USA > Vermont > History of eastern Vermont, from its earliest settlement to the close of the eighteeth century with a biographical chapter and appendixes > Part 31
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While matters were in this condition, the New York council of safety resolved, on the 27th of June, that the company of rangers commanded by Capt. Wait should be "peremptorily ordered" to repair immediately to Kingston, and that all arrear-
were sent to James Clay, the chairman of the general committee of the county of Cumberland, to be given by him to Col. Eleazer Patterson, and Major John Wheelock, with a request that they should distribute them through the eastern district of the state. By his own exertions, Clay notified the resolves to the towns in Cumberland county, and at the same time requested that a meeting might be called in each town for the purpose of affording the people an opportu- nity to hear the resolves read publicly, and to ascertain whether they were will- ing to choose county committee men to meet at Westminster court-house on the first Tuesday in the following September. The Vermont council of safety hear- ing that Clay was thus engaged, issued a warrant, dated August 10th, 1777, for his arrest. He was accordingly taken before them as a prisoner, and was informed by Col. Thomas Chittenden that he had done wrong in obeying the directions of the state of New York; in notifying a meeting of the county committee ; in dis- tributing the resolves of the Continental Congress; and in inciting people against the new state. On these charges Clay was detained in custody six days. At the end of that period, he was allowed to return to his home in Putney .- Miscel- laneous Papers in office Sec. State, N. Y., vol. xxxvii; also Papers relating to the Vermont Controversy, pp. 2-4. Doc. Hist. N. Y., iv. 944-948.
300
HISTORY OF EASTERN VERMONT.
[1777.
ages should be paid them on their arrival at that place. By another resolution, they directed $200 to be advanced to Capt. Wait to defray the travelling expenses of his men. On reaching their place of destination, permission was to be given them to receive rations instead of subsistence-money, if such should be their wish. A copy of these resolutions was sent to Capt. Wait, and notice was at the same time given him that compliance was expected. In obedience to orders, Wait proceeded to Newbury, in Gloucester county, and, on arriving there, was informed that his under-officers and men had marched for Ticonderoga, to ward off, if possible, the attack anticipated at that post. On their return, on the 14th of July, he called them together and ordered them to set out for Kingston. This com- mand they refused to obey, and in support of their refusal, de- clared that at the time of their enlistment they did not expect to be removed from the counties of Cumberland, Gloucester and Charlotte; that on account of the abandonment of Ticon- deroga, the frontiers were exposed to the attacks of the enemy ; and that they could not, under such circumstances, think of leaving their wives and children unprotected and alone. This answer was presented on the 26th to the New York council of safety, who declared themselves satisfied with Wait's conduct, but refused to pass any resolutions respecting the conduct of the rangers, choosing to leave that subject for the consideration of the Legislature, who were soon to assemble .*
Owing to the defenceless condition of Cumberland county, many attempts were made by the inhabitants to procure arms and ammunition, that they might be enabled to defend their families from the attacks of the enemy's ranging parties, and in the meantime prepare to escape to more secure abodes, should the British approach in force. Among those most active in for- warding these measures, was Charles Phelps. Though far from single-minded in many of his operations, yet in this instance he mingled with secondary motives enough of disinterestedness to render his conduct praiseworthy, and, to some extent, merito- rious. From a period anterior to the erection of Fort Dummer, the General Court of Massachusetts had professed a claim to a portion of what was now the southern part, of Cumberland county. This claim had for a long time been allowed to rest in abeyance. Within a few years, a disposition to renew it had
* Journal N. Y. Prov. Cong., i. 947, 976, 977, 979, 980, 1016 ; ii. 502. Journals Am. Cong., ii. 183. Slade's Vt. State Papers, pp. 77-79.
301
PETITION OF CHARLES PHELPS.
1777.]
been evinced. Taking advantage of this circumstance, Phelps, on the 17th of July, addressed a petition "to the Honourable Council of the most Patriotic State of the ancient Colony of the Massachusetts Bay," in behalf of the inhabitants of fifty town- ships mostly in Cumberland county, which, three years ago, had been " claimed by the legislative authority of the two houses of Assembly" of Massachusetts. In a lengthy address, he referred to " the shameful and detestable" evacuation of the " all important fortress of Ticonderoga, and the adjacent garri- sons ;" to the pitiable situation of the "infant settlements and defenceless plantations ;" to the destruction of men, women, and children, which would surely follow, unless strenuous endeavor was made to prevent it; to the oppressive sway of New York and her "new-fangled schemes;" to the attempts which had been made by the adherents of the new state of Vermont to put a period to the jurisdiction of New York, by "wrenching" prisons and prisoners from the hands of New York prison- keepers ; to the settlers scattered among " woody, mountainous wilds ;" to their extreme poverty ; to their incessant toil, which scarcely rewarded them with the food necessary to support life ; and to the inability of the people generally to procure the means of defence. Pursuing this style of remark, he declared that the government of New York had wholly refused to afford any protection to the distressed inhabitants of the new state, on account of the revolt in which many of them had lately engaged; and that on this account, the only alternative left them was to apply for assistance elsewhere. The petition ended with a re -. quest for arms and ammunition. No definite number or amount was named, since it was thought best that the Council should assist according to their ability rather than be guided in their actions by the necessities of others.
In answer to this petition, Phelps was referred to General Heath. Heath immediately wrote to the Council, that he had no power "to issue arms to. any other than the Continental troops," but at the same time asked the question whether a number of arms put into the hands of the Vermonters, would not answer a valuable purpose. In reply to this question, which comprised the substance of Phelps's petition, the Council order- ed the Board of War to deliver to Abel Marsh, and Charles Phelps, three hundred fire arms, on condition that they should pay or give security for them, and engage to distribute them among the inhabitants of the New Hampshire Grants. On the
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HISTORY OF EASTERN VERMONT.
[1777.
same conditions, the Board of War were further directed to furnish Phelps with one hundred and fifty pounds of powder, three hundred pounds of lead, and four hundred and fifty flints, to be distributed among those persons who should receive arms .*
Nor were the people of Cumberland county, themselves inactive. All who were not incapacitated by extreme youth, old age or infirmity, were formed into guard companies and scouting parties, and were stationed at the points and along the roads by which it was supposed the enemy would advance. But as preparations went on, fear increased. Joel Matthews of Hertford, having heard, on the 19th of July, that the forces of Burgoyne were at Rutland, and that they intended to advance on Number Four, and send forward a detachment to the Coos country lying north of Newbury, ordered out the militia under his command, and sent word to Col. Joseph Marsh, that although he should await his orders, he should yet march whatever men he might be able to raise, to oppose the enemy. This information having reached Bezaleel Woodward at Hanover in New Hampshire, on a Saturday near midnight, he immediately endeavored to disseminate it among the officers and soldiers of the state by expresses.
One appeal for aid, written by him at this critical moment, concluded with these words : " As you regard the safety of this frontier, for God's sake, pray come forward without delay." As the impression became more prevalent, that the enemy were advancing to scour the banks of the Connecticut, the terror of the inhabitants increased. In one day, from the thinly settled towns of Stratford and Thetford, thirty men deserted and went over to the enemy. By this cowardly act, twenty families, and over four hundred cattle and sheep, were deprived of protection. By the kindness of the people of Lyme, they were, however, conveyed across the river, and made com- fortable by shelter and security. On the 21st, Gen. Bayley advised, that the militia of the county should march to Otter creek. If they shall do so, said he, "we will operate with them-otherwise five hundred men will not be able to guard Connecticut river."
By the time the enemy's forces had arrived within thirty- four miles of the Connecticut, the consternation had become
* Revolution Council Papers, in office Sec. State, Mass., 1777, iv. 90-92: 2d series, 1775-1777, p. 291; also Revolution Letters, v. 307.
303
BURGOYNE'S INSTRUCTIONS TO LIEUT .- COL. BAUM.
1777.]
general. Many refused to take up arms in defence of their families and firesides, and some declared openly, their inten- tion of joining the British as soon as they should make their appearance. Nor were these fears without cause. Although Burgoyne had not at that time made known his intention of ravaging the country bordering the Connecticut, still that such was his design, there was no room to doubt. In the instructions, which, on the 9th of August, he issued to Lieut .- Col. Baum, this intention was fully proved. That he might "try the affec- tions of the country, disconcert the councils of the enemy, and obtain large supplies of cattle, horses, and carriages," he charg- ed the allied Hessian in these terms. "You are to proceed from Battenkill to Arlington, and to take post there till the detachment of Provincials under the command of Capt. Sher- wood shall join you from the southward. You are then to pro- ceed to Manchester, where you will again take post, so as to secure the pass of the mountains on the road from Manchester to Rockingham. From thence [i.e. Manchester], you will detach the Indians and light troops to the northward, towards Otter creek. On their return, and also receiving intelligence that no enemy is in force upon the Connecticut river, you will proceed by the road over the mountains to Rockingham, where you will take post. This will be the most difficult part of the expedition, and must be proceeded upon with caution, as you will have the defile of the mountains behind you, which might make a retreat difficult. You must therefore endeavor to be well informed of the force of the enemy's militia in the neigh- boring country. Should you find it may be effected, you are to remain there, while the Indians and light troops are detach- ed up the river, and you are afterwards to descend the river to Brattleborough, and from that place by the quickest march, you are to return by the great road to Albany."
Such was the course which the British General had marked out for the Hessian Colonel. By pursuing it, Burgoyne hoped to replenish his diminishing stores, and to render the condition of his forces so formidable as to enable him to obtain possession of Albany, and establish there the headquarters of his army. But the result of the battle at Bennington, not only changed the entire programme of his proceedings, but aroused in the breasts of the Americans feelings of hope-feelings to which they had been strangers during months of despondency and gloom. The victory at Bennington, like that achieved at Trenton, was re-
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HISTORY OF EASTERN VERMONT.
[1777.
ceived with exultation throughout the whole northern country. ' Men who had long time been wavering between the smiles of royalty and the beggary of republicanism snatched eagerly at the honest rags of the latter, and spurned the glittering robes of the former with unqualified determination .*
Although events connected with the struggle in which the whole United States was interested, now and then concentrated the feelings and actions of the people of Vermont, and led them to forget, for a season, the differences occasioned by the conflict of jurisdictions, still the cessation from internal discord was only temporary, and the partizans of New York and Vermont usually returned to their former positions, strengthened in the support of their different principles by the respite they had en- joyed. The favorers of the new state, supported only, it is true, by an infant government, felt that they could call on that government for assistance and be sure of receiving such aid as it could afford. The supporters of the jurisdiction of New York, on the contrary, were uncertain whether an active opposi- tion to Vermont would be sustained by those to whom they owed allegiance. In Cumberland county, committees of safety had been formed under the superintendence of the leading men of the new state. The committees of a similar name who had been responsible to New York for their proceedings, were now almost wholly disregarded. The power of the Vermont com- mittees was far in the ascendant. They it was who decided the differences which were continually arising between man and man, and settled disputes which, if courts of law had been then established, would have been there determined. By them the citizens were detailed as guards, or excused from military duty. In their estimation, the favorers of New York, who resided in Vermont, were but little better than enemies to American liberty. From men of this class they would frequently extort no inconsiderable sums of money for the support of government, threatening them, in case of refusal, with bonds, or imprison- ment in the jail at Northampton. Levies were often made by them for the maintenance of the militia, and those who refused to serve as soldiers were compelled, whether acknowledging the authority of New York or Vermont, to pay for the support of a certain number of men and horses for a specified time. In this manner the Vermont committees of safety were enabled to
* MS. letters and documents in office Sec. State Vt.
1777.]
GEORGE CLINTON ELECTED GOV. OF NEW YORK.
305
maintain the authority of the young state, and in many of the towns in Cumberland county to hold in check the discontented and rebellious Yorkers.
1
As the result of the first state election held in New York, George Clinton was, on the 30th of July, elected Governor. Soon after this event, the question arose whether the militia of Cumberland, Gloucester, and Charlotte counties should be called on to render aid to that state. The Governor was in doubt as to the course he should pursue. He was not acquainted with the names of the officers in command, nor did he expect, if orders were issued, that they would be obeyed. On the other hand, he knew that if he should neglect to notice these counties on this occasion, when he was calling on every other county in the state for a proportion of their militia, the oversight would not only be marked, but would tend to strengthen the Ver- monters in carrying forward their project of a new state. For these reasons, on the 13th of August, he ordered all the coun- ties in the state, those on the New Hampshire Grants included, not only to make returns of the present state of their militia, but also to furnish their quota of men to join the northern army. Although no attention was paid to this requisition by the three counties, yet this disobedience did not prevent the exercise of humane feelings on the part of New York. When a few weeks later it became known that the inhabitants of the northern coun- ties were suffering from a want of salt, the subject was referred to the Legislature, and means were taken to supply them with a sufficient quantity of this article so necessary to health and subsistence.
Notwithstanding the opposition they encountered, the com- mittee of safety in Cumberland county who derived their powers from New York, met occasionally, and strove to exert the little influence left them, for the good of the state whose interests they represented. On assembling on the 2d of Sep- tember, there were present delegates from six towns only. In the absence of Capt. James Clay, the chairman, the meeting was called to order by Simon Stevens, the clerk. After long debate an adjournment until the following day was ordered. But this measure did not avail to increase the attendance. Soon after assembling on the morning of the 3d, a motion was made to send some " suitable person" to the New York Legislature to give information of the conduct of the "pretended council" and the "pretended committees" of Vermont. The motion
20
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HISTORY OF EASTERN VERMONT.
[1777.
being lost, the committee voted to adjourn until the second Tuesday in November. In less than an hour after the adjourn- ment, Capt. Clay appeared, attended by Obadiah Wells of Brattleborough. The members of the committee who had not as yet left town, together with those who had just arrived, again assembled, and voted to send Clay to New York for the purpose of representing the difficulties of the county, and seek- ing some method of relief. The credentials which he received with his appointment were signed by Simon Stevens, Hilkiah Grout, Michael Gilson, Obadiah Wells, and Eleazer Patterson. At the same time Deacon John Sessions of Westminster, a supporter of the jurisdiction of New York, wrote to the con- vention of that state, of which he had until of late been a member, in truly scriptural phrase, an account of the incon- veniences to which he was subjected because of his opinions. "My opposition," said he, " has rendered my situation some- what unhappy at present, but I trust I shall find the old maxim true in the end, that honesty is the best policy. I have been a sort of Micaiah in the affair, and I believe many would be glad I were in the house of Jonathan,* and I have reason to expect this will be my fate if something is not done very soon."}
Having been successful in obtaining arms and ammunition from Massachusetts, to be distributed among the people residing on that portion of the "Grants" which border the western banks of the Connecticut, Charles Phelps now turned his attention towards the accomplishment of a project which, had it resulted according to his wishes, would have rendered the condition of the inhabitants of Cumberland county far more precarious than ever before it had been. On the 27th of October he presented a memorial to the Council of Massachu- setts, " in behalf of the sacred rights" of that state, and for the purpose of securing to her the control and disposal of fifty townships situated in the south-eastern part of Vermont. In defence of his position, he asserted that Massachusetts had purchased of the Indians the territory in question, which had been afterwards laid out into townships, and had taken of them the necessary deeds and conveyances signed and sealed by their chiefs and sachems ; that these transactions had taken place
* 1 Kings, chap. xxii. vs. 7-28. 1 Samuel, chap. xiv.
+ Miscellaneous Papers in office Sec. State N. Y., xxxvii. 461; also Papers relating to the Vermont Controversy, pp. 4, 5. Pingry MSS. Journal N. Y. Prov. Cong., i. 1021, 1039, 1059. Doc. Hist. N. Y., iv. 948-951.
307
MEMORIAL OF PHELPS TO THE COUNCIL.
1777.]
while Belcher was Governor of Massachusetts ; that the neces- sary agreements had been entered into at Fort Dummer ; that the papers drawn on the occasion had been placed in the pro- vincial Court-house at Boston, and had been destroyed when that building with its contents was burned on the 9th of December, 1747. He denounced as unjust the conduct of Great Britain in assigning to New York lands which belonged to Massachusetts, and did not scruple to blame New York, the state from which he had received so many favors, and to which he owed allegiance, for endeavoring to retain possession of ter- ritory which had been claimed for Massachusetts by the "rightful, just, and most solemn resolves" of her General Court. Inasmuch as manuscript testimony was out of the question, Phelps proposed that Col. Israel Williams of Hatfield, the only surviving witness to the transactions referred to, should be requested to make affidavit to such facts as he might remem- ber bearing upon the case under consideration, and that Mas- sachusetts should purchase of John Moffatt of Boston, the journals and records of that colony then in his possession. In answer to this memorial, the Council, on the 29th of October, voted to take the deposition of Col. Williams, to be used as evidence of the treaty consummated at Fort Dummer between the years 1725 and 1730, the proofs of which had been after- wards destroyed. Two years later the General Court declared that the state of Massachusetts had a " clear and indisputable right" to the southern part of Vermont, but when, in the year 1780, the subject was brought before Congress, the General Court decided that the claim was an " infringement on the rights. of Vermont," and refused to prosecute it further .*
* Revolution Council Papers, in office Sec. State Mass., 1777, iv. 377.
CHAPTER XII.
OPPOSITION TO THE GOVERNMENT OF VERMONT.
The first General Assembly of Vermont-Meeting of the friends of New York at Brattleborough-Gov. Clinton's Proclamation-Its reception-A Protest against the Government of Vermont-Circular Letter from the Protesting Convention at Brattleborough-First Meeting of the Legislature of Vermont-Col. Thomas Chittenden elected Governor-Opposition of the New York Adherents to the Government of Vermont-Disturbance at Halifax-Robbery of Powder and Lead at Hinsdale-Simon Stevens's friendship to Vermont-Letter from Micah Townsend and Israel Smith to Gov. Clinton-Clinton's reply-Peletiah Fitch's Letter to Clinton-Clinton to Fitch-Clinton to Gouverneur Morris-Clinton to Henry Laurens-" Yorkers," "Vermonters," "Neutrals"-Officers chosen both by Vermont and New York-Union with New Hampshire dissolved-An attempt to connect Vermont with New Hampshire-Arrest of Hilkiah Grout, a New York Justice of Peace, by the authority of Vermont-His Trials before various Courts-A Conviction for Defamation.
WHEN the delegates from the different towns in Vermont who had assembled at Windsor in convention, on the 2d of July, 1777, separated on account of the evacuation of Ticonderoga, and the progress of the enemy under Burgoyne, they had Intended to publish without delay, the constitution they had adopted, and thus enable the people to hold, in the month of December following, an election of representatives to compose the General Assembly. Owing to the unsettled condition of the times, the constitution was not printed in season to allow of the accomplishment of this object. Another general con- vention was therefore called by the council of safety. The meeting was held at Windsor on the 24th of December, the constitution was revised, and effectual means were taken to set the machinery of government in full operation. On the 6th of February, 1778, the council of safety distributed among the inhabitants of the different towns in the state, copies of the new constitution. The election of representatives took place on the 3d of March following, and on the 12th of the same month, the
309
PECULIAR POSITION OF VERMONT.
1778.]
first session of the General Assembly of the state of Vermont was held at Windsor. The necessary state officers were soon after elected, and Vermont presented the novel spectacle of a free government, wholly independent of Congress, and yet engaged in the same struggle against the power of Great Britain, which interested the men, and employed the money of the thirteen United States .*
While the leaders of the new state were thus engaged in perfecting their plans, a number of the inhabitants of Cumber- land county who owed allegiance to New York, assembled at Brattleborough on the 28th of January, and prepared a petition addressed to the Legislature of the latter state. In this paper they stated that they had been informed on " credible authority," that the convention of the "pretended state of Vermont" had prohibited the exercise of all authority derived from New York; had made laws to bind the inhabitants of Cumberland county ; and had lately adopted a constitution under which state and other officers were soon to be elected. From the evils which threatened them in this quarter, they prayed to be defended. More fully to express their views, they appointed James Clay their agent at the New York Legislature.
In answer to their petition and others similar, the subject of the controversy between New York and Vermont was taken up in the Senate and Assembly of the former state, and resolu- tions were passed, on the 21st of February, containing such overtures to the disaffected inhabitants of the northern counties, as were deemed compatible with the dignity of New York as a state, and with the welfare of those with whom a reconciliation was desired. These resolutions were embodied in a proclama- tion, which was issued on the 23d, under the signature of Go- vernor Clinton. Its closing paragraph was in these words. "The several branches of the Legislature of the state of New York will concur in the necessary measures for protecting the loyal inhabitants of this state, residing in the counties of Albany, Charlotte, Cumberland, and Gloucester, in their persons and estates, and for compelling all persons, residing within this state, and refusing obedience to the government and Legislature thereof, to yield that obedience and allegiance, which, by law and of right, they owe to this state." Prompt and energetic action, it was supposed, was to follow a declaration like this,
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