as it was called, and such in fact was the case, to a degree, so that the settlements had at the outset a considerable sprinkling of trained soldiers. And further, it should be remembered that nearly all the settlers were inured to hardship and danger, and expert in woodcraft and the use of firearms, so that a militia company, such as was formed in Cumberland and Gloucester counties in 1775, was a fighting force which could hardly be excelled for a rough country, and was even able to appear to advantage in an open field of battle.
The strong current of emigration which after the conquest of Canada, in 1760, ran to the north from the older New England States, had, at the opening of the Revolution, effected the settlement of a great part of southern Vermont, progress of course being made most rapidly along the natural highways of the country, the rivers and lakes. In 1771, at the taking of the census of Cumberland county, the towns now comprised within the limits of Windsor county, had an ag- gregate population of 1,205 souls, and in 1776 there is estimated to have been 900 men capable of bearing arms, in the eastern part of the State. In 1775 the Green Mountain Boys captured the military posts on Lake Champlain, and the advance of the American army into Canada which followed afforded a protection to Vermont settlements which many persons, particularly in the western part of the State, were not slow in taking advantage of ; but as the enemy in turn regained possession of the lake the year following, the settlers were left entirely without protection, and in that condition, mainly, they re- mained until the close of the war. The more exposed points in the region of the lake were abandoned in 1776, until there were very few settlements north of the present line of Bennington county ; but there were no demonstrations then made upon Vermont soil, and this vicinity, as did also most other parts of the State, remained undisturbed. In 1777 came the stirring and important events of the war about Bennington, but still the settlers at this distant loca- tion continued their work about their new forest homes without interference.
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WINDSOR COUNTY.
In 1779 General Hazen, with a part of a regiment of men, was employed in cutting a road from Peacham northerly, professedly to facilitate the moving of an army into Canada, but really, it is supposed, as a feint to prevent the enemy from proceeding in force up Lake Champlain ; but there was no important move made on either side, and the year 1780 found the little State entirely unprotected from the common enemy at the north, and engaged in a bitter contest with New York. It was during this year that occurred the memorable raid upon and burning of Royalton, and the slight attack upon Barnard, mentioned in detail in connection with the sketches of these respec- tive towns. This year was full of apprehensions and alarms throughout the settlements. In October previous, the general assembly had elected a Board of War of nine persons which, April 8, 1780, issued an order looking to the better protection of Cumberland county, wherein it was recited that, " Whereas, the present war with Great Britain is likely to be continued at least this campaign, and that the Continental troops will be continued to the south of this, by means of which there will be no movement to divert the enemy in Canada, it therefore becomes the indispensible duty of this State to make the best preparations in their power for the defense of the frontiers." And we find the board busy throughout the year in its legitimate work, chiefly that of preparing defenses along the frontier line above indicated.
No important events transpired in Windsor county from this time until the close of the war, and the names of the Revolutionary sodiers, and the part each town took in the common cause we have mentioned, so far as known to us, in their respective sketches. Suffice it to say at this point, then, that the people of the " Grants" entertained a feeling of deadly hatred against King George and the British parliament, rendering the Green Mountain Boys formidable foes. The surrender of Cornwallis, at Yorktown, October 17, 1781, virtually put an end to all these troubles, and the Green Mountain Boys were soon again, except for their family trouble with New York, enjoying the privileges of peace.
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WAR OF 1812.
For nearly thirty years this intervale of peace was enjoyed, during which time the troubles between New York and Vermont were amicably adjusted, and one more star added to the proud flag of the Union. But still England, notwithstanding the lesson she had received and all the years that had inter- vened, seemed not to appreciate the fact that her American colony had grown to an independent nation; and though in March, 1782, Burke and Fox had raised their voices in the British parliament and the house of commons had formally declared that it "would consider as public enemies all those who should advise a further prosecution of the war with America," England still persisted in acts of tyranny until they became unendurable. Accord- ingly, on the 18th of June, 1812, an act was passed in our house of repre- sentatives by a vote of seventy-nine to forty-nine, and in the senate by a
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WINDSOR COUNTY.
majority of nineteen to thirteen, declaring war against Great Britain. The message of the president contained these as the principal reasons : "The impressment of American seamen by the British, the blockade of her enemies' ports, in consequence of which American commerce had been plundered in every sea, etc."
Vermont, thinking that the difficulties of the times required its sentiments to be known among the other States, adopted the following resolution : " We therefore pledge ourselves to each other and to our government, that with our individual exertions, our example and influence, we will support our government and county in the present contest, and rely on the great Arbiter of events for a favorable result." This resolution Windsor county sustained to the letter ; many of her old Revolutionary heroes again went to the front in support of the common cause. The preparation for the battle of Platts- burgh, N. Y., etc., and, indeed, all the events of the war are too well known to require repeating here. The record of some of the heroes who partici- pated in the battles will be found recorded in connection with the history of the towns wherein they resided. So, suffice it to say, two years the storm raged, being quelled in 1815, when the victorious soldiers again returned to their quiet avocations.
THE WAR OF THE UNION.
After the war of 1812, grim War sullenly retired to his cave, and sweet Peace smiled upon the green hills and fertile valleys of Vermont. Under her brooding wing youths and maidens grew to the meridian of life, passed the line, and as gray-haired grandparents trotted a new generation upon their knees, rehearsing to them the tales they loved best to hear, of the brave deeds of Allen, Stark and McDonough. Silver threads of the "iron horse's" pathway had taken the place of the blazed-tree path through the forests, where fields of waving grain now denoted the nation's prosperity. April 12th, 1861, however, ruthlessly dispelled this dream of happiness and contentment. The first shot upon Sumter had been fired, and War was again released from his bondage.
It was then shown what fruit the martial tales and traditions of the old veterans produced. Vermont sent to the field, in distinct military organiza- tions, seventeen regiments of infantry, one regiment of cavalry, three batteries of artillery, and three companies of sharpshooters, aggregating 28,867 men, 760 of whom held commissions, ranging from second-lieutenant to major- general. Of those who enlisted as privates, but one man, Sumner H. Lincoln, of Hartford, became full colonel in the same regiment in which he enlisted. To 28,967, add 1,339 men, who served in the navy, and we have an aggregate number, on land and water, of 30,306 men. To this number add 1,961 veterans who re-enlisted, and we have 32,267 individual enlist- ments ; now add 1,97I who were drafted but paid commutation, $300 each, and we have 34,238 men " furnished under all calls," by a State having, in
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1860, an aggregate population of 315,098, irrespective of age, sex, nativity, color or condition,-a little over one to nine of the entire number.
Of the 28,967 men who served in the organizations above mentioned, 1,671 enlisted men were killed in battle, or died of wounds received in battle, and 101 commissioned officers shared the same fate ; 2,616 enlisted men and twenty-nine officers died of disease, 626 enlisted men and three officers died in rebel prisons, seventy-five enlisted men and three officers were killed by accident, and four (we blush to say) were shot by sentence of court martial, for double desertion, making a total death loss of 5,128 men. There were 3,865 enlisted men and sixty-one officers discharged for disability ; 596 enlisted men and forty-four officers for wounds received; and one hundred enlisted men and twenty-eight commissioned officers were dishonor- ably discharged. The whole number wounded in action was 4,360. By the authority of careful statisticans, we are allowed to say for Vermont that but one other State furnished a larger share of her population, and but one other sacrificed a greater per cent. of her troops to wipe the stain from our insulted flag.
Windsor county did her full share, and was not a whit behind her thirteen sister counties. In 1860 she had a population of 37, 193, and furnished 3,716 soldiers, being nearly ten per cent. of her inhabitants. Not one of her twenty- four towns was lacking under all calls, and thirteen of the twenty-four fur- nished an excess of their quota, an excess amounting in all to sixty men, of whom Hartland furnished one-fifth. These men were scattered through the several regiments, forming companies about as follows : For the ist regiment Co. B, in which Hon. Selden Conner, ex governor of Maine, was a private, and a good share of Co. E ; 2d regiment, a small part of Co. E; 3d regiment, Co's A and F; 4th regiment, most of Co. B, nearly all of Co's C and E, and two-fifths of Co. K; 6th regiment, most of Co's B, and C; 7th regiment, one-half of Co. C, and a portion of Co. H; 9th regiment, most of Co. D ; Ioth regiment, most of Co. H; 11th regiment, most of Co. H; 12th regi- ment, Co's A and B; 16th regiment, nearly all of Co's A, E, G, H, and K; cavalry, surgeon of Co. E .; and of the artillery and sharp-shooters, about ten per cent. The officers were distributed much as the enlisted men were, when they first took the field, as the men then had the choice of the officers of the line, while the field and staff officers of each regiment were selected by the governor, before the regiment was organized, while in the field all promo- tions were, or were supposed to be, the result of the concurrence of a majority of the field officers of the regiment wherein vacancies were to be filled.
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Windsor county, while claiming no especial merit where all were alike worthy, takes the laurel wreath from her sister counties in the matter of pro- motions while in the field. From 1861 to 1865, inclusive, she had in com- missioned officers of the field, five colonels, twelve lieutenant-colonels, and fifteen majors ; of the staff, five adjutants, three surgeons, two assistant sur- geons, four quartermasters and four chaplains ; of the line, fifty-three cap-
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tains, sixty-five first lieutenants and eighty-five second lieutenants, making in all forty-five of the field and staff, and 203 of the line. In this reckoning none are counted who did not attain to the positions.
The regiments mentioned, partly made of Windsor county men, took part in over 220 engagements, while the battle losses, and losses by disease, were about as they were in the other counties, in each and all a large num- ber to spare, yet cheerfully and without regret given up to save " the Union we love and the flag we adore." Surely the lessons taught by the Green Mountain Boys of 1776 were not forgotton by their descendants of 1861.
The following complete roster of men who went from Windsor county as commissioned officers, and of those, who, enlisting in the ranks, were subse- quently promoted to a commission, is compiled from adjutant and inspector- general's report of 1866, and from other sources. For the sake of conven- ience the names are arranged in alphabetical order, the dates referring to com- missions, the date of muster being omitted :-
TERMS OF ENLISTMENTS.
FIRST REGIMENT, Infantry, mustered into service May 2, 1861, and mus- tered out August 15, 1866.
SECOND REGIMENT, Infantry, mustered into service June 20, 1861. Orig- inal members, not veterans, mustered out June 29, 1864. Recruits for one year and recruits whose term of service would expire previous to October I, 1865, mustered out June 19, 1865. Remaining officers and men mustered out of service July 15, 1865.
THIRD REGIMENT, Infantry, mustered into service July 16, 1861. Original members, not veterans, mustered out July 27, 1865. Veterans and recruits consolidated into six companies, July 25, 1864. Recruits for one year and recruits whose term of service would expire previous to October 1, 1865, mus- tered out June 19, 1865. Remainder of Regiment mustered out July II, 1865.
FOURTH REGIMENT, Infantry, mustered into service September 21, 1861. Original members, not veterans, mustered out September 30, 1864. First, Second and Third companies of Sharp Shooters transferred to Fourth Regi- ment, February 25, 1865. Veterans, recruits and men transferred from Sharp Shooters, consolidated into eight companies, February 25, 1865. Recruits for one year, and recruits whose term of service would expire previous to October 1, 1865, mustered out June 19, 1865. Remainder of Regiment mustered out July 13, 1865.
SIXTH REGIMENT, Infantry, mustered into service October 15, 1861. Orig- inal members, not veterans, mustered out of service October 28, 1864. Vet- erans and recruits consolidated into six companies, October 16, 1864. Recruits for one year, and recruits whose term of service would expire previ- ous to October 1, 1865, mustered out June 19, 1865. Remainder of Regi- ment mustered out June 26, 1865.
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WINDSOR COUNTY.
SEVENTH REGIMENT, Infantry, mustered into service February 12, 1862. Original members, not veterans, mustered out August 30, 1864. Regiment mustered out March 14, 1866.
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