USA > Vermont > Bennington County > History of Bennington County, Vt. : with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 2
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This region of country was not the scene of any of the sanguinary Indian conflicts, but in narrating the events of the early explorations and settlements made in Canada, New York and New England by the French, Dutch and Eng- lish, occasional reference will be made to the Indians ; and it is for this reason that the foregoing statements are made, and further, that the reader may have an understanding as to who were the possessors of the country prior to the advent of the white man.
CHAPTER II.
Discovery and Exploration of the Country - Settlements and Colonies-The French in Canada -The English in Virginia and New England-The Dutch in New York- The Purit- ans in New England-General Advance of Settlement Towards the Region of Vermont.
'HE first discovery by European navigators of the American continent was T made by Christopher Columbus in the year 1492. His explorations were confined to the southern region of the continent, and therefore have no im- portant relation to the explorations of the northern country, except as the act may have stimulated a similiar spirit on the part of navigators representing other governments than Spain.
In the year 1534, or nearly half a century after the Spanish discovery, the French government fitted out a ship and placed the same under command of Jacques Cartier for a voyage of discovery in the new country. This navigator
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DISCOVERIES BY THE FRENCH.
reached that section now known as Upper Canada, and pursued his explora- tions in the vicinity of the great gulf and river that he afterward called the St. Lawrence. He returned to France and reported the result of his investiga- tions. This led to the fitting out of a fleet of three ships during the following year, 1535. which, being commanded by Cartier, again visited America and sailed up the St. Lawrence as far as the Indian town called Hochelaga, arriv- ing there on October 2. Here he founded the town of Mount Royal, or Mon- treal. His ships, however, had been left at the Island of Orleans, to which point Cartier and his followers returned and passed the winter. Not being ac- customed to such severe weather the adventurous party suffered terribly, and many died from disease and exposure. As soon as possible the next year the party returned to France.
No further attempt at colonizing this region by the French was made until the year 1540, when Cartier again prevailed upon the government to send forth another fleet; but this effort was likewise unsuccessful, and the project was abandoned. In the year 1603 Samuel Champlain, also a French naviga- tor, sailed up the St. Lawrence on a voyage of discovery and investigation, vis- iting the points touched by Cartier, and then returned to France determined upon founding a colony, provided the government could be prevailed upon to furnish the proper means therefor. This, in 1608, he succeeded in accomplish- ing, upon which he again came to America and sailed up the river to the In- dian town of Quebec. Here preparations were at once made for founding a town ; the forests were cleared, the land prepared for cultivation, and houses were built.
Champlain used every means in his power to cultivate a friendly relation with the Indians. He made them sundry presents of clothing and trinkets and other articles attractive to the native savage eye. The priests that were of the party also labored zealously among the people, using their every art to ad- vance the cause of France and the church.
Upon information furnished by the Indians early in the spring of 1609, Champlain, with two Frenchman and a party of natives, left Quebec upon an exploring expedition through the region to the South. They passed up the St. Lawrence and the river afterward called the Richelieu, till he arrived at a large lake, to which he gave his own name-Champlain. Still further south- ward he reached another and smaller body of water which he named Lake St. Sacrament (now Lake George). The Indians of the party called this latter body "Horicon," but to the Five Nations who inhabited the country hereabouts it was known as "Canideri-oit," meaning, " the tail of the lake."
On arriving at Lake St. Sacrament the explorers came in contact with a party of the Five Nation Indians, and from the fact that the latter regarded the Canada Indians as enemies, a battle ensued. The Frenchmen of the party be- ing possessed of guns, of the use of which their adversaries knew nothing, the
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HISTORY OF BENNINGTON COUNTY.
contest soon ended in favor of the visitors, while the enemy were utterly routed with a considerable loss. Champlain thien returned to Quebec and afterward established the colony of Canada, of which he was made governor.
From the foregoing narrative it will be seen that it was in the year 1609 that Lake Champlain and the western borders of the subsequent State of Ver- mont was first visited by white men. This is a part of the territory that was, in 1778, formed into Bennington county.
While the French were thus establishing colonies throughout the St. Law- rence region, other nations were not wholly inactive, although their attempts. at settlement were not begun until after or about the commencement of the seventeenth century. In the year 1607, after a number of earlier unsuccessful attempts, the English succeeded in planting a colony on the James River in Virginia, and soon after another in the present State of Maine. "In 1614 Captain John Smith explored the seacoast from Penobscot to Cape Cod, drew a map of the same, and denominated the country New England. In 1609. Captain Henry Hudson, at the time in the service of Holland, discovered and gave his own name to Hudson River, now in the State of New York, and in 1614, the Dutch began a settlement on the Island of Manhattan, where the city of New York now stands. . To the country they gave the name of New Netherlands, and the town they settled New Amsterdam, in allusion to the country and city they had left in Europe."1 About the same time they built Fort Orange, on the site of the present city of Albany, and otherwise had scattered settlements at Schenectady and along the valley of the Mohawk River.
In the year 1620, a band of English subjects who had taken refuge in Hol- land twenty years before, that they might avoid religious persecution, and who, from their scrupulous religious conduct were called "Puritans," embarked for America with the intention of establishing a colony at the mouth of Hudson's River. They had previously provided themselves with a patent for a con- siderable tract of land from the Virginia Company in England, but through some error or fault they landed at the point known as Cape Cod, many miles. distant from the lands designated in their charter. However, they decided to remain and establish a colony in the region in which they were. For that pur- pose they explored the surrounding country and finally decided upon making a settlement at the point they called New Plymouth (now Plymouth). To complete their plans they formed themselves into a body politic under the crown of England, chose John Carver for their governor, and embarked for their destined place of abode, at which they arrived on December 22, 1620. Thus became established at Plymouth, Mass., the famous band of Puritans. For some months, and especially during the winter following their arrival, they suffered almost incredible hardships, so that the succeeding spring found their
' From Thompson's Vermont.
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EARLY SETTLEMENTS.
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number reduced nearly one-half, and but for the timely arrival of supplies from England all must have perished.
Mention has already been made of the English settlements in Maine, in 1614. In less than ten years thereafter other settlements had been made at Portsmouth and Dover, in what is now New Hampshire, and another decade found a colony established at Windsor, in Connecticut. Two years later, or in 1635, they had extended northward along the Connecticut River as far as Springfield, now in Massachusetts, and soon thereafter at Deerfield. Thus early was the tide of settlement setting toward the neighborhood of the present State of Vermont; by the French from the north, the Dutch from the south and west, and the English from the east. And from the fact that the Dutch had already made settlements at Albany and elsewhere thereabouts, it is wholly fair to assume that they may have extended a temporary settlement to this locality, as they are credited by many historians with having done.
CHAPTER III.
Advance of Civilization and Settlement-Indians Aroused to Hostilities-Efforts to Over- come Them -- New Netherlands Conquered by the English-Struggles between the French and English for Power-Their Respective Allied Indian Forces-Fruitless Campaigns against Canada -- Peace and War-Indians at War with the English-Erection of Fort Dummer -- French Fortress at Addison.
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`HE region of country in which the Puritans took up their abode was at
that time inhabited by a numerous tribe of Indians called the Narragan- setts. Their numbers, however, had then recently been fearfully reduced by some contagious disease prevailing among them. Some had fled to other tribes for temporary refuge. The friendly disposition of the newly arrived whites toward those that remained in the country, and the relief administered during the period of their sufferings, had much to do with allaying any apprehension or suspicion of unfair intent on the part of the colonists. But the settlements continued to increase and the whites were not always fair in their transactions with the natives, both of which facts contributed to arouse a feeling of ani- mosity among them, and which finally culminated in a conspiracy, formed by the Narragansetts and other allied tribes, for the extermination of the settlers. Fortunately, the English were informed of what the Indians were about to do, and such measures were adopted as prevented any actual outbreak.
But the English soon became engaged in a war with the Pequots, a tribe of Indians that inhabited the northwest part of Connecticut, in which war the savages were terribly beaten, seven hundred being killed while others sought
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HISTORY OF BENNINGTON COUNTY.
refuge among the Mohawks, one of the Five Nations, by whom they were treacherously murdered. Those that remained were completely subdued, and did not seek to again make war upon the settlements for nearly half a century.
During the years of advancing and increasing settlements on the part of the several nations-the French, the English and the Dutch, there appears to have grown up a strong rivalry, each endeavoring to outdo the other. This led to unpleasant feelings and finally to open hostilities. The English watched with a jealous interest the progress the Dutch were making in New Nether- lands, while the French, from their remote position, also hoped to effect a per- manent lodgment in the same region, but fearing the power of the Six Nations. they felt unequal to the task of subjugating them. In the meantime the E. g- lish made war upon the Dutch and wrested from them the control of the @ ew Netherlands, with its already enterprising seaport town, New Amster lam. This extinguishment, therefore, of Dutch power in America was effected in the year 1664, and thereafter followed a series of conflicts between the French and the English for possession of the country, that resulted in overthrowing the French dominion on American soil.
But it was for the absolute control of the whole country that the English and French governments began to contend after the Dutch possessions were surrendered. To this end each sought to strengthen their cause by cultivating friendships with the several Indian tribes. For that purpose the savages were supplied with firearms and thoroughly instructed in their use, and this knowl- edge, combined with their characteristic cunning, made them formidable ad- versaries.
Each nation continued to advance their settlements and strengthen their war forces until the year 1689, at which time the French devised a scheme by which they hoped to obtain possession of New York. It was a part of their plan to send a strong force of French soldiers and Indians by way of Lake Champlain to Albany and adjacent settlements, which being conquered, to press on down the Hudson River to New York and attack that place, receiving co-operation from a French fleet of war sent out for the purpose. But while preparations for this campaign were being made the Five Nations, at the insti- gation of the British, made a sudden descent upon Canada, plundered and burned Montreal and destroyed the frontier settlements.
This calamity put an end to the proposed French campaign, but by no means ended the war. To offset the disasters, Frontenac, the French com- mander in Canada, sent out two expeditions against the English settlements. One of these, under command of M. Hertel, on the ISth of March, 1690, fell upon the British posts at Salmon Falls, in New Hampshire, killed thirty and captured and took to Canada fifty-four prisoners. The other command, com- prising two hundred French and about fifty Indians, under D'Aillebout, pro- ceeding by way of Lake Champlain, directed their march toward Schenectady.
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FRENCH AND INDIAN WARS.
Spies were sent out and the settlement was found to be practically defenseless and the inhabitants unconscious of danger. Near midnight, on the 8th of Feb- ruary, 1690, the attack was made and a terrible slaughter followed. The Can- adian Indians were promised full liberty to avenge the Montreal affair, and most fully did they avail themselves of the opportunity, for no less than sixty persons were massacred, while nearly thirty more were carried captives to Canada. The settlement was wholly destroyed. News of this disaster reached Albany, whereupon Colonel Schuyler collected a force and started in pursuit of the enemy, but having heard greatly exaggerated accounts of the French and Indian strength, he hesitated about making an attack upon them, and thus were they given time to escape with all their plunder and prisoners.
These events were but the beginning of a long continued series of attacks and campaigns of war between the English and French for supremacy in America. As a retaliatory act to avenge the slaughter at Salmon Falls and the massacre at Schenectady, Colonel Schuyler, in 1691, with a party of Eng- lish and Mohawk Indians, made a campaign against the French and Canadian Indians inhabiting the valley and region of the River Richelieu. In the engage- ments that followed the aggressors were successful, having routed the enemy, devastated their villages, and slain three hundred of their number.
The French, to avenge this slaughter, made a raid against the country of the Mohawks, in January, 1695, but the news of the intended attack had reached the Mohawks in advance, so that preparations were made to receive it. A number of battles followed in which the French and their allies were beaten and compelled to retreat from the country.
In 1697 England and France made a treaty of peace, upon which there was a cessation of hostilities in the colonies; but it was of very short duration, for, in 1702, Great Britain and France again had recourse to arms, and, as a consequence, the colonies were again called upon to do battle in the interests of their respective mother governments. In the winter of 1704 a strong party of French and Indians, under DeRouville, passed up Lake Champlain to the mouth of the Winooski River, (now in Chittenden county), thence up that stream and across the territory of the state to the Connecticut River ; thence down the river on the ice to a point near Deerfield, (Mass)., where they con- cealed themselves until night. Deerfield at that time was a prosperous village on the frontier. The inhabitants undoubtedly would have been able to suc- cessfully resist the assault that followed had they been apprised of the fact, but being made in the dark, and a complete surprise, the village fell an easy conquest to the French. The loss to the English in this disaster was forty+ seven killed and a large number made captives, besides the plundering and burning of the town.
Depredations like those mentioned were committed on both sides, but no substantial gain or advantage resulted to either except that the Indians were
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HISTORY OF BENNINGTON COUNTY.
given frequent opportunities for revenging themselves against their savage enemies.
England finally determined to conquer the Canadian province by sending a large fleet of war vessels to Quebec and lay siege upon the town, and at the same time march a large body of troops through the Champlain Valley to Montreal and attack that village. But the plan was never carried out. The fleet was not furnished, and the troops collected for the campaign against Mon- treal suffered from a prevailing sickness, and the whole project was abandoned.
The succeeding year another attempt was made. The troops were collected and started upon the march. The war fleet left Boston in July, 1711, and ar- rived safely at the mouth of the St. Lawrence, but here a sudden and violent storm arose, and eight of the ships and more than a thousand men were lost. The land force, when they heard of this disaster, were completely disheartened and returned to Albany. So ended the third attempt of the English to con- quer Canada. Peace was again restored between the contending nations, but the natives were far from being pacified-not at the action of the French and English governments in establishing a peace, but at the rapid growth of settle- ment and the encroachments made by the settlers on the Indian lands. The Jesuit missionaries, too, made every effort to stir up the Canadian Indians against their enemies on the south. During these hostilities the English made a successful expedition against the Indian town of Norridgewok, where they slew the Jesuit missionary, Rasles, and eighty Indians, and destroyed the town. And it was during this war with the Indians that the English made the first civilized settlement within the limits of the present State of Vermont, by the erection of Fort Dummer, in the year 1724. Around this fort was soon made some considerable attempt at cultivation ; the forests were cleared away and a number of rude houses built. But all was under the protection of the garrison of a score or so of men kept at the fort. This was a somewhat prominent mil- itary post during the later wars with the French and Indians.
Fort Dummer was built within the limits of the present township of Brat- tleborough. The immediate locality is, or was recently, known by the name of " Dummer Meadows." The result of the war with the Indians had a natu- ral tendency to check the growth of settlement, and more, the settlers on the extreme frontier line were obliged to return to the larger towns for protection. But the Indian hostilities were overcome by the year 1725, and from that time until 1744, the advance of settlement was very great, gradually approaching Vermont's territory in the region of Lake Champlain. The first settlement made therein, on the western border, was in the building of a small fortress by the French, in the year 1731.
This valley of the lake region was debatable ground, about midway between the larger settlements, for the possession of which each were striving. Al- though in a time of peace, both were preparing for war.
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FRENCH AND ENGLISH WAR.
This fortress, erected by the French in 1731, stood opposite to Crown Point, upon the lake shore in the present town of Addison, in the county of the same name. It is not thought that it was for the purpose of settlement and cultiva- tion that this fort was built by the French, but rather that they might have absolute control of the lake, which at that point was quite narrow. The French also built a fort at Crown Point, on the west side of the lake, and opposite the fortress in question. To this they gave the name St. Frederick, but it was afterward called Crown Point.
CHAPTER IV.
The French and English War of 1744-8 - Peace Negotiations -War again Declared - The Engagements - Final Defeat of the French Arms, and Overthrow of the French Power in America - Leading Incidents of the War.
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W THILE recounting the events of the petty strifes and collisions between the English and French, and their respective allied Indian forces, the reader will be impressed with the fact that neither nation appeared to be deeply earnest in their efforts to overthrow the power of the other in America ; and with the fact, also, that there seems to have been no thorough military organ- ization on either side. This was unquestionably true. Neither the English nor the French governments had, prior to the war declared in 1744, any ade- quate idea of the vastness or importance of America as a possession, and the past wars waged here were but reverberations of the thunder of actual warfare on the other side.
But at the time of the outbreak of 1744 the colonies had become sufficiently strong in numbers to carry on extensive military operations, and the fact had at last come to be realized that the succeeding war would terminate the power in America of either England or France.
While the people of New England were not wholly exempted from attacks during the French and English war, they were, nevertheless, greatly relieved during that period from the fact that the French possessions had been extended along the lakes Ontario and Erie, on both sides, and there they had settlements and posts that must needs be protected. The English settlements were also extended in the same direction, though more to the interior, and these, too, must be guarded by military force.
The actual prominent scene of strife during the French and English war was in the provinces of New York and Pennsylvania. But there were also stirring scenes in the neighborhood of Vermont. The English had, up to this
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HISTORY OF BENNINGTON COUNTY.
time, advanced their outposts in New England in several directions. They had built a fort between the villages of Williamstown and North Adams, which was known as Fort Hoosic. They had also extended a line of settlements along the Connecticut River as far north as Charleston, in New Hampshire, and had built a number of small fortresses in the vicinity for the protection and safety of the inhabitants. The aggressive operations on the part of the French, in this region at least, seems to have been confined to the attack on Fort Hoosic and on Fort Number Four on the Connecticut, only one of which attacks was successful.
The campaign against Fort Hoosic was led by M. de Vaudreuil, with a force of about nine hundred French and Indians. The garrison consisted of but thirty-three persons, a part of whom were women and children, and was under the command of Colonel Hawkes. The attack was made on the 20th of August, 1746, and after a vigorous defense of over a day, and after the sup ply of ammunition was expended, the garrison was forced to surrender.
In April, 1747, a party of four hundred French and Indians, commanded by M. Debeline, made an attack upon the Fort Number Four, then garrisoned by only thirty men under Captain Phinehas Stevens. Not succeeding in car- rying the fort by direct attack the French commander resorted to every sub- terfuge known to his cunning allies, but all to no purpose. The French were obliged to raise the siege and depart, having lost quite a number of their force, while the English had none killed and but two wounded. For gallantry in the defense of this post, although assailed by a vastly larger force than his own, Captain Stevens was presented with an elegant sword, the gift of Sir Charles Knowles, the British naval commander then at Boston.
These two attacks were the only direct assaults made upon New England posts during the progress of this war prior to the treaty of peace made in 1748, at Aix La Chapelle, but the frontier was continually harassed by small parties of Indians, and the settlers were kept constantly on guard to prevent a sudden visitation of this dreaded foe.
During the war the Six Nations generally maintained a neutrality, though the Mohawks occasionally gave some aid to the English. The Senecas were. inclined to favor the French, but not wishing to make war upon their own brethren, the Mohawks, they refrained from any part in the struggle.
According to the provisions of the treaty between the recently warring nations, the controversy regarding their respective claims in America was to be referred to commissioners appointed by the sovereigns of the two nations. This commission met in Paris in 1752, but after a long debate was unable to come to an agreement. This resulted in another declaration of war. It did not begin at once, however, for the reason that neither was sure of victory. About two years was passed, each being engaged in strengthening its po- sition.
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FRENCH AND ENGLISH WAR
After two years of open hostilities the war again commenced between Eng- land and France, and this was the last contest between these nations for the supremacy on American soil.
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