RESISTING THE NEW YORK CLAIMANTS.
On the return of Mr. Allen to Bennington, the people met in convention,
and passed a resolution to support their rights and property by force,
inasmuch as justice was denied them by the intriguing land-jobbers
controlling the civil power of New York. This was a bold stroke of one
hundred men thus to oppose the most favored and influential colony
under the Crown; but the Vermonters rightly conjectured their quarrel
was with the governor of New York and a few land speculators only, and
not with the body of its inhabitants.
Matters were daily becoming more serious. Civil officers were opposed
by the people of the Grants; the latter were in turn indicted for riot,
and sheriffs were sent to apprehend the delinquents. These officers
were seized and severely chastised _with twigs of the wilderness_;
that is to say, they were bound to trees and treated to an application
of beech rods on their bare backs, well laid on. Every day produced
new events: the settlers resolved to form themselves into a military
association for mutual protection.
Before the close of the year 1770, committees of safety had been
organized for purposes of defense against the New York claimants. These
committees afterwards met in general convention, when important issues
were to be determined. Ethan Allen was commissioned Colonel Commandant,
and Seth Warner, Remember Baker, Robert Cockran, Gideon Warren and
others, were appointed captains.
The Governor of New York had threatened to drive the Vermonters
into the Green Mountains, which occasioned their taking the name of
“Green Mountain Boys.” The committees of safety passed a resolution
in general council, in 1771, that no officer from New York be allowed
to carry out of the Hampshire Grants any person, without permission
given by the committees, or the military commanders. Surveyors of land
under New York were forbidden to run any lines within the Grants; and
transgressors in this particular were to be punished according to the
judgment of a court formed among the military officers or elders of the
people.
“Hugh Monroe, an old offender, was taken, tried, and ordered to be
whipped on his naked back. He was tied to a tree, and flogged till he
fainted; on recovering he was whipped again till he fainted; he revived
and underwent a third lashing till he fainted; his wounds were then
dressed, and he was banished the district of the New Hampshire Grants.”
These severities proved a salutary lesson, and the Green Mountain Boys
became a terror to their adversaries.
The convention next issued a decree forbidding all persons taking out
grants, or confirmations of grants, under New York. This had the effect
of uniting the settlers very much in the common cause. About the same
time the Colonial Assembly of New York authorized the sheriffs to call
out a _posse comitatus_ in case of opposition to the execution of their
office; and the Governor offered a reward of £150 for Colonel Ethan
Allen, and £50 each for Warner and five others therein named, to any
person that should take and confine them in any jail in New York. As a
measure of retaliation, Allen and the other proscribed persons offered
a reward of £5 for the taking of John Taber Kemp, Attorney General of
New York, and published the same in the newspapers of the day.
The Supreme Court at Albany, having awarded a judgment on a writ of
ejectment against James Breckenridge, of Bennington, the sheriff of
Albany County summoned a posse to the number of seven hundred and fifty
men to go and assist in serving the same. The officers collected about
three hundred, and reaching Breckenridge’s house some hours in advance
of the sheriff’s party, stationed their men in ambuscade in readiness
to receive them.
An officer and eighteen men were placed inside the house. One hundred
and fifty were secreted behind trees, in a wood, near the road by which
the sheriff must pass, and where he would naturally halt his men while
he went to demand possession of the premises. The other division was
stationed behind a ridge of land, in a meadow, within gun-shot of the
house, but out of sight of the sheriff’s men. This arrangement of the
ambuscade enabled the Green Mountain Boys to have a cross-fire on the
Yorkers without endangering themselves; and they were instructed to
hold themselves in readiness to commence the attack in case the sheriff
forced the door, the signal to be a red flag hoisted above the chimney
top.
When the sheriff and his party approached, all was silent; and
exultingly they marched directly into the trap without being aware
of their critical situation. Mr. Ten Eyck, the sheriff, went to the
house and demanded entrance as Sheriff of the County of Albany; and
threatened in case of refusal, to force the door. The answer was,
“Attempt it, and you are a dead man.” He repeated his demand; and was
answered by “hideous groans from within.”
At this juncture, the two divisions exhibited their hats on the points
of their guns, which made them appear more numerous than they really
were. The sheriff and his men, realizing the danger of their situation,
“and not being interested in the dispute,” beat a hasty retreat,
without a gun being fired on either side. This affair served not only
to cement the union of the people, but also to cause a higher estimate
to be placed on them by the neighboring colonies.
On another occasion, an armed party of fifty men proceeded to
Arlington, where they took prisoner Captain Remember Baker, one of the
seven proscribed persons, severely wounding both him and his wife.
Baker was put into a sleigh, and the party set out with all speed for
Albany. An express was dispatched to Bennington with tidings of the
occurrence. Ten men promptly mounted fleet horses, and after a ride
of thirty miles, intercepted the kidnapping party at a crossroad.
The ten horsemen impetuously charged upon the fifty Yorkers; and the
latter, supposing them to be the advance guard of a larger force, left
their prisoner and fled. Captain Baker was nearly exhausted with loss
of blood; but he was kindly cared for, his wounds dressed, and he was
restored to his wife and children, to their no small joy, and that of
his friends.
A report reached Bennington that Governor Tryon was on his way by water
to Albany, with British Troops, with a purpose to subdue or destroy the
Green Mountain Boys. This was the more readily credited, as the royal
troops had lately been used on Bateman’s[B] Patent, in the colony of
New York, to quell some disputes about the titles or rents of lands;
and it was known that the subsequent grantees of the New Hampshire
Grants had applied to the Governor of New York for a similar favor.
The committees of safety met the military officers to consult on
the measures proper to be taken. They felt themselves at a crisis
that would either compel them to submit, or take the field against a
royal Governor and British troops. Having reflected on the justice of
their cause, the labor and expense of building and the cultivating
of their lands, they unanimously resolved “that it was their duty to
oppose Governor Tryon and his troops to the utmost of their power, and
convince him and his council that they were punishable by the Green
Mountain Boys for disobeying his majesty’s prohibitory orders of July,
1767.” The elders of the people assured the military officers that they
would afford them all the assistance in their power, and advised them
to concert among themselves the plans of defense, and then withdrew.
A messenger was sent to Albany to ascertain the truth of the report,
and learn the strength of the enemy and the order of marching. On his
return, the messenger reported that “the British troops were wind-bound
some distance below Albany, and were destined to relieve the garrisons
at Oswego, Niagara, and Detroit, and that Governor Tryon was not with
them.” Of course all preparations for a battle were suspended.
The Governor and land agents of New York were in due time apprised of
this “note of preparation,” and were thus assured the Green Mountain
Boys would fight even the King’s troops on provocation. This affair
served the purposes of Vermont as well as a bloody victory could have
done; and prompted the Convention to forbid “all inhabitants of the New
Hampshire Grants to hold or accept any office of honor or profit under
the colony of New York, and requiring all civil and military officers
who had acted under New York to suspend their functions under penalty
of being _viewed_.[C]”
The first settlers of Clarendon were adherents of New York.
Disturbances had often sprung up in that place, and Mr. Spencer, who
had acted as Justice of the Peace under New York, had often sent
writs against the people. Colonel Allen and a few hundred men set
off for Clarendon, to frighten Spencer out of the country. Acting on
information received of Allen’s intended visit, Spencer fled into the
woods, and was not to be found when the party reached the house.
After scouting the woods in vain, they marched three miles and put up
for the night. Towards daylight, Allen and his two men went again to
Spencer’s house. Forcing the door with a log, they rushed in with their
guns and pistols, crying out for Spencer to appear; but he had not
ventured to return home.
As they rejoined the main force, a small dog was discovered, which,
unfortunately for the dog, bore the name of Tryon. This animal they cut
into pieces with their swords for no other cause than that its name
was Tryon; they held up the pieces of the dog on the points of their
guns and cried out--“Thus will we do with Tryon!” Spencer was so much
alarmed at these proceedings that he fled to New York, and matters
remained quiet for a time.
In the spring of 1772, Governor Tryon, through the medium of a minister
residing in Bennington, made overtures to the people of the Grants for
a pacification. He promised if they would send agents to negotiate an
accommodation, they would be received and protected, only excepting
Ethan Allen, Seth Warner, Remember Baker, and Robert Cockran.
[Illustration: “Viewing” a New York sheriff with beech rods.]
This proposal being accepted, Captain Stephen Fay and Dr. Jonas Fay
were sent to represent Vermont before the Governor, to arrange for
an adjustment of claims. The most that was effected was a cessation
of hostilities until his Majesty’s pleasure could be further known.
During this armistice, a surveyor named Cockburn was privately sent
to survey out and locate lands within the bounds of the New Hampshire
Grants. Ira Allen and a number of men went in search of him. They
found the offender at Bolton, one hundred and thirty miles through
an almost unbroken wilderness to the north of Bennington. They broke
his instruments and allowed him to depart, with an admonition never
to be seen in those parts again under pain of death. Only the partial
armistice, and the efforts for a restoration of peace then in progress,
saved Mr. Cockburn a severe whipping.
Governor Tryon next essayed the plan of establishing a colony of
emigrants under the New York proprietors. The settlers were to be
Scotchmen, and the colony was to be located at New Haven Falls. Allen
was duly apprised of this, who, with a number of trusty followers,
repaired to the place and began the construction of a block fort. The
Scotch emigrants wisely sent some agents to view the country before
coming in with their families; and learning the nature of the dispute
as to title, refused to have any more to do in the matter.
One evening while Colonel Ethan Allen and Levi Roberts were at the
house of a friend by the name of Richardson, they were surprised by
two sergeants and ten soldiers from the garrison at Crown Point, all
of them well armed. Allen and Roberts were well known to the soldiers,
and realized they were caught in a trap, as, stimulated by the reward
on their heads, the soldiers would be certain to take them before the
New York authorities. But even in this dilemma, Allen’s presence of
mind did not forsake him. Both he and Roberts had their side arms about
them, and he judged the soldiers would not immediately risk an open
encounter. Calling for liquor, he began to make merry with the men;
and such was his address, and his powers of conversation, that they
were actually forced to join in the revelry. It was not long before the
sergeants were dismayed at beholding their men, one by one, yielding
to the seductive influence of their potations. Yet the doughty Colonel
kept lustily calling for more liquor; and with well-feigned huskiness
of voice, pressed all to drink, swearing they would merit his eternal
displeasure if they refused.
At length, after nearly all had rolled from their chairs, stupefied by
the quantities of liquor they had swallowed, Allen demanded to be shown
to bed. He was answered that the sergeants had engaged the only spare
beds in the house. He refused their offer to give up one of the beds to
himself and Roberts, with a maudlin remark that two such jolly subjects
of the King should have the best the house afforded, and declared his
intention to sleep in the barn.
Leaving their guns in the house to disarm suspicion, Allen and Roberts
suffered themselves to be conducted to the barn by the sergeants, where
they were locked up for the night. The Colonel was apparently so far
overcome with liquor as to require the assistance of two men to enable
him to walk; and he reeled about, and dropping down helpless upon the
straw, fell off into a drunken slumber. Even Roberts began to have
serious misgivings as to the condition of his Colonel, whom he had seen
drain glass after glass during the evening, enough to turn the heads
of half a dozen men. But no sooner had the footsteps of the retreating
sergeant died away, than the labored breathing of the Colonel suddenly
ceased; and sitting up, drew off his boots and poured therefrom the
rum that Roberts was ready to swear he had seen disappear down Allen’s
throat.
Allen knew the soldiers had only repaired to the house to allow himself
and his companion time to get sound asleep, when they would return and
surprise them. What was to be done, must be done quickly. But Allen had
no intention of leaving without their rifles. While they debated as to
the best method of securing them, those coveted weapons were brought
them by Miss Richardson, who had found means to privately remove them
from a window; then making their egress from the barn, they hastily
sought the safety of the dark forest. An hour later the sergeants went
to secure their prisoners, whom they expected to find helplessly drunk,
but the birds had flown.
One Hough, of Clarendon, was persuaded to accept the office of Justice
of the Peace under New York, and attempted to officiate as such. He was
taken before the committee of safety, where he plead in justification
that he was authorized by the colony of New York. The committee caused
the resolution of the Convention of the New Hampshire Grants to be read
to him, forbidding all persons holding any office under New York, and
then pronounced judgment on the prisoner that he “be taken and tied to
a tree, and there, on his naked back, to receive two hundred stripes;
his back being dressed, he should depart out of the district; and in
the event of his return, unless leave was granted, he was to suffer
death.” It is needless to add the sentence of whipping was summarily
executed. This occurred in January, 1775. Hough had signalized himself
as being very active in procuring the outlawry acts against Allen and
others of the Green Mountain Boys.
Dr. Samuel Adams, of Arlington, was outspoken in his denunciation of
the Green Mountain Boys, and counseled the people to purchase lands
under New York titles. The Doctor was cautioned to keep silent, and
not needlessly incur their displeasure; but he declared he would free
his mind, and, providing himself with a pair of good horse-pistols and
other weapons, said he was ready to silence any man who dared to cross
him. He was soon afterward surprised, and carried to the Green Mountain
Tavern at Bennington, where the committee heard his defense. Of course
judgment was rendered against him, and preparations made to carry his
sentence into execution.
As was common in those days, a post some twenty or more feet in height
held the tavern sign. On the top of this sign-post was a stuffed
catamount’s skin, showing large teeth, looking and grinning towards New
York. Dr. Adams was tied in an arm chair and hoisted up to the sign,
where he hung two mortal hours, as a punishment for his treasonable
utterances. A large number of the citizens assembled to see the
sentence carried out, and they were loud in their jeers and merriment
at the Doctor’s discomfiture. He was then let down, dismissed by the
committee, and admonished to go and sin no more.
Colonel Ethan Allen was once on a visit to his brother Heman, who was
residing at Salisbury, Conn. A plot was laid by some Yorkers to capture
and convey him to the Poughkeepsie jail, and so obtain Tryon’s promised
premium. Robert M’Cormick, who was on intimate terms with the family,
had been engaged to act as decoy. He was to spend the night with the
family as their guest, and at a convenient hour, open the door and
conduct the gang to the apartment where the Colonel slept. A sleigh was
to be in readiness outside, in which their prisoner could be driven
with all speed out of Connecticut.
M’Cormick parted from his companions at some distance from Heman
Allen’s house. He was kindly received, and offered a bed for the night.
It was noticed he was unusually reticent, and quite reserved in his
participation in the hospitalities tendered him. He made some indirect
inquiries after Colonel Allen, who had ridden out that afternoon, but
who was momentarily expected to return.
From these circumstances Heman was led to suspect some plot was on
foot against his brother, and so expressed himself on that gentleman’s
return. The Colonel thereupon taxed M’Cormick at his unusual concern,
and so pressed the poor fellow that he confessed there was a plot
to capture him, and that he had come for the purpose of privately
informing him of it. M’Cormick departed soon after, and told the
gang of what he had done. Preparations were made for defense by the
household, but they remained through the night unmolested.
[Illustration: Old Catamount Tavern.]
The scene of this adventure was the birthplace of Ethan and Ira Allen,
from which, at an early age, they removed with their parents to the
Hampshire Grants. Ethan was remarkable for the boldness with which
he declared his opinions, and a self confidence that was abashed by
no consciousness of ignorance. He acquired a wide notoriety as a
pamphleteer during the Vermont troubles, there being no paper published
there at that time. His enemies tried to fix on him the stigma of an
outlaw; and even so careful a historian as Irving is led to make the
observation that he was “a kind of Robin Hood among the mountains.”
The late T. S. Arthur once wrote of him as being a “guerilla chief,”
forgetting that he acted under the direction of a committee of
safety--an authority universally adopted by the other colonies during
the Revolution.
Ira Allen was still further traduced. The _Western Star_, a paper
published at Stockbridge, Mass., in 1797, styles him the “Vermont Land
Jobber;” and states he was at the time under arrest for treasonable
designs against the government of Great Britain, concluding with the
observation--“All humane men should shudder at the idea of a halter;
and many honest men will rejoice if Allen’s liberation puts an end to
his restless career in future.” Allen, it seems, had been charged with
supplying the Irish, then in rebellion against England, with arms:
after eight years of litigation he was acquitted.