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 32
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 32
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During the War of 1861-65 .- The next event of importance in con- nection with the history of St. Albans in general was the part taken by the town and its people during that period known commonly as the war of the Rebellion. No sooner was the news announced that Sumter had fallen, that the war was in fact begun, than the local military organiza- tion - the Ransom Guards - was made ready for active duty, and in answer to the President's call for 75,000 men was mustered into the United States service as Company C, First Regiment of Vermont troops, on the. 2d of May, 1861. At the same time the people of the town at large were making efforts in other directions, such as were considered necessary for the occasion. The equipment and preparations of the Guards for active service in the field required much attention and some revenue. To meet the expense incurred by the hasty fitting out of the company the town held a meeting on the IIth of May and voted to raise twenty-five cents on the dollar; also voted to exempt the volun- teers from paying taxes, and further provided for the support of such families of volunteers as were unable to sustain themselves. For this expense the selectmen were authorized to make an outlay of seven hun- dred dollars per month.
The service of the Ransom Guards continued from the time of mus- ter-in, May 2, 1861, until the time of enlistment expired ; the company was discharged and mustered out on August 15, following. But before the term of the Guards' enlistment had expired other companies were in process of organization, and many of the first command afterward be- came members of subsequent companies, and in view of their previous experiences not a few were made officers of the new formations.
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There was hardly a regiment of Vermont volunteers but had in its ranks more or less of men from St. Albans. The total number of men credited to the town, according to the adjutant and inspector general's reports, was four hundred and seventy-four, classified as follows : In the three months service, forty-seven; volunteers for three years previous to call of October 17, 1863, 194; volunteers for three years subsequent to the call of October, 1863, 115; volunteers for nine months service, twenty-two; volunteers re-enlisted, veterans, thirty-five; drafted men who entered the service, six ; drafted and procured substitutes, fourteen ; enrolled men furnished substitutes, four ; miscellaneous credits, not named, twenty-five; drafted and paid commutation, twelve. The num- ber of men from the town who actually entered the service was four hundred and sixty-two. Of this total number there were but thirty- eight opposite to whose names was marked " deserted."
But the town of St. Albans did more for the support of its volunteers than is mentioned in connection with temporary relief offered and granted the Ransom Guards and the families of its members. On the 7th of August, 1862, when it became necessary to send more men to the service, the town voted a tax of twelve cents on the grand list for the purpose of paying a bounty of forty dollars to each of thirty recruits ; and on the 28th of January, 1863, there was voted on the list a tax of seventy- two cents on the dollar for the purpose of creating a fund with which to pay bounties. The report of the selectmen, presented at the March meeting of 1863, showed that they had paid bounties of forty dollars to each of thirty-two men, and a bounty of one hundred dollars each to sixty men, making an aggregate; to that time, of seven thou- sand three hundred and twenty dollars.
In 1863, at a largely attended town meeting, held on the 2d of Decem- ber, there was considerable discussion relative to the subject of voting a still greater sum of money for the purpose of paying bounties. And there seems at this time to have been some opposition to the raising of further funds for the purpose indicated, the principal opponent being Alonzo W. Brooks, while Victor Atwood, Henry G. Edson, Dr. Hiram F. Stevens, Worthington C. Smith, and Heman S. Royce advocated the raising of the funds for bounties. After a free discussion of the subject Mr. Royce offered a resolution, and it was adopted by a large majority, that a tax
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of one hundred and ten cents be laid on the grand list for the purpose of paying a bounty of three hundred dollars each to forty six men ; and the selectmen were also authorized to pledge the credit of the town in creating this fund.
And further, during the next year, 1864, at the meeting of June 14, the selectmen were directed to borrow the sum of six thousand dollars to pay bounties. August II, following, the same officers were author- ized to offer a bounty of one thousand dollars in order to secure men for the service. And at the same time the grand list was taxed to the extraordinary extent of three hundred and fifty cents on the dollar for the raising of funds.
This is the record of the town as disclosed by the minutes of the meet- ings held at various times, but in addition thereto there should be made mention of the efforts of individuals of which there stands no record. That the town was true and loyal to the Union no person for a moment doubts ; but in every community throughout the land there were per- sons who opposed the propositions that contemplated the creation of a town debt for the payment of large bounties ; but in St. Albans this op- position was never construed into a sentiment of disloyalty, but rather it was regarded as a feeling of dislike of and opposition to the practice of borrowing money on the credit of the town. But it will not be consid- ered essential to this chapter to refer at greater length to the part taken by this town or by its people during the late war. The period of its continuance is made the subject of special and extended mention in one of the earlier chapters of this volume ; and in that connection there will be found a brief record of the part taken by each company from this and the other towns of the county during that great struggle ; and there will be found, too, a complete roll of the county's contribution of men for the service during the period of the war.
The St. Albans Raid .- Next in the succession of events there should here be made some reference to that which has been known in history as the St. Albans Raid, being nothing less than a well-devised and precon- certed attack upon the money vaults of the banking institutions of the village of St. Albans. But such was the peculiar character of this fam- ous event, having a national rather than local significance, although local banks alone suffered through the raid, that it is made the subject of
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particular and special reference in the general chapters of this work. However, a history of St. Albans without some allusion to this remark- able occurrence would indeed be incomplete.
The event referred to just above took place on the 19th of October, in the year 1864, at that particular time in which the dark cloud of war hung heaviest over our nation, and at a time when there were, perhaps, more of our nation's soldiers in the field than before or afterward ; at a time when the frontier was the least prepared for an invasion from the Canadian provinces. But it cannot be said that some depredation was wholly unexpected, for there were men within the village who were able to see the possibility of the attack in the strange relation borne by the people under English rule to the Confederacy ; men who could di- vine from singular and unusual utterances that a storm was nearing from the northern provinces. Keen-sighted men could not be mistaken in the meaning of strange visitants to the alien country northward, nor in the occasional presence in this town, about the time of and just preceding the raid, on the part of certain crafty though remarkably intelligent per- sons. These were the shadows that coming events cast before them, and to discerning men the results were plain, although the particular character or kind of storm about to burst could not be anticipated no more than it could have been thwarted. An effort was made, however, on the part of some leading citizens to have the national government es- tablish here some defensive force, but at that special period the govern- mental mind was too much engrossed with other and possibly more im- portant cases to give much heed to the warnings or petitions from remote localities. That the raid of October 19, 1864, was conceived in the Southern mind no sane man has ever doubted, and that it received the sanction and was aided and abetted by English subjects, if not by its government, on this side of the Atlantic, there appears also to be no reasonable or serious doubt. Certain it is that the raid was made, and equally certain it is that the same was executed by at least a number of British subjects under the leadership of persons warm in the affections of the rebellious South. But without entering further into the details of the raid, being sufficiently narrated in the general history, all that is necessary to state in this connection is that the raid was made and car- ried out according to its original conception, and by it the bank vaults
William H Blake
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were looted to the extent of $208,000. One person was killed, Elinus J. Morrison, and a number of others were more or less seriously wounded. The pillagers gained their desired plunder, captured and mounted horses, and made their way to Canada with all possible speed. Of course they were pursued as soon as the residents regained their self-possession, but the invaders made good their escape from the country. Subsequent efforts on the part of the towns-people, state, and Federal government succeeded in having restored to the plundered banks the equivalent of $88,000, so that the total loss was reduced to something like $120,000 ; but this sum was exclusive of the expenses incurred by interested per- sons in their efforts at regaining the loss, and also exclusive of the loss of and damage to horses and other properties stolen by Young and his com- panions, and with which they crossed the border.
In connection with the many incidents, accidents, and mishaps that attended the raid upon the St. Albans banks there occurred one that tends to show that, although nations are said to be ungrateful, towns are not always so. The town records disclose nothing relative to the raid itself, except as the following incident may show. It appears that a cer- tain citizen of the town, whose name is not mentioned, but might be recalled, in his anxiety to do something to check the proceedings of the raiders, suddenly seized a gun, not his own, and started in pursuit of them, but in the excitement and turmoil of the occasion the weapon be- came lost and was not recovered. The owner of the gun afterward de- manded payment to the extent of its value, and the unlucky citizen sought the intervention of the town to make good the loss, on the ground that he was acting in the public interest. Upon the presenta- tion of the facts the town voted to pay the owner the price of the gun, thus substantially holding that its loss was " the fortune of war," and one that should be borne by the public.
The Fenian War .- Of the many warlike events that have occurred to affect the tranquility of this locality perhaps the least in importance was that known as the Fenian raid, which was nothing more than an attempt on the part of certain Irish persons to accumulate a sufficient army to overthrow the English dominion in the Canadas. But coming, as it did, close on the heels of the war in our own country, and the dis- astrous raid on the local banks, the people were in a proper frame of
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346 HISTORY OF FRANKLIN AND GRAND ISLE COUNTIES.
mind to be easily disturbed by any uprising in the vicinity, no matter how trivial the cause or how limited its extent.
That has ever been remembered as the Fenian raid, and occurred during the month of June, 1866, when, on the first day of the month, the trains from the south brought to the village about three hundred men ; a motley crew who marched from the depot to the public square, and there, uninvited and unwelcomed, pitched their camp. Of course such a visitation could not but throw the community into a state of ex- citement, but the invaders made no hostile demonstration against our people or against local institutions. They were unarmed, and paid in cash for whatever of accommodations they required. They character- ized themselves as "the right wing of the army of Ireland," and soon declared their intention of invading Canada for the purpose of over- throwing the British rule in the Dominion. The people here had seen a similar demonstration some years before, and the avowed declarations of the Fenians had the effect of removing any suspicion that the people of the town or its business interests were to be made the subjects of attack.
But the " army " did not remain long in the village. They soon took up the march toward Canada, but suddenly they appeared to be reason- ably armed and equipped, which fact shows conclusively that they had friends in this and adjoining towns, to whom the munitions of war had been previously intrusted and by them held in readiness for the coming of the troops. Whatever occurred after leaving the town is not neces- sarily a part of this chapter, but their attack upon the province met about the same fate as did that of the French during the years 1837-39. Many people from St. Albans and other localities accompanied the Fenians on their march to Canada, not having any interest in expected results, but for the purpose of " seeing the fun." But that happened to be a particularly muddy time, and their pleasures were not really en- joyable ; some persons, too, in their enthusiasm came near being capt- ured by the British troops, having got into a dangerous position " over the line." .
Three days after the arrival of the Fenians in St. Albans there was sent to the place, by the President's order, a strong force of United States troops, but all the several detachments did not arrive at the same
.
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time. All told, there were about 1,000 men, who encamped on the green, and remained about two weeks. They were under command of General Meade. The disheartened and misguided Fenians soon re- turned from their bootless expedition, and, as they reached the village limits, were relieved of their arms by the Federal troops. General Meade offered them rail transportation to their homes, in the larger cities to the South, and this they eagerly accepted. So ended the famous Fenian war.
The Centennial of St. Albans .- An event of much importance in the history of the town of St. Albans was the celebration of its hundredth anniversary. The subject of a fitting celebration was first suggested at one of the town meetings held in 1863, and the time named for the ex- ercises was August 17th of that year, the centennial anniversary of the charter granted by Governor Wentworth. But it so happened that during the year 1863 the whole country was involved in the uncertainties of civil war, by reason of which it was deemed advisable to postpone the affair until the hundredth anniversary of the organization of the town, or to the 28th day of July, 1888. The year at length arrived, and pre- ceding the time the people of the town made preparations for its com- ing. The proper committees were chosen at a public meeting, and the 4th of July-Independence Day-was designated for the centennial ex- ercises.
But without devoting space to the preliminary arrangements, or to the various committees selected to arrange the program, sufficient it is to say that the occasion was fittingly and appropriately celebrated and observed. It was one of the grandest days in the history of the town, and the village was thronged with thousands of citizens of the county and interested visitors from distant localities. The exercises were held at Athletic Park, and were presided over by Hon. Worthington C. Smith, of St. Albans. The order of exercises was as follows: Music by St. Albans brigade band; invocation by the Rev. George A. Smith ; vocal selection, "To thee, O Country !" by male chorus of twenty-four voices ; historical address, by Rev. John A. MacColl ; music, "Loyal Song," by the chorus; centennial poem, written by Mrs. Sarah A. Wat- son, read by Mr. W. W. Hopkins; "America," by chorus and band ; benediction, pronounced by the Rev. O. M. Hilton.
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HISTORY OF FRANKLIN AND GRAND ISLE COUNTIES.
LOCALITIES, HAMLETS, AND VILLAGES.
It can hardly be considered as essentially within the province of this chapter to declaim at length on the subject of beautiful locations and sit- uations in the town of St. Albans, for, if attempted, it would be exceed- ingly difficult to designate any single site as superior to all others as a point of view. Whether the visitor be on Rocky Point, at the head of the bay, at Lake View, or on the higher points back from the lake-either Aldis Hill or Bellevue-there is presented to the eye of the beholder that same magnificent panorama of nature. From almost any point within the town there can be seen the famous Adirondack Mount- ains and their equally calebrated sunsets. Aldis Hill, in the northeast part, and Bellevue, in the southeast, appear to vie with one another as points of advantage; and while the same splendid lake and mountain view is obtained from either, the former is perhaps most used as a look- out, being nearer to the village and more easy of ascent. From the commanding heights of Bellevue there can be seen, on a clear day, the distant city of Montreal, more than seventy miles away. And from points within the village of St. Albans, in the vicinity of Smith street, and par- ticularly from the upper windows of A. S. Richardson's residence, when the atmosphere is clear, away in the southwest there can plainly be seen that magnificent peak, Mount Marcy, the king of the Adirondacks.
The town of St. Albans has something like ten or twelve miles of front on Lake Champlain, inclusive of its bays and small indentations ; and all this great body of water bounding the town on the west is known by the distinguishing name of Great Back Bay, the famous fishing-ground of the lake region, and the native home of the small-mouthed black bass. One of the principal islands of the Back Bay, or at least of those that lie adjacent to this town, is Potter's Island, recently called Burton's Island, comprising 300 acres, and lying a short distance southwest from Rocky Point. This island was annexed to the town of St. Albans on October 28, 1842, and is now owned by Mr. Sidney B. Burton. To the northward from Burton's Island, and opposite Lapam Bay, is another body of land, containing over 100 acres, and called Wood's Island. This was annexed to the town October 27, 1845. Among the other
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large islands in this vicinity are Butler's and Knight's, both of which are parts of Grand Isle county. To the south of Potter's Island is one smaller, known variously as " Ball's," "Bull's," and "Welden's." The small islands at the mouth of St. Albans Bay are respectively known as Ram and Rock. Another small island, or rather a large rock, stands prominently out of the water not far from the residence of George W. Stilphen, and is called by the name of " Popasquash."
Rocky Point .- At the southern extremity of St. Albans Point proper is the locality that has received the comparatively new name of Rocky Point, but which was formerly known as St. Albans Point and as Hath- away's Point, the latter from the name of the owner of the lands in the vicinity. It should be stated, however, that the name of Rocky Point was given this locality, not only as descriptive of the character of the point where it juts out into the water, but in part from a comfortable summer hotel that has been built by local capitalists on this desirable site. The house itself is not large, but was built with reference to con- venience rather than magnitude or extravagant outlay of money. Its chief patronage comes from St. Albans village, six miles away, but its most recent management has succeeded in drawing to the locality a good number of people from the large cities of New England and New York.
Lake View .- Whatever of prominence this locality has attained as one of the charming resorts of St. Albans is due almost wholly to the efforts of Henry L. Samson, the present proprietor of the Lake View House. The locality of Lake View borders on the Great Back Bay, and is about three miles distant from the head of St. Albans Bay, to the northward from it. Here has been the home, for many years, of James P. Wilson, one of the substantial residents of the town, and whose par- ents came to the place at an early day. Mr. Wilson was a farmer, but his son, Charles E., made the first move in the matter of establishing a resort at the place during the year 1870. He then built the old Lake View House and managed it for three years, when, on account of indif- ferent success, it was closed. The old building was but twenty-five by fifty feet in size, and had only five rooms for boarders. Mr. Samson, who was the son-in-law of James P. Wilson, took the property in 1878, and, with some intervals, has since been its proprietor. In 1884 he sub- stantially re-built the house, enlarging its capacity to the extent of fur-
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nishing accommodations for sixty people ; and since that time he has made frequent changes and enlargements as necessity has required.
The Lake View House stands close to the shores of the lake, a drive- way and a well-kept lawn only intervening. One of the attractive features of the place is the pavilion, but the boating accommodations must not be left unmentioned. There are twenty of them, all staunch craft, and can be used either by pleasure parties or those who prefer the enjoyments of bass fishing in the bay. This particular locality is noted for its excellent fishing-grounds.
St. Albans Bay .- By every consideration of desirability of location it would seem that the village of St. Albans ought to have been built upon the site now occupied by the hamlet called St. Albans Bay ; for here it would have enjoyed the advantages of lake commerce as well as the more modern means of transportation by rail. And had it been within the power of the worthy commissioners, Robert Cochran, Stephen Pearl, and Seth Ford, to " set out the stake " for the town lots in what- ever locality they deemed best for the interests of the future generations, they would probably have selected a site at the head of the bay. But the committee was undoubtedly guided solely by the provisions of the charter, which stated that the lots should be laid out as near the center of the town as the character of the land would admit. This action alone made the east village at once the rival of the hamlet at the head of the bay, although a number of years passed before St. Albans became the most important point for trade and industry.
That the reader may have a clear understanding concerning the early history of St. Albans Bay the present writer feels constrained to copy certain extracts from the work recently prepared by that versatile writer, Henry K. Adams, as follows: " This region still retains many of its aboriginal names. The Bay is often called 'Bella Maqueen.' Ma Quan, then known as Bopquam, while the rocky isle north of Samson's is now known as Popasquash, which peculiar formation of nature was much larger than at the present time, being encircled with more land, of which we have a tradition, was the scene of many powwows or Indian councils, which Indians are said to have been ' the Maquas.' 1
' It is questionable whether these Indians were indeed the Maquas. That was a name given by the Dutch to the men of the Iroquois, the Five, and subsequently the Six Nations. The English called them Mingoes ; the French, Iroquois .- ED.
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" The first clearing at the Bay was a tract of land extending south of the meeting-house, (the lake road not then being laid out,) on the lake shore, including the Ralph Lasell and Buck places. We have evidence that several branches of business were carried on as early as 1790, with a tanner, a shoemaker, carpenters and joiners, and a potash, etc., which latter commodity was shipped into Canada, in exchange for lumber, tobacco, nails, kettles, etc., sloops having been built previous to this date in Burlington, which frequently entered our bay for patronage.
" And as early as the year 1793, when the question of the shire was agitated, there was considerable hesitancy in deciding whether the county buildings should be located there or in the village, which demon- strates that there was an influential element there, but the population had increased here (in St. Albans village) much more rapidly than at the Bay by 1796. As early as 1800 there were merchants at the Bay, and there must have been some enterprise among the inhabit- ants, as a petition for water works was presented to the legislature at that early date.
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