USA > Vermont > Grand Isle County > History of Franklin and Grand Isle counties, Vermont : With illustrations and biographical sketches of some of the prominent men and pioneers. > Part 14
USA > Vermont > Franklin County > History of Franklin and Grand Isle counties, Vermont : With illustrations and biographical sketches of some of the prominent men and pioneers. > Part 14
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But before closing this branch of the present chapter, it becomes nec- essary to furnish an account of the naval engagement on the lake, op- posite Plattsburgh, which commenced simultaneously with the battle on the land. The following account is extracted from the official report of Commander Macdonough, of the American fleet : "At 8 A. M. the look- out boat announced the approach of the enemy. At 9 he anchored in a line ahead, and about 300 yards distance from my line ; his ship op- posed to the Saratoga, his brig to the Eagle, his galleys, thirteen in number, to the schooner, sloop, and a division of our galleys; one of his sloops assisting their ship and brig, the other assisting their galleys; our remaining galleys with the Saratoga and Eagle. In this situation the whole force, on both sides, became engaged, the Saratoga suffering ·much from the heavy fire of the Confiance. I could perceive at the same time, however, that our fire was very destructive to her. The
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HISTORY OF FRANKLIN AND GRAND ISLE COUNTIES.
Ticonderoga, Lieutenant-Commander Cassin, gallantly sustained her full share of the action. At half-past ten o'clock, the Eagle not being able to bring her guns to bear, cut her cable, and anchored in a more eligible position, between my ship and the Ticonderoga, where she very much annoyed the enemy, but unfortunately leaving me exposed to a galling fire from the enemy's brig. Our guns on the starboard side being nearly all dismounted or not manageable, a stern anchor was let go, the bower cable cut, and the ship winded, with a fresh broadside on the enemy's ship, which soon after surren- dered. Our broadside was then sprung to bear on the brig which sur- rendered in about fifteen minutes after. The sloop that was opposed to the Eagle had struck some time before, and drifted down the line ; the sloop which was with their galleys having struck also. Three of their galleys are said to be sunk, the others pulled off. Our galleys were about obeying, with alacrity, the signal to follow them, when all the vessels were reported to me to be in a sinking state ; it then became necessary to annul the signal to the galleys, and order their men to the pumps. I could only look at the enemy's galleys going off in a shat- tered condition, for there was not a mast on either squadron that would stand to make sail on ; the lower rigging, being nearly all shot away, hung down as if it had been just placed over the mastheads. The Sar- atoga had fifty-five round shot in her hull ; the Confiance 105. The enemy's shot passed principally just over our heads, as there were not twenty whole hammocks in the nettings at the close of the action, which lasted, without intermission, two hours and twenty minutes. The Sar- atoga was twice set on fire by hot-shot from the enemy's ship. In this engagement the American fleet comprised the ship Saratoga, commanded by Macdonough himself; the brig Eagle, Captain Henley; schooner Ticonderoga, Lieutenant Cassin ; sloop Preble, Lieutenant Charles Budd ; and the galleys Allen, Burrows, Borer, Nettle, Viper, Centipede, Ludlow, Wilma, Alwyn and Ballard, manned by 882 men, mounting in all eighty-six guns. The British fleet was composed of the frigate Confiance, thirty-seven guns, 300 men, commanded by Captain Downie; the brig Linet, Captain Pring, sixteen guns, 120 men ; the sloop Chub, Lieutenant McGhee, and the sloop Finch, Lieutenant Hicks, carrying eleven guns, and about forty-five men each. To these
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DURING THE WAR OF 1812.
vessels were added twelve gun-boats of about forty-five men each. The total British armament was ninety-five guns, and more than 1,000 men."
These signal victories by the Americans over the greatly larger Brit- ish forces utterly discouraged the Canadian authorities, and taught them a lesson equal in value to that of General Gates in his meeting with Bur- goyne at Saratoga in 1777. The defeated British at once withdrew to Canada, and made no further demonstration in the states during the re- mainder of the season. However, during the winter following, a cam- paign was planned having for its object the destruction of the American war vessels then laying off Whitehall. In this proposed expedition the British troops and train were to be carried to the place of attack by sleighs. But the authorities of Vermont, and of the United States gov- ernment as well, were informed of all that was contemplated by the en- emy, and took effectual measures to resist and defeat such a scheme. At that time the British army aggregated 16,000 men, besides a heavy train of artillery. Major-General Samuel Strong had command of the American force, with headquarters at Vergennes. He was ever on the alert, and had such an organization of his troops as to be able to bring them into readiness for action on brief orders. And his efforts, too, were ably aided and seconded by the good offices of Governor Martin Chittenden.
The British, however, never made the proposed attack, nor ventured to again invade the territory of the United States. Great Britain had by this time her fill of war with the Americans, and readily agreed to the Treaty of Ghent on the 24th of December, 1814; the same being ratified by the United States on February 17, 1815. America had now fought her last battle with a foreign foe, and peace and plenty thereafter prevailed on every hand for many years.
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HISTORY OF FRANKLIN AND GRAND ISLE COUNTIES.
CHAPTER XI.
An Era of Peace and Prosperity-Growth and Increase in Franklin and Grand Isle Counties-Population at Various Periods-The Patriot War of 1837-39-Occurrences in these Counties-Citizens' Meetings-Resolutions Adopted-Some Events of the Period-Generals Wool and Nason -The Surrender-Militia from both Counties on the Frontier.
F OLLOWING the close of the War of 1812-15, the people of Frank- lin and Grand Isle counties, as well as of all the country, entered upon an era of peace and prosperity not hitherto enjoyed by them in the history of the locality, or of the state. Down to the year 1815, even from the first occupation and settlement in this region, the people knew nothing of peace or of its attendant blessings ; the state itself was brought into existence amid the turmoil of war and the unpleasantness of controversy. And when Franklin county was created, though the war was past, and the controversy settled, yet the unsatisfied and inso- lent Britains, in a spirit of jealousy and covetousness, still assailed the infant institutions of the Commonwealth, and sought to promote dis- cord among the people of every community in the northern region of the state. In 1792, the year in which Franklin was created, the British were maintaining garrisons of troops in the towns on the northern front- ier, while their armed vessels sailed about the lake, capturing boat loads of merchandise and other private property, respecting neither cit- izen nor commonwealth, and yielding nothing without exacting prom- ises of loyalty or due and sufficient consideration. By the terms of a treaty made between John Jay, on the part of the United States, and representatives of the Crown, on the other side, an amity and a reciprocal relation became established, and the offensive presence of the king's troops was removed across the borders.
And when Grand Isle county was incorporated, although a nominal peace existed between the two governments, there nevertheless pre- vailed a certain feeling of disquiet, produced in part by the jealousy of Great Britain on account of the rapid advancement in every branch of trade and commerce throughout the United States, and in the almost phenomenal increase of population, which was destined, unless checked,
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GROWTH OF POPULATION.
to place this government high up in the scale among the more powerful nations of the earth. The aggressive and insulting acts of Great Britain perpetrated during the years just preceding the outbreak only precipi- tated the war, and hastened its final ending. In 1775 and the years next following the American colonies fought for their independence, and in 1812 and succeeding years again contended against the same power from which that independence had been forcibly wrested; and, although between those periods there was no open rupture, there was neither har - mony nor friendship between the governing countries. But, with the peace that followed the second war, the people of this region were given an opportunity to cultivate and increase their land, establish and build up their villages, plant their industries, and bring riches to the country they possessed.
In 1791,1 the year in which the first Federal census was taken, Frank- lin county had a population of but 1,472, while Grand Isle numbered only 1,292. Ten years later Franklin had increased to 6,426, and the Islands to 3,787. During the next ten years Franklin increased to 12,- 1 19, while Grand Isle fell off to 3,445. The census of 1820 gave Frank- lin 14,635, and Grand Isle 3,727 population. In 1830 Franklin in- creased to 20,977, but Grand Isle decreased during the same period to 3,696. Both increased in the next decade, Franklin to 24,553, and Grand Isle to 3,883. In 1850 Franklin had 29,586, and Grand Isle 4,145. In 1860 Franklin was found to have yielded somewhat to the western emigrating population, the census of that year showing but 27,- 271, but by 1870 it had increased to 30,291, the highest point ever reached; and from that to the present time the population has remained nearly stationary. In Grand Isle county in 1860 the highest point was reached, being 4,276; and while there has been a subsequent falling off in population, the decrease has been immaterial and hardly noticeable.
The years 1837, 1838 and 1839 constituted a brief period of excite- ment and some disturbance in the history of Franklin and Grand Isle counties, growing out of an abortive attempt on the part of a few rebel- lious French subjects in Canada to overthrow the British government in that province. This feeble and ill-advised movement, although it had
'The figures here given are the same as in the late Gazetteer of the counties, which differ somewhat from other computations.
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HISTORY OF FRANKLIN AND GRAND ISLE COUNTIES.
numerous sympathizers this side of the line, especially among French settlers here, received no countenance or support from the great body of the American people. But, on account of the fact that certain refu- gees from Canada, and others, plotters and conspirators whose aim was to extinguish the British power in the province, found this region a safe abiding place in which to plan and develope their schemes, the opinion became current on the other side of the line that the United States or the state of Vermont was lending assistance to the threatened over- throw of power. This the Canadian press openly charged with all man- ner of base and unjust insinuations, to such an extreme as to create much of sympathy for the rebellious subjects in the hearts of many peo- ple who otherwise would have scorned the idea of such revolutionary measures as were permitted to be concocted in the state. A number of the leaders of the insurrectionists took up a temporary abode in the vil- lage of St. Albans, among them being R. S. M. Bouchette, a young man of splendid abilities and fine personal appearance; Cyril Cate, a physi- cian of prominence and large influence; P. P. Demary, a notarial officer of St. John's, and others of greater or less degree. These were the leaders of the insurgents in this locality, and had a considerable following of adherents who came with them or soon afterward. And Swanton and Alburgh, too, were likewise the center of operations of other per- sons allied to the same cause; and it was but a natural consequence that the end for which these leaders contended should arouse a feeling of sympathy among the French residents in these localities, but whatever action was had or meetings held by them, were conducted secretly, and furnished no occasion for interference by either local or state authorities.
Concerning their operations, Mr. Dutcher's account says: "They se- cured two small pieces of cannon, some muskets of various paterns, and a small quantity of ammunition and stores. These were mainly pur- chased with money, but it is probable that some portion of them were contributed by sympathizing friends. It was their plan to force their way through the loyal population of the border, to the French country beyond. Having been re-enforced by the arrival of 70 habitans from L'Acadie, and numbering in all just 96 men, they left the village of Swanton Falls, Dec. 6th, at 2:30 p. m. As soon as they had crossed the province line, they commenced enforcing levies, upon the loyal op-
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THE PATRIOT WAR.
ponents, of horses and provisions. When the party left Swanton, and again when they reached the forks of the road at Saxe's mills and turned to the right, intelligence was sent forward to the British authorities of their movements. In a straggling and disorderly manner they pro- ceeded slowly, entering houses by the way, when, about eight o'clock p. m., they were fired on by a body of militia at Moore's Corners. This militia force consisted of several hundred men, thoroughly armed and well supplied with ammunition. From a chosen position by the road- side, on a steep, rocky hill, they kept up an irregular fire upon the in- vaders. The rebel party were rallied as soon as it was possible, in the darkness and confusion, and proceeded to return the fire as well as they were able, by firing in the direction from whence the attack seemed to come, but without a living object against which to direct their aim. They stood the fire directed upon them for about fifteen minutes, when they broke and retreated back to Swanton, leaving one dead and two wounded men, with most of their stores, behind."
The hospitality extended the insurgents by friends this side the line was the occasion of much concern and still more criticism on the part of the Canadian authorities, and they in public assemblages and the newspapers denounced the alleged action as revolutionary and calculated to precipitate another rupture between the countries. But there was no such sentiment among the people as was charged; they neither favored nor gave aid to the insurgents, but rather looked upon the whole matter in the light of a jest, and the violent denunciations by the British created no alarm in the community, but only served to prolong and intensify the excitement existing on their own side. But at last the Canadian authorities became so vehement and unreasonable in their expressions, threatening to invade the state, destroy villages and property, and an- nihilate the inhabitants, that some serious action became necessary in order to put an end to these inflammatory proceedings on the other side. For this purpose a mass meeting of the citizens of Franklin county was held at St. Albans, on the 19th of December, at which time a select committee was chosen to express the sentiment of the county regarding the threats of the troubled Canadians and their government. Henry Adams was chairman of the committee, and as such made report that "the following facts are clearly established by the testimony of numbers
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HISTORY OF FRANKLIN AND GRAND ISLE COUNTIES.
of intelligent and credible witnesses, etc.," viz .: "I. That frequent threats have been publicly made, by men of standing, both at St. Ar- mand and Missisquoi Bay, to burn the villages of St. Albans and Swan- ton Falls, and the dwellings of citizens in other places. 2. That fre- quent threats have been made by men of standing in Canada, to cross the line and kidnap those Canadian patriots who have fled to our terri- tory for protection from British tyranny. 3. That armed men acting as British guards, and under command of a British officer, have often been seen at night on this side of the line; and, on one occasion, while in our own territory, made proposals for the kidnapping of one of our own citizens. 4. That a large number of our citizens in various parts of the country have been threatened, as well by the armed guards sta- tioned along the line as from other quarters, with arrest, imprisonment and trial by court-martial, for acts done and opinions expressed within the jurisdiction of the United States; and that lists containing the names of our citizens have been given to the armed guards, with orders to ar- rest the persons therein named. 5. That several of our citizens have been arrested by the armed guards without any just cause; have been prevented from pursuing their lawful business; detained under arrest for several hours, stripped of their clothes, and otherwise treated with abuse and insult. 6. That some of the leaders of the tory faction in Canada, relying on the forbearance of our fellow citizens, have come among us and disturbed the public peace, and brandished their pistols in places of public resort."
These resolutions and declarations were based on affidavits of respect- able and reliable persons, who had knowledge of the facts stated; and they being, as above stated, read to the meeting were fully approved and sustained. Public meetings were held in other sections, some gen- eral and others local, at which the situation was discussed, and resolu- tions adopted. During the winter following, that of 1837-38, the rebel- lious subjects made more extensive preparations for invading Canada, and during the latter part of February, believed themselves sufficiently strong and well equipped to make a conquest of the province and effect the overthrow of its government. Alburgh and Swanton seem now to have become the seat of operations of the self-styled patriots, and from these points they next moved against the enemy; but the British gov-
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THE PATRIOT WAR.
ernment was informed of every movement and fully prepared to meet and repel the invaders. In the meantime the Federal authorities of the United States had information of what had previously occurred, and of what the insurgents were then proposing to do, using the states as a place of rendezvous, and to which they might safely retreat in case they were overpowered or outnumbered. Therefore, when the rebels assem- bled at Alburgh and Swanton, on the 27th and 28th of February, and soon thereafter crossed the line into Canada, they found themselves con- fronted on the north side by a superior force of British troops, while on the south were Generals Wool, of the United States army, and Nason, of the Franklin county militia. Knowing that aggressive action in either direction would result disastrously, the rebels chose a course thought to be attended with the least punishment as a consequence of their evil doing, and at once fell back and surrendered to General Wool. This surrender ended the disturbances for the year so far as the assem- bling of troops and using either Franklin or Grand Isle counties as a rendezvous was concerned; but the spirit of rebellion was rife throughout other portions of the province, and several collisions took place with the usual result of failure on the part of the patriots. And cases are not wanting in which residents of Vermont found themselves within the ranks of the patriots, and when conflicts occurred and captures were made they were treated as rebels and punished accordingly. The spring of 1839 found the same spirit still rampant, and occasionally the British themselves, or their subjects, would perpetrate some. act of outrage on this side of the line. To protect the people and property of the north- ern towns, it became necessary that the strength of General Nason's regiment should be again called into service on the frontier, during the month of April of that year. More particular reference to the events of this brief but eventful warlike outbreak will be found in the chapters of town history, in which will be narrated company and individual per- formances in each locality affected.
From the time of the close of the Patriot War down to the outbreak of the Rebellion of 1861-65, there occurred no untoward event to dis- turb the happiness or prosperity of the people, but some years before the Southern states seceded from the Union there were certain unmis- takable indications of coming strife, but no person in the whole land
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HISTORY OF FRANKLIN AND GRAND ISLE COUNTIES.
for a moment believed that so serious a calamity was about to fall upon the nation, and involve its people in a civil war of nearly five years duration.
CHAPTER XII.
FRANKLIN AND GRAND ISLE COUNTIES DURING THE REBELLION.
T' `HE record made by the volunteers of Franklin and Grand Isle coun - ties from the first blaze of hostile cannon until secession was bur- ied at Appomattox by the surrender of General Lee's sword, forms one of the most brilliant of the many grand chapters of their history. To faintly picture their service it will be necessary to refer to the records of the regiments to which the volunteers belonged, which forms an un- broken chain of testimony to demonstrate the patriotism of the counties' soldiery. But the well-known martial spirit of these counties was not born with the outbreak of the Rebellion ; it was alive when the sturdy pioneer first settled the forest, that prosperous towns might spring up, agricultural interests be enlarged, and the mechanical arts add to the wealth of the progressive inhabitants; it was in being when Franklin county itself was brought into existence, for at that time, although a nominal peace prevailed, there was nevertheless an armed British force both on land and lake within the borders of the county, sent thither by the English government to annoy the settlers in the possession of their lands and properties, under the spurious claim that the region then was a part of the British province. That same determined spirit was inher- ited by a later generation of sons of Vermont, and became manifest when in 1812 and the years following the government of Great Britain again sought to wrest the control of America from the people that held it; for, despite the opposition of the Federalists, and their obstructive measures, the loyal men of the region again marched in defense of the country and performed well their part in driving the invaders from the land, thus preserving intact our national institutions.
Following the second war with England, that spirit slept, and the only manifestation of its presence was on the grand old days of “ gen-
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WAR OF THE REBELLION.
eral training," when the farmer, the mechanic, and woodsman aban- doned toil, and hied away to the "muster," to eat Yankee gingerbread and drink new cider, and boast of the prowess of the American eagle.
In connection with the military history of Franklin and Grand Isle counties, during the late civil war, one singular circumstance becomes noticeable, and that in the fact that there was hardly a command organ- ized or recruited in this region, whether infantry, cavalry, artillery or any other arm of the service, but that had among its members at least a small representation from this locality ; and while no entire regiment was recruited in the county, the men appear to have been scattered throughout various commands to an extent more noticeable than in the majority of counties in the state.
Perhaps the most distinguished officer in the service from Franklin county was General George J. Stannard, whose greatest honor came in connection with his splendid service at Gettysburg in July, 1863, when he, at the head of the Vermont Brigade, an organization hardly less famous than its valiant commander, seeing and accepting the grand op- portunity, swept into the rear of Pickett's division, on the occasion of that general's historic charge, and turned the tide of battle in favor of the Union arms. Had General Stannard failed to act on this moment- ous occasion, he would have been remiss in a plain duty, but it was in observing closely the enemy's movements, and striking at the right time, and so effectually, too, that brought honor and glory both to com- mander and men.
George J. Stannard was born in Georgia, on the 20th of October, 1820, and at the time of his enlistment was a resident and business man at St. Albans, being then connected with the Foundry Company in a clerical position. And it is said of him, that he was the first man in the state to offer his services as a volunteer, but he does not appear to have been associated with the first regiment of Vermont troops, as the governor had determined to reserve him for another command which he had de- . cided to recruit.
THE FIRST REGIMENT.
This command was raised in April, 1861, and mustered into service on the 2d of May. The greater portion of its strength from Franklin county
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HISTORY OF FRANKLIN AND GRAND ISLE COUNTIES.
was in the " Ransom Guards" of St. Albans and the "Green Mountain Guards" of Swanton, both of which were organized companies and vol- unteered at once on the call for men. But other towns of the county, with two or three from Grand Isle, also formed a part of the First, as will be seen from the roll appended. On the field and staff of this regi- ment was Adjutant Hiram Stevens of Enosburgh, while the company officers from the county were Captain Lawrence D. Clark, First Lieu- tenant Albert B. Jewett, Second Lieutenant John Sheriden, all of Swan- ton, of company A; Captain Charles G. Chandler, First Lieutenant Hiram E. Perkins, and Second Lieutenant Freeborn E. Bell, all of St. Albans, of company C. The First Regiment was mustered into service May 2, 1861, and mustered out August 15, 1861.
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