USA > Vermont > History of the state of Vermont; for the use of families and schools > Part 11
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14. That as they were not included in the thirteen United States, if necessitated to it, they were at lib- erty to offer or accept terms of cessation of hostilities with Great Britain, without the approbation of any other man, or body of men." And they further de- clared that if Congress and the neighboring states persisted in the course they were pursuing, they could have no motives to continue hostilities with Great Britain, and maintain an important frontier for the benefit of a country which treated them as slaves. Yet, notwithstanding the injustice done them, they were induced, by their attachment to the cause of liberty, once more to offer union with the United
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HISTORY OF VERMONT.
States, of which Congress were the legal represen- tative body."
15. All parties now anxiously awaited the decis- ion of Congress on the second Tuesday of Septem- ber, and, although Vermont denied the authority of Congress to determine the matter, she judged it pru- dent to employ Ira Allen and Stephen R. Bradley, as her agents, to attend the deliberations upon the subject. On the 19th of September, Congress took up the subject of the controversy and the agents from Vermont were permitted to be present, but not as the representatives of' any state, or of a peo- ple invested with legislative authority. New Hamp- shire and New York now urged, and endeavored to . prove, their respective claims to the disputed terri- tory, and it soon became evident to the agents that Congress did not regard Vermont as a party in the controversy, but that, in attempting to decide the dispute between New Hampshire and New York, she was adjudicating upon the very existence of Ver mont without her consent.
16. Alarmed and indignant at these proceedings, the agents withdrew their attendance, and on the 22d of September, transmitted a remonstrance to Congress, in which they declare they can no longer sit as idle spectators, without betraying the trust re- posed in them, and doing violence to their own feel- ings ; that by the mode of trial which was adopted, the state of Vermont could have no hearing without denying her own existence, and that they would not take on themselves such humility and self abasement as to lose their political life in order to find it. They expressed the willingness of Vermont to submit the dispute to the mediation and settlement of the legis- Jatures of disinterested states, but reprobated the idea that Congress could sit as a court of' judicature and determine the matter by virtue of authority given them by one only of the parties. They conclude by observing, that, if the present policy be pursued by
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UNION. WITH PART OF N. H. AND N. Y.
Congress, they are ready to appeal to God and the world, to say who must be accountable for the awful consequence that may ensue.
17. On the 27th of September, Congress again re- sumed the subject of the controversy, and, having heard the evidence on the part of New Hampshire, resolved, that the further consideration of the matter be postponed ; and this was doubtless the wisest course of policy which Congress could pursue under existing circumstances. The contest with the moth- er country was yet undecided, and its issue doubtful, and the grounds which the several parties in the dispute had assumed were such, that Congress could not hope to make a decision, which would satisfy them all ; and to irritate either of the states concern- `ed, to such a degree as to drive them to an abandon- ment of the common cause, might paralyze the efforts of Congress and prevent the attainment of that liberty and independence for which they were strug- gling.
. SECTION V.
Union of Vermont with a part of New Hampshire and a part of New York in 1781.
1. The indefinite postponement of the decision of the controversy by Congress, as mentioned in the preceding section, was by no means agreeable to Ver- mont. She well knew the ground on which she stood, and although this postponement evinced that her claims to independence had made some impres- sion on the mind of Congress, yet it forbade the hope of an immediate recognition of that independence, and her admission into the union. And, moreover, being irrirated by the course pursued by New Hamp- shire and New York, in substantiating their claims, and being wounded by the humiliating treatment,
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HISTORY OF VERMONT.
which her agents had received from Congress, Ver- mont now resolved upon a course of policy, which would enable her to assume a more imposing atitude, and induce her opponents to yield to power what had been so long denied to the claims of justice.
2. Since the dissolution of the union between Ver- mont and the sixteen towns from New Hampshire, most of the inhabitants in the western part of New Hampshire were still anxious to be annexed to Ver- mont: there were however, some among them who wished New Hampshire to sustain her claim and ex- tend her jurisdiction over the whole of Vermont. To facilitate the accomplishment of the object last mentioned, a convention was proposed to be assem- bled at Charlestown, and letters were sent by sever- al influential men, in the interest of New Hampshire, into the western towns inviting them to send ropre- sentatives. Accordingly, representatives from forty three towns assembled at Charlestown on the 16th of Jannary, 1781 ; but, to the surprise and disappoint- ment of those who had proposed the measure, a large majority of the convention were found to be opposed to the jurisdiction of New Hampshire and in favor of a union with \ ermont.
3. A committee was therefore appointed by the convention to confer with Vermont on the subject of the union. This committee, on the 10th day of February, informed the assembly of Vermont, then sitting at Windsor, that " the convention of the New Hampshire towns, was desirous of being united with Vermont, in one separate independent government, upon such principles as should be mutually thought the most equitable and beneficial to the state." This application was referred to a committee of the whole, on the report of which it was resolved, February 14th, that "in order to quiet the present disturbances on the two sides of Connecticut river, and the better . to enable the inhabitants to defend their frontier, the legislature of this state do lay a jurisdictional claim to
-
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SECOND UNION WITH N. HAMPSHIRE.
all the lands cast of Connecticut river, north of Mas- sachusetts, west of Blason's line and south of latitude 45 degrees ; but that they will not for the time being exercise said jurisdiction."
4. The convention of the New Hampshire towns was at this time sitting at Cornish on the opposite side of the river, and, after repeated communications beetween the committee of this convention, and a committee of the Legislature of Vermont, the articles of union were finally agreed upon. By these articles it was stipulated that the constitution of Vermont should be adopted by the New Hampshire towns- that application should be made to Congress to be admitted as one of the United States -- that full act of oblivion be passed for all former offenees against Vermont by persons denying her jurisdiction-and that the towns in Vermont, and also the New Hamp- shire towns, should be called upon to express their opinions of the proposed union ; and if, at the ad- journed session of the assembly, in April next, it should appear that two thirds of each were in favor of the measure the mon should then be consummated, and representatives should be admitted to the assem- bly from the New Hampshire towns. These articles, agreed upon by the committees, were confirmed by the assembly, which pledged the faith of the state that they should be held sacred.
5. The assembly of : ermont met again at Windsor agreeable to adjournment, on the 4th of April, and the convention of the New Hampshire towns also re-assembled at Cornish. On the 5th of April, a committee of the convention informed the assembly that thirty five towns on the east side of Connecticut river had consented to the union, being all the towns from which returns had been received; and that the way was now clear on their part for the union to take place. On examining th : returns, which had been forwarded from the towns in Vermont, it ap- peared that thirty six were in favor and seven oppos-
1
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HISTORY OF VERMONT.
ed to the union ; whereupon a committee was ap- pointed to inform the convention that a major part of the towns in Vermont had agreed to the union, and that the assembly would receive the members returned from the New Hampshire towns, on the morrow, at nine o'clock in the morning. Accordingly, on the next day, thirty five representatives from towns on the east side of Connecticut river, took their seats in the General Assembly of Vermont.
6. On account of the unjustifiable measures, by which New York was endeavoring to embarrass and overturn the goverment of Vermont, and in conse- quence of repeated solicitations from several towns in New York, which bordered on Vermont, to be taken into union with this state, the Legislature of Vermont had, on the 1 1th of February, 1781, laid jnris- dictional claim to all the lands west of her present territory, and cast of Hudson river to the head there- of, and thence east of a north line extending to the 45th degree of north latitude ; with the proviso, that this jurisdiction should not be exercised for the time being. But Vermont, having now completed her eastern union, once more turned her attention to that on the west. On the 11th of April, 1781, a commit- tee was appointed by the general assembly to attend a convention of delegates from the towns in New York, which desired a union with Vermont, and make the necessary arrangement for offreting it. This convention met at Cambridge, and on the 15th of May, the articles of union were agreed to by the committee from Vermont and the delegates from twelve districts in New York ; and on the 16th of June following, they were confirmed by the Legis- lature of Vermont, and representatives from those districts were admitted to seats in the general assem. bly.
7. By these Fold and decisive measures, Vermont placed herself in an interesting attitude, and evinced to the world the abilities and the peculiar genius, of
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NEGOTIATION WITH CANADA.
her statesmen. Than the measures which we have just recorded, no course of policy could be better calculated to enable her to sustain her independence and thwart the designs of her enemies. By the un- ions, thus formed, she had doubled the extent of territory within her jurisdiction and added greatly to her numbers and resources. She had quieted the disaffection of her people at Home, and restored con- fidence to her friends abroad. She had placed the territory in a condition to invite emigration from the neighboring states, and had laid the foundation for a large and powerful community. In short she had placed herself in a condition to command the respect, even of her enemies, and to draw from them, conces- sions which justice alone had sought in vain. She therefore wisely determined, so to manage her own affairs, as to secure her own safety and independence, against the arms of the British on he north, and the wiles of her enemies in other quarters. The man- ner in which this was effected will be related in the following section,
SECTION VI.
Negotiation with the British in Canada from 1780, to 1783.
1. From the commencement of hostilities at Lex- ington, no people in America had espoused the cause of liberty and of their country with greater alacrity, or sustained it with more spirit and resolution, than the people of Vermont. Yet, after all their efforts and sacrifices in the common cause, they had the mortification to find themselves denied a just partici- pation of the blessings which they had labored to secure. Their claims to independence were not acknowledged by Congress ; the dismemberisent of their territory and the annihilation of their sovereign- ty were threatened by the intrigues, and the unjust 13
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HISTORY OF VERMONT.
claims of the neighboring states, and, to crown the whole, they were now abandoned by the power which ought to protect them, and left to contend single handed with the common enemy.
2. But notwithstanding their attachment to the cause of their country, the people of Vermont could not fail to perceive that every step which they took to support it, only rendered their own condition more hopeless. They could hardly wish to lend their aid for the purpose of bringing the struggle with a for- eign enemy to a successful termination, when they perceived that, by such an event, they should be sub- jected to the domination of a more detestable enemy at home. In this state of things, Vermont wisely consulted her own safety; and by the negotiation with the enemy in Canada, in which she now enga- ged, she was as fortimate as to secure it.
3. The British generals in America had for some time entertained hopes of turning the disputes in re- lation to Vermont to their own account, by detaching that district from the American cause and making it a British province. But the first intimation of their views and wishes was communicated in a letter from Colonel Beverly Robinson to Ethan Allen ; dated New York, March 30th, 1780. In July, this letter was de- livered to Allen in the street in Arlington, by a British soldier in the habit of an American farmer. Allen perused the letter, and then told the bearer that he should consider it, and that he might return.
4. Colonel Robinson began his letter by expressing a wish that his proposals might be received with the same good intention with which they were made. He then proceeds :- " I have often been informed that you and most of the inhabitants of Vermont, are opposed to the wild and chimerical scheme of the Americans in attempting to separate from Great Brit- ain and establish an independent government of their own ; and that you would willingly assist in uniting America to Great Britain, and in restoring that happy
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COL ROBINSON'S LETTER TO E. ALLEN.
constitution so wantonly and unadvisedly destroyed. If I have been rightly informed, and these should be your sentiments and inclination, I beg that you will communicate to me without reserve, whatever pro- posals you would wish to make to the commander- in-chief'; and I hereby promise that I will faithfully lay them before him according to your directions, and flatter myself I can do with as good effect as any person whatever. I can make no proposals to you until I know your sentiments ; but think, upon your taking an active part and embodying the inhabitants of Vermont, under the crown of England, you may obtain a separate government under the king .- If you should think proper to send a friend here with pro- posals to the general, he shall be protected and allow- ed to return whenever he pleases."
5. Allen immediately communicated the contents of this letter to Governor Chittenden and some other confidential friends, who agreed in opinion, thiat no answer should be returned. Robinson, not receiving a reply to his letter and supposing it to have been mis- carried, wrote again to Allen on the 2d of February, 1781, enclosing his former letter. In his second let- ter, after saying he had received new assurances of the inclination of Vermont to join the king's cause, he said that he could then write with more authority; and assured Allen that he and the people of Vermont could obtain the most favorable terms. provided they would take a decisive and active part in favor of Great Britain. He requested an answer ; and, that the way might be pointed out for continuing the correspond- ence ; and desired to be informed in what manner the people of Vermont could be most serviceable to the British cause.
6. Allen returned no answer to either of these let- ters ; but, on the 9th of March, 1781, inclosed them in u letter io Congress, informing them of all the circum- stances, which had thus far attended the business. Ile then proceeded to justify the conduct of Vermont in
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HISTORY OF VERMONT.
asserting her right to independence, and expressed his determinate resolution to do every thing in his power to establish it. Conscious of his own integ- rity, and sensible that his activity and sufferings in the cause of his country were weh known throughout America, he expressed himself in the following inde- pendent and decided language.
7. " I am confident," said he, "that Congress will not dispute my sincere attachment to the cause of my country, though I do not hesitate to say, I am fully grounded in opinion, that Vermont has an indubitable right to agree of terms of a cessation of hostilities with Great Britain, provided the United States persist in rejecting her application for an tion with them. For Vermient would be, of all people, most miserable, ' were she obliged to defend the independence of the United claiming States, and they be, at the same time, at full liberty to overturn and ruin the indepen- dence of Vermont. When Congress consider the circumstances of this state, they will, I am persua- ded, be more surprised that I have transmitted them the inclosed letters, than that I have kept them in cus- tody so long; for I am as resolutely determined to defend the independence of Vermont, as Congress is that of the United States ; and rather than fail, I will retire with the hardy Green Mountain Boys, into the desolate caverns of the Mountains, and wage war with human nature at large."
8. During the spring of 1780, some of the scout- ing parties, belonging to Vermont, had been taken by the British and carried prisoners to Canada. On the application of their friends to Governor Chitten- den, he, in the month of July, sent a flag, with a letter to the commanding officer in Canada, request- ing their release or exchange. In the fall, the Brit- ish came up lake Champlain in great force, and a very favorable answer was returned by General Hal- dimand to Governor Chittenden's kter. A flag was at the same time sent to Ethan Allen, then a briga-
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NEGOTIATION WITH CANADA.
dier general and commanding officer in Vermont, proposing a cessation of hostilities with Vermont, during negotiations for the exchange of prisoners. This proposal was accepted by Allen, on condition that the adjacent frontier of New York should be included with Vermont. The British officer at first objected, but finally agreed to every thing which Al- len proposed.
9. The governor appointed Colonel Ira Allen and Major Joseph Fay, commissioners on the part of Ver- mont, to negotiate the proposed exhcange of prison- ers ; who, soon after, had an interview with Captain J. Sherwood and George Smith, agents on the part of the British. During this interview, the British agents availed themselves of the opportunity to ex- plain their views, and to make proposals for the es- tablishment of Vermont under the royal authority. The commissioners from Vermont received these proposals with some attention ; and, although they avoided expressing a decided opinion on the subject, the British flattered themselves that they were in a fair way to effect their purposes.
10. The next year the British entered upon the business with high expectations of success ; and as the British army in Canada was 10,000 strong, and the frontiers of Vermont without any adequate means of defence, it was evidently the interest of Vermont not to undeceive them, but to endeavor to effect that by policy, which they could not do by power. And as the cabinet council of Vermont be- lieved, that the forees of the United States had been withdrawn from her territory, for the purpose of driving them to seek the protection of New York, they felt that it was clearly their duty, by managing the British attempts to corrupt them to their own advantage, to make the best provision, remaining in their power, for the safety of the people.
11. In April, 1981, Col Ira Allen was appointed to settle a cartel with the British for an exchange of 13*
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HISTORY OF VERMONT.
prisoners, Taking with him one subaltern, two ser- rente and sixteen private, he started, with a fair sat, on the 1st day of may, and roon arrived at the aux Noix, where he was policy received by Datadas, the British commander at that post. The cart: I was soon agreed to, and the British agents, .herword and Smith, now entered upon the sub- at of the armistice and the establishment of the yat authority in Vermont with high hopes of ac- aphishing their object. Allen acknowledged that we people of Vermont were growing remiss in the coscemin of the war, being afraid that its termina- in in favor of America, would and get them to the wvernment of New York, which they considered he most detestable in the known world; and that, o such an event, they would profir to become a and. colony under the crowe, and that the Uni- ;han . should be again brought under the domin- 1. 01 "1. . British government.
12. Th BAtish agents gave assurance on their al, that Vermont could become a royal colony : I privileges equal to those enjoyed by any Her colony ; and that they who assisted in ac- : tali long such an object, would be suitably hon- I pad rewarded. With sach constumuato skill I Alla manege this negotiation on the part of wesay that without committing himself, he com- I anteted his own the wa; ted by leading the a iem ilities should i.non, till after the army of 10000 of the enemy inactive upon the miss This business was accomplished after a Hatte of 17 days, and the commissioners par- at high friendship ; Allen and Lis suite being by Maj. i undas with angde stores for i home. On his way AV m encouraged the . ho were abandoring the country, to re- a peaceably upon their farms, and trust to the
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IRA ALLEN'S MISSION TO CANADA.
governor and council to provide the means for their defence ; and he assured them, that, if a removal be- came necessary for the safety of their families, they should have timely notice, and assistance in accom- plishing it.
13. It was generally known that Colonel Ira Allen had been sent to the enemy in Canada under a conti- mission from the Governor of Vermont, but the pre- cise object and extent of the negotiations, were known only to eight individuals, viz. Thomas Chittenden, Moses Robinson, Samuel Safford, Ethan Allen, Ira Allen, Timothy Brownson, John Fassett, and Joseph Fay. And when it was understood that Colonel Al- len was to report the result of his mission at the meeting of the Legislature at Bennington, in June, curiosity and a desire to know the true state of affairs, drew together a large number of spectators from Ver- mont, the neighboring states, and Canada. The whigs in Vermont and the adjourning states were jealous that the views of the cabinet council of Vermont ex- tended to something farther than an exchange of pris- oners; they therefore sent their agents to watch the Legislature and to discover whether this inter- course tended to any thing treasonable on the part of Vermont, or injurious to the American canse. While, on the other band, emissaries were sent from Canada to see whether Colonel Allen reported any thing con- trary to the views, interchanged between him and the British agents at the Isle Aux Noix, with regard to the establishment of : ermont as a British province.
14. A few days after the commencement of the session, the two houses met in join committee on the subject of Colonel Allen's mission to Canada. Gov- ernor Chittenden arose and stated, that Colonel Al- len had been sent to Canada to obtain the release, or exchange, of sundry persons belonging to this state, who were prisoners in the hands of the enemy, and that, with much difficulty, he had completed the busi- ness in behalf of Vermont, though no such exchange
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HISTORY OF VERMONT.
had taken place with the United States, nor with. any other individual state. He then informed the committee that Colonel Allen was then present, and that, if further information was wanted, he could best give it. Colonel Allen then arose and, after re- capitulating substantially what the governor had s.a- ted, informed the committee that his commission and papers had been left at home, but that they should be submitted to their inspection the next day.
15. Accordingly, on the next day, he attended with the papers, which, after a short verbal explanation, were read. From these it appeared that the British had shown great generosity in the exchange of pris- oners, but they contained nothing respecting an ar- mistice, or the establishment of a royal government in Vermont ; the negotiations on the two latter subjects having been purposely conducted on the part of ver- mont by means of verbal correspondence. Colonel Allen then rose and stated, that if any member of the committee, or auditor among the spectators, wished any further information respecting the business, he was ready to answer their questions. All seemed. satisfied. The friends of the United States compli- mented Allen for his open and candid conduct and the spectators from Canada returned fully satisfied that nothing had transpired inconsistent with their views and designs.
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