USA > Vermont > History of eastern Vermont, from its earliest settlement to the close of the eighteeth century with a biographical chapter and appendixes > Part 38
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* MS. Information against Yorkers. George Clinton Papers, in N. Y. State Lib. vol. ix. doc. 2791.
371
MINOTT'S LETTER TO CLINTON.
1780.]
York to submit to the jurisdiction of the new state before the 1st of June following.
Alluding to the precariousness of the situation of the Yorkers, he continued : " Hitherto, sir, we have at the risque of our ears, and of receiving the infamous punishment of whipping, sup- ported the jurisdiction of the state in this county. But as we begin to believe that Congress-with whom the matter now solely rests-will not do anything effectual for our relief, we do not think it our duty any longer to put our all at stake. We would wish, sir-we are earnestly desirous, to live under the government of New York, but cannot longer risque so much for a government which is either unable or unwilling to protect us ; and must candidly assure your Excellency, that unless Congress shall have settled this controversy by the 1st of June next, the subjects of New York in this county must, for their own safety, connect themselves with some power able to afford them secu- rity." While thus stating the grievances to which the adherents of New York in Cumberland county had been subjected, Mr. Minott, in behalf of his associates, assured the Governor that these unfortunate results had not been occasioned by any neglect on his part. "We beg leave," wrote he, "to express the warmest sentiments of gratitude to your Excellency, for your' conduct through the whole of our most distressed situation. We are truly sensible, sir, that you have done all in your power to relieve us, and that if Congress had the same tenderness for the calamities of their constituents which you have repeatedly shown to those under your care, we should before this have been in a capacity of doing something to assist the continent in car- rying on the war." Such were the accounts transmitted to Governor Clinton from Cumberland county. They were intended both for his instruction and the edification of the congressional delegation from New York.
Accompanying this communication was a letter from Micah Townsend, of the 12th and 14th of April, confirmatory in part of the statements which had been previously reported. His own situation he represented as " truly disagreeable," and his reasons for this declaration were not trifling." He was well aware that the New York Legislature regarded every act done by them for the maintenance of their jurisdiction on the " Grants," as a favor conferred upon their constituency who resided there. He also knew that the Yorkers in Cumberland county supposed that they had merited from the Legislature protection at least, since
372
HISTORY OF EASTERN VERMONT.
[1780.
without any prospect of private advantage, they had spiritedly maintained the authority of New York against the violent mea- sures of the Vermonters. An accurate knowledge of the situa- tion of the Yorkers, both in and out of Vermont, enabled him to mark the instances in which a want of union in their counsels had been detrimental to their cause, and had given strength to their antagonists .*
Having dispatched these letters, the subjects of New York flattered themselves that there would be no necessity of troubling the government with their complaints for some time to come. As the Vermont Legislature had appointed a committee to confer with the Yorkers for the purpose of establishing a basis for a union, it was not supposed that hostilities would be continued between the two parties, or that Vermont laws would be enforced against those who denied the authority of the state. But the facts were otherwise. Pursuant to orders from Governor Chit- tenden, drafts of men were made in Cumberland county in the latter part of April. In some towns no distinction was observed between those who acknowledged and those who denied the jurisdiction of Vermont, and in the few towns in which a differ- ence was made it was wholly favorable to the citizens of that state. In Marlborough, Charles Phelps and two other persons, who had long been bitter opponents of the new state, were drafted as soldiers until the 1st of January, 1781. Phelps refused to serve, and declined to pay the fine which was imposed upon him in consequence of his refusal. On the 2d of May, 1780, Abel Stockwell, in conformity with the statute in that case pro- vided, attempted to distrain for the fine. While thus engaged he was attacked by Charles Phelps and his son Timothy, who did " beat, bruise, cut, wound, and evil entreat" him to such an extent that his "life was greatly despaired of." Dissatisfied with this result, Stockwell visited Phelps's house a second time, and on this occasion seized his cattle and levied a fine of "twenty silver dollars" on his son. At the same time he threatened the younger Phelps with whipping if the fine was not paid. A few days after this occurrence, as was then reported, a post was erected in Marlborough for the purpose of facilitating the exe- cution of the punishment.
Determined to prosecute the matter further, Stockwell enter- ed a complaint against the Phelpses, and, on the 23d of May, the
* George Clinton Papers, in N. Y. State Lib., vol. ix. docs. 2798, 2806.
373
PROCEEDINGS AGAINST THE PHELPSES.
1780.]
sheriff was ordered to attach their goods to the value of £6000 lawful money, or their bodies in case property to this amount could not be found. On the 8th of June, Joseph Church, the constable of Marlborough, endorsed the following return on the writ : "I have attached sixty acres of land belonging to the within named defendants-thirty acres belonging to the within named Charles Phelps, Esq., beginning at the dividing line be- tween him the said Charles and Timothy Phelps, ten rods west of his dwelling-house, west as far as his land goes, and so far south as to contain thirty acres ; and thirty acres belonging to Timo- thy Phelps, beginning at the above-mentioned dividing line, extending north as far as to contain thirty acres, bounding west on Newton's land-and have left an attested copy at each of their houses of this writ, with my doings thereon." The cause was tried on the 3d Tuesday in June, but the decision of the court was withheld. At the August term, Charles Phelps came before the court, and, in defence of his conduct, stated that he made the assault only to maintain possession of his property, which was being " wrenched from him by force and arms ;" that he was a subject of New York, but could obtain no redress of grievances by the laws of that state ; and that he was forced " by the laws of nature and nations" to protect his rights by the means which were in his power. It is hardly necessary to say, that these statements produced but little impression on the court. The defendants were sentenced to pay a fine of £500 lawful money, and an execution was immediately granted against the property which had been already attached. Marlborough was not the only town whose inhabitants were called upon to serve in the Vermont militia. In Halifax, five Yorkers were drafted but no Vermonters. In Guilford, Capt. Price and four other persons, subjects of New York, were enrolled, and two of the new state's men. In Dummerston, one Yorker and one Ver- monter were drafted. In Putney, thirteen Yorkers and two Vermonters were required to furnish five men.
On the 2d of May, the committees from eleven towns in Cum- berland county, assembled at Brattleborough, for the purpose of devising such measures as should seem best fitted to protect their own interests and those of New York. In a letter address- ed to Governor Clinton, they explained their situation, and de- fined the position in which they were placed. To fight with or submit to the government of Vermont appeared to them their only alternative. "On the one hand," said they, " we have
374
HISTORY OF EASTERN VERMONT.
[1780.
nothing to expect but an uncqual and bloody conflict with a ferocious set of men, exasperated by our opposition to their ille- gal measures. On the other, submission to a government which we know to be usurped, and whose cruelties have already taught us to dread and ablior it. From this dilemma Congress, and Congress alone, can relieve us; and if our situation could be rightly explained to them, and that honorable body could be induced for a moment seriously to attend to it; if they have not wholly lost that glorious spirit which has heretofore, in so eminent a manner, distinguished them-and regard their faith unanimously and solemnly pledged, we are persuaded they must put an end to our miseries by speedily determining to which of the thirteen states we belong. But, if they will not, God knows what will become of us, even while we are waiting their leisure." Other points bearing upon the subject of the controversy were also discussed. In view of the little support which was expected from New York, the committees expressed an earnest desire that the Governor would not blame them for taking such measures as they should think most conducive to their safety ; but, on the contrary, would admire the fortitude and loyalty which had induced them, "so long and unassisted, to stem the impetuous torrent of disloyalty and oppression." This communication, cogent in its reasons, direct in its conclu- sions, and accurate in its facts and details, was signed by Sa- muel Minott, the chairman of the town committees, and was entrusted to Major Jonathan Hunt, who was chosen an espe- cial messenger to deliver it to Governor Clinton.
Having fulfilled his commission, Major Hunt proceeded to Philadelphia, and on the 23d of May subscribed an affidavit which was read in Congress, in which he declared his belief, founded on credible information, "that the assumed govern- ment of the New Hampshire Grants, called Vermont " was intending after the 1st of June following, "to put their laws into execution over the persons and estates of the inhabitants of the said 'Grants' and to exact from them an oath of allegiance to their pretended state." He also stated that William Williams of Wilmington, who had formerly received a colonel's commis- sion from the Convention of the state of New York, who had been a member of said Convention and was now a member of the Assembly of Vermont, had informed him that the govern- ment of Vermont had re-granted lands which had been pre- viously granted by New York, without consulting the rights or
375
CONGRESSIONAL MEASURES.
1780.]
interest of the first grantees, and had also disposed of large tracts to persons residing in Connecticut, and to certain continental officers whose petitions for land had been presented by Col. Roger Enos, a continental officer of that state .*
In view of this representation, and of other representations of a similar character, Congress on the 2d of June declared the conduct of the people of the "Grants," "in contravening the good intentions " of the resolutions of the 24th of September, and of the 2d of October, 1779, to be "highly unwarrantable, and subversive of the peace and welfare of the United States." At the same time the inhabitants of the controverted district were, by a special order, "strictly required to forbear and abstain from all acts of authority, civil or military, over the inhabitants of any town or district who hold themselves to be subjects of, and to owe allegiance to any of the states claiming the jurisdiction of the said territory in whole or in part," until the controversy, should be determined. Desirous no doubt of terminating internal dissensions of every character, Congress resolved to "proceed to hear and examine into, and finally determine the disputes and differences relative to jurisdiction," as soon as nine states, exclusive of those who were parties to the controversy should be represented. By a subsequent order, passed on the 9th, the second Tuesday of September following was fixed upon as the day upon which Congress would declare their final determination.t
At their spring session, the General Assembly of Vermont had, on the 15th of March, appointed Stephen R. Bradley, Moses Robinson and Jonas Fay, a committee "to enquire as soon as may be into the cause, and officially take the reasons why certain of the inhabitants of the county of Cumberland are opposed to the authority of this state, and wherein their griev- ances consist." Pursuant to this appointment, the committee, accompanied by Governor Chittenden, assembled at West- minster, and afterwards at Putney, " to attend on the Yorkers," and to " bring about a union with the Brattleborough commit- tee," of which Samuel Minott was chairman. However well- intentioned this measure might have been, it does not seem to have been followed either by a compromise or by any kind of
* George Clinton Papers, in N. Y. State Lib., vol. ix. docs. 2856, 2865. MS. Affidavit of Jonathan Hunt.
+ Journals Am. Cong., iii. 462-465. Broadside, in Papers relating to Vt. Con. troversy, in office Sec. State N. Y., p. 34.
376
HISTORY OF EASTERN VERMONT.
[1780.
a permanent or temporary settlement. A similar result appears to have attended the negotiations of a like committee, who were directed to convene during the month of August at Westminster, at Putney, and at Brattleborough, "to settle with the Yorkers."*
The 1st of June, the time at which it was supposed the government of the new state would manifest its power by some decisive act, had come and gone, and no change in the adminis- tration of Vermont affairs had taken place sufficiently important to attract especial attention. To the New York adherents the hopes which they had so long cherished, not only that a decision would be made, but that it would be favorable to them, began to assume an appearance more fantastic than real. Knowing that they could not afford to lose all they had expended in this contest, and deeming it just that the state for which they had hazarded so much should reimburse them for expenditures made in her behalf, they presented to the New York Legis- lature, on the 12th of June, through Micah Townsend, a petition designed to accomplish this end. In it they referred to the dis- affection which had led to the establishment of Vermont as an independent jurisdiction ; to the efforts which had been made by the Legislature of New York to prevent the disaffection from becoming general, which efforts had resulted in a resolve, passed in February, 1778, by which the faith of the state was then pledged " to 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 ;" to the constancy which many of the residents on the "Grants " had exhibited in continuing allegiant to New York ; to the earnest endeavors which had been made by these "loyal subjects " to obtain the protection of government ; to the ill success that had attended their efforts; and to the perse- cutions they had endured in the shape of fines, imprisonments, and the confiscation of property. Resting their claim on these considerations, they declared that the Legislature were bound in equity to make compensation for the injuries they had received, and expressed a hope that their petition for such com- pensation would be answered. A request so reasonable as this could not, it would seem, have met with a refusal; but con- siderations more pressing in their nature were continually demanding the attention of the Legislature, and it was not until
* MSS. of the Hon. Stephen R. Bradley.
377
CLINTON'S LETTER.
1780.]
several years had elapsed that this application, and other applications resembling it, were treated to a final and definitive answer .*
On the 16th of June, Governor Clinton replied to the com- munications he had received from Samuel Minott in behalf of the town committees, and entrusted his letter and other import- ant papers to the care of Major Hunt, who, on his way home from Philadelphia, had stopped at Kingston, where Clinton then resided. With reference to the resolves of Congress he pro- fessed his faith in the truth of the statements they contained, and made no doubt that the instant there should be a full repre- sentation in Congress, and the public affairs should with propriety permit attention to be paid to the subject of the controversy, it would " be put in a course of decision." Not- withstanding his own convictions, he did not endeavor to conceal from himself or his friends the probability existing that the Vermonters would not heed these resolves. "Should your neighbors," wrote he, "in contempt of the authority of Con- gress, and at the hazard of the welfare of the whole confedera- tion, by embroiling its members in a civil war at this crisis, still persevere in their usurpations, I must recommend it to you not to submit voluntarily, but at the same time, that in your resistance you will be guided by prudence, reflecting that the whole force of all the states will not only be shortly called forth, but will be necessary to ensure success to the great intended operations against the common enemy; and con- sequently, that, however at another time it might be in our power, and at all times my sincerest desire, to relieve and protect you, yet that in the present conjuncture the power of the state must be directed to another, and I feel assured your own candour will induce you to admit, a more important, object." In another part of his communication, he informed Mr. Minott, that complaint had been made to him, when at the northward, that the subjects of New York, resident in Cum- berland county, were living "totally exempt from public burthens." While declaring his disbelief in the charge, he still expressed a wish that "even the appearance of a cause might be removed," and therefore recommended the formation of a company of soldiers in the " well-affected towns," to serve for
* Doc. Hist. N. Y., iv. 1003 1004. Papers relating to Vt. Controversy, in office Sec. State N. Y., p. 35.
378
HISTORY OF EASTERN VERMONT.
[1780.
three months from the middle of the approaching July. He further proposed, that the men thus raised should be attached to the levies required of New York to serve with the continental army, "in the intended operations against the enemy in the southern parts of the state," and named Fishkill as the place to which they should repair as soon as embodied. At the same time he expressed his willingness that the soldiers-provided such was their wish-should be stationed at Skenesborough, now Whitehall, that they might be nearer to their families and homes. In a letter to Col. Eleazer Patterson, of the same date, he enclosed commissions for several officers who had been re- cently appointed, and expressed the hope, provided the project of raising men for the army in the " well-affected" towns should appear practicable, that Patterson would lend his "best exer- tions" to carry it into prompt execution .*
Although the subjects of New York in Cumberland county were at all times ready to serve that state in a civil or military capacity, they did not consider themselves bound to perform similar duties for Vermont. It chanced therefore, that when Comfort Star, captain of the first militia company in Guilford connected with the first Vermont regiment, in pursuance of an act of the General Assembly and in obedience to orders from his colonel, directed his company to convene at their usual place of parade on the 25th of April, and on their assembling, selected Josiah Bigelow and Peter Briggs to serve in the state guard until the 1st day of January, 1781-it chanced then, that both of the men drafted, refused to join the troops they were detach ed to serve with, and declined to pay the fine required of them by statute as the punishment for such neglect. Thereupon, by order of the Hon. Moses Robinson, the Chief Judge of the superior court, process was ordered against the delinquents. Dr. Daniel Rood, of Putney, an "indifferent person," served the summons on Briggs, on the 7th of June, by leaving an attested copy of it at his dwelling. With Bigelow he did not succeed as well. Having first attempted to read the summons, he was ordered out of the house with hard words. On the second essay, he was not only treated in a similar manner, but was driven out of doors by Bigelow, who with one fist in the Doctor's face, and the other at his side, emphatically declared, he "should take it," if he attempted to read the summons.
* George Clinton Papers, in N. Y. State Lib., vol. x. doc. 2981.
.
379
ENLISTMENT OF SOLDIERS.
1780.]
After several efforts of this nature, "being impeded by the position and words" of Bigelow, Rood delivered the summons verbally and favored the contumacious Yorker with an attested copy of the same. At the trial before the superior court, judgment was rendered against the delinquents, and each was sentenced to pay a fine of £108, together with the costs of the trial .*
The proposition made by Governor Clinton, that a company should be formed in Cumberland county for the continental service, was favorably received, and measures were imme- diately taken for carrying it into execution. From every twelve or thirteen men, one man was selected to serve as a soldier, and his expenses were borne by those from whom he was chosen. Col. Samuel Wells, of Brattleborough, rendered valuable assistance in forwarding the project, and even went so far as to hire a man at his own expense. In announcing to the Governor the success which had attended these efforts, Micah Townsend, in his letter of the 19th of July, did not fail to mention the little difficulties with which he and his friends had been obliged to contend. In order to avoid any misunder- standing in the future, he recommended to the Governor that the state should advance a small amount of money for the benefit of the company, even though Congress should refuse to sanction the expenditure, rather than that the soldiers should be rendered "uneasy," by being fed on expectations alone. Col. Eleazer Patterson, in reference to the same subject, informed the Governor, on the 20th of July, that he and the officers of his regiment had spared no exertions to procure a company of fifty men, and that the reason why this number was not yet fully completed, was the "peculiar situation" of the friends of New York, and not a " want of sufficient exertion" on the part of those to whom the business of enlisting had been entrusted, or of " spirit in the people."
In his reply of the 16th of September, Governor Clinton exhorted the Colonel and those associated with him, to adhere to the course they had taken. That their military organization might be in accordance with the laws of the state, he announced to them the necessity of being properly armed and accoutred, and of being provided with ammunition. He expressed full confidence in their loyalty to New York and the United States,
* MS. Papers in the Office of Clerk of Rutland Co., Vt.
380
HISTORY OF EASTERN VERMONT.
. [1780.
and declared his belief that they would make use of every means in their power to render their recruits military and effective men .*
During the summer of this year, suspicions had been enter- tained that the principal men interested in the government of Vermont, were engaged in negotiations with the British in Canada, but as to the correctness of the suspicions or the nature of the negotiations nothing could be determined. By Sep- tember, these suspicions had increased to such an extent that they were regarded by many as facts. Fears were also pre- valent that the enemy were about to make an incursion into Vermont, for the purpose of reducing it to a British province. Depositions containing information to this effect, were attested by Benjamin Butterfield and Jonathan Church, inhabitants of Cumberland county. The statements made by these gentle- men, were based partly on hearsay and rumor, and partly on conversations which they had held with persons who had seen scouts who had removed from Cumberland county and joined the British in Canada. These depositions, which were taken at the instance of the New York adherents, were trans- mitted to Governor Clinton for his perusal. Accompanying them was a communication of the 11th of September, signed by the deponents, also by Col. Eleazer Patterson, Lieut .- Col. John Sergeants, Capt. Timothy Church, and several private gentlemen, recommending the appointment of a committee "invested with some degree of authority," whose duty it should be to watch such of the inhabitants of the county as might be suspected of conspiring with the British against the Americans, and report their names to the proper authorities. Although this proposition was well received by the Governor, he was prevented by political reasons from acting on its sug- gestions. Under these circumstances he substituted counsel for action. "I can only advise," said he, in his letter of October 3d, " the present civil and military officers to vigilance and a faithful exertion of the authority they are vested with, and I would fain hope they will, in this case, be able to defeat the designs of our secret enemies." He also reminded his friends, that any person who had joined the enemy, and who should be found lurking secretly in the county, was triable by a general
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