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CORNELL
UNIVERSITY LIBRARY
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GENERAL VIEW , NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y.
AMERICAN FALLS, VIEW FROM GOAT ISLAND ,WITH NEW SUSPENSION BRIDGE
1821
HISTORY
OF
COUNTY, N.Y.,
WITH ILLUSTRATIONS DESCRIPTIVE OF ITS SCENERY
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PUBLIC BUILDINGS, FINE BLOCKS, AND IMPORTANT MANUFACTORIES,
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NEW YORK:
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36 VESEY STREET.
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PRESS OF GEO. 1I.\CN\MAKA,
VESEY STREET, N. V.
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INTRODUCTORY.
To one whose own neighborhood has been the theater of events prominent in the nation's annals, the history of those events is the most interesting of all history. To the intrinsic fascination of stirring incidents is added the charm of their having occurred on familiar ground. ' The river has an interest independent of its grandeur and beauty to one who knows how it has affected the course of events along its banks for centuries, determining the location, first of the Indian's hamlet and then of the white man's village; the route, first of the red warrior's trail and again of a far-reaching traffic that the greatest powers of Europe fought to control; the site, now of the frontier fortress and anon of the farmer's clearing; the place where armies maneuvered and scalping parties crouched in ambuscade.
The road that has been traveled unthinkingly for years is invested with a new interest if found to have traversed an Indian trail. The field where one has harvested but grain or fruit for many a season, brings forth a crop of associations and ideas when it is understood that it was the scene of one of those sanguinary conflicts in which the land was redeemed from savagery and the character of its civilization determined. The people will look with a heightened and more intelligent interest upon ancient buildings in their midst, although venerated by them they hardly know why, when they read the authentic record of events with which these monuments of the past are associated. The annals of a region so famous in legend and record as that of which these pages treat give it a new and powerful element of interest for its inhabitants, and strengthen that miniature but admirable patriotism which consists in the love of one's own locality.
It has heretofore been possible for the scholar, with leisure and a comprehensive library, to trace out the written history of his county by patient research among voluminous government documents and many volumes, sometimes old and scarce ; but these sources of informa- tion and the time to study them are not at the command of most of those who are intelligently interested in local history, and there are many unpublished facts to be rescued from the failing memories of the oldest residents, who would soon have carried their information with them to the grave ; and others to be obtained from the citizens best informed in regard to the various interests and insti- tutions of the county which should be treated of in giv- ing its history.
This service of research and compilation, which very few could have undertaken for themselves, the publishers of this work have performed, and while a few unimport- ant mistakes may doubtless be found in such a multitude of details, in spite of the care exercised in the production of the work, — including typographical errors like the printing of 1768 for 1678 in the first column of page 56 — the publishers still confidently present this result of many months' labor as a true and orderly narrative of all the events in the history of the county which were of sufficient interest to merit such record.
Under the sway of cause and effect, historic events cannot stand alone — they form an unbroken chain. The history of so limited a territory as a county in New York
has its roots not only in remote times but in distant lands, and can not be justly written without going far beyond the county limits for some of its most essential facts. Nor can such a county history be imderstood in its due rela- tion without a historical review of at least the State in which the county is a part ; hence we feel that in giving such an outline we have been more faithful to the main purpose of the work, while we have added an element of independent interest and value.
It may be noticed that the present geographical names are often used in the following pages as though dating from the earliest times. One who reads of events as transpiring in the town of Cambria which occurred long before a town of Cambria was thought of, will readily understand that the present name is used to avoid the needless circumlocution involved in repeating " what is now the town of Cambria," etc.
In the preparation of this volume the standard works embracing the history of this frontier have been consulted, besides many original sources of information. We have drawn freely from that great historic fount, the Docu- ments Relating to the Colonial History of New York, often reproducing their quaint spelling and phraseology, the more perfectly to retain the flavor of the times in which they were written.
While we have in a few cases failed of the co-operation which it was reasonable to expect in the obtaining of needed facts from individuals, we have generally found the possessors of desirable knowledge ready and courteous in imparting it, and many have signally aided us, among whom may be named Hon. Sullivan Caverno, Marcus Moses, Rev. E. P. Marvin, L. J. McParlin, Dr. A. W. Tryon, Claudius L. Hoag, Luther Forsyth, Mrs. James Goodrich, Ezra Warren, Benoni Edwards, Dr. W. A. Town- send and Miss Adeliza Griswold, of the city and town of Lockport; Albert H. Porter, A. A. Porter, Judge T. G. Hu- lett, C. H. Piper, Hon. William Pool, Andrew Murray, S. F. Symonds, A. M. Chesbrough, J. J. Anthony, Peter H. Por- ter, jr., Samuel Tompkins, Colonel John Fisk, O. W. Cutler, Hon. Benjamin Flagler and F. R. Delano, of Ni- agara ; Captain James Van Cleve, Charles T. Hotchkiss, P. P. Barton, Thomas P. Scovell, Solomon Gillett, Dr. M. Robinson and Dr. Edward Smith, of Lewiston ; S. Park Baker, Ira Race, David Burge, Peter Tower, Samuel Chubbuck, B. D. Davis and Thomas Brighton, of Porter; Captain Luther Wilson, Mrs. Sally Holmes, Richard C. Holmes, Alexander Pettit, Mrs. Curtis Pettit and Rev. Ward B. Pickard, of Wilson; H. Frost, Peter Hess, G. C. Humphrey and A. N. Dutcher, of Somerset ; J. C. Glad- ding, Jay Rowe, Lorenzo Webster and Luther S. Hall, of Hartland ; J. P. Sawyer, A. Freeman, C. Schad, C. W. Laskey, P. P. Murphy, and Dr. Cole, of Royallon; Benja- min Stout H. Armstrong, James McClew, J. Arrowsmith and W. Shaw, of Newfane.
The material for the town histories of Cambria, Wheat- field and Pendleton was chiefly furnished by Mr. Chip- man P. Turner.
Our acknowledgments are also due to the editors of the county papers, from the files of which valuable informa- tion has been obtained.
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
STATE HISTORY,
CHAPTER I.
The American Aborigines— DiseoverieR by European Explorers— The
Openin^of Colonization and Trade 9-11
CHAPTER II.
The Dutch Regime in New York- Rival Claims of the English— The
Latter Prevail H-l'
CHAPTER ni.
The Five Nations— Their Traditions of their Origin— Iroquois Customs
and Political Organization 13-16
CHAPTER IV.
French and Indian War—Dissensions in the Colonial Government- Capture and Execution of Leisler 16-18
CHAPTER V.
Count Frontennc's Campaigns— Prevalence of Piracy— Misgoverument
of New York— French Trading and Military Posts 18-20
CHAPTER YI.
The Alleged Plot to Bum New York— French and English Hostili- ties—The Contest for the Ohio Yalley 20-22
CHAPTER vn.
The Results of Four English Expeditions Against the French- Mont- calm's Successful Campaigns 22-24
CHAPTER VIII.
Extinction of French Power in America— The New York Judiciary- International Contentions 24-26
CHAPTER IX.
The Approach of the Revolution -Patriotic Attitude of New York —
The First Battle Fought in 1770 2&-29
CHAPTER X.
The Boston Tea Party— Meeting of the Continental Congress— The
Battle of Lexington— Canada Invaded 29-31
CHAPTER XI.
Hostilities Transferred to New York— The Battle of Long Island— Bur-
goyne'B Campaign 31-34
CHAPTER XII.
The Battle of Bennington— Failure of St. Leger's Movement— Bur-
goyne's Defeats and Surrender 34-37
CHAPTER XIII.
Clinton's Hudson River Campaign— France Recognizes the United
States- Wars with the Indians 37-39
CHAPTER XIV.
Arnold's Treason— Close of the Revolution— A.doption of tho Constitu- tion— Internal Improvements 39-42
CHAPTER XV.
Causes of the Last War with Great Britain— Expeditions Against
Canada— Border Hostilities 42-46
CHAPTER XVI.
The Erie Canal and Central Railroad— The State Administration- New York in the Civil War 46, 47
pcm COU[^TY.
CHAPTER I. The "Word Nia^ani- -Relics and Theories of the Earliest Population. . . 49-52
CHAPTER IE.
Father L'AUemant'a Account of the Neutral Nation— The Destruction
of the Eries 52-54
CHAPTER III.
The Traditional Ori^iQ of the Senecis— Niini83 and Locations of their
Villages 54-56
CHAPTER IV.
La Salle's Vangunrd Arrives in the Niagara— The Narrative of Father
Hennepin 56, 5
CHAPTER V.
The Career of Lu Salle— He Builds the First Sailing Vessel Above Niag- ara Falls 58-61
CHAPTER VI.
Niagara and the Indian Trade — The Rivalry of the Fr«nfh and
English 61-65
CHAPTER VII.
Denonville's Expedition Against the Senecas— The Building of the
Fir3t Fort Niagara 65-68
CHAPTER Vin.
The Joncftires, and the French Trading House Est-ihlished at Lewis- ton in 1720 68-/1
CHAPTER IX. The Rebailding of Fort Niagara— It is Besieged by the English and
Iroquois 7 1_74
CHAPTER X. Journal of the Siege of Forfc Niagara— Rout of a Relief Force- The
Surrender 74-77
CHAPTER XI. Sir William Johnson's Journal— Fort Schlosser Built— Traders Pro- hibited from Settling Thereabouts 77-79
CHAPTER XII. The Devil's Hole Massacre— The Senecas Cede the Niagara Border to
the English 79.81
CHAPTER XIII. Fort Niagara During the Revolution— Its Surrender by the British—
The Tuacftror'is 81-83
CHAPTER XIV. Indian Trails in Niagara County— The Portage, Military, Ridge and
Lake Roads 83-86
CHAPTER XV. The Title to the Soil of Western New York— Phelps and Gorham's
Purchase— Morris' Reserve 86-89
CHAPTER XVI. The Holland Purchase and Purchasers- Surveys, Sales and First Set- tlements Sy-92
CHAPTEtd XVII. Pioneer Experiences— Emigrating, Buildinfc ftnd Clearing— Frontier
Work and Play 92-96
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XVXn.
Pioneer Farming— First Schools and Teachers, Meetings and Preach- ers—Tie PuhUc Health 96-100
CHAPTEE XIX.
Military Operations of 1812— Attitude of the Iroquois— Preparations
for Invading Canada 100, 101
CHAPTER XX.
The Capture of Queenston Heights— The Assailants Overpowered, Un- supported and Taken Prisoner.^ 101-103
CHAPTER XXI.
Capture and Recapture of Fort George— Fall of Fort Niagara— Rav- ages of Fire and Sword 103-105
CHAPTER XXII.
Successive Boundaries of Niagara County and its Subdivisions- Officers
and Representatives 10.^-107
CHAPTER XXm.
The Projection of the Erie Canal— Its Advocates and its Construction-
La Fayette's Tour 10;-111
CHAPTER XXIV.
The Case of William Morgan— Rise and Career of the Anti-Miisonic
Party lU-113
CHAPTER XXV.
Old-time Stage Lines on the Ridge Road— Railroad History of Niagara
County 11.1-116
CHAPTEE XXVI.
Incidents of the Patriot War— The Old Militia System in Niagara
County 116-118
CHAPTER XXVIL
Niagara Ship Canal Projects- The Shipping and the Commerce of
Niagara Cpunty 118-122
CHAPTER XXVIII.
Insurance, Medical, Religious, Pioneer and Agricultural Associations
—The County Farm— Statistics 122-127
CHAPTER XXIX.
The Rise and Development of the Great Fruit-Growing Interest of
Niagara County 127, 123
CHAPTER XXX.
Sketch of the Geology of Niagora County 128 -131
CHAPTER XXSI.
Niagara County in the Civil War— The 28th, 49th, 100th and 102nd In- fantry 131-136
CHAPTER XXXII.
The Record of the 2Sd Battery and Ist Regiment of Light Artillei y 136-HO
CHAPTER XXXIII.
The Cavalry Representation- Histories of the 8th, 3d and 15th, and the
2d Mounted Rifles lM-146
CHAPTER XXXIV. Services and Suilerings of the 151st Infantry 146-150
CHAPTER XXXV.
The Brilliant Career of the Gallant Eighth New York Heavy Artil- lery 160-155
CHAPTER XXXVI.
Records of the 78th, 96th, 105th, 132nd, 104th, 178th, 179th, lS7th and
194th Infantry 155-159
CHAPTER XXXVII.
Twelfth, Nineteenth, Seventeenth and Twenty-fifth Batteries- Four- teenth Artillery 1S9-1C3
CITY, TOWN jiW VILLAGE HISTOI^IES.
THE CITY OF LOCKPORT. Main street in lS23-The Early Taverns-Completion of the Canal-- The Rise of the Lower Town -Shaved by Lorenzo Dow-Early Mail Facilities— Municipal Organization — Business Establish- ments in 1835-The McLeod Excitement-Railroad Communica- tious-Qeneral Scott in Lockport-Heeent Events-Early Schools- The Water Power of Looltport-Flouriug Mills-The Stave Manu- facture—Saw-mills— Corporations and Manufactories-Hotels of the Present— The Hodge Opera Hoase-Banks-The Stone and Marble Interests— Hydraulic Cement— Niagara Nurseries- -Lock- port Home for the Friendless— Union School nf Lockport— The Fire Department-Sooietiea-The Niagara Light Guards-Churohes- Blographioal Sketches of Lockport's Leading Citizens 165-220
THE TOWN OF CAMBRIA. Early Residents of the Town— Warren's Corners-Molyneux's Corners- Cambria Center and Vicinity-Pekin and Southwestern Combria —Churches on the Eidge— Early Schools and School-Houses— Sin- gular Deposits— Brief Biographical Sketches 227-236
THE TOWN OF HARTLAND. First Town Meeting-Further Matters of Early Record-Principal Town Officers— Physical Features of the Town— Early Settlers- Pioneer Life in Hartland— Villages in Hartland— Industrial Be- irinnings— Educational— Roads and Bridges— Salt Springe- A Prof- Ttable Hurricane— An Ancient Karthwork—Taverns— Physicians- Burying Grounds- Early Preachers- Lodges— Churches -Agricul- tural-The Leading Citizens of To-day 237-248
THE TOWN OP LEWISTON. The French and English Occupations— Brant and the Mohawks— Tusca- rora Reservation- Indian Mound— Early White Settlement— Inci- dents Connected with the War— Settlement after the War— De- scription and Civil History— Supervisors— Sanborn and Dickerson- viUe— Seminary of Our Lady of Angels— The Village of Lewiston —Prominent Inhabitants of the Town 249-264
THE TOWN OF LOCKPORT. The Town Civil List— Outlines, Surface, Soil and Products— Ellicott Reserve and Salt Spring— Singular Antiquities— Early Settlers- Wright's Corners— The Long Causeway Turnpike— Rapids— War- ren's Comers— Early Schools and School Houses —Plank and Toll Bonds -Cemeteries— Churches of the Town— Biographical Notices of Lockport Citizens 205-274
THE TOWN OF NEWFANE. The Pioneers— Incidents of the War of 1812— From the Early Records —Building and Beginning Business— Physicians — Antiquities- Roads and Bridges— Burying Grounds— Villages and Post-offices Temperance Organizations — Religious History— Schools— New- fane in the Civil War- Sketches of Representative Citizens 275-28ti
THE TOWN OF NIAGARA. Niagara River and Falls— Fort Little Niagara— The Sttdman House and Farm— Porter, Barton & Go- Early Reminiscences— Early Set- tlements and Improvements— Niagara in the War of 1812- Early Events— Civil History— Niagara in the Rebellion— Cemeteries- Roads— Schools— The First Religious Services— Fruit-growing in Niagara— Drainage— Population— The Village of La Salle — Fletch- er's Corners 287-299
THE TILLAGE OF NIAGARA FALLS. The Village in 1810 -The Early Settlers— Samuel De Veaux, the First Merchant— Accessions fi'om 1821 to 1833— General Peter B. Porter —Colonel Peter A. Porter— Business and Improvements — The Car- rying Business— Further Business Progress- The Upa and Downs ot 1836- The Hydraulic Canal— Mails, Stages, Railroads and Ex- presses—'Ihe Press of Niagara Falls— Schools— The Fire Depart- ment — Incoi-poraiion and Civil History— Oakwood Cemetery- Churches of Niagara Falls— Business Corporations— Fraternities and Social Organizations — Improvements About the Falls— Acci- ' dents and Incidents— Well Known Residents of Niagara Falls, La Salle and Vicinity •- 300-318
THE VILLAGE OF SUSPENSION BRIDGE. Initial Events— The International Suspension Bridge Company— Busi- ness Growth and Improvements— A Great Railway Center-Tlie Custom-House and Other Buildings— Incorporation and Civil His- tory-Waterworks and Fire Companies-The Press of Suspension Bridge-Education-Societies-Prominent Inhabitants of Suspen- sion Bridge ™-'2s
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
THE TOWN OF PENDLETON.
Settlement— Extracts from the Town Records— The German Inhabi- tants—The Enlargement of the CuDnl — Pendleton Village — Churches- Lending Citizens of Pendleton 329-331
THE TOWN OF POETEU.
The Settlement of the Town— Pioneers and Burly Events— Incidenls During and Aftor the War of 1312— Facts and Statistics— Ran- som ville-Touogstown -Sketches of Proniineiit Residents and Pioneers 332-347
THb; lOVVN OF ROVALTON.
Settlement— Pioneer House-Building— Trails and Roads— Early Tav- erns—First Schools— Course of Trade and Manufacture— Profes- Hional Men— Post- offices— First Birth, Marriage and Death— Asso- ciations and Lodges— Wolcottsvilla— Royaltoo Center— Orangeport — Giisport- Reynale's Basin — Middleport- The Churches — Bio- graphical Sketches of Prominent Residents 348-361
THE TOWN OF SOMERSET.
Pioneer Experiences— After the War of 1.812— The First', of their Kind —The Political Record— Salt Spring— Lodges and Associations— The (.Government Light-houae— Statistics— Religious History— Brief Biographies 362-372
THE TOWN OF WHEATFIELD.
Pioneer Settlements— The Gerraiin Neighborhoods— Supervisors of WJieattield— North Tonav^anda — Brief Sketches of Wlieatfield Citizens 373-381
THE TOWN OF WILSON.
Organization— Supervisors -Statistical Facte— Pioneer Experiences- Sundry First Events— Roads—The Last Wolf and Bear— The Vil- lage of Wilson— Smaller Villages—Church History of the Town- Wilson's Leading Citizens 332-31)7
ILLUSTRATIONS.
.Academy, St. Joseph's, Lockport - following 208
Arnold, E E., Residbnce, Boiuersst fullowiDg 278
Barnea, S. M.. Residence, Lockport preceding 213
Harnea's Block, Store, Lime Works, etc., Lockport preceding 213
Barnura, H. A., Farm Residence, Wheatfield following 2114
Baleman, V. D., Residence, Somerset following 222
Beach, Cyrus, Farm Residence, Cambria following 234
Bickford, H. H., Farm Eesitlence, Hartlnnd following 242
Bishop, Dr. D. F., Residence, Lockport following 214
Bowen, Hon. L. F., Residence, Lockport following 204
Bradley, G. H., Residence, Somerset preceding 369
Brewer, S. A., Fruit Farm, Hartliind followiny 244
Brigham, P. W., Residence, Somerset following 3(38
Itrown, Thomas, Uartland following 238
Brown, William, llartland : following 233
Burge, David, Residence, Youiiystown following 338
Burteh, Lewis, Farm Resiil^'nce, Cambria following 232
Campbell, R. , Furm Residence, Cambi ia foUoiving 228
Caveruo, Hon. S., Residence, Lockport t'nllowiug 190
Childs, W. H., Residence, Niasfara Falls fallowing 312
Church, St.. Patrick's, Church Buildings, llartland fullt)«-ing 24fi
Coates, John, Residence, Somerset following ;!ii4
Creates. Samuel, Residt-nce, Somerset following 3fi4
Colt, H , & Sou, Farm Residences, Lewiatoii preceding 26;J
Coleman, Aaron, Residence, Somerset following 'Mi2
Corwin, P. H., Newfane preceding 283
Court-House, Lockport preceding 16J
Crapsey, M. C. & A. H., Residences, Lockport preceding 2l;J
Curtiss Bros., Hotel and Warehouse, RansoraviUe following 'MH
Davis, B. D., Residence, Youngstown following 340
Diez, John, Residence, Wilsun following 34(i
Eastman, Anson, Farm Residence, dmbria ^. following 230
Evans, E., Residence, Tonawanda following 201
Faling, Dr. P., Residence, Royalton following 356
Finn, A. S. & S. H., Boat Yard, Lockport following 218
Finn, S. H., Residence, Lockport following 218
Fitts, Hardy, Residence, Somerset following 362
Flagler, Hon. T. T., Residence, Lockport following 214
Flanders, Hiram, Farm Residence, Cambria following 228
Freeman, F. B., Royalton preceding 283
Gamble, Mrs. E. A., Residence, Newfane following 278
Gai-dner, Mrs, Judge H., Residence, Lockport following 21-2
Gardner, I. J., Somerset following 366
Haight. J. S., Residence, Somerset following 362
Halght, Mrs. L., Residence, Somerset following 362
Harmony, E., Farm Residence, Cambria ; following 340
Hayes, O. B , Farm RcBidence, Hartland following 236
Henning, John, Farm Residence, Newfane following 284
Hildreth, G. W., Residence, Lockport following 188
Hine, G. J., Residence, Mitldleport following 3ii0
Hnag, Thomas, Residence, Somerset following 364
Hodge Opera House preceding 211
Holmes, D,, Residence, Wilson following 394
Holmes, R. C, Residence, Wilson following 392
Hulett, Hon. T. G ., Niagara Falls preceding 315
Humphrey, Hon. G. C , Somerset .^.following SdG
Hyde, William H., Residence, Somerset following 368
Jackson, James, Jr., Residence, Lockport following 226
Jackson, James, Jr., & Son, Lumber Works, Lockport following 226
Jail and Court-House, Lockport preceding 165
Journal Building, Lockport foUnwing 174
Judd, G. L., Tonawanda following 38U
Keck, Andrew, Residence, Lockport following 2IS
Knapp, Dr. F. L., Residence, Gasport preceding 359
Knapp, Silas, Farm Residence, Royalton following 360
Kyte, Francis, Porter following 362
Labar, J. W., Residence, Lockport following 272
Lockport in 1836 pi-ecadmj 165
Loomis, G. W., Farm Residence, Wilson preceding 397
McArthur, J., Residence, Newfane following 280
McNeil, Hon. H. D,, Store, Lockport pi deeding 137
Mann, O- E., Residence and Fruit Farm, Somerset following 370
Mead, H. D., Residence, Somerset folio wiug 356
Mighells, N. T., Farm Residence, Warren's Oorncr.s foUowmg 274
Milliman, E. A., Farm Residence, Wheattield preceding 381
Morse, James M., Residence, Wilson preceding 395
Niagara County Court-House, Lockport preceding 165
Niagara Falls [Frontispiece.}
Packard, Mrs. G. M., Niagara.. following Z^-i
Palmer, R., Residence, Wilson following 396
Parsons, A. C, Residence, Niagara following 346
Partridge, C. H., Residence, Lockport folli)Wiug 'iltj
Payne, Col. L, S,, Residence, Tonawanda preceding 379
Pearson, William, Rosidwuce, Lockport precedmg 271
Pease, A. & William H , Residence, Somei'set prec^'ding 371
Pease, Wdliam B., Fruit Farm, Lockport following 274
Poole, J. A., Farm Residence, Cambrij, tuUowing 228
Rich, A. D., Hotel, MiilQleport following 351
Sanborn, liesidence and Village, Sanborn P. O toHowing 264
Seott, David, Residence, Cambria following 392
Seminary of Our Lady of Angels, Suspension Bridge preceding 259
6bafer, J. W., Residence and Fruit Farm, Royalton pieucding 359
Shaw, G. v.. Farm Residence, Haithind loilo .viug 248
Sherwood, Elon, Residence, N. Hartland fulio.ving 246
Shuler, Mrs. J. D., Residence, Lockport .i'uilowiug Oi^j
.Smith, Ammi, Residence, NewLiuc following i^^l
Smith, S. E., Residence, Soineisct iuilovMu^ S72
Snyder & Holly, Marble Woilcs, LockpoiL tollnuiiig IfeS
Swift, E. B., Farm Resideni^e, C^inbiia fullowiug 230
Timothy, H. B., RansomvillL' piecLditig 343
Tower, Peter, Sen., Farm Reaioeiice, I'urlci ful lotting 344
Tower, Luke & P. t!., Furiii Kusideuce=, I'uvter followit y 344
Treichler, S.; Farm Residence, LewisLon tollowuig 230
Union Schools, School Buildings, Lockport luiluwing 192
Van Hoi II, T. H., Diug Store, Lockport foUuwmg US
%'au Horn, W., Farm Residi:nce, Hartland , t'tiluwing 236
AValter, P. !>., Residiince, Lockiiort following 204
Ward, J. A., llesidenct', Loi.'kpoi-t lollowmg 174
Ward, N. C, Farm Resideiioe, Wilson pi eceding bvio
Watson, James G., Farm Residence, Hartland folJowmy 3iiO
AVoatworth, A. P., licsidence, Newfane following ISS
WcHLwortli. E. P., Residence, Lockport iolloMiug 224
Whitcorab, E., Farm Eesidenre, N. Hartland lulluwiug 2-tS
Wilcox, O. L., Residence, Gasport follo^YlU:,' idG
Williams, E. J,, Rcsideuce, AVilsuu fuUowitiy 3U2
Williams, J., Residence, Wilson loUowing 2bO
Wilson, S., Residence, Ncwfiine following •>*'R
Wiight, W. S., Residence, Lockport folly ^vi.l'J 222
Wright, W. S., Faim Residence, Olcott toUowin^ 22 J
Zimmerman, Nelson, Farm Residence, Wheattield ijrece.Jiiig bSl
PORTRMTS.
Albright, K. N., Barker's P. O., Somerset precdliug 327
Beach, Cyi-up, Cambria following 234
Beach, Mrs. Cyrus. Cambria tollowing i:;u
Beach, Master Cyrus W., Cambria following 234
Brewer, S. A., Hartland foliowiiif.- 214
Brewer, JIis. S. A., Hartland folio niuy 244
Surge, David, Youngstown following 334
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
Bur^e, Mrs. Diivid, Toiin^rstown foUowiog 338
Caverno, Hon. S., Lockport following IDO
Ohilds, T\'. II., Ningara Falls foUowins^ 312
Clark, S. T„ A.M., JI.D., LockpnrI preeeding 327
Colt, H. , Lewistoii preceding 263
Colt, J. H. «., Lewiston preoedinfj 263
Deliiiio, Dr. B. L., Nia-jam Falls fu-llowing 308
Kly, Rev. lM)-,tti, D.D., Lockport following 21G
Gaidoer, Hon. PI., Loekiiort follow ing^ '212
Henning', A. \V. R., Btisponsion Dndge pieced ing 3J7
Hodge, Juliu. Loekpoi-L following 210
HolIllo^, D , Wilson following 3U4
Holmes, Mis. D., Wilson following 394
Hulett, Hon. T. (i , ^'it^ga^l Falls preceding 31S
Jndd, G. L., Tonawiindii following sau
Judd, :Mv.s. G. L., Tonawaaua follow uig 330
liiitiiv, J. W., I.ockpoi't following: 272
Labav, Mi-s. J. AV., Lockporb following' 272
SIcNeil, U. D., Lockport pieceding liS7
Morse. J. M., Wilson preceding 396
Moree, 3[rs. J. M., WiUtm preceding 395
Palmer, Reuben, WiLsou following 3ilfi
TalmLT, Mrs. r.neben, Wilson following 39G
P. timer, Dr G. N.. Lockport following 216
Palmer, Cul. AV. E., Lockport following 216
r.iyiie, Levvis S., Tonawanda procedintj 379
Piiyne, Lewis T , Tonaw.iiida preceding 379
I'ease, A , Somerset preceding 371
Pease, Mi-s. A., Somerat't preceding 371
Richardson, M. C, Lockport following 17-1
Sanborn, L, It-, Sanborn P. O following 20-1
Slierw'iod, Hhm, N. Ilartland following 246
Sherwood, Mrc Klon, N, Hariland folios ing 24li
Smith, S. E., Somerset following 372
."^mitli, Mrs. B. E., Souterset foUowini: 372
Stewart, Z. B., Haitland following 242
Timothy, H. B., Ransomville prei'eding 343
Timothy, Mrs. H. B., Ransomville preceding 343
TuWLr, Peter. Pinter following 844
Tower, Mrs. PcUt, Porter following 341
Ward, X C Wilson pieceding 393
Ward. lAIr.-^. N. O., No. 1 jueveding 393
Ward, Mrs. N. C, No. -^ piecodiug 393
Wentworth, K. P., Lockport f'dlowinsj 221
Wilson, S., Ne«f.im> following 2S(i
Wil3on, Mi-a. S , N'ewfaiie following 286
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES.
Alhi-ight, F. N., Somerset atiS
Ai-nold, E. E., Somerset SUB
B.irnea, S. M., Lockport 1^13
Bamnm, H. A., Whealfield 3H0
Batemaii, V. D., Somerset a03
Beach, Cyrus, Cambria 2o4
Bii'kford. H. H., Hartiand ^-i'l
Bishop, Dr. D. F., Lockport 213
Bo\veu, I Ion. L. F.. Lockport 114
Bnnlley, G. II., Somer.ieL gtiU
Bi'dwer, y. A., Hartland 04 j
Brigham, P. W., Somerset gmi
Ht'owu, Thomas, Hartlund 24.0
Brown, AViUiam, Hariland 24.5
Bulge, David, Youngstown ,-jj4
Burtch, Lewis, Cambria 234
Campbell, R., Cambria 234
Caverno, Hon. 3., Lockport.. _ 214
Childs, W. H., Niagara Falls" 3I;,
Clark, S. T., Lockport 307
Coates, John, Somerset ggi)
Coatfcs, Samuel, Somerset 3^0
Colt, H. it Son, Lewislon 2G3
Coleman, Aaron, Somerset 3g;j
Corwin, P. H,, Newfane 283
Crapsey, M. C, Lockport 272
Cnrtiss Bros., Eansomrill'^ ^^^^
Davi.s, B, D., Youiigstown 339
Delano, B. L., M.D , Niagara Falls 308
Diez, John, Wilson 393
Eastman, Anson, Cainbrin -^^
P,ly, Rev. Foster, D.D., Lockport 216
Faling, Dr. P., Royalton ^-'^
Finn, A. S., Lockporl 217
Finn, S H., Lo'-kporf ^17
Filts, Hardy, Somerset 370
Fiagler, Hon. T. T., Lockport 217
Flanders, Hiram, Cambria 23j
Gambit', Mrs. E. A., Newfanu' 2S4
G.udnpr, Hon H., Locitport 212
(i:iiJiier, I. J., Someiset 3'**
Haight, J. S., Sonlcrset 370
Haight, Mrs L., SoniPrstM 370
Hayes, O. B , Hartland 54()
Henning, A. AV. K., Snspension Eiidi;o 3'27
Hcnning, John, Newfiine 2S4
Hildreth, G. W., Lockport 218
nine. G. J., Middleptjrt 35«
Hodge, John, Lockpoit 211
Holmes, D., AVil on 394
Holmes, If. C. Wilson 391
Hulett, Hon. T. G.. Niatrara F.ilU 315
Humphrey, Hon. G. C , Someiset 371
Hunt, Hon. Wasliington. Lockport 107
Eydp, AVilliamH., Somerset 36S
Jndd, G. L-, Tonaw.inda 380
Keck, Andrew, Lockport 2 '3
Knapp, Dr. F L., Gasport 359
Knapp, Sihis, Royalton 359
Kyle, Francis, Portei' 345
Ijahiir, J. W., Lockport 273
Loumis, G. AA''., Wilson 395
McArtliur, J., Newfane 2S5
Mcl'arlin, L. J., Lockport 220
Mann, O. E., Somerset 371
J\Iead, H. D., Somerset 371
Migliells, N. T , AVairen's Corners 235
Millraan, E. A., AVheatfield 381
Muise, James ^f.. Wilson 391
Packaid, Mrs. G. M , Niagara , 317
Palmer, R,, Wilson ', 3y(i
PaiUiili^e, C. H., Lockport 973
I'aj-ne, Col. L. S., Tonawanda 379
I'ear-ion, Williiim, Lockport 373
Pease, Adam, Somerset 371
Peise, AV. ]!., Ijockport 273
Pool, J. A., Cambria , 235
Pool, Hon. AVilliara. Xiasara Fulls 317
Sanborn, Hon. L. If., Sanborn P. O '2CA
Shaw, G. v., Hartland ^ 047
Sherwood, Elon, N. Hurthiud 047
fihider, Mrs. J. D., Lockport 274
Smith, Ammi, Newfane oS")
Smith, S. E., Somerset 370
Stewart, 2. B., liariUnd 247
Timothy, H. B , Porter ;j.i3
Tower, Peter, Sen., I'orter 343
Treichler, ,=!., Lewiston 264
Van Cleve, Captain James. Lewiston 264
A'an Horn, AA""., Hariland 248
AValtev, Hon. P. D, Loekport 2''-I
AVavd, N. C, AAmIsou '.'.'.'.'.'.".'.'. Tsil
Walton, James G., Hartlund 248
AA^eutworlh, A. P., Newfane 236
AVent worth, E. P., Lockport ogg
\A'hiteonib, E , X. Hartland 248
\Vilcox, O, L , Royjilton : ., 35^
A\'"illiams, E. J., AVilson .397
AVidiamiS, J., AVilson •. 397
AA''ilst)n, a. Noivfane 28G
Wright, W. S., Ijockxjorl 226
Zimmerman, Nelson, Wheatlield 381
OUTLINE HISTORY
OF THE
STATE OF NEW YORK
CHAPTER I.
THE AMERICAN ABORIGINES DISCOVERIES 1)Y EUROPEAN
EXPLORERS — THE OPENING OF COLONIZATION AND TRADE.
HE American continent, in its natural features, presents a striking and diversified display of resources and grandeurs. Bounded by oceans; indented with numerous gulfs and bays; intersected and drained by large rivers; embracing lakes equal in extent to seas, it affords every facility for commerce; while its fer- tile valleys and extensive plains are admirably adapted to agricultural pursuits, and its interior is stored with minerals of inestimable value. The magnificence of mountain scenery, the dashing flood and deafening roar of Niagara, the subterranean labyrinths of Mammoth Cave, are features of nature which fill the beholder with wonder and amazement. To what people were these re- sources offered and these grandeurs presented in the dim ages of the past ? With only the shadowy and un- certain light of tradition, little else than speculation can furnish anything like a beginning to the history of the aborigines of America. The ruins of cities and pyramids in Mexico and Central America, and the numerous mounds so common in the valley of the Mississippi, are monuments which point to a people more skilled in arts and farther advanced in civilization than the Indian, found in occupancy when the first Europeans landed. Some of these mounds appear to have been erected for burial places, and others for defense. The remains of fortifications present evidence of mechanical skill, and no little display of the knowledge of engineering. Metal- lic implements of ingenious design and superior finish, and finely wrought pottery, glazed and colored, equal to the best specimens of modern manufacture, have been found, showing a higher degree of mechanical skill than the Indian has ever been known to possess. Some of these remains have been found twenty feet or more below the surface, showing that they must have lain there many
centuries. All the investigations of the antiquarian to discover by what people these mounds were erected have ended in uncertainty. If these are the relics of a lost people, as many believe they are, it seems somewhat probable that they were from Egypt. Their jjyramids and skill in the arts, together with the fact that human bodies have been found preserved somewhat similar to Egyptian mummies, support this theory. At an early age the Egyptians, who were noted for their skill in navi- gation, sailed around Africa, and made many other voy- ages, in some of which they may have reached America. Aristotle, Plato and other ancient writers appear to have been aware of an extensive body of land in the West, speaking of it as an island, greater than Europe or Africa. It is also supposed that the Egyptians may have reached America through Asia. It is related that an Asiatic people emigrated to Egypt and conquered the Mizraim- ites, who were then in possession; and that they became distinguished for their arts, built cities and erected gigan- tic pyramids, which still remain as evidence of their skill and power. The Mizraimites, smarting under their tyranny, rose against them, and after a long struggle succeeded in driving them out of the land. They re- treated to the northeast, leaving mounds and walls as far as Siberia, as traces of their passage, and, it is thought, crossed Behring's strait, and eventually settled in the Mississippi valley and Mexico.
Leaving conjecture, in regard to the early inhabitants of this continent, it was found when first visited by the whites that the Indians had long been in possession. Their personal appearance, language and customs plainly indicated a distinct race. There were many points of difference among the various tribes, but in many respects they bore a resemblance to each other. The Aztecs of Mexico were found with a large and populous city, in which were temples and palaces and well cultivated grounds; while in the more northern regions a village of rude huts and a small field of corn were about the only marks of occupancy. The traditions of the Indians are so dim and conflicting as to shed little light on their origin. They obtained a subsistence chiefly by hunting and fishing, and were continually engaged in bloody wars
2
HISTORY OF NIAGARA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
with each other. They had no written language, no letters with which their words could be represented; but to some extent they communicated their thoughts to one an- other by hieroglyphics: certain symbols denoted certain ideas, and these were either drawn or painted on skins or birch bark, or chiseled on rocks. By comparing their languages they were grouped into great families, some of which contained many tribes. Of these families the Algonquin was the largest, occupying about half of that portion of the United States east of the Mississippi river, together with a part of Canada. The Huron-Iroquois was the next in importance, occupying the greater part of the State of New York and the Canadian peninsula, formed by lakes Ontario, Erie and Huron. They have rapidly diminished in numbers from pestilence and wars with the advancing whites, until only fragments remain; and their aversion to civilization, and strong attachment to a wild mode of life make their extinction inevitable. The pioneer still advances; railroads are connecting ocean with ocean, and the war whoop is silenced by the screech of the locomotive as it sounds the death knell of the once proud lords of a continent.
The discovery of America was the most important event of modern times. For the honor of this discovery several claims have been presented. Welsh historians have awarded it to Modoc, a prince of Wales, who went to sea in the twelfth century and discovered land far to the west, to which he made several voyages, but who, with all his crew, was finally lost. This claim is founded on tradition, however, and unsubstantiated. The Nor- wegians claim discovery and settlement on stronger evidence: Eric emigrated from Iceland to Greenland in g86, and formed a settlement. Leif, a son of Eric, em- barked with a crew of men in the year looo on a voyage of discovery. He sailed to the southwest and discovered land, and voyaging along the coast he finally entered a bay, where he remained through the winter, calling the region Vineland. In 1007 Thorfinn sailed from Green- land to Vineland. An account of his voyage and history of the country is still extant. Other voyages were made, and the Antiquarian Society, after a careful examination of all the evidence, including the geography of the country described in these voyages, do not hesitate to locate this Vineland at the head of Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island. These discoveries, however, were so inef- fectual that nothing was known in Europe of land beyond the ocean until 1492, when Christopher Columbus, believ- ing that India might be reached by sailing westward, was at his urgent solicitation dispatched on a voyage of dis- covery by Ferdinand and Isabella, king and queen of Spain. He sailed from Palos, and after stopping at the Canaries, struck out upon the hitherto unknown, ocean, discovering first one of the Bahama islands; then pro- ceeding toward the south he discovered Cuba and Hayti, and returned to Spain, thus opening a highway over the trackless Atlantic. He made other voyages, and in 1498 discovered the continent near the mouth of the Orinoco river. The discovery of land in the west promised large profits,and excited maritime enterprise throughout Europe.
Henry VII. commissioned John Cabot, a Venetian, in 1497, to sail on ^ voyage of discovery, and take posses- sion of new lands in the name of England. Sailing west- ward, in company with his son Sebastian, he discovered Newfoundland, and while off the coast of Labrador saw the main-land of North America. The next year Sebas- tian set sail to discover a northwest passage to China. The frozen regions at the north compelled him to change his course, and sailing toward the south he visited vari- ous points along the coast as far as Albemarle sound, taking possession of the whole region for the crown of England. John Verazzani, a Florentine in the service of Francis I. of France, arrived on the coast of North Caro- lina in 1524, and sailed south as far as Georgia. Turn- ing north, he explored the coast to about 41" north lati- tude, and entered a harbor, which, from his description, is believed to have been New York Bay, where he remain- ed about fifteen days, and it is supposed that his crew were the first Europeans that landed on the soil of New York. He proceeded north as far as Labrador, giving to the whole country the name of New France, which was afterward confined to Canada.
Henry Hudson, an English navigator, having failed in two expeditions to discover a passage to the East Indies, for a company of London merchants, by sailing west- ward, offered his services in i6og to the Dutch East India Company of Holland, which was formed the pre- ceding year for traffic and colonization. He left Amster- dam on the 4th of April with a small ship and a crew of about twenty English and Dutch sailors, and arrived on the American coast near Portland, in Maine, whence he proceeded south along the shore to the entrance of Ches- apeake Bay. From this point he returned northward, discovered and entered Delaware Bay, and on the 3rd of September anchored at Sandy Hook. From here he proceeded up New York Bay, sending his boats to the Jersey shore and receiving on board the natives, who came in great numbers to traffic. On the 12th he en- tered the river which bears his name, and ascended it to a point a little above where the city of Hudson now stands, having been frequently visited on the way by the Indians, who came to traffic, bringing maize, tobacco and other products native to the country. To them he im- parted a knowledge of the effects of rum, to the drinking of which in later years they became greatly addicted. Not considering it safe to proceed farther with his ship, he sent a boat with a part of his crew to explore the river higher up. It is supposed that they went a little above Albany. On the 23d he commenced to descend the river. When a little below the Highlands, the Indians made several attempts to attack his crew, who, in repulsing their attacks, shot ten or twelve of their num- ber. Descending into the bay he immediately sailed for Europe. The following year he made a voyage for the discovery of a northwest passage to India, and discover- ed and entered the bay which bears his name. Continu- ing his search too long, he was compelled to remain through the winter. In the spring part of his crew mutinied, put him in a boat, together with his son and
HENRY HUDSON AND OTHER EXPLORERS.
seven others, and left them to perish. In 1607 Samuel Champlain, a French navigator, ascended the St. Law- rence river, exploring its tributaries; and on the 4th of July discovered the lake which bears his name. Hence three nations, Holland, France and England, found- ing their titles upon discovery, claimed ownership in a region a part of which lies within the limits of the State of New York.
The accounts given by Hudson of his discoveries stim- ulated the Dutch to avail themselves of the advantages that might be gained by trading with the Indians, and accordingly in the following year another vessel was sent out to engage in the fur trade on the banks of the river he had discovered.
In 161 2 two more vessels were fitted out by Hendrick Christiansen and Adrian Block, which were soon followed by others. The fur trade proving successful, Christiansen was appointed agent of the traffic, and Manhattan Island made the chief depot. He erected a small fort and a few rude buildings at the southern extremity of the island, calling the place New Amsterdam. The island was covered with giant forest trees and dense thickets, which served as hiding places for reptiles and wild beasts. In 1614 the States General granted a charter to the mer- chants engaged in these expeditions, conferring the ex- clusive right of trade in this new territory, between the 40th and 4Sth parallels of north latitude, for four years, and giving the name of New Netherlands to the whole region. The trade flourished, and had become so profit- able at the expiration of the charter that the States Gen- eral refused to renew it, giving instead a special license for its temporary continuance.
In the meantime the surrounding country was being explored. Adrian Block had passed up the East river, Long Island sound and Connecticut river, and into the bays and along the islands eastward to Cape Cod. Cor- nelissen Jacobsen May had explored the southern coast of Long Island and southward to Delaware Bay, while Hendrick Christiansen had ascended the Hudson river to Castle Island, a few miles below Albany, where he had established a trading post and erected a small fort. This fort was so much damaged by a flood that it was removed to the Normans-kill, a little below. Here a council was held between the chiefs and warriors of the Five Nations and the representatives of the New Netherlands, and a treaty of aUiance and peace was formed.
In 1620 James I. granted to Ferdinando Gorges and his commercial associates all the land between the for- tieth and forty-eighth degrees of north latitude, and ex- tending from ocean to ocean. Captain Dermer, in the service of Gorges, appeared at Manhattan, and laid claim to all the territory occupied by the Dutch. The English embassador at the Dutch capital had been instructed to remonstrate against Dutch intrusion, but it seems his re- monstrance was without effect; for in 162 1 the States General granted a new charter to the Dutch West India Company, an armed mercantile association, giving them exclusive jurisdiction over the province of New Nether- lands for twenty years, with power to appoint governors.
subject to the approval of the States; to colonize the ter- ritory and administer justice. The executive manage- ment was intrusted to a board of directors, distributed through five separate chambers in the cities of Holland. The charge of the province had been assigned to the Amsterdam chamber, which sent out a vessel in 1623, under the direction of Captain May and Adrien Joriszen Tienpont, with thirty families for colonization. A portion of these settled on the Connecticut river, and others as far up the Hudson as the present city of Albany, where they built Fort Orange. A fort was also erected on the Delaware river, near Gloucester, and called Fort Nassau. Their number was shortly after augmented by other ac- cessions, and colonization fairly commenced. In May, 1626, Peter Minuit arrived at New Netherlands as Direc- tor-General or Governor of the province. He purchased the whole of Manhattan Island of the Indians for trinkets the value of $24. Friendly courtesies were then exchang- ed with the Plymouth colony, and a brisk and profitable trade in furs was carried on.
land
CHAPTER II.
THE DUTCH REGIME IN NEW YORK RIVAL CLAIMS OF
THE ENGLISH THE LATTER PREVAIL.
O encourage immigration, in 1629 an ordinance was adopted, granting to any member of the company who within four years should plant a colony of fifty persons, upward of fifteen years old, the privilege of selecting a tract of sixteen miles in length, on any navigable stream, and inland as far as he should choo'se, with the title of Patroon, denoting something lordly in rank and means. The Patroons on their part were to buy of the Indians the right to the lands selected, maintain a minister and school-master, and pay duty on trade carried on by them ; but the company reserved the exclusive right to the fur trade, which was becoming extensive and attracting dealers from the banks of the St. Lawrence. Several availed themselves of this privilege, among whom were Michael Pauw and Killian Van Rensselaer, the former securing Staten Island and a large tract on the Jer- sey shore, and the latter a large tract on the Hudson river, now the counties of Albany and Rensselaer. Although the Patroons were excluded in their charter by the company from participating in the fur trade, their interference brought on a controversy, and Minuit, who it was thought favored their pretensions, was recalled. The vessel in which he sailed was detained by the English authorities at Plymouth, on the charge that he had traded and ob- tained her cargo in territory subject to England, and thus the respective claims of the English and Dutch to the title of New Netherlands were again called in ques- tion. The Dutch relied on the discoveries made by
HISTORY OF NIAGARA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
Hudson, and their immediate occupation, ratified by charter ; and the English on the prior discovery by Cabot and the grant of James 1., covering the territory. No final settlement being obtained, the question was defer- red ; and in April, 1633, Wouter Van T wilier arrived at New Amsterdam as the new Director-General, bringing with him Everardus Bogardus, a clergyman, Adam Roe- landsen, the first school-master to the colony, and a small military force, with which he subsequently made consid- erable display. Soon after assuming the government, he directed Jacob Van Corlaer to purchase a tract of land of the Indians on the Connecticut river, near the present city of Hartford. The English colonies earnestly remon- strated against this invasion of their territory, but without effect. The Plymouth colony secured a tract of the In- dians at Windsor, and sent Lieutenant William Holmes with a force to take possession and commence a settle- ment. Van Corlaer being unable to oppose them with any effect. Van Twiller sent a force of soldiers to dis- perse them. The courage of the Dutch commander forsook him on perceiving that they were prepared to meet him, and he refrained from trying to dislodge them. Better success, however, attended him in an expedition against the Virginia colonists. A band of these, under the lead of George Holmes, had taken possession of Fort Nassau on the Delaware river. Van Twiller immediately sent a force there, which captured and brought them as prisoners to Fort Amsterdam. During his administra- tion, Jacob Eelkins, who had formerly been an agent for the company at Fort Orange, arrived at Manhattan as supercargo of an English vessel engaged in the fur trade. Van Twiller refused to let him proceed without a license from the company, which Eelkins declined to present ; but claiming a right to trade with the Indians as an English- man, to whom the territory belonged, he proceeded up the river to Fort Orange, in defiance of the governor, and commenced trading with them. Van Twiller, in great indignation, dispatched a force after him, which took possession of his wares, and bringing his vessel back, sent it out to sea. He was so mindful of his own inter- ests that he became the wealthiest land-holder in the prov- ince. Vehemently passionate, he became involved in a bitter quarrel with Bogardus, the clergyman, and with Van Dinklagen, a member of his council. The latter had very justly complained of his rapacity, for which he sent him a prisoner to Holland, on a charge of contuma- cy. His corruption and incompetency to govern becom- ing apparent, he was recalled, and William Kieft, in 1638, succeeded him in the government of the colony.
The company in the following year obtained a new charter, limiting the Patroons to four miles on the rivers and eight inland. Other efforts were made to encourage immigration. Settlements were extending in all direc- tions, and the province was rapidly filling with inhabi- tants. The governor, however, instead of proving useful in promoting the prosperity of the colony with the op- portunities presented, became involved in difficulties with the English settlements and the neighboring Indian tribes, which finally brought the colony to the verge of
extirpation. By injudicious management and cruelty to the Indians, they were incited to revenge and relentless war on the whites. A robbery having been committed, a tribe of Indians, though innocent, were suspected; and Kieft sent an armed force against them, killing several of their number and destroying their property. The In- dians retaliated for this unprovoked attack by murdering some settlers and burning their buildings. The chiefs refused to give satisfaction for these outrages, and Kieft resolved on a war against them. An Indian, whose uncle had been killed by the whites a number of years before, vowed revenge, and killed a Dutchman at Manhattan. Kieft sent a force against his tribe, with orders to exter- minate them. Seeing their danger, they sued for peace. Before the terms of a treaty had been agreed upon, a warrior, who had been made drunk and then robbed by the whites, upon recovering his senses killed two of the Dutch. Just at this time the river Indians, in a conflict with the Mohawks, were compelled to take refuge on the Hudson opposite Manhattan, and solicit protection from their enemies ; but instead of its being granted, a party under the sanction of Kieft, and against the remonstrance of the best citizens, went over to massacre them. This wicked and inhuman outrage was perpetrated at midnight, and nearly ^ hundred of these helpless and unsuspecting fugitives were murdered, or driven into the river to perish. A desperate and bloody war was the result. The neighboring tribes joined to avenge this outrage. The dwellings of the settlers were burned, their fields desolated, and themselves shot by their lurking foes. Their settlements were attacked in every direction, and terror, despair and death prevailed. Captain John Under- hill, who had gained some notoriety in Indian warfare, was appointed to command the forces of the colonists. He finally succeeded in bringing the Indians to submis- sion, and in 1645 a treaty of peace was concluded. An earnest appeal was made for the recall of Kieft, who had been the cause of this calamitous war. The request was favorably received, and Peter Stuyvesant, who was appointed to succeed him, took charge of the govern- ment May nth, 1647. He had been in the service of the company as Director-General of Curacoa. The contro- versy between the Dutch and English settlements still continuing, arbitrators were appointed to adjust their claims. The eastern part of Long Island was assigned to the English. A line was specified for the boundary between the Connecticut and New Netherland colonies, but it was unsatisfactory to the Dutch. In 1652 a muni- cipal government was established for Manhattan, con- sisting of a revenue agent, to be appointed by the com- pany, and two burgomasters and five inferior magistrates, to be elected by the people, and to have jurisdiction in capital cases. The Swedes since the early part of Kieft's administration had been encroaching upon the Dutch territory on the Delaware ; and Stuyvesant, by order of the company, went against them with an armed force, recaptured the forts, and resumed possession of the territory. While on this expedition, one of the Indians having been shot by a settler, the savages appeared at
RIVALRY BETWEEN THE ENGLISH AND DUTCH.
13
Manhattan in canoes, killed the offender, and crossing to the Jersey shore and Staten Island, began killing other settlers and destroying their property. Stuyvesant re- turned, and by conciliatory measures restored peace.
In 1664 Charles II. of England, regardless of the claims of the Dutch to New Netherlands, granted to his brother, Duke of York and Albany, afterward James II., the whole country from the Connecticut to the Delaware, including the entire Dutch possessions. A fleet was sent out by the Duke under Colonel Richard Nichols, to enforce his claim and take possession of the Dutch set- tlements. Arriving in the bay he demanded a surrender, which Stuyvesant at first indignantly refused ; but be- cause of the unwillingness of the colonists to fight in his defense and of their insisting upon capitulation, together with the favorable nature of the terms offered, he was induced to yield, and on the 3d of September, 1664, the province was surrendered, and the government of the colony passed into the hands of the English. The names New Netherlands and New Amsterdam were changed to New York, and Fort Orange to Albany. It is supposed that at this time the province contained about six thou- sand inhabitants. Soon after the surrender the Duke conveyed to Lord Berkley and Sir George Carteret what now constitutes the State of New Jersey, over which a separate proprietary government was established. In 1682 William Penn purchased the settlements on the Delaware, which were annexed to Pennsylvania. Nichols, who became governor, devoted much time to confirming grants under the Dutch government by issuing new ones, and thus making a heavy expense to the land-owners. He changed the form of the municipal government of New York June 12 th, r666, by granting a city charter, placing the executive power in the hands of a mayor, aldermen and sheriff, all to be appointed by the gover- nor. An invasion from Holland had been feared, and preparations for defense had incurred an increase of taxation, of which the colony greatly complained, in con- sequence of which Nichols resigned his office in 1668, and Colonel Francis Lovelace was appointed to succeed him. Holland being involved in a war with England, an opportunity was presented for the Dutch to regain their lost possessions in America, and for that purpose they sent out a squadron, which anchored at Staten Island July 30th, 1673. The fort at New York was in charge of Captain John Manning, who treacherously surrendered without making any effort to resist. The city was again in the possession of the Dutch, and Captain Anthony Clove in command of the province. Manning was after- ward tried and convicted by court-martial of cowardice and treachery, and adjudged to have his sword broken over his head in front of the City Hall, and to be in- capacitated from holding any office. Under Clove the Dutch claims to the province were reasserted, and prep- arations made for a vigorous defense in case of an at- tempt on the part of the English for its recapture ; but by the provisions of a peace concluded February 9th 1674, the province reverted to the English. To silence all controversy respecting his claims, the Duke of York
obtained a new patent from the King to confirm the one granted in 1664, and commissioned Major Edmund Andros as governor. His arbitrary course made his administration very unpopular. He endeavored to ex- tend his jurisdiction to the Connecticut river, but his claims were stoutly resisted by the people of that province, and he finally concluded to abandon the design. He quarreled with and disputed the right of Philip Carteret, who administered the government of East Jersey, arrest- ing and bringing him prisoner to New York. For this act the proprietors of the New Jersey government pre- ferred charges against him, which he was summoned to England to answer. He returned, to continue his op- pressions, but the resistance of the people against him was so strong that he was recalled, and Thomas Dongan appointed as his successor, who arrived August 27th, 1683. Through the influence of William Penn he was instructed to organize a popular assembly, and accord- ingly, soon after his arrival, issued orders for the choosing of representatives. This, the first Colonial Assembly of New York, was convened October 17th, 1683, and con- sisted of a council of ten and seventeen representatives. A charter of liberties was framed, vesting the supreme legislative power in the governor and council and the people in general assembly ; conferring the right of suf- frage on the freeholders without restraint ; providing that no freeman should suffer but by judgment of his peers, and that all trials should be by a jury of twelve men. The imposition of any tax without the consent of the assembly was prohibited. Martial law was not to exist, and neither soldiers nor seamen were to be quar- tered on the inhabitants against their will. The province was divided into counties, and the representatives were apportioned according to the population.
CHAPTER in.
THE FIVE NATIONS THEIR TRADITIONS OF THEIR ORI- GIN IROQUOIS CUSTOMS AND POLITICAL ORGANIZA- TION.
^ HE greater portion of what now constitutes the State of New York, when first visited by Europeans, was found to be inhabited by five distinct and powerful tribes of Indians, who had united and formed a confederacy. The tribes that composed this confederacy were the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas and Senecas, called by the English the Five Nations, and by the French the Iroquois. They bore among themselves the title Aquinoshioni or Konoshiom, signifying Cabin- makers, or People of the Long House, referring to their organization and territorial possessions, which extended from the banks of the Hudson to the shores of Lake Erie. Their government was, in many respects, republi- can, and the wisdom displayed in the management of
i4
HISTORY OF NIAGARA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
their affairs distinguished them above all the other abo- rigines of the continent. At what time the confederacy was formed is unknown, its origin being as much involved in the obscurities of tradition as any other remote event of Indian history. Some as the result of their investiga- tions have fixed the period less than a century before the Europeans came into the country, while others have placed it more than two centuries earlier. The current tradition held by the Iroquois respecting their origin was that they sprang from the earth itself:
" In remote ages, they had been confined under a mountain near the falls of the Osh-wa-kee or Oswego river, whence they were released by Tharonhyjagon, the Holder of the Heavens. Bidding them go forth to the east, he guided them to the valley of the Mohawk, and following its stream they reached the Hudson, which some of them descended to the sea. Retracing their steps toward the west, they originated in their order and position the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, Senecas and Tuscaroras, six nations, but the Tuscaroras wandered away to the south and settled on the Cantano or Neuse river, in North Carolina, reducing the number to five nations.
" Each of the tribes thus originated was independent of the others, and they warred with each other, as well as with the surrounding tribes. Tharonhyjagon still re- mained with the tribes; gave them seeds of various kinds, with the proper knowledge for planting them ; taught them how to kill and roast game; made the forests free to all the tribes to hunt, and removed obstructions from the streams. After this he laid aside his divine character and resolved to live with the Onondagas, that he might exemplify the maxims he had taught. For this purpose he selected a handsome spot of ground on the southern bank of the lake called Teonto, being the sheet of water now known as Cross lake. Here he built a cabin, and took a wife of the Onondagas, by whom he had an only daughter, whom he tenderly loved, and most kindly and carefully treated and instructed. The excellence of his character and his great sagacity and good counsels led the people to view him with veneration, and they gave him the name of Hi-a-wat-ha, signifying ''a very wise man." From all quarters people came to him for advice, and in this manner all power came naturally into his hands, and he was regarded as the first chief in all the land. Under his teachings the Onondagas became the first among all the original clans. They were the wisest counselors, the best orators, the most expert hunters and the bravest war- riors. Hence the Onondagas were early noted among all the tribes for their pre-eminence.
■' While Hiawatha was thus living in quiet among the people of the hills, the tribes were attacked by a furious and powerful enemy from the north of the great lakes. This enemy advanced into the country and laid waste the villages, and slaughtered men, women and children, until the people had no heart to oppose the invaders. In this emergency they fled to Hiawatha for advice, who coun- seled them to call together all the tribes from the east and from the west; saying ' Our safety is not alone in the
club and dart, but in wise counsels.' He appointed a place on the banks of the Onondaga lake for the meet- ing, and thither the chiefs, warriors and head men forth- with assembled in large numbers, bringing with them their women and children.
" The council had been waiting for three days, but as yet Hiawatha was absent. Messengers were dispatched to hasten his attendance, but they found him gloomy and depressed. He told them that evil lay in his path, and he felt that he should be called to make some great sacri- fice ; nevertheless, he would attend the council. The talismanic white canoe in which he always made his voy- ages, and which the people had learned to reverence, was got out, and Hiawatha and his daughter took their seats. Gliding silently down the deep waters of the Seneca, the canoe reached the outlet, and entered on the placid Onondaga. As the canoe of the venerated chief appeared he was welcomed with loud shouts, but while he was measuring his steps toward the council ground, a long and low sound was heard, and instantly all eyes were turned upward, where a compact mass of clou-dy dark- ness appeared, which gathered size and velocity as it ap- proached, and appeared to be directed inevitably to fall in the midst of the assembly. Every one fled but Hia- watha and his daughter, who calmly awaited the issue. The force of the descending body was Hke that of a sud- den storm; and hardly had Hiawatha paused, when an immense bird, with long distended wings, came down with a swoop and crushed the daughter to the earth. The very semblance of a human being was destroyed in the remains of the girl, and the head and neck of the bird were buried in the ground from the force of the fall.
" Hiawatha was inconsolable for several days; but at length took his place in the council, and the deliberations opened. The subject of the invasion was discussed by several of the ablest counselors, and various plans pro- posed to foil the enemy. Hiawatha listened to the de- l)ate, and at its conclusion bade the warriors to depart until the next day, when he would unfold his plan, which he felt confident would insure safety.
"The council again met; and with even more than ordinary attention the people listened to the words of their great chief. Hiawatha counseled them that to O])- pose these hordes of northern tribes singly and alone would prove certain destruction; that to oppose them successfully the tribes must unite in one common band of brothers; must have one voice, one fire, on? pipe, and one war club. In the confederacy which he proposed should be formed, the several tribes were assigned the position they were to thereafter occupy, and in conclu- sion he urged them to weigh well his words; that if they should unite in the bond he had proposed, the Great Spirit would smile upon them, and they would be free, prosperous and happy; but if they rejected his counsel, they would be enslaved, ruined, and perhaps annihilated forever.
" The tribes received the address in solemn silence, and the council closed to deliberate on the plan recom- mended. Assembling the next day, the union of the
TRADITIONS OF THE IROQUOIS— HIAWATHA.
15
tribes into one confederacy was discussed, and unani- mously adopted. Pending this result, Hiawatha, warned by the death of his daughter that his mission was accom- plished, prepared to make his final departure from earth. Before the council dispersed he recounted the services he had rendered to his people, and urged them to pre- serve the union they had formed, telling them that if they preserved it, and admitted no foreign element of power by the admission of other nations, they would al- ways be free, numerous, and happy. ' If other nations are admitted to your councils, they will sow the seeds of jealousy and discord, and you will become few, feeble, and enslaved. Remember these words ; they are the last you will hear from the lips of Hiawatha. The Great Master of breath calls me to go. I have waited patiently his summons, and am ready to go.' As his voice ceased, sweet sounds from the air burst on the ears of the multi- tude ; and while all attention was engrossed in the celes- tial melody, Hiawatha was seen seated in his white canoe, in the mid-air, rising with every choral chant that burst out, till the clouds shut the sight, and the melody ceased."
This confederation, which was undoubtedly established for the purpose of common defense, was a very powerful and effective alliance. In the general council of the con- federacy the Senecas, who were much more numeroi^s than the other nations, were represented by two delegates, and each of the others by one. The presiding officer at the council was always assigned to the Onondagas, and to the Mohawks the principal war-chief. Their power was in their union, which differed from that of other na- tions in its perpetuity, the latter frequently securing the same results by temporary alliances in case of war. The delegates spoke the popular will of the tribes they rep- resented, and to determine their action they were not per- mitted to approve any measure which the tribe had not indorsed by a unanimous vote. Each nation was govern- ed by its own chiefs, civil and military, who might de- clare war and conclude peace on their own account ; claimed dominion over territory defined by general boun- daries, and was perfectly independent of control by other members of the confederacy, except when national or confederated action required the concurrence of all the tribes. When the united tribes in council made a decis- ion, it was unanimous. The question then had to be re- ferred to the warriors of each tribe, assembled in council, where a unanimous decision was also required ; hence every resolve was clothed with the full popular will.
The matrons of the tribe in council could command a cessation of hostilities, and when they so determined the chiefs and warriors returned from the war-path without compromising their character for bravery. For this pur- pose a male functionary, the messenger of the matrons, who was a good speaker, was designated to perform an office which was deemed unsuitable to the female. When the proposition for a cessation of war was resolved upon, the message was delivered to this officer, and he was bound to enforce it with all the powers of eloquence he possessed. The following description is given of their national council. " The council-house was built of bark.
On each side six seats were placed, each containing six persons. No one was admitted besides the members of the council, except a few who were particularly honored. If one arose to speak all the rest sat in profound silence, sitioking their pipes. The speaker uttered his words in a singing tone, always rising a few notes at the close of each sentence. Whatever was pleasing to the council was con- firmed by all by the word nee, or yes, and at the end of each speech the whole company joined in applauding the speaker, by calling 'Ho! Ho!' At noon two men en- tered bearing upon a pole across their shoulders a large kettle filled with meat, which was first presented to the guests. A large wooden ladle, as broad and deep as a common bowl, hung with a hook to the side of the kettle, with which every one might at once help himself to as much as he could eat. The whole was conducted in a very decent and quiet manner. Indeed, now and then, one would lie fiat upon his back and rest himself, and sometimes they would stop, joke, and laugh heartily."
The Iroquois were divided into clans or families, dis- tinguished by as many different sorts of arms or emblems, each being made to represent the clan or family to which it belonged. A sachem of one of these families, when he signed an instrument of conveyance or public paper, put his emblem upon it, representing the animal by which his family was designated. The first was that of the tortoise, and was first because they pretended that when the earth was made it was placed on a great turtle, and when there was an earthquake it was the turtle that stirred. Other families were designated by such names as the wolf and the bear.
All their affairs were under the direction of their chiefs, who obtained their authority by the general opinion of their courage and conduct, and whenever they failed to appear to the Indians in a praiseworthy light, their digni- ty ceased. Though the son was respected on account of valuable services performed by his father, yet without personal merit he could not attain his rank. Whatever pertained to hereditary descent was confined to the female line, and the chieftainship fell upon the son of a chief's daughter, to the exclusion of his uncle ; but the chief's brother would succeed him instead of his own son in case there were no descendants through the female line. The language used by the Iroquois, both in their speeches and in ordinary conversations, was exceedingly figurative. Many of their chiefs were distinguished for their eloquence.
An early historian of New York, writing at the time when the Five Nations still constituted a powerful body, in regard to their manners and customs, says : " The manners of these savages are as simple as their govern- ment. Their houses are a few crotched stakes thrust into the ground and overlaid with bark. A fire is kindled in the middle, and an aperture left at the top for the con- veyance of the smoke. Whenever a considerable number of these huts are collected they have a castle, as it is called, consisting of a square without bastions, surround- ed with palisades. They have no other fortification, and this is only designed as an asylum for their old men, wives and children, while the rest are gpne out to war
i6
HISTORY OF NIAGARA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
While the women cultivate a little spot of ground for corn, the men employ themselves in hunting. The men fre- quently associate themselves for conversation, by which means they not only preserve the remembrance of their wars and treaties, but diffuse among their youth incite- ments to glory, as well as instructions in all the subleties of war."
Before they went out they had a feast on dog's flesh, and a great war dance, at which the warriors, who were frightfully painted with vermilion, rose up and sung their exploits, or those of their ancestors, and thereby kindled a military enthusiasm in the whole company. The d^iy after the dance they would go out a few miles, in single file, observing a profound silence. The procession being ended, they stripped the bark from a large tree, and paint- ed the design of their expedition on the naked trunk. The figure of a canoe, with the number of men it, indi- cated the strength of their party ; and by a deer, fox, or some other emblem, painted at its head, it was discovered against what nation they had gone. On their return, be- fore they entered the village, two heralds advanced and set up a yell, which by its modulation intimated either good or bad news. . If the news was good the village was notified of it, and an entertainment provided for the con- querors, one of whom on their approach bore the scalps which they had taken, stretched over a bow, and elevated upon a pole. The boldest man in the village came out to receive it, and then ran at the top of his speed to where the rest were collected. If overtaken he was severely beaten, but if he outran the pursuers he was allowed to participate in the honor of the victors, who neither spoke nor received compliments until the feast was over. Then one of the victors was appointed to relate the whole ad- venture, while all the rest listened attentively till the close, when they all joined in a savage dance.
CHAPTER IV.
FRENCH AND INDIAN WARS — DISSENSIONS IN THE COL- ONIAL GOVERNMENT CAPTURE AND EXECUTION OF
LEISLER.
T the time Champlain ascended the St. Law- rence, he found the Algonquins at war with the Iroquois, and by an alliance of his forces with the former, he enabled them, by the use of fire-arms (to them hitherto unknown), to gain a victory over their enemies. In consequence of this alliance a bitter hostility was created on the part of the Iroquois toward the French. The latter however, were successful in gaining the confidence and friendship of the other tribes with whom they came in contact. Through the influence of their missionaries, the traders were enabled to establish their posts among them at pleasure, and navigate the lakes and rivers. Al- though the artful Jesuit missionaries had persistently
endeavored to win back the friendship of the Iroquois, they effected but little until New York fell into the hands of the English. Since their trade and intimacy with the Dutch, they had availed themselves of fire-arms, renewed their warfare upon the Algonquins with success, repelled the invasions of the French, and, in turn, attacking them, swept over their settlements with fire and tomahawk, carrying consternation in their path even to the gates of Quebec. In 1666 the French and Adirondacks success- fully invaded the country of the Mohawks, but the year following a peace was concluded, chiefly through the agency of the English colonial government, acting in obedience to the instructions of the Duke of York, to whom the colony had been granted, and who, in his big- oted and blind attachment to the Church of Rome, was desirous of securing a peace between the French and the Iroquois, with a view to handing the latter over as con- verts to that church.
Trade, after this peace, was profitably prosecuted by both the French and English ; but the French, through their artful Catholic missionaries, were gaining a decided advantage. Through the instigation of these wily priests, hostilities had been committed on the frontier settlements of Maryland and Virginia by the Five Nations. To ad- just this difficulty, a council of the chiefs met the Govern- ors of Virginia and New York at Albany, in 1684. At this council the diflSculties with Virginia were amicably settled, and Governor Dongan succeeded in completely gaining the friendship of the Five Nations. While these conferences were in progress, a messenger arrived from De la Barre, Governor of Canada, complaining of the Senecas for their hostilities against the Miamis and other western tribes, with whom the French were allied, where- by their trade was interrupted. This message was com- municated to the Indian chiefs, and served to confirm their resolutions of friendship for the English, and revive their slumbering hatred of the French. Immediately on the return of the messenger, De la Barre, meditating the destruction of the Five Nations, proceeded with an army of French and Indians to Lake Ontario. The French Catholics had procured a letter from the Duke of York to Governor Dongan, instructing him to lay no obstacles in the way of the invaders ; but Dongan, regardless of this command, apprised the Indians of their designs and also promised to assist them. Owing to sickness in his army, De la Barre was unable to encounter his foes, and found it necessary to conclude his Campaign by offering terms of peace, which were haughtily accepted, and he was allowed to depart. He was succeeded in the follow- ing year by the Marquis de Denonville, who, with a rein- forcement of troops, was sent over to repair the disgrace of De la Barre. In 1687, to prevent the interruption of trade with the Miamis, the country of the Senecas was invaded. The French, through the agency of their missionary to the Onondagas, enticed the Iroquois chiefs into their power, under pretense of making a treaty, and then seized and sent them, with others they had taken prisoners, to France, where they were consigned to the galleys. The Seneca country was overrun without serious
DISSENSIONS IN THE COLONIAL GOVERNMENT,
17
resistance, and a fort erected at the mouth of the Niagara river. A peace was finally proposed through the inter- position of Governor Dongan, who was for compelling the French to apply to him in the affairs of the Five Na- tions, but its conditions were rejected by the French. The Five Nations, maddened by this refusal and by the outrages committed upon them, flew to arms, and with twelve hundred warriors descended upon the French settlements with such terrible vengeance that the terms that had been offered for peace were accepted, and the whole region south of the great lakes abandoned by the French.
The Duke of York, on his accession to the throne of England in 1685, under the title of James II., directed Governor Dongan to encourage the Catholic priests who came to reside with the Five Nations, ostensibly for ad- vancing the Popish cause, but really to gain them over to the French interests. Governor Dongan, although a Catholic, was apprehensive of the insidious designs of the French, and effectually resisted this policy, thereby dis- pleasing his bigoted master. He also instructed Governor Dongan to allow no printing press to be established in the - colony, and discouraged representative government. Cath- olics were appointed to fill all the offices, and Dongan, who, in his endeavors to protect the true interest of the province by opposing the Catholic missionaries, became obnoxious to the King, was recalled, and Francis Nichol- son, the deputy of Sir Edmund Andros, who had been commissioned governor of both New England and New York, assumed temporary charge of the government in August, 1688. The revolution in England, resulting in the abdication of James II., and the accession of William and Mary, caused the authority of Nicholson under the dethroned king to be questioned. On one side it was claimed that the government in England did not affect affairs in the province, and that Nicholson's authority was unimpaired till the will of the new monarch was known ; on the other side, that the government, extend- ing to the colonies, was overthrown, and as no one was invested with authority in the provinces, it reverted to the people, who might appoint a person to exercise control until one had been commissioned by the ruling power. The advocates of the former of these views were mostly the wealthy and aristocratic, while the mass of the people favored the latter. The government was vested in a com- mittee of safety, who took possession of the fort at New York, and entrusted the exercise of authority to Jacob Leisler, the popular leader, Nicholson in the meantime having returned to England. Leisler sent a statement of what had been done to King William, and dispatched Milborne, his son-in-law, to Albany with an armed force, to secure the recognition of his authority, sanction to which had been refused. A letter from the English ministry arrived, directed to Francis Nicholson, or in his absence to such person as for the time being might be in charge of the government, directing him to take chief command of the province, and to call to his aid such as he should deem proper. Leisler, considering it addressed to him- self, assumed command, and appointed a council of ad-
visers. The revolution in England which placed W^illiam and Mary upon the throne was followed by a war between England and France, and the colonies were of course involved in the conflict. Count Frontenac, who had succeeded Denonville as governor of Canada, made an effort to detach the Five Nations from the English inter- est. He sent a secret expedition against Schenectady, which attacked that city, near midnight, on the 8th of February, 1690, and a frightful massacre of the inhabit- ants ensued. The peril of Albany, from such deadly attacks, induced its inhabitants to submit to the authority of Leisler. Expeditions were fitted out against the French and Indians, and a fleet sent out for the reduction of Quebec, but all proved unsuccessful. In March, 1691, Henry Sloughter arrived as governor, having been com- missioned by the King in 1689. His coming was heralded by Richard Ingv^lsby, who, without proper credentials, demanded the surrender of the fort at New York. This Leisler very properly refused, but consented to defer to Sloughter when he should arrive. Sloughter on his arrival sent Ingolsby with verbal directions for the surrender of the f6rt, but Leisler still refused, and asked for an inter- view with the governor. The next day he complied, but this imprudent hesitation was seized upon by his enemies, who arrested him and his son-in-law on the charge of treason. They were tried by a special committee and condemned to suffer death. Governor Sloughter hesitated to execute this sentence, but their enemies, anxious for their execution, and failing in all attempts to procure his signature, availed themselves of his known intemper- ate habits, invited him to a banquet, persuaded him to sign the death warrant while intoxicated, and before he recovered from his debauch, the prisoners were executed. During the agitations attending this foul judicial mur- der, the Indians, from neglect, became disaffected toward the English, insomuch that they sent an embaFsy of peace to Count Frontenac ; to counteract this, a council with the Five Nations was held at Albany, and the covenant chain renewed. In order to maintain this advan- tage. Major Schuyler, in whom the Five Nations had great confidence, led them in an invasion of Canada and signally defeated the French. The intemperate habits of Sloughter brought on a severe illness, from which he died on the 23d of July, 1691, thus ending a weak and turbu- lent administration. Upon the death of Sloughter the chief command was committed to Richard Ingoldsby, to the exclusion of Joseph Dudley, who, but for his ab- sence, would have had the right to preside, and upon whom the government devolved ; and as Dudley, on his return, did not contest the authority of Ingoldsby, the latter governed until the arrival of Benjamin Fletcher, with a commission as governor, in August, 1692. He was a man of small ability and violent temper, active and avaricious, but prudently took Major Schuyler into his counsel, and was guided by his opinions in Indian affairs. His administration was so successful the first year that he received large supplies from the Assembly. The un- amiable traits of his character wer.e soon exhibited, how- ever, and during most of his administration he was en-
i8
HISTORY OF NIAGARA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
gaged in controversies with the Assembly, principally in regard to appropriations for his expenses, for which he made extravagant demands. He was bigotedly attached to the Episcopal form of church government, and encour- aged English churches and schools in place of Dutch. He procured an act from the Assembly the provisions of which, though admitting of a more liberal construction, he interpreted as a recognition of the Episcopal instead of the Dutch church, and under this act Trinity church was organized. A printing press was established in New York city in 1693, by William Bradford, who was em- ployed by the city to print the corporation laws.
CHAPTER V.
COUNT FRONTENAC'S CAMPAIGNS — PREVALENCE OF PI- RACY MISGOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK — ■ FRENCH
TRADING AND MILITARY POSTS.
JN 1693 Count Frontenac set out from Mon- treal with an army of French and Indians, and invaded the Mohawk country, capturing their castles, killing some of the tribe, and taking about three hundred prisoners. Schuyler, with the miUtia of Albany, hastened to the assistance of the Mohawks, and pursued the enemy in their retreat, retaking about fifty prisoners. In i6g6 Count Frontenac made another effort for the subju- gation of the Five Nations. With an army of regular troops and Indians under his command, he ascended the St. Lawrence to Cadaraqui, now Kingston; then, crossing to Oswego, made a descent upon the Onondagas, who, apprised of his coming, set fire to and deserted their prin- cipal towns. On retracing his march he found his prog- ress obstructed by the Onondagas, and incursions into Canada by the Five Nations were again renewed. In the following year the war between France and England was terminated by the peace of Ryswick, and these barbarous hostilities ceased.
During the late war piracy had prevailed, and was believed to be encouraged by the governments, for the an- noyance of the commerce of their respective enemies. Merchant vessels were destroyed within sight of the har- bor of New York, the commercial depot of the pirates, some of whom had sailed from there, having a good understanding with Fletcher and other officers. The ex- tinction of piracy was loudly demanded, and the English government found it necessary to resort to vigorous meas ures for this end ; and consequently, in 1695 Fletcher was recalled, and Richard, Earl of Bellomont, appointed in his place, with instructions for the suppression of this evil. The Earl of Bellomont, whose commission included the governments of Massachusetts and New Hampshire as well as New York, did not arrive until May, 1698. Before leaving England, an armed vessel was fitted out
by Bellomont and others, and placed under the command of Captain William Kidd, who sailed from England in i696,and after cruising for a while, turned pirate himself, and became the most bold and daring of the ocean ma- rauders. He returned to New York with his booty and concealed portions of it on Long Island. He was subse- quently arrested in Boston, by order of the governor, on a charge of piracy, sent to England for trial, and there convicted and executed. Bellomont favored the Demo- cratic or Leislerian party, and the new Assembly in 1699 being also Democratic, an act was passed by which the families of Leisler and Milborne were reinstated in their possessions. Bellomont died in 1701, and John Nanfan, the lieutenant-governor, upon whom the government devolved, succeeded him until the arrival, in 1702, of Lord Cornbury, who was appointed by King William as a reward for his desertion of James II., in whose army he had been an officer. His administration was chiefly dis- tinguished for its intolerance, and he received the unen- viable distinction of being the worst governor under the English regime. With savage bigotry he sought to es- tablish the Church of England by imprisoning dissenting clergymen, and prohibiting them from exercising their functions without his special license, and he even robbed one clergyman of his house and glebe. With insatiable rapacity he plundered the public treasury, and opposed every measure of the people for the security of their rights. Destitute of gratitude, licentious and base, he completed the universal contempt in which he was held by appearing in public dressed in women's clothes. As he had become an object of abhorrence, the Queen, through the pressure of popular sentiment, felt compel- led to revoke his commission. As soon as he was de- posed he was thrown into prison by his creditors, where he remained until the death of his father, when he be- came Earl of Clarendon. Upon the death of King Wil- liam, his commission was renewed by the Queen, who at the same time gave him the chief command of New Jersey, the government of which the proprietors had sur- rendered into her hands. He was succeeded December i8th, 1708, by Lord Lovelace, who died on the sth of May following, leaving the government in the hands of Lieutenant-Governor Ingoldsby, whose administration is only remarkable for an unsuccessful expedition, under Colonel Nicholson, for the reduction of Canada. This failure was chiefly through the mismanagement of In- goldsby, who was consequently removed April 10th, 1710, and Gerardus Beekman,the oldest member of the council, exercised the authority of governor till June 14th, when Robert Hunter arrived with a commission as governor. This year Colonel Schuyler went to England to urge the importance of subduing Canada, taking with him the chiefs of the Five Nations, who were highly gratified with their voyage and reception.
The ensuing year another expedition for the reduction of Canada was undertaken. Four thousand troops were raised in the colonies under Colonel Nicholson, to join an English fleet and land force before Quebec. Arriv- ing in the St. Lawrence, many of the ships were wrecked,
MISGOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK— FRENCH INCURSIONS.
19
and about a thousand soldiers lost, which put an end to the campaign. Nicholson, who had proceeded as far as Lake George, on hearing this news returned, and the ex- pedition proved an entire failure. It had entailed a heavy debt upon the province, in consequence of which the governor's influence was somewhat impaired, he having entered into it with much zeal. His request for a per- manent appropriation for the government was refused by the Assembly, which brought him into several unhappy contests with that body. In March, 17 13, the war be- tween England and France terminated by the treaty of Utrecht, in which the English supremacy over the Five Nations was conceded by the French, and an end put to the infliction of Indian hostilities. The Five Nations being relieved from hostilities with the French, engaged in conflict with the Indians at the south. The Tuscaro- ras, a tribe kindred to the Iroquois, residing in North Carolina, having been greatly reduced by a war with the whites, and being unable to resist their encroach- ments, removed to the north and joined the confeder- acy. They settled near Lake Oneida, among the Five Nations, and the confederates were thenceforward call- ed the Six Nations. Hunter remained at the head of the government untill 1719, when, his health failing, he returnedto England. His intercourse with the Assembly was agreeable during the latter part of his administra- tion, and his attachment to the interests of the colony made his departure regretted.
The government devolved upon Peter Schuyler, the oldest member of the council, who successfully admin- istered affairs until the arrival of William Burnet, Sep- tember 17th, 1720. A trading post was commenced at Oswego in 1722, by Governor Burnet, in order to en- gross the trade of the Six Nations, and with the farther design of following it up on the lakes to the westward, to obtain the trade of the more remote tribes. A congress of several colonies was held at Albany to meet the Six Nations, whereby the chain of friendship was strengthened, and trade with remoter tribes pro- moted. The establishment of this post at Oswego was highly displeasing to the French, and in order to in- tercept the trade from the upper lakes they obtained con- sent of the Iroquois, through the influence of the Jesuits, to rebuild their trading-house and fort at Niagara, and also decided to erect a chain of military posts to the Ohio river, so as to cut off and confine the English trade. Though not without opposition, they succeeded in erect- ing their fort at Niagara. Although some of the members of the Six Nations were opposed to this in- vasion by the French, it succeeded through the disaf- fection of a party of merchants and others interested in the French trading policy, who, since the peace of Utrecht, had carried on a good trade with Montreal, through the aid of Indian carriers, and were opposed to the governor's policy. The Assembly was also strongly tinctured with this spirit of opposition, and re- fused a renewal of supplies except for short periods. This body was dissolved in 1727, but the next was quite as stubborn, and it was likewise dissolved, and the
governor could only erect a small military defense for the post at Oswego, which, to his credit and the colon) 's .shame, was at his own expense. On the accession of George II., Burnet was, through the efforts of Jiis enemies, transferred to the government of Massachusetts, and John Montgomery appointed to succeed him. He en- tered upon his duties April rsth, 1728. His short ad- ministration is not distinguished for any important event. In 1729 the King, against the wishes of the best citi- zens of the colony, repealed the acts prohibiting the trade in Indian goods between Albany and Montreal. A line was surveyed and agreed upon between Connec- ticut and New York in 1731. The establishment of this partition gave to New York a tract of land formerly on the Connecticut side, called from its figure the " Oblong," as an equivalent for lands near the sound, surrendered to Connecticut.
Montgomery died July ist, 1731, and was succeeded by Rip Van Dam, whose administration was unfortunately signalized by the erection of a fort at Crown Point by the French, without resistance from the acting governor. The arrival of Colonel William Cosby, August ist, 1732, finished his administration, and began one rendered mem- orable for its arbitrary proceedings and tumult, rather than for striking or important events. Among the first of Cosby's acts was a demand that Rip Van Dam, his predecessor, should divide equally with him the emolu- ments of the office before his arrival. Van Dam assented, on the condition that Cosby should reciprocate by an equal division of the perquisites received by him from the colonies since, his appointment and before coming to this country. This demand on the part of Van Dam was sustained by the people generally, but Cosby, despotic and avaricious, refused, and commenced a suit against Van Dam for half of his salary. As the governor by virtue of his office was chancellor, and two of the judges his personal friends, the counsel for defense took excep- tions against the jurisdiction of the court. The excej:)- tions were overruled by the judges in the interest of Cosby, even against the opinion of Chief Justice Morris, who was immediately removed from his office and Colonel Cosby's claim ordered paid. The indignation of the public at such arbitrary proceedings found vent in squibs and ballads, aimed at the aristocracy, and placing some of the members of the legislature in a ludicrous position. The New York Weekly Journal, edited by John P. Zen- ger, in defending Van Dam published some severe criti- cisms on the government, arraigning the officials for assuming arbitrary power and perverting their official stations to purposes of private emolument. These papers were ordered to be burnt by the common hangman, and Zenger was arrested and imprisoned on a criminal charge for publishing a seditious libel against the government. When the trial came on, the publication was admitted, and proof offered for its justification, which was objected to by the attorney-general, on the ground that in a criminal proceeding for the publication of libellous mat- ter, the truth of the facts alleged was not proper to be admitted in evidence, and he was sustained by the court.
20
HISTORY OF NIAGARA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
Andrew Hamilton, the counsel for the defense, resisted this decision of the court, and insisted that the jury were the judges of both the facts and the law, and it was for them to interpose between arbitrary violations of law and justice and their intended victim. The jury, after a short deliberation, gave a unanimous verdict of acquittal. Cosby, although repulsed by this verdict, persistently con- tinued to make himself odious to the people by other arbitrary measures. A few days before his death he con- vened his council in his bed-chamber and suspended Van Dam, the senior member thereof, upon whom the govern- ment would have devolved upon his decease. He died March loth, 1736. The council convened immediately after his death, and George Clarke, next senior coun- selor, was declared president, and assumed the authority of governor. The suspension of Van Dam was declared illegal by a powerful party in his favor, and a struggle ensued between him and Clarke for the office, both exer- cising authority until October 30th, when Clarke received a commission from England to act as lieutenant-gover- nor. He sought to conciliate those hostile to him, and to keep in favor with the aristocratic party at the same time. He dissolved the Assembly that had continued in existence for many years, and a new one was elected, which, to his chagrin and regret, was in sympathy with the popular party, and at its session could not be pre- vailed upon to grant a revenue for a longer period than one year, establishing a precedent that subsequent Assem- blies did not depart from.
CHAPTER VI.
THE ALLEGED PLOT TO BURN NEW YORK FRENCH AND
ENGLISH HOSTILITIES THE CONTEST FOR THE OHIO
VALLEY.
("N 1 741, several fires having occurred in New York, suspicions were awakened that a con- spiracy had been formed for the destruction of the city. It was not long before it was charged upon the negro slaves, who at that time constituted about one-fifth of the population. Universal consternation seized upon the inhabitants, and a general panic ensued, in which reason and common sense were scarcely entertained. Rewards were offered for the arrest and conviction of the offenders, and a full pardon tendered to any of their number who would reveal their knov/ledge of the conspiracy. A weak negro girl, named Mary Burton, a servant in a low boarding house, after much importunity and full promise of pardon, impli- cated several negroes, by confessing to have heard them talking privately about burning the city. They were ar- rested and executed on this slender testimony. Others, among them several whites, were implicated by her, and suffered the same fate. Other informers appeared, arrests
became numerous, and the popular fury and delusion did not subside until Mary Burton, the chief informer, after frequent examinations, began to touch characters above suspicion and known to be innocent. Then, as reason began to return, the delusion passed away, but not until one hundred and fifty-four negroes and twenty-four whites had been committed to prison, and nearly forty of these unfortunates executed. In the commencement of his administration Clarke had succeeded in conciliating both parties to a considerable extent, but managed before its close to lose the confidence of both, insomuch that his retirement, on the arrival of his successor, Admiral George Clinton, September 23d, 1743, was but little re- gretted. Favorable accounts of Clinton's talents and liberality had been proclaimed, and he was received with demonstrations of universal satisfaction. The election of a new Assembly was ordered, and a spirit of harmony so far prevailed that he concurred in all its measures.
In March, 1744, war was declared between England and France, and measures were again taken for the con- quest of Canada. The colonies of New York and New England united in an expedition, to co-operate with a fleet under Commodore Warren, for an attack on the French fortress at Louisburg, on Cape Breton Island, which capitulated in June, 1745. The country north of Albany was seriously molested by attacks from the In- dians and French. The fort at Crown Point was garri- soned with a force sufficient to enable its commander to send out detachments to destroy the English settlements. The settlement at Saratoga was burned, and nearly all the inhabitants either killed or taken prisoners. This was followed by an attack on the village of Hoosick. The fort at that place was commanded by Colonel Hawks, who was compelled to surrender, thus leaving the settle- ments, all the way to Albany, open to the enemy; but measures were speedily adopted for putting the frontier in a state of defense. In 1746 an expedition against Canada was resolved upon by the English government. The colonies, with the promise of assistance from Eng- land, entered upon the design with much zeal. New York raised sixteen hundred men for the forces directed upon Crown Point and Montreal. England failed to furnish the promised assistance, and the expedition proved un- successful. Peace was concluded at Aix la Chapelle in 1748. Hostilities ceased, and the colony enjoyed a short period of tranquillity. The harmony between the Assem- bly and the governor did not long continue, for, in 1745, an open disagreement occurred, and almost constant bickerings followed. In 1748 Clinton sent a message to the Assembly, demanding an appropriation for the support of the government for five years. The Assembly, justly regarding it as a direct attempt to render the crown in- dependent of the people, indignantly refused; and after a few weeks' contention, the governor prorogued that body, and by successive prorogations prevented it from sitting for nearly two years, until the affairs of the colony were in an alarming condition for want of funds. His reiterated demands for a permanent revenue met with persistent refusal. Opposed and embarrassed by political factions.
FRENCH AND ENGLISH HOSTILITIES.
he tendered his resignation, after an administration of ten years, and was succeeded October loth, 1753, by Sir Danvers Osborne. The new governor immediately in- formed the council that his instructions were to maintain the royal prerogative and demand a permanent support for the government. He was told by the members present that the Assembly would never submit to the de- mand, and appeared greatly depressed, the loss of his wife a short time before having already thrown him into a melancholy state of mind, bordering on insanity. Know- ing the difficulties that his predecessor had experienced, and being charged with instructions still more stringent, he saw in the tempest before him a prospect which so worked upon his morbid mind that the next morning he was found dead, having hung himself at his lodgings. On his death, James de Lancey, by virtue of his commission as lieutenant-governor, assumed the administration of the government. He had formerly been a leader in the aristocratic party, but recently had opposed the demands of the crown, and consequently had become highly popu- lar. Striving to retain his popularity by favoring the representatives in measures advantageous to the colony, while holding his office at the will of the English govern- ment, and being compelled by the instructions of his pred- ecessor to convince the ministry that he was zealous to promote the interests of the crown, his task was peculiarly difficult; but it was performed with a shrewdness and skill creditable to his ability as a statesman.
By the treaty of Aix la Chapelle, the boundary between the French and English colonies was left as indefinite as before, and consequently those lands which both claimed the right to possess were still in dispute. The French had established their trading posts, missionary stations and fortifications from Canada to the gulf of Mexico, and were vigorously pursuing their designs for the extension of their power and dominions. The English Ohio Com- pany, formed for settlement and trade with the Indians, obtained, in 1749, a grant from the British government of an extensive tract of land on the Ohio river. Chris- topher Gist was sent out in 175 1 to explore this region, and found that it had alref.dy been visited by the French traders, who had so influenced the Indians that they were very suspicious of the designs of the English. The claim of the French to the ownership of this region was priority of discovery and occupancy. The English had from the first claimed from the Atlantic to the Pacific by right of discovery ; but they now based their claims on the ground that the country belonged to the Six Nations, who had placed all their lands under the protection of England. Commissioners were sent to treat with the Ohio Indians and win them over to the English interest. They succeeded in obtaining a deed of the lands in ques- tion from the Indians, and a guaranty that their settle- ments should not be molested by them. The governor of Canada, perceiving the design of the English to occupy the Ohio valley, informed the governors of New York and Pennsylvania of the encroachments of the English traders upon what he claimed as his territory, and of his intention to seize them wherever found. Accordingly,
in 1752 some English traders were seized and confined in a fort at Presque Isle, on Lake Erie. From this point the French were engaged in establishing a chain of posts to the Allegheny, opening communication to the Ohio, and keeping it clear by means of troops stationed at con- venient points along the way. The Ohio Company, see- ing this intrusion upon their lands, complained to the gov- ernor of Virginia, of which colony their territory was a part under the grant of the crown. He resolved to send a trusty messenger to the French commander to remon strate against these encroachments, and George Washing- ton was entrusted with this delicate mission. On reach- ing the post of Venango, he could obtain no satisfaction, the officer in command boldly declaring that the French intended to seize on the whole valley of the Ohio. He proceeded to Waterford, the headquarters of the French commandant, St. Pierre, who received him with courtesy, but did not disguise the intentions of the French. His answer to the governor of Virginia was, that he had taken possession of the Ohio valley under the authority of the governor of Canada, and by his orders should destroy all English posts therein. It was now obvious that the Ohio would not be relinquished without a strug- gle. The Ohio Company commenced to construct a fort at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers, on the site of Pittsburg. The governor of Vir- ginia dispatched a small force to protect the laborers and aid in constructing the fort, and wrote to inform the Board of Trade of the design of the French to occupy the Ohio valley. He likewise sent to the governors of New York and Pennsylvania for aid to resist the aggres- sions of the French.
When the Assembly met in the spring of 1754, Governor De Lancey, in his message to that body, called their at- tention to the recent encroachments of the French, and to the request by Virginia for aid from the colony of New York. The Assembly voted only a thousand pounds for aid, and to bear its share in erecting forts along the frontier.
Early in the spring of 1754, Washington, with a small body of troops from Virginia, set out for the disputed territory, with supplies for the fort in course of construc- tion at the junction of the Allegheny and Monongahela. When near Will's creek, he was met by the ensign of Captain Trent's company, which had been sent out to protect and help build the fort. From him he received the unwelcome intelligence that while they were at work on the fort the French troops from Venango came down the river with their artillery, and resistance being useless, they were obliged to surrender it to them. The French completed it and named it Fort Duquesne, after the gov- ernor of Canada. On hearing this news, Washington reported to the governors of Virginia and Pennsylvania the situation of affairs, and urged them to hasten forward reinforcements. Advancing, he soon learned that the French were on their way to intercept his progress, and not knowing their strength he fell back to Great Meadows and began to throw up an intrenchment, which he called Fort Necessity. While here, he received a courier from
HISTORY OF NIAGARA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
the chieftain Half King, who, with a party of Indian warriors was a few miles distant, informing him that a body of French were in his vicinity. He immediately set out with a part of his men for the camp of Half King. An attack on the enemy, whose position had been discovered, was at once agreed upon, and success- fully executed. Receiving additional troops, Washing- ton proceeded toward Fort Duquesne, but had not gone far before he heard of the advance of a large body of French and Indians, and returned to Fort Necessity. Here he was soon after attacked by a superior force, and after an obstinate resistance accepted the terms of capit- ulation offered, which gave him permission to retire im- molested to Virginia.
Thus were the French left in undisputed possession of the entire region west of the Alleghanies. The necessity of concerted action on the part of the English colonies to resist their aggressions had now become obvious, but unworthy sectional feelings often prevented harmony of action for a general defense. The Six Nations were also becoming alienated from the English by the influ- ence of French emissaries. The English ministry, aware of this critical state of affairs, had advised a convention of delegates from all the colonial assemblies, to secure the continued friendship and alliance of the Six Nations, and to unite their efforts in the common defense. In accord- ance with this recommendation, a convention of delegates from the colonies of New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Maryland, was held at Albany in June, 1754. The chiefs of the Six Nations were in attendance, and the proceedings were opened by a speech to the Indians from Governor De Lancey, who had been chosen president of the conven- tion. A treaty with the Six Nations was renewed, and they departed, apparently satisfied. While this treaty was being negotiated, at the suggestion of the Massachu- setts delegates, a plan for the union of the colonies was taken into consideration. The suggestion was favorably received, and a committee, consisting of one member from each colony, was appointed to draft plans for this purpose. The fertile mind of Benjamin Franklin had conceived the necessity of union, and before leaving home he had prepared a plan, which was adopted. It was similar in many of its features to our Federal Con- stitution, framed many years afterward. The provincial assemblies, considering it too much of an encroachment on their liberties, rejected it, and it was rejected by the English government because it gave too much power to the people.
CHAPTER VIL
THE RESULTS OF FOUR ENGLISH EXPEDITIONS AGAINST THE FRENCH — MONTCALM's SUCCESSFUL CAMPAIGNS.
HOUGH England and France were nominally at peace, the frontier was desolated by sav- age hordes let loose upon the settlements by the French. While the English ministry were hesitating, the Duke of Cumberland, who at that time was Captain-General of the armies of Great Britain, sent over, early in 1755, General Brad- with a detachment from the army in Ireland.
dock.
Braddock, soon after his arrival, met the colonial gover- nors in a conference at Alexandria, to devise measures for repelling the encroachments of the French. Four separate expeditions were there resolved upon: the first against Nova Scotia; the second, under Braddock him- self, for the recovery of the Ohio valley; the third against Fort Niagara, and the fourth against Crown Point, on Lake Champlain. The first resulted in the complete re- duction of Nova Scotia. The second and most import- ant, under Braddock, from which much had been expec- ted, was, through the folly of that officer, disastrous in the extreme. Washington had repeatedly urged the necessity of sending scouts in advance, but Braddock, obstinate and imperious, would listen to no warnings of danger from Indian ambuscades. When within a few miles of Fort Duquesne, the army was surprised by the lurking foe, and only saved from total destruction by the bravery of Washington, who, upon the fall of Braddock, assumed command, and conducted a retreat, but not till more than half the fprce had been sacrificed. The expedition against Fort Niagara, under Gen. Shirley, governor of Massachusetts, was also unsuccessful. His troops hearing of Braddock's defeat, soon after leaving Albany, were so disheartened that many of them deserted. At Oswego he was detained by having to wait for the completion of boats. When these were completed, he was further detained by heavy storms and other casual- ties, until the lateness of the season rendered it impru- dent to proceed. Leaving a garrison at Oswego under Colonel Mercer, he led back the residue of his army to Albany, and returned to Massachusetts. The expedition against Crown Point was entrusted to General Johnson. The greater part of the troops were sent forward under General Lyman, of Connecticut, to the head of boat navigation on the Hudson, which, being the nearest point on that river to Lake Champlain, was called the carrying place, where they erected a fortification, which was afterward named Fort Edward. Here they were joined late in August by Johnson, who, advancing with the main body of the array to the head of Lake George, established a camp, and began to make some arrange- ments for an attack on Crown Point, but apparently was in no hurry to prosecute the enterprise. Meanwhile Dieskau, the French commander, was approaching by way of Lake Champlain, with the intention of surprising Fort Edward, cutting off Johnson's retreat, and captur- ing his army; but being misled by his guides, he found himself on the way to Johnson's camp on Lake George. Abandoning his first intention of attacking Fort Edward, he continued his advance on Lake George. Johnson, learning that the French were advancing to the Hudson, sent out Colonel Williams with a thousand troops, and Sachem Hendrick with two hundred Indians, to intercept them and aid Fort Edward. They had advanced only a few miles when they fell into an ambuscade, in which both Williams and Hendrick were slain, and the forec hurriedly retreated, closely pursued by the enemy until they reached the camp, when the Canadian militia and Indians, who were in the advance, perceiving the artillery
ENGLISH EXPEDITIONS AGAINST THE FRENCH.
23
they would have to confront, skulked into the surround- ing woods, and left the regulars to begin the attack, thereby giving the English time to recover from the con- fusion into which they had been thrown, and undoubtedly saving them from defeat. A severe struggle ensued, in which the French at length began to give way, upon ob- serving which the English leaped over their breastworks and dispersed them in all directions. The French leader, Dieskau, was severely wounded and taken prisoner. Johnson was wounded in the commencement of the ac- tion and retired from the field, and the whole battle was directed by General Lyman, who proposed and urged a vigorous continuation of efforts by following up the routed enemy, preventing their escape down Lake Cham- plain, and attacking Ticonderoga and Crown Point; but Johnson, through fear or some other cause, not easily ex- plained, withheld his consent, and allowed the French to intrench themselves at- Ticonderoga, while he spent the residue of the autumn erecting Fort William Henry, on the site of his camp. On the approach of winter he gar- risoned it, disbanded the remainder of his army and re- turned to Albany.
On the 3d of September, 1755, Sir Charles Hardy ar- rived in New York as governor. He was an admiral, and unacquainted with civil affairs. Being conscious of his deficiences in executive ability, he soon surrendered all but nominal duties into the hands of De Lancey, and in 1757 resigned the government and returned to his former profession, and De Lancey again became gover- nor. At a meeting of the provincial governors, held at Albany in December, the plan discussed for the campaign of 1756 consisted of movements against Fort Niagara with six thousand men. Fort Duquesne with three thous- and. Crown Point with ten thousand, and two thousand were to advance on the French settlements on the Chau- diere, and onward to Quebec. At this time, 1756, the population of the province of New York was 96,775. In March, De Levy, with three hundred French troops from Montreal, penetrated the forests to the Oneida portage, took and destroyed the fort at that point and returned to Canada with the garrison as prisoners. Although active hostilities had been carried on for two years in the colonies, the English ministry did not arouse from their imbecility enough to issue a formal declaration of war against France until the 17th of May, 1756. Lord Lou- doun was appointed commander-in-chief and governor of Virginia, and General Abercrombie was placed second in command. General Winslow, who had been intrusted with the expedition against Crown Point, finding that he had not sufficient force for the undertaking, waited for reinforcements from England. Late in June Abercrom- bie arrived with troops, but at the same time blighted any hopes that might have arisen regarding a vigorous prose- cution of the war, by showing his contempt for the pro- vincials in announcing that the regular officers were to be over those of the same rank in the provincial service. On this announcement all harmony for a united effort was dispelled. The men began to desert, and some of the officers declared they should throw up their commissions
if the obnoxious rule was enforced. This difficulty was finally adjusted by an agreement that the regulars should remain to do garrison duty, while the provincials should advance under their own officers against the enemy. ' Then, instead of making any effort for the relief of Oswego, which was in danger, Abercrombie ordered his troops to be quartered on the citizens of Albany. De Villiers had encamped with eight hundred Frenchmen at the mouth of Sandy Creek, on Lake Ontario, whence he could send out detachments to infest the water passes leading to the Oswego fort, and intercept supplies or re- inforcements on the way thither. Colonel Bradstreet, however, succeded in throwing some provisions into the fort. On his return he fell in with a party of De Villiers' men in ambush, and gained a decisive victory over them. Hearing that a large force was already on its way to at- tack Oswego, he hastened to Albany, and informed Aber- crombie of the contemplated attack and the necessity of immediate reinforcements. But it was all in vain, as the General could not be induced to move before the arrival of Lord Loudoun. It was nearly August before Loudoun made his appearance, and affairs were not improved by this event. Instead of making an immediate effort to avert the threatened blow at Oswego, he began slowly to make preparations for a descent on Ticonderoga and Crown Point. Reinforcements were sent to forts Edward and William Henry. This procrastination proved fatal, for the opportunity of relieving Oswego was now lost. The Marquis de Montcalm, successor of Dieskau, had cut off communication with Albany, and on the 12th of August opened his artillery on Fort Ontario, nearly op- posite Oswego. The fire was returned by the garrison till their ammunition was exhausted, when, spiking their guns, they retreated across the river to Fort Oswego. Mont- calm immediately occupied the deserted fort and turned such guns as were yet serviceable against Fort Oswego. Colonel Mercer was killed, and a formidable breach ef- fected in the walls. Montcalm was making prepara- tions for storming the entrenchments, when, seeing that the defense was no longer practicable, the garrison sur- rendered themselves prisoners of war. By this affair six- teen hundred men, one hundred cannon, a large quantity of provisions and stores, and the vessels in the harbor, all fell into the hands of the victors, and were safely convey- ed to Montreal. Montcalm demolished the forts, much to the satisfaction of the Six Nations, who afterward sent a delegation from each castle to make peace with the governor of Canada. The French sent their emissaries among them, who now succeeded in seducing them from the English interests.
The fall of Oswego did not awaken the energies of Lord Loudoun — if it can be said that he possessed any — but on the contrary he abandoned all offensive operations that had been contemplated, and contented himself with doing nothing. Having wasted the season in shameful idleness, he, on his arrival in the city of New York, bil- letted a part of his force for free winter quarters on the citizens, regardless of the remonstrance of the authorities against this invasion of their rights. Overawed by his
24
HISTORY OF NIAGARA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
profane threats, the colonists found themselves obliged to support the British soldiers, who had done nothing in their behalf. In June of the following year he made an ineffectual effort to capture Louisburg. Before leaving New York he rendered himself still more detestable to the colonists by laying an embargo upon the seaports from Massachusetts to Virginia, and impressing four hundred men from the city of New York alone. He went to Halifax, where he was largely reinforced, but instead of making any advance on Louisburg contented himself by drilling his troops in mock battles, till the complaints of his inactivity became so numerous that he finally gave orders to embark for that place. Almost as soon as the orders were given, receiving intelligence that Louisburg had been reinforced, and that the French Heet contained one more vessel than his, he countermanded his orders and came back to New York, having accomplished noth- ing. While he was thus trifling, Montcalm, watchful of his movements, proceeded with a large force of French and Indians against Fort William Henry, then in com- mand of Colonel Monroe, with about twenty-two hundred men. General Webb, the EngHsh commander in that quarter, was at Fort Edward with a force of four thous- and. Montcalm landed with his men and artillery at a point about two miles from Fort William Henry, where he was entirely sheltered from its guns ; beleagured its garrison, and sent a summons to Monroe to surrender, which he defiantly disregarded, confident of being relieved by Webb. The French then opened fire on the fort, which was spiritedly returned by the garrison. Express- es were sent to Webb imploring aid; but that coward remained inactive, terrified at the distant roar of artillery. Finally, after repeated solicitations, he allowed Generals Johnson and Putnam, with his rangers, to march to the aid of Monroe; but they had proceeded only a few miles when he recalled them, and sent "k letter to Monroe, ad- vising him to surrender. This letter was intercepted by Montcalm, who forwarded it to Monroe, requesting him to follow Webb's advice and save further loss of life. Still the intrepid colonel held out until his ammunition was nearly exhausted, part of his guns disabled, and all hopes of assistance abandoned, and under these dis- couraging circumstances he was forced to capitulate on the 9th of August, and the sixth day of the siege. By the terms of surrender, the garrison were allowed to leave the fort with all the honors of war, and furnished with an escort to Fort Edward. On the next morning, when they began their march, the Indians, who had spent the night in debauch, began an indiscriminate massacre and robbery of the English troops. Despite the efforts of Montcalm, many of the disarmed and defenseless soldiers were slain and only a thousand reached Fort Edward. Fort William Henry was demolished. General Webb, paralyzed with terror, prepared to retreat, although reinforced until his army was more than double that of the enemy.
CHAPTER VIII.
EXTINCTION OF FRENCH POWER IN AMERICA THE NEW
YORK JUDICIARY INTERNATIONAL CONTENTIONS.
Y these repeated failures the spirit of the English ministry in meeting the exigencies of the oc- casion was aroused, and William Pitt, a very able statesman, was intrusted with the man- agement of affairs. His accession gave a new impulse to the national energies, and the cam- paign for 1758 opened under more favorable auspices. Three formidable expeditions were projected for this year, against Louisburg, Ticonderoga, and Fort Duquesne respectively. Admiral Boscawen, with twenty ships of the line and fifteen frigates, together with twelve thousand men under General Amherst, arrived before Louisburg on the 2d day of June, and entered vigorously upon the siege of that fortress, and on the 26th of July the French commander, finding farther opposition useless, surrendered at discretion. The army destined for the re- duction of Ticonderoga and Crown Point, under General Abercrombie, consisting of nine thousand provincials and seven thousand regulars with a fine train of artillery, as- sembled at the head of Lake George, where they embark- ed on the 5th of July for the fortress of Ticonderoga, which was held by Montcalm with about four thousand men. They landed the next day and began their march, necessarily leaving their artillery behind until the bridges, which had been destroyed by the enemy, could be rebuilt. It was the purpose of Abercrombie to hasten forward and carry Ticonderoga by storm, before re-inforcements which were expected could arrive. The advance party fell in with a body of the enemy, and Lord Howe, the second in command and the soul of the expedition, was killed. The loss of Howe was severely felt, and the incompetent Aber- crombie, uncertain what course to pursue, fell back to the landing place. Colonel Bradstreet advanced, rebuilt the bridges and took possession of some saw-mills destroyed by the enemy about two miles from Ticonderoga, to which place Abercrombie advanced with his army, and sent for- ward an engineer with a party of rangers to reconnoitre. They reported that the works could be easily taken. Stark, who led the rangers, thought differently, and so advised Abercrombie ; but he rejected his advice and or- dered an attack without artillery, which, after a desperate struggle, was repulsed with the loss of nearly two thousand men. With the great force still at his command Aber- crombie, instead of bringing up his artillery to bombard the French works, sounded a retreat, and, unpursued by the enemy, returned to the head of Lake George and sent his artillery and stores to Albany.
Colonel Bradstreet, anxious to do something to retrieve the disgrace of this shameful retreat, asked to lead an ex- pedition against Fort Frontenac, which, with the entire fleet on Lake Ontario, surrendered on the 26th of August. The command of the expedition against Fort Duquesne
SUCCESS OF THE ENGLISH— CAPTURE OF QUEBEC.
25
was given to General Forbes. Contrary to the advice of Washington, Forbes insisted on having a new road cut to the fort. With this and other delays, on the 5th of No- vember the English forces were still forty miles from their destination, when it was resolved to go into winter quar- ters. Washington, satisfied of the inability of the garri- son to resist an attack, asked and obtained permission to push forward with his Virginians, and on his approach the French set fire to the fort and fled. On the 25th Wash- ington took possession of the ruins, and changed the name from Duquesne to Pittsburg.
Although Louisburg and Fort Duquesne had been retaken, still there could be no security for the frontier so long as Fort Niagara and the posts on Lake Champlain were held by the French, nor even while Canada remain- ed unsubjugated. Accordingly, adequate preparations were made for the campaign of 1759. Abercombie was superseded in the command of the expedition against Ticonderoga and Crown Point by General Amherst. General Wolfe was directed to ascend the St. Lawrence to Quebec, and General Prideaux was to take Fort Niagara and proceed to Montreal. He was joined by General Johnson at Oswego, from which point he sailed tor Fort Niagara, leaving Haldimand with a force at Oswego. The latter was soon afterward attacked by a body of French and Indians, but succeeded in repulsing them. On the 7th of July Prideaux appeared before Niagara, but- soon after the siege began he was killed by the premature bursting of a shell. Johnson succeeded to the command, and the siege continued without cessa- tion. On the 24th a force of nearly three thousand French and Tndian troops made an effort to raise the siege. A sharp conflict ensued, in which the relieving force was defeated, and the next day the garrison sur- rendered.
General Amherst, with a force of nearly twelve thousand men, arrived at Ticonderoga on the 22d of July, and in four days thereafter the garrison abandoned the post and withdrew to Crown Point, which also was abandoned on the approach of Amherst.
The strength of Quebec was well known, and General Wolfe left Louisburg under convoy of a large fleet and eight thousand regulars to capture it. It was intended that Amherst should sweep Lake Champlain, capture Montreal, and form a junction with Wolfe before Quebec, but he failed to accomplish his part, and Wolfe alone had the glory of taking that strong fortress. On the 27th of June he landed on the Isle of Orleans, a few miles below the city. Montcalm occupied the place with thirteen thousand men, and a strongly entrenched camp extended below the city from the river St. Charles to the Montmorenci. General Monckton took a position at Point Levi, opposite Quebec, with but little opposition, and erected batteries from which the lower town was con- siderably damaged, but no impression could be made on the walls of the city. General Wolfe crossed the St. Lawremce and encamped on the bank of the Montmorenci within cannon shot of the enemy on the opposite side, and re- solved to storm their strong camp. Monckton crossed
the St. Lawrence a little above the Montmorenci, and at the same time the forces on the opposite side forded that stream and joined his division. The grenadiers, impa- tient of restraint, rushed up the bank before the troops that were to support them could be made available, and were consequently repulsed with fearful loss, when they took shelter behind a redoubt which had been abandoned by the enemy in the commencement of the action. At this time a tempestuous thunder-storm broke over the belligerents, and before it abated night came on, and the English were obliged to recross the river. Weeks passed, and the capture of Quebec seemed as far off as ever. The arrival of Amherst was looked for in vain, and Wolfe and his officers, weary and impatient of delay, concerted a plan for scaling the Heights of Abraham, back of Quebec, and thus forcing the French into an engagement. The camp at Montmorenci was broken up and the troops conveyed to Point Levi. Admiral Holmes ascended the river with a part of the troops and artillery. At night the remainder proceeded up the river, and Montcalm, thinking they were about to raise the siege, remained in his camp, while Bourgainville marched up the river to prevent their landing. Before daylight the British, returning silently down the river, unperceived by the French, landed and ascended the precipice. The French guard was dispersed, and by daylight five thous- and regulars were drawn up in battle array on the Plains of Abraham. When this intelligence reached Montcalm he saw at once the danger of his garrison, and marched his army across the St. Charles to attack the English. A fierce battle followed, in which both Wolfe and Montcalm were slain and the French army defeated, and on the 18th of September, five days after, Quebec was surren- dered to the English.
In the following Spring De Levi, the successor of Montcalm, attempted the recapture of Quebec, which had been left in charge of General Murray with seven thousand men. De Levi advanced upon the city with an army of ten thousand, and Murray marching out to attack him, was defeated and forced to retreat to the city. De Levi followed up his success, but on the arrival of the Eng- lish fleet in the St. Lawrence he retired in great alarm to Montreal. General Amherst appeared before that city on the 6th of September, 1760. Murray approached from Quebec on the same day, and on the day following Colonel Haviland arrived with his division from Crown Point. De Vaudreuil, the governor-general, despairing of a successful defense, capitulated on the 8th. As the result of this campaign, Canada, with all her dependen- cies, fell into the hands of the English, and hostilities between the colonies of the two nationalities ceased. Peace, however, was not concluded between England and France until February loth, 1763, when France ceded to England all her possessions in Canada.
On the 30th of July, 1760, Governor De Lancey sud- denly died, and Cadwallader Colden took charge of the government, being president of the council. In August, 1761, he received his commission as lieutenant-governor. The death of De Lancey left the seat of chief-justice va-
26
HISTORY OF NIAGARA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
cant, and the remaining judges, having doubted their ability to issue processes since the death of King George II., under whom they had held their old commissions, urged Golden to appoint a successor. Golden requested the Golonial Secretary of State to nominate a chief-jus- tice, and he not only nominated but appointed Benjamin Pratt, a lawyer from Boston, to hold the position at the pleasure of the King instead of during good behavior, as formerly. The people, regarding this as an encroachment on their rights and liberties, vigorously protested, and the remaining judges even refused to act longer unless they could hold their commissions during good behavior. When the Assembly met. Golden requested that the salary of the chief-justice should be increased, but that body not only refused-to increase it, but refused to provide for it unless the judges' commissions secured them their seats during good behavior. The chief-justice having served some time without a salary, the income of the royal quit- rents of the province was appropriated to his compensa- tion.
General Robert Monkton was appointed governor of New York, and assumed the reins of government in Oc- tober, 1761, but left on the 13th of the following month to command an expedition against Martinique, leaving the administration of affairs again in the hands of Golden. In 1763 the boundary line between New York and New Hampshire became a subject of much controversy. The disputed territory was the tract of land between the Gon- necticut river and Lake Ghamplain, comprising what is now known as the State of Vermont. The patent grant- ed to the Duke of York in 1664 included all the land west of the Gonnecticut river to the east side of Dela- ware Bay. Controversies had arisen, growing out of the indefinite character of their respective charters,between the province of New York and those of Connecticut and Massachusetts relative to their boundaries, which had been adjusted by negotiation and compromise. The line agreed upon was to extend north and south twenty miles east of the Hudson river. New Hampshire, regardless of justice or title, insisted upon having the same western boundary. Against this claim New York vigorously pro- tested, but the protests were unheeded, and the governor of New Hampshire continued to issue grants until, in 1763, one hundred and thirty-eight townships had been granted. Alarmed at this encroachment, and in order to stop these proceedings, Governor Golden, in December, 1763, issued a proclamation claiming jurisdiction to the Connecticut river under the patent granted to the Duke of York, and commanded the sheriff of Albany county to return the names of all persons who, by virtue of the New Hampshire grants, had taken possession of lands west of the Connecticut river. This was followed by a counter proclamation from the governor of New Hamp- shire, declaring that the grant to the Duke of York was obsolete, and that his grantees should be protected in the possession of their lands. Through the Board of Trade the disputed question was referred to the crown, and in 1764 a decision was obtained pronouncing the Connecticut river the boundary between the provinces of
New York and New Hampshire. Upon this decision the government of New York declared the grants from the governor of New Hampshire illegal, and insisted that the grantees should surrender or re-purchase the lands upon which they had settled. To this unjust demand the greater part refused to accede, and the governor of New York thereupon granted their lands to others, who brought ejectment suits against the former occupants, and obtained judgment at the courts of Albany. All at- tempts, however, of the executive officers to enforce these judgments met with a spirited resistance, and led to continual hostilities between the settlers and the govern- ment of New York.
CHAPTER IX.
THE APPROACH OF THE REVOLUTION PATRIOTIC ATTI- TUDE OF NEW YORK THE FIRST BATTLE FOUGHT IN
1770.
HE representative assemblies of the provinces had occasionally remonstrated against the various acts of Parliament which tended to abridge their liberties, and the regulation of the Board of Trade by which their manufac- tures and commerce were injuriously affected ; yet their attachment to the mother country and regard for her institutions had not to any considerable extent been weakened. But now the borders of the Revolution- ary struggle were reached ; the time had arrived when unquestioned submission to the exactions of arbitrary power had ceased to be considered a virtue, and knowing the value of their liberties, the colonies firmly asserted their rights. They were heavily burdened by the expenses of the late war, for which they had liberally contributed, materially aiding in procuring for the English government a vast and valuable accession of territory ; yet their gen- erous support of the power and dignity of the realm the British ministry regarded as only the exercise of a duty, and before the smoke had fairly drifted away from the battle grounds began to devise plans for taxing them to raise a revenue without their consent. The first measure which aroused the colonists to a lively sense of their dan- ger was the issuing of writs of assistance, which the Eng- lish ministry had determined to force upon them. These were, in effect, search warrants, whereby custom-house officers were enabled the better to collect revenues by breaking open houses or stores that were suspected of con- taining concealed contraband goods. This exercise of arbitrary power created indignation and alarm, and the colonists resolved to resist it. Public meetings were held, and remonstrances sent to Parliament, but without effect. The ministry were determined to derive a revenue from the colonies, either by import duties or direct taxes, vig- orously levied and collected, and the writs were granted ; but the feelings of the people were such that the custom-
RESISTANCE TO AND REPEAL OF THE STAMP ACT.
27
house officers never attempted to carry their new powers into execution.
In 1764 George Grenville, then at the head of the Eng- Hsh ministry, submitted to the House of Commons a prop- osition for raising a revenue by the sale of stamps to the colonists, at the same time assuring the colonial agents that he would not press its immediate adoption, but leave the plan open for consideration. When intelligence reach- ed the colonists that such an act was meditated by the ministry, discontent was everywhere visible. The provin- cial assemblies strenuously refused to recognize the right of Parliament to tax them without their consent, and as- serted the sole right to tax themselves. They passed resolutions of remonstrance, and clearly demonstrated that taxation without representation in Parhament was unjust and tyrannical ; but, in contemptuous disregard of all re- spectful remonstrances and petitions, the Stamp Act was passed in March, 1765. By its provisions no legal or commercial documents were valid unless written or print- ed on stamped paper, upon which a price was set, accord- ing to the nature of the instrument, payable to officers ap- pointed by the crown. The passage of this act created feelings of resentment throughout the colonies, accom- panied by a determination to resist or evade its enforce- ment. The people of New York were among the most bitter in their opposition to the measure. An association styling itself the Sons of Liberty held meetings to discuss plans for resistance. The obnoxious act was reprinted and paraded about the streets of New York city, bearing the inscription, " The folly of England and ruin of Ameri- ca." A committee was appointed by the New York As- sembly in October, 1764, to correspond with the several colonial assemblies, with a view to resisting the oppres- sive measures of Parliament. They suggested to the sev- eral colonies the holding of a convention, to remonstrate against the violation of their liberties. This suggestion was heartily responded to, and delegates were appointed, who convened in the city of New York on the 7th of Oc- tober, 1765. This body continued in session two weeks, and adopted a declaration of rights, a petition to the King, and a memorial to Parliament, in which the principles by which the colonies were governed through the Revolution were clearly foreshadowed.
The Stamp Act was to take effect on the first day of November. As the appointed time drew near the excite- ment increased, and when the day had finally arrived flags floated at half mast, bells were tolled as on funeral occasions, and marly other manifestations of public sorrow and discontent were made. The stamped paper, which had previously arrived, had been deposited in the fort for safe keeping, under the direction of Governor Colden, who had taken the oath to execute the Stamp Act, but McEvers, who had been appointed by the crown to man- age its distribution and sale, seeing the manifestations of popular indignation, resigned. In the evening the Sons of Liberty appeared before the fort and demanded the stamped paper. On being refused, they repaired to the Commons, where they hung Governor Colden in effigy, and returned to the fort with his image. Not being ad-
mitted at the gate, they broke into Colden's stable, and brought out his carriage, placed the effigy in it, paraded the streets, and returned to the fort, where it was again hung. They then made a bonfire and burned the carriage and its accompaniments. A party proceeded to the house of Major James, an artillery officer who had ren- dered himself particularly obnoxious, destroyed the furni- ture, and carried off the colors of the Royal Artillery regiment. The next day Colden announced that he should not issue any of the stamped paper while he re- mained in office, but leave it to his successor, who was already on his way from England. But the Sons of Liberty, not satisfied with this assurance, insisted that the stamped paper should be delivered into their hands, and threatened to take it by force if it was not. The Common Council, alarmed at their ungovernable fury, requested that the paper might be deposited in the City Hall, which was done, and a guaranty given for its safe keeping. In the meantime, at a meeting called by the citizens, a committee was appointed to correspond with the merchants of the several colonies, inviting them to enter into an agreement not to import certain goods from England, which suggestion was promptly acted upon, and the trade with England almost ceased.
When the new governor. Sir Henry Moore, arrived, he was disposed to carry the Stamp Act into execution, but the unanimous advice of his council, together with the unmistakable character of public sentiment, soon con- vinced him of the folly of such an attempt. The Sons of Liberty seized ten boxes of stamped paper, on the arrival of a vessel containing it, conveyed it to the ship-yards, and it was consumed in a bonfire. The Stamp Act was so odious to the colonies, and their opposition to it was so effective, that it was repealed on the i8th of March, 1766; but immediately on its repeal a bill was passed declaring the absolute right of Parliament " to tax the colonies in all cases whatsoever.'' The repeal, however, was not owing to any appeals from the colonists, for Parliament would not receive the petitions of the Coloni- al Congress, because that body had not been summoned to meet by it; but it was because of the inftuence of London merchants, whose trade was seriously affected by the non-importation agreement. Notwithstanding the declaratory act that accompanied the repeal the news was hailed with a delirium of delight, and the city was in a blaze of illumination in honor of the event. On the King's birthday, which occurred soon afterward, the New Yorkers assembled, and with enthusiastic manifestations of loyalty erected a liberty-pole, inscribed to the King, Pitt, and Liberty. The Assembly met in June, and the Governor requested its compliance with the demands of the ministry in relation to furnishing supplies for the troops stationed in New York city. Some controversy ensued upon the subject, and only a partial compliance could be obtained from the Assembly.
The sounds of rejoicing which followed the repeal of the Stamp Act had hardly passed away before the minis- try, by its unjust acts, again awakened the murmurs of discontent, and the. declaratory act began to loom up and
28
HISTORY OF NIAGARA. COUNTY, NEW YORK.
dampen all the hopes of the colonists. The partial pro- vision of the Assembly for supporting the troops was distasteful to the Sons of Liberty, who well knew the soldiers were sent to enforce the abridgement of American liberties, and on their arrival did not disguise their feelings. Animosities arose between them, and the soldiers, believ- ing that it was owing to the Sons of Liberty that the As- sembly had not been more liberal in furnishing them with supplies, retaliated by cutting down the citizens' flagstaff. The next day, while the citizens were replacing it, they were assaulted by the troops, and several of them wound- ed. The officers were indifferent to this conduct of their men, and other outrages were committed. The Assem- bly met again in November, when the governor placed before it the instructions of the ministry, requesting that immediate provision for the troops should be made; but their outrageous conduct had so disgusted the legislators that they refused to comply, and were severely censured by the cro\yn. Parliament declared the legislative powers of the Assembly annulled, and forbade the governor and council to give their assent to any act passed by that body until unqualified compliance with the demands of the government had been obtained.
In June, 1767, a bill was passed by Parliament impos- ing a duty on tea, glass, lead, paper, and printers' colors imported into the colonies. This act was shortly followed by another re-organizing the colonial custom-house system, and establishing a board of revenue commissioners. When intelligence of these acts reached the colonies the excite- ment was renewed, and the non-importation agreement revived. The colonists saw that Parliament intended to tax them in some way, and declared that taxes on trade .for a revenue were as much a violation of their rights as any other taxes. In 1768 the Assembly of Massachusetts addressed a circular letter to the other colonies referring to the acts of Parliament, and soliciting their co-opera- tion in maintaining the common liberties. This so offend- ed the ministry that a letter was sent from the Secretary of State to the several colonial governors, forbidding their assemblies to correspond with that of Massachusetts. When the Assembly of New York was convened the gov- ernor placed the document before it, and requested their obedience to its mandates. The Assembly unhesitatingly refused ; declared its right to correspond with any other of the legislatures ; denounced the infringements upon its rights by Parliament ; and was dissolved by the gover- nor. The people sustained their representatives, and when a new Assembly convened in April, 1769, it was found that but very little change had been effected by the election.
The death of Sir Henry Moore occurred on the nth of September, 1769. His mild and prudent course in avoid- ing controversy as far as possible had endeared him to the colony, and his death was much lamented. By that event the government again devolved upon Cadwallader Golden. The Enghsh merchants, suffering from the non- importation agreement, had joined their petitions with those of the colonists for the repeal of the obnoxious custom-house act, and a circular letter assured the people
of the colonies that at the next session of Parliament a proposition would be made to abolish the duties on all articles except tea. This attempt at conciliation was far from satisfactory ; for the right of taxation was not relin- quished, and the principle was the same whether applied to one article or many. A bill was introduced in the New York Assembly in November for issuing colonial bills of credit to the amount of ;£i 20,000, to loan out as a means of revenue. The project at first met with favor from the popular party, but when it M'as followed by an appropriation to support the British troops in the colony, to be taken out of the interest arising from the loan, a revulsion of feeling at once took place. Shortly after handbills were circulated charging the Assembly with betraying the inhabitants of the colon)', and advising the people to meet on a certain day and express their senti- ments upon the subject. Accordingly, a large concourse of people gathered, and emphatically denounced the ac- tion of the Assembly. That body passed resolutions de- claring the handbills hbelous, and offering a reward for the detection of their authors. John Lamb, who had l^resided over the popular meeting, was arrested and brought before the House, but was soon after discharged. Animosities continued between the Sons of Liberty and the soldiers. Now that their supplies were granted the latter no longer held themselves in check from motives of policy, and on the evening of the 13th of January, 1769, renewed their attack upon the flagpole of the citizens. The latter hastily gathered for its defense, whereupon they desisted. Their failure in this attempt, together with the derisive jeers of the citizens, so enraged them that they charged upon a group of people in front of a tavern which was a favorite resort of the Sons of Liberty, drove them in and destroyed the windows and furniture. On the evening of the i6th they cut down the flagstaff, sawed it in pieces, and piled the fragments before the battered hotel. On the following morning several thousands of the citizens assembled at the scene of the outrage, and passed resolutions censuring the riotous proceedings of the soldiers, and recommending that whenever found in the street after roll-call they should be dealt with as enemies to the peace of the city. The next day placards were found posted up, ridicuHng the resolutions and daring the citizens to execute them. During the day the Sons of Liberty caught two or three soldiers in the act of putting up these bills, and arrested them. While conducting them to the mayor's office the citizens were attacked by a party of twenty soldiers, armed with cutlasses, and a skirmish ensued— the citi- zens defending themselves with clubs. The soldiers were forced back to Golden Hill, as John street, between Clifl: street and Burling Slip, was then called. Here they were re-enforced, and made a furious charge on the citizens, most of whom were entirely unarmed. The latter stoutly resisted until aparty of officers appeared on the scene and ordered the troops back to their barracks. Several of the citizens were severely wounded, some of whom had not participated in the skirmish. Several affrays occurred on the following day, in which the soldiers were generally
SPIRITED OPPOSITION TO LANDING TEA IN NEW YORK.
29
worsted. The mayor issued a proclamation forbidding them to leave the barracks unless accompanied by a non- commissioned officer, and order was restored.
Thus terminated the first conflict in which blood was shed in the cause of American independence. It is usually asserted that at Lexington was thefirst battle fought ; but the actual beginning of the combat, so doubtful in its progress, and so glorious in its results, was the battle of Golden Hill, on the i8th of January, 1770, at least five years earlier. The Sons of Liberty purchased grounds and erected another pole, which stood until the occupa- tion of the city by the British forces in 1776.
CHAPTER X.
THE BOSTON TE.\ PARTY — MEETING OF THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS— THE BATTLE OF LEXINGTON — CANADA INVADED.
^N October Lord Dunmore arrived in New York and superseded Golden in the govern- ment of the province. Meanwhile the duties had been removed from all articles except tea, and the non-importation agreement was restricted to that article. The new governor brought the news of the royal approval of the act authorizing the emission of colonial bills of credit. This strengthened the spirit of loyalty, and affairs went on more smoothly. On the 8th of July, 1 771, William Tryon was commissioned as governor in place of Lord Dunmore, who was transferred to the government of Virginia. By a recent order of the crown the governor's salary was to be paid from the revenue, thus rendering the executive independent of the people. The East India Gompany were suffering severely from the non-importation agree- ment in regard to tea, and in 1773 urgently petitioned the British government to abolish the duty levied upon that article in the colonies, offering to submit to double that duty as an exportation tariff. This would increase the amount of revenue two-fold, but the party in power, delud- ed by false views of national honor, would not in the least relinquish its declared right to tax the colonies. It pre- ferred to favor the East India Company by a special act allowing them to ship their tea to the colonies free of export duty, which would enable them to sell it at a lower rate than in England. By this act the ministers imagined they had outwitted the colonists and that this appeal to their pockets would end their resistance. Ships were laden with tea and consignees appointed in the colonies to receive it, with the expectation that this new act would secure its ready sale. When information of this arrangement reached the colonies their indignation was deeply aroused. The Sons of Liberty rallied and resolved that the obnoxious article should not be landed under any pretense. The tea commissioners appointed
for New York resigned in view of such decided demon- strations of resistance.
Expecting a consignment of tea would soon reach the city the citizens held a mass meeting, and regardless of the efforts of Governor Tryon to secure its reception, emphatically resolved that it should not be landed. The expected vessel was delayed and did not make its ap- pearance until April, 1774. When it arrived off Sandy Hook the pilot, acting under the instructions of the vigil- ance committee, refused to bring the ship any nearer the city. Captain Lockyer, the commander, under escort of the committee, was allowed to come up and consult with the consignee, but the latter refused to receive the cargo, and advised the captain to return to England immedi- ately. Meanwhile Captain Chambers, of New York, professing to be a patriot, arrived in the harbor. His vessel was boarded by the committee, and upon being questioned he denied having any contraband goods ; but on being informed by the committee that with the evi- dence they had to the contrary they should search his ship, he admitted that there was tea on board which he had brought out on a private venture. The hatches were forced open and the chests brought on deck and given air and water. The next morning Captain Lockyer was conducted by the committee to his ship, together with Chambers, his companion in the tea trade, and they were sent on an outward voyage.
The New Hampshire grants continued a source of serious contention. The civil officers were opposed by force in their efforts to enforce the judgments obtained in the eject- ment suits, and the New York Assembly passed an act de- claring resistance to be felony. A proclamation was issued by Governor Tryon offering a reward for the apprehension of Ethan Allen and other conspicuous offenders. This was followed by a burlesque proclamation from the pro- scribed, affirming their determination to resist and offer- ing a reward for the arrest of the governor of New York. In the spring of- 1775, at the time appointed for the ses- sion of court in the disputed territory, the settlers took possession of the court-house and prevented the New York officers from entering. The officers thereupon col- lected ii force, and being again refused admittance fired into the house, killing one of the occupants, and wound- ing several others. Some of the officers were arrested by the enraged inhabitants and lodged in jail, and matters appeared to be approaching a crisis ; but the battle of Lexington occurring at this juncture, active hostilities between Great Britain and the colonies began and caused a cessation of these difficulties.
A cargo of tea had arrived in Boston harbor consider- ably earlier than in New York, and the Bostonians re- solved that it should not be landed. The vessels con- taining the obnoxious article were boarded and the chests emptied into the water. The ministry, enraged at this spirited resistance, determined to subjugate the colonies. Various measures were determined upon which were ruinous to the liberties of the American people; among them was the celebrated "Boston Port Bill," closing the harbor and destroying the trade of the city to punish the
3°
HISTORY OF NIAGARA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
citizens for having destroyed the tea. The people every- where were awakened to a lively sympathy with Boston, seeing by its treatment what was in store for them. A brisk correspondence was carried on between Boston and New York through the agency of committees ap- pointed for that purpose. Public meetings were held for the consideration of their common grievances, and among the measures devised and recommended were the restora- tion of the non-importation agreement and the convening of a colonial congress. On the 5 th of September, 1774, this congress met at Philadelphia and adopted a declara, tion of rights, setting forth wherein those rights had been violated; agreed on a petition to the King for the re- moval of their grievances and also on an appeal to the people of Great Britain and Canada; and then adjourned to meet again in May of the following year. The Assem- bly of New York was the only colonial assembly that withheld its approval of the proceedings of this congress It, however, addressed a remonstrance to Parliament, which was treated as all others had been, with disdain. The Assembly adjourned on the 3d of April, 1775, and was never again convened. Its refusal to appoint dele- gates to the Continental Congress gave great dissatisfac- tion, and a provincial convention of county representa- tives was called by the people to perform that duty.
At midnight on the i8th of April, 1775, General Gage sent a detachment of British regulars from Boston to de- stroy the military stores collected by the Americans at Concord, Massachusetts. The expedition was conducted with great secrecy, but the troops were discovered and the people warned of their coming. On reaching Lexing- ton the following morning they found the militia assem- bled on the green. The latter, disregarding a command to disperse, were fired upon and several of them were killed. The British troops jjroceeded to Concord, but the inhabitants, having been apprised of their design, had concealed the greater part of their stores, and the British troops on their return were severely harrassed by the militia who had gathered from the neighboring towns.
When intelligence of this event reached New York the excitement was intense. The affair was in fact the signal for a general rush to arms throughout the colonies. The Sons of Liberty took possession of the arms at the arsenal in New York city and distributed them among the peo- ple. At the suggestion of the Committee of Observation n provincial government for the city was formed, consist- ing of one hundred of the principal citizens, who were to control affairs until Congress should otherwise order. The British troops at New York having been ordered to Bos- ton, the provisional government allowed them to depart on condition that they should take nothing but their own arms with them. Regardless of this stipulation they at- tempted to carry off some military stores belonging to the city, but were defeated in their designs by Colonel Marinus Willett mth a party of the Sons of Liberty, who con- fronted them and succeeded in retaking the property and replacing it in the fort.
While the patriots were flocking toward Boston the Connecticut Assembly was in session, and several of its
members agreed upon a plan to seize the cannon and military stores at Ticonderoga and Crown Point for the use of the patriot army. They appointed a committee to repair to the frontier and raise an expedition, under Colonel Ethan Allan, to surprise and capture the posts named. A force of two hundred and seventy men was soon collected, and marched by night under Colonels Allen and Benedict Arnold to a point on Lake Cham- plain opposite Ticonderoga. They had but few boats, and when day began to dawn only the officers and eighty- three men had crossed. Fearful that delay would be hazardous, Allen resolved to make an attack before the rear division had crossed, and marched at the head of his men directly to the sally port. The sentinel snapped his musket at him and retreated to the parade with the patriots close at his heels. The garrison were aroused and taken prisoners. Colonel Allen went directly to the apartments of the commander and demanded and obtained a surrender of the fort "in the name of the Great Jeho- vah, and the Continental Congress." Crown Point was taken without resistance two days afterward, and the command of Lake Champlain was thus secured.
The Continental Congress reassembled and organized on the loth of May, the same day that Colonel Allen captured Ticonderoga, and proceeded at once to raise and equip an army for the defense of the colonies. New York was ordered to raise three thousand men as her pro- portion. The population of the province during the pre- ceding year had increased to 182,251. George Washing- ton was commissioned as commander-in-chief of the American forces. A provincial congress of New York, convened on the 22d of May, authorized the raising of troops, encouraged the manufacture of gunpowder and muskets in the province, and projected fortifications at King's Bridge and the Hudson passes in the Highlands.
Captain Lamb was ordered to remove the cannon from the battery at the foot of the city to a place of greater security. On the evening of August 23d he proceeded to the execution of the order. The captain of the British war-ship Asia, being informed of the intended movement, sent a barge filled with men to watch it. A shot was fired from the barge into the American force, which was im- mediately answered by a volley, killing one of the crew and wounding several others. The Asia then opened a cannonade upon the city, doing considerable damage to the buildings in the vicinity of the battery, but the patriots were undismayed, and in the face of the cannonade, de- liberately removed every gun. Governor Tryon returned from England in June and strenuously exerted himself to promote the royal cause. Finding that his position was growing more and more unsatisfactory, and having fears for his personal safety, he abandoned the city and took refuge on board a British sloop of war.
The Continental Congress directed General Schuyler to collect an armament at Ticonderoga, and put that post in in a state of defense, preparatory to an expedition against Canada. The forces under Generals Schuyler and Mont- gomery appeared before St. John's in September. General Schuyler was compelled by ill health to relinquish the
UNSUCCESSFUL ATTEMPTS TO CAPTURE QUEBEC.
31
command to General Montgomery and return to Ticon- deroga. The fort at Chambly, twelve miles below, was captured on the 19th of October by a detachment of the American force, aided by friendly Canadians. They passed the fort at St. John's during a dark night in boats, with their artillery, and appeared before Chambly, which was feebly garrisoned and soon surrendered. The spoils taken at Chambly materially aided in carrying on with vig- or the siege of St. John's, which after several unsuccessful assaults and numerous mishaps was on the 3d of Novem- ber compelled to surrender. While this siege was in pro- gress. Colonel Ethan Allen, acting without authority from the commander-in-chief, in a rash attempt to take Mon- treal with a small advance force, was taken prisoner and sent to England. General Carlton, when informed of the capture of Chambly, made an attempt to reinforce the garrison at St. John's, but being defeated by Colonel Seth Warner, only hastened its fall. General Montgomery moved forward to Montreal, which was taken without resistance. In September Colonel Benedict Arnold was dispatched by Washington with a force of eleven hundred men against Canada, by way of the Kennebec river, to aid Montgomery, who was invading that province by way of Lake Champlaln. After surmounting incredible obstacles and suffering terrible privations and hardships, Arnold at last arrived at Point Levi, opposite the city of Quebec.
He was for several days prevented from crossing the St. Lawrence by tempestuous winds. On the night of the 13th of November he crossed the river and scaled the heights to the Plains of Abraham. Failing to draw out the garrison he demanded a surrender, which was contempt- uously refused. Finding all his attempts useless he re- treated up the river about twenty miles and awaited the arrival of Montgomery, who joined him on the ist of De- cember, and the combined forces then moved toward Quebec.
A bombardment of the city proved unavailing and it was resolved to storm the town, although the whole assail- ing force was considerably less than the garrison. The lower town was to be attacked by Montgomery and Arnold, and at the same time feigned attacks were to be made upon the upper town. Montgomery descended from the Plains of Abraham to Wolfe's Cove, and marched through the drifting snow toward the lower town, while Arnold with another division moved around to the north on the St. Charles, in order to form a junction with Mont- gomery and storm Prescott Gate. Montgomery in his ad- vance encountered a block-house defended by a battery. Pushing forward in a charge at the head of his men he was instantly killed, together with his aids, by a discharge of grape-shot from the battery. Appalled at this disaster, his division fell back in confusion and made no further attempt to force a junction with Arnold. Meanwhile the latter had pressed on through the snow-drifts, and like Montgomery charged at the head of his men upon a bat- tery, and received a wound which compelled him to leave the field. Captain Morgan took the command, carried the first battery and rushed on to a second, which was al- so carried, after a severe contest of three hours' duration.
Carlton sent a detachment from the garrison to attack them in the rear, and. while Morgan was pressing on into the town he heard of the death of Montgomery, and find- ing himself unsupported and surrounded, was compelled to surrender. The rest of the division in the rear retreat- ed. Colonel Arnold took command of the remainder of the army, consisting of about eight hundred men, and in- trenched himself a few miles from the city, where he re- mained until reinforced by General Wooster, in April, who took command and renewed the siege. Large rein- forcements having arrived at Quebec, the American force was obliged to retreat, and by the superior numbers of the enemy was soon after driven out of Canada.
CHAPTER XL
HOSTILITIES TRANSFERRED TO NEW YORK THE BATTLE
OF LONG ISLAND BURGOYNE's CAMPAIGN.
i N March, Washington, having compelled Gen- eral Howe to evacuate Boston, and appre- hensive that New York would be the next point of attack, made immediate preparations for putting that city in a, posture of defense. ''General Lee, with twelve hundred men, was ordered forward from Connecticut. The captain of the British man-of-war Asia had threatened to cannonade the city if " rebel troops " were permitted to enter it. It was the stronghold of loyalty to the crown and disaffection to the patriot cause, and the Committee of Safety in their timid- ity protested against Lee's entrance, but threats and pro- tests were unavailing. Lee came, and the tories either fled or ceased to oppose the cause of the patriots. Sir Henry Clinton, who had been sent over on a secret ex- pedition, appeared off Sandy Hook at nearly the same time that General Lee entered the city, but finding it in possession of the American troops, proceeded south to attack Charleston. Washington hastened forward from Boston, and on the 14th of April arrived at New York and established his headquarters in the city. General Howe went to Halifax on leaving Boston, but about the ist of July appeared oft Sandy Hook, and shortly after landed on Staten Island. He was soon after joined by his brother Admiral Howe, with a force of British regulars and Hessian hirelings, and also by Clinton and Parker on their return from an unsuccessful attack on Charles- ton, making altogether a combined force of nearly thirty thousand men. Howe was here visited by Governor Tryon, who had contrived a plot to capture Washington, blow up the magazine, and secure the passes to the city. The mayor also was in the conspiracy, and was receiving money from Tryon to bribe the Americans. Two of Washington's guards yielded to the temptations of the enemy, but the third, who could not be bribed, exposed the plot. The Provincial Congress of New York, seeing
32
HISTORY OF NIAGARA COUNTY, NEW YORK
the hostile demonstrations toward the city, adjourned to White Plains, where it convened on the 9th of July, and passed resolutions heartily endorsing the action of the Continental Congress and approving of the Declaration of Independence.
The plan of the campaign on the part of the British army near New York was to take possession of the city and the islands in its vicinity, and to ascend the Hudson, while Carlton should move down from Canada, and thus separate the Eastern from the other States. Two ships succeeded in passing the batteries and ascended the Hud- son to furnish the tories of Westchester with arras, but all their attempts to land were frustrated and they re- turned.
On the 22d of August a British force of ten thousand men, with forty pieces of cannon, landed on the south side of Long Island, in the vicinity of New Utrecht, and advanced in three divisions upon the Americans stationed in and about Brooklyn. The Hessians, under De Heister, formed the center. The left, along New York Bay, was commanded by General Grant, and the right, which led in the action, was commanded by Clinton and Cornwallis. While Grant and De Heister were diverting the Americans on the left and center, the division on the right was to make a circuitous march and fall upon their rear. This division left the Flatlands on the night of the 26th, and guided by a tory gained possession of the Bedford and Jamaica passes before General Sullivan, who commanded in that quarter, was aware of the movement. While this advantage was being gained Grant was making a move- ment toward Brooklyn, and early in the morning came into collision with the Americans under Lord Stirling on the site of Greenwood Cemetery, when an engai;ement took place without material advantage to either side. De Heister advanced and kept up a cannonade on the works at the Flatbush pass. In the meantime, Clinton had gained a position in the rear of the Continental army and commenced to attack them. De Heister then pressed forward, and Sullivan, perceiving the peril of his army, attempted to retreat, but it was too late. They were met by CHnton's forces and driven back upon the Hessians. Some forced their way through the ranks and reached the fortifications, but after a desperate struggle and great loss of life Sullivan himself and the greater part of the ' left wing of the American army were taken prisoners. Cornwallis hastened to cut off the division under Stirling, who was not yet aware of the situation. A part of his force succeeded in crossing Gowanus creek in safety, but many were drowned or taken prisoners. Stirling himself was captured and a decisive victory gained by the British. About five thousand were engaged on the side of the Americans, of whom five hundred were killed or wounded and eleven hundred taken prisoners. These were con- fined in loathsome prison-ships on the East river, where they suffered indescribable privations and hardships. Fortunately for the Americans, Howe did not dare to attempt an assault upon their fortifications in Brooklyn, but encamped about a third of a mile distant, and waited for the support of the fleet.
On the 28th, the day after the battle, the British began to cannonade the intrenchments. At night a heavy fog settled over the battle-field, which remained all the follow- ing day. When night had added its darkness to the mist which had obstructed the vision of the hostile parties throughout the day, Washington, with the remainder of the troops on Long Island, silently crossed the East river in safety to New York. The British forces took posses- sion of the American works and prepared to attack New York. Washington knew that with his dispirited and undisciplined army he could not successfully oppose them, and decided to evacuate the city. On the 15th of September Howe landed with about four thousand men under cover of his fleet at Kip's Bay, on the east side of Manhattan Island, near what is now the foot of Thirty- fourth street. Two brigades of militia, stationed for defense in that quarter, were panic-stricken and retreated disgracefully despite all the efforts of their officers to rally them. Putnam, who had charge of one column of the army, was compelled to leave in great haste, and narrowly escaped being captured. The Americans re- treated to Harlem, and the British took possession of New York and held it until the close of the war.
'The next day an- advance party of the British were at- tacked, and after a severe skirmish driven back with con- siderable loss. Howe, perceiving that the Americans were strongly intrenched upon Harlem Heights, determin- ed to gain their rear, cut off their communication with the north and east, and hem them in. He sent a part of his fleet np the Hudson, and transferred the main body of his army in boats to Westchester county, landing them at Throck's Neck. When Washington saw this movement he sent a detachment to oppose their landing. All the passes were well guarded, and a detachment was intrench- ed at White Plains. The main ■ army advanced in that direction and intrenched upon the hills from Fordham to White Plains. On the 28th of October the enemy came up and attacked General McDougal, on Chatterton's Hill. McDougal, after an obstinate resistance, was forced to fall back to intrenchments above White Plains. While Howe was preparing to storm their encampment at this place, Washington withdrew, unobserved by the enemy, to North Castle, where strong breastworks had been erected, and awaited an attack ; but Howe, not deeming it prudent to assail him in so strong a position, retreated toward New York, preparatory to the contem- plated reduction of Fort Washington, which was soon environed by the British forces. It was gallantly defend- ed by Colonel Magaw until he was overpowered by a su- perior force and compelled to surrender. Fort Lee, on the opposite side of the Hudson, was abandoned on the approach of the enemy, and Washington, who had crossed the Hudson, retreated through New Jersey to the opposite side of the Delaware river, closely pursued by the enemy. On the night of the 25th of December he recrossed the river and gained an important victory at Trenton, and shortly afterward another at Princeton, and then went into winter quarters at Morristown.
General Gates, who had been appointed to the com-
NAVAL ENGAGEMENT ON LAKE CHAMPLAIN— BURGOYNE'S CAMPAIGN.
33
raand of the Northern forces, apprehensive that General Carlton would follow up his success in Canada and at- tempt to capture Crown Point and Ticonderoga, aban- doned the former, and concentrated his forces at the latter. A small squadron was formed and placed upon Lake <;hamplain, under the command of Arnold, in August. Carlton constructed a fleet at St. Johns. Ar- nold sailed down the lake, but, being ignorant of the strength of the armament preparing against him, fell back to Valcour's Island. On the nth of October, the British fleet passed around the east side of the island and took up a position south of the American squadron. An action began about noon and continued until night. One of the schooners in Arnold's fleet was disabled, and burn- ed to prevent it from falling into the hands of the enemy. The British force was greatly superior, and as another engagement would have been extremely hazardous, it was deemed advisable to return to Crown Point. The night was exceedingly dark, and the Americans succeeded in sailing through the British fleet unobserved, although the latter had been stationed in a line across the lake in an- ticipation of such a movement. On reaching Schuyler's Island, ten miles distant from the British fleet, they stopped to make some repairs, and, on being discovered at day- light, were pursued by the enemy. On the 13th, the British ships, three in number, came up with and attacked the "Washington," which, after a heroic defense,' was com- pelled' to surrender, and her commander and all his men were taken prisoners. The whole force was now concen- trated in an attack upon the "Congress," which maintained the unequal contest with unflinching resolution for four or five hours, till it was reduced to a complete wreck. Arnold then ran the craft into a creek and burned it, together with the rest of his boats, and marching to Crown Point, where the remainder of the fleet was stationed, sailed for Ticonderoga. General Carlton took posses- sion of Crown Point and threatened Ticonderoga, but, abandoning his design, he prudently withdrew to Canada.
The Provincial Congress, which had assembled at White Plains on the 9th of July and approved the Dec- laration of Independence, appointed a committee to draw up and report a constitution. The occupation of New York city and part of Westchester county by the British greatly disturbed the labors of the convention, and finally, in February, they repaired to Kingston, where the draft of a constitution was prepared by John Jay, and adopted on the 2ist of April, 1777. George Clinton was elected governor under the new constitution, and took the oath of office on the 3JSt of July following.
The principal object of the British in the campaign of 1777 was to carry out their cherished design of separating the Eastern from the Southern colonies, by controlling the Hudson river and Lake Champlain. The most promi- nent feature of the plan was the advance of an army from Canada, under Lieutenant-General Burgoyne, who had superseded General Carlton. It was intended that Bur- goyne should force his way down the Hudson as far as Albany, while Sir Henry Clinton was to proceed up the river and join him, and thus a free communication be-
tween New York and Canada would be established, and the colonies separated. In order to distract the attention of the Americans, and the more completely subdue the Western border. Colonel St. Leger was to ascend the St. Lawrence with a detatchment of regulars, accompanied by Sir John Johnston with a regiment of loyalists and a large body of Indians. From Oswego the expedition was to penetrate the country to P'ort Schuyler, on the site of Rome, and after its capture sweep the Mohawk valley and join Burgoyne at Albany. Burgoyne arrived in Canada early in March. Unavoidable difficulties having greatly embarrassed his first movements, it was past the middle of Jun5 before his army was assembled at Cum- berland Point, on Lake Champlain. The main army of more than seven thousand men appeared before Crown Point, and occupied that post on the 30th of June. Hav- ing issued a proclamation, intended to terrify the inhabi- tants into submission, Burgoyne prepared to invest Ticonderoga, then in command of General St. Clair. On the east shore of Lake Champlain, on Mount Inde- pendence, there was a star-fort, so connected with Ticon- deroga, on the west side of the lake, by a floating bridge, as to obstruct the passage of vessels up the lake. For want of a sufficient force to man all its defenses the out- works toward Lake George were abandoned on the ap- proach of Burgoyne. A detachment of the enemy, under General Fraser, took Mount Hope, and thereby cut off St. Clair's communication with Lake George; and at the same time the abandoned works of the Americans, more to the right, were occupied by General Phillips. On the south side of the outlet of Lake George, and opposite Mount Independence, is a lofty eminence, then known as Sugar-loaf Hill, which was found to completely command the works both at Ticonderoga and Fort Independence. A battery was planted on its summit by the British during the night, and St. Clair, on perceiving his critical situa- tion, at once called a council of war, by which it was unanimously decided that immediate evacuation of Fort Ticonderoga was the only chance of saving the army. During the ensuing night such military stores and pro- visions as could be removed, together with the sick and disabled troops, were embarked on batteaux, and sent up the lake to Skenesborough, as Whitehall was then called, under convoy of five armed galleys and a detachment of six hundred men, under Colonel Long, while the main body of the army was to cross the lake and proceed to the same point by land. The garrison passed over the floating bridge to Mount Independence about two hours before daylight; and would probably have made their re- treat undiscovered had not the house of the commander at Fort Independence been set on fire just at this time. This unfortunate occurrence threw the Americans into disorder, for the light of the conflagration revealed their movements to the British, who made immediate prepara- tions for pursuit. St. Clair's orce made a disorderly re- treat to Hubbardton. On the following morning General Fraser came up with his brigade, and commenced an attack. The conflict was for some time fierce and bloody. The Americans had almost surrounded the left wing of
34
HISTORY OF NIAGARA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
the British when General Riedesel came up with rein- forcements, and St. Clair made a precipitate retreat. The boats which conveyed the military stores and the detach- ment of Colonel Long reached Skenesborough safely, but Burgoyne in a few hours broke through the boom and bridge at Ticonderoga, on which the Americans had placed much reliance, and with his fleet rapidly pursued them; and while they were landing at Skenesborough three regiments disembarked at South Bay with the inten- tion of gaining the road to Fort Edward, and cutting off their retreat. On the approach of the British gunboats, Colonel Long's men destroyed three of their galleys and several buildings, and escaped capture by a rapid flight to Fort Anne. Two days after the battle at Hubbardton St. Clair retreated to Fort Edward. Burgoyne was joined at Skenesborough by the detachments of Eraser and Riedesel, and prepared to push forward to the Hudson. Lieutenant-Colonel Hill was sent forward to Fort Anne to intercept such as might retreat to that post, and to watch the movements of the Americans. This post was guarded by Colonel Long, with about five hundred men, mostly convalescents. Hill's force exceeded this number. Colonel Long did not, wait for an attack, but marched out to give battle, and gained a decided advantage; but their ammunition giving out, they were obliged to give way; and aware of their inability to hold the fort against General Phillips, who was approaching with reinforce- ments, set fire to it, and fell back on Fort Edward.
CHAPTER XII.
THE BATTLE OF BENNINGTON FAILURE OF ST. LEGER S
MOVEMENT BURGOYNE's DEFEATS AND SURRENDER.
URGOYNE remained at Skenesborough near- ly three weeks, while detachments were building bridges and repairing the road to Fort Anne. This delay greatly diminished his supplies, and on arriving at Fort Anne he sent a detachment under Colonel Baum to surprise and capture a quantity of stores which he had heard was collected at Bennington, and with the expectation of receiving material aid from the loyalists in that quarter. General Schuyler had not suffi- cient force to defend Fort Edward, and throwing all the obstructions possible in Burgoyne's way from there to Fort Anne retreated down the valley of the Hudson. Colonel Baum on his march to Bennington reached Cambriflge on the 13th of August. The American Gen- eral Stark in the meantime had repaired to Bennington, and was collecting the militia to join his brigade in op- posing any invasion in that direction. Hearing that a party of Indians were at Cambridge, he detached Colonel Gregg to attack them ; and shortly after, learning that a
large body of the enemy was in their rear marching on Bennington, he moved immediately to the support of Gregg. After going about five miles he met him retreat- ing, and Colonel Baum not more than a mile in the rear. Stark at once disposed his army for battle, and Baum per- ceiving its strength began to intrench, and sent to Bur- goyne for reinforcements. The next day some skirmish- ing took place, and on the following day, August i6th. Stark arranged his army for an attack. Two detachments were sent to flank the enemy while another was attract- ing their attention in front. As soon as the attack on the enemy's flank began the main body pressed forward, and after two hours' fierce conflict gained a decisive victory. The remnant of Colonel Baum's force in its flight was met by Colonel Breyman with reinforcements, who press- ed forward with the combined force to regain the aban- doned intrenchments. Stark was also reinforced, and the conflict was renewed with vigor. The enemy at length giving way, were pursued until darkness came to their rescue and enabled them with their thinned and broken ranks to escape to the main army. Colonel Baum was mortally wounded and taken prisoner. The total loss of the enemy was, in killed, wounded and prisoners, nine hundred and thirty-four, and all their artillery and mili- tary stores. Up to this time all had gone well with the boastful Briton, and his path had been illuminated with victory ; but with the failure of this expedition his glory began to wane and his sky to grow dark and threatening, where hitherto it had been bright and serene.
While these events had been taking place with the main division, the expedition under Colonel St. Leger had in- vested Fort Schuyler (earlier" and even now more com- monly called Fort Stanwix), on the site of Rome. A move- ment of the Mohawk valley militia to its relief was arrest- ed by the bloody battle of Oriskany, but while most of the besiegers were engaged in this conflict their camp was sacked by the garrison ; and learning that a more formid- able provincial force was on its way to raise the siege of the fort, which had held out tenaciously, St. Leger aban- doned his undertaking and returned to Canada.
Schuyler, with his army, marched down the Hudson to Stillwater, and finally to the mouth of the Mohawk, still keeping his headquarters at Stillwater and exerting all his energies for the augmentation of his force, preparatory to a conflict with Burgoyne. On the igth of August, at the instigation of his enemies, he was very unjustly supersed- ed by General Gates. On the 8th of September the American army advanced to Bemis' Heights, above Still- water, which had been fortified under the superintendence of Kosciusko. The Bridsh detachment sent to Benning- ton, instead of bringing back any plunder had lost largely of what they already had, as well as most of the force, and Burgoyne had hardly recovered from this unexpected shock when the news was brought him of the defeat of St. Leger at Fort Schuyler. These disasters had a very depressing effect upon his army, and the Indians and loy- alists began to desert, while the Americans were greatly inspirited. In view of these difficulties the British com- mander deemed it expedient to halt at Fort Edward.
BATTLE AT BEMIS HEIGHTS— BURGOYNE'S SITUATION PRECARIOUS.
35
Stores having been brought forward from the posts on Lake Champlain, he proceeded down the Hudson, and on the i8th of September encamped at Wilbur's Basin, two miles from the American position, and prepared for bat- tle, and the next day advanced to the attack in three di- visions. General Riedesel commanded the left column, which with the heavy artillery moved down a road along the margin of the river. The center was commanded by Burgoyne in person, and the left by General Eraser. Tl^e front and flanks of both the center and right were cov- ered by Indians, tories and Canadians. The American right, which was the main body of their army, was com- manded by Gates, and the left by General Arnold. Col- onel Morgan was detached from Arnold's division and encountering the Canadians and Indians in the advance drove them back ; but they being reinforced the contest resulted in both parties finally falling within their respec- tive lines. The action soon became general, and the com- bined force of Burgoyne and Eraser was engaged with Arnold's division. Arnold called upon Gates for rein- forcements but they were refused, and he, resolving to do what he could with the force at his command, continued the contest with the most obstinate and determined resolu- tion, both armies alternately advancing and retreating without a decisive victory for either. The conflict did not cease until the shades of night fell upon the combat- ants. The Americans then retired to their encampment unpursued by the enemy. The British forces bivouacked on the field of battle. The total loss of the former was three hundred and nineteen, and that of the latter more than five hundred. Few actions have been more remark- able for determined bravery on both sides than this. The number of the British in the engagement was about three thousand, and that of the Americans five hundred less. Both parties claimed the victory. The object of the Brit- ish was to advance and gain ground, which they failed to do ; while it was not the intention of the Americans to advance, but to maintain their position, which they ac- compHshed, and it is therefore not difficult to determine on which side the advantage lay. Though the British re- mained in possession of the battle-field through the night, they retired to their camp in the morning without advanc- ing to renew the conflict. General Gates, in his report of the battle, said nothing of Arnold or his division, to whom all the honor was due. He was jealous of the reputation that officer had earned, and of his growing popularity with the armv, and carried his meanness so far as to take from him the command of his division. Both parties strengthened their positions after the battle, but no gen- eral engagement took place for upwards of three weeks.
Burgoyne saw with painful anxiety that the American forces were rapidly increasing, while his own were daily diminishing by the desertion of his Indian allies. His provisions began to fail, and the vigilance of the Ameri- cans not only prevented any suppHes reaching him, but deprived him of all communication with Sir Henry Clin- ton for assistance. At length he was obliged to put his troops on short allowance, and hearing nothing from CUnton, who was to make a diversion in his favor, be-
came seriously alarmed. Amid the thickening perils he found himself reduced to the alternative of fighting or retreating. The latter was not only inglorious but diffi- cult, and he resolved to make a reconnoissance in force, for the twofold purpose of ascertaining definitely the posi- tion of the enemy, and of collecting forage to supply his camp, of which it was in pressing need. On the 7th of October he, at the head of fifteen hundred men and ac- companied by Generals Riedesel, Phillips and Eraser, advanced toward the left wing of the American position. The movement was seasonably perceived by the Ameri- cans, and the enemy were repulsed and driven back to their lines by Morgan, who, at his own suggestion, was disi^atched by a circuitous route to gain the right of the British, and fall upon the flanking party of Eraser at the same time an attack was to be made on the left of the British. General Poor advanced toward an eminence upon which were stationed the British grenadiers and the artillery of Ackland and Williams. He had given his men orders not to fire until after the first discharge of the Brit- ish guns, and they moved onward toward the frowning battery in awful silence until a sudden volley of grape- shot and musket balls made havoc among the branches of the trees, scarcely a shot taking effect upon the advanc- ing column. At this signal Poor's men sprang forward and delivered their fire, and opening to the right and left pressed furiously upon the enemy's flanks and gained the top of the hill, where the struggle became fierce and ob- stinate in the extreme. One cannon was taken and re- taken five successive times, finally remaining in the hands of the Americans, when Colonel Cilly turned it upon the retreating enemy, and fired it with their own ammunition. Williams and Ackland were both taken prisoners, the lat- ter being severely wounded ; and the grenadiers fled in confusion, leaving the field in possession of the Ameri- cans, thickly strewn with their dead and wounded.
As soon as the action was begun at this point Morgan's command rushed down like an avalanche from the ridge skirting the flanking party of Eraser, and assailed them with such a destructive fire that they were hastily driven back to their lines. Then, by a rapid movement, he fell upon the right flank of the British with such impetuosity as to throw them into confusion, and Major Dearborn, coming up at this critical moment, completed their dis- comfiture. The right and left of the British lines were thus broken, but the center had remained firm. General Arnold, who had so unjustly been deprived of his com- mand, had been watching the progress of the battle in great excitement, and now mounted his horse and started for the battle-field. Gates sent Major Armstrong to order him back, but Arnold, suspecting his errand, was quickly beyond his reach, and exposed to such perils that the messenger was not anxious to follow him. Placing himself at the head of the men he formerly commanded, he rushed like an unchained tiger upon the British cen- ter which soon began to give way under his furious as- sault. General Eraser, who was commanding on the right, seeing the center in such a critical situation, brought up reinforcements, and by his courage and skill
HISTORY OF NIAGARA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
restored order. He soon fell mortally wounded ; dismay seized the British soldiers, and a panic spread all along the line, which was increased by the appearance of Gen- eral Ten Broeck with a reinforcement of New York militia. Burgoyne, finding himself unable to keep up the sinking courage of his men, abandoned his artillery and ordered a retreat, and the whole force fell back precipi- tately to their intrenchraents. The Americans pursued them, and scarcely were they within their fortifications when, under a terrific shower of grape and musket balls, Arnold assaulted them from right to left, forcing the out- works, and driving the enemy to the interior of their camp. Here he was overtaken by Major Armstrong, who deliver- ed to him Gates' order to return to camp, fearing that "he might do some rash thing." He returned, but not until he had achieved a glorious victory, and put his life in great peril without a command,while Gates had remained in camp, receiving the honors that justly belonged to others. Night came on and the conflict ceased; before dawn Burgoyne abandoned his encampment, now render- ed untenable, and the Americans early in the morning took possession of it.
Burgoyne, who in the beginning of the campaign had boastfully exclaimed, in general orders, "-Tritons never retreat," now found that there was no alternative for him but retreat, and when night came on again he began his retrograde movement in the midst of a drenching rain. This had been anticipated, and General Fellows, previous to the action on the ythinst., had been sent with a detach- ment to take a position opposite Saratoga ford, on the east side of the Hudson. Another detachment of two thousand men, was now sent to occupy the heights beyond Sarotoga, to prevent Burgoyne's retreat upon Fort Ed- ward; and still another was stationed at the ford above. On the evening of the 9th Burgoyne halted for the night at Fish creek. The main portion of his army forded the creek and encamped on the opposite bank, while he, with a brigade as a guard, passed the night rather merrily with some companions in a house belonging to General Schuyler. This delay lost him his army. Finding the ford across the Hudson strongly guarded by the detach- ment under Fellows, he concluded to continue his retreat up the river to Fort Edward. He sent forward a party to repair the bridges, and a detachment to take possession of the fort, but finding the Americans stationed in force upon the heights, they fell back to the main army. In the afternoon of the loth General Gates came up, with the bulk of the American army, in pursuit, and occupied the high ground on the south side of Fish creek, opposite the enemy's encampment. The detachment sent forward to Fort Edward led General Gates to believe the rumor that the main army of Burgoyne had retreated, and he re- solved to fall upon what he supposed was the rear guard. Burgoyne was aware of Gates' error, and hoping to profit by it concealed his troops for the purpose of falling upon the Americans as soon as a favorable opportunity should be afforded. Early the next morning, and in a thick fog, which both parties considered favorable to their res])ective designs, the army of Gates advanced. Morgan was
ordered to cross the creek and begin the action, and at once fell in with the British pickets, who fired upon him and killed several of his party. His reception led him to believe that the rumor of the enemy's retreat was false; that the main body of Burgoyne's force was still near, and that the position of his own corps was critical. Another brigade had already crossed and captured a picket-guard, and another was about to follow when a deserter from the enemy came in, reporting that the entire British army was at hand, and prepared for battle, which state- ment was shortly after confirmed by the capture of a re- connoitering party. As the fog cleared away and exposed the position of both armies, a retreat was deemed advis- able by the detachments that had crossed the creek. As soon as they turned about, the British, who were watch- ing their movements and awaiting their advance, opened fire upon them, but they made their retreat with the loss of only a few men.
Burgoyne was now completely environed. On the op- posite bank of the Hudson, Fellows was entrenched, with heavy batteries to open on him if he should attempt to cross the river. Fort Edward was held by an American force of two thousand men. On the south and west the main body of the Americans was posted, while small de- tachments were in all directions watching his every move- ment, and continually harrassing his outposts. His pro- visions were almost exhausted, and none could be ob- tained, and it was extremely hazardous to attempt to get water from the river or creek. The-e was no place of safety for the sick and wounded, and the women and children, as well as soldiers and officers, were constantly exposed to the cannon balls that were flying about the encampment. On the 12th he held a consultation with his generals, and it was decided to retreat that nignt, but the returning scouts brought such discouraging intelli- gence that the movement was postponed till morning. During the night the Americans crossed the river on rafts, and erected a battery on Burgoyne's left flank. Retreat was now hopeless. The next morning a general council was called, when it was unanimously decided to open negotiations with General Gates for an honorable surrender. This conclusion was hastened by the pass- age of a cannon ball across the table at which Burgoyne and other generals were seated. The negotiations were not completed until the i6th, when the terms of his sur- render were agreed upon, and were to be signed by the con^mander on the following morning. During the night a tory succeeded in reaching the British camp from down the river, who reported that Clinton had taken the forts on the Hudson and ascended the river as far as Esopus. This news so excited Burgoyne's hopes that he resolved not to sign the articles of capitulation, and to gain time he wrote Gates that he had been informed that a part of his army had been sent toward Albany, which, if true, should be considered a breach of faith, and that he could not give his signature until convinced that the strength of the Americans had not been misrepresented. He was informed by Gates that his army was as strong as it had been before these negotiations took place, and unless the
SURRENDER OF BURGOYNE— RECOGNITION OF AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE BY FRANCE. 37
articles were signed immediately he should open fire upon him. Burgoyne thereupon reluctantly signed the articles of capitulation.
The surrender of Burgoyne was of the utmost import- ance to the Americans in their struggle for independence. The preponderance of success up to this time had been on the side of the British. The reverses on Long Island and at New York in the previous year, together with the recent defeats in Pennsylvania, had darkened the military horizon with thick clouds of doubt and dismay. AH eyes were now anxiouly watching the army of the north, which had also been forced to rehnquish Ticonderoga and Fort Edward at the commencement of the campaign, and shaded the prospect of successful resistance in that direction. The news of a complete victory filled the pa- triots with joy and hope, and appalled the tories, who now began to tremble.
CHAPTER XIII.
CLINTONS HUDSON RIVER CAMPAIGN — FRANCE RECOG- NIZES THE UNITED STATES — WARS WITH THE INDIANS.
5HEN Burgoyne first perceived the difficulties gathering around him, he urged Sir Henry Clinton to hasten the e.xpedition up the Hudson to join him, but Clinton was obliged to wait for the arrival of reinforce- ments, and it was the 4th of October before he was ready to move. The first object to be accomp- lished was the reduction of Forts Montgomery and Clin- ton in the Highlands. These had been constructed to prevent the ships of the enemy from ascending the river, and each was indefensible in its rear, and feebly garrisoned. Clinton landed first at Verplanck's Point, and under cover of a fog dropped down with a part of his force to Stony Point, where he landed, and marched toward the forts. These were commanded by Governor George Clinton and his brother James. Governor Clinton, on learning that the enemy were moving up the river, sent out a scouting party to watch their movements, and from them lie first learned of their having landed at Stony Point, A small force was then sent out by him, which met the advance guard of the British about three miles out. Shots were exchanged, and the Americans retreated to the forts. Governor Clinton then sent out a stronger detachment to oppose the enemy's advance, and as this was soon engaged in a sharp conflict, another was sent to its assistance. They were pressed back by a supe- rior force, but not until the enemy had met with consider- able loss. Upon nearing the forts the British were divi- ded into two columns, and made a simultaneous assault upon them. After an incessant fire for several hours the British general demanded an instant and unconditional
surrender. The proposition was rejected, and the conflict continued until evening, when part of the besieged fought their way out. Governor Clinton made his escape, and likewise his brother, though wounded. Fort Constitution was abandoned on the approach of the British, which gave them command of the river. A detachment under Vaughn and Wallace landed without much opposition and burned Kingston. On hearing of the disastrous termination of Burgoyne's campaign the expedition re- turned to New York.
It was obvious that France had no sympathy with Great Britain, but looked upon the revolt of her colonies with secret satisfaction, and earnestly desired their separation from England. By the war which closed in 1763 she had been compelled to I'elinquish her extensive possessions in North America, and she rejoiced to have an opportunity to assist in the infliction of a like dismemberment of ter- ritory upon Great Britain. The commissioners at the court of Versailles from the revolted colonies, although not always openly countenanced, were by no means dis- couraged, and aid was frequently extended to the Ameri- cans' in a clandestine manner. When intelligence of the capture of Burgoyne reached France her vacillating policy ended, and, casting off all disguise, she entered into a treaty of alliance with, and on the 6tli of February, 1778, acknowledged the independence of the United States. This event made the patriots almost certain of ultimate success.
The Indians and tories who had been dispersed at Fort Schuyler were meditating mischief, and making pre- parations through the winter of 1777-8 to invade the Mohawk valley. Brant, the Indian chief who had pre- pared the ambuscade at Oriskany, was foremost in these threatening movements. Sir John Johnson and Colonel John Butler were also active in enlisting tory refugees. A council was called by the Revolutionary authorities, to secure, if possible, the neutraUty of the Indians. It met at Johnstown in March. None of the Senecas, the most powerful of the Six Nations, were present, and but few of the Mohawks. General La Fayette, who was to com- mand a proposed expedition against Canada, attended the council. His attention was called to the exposed condi- tion of the settlements, and he directed the building and strengthening of fortifications for their protection. The first hostile movement of Brant was the destruction of the small settlement of Springfield, at the head of Otsego lake. On the 2d of July an engagement occurred on the upper branch of the Cobleskill between an Indian force of four hundred and fifty and fifty-two Americans. The latter were overpowered. The Indians burned the dwel- lings, and slaughtered the cattle and horses they could not take with them. The settlers generaly were contin- ualy harrassed by marauding parties of Indians during the summer, but on the approach of winter Brant with- drew with his forces toward Niagara, and hostilities ap- parently ceased. On his way to Niagara he was met by Walter Butler, a fugitive from justice. He had been ar- rested as a spy and condemned to death, but had been reprieved through the intercession of friends, sent to
38
HISTORY OF NIAGARA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
Albany, and confined in prison, from which he made his escape. He joined his father. Col. John Butler, at Niag- ara, and obtained command of two hundred tories to unite with Brant in an incursion into the Mohawk valley. Upon meeting Brant he prevailed upon him to return and attack the settlement of Cherry Valley. Colonel Alden, who was in command of the fort at that place, received information of the intended attack, but treated it with unconcern. He refused to permit the settlers to move into the fort, believing it to be a false alarm. He, how- ever, assured them that he would keep scouts on the look-out to guard against surprise, and he did send them, but they fell into the hands of the savages, who extorted from them all necessary information respecting the situ- ation. On the morning of the nth of November the enemy entered the settlement, under cover of a thick and misty atmosphere, and began an indiscriminate slaughter of men, women, and children. The house of Mr. Wells of which Colonel Alden was an inmate, was surrounded, and the whole of the family brutally massacred. The colonel, in attempting to escape, was tomahawked and scalped. Thirty-two of the inhabitants, mostly women and children, and sixteen soldiers of the garrison, were slain in the most horrible manner. The whole settlement was plundered, and every house burned. Nearly forty pris- oners were taken, and conducted down the valley to en- camp for the night, promiscuously huddled together, some of them half naked, without shelter, and no resting-place but the cold ground. The next day, finding the women and children cumbersome, the captors sent most of them back. The infamous Butler was not only the author of this savage expedition, but he was the director of all the cruelty practiced. With the destruction of this settle- ment hostilities ceased along the frontier until the follow- ing spring. Through the winter Brant and his colleagues were making jjreparations for a renewal of their incur- sions, and necessity seemed to demand the infliction of severe punishment upon the savages who threatened to desolate the border settlements. Accordingly on the i8th of April, 1779, Colonel Van Schaick was sent out with a force from Fort Schuyler to make a descent upon the Onondagas. The expedition had approached to within a few miles of their villages and castle before their occu- pants were aware of tlie expedition against them. The Indians fled to the woods, leaving everything behind tliem, even to their arms. Their villages, three in num1)er, consisting of about fifty houses, were burned, and their provisions and cattle destroyed. The council house, or castle, was spared from the flames, but a swivel found in it was rendered useless. Thirty-three of the Indians were taken prisoners and twelve killed. The expedition then returned to Fort Schuyler, arriving on the 24th, having accomplished its object in six days, without the loss of a man. While this short catnpaign was in progress, the lower section of the Mohawk was visited at different points by scalping parties, and the settlements menaced with the fate of Cherry Valley. The Onondagas, fired with indignation at the destruction of their villages, retali- ated by a descent upon the settlement at Cobleskill, and
more than twenty of the militia were killed in defending it. The settlement at Minisink being unprotected, Brant resolved to ravage it. On the night of the 19th of July, at the head of -i party of Indians and tories disguised as savages, he silently approached the town, and had set fire to several houses before the inhabitants were aroused to the danger of their situation. All who could sought safety in flight, leaving everything to the invaders, who plundered and destroyed all their property, and retired to Grassy Brook, where Brant had left the main body of his warriors. When intelligence of this outrage reached Goshen, Doctor Tusten, colonel of the local militia, ordered them to meet him at Minisink, and one hundred and forty-nine responded to the call. A council was held, and it was resolved to pursue the invaders. Colo- nel Tusten was opposed to such a hazardous undertak- ing with so small a force, but he was overruled, and the line of march taken up. The next morning the pursuers were joined by Colonel Hathorn, with a small reinforce- ment. On coming to the place where the Indians had encamped the previous night, it was obvious from the number of camp-fires that the force was much larger than had been expected, and the leading officers advised re- turn rather than pursuit, but their rash associates were determined to proceed. Soon after Captain Tyler, who was with a scouting party, was shot by a hidden foe, but this circumstance, although it gave the company some alarm, did not check the pursuit. When the party reach- ed the hill overlooking the Delaware, they saw the enemy marching toward the fording place near the mouth of the Lackawaxen. Hathorn determined to intercept them, and arranged his men accordingly. Hills inter- vened between the opposing forces, and they soon lost sight of each other. Brant was watching the movements of the whites, and anticipating their design turned as soon as they were lost to view, and throwing his whole force in their rear, formed an ambuscade. .Not finding the enemy where they had expected Hathorn's men were greatly perplexed, and retracing their steps discovered the Indians in an unexpected quarter and greatly superi- or in numbers. The latter