BRIDGEMAN'S FORT. CAPT. MELVIN. MILITARY ROADS. Indian allies were always involved. Dur- captivity. Most of them, however, were ing their continuance, the frontier Eng- afterwards redeemed and returned to their lish settlements were frequently broken friends. up, and the inhabitants either massacred or carried into captivity. Some account of these transactions in the vicinity of Vermont has already been given in the first chapter. But as very few settlements were made within our limits while Canada was in possession of the French, the first settlers of Vermont suffered less from the incursions of the Indians than those of some of the other states. Bridgeman's Fort." We have already mentioned that the inhabitants of Vernon were attacked and several of them slain by the Indians, in 1746, and that Bridgeman's fort was taken and destroyed by them the next year; This place again received a hostile visit in 1755. On the 27th of July, of this year, Caleb Howe, Hilkiah Grout, and Benjamin Gaffield were way-laid and fired upon by a party of Indians, as they were returning from their labor in the field. Howe was killed, Gaffield was drowned in attempting to ford the river, and Grout escaped unhurt. The Indians then proceeded to Bridgeman's fort, which had been rebuilt, where they made prisoners of the families of these three men, consisting of their wives and eleven children, being all the persons in the fort. These were all carried to Canada, where they were doomed to suffer a long and cruel This fort is now standing in Vernon. This fort and others so often mentioned in the accounts of the Indian wars, were properly block-houses. They were constructed of large squared timber locked together at the corners in the manner of a common log cabin, and covered with a root, with port-holes for firing upon the assailants. They served only as protection against musketry. In 1756, as Captain Melvin, at the head of about 20 men, was marching through the wilderness from Charlestown, New Hampshire, to Hoosic fort, and when in the southerly part of Newfane, which was then uninhabited, he was fired upon by a large party of Indians, who were lying in ambush. A severe conflict ensued, in which both parties suffered considerably in killed and wounded. Melvin's party was at length overpowered by numbers, and was obliged to leave the field in possession of the enemy. Melvin and several of his number made their escape and arrived safely at fort Dummer. The next day he returned to the battle ground with a party from fort Dummer. The Indians were not to be found, but the bodies of those who were slain were collected and buried. At the time of the American Revolution the number of Indians residing in the vicinity of Vermont was greatly diminished; and as the Americans, at the commencement of that struggle, got possession of the military posts along lake Champlain, these few had, for a while, no opportunity to molest our settlements. But when the American army retreated from Canada in 1776, and the British had secured to themselves the command of lake Champlain, our western borders were wholly at the mercy of the enemy, and continued so during the remainder of the war. All the settlements in the vicinity of the lake were broken up, and the settlers retired with their families to the southward. The frontier military posts were at Castleton and Pittsford, on the west side of the mountains, and at Barnard, Corinth, Newbury, and Peacham, on the east side. the purpose During the last French war, a military road had been opened from Charlestown to Crown Point, which was now very beneficial to the Americans, and early in the spring of 1776, General Bailey was ordered to open a road from Newbury, through the wilderness, to St. Johns, for of facilitating the conveyance of troops and provisions into Canada. He had opened the road six miles above Peacham, when the news arrived that our army had retreated from Canada, and the But in undertaking was abandoned. 1779, Gen. Hazen was ordered to Peacham with part of a regiment, for the purpose, as was said, of completing the road begun by Bailey, so that an army might be sent through, for the reduction of Canada. But this was probably only a feint for dividing the enemy and preventing EXPEDITION AGAINST NEWBURY. BURNING OF ROYALTON. them from sending their whole force upmenced their depredations at the house of the lake. Hazen, however, continued Mr. John Hutchinson, who lived near the the road 50 miles above Peacham, through line between Tunbridge and Royalton. the towns of Cabot, Walden, Hardwick, After making Mr. Hutchinson and his Greensborough, Craftsbury, Albany, and brother Abijah prisoners, they proceeded Lowell, and erected block houses at sev- to the house of Mr. Robert Havens, where eral places along the route. This was a they killed Thomas Pember and Elias great convenience to the settlers who Button. They then went to the house of came into these parts after the war, and Joseph Kneeland, took him and his fathis known at this day as the "Hazen Road." er, and Simeon Belknap, Giles Gibbs and It terminated near a remarkable notch in Jonathan Brown. Proceeding thence to the mountain in Westfield, and which the house of Mr. Elias Curtis, they made has since been called Hazen's Notch. him and John Kent and Peter Mason During the continuance of the war, the prisoners. frontier towns were frequently alarmed Thus far the business was conducted by the appearance of Indian scouting par- with the greatest silence, and the prisonties in their neighborhood, but the inhab-ers were forbid making any outery upon itants were seldom molested. Their dwel-pain of death. They at length arrived at lings were, however, occasionally plun- the mouth of the branch, where they dered, and sometimes men were taken made a stand, while small parties proprisoners, and a few, at different times, ceeded in different directions to plunder were killed, but the women and children the dwellings and bring in prisoners. By were not usually injured, and never mas- this time the alarm had become general, sacred as in former wars. In 1777, the the inhabitants were flying for safety in Indians killed two men in Brandon, took every direction, and the savages filled the several of the inhabitants prisoners, and air with their horrid yells. One party exburnt their dwellings. On the 9th of tended its ravages down the river into August, 1780, they took three men in Sharon, took two prisoners and burnt sevBarnard, whom they carried to Canada;* eral houses and barns. Another party and in October of the same year, they proceeded up the river, made prisoner of made a successful expedition against Roy- David Waller, a young lad who lived with alton, a thriving settlement on White General Stevens, plundered and set fire river, which then consisted of about 300 to the General's house, and advanced in inhabitants. that direction about three miles, killing the cattle and plundering and setting fire to the buildings as they passed. This expedition was designed against Newbury, on Connecticut river, for the object, as was supposed, of capturing a Lieutenant Whitcomb, who in July, 1776, while on a scout, had wantonly shot General Gordon, a British officer, between Chambly and St. Johns, and robbed him of his watch and sword. The British deeply resented this attack as unworthy of an officer, and were desirous of getting Whitcomb into their power. The party, consisting of about 300 men, mostly Indians, was commanded by one Horton, a British lieutenant. While proceeding up Winooski river, they fell in with several hunters, by whom they were told that the people of Newbury were expecting an attack, and were well prepared for defence. This information induced them to turn their attention towards Royalton. After completing their work of destruction, they returned with their booty to the place where they commenced their attack in the morning. From this place they proceeded across the hill to Randolph, where they encamped for the night on the second branch of White river. In the course of the day they had killed two persons, taken 25 prisoners, burnt upwards of 20 houses, and about the same number of barns, and killed about 150 head of cattle, and all the sheep and hogs that fell in their way; having suffered no loss themselves, and scarcely met with any opposition. Surprised, affrighted and scattered from one another, the inhabitants could take no steps for their defence; the alarm, however, soon spread, and a They accordingly proceeded up Ste- number of men immediately marched from vens' and jail branch, and down the first Connecticut river,and the adjacent towns. branch of White river, to Tunbridge, By evening they amounted to several hunwhere they lay in their encampment dur-dreds, and were collected at the place ing the Sabbath, and on Monday morning, it being the 16th of October, they com * Some further account of these, and other similar transactions, will be found in part third, in the acCounts of Barnard, Brandon, Bridport, and other towns. where the attack was first commenced. Here they organized themselves, and chose for their commander a captain John House, who had served several campaigns in the continental army. Early in the evening, House began his PURSUIT OF THE INDIANS. INTERESTING INCIDENTS. march with this undisciplined but brave | awakened by the rushing in of the savcorps, in pursuit of the savages, who were at this time encamped seven or eight miles ahead. The night was dark and he was guided amidst the logs, rocks and hills with which the wilderness abounded only by a few marked trees. When they supposed themselves near the Indians, they proceeded with caution, but as they were passing over a stream which was crossed upon a large log they were fired upon by the enemy's rear guard, which had been posted behind some trees near the place, and one man was wounded. House's party returned the fire, killed one Indian and wounded two others. The guard then retreated to the Indian camp, and House advanced within about 300 yards of the same, where he waited till day light without commencing an attack. Fatigued by the business of the preceding day, and now suddenly awakened from profound sleep, the savages were at first filled with consternation and thrown into the utmost disorder. They, however, soon recovered from their fright, and were not long in concerting measures for their own safety. They sent out an aged prisoner to inform the Americans that, if they proceeded to make an attack, they should immediately put all the prisoners to death. The proceedings thus far had caused two to be put to death; one to retaliate the death of the Indian, who had been slain, and the other for refusing to march, in the expectation that the Americans would relieve them. These were tomahawked as they lay bound upon the ground. Having placed their warriors in the rear to cover their retreat, they silently left their encampment, proceeded to Randolph, where they took one prisoner, passed through the west part of Brookfield, and, by the way of Winooski river and lake Champlain, to Montreal. House and his men were waiting for the dawn of day and deliberating upon the message brought them by the prisoner, till the Indians had departed and were far beyond their reach. They, however, followed upon their trail as far as Brookfield and then returned, having lost the opportunity of attacking the enemy by their caution and delay. On their way to Canada, the prisoners were well treated, and with respect to provisions fared as well as their masters. Of the twenty-six who were carried away, one died in captivity, and the rest were liberated the next summer and returned to their friends. During the attack upon Royalton, there were several occurrences which are worthy of notice. In one of the houses first attacked, two women, being suddenly ages, were so much frightened that they lost the use of their reason, went out of their doors naked, and stood motionless till the Indians brought them their clothes. This act of kindness restored their senses; they put on their clothes, collected the children and fled to the woods, while the savages were engaged in plundering the house. At another place one of the women had the boldness to reproach the Indians for distressing helpless women and children, telling them that if they had the spirit and souls of warriors, they would cross the river and go and fight the men at the fort. The Indians bore her remarks patiently, and only replied, squaw shouldn't say too much. At another place a woman having her gown carried out of the house with other plunder, resolved to recover it. Seeing it in a heap of pillage which the savages were dividing among themselves at the door, she seized it; upon which one of the Indians clubbed his gun and knocked her down. Not discouraged, she patiently awaited an opportunity when the savages were collecting more plunder, seized and brought off her gown, having at the same time one child in her arms and leading another by the hand. Another woman having her young son taken away with other little boys, followed the Indians with her other children, and entreated them to give him up, which they did. Encouraged by this success, she then interceded for others, and finally prevailed upon them to give up 12 or 15 of her neighbor's children. One of the Indians then in a fit of good humor offered to carry her over the river npon his back. She accepted his proposal, and her savage gallant carried her safely over, though the water was up to his middle, and she soon returned with her little band of boys, to the no small surprise and joy of their parents. A few days after the burning of Royalton there was one of the most extensive alarms in the county of Windham, experienced in Vermont during the war; but it proved to be wholly groundless. It happened, that as several men were surveying lands in Brookline, some of them undertook to imitate the Indian warwhoop. In this they succeeded to admiration, and were heard by the inhabitants of Athens, who, supposing them to be real Indians, took fright, fled, and rapidly spread the alarm through the neighboring towns. Immediately all was terror and confusion. To their bewildered imagina tions every noise became the yell of the savage, and every rock and every tree of the forest a lurking place for the cruel DELEGATES SENT TO CONGRESS. ALARM IN WINDHAM COUNTY. foe. flee the field With such precipitation did they burning log and brush heaps, which had from men their farms and dwellings that left their teams harnessed in the women their ovens heating and Cooking by the fire. and When the intelligence reached Colonel Victuals Sargeant been piled by the industrious inhabitants of Newfane, and which had been set on fire as they saw the storm approaching. On the 8th of March, 1781, a party of British and Indians made prisoners of Colonel Johnson, Jacob Page, and Jonaorders into the different towns requesting than Elkins, and carried them to Canada. their militia to assemble for the purpose In the following summer, a scout consistof stopping the progress of the Indians ing of four men from Peacham, while who were laying waste the settlements. proceeding up Hazen's Road, were fired A snow storm had commenced, and before upon by a party of Indians. Two of them night was so severe as to render the flight were killed and scalped, and the other of the inhabitants laborious and distress- two made prisoners. In 1782, a party of ing; and, as evening come on, numerous British and Indians, after killing one man lights were seen along the horizon, which, and taking one prisoner at Newbury, proit was not doubted, proceeded from the ceeded to Corinth where they compelled conflagration of the dwellings of the in- the inhabitants to swear allegiance to the habitants wantonly plundered and set on British king. Other towns were also visfire by the Indians. This alarm spread ited by small parties of the enemy in the ever most of the country, but was happily course of the war, but during the period of short continuance. The brave soldiery of the negotiation, mentioned in the last marched into the deserted country, but section, and while Vermont was wholly they found nothing but a deep snow to at their mercy, these parties did very litinterrupt their progress. The original tle injury, and probably had orders from cause of alarm was soon ascertained, and the British generals not to molest the the lights, by which it had been height- inhabitants. ened, were found to proceed from the CHAPTER V. THE ADMISSION OF VERMONT INTO THE UNION. SECTION I. Extending from the completion of the castern and western unions with Vermont on the 22d of June, 1781, to the dissolution of the same on the 22d day of February, 1782. their mission, and appointed a committee On the 18th of August, a conference Vermont, having completed her eastern took place between this committee and the and western unions, as related in the pre-delegates from Vermont, at which sundry ceding chapter, appointed Jonas Fay, Ira Allen, and Bezaleel Woodward, delegates to the American Congress to negotiate for her admission into the federal union. Full powers were given them to complete the arrangement; and, if they effected their object, they were authorized to take their seats in Congress as the representatives of Vermont. These delegates arrived at Philadelphia in the beginning of August, and about the time of the publication of Lord Germain's letter, as already mentioned. On the 7th of August, 1781, Congress took up the subject of State Papers, page 158. questions were proposed to the latter respecting the extent, population, and resources of Vermont, and the views and wishes of the inhabitants'; to all of which answers were returned. On the 20th, the committee made their report to Congress; whereupon that body adopted the following resolution: "Resolved, That it be an indispensable preliminary to the recognition of the independence of the people inhabiting the territory called Vermont, and their admission into the federal *For an account of this conference see Slade's RESOLUTION OF CONGRESS. VIEWS OF VERMONT AND NEW YORK RESPECTING IT. union, that they explicitly relinquish all demands of lands or jurisdiction on the east side of the west bank of Connecticut river, and on the west side of a line beginning at the north west corner of Massachusetts, thence running twenty miles east of Hudson river, so far as said river continues north-easterly in its general course, then by the west bounds of the townships granted by the late government of New Hampshire, to the river running into East Bay, thence along said river and bay to lake Champlain, thence along the waters of said lake to latitude 45 degrees north." Vermont and New York were both dissatisfied with this resolution-Vermont, because it required as a condition of her admission into the union, that she should dissolve the agreeable connexions which she had just formed-New York, because it recognized the claim, against which she had so long and so earnestly contended ;-the one, because it bereft Vermont of one half her present territory, resources and importance-the other, because it would allow Vermont still to have something left which she could call her own. This appears from the proceedings of their respective legislatures. The legislature of Vermont met at Charlestown, on the east side of the Connecticut river, in October, and on the 16th of that month, the foregoing resolutions were laid before them. The resolution held out to Vermont a faint prospect of an admission into the federal union with her original territory, but having lost much of her confidence in the assurances of Congress, and having now consolidated her unions at home, she felt herself in a condition to demand better terms than the relinquishment of one half her territory and population, to secure the independence of the other half. After deliberating and debating upon the subject for several days, the assembly, on the 19th of October, voted that they could not comply with the foregoing resolution of Congress.* They declared that a compliance would destroy the foundation of the harmony which then subsisted in the state, and be a violation of the solemn compact entered into by the articles of union and confederation that they would remain firm in the principles on which they had assumed the powers of government-that they would hold inviolate the articles of union which connected the parts of the state together-and that they would submit the question of their independence to the ar *For these proceedings, see Slade's S. P., p. 160. bitration of no power under heaven. They however declared their willingness to submit any questions, which might arise, with regard to jurisdictional limits between them and the neighboring states, to arbitrators mutually chosen; and, when adınitted into the American union, they would not object to submitting such disputes to Congress. The Legislature of New York, on the other hand, regarding the resolution of Congress as a virtual determination of the controversy between that state and Vermont, passed a number of resolutions, and a solemn protest against the proceedings of Congress.* Having stated their claims, and some former proceedings of Congress on the subject, they went on to express their disapprobation and alarm at the evident intention of Congress, from political expedience, to establish an arbitrary boundary, which excluded from that state a great part of its territory. They declared that, in the opinion of the legislature, . Congress had no authority, by the articles of confederation, to intermeddle with the territorial extent, or jurisdiction, of either of the United States, except in case of dispute between two or more states in the union, that to carry into execution said resolution of Congress, would be an assumption of power, and an infraction of the articles of confederation, and that they therefore solemnly protested against the same. With the resolution of Congress of August 20th, a verbal message had been sent by General Washington to Governor Chittenden, desiring to know what were the real designs, wishes and intentions of the people of Vermont;—whether they would be satisfied with the independence proposed in said resolution, or seriously thought of joining the enemy and becoming a British province. On the 14th of November, Governor Chittenden returned an unequivocal and decisive answer to the above communication, in which he said that no people on the continent were more attached to the cause of America than the people of Vermont; but, that they would sooner join the British in Canada, than submit to the government of New York-that, driven to desperation by the injustice of those who should have been her friends, Vermont was now obliged to adopt policy in the room of power. He ascribed the late resolution of Congress,not to the influence of friends, but the power of enemies, believing that Lord Germain's letter had procured that, which the public virtue of the people could not obtain. * For these resolutions soe Slade's S. P., p. 163. |