The History of Washington County in the Vermont historical gazetteer : including a county chapter and the local histories of the towns of Montpelier., Part 49

Author: Hemenway, Abby Maria, 1828-1890
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Montpelier, Vt. : Vermont Watchman and State Journal Press
Number of Pages: 1064

USA > Vermont > Washington County > Montpelier > The History of Washington County in the Vermont historical gazetteer : including a county chapter and the local histories of the towns of Montpelier. > Part 49

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MILITARY HISTORY.

The first military company was organized in 1794, consisting of 72 men, many of whom had served in the Revolutionary War. The late Gen. Parley Davis was the first captain. From that date Mont- pelier, in common with other towns, main- tained the military organizations required by law ; and of these a history is not nec-

essary. Military matters of special interest will be noted.

Minute Men in 1794.

A special town meeting, July 21, 1794, voted

That this town will ensure to the Min- ute Men, now enlisted from this town, the wages, while in actual service, that the Governor and Council of this State have promised to recommend the Legislature to ensure them ; provided that Congress nor said Legislature do not do it.

It seems, then, that the town had, upon the requisition of the Governor and Coun- cil, furnished its quota of minute men for an expected emergency, and patriotically guaranteed payment to them while in actual service. D. P. Thompson conjec- tured that there was then no danger of war, foreign or Indian, and that the whisky insurrection in Pennsylvania was the source of the possible emergency. Mr. Thompson's conjecture was materially er- roneous, and implied a suspicion of the fidelity of the people of Vermont to law and order, which was never entertained. Quotas of troops, to quell the insurrection in Western Pennsylvania in 1794, were re- quired from four neighboring States only. A fierce war was waged in the summer of 1794 by the Indians, on the North-western frontier, with whom Wayne, Scott, and others were contending; but no minute men were required in Vermont to meet danger from any Indian war. The real danger was from Great Britain, and the emergency apprehended for Vermont was an attack from Canada on her Northern frontiers. Great Britain had interfered with American commerce ; Congress had debated a proposition for sequestrating the debts due from American to British citizens, and resolved on non-intercourse with Great Britain. An army of 80,000 men was authorized at that period if emer- gencies should require it. The vote of this town shows that the Governor and Council had met in a special session, be- tween the regular sessions of Oct. 1793 and '94, and required the raising of min- ute men-of course in response to instruc- tions from the National Government-and yet the writer of this paper has searched

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the manuscript Council Journal in vain for the record of that meeting. The journal of the regular session of Oct. 1794 does show that the State authorities had acted and provided the men. Nothing came of these preparations for war, except a dem- onstration that the people responded cheer- fully to the requirements of the national and state authorities. Montpelier, at least, was entitled to that honor.

Governor's Guard.

At an early day Vermont adopted the forms of Massachusetts in respect to the public honors paid to His Excellency, the Governor. That was his title, and being at least nominally "excellent," his person was at least nominally very precious. He must have a military guard on public oc- casions, to escort if not to defend him. If the governor of Vermont did not himself bear the sword and a cocked hat-as Mas- sachusetts governors did-he must be sur- rounded by swords and cocked hats on gala days ; and every day in his walk from his boarding-house to the Council cham- ber, he must be attended by the high sher- iff of the county, bearing a sword. When Montpelier became the capital of the State, the people there, and in the vicinity, fur- nished both the State-House and a Gov- ernor's guard, called " Washington Artil- lery," corresponding to the " Ancient and Honorable Artillery " of Boston. It was chartered in 1807. This company was in- dependent of the regular State military or- ganizations ; it chose its own officers, who were commissioned by the Governor in person, who also reviewed the company annually on presenting the commissions. The business of the company was to per- form escort duty when the Governor came to town on the day before the meeting of the General Assembly ; to escort the Gov- ernor and General Assembly and their of- ficers to the church where the election ser- mon was delivered, on " Election day ;" and to fire salutes as proclamation was made from the portico of the state-house, by the sheriff of the county, of the election, severally, of the Governor, Lieutenant- Governor, Treasurer and Councillors.

The company again met, in the week suc- ceeding, elected its officers, and was re- viewed by His Excellency. Thus it had at least three days of service in each year. In fact, its "trainings" were more fre- quent. Composed, as it was, of selected men, it always ranked high. This organ- ization was maintained until the necessity for it was obviated by giving the pre- eminence to civil over military power. The military and the armed sheriff were then excused from further service on such occasions in 1836.

WAR OF 1812-16.

The military history of Vermont at this period is singularly deficient, " our foreign relations and defensive operations being exclusively committed to the management of the general government,"* without in- tervention by the State authorities, such as from 1861 to 1865, when the admirable system of Adjutant-General Washburn preserved an accurate record of the Ver- mont officers and soldiers who served in the War of the Rebellion. There is, there- fore, no State record of the services of Vermonters in the War of 1812, excepting only an imperfect record of the Plattsburgh volunteers, gathered many years after the battle. Two modes were adopted by the General Government in raising armies, to wit : by drafts from the militia of the sev- eral states, called " detached militia," and by enlistments into the United States army. In both cases the men were under the command of United States officers, and hence no complete rosters can be found anywhere short of the records of the War Department at Washington. A roster of officers only has been published in the American State Papers, and with the aid of this the following list is made :

LARNED LAMB, of Montpelier, appointed Captain previous to 1808. He commanded a company of U. S. troops stationed at Montpelier in 1808, but left the army be- fore the roster alluded to was published. Mr. Lamb died at St. Louis about 1828.

SYLVESTER DAY, of Montpelier, was commissioned as surgeon Mar. 13, 1813.

* Message of Gov. Martin Chittenden, 1813.

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He remained in the army until his death, which occurred at Pittsburgh, Penn., about 1864.

GUSTAVUS LOOMIS was commissioned as 2d Lieutenant, Mar. 1, 1811, and was placed on the retired list Mar. 13, 1865, with the rank of brevet Brigadier General. He was probably a resident of Thetford at the time of his appointment, but for many years his home, when on leave of absence, was at Montpelier, and here his family for a time resided. He died in 1871.

SYLVESTER CHURCHILL was commis- sioned as Lieutenant in 1812, and as Cap- tain in the 3d Artillery, Aug. 15, 1813. During the War of the Rebellion he was Inspector General of the U. S. army, with the rank of brevet Brigadier General. He died at Washington near the close of that war. He resided in Montpelier for a few years previous to 1809, when he removed to Windsor, and became one of the pro- prietors of the Vermont Republican news- paper.

In 1813, Congress authorized the enlist- ment and organization of 46 regiments, to serve one year. Of these, four were as- signed to Vermont. The headquarters of one were at Rutland and Bennington ; of one at Woodstock ; and of two at Burling- ton. The roster of the officers of the 3Ist regiment of infantry, Daniel Dana, Col- onel, contains the names of the following persons from Montpelier and its immediate vicinity ; CYRUS JOHNSON, captain ; PRES- BURY WEST, Ist Lieutenant ; JOHN PUT- NAM, 2d Lieutenant ; JONATHAN EDDY, 3d Lieutenant.

Undoubtedly there were several Mont- pelier men in this regiment, and probably in the two regiments enlisted at Burling- ton, but their names cannot be given.

The list of Montpelier men in the regular army or naval service may as well be com- pleted here as follows : HANNIBAL DAY, son of Dr. Sylvester Day, commissioned as 2d Lieut. July 1, 1823, and breveted Brig- adier General, March 13, 1865. He is still living and is on the retired list. ASA RICHARDSON, commissioned as 2d Lieu- tenant at a little later date ; after serving several years he left the army ; but how,

the writer is uncertain-perhaps he re- signed, or was placed on the retired list as a disabled officer. Disabled he certainly was. CHARLES C. UPHAM, now deceased, was paymaster in the navy for about 20 years, and attained the rank of Captain, and was high on the list when retired. GEORGE DEWEY, Midshipman, Sept. 23, 1854, Commander from April 13th, 1872. CHARLES E. CLARK, Midshipman, Sept. 29, 1860, Lieut. Commander from March 12, 1868-appointed from Bradford. R. Ju- LIUS RICHARDSON was paymaster during the Civil War. THEODORE G. DEWEY, Midshipman, June 19, 1875.

To resume the subject of the War of 1812. It was declared June 18, and the Proclamation was not generally published in Vermont until about the first of July. The news was not unexpected nor unpre- pared for, since it appears that there was a body of troops at Montpelier as early as the 8th of July, under the command of Col. Cutting of the U. S. Army. The Governor and Council met at Montpelier on the 23d of July and adjourned on the 25th. The business was not for the rais- ing of troops, but to represent to the Na- tional authorities the pressing necessity of arms and ammunition to prepare the mili- tia of the State to resist invasion. In a memorial prepared for that purpose it was declared, that the orders from the War De- partment "for detached [militia ] men had been promptly obeyed." The number of detached men required of Vermont by the act of Congress of April 10, 1812, was 3000. The inference, then, from the state- ment of the Governor and Council is, that within less than a month the Vermont mil- itia had responded to all the demands made upon them. Undoubtedly this was true, and more, since many Vermonters enlisted into the regular army. The patriotism of the people-each political party spurring the other on-would not permit drafting, but rather a supply of all the needed men by volunteering. This was demonstrated by the Light Infantry Company of Mont- pelier, whose quota of men to be "detached" was eight. The company was paraded ; its captain [the late Hon. Jeduthan Loom-

nt in- ch le er-

here otrig r the the

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is, a strong opponent of the war,] addressed the men, declaring that it was their duty to obey the order of the Goverment, and then ordered all who were ready to volun- teer to march two paces to the front. At the word, all marched out but five, and the consequence was that there was no "draft- ing" except to see who should serve as "Home guards" on the peace establish- ment. The required number went into service on the frontier ; but the writer can give the name of only one, the late Hon. Jo- SEPH HOWES. He remained for the period required, serving on the regimental staff as Sergeant Major. Judge Howes had agreed to divide the service with the Hon. Daniel Baldwin; but when the time came for Judge Baldwin's turn, the officers in com- mand would not permit a compliance with the agreement by Judge Howes. A com- mission in the regular army for permanent service was tendered to Judge Howes, but he declined on account of the pressing ne- cessities of his family, and recommended the late Col. Cyrus Johnson of Berlin, who, as we have seen, did join the 31st Infantry as Captain. The total number of "de- tached militia" in Montpelier cannot be given. There were then three militia con- panies in the town liable to draft, and two of these were usually much larger than the Light Infantry. The whole number was probably about thirty.

The invasion of Plattsburgh, in Septem- ber, 1814, gave another occasion for rival- ry between the two political parties, which divided the town very nearly into two equal parts, the Jeffersonian Republicans having a bare majority for Governor, and the Federalists electing the town repre- sentative. Both parties rallied to repel the invasion. A company was immediately organized and marched for the seat of war. The election of Timothy Hubbard as captain indicated that the Federalists were the majority of the company, but the roll bears the names of good and true men of both political parties. The follow- ing is a copy of the roll, which the writer has had in his possession, in the hand- writing of the late Hon. Joseph Howes, who was second lieutenant :

Copy of a Roll of Plattsburgh Volunteers made at Burlington, Sept. 10th, 1814, by [Brigadier] Genl. P. [Parley] Davis- belonging to Montpelier & vicinity.

Timothy Hubbard, Capt. ; Isaac Put- nam, Ist Lieut. ; Joseph Howes, 2d Lieut. ; Stephen Foster, Ensign.

Sergeants-Roger Hubbard, Benj. Phin- ney, George Rich, Jacob F. Dodge.

Corporals-Ira Owen, Alanson Allen, Mark Goss, David Barton.

Musick-Paul Emerson, Elijah Perry, Joseph Hancock, Jona. Stevens, Jeduthan Doty.

Privates-Joel Mead, Cyrus Brigham. Jacob Crossman, Iram Nye, Daniel Wood, Caleb Morse, James Arbuckle, Thomas Mead, Jr., Ephraim Nye, Wm. Taplin Andrew May, James Caldwell, Nathanie Bancroft, Zebina Moulton, Samuel Rich Michael Hammett, Daniel Perry, Johı Hull, Francis Lull, Darius Boyden, Thos Brooks,* Abijah Howard, Henry F. Janes, Samuel Scott, Cyrus Ware, Perrin B. Fisk Parrot Blaisdell, Jr., Phineas Dodge, Jo seph Woodworth, Josiah Benjamin, Harr Richardson, Dyer Richardson, Peleg Whit tredge, Thos. McKnight, Samuel Davis Lemuel McKnight, Abial French, Calvi Hale, Eliada Brown, James Bennett, Rus sell Steward, Anthony Burgess, Ira May Stephen Jacobs, Samuel Mead, David Pe sons, Nathan Kelton, Thomas Reed, Jr Isaac Le Barron, James Short, John Marsl Jona. Cutler, Jr., Silas Loomis, Barthol mew Kimball, Jonathan Shepard, Sila Burbank, Andrew Dodge, Jr., John Youn; George Gifford, David Grey, John ] Davis, Samuel Upham, Simon Cumming Thomas Parker: Isaac Ames, Earl Cat Benjamin Nealey, Robert Dodge, Pet Nelson, Aaron Gould, John Brown, J seph Andrews, Simeon Bates, Josiah Win Joel Templeton, James Pine, Josiah Whit Paul Hathaway, Arthur Daggett, J1 Isaiah Burgess, James Pittsley, Phine Parsons, Amos Farley, James Allen, Simer Daggett, Elias Metcalf, Abner West, Am Andrews, Zenas Johnson, Nathaniel Prc

* Grandfather of Brig. Gen. W. T. H. Brooks, w commanded the Vermont Brigade in the Sixth Co. in 1862.

t Member of Congress from Vermont, 1835-7.

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tor, Solomon Stone, Clark Lumbard, Rol- and Edwards, Asahel Lyon, Henry Cham- berlain, Jona. Dudley, Chester Luce, Peter C. Lovejoy, John C. Perry, John Cataffey [Chaffey,] - - Fassett.

The total number of officers and men is 118. They were all volunteers, and a few citizens of Berlin and perhaps of Calais ex- cepted, they were from the old town of Montpelier. The publication of this roll now -- probably for the first time-will serve as a memorial of the dead, and inspire their descendants, if need be, with a like patriotic spirit. The total number of Ver- mont troops at Plattsburgh, Sept. 11, 1814, was 2,500 ; probably three times that num- ber were on the way there, making in all, 7,500, of which Montpelier furnished one- 64th part.

THE WAR OF THE REBELLION.

Tho anes . Fisk e, The full record of Adjutant General Washburn precludes the necessity of any details, or any assertion that Montpelier performed fully its part in that ever mem- orable war. The total number of men required from Montpelier to fill all quotas was 189, and the town furnished 236, be- ing 47 more than her quota. The princi- pal field and staff officers were : Colonels, (ral Nathan Lord, Jr., 6th ; Francis V. Randall, 13th. Lieut. Colonels, Edward M. Brown, 8th; Andrew C. Brown, 13th. Majors, James S. Peck, 17th ; John D. Bartlett, Ist cavalry. Adjutants, James S. Peck, 13th ; J. Monroe Poland, 15th. Capt. and Assistant Quarter Masters, Perley P.Pitkin, 2d ; John W. Clark, 6th ; Fred. E. Smith, Edward Dewey, 8th. Capt. and Com. of Subsistence, Albert L. Carleton, 11th. Quarter Master, Nelson A. Taylor, 13th. Surgeon, Charles M. Chandler, 6th. Most of the Montpelier men were in the 2d and 13th regiments-the 2d being in the Sixth Corps, which had the highest reputation of any in the army of the Potomac for lighting, and the 13th was in Gen. Stan- hard's famous flank movement at Gettys- urgh on the 3d of July, 1863, of which Major Gen. Doubleday in his report said, ' that it is to Gen. Stannard and Col. Gates that the country is mainly indebted

for the repulse of the enemy's charge and the final victory of the 3d of July."*

The present military organization in Montpelier is one company of infantry, under Capt. Ely Ely-Goddard.

PUBLIC ENTERPRISES.

A review of what has already been re- corded will show that the people of Mont- pelier have been remarkable for their lib- erality in securing and establishing public institutions. The population of the whole town in 1810 was 1877, of which about one-half was in the present town, the pop- ulation of which in 1870 was 3023 ; yet the people of this comparatively small town have contributed largely in the erection of three state houses ; have built and sup- ported three academies, and contributed $20,000 to the Methodist Seminary and Female College ; have erected one masonic hall, and purchased a village hall; have contributed to three court houses and two jails ; and have erected and supported II church buildings, some of them at a very large expense. Other sources of very great expense, unusual to most villages, which cannot be fully estimated, have been in streets and sidewalks and the provision of gas. Much of the village of Montpelier was originally little above the surface of the rivers which flow through it, and the principal streets have been put in their present condition by filling and raising them with earth. Two of the stores on State street, near Main, have been raised about 8 feet above their original founda- tions, and other stores are at about the same height above the foundations of the first building erected upon their sites. To a less degree a great portion of three of the longest streets has been raised in the same way. In this process a large sand- hill in the northern part of the village, once the site of a cemetery, has been re- moved, and such inroads have been made into neighboring hills and ledges as to make many sites for buildings. It can be truly said that compactly built streets now cover spots once occupied by malarious bogs or inaccessible clay-banks and ledges.

* Adjutant General Washburn's Report for 1864, ap- pendix F, page 60.

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Another source of expenditures liberally made has been the fire department. The Montpelier Fire Company was chartered Nov. 7, 1809, and consisted of the fore- most men of the village. A fire engine was purchased, which has been carefully preserved ever since. Under the village corporation an efficient fire department was constituted, which at one time, by means of leading hose and water-tanks, was within the reach of every dwelling. Since that period, though the department has been maintained with six engines and a hook and ladder company, the erection of buildings in remote parts of the village has outrun the supply of water. Another good work which commended itself to the liberality of the town was the establish- ment of Green Mount Cemetery. It was founded by a former citizen of the town, Calvin Jay Keith, Esq., after he had ceased to be a permanent resident. It is now a noble monument to his memory.

It is in other and vastly wider fields, however, in which the leading men of Montpelier have stood foremost; enter- prises affecting not the town merely, but the whole State, and other states and countries, and for which Montpelier has not yet claimed the honor that is justly due to her citizens. A consideration of these will fitly close a paper which has far outrun the original design of its writer.

WINOOSKI TURNPIKE.

First among the enterprises of general public interest was the Winooski Turnpike, extending from the terminus of [Elijah] Paine's turnpike, (at the line between Berlin and Montpelier,) to Burlington. This company was chartered Nov. 7, 1805. Two Montpelier men were in the list of corporators, to wit: Charles Bulkley, (whose business was in Montpelier, resi- dence in Berlin.) and David Wing, Jr., who was then Secretary of State; and Parley Davis, of Montpelier, was one of the three commissioners appointed to lay out the road. Col. James H. Langdon and Capt. Timothy Hubbard were leading stockholders ; and Mr. Hubbard for some years, and then Col. Thomas Reed until

the Vermont Central railroad was con- structed, were managers of the road. It was of great public convenience, and a val- uable property to the company. This road and Cottrill's stage lines were famous in their day.

PROJECTED CANALS.

The earliest canals projected in which Vermont was interested, were the ship canal, projected about 1784 by Ira Allen. to connect the St. Lawrence river with Lake Champlain ; and the Champlain canal, projected by Elkanah Watson and Gen. Philip Schuyler in 1792 .* Otter Creek and Missisco rivers were made navigable for a few miles each. These for the west- ern border of the State, while on the east- ern border, the main work being at Bel- lows Falls, Connecticut river was made navigable for flat boats as far north as the mouth of White river, and in favorable seasons farther still. But for projected canals within the State, and across it from west to east, the chief honor is due to Montpelier men. A meeting of delegates from Chittenden, Washington, Orange and Caledonia Counties met at Montpelier, June 30, 1825, and appointed three com- missioners to ascertain the practibility o opening water communication betweer Lake Champlain and Connecticut river These were Araunah Waterman, John L Woods and John Downer. They secured surveys in 1825, by Anthony M. Hoff man, of Swanton, John Johnson, of Bur lington, and Araunah Waterman, of Mont pelier, assisted by Sylvanus Baldwin, who was also of Montpelier. The surveys cov ered routes from Montpelier via Whit and Wells river ; also from Montpelier t the present summit of the Vermont Cen tral railroad at Roxbury ; and from Lak Champlain to Montpelier. A report b Messrs. Waterman and Woods was mad to Gov. Van Ness, Nov. 2, 1825, whic was communicated to the General Assen bly ; and another report was made to th Governor, Jan. 18, 1826, by Mr. WATER MAN, to whom belongs, it is believed, tł:

* Gen. Schuyler wrote to Gov. Thomas Chittende on this subject, Oct. 17, 1793. His letter is in vol. 24 Vermont (Manuscript) State Papers, page 66.

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chief honor of promoting the enterprise. This favorable report of Messrs. Water- man and Woods secured prompt action by the General Assembly, which, Nov. 17, 1825, requested the Governor to solicit the Secretary of War to direct suitable engi- neers to ascertain the different heights of land and the waters on the several routes in the State where it is contemplated to make canals or improve the navigation of rivers. In anticipation of favorable re- ports, the Onion River Navigation and Tow Path Company was incorporated Nov. 8, 1825 ; an act to provide for improving the navigation of the valley of Connecticut river was passed Nov. 9; on the 15th the Battenkill Canal Company, and on the 17th the Otter Creek and Castleton River Canal Company was incorporated. In response to the application of Gov. Van Ness, many surveys were made in Vermont by the U. S. Topographical Engineers. These. included the Lamoille and Black rivers to Lake Memphremagog, and the Clyde and Passumpsic rivers ; the Winooski to Mont- pelier, and from Montpelier by both White and Wells rivers to the Connecticut ; while beyond the limits of Vermont surveys were made with a view of possibly finding feasible water communication between Lake Champlain and the Atlantic Ocean. These surveys were failures in respect to canals, but served efficiently in pointing the lines for the railroads which have been constructed since, or are now in the pro- cess of construction.

RAILROAD ENTERPRISES.

As in projected canals, so in railroads, Montpelier men were early in the field, and most efficient promoters, both in in- fluence and money. The honor of first suggesting a connection of Boston with Lake Ontario by railroad is undoubtedly due to John L. Sullivan, a distinguished civil engineer of Massachusetts. This was n 1827, in letters addressed to the late venerable Elkanah Watson, of Port Kent, N. Y., a most efficient promoter of public nterprises of various sorts .* The honor

of securing the completion of this great enterprise is doubtless chiefly due to the late Gov. Charles Paine ; but the credit of indicating the line on which the work was actually constructed, and of instituting the measures which led to the realization of the work through the labors of Gov. Paine and his coadjutors, clearly belongs to Montpelier. The railroad line from Bos- ton to Lake Champlain was first formally indicated by Mr. Sullivan ; but in point of fact it was one of the lines which Water- man and Davis and Baldwin, of Mont- pelier, had indicated for canals in 1825 ; while from Lake Champlain to the St. Lawrence at Ogdensburgh, Mr. Sullivan's line was by a transit of the lake from Bur- lington by ferry, and thence by rail up the valley of the Ausable ; but on the 17th of Feb. 1830, the report of Gen. Parley Davis, of Montpelier, made to a convention of citizens of Washington and Orange Coun- ties, indicated not only Mr. Sullivan's line, but substantially the line which was act- ually adopted-that is, from the lake " near Champlain, (N. Y.,) and thence in a di- rect route to Ogdensburgh." Now, in jus- tice to other Montpelier men particularly, and to the town in general, other facts should be recorded.

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The History of Washington County in the Vermont historical gazetteer : including a county chapter and the local histories of the towns of Montpelier., Part 49

Author: Hemenway, Abby Maria, 1828-1890 Publication date: 1882 Publisher: Montpelier, Vt. : Vermont Watchman and State Journal Press Number of Pages: 1064

Author: Hemenway, Abby Maria, 1828-1890
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Montpelier, Vt. : Vermont Watchman and State Journal Press
Number of Pages: 1064