USA > Vermont > Bennington County > History of Bennington County, Vt. : with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 15
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In January following the committee visited the town and made known their errand to the people. Of course it was in order that the representatives fav- oring each locality should ingratiate themselves into the good favor of the visi- tors, and it is safe to state that the commissioners were as well entertained, and the recipients of as much considerate attention as any representative body that ever visited Bennington. Whether it was that the Bennington denizens outdid their brethren of the east village in matters of hospitality, is not known, but they certainly did succeed in persuading the committee that the greatest inter- ests would be promoted by not directing a change in the site.
Then the third court-house was erected at the old village, but on a site some distance from where the others had stood. This was a substantial brick structure, and contained rooms for county officers in addition to the court- room. For twenty- two years this building was occupied, but, in 1869, on the 26th of March, a fire occurred, by which this, the third court-house of the shire, together with valuable records, was destroyed.
Then followed another period of agitation of the subject of removal to the village of Bennington (which had been formerly known as East Bennington, but by a change in the postal arrangements of the towns in July, 1849, had taken the name of Bennington, and at the same time the village, or at least the post- office on "the hill," was designated as West Bennington). And while the mat- ter was pending and the court-house being constructed courts were held in the Free Library Hall. 17
130
HISTORY OF BENNINGTON COUNTY.
While there were many good reasons why the location of the county bri: ings should have been changed after the fire of 1846, there were still stro. arguments to be made in favor of a change in 1869. The village of Benning ton, the east town, liad a population several times larger than the west villa: the great bulk of business, manufacturing and mercantile, was transacted here. and, moreover, the clerk of the courts had for some time maintained an off. in the place for the accommodation of attorneys and others who, almost dad .. had business to transact with him. Therefore a change was not only desirab . for convenience, but absolutely necessary as a matter of business. The re. dents of West Bennington saw that the change was necessary, and howera much they would have preferred that the court-house be rebuilt in their vil. lage, they made no effort in opposition to the removal.
In 1869 the Legislature passed another act authorizing the levying of .. county tax for the purpose of building the fourth court-house in the south half shire, to be erected at Bennington, the east village. The tax was laid, and the building erected immediately thereafter. It stands fronting on South street, a substantial brick structure, two stories high, with court-room ou the second floor and offices for county officials on the ground floor. In connection with the court-house is a strong jail and jailer's residence. The jail is arranged with eight cells, seven of which are for male prisoners, and one for females. The offices of the probate judge and county clerk are provided with fireproof vaults for the safe keeping of valuable documents and records.
In the design of the building there appears to have been an effort at con- venience of arrangement rather than architectural display, but the latter has not been by any means overlooked, as it presents to the observer a decidedly attractive appearance in excellent taste and of good proportions. But how- ever much the designer or contractor endeavored to construct a convenient or suitable court room, he fell far short of accomplishing that end. Over the main entrance is a belfry and tower, the latter rising some distance above the roof of the building proper. The cost of the whole building was about $30.000.
The act of the Legislature that provided for laying the tax on the county under which the present court-house was built also made provision that the question of consolidating the two shires of the county be submitted to a vote of the qualified electors thereof. Upon this the freemen voted at the town meet- ings throughout the county in February, 1870, and the canvass of the returns showed a decided majority in favor of continuing the county as it had been for nearly ninety years-in two shires.
In the matter of preserving county buildings from destruction by fire, the half shire town of Manchester has been far more fortunate than Bennington. The only difficulty encountered in the first named place was that experienced by the commissioners in finding a suitable place to make the erection. They were desirous of obtaining land from one Timothy Mead, near where the Bap-
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131
MANCHESTER COURT HOUSE.
tist church now stands in the village of Manchester Center; but the worthy proprietor declined to part with any of his possessions for such purpose, and is said to have given the commissioners pretty plainly to understand his opinion of courts and attorneys, and utterly refused to consider any proposition they had to make for the purchase of land for this purpose.
After casting about for some time a site was chosen at Manchester village, and here, in 1787, the first court-house for the north half shire was built. The building was a small, plain frame structure, one story high. The expense of its building was defrayed by private subscription. The jail was a part of the court-house structure. and was built at the State's expense. The original jail at Manchester, erected especially and primarily for the confinement of Tories during the period of the Revolution and the controversy with New York, was one of the first, if not the first of its kind in the State.
The old court-house remained standing and in use until the year 1822, when a larger and more pretentious house of justice became desirable. The new one, a brick structure, was built just north of the site of the old, the ex- pense thereof being defrayed, like the first, by the subscription of individuals. In 1849, however, the building was enlarged and repaired at the expense of the county. The old court-house has never been removed, but has lost all semb- lance of its former self, being now converted into a part of the celebrated Equi- nox House. The site of the jail has never been changed, although the building has been repaired and rebuilt as occasion required. The terms of court for the county are beld alternately between the two shires, Bennington and Man- chester.
Establishing Post Routes .- Prior to the latter part of the year 1783, there seems to have been no regularly established means of communication between the recognized leading seat of operations in Vermont-the village of Benning- ton-and the outside world, for the transmission of mail matter and such other messages as were desired to be sent to various parts of the State, and elsewhere, except by special messenger called upon as occasion might require. The first effort at an organized service of this kind, of which there appears a record, was made at a meeting of the governor and council held at Bennington on the 26th of November, 1783. Then it was resolved, "that Samuel Sherman be paid nine shillings per week out of the public treasury, for riding post, carrying and bringing the public intelligence to and from this to Albany, until the sitting of the General Assembly in February next ; be to be accountable for all the money he shall receive as postage on letters, which is to be deducted from the nine shillings per week, and to be accepted by him in part payment thereof, and that orders be drawn on the treasurer therefor, to be paid out of the three penny tax."
During the month of February of the following year, 1784, the General As- sembly, at their adjourned session held at Bennington, passed an act establish-
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HISTORY OF BENNINGTON COUNTY.
ing five post-offices within the State-one at each of the places, Benning ?. Rutland, Brattleborough, Windsor and Newbury. And the same act provid. that "until the further order of the Legislature, the post-riders from the sever, offices shall be entitled to an exclusive right of carriage, and enjoy the advan. tages of the fees arising from the carriage of letters and packets of every kine. and that the rate of postage be the same as in the United States."
This, the reader will understand, was an act of the Assembly of the Start. and not of the Federal government. It was not because Vermont was lackin ; in population that the government had not then established a post service in the State, but rather that there then existed a strained relation between thi, State and the United States; and not to in any manner appear to recognize the independence of Vermont, the government studiously refrained from exer- cising any acts of authority or right therein, even if thereby refusing to act other States would be as seriously inconvenienced as Vermont. So the latter was obliged to regulate her own internal service in all its branches, and so con- tinued to do until the year 1791.
This matter has no important relation to the history of Bennington county, except that the act was the outgrowth of a proposition made by Bennington people, and that the postmaster-general appointed under the act was a resident of the county, and thus that branch of the temporary State government had a seat of operations in this county. The persons that made the proposal in this matter were Anthony Haswell and David Russell, the former of whom was on the 5th of March, 1784, commissioned postmaster-general of the State. Ben- nington thereupon became the distributing office from which was sent out all mail matter from the western and southern localities ; and from here was like- wise sent to those localities all communications and packets, by the way of Al- bany. For the purpose of carrying between these points it was that Samuel Sherman was appointed.
When, in 1791, Vemont was admitted to the union of States, this local sys- tem was dispensed with, and became merged in that branch of the United States government that is now designated as the Post- office Department; but the sys- tem was not abolished, only transferred from State to Federal control.
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I33
THE FIRST CENSUS.
CHAPTER XIV.
Character of the Government of the Several Townships of the County -- The Increase in the County's Population by Decades-Present Estimated Population -- Events Preceding the War of 1812-15 -- An Era of Prosperity -Troubles with Great Britain-Measures Adopted by Both Nations -- Efforts at an Amicable Settlement of Difficulties-Discussions in Congress -- Political Sentiment in the Country Divided-The Feeling in Bennington County-Arguments of the Peace Party-Results of Elections -- Press Comments-The War-Peace Again Restored.
B Y virtue of the constitution of the State, as originally adopted and subse- quently revised, and the acts of Assembly in addition thereto, the several towns of the county of Bennington, and, in fact, throughout the entire State, were each vested with powers of government truly democratic in their nature ; and while the regulations of government were substantially similar in character in each, they were such as to cause the history of the county to merge into that of the separate towns that form the county. It is quite difficult, therefore, to trace the outline history of the county separate from the towns which have con- tributed to make it. To be sure there are county officers that are elected each year, to whom is entrusted the duty of representing and carrying out the county interests; but still the character of the government of the towns is such, that, independent from the contribution of each, the county can be said to have made but little history since the close of the Revolution to the present time.
While the negotiations that preceded the admission of Vermont to the Union were pending and in progress, Congress made occasion to inquire into the condition of the State relating to her proposed policy toward the general gov- ernment, her population, and resources, as well as other facts that were deemed proper subjects of inquiry. Among other questions put to the commissioners representing Vermont, was one asking for an estimate of the population of the proposed State; to which the answer was made that, as near as the committee could judge, the State contained some thirty thousand souls. This was in Au- gust, 1781, and there had never been taken a census of the State by which the population could be determined other than by estimation.
The first census enumeration for the State, by towns, was made in the year 1791, after the admission to the Union. The aggregate population of the county according to that census was twelve thousand two hundred and fifty- four, or nearly two-fifths of the population the State was estimated to contain ten years before. In ISoo it had increased to 14,617, and from that until the last Federal census in 18So, the enumeration made at the close of each decade has shown the following result: 1810, 15,892; 1820, 16, 125 ; 1830, 17.470; 1840, 16,879; 1850, 18,589; 1860, 19,443; 1870, 21,325; 1880, 22, 157. And
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HISTORY OF BENNINGTON COUNTY.
allowing that the increase during the last eight years to have been in the sun. ratio as the preceding ten years, the present population of the county can :... fall much short of 23,500, and there are fair grounds for a belief that it will ex. ceed the last named number.
War of 1812-15 .- Upon the admission of the State to the Union in 1701 the inhabitants entered upon an era of prosperity ; no cloud darkened the p> >- litical horizon, and the arts of agriculture, manufacture and trade employed the attention of the whole people. The authorities of the State were at liberty to establish such measures for self government as were deemed for the best in- terests of the people, and there was no fear of a conflict with adjoining State -. no controversy was on hand, and the possibilities of Federal interference were removed. In fact the policy of the State became fixed and firmly established upon a sound foundation, and all was peace and quiet, and harmony, good order and prosperity everywhere prevailed.
But only a short score of years was thus to be enjoyed when the country was again thrown into a state of tumult, and another war with Great Britain became imminent. The United States had scrupulously observed the pro- visions of the treaty of peace made with Great Britain at the close of the Revo- lution. There had been maintained too, a strict neutrality during the progress of the Napoleonic war with the British kingdom, when perhaps every consid- eration of gratitude should have induced a participation in it as against the mother country. For several years the aggressive acts of the British had been a subject of anxiety and regret, and feelings of animosity increased on this side of the Atlantic. The embargo laid by Congress upon the shipping in Ameri- can ports was found so injurious to commercial interests that it was repealed, and the non intercourse act passed in its stead. In April, 1809, the English embassador in Washington opened negotiations for the amicable adjustment of existing difficulties, and consented to the withdrawal of the obnoxious " or- ders in council," so far as they affected the United States, on condition that the non intercourse act with Great Britain should be repealed. This was agreed upon, and the president issued a proclamation announcing that, on the 10th day of June, trade with Great Britain might be resumed. The English gov- ernment, however, refused to ratify the proceedings and the minister was re- called, whereupon the president revoked his proclamation, and the non-inter- course act again became operative.
Besides the odious acts of the British parliament, injurious and insulting in their character, the English officers claimed the right to search American ves- seis, seize all who were suspected of being subjects of the king, and force them into their service. Under cover of this claim the greatest outrages were per- petrated, and by it many true and loyal persons were pressed into the service of Great Britain, both against their inclination and the well established proof of their identity.
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WAR DECLARED.
On the 12th of June, 1812, President James Madison sent a confidential com- munication to Congress, in which he recapitulated the long list of British ag- gressions, and declared it the duty of Congress to consider whether the Amer- ican people should longer passively submit to the accumulated wrongs and insults perpetrated by the British, and at the same time he cautioned the house to avoid entanglements in the contests and views of other powers.
War was formally declared on the 19th of June, 1812, but the measure was not universally sustained in some parts of the Middle and New England States. The opposing element vais embraced in the Federal party, its chief ground of opposition being the f ct that the country was not prepared for war. The Federalists constituted a large and influential minority of the political element of Congress, and had a considerable following in the several States not active in politics, Vermont among the number. They asked for further negotiations, and met the denunciations made by the ruling party (that is, the Republican and Democratic, for it went by both names), upon the English government, with savage and bitter attacks on Napoleon, whom they accused the majority with favoring.
A detail of the events of this war need not be recounted here, for none of the sanguinary conflicts at arms were waged on Vermont soil. The county of Bennington was represented by a full contingent of troops, part of which were in the regular army service, while others were of the militia organizations for defensive duty and prepared for any emergency that might arise.
Public sentiment concerning the war seems to have been about equally divided, the peace party and the war party both struggling for the political mastery. The mouthpiece of the former seems to have been the Newes Letter, and the organ of the latter was the Green Mountain Farmer. The News Letter advocated the cause of the Federalists, while the Green Moun- tain Farmer performed a like service in the interests of the Republicans and Democrats.
During the period of the war the issue, and about the only issue that ap- peared to be involved between the followers of the respective parties, was whether the war should be continued or whether peace should be immediately restored without further recourse to arms. The war party were, of course, in favor of prosecuting the war against Great Britain, while the Federalists were advocates of peace at any sacrifice. At the election in 1812 the peace ticket received in the county 1,035 votes, while the war ticket had 1,483.
According to the returns published in the News Letter of the election held in the spring of 1813, in Bennington county, it is found that the several towns voted on this question alone, being the dominant issue, whether the peace or war party should have a majority of the council of censors of the State. The result was as follows :
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HISTORY OF BENNINGTON COUNTY.
Peace.
War.
Bennington
229
209
Shaftsbury
83
153
Sunderland
17 maj.
Arlington
1 36
37
Sandgate ..
IO
32
Manchester
73
87
Dorset
56
75
Peru ..
17
18
Readsboro
17
20
Stamford
2 maj.
Pownal.
124
I26
Woodford
27
11
Rupert.
123 maj.
The same paper also made an estimate of the expenses, "which must be paid yearly during the war by the industrious farmer and mechanic." The whole annual amount by it estimated to be raised by tax upon the "farmers and mechanics" of the county was $95,358, divided among the several towns as follows : Bennington, $15, 144 ; Arlington, $8,808; Dorset, $7,768 ; Glasten- bury, $456; Landgrove, $1,794; Manchester, $9,012 ; Pownal, $9,930 ; Peru, $1,434; Rupert, $9,780; Readsboro, $2.460; Shaftsbury, $11,838 ; Sunder- land, $3,450; Sandgate, $7, 122; Stamford, $2,268 ; Winhall, $2,564; Wood- ford, $1,524.
The same paper commenting on the above estimate of expenses says : "The foregoing statement of war taxes has been postponed to this late hour that no screaming war hawk might have any occasion to say it was published for elec- tioneering purposes. But let the people from whose pockets these enormous sums are to be drawn look well to their own interests; the facts are before them, they must judge for themselves."
Again, the same paper, in the issue of March 12, 1813, says editorially : " We have the satisfaction of announcing to our readers the very pleasing in- telligence that twelve on the Peace ticket for Council of Censors have prevailed (in the State) by a majority of about 1,500." At the annual election of gov- ernor held in September of the same year, the vote in Bennington county re- sulted in 1,334 for the war ticket, and 1, 129 for the peace ticket, a slight gain for the latter over the result of the preceding year.
The village of Bennington was the rendezvous of the Thirtieth Regiment of the United States army, and a recruiting office was also established at the same place. The pay offered volunteers amounted to eight dollars per month, added to which was a bounty of sixteen dollars. Although far removed from the scene of actual strife, this was, nevertheless, a place of busy military operations in recruiting troops and sending them to the frontier for active duty. The vo !- unteers of the county were scattered through the several regiments in service from the State, but the greater number were probably joined with the Thir-
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CLOSE OF WAR OF 1812.
tieth Regiment, from the fact of that command having made Bennington a gen- eral rendezvous.
The results of this struggle for right and justice over wrong and oppression are written in the conflicts on Lake Erie, the repulse of the invaders on the Delaware, the distressing scenes on the Chesapeake, the invasion of New York, and the attempt to control the Hudson River and Lake Champlain, the de- monstration against Burlington, the British raid on Derby, the attack on Mac- Donough at Otter Creek, the naval and land battles at Plattsburg, the capture of Niagara and Oswego, the burning of Newark, the battle at Black Rock, Lundy's Lane, and the occupation of the poorly defended posts on the south- ern and southeastern frontier, the battle at New Orleans, the withdrawal and surrender of the British forces, and the final treaty of peace, which was ratified February 17, 1815. The Americans had now fought their last battle with a foreign foe.
In a number of the engagements mentioned, as well as others not named, the Bennington county troops took part and acquitted themselves with credit. It is impossible to single out any particular command, or to mention any sin- gle battle, except, perhaps, Plattsburg, in which the Vermont soldiery bore a more than ordinarily prominent part ; and while thus difficult to furnish the record of the State soldiery, separately, it is still more difficult to particularize concerning the performance of the Bennington county contingent.
CHAPTER XV.
BENNINGTON COUNTY IN THE REBELLION OF 1861-5.
Introductory Remarks-The County's Contribution of Men-Records of the Regiments- The Second Regiment-The Fourth Regiment-The Fifth Regiment -- The First Cavalry Regiment -- The Tenth Regiment-The Fourteenth Regiment (Nine Month's Men)-Other Regiments Having Bennington County Volunteers -- The County's Organized Militia-Militia Officers.
W THEN, on that eventful morning of April, 1861, the iron lips of Moultrie's guns spelled upon the political sky of our country in letters red as blood, the words " civil war," the loyal sons of Bennington county and of Vermont, breathing a spirit of patriotism as pure as the air of the grand hills around them, rushed to the nation's capital to uphold the honor of the flag, and pre- serve intact the republic. It was not with them a question what battles were to be fought, what graves filled, or what altars shivered ; but donning the blue,
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HISTORY OF BENNINGTON COUNTY.
vowed, no matter what the cost, that the serpent of secession should find an eternal grave, and gasp its last amid shrieking shell and hissing bullet.
The "mystic chord of memory stretching from every battlefield and pa- triot grave" brings before us, in meteoric brilliancy, the important part per- formed by Bennington county's soldiery in that great struggle. Loyal citi- zens only knew that they were needed, and they hastened to respond ; they exchanged the rippling music of the mountain stream for the thunder of the deep-mouthed cannon and the deafening musketry volley; they went forth from the roof-tree of home to camp on Southern soil, and to stand guard in the pitiless night beneath the sorrowing stars ; they went out to be slot to death, if need be ; to be fired at by a concealed and merciless foc; to struggle in de- lirium in hospital, or starve or shiver in loathsome pens, with stones for pil- lows and vermin for companions, that the flag might be preserved unsullied. This was the spirit that animated the volunteers of Bennington as they sprang into the arena where Titans struggled.
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