USA > Vermont > Bennington County > History of Bennington County, Vt. : with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 24
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the principal actors in them should be sacredly cherished and perpetuated. Is it not eminently fitting and proper that they be recognized by some suit- able observance?"
This section of the message was referred to a special joint committee of both branches of the State Legislature, and in due season thereafter bore fruit in the nature of an act entitled " an act to incorporate the Bennington Battle Monument Association." The sixth section of that act provided that "this association shall, at their first annual meeting, take measures to secure at Ben- nington, during the week of the 16th of August, 1877, an appropriate centen- nial celebration of the battle of Bennington, and also the recognition of the year 1877 as the one hundredth year of the existence of this State, as an inde- pendent State " A further section provided for the appropriation of the sum of two thousand dollars, for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of sec- tion six, but only upon condition that the association should also raise a like sum for the same purpose.
On the 10th day of January, 1877, the corporators met at the court-house in the village of Bennington, and made the organization complete by the elec- tion of the following officers: President, His Excellency Horace Fairbanks, of St. Johnsbury; vice-president, Hon Hiland Hall, of Bennington; secretary, Charles M. Bliss, of Bennington ; assistant secretary, John T. Shurtleff, of Ben- nington; treasurer, Milo C. Huling, of Bennington. Thus organized, the asso- ciation at once proceeded to the performance of the duty with which they were charged; and for the purpose of more effectually carrying out the pro- ject in hand, brought into existence the Centennial Commission, to which was delegated the authority of completing the preliminary arrangements and per- forming each and every act necessary to the success of the celebration.
The Centennial Commission comprised nearly six hundred persons chosen from the several counties of the State. The first meeting was held at Benning- ton on the 4th of April, 1877, at which time was chosen the following officers : President, Hon. Edward J. Phelps, of Burlington; vice presidents, Hon. Hiland Hall, of Bennington, Hon. Ryland Fletcher, of Cavendish, Hon. J. Gregory Smith, of St. Albans, Hon. Paul Dillingham, of Waterbury, Hon. John B. Page, of Rutland, Hon. George W. Hendee, of Morristown, Hon. John W. Stewart, of Middlebury, Hon. Julius Converse, of Woodstock, Hon. Asahel Peck, of Jericho, Hon. William H. 11. Bingham, of Stowe, Hon. Burnam Martin, of Chelsea, Hon. George N. Dale, of Island Pond, Hon. William W. Grout, of Barton, and Hon. Jedd P. Ladd, of Alburg; secretary, Charles M. Bliss, of Bennington; executive committee, Hon. Henry G. Root, Milo C. Huling, and Major Alonzo B. Valentine, of Bennington, George A. Merrill, of Rutland, and Carroll S. Page, of Hyde Park.
Says a published aceount of the proceedings of the commission and the subsequent celebration: "From this time forward the affairs of the celebration
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and its management devolved on the executive committee, who met and or- ganized at Rutland, subsequently holding meetings at Burlington, and other prominent towns in the State."
Following their election the members of the executive committee caused to be printed and extensively circulated throughout the State, a letter in which was fully set forth the objects in view, and requesting contributions from all sources in order that the expenses of the celebration might not embarass the commission. Says one paragraph of the letter: "It will be observed that two distinct and separate events are to be commemorated during the week of the 16th of August next; one being an important battle, the other the birth of a State, the connection between the two being simply a fortuitous and not a nec- essary one. Recognizing this fact, the association has set apart the 15th of August as Vermont's day ; a day in which the events of the first convention at Westminister, the second and third at Windsor, all occurring in the year 1777, will receive prominent notice; and to this celebration the association has in- vited, through his excellency the govenor, president of the association, the president and vice president of the United States, the members of the cabinet, and the governors of the several States. As this is the first celebration of the kind in the history of the government, the centennial of the birth of the State never yet having been commemorated, the commission are extremely solicit- ous that the occasion shall in every respect be worthy of the great event the celebration is intended to signalize"; and further, "on the 16th of August, 1877, the centennial anniversary of the battle of Bennington will occur. For ninety and nine years the town of Bennington has observed the annual recur- rence of this day. General Stark, in sending some trophies of the battle to the State of Massachusetts, speaks it of as 'a glorious victory' which 'ought to be kept in memory and handed down to futurity as a lasting and laudable exam- ple for the sons and daughters of the victors.' This injunction has been faith- fully obeyed in Bennington, the scene of the hero's greatest achievements. Thirty-nine years after the battle a Bennington committee wrote a letter to Stark, informing him that every year since his victory his name had been re- membered by a public celebration in that town; and every year since some public notice has been made of the day there; and now Vermont herself has sent greeting to New Hampshire and Massachusetts, proposing to crown the century by a celebration that shall worthily honor, not only the memory of the hero who so thoughtfully enjoined it, but also the States and the people which shall participate in it."
The letter from which these quotations have been made was issued on the 14th of May, 1877. From that time until the celebration was ended every detail of arrangement and programme were carried out almost to the letter. They upon whom the burden of the work fell, and who were responsible for failure, should any by accident occur, were the gentlemen of the executive
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committee : Henry G. Root, Milo C. Huling, Alonzo B. Valentine, George A. Merrill, and Carroll S. Page, the original members, and their associate mem- bers (the committee being enlarged in membership) Colonel Olin Scott, J. V. Carney, William E. Hawkes, 2d, and Frank C. White. The labors of this com- mittee, however, were greatly lightened by the hearty assistance and co-oper- ation of A. B. Gardner, Charles E. Dewey, and A. P. Childs, of the board of directors of the Battle Monument Association, and Charles M. Bliss, secretary of the latter organization. The credit for raising the great fund necessary to defray the expenses of the celebration belonged to Henry G. Root.
At length the momentous week of the 16th of August arrived, and found every working organization in perfect order, and every Benningtonian well pre- pared for the hospitable entertainment of the thousands and thousands of dis- tinguished guests and strangers who were to be their visitors during the week. The village, too, was robed in holiday attire, the residences, business blocks and public streets showing most grandly in profuse decoration. According to the arrangement of exercises for the celebration proper by the committee, the same were to continue during the 15th and 16th days of the month ; but, not- withstanding that, the festivities (for festival week it was) in fact began with ยท the incoming of the week, and were continued until the evening of the 16th.
On Sunday, the 12th of August, at the banquet tent on the Centennial grounds, services were conducted before the First Regiment National Guard, of Vermont, by Chaplain D. C. Roberts. Likewise, at the several churches of the three villages within the township, special exercises, befitting the impor- tant occasion, were conducted, a detail of which are not deemed advisable in this connection. Each succeeding day, and until the eventful 15th arrived, there was an almost continuous stream of arrivals of civil and military organi- zations and guests and visitors, each and all of which contributed to the great enthusiasm that on every side prevailed.
Vermont Day .- The 15th of August was specially set apart for the appro- priate celebration of the hundredth anniversary of the independence of Ver- mont " as a separate jurisdiction or State." This day was ushered in by the firing of a national salute at sunrise by Fuller's Battery. In the morning oc- curred the grand procession of all the civil and military organizations that were in the town, and in which also participated the invited guests and orators of the occasion.
At the oration tent on the Centennial grounds, the following order of exer- cises was observed : Prayer by Rev. Isaac Jennings ; address by Edward J. Phelps, president of the association ; oration by Daniel Roberts, of Burlington ; reading of a poem written for the occasion by Mrs. Julia C. R. Dorr, of Rut- land; address of General Joseph R. Hawley, of Connecticut; address of ex- governor Walter Harriman of New Hampshire ; address of General Nathaniel P. Banks, of Massachusetts ; address of Governor Senden Connor, of Maine ; address of Governor Charles C. Van Zandt, of Rhode Island.
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One of the most important events of this day was the arrival in Benning- ton of President and Mrs. Rutherford B. Hayes and party, the announcement of which was made by the firing of a national salute by Fuller's Battery, in honor of this most distinguished guest and his most estimable wife. During their stay in town the president and wife were entertained at the residence of Rev. Mr. Tibbits, at Bennington Center. In the evening an informal recep- tion was held by the president at the Walloomsac House.
Bennington Battle Day .- This, perhaps, was the crowning event of the entire celebration ; for while the preceding day was one of no mean impor- tance, it was, however, a local celebration for Vermont, although participated in and greatly enjoyed by the vast concourse of people from beyond the State. But the 16th of August, the anniversary of the famous battle of Bennington, was a day to be celebrated in common by Vermont, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, as well as all the other States who sent representatives upon that occasion; it was, in truth, a national day, and was so considered and regarded and celebrated.
Upon this day the entertaining capacity of the village was taxed to its utmost, but it seems that every emergency was met, and every want supplied ; and this notwithstanding the fact that the estimated attendance of visitors reached the aggregate of something like twenty-five or thirty thousand.
At sunrise on the morning of the 16th, the First New Hampshire Artil- lery fired a salute from a battery of four guns-they being the same pieces of cannon captured from the British at the battle of Bennington, one hundred years before. The procession upon this occasion was similar to that of the previous day, except that later arrivals made it somewhat larger. When the column had reached the Centennial grounds it passed in review before Presi- dent Hayes, who also made a brief address of welcome. At the oration tent the order of exercises was as follows : Prayer by Rev. John Wheelock Allen ; singing of national hymn, America ; address of Governor Horace Fairbanks, of Vermont ; oration of Rev. Samuel C. Bartlett, D. D., of Dartmouth College ; reading by Professor J. W. Churchill of an ode written for the occasion by William Cullen Bryant; singing of hymn written by Mrs. Marie Mason ; addresses by President Hayes, Hon. William M. Evarts, Hon. David M. Key, General Charles Devens, and Edwin W. Stoughton.
The Banquet .- After the conclusion of the exercises at the oration tent the president led the way, and was followed by the other distinguished invited guests and as many other visitors as had been so fortunate as to secure tickets of admission, to the banquet tent, where was spread a sumptuous repast by Dorling, the Boston caterer. The Hon. Edward J. Phelps, presided as toast- master. Responses to calls for remarks were made by the president, Mr. Hayes, the Hon. William M. Evarts, of New York, Governor Benjamin F. Prescott, of New Hampshire, Edwin W. Stoughton, of New York, Governor
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Horace Fairbanks, of Vermont, George F. Edmunds, of Vermont, David M. Key, of Washington, Attorney General Devens, of Washington, Justin S. Morrill, of Vermont, Thomas Allen, of St. Louis, Lieutenant-Governor Horatio G. Knight, of Massachusetts, and President Bartlett, of Dartmouthi College. In addition to these addresses letters were read from distinguished persons throughout the country sending congratulations to the participants in the celebration and expressing regrets at not being able to attend in person The festivities of the occasion were fitly concluded by a torchlight proces- sion on the evening of the 16th, conducted by the veteran soldiers who were in reunion at Bennington during the celebration. Twelve hundred strong, they marched through the principal streets, each bearing a torch or a Chinese lantern.
The Bennington Battle Monument .- " In the year 1853," says Charles M. Bliss's ' Record History of the Monument,' the Legislature of Vermont char- tered the Bennington Battle Monument Association, and named among the in- corporators thereof the following well-known citizens of the State: John S. Rob- inson, A. P. Lyman, Samuel H. Brown, Benjamin F. Fay, E. D. Hubbell, Hee- man Swift, Pierrepont, Isham, William Bigelow, Daniel Roberts, A. L. Miner. Caleb B. Harrington, D. A. Smalley, Homer E. Royce, Asa O. Aldis, Oscar L. Shafter, William C. Bradley, Charles K. Field, Frederick Holbrook, Isaac F. Redfield, Stephen Thomas, Henry Stevens, William Mattocks, Erastus Fair- banks, Portus Baxter, E. P. Walton, Charles G. Eastman, and Paul Dillingham.
The act that brought the association into existence appropriated three thousand dollars, on condition that seven thousand dollars more were raised by contribution, and the corner stone of the proposed monument was laid on the following 16th of August. These conditions were not fulfilled, but the fact of legislative action proved to be most helpful when a second attempt in 1876 was made to again incorporate the association. The chief promoter of this first enterprise was George W. Robinson of Bennington.
The second monument was an outcome of the proposition to celebrate the one hundredth anniversary of the battle with more than the usual, or even oc- casional notice, which every anniversary since the battle was fought had received.1
The following history of the Battle Monument, and the Monument Associa- tion are copied from the manuscript prepared by Rev. Isaac Jennings, and deposited in the corner stone receptacle, This account is published at the carnest request of several of the persons who have been closely identified with the progress of the work, and the association, for a number of years, and who are desirous that the history prepared by Mr. Jennings shall be permanently preserved in some substantial form for the use of future generations.
' The statements made above are taken, with slight variations, from the pamphlet compila- tion made by Charles M. Bliss, who has been prominently connected with the Monument Association, and also with the Bennington Historical Society, since they were organized,
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HISTORY OF BENNINGTON COUNTY.
" By an act of the Vermont Legislature, approved November 28, 1876, Hi- land Hall, Horace Fairbanks, W. H. H. Bingham, Justin S. Morrill, E. J. Phelps, George F. Edmunds, Isaac Jennings, Trenor W. Park, John B. Page, Jacob Esty, E. P. Walton, John Gregory Smith, Asahel Peck, John W. Stew- art, Abraham B. Gardner, Paul Dillingham, Harmon Canfield, Edward Sey- mour, Burnam Martin, Frederick Billings, Franklin Butler, Jed. P. Ladd Ma- son S. Colburn, Edward A. Sowles, Carroll S. Page, E. D. Mason, W. W. Grout, E. P. Colton, George L. Dale, Duane L. Kent, Gilbert A. Davis, Ho- mer Goodhull, Milo C. Huling, J. Henry Guild, George W. Farwell, Oscar E. Butterfield, Cyrus Jennings, E. D. Blodgett, Redfield Proctor. John Lovejoy. Mason, Eben Graves, Hiram Barton, of Vermont; and Seth B. Hunt, H. Henry Baxter, and William M. Evarts of the city of New York; Samuel B. Sanford and David Robinson of Troy, New York, and Sidney Squires of Bos- ton, Massachusetts, with seven persons to be elected annually in January by the Bennington Historical Society, were constituted, with their associates and successors, a body politic and corporate, by the name of the Bennington Bat- tle Monument Association, for the purpose of erecting and maintaining a suit- able monument commemorative of the achievements of General John Stark, and the patroit soldiers of Vermont, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts, at the decisive battle of Bennington, fought on the 16th of August, 1777.
"Section seven of the above act reads thus, in part : 'The auditor of accounts is hereby directed to draw his order on the treasurer of the State, in favor of the treasurer of this association, for the sum of fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000), upon receiving satisfactory proof that said association has raised, and is in actual possession of available funds to the amount of $5,000, to be expended for the erection of a battle monument at Bennington.'
" This sum of $5,000, herein mentioned, was raised by private subscription, and, in 1880, the Legislature created the Bennington Battle Monnment Fund, received the $5,000 into the treasury of the State, and set apart the whole $20,000 as the fund of the association in the keeping of the State.
"In the above named act of incorporation section four reads as follows: 'The governor is hereby directed to invite, in the name of this State, the. States of New Hampshire and Massachusetts, to unite with the State of Ver- mont, in erecting a battle monument at Bennington.'
" In the year 1877 the following resolution was passed by the State of Mas- sachusetts : 'Resolved, That a sum not exceeding seven thousand five hun- dred dollars be allowed and paid out of the treasury in aid of the erection of a monument in commemoration of the battle of Bennington, to be paid to the treasurer of the Bennington Battle Monument Association, a corporation established under the laws of Vermont, at such time and in such sums as his excellency the governor, may direct ; provided, that no part of such sum shall be paid until the plans of said monument shall be approved by the governor,
1
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and until he shall be satisfied that funds are provided from other sources, in- cluding the sum hereby appropriated, sufficient to complete the monument according to plans approved by him.'.
"This appropriation by Massachusetts was made in May, 1877. In July fol- lowing the Legislature of New Hampshire voted $5,000 on the same con- ditions. Their condition is also expressed in the law of Vermont of 1880, creating the monument fund of $20,000.
"In February, 1881, Congress appropriated $40,000 on similar conditions. The president of the United States, or a commission appointed by him, was "required to approve the design, and a board of three army officers must re- port to him that the funds acquired by the association are sufficient to build the monument according to the design adopted "
"In accordance with the act of incorporation by the Vermont Legislature, the first meeting of the Bennington Battle Monument Association, was held on the second Wednesday in January, 1877. This meeting made a preliminary organization by the election of the Hon. W. H. H. Bingham, of Stowe, tem- porary chairman, and Carroll S. Page, of Hyde Park, temporary secretary. On motion of Hon. Hiland Hall, a committee of five, consisting of Hiland Hall, Charles M. Bliss, J. H. Guild, Isaac Jennings and A. B. Gardner, was elected to report to the association a board of officers, for the consideration of the association. Adjourned until three o'clock p. m. Met according to ad- journment, Hon. W. H. H. Bingham in the chair. The committee on nom - ination reported, and the association thereupon elected, the following officers: President, Hon. Horace Fairbanks, of St. Johnsbury; vice-president, Hon. Hiland Hall, of Bennington; secretary, Charles M. Bliss, of Bennington; as- sistant secretary. John M. Shurtleff, of Bennington; treasurer, Milo C. Huling, of North Bennington. At subsequent adjourned meetings by-laws were adopted and other important business transacted ; and, at an adjourned meet- ing held January, 23. the following board of directors was elected by ballot : A. B. Gardner, Alonzo B. Valentine, Olin Scott, Charles E. Dewey, and A. P. Childs.
"To go on with the history of the association-year after year annual elec- tions of officers have taken place ; annual and special meetings have been held, and much important business transacted ; but one subject of commanding interest has held its place-that of securing a suitable design for the monument. The board of directors met not only in Bennington, but in Boston, Burlington, Concord, N. H., and New York City. Able and distingished gentlemen have composed the committee of design. Leading sculptors and architects have been consulted. Many have furnished designs for the consideration of the committee of design and the board of directors. On December 2, 1884, at a meeting of the directors, held in New York City, the design of Prof. Weir was, by the committee of design, recommended to the board. It may as well,
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perhaps, be noted here that the Bennington Battle Monument Association had secured the passage in the Legislature of Vermont in 1880 of an act constituting the governors of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont members and directors of the association, ex - officio.
"The board of directors at the time of adopting the Weir design, consisted of their excellencies Hon. George D. Robinson, governor of Massachusetts; Hon. Samuel W. Hall, governor of New Hampshire; Hon. Samuel E. Pingree, gov- ernor of Vermont, ex-officio members of the board; and Hon Benjamin F. Prescott, ex-governor of New Hampshire ; Hon. Edward J. Phelps, L. L.D., and professor of law in Yale College ; General. John G. Mccullough, Hon. Henry G. Root, Major Alonzo B. Valentine, Samuel B. Sanford, esq., and Rev. Isaac Jennings. The committee of design at this time was composed as fol- lows: Hon. Edward J Phelps, Hon. Alexander H. Rice, L.L. D., ex-governor of Massachusetts ; Hon. Benjamin F. Prescott. The author of the design adopted, John F. Weir, professor of painting and design in Yale College, was present at the above meeting.
"At this meeting in New York City, December 2, 1884, the report of the com- mittee of design was accepted, and a resolution was unanimously passed adopt- ing said design ; and also, in accordance with the resolution, every member of the board, including the governors of Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Ver- mont, er-officio members, gave their individual vote in writing and within the time that the meeting was kept open for the purpose, for the Weir design. At the ensuing annual meeting of the association, January 14, 1885, the records of the above meeting of the directors in New York City and its proceedings complete were read by Rev. Isaac Jennings, secretary of the directors; and this reading of the said records was understood to be equivalent to the submission on the part of the directors of their action in the premises to the association for its approval and adoption or otherwise, as the members of the association should decide. Owing to the lateness of the hour no vote and no decision on the subject was had at this meeting. Public opinion, however, and the con- trolling feeling of the association appeared to be, and proved to be, in favor not of a monument distinctly sculptural, which was the type of the Weir design, but of an architectural monument of lofty and massive, yet simple proportions. The strong and beautiful monograph of ex-Governor Hall, which was printed and copies of it sent to all the members of the association, in June of this year in favor of the grand, yet simple and lofty monument, deserves special mention in this connection.
" Here comes in a very important meeting of the Bennington Historical So- ciety, and quite a full abstract of the minutes of this meeting seems to be in place. The Bennington Historical Society held a meeting at the court-house in Bennington, April 14, 1885. This meeting was, as the minutes state, very largely attended. A preamble and resolutions were adopted appointing a com-
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mittee of not less than forty members to obtain information, and bring the same before the monument association at its meeting on August 12, 1885, respecting ' a massive structure of commanding height.' The chairman of this committee was Hon. Hiland Hall. This general convention held a meeting the following Friday, the chairman presiding, and appointed a "working committee " con- sisting of Charles M. Bliss, George W. Robinson, Milo C. Huling, John V. Hall, and John T. Shurtleff; also a finance committee: Luther R. Graves, Charles Thatcher, and L. F. Abbott. Subsequently an advisory committee was ap- pointed to recommend to the society one or more designs. The members of this committee were Hon. Hiland Hall, chairman ; Professor Arthur L. Perry, of Williams College, Mass .; Hon. Joseph B. Walker, of Concord, N. H., (a great- grandson of Rev. Timothy Walker, of Revolutionary fame); Professor H. A. P. Torrey, of the University of Vermont ; Ilon. Horace Fairbanks, of St. Johnsbury, and Hon. John W. Stewart, M.C., of Middlebury. This special committee made their report under date of July 9, 1885, to the society, 'strongly and unanimously approving the design presented by J. Ph. Rinn, an artist and architect of Boston ;' also that the society 'take proper and needful measures to insure a full attendance of the monumental association on the 12th of August, in order that the question of design may be definitely settled.'
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