REMONSTRANCE OF THE EXCEPTED PERSONS.

WESTMINSTER MASSACRE

crable race of men from the face of the | etly to the jurisdiction of that colony, and earth." stood, in a measure, unconcerned spectaAgain, says that document: "we there- tors of the controversy in which the setfore advertise such officers, and all persons tlers on the more westerly grants, were whatsoever, that we are resolved to inflict so deeply involved. And where this was immediate death on whomsoever may at- not the case, they had not yet been driven tempt the same; (that is, the apprehen- to desperation by the executive officers of sion of any of the persons indicted as New York. They were not, however, inrioters.) And provided any of us, or our different to the policy of Great Britain party shall be taken, and we have not no- towards her American Colonies. The tice sufficient to relieve them; or whether settlers on the New Hampshire grants we relieve them or not, we are resolved to were, generally, emigrants from the other surround such person, or persons, as shall New England provinces, and they readitake them, whether at his, or their own ly sympathized with their kindred and house, or houses, or any where that we friends, and were by no means backward can find him, or them, and shoot such per-in imbibing the growing spirit of opposison, or persons, dead. And furthermore, we will kill and destroy any person or persons whomsoever, that shall presume to be accessary, aiding or assisting in taking any one of us, as aforesaid; for, by these presents, we give any such disposed person, or persons, to understand, that although they have a license by the law aforesaid, to kill us; and an indemnification for such murder, from the same authority, yet they have no indemnification for so doing from the Green Mountain Boys; for our lives, liberties and properties are as verily precious to us as to any of the king's subjects: but if the governmental authority of New York insist upon killing us, to take possession of our "vineyards"-let them come on; we are ready for a game of scalping with them, for our martial spirits glow with bitter indignation and consummate fury, to blast their infernal projects."

tion to the oppressive and arbitrary measures pursued by the mother country towards her colonies.

The remonstrance, from which the foregoing are extracts, was dated the 26th day of April, 1774, and signed by Ethan Allen and six others. About this time a plan was concerted to avoid the jurisdiction of New York, by having the New Hampshire grants, and that part of New York lying east of Hudson river, erected into a separate royal government. To effect this object, Philip Skeen, a colonel in one of the king's regiments, and the owner of large possessions on lake Champlain, went over to Great Britain, and seems to have met with some success; but nothing decisive had been done when the revolution commenced, which put an end to the negociation.

The affairs of the colonies had assumed so alarming an aspect, that delegates from most of the provinces met at Philadelphia on the 5th of September, 1774, to consult upon measures for the common safety. The meeting of this congress was followed by an almost universal suspension of the royal authority in all the colonies, excepting New York, which refused its assent to the measures recommended by that body, and the courts of justice were either shut up or adjourned without doing any business. The first interruption of this kind in the colony of New York, happened in the county of Cumberland, on the New Hampshire grants.

The stated session of the court for that county was to have been holden at Westminster, on the 13th of March, 1775. Much dissatisfaction prevailed in the county because New York had refused to adopt the resolves of the continental Con. gress, and exertions were made to dissuade the judges from holding the court. But, as they persisted in doing it, some of the inhabitants of Westminster and the adjacent towns, took possession of the court honse at an early hour in order to prevent the officers of the court from entering. The court party soon appeared before the court house, armed with guns, swords and pistols, and commanded the people to disperse. But, as they refused to obey, some harsh language passed between them, and the court party retired to their quarters.

The opposition to the claims of New The people then had an interview with York had hitherto been confined, princi-judge Chandler, who assured them that pally, to the inhabitants on the west side they might have quiet possession of the of the mountains. The settlers on the house till morning, when the court should grants in the vicinity of Connecticut riv- come in without arms, and should hear er, had, many of them, surrendered their what they had to lay before them. But, original charters, and had taken new ones contrary to this declaration, about eleven under the authority of New York. In o'clock at night, the sheriff, with the othseveral of the towns they submitted qui- er officers of the court, attended by an

RESOLUTIONS AND REMONSTRANCES.

PROGRESS OF POPULATION.

armed force, repaired to the court house. | of the mountains driven to make common

Being refused admittance, some of the party fired into the house and killed one man and wounded several others. The wounded men they seized and dragged to prison, with some others who did not suc-ed to the highest pitch, and probably the ceed in making their escape.

cause with their brethren on the west, in opposing the government of New York. The indignation of the settlers throughout the New Hampshire grants was now rais

By means of those who escaped, the news of this massacre was quickly spread, and before noon the next day, a large body of armed men had collected. A jury of inquest brought in a verdict, that the man was murdered by the court party. Several of the officers were made prisoners and confined in the jail at Northampton, in Massachusetts. But, upon the application to the Chief Justice of New York, they were released from prison and returned home.t

These proceedings aroused the spirit of opposition to New York throughout the grants on the east side of the mountains. A meeting of committees from the several townships was held at Westminster, on the 11th of April, 1775, at which a number of spirited resolutions were adopted relative to the late unhappy transactions. Among other things it was voted, "That it is the duty of the inhabitants, as predicated on the eternal and immutable law of self preservation, wholly to renounce and resist the administration of the government of New York, until such times as the lives and property of the inhabitants may be secured by it." A committee was also appointed, of which Ethan Allen was one, to remonstrate to the court of Great Britain against that government and to petition his Majesty, "to be taken out of so oppressive a jurisdiction and either annexed to some other jurisdiction, or incorporated into a new one."

Thus were the settlers on the east side

commencement of the American war at Lexington, on the 19th of April, was the only thing which prevented the parties proceeding to open hostilities. This event produced a shock which was felt throughout the colonies; local and provincial contests were at once swallowed up by the novelty, the grandeur and the importance of the contest thus opened between Great Britain and her American colonies.

SECTION V.

Progress of Settlement, character of the
Settlers, and modes of punishment.

It has already been remarked that, although several establishments had been made in Vermont previous to that time, the commencement of the settlement may properly be dated from the conquest of Canada in 1760. In that year, the whole number of settlers on the territory of Vermont did not exceed 300 persons, and although the settlement began from that time sensibly to advance, it was by no means rapid till after the treaty of peace, in 1763, by which Canada was ceded to Great Britain. In 1764, settlements had been commenced in many of the townships on Connecticut river as far north as Newbury, and in several townships on the west side of the Green Mountains, in the county of Bennington.

In 1765, the government of New York, having acquired authority from the British crown to exercise jurisdiction over the William French. The following is a literal copy New Hampshire grants as far eastward as of the inscription on his monument in Westminster, furnished to the Compiler of the Vermont State Pa Connecticut river,commenced the division pers by the flon. Wm. C. Bradley. It is preserved of the territory into counties, as mentioned both as a literary curiosity and as exhibiting une-in section third. The division lines bequivocal indication of the spirit of the times. tween the counties were, however, a matIn Memory of William French Son to Mrter of little consequence, towards the close Nathaniel French Who Was Shot at Westminster March ye 13th 1775 by the hands of Cruel Ministerial tools of Georg ye 34 in the Corthouse at a 11 a Clock at Night in the 22d year of his

Age

Here William French his Body lies

For Murder his blood for Vengance cries
King Georg the third his Tory crew
tha with a bawl his head Shot threw
For Liberty and his Countrys Good
he Lost his Life his Dearest blood

A full account of these transactions was published by a committee appoisted for that purpose, on the 23d of March, 1775, and may be found in Slade's Vermont Stato Papers, page 55.

of this period, for when the government of New York found the opposition to their measures so determined and so general among the settlers on the grants, they seem to have given the court of Albany county jurisdiction over the whole tract of country. This gave rise to the expression, unlimited county of Albany, so frequently used by the Vermont pamphleteers during the controversy with New York.

Previous to the year 1770, scarcely any settlements had been made on the west side of the Green Mountains to the northward of the present county of Benning

CHARACTER OF THE SETTLERS.

ETHAN ALLEN.

SETH WARNER.

ton. During the next year, 1771, settle- | Allen wrote and dispersed several pamments were commenced in several town- phlets, in which he exhibited, in a inanships in Rutland county, and this year ner peculiar to himself, and well suited was taken the first census of the inhabit- to the state of public feeling, the injustice ants on the the grants on the east side of and cruelty of the claims and proceedings the mountains. By this enumeration it of New York. And although these pamappears that Cumberland county contain- phlets are unworthy of notice as literary ed, in 1771, 3,947 inhabitants, and Glou- productions, yet, they were at the time cester county 722, and it was estimated extensively circulated, and contributed that these two counties contained at that much to inform the minds, arouse the zeal, time two thirds of the people in the whole and unite the efforts of the settlers. district. The whole number of inhabitants must therefore have been about 7000. No complete census was taken till the year 1791, and hence it is impossible to determine the precise population of Vermont at the time of the commencement of the American Revolution. But as the settlements were rapidly extending during the five years succeeding the year 1771, we may safely conclude, that the whole population of Vermont at the commencement of the war was at least 20,000. About the close of the war we find the population incidentally estimated by Doct. Williams at 30,000 souls.

The bold and unpolished roughness of Allen's writings were well suited to give a just description of the views and proceedings of a band of speculating and unprincipled land-jobbers. His method of writing was likewise well adapted to the condition and feelings of the settlers, and probably exerted a greater influence over their opinions and conduct, than the same sentiments would have done clothed in the chaste style of classic elegance. did it differ greatly in style, or literary merit, from the pamphlets which came from New York. But although Allen wrote with asperity and freedom, there was something generous and noble in his conHe refrained from every thing which had the appearance of meanness, injustice, cruelty or abuse towards those who fell into his power, and protested against the same in others.*

Nor

Next to Allen, Seth Warner seems to have acted the most conspicuous part among the settlers. He, like Allen, was firm and resolute, fully determined that the decisions of New York against the settlers should never be carried into execution. But while Allen was daring and sometimes rash and imprudent, Warner was always cool, calm and comparatively cautious. After Warner was proscribed

The settlers on the New Hampshire grants were a brave, hardy, but unculti-duct. vated race of men. They knew little of the etiquette of refined society, were blessed with few of the advantages of education, and were destitute of the elegancies, and in most cases of the common conveniences of life. They were sensible that they must rely upon the labor of their own hands for their daily subsistence, and for the accumulation of property. They possessed minds which were naturally strong and active, and they were aroused to the exercise of their highest energies by the difficulties, which they were compelled to encounter. The controversy in which they were engaged involved their dearest rights. On its issue depended not only their titles to their possessions, but, in many cases, their personal liberty and safety. Though unskilled in the rules of logic, their reasoning was strong and conclusive, and they possessed the courage and perseverance necessary for carrying their plans and decisions into execution.

We have already observed that, at the head of the opposition to the proceedings of New York, stood Ethan Allen, a man obviously fitted by nature for the circumstances and exigencies of the times. Bold, ardent and unyielding, he possessed an unusual degree of vigor both of body and mind, and an unlimited confidence in his own abilities. With these qualifications, the then existing state of the settlement rendered him peculiarly fitted to become a prominent and successful leader. During the progress of the controversy,

the 10th of January, 1737. He married in Connec
*Ethan Allen was born at Litchfield, Conn. on
ticut, came to Vermont himself about the year 1769
and spent most of his after life here, but his family
did not come to Vermont till 1778, just before his
return from captivity. He was taken prisoner at
Montreal in the fall of 1775, and carried to Eng-
land-was exchanged in May 1778-removed
the 12th February 1789.
Burlington in 1787, where he died of apoplexy on
His ashes rest beneath a
plain marble slab in the beautiful cemetery near
Winooski lower falls, having upon it the following
inscription:-

"The

Corporeal Part

of

Genl. Ethan Allen

rests beneath this stone the 12th day of Feb. 1789, aged 50 years.

His spirit tried the mercies of his God
In whom he believed and strongly trusted."
His true age was 52 years, one month and two
days.

REMEMBER BAKER.

BEECH SEAL.

MODES OF PUNISHMENT.

as a rioter, as related in a preceding sec-these conventions were regarded as the tion, an officer from New York attempted law of the land, and their infraction was to apprehend him. He, considering it an always punished with exemplary severity. affair of open hostility, defended himself The punishment most frequently inflicted against the officer, and in turn attacked, was the application of the "beech seal" to wounded and disarmed him; but, with the naked back, and banishment from the the spirit and generosity of a soldier, he grants. This mode of punishment derived spared his life. its significant name from allusion to the great seal of the province of New Hampshire, which was affixed to the charters of the townships granted by the governor of that province, of which the beech rod well laid upon the naked backs of the "Yorkers," and their adherents, was humorously considered a confirmation.

After Ethan Allen and Seth Warner, no person on the New Hampshire grants, up to the close of this period, acted a more distinguished part, or was more serviceable to the settlers, than Remember Baker. He was the pioneer in many an enterprise and was always in readiness for any emergency. Being a joiner and mill-wright by trade, he built the first mills which were erected at Arlington and Pawlet, and was preparing in connexion with his cousin, Ira Allen, for the erection of mills at Winooski falls, when the war of the revolution commenced.*

During the protracted controvesy in which these men acted so prominent a part, there had been, up to this time, frequent attempts to arrest it and bring it to an amicable settlement. Orders from the crown had likewise been often given to New York to suspend further prosecutions and make no more grants of the lands in dispute till his Majesty's further pleasure should be known respecting them. But in despite of royal orders and the remonstrances of the settlers on the grants, New York continued to assert and to endeavor to enforce her claims, and the repeated but vain attempts at reconciliation, served only to embitter the resentment of the contending parties and produce a state of hostility more decided and alarming.

The affairs of the inhabitants of the grants appear to have been managed during this period by committees appointed in the several towns, and who met in convention as occasion required, to adopt measures for the common defence and welfare. The resolutions and decrees of

*As Capt. Baker was killed shortly after the close of this period, we would observe here that he was born at Woodbury, Ct. about 1740; served in the expedition against Canada in 1753; came to the Grants about 1764; was engaged in the reduction of Ticonderoga and Crown Point in the summer of 1775, and in August following, being sent by Gen. Montgomery to reconnoiter the enemy's position at St. Johns, he was shot by an Indian. At some distance this side of St. Johns, he landed and concealed his boat, and was about proceeding on foot, when he saw that his boat was already in possess sion of some Indians. He hailed them and demanded his boat, but as they paid no regard to the des mand he drew up his gun and it missed fire, and at the next instant received a shot through the head from one of the Indians in the boat and fell dead upon the spot. His companions then fled and made their way back by land with the sad intelligence.

That the reader may have a just idea of the summary manner in which the convention and committees proceeded against those who violated their decrees, we will lay before them the sentence of Benjamin Hough, as a sample. It appears that Hough, who resided in the vicinity of Clarendon and who was a violent Yorker, went to New York in the winter of 1774, for the purpose of obtaining the aid of government against the Green Mountain Boys, and that on the 9th of March, the very day of the passage of the extraordinary law of which we have already spoken in the fourth section of this chapter, he accepted the appointment of justice of the peace for the county of Charlotte, under the authority of New York. On his return he proceeded to execute his new office within the grants, in defiance of the decree of the convention which forbade it. He was repeatedly warned to desist, but being found incorrigible, he was arrested and carried before a committee of safety

BENJAMIN HOUGH'S PUNISHMENT.

#

DR. ADAMS' PUNISHMENT.

mentioned,* and this matter, together with the particulars of the transactions at Westminster on the 13th of March, was made the subject of a special message to the colonial assembly by Lieut. Gov. Colden. The Assembly, after discussing these sub

resolved to appropriate £1000 for the maintenance of justice and the suppression of riots in the county of Cumberland, and that a reward of £50 each be offered for apprehending James Mead, Gideon Warren and Jesse Sawyer, and also a reward of £50 each, in addition to the rewards previously offered, for the apprehension of Ethan Allen, Seth Warner, Robert Cochran and Peleg Sunderland. These reso

at Sunderland. The decree of the convention and the charges against the prisoner being read in his presence, he acknowledged that he had been active in promoting the passage of the law above mentioned and in the discharge of his duties as magistrate, but pleaded the juris-jects on the 30th and 31st of March, finally diction of New York over the Grant, in justification of his conduct. This plea having no weight with the committee, they proceeded to pronounce upon him the following sentence, viz. "That the prisoner be taken from the bar of this committee of safety and be tied to a tree, and there, on his naked back, receive two hundred stripes; his back being dressed, he should depart out of the district, and on return, without special leave of the conven-lations constituted the last and dying eftion, to suffer death." This sentence was forthwith carried into execution, with unsparing severity, in the presence of a large concourse of people Hough asked and received the following written certificate of his punishment, signed by Allen and Warner:

forts of the royal government of New York against the New Hampshire Grants. The assembly was soon prorogued and never met again, being superseded by the revolutionary authority of the provincial con

gress.

Although the application of the beach seal was the most common punishment, others were frequently resorted to. Some of these were in their nature trifling and puerile. The following may serve as a specimen. A Dutchman of Arlington became a partisan of New York and spoke in reproachful terms of the convention and of the proceedings of the Green Mountain Boys. He advised the settlers to submit to New York, and re-purchase their lands from that government. Being requested to desist, and disregarding it, he was arrested and carried to the Green Mountain tavern in Bennington. The committee, after hearing his defence, ordered him " to be tied in an armed chair, and hoisted. to the sign, (a catamount's skin, stuffed, sitting upon the sign post twenty-five feet from the ground with large teeth, grining towards New York,) and there to hang two hours in sight of the people, as a punishment merited by his enmity to the rights and liberties of the inhabitants of the New Hampshire Grants." This sentence was executed to the no small merriment of a large concourse of people; and when he was let down he was dismissed by the committee with the exhortation to "go and sin no more."

full in the American Archives, Vol. I, p. 215; and *This curious relic of "olden time" is given in also in the 15th and 16th Numbers of the Historical Readings, published in the State Banner, at Bea ningtoa.